Working late nights on the weekend wasn't so bad for her. She enjoyed the local life and she would find the way this sleepy town would rejuvenate and come to life interesting. She was still getting used to living in this quiet town even though she's been here for a while now. She wiped down the counter of the bar as the few customers watched a college game for the heck of it. No one knew who was playing against who and they were probably not fans. They just wanted something to discuss about; the passing of the ball, the footwork of the players, and what not. She smiled as she rinsed the rag, thinking how simple her life was since she moved there. Granted, it was a rough start for her and she wasn't really welcomed at first. But after a few weeks, she was part of the community.
"Looks like it will rain tonight", she heard her boss comment. She observed from outside the window a thick blanket of clouds hiding the blue sky. It was late November, almost December, so rain and cloudy weather was expected nearly everyday.
"You've been sayin' that for the past two days Mel", one of the locals laughed. She knew both sides were right. Something about Mel was telling the truth about the rain but he also has been saying that for two days straight and nothing has happened.
"Maybe tonight will rain", she defended. She caught the eyes of them and smiled her innocent smile.
"Smooching up to the boss?" another local added. She shook her head and rolled her eyes. She looked around and took in a deep breath. She felt her choker necklace grow tight as she inhaled and loosen it up a bit. It wasn't busy compared to Monday night's football madness but it was enough to keep her entertained.
"Alice", she heard a voice, resembling a cross between a child and man.
"Gabriel", turning to face the owner of the voice. A man with light golden green eyes, sprinkled in freckles cheeks, and thin lips with dark blonde/light brown hair greeted her. Her slightly red pink lips gave a half smile and leaned in towards him, half closing her brown reddish eyes for effect. She leaned away from him, having retrieved what she needed. Three beer bottles clinked against each other as she waved them next to them, their long necks freezing in between her fingers.
"You're getting better", he commented. Setting the bottles on the counter, she crossed her arms and leaned against the counter edge.
"I don't know what I have to do to get through your thick head. You know I don't plan on going back." Twisting her body to give him her back, she cracked open the bottles and looked down at her wrist. The one thing that reminded her about the life she left behind but also reminded her she couldn't go back to it faced her, a symbol that was vital for her was neatly om display and was hugging her wrist in the form of a bracelet.
"Do you honestly believe you can hide forever?"
"I can try", she answered, tucking a loose strand of brown red hair behind her ear. He shook his head and grabbed her shoulder slightly, turning her around.
"Alice, you are marked and branded for life. You will never live a normal life no matter what. You see things and are different than everyone else." His hands were placed over her shoulders and shook her once lightly. She closed her eyes and dropped her head down.
"Thanks for the motivational speech", she looked up and stared deeply into his eyes. "Look Gabe, I have a few weeks before my year is up. If I can keep at it this way, I am sure I will no longer be marked. Once you leave it for a while, you're clean."
"You really believe in that bull? Alice, you are a hunter and the best I've seen. I've watched you hunt and you are a badass at it. Look at your bracelet; it's begging you to continue." He stroked her arms down and looked at her in the eyes. "No one is going to hate you less if you kill monsters and demons. In fact, no one has to know."
"So you're a stalker now for watching me gut a demon?"
"Very funny Alice but I'm being serious here. You're one of the best I've seen and I've seen plenty."
"That's not the case, Gabriel", she looked at him with pleading eyes. "I left hunting because it only reminded me I'm different than the rest of my family. No one else in my family from my dad side can do what I do. Yes, they are hunters too but no one else is like me."
"So what if you're a little different?" She gave him her famous eyes of 'seriously?' "Okay, yes you're very different but that's what makes you Alice." She smiled and tugged her long sleeves a bit.
"Okay, maybe that's what makes me unique but I am still not going back." A flash of lightning illuminated the farthest edge of the counter and she jumped and shivered. "What kind of hunter is afraid of thunder and lighting?"
"The ones who are afraid of being electrocuted and know things go bump in the dark", Gabriel answered, patting her head. She cocked an eyebrow and twist her lip into half a smile, lowering her eyelids slightly. He loved to pat her head even though she was taller than him by an inch. "You need to stop being taller than me."
"You need to stop being shorter than me", she answered, grabbing the beers and handing them to two men she knew. She approached an older gentleman who barely entered the bar and made his way to sit by himself in the farthest table in the corner, away from the noise and windows. She knew him too well, being an old friend who helped her and her family for a while.
"Alice", he greeted her.
"Bobby", she answered, setting the beer down. She sometimes grew nervous when other hunters were around because she didn't want to be reminded of her past life.
"What have you been doing lately?" he asked her, pulling a chair out for her.
"Working and trying to keep myself out of trouble", she answered, hand on the back on the chair. "What are you doing here? You usually come on Saturday night. Why a day early?"
"Ah, just meeting my boys here. They rarely visit their old man", he answered, patting the chair next to him.
"You have boys?" she asked as she looked at Mel, who nodded at her as she sat.
"Well, they aren't my boys to say but they are almost family." She crossed her arms over the table and rubbed her hands over her forearms. "You should meet them tonight. They outta be here in a few minutes. Kids these days, always late." He chuckled and took a sip of his beer. She smiled and tugged her sleeve again, hiding her bracelet.
"Do they... are they... you know...?"
"Yeah, they're in the business as well. Got that from their father. They aren't show-offs about hunting unless they know someone who is also a hunter but for the most part, they keep to themselves and look out for each other. They're brothers, can you blame them?" She allowed a small smile to play on her lips and shook her head, looked down and bit her lip. She knew being a hunter wasn't something you brag about to anyone; in fact, it was dangerous. Lifting her sights up, she smiled at him and didn't say anything. "Alice, listen." They locked eyes and remained still. "You're a great hunter and your mother would be very proud of you..."
"Oh please stop..." she huffed annoyingly, leaning against the chair, crossing her arms. "I get it; I was a good hunter but that life is gone from me, okay? And don't talk about my mother like that, you didn't know her." She stood up and fixed her shirt. "I'll get you another beer." She turned from him, beginning to walk away but stopped, feeling a hand wrap around her wrist. Looking down at her wrist then the man whose arm was connected to, she knew he was going to have the final word.
"I knew your mother and you take the hunting from her, don't doubt that, Alice." He patted her hand and let her go. They exchanged a nod and a gave a smile of acknowledgment before she walked back to the bar, placing her hands far apart from each other and leaned towards the counter, inhaling deeply, feeling her lungs inflate and her back and shoulders ache from arching herself inward.
"How far from town are we?" a deep voice asked. A different man looked up from his map and to the road.
"About 15 minutes in", a different voice, a less deep one answered. His view was blinded shortly by the raindrops splattering on the windshield glass. He settled in the leather seat and looked at his map again, flashlight in one hand and his other hand holding the map in place, his head dropping down.
"We're meeting Bobby in a bar, hopefully they got some pretty girls working there", the first voice commented. The other man only hummed once and kept looking at the map. "Yo Sammy wake up."
"I am awake..." the one named Sam answered. "And it's Sam, not Sammy." He reached for the knob of the radio but was smacked in the palm before he got close to it.
"House rules Sammy. Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole", the driver answered.
"Thanks for the reminder Dean", Sam commented, soothing his palm back and forth, feeling heat in his fingers of the smack. He sighed and folded the map and shut the flashlight, then his sights returned to the road.
The evening rolled on and sure enough, it started to rain. It started as a drizzle then increased with time. The place was slightly full now and orders were coming in faster and in larger quantities. Holding her circular tray under her arms, she rushed back to the counter and filled up two pints and cracked the top of two bottles, placing them on her tray.
"You are on fire, Alice", Gabriel commented.
"Thanks for flirting, can you help me by actually working?" she asked, lifting her tray and returning to refill the thirst of the masses. She handed the beer bottles to a group of truckers and turned to quickly give another group their pints. Her shirt was then soaked in alcohol.
"Oh crap…" she muttered, looking at the mess.
"Oh crap…" the person who bumped into her muttered as well. She looked up keeping her head levelled and her eyes went wide. Her eyes landed square on his chest, not on his shoulder or neck but dead smack on his chest cavity. Her head pulled back and saw his wide, green eyes staring into her warm, brown red ones. It seemed for that moment, they were frozen in time. They didn't move, blinked, or breathed as it seemed. Her mouth was slightly parted and her heart was racing in her chest.
Inside his chest cavity, a familiar feeling bursted from inside. A feeling he swore he would never feel again for a long time. His cool green eyes were mesmerized by the warmness he felt radiating from hers. Her eyes were large and inviting, warm and friendly. His mouth fell open slightly. His long, tousled brown hair softly framed his face. It seemed they would forever stay locked in time if it wasn't until both inhaled deeply the smell of beer burned their nose.
"I'm so sorry", she managed to utter without stuttering. Her cheeks burned and she bet they were red.
"No, I'm sorry. I wasn't looking when I was watching… I mean where I was going", he stuttered. She placed the tray on the table and pulled a rag from her belt, handing it to him. He stroked the rag over the residue of beer from his jacket. He handed it back to her and she patted her shirt, or attempted to dry her shirt. The whole time she did so, he kept his eyes on her, never blinking, fearing she would disappear. When she looked up again, she avoided getting caught in his gaze. She couldn't help but bite her lip and keep her eyes away from his.
"Here, um, let me get you a beer, on the house", she offered, lifting up her tray.
"No no, it's okay…" he stopped her.
"If he doesn't want it, I'll take it." Both faced another man coming towards them. This man was taller than her but not as tall compared to the man who was covered in alcohol. "I'm Dean and this is my little brother Sammy."
"No, not Sammy, just Sam", he corrected, giving her a nervous smile and chuckle.
"Little brother?" she questioned and gave a look over to Sam. "Looks like someone ate his vegetables growing up." She smiled and unintentionally caused Sam to feel shivers. "I'm Alice by the way." She extended her hand and shook theirs.
"Nice to meet you, Alice", Dean smiled back. "We're looking for a friend of ours, know anyone by the name of Bobby Singer?" Her heart stopped for moment and took in a small breath, eyes wide open.
"Yeah… he's… you know Bobby?"
"Over here boys." The trio turned to face the stocky, elderly man who approached them. Alice lifted her shoulders up, her collarbones exposing even more. "Boys, I like for you to meet Alice Harper, an old friend of mine. Alice, this is Dean and Sam Winchester, my boys." She smiled and looked at them.
"We met already… after I spilled beer over Sam here", she looked down and blushed hard again, pulling her sleeve more.
"Sometimes a spilled beer is a good beer, especially if it was done so by a pretty girl", Dean flirted. Sam gave him a look and Bobby followed the youngest of the brothers actions, and Alice simply rolled her eyes.
"And this is coming from the one who isn't getting a free beer tonight", she replied, giving a rather cocky look and placed her hands on her hips. "It was nice meeting you two but I have to get back to work. I'll bring you guys something to drink." She smiled, turned on her heels, and quickly walked back to the counter.
"She's got spunk, I'll give her that" Dean commented, smiling.
"She has to, she works here. She needs to avert guys like you from hitting on her."
"Hmm, she's pretty hot too", Dean continued. Sam, however, didn't speak. He was too busy think about her, especially how she looked up at him. But more importantly, how she knew Bobby. His sights followed her as she grabbed the beer bottles and placing them on the tray. He managed to break free from her spell as soon as she came back to hand them their refreshments.
"Thank you Alice", Bobby smiled and tipped his drink to her. She nodded sideways and smiled, tucking her hair back. That's when he caught it, dangling off her left wrist, the same marking he knew since he was a kid. She faced him and smiled. He shook his head and returned the smile. She headed back to the counter and waiting for her, was a blonde tall guy with green golden eyes. Something about her was familiar but couldn't quite put his finger on it.