Author's Note: Okay, so I'm posting this oddly... but there is a plot, there are characters, and I cried when my favorite character died. This specifically doesn't contain many spoilers, but you should watch the show up to the last episode anyway. It's amazing, even for us lesbians. :)
Summary: So they found this girl... and frankly, Jo doesn't trust her. She's weak, quiet, and laid back- exactly what Jo doesn't want to be. Will they connect, or just kill each other? Joxoc, Jooc, femme, girlxgirl.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except Jen, the rest belong to Supernatural and Eric Kripke.
The Beginning
You can barely protect yourself
She sneezed.
The wind had tickled her nose and dust had flown into her nostrils. A rabbit that had dared to venture within a few feet quickly hurried away. It hopped with speed, pushing its feet with all its might and gone before the girl had even known it was there. Not that she cared about cute and fury creatures.
The sudden sound caused even herself to jump, not expecting a loud sound in such a quiet place.
The old looking saloon, although was still inhabited, looked like it might fall apart any moment. The wood looked ancient, the windows were dirty, and old lights- that looked like they were from the 60's- hung by the door. In this middle of nowhere, this god forsaken place, the girl waited. There was one road in sight, and no one was on it. No drivers for miles around. No sound to penetrate her ears or give the illusion that she wasn't so alone.
The girl put her hands in her lap and sat down again. Dirt clambered to her skirt as she made contact with the bench, staining the bright red color and causing the corner of her mouth to descend into a frown. She wrung her hands together. Bit down on her lip.
She jumped.
Another sneeze.
One hand clamped onto the other in desperation, as if trying to choke the other to death. She felt a numb, prickly feeling start to spread through her fingers and palms.
A creaking sound caused her to jump again. The dust and dirt she sat on jumped in joy before settling again onto the wood and skirt. The girl flinched at what she presumed would be a loud stomp from a large boot- but was confused when a softer sound reached her ears.
Wide and confused eyes watched the wooden door open- heartbeat thumping loudly- as another tap of someone's foot met her ears. Another tap. Another tap.
A pair of brown eyes suddenly connected with hers, and a shock ran through her. She hadn't expected to see someone... else. A smile flittered across the woman's face, and the girl couldn't help but let her sight stray from her brown eyes to her pink lips.
"Hello." She greeted, and walked forward. The girl in the red skirt sat timidly. "I'm Jo. Do you mind if I sit next to you?" Jo asked, cautiously approaching her.
She shook and lowered her head.
"So, do you live around here?" She continued. "...My family owns this saloon. It's pretty boring, but we meet a lot of interesting people at night, when it's open. Would you like to come in?" The blonde asked as sweetly as she could, watching for any sign of movement from the stranger.
"I'm not supposed to." She spoke quietly. Dark curls of hair curtained the girl's face from the other female, keeping her vision strictly to fidgeting feet.
"Hey," Jo whispered, standing up. The girl heard the taps again, this time stopping in front of her. A hand brushed against her forehead, and it burned where it touched. The curtain of safety was pulled and tucked behind her ear. "You' shouldn't hide that pretty face of yours. It's rude."
"No I don't." She muttered, watching as a beetle crawled onto her shoe and skittered across the fabric. Rather than push it away or kill it, it stayed free and roamed the vast land of her shoe. From the laces to the sole, it wandered.
"Come on. Let me take you inside."
"Where is he?" She muttered, and a knowing frown graced Jo's lips.
"Gone."
"What do you think we should do with her?" Ellen asked while absently cleaning a glass.
"Keep her safe until you find her parents. That's all you can do- for the time being, anyway. You checked if she was possessed, right?" The hunter asked. The loud clacks of a pool table echoed through the room and mixed with the voices of -drunk and sober- men and women. The occasional mechanical sounds beeped and rang from the video games in the corner, sometimes a teenager or young adult cheering in joy.
"I tried to give her holy water... but she wouldn't drink it. She walked right through a devil's trap, though. That's how we trapped the other one- if she was one, we would've caught her. I'm telling you, Bobby, it did something to her. And I just get this feeling... like there's something we don't know about her. I don't think this is over."
"You'd better hope it's over. We've got enough trouble with the Winchesters stepping into every pile of crap they smell. Has she been talking?" He asked, sipping his drink gingerly as he thought about the girl. "From what you've been saying the demon probably just got kicks from possessing the father and abusing the daughter."
"Yeah, I figured... no, she won't talk. Jo got a couple words out of her, but not much. God only knows what he did to her." She replied, mumbling the last part before getting a drink to one of the other hunters. The hunter kept his nose within the pages of his messy journal, pen and pencil blending and scraggling to the point he himself could barely read it. "She's about Jo's age, it seems like. We don't know her name yet." Ellen continued.
"And Ash doesn't have any leads?" Bobby questioned.
"Do you have any idea how many teenagers run away from home? We'd have better luck finding the Devil."
"I heard he's in the White House."
"But, I just find it odd that a demon would keep her alive for so long... Why didn't he just do what he wanted and kill her?" She wondered, then shook away the thought. The knot in her stomach tightened as her own daughter crossed her mind.
"Can I talk to her?"
"So, I see that you're not the talking type." Jo commented, voice level and devoid of much emotion. The magazine in her hands smiled and gossiped to her, telling outlandish stories and fun adventures of today's celebrities. Not that Jo really paid attention to it, of course, she's above the girly gossip and scandalous stories of Hollywood. She's not like other girls. She doesn't enjoy it... it's only a past time for times like this. Of course. "You're going to be staying with us until we figure out what to do with you, alright?" She said as she flipped the page.
"... okay." The other girl whispered, still sitting way too still on the bed. The curtain of hair had returned, and for two hours she just sat there... staring at her feet. Legs crossed and hunched over.
It was annoying the blonde.
"And since we want to make sure you don't kill yourself, you're staying with me, in my room, on suicide watch." Jo stated curtly, losing the caring tone in her voice. Now, whatever it was, was making her irritable. She didn't like being around her. Something about the mystery girl was aggravating, distrusting, and just plain strange. She didn't sense anything dangerous about her- on the contrary, she looked like a weak little girl Jo worked so hard not to be- but... simply hated being around her. She couldn't place it exactly. It was almost as if the brunette had a dark and evil aura of sorts, the kind that psychics would come in and talk about.
"...suicide..." The quiet girl repeated, causing Jo to raise her eyebrow at her.
"How old are you?" The blonde asked, flipping another page.
She didn't answer.
"Where are you from?" She flipped another page.
No answer.
"Do you have a mom?" Another page.
No answer.
"Have you gone mute?" Another page.
No answer.
"Who are you?!" She yelled, finally slamming the magazine shut. She was breathing hard and her eyes trained onto the unmoving form, narrowing into slits. The air between them seemed to dissipate with every breath she took. It felt like it would be gone soon. Like the strange girl was sucking the air from her lungs and pumping excess blood to her cheeks.
"...Jen." The girl muttered.
And the air came back, gradually filling Jo's lungs with air again. "Weirdo." She breathed, and then picked up her magazine again. "...Jen...." she whispered under her breath, frowning at the simple and uninteresting name.
"Hey, Jo," A voice asked from the other side of the door, a knock accompanying it. 'Jen', jumped in her seat.
"Hey Mom," Jo answered, getting up from the mat, placed on the floor on the other side of the room. Her mother walked into the room with two men in tow. The blonde smiled at the company, hoping to be relieved from duty.
"I need to talk to you for a minute. Bobby and Ash will keep an eye on her." Ellen said, surprised when her daughter skipped merrily from the room. "Hey," She spoke in a softer voice, approaching the girl. "These two guys are good friends of mine- they just want to talk to you for a few minutes- will you be alright?"
No answer.
"She's all yours, boys." She said as she left, patting Ash on the shoulder as she did.
"... so... basically, we just want to ask you a few questions. Do you think you can answer them?" Ash asked, earning a glare and nudge from Bobby. 'What?' He mouthed, causing Bobby to roll his eyes.
"I'm Bobby, and this here is Ash." He introduced, watching the girl's face from behind the curtain of hair scrunch up. "Can you tell us anything about what happened? Who was the man you were with? We want to find whose responsible."
A small smile tugged at her lips.
Ash took a step back and gradually inched away from her, feeling an uneasy and rather unsettling 'vibe'. Bobby watched her curiously.
"Hell's Bitch." She whispered, low enough that both of the men had to lean forward to hear it.
"S-say again?" Ash asked.
"You want me to what?" Jo asked disbelievingly. "Why-why can't we just dump her at the police station? She'll be their problem."
"Joanne don't you dare talk like that. She needs our help and damn it we are going to help her. She was attacked by a demon-"
"But she's annoying! She creeps me out!"
"We don't know how long she was with that thing and until we know the entire situation- that girl-"
"Jen." She corrected, crossing her arms. Her mother, not expecting the new information, blinked back surprise.
"Jen? That's what she told you? Why didn't you tell me before?" Ellen questioned. Her daughter pursed her lips as she nodded quickly. "We'll keep her here a few days, see what we can learn and find out if she's in any more danger. I don't want cops hanging around here unless they have to."
"Do I still have to do that on Thursday?" She whined, leaning against the wall as she calmed down.
"Jo-"
"My friends are going to-"
"Just do as I say." Her mother finished.
"You're such a freak. Wear this." Jo said as she threw an outfit on the occupied bed. Jen, having been there for a week now and unphased by the insults, stared at the clothes. Being unable to question the blonde about it- Jo left just after tossing the clothes-, she got up and pulled her shirt over her head. The cold morning air poked at her exposed skin and caused goosebumps to appear, making a shiver rack through her body.
It was when she stripped her pants that Jo remembered her favorite sticker and ducktape wallet- it was when Jen had only slipped on jeans and a bra that Jo opened the door to her room.
"I need my-" The blonde had started to say as she stormed into the room, half way through before she looked up at the half naked female. A lump formed in her throat and a flutter tickled her stomach. For the first time in her life, she was frozen and speechless.
It was when Jen turned away and continued changing into the yellow shirt, that she moved. Jo turned in place and, forgetting the wallet, stormed out of the room like before- red cheeks and all.
Once she had fully changed, Jen looked in the mirror and stared at her reflection. She pulled back her mid-back length hair into a ponytail, away from her face- just as Jo had instructed. She smoothed the cloth so that it fit her form nicely- like Jo did when she got dressed. She pulled a stray strand of hair to her ear- just like Jo had done when they first met.
"These train tracks haven't been used in years." She explained, stepping lightly along the rotting wood and pieces of metal. The wind blew harshly at them, desperately attempting to push them over the edge and into the rushing water below them. The bridge, although extremely old, held in place and didn't budge. Jo rubbed her upper arms in attempt to keep herself warm, while Jen just walked down the tracks in a light t-shirt and shorts- Jo was wearing a jacket and jeans. "How are you not freezing, bitch?"
She shrugged. "Magic?"
"What?" Jo asked, unable to hear her quiet voice over the roar of wind and rushing water. Not wanting to repeat herself, she remained silent. "Ugh, stupid mute girl." She grumbled under her breath. "I used to come here with my dad when I was little- he would tell me stories about hunts and teach me how to fight. We'd train over by that tree on the other side- and he'd tell me stories on the middle on the bridge."
Jen, although partially listening, mostly focused her attention on the bottom of the waterfall, where a flock of birds were drinking and flying around.
"Ya know, I've always known there was a boogy-man." Jo stated, and locked her hand with Jen as they walked. "My dad never lied to me. He told me what creatures lurk in the darkness when I was just a couple years old. My mom didn't approve, of course, but she doesn't approve of anything. I want to be a hunter one day, like my daddy." She said happily, and swung their hands in the air as they walked.
"... so do I." Jen stated after a moment, and Jo looked at her quizzically....
Then broke into a hysterical laughter. "Y-you?! A hunter? You can barely protect yourself nonetheless other people! What would you do? Beat them at a staring contest and hope they'll stop killing people after that? Ha!"
The girl's face never changed, never twitched. It just glanced at the woman laughing to the flock of birds by the waterfall. But- what did twitch, give the slightest movement- was her hand. A small movement came from her fingers as the female's hand stayed clamped to her own- she had the oddest urge to crush it until her companion's bones broke and blood sprayed across the ground.
It's normal to get that urge... right?
"You see that boy over there?" She asked, nodding her head towards a group of teenagers. They all sat at a small table, making jokes and laughing at one another's stupidity. Some of them harassed one another, some of the boys got slapped. "The one in the green shirt- that's Bill Macey. Pretty cute, right?"
Jen shrugged.
"Well, I've had my eyes on him for a while now- don't go getting any ideas- and I'm thinking about making my move tonight. He just moved here from Washington with his sister, the girl in the pink shirt." She said. The girl at her side shifted from one foot to the other and hooked her thumbs into the laces of her jeans. Jo leaned closer to her. "He goes to my school now, and so do the others around him. Isn't he adorable?"
Jen shrugged again.
Jo shrugged and flipped her hair.
"Watch and learn." Jo stated with a sure smile, and sauntered to the group of teenagers. Jen couldn't help but let her eyes stray to those hips, swinging effortlessly from side to side and begging to be watched. They kept a steady rhythm, swinging from side to side for what seemed like minutes, but only lasted for seconds. Her left hip ended up being slightly higher than the other as she leaned against the wall, casually crossing her arms and straightening her posture. Jen vaguely remembered a particular 'tip' from the magazine Jo had lent her- something about making your cleavage seem larger and more appealing by crossing your arms?
The blond laughed at the boy, eyes sparkling as they engaged in conversation. His friends started a different discussion that secluded them from the love birds.
The girl with long, dark, locks of hair sat at the bar with a glass of water in hand. Her eyes darted from the smiling duo to the ice that spun slowly in the glass. She tilted the glass back and forth to spin it faster.
A woman with red hair sat on the other end of the bar, drink in hand and half lidded eyes staring at the lonesome girl. A sultry smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
Jen felt a sinking feeling in her chest.
"What are you? Gay? Stop staring at me like that." An irritated voice spoke, startling the female from her thoughts. She stood from the bed and walked over to the window, hands stuffed in her pockets. She peaked through the blinds and gazed outside to see that a car was parked nearby. Jen watched amusedly as it moved to the couple inside.
"Freak." The blond muttered as she pulled the rest of her clothes on. "I only brought you here so that I could get your opinion… Do you think that he's cute? I only met him tonight, but he's really tough, smart, and handsome. And he's a hunter-he's really cool." Jo rambled as she applied mascara to her eyes.
"He's al-"
"God, I sound like a twelve year old." The blond interjected, screwing the mascara tip back into the tube before touching up her hair.
"He… seems kind of old."
"Actually, he's not- he's only thirty." She snapped.
The other female shrugged, never looking away from the car.
"Hey, can I have your toast?" He asked as he leaned across the table and took her buttered bread. Jo smacked his hand, causing him to drop it on the table. "Hey, a growing man needs his breakfast."
"You didn't even wait for her to respond! Let her decide whether or not to give you her toast. She needs the food, too- she's practically a stick!" Jo argued as she returned the toast to her. Jen just stared at her awkwardly.
"Well, pardon me, Miss-PMSing-a-lot."
"You've got to stand up to creeps like this, Jen." Jo told her between bites of scrambled egg.
"Hey, I take offense to that. Oh… oh…. Excuse me ladies, the bathroom calls."
She knew that woman was staring.
She was always staring.
For the past few days she would just sit and watch her- she didn't even try to be inconspicuous or to hide it. Ellen asked her quite a few times what she was doing there, but she just gave nonchalant answers and kept staring. Even though the brunette was bothered by very few things- even the notorious Ash was unable to annoy the girl- this was starting to annoy her. She tried to ignore it and just play it cool by focusing on Jo or just sitting quietly, but every move she made was being watched.
Not only that, but… she just found her unattractive. Her body was beautiful, but her face was horribly twisted and burned in ways that made her look like an evil gargoyle. Jen assumed that she'd been in a car accident of sorts, but unlike others that stood out, no one else seemed to notice or care. A few males had even conversed and flirted with her.
This confused her, but she decided to go with the flow.
Some person could be wearing a jacket that looked like the 60's had thrown up on it, and people would stare. But when people entered a room with a horribly mutilated face… no one noticed.
Humans are confusing.
"Hello." A smooth voice whispered into her ear, causing a chill to run up her spine. "I've been watching you."
Jen shifted her weight in the seat and took a sip of her drink.
"You like girlies, don't you?" She asked as she leaned closer, pressing her, rather disproportionally large, breasts against the teenager's arm.
She cleared her throat and glanced at the woman before looking forward again.
"Why don't you come with me for a moment? I've got a roomy car and tinted windows- we could have a romantic picnic or get straight to the good stuff." The strange woman purred. "If you don't come the easy way, I'll kill everyone here." She whispered, and nipped at her earlobe. Jen gritted her teeth and sighed.
She took her hand and led her outside, feeling her own hips swing from side to side. A sadistic grin pulled at her lips. A familiar pain ripped at her chest.
"I'm going on a hunt. Cover for me." Jo spoke quickly, and the brunette had to do a double-take.
"…Huh?"
"Shut up. I'm just going on a simple hunt outside of town- I heard a place is haunted and I want to check it out. Apparently it's already killed three people." The blond spoke as she left the room. The other female quickly stood and ran after her. "I'll be back in a couple hours- if mom asks where I am, tell her I'm making a quick trip to the store for toothpicks or something." She told the girl over her shoulder, walking briskly to her truck parked out front. "Look," She suddenly spoke, and stopped walking. She turned and faced Jen. "I know this is your first time home alone, but-"
"You're not going alone." Jen spoke calmly.
"What-?"
"If you go, I go."
"No way am I taking you with me. You'll only get yourself hurt. You don't know how to hunt."
"Then teach me, bitch." The brunette spoke as she matched her height with Jo. Her head tilted and eyebrows raised as she waited for an objection. They both stood there for a moment, silent as they watched for the other to move.
Jen watched a sarcastic smirk play along Jo's lips. "Fine, Jen." She spoke, and then walked over to her old pick-up truck.
For the first time, Jen wanted to cry tears of joy.
Yes, I'm going to continue this- but the next update won't be for a while. Sorry.