"Is it true? Dean? Do you still keep in touch with your ex-girlfriend?"

Dean sighed heavily. He refused to make an eye contact with either of his friends. Although now they resembled enemies more. He couldn't hope to get them to support him. They were without doubt against him. This was a hearing with him as a suspect. Roman and Seth were the ones asking questions and accusing him of whatever crime they thought he committed. Hopeless situation. Now there was no escape. Dean had to admit the truth. He kept hiding it for too long; it could no longer stay a secret. The hateful, judging look on Seth's face made that clear. But if Dean was to have that conversation, he required privacy. Because even though two people had found out about his sneaky actions, there were others, especially one certain person, that still had no idea and Dean wished for it to stay that way.

Dean checked if nobody was near; he closed the door and locked it. Then he returned to Roman and Seth, knowing the peaceful times were over. They expected nothing less than full surrender.

"Yes," Dean finally admitted. He didn't feel very talkative. Neither was he looking forward for what was to come. Those two certainly wouldn't look at him as at a victim.

"Does Renee know?" Roman asked.

The answer was pretty obvious. "No." Seth shook his head in disbelief. Dean added, "And I'd appreciate if it stayed that way."

"You cannot keep it from her." Seth's comment was left unnoticed.

"How long has this been going on?" Roman wanted to know.

"How long has this been going on?" Dean repeated, then looked at Roman, who asked the question, and Seth, who wasn't very supportive either. Dean felt he needed to make something clear. "I'm not cheating on Renee." It seemed to him that Roman and Seth, especially Seth who seemed to have locked their friendship deep inside so as to not let it affect his judgment, were accusing him of not being entirely faithful to his girlfriend. That was bullshit, and Dean couldn't accept that accusation.

"I knew sooner or later you would screw up," Seth said victoriously. But there was really nothing to be happy about. The relationship of his friends was in jeopardy. Maybe Seth didn't realize it. He was too enthusiastic about seeing that Dean wasn't in fact as perfect as it initially appeared. Now it was clear that there were things Renee had no idea about. Seth waited for the moment Dean would finally do something wrong; he couldn't know he was never that good and that in reality Dean had been secretly screwing up ever since he started going out with Renee. Seth supposed Dean hadn't stopped being in touch with Cassie after they broke up. He believed there was not a single day when they were really apart. Seth didn't think of an option that he might be wrong and that maybe Dean and Cassie stopped contacting each other for some time when they weren't together anymore. It could have been a coincidence that they became friends afterwards. Maybe a mistake when they dialed the other person's phone number. For Seth, this wasn't what happened. And if Dean didn't actually cheat on Renee in an orthodox kind of way, he was unfaithful to her just by keeping this, in Seth's eyes huge, secret from her.

"How did this even happen?" wondered Roman. "And when do you . . . how do you meet? Doesn't she live in a different state?"

"Oh, wait." Seth knew suddenly too much. He had information that he could use now. Everything that Dean had told him while he was still in a relationship with Cassie and when it was clear they wouldn't make it came now to a good use. It made perfect sense. "She got a job offer in Vegas," he remembered what Dean told him months ago. "I never thought of a possibility that she could have actually taken it."

"Does she live in Vegas?"

"That day we broke up," Dean explained, "after we broke she asked me if I didn't mind if she took that job anyway."

"And you said you wouldn't," Seth predicted. It was an accusation. He was right, though.

"What was I supposed to say? I couldn't forbid her to move there. She wasn't my girlfriend anymore; even if she was, I didn't have right to tell her what to do. Of course I said I wouldn't mind. Las Vegas is big anyway; I realized we wouldn't even probably ever meet."

"Yet you do."

"Yes, we do ," he repeated sarcastically. "So what? It's no big deal anyway."

Seth smiled; he wasn't amused, though. "Not a big deal? You hang out with your ex, for crying out loud! How can you pretend it is okay?"

Dean saw what Seth's problem was. "You don't trust me. You think I'll end up in bed with her."

"Is it so unbelievable to think it might eventually happen? If it hasn't yet," he added quietly but intentionally, "I know you, Dean."

"Well, but this is not about you and or your lack of trusting me."

"I'm being a friend her," Seth tried to assure him but what he was saying was quite contradictory. "You two have a history together. Can you, please, realize that? Let's say you have been able until now to let go of all the memories of you being a couple. But you cannot confidently say it won't change in the future and that there won't be a time when you'll look for something more than a friend in her. This is dangerous, Dean. It cannot end well. And what about her? Do you know what her intentions are? She may see this as a way of getting back together with you."

"We broke up. We're not getting back together. I'm with Renee now, and she knows it."

"Can you take this seriously?" Seth was sure he didn't. At least not enough.

"Why? This is not a serious issue. I don't get why you make such a big deal out of it. I know what I'm doing and I'm aware of possible consequences. But there won't be any. I got this under control. Cassie and I are friends, nothing more. What happened happened; why should our dating history affect us? Why should it prevent us from hanging out?" Seth didn't answer him but Dean didn't even get him chance to say anything. "This is my life, Seth. I know what I'm doing so, please, just leave it. This has nothing to do with you. It's my problem. Hell, it's not even a problem. It's just something you don't like. It bothers you, not me."

"You really don't see any problem with it?" Roman asked now. Judging from what Dean told them, he really didn't. He knew it wasn't clever of him mentioning that he still hanged out with Cassie, but now that it was out, he was willing to stood behind his decisions and not even slightly hesitate about it being a right choice.

"No," Dean said. He was confident; he didn't waver. But this conversation was tiring him as well as boring him. He felt if it was to go on for longer, he would end up repeating himself. He didn't like repeating himself. He stood behind what he said and wouldn't change his mind. This compulsory talk wasn't pleasant, either; and he knew that no matter what he'd say, Roman and especially Seth would never agree with him nor accept his opinion. It seemed to him that they took him for a child who was unable to make right decisions and needed to be advised by someone superior, some guardian, who knew more about it. But in fact, in this case, they didn't know anything. They were judging him but in reality they knew so little that almost everything they said could be considered irrelevant. And it didn't really concern them either. They cared about Dean, one had to give them that, but that didn't authorize them to criticize his decisions.

Dean wished to leave. He unlocked the door, but Seth wasn't finished with him yet. "What would Renee think about it?" This was the only thing that Dean cared about, that really mattered to him regarding this whole "issue." He didn't want to hurt her; she didn't deserve it. Right now she was happy; she was deeply in love with him and discarded all the minor mistakes he had made. But he knew that seeing his ex-girlfriend and not mentioning it once to his current girlfriend wouldn't be considered a minor error; it would be a real threat to her trusting him. "How do you think she'll feel when she finds out?"

"She won't find out."

"Dean, you cannot keep this a secret from her. She's your girlfriend; she ought to know."

"No. Look, Seth, I realize how terrible knowing about it would make her feel. That's why I needto hide it from her. Do you understand?"

"Roman," Seth searched for support in his friend, "Tell him that he has to confess this to her."

Roman thought a while. He looked extraordinarily serious. He knew this was a big deal, no matter what Dean said. But he didn't want to say the first thing that was on his mind, like Seth most of the time did. Roman would come with an opinion and advice, but these would be thought through. His friends looked at him as at an authority for a reason; it wasn't because he was older or naturally wiser; he wasn't spontaneous, he always considered objectively what the best decision would be. He always tried to help. Give advice, not order was his policy. And Seth and Dean respected him even when they didn't like what he told them to do; he still had a point. Most of the time. This was yet another situation when they looked up to him to solve their dispute. They needed their big brother.

"I have to agree with Dean on this one," Roman said. Now that was something Seth didn't thought would happen. Roman used to favor Seth; and Seth believed he was right in this situation, so why Roman chose to support Dean?

"Thank you," Dean replied happily. That happiness was short-lived, though.

"Renee doesn't need to know; she shouldn't know. We all know how she would take it and that she would drastically change her opinion on Dean as a boyfriend." That made sense. Not telling Renee would prevent her possible breaking up with Dean. None of them wanted that to happen. "And there's really no need for her to find out; ever. Let just Dean deal with this situation, and that'll be it."

"Deal with it?" Dean didn't quite understand what Roman was trying to say.

"Stop seeing Cassie. Seth and I can promise you right now that we'll never speak of this in front of Renee. Everything will get back to normal."

"I'm not gonna stop seeing her," Dean assured them. He was surprised Roman and Seth would take it for granted. He had never mentioned he intended to never see her again. All that he had said was targeted at proving that there was no danger in hanging out with her although she was his ex-girlfriend. Where did they get that he even would be willing to lose her? She was his friend; he wouldn't get rid of her just because they used to date. That seemed unfair. It wasn't what he wanted, either. Dean wished to save his relationship with Renee, but Cassie had to stay.

"But, Dean . . ."

"No," he shouted. Just the thought of them wanting this from him angered him. It was his decision. They couldn't tell him what to do.