"So you finally asked Echo, huh?" quizzed Dean, a brotherly grin cast upon his lips, at the same time ignoring Roman jogging down the hall behind them; no doubt he would attempt to convince them to forgive and forget as he had done many times since ending things with Serenity. Still, the Samoan didn't want to understand that Serenity wasn't their problem; he was and what he had done. "Still thinking of asking her the other one?" he asked, recalling this had been the most determined Seth had been about anything in his school life, even more determined than getting on the wrestling team.
"Hey," called Roman, acting as if the trio still shared the strong brotherly bond they'd once been known for. The moment he caught up with them, their previous conversation died, and the shared grins disappeared, replaced with silence. It was as if all the air had been sucked away. All the love had faded the moment he had joined them again. Roman sighed upon sensing their coldness again, the anger that radiated from them as if they believed he was the enemy that would finally destroy them. "How many times have I got to say I'm sorry?" he sighed, noticing how both glanced at each other as if they were reading each other's minds before they turned and walked away again. Roman, however, simply shook his head and ran to catch up again; he wasn't about to give up that easily; they were his brothers, and he wanted to fix their friendship, their brotherhood, and return the closeness that had once been between them.
"Sorry isn't gonna fix it," worded Dean, stopping at his locker to put his side bag into the tin can and retrieve his gym bag. He and Seth had plans to work out for a bit, and both knew the NXT Hall gym would be the quietest; only the Darklings had access to it. "You did everything you could to rip us apart, our family apart; you knew what you were doing when you burnt the bridge; you didn't care then, so why start now?" stated Dean, walking off to rejoin Seth further down the hall. The Architect had stopped at his own locker, next to Echo and AJ's; he'd gotten his gym wear but had stopped to look over the photos delicately placed on Echo's locker; a soft grin appeared upon seeing the one of him and Echo together.
"I don't expect you to understand," started Roman, instantly regretting his chosen words, especially with his next sentence. "I did what I did because I thought I was in love," he added, almost crashing into Dean when he stopped in the deserted corridor. Seth, too, seemed to have heard his words as he simply shook his head and walked toward the nearest staircase. "I didn't mean it like that."
"You didn't do that for love; you did it for yourself," simply replied Dean, "We know, love, I'd do almost anything to see Renee smile, but I also know she wouldn't demand I tear apart my brother's happiness to prove something to her," he added, recalling all the times he hung out with Renee, Echo, AJ, and Nikki before the miss-matched family had come together, the trips to the cinema to see a random film, random little meet-ups at Pumpkin Spice and the study sessions on the weekend. Even then, Renee had never expected anything and always encouraged him to keep working on his own friendships and brotherhood. "Seth turned everything he knew about school life upside down to prove to Echo he was serious about his feelings for her. Our family formed because of it, and you say we don't understand what someone would do for love."
"He also cheated on her with Becky, broke her heart," added Roman, being thankful Seth wasn't in earshot, but still, he and Dean knew it was the truth. "He made promises he couldn't keep. You may have been faithful and treated Renee like a queen, but that doesn't mean either of you truly understand love; it doesn't mean either of you found your person," he added, once again regretting his word choice. "Seth swore he'd never go through the high school romance again after Lacey; he never looked at anyone after she broke him ..."
"I've made promises I didn't keep for one reason or another, too," spoke Dean, defending Seth, his brother. "Yes, Seth broke Echo's heart, and he suffered the consequences of his dumbass decision when she found out; unlike you, Seth regretted his actions; he suffered when she wasn't there but didn't push her because he loves her and knew he deserved the pain. He spent every day since she came back trying to make up for the pain he caused. What have you done, Roman, other than shift the blame and make excuses?"
"He dragging up my stupidity again?" asked Seth from the bottom of the mental staircase, his voice nonchalant, clearly displaying he didn't care, not anymore, at least.
"Yup, said we didn't understand love," replied Dean, walking at Seth's side as they headed to the NXT hall, where they knew Roman couldn't follow without permission. "You never did answer my question," added the Lunatic, returning the subject of conversation to their previous one before Roman's appearance, simultaneously ignoring Roman following behind.
"She agreed to go to prom with me, at least," replied Seth, recalling asking Echo the simple question over the weekend. She'd been surprisingly receptive as if she guessed he'd eventually ask her. "As for the other one, I was thinking of asking her at the tournament finals," added the brunette, a small grin appearing across his lips once more. Everyone knew Echo would be there even if she weren't competing, just like AJ would. Both would support their team and their friends whether they won or lost. "We both know H has been working on a way to include both girls and ensure they'll still involved in the finals in some capacity."
"It's not like either can compete," called Roman from behind, once again trying to insert himself into the conversation and bring the sense of brotherhood back. "They were both severely injured in the hit and run; what else can they do other than offer support from the audience?" he added, this time with general curiosity, sure AJ and Echo had been on the team since the very beginning, they'd worked as a team and separately through the course of the tournament, but that was before the accident before Triple H was forced to find replacements in Liv Morgan and Nikki Cross.
"At least they didn't abandon the team for no reason like you did," Dean shot back, practically throwing the words over his shoulder. "It practically killed H to have to replace them on the team; he tried everything, including having the tournament date pushed back," he added, recalling the day when Triple H had announced the replacements, how he described Cross as the only sensible replacement for Echo, a Darkling for a Darkling.
For a moment, Roman began to think; he could see he was having no luck with Seth and Dean; they were just as determined to punish him for the past as he was to earn their forgiveness and return things to a sense of normality. Now he thought about it, but things weren't much better with the aforementioned Darklings either. Finn was by far the worst; he was protective of all the misfits, especially Summer, and practically growled at Roman when he neared. Dominik was the only Darkling who spoke to him, as did Aleister on the odd occasion; the rest acted like he wasn't there.
The rest of the mix-n-match family wasn't much better. Although they'd forgiven him, most of them hadn't forgotten and were rightly weary of him, even more so when Serenity trailed behind him. At best, the majority tolerated him; some tried to help, but none said anything when the Darklings would disappear. Punk had been the one who advised Roman to listen, but even that was difficult to do.
"Perhaps I should talk to Echo," spoke Roman, hearing the sniggers from just ahead of him. At least Seth and Dean were listening; that had to count for something. "What's so funny?" asked Roman as a wave of regret hit him. He hadn't been to visit since the day she woke up. He'd visited AJ plenty of times, but something seemed to stop him from seeing Echo. He'd have all the courage needed and mentally given himself pep talks, but the moment he reached for the door handle to her room, all the courage would vanish, and he'd be left with haunting thoughts and second-guessing himself.
"I'll give you that you'd be more welcome than Serenity," answered Seth, figuring Echo would see Roman as the lesser of two evils, but even then, Demon wasn't known for forgiving or forgetting easily. "You're sweet words, and excuses won't fly with her, you know that. But if you're gonna try, do it while she's still in the hospital; she'll disappear and make it more difficult around here," he added, recalling how difficult it was to catch a glimpse of Echo outside of classes during the split. She was like a ghost for all intents and purposes; there was one second, and then she was gone the next.
"Don't forget he played games with all of us before," voiced Dean, a smirk appearing across his lips seconds later. "Tournament finals, you gave it some thought," he added not long after; although he wasn't personally one for romantics, he had thought about life outside school, imagined in a sense what it would look like. However, those thoughts had changed somewhat over the past year; something had stayed the same, including wanting nothing more than to build a life with Renee.
"What am I missing?" asked Roman, quickly sensing he was out of the loop more than he originally thought. He could at least say it was more than just the goings on of the wrestling team, just as he could guess whatever topic the conversation kept reverting back to was outside of wrestling for the most part but something a little more personal to the two he wanted to fix things with.
"Common sense," replied Seth, his words followed by a light bout of laughter. Even for Seth, that was a quick response. "Or maybe you have a spotty memory; I don't know about Dean, but I remember you demanded we choose in this quad not too long ago. You or Summer, I think it was," he added, remembering the choice rather well, considering it had been just minutes after he finally started to get things back on track with Echo. A sigh was soon heard from behind the pair of brothers, deflated but not defeated yet, it being clear the Samoan teen had hoped they would forget one of his many displays of stupidity.
"That still stands right?" asked Dean, figuring that was why the rest of the Darklings were being so difficult too; it wasn't just their dislike for Roman or their unbreakable loyalty to each other and their significant other, but also sheer stubbornness. Roman demanded that they choose, and they did, and they were just as determined to hold him to his word and themselves to their own choices. "I know it does with our delightful Darklings, but does it for the rest of us?" he questioned, hearing Roman's quiet response as if it had suddenly dawned on him why the group of Gothic teens were purposely making things tougher than they had to be. "Actions have consequences, even yours."
"Yeah, thanks for the reminder," grumbled Roman as he began questioning himself. Dean was right. He had knowingly burned that bridge, back when he believed Serenity was his soul mate, before he saw her true colors and the red flags she'd been waving in his face from the beginning. She was a user, a taker who wanted everything for nothing in return, and now Roman could see she wasn't the angel he'd once believed her to be; she was a terror he wished to be rid of for good but knew that was impossible as he'd stupidly tied himself to her through a child.
Seth was right, too; he had ignorantly demanded all those who had once seen him as a family to choose between him and Summer. They had done as he asked; he'd forced them away, and they had left as he wanted, but now he wanted them to return. He regretted everything but knew it couldn't be fixed overnight, no matter how much he wished it could be, no matter how much he wished he could erase the stupidity of his past and replace it with a better version, one where he wasn't such a dick to everyone, one where he saw Serenity for manipulative trash she truly was.
"If I could take it back, I would," spoke Roman after some time, jogging to catch up to the pair, passing them so he could stand before them instead of trail behind. "I'd take it all back, everything with Serenity, breaking Summer's heart, the questioning and thinking I knew everything, all of it," he added as he walked backward, only stopping when Seth and Dean did. "I thought Serenity was my special someone; I thought I knew her; I was blinded by what I thought was love so much that I didn't see the red flags she was waving; I couldn't see the real her as everyone else could. I know what I did was beyond stupid; I betrayed everyone who cared, betrayed you two, broke your trust in me, and hurt you. I'm sorry; you both deserved better. I should have told you I was jealous instead of letting it be twisted into resentment."
Neither Seth nor Dean said anything. Instead, they listened; however, confusion wrote on their features upon hearing Roman had been jealous, and both questioned what he had grown jealous and resentful of in the first place. He had everything he wanted at every turn, even if he had since changed his mind.
"What were you so jealous about you'd tear your brotherhood apart?" came the voice of Finn from behind Roman, startling the Samoan into turning around. Where Roman had expected to see anger and hatred in Finn's icy eyes, he was met with almost understanding and curiosity. That alone told the Samoan teen the Irishman had heard most of what he said. "What did you resent that much you'd willingly tear a family apart at the seams of some witch?" he asked, clearly displaying his attempt to understand if only so all of them could let go and move on.
"Love," replied Roman; instantly, his pale eyes found the tarmac. The minute the four-letter word left his lips, a wave of shame crashed over him. It was a stupid reason to do what he did, a stupid thing to be jealous of, but that was his reasoning, his true reasoning for the jealousy and resentment he felt had pushed a wedge between friendships and the brotherhood. "You had Renee, Dean; anyone can see you two were meant to be, even I couldn't tear you two apart with my thick games," he added, seeing Dean shake his head. However, that seemed more like confirming that Roman had intended to tear him and Renee apart as he'd done with Seth, Echo, and, unintentionally, Finn and Becky.
"You had Summer, someone who did love you, and you still threw it away," voiced Dean, stating the truth Roman had neglected all this time, which was the reason Summer hated him so much. "You say love was the reason for all of this, yet you didn't think twice before playing a game with Summer's heart, treated the gift of love she gave you as if it was nothing," he added, pointing out the harsh reality, the true reason Summer refused to forgive him or be around him. He turned her love into scolding hatred, and she wasn't ready to let go of it or willing to trust him again after what he'd done.
"But that wasn't what you two had," admitted Roman, "I thought when I fell in love, it would be unexpected like yours was with Renee and life-changing as Seth got with Echo. I was jealous when Dean found love first, but I contained it because you were my brother, and I wanted you to be happy. I had Seth too, who made it abundantly clear he wasn't interested in the high school romance again," he added, noticing Summer had appeared and stood next to Finn; however, she didn't say anything, just listened as if finally she was hearing the truth on why he hurt her so viciously. "When Seth started to show an interest in Echo, I felt the jealousy bubble again; even when you denied it, I knew what it was. Demon's different; she always has been, but I hoped you'd ignore it; it was selfish of me, but I hope you would because I knew I couldn't handle both of you finding love before me, especially when neither of you went searching for it as I did. It hurt me you two could find love so easily when I couldn't have it."
"Now I get it," voiced Summer, her voice neutral, her temperament surprisingly calm even when she felt hurt and angry. "You didn't love me like I did with you, but instead of being a man and telling me to my face, you played stupid little games. I understand now; I wasn't the one you wanted, but the one you settled for. I'm sorry to have been such a big disappointment," she spoke before trotting away without another word. She finally had the answers he'd denied her for so long and had her suspicions confirmed. Now, the leggy blonde could finally let go of what she couldn't change, focus on herself, and learn to trust and love again.
"You two sort things out with him; I'll go after her," said Finn, suspecting more to come.
"Tell her she still got us. We love her," called Seth when Finn rounded the corner. Summer had disappeared around seconds earlier. The Irishman nodded before disappearing completely; he'd tell her even when everyone knew she was aware. "Where does the resentment come from?" asked Seth, returning his attention to Roman once more and voicing the same question Dean had lingering on his lips.
"When you started following Echo, I didn't think much of it. You two were so different; I thought it was just a crush and you'd get over her. I didn't care when you turned everything upside down; I loved you more because you did what you thought was needed to show Echo you were serious, and I was so happy for you when you two started dating. Yes, I was jealous; you got what I wanted, but again, you were my brother, and I knew if the roles were reversed, you'd be there for me, so I pushed the jealousy aside to be there for you, I got to know Echo too, I could see. However, she was hesitant. She did love you too, even if she denied it," began Roman, once again being truthful and feeling he had to be if he stood a chance at getting what he wanted.
The second those words left Roman's lips, Dean looked away as if he had caught on to what had caused the jealousy to turn into resentment. Finally, he understood that Roman hadn't been the only one to carelessly throw the love he had away, although it was just as clear the Samoan had missed just how much Seth had paid for his dumb decision.
"The jealousy turned to resentment when Seth told us he messed up," sighed Dean, seeing Roman nod in confirmation. "You thought you were doing Echo a favor by forcing him to tell her the truth, but you didn't realize Becky was the one-night stand or that Finn didn't know either," he added, realizing the domino effect when he remembered Seth had never named the girl he'd hooked up with. Everyone had found out when everything had blown up. Becky had told Finn the truth, who in turn clued Echo in.
"You went on like nothing had happened, acted like you hadn't done anything to betray her trust like you hadn't done what Lacey did to you," began Roman again, for the first time showing regret; he hadn't intended to hurt Echo, Finn or Becky, he just wanted his brother to see the error of his ways and correct it before it was too late. "You never faced the consequences of what you did; when everything blew up, Echo forgave you, and you two moved on. I hated you for being that lucky, resented that you could hurt her, and she would be stupid enough to forgive you when you didn't deserve it. I thought if you could see what you'd lost, you wouldn't take love for granted; you'd see how precious it was and how lucky you'd been," he added, although he figured he'd missed something when Seth's rage flared in his dark eyes.
"How would you know if I faced the consequences?" asked Seth, his voice raised as anger wrote across his face. "When it all blew up, you weren't there; you were too busy breaking Summer's heart and cozying up to your baby momma," he added, "Demon's not as stupid as you think; she didn't forgive me; she confronted me once after Finn told her, after that, she broke with me, I didn't get the chance to tell her anything as she avoided me like I was the frigging plague. She'd only be around me if she had to be; she was also cold to Becky. She disappeared from my life. Wrestling team, the odd outing, and shared classes were the only times she'd talk to me; other than that, it was like she was never there," Seth added, remembering hurting through that period, but he forced himself to accept it, knowing she was hurting too and far worse, all because of him. "I tried doing what you were now, trying to get her to talk, but stopped when Aleister pulled me aside and told me what I was missing, why she'd practically erased herself from my life. I understood what she needed and gave it to her; the day you gave us that pointless ultimatum, I finally summoned the courage to ask her to talk. That was the day I finally got some hope back."
"She hasn't taken him back, Roman," clarified Dean, illuminating what Seth had refused to say. "They talked it out, but she told him he has to find himself before she'll consider giving him another chance," he added, recalling how much had changed that day. Seth still had a broken heart, but he was more hopeful. Dean had figured out at some point Seth needed Echo, something he was sure she, too, had realized and likely something that scared her. "He's right, though, Echo isn't stupid. She won't make the same mistake twice, even for someone she loves."
"And I think I finally get what she meant," spoke Seth, "For months after everything blew up, I blamed myself for what you did; I questioned how I could fail so epically when you were right there at my side. I questioned how Dean and I had failed to see you weren't who you said you were when you were right there beside us," he added; a sigh escaped his lips as he finally saw it. "I resented myself for that failure, hated myself so much I tried pushing everyone else away; I carried that burden and blame, thinking I had failed you as a friend and brother. It was never my burden to bear when, in truth, I wasn't the one who failed; neither of us failed or betrayed you; it was you who betrayed us."
"Seth?" questioned Dean, as his brows sowed together; for a second, he questioned if Seth had finally lost it but soon realized something had twigged.
"No, he has to hear it," replied Seth, "Both of us blamed ourselves when he showed his true colors when he started an affair with Serenity and practically tormented Summer. We both questioned how we could miss the signs he was like this. We questioned ourselves and our abilities as friends, even our brotherhood," added Seth, turning away from Roman and putting all his attention on Dean. "But we weren't the ones to blame. We never were. He chose to torment Summer, and he chose to break her heart; he chose Serenity to betray everyone and everything; no one forced him to do what he did; we aren't the ones who failed Dean; our chosen family is proof of that, Renee and Echo are proof of that. We have nothing to apologize for because we didn't do anything to him. He failed us."
"Who is she?" asked Roman; initially, he believed it was Echo or Renee but soon figured otherwise. Dean would have said something instead of questioning Seth's sanity, and Seth would have named either. "What did she say to you?" he questioned.
"That would be me," came the Ozzie ascent from the glass entrance of the NXT sports hall. When Roman turned, he was met with Rhea, who was bold and confident as always. "I told him he had to let go of the things he couldn't change, let go of the regret he was holding on to," spoke Rhea, folding her arms across her chest. A grin appeared across her black-painted lips before it disappeared again.
"Oh," chuckled Dean, "You still looking for another prom date?" he asked, purposely changing the subject to wind Rhea up. Yet she didn't seem to notice, instead rolling her eyes and quietly nodding in response. Everyone in the school knew she and Jey weren't going to prom together now; instead, he was going with his childhood friend, thankfully though he'd been honest and upfront about it instead of stringing her along. "Pester Aleister. He's got a Buddy that will be interested."
Seth only chuckled; it had been a while since Dean purposely wound up one of the girls, almost too long. Rhea's sudden curiosity and familiarity with the subject only added to the amusement, even more so when it was clear she'd heard of this friend before, perhaps from one of the other Darklings.
"Deal with him first, then wind me up," Rhea responded. "Don't make me weaponize Demon," she added, only to have Seth shake his head and Dean pretend to be scared. "Oh, bite on it," she said mere seconds later before pointing to Roman and locking the door again. She waved innocently as she disappeared into the larger building to inform the other Darklings that the duo and Roman were there.
"Someone tell me what's going on, please?" asked Roman, his voice loud and confusion written across his features. It sounded like a breakup to him, but instead of between lovers, it was between brothers who no longer had anything to fight for. Like when the family says there is too much water under the bridge to move on. Roman's icy eyes darted between Seth and Dean, his heart sinking as the realization hit him: that was exactly what it was.
"About a month ago, you wanted us to make a decision; you asked us to choose between a toxic brotherhood that no longer had the love or support it was known for or the found family that had been there through everything, even when he didn't realize it," spoke Dean, "Just like before, you didn't care what you were throwing away because you thought you had everything you needed in Serenity, you thought you'd finally got what you wanted with her. So when we chose to walk away, you didn't care. And now you stand here and claim we didn't fight hard enough and failed you because we didn't do what you wanted or expected us to. When, in truth, you failed, we walked away that day, but you abandoned us long before then. We questioned every day how we missed it when you changed, but we never missed anything cause the brother we knew and loved, the brother we cared about, was an act. We couldn't find where we went wrong with you because we didn't do anything but a fool for your act. We chose to walk away then and stand by it now, but this time with the knowledge that we never abandoned you. You chose this when you started playing games and plotting to take Daniel's pathetic spot at the top of the popularity tree."
"I was wrong," uttered Roman, as everything seemed to come crashing down around him. He felt relief that no one else was around, especially when he was sure the dispute between the trio would be the center of everyone's attention, none more so than Serenity's. He was certain she would grin victoriously if she were around to hear any of this, to witness them walking away again. "I thought Serenity was what I wanted, what I needed; I didn't see her for the witch she was, and I did some stupid things, but that's over now."
"You're right, Roman. It is over now," replied Seth, waving to Rhea when she returned to the foyer of the large sports hall. When she opened the door to let them in, Seth thanked her and entered the building. He didn't listen when Roman called his name, nor did Dean. Instead, the two walked away toward the Darklings, as if symbolizing they were leaving the past behind and walking toward a brighter future. A future that didn't include him, a future that Roman had stupidly thrown away without even realizing what he was giving up.