What the fuck was going on?

Had he really seen what he thought he'd seen?

Both Roman and Seth were looking at him, shock registered entirely on their faces.

Confusion was a feeling now shared by the three.

Still, Dean was the one to break the silence that appeared to have gone on for ages, "Wow... I uh... I will leave you two." After a slight, nervous chuckle and a quiet "peace" muttered in-between, the brunette walked out.

"Holy shit." Roman whispered and stormed out as well, nearly tripping on the rows of desks. Seth was the one to stay behind, frozen in fear at the realization of what had just happened.

"Oh my god." With that simple whisper, the young boy placed his face between his hands and could not help the tears now threatening to form.

"Dean!" Roman had to slow down due to various students sitting in the hallway. He didn't care if he looked crazy but he couldn't risk raising any suspicion, not after what'd just happened.

The brunette was only a couple steps away, a little more speed to his walk.

"Dean, please." The older man rushed behind, "Let me talk to you about that assignment you didn't finish." Those last words forced the teen to come to a sudden stop, the fact they could not afford being too scandalous clearly on his mind.

He walked over and leaned against the long wall as casually as was possible, no expression registered on his face, "Where's that assignment, Mr. Reigns?"

He motioned for the Samoan's empty hands, making the man roll his eyes quickly, "We have to talk."

"About that assignment you told me about? Oh. Oh, I get it. Seems that assignment might be back in the classroom though."

The boy's tone was playful enough to where he had no choice but to go along with, "Yea? Yea- I uh, I'll go back to fetch it and you will come with me-"

"No." The brunette quietly, but firmly, replied.

Reigns ignored him and walked closer to the teen, their faces now inches apart; his deep voice being nothing but a whisper, "Dean, what you saw... back there."

"Was exactly what it was."

"It was a clear mistake." At this point, the man was desperate enough to dismiss the little kiss as that but he was not going to deny himself the thought of it later.

"Hey," Ambrose raised his hands in front of him, "you don't have to explain yourself to me man. I don't care what you do with your tutoring time."

"Promise me then..." He paused after noticing a couple students walking by them, only resuming when they were far enough, "promise me this- what just happened... will not leave us."

"Are you saying I should promise not to tell?" The mock in his hurt expression and voice did not go unnoticed by Reigns, "Roman... who do you think I am? I'm no rat-out bitch." His expression turning roughly serious at that last remark.

"Good. I hope you're not." The older man did not know whether to feel any better at the sound of those words, "Please promise me. Say it."

"Hmm." The young student drifted off, smiling to himself as if he'd just had the best idea and Roman knew this could not be good, "Ok. But..."

"But what?" Desperation was laced with the deep tempo of his voice.

"I want out of tutoring."

That same desperation now showing a hint of disappointment in the man's handsome features. He felt a little ashamed at how quickly his expression fell, "Why?"

"Ok then I can't promise anything."

"No no, I mean- I'm just asking. Why Dean?" His head tilted to the side, clearly trying to figure the boy out.

"Isn't it obvious to you at this point?" Ambrose could not believe how fucking oblivious the man was to how he felt about this whole tutoring thing, "I fucking hate it."

Roman scoffed, "Well how can you hate it so much if you don't give it a shot?"

"Oh believe me, I have tried-"

"Well maybe, I don't know, try harder." His gray eyes widened, annoyance not far behind.

"This ain't gonna work out man." Dean's hoarse voice, now a bit louder, registered nothing short of annoyance at his teacher's pleas. It was clear, his mind was made, "I hate it and I want out. So either take me on this deal or..." He stretched his arms, tapping at his sides and shrugged.

"You wouldn't do it."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't." The brunette took a step forward, fully closing the small distance already between them. They were both now standing eye to eye, chests a couple millimeters away from touching, "But my mind is made. Deal?" He stepped back once again, stretching out his pale hand in front of them both, "Or no deal?"

"I don't want this." Reigns blurted out. He'd forgotten the last time he'd been okay with pleading. Persistent he was, willing to beg however? It was all set in stone, an offer he truly did not want.

"You don't have a choice."

The young boy had really pinned him against a wall, pressuring him to the point he could not escape it, no matter how much he wanted to. It was difficult to make this decision and Roman was as stubborn as they came, but perhaps it was time to accept that maybe, just maybe, Dean had won this one.

Then suddenly the bell rang, the usual crowd of students prancing along with it, filling up the halls quickly. A sudden feeling of relief rushed through the man's nice features.

Dean noticed this and after careful consideration added, "Tell you what. Why don't you think about it and let me know when you make up your mind."

Reigns, taking a step back nodded, clearly not loving this much commotion, "Yea, I'll let you know what score you got."

"Good." Ambrose flashed the man his usual shit-eating grin, "Just don't make me wait too long professor. I tend to get very impatient."

"Yea of course of course." The teacher had to straighten himself out a bit, the boy sure had him flustered. Flustered to the point he could not make direct contact with him anymore.

And so he walked off before someone caught on to what was really going on, a situation having nothing to do with grades.

"Hey, uh Mr. Reigns?" He heard the raspy sound of Ambrose's voice call-out to him. It happened quick but in a sudden raise of hope he was expecting the teen to take back his offer. He turned and regarded the brunette who had yet moved from his spot, "I already made up my mind." With that statement and a wink, Dean walked off the opposite way, quickly disappearing amongst the mass.

Flashes of one of their encounters outside his classroom quickly showed up in his mind. They were clear and vivid in memory. The time he'd given the rebellious teen tutoring was something that came back to him. Oh how he'd enjoyed that victory, but oh how life had played him for a fool. Now he was the one left fuming.

Now he was where Ambrose had been.

"DIE DIE DIE!"

"Aw come on!"

"Die you piece of craaaap!"

"Come on come on! We can still win this team come on."

Voices. Layered on top of each other they echoed in the room. Each one different volume, different pitch; each one was distinct, drowned only by the pulsating sound of the television.

"YES!"

"Nooooooo! Aw I hate you."

"We're in the same team how can you hate me?"

"HIDEO! I was gonna get that one! Learn how to be a team player!"

It was a Sunday in Hideo Itami's house. The young teen was accompanied by Adrian, Sami, Seth and their usual setup in his room. A study session turned videogame frenzy, lucky their parents were at the moment not around.

Boxes and boxes of different videogames were laying all over the gray carpet and the curtains were drawn, pitting them in darkness, the only light spot being the young teen's bright, fifty inch plasma.

Sami and Hideo were now immersed in a game of COD. Yelling up a storm and nearly breaking a controller at one point, they had now invested two hours in chasing around bad guys with guns.

"Well maybe if you knew how to AIM properly! We wouldn't be having this problem."

Seth only shook his head at their exchange. It was hilarious seeing them battle it out for control given they were both really different players; Sami taking his time in shooting, being as precise as possible, and Hideo just not giving a damn going on a rampage killing everyone, including members of his own team. He'd now shot Sami's character more than five times and the ginger was stressing out.

"COME ON, AGAIN!? F. Fitzgerald you are done!" Hideo was clearly not taking any of their opponents' offense any longer.

"What kind of name is F. Fitzgerald anyway?" Sami continued as he shot a guy in the head clean with his sniper.

"The name of a douche I am about to MURDER."

Rollins caught sight of Neville rolling his eyes at them. They were both seated on Itami's bed chatting, neither wanting anything to do with COD anymore.

He smiled at his friend's reaction to their banter and understood, it was tiring just looking at them.

"How can they go on for an hour straight without blinking?" The smaller teen asked, drawing his knees to his chest.

"Beats me." His gaze widened, making Neville chuckle in response.

Despite their constant yapping at absolutely nothing, hanging with his friends was a nice change of pace and routine. It had been a stressful week for sure, one the teen had dodged thinking about for as long as he could, a feat that proved harder with time.

The kiss.

Just the thought of his lips locking with Roman's was enough to blur his vision. It had lasted a second; a second that'd been enough to fully make him understand his feelings for his teacher.

He liked him. That he knew for sure. Feelings for the man had begun since the moment they'd first shared a stable conversation. Sure, the physical attraction was clearly there but it had been nothing more than a little crush. Now, however, this was not some little crush. This was... this was more. That small kiss had only proven everything he already knew.

There should've been no problem in their moment. It'd been awkward, sure. Maybe Reigns would feel a bit uncomfortable around him for a while or maybe not. It wasn't something that would kill them. It was just something that was. Something honestly incredible in every sense of the word, no matter how hard both would try to hide it.

Then why was Seth feeling uneasy? Why'd he refrain from thinking about that shared instance until this particular moment? Why leave it behind until he couldn't take it anymore?

His head began to hurt as soon as he realized what the problem was.

Ambrose.

It was obvious. Dean had been the problem all along. He still was.

"Seth?" Neville waved his hands in front of the boy, bringing him back to reality, "Are you alright?"

Upon registering the look of pure concern on the teen, he spoke, "Yea uh- no I'm okay. Just thinking."

"About what?"

Seth shook his head, immediately regretting going further. It wasn't like he didn't trust Neville, he'd just already said too much given the smaller teen's triggered curiosity, "Things. School."

"That new teacher getting in your head already?"

"What?" It wasn't anyone's shock how quickly Seth reacted to that question, his body jolting forward, "Why would you ask that?"

"I mean, just a guess. You weren't like this last year. You told us- you said this year would be equally or even better than the last."

Seth chuckled, a little more nervously than intended; seemed his friend knew him better than he ever thought, "Don't worry about it."

"Mmm." Neville caught onto the signal and left the subject alone.

With that they both settled watching on as Sami and Hideo continued to argue over who was the best. Both boys sat on the comfortable surface of the large bed; Neville still in doubt, Seth planning a way to get rid of Ambrose for good.

The bell rang.

Its metallic roar reminding everyone school was over. The cheer of the weekend that had seemed so unreachable a few hours before was now in full grasp.

Everyone in eighth period calculus nearly ran towards the door after dropping their assignments off at the teacher's desk. The attractive individual, on his part, let out a yawn and stretched his arms as far back as he could, relishing the pleasant sensation that brought him.

It wasn't like the weekend really excited him. Bar hunting with Randy proved to be a pretty expensive affair and being alone at home was quite frankly not his cup of tea. With little to do and more than enough time, there were times when he would have no choice but to think, that being what his brain opted to do, proving difficult to shut up at times.

The room was nearly empty and as students said their goodbyes and walked off, a familiar figure emerged from one of the seats. A figure that had not been hard to spot given he was seated in front of the class.

Dean walked over to Roman's desk, handing in his assignment which shockingly was completed.

Roman could not help the amount of surprise emanating from him, all of which did not go unnoticed by the teen, "Shocked Roman? I can finish my work too."

Reigns looked on completely dumbfounded. At this point he did not know what shook him the most, Ambrose handing in his work completed or Ambrose now regarding him, actually noticing him.

"No, I am actually pretty impressed Dean. Good job." The older man flashed him a reassuring smile and continued, "But I do have a question."

"And what might that be?" The young boy could not help the sudden amusement that arose upon seeing Dolph Ziggler handing in his paper, clearly enjoying the blonde's flustered look, "That paper didn't kick your ass too much now did it Dolph?"

The conceited student only flashed him an annoyed look quickly masked by a smirk and his usual smooth mannerisms, "Nah. I am fresh as a grapefruit. It's JUST Ziggler by that way."

"I thought the saying went 'fresh as a daisy' Dolph." Reigns added, not knowing if he wanted in on the talk.

Dean's smirk immediately erased any doubt, "Yea. Exactly. No fruits involved." Reigns chuckled at that one, "You of all people should know current lingo."

"Your version is outdated. It isn't current."

"In my mind it is." The teacher added, amusing himself a little too much.

"Jocks." Dean chuckled, "They think they know it all."

The blonde shook his head, clearly frustrated at the teasing, "I am not a jock-"

"Hipsters." Roman shook his head playfully and scoffed, "Only a hipster or a jock would deny being a hipster or a jock."

"Neither." The tanned individual roughly replied, not having any more of their ridicule.

Dean was the one to laugh at this exchange. A carefree, cool sound emanated from his lips, smile incredibly infectious.

He was clearly having fun teasing Ziggler as much as he could and Roman noticed, "Oh yeaaaa. Hipster, that's the word."

"No it is not! Ambrose you piece of-" Dolph stopped mid-sentence upon catching his teacher's expression.

"What Mr. Ziggler? Piece of what?" Roman raised his eyebrows, clearly having fun with the situation.

Dean tilted his head forward, lips parted, curious look on his face; clearly waiting for Ziggler to finish his thought, "Uh- wow Dolph. I never knew you could actually get your head out of your behind and say something interesting for once."

The blonde's baby blue eyes immediately widened as he turned to Roman, "Ah, he just cursed? He just cursed at me."

Roman shrugged, "That wasn't a curse word. And besides," He pointed at the teen who'd not yet taken his eyes off Ziggler, "he's Dean. You know how he is."

"Yea. Yea, yea I'm Dean. You know how I am." The brunette took a step towards Dolph, shit-eating grin in full sight and Reigns was somehow glad he wasn't the only person the teen flashed that to.

Dolph only narrowed his eyes at both individuals and stormed out of the classroom bumping against the door frame in the process, bouncing off lightly. He clearly knew he was never going to win with those two.

Ambrose could not help the instant bursts of laughter popping out of his mouth. He laughed to a point his stomach began to hurt. He laughed carefree and cool.

Roman looked on in awe at the teens quick change in demeanor. This wasn't a wall he was putting up, this wasn't his usual macho man persona. This was something different, something he had no trouble staring at. The person in front of him was someone he'd not yet seen.

It was all Dean.

It was all him now leaning against the large desk and Reigns could not help his cheesy smile as the teen came back from it all.

"Oh my god that was gold. Gold I tell ya!" The boy remarked, rubbing at his eyes, "Think that might've even made me tear up a little holy shit."

"Think he saw it coming?" The larger man leaned himself forward, elbows comfortably resting on the wooden surface, hands caressing his now sore jaw.

"Aw man I hope not." It had proven difficult for Dean to erase his smile, something Roman did not mind one bit, "That would make it all the better."

They recounted the moment a bit more, laughing their butts off. Both guys completely forgetting they were free to go home. This was an extremely rare sight to see. Roman and Dean had tension between them since the moment they'd met, that bit had been obvious. Now, however, they were communicating as if they had known each other their entire lives. Two buddies joking over some playful teasing.

Reigns eyed the teen. He was the one to speak next, not quite wanting this moment to end, playful tone taking on, "I always thought you were fun Dean."

Ambrose took his eyes away from the door and regarded Roman who was still smiling, flashing the boy a line of perfectly straight white teeth. Damn him and his good looks, "Yea? Well seems you need to get out of your job more often."

The young teacher only nodded in response, not quite remembering how he'd felt last time he had a good chuckle. It'd been forever and only now was he realizing how good it felt to just let himself go and have some fun. Sure he had Randy and colleagues, but the tattooed individual and him did not share the same humor and he typically rejected his colleague's requests for an outing. He hadn't thought anyone in this town could bring that out in him again.

Then there was Dean with his cute crooked smile and constant need for playful banter and Reigns had no choice but to follow suit. Yea he was sold.

"So uh, about that offer I made you." The shaggy teen was the one to break his current train of thought. A subject not very wanted by Roman, "What did you decide?"

"You told me you would give me time."

"Yea well I also said I wasn't very patient."

"Its only been a couple days Dean-"

"Hey," The teen held up his hands defensively, an action that seemed to take place whenever he felt the need to explain himself, "I'm not the one with all to lose here."

Roman sighed, placing his head between his hands, massaging the thin, smooth skin, "Why didn't you go to tutoring today anyway? I mean if you want out at least show up on your last days. Pay us the courtesy."

"Courtesy." The small teen scoffed, eyeing the outline of the white board behind his teacher, "I don't owe you anything. And besides... I don't wanna disturb your little lover with my scumbag presence. I don't want you..." He inched closer, placing palms firmly on the desk, "to feel awkward when you're with him."

"Dean." Roman immediately scolded, voice firm and low; their joking just a few moments before quickly forgotten. He made sure to keep eye contact with the boy, "There is nothing going on between me and Seth."

"Oh yea?"

"Yea." His deep sound left no doubt, "And that's all I am going to say on it. It's final."

"So you wouldn't care if uh- I don't know, maybe a page-long letter reached Cena's office about uh... weird activity in Mr. Reigns' classroom at lunchtime?"

Like some sort of miracle, some sort of weird beacon of light and idea came to him. Roman smirked, right away knowing what to do. Maybe the teen's early offer wasn't his only option. Dean Ambrose wanted to play? Fine. They would both play his game, "No."

"Are you sure?"

"One-hundred percent."

Dean's crooked smile made it's return, showing a set of deep dimples piercing at his cheeks, "Cause I mean, Cena might get a little angry at that-"

"Do whatever you want. It's your words against mine-"

"With Cena." The teen smiled even wider, knowing damn well Reigns was probably aware by now of his running friendship with the school's principal.

"With everyone." After that, the much bigger individual stood up, stretching his defined arms comfortably. He walked around the desk over to where the shorter boy stood, stopping only a few inches apart, "With every other teacher AND the people who are much higher on the ladder than Cena. So do whatever you want. I am respected around here believe it or not. Just remember..." He paused for effect, Dean scoffing at this rate, "you are no rat-out bitch." Ambrose's eyes widened for a second, honestly surprised at the shift in the man's usual, composed demeanor, "That was what you told me wasn't it? At least that's what came out of your mouth."

"And it's all true." Dean spoke slowly, his veins pulsating strongly, that familiar rush coming to him.

"Then why try to break that promise?" Roman's voice was a quiet murmur by now, breath hitting Dean, the pleasant smell of cool mint once again making its appearance. The man did something next that brought a realization quick and heavy onto his mind.

He'd never touched Dean.

Not a handshake. Not a pat on the back. Not even a brush of the skin. Neither had ever left room for contact.

Until now.

Until that very moment where time seemed to stand still. Where seconds froze into infinity. Where everything suddenly seemed to have been blurred. The teacher pressed a strong, firm hand on the student's shoulder and immediately felt the burst of current run through him. He'd done that same action time and time again but it had never quite felt this way. So... so pleasant.

He immediately felt the boy flinch under his heavy palm and the action was immediately retracted, the feel of light cotton still on his skin.

Roman did not desire arguing after that. He didn't want the teen to be angry at him anymore. He didn't want them to fight every time they saw each other. He wanted to know Dean. This Dean. Not the one who put up vast walls but the one who could laugh for moments straight at the same things. The one who repeatedly revisited something hilarious and ran with it. The one who people never got to see. The one he was dying to meet.

Then he knew exactly where to start.

"Dean." He was quiet, careful not to make the student any more uncomfortable, "I am sorry."

The teen quickly looked up, his blue eyes welcomed by the warmth and embrace of gray. He'd been avoiding the man's piercing gaze as much as he could; awfully intimidating, those eyes seemed to look right into him, into his very soul, "What for?"

"For what I said in tutoring that one time." The Samoan flashed him an apologetic look.

For fucks sake he looked like a scolded fucking puppy. Why was he apologizing? Dean was extremely unsure about what to do in this current situation. Nobody had ever honestly apologized to him in his entire life, for anything. Whatever shitty 'sorry' he'd heard from his mother, or the same words muttered soaked in alcohol and cigarette smoke by his father didn't matter; he knew they didn't mean it. The man standing before him, however, was someone else. He didn't know Roman's life, but he knew his apology was as real as they got. He felt it.

And it absolutely terrified him.

All this attention put on him only forced his body to freeze, his mind to rush in alert. The only response he knew at the moment was the one said next, one which came out in run-on sentences, each word nearly tripping on the other, "Okay. I will go back to tutoring. On one condition and that is you stay off my ass."

The sudden remark completely took Roman off guard. Had he not heard his apology? Still he could not let any more time pass for second thoughts, his very attractive features now illuminated by a big smile, "Deal."

The teen, without much notice, rushed out of the classroom.

He jogged along the wide space, then he ran. He ran as fast as he could confused as hell, ignoring the sudden weak sensation in his stomach. He felt his mouth go dry, sudden hot flashes run through him quick and heavy. His head spun at light-speed and small sweat beads adorned his forehead.

Without much warning, without much time, he'd only made it to one of the school's toilets when he felt his knees go weak.

And he said goodbye to his lunch.

WOAH okay what a weird ending. Only Dean would literally puke at an overly nice Roman. Just know that where i was trying to go here was that since Dean had never experienced any genuine apology in his life, that Roman's made him feel really confused to the point he didn't know what to do. And it made him sick to his stomach apparently.

OK so who knows what might happen. How will Dean handle Roman's unconditionally nice ways towards him? Where will Seth fit in all of this? Will he be able to get rid of Dean for good? Specially given how much Roman feels he can bond with the kid? Will he and Roman give it a shot? WILL DEAN AND SETH EVER GET ALONG?

I now have wifi by the way but thank you for the suggestion ;)

I will be bringing in chapters as consistently as i can. I am loving the concept of this story and had forgotten how much i genuinely enjoyed writing it.

First day of tutoring with Dean back coming right up next chapter!