Chapter 2

When I look in at myself, you know. . . .And I see me, I don't like what I see. —Brian from The Breakfast Club

[Aaliyah]

Aaliyah-Hazel Eckhart was pissed off. She had wasted too much time at the college, asking students if they had any idea on where Sam Winchester could have possibly gone, but the answers she received were pretty much the same. He was traumatized over his girlfriend's gruesome death and left, possibly even dropping out. A lot of the students she spoke to sounded disappointed, they said he was a really smart guy and really dedicated to his studies. She even managed to talk to some of the Professors, and they were shocked to hear about Sam's disappearance. For some, they summed it up as his way of coping with Jess' death, a few people found it suspicious that he'd just up and leave right after his girlfriend's death.

But Aaliyah decided she'd keep her investigation up for a little while longer before leaving. Any information on the youngest Winchester would be good enough for her.

"He was such a smart boy," a Professor sighed. Her eyes looked so sad. "Never missed a day of class, always studying and asking questions."

"Did he ever mention having an older brother?" Aaliyah asked.

The Professor, who kindly told Aaliyah to call her Yvette, shook her head solemnly, but there was a hint of slight confusion in her eyes. "He rarely spoke of his family," she said, her gaze almost distant, as if thinking it over. "He was rather secretive on that matter. Like I said, he was always studying, or spending time with that poor girl." The sadness returned in Yvette's eyes. "He was studying to become a lawyer. He would've made a fine one, too."

"Is it possible that he might come back?" Aaliyah asked, keeping note of everything she said.

"I can't say for sure."

Aaliyah nodded, trying to make herself look as sympathetic and distraught as she could. "It's just been so long since I've seen him," she said, shrugging halfheartedly. "I was gonna surprise him but. . . .I didn't know about the fire until I got here. Then I find out he's gone. . . ."

"You said you're his cousin, right?" Yvette asked.

Aaliyah nodded. "We don't get to see each other very often. We're not really a close family, ya know? But Sam and I had a pretty good relationship. We talked every now and again, so. . . ."

Yvette nodded.

"Did he at least tell anyone where he was going?" Aaliyah asked, trying not to sound too desperate.

"I'm afraid I can't say." Yvette's solemn expression returned. "He took off so suddenly."

Nodding, Aaliyah gave her best smile before thanking the woman and leaving. She'd have to make one last stop at the college before going on her way.

She managed to find the nearest computer lab, hoping she'd be in and out with no problems. Sitting at a computer at the farthest end of the room, Aaliyah took a quick look around—none of the students in the room were paying any attention to her. A lot of them were either too distracted by their work or were too busy chatting up with their friends. A frown settled on Aaliyah's face.

Shaking her head, Aaliyah managed to figure out a way to pull up some of the personal information in the school's database and printed out a copy. Making sure to properly erase any evidence of her work, Aaliyah quickly took the information and left the lab.

The quicker Aaliyah could get back on the road, the better off she'd be.

[Sam]

The heaviness continued to weigh heavily on Sam. It was one thing to leave Stanford behind, but it was nothing compared to seeing Jessica. Every time he blinked he saw her face—horrorstruck, almost in disbelief. Then the blood from her wound and the fire. . . .

He should've told her. He should've told her about what he did, what his family did. Maybe then he would've been able to protect her better. She'd be alive still, and maybe he would've been able to. . . .

"You OK?" Dean asked, breaking Sam out of his thoughts.

Clearing his throat a little, Sam nodded quickly. He knew Dean didn't buy it for a minute, but what else was he supposed to do? He was still trying to wrap his mind over everything hat happened.

The life he tried so desperately to avoid—the life that killed his mother and, now, his girlfriend—somehow managed to slink its way back into the ordinary one Sam had built for himself.

Dean, who thought he was doing the right thing coming to his little brother for help, managed to—without meaning to—destroy the one thing of happiness Sam had experienced in a long time.

[Aaliyah]

It had taken the remainder of the day to search every possible building for the Winchester brothers. Aaliyah was happy that with the information she printed from the school, she got a picture of what Sam looked like. She had to admit he wasn't too bad looking, but that wasn't going to sidetrack her from what she was supposed to do.

So, after checking herself into a motel for the night, Aaliyah let out a frustrated sigh.

If his brother's a hunter, then this got a little more complicated. Sitting on the foot of her bed, Aaliyah buried her face in her hands. They could've left the state for all I know.

Looking over at her cell phone, placed lazily on the bedside table, Aaliyah considered calling her father. Maybe he'd gathered some more information since the last time they spoke.

Sighing, Aaliyah dialed her father and waited, scowling when she got voicemail.

"Hey, Dad," she sighed. "So I went by Stanford and found out your friend's kid left with his brother. There was a fire that killed his girlfriend. I, uh, also picked up something, ya know? I swear I smelled sulfur, so there's a possibility there's a demon involved." She paused for a moment. "If I know for sure there's a demon, I'll let you know, OK? Just. . . .call me back. If you've got any info, it'd be nice to know, yeah?" She paused again. "Call me back when you get this."

Putting her phone down, Aaliyah swallowed thickly. She wasn't sure if what she picked up at the site of the fire was really sulfur or her smell screwing with her. Given her condition, her senses were a little more heightened than a regular Human's, but that didn't mean she was right about everything 100% of the time.

She stiffened when she felt a gnawing feeling at the pit of her stomach. Gently gripping her stomach, as if it were to ease the sensation, a solemn frown settled on Aaliyah's face.

There was a reason her father told her to figure out where the closest blood bank was whenever she made it to a new location. And considering how long it'd been since her last feeding, Aaliyah knew she'd be getting close sooner or later. She also knew better than to ignore that gnawing feeling.

So, reluctantly, Aaliyah got up and went back out to her car.

Maybe she'd be more levelheaded afterwards—besides, she always got a little irritable when it came close to that time.

Author's Note:

I am so sorry for the lame and agonizingly short chapter! I'm kind of low on my creativeness right now, so if it seems like I didn't really try for this chapter, that's why. Also because I'm still trying to get used to writing a story like this, with a fandom I'm not really accustomed to yet, it's going to take a lot of bad chapters for me to finally get used to everything. But, hopefully, you guys have some suggestions to make this story a little better.

I own nothing in the SPN universe, that all belongs to the creators of the show. All I own are my characters and fillers.

So I've had little time to think but. . . .I was considering maybe, after Aaliyah meets the Winchesters and whatnot, kind of tweaking the way the main storyline of season 1 goes. I'd be putting in some of my own ideas on what kinds of hunts they go on, but when it comes to the main storyline, hunting the Yellow-Eyed Demon and everything, I'd kind of. . . .change it a bit. Only a few things! I wanted to know what you guys thought of it first before I jumped into it. If you've got ideas for that, let me know. I love hearing suggestions.

Leave a kind and helpful review, please!

Thank you.

Susan Strong