Dean came into my room angrily, I looked up at him from my sketchpad, without a word he went over to the couch in my motel room and sat down.
"What's up?" I asked him, he glared at me before replying.
"Sam messed with the Impala, we went searching for monstro gator in the sewers and when I came up to the surface the air was let out of the tires and the damn rims were bent! I found his damn wallet!" Dean nearly shouted.
"And you're in here why?" I asked him, twiddling with my pencil.
"To cool off so I don't kill Sam!" Dean replied, I huffed.
"Is the alien lover ready to give me a description?" I asked him, Dean replied with an angry sigh. I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose.
"Yeah," Dean said. "He'll call you soon. I'm thinking this thing is a shape shifter." He told me. I gave him a skeptical look.
"What with the crop circle and UFO the janitor saw." I asked him.
"I don't know what to make of the crop circle, but maybe Mr. Clean is on something." Dean replied, I huffed, exasperated.
"Whatever." I said, going back to my doodle. Dean gave me a look.
"You're crushing on him aren't you?" Dean asked me, I gave him a glare.
"No, I have cute boy celebrities for that. Why would I crush on a guy with a dead end job whom I don't by any other name than 'the janitor?'" I asked him. Dean laughed.
"True." He told me. My phone rang. I flopped over onto my back and grabbed it from the night stand.
"Monica Averies, professional sketch artist." I said, using my business voice.
"Yeah, a guy gave me your number so I can describe the alien to you." A scared, quiet voice said on the other end of the line.
"Yes, when can we meet?" I asked him, sitting up on the bed, starting to get ready. He took a few seconds to reply.
"My classes are over at four, so four thirty?" He asked, I put my stuff back down and sat back down on the bed.
"Sure, and a place of meeting?" I asked.
"The bar in town?" He asked.
"Alright, see you in then. I need you sober, okay?" I told him, using a soft voice to try and convince him not to get drunk after the state Sam had told me he was in when they talked to him.
"I'll see what I can do." He said. I rolled my eyes and hung up.
"Jack ass." I hissed. Dean laughed.
"You've been around Bobby too long, Abs." He said. "Where's the meeting and when?" He asked, standing up.
"The bar in town at four thirty." I told him, Dean nodded.
"That works for me." Dean told me. He had become my escort, everywhere I went when we weren't driving Dean was there, he didn't want me mixed up in all this craziness.
"Don't kill Sam, okay? See you at four thirty." I told him as he walked out. Dean nodded, giving me his 'I'm not making any promises' look. I rolled my eyes.
The time went by fast. I was walking down the hall. I went to knock on the door, but Dean opened the door before I could even raise my hand. He fell in line beside me wordlessly.
"So, how'd it go?" I asked him.
"He refused to admit it! I didn't even touch his damn computer!" Dean hissed.
"Well I can tell you're not lying if it makes you feel any better." I told him.
"Thank you! Remind me to get you to lie detect him later!" Dean barked. I laughed and shook my head. We came out onto the city side walk and started towards the bar.
"We called Bobby. He'll be here soon." Dean told me, I nodded this time.
"He should be able to help." I replied, Dean shook his head this time, looking around a little.
"Yeah we hope, this case is beginning to give me a headache" Dean told me, I frowned and gave him my sympathetic yet sarcastic 'oh' Dean laughed.
"It would be giving you a headache if you weren't busy daydreaming about Mr. Janitor." Dean said as payback. I frowned, while trying to fight a smile, it came out looking weird, and so I merely punched Dean on the arm. We walked into the bar and I saw the football player sitting in the corner, downing a shot. I growled.
"Stupid idiot!" I spat.
"Calm down, Abs, not like you're gunna get a match." Dean told me.
"Then why the hell are you making me do this?" I asked angrily.
"To keep you busy so you don't go running off into the sunset with Mr. Janitor." Dean told me sarcastically, thudding my shoulder.
"You make one more reference to my inexistent crush on the janitor and he'll be mopping what's left of you off the floor." I said calmly, walking over to the football player.
I sat down heavily and unwillingly in the table, digging my supplies out of my bag and throwing them down on the table and picked up my pencil, I looked up at the drunken idiot expectantly.
"Aren't you going to ask me any questions about what it looked like?" He asked stupidly. I huffed, trying not to smash his already squashed looking face into the wall.
"What you claim to have happened to you is a completely ludicrous claim. I might as well be drawing sugar pixies and peppermint people, now just tell me what the hell you saw so I can get out of here." I spat.
An hour and a half later I came out of the bar with a completely incompetent picture of a stereotypical alien and thirty dollars, giving to me by Dean for my suffering.
I walked into my room and sat down heavily on the bed. Boredom sunk in. My phone rang and I rolled my eyes. Who could it be now? None other than my janitor friend.
"Yo?" I asked into the phone.
"Well, not very professional now was it?" He asked, I smiled and laughed, my bad mood dissipating quickly.
"Nope, not in the mood, just met with the alien lover. Damn fool. Got me in a bad mood and I ain't in the mood to act all goody goody and professional." I said playfully. The janitor laughed.
"You wanna vent over a cup of tea?" Mr. Janitor asked. I shrugged.
"Sure why not? Now?" I asked.
"Yep, just meet me outside the campus, I'll pay, you don't even have to pay me back." He told me, I smiled.
"Aren't you sweet, see you then." I said, hanging up and getting my winter garb back on. I slung my messenger bag over my shoulder as I walked out of the room. I saw Bobby as I was walking out.
"BOBBY!" I called and tackled him in a hug.
"Hey girl!" He said, stumbling back some as he caught me. I smiled and pulled back.
"Did you bring Duckie?" I asked him. He nodded; giving me the kennel I held it up to my face, seeing my pretty little kitty asleep in her kennel.
"I'm going out to meet someone, if Sam and Dean won't let you leave her in their room for the time being, could you put her in my room?" I asked him. Bobby nodded.
"Here are the keys, just leave them with Sam and Dean." I told him, he nodded and took them.
"Can I ask who you're meeting with Abbi?" Bobby asked.
"Probably her fan boy. He's a janitor that works at the college who has a puppy dog crush on her and doesn't know she's fifteen." Dean's voice said. I turned to glare at him.
"I did not say a thing about it being returned." Dean said. I rolled my eyes.
"You win this round, Winchester." I told him, narrowing my eyes at him. He laughed and clamped his hand on my shoulder.
"Have fun Abs." He told me, I smiled and went to go meet the janitor. It was nice to have a normal person to talk to. Someone who thought I was normal, someone who thought I was nice to know… Someone who didn't know the real me.
Mr. Janitor was waiting for me at the edge of the campus, meeting me in front of the college sign. I smiled as I walked up to him, he offered me a cup.
"Earl Grey, six sugars, no cream, right?" He asked. I smiled him a little bit wider, taking the cup with a polite 'thank you.'
"I overheard the football player talking about his 'encounter' with you. He said it was scarier than the alien." He told me, laughing. I laughed too.
"I told him not to drink and he was shit faced when I got there, you don't know me well, but that kind of stuff gets me agitated. My sketches are only as good as the witness." I told him.
"Well when you experience something like he did, what would you do?" He said taking a drink of what I presumed to be hot chocolate.
"I don't believe in aliens." I told him, he snorted, looking at me.
"Even after what happened to Alien lover?" He asked, surprise thick in his voice. I nodded, chuckling.
"Trust me, I have my reasons." I told him, he looked back to the side walk ahead of us.
"Hard headed aren't you?" He asked me, I grinned mischievously.
"Understatement of the universe." I replied to him, he laughed again. He then grew quiet and serious.
"I like you, Monica. Not in the way you think either. I-" My phone rang, cutting him off. I rolled my eyes.
"Can that hold for just a second? Dean goes nuts if I don't answer." I told him, there was a slight agitation in his eyes, but he nodded, taking a drink.
"Go ahead." He told me. I smiled apologetically and answered the phone.
"Abbi! Get back to the motel! Now! The Impala isn't working and Bobby can't get his car to start! We found out what the hell is going on, a Trickster! And you've been bubby buddy with him all this time! Get away from him now!" Dean yelled into my ear. My heart stopped, I wondered if the Trickster heard that. I fought to keep a calm, cool demeanor.
"Okay, Dean, I'll come back for that right now, I can't believe I forgot that! Silly me!" I said, hanging up.
"Look, I don't feel right not paying you back so here," I said pulling some money out of my pocket.
"I need to go, forgot something I need back at the motel. This was nice while it lasted." I told him, waiting for him to either take or refuse my money. I could tell he was seriously considering something, and it wasn't whether he should take my money or not. The agitation had transformed into pure sinister. My calm façade was slowly abandoning me. He raised his hand and took the money.
"Thanks, Monica." He told me, I smiled and threw away my tea and ran down the side walk back to the side walk as fast as I could. I felt his eyes boring into my back until I turned the corner.
Bobby's car came screeching down the road, it slid to a stop and I got in before he could say anything. Bobby made an illegal U-turn on the basically abandoned road.
"You just keep attracting weirdoes, don't you?" He asked. I looked into the rear view mirror. The janitor/trickster was just rounding the corner.
"Go the long way and I don't mean to attract all these freaks!" I told him. Bobby nodded and took a right instead of a left.
"I thought you could tell when someone was lying?" Bobby asked, I shrugged, burying my face in my hands.
"I have no idea either." I told him. When we pulled up, Dean jerked the door open and pulled me in a tight hug.
"I am never going to let something like that happen again, Abbi." He said his voice muffled. I hugged him back gently.
"I know Dean." I said quietly. He pulled back and tugged me into the motel, closing and locking the door behind us as we entered his motel room. Bobby looked to Dean.
"Can I talk to you in, private?" Bobby asked. Dean nodded, he looked to Sam, then pointed at me.
"Watch her." He told Sam, like I was going anywhere. I wasn't stupid a freaking trickster had a puppy dog crush on me. I wasn't leaving this motel room. I went over to the couch and sat down, going through my bag idly. My bag lit on something I didn't recognize. I closed my fingers around it and pulled it out of my bag. A small manila card with beautifully written cursive written on it was in my clutches.
I'm not as bad as I seem. It read. I swallowed and hid the note before Sam could see it. Why was the trickster so interested in me? I huffed agonizingly and ran my hands through my caramel colored hair. This was nuts!
"So what do we do?" Dean asked, walking back into the room with Bobby. I looked up.
"I hate to mention this, but if he has a 'puppy dog crush' on Abbi, if one of us sticks close to her, could we use her?" Sam asked. Dean and Bobby gave Sam the death glare.
"What? If he knows we're onto him then he might not come if it's just us." Sam said, defending himself.
"There is also a chance that he may know she knows, and that crush may not exist anymore." Dean told him.
"Actually, I don't think so. Look." I told him, handing him the card I found. Dean plucked it from my hand and read it.
"I don't know, he is a trickster. This may be just a hoax to get at Abbi." Dean said, I sighed.
"It's worth a try though, as long as she ain't alone, or she could just set up a date and disappear." Bobby suggested. Dean looked down. He knew it was his job to protect me, using me as bait wasn't exactly protecting him.
"Call him Abbi." Dean finally said. I nodded and dug my phone out of my pocket. I called the Trickster.
"Hey Abbi. Your cousins convince you to help them kill me? I'm not really that bad." He told me, not even giving me a chance to make up a lie. I looked at them, shaking my head.
"No, I found your note. I want to talk." I told him. I heard the Trickster give a thoughtful 'hmm.'
"Okay, but under my rules. Like you with me, I can't tell whether you're lying or not, so, you come to the auditorium. Leave your phone. Don't bring your bag, and no heavy jackets. I have to be able to tell whether you're packing or not. I'm not getting staked by a fifteen year old. And I'll know if you're bringing the Calvary, so leave them behind." He said. I frowned.
"Okay, I'll be there, what time?" I asked him.
"Now, I'm waiting." He said coldly, I swallowed difficultly.
"Sure." I said, there was a forceful click on the other end of the line. I hung up, looking at them.
"He's onto us. I have to go alone, no phone, no bag, no heavy jacket, and from I can tell the one I can wear will have to be unzipped. He also said that he'll know if I 'bring in the Calvary.'" I finished.
"When?" Dean asked.
"Now in the college auditorium." I replied.
"Okay, just keep him distracted for as long as possible. Promise me you won't let him get you Abbi." He told me. I nodded, Dean nodded me a knife.
"It'll slow him down, aim for his eyes." He told me.
"B-"
"He didn't say anything about knives did he, Abbi?" He asked. I shook my head, then took the knife and slid it into my inner jacket pocket.
"Now get going. We won't be far behind." I nodded and left the motel. I jogged all the way to the campus and up to the auditorium. I stopped at the bottom step leading up to the auditorium doors. My fingertips caressed the dragon claw pendant around my neck. My mind drifted off to the memory of my father, he'd come if I was in danger.
I then realized how utterly ridiculous it was to think that he could save me.
The Trickster was sitting in the second row to the front. I walked down the aisle and joined him. I sat down and looked at him. He kept his gaze at the stage.
"Hello, Abbi." He told me.
"Why so formal?" I asked him. With a snap of his fingers a cup of Earl Grey tea appeared in front of me, levitating, patiently waiting for me to pluck it from the air, which I did. He held out his hand to me.
"Give me the knife." He said, his voice calm and full of authority.
"No." I said just as calmly.
"So you believe them. What's the difference between what I do and what your cousins do?" He asked me, now looking at me. I tried not to make eye contact with him.
"They kill monsters." I told him.
"And I kill or punish the human equivalent. Douches who need to be knocked off their high horses." He told me, he replied, taking out a candy bar.
"Usually the term 'knocking someone off their high horse' means teaching them a lesson, not killing them." I argued calmly.
"Some people just need to die, Abbi." He told me, I sighed
"Exactly." I said matter-of-factly.
"And you're siding with them. I can't bring myself to harm a hair on your head." The trickster said.
"What's stopping you?" I asked him, truly curious. He met my eyes, something in his own broke.
"You haven't hurt a soul in your life." He told me. I laughed.
"I've pumped a few spirits full of rock salt."
"They don't count, they're already dead. I don't want to hurt Sam and Dean either. They haven't done too much to make it on my list." He said, I sighed.
"I can't be here. Thanks for the tea, again." I told him, standing and walking out into the main aisle. He followed me.
"Why can't you be here?" He asked, grabbing my wrist, stopping me. I huffed, closing my eyes. I turned to face him.
"Why do you like me?" I asked him.
"Well you have every right in this world to be the worst person you can be, but you're not. Tricksters admire that." He told me.
"And that's why I can't be here. You're perfectly rational, and besides all this Trickster bull, you'd actually be a great person. I can't stick around to watch this happen." I told him, taking my hand back and turning.
Sam, Dean, and Bobby came in through the exits. I started making my way to Dean when the Trickster grabbed me around the waist and pulled me back to him, using me as a human shield. His hand dipped into my hoodie pocket and he grabbed the knife and he pressed it to my throat. The three stopped in their tracks.
"You let my baby cousin go right now!" Dean yelled, the look of pure concentrated hatred danced angrily in his eyes.
"Why, so you can stake me? Don't think so." The Trickster replied. Sam started creeping around the edge of the auditorium. The blade went tighter to my throat, cutting into my flesh, blood trickled down my throat. My heart was going a hundred miles a minute.
"If you don't want her dead, you better stay right there, Sam!" The Trickster spat in Sam's direction.
"I'm so sorry, Abbi." The Trickster whispered. My breathe caught in my throat. Why on earth was he so… kind.
"Come on guys, I don't want to hurt her. She's the most unblemished person I've ever met. Just let me leave and Abbi gets to live." He told them.
"If you don't want to hurt her, then why are you?" Dean asked the Trickster. He gave an annoyed grunt.
"Because you muttonheads are forcing me to! If you walk out of this auditorium, Abbi will walk out too. She'll be fine! Just let me go!" He barked angrily. The blade cut in ever so deeply. I gave a small cry and my hands wrapped around his forearm tighter. Dean saw this and nodded.
"Okay, we're leaving, just let me take her out with me, Sam and Bobby are leaving now, see? I'm giving Bobby my stake." Dean did so as he spoke. The knife's pressure was disappearing. Dean started walking to me, the Trickster unleashed me and I ran to Dean. I felt like a small child.
Dean placed his arm around my shoulder and guided me out, I cast a look at the Trickster over my shoulder, the look on his face said he regretted what he had done.