INTERSTATE 35
"You're so big now." Buffy says with a sad smile as she listens to Christopher attempt to speak over the phone as she sits in the backseat of The Winchester brother's car.
Buffy smiles as she hears her little brother giggle again while her grandfather laughs in the background, as great as it was hearing her brother's voice it also broke her heart a little, it had been months since she had seen him and he was about to turn one. She was supposed to be there, help him learn to walk and talk. But as much as it sucked she knew she had to stay away, it was the only way to keep him safe.
Away from her and on the move.
"How's he doing grandpa?" The blonde asks placing her finger in her other ear trying to ignore Dean's annoying music that he was singing loudly and badly along to. A week with these boys and she was ready to head right back to her gravesite.
"He misses you. I do too. I'm worried. You staying safe? Always looking over your shoulder?"
Buffy sighs as she glances down at the blade in her lap "Always. Never let your guard down. I know the rules grandpa. Have you heard from dad?"
"Good girl. No, not yet kid. But I've got friends looking out for him. My son is an idiot but he knows how to stay alive. Look we gotta go, we're moving towns again I'll call you when we get the next burner."
Buffy huffs and runs a frustrated hand through her hair before dropping her head to her hands, this was killing her, she had already lost Dawn and having to stay away from Chris like this...it was crushing her from the inside out, turning her into someone she didn't recognize "Let me say goodbye."
"Sure thing...Chris come here! No Anne get him away from that, my crossbows in there! Dammit, Christopher come talk to your sister."
Buffy snorts as she listens to her grandparents argue before she smiles as her baby brother's gurgles come through the phone again "Okay Chris I gotta go."
"No." He mumbles making the blonde sigh, of course, a Summers boy, the only word he could say was No.
"Can you say bye Buffy?"
The blonde frowns as Christopher giggles before the line goes quiet, her eyes widen, the kid actually hung up on her "He hung up on me." She huffs as she slams her phone shut and shoves it into her bag "The one-year-old hung up on me." She huffs again in disbelief before sitting back in her seat.
Dean snorts from his place in the driver's seat and glances back at the blonde who was clearly still annoyed at her baby brother hanging up on her "Looks like I'm not the only one who can't stand your voice blondie."
"Bite me, dick." The blonde huffs before frowning as she spots the elder Winchester reach into the glove department and pull out a plastic spoon before placing it in the sleeping Sam's open mouth.
"What are you doing?" She questions raising an eyebrow, if this was how brothers acted she was kind of glad she grew up with Dawn and didn't have Christopher till later in life.
"Exercising my right as the oldest brother." Dean says simply as he smirks pulling out his phone and quickly taking a quick snap of his brother before blasting the music again causing Sam to wake and panic at the unknown object in his mouth.
Buffy couldn't help but roll her eyes at their childish displays, sinking back into her seat she glances out of the window shaking her head in annoyance at Dean's laughter "Bad bad day." She whispers.
When she finally saw John again she was going to kill him for ditching her with his kids.
Sam huffs in annoyance and glares at his brother as he yanks the plastic spoon out of his mouth "Haha. Very funny."
Dean merely chuckles "Sorry. Not a lot of scenery here in East Texas and blondie the princess has been on the phone for an hour. Had to find some entertainment."
Sam glares at his brother before sighing and turning back to glance at the blonde, to be honest, she seemed pretty cool but quiet, they had spent a week with her and they still didn't know much about her other than she could probably kill them both with one hand while blindfolded "You finally got through to your grandfather?" He asks trying to be friendly.
The blonde merely nods "Yeah. He's on the move again though. It will be a while till they find somewhere remotely safe." As she turns back to glancing out the window Sam sighs before turning back to his brother who was snorting in amusement as he looked at a photo on his phone. He knew exactly what that look on Dean's face meant.
"Don't even think about it. We're not kids anymore, we're not starting this back up again."
"Start what up?" Dean questions playing dumb.
"That prank stuff. It's stupid and it always escalates."
Buffy groans in annoyance and hits her head softly against the window, she was officially in hell, how did she get stuck with these two...how in the hell was this fair?
"Where are we?" The blonde huffs as she leans forward in between the two boys effectively cutting off their stupid prank talk.
"Ah, the princess can speak without threatening to kill me." Dean snarks smirking at the blonde who clenches her jaw in annoyance, one more week with this one and she was going to lose it "Dick answer the question, or fist in face."
"Oh, I like the way you talk."
"Dean." Sam warns before rolling his eyes, he could see Dean so wanted to sleep with Buffy and he could also see Buffy so wanted to kill Dean. Since the minute the three of them had started traveling together, Sam had literally turned into Switzerland "Answer her question, I don't wanna have to help her burn your remains."
Dean rolls his eyes before turning his attention back to the road "A few hours outside of Richardson. Give me the lowdown again."
"Buffy, can you hand me that?" Sam asks the blonde who groans before reaching over to the seat beside her and handing over the file to the giant Winchester.
Flipping through the pages Sam finally comes to a stop "All right, about a month or two ago, this group of kids goes poking around this local haunted house-"
"Haunted by what?" Dean interrupts before his eyes widen as he spots Buffy biting into a piece of pie "You have pie?"
Buffy glares over at the extremely handsome yet annoying hunter "My pie. Buffy doesn't share food. So haunted what now?" She asks before taking a big bite of pie, making sure that she throws a big smirk at Dean who glares at her.
Sam snorts in amusement before getting back to the point at hand "House. Apparently, a pretty misogynistic spirit. The legend goes it takes girls and strings them up in rafters."
"Huh?" Buffy huffs her eyes widening, they could not be serious right now "I'm not being bate! Just cause I'm the girl doesn't mean I'm being bate!"
"You're not bate." Sam argues while Dean merely shrugs she actually had just given them a good ass plan "Actually you might be bate. You're probably gonna be bate."
"You're not gonna be bate." Sam huffs before sighing in frustration, dealing with the two of them was going to give him so many migraines "Anyway this group of kids see this dead girl hanging in the cellar."
"Whose's the dead guy?" The blonde asks curiously as she tries to peak at the file but she so could not read Sam's handwriting, it was all crazy-like.
"Well here's the thing, by the time the cops got there the body was gone. So the cops were saying the kids were yanking their chains."
"Maybe the cops are right." Dean argues, to be honest, he would so rather be getting drunk in some bar and seeing what information he could pump out of the blonde Slayer in the backseat.
"Maybe." Sam says softly but he was pretty sure the cops weren't right here "But I read a couple of the kid's firsthand accounts. They seem pretty sincere."
"Everybody lies." Buffy points out as she sits back and glances back out the window, she so needed a drink...many, many drinks.
"Princess has got a point." Dean says making the blonde snort.
"I'm sorry, did Dean Winchester just agree with me? Must be the end of the world. That cool I'm good at that."
"Not the end of the world." Sam assures her but he couldn't help but find himself curious about what she meant, he was so desperate to hear these stories, they had to be good otherwise his father wouldn't have kept her around.
"But I was surfing some local...paranormal websites, and I found something."
Buffy groans she had a feeling this trip was going to completely suck "How geeky are we talking?"
Sam winces almost embarrassed to even admit he had gone anywhere near this website "Hellhoundslair. com."
Buffy couldn't help but snort "Great more dorks who live in their mother's basements."
Dean chuckles at the blonde's words before glancing at his brother "Most of those websites wouldn't know a ghost if it bit them in the pursqueeter."
"Agreed." Buffy snarks leaning forward again making Sam smile in amusement, okay the two of them getting along would make things so much easier for him.
Sighing the youngest hunter of the three glances at the two elder hunters with a pointed look "Look we let Dad take over, which was a mistake by the way, and now we don't know where the hell he is."
Buffy sighs as she thinks back to that night John had stranded her with the boys "Ah yes Johnny Boy, I owe him, for you know drugging me and dumping me with you two. So much revenge to plan. In the meantime, I need violence, so I vote on the sexist ghost."
"Two against one Dean." Sam points out with a smile making Dean's eyes widen, no way was voting going to become a thing, Buffy hated his guts, he would never win if they voted on crap "One..." He starts gesturing at the blonde "Princess don't get no vote. And two...ugh fine. So, where do we find these kids?"
Sam merely shrugs, that wouldn't be too difficult "Same place you always find kids in a town like this."
Buffy sighs as she and Dean stand side by side outside of the local kid hangout, while Sam continued to question the kids who had been at the haunted house that night.
The blonde sighs and continues to twirl the blade in her hand as they wait, they had both been banished from questioning after Dean had to drag her outside after she almost threw one of the kids out of the window.
As she stands there, the blonde was trying to ignore Dean's existence, which was growing more difficult by the second. She could practically feel his gaze burning a hole in the side of her head.
Huffing she finally turns to face him "What?" She snaps, he had been watching her for 10 minutes and it was given her the wiggins.
Dean tilts his head at the blonde before shrugging "So your kid sister died the same way our mom did."
At his blunt words, Buffy's eyes widen and she clenches her jaw "Dawn." She hisses before turning away from him "My sister's name was Dawn. And yes. Are we done talking?"
"Look princess I was nice all week, didn't bother you but you have got to start telling us stuff so I know you're not gonna slit my throat in my sleep."
Buffy sighs and tucks her blade back into her boot before running a hand through her long blonde hair, she didn't want to talk about this. She never talked about that night, but if she was going to be stuck with them for a while, maybe she should fess up at least a little.
"She was watching Chris, she came home for the weekend, I was working, Dad was out of town...I was exhausted I needed a night...so I asked her to come home. I finished work late went out for a drink and a hunt...when I got back she was on the ceiling her throat slit and then she burst into flames almost killing me and Chris too." She admits clenching her jaw tightly, she hated talking about it, that night was all her fault, it was the worst night of her life.
Dean sighs as he glances at the blonde, this was probably the most emotion he had seen on her face since the day he met her, he had only met the sarcastic hardcore badass, nothing else "I'm sorry."
Buffy exhales weakly as she swallows all her emotions back up before shrugging "I met your dad when I was 15." She admits making him frown in shock, that he was not expecting "You guys took a trip to L.A...it was so he could help me."
The elder hunter thinks back to that weekend, he was maybe 17 during that trip and all he knew was that his dad had taken off for some hunt. He never would have guessed it had something to do with the blonde they had heard nothing about till last week "Why did you need his help?"
"It was when I was called." She admits before smiling thinking back to the day she met John "Dad thought I was crazy and John didn't so much agree. He showed up helped me then punched my dad in the face. I owed him. Then about a couple of months ago, he showed up out of nowhere. I broke into a cell block at the police station in Brooklyn. The demon I was after killed herself. I got myself in an iffy sitch and John got me out."
Dean shakes his head in amusement, one little blonde beating the crap out of an entire station, now that was something he sure as hell would have loved to see.
Spotting him open his mouth, Buffy quickly cuts him off "No." She tells him "That's all you get. You know why I want the demon dead. And how I know your dad. End of."
Dean snorts in amusement as he watches the blonde, maybe there was more going on in her pretty little head than he thought, plus he might be nice to have someone around who could keep up with his quips, Sam was just too easy to drive nuts "Oh you're gonna tell me more."
Buffy couldn't help but scoff, he really thought he was smooth but she had no patience for that "If I don't kill you in your sleep." She says with a sweet girly smile making his eyes widen slightly, however, before he could even contemplate whether or not she was being serious Sam finally walks outside and straight over to them.
"Craig Thursten." He tells them "I know where he works...um...I actually have an idea to get him to talk...Buffy..."
Buffy frowns in confusion before crossing her arms, he had a really guilty look on his face like he was about to ask her to do something he knew she might kill him for.
"What now?"
"I hate you so much." Buffy mumbles in annoyance as she climbs out of the back of Dean's car in the girliest dress she owned, she felt like a freaking cupcake.
"Zip me." She orders Sam as she turns around and pulls her hair out of the way before glaring at Dean who was eyeing her up and down like a piece of meat "Get that smirk off your face."
Dean snorts as he watches the dolled-up Slayer, her blonde locks surrounding her face while she stood in white heeled sandals and a yellow strapless dress "Who would have thought...you're a chick."
"That's it!" The blonde exclaims and moves to punch him only for Sam to pick her up and move her away from Dean so she didn't kill him.
"You two need to get along." Sam sighs as Buffy continues to glare at Dean who merely sticks his tongue out at the blonde before looking her up and down and winking only pissing her off more.
"Stop aggravating each other." He huffs before placing Buffy back on her feet and turning to face her, blocking Dean from her view "He will talk more to a pretty girl than he will to us."
Buffy groans in annoyance before huffing, as much as she hated this, he wasn't wrong "I will resort to violence if he annoys me."
"Fine." Sam agrees with a sigh, he had a feeling he would not be able to stop her if he said no anyway.
Buffy groans in annoyance before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and plastering on her best dumb blonde smile. Once she was ready she heads into the record store the boys following her, before moving to another corner of the store while she moves to the records.
"Hi."
At the sound of the new voice coming from behind her, the blonde smirks and spins around smiling brightly "Hey there." She says with her best valley girl voice as she turns to face the store worker "I'm Buffy."
Craig smiles brightly at what was probably the most beautiful bubbly girl to ever enter his store "Craig...so um...you look like you could use some help?"
"Totally." She laughs as she glances at the records "Present for my brother. He's a writer apparently music helps with the whole inspiration thing."
The nervous Craig grins before gesturing for the blonde to follow him "I'm a writer myself there are a few things I like to listen to, might help your brother."
As she follows him the blonde vampire Slayer twirls a strand of her long blonde hair, she was playing her part to perfection, no matter how sick it made her feel "Wow, you're a writer? That's awesome." She asks trying so hard not to roll her eyes, she didn't understand why she couldn't just beat him for information.
As he begins flipping through the records for her Buffy leans against the shelves, plastering a bashful look on her pouted lips "It's a little embarrassing...but I do love reading those um...the haunting. The writing is just so good!"
"You're into haunting stories?" The teen asks in astonishment, clearly not expecting a girl that sweet and bubbly to be into something on the darker side.
When she nods Craig looks around before smiling at the blonde "Well...I can tell you a new story I'm working on if you like?"
"Really?" She fake gasps before nodding and twirling her hair again trying not to gag or glare at Dean who was laughing in the corner of the store, god she was going to kill him. He may be nice to look at but that was all he was useful for in her opinion.
Craig smiles still completely clueless as he tries to play up the tale as if it was his own story "Well, it's based on the legend of the Hell House. Supposedly back in the '30s. This farmer, Mordechai Murdoch. He used to live in the house with his six daughters. It was during the depression, his crops were failing. Didn't have enough money to even feed his own children. So I guess that's when he went off the deep end." When Craig stops Buffy places a hand on his shoulder causing him to inhale tightly, clearly nervous around her "Don't stop I'm like totally invested now...what else happens?"
"Well..." Craig continues "...he figured it was best if his girls died quick rather than starve to death...so he attacked them. They screamed begged for him to stop. But he just strung them up one after another. And then when he was all finished, he turned around and hung himself. Now they say that his spirit is trapped in the house forever, stringing up any other girl who goes inside."
Buffy nods before sighing in relief, she had the story she was so done with the dumb blonde thing, just a few more bits of intel then she was free "So how did you get your hands on such an awesome story."
Craig merely shrugs "My cousin Dana, not sure where she heard it."
Buffy frowns slightly before leaning forward and smiling at him sweetly "Do you believe it?" She asks adding a flirty tone to her voice, causing his face to go bright red "Like do you think it's real?"
"You're not gonna think I'm crazy?"
Buffy giggles softly before shaking her head "I've seen some crazy things. Test me."
"I didn't believe it at first...but now...well that house...I wouldn't go in it if I were you."
