Distance.

That's all that came to mind when Dean thought of Roman and Seth. It was so strange, seeing them being so callous to each other. Even if one was mad at another, it never lasted long, and they always ran back to each other. They were like brothers. Now, they're just...not. Roman seems uncomfortable around Seth, he sits far away from the youngest teen and he keeps quiet more often then not. And Seth, he wasn't much better. Dean had also noticed that Roman refused to make any eye contact with Seth, so the blue-eyed boy would catch Seth staring almost longingly at Roman. The youngest teen seemed deflated, like his cheery, bright attitude was a balloon that just been popped.

One week prior to this, they were fine. The day school ended, Roman and Seth were the best of friends, Seth was whining about Roman going to college, and Dean was mulling over his feelings for the younger teen.

Speaking of college, Roman had to go on a trip to check out a college that was interested in him, and Dean was dreading it. He was only going to be gone for three days, but still. Dean was going to be left with a sad little Seth, and he didn't know how to deal with that. That was Roman's forte, not his. His forte was pissing Seth off to the point of making Roman's forte take effect. Inescapable situation aside, Dean was getting a dickload of time alone with Seth, so he couldn't be completely disappointed.

"What school are you checking out first?" Dean was laying on the grass in Roman's backyard, his forearm resting over his eyes while the other laid on his stomach.

"Florida State. Going to Georgia Tech next month, and maybe North Carolina after that." Roman was laying on the ground, too, but his hands were folded under his head. Seth, of course, was nowhere to be seen. When Dean arrived, he called Seth to ask where he was, and the younger teen gave him a half-assed excuse and hung up.

"That's a lot." Dean muttered, shifting slightly in an attempt to make the grass less itchy.

Roman sighed audibly, and Dean could tell he'd sat up. "I know," Roman said quietly, pulling a knee up and hugging it to his chest. "It's a lot of shit, but the benefits'll be worth it," He sighed again, but softer this time. "Just gotta stomach it."

"Rain before the rainbow, my friend," Dean said, sitting up himself and looking over at Roman. "It'll all work out."

"I hope so." Roman's grey eyes, which looked even lighter in the bright sunlight, were focused on the ground, one of his hands picking at the grass.

"Hey." Dean punched Roman's arm lightly, prompting the older teen to look over at him. Dean nearly gasped as he finally looked Roman in the eye. The summer sun had, as mentioned earlier, made his grey eyes look pale yet bright. His dark hair was down and brushing over his pecs, finally; Roman had been complaining about wanting it long. His tan skin was practically glowing (in the best possible way). Dean wasn't going to deny that he found Roman handsome, anyone with eyes could see that he was, but Dean had never taken it upon himself to notice. He would focus himself on Seth, and he tended to ignore Roman and his good looks (and mildly perfect personality; no biggie).

"Did you want something, or did you just wanna look at me like some kind of creature?" Dean snapped out of his little trance, and felt his cheeks flush with the realization that he'd been caught checking out his best friend.

"No, no, uh..." Dean shuffled over so he was sitting in front of Roman. "You're gonna do fine. You're one hell of a football player, you're an amazing student, I don't know what you're so worried about."

It took a few seconds before Roman answered. "What if something like...that...happens again?"

Dean almost didn't know what Roman was talking about.

He wished he never remembered.

It was the last game of the season. Roman's team had made it to state champs, and they were all bouncing with excitement and adrenaline. There were recruiters there, and Roman knew it, so he knew that he had to play with all his heart, like usual. He'd just have to make his heart a little bigger, and he'd be fine. Roman had just pulled on his shoulder pads, when his cousins drifted over to him.

"Man, you never got new pads?" Jimmy asked, sitting down next to Roman and pulling on his cleats.

"I don't need 'em dude." Roman answered back. His pads had just about split down the back after taking a particularly hard fall, leaving his upper back almost completely exposed. He'd duct taped it back together, but they could hardly stay together during practice, so he didn't see them lasting very long during the game.

"You better hope nothing happens to you out there." Jey said seriously, lightly kicking Roman's shin after he pulled on his own shoulder pads.

"It's the last game, what could go wrong?"

If only he knew.

The game was going so well. So fucking well. It was a home game, so the were on their turf, where Roman was most comfortable. They were leading by 12 points, so the touchdown Roman was about to score wouldn't have been necessary. John threw the ball to Roman, and he caught it flawlessly, and ran. For as big as he was, Roman was fast. He took off as soon as he got a steady grip on the ball, and took off down the 40-yard stretch to victory. He heard someone falling behind him, so he assumed Randy had tackled that Titus guy that had been on his ass the entire game. He heard another sound, distinctively similar to a ripping noise, and he knew his makeshift repair had just given out. He paid no mind to it, though, and kept running. Roman was right there, ten fucking yards away, he could practically fucking taste the touchdown, and wham.

A helmet, obviously occupied by a human head, collided with his exposed upper back - right on his spine, to be exact - and everything stopped. He dropped right there, and through his foggy, dark-around-the-edges vision, he saw that Reeves kid being pulled away by some guys on his team. Roman heard yelling, but it sounded muffled and far away, but he recognized Randy's voice yelling expletives, and Jimmy and Jey's voices yelling for help. Dean's voice appeared somewhere - crazy fucker must've jumped the stands - and Seth's voice followed. John popped up, so did Jack, and pretty soon he was being crowded by his entire team. There was crying somewhere, and there was yelling somewhere else. Roman felt himself being lifted, and his helmet being taken off, and then he was laid down, and stuff started moving. There were flashing lights and people in uniforms, along with John, who was asking him questions that he couldn't quite piece together. His tongue felt heavy, and he tried to move, but nothing would work.

"Stop holdin' me down...'m not movin'." Roman mumbled, his words slurred past the point of understanding.

"Not being held down Rome." John's voice was there, and though it was hard to hear, but there was something inside Roman that suddenly felt uneasy.

"Johnny..." Roman was looking around him to try and find John, or Seth, or Dean, anyone else that he could talk to. His vision was quickly going from black-around-the-edges to theres-a-light-there-and-something-white-there.

Frantic voices, bouncing, the rumble of something as that little white spot went to complete darkness.

Roman was almost paralyzed. He had to get a small surgery to repair a fractured vertebrae, and he was back on the field in time for spring training, but there was always that fear of something like that occuring again. Strangely, Roman remembered the whole thing, and it brought tears to his eyes to think of it. Now, Roman was a tough guy. He didn't cry often, his emotions were limited amongst people who weren't Seth, Dean, or his family. Apparently almost dying brings that out of people. Roman looked away from Dean, focusing on his fingers that were picking at the grass once more. He didn't want Dean to see him cry. He had only cried around Seth, and that was only once, when he was 15 and he found out his grandma died.

"Roman? You alright?" Dean's voice was soft, and so was the hand that was placed on his shoulder.

Roman looked up and nodded. He couldn't help but smile at the concerned look on Dean's face. His bright blue eyes were wide, and his lips were puckered ever-so-slightly. "I'm good," Roman assured, sniffling slightly. "I swear. Just, y'know..."

Dean's lips parted and he nodded, squeezing Roman's shoulder softly. "It's okay, man. You're here now, that's all that matters."

"You're right," Roman's smile only broadened, dragging a smile from Dean aswell.

They stayed like that for a while. Just staring at each other, light smiles on their faces, Dean's hand on Roman's shoulder, and at some point Roman's hand had found it's way onto Dean's knee. Dean was okay with their little moment for a few seconds, then he gagged. "Alright, enough of this shit," He muttered, shoving Roman down. "Getting me all mushy and shit...little bastard."

Roman chuckled and shoved Dean back. "You liked it, don't lie." He teased, wrapping an arm around Dean's shoulders and ruffling his hair.

"Man, screw you!" And with that, Dean tackled Roman, and the two started rolling around, both laughing and yelling.

Minutes passed, and Roman finally pinned Dean down. Yeah, Roman might've been bigger than Dean, but the younger teen knew how to scuffle and struggle, so it was hard to get him down. Roman was straddling Dean's hips, his hands clasped with Dean's and holding them above Dean's head. "Pinned ya." Roman smirked.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Dean said flatly, squirming a bit as he tried to get Roman off of him. "Dude, let me up!"

"Why don't you try a little harder?" Roman flat-out laughed this time, only adding to Dean's will to escape.

"Fine," Dean groaned, trying to move his arms, but to no avail; Roman was getting really strong. The smaller teen smirked as an idea came to his head, earning a puzzled look from Roman. Dean didn't say a word, he just pushed his hips up, thinking he could buck Roman off. That didn't work at all, at least, not in the way he hoped. Roman quickly shot off his lap and sat a few feet away from Dean.

"D-Dean...?" Roman stuttered, motioning toward the younger teen's crotch.

Dean cocked an eyebrow and looked down, blushing furiously when he saw the very noticeable bulge in his gym shorts. He quickly moved a hand down and covered himself, sitting up from the ground. "Shit, uh, Rome..." Dean trailed off, his eyes drifting down to where Roman'a hand was almost mimicking his own's position. The older teen's face was flushed as well, and his eyes were wide. "That didn't happen." Dean said.

Roman just nodded.

well. that happened. i figured i might as well give y'all a little insight as to what happened to roman. seth'll be back in chapter 4, and him and roman may or may not speak about their kiss. ;) reviews are welcomed with open arms!