In the middle of art, I got up to go to the bathroom. Something in my stomach wasn't feeling right. That's what I told the teacher anyway. Which wasn't entirely lying to him. I did have a weird feeling in my stomach, but not in the way he was thinking. Besides, I was due for a packet of applesauce anyway. I made sure I was alone and whipped my phone out. At least his phone number was easy to remember.

"What?" a voice barked on the other end.

"Jesus," I gasped, "Nice to hear from you, too, Crowley. Am I interrupting your tee time? Were you getting laid? Taking a nap you so desperately need by the sounds of things?"

"I'm sorry," he realized the error of his ways, "Your idiot brothers have me on edge."

"I'd be shocked if they didn't," I took a seat on the back of the toilet, "What'd they do?"

"They've been looking all over town for this nest," Crowley vented, "And not only do I have to keep them off your ass, but I have to let you have your case."

"Which we won't have for much longer," I settled him, "Because I think I'm zeroing in on things."

"Really?" he perked up, "Do tell."

"After school," I sipped on my blood pouch, "I have plans with Seth and Christina. I'm sure I can get Christina alone for a while."

"You have a study group?" Crowley awed, "Lena, that's adorable."

"It's not a study group," I rolled my eyes, "It's gathering information."

"Are you sure about that?" he jabbed, "Because I think you're enjoying this a lot more than you're letting on."

"What do you mean?"

"Face it, Lena," Crowley explained, "As of right now, you're getting the high school experience the orphanage fire took away from you. You've got friends your own age, a boy that's romantically interested in you."

"When was that one?" I stopped him.

"Seth, I think you said his name was."

"How do you know he's romantically interested?" I scoffed, "This feels like you're trying to make crap up to get me to talk about my feelings."

"No, it's genuine," Crowley assured, "His face changes color when you speak. He likes you."

"All that aside," I blushed, "I thought I'd give you the heads up. I won't be home this afternoon."

"Should I stop by right now?" he offered, "I'd hate for you to go into withdrawal when you're with your new friends. They probably wouldn't know how to handle it and make the stupid mistake of taking you to the hospital. The doctor wouldn't know what to do with you. Sam and Dean would find out and get a hold of you. I made you a deal back in Baltimore, darling. I don't plan on going back on it."

"Yeah," I looked in my bag, "I could stand one extra pouch. If you want to drop by with another blood bag, I'd really appreciate it."

"Ahem..." I felt a tap on my shoulder, "Quick enough for you?"

"Damn," I took my applesauce from him, "You're quicker than getting pizza."

"How are you now?" Crowley checked me over, "Are you feeling ok? You look a little pale."

"I just emptied a pouch," I reported, "I'll be good for a while. Just have to wait for it to kick in."

"Good," he slipped another in my bag, "You know how much I worry."

"I do," I grumbled, "Much to my chagrin most of the time."

"Now," Crowley cradled my face in his hand, "If you don't need anything else, I should be off."

"I got nothing," I shrugged, "Thanks, Crowley."

"What?" he froze up, "What did you just say to me?"

"Uh..." I gave him a look, "You know. Thank you. For hooking me up. Why? I don't understand. What's the big deal?"

"I've been dealing with the ungrateful dynamic duo all day," Crowley let out a heavy sigh, "Just one thank you! Two little words! Is that too much to ask for? They can recite an entire bloody exorcism, but the simplest thing is entirely lost on them. I swear, I should go down to Hell, find John Winchester, and give him a piece of my mind!"

"Crowley," I tried to get him to calm down, "Remember where we are. Relax. Find a happy place. One where you don't have to put up with Sam and Dean."

"Sweetheart," he chuckled a bit, "My happy place is a cozy corner of Hell where I have Lucifer racked up on one side and Hitler racked up on the other and I've managed to grow tentacles. Kind of like the monsters on your computer."

"Leave my computer alone!"

"Shh..." Crowley put his finger over my lips, "Remember where we are, Lena. Or should I say Charlotte?"

"Shut up," I shrugged him off me, "And don't touch my computer."

"I see my little girl has some shameful pictures she doesn't want Daddy to see," he teased, "Anything else I should know about?"

"If you want shameful," I suggested, "Look at Dean's search history. That's just as weird. Now, I have to get back to class. I'll be back around five and I'll text you if I stay out later."

"I'll just be sitting by the phone, waiting for it to ring," Crowley leaned up against the wall, "I'll miss you."

"You're such a drama queen," I rolled my eyes, "Get out of here before someone sees you."

"Yes, dear." And just like that, Crowley poofed off God knows where. I still had an art class to finish up. I went back to the art room and took my seat at my desk. Doodles. Hopeless little doodles. That's all I had to do.

"Hey," Seth watched me over my shoulder, "You're pretty good."

"Thanks," I bit my lip, going back to my shading on a giant squid as it destroyed a small city.

"What's the inspiration for this?" he wondered, studying my technique closely. Almost a little too close for comfort, "Something about the ocean taking back their lands?"

"No," I shook my head, "If I tell you, do you promise not to judge?"

"Pinky promise."

"I saw this in a hentai once," I admitted, "Thought it'd be cool to draw out."

"What's hentai?" Seth gave me a look.

"Thank God," I sighed out, "You're still innocent. You really don't know what hentai is?"

"No."

"Run far and run fast," I warned, "Once you get into it, it's a pain in the ass to try and get out. Ha...I made a joke."

"It's lost on me," Seth sat next to me, "Can I watch you work, Charlie? My project's all done for the day."

"Sure," I allowed, "But what did you do?"

"I sketched out this girl I know," he smiled, "She looks really nice in charcoals."

"Does she?" I thought back to what Crowley said in the bathroom. Dammit. He was into me. No. You don't know that, Lena. He might have done someone else. You're overreacting.

"I'd like for her to see it," Seth offered his hand, "When she's not drawing scenes from hentai."

Dammit...It was me. I started to sweat a little, "You drew me?"

"It's still a little rough," he led me over to his easel where a smaller canvas sat, "It could stand some tweaking, but I'm sure the subject would say the same thing."

This was incredible. To think, I was drawing scenes from anime porn all this time and he was working on this. The hyperrealism was almost a bit creepy and the thought of me in a white dress on a wooden swing. But there was no doubt. That was me. Tweaking, he says. Tweaking my ass. It's perfect. How the hell was Seth making it so easy for me to fall for him? I knew I couldn't out of necessity, but once I leave, it's going to kill him.

"Seth..." I could hardly get words out, "This is...It's amazing."

"Nicely done, Seth," the teacher came up behind us, "You're a natural talent. I hope you plan on doing something with this after graduation."

"I don't know," he shrugged, "I thought about freelancing and getting galleries and stuff like that, but you really think it could be in the cards for me?"

"I do," I assured, "Maybe a tattoo artist, if you got steady enough hands. That's the only think you're missing on me."

"What?" I thought Seth's eyes were about to come out of his head, "You don't have tattoos?"

"One," I nodded, "It runs down the back of my leg."

"You don't strike me as the tattooed type."

"People can surprise you," the teacher pointed out, "Keep up the good work, kid."

"Can I..." Seth turned shy, "Can I see it?"

"In mixed company?" I gasped, "Seth, what kind of hussy do you think I am? I am a classier lady than that."

"Then, how about I get you dinner first?" he suggested, blushing a little, "Later tonight?"

Wait. He was serious. Even worse, Crowley was right. I had a job to do here. I couldn't afford to get attached. When I leave, it'll just break his heart. By the sounds of it, though, he's totally willing to accept that. Alright. I could still be unattached, but who was I to deny this dude a little bit of joy for the time being? Who knows? Sailors have a lover in every port. Maybe I could, too.

"Ok," I smiled, "Any particular time?"

"Seven o'clock?"

"It's a date," I confirmed, internally freaking out about what just came out of my mouth. I've only been on a few dates in my life. I had hardly any experience with this kind of thing. I could twiddle a butterfly knife in my fingers without cutting myself, but dating? Lost on me. It's times like these where I wish I could call up either one of my brothers for some friendly advice. And I would, too, if I knew it wouldn't just turn into me getting bitched at. Pass.

Ring!

Saved by the bell. Although, the light in Seth's eyes didn't dissipate, "Cool. I'll see you at seven then?"

"Wait," I stopped him, "What about you, me, and Christina hanging out after school?"

"That's not changing," he assured, "We're still hanging out. Is that ok?"

"Yeah," I shook it off, "I guess I'll see you later then."

"Bye," Seth waved me off and I went to hide off in my biology class. Blood. I needed another hit. Maybe just half a pouch. I need to ration this out. For the first time in ages, I had an actual, honest to God date. I'm not quite sure how to feel about this. Screw it. I'm doing the whole pouch. I could do a couple hours without any blood. Come on, Lena. Get it together.

The warm, fuzzy feeling started to take over and kill all of the emotions that were strangling me. I don't care about mitochondria. I don't care about cell reproduction. All I needed was this little pouch and I'd be content with the world. Lena's in her happy place. Lena's also talking to herself in third person and needs to quit that. I'd just kick my feet up and zone out for the rest of the day.

Once the final bell rang, I found Seth and Christina outside the art room and the three of us got into Seth's car. God, she sounded pretty. Every time he'd rev the engine, my heart would skip a beat. If the weather was just a bit warmer, I'd be telling him to throw the windows down, put in one of my mixtapes, and go absolutely nuts. That sounded like a damn good time.

"Well," Seth pulled into the driveway of a giant Victorian in a quiet neighborhood, "Here we are. Home sweet home."

"This is your place?" I gasped. Then again, I was used to occasionally squatting in abandoned houses and crappy motel rooms and the bunker. To me, this was practically the Taj Mahal.

"Yep," he got the door for me. What a gentleman, "If you think the house is nice, you should see the toys in the garage."

"Oh?" I couldn't contain my excitement anymore. This was like Disneyland for me in my heart and soul. Hearing what Seth has told me about his garage made my knees go weak.

"Come here," Seth took my hand and led me to the window. I could only see the tops of three different cars in there, "If you give me a sec, I'll get the opener from my dad."

"Seth," a deep, velvety voice spoke, also making me weak at the knees, "I didn't know you were having friends over. What's the occasion?"

"No occasion," Seth explained, nudging me forward, "This is Charlie. She wanted to see the garage."

"Did she?" the man took my hand, raising it to his lips. Swoon…Nosebleed imminent, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Charlie. My name is Nikolai. Would you like to see inside?"

"Absolutely!" I squeaked, unable to control the volume of my voice anymore.

"My, my," Nikolai smiled, making me bite the back of my tongue to keep myself from smiling back, "An excitable little one, aren't you?"

"Just a bit of a gearhead," I admitted, "Thanks to my brothers and my uncle and an ex-boyfriend."

"I see," he opened the overhead doors and what I saw on the other side…It was the land of milk and honey. I knew a certain someone that if he were standing in front of these doors, he'd have the same feeling a certain angel gave him. And I wouldn't blame him, "Well? What do you think, Charlie?"

"That white Rolls Royce," I swooned, resisting the urge to touch it…And maybe cry a little, "That's got to be at least a '55. Right?"

"You like that?" Nikolai asked, "Because that's my Rolls Royce. The other two are my daughters' cars. They don't have the same…appreciation as what I do for the older models."

"She's beautiful," I praised, "How's she drive?"

"Exactly how you'd imagine," he promised, "Think about taking her up the coast in northern California all the way to the Washington-Canadian border in the middle of summer with the warm breeze blowing your hair back. Truly a magical experience."

"Need me something like that." I know where Crowley and I are headed next. That sounded fantastic and putting the top down on the Mustang was something she sorely needed. Screw any cases that might come across the wire. I'm taking a well-deserved vacation.

"Come on," Seth took my hand, "Let's go inside. You can chat up my dad later."

"I'm not…" I felt the heat rise in my face, "No. I…"

"Please," he draped an arm around my shoulder, "I've known him for way too long. I know when my friends think he's hot."

"It's not…!"

"I know," Seth settled me down, "You have no intentions of becoming my step-mom. That'd be weird."

"She's definitely cute, Seth," Nikolai admitted, winking at me. Ok. Now, he's just messing with me.

"We'll be back later, Dad," Seth brushed him off, "We're going to go study."

"Study?" Nikolai gave him a look, "You're taking two lovely young ladies up to your bedroom and you expect me to think you're actually studying? Whatever you say, son."

"We are," he rolled his eyes, taking both Christina and me into the house, "Sorry about him, Charlie. He can come on a little strong."

"No worries," I shrugged, following him through the living room where two borderline supermodels were laying on opposing couches, scrolling through their phones, watching TV.

"Ladies," Seth gave them a little salute.

"Welcome home, Seth," one of them spoke. A leggy, bleached blonde, California stereotype that glowed like an ethereal goddess.

"Who's the fresh meat?" the other asked. She looked like she crawled out of an aesthetic blog. She covered her tiny frame in a giant, chunky knit sweater and sharp black leggings and a pair of big framed glasses over her dark, striking eyes.

"This is Charlie," he introduced me, "Charlie, these are my delightful sisters. On the left, we have Gabrielle. On the right, we have Aja."

"Hey," Tumblr Queen, Aja, looked past me, "You brought Christina back, too."

"She didn't want to think this meant something weird," Seth threw me under the bus, "So having someone else here would even the playing field."

"You dick!" I got defensive, "That's not what…!"

"Feisty one, isn't she?" Gabrielle teased.

"We'll be upstairs," Seth waved them off, "Shall we?"

"Hold on," Aja stopped us, "Christina, come here. We need to catch up."

"Ok…" Christina spoke softly, going into the living room instead.

"That's ok, right?" Seth looked over to me, "My sisters have always had a soft spot for her."

"Sure," I wasn't quite positive how accurate that was, but Seth seemed pretty harmless. I followed him upstairs and at the end of the hall on the left, there was a solid oak door blocking our way. When Seth opened it, I didn't expect anything different. Band posters plastered all over the walls. Some good, some god awful, but I didn't have the heart to judge his music tastes. A few classic movie posters, too. Some paint splattered on the hardwood floor.

"Now, we're home sweet home," Seth jumped onto his bed. No silk sheets? I'm almost surprised. He really wasn't expecting anything, "Jesus, Charlie, relax. You look like you're about to come out of your skin."

"I am relaxed," I threw my bag on the chair in the corner and sat next to him, "You act like you're the first guy to ever take me to his bedroom. There was this guy I was seeing for a while off and on that I used to stay at his house on the regular. He was seventeen. I was fourteen. He was sweet."

"Why didn't you two work out?" he wondered.

I thought it over for a minute. Why didn't it work out with Luke and me? I mean, he was a good dude. Still is. Maybe because we were too close. Every day, we were practically up each other's asses. Every band practice, I was there. Every school function I didn't want to go to, but I had to anyway, he was there. He was probably the best relationship I'd ever have, but I couldn't deal with that. That's what it was, "He smothered me. Hell of a guy, but he smothered me. I couldn't deal with boys in a band anymore."

"Oh…" Seth lowered his eyes. In that moment, I might as well have just shot his puppy in front of him and fed it to him shortly after, "So, you don't date guys in bands anymore?"

"Dammit," I sighed out, "That's right. You wouldn't happen to be the drummer, would you? Because that would mean I really have a type."

"Guitar."

"Ok," I settled down, trying to regain some brownie points here, "Do you think you could play for me?"

"On one condition…"

"What?" I kind of owed the guy. I sort of insulted him a little.

"You," Seth strapped on an acoustic, "play with me."

"I don't play anything," I pointed out.

"You told me you could sing, though," he hid a smile, "I'll play you anything you want."

"Oh, come on," I groaned, "Really?"

"Anything you want," Seth allowed, "Any genre. I can play it all."

"I don't know," I thought for a minute, "Surprise me."

"Alright," he started with a soft, sweet guitar riff, "You know this one?"

"I think so," I couldn't hold back a smile if I wanted to, "Is this what you do with every other girl you bring around here? Play her the Beatles and instantly, her panties disappear?"

"No, just you," Seth kept playing, "Go on. Impress me."

"Blackbird singing in the dead of night," I began, "Take these broken wings and learn to fly…"

"All your life," he joined in, "You were only waiting for this moment to arise."

And so, we continued on. After we finished Blackbird, I thought I was going to break down. That's been one of my favorite Beatles songs since I was little. According to Uncle Bobby, my mom used to sing it to me when I was still in the womb. Maybe that's got something to do with it. It's always filled me with a certain melancholy. Once I got myself back together, we were interrupted by Christina finally coming upstairs.

"Hey, Christina," Seth greeted her, offering her a seat on the bed, "Care to join us?"

"Sure," she stumbled a few steps and caught herself on the wall.

"Are you ok?" I worried, helping her to the bed.

"Yeah," Christina dug in her bag for an orange pill bottle, "Just a little dizzy. I'll be fine."

"Did you forget to take your medicine today, Christina?" Seth asked, just as concerned as I was.

"I think so," she popped one white tablet in her mouth, swallowing it dry.

"What's it for?" I wondered, "If you don't mind me asking?"

"Iron deficiency," Christina put the bottle back, still seeming a bit out of it, "Seth, can I borrow your bed?"

"Sure," Seth and I got up and let her lay down. He covered her up with one of the blankets, "Get some sleep, ok?"

"Ok…" Not ten seconds went by before Christina was out cold.

"I should be going, too," I grabbed my bag, "Not that this wasn't fun, Seth, but I'll see you tonight. We really should let her get some sleep."

"Yeah," Seth let me go, "Ok. I'll pick you up at seven."

"Looking forward to it," I bit the inside of my cheek.

"Wait, Charlie," he stopped me, "Let me at least give you a ride back to your place."

"Don't worry about it," I brushed him off, "I appreciate the sentiment, but I could stand a walk anyway. It's not too far."

"I'll see you tonight," Seth gave me a little smile, "And it'd be really cool if we could jam together again."

"Hopefully," I waved him off and headed downstairs.

"Aww…" Aja whined from the living room, "Leaving already?"

"I need to be getting home," I confirmed.

"Will this be the last time we see you, Charlie?" Gabrielle wondered.

"I don't know," I shrugged, "I don't think so."

"Run along then," Aja shooed me out, "We'll see you soon."

They seemed nice. Poor Christina, though. She looked like her skin lost a couple shades and like she was about to keel over. Of course she's got an iron deficiency. It's too bad I didn't get to talk to her like I wanted to, but soon enough, I'm sure I could get her to agree to a slumber party. I didn't want to resort to that. Slumber parties never were my thing. The nuns made me go to one in third grade and it was hell. I ended up getting pissed off halfway through the night and called Uncle Bobby to come and get me. I might have been twenty minutes away, but he'd be damned if his little girl had to suffer.

I got back to the hotel in record time and threw myself on the bed. My withdrawal was starting to set in and I didn't deserve that. Unfortunately, my blood supply in the fridge was gone already and I didn't have any pouches left. Come on, Lena. You can hold out for just a little while longer. At least until Crowley gets back and you can get some straight from the tap. Maybe a distraction will help. Like clearing my internet search history and moving my hentai off my laptop.

"It has been a day…" Crowley came in, nearly mirroring me, "Hi, Lena. You're back early."

"The feedbag's taking a nap," I let out a heavy sigh, "How was your day?"

"Exasperating," he stayed still, "You?"

"Same," I nodded, "But I have a fever setting in and I can't sit still."

"Here," Crowley threw me a full pouch, "Enjoy. I don't feel like tapping a vein right now. I'm very tired and I could stand a nap, a massage, and a good scotch."

"Thanks," I took long, heavy slurps from the bag, "That sounds like a hell of an idea, but as much as I'd love to join you, I can't."

"Why not?"

"I need your credit card."

"What the hell for?" Crowley sat back up.

"I got a date tonight," I explained, finishing up, "And I got nothing to wear, so I need to do some shopping."

"Excuse me?" his anger turned to playful teasing, "Does my little girl have a gentleman caller?"

"Don't say it like that," I groaned.

"I'd like to meet him," Crowley's parenting was really starting to piss me off, "I need to see if he's good enough for my baby."

"I'm not your baby," I cringed, "Just need the credit card and I'll be off."

"What time will he be here?" he asked, prying more into my love life.

"Seven," I had to pickpocket the King of Hell today. A sentence I never thought I'd ever say in my life, "I'll be back shortly."

"Be careful, darling," Crowley wrapped his arms around me, "I love you!"

"You're a dick."

A/N: I know. This chapter is hella long and it's gone off what I have written down on the outline all over the place. But I like it! We've met some of Seth's family. We had Crowley being a delight and a pain in the ass. We had Seth's dad being creepy. But I like Nikolai. I don't care what anyone else says. Nikolai is a delight and I love him, ok? And Seth playing off the fact that he's got a DILF makes me weirdly happy. Ok. I'm going to go now and probably…I don't know. I think I deserve a snack. See you next chapter! xx