Dean got out of his seat and made his way over to the woman in the corner. Her face was obscured by dark brown, almost black hair. It seemed familiar, but Dean shrugged it off Sam watched him go, glaring at him before turning to Adriana who was looking at him with a piercing intensity.
"Am I over controlling Sam?" she asked softly. Sam sighed. Adriana had a way of acting first, and then over thinking what she'd said or done later.
"No Drie. Not at all. Athena is just... being difficult."
Adriana pouted. "Yeah, but even that's my fault. You heard what she said!" she said, pausing mid sentence. "Have you been treating her differently?"
Sam shook his head. "Don't worry about it. No one's treating her any differently than we have been," He reassured the blonde.
She sighed. "Sam." Her voice became serious, and Sam had a feeling he wasn't going to like the direction her conversation went. "We need to talk about what happened in the motel room back in Lawrence."
Sam shook his head, fighting a blush on his cheeks. He took a sip of his beer to hide the blush. "What's there to talk about?" He asked.
"Sam, you can't run away and hide it forever," Adriana said gently. She reached her hand across the table and laid hers over Sam's. She knew she was the first girl since Jessica.
"I know," Sam said, sighing. "I just don't know what I want yet." Adriana nodded, understanding her best friend.
"Hey, it's okay. While you figure it out, let's go kill this 'grizzly'," she said, rolling her eyes and making air quotes around the word grizzly.
Sam snorted and glanced behind him to see his brother's whereabouts. He'd stopped at the bar and grabbed a shot of vodka, downing it before continuing to cross the room. What he didn't realise is that he'd been sitting at the bar for the last ten minutes, downing shot after shot. Dean felt deprived of action. Sam was a control freak who took the fun out of everything. He arrived in front of the woman. A girl of about 21 looked up at him, with big brown eyes and dark brown hair. He blinked once to clear his head.
"I may not be Fred Flintstone but I can make your bed rock," he said with a wink. The woman laughed.
"Oh I'm sure. If you're not Fred, who are you?" she asked, eyeing him appreciatively. Dean looked down at her, very impressed with his vantage point as he could see right down her top. He sat down across from her.
"I'm Dean. And you must be Pebbles," he said, winking again. The woman smirked.
"My name is Ali," she said in a high pitched girly voice. Dean nodded appreciatively.
"Well, Ali, you seem to be right up my alley," Dean said, slurring slightly. Ali let out another burst of laughter. Adriana glanced over, and raised her eyebrows.
"You really gonna let him do this? He's off his face," she said disapprovingly. Sam glanced over at his older brother.
"I really can't be bothered with him. Let him suffer the consequences. He needs to learn responsibility," Sam said viciously. Adriana's eyebrows shot back up, surprised, but she nodded in agreement.
"You know he's gonna regret this in the morning," Adriana said. "You might as well save him," She added, but Sam shook his head.
"Nah. I'll let him suffer. He probably deserves it," Sam stated and Adriana sighed.
"Fine. I'll let it go. But when he wakes up in the morning and comes at us with a gun, I'm throwing you under the bus," She told him, holding her arms up in the air in an "I surrender" way. "I'm not getting killed because youdecided to teach him a lesson."
Sam laughed. "Gee, thanks, Drie. I know I can alwayscount on you no matter what." Adriana giggled and smiled.
"I know, aren't I amazing?"
"You truly are something else, Drie, I'll give you that," Sam said, raising his bottle to her before finishing his beer. Another glance showed Dean standing up with the brunette, his hand around her waist and touching her ass. Sam looked back at Adriana, making a disgusted noise.
"Hey, he's your brother not mine," she said teasingly. Sam sighed.
"I know. He's drunk, Athena's AWOL." At the mention of the other girl, Adriana's face dropped. Sam noticed and shook his head, as if clearing thoughts.
"Let's head home, okay? We can drag Dean outta bed early in the morning to see this Shaw guy, and serve him right coz he'll have one hell of a hangover," Adriana said standing up and smirking. Sam smiled at her.
"Yes he will." They walked outside only to see the parking lot empty. Sam groaned. "Damn. Now I really wish I stopped him." Adriana poked her tongue at him.
"Told you so!" she said.
Sam rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah, you're right."
Adriana pouted and batted her eyelashes at him. "No need to sound so surprised," she exclaimed in a mock offended voice. She linked arms with him and began walking. He stumbled forwards.
"Hey where are you going?" he asked as he allowed himself to be dragged by her. She gave him a 'duh' look.
"Walking home. Unless you want to stay here until Dean remembers us," she said pointedly.
"But what about the grizzlies?" Sam asked in a mock terrified voice. She sniffed and haughtily stuck her nose in the air.
"I'll protect you, of course," she said. Sam raised an eyebrow.
"Drie. You're like, half my height."
"Yeah and I can hit twice as hard. So shut up." She shot him a glare and he raised his hands in surrender at her.
"Fine. You can protect me if we get attacked by the 'grizzly'," Sam said as he playfully nudged her and she laughed as she stumbled a bit from the nudge.
"Glad you realize this," She told him. "Sam," She said as she glanced over at him, and he could tell by the baby tone in her voice she was trying to be cute. "Carry me?"
He laughed. "Seriously?"
She nodded. "My legs hurt."
He sighed and rolled his eyes playfully like it was a big burden for him to do this. "Fine. Hop on."
He bent down a little bit enough for her to jump up on his back. When she did, he placed his hands underneath her legs, feeling her smooth skin, and lifted her up higher. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her head against his shoulder.
"Thanks, Sam," She said softly with a yawn as he continued to walk down the road towards their motel room. "So, we're heading out to talk to Mr. Shaw tomorrow morning, right?"
Sam nodded. "Yep."
"Should we try to find Athena?" Adriana asked him.
Sam sighed. "Sure. How do you propose we do that?" He questioned.
Adriana shrugged. "I don't know... it seemed like the right thing to say."
Sam laughed. "I'm sure Athena's fine and it's not your fault she walked out. Don't worry, she'll come back. She sorta has to unless she wants to walk all the way back to Ohio."
Adriana giggled. "That's true," She said as she wrapped her arms around his neck tighter, hugging him. "Thanks. For everything."
Sam smiled. "No problem," He said as he lifted her up higher on his back when he felt her sliding off. "Well, we're here," He added as they walked into the parking lot of the motel.
He looked around and didn't see the Impala anywhere, so he figured Dean had gone to the girl's house instead of bringing her back here. Which, he was very thankful for. He let go of one of Adriana's legs for a moment to pull the keys to the motel room out of his pocket as he walked up to their room door. He slid the key into the key slot and pushed the door open, closing it behind him and tossing the key onto the table next to the window. He walked over to the bed and dumped Adriana onto it who giggled.
"Hey! We've got the whole room to ourselves. No more arguing, and we get our own bed," Adriana joked.
Sam nodded. "Finally. You are impossible to share a bed with," He joked, grinning at her. Adriana pouted for about the millionth time that night. Sam shook his head, laughing.
"You can give me that face all you want but it ain't gonna change anything."
Adriana continued to pout, huffing now. "It works on Dean," she told him, her baby voice returning.
"And am I anything like Dean? That would be a no," Sam said.
"Fine," she said in a petulant voice and rolled over on the bed, burrowing her face into the pillows. Sam sat on his own bed and pulled off his shoes before stretching out along the bed. Adriana continued to stick her head in the pillow.
"You're like an ostrich," Sam remarked casually.
"How the hell do you get that? Ostriches are tall. I'm not, as you have great delight in pointing out," she told him, her voice muffled by the pillows.
"Ostriches also bury their heads in the sand. Exactly like you are now."
"You say you're not like Dean yet that tone was so freakin' smug," she said, sitting up. Sam gave her a puppy pout that rivalled hers. She smiled and shook her head.
"You can give me that look all you want but it ain't gonna change anything," she told him, mimicking his earlier words.
Sam snorted and glanced at the clock. It was late. They should sleep if they were really going to leave as early as the envisaged. Adriana started to let out a huge yawn, it travelling through her body as she stretched like a cat. Sam smiled at her as she curled into a ball, suddenly much less aware. It was her favourite way to sleep and it was what she'd be doing in three or so minutes. Her eyelids closed over her clear blue eyes and her breathing deepened. Sam watched her sleep for a while, trying to keep the inevitable nightmares at bay, before eventually succumbing to exhaustion.
~Far Away~
There were more women in the bar that night than Dean accounted for. The fourth member of their team, Athena, was drinking almost as heavily as her male counterpart, trying to erase the problems she'd created. She stared into the clear liquid. She hated feeling sorry for herself but that was exactly what she was doing. She'd screwed it up with one of the only places she felt like she fitted in and it was all that bitch Adriana's fault. She released tension in a hand she didn't realise she'd been clenching. She was being unfair. It wasn't Adriana's fault at all. It was hers.
There was a commotion behind her and she glanced out from her shadowy corner of the bar. The three hunters had just arrived. Dean looking almost predatory as he normally did, Sam looking protective and Adriana pouting. Dean'd probably just said something she didn't agree with.
The night progressed and she ignored them. Until Dean stood up and left, his arm wrapped around a brunette's waist. Athena watched them go. The fact that Dean was with someone else hurt her a lot more than she'd ever care to admit. She'd always be the sort of person to get jealous but not without reason. Well there was her reason. She also liked Dean a lot more than she'd ever shown to any of their group and that was how it was going to remain. She downed her last shot and slunk out of the back entrance to the bar, a woman with changed perspectives. She took the long way back to the motel and fell onto the floor, asleep.
~Far Away~
Morning broke. Sam awoke first, as usual. He glanced over to see Adriana burrowed into the duvet, as was her norm. She looked even more innocent while sleeping. He jumped a little, startled when he saw Athena also curled up on the floor, in a troubled sleep. His brother was either not returned or sleeping in his car. He looked over at the clock. 7:47am. Time to go and visit this Mr Shaw. He shook Adriana awake before deciding to leave Athena asleep for the time being. Adriana sprung out of bed, grinning. She loved doing anything constructive on missions. She was too full of energy, of life to be sitting around waiting, and was sure to cause trouble at any rate. She shot Sam a grin before noticing the other girl.
"When did she get in?" she asked in normal tones. Sam shrugged.
"I have no idea, but Dean's not in yet either..."
Adriana rolled her eyes and playfully punched him. "Quit worrying. He'll be fine. And if he isn't... well, that serves him right!" she told him adamantly yet petulantly.
"But what if he got eaten by the grizzly?" he asked her in a mock little kid's voice. Adriana snorted.
"The grizzly is about as real as the tooth fairy," she declared.
"Are you telling me the tooth fairy isn't real?" Sam asked, now clutching his hand to his chest in horror as he opened the fridge and pulled out some food. He felt like it'd been days since he'd properly eaten.
"You know, Sam Winchester, if it wasn't for certain other attributes, I'd think you were gay for even knowing what the tooth fairy is," she said with a wink, crossing the kitchen to help him.
"What attributes would they be?" he asked her suddenly serious. His warm hazel eyes met her blue ones and her tone lowered.
"How about I show you," she said, stepping closer to him.
As she did, the girl on the floor started awake, as if from a bad dream and Adriana sighed, stepping back from the younger Winchester. Athena sat up dazed for a few seconds, trying to realise her surroundings. She stood up and stumbled, her head pounding. She didn't think she'd had thatmuch to drink. Sam was looking at her with a raised eyebrow and Adriana with a look of disgust.
"Hello," she said, her voice low.
"You show up in the middle of the night after walking out, saying nothing, and all you can say is hello?" Adriana asked, firing up immediately.
"Drie, don't start," Sam said as Athena put her hand to her head, Adriana's girlish voice grating against her hangover.
"Why should I?" Adriana asked Sam in furious but muted tones. Sam sighed.
"Because we have to get out to this house and we cannot keep constantly bickering. Just don't talk to each other if you can't be civil."
Adriana glowered. "Fine by me."
Athena stayed silent, also agreeing with this tactic. "Where's Dean?" she asked, trying to keep her face straight. Sam shrugged again.
"Hell if I know. He disappeared last night, much like you, although we know exactly where he was going."
Athena didn't respond. They ate what little food they had in basic silence, before grabbing their respective duffel bags. Athena's had been dumped on the other side of the door, as if it was reflecting its owner and trying to get as far away from Adriana's as possible.
"Well here comes the moment of truth," Sam said as they made their way down to the car park.
A black '67 Chevy Impala was sitting in the parking lot. As to whether it had a driver was a different story. Sam wandered over it to see his older brother passed out across the front two seats. He tried the door. It was unlocked. He whistled in shock. That showed how drunk Dean was if he risked leaving his Impala open and with the keys in it. An evil thought crossed Sam's mind, and he leaned forward and pressed the horn of the car hard.
Dean Winchester sat up abruptly. "Who? What?" He reached for his gun before he turned to face his little brother who burst out laughing. Dean let his head fall back against the seat behind him. "I hate you," He groaned.
Sam couldn't tell if his eyes were closed or not because of the dark sunglasses he was wearing. "Do you need medicine for your hangover?" He asked.
Dean groaned. "No. I just want sleep."
"Maybe you shouldn't have been out partying all night," Adriana stated, not feeling the least bit sympathetic for him.
"Maybe you should shut up," he snapped. Adriana smirked.
"A bit touchy this morning are we?" Dean glared at her before noticing the dark haired girl behind him.
"Athena. Nice of you to rejoin us," he said in a tone that suggested it was anything but. Athena didn't say anything. She didn't even smirk.
"Move over Dean. The amount you drank last night, if you were pulled up this morning you'd still be at least ten times over the limit," Sam told his brother smirking as he slid into the Impala.
'Why do we need to drive in any case?" Dean asked, whining.
"You honestly don't remember? Mr Shaw, survivor of one 'bear attack?'" Adriana asked, making air quotes on the appropriate words. Dean thought for a minute.
"To be honest, last night is kinda..." he trailed off, making gestures with his hands.
"Right. Thought that might be the case. Just get in the back."
Dean stumbled out of the car, and moved into the back seat of the Impala. He climbed in and stuck his head between his legs, groaning, before sitting up, looking grim. Adriana and Athena climbed in the car.
"Here's a little word of advice kids: don't mix drinks."
Adriana turned from the front seat as Sam pulled away. "One, none of us are kids, Dean. Two, none of us are stupid enough to mix drinks, which brings me to point three, none of us are stupid enough to get drunk." Dean winced as her voice climbed an octave while lecturing him and Athena looked out the window.
"What's the address, Drie?" S
he looked down at some papers on her lap, flipping through them. "67 Oak Road... just drive out on the highway and turn off and it's in a little cabin a way off."
Sam nodded and increased his speed. Dean glanced at the girl beside him. "When did you get back?"
Athena glanced at him, surprised he talked to her. "About three this morning," she said in a low quiet voice.
Dean nodded. "A decent time. Where'd you go?"
"I went to get a drink," She replied quietly, her gaze still locked onto the passing by trees outside the car window.
"Turn up here," Adriana told her Sam, cutting into Athena and Dean's very descriptive conversation. "So, here's the deal, if all four of us go up there and question him, he's gonna get suspicious," She said.
Dean leaned against the window, his eyes closed. "I'll stay out here then."
Adriana glanced at Sam. She sighed. That meant she had to stay out here with him because there was no way they were leaving Athena and Dean anywhere together. "Okay. I'll stay with Dean, Athena you can go with Sam."
Athena nodded, not really paying attention as Sam pulled up to a log cabin and killed the engine. He handed the keys to Adriana before climbing out of the car with Athena quickly following him. Dean groaned as the sound of the car doors closing reached his ears, louder than usual. He clenched his eyes shut tightly, leaning against the cold window more, trying to ignore the pain and pounding in his head.
"You don't have to stay with me, Drie." His voice was a lot quieter than usual because it hurt to hear anything.
Adriana rolled her eyes. "Yeah, because you can function so well on your own," She said, shaking her head. "Dean, come on. We're on a case, you know better than to get drunk."
Dean held up his hand. "Don't lecture me, Princess."
"You need to get over that hangover," She stated, ignoring the nickname.
"Yeah? You got any suggestions? Because I'm all ears."
Adriana smiled. "Actually, I do."
~Far Away~
Sam and Athena walked away from the Impala up to the man's door. Sam raised his hand and knocked on the door while Athena stood there, glancing down. She hadn't said anything since they had seen her in the motel room. Sam waited a few moments before the door opened and an older man was standing there. He had gray hair, but was definitely balding in the middle of his head. He wore large, over sized clothes. He gave the two a curious look and Sam pulled out his fake ranger badge, flashing it to the man.
"We're here about some questions concerning a grizzly attack on you and your family a little while ago?" Sam said and the man sighed before walking further into his house, allowing the two to follow him.
"Look ranger, I don't know why you're askin me about this. It's public record; I was a kid. My parents got mauled by a-" Mr. Shaw began, but Sam cut him off.
"Grizzly? That's what attacked him?" Mr. Shaw paused then nodded his head to Sam who continued because Athena was standing off in the background, staring at the ground. "The other people that went missing that year... those bear attacks too? What about all the people that went missing this year? Same thing? If we knew what we were dealing with, we might be able to stop it," He told him. He wasn't trying to be mean, but he was trying to get Mr. Shaw to tell them the truth. They needed to know what was going on in order to help Hailey and her brother.
Mr. Shaw glanced up at Sam. "I seriously doubt that. Anyways, I don't see what difference it would make. You wouldn't believe me, nobody ever did."
Sam sat down across from the older man as Athena came to stand beside him, still staying very quiet. "Mr. Shaw, what did you see? " He asked gently prodding for an answer.
He sighed again. "Nothing. It moved too fast to see, it hid too well. I heard it though, a roar, like... no man or animal I ever heard." He was being honest.
"It came at night?" Sam asked and Mr. Shaw nodded. "Got inside your tent?"
At this, Mr. Shaw shook his head. "It got inside our cabin," He corrected Sam. "I was sleepin' in front of the fireplace when it came in." He paused, glancing down as if they memory was coming back to him. "It didn't smash a window or break the door, it unlocked it." He stopped in his story to glance up at Sam, eyes full of horror and terror. "Do you know of a bear that could do something like that?" He asked him. He sighed, shaking his head. "I didn't even wake up till I heard my parents screamin'."
"It killed them?" Sam asked.
Mr. Shaw nodded. "Dragged them off into the night." Why it left me alive-been askin' myself that ever since. Did leave me this though." He pulled the collar of shirt down to reveal his chest with three large scar marks that looked like they were made by a claw with three fingernails of some sort. He let his shirt go back to normal, covering up the scars once again. He glanced at Sam and Athena both. "There's something evil in those woods. It was some sort of a demon," He said sure of himself.
Sam nodded his head and stood up. "Thank you for your time in answering the questions, Mr. Shaw," He said, offering the older man his hand.
He accepted and shook it. "You're quite welcome, Ranger. I hope this helps and you can find that monster."
Sam nodded as he led the way out of the man's house and headed back to the Impala. He glanced at Athena, a little worried. She hadn't said a single word since they got out of the car, and that was a little troubling. She usually liked to help on the cases, put in her two cents even if she didn't really know a lot. She liked to ask questions and try to help out. She hadn't done that today, and he was worried about her. Maybe what had happened with Adriana had really bothered her? Or maybe it was something deeper than that? He sighed when he reached the car. He would play the concerned friend later and figure out what was wrong at a different time that wasn't now.
He opened the door to the Impala to see Adriana and Dean laughing. Apparently whatever Adriana had done had helped him get over his hangover. "Feeling better, Dean?" Sam asked.
Dean nodded. "Yep. Drie's got the expert on hangovers."
Adriana laughed. "College party life can get pretty crazy. You gotta know a quick remedy for hangovers in order to get to classes and make it through the day."
Sam shook his head as he climbed into the back seat with Athena since Dean and Adriana were both in the front seats. "So, what'd you find out?" Dean asked, turning to face Sam.
"Well, Mr. Shaw was attacked by something that wasn't a grizzly. Something that moved too fast for the human eye to catch and something that could unlock his cabin door," Sam explained. "And, Mr. Shaw had three large claw marks on his chest-looked like nothing I had ever seen before."
"Spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors. If they want inside they just go through the walls," Dean mused and Sam nodded his head.
"So it's probably something else, something corporeal," Sam told Dean who gave his little brother an amused smirk.
"Corporeal? Excuse me professor," Dean stated causing Adriana to giggle.
Sam rolled his eyes. "Shut up. So, whataya think?" He asked Dean.
"The claws, the speed that it moves, could be a skin walker? Maybe a black dog?" He suggested then shrugged as he started the ignition and pulled the car away from Mr. Shaw's house and on the road back to the motel. "Whatever we're talking about, we're talking about a creature and it's corporeal." He gave Sam another amused smirk to which Sam rolled his eyes again at his brother in annoyance. "Which means we can kill it," Dean stated a smug look on his face as he turned down another road.
Their motel wasn't that far from Mr. Shaw's house and the arrived back within a few minutes. They all climbed out of the car and Dean walked around to the back, propping the trunk open with a shotgun and began to load a duffel bag with some pistols.
"We cannot let that Hailey girl go out there," Sam stated quickly walking around to confront his older brother.
"Oh yeah? What are we gonna tell her? That she can't go into the woods because of a big scary monster?" Dean asked rolling his eyes at the thought, but Sam didn't seem to think it was all that crazy.
"Yeah," He stated as Athena leaned against the side of the car, watching the two boys while Adriana stood beside Dean, ready to intervene if the boys got into a yelling match.
"Her brother's missing Sam. She's not just gonna sit this out. Now, we go with her, we protect her, and we keep our eyes peeled for our fuzzy predator-friend," Dean stated with a shrug as if it were the simplest and most obvious answer.
Sam's eyes blazed with annoyance and anger. "Finding dad's not enough?" He questioned as he removed the shotgun and slammed the trunk shut once Dean had pulled out his duffel bag. "Now we gotta babysit, too?" He asked, his tone full of frustration. Dean stared at Sam, and Sam rolled his eyes, his tone softening but was still just as annoyed. "What?"
Dean shrugged. "Nothing," He stated sarcastically as he shoved the duffel bag at Sam who caught it and rolled his eyes, pursing his lips together in anger. "We'll get some rest then head out there in the morning and go with them. There's nothing else to do at the moment," He said before pulling his key out of his jean pocket and headed into the motel room, Athena following silently behind him.
Adriana placed a hand on Sam's arm. "Dean's right, Sam. There's nothing else to do," She said softly, trying to diffuse his anger.
Sam sighed, slinging the duffel bag over his shoulder. "It's whatever."
Adriana glared at him. He was in a pissy mood. He didn't often get angry, but when he did, he tended to fume over it. Dean was more a flash of the moment guy. Adriana walked off and left him standing outside the car. She'd tried.
The mood in the motel room was weird. Sam was still angry and Athena still hadn't opened her mouth. Adriana sent Dean a look. Usually those two were the sensible ones. Or more sensible. She glanced over at the clock and sighed. Only eight o'clock. And seeing as they were all adjusted to getting very little sleep, everyone would either be out by nine o'clock or still awake at twelve o'clock. She walked over to the fridge and opened it. There was nothing to eat. At all.
Dean had pulled out his vast armory and was disassembling all the weapons, cleaning them and reassembling them. Sam was glaring at his laptop as if it had done something terribly, terribly wrong. And Athena was keeping her mouth shut. In all the time Adriana had known her, and it was a good few years, Athena had always had something to say, a witty or sarcastic remark. But now, nothing. Adriana wasn't overly bothered, it was good not to have the other girl constantly trying to get the better of her.
"Drie can you get me a glass of water?" Dean called from the other side of the room. Adriana looked over at him. His hands were covered in grease so she walked over to the tap and filled up a glass. "Thanks," he said distractedly as she set it down on the table beside him.
She picked up a knife and began flipping it around in her hand. She'd always been quite adept with knives, it'd just been a while since she'd picked one up. She dug the tip into the table and Dean smiled at her. The problem with Adriana was that she was a fun loving creature, full of energy. Boredom didn't suit her.
"Please tell me you've got something I can do," She said, almost begging.
Dean laughed to himself. She always had to be doing something. That was a good thing, but also a bad thing. Good meaning she was always active, never staying put. But, bad on cases because that's how people got themselves killed. In all honesty, Adriana was pretty good at controlling herself on hunts. There were the few times when she put herself in danger, but those time were few and far between, thankfully.
"If I told you that you could help me clean the guns, do you think it would stop the awkward silence in the room?" Dean asked her teasingly.
Adriana shrugged. "I don't know, but it wouldn't make things as awkward for us because we'd have something to do," She stated as she sat down on the bed beside him.
Dean grinned, nodding. "Do you remember how to clean them?"
Adriana shot him a glare. "Of course I do, Dean. I'm not stupid. It's like riding a bike, you never forget," She said and he smirked.
Riding a bike. That's what he had told Sammy when he picked him up from Stanford. Sam had claimed that hunting wasn't his thing and he was out of the lifestyle, but he had been the one to pick up on an EVP off of a recording. Sam might not like this life, but he was good at it. He might not like that either, but he saved people, and there wasn't much he could about it. He was stuck in the life at the moment.
Dean raised his hands in surrender. "I was just making sure. I don't want you ruining my guns now," He stated.
"It's not your guns I'm worried about ruining," Adriana said as she picked one up and began to make deft, expert movements. "It's my nails!" she said as one cracked. Dean raised his eyebrows and shook his head.
"You've always been vain."
"Have not," she replied, poking her tongue out.
"Vain and immature."
"Oh, and I suppose you never do anything stupid."
"Of course I don't."
"Actually, I think the question should be when are you notdoing something stupid." She placed the gun on the table and reached for a pipe. She cleaned the gun very quickly but efficiently, which prompted Dean to say:
"Wanna race?"
"I'm not sure because you know I'd win," Adriana told him seriously. Dean groaned.
"Just gimme a race, Drie. Pick your weapon, first to take it apart and put it back together wins."
"That's gonna take like, thirty seconds," she protested. Dean held a finger up.
"You never let me finish! You'll be blindfolded."
Adriana considered the challenge. "You're on."
Five minutes later Dean was sitting with his eyes covered, his colt on the table in front of him. Adriana was holding his phone, trying to locate the stopwatch application. When she'd found it, she cleared her throat.
"Take your marks. Get set. Go," she said, pressing the button.
Dean picked up the Colt and began taking it to pieces, laying out the gun in front of him. Athena sat up from the couch and watched with interest. After about thirty seconds, the gun was completely disassembled. Dean proceeded to run his fingers along the gun, until he found the base piece. He moved along to the next piece, biting his lip in concentration.
"You just passed a minute," Adriana commented. Dean nodded, knocking a piece off the table. The noise of metal hitting the tiles caused Sam to glance up. His interest was piqued. Dean swore and reached down to grab the piece, quickly finishing the gun.
"Done," he said, slamming it down on the table and pulling off his blindfold.
"So I read that at one minute, twenty-three seconds and seventeen milliseconds," Adriana said. Dean rolled his eyes, picking up the glass of water.
"Do the milliseconds really matter, Drie?" he asked. She grinned at him.
"Oh they definitely matter." Dean rolled his eyes, letting her have her way. She took his recently vacated seat and tied the blindfold around her head. Dean came up behind her and tightened it. "What was that for?" she asked, pouting.
"Adriana Brielle Tanner! You have been known to cheat on-"
"Hey! I don't cheat! I employ useful tactics," she protested, cutting across him. Dean shook his head and picked up his phone, sliding Adriana's pink gun across to her, wrinkling his nose.
"Ready. Set. Go," Dean said, then sat back as he watched Adriana's hands reach out for her gun.
Despite being blindfolded, she found it quickly and her fingers flew as she worked to take apart the firearm. It was as if she took apart guns blindfolded for a living. Before Dean knew it, Adriana had placed the gun down on the table, completely taken apart and rebuilt. She slipped the blindfold off, grinning as Dean hit 'stop'. He stared at her, his mouth hanging open as he glanced down at the time.
"Well?" She asked.
He shook his head. "You cheated. There's no way you beat me."
She continued to grin. "I beat you?" She asked. Her tone of voice held surprise but underneath it, Sam could detect a tone of cockiness, like she hadn't expected Dean to win. Dean nodded, his mouth still hanging open. Adriana grinned as she reached across and pushed his chin up, closing his mouth. "Close your mouth before you eat a fly," She stated. "Just out of curiosity," She began, "What wasmy time?"
Dean glanced down at the time on his phone, shaking his head. "Just under a minute," He stated, clearing not happy about losing to her.
"The exacttime, please Dean," she asked, smirking, wanting to draw this out for as long as possible.
"Fifty-seven seconds and eighty six milliseconds," he muttered. Adriana danced around the motel grinning. Dean shook his head.
"I really wish I'd just stayed bored now," he muttered as he put all his weapons away.
Adriana sat on the bed and folded her legs. She didn't want to look at the clock. But now that she'd thought of it, she had to. 8:48 pm. She yawned, stretching. Sam was still sitting at his laptop, his eyes hollow from the artificial light cast off the computer. He hadn't said a word. She slid off the bed and walked over to the table, pulling out a chair.
"Hey," she said quietly, and he glanced over to her. Returning home to Kansas must have made him more driven to find his father. Normally he would be the one all for saving innocent citizens. It was who he was.
He glanced up. "What?" He asked softly, resting his chin in his palm.
"You sure you're okay?" She asked him, and he sighed.
"Drie, I'm fine."
"Really?" She questioned. "Because you don't act like it. You're not acting like yourself, Sam. You're acting like someone that I don't know," She told him.
Sam shook his head. "How? Because I wanna find my dad and get out of this life as quickly as I can?" He questioned.
She glanced down. "That's not what I mean, Sam."
"Then what?" He asked, trying not to sound snappy because he hated snapping at Adriana.
"Sam, I don't like this life either. But I'm here because you asked me to. And I'm trying to make the best of it," she said, touching his arm. Sam sighed. She was right.
"Sorry I snapped," he said. Adriana smiled at him.
"Oh I'm used to you moody people," she said, leaning back in her chair and waving a hand at Athena, who ignored her. Sam raised his eyebrows.
"Yeah, what's up with her?"
"I've no idea, nor do I want to put any effort in to think of an idea." She shrugged. "Could be a number of things, but I don't really wanna ask about it until after this case is over," She stated.
Sam nodded in agreement. That way when she blew up again and stormed off, it wasn't in a place that could get her killed or anyone else. "Yeah. Do you know what time we're getting up?" He asked.
Adriana shrugged again. "I don't know... I'd ask Dean but he's not too happy with me."
Sam smirked. "He clearly doesn't pay attention to you."
Adriana cocked her head. "What do you mean?" She asked.
Sam turned to give her his full attention. "Well, he could beat you in a target practice, right?" He asked, and she nodded. "Well, you're smaller and therefore quicker than him. You can take things apart easier. You always could." Adriana nodded.
"Nice observations, detective", she said, winking. Sam smiled. "What else have you noticed?"
"When we were training Thena up, she was usually the fastest," Sam said, using her nickname without realising. "But she didn't have the best stamina. Dean did, and I think I usually won the tactical battles," he said, winking back. Adriana nodded, following him.
"Interesting stuff. We're a competitive lot, aren't we?" she asked, nudging him playfully.
"Indeed we are," Sam replied. Adriana smiled. Sam wasn't in his mood anymore. Dean was still sulking on the bed from his loss.
She grinned at Sam before hopping up off of the chair and bouncing across the room to Dean. She plopped down beside him on the bed and smiled at him. "Come on, Dean. Smile!" She said and Dean simply gave her a blank look.
"No."
"Why not?" She pouted. "You're no fun," She added and Dean shook his head, smiling at her. He couldn't help it. He had tried his best not to smile, but it was hard not to smile when she was around. "A real smile! Praise the gods," she called as she leaned forward to give Dean a hug. He snorted with laughter and hugged her back. An evil glint appeared in her eyes and she sat on Dean's legs, pinning him.
"What are you doing?" Dean asked with trepidation. "I thought it was my brother you have the hots for? Can't imagine why though." Adriana smacked him across the chest, playfully. She then leaned forward and whispered in his ear.
"Payback's a bitch, Dean," she said before tickling him in his sides. Dean kept his face straight but soon he began to twitch, as Adriana increased the intensity of the tickling. She reduced him to gaspy breaths.
"Drie... stop... please... Drie." All Adriana could catch were odd words in between his gasps.
"Sorry Dean, I can't hear you," she said evilly, continuing to tickle him. This went on for three more minutes.
"Enough," Dean said sitting up, and pushing her down to the bed, trying to breath. Adriana smirked and hopped off the bed, bouncing across the room again. He groaned as he held his sides which hurt from laughing. "Was that absolutely necessary?" He asked her and she nodded grinning at him.
"Yep!" She replied way too cheerfully for Athena's liking. The dark-haired girl simply rolled her eyes as Dean took a deep breath, trying to gain air back from laughing so much.
"I will get you back," Dean vowed.
Adriana winked. "I'd like to see you try," She stated, pursing her lips together and fixing him with a challenging stare.
Dean hopped up grinning up at her. "Do you really want to tempt me, Drie? Because I happen to know you don't react well to being tickled either," He stated, taking a step towards the blonde girl, and Athena drew her attention onto them, glancing between the two of them. The smaller girl didn't see that Athena's interest had been piqued. She walked backwards, crouched down in a fighting stance with her palms out.
"You know I'm faster than you Dean. Laws of physics and all. Mass times gravity equals acceleration or whatever. I have a lower mass, therefore I have a faster acceleration. My logic is flawless."
"Sorry then, college kid" Dean said, continuing to follow her.
Soon there was nowhere for her to go but the wall. Dean smirked as he moved, knowing there was no escape. Adriana glanced behind him, to see Athena watching them with cold, unblinking eyes. What she'd said to Adriana the night she'd left flared up feelings inside the blonde. She knew she liked Dean a lot more than she let on. When Dean made a grab for her she ducked, and pushed him against the wall, spinning him so he was facing her. To keep him still, she pressed her body against his. There was nothing sexual, it was a contest of strength.
"I will not hesitate to punch you if you attempt to tickle me," Adriana told him, deadly serious.
Dean could only smirk. "Is that a promise?" He questioned. Adriana hit his arm as hard as she could and Dean flinched. "Geez. Okay, you can hit and make it hurt. Got it."
Adriana glared. "Can I trust you not to tickle me?" She questioned and Dean nodded. Adriana took a step back, allowing Dean to move. She cautiously turned around, her back to Dean. Within a few seconds, he had wrapped his arms around her waist and tossed her on the bed. "Dean, don't!" She cried, trying to move backwards away from him. He grabbed her foot, pulling her back towards him before quickly placing his hands on her sides and tickling her mercilessly.
"It's payback for you tickling me," He replied as she giggled, trying to get away from him. "There's a sister saying to the one you mentioned earlier. It goes something along the lines of 'karma's a bitch.'''
"Yeah well both Karma and Payback can get fucked," Adriana swore through gritted teeth, trying not to smile or die from lack of oxygen.
"Leave her alone now, Dean."
Dean stopped tickling her and glanced over to his brother. Sam shut his laptop and stood up, yawning.
"Sorry, mom," he muttered as he stood away from Adriana, who gulped in air. She cast a surreptitious glance to Athena, who was still regarding them coldly. The way she never said anything... it almost gave her an unsettling feeling. At least before she'd been halfway to being human. "We need sleep," He added stretching. "Am I safe in assuming that Adriana and Sam are sharing a bed?" He asked, glancing at the two in question.
Adriana nodded. "I'm cool with it," She said glancing at Sam who also nodded.
Dean, feeling the need to be the gentleman for once in his life turned to Athena. "You can have the other bed. I'll sleep on the floor," He told her.
"Okay," she said. Dean tilted his head.
"Alright, Athena. Enough bullshit. What the hell is wrong with you?" Dean snapped. Sam raised his eyebrows. Everyone seemed to be on edge tonight.
"Nothing is wrong with me," she replied, staring him down.
"Yeah, whatever you say. Truth is, in the four months I've known you, nothing has ever been morewrong with you."
"Maybe it's not me who has the problem," she said in an icy cold voice. There was no sarcasm, no flashing suggestive eyes. Dean shook his head.
"When people change, we don't know what to think. How are we supposed to know we can still trust you," he said viciously, trying to evoke a reaction. He got one. Athena's jaw dropped.
"You don't think you can trust me?" she asked, her voice climbing several octaves in the last two words. Her icy demeanor looked shattered, and that was enough for Dean.
"I don't know, Thena. You should prove it to us," he said, walking over to the light and flicking it off before lying down on the ground. Sam and Adriana lay in their bed listening to the exchange, allowing Dean to handle it.
"This is gonna go on all night, isn't it?" Adriana asked Sam, turning her head to glance at him.
Sam nodded. "Yep. Probably."
"Awesome," Adriana groaned. "Which means no sleep for us," She said, but Athena proved her thoughts wrong.
"I don't have to prove anything to you," She told Dean, turning over onto her side. "Good night," She added, signalling the conversation was over. Dean, surprisingly, let it drop before they all drifted off to sleep.