Chapter 7
The Harden house party had more or less died in light of recent events. The Dons had instructed all students who had not been in the vicinity of where the most recent 'suicide' had taken place to leave and go straight back to their own residences.
As it was, Harden house looked deserted. All students had gone back to their rooms and now the lounge stood dark and pressingly silent in the main lobby. The main hallways were empty and only the overhead lights showed that there were actually students present in the house. All doors were shut and students were closed behind them, either calling their parents or trying to find something to occupy their time while they waited for the okay to leave their rooms.
However, the third floor was alive and bustling with action. Police and crime scene investigators crawled room 315, looking for answers, while other officers milled in the halls, questioning students who had been in the area at the time of death.
The police had come and gone, questioning the Winchesters and making sure they knew that they were to stay close incase further questioning was needed. Dana stood next to Dean, shocked into silence and Millie sat on the floor a small distance away from the congregation of three, who were observing the sight before them with cautious and questioning eyes. A young man made his way over to where Millie sat and he sunk down next to her, his face was a pale mask of grief and tear stains trailed down his cheeks. It was obvious that he and the victim had been good friends.
"Hey, you okay?" The man asked.
Millie nodded her head in a jerky motion and didn't resist when he pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms protectively around her. Before long, both were gasping for breath between choked and agonized sobs. A police officer moved to where the two sat and knelt in front of them, his blue eyes shone in sympathy and a few words were exchanged before Millie nodded and allowed the young man holding her to guide her gently to her feet.
The two made their way to where Dean, Sam and Dana stood and stopped. Millie brushed the tears away from her eyes with a hand and sighed.
"I'm going back to the room. I don't want to be here right now." Millie spoke. Her voice shook a bit and Dana stepped forward to pull her into a hug.
"Okay hun. We'll be down in a little bit." Dana wiped a tear off of Millie's cheek and stepped back next to Dean.
With a forced smile, Dana's roommate and the young man with her started down the stairs, not looking back.
"Greg was a really close friend of Millie's, his death is gonna take a lot out of her." Dana replied softly, her eyes still watching the stairwell.
"What about the other guy?" Dean asked.
"That's Matt, he and Greg were roommates. They got along like a charm because they were so much alike."
Dean nodded silently and his gaze drifted to where Sam had moved away and was leaning forward into a wall, his hands bracing himself. The oldest brother left Dana with a light touch to the shoulder and made his way to where Sam stood.
"You okay, little brother?" Dean asked, compassion clearly chiming in his words.
Sam pushed himself off of the wall and turned to face Dean.
"I knew what was going to happen, but I couldn't stop it." Sam said quietly.
"Sam, this isn't your fault. From what I saw, you were just released from that vision, seconds before Greg took his swan dive. There was nothing you could've done." Dean assured the younger man, whose eyes searched the older brother's face for any sign of dishonesty. There was nothing there except plain and simple concern for the youngest Winchester.
"Maybe you're right, but maybe you're not. Maybe there was something more I could've done. I could've yelled to you or something instead of trying to rush in myself." Sam sighed.
"Sam, there was nothing you could have done. Trust me, I am right." Dean answered.
Sam fell silent and turned his head away from his brother's probing eyes and drew in a couple of breaths before turning back. He found that Dean had already left and now he stood next to Dana, speaking quietly to her. Sam walked over to where the two stood and caught the tail end of a conversation.
"Are you sure?" Dean questioned.
"Pretty sure, I don't imagine Matt's going to leave my room tonight. I'll go talk to Dave and Tara about it, but I don't think it'll be a problem."
Once the words had been exchanged, Dana left Dean, and gently pushed her way through the crowd to where a man and a woman stood, separated from the groups of students and police officers. Sam watched her go and saw the act of a conversation begin between Dana and the two people whom she'd gone to meet. Both the man and the woman cast their eyes in the direction of the Winchesters, while still listening to Dana speak.
"What doesn't she think will be a problem?" Sam questioned, curiously searching Dean's face.
"We know for certain that we've got a job in this place, right?" Dean asked. He watched Sam nod.
"Getting a bit more information about this thing wouldn't hurt, would it?"
"No." Sam replied.
"Then why don't we stay here tonight? We'll keep an eye on the place and maybe get a feel for what's been going on, lately."
"Where would we stay?" Sam wondered.
"Here, in Harden. Dana's going to see if she can convince the house Dons to let us crash in one of the empty rooms. She said that it likely won't be a problem if she claims responsibility for us."
Sam's eyes wandered to where Dana was still speaking to the Dons. It looked like she was making progress, because the man nodded in understanding and said a few more words before turning back to the woman and exchanging another short conversation, one which Dana jumped into with what appeared to be confidence.
"How's she gonna get them to agree with it?"
"She's gonna stay with us tonight. Just to make sure we don't get into something we're not supposed to." Dean grinned.
"Oh, she is?" Sam asked, his voice slightly suspicious of this new bit of information.
"Yeah, she thinks that Matt's gonna end up staying in her and Millie's room tonight, so she'll just stay in the room with us."
"Do you really think that this will help us get a handle on the situation?" Sam questioned.
"Do you?" Dean challenged.
Sam was quiet before he locked his gaze firmly with Dean's. He nodded sharply.
"I do." Were the words that he spoke, and Dean smiled.
There was a bit of commotion coming through the groups and The brothers turned to see Dana walking toward them with a look of pure satisfaction resting on her face. Dean patted his brother on the shoulder and Sam saw that the older man was still wearing that pleased grin on his lips when Dana nodded to them with a small smile.
