Sometimes I wish that we could all forget
Your figure fades into a silhouette
But I hear you breathing
I'm done believing.
We're painting portraits but the canvas is blank
If this life is a gift then who do we pay?
You're desperate for the answer
It eats at you like cancer
...
Your head is filled with unproven thoughts
Twisting theories into bigger knots
And I feel you dreaming
You're done believing
Tried to avoid this but I'm weak to the bone
My inner compass points me to the unknown
But I still keep running faster
Someday I'll find the answer
Tonight won't ever end
Can we pretend, pretend, pretend?
I don't want this to end
So I'll pretend, pretend, pretend again
Pretend, pretend, pretend
Tonight won't ever end
Can we pretend, pretend
Pretend instead?
Lights turned low, lights turned low
Cause I don't wanna see this go
So can I just pretend, pretend, pretend instead?
Bad Suns – Pretend
On the request of a pretty frantic looking text from Chuck, we immediately got into the car and drove all night long passing an old fashioned sign that read Welcome to The Pineview Hotel. As we approached the building, I spotted Chuck pacing back and forth on the bottom step of the hotel. Dean pulled the Impala in the closest parking spot he could find and the three of us got out.
I kept my eyes on Chuck as I started to walk over to him when Dean stopped short in front of me. I looked up to see a shocked look on his face and glanced behind myself, following his gaze to a huge lineup of Impalas. My mouth dropped open a bit, and I stood there in shock.
"Hey. Come on." Sam said, grabbing both of our arms to pull us towards the steps once again. "Chuck! There you are."
Chuck turned around quickly at the sound of Sam's voice, a surprised look on his face. "Guys?"
"What's going on." Dean asked, glancing towards the Impalas, then back at Chuck.
"Ah, nothing. You know, I'm just kinda hanging. What are you guys doing here?"
"You told us to come." I told him, a confused look on my face. What was wrong with him?
"Ah, no I didn't."
"Yeah you did, you texted me. This address, life or death situation. Any of this ringing a bell?" Sam asked.
"I didn't send you a text."
"We drove all night!" Dean exclaimed with a huff. He didn't want to come here to begin with, and Sam and I would definitely have to hear about how he was right later on.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand what could..." Chuck paused, a look of realization coming over him. "Oh no."
"What?" I asked.
Just then the hotel door burst open to reveal someone I hoped to god I'd never have to see again in my life. She looked just the same – short, with shoulder length mousy brown hair and wide eyes. "Sam! You made it!"
Sam's eyes were wide as can be as he took a deep breath. "Oh, ah, Becky, right?
"Oh, you remembered." She muttered, bounding down the stairs, pushing Chuck out of the way slightly to stand right in front of Sam, leaning in a bit, lowering the volume of her voice. "You been thinking about me."
"I...uh-"
"It's okay. I can't get you out of my head either." She grinned. I bit my lip trying my hardest to not laugh for Sam's sake. I glanced to my right at Dean, who – like always – was amused by his brothers discomfort.
"Becky, did you take my phone?" Chuck asked.
"I just borrowed it from your pants."
"Becky..."
"What?" She asked innocently. "They're going to want to see it!"
"See what?" Both Sam and Dean asked at the same time, confusion on their faces.
"Oh my god. I love it when they talk at the same time!" She squealed, clapping her hands.
A man holding a clip board peaked out the door, nodding at Chuck. "Hey Chuck? Come on pal, it's showtime."
Without another word, Becky went running back up the stairs like a headless chicken.
Chuck nodded to the man before turning back to us. "Guys. I'm sorry. For everything."
Sam, Dean and I shared a confused look and -very reluctantly- followed him up the stairs. As we entered the foyer of the hotel, a large man walked past us, glancing over at Dean. "Hey Dean, looking good."
"Who the hell are you?" Dean asked. The guy turned back around, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm Dean, too. Duh." He mumbled obviously I noticed the clothes he was wearing, and the fact that they were identical to something Dean would wear. He even had the same necklace as Dean and I suddenly felt exponentially creeped out. "Nice Tori, by the way!" The guy added, winking at me before heading into another room. I glanced up at Dean, who was staring after the him.
"What does that mean?" I asked.
Dean shrugged. "I have no idea."
We turned around to Sam, who had the same confused look as we did. A man wearing a scarecrow mask ran up to us, waving his sythe around. "Uh-oh. It's the Winchesters. I'm in trouble now. Have fun you guys."
The guy mock screamed, shoving the sythe in my face. I batted it away, shaking my head at him. He shrugged and went on his way. Becky off to the side, giggling her dumb little ass off.
Dean placed a hand on my hip, looking completely baffled. "What?"
The three of us scanned the room, which seemed to be getter smaller and smaller by the second as a bunch of people mulled around. They were all dressed up as various creatures and...people from our lives. There was even a woman dressed as Bobby.
Quite a few tables were covered in coffee cups with a drawing of the Impala on the side and all of Chucks books. Probably even more stuff, but I couldn't take looking anymore and turned to face Becky, who hadn't stopped giggling.
"What the hell is this?" I asked, annoyance clear in my voice.
"It's awesome! A supernatural convention, the first ever!" She excitedly grabbed my hand, trying to drag me into the room filled with all those people. "Come on!"
"No way."
I pulled my hand out of her grasp and she looked offended for a moment, then smiled again. "You just don't understand."
"I don't want to understand."
"Just come on." She sighed, turning to head into the room behind her. I turned back to Sam and Dean, who just stood in there looking confused.
"Don't make me go in there alone." I huffed, turning into the room.
Just as I glanced behind to make sure they were following me, I bumped into someone and looked up to see a shouter girl, about the same height as Becky, with long brown hair staring back. She wore a black bomber jacket and gray tank top... just like I would. A necklace slightly similar to mine in color hanging from her neck. I stared at her for a second, a very uncomfortable feeling passing through me.
Dean walked up behind me then and the girl smiled appreciatively at us. "Wow, you guys really pull that look off."
"What?" I asked, turning around to face Dean, who looked as uncomfortable as I felt. She smiled, walking away as Sam came over, leading us to the back of the room where Becky was standing, a small crowd gathering around the stage.
"Welcome to the first annual Supernatural convention." A heavy-set man spoke into a microphone. The crowd cheered loudly in response. "At 3.45 in the Magnolia room we have the panel, frightened little boy, the secret life of Dean."
"Wh-" Dean started, looking slightly insulted.
"And at 4.30 there's siblings or lovers, discussing the relationship between Tori and Sam, and Sam and Dean and the homoerotic subtext of Supernatural."
"Oh for the love of Christ." I mumbled, rolling my eyes. Becky crossed her arms, looking up at me with her lips pursed. I ignored her, glancing up to the boys next to me, who looked looked just as grossed out as I was – if not a million times more.
"Oh, and of course the big hunt starts at 7PM sharp. But right now, right now I'd like to introduce the man himself. The creator, the writer of the supernatural books. The one, the only, Carver Edlund!" The man finished, walking off the stage as the crowd clapped and cheered.
Chuck timidly walked out onto the stage, pulling in a deep breath, looking over at us. I gave my best bitch face, shaking my head. Chuck nervously grabbed the mic, causing a massive amount of feedback to flow through the room. He laughed a bit into the microphone, looking down at his feet.
"Okay. Okay good, this isn't nearly as awkward as I- dry mouth." He muttered, clearing his throat before taking big gulps out of the water bottle next to him. "Okay. Uh...ahem. So I guess...questions?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, every person threw a hand in the air.
"Hey, Mr Edlund. Uh...big fan. I was just wondering, where'd you come up with Sam, Dean and Tori in the first place?" A man asked after Chuck had picked him, sounding slightly nervous.
Chuck looked over at us again, looking for some sort of approval. Neither one of us gave him any kind of reassurance, just staring at him with stone cold expressions.
Crash and burn you little bitch.
"Oh, I...it just came to me." Chuck laughed, with a shrug. Dean rolled his eyes next to me, looking up at the ceiling as Chuck pointed to a guy in a hook man costume. "Yeah. The hook man."
"Ah yeah. Why in every fight scene, Sam and Dean are having their gun knocked away by the bad guy? Why don't they keep it on some kind of bungee?" The man asked in a very heavy German accent.
Sam raised, an eyebrow, a slightly approving look on his face. Dean tensed next to me and I could practically feel the anger start rolling off of him.
"I- yeah, I really don't know." Chuck answered.
"Ja, follow up. Why can't Sam be telling that Ruby is evil? I mean she is clearly manipulating Sam into some kind of moral lapse. It's obvious, nein?" The man asked as a few people around him murmured in agreement.
I raised an eyebrow, glancing over at Sam, who seemed upset by the man's question. I could tell that Dean was just itching to say something, so I elbowed him lightly in the ribs. Becky glared at the man, her lips pursed.
"Hey! If you don't like the books don't read 'em Fritz." She took a step forward, yelling at the man. I gave her a nod of approval when she looked back at me. She smiled big at me, her eyes gleaming with pride.
"Okay, okay, just..okay, it's okay. so, next question." Chuck mumbled, trying to change the subject before Becky went crazy. "Yeah, you."
"At the end of the last book, Dean asked Tori to marry him. But wasn't it kind of shitty of him to do that knowing he was about to leave her?" A girl asked in the crowd. "I mean, talk about bad timing. He should've asked her way before that."
"Yeah, uh, well...Dean, he has some- some issues." Chuck mumbled. Dean threw his arms out to the side, letting them fall back with a huff.
Chuck pointing to anther girl, who gushed. "Hi."
"Hi."
"Okay, my question is a little embarrassing."
"No, I'm sure it's not." Chuck smiled, taking a sip of water.
"Okay. Well, Tori and Dean have like, the most amazing, kinky, realistic sex that I've ever read." She giggled. "Anyway, how do you come up with such great sex scenes? 'Cause I'll be honest, I can't read them without a cold glass of water."
Chuck choked on the water in his mouth, staring down at her with wide eyes. "I, uh- just, uh...it- they...I v- visualize."
"Oh...God." I folded my arms over my chest, shuttering as I shook my head.
"L- let's move on from that." Chuck muttered, picking someone else out of the crowd.
"Do you agree that there is obvious sexual tension between Tori and Sam?" Another girl dressed as me asked. Becky narrowed her eyes at the woman, letting her glare slip over to me. I just shook my head at her, looking away.
"Well, that- that's up to your own interpretation." Chuck replied, pointing to some one else.
"Okay, at the end of the last book, Dean goes to hell. So, what happens next?" The man asked.
"Oh. Well there lies an announcement, actually. You're all going to find out." Chuck said, looking back at us again. "Thanks to a wealthy Scandinavian investor, we're going to start publishing again."
The whole room exploded with clapping, yells and cheers of excitement. Becky was screaming her head off next to me, holding my arm as she bounced up and down.
After I preyed Becky off of my arm, Sam, Dean and I made our way out the packed room of excited crazies and into the foyer. I felt like I could finally breath in the empty room and leaned heavily against the wall. "What the hell is this insanity?"
"There's no explanation for what we've witnessed." Sam mumbled, leaning next to me.
Dean stood in front of us, his hands on his pockets. "I need a drink."
"God, yes." I nodded. "I want to get so drunk that I forget about Chuck visualizing."
"I want to get so drunk that I forget this day." Sam added s we walked into the dimly lit bar, I was still trying to process everything that was going on around us.
There were so many people dressed like us, trying to act like us...it was just weird. Especially the Tori and Dean who were violently making out against the bar while, who I assumed to be their Sam was standing about a foot away, looking at them in disgust.
"Take me, Dean!" The girl cried dramatically. "Right here. Right now."
"Oh, that's so freaking hot." Dean replied in a forced gruff voice.
Sam rolled his eyes, letting out a huff. "Gross."
"Oh, come on. We are so not like that." I complained, shaking my head.
"Actually-" Sam began, stopping when Dean and I shot him a glare. After scanning the room a bit more, I spotted Chuck sitting at the bar with Becky.
Just the man I wanted to see.
I caught the tail end of their conversation as I walked up to them, with the boys trailing behind me. "So, Becky...I was wondering...are you doing any..."
"Oh, hi Sam!" She exclaimed excitedly, cutting Chuck off mid sentence. He sighed a bit, turning to face us on his stool. Sam nodded, but didn't actually say anything. Which seemed to be enough for her, as she smiled wildly at him.
"Excuse us." I mumbled to Becky, grabbing Chucks arm."In case you haven't noticed, our plates are kind of full, okay? Finding the Colt, hunting the devil. We don't have time for this shit, Carver."
"Hey, I didn't call you!" He said, holding his hands up.
"She means the books, Chuck. Why are you publishing more books?" Sam asked, trying to ignore the heated looks Becky was giving him.
"Um, for food and shelter?"
Dean walked around me, leaning in towards Chuck. "Who gave you the rights to our life story?"
"An archangel, and I didn't want it!"
"Well, deal's off, okay? No more books. Our lives are not for public consumption, or the joy of these weirdos." I said, glancing over at Becky. She slowly turned to Chuck, staring at him.
"Ah, Becky. Would you excuse us for just a second?" Chuck asked. She quickly nodded, watching Sam as he started walking towards the hallway. I gripped Chuck's arm tighter, pulling him off the stool, pushing him in front of me and out into the hallway with Dean by my side. "Do you guys know what I do for a living?"
"Yeah Chuck, we know." Sam nodded.
"Then could you tell me? 'Cause I don't, alright? I'm not a good writer. I've got no marketable skills. I'm not some hero who can just hit the road and fight monsters, okay? Until the world ends, I gotta live, alright? And the Supernatural books are all I've got. What else do you want me to do?"
Suddenly, a we heard a blood curtailing scream and ran in the direction it came from. Chuck called for us, but we ignored him and followed the scream, rushing up the long staircase to find a maid crouched down in the corner of the hallway.
Sam quickly ran over to her to help her up. "Hey, are you okay?"
"I think so." She nodded slowly, facing us.
"What happened?" I asked.
"I saw a ghost." She muttered, looking shaken up. Just then, a bunch of people started gathering behind us. The skinny guy from the audience, the heavy-set guy from the foyer and the girl who ran into me stood beside us.
"A ghost? Could you tell us what it looked like?" The tall thin man said in a very forced deep voice.
"Why don't you leave this to the grownups pal." Dean muttered, looking over at the guy.
"A woman. She was in an old fashioned dress. Really old. Like a school marm, or something?" The maid said.
"Did she say something to you?" A voice asked from the crowd behind us.
"Okay." The maid grinned. "Gather close everybody, for a terrifying tale of terror. I saw... a ghost!" She exclaimed. "None other than the ghost of Leticia gore herself! I was on the third floor getting ice for a guest..."
Sam shook his head, walking away from the group. Dean and I exchanged a look, following after him.
"Oooh, the LARPing's started." Becky said excitingly, running up to us.
"The...what is that again?" Dean asked.
"Live Action Role Playing?" She said rolling her eyes, with an obvious tone to her voice. "It's a game. The convention puts it on." She handed Sam a piece of paper with a smile on her face.
Sam glanced down at the piece of paper with a frown and started reading. "'Dad's Journal. Dear kids, this hotel is haunted. You must hunt down the ghost. Interview witnesses, discover clues, and find the bones. First team to do so wins a $50 gift card to Sizzler. Love, Dad.'"
"What…?" I asked, taking the paper from him to look it over.
It was all there in black and white. This people were literally insane.
"Well yes Agents Lennon and McCartney, as manager of this fine establishment I can assure you that it is indeed haunted. This building was once an orphanage, run by mean old Leticia Gore. 100 years ago this very night, Miss Gore went insane, and butchered four little boys before killing herself.
Now folks say that the souls of those poor little boys are trapped here and the evil spirit of Miss Gore punishes them to this very day." The manger told the crowd of people, who were all dressed up in their suits. Sam, Dean and I stood in the back of the room again, watching the events take place.
"Well that's just about all the community theater I can take." Dean mumbled.
"Yeah, this cannot get any weirder." Sam said.
"Don't say that, Sam. Then it will." I muttered just as the same group from before walked past us. A tall thin guy, dressed as Sam. A shorter, heavyset man, dressed as Dean. And a thin girl, dressed as me, not far behind the two guys.
"Dad said...he said I may have to kill you." The stocky man muttered.
"Kill me? What the hell does that mean?" The tall guy said, turning to face him.
The girl walked behind the shorter guy, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We don't know, Sam."
"Oh..." He mumbled, as the three of them walked away. I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache coming on.
Back at the bar, I watched as Dean downed shot after shot, sipping my beer, glancing over at Sam, who was just staring down the table.
"Of all the things..." I muttered. "All the things I've been through in my life, all the shit I've seen...this- this is what I'll need therapy for."
"I hear that." Dean mumbled beside me.
"Hey, you haven't tried to flirt with one girl in here tonight, Dean." Sam pointed out, trying to lighten the mood and take our minds off the crazy. "You should be proud of him." He said to me.
I nodded, taking a deep breath. Dean shook his head, taking a swig of my beer. "I am proud. I am. But really-" I paused, running my fingers through Dean's hair. "I think you're losing your touch, babe."
Dean glanced down at me, pursing his lips as a woman sat down next to him, typing away on her phone. He raised an eyebrow at me, a smirk on his face as he turned to face her. "How you doing?"
I raised an eyebrow, looking over at Sam, whose mouth was hanging open at his brothers actions. I don't think Sam will ever fully understand this part of our relationship.
"Busy." She muttered. Sam and I sucked in air through out teeth, shaking our heads.
"Rejected." I whispered, biting my lip.
Dean glared back at me, turning to face the woman again. "Well, you sure look lovely tonight. Especially for a dead chick."
"Buddy, I have heard that line seventeen times tonight, okay? And all from dudes wearing MacGyver jackets." She mumbled, still not looking up at him. Dean just stared, shooting one of his panty dropping smiles at her when she looked up. I literally saw the moment she melted as she smiled back at him. "But you seem different."
"How so?"
"Well, you don't seem scared of women." She smiled. Dean smirked and I grinned, deciding enough was enough.
"No, he's scared of one. Me." I said, punching his arm lightly. Dean chuckled as the woman raised an eyebrow at my behavior.
"For the last time I'm not making this up, okay?" A man yelled from across the room. I looked over Dean's shoulder at the guy. "She's upstairs, a real live dead ghost."
"Excuse me." Dean muttered to the woman as the three of us made our way over to the man.
"I'm sure it was just one of the ghost actors." The guy next to him said.
The man shook his head. "Who beat the hell out of me and then vanished?"
"You saw something?" Sam asked.
"This isn't part of the game, jerk." The guy snapped at Sam, turning back to his friend. "Look, I'm getting out of here and you should do the same." He walked away, causing his friend to chase after him.
Sam turned back to Dean and I. "What do you think?"
"I don't think that guy's a good enough an actor to be acting." Dean muttered.
We walked up to the front desk, where the manager stood, looking rather exhausted.
"Excuse us, mind if we ask you a few questions?" I asked.
"Look, I don't have time to play Star Wars guys. Go ask the guy in the ascot." He mumbled.
"Actually we ah- really want to talk to you." Dean said, sliding cash across the desk.
"Okay. You guys are really into this." The manager muttered, grabbing the money.
"You have no idea." I mumbled.
"What do you want to know?"
"All this stuff they're saying. This place being haunted. Leticia Gore. Any truth to it?" Sam asked.
"We generally don't like to publicize this to...normal people...but yeah. 1909 this place was called Gore Orphanage. Miss Gore, killed four boys with a butchers knife, then offed herself."
"And is tonight really her anniversary?" Dean asked.
"Yup, guess your convention folks want authenticity."
"There been any sightings?" Sam asked, leaning on the desk.
"Yup, over the years. A few maids have quit saying they heard the boys or saw them. A janitor even saw Miss Gore once."
"Where did Miss Gore carve up the kids." Dean asked rather harshly. I elbowed him in the ribs, shaking my head when he looked down at me.
"Look, I don't want you stomping all over the joint. A lot of this place is off limits to nerds." The man mumbled. I rose an eyebrow at him, crossing my arms. Dean huffed, sliding more cash across the desk. "The attic."
Dean crawled through the small space of the attic, helping me through behind him. I turned on my flash light, as Sam held out the EMF meter, which almost immediately started buzzing. "The EMF's going nuts."
"Great. We got a real ghost and a bunch of dorks pretending to be us poking at it." I mumbled.
"No way this ends well."
Dean huffed. "Yeah, well serves them right."
"Dean..." I sighed.
"I'm just saying." He shrugged, continuing to look around. We split up a bit, looking around the dark attic.
"My mommy loves me." A voice came from behind me. I spun around to see a little boy crouched down, holding his head in his hands. "I said, my mommy loves me." He said through gritted teeth.
"I'm sure she does." I muttered as Dean walked up behind me, staring at the boy.
"My mommy loves me this much!" He shouted, moving his hands to reveal his partially scalped head, then disappeared.
We went back down to the bar, as I felt that needed another drink after what I'd just seen. Sam was on the other side of the room, talking on the phone. I threw back a shot, resting my head on Dean's shoulder. I was so ready for this day to be over. I just wanted to curl up next to him in bed and sleep.
I felt him press his lips to the top of my head, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.
"Look," Dean whispered into my ear, pointing at Becky – who was giving Sam some serious bedroom eyes.
I looked back over at Sam, who paused, glancing over at her with a nod. She licked the palm of her hand and blew it at him. I raised my eyebrows, watching as Sam grew more and more concerned for her sanity. Being the nice guy that he is, he waved at her slightly, turning to head back towards us as she winked at him.
"I see you have an admirer." I said as he sat back down at the table.
Sam just shot me a dirty look, not acknowledging what I'd said. "So, that was a guy with the County Historical Society."
"And?" Dean asked, putting an arm around my waist.
"Not only did Leticia Gore butcher four boys, but one of them was her own son."
"Her son?" I asked, feeling slightly sick.
"Yeah. According to the police at the time, she scalped the kid."
"Oh that's it." Dean shook his head. "I'm gonna deep fry this bitch extra crispy. Dude say where she was buried?"
Sam shrugged. "He doesn't know."
"Check it out. There's the orphanage, here's the carriage house, and right there... cemetery." Thin Sam said in an annoyingly deep voice a table across from us.
"You think that's where Leticia's planted?" Tiny me asked. Sharing a look, the boys and I got up and headed over to their table.
"It's worth a shot." He replied. Sam grabbed the map away from them as Thin Sam looked up at him. "Hey, hey!"
"Hey, do you mind?" Stocky Dean yelled, grabbing it back.
"It's real. A century old, at least, and he's right, there is a cemetery on the grounds." Sam said, turning to us.
"Where'd you get that?" Dean asked.
"It's called a game pal. It ain't called charity."
"Yeah right. Gimme the map, Chuckles."
"Yeah, well you're the Chuckles, Chuckles. Besides, Dean don't listen to nobody."
I rolled my eyes, leaning into Dean. "He's certainly got your comebacks down."
"Ha ha, very funny." Dean deadpanned. Stocky Dean pulled his jacket back to reveal a very fake looking plastic gun.
The girl quickly stood with him, shooting him a hard look. "Dean, don't."
"Dean! Cool it." Thin Sam said.
"Alright, you know what?" Dean huffed, pulling out his own gun.
"Dean, no." I scolded, pushing the gun down.
"Dean!" Sam called. "Relax."
"What?! They're fucking annoying." Dean exclaimed.
"You can't just kill someone 'cause they're annoying." I said.
"Why not?"
"Then more than half of the people in this world would be dead."
"Look, guys. We all wanna find the bones right? We just thought...it would go faster if we all worked together." Sam said, trying to reason.
"We..ah...we get the sizzler gift card." The skinny guy said.
"Fine." I mumbled, rolling my eyes.
"And we get to be Sam, Dean and Tori." The girl spoke up, raising an eyebrow at me.
"What?" Dean asked.
"Fine." I muttered.
We walked out of the hotel and down the small path that led towards the cemetery. The group walked a few feet in front of us.
The skinny dude turned back around. "Hey, Rufus, Bobby, Ellen, would you hurry it up?
"Are you alright?" I asked Dean, who was looking more and more frustrated as the seconds passed by.
"I'm trying to be." Dean mumbled, looking grumpy.
"So where were we?" Thin Sam asked, turning back to his group.
"Ah, Dr Ellicott and just zapped your brain." The shorter man told him.
"Right, got it." He cleared this throat. "Why are we even here Dean? You just following dad's footsteps like a good little soldier? You that desperate for approval?"
"This isn't you talking, Sam."
The tall guy turned to the girl, his voice harsh. "And you, just aimlessly following Dean like always. I mean, are you so scared you're gonna lose him that don't you have a mind of your own?"
Dean glanced between Sam and I, a desperate look on his face as he leaned down towards me. "How much do we have to put up with? I mean, really."
"I don't know." I frowned up at him, shrugging.
"You know, it's sickening how you obey him. Well, of course except for that one time, I mean. That one precious time that you didn't listen to him just so you could get what you wanted." Thin Sam continued, nodding down to me. "Of course you'd only disobey him if it was beneficial for you. I mean, I'm sure it killed you to go against him like that, didn't it? But who cares? You got what you wanted. But what about what I want? Why am I wrong when I want to say no to Dad? When I don't want to do what he wants me to? But see, I guess that's the difference between you and me. I'm not pathetic"
"So what are you gonna do, huh? Are you gonna kill me? Kill Tori?" Stocky Dean asked. as Tiny me stood next to him, clutching his arm tightly.
"You know what? I am sick of doing what you tell me to do"
"Alright, you know what? That's it. That is it." Dean said, stepping forward.
"What's wrong Bobby?" The shorter man asked innocently.
Dean rolled his eyes, looking like he was about to lose it. "I'm not Bobby, okay? You're not Sam. You're not Dean and you're not Tori! What is wrong with you? Why in the hell would you choose to be them?"
"Because we're fans. Like you."
"No. I am not a fan, okay. Not fans. In fact, I think that their story sucks. It is not fun. It is not entertaining. It is a river of shit that would send most people howling to the nut house." Dean paused, taking another step towards them. "So you listen to me. Their pain is not for your amusement. I mean do you think they enjoy being treated like... like circus freaks?
"Uh...I don't think they care, because they're fictional characters!" The girl said with a laugh.
"Oh, they care. Believe me. They care a lot." Dean snapped, walking off.
We watched as he stomped away down the path. The three of them looked back at Sam and I, questions clear in their eyes.
"He, uh- he takes the story really seriously." I said, trying to cover for his outburst as I moved to follow him. "Dean! I mean, Bobby- I mean- oh, whatever." Eventually, I caught up to Dean, keeping up with pace. "What was that back there exactly?"
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"You know what I'm talking about, Dean. That whole they don't want to be treated like circus animals thing."
"I lost it for a second, okay? Can you really blame me?" Dean asked, turning to face me. I shook my head, looking up into his clear, green eyes.
"No. I can't. I guess I should be glad you didn't just shoot them instead."
Dean chucked, pushing my long bangs out of my face. "You should be...'cause I was two seconds away from just ending them."
"Hey! Focus on the job!" Stocky Dean yelled, walking over to us. "Bobby and Ellen aren't together!"
I rolled my eyes, breaking away from Dean to continue walking down the path, but Dean didn't allow that, however, quickly pulling me back to him to place a heavy kiss on my lips. I was a bit lightheaded when he pulled back, smirking down at me.
Trying to catch my breath, I glanced over my shoulder to see the small group staring at us with wide eyes while Sam just shook his head.
Once we made it to the cemetery, all of us turned our flashlights on and we began looking around the gravestones. Dean and I walked together while Sam went his own way. It wasn't long before we met up again in the middle, like we were supposed to.
"Alright, we found the four boys." Dean told Sam.
"And here's Leticia Gore." Sam nodded to the gravestone in front of us. I heard some leaves crunch behind us and looked over to see the trio tip toeing around the edge of the cemetery, shining their lights into the bushes.
"What the hell are you guys doing?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We're looking for bones, genius. They gotta be around here somewhere." Stocky Dean replied in his Dean voice.
"Generally, bones are in the ground...genius."
"Yeah, I know that. I just..." He watched as Sam placed his bag on the ground, bending down next to it, pulling out a shovel. "Wait, hold on. Are you guys serious?"
Dean glanced over at him, his eyes narrowed. "Deadly."
"Why did you think we came out here, to frolic?" I asked, taking the shovel from Sam.
"We're not really digging up graves you guys, we're just playing a game." Thin Sam murmured.
"Trust us. You wanna win the game, right?" Dean asked.
The group gathered around the grave watching in slight shock as Dean started digging it up. Dean looked over at me, his eyes telling me what I already knew. He hated this part. He jumped into the shallow grave, to dig some more as the rest of us later, the shovel into the dirt one more time before hitting the coffin. Dean stood up straight, wiping the sweat of his forehead with the back of his arm, before pulling the coffin lid open.
Stocky Dean started coughing as soon as he saw the skeleton. "That's not a plastic skeleton. That's a- that's a skeleton, skeleton."
"You just dug up a real grave." Thin Sam muttered.
"Oh my god." Tiny me whispered, her eyes wide with shock.
"Yeah." Dean nodded.
"I thought you guys wanted to be hunters?" I asked, crossing my arms. The shorter man starting hyperventilating a bit, looking at me like I was insane.
"Hunters aren't real, man. This isn't real!" He started to walk away, with his two friends following along.
"My God. You guys have seriously lost your grip on this..." The girl said, turning to face us again. She suddenly froze, her mouth popping open.
"What?" Sam asked.
"Naughty, naughty, naughty!" A voice shrieked. I looked over to see the spirit of Leticia Gore standing next to Sam, suddenly backhanding him across the face, causing him to go flying across the cemetery.
The trio started screaming and running as I turned to head in the direction Sam went, looking back to see Dean climbing out of the grave, rummaging through the bag to find the salt and lighter.
"Barnes!" The stocky man yelled as he and the girl pulled the their friend to his feel. I finally found Sam and helped him up, the two of us were rushing back towards everyone when Gore appeared in front of the three.
"Naughty, naughty, naughty!" Gore yelled, pushing her hands into each man's chests, leaving the girl standing in between them, screaming her head off.
I poured the kerosene in the grave as Dean grabbed his lighter, dropping it in. I watched as Gore shrieked, burning to ashes, disappearing. The group immediately fell to the ground, holding onto each other tightly.
"Real enough for you?" Dean asked, looking at their horrified faces.
BAR – NIGHT
We were back in the bar, which seemed to be our staging area for the night. Sam, Dean and I walked up behind our impersonators, catching their attention.
The thin man sighed. "That was...really..."
"Awful. Right? Exactly. Round's on us guys." Dean said, slapping him on the shoulder. I placed a note on the bar, standing next to Dean, who wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me to his side.
"See you around." Sam muttered, as we headed for the door.
"Hey. How'd you know how to do all that." The shorter man asked.
"We, uh- we read the books." I said simply, shrugging my shoulders. The boys nodded in agreement and we headed towards the hallway, where Chuck was standing with one of the managers.
"Hey Chuck." Dean called out, causing him to look up at us. "Good luck with the Supernatural books, and fuck you very much." Chuck just stared as we kept walking towards the doors.
"I really just want to curl up in bed with you right now." I whispered into Dean's ear, kissing his neck.
"Don't tease me like that, I still gotta drive."
"Spare me the details, please." Sam mumbled, looking back at us with disgust on his face. He pushed on the doors, but they didn't open.
"Wow, Sam. Forget to eat your Wheaties this morning?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow at his brother.
Sam shot him a dirty look, trying again. "They won't budge."
"Let a real man do it." Dean huffed, pushing on the doors. They still didn't open.
"What was that, Jackass?" Sam asked, looking over at Dean, who stared at the doors, confused. The three of us all tried to open the doors at once, but they we completely locked and there was no way we could open them.
A little bit later, Dean and I were in one of the other rooms and I watched as he struggled, trying his hardest to open one of the windows. But no dice, they wouldn't budge either.
"Stop trying, babe. You're gonna hurt yourself." I muttered, leaning on the windowsill.
"What's going on?" Dean looked up at me, shaking his head. I shrugged, not having a clue.
Sam walked back over to us then, shaking his head. "Every exit's locked. Almost like-"
"Something's keeping us in?"
"Seems like it." I mumbled. Dean banged his fist against the window, getting frustrated.
"Yeah. This is bad." Sam nodded, looking around the room.
"Gee, ya think Sammy?" Dean asked, looking up at him.
Suddenly, a woman started screaming in the other room and the three of us ran towards the sounds. The woman Dean hit on before ran into his arms, looking up at him with wide eyes. "Don't go in there!"
"Get downstairs, okay? Go go!" Dean told her. She nodded, running down the steps.
The three of us entered the library, finding a little boy crouched in the corner again. He was holding his head, so I assumed he was the same one from the attic...Gore's son.
"Why'd you do that?" He asked. "Why did you send my mommy away?"
"Ah, maybe because of the high and tight she gave you, huh? How about some thanks." Dean blurted out. Sam looked at him, shaking his head.
I smacked his stomach with the back of my hand. "Really?"
"Well, I'm just saying a little gratitude might be nice once in a while."
"My mommy didn't do this to me." The little boy whined.
"What? Then who did?" I asked, confused. Suddenly the little boy disappeared, leaving us with a very big unanswered question.
"I just don't get it." I said as we walked through one of the hallways of the hotel, making our way to the stairs.
"Me either." Sam shrugged.
"Why say something like that then just disappear? I'll never understand why they do that." I complained. Suddenly we heard more screaming coming from upstairs and bolted up the staircase, finding the hook man lying dead on the floor...scalped.
This wasn't a joke anymore. Something serious was happening, and we needed to figure out how to stop it, fast. Rushing back to the conference room where Chuck was on the stage again, I left Dean and Sam in back of the crowd as I made my way around to get backstage.
"Well guys I guess we're out of time." Chuck spoke into the mic. I walked out on the stage, hearing a couple gasps and murmurs from the crowd. "So thank you for your incredibly probing and rigorous questions, and have a good-" Chuck paused, looking over at me with a slight smile as he backed away from the mic while I leaned in to whisper to him.
"Uh, I don't really know how to put this lightly...so I'm just gonna say it. German Hook Man is dead and there are a few homicidal ghosts floating around this hotel as we speak." I pulled back, seeing that he thought I was joking for a second. I raised an eyebrow, a serious look on my face.
"Holy crap." Chuck muttered, looking horrified as he stared up at me with wide eyes.
"You gotta keep everyone safe in here Chuck. This is life or death."
"For how long?"
"As long as it takes."
"Well...how the hell am I supposed to do that?"
"I have no idea. Just do it." I said, turning and walking off the stage, leaving him to his own devises. These people practically worshiped him, I'm sure he could keep their attention until we get this figured out.
"Okay. So ah, good news. I got much more to tell you... I guess." Chuck said with an uncertain shrug. I jumped off the stage, finding Dean and Sam trying to lure the staff into the auditorium.
"Buddy, I got work to do." The manager said, glancing over at Dean.
"You're gonna want to see this, trust me. It's gonna be a hell of a show." Dean told him, shoving him back in the room slightly. I squeezed out just before Dean closed the door behind me and he and Sam stared laying down a thick line of salt. "Okay. New theory. The legends about Leticia are ass-backwards obviously."
"Yeah. So let's say those three orphans were playing cowboys and Indians." I started.
"LARPing as cowboys and Indians." Dean corrected with a grin.
"Whatever. And let's say they scalped Leticia's son and killed him."
"Mom catches them in the act, flips out, slices them and dices herself." Dean finished.
"If that's true it means we've got three bloodthirsty brats in the building." Sam said.
"Yeah, and Leticia was the only one keeping them under control."
"Smooth move on our part." I commented.
"Yeah, well we gotta get back to the cemetery, torch the kids' bones." Dean said, looking down at me.
"How? We're trapped, we don't even have our guns. The ghosts are running this joint and they're only scared of one thing."
Dean's eyes lit up. "Exactly."
I furrowed my brow, shaking my head. "I've never liked that look."
The woman Dean had been flirting with earlier in the day stood in front of us, arms crossed, an incredulous look on her face.. "You want me to do what?"
"You're an actress. We just want you to act." Dean said, trying to make sound simple.
"I work at Hooters, in Toledo." She said. Dean perked up at the mention of Hooters and I quickly smacked his arm, trying to get him to focus. "No, you can forget it."
"You'll be safe, we promise. This is really important." Sam told her.
Dean jumped slightly as someone slapped their hand on his shoulder. I turned to see the group of our imposters standing there.
"We wanna help." Stocky Dean announced.
"Just give her the puppy dog thing okay?" Dean told Sam, who nodded, turning back to the girl as he and I went over to the group. "Guys, no."
"Why not?" Tiny me asked, her eyebrows raised.
"'Cause this isn't make-believe." I said.
"Look, we know. We're not nuts. We're freakin' terrified." The shorter man said.
"Yeah," The taller one agreed, his voice trembling slightly. "But if all these people are seriously in trouble, we gotta do something."
"Why?" Dean asked.
"Because." The stocky man shrugged. "That's what the Winchesters would do."
After spliting up into groups, Sam took the pretend version of himself Dean while Dean and I took the fake me and the hooters girl. Peering around the corner, I watched as the woman walked nervously into the library, glancing back at us. "I don't wanna do this."
"We're right here, okay?" Dean said, looking around the corner at her. "We've got your back. Trust me, this is going to work."
Dean moved back down next to me with a grimace on his face. He wasn't completely sure this was going to work, I could tell. Tiny me grabbed my hand tightly, looking up at me with an apologetic look on her face. I shook my head, letting her know it was fine.
"Boys? Boys? Come here this instant. You come when I call you. You understand me?" The girl called out into the empty room.
For a while there was no reply, when suddenly a few small voices sounded out. "Miss Gore?"
LOBBY – NIGHT
SPOV
Standing in between the two men, we all threw our wight against the door, trying to force it open. It took a few tries, but eventually, it gave a little and the thinner guy squeezed out, followed by his friend, the both of them holding the door open from the outside so I could slip out as well.
"Come on, we gotta hurry." I said, rushing down the path with the two behind me.
LIBRARY – NIGHT
TPOV
"You boys have been very naughty. Now you open the doors. Open the doors right now." She ordered, her voice shaking a bit. "Very naughty, you hear me?"
Out of no where, music started playing from inside the room. I sighed as Dean leaned his head back against the wall, closing his eyes.
"You stay over here." Dean told me, grabbing the crowbar. I watched as, before he even took another step into the room, he was thrown against the wall. The woman ran over to me, out of the way.
"Dean!" I shouted out as the crowbar slid towards me. I quickly turned to Tiny me, who had a weird expression on her face. "Listen to me, you take that girl and go downstairs...make sure everyone else is okay. Alright? Can you do that?"
She quickly nodded, dragging the girl downstairs as I turned and grabbed the crowbar, running into the room, cutting it into the mist of boys. They disappeared and Dean fell to the floor, so I quickly bent down to help him up.
"Thanks, babe. Don't know what I'd do without you." Dean muttered, catching his breath. Suddenly, I was the one pinned against the wall.
"Tori!" Dean yelled, but before he could do anything, he was pinned to the floor by a little boy, who sat on top of him.
Another boy stood in front of me and I dropped to the ground, on my knees. I struggled with the boy, trying to push him back as he reached around, pulling my hair back. My head snapped backwards as he held the knife to my hairline, I quickly held onto the arm that was welding the knife, trying to push him away. I glanced over to see Dean holding both of the boys hands, one away from his throat and the other holding the knife away.
CEMETERY – NIGHT
SPOV
At the cemetery, we found the boys graves, the three of us each taking one, beginning to dig the dirt out.
"Oh my God. Supernatural makes digging graves seem so easy. It's not though. I'm gonna throw up." The taller man muttered.
"No, you're not." The shorter one said.
"Keep going!" I told them.
After what felt like forever, we all got down to the coffins, ripping them open, pouring kerosene on top of the bones. I lit a match, throwing it into the grave, watching it burn. The taller man did the same, the both of us glancing over at the shorter man, who was repeatedly flicking his lighter.
"How come Dean can always light the stupid thing on the first freaking try? Come on!" He exclaimed, his eyes lighting as the flame appeared, quickly throwing it in the grave.
LIBRARY – NIGHT
TPOV
Suddenly, the boys burnt in front of us, vanishing and I fell to the ground, finally taking a deep breath. I went over to Dean, who was just laying there, staring up at the ceiling.
"You know maybe that guy was right." Dean said, leaning up on his elbows, nodding to the crowbar "Maybe we should put these things on a bungee." I let out a shaky chuckle resting my forehead on his chest.
The sun shined down on us as we headed outside, freely able to open the doors now, walking down the front steps with the trio I'd actually become very fond of over the past few hours. They did save our lives after all.
"You know I gotta hand it to you guys. You really saved our asses back there. So ah, you know, thanks." Dean said, turning to face the three of them. "I don't even know your names."
"Oh. Well, I'm Barnes." The tall guy muttered, pointing to the man to his left, then the girl. "This is Demian and that's Chelsea. What's yours?"
Dean looked over at me, a silent question in his eyes. Should I? I shrugged. Figuring that it couldn't hurt.
"Dean. The real Dean." He replied, nodding to me. "And the real Tori."
A moment of silence passed before the three of them burst out laughing, holding onto each other as they lost it.
"Ah, yeah right. Me too!" Demian laughed.
"Get the hell out of here, Dean!" Barnes exclaimed, nudging Dean's shoulder. Chelsea, stopped laughing way before the two guys, looking up at me with a strange expression as she watched me smile up at Dean.
Dean glanced down at me with a grin, looking back up at them. "Well, anyway. Thanks. Really."
"Yeah, thank you." I nodded. Dean put an arm around my waist and the two of us turned to walk away.
"You're wrong you know." Chelsea said, causing us to turn around.
"Sorry?" Dean asked.
"About Supernatural. No offense but I'm not sure you get what the stories about."
"Really?" I asked as Dean and I exchanged a look, smirking at each other.
"Alright. In real life, he sells stereo equipment." Chelsea said, pointing to Damian. "I work in a shitty retail store, and Barnes fixes copiers. Our lives suck. But to be Sam, Dean and Tori, to wake up every morning and save the world. To have a brother who would die for you and a person who loves you so much that they accept all your flaws and faults. That they'd risk everything...and do anything, just for you." She nodded towards me, looking at Dean's arm around my waist. "Well who wouldn't want that?"
"Maybe you got a point." Dean nodded. "You know, you three don't make a bad team yourselves."
"How do you know each other anyway?" I asked.
"Oh. Well, we met online. Supernatural chat room." Barnes said.
"Well it must be nice to get out of your parent's basement. Make some friends." Dean chuckled. I smacked his stomach lightly, shaking my head.
"We're more than friends." Demian muttered. Part of me actually thought he and Chelsea were together, but that thought immediately washed away when he grabbed Barnes' hand, intertwining their fingers together. "We're partners."
"I'm just the hag." Chelsea laughed, standing next to Barnes, who rested his head on Demian's shoulder.
"Oh, wow. Howdy partners." Dean sputtered out, glancing down at me. I was quite speechless at the moment.
"Howdy." Barnes grinned at us. A few slightly weird moments of silence passed before we said our goodbye's and turned to head back to the Impala.
"Hey!" Chelsea called out again, running over to us as Barnes and Demian went back to their car, waiting for her there.
"What's the matter?" I asked.
"It's completely impossible, right?"
"What is?"
"You're not really...Tori and Dean, are you?" Chelsea asked, looking up at the two of us. I glanced up at Dean, sharing a small look with him. "Oh. My God...you are?"
"Listen, you can't tell anybody, okay?"
"Are you kidding? Of course I'm not gonna say anything, they'd lock me up!" She exclaimed. Dean and I chuckled, smiling at her. "Holy crap. So all- all that stuff actually happened?"
"Yeah."
"You really went to hell?" Chelsea asked, looking up at Dean.
Dean looked slightly uncomfortable for a moment at the mention of hell before nodding. "Yeah, I did."
"I am so sorry."
"It uh- it's okay."
"Well, I guess- I guess I'll let you guys go...you know...save the world."
"Alright." I nodded, smiling at her as Dean and I turned, going over to the Impala, leaning into Dean's side, warpping arms around his middle as he tucked my head under his chin. "Are we finally getting out of the nightmare?"
"I hope. I know I could use a few hours alone with you after this, that's for sure." Dean muttered into my hair.
"I second that."
"This was the weirdest experience of my life."
I chuckled. "Definitely.
Sam walked back over to us, noticing the slight smiles on our faces. "You okay?"
"Yeah, you know? I think I'm good." Dean said. I nodded, agreeing.
"Well, you're not going to believe it, but I got a lead on the Colt."
"What?" I asked, surprised.
"Long story, I'll tell you on the way?" Sam asked.
"What are we waiting for?" Dean asked, shooting me a small smile before the three of us jumped into the car, getting the hell away from this place as fast as we could.
I really love this episode, so I hope I did it justice!
As always, thanks for reading and I hope you guys liked it! Drop a review and lemme kno ;)
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