"What are you doing?" Dean asked, clearly irritated, after he grabbed Renee by her arm. She was just going to avoid having another conversation with him, but he simply wouldn't let go. He made her face him and look him in the eye. She felt uncomfortable and threatened by Dean's annoyed mood.
"I believe I'm doing my job," she replied in an unfriendly manner, but showing hatred has never been her strong side. She felt rather nervous and started to squeeze the papers that she was holding.
"That's not what I'm talking about. I ask, what are you doing?" The emphasis was on every single word.
"Can you be more specific?" she asked.
"I know you've been with Seth earlier," he explained, but it only resulted in confusing Renee even more. She was wondering what Dean meant by been with Seth. She really hoped he did not think that something happened between them. Of course, they were in a room together, alone, but how could Dean know about it anyway? And even if he did, why would he assume that something that would be dangerous for their friendship happened in there?
"So?" Renee didn't even try to persuade him it was not true. He would not believe her, and more importantly, she didn't do anything bad after all.
"So?" he repeated. "Don't you see any reason why you shouldn't do that?"
"No," she admitted bravely. "I believe I am allowed to spend time with my friends."
"Yes, of course you are. But considering your desire to be more than just his friend, I don't trust your intentions."
Renee didn't want to have this conversation with him. They were in the middle of Raw and feeling uncomfortable or frustrated was the last thing she needed. Unfortunately, Dean was making her feel that way and it got worse with every single word he said. As if it wasn't already hard enough for her, he had to confront her and talk down to her.
"I know what I'm doing," she replied with confidence, and turned away from him ready to leave.
"You cannot have him," he shouted so that she could still hear him after she made a few steps. That was when she stopped walking, turned back to him and angrily stepped up to him.
"You think I don't realize that?" she cried. "I know very well that we can never become a couple, I cannot even confess to him what I feel. I'm trying to be okay with that but it's not that easy."
"Then why do you make it more difficult for yourself by spending so much time with him?"
"Should I just not see him again? How am I supposed to accomplish that? We work together," she reminded him.
"But maybe it would be best if you avoided him for a while," he suggested, and this time he sounded a little friendlier. His words were still quite harsh but he needed to be strict.
"I wish I could," she mumbled to herself. Then she looked up at him and said, "I can't do that."
"Well, you have to," he emphasized, and once again returned to his cold attitude. "No good can come from your being close to him. You need to stop this once and for all. . . . I'm telling you this as Seth's friend; if you keep luring him or doing whatever it is that attracts guys to you, I will have to step in."
"Are you seriously threatening me?" She couldn't believe what he was saying.
"Let's say I am warning you."
"I can't believe this." Renee sighed. "You think that the fact that you're Seth's friend gives you the right to tell me what to do? You cannot stop me from talking to him and seeing him, even outside WWE."
"I'm sorry you see it that way, but all I'm doing is really just being a good friend. I cannot let you ruin his relationship and even his life with your obsession." Dean would not stop making Renee angry.
"First, it's not an obsession," she explained. "And second, I've got this feeling that you don't need to worry about it anymore. With this attitude, the whole crash thing will be over soon."
She was hurt, but she tried not to let it show. She hated when Dean acted this way. It made her wonder why she started falling for him in the first place. He could be such a jerk sometimes. And sure, he believed he had reasons to be authoritative, but fundamentally, the truth he believed in did not concern him. It was up to Renee and Seth to deal with the situation. Dean's interference could cause only harm. And it started to show when Renee, offended by Dean's behavior and his words, fought with holding back the tears. She wished Dean would realize what he was doing to her. He came to defend Seth, saying he was his friend, but he seemed to have forgotten that he was Renee's friend as well. He certainly didn't treat her as such; instead he tried to fight her as if she was an enemy. Even with noble purposes, he sometimes went too far.
"I'm glad to hear that," he responded to her previous remark.
"You've achieved what you wanted," she said quietly, losing the strength to argue with him. Realizing she was about to lose another fight, with her emotions this time, she chose to surrender and go hide away from Dean. She could not even look at him; he was able to make her hate him using only words.
She just wanted to go home and be alone, preferably spend at least one week without seeing Dean. Unfortunately, that was a dream scenario which would never happen. In real world, she had to face the reality of constant traveling spiced up with being forced to see and even talk to Dean on almost everyday basis. She was so happy just a couple of days ago, now everything has changed. The crush on Dean which seemed so innocent at first later grew into deep desire fueled with thoughts of enthusiastic future, and finally turned into misery that wouldn't leave her. She was falling in love with him, now he was becoming the one she hated the most. It did not necessarily mean she was falling out of love – love was still there – it was just being buried by Dean's inconsiderate actions.
And the worst thing was that he didn't even realize it. He was repulsing her from him; he unintentionally made her want to avoid not Seth but him, but that was the plan after all. Dean's aim was to convince Renee that she should stop seeing the one she had feelings for, and in that case, he succeeded.
Unfortunately, he did not see what an important role Seth played in the whole story. He might not have been playing the leading role, but he was certainly and literally the supporting act. Since the time she told him about her secret, he was truly her friend, not like Dean pretended to be for Seth; he was always there when she needed him, even when she thought she didn't. He never failed to give her advice or make her see the truth. He did not force her into something she didn't want to do, and most importantly, he never judged her. She loved him for all that and she wished Dean would be more like him. The situation would be much simpler if Seth was the one she felt in love with, but she has never thought of him that way and she didn't want to. Her relationship with him was perfect the way it was. But now Dean stepped in and tried to break their bond, making her lose the one person she could count on. She was destined to deal with the situation on her own, and she knew she would fail.