Warning: Mentions of suicide. This story is rate M.
Sam watched as Dean bit into his burger and washed the mouthful down with a gulp of beer. He took another bite, the man seemingly unaware of the tension in the girl sitting next to him. To Dean, this was just another hunt, and Sam couldn't blame him for thinking that. It was just another hunt. It was routine. People got hurt when the supernatural was involved. Sometimes they died. It wasn't easy for any of them, but it wasn't something they tended to dwell on. If they did, they'd slowly find themselves going insane.
Sam's eyes shifted to Ali. She hadn't touched her burger or her fries or her soda. In fact, Sam hadn't seen her eat a single thing since she'd seen Emily die at the school on Friday. It was Sunday now.
"You gonna eat that?" Dean asked, his mouth full as he eyed Ali's greasy meal. He swallowed down his last bite of burger as he waited for an answer. Ali shook her head.
"Go for it," she replied, shoving her plate towards the elder Winchester. Sam continued to watch her. The teen's eyes were downcast as she held her soda cup between her hands, though the straw never made it to her lips.
"You want something else?" he asked her finally, concerned by her lack of appetite. When it came to her eating habits, Allison Venator was just like Dean. She was probably the only person he'd met who could give his brother a run for his money in an eating competition. Sam had never seen anyone of her size eat so much. Her metabolism must've been incredible.
"I'm not really hungry," Ali replied, her eyes still not meeting his. Sam sighed as he leant over the table, his elbows resting on the edge.
"What happened on Friday wasn't your fault –."
"Demonic possession," Ali said suddenly, cutting off the younger Winchester. "It's gotta be." Sam sighed again, this time in resignation as he leant back into his seat.
"There wasn't any sulphur," Dean replied, swallowing a mouthful of fries. Now Ali was leaning forward on the table, her hands flat on the white, plastic surface.
"Then it was ghost possession," she deduced. Sam shook his head.
"No EMF." Sam watched as Ali closed her eyes and took a deep breath. He wasn't sure if she was trying to come up with another theory or reliving the events from Friday over and over again inside her head. He hoped it wasn't the latter. "We discussed this yesterday," he said tentatively. "It's something else. Not possession." Ali released a long breath.
"All I know is that Emily wasn't herself when she left the biology class," she said, opening her eyes and staring out the murky diner window. "And she wasn't the one responsible for the other kid's deaths." Her eyes scanned the parking lot as she wracked her brain for ideas. She caught sight of a motorcycle parked near the diner entrance. It wasn't the one she'd seen on Friday, but it reminded her of the mysterious man's appearance. Who was he? Why did he keep showing up out of the blue? Ali hadn't told Sam and Dean about him. She'd yet to tell a soul about him. Although she'd definitely considered the possibility, she didn't think he had anything to do with the deaths at the school. He'd seemed indifferent to it in the brief moment Ali had seen him. He'd only seemed interested in her.
"Well maybe someone's trying to make an army of ghosts?" Dean suggested, pulling Ali from her thoughts. Ali didn't believe a word of it, and from the look in his eyes, the elder Winchester didn't either. "Violent deaths mean a lot of pissed off spirits."
"Could be some kind of sacrifice?" Sam added. Ali thought for a moment. Emily hadn't been herself when she'd stuck that shard of mirror into her neck. Maybe she wasn't possessed. Maybe…
"Maybe they were hexed," the teen said. Her eyes glanced between the brother next to her and the brother opposite. They both fell silent. "I know neither of you wanna bring it up, but I don't think any of these kids would've killed themselves unless something else was controlling them. They were hexed, just like I was." No one spoke for a long moment and the Winchester's exchanged meaningful looks.
"Actually, the thought had crossed our minds," Sam said tentatively. "Dean checked the bodies for sigils yesterday. There weren't any." Ali sighed, her hands meeting her forehead as she closed her eyes. She couldn't think properly. Her mind was filled with things that kept distracting her from the current case. Things like Dean's deal. The mysterious woman who'd saved Sam. The knife she'd possessed. The mysterious man who'd saved her. She missed Tyler, like always. She missed Bobby. She'd missed three calls from Tim.
"I'm gonna get another soda," she said, sidestepping Dean to get out of the booth, cup in hand. Sam knew full well that she didn't want another soda. Dean knew it too, and Ali knew that they both knew it. They let her go anyway, both of their minds filled with their own anxieties and stresses that they'd also continue to keep to themselves.
Ali sat by herself in the cafeteria at lunch. She'd spent the day avoiding the glances of most of the students and thoroughly hating high school. She didn't want to be there. She just wanted the case to be over.
"I didn't know your uncle was in the FBI," a voice said from above Ali. She looked up to see Tiffany slapping her tray down opposite her and taking a seat.
"What?" Ali asked, startled by her sudden appearance.
"My dad's a cop," Tiffany explained. "I was at the station dropping him dinner at the weekend when your uncle dropped by." Ali nodded, unsure what she should say next. "You know, a lot of people are talking about what happened on Friday." The teen huffed, growing annoyed at the girl who wouldn't leave her alone. "Some people are even saying that you killed Emily." Ali's eyes snapped up to Tiffany's, her stare accusatory.
"Is that what you think?" she asked challengingly. Tiffany narrowed her eyes back at Ali, scrutinising the new girl in front of her.
"No," she replied simply.
"Then why are you talking to me?" Ali questioned. She refused to believe that a girl like Tiffany would want to hang out with her without some kind of ulterior motive. "Do you just get a kick out of knowing everyone else's business?" Tiffany smirked at the girl before her. Most people she knew didn't have the balls to talk to her like that.
"Yeah, pretty much," she replied. "And I figured if I make friends with you, I'll get to see your uncle again." Tiffany's smirk widened a little as she quirked up a perfect brow. Ali rolled her eyes. She didn't particularly like the idea of Tiffany drooling all over Dean. His ego was already too big. "So, can I eat my lunch with you, or do you want me to go?" Ali thought for a moment. Tiffany wasn't exactly the kind of girl she'd befriend normally, but she seemed nice enough. Maybe she even knew a few school secrets.
"Fine," Ali replied. The blonde girl opposite her smiled, satisfied with herself. The pair ate in silence for a while, both their brains working overdrive to figure the other one out. "So, uh, how long did you know Grace Meyer?" Tiffany paused her fork that was halfway to her mouth as she caught Ali's eye before letting it rest on the side of her tray.
"We were friends for a few years," she replied. "Why?" Ali shook her head.
"I'm the new girl. Just trying to find out a few things," she replied. "Seems like everybody loved her. It's hard to think why she would've jumped off the roof." Tiffany's eyes narrowed for a second before she picked up her fork and finished her mouthful of salad.
"Grace was a nice girl," Tiffany replied. "But she was always too hard on herself. She always wanted to be perfect, and if she wasn't, it would destroy her." Ali nodded.
"And what about Christopher?" she asked. She'd been curious about him ever since she found out he'd been in a relationship with the deceased girl. "He doesn't seem that upset that his girlfriend died." Tiffany sighed, pushing her tray to the side so she could lean her elbows on the table.
"I know," she said. "But he really did care about her. Last year after his mom died, he had a breakdown in our gym class. He was off school for weeks after that." Ali's heart saddened at the news.
"That's horrible." Tiffany nodded in agreement.
"After Grace died, I think everyone was expecting it to happen again, but he refuses to let himself get like that. It's almost like he's put up a wall to keep his emotions in check. He couldn't survive without it." Ali could understand Tiffany's words. She wished she'd been as strong after Tyler had died.
"What about Anna and Luka?" the teen asked, hoping Tiffany would continue to tell her everything she needed to know.
"I barely knew Luka, but he seemed like a nice guy," she replied.
"And Anna?" Ali asked. "Apparently she was about to get excluded."
"All I know is that she missed a lot of classes and the principle was getting involved," Tiffany replied. "I was at her house when the school phoned her parents to say they needed to come in. I left pretty quickly, but her mom was already screaming at her before I got out the front door."
"Were her parents strict?" Ali asked. Tiffany let out a breath of laughter.
"Oh yeah," she replied. "I think her grandfather's a priest or something. They'd barely let her come around to my house, let alone any kind of party. A boyfriend was obviously out of the question. I guess all the rules just pushed her over the edge. As soon as she fell into the wrong crowd, everyone just assumed she was a lost cause."
"Was she seeing anyone?" Ali asked.
"I doubt it," Tiffany replied. "Even after she went off the rails she never really seemed interested in having a boyfriend. It was probably the only one of her parent's rules that she didn't break."
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of the warning bell. The pair quickly gathered their things before heading out of the lunch hall, Ali's mind swimming with the information she'd just received.
Ali was exhausted when she arrived back at the motel that afternoon. She and the Winchesters had congregated in Sam and Dean's motel room to talk about the case, but each of them were just as drained as the others.
The seventeen-year-old lay on her back on Dean's bed whilst the elder Winchester sat in front of the TV, mindlessly flicking through the channels, beer in hand. Sam sat at the table, fingers tapping away at the keys of his laptop. The only sound was that of the crappy programme blaring from the small-screened television that no one was really paying attention to.
Four seniors from the same high school had now ended up dead and they needed to find out what was behind it. Even more, they needed to find what linked the four victims together so that they could predict who the next target was going to be.
Ali rolled onto her front, the side of her face pressing into a soft pillow. She really was exhausted, but she didn't let her eyes fall shut in fear of falling asleep. Dean changed the channel again and Ali sat up to see Steve Carell's face filling the screen. She flopped back down, her mind still swimming with the week's events.
"God, imagine being a virgin at forty," Dean mused, taking a sip of his beer and looking over his shoulder towards his brother. "You'd know something about that, right Sammy?" Ali could practically hear Sam roll his eyes in indignation.
"Shut up, Dean." The elder Winchester gave a bark of laughter as he turned off the television and stood from the chair.
"Man, I need to get laid," he muttered to himself as he gulped down the rest of his beer. Ali smiled small, inwardly rolling her eyes. Dean had a tendency to lose focus with his upstairs brain.
Suddenly, the teenager's smile dropped from her lips and she sat up, a thought hitting her like a bus.
"What if they were all virgins?" she blurted out. Sam and Dean's gazes found hers as they both frowned. "Tiffany said she never saw Anna with a boy, and Christopher said he and Grace never had sex."
"Could be," Sam mused, his brows knitted together. "I mean, there's stuff in the lore about virgin sacrifices, and lots of witch spells mention it too." Sam turned back to his computer and began typing on the keyboard.
"Hang on a second," Dean cut in. "Just because Grace never said she had sex with one guy, doesn't mean she didn't with anyone else."
"Doesn't mean she did," Ali retorted. "Not everyone's libido is like yours." Dean smirked a little, seeming pleased with himself. The teen shook her head at him. She hadn't meant it as a compliment. "It's just a suggestion anyways," she said, starting to doubt herself. She'd been wrong about everything else, and she didn't want to feel like anymore blood was on her hands. "We don't know for sure about any of them."
"I'm pretty certain Mr Mathlete wasn't banging anyone in the chemistry closet," Dean replied with a small chuckle. Ali shot him a glare.
"Why? You think because he was smart that no one would want him?" she asked with a raised brow. Dean's eyes widened defensively.
"No, I'm just saying that –."
"You think just because you spoke to his mom once that you're an expert on the guy?" Dean huffed, irritated that the girl before him was trying to make him out as the bad guy.
"Come on, his parents had pictures of him all over the house, the guy was a dork," he replied dismissively.
"And that means he was a virgin?" Ali asked.
"Yeah," Dean replied. Ali raised a brow at him.
"You can tell from just a picture?"
"It's easy," Dean replied. "I'm an expert at reading people." She continued to stare at him expectantly, waiting for him to spill more information. "And Sam was a mathlete in high school. This guy was definitely a virgin." Ali rolled her eyes as she looked over her shoulder to spot the younger Winchester at the desk. His cheeks were flushed with embarrassment. She snorted, shaking her head.
"I'll talk to some people tomorrow at school," she replied, turning back to Dean as she climbed off the bed. "We really need to figure this thing out."
"Might wanna return your boyfriend's calls at some point too," the elder Winchester said. "Bobby rang earlier and said the poor kid thinks you don't like him." A smirk fell on his lips. "Wonder how he got that idea?" Ali huffed, ready to put someone's head through a wall.
"Fine, I'll do it now," she said, fishing her phone from her pocket. "Don't you think it's funny how you and Bobby are the ones encouraging me to talk to a guy? One you've never even met? He could be a real jackass."
"As long as he's just a guy on the phone, I'm cool with it," he replied, causing Ali to laugh. She grabbed her bag and headed for the door, rehearsing in her mind what she was going to say to the boy when he answered.
"Ali." The blonde turned around as she scrolled through her phone for Tim's number. She frowned at Dean who had an awkward but mischievous expression on his face. "You're not…?" he paused, his fingers scratching behind his ear as he rephrased. "I mean, I don't have to worry about you, do I?" Ali frowned at him.
"What do you mean?" Dean chewed on his lip as he turned to Sam for help. The younger Winchester shook his head at him with a pointed look.
"I mean, if whatever's killing the kids is after virgins…" Ali raised a brow at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "I know I'm safe," he said, pointing to himself before gesturing to his brother. "I'm pretty certain Sam is too." Ali could see Sam roll his eyes in her peripherals. "But you…?" Ali smirked at him.
"I thought you said you were an expert at reading people?" she quipped. Dean huffed, growing a little irritated, though really, he was infuriated with not being able to figure out the answer.
"Come on," he coaxed. "We've gotta be mature about this. Now, have you lost your v-card or not?" Ali rolled her eyes as she sighed, casting Sam a side glance as she gestured for Dean to come closer. He leaned in, his eyes gleeful as if he were a teenager about to hear some juicy gossip.
"None of your business," Ali whispered pointedly, leaving Dean with an annoyed expression on his face as she walked away. "I'm going to my room." Sam could see the smirk on her face as she walked away and he chuckled to himself as he and Dean watched her disappear out of the room.
"Do you know?" Dean asked, turning an accusing glance towards his younger brother. Sam shook his head, still amused at Dean's reaction to not getting what he wanted. In general, Ali tended to follow exactly what Dean said, but the girl was growing up. She wasn't going to be a teenager forever and she was learning to think for herself.
"Why would I know?" Sam asked incredulously.
"Don't give me that look, you know what I mean. I'm surprised I've never seen you braiding each other's hair!" Now it was Sam who sent Dean an annoyed look. "She must've told you. You two talk all the time!" Sam rolled his eyes.
"Not about that, Dean," Sam replied. "Despite what you think, I'm actually not a teenage girl." Dean scoffed.
"Could've fooled me," he replied bitterly. Sam shook his head.
"Get some sleep, Dean."
The girl's locker room didn't smell as bad as the boy's, but it still wasn't a pleasant place to change before gym class. Ali pulled her hair into a pony tail in front of the mirror beside Tiffany who was styling her hair in two French braids.
"Do you know if Grace was a virgin?" Ali felt stupid the moment the words left her lips. Tiffany paused her braiding, her eyes locking with Ali's in the mirror.
"I'm not sure," she replied slowly.
"Christopher would know, right?" she asked.
"I guess," the confused girl replied, quickly finishing up her braid and walking towards the gym. Ali caught up with her, following her closely behind.
"And Anna was too, right?" Ali halted in her tracks as Tiffany spun around. She had a couple of inches on Ali, and from the look on her face, the teen was worried she might slap her.
"At first, I thought you were just curious because you were new," she said quickly, her voice hushed. "But now I'm starting to think you have a kink for dead people." Ali blanched, taking a step back.
"Sorry," she said in defence. Tiffany's shoulder's relaxed as she sighed, her stare softening.
"Could you just stop asking so many questions?" she pleaded. "Talking about my dead friends all day is draining and I'm worried about getting premature frown lines." Ali nodded, suppressing the desire to roll her eyes.
"Okay," she replied. Tiffany gave her a tight smile as they made their way to the gym.
The lacrosse couch had come down with a cold, so rather than having the entire class run laps of the field for an hour, the substitute had brought them inside. Dodgeball was the game, and Ali was grinning before they'd even started.
The stand-in coach chose captains of the teams, and to Ali's relief, she wasn't picked last. Although she didn't have many friends (if any) at the school, it was obvious to any that Ali was athletic and could probably hold her own in most sports. She was a little above average height for a female, and although she was slim, her muscles were defined. She worked out, like she bet any hunter did. If a monster was chasing you, you didn't want to not have enough stamina to have a good chance at getting away.
Ali knew she was fit in that sense. That didn't make her arrogant. She'd never thought of herself as particularly attractive, but her body did what it needed for her to be able to defend itself against attacks from the supernatural.
Halfway through the first game, it was clear that the boys were the competitive ones. Tiffany was already out, but Ali had managed to dodge all the throws that headed her way and even managed to get three of the opposing team out. Hitting moving targets was something she did on a regular basis. This was child's play.
"Allison," someone called from beside her. She turned to see Christopher catch a ball before throwing it back at the opposing team.
"Hey," she said, moving closer to him whilst keeping an eye on the game. "I really need to talk to you, it's important." The boy frowned, dodging a ball as it flew passed his head.
"What's up?" he asked, concern lacing his voice. Ali cast her eyes around the gym at the other pupils.
"Not here," she murmured. "I'll catch you later." The substitute coach blew her whistle, signalling for everyone to grab a drink. Ali jogged over to where Tiffany was sitting on a bench and grabbed her water bottle from the floor. Someone wolf whistled behind her. She straightened up.
Ali recognised the boy before her. She'd seen him around in the corridors and in the cafeteria. He was fairly built, and fairly attractive in an arrogant sort of way. As she turned fully to face him, his eyes shamelessly raked over her body, a smirk on his face. Ali gritted her teeth together. She hated him already.
"I'm Justin," he greeted. Two of his mates stood behind him. The one to the right was whispering something to the left one, both their eyes unmoving from Ali's cleavage. She wished she'd worn a different top. "You're new, right?" The blonde girl rolled her eyes.
"Yeah," she replied. Justin stared at her a moment longer, his eyes predatory before his vision focused on someone behind her.
"How're you doing, Tiffany?" he asked. Ali heard a small breath release from the girl sat on the bench.
"Fine," Tiffany replied, her voice lacking its usual oomph. The coach blew the whistle again and Justin tipped his head before heading back to play. Ali turned around, taking a sip of her water before her eyes locked with Tiffany's.
"Who was that?" Ali asked. Tiffany sighed.
"The biggest mistake I ever made," she huffed as she stood and walked back to the game. Ali watched her go for a minute. Justin had slowed his pace to walk next to her, his hand meeting the small of her back. Tiffany slapped it away, stalking off to her position to start. Now Ali really hated him.
The whistle blew once again and the game was set into motion. One of Justin's friends immediately received a blow to his leg, meaning he was out straight away. Ali dodged a ball thrown by the opposite team before catching another and throwing it back. It didn't take long for Tiffany to be out, a ball thrown by Justin catching her on her thigh. Ali retrieved the ball quickly and threw it back at him. It brushed his left shoulder, but otherwise did no damage.
"Bellow the waste please, Miss Williams," the coach called. Ali rolled her eyes, believing the rule to be ridiculous. Headshots counted in real life, why not in a game of dodgeball? Justin continued to stare at Ali as he played, making her extremely uncomfortable. She tried to ignore him, but his gaze split a hole right through her.
"Ignore him, he's an ass," Christopher said as he dodged a ball and stood next to her. Ali shot him a grateful look before retrieving a stray ball from the floor and launching it across the room at another player. It hit the girl on the side of the head and Ali muttered a quick apology under her breath.
"Miss Williams!" the coach yelled. "I won't ask again." Ali huffed, growing annoyed at the constant berating.
"Yeah, keep it PG, Williams," Justin cackled from across the room. Ali tried to ignore him, but his constant teasing and leering looks were getting under her skin. If they were in any other setting, she would've kneed him in the crotch already.
"He's not worth it, trust me," Christopher said, as if reading Ali's mind. She tried to relax a little as she sent him a smile, pushing her negative thoughts to the back of her mind. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Justin preparing to make a throw. He released the ball from his hand, the thing spinning as it came towards them. Ali snapped out her hand, catching the ball before it could slam into Christopher's nose.
"Woah," he said as he took a step back in surprise. "Nice catch." Ali smiled, sending Christopher a smirk as she heard Justin curse under his breath.
"Thanks," she replied.
"New girl's good," Ali heard one of Justin's mates say as he joined them at the side lines.
"Kind of a bitch, don't you think?" Justin replied. Ali's fingers held onto the ball she was holding as she dodged the other's being hurled at her. It was difficult with the distraction and she flushed red with irritation. "I'd still bang her though. Bet she's got a nice ass under that attitude." Ali snapped, turning towards the row of teenagers and hurtling the ball in Justin's direction. It hit the unexpecting jackass square in the nuts and he cowered over in pain. Bullseye.
"Miss Williams?" the exasperate substitute called over the rest of the class who'd erupted into laughter as the injured boy groaned profanity under his breath. "Please leave the gym." Ali didn't hesitate as she stalked back to the locker room, avoiding the stairs of her peers. She was done with them all.
"What the hell was that?" she heard Tiffany ask from behind her. She'd heard her footsteps follow her out of the gym. Ali could hear the smile in her voice.
"I have good aim," Ali said nonchalantly.
"Brilliant aim," Tiffany replied, still giggling. Ali rolled her eyes as she pulled her locker open to grab her clothes. As she did, her Colt 28 Super fell from when it was wrapped up in her jacket and bounced on the floor. Tiffany gasped.
"Shit," Ali cursed under her breath.
"You have a gun in your locker," Tiffany said slowly. Ali turned around to see that the other girl had taken several steps back. Her eyes were locked on the firearm. "Why do you have a gun in your locker?" Ali sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She was in deep crap now, especially if Tiffany told anyone. Especially if Tiffany told her father.
"I'm not who you think I am, okay?" Ali said, trying to think of a way out. "But I'm here to help, I swear."
"Who the hell are you?" she questioned, taking another step towards the door. Ali bent down and tentatively picked up the gun with two fingers, showing a tense Tiffany that she wasn't going to use it. She quickly slipped it into the back of her gym shorts.
"My name really is Allison, but Dean isn't my uncle," Ali replied. Tiffany still looked afraid, but seemed to think Ali was telling the truth.
"Who is he?" she asked. Ali bit her lip.
"I guess you could say we work together," she replied. "Kinda like detectives."
"So, you work for the F.B.I too?" Tiffany asked.
"No," Ali said. "Neither does Dean." The girl before her looked ready to leave, but Ali couldn't let that happen. Not until she was sure that Tiffany would keep her mouth shut. "We work with his brother on the cases that the police don't understand. I can't tell you any more than that."
"But all the deaths…" Tiffany began. "They were all suicides." Ali shook her head.
"We're not sure that there were," she replied. "There's something going on in this school. Something bad. We're just trying to figure out who's behind it so we can stop them."
"And that's why you've been asking all these questions?" Tiffany asked. Ali took a breath.
"Yes," she replied. "And I need more answers." The girl looked reluctant and Ali took a step towards her. "Please, it's important. I need to know everything." Tiffany was quiet for a long time. Then, finally, she took a deep breath, and nodded.
"Okay."
The Impala pulled up in the parking lot and Ali pulled the passenger door open, sliding into the seat next to Dean.
"It's not virgins," she said, letting her head fall against the door. She was exhausted.
"Why are you so sure?" Dean asked, a frown on his face as he pulled out of the layby.
"Because Tiffany's pretty certain that Emily was sleeping with Mr Clark," Ali sighed. Dean's brows raised.
"The Biology teacher?" he clarified. Ali nodded her head. "Which one's Tiffany again?" Before she could answer, Dean braked suddenly, and Ali almost slid off her seat. Out of the front wind shield was a blonde girl, her hands pressed to the bonnet as she stared at them.
"That's Tiffany," Ali said in shock. She walked round to the side of the Impala and pulled open the back door, sliding in and resting her elbows on the front bench.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Dean asked, clearly annoyed. "Get out."
"No," Tiffany replied defiantly, though Ali could hear a hint of fear in her voice.
"Tiffany, get out of the car," Ali told her. She shook her head.
"No, I'm not leaving," she replied. "I wanna help." Dean rolled his eyes.
"Look, sweetheart –."
"Whoever's behind this killed four of my classmates," she reminded the pair. "I'm coming with you." Ali bit her lip, her eyes glancing between Tiffany and Dean. She held the elder Winchester's gaze a moment, a pleading look in her eyes. Dean sighed.
"You owe me a beer," he huffed gruffly as he pulled out of the parking lot.
Ali and Tiffany sat opposite Sam on the bed next to him whilst Dean paced around the room.
"Are you sure?" Sam asked. Tiffany shrugged.
"I think so," she replied. "I mean, I saw them making out in the lab once. I confronted Emily about it and she said it was true." Ali huffed, shaking her head as anger erupted inside her.
"Son of a bitch," she muttered under her breath. "Even if he's not behind the deaths, I'm still gonna kill him." Sam sighed.
"That's not our job," the younger Winchester reminded her.
"He's married," Ali shot back. Sam shrugged. "He's a teacher!"
"Emily was eighteen," Dean cut in, sending Ali a pointed look. Her jaw tightened.
"She's dead."
The room fell silent and Ali stood, making her way to the bathroom and splashing water on her face. She needed to calm herself down, but the events of the last few days were making her cranky.
"Maybe Emily really did kill herself," Tiffany was saying when Ali re-entered the room. "I know she felt guilty about the whole thing and it can't've been easy having to face the man's wife three times a week."
"What do you mean?" Sam asked, a frown on his face.
"Miss Lee?" Tiffany said. "She kept her name at school the same after they married." Ali's heart began to race as realisation hit her.
"The guidance counsellor?" she asked. Tiffany nodded. Sam rushed over to his pile of papers and began riffling through them.
"I don't know how we missed it," he muttered when he discovered the one he was looking for. "All four of them were seeing her on a regular basis before they died."
"Oh my God," Tiffany exclaimed, fear filling her voice. Ali turned to her expectantly. "Christopher has an appointment with her now." The teen's muscles tightened as she grabbed her gun from the nightstand and checked that it was loaded.
"We've gotta get back to the school."
It was as if an explosion went off when Dean broke down the door to the counsellor's office. A bright light filled the room as the windows erupted into tiny shards of glass, and Dean was thrown back, collapsing to the floor beside Ali. Sam and Tiffany had gone to locate Mr Clark, hoping he might be able to tell them more information.
The blonde teen brushed herself off as she marched into the office, catching sight of Miss Lee who had a needle stuck in Christopher's neck. He looked completely out of it, and Ali suspected that the murderous guidance counsellor must've put him in some kind of trance. She held her gun up at the woman before her.
"Let him go," she demanded. Miss Lee removed the needle from his neck and Ali could see that she'd already extracted some of his blood. Behind her, she could hear Dean groaning as he clambered to his feet.
"I thought there was something off about you when you came to see me last week," Miss Lee said.
"Could say the same about you," Ali shot back. "Are you a real witch?" Miss Lee smiled devilishly.
"No, I've just picked up a few things." She raised her hand and with a flick of her wrist, Ali's gun was out of her hands and across the room.
"Using black magic to kill teenagers? That's pretty dark, don't you think?" Ali commented. "Why'd you do it?"
"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," she replied dangerously. Ali shook her head.
"Emily was just a kid," she replied.
"She knew exactly what she was doing," Miss Lee spat. "And she had the nerve to sit here in front of me and ask for my help!" Ali's teeth gritted together.
"And what about the others? What did they do to deserve it?" she asked disbelievingly.
"They all had their secrets," Miss Lee said. "They all came to me with their problems, but they all only had themselves to blame. Anna was a smart kid, but she blew it when she started taking drugs. She was never going to be successful in this life."
"You don't know that," Ali told her. "She just needed some help." The woman cackled.
"That's what Luka said. Everyone thought he was all brains and nothing else, but only I knew that he'd been cheating on his midterms for the last three years." Ali's teeth gritted together, completely disgusted by the monster in front of her.
"And what about Grace?" she asked. Miss Lee shook her head.
"She was the brightest girl I ever met," she replied. "Until she started dating this boy." The counsellor pointed an accusing finger at Christopher who still appeared to be in a trance-like state. "The stupid girl was planning on turning down her place at Princeton so she could go to the same college as her boyfriend."
"So, you killed her?" Ali asked incredulously.
"I stopped her from throwing away her life! I stopped her from being a disappointment!" The teen took a step away as she stared at the deranged woman.
"You're insane," she said, backing further away. She felt Dean emerge behind her, cursing when his gun was pulled out of his hands by an invisible force. Miss Lee sent another explosion in their direction and the pair flew backwards, smacking against the wall and crumpling to the ground.
"Call Sam," Ali begged Dean as her vision blurred. The elder Winchester nodded, wiping away the blood from his forehead. Miss Lee was by her table as she squeezed the syringe of Christopher's blood onto her hands. She muttered a few words under her breath and suddenly, Christopher was on his feet, Ali's gun in his hand.
"No!" Ali yelled as he held the gun to his head. She pushed herself off of the floor and wrestled the gun out of his hand. It went off, but luckily, the bullet only pierced the wall. Ali slapped the boy's face and his eyes flickered open. He seemed disorientated like he had no idea where he was or how he got there. "Get out of here," she instructed him, pushing him towards the door.
Dean was on his feet too, and suddenly, Sam appeared at the doorway. His gun was gone soon too and both the Winchester's were thrown across the room once again. Ali yelled, lunging across the office at Miss Lee. The teen was clearly the superior fighter, but the woman knew all kinds of spells that would help her. As Ali pushed her over, she felt the sharp scratch of a needle in her arm before she jerked away. Miss Lee watched her carefully as she squeezed her blood out onto her hand and muttered the same words she had moments earlier.
Ali's vision blurred as her muscles took over. She bent down and grabbed her silver knife from her boot, holding the blade close to her chest. Her mind was telling her to stop, but her body wouldn't listen. It was like she was in a daze, possessed by external forces that she couldn't control. Her hands tightened around the blade as she pushed it closer to her chest, but her mind continued to fight, willing herself not to do it.
"Ali no!" she heard someone shout. Sam or Dean. Her mind was too focused to be able to tell which it was. She gritted her teeth together as she forced her hands away from her body, and just when she thought she wasn't strong enough to overcome it, there was a pop, and the knife fell from her hands.
Ali sagged, fully exhausted from trying to fight. Dean caught her before she fell, and she regained her balance.
"You alright?" he asked worriedly, his eyes skimming over her for signs of damage. She straightened up, her heard still racing as she nodded at him. Her eyes glanced to Miss Lee who was laying across her desk, her dead eyes wide with shock as blood dribbled from the gaping bullet wound in her head. Ali looked to the door just as Sam tentatively pulled the pistol out of Mr Clark's hands. The Biology teacher had tears in his haunted eyes. Even with the mistakes he's made, Ali couldn't help but feel bad for the man who'd just shot his wife.
She made for the door, but Dean caught her arm.
"Your two friends are outside," he told her. "Why don't you make sure they get home." Ali nodded, leaving the office to find Christopher and Tiffany in the corridor. The girl's cheeks were stained with tears as she clung to the boy. His eyes were wide with horror as they both sat on the floor, but they both seemed to relax when they spotted Ali.
"You two gonna be okay?" she asked as she stared down at them. Christopher looked up before climbing to his feet, dragging Tiffany along with him. His arm didn't leave her waste as he comforted her.
"Thanks to you," he said with a small smile. Ali nodded back at him.
"You need a lift?" Christopher shook his head.
"That's okay," he replied. "I've got my car, I'll drive her home." The teen smiled at the boy, then glanced at the girl who was still in tears. Ali had never seen her like this, but she somehow knew she'd be okay. It was all over now. She said goodbye and watched as they walked down the corridor together, arm in arm. At one point, she noticed Tiffany's hand squeezed Christopher's shoulder affectionately and his head turned to press his lips to her hair. Ali smiled at the pair, a bitter sweet feeling filling her to the brim.
It took a few days to clean up the case at the high school, but Ali let the Winchester's handle most of it. Ali sat in Sam and Dean's motel room as she waited for them to return, her body positioned on the floor between the two beds as she read.
"What are you doing?" Ali jumped at the sound of Sam's voice above her. She quickly snapped shut the book in her arms and looked up at him.
"Nothing," she replied. Sam snorted at her attempt to cover up what she was doing.
"Is that a math book?" he asked, catching sight of the cover, a confused expression on his face. "Where'd you get it?" Ali bit her lip, though she could see in Sam's expression that he already knew exactly where she'd got it.
"Didn't think they'd miss one textbook," Ali replied innocently. "Figured they owed us for taking out their psychotic guidance counsellor anyways." Sam chuckled, his lips curving up in a smile.
"Okay, well, uh… I'll leave you to your reading," he replied, moving over to take a seat at the table to clear up his things. He wanted to get ahead on some more research for Dean. He felt like it'd been a while since he did any.
"Sam?" a soft voice asked from across the room. "Can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead," he said, his eyes focussed on his screen as he logged into his laptop. Ali stood a few metres from where Sam was sitting, an apprehensive expression on her face.
"I uh…" she muttered, unable to get the words out. Sam frowned, his gaze moving from the screen to the girl.
"What is it?" His eyes were kind and concerned. Ali was afraid to ask, but more afraid that he'd say no.
"Never mind, it's stupid," she replied dismissively, turning away.
"Hey, come one," Sam pushed, now more interested in what was bothering the teen than his computer. "What is it?" Ali sighed.
"I couldn't keep up with those other kids at the school," she said, a little embarrassed at herself. "I felt like the dumbest person in the room and I hated it."
"Okay…" Sam said slowly. "What does this have to do with me." Ali took a deep breath.
"Well, I know you went to Stanford and you seemed like a pretty good teacher." There was a long paused as Sam stared at the seventeen-year-old in front of him. She was avoiding his gaze.
"You want me to tutor you?" Sam asked incredulously. Ali's jaw tightened, her cheeks flushing at the ridiculousness of her request.
"You're right, you don't have time for this," she said quickly. "Forget I asked."
"No, it's not that," Sam clarified, a breath of laughter escaping his lips. "I'm just… surprised."
"Because I'm stupid?" Ali asked quietly. The younger Winchester shook his head quickly.
"No, not at all, I just… I uh –." The girl stared at him expectantly. "You know what? If you want me to teach you math, I'll teach you math."
"Are you sure?" Ali asked apprehensively. Sam nodded. "Okay, well, I know you're really busy so just let me know when you've got time."
Sam closed his laptop.
"I've got time now?" he proposed. Ali shrugged, a small smile pulling at her lips.
"Seriously?" she asked. Sam nodded with a chuckle, moving a few of his things on the table and gesturing for her to some a sit down. Ali made her way across the room, lugging the heavy book in her arms.
"I guess we should start with the basics," Sam suggested, opening the textbook to the page he was looking for. "Algebra one." Ali bit her lip as she stared at the page, her brow furrowing in fear. Sam shook his head, a little amused. "It's okay," he assured her. "It'll be hard at the beginning, but you'll get the hang of it. It's easy when you know how." Ali nodded, a determined look on her face.
"Okay," she replied.
"Why don't you read through the example and then we'll talk about it," Sam said. He watched as her eyes focused on the text and she read the page before her intently. As she did, a small smile tugged at his lips, and Sam couldn't help the warm feeling that settled in his heart.
AN: Hope you enjoyed this little 2-parter.
Check out my 3 part story called Red As A Rose if you want.
Let me know what you thought, much love x
