Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural. Technically, I don't even own the OCs, cause they're based off of my friends. I only own the idea.
"Guys, you just disappeared into thin air for a whole minute!" Bill whisper-shouted, mindful of the cafeteria minders. I gaped.
"Just a minute?"
"Why, how long were you gone for?" Margaret asked, leaning forward. It figured that the fanatics would take everything in stride. We had.
Luce appeared behind me, Gabriel pulling up a chair as if to emphasize his corporealness. Margaret squeaked; Bill yelped; Elizabeth looked up from her book briefly and then ignored us.
"What," I said slowly, glaring at Gabriel. "Do you think you are doing here?"
He smirked unrepentantly. "Sitting."
"Hang on, is that‒" Margaret began.
"Gabriel, what are you doing here? In this universe?" I hissed. "You can't be here!"
"Well, obviously I can," he said smugly.
My glare intensified. "You shouldn't be here! Go back!"
His grin turned predatory. "But it's so much fun here! And there's no Winchesters. I think I'll stick around for a while."
"Great. How did you manage to get two archangels tagging along with you?" Denise asked me.
I looked at her incredulously. "Why do you expect me to know? And it's just Gabriel. We all know how Luce got here."
"Well, yeah, but‒" Abby started.
"Wait, there's someone else? Here? I'm confused," Bill stated. I sighed and pushed my Grace at all three of them. Luce smirked at them.
"Rhiannon!" Elizabeth glared exasperatedly at me.
"Why does everyone automatically assume it's my fault?" I complained.
"Because it usually is," Denise told me dryly.
I pouted. Everyone laughed at me.
"What is everyone laughing at?" Rachel stood behind Gabe, clearly not recognizing him.
"Me," I said glumly.
"Oh, okay then. Why?" She raised an eyebrow.
I pushed Grace at her. This was getting kind of irritating. Maybe I should let everyone see him, like a mass email.
She stared, and blinked. Then—
"Rhiannon!"
Everyone broke down in hysterics again, Gabe falling out of his chair. Even Luce was chuckling lowly behind me.
"Which of you invited the sugar-high pedophile?" Schroll peered down at Gabe, who still gasped for breath.
"No one, technically. He followed me home," I offered sheepishly. I glanced over at the monitors' table. Griner and Roegner still sat there, chatting. Roegner looked up at us briefly—and looked horrorstruck at the group's new members.
I grinned evilly and sent a thread of Grace at Schroll and Griner.
Luce stuck his tongue out at Schroll. She raised an eyebrow at him.
"You should probably get that looked at," she told him. Glancing once more at Gabe—still on the floor—she headed back to the table, shaking her head.
Roegner headdesked.
Luce was stunned. "Your friends are strange," he said eventually.
"Dude, Schroll is not my friend. She hates me. Or she 'doesn't hate me, exactly, because that would require thinking about me, and I'm not worth the effort.'" I rolled my eyes.
Luce frowned. "Why?"
I shrugged. "We just clash. Too similar, I guess."
His frown intensified. "Why wouldn't you get along, then? If you are so similar."
"Because they're both stubborn," Denise chipped in. "Kind of how you and Michael are both so pig-headed that neither of you will give way to the other."
"Does that make Schroll Michael's vessel?" I wondered absently.
We all contemplated that possibility for a moment.
"We're doomed," Rachel said cheerfully, dropping her bag on the table and stealing Gabe's seat. He sulked.
"Will you get off of the floor?" I glared at him. I was doing a lot of that.
"But it's so comfortable down here. And the view isn't bad, either," he leered.
I stared at him incredulously. Luce scowled and stepped on his stomach.
"Ow, Luci!" Gabe yelped.
"Stop it, you two," I scolded. "I was rather hoping to teach high school, not first grade," I told Denise despondently. She patted me on the shoulder.
"Look at it this way. They were kindergarteners before. It only took them a few days to mature a grade. At this rate, you'll only have to put up with this for another few months," she consoled me. I shook my head.
"You forget, they progressed to middle school and then regressed. It's going to be a little under a year. I don't think this is going to end well." I shoved my way out of the doors, not bothering to check if the angels were following me. They could find their own way home; I doubted they wanted to ride the bus.
Abby shrugged. "Ply them with music and candy—"
"I heard candy." Gabe appeared right in front us, Luce flickering in just a second later.
"Not for you, you prat. Piss off, I'm going to miss the bus." I tried shoving past him.
"You can fly, and you want to take the bus?" And yeah, so he had a point there.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Rhiannon," Denise laughed.
"Yeah, leave me with the crazies, why don't you," I sulked. I held it for a few seconds before flying home. What? I should be allowed to enjoy the perks.
"Gabriel, you cannot follow me home! Not only will my parents not be pleased, but I have better things to do than entertaining you!" I shouted exasperatedly.
Something flashed over his face, too quickly for me to define it, before his trademark smirk took its place. He snapped his fingers and disappeared. I blinked and turned to look at Luce. Who was frowning heavily at me.
"Oh, don't you start," I snarled, storming up the stairs. I was determined to ignore the archangels for the rest of the day, at least.
Denise swung her bag onto the table and thumped into the seat next to me. I raised my eyebrows. She dropped her head on her arms.
"You feeling okay?" I asked mildly.
She mumbled something into her arms.
"What?"
She raised her head a millimeter. "Parents. School. Pressure."
I tilted my head. "You need a break?"
Denise groaned. "Yes please. Hey," she frowned and raised her head a little more. "Where are your angels?"
I scowled. "They're not my angels. And sulking, I think."
"What did you do?"
I huffed. "Why do you automatically assume it's my fault? I just said they shouldn't follow me around all the time because I have other priorities!"
"Rhiannon!"
"What?"
Denise shook her head incredulously and didn't respond. I rolled my eyes.
"So, my family and I are going to Tennessee this weekend, and could leave tomorrow if we wanted to tour Vanderbilt University," I changed the subject. They were archangels; they could find their way back. Eventually. Maybe.
"Can I come?" Denise asked hopefully.
"You want me to kidnap you to Nashville for the weekend?" I snorted. "Yeah, that'll go over well with your parents."
"I'm going to look at a college in the interest of furthering my education. They can't really find fault with that." Denise nodded decisively. I shook my head fondly.
"We'll have to get planned absence forms and make sure that it's okay with Schweikhard. And your parents. And mine," I finished sheepishly.
"Okay. Guidance office?" Denise gathered her things and stood.
I pulled out my phone. "Yeah, and I'm going to call my parents and convince them that this is an excellent idea."
As expected, my parents agreed, if exasperatedly. We collected our teachers' signatures throughout the day, as requested. Denise seemed to be doing okay, though I was getting more and more distracted. Luce had hardly left me since Tuesday—and had it really only been two days?—and I was a little worried about setting Gabe loose on the world.
Denise offered no help at all.
"Just apologize, Rhiannon," she scolded. "Really, how hard can it be?"
"Why do I need to apologize to them?" I asked, throwing up my hands and sitting on the couch. "Seriously, Gabriel has better things to do than hang around me, and Luce probably has archangel-y stuff to do."
"You're an archangel," she pointed out.
"No, Luce is the archangel. I'm his vessel. There's a difference," I countered.
Denise rolled her eyes. "Whatever helps you sleep at night. What time are we leaving?"
"Before six? Not that it'll be a problem for us, seeing as we're so used to getting up at the crack of dawn," I said dryly. "The spare bedroom's still made up, by the way."
"I thought you were going to take it apart?" Denise was laughing at me.
"Yeah, well, I say a lot of things I don't mean." And I really hoped the angels were eavesdropping for once, because that was as much of an explanation as they were getting.
"Why are you going to Tennessee in the first place?" Luce asked from his perch on the couch arm. I startled and glared.
"My sister's soccer tournament; we're just using it as an excuse to get away from Denise's parents. Where's Gabriel?" I asked, wary.
Luce shrugged. "Visiting Denise's family, I think."
My mood darkened abruptly. "Gabriel, if you don't get your molting, bedraggled arse back here in the next twelve seconds, I'm going to confiscate all your candy."
"You wouldn't dare," came the furious response.
"Try me," I snarled right back. Neither of us broke gazes until Denise spoke up.
"Gabe, what exactly were you doing to my family?"
"Nothing…physically. Just gave them a friendly little warning, that's all."
He smiled innocently. My eyes narrowed. Denise and Luce exchanged long-suffering looks.
"What is this?" Luce frowned, as if only just now noticing that the couch was nearly buried in pillows and blankets. I shrugged.
"Denise and I made a nest."
Gabe vanished. Again. Luce frowned. Again. I threw my hands into the air.
"I give up!"
"You are completely clueless, you know that?" Denise mumbled from her hands.
"Oh, shove off. I'm going to go pack."