A/N: Aurora's backstory means there will be a third part to this story, hopefully coming very soon since I know exactly where I'm going with it. As always, I don't own Sam or Dean, just Aurora, and Lana belongs to the amazing Kyla, who is an incredible friend and writer. This part is dedicated to her in all her awesomeness-love you hon!
The Impala pulled into the well-lit parking lot and Aurora remained in her seat, hands clenched together. Sam slid out, long legs unfolding, and reached his hand out to Aurora. With a deep sigh, she took it, one high-heeled shoe stepping onto the asphalt, then the other.
"You look beautiful," Sam smiled, brushing a wave of her auburn hair behind her ear. Aurora smiled back, though the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "Hey," Sam said firmly, bending his head down to kiss her. "You're beautiful, and strong, and successful, and you have people who love you. Plus you know all the Latin to exorcise a demon, and you've actually slain a vampire. How many people in there can say that?"
Aurora laughed, and Sam hooked his arm through hers, letting Aurora lead the group towards the hotel. Taking a deep breath, feeling Sam's arm wrap around her waist, Aurora walked through the front door.
The ballroom was packed with people, loud with music and the clinking of glasses. Aurora paused at the front, blockaded with a long table set up with pamphlets and nametags, a bubbly blonde in a too-tight red dress firmly ensconced behind it.
"Miss Aura Sinclair, as I live and breathe, is that you?" the blonde gushed, springing to her feet, pressing her hands against her ample bosom. "You look so…so different."
"I would hope so," Aurora said, fighting to keep the smile on her face. "Nice to see you again, Tiffany. I'm actually going by Aurora now."
"Of course, I would do the same if I was you," Tiffany said, unable to keep the smirk from playing around her lips. "I mean, given all that happened…"
"Stuff it blondie," Lana muttered under her breath, and Dean snorted back a bark of laughter.
"Who are your friends?" Tiffany asked, plastering a flirtatious smile on her botoxed face as she took in Sam and Dean.
"This is my boyfriend, Sam," Aurora said, hand firmly intertwined with Sam's. "His brother Dean, and Dean's wife, Lana."
"How kind of you all to visit our little reunion," Tiffany simpered, casting her eyes up and down Sam and Dean's bodies.
"Of course we came," Sam said, planting a kiss on Aurora's temple. "Aurora's part of our family."
"There's nothing we wouldn't do for Ror," Dean added, his glare directed right between Tiffany's baby blue eyes.
"You always were a one for nicknames," Tiffany said with a malicious glint in her eyes as she glanced at Aurora once more.
"How about we get our nametags, or are you too worried about running your manicure, Tiff," Lana mock-simpered back, pressing her hands against the table and leaning into them.
"Here," Tiffany snipped, tossing four nametags at Lana's hands. Lana quickly scrawled their names on them, and handed them out. The foursome moved into the reunion space.
Loud dance music blared over several hidden speakers as a crowd of already slighty-tipsy high school alum swayed, grinded, and chatted each other up. "I want to go home," Aurora groaned, leaning back into Sam's arms.
"Hey, put on that Aurora strut we know and love," Lana said, with a gentle nudge at Aurora's ribcage. "Especially Sam."
"I do love it, it's true," Sam said with a wink, drawing a laugh out of Aurora's visibly-tense mouth. Taking a deep breath, Aurora linked arms with Sam and Lana, who had her arm linked with Dean's, and walked into the depth of the party.
"Finally, it's about time," a voice said from their left, and Aurora spun around, coming face to face with a woman in a tight gold dress, her dark hair piled expertly on top of her head.
"Jenna," Aurora breathed, freezing in her tracks.
"I don't even get a JJ, huh Aura?" Jenna said with a slight pout, crossing her arms across her ample chest.
"It's Aurora," Aurora said, in a matching stance, her lips pressed together to stave off the trembling.
"Right, of course, I'm sure," Jenna said, with a noticeable roll of her eyes. "You're clearly so much better than me now."
"That's not what she's saying," Lana said forcibly, stepping forward. "All she's saying is she's a different person than she was when you knew her."
"Who are you, her keeper?" Jenna asked with a sneer, stepping closer to Lana's personal space. "Here to make sure she doesn't start letting boys grope her in the corner, or slamming back vodka shots?"
"No, actually, I'm here because I'm her friend," Lana said, glaring down Jenna. "She has lots of friends actually…lots of people who love her. Sam loves her. We all love her. And I really don't like you."
"It's ok, Lana," Aurora said softly, laying a hand gently on Lana's arm. "Jenna, what's going on?" Jenna didn't move for a moment, then sighed, gesturing to an empty table. They all sat, Jenna tucking the long train of her dress under the table.
"I married Marcus Rutherford," Jenna began. "The hot college boy all us little high school freshman wanted," she added with a proud straightening of her shoulders. "He took over his dad's business, owning and running all the gas stations in town. We bought that mansion right off of Main Street, on Longview Drive. You remember it , right Aura?"
"I do," Aurora said with a nod, not even bothering to correct Jenna this time. A soft smile played across her face. "The one we always used to stop and look at, after we'd go to the liquor store. We used to imagine we'd buy it together, and throw wild house parties."
"Exactly," Jenna said with a grin, leaning forward. "And let me tell you, it is just as amazing as we imagined! When you get Marcus back, I'll throw a party, and you can totally come."
"I don't think we'll still be here," Aurora said quietly, eyes falling to the floor. Jenna's face closed up again, the grin flying off her face, and she nodded once stiffly.
"Right, of course, should have known that." Jenna grabbed a glass of champagne off a passing tray and drained half of it in one gulp. "So yesterday Marcus goes missing. Just…gone. No sign of foul play, no note, nothing. And before you start asking, no, he wasn't having an affair, and no he wouldn't have left me for another woman. I know how to keep him happy, trust me." A wicked glint came into her eyes. "Aura never had any trouble with that, did you honey? Have you found that to be true, Sam? I bet there's a bunch of guys here you could compare notes with."
"Back off," Sam said coolly, meeting Jenna's gaze head on. "You don't talk about her like that."
"Has she told you all about her life here?" Jenna asked, leaning in. "All the things she did…some of those boys really were just things weren't they? The drinking, the wild parties…"
"Yep, she told me everything," Sam said calmly, leaning back in his chair, pulling Aurora into the circle of his arms and kissing the top of her head.
"She told all of us actually," Dean said, leaning back in his chair, Lana taking his hand and leaning even closer to her group.
"I enjoy taking my shirt off and showing Dean my naked body," Lana said with a shrug.
"She really does," Dean nodded, studying Jenna coldly. "Sometimes she puts on this little red lingerie, and dances around the room for me."
"I prefer the song "Say It Right", but any Pussycat Dolls will do in a pinch," Lana said, stretching her arms gracefully over her head, linking her fingers together.
"I was dancing on a stage to "Buttons" when Sam and I first met," Aurora said, her voice lighter than it had been since they had arrived. "After I was done, I saved his and Dean's life, then took down a corrupt mobster who was manipulating innocent women into working in his strip club."
"Essentially where we're going with this is fuck you bitch," Lana said coolly, standing up and pointing a finger at Jenna's face. "Good luck finding your husband yourself."
"I'm sorry." Jenna's voice was soft and shaky. "I just…Marcus is all I have. He's actually all I have." She couldn't meet Aurora's eyes. "I don't have friends like you do, Aura. Or a job, or anything else. I just have him. You're never coming back, so I just have him."
There was quiet for a moment, the strains of music from the dance floor barely penetrating their section. Then Aurora stood up, took a deep breath, and laid a hand on Jenna's shoulder. "I need a minute," Aurora said softly. "When I come back, we'll start figuring out what could have happened to Marcus."
Aurora headed to the bathroom, shaking her head at the offered company from Lana, Dean, and Sam. "I'll be right back," she said with a reassuring smile. Entering the girls' bathroom, she sighed deeply, leaning against the cold tiled wall. Kneeling, she ran her fingers over the "JJ+Aura=badass bitches forever!" crudely drawn with sharpie on the wall. She pushed the heels of her hands into her eyes, rubbing out some tension before beginning to rise to her feet.
She felt arms suddenly encircle her from behind, and she laughed. "Sam, really, you didn't have to follow me into the girls' room. I'm fine."
"Aura, it's Mike…" A deep voice whispered in her ear, and Aurora tried to jerk away, eyes widening. "Aura, don't be like that, you were never like that, you always liked it before babe."
"You're drunk," Aurora gasped out, as his grip tightened around her waist. "Let go." When he didn't respond, Aurora stomped hard on his foot, screaming in his ear, shocking him into letting her go. She sprinted for the door, making it out into the hall before his longer legs caught up to her. Spinning her around, he slammed her back into the nearest locker, pinning her hands over her head.
Aurora drove a knee into his groin without hesitation, forcing him to move away just far enough for her to plant her feet and flip him over onto his back. "Sam!" she screamed, pushing the toe of her high-heeled shoes against Mike's adam apple. "Don't move," she growled, pressing harder as he struggled, forcing him to lay still, his eyes wide.
Sam came tearing around the corner, Dean and Lana right on his heels. "Baby, what-" Sam froze, taking in the sight before him, not even registering the crowd that had gathered around, focused only on the long scratch on the back of Aurora's arm, and her dress strap pulled down almost off her arm. "Son of a bitch," Sam growled, and in a second he was on Mike, heaving him off the floor and slamming him into the wall.
"Sorry, sorry dude, didn't realize she was yours, I didn't know," Mike babbled, trying desperately to get his trembling arms between himself and Sam.
"She doesn't belong to anyone," Sam growled again, eyes cold but still blazing.
"Save some punches for me," Dean spat out, circling around to the other side.
"I've got my slapping hand ready," Lana chimed in, punching her hands together menacingly.
"Let him go," Aurora said, her voice stronger than it had been all night as she entered the group. "He won't be touching me again." Sam took his hands off Mike, but not before giving him one more shove into the wall.
"Get out of here," Aurora called back over her shoulder, as Sam took her arm and hugged her close to him, walking her back down the hallway towards the packed party room. Once they had turned the corner, and were out of sight of the crowd, Aurora sagged slightly, letting Sam sweep her up into his arms.
"You're safe," he whispered in her ear, kissing her temple.
"I totally kicked his ass," Aurora shakily giggled. "In front of everyone I ever went to high school with."
"How'd I get such a badass for a girlfriend?" Sam said with a proud smile.
"Doesn't hurt that you're a badass yourself," Aurora said, a genuine smile lighting up her face. Sam reached over and pulled Aurora's dress strap gently back up.
"Do you want to stay, or go back to the hotel?" Sam asked, one hand cupping Aurora's cheek.
"Stay," Aurora said certainly. "Somehow I feel a hell of a lot better now. Plus, Jenna needs our help."