New Job

"Piece of crap car." A young woman spat hastily as she slammed the car door shut angrily, stepping out onto the sidewalk and folding her arms. For being such a short and delicate woman, you'd never suspect such anger, but she was late for work, actually, she was late for a very important meeting, and this was now the time where her car decided to stop working.

She got her phone out and placed it to her ear, waiting impatiently as it rung out, finally getting an answer and jumping with excitement, "Dad! It's April… yeah, yeah I'm fine." AJ nodded quickly, "My car has broken down. I'm already ten minutes late for an interview at work." She said with worry. When in fear and panic, always call your dad. That was her motto.

"Ok. Thanks, dad." AJ smiled with relief, hanging up and putting her phone back in her bag as she waited patiently on her father coming to pick her up. It may not have looked it, but she was a very independent woman. Which was another word for describing her living alone, dedicated to her job, the only boy in her day-to-day life was her black Pitbull called Dodger. That was what she called independent.

She waited all of five minutes before her dad came into sight, quickly rushing to his car and getting into the passenger's side, "Ok, go go. I'm so late." AJ almost cried to her father who just laughed, taking amusement, "It's not funny." She spat.

"I bet you it's just a loose connection. Did you even check?" Her father, Jacob, or Jake to most people asked her.

"No, I didn't check." AJ shook her head, looking on her phone as she text into her work colleagues to tell them she would be late, "I'm not like you and Dean, ok? I don't know how to fix cars."

"Well you're gonna need to because I'm not always gonna be around, April." Jake said as he kept his eyes on the road, "And your brother is a liability as it is." He said.

"Today is not the day to lecture me on how to fix a car, dad." AJ warned as Jake laughed.

"What do you think they're gonna do, April? Fire you?" Jake asked, "You're never late. You've been working there for almost five years. You're one of their best workers." Jake said, "You're getting yourself in a knot for no reason. Take a deep breath." He told her as AJ just sighed.

"People expect me to be there on time, dad." AJ sighed, "With my job, you have a reputation." She said as Jake nodded.

"I know that, but these things can happen to anyone." Jake said, pulling up beside the large skyscraper building, "I'll go back and look at your car. I assume you'll need me to pick you up later?"

"Yeah, I'll text you." AJ nodded, "Thank you for the ride." She said, leaning over and kissing his cheek.

"I guess it's what I'm here for." Jake said as AJ smiled, getting out of the car and rushing up the steps and entering through the glass doors as Jake watched her with a smile.

"Oh, look. You're finally up." Jake smiled as he walked into the car garage, looking on at his son, dirty blonde hair, still half sleeping, leaning over the hood of the car getting his hands dirty.

"Where did you go?" Dean asked.

"April had car trouble." Jake said, placing his car keys down.

"Of course she did." Dean laughed, "She grew up in a car garage, doesn't she know basics?" He asked.

"You know she panics." Jake said, "She was late for a meeting too so you can imagine the waterworks were on the horizon." He said as Dean just shook his head, "Who's the guy sitting over there?" Jake nodded over to the waiting area where a man, maybe Dean's age sat waiting, tattoo's up and down his arm, looking down at the ground.

"Oh, yeah." Dean remembered, "You remember Phil Brooks?" Dean asked his father who nodded.

"Dan's kid?" Jake asked as Dean nodded.

"Yeah, that's him. He's looking for a job. I said it shouldn't be a problem but… you can talk to him anyway." Dean said.

"You two used to play around here together all the time. Don't you remember?" Jake smiled, "You were just little kids I guess, maybe you won't." Jake said, making his way over to the man sitting waiting, "Phil?" Jake said as the man looked up suddenly and stood up.

"Hey." Phil nodded to him.

"Dean said you're looking for a job?" Jake asked with a smile as Phil, mostly known as Punk, nodded, "Come through to my office, son." Jake smiled, leading Punk into the back of the garage into the small office, "How is your dad, Phil? I haven't seen him in years." Jake admitted.

"Uh… my dad died last year." Punk said as Jake raised his eyebrows in shock, "It was a heart attack. All his drinking and smoking caught up to him I think." Punk admitted as Jake sighed and shook his head.

"He was only my age." Jake sighed, sitting down on the edge of the desk, "He was a good friend of mine." Jake said sadly.

"He spoke about you a lot." Punk nodded, "I don't wanna take up much of your time or anything." Punk said, "I was just looking to see if there was a job going here." Punk asked.

"For you, yeah." Jake smiled, "I know you know a lot about cars. Your father made sure of it." Jake chuckled as Punk smiled.

"He told me a lot of stories about when he had the garage across the road." Punk said.

"A lot of stories to tell about me and your father, kid." Jake smiled, "What about your mom? How is she?" Jake asked.

"She's good. She's remarried." Punk said, "Guy is a bit of a prick but I put up with him." Punk shrugged as Jake smiled.

"You're just like your dad." Jake laughed, "Damn, I wish you would've let me known about him passing on." Jake sighed sadly.

"I didn't know you guys were so close." Punk admitted, "Or I would have."

"Oh, yeah. Me and your father were like brothers. Don't you remember playing with Dean just outside here? You guys were little I suppose but… I thought you would have remembered."

"I was so busy going back and forth from my mom and dad's. I didn't know who was who." Punk admitted, "If I had known I would have let you know." Punk said.

"Don't worry about it." Jake said, "Anyway, the job is yours. Dan would come back and haunt me if I didn't help you out." He said as Punk smiled, "Loved the bones off you, so he did." Jake said as Punk smiled.

"Yeah, I know." Punk smiled, "Thanks for the job, I really appreciate it." Punk said, not thinking it would be that easy.

"Anything for a Brooks." Jake smiled, "You can start today, if that's ok." Jake said as Punk just nodded.

"That's awesome." Punk smiled, "Where do you need me?"

"C'mon, dad. Where are you?" AJ groaned as she stood outside her work later that night, waiting on her father picking her up, rolling her eyes as she watched her brother pull up outside.

She walked over and got into the car, "This is a first." AJ said as Dean smiled.

"You're welcome, little sis." Dean said, spinning around in the car and getting back onto the road.

"You drive like a maniac." AJ shook her head tiredly, "Where is dad?"

"Still at the garage." Dean said, "We hired a new guy. You remember the Brooks?" Dean asked her.

"Should I?" AJ shook her head tiredly, "Sounds like a TV show. The Brooks." AJ said, leaning her elbow on the car door and resting her head in her hand.

"They worked across from the garage. They were rivals until they became best friends."

"Who are they?" AJ asked.

"Dad and Phil's dad."

"Who is Phil?" AJ questioned.

"You never hear dad talking about Dan?" Dean asked as AJ nodded, "Well it's his son." Dean said as AJ just nodded.

"It's a touching story but right now I'm dreaming of my bed." She said as Dean laughed.

"Hard day at work?" Dean asked her.

"You have no idea." AJ said.

"Well I have to take you to the garage, your car is there, Phil was fixing it." Dean said.

"Can't I get it another time?" AJ asked with exhaustion.

"No, we need it moved out of the garage for another car coming in tomorrow morning." Dean said, "Don't be a baby. I've been working all day too. Using my actual hands."

"I use my hands." AJ fought back.

"Yeah, to draw shitty book covers." Dean chuckled as AJ punched his arm, "Hey, don't carry on the car." Dean said sophisticatedly, "It's a danger hazard." He told her as AJ rolled her eyes.

"Asshole." AJ groaned as they pulled up outside the garage, "You could have dropped me off at home and then drove my car back to my place." AJ said.

"I'm not your servant." Dean chuckled.

"Yeah you are." AJ laughed, getting out of the car as Dean just rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"How was work, sweetheart? Did they fire you?" Jake asked as AJ walked into the dirty garage.

"That isn't funny." AJ said, "No, I didn't get fired but I did miss forty-five slides of a powerpoint in my meeting." AJ told him.

"I wouldn't sweat over it." Jake smiled, "We're just fixing your car up and then you can take it home." He said as AJ looked over at the man leaning over the hood of her car, tilting her head round to get a better look at him, "Shall I move out the way?" Jake asked her.

"Is that the new guy?" AJ turned to Dean who nodded.

"He's one of my old friend's son." Jake said quietly, "You remember him? No, you would have just been a baby at the time they had the garage across the street." Jake answered for her.

"Are you gonna introduce me to him?" AJ asked her father who shook his head, "Why not?" AJ laughed.

"Three girls have come by today to pick their cars up and every single one of them have gave him their numbers." Jake said, "You just go stand with your brother."

"Are you kidding me?" AJ laughed, "I don't want to give him my number, I just want to say hi and thanks for fixing my car." AJ said, "You two are jerks." She pushed by her brother and father, walking round the bed and standing at the hood of her car where Punk was screwing and tightening things up. She coughed to get his attention as he lifted his head and hit it off the hood of the car, "Oh." AJ gasped at the sound of his head hitting off the hood, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." AJ said as Punk shook his head, holding it and turning around to look at her.

"It's ok." Punk nodded with a small smile as AJ looked at him.

"I'm April." AJ smiled, extending her hand, "This is my dad's place." She said proudly as Punk nodded, extending his black, oily hand and squeezing her hand with a smirk as she looked down at her now black and dirty hand, "Thank you for that." AJ mumbled to herself as she looked at her dirty hand whilst he leaned back over to finish off fixing he car, "So… is my car nearly done?" She asked.

"Yeah. I'm just screwing the caps back on. You had an oil leakage. You oughta watch out for them." Punk told her as she watched him. He was very easy on the eyes, very easy, but he seemed just a little too arrogant for her.

"I don't really pay attention to cars." AJ said, "I think they're pretty useless and stupid actually." She teased as Punk turned back around to her.

"Jake!" Punk shouted as Jake turned around, "Is this your daughter?" He questioned as Jake nodded.

"What is she saying to you?" Jake laughed alongside Dean.

"Disrespecting cars." Punk said as AJ folded her arms, feeling like the missing link and the laughing stock of the garage.

"It's just in her nature." Jake waved it off as Punk smiled, leaning back and putting the hood of the car down.

"There you go, sweetheart. Your useless car, at your service." He smirked to her, taking a better look at her as he realised she was actually extremely beautiful. Extremely beautiful.

He grabbed her keys from the board with the pegs to hold the keys, tossing them to her as she dropped them carelessly.

"Someone's had a long day." He smiled, bending down in front of her and picking them up for her, handing them to her as she looked up at him, watching him walk on by her.

She watched as he hugged her father and brother goodbye, joking around with them as she folded her arms, watching him leave the garage as both her brother and father turned to her, "I don't like him." AJ said immediately once he had left, "Look at my hand." She showed them her dirty hand as they laughed, "It's not funny." AJ said as she walked over to them.

"I'm just glad it's a dirty hand he gave you and not a phone number." Jake said, "You should get to know him." He told her.

"No thanks, I'll pass on that." AJ said, "If you don't mind, I'm gonna go home and pass out." She told them, opening her car door, throwing her bag over to the passenger's side.

"Will you be over for dinner tomorrow?" Jake asked her.

"Of course she will." Dean answered for her, "She has nothing better to do." He chuckled as AJ just slammed her door shut and shook her head whilst Jake and Dean laughed. Her brother and father drove her insane sometimes, but she'd have them no other way.

A/N: REVIEW and let me know what you think! Lots more info coming in the next few chapters so stay tuned.