Only a few minutes were left before the start of the show. Everyone was getting ready. People were running around, appearing busy, and even freaking out, some wrestlers were still working on their appearance while others were all prepared, wearing their ring attire and just waiting for their theme to hit.

As Roman was on his way back to the locker room – he hasn't changed his clothes yet because he spent last fifteen minutes talking to the Usos – he encountered a familiar face, sitting quietly on the floor by the corridor wall. Well, not so quietly because he was mumbling something Roman did not attempt to identify. He would have just walked past him, that's how well Dean fused with the environment.

Roman stopped next to him and suspiciously looked at him, while Dean continued in his uncontrolled monologue. "What are you doing here?"

Only now Dean noticed his friend standing above him, or at least he hasn't acknowledged Roman's presence until now. Dean stopped talking to himself, but did not address any words to Roman either.

"You're okay?"

Dean had already the clothes he would wear later in the match on, although that match wouldn't come until the last part of the show.

"Sure," Dean finally responded. He stretched his arm so that Roman would help him stand up. "I . . . I just. . . ." He didn't say more.

"Something's wrong?"

"Nah."

"But?"

Normally before a match, Dean was the one with enough energy to give to others. Now . . . something was different. Roman hasn't yet figured out what, but he could tell for sure that there was something wrong.

"I'm fine."

"You're nervous?" Roman guessed. This was his first shot at the title, it would be understandable if he felt under pressure.

"I don't know."

Roman chuckled. "I've never seen you like this. But, hey, everything's gonna be fine. You've done this thousands of times, you know what to do. If you worry about anything going wrong –"

"I'm not," Dean interrupted, and his voice sounded this time really confident.

Could it be something else? Roman wondered. Was there a different problem than the one Roman thought there was? Something that had nothing to do with the match? "So what's going on? Don't tell me you just decided to spend the time before the show right here, all alone. And what were you mumbling to yourself earlier?" Unfortunately, Roman did not catch a single word.

"Nothing."

For a minute, Roman simply watched him. He wasn't sure what to do, but in the end he realized to not ask Dean anything would be the best course. There awaited an important match for Roman too, so he needed to concentrate on important things, and not to get distracted by other people's problems, illusionary or real.

"I'm going to the locker room. You're coming? Or you still have some business here?"

Dean sighed. He didn't say anything until Roman turned to leave. "Wait."

Roman looked at Dean again.

"The truth is, I'm worried. I'm scared. I don't know why. I don't understand it. This is just another match. I've wrestled with all of you before. The only difference is the title. But this is what I've always wanted. I've dreamed about this for so long, and now it's here. So why do I feel like this?"

"Everything'll work out fine. I know you'll do your best, we all will. Just remember this, Dean, even though it's every man for himself, we're in this together. You, me, Seth, even Randy. We're a team. You're my brother, Dean, and you can always count on me."

Dean smiled after hearing those kind words. He knew all that, but it is really reassuring to hear it. "Thanks, Ro."

"You feel better now?"

"It's strange. I've never felt so . . ." Dean chuckled. He felt embarrassed for what he was saying. ". . . insecure. Not before a match at least."

"It happens to all of us," Roman assured him.

"Ever happened to you?"

"Yeah. When I returned after the injury, I wasn't as confident as before. It took me some time to get used to everything again."

"But I haven't been injured. I'm the same guy I was a week ago."

"This is your first title shot."

Dean reminded him, "Let's not pretend we don't know how it'll end."

"Anything can happen."

"Right . . ."

Roman searched for reassuring words. "I think you're not really so scared as you are excited."

Dean had doubts about that, but he leisurely shook his shoulders. It might be the case. Well, he was really excited. A huge night was about to start, and by the end of it he could be a star. He could be the most successful wrestler of the night, at least in terms of popularity. But he couldn't really know what would happen. Nothing was really set. Everything could change. In his favor or against him. He wished he knew what would really happen. Although he didn't have much hope.

"If you ever feel uncertain again, just come to me."

"Thanks."

"But if you're okay, I need to go get ready."

"Yeah, sure, I'll come with you."

They crossed the parts of the building that were crowded with WWE staff, and when they entered the locker room, it didn't get much better. Most of the wrestlers present today were in the room. It was so loud and crazy that Dean and Roman's presence there did not bring any attention.

Only Seth, who noticed them about ten seconds later, cheerfully waved at them.

"I guess Seth's not nervous at all," Dean noted.

Roman did not return Seth the smile. "Yeah, well, he's done this before," Roman said very uninterestedly. "You see Randy anywhere?" Roman searched the room for him, but he couldn't see him. "I gotta talk to him."

"Nope. Maybe Seth knows where he is," suggested Dean, although it was unlikely.

Moreover, the suggestion to talk to Seth Roman immediately ruled out. "He's probably somewhere outside. I'm sure he'll come here in a minute. Or, you know what, I'll go see if I find him."

"But . . . you're not even dressed yet," Dean noted.

"I'll get to that later. I need to talk to Randy first."

"Alright. I'll be here."

"Yeah, you better," Roman said before leaving. "No more emotional meltdowns."

"Please." Dean chuckled. "You know that's not what happened. Point one. And point two, don't bring it up again when you know very well it's prone to return. It's not really gone," Dean said, half-joking, half-serious. Roman took it more seriously than expected, he gave Dean a worried look, for a second hesitating whether leaving now wasn't a mistake. "I'll be fine, mom."

"At least call me dad, if you have to. Jesus, kids these days. . . ." Roman murmured on his way out.

When Roman was out of sight, Dean turned around to spot Seth, who in the meantime got busy searching his bag. Dean made his way through the crowd of other wrestlers, occasionally elbowing people, until he got near Seth.

"You're not dressed yet either," Dean noticed.

Seth kept digging through the bag, appearing to be desperately trying to find something. The truth was, he was partly in his ring gear, upper part of his body was ready. He still had jeans on and he wasn't wearing any shoes at the moment. Nor socks.

Dean sat down and lurked into the bag to try to find out what Seth was looking for. He couldn't see anything special. Maybe that thing wasn't special anyway.

"What are you looking for?"

"Just something," Seth mumbled. Then he looked up. This was the first time he looked at Dean since when he entered the room along with Roman. "Where's Roman? I thought you came together."

"He went to find Randy." Dean thought for a moment before speaking. "You think they're plotting something?"

"I thought you were plotting something." Seth stopped searching and smiled. "I still do."

In reaction to Seth's suspicion, Dean grinned. "You won't see it coming."

Seth gave up. Whatever it was that he has been looking for, he thought he must have left it at home or someplace else.

"You wanna get ready?" It seemed strange to Dean that Seth just leisurely sat down next to him, although he was still in the process of preparation. How often it happens that Dean is the first who's ready? Almost never.

"I'll get to that," he said, as did Roman just few minutes ago.

"You know, I would almost think that Roman left because of you. The way he looked when he saw you here . . ." Dean laughed. "I haven't even become a champion yet, but I'm already paranoid."

"Leave that for me." The truth was, Seth knew Dean was right, although for him it was just a joke. Seth was aware of the reason why Roman avoided him, why he didn't want to talk to him, inside or outside the arena. But that was something Dean had no idea about. Otherwise he wouldn't be sitting next to him laughing right now.

The smile gradually left Dean's face, in order to be replaced with a more serious look. "You're nervous?"

"Why?"

"Because of the match."

Seth smiled. "No. I know what I'm doing."

"Right."

"Wait. Are you?"

"Nah. I'm . . . just excited," he repeated Roman's earlier words.

"You worry something will go wrong?"

"Not really. I know you'll all do a great job. And so will I." Dean finally smiled. He really was excited. Sure, he was still worrying a bit, but it was nothing serious. He certainly wasn't freaking out. He was looking forward to it. It would be the first time. Then everything will be a piece of cake. Any future title matches will be easy and much more enjoyable. Maybe even this one. Dean just wasn't sure what to expect.

"We're a team," said Seth.

"No, we're not. Don't try to get me on your side, Seth. You're all alone."

Seth at first looked hatefully at Dean, but then he chuckled. "That's right. The champ stands alone."

Dean unintentionally looked inside the bag that belonged to Seth and was positioned between the two guys. Dean casually put a hand in it and went through a couple of layers of mostly clothes until he noticed something suspicious. The material was textile, the color appeared to be dark, although that was probably caused by the lack of light inside the bag, and it was soft and comfortable to the touch. When Dean managed to dig it out a bit, he noticed it was mostly white, and soon he realized the object he was holding were male boxers. The underwear had small bunnies all over it. "Wow, Seth, great fashion sense."

"What?" Seth wasn't really paying attention. He got lost looking at the wall in front of him. Of course he knew Dean was looking through his bag, but this wasn't the first time. Seth was sort of accustomed to lack of privacy when Dean was around.

Dean threw the boxers into Seth's lap. Seeing the boxers, Seth immediately cheered up. "I've been looking for this for more than ten minutes. How did you find it?"

"I have a talent for finding embarrassing things."

"It's not embarrassing, it's . . . it's a talisman. I have it for luck."

"I thought you knew what you were doing."

"It makes me feel better, okay?" Seth replied. "I might have something for you to make you feel better."

"I'm not wearing any embarrassing underwear."

"It's not about that, Dean. I've got the boxers as a present. It was cute, funny, it made me comfortable. Whenever I wear those bunnies, they boost my confidence. It reminds me that the person who gave it to me believes in me. And it makes me believe in myself."

"That's bullshit. You bought it yourself, and you're saying this just so that it wouldn't appear so awkward."

Seth did not say anything to prove him wrong. He decided to do it differently. He reached into his bag again and this time he successfully and almost immediately found what he was looking for. A pair of socks. Those were full of sharks.

"This is my present to you. So that you believe in yourself as I believe in you." He smiled. "And don't worry, they're clean."

Seth handed them to Dean, who accepted them, although appearing unassured. He smelled to see if Seth wasn't lying. "Shark attack!" Dean suddenly shouted. "Sharks are cool. Unlike bunnies," he said mockingly, but they both Dean was just having fun. And he was too proud to say thanks. For Seth it sufficed that Dean took off his shoes and replaced the old boring socks with the new ones.

"Everything will be fine. We'll have fun, we'll enjoy this, and we'll be remembering this for years."

"We can do this," Dean agreed. He had new-found confidence and excitement now completely replaced worrying. He couldn't wait for their match.

"Guys!" somebody shouted from across the room. When Seth and Dean turned around, they noticed it was Randy. Roman was standing next to him right beside the open door. Although Randy already got their attention, he also whistled at them to make them come to him quickly. Seth and Dean, however, only slowly got up and walked toward them. "Hurry up!" Randy called at them. When they were closer, so that he wouldn't need to shout, he told them, "Triple H wants to see us all. Last-minute changes," he explained.