Sam woke up at 9:34am. His head hurt, and he felt sick. Both he and his brother had stayed out at the local bar until it closed. The night of heavy drinking had left him feeling this way, and he couldn't help but smile. He and Dean hadn't done that in a very long time. He vaguely remembered falling over in the parking lot outside, and there had been a girl, but he couldn't remember much else. She had been pretty. He knew this because of the way his stomach tied itself in knots at the thought of her, but he couldn't remember her.
Sam looked across the room at his sleeping brother. Maybe 'sleeping' wasn't the best word for it. Perhaps comatose, or passed out. Dean had gotten way too drunk the night before. Sam knew he'd had a lot, but Dean had really let go. Thankfully, they'd taken out the vamp's nest the day figured that they could just have a rest day, and recooperate before getting back on the road.
Feeling a familiar nausea settle over him, Sam stumbled out of bed and towards the bathroom to let his body rid itself of last night's poison. Sam sat on the bathroom floor for a while, racking his brain for any more memories of the girl. She wasn't at the bar, it was outside the motel. Other than that though, Sam couldn't remember anything.
Disgruntled and appalled at himself for forgetting her name, Sam stood up and looked at his reflection. There it was, written sloppily, in soap on the mirror. 'Janelle 113'. Sam knew it was her name, and guessed room number. After a quick, cold shower and popping an aspirin, Sam trudged back into the main part of the small motel room. Dean hadn't moved a muscle. Deciding to let his brother sleep, Sam flopped back onto his bed. He figured he'd head over to room 113 to see if that was her room number after all, but for now he wanted to let the medication kick in, and calm his headache.
After another 20 minutes, Sam dressed himself. Too hungover and lazy to put on socially acceptable clothes, Sam pulled on a pair of grey sweats and a crisp, white t-shirt. He hoped that Janelle wasn't going to judge him, but he didn't have it in him to put anything else on.
Sam shut the door behind him with an audible 'click', and walked three doors down from the motel room. 115, 114, 113. This was it. Hopefully.
He knocked, and seconds later the door swug open to reveal a petite blonde girl. Suddenly, Sam regretted his outfit of choice. Janelle was about 5'2 and slender. She had a muscular build, but still feminine. Her jeans were formfitting, and showed of her legs. Her rosy cheeks flushed at the sight of him, and her already sparkling green eyes lit up with her smile. She looked genuinely happy to see him. Sam just felt confusion, and embarrassment.
"You must be Janelle? I'm Sam." He smiled, blushed, and thust out his hand for Janelle to shake. She smirked upon taking it. "I am so sorry for anything my brother or I might have done last night, I really don't know what happened." He blushed more.
"I was wondering if you'd remember me, but honestly, the pair of you fell down in the parking lot, so I figured I'd help you back to your room." She grinned, showing off her gleaming white teeth. "It was nothing, really."
"Well, would you like to get some breakfast with me anyways? I'm not sure either of us could have made it back to the room without your help." Sam laughed at himself a little. "My treat."
"Is this like a date? Sam, I don't even know your last name!" Janelle was mock-appalled.
"I don't know yours, either! For all I know you could be some sort of freak with a 6th toe on your left foot!" Feeling bold, Sam winked at her.
"And for all I know, you could have some weird fetish with watching girls eat breakfast. I don't know Sam, this is a pretty big risk for me." She played, and Sam went with it.
"Oh, you caught me! The whole plan was to get you to the diner and order your food, while I watched. 'No thank you waiter, I prefer to watch.' Of course." Janelle laughed at Sam's mockery. A broad grin spread across his face.
"Well, Sam-who-gets-off-to-girls-eating-breakfast, I suppose I'll have to take my chances with you."
"I guess I'll be taking mine with you too, Janelle-with-a-sixth-toe" The two laughed together, and Sam lead her to the impala. "Just hold on, I'm gonna grab the keys."
When Sam returned with the keys, Janelle had totally zoned out, arms folded across her chest. Her golden hair fell in bouncy waves to a few inches beneath her shoulders. She was attractive, and Sam couldn't help but flirt around her. He knew it was a bad idea, they'd be leaving as soon as they finished the case. But he told himself that one breakfast couldn't hurt.
"Hey! Earth to Janelle? Anyone in there?" Sam waved his hand in front of her face, and she jolted back to reality.
"Oh, sorry! Sometimes I'm just off in my own little world." She said it with a smile. Sam opened the car door for her, and gestured for her to sit. "My, oh my! What a gentleman!" Janelle slid into the passenger seat of the impala.
Jumping into the drivers seat, Sam couldn't help but smile. He felt the heat rush into his cheeks. He was blushing, again.
"Shy, are we, Sam?" Janelle winked at him. He blushed even more, and turned away from her to hide it. He started the car, and pulled out of the parking lot.
"I'm not shy, I just have naturally rosy cheeks." Sam whispered indignantly, a smile still planted firmly on his face.
"Oh, of course." Janelle turned and looked straight ahead, smiling to herself.
"So, where's the best place to eat?" Sam and Dean had only been in town since yesterday, and he had the feeling Janelle had been around a little while longer. Nobody just hangs out in a little motel in a town like this for no reason. His guess was that she was staying for a while.
"You might want to ask, where's the only place to eat?" Janelle corrected him bitterly.
"Not a fan of the food, or...?" Sam was genuinely curious about why her tone had suddenly gotten so sour. She had been perfectly bubbly and happy all morning so far.
"It's not the food, it's the town I'm not a fan of." Janelle was curt with her sentence, so Sam decided not to pry into that. It wasn't his place to ask her personal questions, especially not on the first 'date'.
"Well, it can't be all bad." Sam waited for a reaction that she didn't give. "I mean, I'm here right?" That time Janelle turned to scowl at him, though he could tell she was trying very hard not to laugh at his cheesy joke.
"Well, you're the first person I've spoken to except for the waitress and a few creepy old men, so yeah, you're at the top of my list of favourite things in this town." Janelle forced a smile. Sam immediately felt a twinge of guilt at her words. He'd be leaving soon, and he figured she'd be staying.
"Well, while I'm in town I'll try to make it a nicer place for you." Sam smiled reassuringly at her. He didn't know why she was here if she hated it so much. She looked like she was in her early twenties, she had her entire life ahead of her. Why waste it doing something you don't want to do? Like spend time in a redneck fishing town in Minnesota. He took her as a city kind of girl, not a counrty one. She just seemed so out of place here.
"I appreciate that, Sam." She smiled at him as he pulled into a spot just down the street from the little diner. Racing out of the car, Sam jumped around to open up her door for her. "Again? You really are a gentleman." She seemed to have her spunk back, and Sam liked that.
The diner was sort of run down, but that was to be expected of a town this size. The red booths were torn, and then duct taped back together; the wooden tables scratched, and marked with smatterings of crayon. Janelle lead the way to a booth at the far wall of the building, next to a window. Sam had to give the town credit, it was built in a beautiful spot. The diner looked out over the large lake the town was settled in.
"Hi there, my names Mikayla and I'll be your waitress today!" Mikayla was probably about Janelle's age. She was taller though, with white blonde hair that was teased and hairsprayed into this weird poof at the top of her head, and then pulled into a long ponytail. While Janelle was small and slender, Mikayla was curvy, and wore smelled too strongly of some kind of sickly sweet perfume. She looked like she belonged in the south, not small town Minnesota. Her uniform was too tight, and her boobs were almost falling out of it. She seemed like a girl Dean would love to spend the night with. Mikayla placed a glass in front of Janelle, and then gave Sam a once over. She placed his water in front of him too, but she bent down a little far, practically shoving her breasts in his face. He closed his eyes and tried to hide his discomfort, but Janelle just snorted at him from across the table.
"What can I get y'all today?" Her head bobbed when she spoke, and it turned out she did have that southern drawl. Sam couldn't help but think she reminded him of both a barbie, and a bobble head at the same time.
"Can I get a coffee, black of course, and I think Bacon and scrambled eggs?" Janelle tried her best to be polite, but Sam could see she was having a hard time with it.
"Yeah, sure." The barbie doll was not at all interested in Janelle's order, and quickly scratched it into her notebook. "Now, what can I get for you, sweetie pie." Mikayla winked at Sam, who was taken aback and confused. Janelle could hardly stifle her laugh this time.
"I'll just get the same as her." Sam managed to stumble through the sentence, but he avoided eye contact with the bobble head the entire time.
"Comin' right up, sweet-cheeks." She laid a hand on his shoulder and reached down, again a little too far, to grab the menus. Sam gagged on her perfume, but managed to hide it to stay polite.
"Thanks." He muttered as Mikayla walked away, on hand on her swaying hips.
"Well, THAT was something special." Janelle laughed again, more heartily this time. If Sam had been blushing before, it was nothing compared to this.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Sam lied, and tried to force the redness out of his cheeks. Janelle scoffed.
"Sure, and I bet you think you're not blushing right now, too." Janelle poked more fun with Sam. His blush deepened, and he looked away. "Hey, I'm sorry. I just can't stand girls like that. First of all, get a proper sized shirt. Second, ease up on the perfume. Thirdly, if you're getting a guy's attention entirely with your tits and body, he's probably not the kind of boy you want to enter a relationship with." Sam agreed with everything she had said, but there was something about how serious she was. She really felt strongly about it, and Sam thought it wasn't really a big deal. Some girls play stupid to get laid, and he had come to peace with that.
"Yeah, you're right. But anyways, I'd like to know more about you, Ms. Freak-with-six-toes." Sam leaned in, mocking over excitement and pretending to be quite anxious to hear her answer.
"Well, I'd like to know your last name, Mr. Gets-off-to-girls-eating." They stared each other in the eyes for a moment, before erupting with laughter.
Mikayla soon returned with the two plates of food. Since they'd ordered the same thing, it was clear to see that Janelle had gotten the short end of the stick meal wise. Sam had a few extra slices of bacon, and they and been arranged into a heart formation. He groaned at the sight.
"There you go, cutie-cake! I hope you like it. I made sure to get you a little extra." As she was running her hand down Sam's shoulder, she flashed him a rather flirtatious look. Janelle rolled her eyes.
"Well, that's just not fair. Look at this." Janelle gestured to her plate, which featured overcooked scrambled eggs, and three strips of half blackened bacon. She then looked at Sam's again, and he had six slices of juicy, meaty bacon, and double the eggs. Plus, his were cooked properly.
"Look, I'll share!" Sam winked. "It's not my fault I'm so handsome." He shoved three of his bacon strips on to Janelle's plate, and shoveled over some egg too. "Don't eat the food she gave you. I have this sneaking suspicion she may have spit in it. I don't think she likes you much." Sam dug in and took a bite out of his first bacon strip.
"Oh, thank you. You are too kind." Janelle's words were borderline sarcastic, but he could see the relief in her eyes. Shooting her an encouraging smile, Sam couldn't help but notice that as much as she was passing it off like she thought this girl was a joke, she seemed hurt, or offended by what had happened. There was something else going on. Suddenly, she jerked upright, with a look of determination written on her face.
"Okay, I know this is going to sound totally crazy, but trust me." Janelle leaned in close to whisper to Sam. He had a bad feeling about it. "I've seen this girl before, and not here. It's a long story, but I swear she was there, the night..." Janelle trailed off. Her face darkened. Sam cocked his head to the side in concern. Snapping back into it, Janelle furiously whispered "The point is that this 'waitress', has been in the same place as me for the past month. She was in San Francisco when I left, and then she was in Minneapolis when my flight landed. And now, pf all things, she's here. There is just absolutely no way this is a coincidence." Janelle searched his eyes urgently for answers. Sam sneaked a glance at the waitress. Black eyes. His stomach dropped.
"Okay, Janelle, I believe you, and it isn't good. Please trust me on this, and do exactly as I say. Don't look now, but she's looking over here. And she doesn't look happy. Laugh like I'm saying something funny." Janelle let out a giglge, and smiled adoringly at Sam. "Good, hold my hand." Sam reached his hand across the table, and looked at Janelle like she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on. She might have been, but he let it show. "Okay, I'm going to get up, and we're going to make it look like we're happily headed home for some post-breakfast sex. Okay?" Janelle briefly looked skeptical, before giving him a tiny nod and committing to the role. Sam stood.
"Ready to go?" He raised his eyebrows at her in a show of mock of seduction.
"Mhmm." Janelle hummed sensually in his ear, and giggled playfully. Sam grasped her hand in his, and the 'couple' walked out together, leaving the money on the table.
"Okay, the act stays until we get to my motel room. Please, you have to trust me." Sam whispered; Janelle nodded.
Sam opened the door for Janelle, and then climbed into the driver's seat. The car started with a rumble, and Sam started the drive back to the motel room.
"Okay, Sam, what is going on?" Janelle looked desperate, and Sam hated to have to tell her this. He also knew this killed anything they had going.
"That girl wasn't a girl. She was possessed by a demon." Sam felt his heart sink, as he heard the confused intake of breath they always got when you had to tell them. Civilians. He sighed. Looking over at his companion, he noticed that her eyes had widened considerably. He had been expecting the usual annoyance, or disbelief, but Janelle's reaction wasn't like that. She believed him. Just like that. The look in her eyes was pure fear. "Janelle? You okay?" Janelle didn't react, or acknowledge that Sam was speaking. She just looked straight ahead into the road. Eyes wide, mouth squeezed tight shut.
"You know, Janelle. Most people freak out when they hear a demon is following them. What's going on?" Sam needed answers, and he needed them now before he got back to Dean. Dean. He was probably still sleeping, and when he woke up, he would certainly not be feeling ready to excersize a demon. "Janelle? I need to know."
"I don't know. I knew there was something wrong with it all. I knew it." She just muttered to herself in terror, as Sam tore down the street. He was almost certain that the demon had caught on to their little performance, and would likely arrive to the party shortly after Sam and Janelle arrived home. In any case, Sam was lucky he'd been brushing up on his Latin.