Chapter Twenty-nine.
Wow. Please take the oodles of apologies I am throwing out here to you guys. I have just NOT had time to write this week. Therefore, I legit just wrote this ENTIRE thing for you TONIGHT. Well, last night into today. I wanted to get you a chapter that bad. I feel horrible that I took so long. Please, forgive me.
I do not want to promise that you will be receiving another chapter this weekend, because honestly, I haven't even gotten a chance to start homework - that's how intense my life has been. And I know that if I go and promise you a chapter, and I don't get it out, I will just beat myself up about it. Therefore I will promise that I will totally TRY and work on another chapter to get out as soon as I possibly can.
A MILLION thanks to all the reviewers/PMers/adders/readers! The dedication you all have, even when I can't get a chapter out, astounds me. You're all my heroes/heroines. I cannot express my true gratitude. You amaze me so much. I'm in awe.
Thanks to Jenmm31 for her help. You know the drill. Head on over to her page and read, review, and send her some ideas. She loves you just as much as I do; so show her how much you guys care.
With that being said, I hope this chapter is up to all of your expectations. Also, I did indeed proofread; however, take into account that it is 4 am and I may have missed one, two, seventy-six things.
READ. REVIEW. ENJOY. :)
Disclaimer.
Movies: Sixteen Candles.
I also reference brand names in here that I have no ownership or relation or anything to do with.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no," I chanted as I shook my face into the pillow and clutched onto the mattress beneath me. My arms were spread out on my sides, to the edges of the large bed, and my nails were digging into the material so hard that it actually hurt. I clenched my teeth as I felt the grip around my ankles tighten, and then suddenly my body was hovering off of the mattress as I continued to hold on for dear life. Dropping back to the bed, my face sunk into the pillow, but I dared not release my hands.
This had been heaven, and I was enjoying it way too much to end it now. In fact, I was enjoying it so much that there had been a beach, a hammock, a pure white piña colada, and a very tan, very strong, very yummy man lying next to me as we slowly swayed in the warm island air. However, that had been a dream. A beautiful, magical, warm, blush causing dream. And it ended. Why did it end? Well, see, I have this brother; who is a pain in my butt. And he whipped my blankets off of me, so there went my warmth. Then he was yammering on about some stupid police scanner business – interrupting my quiet, peaceful, blissful, relaxing, beach adventure. And then he was trying to force me from my first bed since I've seen his ugly mug. Do you know the last time I got a bed? When my dad ditched me. That's right. I only got a bed when Dean or my dad wasn't there. And that's not too often. I'm seriously never alone, well, like I am, during the day because I am a crap hunter; but at night – when sleeping hours are most important, I'm very often surfing it up in Sofa City. Regardless. My dream had been interrupted. My sweet slumber had been ended before my body decided it needed be. And I was now holding onto the mattress like a spider monkey while Sam pulled on my ankles like the claw machine versus Woody in Toy Story. This was already obnoxious.
"Becca… let's… go!" Sam bit as he tugged on my ankles, raising my body off of the mattress again.
Groaning as he dropped me onto the bed once more, I turned my face so that I could see the wall away from me. "No! Go away, dream crusher! Let me sleep!" I yelled to him, digging my nails even farther into the material.
Sam ran a hand over his face as he rolled his eyes up to the ceiling and grew even more impatient with me. "Come on, we gotta go check out that call. Someone died, Becca, and you'd rather just sleep?"
He couldn't see it, but I was totally giving him my "are you freaking kidding me right now, just shut up" face. "I don't see it being beneficial if I go and try to solve some case when I haven't gotten a full night's rest. No sleep makes for a cranky Becca. I may or may not go all Godzilla on the town if you make me leave now. Besides, I'm gonna wanna shower."
"Just get up, you can shower when we get back, okay? Now, move!" Sam was now trying to pry my right hand off of the mattress, and he was totally winning.
My hand snapped up, and I could see the look of accomplishment spread all through his eyes and end down to his smile. Horror crossed my face and I struggled to release my one hand while re-gripping the mattress with my other one and trying to use my feet to anchor myself closer to bed. "Sam, why don't you go bother Dean, huh? He's gonna be a bigger problem anyway. I can handle my body's funk, but that guy…"
"Ugh, Dean," I saw recognition flash in Sam's eyes as he groaned before his hands dropped mine back down, and his big feet clunked their way out of the room.
Holy crap. Is he gone? I peered over my shoulder to double check the doorway, and Sam was indeed absent from it. I moved at the speed of lightening. I was quickly off of the bed, and then back on it a second time, wrapped up in my newly made, plush, comforter cocoon. I bet if you looked at me right now, all you would see was my face, peaking out, listening to Sam's one sided conversation in the hall.
"Dean, a police call came in on the scanner… Someone was found dead three blocks from here. Come on," Sam stopped and I heard a door open.
"This shower is awesome," Dean told Sam.
I rolled my eyes, and snuggled deeper into the bed and its blanket. "Come on," Sam told him. "I'm gonna need your help getting Becca out of bed. She's about as in love with that thing, as you are with that car."
Footsteps were nearing my doorway, and I felt my entire body tense out of instinct. You never know what to do when these two are around, and I don't know why, but I really feel like they are just brutal to me sometimes. "Sammy, that is not just a car," Dean was telling him as they both walked into the room I'd adopted. I immediately started laughing at Dean. There was a towel wrapped around the top of his head, and he was looking very pleased with himself. "What?" he questioned with a confused face as I continued to cause the cocoon to shake with the laughs rolling through my body.
"What's with the towel? You have like, next to no hair!" I chuckled as I pulled the blanket tighter to me.
Dean grimaced and lifted a brow, one of his hands making their way to the towel wrapped around his hair. Before I could blink, it was off of his head, and covering my face. And it was damp, and smelled of shampoo. Well, at least he's freshly cleaned. I just really hoped he'd used this towel for strictly his hair. Nudging and twisting my face so that the towel fell and was lying more in front of me than on me, I glared up at him. "Get up, freak. We gotta case to check out," he instructed as Sam looked doubtful.
I shrugged in my wrap. "Go without me."
"Trust me," Dean smiled, "I'd love to; but Sam here, whew. This guy sorta thinks we need you or something. So, because I don't wanna hear him bitch like a little girl this early in the morning, you're comin' with us. Now move."
What a bunch of bull. I'm not about to just move because Dean got kicked out of the shower and Sam thinks all three of us need to be there. And I didn't move. Instead I snuggled in deeper and stuck my tongue out at him. Dean waved me off and I saw Sam not understand as Dean turned and signaled for them to leave the room. Suck it, Sam. Now, Imma lay here and do what I do best. Ignore your two overgrown selves, and Imma sleep 'til noon. I heard the thudding of their feet against the carpet, and I smiled before attempting to drift back off to dream land. You would think that having grown up with Tweedle Dee and Dum over here, that I would know better. But I don't. I'm a complete idiot. Why did I just assume that they would leave the house without me? Because that's not what happened. No. What happened was, that instead of them actually letting me sleep, I was picked up like a giant burrito, and carried, like a dead body through the house and down to the Impala where I was then stuffed into the backseat and buckled in so intricately that I don't even know how they did it. Now, I don't know if you remember me telling you that I was wrapped up like a cocoon, but I was, so by them buckling me into the seat, I couldn't freaking get out. I was laying here, face up, staring at the roof of the Impala while these two went back to 'get our gear'. I was instantly regretting the cocoon decision.
They finally climbed into the car, and Sam looked down at me, from where he was looking over the back of the seat, so that he could back out of the garage while Dean held the door open. So not only am I sitting back here like a mummy, but I still don't get to drive the car. This is not freaking fair. Dean got into the car, and instead of being a normal person and just sitting there, facing the front, he was instead on his knees, smiling down at me.
"I hate you," I grumbled as I struggled to lift my head and glare at him.
"You love me," he argued with a smirk.
Shaking my head, the best I could, I shrugged inside my blanket. "I'm pretty sure I don't."
Dean shrugged and turned to the front of the car when Sam cut into the conversation with a 'Hey, check it out.' They were both quiet as they watched whatever was going on outside the car, and I felt the car shift and then the vibration beneath my back ended. I sighed as the front doors crunched open and then slammed shut, and I wiggled my toes as I patiently waited for someone to open one of my doors and free me. Any minute now. Yep. It won't be Dean who saves me, because he's Dean. So it's gonna be Sam. In five… four… three… two… one… WHAT THE HELL!? Why are my doors still closed? Why is there no Sam unbuckling me? Why am I still wrapped up like a sub sandwich back here? COME ON. I twisted. I turned. I pulled. I pushed. I kicked. I tugged. Nothing. What is this blanket a straight jacket in disguise? What is this nonsense? Wait a second. My right hand was loosening up, and I could feel its freedom coming on quickly. Just a little more. I bit the side of my tongue and closed my eyes in concentration as I tried to work my hand out of the tangle of blankets it'd become trapped in. Just as my hand was about to make it all the way out of the comforter, a voice came through the window, and I jumped as my hand snapped out, successfully colliding with my chin. Awesome. "You better not be getting all in your lady business back here." That's the line that caused me to jump and smack myself. Thanks, Dean.
I groaned and reached my hand around the lump of blanket and finally figured out how to unbuckle this tangled mess they'd confined me to. "I'm not getting in all in my lady business, you freak," I rubbed at my chin as I attempted to wiggle my cocoon out of the seatbelts. "Can you help me sit up, please?"
"Say you love me," he teased.
This asshole. Is he seriously gonna make me say that? I looked to the window that sat next to where his head was sticking into the car, and then up towards the window at my head, and Sam was nowhere to be found. "I'm not saying that," I grumbled as I tried to use my hand to pull myself up, while at the same time trying to move off of the edges of the blanket that were tucked underneath my body. If you think that I could have one successful moment of salvaging dignity while trying to prove a point to my brother, you'd be just as silly minded as I am. Because instead of being as smooth as silk, I did free myself… from the seat, and straight into the small space that was the floor between the two seats. I couldn't help but cry out in frustration as Dean laughed loudly while I just unfortunately continued to wedge myself deeper into the space. "Deeeeeeeeeean," my muffled voice came from where my face was buried against Sam's rough book bag. "I loooooooooooooove you," I whined as he started to choke and cough on his laughter.
I think I have book bag burn on my face. It hurts that bad. Dean did finally help me untangle myself from the blanket, but he made sure to snap a few photos on his phone… and then called Sam over to do the same. I don't know which one is worse. The one where I am dangling from a window? Nah, it's probably the one where I unknowingly had the words 'Crab Shack' across my forehead from when I'd fallen asleep outside, and Dean used sunscreen to 'protect me from Melanoma'. No, no. I know. It was for sure the one from when I walked around the diner with the pore strip stuck to my nose because I forgot. Yep. That one definitely outdid this one right now, of me, face down and stuck between the seats of the Impala, looking like an albino burrito. All I'm saying is that this guy has too many black mail photos of me, and I do not have enough to counteract. We must figure out a way to change this. Well, not now, because we're waiting for Matt, but eventually. We will figure this out. I was too busy picking at a jagged nail that I'd ripped, to notice that Matt had gotten off of his school bus and was now walking anywhere.
"Isn't his house that way?" Dean's voice drew my eyes up from my fingernail that I was trying to fix, to where he was pointing… And Matthew was definitely walking the other way.
"You stalkin' underage boys now, Dean?" I questioned, switching my eyes from the kid to my nail and back repeatedly. Dean adjusted his shoulders in his jacket and grumbled a 'shut up' while Sam just nodded and replied 'yep' to Dean's question. Actually, he didn't specify who he was talking to, so it might have actually been to my question. That's way creepy. Do you know how many times I've had a soiled mind since we started this case? Both figurative and literal? I got people suggesting my brothers are romantically involved, then I got my brother playing into it, then I have a hopefully fresh towel thrown in my face, and then I finally get free from the Impala, only to find that there was a dirty sock, against my forehead… Now my brother may or may not be stalking teenage boys. I'm totally going to need a counselor soon. "All right, since you two know his daily schedule – which is a totally different, yet scary, issue – where's he going?"
No answers. Not vocal answers anyways. They just both got out of the car, leaving me to follow them. And would you look at where the freaking heck they are headed? THE MUTHA FUGGEN WOODS. That's right. I'm about to get eaten by a wendingo… again. If Dean goes missing, we don't even have M&Ms to follow. Imma just leave him here this time though. As the guys made their way into the woods, I quickly caught up. I'm not about to be separated, are you nuts? That's total Bad News Bears. And do you know what bug boy was doing when we finally found him? He was watching the biggest bug I have ever seen, in all my life. And do you know what kind of bug it was? The scariest kind! A grasshopper. First of all, they are too scary. What the heck can jump that high?! It's totally unnatural, and we should be carrying around bottles of Raid to wipe out the entire species. Second, why the HELL is that thing the size of my head!? Dude, are the bugs in Oklahoma on steroids or something? This is so nauseating. Ugh, I hate bugs so much right now. Well, not just now, but all the time. Now specifically though, because that grasshopper is probably thinking of fifty ways to eat me. Gross.
"Hey, Matt. Remember me?" Sam called out as we neared Matt, causing him to jump.
Matt turned to face us, shock all over his face before he turned back around and started watching that monster of a grasshopper again. "What are you doin' out here?"
Freaking, not looking for bugs you weird freak. I stood behind my brothers, making sure that if the grasshopper launched itself towards us that I was able to duck either left or right without being hit. Sometimes the guys just gotta take one for the team. "Oh, you know," I tried to sound not freaked out as I continued to watch the bug, "pickin' out fabric for our new couch covers and what not…"
"We wanna talk to you," Dean sighed as I sarcastically responded.
"You're not here to buy a house, are you?" Matt asked with a small smile as Dean shook his head. Well, someone gets an A plus for participation. Good work, Matt. You clearly figured out our ploy. "W-wait. You're not serial killers?"
Was that a legitimate question, or was he still not sure? Come on now. Do we really come off as scary, 'we know how to make your body disappear' type people? Dean, maybe, but me? I'm as innocent now as the day I was born. You can see it in my eyes. They haven't seen nothin'. "No, no. No, I think you're safe," Sam assured him. Don't go telling people not to fear us. We're not just cuddly kittens over here or anything. I may be innocent, and we may not be actual serial killers, but by telling someone we aren't, I lose badass points – and after my blanket burrito, sock in the face incident, I need all the badass points I can get.
Dean stepped forward. "So, Matt… you sure know a lot about insects."
"So?"
"So, lemme break it down for you, bug boy. That Lynda realtor lady died this morning… she was bit by like a billion million spiders," I told him. I could see this was going to be a bit more difficult that I'd figured. He was not catching onto my blaming him. "Dude." He still wasn't getting it. "You were trying to send your giant, bird eating, spider, pet, thing on her."
Mat rolled his eyes and then it hit him. "Wait. You think I had something to do with that?" Ding, ding, ding. Finally. I'm taking back my A plus from earlier. This kid was not grasping the concept as quickly as he had been before. That's slacker work, Matt. Get focused. Geez la wheeze.
I shrugged as though it could in fact be him, and Dean got all stern faced and nodded his head slightly, becoming serious. "You tell us." Yeah, you tell us! The quicker we get an answer, the quicker I get away from the giant bugs in the woods, and then out of the woods altogether.
"That tarantula was a joke. Anyway, that wouldn't explain the bee attack or the gas company guy," Matt defended.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, 'That tarantula was a joke.'?! What are you nuts?!" I exclaimed just as Sam, in a much more relaxed, shocked manner asked, "You know about those?"
Why do I get the feeling that Sam and I need to have a Pow-Wow about the importance of things on a hunt? OBVIOUSLY we need to focus on this kid thinking that it's a joke to serve humans to spiders; and not the fact that he knows the rumors that fly around this suburban community. God, I mean, half of them probably think Sam and Dean are on their way to getting married while Sam's sister tags along as some 'fake girlfriend' or something. Oh God, I feel like I just sinned. I've now included myself in their fake romance. Did I say I was nauseous before? I may need a bucket now. Double gross. "There is somethin' going on here," Matt explained. It took every ounce of me to not say, 'Ya fuggen think?' and I think I should get a cookie for being so polite. "I don't know what…" Matt continued, "but something's happening with the insects. Let me show you something." He then grabbed his book bag and took off deeper into the woods, Sam right on his heels. Well, the nerds will unite.
Dean looked at me and shrugged, and I felt my body shudder as he nodded for me to follow deeper into the woods. I hate bugs. I hate woods. I hate bugs in the woods. This Matt kid better have some dynamite information, dragging me out here and away from my snuggly bed. Asshole. "So, if you knew about all this bug stuff, why not tell your dad?" I heard Sam asking from where he was a couple paces ahead of Dean and me. "Maybe he could clear everybody out."
"Believe me, I've tried," Matt sighed with a bitter tone. "But, uh, Larry doesn't listen to me." Here we go with the first name thing again. Look, Matt, I have said some pretty harsh things to my dad but not once have I ever called him 'John' because his name is 'Dad'. I don't know why that bothers me as much as it does right now.
Sam scoffed and the noise brought my eyes up from the forest floor, where I was trying to not trip, to where his head tipped back slightly. "I hear you," he confessed. Oh goodie, here comes this bag of awesome. Dean doesn't get Sam's feelings for Dad – and whether he wants to or not, he's about to find out what they are.
Dean seemed, unsurprisingly, taken aback and froze for a small second as I continued to move on down the path. "You do?"
Sam shot us the 'freaking, are you serious right now, you know this' look before talking to Matt again. And his look was sort of accurate. Like I say, I know about Sam's feelings, because back when we were cool – and talking – he told them to me. However, Dean is oblivious to Sam's struggle. Well not so much oblivious as it is ignorant. Dean only sees Dad's side, and that's a struggle to deal with on its own. I couldn't take the tension that somehow managed to fill the air, and I called to Matt who was a few feet head of Sam. "Yo, Matt, how old are you anyway? Like seventeen?" If this kid was near eighteen, he could just move out, and then he wouldn't have to deal with his dad. At least, he could do it decent, and actually tell everyone in his family what's happening. And then he can have a semi-normal family instead of a brood of unhappy Winchesters.
"Sixteen."
"Well, don't sweat it, because in two years, something great's gonna happen," Sam cut in after giving Dean an angered look.
"What?" Matt seemed completely sarcastic.
I smiled as I picked up my own downtrodden mood. "Well, for starters, you'll be eighteen. And even though that means you can vote, which is for sure not as exciting as it sounds, you can totally go and –"
"College," Sam stopped me. "You'll be able to get out of that house and away from your dad."
"What kind of advice is that? Kid should stick with his family," Dean immediately cut in.
Did I not say this was going to happen? I think I called this. Bartender, we can use a round over here. That will be four shots for me. "Dean," I sighed, along with Sam. Sam, however, glared at Dean, while I shot him a look of plea. "I was gonna say you could just move out, like to a different part of town or something, Matt. Just give yourself space; space is a good thing – but don't ditch. It's worth it to keep in touch with your family," I glared at the back of Sam's head. I hope he got what I was saying. Not everyone who goes to college just completely drops their family, do they? I'm pretty sure that was just my one brother's dick move.
Sam didn't even seem to want to hear what I had to say. "How much further, Matt?" his voice was forced through a tight jaw. He can suck it up. I am so right. It's totally better if you at least admit to having a family. How can he seriously advise that Matt just ditch – with no looking back? Dean though, he needs to relax. Not everyone can be on the family chain gang like we can. Different people don't live like this, and I feel like sometimes he forgets that.
Matt trudged on, seeming a little be happier. "We're close."
I didn't miss as Sam shot glares over my head towards Dean, and then angry eyes down to me. What the hell did I do? Throw his crap in his face? Deal with it, he throws all kinds of nonsense in my face, so karma's a pain, huh! Dean was grumbling under his breath as we followed Sam and Matt who were talking quietly. Finally we made into a huge clearing, and I felt goose bumps cross my skin as I heard a loud buzzing. Except it wasn't just one buzzing. It was like a thousand bugs were sitting above my head, buzzing as loudly as they could. I don't necessarily know that there were bugs in the air, but I was swatting away at them regardless. Call it psychosomatic if you want, but I'm not taking any chances.
"I've been keeping track of insect populations. It's, um, part of an AP science class," Matt told us as he stopped in the middle of the clearing and faced us with a shy face. Right. AP class, that's code for, 'Imma geek and this is actually my favorite hobby – but Imma blame it on my nerd class'. It's cool, Matt.
Smiling, but covering my mouth with a hand so that I didn't offend anyone, I nudged Dean in the ribs for his comment of, "You two are like peas in a pod." They really were. Man, maybe Sam should have had this kid for a younger twin instead of me. There'd be a whole lot more than just the motel roaches to deal with though. Ew. Now I'm not gonna feel safe in a motel tonight. I'm totally going to make Sam and Dean check everywhere so that I don't die.
"What's been happening?" Sam questioned as he ignored Dean.
"A lot. I mean, from bees to earthworms, beetles… you name it," Matt answered. "It's like they're congregating here."
I instantly perked up. "Sweet. All the bugs are hangin' out here, in this clearing?" I pointed both of my index fingers down to the ground at my feet. Matt nodded to me, not understanding. "Perfect," I turned to Dean. "You got lighter fluid and a match? If we torch this entire area, all the bugs are gone. Boom, bam, done. Take me back to my blanket cocoon, bro. Let's go!" I shoved a fist in the air, feeling accomplished.
Dean playfully pushed me to the side with that crooked side grin he does. "Why are the bugs all comin' here?" he pressed to Matt.
"I don't know," he shrugged with a defeated expression. Oh yeah, that was worth shoving my idea out of the window. Wanna reel it back in there? 'Cause I do.
"What's that?" Sam spoke, indicating to a very large, dark area of dirt and grass in the distance.
I leaned past Matt and looked. "Uh, I'm pretty sure that's called the ground, Sam. It pretty much covers everything." Sam rolled his eyes at me and began to walk over to it. Being led forward by Dean, I froze as we got to the edge. I have never seen so many worms in my life. Not even gummy worms. This is straight up gross. I tried to step backwards, but Dean's hand on my lower back stopped me.
"Touch it, Becca," he told me.
"Are you freakin' nuts? You touch it," I dodged around his hand and stood behind him, nodding to the dirt. And he did. He stepped up and tapped his toe to the ground and it broke beneath his boot. That does not seem safe! The ground is literally crumbling at our feet, and we're surrounded by bugs. Yep, it's the end of the world. Pack your bags, fill your tubs, and buy some Spam. That crap is coming in fast, folks. Do you know what Dean did next? He dug his hand into the hole! And because I am a very worried, very loving, baby sister, I threw on my fearful expression and looked over his back – to make sure his hand didn't go missing or anything. Oh great, now he's poking around the hole with a stick.
His body tensed up and then he began to reach further into the hole. "There's somethin' down there." He seriously better not lose a limb. Dean ditched the stick and started digging around with his hand again, and then I heard him 'ugh' with straight disgust. I didn't see what he brought out of the hole – until he turned around and started shoving it towards me. It was a skull, covered in worms. And the thing that freaked me most, was the worms. I've dealt with human remains, but those squiggly, squirmy, crawling lines? Ew. Dean had a look of entertainment on his face as he shook the skull slightly, causing worms to tumble to the ground at my feet. I just want you all to know, I screamed like a girl when one fell on my shoe. I kicked my foot and the worm that had dropped onto the toe of my sneaker flew into Sam's pant leg where he jumped back. Ha, I knew I wasn't the only one freaked out by bugs.
