Chapter Five: Maybe…Just A Little

Peyton was woken up by the sun shining through the window. Squinting, she rolled onto her back and then sat up. Jo was sitting up on her bed, reading.

"I was just about to wake you up," she said, looking up from her book. "My mom's making omelets."

Peyton smiled. "Food sounds good right about now. Do you have a bathroom so I can make myself a little bit presentable?"

Jo nodded and got up. "Follow me."

She followed and realized that she still had her boots on. How the hell did I sleep in my boots? She thought. Jo pushed open a door that revealed a bathroom.

"This is the girls only bathroom," Jo told her as she splashed some water on her face and attempted to straighten out her hair.

"Here use this," Jo said, grabbing a small brush from a drawer on the sink.

"Thanks," Peyton said, slowly brushing through her hair. "So you live here with your mom?"

She nodded. "Yeah. And Asher. Dean and Sam are just staying here until another hunt comes along."

"Hunt?"

"They hunt demons," she started.

"Right. I remember." And if fact she remembered everything. All the horrifying details of the previous night. She glanced down at her shadow, which had taken normal form and didn't have its eyes anymore. She put down the brush and smiled at Jo.

"So I'm guessing you like one of the Winchesters?" It wasn't a quite a question or a statement. And Peyton loved the look on Jo's face. Living alone with her mom couldn't leave her with a lot of girl friends to talk too.

"You guessed correctly," Jo said, starting to walk towards the bar. Peyton followed and when they reached the doorframe, she stopped for a moment to convey the scene before her. Dean and Sam along with another man (who she noted had a mullet) were sitting at the bar chowing down on omelets. Ellen wasn't in the room so Peyton guessed she was in the kitchen cooking. Sam and Dean looked their way as they walked into the room. Dean's glance lingered a little longer on Jo and Sam's on Peyton.

"Why, good mornin', girls," Ellen said, coming in with two plates sporting omelets. The girls sat down, Jo next to Dean and Peyton next to her.

"Now who's this one?" It was the guy with the mullet. He had gotten up from his seat next to Sam and walked to the young women at the end of the bar.

"Oh, Peyton," Jo said, turning in her seat. "This is Asher. Asher this is Peyton."

Peyton gave him a weak nod and he made his way to the hall and disappeared. She looked down at the omelet in her plate, but she couldn't eat. "Sam," she started, getting up from her seat next to Jo to sit next to the youngest Winchester brother. "Can I ask you something?"

She saw Dean raise his eyebrows and almost rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, sure," Sam said.

"Last night, you said that all of the people who have abilities, have them to do with their minds. But I don't. I have an evil shadow." I sound ridiculous, she thought. If only my friends could hear me now.

"I see her point, Sam," Dean said, leaning his elbows on the bar and looking at her.

Jo and Ellen started picking up the plates, leaving the three of them to talk things over.

"I mean, maybe my mom wasn't killed by a demon. Maybe my mom dying in a fire and me having a power is just a coincidence," Peyton told them.

Sam shook his head. "I don't think so."

"No? How do you figure?" she asked him, noticing the cute little look he got whenever he was trying to figure something out.

"Well, you control your shadow with your mind."

"I shouldn't have to control it period!"

"I agree," Dean said, a slight smile on his lips.

"Yeah, but you have to, Peyton," Sam told her.

She shook her head. "Maybe I should just leave. Just go back to college and live a normal life."

"Oh my God!" It was Dean again. "You sound just like Sam. You're not normal so you can never have a so called 'normal life'."

Sam nodded. "Dean's right. At least, stay here and let me help you try to control it a little better. Then you can go off to college or whatever you want to do."

She thought about it for a minute. It wouldn't be bad to get some control over my shadow. And I wouldn't mind staying here longer for another reason. She glanced under half-closed eyelids at Sam.

"Fine. I'll stay for a little while, then I have to get back to school."

Sam nodded. "Okay. Deal's a deal."