Burnt and Broken
Dean, Sam, and Bobby move to California for a fresh start away from Sioux Falls and the secrets they want to stay buried. Dean is looking forward to his new life, except for the fact that he promised Bobby he'd do one year of college when he'd much rather be working as much as possible to raise money for Sam's college fund. But a promise is a promise and Dean thinks he can handle it. That is, until he meets Castiel Novak, who ruins his life in the most perfect ways possible.
1. A Fresh Start
The thing Dean Winchester liked most about California was the wind.
They were the Santa Ana winds, apparently, and some people called them the "devil winds." Most people found the wind annoying. Dean loved it. He loved feeling the air rushing around him, blowing in his face, reminding him that he's so very much alive.
And that's why Dean had the windows down in the car as they passed the sign that said "Welcome to Clara Vista." He pointed the sign out to his brother Sam, who sat in the passenger seat. Sam looked disinterested and put his nose back in his book. Dean rolled his eyes, turned up the Metallica to his brother's annoyance, and let out a whoop of excitement.
"Sammy, quit reading and look at the town!" Dean commanded.
"It's Sam," the younger Winchester grumbled half-heartedly to himself as he placed his bookmark where he needed it and looked out the window.
Clara Vista was a fairly big city-suburb in Southern California, and was only a few hours away from the coast ("Think of it, Sammy...beach babes," Dean had told Sam). It had the typical look-a-like condominiums and gated communities. The taller buildings in the distance indicated the downtown area. It didn't look like anything special to Sam.
"Everything's going to be better, Sammy," Dean said wistfully. "A fresh start, just you wait and see."
Sam turned his head to stare at his brother. He wanted to bite out some bitter statement about how Dean could only bury the memories for so long, or that a different zip code wouldn't change the past, but he didn't. He saw the pain behind his brother's carefully built walls and he saw how badly Dean wanted things to work out in this new town. So, even though he would miss Sioux Falls, Sam decided to give Clara Vista a chance.
"We're here!" Dean announced.
Sam looked up from his book and saw Bobby's truck ahead of them pull over to the curb in front of a nice house. The house was two stories and had a light green paint job and a front porch with a bench swing. The front yard was sizeable, and Sam wondered briefly if he might be able to convince Dean to let him get a dog. He laughed at himself; the thought of Dean being okay with a dog in the house was absurd.
Dean parked his precious Impala behind Bobby's truck as the driver backed the moving truck up into the driveway.
"Boys, help move the stuff in the house," Bobby commanded as the moving guys opened up the truck and began pulling stuff out.
Due to Sam, Dean, and Bobby not having much furniture and the combined efforts of five men, they got all of their things out of the truck and into the house in just a few hours. Once the moving truck was out of the driveway, Bobby and Dean moved their cars into the garage.
Now Dean stood alone in the living room, as Bobby was out tipping the moving truck men and Sam was checking out the backyard. He looked around at all of the boxes of unpacked things and inhaled the stale scent of the house. He wasn't one for being cheesy, but he really could feel that they were going to do well in Clara Vista.
"We'll start unpacking tomorrow, unless you wanna start on yer room tonight," Bobby said as he came in. "I have to call Ellen and let her know we got in safe."
"She has a daughter, right?" Dean asked, a smirk forming on his lips.
"Name's Jo," Bobby said. "But don't even think about it," he added quickly, cutting off Dean, who was just about to ask if she was hot.
Dean rolled his eyes playfully. "Think about what?"
"I'd give you the speech myself, but I'll leave that to Ellen," Bobby replied as he dialed his old friend's number.
Dean grinned. Ellen Harvelle was Bobby's old friend from high school, and although Dean hadn't met her he was sure excited to. From Bobby's description and stories about her, she sounded like a tough, no nonsense kind of woman, and he'd bet money she'd raised her daughter to be that way too. The reason they'd moved to Clara Vista instead of another city was because of Bobby's connection to Ellen. Ellen owned a popular bar in town called the Roadhouse and was well known around the town. She'd scored Bobby and Dean jobs at the best auto shop in town.
"Hey Ellen, 's Bobby ... Yeah we got in safe ... The boys are fine ... Only the furniture, we'll unpack tomorrow ... No that's - ... Really, you don't - ... Well alright then ... See you soon."
Bobby hung up the phone and gave Dean a curious stare. While Bobby was on the phone, Dean had been squirming uncomfortably. He had a dark look in his eyes and Bobby could tell he was reliving the Incident.
"Son, you've got to get over this phone thing," Bobby said.
"I don't want to talk about it," Dean answered coldly.
"Dean - "
"So why'd you say 'see you soon'?" he asked, cutting across the old man.
Bobby sighed but let the issue drop. "Ellen insists on coming over and welcoming us to the town."
"Is she bringing Jo?" Dean asked, waggling his eyebrows.
Bobby pointed a stern finger at Dean. "No funny business."
"That shouldn't be hard to manage," Sam said as he walked in from the backyard through the sliding screen door in the kitchen.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Dean asked, giving an offended look to his little brother.
"It means you're not funny, Dean," he replied with a dead pan.
Bobby snorted and Sam cracked a grin.
Dean rolled his eyes and reached out to ruffle the sixteen year old's hair.
"Bitch," he said playfully.
Sam dodged Dean and ran up the stairs to his new room.
"Jerk!" he called over his shoulder.
Dean watched Sam until he disappeared from sight and then turned to Bobby, sensing the man's serious air.
"Dean, did you register for classes at UCV?" Bobby asked.
"I told you already that I did," Dean replied tersely. "Quit hounding me."
"You know that one year of college was part of our deal for moving out here," Bobby reminded him.
"Yes, I know, Bobby," Dean growled. "I know that you're making me waste my time with classes at the University of Clara fucking Vista when I could be working more to raise money for Sammy's college fund."
"Dean, you're twenty years old and you still live with me and your brother!" Bobby exclaimed. "You think a GED and your pissy attitude are gonna to be enough to get you by in life?!"
"Well you seem to be doing fine," Dean snarled.
Bobby pursed his lips and balled his hands into fists as his face turned cherry red. He opened his mouth to say something when the doorbell rang.
"Sammy has a future, Bobby. That kid's going places," Dean said, his tone gentle and softer now. He relaxed his stance and looked at Bobby with a sad expression. "As long as he has a future, I don't care about mine."
Bobby flinched as if Dean's words had actually reached out and slapped him. He looked like he was going to reply when the doorbell rang again, this time accompanied by, "Bobby Singer you open this door now or I'll break it down!"
"Typical Ellen," Bobby muttered as he trudged over to the door, Dean following behind.
When Bobby opened the door Dean was greeted by the sight of two women. One was an older woman with chestnut colored hair and a stern yet amused expression on her face. The other was a younger girl around Sam's age with wavy blonde hair and a playful look in her eyes.
"Bobby, it's been too long," the older woman greeted, stepping forward to hug him, to which Bobby responded awkwardly to.
"You must be Jo's sister," Dean said with a wink, turning on his classic charm. He was about to say something else when he spied the food in the bag she held. "Is...is that pie?" he asked with a starry-eyed expression.
"You must be Dean," Ellen said with a laugh. "Bobby told me about your food preferences so I made this to bring over when you came into town. Cheeseburgers and pie, I approve."
"Y-you made..." Dean's eyes widened and he stared straight into Ellen's eyes and said, "Marry me."
"Sorry, kid, the age gap is too much for me," Ellen replied with a smile.
Dean shrugged. "I'll just marry Jo, then."
"Like hell you will," the blonde said, speaking up for the first time. "I'm way out of your league."
"Not to mention only fifteen years old and can't cook a pie if her life depended on it," Ellen pointed out. "Bobby, this is my daughter Joanna Beth."
Jo's dark eyes flashed when she saw the expression on Dean's face. "You call me that and you'll get a boot in your face."
"Feisty!" Dean remarked. "I like that in a woman."
Bobby hit Dean across the head and the Harvelle women laughed. He stepped aside for them to come into the house and Dean called for Sam to come downstairs.
"Love what you've done with the place, Bobby," Ellen commented dryly, looking around the box-filled house.
"Barely five minutes after seeing each other again after decades and you're already harping me." Bobby gave Ellen an exasperated look. "Will you ever give me a break, woman?"
"Not even in your dreams," Ellen retorted over her shoulder as she went into the kitchen to put out the food she'd brought.
"I like her," Dean said to Bobby, who laughed.
Jo walked into the living room and plopped down onto the couch, coughing when a cloud of dust came up from the upholstery. She propped her feet up on the coffee table, pulled out her cell, and began texting someone.
"Who's here?" Sam asked as he came down the stairs.
"Ellen and Jo," Dean answered, sitting down next to Jo and putting an arm around her, pulling her into his side. Jo raised an eyebrow at him, turned her head to the side, and bit his arm. Dean retracted his arm with a yelp and scooted away from her. Jo grinned triumphantly.
"I like her," Sam said, going over to shake Jo's hand.
Dean grumbled nonsense under his breath as Ellen walked to Sam to greet him.
"Bobby, I thought you said this kid was short," she remarked, looking up at Sam.
"He sprouted probably anout three feet over the summer," Bobby replied. "Hasn't stopped yet, either."
"What are you now, Sammy?" Dean asked.
"5'11," Sam relied. "I've almost caught you up."
Dean rolled his eyes. "We'll see."
Dinner was a comfortable affair. Ellen and Jo fit effortlessly in to the Singer-Winchester clan, and Dean could tell it was going to be the Singer-Winchester-Harvelle clan by how well everyone was getting along. Jo was telling Sam about the high school and Ellen and Bobby were trading stories of what's happened to them since high school.
A fresh start is definitely what we needed, he thought to himself with a smile.
After dinner, Dean stepped outside for a breath of fresh air and to feel the winds blow around him. The sun was setting, casting a red glow around everything. He breathed in the California air and sighed. He heard the door open and then Jo was sitting next to him on the porch steps.
"Nice, isn't it?" she asked.
"Yeah," he answered.
"So Bobby said you're taking classes at UCV."
He stiffened.
"Let me guess, you're not happy about it?" she asked.
"I'll be wasting time and money with these college classes," he answered. "I just want to work and raise money for Sam to go to college."
"My mom got you and Bobby jobs at the auto shop, right?"
"Yeah, Bobby full-time and me part," he replied.
"It's not enough for you, is it?"
"Far from it."
They sat in comfortable silence for a little while. The winds blew again and Jo made a noise of discontent as the wind played with her hair and tangled it up.
"Listen, I'll get my mom to give you a job at the Roadhouse," she said. "We can always use more help around there."
"You work at a bar? Aren't you fifteen?" he asked with a quirked eyebrow.
She shrugged. "My mom owns the bar, remember, so she can bend the rules. I just can't handle any of the alcohol. You're 21, right?"
"I have an ID that says so," he replied smoothly.
Jo rolled her eyes. "Whatever. She won't care."
"Thanks Jo."
"But there's a catch."
He frowned. "What is it?"
"Give college a chance," she said. When his jaw hardened she added, "Just give it a chance. You have to go anyway, so why not let it be some fun at least? Sam and Bobby are giving California a chance for you, so you should return the favor by giving college a chance. Okay?"
He hated to admit it, but for a fifteen year old girl Jo sure made a lot of sense.
Dean conceded with a long exhale. "Fine. I'll give it a chance. For you, not for the job."
Jo smiled and punched him lightly. At his confused expression she blushed.
"Sorry," she mumbled. "That's how I show affection."
Dean laughed, remembering his earlier thoughts of what Jo might be like. He was delighted to know she was better than his expectations.
She looked embarrassed and obviously thought he was laughing at her. When she shifted to move away, he lightly punched her on the arm. She stared at him, shocked, for a moment before she grinned.
"You hit like a girl," she said.
He glared at her and she laughed before getting up and going inside.
Dean stayed out on the porch for a few moments more, thinking about Clara Vista and UCV. Maybe college would turn out to be a fresh start for him, despite his reservations about it. He'd never wanted to go, never entertained the thought. Sammy was the one on the college track, not him. But Bobby had forced him into agreeing to a year of classes and he'd qualified for a lot of scholarships, so maybe it would end up working out.
He was about to go inside when he heard a car coming down the street. The car wasn't anything special, not like his baby, so Dean was about to turn away when he made eye contact with the driver.
The driver was a man around Dean's age. He had dark messy hair and stubble on his strong jawline, but what grabbed Dean's attention the most were his eyes. They were a striking blue, the kind that made you feel like you'd been punched in the gut when you looked at them. Dean thought the man had to be wearing color contacts; eyes that blue just didn't happen in nature.
Dean raised his hand in a wave, but the blue-eyed man just looked away and ignored him. Dean's hand hung awkwardly in the air as he watched the car disappear from sight. He shrugged off the man's rudeness. People in California were known for being rude, and Dean figured the stereotype had to have come from somewhere.
He refused to let his thoughts dwell on the blue-eyed man, no matter how much the man's eyes wanted to stick in his brain. He didn't need to think about rude blue-eyed men; he was having a fresh start, and he would find people who would wave back to him.
Besides, it wasn't like he'd ever see the blue-eyed man again.
Oh Dean, how wrong you are ;) So I recently watched all of Supernatural for the first time and it has now become the love of my life. I ship Destiel so hard it hurts. So of couse when I get into a new show or something, the plot bunnies start brewing. I have four story ideas already, including this one, but I think I'll work on this one for now
Please review!
~Ki