Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill and Supernatural.

A big thank you to Sara (s1r1) and fggt16 for the reviews and all! :)

4: It's Best to Keep it All Inside

Dean cursed under his breath as he waited for Brooke outside their house. His father has found out about his friend's housewarming party, and John insisted that he should bring Brooke to the party so he could introduce her to his friends.

Since the incident at the backyard two days ago, Dean and Brooke didn't speak to each other. Dean couldn't help but feel guilty for treating Brooke harshly. When Brooke came out of the house, dressed in a simple red dress, the two of them avoided to look at each other's eyes as much as possible.

When the two of them arrived at the house of Dean's friend, most of the guests were surprised, especially those who knew Dean well. Dean, who looked uncomfortable in his polo, placed his arm around Brooke's waist as they paraded to the house.

"They're staring at us," Brooke whispered.

Dean smirked. "Get used to it."

Brooke took a deep breath and tried not to stare back at the on-lookers. She suddenly felt conscious of how she looks. Dean led her to the living room and introduced her one by one to her friends.

At around eight in the evening, Dean left Brooke alone at their table. Five minutes later, Brooke spotted him dancing with a blonde on the dance floor. Brooke felt stupid and sulked on her chair.

"This seat taken?"

Brooke looked up and saw Jeff, Dean's friend, standing beside her with a smile on his face. "Go ahead," she replied. "Dean's dancing anyway."

"How did the two of you meet?" Jeff inched closer, which made Brooke seem a little uncomfortable.

Brooke smiled nervously and moved away a little. "Our parents are good friends with each other."

"You know, I'm a lot better than Dean, if you know what I mean." Jeff kinked his eyebrows. He was very confident that Brooke would take his offer and leave with him.

Brooke caught the scent of beer from Jeff's breath and looked around the room, but she didn't find Dean anywhere near the table. "I uh…I have to go." She stood up and grabbed her purse.

Jeff couldn't believe that the brunette turned his offer down; he was a self-proclaimed chick magnet, so he wouldn't take no for an answer. He grabbed Brooke's wrist before she could even get three steps away from the table.

"Just one dance," he said with a goofy grin on his face. He pulled Brooke closer to him; Brooke tried to pull away, but Jeff's grip on her wrist was tight.

"Let go of me, jerk." Brooke tried to say it as loud as she could.

"Jeff!" The music was loud, but Dean's loud voice cut through the air; it made almost everyone to look at him. He couldn't believe that his friend would try to seduce his girlfriend.

Jeff stopped walking the moment he heard Dean's voice and turned around to search for the infamous Winchester. He then saw Dean making his way towards him with an angry look on his face.

"Move away from her," Dean said through gritted teeth.

There was something in Dean's eyes that Brooke had never seen in him before; he looked protective.

Jeff released Brooke's hand, and Brooke ran away from him the moment he did that.

"Are you okay?" Dean asked as he wrapped an arm around Brooke's shoulder protectively.

Brooke nodded. The next thing she knew, Dean lunged towards Jeff and punched him twice in the face. "Don't you ever show your face to me again," Dean muttered.

With that, he grabbed Brooke and left the house, all the while ignoring the people who saw the whole scene.

-----

The next morning, Dean was obviously not himself. Sam could see it, everyone noticed it. John thought something big was bothering his eldest son; Ellen thought it was because Dean hasn't had enough alcohol to drink lately.

Ever since they came back home from the party last night, Dean didn't say much. He pretty much stayed in his room. What bothered Sam most was Brooke wasn't telling him what had happened either.

Sam knocked on Dean's door. "Dean, breakfast's ready."

Dean mumbled something and then shouted, "I'm not hungry."

"You have to get out of your room, Dean. Stop acting like a baby," Sam taunted. He knew that that statement will make Dean get out of his room.

Just like Sam predicted, Dean opened the door in a matter of seconds. "I am not acting like a baby," Dean said matter-of-factly. He was downstairs in a matter of seconds, and Sam had to smile to himself because of how predictable Dean is at times.

Brooke gave Dean a warm smile when she saw him enter the dining area, and Dean shot her a scowl in return. Dean sat on his place beside Brooke and started to eat.

"Is it true that you had a fight with Jeff last night?" Ellen asked with a stern tone; earlier that morning, Jeff called her and told her that Dean attacked him.

"So what if it's true? I'm not a kid anymore, so don't ask me why I do certain things." Dean replied without looking at Ellen.

John shot Dean an irritated look. "Don't talk to Ellen like that."

Brooke cleared her throat. "Uh…Dean was just -"

"Don't say anything," Dean cut her off.

John sighed and turned his gaze on Brooke. "Tell me what happened, Brooke."

Dean burned his gaze through Brooke's hazel eyes – an obvious warning not to tell his father anything. But the look on John's eyes made Brooke feel like a child being stared at by a reprimanding parent. She took a deep breath and bit her lower lip.

"Jeff was harassing me; Dean just saved me from him," Brooke explained.

Dean dropped his fork on his plate and stood up angrily, causing his chair to almost drop. "I told you not to say anything!" His voice was a level higher than his normal tone; he was obviously upset.

Brooke's brows creased and looked at Dean with confusion.

"You're going to be my wife, so you're going to do what I say," Dean roared. His voice was so loud; it made Brooke and Jo squirm. Every person in the room was surprised to see Dean react like that.

Before Brooke could oppose Dean's last statement, Dean walked out of the room and slammed the front door shut. The first one to speak after Dean's outburst was Jo.

"Welcome to our life," she said with a smirk.

-----

Sam yawned for the second time; he had been watching TV for two hours now. He planned on waiting until Dean comes home to talk to his brother, but Dean was still not home.

"Can I stay with you for a few hours?"

Sam would recognize that raspy voice anywhere, even if he had been hearing that voice for a couple of days only. He spun around and saw Brooke standing behind the couch. "Sure…of course."

Brooke smiled and sat beside him. Sam knew instantly that she was sad. Why he always knew what Brooke was feeling, he did not know. It puzzled him sometimes.

"I miss my friends," Brooke whispered softly as her eyes steadied on the TV screen.

Sam gave her a warm smile to comfort her. It was weird, but he felt like he wanted to wrap her in a tight embrace. "I miss my brother," he blurted out.

"Dean?" Brooke asked with slight curiosity. She suddenly seemed to be interested.

Sam nodded and sighed. "Yeah…the old Dean." Sam paused and looked at Brooke. "He wasn't like that before. He changed when -" Sam suddenly paused and chose not to finish his sentence. "Never mind."

Brooke nodded and shrugged. "Maybe Dean's having a hard time to cope up with whatever that has happened to him…but I'm sure he'll change back to his old self someday."

Sam managed to smile. Somehow, he wished that he could have conversations like this with Brooke forever. He then turned off the TV. He leaned back and looked at Brooke again. "Tell me about your friends."

Brooke's mood suddenly changed; she smiled like a giddy little girl. Sam had to smile too when he saw Brooke's contagious cheeky smile.

-----

Dean looked at his wristwatch before getting out of his car; it was already 2 in the morning. He felt at ease when he saw the time; everybody's asleep by now…unless Sam was waiting for him again.

He made his way to the porch and reached for the key he hid under a plant box. The house was pretty dark, except for the living room. Dean was surprised to see Sam and Brooke at the couch asleep. What surprised him more was that Brooke's head was rested on Sam's shoulder. It looked like they've been close for years.

Truth be told, Dean was jealous of Sam. Not because Sam was closer to Brooke, but because of many other things. Sam was the better son; Sam was this and that…and Dean was nothing. He was an alcoholic jerk; he knows it, but he can't accept that fact. Yes, Dean knows what he had become. He was well aware of it, but he can't admit to himself the animal he's become.

That's the reason why he always acts like an ass. He doesn't want anyone to know what he feels deep inside, what he thinks of himself. He doesn't want anyone to pity him. That's why he had been acting tough since the day his true love died. He wanted to look unaffected and nonchalant.

Dean snapped himself out of his self-searching and walked towards the couch. He knelt in front of Brooke and noticed a photo album clutched in her arm. He gently took it and opened it. The first picture was of Brooke and two other girls.

He closed the album and gently placed it on Brooke's lap. He stared at her and studied her features. Heck, she was beautiful, even when asleep. Dean shook his head; he felt sorry for Brooke. She doesn't have to undergo the arrangement…she shouldn't have been forced to marry me, Dean thought.

-----

"How's your life there, B. Davis?" Peyton Sawyer asked from the other end of the line.

Brooke woke up at around five in the morning. She was surprised to see that she had fallen asleep beside Sam. Seeing how Sam was sleeping soundly, Brooke chose not to wake him up. Because of her conversation about her best friends with Sam last night, she felt the urge to call and check on them.

Now that she had heard the curly blonde's voice, Brooke felt like she was home. Brooke sighed and moved the phone from her left ear to her right. "Everything's…fine. How're Haley and Luke?"

"Haley's here. You're on speaker now," Peyton said.

"Hi Hales!" Brooke tried to sound as cheerful as possible. "I'm dying to be with you again; I miss you all so much."

Brooke heard Haley laugh. God, she really wanted to be with them now. "We miss you too, Tigger," Haley said. "It's kinda boring without you here. Tree Hill's not that great without you."

Brooke couldn't fight it anymore; tears strolled down her face. She misses her friends badly; she'd do anything to be with them again. She spent talking to them for almost two hours and treasured every moment of it.

"I bet you miss them badly," Dean said right after Brooke ended her phone call.

Dean's sudden comment startled Brooke; she almost dropped the phone. Brooke spun around and saw Dean standing by her door. "How long have you been standing there?"

Dean tilted his head and smirked. "Long enough to see you wipe your tears before you said goodbye to your best friends."

He's such a jerk, Brooke told herself. She wanted to blurt it out loud, but she chose not to; it's best to keep it all inside. "What do you want?" she asked instead.

"Get dressed. We're going out." With that, he left Brooke's room.

-----

The day after their second date, pictures of Dean and Brooke were plastered in the front pages of tabloids and newspapers. John Winchester was beaming with delight when he read the articles; he was now getting the positive publicity he had been waiting for, thanks to Brooke.

To show his appreciation and gratitude, John allowed Brooke to go back home for a couple of weeks. Much to her delight, Brooke left the Winchester household in a jiffy.

The brunette didn't tell her family and friends that she would come home and stay there for a couple of weeks; she wanted to surprise them. When she arrived at her house at around ten in the evening, her parents were both surprised to see her standing by the front door.

Like it? I have a question: what do you want (or suggest) to happen in the next chapter? Although I've already finished the next chapter, I wanna know what you want to read; I might even change the chapter once I've read your suggestions. :)