Chapter Ten

Kaitlyn walks down her stairs and lets out a heavy breath. She opens the back door of her car and sets her bag on the seat. She glances over at Dean's place, smiling softly. It's still amazing at how things have progressed with them. If only she could tell Seth. At this point, she doesn't know what's holding her back. She's getting ready to climb into the driver's seat when she sees someone pulling in behind her. Looking back, she raises an eyebrow at the sight of Roman.

Roman climbs out of the car and gives her a small wave as he approaches. "Hey," he says.

"Hi," Kaitlyn says.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"Okay. You know where going to the same place, right?"

He grins. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I'm actually on my way to pick up the girl I've been seeing."

She smiles brightly at him. "Yeah? We're finally getting to meet her?"

"Well… I guess in a way. You already know her."

She frowns a little. "Meaning?"

"She's a teacher at your school and you two are friends. It's Eve."

She smiles again. "Really?" She pushes him gently. "You had me worried, Roman."

He grins. "I just… didn't want to say anything until I knew where we were headed, you know?"

She nods. "Yeah, I get that." It's all too familiar to her. She hears the door next door close and knows Dean is on his way down. "I'm happy for you, Roman. She's a great girl."

He nods. "I'm seeing that." He smiles. "All right, I'll see you at your parents'." He waves over at Dean before heading back to his car.

Kaitlyn looks over at Dean. "Hey."

"Hey yourself." He gestures to Roman. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Just wanted to talk to me about something." She watches Dean closely. "Dean, there's nothing there if that's what you're thinking."

"It's not." Dean put his cooler into the backseat. "We should just drive over together you know. We're going to the same place. We live next door to each other."

She smiles. "Yeah, probably would make sense. But we're taking my car."

He laughs as he grabs his cooler again. "Yes, dear."

Kaitlyn looks over at Dean after they get to her parents' house. "Roman's bringing someone today."

"Oh yeah? It's about time we meet this girl. Did he say why we haven't yet?"

"He just told me that he wanted to know where it was going before he brought her around."

"Oh." He nods. "Okay."

She knows why he's tone changed. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. She lets out a soft breath. "Dean…"

"We should head back." He climbs out of the car and grabs his cooler from the backseat.

Kaitlyn frowns as she takes her bag and follows Dean around to the back of the house. She should have expected this. It's not like they have to hide. So why is she still? She walks up onto the deck and heads into the kitchen where she finds Seth and his sisters.

"Hey," Seth says.

She smiles at him as she sets her bag on the counter. "Hey," she says. Leaning over, she kisses his cheek. "Dean's here too. We figured we may as well come together."

Seth nods. "Makes sense." He looks at her. "You okay? Looks like you got something on your mind."

She nods. "I do. Can we talk?"

"Yeah, of course." He looks over at Becca and Anna. "Go away."

"Seth…" Anna whines.

"Just go." Seth points to the door. He waits until they finally leave before looking at Kaitlyn once again. "What's up?"

"Roman's bringing someone today."

"Oh yeah? Finally gonna meet her, huh?"

"Yeah." She licks her lips and looks at him. "How do you feel about it?"

"I figure as long as it isn't you, why the fuck should I care?"

She frowns. "Me? Why would you have a problem if it were me?"

"Because he's my best friend and you're my sister. Wait… is it you?"

"No, no it's not me." She sighs. "Just curious I guess."

"Okay."

"But why?"

"Kaitlyn…" He sighs. "Because I know what he's like. Yeah, he's a good guy, but what happens when his temper flares? They're both fucking insane and I know how you get."

"You know how I get?"

"Yes. Something will happen and then you'll blame yourself for what they did."

"Oh."

"Kaitlyn…"

"I'll see you outside." She turns and walks out. Now what is she supposed to do? She sees Dean walking toward her and isn't sure if she should walk away now or wait to see what he says. What she wouldn't give to just hug him right now. When he stops by her, she sighs. "We need to talk." She walks away, making her way around front without another word to Dean. She leans against her car, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What's going on?" Dean asks as he approaches. "Kait…"

"We have to stop, Dean."

He frowns. "Is this because of what happened on the way here? I'm sorry about that, Kaitlyn. I just…"

"Seth has made it pretty clear that I'm not allowed to date you."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I told him about Roman bringing someone and kinda asked him how he felt about it." She shrugs. "Told me that as long as it wasn't me why the fuck should he care."

"So he doesn't want you seeing Roman. What's that have to do about me?"

"Because when I pushed him on it, you came into it too. He was talking about the both of you. So let's just end this now before…"

"No." Dean shakes his head. "I am not letting you end this because he's going off on a bitch fit."

"What's the use, Dean? He's never going to be okay with this."

"Stand up to him! He's not the boss of you." He stares at her.

"He's right though. Something will happen, you'll fly off the handle, and I'll take the blame. No matter what happens I always do."

He shakes his head. "Do you love me?"

"Dean…"

"Answer the question, Kaitlyn."

"Yes, of course I love you."

"Then what's the problem? He'll get over it. Stand up to him. I'm not letting you go, Kaitlyn. Are we going to fight? Yes, of course we are. Because we're both too fucking stubborn to let things go. But I love you. I have never told anyone in my life that I love them. That has to tell you something, right? So stop doing what someone else wants. Do what you want."

"But what happens when we fight?"

"Then we fight! Damn it, Kaitlyn."

"I can't. He's…"

"Why?"

"Dean…" She stops when she hears a car door close. She glances over to see Roman and Eve. "Dean…"

Dean shakes his head. "Do you want, Kaitlyn. It's obvious I can't stop you." He turns and walks away.

"Dean!" Kaitlyn covers her face. What did she just do?

"Little Bit," Roman says as they approach. "You okay?"

Kaitlyn sniffs and wipes her eyes before looking at Roman. "Yeah, I'm fine."

He frowns at her. "Kaitlyn…"

"I don't want to talk about it." She smiles at Eve. "I can't believe you didn't tell me."

Eve smiles. "We were waiting." She looks up at Roman. "I want to talk to Kaitlyn for a minute."

Roman nods. "Yeah, okay. I'll see you in back." He walks away.

Eve looks at Kaitlyn. "Okay, so talk."

Kaitlyn sighs. "I think I just made the biggest mistake of my life. I told Dean we couldn't see each other anymore."

"What? Why?"

"Because my brother is overprotective and I don't know how to stand up to him." She wipes her eyes.

"We'll get this figured out. Does Seth know?"

"No."

"Well, we'll figure it all out. I promise." She hooks her arm through Kaitlyn's as they start walking to the back.

"I hope so. So you and Roman?"

Eve smiles. "Yeah."

"How did that even happen?"

"The day after they came in for the program he came in and asked for me." Eve blushes. "He's really sweet."

"He is. Have you seen his temper yet?"

"No. He's warned me about it. Told me he knows he has one but thinks that all of you are overreacting to it." She smiles. "It's still new, but I really like him."

"He's a great guy. You're both very lucky."

Kaitlyn watches as Roman slides his arm around Eve's waist once they approach them. She glances at Dean to find him not even paying attention to her.

"Guys, this is Eve Torres," Roman says. "Eve, that's Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose."

"Hi," Eve says with a smile.

"You're the teacher that was with Kaitlyn," Seth says.

"Yeah, that would be me."

Kaitlyn walks up onto the deck to help her mom get the food out onto the table. She wipes her eyes when she feels tears threatening to fall.

"You okay?" Shelly asks.

"Yeah," Kaitlyn answers. "Just having a bad day." She shrugs. "Nothing to worry about."

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Seth asks loudly.

Kaitlyn looks out at that, knowing it wasn't a joking question. She frowns at the sight of Nick walking through the back yard.

"I was invited," Nick says with a cocky smile.

Dean turns and looks at Kaitlyn. The look on her face tells him everything he needs to know. She had no idea he was going to be here. Then who invited him? He grabs Seth's arm when he starts toward Nick before walking toward him himself. He points to the front of the house.

"You need to go."

"Dean," Shelly says, "I invited him."

"I just uninvited him. Kaitlyn doesn't want him here."

"And how do you know that? Nick was perfect for her."

"Take a look at your daughter, Shelly! She's in tears because of this ass hole." Okay, maybe not the whole reason. He turns back toward Nick. "Now get the fuck…"

Kaitlyn shrieks at the sound of gun shots. The next thing she sees is Dean fall to the ground. "Dean!" She runs off the deck as Seth and Roman tackle Nick to the ground. "Dean!"