Author's Note: Epic tie-in! I'll totally give a cookie to the person who knows the episode!
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural.
Chapter Ten
"The front porch? Really?" Nicole questioned as Nathan took a deep breath and blew into the child's swimming pool.
Nathan nodded and gasped for breath, "He won't miss it."
Nicole shrugged, her eyes sweeping the street as she waited for Nathan to finish blowing up the pool. There were a dozen 12-pack containers of pudding stacked on the steps beside her along with a box of Ziploc bags and the note she would slip into the pudding pool. She hadn't told Nathan but she'd spent her entire last two periods of school writing the note just perfect. All it said was 'Yes' but the letters were perfectly spaced, even, and in the best handwriting she could produce. Nathan had typed up instructions for Adam to swim around the pudding to find the answer on a separate sheet of paper they would tape to his front door.
When Nathan was finally done, Nicole put the note in bag and was about to put it in the pool when she stopped, her hand frozen in the air.
"What's wrong?" Nathan asked.
Grinning, Nicole looked up, "What if I didn't put the answer in the pool? What if I put it up in his room along with a cup of pudding?"
Nathan shook with excitement, "I love the way you think!"
So, keeping the note out of the mess, they began emptying containers of pudding into the pool. Nicole also set aside an unopened container to slip into his room later. Spoonful after spoonful they shoveled in, occasionally glancing down the street to make sure Adam wasn't on his way home yet. About half way through, Nicole's cell phone rang.
Setting aside her pudding cup, she dug her phone out of her pocket and glanced at the number, "Hey, Bobby."
"You still got that old Greek text I lent to your father a few years ago?" Bobby Singer's rough voice skipped all formalities.
"I think so, why?" Nicole picked up another pudding and began spooning it out as she listened.
Bobby sighed, "Sam and Dean Winchester are up to the knees in ancient Greek zombie rituals. They asked me to look into how to get rid of the damn thing but Hell if I can find anything. Could you take a peek, see if there's anything in that book about zombies?"
"Zombies?" Nicole asked before mentally slapping her head. With a glance over at Nathan, who looked up curiously, she held up a finger, signaling she'd be right back. When she was off the porch and by her truck, she spoke again, "Zombies, Bobby? I don't know, as far as lore goes, their worse than vampires: hundreds of legends, no one knows what's fact or fiction, and I've never heard of a way to get rid of them."
"Can you just look? These boys have got a real problem on their hand," Bobby asked again.
Nicole climbed into the bed of her truck and unlocked the large cargo locker near the carriage. The lockers were usually used by normal hunters to store guns and ammo, for a hunter like Nicole, it stored much more. She kept the guns and ammo in a secret bottom while books and harmless trinkets sat on top. Bobby's book, an old leather bound text with ancient Greek symbols on the cover, was under a pile of hexes and charms of the nineteenth century.
"I found the book, Bobby," Nicole commented as she flipped through the pages, skimming for any mention of zombies or the undead. She wasn't fluent in ancient Greek, but she knew basic words that were common when hunting various creatures of the night. Zombie was one of them.
"Alight, I found something," Nicole juggled the book and her phone, "It's not exactly an answer, but it might help."
"Shoot," Bobby replied.
"There's a mention of an old ritual they use to perform on their enemies during harvest season," Nicole scanned the text, "They would take dead villagers, pull them from the grave and curse the crops of their enemies. In retaliation, the enemy would stake the undead into their coffins. After that, there's a bunch of symbols I don't know, maybe a spell or something."
Bobby was silent for a moment, "Alright. Send me a picture of the spell, I'll get working on translating it, see if it helps."
Nicole laid the book on the truck bed and used the camera on her phone to snap a picture. "It's on its way, Bobby."
"Thanks, kid," Bobby said before hanging up.
Locking the book back up in the locker, she rejoined Nathan on the porch. A glance at the pudding containers told her they still had three boxes to go.
"Zombies, huh?" Nathan asked casually as they continued to spoon out pudding.
"Yeah, Bobby's a family friend, really into Xbox," Nicole felt the lie slide off her tongue easily, "Got stuck on a level of Dead Rising and needed a hint."
Nathan nodded, "Cool game. Level six is a bitch."
Nicole grinned, using his comment to help her lie, "That's the one he's stuck on."
…
When Nicole got home that night, loaded down with teen magazines full of information on Homecoming that Nathan had lent to her, she found the apartment empty. On the counter was envelope full of cash and a note telling her to take care, her dad would be back in a few days and he'd call when he got to Beauford, North Dakota, the sight of his next hunt.
Nicole stored the cash, most likely hustled out of a game of poker, and headed to her room. With a smile to the green balloon bobbing in greeting, she plopped on her bed and began going through the magazines.
"These will help you get ready for the big day," Nathan had explained when they finished filling the pool and placing the note in Adam's room. "My girlfriend gave them to me for you to borrow, so don't lose them. I'll be in the dog house if you do." Nathan had winked and grinned.
"How come I've never met your girlfriend?" Nicole had asked, thumbing through the magazines.
Nathan's grin widened, "She goes to a private school just outside of town. You and Adam will meet her at Homecoming."
Nicole had cocked an eyebrow and stared in amazement, "Adam hasn't even met her?"
Nathan only shook his head and sauntered to his car. "Is she even real?" Nicole hollered at his back.
She could hear him laughing as he got into his car and drove away.
Whoever his girlfriend was and whether she was real or not, Nicole didn't care. The magazines were a great help. She pulled out a sheet of paper and began taking notes on all the things she would need: a dress, shoes. According to Ms. Suzie's fashion column, she would need a nice, formal dress that was more than Sunday best but less than all out Prom. It would be better if it matched with the boy's outfit and a tragedy if anyone else at the dance had the same dress. Why that was, Nicole couldn't figure out. The shoes needed to be high heels but comfortable to dance in. She would need perfect hair, perfect make-up, perfect everything.
No wonder teenage girls are anorexic, she thought as she read about having 'the perfect…' for the tenth time.
At eleven o'clock, she had a list of needs and no idea how to start filling them. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. Nathan hadn't said it would be this much work just to go to one dance. Foolhardy tradition aside, Nicole just wanted a nice, romantic evening with Adam. If this was the way to get it, she'd have to suck it up and attack it just as she did all the other monsters in her life. Like all other hunts, she would look at her information, analyze the situation, interview experts, get the facts and pull off a somewhat thought out plan.
As she crawled into bed, she resolved to make a stop at the one place she knew someone who could help her sort things out and attack the monster called Homecoming head on.