Sempiternal

She paced back and forth, waiting for Seth to come from the behind the curtain. She had so much on her mind. There was so much she wanted to say with him, but the only thing she could make sense of was "how could you do that?" Over something so small, something as ridiculous as jealousy.

The story was different when the curtain pulled slightly, and Seth, along with Triple H and Randy Orton were now standing in front of her. Her eyes were locked on Seth's, the warm chocolate tone that she loved had been replaced by an almost black, harsh gaze that made her stomach drop. She could feel her body wanting to shake, but she held her composure.

"Is everything okay, here?" Hunter asked, looking back between the two friends.

"Why, Seth?" She asked after what had seemed like a year.

He exhaled sharply, a sick smile creeping to his lips. "You should go check on Dean."

That was it. That was all he said. Lucy could see a smirk appearing on Randy Orton's face. It made her sick. She wanted to move, but she couldn't. She was frozen and at a loss for words. Seth took the opportunity to brush past her.

She watched as he walked away. "You know, Seth, I might have loved you once." He stopped, turning his head slightly, but not quite enough to look at her. The words hurt for her to say, no matter how true they were. She knew that it would hurt him, and as much as she wanted that, as much as she wanted to get back at him for what he just did, it would hurt her ten times more. "Four long years ago before you abandoned me, I might have loved you. But you left, Seth. You left me there alone and afraid. But you 'wanted to be there', you said. You wanted to be there for me. Where were you, then? I loved you, Seth. I loved you my whole life, but you just left."

He didn't turn around. He didn't stay. He did what he has always done; walked away.

The entire backstage production crew had stopped what they were doing and watched the exchange of words between Seth and Lucy. She wiped her nose, avoiding their gaze. Her phone rang for the second time that night, again from an Unknown number. She silenced it, peeking out the curtain for any sign of Dean and Roman. They were being ushered up the ramp by officials.

"I got you." She said to Dean, sliding under his arm for support. "I got him." She told the referee. He let Dean go. All of the superstar's weight was a lot bearing down on Lucy's shoulders, but she wouldn't drop him.

"Luce."

"Ssssh, I got you."

She walked him to the medical office. Nothing was broken or ruptured, there were no concussions. He would be fine, only sore for a few days. However, Lucy knew that he wasn't going to be fine, and that this pain would last him throughout his lifetime.

The car ride to the hotel was silent. The three of them would be staying in Indianapolis for the night, seeing as Dean and Roman had been told they wouldn't be needed at Smackdown. Roman had stormed the office of WWE's creative team, asking what in the hell had just happened to their once dominant faction. Their answer; we do what the boss wants. And Lucy was sure that after Seth laid out his master plan, what the boss wanted was her best friend.

Plan B was a last minute decision, like it was when it came to most things in life.

It was a decision that she still felt she caused. She let her mind wander as she drove, thinking about what her life would be like if Seth never left Davenport. Or if Seth had said something to her earlier.

If she hadn't met Dean.

Because if she was going to be honest, she had an eye for the scruffy superstar from the moment she watched their first match on Youtube.

"Who's that?" She asked Seth as they waited in the airport for their plane to begin boarding. She pointed the black clad superstar, wearing the same SWAT uniform as Seth, making his way through the crowd towards the ring.

Seth smiled. "That's Dean, and Roman is behind him." He said proudly. "Just wait 'til you meet him, man. He's fucking crazy, and one of the realest dudes I have ever met. And he's so good, like, in the ring, and don't even get me started on his promos. Like, half the time I'm wondering where the hell he comes up with half that shit, you know what I mean? They're both awesome, and they're my brothers."

She felt sick at the memory. The way Seth talked about his partners with so much admiration and pride. She fucked it up. She broke the invisible bond that held them together.

Lucy put the car in park, glancing at Roman in the rear-view mirror. He sat quietly, his gazed fixed out the window. Dean unbuckled his seatbelt, doubling over in his seat, resting his head in his hands.

"Guys." Lucy said softly. It was almost inaudible, but it was so silent inside the S.U.V that both men heard it. Neither of them replied, and suddenly she had lost what she was going to say. She sighed, sliding off her safety belt, and stepped out of the car.

Roman and Dean weren't far behind her.

"Do you mind if I get my own room?" Roman asked Dean. "I kind of just- I kind of just want to be alone."

She hated this. She wondered how her relationship with these two men would change now that Seth wasn't there. Would they still want her around? What if they thought that she was in on it? Should she just leave?

Dean followed her into their room. He hadn't said a word. Lucy was worried that this would be the end of their short affair. He clicked on the television and sat at the foot of the bed, pulling his sweatshirt over his head. She caught a glimpse of his back, the bruises from last night had doubled. New red welts stuck out against the older, purple ones. The sight reminded her of her father, and the way her brother's skin would look after they had had yet another fight. She had bruises like that once too.

"I'm going to take a shower." She said, not wanting to think about it. Dean only nodded. She figured that if he was going to leave, this would be the time for him to do it. Slip out of the room silently while she wasn't looking, never to be heard from again, leaving her with no where to go but back to Davenport to sleep on the couch of someone that she barely knew.

However, Dean was still there in the same spot when she stepped back into the room. She walked past him, running the towel through her hair, and pulled the covers down on the second bed.

"Do you want to be alone, too?" She barely caught the quiet words, but she did, and her heart broke. Dean was looking up at her with huge, glossy blue eyes that were filled with so much pain and confusion.

She cupped his cheek in her hand and kissed his nose. Without saying anything, she climbed into bed, pulling him back towards her; holding him against her as he fell asleep.

A few days later, the trio found themselves in another hotel. They weren't scheduled for any house shows or interviews until after Raw, where they would make their first appearance since Seth turned on them. Lucy had taken time off, Mark and Adam both understood. She needed time to figure out what she was doing, and where her place was with the company, with Roman and Dean, and with Seth.

"What's the deal?" Dean asked as Roman stepped back into the room. He had just gotten off the phone with a member of creative.

"The story is that Seth approached The Authority after Batista split. They were going to go on with the whole 'Evolution perishes' crap, after I was supposed to beat Randy. But Seth threw his plan in the mix. And apparently he didn't want to be apart of The Shield anymore. He didn't say why, he just said that he thought it would be an awesome story line if we broke up in the same place we debuted, and he joined Hunter. They bought it of course, seeing as it would keep them relevant."

"Where does that leave us?" Was Dean's next question. "What? Are we not going to be together anymore?"

"They don't know, yet. The guy said the easiest thing to do is just let it progress naturally. The Shield was always about justice, and I believe they still want that, but they want us to do it separately. At least, that's what I got from the dude. He didn't exactly say that."

"What did he say exactly?"

"The Shield isn't a thing anymore." Roman said. "There's nothing left for you two as a team."

"Fuck."

"We're going to be okay, though. We are going to be fine, all three of us. Lucy girl, you hear me?" Roman reassured them. He looked at Lucy for confirmation that she believed his words. She didn't, but she nodded anyways.

"I just don't want to be left drawing the short stick, here." Dean added.

"Nah, man. This is going to be huge."

"I agree with Roman." Lucy chimed in. "This is only going to put you over more with the fans. People like someone they can relate to, and everyone has been stabbed in the back at least once by someone that they care about. They'll root for you, wanting you to succeed over Seth."

Dean just sighed. He wasn't buying it.

Roman left shortly after to pack his bags. Leaving the two lovers alone. They hadn't been on the same page since Monday. Their conversations basically consisted of 'good morning', 'good night', and 'do you you want me to get you anything'.

"Are you going to watch Smackdown tonight?" She asked him.

"Probably not."

"Seth is supposed to be explaining his actions tonight."

"Yeah, really don't care what he has to say."

Lucy dropped it, not wanting to push herself farther. She stood up, grabbed her bag, and left the hotel room. The door slamming shut behind her. If this was how it was going be, she didn't want any part of it.

She found herself at a local bar just before 8:00. The bartender switched the channel over to Smackdown, asking her if she was a fan, and began telling her about how he used to go with his dad to shows when he was a kid.

"Do you mind turning it up some?" She interrupted him, as she saw Triple H and Seth make their way to the ring.

A collective 'you sold out' chant filled the arena as Seth stood in the middle of the ring confidently. Triple H laughed at the crowd. A devious smirk grew on Seth's face as Triple H began speaking.

"A lot of you probably think that I'm just out here to brag, right? To rub it in your faces. To come out here and say 'I told you so'! Tell you I won. But no, I'm not that kind of guy. I'm not. And besides, all of you already know that anyway." The crowd booed him loudly, and Lucy rolled her eyes. "No, no I'm here- I'm here to help you get answers to your questions, because I know all of you have questions. You have so many questions of this man; of Seth Rollins. You want to know why. You have so many questions for Seth Rollins, the man responsible for the most dominant group in the history of the WWE, The Shield. Seth Rollins, the man responsible for the group that came in here and dominated everything that stood in it's path. The Shield that crushed giants, that crushed legends, that crushed champions. You have questions for Seth Rollins, the man responsible for The Shield; the group that even defeated Evolution. You want to know why Seth Rollins would walk away from all of that. So Seth, I think you owe them an answer. They want to know why, Seth. Why? Why did you do what you did Monday night?"

Lucy couldn't help but think that was a dig at her. The way she asked Seth 'why', backstage in front of Hunter and Randy, and all of the production crew.

Seth took the microphone from Triple H's hand. "So everybody wants an explanation. You want to know why I did what I did to my brothers on Monday night. So let me tell you that the only person who knows why I did what I did on Monday, and the only person who needs to know, and the only person that I owe anything to is me."

The hurt that was so evident in Roman and Dean's eyes, the hurt that she saw every second, Lucy saw none of that in Seth. He didn't even look like himself.

Seconds later Dolph Ziggler's music hit, a look of confusion washed over Seth's face, as Triple H began to smirk. Lucy had only interacted with Dolph a few times, most notably when she told him that she would have liked to see him win the U.S Championship from under Dean. He was a nice guy and was always happy and smiling, even though his career in the WWE hadn't been what it used to be.

"Now I'm sure- I'm sure I'm going to catch a beating for what I have to say, and hand to Hunter, I'm sure I'm going to be punished and pushed farther down the totem pole. Seth, I couldn't just sit back there and listen to this. You- I was never a fan of The Shield, man. But I dug your vibe, you know why? You know why? Because you went against The Authority. You, The Shield, went toe-to-tow with Evolution and you won. Hell, The Shield played a major part in Batista quitting. That was cause enough for celebration for me, bye bye Boo-tista." Lucy laughed. "But what you did was far worse than The Shield's done to anybody else. You turned your back on your own brothers. That's something that I would never do. You're nothing but a traitor, Seth, and you've done the worst thing you could ever do; you sold out, man."

The crowd cheered, the 'you sold out' chants filling the arena once more. Seth whispered something in Hunter's ear, before Hunter picked up the mic once more. "Dolph, that's a fair point. He's done exactly that. It's something that you'll never do. He sold out. He'll sell out arenas night after night after night, something you'll never do. And the other thing is-"

"Are you sure about that?" Dolph interrupted.

"Whether you know it or not, you're like Nostradamus. You were correct earlier, what was that line you said? You're probably going to catch a beating for this? Oh no, you're going to catch a beating for this. And it's going to happen right now, right now you're going to come down to this ring and you're going to get the opportunity to go one-on-one with Seth Rollins."

Lucy frowned, knowing how this would end. She would have loved for Dolph to kick Seth's ass, showing that maybe he just isn't the same without Dean and Roman beside him, but that was not what would unfold. She asked the bartender to turn the TV off, and pour her a double shot of Tito's.

Two hours later, Lucy couldn't feel a thing. She fumbled with her phone, trying to find Dean's number, but couldn't even see the screen clearly to do so. She thought she saw another missed call from an Unknown number, but she wasn't sure of anything at the moment.

"What me to call someone for you?" The bartender asked.

"Can you call Dean?" She slurred, jutting her phone in his direction.

He scrolled through her contacts for a moment, before stopping on a name. His eyes widened as he realized who she was talking about.

Dean answered on the other end, and the bartender explained that she had too much to drink, and needed someone to come pick her up. He got there quickly and paid her tab, scooping her tiny body into his large arms.

"I got you, babe." He said to her, carrying her out of the bar and into the warm June night.

"Dean." She groaned, placing a tiny kiss on his neck. "I missed you."

"I haven't gone anywhere, Luce. I'm right here, okay. I'm always gonna be here." She smiled at his words. He laid her down in the backseat of the rental and she was passed out mere seconds later. He brushed her hair from her face and kissed her nose. "I'm always gonna be here."