Scenes from the Mall
A/N: This is mostly an exercise in me putting the characters in little situations like this but I thought it would be fun to post. It might only be one scene but the thought has crossed my mind to write other little 'mall moments' so we'll see. First I have to see if this one is good. So on to the other stuff. I don't own Supernatural or its characters. I wish I did because then I'd have Sam and Dean run around shirtless often. I do own Emerson and if you'd like to learn more about her, check out my author page. There isn't much but I might actually put up a bio on her one of these days. Plus it might be good to read some of my other stories featuring Emerson. I know OFCs don't always go over well with fans but I like to think that mine isn't a Mary Sue and that the stories are well written. A little feedback will help me in making sure that happens though because if I start to veer too much into Mary Sue-verse, I'd like to know. Plus my muse likes being fed and reviews always help with that. Thanks!
Dean made a sour face as Emerson held up a striped button down shirt to get a better look at it. He really didn't understand why they had to be at the mall right now. It was the middle of November and the place was packed. He'd had to drive around the mall parking lot at least three times before he found a parking spot and then they'd had to walk for what felt like forever until they reached a mall entrance. And now Dean felt like he was trapped in mall hell.
"Would you look around, grumpy?" Emerson said, giving Dean a playful pout. "It's really not that bad."
"We could've just grabbed something at the Quickie Mart," Dean grumbled, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his leather jacket.
Emerson stuck her tongue out at him and unfolded a t-shirt to take a closer look at it. She tossed a dark gray t-shirt and a light gray t-shirt over her shoulder, deciding they would do. "I am not buying Sam a Christmas present from some convenience store, Dean," she said, shaking her head. "I'm not getting yours from a convenience store either if that helps any."
Dean immediately perked up, shifting so he could look Emerson in the eye now. "Yeah? So what am I getting?" he asked, looking a bit like an eager puppy.
Emerson softly laughed, shaking her head with an amused look on her face. She couldn't help it. There was something endearing about Dean at moments like this. "Oh no you don't, Dean," she said, smiling brightly. "When Sam and I go to the mall tomorrow, I'll pick up your present. So I don't even know what it is yet, tiger. That's why you're here and Sam isn't. This way you won't know what you're getting and Sam won't know what he's getting."
Dean chuckled a bit, shaking his head now in that amused way. He was looking around again, planning a quick exit. He wasn't interested in buying anything for Sam in some department store. Dean was more of a last minute shopper anyway. He figured that he could grab something from a gas station or something. It wasn't like a typical Winchester Christmas included awesome gifts in the first place.
"So what are you getting Sammy?" Dean asked, only now noticing the shirts that Emerson had tossed over her shoulder.
"Probably a couple of shirts and maybe a watch or something," Emerson said with a noncommittal shrug. She wasn't totally sure on what she'd be getting but she had a general idea on it anyway. She was holding up a sweater as she spoke and then tossed it back on the table, deciding that it wasn't something Sam would wear anyway. "I'm going for practical gifts."
Dean shrugged. He hated the fact that right now Sam was getting to relax in the motel room while he was stuck at the mall. Dean didn't see how that was fair. Especially since he wasn't even getting anything out of this. Emerson was shopping for Sam and Dean was stuck hanging around. "Remind me again why I promised to do this?" he asked, mostly thinking out loud.
Emerson had the t-shirts draped over her arm now and had added a nice zippered hooded sweatshirt that she'd found as well. She looked at Dean and smiled brightly. "Because you're an awesome big brother and you knew I'd be shopping for Sam so you offered to take me to the mall," she said, lightly laughing. "Go wander and I'll find you when I'm done shopping. You look like you're going a little stir crazy, Dean."
Dean made another sour face, almost sticking his tongue out at Emerson. He glanced around again and headed towards the department store's fragrance counter. He wondered if maybe there was someone working today that he could flirt with. A lot of the time there were hot girls that worked in the makeup and fragrance departments of stores like this. And since Emerson was giving him the chance to walk away, Dean figured he'd take advantage of it. Since there wasn't a job in the area right now, he figured a little fun couldn't hurt after all.
Dean was leaning against one of the glass display cases, flirting with a pretty brunette salesperson behind the counter when Emerson wandered over. She had figured that Dean was going to be there. Flirting with some young salesperson was probably the only fun that Dean was having at the mall at this point. Emerson rolled her eyes a bit when she saw that he had a small shopping bag in his one hand. She wondered if Dean actually bought something because some pretty young salesperson batted her eyelashes and talked him into buying something that he didn't really need. Of course Dean could have bought something for Sam too. She wouldn't be sure until she talked to him.
Emerson started to head over when she caught a bit of the conversation Dean was having with the brunette. She smiled and shook her head, figuring on giving him only long enough to get the girl's phone number before heading over. It was the least that Emerson could do after dragging Dean to the mall like this. While she had the time, Emerson wandered over to the makeup, glancing at some of the lipglosses they had for sale.
After picking out a couple of things for herself, a couple of lipglosses and some other makeup, she headed to the makeup counter to pay before Dean saw her. Emerson was just handing over the cash to pay for her things when Dean spotted her.
"Ready to go?"
Emerson smiled, nodding, taking her change and the bag before turning to face Dean. "Yeah, I'm done shopping so if you're ready, we can go," she said with a shrug.
"You know you owe me," Dean said, looking around a bit to see if eh could find the exit.
"I left you alone to get that girl's number. I think we're even, Dean."
"You owe me more than that."
"All right, so I'll get us all dinner too and beers are on me when we go to the bar."
Dean seemed to consider it for a moment. Finally he shrugged. "Let's start with lunch and we'll discus the rest of the terms then," he said, getting ready to leave the store.
"You can try negotiating, Dean, but I think that my offer is fair," Emerson said with a shrug. She started to lead them towards the exit, figuring that Dean would want to hit the nearest fast food place instead of sticking around in the mall to go to the food court. "So what's in the bag?"
Dean glanced at the bag in his hand and then shrugged. He was trying to make sure that it didn't look like he was following Emerson. He wasn't totally sure how to get out of the store at all but he was playing it off nicely. "A gift for Sam," Dean said as they walked.
Emerson perked up when she heard that, grinning. "What did you get him?"
"You first."
Emerson laughed and shrugged. He'd seen most of what she'd picked out and since she didn't think Dean was going to go gabbing to Sam about what she bought, Emerson felt it was safe to share that information with Dean. "A zipper-up sweatshirt, a couple of t-shirts and a nice, durable watch. You?"
"A new money clip."
Emerson looked a bit impressed, nodding. "I wonder what Sam will get you."
Dean furrowed his brow as he thought about it. He wasn't sure that he trusted Sam to pick out something that he'd actually like. "Hey, maybe you can help him pick out something cool," he said, a hopeful look on his face.
Emerson shrugged, not sure she wanted to have that much input on what Sam bought Dean. She, after all, hadn't had any input on what Dean bought Sam. "I don't know, Dean. We'll see. But Dean?"
Dean looked at Emerson now, almost stopping in his tracks at that tone in her voice. It wasn't sarcastic. In fact he thought it was maybe soft and sweet. "Yeah? What?"
Emerson slipped her arm in his and rested her head on Dean's arm for a moment. "Thanks," she said with a softer smile. "Thanks for bringing me here and thanks for helping me."
Dean looked confused now. "Helping you? With what?"
"For doing all of this. For helping me get Sam to do Christmas this year."
Dean smiled and shrugged it off. He was looking forward to it himself and if it made Sam happy, then Dean would do it. And it seemed that Sam liked seeing Emerson happy so if she was happy, Sam was happy. "Yeah, well, whatever."
Emerson softly laughed. "I'll make sure you like your gifts, Dean," she said as they headed out the door and into the parking lot so they could find the Impala. "After all, I owe you, right?"