Chapter 10
Crush
(Season 1 - Bugs)
Sam sat on the car hood and read the paper, searching for a case. He didn't want any part of Dean's plan to make money in the bar. Sarah on the other hand was all for it. She agreed to be his wing woman while he hustled bikers at pool. Every once in awhile, Sarah would come in and beat Dean at pool and then he would be challenged, surprising them his wicked game skills. When the bikers would question if they were getting hustled, Dean told them "I was just letting her win." Sarah would act offended to make it more convincing. The two left before the bar folk started to get too suspicious.
Dean flashed the money at Sam, proud of it.
Sam looked up from his paper. "You know, we could get day jobs every once in a while."
"Hunting's our day job, and the pay is crap." Dean counted the money, seeing a couple hundred. This girl is a money maker. Where has she been all my life?
"Yeah, but hustling pool, credit card scams? It's not the most honest thing in the world, Dean."
He looked up from his money. "Well, let's see - honest... fun and easy." He raised one hand then the other, comparing the options. "It's no contest. Besides, we're good at it. It's what we were raised to do."
"That sounds like it sucks." Sarah leaned against the Impala with her hands in her pockets.
"What do you mean? Weren't you raised the same way?" Dean stared at her in confusion.
"No. My parents had jobs. They hunted at night and when they had off. They made money like everyone else."
"That sounds impossible."
"They pulled it off."
"How we were raised was jacked," Sam commented.
"Yeah, says you."
"How were you guys raised?" Sarah was curious. They never really talked much about their childhood. She wanted to know more about them. Also, she never met other hunter kids before. She didn't know how they lived. Sam and Dean were her first.
Dean wasn't comfortable talking about it, but Sam was all for sharing. "We lived on the road mostly. We scammed and hustled for money and never stayed in a school more than a month."
"We saved people," Dean added, trying to make it sound like all that was worth it. "We got a new gig or what?" he asked, changing the subject.
Sam swung his feet around and slid off the Impala. "Maybe."
Both Sarah's and Dean's heart dropped at the same time. They had spent a few days on the road together having a great time. A case meant the end of the good times. It could be the end of their partnership if they stuck with their original agreement. Neither of them wanted it to end, but neither of them would have the guts to admit it.
"Oasis Plains, Oklahoma - not far from here. Gas company employee. Dustin Burwash." Sam slammed the paper in front of Dean and Sarah. "Supposedly died from creutzfeldt-jakob."
"Huh?" Dean sounded, not understanding a single word.
"Human mad cow disease," Sam clarified.
"Mad cow? Wasn't that on 'Oprah'?"
"You watch 'Oprah'?" Sam and Sarah asked at the same time, both finding it extremely funny.
Dean stared at them knowing he was caught. He licked his lips and changed the subject. "So this guy eats a bad burger. Why is it our kind of thing?"
Sarah giggled lightly and tapped his shoulder. "Way to avoid answering."
Sam half smiled before answering his brother's question. "Mad cow disease causes massive brain degeneration. It takes months, even years for the damage to appear, but this guy, Dustin, sounds like his brain disintegrated in about an hour, maybe less."
"Okay, that's weird."
"Yeah." Sam looked back and forth from Sarah and Dean. "Now, it could be a disease, or it could be something much nastier."
"I'm putting my money on 'much nastier.'" Sarah grabbed the paper and skimmed the article.
Dean tilted his head at her. "You have money?"
"Yeah, my cut of that." She pointed to the money that was still in Dean's hands.
"I won this money fair and square."
"No, you didn't and you did so with my help. Now, give me my cut." She reached her hand out and waited for him to hand over some cash.
Reluctantly, Dean gave her a couple bills, knowing she was right. She did help him in getting the money. He shoved the rest of his money into his wallet and clapped his hands. "Oklahoma it is then."
They split up their circle and headed for their designated door. Dean took his rightful place at the drivers seat. Sam sat on the passenger side and Sarah sat in back. She wanted to ask to ride up front with Dean, but knew that wouldn't happen. That was Sam's spot. That was always his and always will be his.
Dean pulled his door open. "Man, work, work, work. No time to spend my money."
"Gee, I feel so bad for you," Sarah said to him sarcastically.
"You should because that means you can't spend your money either, sweetheart."
Sarah laughed. "I'm saving it, sweetheart," she said mocking him.
He started the engine. "For what?"
"Oh, I don't know. Important things like food, drink, stuff like that."
Sam agreed with her. "She's got a point, Dean." He should save his money and use it for those things instead of using stolen credit cards. At least someone won't be hurt in the process.
He looked back and forth from his brother to the girl in the back. "Nah. Spending it on other stuff is more fun." Dean stepped on the gas pedal and sped down the road.
It wasn't a long drive, but they did drive most of the night. Dean didn't want to stop. He was the kind to drive the whole way through. They made small talk and listened to music. None of them slept. Sam was afraid to sleep. He didn't want to have another dream about Jessica, his dead girlfriend. Dean and Sarah didn't sleep because they wanted to spend the time together as much as they could. Neither of them would ever admit it out loud of course. Their crushes for each other stayed secret.
The way she would nod her head along to some of Dean's favorite songs made his head swirl. She laughed at his music before, but it turned out that she enjoyed the melodies. Catching her in the lie made him like her a wee bit more. He knew this was something that could never happen, but he still dreamed. He wanted to do so much for her like hold her hand when she's upset or make her smile just because he could. Dean wanted to be the person she would call when she was in trouble or if she just wanted to talk. He wanted more than to just make love to her. He wanted her to wake up every morning and be pleased that he was the first person she saw every morning. He knew, however, this was impossible. He had tried to be that person for someone before and failed. That was one thing he didn't want, to fail Sarah. He couldn't help but think of the fun they would have together if they could. He also didn't believe she liked him back. Of course they were friends, but that's as far as he or she was willing to let it go despite their true feelings. Sarah Greenely would going to be the death of me, he swore. But it would be a wonderful death and would be so worth it.
A/N: The chapter was named after Crush by David Archuleta. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget, the link to the playlist for this story is in my bio. Check it out to hear the songs that all the chapters are named after.
