Author's Note: WOW, it feels like just yesterday I started writing this story. Let me just say that I have loved every second of writing this story and have really fallen in love with the characters as well. I hope you all stick with me, because I have tons planned for them for the sequel. I can't wait to show you what's next. Let's just say, the sequel starts where it all began: Victoria and Haley with the diaries. Lyrics in this chapter are from "Waiting For My Chance to Come" by Noah and the Whale. PLEASE listen to it while you read this chapter.
"Well I'm just waiting for my chance to come; just a silhouette against the rising sun. Watch the water, watch the sky. Count the days as they go by. I'm just waiting for my chance to come…"
"There you are! I've been looking all over for you," Meredith heard a voice call out to her. She turned around, to see her husband standing in the hallway and holding his hand out to her. "Come one. We're going to be late."
"Coming," she answered, a wide grin spreading across her lips.
"Where were you anyways?" Dean asked, as he and Meredith hurried down the hall towards an exit and on the way to the football field.
"I stopped by my classroom. I wanted to look around a bit," Meredith answered.
"Nerd," Dean teased.
"Shut up," Meredith said, playfully nudging him.
"How'd you sleep last night?" he asked, draping an arm around her as the two made their way to the football field, tangled up in each other.
"Great, for once," Meredith answered, a true smile on her face. Dean loved seeing her like this again. Before, when they were still hunting down the first, he could tell that her smile had been different. It wasn't the smile he was used to, but this one, this was it. He smiled back. He took her hand and led her to their seats on the grass across from the makeshift stage set up outside.
Meredith nodded. She hadn't been plagued with any more warning or cryptic mommy message dreams anymore. She was finally able to sleep peacefully.
"We were starting to wonder where you two guys were. It's almost starting!" Jude said, as his parents took their seats.
"Well, we're back in time. Hey, this was you four years ago," Meredith reminded.
Jude grinned, "I know. It's weird being back here."
"And it'll be you two in three years. That's even weirder," Dean chimed in, gesturing towards the twins. Flynn and Victoria exchanged glances, laughing.
"Oh come on, Dad! Let's not rush it," Flynn said.
"Yeah. We're barely sophomores," Victoria added.
"So let me get this straight. Are you two saying that you wouldn't actually mind being home for three more years?" Meredith joked.
"No," Flynn said.
"We're just saying that skipping over those three years is way too scary right now. We just kicked some major demon ass and uh… let's take it one step at a time," Victoria chuckled.
"And if we have to be stuck with a family for the next three years… this one's not too bad," Flynn joked.
"What he said," Victoria added.
Meredith, Dean, and Jude all chuckled.
"Sorry! Oh, thank God it hasn't started yet. I thought we were going to be late!" a familiar voice said, shuffling through the seats. "Mer!"
"Perpetually late, Molly. Tsk, tsk," Meredith teased as Meredith, Ethan, and Iz all sat down next to the Winchester family.
"Hey! It takes a while to get this beautiful," Molly joked, causing Meredith and Ethan to both snort with laughter.
"You could've just blamed it one Ethan. That's what she does with me," Dean suggested.
"Yeah, but with good reason. I remember, back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth, you two were always late for stuff because you and Dean were too busy-," Ethan started.
"Ethan, not here!" Meredith exclaimed, laughing.
"What? You've scarred me for life. I'm bound to bring it up and torture you with it," Ethan said. Meredith rolled her eyes playfully and she got up to say hi and kiss him on the cheek.
"Can you believe your kids are graduation today?" She asked.
"Not at all," Ethan answered. "Yeah, but at least this isn't your first to graduate. This is my first as a parent."
"Aww, you're like a baby," Meredith teased, patting him on the cheek causing him to swat away her hand and them to both laugh.
"You know, if they hadn't always been like this, I'd be worried," Dean said, leaning over to Molly.
"You and I both," she agreed.
"Hey, sorry we're late. We didn't miss anything, right?" Sawyer asked, as they entered the row of chairs from the other side, of Dean and Meredith's family.
"See? We're not the latest ones," Ethan pointed out.
"Good work, genius," Meredith said, sarcastically.
"How're you guys feeling?" Sam asked, sitting down in the seat one away from Victoria. "You excited for John?"
"Yeah," Flynn said.
"And surprised he made it so far," Victoria added, jokingly.
Sam chuckled.
He and Sawyer sat next to the twins, followed by Greer and Cole, and Jackson. Haley shuffled passed all of them to take her seat next to Victoria.
"You look so cute! Is that the dress you bought at that boutique in Pennsylvania?" Haley asked.
"Yes! I love yours too. Hey, have you heard from Owen lately?" Victoria asked.
Haley shrugged, "Yeah, I guess. I don't know. It's summer and he'll be in Alaska the whole time and… I don't know. I don't know if either of us wants to really continue a relationship."
"Well, I'm here if you need to talk… make a pros and cons list… you get the gist," Victoria offered.
Haley smiled, confidently, "Yeah, I know."
Victoria smiled back before the principal began to walk onstage.
"Oh my God, it's starting!" Molly exclaimed, practically jumping out of her seat. Dean and Meredith exchanged glances, chuckling and Ethan attempted to calm her down.
The graduation began and all the parents were teary eyed as they saw their kids enter. Since both John and Renee had last names that began with 'W', it took a while to get to them.
"Renee Andrea Walsh," one of the teachers read aloud, as Renee walked up on stage, her high heels clicking as she walked.
"Yeah, Renee!" Iz cheered, cupping her hands around her mouth to amplify her praise.
"That's my girl!" Ethan exclaimed, while Molly just clapped incessantly, sniffling and fighting back tears.
The Winchesters as well shouted out encouraging things and clapped as loudly as possible. Renee chuckled, hearing her family as she walked off stage.
"Sarah Li Wang," the speaker read out as the crowd died down.
"He's next," Victoria hissed, nudging her brothers and showing them the program. The crowd died down once again and they heard it. This day had finally come.
"John Caleb Winchester," the speaker announced.
Out of nowhere, several noises of applause and congratulations from John's family were unleashes. Meredith clapped and smiled proudly while Dean called out something.
"Right back at ya, little brother. Getting that high school diploma!" Jude yelled.
"Wooo! Yeah, John!" Victoria and Flynn exclaimed. John shook the principal's hand, took his diploma, and instead of going off stage immediately, paused, held up his diploma proudly and walked off stage, causing all of his family to laugh.
"Henry David Zenick," the speaker announced. The student walked across the stage and the graduation was officially over. The graduates stood up, following through with the recession, and the crowd was dismissed. Tons of eager parents rushed off to see their kids. Meredith, Dean, Molly, Ethan, Sawyer, and Sam made their way through the crowd to see John and Renee.
"Congratulations, baby," John said, happily, pecking Renee lightly on the lips.
"You too. We did it! And now… Pennsylvania," she smiled. Her heart was soaring and it felt like everything was falling into place. John was demon-less for now and they were going to get to be together the next year.
"Together," he said.
She nodded but they were quickly interrupted by their parents.
"Oh, I don't want to interrupt but come here!" Molly squealed, seeing her daughter.
"Mom!" Renee grinned, seeing her mom and jumping into her arms.
"I'm so proud of you, sweetheart," her mom said back.
"We really are. You're going to do great things… you already are," Ethan said, when it was his turn to hug his daughter.
"Ahh, congrats! You're a high school graduate now! How does it feel?" Iz asked, hugging her sister tightly.
"Great. How does it feel to be an incoming freshman?" Renee shot back.
"Not as great… what am I going to do without you next year?" she asked.
Renee chuckled, "You'll be fine. And you know I'm a phone call away."
"You did good, kid," Dean said, upon seeing John.
"Hey, guys! I heard you all up there loud and clear," John chuckled, hugging his dad.
"What can we say? We're proud," Meredith replied, as John hugged her tightly.
"Thank you, Mom," John smiled, pulling away. Before he could say anything else, he was eagerly ambushed by the rest of them.
"Come her, man. Dude, congrats. How does it feel?" Jude asked, pulling his brother into one of those 'bro' hugs.
"Pretty damn good… pretty damn good," John nodded.
Jude laughed, "Yeah, well now you're stuck with me in Pennsylvania. It'll be just like having Mom and Dad up there."
"Oh come on, man," John groaned.
"I'm kidding. And if you need any beer… just don't tell Mom and Dad. And I'm not getting you a keg either. Just… refreshments – small ones – when necessary. Keep it classy, dude," Jude advised.
"Noted," John replied.
"Congrats, John. That was awesome," Flynn said, imitating Jude and John's previous bro hug.
"Thanks, man. It's going to be you next," John said.
"Why do people keep saying that?!" Flynn exclaimed, chuckling.
"John!" Victoria exclaimed, hugging him tightly as Flynn moved out of the way.
"Woah, you inherited Mom's super strength hugs. I can't breathe," John hissed.
"Sorry," Victoria chuckled. "I'm so happy. Congratulations!"
"Thanks," John smiled. "I mean, if there were ever a demon around, I'm sure you could smother him with love."
"Shut up," she groaned, hitting him playfully.
"Hey! Don't hit the graduate!" he protested.
She laughed, "Alright, well, I'll let you greet your adoring fans. But again, congratulations. Good to know you had it in ya."
"Yeah, yeah," he said, rolling his eyes jokingly.
"Actually, I'm next," Cole interjected, seeing John.
"Yeah, you are, actually," John said.
"Congrats, man," Cole said.
"Thanks," he said back.
"Congratulations, John. Honestly, I never thought we'd be friends, yet here we are," Greer said, giving John a small hug.
"Yeah, well you're friends with my girl and you make this one happy… oh and you're not too bad yourself," John teased.
Greer chuckled, "So you ready for college yet?"
"Honestly?" John asked. "It hasn't hit me yet."
Out of nowhere, the three heard, "John, congratulations!" as Sawyer, Sam, Haley, and Jackson approached him as well. John took a deep breath, overwhelmed by all the people, but he really couldn't complain. He had to admit, as chaotic as it got, he really loved his family.
"Well it takes real guts to be alone. Going head to head with the great unknown. But there is no sweeter sound, on the kings round I'm bound. And just waiting for your chance to come…"
"'Cause it's hard to feel like, you're worth something in this life. When you're walking next to me, I can hear my body speak. We're just waiting for a chance to come. We're just waiting for a chance to come…"
Cole drove as Greer played around with the radio, searching for the station that'd be best for this car ride. They were getting closer and closer and she was distracting herself from the current matter at hand.
"It sucks that you have to leave right after graduation," Cole started. Well, that certainly wasn't going to get her mind off of it.
She nodded, "I know, but I'll be back in July and… and maybe you can come visit me on a break or something."
Cole smiled, "I wish. I don't know. I'll have to talk to my parents – see if they're okay with it."
"Well, they sure didn't stop us from the many sleep overs at my apartment," Greer smirked.
"Yeah, well they didn't really know about the sleepovers," Cole pointed out, playfully.
Greer giggled, making a mental note to herself to never forget that handsome smile on Cole's face. God, he was gorgeous. Thank God for Skype. A silence fell between the two of them as they neared the airport. It was getting closer and closer. It hadn't exactly hit Greer yet but she was trying to come to terms with it.
"Thank you," she said.
"For driving you to the airport?" Cole asked, shooting her a funny look.
"No, silly," she laughed. She'd never forget how much he made her laugh either. When she first met him, she never pictured things getting this far. Her falling so hard… "As cheesy as it sounds, you changed my life, Cole Winchester. I-… If I hadn't met you I still would've been that too tough girl that hunter and had a crazy, demonic brother. And someone that didn't know what a family was. I mean, you gave that all to me. I'll never forget Christmas with the tree. I've never had a tree like that before."
"Greer, don't do this," he begged.
"What?" she asked, hurt.
"I don't want to say goodbye yet, okay?" Cole asked, and by the look on his face, Greer could tell that this was really hard for him.
She nodded, "Yeah, I know. Me either. It's just… I wanted to say that before I left. Just because… becaue I meant it. It's true, Cole."
"I know. It's just hard," he shrugged, trying not to get all emotional.
"I know," she agreed.
And before they knew it, they had pulled up to the airport.
"Are you sure you don't what me going in with you?" he asked.
She shook her head, "No, it'll just make it harder."
"Okay," he said, accepting it. "We'll talk okay? We'll make it work. If it does, it does and if it doesn't, well at least we can say we tried."
"Yeah," she said back, biting her lip. She was afraid to say what she was about to say because she hadn't said it in years but if she wanted to say all she had to say before she left, she knew it was the right time. "Yeah. I- will you help me with my bags?"
"Yeah, of course," Cole said, putting his warning lights on and putting the car in park. He got out of the car and opened the trunk, getting Greer's suitcases out of it, setting them down gently. "This is it."
She nodded and the two shared a sweet, tender kiss.
"I love you," she said.
Cole's eyes widened as this was the first time she had said that and the first time he'd say it too, "I love you too."
She smiled, warm feelings filling her up as she kissed him one last time, before going into the airport. Cole stood there, watching her leave. As hard as it was to see her go, he had a feeling they'd make it work.
"Your immortal smile is burned in me. When I close my eyes, it's all see. Among the canyons and the stars, you're the guide inside my heart. I'm just waiting for my chance to come…"
"And you're just looking for a way outta here. Yeah, a way to see this old life all disappear. Take a gamble on your heart. It will lead you through the dark. You're just waiting for your chance to come…"
"Would you two stop? It's almost as bad as Mom and Dad," Jude groaned, teasingly covering his eyes as he walked in on John and Renee sharing a kiss in the kitchen as they made lunch for their picnic.
"It's not my fault you can't tell when a room is otherwise occupied. You brought this on yourself," John replied.
"Yeah, I'm going to go with that," Renee said, looking from John to Jude.
"Well, we'll get out of your hair. We're about done here," John said, packing up the stuff in a brown paper bag and taking Renee's hand in his. "We should probably hurry. It looks like it's about to pour out there."
"Beating the rain… I'm not sure it works that way, babe," Renee started.
John shrugged, "If it rains, it rains."
Jude chuckled, watching the two go. He remembered what it felt like to be eighteen and in love. Not that being with Anna was at all like being eighteen in love – naïve and not as grounded in reality – but seeing his brother in love like that just made him miss her all that much more.
"Hey, Jude?" John called, coming back into the room.
"What? You forget your keys or something?" Jude asked back.
"Not exactly," John said, and from the look on his face, something was up.
"Uhh, okay," Jude said back, following John to the door. His heart practically stopped when he saw Anna standing on his front porch.
"Hi," she said.
"Hi," Jude said back, still in shock.
"So… I'm just going to leave you two crazy kids alone," John said, excusing himself from the awkward situation, meeting Renee down the front porch steps at the car. Jude heard the car turn on and knew John was leaving now.
"I uh… what are you doing here?" Jude managed to get out.
"Oh. Well, that's a funny story actually. I was in the neighborhood, you know, on the way back from Pennsylvania to Washington. That's the house we go to when my parents aren't actually traveling. They're only back for like a week, but Effie's coming home too and, well, we figured we'd all have a nice "family" week together," Anna said.
"And this is what you call "in the neighborhood"?" Jude asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah… right… uh… look, I've been thinking…" she trailed off.
"Anna Peters, you're not one to pick up the phone, are you?" John asked, referring to the time he learned she was on campus.
"Jude, would you just let me finish?!" she exclaimed agitatedly and nervously.
"Yeah, sorry," he apologized.
"I think we should see each other. I hate the way things ended and I-, well, I'll be in Pennsylvania this summer working so will you for the research internship and I think we should make an effort to see each other. I don't want to lose you, Jude," Anna said.
Jude nodded, "I'd like that."
"Me too," she smiled back.
"D-do you want to come in? I mean, you flew all this way and-," Jude stammered.
"Oh, no. It's just a layover. A really long layover, but I should be getting back to the airport," Anna said, taking a deep breath. She had said her peace and felt a whole lot better.
"You want me to drive you?" Jude asked.
"Oh, no. The taxi is right out there," Anna said, gesturing towards the taxi parked outside of his house.
"Gotcha. Didn't see that. I was uh… otherwise distracted," Jude said back.
Anna chuckled, "Yeah, you're right. I'm not one to pick up the phone."
"So I guess this is-," Jude started.
"See you later. I'll see you later, Jude," Anna completed.
He smiled, "Okay. I guess this is see you later then."
The two leaned in and shared somewhat of an awkward hug before she kissed him on the cheek and left for the airport. Jude watched as she left and smiled to himself.
"'Cause it's hard to feel like, you're worth something in this life. When you're walking next to me, I can hear my body speak. We're just waiting for a chance to come. We're just waiting for a chance to come…"
John's cell phone buzzed, causing him to start, as he and Renee walked along the riverside. She carefully balanced herself on the rocky buffer as she walked along it, John walking on solid ground. He had a text from his mom and quickly texted back his response before shoving his phone back into his pocket.
"Sorry, that was my mom," he started.
"Everything okay?" Renee asked.
"Yeah, everything's fine. Mom just wanted to know what I wanted for dinner," John answered.
"Gotcha. Man, it really looks like it's going to pour. I'm surprised it hasn't yet," Renee said, looking up at the sky that was getting darker and cloudier by the minute. They had been out for at least four hours now. They had started at Falls Park, having lunch and just talking before trying to the Sioux Falls River for a walk and a hot and heavy make out session that lasted for God knows how long.
"Well maybe time's on our side today. After all, it is our graduation day," John said, swiftly wrapping his arms around Renee's waist and pulling her from the rocky path, and down to the ground, causing her to squeal and laugh.
"John, what're you doing?" she exclaimed through laughter.
"I'm saving you from potential injury. See what a good boyfriend I am?" he joked.
"My savior!" she cried out, sarcastically.
John chuckled, leaning for a kiss when the two of them felt a huge raindrop fall down upon them. Renee looked up, seeing the rain drops get more and more frequent.
"Or maybe time isn't on our side," she said. "Ahhh!" The rain began to get heavier and heavier as she grabbed John's hand, pulling him back towards the path so that they could get to the car as soon as possible. "Come on, John!"
"Ah! It's raining cats and dogs out here!" John exclaimed as the two ran as fast as they could back to the car. The two arrived at the car, out of breath and panting, but giggling at each other. "Come on. I'll take you home. I should be getting home anyways. Mom and Dad want to do graduation dinner before we're swept away in the many graduation parties that are happening tomorrow."
"Are we still going to all of those?" Renee asked.
"If you're up to it," John answered.
Renee nodded, "I feel like we should…"
"Yeah," John agreed. "Have I ever told you how hot you look in the rain?"
Renee rolled her eyes, "John, I thought we stopped those cheesy lines back when I agreed to actually date you."
"What? It's true," he asked, innocently.
"You're so corny," she replied.
"You love it," he smirked, before pressing her up against the 1963 Mercury comet and kissing her passionately. Renee gladly kissed back as the two shared a passionate lip lock in the pouring rain. It was one of those warm summer rains that practically made you want to be kissing someone in it.
"How's that for corny?" he asked pulling away.
She shook her head, "Come on. Let's go home."
"And no one's gunna get in my way. Gunna figure it out for myself. Yeah no one's gunna make me stay. Gunna figure it out for myself…"
John opened the door to his house and could already hear his family abuzz and running all over the place to get dinner ready. John locked the door behind him and removed his wet shoes and socks, leaving them at the door.
"Oh, go get silverware!" he heard someone say, before his disappeared upstairs, quickly drying off and changing into some basketball shorts and a grey v neck t shirt, before hurrying back downstairs.
"Dude, when did you get home?" Jude asked, seeing John come down the stairs.
"Couple of minutes ago," John shrugged.
"Didn't hear you come in," Jude said.
"I'm a ninja like that," John bragged, causing Jude to roll his eyes. "So uh… you and Anna? Chicks don't just show up at your doorstep for nothing."
"We had a nice talk," Jude replied.
"Talk or… talk?" John asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"Talk," Jude answered, straightly.
"That sucks," John said.
Jude shook his head, "Nah, it was good. We needed to talk. No, we did not have sex, John!"
"Alright, alright," John chuckled.
"Hey, you're home! When'd you come in, graduate?" Meredith asked, seeing her two oldest sons.
"He ninjaed his way through the door," Jude answered for John.
"See? I'm not the only one who does that," Dean said, placing his hands on his wife's hips as he scooted past her, but not before kissing her on the cheek.
"Yeah, whatever," she said to Dean. She then turned her attention to her sons. "We thought we'd have another unconventional takeout living room floor dinner tonight to celebrate both of our graduates."
"Aw shucks, Mom," Jude replied jokingly.
"What'd we end up getting?" John asked. "I'm starving!"
"Greasy Chinese food. The best, actually," Victoria chimed in, walking from the kitchen to the living room with sturdy paper plates in her hands. "Come on, you two. Dinner's all laid out on the floor anyways." She and Flynn sat down on the pillows that were laid out on the floor around the take out. She placed the plates on the table cloth next to the silverware.
John turned his attention to the living room floor which had a table cloth on it, containing tons of takeout boxes on it.
"Sweet," he said, nodding.
"Alright, what's everyone having to drink?" Dean asked.
"I'll take a beer," Jude said.
"That's my boy," Dean smiled.
"I'll take one too!" John called after them. Meredith was okay with John having a beer, but the next surprise her.
"Hey, can I have one?" Flynn asked, camera strung around his neck and ready to snap away family photographs.
"No," Meredith said.
"Oh come on, Mer. They're what… fifteen? You'd had a beer way before you were fifteen," Dean said back.
"Okay, if Flynn has one, I want one!" Victoria said.
"Dean!" Meredith protested, her eyes widening.
"Woah, Mom doing illegal stuff? I don't believe it," Flynn said, leaning in for details.
"Yes, Mom. Do tell," Victoria requested.
"I-, your grandfather, gave me one when I was thirteen," Meredith admitted, reluctantly.
"Oh come on. That's one beer. We want the good stuff!" Flynn demanded.
"It's okay, honey. I'll tell them," Dean smirked, returning with several beers. He even made a second trip.
"You're shameless, you know that?" she asked.
"You love me," he said, leaning in and kissing her. He took the second set of beers back to the floor, setting them down on the table cloth and sitting down.
"Oh, this is good. I want to hear this," Jude smiled, mischievously, he and John exchanging glances and heading over to the living room floor. Meredith joined them, taking a seat next to her husband who happened to be exposing all of her secrets at the moment.
"Well, your freshmen… sophomore?" Dean started.
"I don't remember anymore," Meredith said.
"Well, sometime in high school, either freshmen or sophomore year, the homecoming dance was coming up and since your mother didn't want to go, even though I said I'd take her," Dean continued.
"Babe, that wasn't really my thing!" Meredith interrupted.
"I know, I know, but let me finish. So instead of going to the dance, I took Meredith out to the back of the salvage yard in one of Bobby's old cars and we got totally wasted together," Dean announced.
"You did not!" Victoria exclaimed.
"Mom, you boozy!" John joked.
Flynn stood there, jaw dropped, "I can't believe it."
"Nope… it uh… it happened. While I don't really remember 'it', I remember the lecture I got after it from Bobby and my dad. Yep, that happened to be the night my dad came home. I also remember, all too well, the hours spent in bathroom, puking my guts up," Meredith said, shuddering at the thought.
"Wait, so was this before you guys got together?" Jude asked.
"Yeah, it was way before," Meredith said.
"Well, not way before," Dean said back.
"Okay, as much as I love Mom's alcohol stories, I'm starving. Can we eat now?" Victoria asked.
"Oh, yeah of course!" Meredith said. "Guys, eat. No more alcohol stories."
"There are more?" John asked, intrigued.
"Well actually-," Dean started.
"No, there aren't," she cut him off, elbowing him in the ribcage.
"Ow!" he exclaimed,
"Sorry, baby," Meredith smiled, kissing him once.
"Ew, guys!" Jude exclaimed. He looked over at John. "You won't miss that, huh?" And then addressed the twins, "Sucks for you guys," causing everyone to laugh.
"Wow, I didn't realize how hungry I was," John said, looking at the food.
"You're always hungry," Victoria and Flynn said in unison.
"Don't worry. It's a Winchester thing," Jude added.
John looked around the room at his family as they all helped themselves to dinner, just sitting, talking, and laughing. Although he was going off to college, and most likely not moving back any time soon, he knew he'd always have a home and people that loved him and 1352 Sycamore Court. Sioux Falls, South Dakota – where it all began.
"'Cause I don't need nothing. I'm just waiting for my chance to come…"
