Given that hurricane season runs June through November, this weather shouldn't be surprising. None the less, the torrential down pour they're receiving still feels a little out of place. Jett has been lodging at the Winchester home for nearly a week, which is surprisingly fine with Mai. She has someone to talk to, someone to sit with, someone to cook for, someone she doesn't have to be 'civilian' with. On that note though, Mai hasn't seen, called, or texted Walter in nearly a week. He is starting to be concerned.

"Hello?"

"Hi… Mai you haven't been returning my calls."

"Oh, yeah, sorry Walt. I've been… entertaining."

"Oh… Family?"

"…um, yes…"

I guess we're going with that. You really should have called him, you haven't hung out since your birthday and he's going away to band camp soon.

"You know we haven't seen each other since your birthday and I'm leaving for camp soon, I was thinking maybe we could hang out at my place?"

"Yes! That sounds good, tomorrow maybe? Watch a movie or something?"

"Excellent, do you need a ride?"

"Uh, no. My… family… can give me a ride over."

"Okay, I will see you tomorrow then. Hopefully some of this rain will let up."

"Yep, this weather is crazy."

"Okay well, see you later."

"Bye Walt." She hangs up the phone.

"Who's 'Walt'?" Jett asks as he enters the kitchen.

"He a friend." she shrugs off nonchalantly.

"I thought you didn't have any friends."

"You were the one who came to that conclusion." She crosses her arms over her chest.

"Hm." He mumbles, "I'm sorry, I was incorrect then."

"Yeah… well. Can I ask a tiny favor?"

"Possibly"

"I just need a ride into town tomorrow for a few hours. You don't mind being on your own for a while do you?" She hopes he doesn't take this personally, as her not wanting him here. She has finally grasped that she wants him here.

Jett shrugs and shakes his head, "No that's fine. I have some things I wanted to look into anyway. How much time did you need?"

"The afternoon I guess."

"Okay." He steps over to the sink, looking out at the sheets of fat rain, "Crazy weather."

"Hurricane Pete, making his way up the coast." She responds.

Her phone rings again. Jett looks at it, then at her, then nods before leaving the room. She's grateful, because the caller ID reads 'Dean'. She lets it ring almost the entire way through before answering.

"Yes?"

"Mai?"

"Yes?"

"…Hi."

"What's up Dean?" Her most polite way of saying 'get to the point'.

"Just calling to see how you're doing." His voice is gruff, and awkward. She would bet money Sam made him call.

"I'm doing well."

"Everything okay at the house?"

"Yes."

"How's the car coming?"

"Slowly."

"Do you need money? Sammy sent out some money a yesterday."

"Thanks."

"…"

I'm being a child, make conversation.

"So where are you guys?"

"We're at Bobby's, but we're going to check something out in Nevada." She hears him fiddling with something over the line, "Bobby says 'hi'."

"Tell him 'ditto'."

There's silence on the line. She can hear the TV playing the weather channel in the background. It's all a buzz about the hurricane.

"Okay then…" He says, "I guess that's it."

"Wait, Dean?"

"Yes?"

"…When are you coming home?"

"Sometime soon."

Mai just nods and the call ends. For a moment the she stares out at the rain, watching it trickle down the glass. It actually feels peaceful and she's thinking about Dean and Sam and having them home sometime in the near future. She misses them. She tries not to admit it, but despite everything, she misses her family.

"Hey," Jett pops in. He takes a seat beside her at the table, "What's up with your family?"

She pushes some hair out of her face, and bites her cheek, "Nothing much."

The rain that pours all through the night lightens to a drizzle the next afternoon. Mai and Jett drive into town, deciding that they will meet back at the Waffle King around six. The unexpected thing about June is that it can go from freezing rainfall to a dry ninety degree heat in two days time. So Mai pulls up the hood of her sweatshirt and throws her hands in her pockets as she walks down the sidewalk. She doesn't really mind wearing jeans and boots again. There's something enjoyable about being able to wear fall clothing in summer.

Walter's mother answers the door. Loretta Pipp is a powerhouse type woman. She's a lawyer two towns over, ballsy, and in your face. She wears tall heels to compensate for her 5' 2" height and she favors black or grey pants suites. Her red hair is always pinned into a severe bun and her makeup is precise and sharp. She also loves Mai dearly, which is saying something since she's got something to say about everyone in town.

"Mai, sweetheart! Walter didn't tell me you were coming over. It's been too long! I haven't seen you in over a month. How are you? How was your birthday? How are those uncles of yours? Doing well I hope, I talked to them a little at last year's parent teacher meeting. It was… Sam! Yes, I talked to Sam. Are they going this fall for the Parent Teacher Night? I would love to see them again, You've lived here seven years, been friends with Walt half as long, and we never get together. How about dinner some time? You can all come over for dinner? What does your family eat?"

This entire time Mai has taken off her boots, followed Loretta into the kitchen, and sat down while Walt's mother made her some tea. Mai never has to ask for tea at the Pipp house; Leanne always makes her a cup, almost like a hosting reflex. The pantry is stocked with box after box, flavor after flavor. Walter says that she hoards it, that it's her compulsive addiction, and that she's using tea to replace her father who died a few years back. He is seriously considering staging an intervention, but is waiting to see how it pans out. So far she drinks as much as she buys so it's not negatively affecting her life.

Loretta pours the hot water from the kettle to the mug, saturating some Earl Grey. Handing the mug to her guest, she looks expectantly upon Mai for an answer. Mai blows on the drink.

"Um, well… My family will eat anything, just a lot of it. They get pretty busy with work, but I will tell them about your offer. Maybe some time before the summer is out." She smiles.

Loretta, seems pleased with this response, and takes a seat with Mai at the table. She proceeds to talk about some of the local town gossip, something relating to the superintendent retiring out of the blue and how she thinks it's a sex scandal. Mai sips her beverage and nods every now and then, knowing that she's not going to be able to get a word in edgewise. Eventually Walt wanders up into the kitchen from the basement.

"Mai! Hey, how long have you been here?"

Mai takes the last gulp of her lukewarm tea, "Oh not long, maybe fifteen minutes."

"I am so sorry, I didn't even hear you at the door," Walter apologizes "Come on, let's go downstairs."

"No funny business you two!" Loretta warns. It's mostly a joke, an old joke that never gets old for Walt's parents.

"Thanks Mom," he glares at her, opening the basement door for Mai. Mai giggles, it is kind of funny, and she enjoys watching Walt's parents try to humiliate him.

Such… parents. It's great.

"So I was thinking Fargo, that sound cool?" Walter asks behind her while the walk down the steps.

"Yep, sounds great."

Walter's finished basement is stuck in the seventies like the rest of his tiny house. It's hard to pick the ugliest feature in this room, but the burnt orange carpet and waterless, fishless tank-bar are contenders. It's not entirely terrible though. A leather sectional faces an entertainment system of epic proportions. Plus, Walter's personal DVD collection takes up two shelves and counting; if he doesn't have a movie, he's sure to buy it. This is his personal quest. It also makes him an excellent person to have as a best friend.

Mai falls onto the sectional and stretches out. Last night wasn't high on sleep. She knows that she dreamed but can't remember anything. Feeling like the dream was important or interesting in some way is making this amnesia agitating. She hides her face in the crook of her arm.

"So what's up with you?" the couch dip beneath her as Walt takes a seat.

"The usual." She lies, throwing her arm over the edge of the seat.

"Doing anything interesting yet this summer?"

Befriended a hunter.

"Nope, it's been pretty average."

Walter nods and starts the DVD. The previews roll, but he doesn't forward through them. Instead, he begins to brush his fingers through Mai's hair which is sprawled out on the couch cushion. It's such a relaxing action; Mai can't help but melt into the leather. He smiles at her reaction; eyes closed, fluttering a little, half a grin in place, limbs dangling off the sectional limply. He sees this as a sigh of trust and is pleased that she feels so comfortable around him. He leans over to watch her face more, never ceasing the movement with his fingers.

"That feels nice." She mumbles, dangerously close to sleeping. Walter moves his fingers from root to tip, threading them, playing around in her dusty blonde locks.

"So… Mai," he says hardly above a whisper, "I was thinking… that maybe… after I get home from camp… that we could go ou-"

"Walter! Walter, I'm leaving for work!" Loretta bellows from the top of the steps. He stops combing through her hair and Mai instantly feels the loss, "Your father will be home in a few hours. Will you two be okay? Would it be a problem if I leave you kids alone? Do her uncles mind?"

Walter stiffens, "Do they care if my mom is out?"

If they cared they would be home.

"No, It's fine." She says to Walt, "We're cool Mrs. P!" She yells in the direction of the stairs.

They hear the front door lock behind Loretta and Mai frowns, "Why did you stop petting my hair?"

"Sorry…" Walter apologizes, starting up again. He cautiously shifts back into his previous position.

"You were saying something?" she recalls.

"Oh… nothing." His hands scratch her scalp and her eyelids flutter.

"mmm… no… no you were saying about after band camp?"

"It's- nothing. I was just going to ask if you wanted to…" his fingers brush the top of her ear and every nerve in her body tingles. Walt catches this reaction, seeing the goose bumps on her arms, "…come see a practice some time? Since you never come to the games."

"Oh…" she hums, "Yeah that sounds good, I love watching the band." She moves her head onto his lap.

Walter is barley holding it together and Mai is utterly clueless about what she's doing to him. They are best friends, they've known each other for the last four years, Mai is comfortable with him. She doesn't have other friends to compare this to, she doesn't know that this isn't average in platonic friendship, all she knows is Walter will play with her hair and it feels too nice to ask him to stop. So for her, this is normal. For him, it's heaven.

"Walt," She says.

"Yes?"

"Are you going to play the movie?"

"Oh, yep. Sorry about that."

The rain had picked up again by the time Mai had to leave. It took some persuading, but Mai talked Walter out of driving her to meet Jett. She shuffles through the rain with the front doors to Waffle King in sight. It's almost six, but she doesn't see Jett's car in the parking lot. Nearly soaked to the bone, she decides to get a seat and wait for him inside. The bell on the door rings with her entrance.

"Hi," she huffs to the hostess, "I'll just sit at the counter. If you see a tall guy with dark hair come in, can you send him over?"

The hostess gives great promises of accommodation, saying that it's no trouble and constantly smiling and nodding her head as she takes Mai over to the counter. Mai thanks her and looks over the menu. The dinner special sounds good, so does the American Burger. She looks around the restaurant and decides that it must be Orange-Hair's day off.

"Hi." Jett sits down to her right.

"Hi." She exchanges.

Their waitress comes around setting Jett a place at the counter and handing him a menu. He smiles at the older woman almost flirtatiously. Mai feels off inside watching him make charming chit chat and rolls her eyes. She tries to tone out whatever conversation they are having by focusing intensely on the breakfast combo prices.

She has to be in her thirties, gross dude.

"And for you honey?" the waitress asks her.

"The special."

The thirty-something jots down the order and walks away. Mai can't shake the odd feeling she possesses. Rhone tips the mug of coffee he just ordered before taking a long sip. She can feel something is off. He's not talking, he's not smiling, he's not asking about her afternoon. He's stoic again. It's almost as if the social wall he's been hacking at with a jack hammer is back in place. She doesn't try to tear anything down though. She lets him stew in his silence.

If he wants to talk, he'll talk. I'm not pushing him.

The waitress comes back with drinks and Jett's back to charming, when she leaves it's as if he's alone. Their dinners come; he eats without a single word to Mai.

What's his problem?

The instant coldness is irritating more than anything. He's spent so much energy focusing on being her friend and out of the blue she's receiving the cold shoulder? It doesn't feel right, it actually hurts, she starts to wonder if she did something wrong. The possibility that he's upset about her time spent with Walt this afternoon crosses her mind. If that's she case, she decides that this friendship can end right now, she doesn't need someone that needy in her life. The best way to find out what's running through his head would be to ask, but she's not going to break the silence. Mai figures he's the stoic one; he can come out of the cold and give her answers.

They finish eating and Jett calls for the check. Pulling on his jacket, he says his first words to her since hello.

"Come on, let's get you home."

He pays for both their meals and pulls the door open. Outside it's still raining, pouring in dense sheets. Mai suggests they wait it out, but Jett simply takes off his jacket, drapes it over her shoulders, and pulls the hood up of her sweatshirt. Then grabbing her hand he walks her to his car, unlocks the passenger side and lets her in. She isn't very wet, but Jett is soaked through his tee shirt as he starts the car. Beads of water drip down his face and he shivers against the AC. She rests a hand on his arm, stopping him from driving off. It's time for him to talk, even he understands this. He leans back in the seat, his dark hair matted to his face.

"You once said that you don't want to be collateral damage,"

…okay?

"Hunters leave a trail of destruction where they go," he continues, "I'm not going to do that to you."

Thank you.

"Okay." She replies.

They let the rain pour for a while longer and drive back to Mai's house. The rest of the evening is quiet. Jett sits by the empty fireplace, watching the pictures on the shelf, his abysmal distant look returning. Mai does some laundry, taking it upon herself to add in Jett's dirty clothes. In the morning he is gone, the only proof of his visit being a tee shirt he forgot in the laundry basket. It smells like cigars.

A/N: Woo! Two chapters in a week. Reviews make my muse happy, so... write some. It would make my day seriously. The best part of my day is seeing a new email from this place. #SummerOfFanFiction