Shield One Shots (WWE)

Fear and Loathing

Not everyone is out to screw you over...

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Emptiness. There was no other word to describe the atmosphere in the small shower stall. Seth had noticed that this piercing loneliness came with a private locker room. As the hot water droplets splashed down on his bare skin, he recalled what this situation would have been like a month ago. He would have heard laughter of several voices, maybe an argument every once in a while, and then the occasional complaint of how long he was taking. Nowadays, it was only silence.

Feeling as if he'd spent enough time rinsing off all the oil and sweat, Seth stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist before filling the vacant space that was his locker room. All that occupied it was a Money in the Bank briefcase and a small suitcase with a band t shirt and skinny jeans lazily tossed on top of it. He grabbed the clothes and changed into them on the spot, not caring if anyone saw him. He knew nobody would.

Once dressed, he zipped up his bags and retrieved his briefcase. It feels heavier than usual, Seth thought to himself as he wrapped his fingers around the golden case's handle. His arm slightly protested due to its weak state. He went on forward and grabbed his suitcase, ready to walk out his locker room door and take off towards the next city.

Lots of people were still in the backstage hallways. The show had just ended and everyone was trying to decide who was going to partner up with who to carpool to tomorrow's venue. Seth, of course, knew he'd be driving their alone. No one trusted him anymore and, frankly, he thought he was better off that way.

He walked down the corridors, ignoring all the glares and sneers as he tried to find his way to the parking lot. People bumped into him in their haste to find a ride, but he paid little attention to it. Then, he felt his foot catch behind something, causing him to trip and fall face first onto the floor. Seth let out an annoyed growl as he lifted his head, turning around to see what exactly he'd tripped over.

He saw Dean Ambrose laughing to himself as he looked at Seth laying on the floor, his best friend Roman trying to hide his own giggles. Seth rolled his eyes and looked up at his former partners.

"Really?" he questioned, pushing himself up and off the floor. "You've sunken this low that bullying me gives you a cheap laugh?"

Dean immediately stopped his laughter. His gaze turned into a glare. "Seth, don't you dare even try to accuse me of sinking that low. I think we all know that you hit rock bottom a long time ago."

Seth started to clench his fits in anger as he looked as his two former partners. "Yeah, I'm aware I hit rock bottom. Now let's just drop it so we can all get to the next city in one piece," he said, picking his things off the ground and turning on his heel.

"Yeah, that's the oh so great Seth Rollins everyone!" Dean exclaimed from behind him. Roman spoke softly after.

"Always looking out for his business partners."

Seth stopped dead in his tracks at Roman's words as he heard footsteps leading away from him. He took a deep breath and, without thinking, let his feelings speak for him. "You both know I was lying when I said that, right?" Seth turned around to see that Roman and Dean had stopped walking away from him and were now facing him.

"Really? Sure didn't sound like it a month ago," Dean said as Roman crossed his arms over his chest. Seth couldn't help as a small hushed laugh escaped him.

"Yeah, pretty good actor, huh? I'm been practicing for a long time!" Seth said. He saw Dean's face start to take a darker expression. "If you two had actually bothered to learn a thing or two about me, than you would have known exactly why I did what I did after Payback."

"Bothered to get to know you?" Roman barked. "For two years we were with you almost every day of every week! We all knew everything about each other, so don't even try-"

"Not everything," Seth said, significantly softer now. Roman and Dean still looked annoyed beyond belief, but he felt like this story deserved a lighter tone. "Don't know if either of you cared to notice, but I have extremely sensitive trust issues. I developed them a really long time ago and it's really hard to let people get close to me. Why do you think it took me almost seven years to propose to my girlfriend?" he explained, his voice getting slightly louder with every sentence. "I got scared, ok? Scared because I'm worried that I'll let someone get too close to me again and that they'll leave me behind in the dust! You guys were practically brothers to me, I was terrified! I did what I did because I know that if I hadn't have done it you both would have pushed me aside at some point in the future and I didn't want to be hurt again!" Seth was practically screaming now and the three had attracted quite a crowd.

Dean was the first to speak. "Seth-"

"Don't even try, ok?" Seth said, taking a few steps forward so he and Dean were practically chest to chest. "Everyone always says 'Oh, Dean's the one that's got trust issues' or 'Roman's got trouble letting people in'! Well, did either of you ever think that I might have those problems too? No, you both assumed I was completely fine and that everything was ok! I wasn't ok! I haven't been ok for a really long time and neither of you seemed to care! That's why I left!"

There was a long, uncomfortable silence as Seth took a few short breaths, ignoring the small salty droplets that had formed under his eyes. Roman raised his hand to rest on Seth's shoulder, but he quickly smacked it away.

"Forget it. I don't trust anyone and no one trusts me. The world's where it should be, right?" He questioned in a sarcastic tone, turning back around and walking back towards the parking lot. Dean and Roman stood completely still, looking at each other as Seth's words played over and over again in their heads.

Suddenly, Dean and Roman felt the emptiness that Seth had been feeling for the past two years.