A/N: I got on a roll this week end! Thanks to Zanita475 and Winchestergirl1994 for revieing Ch. 13. I appreciate it. There's a reference in this chapter to Dean "throwing scissors". I think most of you will get it:) Enjoy!
"Wakey, wakey, eggs and bacey!" Dean sang, inches from MJ's face, stomping his foot down on the mattress.
MJ rolled away from him with a groan. She knew she had to get up early for school, but she felt like she just went to bed.
"Five more minutes."
"Nope, c'mon." Dean insisted, ripping the covers off of her. "You don't have five minutes. Up and at 'em." With a swift motion he yanked her feet off the bed and she was forced into a sitting position.
"Jerk." She scowled up at him.
Dean just grinned down at her. "Nice hair."
"You know," she said getting up and grabbing her bag. "It would be a lot easier to get up in the morning if you weren't snoring in my ear, keeping me up all night." MJ complained, heading to the bathroom.
"I don't snore." Dean called as she slammed the bathroom door.
MJ was surprised at how nervous she was about this. She had butterflies in her stomach as she showered and dressed. She was thinking back to her run in with that tall, blond kid yesterday. It was easy to be quick witted and confident when your big brother was standing ten feet away and you knew you were getting out of there in a matter of minutes. It would be something else entirely when she was stuck in school all day, the new kid, trying to make friends with eight people from three different social circles and at the same time not get made by everyone as the freaky hunter girl.
She emerged twenty minutes later to her brothers' arguing.
"Dean, if she gets caught with it do you realize the kinds of questions that raises?" Sam yelled.
"I'd rather have to answer to some small town cops than send her in unarmed and see her get hurt." Dean argued, placing the eight inch hunting blade in MJ's new back pack. "Besides, she's smart enough to keep it hidden. She's not gonna get caught with it."
'Yes, it's very discrete, Dean." MJ said sarcastically, taking the bag from him.
"You ready?" Dean asked, grabbing his keys.
Sam shook his head, knowing he would lose this one. He turned to MJ.
"You look really nice." He said. "Good luck. Call me if you need anything."
"Thanks, Sammy. You're not coming?" MJ asked him.
"Uh, no, I've got some stuff to do this morning."
MJ thought this was odd, but let it go. She reached up on her tip toes to give him a kiss on the cheek.
MJ checked her hair in the rearview mirror as Dean pulled out of the motel parking lot.
"I need to talk to you about something." Dean said, not taking his eyes off the road.
MJ glanced over and saw that he looked uncomfortable.
"Oh, man, Dean, whatever it is can't it wait? I'm too nervous to have an awkward conversation with you right now."
Dean looked over, something like determination on his face.
"No, it can't wait. It's about the other night. The drinking. How often do you do that?"
MJ was caught off guard. That was the last thing she expected him to bring up.
"Um, never, Dean. I'm with you and Sam 24/7. You would know if I was drinking."
"I mean before Wendy- before when you were-" Dean took a deep breath. "Before you came to live with us. Was it something you did a lot?"
MJ shrugged. "I don't know, once in a while I guess."
Dean just nodded, not responding for a moment. MJ thought that might be it, and was momentarily relieved until he turned to her again.
"Did you do anything else?"
"Anything else?" MJ asked, confused.
"Drugs, MJ. Did you get into drugs?" Dean practically yelled.
"Where the hell is this coming from?"
"Just answer the question."
"No, Dean. I don't do drugs." She crossed her arms and turned toward her window. "Unless you count the ecstasy I would shoot on the week ends, but that was only to make the random hook ups with strange men less awkward." She turned to Dean with a straight face. He stared at her wide eyed, until she couldn't hold it in anymore and giggled.
"That's not funny. I'm serious here. Sam and I decided we need to know what you've...tried in your...past life."
"Oh, I see. That's what you girls were whispering about yesterday morning when I was in the bathroom. Sammy was convincing you I need rehab because I had a few shots." MJ was still smiling, but she was quickly finding herself annoyed with her brothers. Dean's concern now seemed more like suspicion. Sam staying behind this morning now made sense.
"First off, I was the one who brought it up to Sammy because I was worried about you. Second, it's not just that you had a few shots, MJ, it's how you went about it and how comfortable you seemed throwing 'em back."
MJ made no response.
"MJ, I know basically nothing about what your life was like before. I just want to understand so I can make sure you're getting what you need now." Dean concentrated on the road, not daring to make eye contact with his sister.
"I watched my mother waste away into practically nothing, and destroy her life with drugs, Dean. I don't do drugs and I never have." MJ answered. She felt the annoyance slipping away. She couldn't hold onto it when she saw nothing but worry and concern on Dean's face. "And the drinking was just stupid. I was upset, we were in a bar and the guy offered to buy me one. It's not something I plan on repeating."
"Good," was Dean's only response. They drove in silence as they neared the school.
"How'd you get stuck having this conversation with me? Why not Sammy?"
"I'm the oldest. I'm your legal guardian, it's my job." Dean answered matter of factly.
"You threw scissors, didn't you?"
"Yup."
MJ shook her head. "Everytime. When will you learn?" She asked with a smile.
Dean pulled to the curb in front of the high school. MJ took in the building and the students swarming toward it. She had noticed yesterday that it was about a quarter of the size of her old school in Chicago.
"Got everything?" Dean asked.
She nodded.
"Call my cell if you run into any problems." Dean instructed.
MJ took a deep breath and opened her door, stepping out into the humid June morning.
"See ya. Thanks." She said closing the door.
"Hey!" Dean called after her. "Do you need, like, lunch money or something?"
MJ smiled at her brother. "Sammy gave me some." She waved and continued on her way.
Dean watched her walk away, in her blue cotton sundress, thinking she should defintely be wearing a sweater, even as he cursed the balmy heat and removed his leather jacket.
MJ got through her first two classes without incident. Unfortunately she also didn't have a chance to search the victims' lockers or talk to any of their friends. Her third class was a double period biology class. She decided she would leave during the break and hit a couple of the lockers, and claim to have gotten lost if she was gone too long.
MJ caught a break in the bio class. It turned out that Paul Kane, the tongue guy, had been in that class. MJ was partnered with Paul's former lab partner for the time being, seeing as Paul would not be returning any time soon. The girl smiled as MJ took the seat next to her. The tall, lanky girl wore her long, jet black hair in a messy braid, and had at least ten bangles on each wrist. MJ noticed they weren't overly shiny or sparkly, but rather looked to be quite old and tarnished. She had red rimmed glasses and her floor length skirt and lace trimmed top were both black.
"Hi, I'm Sabrina." the girl said as MJ sat beside her.
"Mary Jane, but eveyone calls me-"
"MJ," Sabrina interrupted, smiling more widely. "Yeah, smart move. I'd go by the shortened version, too if I was named after a mind altering substance.
"Exactly." MJ felt immediately at ease talking to Sabrina. They chatted idly while they set up their lab, which would be taking them both periods to complete. MJ was hoping that this would make it easier to sneak away unnoticed for long enough to get some searching done.
Sabrina told her that she had moved here in September from Texas. She came to live with her aunt after her parents were killed in a car crash.
"Believe me." Sabrina was saying as she placed a drop of water on the microsope slide. "Most of the people here won't even say boo to you, but it's not because they're unfriendly. It's because they are afraid of you. I swear, anyone from anywhere beyond Columbus is a foreigner to them."
"So, what's the deal?" MJ asked, deciding it was safe to bring it up. "Some kid in my English class said that three kids were like, attacked here the past few weeks." With a little luck, Sabrina would give her what she needed and they could get on with it.
Sabrina just shrugged. "Freak accidents, I guess. You know how people like to talk, start rumors."
"Well, what are the rumors?" MJ asked, trying to sound only mildly interested.
"Nothing worth repeating." Sabrina said, adjusting the focus on the microscope. "Hey, when's your lunch?" she asked suddenly.
As it turned out they were in the same lunch period. This came as a relief to MJ since she didn't want to be the new girl, sitting alone at lunch while everyone watched her like she was on display. But she was disappointed that Sabrina wouldn't give her the dirt on the 'freak accidents'. She supposed she would have to track down the list people after all.
MJ was able to sneak away early at the end of the class, by telling the teacher she couldn't get into her locker and needed to go to the office. She had time to search Tressa Gillette and CJ Pratt's lockers, finding nothing of interest, unless you counted the hald eaten ham sandwich CJ had left behind. That certainly looked like a cursed object.
She wrinkled her nose and slammed the locker shut, jumping when she noticed someone standing beside her in the otherwise deserted hallway.
"Hey, again." It was the blond kid from yesterday.
"Hi." MJ responded, her face burning. Relax, she thought. He doesn't know you were doing anything shady.
He pointed behind her. "That's CJ's locker." He said simply.
Or maybe he does.
"Oh." She said, trying to look innocently confused. "Who?"
"What were you doing in there?"
"I'm so lost. I thought this was my locker, which obviously it's not."
He crossed his arms over his chest. "How'd you get it open?" he asked, definitely suspicious.
MJ shrugged. "I guess the office gave CJ and I the same combination. That's not very safe. I mean, how many other people have the same combination? There's probably only like four total and they just rotate. No wonder people's things are always getting stolen." She was rambling now, totally mortified and also a little thrown by this guy's exquisite eyes. She hadn't noticed how blue they were yesterday. She took a deep breath. "Did you know there's a sandwich in there?" She asked, stupidly.
The guy grinned. "That's CJ for you. He always has food tucked away all over." He shook his head. "Sorry about the third degree, it's just people have been snooping around, grilling me, trying to get the goods about CJ's-" He stopped short and extended his hand. "Anyway, I'm Spencer Cole."
"Mary Jane Hanson." She said taking his hand. "MJ." She corrected herself.
"MJ." He said, grinning. "Sorry about yesterday. I was being a dick."
"Apology accepted." She said with a smile. If he was CJ's friend, she needed to get to know him.
"Let me help you find your next class, to make it up to you." He offered.
"Okay."
"So, you were pretty quick with the comebacks yesterday. You've had a lot of practice warding off pushy show offs?" He asked as they made their way down the hall.
"I have two older brothers who like to pick on me, so I learned out of necessity."
"Oh. So are they going here, too?"
"No, they're a lot older. They're my half brothers. I'm staying with them while my dad's away for a while. On business." MJ grappled around in her head, trying to figure out how to change the subject. She hated talking about herself, plus this really wasn't going to lead to any answers about the case.
"So, 'Cole' as in Principal Cole?" She asked.
"Yeah, he's my dad."
"Oh, that sucks. You must never get away with anything."
Spencer shrugged. "Small town. No one gets away with anything. For example," He gestured around at some of the people who were watching them pass, eyeing them suspiciously. "Before I get home today, my mother will already know that I walked the new girl to class."
They had stopped outside a classroom MJ assumed was her global studies class. "So much for anonymity." She said with a sigh. "Thanks."
"Be seein' ya." He said with a smile, before turning and walking away.
MJ hoped he meant it, and not just so she could talk to him about the case.
Please review! Thoughts on Spencer?