Eloise stood behind the counter, elbow propped up on the edge as she stared out at a wall of nail polish, not really seeing it. As usual, there was nothing left for her to do. Given the few tasks she was she had finished them in two hours, leaving six more of absolutely nothing lest a customer have a stupid question. Like, how can I bleach my hair without bleach? You fucking don't. That's how.
The door chimed and Eloise shifted back to reality. Her eyes felt tired and her smile was tight and insincere. That was until she caught the faces of the two men walking in.
"What are you doing here?" She asked excitedly, her whole face suddenly lighting up. If she'd had a tail it would have been wagging.
"What, no hello?" Dean held his arms out and she ran around the counter, jumping up to lock her arms around his neck. They both laughed, Eloise nearly crying she was so surprised.
Eloise, growing up a hunter, had plenty of run-ins with the Winchesters. Her father and theirs had worked together on cases when they were kids and they often got dumped at Bobby's when cases were deemed too dangerous for their innocent little souls. She hadn't seen them since helping on a few cases when John went missing.
She jumped away from Dean, crossing the short distance to Sam and hugging him around the waist since she couldn't reach his neck.
"Oh, I missed you guys," She groaned into Sam's chest, hugging him so hard it was a wonder he could even breathe.
"We missed you too," Sam said tightly as he patted her back. She pulled away and stepped back to admire her boys.
"So what are you doing working in a candy ass place like this anyway? I feel like a girl just being in here," Dean glared around and fixed his jacket uncomfortably.
"Relax, we have clippers," Eloise said, motioning behind her to the wall of overpriced electricals. "Do you need to hold something sharp? 'Cause I can get you something sharp," She teased, enjoying the look of discomfort he wore.
"No," He grumbled, though he didn't look or sound so sure.
"Really though, what are you doing here? I mean, are you out?" Sam asked, almost looking concerned.
"No, no," Eloise smiled and shook her head. "But you know what they say, Sam. Hunting doesn't pay the bills," He made a look of agreement.
"Hello!" Eloise's smile fell at the sound of her manager's voice as the short little lard ball of a woman waddled to the front of the store. She was wearing the biggest fake smile she'd ever seen and sounded way too happy for someone who hated her job.
The boys said hi, Sam more sincerely than Dean, and Eloise certainly didn't blame Dean.
"Can I help you with anything?" She asked Dean, who was examining a long pair of shears.
"Me?" Dean seemed caught off guard and gestured to himself with the scissors. "No, no, I'm just…" He clipped the scissors together dramatically and smiled.
"Ellie!" He exclaimed suddenly, as if seeing her for the first time. "Come here, let's have a chat," He walked to her quickly, slinging an arm over her shoulder and steering her away. Once they had made it a short distance away he looked at her and faked gagging. Eloise widened her eyes and nodded in agreement. He didn't know the half of it.
"So, what are you guys doing here? There isn't a case in town is there?" She assumed if there was something nearby she should have known about it. She kept a pretty close watch on the area and so far nothing had ever cropped up.
"No," He sighed, taking on a more serious expression. "So, ya know the whole apocalypse thing we've been dealing with?" Eloise sighed heavily, knowing this wasn't going anywhere good. She knew everything they'd told her and everything she'd researched for them. She was a pro at finding things people tried to keep hidden.
"We tried to keep you out of the action, but after Jo and Ellen," He trailed off.