A/N: Welcome to the third installment of my Ellie Winchester series! The first story is called One Thing Right, the second one is I Like Me Better, they're the only other stories in my bio so it shouldn't be hard to find them haha! : ) It's probably best if you read the first two stories before you read this one, but who knows, maybe you'll be able to follow along.

Any way, without further ado, here it is! Bird Set Free! : )

"Wake up, El."

Ellie groaned and grabbed her pillow, pulling it out from under her head and smashing it on top of her hair, gripping it tightly against her ears.

"Ellie, get up," Sam sighed and walked forward, tugging at the bottom of her covers and yanking them off of her in one quick pull. "It's eleven o'clock."

"So?" she moaned, curling into a ball.

"You're late for class."

Ellie slowly sat up, her chin length hair sticking up in multiple directions, "Again, so?"

Sam tilted his head and gave her a disappointed look before turning and tossing her blankets on the floor. He stepped over the multiple piles of books on the floor as he left the room, closing the door behind him.

She whined briefly, then flopped back onto her bed and stretched her body, yawning. She rolled to the side, falling to her feet. As she stood up, she ran her hands through her hair, attempting to tame the crazy waves. She opened her closet and pulled out her favorite shirt, peeling off her pajama shirt before placing the baggy AC/DC tee on. It had been the very first item of clothing she had received when she arrived at the bunker eleven years previously, and the sentimental value it held lasted longer than some of the seams as it was currently falling apart in several areas. Her father had begged her to get rid of it, especially since some of the holes were in some not so conspicuous places for her increasingly curvy teenage body, but she always won the argument.

Ellie changed into a part of jean shorts and took one quick look in her mirror, giving one last try to make her wavy hair look presentable before she opened her door, peeking into the hallway before she slowly made her way towards the garage.

She had her head turned back, looking down the hallway as she entered the garage so she didn't notice the two men standing with their arms crossed immediately inside the door.

"Hello Ellie," Cass began, his eyes narrowed.

"Going somewhere?" Dean held up her car keys on his finger, one eyebrow cocked.

Ellie let out a long breath, rolling her eyes as Dean and Cass each grabbed one of her arms and turned her back to the door of the bunker. They held on until they reached the library, where Sam was waiting with his hands on his hips.

"Really, El?" Sam scoffed.

"I don't want to go to class," she moaned, shrugging out of Dean and Cass's grips.

"Do I look like I care?" Sam held his hands out, his eyebrows raised. He pointed toward the hallway, a serious look on his face. "Go. Now."

Ellie glared at him, her jaw tightened. She finally took a deep breath and walked forward slowly, nudging Sam's shoulder as she passed him. He reached out and grabbed her upper arm tightly, stopping her in her tracks.

"Watch the attitude," he warned, looking down at her. She gave him a quick sarcastic smile before yanking her arm back and jogging down the hall.

As she walked into the room that had been designated as her 'classroom', she took a deep breath before clicking on the large monitor attached to the wall. She forced a smile as six other teenagers' faces came on the screen, with a large box on the right containing a woman with dark hair.

"Look who decided to join us," the woman smirked.

Ellie chuckled, running a hand through her hair. "Yeah sorry. I slept through my alarm."

"Well, we were just going over rougaru characteristics versus werewolves," Alex smiled, "Page 152."

Ellie sighed and turned around, grabbing one of her many books and flipping to the correct page. She pulled out the chair and plopped into it, her eyes browsing over the page. She listened to Alex talking, but her mind was elsewhere. She felt a buzz in her pocket and pulled out her phone, smiling when she saw who was texting her.

G: How's class?

E: Sucks, as usual. I tried to sneak out but the Uncles caught me.

G: We still getting lunch?

E: Of course, I'll meet you at Paul's at 1.

G: Sounds good, see you then, Brat.

E: Ass.

"Ellie?"

She jerked her head up to the screen, her eyes wide when she realized she had been caught.

"What?"

"Stay off your phone, Ellie."

"You talking to your boyfriend again?" One of Ellie's classmates, a girl named Marley asked.

"He's not my boyfriend," Ellie snapped, looking straight into the webcam. "He's just a friend."

"Mhmm, sure," Marley continued, rolling her eyes. "He's hot as hell, there's no way you're not tapping that."

"Hey, focus," Alex interrupted, "This conversation is not appropriate."

"Seriously though, if you're not hitting it, give me his number so I can."

"Be my guest," Ellie threw her hands out.

"Marley, Ellie, that's enough," Alex warned.

Ellie rolled her eyes and nodded, sighing as she slouched in her chair and listened to Alex continue her lesson. For the last three years, Claire had been organizing an online school for kids of hunters to learn the trade in addition to their regular schoolwork. Alex was the main instructor, with Jody and Claire being involved with classes on occasion. Ellie kept glancing at the clock on the wall, willing it to go faster.

"Alright, I guess that's it for today," Alex finally said, smiling on the screen.

"Okay, bye Alex," Ellie jumped forward, giving a quick wave before she ended the video chat. She stood up and slammed her book shut before she hurried towards the library, calling both of her uncles' names. When she slid into the room, she smiled when she realized all three of the males in the home were still in there, sitting at one of the tables.

"Uncle Dean, I need my keys back," she held her hand out expectedly.

"Class is over already?" Sam looked at his watch with a frown.

"Yes, you can even call Alex to ask her if you want," Ellie groaned, throwing her head back, "I have to go meet Garrett, will you please just give me my car keys?"

"Garrett's in town, huh?" Dean muttered, pursing his lips.

"Yes," Ellie rolled her eyes, "He just got back from a hunt in Montana."

"I'm sure you missed him while he was gone," Dean crossed his arms and looked up at her through his eyelashes with a smirk.

"Stop," she groaned, "You know that we're just friends."

"Mhmm," Dean nodded sarcastically, "You just talk every day and hang out till all hours of the night because you're 'friends'. Ever since that kid got his apartment in Lebanon we've seen him as often as we see you."

Ellie turned and look pointedly at Sam, "Are you just gonna sit there and let him act like an ass to me?"

Dean stood up and crossed his arms, "You know, I got you that car. I could just as easily take it away."

Ellie closed her eyes and sighed loudly, "Uncle Dean, you are the greatest uncle on the planet. No one comes close to you. Except Uncle Cass," she threw the angel a quick wink, earning herself a cheesy grin from him, "May I pretty pretty please have my car keys back now?"

"I gave them to your dad," he shrugged, gesturing with his head to where the tallest Winchester had just stood up from the table.

"Dad?" Ellie walked over to him, her hand extended.

"I don't know, El," he put his hands on his hips, tilting his head from side to side, "You were kind of a brat this morning. I don't know if you should be able to use your car."

Ellie took a deep breath, then looked down at the floor before she slowly raised her eyes, batting her long eyelashes. Since she had started wearing makeup, her mascara and eye liner did nothing to help the boys in terms of resisting her puppy dog eyes.

"Daddy," she whined, pouting her bottom lip out. "Please?"

"You really think that's going to work on me?" he scoffed.

"Fine," she huffed, dropping the act, "Come on, Garrett's going to be with me. Please?"

"I guess," he dug into his pockets, pulling out her key ring and holding it up on his finger. When she tried to snatch it, he pulled them up into his hand, holding up a finger, "But be home by dinner this time."

"And bring me back some pie," Dean interjected.

"Deal," she nodded, then held her hand out. Sam narrowed his eyes at her before he dropped them onto her hand. Ellie then leaned on her tip toes and gave his cheek a quick kiss before running off to the garage. The three men watched as she ran off, all shaking their heads simultaneously.

"You know she's not going to be home for dinner, right?" Cass sighed.

"She never is," Sam moaned, rolling his eyes.

As Ellie pulled into the parking lot of Paul's Cafe, she smiled when she recognized Garrett leaning against his old Ford Taurus. He looked up from his phone and immediately grinned, throwing up a quick hand in a wave. She parked her Tahoe and looked in her rear view mirror, making sure her hair looked at least somewhat acceptable to be seen in public. Just as she was about to turn and open her door, it swung open on its not-so-own accord.

"Quit trying to make that mess look good," Garrett smirked, leaning against her open door.

Ellie reached out and punched him in the arm, glaring at him as she unbuckled her seatbelt and slid out of her seat.

"You're an ass," she said as she pulled her car door shut and pressed the button on her key fob to lock it.

"And you're a brat," Garrett smiled from behind her. She turned around and couldn't help but smile before lunging forward and wrapping her arms around his neck. His hands went around her waist, giving a tight squeeze. They stayed like that for a moment before Ellie sighed and pulled away, linking her arm with his as they walked towards the door of the cafe.

"How was it?" Ellie spoke once they slid into their favorite booth.

Garrett shrugged, a disconcerted look on his face, "It was fine, just a plain old ghost haunting a house. Easy peazy salt and burn."

"Still," Ellie leaned forward on her elbows, "It was your first solo hunt. That has to feel amazing."

"Would've been better if you were there," Garrett muttered, looking down at his hands that rested on the table.

"You and I both know that my dad is never going to let me go on a hunt alone, much less with you," Ellie snorted, leaning back in her seat.

"He will eventually," Garrett sighed, looking up at her through his eyelashes with his bright blue eyes, "Once you're not a baby anymore."

Ellie narrowed her eyes at him and kicked him in the shin under the table, "I will legally be an adult in three days, so shut it."

"That doesn't mean anything," Garrett reached down to rub the now sore spot on his leg, "You'll still be a kid to your dad for, well...ever."

"He'll just have to get over it," Ellie said quietly, letting out a deep breath as their waitress came up to their table.

"Hi Bonnie," Garrett smiled sweetly up at her.

"Hi kids," Bonnie grinned, her eyes going back and forth between the two young adults, "Are we getting the usual today?"

"You know us too well," Ellie chuckled, shrugging.

"Coming up," Bonnie wrote something on her notepad, then pointed her pencil at Ellie, "Do you need a piece of pie to go for your uncle?"

"Not today, thanks though," Ellie smiled. Bonnie nodded and hurried off to get their order put in.

"Dean didn't ask for pie?" Garrett cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh no, he did," Ellie nodded, "I'm just not getting him any."

"What the hell did he do?" Garrett snorted, a half smile on his face.

"Nothing," Ellie mumbled, picking at her fingernails.

"Yeah, nice try," Garrett reached out and slapped her hands, bringing her gaze back up to look at him, "I know you, something happened."

Ellie sighed and shook her head, "He was just being his normal self."

Garrett narrowed his eyes at her, watching her look anywhere on the table except for directly at him. When he realized the issue, he pulled his lips between his teeth and nodded slowly.

"He said something about us, huh?"

Ellie moaned, rolling her eyes, "Stop doing the mind reading thing."

"I'm not Cass," he scoffed, "I just know you too well."

"He just..." she trailed off, shaking her head with a huff of breath, "Never mind."

"You're going to have to tell them eventually," Garrett reached across the table and grabbed her clasped hands. She looked up at him with a smile as his thumb ran over the charms on her bracelet he had bought her five years before. He had added a charm every year, and the bracelet was now almost full. She now had a handgun charm, a rose one because it was her favorite flower, an 'E' for Ellie, and a book due to her love of reading.

"His reaction is the exact reason I haven't told them yet," Ellie bit her bottom lip.

"Here we go," Bonnie's voice cut in as she walked up with their food, a knowing smile on her face as she looked at their intertwined hands. Although they had been secretly dating for almost a year, Bonnie was one of the only people who knew about their relationship.

"Looks delicious, thanks Bonnie," Garrett shot her a grin.

"You're welcome honey," she reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, then looked over to Ellie, "You know, you're so lucky to have this one in your life."

"I know," Garrett made eye contact with Ellie and winked, making a blush creep up her neck.

"Well, I'll let you two lovebirds enjoy your food," Bonnie smiled and walked away.

Ellie closed her eyes and leaned down, giving her bacon cheeseburger a long sniff before moaning. Garrett watched and chuckled, shaking his head as he began to eat his chicken sandwich.

"I know you're mad at him right now, but you are so much like Dean."

"Shut up," she mumbled through her mouth full of food, "It's delicious."

"Are we still going to...you know?" Garrett lowered his voice, leaning over their food, "After this?"

"Of course," Ellie nodded, "We've been planning to do it for months. Why, are you chickening out?"

"Psh," Garrett waved a hand at her, "Unlike you, Winchester, this won't be my first time."

Ellie's chewing slowed drastically as she looked across the table at Garrett's cocky smile. She rolled her eyes and swung her foot out to try and kick him in the shin again, only to have him move his leg and instead cross his ankles behind her leg, keeping her foot hostage. She tightened her lips together and tried to pull her leg back, but Garrett was too strong. He rested his forearms on the table and grabbed one of her fries, slowly bringing it to his mouth as if he had nothing else on his mind.

"You know I'm going to get you back," she sighed, bringing her burger back to her lips.

"I look forward to it, sweetheart," Garrett popped his eyebrows up, smirking. Ellie rolled her eyes and tried to hide her smile behind her food.

"Eat your food," she muttered, looking down at her plate.

Once they were both done eating, they walked out to Garrett's car to head to their next destination. Ellie went to walk around the car to the passenger seat, but was suddenly stopped when Garrett grabbed her upper arm and swung her around to face him.

"Ellie, I think we need to tell them."

"What?" She hissed, moving to take a step back.

"We've been doing this for ten months, El," he continued, putting his hands on his pockets and leaning against his car. "I want to be able to hold your hand in public without you worrying about your uncles or your dad seeing."

"I'm just," she paused, holding her hands out and dropping her shoulders, "I don't know."

"Exactly, you don't know," Garrett nodded, "Why are we even keeping this a secret from them?"

"Because," she sighed loudly, "They'll treat me differently."

"Well that's kind of bound to happen," Garrett chuckled softly, looking down at the ground, "Or were you planning on staying single your whole life?"

Ellie shook her head with a smile, "Yeah, look how well that turned out."

Suddenly Garrett reached out and grabbed the sides of her face, pulling her into a kiss. It wasn't long, but intense enough to make Ellie's knees weak.

"We're in public," Ellie whispered once he pulled away, staring into her eyes.

"So?" He smirked, leaning forward to place a quick peck on her nose before dropping his hands from her cheeks. "We'll tell them. Today."

"Okay," she let out a long breath, looking at him through her partially closed eyes.

"Wait really?" He raised an eyebrow, "That's it? If I would've known that all I had to do was kiss you like that then I would've done it a long time ago—"

"Shut up," she punched his arm, "You're right, okay? It's time."

"Good," Garrett grinned, taking a step forward and wrapping an arm around her waist. "Then I can kiss you anytime I want."

"Okay 'Sweet Home Alabama'," Ellie snorted before pushing him away on his chest. "Get in the car."

Garrett leaned forward and kissed her one last quick time on her lips before turning and opening his door, sliding in. Ellie bit her lip with a smile and hurried over to the passenger door, shaking her head.

A/N: Pretty pretty please leave me some reviews, they really keep me going! Love you all!