It had been a week.

One week and one day.

Dean had not shown up to tutoring once.

What a way to have started it all. What a damn way to get to know each other. Roman had gotten a pretty good idea of what he was getting himself into before even walking into that room for the first time. He knew what to expect from Dean, why was he surprised? Of course Dean was going to act out, that was just his nature, his way. He just hadn't expected the outburst to come at him this quickly.

He would be lying if he said he didn't feel bad. He tried not to think about it whenever he sat in class; he tried keeping himself busy but that same little stinging sensation kept pinching at his brain. A small but consistent feeling tugged at the muscle, blurred his thoughts in the process and Roman knew damn well what it was.

Guilt.

His dear friend guilt. His one loyal companion.

Yes. He regretted what he'd said, a lot. He had tried to physically speak to the boy a couple times as the week went by, his mind urging him a couple dozen more a day. It wasn't like he could tell Ambrose to walk with him or meet him outside the class or even request he stay after. Not only would that be met with curiosity from other students, there was something else. Of course Dean would refuse. He'd hit a nerve on the boy's ego and that would not get him on the good side of things anytime soon. If he asked him in the middle of class and Dean refused, he would have no choice but to send him down to the principal's office and he didn't want that, he didn't want the boy to get into more trouble. He would just have to be patient and wait until things cooled down, if they ever did.

In the meantime, his friend would remain by his side.

His thoughts dissipated into thick smoke at the sound of the wooden classroom door opening.

Seth walked in carrying a lunch bag in hand and a huge green backpack on his back, nearly breaking the small teen in half.

Reigns smiled at the boy, a slight grin and red hot flush meeting him halfway. The older man chuckled to himself, that seemed to be Seth's skin tone each time he saw him, "Hey there Seth."

"Hi- ow. Sorry." The young boy took the heavy bag off and sat down.

Roman's expression did not leave concern behind, "Geez Seth, in a couple more years your back will not be happy with you."

The teen chuckled lightly and nodded, "Yea I know." He rubbed at his back, "That's education."

"That's dedication." The man stood up to stretch a little, damn chair had held him hostage long enough. He walked over to Seth, his large, strong arm resting on the corner of the teen's desk, making him seem so small, so vulnerable, "It doesn't have to be that way, you know that right? You don't have to bring a huge bag to school if it's hurting your back. School shouldn't be a pain."

"Oh but it's not. Really- I..." The hot, red color never once leaving the smooth surface of his skin, "I enjoy carrying this. It's no pain."

"Are you sure?" Roman's brow furrowed, "I would hate to hear you hit the nurse's office." The teacher was half joking at this point and the teen was quick to catch on, a tiny smile creeping up, altering his already cute features, "I would hate to have to carry you out of here because your spine cracked or something messed up like that. Well... I mean- not that I really mind carrying you. You probably don't even weigh all that much."

Seth let out a quick, embarrassed chuckle, "Maybe 160, I don't know."

"Nah." Roman shook his head fast, "You're not too tall yet. I would say..." He gave his answer a few more seconds of thought, briefly looking up at the ceiling then back at the boy, his cool gray stare gluing the youngster to his seat. It was established at this point, even in the most casual of conversations Roman still made his body into stone, "maybe 140, maybe."

"Really?" The mention of his small size swiftly brought back memories. Things he'd rather keep hidden in the deepest corners of his brain. Despite his greatest efforts to keep them back, they kept returning like vivid images in intense color. Bright enough to fog the mind.

Bullying was something every school had long and dragged out presentations on, sometimes even bringing out D-list celebrities and motivational speakers to address. These people, who'd most likely never gone through bullying themselves, emphasized over and over again, like a tired, old, scratched record ready to screw up the player, the fact that such behavior, exhibited by the perpetrators, was not good and had to stop asap.

Seth knew this. Unfortunately, bullying had not been a stranger to him. It had greeted him long ago, as soon as he'd given his first step towards that first grade classroom. That school. A place that would become his own personal psychological torment for the next 5 years. It had introduced itself in the form of a slap to the back of his head, a mocking laugh following. He was six.

"Seth?" He felt a slight shake, a slight pressure on his left shoulder, "Seth?" He looked up at the sense that someone was watching him. In the vanishing fog that had clogged his mind just seconds before he spotted those familiar eyes, that familiar scent hanging in the air and the touch also felt familiar. Roman. The young professor was regarding him intently, concern clearly etched on his face, "Are you okay?"

"Huh-" The boy shook his head, shaking the remaining cloud of thin smoke away, "Oh- yea I'm fine. Sorry." He made motions with his hands as if slapping a fly away, "Just a brief blackout, that's it." A relieved chuckle followed. He was glad not to be swimming in unpleasant thoughts anymore, at least for now. He knew they had the power to drown him if they wanted to.

His reassurance did not seem to convince Roman much who only worried more at the unusual shift in behavior, "Are you sure? I- it was so sudden I didn't expect it and almost did not know what to do. Do you have these blackouts often?"

His answer came out fast and simple, "Oh, yea they do. They happen all the time. I just stare out at nothing people think I'm crazy, but I can't help it they just come back. But they- they aren't bad or anything." He lied, they were terrifying, "Harmless." Another lie, followed by a chuckle to make it seem more convincing. He was surprisingly capable of lying today, rare occurrence. He was biting his tongue hard, hoping the man wouldn't catch on to anything.

"Good." The young boy let out an internal sigh of pure relief. Roman didn't need to know how nasty and terrible his thoughts could become, how truly scary some of the contents in his brain were. The man simply let go of his desk and stood straight, his intimidating height and build forcing Seth to look down at his papers. It was so hard to even remember terrible things existed when there was such an incredibly good-looking creature right in front of him, "I want to go over a problem with you today, if you don't mind." He walked over to his board as he spoke, "Something that has been picking at my brain for a while now but I can't seem to solve, or-" He began erasing the previous writing on the board, "well, I solved it but- I don't know I just don't think this was the most efficient way to do so." He looked over his shoulder at the small boy sitting on the desk and chuckled, "I wanted your opinion maybe you can help me figure this out. I know how smart you are."

"Of course." Okay that had sounded a little too eager but what could he do? He was Seth Rollins for god's sake, the world's most awkward teenager.

20 minutes later, there was no other writing on the board aside from the equation Reigns had jotted down in red marker. There were only 10 minutes left of lunch, of tutoring, and the laughter could be heard in the room. Nothing else but the voices of two individuals was circulating.

Both Seth and Roman were now sitting in two desks at the back of the room, closest to the window; the place only problematic and disinterested students sat down at, not a desk fit for a teacher, or much less, for a straight A student.

That place was awfully unfamiliar, but it all somehow felt so welcoming to Seth. He took in the cause of his new feelings, the sight in front of him, and it seemed as though he was meant to be there. Roman's soft, caramel toned skin was now caressed by the sun just outside the window. Suddenly the world seemed so gentle the moment his chocolate brown eyes gained a look at the black ink peeking out from the man's subtle, yellow buttoned down dress shirt and Seth knew he wanted to see more, that a peek was not enough, a peek was too incredibly unjust.

He was aware the man had a tattoo, and pretty big in size and design as well judging from the rare peeks he got of it in class, those rare looks that only left him wanting to see more of the intricate ink.

"How are you doing in all your other classes?"

"Good. Great actually I guess."

"You don't sound too sure."

"I could always do better."

And they just left that there, Roman instead opting for another question after a brief silence.

"How about your parents?"

There was a little, nervous chuckle from Seth, "What about them?"

"How is your relationship with them?"

"Goo-"

"I don't mean to sound, you know, nosy or anything I just- I guess since the actual math portion of this session pretty much went to hell, I guess- I thought I could ask I'm-"

"Oh. No no no don't worry I don't mind." The teen smiled and shook his head. Only after opting for an overly joyful tone did he speak, "I don't mind talking about my parents or life at home. I love my parents, I very much appreciate life at home. They have given a lot for me and made many sacrifices for my well-being. I am grateful and lucky to have them."

"Great. That's great to hear Seth really."

"Yea, I am a very lucky boy." He paused briefly, looking for the right words, "But- but what about you I mean-" His hand gestures, obvious signs of the timid boy's lack of words, were something Roman found oddly cute, near adorable, "I don't want to BE nosy or anything. You can answer if you want you don't have to-"

"Seth." The man shook his head, a chuckle complementing the movement, "I thought we'd agreed on 'as casual as casual could get'. You can ask me anything don't worry." They both smiled before he continued, "Uh, well where do I start?" He rubbed at his chin, fingers moving softly against its rough texture, "Taught briefly at another school. I recently moved here, hasn't even been a year, roughly a couple months-"

"From where- oh, sorry."

Roman snickered, "No worries." He noticed the teen's posture had taken a more attentive approach. His body was now leaning forward, as much as the desk in front of him allowed, and his big brown eyes were barely registering a blink. He was really interested in what Reigns had yet to say apparently. It all nearly distracted him. He found Rollins awfully innocent, that same pure innocence made him impossibly delightful, "Florida."

"Oh." Brown eyes widened in awe and the older individual had to try hard not to sigh at how incredibly unaware the young boy was.

"Yea." Smiling relaxed and unexpectedly, Reigns leaned back fully onto his chair and stretched out his arms comfortably.

"What about your family?"

And just like that he felt his body jolt him forward, that same relaxed demeanor wiped out, "Oh- they are good I guess." He moved around uncomfortably in his chair and the boy sensed this. He might've been young and fairly inexperienced in a lot of aspects but he wasn't stupid, family was a subject that apparently really made his teacher uncomfortable, "We actually don't talk much."

"Oh. I'm sorry." He placed a hand on his own shoulder, expression dropping. He'd never meant to bring up anything upsetting to Roman.

"No, I'm sorry Seth. I shouldn't have reacted so weirdly. You didn't know." Reigns gave him a reassuring smile and once again leaned back onto his chair, completely ignoring his own pulsing heartbeat, "I just don't really have a lot of time to really talk to them and neither do they."

"I understand." The boy offered him a nod, "My mom went a whole 6 years without talking to her brother Shane- my uncle. They weren't fighting or anything... I think, but once they spoke again it was as if nothing had happened. That always happens, it's the way family is."

Right.

He scoffed and unconsciously eyed the white window pane, not really giving second thought to the absent tone his voice had taken, "Family."

"I know I might seem so clueless and innocent and whatnot, perhaps I am." In what moment he'd chosen to get a little too comfortable in this conversation he did not know. Something about the way Roman spoke to him, the way he treated him, as someone... an actual person who was mature enough to hold up a conversation and not just some kid. That fact, coupled with his desire to be something more to the teacher, a friend to him, was enough motivation to spill out what came next, "I might be just a kid and very young, but I am someone- I want to be someone you can tell anything to." He rubbed at the back of his neck, "I guess my point is, you can talk to me whenever you want and I- I will listen." He chuckled nervously, unsure how the man would react, "I am a better listener than I people think. And you don't ever have to tell me anything you don't feel comfortable addressing- or- or I mean when you are ready you can. I will listen."

All Roman could do was stare. He felt the form of a smile and slight nod make their respective appearances. He'd been left speechless yet again by another student and he hadn't been a teacher long enough.

Seth was too mature for his age, a grown up in the body of a teenager, the fact nearly took his breath away. How had he failed to see how incredible this kid was? Sure, he was supremely smart and mature, all those qualities being every teacher's dream; but there was something else to him, an emotional quality many people lacked, something crowds seemed to forget about.

Sincerity.

He was honest, an open book with vibrant, inviting pages. Something so pure, so incredibly clear and innocent, something yet to be written on.

The complete opposite of himself.

He suddenly felt a new appreciation for the young boy. An appreciation that came in the form of a hug.

Next thing they both knew, they were embracing in the back of the class a minute before the bell was to ring.

RING

And there it was. That metallic shriek was what it'd taken to get them to separate, their discovered bond fresh and new.

Seth was the one to speak, "I will see you Monday then Mr- um Roman?"

"Yes you will Seth." He walked over to his desk and sat down, watching the young boy put the unused materials back in that oversized bag of his, "I am glad you are catching on to this first name thing."

"Me too." He grinned big. An honest feeling of assurance at this mutual link they were now building.

A brief moment of comfortable silence followed, only to be broken by approaching chatter and the sound of footsteps just outside.

"Bye Seth." Reigns waved after walking the teen to the hall, trying to be seen as casual as possible in the crowd of teenagers, "Don't push yourself too hard."

"Goodbye Roman." With that he walked off.

A sigh made its way out of his lips. Roman once again sat behind that big, authoritative desk and after a moment of incredibly lonely silence, the teacher opened the bottom drawer. The piece of wood shrieked at its own weight but would open after little pull. Underneath the piles of folders and typical office supplies, buried under the items that had become part of his new life, he found it. It was almost an uncertainty he ever would given how many contents he kept in there, most of them on purpose. It was as if the small, deep red square would somehow escape to haunt him or worse... kill him.

A picture frame.

He leaned back onto his chair and eyed the object of this current melancholy. In the natural light a figure took shape behind the thin glass. He made out everything and memories came rushing back at him with great force. God he hadn't seen the picture in a while, he'd now forgotten how long.

Despite this, she seemed exactly as he had carefully imagined in those rare occasions he chose to reminisce. From the curve of her small shoulders to the long, light brown strands of hair that cascaded down her back in thick curls.

Yea his imagination had not fooled him. She was a replica of the images provided to him by his brain. She was the same. That same person he'd once loved deeply.

The same person he'd once called his fiancee.