(A/N: Hi, hope I caught your eye with my summary! I'm kind of excited to write this story, and I really hope you'll enjoy it. The main character isn't exactly from Supernatural, but it all ties together. Please comment and like this story! Follow for updates that'll come every so often. I'm afraid I don't always have a lot of time to write. I'll be revising and updating chapters along the way, so sometimes, words or sentences will change but the general plot will stay the same. Anyway, I think I'm talking too much so I'll leave you to it. By the way, I do not own Supernatural. I'll leave that to our wonderful Eric Kripke.)
Chapter 1: Charlie
Charlotte Gabrielle Winchester sat on the steps at the front of the high school located in the tiny town of Lebanon, Kansas, waiting for a special car to come by to pick her up. Out of habit, she flipped the phone in her hand over and over. She has spent countless years sitting in the bunker doing just that, waiting for the sound of the metal entrance door to open or a call from somebody to tell her what was happening.
"Charlie, you still here?" Charlie looked up to see her English teacher who just exited the building.
"I'm just waiting for my dad," she replied, gripping the phone tightly in her gentle hands.
The teacher nodded. "Is he on business again?"
"Yeah, but he should be home today. He told me he'd pick me up."
"Well, I hope he'll come by soon. It's getting a little late."
The two took note of the orange sky. Clouds were beginning to form in preparation for a storm. Charlie could already smell and taste the rain in the air.
"I'll be fine, Ms. T. I'll see you on Monday."
Charlie's teacher still looked a little concerned. She was half-tempted to offer the 16-year-old girl a ride home but figured she would rather wait for her dad who, in addition to her other father and uncle, never attended parent-teacher conferences and missed most of his daughter's art showcases. But he was always there after to congratulate her and take her home. Charlie never seemed to mind. In fact, she seemed overjoyed every time they were there to just pick her up.
Charlie's brother, on the other hand, was there for her more often than not. He was a handsome man who looked to be in his late twenties. He was there for the teenage girl when her parents weren't. He'd occasionally come to the school to see her projects and always seemed enamored by everything she did.
"Have a good weekend, Charlie," Ms. T resolved to say. "I hope someone comes to pick you up soon." With that, the woman left.
In a few minutes, a familiar car stopped in front of the school, but it wasn't the one Charlie had exactly hoped for. She got up and walked to the black pickup truck in which Jack sat behind the wheel.
"They're not home yet, are they?" Despite it being a question, Charlie spoke matter-of-factly.
Jack didn't say anything. He didn't like disappointing Charlie. She was like a little sister to him.
Without another word, she got in on the passenger side and let Jack drive them back to the bunker. To home.
When they got back, Charlie immediately went to her room where she sat down at her desk, feeling the disappointment that plagued her on the ride home ebb away, only to be replaced by frustration. A few days ago, Sam and Dean found a case for a skinwalker, while Castiel decided to go meet some people about heaven. Nobody really knew what he did too much. Charlie had asked to go with her dad and uncle, only to be denied because her grades were going down. It seemed like such a stupid excuse for not being allowed to go. She had argued with Dean for a while with Sam watching in the background. She had been sure Same wouldn't have been willing to take her side, considering how important he saw school. Her final hope had been Castiel, but he of course sided with Dean. There was no way around him.
She should have been doing homework, but she instead spent the rest of the evening procrastinating and waiting, sitting at her desk listening to music on her headphones. She barely heard Jack when he came by to tell her to have some dinner.
"You should eat," He insisted.
"I'll be fine. I'm not hungry."
"I'm sure they'll be back soon."
"Then I'll eat when they're back."
"I don't think that's very reasonable."
"I'll be fine, Jack," She repeated. "Just… do whatever you do. I can manage on my own."
And with that, he didn't bother her for the rest of the night.
She was still awake at 2:00am, drawing a detailed sketch of an angel's wings when she faintly heard a metal door slam. At this, she was rushing out of her room to greet everyone.
"I tripped, Dean. What did you expect?" She could hear Sam complaining.
"I expected you to get back up," Dean jeered. "It's simple as that."
"Hey," Charlie interrupted, watching them walk down the stairs.
Upon seeing her, Dean beamed as if completely forgetting his conversation with Sam. "Hi, Charlie," Dean replied.
As usual, she swooped in for a long hug with Dean before getting to his brother. She hated them going on these small trips without her. She knew that the two could handle themselves and that they found it a little harder with her there to worry for, but she couldn't help but want to fight alongside them where she could keep an eye on them. This was her family, and she wanted to hold on to them.
"Sorry we weren't back sooner," Dean continued. "Things didn't go exactly as planned, but it turned out alright."
"Good." She could finally relax.
Charlie heard all the stories. Years of her family fighting and saving the world. She learned the names to all the people they lost along the way. The family she never got the chance to meet. With all the adventures she heard about, she wasn't sure why she always worried about the small jobs. But then again, if anybody were to let their guard down…
"Did Jack get you?" Sam asked. They were starting to head deeper into the bunker, the brothers plopping down their things at the entryway of the warm room where long tables aligned in the middle with books filling the shelves on the walls.
Charlie nodded and they all settled down in chairs.
"Please tell me you did your homework," Dean stated.
"I'm working through it," She lied. She hadn't touched a single book today, other than her sketchbook. School seemed pointless for anything other than a way to let her go on hunts. Still, it was hard to concentrate on getting her work done. "Have you heard anything from father?"
"He called once," Dean said. He wasn't too pleased about Castiel always being somewhere he probably shouldn't be. Dean knew Cas could handle himself, but ever since they had Charlie to take care of, Dean needed him to tell them where he was going all the time. But it never panned out. Cas loved Dean, but there were just some things he felt should be kept as secrets.
"As usual," Charlie muttered. "So what are our plans for tomorrow, or rather today?" She looked at the clock that told here it'd be morning in just a few hours.
"Sleep, probably." Dean ran a hand from his eyes down his face like he always does when he's tired.
"Kind of lost a day," Sam elaborated.
Charlie understood completely. She had a bit of trouble doing so when she was still a child, but when she got older and started hunting, she found herself losing a night of sleep on occasion to find whatever monster they'd encounter the next night to rid of.
Nevertheless, staying up on a mission felt easier than doing so to study for finals and whatnot. It was a matter of how much adrenaline she had pumping through her system and obviously, pre-calc wasn't as enthralling as killing a monster. Thinking about it now, she held back a laugh. If anyone heard this, they would think she was a psychopath. But then again, maybe she was. How could anybody sleep so soundly knowing all of the terrible things that lurk in the darkness?
"We're gonna turn in for the day," Dean said as he got up. "I'll see you tomorrow kid."
"Later," Charlie corrected. Dean nodded.
"Good night, Charlie," Sam told her. "Don't stay up too late." The two walked off, leaving her in the silent room.
She propped her head up with her right elbow on the table and let out a sigh. She allowed the tension in her body over the past couple of days to finally ease its way out of her system. She felt overcome by exhaustion and quickly fell asleep there.