Chapter One: Somethin' Bad
Stand on the bar, stomp your feet, start clappin'
Got a real good feelin' somethin' bad about to happen.
-Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood
"Shelby, hey I was wondering if yo-"
"Jesus Dean, knock next time!" The tall, tanned brunette flung herself on the other side of the musty bed as a twenty year old Dean Winchester barged in the cheap motel room. Instead of turning around like any courteous young gentleman would do in this situation, he stood with his hip cocked and his arms crossed over his chest, with a smirk gracing his lips. The green-eyed man waited a few seconds before speaking.
"You can come out anytime, you know. Nothing I haven't seen before." Shelby rolled her eyes. She could just hear Dean's grin when he called over to her.
"There's a difference between the cheap hookers you bring here every other weekend and the body I work hard to maintain. Thank you very much!" Dean chuckled softly, shaking his head as he turns around. He stared hard at the blinking vacancy light outside the dusty window as he spoke.
"Sorry, just thinkin' out loud. You can come out now Shelby. I'm not looking." Shelby poked her head above the flowery patterned comforter and arched an eyebrow as she quickly grabbed the black sports bra and gray tank top off the bed. She ducked down behind the bed and quickly pulled them on before she snapped back up.
"Okay loser, I'm decent. What did you need? Are John and my dad back yet?" She had a nervous look in her eyes as she asked about their dads. Last time she saw them it was as she ran out of the motel room a few towns back, angry tears in her eyes because they wouldn't take her to the nest where the vampire that had killed a little girl, whom Shelby had taken quite a liking to, was residing. Dean grimaced. That memory was not the best. Both of their dads had refused to take the young woman on the hunt with them. Dean had been on Shelby's side; she was the best hunter out of their little posse. He didn't know why, she had the same training as Dean did. She just seemed like more of a natural when it came to destroying monsters. He shook his thoughts about the huntress away and replied.
"No. I haven't heard from them since yesterday. They caught another hunt so they won't be back for at least another week." Dean smiled when Shelby sat down on the bed with a relieved sigh. She pulled back her long, curly, dark brown hair into a high ponytail, glancing at Dean, who cleared his throat as she raised an eyebrow in questioning. Dean continued.
"Anyway. I was thinking that the bar down the street looked like it had a couple of cowboys just asking for you to kick their ass in pool." At those words Shelby smiled brilliantly. Dean looked away after a second and cleared his throat again, waiting for more of an answer than her sneaky smile.
"Hell yeah! Just let me change. I can go for a run later I guess." Dean nodded and went over to the t.v. and flipped it on, then ungracefully flopped onto the couch. Waiting for Shelby to change, Dean called Bobby's house to see how Sam was doing. No answer. That wasn't unusual. Bobby was always reading up on different legends for the other hunters and Sam was probably holed up in the tiny upstairs spare bedroom with his nose in his school books, trying to live a 'normal high schooler's life'. Dean snorted and rolled his eyes as he put the cell phone back on the side table just as Shelby came out of the bathroom. She was wearing a loose fitting black tank top with a gray rose on the front. The blue jean cut-off shorts seemed to elongate her tan, toned legs, which were thick from all the running she did. Shelby would always comment on how much she hated her legs, Dean would just snort and roll his eyes. Silently reassuring her she had nothing to worry about.
She was only nineteen but when she went out to the bars, no one asked any questions. She knew how to dress for the occasion. Dean stared at the lean brunette as she slipped two black flower and dragon bracelets around her left wrist. She needed her right wrist cleared for pool. Shelby could feel her companions stare as she buckled her rhinestone studded black belt. She knew the men stared, and sometimes it made her feel self-conscious. But if she wanted to make sure her and Dean ate that week, she needed to look good and innocent while she hustled the bar patrons for their money.
Shelby turned around to look at herself in the dirty mirror while Dean mumbled something about using the toilet before they leave. She sat down on the bed to pull on her stenciled grey, well worn cowgirl boots. Going along with the rose theme for tonight she had black rose studs in her ears and a multi-string beaded necklace. Her final touches were her black rose ring with diamonds lining the petals. She sighed. Her mom loved roses. She stared at herself in the mirror. What would her mom think of her if she saw her now? Hustling guys in dinky bars for money. She smiled a bit. Her mom was one of the best hunters this side of the states. Her dad used to tell her stories growing up about how her momma would bring home the bread and butter for their little family. He'd say most guys would be jealous the way she would walk around hustling money, but he knew her momma would always love her dad and no other man. Shelby's smiled brightened a bit at the thought of how much her parents loved each other. Dean cleared his throat for the umpteenth time that night.
"You look fine, Princess." Shelby rolled her clear green eyes as she turned from the mirror and walked past him. He eyed her figure as she swayed out the door letting her pony tail down and ruffling her curly hair as she headed towards her dad's royal blue '69 Camaro. Dean rubbed his hands on his pants and jogged out to meet her, slamming the motel door behind him.
"I'll drive there if you drive back." Dean nodded to the girl as she slid into the driver's seat and turned the engine over. They both smiled widely when the engine roared mightily back at them. They had changed the oil, replaced the carburetor, and changed the breaks for most of the morning. Happy with their work, Shelby threw the American classic into drive and peeled out onto the gravel road, ready to hustle some drunks.
-TOL-
Walking into the dimly lit bar, Shelby headed straight towards the pool tables and grabbed a stick, smiling towards the two young men standing near the empty table. They tipped their cowboy hats a little drunkenly before sharing a look and each grabbing a stick. Dean watched the scene unfold with hard eyes. Shelby could handle herself but that never stopped him from trying to be protective over her. It was a habit after knowing her for almost ten years. His hand instinctively padded his front right pocket, where he felt the familiar bump of her birthday present. Tomorrow, she turned twenty.
Dean smiled openly as he watched Shelby reach around one of the cowboys sensually to grab the cue ball. His friend bumped his shoulder as they watched her bend over to break the balls up. Their smiles faded when almost all of them went in. Her father had taught her well. After about fifteen minutes of watching Shelby crush the Cowboy's dreams of the night, Dean turned away as a pretty blonde passed by, smiling at him. He looked back at the only constant in his life, questioning if she would be okay for a bit.
He smirked as she held her hand out towards the taller of the two men who had lost horribly. He handed her a wad of twenty dollar bills and walked away solemnly. She looked towards him before rolling her eyes at the blonde standing behind him and laughed, which was her way of saying 'go have your fun'. Dean only hesitated for a moment before the blonde tapped him on the shoulder. Might as well find something to distract him from his huntress for a while. Wait, his?
Shelby sighed as she watched Dean walk out the back door of the bar with the slutty looking blonde. Typical Dean Winchester she thought with a little more sting than she would have liked. She ignored the catch in her throat and counted her wad of cash stoically. She finished and turned around as a couple of bikers eyed the pool tables. She smiled innocently as she sauntered up to them. They looked like fun.
"Hello, boys. Care for a friendly game of pool? I'm trying to practice a bit before my sister gets here." Shelby winked at the end of her sentence. The bikers glanced at her and smiled like the Cheshire Cat. Nodding, they walked past her a little roughly and grabbed some sticks, nodding to her to get the balls ready.
She played her routine like normal, only after collecting the four hundred dollars she had just hustled out of them, they didn't just walk away like the cowboys had. Shelby thanked the men and backed away as calmly as she could while still looking like she wasn't slightly freaking out at the look the older bikers were giving her. Figuring this was a good distance to turn and hightail it outta there, she did just that, only instead of setting eyes on the front door, Shelby came face to... chest with a third biker she hadn't noticed earlier. The guy was easily six and a half feet tall, making her five foot ten frame look slightly silly against him. She groaned internally, knowing they would be taking back the four hundred, and probably the two hundred she made from the cowboys earlier.
The third biker, who was sporting a mohawk and tattoos up the sides of his head, growled and grabbed Shelby's upper arms hard, most definitely trying to leave a bruise. Shelby didn't think then, she only acted. She slammed her head into the bikers chin and kneed him in the family jewels. Distracted by the kick, his hands left her arms. Shelby only had time to turn around as the first biker came towards her quickly. He also towered over her and it only slightly intimidated her after her face off with Mr. Tattoo. She smirked and ducked out of his reaching arms, sliding under a bar table and jumping over the pool table.
The second biker, who had tear drop tattoos on his face, screamed before he took his pool stick and swept the young hunter off her feet. This attracted the bartenders attention to the scramble going on and he yelled at the biker. Shelby took the advantage of the distracted creep to grab a beer bottle and smash it over his bald head. She practically flew out the back door of the bar as she heard sirens in the far distance. She opened the passenger side door of her dad's car and roughly grabbed the blonde by her bra strap and yanked her out of the car, landing her on her ass on the asphalt. The bimbo barely had time to catch her top before Shelby's voice rang out, yelling at Dean to DRIVE.
-TOL-
Dean had been having a good ole time forgetting about a familiar brunette huntress until that certain someone literally yanked it from his hands. Shelby mumbled something about never dying her hair blonde for the sake of not being prowled on by Dean. He peered over at the young girl.
"What was that sweetheart; you know mumbling is unbecoming." Shelby scoffed at Dean's sentence before retorting,
"You heard me, ass. I was just thinking out loud." She lowered her voice the best she could to match Deans, which only made him laugh loudly. He turned his head back to the wet pavement and flipped on the windshield wipers. The warm Georgia night finally had the rain the weatherman had been talking about all week. He glanced at the turn for their motel, and did nothing but press the gas harder, driving right past the ugly neon sign.
"Dean, I would really appreciate it if you could turn around. I've not had a good night." Dean looked over at the brunette. She did have a rough night. She could handle herself, sure. But that didn't mean she never felt horrible after the fact. Dean had seen her take down many monsters and not bat an eye. But humans, preferably of the male species were a whole other story for her. Especially when they weren't falling at her feet. Which she seemed oblivious to anyway.
Dean decided not to push her buttons tonight. She was already shaking. He looked at her face in the passing street lamp glow. She was beautiful but she would never say that; and Dean didn't know how to say that. Sure, he slept around with girls a lot. But that was easy, he wasn't worried about what they thought about him. He didn't count on them to save his ass when he tried to go into a djinn nest alone. He smirked at the memory and kept driving. He needed to wait out the cops.
"I'm just gonna drive around the block a couple of times. Don't need to cops finding where our little hustler is staying now do we?" Shelby smiled sheepishly. After looking back out the window as they passed various store fronts and street lights, Shelby slid over to the middle of the front seat and laid her head on Dean's shoulder. Dean smiled softly, finding himself wishing this happened more often, instead of when she was scared; Shelby silently wishing she was brave enough to do this when she wasn't freaked out.
By the time Dean deemed it safe enough to head back to their room, Shelby had fallen asleep. Dean picked her up bridal style and walked slowly to the room. Opening the door as gently as he could without waking Shelby, Dean slipped inside before gliding to the bed and laying the huntress on the ugly patterned comforter. He smiled gently as she rolled over immediately and started to snore lightly. Ha, she owes me ten bucks. Dean pulled her boots off and pulled the heavy cover off of his bed for her, since she was laying on top of hers. Dean slept hot anyway, so he wouldn't need them.
Heading over to his bed he pulled his own boots off and crawled onto the hard mattress. He was almost asleep when Shelby started whimpering. Dean immediately got out of his bed and laid down next to the sleeping girl, wrapping his arms around her and rubbing circles on her back methodically. She stopped her whimpering after a few minutes and Dean sighed, trying to slide out from under her. After he stopped her nightmares most nights he crawled quietly back to his own bed, not wanting to impose on her sleep any more than helping her.
He stopped trying to wriggle out of her hold when she tightened it and spoke. If her face wasn't resting in the crook of his arm he wouldn't have heard her whisper one word.
"Stay."
-TOL-
Well, I revamped the whole story I have written so far. Sorry for the ones who had been following it! I finally got over my writers block! Yay! Let me know what you thought please! Reading reviews fuels my writing fire! Thanks! Gooseygirl