Mara and Seventeen were in a bar.
They had previously gotten off of the train, and they found that, for less money, they could stay together. Maybe one day, they had decided, they would buy an apartment together.
For now, however, they stayed in a cheap motel. The motel was similar to that of the one the Winchesters were staying in, and Seventeen was brought back to memories of when she was staying there.
"Hey, Mia, you alright?" Mara asked, sipping the cheap beer she'd gotten.
Seventeen's eyes wandered up to where Mara was standing, and she quickly shook herself out of her reverie. "Yeah, fine," she muttered. She couldn't think about the Winchesters. They had no key to her past that would help her to remember who she was. The situation would be easier if she could just forget about them like she did her entire history.
"You don't look fine," Mara commented. She took another sip of her beer.
Without a single word, Seventeen motioned for the bartender to come over to her. She ordered a beer, taking a long drink of it whenever she had access to it. Mara watched her do so with little amusement.
"Stop avoiding your problems," Mara advised. "You're being irrational."
"What are you, a psychologist?" Seventeen muttered into her beer.
A small laugh escaped Mara as she admitted, "Yes, actually I am. Well, I was. That reminds me... Mia, I can't stay with you in the motel any longer. The reason I came to this city is to visit family. They've offered me to stay with them. It's just cheaper if I do. I'm really sorry."
There was a small lump in Seventeen's throat that she quickly swallowed. She would be alone. Again. How could this keep happening to her? Why did she leave the Winchesters? Maybe if she didn't, then she could've found a better opportunity to escape them, and then find-
"Mia," Mara said, her voice full of concern as she shook her shoulder slightly. "I don't think you're alright. Do you wanna head back to the room?"
"When are you leaving?" Seventeen asked. Her voice was quieter, hardly audible over the sounds of the bar. There were poker chips flying over a table, pool being played by drunken men and women, and rowdy customers arguing over a subject of politics. Mara still heard her, though. That was almost what surprised Seventeen the most. Other than Mara moving out of the motel room already, of course.
"I'm moving out tomorrow," Mara said in a small voice. Seventeen was surprised she could hear Mara this time. It was a matter of miracle they could understand each other in venues like this.
"I'm guessing you've known you would for about a week," Seventeen said. There was little accusation in her voice. She understood why Mara was moving away. It was cheaper, and she wasn't boarding with someone she's never met in her entire life.
If that's the reason Mara's moving out, Seventeen thought, then I should move out of my own skin. I don't know myself, anyway. It'd only make sense for me to do that.
Mara gave a small nod instead of an answer this time. She was with the quiet resolution that she'd leave if Seventeen took this the wrong way.
But she didn't.
Seventeen took it in a way that she took a couple bills out of her jeans pocket, dropped it on the bar, quickly finished the beer, and walked away. It was not the way that Mara had planned for her to take it.
Mara's hand landed on Seventeen's shoulder. "Mia, I'm sorry. You can't just walk away, though."
Seventeen's eyes landed on Mara's face. There was sorrow, mourning, and a little bit of anger mixed in with the colors of Seventeen's eyes. She shrugged the woman's hand off of her shoulder and said with a grave voice, "I'm afraid I can. I'm afraid you'll be gone anyway, so you shouldn't care. I'll be back in the room by tomorrow morning."
"Where are you going?" Mara called after her. Seventeen began to walk away from Mara, the silent resolution on her mind. She wasn't going to be disappointed that Mara left. She barely knew her, anyway. It'd be silly to think that the woman she completely and utterly lied to would stick with her. Not that she knew of the lies, of course. But eventually, she would probably get to know of the lies Seventeen sprouted. Then Mara would run away as fast as Seventeen did from the Winchesters.
This would become an uncontrollable cycle that Seventeen wanted to stop. She's the one that started it, and yet she'll never be able to end it. Every time she runs away from someone, someone will run away from her. She could see it now. She'd be alone for the rest of her miserable life.
"Away," Seventeen admitted over the noise of the bar. "I don't know. For a walk, probably. Don't follow me. You're gonna leave, anyway. Why rub salt in the wound when you don't have to?"
Mara pursed her lips, but didn't go after Seventeen. It'd be useless. She'd only known the woman for so long, she couldn't really comfort her. They were a broken pair as of now.
Crowley was in the alley that Seventeen walked into. Why did she have to pick this alley of all alleys? Was she always going to be so stupid?
"Hello, darling," Crowley said, making Seventeen frown. She turned around to exit the alley, but demons already stood in her way. She began to breathe deeper, a scared look on her face. How had she already fallen for a trap?
"You know, your little Hunters sent for me. They thought I knew where you were. I didn't, but I do now. I wonder what they'd do for a hair on your head. It'd be interesting to find out, wouldn't it?" Crowley said, prowling closer to Seventeen.
She looked around the dark alley, puddles of water on each side. All of it was accompanied by trash, and she eventually saw the gleam of a broken bottle on the side. She dove towards it, holding it up to the demons.
They laughed in her face at her choice of weapon. With one motion of his hand, Crowley had the bottle flying way out of her reach. "Do you really think that's going to do anything?"
"No," Seventeen admitted, backing up a little more. "But it did work as a distraction."
Quick moments lead to Seventeen jumping on top of the dumpster next to her, then climbing on the fire escape. Crowley rolled his eyes, then appeared at the top of the apartment building Seventeen was running to the top of.
"Fancy a climb, did you?" Crowley questioned when she got to the top, making Seventeen scream. In a fit of fear, she pushed Crowley back.
A singeing feeling heated his chest, and Crowley fell back. Seventeen stood there shocked for a moment, then ran. She felt a dropping feeling in her chest, then suddenly appeared back in her motel room. There was a burning feeling throughout her core, and she felt like her entire body was inflamed.
Gasping, she dumped herself in the dirty bathtub and ran the water on the only setting it had: cold as the arctic.
There was instant relief when the water hit her skin. It was like an glacier hit lava. In a few motions, all her close was off to better feel the cool water against her heated skin. For a while, it still felt like flames were licking her skin. It eventually wore off, however, and she was able to breath normal.
It took close to an hour before she got out of the bathtub. Her skin felt wrinkled and tight from all the water, and she could see her skin grow prune. There was condensation on the mirror, which was the result of the water meeting her skin.
Crowley had scared her, and suddenly she felt like fire was kissing her skin. This wasn't something she'd ever experienced before. Not that she could remember, anyway. The gaps in her mind were still there, and she briefly let the thought of "maybe this has happened before and I don't remember" cross her mind. It was a possibility, and any possibility had to be handled.
She took a thin, old towel and wiped the steam off the mirror.
Distraction quickly took a hold over her whenever she was brought back to the confrontation between her and Crowley. He had said something about her little "Hunters". The sound of the word was familiar, like she had heard it be used like that before.
Suddenly, she knew what she had to do. Seventeen would have to go back to Sam and Dean if she wanted answers. Crowley was there because of them, and they may know something she doesn't. Even if it was just to steal information from them, she'd have to go back.
Now she had to find them.