"Okay, kids, looks like it'll be just me and you for a couple of days,'' Sammy sipped his coffee and glanced towards Dean, who was on the phone in the hallway.
It had been the third call he needed to take in the past twenty minutes.
Either Dean filled Sammy in earlier, or the younger brother understood all he needed to know during their silent conversation.
Maybe it was both of those options.
"Dean needs to go help someone important to us."
"Who?" Mel asked, while furiously tapping on her phone.
She was playing piano tiles, which demanded accuracy, consistency, and efficiency.
Well, at least that's what Sammy said, she remembered him smiling as he put in the password for it to download.
He made a joke about Mel trying to be like her sister, which the girl didn't understand because Drea didn't have piano tiles on her phone.
"Uncle Bobby. You speak to him on facetime, and he's in Dad's journal, remember?"
"Yeah, of course," Mel nodded and her eyes glazed over momentarily. "Is everything alright?"
Sammy knew firsthand how hard it was to keep a brave front when you thought people you cared about were in danger.
He cleared his throat. "Yeah, there's a hunt by him that he needs assistance on."
Mel sat and listened, wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands.
She didn't mean to assume the worst that Bobby was injured or dying, but that's where her head went and it was hard to recover from. She and Drea would have to call him again soon and check in.
~~SS~~SS~~SS
Adam's stomach was seconds from dropping to the floor.
He and Mel wanted to play a game they saw online but needed Sam's laptop to do so.
When he typed in the web address and hit 'enter', pop-up advertisements kept filling the screen.
They were spawning at a pace the boy couldn't keep up with.
No matter how many times Ace clicked out of the website, they didn't go away.
Adam looked over to his sister, but that didn't help.
Seeing Melanie's panicked expression did nothing to quell his anxiety.
"What did we do?" He whined, palming his face and shaking his head in denial.
"We?!" Melanie sputtered, "N-no! I did not touch anything on that computer!"
"No. You just told me where to find it and went along with the plan." Ace was not going down for this all alone.
Normally he would do his best to keep his sister out of trouble, but not when she sat there and tried to play the innocence game!
And just when they thought it couldn't get any worse, Drea May slipped into the room through the cracked door.
"Hey, Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Sammy noticed his laptop's missing and I say you have about thirty seconds before he comes looking for it."
She didn't notice anything wrong with the machine, since Adam held it close to his chest, but she did wonder why her siblings were acting weird.
For once though, Drea decided not to meddle and went to the library to practice her lines for her upcoming musical, Bring It On.
When she got to the second page of reviewing her script, Drea heard Sammy begin to yell.
There was no way that was a good sign, but she continued to stay out of it. This performance was too important to jeopardize.
~~SS~~SS~~SS
Mel winced, hearing sound smacks followed by Adam's cries. Since when was their second oldest brother so hands-on?
"Sorry, Sam! I won't do it again!" Adam pleaded, and Mel imagined he put his hand back to block the punishment, to which their guardian responded with smacks to the thighs.
"Sammy, please! I'm sorryyyy!"
She knew that situation and wished for some way out of her impending discipline session.
Don't give me up, Ace!
She had no desire to feel Sammy's wrath. Not at all when she realized he could make Adam cry that hard.
Her twin was sitting on one of the leather chairs, slumped down lower than normal.
Drea's arms were behind her head and her feet were spread apart; she was taking up as much space as possible.
She had to be feigning that nonchalance, though, because Mel had never seen her so subdued. Or maybe the music she was listening to was drowning out the sounds of consequence.
Drea wouldn't admit to something unless she wanted it to be seen, so Mel didn't push it.
Melanie's phone interrupted her twin analysis with aggressive vibrations against the map table.
The caller id read "Deanie" with a pie and a car emoji. The icons were something the girls decided would fit his contact perfectly.
Shit. Now of all times?
Mel watched it ring, almost daring to decline it. A lazy glance from Drea had her scrambling to answer it before he called her instead.
"Deanie! Heyyy!" Mel chirped, immediately clearing her throat.
So much for not acting suspiciously.
"Why? But you called me!" Melanie sighed and rolled her eyes, "Sure De, whatever."
"Twin, phone," Mel called to Drea, concluding that her sister must've lost her mind to shake her head in response.
Drea didn't move from her spot while Mel continued to entertain their brother's nonsense.
"Drea declines, Dean. Yes, declines. Refuses. Rejects. No, I'm not trying to be a smart ass. I've been told it's a natural talent."
"He's…er…busy. Nothing he can't handle, I'm sure. It's not my conversation to have, sorry. Yeah, well, at least I answered. Whatever, bye." She ended the call as he blabbed about how he wasn't done.
Yeah, maybe Mel lost her mind as well.
She locked the phone and sat on the armrest of Drea's chair, forcing her sister to move her leg.
"Wanna tell me why you're not talking to Dean?"
"It's none of your business." She mumbled, making the music louder.
"It is if he calls my phone about it."
Drea knew Mel wouldn't let up until she got an answer and, frankly, it wasn't a game she wanted to play today.
"Theatre," she whispered, "He told me he'd come, and I believed him."
"Oh. Dre, I'm sorry." Mel scooched closer to her sister and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
The simple touch comforted Drea and Mel didn't ask any more questions as the girl sniffled.
Drea had found a passion of hers, an activity she begged her brothers to partake in for weeks.
Ace had weaponry, and Mel had sparring. The two of them were great hunters in training, worthy of the Winchester name.
But Drea felt that maybe she just wasn't. Maybe, out of all five of John Winchester's children, she was the exception. She was good but that's where her skill stopped.
Because her shooting accuracy wasn't like Adam's, and she had good takedowns in fighting but nothing like Melanie's.
On the days when she wasn't doing extra training or figuring out her weapon of choice, she was on Netflix.
That led to her obsession with acting videos on Youtube, which she would watch and attempt.
It felt amazing to be someone other than herself, to be able to tell a character's story through her body, emotions, and words.
So when they were at the diner and she saw the flyer for a community theatre, she almost exploded with joy.
Drea snatched a tab with the phone number, clicked a picture of the advertisement, and ran to find her brothers like a chicken with its head cut off.
She was just so glad to find her thing, and she reminded them all she had a musical this weekend.
But Dean just had to go on this hunt with their Uncle Bobby. As if there weren't any other hunters that could cover for him!
He had taken off so fast she didn't even get the chance to convince him to stay.
No, beg…she would have begged him. A chance to show him that she could be better at something than just "good".
Shit, this was only her first show and she had a lead role. That was huge!
But she didn't tell any of them. They'd see if they made it, and if they didn't…well, she wasn't sure how to care anymore.
Drea wiped her face and removed Mel's arm from around her, giving her a half-smile.
"You alright?" Mel asked, knowing it was futile to inquire, but unable to quell the urge.
"I'm good, just need some tea," Drea said, and nothing could have been more of a lie.
But she went to the kitchen anyway, made her tea, and played her music during the task.
~~SS~~SS~~SS
Drea was listening to "I hate u" by SZA, mumbling over the parts she didn't know and twirling around as she stirred her tea.
She crossed the small kitchen in a few strides to sit and sip from her mug.
It was pink with sandwiches on it, and the phrase "deli-licious". And yes, her cute little mug made the tea taste better every single time.
A large hand landing on Drea's shoulder practically made her jump a foot in the air. She turned around, snatched her headphones out, and sighed at who she saw.
"God, Sammy, way to make my heart hurt!" She teased, smirking at the friendly giant, though he didn't look friendly at the moment.
"Everything good?" Drea shifted her weight, that was Sammy's serious stare.
He stepped closer to the girl, towering over her. "Not until I know how you were involved in this."
He crossed his arms when Drea made no moves to open her mouth.
"Now, Drea," Sam's eyes were narrowed, his jaw was clenched, and he looked very menacing.
If he wasn't her brother, she would've run the other way. Something she was still debating on doing anyway.
"Besides knowing the plan and not saying anything, my hands are clean. But, Sammy, come on! You of all people should know how it is to not rat on your siblings. I don't wanna be a snitch like that."
The hunter must've seen something in her expression, or maybe heard it in her voice, but his face softened almost immediately.
"Okay, I believe you," He faltered and Drea saw his focus go past her.
Sammy, king of observation, must have noticed the chamomile tea and figured something was bothering his sister.
So instead of leaving her to sip tea in peace, he pulled out the chair next to Drea and sat down.
Blue-green eyes met her matching ones and without a doubt, she knew how much he cared. "Is everything alright, Bug?"
She almost blushed at the nickname, it took her back to a hilariously embarrassing moment; the moment her family discovered her fear of bugs.
One spider, that's all it took, and Drea was hopping on top of the chair, screaming for someone to 'kill it! or take it outside or something.'
Why couldn't she get a cool one like Ace did for being such a great shot?
Actually, no. Hers may not have been badass like his, but at least it was better than Mel's first one.
Plum was Melanie's first nickname. Yeah, like the fruit. And all because she read it and pronounced it as 'ploom'.
But Dean started to call Mel 'Princess' due to her high standards and constant dramatics, and that one stuck.
Sammy gently placed a hand on Drea's knee, hoping to give her reassurance that it was safe to open up to him, and she was grateful because it helped bring her back on track.
"I know sometimes I don't get things right and they have to be further demonstrated. I'm just not like them with hunting…or you and Dean. Ion think I'm a true Winchester." The girl gasped, looking at Samuel incredulously while rubbing her thigh where he just slapped her.
"I never wanna hear you say that again. You are a Winchester, by blood and by heart. So what if you're struggling with training? It's not a rush, Bug. Stop comparing yourself to them. Drea, you improve every day and I know you can do whatever you put your mind to. Stop going for a weapon you know they'd use and go for one that you would use."
Sam smiled and Drea launched herself into his arms, holding back the tears she so desperately wanted to release. Her brother always seemed to know what to say when she was down and needed it most.
"Thanks, Sammy," she whispered, giving him one more squeeze before returning to her seat.
Drea laughed, "Ace and Mel still alive, big hands?"
"Alive, but laying on their stomachs, I'm sure." He stood from the chair and strolled over to the counter. "I'm just glad you didn't join them this time."
"Didn't think I should try my luck with the show tomorrow," she admitted sheepishly, realizing how bad it sounded.
"Well, I mean morally it wasn't right to do! But, also theater so…yeah."
"Relax, Brat, I'd have known by now if you were truly involved. You're usually defensive, in denial, and quick with an attitude when you know you've been caught."
Sam was making his coffee and taking out the low-calorie sweeteners that Drea hated; acting like he wasn't making her regret her life choices by reading her like a book.
"Sammy," Drea's face heated as she whined, "jeez, I get it!"
"No need to be embarrassed, Bug," he laughed, "just telling ya what I've noticed. Italian for dinner?"
Sam held up a takeout menu for Gino's and she didn't try to hide her smile. That man cooked with so much love that Drea could eat there for the rest of her life.
But her family knew that already, so she nodded in agreement and chugged the chamomile even though it kinda burned her tongue.
~~SS~~SS~~SS
The food smelled beyond appetizing and looked even better the way it was sprawled out on the table.
Taking her usual seat between Sammy and Adam, Drea took a deep breath to let Gino's Italian food overload her senses.
Sam opened the containers and took out serving spoons so that everyone could get what they wanted.
He couldn't help himself and not drop some lettuce on all of their plates, but the kids didn't complain.
Part of him knew it was just because they were hungry, but the other part noticed they had grown used to it.
Drea started with some Chicken Gnocchi soup, humming in delight when the food lit up her taste buds.
Sam finished chewing and looked at Drea. "What time's the show again, tomorrow?"
"I have my call time at three but the show doesn't start until seven. You don't need to drop me off though."
Sammy choked on his water in surprise, the statement truly caught him off guard.
He raised his brow in a question Drea heard clearly, how will you get there?
"My friend Rory drives and imma meet her about ten minutes from here. That way I'm not compromising our safety or anything, but I trust her."
Before Sammy could even ask, Drea nodded. "Yes, Sammy, she passed the holy water test. Plus, my knife's always on me."
The hunter smiled genuinely at Drea's planning and maturity about the situation. She laid everything out to his expectations and he knew Dean would approve as well.
Adam grinned devilishly, "Speaking of the holy water test, I think we need to do Mel over here. Because she's been a huge ass lately."
He grunted when Mel drove her fist into his thigh, whining about how he was just playing around.
Sammy laughed at his brother's childish ways and a beat passed before the others joined in. At this rate, the food would get cold before they could finish.
~~SS~~SS~~SS