"Hey, sorry, I know I'm late! I was helping Dean with school and stuff and I lost track of time!" I exclaimed, practically sprinting into the café.

"You've been spending an awful lot of time with Dean lately," Andrea pointed out, suspiciously. I came around the counter and washed my hands in the sink.

"He's 'the new kid'. I'm just showing him the reigns, you know?" I asked, innocently.

"For two weeks?" Andrea asked, cocking an eyebrow.

I shrugged, "He's my best friend next to Ethan. I've missed him a lot." Andrea nodded in acceptance of my answer.

"Well you're just in time for the dinner time rush. Get ready for some chaos," Andrea warned, jokingly.

I chuckled, "Will do."

"You're finally here. You getting cozy with Dean in the library?" Ethan teased.

I rolled my eyes, "Why do you guys keep asking me that? No, I literally helped him with his paper and then left so that I could be here!"

"We'll talk about this later. Hey, table four could use some help. Go take their orders?" Ethan suggested.

"Sounds good to me," I replied, wiping my hands on the cloth hand towel and then going back to the open dining area to take people's orders.

Andrea and Ethan Walsh were my home away from home. Andrea was a retired hunter. She ascended from a long line of hunters, just like me, and then finally settled here in Sioux Falls, South Dakota near her old friend Bobby Singer because she and her husband, who was also a hunter, were expecting a child, that child being Ethan. They had made quite a life for themselves and Andrea had opened up her own café which she called The Falcon. Her husband, Thomas, had died before I had met either of them, when Ethan was five, from brain cancer, surprisingly not hunting.

Once my mother had died when I was four, my dad started taking me hunting with him. I was never allowed to come but he had taught me basic protection methods. There was one night where a strihga had shown up at my motel room and I had had to fend for myself. That was the night that my father decided that it was too much for me and brought me to Bobby's. Dad had brought me along on some hunts since that night once I hit middle school mainly because he knew I needed to learn how to protect myself. I was skilled in combat and weaponry but I didn't get to use it as often as I'd like to have. When I first came to Bobby's, Bobby had no idea what to do with a seven year old girl, so he had introduced me to Andrea. Ethan and I, being the same age, had become best friends and we've been best friends ever since.

Ethan and I were always running around the café and ever since we were old enough to start helping out, we had began working at the café and helping out Andrea. I pulled my hair up into a low ponytail and then blinked my blue eyes a couple of times to re-moisten my contacts.

Once the dinner rush had died down, Ethan and I had ordered some food and were tidying up the cafe before it was ready.

"Hey, did you get the pre-calc problems in the homework?" Ethan asked me.

"No, I have no idea what is going on in that class," I admitted, chuckling a little.

"What? But you're Asian!" he teased.

"Uh, you're a bitch!" I teased back.

"Hey!" he exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes, "Okay first that's racist and stereotypical. Second, I'm only half Filipino and I'm terrible at being Asian anyways, see the blue eyes. Dad was German, remember?"

"Do you think we could work on them later?" Ethan asked.

"Sure once the dinner rush is over. Your mom was right. Tonight is hectic," I sighed, exasperated. I wiped off a now empty table and went over to let the couple sitting on the bench outside know that we had a table empty.

The café was a fully fledged business and it wasn't just a café that served coffee and baked goods. It of course had started that way but then it began to expand. Andrea began to make breakfast which then turned into a lunch and dinner combination. I was happy to see her business grow. It was actually very popular in town – one of the biggest in town. A lot of people from school would come here, along with business men and women, and families.

The café was in an old firehouse and Andrea and Thomas had purchased it first as their house. As soon as they had realized it was too much room, they had used the upstairs for their living purposes, and the downstairs for the café. I loved the fireman spiral staircase in the house. I chuckled, remembering all of the fun times that Ethan and I would race up and down those stairs as kids.

Finally, the crazy dinner rush was over and things became mellower. Ethan and I sat up at the counter and did our homework while eating our dinner.

"Okay, no more math. We are done. What about… US History? What are you doing your paper on?" I asked Ethan.

"I'm writing about SLC Punk!" Ethan replied, ecstatic.

"Of course. Oh and speaking of, are you ever going to lend me that Ramones CD you just bought or are you just going to keep it to yourself?" I asked.

"Sorry! I meant to lend it to you. I'll bring it to school tomorrow," Ethan said.

I nodded, "Thank you."

"What about you? What're you writing yours on?" Ethan asked.

"The Crucible. I'm writing about how although it was set in Puritan Salem, Massachusetts and that it was about witch trials that it was more about McCarthyism and that the playwright intended it to be about HUAC," I replied.

"Damn, you're smart. See! You're being a good Asian!" he encouraged, patting me on the head. I glared at Ethan and swatted his hand away.

I rolled my eyes, "Okay. ANYWAYS, oh hey, I made you a "The Clash" mix. Here." I pulled the CD out of my book bag and gave it to Ethan.

"Awesome. I'll listen to it. What's Dean doing his paper on?" Ethan asked.

"Gatsby," I replied.

"Of course he's doing the minimum requirement," Ethan said.

I shrugged, "I know it bothers me too. But hey, you and I both know he was never the student of the year. Oh, I've got a favor to ask of you. Dean's trying out for the football team tomorrow so will you keep an eye out for him?"

"You do know I play soccer right?" Ethan asked, teasingly.

I chuckled, "Of course I do! But you guys' fields are right next to each other and so you know, you'll be able to watch out for him for me."

"Ooh, for you?" Ethan teased.

"Hey! I just, he's a good friend of mine, okay? We're not talking about this Ethan," I said.

"You like him don't you?" Ethan asked.

"No," I replied, almost being too quick to answer.

"Mhm, sure. You two are going to end up together someday and I'm going to be there to rub it in your face with a big, fat 'I told you so'," Ethan said.

"I don't care," I replied.

"Oh come on, you've told me you like him," Ethan said.

"I know but he wouldn't feel the same. Plus, I'm getting over that and it's not like I really like him or anything. It's just a little crush and talking about it will not help me get over it so if we could please just not..." I said, mumbling the last part.

"First Mer, he'd be crazy not to like you and second, he's not going anywhere this year. I mean, he may go on a couple of hunts with his dad but it does kind of seem like he's here to stay this year. You never know until you try," Ethan said.

"I know that's what kind of sucks," I replied.

"Meredith, just don't worry about him. It's junior year. Ah!" Ethan exclaimed.

"AH, I know! It's been killing me!" I exclaimed back.

"Ugh, tell me about it," Ethan groaned.

I had finished my homework at the café and finally went home around seven thirty and the men were all having dinner. I had already eaten but I joined them anyways. I chuckled as I realized that I was living in a house with all men.

"Hey guys," I said, sitting down.

"Hungry?" Bobby asked.

"No, I ate at Andrea's," I replied.

"Ah. Dean was just telling us about how he's going to try out for the football team tomorrow," John started, sounding proud of his son. I could see that secret satisfaction that his father's approval elicited in Dean.

"Oh yeah, good luck," I said.

"Thanks," Dean mumbled.

"How was everybody's day?" I asked.

There were mumbles of 'good' and 'fine' from Bobby, John, Dean, and Sam. It was funny that I was living in a house of men.

"So boys… and Meredith, Bobby and I are going out on a hunt this weekend. Are we okay to leave you alone this weekend?" John asked.

"It's okay by me," Dean said.

"Fine by me too," I added.

"Sure," Sam replied.

"Great. Behave. We'll call and check in periodically. We'll be leaving Thursday," John said.

I nodded, "We'll be fine."

"Keep these two under control," Bobby ordered.

I chuckled, "I will."