Disclaimer: Supernatural doesn't belong to me. The plot, Lily (and some other characters) are mine.
English is not my native language, so I apologize for the mistakes I might have.
I thoroughly apologize for taking so long to update. These last two semesters of college have been pure hell, but I hope to be able to keep updating now that I'm on vacation. Thank you for reviewing and supporting this story!
…
Chapter 5
…
"What's wrong?" Loki inquired, noticing the sudden change in the young woman in front of him. Her smile had disappeared, her blushed cheeks turning pale, a turmoil of emotions crossing her face- though the most prominent ones seemed to be disappointment and shame.
We found the evidence you needed; the janitor is our Trickster. Get your ass back to the motel now, we're getting ready to hunt him down tonight.
The young woman looked away from her phone, shoulders tense and lips pursed into a tight line as she held into the edge of the table in an attempt to collect her boiling emotions.
The man sitting across from her was their Trickster, the creature that had been killing people all over campus.
Suddenly, one of their previous conversations came to her mind (one where he had mentioned that the creature hunting the university's campus was just serving justice) and she realized how blind she had been.
Lily felt embarrassed for having been so unprofessional, (a foolish idiot, as her father would certainly say), but what bothered her the most was something else, a revelation of sorts. And, therefore, though she tried to ignore that particular emotion, she couldn't bring herself to deny the fact that it made her feel sad.
He had played her.
Loki was the first person in years that she allowed herself to trust. Clearly, it had been a mistake, since he turned out to be their monster.
The young woman never formed any kind of relationship with anyone when she had to stay for a few weeks somewhere for a case, all because she didn't want to go through the eternal heartache of leaving friends behind for their own safety. It was something that pained her more than she had previously realized- however, with that particular janitor, with the charming and charismatic man that seemed to like her, she had let her guard down. She had thought that, taking in consideration how effortless they had connected with one another, it was something that wouldn't go wrong.
Her father's words came back to her with enough strength to render her speechless for a moment. You're desperate for attention. You need everyone to like you and it's pathetic! You're a hunter, not a child, start acting like one!
Lily could never forgive him for the gruesome beating that followed their argument, and for many other awful things about her childhood, but she couldn't ignore the fact that, perhaps, he had been right about some things.
She was desperate for attention and lonely enough to fool herself into believing that their main suspect was innocent regardless of the evidence that incriminated him, and merely attempting to get to know her because he liked her. It was a notion that, after knowing the truth, made her feel as foolish as her father believed her to be.
Loki had been using her from the very beginning. Their conversations, their moments, their laughs- none of it had been real.
For a moment, she couldn't breathe. The figure stalking her- the one Loki wanted her to be cautious of- was that also a tricks to make her trust him? Her cheeks reddened, though she wasn't sure if it was because of the anger she felt or the embarrassment that came with realizing that he had toyed with her.
"Lily?" Loki called, noticing how lost in thought she seemed. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes," Lily answered, forcing herself to appear calm and collected. "Everything's fine."
There was nothing she wanted more than to disappear from there, to escape his inquiring eyes and the sadness that came with thinking that he had been making fun of her all along, but she couldn't make a stand against him there, in the middle of the restaurant, with mortals all around them, without the proper means to end his life. The only thing she could actually do, in that moment, was to continue pretending.
However, Loki knew better than to believe her words. He realized that, somehow, Lily knew the truth. It appeared that time together had come to an end…and he couldn't shake the feeling of loneliness that overcame his senses.
Acting on an impulse, Loki's hand came in contact with her own. His hand was warm, his gesture soft. It made a lump form on the young woman's throat, because she couldn't believe he would go that far to pretend.
When she looked up and their eyes locked, she saw a thousand different emotions reflected on his alluring eyes, none of them seemingly false. She allowed herself to observe him, to read his features in search for the truth that she already knew. What she found in his eyes, however, only made the situation harder than it was. Either Loki was an incredible liar, or he was a mere fool, just like her.
"A fool," Loki whispered, staring right at her in a way that stole her breath.
Lily startled, removing her hand from his grasp. "How do you know what I'm-"
Loki shook his head, breaking their eye contact. "I work with Caleb Garcia, you know. He mentioned you a few times. I put two and two together, and I know you dated-"
The blonde woman swallowed, stealing a quick look to her cellphone before looking up once again, not wanting to give the man in front of her any opportunity to take advantage of her distraction. Caleb had texted something about him needing her help- had the Trickster done something to him?
"Are you threatening me?"
Loki faltered, scowling. He had known things would change once she realized he was their Trickster, but he hadn't expected her to lose all her trust on him. He had hoped that she would trust the connection- the spark- that they shared over the technicalities of their situation, but it appeared he had been mistaken.
"No," He said, wholeheartedly sincere. "I just meant to say that Caleb Garcia was a complete fool for treating you in the way that he did. You are...the most breath-taking creature I have ever had the pleasure of knowing."
She didn't know what scared her the most, the thought of their friendship having been a trick, or the thought of it being as real for him as it was for her.
Not knowing what to do, she did something that she swore she wouldn't do again: she decided to run from the situation.
Cupcake whined when she stood abruptly from the table, making her take a moment to look in his direction. The small dog watched her with sad eyes, though he had moved towards his owner's lap. Loki allowed the dog to be there, but he seemed ready to follow the young woman if she asked him to.
"Don't run," Loki said softly, "Not from me. Allow me to explain."
The truth was, he had no problem with having to trick Sam and Dean, but it was different with Lily.
He was aware of the fact that the situation would've been much easier if he had tricked her, if he could bring himself to play her like she didn't matter at all, but he couldn't and wouldn't. She did matter to him, a great lot. He didn't want to cause her any unnecessary pain.
"Explain what?" She hissed, losing her composure. Her eyes glared at him, but there was a barely concealed look of pain written on her whole face. "No more tricks, Trickster."
Loki could see how affected she was, and it pained him to no end. He stood, moving his dog to the ground and taking his leash. "Lily-"
He wanted to explain himself to her before the imminent moment when they would hunt him down; briefly, he wondered if she would be capable of attacking him without any remorse whatsoever. He could see how affected knowing the truth had left her- from his part, it wouldn't be easy to fight her when his duty was the complete opposite.
"You know, there was absolutely no need to go as far as you did," Lily snapped, unable to stop herself. She was alone, with no weapons to defend herself against him, and yet, for some inexplicable reason, she couldn't bring herself to be scared. "You tricked us all, but what you did to me? There was no need for you to-" She hesitated, then decided not to continue. There was no need to lead me on. To make me believe you liked me. To make me believe we had a connection, a spark- something.
Loki heard, clear as a day, what she had meant to say. "I can explain."
Lily faltered. "So, you don't deny it?"
Loki met her eyes. "I won't deny that I am a Trickster," He felt, however, the weight of his lie getting stuck on his throat.
It wasn't the right time for the Winchesters to know the truth about heaven and hell, there was no possible reason for him to tell her who he really was. Admitting out loud- to a Winchester, nonetheless- that he was the Archangel Gabriel would allow other angels in Heaven to know he was alive, a risk he wasn't willing to take, not even for her.
The blonde woman sucked in a breath, then looked away. There were about a million thoughts running through her head simultaneously, and even more emotions boiling inside of her. Not wanting to spend another moment in his presence, feeling pained, disgusted, and embarrassed of having been played like that, she walked away without sparing him a second glance.
There was nothing he could do but watch her leave.
He knew, from the first moment that he allowed himself to get directly involved in her life, that it would be difficult to let her go when the time came; what he wasn't expecting, however, was the heartache that he felt with the thought of her hating him for having tricked her.
Perhaps, Loki thought distractedly, already knowing his thoughts were incorrect, but allowing himself to indulge in them for a moment, searching for something- for anything- to distract himself from the heartache he felt but couldn't understand, Perhaps this is for the best.
...
Despite their plans, the four hunters couldn't hunt down the Trickster that night, for an unusual and unexpected storm had forced them to stay inside the motel all night and throughout most of the following day.
The storm ceased as abruptly as it had started, and thus Bobby wasted no time. He went out to find Caleb and make sure he was okay, leaving the Winchester siblings alone for a while.
There was a great tension in the room once he left, though the oldest man attempted to ignore it for as long as he could, not knowing how to start discussing the elephant in the room.
Embarrassed, and immerse in the turmoil of emotions that consumed her, Lily hadn't spoken much since arriving at their room, just a few sentences to tell them that she needed one of them to check on her ex-boyfriend, who claimed to be in danger, and that was it. She cringed when they attempted to mention the Trickster, and they quickly dropped the subject.
Sam and Dean had expected her to explode and even to fight them, claiming that there was no way she could have been tricked, but it never happened, something that surprised them greatly. She had merely joined them on the small, dusty living room, nodding every once in a while, to allow them to notice she was listening to them, but saying nothing about the matter.
"Once this is over," Dean said softly, "There's something we have to talk about-" He stole a look at their youngest brother, and then turned to meet her eyes, "-there's something about Sammy you must know."
Lily's eyes trailed over the tall figure of her younger brother, to then nod quietly in her brother's direction.
There were a lot of things they still had to talk about.
Ever since the first moment she arrived in campus to meet them, they'd been focused in the case and hadn't had time to discuss what happened in the years they were separated. The details about their father's death, in particular, were still unclear to the young woman, as well as her brothers' part on it, and the whole story behind John making a deal with the yellow-eyed demon.
"We'll talk once this is over, and I-" Lily hesitated. "I think I can spend a few weeks with you two. If this matter you want to talk about is as serious as I think, I won't leave you."
A genuine smile covered Dean's face, his eyes softening as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "You could stay with us indefinitely, but something tells me you don't want that," He paused. "Do you?"
The young woman hesitated. There was a part of her that wanted things to be back to how they were when they were younger, a part that longed to be with them once more, but a lot had changed since then.
"We're not teenagers anymore, dear. You know it would be too complicated for us to be together again. Being on the road eventually gets monotone and tiresome, and the Impala will feel too crowded, especially in the moments where we might want some privacy."
"We don't have to travel together," Dean mentioned, though that was what he missed most. The three of them in the Impala, as it had always been, as it was supposed to be. "But we could work the same cases, stay in the same motels."
"It could work," Sam approached them, having eavesdropped on their conversation. "We'd be in separate cars, which is better, because when things get too exhausting, we can simply rotate who we travel with."
In other words, when one of the boys grew tired of each other's company, which happened more often than not, one of them could simply move and travel with their sister on her car.
Lily nodded quietly, even though she knew it would eventually get too much for her. After all, she had learnt to cherish her solitude, and hunting alone was often less-stressing than hunting with a partner. But their attempts to convince her to stay with them made her feel, for the first time in a long time, wanted and cared for.
"We just have to get this over with," She said, sighing, and then looking away. "This stupid case that won't end."
Sam and Dean shared a small look.
"And are you-" Sam hesitated.
Dean continued for him. "Do you think yourself capable of killing the Trickster?"
It was a question that she had been expecting, but it still took her a moment to answer.
She pursed her lips, embarrassment filling her senses once more, though she attempted to hide it. Lily really didn't want her brothers to know how affected she was with the realization that she had been fooled, that Loki tricked her into trusting in him, and that she- even though they only knew each other for a week- had grown to thoroughly enjoy his company.
"Of course I am," She forced a small scoff to leave her mouth. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"What about Caleb?"
"Bobby is on his way to his house know," Lily reminded him curtly, not wanting to discuss the same topic with her brothers again.
All she wanted was to get out of that dammed place already. Being there never did her any good, not with her ex-boyfriend, not with the case they were currently on, and certainly not with the Trickster.
"I still think you should, um," Sam looked uncomfortable. "Maybe you should let Bobby help us with the Trickster...and you deal with Caleb."
"Sam," Dean said warningly, knowing that their sister wouldn't take his words lightly.
The blonde woman turned to face her younger brother, annoyed. She knew that her brothers would behave in that way- it was obvious, they weren't exactly discrete about it- but it still made her feel frustrated and furious. It was enough that their father had always doubted her abilities, she didn't need her brothers to do the same just because she made one mistake- one that was not going to happen again.
"I never judged nor doubted your capacity of killing a monster when the whole Amy Pond fiasco happened, brother," Lily forced a smile into her face, though it didn't reach her eyes. In a second, Sam's eyes portrayed how much he regretted his words, but she continued before he could speak, "I suggest you do the same."
"It's not the same-"
"No," She snapped, losing her short patience. "It is not. You fell in love with our monster and refused to hunt her down, I am nowhere near close falling for the Trickster. You need to stop acting like you haven't made mistakes, and let me fix it instead of belittling me for my own."
A tense silence covered the room after her outburst. It wasn't unusual for them to bicker, it was part of their dynamic as siblings, but it had been a while since she had a disagreement of such capacity with them.
Ever since she could remember, she had attempted to be a role model for the youngest sibling- having basically raised him alongside their older brother-, for which hearing that he didn't trust her with that case made her extremely annoyed.
She was more than capable of hunting the Trickster, even if he had fooled her.
Sam and Dean didn't know how to act afterwards, the youngest of them being irritated at his sister, and the oldest of them feeling like he had to fix the situation before it could escalate. Before he could open his mouth to try and steer the conversation away, a rough knock on the door caught their attention.
Dean hid a sigh of relief, then approached to open the door.
"Your ex was fine," Bobby grunted even before fully crossing the threshold, irritation written on his face. "There was nothing unusual on the house, no EMF, no sulfur, no nothing," He dropped his keys on the table, then promptly moved to get the stakes out of his duffel bag, throwing one to each sibling before moving towards the door, "Let's go."
Lily faltered, "What, now?"
Dean frowned. "It's too early, Bobby. He's probably still working-"
Sam scowled. "There could be innocent civilians around, are you sure?"
The oldest hunter pursed his lips in annoyance, looking like he'd rather end their case as soon as possible. "If you idiots manage to get your heads outta your asses, you'll see that in half an hour it'll be sundown. Crawford Hall will be almost empty, students will be on their way to their apartments or to the local party, only a few professors and janitors will remain in campus."
Dean considered his words for a moment, then admitted that it was the best moment to act.
Lily looked away, knowing that- since she had admitted she knew he was their Trickster- he was most definitely expecting them to attack; that, if he hadn't skipped town already.
She couldn't let her brothers know she had spent the previous day with Loki, especially not when she went as far as to having dinner with him. The least she needed was for Sam and Dean to get judgmental- or for them to think that she was a fool.
However, the blonde woman couldn't shake the feeling that there was something off about the whole ordeal, though she tried not to dwell in those thoughts.
No monster had ever tried to explain himself in such desperate way, and no monster would have ever allowed her to leave; so why had he? It made no sense. She had been without weapons, without her brothers, and clearly affected by his betrayal. It had been the best opportunity to take advantage of the situation and attack her, or even take her as leverage for her brothers- but he had done none of that.
The young woman couldn't understand.
Bobby continued before the others could speak. "We have to do it tonight, element of surprise or not, because he's only going to continue giving people their "just dessert" and that only means more death in our hands. Worst case scenario, he manages to escape and skip town. Best case scenario, we hunt him down, this ends, and we can go home."
...
There was tension lingering on the air when the four hunters arrived in Crawford Hall, as though the place and its buildings had been stained from the sins that happened there. It was considerably morose, the main building had most of its lights off, and a few of the streetlamps had been broken, giving the place a darker complexion than usual.
Dean went first, according to their plan, to trick the Trickster into believing that he had gone alone.
After a few minutes, the other three moved inside the building.
Bobby was stationed on a door to the left side of the anfiteather where they could hear loud music- the place where they imagined the Trickster awaited them- while Sam and Lily covered the other door to the right, stakes in hand.
Suddenly, the music stopped, an eerie silence covering the whole place.
Bobby's eyes met Sam's through the distance, to then look at Lily, who had grown stoic in a matter of seconds, all thoughts and emotions pushed aside. After a moment, snippets of the conversation that Dean and the Trickster were having could be heard.
"-too bad. Like I said, I like you. Sam was right, you shouldn't have come alone."
"Well," Dean replied, the smirk almost palpable in his voice, "I'll agree with you there."
Sam and Lily busted through the doors, stakes in hands. A few places to their left, Bobby entered to the anfiteather too, his own stake raised in a threatening manner.
Inside, there were a few women in underwear seductively surrounding the oldest Winchester, while the Trickster watched, sitting back in one of the anfiteather chairs. He turned in time to see the other three hunters appear. His eyes trailed over Bobby and Sam, amusement crossing his eyes for a second, to then disappear as soon as he settled his eyes- only for a small moment- on the Winchester he cared for.
"Well, hello, sweetheart," Loki smirked, throwing her a wink. It was a change to how he usually behaved with her, but he needed to continue the show- the other hunters were, after all, staring at them. Lily's cheeks flushed, anger crossing her young features. The Trickster then turned towards Dean, and, with his best impression of astonishment, he said: "That fight you guys had outside- that was a trick?"
Dean shrugged, a devious smile crossing his handsome, young face.
Lily's anger made an appearance, and before she could think it through- because she never meant for her brothers to realize how much his betrayal had affected her- she gave the man she had dinner with an ugly smile, and said: "You're not the only one capable of using others for your own gain."
Loki had known she would take the fact that he was their Trickster as a betrayal, but he had never thought she would initiate the conversation in front of her brothers. For a moment, he couldn't control his expressions, though he could see her brothers were watching them.
"I never tricked you," He wanted to discuss the situation privately with her, and he was tempted to snap his fingers and make the others disappear, but he knew that if he did, it would only make her angrier. "I made a fool out of your brothers, in multiple ways, but I never wanted to hurt you."
Sam tensed and shared a small look with Dean. The oldest brother seemed startled, being able to notice how sincere the Trickster's voice had sounded.
"Don't listen to him, girl. It's another one of his tricks."
The Trickster's jaw clenched at the interruption. He gave the oldest hunter a dark look, "Very good, but do you want to see a real trick?" and then snapped his fingers.
The sound of a chainsaw roaring to life caught their attention, and Bobby had to duck not to be decapitated by the sudden man that had appeared. The Trickster laughed, leaning back on his chair as he snapped his fingers again, and a candy bar appeared on his hand.
Dean jumped to action, moving to attack the chainsaw man, but was promptly pulled back by one of the half-naked women, who threw him across the room with a strength she wasn't supposed to have.
Sam helped Bobby deal with the chainsaw man, and Lily ran towards Dean, grabbing one of the half-naked women by the hair and smashing her face against the wall.
The Trickster laughed again, delighted at the scene he so comfortably watched, leaning back on his chair.
Within a few moments, it was obvious that the four hunters were failing miserably. It entertained Loki to no end. Sam and Bobby were having a difficult time beating the chainsaw man, who seemed to get stronger with each moment that passed, and Dean and Lily were passionately fighting with the models the Trickster had conjured, to no avail.
Dean was thrown across the room, landing a few seats behind the Trickster, who whistled. "Nice toss, ladies!"
The blond hunter groaned in pain, something that seemed to alarm his sister. Lily, tired and angry, stabbed one of the models with the wooden stake, killing her, then attempted to move towards her brother to help him; but the remaining model grabbed her hair and stopped her, giving her one last blow before throwing her across the room.
The Trickster stood from his seat immediately, his eyes narrowed in the direction of the model. "What did I tell you? Be careful with her!"
The oldest Winchester begun to approach the Trickster from behind. He, on the other hand, had disregarded his candy bar and was walking towards the middle Winchester, observing as she held her stake tightly. "Oh, Lily. I did not want you to have to see this."
She couldn't hide her confusion. "What-"
Loki winked, discretely pointing to something- or rather, someone- behind him, and that's when she realized that Dean was dangerously approaching the Trickster's back.
She started to open her mouth, to tell her brother that the Trickster had seen him approach, but things escalated too fast for her to be able to. Dean drove the stake through his chest, piercing his heart.
Loki's golden eyes were locked into the young woman's own as he groaned and fell backwards, a look of pure pain written on his young face. Overwhelmed, Lily's hands flew to her mouth in an attempt to hide her gasp.
The chainsaw man disappeared in a cloud of smoke, as well as the models.
Dean grunted, then removed the stake from the Trickster's chest, and he fell backwards into one of the chairs, blood coming out of his mouth, his eyes closed, his body completely limp and devoid of life.
Sam and Bobby joined Lily and Dean in front of the Trickster's corpse, the four of them breathing heavily in exhaustion.
"You guys okay?" Dean questioned, not taking his eyes off the Trickster.
"Yeah," Sam sighed, stealing a look at a very pale Lily. He grabbed her shoulders, pretending to need support for his wounds, but he wanted to reassure her, imagining that it wasn't easy to see a man she liked being killed. "I guess."
Dean groaned once more, starting to limp away. "All I gotta say, he had style."
The young woman felt grateful for her brother's hands on her shoulder, carefully leading her away from the scene, because she couldn't bring herself to stop looking at the Trickster's limp body, a disheartening feeling stuck on her chest ever since he had been killed right in front of her, their eyes locked.
"You okay?"
Lily nodded distractedly, "Just a little sore."
The four hunters hurriedly left Crawford Hall, moving towards the parking lot. The siblings attempted to thank Bobby for their help, but he brushed aside their words. "Let's just get the hell out of dodge before somebody finds that body."
Lily winced imperceptibly. "Right."
Bobby entered the backseat of the car, but before Lily and Dean could take their respective places, Sam stopped them, looking a little uncomfortable. "Look, Dean, Lily, um...I just wanted to say that I'm- I'm, uh..."
"Hey," Dean said, reading between the lines. "I know. Me too."
Lily rolled her eyes at them. "Well, I, for once would love to hear you both apologize like the grown adults that we are, but since you two don't know how to do that, I'll settle for this. Idiots."
"Bitch," Dean counterattacked.
"Jerk," Sam mockingly punched his brother's shoulder.
Bobby emerged from the car, "You guys are breaking my heart," He said sarcastically, to then glare at them, "Could we please just leave?"
Lily and Sam went into the backseat, and Dean quickly moved to the driver's side. Within a moment, they had driven away from campus, and towards their motel.
Somewhere through the relatively short trip, Bobby groaned and rolled up his sleeves to check his wounds, "Fucking son of a bitch."
The three siblings winced, all aware of their own wounds. It hadn't been too difficult, considering some of the other cases that they'd dealt with, but it had been a little exhausting. The chainsaw man and the two models were relentless on their attempts to murder them.
"Are Tricksters always this-" Lily stopped herself, changing the question. "I don't know, I expected the Trickster's illusions to be less powerful and less threatening than they were. One of his bitches almost killed me."
Bobby shot her a look. "Tricksters can alter reality and create things, people, and objects out of thin air. Those girls and that chainsaw freak we fought were, for a moment, as real as you and me. That's why it was so difficult to finish this."
"Wasn't 'Loki' the name of a god?" Dean questioned distractedly, "Thor's brother or some bullshit like that."
"That's on the Marvel movie," Sam snorted, shooting him an amused look. "In the real, Scandinavian myths they aren't siblings."
"But he was a Trickster god," Lily narrowed her eyes, though severely surprised. "I guess that could explain his illusions being more powerful than normal."
"Nah," Bobby turned briefly on his seat to look at her. "I met the real Trickster god, Loki, a while ago in a trip to Europe for a case. The one we killed tonight shared his name, but it was certainly not the Scandinavian Trickster that you lot are talking about."
"So he was just- just a simple Trickster?"
Bobby shrugged. "A simple, but powerful one."
Lily wasn't completely convinced, but, knowing nothing about the whole ordeal, she simply settled for looking away, attempting to forget the gruesome image of Loki's lifeless eyes staring at her.
...
Arriving at her motel room, the blonde hunter sighed deeply, then leaned down against the closed door. Within a moment, her resolve broke and she promptly collapsed, sliding down into the floor, a breathless sound leaving her mouth. Her muscles protested against her every move, but there was a feeling stuck in her chest, one that confused her greatly, that didn't allow her to breathe properly.
Loki was dead.
She closed her eyes, her breathing still a little erratic, and she brought her hands to her face, hiding behind them for a moment. The image of the Trickster's life leaving his eyes haunted her, increasing the painful pressure on her chest, overwhelming her senses.
A fool, he had said. Just like you.
A knock against the wall made her jump. Dean's voice followed through, "Can I shower in your room? Sammy is taking too long, and Bobby goes next once he's done."
Lily forced herself to stand, breathing deeply to collect herself. "Sure, Dean. I'm going to shower now, but you can come in anyways and wait in the living room. I'll leave the door unlocked for you."
"Thanks."
When Lily came back to the living room, a few minutes later, she found her brother waiting for her, distractedly tapping his fingers against the old table in the middle of the room. She had dressed already, and was tying her hair into a high ponytail.
"Hey dude, the shower's all yours now."
Dean looked up when she approached and forced a smile into his face, but didn't move from his spot. "Actually, I was thinking we could talk first, now that we're alone. About Sam."
Even though Dean made almost all the talking, there were parts that still felt incomplete for both of them.
It was a long talk, considering all that had happened since she left them. He told her about their most recent cases, of the reason they got back together at all (which had been to find their missing father) and of the murder of Sam's girlfriend in a similar way to how their mother had died.
"Poor Sam," Lily said quietly, though she didn't allow her brother to notice how affected she actually was. Out of the three siblings, she had been the only one to actually see and remember their mother burning on the ceiling. It was an image that continuously haunted her. Most of the time, she couldn't sleep facing upwards- if she did, she felt as though she would open her eyes and see her mother there, on the ceiling, surrounded by fire.
"That's not all," Dean said somberly, then proceeded with the story.
Through his recounting of what was happening to their brother, Lily learnt that the yellow-eyed demon had selected Sam- all those years before, when he murdered their mother- for some diabolic plan that would, most definitely, endanger the whole world.
"I-I don't understand," The blonde woman said immediately. "What does the yellow-eyed demon want with Sam? What plans could he possibly have?"
A helpless look crossed Dean's face. He tightened his grip on the table, his knuckles turning white, his jaw locked tightly as he stared at the wall behind her head. "That's the thing, sis. We don't know- I don't know."
"When you say we," She hesitated, grimacing in disgust. "Do you mean that our father knew all along about yellow-eyes selecting our brother and feeding him his blood?" She could imagine their father hiding that from them, it would explain how rough he was with Sam sometimes.
"I don't know for how long he knew about it."
Lily grimaced. With their father, no one could be fully sure about anything.
Dean continued, "Before dying, he told me that we have to protect our brother from becoming what the yellow-eyed demon wants," The blond man knew better than to admit that, for some reason, their father hadn't wanted Lily to be involved, "He seemed to think it's inevitable, but I know Sam won't become a monster. We know him. Kid's not evil."
The blonde woman wasn't sure what to think of the whole situation. She didn't understand what plans a demon could have involving other kids around the world- and why had he given them his blood. It was the first time, in her whole life, that she heard about a demon feeding humans their blood.
None of it seemed to make sense.
However, there was only one thing that she was sure of, and it was that she wasn't going to allow the demon that wrecked their lives all those years before to continue controlling them, to turn her sweet brother into a monster.
"Sam won't become what the demon wants him to, whatever that is," Lily said fiercely, locking eyes with her brother, "-because he has us to protect him."
Just how it was supposed to be, how it had always been, Dean and Lily, protecting their little brother against all odds, despite everything else, and against anyone that dared to hurt him.
The oldest brother sighed tiredly, his face portraying how much the situation weighed on him, and moved his hands towards his sister's.
He had hidden from everyone else, especially from their father, how much he worried about their duty to protect Sam. He feared not being able to help him overcome the demon's influence, because he knew he wouldn't be able to kill him, like their father told him to, if he indeed was to become a monster. But that was Lily, with her he knew he could admit his real fears without worrying about judgement.
"I can't lose Sam, Lily," He said quietly, brokenly. "I need you here with us, to help me protect him. Things are far more difficult now than they were before. I-I can't do this alone anymore."
In that moment, she regretted- more than ever before- having abandoned them. Her brothers had needed her, especially the oldest of them, and she hadn't been there for them. It made her feel like the worse person in the whole world, and perhaps, considering all that had happened, she was.
She squeezed Dean's hand reassuringly, giving him a soft, gentle look. "You won't have to do this alone anymore. I'm here now."
...
Once the four hunters had bathed and tended to their wounds, they abandoned the hotel, driving towards a restaurant by the other side of Campus, where they would eventually separate after having one last meal together. Bobby was going back to his house to prepare for a new case, and the Winchesters had planned to drive around, looking for another case.
Lily and Sam sat together in a booth, Bobby and Sam moving to sit across from them.
"You're paying for my food," The blonde woman told her younger brother, "Consider it your apology to me for behaving like a brat earlier."
Sam gave her one of his infamous bitch-faced looks. "Yeah? What about your apology to me? I'm still waiting."
"I already apologized," Lily bumped her shoulder against him teasingly, "You simply didn't hear me."
"Right, I'm sure," Sam said sarcastically.
"Children," Dean said, equally sarcastic, "Behave."
Bobby gave them an amused look, a small smile crossing his face.
A new text message made the young woman take her phone out of her pocket, and start searching to see what it was about. Sam took advantage of the situation and told the waitress that she would pay for his food, while Dean sniggered, and Bobby rolled his eyes. Lily heard their laughter, and imagined that her brother had probably done something, but she concentrated on the text once she realized who it was from.
Please, Lily. There's something here, it won't leave me alone. I don't know what to do anymore, I'm scared. You have to help me.
She scowled, looking up. "Bobby, are you sure you didn't find anything on Caleb's house?"
Dean looked up from the menu he held. "He's texting you- again?"
Bobby raised his eyebrows, seemingly exasperated. "Like I said, there was no EMF and no other traces of any paranormal activity there. He seemed rather peaceful, too."
"Maybe it's a lie," Sam said quickly, disregarding his menu once he found what he wanted to eat. "Maybe he just wants you to visit him and knows that the only way for that to happen is if there's something hunting him down."
"Somehow that seems unlikely coming from him," Lily hesitated.
Caleb had never been one to lie about the supernatural, he was thoroughly frightened with the possibility of something attacking him, for which she believed his text.
An annoyed sigh left her mouth, her body already rejecting her choice to go to his place to see what was happening. She didn't want to see him- she didn't want him on her life again. But if she ignored him and there was actually something there, she would never forgive herself for leaving him unprotected.
There were a million things telling her not to engage, not to go and look for Caleb, for it would only remind her of the toxicity of their relationship, but she couldn't bring herself to leave an innocent human unprotected against demons.
Her brothers knew her choice before she even opened her mouth.
"Do you want us to go with you?" Dean inquired, though he seemed not to want to leave before eating.
"No, no, it's fine," Lily brought her jacket closer to her as she stood from the booth. "I'll go alone, in case Sammy's right and he just wants to talk."
Bobby scoffed, muttering under his breath something that sounded an awfully lot like, "Persistent little shit," making the boys hide their chuckles.
The blonde woman gave him an amused look, then walked away from the restaurant, moving towards the parking lot in search for her car.
Once inside, Lily drove towards Caleb's house, which wasn't too far from the restaurant, and attempted to push back all the unwanted memories of their time together that were coming back to her.
She really- really- didn't want to go to his place, not after successfully avoiding him through the whole week she stayed in Springfield, but there was nothing else to be done about the situation. By dating him, she had made him a vulnerable target to all of her previous enemies. It was her fault, so she had to fix it.
Sooner than she would've liked, she arrived at Caleb's house.
It was in a nice neighborhood, perhaps too nice considering the limited salary he received for working as a janitor in campus, but his whole family had helped him buy his dream house. His mother had told Lily that he deserved it; only the best of things for the best of sons, or some bullshit like that. She had never liked them, they were too rich, too perfect, too normal.
They represented everything she couldn't have, so being around them always made her extremely self-conscious and uncomfortable. Caleb never understood her perspective, going as far as to fight with her when she seemed not to want to spend time with his family.
Those were the times, she thought sarcastically as she parked in front of the house.
The young woman hated herself for it, but she couldn't bring herself to leave the car for a few minutes. It had been a long time- too much time having passed for her to correctly guess just how many years- since she'd been there. There were too many memories, both good and bad, for her to simply approach like that place never mattered to her.
She had wanted to belong there, once. But it wasn't a life for her, and he wasn't the right man for her, either.
Finding strength in the realization that she had made the right choice when she broke up with Caleb Garcia, Lily stepped out of the car.
It was dark outside, and unnaturally cold, for which she shivered and wrapped her jacket tighter around herself. Her steps resonated through the street as she walked towards the porch, moving slowly yet deliberately.
Now there, her emotions betrayed her again, making her hesitate. Lily took a deep breath, collecting herself, and then raised her hand to knock on the door. She stopped, frowning. The door was slightly open, the first sign that there was something wrong- because her ex never, ever would be as carefree as to leave his front door open.
"Caleb?" She called cautiously, uncomfortable.
She stepped inside, closing the door behind her back as quietly as she could.
The house was just as she remembered, which made the situation a little harder than it was supposed to be. As she moved further inside, a bad feeling started to creep on her, making her unconsciously feel for her gun.
"Caleb?" She called again, harsher than she intended to.
The feeling intensified, reminding her of the presence she had felt lurking around campus and stalking her through the previous days. She took her gun out, thoroughly concerned. She had thought that, perhaps, that presence she felt had been a trick from Loki to make her trust him, but he was dead- and she still felt it following her around. It was real, and it was targeting her.
"CALEB?" She exploded, overwhelmed with the dangerous- yet familiar- sense of power that she felt.
"I'm here," Caleb's voice called from the other room, too calmly for her liking. She stiffened. "I'll be there in a minute. Wait for me in the living room."
So he's fine, Lily thought, heart hammering wildly. Sam was right.
Her adrenaline started to wear off, though she remained incredibly nervous. She moved her gun back to her pocket, but didn't lower her guard. The feeling of being watched remained, as well as the gut-feeling that was alerting her of upcoming danger.
Unconsciously, she guided her fingers towards her necklace, gingerly touching it as she moved to sit in one of the couches in the living room.
"Are you okay?" She called, wanting to make sure that her ex-boyfriend was fine. "I received your text."
He answered, but there was something wrong with his voice. It was rougher than usual, almost bordering on a southern accent. Caleb didn't have a southern accent- he was Latino. His accent was much more different than the one she heard, and it never gave her the goosebumps as it did then.
Instantly, she stood from the couch, alarmed.
There was something wrong- that wasn't Caleb.
Before Lily could run towards the other room, where she had heard him moving, something fell from the ceiling and into her nose. Scowling, she moved her hand over the liquid, only to freeze once she realized it was a drop of blood.
"Daddy, there's someone in the house."
John's blood went cold, startled by those words. Out of everything he would've imagined her to say, he never fathomed hearing something of the such. But then, he realized what was happening, and a soft, amused smile appeared on his face. His daughter was growing up and reaching the stage where she was scared of the monsters under her bed or inside her closet. Her older brother was just in that stage, so the father considered himself almost an expert consoling his children.
"No, baby," He said gently. "There's no one else here. It's only a bad dream."
She shook her head, looking nervous and scared as she held tighter into his embrace. "No, daddy. When mommy went to give me a goodnight kiss, there was a man watching her in the shadows. Mommy didn't see him. It followed mommy out of the room and then disappeared."
The young man shook his head, gently moving a hand over her cheeks to clean the remaining tears away. "You were already asleep when mommy went to give you a kiss, baby. Remember? We were watching cartoons with your brother downstairs and you fell asleep, so I carried you to your room."
But the small child was stubbornly convinced of what she had seen. "No, daddy, the yellow-eyed man woke me up and followed mommy."
Breathless at the familiarity of the situation, she started to hyperventilate, moving backwards. No, please, no. She looked up, unable not to, and the sight she was met with brought too many memories from her past.
Caleb- the real one- was stuck to the ceiling, a look of pain across his face, lifeless eyes staring right back at her. Blood was coming out of a cut on his stomach, and fire was starting to envelop him from the inside out.
Lily screamed, falling backwards as the fire exploded all around the house. Her instinct of survival was telling her to get up and leave, but she remained on the floor, trembling. Memories of her mother burning on the ceiling came back, mixing with the image of her ex-boyfriend going through the same- and she couldn't bring herself to move.
"Take your brother and sister outside as fast as you can and don't look back!" John instructed the older sibling, who remained frozen on his spot at the harsh tone of voice his father had used with him. "Now, Dean! Go!"
The blond boy took on a run, holding between his arms his younger brother, and looking over his shoulder every five seconds to make sure his sister was following them. She was slower than he was, but the three of them managed to get outside of the house faster than they ever had before.
They stopped in front of the house, watching the window of the baby's nursery, from where the fire came from.
The baby on his arms started to make soft wailing noises, to which he carefully left a kiss on his forehead. "It's okay, Sammy. It's gonna be okay. We're here." He looked up to meet his sister's gaze. "Are you hurt, Lily?"
She shook her head, still crying, "Mommy," which was the only thing she could bring herself to say, remembering over and over again the scene she had seen but couldn't understand completely due to her young age. She couldn't stop crying because she thought her mother was hurt, because her mother didn't move an inch when she called out her name, because their father was still inside the house.
"It's okay," Dean drew her into a hug, carefully making sure that Sam remained between them unharmed and uncrushed. He was concerned about their mother too, but hoped that their father's delay meant he was helping her out of the house. "We're gonna be okay."
Lily regained her senses and started to move. The fire had spread through the whole living room, surrounding her.
She stood with trembling legs, coughing once the smoke started to block her air.
Suddenly, someone appeared in front of her, and she squinted her eyes, attempting to see through the fog of smoke.
"I'm sorry, little Winchester. It's nothing personal." It was a tall, middle-aged man with shoulder-length greying hair and a short beard. There was a V shaped scar on his face, but the one thing that frightened the young woman to her core was the color of his eyes- they were yellow.
Suffocating, both by the heat and the smoke, the young woman stumbled back, falling into the floor once more.
There was nowhere to run, nowhere to get away from the flames. Everything and everywhere in the house was burning. She couldn't breathe. The yellow-eyed demon? It couldn't be, she remembered how he looked like- the imagine of him never left her mind after she saw her mother burning- and that man wasn't him. But those eyes...those eyes were unmistakably the same.
"Who are you?" She managed to say, between short intakes of breath. "W-What do you want?"
"As I said, it's nothing personal," His southern accent dripped out of him like a threat, his eyes gleaming dangerously as he observed her.
Out of options, the young woman thought about throwing herself out of a window, even though they were already consumed by flames, but she refused to even consider dying in front of a yellow-eyed demon.
"What do you want?" She snapped, breathless and out of options.
Lily couldn't die there, not when her brothers needed her.
Before she could do anything out of desperation, a pair of hands grabbed her from behind, helping her up from the floor. She tensed, thinking that another demon had appeared, but the person holding her was careful with his touch, almost gentle, and took a stance that was obviously meant to protect her.
The yellow-eyed demon grinned, looking at the person protecting her, and starting to laugh, "Very well, little Winchester. I just needed you to summon him."
The house exploded in flames. The young mortal woman winced, curling into her side to protect herself from the flames that would, most definitely, engulf and kill her, but the person behind her simply brought her closer to himself, protectively, and that's when she realized that the flames weren't touching them. She looked up, only to startle at the sight of her savior.
"I will give you only one warning, Asmodeus," Loki's voice was laced with such authority and strength that the demon couldn't contain the shiver that went down his spine. The archangel wanted nothing more than to smite the abomination for daring to follow and attack his human, but he forced himself to remember that he needed to protect her. The heat was starting to become too much for her, if they remained there, she would lose consciousness. "If you do as much as to look at her again, I will personally destroy you in ways you wouldn't even dream of."
And then, with a snap of his fingers, they were gone from there.