A/N: Here's a quick guide of all the episodes mentioned in this story.
Current time: S11E20+21
Flashbacks: S7E21, S8E14, S9E9, S9E14
"Really Dean?" you giggled.
The older of the brothers, just shrugged as he sprinkled more beer onto his siblings shirt, ironing the droplets into the fabric. You could have laughed, and would have too, if Sam hadn't slipped into the room.
"Perfect," he said. "We're going to need our suits."
"Tell me you got something on Amara," Dean replied quickly.
"Uh," Sam glanced down at his tablet. "It's a long shot, but clock's ticking, right? Whatever Amara's doing to Lucifer."
Dean took a look down at the screen and you stood up from your seat to glance over his shoulder. "Yeah, beating on Cas in the meantime."
"Yeah. Uh, Hope Springs, Idaho," he explained. "A guy named Wes Cooper killed himself after killing a coworker."
You and Dean leaned over the screen, which read 'Murder-suicide rocks Hope Springs'. You read on as Sam continued to explain to Dean.
"According to the reports, though, nobody knows why. Apparently, he was a perfectly happy guy, and then," he snapped his fingers, "snap."
"So what? Possession?"
"Or he was soulless," Sam suggested.
You shook your head. "It doesn't sound like it from this article."
Dean just sighed and handed the tablet back to Sam. "It ain't much, but given what we got, I'll take it."
"Yeah."
Dean handed Sam his freshly ironed shirt with a smirk. "There you go."
"Thanks," Sam responded as he left.
You were quick to grab Sam's attention. "So, is this a me sort of case?"
Sam didn't need any time to catch onto what you meant. You weren't exactly a hunter, so you only went out with them on cases when you were needed. Normally, you were better situated in the bunker, where they could call you if they needed something. But on big cases like this, they thought it was safer to have you tag along. For your sake and for theirs.
"I'm not sure, yet." His eyebrows drew together in concentration.
You saved him the trouble of worrying about it too much. "I'll come along. I need some air anyway."
He nodded. "Have you talked to…?"
He drifted off, but you could guess where he was going. "No. And he hasn't called either, thank you for asking," you retorted, annoyed.
Sam smiled sadly at you, but you ignored it, turning back to the table you were sitting at previously. There was a moment of silence, some shuffling, then Sam yelled, "Dude, quit ironing my shirts with beer!" as he left the room.
"When does it start again?" you sighed.
Your best friend, Kevin, was supposed to be taking his SAT- or something- today, but his friend Channing had called you in a flurry this morning, claiming Kevin hadn't showed up yet.
"Twelve minutes. He always gets here super early and he's not answering my calls. Do you think he's still asleep?"
You shrugged, pulling your shoes on. "Maybe he just decided not to take it. You know he already had perfect… everything scores. He's fine."
"Not good enough for him," she said, confirming your fears. "And he would never bail out the morning of like this. He was studying super hard yesterday."
"I'm leaving now. I'll see if he's still home and help him get there on time. Don't worry."
She huffed slightly on the other side, said a quick thank you, then hung up.
You rolled your eyes, strutting down the sidewalk to Kevin's house. It wasn't far at all, and within a couple minutes you had made it. The car was still in the driveway which was a good sign. Maybe he wasn't on his way there, but at least he was easy to track down.
You slipped through the side gate, into the backyard, and waltzed through the backdoor.
"Kevin?" you called.
The house was silent. You knew his mother was out of town, but you found it odd none the less.
You stepped up the stairs slowly, listening. Nothing indicated that Kevin was even in the house, much less awake and ready for this test.
You opened the door to his room and your eyes widened. The window had broken at some point, leaving shattered glass all over the floor. The room was a mess, something Kevin would never let happen. And then… there was Kevin himself.
He lay in the center of it all, small glass shards in his hair or lying on his clothing. Surprisingly, it looked like he hadn't been cut by any of it, but he was out cold.
"Kevin?"
You dropped to his side, shaking him slightly. He didn't react. For a moment you panicked and wildly checked his pulse, but it was still going strong.
As you contemplated what to do, his phone started ringing on his desk. You let it go to voicemail, deciding you should call the authorities or something. You reached for your phone. When you turned back, you noticed Kevin's head was moving slightly.
"Kevin?"
"Kevin, it's mom," the voicemail started. "I know you're at school already-" Kevin's eyes opened and met yours "-about to take the test."
Suddenly, he shot up like a light.
"Kevin! Thank god you're alive," you sighed in relief, but he wasn't paying attention to you at all.
"10:22… what?" He jumped up and took a closer look at his clock, as if to make sure he was seeing it right, then checked his computer. "No. No, no."
"Kevin, slow down. What happened?"
"I'm going to be late! Channing's probably freaking out. I have to go-"
You stepped in front of the door. "No way am I letting you take this test in this state, dude. You're a mess."
You expected a fight out of him, but he just froze. He looked up and something strange happened. His eyes glazed over and glowed with a golden electricity.
"Kevin? Dude, what the fuck is wrong with you right now?"
"I need to go," he said. His voice was emotionless and he stared right through you.
"I told you, I'm not going to let you take this test."
"I'm not going to," he assured you, but still pushed past you.
"Then where are you going?"
You chased him down the stairs and into the kitchen, where the car keys were sitting. As he picked them up, he turned to you and you could see a bit of the old Kevin leaking through.
"I don't know. I don't know what's going on, Y/N…"
In an instant, his eyes flashed again with a strange light and he was solid as stone.
"I must leave."
You shook your head and held out your hand. "Give me the keys."
"Y/N, I-"
"I'm not going to let you drive in this state. I don't know if you're high, or if you're just plain off your rocker, but I'll take you wherever you need to go, just let me drive."
Something in him must have thought you were important then, because without a word, he handed you the keys and stormed out to the car.
Well, perhaps it's not the weirdest thing you've gotten yourself into…
"Left!" Kevin shouted.
He was definitely back. You had been driving with him for hours, and although occasionally he'd go back into some sort of trance, he was his usual, paranoid self right now.
You swung left, tires screeching at the sudden movement.
"Aah!" Kevin cried, holding desperately to the car door next to him.
"If you don't want it to be so sudden, give me more warning!" you cried. You had been following his directions as best you could, but he wouldn't tell you where you were going, just shouted out directions as you got close.
"I can't! I don't know where I'm going. Things just… pop into my head!" He settled down a bit more, but was startled back when his phone started ringing. "Aah!"
"Who is it, Kevin?" you asked, wildly, but he didn't answer, before picking up.
"Hello?... I…" he looked at you for something to say, but you had no clue who he was talking to. "I had to take my mom's car. I think I had a seizure of something."
You pulled the phone out of his hands and put it up next to your ear. "Who is this?"
"Y/N? What is going on?" Channing sounded somewhat annoyed on the other line.
"That's a good question to ask Kevin when he's not losing it."
"I've been chosen." Kevin's voice filled the car. "It's my birthright."
You didn't have to look at him to know he was back in his cold state.
"Oh my god," Channing said, obviously having heard him. "All the pressure he's been under. This isn't one of those overachiever-teen meltdowns, is it?"
"Nope," you responded. "It's ten times weirder."
"I'm supposed to keep going," Kevin said. "I'm not allowed to stop."
"What does he mean, 'not allowed'. Y/N, did you say something to him?"
"Alright. Bye Channing!" you quickly said, to stop her from speculating anymore. You knew she always thought you were too 'radical' to be friends with Kevin, but accusing you of kidnapping him was a whole different level of crazy and you didn't think she'd reach.
Before you could hang up, Kevin shouted, "right!" and you spun around the corner towards the highway.
"Appreciate the FBI taking an interest in this case," the sheriff was telling the boys. You had already forgotten his name, and you didn't pay much attention to what he was saying your eyes wandering around the station. "We don't really see things like this around here."
"Hey, you mind if I knock off Sheriff?" The officer to his left was a young, blonde woman. She didn't even spare a glance towards the three of you, standing above his desk.
"Let me guess…" The sheriff responded. "Art's back?" and without waiting for an answer, said to the boys. "Newlyweds."
Dean chuckled, and she smiled, waiting expectantly.
"You can head home after you show Agent Greer the M.E. files."
You knew he was talking about Sam, but you moved first, stepping up besides the bright girl to see what she had to show.
"Thank you, sir."
"Thanks," Sam said as well, moving up besides you.
"I knew Wes's wife," the office admitted, as she pulled aside a recent file. "She loved Wes till the day she died. I don't know why he'd say anything like that." She was referring to Wes' final words. He apparently started to go mad, saying that nobody loved him and other depressing thoughts.
You stared intently at the file, while she spoke over you to Sam. As she opened it, your eyes widened.
"And then, there's this."
"Hold on a second," you piped up, and Sam saw what you were seeing too.
The pictures of Wes at the morgue held a strikingly familiar feature. Black veins crept up his right arm.
"We've actually seen something like that before," Sam explained. "Deputy, tell me. Have you noticed any strange phenomena around town? Uh, sulfur smells? Or power outages? Maybe an unexplained fog?"
"No, sir." She shook her head, completely innocent. "It's always sunny in Hope Springs. At least, it used to be."
"I'm looking for something. It's up there." He pointed up to a second story window in the hospital you were parked in front of.
"What… is it?"
He shrugged. "It's like a black rock? I think?"
"A black rock?" you raised an eyebrow.
"With a bunch of symbols on it!"
You shook your head. "Fine. I'll get it. Just wait here-"
You began to open up the car door, but he stopped you.
"No! I have to get it."
You paused and gave him a look. "You. You're going to climb up to a second story window, steal a giant rock, and then climb back down and run it to the car?"
He grimaced, but didn't give up his position. "I think I have to. Just… stay here."
As he got out, you put your head in your hands and sighed. Why did you let him do this?
You sat in the car patiently, watching him struggle to climb up to the window. It was a miracle he made it up in one piece, but he did. He wasn't inside for more than five seconds before he was shimmying his way back down, a green duffel bag in his arms. When he hit the ground, he turned around, made a big sigh of relief, and started walking back to you.
You were about to start the car when you spotted someone running through the front doors of the hospital.
"Kevin!" you shouted, but it was too late. The man ran straight for Kevin, who, in his panic, ran directly away from the man, rather than to the car.
You pulled yourself out of the car and ran around to try and help. The tall man was right on his tail, but Kevin was pretty smart. As the man gained on him, he'd switch directions. He was much more agile and could keep this up, where as the sudden movements threw the other guy off balance
"No! Stop! Leave me alone!" he cried.
"Kevin!" you ran towards him, but something hit you over the back of the head and knocked you to the ground.
You stared up at the woman who had knocked you down. She just glared.
"Y/N!" Kevin ran straight for you and knelt down beside you, while you sat up.
The other man ran up behind Kevin, effectively surrounding the two of you sitting on the grass.
"Not a demon or a chomper. What the hell are you?" the woman spat.
Kevin looked wildly between the two, still clutching his duffel bag. "I'm a… K-Kevin Tran. I'm in advanced placement. This is Y/N. She doesn't want to go to college. P-Please don't kill us."
"I'm not going to kill you," the man responded, reaching down.
The two of you, both too frightened to do anything just watched as he grabbed the duffel bag from Kevin, but was shocked to carry Kevin up with it.
His arms tightened around the bag, shaking it, but Kevin wouldn't let go.
"I'm sorry." The man shook him around more and more with no result. "I'm sorry. I-" You jumped up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. You knew he was on the verge of tears and wanted to let him know you were still there. "I don't- I don't know why… but I can't let go of this."
The man's hands dropped, letting Kevin go, and you wrapped your arms around him as he began to sob.
The two of them guided you guys back to the room where Kevin had stolen the bag from. They didn't ask any question until you got up there.
"You really stepped in it, kid. Oh, man." The woman giggle from behind the two of you. You were seated on a bed rubbing Kevin's back while he finally calmed down.
"All I know is, this is- it's for me." He waited for some sort of response, but got none. His eyes drifted to you. "I'm supposed to keep it."
"Good luck." Her eyes kept glancing to the man, like she expected him to do something, but he listened calmly.
"But you don't know what it is?" he asked.
Kevin shook his head.
The man's eyebrows knit together. "Open it."
You and Kevin looked down together and he slowly undid the zipper and opened the bag.
Inside was exactly what he said it would be. A black rock. Well, the pieces of it, anyway.
He picked up two of them silently, and without an hesitation, put them together. There was a flash of gold in the crack between the two, and when it disappeared, the crack did too.
"'Kay. You've been doing weird shit all day… but this is a whole new level of crazy," you admitted.
Kevin put the whole rock together, and Sam, as he introduced himself, explained that it was a tablet. Kevin just stared over it.
"It's writing," he muttered.
"Yeah. Yeah, we get that." Sam was looking a bit impatient, but intrigued nonetheless.
"What's leviathan?"
Sam froze. "What? You can read it? Is that was it says?"
"Sort of. It hurts a little. Like looking through someone else's glasses, but I think it… It's about leviathan. How it came to be. God… locked him up far away, right? Like in jail… because they're so…" You could see how much he had to concentrate to read whatever the chicken scratch supposedly said, so you put your hand back out.
"Kevin you don't have to-"
"They're… They're real, aren't they?"
"Yeah, Kevin," Sam confided. "They- They are. And they're here. Does it say anything about how to kill them? 'Cause that's- that's kind of been a problem."
"I don't know. It's not like reading reading. It- It's hard to focus on it too long."
You pulled the tablet away from him. "Kevin, stop. You're hurting yourself."
The woman, Meg, froze. "Sam, something's up."
"What?"
The lights around the room all flickered slightly. Suddenly, Kevin shrieked and fell into you.
"Woah! What's…"
You looked up to see what had caused him to freak out and saw Meg staring down at the two of you, with solid black eyes. You gasped slightly at the sight, but kept your arms around Kevin's shoulders as he struggled to escape.
"Kevin. Hey, hey, hey, hey. Kevin." Sam tried to calm him, but he looked frantically about the room, breathing shallowly.
Two people appeared in front of you, both wearing suits.
"Demon," the woman snarled, and with a flick of her hand, Meg was tossed across the room and into a wall. "A demon whore and a Winchester… again."
Sam looked around and began to shift towards you and Kevin.
"Step away from the prophet!" she demanded.
Sam turned to look at Kevin, lying helplessly in your arms
"Who?... Me?"
"Sole keeper of the word on Earth, we are here to take you."
Your arms tightened around your friend when you heard that.
"What do you mean 'take'?"
"You aren't taking him anywhere," you argued.
"Kill the demon, her lover, and this… little girl."
The man accompanying the woman approached while Meg argued. "That's not how it- We're not-" When he didn't stop, Meg lashed out, pulling out a strangely-shaped knife.
It cut the man's hand open and as he pulled his wound back to himself, you noticed it was glowing.
"Where did you get that?!" the woman demanded.
She went for Meg next, but stopped short at a strange sound, like wind rushing through curtains. Now, in the room stood a brand new man, in mental ward attire and a trench coat.
"Castiel?" the injured man questioned.
"Hi."
Castiel was smiling somewhat goofily.
"You're alive."
He made a gesture as if to say "guess I am".
"You." The woman looked furious.
"Hello Hester," Castiel addressed her.
"You smote thousands in heaven. You gave a big, scary speech and then you were gone. What the hell was that?"
"Rude, for one thing."
"Where have you been?" the man demanded.
"Oh, Inias, Hester, I- I know you want something… answers. I… I wish it could be that- There are still many things I can teach you! I can offer, um, well… perspective! Here, pull my finger."
You gaze shifted between the innocent Castiel, the confused Hester and Inias, and your panting friend. Nothing happened for a few beats.
"Uh… uh…" Castiel looked around wildly as if expecting something to happen that obviously wasn't going to. "Meg will- Will get another light and I'll- I'll blow it out again. And, well, this time it'll be funny, and… we'll all look back and laugh."
You looked around at Meg and Sam's scared faces. Castiel was grasping for something. He was in danger and he was panicking.
"You're insane," Hester finally sneered at him.
"Hey!" A call came from outside the room, but you couldn't see who the owner of the voice was. "Heads up, sunshine."
In a huge burst of light, Castiel, Hester, and Inias all vanished.
The man walked in, looking at Meg and Sam. "All angels blown back to their corners. We got like three, four hours, tops."
Meg pulled her blade up beside her for protection.
"Meg," Sam said, firmly, "where did you get that?"
"A lot of angels died this year," she replied, nonchalantly.
"WHAT'S HAPPENING?" your best friend shouted, shaking wildly in your arms.
"Breathe, Kevin. Just breathe."
"No!" He squirmed away from you and you noticed that he still clutched the tablet like it was his lifeline. "What's happening?!"
"What is that?" the newest member to the room asked.
Sam turned and sighed. "It's uh… Kevin Tran? He's uh… in advanced placement." The man cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Oh, and that's Y/N… She doesn't want to go to college."
"We're trying to track her down right now," Dean explained as you followed him into the station.
"I'd be surprised if she wasn't dead by now. Or at least, two towns over."
After the deputy left for the night, she supposedly reported seeing some thick smoke making its way towards her house, before killing her husband and disappearing. It was definitely the case Sam and Dean were looking for. Amara was written all over.
The three of you entered the room in a line, Dean in the front and you trailing along behind them.
"I can't make heads or tails. Harris is…" The sheriff paused. "Was our computer person."
"Can I give it a shot?" Sam offered.
He nodded, and slipped out of Sam's way.
"Sheriff?"
All eyes turned to the other officer in the room.
"Matt and Emmy just called in. They said they say some fog rolling in by Jasper Hills?"
Dean walked up to her and you turned on Sammy to see if he'd made any progress on finding Deputy Harris.
"Did they say where it was headed?"
"West," she responded. "Towards town."
"Okay. Call them back, tell them to get inside, shut their windows or doors, and seal it up, and stay the hell away from that fog. And get the word out to everybody in town they need to do the same thing."
The officer looked to the Sheriff for confirmation on what to do.
"Hold on. What are you talking about?"
Dean looked like he was getting impatient, so you cut in.
"We've seen this before. Wes and Deputy Harris were infected by something in this fog. Now I know that sounds crazy-"
"No, it sounds like we should call the CDC," he interrupted.
"There's no time for that."
"Found Deputy Harris." The computer in front of Sam beeped, picking up on the deputies movements.
"She's on Main Street, heading right this way," the sheriff noted.
"All right, we'll handle Harris. Y/N, you stay here and help them get the word out. Tell everybody they need to stay inside, seal up their windows, doors- everything." Sam jumped up to follow him out. "Do it," Dean ordered.
Your eyes fluttered open when a familiar smell filled the abandoned ship.
And not a pleasant one either.
"Kev, are you making hot dogs, again?"
You didn't wait a moment for the answer, simply throwing the blankets off your makeshift bed and walking in.
Sam and Dean had sent Kevin to live in Garth's family's old boat house while he deciphered the angel tablet. You were there to look out for him.
He didn't look up, still sifting his meal through the small pool of water.
"I didn't want to wake you up," he mumbled to himself.
"Why not?" you asked checking the clock. "It's 9 am."
"Yeah. And you didn't get to sleep until 7!" he argued.
You bit your lip. "I shouldn't be sleeping through the day anyway. You and the boys need me up. I was just going to… take a quick nap."
Kevin picked up his breakfast and sat down across from you. The table was littered with his notes.
"You need sleep," Kevin tried again. "You're basically nocturnal at this point… except for the fact nocturnal animals get sleep in the day. You get… two hour naps at 9 in the morning."
You laughed. "Kev, I've been living off of two hour naps since we started high school. Basically the only sleep I got in a day was in history and math class."
He shook his head. "And yet, you always seemed to be top of the class in everything."
You didn't fight him on that.
"The point is, my job is to make sure you're happy and healthy while living here. And part of that is not letting you eat hot dogs everyday for breakfast, lunch, and dinner."
You hopped off your chair and walked over to the emergency backpack Sam and Dean had left you.
"You can't leave! It's not safe out there!"
You rolled your eyes. "I'll be fine. The closest grocery store can't be more than a ten minute walk, and I'm not the hunted prophet. You are."
"It's still dangerous! They know what you look like. They'll try to use you to-"
He was cut off at the sound of your cell phone. It was sitting beside him on the table.
You went to answer it, but he picked it up before you could reach for it.
"Hello? Dean?... Yeah, it's me. Please tell Y/N that she's crazy-"
You swiped the phone from his hand. "What do you want, Dean?"
"Well, an explanation for one thing," he started. "But I was wondering if you could help Sam and I out on this case. You're really smart and we might need an outside perspective on this."
"Sure," you responded. "Why don't you drop by and tell me about it?"
"On our way, now."
"Oh! I might not be here when you get back. I'm going to the grocery store."
"What?" Dean cried. "Y/N, that's a terrible idea."
"I'll be fine. Who's going to recognize me?"
Dean huffed on the other end. "Do you even have any money?"
"Yeah," you said, innocently. "There's some in the emergency pack you left us."
Dean was getting more frustrated by the minute. "A trip to the store is not an emergency. Sam and I will grab anything you need, just stay inside."
You paused for a minute, coming up with something to say. "Alright. See you soon then."
"What did he need?" Kevin asked, once you had hung up the phone.
"He wanted me to look over the files on this case he's working. He thinks I'm 'smart' or something," you responded, making air quotes.
Kevin shrugged. "Of course he did. You're hella smart, Y/N."
You snorted. "Oh yeah. Says mister 'I need to get a perfect math score on my SAT'."
Kevin sighed. "I never did though. I'm sure you would have, though. Had you taken it."
You kept trying to deny it, but he was certain.
"I just don't understand how someone so brilliant wouldn't want to go to college."
You glanced down at your phone, unable to answer. Then, you walked back over to the backpack and pick out some money.
"What? Where are you going?" Kevin asked. "I thought Dean just told you not to go outside."
You turned around, feigning innocence. "What do you mean? He said it was totally fine."
Kevin's shoulders dropped. "Just… be careful, Y/N."
You smiled. "Always. Now, get back to your deciphering." You reached the door and turned around for one last goodbye. "Love you, Kev!"
"Love you too," he muttered while you shut the door behind you.
You whipped around the corner to see Sam and Dean fumbling to get into the station before the fog overran them.
"Are you guys alright?" you asked, slipping past them to secure the door closed.
"Fine," Sam mumbled.
"The deputy?"
"Dead."
"Agent Ehart, radio's dead." The sheriff waved the walkie talkie he was holding around for emphasis.
Dean was breathing heavily, after his run to escape the smoke.
"Do you have any duct tape?"
You stood up from in front of the door and approached them. "Way ahead of you," you responded, tossing the roll of grey tape to the tired Winchester.
The three of you spread out across the room, sealing any door, window, and air vent shut that you could find. There were only a couple of people who had made it in from the fog and the sheriff reassured them, while you finished up sealing off anything that wasn't airtight.
Sam turned on his phone, and without a word showed the lock screen to you and Dean. No signal.
Dean checked his own, but same result. "Sheriff, let's see if we can't fix that radio of yours."
Dean walked over, checking the useless box, while you turned on Sam. "What happened to the deputy?"
Sam shrugged. "She was infected. Said she tried to kill herself, but Amara wouldn't let her. She had some sort of message for Dean, but the sheriff shot her…" He trailed off, something catching his eye by the window. You turned around, not finding anything there.
"What is it?"
He walked up next to the window and set his ear next to it.
"Dean?"
His brother walked over, duct tape in hand, just in case. But both were quiet a minute, staring at each other. And then, you could hear what Sam was talking about.
There was a noise coming from outside. It was hard to tell what it was at first, but it was getting louder by the second.
"You hear that?" Sam asked.
Yelling. The people outside were shouting. You couldn't make out what they were saying, but the noise surrounded the building.
The boys ran to the door, to see if they could figure out what was going on, and you made to follow them, but stopped short when something caught your eye. The tape over one of the air vents had come loose, and the fog was drifting in.
You grabbed a nearby chair and pulled the collar of your shirt over your nose and mouth to try and stop yourself from being infected.
Hoisting yourself onto the chair, you reached up and tried to pull the duct tape back into place. Behind you, you heard Sam and Dean slamming the doors to the room shut. You were just about to turn and face them, when a large puff of air knocked the rest of the tape off the air duct.
You gasped in shock, but didn't get that far, before the fog filled your lungs, closing off your air passages. Your hands shot up to your neck, clawing for air, and you slipped off the chair landing on your back.
"Dean!" Sam cried and ran over to you.
You just pointed at the vent, but it was too late. Air was spilling in at an alarming rate. Sam coughed and knelt next to you his face turning red.
You could get in small breaths, just enough to keep you conscious, but your chest hurt as you tried helplessly to breathe.
You glanced down at Sam's arms. Black veins were reaching up his forearms like vines. You didn't need to look at your to know they were already covered.
Dean looked between the two of you. People were banging on the door behind him, your best guess was it was the afflicted Amara sent.
"Y/N! Sam!" he called, but his voice was drowned out as blood rushed in your ears.
He started to walk over, but Sam held up one of his hands. "No. Get back. Don't!"
You wondered how Sam could even manage that. You couldn't have made a sound if you tried.
"My God. They're infected," the sheriff mumbled.
Dean began to shout commands at them, but you didn't pay attention. You could feel your body spasming. Sam grabbed your arms, as if to stop you, but his grip was tight and it caused you to go further into a panic.
Sam coughed. The people shuffled around behind you. The banging at the door kept going. And the sound of your heart rate got faster. It was all too much.
"I've ruined everything." Your voice was hoarse. "I'm going to die alone and worthless, like I deserve."
"No," Sam struggled to reassure you. "This is the fog talking through you, Y/N. You can fight it."
"I got you killed. I got Kevin killed!"
Sam tried desperate to tell you that you weren't going to die and everything would be fine, but you gave up fighting it.
You could feel your hands loosen around your neck as you let go. Your vision blurred and the shape of Sam hovering over you, shaking your shoulders, was the last thing you remember seeing.
"That good enough for you?" you asked, dropping your paintbrush back into the bowl of homemade… who knows what.
Dean had asked Kevin to create a spell for him. Something to… separate an angel from its vessel for a little while. So Kevin put together a mixture of sorts, and you were using it to paint sigils on the door.
"It has to be perfect." Dean's harsh voice just pissed you off.
You loved the boys, but they were both acting strange right now. You didn't particularly like having to put up with moody Dean.
"Fine. Kevin, is this perfect?"
Kevin shrugged. "I think so."
"Great." You set the mixture down and left the room, Kevin and Dean on your tail.
"All right, so this masterpiece we just painted-"
"I just painted."
"-it's gonna work, right?" Dean went on, ignoring your comment.
"Sigils are supposed to briefly hobble the possessing angel. If the info's correct," Kevin added.
"Wait, what?" Dean asked, stopping the group.
"I only had time to get a little from the tablet. The rest came from an old men-of-letters book." Dean looked upset, but Kevin just shrugged it off. "As soon as your blood touches the ignition sigil, the spell kicks in."
You noticed how nervous Dean looked, and decided to finally give into his mood.
"Dean, what's going on?"
"I told Kevin."
"You told me theoretically," Kevin argued. "And, Dean, we just painted sigils in the storeroom. What the hell?"
"You're gonna have to trust me, okay?"
You mumbled "bullshit" under your breath, just enough so Kevin could hear you.
"And trust that I've told you everything I can for now. Can you do that?"
Kevin hesitated. "I always trust you," you wanted to argue, but Kevin, surprisingly, kept going. "And I always end up screwed."
"Oh, come on. Always? Psh. Not always."
You chuckled as Dean left. "Come on Kevin, let's get back to work."
You two walked back over to the table, him pulling over a book and you opening your laptop.
There was silence for a few seconds, then Kevin said, "There's something really weird going on here, huh?"
"Definitely." You nodded along, still fixated on your laptop. "Those boys are really screwed up right now."
He looked a bit surprised by how sure you were, but agreed. "Don't you think we should do something?"
You shrugged. "Why don't we let the Winchesters clean up their own mess?"
Kevin got up, still flipping silently through his book. In a rush, Sam ran into the room.
Both of you only spared him a glance, still working. "Hey Sam," Kevin said.
When he made no response, you looked up again, and something about him set alarm bells ringing.
"Sam?" you asked.
He walked calmly towards Kevin, who was searching for a new book to look through. Everything about his air: the way he walked, how his eyes were set, screamed angel to you. It reminded you vividly of Kevin the night he discovered he was a prophet.
"Hey. Do you notice anything a little bit of about Dean lately-?"
"Kevin, that's not Sam-" you started, but it was too late. Before you could make it to your friend, Sam flicked his hand at you and you hit the ground. Your stomach felt like it was going to explode. Your insides crawled and your face burned, your temperature rising.
"Not bad, Y/N. I'm almost surprised you weren't able to catch on sooner."
"Y/N?" Kevin watched you squirm, clutching your stomach. You choked on what you thought was your own saliva but, in trying to clear your throat, you coughed up large splatters of blood.
Kevin ran to your side putting a hand on your shoulder. "Y/N? Are you okay? What have you done to her?!" he shrieked, turning on Sam.
Sam just smiled. "Don't worry about Y/N."
Dean ran into the room, just in time to watch as Sam's hand shot out and clutched Kevin's forehead. He didn't have a minute to shout or pull away, before his eyes and mouth glowed with a brilliant gold light, burning his insides and leaving his eyes just empty sockets.
"No!" Dean ran over, just as Kevin's body hit the ground next to you.
"Kev? Kevin?!" you sputtered through the blood.
But it was too late. Kevin lay lifelessly next to you. The embers in his eyes still glowing.
"KEVIN!"
You only half listened to Sam and Dean's conversation from then on.
"Sam?"
"There is no more Sam." The angel responded, confirming your suspicions. "But I played him rather convincingly, I thought."
Glancing away from Kevin, you saw that Dean was trapped in some sort of spell, like yourself. He grunted, trying to breathe, to move away from the wall he was stuck to, but he couldn't.
"How did you…?"
While they went on, you stared at Kevin… What were you supposed to do?
"Sorry about Kevin… but ultimately…" he stared down at the two of you "...it's for the best."
"I'm going to kill you, you-" you sputtered even more, the pain in your stomach getting worse. You hacked, trying desperately to breathe through the blood.
"I did what I had to." He paused. "I would kill you now, Y/N, but I have a feeling you might prove useful."
You didn't have the strength to say anything else as he left, taking the angel tablet with him.
Dean gasped as he was released from the angel's grip and you spit out the last of the blood, which was pooling below you, your stomach calm again.
"Oh god, Kev," you murmured.
You blinked.
Your eyes burned as you sat upright. The fog around you was lifting and a calm that had left when you were infected, washed over you.
The brothers were sitting across from one another, staring at an object, but it was glowing so bright, you couldn't make out what it was. They just looked between it and each other.
Sam, glancing at you, swung around suddenly and pulled you into a hug. Dean followed the action, but it was subdued by the whole rooms confusion over the new object.
The rest of the people in the station filled into the room the three of you were sitting in, probably having realized the fog in the room had left.
"What…?"
Dean shook his head, and Sam's eyes widened. "We never told you about this, did we?"
You raised an eyebrow. "No."
"It's an amulet. Supposedly, it glows in the presence of God… but we gave up on it years ago."
You stared at it, still processing what that meant. The boys stood up, helping you up as well, and the three of you mechanically walked outside.
It was like the world had reset itself. People were looking around for an explanation. Family members helped dust off their fallen loved ones and get them back on their feet.
Just around the corner, Deputy Harris was staring at her chest, which was free of any shot wounds. She got up off the ground and turned to find, what you could only assume to be her husband, running for her. That only added to the strange occurances, as he had died out of town.
You kept walking. The boys led the way, but stopped short when they spotted a man helping those who were still on the ground get up. You weren't entirely sure why they were interested, but waited with them.
The man turned and smiled and you could see the confusion on Sam's face. Dean just looked between the amulet and the man. He walked over.
"We should probably talk."
Something about this man threw you off. Maybe it was his all-too-easy smile, or Sam and Dean's tense expressions, or the pulsing, glowing amulet, sitting idly in Dean's hand. But, you didn't trust him.
"What the hell's going on here exactly?" Dean exclaimed.
"I'm happy to… fill in the blanks, but maybe we should… go somewhere where we could actually sit down," he responded.
"We're not going anywhere with you. Okay, how do we even know that you're really Chuck? And not just some crazy spell or manifes-"
He broke off as 'Chuck' snapped his fingers and you all found yourself in the bunker. You blinked, trying to get a hold of your senses.
"Okay. Hold on, who the hell is…" you began to say. But something caught your eye. A big something.
He leaned out from behind Chuck, a look of wonder in his eyes. You weren't sure whether you wanted to run away or straight for him, but you swallowed the lump forming in your throat and stood there, shellshocked.
You sat down silently. The bunker was empty, except for you… and perhaps something else.
"Kevin?" you said, quietly. "Kevin, is that you?"
There was silence. It bounced off the walls and surrounded you, but you would not let it consume you. Not yet.
"I don't know why I even asked. I know you're here, you son of a bitch. I've been seeing signs of a ghost all week. Flickering lights and weird occurances, but everytime I asked Dean, he said, 'the bunker can't be haunted' and left it at that. Then, one day, I come back after a supply run and they're acting weird. They want to go out on a case, but they can't tell me about it. There's no explanation for that except you… they won't mention you around me. Now, I don't know if they told you not to talk to me or…" you trailed off as the lights flickered around you. "Kev?"
"You'd think for someone with perfect PSAT scores, I'd be smarter than this."
His form appeared before you. There was a static-like sound that followed him.
You wanted to cry just at the sight of him, but held it back. "Kevin," you breathed out.
"Hey Y/N."
You just stared at him a moment. Then, his words hit you. "Hey! Why is it not a smart thing to talk to me?"
He sighed. "Because you aren't okay right now, Y/N. The boys thought it'd be worse for your health if you saw me before-"
"Screw the boys! You're my best friend!" you cried. "And you've been avoiding me? Letting me wallow in my self-pity and make evidence-less theories about how I could have saved you?"
Kevin shook his head. "You couldn't have saved me, Y/N. And you can't save me now."
He approached and sat down across from you on the floor.
"Why are you here, Kev?"
He frowned. "Heaven's closed off. Anyone who dies who deserves to go to Heaven is being sent into the Veil. We're all ghosts now."
"So you've been here the whole time?" you reasoned.
He nodded. "Yes. But I'll be leaving soon."
You raised an eyebrow. "Sam and Dean are going to open up the gates to Heaven? That seems like quite a big task to complete in just a couple of days."
"No," he chuckled. "They're finding my mom."
You froze. "Your mom's dead."
"No," he said. "She's not. I was able to ask around. Someone has seen her… alive. Sam and Dean are going to get her for me."
"And then what?"
He hesitated. "And then… we're going to find what I'm tied to and she's going to take it home with her."
You smiled. "We're moving in with your mom?"
His eyes dropped to the floor. Not a good sign.
"Kevin, what is-"
"I'm moving in with my mom."
You're eyebrows knit together. "Excuse me?"
"You're not coming with me this time."
"You can't leave me here!" You were panicked. Things were looking up for a second and then he did this to you? "Sam and Dean are going to kick me out. I can't go back home. Kevin, I've got to go with you!"
He shook his head. "Sam and Dean won't kick you out. You're a huge help to them. And that's why I need you to stay… They need you, Y/N."
You still couldn't process why he was doing this. "They don't need me at-"
"Yes," Kevin insisted. "They do. I know you've been struggling these past couple of weeks, but you haven't seen them. They're arguing all the time. You're insanely smart, everyone knows that, but I don't think you realize that you were the only thing keeping me sane when I was deciphering the angel tablet. You're… good at that stuff. You need to be there for them."
You were pissed. "You're going to leave me here? With those two dysfunctional-" you stopped yourself. "Kevin, please don't leave me," you begged.
He looked at you sadly. "I'm sorry, Y/N. It's just better this way."
Your eyes met his, but they didn't hold any care or feeling. Just anger.
Red, hot anger.
"I love you, Y/N."
You glared.
"Kevin?" Sam spoke up.
"Guys!" Kevin's smile grew as his eyes drifted between the brothers and then… to you. "Y/N."
You opened your mouth to say something, but nothing would come out. Kevin seemed to understand and moved back over to the boys.
"You're looking stressed… especially you," he spared a glance at Dean. Then, nodding to Chuck. "I-It's cool. Trust Chuck. Whatever it is he needs you to do… he must think you can handle it."
"Bullshit," you grumbled.
Everyone's eyes turned on you. You in all honesty should have been more scared. You were standing in front of God, the man who just brought you back from the dead. But you were pissed.
"Don't you see it? This is a ploy. He's using Kevin to get through to us which is complete-"
"I think you guys should… talk," Chuck interrupted.
You glared at them both, but as Kevin nodded for you to follow him into the next room, you didn't argue.
The two of you stood facing each other. He had a relaxed air about him. You, on the other hand, had shoved your hands into your pockets and was waiting anxiously for him to continue.
"Y/N. You have no idea how much I've wanted to talk to you all this time."
"Why didn't you?" you spitted out.
He bit his lip, hesitantly. You knew that it wasn't his fault, but you couldn't bring yourself to just… understand.
"I didn't think you'd want to talk to me."
You bit back all of your crude comments. You wanted to say, 'you're right,' but something in you knew that wasn't true.
"I'd never not want to talk to you. You're… you're my best friend, Kevin."
He looked down at his feet. "Chuck's going to put me to rest… He told me I could say my goodbyes properly before I went and well… you're my last one, Y/N."
That hit you hard. After everything, Kevin was really leaving this time. For good. "Why would you want to say goodbye to me?"
He reached over, grabbing your hand and engulfing it in his own. "Because I love you, Y/N."
You met his eyes. You missed Kevin. You had missed him so bad and now…
"I love you too."
"Come on."
He walked back to the others and took his place besides Chuck. You swiftly walked around him, to stand at Sam and Dean's side.
"Whatever it is he needs you to do," Kevin continued, talking once again about Chuck, "he must think you can handle it… I always trusted you."
"Yeah," Dean replied. "That ended well."
"How did you- I- Are you okay? Um…" Sam struggled to find the right words.
Kevin looked down at himself, moving his arms in front of his eyes. "Yeah. I mean, you know… given the circumstances-"
"Yeah, I don't mean to interrupt- kind of a plateful here. And Kevin, you've been in the Veil long enough." Kevin opened his mouth to argue, but didn't say anything. "It's time you had an upgrade."
In the blink of an eye, Kevin was in front of you, leaning down for one last goodbye. His lips had barely touched yours before he was gone. Chuck reduced him to a ball of blue electricity, which hovered in front of you for a moment, then slowly lifted towards ceiling.
As Kevin disappeared, your hand moved towards your lips, which tingled from the shocking ghost touch.
And Kevin was gone.