A/N: Everyone has messaged me telling me how excited that they are for this chapter and I really appreciate that!

This was my favorite chapter to write and I hope that you all enjoy reading it as well!

This is one of the longest chapters because there's so much that happens!

I've kept you all in suspense long enough, so all is revealed during this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the wrestlers, they all belong to WWE. If I owned John or Seth, I'd never leave my apartment.

Chapter 10: Month 9

Seth's wedding is just 1 month away now and he's finally back home with Dean. Dean seems legitimately excited that Seth is back, but Seth is miserable. Dean kisses Seth passionately, but Seth is barely responding. Before he knows it, Seth is laying on his back with Dean thrusting above him. Seth is not engaged in the sex at all, but Dean still manages to reach orgasm. Seth is so out of it that he doesn't realize that Dean has been calling his name for a minute.

"You didn't cum," Dean notices.

"I'm just really tired," Seth lies.

Dean kisses his shoulder. "Get some sleep, sweetheart. I love you."

Seth turns on his side, facing away from Dean. Seth stopped saying "I love you too" back to Dean a while ago, but he feels disgusted with himself whenever Dean says the "L" word now. It just doesn't feel right whenever Dean utters those 3 words to him. As soon as Seth closes his eyes, he replays the scene of John angrily walking out on him a few weeks ago. He sighs because he knows that he's not going to get much sleep once again.

Seth doesn't think that his weight has changed much since he first tried on his tux, but he has to try it on again since the wedding is approaching very quickly. The nice associate at the store helps Seth with the tux and makes sure that it fits just right. Seth looks at himself in the full length mirror and he doesn't like what he sees. He has bags under his eyes from lack of sleep and he just looks listless. Seth adjusts his tie before turning to the sales associate.

"It looks good and it fits perfectly," Seth comments.

"You aren't smiling. Shouldn't you be happy since the wedding is so close?" The associate questions.

"Some people dream about having the perfect wedding. I was never that shallow, though. I always dreamed about having the perfect groom," Seth reveals.

"And your fiancé—"

Seth cuts him off. "He's not my knight in shining armor."

The sales associate looks sad and he wants to say something, but he keeps his mouth shut. Seth finishes paying for his tux and then he heads to Diva's Bakery. He met with Kaitlyn last month and she drew the design for the cake. Now, he's going to see what it looks like in person to make sure that he likes it. Kaitlyn and AJ are just finishing up consulting with a customer when he walks in. They smile and tell him to sit down.

"Where's your friend? I was hoping to have another food fight!" Kaitlyn exclaims.

"He and I had a little bit of a falling out," Seth explains vaguely.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Kaitlyn tells him sincerely.

The cake is very large because it has 5 layers to it, so AJ has to roll it out on a cart. It's absolutely beautiful and Seth loves it. Even though it's slightly over the top, Seth really loves it. The only thing missing are the cake toppers. Kaitlyn surprises him with a custom made one. She painted some of the hair blonde and Seth thinks that it's awesome. She gives him a catalog so that he can pick out the other one.

"I don't know what your fiancé looks like, so you can find one that resembles him the most," Kaitlyn says.

Seth starts flipping through the catalog and skips right over the ones that clearly don't look like Dean. He gets to a section of blue eyed brunettes and he stops involuntarily at the page. He skims over most of them, but he pauses when he sees a picture of a very muscular one. He smiles sadly because it reminds him of John. Seth doesn't realize that he's staring at it until Kaitlyn waves her hand in front of his face.

"You're in love with your friend, aren't you?" Kaitlyn guesses.

"Huh?" Seth unintelligently replies.

"You've been staring at that cake topper that looks like him for about 10 minutes," Kaitlyn informs him.

"Oh," Seth replies with a blush covering his cheeks.

"If it makes you feel any better, he's in love with you too. I could feel it when he was here," Kaitlyn adds.

"That just makes everything worse," Seth states.

"I know you don't know me very well, but I'm here if you need someone to talk to," Kaitlyn lets him know.

"Thank you. I really appreciate that," Seth comments.

John hasn't really spoken to Seth since that awkward morning after they spent the night together. He misses him a lot, but he knows that it's better if he keeps his distance from Seth. John feels his phone vibrating in his pocket and he notices that it's Seth calling him. He wants to answer it so badly, but he fights the urge and just lets it ring. He's getting ready to put his phone back in his pocket when he gets a notification for a voicemail. John decides to listen to it because he's worried that Seth might need him for something.

"It's nice to hear your voice again even if it's just on your voicemail. You never gave me the chance to apologize to you because you just stormed out that morning. I am really sorry for all of the emotional turmoil that I've put you through. The last thing that I ever wanted to do was hurt you, John. I miss you so much. I know that you probably hate me—"

John stops the voicemail halfway through because he can't listen anymore. John can't stand the thought of Seth thinking that he hates him, so he calls him back. They agree that they need to talk and Seth wants to take John somewhere special. John is a little reluctant, but his desire to see Seth is just too strong. Seth tells him that he'll be at his apartment to pick him up in about 15 minutes.

"Did you bring me out here in the middle of nowhere to kill me?" John jokes when Seth pulls up to an abandoned field.

Seth laughs. "No, of course not."

"There's literally nothing out here," John observes.

"Look up. The stars are so beautiful and they look closer from here," Seth explains.

It's a warm May night and the wind is blowing gently. Seth grabs a thick quilt from his car and he puts it down on the grass. He grabs a thin duvet to cover himself and John with. John stretches until he's comfortable on the blanket. Seth sits down in between John's legs and he prays that John won't push him away. John does the opposite and instinctively wraps his arms around Seth. Seth closes his eyes so that he can focus on how amazing that he currently feels. This might be the last time that he ever gets to experience John's warmth.

"I know that I'm being selfish, but everything is so much better when I'm with you," Seth admits.

"I understand," John empathizes.

"You make me feel things that I've never felt before," Seth discloses.

John pulls him closer. "But it's not enough to change things."

"Don't look at it that way," Seth tells him.

"How else am I supposed to look at it?" John questions.

"I'm marrying Dean because I need something from him. It's not as if I'm picking him over you," Seth tries to explain.

"And whatever it is that you need from him is something that I can't give you?" John checks.

Seth sighs. "Can we change the subject? I really don't want to talk about this."

John caresses Seth's arms and apologizes for badgering him. They look up at the stars above them and it is honestly a magnificent sight. Both men feel calmer and more at ease as they gaze at the brilliant stars. Hours pass and it starts getting late. Seth kicks off his shoes and lays down, silently asking John to join him. John wordlessly slips behind him and wraps his arms securely around Seth's waist.

"Good night," Seth says.

"Good night," John repeats.

John and Seth wake up at the same time. John doesn't freak out this time and Seth is grateful. Seth offers to take John out for breakfast before he takes him home. Seth drops John off after they enjoy a delicious meal at Denny's. Seth picks some leaves out of his hair as he walks inside of his house. Dean is sitting very still in the living room. There's no TV on and he looks extremely pissed off.

"Did you spend the night with John?" Dean asks callously.

"Yes, but nothing happened," Seth answers truthfully.

Dean scoffs. "Yeah, right."

"I'm telling you the truth, Dean. We even kept on all of our clothes," Seth replies.

"What would you do if I decided to call off the wedding?" Dean challenges.

"You wouldn't do that," Seth argues.

"Are you sure about that? You're going to benefit way more than I am if we get married. You don't even love me, Seth. I'm not naïve enough to believe that your feelings for me are ever going to change. You're having sleepovers with another man a month before our wedding. What exactly do I have to gain here?" Dean retorts.

Seth fights back tears. "Please, marry me. I'll do whatever you want, Dean. I'll stop talking to John and anything else that you want."

"You'll really do whatever I want you to do?" Dean checks.

"Yes," Seth promises.

"Why don't you start by getting down on your knees and sucking my cock," Dean says in a stern voice.

"O-Ok," Seth responds with a shaky voice.

There's something wrong with Seth. John and his friends have noticed that Seth has been acting very strange. He keeps completely to himself and he's withdrawn. He even shocked everyone when he took the blonde out of his hair. John wants to figure out what's going on and he also wants to talk to Seth about something important. He approaches Seth when school is over, but he ignores him. John follows him to his car and gently grabs his arm before Seth gets in the front seat. Seth's grimace in pain doesn't escape John.

"We need to talk," John tells him.

"I can't talk to you anymore," Seth replies.

"Why not? Did Dean tell you that you couldn't? Because if he did, you're a grown man and you don't have to do everything that he tells you," John counters.

"Stop acting like you know anything about my relationship with my fiancé!" Seth snaps.

John is going to ask Seth what's wrong with him, but he doesn't get a chance to get the words out. Tears start falling from Seth's eyes and he pulls John into a tight hug. John has no idea what's going on with Seth, but he comforts him anyway. He rubs soothing circles into Seth's back and John tries to get him to calm down. Seth does eventually compose himself, but he's still holding on to John.

"I'm sorry," Seth mumbles into John's chest.

"I just want to know what's going on with you. You've been so weird lately," John responds.

"We can talk at your house, but I can't stay for long," Seth lets him know.

John has to go to the bathroom, so he tells Seth to just make himself at home like he always does. Seth sits down on the couch and he notices a bunch of papers on the coffee table in the living room. Seth isn't normally one to snoop, but something tells him to take a peek. Most of the stack is just ungraded papers, but Seth eventually finds a few pieces of paper that catch his eye. He's reading one of the pages when John comes back.

"Why do you have all of this stuff about the high school in Rosemont?" Seth wants to know.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I'm going to be teaching there next year," John reveals.

"What? You're leaving?" Seth asks with a hurt voice.

"Yeah. It's only 30 minutes away so—"

Seth interrupts him. "You're leaving me. Why?"

"You know why, Seth. I can't stay and watch you become Mr. Ambrose," John answers.

"I'll never get to see you anymore," Seth says.

"That's not true. I really like the life that I have here and I've made some great friends. I'll come and visit all of the time," John assures him.

"But I won't get to see you every day and . . . " Seth trails off.

"I'm not thrilled about this situation either, but I have to think about my heart. It will kill me to see you married to him," John whispers.

Seth understands John's decision, but he doesn't like it at all. He doesn't know how he's going to cope with not being able to see John every morning. John has become such a huge part of his life and now he's leaving. Seth starts pacing and John tries to wrap his arms around Seth to placate him. Seth pushes him away, but John doesn't budge because he's so strong. John softly grabs Seth's arms and Seth groans in agony. John suddenly remembers that Seth seemed like he was in pain when he lightly touched his arm earlier.

"What's wrong with your arm?" John questions in a concerned tone.

"Nothing," Seth lies.

John has never caught Seth in a lie before, but he knows that he's being deceitful right now. John carefully approaches Seth and he starts unbuttoning Seth's long sleeve shirt. Seth looks scared and he tries to stop John from taking his shirt off. He gets to the last button and he slowly removes Seth's top. John sees bright red marks on both of Seth's arms. Seth's chest has some bruises too.

"He did this to you, didn't he?" John accuses.

"Yes, but—"

John cuts him off. "There is no but! He's abusing you, Seth."

"I have to endure it though," Seth replies.

"Do you hear yourself? You're not marrying a man that hits you. I don't care what your reasons are," John tells him in a serious voice.

Seth stars to cry. "It's my parents, John. My mom is really, really sick. She doesn't have health insurance and my dad's health insurance plan is extremely shitty. He's working 2 jobs trying to pay all of their bills and they're still in major debt. They're in so much debt that they could lose their house. Her health has deteriorated a lot lately and she needs to get a procedure done soon. They can't afford it though. She might die if she doesn't get the surgery. I can't lose my mom and I can't stand to see them struggling so much. I have to save them, John. If I marry Dean, he'll give them the money for the surgery and pay off all of their debt. If I don't go through with the marriage, he won't give them the money."

John dries Seth's tears. "I can guarantee that if your parents knew what you were going through, they would ask you not to do it. I understand that you want to save your parents, but this isn't the way. How do you think they would feel if they found out that in order to help them, you had to get hurt?"

"So you want me to just watch my mom die? I can take being slapped around if it means that she and my dad are alive and living happily. They sacrificed so much for me. It's my turn to sacrifice now," Seth explains.

John shakes his head. "Seth, this is way more than making a sacrifice. I am not going to just allow you to get abused. How much money do they need?"

"I'm not sure, probably close to $250,000. This isn't your choice, John. You can't stop me from marrying Dean," Seth replies.

"I am head over heels in love with you, Seth Rollins. You are the kindest man that I've ever met and I will do whatever it takes to make sure that you are taken care of. I promise you that everything will be ok. Do you trust me, Seth?" John asks.

"I trust you with my life," Seth responds.

"We're going to drive to your house right now so that you can tell Dean that you're not marrying him," John informs him.

"But I don't understand—"

"I have the money, Seth. Your mom will get her surgery and their debt will be erased," John guarantees.

"How?" Seth wants to know.

"I'll explain it to you on the drive to your place. Now, let's go," John says.

A/N: *Takes a deep breath* So much went down during this chapter and I was an emotional wreck after writing it!

I decided to end it here because the last chapter is long enough and I didn't want to combine them.

Chapter 11 starts exactly where this one ends though.

I'm kind of sad that this is almost over, but Chapter 11 is a really good one.

Here's what's coming up next: You have to wait and read to find out!