"Will you guys knock if off already. We are suppose to be here practicing for our match tonight not fighting with each other.", Seth's voice was filled with frustration as he ran one of his hands through blond side of his hair. They were currently in the ring working on moves, luckily they had the ring all to themselves. Nobody needed to witness the tension that was between Roman and Dean. They stood face to face their bodies an inch apart, daring the other to make a move. Seth approached and placed a hand on each of their shoulders both shrugging his hand off.
"That's easy for you to say, he didn't spear you.", Dean said between gritted teeth.
"That was an accident, but it won't be next time.", Roman replied with anger in his voice.
They started to push the other by bumping their chests against each other neither man breaking eye contact. Seth step in between them and pushed them apart. "Fuck, Dean that was 2 weeks ago. It was an accident and Roman already said he was sorry, so get over it!". Dean finally broke his eye contact with Roman to glare at Seth. "You are always taking his side.", he said with resentment.
"I am not taking his side. The entire WWE Universe knows it was an accident, if you would just look at the recording you would too. He was trying to get Punk but he stepped out of the way and got you instead. It is suppose to be US AGAINST THEM!" By this time, Seth had turned his body so he was facing Dean. He then placed both his hands on Dean's shoulders, forcing Dean to look at him directly, as he shouted his last words. Roman stood behind Seth, he was getting tired of this same damn argument. He did not mean to spear Dean it was an honest mistake, he had already told Dean this more than once.
"If we don't pull ourselves together, we will leave ourselves vulnerable to our enemies and we have made plenty of them. It is us against them, man, we need each other that is how we have BEEN AND WILL stay strong." Seth said with conviction as he stepped away from Dean and stuck his fist out in front of him, followed by Roman and finally by Dean, it was a symbol of their unity.
"Good now let's stop this shit and get back to work.", Seth demand as he walked to the center of the ring. Roman and Dean looked at each other with trepidation before doing as Seth commanded.
The Raven was looking forward to seeing Seth again, but so far had not been able to. He was with his Shield brothers, apparently since the T.L.C match there had been a lot more fraction between Roman and Dean. Seth did not want to leave the two alone for fear they would start arguing or fighting with each other. Maybe after tonight's Monday Night Raw, they could go out for a drink or something.
The Raven had enjoyed her time with her family, however they noticed she seemed distracted. The Raven couldn't help it, she kept thinking of the kiss she shared with Seth at the airport and what she was going to do about it. She was attracted to him that she could not deny but was she ready for a relationship? Did he even want that from her? He must, the past couple of months they have spent together he had not tried to get her into his bed. That was another thing, she promised herself she would not have sex until she was in a actual relationship. She had talked to Dr. Reeves more than once about this but the doctor just kept reminding her that she needed to decide whether or not she would take the chance. If you wanted a family someday of her own, if she wanted to be happy she needed to make changes and not follow her same destructive patterns. She needed to make sure she was doing things for the right reasons, especially when it came to having sex.
The Raven decided to take one day at a time and she would let Seth take the lead on where this was going. If he wasn't serious then she would walk away as hard as that would be, but the thought of him wanting more scared the crap out of her. What if she got too close to him and he died? What if he decides she is not who he wants after all? How would she held it? OMG, why was she making this so complicated for herself? Well, there is no point in thinking about that now, she will deal with it when the time comes.
She was watching the monitor backstage as CM Punk was taunting Dean about beating him a couple of times. CM wanted to have a match with either Seth or Roman to see who was the better wrestler of the Shield, however he was directing the conversation mainly at Roman. Seth picked up the mic and said he was the best and would fight him tonight. This only upset Roman who started arguing with Seth, while Dean paced the ring. Seth finally convinced Roman to let him fight CM. The match was close Seth almost won but when he had CM pinned the referee was distracted by Roman and Dean's antics outside the ring. By the time the referee did the count CM kicked out by second count, a few seconds later CM pinned Seth for the win. The Raven could not believe how dysfunctional they had become as a group. No wonder Seth sounded so stressed when he would call her telling her about the arguments they would have. Seth refused to allow Roman or Dean to have separate rooms, he also made them workout and travel together, he wanted them to sort out their differences, not for them to become distant.
Seth was definitely not going to be in a good mood tonight, he was probably going to stay near Roman and Dean to make sure they did not beat each other up.
3 weeks later at SmackDown
Things between Roman and Dean were getting better. Since, Roman was the one to finally defeat CM Punk, which essentially ended the argument as to who was the better wrestler out of the 3, Dean had to accepted it. They were working better together and getting a long like before.
Seth was glad it was finally settled, for now anyway. He could spend more time with The Raven instead of babysitting them. All he was able to do the past 3 weeks was to steal a kiss or hug here and there from The Raven. He mainly kept in contact with her through texts or when he could he called her to see how her trip went or how she was doing. It was not the same however as being in the same room or having her physically close.
Tonight on SmackDown they finally did the routine they had been practicing. The fans went wild when they collide in mid-air. She saved Kane from their attack. Dean and Roman pretended to be shocked by what The Raven did, which allowed Kane to roll out of the ring before Roman and Dean could do anything. Kane then grabbed The Raven by the legs pulling her out of the ring and escaped.
Seth was presently leaning against the wall waiting for The Raven to emerge from the Authority locker room. While Dean and Roman were outside waiting for him in their rental car, it was the least they could do for him.
When The Raven had finally showered and changed, she headed to the parking lot to wait for Kane. She was pleasantly surprised to find Seth waiting outside the locker room. "Hi", she said as she smiled at him. "Hi" he replied as he pushed off the wall and walked toward her. When he reached her, he put his arm around her shoulders as he guided her to the parking lot. Seth asked, "Hey, I was wondering these next few days we have off are you going home to California or to your place in Florida?"
"I don't even know why I have the apartment in Florida, I am hardly there, but yes I do plan on going to my place in Florida. Why do you ask?", she replied with interest.
"Well, I figured I could stay with Roman at his place and we could hang out. We could act like tourist and go site seeing.", he suggested hoping she would say yes.
The Raven smiled, she liked the idea. "I could cook you dinner."
"Or I can take you out to dinner.", Seth grinned. He couldn't wait to spend time with her.
"That sounds better.", she giggled.
When they finally make it to the parking lot, Roman started honking the horn while Dean yelled, "Its about time lets get going already." Seth waved good bye to The Raven as he walked to the rental car.
The Raven was getting ready for her date with Seth, she decided to wear her favorite pair of blue jeans and a long sleeve pink blouse with a V-neck. It was a little cold outside, so she decided to wear some comfortable 2 inch black heeled boots and a black leather jacket. She was combing her hair and decided to leave it down. She hoped it did not rain but it was the middle of January, so there was a strong possibility. Seth had texted her that he would be there soon. She was excited and couldn't wait to see him, they did not have the distraction of work or other people, it would just be the two of them.
She heard a knock at the door and immediately went to open it. There stood Seth, he had a big grin on his face. His two toned hair was pulled back in a neat pony tail, he was wearing a brown leather jacket, underneath he had on a blue sweater with black jeans and black boots. The Raven could not help but smile up at him, not matter what he wore he looked handsome.
"You ready to go.", he asked.
"Yep. Let me just grab my jacket." When she return with her jacket in hand she asked, "Do you have a place in mind?"
"As I was driving to your apartment I passed a fair. I thought maybe that would be fun.", he replied.
"Sounds like a plan."
Seth was a gentleman when they got to his car he opened the door for her and closed it once she was seated. When they got to the fair, he hopped out of the car and opened the door for her before she could.
They had already been on several rides, The Raven couldn't remember the last time she had been to fair, but she was having a lot of fun with Seth. As they walked through the fairgrounds trying to decide what rides to go on or what games to play, they at some point started to hold her hands. Seth liked how The Raven was letting loose, when they were on the rides she screamed her heart out and when they played games her competitive side came out. So, he started to challenger her, saying the winner could ask the loser for a prize.
"Hey that's not fair.", The Raven laughed, trying to sound outraged.
"Why, I didn't cheat.", Seth replied.
"Your arms are longer than mine so you don't have to throw the darts as far." They had finished playing a game of darts Seth had manage to pop 4 balloons and she was only able to pop 2.
"No, you are just a sore loser.", he laughed.
"So what does the winner want?", The Raven asked as they walked away from the booth, she hoped it was nothing embarrassing.
Seth stop walking and looked down at The Raven with mischief in his big brown eyes. "How about a kiss, right here", he said as he pointed to his lips. He wasn't sure if she would actually do it but was happy when she came closer and put her arms around his neck and pulled his head closer to hers. The Raven smiled at Seth, she could see how she was effecting him, his eyes were a reflection of the emotions he was experiencing. And right now they were dark with desire and for some reason she could not help herself, she decided to tease him. She caressed his lips with the tip of her tongue, he inhaled at her actions and she took advantage and stuck her tongue in his mouth. She could hear Seth moan as her tongue explored his mouth as she brought his head closer to hers. She could feel the goose bumps forming on her arms and back as she inhaled his musky scent and when he moaned, her heart beated faster and her stomach started to flutter. His arms went around her waist and lifted her up off the ground so that her 5'7 frame was at his level. The Raven ended the kiss she had to remind herself they were in a public place, surrounded by people. She looked at him wide eyed, biting the bottom of her lip. As he just stared back at her in surprise. "I guess it's not so bad to be the loser after all.", she said. Now it was The Raven's turn to have the mischievous glint in her eyes. He placed her back on the ground and grabbed her hand and started walking. "Where are we going?", she asked confused.
"To play another game so I can win another kiss.", Seth replied a matter a factly. The Raven giggled at his behavior, however the gods decided to ruin his fun because the clouds finally decided to set free all the water that they had been holding on for hours. As it poured they ran back to the car.
When they got to the apartment it was still raining, he walked her to her door and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. He didn't want to start something they couldn't finish, he had enough teasing for the day. "See you tomorrow.", he said as he turned to walk back to his car. She waved back at him, "Goodnight Seth."
The next day, Seth and The Raven decided to spend the day at her apartment, it started to rain again and they did not want to be out in that kind of weather. She made popcorn while Seth searched the many channels on the t.v. for a movie to watch. When she was done making the popcorn, she joined Seth on the couch. He found a one of the X-man movies, as the movie progressed Seth had turned his body so his back was resting against the arm of the couch. This allowed her to rest her head on his chest, she could hear the steady beat of his heart. One of his arms was resting on her shoulder as his hand started to her rub her forearm up and down. Then he turned her forearm over and rub his thumb over her tattoo. The Raven tried to pull her arm away, but he would not let go. She knew he could feel her many scars and sat up and tried again to pull her arm away.
Seth unconsciously was rubbing The Raven's forearm but when he turned it over and started to do the same thing, he felt The Raven tense up and tried to pull her arm away. He could feel a dozen or so scars underneath the tattoo that went from her wrist to her elbow. When she suddenly sat up, so did he. He looked at her and asked, "What happened?"
The Raven didn't know how to answer the question. How would he react to her self-destructive behavior? Would he understand or find her actions repulsive? She could not look at him but stared at his hand that continued to rub her interior-forearm. She could feel her cheeks getting red from embarrassment and shame.
Seth could see The Raven's cheeks were turning red with embarrassment and she would not look at him. So he asked again gently, "Raven, what happened?"
If he decided he no longer wanted to be around her it was better to find out now than later. She took a deep breath and looked at Seth, she could see the concern in his eyes. "I told you about how my parents died.", he shook his head yes. "My oldest brother blames me for how they died, I didn't know how to handle that or the pain from the loss of my parents. So, I started to cut myself, so I could feel a different kind of pain. I did it for a couple of years until my grandfather caught me one day and got me help.", The Raven was nervous and began to ramble the rest. "I was left with more than a dozen scars on each arm. My friend Angel, who I met in college, suggested I get tattoos to cover them up.", in choked whispered, she said the last few words. She could not stand to look at him anymore, so she looked down at his hand that was still rubbing her interior-forearm.
He could not imagine what it must have been like for her to lose her parents at a young age and then to have your own brother blame you. It was miracle she was able to pull through it. She had her head down, with his free hand he put it under her chin and lifted her head up so she was looking at him. He could see her holding back the unleashed tears. "I am sorry you had to go through that alone. I wish I could have been there for you.", Seth said from the bottom of your heart. "I can't imagine what you must have felt or what you went through. I mean, it devastated me when my parents got divorce but at least I still have them both."
The Raven could see the sincerity in his eyes and started to cry. Seth wrapped his arms around her and gave her hug. She started to cry harder as she buried her face in the curve of his neck. He could feel her hot tears staining his neck as he held her. When her sobs lessened, he pulled her slightly away from him so he could see her face. He started to kiss her tears away, he meant only to comfort her but soon the kisses turned passionate. He pulled her onto his lap, with one arm going around her waist bring her closer to him, while he buried his hand in her hair bring her mouth closer to his. She responded by moaning and wrapping her arms around his neck. Bring herself closer to him if that was possible, he could feel her heart pounding in her chest, which only stirred his arousal. He did not want their first time to be on a couch. "Where is your bedroom?", he asked with a lust filled voice. The Raven was panting from their kiss, "Behind you?", she said breathlessly. Seth wrapped her legs around his waist as he stood up and headed to her bedroom. She rested her head on his shoulder, her body quivered with anticipation. She couldn't wait to be naked under him, to feel their bare skin touch.
Seth opened the door to her bedroom and went straight to the bed. He laid her gently down in the center of the bed. He stepped back and looked at her, she looked so beautiful with her swollen kissed lips and bright hazel eyes filled with desire. The same desire and lust he felt for her. He removed his shirt and tossed it behind him. She sat up and ran her hands over his bare muscled chest then she grabbed the front of his pants and pulled him on top of her onto the bed. Their lips immediately connected, it was not a gentle kiss but one filled with lust, yearning and desperation to be close. His need for her was stronger than he had ever felt for anyone. He couldn't wait, he started to undo her pants, while he continued to kiss her.
As Seth started to undo her pants, suddenly she remembered the promise she made to herself and Dr. Reeves about waiting to have sex until she was in an actual relationship and not using it to forget her pain. He had started to kiss her because he was trying to help her with her pain. She was doing it again, she was about to have sex for all the wrong reasons. Seth started to plant a trail of kisses down her neck. She felt herself melt against him, no she had to stop this. "Seth, STOP!", she shouted between pants. Seth immediately stopped and looked up at her confused. "What did I hurt you?", he asked with concern. "No, no", she said has she continued to push him off her and crawled out from underneath him to sit up. "What is it? What did I do wrong?", he said with worry.
The Raven felt awful, she could see the hurt and worry in his eyes. "I am sorry Seth. I didn't mean to tease you." Once again her cheeks burned with embarrassment and shame. He waited patiently for her to explain. She couldn't look at his face so she stared at his chest. "You know those rumors about me, about my many one night stands and my relationship with Randy Orton. Well they are true. You see, I was under a lot of pressure. I had the entire Diva's Division against me, I was stripped of my title, I was in a tug of war with management and the final straw was finding out my grandfather's cancer was back. Some people use drugs, some use alcohol, well I used sex to deal with it all. Kane made me realize what I was doing, which is why I took 3 months off. I promised myself and my therapist that I wouldn't have sex unless I was in a relationship."
Seconds ticked by and still Seth said nothing, she looked up as he got off the bed and went to pick up his shirt off the floor and put it back on. He was not expecting this, how could he trust her to be faithful to him? She just admitted to having sex several different men, but at least she was being honest. He gazed at her, he could see the apprehension in her eyes as she waited for him to respond. He told himself he should walk away now and forget about her that Roman and Dean were right, she would probably end up hurting him like Danielle and Elizabeth. But no she was different, she knew she had these issues and was going to therapy for it.
He then returned to the bed and sat on the edge. "Is that it?", he asked. The Raven shook her head yes, she could not tell what was going through his mind. Was he angry?
"Well, I can wait until your ready.", he said with resolve. The Raven blinked her eyes a couple of times, she did not anticipate that response. "Y-Your not angry?", she ask with hesitation.
"No, I did pretty much did the same thing when I broke up with Elizabeth. We did those things before we met, as long as you don't do that when we are together."
The Raven shook her head relieved that Seth didn't storm out of her apartment in disgust. "NO, no I would never do that to you."
"But I need something from you, Raven.", Seth said.
"What?", she asked.
"I want you to be my girlfriend.", he said seriously.
"What?", she yelled, as she felt her anger begin to arise. She pushed Seth with her feet off her bed. "You are a JERK! Seth Rollins!", she shouted as he fell to the ground.
The Raven began to roll off the bed but Seth was quicker he grabbed her by the waist and flipped her around and covered her body with his, pinning her arms to the bed with his hands.
"Get Off Me! You Jerk!", she said as she struggled to get him off her.
"Why are you mad?", he asked annoyed with her behavior.
"I tell you I won't have sex with you unless I am in a relationship and you ask me to be your girlfriend. What you think that is going to make it happen any quicker?" she said incredibly.
It was Seth's turn to get angry. "Look, Raven you are not the only one that has been through shit. I have been in two long term relationships, both women telling me they love me and that I was the only one. Only to catch one fucking her lover in my bed and the other sneaking around behind my back with hers. I ask you to be my girlfriend because I don't want any other motherfucker to think they can flirt with you or you to be dating other guys while I wait for you. I want it to be clear, what the hell, is exactly between us, I don't want any confusion. You can't tell me we are just friends not after what we almost just did. I will wait for you, for as long as it takes, for you to be ready. You are mine damn it, as I am yours but if you don't want that then you tell me now and I will leave and I won't bother you ever again." Seth's eyes were wide with rage. However, inside he was hoping she says yes because he didn't know how he would deal with her rejection and have to see her everyday at work.
It never occurred to her that Seth would have issues like that with women. How could anyone cheat on him? He was so sweet, considerate, kind and giving. And on top of it, gorgeous as hell with a great body. She could feel his rage leaving his body, his grip on her arms loosen. The Raven wriggled one of her arms free and caressed his cheek. "I will be your girlfriend.", she said gently.
He gave her his most alluring smile, then he gently kissed her on the lips. He rolled off her and got off the bed. The Raven also got off the bed, she was unsure what to do next.
"Raven, can I sleep here with you tonight? I am really tired and it's like an hours drive to Roman's place.", he could see the nervousness in her eyes as she bit her bottom lip. "Look, I told you I won't pressure you. I will wait for you to decide when we take the next step in our relationship."
"Ok.", The Raven said as she went into the bathroom to change into her pj's. Seth was relieved The Raven agreed to be his girlfriend, he didn't know how but he had to learn to trust her. He removed his shoes and jeans and got under the blankets. When The Raven returned to the bedroom she turned off the lights and got under the covers.
"Can I hold you?", he asked.
"Sure, I would like that."
Seth immediately put them in a spoon position, when they were both comfortable, he said, "Goodnight, Raven."
"Goodnight, Seth."
They both fell asleep with smiles on their faces.