The backstage area of Raw was a lot more alive since Seth had been in the ring. It seemed they had picked up the pace and now everyone was buzzing to go. Seth had to back out there later to face Rob Van Dam, they'd had a little on-going rivalry for awhile and it was always good to wrestle with Rob, he was so professional, so experienced, Seth always learned something new when he faced him.
As he suited up, in his outrageously shiny suit - even Seth could admit that, there was a small knock at the door. He moved across the locker room and opened the door to reveal the smoky eyes of Paige looking up at him, nervously wringing her hands around each other. She was still in her wrestling gear, she was now subconsciously pulling the jacket around herself, covering up what she could, causing Seth to mile inwardly.
"Hey." He said, wanting to break the silence. He raised his eyebrows at her when he didn't get a response.
"Hi!" She responded, a little bit more perkily than Seth would've expected from Paige.
"You okay?" He asked, now just becoming confused.
"Yeah…" He breathed out. Obviously a breath of courage. "Look, I just wanted to say thanks, for earlier. I guess we're even now." She said, did she sound almost shy?
"Well, I said I owed you one. I meant it." Seth said matter-of-factly.
"Yeah, yeah." She rocked back and forth on her toes. "So, er, good luck on your match." She quickly wished and went on her way, leaving a bemused Seth in her wake. However confused his brief encounter with Paige left him, Seth closed the door and tried to focus at the task ahead of him. He grabbed his briefcase, and headed towards the ring.
The match was going well, he had managed to ground RVD for the majority of the match. Seth was actually enjoying himself, he was feeding off the crowds energy. Even if his mind was slightly distracted, knowing at some point, it was inevitable that Dean was going to come out and interrupt the match. But, for now, Seth was just enjoying wrestling, good classic match. It crossed his mind that the politics and story lines that came with the wrestling also sometime hindered it. He was a good wrestler, Dean was a class wrestler, yet half the time they never got to do any proper wrestling due to being involved in various other aspects of this entertainment show. Even when they were with The Shield they were either interrupting everyone or being interrupted. It felt like none of their matches were ever clean, they just became a mass brawl and during the distraction someone would get the pin.
But this, this was what Seth had wanted, proper wrestling. He could deal with the rest of it, the drama, as long as he actually got to wrestle. He hadn't worked this hard to be a prop. He wanted to be big, he wanted to have the big matches, he wanted the attention John Cena and Randy Orton have. The Rock and Stone Cold. The big matches, the main events.
And simultaneously, Dean's music hit the speakers, echoing all around Seth. He refused the distraction, kept his focus on Rob Van Dam. He was easy to lose track of if you took your eyes off him for a second.
Yet, he was backing off, exiting the ring. Seth's face locked itself into a glare as he turned round, knowing full well who he was going to see there. The Lunatic Fringe. A strange look upon his face, anger and betrayal being the obvious mixture; though an undertone of something Seth couldn't quite put his finger on. They stared at each other intently, waiting for the other to make the first move. Seth knew Kane would be out in a minute and he didn't want him involved, he wanted Dean to himself; wanted to prove he could handle him all on his own. That was the whole point.
He threw himself at Dean with those thoughts running through his mind. He threw punch after punch, receiving the same in return from his former friend. Somehow, through the blows he managed to get the upper hand and floored him, sending further blows in his direction. He knew no help would come for Dean, yet he heard Kane heading this way and threw Dean from the ring, toward the announcers table. He just stood in the ring, Kane looming behind, angrily whispering him on, to go and attack Dean more. Seth remained where he was, just staring; glaring at Dean. Dean slowly stood, confusion mixed with anger on his features. He climbed over the barriers and disappeared into the crowd, as Seth turned and rolled from the ring and up the ramp without so much as a look at Kane. The whole arena was left in a confused silence.
The hot water rushed down on his head, Seth relished in the silence. He knew he would be in trouble, Triple H would not appreciate him letting Dean leave. He didn't care. He didn't want this anymore. He didn't want to be apart of any stable, in any shape or form anymore. Enough was enough, Seth was tired. Tired of being told what to do. Tired of never being his own man. Tired of being stuck with people he was supposed to count on, yet feeling completely alone.
A soft knock came at the door. Seth huffed and switched off the water, grabbing a towel and heading towards his hotel door. He was waiting for this, the demand to see Triple H. Instead, he was greeted by a hulking Roman in his doorway. This was the second time in the space of a week Roman had purposefully sought him out, Seth stood aside and Roman silently entered the room. Seth closed the door and turned, Roman hadn't sat so Seth guessed this wasn't an exceptionally friendly visit. Roman breathed out, clearly figuring how would be best to start.
"I don't understand." He put bluntly. And although a vague statement at best, Seth knew. He knew exactly what Roman meant. Roman still felt the need to elaborate. "Why? Why leave us, and then join them? I doesn't make any sense, you're better than that Seth, better than them. You're clearly no happier, I haven't seen you crack a smile in weeks." Seth frowned, he had smiled but only around Paige, was that really it? He knew he was any happier, he was worse off and he didn't need to be told. Yet Roman was here, he still cared enough to be here and say that. After all he did, Roman was still here.
"I know." Seth croaked out and fell into the chair behind him, resigned. Roman looked at his old friend, he looked tired. Seth had dark bags under his eyes there weren't there before. The light in his eyes had died down, Roman remembered Seth always had this spark in his eyes, this bright anticipation of the future.
"I'm worried about you man." Roman said, Seth could hear the truthfulness of it in his voice.
"I'll be alright. I'll figure something out." Seth replied. Roman couldn't help but smile.
"There's a reason you're called The Architect." Seth laughed at that before he responded.
"You're the one here building bridges." Roman rolled his eyes at Seth's joke. But couldn't help but give him a small smile.
"Nah, you never burned this one. I'm still your friend. I'm still Deans friend. I don't take sides." Roman stated simply.
"You never did, it's why we always worked." Seth said honestly. Roman could tell that was the end of the conversation, it was getting too far in, topics neither could talk about yet. He smiled at his friend.
"You call me when you need to, yeah?" He asked, the worry back on his face.
"Yeah." Seth breathe out and nodded his confirmation. Roman left quietly, Seth stayed sat and lent his head back and stared at the ceiling. What was he going to do? He'd been trying to figure that out the last few nights and had come up with nothing. He couldn't bring himself to ask Roman; it wasn't his fight. Seth had made this mess, and he had to fix it.
Another soft knock at the door, Seth stirred in his chair, he had somehow fallen asleep there. He rose and grabbed the towel tighter around his hips. He glanced a look at the alarm clock on the bedside table; 3am. He yawned as the knock came again, still softly, as if not really wanting the occupant to hear them. Confused and groggy Seth opened the door.
His eyes widened as he took in the sight in front of him. A world away from the girl he opened the door to only 12 hours ago, a dishevelled looking Paige stood in front of him. Well, leaned; against the doorframe. He rubbed his eyes, willing himself more awake as he properly took in her appearance. Her left eye was bruising, blotches of blue and purple appearing at the side. Her lip was cut and was still bleeding a little. Her arm was wrapped, he assumed around her ribs. He stepped forward and she all but fell into his open arms, he wrapped an arm around her back and felt her forcefully make herself stand, leaning heavily on his arm. He guided her slowly, gently to the bed, his other hand holding hers for further support, she held on tightly; injuries to ribs were always painful - it made it hard to breathe.
"Fucking hell, Paige." Seth sputtered, just wanting to break the silence. He knew he wouldn't get a response, she was barely holding herself together as it was. He eased her onto the edge of the bed and ran to the bathroom, he knew he'd seen a first aid kit somewhere, and darted back to Paige. He knelt cautiously in front of her, and ever so gently dabbed the antiseptic wipe on her cut lip. He saw her wince but she made no sound. He dabbed until the bleeding stopped, then got up and rang room-service, asking quietly for ice and some snacks to be delivered to the room.
He turned back to Paige to find her looking at him, a strange look upon her face. He cocked his head at her, a silent question.
"You just helped. You didn't even ask." Her voice was quiet. Scared, reserved. This was not the Paige he knew.
"D'you want me to ask?" He asked, tentatively. Her dark eyes grew wide, thoughtful. He didn't know if he wanted to know.
"AJ." She simply said. She looked away, the memory clearly repeating itself in her mind. "I.. I shouldn't be here." She made to move and Seth laid a hand on her shoulder, keeping her seated.
"Paige?" Her dark eyes raised to his, he spotted fear. Why was she scared of him? "Because you helped me." It was obvious, of course it was because of him. He ran a hand through his hair, it was still damp. "Fuck." He breathed out. He felt a small hand grasp onto his, he looked toward the beaten beauty. His face softened as their eyes met. "I'm sorry." She didn't reply, but she did tighten her grip on his hand.