Chapter 4

Thought you'd want the hard stuff after this.

Sam jumped slightly since her voice was soft and out of nowhere. He turned to see Angela giving a slight grin as she stood by the bar, leaning against it casually. "Could you not do that?"

"Old habits," she replied with a shrug. She tapped the bar and signaled for her drink. She decided on whiskey and the really good stuff and didn't mind paying the exorbitant price for it. "And I've been trying to avoid the fan boy brigade."

Sam raised his brow at that, aware that he was also experiencing pangs of jealousy, which was ridiculous since she did say that she was trying to avoid them. Plus he saw her reaction when a few people approached her excited about seeing her. "Fan boy brigade?"

Taking a sip of the whiskey, Angela explained, "You try making your way through a crowd that gets excited because you 'accurately portray the most mysterious character in the Supernatural books'. It's enough to remind me of Phoenix."

Sam watched her knowing that there was more to it. The fan thing was nothing to her. She was amused by it. The only reason she would be agitated was that it was something else and she was doing her damn best to hide it. Still he would run with it if only to make her comfortable at least talking to him, "Was it really that bad?"

"Like I mentioned, Gil Hobbs, the creator of Shadow Chasers, he actually invited me to Phoenix since he was making an appearance and I was to be his guest." Angela shifted to lean against the bar more comfortably. "I'd actually been to these before and they do amuse me."

"Just… not this one."

"It does," Angela countered honestly. "Personally I found it hilarious when you showed the publisher your tattoos." She gave a smile as she drank her whiskey. "Just other things on my mind and being chased by fan boys doesn't help." It was the honest truth to a degree. She just left out the part that it was because she was ready to basically tear anyone who looked at Sam sideways and on top of that she was still processing the fact that he kissed her and it wasn't like the gentle ones he gave to her cheek. "If it were any other time… I'd get a kick out of the fact that there are guys and girls thinking I'm the one in the book."

"Well you are," Sam pointed out, relieved that she started relaxing a little. "And it is you in that graphic novel that guy Lewis showed us."

"Gil is a pretty good artist," Angela agreed as she took another sip of whiskey. "He used to follow me and Kira everywhere when we went on jobs. At least he's accurate. I can't stand unrealistic proportions."

"You're perfect," Sam said as he surveyed the hall in front of him. He realized what he said but didn't react though he could feel his skin flush.

Angela felt her own face flush. The sincerity of the comment touched her and she felt like a blushing schoolgirl. There was nothing to say except, "Thank you… Flatterer."

Sam relaxed a little and replied, "Honest truth." He dared to turn and look at her and came face to face with her expression that was… It definitely wasn't the one that he disliked since she had a slight tug on her lips towards a smile and her eyes… It was actually tempting to lean in and kiss her again.

They stared at each other, not sure of what to do when all of a sudden a sound caught their attention and they turned to see the guy dressed as a scarecrow holding a camera. Both could do nothing but blink as the guy said, "Wow. That was great. You know I always thought that Absolution and Sam should be together. I think Absolution is a girl anyway."

Angela blinked as the guy walked away and then glanced at Sam who looked more like someone just froze his laptop on a porn site. And that was mingled with the look of a guy that wanted to throttle another for interrupting something important. She tried to talk him down, "And here I was thinking that you needed someone's permission to take a photo. At least the lighting's good. No… flares."

If it wasn't one thing, it was another and it annoyed Sam that the universe told him one thing and he took advantage of it only to be told by that same universe that it might not be the best thing. He saw Angela's attempt for what it was and appreciated it but he was still annoyed. He tried to be nice in his tone, "Good."

The mood was thoroughly ruined and Angela cleared her throat and absently reached to pet Cerebus. It was a crutch and she was going to use it. It was one thing to make a joke at the boys' expense because they got so bent out of shape over a series of books that talked about their lives. It was another thing entirely when it involved her feelings and made her realize that she was that transparent at times and it made her scared and nervous. It made her want to curse Akira, Jo and Augusta for egging her on in this. "Yeah. Um…" Angela downed the rest of the whiskey, "I think I'll go find a vending machine, grab a couple of cans and try to scrub that out."

Sam knew that his response wasn't exactly forthcoming or even nice. He was concerned since her eyes had a tendency to flare especially if she was caught off guard. He was still upset since he was deciding on what to say and then… It frustrated him. And enough to the point where she was going to be nice and give him space and he thought he made her feel like she did something wrong. This was so screwed up. He started to say something but was interrupted.

"I just saw Stanley and he showed me the picture. It was awesome!"

It was then that Sam noticed that Angela visibly stiffened in front of Becky as she explained about the picture in that excited way of hers. He watched as she silently put a head on Cerebus' head and if it were possible for a dog to look upset, then it was possible. It surprised him when Angela spoke in her polite voice, "Maybe but he didn't ask. It wasn't appreciated."

Becky didn't appear to notice the tone as she explained, "But you are Absolution. You fit the description to a tee."

Sam would have said something Angela seemed content to do all the talking and he let it go as she replied, "I read the books. Absolution is nothing more than an ambiguous figure left entirely to chance of the wild imaginings of youthful enthusiasm."

"I don't know all of what you said but I know that Absolution is real. It's you," Becky pointed out. "Of course the books don't specify but there is the note that Absolution has always traveled with Sam and Dean since joining up with them. And you're here." She shrugged and gave a big smile. "It's awesome."

"I wouldn't call it awesome," Angela countered in a quiet tone that Sam recognized could be the warning tone before she struck. "I mean as the forums say I'm nothing more than a literary device that offsets the emotional issues." She raised her brow and a slight smirk was on her face.

"Only because the descriptions are vague and you do seem to just pop in and out. I often wonder why that is." Becky frowned a bit as she looked away to think about it.

"Perhaps because it is a story about Sam and Dean. Absolution is minor."

That was a load of crap in Sam's mind. Angela was important to Dean, Bobby and she was important to him. She was not some literary device just stuck in there for a reason. Granted he was well aware that his thoughts were extremely biased, it was the honest truth.

"But Absolution is important. How else would we know about those really personally thoughts and feelings?"

"Easy. If you delete Absolution, you'd still get the same thing." Angela shrugged her shoulders. Her expression was almost bemused at the whole thing. "It was written well enough to not be needed. My guess it was just a need to add something more and it worked… more or less."

"Definitely. I mean the ambiguity works over well. I mean there is a male version of you but I think the tattoo is completely wrong." Becky took on a serious expression. "Of course you would know."

"You seem fairly insistent that I am who you say I am." Angela raised her brow as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her tone had taken on a more bemused tone but the tension hadn't left her shoulders.

"Well I did read the books and Chuck did tell me you were real. When I first read about you, I thought that you weren't real but then the more I read about you… of course you were real." Becky smiled big like a child looking for a treat. She looked at Sam and Angela. "So when Stanley, he's a big fan too, saw you… you know."

"No I don't."

At that point Sam realized that while Angela was still tense around Becky, she was making fun of the girl and she was doing it in a way that was not very noticeable unless you paid attention to her mannerisms. At face value, it looked rather callous of Angela and not something he had known her to be. On the other hand it was probably because of the fact that she was still upset over the picture that had been taken. On the other hand it could be seen as an attempt to be polite.

"Well Stanley heard from a couple of guys that you were here and then saw you and he's a big fan of the Sam/Absolution ship. There is quite a following of the Dean/Absolution ship too."

Angela listened with polite interest. It was enough to relieve the tension and the desire to just be physically violent. It also helped that she kept her hand on Cerebus until she engaged in the conversation with the girl. It didn't mean that she liked her per se but she was willing to be polite. She could even blame it on the sense of manners drilled into her when she was a girl. The nice thing was that she was aware of what was going on with that and was able to respond without sounding like she didn't have the first damn clue. "I followed that. I just found it a little bit of personal space invasion."

"Oh. Right. I hope you don't beat Stanley up for that."

"No I won't. Thank you for the conversation. It was interesting."

Sam waited until Becky had left after giving a bit of moon eyes at him before approaching Angela and said, "That was a little mean."

"Maybe. I wanted to vent." Angela cleared her throat softly and turned to look at Sam as if daring him to challenge that assertion. "There are more ways than punching it out."

Sam studied her and was surprised that he was actually turned on by the assertiveness. He admired her ability to find a better solution even if it didn't seem like there was one. The only thing that had him on edge was the fact that she tended to do things that put her at risk. He found himself agreeing with her, "Not arguing with that. Seems to be a more healthy way."

"But it was a little mean." Angela gave a shrug at that and the defensive posture evaporated.

"You were making fun of her."

"Maybe." Angela paused to think about what she wanted to say next. She could tell him the real reason but that left the possibility that he would make fun of her and prove to her that he didn't feel the same way about her as she did him. Or he did feel the same way and she would scare him off for good. Either way, she was not given a good possibility. Finally she said, "I was also making fun of myself. I did say I was a figment of overactive imaginations."

Sam couldn't argue with that. He could see that she had relaxed visibly now that Becky was gone and it had him thinking about it but he didn't want to press. "But you're not."

"How people see me is," Angela pointed out. "It's kind of why I like these kind of things and kind of don't if it involves me." Absently she rubbed Cerebus' head and he let out a low rumble. "I like them because it is a good laugh and don't because… it's not me."

"You don't really believe that do you?" Sam peered at her not really sure what she was thinking of.

"The glorified tales, Sam," she explained. "I've read them and I do admit that Shadow Chasers I actually like since I pretty much scared Gil into making it as accurate as possible." She gave a slight smile and breathed in content. "That was fun."

Sam felt his lip twitch in amusement at that last part. "You do like trying to scare people."

"Not you." Angela looked away as she said that and looked around.

The soft way she uttered that reply had Sam pause. He wasn't sure how to respond to that since it was true but the way it sounded was different and she didn't include Dean in that. He would have said something but Dean came over and asked, "Where the hell have you been Angie?"

"Avoiding fan boys and making fun of a fan girl," Angela offered a bit lighthearted to the point that it sounded like when she announced something relevant to her experiences and the Winchesters didn't know whether or not to take it seriously. "And just making sure that Cerebus was a good boy."

Dean looked at Angela like she might have a few screws loose, "Being chased by fan boys?"

"Don't," Sam motioned and grabbed another beer. He noticed that Angela stepped closer to him to allow Dean in and ordered another drink.

"Just asking," Dean replied as he signaled for his shots of whiskey to begin. "After all she did reserve the right to drink."

"Into a stupor," Angela pointed out as she picked up her glass of port. She figured why not since she had the money and it had been awhile since she drank anything that strong in wines. "But I can't get drunk off of this, but it has a nice buzz." She took a sip.

"Wine? Serious?" Dean looked at her since he had seen her drink rotgut, beer, Guinness and other stuff a hunter should drink but wine?

"Port. Strong stuff and a very good buzz," Angela replied with a grin. "And I need it after this shit." She downed the port like she did the whiskey and asked for another glass.

Dean glanced at her as she downed the second glass and asked for a third. "You weren't kidding were you?"

"Nope."

Dean shrugged and downed his whiskey and asked for another. Sam looked at his beer, and then at Angela. She had stopped on the third glass, deciding to take it slow. Either that or she was buzzed and needed to figure out which way was up and down. He ventured, "A little too much?"

"Not enough," she replied giving a slight smile. She was joking since she had been on a two to three bottle binge of whiskey a few times in her life. It was a comfort and it did make her more vulnerable to irritability and other things. Just not drunkenness though she could pretend. "I'm good actually. Kess was here and he brought a girl."

"Kess?" Sam looked at Angela at the same time Dean did.

"Yep."

"With a girl?" Dean was incredulous at that. He thought it was a joke before but this was… "You're serious."

"Met her. Liked her." Angela took a sip of port. "Oh and she knows about his species. More or less. Feathered bastard told her and she's good with it." She took another sip and leaned down to scratch Cerebus' ears. "He doesn't really like LARPing though."

Sam was wrong when he thought things couldn't get any weirder. At least it was more or less the kind of weird that was acceptable with regards to what they did. He gave a shrug at Dean and went to drinking is beer. Dean looked at her and then turned away for another drink, "Damn the kid is good."

They drank in companionable silence absorbing the day so far. It was enough to have a couple of people stop and stare. Sam privately got a kick out of the look Angela gave them and raised her brow in warning when one lifted his phone to indicate that he wanted to take a picture. Silently the guy backed off and walked away and not a word was spoken. He was impressed and couldn't help but give a gentle pat to her forearm to indicate as such and felt better when it was returned with a smile from her.

In the meantime Dean saw the whole thing and noticed how his brother watched her. It was kind of cute and kind of not since his brother was almost making moon eyes at her and she was receptive but it didn't seem like it. He turned away to take another drink when he noticed that another person joined them at the bar. It was a girl and she looked hot. He decided to make polite conversation, "How you doing?"

"Busy."

Dean was in a flirting mood. He couldn't help the smirk and he wasn't put off that she was ignoring him by texting on her cell phone. He figured she was one of the role-playing people since she was dressed in an old dress and made up. "Well, you sure look lovely tonight. Especially for a dead chick."

"Buddy, I have heard that line seventeen times tonight, okay?" The girl continued to text on her phone but her tone indicated that she was less than thrilled to be talking to him. "An all from dudes wearing MacGyver jackets." She turned to look at Dean and her demeanor changed. "But you seem different."

Dean was curious and he could hear Angela chuckling since she had hearing like a bat but it went silent as quickly as it came. She was being entertained this or Sam said something incredibly funny and she bit. He kept his attention on the girl and studied her. "How so?"

"Well you don't seem scared of women."

Dean chuckled at that and she did the same with him. Well that was a no brainer. He managed to give her one of his more charming smiles. He then felt a bump and realized that Angela had moved at bit abruptly. At the same time someone was shouting, "For the last time, I'm not making this up okay? She's upstairs, a real, live, dead ghost."

Dean blinked as he watched Angela move quickly towards the pair that was talking with Cerebus on her heels. He saw her nose twitch and realized she was picking up on the stench of blood or something else and no doubt she heard everything going on. He excused himself and followed her over to the pair talking.

"I'm sure it was just one of the actors."

"Who beat the crap out of me and then vanished?"

Angela studied them and asked, "You saw something?"

"Look this isn't part of the game…" The one who had been ranting about seeing a ghost took a look at Angela. He took in the serious expression and no nonsense attitude. Her brow was raised in an inquisitive manner and essentially asking him to give everything. "Uh… I saw a ghost."

"Can you describe it?"

"Look it's not a game," the guy said and cowered slightly under her gaze before turning to his friend, "Look I'm getting out of here. You should do the same." He stepped around Angela since shoving didn't seem to be an option and he was nervous around her. He took off with his friend following and protesting behind him and passed Sam and Dean as they stood by Angela.

Angela followed the boys that were leaving. She then turned and looked up at the ceiling and tried to reach out. She had done it before and essentially it was like riding a bicycle while Sam asked, "What do you think?"

"I don't think that guy's a good enough actor to be acting," Dean replied watching the pair that was leaving.

"Blood was real," Angela said as she continued to look at the ceiling. "His kind… he would be scared of a paper cut."

Sam and Dean turned to look at Angela. Dean asked, "You sure?"

"Trust me. I even know the smell of my own." Angela continued to look at the ceiling and walked forward with a frown on her face. She needed to block everything else out

Sam swallowed at that statement and Dean cleared his throat slightly. That remark hit a little too close to home. Dean asked, "Picking up on anything?"

"I don't know yet." Angela stopped and looked around the room. No one had noticed her movements or if they did, they thought she was playing the game. "Cerebus?"

Cerebus made a slight growl and a whining sound. That told Angela he wasn't picking up much and maybe it was because of the nature of the place or he was more in tuned to tracking down the physical things they hunted. Either way, he had something but didn't know and he was letting her know.

Angela patted the dog to indicate he was a good dog and turned to look at the Winchesters. "I can't pick up anything definite but it is there and that expression was not a fake. Not even really good actors can do that."

"Don't know. You're in the running," Dean commented.

Angela made a hum at the back of her throat. She looked at Sam and Sam asked, "You think that the story of this place is true?"

Dean looked around. He was seeing people joining in on this "hunt". If it was true and there was a ghost around this place, they were obligated to hunt it. The people here didn't realize that these things were real and could kill you. As far as they were concerned, it wasn't real. He didn't like this convention thing much like his brother but if there was a potential danger, he wasn't going to leave them out to dry and Angela sure wasn't going to either. "Only one thing left to do."

Dean started walking through, ignoring the guy in the ascot talking to another group of these kids and looking for someone not associated with it to give some information. Sam followed right behind him and assumed that Angela did too until he saw her start to go up the stairs. "Angie?"

Angela paused and turned to look, "I'm going to check it out. I've got Cerebus with me. Find Kess. He may be able to help." She then turned to run up the stairs.

"And things are returning to normal," Dean muttered more annoyed than anything.

Sam was in agreement but his attitude was more into worry. He knew that Cerebus would look after her and the hell hound had more than proved his worth over the years. He just couldn't help but worry. He couldn't let it distract him and so he followed his brother to the concierge desk where Dean asked, "Excuse us. Mind if we ask you a few questions?"

The guy at the desk didn't bother to make eye contact as he replied, "Look, I don't have time to play Star Wars, guys. Go ask the guy in the ascot."

Sam and Dean exchanged glances and Sam gave a signal with his head. This was going to take a little more than the usual and for once Dean wished that Angela was there to use her persuasion skills. "Actually, we really wanna talk to you," he said as he fished out a fifty dollar bill and slid it to the guy.

A/N: Looks like Angie found a way to suppress the urges for now and looks like Samgie fluff and there looks to be some trouble. Stay tuned for more There a Hunter in the House?...