The night shone with stars like the twinkling city lights Janelle had grown up with. It was quiet here, and most people would describe it as peaceful; but Janelle hated it. She missed the constant, muffled, murmur of traffic through her bedroom window. She missed the sirens at night. Even though they were always a bad sign, it made her feel like no matter what happened someone would be there to help her. She missed the people too. They could be rude, but she had always felt more comfortable in a large crowd. Most of all, Janelle missed the lights. She missed how it never got dark; there were always lights on. Neon signs flashing, and street lights flickering. Lit windows 50 feet above her head. Here, it was always quiet. There were only a few people out during the day, let alone at night. Here, it was dark. She didn't like the dark.

Janelle stood on the empty sidewalk outside her motel. It wasn't a fancy place, but it was only temporary until she found a place to live. There was really only one option, as far as apartments went, and it wasn't nice. She'd been hoping to find something more her style, but it became clear to her that the only other option was to build a house. That was definitely not going to happen. So, the apartment was a go, but she'd have to find a way to really make it her own. And sterilize it.

She let out a deep, shaky breath. The air was crisp and cool, which was really the only good thing about the town. It was of the beaten path, and not a lot of people went there. Her parents had thought her coming here would be good for her, get her to let loose. Relax. Janelle knew differently. Surrounding herself with strange, new things had never boded well for her anxiety. Everyone said 'getting back to nature' would help her to forget, so Janelle had sucked it up and done as her parents said. It wasn't worth the fight; they always won anyways.

She couldn't help but be bitter that her parents still had this much control over her at her age. When she was young, Janelle had pictured herself engaged with a handsome fiance, and planning a summer wedding by now. She thought she'd be starting up at a law firm, and kicking off her career with a bang. Instead, she was living in a hick town in the middle of Minnesota, with a degree in Law and nothing to show for it. Her parents had paid her way through school, and now they were paying for her to waste her life in Ponemah, Minnesota.

She had thought a walk would do her some good, but upon realizing how cold it was out, and that it was as dark as her mothers heart, Janelle returned to her room. It was about 2 anyways, and all the locals would be leaving the bar. Janelle ad made the mistake of going their last night. She had thought she might meet some people, but all she'd met were middle aged bikers looking for a 'good time'. Disgusted, she'd left. Running into any of those guys again was the last thing she wanted.

Janelle was snapped back to reality when she heard laughter from outside. Peering through the dingy curtain, she saw two men. One was tall, and the other was even taller. The bigger guy seemed to be supporting the smaller one, who was visibly drunk out of his mind. More laughter emanated from the pair of them as the smaller one fell to the ground. It became clear to Janelle the big one was also drunk when he just fell on top of him.

Usually, Janelle was annoyed by this behaviour, and would have just jammed her earphones in and gone to sleep, but the two of them were too attractive, and Janelle was craving human companionship. She hadn't spoken to anyone but her mother on the phone since she got here two days ago. Unless you count the middle aged bikers at the bar. She shuddered at the thought.

When she nervously pushed open the door to her room, the laughter amplified. She could here them murmuring slurred insults at one another, before cracking up in a fit of giggles all over again. She decided to go about this calmly and confidently. She was hoping they'd be staying a while, and if they were, she wanted something to do with them. Striding towards the men, Janelle called out to them.

"Do you guys need help?" At the sound of her voice, both heads snapped up and out of their fit of laughter. The bigger one, or the less drunk one stumbled to his feet, and brushed himself off. He was obviously embarrassed, and Janelle felt a little guilty. The other guy just started laughing on the ground some more.

"Oh, um hi! I'm Sam." Sam held out his hand for her to shake. Although he was having a hard time standing upright, Janelle could see he was attractive. With a well defined jaw line and prominent brows, he was gorgeous. He had thick, silky, brown hair and broad shoulders. He stood at least a foot taller than her, but she wasn't intimidated at all. He seemed like a nice guy.

"Sam. Nice to meet you, I'm Janelle." She flashed her most flirtatious smile. She liked the way saying his name felt. It was natural. There was almost an awkward pause, and Sam blushed. "So, do you want a hand getting your friend back to your room?" She broke the silence.

"Dean? No he's fine." Sam smiled reassuringly at her. Janelle was skeptical, and she was right to be because immediately after Sam had finished speaking, Dean emptied his stomach contents into the parking lot. "On second thought, maybe a little help would be nice." Sam blushed again.

Helping Sam lift his friend to his feet, Janelle let him put most of his weight on her. She knew Sam couldn't handle it, because he was also pretty intoxicated.

"So what's your relationship with this one?" Janelle wanted to make sure he wasn't playing for the other team.

"He's my brother. We're on a road trip." Sam seemed only half excited about it. Janelle was about to ask about it as they were nearing the door, but Sam cut her off. "Well, thanks for your help, but I think I've got him from here. What room are you in? That way I can give you a proper, sober thank you in the morning." Sam joked with her, and this time it was Janelle's turn to blush. He was cute.

"I'm three doors down. 113."

"Okay, cool. Yeah, I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow morning then?"

"Yeah, for sure." She smiled at Sam again, and he smiled back before closing the door behind him.

Janelle wasn't really sure what had just happened, because that interaction wasn't really her kind of thing. She didn't drink, and she hated being around drunk people. But Sam was cute. That night, she tossd and turned, impatient for morning, and impatient to speak with Sam again.