Three.

The bar heaved with people and the heat would have been unbearable had Haley not been constantly swallowing mouthfuls of Coke. Sam sat beside her, long legs curled around the bottom of the stool, engrossed in reading a newspaper article as he always was.

Disinterestedly, she watched as the blonde bartender, practically spilling out of her miniscule shirt, scrawled a phone number on Dean's palm in black Sharpie. Classy.

She'd never known what to feel when girls were interested in the boys. It was a horrible cocktail of anger, jealousy and disgust. Mostly the latter being with Dean's choice of 'date', date being a very loose term considering he slept with them and then forgot to call. And by forgot, I mean he washed their number off his hand.

With Sam it was an entirely different matter. Girls had always been interested in him, especially as a teenager, he was tall and dark haired and when he smiled, girls swooned. But he was far too engrossed in gadgets and gizmos to ever even notice the effect he had on the opposite sex. Haley didn't interfere when it came to how Dean blew off steam, she knew what he did when he disappeared at night, it was more of a don't ask don't tell policy. She didn't want to know who's motel room he'd spent the night in, and he didn't want to share the gory details. So as long as he kept his conquests out of the Impala, they had no problems.

"Hales," glancing up she suddenly realised Sam had been trying to get her attention.

"Yeah?"

"Read this," he pushed three newspapers under her nose all with similar headlines.

"And?" she raised her eyebrows quizzically.

"Five murders in the area in the last three weeks, all with the accused being described as having extremely altered demeanours right before they committed their crimes," Sam shrugged his broad shoulders "Sounds like our sort of problem to me."

Suddenly Dean appeared to the right of Haley, sporting a wide grin.

"Who's Blondie over there?" Haley enquired, swirling her striped straw inside her drink and the ice cubes tinkled musically against the glass.

"Her name is Brandy and she's a Scorpio," he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively "And don't be jealous Hales, we'll find you a girlfriend in the next town."

Rolling her eyes she smacked him in the centre of his chest. He was way past the point of intoxication and with any luck, he'd drink too much and pass out before he became any further entangled with 'Brandy.' "Dean," Sam caught his brother's attention "I think I've found another case."

Dean stiffened and Haley could tell that the situation was still tense between them. Sam meet her eyes but she lowered her own, focusing on the wood grain of the table. "Fine," Dean exhaled agitatedly through his teeth "I'll meet you two at the motel in a little while," clearly this was their cue to leave.

Outside the night air whipped through Haley's hair, blowing long strands of hair up so they tickled Sam's shoulder. Feeling awkward with him was an entirely new sensation to her, and she didn't like it.

"So listen," they both said in sync. She shook her head and he chuckled lightly underneath his breath.

"You go," she said, glancing across the parking lot at the Impala.

"Things have been weird between us ever since I dropped out of Stanford," she couldn't help but visualise his life before Dean had woken him in the middle of the night. And for some reason, it stung her. "And with Dean and Dad and everything-" he halted when he realised she was crying "Hey, what's wrong?"

She hated herself for tearing up and being such a girl but she couldn't help it. "It's just," she wiped a hand across her face "Dean said it wasn't my fault, but it is," Sam looked steadily at her "What happened between us, he should be blaming me, not you."

Even as kids, Sam had been the one to rely upon. Dependable and trustworthy, Haley had always felt safe and protected with him. It was a stability she'd always craved and from the moment they met, he became her security blanket. It was hard to feel assured when he wasn't around, lying in motel room after motel room they'd all blend into one, but usually all she could think was what Sam was doing. Away at Stanford being his intelligent self she was sure. Not that she'd have ever admitted that out loud, she'd been way too pissed at him back then to even consider mentioning his name to either Dean or John. "None of us are the same," she said after a moment "You left us and," she shook her head "I was scared without you."

He looked off for a moment and she wondered what he was thinking. He was the only person she'd ever be this vulnerable in front of, with Dean she was always trying to keep the upper hand, she knew he felt it too. Which was why when Sam had been ripped away from them, it had made them all the more exposed. Anger surged inside of her. "Who the hell was I supposed to talk to? Dean? When he's off fucking some random, who was I meant to be with?" she hated the fact that her tone was so emotional, but screw it, she'd say whatever she wanted even if her voice shook.

"I had to have my own life Hales," he said quietly, so inaudibly it could have been swept away on the wind.

She inhaled but it only made the tears stick in her eyes more. She shut her eyes for a second, trying to block out the rush of thoughts in her brain. When she opened them again, she was calm. "I don't want to talk anymore," turning away, she walked away from him, toward the motel, picking up speed as she drew nearer. Wrenching open the door, she tore into the room.

Author's Note; in answer to comments, no Haley isn't an official member of the Winchester family, Haley came to live with them when her orphanage burnt down and John fostered her, although he didn't adopt her. More on Haley's past later. But yes, let me know what you think, I love the detailed feedback (: