Paradigm Shift [On-going]

Consequences

* * *
Jasmine

I felt bad for comparing them but the difference was vast. Casual sex with Roman was empowering and all encompassesing but the connection I had with Dean was deeper than that. My body couldn't release hormones anymore but I remembered the feeling of being in love. We'd made eye contact, we'd connected on a soul level and I felt both guilt and affection as I watched Dean resting beside me. The lines of his body were perfectly framed by the light shining through the curtains and I drank it all in. The invisible rope that symbolised our bond had snapped a while ago but I still felt drawn to him. Having him near me made me forget about everything else. Even the return of Imperium didn't bother me because he was by my side and I finally felt whole.

I hear my phone beeping and shuffle towards the edge of the bed, lowering my upper body of the bed as my hand searched blindly across the floor where I left my phone, along with my clothes. I finally find what I'm looking for and my fingers wrap around it. As I turn back around, I hear movement beside me, the bed sheets crinkling as Dean sits up.

"What are you doing?"

"My phone's beeping" I answer

"Leave it" Dean mumbles "I'm not done with you yet"

Dean's lips peck at the skin on the back of my neck, but my stomach drops as I read a text from Seth.

Dean's lips stop as he feels my emotion. "What's wrong?"

I show him Seth's text but he just shrugs, completely unbothered "So what. I don't regret it and neither should you. It was great!"

I get out of the bed and make my way towards the bathroom. I had acted on instinct and had given into my carnal desires and need to be close to Dean, but by doing so I hurt Roman. I run a bath and step into the water, my mind elsewhere as I soak my body. Roman and I had grown so close and I had destroyed it. We had been so happy and now everything had changed. I thought about how he'd react when he saw me. Would he be angry with me? I wouldn't blame him. I was angry with myself. Would he shout at me?, demand an explanation?. He deserved an explanation. I'd broken his trust, still a selfish part of me wished I could have them both, that they could, by some miracle, come to an agreement and we could all get what we needed from each other and be happy without the jealousy and heartbreak. It was stupid even thinking about it, but individually they both possessed traits I desired. If we could all be in a relationship together, it would solve everything.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"I blame Dean for this" Roman mumbled

He was pushing the speed limit with his urgency to get back to the house and Seth should have offered to drive, but Roman had been itching for a fight ever since he saw the security footage and Seth couldnt be bothered with it.

"It takes two to tango Roman" Seth reminds him

Roman shakes his head. "I know her. She's not that malicious"

Seth scoffed. The poor fool was oblivious. He never stood a chance. "When we get back, take a moment to calm down. Let me talk to her for a bit."

They arrive back at the house and Roman immediately looks for Dean, but when he doesn't find him, he takes a walk into the forest instead. Seth, meanwhile, grabs Jasmine and drags her into the hideout.

"What kind of text was that, Seth!?" Jasmine asks. "What do you mean 'Roman knows?'

"Roman was watching the security cameras for hours and I had a vision of what was going to happen between you and Dean" Seth explained. "I had to tell him. I couldn't just stand back and watch him when I knew what was coming."

"I've fucked up so bad" Jasmine admits

"He'll Yeah you have!" Seth agreed. "What the actual fuck were you thinking?"

"I wasn't thinking, that's the problem!." Jasmine explained "I'm just drawn to him. I tried, I really did, but I can't stay away from him, no matter how hard I try!."

Seth sighed. "I wouldn't recommend trying to talk to Roman. At least not for a while, anyway"

"Why not?" Jasmine asks

"Everyone deals with upset differently. I, for example, get revenge, Dean lashes out and Roman....well, he mopes."

"Mopes?" Jasmine repeats

"Give him a few hours to get it out of his system then talk to him" Seth advised

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

* * *
Roman

When Dean, Seth and I got teamed together to form The Shield, we passed the friendship stage and became brothers. Me and Seth were close, but Dean and I had always been closer and I treasured his friendship. That's why I didn't act on how I felt towards Jasmine, but when Jasmine admitted she liked me too, I lost the will to resist. I knew what Jasmine was offering when we started sleeping together. She'd been honest with me about how she felt towards Dean and I had accepted the terms, but I hoped that when Dean got back, she'd stay with me. You can only be jealous of someone who has something you think you ought to have yourself, and I was jealous. I'd seen the way they looked at each other and I felt like an intruder, in a territory that ought to have been there's. It was selfish to come between that, but I wanted to anyway. I'd been in the forest for an hour trying to get my head straight, and I wondered why Jasmine hadn't found me. Maybe she didn't care that I was back. Maybe she never cared about me.

I hear a leaf breaking underneath someone's foot and my head whips around. Jasmine is slowly making her way towards me. She's capable of moving a lot faster than she is, and it's almost like she's giving me the opportunity to flee. I remain where I am, but I'm torn between anger and deep-seated affection.

"Can I talk to you?"

I nod, and she sits down beside me

"I don't want you to be with me because you feel sorry for me." I say before she can speak, "I know I was never your first choice."

"Do you think really that everything we had was out of sympathy?" Jasmine asks.

"I just want you to be happy. Even if it's not with me." The words hurt as I say them

"I care about both of you" Jasmine replied "and I know I should choose, but I can't bare the thought of losing either of you"

As they talked, a pair of vampires were watching from a distance. They had been supervising the house for weeks and were reporting back their findings to Alastor, who was particularly interested in Jasmine's newly gained power. A power like hers could be incredibly helpful to someone like him.