So, i'm going to sound like a broken record for a while now; i'm going to keep telling all you readers to review! From the number of viewers this fic gets, i know that i should theoretically be getting a LOT more than 8 reviews :( so pleaseeeeeee review :D
Chapter 10
Picture Kristen Bell as the character Elle Harvelle
"Hey Dean" Loren spoke into her new i-phone (courtesy of her Grandfather) as she lay in bed. It had been a weird day…she couldn't remember the last time she had spent a whole day without either of her brothers.
"Hey Lo, how're you doing?"
"I'm ok…my room mate is cool and so far I haven't hit anyone else"
"Anyone else?" Loren could hear the trepidation in her brother's voice.
"Erm yeah you know that kid I beat up yesterday? Well he goes to this school"
"You stay away from him Lo" Dean commanded and Loren frowned. She hated it when Dean decided things for her but he was right in this matter and so she let her annoyance pass.
"Of course Dean, I'm your sister but I'm not stupid. Anyway, how's Sammy? The two of you are still in Ipswich right?"
She could hear Dean huff at the insult but he let it pass too. Either that or he couldn't think of a comeback. Loren laughed lightly…it was likely to be the latter.
"Yeah but we're heading to The Roadhouse tomorrow morning"
"Oh" Loren paused and a small silence stretched across the line
"Erm cool…do you have to leave so soon?" she asked hesitantly. She heard her brother sigh at the end of the line and she mirrored one of her own
"Yeah Lo…you know how we are…more than two days in a town with no hunt and we're bored. Besides we figured we'd go to the roadhouse and check up on Ellen and Jo"
Loren snickered as she imagined Jo fawning all over Dean. He seemed to have heard her snicker and she could practically imagine the scowl forming on his face. "it's nothing like that" he immediately defended himself
"What dean? I'm pretty sure I didn't say anything"
"Yeah well…whatever. Here, speak to Sammy"
Sam came on the line and spoke, "Hey Lo, how're you?"
"I'm good Sammy, how're you?"
"I'm cool…just…erm bored"
"Yeah understandable…It's winter and it's cold. On top of that there's nothing to do in this town. They have one bar Sam! One bar near the school. Of course it doesn't help that the school is so far from town"
She heard Sam chuckle over the line and a soft smile graced her face. She didn't mind talking to her brothers like this…she just hoped it wouldn't be too long till she next saw them.
"Oh yeah, I got a call from Sarah and she's taken a week off to come see me"
"That's great Sam!"
"Yeah we're picking her up from New York and then we're all going to the roadhouse"
"You've told Ellen and Jo as well right? You know how they play dead and then bam! Jump on whoever has entered their saloon"
"Oh…er..yeah I'll call them up and warn them."
She smiled at Sam's forgetfulness and shook her head, "Oh what will you do without me Sammy"
"Crash and burn obviously"
She laughed and shook her head, "Yeah ok anyway tell dean to take care of himself…and you too Sam! I'm gonna go now…call it a night"
She could hear Dean mocking her from behind Sam, 'oh lookie Loren's got a bedtime'
Loren gritted her teeth but smirked and then shouted down the line, "DEAN AND JO sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G." She laughed as the call abruptly ended and tucked herself in bed with a smile on her face.
Monday morning, Ipswich…
Loren looked at the hideously long knee length blue skirt and the full sleeves white oxford shirt. She then picked up the cornflower blue blazer and examined it with distaste. "This is the uniform? Man this sucks"
Sarah nodded sympathetically as she got ready. "Hurry, breakfast is in 10 minutes. Classes start at 8.30"
Loren glanced at the clock on her nightstand. It was 7.40am. She stepped into the shower and by 8 she was ready and down for breakfast. She filled a bowl of cereal and followed Sarah to pay for it.
"Ok so we have student cards and each week we have to top it up and then we just swipe the card like this, to pay for any meals we eat in school ok?" Sarah explained and Loren nodded.
They sat at a table as Loren compared her timetable with Sarah's. Sarah took a look at her time table and grinned. "You're in pretty much all of my classes except for Math, Physics and Economics but don't worry…Reid and Tyler are in those classes" She finished off with a smirk that made Loren roll her eyes.
"Not you too! Kate was unsubtle enough yesterday to last a whole week at least"
"He can't take his eyes off you!" Sarah spoke excitedly
"And that's supposed to make me feel all gooey inside? Please, that's just his way of intimidating people. He stares at them till they back off or if they're girls, they'll blush and look away"
Sarah stared at her for a minute and shook her head, "Why didn't I figure that out when I first met him? I just kept thinking he hated me or that he was some huge pervert"
Loren burst out laughing at that, "Well that and the fact that he probably goes through at least one girl each week".
Sarah nodded but smiled warmly, "Be careful around him…but don't judge him too early on. I made that mistake…he's proven to be very lovely and surprisingly loyal"
"Why is that surprising? I guessed he'd be very loyal, what with him growing up with the boys and all"
"See! you have a better understanding of him already and its only been 1 day…"
"No. I made my brother a promise…I'd stay away from guys like him"
"Guys like who?" A familiar voice drawled and caused Loren and Sarah to end their conversation abruptly.
"What?" Loren asked with a fake expression of confusion on her face
"You were talking about guys…guys like who?"
"Aaron. Sarah was telling me about how much of a jerk he is and how I should stay away from guys like him. I agreed with her wholeheartedly. I don't plan on seeing him unless he wants an encore of Friday night" she spoke without missing a beat…pshh she was so used to thinking up stories off the top of her head that this seemed so easy for her.
Reid stared at her for a second but he seemed to have caught the bait and nodded. Smiling, he took a seat next to Loren and grinning, he threw his arm around her shoulders. "I'd certainly like an encore of Friday. Seeing you beat him up was kinda hot princess"
She merely raised her eyebrow and plucked his arm off her shoulder, "You know my name now…so why must you insist on calling me that awful nickname… sunshine?"
He scoffed, "sunshine? I liked stud better"
"Yes well sunshine, the colour of your hair blinds me so this nickname is better suited to you. Also there's the added bonus of you disliking it as much as I dislike princess so it just makes me wanna use it more"
He put his arm around her shoulder mid argument and she didn't seem to notice; either that, or she didn't seem to mind. He was hoping it was the latter.
She noticed the second his arm wrapped around her shoulder for the second time…how could she not? It made her breath catch in her throat every time they had any physical contact. She narrowed her eyes a little in annoyance…she'd pointedly told him no…so why was he being so stubborn? She casually shrugged his arm off her shoulder and stared at him pointedly so he knew not to repeat his actions again. He ginned surreptitiously but obeyed.
"What's your first class?" he asked as he snatched her timetable from her hands
"Ah Eng Lit. You're with all of us except Pouge and Kate". She nodded swiftly and returned to eating her breakfast.
Classes were normal and boring. Reid was exactly how she'd pictured him to be in class. He was either sleeping half the time and if not he was the one making jokes and being loud much to his teachers' annoyance. Her last class had just finished and she was standing in the middle of the corridor contemplating which direction to go. This place was huge and she had no idea where the dorms were.
"Lost princess?"
Loren jumped as Reid's deep husky voice murmured in her ear from behind her. A delicious shiver spread through her body that she couldn't conceal well enough and she rolled her eyes when she heard him chuckle. She turned around sharply but hadn't realised just how close Reid was standing to her.
She was a little startled as she stared into his ice blue eyes and found herself unable to look away. He raised his eyebrow and for a second she just stood there confused…her mind was devoid of any thoughts and all she felt for that second, was the burning desire to crush her lips onto his.
NO! Don't you dare look at his lips…that'll be the biggest give away! She willed herself to take a step back and then she recalled the question he'd asked her
"Er yeah…I don't know where my dorm is" she cringed inwardly as her voice cracked a little. All the while Reid had this infuriating smirk on his face like he knew exactly what had been on her mind a few seconds ago
"I'll show you but…you'd have to pay a price"
Her eyes narrowed, "No thanks I'll find my own way"
Rule number…whatever…Never agree to something without fully knowing the consequences of your actions. John's voice resounded in her head as she remembered the list of rules he'd ingrained in hers and her brother's heads since they were children and she'd be breaking one of those rules if she accepted Reid's help in exchange for a no doubt shady favour.
His hand shot out to hold her arm and he spun her round. "Relax…all I wanted was for you to come to swim practise on Wednesday and watch me and the boys swim. You know...moral support and all"
Her eyes softened at this and she noticed how sincere he sounded. She immediately felt bad for assuming the worst out of him. Her cheeks coloured and she nodded, "Of course…I was going to come anyways"
He smirked and placed his arm around her shoulders. She rolled her eyes but smiled and didn't bother shaking him off; this was his 6th attempt afterall. Relentless. She thought as he guided her through the school corridors and to her building.
"Thanks, I can make it from here"
"Nahh, I'm gonna drop you to your room just to make sure you don't trip on the stairs and get a concussion"
She laughed, "I'm not clumsy Reid". She let him walk with her till her room. She unlocked the door and turning around she smiled warmly at him. They stared at each other awkwardly for a few seconds and then she gave him the largest, most genuine smile he'd seen of her's and said, "night".
Se quickly shut the door in his face before he had a chance to see the rising blush on her face. He stared at her room door for a second, unmoving. Then quickly he turned 180 and walked away, an odd shine in his eyes and a soft smile on his face.
Tuesday night, with Sarah in the back of the Impala, the Winchester boys arrive at the roadhouse…
"Oh just so you know, Jo has had this huge…I mean huge crush on Dean since he turned 18 so just leave the room whenever possible to give the couple some alone time" Sam grinned as he spoke to Sarah. She caught on to the teasing tone and laughed
"Of course…we can have some alone time ourselves…" she flirted.
Sam's cheeks coloured a little and he tugged her towards him placing a brief kiss on her lips before opening the door. Dean didn't know whether to be angry at Sam or happy for him that Sarah was beginning to feel comfortable around their pseudo family.
"There's nothing going on" he gritted a response, his face a little red in annoyance. Sarah flashed her pearly whites at him innocently and he simply rolled his eyes.
"'Cause the walls start shaking
The earth was quaking
My mind was aching
And we were making it
and you,
Shook me all night long"
Dean's eyebrows rose as he heard an unfamiliar voice bellow the lyrics to one of his favourite songs. He looked round the corner to the bar and saw the back of a petite blonde girl; she couldn't have been more than 5"4. She was the one singing her lungs out as she head-banged and dried beer glasses with a dishcloth. She seemed to have realised someone had come in but she continued her task
"Jo, don't you dare turn that off. I'll cut your hair while you're asleep if you so much as touch my records again after last time..." she sounded intimidating despite her short stature and she made Dean laugh. She seemed to have realised it wasn't Jo at the door and without blinking an eyelid she turned around, her hand whipping out a pistol from the waist of her jeans, and she aimed it directly at Dean's heart.
He was taken aback at her reflexes and so didn't have a chance to take out his own gun. Raising his hands in the air, he spoke calmly, "Ellen knows we're here…I'm Dean Winchester, this is my brother Sam and his girlfriend Sarah. Surely Ellen's told you of us coming here? Who are you anyway?"
She cocked her gun and raised her eyebrow, "What's Ellen's middle name?"
He grinned and answered, "Magdaline". The woman in front of him shuddered at the hideous name but placed her gun down.
Now that everything was sorted and some girl wasn't trying to kill him, Dean took a good look at the woman in front of him. He liked what he saw. She had long blonde hair and a side fringe on the left side of her face. Her eyes were a cloudy blue with a hint of green present in them. He found himself unable to look away. Her cheekbones were raised and gave a sharp look to her face but her lips…they were perfectly bow shaped and so alluring. She was beautiful but in a classic way…she reminded him of heroines in the 40s, the way she looked; sharp, pixie like features, but eyes that twinkled and softened her looks.
She cleared her throat and raised an eyebrow, "Done staring yet creep?"
He smirked and replied, "Darling you should be honoured"
"I'm not Jo" she replied with a sly look on her face. Dean's face immediately hardened and he frowned. Sam and Sarah started laughing at this point. They'd noticed how keenly Dean had been staring at this new woman.
Sam was apprehensive…he didn't need for Dean to have a fling with this girl and then upset Ellen or Jo…they were the only family the Winchesters had left…
"How do you…know?" Dean asked perplexed
She shook her head whilst smirking, "Everyone in the family knows. It's been going on for the past 7 years. Seriously the way she talks about you…she describes you like you're Adonis and now that I've finally met you…what a let down."
"Burn" Sam whispered but it was loud enough that everyone could hear.
Dean looked offended and glared at her, "It's fine Sammy…her vision is obviously impaired from all the way down there. Tell me squat, how different does the world look when you're 5ft 1?"
She pinned him a glare so fierce that if looks could kill, he'd be on his back right now. If there was one thing that angered her more than anything else in the world, it was when people made fun of her height.
She snapped open her mouth to no doubt take him out again but he spoke before she could, "Who the hell are you anyway?"
"Elle, Ma wants to know when the last delivery of whisky came in…oh! Dean! Sam…when did you two come?" Jo's voice immediately went from bored to excited as her eyes fell on Dean and Sam.
Her eyes narrowed a little as she focused on Sarah but she relaxed when she saw how close Sarah was standing next to Sam…she was not with Dean nor was she ever going to be. With that happy thought Jo's eyes lit up again.
Dean hugged Jo and ruffled her hair a little…he'd never seen Jo as anything more than a friend, besides she was 22 and he was approaching 27…the age gap was far too much for any relationship to start and he knew better than to think she'd be a one night stand type of girl. Besides he was damn sure that if he even touched Jo inappropriately, Ellen would have him decapitated.
"They came this morning. They're already in the loft." Elle responded but realised she was going to be ignored by Jo who was gazing lovingly at Dean. Elle snickered as she continued drying glasses.
"Oh! Sorry, Dean, Sam, this is my cousin Elle Harvelle and Elle, that's Dean, Sam and …erm…"
"I'm Sarah Blake, Sam's girlfriend"
Jo nodded, pleased, "Momma's out back, she'll be here in a bit…how're you boys doing? I'm so sorry about John" She seemed genuinely upset and Dean nodded somewhat awkwardly…he definitely wasn't ready to talk about his father but Jo didn't seem to notice as she carried on, "He was a great man, fine hunt…"
"Er Jo! I think Aunt Ellen's calling you…oh yeah hear that? She sounds really angry…better go check what's wrong" Elle interrupted her, noticing the look of tension across Dean's face. Jo frowned as she hadn't heard her mom calling but she nodded and left the room.
"Thanks for that" Dean shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he spoke to her but he was truly thankful. She smiled softly at him for the first time, "That's ok. I…I know what it's like to not be ready to…talk about stuff"
"Yeah? Someone in your family passed away too?"
She cleared her throat and handed him a glass of scotch, "Yeah…that's why I'm here"
She didn't go into details and he understood. They shared a long silent look and an understanding…a truce of sorts was reached between them. Dean smiled to himself a little as he sipped his scotch…maybe tiny wasn't so bad after all.
"So how come I've never heard of you before?"
"I'm not the sort of family member that's brought up in polite conversation…or any conversation at all" Elle went around the bar and sat next to Dean. She poured herself a drink and flipped through her record collection on the bar top.
"Really?" Dean smirked as he moved closer to her, a predatory look in his eye
"And why might that be?"
"Because I've run away from home far too many times to count and I've returned back with bruises and cuts that made my mother have a heart palpitation every time"
"Oh…is she…?"
"Oh no. No, no…she died three years ago…recently…my brother…" her voice had gone so quiet that it tugged at Dean's heart. He couldn't imagine what his life would be like if Sam died. He suppressed a shudder and resolved to change the topic into something less emotional.
"Records? That's my kinda girl…see this Sammy? She has records. None of that CD/ y-tunes crap"
Sam and Sarah were sitting at the other end of the bar having a quite conversation, when they heard Dean talk about records. Sam rolled his eyes, "Well done Dean, you've found someone just as technologically backwards as yourself...and it's i-tunes."
Sarah chuckled but swatted his arm, "I'll have you know I have a few records myself, back home"
"Yes but do you listen to the same five records all day and all night?"
"That's a good point"