Mystic Falls.
It was a town Dean hadn't stepped foot in since he was in high school. Word from Bobby was that the little town was crawling with supernatural activity. So, he swallowed down a beer at the edge of the town and peered at the welcome sign, leaning on the hood of Baby. The older Winchester arrived at the perfect time as night fell around the usually peaceful town. He wasn't sure what lay ahead of him, but word was that vampires lurked behind many corners.
Dean couldn't stand bloodsuckers. They couldn't satisfy their cravings no matter how many people they killed or drank from. They were manipulative, persistent and quite annoying to the brunette. Many of them wore outdated clothes and were easy to point out. Then there were others who concealed their true identities comfortably. Regardless, he had a job to do and that meant cracking down on the vampires and making sure the citizens of Mystic Falls were safe.
The Impala roared to life and Dean shut the door behind himself, not as eager to head into town as he usually was when he had a job to do. Memories of what he left behind nagged at the back of his mind, releasing from the depths of which he locked them away many years ago. Trudging onward, the vehicle came to a halt just outside a neat little motel. First thing was first, he needed to find a place to sleep and adequately keep his paperwork and weapons. Without Sam tagging along, this job would be a little more difficult. But, both brothers split up as a means to knock out jobs quicker than they usually had.
"I'd like to stay in your finest room." Dean told the receptionist of the motel, whipping out his wallet as he spoke. He handed over a credit card; one that hadn't even belonged to him. Living a hunter's lifestyle meant that one was usually strapped for cash.
"Sure." The male ran the card and looked up at Dean. "How long will you be staying with us?"
"Just a few nights. Maybe four at the most." Dean replied and took his card back. He was then handed the key and gave a grateful, "Thanks," to the man.
Right on time, his cell phone began to ring when he'd exited the main office and began walking towards his room. "Yeah?"
"Hey, Dean. Just wanted to make sure you got to Mystic Falls okay." Bobby's voice said from the other end of the line.
"Yep. I just got my room." The brunette confirmed, placing the key into the doorknob before flicking it open and heading inside. He lugged his bag in and dropped it onto the bed before shutting and locking the door behind himself.
"Good. I'll let you know if I come across any information on my end regarding the local hunts." Bobby content in his tone of voice.
"Thanks," Dean told him before hanging up the phone.
Granted that he'd just gotten into town, Dean didn't have a moment to rest. Instead, he already had work to do. Grasping his handgun, he opened it and began to arm himself by putting wooden bullets within its chamber. Closing it, he tucked it away neatly where he could grasp it at any given moment but it remained hidden from sight. The last thing he needed was a bunch of questions arising from the locals as to why he hoisted a gun around.
Exiting the room, he quickly locked it and headed towards his Impala. Unfortunately, he needed to visit one of the local bars and what came to mind was Mystic Grill. If memory served right, it was one of the hottest places to be in Mystic Falls. He could recall eating the best pie in town at the joint while his friends enjoyed the cheesy fries. Shaking his head, the Impala ignited and he was off to his destination.
Once he arrived, the bar was quite lively with folk. Then again, it was a Friday night. People were playing pool, darts, laughter filled the air, voices overlapping other voices and he made his way right to the vacant bar stool before plopping himself right down on it. Dean found that gathering the best information from locals sometimes began at the bar.
He ordered a beer and awaited its arrival. It didn't take long for the bartender to retrieve his requested item and he gave the woman a cheerful grin. Glancing left and right, people at the bar seemed busy with their conversations and their flirtatious meetings with strangers. Dean let out a soft sigh before swigging down some of the substance in the beer bottle. Sometimes, he really missed rendezvous with the ladies.
"Bored already?" A voice asked, slightly cheerful in tone.
Dean looked over, noticing a male with dark hair and piercing blue eyes. "Oh, no. I just got here." He let the other guy know.
"You're new." The man stated, not recognizing Dean at all.
"You could say that." Dean responded.
Extending a hand, the dark haired male gave a wider smile. "I'm Damon." He greeted. "And, if you're new, I'm the guy to ask about the local hot spots." He insisted, almost smug.
Dean shook his hand, nodding his head. "Dean." He revealed.
Damon quickly occupied the bar stool next to Dean. "So, what brings you into town?"
"Not much, really. Just passing through." Dean was rather vague. He wasn't willing to say work because then he feared the next question from the stranger would be to ask what kind of work he did. He wasn't eager to explain a false story at the moment.
"Ah. Another passerby. We get those pretty often." Damon explained. "You know, sometimes people just don't stick around very long in Mystic Falls."
Dean tilted his head gently. "Is that right?"
"Mhm." Damon sipped on his bourbon. "But, that's not any fun to talk about." His head turned towards the darts. "Wanna play a game with me?"
Dean wasn't that great at darts but he figured it would give him more reason to press about disappearing people in town. "Sure." He ordered another beer before bringing it along towards the dart board. Dean set it upon a vacant table.
"You first," Damon insisted, reaching for the darts before handing them to Dean.
Dean accepted the darts and turned to face the board. With each throw, he seemed to get worse, his score only amounting to a measly twenty-one. Shaking his head, he looked back to Damon. "I'm not really any good at darts. I'm better at pool." He revealed.
"Well, I am amazing at darts." Damon taunted almost. He peeled the darts from the board before taking his stance next to Dean. Hitting the bulls eye with two darts, he hit another twenty and smirked at the brunette with a radiating confidence. "See?"
"Damon giving you a hard time?" Another voice piped up. There was a taller brunette with spiky hair and wise looking emerald eyes.
"No, not really. I'm just terrible at darts." Dean chuckled before grabbing his beer for another sip.
"This would be my baby brother, Stefan. Stefan, this is Dean. He's a newbie in town." Damon introduced the two.
Dean gave a respectful nod to Stefan. "I have a baby brother, too. He's just not in town currently." The admittance caused him to miss Sam a little bit.
Stefan stepped near his brother and gave him a friendly and warm pat on the back. "Be nice." He reminded the older Salvatore.
"As always." Damon agreed.
Little did Dean know, the town's vampires were right under his nose.
After the round of darts finished and Dean had had a few more beers, Damon looped an arm around his shoulder. "Come on. We've got a few more places to hit. The night is still young!" His voice was full of happy notes.
Dean followed the brunette outside before Damon began leading him down the nearest alleyway.
"Actually, my car's back there." Dean told Damon.
"Pffft, we can walk. It's not that far." He insisted, edging Dean to follow.
Once they were in the silent alleyway, Dean's instincts kicked in and he knew something was amiss. "How far are we talking?"
"Just a little further," Damon was pretty vague. This felt fishy and Dean knew that being led down a strange alleyway with another was not a good sign.
Dean withdrew himself from Damon's grasp and pulled back as quickly as he could. In haste, he grasped his handgun and drew it on the male. "Get the hell away from me." Dean's voice was gruff and firm in tone.
"Oh, come on. Don't spoil the fun." Damon hated that he had run into another hunter. "And here I thought, you and I could be friends."
Dean didn't hesitate and pulled the trigger right at the male's torso.
"Ouch! What'd you do that for?" Damon questioned.
"Because I don't do play dates with bloodsuckers. At least, when I do, they don't end well for the other involved." He aimed and shot Damon right in the chest.
"Fair enough." Damon told him before reaching in and pulling one of the bullets right out. Black veins began to riddle his face underneath his eyes and his fangs popped out of their hiding place. "Though, I have a feeling that this time it won't end so well for you." With that, he lunged right at Dean.
Knocking the gun to the ground with a clatter, Damon was atop the hunter, pinning him down into the ground. "This might hurt a little bit." Damon told Dean, leaning down towards his neck. Dean strained to regain control of the fight but he somehow managed to reach for a piece of stray wood. Bringing it down on Damon's head with a smack, Damon rolled off of Dean before zipping to his feet. Without another word, Damon grasped Dean by the collar and zoomed across town.
Everything was a blur and Dean had no idea what speed they were traveling at but he felt sick. Once it stopped, his whole entire world began to spin. "Is the little hunter dizzy?" Damon taunted, laughter in his voice. "I'm so sorry, where are my manners. I'll let you get a head start while I count to ten." He began counting down.
"Ten... nine..."
Dean searched his pockets for another weapon but he was fresh out. "Damn it," That's when he began to run. There was no way he could take on this guy himself without a weapon. Before he knew it, he was being pinned to a tree and Damon was right on his ass again.
"Gotcha." Damon smirked wildly, his fangs sharp and glowing in the moonlight.
Dean was taken aback as the fangs pierced his flesh and became embedded in his skin. He groaned out in pain and struggled, fighting against Damon's grip with all his might. Another gunshot sounded, then another and suddenly, Damon had slumped to the ground, utterly defenseless.
The older Winchester reached for his neck, putting pressure on the wound while he winced. It wasn't the first time he'd been bitten by a vampire but damn, did it hurt. Another man approached him, his facial hair light across his face. Even in the dark, Dean could make out his blue eyes.
He walked over to collect Damon, lifting the vampire into his arms without a single word. He turned and walked away, not even checking to see if Dean was okay.
"Alright. Thanks, asshole!" Dean shouted after him. "Hey!" But, the man didn't respond.
By the looks of it, Damon had been shot with some sort of tranquilizer, something Dean hadn't seen before. What the hell did they do to the vampires in this town after tranquilizing them?
"Ugh," Dean sank to the ground, panting slightly in the middle of the darkness. That's when he heard a twig snap and a rustle nearby. Cocking his head to the left, he squinted. "Who's there?" He questioned aloud. Another rustle was heard and he had a bad feeling inside the pit of his stomach. "Come out!" He demanded. "I swear if you don't come out..."
Before he could rise to his feet, he caught a glimpse of wavy blonde hair and out strolled a petite woman, striking cerulean eyes could be seen against the darkness. "...Caroline?" Dean squinted at her, questioned whether he was seeing something real or something that was a figment of his imagination after he'd been bitten.
"Dean?" She asked before crossing the clearing to kneel at his side. "What happened to you?"
"Me? What are you doing wandering the woods at night?" He wasn't sure if she was aware of the vampire problem or not.
"I was looking for a friend."
"At this time?" He was stern in his question, almost ready to scold the woman.
"Don't worry about me. Let's just get you out of here." Caroline rushed, ignoring his words completely. "Come on," She carefully looped an arm underneath the hunter and helped him to his feet slowly.
Dean staggered along, still dizzy. "I haven't seen you since-"
"High school, I know." She let out a sigh. "And you never called or told me where you were going, either." She added after a brief pause.
Dean glanced at her, almost sadly. If it weren't for the fact he had to go with his father to find his mother's killer, maybe he would have stayed in Mystic Falls. Maybe they would've stayed together. Maybe he would have had a future with her.
"I know." He swallowed thickly. "I'm sorry about that. Things have just been-"
"-Crazy? Yeah, for me too." Caroline nodded her head. "It's fine, anyway. I'm okay." She insisted, giving him a half-hearted grin though pain swirled inside her gut.
Once they came upon the exit of the woods, Caroline strolled over to her vehicle and helped Dean inside. "I'll take you back to my place and we can bandage up that wound."
Nodding his head, Dean rested comfortably against the seat of the car. "Okay." Was all that he said. He knew he'd have to go back for his gun later on, but that was a secret he wasn't willing to tell the woman.
Starting up the car, she gave Dean a sympathetic look before pulling away from the woods and heading towards home. Hopefully, her mom would have still been at work when they got there.
Propping open the front door, Caroline helped Dean walk through the threshold of the home and into the kitchen. She set him on the stool near the island in the center of the room and gave him a quick glance. "I'm just going to go grab a few things from the bathroom." She stated before walking out of the room.
Dean could remember the last time he saw Caroline; he remembered it all too well. He'd been caught making out with another girl in the janitor's closet at the school and Caroline caught him. Not only did she catch him in the act, but she thought something more was beneath his bad boy exterior and even told him that she felt sorry for him. His dad finished his job not long after that and they packed things up and left Mystic without another look back. Dean wondered if she ever thought of him because there were fleeting moments where he remembered Caroline.
Even though the two were never very serious, something about Caroline was exactly what Dean had wanted in a girl. He was snapped out of his thoughts when Caroline returned to the kitchen and set some supplies onto the island with a soft clatter.
"Okay, so, this might sting a little." Caroline informed Dean. She opened the rubbing alcohol and took a piece of gauze. Blotting some of the alcohol on the gauze, she walked over and pressed it against Dean's neck. "You care to tell me what happened or are you just going to brood over there?"
"Am I-"
"Yeah, I noticed." She pointed out. "Here, hold this in place." She instructed.
Dean did as he was told and held the gauze in place. "It was just a slip up. You know, I tripped in the woods and hurt myself." He tried to lie, pressing his lips into a thin line.
"Okay," Caroline wouldn't press. She opened a large band-aid box and pulled one out. Peeling off the plastic, she walked over and pressed it gently onto his wound, making sure to cover the entire area. Her blue eyes fell to Dean's and she peered deeply into emerald orbs. Clearing her throat, she tore her gaze and grinned at him. "There."
Dean moved his own gaze but gave her a small smile. "Thanks."
"No problem."
An awkward silence fell upon them. Caroline didn't really know what to say to Dean and vice versa. Things hadn't exactly ended smoothly for them, even if Caroline wasn't mad at him when she'd caught him cheating on her.
"You know, you never told me what your dad did for a living." Caroline finally spoke up.
"Just odd ended jobs, you know? Nothing really solid that kept us in one place for long." Dean gave her a half truth. There was no way he could reveal himself. "Look, uh, I'm grateful you found me tonight. But, uh, I better head out, get back to my motel."
"Sure." Caroline agreed, seeing him to the door.
"Thanks for everything." He repeated, heading out the front door.
Nodding her head, Caroline offered him a warm smile. "It was good to see you again, Dean." She stated, truthful in her statement.
"You too." He responded quite honestly.
Without another second to spare, Dean found his way down the porch and into the dark of the night, thoughts racing wildly through his mind. Should he stay or should he go?