Chapter 5:

I bit my bottom lip when it trembled, looking down at my hands on the counter.

"Can you please just listen to me?" Dean questioned, his eyes briefly on the brunette behind the counter getting us our order.

"I am listening." I fought back. He was acting like I caused this. Who knows, maybe I did. Not that I could remember how. All that was on my mind was how his face observed mine.

"Great, because I can't go on like this. I know how you feel. It's not good."

"You think I don't know that? I'm tired of all of this, I'm tired of you." The anger trembled through me, yet I was so terrified at the same time. I hated him for conflicting my emotions.

He didn't even care.

"That makes two of us so stop acting like you're in love with me." Dean was frowning, paying the woman when she came back with our hot drinks.

The words still echoed in my ears, slicing over me and making my blood run cold. The big jerk was right of course. Maybe that was why I'm so frustrated, because he's finally figured me out. That's why the tears were welling up in my eyes-making them sting. And that tight, overwhelming sensation rose up the back of my throat-making my voice in danger of cracking in defeat and betraying myself to him again, if I wasn't careful.

"I don't love you."

Dean accepted it as he passed me my cup of steaming coffee. It was like he made sure not to brush his hand against mine.

"Then we understand each other. I can't afford this. I can't afford getting involved with you. Now if you feel differently then you might as well pack up now and be on your merry way. I have a job to do. Sam and I have a job to do." His green eyes bore straight through mine. It was like he wasn't seeing me for who I was.

When did he start thinking of me as a stranger?

"So if there are any objections, speak now or forever hold your peace." His eyebrows raised, waiting for me to answer.

I shook my head and turned away, walking out of the small diner. The hot tears stung my face in the cold. I didn't bother waiting for him and got in the Impala by myself.

As soon as I slammed the passenger door I broke down.

All the same, that seemed to be the switch to make it all disappear.

I woke up breathless and not knowing where I was. I could feel the weight of something on top of me, keeping me warm. It was only when I slowly blinked my eyes awake that I realized it was a blanket. The dream was still vivid in my mind as I tried to catch my breath.

I just laid there for a few minutes until finally calming down. My face was dry, thank God. Yet the dream had felt so real. Reality never stops being cruel though, so what if that was meant to happen? A premonition of the sorts? Would Dean reject me if I spoke up about how I felt?

I was laying on my stomach with my head on the pillow, trying to shake the thoughts away. It was then that I realized I was touching someone.

My left hand slowly rose and fell, aligning with soft breathing. The sheet was covering half my face, but when I moved it to look around, my eyes fell on Sam.

His heart beat was steady from what I could feel with my hand on his chest. It surprised me how close we had been sleeping next to each other. His body heat warmed me. I stared at my hand for another second before carefully drawing it away.

When did I get in bed? How?

A shade of light was streaming into the motel room through the blinds, making everything visible. My gaze shifted to Sam's face and against my mood, a smile tingled my lips. His brown hair was matted from the side of his face on the pillow, while the opposite side was sticking up at different angles. He was comfortable, and that was all that mattered I guess.

Did Sam really bring me to bed?

It wasn't so crazy a thought. A small sigh escaped my lips. Of all people, I was glad to be waking up beside him.

Hesitantly, I reached my hand to his face and gently brushed a few strands of his hair back. It was fine until he twitched.

I shifted a little and waited until I thought he was still asleep, but he wasn't.

Sam's eyes opened to tiny slits before he gave me a breathtaking smile. "Morning."

"I didn't mean to wake you."

Sam was busy stretching a little to see my blush. "It's fine. I'm just glad I'm waking up to you and not Dean."

At the mention of his brother, it seemed Dean's snores grew louder. Sam chuckled, but realized something was wrong when I only laid back down.

"Talk to me."

I shrugged. "Nothing to talk about."

Sam nodded once, but didn't let it go. "Bad dreams."

"Is that a wild guess?"

He smiled, adjusting to lay on his side to face me better. "You were mumbling in your sleep last night."

Isn't that perfect. I buried my face in my hands briefly before looking at him again. "Anything embarrassing I said?"

"Hmm, too many to count." Sam told and only started laughing when my jaw dropped in disbelief.

"That's not funny." I nudged his arm.

"I disagree."

It grew silent except for the snores coming from the other bed.

"Thanks for bringing me over here." I said lowly, looking anywhere but at his warm eyes. His light gaze made me tense. It tickled my skin to have him look at me, like there was always something on his mind but he never spoke up to tell me.

"Who said I brought you over here?" He caught me again and chuckled from my frozen reaction.

"Sam, stop messing with me." But I couldn't help smiling.

"Jane, stop being so gullible." He slowly tucked some of my hair behind my ear when it fell across my face.

It was his lingering that made me sit upright. "Wow, it's only seven." I acknowledged with a glance at the clock.

Why was I so afraid of this? To let Sam continue, to allow him to look at me with that wistful spark in his eyes. I didn't want to be afraid to let this happen, but I was.

Because of Dean? That was a poor excuse.

Part of me loved the new sensation of goosebumps running over my skin from his small touch and smile. Sam knew what to say and when to say it. The best thing might be to just let loose for once and let it unravel whichever way it will.

"Next time, let's hope Dean stops at a motel that serves free breakfast or something." Sam rubbed at his eyes.

"I'll bring it up if you remind me." I pushed away the blanket but stopped walking to look at the older Winchester. "God, does he ever stop snoring? It just keeps getting louder." He must be really tired. "Hey, Sammy, are you two still doing those pranks on each other?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Not for some time now, it got pretty ugly from what I can remember." He smiled. "If you're going to do something to him, know that he won't just take it. He's going to get you back. And it won't even stop there."

"Have some faith in me young Winchester. Besides, you've got my back." I flashed him a grin.

I grabbed the permanent marker on the night table beside Dean's notepad and pen, with one last glance at Sam. He was watching me in amusement.

I didn't decided to do this because of my dream, though it did manage to crawl under my skin. No, I was doing this for fun.