Something seemed off when the break rolled around. The mix-and-match family had opted to stroll the school grounds and enjoy the cold, refreshing air before returning to their tasks set by Stephanie. As most seniors had, they'd been given a choice. They could help prepare for the coming days, an open day for potential students, and a parent-conference day following that, or they could continue their studies after all the big exams were only weeks away, and those apart of the sports teams were also expected to continue their practices.
"There you two are," called AJ upon spotting Seth and Echo walking around the corner of the school's large canteen, which was buzzy with life and filled with loud conversations. At the same time, Serenity rounded the corner from the nearby reception, Roman all but chasing her as she ignored him, instead quickening her pace to get away from him faster. Serenity stopped momentarily upon almost crashing into the Bellas. However, no twisted smile appeared this time; her usually judgemental eyes didn't light up with spite and malice either. Instead, her mood remained down, almost hateful to the former sports star following her.
"Oh, erm ... I ... I want to apologize for what I did to all of you," started Serenity, shifting her weight from one foot to the other to control her growing anxiety. Her day had been anything but ordinary; her entire world had come crashing down in minutes. "Especially to Becky, Finn, Summer, Echo, and Seth, in particular, were hurt most by blind stupidity," admitted the brunette, sighing heavily. She'd promised she would be better than before. Instead, she had become even worse, and now she faced a decision regarding her future.
"Why?" asked Summer, her voice gentle despite being in the presence of two people she hated with all her might. "Why did you do what you did?" she elaborated. All she ever wanted was answers if only to move on from the past and hopefully heal from what had happened. So she could finally move on from her heartbreak for good and become the bubbly person she'd been before all the drama and pain.
"He ... he ... he told me you were a crazy ex, that the Darklings were your allies, and the rest of you would never accept our relationship ... I'm ... I'm so so so sorry for what I did to all of you. Because of my stupidity, all of you were hurt; if I had realized before, none of this would have happened," answered Serenity, for once being honest, both with the people before her and herself. If she had focused on her goals instead of being queen b and the epic high school romance, none of the pain, suffering, and heartbreak would have happened; the student body wouldn't have been faced with losing the inspiring group before her either.
"She's lying," quickly interrupted Roman upon finally catching up with Serenity. He heard her stumbled words as he got closer. "She's being a spiteful bitch because she can't have it her way," he added with haste, trying his best to save face when it came to his friends, even if he already knew it was too late when it came to Summer and likely some of the others too.
"You're not to blame for the break-ups, Serenity," began Seth, his voice even despite the harsh feelings cursing him. "He is, as was our actions," added the teenager known by many nicknames. "We were all lead on, pone in his game, we were all too blinded by love to see it, to see him for the bastard he truly is," he added, finally allowing all the feelings he'd buried to come to the surface, finally stepping past the denial to see the truth Dean had long since accepted. "Whatever game you're playing, Roman, I'm no longer interested in being a part of it. You wanna be king, fine, but you can do so without hurting the rest of us; none deserved to be tormented like that."
"She's lying to you," replied Roman, in a voice similar to that of complaining. Of all the things he'd expected to happen, this was the last thing, so close to achieving his unspoken goal. "Just like the pregnancy, it's just for attention."
"ATTENTION!" yelled Serenity, reaching into her tiny, designer handbag for the pregnancy test she'd taken earlier that morning, the test that finally gave her the wake-up call she needed and opened her eyes to the truth she'd previously been oblivious to. "YOU THINK I WOULD LIE ABOUT THAT? YOU THINK I WOULD HAVE SLEPT WITH YOU FOR ATTENTION. I LOVED YOU, YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD," she continued to yell, throwing the positive pregnancy test at him with as much malice as she could muster. Anger was written across her features. "I" M A LOT OF THINGS; A LIAR ISN" T ONE OF THEM, UNLIKE YOU. CONGRATS, ROMAN, YOU'RE GOING TO BE A DAD."
Just seconds later, Serenity ran off, heading toward the closest bathrooms, if only so she could lock herself away and cry. Maryse and Carmella soon followed behind her to ensure she was okay despite the sudden and vicious wake-up call she had been through in the previous hours. On the other hand, Roman could only look down at the test clasped in his hands; so many thoughts ran through his mind, from how his parents would react to how he would worm his way out of trouble with those before him. After all, his entire plan relied on them being compliant, even unknowingly.
"So you did cheat?" spoke Summer, her question more of a statement, but it brought Roman from his loud thoughts nonetheless. "And to think I thought you were the perfect guy, instead you turned out worse than the rest," she added as she stepped closer, like Serenity before her, her eyes shone with malice and all the hate she'd previously felt, all the pain she had worked to move past. "You wanted the people you claimed were family to choose between us. Yet you've refused to see what's before you. So if you want them to choose, fine, but don't be surprised when you get an answer. You'll already know their answer if you know them as well as you think. But considering you're full of yourself and think everyone is beneath you, you'll think you've won when, in truth, you've lost more than you realize. You might not see it now, but you will, and by then, it will be too late to get it back, to fix what you used others to destroy. When that happens, I will take pleasure in watching you suffer, watching you hurt like you forced me through."
"Where are you going?" asked Roman, noticing Finn moving to follow Summer. Not a word left his lips as he did so. Nor did he do anything to encourage others to follow.
"You wanted us to choose sides; he chose Summer," replied Punk, turning his attention to AJ before placing it back on Roman. "Do you still want the rest of us to choose, or are you happy to destroy what was without our help?" he asked, knowing the most significant obstacles the Samoan would face now were the two he'd easily called brothers in the past. Seth and Dean. They had slowly realized he wasn't who he claimed to be, nor had he previously acted. Both had been hurt by his actions, especially Seth, who'd faced heartbreak because of the choices the Samoan teen had previously made.
"I made my ultimatum: either answer it now, or I'll assume you're still with me," harshly but emotionlessly replied Roman, showing the side of himself he'd spent time and effort to conceal from all those around him. The version of himself that he'd called the Tribal Chief, the version he would proclaim to be his true self.
Corey was the second after Finn to walk away, followed by the Bella twins. Neither of them spoke a word nor bothered to look back. After all, Roman had demanded they choose, and they had. They would refuse to fall for his games again or be guilted into changing their minds. Punk and AJ followed behind them, along with Miz after he'd sent a message to Maryse, asking her opinion on the matter. Eventually, only the Darklings, Seth, and Dean remained. Neither of them spoke a word. Instead, they stood in silence, waiting for Roman to say something.
"At least I can rely on my brothers still," said Roman with some confidence. This confidence grew to a ridiculous degree when Seth and Dean had stayed, although the Samoan was still unnerved by the collection of Darklings, minus Finn standing and staring. "Together, we can regain the glory we had as the hounds, return things to how they should be, rule the school as the kings we should be. Nothing will destroy our brotherhood, our bloodline."
"We ain't your brothers," Dean said coldly, cutting Roman off in his ramblings. "Do you think Seth would have turned the status quo on its head if he cared about popularity? Do you think we care about ruling the school or whatever the bloodline drabble is about? Roman, you should have stayed with Daniel and his goons if you wanted popularity. You used to be my brother, better than you are now. But that's gone now. That went the moment you let your facade slip, the moment the lies and deceit became your focus instead of our family. So you ain't my brother, you just like the guy who was," added the lunatic, making clear things had changed long before Roman believed. Things had changed the moment Roman abandoned the wrestling team and all of them for his selfishness.
"Hey, Daddy Dom," came the sweet voice of Liv Morgan, breaking up the tension she all but ignored. "Thanks for inviting me to that party last week. It was the most fun I'd had in ages," she added, reaching to play with the collar of his jacket while ignoring the looks others sent her, particularly Rhea.
"Who are you?" asked Dom, confusion flooding his voice as he tried to play innocent.
"Party?" asked JD, wording the simple question Rhea likely would have asked if she wasn't staring daggers at Dom.
"My cousin's party last week, and I didn't invite you. My sister did," replied Dom, recalling the family event. Aliyah had invited Liv as her add-on; the two were friends.
"You guys sort that out. I'll stay with the hounds," voiced Echo, mediating the growing situation. "Warn Finn and keep me updated," she added before shooing the group, including Liv, away. She knew more drama was on the horizon from the tension quickly forming, although this time contained only to the Darklings. Echo pinched the bridge of her nose before turning her attention to the three boys, only to be met with Seth worryingly grazing after the group she'd just sent away and Dean in the middle of an intense staredown with Roman.
"Who put you in charge," commented Roman, trying to ignore the deadly glare he was receiving from Dean, the glare cold enough to send an unwanted shiver to rattle down his spine.
"We did," replied Dean, pointing a limp hand between himself and Seth. "Echo's like a sister to me and his demon. We trust her far more than we do you," added the lunatic, noticing Seth had yet to voice his thoughts on the situation, although he had little doubt it was coming. After all, Roman had gone out of his way to hurt Seth more than the others; Finn and Becky had been caught in the middle, whereas Echo, like Seth, had paid the price. "Plus, you hurt her with your actions too. She deserves to know why."
"I don't care why," voiced Echo, her words sharp and to the point. "He's already made it clear all of this was to correct what Seth did for me; I don't need to know more. Nothing he can say will change what happened nor make up for what he did. Nothing will change how I feel toward him, nor what he did to those who created family. He's made his point clear; he played a stupid game with everyone and can now live with the equally stupid prize he won," she explained, speaking as if Roman was invincible, repeating the actions he'd done to her and several others many times over.
"Well said," worded Seth, the smallest of grins briefly appearing across his lips before disappearing again. "And she's right, both of them are. You betrayed us because you regretted how things changed, how I sparked the change. After all, I fell in love. But instead of saying anything like a man, you created an elaborate plan behind our backs, strung everyone along, and hurt those who trusted you in a pathetic attempt to not only turn things back to how they were but replace Daniel at the top of the tree," he added, staring right at Roman now, fearless in the face of one of his closest friends, and someone he'd once considered to be a brother. "But among you scheming, you never considered if the rest of us wanted things to return to how they were. It bothers me that you didn't think to ask us either. Instead, you decided you knew what was best and tried to force it on everyone. You played games with Serenity and Summer in the process. Now, when all of it with your baby momma blew up in your face, you call her a liar, even in the face of evidence that proved otherwise. You were our brother, Roman, and we loved you as such, but that was before you became different. I don't know if you were always like this and the brother we loved was an act or if you changed at some point, but you've gone too far to be forgiven now. I can't look past the games you played or how you would rip apart other's happiness to get what you wanted. Even worse, you now try to force those you claim were friends to choose between you and the one you claimed was your soul mate. Again, like it some game."
"Summer," called Dean, lacing his fingers together as he rolled his wrists. His attention on Seth, and he correctly predicted Echo would stand with her friend rather than someone who has contributed to hurting her.
"So that's it?" questioned Roman, stunned those he was sure would stand at his side had chosen to walk away. "No, let's talk about it or find a way to work this out; you're just gonna walk away, throw years of friendship and brotherhood away as if it meant nothing?" he added, hoping to get the pair to think twice, maybe even change their minds.
"We aren't the ones who threw away the brotherhood, Roman; we're just respecting your decision and walking away," quickly replied Dean, turning the blame back where it belonged. "We'll find out just how far your games went, Roman; for your sake, I hope it doesn't get any worse. Explaining everything to Steph isn't going to be as easy as you think, either. The staff knows more than you think they do," he added before throwing an arm over Echo's shoulder to lead her away; a half grin appeared across his lips when Seth reached for her hand. "You two finally talk things out, huh?" he commented with a playful tone.
"You knew we would," replied Seth, "After all, Echo, here is my demon."
"Yeah, yeah, you can't live without yadda yadda," responded Dean, rolling his icy eyes as he teased Seth a little. The teasing between the brothers continued as the trio headed to their predetermined destination. Echo would join in on the odd occasion, laugh along with the jokes, and occasionally throwing her own playful jabs in. Almost everything felt normal again for the first time in what seemed like forever, at least until the inevitable drama continued. The only question was whether it would be the newly brewing drama within the Darkling ranks or the continued drama with Roman and his followers.