Chapter Seven: The Original Shield
A/N: More Roman in this chapter because I've hardly mentioned him in this Ambrollins fic. I had fun writing this chapter, so I hope you enjoy. Disclaim: I'm just a fangirl who owns nothing and fails to see how separating Dean and Seth is a good thing, titles, storylines, booking, creative, and shows aside. UNBELIEVABLE. HOW DARE YOU SPLIT UP AMBROLLINS, THE ULTIMATE WWE OTP (in my opinion). DO U EVER THINK ABOUT THE FANS WHEN YOU DECIDE THESE THINGS, HUH?! Ahem, anyway…
"So if that's three, then that side should be… But that doesn't make sense!" Seth threw his pencil at the wall frustratedly. He'd been staring at the same math problem for twenty minutes. It was the last one on the page and nothing he did would solve it. Roman looked up from his bed, giving Seth an exasperated look. Dean smiled at Seth, headphones on and homework complete. "What's with the smug look, Jon?" Dean hummed and put his headphones around his neck. He walks over to the bed and sits down next to the two toned teen. He picked up the pencil resting on Roman's now beat up pillow and wrote a bunch of things down next to the problem. He circled his answer and smirked, looking up at Seth triumphantly. "How-?" he began with an astonished face.
"Pythagorean Theorem. A squared plus B squared is equal to C squared. Basics, pretty boy, basics. Also, you carry the four before you multiply and then you fix the fractions *points to another problem*" Seth and Roman gape at him.
"What?" Dean asks. "Just because I'm lazy doesn't mean I'm stupid. I know what I'm doin'!" Roman throws his hands up in defense, shaking his head.
"I didn't say anything."
"And they call me a nerd. It should be you." Dean shook his head.
"Nah, I'm good. Got a reputation to uphold, ya know what I'm sayin'?" Roman looked between the two of them. The way they bickered, how they looked at each other, how comfortable they were in closed proximity. Man, he wished he had friends like that. (Sadly, they were all in Pensacola, and hardly ever talked to him anymore.) They were getting there, but not quite at that level of trust with him yet like they were with each other. For the last few months or so, since wrestling tryouts, the three began hanging out at Roman's house. Roman would forever remember the moment the two had had fanboy freakouts after meeting his dad. His mom loved the two, sometimes more than her own sons he thought. He's pretty sure she and Seth had exchanged recipes at one point. They would wrestle, play football, watch movies, walk around town, and go for runs together when they could. To Roman, they were the two little brothers he wished he had.
"We should come up with a stable name," the Samoan suddenly said. Dean stopped pulling on Seth's hair and Seth stopped poking him and looked over.
"What?" they said in unison. He would continue to be creeped out by that.
"A stable name. You know, like, a tag team name. We're the three best on the team, so we might as well stick together." Seth actually thought about it while Dean just crossed his arms.
"We'd need a gimmick, gear, and wrestling names, genius. Plus, we'd have to get other people on board. Spread the word and all that. Got any bright ideas?"
"SWAT team. For the gimmick and gear I guess. Or special agents of… something. Think about it. Roman's the guy who backs us up, intimidates people-"
"So I'm just the muscle?" Roman asked unimpressed. Seth shook his head.
"No. You're the quiet guy, the big guy-"
"The big dog. I get what you're sayin'." Seth smiled and turned to Dean.
"You'd be, like, this crazy, loudmouth, unhinged, unstoppable-"
"I'm a lunatic right? I'm crazy, rabid, violent maybe…" Seth looked unsure about the last part.
"Um… Yeah, that works. And I would be the guy who's kinda in the middle. I'd do all the "flippy shit" as Jon likes to say *Dean snickers* and… I guess I'd be the brains of the operation."
"Hold on. Didn't you just say that I'm the guy people should call a nerd? Who died and made you the smartest?"
"But you're the laziest, Jon," Roman interrupted.
"So?"
"Are you a guy who makes up a battle plan or just runs in guns blazin' and doesn't give a shit?" Dean closed his mouth and sighed. Score one for Roman.
"Exactly. He makes the plans, that makes him the brains. So, I'm the Big Dog, Jon's the Lunatic, so what're you?" he asks Seth. The youngest teen shrugged.
"Just call him the Nerd." Seth smacks the brunette's arm.
"Nah nah nah nah nah. I don't think so. No one's gonna take me seriously. That's the worst name you could possibly give a wrestler." Dean listed off more and more names, each more insulting and stupid than the last. When he said, the Fanboy, Seth tackled him to the ground and threw weak punches and elbows at his stomach and ribs. Dean faked being in pain, but one particular blow knocked the breath out of him. Roman laughed and pulled them apart.
"How 'bout the Architect?" Seth looked at him for a second and nodded, satisfied. Huh, not bad.
"Look at you, Joe. Okay, so, what about names?" Seth immediately spoke up.
"Tyler Black." He turns to Roman. "Your turn."
"That's what you want your first ring name to be, isn't it? *sigh* … Leakee." The other two were confused.
Dean asked, "Lay-ah what? Dude, you're not really gonna use your real name, are you?" Seth facepalmed.
"His name is Leati. Not Leakee. Seriously?" Dean frowned and started spelling things out in the air. He made an "Oh" face and gave a nervous laugh.
"Heh, my bad. Leakee it is. Samoan heritage and all, right?" Roman nodded. "My turn! My turn!" Dean shouted, jumping up and down like a hyper kid on Halloween. "Moxley. Jon Moxley. Done and done."
"Where'd you come up with that one?" Dean shrugged.
"It just feels right, ya know what I'm sayin'?" Oh how that name would come into play soon…
"Alright, so we've got the leader, Jon Moxley, because he's the most experienced out of all three of us. We have Tyler Black and Leakee. And we are…?" A name, the perfect name. What should they be called…?
"The Shield," the three said at the same time, confusing the heck out of each other. They looked at each other.
"How did…?" Roman began. Seth laughed and shrugged. Dean smiled, putting an arm around Roman's shoulder. "Ya know what? Never mind. You know we still need catchphrases and back stories and symbols, logos, music."
"When we actually get to the WWE hot shot. Worry about those later. What about our finishers?" The conversation went on for hours. Each of them contributed so many ideas, some great and others not so much. They talked about how it would look if they were in the WWE. Coming to the ring through the crowd so they could be closer to the fans, destroying everyone, making names for themselves, becoming champions, winning the title. So many dreams that they didn't know would become true. They'd achieve all that and more. Soon enough, the dream started coming to life.
XxX
Whispers were heard all over the school the day of Halloween. People were dressed up as all your usual monsters and characters. Witches, vampires, werewolves, celebrities, cartoon characters. It wasn't supposed to turn out like this. The fake SWAT vests weren't supposed to be their costumes, but that's just how things ended up. Dean had offered to drive everyone to school that morning, Seth and Roman unsure of whether they should just say no or hold onto each other for dear life in the backseat. They ended up doing the latter, seeing as how Dean was a freaking speed demon on the road behind the wheel. Dean, for some reason, had his hair slicked back by some sort of gel, saying something about trying out a new look. Seth had decided to tie his hair into a tight bun. Roman's mane of black locks remained untamed and out. They all got out of the car after smoothly pulling up.
Dean got out first, followed by Seth and then Roman. Heads turned and people froze in their tracks. Dean led the way towards the front doors while Seth and Roman followed from behind, faces devoid of emotion. Dean had a scowl on his face, throwing glares at anyone who looked at him funny. He strutted more than walked, trying to make his character seem more like him. When the first class started, every student's' eyes were glued to the three members of the Shield. Their teacher even stopped and took in their appearances. Clad in black kevlar vests like a SWAT team with wrist tape, black combat boots, black pants with black belts, black gloves, and killer masks. Dean wore a black hoodie on under his vest, Seth had a dark T-shirt, and Roman just wore the vest. How the teen wasn't shivering or shaking was a mystery to them.
Soon, their teacher started the lesson, not really paying attention to the class. "Hey, Lopez. Twinning with your two boyfriends?" some idiot across from him said. It was no secret now that Seth was bi, although the rumor was that he was trying to woo Roman (Thankfully not Dean. The nightmare his life would be if people knew.) after people saw them hugging, foreheads touching. That day, Seth just wasn't into it. It was one of those days where you just want to crawl under the covers of your bed and never leave. You just want to be separate from the rest of the world. Roman had tried cheering him up and, when that didn't work, he comforted him. Seth had initiated the hug while Roman touched foreheads, eyes closed and breathing calm. It worked wonders on Seth. Unfortunately, some people thought that they had kissed, tormenting Seth every day for it. Roman, being one of the best defensive tackles in the school's history and a talented wrestler, wasn't judged. Seth ignored the teen.
"Hey, I'm talkin' to you!" The kid had reached over and slapped Seth upside the head. He tried not to react, clenching his fists under the desk in his lap. It doesn't matter what they say. None of it's true. They're doing it on purpose. It got to the point where other kids were throwing paper and pencils and anything small they could find at him. Roman gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to tackle them through the wall. Finally, the bell rang and Seth quickly gathered his things and left. Roman and Dean tried to catch up with him. Things went that way until the middle of the day. The class before lunch, Roman saw the boy who had insulted Seth first shove Seth to the ground. Another kid dumped his backpack out. Someone else decided to call him everything in the book. When he heard the word faggot, Dean suddenly launched himself at the nearest boy, throwing punches and kicks in flurries at him. Roman ended up spearing a couple of other guys into lockers, leaving dents, who got too close to his friends. Seth, holding his own, delivered a picture perfect enzuigiri. The boy after that, who was on his knees trying to stand up, got super kicked in the face, collapsing.
A crowd had gathered, watching at least ten upperclassmen boys get their asses handed to them by a few sophomores. "Alright, listen up!" Dean shouted as the students began chattering. The last enemy standing ran towards Dean, receiving a kick to the gut for his trouble, before eating a spinning side slam. He may or may not have heard a crack on impact. "I wasn't finished," Dean said through gritted teeth. "Listen up," he tried again in a quieter voice, tone cold as ice. "What you just saw is only a fraction of what we can do. You mess with one of us, you mess with all three of us. If anyone tries to stand in our way, you will regret it. I don't care who you are. The principal, police chief, a student, a parent, you could be the President of the United States for all I care! I dont give a damn! …We are the Shield…" Dean puts his fist out in front of him. "Moxley."
Seth's fist joins his. "Tyler Black."
Roman puts his out last. "Leakee."
"And we are here to stay."
"(Roman) Believe that." Dean led the way to the cafeteria, the crowd parting for them as they passed. When they were out of sight, Seth leaned against a set of lockers, sliding down to the floor and running his hands through his hair.
"Holy shit. What in- What the Hell did we just do?" He seemed excited, worried, and shocked. "What was that back there?"
"The debut of the Shield, Colby," Roman told him. "And man was that amazing."
"Did you see everyone's faces when they saw what was going on? Priceless, I'm tellin' ya! We should do this more often!" Dean exclaimed. "Nice catchphrase, by the way. I like it."
"The beating people up thing or the vests, getting into character, being badasses thing?" the two toned teen asked.
"These things are heavy as fuck. There is no way I'm wearing it all day every day. I'll be fine wearing my jeans and leather jacket." Seth crossed his arms.
"Be a wuss. They're not so bad." Roman scoffed at him.
"Says the one who needed help getting the dang thing over his head this morning." Seth looked away, frowning.
"Point taken. So, getting into character? Scaring the shit out of everyone? Sound like a plan?" The other two nodded, Dean helping Seth up as they headed to lunch, which they were ten minutes late for. The rest of the day went by fast, and the three were surprised when the bell rang for the final time. Seth, Roman, and Dean approached the exit, people scurrying out of the way as they came nearer. Everything seemed fine, until a certain someone started marching towards the tallest member of the group. Roman gulped when he saw his girlfriend, angry and fists clenched. They stopped as she stood in front of Roman and slapped him in the face. His cheek had a pink handprint on it now. Ouch.
"What did you do? First, I hear you're cheating on me and that you kissed a boy. Then, I hear you started a fight. There are four boys going to the hospital! What the Hell, Joe?!" Seth was slowly backing away while Dean just stared back and forth between the couple. The hospital? They didn't kick their asses too bad… did they? Oops…
"For one, Galina, baby, ow. Two, I didn't kiss anyone. I gave Colby a hug, that's it. Three, I didn't start a fight, I finished one. Someone was messing with Colby and they crossed a line. They attacked him and we defended ourselves. I'll tell you more when we get home, just not here, okay?" He whispered so only she could hear. She nodded and followed them out. Seth noticed Dean's split knuckles and asked if he wanted someone else to drive.
"I could call my dad." Dean shook his head.
"Nah, I'm fine. I've had worse, trust me. A few bloody knuckles will not endanger anyone in my baby." Dean affectionately pats the hood of his Camaro. He unlocked the car, started it, and revved the engine. Seth and Roman looked nervously to each other, sitting rather close in the back.
"Wait, is he driving?" The two look at each other again and nod to her. She cautiously sits in the back and takes Roman's hand, pulling her seat belt as tight as possible. Dean grins maniacally from the driver's seat.
"Hold on to something!" he yells, putting it in gear and speeding down the street. Roman grips Seth's shoulder tightly. Why had he agreed to ride in Dean's car? Why? Galina's eyes are wide, more in shock than in fear, so he squeezes her hand reassuringly. She glares at him. Roman smiles sheepishly and kisses her cheek. Dean is drifting around corners and running lights and stop signs. It's a wonder they arrived in the neighbourhood unscathed. The brunette drops Galina off at her house before making a u-turn and heading back to his house. He skids to a halt, leaving tire marks in the street. He steps out after switching off the ignition to admire his handiwork. He smiles proudly, opening the back two doors. Roman stumbles out, holding onto the car door for support. Seth rolls out and collapses onto his back.
"Oh God. Remind me never to drive with you when you get your license," Seth mumbled. Roman makes his way over and puts one of Seth's arms around him, half dragging him across the street. "I'm riding with dad tomorrow, Jon!" Seth called weakly over his shoulder. Dean gave him a mock salute before heading inside his house.
"Do you have your keys?" Roman asked. Seth nodded.
"But they're somewhere in this outfit. The boots, pockets, maybe even the gloves. Who knows? Just get me somewhere I can lie down, please." Roman sighed and half dragged Seth to his house. He unlocked the door and pulled Seth over to his couch in the living room. He gently deposited him there, watching as the younger teen's face contorted, somewhere between relieved and in pain. "Thanks, Joe," Seth whispered, holding his head. Whiplash? Maybe. About to throw up? Probably. Roman saw Seth's face and immediately took a seat beside him. He took Seth's face in his hands. "Why do you put up with me? Us?"
"Because you're my friends. More than that, *kisses him on the forehead* you're my brothers. I've got your backs no matter what. I know it's only been a few months, but it doesn't matter." Seth froze when he felt a kiss land on his head. He looked up at Roman like he was his only friend on Earth, which was almost true. He hugged the ravenette before collapsing back onto the couch.
"Brothers," Seth agreed. It rolled off his tongue effortlessly. They were the Shield, a brotherhood, a band of best friends looking to achieve their dreams. They were one step closer to getting there.
XxX
Roman can't believe he agreed to do this. Trick or treating was always fun, but seriously? They were in high school for God's sake! Dean wanted to go, and Seth, of course, agreed with him. The boys grabbed some pillowcases and headed out the door. Dean wanted to go through a haunted house, Seth suggested going to an upper class neighbourhood, and Roman just tagged along. "There's is nothing wrong with getting free candy and snacks just for dressing up. C'mon, it'll be great." Roman couldn't disagree with him there. Three haunted houses, a dozen neighborhoods, and three full pillowcases later saw the boys back at Roman's house late in the night.
"What movie should we watch?" Roman had an array of horror movies spread out on his bed. Seth was eagerly examining them all while Dean shied away from them. The youngest teen was concerned for his usually fearless friend. Dean backed down from no one and nothing. "What's wrong?"
"… Hate horror movies. My whole life is basically a horror movie. Every time I see blood, guts, or killing in movies, I just… Bad memories come up." Seth wrapped an arm around him, pulling him close.
"It's fine. We don't have to watch a movie. But don't worry, I'll protect you." Seth earned a light slap to the face for that.
"Needing protection is something you should be worried about," Dean mumbled, though there wasn't heat in his voice as he did. They decided to swap ghost stories instead, eagerly munching on their stashes of candy as they did so. Seth's story had something to do with a girl who gets possessed by her ex's evil spirit after he dies tragically after their breakup. Dean spun a pretty violent tale about four friends who go camping and get attacked and captured by a Wendigo, a horrible, vicious beast. The three make it out by sacrificing the member who volunteered to buy the others time to escape. He gave all the gory details. "And to this day, it's rumored that you can still hear his screams at nightfall if you pass by the area around the abandoned mine, and that, on Halloween, the Wendigo ventures out every few years into town in the dead of night to search out its next victim…" Seth had a vice like grip on his left hand that wasn't holding up the flashlight to his face. Dean smiled, because he'd proved a point and he kind of liked holding the other teen's hand. "Still think I'm the one that needs protecting? *Seth scowls at him* How 'bout you big man? Got any stories to tell?"
"Yeah, I guess so… It was twenty years ago…" He told the tale of a football player in high school who got turned into a werewolf when he went hiking and got attacked one day. He starts noticing that the students at his school weren't really students, but other monsters like him. Zombies, his arch nemesis rivals, the vampires, ghouls, witches, warlocks, ghosts, etc. Eventually, a war breaks out between the monster races because of some petty misunderstanding, and no one is safe. One by one, the monsters are taken out until he's one of the last ones left. He doesn't know who the killer is or what to do. On Halloween, he wakes up in the middle of an attack and finds himself covered in blood with his claws sinking into the throat of a zombie. He's the one who's been killing everyone. When he realizes this, he loses his mind, throwing himself off the top of the tallest building in the city and dying upon landing. Legend has it that whenever there's a full moon on Halloween, he's resurrected for one night. The worst part? The zombie he killed when he realized he started this war just happened to be his girlfriend at the time. He finished the story and flicked off the flashlight.
"Damn," Dean said. "And he killed the girl. Hmm… Oh well. So, now what? There's still enough time to watch a movie…" Seth shuffled and shifted next to him.
"But you hate horror movies."
"I can make an exception for one night. Besides, it's with you guys. What's the worst that could happen?" Roman watched as a chainsaw took off the head of an innocent young woman. He looked on in disgust while Seth laughed. Dean's eyes were wide and his face was pale. He gazed at Seth in confusion. "How is a girl getting her head chopped off by a chainsaw funny? Huh?" Roman silently agreed with Dean. He knew movies were fake, that it was just a plastic look alike head and really good editing that made the scene work. Someone being beheaded wasn't funny in the slightest. Seth stifled the rest of his giggles for a moment.
"Think about it. She pined over the guy for who knows how long, stumbles into him out on the streets, and then loses her head over him! Remember when she told the dude that he's making her lose her head? He even just said, "I made you lose your head, didn't I? For real this time-" Dean started blocking Seth out, not in the mood to hear why murder was so funny.
"Lalalalala! Can't hear a word you're sayin', pretty boy! All I know is that the movie ends with that scene and everyone getting blown up before some weird creature starts eating the corpses. Just hearing that makes me wanna hurl, man." Dean clambered into his sleeping bag, still facing Seth. Seth did the same, still facing Dean. Roman observed them for a minute before the two went over and hugged him, thanking him for the great night. The ravenette gladly returned the gesture climbing under the covers of his bed. "Anything for my brothers," he whispered to them, drifting peacefully off to sleep.
A/N: It was either don't post the chapter at all and rewrite the ending or wait until October to post this chapter. I'm doing neither. I'm not an author who writes holiday chapters corresponding to the actual holidays most of the time (birthdays don't count). Have a random piece of Halloween in July! The set up to the formation of the Shield (the whole Halloween costume, fight at school thing) wasn't planned out. I just wrote what came to mind. Seth's superkick to the kneeling opponent was the Avada Kedavera (however it's spelled), I think Dean's finisher was called Moxicity, and Roman's finisher as Leakee was a spinning bulldog of sorts, but I don't think he'd do that to someone on a concrete floor like that, so spear it is. This'll be fun to write… See you next chapter!