Shielded

Don't judge a book by its cover

I found myself tossing and turning again and unable to fall back asleep. I glanced at my phone. 5:02 am. It's my day off, dammit. I laid around for a good ten minutes before dragging myself out of the bed. Seth groaned and sprawled out across the bed, he won't miss me. 

I walked out into the living area to find Dean sitting on the couch staring into space. His eyes are dark and tired. He didn't even notice me sit down next to him. "Dean?" I whispered and placed my hand on his thigh, he jumped a little. "Have you slept at all?" His tired eyes stared at me and he shook his head. "I can't sleep." He ran a hand through his hair already messy hair. "Do you want to talk about it?" I asked gently. He nodded his head, "Not here though." He got up and headed for the door. "Alright just let me change."

I put on Seth's sweatshirt and some sweatpants and left Seth a note that reads, 'out for a jog with dean be back later' 

I walked outside to be greeted by a cold morning. Dean's pacing back and forth and staring at the ground. "What happened with Bray Wyatt? Tell me everything." He broke his pace and stood in front of me. His voice is back to normal but filled with concern. "Okay well, I didn't tell you guys this because I didn't want Seth to worry but I was in the locker room yesterday night after my match with Eva, and the lights went out and Bray came in. He kept telling me how he doesn't want to hurt me and that he wants me to be on his side. Then last night he was saying the same thing but he told me he wants me and that he always gets what he wants." I could hear his words replaying in my head and almost feel his breath tickling my neck. A chill lingered down my spine. Dean was quiet for a while and kept biting his knuckle. "Are you afraid of him?" He asked. "I'm not afraid of him, I'm just afraid of what he wants from me." 

"Are you scared of me?" Dean asked breaking the cold silence. "Why would I be scared of you?" I asked him. He crossed his arms and stayed quiet for a while. "I have a lot of anger built up inside of me and when I black out or I lose my temper I see every person as the kids that laughed at me at school, or the homeless guy that used to beat me senseless and steal anything valuable I had on me, or the guys on the corner that would jump me every time they saw me walking home... When I get into that state you need to get the hell away from me Adalia. I will hurt you. You should be scared of me. I'm not safe to hang around." His voice is angry and serious now. I could feel my stomach tie up into knots. I know Dean Ambrose is capable of a lot of harm but I know he wouldn't hurt an innocent person.

"You won't get back into that state of mind Dean. You need to find your anchor and when you feel your temper rising you need to think of that anchor and let them hold you back. Your anchor will always pull you back into reality." 

He didn't say anything for a while. "Why isn't your mom your anchor anymore?" He asked as he shoved his hands into his pockets. I shrugged. "My panic attacks were because of her. Watching her die and not being able to do anything about it really took its toll on me. I had really bad panic attacks because of that but I would use her to pull me out of them. It didn't cure the panic attacks but it made them easier to withstand. I tried to use my mom to pull me out of the recent panic attacks but I couldn't. It just didn't work." I could feel my cheeks heating up and the tears building in my eyes. Don't cry Adalia, come on. I really fucking miss her. I sucked in a deep breath and Dean could tell I was hurt. "Sorry." He mumbled.

"Do you have an anchor?" I asked breaking the silence. He nodded. "Who?" I asked. He stopped walking and looked at me. "You're my anchor." I gave him a weird look. I'm his anchor? "You remind me a lot of my mother before she went to jail. She had this really sweet and caring side that she only let me see and you remind me a lot of that side of her. Nobody has ever cared about me like you do. Sure, Seth and Roman care and shit but you're always right there to guide me back into my sanity. You push and push to make sure I'm alright. You're strong and I know that if I fall you'll be able to pull me back. Nobody else has that affect on me." A small smile grew on his face and he wrapped his arms around me into a tight hug. 

I think I may be the first person that Dean Ambrose has ever opened up to and I feel pretty damn special. I feel bad for ever thinking he was strange and creepy because I had no idea what he had been through. 'Don't judge a book by its cover' has to be the most accurate saying in the history of sayings.

I'm really excited to create a friendship between these two. :) Hope you enjoy!