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Growing up with two brothers and John Winchester as a father made you grow a thick skin. This did not mean that you were impervious, though.
“And where are you going tonight?” Dean asked you as you exited the bathroom, eyeing your attire with a raised eyebrow. You didn’t go crazy, but you dressed to make you feel good, and in your opinion, look good. Dean picked up on it.
“On the way here I saw a bar, thought maybe I could scam some suckers in a game of pool.” You responded evenly, not trying to tip him off on your real plan.
You made quick work of gathering your belongings before he could-
“Why don’t I go with you?”
Do that.
“No!” He threw you a strange look, so you continued, “No, I just mean I want to go by myself. Please?”
He normally would object, going with you whether you liked it or not. But tonight, he was hesitating. On the rare occasion that Dad would leave all three of you guys while he was on a hunt, Dean was in charge. It was like you can see the gears turning in his brain, hearing his thoughts exactly as he thought them.
I could send Sam with her when he gets back from the diner. Dad’ll kill me if anything happens to her. I know she can take care of herself, but I’d feel better if one of us were there with her. She and Sam are nearly twenty now. She’ll just be around the corner. She has her phone. I can get there in seconds if I needed to.
“Alright,” he said finally, and you smiled, trying not to squeal with excitement, “But! You have to be back here before midnight. If you’re not back by then I’m coming to look for you. Oh, and no guys, understand?”
Groaning internally at the last sentence, you managed to offer him a small thank you. He looked at you for a few seconds, and you could tell he was trying to decide if this was the best decision.
“You need a ride you call me immediately; you hear? I don’t care if-”
“Yes, okay, bye!” You chirped, cutting him off with a slam of the flimsy motel door, but it did not deter him from continuing. The last thing you heard was a muffled ‘Be careful!’
The air was chilly, and you could see your breath. In your hurry, you put on one of your twin’s jackets instead of your own. Plus side was that it was large and warm, negatives were that it covered your figure. It probably won’t matter.
The streets were silent, nothing but the sound of your footsteps bouncing off the buildings and the distant sound of vehicles. As you approached the bar, you could hear music. Grinning inwardly, you got a slight pep in your step.
You worked your innate Winchester charm on the bouncer, getting in without a problem. Your nerves were a little on edge having never done anything like this before. But it was exciting.
Tinder wasn’t your first choice of meeting guys, but it would do. Considering you were nothing close to the Casanova your big brother was, you figured it was time to up your game. What better practice than a stranger you will likely never see again?
You stepped through the threshold and ran your eyes across the bar, looking for your date. Not spotting him, you walked up to the bar and ordered a drink to get yourself situated. Halfway through your drink, you heard your name being called.
Looking to your right, time nearly stopped.
What the fuck was he doing here?
“Remember me?” He purred.
How could I forget?
You eyed him, trying to make it seem like you could not remember him. At one of the many schools Dad had enrolled you in, Alastair was in one of them. He was two years your senior, and one of the worst bullies you ever had to deal with. God, he tormented you, didn’t he?
“Come on, doll, no way you don’t recognize this pretty face.” He said with a wink.
Pushing down the desire to vomit, you shook your head and said as coolly as possible, “Sorry.”
There were a few seconds of silence, and you thought he was going to leave you be. But instead, he claimed the spot right next to you at the bar and ordered himself a drink.
“Gained a few pounds, did you?” He said it while eyeing your body, particularly where Sam’s jacket was laying on you. You tensed. Before you could respond or hit him in the face, he said into your ear, “That’s alright. I like my girls with a little extra weight to them.”
Upon finishing his terrible attempt at flirtation, he promptly smacked your ass.
Without thinking, you reeled back and punched him across the nose. You felt the bone snap under your knuckles.
He stumbled back, blinking at your power and the stinging pain. Blood dribbled out of his nostrils to his lips.
“You fucking bitch! You broke my nose!”
You wore a self-satisfied grin, mentally celebrating yourself. But then he did something you were not expecting and retaliated by throwing his drink in your face.
The bar went silent.
Humiliated and dripping, you hurried out of the bar and headed back to the motel. Your eyes stung from the alcohol and welling tears.
On top of all of that, your date had not shown up.
~
Please let them be asleep. Please let me slip in without being noticed and let me silently cry myself to sleep.
They, of course, were not asleep.
All the lamps were switched on, and Sam was laying down, a book rested in his hands. The television was on. From the looks of it, Dean was in the bathroom. Diverting his attention from his book, Sam glanced up.
Concern flooded his eyes at the state of you.
“What happened?” he asked, quickly getting to his feet and approaching you softly like you were a wounded animal.
Unable to help it, you looked up at him with watery eyes. You knew if you started to explain it to him, the floodgates would break. Sam’s chest clenched.
“Oh, c’mere.” He spread his arms and let you walk into his embrace. All of five seconds passed, then Dean came out of the bathroom.
“Is she back- hey, what’s wrong?”
He saw your wet face- your tears had fallen without your knowledge- and Sam’s serious demeanor.
“What the hell happened? Tell me now.” He said sternly. You knew he was not trying to make you upset; he was worried.
“It’s not imp-important, please let me go to sleep.” You were defeated. After trying so hard to have a normal night, you should have known it would have gone this way. With your luck, you would never have normal.
“You tell me what happened right now, or I swear to God I’ll go and murder everybody in that fucking bar.”
You huffed, knowing they would not be able to rest until you told them. Taking a deep breath, you reiterated what happened. When you admitted you were meeting a guy, you disregarded Dean’s tense reaction. Hopefully, he wouldn’t take it too bad that you lied to him. You debated leaving the ass-smacking out, in fear that Dean would actually commit murder. You ended up not telling them.
Sam looked at you understandingly even after you finished. “I always hated Alastair. Such a dick to you.”
You nodded, looking down at your fingers fiddling in your lap.
You could not look at Dean. You knew he was quietly fuming, but he did not want to act rashly while you were feeling this way.
“I’m upset you lied to me. I think you know that. Just because this happened doesn’t excuse it.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
He sighed.
“I’m sorry this happened to you.”
You let out a shaky breath, finally looking up at him with watery eyes, “Thanks.”
He offered you a sad smile.
“C’mon. Let’s get you ready for bed.”
~
The night ended with you in bed, laying facing Sam. Dean sat upright behind you, protectively stroking your hair. Sam held your hand. Tears fell down your cheeks. They whispered sweetly to you until you fell into a dreamless sleep.
You had your whole life to experience “normal”. But between that or your brothers by your side, who could say normal was what you truly wanted?