New week, new chapter.

Thanks to all the people supporting this story! I'm so happy you all seem to enjoy it. Very funny to see some people rooting for Dean and others rooting for Gavin :D

Thanks to pezziecoyote for beta-reading and, as always, thanks to my lovely ShannonTheAwesomeOne for inspiring me.

Enjoy :)

Chapter 6: It's over

Shannon was sitting on her couch, staring into space. She still couldn't believe what had happened just a few hours ago.

After spending some quality time with Dean, time that proved to her that he could indeed be the man she needed in her life, Gavin ruined everything. Not only by making Dean run away, no, by also telling her that he loved her.

She was confused. She didn't know what to feel or to think.

She didn't love Gavin. That's the only thing she was sure about. She liked him. A lot. But not in the way he liked her. And that wasn't fair. But she couldn't help it.

Thinking about all the times she had spent with him, times when he comforted her after Dean had hurt her yet again, she felt horrible. All these hours, all of these days, he had feelings for her. And she was crying her heart out because of another man.

Dean. Just thinking about the last two days with him made her heart beat faster. He had been so different. So caring, easy-going and...loving. But was he really just playing with her heart? Was he just using her? Just like Gavin told her?

She didn't know. She had no idea why he left all of a sudden.

Tears were streaming down her face. She couldn't help but start sobbing. Her heart was broken, her head filled with worry.

Was he ever coming back? Or was he done with her for good?

And what about Gavin? What was she supposed to do? Just act as if nothing had happened?

She wiped away the tears, trying to regain her composure. She needed to talk to someone who would be 100% honest with her. A person she could trust and ask for help. Karolina.

After finding her friend's number on her cell phone, she pushed the call button and waited for her to pick up.

"Shannon, how's it?" Karolina asked, knowing that it was her after seeing her picture pop up on her cell phone.

Shannon tried hard to be as collected as she could, but after hearing her friend's cheerful voice, she couldn't help but break down crying again.

"Sweetie, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Karo was genuinely worried now, not sure what happened to her bestie.

"It's Dean...and...and Gavin," she sobbed, trying so hard to fight the tears. Karo waited for her to continue. What was she supposed to say anyways? She knew that Shannon would continue as soon as she felt like she has calmed down enough to speak.

"Dean and me, we had a fantastic time with each other. He surprised me yesterday night. We had sex, of course. But this time it was different. He was so caring. I've never seen him like that before. And he stayed with me. He spent the night with me. And I woke up in his arms," she said, another wave of tears building in her eyes.

"Then this morning, we had sex again. You know, we trust each other. I could feel it. The way we acted towards each other was more intense than ever. He even cooked breakfast for me," she said, ending her monologue so that Karo had the chance to speak up.

"He cooked breakfast for you? Wow...I mean...all of this is... wow. He spent the night with you, that's unbelievable and..."

"But he still left me," Shannon interrupted, her heart aching when she thought about the moment he slammed the door shut behind him.

"Why?" her friend simply asked, curious as to why her friend was crying so hard after having a great time with the man that she adored.

"Because Gavin took him to task. Asking him why he was here, what he really wanted from me. And just a few minutes later, he stormed out of the apartment and I haven't heard from him since."

"He didn't answer Gavin's questions? He just left?" Karo couldn't believe what she had just been told.

She didn't know Dean well enough to understand what was on his mind, but she knew that Roman probably would.

Roman was sitting with her on the couch, his head resting on Karo's lap while she caressed his hair. He could hear what Shannon was saying, and he had the feeling he knew what was going on in Dean's head.

"He just left. Without looking at me, without saying another word. And the icing on the cake was Gavin telling me that he loves me," Shannon replied, shaking her head in desperation.

"Oh my God," Karo just said, her heart breaking for her friend who must feel so alone.

Yet again she could hear someone covering the mouthpiece of the phone with their hand, endless seconds passing by.

"Shannon?" It was Roman. He was her pillar of strength sometimes. His voice alone made her calm down.

"Roman, I don't know what to do anymore," she said, her voice shaky and insecure.

"Let me talk to him. I think he's afraid. He's been avoiding any kind of feelings for the last couple of years, and now here you are, turning his head. I'm sure he just doesn't know how to handle this. How to handle someone loving him," Roman replied. And it made sense. All of this made sense.

Roman knew about Dean's past. After Dean left home when he was still very young, all he lived for was wrestling. No mother, no father, no girlfriends, nothing. He didn't know what it felt like to be loved. Or to love at all. And he probably had a hard time letting someone into his heart. Because he had been hurt so many times before. And he knew that loving someone would make him vulnerable.

"Do you think he will listen to you?" she asked him, hoping he could take away all of her fears.

"I can't promise you anything, sunshine. But I try my best," he said, trying his best to calm her down.

She remained silent for a few moments, letting this all sink in. She was thankful for her friends. Although they were on the road constantly, they were always there for her whenever she needed them.

"Thank you. Thanks to both of you. I love you, guys," she said, almost whispering.

"We love you too," Roman and Karolina said simultaneously, making her giggle.

Shannon leaned back against the back rest of her couch after hanging up the phone. She really hoped that Roman would be able to talk some sense into Dean. But even if he did, what was she supposed to do about the Gavin problem?

She didn't want to lose him. They'd grown so close to each other. And now these three little words seemed to ruin everything.

She got comfortable, burying her head into a pillow before closing her eyes. Maybe some sleep would help her get her mind clear again. Maybe.

...

Two days later, Dean, Seth, Roman and Karo had to be back on tour again. There were a few house shows in the next couple of days and the Shield had to face some top superstars of the company. Management was happy with their performances which resulted in the boys making it to main event status.

Karolina was proud of them, especially of Roman. She knew how self-critical he was; always emphasizing that he wouldn't be where he was now if it wasn't for his father.

Maybe it helped him to be more self-confident after playing with the big dogs.

Five hours before the show would start, Karolina and Roman made their way to Seth's and Dean's room. Karo had messaged Seth before, telling him to leave Dean alone for a while as they wanted to talk to him about something.

Although Seth was curious about the reason for that conversation, he was smart enough to let the subject drop. He knew Karo would tell him what happened afterwards anyways. She told him everything. They had no secrets from each other.

Roman knocked on Dean's door, waiting impatiently for his friend to open it. Roman was nervous. He never needed to have this talk with any friend of his. But then again nobody was as difficult when it came to relationships as Dean was.

He was relieved that Karo decided to support him. Maybe she could help him convince Dean that he had to think about his feelings.

Suddenly the door opened, revealing a very tired-looking Dean.

"Hey guys, is it time to leave already?" he asked, checking his watch and raising an eye-brow at his friends.

"Can we come in for a minute?" Roman asked, not answering his friend's question.

Dean just stepped aside, letting Roman and his girlfriend enter the room without saying another word. He watched them as they sat down on one of the beds, looking around nervously.

"Seth's not here, if you wanted to prepare for the match tonight," he said, leaning against the doorframe.

"Sit down, Dean," Karo suddenly said, looking at him expectantly.

Dean frowned. What the fuck was wrong with them?

"Look guys, if you want to tell me you guys are getting married, or that you're pregnant, just say it, ok?" He looked at his friends annoyed, hating the tension that was filling the air.

"I'm neither pregnant nor getting married to anyone, but maybe these are things that you might want to have in the future, or don't you?" Karo said through gritted teeth, mad at Dean for breaking her friend's heart once again.

Roman placed a hand on her thigh, caressing it softly in order to calm her down.

"Why so bitchy, princess? Is it the time of the month again?" Dean said, a mischievous smirk on his face.

"Dean, please stop it, " Roman pleaded, not wanting his girlfriend to fight with him again. They were like fire and water sometimes.

"Then spill the beans, for fuck's sake," he said, annoyed by this mystery.

Roman looked at Karolina, taking a deep breath after seeing his girlfriend nod her head, signalling him to go on.

"Look, we know you've been with Shannon a couple of times. Even when you told us you were going home to Cincinnati. And you know what? I really thought that that was fine. Knowing that you and Shannon obviously seemed to have agreed to have a little fun with each other, you know?" Roman sighed heavily, squeezing Karo's thigh, silently begging for her to continue.

"She had called me, us, once in a while, crying her heart out and telling us what you've done. Please don't freak out on me now," she quickly said when she realized that he was about to explode. "Let me finish this. I know you've made it clear to her that all you wanted was sex. And of course she agreed to this, because she wanted to be with you. In any way she could."

"She's been head over heels ever since meeting you," Roman continued, not giving Dean the chance to speak up. "And I know it's not your fault that she's feeling what she's feeling. But Dean, let's be honest, things have changed," he said, looking at his friend intently.

"Things have changed? What do you mean?" He looked at the couple confused, not sure what to think of this whole situation. He didn't know Shannon talked to them about their relationship. He didn't know she was having such a hard time accepting that it was just about sex.

"Now come on, you can't tell me you don't realize it," Karo said, shaking her head disbelievingly.

"Realize what? Guys, seriously, what's going on here?" Dean was losing his nerves. He was pissed off. Why didn't Shannon just talk to him about her feelings? Why did she go and cry her eyes out elsewhere? Oh right, because he didn't give a damn about her feelings.

"I really don't want to get too personal about this, but...come on...the last time you've been with her, everything was different. We know you've been cold-hearted before, leaving her alone when she most needed you, using her for your own benefits. But as far as I understood, and according to the things that Shannon just told us, you were acting like you really care for her," Karo said cautiously, not sure how Dean would take this.

He looked back and forth between his friends, not sure where they were trying to go with this.

"Like I would care for her? And that means?" His head was spinning, he was mentally exhausted. It's not like he hadn't been thinking about Shannon constantly during the last couple of days, no, now this was happening.

"You've never stayed with her after having sex with her; you've never spent the night with her. She woke up in your arms, you cooked breakfast for her...the cuddling, the caressing...Dean, do I really need to go into more detail?" Roman swallowed hard, feeling uneasy about having this conversation. It was difficult for him to explain to Dean what was going on. It felt like he was setting a teenage boy straight in sexual matters. He mentally made a note to himself to let Karo do this with their kids when the time came.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me. She hasn't really talked to you about the sex we've had, has she?" Dean was dumbfounded. Was there anything they didn't know? Maybe Karo knew what his dick looked like, how his tongue felt...whatever. He was angry.

"Don't worry, bro. Not to me, but to Karo. They're girls, you know how they are," Roman tried to calm his friend down, hoping he wouldn't throw a tantrum again.

There was an awkward silence between them. Neither one of them knew what to say. Dean was lost in thought, not believing that Shannon was revealing these very intimate things with others. Roman and Karo looked at each other at the same time, both of them thinking how to put this in a nutshell.

"Dean, I think you're in love with her," Roman just spurted out, not in the mood of discussing this any further.

"What the fuck are you talking about? This is bullshit," he answered, wandering around the room nervously.

"I know you don't seem to know what love really is. But love means that you want to spend as much time with that person as you can, feeling comfortable with them, enjoying each other's company, trusting one another, and caring for this other person. You can't tell me you don't feel this. You would be lying if you did. This isn't just about sex anymore. This isn't just fucking. Dean, you care for her," Karo hoped he would finally understand.

He needed to admit to himself that he was indeed in love. She really wanted Shannon to be happy. And this meant that Dean needed to get his head straight.

"Leave me the fuck alone now," he suddenly yelled, staring out of the window and not turning around to face his friends. "This is nonsense. And I don't wanna hear this crap anymore. So just drop it. And go, goddammit."

Karo looked at Roman wide-eyed, not sure what to do next. When Roman placed a finger over his lips, she understood that she should remain silent and not push this any further.

Dean wouldn't listen anymore. And he sure as hell had enough he had to think about.

Hand in hand, the couple made their way out of the room, slowly closing the door behind them.

As soon as he heard that they had left, he turned around, grabbed one of the chairs and threw it across the room, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Love? LOVE? FUCK YOU LOVE!" He was furious, he wasn't able to control his anger. What were they talking about? He wasn't in love. He had never been and he would never be.

He kept throwing things around, screaming and yelling, until he lost all of his power. He threw himself on the bed, burying his face into his hands and sighing heavily.

He had to protect himself. Nobody would come too close to him. He didn't need anybody. Not even Shannon.

He had to forget about her. And now he most definitely would.

...

Shannon had tried to reach Dean constantly during the last couple of days. But he just wouldn't pick up. Nor did he reply to her text messages.

She knew that he was having a few days off at the moment, but this time he didn't come over to visit her.

He probably went back to Cincinnati. The place he loathed. And although he had told her that there was nothing and nobody waiting for him, he preferred to go there instead of visiting her. And that meant something.

She couldn't remember how many tears she had cried, how heartbroken she felt. She missed him. Not only his presence, but also his voice, his messages, his whole being.

And what about Gavin? She had tried to avoid him as much as possible, not sure how to act towards him. It was awkward just saying hello when seeing him in the hallway. They had been close friends before, but now, after he had confessed his love to her, everything had changed.

Not only did she miss Dean, no, she missed Gavin as well. But what was she supposed to do? Just knock at his door and act as if the last two weeks hadn't taken place?

She was brought back to reality when her cell phone rang. She looked at the number, not recognizing it.

"Hello?" she asked, deep down hoping it would be Dean.

"Shannon, is this you?" the person on the other end asked. She knew this voice, but she couldn't put a finger on it.

"Yes, who's this?" she questioned, still trying to figure out who this person could be.

"It's Seth. Seth Rollins. I hope you don't mind me stealing your number from Karo's phone," he said, a smirk on his face although she couldn't see it.

"Uhm, no, I guess. Is there anything I can do for you?" she asked, not sure why Seth would want to talk to her. The only time they'd really talked to each other was back when they were in that club in San José.

"Well, I'm not one to beat around the bush, so I'll just get straight to the point," he started, not giving her a chance to interrupt as he continued immediately. "I'm calling you because of Dean."

Shannon swallowed hard. Seth called because of Dean? On Dean's behalf? Her head was spinning. She didn't even know what to say. She was confused. All this time she hadn't heard back from him and now Seth was calling her to talk about the man she missed so much.

"He's back home, in Cincinnati," Seth said, confirming her presumptions. "He's been a mess for the last two weeks, Shannon. And I bet the same goes for you."

Shannon just sighed heavily. It was if he had known her forever. As if he could read her mind.

"That is an understatement," she said, her voice shaky.

There was an awkward silence between them. Shannon had no idea what to say. Was the only reason he called telling her about Dean's current situation? About how he felt? Did someone even think about how she felt?

"Listen hun, I really don't wanna break your heart even more, but I just want to be honest with you. I don't want you to suffer anymore. That's just not fair. And you deserve better because..." he said, but was interrupted by Shannon all of a sudden.

"I though you weren't one to beat around the bush, so just spill the beans, ok?" She knew that it wasn't fair to bark at him, but he was driving her crazy.

"Forget about him, ok? Just forget about Dean. He doesn't love you. He simply doesn't. Move on. I know you probably ask yourself why I'm telling you all of this. Yeah, he's my friend. I would never ever betray him, but I know him better than anyone else. And he won't be the man you want him to be. So it's better if you both just stop seeing each other. Live your life, Shannon. Without him," he said, finishing his monologue.

Shannon was dumbfounded. Seth had confirmed her biggest fears. Dean didn't love her. He never had and he never would. Realization finally set in. She had to live without him. It was over. Once and for all.

A single tear was streaming down her face, her heart heavy in her chest. It was like the whole world was crashing down on her in that very moment. She felt so alone.

"Shannon, you still there?" Seth asked, his voice sounding genuinely worried.

"Thanks for calling me, Seth," she simply said before hanging up on him, not even saying goodbye.

What was there left to say anyways? Nothing. Although she was thankful that he had been so brutally honest with her, it still hurt to hear the truth.

She closed her eyes, swallowing hard and thinking about Seth's words. Just forget about Dean. He doesn't love you. He simply doesn't. She started sobbing uncontrollably. The man she thought she loved didn't return her feelings. And knowing that was killing her.

Move on. That's what Seth said. And maybe moving on was the right thing to do.

She knew that it would take its time to get over him, but Dean Ambrose was history. She had to end this chapter. For good.

Shannon got off of the couch, slowly making her way to the bathroom. She was shocked when she looked into the mirror. Her eyes were blood-shot, dark circles underneath them. She looked sick. Exhausted. Tired.

And that wasn't who she was supposed to be. She had always been a cheerful person. Nobody had ever really broken her heart. Something that was making her mad now.

But if Dean wasn't part of her life anymore, who said that Gavin shouldn't be?

She needed to make up with him. She needed his friendship. Now more than ever.

She knew she couldn't cry her eyes out when she was with him. She should in no way mention Dean's name. That wouldn't be fair. She knew that Gavin was in love with her. And she was afraid she would never be able to return his feelings.

But maybe they could find a solution. Maybe Gavin would accept how she was feeling. She was really hoping he would.

I might as well try, she thought to herself, slowly leaving her apartment...making her way to Gavin, her heart beating fast in her chest.