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Dean paced the floor, obsessively dialing and redialing your number, “Son of a bitch…Dammit, Mary, pick up!” Sam sat at his laptop also calling you, ready to trace your call if you did pick up. It again went to voicemail, and Sam got a text.
I’m alive and safe, stop worrying. If I wanted to be found by you, I’d answer my phone.
“She’s not gonna answer, Dean. She’s too smart and knows I’ll just trace it.”
“Well, How the hell are we gonna find her?”
“I don’t know, she’ll turn up though. And if she needs help, we know all the hunters she’ll call.”
“I hate when she does this. I knew we shouldn’t have let her bring her damn motorcycle.”
“We’ve run away too, she just needs some time.”
Dean cocked his head and glared at Sam, “She needs some time? What if she gets in an accident or she gets killed, it’ll be my fault.”
“It won’t be your fault, we all said things we shouldn’t have.”
While your brothers continued arguing, you were enjoying a quiet break in a truck stop. You happily enjoyed the calm moment and grabbed a quick breakfast at Love’s travel shop, being sure to pay with cash, before riding the last sixty-two miles of your trip. You knew where you were headed, and that if your brother’s best friend saw you he’d quickly call Dean. Hell, Dean had probably already called him.
This wasn’t the first time that your brothers had been hard on you during a hunt. Whether you had put yourself in danger, or you hadn’t done your research well enough, or Dean just wanted to be pissed at something. You and Sam occasionally shared the blame when you were younger, but after he went to Stanford it was all on you, so you developed your habit of running away. But you were a hunter, and like Sam, if you didn’t want to be found, you were damn near impossible to find. You knew how to lay low… very low.
You saw a sign signaling that you had finally reached your destination, and parked out front of a nicer looking motel. You pulled off your helmet, untangling your long hair and climbing off your bike. You made sure to set the alarm before you headed inside to pay, asking if there was somewhere around back that you could park. Explaining to her that you were trying to stay hidden from your brother for awhile, and telling her about the fight. She was a sweet, older, woman, and she told you to park in her spot behind the motel. You thanked her, and pulled around back, grabbing your duffel bag and heading inside.
Since it was just you, you were granted to luxury of a single bed. You also had a large bedroom, and the room was far less cramped without three full grown hunters and all of their gear in it. You took a long shower, enjoying the heat of the water without Dean yelling to save some for him and Sam. You let the water run over your face, and enjoyed the silence, before dressing and doing your make up. You left your hair down in its long natural waves, and grabbed your wallet, making sure it had your ID and at least one fake ID, just in case.
You slipped on your favorite pair of converse and strolled down the street looking for a bar, being sure to tell the woman where you went and leaving a cell number in case anything happened. A few blocks down you found a bar advertising for karaoke and you decided to stop in there for a whiskey. Weaving through the crowd of drunks that were dancing to the current, off pitch, karaoke star, you made your way up to the bar counter and slid onto a stool "Whiskey, Darlin'." You smiled, sliding the bartender some money and flashing your ID.
"Here ya go, Sweetheart." You listened to the singer and the hum of the bar for a few minutes. Everything slowly began quieting down as the customers thinned out, some going home with strangers and some going home to get prepared for the next day. Soon, all that was left were the partiers and the college kids that didn't how to drink with control. The bartender watched you nurse your drink and decided to spark up a conversation. "So, you look a little too young to be a business woman trying to escape the usual boring circle, and you look too sweet to be running from anything big and bad, so what's your story?"
You laughed, "Uh, I got in a fight with my brothers and drove about three hundred miles to get away from ’em. Now I'm trying to enjoy a whiskey and forget about life for awhile."
"Older brothers, I take it?" He flung the dish towel over his shoulder, letting it rest there like the bartenders you see in every movie.
You spun the stool to face the counter and set your glass down. "How'd you guess?"
"Come on, young girl. Running from her brothers after they got in a fight. They're older... I have two younger sisters."
"Ahh, so you're one of them." You teased.
"I'm innocent I swear. I know I'm supposed to have some deep, philosophical solution to your problems like I'm Yoda, but the truth is, your brothers love you. Men have never really been known for being great with expressing themselves."
"But you don't get it, everything I do is wrong to him. Or I don't listen enough... I swear, he's more of a dad than a freakin' brother." You finished off your second whiskey, and waved the bartender off when he offered to pour a third.
"Was your dad ever around?"
"Yeah, when I was younger, he died when I was thirteen. And my brother's just like him."
"So your brother, who was raised by your dad, ended up being more like a father to you than your dad. And he acts just like your father, who raised him... You see the chain reaction, Sweetheart?"
"Yeah, dammit... I guess that maybe I shouldn't be so hard on him."
"I can't tell you what to do, but I can tell you what I think you should do. Get out there and sing a couple songs, have another drink if you need the courage, but dear god save us all from the current rockstar. There’s no way you can sing worse." He laughed, and you looked up to the stage to see a woman that had been served far more than her limit. She was currently belting a song that was so mangled and marred, you couldn't even recognize it.
You moved down from stool and went to the stage, telling the MC which song you wanted and heading back to your seat. Not quickly enough, the woman finished her song and your name was ringing through the bar. The bartender took your glass and smiled, "Knock 'em dead, Sweetheart."
"I hope to." You kept talking yourself down all the way back to the stage. Reminding yourself that everyone was drunk and that you had to sound at least as good as the last girl. You stepped onto the lighted stage and took the mic from its stand, awaiting the starting notes.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Dean called everyone he knew within a hundred miles radius and he even called a few others. Garth and Bess hadn't heard from you, Jody hadn't heard from you, and Dean was running out of options. He ventured a call to Benny, who was less than thrilled to hear you were missing. He tried to hide it from his tone, but it was hard for him. He had come to know your scent as purity and safety, he was completely infatuated with you and promised Dean that he'd find you if you were close.
He put on his boots and jacket, heading out to search the neighboring motels and bars. He couldn't catch any hint of your scent, until he hit Lafayette. He pulled into the motel parking lot that you'd checked into, and instantly caught you. He could smell the sweet honeysuckle and vanilla he had fallen in love with the first time he met you. He wandered around back and saw your motorcycle. Dean had told him about it when he called, and your scent was all over it.
He walked into the main office and smiled kindly to the woman that had checked you in, "Pardon me, Ma'am?"
"How can I help you, Honey? You lookin' for a room?"
"Not exactly, I'm looking for a sweet little thing staying here. She's about five foot or so, dark brown hair, rides that motorcycle out back."
She shifted her weight to one hip and raised an eyebrow. "You ain't that girl's brother are ya?"
"No ma'am. I just wanna make sure she's safe."
Her suspicious expression faded into a suggestive one, "Are you her boyfriend?
Benny contemplated the lie and decided to indulge a little, "Yes, ma'am... I know she had a fallin' out with her big brother and she ran off towards my part o' the world. I wanna know my little Chère ain't in trouble."
"She headed a couple blocks east to a little bar, you'll see it when you get there. They got a big ol' neon out front."
"I 'ppreciate it."
He entered the bar just as you hit the third verse, your pristine voice echoed through the bar as you powered through the words of your favorite Stevie Nicks' song.
"Well, I went today
Maybe I will go again
Tomorrow, yeah, yeah
Well, the music there
Well it was hauntingly familiar
When I see you doin'
What I try to do for me
With the words of a poet
And a voice of a choir
And a melody
Nothin' else mattered"
He snuck along the wall, hoping you hadn't seen him and went back outside. He dialed Dean and told him where you were, going back inside after he ended the call. You were placing the mic back in its stand when you caught his eyes, quietly mouthing a "dammit" to yourself when he motioned for you to come to him. You hopped down from the stage and went to Benny, like a scolded puppy. "Please don't tell Dean."
"I'm sorry, Little Chère. I already called, him and Sam are headed our way."
"I just wanted to get away..." You sighed, letting Benny corral you out the door and towards his truck.
"I'm sorry, Suga'." You climbed up the high step into the worn truck and buckled up, closing the door just hard enough to make it latch. The ride was silent and Benny was worried he'd made you mad enough to lose any chance with you, "I really am sorry, Chère."
"Don't worry about it. Dean knows people in just about every city... He would've found me whether or not you found me or someone else did."
"You ain't mad?"
You laughed, "Not at you anyway."
"can I ask why you ran away in the first place?"
"Dean and I got in a fight, like always. I wanted to get away for a bit and have fun, forget about how much I don't belong... At a bar, when everyone's drunk and has problems, you can't help but fit in."
The same words he'd heard from his own mouth hit him just as hard when he heard them fall from yours. "Whatcha mean you don't belong?"
"lots of things. I don't wanna whine and bore you though, we should just get back to my room. I am sorry that I made Dean waste your time."
"Darlin', you ain't a waste of time. Promise. We got a few hours before your brother gets here, so why don't I take you out to grab some dinner."
“I don’t have enough money, I only grabbed enough for the occasional gas-n-sip dinner and a couple tanks of gas.”
He chuckled, “Chère, I’ve never heard of taken a woman out and expectin’ her pay for it.”
"You'd do that?"
"Course. And if the way I've heard your stomach growlin' since we walked outta the bar is any hint, you could use some food."
“Thank you.”
He took you back to your room, and you gathered some of your things into your bag. You scurried into the bathroom, and redid your make up, this time taking more care to make yourself look nice. You put on a dark red lipstick and fluffed your hair a little, showing off the volume of your waves and headed back into the main room. Benny was sitting on your bed and when you emerged from the bathroom, his baby blues instantly locked onto you. His mouth fell slightly open and you couldn't help blush.
"Are you ready?" You asked, breaking him from his trance and he nodded, leading you to his truck. When you closed the room door, he ventured a hand to your lower back and exhaled in relief when you didn't move his hand.
You felt his warm hand against your spine and as your neared his truck, the older woman from the office rounded the corner, locking eyes with Benny. "Oh good you found your girl, safe and sound." She smiled at you, "You're so lucky to have such a sweet man, he come in my office lookin for ya and he was worried sick, Suga'."
You were at a complete loss for words, and a glance in Benny's direction quickly gave away that he was the reason for her misunderstanding. He shrugged and nervously ran a hand over the back of his neck. "Uh… That's my man... sweetest guy I've ever met."
"You two are so precious together. Have a good night... Are you turnin' in your room key, Honey?"
"No ma'am, not yet anyway, we're going out to dinner but I'll be back afterwards." You smiled kindly. Benny was silent as he drove to the restaurant. Once the two of you were seated and had ordered, you stirred the spoon in your milkshake a little looking up at him from beneath your eyelashes. “So… What was that back at the motel?” He eyes shot up to meet yours and your smile let him know you weren’t upset with it.
“I was just tryna find ya. At first she thought I was your brother, and when I told her different she went straight to boyfriend… So I let her.” His expression reminded you of a teenage boy that had told everyone he had been dating the most popular cheerleader. Except the cheerleader found out.
You laughed, “Ya know… I wasn’t exactly lying back there. You are the nicest the nicest guy I’ve ever met. Vamp or human. Don’t even get me started on how sleazy hunters are.”
“Well, Chère, you’re by far one of the best little humans I’ve come across.”
…
You finished your dinner, enjoying the ease of conversation with Benny, there was no dull moment or awkward pauses. He made you laugh, and genuinely smile. For the first time since before Sam went to College, you felt like you might actually belong somewhere. When you reached the motel, you saw a very pissed off Dean, pacing back and forth in front of your room. “Oh god, Can I just live in your truck instead of facing Dean?” You half joked.
“It’ll be fine… Go on.”
You slid down from the passenger seat and stared at the ground the whole way over to Dean. “What the hell is wrong with you! Do you know how friggin’ worried I was, what if you got hurt, huh, that’d be on me. Dad-”
“I don’t give a damn what dad said, Dean!” You snapped back, “I’m a frickin’ grown woman. I’m twenty-three years old and you treat me like I’m some scared outta my mind kid. I ran away because of this! I ran away because I’m tired of getting yelled at and talked down to like I’m worthless… I’m tired of not being a Winchester , I’m just as good as you and Sam.”
From his truck, benny could hear both of you, he could also hear your blood pounding through your veins, your heart sounded like it was seconds from bursting the blood rang so loud. He stepped out of his truck and made his way to you, glancing over at Sam who was still hidden in the Impala. You stopped ranting when you felt a hand on you shoulder. “Dean, I need to talk to ya for a minute… Why don’t you go calm down, Darlin’, finish packin’ up your things. Okay?” you nodded and shoved past Dean, purposely hitting his shoulder as you went. He was about to say something when Benny led him away. "Lay off her, Chief."
"Benny--"
"Hol' on, just let me talk for a sec, brother, then I'll be all ears." Dean allowed him to continue, "All she talked about was wanting to be enough and how she didn't belong. Now I don't know if you ever felt like that, but I gotta tell ya it ain't nice. It's dark and lonely, she needs her brother."
"Thanks for finding her, Benny." He gave him a bro-hug and headed to the room, you were angrily shoving the remainder of your things into your duffel and tore your helmet from the bed. "you wanna talk?"
"We can talk at the bunker." You said shortly. As you walked past, Dean called out and held his arms up for a hug. You rolled your eyes and gave in, letting him hug you for a second before you wiggled free and slung your bag around your neck and shoulder. It rested on your back while you stomped towards your bike around back. When you rounded the corner, you saw Benny standing beside it. As much as you wanted to be pissed, you couldn't be mad at Benny. He was only trying to help, he just helped the wrong team.
"Ride safe, don't let Dean makin' ya angry cloud your head." He smiled, "I like seein' ya in one piece."
"Thanks Benny, I'm sorry about all this... I had a really good time at dinner though."
"Me too, Little Chère... Can I get a goodbye hug?" You couldn't resist the sweet look on his face and gave in immediately. He wrapped you in a tight bear hug and held you in place for a few seconds. He kissed the top of your head and released you. "Tell Dean to call me when ya'll get home."
"Will do... Thanks again." You disarmed the alarm and straddled the seat of your custom Triumph, putting your helmet on. "Oh crap, would you mind giving the woman my room key back, I totally spaced it." You dug in your jeans pocket and handed him the key.
"Don't worry 'bout it, Chère." He gave you a small wave as you fired up your bike and clicked it down into first, pulling around the side of the building. The impala came to life and burned out of the parking lot, reluctantly, you followed, leaving behind the sweet vampire still holding your room key.