Sunday morning. What better way to spend a Sunday morning than fishing? The sun was up and the faint scent of grilled meat hung in the air. The only lake near Santa Fe was the place to be every weekend morning. Kites hung out in the air with children running rampant, chasing them shortly behind. The sun was out and the scenery was beautiful shades of greens and earthly browns, taking every living being's breath away. Despite Santa Fe being in the middle of the dessert, that lake was truly something to behold. The breeze was dry and gentle, the weather was just perfect for the activities those days brought.

Seth deeply inhaled the Summer air, taking it all in, taking advantage of this gorgeous weather. Yes, those were the last few days of Summer, with Fall looking to present itself in no time; but it was those days that were the best, somehow. He didn't know if it was a product of the weather being just right for anything really, or the activities that surfaced. There was something so fascinating, so comfortable, about a Sunday morning on those last days of Summer; on the brink of that line between the change in weather and season was where the real good times were.

As a product of the beautiful day, and customs that it brought, Seth's parents had decided this was the perfect time to catch some fish. It had been a tradition of many years for anyone living in Santa Fe, or the high-class families more specifically, to take advantage of Summer Sundays by fishing. Seth had no idea where that tradition had surfaced from or when, but it was something fascinating to him regardless. It was as if, all of a sudden, a group of people had woken up one Sunday morning in the middle of the Summer and just decided to invite everyone in sight to go fishing with them in the only lake they knew existed.

The young boy shook his head at all the thoughts that floated up in his mind. There was just so much peace and tranquility that came with sitting on his parent's very expensive boat, soaking in as much of the sun that was offered, and wait for all those aquatic creatures to take the bait, desperately failing to survive. Oh, and there was also the fact that they could eat the day's catch afterwards, but that was just a bonus. A very tasty bonus at that.

It was these days that Seth really got to think. His thoughts kept bubbling up like boiling water on a hot pot. His mind was like a sponge that currently absorbed everything around him and created all these ideas and different fragments of thought in his brain. Fragments that were suddenly interrupted by approaching footsteps behind. He didn't have enough time to turn around when Adrian Neville stuck a hand right in front of him, the action making the young boy nearly fall out of his chair and into the water.

"Jesus Neville!" He placed a hand on his chest and pressed firmly, feeling the beat of his heart as a loud, clear and fast thump, "You nearly gave a heart attack!" His breathing was heavy and his skin showed signs of approaching goosebumps. The heart attack thing was probably not a joke at this point.

"Sorry." Neville gave him an apologetic look but did not move his hand. The young boy looked over and noticed that the Brit was actually holding something and genuinely had not meant to scare him. He took the small apple juice box and muttered a quick "Thanks" before the younger boy settled down on the chair next to him and let out a satisfied sigh, "Nice day to be outside isn't it?"

Seth nodded, "Of course it is."

Neville regarded the slick fishing rod on the older boy's hands while taking a sip of his own drink, "Catch anything yet?"

Rollins shook his head in obvious disappointment, "Not even a damn object." His eyes went to Neville's rod leaning at the edge of the boat, "Yours shook a little as soon as you left though."

The smaller boy nearly jumped out of his seat, giving Seth some serious flashbacks of when he'd been scared to death just a few minutes prior, the thoughts eliciting an involuntary smile, "Are you serious?!" Neville asked, clearly worried. He grabbed the fishing rod and shook it wildly.

"Yea." Seth tried his best to sound sorry, the attempt only making him chuckle loudly.

"Damn it Seth!" Neville remained trying desperately, and failing, to attract fish to his neglected rod. He looked over to the boy, who was laughing his butt off at those actions, "What's so damn funn- I- why didn't you do something?!" Adrian was absolutely livid and that only made Seth laugh louder. Karma sure was something.

"Well you just left, and I got my own rod to worry about." He tried to explain himself in-between amusement, "You would've done the same thing."

Adrian wasn't having it, "Way to help a friend!" He continued to shake the rod, trying to see if maybe some fish would magically be attracted to it again, "Do you not know how awesome it could've been if I had caught something? Actually caught something?!"

Seth shrugged, still trying to plead his case, "Who's to say that was something." He looked over to the big body of water, "For all we know- heck, it could've just been a bottle or something. Do you know how big this place is?"

The look he got from Neville after that was completely blank. Yea, he was not falling for it, "This lake Seth, has no trash." He pointed at the water, "Why do you think they charge you to enter?"

Rollins took a sip of his apple juice, "Because they're stupid."

"Because it's clean." Adrian quickly butted in, "One of the few clean places we have left in nature!"

Seth just scoffed, completely no-selling that last part. Whatever. Neville was just angry he was actually really good at fishing, normally catching anywhere from 5 to 6 pretty big creatures with each visit. The younger boy, on the other hand, was lucky if he could even get one. Seth would usually be on the receiving end of all the compliments from the adults, and that obviously irked him.

As was expected, Neville kept whining and complaining about his rod, muttering to himself how much of an ass Seth was. The teen just blocked him out completely, focusing solely on his task. Fishing. Catching some trout was all that mattered in that moment to him... until he spotted that figure in the distance.

And what an attractive figure it was.

Roman. The man was walking along the lake, eyeing the water. He looked so damn majestic to Seth, as he usually did, that being nothing new. It had been a week since first witnessing just how good looking Mr. Reigns was, but every time seemed to be different, more intense. He looked better each passing day it seemed, and that was terribly painful to the teen. Why did he have to be his teacher? Sure, he enjoyed the sight his much older professor brought, but it wasn't fair. The fact he was not only his teacher, but won in the age department by a long shot, meant Rollins couldn't admit to anyone those sudden feelings that arose each time he was even in the mere presence of the man. That aura of complete mystery and intimidation Roman brought each time didn't help matters either. He had to keep as far away from the attractive being as was allowed.

Still didn't mean he couldn't stare... or go say hi. That was when a lightbulb flashed a bright white in his brain. If it could've been seen in that moment, many people would've gone blind, that was for sure. The idea came so suddenly to him, but so strong, making the younger teen nearly jump out of the chair and drop his drink in the process.

Neville sensed the anticipation in the older boy's actions, "Where are you going?"

Seth eyed the kid, confusion clear on his face. It wasn't like he could lie at this point, the way he'd gone about things gave him away. He was so obvious, people read him like an open book, "I just spotted one of my teachers." He looked around, starting to sweat a little in the process, but not because of the weather, "I am thinking about going out to say hi to him."

"Of course you are." Neville went back to focusing on his rod. He looked so peaceful, lazy almost, which was not the usual.

"You wanna come?" It wasn't like Seth wanted the teen to go with him and ruin the actual alone time he could get with Roman, but what could he do? It would seem weird if he suddenly ran out alone like some desperate bastard.

Thankfully, all Neville did was shake his head, not once even looking over to see who that teacher Seth was blushing wildly at the mere thought of was. It was none of his business and he needed to catch some fish, Rollins leaving now posing an advantage, "Nah. You go on Seth." He looked over to the standing boy and smiled, "I'm too lazy today."

Rollins chuckled, completely forgetting his mischievous ways that morning, "I can tell." He looked over the boat, making sure Roman was still there, which he was, thankfully, as majestic and handsome as ever, "Be right back then."

The younger boy nodded once before Seth walked quickly inside the boat to get to the exit. He heard some chatter trapped within the walls of the fancy sail. The spot was quite large and mega luxurious. The decoration reminiscent of something out of a mafia movie, with striking white leather couches and pale red walls embracing the compact rooms. The boat rocked lightly in-tune with the water underneath, helping the atmosphere feel as relaxed and comfortable as possible.

Seth passed by the opening to the high-tech kitchen area when he heard a familiar, female voice call, "Seth. Sweetheart?"

The teen stopped on his way out the gliding, glass door, "Yes mother?"

"Where are you going baby?" Seth had no choice but to walk into the kitchen where his parents and the visitors greeted him with huge, proud smiles illuminating their aging complexions.

He pointed towards the small, oval window that looked out onto the bay, "Just spotted one of my teachers. Thought I might go say hi."

His mother, Stephanie, who was accommodated on one of the stools near their mini bar, stretched her hand out to him and with a wide, tooth-flashing smile said, "Come here." Her tone was as soft as silk and sweet as fresh honey. The young boy grabbed her hand and directly settled in the woman's arms, into her welcoming embrace. She had always been extra affectionate with him, constantly making sure that her son would never lack that maternal touch. Still smiling as bright and big as ever, she kissed her son's forehead making a loud smack-like sound, "Isn't he precious?" She hugged him tightly and they both rocked a little, in-tune with each other.

Stephanie turned to Hunter and their guests, Neville's parents, who smiled in return and nodded. Seth noticed the amount of bottles around the shiny, marmol surface. Containers with everything from champagne, to vodka and whiskey, decorated their table. Some bottles full, others empty, but each exuding an extremely unique and exotic smell. That, and the boat's constant gentle rocking made him nauseous.

Stephanie kept hugging him as tight as she could, more than she had in a while; he caught the faint scent of liquor on her light blue cardigan sweater, "I love you baby boy. So much. So, so much."

"Alright, alright. Stephanie." Hunter quickly chimed in, putting his drink down, pure Jagermeister. The pretty woman looked on, pearly whites still flashing, "That's enough. Let Seth go do whatever it was he had to do. Let him see his teacher." He motioned for Seth, "Go on son."

Stephanie let him go, not before planting 5 more kisses all over the boy's face all while telling him how handsome and smart he was. Seth gave a quick hug to his father and excused himself from the chatty, upbeat room. That had taken a while. He nearly jogged out of the damn boat, that thank heavens was stationed right at bay so he could get out with ease. They hadn't sailed out, and now Seth knew it had been so his parents could drink.

As his feet quickly moved, descending the steps that separated them from ground, he worried Roman might not even be there anymore. Whoever caught a glance at him might think he was being chased, or was doing the chasing, with how fast he was going. The boy was surprisingly agile and fast given how he'd never worked out a day in his life. Despite laziness and lack of time kicking in, his body was developing quite well, a few lean muscles making their appearance as he continued striding along the edge of the water.

He stopped and eyed the spot where his teacher had been just moments ago and sighed in desperation. He wasn't there anymore. The young teen looked around the area as the burning sun poked at his skin, squeezing tiny drops of sweat from his back. Individuals walked by, but none of them were Roman. Seth sighed in disappointment and turned towards the boat, head down and breathing a bit heavy, trying to re-supply his lungs with as much oxygen as possible.

"Seth!" He heard being called out, "Seth!" That deep voice could not be mistaken anywhere. The small teen turned around and there was Roman walking towards him. His hair was up in a bun; he was wearing dark blue basketball shorts that went down to his knees and a black tank top. His handsome face was adorned with dark, expensive looking shades, and a large smile engraved in his more-than-perfect features. Seth had to remember to breathe when his eyes caught sight of that human being. He looked, as was the usual, pretty darn handsome; hell, he looked nonhuman almost. How could this type of man be created? How could such a good looking being even be planned along with the rest of them? That was impossible.

Despite the teen's strange thoughts making its routine appearance, he mustered up enough brain to wave and answer back, "Hi Mr. Reigns!"

The older man continued heading towards him with a pace and strut that almost made it seem like he was floating. The breeze in that place did not help Seth's body temperature as he continued to stare like he was starstruck or something. Yea, he must've looked like a complete dumbass with the way his mouth was slightly open and his eyes wide awake, despite the sun hitting him right in the face. He felt tiny drops of sweat tickle the back of his neck, which he rubbed away as he patiently watched that piece of gorgeous man make his way towards him. Despite the hot weather being more than annoying to him, Reigns could take all the time he needed, Seth would happily wait and stare some more.

Roman stood in front of the young boy, a huge smile present on his face. He placed a large, tan hand on Seth's shoulder, "How are you doing Seth?" The all-black, tribal sleeve tattoo made an appearance in all its glory. Seth had caught glimpses of it before while in class, when the young teacher would help him out with an assignment. He knew the man was inked but never imagined it to take up his whole right arm and chest. It was so intricate, so beautiful and detailed. It fit Roman perfectly and complimented his intimidating appearance quite well. Rollins didn't really like people with tattoos, but for some reason, his professor was an exception, the large piece adding more to his persona instead of taking away.

His breathing got even heavier at the sight of the work being in full display. He constantly admired how gorgeous Roman was in class, but had never seen him quite like this. So... so casual and carefree. It was a good change from the usual suited up, serious demeanor he put up when teaching; that was slowly put away and the teen got a good look at what it would be like to hang out with Reigns in another setting that wasn't school. Thank heavens for Sunday fishing.

In all his thinking, he completely forgot about the question the man had made him, "Seth?" Roman eyed him intently and waved that same hand in front of the young boy.

"Huh? Huh?" He shook his head, trying to make all those thoughts go away, "What happened?"

The handsome man's expression quickly turned into concern, "Is everything alright?"

Seth chuckled quietly. He must've sound and look like a complete dumbass to Roman, "Of course." He scoffed, shaking his head some more, "Of course professor. I am doing amazing today."

The older man chuckled as well, his white, perfectly straight teeth gloriously on full display, "Please Seth, we aren't in school. Call me Roman."

"Really?" The young boy was not used to this type of address towards a grown-up, or his teacher out of all people.

Roman nodded, "Of course. I don't mind at all. I am not like the other teachers as you might've guessed by now."

The kid smiled, flashing his also perfect teeth, knowing damn well he would never look like Roman, but still trying his best to look a bit less crazy, "Well, um, Roman." That made him chuckle briefly, "How are you doing today?"

"That's better!" Their smiles never once fading, the raven-haired man looked around the place a little before continuing, "I am quite speechless right now if I'm being fully honest. This place..." He took a deep breath, "it's really something isn't it?"

"Yes it is." The boy also looked around and stretched a little, catching a glance from Roman, "We come here all the time. Do you usually come here Roman?" He was surprised at how easy he was getting used to calling him by his name.

Reigns shook his head, "This is actually my first time. I feel so bad that I hadn't been here at all since I arrived at the start of Summer." He frowned lightly, "Now that it's almost over, I realize all that I missed out on."

"Well maybe next year you will be able to visit more often." Seth nodded in response, hopeful that the man would not be moving out so quickly, or at all.

Roman smiled and nodded back, stupefying the young teen even more. "Yea." He had him at the palm of his hand, whether he knew that or not, "I definitely will."

"There you are!" Both guys turned around and saw Randy Orton standing a few steps away, hands resting by his sides and a big smile on his face once he saw who Roman had been talking to.

"Hi Mr. Orton!"

Seth waved and Randy did the same, "Hello Seth. How are you?" The man approached them and gave Rollins a quick hug. He was tall and very handsome, only not as good looking as Roman of course who was reminiscent of a god, but he definitely had nature on his side when it came to looks. Just like his companion, Orton was wearing black basketball shorts and a sleeveless white cotton shirt, which also helped showcase his muscular arms covered in a series of skull tattoos. No one in school ever knew fully what his art consisted of, but it was very well done.

Seth returned the hug and smile, "I am doing really good Mister, how are you?"

"I'm amazing young man. Just hanging out with a good friend of mine, who I'm guessing you know quite well by now." The man paused a bit to regard Roman briefly who smiled. He turned to Rollins once again and in charming tone spoke, "And please... call me Randy."

Roman quickly butted in, "That's what I'm saying!" All 3 of them let go of long chuckles before he spoke again, "Guess I don't have to introduce you 2 then."

"Nope." Seth quickly answered and they all, once again, chuckled briefly, "Mr. Or- Randy was my science teacher Sophomore and Freshman years."

"Nice." Roman blew out a whistle, somehow jealous that his friend knew the boy more than he did.

"Well I better head back." Seth pointed to the white boat behind him, probably the biggest one there, "My parents will worry about me."

"Well..." Reigns did something that surprised them both. Taking a step forward, the young man placed his ink-free arm around the teen and squeezed gently. He noticed how small the boy actually was compared to him and that somehow elicited a sense of satisfaction. A satisfaction he had no idea could come out of this, "See you tomorrow in class, Seth."

All the young boy did was nod, completely shocked. He blushed a wild shade of red and kept his eyes glued to the ground, only looking up to smile at both men once.

Randy did the same thing and went on to hug the boy, which of course did not have the same effect on Rollins as when Roman had done it. Orton's hug was just friendly and carefree, the other man's however, had felt so different. Almost like there was a current exchanging ways between the 2 and, as always, Seth did not know how to feel about that.

"Take care kid." Randy called out while the young boy jogged towards his boat, a sudden uncharted feeling of pure desperation invading him with each quick step he took.

"He's a very nice kid." Roman now turned to his friend as soon as Seth had gone inside, a bit quicker than usual. They both started slowly walking the opposite direction while chatting.

"Yes he is." The older man took out a cigarette from his pocket and a lighter. He lit the small, white stick and blew out smoke, which hit Reigns right in the face, "I'm sorry."

"Geez man. Could you have aimed any better?" He chuckled and Randy did too.

"Not me." The man put out his arms in defense but kept on walking, "The damn wind is starting up."

"Yea. We should probably leave." Roman was a lot more unfocused than he'd been just minutes ago before... before bumping into Seth. There was just something about the kid. Something special that he could not figure out. He was really nice, sure, but there was just something else behind all that kindness emanating from him, and for some odd reason, Roman wanted to find out what it was, "So you've had him before."

Randy took the cigarette from between his lips and puffed out the smoke, this time making sure to not hit his friend with a huge cloud of it, "Yep." He motioned briefly behind them, emphasizing his point, "He's a real good kid. For sure one of the best you'll ever have, if not the best. He's real well-behaved, smart and nice. Nothing to worry about there. Lucky bastard."

Roman scoffed a little but smiled to himself in victory, "I know that." His shielded eyes looked around, eyeing the gentle water making tiny splashes on the edge, "Just wished I'd only have him to worry about. Wish a few of my other students were like him."

Orton immediately caught on, "By 'other students'... do you actually mean, 'another student'?"

"You know who I'm talking about?" Roman quickly regarded Orton, who continued his comfortable smoking.

"I might have an idea." The older man let out a chuckle.

Reigns responded, quicker than intended, "Dean Ambrose. You know the boy?"

Randy again chuckled, louder this time, and blew out a smoke-filled whistle, "You kidding me? Biology. Last year. Don't know much about him though, he barely showed up."

The Samoan shook his head quickly, frustrated. Of course he wouldn't show up, "Well he better show up to my class."

Orton scoffed, "And what are you gonna do about that?"

"I'll do whatever I have to do." His tone, despite being frank, was not reassuring to Randy at all.

The taller man let out a big laugh, throwing his head back in the process, "Aw man, there is nothing we can do about that. You think I didn't try? Cena really likes the kid. There's some serious old-school politicking going on there. The man has his favorites, and Dean is one of them."

He continued laughing quietly, Roman not knowing what was so funny. At first he was skeptical towards the whole "Cena is good friend's with Dean" crap, but now he was not so sure. He recalled their first little encounter outside his class, and how the teen had mentioned something about really liking Cena, "Well I will do anything to get that boy on the right track. Whether Cena likes it or not."

"Good luck with that." Randy smirked and Reigns sensed a bit of sarcasm there which made him roll his eyes, making the orbs near the back of his head. He didn't need Randy's support in this anyway. One thing was for damn certain and that was all that mattered: Dean Ambrose would be a completely different person by the end of the school year.

"Hey Jey how are you?"

"Alright uce. You?"

There was a brief sigh on one side of the line, "Good. It's been better lately." There was silence on the other end, waiting for the next part. Anticipating it. Defeated, he asked, "How are they?"

Jey sighed, hesitation running rampant in the air, hanging out, trapping them both in deafening silence for a few eternal minutes, "Look man..." Roman sensed what was coming next, he saw it a million miles away, like a gun about to be shot at him, "I- uh... I don't know how long I will be able to keep this up." His cousin's voice sounded tired, exhausted even, causing Roman to close his eyes tightly and take a deep breath. This had definitely affected them in so many ways and it shone in the resignation laced with his voice. The once upbeat sound.

"Jey." That's all that could come out of Roman's mouth. He did not know how to address the current situation, he just didn't. Despite that, he knew exactly what he wanted out of this call, that was for damn sure.

"Roman, do you not realize how hard it has been for me? Everyone is broken, that is the usual." Those last words headed towards Reigns with the speed of light, stabbing him right in the chest, triggering a burst of pain quickly being ignored by what came next, "And I think Jimmy might be catching on. I tried but-" His voice was a desperate sob, making the man's heart sink even further. He quickly stopped himself from any consolation though. He couldn't continue feeling shitty, not because of this out of all things.

"Jey. Jey listen to me." He took a deep breath and thought very carefully of what to say next, not give away too much, "I am fine ok. I'm doing well. You cannot tell them a single thing you hear me? Do... not... tell them. Not even Jimmy." He sighed, the next sentence coming out as quietly as he could, given the lack of oxygen wrapping him suddenly, "No one can know."

There was heavy breathing at the end of the other line. It took the younger Samoan some time to answer, and when he did, it was nothing but an "Ok". Short and simple. Laced with feeling. Pain disguised in that one word.

Both cousins said their brief goodbyes, the conversation ending there. Roman placed his phone on the coffee table in front and slowly made way towards his bedroom. The king-sized bed accommodated in the middle looked tiny within the large space, making him smile. He had achieved so much in life, but could not get used to these type of luxuries just yet. The type of things he could now give himself with ease that had only been but a distant dream before.

Roman arrived home close to midnight after hanging out with Randy in various bars around town. The social scene in Santa Fe caused some extreme exhaustion in him; so taking a good look at the huge comfortable bed waiting made him too happy. The large man plopped down on the spongy surface, eyes scanning the ceiling, looking for what? He didn't know. A sudden feeling of loneliness and regret invaded him, but he ignored both as fast as he could. No. It was too late to feel any sort of remorse for what he'd done. There was no time and there never had been. It wasn't like he felt terrible for what had transpired. His happiness had been found the moment he'd decided to take that one step. So why was he now feeling this vast hollow in his chest? Nothing was missing from his life that truly affected him, so why feel this way?

What time he'd fallen asleep exactly, he didn't know. It had all happened as some sort of blur in his head, but even in sleep his mind continued scanning for some type of answer to that one question.

Why now?

OKAY. Seems like you guys now get a peek inside Roman Reigns and his own personal problems. I wanted to introduce each character on a separate chapter so there you have it! Hope you all liked how this is going so far. Reviews are welcomed as usual.

Also. I won't get to update regularly in the next 3 months or so. I'm moving out of town and will be extremely busy so please be patient if the stories don't progress quickly.