Good Morning Beautiful One! Happy Memorial Day weekend!
This one is in honor of all those that we celebrate this weekend. Thank you for all your dedication and sacrifice in keeping us safe, so a weirdo like me can sit and write stories. I thank you with all my heart.
Thank you all for the reviews and for the follows and everything! You're the awesomest ever. Special shoutout to the amazing Jenmm31 for notes and suggestions on this chapter! If you're not following her 1. Why the hell not?! 2. She's cooking up something new for you! Follow her!
Read, Review, Enjoy!
A/N- in this story, Natalie is 16. This is part 2 of a three part story. If you haven't already, please go back and read the previous chapter, otherwise this ain't gonna make a lick of sense. Please see profile page for disclaimer.
Part 2
The next morning, Dean pulled the Impala right up to the front of the school. Natalie sat, completely stoic in the front seat, unwilling to open the door. She wasn't entirely ready- not just yet. They had been over and over the plan meticulously, from the moment she had finished her tantrum about the school uniforms until they had all finally gotten to sleep yesterday. She had packed her duffle bag that morning before either Sam or Dean had been awake, so she would be ready. She looked around the beautiful campus now, but she didn't see the spectacular autumn foliage or the rustic architecture of Colonial America. All she saw was a prison. A prison she had to go into in order to do her job. She remembered the stories of when her father and uncle got themselves arrested for a case and spent a good week in the slammer- this didn't feel any different to her.
"Alright. Keep your phone on you at all times. In class, going out to eat, whatever. I need to be able to reach you, no matter what," Dean said for the umpteenth time. And to know where you are, he thought worriedly to himself, thinking of the GPS tracker on her phone. It wasn't that he didn't trust her- far from it. It was that she wouldn't be within his eyesight while there was a dangerous, unknown monster out there. But he didn't want to say that- he had to put on the brave game face, just like she was doing. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she could hold her own out there.
"Yes, sir," she answered woodenly, not looking at him. She was watching a pair of particularly primped girls walk across campus, hiding their mouths behind their hands, whispering to each other and giggling. She fought the urge to throw open the Impala door and make a run for it. She picked at the collar of the cotton maroon polo she was wearing, emblazoned with the school's logo. She felt as if the shirt and khakis were a straight jacket specifically designed to make it impossible for her to breathe. She wasn't even allowed to wear her boots, which she had expressed all her thoughts and feelings on in no uncertain terms. The white sneakers seemed to scream at her from her feet- they were too clean, too easy for a predator to see. As soon as the case was over, she was salting and burning them. Along with the damned uniform.
"Okay. So...that's it then. Call me or text me every hour on the hour," Dean said, fidgeting a bit himself. Natalie knew exactly what this particular fidgeting was about. Most parents would be nervous, or weepy, or anxious on their kid's first day of school. She knew that Dean was none of these things. Sure, he was a little nervous, but he had a lot more confidence in her than she had in herself, and he knew she could handle this. She turned to him, her smile twisting over the side.
"Go ahead," she said resignedly.
"What?" he replied innocently.
"I know you want to razz me about this whole crapfest being my 'first day at school'. So go ahead," she said with a smirk.
"No, I know how difficult this is for you. I'm not going to say anything," Dean said pompously. But Natalie knew her father too well. She could see his jaw clenched together, and his white knuckles on the steering wheel. He was dying to make some smart ass remark about her first day at school.
"Dad. Just...out with it," she said, her voice a mix of amusement and annoyance. Dean couldn't hold it in anymore, especially when she had just given him permission. His words came out in a blur, like they had been building up behind the dam of trying to hold himself back for his daughter's sake.
"Be nice to the other kids don't eat dirt keep your shoes clean don't push anyone on the playground and no means no," Dean blurted out in one continuous sentence, then exhaled loudly. He chuckled to himself once he caught his breath. "Thanks, kid. Didn't know how much longer I was going to be able to keep that in," he said, playfully pushing her shoulder.
"Well, I didn't want you to burst a blood vessel," she said, turning her attention back towards the campus. Without realizing she did it, she let out a small sigh. Dean heard a world of issues in that tiny exhalation. He knew she felt like a dead man walking, but she was also a little nervous. This was her first time solo on the field- with permission- and she was essentially alone. Dean was never going to be more than two blocks away, but that two blocks felt like an ocean when you were walking into a potentially dangerous situation. Dean knew she was more prepared than she realized- she always was so hard on herself that she couldn't clearly see how exceptional she was. The real Natalie- what Dean knew to be true about her even when she couldn't see it herself- was ready. It was the only way Dean would have let her go.
He punched her on the arm again, gently. "Look. Keep your head in the game in there. You're gonna be fine. In a couple days, you'll never have to see these cheerleaders again. And you'll have saved lives. You can't forget that, kiddo," he said.
She turned her attention back to him. "I know. That's the only reason I'm doing this." She leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Hey," she said, her real smile threatening to break through.
"I know," Dean replied, grinning at her. "You too."
"I know," she said, with her Han Solo worthy shrug. Dean shook his head and chuckled as she climbed out of the car. She shut the front door, and opened the back one to retrieve her duffle bag. Before she could manage to shut the door however, Dean yelled out in a very loud voice.
"Make good choices, honey!" A couple girls nearby stopped and looked at her. She slammed the door shut, smiled at the girls, and turned back around to the car under the pretext of waving goodbye. She fluttered her fingers at Dean's grinning face a few moments before dropping her hand in front of her so the other girls couldn't see and flipping him the bird. She saw him roar with laughter as he peeled away from the parking lot. She took a deep breath, and turned towards her new prison...um, home.
*SPN SPN SPN*
An hour later, after meeting with the front office, getting assigned to a dorm room, then being escorted to her first class by the secretary (which was beyond humiliating), Natalie found herself seated in an eleventh grade level history class. The teacher, Mr. Longstreet, had made her introduce herself to the class, say where she was from, the whole nine yards. After going through a completely made up story ("Sydney Bonham from Denver, Colorado"), Natalie pulled out her notebook and flipped to the back of it. The front part of it was full of research and ancient symbols, and she wasn't eager to get herself labeled as "that Goth kid with satanic symbols in her notebook" on the first day. Besides, she had to try to find the crowd that was responsible for these murders, not take a history lesson. She found herself quietly looking around the room at her new classmates, surreptitiously checking for supernatural signs. She didn't honestly expect to find black eyes or hex bags in the classroom; she was just keeping herself open and aware.
"Miss Bonham?" Mr. Longstreet said, a bit loudly. Natalie started, and look right at him. Crap, crap, crap. Was I seriously just zoning out in my first damn class?! she thought angrily to herself. She slipped into the facade of a good student, sitting up straight, an eager look on her face.
"Yes, sir?" she said innocently.
"I was just wondering if you would care to elaborate on the subject," Mr. Longstreet said pleasantly. Natalie felt her face going bright red as every eye in the room turned towards her. It didn't sound from his phrasing like she had missed a question- he was just asking her thoughts. Trouble was, she hadn't been paying attention long enough to figure out what the freaking subject was. Okay- I can figure this out, Natalie thought in a rush. Dean had taught her how to observe her surroundings, so she quickly turned her head and put a thoughtful look on her face like she was considering the question, when in reality she was gazing at the girl seated next to her's notes. In bright purple ink, the top of the girl's page was labeled "Alexander Hamilton". She took a leap and prayed.
"I think that Hamilton was truly one of the greatest game changers when it came to founding our country's government, especially the financial system. It's a shame that his words, which he used so eloquently to help establish our nation, were ultimately his own undoing," she answered quickly, hoping to at least sound intelligent. Her brain almost fainted with relief when Mr. Longstreet smiled at her, clasping his hands together.
"I couldn't have put it better myself. Nicely done," he said indulgently. He turned to the white dry-erase board at the front of the class and continued his lecture. Natalie had to restrain herself from wiping the flop sweat off of her forehead.
Thank God, she thought to herself. And thank you Uncle Sam for giving a damn about US history.
*SPN SPN SPN*
After the class ended, which Natalie actually enjoyed more than she thought she would, she was in the hallway, pulling out her new schedule with one hand and her phone with the other. Sure enough, she had a text waiting from Dean.
*you okay?* it read. She quickly typed back. *fine. made it through first class. you're lucky I'm a genius*. Just as she was hitting "send", one of the girls in her history class walked up to her.
"That was a pretty great answer you pulled out of your ass back there," the girl said by way of an introduction. Natalie's temper flared instantly, but she tried to clamp it down. Maybe this was just how these rich bitches talked.
"Yeah, well, when you've got your own private tutor who follows your family around, it helps," she responded without missing a beat. Natalie was surprised at herself for giving that answer. Well, technically it was true- Sam was with her at all times, usually. The girl considered Natalie for a moment, then gave a laugh that sounded somewhere between a cough and a high-pitched hiccup. Natalie had to once again quickly school her features into not looking at the girl like she was a nut job. The girl flexed her long fingers and checked out her french manicure, but continued to address Natalie.
"I like you, new girl. Consider yourself lucky. Not everyone gets the Ainsley stamp of approval- especially on their first day," the girl said haughtily.
What Natalie wanted to say was Like I actually give a rat's ass what you think of me. But what she actually said was, "Fantastic. I'm Sydney."
"Ainsley. It's nice to meet me, I know. You don't have to answer. That was rhetorical," Ainsley said, with a little head tilt at the word rhetorical, as if to say, yeah, I totally know what rhetorical means. Natalie ground her back teeth together at the same time she gave Ainsley a big smile, all while stabbing Ainsley in her mind.
"Awesome," she said, hating how fake her own voice sounded. "Well, I'm supposed to be heading to..." she quickly consulted her schedule. "...an English class right now." She prayed that Ainsley wasn't heading there as well.
"Oh, Miss Princeton? That class?"
"Um..." Dammit. "Yeah."
"Fantastic. Me too. Let's go."
*SPN SPN SPN*
The rest of Natalie's morning wasn't nearly as much fun as her history class. The subsequent English class was dull as dishwater. Natalie actually got so bored, she started counting the words on the teacher's power point presentation and calculating the average number of words per page. Miss Princeton told them that they would each need to turn in a three page report on the Greek tragedy they were discussing. Natalie had already done a report on Eurydice, the subject of the class, for Sam a couple years ago- she'd just have him forward her the paper. It wasn't cheating- technically, she DID write it. And hers was eight pages long. She had a class in Economics after that, and the only good thing there was that Ainsley wasn't in it. As the teacher droned on, not apparently caring whether the class was grasping the subject matter or not, Natalie was once again trying to observe her classmates. None of them seemed like anything other than spoiled rich girls. She made a mental note to go over her research again at lunch, cross checking it with the interviews the girls gave, and see if she couldn't start connecting any dots. She pulled out her wrinkled schedule, and was relieved to see that lunch was next.
As soon as the bell rang, Natalie gathered up her crap, shoving it quickly into her worn out backpack, and followed the masses to the lunch room. However, once again, fortune was not on her side. As she entered the upscale cafeteria, she heard an annoyingly familiar voice.
"Hey, Sydney! Over here!" Ainsley called. Natalie heaved a sigh, rolled her eyes, and then put her preppy game face on before turning towards the voice. She walked towards the table where Ainsley was sitting with four other girls. "Hey- move over," Ainsley commanded the shortest girl, who quickly scooted to do her bidding. "Everybody- this is the new girl I was telling you about. Her name is Sydney."
"Wow, Ainsley, you remembered someone's name?" said a girl with a tight, high ponytail wrapped with a perfect large fluffy bow. She looked like she had just come from cheerleading practice.
"I know, right?" Ainsley said, completely missing the sarcasm. She indicated that Natalie should sit in the seat the short girl just vacated. Natalie smiled her thanks at the girl who moved, and sat down carefully. This was like her worst nightmare coming to life right in front of her. It's for the job, it's for the job, it's for the job, she thought to herself. She put on a completely fake smile- the one she usually used on cases.
"Hey- my name's Sydney," Natalie said, looking around the table, not really knowing what else to say past that.
"Syd, this is everybody," Ainsley said. Natalie wrinkled her nose- even though it was a fake name, she already didn't like the shortening of it. It reminded her of that weird sloth thing from the movie Ice Age. But she wasn't about to argue- she was going into the belly of the beast. A high school rich girls' inner circle.
Ainsley gestured around the table as she introduced everyone. "That's Lindsey-" she gestured to the girl who had vacated her seat for Natalie, "that's Hayden-" a girl with shockingly beautiful violet eyes, "Kirsten-" the girl with the perfect ponytail who made the joke about Ainsley remembering a name, "and that's Nevaeh."
"Ne-vay-uh?" Natalie asked, unable to stop herself. She had never heard that name before. The girl nodded proudly.
"Yes. It's 'Heaven' spelled backwards," Nevaeh said with a self-satisfied smirk.
"Ah. That's...creative." When the girl looked at Natalie, confused by her response, she quickly amended it. "It's nice."
"Thanks! So you're from Denver, huh?"
"Uh, yup. Yeah. Born and raised."
"That's cool. My family owns a winter home in Denver," Nevaeh said as a smartly dressed young man pushing a cart came around and started delivering salads to the girls. Natalie's eyebrows shot up into her hairline- they had LUNCH waiters? What the hell? She stared just a little too long at the man, which made Ainsley elbow her.
"He's cute, right?" Ainsley whispered to Natalie. Natalie just tried to giggle a bit, feeling completely ridiculous, but grateful that Ainsley had provided her with an "out" of the situation.
"Totally," Natalie whispered back in what she hoped was a girly voice but mostly feeling like an idiot. "So," she said in a louder voice, "So what do you all do around here for fun?"
"Well, we do movie nights twice a week- Hayden always picks the movies," the girl who moved chairs- Lindsey- said, in a quiet, breathless voice. She was looking at Hayden with a glance akin to hero worship.
"Wow. So Hayden- I take it you're really in to movies, then?" Natalie said, looking at the girl with the beautiful purple eyes.
Hayden laughed, a little fluttery wisp of mirth. The rest of the girls joined her. Natalie was wondering what she could have possibly said to make them laugh. She looked around the group warily, when Kirsten came to her aid.
"Hayden's dad is a really big hot shot movie producer. He's in the know about EVERYTHING going on in Hollywood right now," she answered in a voice that was actually normal- not affected or giggly like the others. Natalie started to thank her lucky stars that there seemed to be at least one sane person in the bunch.
"Wow- so your dad works with a lot of celebrities and stuff?" Natalie asked, picking up her fork as the rest of the girls started in on their salads.
Hayden, who hadn't actually spoken up till that point, daintily wiped her lips with the linen napkin before answering. "Daddy's very involved in the movie industry," she said in a satiny, gentle voice. The combination of the soporific voice and the violet eyes was almost unnerving, Natalie thought to herself. She felt drawn in by Hayden's presence, wanting to hear more and know more about what the girl was going to say.
"Hayden knows lots of famous people, but she refuses to let me meet any of them!" Ainsley said, pouting. Hayden simply smiled at her benevolently.
"It's not always the best idea to flaunt one's status, Ainsley," Hayden said quietly, but with a sense of power and importance. Natalie's eyes narrowed- something seemed off about this girl. She made a mental note to check in with Hayden later. Hayden turned to Nevaeh, and changed the subject. "Were you able to get that paper completed for Mr. Hutchison's class?"
Nevaeh swallowed a bite of salad, and suddenly Natalie remembered she was supposed to be eating. She took a forkful of salad, praying that it was going to be palatable. However, her eyes widened with surprise as the flavors and salad ingredients combined on her tongue- it was delicious. She quickly reminded herself of the proper etiquette lessons that Sam had taught her to keep from shoveling the entire tasty concoction into her mouth in one. She tried to focus on the conversation at hand. Nevaeh was making a huffing noise.
"Just barely. I printed it out like twenty minutes before I was supposed to hand it in. I mean, I know it's good, but I was just cutting it close this time," she said, poking at her salad, looking for croutons.
"Hayden, I thought your paper was awesome," Lindsey said in a squeaky little voice. She turned to the rest of the girls, the pride gleaming in her eyes. "I proof read it for her," she announced, looking around the little group as if she was hoping that the declaration would make her more likable.
"Good job, Lindsey," Kirsten said patiently. Lindsey lit up like a puppy that was just told she was a good dog, and dug into her salad. Natalie looked at Kirsten, who gave her a subtle eye roll that said This happens all the time. Ainsley, however, decided that it needed to be said out loud.
"Do you think you could get your nose out of someone's ass for like, two seconds, Linds? 'Kaythanksbye," she said, a touch of nastiness in her voice. Hayden looked over at Ainsley impassively.
"Lindsey really did me a favor, Ainsley," she said in that unnervingly calm voice of hers. It actually made Ainsley squirm a bit, hearing those words directed at her. Hayden turned to Lindsey with a gentle look in her eye. She placed one small, perfectly manicured hand on Lindsey's hand, resting on the table, her gold bangle bracelets clinking together as she moved her wrist. "She's my best friend," Hayden said warmly, squeezing Lindsey's hand. Lindsey blushed even redder, squeezed Hayden's hand back, and got back to eating her salad. Hayden returned her gaze to Ainsley, who immediately began backtracking.
"Well, you know I was just teasing," she finally muttered. "Sorry, Lindsey." Lindsey just nodded, but didn't look up. Apparently, this was a typical thing that happened here. Natalie dug into her own salad again, wondering if this was just the norm with these girls, or something more. The rest of the quickly got off that topic and on to a new one- boys.
Oh joy, thought Natalie.
*SPN SPN SPN *
Three days passed, and the only thing that Natalie learned for sure was Ainsley's opinion of every girl in the school. Which one had too much money, which one had a nose job, which one was rumored to smoke- all the claptrap that spilled out of Ainsley's mouth was wearing her down. She was doing fine in her classes, particularly enjoying the history class, but found the rest of them sort of boring. The other night, she thought she might get a break through on the case when she was invited to one of Hayden's movie nights. She still thought that Hayden was just a bit too off. Apparently, it was a very exclusive invite- this movie night. The other girls from the lunch table were there as well, but that was it. Kirsten had come in late, all sweaty from volleyball practice, but her makeup was still flawless. Natalie wondered what in the hell she was using, and if it would hold up under a werewolf attack. Nevaeh, as it turned out, was actually a bookworm. She and Natalie had spent one night chatting about the nuances of "Memoirs of a Geisha", and Natalie was thrilled that this girl, who originally appeared as vapid as the rest, was capable of carrying on an intellectual conversation that even Sam would have enjoyed. Lindsey had rushed around, making sure everyone's Coke Zeros were filled, and that the 100 calorie snack packs were within reach, as Ainsley lamented the fact that OPI still hadn't made a nail polish that matched her eyes, no matter how many letters she had written. Once the movie started, however, you could have heard a pin drop. Hayden would occasionally offer a commentary on the action or the actor, and everyone was hanging on her every word, desperate to be in the "Hollywood Know". Hayden certainly hadn't been lying- some of the tidbits she offered up were things that only an insider would know. But there was no other indication that anything was off about the girl. Other than that, Natalie's three days at the school so far were rather uneventful.
She was climbing the freaking walls.
She had taken to wandering at night, talking to Dean or Sam via cell phone. She made sure to stay along the lit paths of the campus, and keep her eyes peeled for any suspicious activity. She was in the middle of one of her nighttime strolls while on the phone with her father.
"I got my English paper back today, Dad."
"How did you do?"
"You mean as opposed to how Uncle Sam grades?" she said with a snicker, her eyes wandering the grounds, always on alert for any movement or suspicious activity.
"Yeah. He's going too easy on you, isn't he?" Natalie could hear the smile and teasing in Dean's voice.
"No way. He gave it a B minus the first time, and made me redo it. Miss Princeton gave it an A, and used one of my passages as an example in class."
"Well, you're welcome for all the good DNA that gave you your brains."
"Yeah. Uncle Sam had nothing to do with it, at all."
"See? I knew you were smart."
Natalie giggled and sighed. On the other end of the phone, Dean could hear the frustration in his daughter's voice.
"Still got nothing on the case, huh?"
"Gee, how could you tell?" Natalie said bitterly.
"What about that Hayden girl you were telling me about? Anything there?"
"Nope. I searched her room when she was in a Calculus class. Nothing."
"You checked for hex bags, sigils, charms, all that crap?"
"Yes, sir. She was clean."
"Doesn't mean she's not still our target. Keep your eyes peeled."
"I will."
"That Ashley girl still driving you crazy?"
"It's Ainsley, and yes. Today, she was actually taking a Buzzfeed quiz in class to determine if she was more like Angelina or like Jennifer."
"What's Buzzfeed?"
"It's...never mind. She was just blatantly playing on her phone in class, and it was like the teacher didn't give a damn."
"Is she getting good grades? Maybe she's the one manipulating people, if she's not even paying attention in class."
"Good call. I'll check her room out tomorrow." Just then, Natalie noticed a bizarre movement at the door of one of the far buildings. "Hold on, Dad," she said quietly into the phone, straining her eyes to see. She saw a small figure pull open the heavy wooden door and make her way inside. Natalie had never seen anyone else walking around the campus at this time of night. "Dad, I just saw someone sneak into another building. I'm going to follow them."
"Stay low, stay quiet, call me as soon as you're done."
"Yes, sir." Dean hung up instantly without saying anything else. Natalie knew it was because he didn't want to distract her. She quietly slipped into the building herself, making sure to stay low and quiet, just like her father had instructed her to do. She reached her hand down, pulling a silver throwing knife out from her sock. She gritted her teeth as the blade left a tiny cut on her ankle. She HATED these damn shoes. They couldn't hold a knife properly worth a damn. Still longing for her hunting boots, she quietly crept down the hallway. She noticed the door to her English teacher's office was partially open. After another quick look down the hallway, she realized that no other door was open. Silent as a ghost, Natalie made her way towards the door. As she got closer, she could hear murmured voices, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. Straining to hear, she got closer to the partially open door. She couldn't fully see into the room, but she did see Miss Princeton, standing against the desk. She seemed to be arguing with someone.
"I'm sorry, but that's the final grade. I can't help it if..." The teacher broke off suddenly. Natalie heard a gentle clinking sound, but she couldn't place it. "Wait- what are you doing?!" Miss Princeton suddenly exclaimed. Natalie gripped her knife even tighter. Her mind ran through the thousand scenarios that could be playing out. She quickly tucked her other hand into her pocket. Sure enough, there was the container of salt and the small vial of holy water. Never leave home without it.
Alright, Winchester. If it's got black eyes, holy water. If it's transparent, salt. If it's got fangs or fur, the silver. You know what's coming. Be alert.
Natalie watched as the teacher seemed to freeze, staring at whatever she was seeing. Suddenly, a small hand extended towards the teacher's face. Natalie couldn't see who the hand belonged to, but she could see blood dripping from each finger tip. Blood. May be a vampire. Just as she was about to burst into the room, the hand touched the teacher's surprised forehead. It gently ran its fingers down, almost as if it was caressing her face, leaving five red streaks of blood. Instead of wiping the blood off, though, Miss Princeton's head was thrown back violently, as if she had taken a sudden breath. Natalie watched as the blood inexplicably soaked into the teacher's face. There was no indication that it had ever been there. Natalie's jaw dropped. As she watched, stunned, trying to figure out how the blood dissolved into Miss Princeton's face, she noticed something. The teacher's eyes began to glow- purple.
Well, Natalie thought faintly. That's new.
