TITLE: Medium Raw AUTHOR: Cath DISCLAIMBER: These guys belong to themselves, names belong to WWE, I'm not making any money off this.
DISTRIBUTION: Get my permission first. Go ahead, ask. I'm easy. Wait...
RATING: K CONTENT: Bad language, ghosts, disturbing images, mild sexual innuendo, sexy banter SPOILERS: None SUMMARY: Seth Rollins is a normal guy with an abnormal ability. He takes a break from his normal routine, for better or worse.
NOTES: This is chapter 1. Chapter 2 is on its way shortly.

Medium Raw By: Cath

Seth sat up, brushing the hair from his eyes, and looked around for his friends. Roman was on a chair in the far corner of the room, fngers steepled, hair shadowing his face. It took him another second to find Dean. The blond was sprawled over a chest at the end of the bed, bent over backwards. "Morning, guys."

"'bout time you woke up," Ambrose muttered.

"Shut up, Dean," Roman said without any heat. "What's the plan, Rollins?"

Seth swung his feet off the bed, planting them on the plush rug. "Same as always: work, gym, work, bed."

"Oh come on seriously?" Dean hopped to his feet and began pacing. "That's what we do everyday. It's boring."

"What would you like?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "I dunno, it's just like, don't you ever get bored with the same old shit? Work and gym, work and gym, work and gym. We could like, take over the world or something."

"World domination?" Roman snorted. "Little ambitious for seven in the morning, isn't it?"

Seth chuckled.

"It's not that crazy," Dean shrugged one shoulder. "Seth already has a superpower."

"All right, all right, we'll go out for lunch today. We'll take over the world next week." Seth finally got up, scratching his stomach. "But I'm not taking over shit without coffee and a shower. Damnit, do I even have coffee?" He looked from side to side as if he expected the beans to be on his dresser or in Roman's hand.

Roman shrugged one shoulder. "You got the pot ready last night, but you'll need to pick up more today anyway."

"Oh yeah." Rollins headed into the kitchen for a moment, then disappeared into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Seconds later, the water was running.

Dean started for the bathroom.

Roman clamped a hand down on the blonde's shoulder. "Give him ten."

"Nah." Dean shimmied out of the bigger man's grip. "Just 'cause I'm dead doesn't mean I can't find a few cheap thrills."

With that, Ambrose strolled up to, then through, the bathroom door.

Roman pinched the bridge of his nose.

First there was a wolf whistle.

"GODDAMNIT, AMBROSE!" Followed by what sounded like a bar of soap hitting the door.

"Children." Roman shook his head. He walked through the door and into the living room.

o(*)o

"You really should buy jeans that fit next time," Dean chimed in.

"Shut up." Seth rolled his eyes and grabbed his hair, tying it back into a ponytail. "They're comfortable."

"Just saying, how can you even walk in those things?"

"I walk fine," Seth muttered, taking a seat at his desk. He booted up his computer.

Dean huffed quite dramatically and flopped on to the couch. "I was promised lunch. Don't forget."

"Yeah, yeah," Seth muttered.

"You missed a call when you were in the shower." Roman dropped into a chair across from Dean.

"Thanks." Seth skimmed through his messages till he found the missed caller. "Hey, Jack, Seth here, got your message. What's up?"

o(*)o

"Ugh." Seth linked his fingers and stretched his arms up over his head. He arched his back till the kinks in his spine gave way. "Son of a bitch." He fired up his accounting program and updated Jack's invoice, then emailed it to him, before printing it. He scowled when the machine chimed mournfully and the empty toner light blinked to life. "Damn. All right, whatever." Seth got up and flicked on the TV. The ever faithful weather channel clicked on and Seth went into his room and threw on a black sportcoat over his T-shirt. After double checking his hair, he grabbed his ipod off the dresser. "You guys all set?"

"Yeah, 'cause I've got all this other shit to do." Ambrose was already by the door, fidgeting.

"Don't be a smartass." Rollins rolled his eyes. He shoved his wallet and keys into his pockets and left.

"Don't think he can help it."

"Hey, shut up."

Before stepping out on to the street, Seth slipped on his shades and shoved his earbuds in, notching the volume as high as he could stand it.

Roman fell into his default position, two paces in front of Seth. He took a breath as Dean started talking, bitching about the weather he couldn't feel, mocking the fashion sense of other pedestrians, remicising about some of the stores they passed; saying anything he had to, in order to make sure his voice would be the first thing Seth heard if his ipod crapped out.

Reigns looked back over his shoulder. Seth had his head down, hands in his pockets, probably staring at the sidewalk to block out as much as possible. Roman faced straight ahead again. He had to wonder how Rollins had made it this far in life before he and Dean came along.

He stopped at a street corner, waiting for the lights to change. It was then that he realized Seth wasn't there.

Looking back, he spotted Seth about ten feet back, staring into the street. It wasn't hard to figure out what had his attention.

She was pretty, or would have been without all the blood. Her blue dress was soaked with it. Clutching her stomach, she wove between the cars, beating on hoods. Her wailing sliced right through him. Roman ground his teeth, fighting the urge to clap his hands over his ears.

Seth stood on the edge of the sidwalk. "Help. Help her." He looked helplessly from side to side. He took a step out, only to draw back sharply as a red sedan careened by, horn screaming at him.

Dean hopped in front of Seth, blocking his vision. "Stop, Seth. Stop. Look at me. Focus on me."

Roman moved to Seth's side, speaking right in his ear. "Walk away, Rollins. She's already gone."

The only sign that Seth heard him was a slight tensing of his shoulders. "Nobody's helping her. Why isn't anyone helping her?"

"They can't see her!" Dean snapped. "Don't look at her. Look at the people."

"Wh-what?" Right." Seth forced himself to look across the street. No one was staring, or taking pictures, or calling for help. Everyone was walking or reading or talking on their phones.

"What do you see?"

"They don't see her." Seth's voice had stopped shaking. He looked between Dean and Roman. The woman walked right up to them. She met his eyes for a second before flickering out of sight, disappearing at the other end of the street. The screaming began again, repeating note for note, motion for motion.

"What does that tell you?" Roman said firmly.

"She's already gone. I can't help."

"Walk." Dean said quickly.

"Walk," Seth murmured. "Walk." He squared his shoulders and continued on his way, losing himself in the music and the patterns in the cracks on the sidewalk.

o(**)o

"What can I get you?"

"Are you talking to me?" Seth looked around, his cheeks flushing a bit when he realized that the place was empty except for Dean and Roman.

"Who else would I be talking to?"

"Sorry," Seth smiled. "Been one of those days, you know?"

"I hear you." She held up her notepad. "What can I get you?"

"Can I get the steak wrap with a salad instead of fries?"

"I like a guy who knows what he wants. Speaking of, how about a drink?"

"Coffee and a water with lime, please."

"Ohhh, water's our speciality." She wrote everything down. "I'm Summer, by the way."

"Seth."

"Seth," she repeated, licking her lips. "I like that. Let me get that started for you."

Dean's gaze dropped to her swaying hips, but it was Roman who spoke first. "She's cute."

"Cute?" Dean snorted. "Are you blind? She's fucking hot."

Seth murmured his agreement, grinning as Summer set down a glass of water in front of him, and filled up his coffee cup. "Summer, this might seem like a weird question, but are you a dancer?"

Summer gestured around the empty cafe. "Well obviously, this is the dream, but yeah, I teach on weekends. How'd you guess?"

"The way you walk. You've got great rhythm."

"Good eye. Food should only take a few more minutes."

"How'd you know?" Roman walked over to the large bay windows, staring out at the passerby.

Seth waited until Summer was out of hearing range, then shrugged. "In highschool, "Seth shrugged. "Laura was my first girlfriend. She'd practice every day after school in the auditorium. Turns out she died in 1976." Seth added some milk to his coffee. "Kind of put a damper on things."

o(*)o

Seth tipped his head back and finished the last of his water. He headed to the restroom, passing Summer with a smile.

A man in a suit was already in the restroom, leaning on the wall as though waiting for someone. Seth nodded in acknowledgement and walked to the sink. He let the water run to warm up. Rollins checked his reflection.

Motion caught his eye. The man walked past him, towards the stalls.

The back of his head was in pieces.

"Oh god." Bile seared its way up Seth's throat. "Oh god." He gripped the edge of the sink, staring down at the drain. When the nausea receded, Rollins bolted from the bathroom, only to stumble back a step, sending him back into the wall with a gasp.

"Whoa, whoa, Seth, what's wrong?" Summer gripped his forearm. She brushed a strand of hair from his suddenly pale forehead. "What happened? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Part of Seth was seriously tempted to laugh in her face, if only to see the reaction. He shook his head, falling back on his default excuse. "It's a migraine. I've got one coming on and they hit like a ton of bricks. I need to get home and chill out for a while."

"Right. Let me wrap up your food for you, okay?" She squeezed his arm, and headed back.

Seth closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to compose himself. By the time he came back out, Summer was behind the register, a black take out box on the table beside her.

"You okay?" Roman asked.

Seth subtly gestured to the door, then walked up to Summer. Checking the bill he fished for his wallet and pulled out the cash for the meal, as well as a generous tip. Their fingers brushed as they made contact. He couldn't remember the last time he'd touched anyone. Seth coughed and looked away.

"Wait, there's one more thing." Summer printed up another receipt, grabbed a marker and wrote on the back of it. "You'll need that too."

Seth looked at the new paper and arched an eyebrow. "A seven figure lunch. I'm not sure I can afford that."

Dean wraggled his eyebrows. "Maybe she'll let you work it off."

Summer winked at him. "I think I'll let you work it off."

"Ohhh, I like her." Dean nudged Roman in the side with his elbow. "I like her."

"You take care of yourself, okay, Seth?" Summer smiled.

"I will. See you around, Summer." He took his container and started for the exit.

"I sure hope so."

They walked in silence for half a block. "Man," Dean let out a low whistle; "If going for lunch turns out that well, just imagine how easy it'll be when we take over the world next week."

Roman smirked. "Dean's right. At this rate, you might need to tie a black sock around your doorknob. Or hers."

"Shut up, Dean."

"Hey! I didn't say anything!"

"Force of habit," Roman and Seth said in unison.

Dean shoved his hands in his pockets. "You're both dicks."

o(**)o

Well here's the first part. Coming up next time: Things get dark.