Latest Posts by metalmonki - Page 3

What do we want to read next?

I'm hoping to have Supernatural Hunting Living and Love Part 8 and A Well Kept Secret Part 3 (final) up by Sunday so what would we like to see once I've done that.

A Well Kept Secret Part 2

Spencer Reid x fem!reader

1.8k word count

Summary You and Spencer have been in a secret relationship for a year. When you unexpectedly become pregnant it becomes harder to keep that secret.

fluff

Warnings mention of cheating while drunk.

Part 1

Six and a half months had crawled by since the life-altering night. Exhaustion clung to you like a second skin, your belly a growing testament to the little miracle nestled within. Today was the day you were finally going on leave, a bittersweet escape from the whirlwind of the BAU. No one knew the true story of the baby's father, a secret that gnawed at your conscience with every passing day.

Spencer had been a constant source of support, his gentle nature a balm to the storm brewing inside you. You'd even discussed godparents, a picture-perfect tableau of the BAU family surrounding your child.

"So how are you feeling?" Hotch asked as you lumbered into the office, the weight of the baby making every step a conscious effort.

"Fat and tired, but okay," You replied, managing a weak smile.

"How much longer will you be with us?" he inquired.

"Just here to pick up some things, then I'm heading home," You explained.

"Did you drive yourself?" he asked, a furrow appearing in his brow.

"No, Spencer dropped me off," You replied, your stomach clenching at the thought of the conversation that loomed.

"Well, get him to drive your home, then tell him he can have the day off too," Hotch said with a rare smile.

"Thanks, Hotch. See you when I get back, I guess," You shrugged.

Gathering your belongings felt like an eternity, each familiar object a reminder of the life you were leaving behind, at least temporarily. Stepping back out into the crisp morning air, you found Spencer waiting by the car.

"Ready to go home?" You asked, the words heavy on your tongue.

"Let's get you settled in, then I'll get back to work," he replied, his voice neutral.

The ride home was a tense symphony of silence. Every stolen glance at Spencer revealed a growing distance, a hurt you understood all too well. You kept your eyes glued to the ever-expanding landscape, the weight of your secret threatening to crush you.

Reaching the house, you managed to drag a box inside before collapsing onto the couch, the familiar ache in your back a dull throb. Spencer entered a few moments later, placing a bowl of popcorn and two drinks on the coffee table before settling the DVD player.

"What are you doing?" You finally managed, surprised by the sudden break in the tension.

"Well, if we both have the day off, why not spend it together before the baby comes?" he offered, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips.

Relief flooded you, warm and welcome. "Good idea," You whispered, scooting across the couch to lean against him.

"There's something I've been wanting to talk about," You began, your voice barely above a whisper.

"What is it?" he asked, his gaze holding yours.

"It's about the baby's father," You confessed, bracing yourself for the storm that might follow.

"I thought I was the father," he said, his voice betraying a flicker of uncertainty.

"You were," you stammered, "but there's something you need to know..."

The words caught in your throat, the memory a bitter pill to swallow. Taking a deep breath, you blurted out, "There was someone else."

"I don't know," you choked out, tears welling in your eyes. "The night we were together, I...I had a little too much to drink, and then the next morning..." Your voice trailed off, unable to finish the sentence, the memory a blur of self-loathing.

Spencer stood abruptly, his entire body radiating anger and hurt. The air crackled with unspoken accusations. "So, you're saying the baby could be Morgan's?"

"I don't know," you repeated, tears spilling down your cheeks now. "The timing just…lines up with that night. But you're the one I wanted, Spencer. You're the one I..." Your voice broke, unable to express the depth of your feelings or the regret that gnawed at you.

He ran a hand through his hair, his frustration evident. You both knew the implications. The life you'd envisioned, the little family you were building – it all hung precariously in the balance.

He stood abruptly, his entire body radiating anger and hurt. "We need to get this figured out."

Relief warred with fear in your chest. At least he wasn't walking out. "I thought maybe a paternity test…"

"Yeah," he snapped, his voice tight. "Let's do it."

The drive to the clinic was a blur. Neither of you spoke, the unspoken questions hanging heavy in the air. The sterile atmosphere of the clinic did little to ease your anxiety. Spencer held your hand silently as the nurse drew blood, his grip tight enough to leave white marks on your skin.

"How long will it take to get the results?" Spencer finally asked, breaking the tense silence.

The nurse glanced at a chart on the wall. "Typically, paternity tests take about a week to come back," she explained. "We'll call you as soon as we have them."

A week. Seven days stretched before you, an agonizing limbo. The weight of the unknown settled in your chest, a leaden companion. Looking at Spencer, you saw a similar worry etched on his face.

"What are we going to do until then?" you asked, the question barely a whisper.

He squeezed your hand, a silent reassurance. "We wait," he said, his voice gruff but determined. "And we try to focus on the good news, no matter what the results are."

"The good news?" you echoed, a flicker of hope igniting in your chest.

He offered a strained smile. "That you're finally on maternity leave, and we have a little miracle on the way, one way or another."

The forced cheer in his voice couldn't quite mask the underlying tension. You both knew the good news could turn sour depending on the test results. But for now, you clung to that fragile hope, a lifeline in the storm of uncertainty.

The following days were a blur. The house felt suffocating, the silence punctuated only by the tick of the clock. Every ring of the phone sent your heart racing, only to plummet when it wasn't the clinic. Spencer tried to maintain a semblance of normalcy, even taking a rare day off work to keep you company.

One afternoon, while flipping through baby magazines, you stumbled upon a section on twins. Double the bottles, double the diapers, double the trouble. A nervous laugh escaped your lips. The possibility of twins, once a distant thought, now loomed large, a complication layered on top of the paternity question.

Looking up, you saw Spencer watching you, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. "Thinking about double trouble?" he asked.

You managed a weak smile. "The doctor mentioned it as a possibility, didn't she?"

He nodded, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. "Maybe that explains why you've been so exhausted lately."

His words brought a faint blush to your cheeks. The exhaustion was real, but so was the constant worry gnawing at you. You both knew the weight of the wait, the unspoken fear that hung heavy in the air. But for now, in the face of uncertainty, you clung to the possibility of a future, a future with a baby, or maybe even two, on the way.

You'd watch movies, fold tiny baby clothes, and talk about nursery paint colours, all the while a dark cloud of uncertainty hung over you.

One afternoon, while attempting to assemble a ridiculously complicated crib (courtesy of Rossi's overenthusiastic gift-giving), the phone rang. Spencer, closer to the receiver, snatched it up with a speed that belied his usual composure.

"Hello?" he answered, his voice tight. A beat of silence followed, then a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Yes, this is SSA Spencer Reid. Yes, I've been expecting your call."

Your breath hitched in your throat. The crib parts clattered to the floor as you scrambled to his side, your gaze locked on his face. He listened intently, nodding occasionally, before finally murmuring, "Thank you. We'll be there shortly."

He hung up the phone, his eyes meeting yours. For a moment, they were a stormy gray, reflecting the turmoil within him. Then, a slow smile spread across his face, a smile that reached his eyes and banished the shadows.

"We need to get going," he said, his voice surprisingly calm.

"The results?" you stammered, your voice thick with anticipation.

He took your hand, his grip firm but gentle. "The good news, the bad news, or both? We'll find out at the clinic."

The car ride was a tense dance of silence and stolen glances. Your mind raced with possibilities; each one tinged with a sliver of fear. Would the results confirm your worst nightmare, shattering the fragile hope you'd built? Or would they clear the air, allowing you to move forward with a future you could finally embrace?

Pulling into the familiar parking lot of the clinic, you felt a wave of nausea wash over you. Spencer squeezed your hand reassuringly, his silent support the only anchor in the storm of emotions threatening to engulf you.

You walked into the clinic hand-in-hand, a united front despite the uncertainty gnawing at you. The receptionist, recognizing you, offered a sympathetic smile. "Dr. Lee will see you now," she said, her voice gentle.

Following the nurse down a sterile hallway, you entered the doctor's office. Dr. Lee, a woman with kind eyes and a calming demeanour, greeted you warmly. "Please, have a seat," she said, gesturing towards two chairs in front of her desk.

You sat, the silence deafening. Dr. Lee placed a file on the desk and took a deep breath. "I'm happy to report that we have the results of your paternity test, Mr. Reid. Okay, so do you want the good news or the bad news first?" the doctor asked, a small smile playing on her lips.

"The good news," you squeaked out, your voice barely audible.

"Spencer's the father," the doctor announced with a warm smile.

A wave of relief washed over you, so intense it almost knocked you off your feet. Spencer, however, remained silent, his expression unreadable.

"And the bad news?" he finally inquired; his voice low.

"It's twins," the doctor replied, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Your jaw dropped. Twins? That would explain the constant exhaustion and the way your clothes seemed to be shrinking daily. Looking at Spencer, you saw a mixture of shock and a hint of amusement flicker across his face.

"Well, that explains a lot," you finally managed, a shaky laugh escaping your lips.

"Double trouble," the doctor chuckled, her eyes twinkling.

Spencer chuckled too; the sound rough around the edges. Then, in a gesture that surprised you, he reached out and took your hand in his. "You got that right," he said, a newfound determination in his voice. "We can do this, together."

Leaving the clinic, hand in hand, the weight of the secret lifted. You were the happy (albeit slightly terrified) parents of twins, a future both daunting and exhilarating. There was still a lot to work through, the memory of Morgan a lingering shadow. But for now, the knowledge that Spencer was by your side, ready to face whatever came, was all the comfort you needed.

Supernatural Hunting Living and Love Part 7

Dean Winchester x fem!reader

2.5k word count

fluff, idiots in love, friends to lovers

warnings mentions of blood

Original / Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

I slept for ages. If I went off the alarm clock next to my bed, I had slept for well over 24 hours.  I probably would have slept longer but the sound of my sliding door opening followed by Deans voice woke me right up.

“What do you have there Sammy?” Dean asked.

“Y/N hasn’t eaten in 2 days, so I was just bringing her something” Sam said from directly outside the door. My stomach growled at the thought of food. It was true I hadn’t eaten anything since Theresa’s house.

“Oh, so your best buddies now?” Dean asked.

“What is your problem?” Sam sounded like he was getting angry with his older brother.

“Nothing it’s just interesting that the girl you had a huge problem with your suddenly being super nice to”.

“Yeah, well you love her Dean and I’m not going to change your mind on that, so I figured it’s better I just accept it then keep this stupid fight going” Sam sighed.

“Turns out it was just a phase” I could hear Deans smirk in his voice.

“Dean? Are you…”

“Sam seriously guess I was just thinkin’ to much with my downstairs brain” Dean laughed.

“Your sure?” Sam asked voice laced with uncertainty.

“Yes, I’m sure”

My heart broke with each word Dean spoke. If he truly felt that way, then why was he still hear looking after me? Why hadn’t they just left when they dropped me here? I heard Sam opening the door again, so I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep. I heard Sam approach and the mattress beside me sink as he sat on the edge of the bed. Sam placed a hand on my shoulder and began to softly shake me. I groaned and pulled the covers over my head, pretending to have been woken up.

“Sorry you’ve been asleep for ages, and you need to eat something” Sam chuckled holding out the food.

“Thanks Sam” I tried to sit up, failing miserably “Uh a little help” I giggled nervously.

Sam chuckled before placing the food on my bedside table. He slipped an arm around my waist and hoisted me into a sitting position. He tucked two pillows from my bed behind my back to keep me comfortable. I grabbed the food from the bedside table and began tucking in. It was anything special literally tomato soup from a can with a couple of toasted cheese sandwiches. But still I dug into it like it was the last meal I would ever eat. Sam chuckled and shook his head.

“Okay well I’m going to head out for a little while”.

“Going to see Theresa?” I gave a cheeky smile.

“Uh yeah” Sam smiled rubbing the back of his neck.

I waved my hand at the door dismissing him. Sam just chuckled and put his hands up walking out the door. I sat in silence eating my soup and watching the door half wanting Dean to come in and half wanting him to stay away. Once I had finished eating, I placed the tray with bowl and plate back on the bedside table. It was in that moment that I realised I desperately needed to go to the toilet. Not wanting to call Dean in I tried to sit myself on the side of the bed. It took a lot of strength to lift myself on one hand given that even the smallest amount of pressure on my arm pulled the stitches that lined it causing me to grit my teeth in pain. By the time I have myself seated on the edge of the bed fresh blood had begun to bleed through the once white bandage that circled it. I forced myself to stand wobbling on the thick cast around my foot and ankle. Luckly the cast stopped before my knee making it slightly easier to walk. With the assistance of the bedside table and the wardrobe that lined the wall between the bed and the bathroom door I was able to hobble my way to the bathroom. I didn’t even think when I finished on the toilet, I flushed and wobbled over to the sink to wash my non-cast covered hand. The whole time I could hear Dean banging on the door and jiggling the handle asking to be let in. I sighed, looked at myself in the mirror and flicked the lock on the door allowing him to come in.

“What do you think your doing?” Dean looked furious.

“I’m going to the toilet” I motioned to the toilet.

“You should have asked for help” Dean moved to grab my arm.

“I’m not helpless Dean, I can get from my bed to my bathroom” I emphasized my. Dean looked down rubbing his forehead. He went to speak but let out a small gasp instead.

“You’ve busted your stitches” Dean gently grabbed my arm.

“I’ll live” I pulled my arm away. I made my way back to my bed while Dean stormed back out into the kitchen cursing under his breath. I got back into my bed without any trouble. I was sat on the edge of the bed deciding what to do when Dean came back, first aid kit in hand.

“Let me see your arm” Dean grumbled.

“What are you going to do? Play doctor?” I smirked at him.

“I know a little something about stitching wounds” Dean smiled at me “So will you let me see your arm please?”

I held my arm out to him. He sat beside me and slowly began up wrapping it being care not to pull on the sensitive wound below. Once my arm was completely unwrapped Dean laid it across his lap. He opened the first aid kid which I recognised as the one from the boot of the Impala. He pulled out a bottle of rubbing alcohol, a needle and sutures. He poured a small amount of the rubbing alcohol over the wound. He pulled out the torn stitches and sewed in the new stitches. I could see the look on Deans face, it was a face I had seen multiple times.

“I know that look” I looked over to a photo on my tv unit.

“What look?” Dean looked up at me briefly.

“Look at the freak” I looked back to Dean “It’s okay I’m use to it, hell the girls at school use to cut me just to see how quickly the cuts would heal” I shrugged.

“I’m sorry” Dean never took his eyes off my arm.

“Knowing what you know, would you say I could be one of the things we hunt?”

“Knowing what I know? Not a chance. Could you be some sort of medical anomaly? Definitely” Dean smiled.

“Oh, anomaly big word for you Winchester” I laughed at him.

Dean finished restitching my arm. He took a new bandage from the first aid kit and wrapped my arm up again.

“There all better” Dean smiled at me. “Now can I help you with anything or are you going to stay in bed”.

“Can you help me over to the computer?” I motioned to the computer in the corner. Dean scooped me up in his arms causing me to squeal. I wrapped my arms around his neck to keep myself from falling. Dean just chuckled and walked over to the computer desk. He placed me on the computer chair and swung me around to face the computer.

“So, what are you going to do?” Dean leaning on the desk next to me.

“I’m stuck here your not so I figured I’ll send you to a couple other cases in the area” I booted up the computer and logged in. I explained to Dean that I had started keeping an online journal that only I could access. Having it online made it easier to keep cases sorted and anything I learnt along the way a key stroke away. A lot easier then that paper journal they carried around. I pulled up a case from just over an hour away. Easy to drive there and back in a day, Vamp nest. I had it lined up as a quick clear out on my way to the big vamps nest up north.  Dean seemed impressed, he smirked at me and said something about hitting the road. He left the room with a final warning for me to take it easy. I heard the jingle of keys and the sound of the external sliding door. I turned back to the computer and started looked for other cases to keep Dean busy and out of my house.

And so, the next 2 weeks went by like this, me presenting Dean with a new case the second he was in the door, Sam going back and forth between helping Dean and spending time with Theresa. I just wanted to get back on my feet and away from the Winchesters. Sam and Dean would often talk at night as they were getting ready for bed in the lounge room. More of the same, Dean was sure he had no feelings for me, Sam was sure he was lying. Sam spoke of the spark he had with Theresa and how he was thinking about asking her to return to the US with them. Dean had now taken Sams position and was insistent it was a bad idea. There were times where Dean was around, and I would see him looking at me. He had this look, it was as if he was hurt over what happened, as if he was blaming himself. He was at fault in one way, but he wasn’t completely in the wrong. I had chosen to go back to the pool, I knew I was getting myself into trouble, but I did it anyway it wasn’t all his fault. If the boys weren’t here, I probably still would have gone back to the pool.

When the day finally came around for me to go back to the hospital to see how things were healing, I was nervous. Part of me hoped everything was healed so they boys could just leave but at the same time I hoped I had a little longer left to heal so I could keep the boys around for a little longer. As the days dragged, I felt myself fighting between wanting them to go and wanting to plead with them to take me with them. Something felt right with them, felt right with Dean. Dean pulled us up in front of the hospital and went to get a wheelchair. Sam had come with us for whatever reason. He stood by my open door and told me all about the things he done with Theresa. He had been taking the opportunity to live a normal life, he had taken her to the movies, they’d played at the arcade, everything a normal couple would do. I was happy for him. Dean came back with a wheelchair and insisted on lifting me from the car to the wheelchair. He then pushed me into the hospital while his brother followed behind. I directed him to the outpatient care clinic. We checked in with the receptionist and took a seat in the waiting room. We didn’t have to wait long at all. A doctor came and had a nurse roll me away to x-ray. He made the boys waiting for me in the waiting room. Once the x-rays where taken, the nurse rolled me back into the waiting room and told me that the doctor would be back with me shortly.

It took the doctor 45 minutes to get back to me. Dean rolled me into the doctor’s office taking a seat beside me while Sam went and stood in the corner. The doctor glanced between the two brothers before looking at me.

“Well I don’t know what to tell you but if I had to quess I would say your injuries where not as bad as the ER doctor and surgeon first thought” The doctor turned on his chair to face me.

“What makes you say that?” Sam jumped in before anyone could say anything else.

“The x-rays show that the ankle and wrist fractures are well on their way to healing something I wouldn’t expect to see if they were in fact fractured as bad as the original x-rays show” The doctor looked to Sam. Sam shot a concerned look at Dean. I knew exactly what he was thinking.

“So what does that mean for me?”

“I’d say in 4 weeks we could look at taking both casts off, of course I would want to do another x-ray first”.

“Wow that’s great news” I smiled.

“For now I would like to check your stitches then you can be on your way”

I nodded and held my arm out to the doctor. He slowly set about unwrapping my arm. When the bandage was completely off he pulled back the gauze. A surprised gasp left his lips and his eyes went wide.

“I, uh, I can take the stitches out if you want the cut looks almost completely healed so I don’t think you need to keep them in” The doctor tried to cover his surprise. I nodded and the doctor went around collecting what he needed to remove the stitches. Sam excused himself from the room. I looked over at Dean knowing exactly what Sam was thinking in that moment. Dean said he would go talk to him and left too leaving me with the doctor who had returned and started removing stitches from my arm.

…

I followed Sam out of the hospital back to the car where I found him rummaging through the boot. He stood up and looked at me holding Dads Journal.

“Sam it’s not what you think” I said walking over and taking the Journal.

“Then what Dean, we both know she shouldn’t have healed that quickly” Sam pointed a finger back at the hospital.

“If I tell you, you cannot tell her”.

“Tell me what? What do you know?” Sam crossed his arms across his chest.

“She’s part Angel Sammy”.

“Part Angel?” Sam chuckled and looked away from me.

“I’m serious”.

“Do you have any idea how crazy you sound…”.

…

“Do you have any idea how crazy you sound…” Sam spotted me and stopped talking. He nodded at me and moved to climb into the Impala.

“What’s his problem?” I asked hobbling up beside Dean on a crutch I was now able to use.

“Just freaked out by your fast healing is all” Dean smiled at me.

“You told him I’m not anything you hunt?” I asked.

“Yeah, not sure he believes me thought but he’ll get over it” Dean open the door and climbed into the Impala. I opened the backdoor of the Impala and slid in tossing the crutch on the floor. At least I didn’t have to wait to much longer to be rid of the Winchesters.

A Well Kept Secret

Spencer Reid x fem!reader

1.3k word count

Summary You and Spencer have been in a secret relationship for a year. When you unexpectedly become pregnant it becomes harder to keep that secret.

fluff

Warnings none

Part 2

The suffocating fluorescent lights of the apartment were a welcome change from the sterile white of the doctor's office. Relief washed over You as you closed the door behind you, the positive pregnancy test clutched tight in your sweaty hand. Today was the day you'd tell Spencer.

Your little secret – the apartment you shared just a few blocks from the office – felt like the perfect place to break the news. Stepping into the dimly lit haven, you called out, "Honey, I'm home!"

The sounds of rustling papers filtered from the living room. Spencer emerged; a pair of reading glasses perched precariously on his nose. A tired smile spread across his face as he saw you. "Y/N! You're back early."

"Yeah," you said, you voice uncharacteristically small. "There's something I need to tell you."

Spencer's brow furrowed. He set his papers down and walked towards you, his concern evident. You took a deep breath, you heart pounding a frantic rhythm against your ribs.

"So, remember how I wasn't feeling well and left work early yesterday?" you started, your gaze flickering around the room before settling back on him.

"Of course," Spencer said, his brow furrowing further. "Everything okay?"

"The doctor figured out why I've been feeling so..." you hesitated, a shy smile playing on your lips.

Spencer reached out, his fingers brushing a stray strand of hair from your cheek. "So? Why have you been feeling so...?"

"We're going to be parents, Spence," You blurted out, the words tumbling over each other in a rush.

Spencer froze, his glasses slipping down his nose slightly. The colour drained from his face, replaced by a mixture of shock and something that looked suspiciously like fear.

"Pregnant?" he finally managed, his voice barely a whisper.

You reached out, taking his hand in yours. It was cold and clammy. "Yeah," you said softly. "A month and a half."

Silence stretched between them, thick and heavy. You could almost hear Spencer's mind racing, cataloguing the implications, the potential career consequences.

"But... but what about work?" he finally choked out. "No one knows we live together, let alone..."

You squeezed his hand gently. "I know, Spence. But they don't need to know everything, do they? We can figure this out, together."

A flicker of hope ignited in Spencer's eyes. He looked at you, a hesitant smile gracing his lips. "Together?"

"Of course," You said, a warmth spreading through your chest. "We're in this together, you and me. We always have been, even if no one else knows it."

Spencer pulled you into a tight embrace, burying his face in your hair. Relief and a touch of nervous excitement mingled in the air of your secret haven. The future was uncertain, but for now, you had each other, and that was all that truly mattered.

The morning commute was a blur. You sat beside Spencer in the passenger seat, the weight of the previous night's conversation heavy in the silence. You stole a glance at him. His brow was furrowed in concentration, fingers drumming a nervous rhythm on the steering wheel.

You knew his reservations stemmed from your hidden relationship, the unspoken pact you'd made to navigate the professional world without letting your personal lives interfere. Now, the carefully constructed barrier threatened to crumble with the news of your baby.

"You okay, Spence?" you finally asked, your voice breaking the tense silence.

Spencer startled, then let out a shaky breath. "Yeah, just thinking." He shot you a quick, worried smile. "About everything, I guess."

You understood. This wasn't just about a baby; it was about a complete overhaul of your carefully constructed world. Your secret apartment, your stolen moments of normalcy, all of it would have to be re-evaluated.

"We'll figure it out," you said, reaching out to squeeze his hand. The touch seemed to ground him, a silent reassurance in the face of the unknown.

He offered a small smile back, his grip tightening on yours for a brief moment before he focused back on the road.

The rest of the ride was filled with a comfortable silence. As you pulled up to the familiar brick facade of the FBI headquarters, You couldn't help but feel a pang of apprehension. Today wasn't just any day at the office; it was the day your carefully constructed world would begin to shift, one way or another.

Stepping into the bullpen, a familiar buzz of activity greeted them. Morgan was already at his desk, barking into a phone, while JJ, Garcia and Emily chatted by the coffee pot. You offered weak smiles, your mind preoccupied with how to navigate the coming day.

Settling into your own workspace, you found yourself lost in a case file, the words blurring before your eyes. Every few minutes, you'd glance up at Spencer, who sat across from you, his brow furrowed in concentration as he worked on a profile. Your usual comfortable silence felt strained now, laden with unspoken anxieties.

Just as you were about to reach out to Spencer, the bullpen door swung open, and Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner entered. His sharp gaze swept across the room, landing on you for a brief moment before moving on. You felt a familiar knot of tension tighten in your stomach. Telling Hotch about the baby, even without revealing Spencer's involvement, was another hurdle you needed to overcome.

"Sir, could I speak with you for a moment?" You requested standing from your desk.

Hotch nodded, gesturing for you to follow him into his office. Briefly explaining the situation and your concerns about inter-office relationships, you felt a weight lift off your shoulders when Hotch confirmed it wasn't against protocol as long as you remained discreet.

“Why do you ask? Are you seeing someone in the office I should know about?” Hotch asked arching an eyebrow.

“Oh no Hotch but I did loose a bet with Spencer so thank you for that” You smirked at him.

“Let it be a lesson never to place a bet with Spencer” Hotch chuckled.

Elated, you returned to Spencer, a grin plastered on your face. "Hotch says we can be together, as long as we keep things private."

Spencer, however, remained apprehensive. "You told him?"

"No, I just asked about the dating rules," You clarified. "But I will have to tell him about the baby”

"I know" Spencer sighed. "And for now, let's keep me out of it."

You, understanding his reservations, agreed. You returned to Hotch’s office this time revealing your pregnancy but withholding the father's identity. Hotch, to your surprise, offered congratulations and even a hug.

"Does this have anything to do with the question you asked earlier?" he inquired, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

“Uh no not at all” You giggled at the awkwardness of the situation.

“So whose the lucky guy?” He chuckled.

"He wants to keep it quiet for now," You explained.

"Fair enough," Hotch said, a playful smirk crossing his face. "Just as long as it's not Morgan or Rossi."

"Definitely not!" You chuckled. "Wait, so you'd be okay if it was Reid?"

"He's intelligent and dedicated," Hotch admitted. "Besides, Morgan wouldn't settle down, and Rossi's a little past his prime."

"What about you?" You teased.

Hotch chuckled. "We wouldn’t be having this conversation."

Returning to the bullpen, you announced you pregnancy to you colleagues. While everyone showered you with congratulations, they were naturally curious about the father. They had never heard of you seeing anyone and they knew you weren’t the type to just sleep around.

"His name is Spencer, but don't worry, it's not our Spencer," You assured them with a wink.

"Well, whoever he is, we'll have to meet him," Rossi declared, a glint in his eyes.

"Why?" You questioned.

"Just to make sure the newest member of the BAU family is being well looked after," Rossi winked.

The day continued with a new case, and although You was relegated to paperwork due to your condition, a warm feeling bloomed within you. You had a supportive team, a loving partner, and a future filled with exciting possibilities.

The Dating Odyssey: Jonathan

Eddie Munson/Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington/Jim Hopper/Jonathan Byers x fem!reader

1.6k word count

fluff, idiot reader, reader who can't say no, choose your own adventure-ish

Part 1 / Steves Ending / Eddies Ending / Jims Ending / Billy's Ending

Authors note: And so we reach the final part. I hope you have all enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

Butterflies fluttered in your stomach as you waited for Jonathan. He called you a few days after your date his shyness amplified over the phone. "Would you like to go on another date? I'd love to, uh, capture you, I mean, take your picture, in different settings."

It was endearingly awkward, and you couldn't help but agree. Here he was, looking even more nervous than on your first date, clutching an old camera with a worn leather strap. "Hi," he mumbled, a faint blush creeping up his neck.

"Hey, Jonathan," You smiled. "Ready to unleash your inner paparazzo?"

He chuckled, a dry, self-deprecating sound. "Something like that. But more... artistic, I hope."

You started at a nearby park. The late afternoon sun cast long shadows, dappling the path with golden light. Jonathan fumbled a bit, muttering under his breath about focus and aperture, but when he finally looked up, his eyes held a quiet intensity. "There," he said, a shy smile gracing his lips. "You look... radiant."

There was something magical about seeing yourself through his lens. In the photos, the park wasn't just a park anymore; it was a scene from a dream, and you, the unexpected protagonist.

Next, you wandered through a quirky antique store. Jonathan captured you amidst dusty gramophones and chipped porcelain dolls, a playful glint in your eyes. He even snapped a candid shot of you trying on a feather boa, the laughter lines around your eyes crinkling joyously.

His shyness seemed to melt away with each click of the shutter. He talked about his passion for photography, the way light and shadow could tell a story, the fleeting beauty he found in the everyday. With the last of the photos taken Jonathan had spoken off heading home to his home-made photo processing lab to develop the photos. It didn’t take much pressing on your end to convince him to take you with him to see the photos develop. The drive out to his house was extremely quiet. Jonathan spared a few awkward glances to you during the drive, it was evident by the look on his face that he was nervous about having someone watch him develop his photographs.

The silence in the dimly lit photo lab was broken only by the sound of music playing in the background. Jonathan, his brow furrowed in concentration, meticulously hung the film canisters from a rack, a faint blush creeping up his neck as he caught you watching.

"You sure about this?" he mumbled, his voice barely audible above the music.

"Positive," You grinned, leaning against the counter. "I can't wait to see how they turned out."

He offered a shy smile back. "Me neither, to be honest. It's one thing taking the pictures, another entirely seeing them come to life."

The photo lab was a far cry from the bustling coffee shops and sun-drenched parks where your dates usually unfolded. But here, with the pungent smell of chemicals hanging in the air, a different kind of intimacy blossomed. You were sharing a secret, a peek into the process behind the magic of capturing a moment.

Jonathan, usually so reserved, transformed into a focused maestro. He explained the steps in hushed tones, a gentle pride radiating from him as he spoke about the dance of light and dark on the film. He described the anticipation of waiting for the image to appear in the developer bath, a baptism into reality for the fleeting moments he'd captured.

As the minutes ticked by, you watched in fascination. The nervous fumbling you'd witnessed the first time he held his camera had vanished, replaced by a quiet confidence. He moved with an almost ritualistic grace, his movements practiced yet imbued with a reverence for the process.

Finally, the first print emerged from the fixer bath, dripping with a clear, pearlescent sheen. Jonathan held it up to the dim light, his breath catching in his throat.

"There you are," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion.

It was the picture from the park, the one bathed in golden sunlight. But seeing it here, fresh from the developer, held a different kind of magic. The light seemed to glow from within, your smile radiating a newfound serenity.

He met your eyes, a shy smile gracing his lips. "Not bad, huh?"

"It's incredible," You breathed, reaching out to touch the wet paper. "It's like seeing myself through your eyes."

The next few minutes became a blur of anticipation and awe. Each photograph emerged from the chemical bath, a story revealed in silver and light. The playful chaos of the antique store, the quiet intimacy of the bookstore, the city skyline transformed into a canvas of dreams under the starlit night – each image brought back a flood of memories, enhanced by Jonathan's unique perspective.

When the last print emerged, shimmering wet in the dim light, a comfortable silence settled between you. You stood there for a moment, surrounded by the hum of music and the faint scent of chemicals, a connection forged in the shared experience of giving birth to these memories.

Finally, Jonathan turned to you, his eyes filled with a quiet intensity. "So," he asked, his voice barely a whisper. "What do you think?"

You smiled, your heart brimming with a warmth that had nothing to do with the chemical baths. "I think," You said, stepping closer, "we have a lot more stories to tell together."

Stepping out of the photo lab, the crisp night air felt like a welcome slap after the chemical haze inside. The streetlights cast a warm glow on Jonathan's face, his smile brighter than any neon sign. "Ready?" he asked, holding out the manila envelope filled with your memories.

You nodded, taking the envelope from him. Its weight felt significant now, a tangible record of the day. A day you didn’t want to end. You walked in comfortable silence to his car, a quiet understanding hanging between you. The drive to your apartment was filled with stolen glances. Each time your glances met, a shy smile would bloom on his face, mirrored by yours.

The radio played a slow ballad, the melody weaving itself into the comfortable silence. Jonathan seemed lost in his thoughts, a contemplative smile playing on his lips. You couldn't help but take a closer look at him in the soft glow of the dashboard lights. He looked different somehow – more confident, perhaps, with a spark of pride in his eyes.

Suddenly, he caught you staring. A blush crept up his neck as he quickly looked away, muttering something about taking a wrong turn. You let out a soft laugh, the sound breaking the tense silence.

"It's okay," You teased, nudging him playfully with your shoulder. "I like this detour."

He chuckled, then finally stopped at a red light, turning to face you. "Me too," he confessed, his voice barely a whisper.

His eyes held a depth you hadn't seen before, an unspoken question lurking beneath the surface. You felt your cheeks burning, a delicious mix of anticipation and nerves swirling in your stomach. Leaning forward, you brushed a stray strand of hair off his forehead.

"You're amazing," You whispered, surprising even yourself with the boldness.

He stared at you for a moment, his gaze so intense it stole your breath away. Then, a slow smile spread across his face, a smile that spoke volumes more than any words could.

The light turned green, and Jonathan pulled back into traffic. But the quiet magic of the moment lingered. You talked in snippets, about the pictures, about your shared dreams, about anything and everything that came to mind. Yet, the silences felt comfortable, filled with a new understanding that transcended words.

Finally, you pulled up in front of your apartment building. The engine hummed softly, neither of you wanting the night to end. He looked at you, his eyes filled with a question he didn't dare voice.

You reached over, your fingers brushing against his as you turned off the radio. "Would you like to see the pictures again?" you asked, offering the envelope.

A grin spread across his face, chasing away the nervousness. "I thought you'd never ask."

We walked up to your apartment, hand in hand, the weight of the envelope feeling lighter now, replaced by the warmth of connection. Stepping inside, you flicked on the lights, casting the room in a soft glow. He pulled out the pictures, and you spent the next hour reliving your adventure through Jonathan's lens. The pictures weren't just photographs anymore; they were keys that unlocked a treasure trove of shared memories, each one etched not just on film, but on your hearts.

As you sat staring at the photographs in the comfort of your apartment, he confessed, "You inspire me, you know? You make me see the world differently."

"Your greatest muse, huh?" You teased, remembering the phone call.

His blush deepened. "Well," he stammered, "maybe it's a bit too soon to say that, but..." he trailed off, then took a deep breath. "There's something about you. You light up a room, even with just a smile."

Walking him back to his car, the weight of his camera a comforting reminder of the afternoon, you realized it wasn't just him who'd been inspired. Jonathan, with his quiet passion and shy observations, had opened your eyes to the beauty in the ordinary.

As you reached his car, he handed me a small, worn print – one from our first date of you trying to take a photo of a lone flower. "For your inspiration," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

You took the picture, the warmth of a blush echoing in your cheeks. "Thank you, Jonathan," you said, your voice thick with emotion. "You're my muse too." It felt true. In his own unique way, Jonathan had shown you the beauty of being seen, truly seen, and you couldn't wait to see where this shy photographer and his camera would take you next.

Supernatural Hunting Living and Love Part 6

Dean Winchester x fem!reader

2.5k word count

summary Dean finally acknowledges his feelings out loud.

fluff, idiots in love, friends to lovers

warnings mentions of stillbirth

Original / Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

“Dean, Dean!” A voice pierced through the ringing in my ears, dragging me out of a thick fog. I struggled to piece together what had happened. The last thing I remembered was being in the Impala—Y/N’s Impala—with her… but where was she?

“Dean, can you hear me?” The voice called again, more urgent this time.

“Y/N,” I groaned, but it wasn’t her voice.

A splash of water hit my face, jolting me awake. My eyes shot open, and I found myself sitting at the edge of a pool. The memories came rushing back in a flood: the hunt, Y/N’s anger, following her into the pool... and then nothing. That thing had taken control—I was possessed. My gaze was locked on the pool in front of me when two figures emerged from the water.

“Dean, I need help,” Castiel appeared, cradling Y/N’s limp body.

“No, no, no!” Panic surged through me as I scrambled to pull her from the pool. She wasn’t breathing, and there was blood—so much blood. I didn’t know what to do. My mind was a whirlwind of fear and desperation. I couldn’t lose her, not now. Autopilot kicked in as I grabbed her and bolted for the front door, adrenaline fueling my every step. Cas was right behind me, shattering the glass doors with a wave of his hand so I could barrel through without slowing down.

“Here,” Cas handed me her car keys. I didn’t question where he got them—I didn’t care. I flung her into the passenger seat and jumped into the driver’s side, flooring it toward the hospital. As I drove, my mind raced to come up with a story. Maybe she fell into the pool from a second-story window? Or maybe it was a stupid dare gone wrong? I was grasping at straws when a sharp cry of pain and coughing snapped me out of my thoughts.

“Oh, thank God, you’re alive,” I breathed a sigh of relief, glancing over at her.

“Yeah, no thanks to you,” she spat out, wincing as she tried to move in her seat.

“Me? What did I do?” I asked, concern and anger mixing in my voice.

“You—or the spirit that possessed you—attacked me,” she shivered, her voice trembling.

“Are you cold? I could turn the heat on,” I offered, reaching for the heater.

“Nah, it’s broken…” she muttered, her voice trailing off as she slumped unconscious in her seat.

“Shit, shit, shit,” I cursed under my breath, realizing it was probably the shock setting in. I pushed the car to its limits, and within 15 minutes, I was skidding to a stop outside the hospital. I yanked her out of the passenger seat and rushed inside, shouting for help as I burst through the doors. She was cold, but she was still breathing.

A nurse quickly appeared with a bed, urging me to lay her down. I hesitated, torn between the need to get her help and the overwhelming urge to protect her. I was frozen, unable to let go. A nurse gently placed a hand on my arm, grounding me just enough to let her go.

“It’s okay, she’ll be safe—I promise,” the nurse reassured me.

I nodded, reluctant but knowing I had to trust her. I gently placed Y/N on the bed, watching as they wheeled her away, shouting about trauma shears and portable X-rays.

“Y/N’s a fighter. She’ll be alright,” the nurse spoke up, her voice firm yet kind.

“How do you know her?” I asked, surprised as I turned to face her.

“We went to high school together; we were best friends,” she smiled nostalgically. “After graduation, I chose med school, and she pursued more creative endeavors.”

“I’m Dean,” I introduced myself, holding out my hand.

“Oh, the new boyfriend Rachael was talking about,” she said with a warm smile, shaking my hand. “I’m Lina. I have to say, I’m surprised she finally found someone interested in her.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I felt a sudden, protective urge rise within me.

“I didn’t mean anything bad by it,” Lina clarified quickly. “She’s just… unique. We went to an all-girls Catholic school, and we used to have yearly dances with the boys’ school. None of the guys ever gave her much attention. She wasn’t the typical girly-girl. She never took their crap, never pretended to be something she wasn’t, and she never compromised her values. Honestly, I was always a bit jealous of how she could just be herself without a care in the world.”

“Yeah, well, it’s their loss,” I replied, a mix of pride and realization in my voice. “She’s amazing—so strong and independent. Nothing slows her down. I’m the luckiest guy in the world to have her in my life.” The truth of my words hit me hard, but I knew I could never tell her. I could never burden her—or anyone—with what came with being close to me.

“Come on, let’s fill out her paperwork,” Lina guided me out of the emergency room into the waiting area. She handed me a clipboard with a stack of forms and left me to fill them out.

First name: Y/N Last name: Age: Date of Birth: Place of Birth:

I sighed, staring at the empty spaces on the form. I knew so little about her—just bits and pieces. She’d mentioned she was 22, right? That would make her birth year 1993, but what about the day and month? And where in Australia was she born? Australia is a vast place. Frustration gnawed at me as I realized how little I knew about someone I cared so deeply for. I was about to give up when I heard the familiar flutter of wings, and Castiel appeared beside me.

“January 24, 1993,” Cas said, his voice as calm and steady as ever.

"What?" I asked, confusion lacing my voice.

"Her date of birth is January 24, 1993. Last name: Y/L/N. Place of birth: Goulburn, NSW," Cas rattled off the details like they were common knowledge.

"How did you know that? The 24th—that’s my birthday," I said, looking away from the clipboard, disbelief creeping in.

“The day she was born, something went wrong,” Cas began, his tone unwavering. “She died, but she wasn’t supposed to, so God had me bring her back.”

“What? Did God have some grand plan for her?” I threw my hands in the air, frustration bubbling over.

“I’m not at liberty to say. It’s God’s plan—only He knows,” Cas replied, his words only adding to my irritation.

“If you saved her then, why can’t you fix her now?” I almost yelled, my voice rising with desperation.

“It’s not that simple, Dean,” Cas responded, calm yet infuriating.

“How? Just lay your hands on her and heal her!” I shouted, attracting glances from the people in the waiting room.

“Dean,” Cas said more softly, “when I brought her back to life, it took a piece of myself. A piece she still carries within her. It will help save her.”

“So, what? She’s part angel?” I asked, disbelief and a hint of awe mingling in my voice.

“Yes,” Cas answered simply, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Great, well now I’ve heard it all.” I shook my head, overwhelmed by everything. I turned back to the paperwork, but to my surprise, it was already filled in. When I looked up, Cas was gone. Typical. I dropped the pen onto the clipboard, running my hand over my face, trying to process everything.

“Dean?” A nurse appeared beside me, her presence pulling me back to the moment.

“Yes, that’s me,” I replied, standing up quickly.

“Y/N is awake and asking for you,” she smiled gently. “Be warned, we haven’t quite got her fixed up yet, but she won’t calm down without you, she says.”

I nodded and followed her through a maze of hallways, the sound of Y/N’s frantic cries growing louder. At some point, the nurse had taken the clipboard from my hands, freeing them to hold Y/N’s and help calm her down.

“Dean,” she choked out between sobs, her voice trembling with fear.

“It’s okay, I’m here. You need to let them help you,” I stayed calm, trying to be the steady presence she needed right now.

The medical staff cut away her clothes and removed her boots as I held her hand tight, not daring to let go. They managed to take X-rays after I reassured her that I’d be just outside the room, even though I knew hospitals terrified her. When they placed the X-rays on the lightbox, I saw the extent of the damage—her ankle and wrist were badly broken. Guilt gnawed at me, knowing I had done this to her, even if I had no control over myself.

I noticed a deep cut running down her forearm. A doctor was doing his best to clean and stitch it up while I kept Y/N’s eyes on me, trying to distract her from the pain. Someone mentioned needing surgery, but I was too focused on her to really take it in. My heart broke seeing her like this—so scared, so small in that hospital bed. When they finally stitched up her arm and bandaged it, a nurse came up beside me.

“Sir, I need you to sign this paperwork for us to go ahead and get her to surgery,” a nurse said, thrusting a clipboard into my face. I quickly signed it and handed it back.

“Please don’t leave me,” Y/N whimpered, her voice barely audible.

“I’ll be right here waiting for you, I promise,” I replied, leaning down to kiss her gently on the top of her head before I could stop myself. I felt an instant sense of calm wash over her from such a simple gesture.

“We’ll take good care of her. If you could go back to the waiting room, someone will come get you when she’s out,” the doctor explained, helping to wheel her out of the room. I reluctantly released her hand as they carried her away.

I made my way slowly back into the waiting room. It felt like time stood still the moment she left the room and disappeared from my sight. I realized how deeply I was in love with her, and she had been clear about how she felt about me. I hated seeing her hurt and had done everything I could to protect her from this. Now, it felt like the only way to keep her safe was to keep her close, yet at arm's length. Maybe if I kept her nearby but distant, she would be safe. Or perhaps pushing her so far away she would never want to see me again.

“Dean! Dean! Where is she?” Sam burst into the waiting room, his voice urgent.

“Slow down, you gargantuan freak,” Theresa called, running full speed behind him.

“What do you care? You don’t like her,” I snapped, standing up to face Sam.

“Yeah, but you do, and I’m obviously not going to change your mind,” Sam sighed, exasperated.

“Well, Sammy, turns out you’re right. She’s a distraction, and I just want to get as far from her as possible,” I replied, trying to maintain a straight face.

“Dean, she loves you. You’d be breaking her heart,” Theresa said softly, almost whispering.

“She’ll get over it,” I responded curtly, turning to leave the hospital. I walked out, leaving Sam and Theresa in shocked silence.

The light was so bright, and the room was spinning. I groaned and tried to sit up.

“Whoa there, take it easy,” I felt a large hand gently push me back into the bed.

“Sam? What are you doing here? Where’s Dean?” I asked, closing my eyes, hoping the spinning would stop.

“To be honest, I have no clue where Dean is, and I’m not sure why I’m here either,” Sam let out an awkward chuckle. “Look, I know I haven’t been the nicest person, but my brother—he loves you, and I guess I just have to accept that. So, truce?”

“Truce,” I replied, attempting a small smile, though it probably looked more like a grimace.

“OH. MY. GOSH. YOU’RE AWAKE!” Theresa suddenly exclaimed, startling me from where she had been sleeping against Sam.

“Woman, turn the volume down,” I groaned, still feeling disoriented.

I opened my eyes to look at her. She had jumped up from her seat and bolted to the side of my bed, pulling me into an awkward hug. Over her shoulder, I could see Sam watching her with a soft smile. The way he looked at her—the twinkle in his eye—it was clear. He was in love with her. I gave him a knowing look, and he smiled in acknowledgment before glancing at the floor. He realized he couldn’t continue acting the way he had been without being insanely hypocritical.

A doctor came in to speak with me not long after. Luckily, he said they didn’t need to use any rods or screws in my arm or ankle. I would be off my feet for at least ten weeks with my ankle, and my wrist might take sixteen weeks to heal completely, he guessed. He organized for me to come back in two weeks for follow-up X-rays and said he would be able to tell me more then. After prescribing some antibiotics, he sent me on my way.

Sam and Theresa helped me out to my car, with Sam driving us back to the hotel and dropping Theresa home on the way. Since I couldn’t use crutches, Sam had to help me into the room, placing me carefully on Dean’s bed before checking the bathroom.

“Dean’s not here, is he?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“Nope, but we’re going to have to check out of here tomorrow and find somewhere else to stay until you’re healed up,” Sam said, looking out the window.

“You’re really going to stay and look after me?” I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Sam shrugged, offering a small smile.

“Well, thank you,” I smiled back, genuinely touched by his kindness.

“Your mom mentioned something about heading back to Sweden, so maybe we could crash there for a while?” Sam suggested, sounding hopeful.

"Uh yeah, she’ll likely be gone for the foreseeable future, so that would work," I nodded, trying to pull myself further up on the bed to lie down. Sam quickly jumped up, helping me get more comfortable before offering to grab us some food. He took the keys to my car and left the room.

I settled in and closed my eyes, letting exhaustion take over. I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew, Dean was walking through the door.

"Rise and shine, your dinner’s here, and if you don’t eat it, I will," Dean said, tossing a bag at me.

"Touch my food, and I’ll chew your arm off," I retorted, grabbing the bag that had landed against my side.

"We have to be out of this room by 10 a.m., so hurry up and eat," Dean grumbled.

"Why weren’t you at the hospital?" I asked, unwrapping a burger and taking a bite.

"Was I supposed to be at the hospital?" Dean questioned, busy packing his stuff into his duffel before leaving the room.

"You said you’d be there when I woke up," I reminded him when he walked back in.

"I said what I had to so you would calm down," Dean shrugged like it was no big deal. "Now hurry up and eat. I want to be out of here in the next hour," he said, walking off again with more of his and Sam’s stuff.

Caught off guard by Dean’s sudden change in attitude, I decided not to push the conversation further and instead focused on my food. After eating in silence, Sam helped me to my car while Dean went to check us out of the room. Sam drove my car while Dean drove his, both of us heading back to my mom’s house.

I stayed silent even once we arrived. The only time I spoke was to ask Sam to help me to my bed. Once I was comfortable, I closed my eyes and decided to ignore the brothers, who were busy in the lounge room outside my door, going back and forth about what they were supposed to do while I recovered.

Updates!

So this morning I woke to the news I have been redundant. The daycare I worked at has been shut down so I spent the day writing instead. So for the next week this is what we're looking at.

Tomorrow: Supernatural Hunting Living and Love Part 6

Thursday 23rd: The Dating Oddessey: Jonathan (final part)

Saturday 25th: Spencer Reid x Reader fic part 1

Monday 27th: Supernatural Hunting Living and Love Part 7

Wednesday 29th: Spencer Reid x Reader fic part 2

I have SHLL Part 6 already ready to go and have The Dating Oddessey half written. My Spencer x Reader story is one I wrote ages ago that I'm going to be fixing up and reposting it's currently titled So Whose the Father but I think I'm going to retitle it. It will only be 3 Parts.

The Dating Odyssey: Billy

Eddie Munson/Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington/Jim Hopper/Jonathan Byers x fem!reader

1.7k word count

fluff, idiot reader, reader who can't say no, choose your own adventure-ish

Part 1 / Steve's Ending / Eddie's Ending / Jim's Ending / Jonathan's Ending

Underneath the sapphire sky, you hesitated at the entrance to Hawkins Pool. You hadn't seen Billy since your first pool date a week ago. After a whirlwind of emotions, you decided to take a breather, avoiding him and the others to clear your thoughts. You had felt sure of your decision to pick Billy 4 days ago. You felt sure of your decision every day since. Now, standing there, you wondered if you had made the right decision to meet him again. Would it just stir up more confusion?

You had originally gone to Billys trailer hoping to run into him somewhere a bit more private. You’d stood knocking for almost 15 minutes when Eddie Munsons stepped out of the trailer across the road. He was dressed in nothing but a pair of boxers clearly not long out of bed. He pulled a cigarette from behind his ear, lighting it and smiling across at you.

“If your looking for Hargrove his at work” Eddie called across the road.

“Oh thanks Eddie I guess I’ll head there then” You smiled and tried to make a quick exit.

“Wow, hay there, what’s the rush? What do you want with Billy anyway?” Eddies smile never fell from his face.

“Well honestly Eddie I went on a date with Billy last weekend” You choose to tell him the truth. Eddie deserved that much.

“Oh wow well uh I guess it’s not like we were exclusive or anything” Eddie scratched the back of his neck.

“Sorry Eds, your super sweet and any girl would be lucky to have you but I love Billy” You were honest with him and yourself.

“If you were saying that to high school Eddie I would have told you to run that Billy is bad news but he has changed since high school so if you think he is the one for you then go for it” You could hear the sadness in Eddies voice

“Thank you Eddie, um, maybe you should go for some clothes” You motioned to his boxers.

“Oh this is nothing you should ask Billy about the day he saw my pale naked ass run past his bedroom window” Eddie chuckled.

You shook your laughing at Eddie as he waved and ran back to his trailer. You climbed back into your car and headed towards the Hawkins Community Pool. This brings you to your current predicament. You stood in the parking lot looking at the entrance. Your nerves had hit you all at once. Your thoughts were interrupted by a voice behind you.

"Hey, y/n”

You turned to see Billy, his grin as bright as the sun reflecting off the water. His presence sent a flurry of butterflies into your stomach.

"Hey, Billy," you replied, forcing a smile.

He approached you, his steps confident. "I've been trying to catch you all week. I was starting to think you were avoiding me."

Your cheeks flushed with guilt. "I...I needed some time to think."

Billy nodded understandingly. "I get it. But hey, I'm glad you're here now. Ready for round two?"

“Uh yeah actually  I thought you might like to go for another date this weekend? Maybe make us something a little more official?”

“I would love that” Billy had the brightest smile on his face making your heart skip a beat. “I actually have somewhere I would love to take you but you’d need to be ready early Saturday morning, say around 5am”

“I’ll be ready” You smiled

“Great I need to get back to work, make sure to wear something light that you don’t mind getting wet” Billy gave you a quick kiss on the cheek and jogged back into the pool.

Your stomach was doing leaps and a smile plastered it’s self on your face and you didn’t know if you would ever get it to leave. Billy, you were confident, was the only guy you believed could do that to you. Saturday, just two days to wait and you would have your next date with Billy.

Thursday and Friday flew by. You smiled through the days and Friday night you couldn’t sleep. The nervous energy kept you awake. You planned your outfit out and laid everything out ready for you to grab and put on the next morning. You went to bed at 7pm exactly knowing you need to be up at 4am to be ready on time. You tossed and turned constantly looking at the bedside clock. At some point you had fallen asleep though and you were woken by the alarm clock at 4am. You thought last night that if you didn’t get enough sleep, you would be too tired when you woke up to do anything. Instead, you were full of endless nervous energy. You jumped out of bed and raced into your bathroom. You took a quick shower and got dressed into a simple pair on denim shorts and a white tank top with a bikini underneath. You then rushed into the kitchen fearing you were going to be late, grabbed the pop tarts you had left out the night before quick access and tossed them into the toaster while also flipping on the kettle. You already had your coffee mug out with instant coffee and sugar in it ready for hot water because you were so anxious about being ready on time the night before. As you munched on your pop tarts and waited for the kettle to boil you looked at the clock on the wall. 4:25. Your eyes almost bulged out of your head. How had so little time passed? It just left you more time to panic. The kettle clicked off bringing you back to your breakfast. You poured the hot water into your mug and stirred it before getting the milk from the fridge to add to the cup. You sat at the kitchen bench and sipped at your coffee while waiting for time to pass willing it to move faster. By the time the clock struck 4:55 the coffee mug was empty and had been washed up. You bag was packed for the day ahead. You took a deep breath and made your way to the street below your apartment. You hadn’t even been on the side walk for 5 minutes when the familiar roar of a Camaro engine graced your ears. A smile broke out on your face and you bounced excitedly on your heels. Billy’s blue Camaro came to a stop in front of you and Billy was quick to jumped out and open up the passenger side for you. Once you were seated in the Camaros Billy closed the door and ran back around to the drivers side. He put the Camaro back in gears and began driving out of Hawkins.

“We have about a 3 hour trip ahead of us just so you know” Billy smiled across at you.

“I’m sure we’ll find ways to keep ourselves entertained” You laughed

Billy blasted the music and placed a hand on your knee as he drove. It was as if he had driven this same road many, many times. You took a chance to take in Eddies outfit. He was wearing a pair of black shorts and a white singlet. He had his normal necklace on and sunglasses. He had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He seemed at peace on the road compared to how you had seen him around town. You laid back and closed your eyes allowing the sun coming in to heat your skin. You must have dozed off at some point because you were woken by Billy shaking you.

“We’re here sleepy head” He chuckled.

“The beach?” You sat up and looked around.

“Yep welcome to Chicago, it’s no California but hay it’s a beach” Billy smiled.

He laced his fingers with yours and guided you down towards the ocean. It was perfect beach weather, warm and sunny. You looked out at the water as Billy pulled you onto the beach and began to walk along the waters edge.

“So California huh? Born there or holiday spot?” You asked.

“I was born there, use to go surfing with my Mom, basically lived on the beach” Billy smiled looking out at the water.

“Then why the move to Hawkins?” You asked confused.

“My mom, she…well she left us and my Dad remarried Max’s Mom and he thought after Max tried to run away a few times that it would be best for us to move away. I don’t blame Max at all….well maybe in the beginning but not now” Billy had a look of regret on his face.

“I’m sorry that’s clearly a sore topic for you” You regretted asking.

“No, it’s fine you deserve to know, my dads dead now anyway so it’s not like it matters” Billy shrugged. “Anyway what about you, I know your not local to Hawkins either”

“New York City born and raised. Couldn’t stand city life and needed to go somewhere quite” You smiled up at him.

“Well I for one am glad you made that choice” Billy chuckled

“Me too” You nodded.

Billy quickly swept you up in his arms before running off into the water. You screamed begging him to place you down only to be met with him saying no over and over again. At just the right depth Billy tossed you in. You got to your feet and began splashing at him. Soon you were both surrounded by laughter and love. Everyone else on the beach cease to exist to the two of you. You got so wrapped up in each other to failed to see time getting away from you. Before you knew it the crowds had begun to go home for the day. You and Billy had become quiet as he swum up behind you wrapping his arms around your waist.

"I'm glad you came back," Billy said quietly, breaking the silence.

You turned to him, your heart somersaulting in your chest. "Me too."

Your eyes locked, and in that moment, you knew you had made the right decision. Sometimes, all it took was a leap of faith to find something worth holding onto.

As you emerged from the ocean, the sun sinking below the horizon painted the sky in hues of pink and gold. Hand in hand, You and Billy walked away from the beach, your hearts lighter than they had been in days, ready to face whatever the future held, together.

50 Ways To Say Goodbye

911 x fem!reader

5k word count

Summary The 911 helps you escape your abusive ex but in true 118 dumb, dumb stile they create a bigger problem that Athena has to fix.

fluff, idiots

Warnings mention and description of death, domestic abuse and self-harm.

Note: I've been working on the next part of The Dating Oddessey while listening to some music. 50 Ways To Say Goodbye by Train came on and gave me this idea. Didn't quite turn out how I wanted but its still pretty funny. Also you could take this to mean either Eddie or Buck has feelings for you. Not how I intended it but it's how it came out.

...

Today you had finally done it. You had finally worked up the courage to break up with your horrible excuse for a human ex Bradley. You made sure to break up with him while he was working so you had witnesses. The last thing you needed was him gaslighting you back into the relationship like last time. With witnesses, it was harder for him to say the breakup never happened. 

Today had been planned out for weeks. Your best friends, Eddie and Buck, had been helping you slowly remove your stuff from his house for the last month and taking it to your Dad's place. You did have much, after all, Bradley didn’t allow you to have much. He had to control everything from the furniture to the decorations and even the food kept in the house.

Outside Bradley's workplace Buck and Eddie were waiting for you in Eddie's truck. Your Dad, Bobby, was their boss and had given them the day off to play bodyguard for you. When you walked out the front door with Bradley storming after you both boys were fast to jump out of the truck and jog towards you. Eddie wasn’t going to let him hurt you anymore and Buck didn’t want what happened to his sister Maddie to happen to you for that reason Eddie had hidden a lot of what Bradley had done to you from all your friends and even your Dad. Eddies had been the house you would hide in for days at a time while waiting for bruises to heal. Eddie had been the person to give you that final push you needed to leave. 

“What if next time he kills you y/n? Did you think of that?” Eddie slammed his fist onto his kitchen counter as you held a bag of frozen peas to your soon-to-be black eye. “Do you have any idea what that would do to me? To Chris? Hell, think about your father and Athena. The rest of our friends. We all love you y/n and yet you keep allowing yourself to be treated like shit. You know what if you're going to go back to him this time then I don’t want you in my house, take your things and leave” Eddie had left the kitchen, leaving you standing there shocked to your core. It scared you. More than the beatings. You didn’t want to lose Eddie as your friend, you didn’t want to hurt him or Chris, your family, your friends. Eddie was right enough was enough. 

After that night you had come clean with everyone about what was happening. Athena was quick to offer up their spare room for you and Bobby wouldn’t take no for an answer. Eddie and Maddie had to keep Buck distracted at all times until your items were moved out of Bradley's house because he threatened to kill the guy if he laid eyes on him. So when Buck and Eddie saw him coming up fast behind you screaming at you Eddie made sure to direct Buck to get you out of the way. Buck was quick to slide an arm around your waist and guide you quickly to Eddie's truck. Eddie blocked Bradley from coming any closer to you. You couldn’t hear what was said between the two of them but whatever Eddie said had Bradley ducking back into his building quickly. Eddie waited until the building doors closed behind Bradley before walking back to the truck. He didn’t speak once he started the truck nor did he speak for the entire trip to your Dads. His white knuckles gripped the steering wheel the whole drive there. Their conversation was something that had pissed him off. Once at your Dad's, you excused yourself to go lay down. The day had left you physically and mentally exhausted. 

“It’s okay baby you go rest, your Dad wants to cook you something special for dinner so I’ll come get you when his home and cooking, okay” Athena gave you a loving smile. 

You made your way to the spare room and quickly made yourself comfortable on the bed. As you lay there you could hear Athena talking with Buck and Eddie. 

“She’ll be safe here, trust me if that guy comes anywhere near this house he can consider himself arrested” Athena said

“How long does it take for someone like him to just leave a person alone?” Buck asked 

“Some give up after a few days, some a few weeks, months, years, some never quit” Athena sighed “But this guy I’d say as soon as he has a new target he’ll leave her alone” 

“Athena…” Eddie was cut off by someone banging on the front door. Before anyone could move to open the door what could only be described as a stampede echoed through the house. Heavy boots took staircase steps 2 at a time until the fanfare came to an end in the kitchen where Athena, Eddie and Buck still stood in shock at the interruption.  Stood before them in full uniform fresh from a call were Bobby, Chimney, Hen and Ravi. 

“What in the world are you lot doing in my kitchen?” Athena asked frustration lacing her voice

“Did you get y/n?” Chimney ignored Athena looking straight at Eddie and Buck

“y/n is trying to rest which she won’t be able to do with you lot acting like a bunch of zoo animals” Athena crossed her arms over her chest looking at them all like a disappointed mother. 

“So what's the plan from here how do we keep her ex from intimidating her back into a relationship with him” Hen asked keeping her voice just above a whisper partly to keep from disturbing y/n but mostly to appease Athena. 

“Well, to start Maddie and I are going to take her out for the day tomorrow, take her mind off all this” Athena motioned around the room. 

“Then starting the day after I’ve adjusted our rosters so someone can be here with her around the clock in case he shows up here” Bobby spoke up

“Unfortunately, someone here invited him over for dinner so he knows exactly where we live” Athena threw an accusatory look at Bobby. 

“Maybe she should come to stay with me he has no idea where I live” Eddie offered up. 

“No she’s safer here with Athena” Bobby said “Any sign of trouble and Athena can have the entire LAPD on our doorstep” Bobby smiled at Athena. 

“A Mumma has to protect her babies” Athena smiled back at Bobby. “And besides, he knows all of us and he will likely stalk all of us to get to her”

“So what are we supposed to do just wait for him to lose interest” Buck spoke up frustrated with the situation “I mean you said it yourself Athena it could take years” 

“Or days or weeks or months, the only guaranteed way to get rid of him quick is if y/n died, it’s the only way I’ve seen his type leave their victim alone for good” Athena said. The 118 shared a look, a look of mischief, of a united thought on how to get rid of this threat to their family. Athena knew immediately what they were thinking and quickly began shaking her head and looking between them. 

“Don’t you even think about it” Athena pointed a stern finger at each person standing in her kitchen. “You’ll be causing more problems than what you’ll solve”

…

Despite Athena's warning the 118 decided as a family that if ‘the asshole’ as they affectionately dubbed him showed his face to any of them they would warn him to back off and if he wouldn’t listen they would tell him y/n was dead. It seemed like the perfect plan until it wasn’t. 

The first person to meet him face to face was Chimney. It was 4 days after Eddie and Buck had taken you to live with Bobby and Athena. It was Eddie's day off. He had taken you out for lunch, then you picked Christopher up from school before heading back to Eddies to hang out. Eddie asked if you wanted to stay for dinner and a movie. Christopher who overheard the offer from where he sat in the dining room doing his homework practically begged you to stay. You called Athena to let her know you were going to be out late with Eddie and that he was going to drive you back when the movie ended. Christopher was old enough after all to stay home alone for the 20 minutes it would take Eddie to drop you home. 

Because of this, it was Chimney who got stuck working late at the firehouse. He was the last to leave after finishing off all the small boring end-of-shift jobs like making sure all the dinner dishes were done and the ambulance restocked for the next shift. Bradley had been parked across the road from the station all day watching the team come and go. Your little stunt at his office had cost him his job. He was going to make you pay and he had all the time in the world to make it happen. He waited and counted off your friends as they left. He wanted to make sure that he followed the last person to leave because he knew if he risked following anyone else the rest of your friends would know and his plan would be ruined. He noticed after the first three calls of the shift that one of the guys he had seen you out the front of his office with wasn’t on shift today. He decided it was likely that guy's fault you left him. You’d probably been seeing him behind his back all along. He’d make him pay too. He counted them out one by one as they left the firehouse, first, it was the other guy he’d seen at his office and some Middle Eastern-looking dude. Then that black woman he’d seen you hang out with left. Next was your father. He almost forgot to wait to see him. He wanted to chase him down and run him over with his car but he held it together. He knew there was one more person left. The little Asian guy. When he hadn’t come out after 30 minutes he almost thought he went home earlier and he’d missed him. That was until Chimney walked out of the 118 firehouse almost 45 minutes after his shift had finished. He was talking away on his phone not paying attention to his surroundings creating the perfect situation for a stalker. 

He followed Chimney from the firehouse to one of those 24-hour corner stores. He followed him in close behind, waiting until Chimney was alone in the back of the store. As luck would also have it there were no security cameras in sight. While Chimney was distracted looking at the small selection of diapers the store carried, he took his chance. Before Chimney could respond, he had grabbed him by the shoulder and had him pinned against the diaper shelves he was just looking at. 

“Where is she?” He asked aggressively.

“Who?” Chimney asked shocked but trying to remain calm. He knew exactly who he wanted. 

“Y/n” He held back from yelling in Chimney's face. 

“Y/n? You…you mean you haven’t heard?” Chimney tried his best at putting on a distraught face even willing a few tears to fall. 

“Heard what?” He loosed his grip on Chimney. 

“I’m sorry man, she… she's dead” Chimney said softly trying to lace his voice with sadness. 

“What no! What happened?” He aggressively slammed Chimney back against the shelves. 

“The night Eddie and Buck picked her up from your place she slit her wrists in Bobby and Athena's bathroom” Chimney made himself sob. 

Bradley shook his head in disbelief and ran from the shop. Once out of sight, Chimney let a massive grin break out on his face and he let out a proud chuckle. He grabbed diapers and practically skipped to the counter with them. He was so proud of himself and his lie. He knew if Bradley went looking to see if it was true he would see there had been a call out to Bobby and Athenas that night. It hadn’t been for you thought. Buck being the massive cluts that he is had managed to get his foot stuck in the bin beside the toilet while changing out a light bulb in the sconce above the sink which had stopped working while he was using the toilet. While trying to get the bin off his foot he slipped on the bath mat and fell smacking the back of his head with a loud yet hollow-sounding thunk on the sink, Luckly for Buck he has a thick skull and came out of it with a sore bum, ankle and head and a bruised ego. They still had him taken to the hospital because even though the injuries weren’t that bad he still needed to be cleared of any major head injury before returning to work. 

…

2 days later by chance, he ran into Hen. It was her day off and she was about to come pick you up to go out to the movies but first, she had to run some errands. Bobby wanted to have a barbecue at his place to celebrate family and new beginnings. She was grabbing a few things to take with her when he spotted her. She was about to walk into the supermarket when he walked out. Seeing Hen he decided to take the chance to confirm what Chimney had told him. He grabbed Hen who was distracted by the shopping list on her phone and pulled her to the side of the door. 

“What do you think you're doing? Get your hands off me!” Hen snapped. 

“I’m sorry I just want to talk” He sighed. 

“What do you want?” Hen asked crossing her arms over her chest,

“Is it true?” He asked. 

“Is what true?” Hen asked. 

“Is she dead?” 

“I’m afraid so” Hen dropped her head.

“No, no it can’t be” He looked at the ground. 

“If it means anything she didn’t suffer” Hen put a hand on his shoulder. When he looked up at her confused Hen was quick to drop her hand back by her side. “There was nothing anybody could do for her. I can assure you she died the second the car made contact with the semi, she wasn’t even aware of the fire” 

“A car accident?” He stumbled backwards. He ran away from Hen and made his way into the parking lot. The groceries he had brought were abandoned on the ground. Hen passed a confused look to the parking lot, shrugged and continued with her day. She knew if he went looking he would find a two-vehicle collision between a truck and a car. Y/n was nowhere near the accident but the 118 had responded to the accident so if he looked it up he wouldn’t be able to accuse them of lying. 

…

The very next day Ravi saw Bradley hanging out across the street watching the fire house. Ravi would have run off and grabbed Bobby but he was at home spending time with you. Ravi took a quick look around but couldn’t spot any other members of the 118 to alert. Ravi decided that he was going to have to do something about it himself. He jogged across the road and stood beside Bradley's car. He positioned himself in such a way that if anything should happen anyone watching on in the firehouse would be able to see both Ravi and Bradley in the car. Ravi through a look back at the firehouse and then turned his attention back to Bradley. 

“Any reason you're watching the firehouse?” Ravi asked faking a smile trying to pretend that he didn’t know who the man in the car was. “Are you interested in working for the LAFD? I could get you some information if you want to come inside” Ravi motioned towards the firehouse with an outstretched hand. 

“Oh no, I was just hoping someone could help me get some information on a friend” Bradley put a fake smile on his face. 

“No problem sir if you want to come inside I can set you up in the captain's office and we can all have a couple of officers down to help you” Ravi never once let the smile on his face falter. 

“I don’t want to be a bother” If he stepped foot in the firehouse he knew he would be recognised by the other members of the 118. “My friends' name is Y/n Nash I believe you know her, she’s the fire captain's daughter” 

“Oh y/n, yeah I knew her, um the captain is actually off today, I guess you’re here for the funeral?” Ravi let his smile drop. He tucked his hands into his pockets, rocked back on his heels and looked at the ground. “I could get you the funeral details if you want” 

“No, no it’s fine, when did she die? How did she die? I mean last time I saw her she was healthy, she seemed happy” Bradley knew he was baiting Ravi. He’d already been told two different things. Either your whole team was messing with him or you were messing with them. Either way, he was going to figure it out and track you down. And when he found you he was going to make you pay. 

“Uh she…she was involved in a hit and run, Cap had to decide to turn off her life support. The doctors said she had almost no chance of recovery any way” Ravi looked up to the sky knowing if he looked Bradley in the eyes he might break and smile. 

“I’m so sorry to hear that, I was just in town and thought I would stop in for a minute but I wouldn’t want to be a burden, pass my condolences on to Bobby” Bradley gave Ravi a small smile and pulled away from the firehouse. When he was out of sight Ravi fist-bumped the air and jogged back into the firehouse. As far as Ravi was concerned that was the last time he thought any of you would hear from him. Bradley on the other hand had only gathered more evidence that the 118 was potentially lying to him. 

…

Early the next morning Bradley stalked Eddie to his usual running path. He waited until Eddie was on a particularly quiet portion of the track, hidden from the eyes of the public by bushes and trees. He blocked Eddie's path not allowing him to step around him. Eddie the second he laid eyes on Bradley wanted to punch his lights out but he held his composure. Eddie placed some distance between himself and Bradley before speaking up. 

“What the hell do you want?” Eddie said voice laced with anger. 

“I just want to know what happened to y/n” Bradley put his hands up in surrender. 

“You have no right to ask about her” Eddie snapped “She was so happy until you came along, you broke her down, you isolated her from us, you’re the reason…” Eddie choked on his words. A mixture of real and fake emotions was flowing through Eddie. He was so upset and caught off guard that he almost went off the script. “You’re the reason shes dead” 

“Now Edmundo I don’t believe that for a second” Bradley smirked at Eddie

“Look in my eyes and tell me I’m lying” Eddie growled, “I carried her lifeless body out of her parent's house after she blew her brains out with her mother's gun, I begged and pleaded with god and anyone who would listen to bring her back to me, to us.”

“No, no… you're lying!” Bradley yelled backing away from Eddie. 

“She killed herself because we wouldn’t let her go back to you, maybe we should have, maybe if we did she’d still be here” Eddie's gaze dropped to the ground. The next thing Eddie heard was the sound of someone running away from him. He looked up to see himself once again alone. A smile broke out on his face as he continued with his run. He couldn’t wait to finish up his run, get home, shower and get to work. The only thing that was going to top this was having dinner with you, Buck and Chris tonight. Bradley on the other hand was not so sure what was going on. He found himself confused. Everything Eddie said seemed so genuine. Maybe Bobby and Eddie had told the rest of the team different things to keep them from knowing what happened. He hadn’t seen you around since that day in the office not even with Eddie and Buck even though he knew you’d always run off to them in the past. Still, he had two more people to ask and he wasn’t going to stop until he got the truth. 

…

That afternoon he followed Bobby into a butcher as he looked for the perfect cuts of steak and his favourite burger patties for the weekend during some downtime between calls. He wanted this BBQ to be reminiscent of the BBQs that you had when you were a kid even though, Mum, Robbie and Brook weren’t here anymore and you’d felt like he had tried to replace them with Athena, May and Harry. You’d grown to love them like Bobby did and accepted them as your family. Bobbys plans came to a halt when Bradley grabbed him by the arm and spun him to look at him. Bobby went from shocked to furious in seconds. Bradley could tell immediately that Bobby was not impressed to see him. 

“I’m not trying to start anything” Bradley puts his hands up in defence “I just need to know…”

“Need to know what?” Bobby snaps crossing his arms across his chest making himself larger and more intimidating. 

“Is she dead?” He asked. 

“My daughter? My child who you destroyed so completely that she couldn’t see her self-worth. Yes, she’s dead and it's all your fault” Bobby was now shaking with anger, his arms hung limp at his side and his gaze had met the floor. “I had to scrape her brains off every surface of my guest room, all my children are now gone, I couldn’t save any of them, what kind of father can’t protect his children?” Bobby looked up to where Bradley had been standing to find that he at some point had run off. Bobby looked around the empty store and shrugged. Had he been a little overdramatic sure but he didn’t think he’d been that bad. With a smile plastered on his face, he went back to picking out the steaks for the weekend and hoped that would be the last time he would have to see Bradley. 

…

The next morning Buck found himself running late for his shift. Chris insisted on watching a movie with everyone the night before but fell asleep not 15 minutes into the film despite insisting to Eddie that he was not sleepy at all. Eddie carried Chris to bed and decided that since the movie had started you might as well watch it. It was one of your and Chris's favourites. Eddie was sick of watching the movie on repeat and Buck had somehow had the blessing of not being subject to FernGully until now. After the movie, Buck drove you home. This meant he didn’t get home until almost 11 pm and he had to be at the station at 7 am. Bradley had spotted Buck on his drive home and decided to camp out the front of Buck's apartment building for the night. When Buck stumbled out the front door in a rushed mess the next morning Bradley was there to greet him. 

“I’m not here to start a fight, I just need answers” He held his hands up in defence. 

“What the hell do you need answers for?” If looks could kill Bradley would be dead with how Buck looked at him.

“I just want to know if y/n is dead” Bradley moved further back from Buck out of fear of getting hit.

“Dead” Buck yelled and got so close to Bradley that their chests were almost touching “Why do think it’s any of your business to know what’s happening with y/n?” 

“I just heard rumours and wanted to know” Bradley flinched away from Buck. 

“You wanted to know? You wanted to know?” Buck looked away and scoffed “Yes she’s dead alright, she killed herself, you have no idea what it’s like to be called out to a scene where someone you love has killed themselves, to see their blood all over and know that nothing you can do will save them. To see them choking on their blood as it spills out of their open throat” 

Bradley had gone pale, so pale that Buck thought he was going to faint. For a split moment, Buck felt bad, made be he had been too harsh and taken things too far. Bradley quickly crossed back across the road to his car and took off before any more words could be exchanged. Buck shrugged and quickly made his way to work running even more late now. But that was normal for Buck so he knew no one would question him and he wouldn’t have to tell anyone about running into Bradley. 

…

Finally, Saturday rolled around 2 days later. You had been kept busy all morning by Athena who had you help put out her good wine glasses, set the table for lunch, and do other small tasks. Eddie, Christopher and Buck had shown up around 10 am because Chris was too impatient and excited to hang out with his favourite person. You were so distracted with Chris that before you knew it, the rest of the 118 had arrived. Bobby and Buck were manning the BBQ, Chris was off playing with Danny and Mara, Hen, Chimney, Ravi, Karen and Maddie were busy talking among themselves. Athena was busy drifting around the kitchen while Eddie stood outside next to you watching the kids play. 

“I’m glad you left him” Eddie broke the silence. 

“Me too” You smiled up at him “Thank you for knocking some sense into me”. 

“Okay everyone lunch is ready!” Bobby called bringing a tray of meat into the dining room. 

Everyone sat around the table. Athena had set the kids up at their table out in the yard which made them think they were the coolest kids ever. She even gave them their plastic wine glasses to drink juice from. You were in the middle of one of the greatest lunches you’d ever had when there was an overly aggressive knock on the door. Before Athena or Bobby could move to answer the door someone yelled through the front door.

“I know you're all in there, I want answers and I want them now!” Bradley screamed through the door. 

“What in the world?” Athena looked towards the landing where the front door was. 

“What’s he doing here?” Buck looked around the table. 

“I guess this means the plan didn’t work” Chimney looked between everyone. 

“What plan?” Athena looked at Chimney. 

“Uh, well, uh, Bobby do you want to explain it” Chimney looked to Bobby. 

“You brought it up” Bobby motioned back to Athena. 

“What plan?” Athena stood up, crossed her arms and started tapping her foot. 

The 118 shared panicked glances while you, Maddie and Karen looked around the table confused. 

“Robert Wade Nash you better start speaking or so help me god you’ll be sleeping at the firehouse tonight” Athena levelled her attention on Bobby. 

“We might have told him y/n was dead” Bobby said 

“Dead” Athena looked around the table “After I told you not to tell him that you went and did it anyway” 

“Well in all fairness Athena I was the one who told him she was dead” Buck admitted looking at his plate. 

“You? No, I told him” Chimney jumped in. 

“Wait but I told him she was dead like a week ago” Hen added. “Oh god what have we done” 

“One at a time, how did you all say she died” Athena asked the table. 

“Slit her wrists,” Chimney said

“Hit and Run,” Ravi said

“Car accident,” Hen said

 “Shot herself with your gun,” Bobby said

“Slit her throat,” Buck said

“Same as Bobby,” Eddie said

You, Maddie and Karen, were trying to hold it together despite all having a bad case of the giggles. Athena was done with the entire 118 at this point and it was clear from the look on Bobbys face he was already trying to decide who would let him crash on their lounge tonight. 

“If you weren’t going to listen couldn’t you all have at least agreed on how she died” Athena sighed. 

“I’ll go deal with” Bobby went to stand up. 

“No you’ve done enough damage” Athena left the table. 

Athena went to open the door while everyone else quietly got up from the table and came to peak around the corner. Bradley was still furiously banging on the door when Athena answered it. 

“What do you want?” Athena asked angrily.

“I need the truth, I’ve been told so many different things over the last week,” Bradley said “Tell me the truth and I’ll leave you alone” 

“Yes y/n is dead, yes she killed herself with my gun, no we haven’t told everyone, now if you don’t mind we’re currently having her wake” Athena crossed her arms. 

“I’m so sorry” Bradley quickly turned on his heels and ran off up the driveway out of sight. 

Athena took a deep breath and closed the door. 

“When I turn around you all best be at that table eating” 

Meeting the Firefam

Eddie x reader

~1600 words

Warnings: epileptic reader. Hopefully accurately portrayed.

You parked in front of the station and turned off the ignition. Taking one final deep breath, you pushed the door open and stepped out. You didn't know why you were so nervous. Meeting Eddie’s coworkers shouldn't seem so frightening.

What if they hated you? What if they told him to break up with you? You knew they were more like family to him than just coworkers. Their opinions mattered a lot. You had only been dating him a little over a month but you had fallen hard. You really couldn't imagine your life without him and Chris and even Carla.

You needed them to like you.

Making your way inside, you quickly spotted Eddie as he approached. You greeted him with a kiss before he pulled you into a hug.

“Hey, you. How was traffic?” He asked.

You shrugged. “Normal. Slow.” Eddie knew it was your least favorite part about LA.

“I think lunch is almost ready. You ready to meet everyone?”

“No.” You wrapped your hands around his bicep as he started walking toward the trucks.

He leaned over and kissed your temple. “I told you they’re going to love you. You have nothing to worry about.” He pulled you along with him towards Buck and another firefighter beside the truck.

Buck smiled when he spotted you. “Hey, Y/N. Glad you finally decided to come have lunch with us.”

“Hi, Buck. Someone has been persistent.” You looked at Eddie just in time to catch his shrug.

“Y/N, this is Ravi.” Eddie introduced.

Ravi lifted his hand for you to shake. “Nice to finally meet you.”

“You too.”

Eddie pulled you away towards the stairs that led to the loft. You couldn't help but look around at everything. “This is a beautiful building.”

Eddie nodded. “I agree. It's my favorite station in the city.”

You had barely made it to the top of the stairs before you were being engulfed in hugs. “Oh, uh, hi.”

Eddie chuckled. “This is Hen and Chimney.”

“We are so excited to finally meet you. Eddie here won't shut up about you,” Chimney said.

You glanced at Eddie, catching him trying to hide his blush. “I don't talk about her that much,” he argued.

“Constantly,” Hen mouthed at you with a grin.

Next, Eddie led you over to the kitchen. “And this is Cap.”

The man in front of the stove wiped his hands on a dish towel before reaching out for a handshake. “It's Bobby.”

“Nice to meet you. It smells amazing in here.”

Bobby smiled. “Well, thank you. This will be done in a few minutes. Eddie, can you grab everyone down stairs?”

“On it.” Eddie pointed to the couches. “You can make yourself comfortable over there.”

Within ten minutes, everyone was getting settled at the table. Eddie took your hand to pull you up from the couch. As he pulled out a chair for you, you suddenly felt your left arm go numb.

“Oh no.” You mumbled. You reached out towards Eddie as your knees buckled and the world around you disappeared.

Eddie was quick to catch you before you could hit the ground. “Woah. Y/N?” When you didn't open your eyes he slowly lowered you to the floor. Seconds later you were convulsing violently. Eddie couldn't help but to just stare at you in shock.

Chim was on the floor beside Eddie a second later. “Eddie, we got her.”

“I'll grab a med kit,” Hen announced as she ran for the stairs.

Chimney kept you rolled on your side. Bobby stepped closer to pull Eddie away. “They need room to work.”

Eddie tried to resist. “I should help.”

Buck stepped beside his best friend to keep him out of the way.

Bobby stepped towards you and grabbed your foot, pulling off your shoe. “Medical alert. Epilepsy.” He pointed at the shoelace tag as he looked towards Eddie.

Eddie shook his head. “I didn't know. Why didn't she tell me?”

Hen returned with a monitor and med kit and Chim filled her in. “Epilepsy. Let's just give it a minute.”

Eddie pushes past Buck and sat down on the ground by your head. He whispered soft reassurances in case you could hear him.

Chim pulled a pulse ox monitor out of the med kit and clipped it on your finger.

“She's barely breathing,” Eddie pointed out. He knew that was common with seizures but still couldn't help the mild panic he felt.

“That's normal,” Hen reminded him. She started to attach an oxygen mask to the tank she’d carried upstairs just in case.

Next, Chim started to attach cardiac leads to your chest. Once he'd finished, they waited for the seizure to stop.

“That's five minutes,” Bobby pointed out.

Hen and Chim sighed as they locked eyes with each other. “Alright, let's push Ativan,” Chim said.

“I'll start an IV,” Hen announced. “Eddie can you hold her arm?” He did as asked, trying to hold your arm as still as possible without hurting you. “I'm in.”

Chim pushed the meds he'd drawn up as soon as IV was secured. It took about another twenty seconds for the seizure to finally stop.

Everyone let out a relieved breath. Eddie pushed some hair back behind your ear.

“Let's get her loaded up and to the hospital,” Chimney broke the momentary silence.

Hen nodded. “I'll go radio dispatch and get ready.”

Within five minutes you were loaded into the ambulance with Eddie and Chim beside you as Hen shifted into drive.

“Ugh.” You groaned a few minutes later. “N-no hospital,” you mumbled out fighting your grogginess.

Eddie ran his hand over your head. “Yes, hospital.”

You huffed, frustrated you can't get the words out to explain. “E-epi–”

“We know about your epilepsy, we found your alert tag,” Eddie interrupted. “Sweetheart, your seizure lasted almost six minutes. Hen and Chim had to push meds to stop it. You have to go in.”

Your eyebrows rose in surprise. Suddenly you were glad you'd been with them for lunch and not alone at home. You knew he was right and allowed yourself to relax. “Tired.”

Eddie pressed a kiss to your knuckles. “That's the medicine. You can sleep.”

You nodded as your eyes drifted closed. You weren't sure you could have stayed awake even if you'd tried.

A few hours later, you were finally settled into a room after being poked and prodded. They had run all kinds of tests trying to figure out what might have caused the long seizure.

“Anything I can get for you?” the nurse asked.

You shook your head as you shifted in an attempt to find a comfortable position. Every muscle was sore.

“Okay. I'll let your visitors know they can come in now, if that's alright with you,” the nurse says as she walks toward the door.

“Visitors? Plural?” You ask surprised.

“You have a whole herd of firefighters waiting out there for you,” she explains.

“Oh, wow. Could you just send Eddie in for now?”

She smiles kindly. “Of course, honey.”

Eddie pushes the door open not five minutes later. He pulls up a chair and takes your hand in his, careful to avoid your IV line.

“Hi,” you greeted

“Hi. How ya feeling?” He asked.

“Kinda like someone put me through a blender.”

He chuckled and nodded. “You scared me. I'm just glad Bobby noticed your medical alert tag.”

“I'm sorry,” you sighed. “This is definitely not how I planned to tell you about my epilepsy.”

He locks eyes with you. “So you were planning to tell me.” He looks annoyed or maybe hurt that you hadn't already told him.

“Eventually.” You drop your gaze to the bed. “It's not exactly an easy conversation. It's caused a few break ups over the years.”

“What do you mean?” He looks genuinely confused.

“I'm too much to deal with. No one wants to deal with seizures,” you try to explain. “And you already have to deal with sick people all day at work. I'm sure the last thing you want to do is deal with the same at home.” You sniffle. “I'll understand if you want out now.”

“Y/N,” Eddie said, placing a finger under your chin to make you look at him. “I love you. This could never change that. Any guy who dumped you because of this is an asshole.”

Tears rolled down your face before you were suddenly sobbing, relief washing over you in waves.

Eddie moved quickly to sit beside you on the bed. Pulling you into his side and shishing you softly.

You had been so worried about telling him for so long. “I-I'm sorry. I should have told you.” You sniffled harshly. “I should have known you'd accept this part of me.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. I know now. That's all that matters.”

Eventually you calmed down but you were beyond exhausted. “Hey, isn't everyone still out there waiting?”

“Yeah.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I'll text them that you're okay and let them know they can head home.”

Placing a hand over his screen, you shook your head. “No. I want to see them.”

“You need to rest,” he argued. “They can come back tomorrow or we can go to the station if you're discharged.”

“Just a quick visit. Please? Fifteen minutes.”

Sighing, he stood from where he was still perched on the bed. “Ten.”

“Deal.”

Supernatural, Hunting, Living and Love (Revisited) Part 5

Dean Winchester x fem!reader

3.5k word count

Summary The part in which the hunt goes terribly wrong and you can't wait to be rid of The Winchesters.

fluff, idiots in love, friends to lovers, slow-burn

Warnings mention and description of death, and physical assault.

Note: This chapter is slightly shorter than normal but it ended exactly how I wanted it to end. Also sorry not sorry for the ending. By no means is this the end of the tale, however!

Original / Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

Dean stepped out of Theresa's house, the creaking wooden porch echoing beneath his boots. The crisp evening air greeted him as he closed the door behind him. I had spent four hours daydreaming, staring at the dying grass, happily ignoring the existence of the Winchesters.

"Hey, y/n," Dean said, his voice carrying a mix of determination and weariness. "Is the truck ready to hit the road?"

A flicker of pride danced in Dean's eyes. "Yeah, she's purring like a kitten again. We're good to go."

"Then what's holding you back?" I asked, sensing there was more to Dean's hesitation.

Dean sighed, the weight of the hunt evident in the furrow of his brow. "Thing is, Sam and I figured we'd wait until nightfall before we make our move. The less attention we draw, the better."

I understood his reasoning. In the world of hunters and hunted, stealth was often our greatest ally. "Playing it safe. Smart move."

Dean nodded, a ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Yeah, well, you know how it goes. Better safe than sorry."

The evening cast long shadows across the front of Theresa's house as Dean joined me on the steps, a palpable tension hanging in the air. I wanted, in that moment, to move away from Dean—to stand up and run away, to hide in Theresa's house while waiting for night to fall. And yet, at the same time, I wanted to move closer to him, fall into his arms, rest against his warm, chiseled chest. I wanted to hold on to him and never let go.

Leaning back against the weathered wood, Dean cleared his throat, breaking the uneasy silence. "Hey, you've been kinda all over the place and distant today. Everything okay?"

I shifted uncomfortably, my gaze fixed on the ground as if searching for the right words. "Yeah, I'm fine, Dean. Just... thinking."

Dean arched an eyebrow, not convinced by my response. "Come on, don't give me that. I can tell something's been bothering you. You've been acting off all day."

The words weighed heavily on my tongue as I gathered the courage to speak up. "Dean, last night... I overheard your conversation with Sam," I began, my voice trembling slightly.

His reaction was a mix of surprise and concern, his green eyes searching mine for any hint of what I might have heard. "And... what did you hear?"

Taking a deep breath, I recounted the painful revelation. "Sam mentioned how he feels like I'm a distraction to you, that I might be holding you back from focusing on the hunt. And you said you'd get over me, forget about me, once you’re back in the US."

Dean's expression darkened with guilt, and I immediately regretted bringing up such a sensitive topic. "I'm sorry you had to hear that. It wasn’t fair to you."

I shook my head, reaching out to reassure him. I placed a hand firmly on his shoulder. "It's okay, Dean. I understand. You and Sam have your own worries, your own struggles. I just wanted to be honest about what I overheard."

He sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "I don't want you to ever feel like you're just a distraction, because you're not. You're a valuable member of the team, and I'm glad you're here with us."

"Do you see me as just a part of the team, another hunter, and nothing more?" I blurted out, the question hanging heavily between us.

Dean's expression softened, his eyes searching mine with a depth of emotion that took me by surprise. "No, of course not. You're more than that, you know?" He hesitated, as if weighing his next words carefully. "You’re important to me, y/n. More than just a team member."

A mix of relief and vulnerability washed over me as I looked at him, the weight of unspoken feelings suddenly feeling a bit lighter. "I... I’m glad to hear that."

Dean gave me a small, reassuring smile, and we fell into a companionable silence, the tension easing as the evening shadows deepened. The night was coming, and with it, a new chapter of our hunt—and perhaps, a new understanding of what lay between us.

I furrowed my brow, uncertain of his meaning. "What do you mean?"

A ghost of a smile tugged at the corners of Dean's lips as he spoke. "You're family, just like Sam and me. We've been through a lot together, and that means something. It means you're not just another hunter to us. You're someone we care about, someone we trust."

"It seems like Sam doesn't fully trust me," I said, my voice tinged with frustration and concern.

Dean's expression softened, understanding dawning in his eyes. "Sam's always been cautious around new people, especially after everything we've been through. It's nothing personal, trust me."

His reassurance was comforting, but there was another question burning inside me, one I couldn’t ignore any longer.

"And what about you, Dean?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. "How do you feel about me? Do you... have feelings for me?"

Dean's gaze softened, his features betraying a hint of vulnerability. "I... I care about you, more than I probably should. You're brave and strong, and... damn it, you've saved our asses more times than I can count."

I held my breath, waiting for him to continue, to reveal the depths of his feelings.

"But..." Dean hesitated, his gaze flickering with uncertainty. "I don’t know if it’s... more than that. I don’t know if I can allow myself to feel that way, considering everything else that's going on."

His words stung, a pang of disappointment twisting in my chest. But I understood his reluctance, his fear of opening himself up to potential pain and loss.

"It’s okay, Dean," I said, forcing a smile despite the ache in my heart. "I understand."

I forced myself up from where I was sitting and made my way back inside. Stepping into the cool interior of Theresa's house, I welcomed the quiet, seeking refuge from the intensity of the conversation with Dean.

Leaning against the wall, I closed my eyes, trying to calm the storm raging within me. The air was thick with uncertainty, each breath a struggle against the weight of my own conflicted feelings.

Outside, Dean's voice drifted through the open window, a constant reminder of the tangled mess I found myself in. But I couldn't face him right now. Not when every moment spent in his presence only deepened the confusion in my heart.

Instead of letting my mind wander, I honed in on the task ahead. All I wanted was to banish the ghost, end this nightmare, and send Dean back to the States where he belonged. With a determined sigh, I pushed aside my doubts and fears, steeling myself for the battle to come. I had a job to do, and nothing—not even the tangled mess of emotions swirling around Dean—would stand in my way.

As I prepared to face the darkness outside, a silent vow echoed in the recesses of my mind: I would banish the ghost, send Dean packing, and finally close this chapter of my life once and for all.

By the time I had pulled myself together enough to face the Winchesters again, night had fallen. The brothers were busy making plans with Theresa on how to retrieve the cursed pole from the scrapyard and bring it back to burn in her yard. Theresa, however, was stuck on how they planned to actually burn the pole, barely listening to the rest of the plan.

"While you do that, I’m going to hang by the pool and make sure your pole burning actually works," I said, moving toward my car.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up," Dean jogged over, placing a hand on my car door to stop me from leaving. "You’re not going alone. What if the spirit decides to go after you?"

"And why would the spirit come after me? Could it be because your dear brother sees me as a massive burden on you, and in turn, on him?" I crossed my arms, glaring over Dean’s shoulder at Sam, who simply huffed and rolled his eyes. "Who better to draw the spirit out and make sure it’s gone for good?"

"Exactly. I’ll come with you. Theresa can go with Sam," Dean said, glancing back at them. "I need to make sure you’re safe."

I rolled my eyes, shoved Dean’s hand out of the way, and climbed into the car. I started it up, revving the engine. Before I could make my escape, Dean dashed around to the other side of the car and jumped in. Sam got into their car, and Theresa hopped into the ute parked in front of her house. We parted ways—Theresa and Sam heading towards the junkyard, while Dean and I drove in awkward silence toward the pool. Sure, I was probably being reckless, but I couldn’t care less. I just wanted the Winchesters out of my life for good.

I could see Dean out of the corner of my eye, opening and closing his mouth, fidgeting in his seat like he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words. I pulled into the pool parking lot, stopping directly in front of the entry doors. I turned off the car, pocketed the keys, and exited before Dean could react.

Having broken into the pool countless times during my high school days, I knew about the hole someone had cut in the less secure side fence behind the building housing the outdoor pool pumps. Dean didn’t know this. Before he could register what was happening or even get out of the car, I locked it, smiled at him through the window, waved quickly, and bolted. I knew Dean was familiar with the Impala’s inner workings, so it wouldn’t take him long to unlock the door. But I used my head start to duck into the bushes along the side of the pool, hoping his size would slow him down or force him to take the long way around the building.

It took me less than five minutes to reach the hole in the fence. As I slipped through, my forearm caught on a sharp wire that hadn’t been cut back, and I felt warm blood trickling down my arm. Cursing under my breath, I checked the damage—a decent four-centimeter gash that might need stitches, but nothing that couldn’t wait.

Inside the building, I wandered around before settling in the adults-only area of the pool, which offered a good view of most of the interior. I pulled out my phone and shot a quick message to Theresa to check on their progress. The building was eerily quiet, so I allowed myself to relax, lying back on one of the sun chairs. If the spirit decided to make a move or if Dean entered the building, I’d hear it. Just a few more hours, and I’d be rid of the Winchesters for good.

I’d already made mental plans during the day—after this, I’d hit the road and head toward the Sunshine Coast, where there was a possible vampire nest that needed investigating. All I needed was the green light that the spirit was gone, and I’d be out of here.

As if reading my mind, my phone began to ring, jolting me back to reality. I cursed under my breath as I answered.

“Theresa, you better have a good reason for scaring the life out of me,” I nearly yelled into the phone.

“Sorry, Dean wasn’t answering,” Theresa replied quickly. “Anyway, we’ve got the pole and we’re headed back to my place. Sam thinks he’s figured out a way to not exactly burn the pole, but to burn anything that might be inside it.”

“Great. Let me know when it’s done; all is quiet here,” I sighed, glancing around the eerily silent building.

“Okay, will do.”

As Theresa hung up, I stood and began to check the building. It was strange that I’d been sitting here for so long, and yet Dean hadn’t made it inside. Part of me worried that something had happened to him, but another part couldn’t help but hope he was still stuck in the car. I made my way toward the front doors, figuring I should be able to see straight into my car from there.

I walked between the pools and the adults-only balcony, heading for the ramp that led to the front door and the changing rooms. I kept my eyes peeled, just in case Dean had managed to slip inside before I got there. A flicker of guilt tugged at me—maybe he really was trapped in the car without a way out—but then again, a part of me thought he kind of deserved it. Or worse, maybe he had decided I deserved to be alone in the building, which would be a clear sign that he had no feelings for me at all.

As I crept past the changing rooms, I glanced inside. Both were as empty and eerie as the rest of the building. Standing outside the changing rooms, where the ramp doubled back on itself toward the reception area, I realized I couldn’t see my Impala from this angle. For a moment, a wild thought crossed my mind—what if Dean had hot-wired it and driven off, leaving me here? It wouldn’t be the first time I’d deserved something like that.

I continued up the ramp, stealing one last glance into the pool area, which remained as empty as when I’d left it. When I finally turned back to the reception area, I could see the front doors and my Impala parked exactly where I’d left it—except Dean was no longer inside.

“Dean?” I called out into the empty building.

Silence greeted me. I turned away from the door, back toward the reception desk. There were only so many places he could be hiding if he’d made it inside, and I should have heard him the moment he entered. After all, those boots of his were loud and distinctive.

"Dean," I called out again, my voice echoing through the empty building as I moved toward the office space behind the reception desk. I navigated behind the counter, heading for the first of the three small offices. Each space was identical: a desk, a chair, some boxes—typical office clutter. A quick glance was all it took to confirm they were empty.

After closing the door to the third office, I turned around—and nearly ran into something.

“Jesus, Dean!” I gasped, stumbling back with my hand clutching my chest. “How are you so quiet?”

I looked up at him, but something was off. Dean’s expression was void of any emotion, his eyes vacant. This wasn’t Dean anymore. Deep down, I knew the spirit had possessed him—but why?

Without thinking, I bolted toward the pool area, fumbling to pull out my phone to call Sam and Theresa.

“Where do you think you’re going, Y/N?” The voice that came from Dean wasn’t his; it was deeper, darker, like something from a nightmare.

The sheer malice in his tone startled me so badly that I tripped, sending my phone flying down the ramp. It smashed against the wall between the changing rooms, shattering into pieces. I scrambled to gather the remnants, but the damage was done. My phone was beyond repair.

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Dean—or the thing inside him—standing at the top of the ramp, watching me. I scrambled to my feet and sprinted toward the pools, my only thought to stay out of his reach until Sam and Theresa could burn the cursed pole. It had to have been at least 20 minutes since I last spoke to them; they should have been done by now.

I ducked between the pools, making a beeline for the adults-only balcony, praying that putting some distance and a fence between us might buy me a few precious moments. I raced up the stairs and slammed the gate shut behind me, shoving the nearest sun chair against it. Desperately, I grabbed another chair, but before I could secure it, Dean appeared at the top of the steps, a dark, chilling laugh escaping his lips. The kind of laugh that didn’t belong in real life, but in a horror movie.

"Oh, sweetheart, do you really think a couple of chairs in front of a gate is going to stop me?" His voice was laced with malice, sending a shiver down my spine. “I’ve already begun to think of all the ways your precious Dean could end you.”

“W-why? Why Dean?” I stammered, fear choking my voice.

“Why? Because you’re nothing but a distraction to Dean. So why not Dean? Why not give him the push he needs to remove the biggest pain in the ass in his life?” Dean—or rather, the spirit—yelled, pointing a finger violently in my direction. “It’s all right here in Dean’s head. You haunt his every waking thought. From the moment he first met you, he’s been distracted by the mere thought of you. He’s almost gotten Sam killed, gotten himself killed, all because of you. So why not have him remove the problem? Doesn’t it seem fitting?”

An evil, inhuman grin spread across Dean’s face. In a matter of seconds, the grin vanished as he smashed through the gate. I stood frozen in place, paralyzed by the horror of what he’d just said.

In a few quick strides, Dean closed the distance between us. His hand clamped around my throat, lifting me off the ground and pinning me against the wall. My eyes widened as I caught a brief flicker of recognition in his eyes—Dean was fighting to regain control—but the spirit quickly overpowered him.

Dean’s grip tightened around my throat. I clawed at his hand, gasping for air as the world began to blur. He leaned in close, his face inches from mine.

"Let's make this fun, shall we?" Dean's breath was hot against my face, laced with a twisted cruelty that didn’t belong to him.

Before I could react, Dean hurled me clear across the balcony. My body slammed into the glass wall on the opposite side with such force that I heard it crack. I barely had time to register the pain before he was on top of me again, yanking me up and slamming my back against the railing. The sound of glass shattering and falling to the ground below filled the air. I silently prayed that any second now, the pole would be burnt and the spirit would be gone. I just had to hold on.

"Sorry, Dean," I muttered, summoning every ounce of strength I had left. I kicked him hard between the legs.

He dropped me, stumbling back in pain. It was my only chance. Without hesitation, I slid through the broken glass wall, but I misjudged the height of the drop. Instead of landing on the down ramp, I plummeted to the lower level. Pain shot through me as I hit the ground, a sickening pop signaling that my ankle was dislocated.

Desperate, I began crawling, ignoring the sharp sting of broken glass slicing into my hands and knees. The chlorinated water on the floor seeped into the cuts, intensifying the agony. Behind me, I could hear the unmistakable sound of Dean’s boots on the cement floor—he had recovered quickly, too quickly.

"Now, now, Y/N. I'm going to make you regret that decision," he taunted, his voice dripping with malice.

A sharp, unbearable pain shot through my arm as Dean's boot came down on it, a loud crack echoing through the room. A bloodcurdling scream tore from my throat, but it only seemed to fuel the spirit's sadistic pleasure. Dean's hand tangled in my hair, yanking me across the floor toward the edge of the wave pool. Still clutching my hair, he lifted me and dropped me into the pool's deep end.

I knew I was in trouble. With my dislocated ankle and broken arm, there was no way I could swim back up. Even if I somehow managed to push off the bottom, Dean would just shove me under again. As I sank, I looked up at Dean’s wavy silhouette, his figure distorted by the water. My lungs burned, begging for air, but I couldn’t reach the surface. My foot brushed the bottom of the pool as the edges of my vision started to go black. This was it—the end. A strange sense of relief washed over me. Relief that Dean would no longer have to worry about me, that Sam could finally be free of his burden, and that my parents would no longer have to deal with their problem child.

Just as the darkness closed in, I saw a bright flash of light above me. Dean's silhouette crumpled to the ground, and then everything went black.

Oh no mistakes were made! Tumblr what have you done to me!!!! I confidently finished and submitted my Web Design assignment only to then go back and look at the Tumblr screenshot I used for my example and welp....

I am mortified! My Uni assignment has now been smut bombed and by Eddie Munson none the less!

i'm having so much fun

It's should by a crime how sweet Rob, Richard and Elizabeth are! I also got to meet Jared and Jensen and get their autographs and well we all know how awesome our boys are!

The time has come!

The Dating Odyssey: Jim

Eddie Munson/Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington/Jim Hopper/Jonathan Byers x fem!reader

2.7k word count

fluff, idiot reader, reader who can't say no, choose your own adventure-ish

Part 1 / Steve's Ending / Eddie's Ending / Billy's Ending / Jonathan's Ending

Out of all the dates you'd been on one stood out to you. You knew Jim was older then you. 25 years your senior but something felt right. After the romantic dinner, every moment feels overshadowed by the memory of that evening. The restaurant had been perfect, a quiet, dimly lit corner of the world that seemed to exist solely for the two of you. There was something about the way the candlelight flickered in his eyes, casting a warm glow that made him seem almost ethereal. The conversation flowed as smoothly as the wine, with laughter punctuating the night, creating a melody that you wish could play on repeat.

Now, days later, you find yourself unable to shake the memory of that dinner from your mind. It's in the quiet moments, when the world slows down, that your thoughts drift back to Jim. You replay conversations, dissecting every word, every glance, and every smile, as if trying to decode a deeper meaning. The taste of the wine, the sound of his laughter, the warmth of his gaze—it all haunts you in the most bittersweet way.

You try to focus on daily tasks, but mundane moments become filled with flashes of that night. A song on the radio brings you back to the moment he mentioned his favourite band, and suddenly you're standing in the restaurant again, hanging on his every word. The scent of your morning coffee reminds you of the way they described his love for espresso, and you're left wondering if Jim's thinking of you too.

The realisation hits you in waves—the way your heart seems to beat a little faster when you remember the softness of his voice, or how a simple memory can bring an involuntary smile to your face. You find yourself picking up your phone more often than usual, half hoping, half fearing he might reach out. Or any of your dates for that matter.

It's not just the memory of the dinner that captivates you; it's the possibility of what might come next. The uncertainty is thrilling yet terrifying, a delicate balance between wanting to dive headfirst into this budding connection and the fear of rushing into the unknown.

You start to notice how the anticipation of seeing Jim again fills you with a mix of excitement and anxiety. The thought of replicating the magic of that night, of finding new ways to connect and deepen your understanding of one another, becomes a constant companion in your thoughts.

As you lie awake at night, replaying the events of the dinner in your mind, you realize that this is more than just a lingering memory—it's the beginning of something profound. The realization that you're perhaps on the precipice of falling deeply for someone based on one night of shared laughter, confessions, and connection is both exhilarating and daunting.

The romantic dinner has become a turning point, a before and after in your life, marking the moment you became utterly captivated by someone who now occupies your every thought. And as you navigate through this haze of longing and anticipation, you can't help but wonder if his feeling the same way, if you're as unforgettable to him as he is to you.

Driving past the Police Station became part of your daily routine. Yet you never dared to enter the station for fear of Jim having changed his mind about you. You had already told the others you weren't interested in any further dates with them which was met with both anger and sadness. Still you couldn't bring yourself to walk through the Police Station stairs.

After driving past the station today you decided to go check out Benny's burgers. For all the time you'd spent in Hawkins you were yet to check out the burger place. Apparently it had the best burger around or at least that it was Jim had said on your date. Actually Eddie and Steve had said the same thing.

You step into Benny's Burgers, the scent of sizzling beef and melted cheese enveloping you as you take in the cozy atmosphere of the diner. Red vinyl booths line the walls, each illuminated by the soft glow of pendant lamps hanging overhead. The sound of classic rock tunes fills the air, adding to the nostalgic charm of the place.

Making your way through the bustling crowd of patrons, you find solace in a booth tucked away in the far corner. The worn leather upholstery invites you to sink into its embrace as you peruse the menu, each item tempting you with promises of savoury delights.

Caught in the throes of indecision, you're suddenly interrupted by the unmistakable presence of the sheriff. His imposing figure cuts through the crowd with confidence, his eyes locking onto yours with a knowing glint. With a nod of recognition, he makes his way over to your booth, a smile playing at the corners of his lips.

"Mind if I join you?" he asks, already sliding into the seat across from you before you can muster a response. "I couldn't help but notice you're struggling with the menu. Let me make a recommendation."

Before you can protest, he's already flagging down a waitress and ordering Benny's Famous Beef Burger and two large milkshakes without missing a beat. "Trust me," he says with a wink, "it's the best in the country."

As you wait for your meal, the sheriff engages you in conversation, effortlessly steering the topic towards the romantic dinner you had recently. His words are laced with genuine warmth as he reminisces about the evening, recounting moments shared and laughter exchanged.

Despite the unexpectedness of his presence and the surrealness of the situation, you find yourself drawn in by his easy charm and genuine interest. In the dimly lit booth of Benny's Burgers, surrounded by the comforting hum of conversation and the tantalising aroma of food, you realise that sometimes the most memorable moments happen when you least expect them.

As the waitress sets down the burgers in front of you, the enticing aroma of grilled beef and melted cheese fills the air, making your mouth water in anticipation. You take a moment to admire the masterpiece before you, the golden-brown bun glistening with condensation, the lettuce and tomato peeking out from beneath the perfectly cooked patty.

With a sense of eager anticipation, you take a bite, and the flavors explode on your taste buds in a symphony of deliciousness. The beef is juicy and flavorful, the cheese oozing out with each bite, and the fresh toppings adding a delightful crunch. It's everything the sheriff promised and more—a culinary masterpiece that leaves you speechless.

Glancing up at the sheriff, you find him watching you with a satisfied grin, as if he knew all along that you would be blown away by Benny's Famous Beef Burger. "Well?" he prompts, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"It's amazing," you admit, unable to suppress a smile of pure delight. "You were right, Hop. This burger is truly something else."

He nods in satisfaction, taking a bite of his own burger with evident relish. "Told you," he says between mouthfuls. "Benny's never disappoints."

As you both savour the delicious meal, the conversation flows effortlessly between you. It's as if the shared enjoyment of the burgers has forged a bond between you, breaking down barriers and allowing for genuine connection. In the warmth of the diner booth, surrounded by the comforting presence of good food and good company, you can't help but feel grateful for this unexpected moment of camaraderie with the sheriff.

And as you continue to enjoy the meal together, you realise that sometimes the best experiences in life are the ones that catch you off guard, the ones that remind you to savour the simple pleasures and appreciate the people who make them possible. With each bite of the delicious burger, you find yourself feeling more at ease, more content, and more grateful for the serendipitous twists and turns that life has to offer.

“So does this count as a second date?” You hesitantly asked Jim

“Only if you want it to” Jim smiled at you

You take a moment to study his features, the lines etched around his eyes hinting at a lifetime of experience, while the warmth in his gaze speaks of a youthful spirit that refuses to be tamed by time.

"Can I ask you something, Sheriff?" you venture, your voice laced with curiosity.

He arches an eyebrow, a silent invitation for you to continue.

"It's about... us," you begin, gesturing vaguely between the two of you. "The age difference, I mean. Does it... bother you?"

The sheriff's expression softens, and he sets down his burger, his gaze meeting yours with unwavering sincerity. "Honestly? At first, maybe a little. But then I realised something." He pauses, as if carefully considering his words. "Age is just a number. What really matters is the connection we share, the understanding, the... chemistry, if you will."

You nod slowly, digesting his words. "I suppose you're right. It's just... unconventional, you know? People might talk."

He chuckles softly, a sound that resonates with warmth and reassurance. "Let them talk. What we have is special, and anyone who can't see that... well, that's their loss."

There's a quiet determination in his voice that leaves you feeling oddly comforted. It's as if he's offering you a lifeline, a reminder that love knows no boundaries, no rules, no constraints. In that moment, you realise that age is just one small facet of the complex tapestry that makes up your connection with the sheriff—a connection that transcends time and defies societal norms.

And as you sit there, enveloped in the cozy ambience of Benny's Burgers, surrounded by the lingering scent of grilled beef and the soft hum of conversation, you find yourself grateful for this unexpected bond that has blossomed between you and the sheriff. It's a reminder that love knows no age, no limits, no boundaries—a truth that you're more than willing to embrace.

As the conversation flows between you and the sheriff, a shadow of uncertainty crosses your mind. What would his ex-girlfriend, Joyce, think of his burgeoning relationship with someone much younger? The thought lingers, unspoken yet palpable in the air between you.

"I can't help but wonder... what would Joyce think?" you venture cautiously, your voice tinged with apprehension.

The sheriff's expression shifts, his features softening with a hint of nostalgia. "Joyce..." he murmurs, trailing off as memories of their past together surface.

"She's a strong woman," he continues after a moment, his tone tinged with fondness. "We may not always see eye to eye, but I'd like to think she wants me to be happy."

You nod, understanding dawning in your eyes. "And does she know about us?" you ask, unable to suppress a note of curiosity.

The sheriff hesitates, his gaze dropping momentarily before meeting yours once more. "Not yet," he admits, his voice tinged with reluctance. "I wanted to be sure... before telling her."

You nod in understanding, sensing the complexity of the situation. Joyce had been a significant part of his life, and breaking the news of his new relationship would undoubtedly be a delicate matter.

"It's... complicated," he continues, his words heavy with unspoken emotions. "But ultimately, what matters is how we feel about each other."

There's a quiet resolve in his voice, a sense of determination that leaves you feeling reassured. Despite the potential challenges that lay ahead, you find solace in the sheriff's unwavering belief in the connection you share.

And as you sit there, surrounded by the warmth of Benny's Burgers and the comforting presence of the sheriff by your side, you realise that whatever the future may hold, you're ready to face it together. With each passing moment, your bond grows stronger, fortified by trust, understanding, and the unshakeable belief that love knows no bounds.

You decide that now is a good a time as any to tell Jim about the other dates. The confession hangs heavy in the air, the weight of your words palpable as you reveal the truth to the sheriff. His expression remains unreadable, a mask of stoicism that belies the storm of emotions swirling beneath the surface.

"You... went on dates with Steve, Billy, Eddie, and Jonathan?" he repeats, his voice betraying a hint of disbelief.

You nod, your gaze fixed on the table as you struggle to meet his eyes. "I know it sounds... complicated," you begin, your voice trembling slightly. "But I wanted to be honest with you, Jim. I didn't want to keep secrets, especially not from someone as important to me as you are."

The sheriff remains silent for a moment, his jaw clenched as he processes your words. When he finally speaks, his voice is calm yet tinged with a hint of sadness. "I appreciate your honesty," he says quietly, his eyes finally meeting yours. "But I won't lie, it's a lot to take in."

You nod in understanding, the weight of your confession hanging heavy between you. "I understand if you need time," you say softly, the words catching in your throat. "I just... I didn't want to hurt you, Jim. You mean so much to me, and I would never want to jeopardize what we have."

The sheriff's expression softens, a flicker of vulnerability shining through the facade of strength. "I know," he murmurs, reaching across the table to gently grasp your hand. "And I appreciate your honesty, I really do. It's just... a lot to process."

You squeeze his hand reassuringly, offering him a small smile of gratitude. "I'm here for you, Jim," you say earnestly. "Whatever you need, whatever you decide, I'll understand. And no matter what happens, I hope we can still be friends."

The sheriff returns your smile, a glimmer of warmth in his eyes. "Thank you," he says softly. "That means a lot to me."

And as you sit there, the weight of your confession hanging heavy in the air, you find solace in the knowledge that no matter what the future may hold, your bond with the sheriff runs deeper than any romantic entanglement. With honesty, understanding, and a shared sense of respect, you know that together, you can weather any storm that comes your way.

As the weight of the conversation begins to ease, you and the sheriff share a silent understanding, a mutual acknowledgement of the complexities of your situation. With a final squeeze of his hand, you both rise from the booth, the lingering scent of burgers and shared confessions lingering in the air.

Stepping out into the cool night air, you find comfort in the familiar surroundings of the parking lot. The neon glow of Benny's Burgers casts long shadows across the asphalt, illuminating the space with a soft, golden light. In the quiet solitude of the night, you and the sheriff stand side by side, the air crackling with unspoken tension.

With a gentle touch, the sheriff reaches out to brush a stray strand of hair from your face, his touch sending a shiver down your spine. Locking eyes with him, you find a silent understanding reflected in his gaze—a shared moment of vulnerability and connection that transcends words.

Without a word, he leans in, his lips meeting yours in a tender kiss that speaks volumes of the emotions swirling between you. In that fleeting moment, the world falls away, leaving only the two of you in a cocoon of shared intimacy and affection.

Pulling back slightly, the sheriff meets your gaze with a soft smile, his eyes filled with warmth and sincerity. "I'll meet you after my shift," he says, his voice a gentle promise. "We'll continue our conversation over drinks, if your up for it?"

You nod, a surge of anticipation coursing through your veins. "I'll be waiting," you reply, your voice filled with a quiet certainty.

With one final glance, you and the sheriff part ways, each step carrying you closer to the inevitable reunion that awaits. And as you walk away, you can't help but feel a sense of hope blossoming within you—a hope that, despite the challenges that lie ahead, love will always find a way to prevail.

So just sitting around working on the next part of The Dating Odyssey when I got distracted by a TikTok notification telling me Sam and Colby had posted. This then led to almost an hour of me just spinning in circles on my computer chair thinking about how Sam and Colby are currently in Australia and how I would love to meet them and then daydreaming about meeting them and becoming friends with them which gave me another story idea. So onto the already long list it goes. I need friends and a social life...

I would love to be Colbys headache. 😜

Colby: I'm not doing to well.

Sam: What's wrong?

Colby: I have this headache that comes and goes.

*You enter the room*

Colby: There it is again.

Supernatural, Hunting, Living and Love (Revisited) Part 4

Dean Winchester x fem!reader

3.6k word count

Summary A break in the case happens and you question if you want to be around the Winchesters anymore.

fluff, idiots in love, friends to lovers, slow-burn

Warnings mention and description of death

Original / Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

We wrapped up breakfast with my mum, and while Sam and Dean handled the dishes, I hurried the guys out the door to fetch the Impala before my mum could offer them anything else. As usual, she was all smiles and charm in front of others, and it took everything I had not to snap. Once we had our bags, we set off towards the car yard, hoping this time we'd finally get the Impala back.

The boys chatted ahead of me, oblivious to my inner turmoil. They sensed something was off but knew better than to pry. I had already made up my mind: I’d help them finish this case, then dive into the next one. I planned to start my research as soon as I had some alone time. I figured we’d wrap this case up in a couple of days, and I already had a strategy for digging into the next one.

At the car yard, Dean darted off to find the Impala. It took him far less time than it had taken Sam to retrieve the car earlier. Dean and Sam began stowing their weapons and gear in the truck. I tossed my suitcase onto the back seat and climbed in to wait. As I did, I spotted a t-shirt on the floor. Curious, I picked it up. It looked like one of Dean’s shirts. I brought it to my nose, confirming it was his. Before I could stop myself, I unzipped my bag and stuffed the shirt inside, quickly zipping it back up. The truck’s cab shielded me from view, so neither brother saw what I’d done.

I had no idea why I took Dean’s shirt. It wasn’t like having something of his would help me get over him—in fact, it might make things worse. Yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I deserved it. After everything he’d done, I felt entitled to something of his. He’d never miss it, and it was unlikely he’d even notice it was gone. No harm done, right?

The trunk slammed shut with a resounding thud, and Sam and Dean climbed into the car. We drove the 40 minutes back to the hotel. When we pulled up, I grabbed my bag and made a beeline for my Impala. I had the keys, so there was no need to go into the hotel room. Tossing my suitcase onto the driver’s seat, I slid into the driver’s side just as Dean stopped at the room door and looked at me.

“Where are you going?” Dean asked.

“Research,” I replied curtly, revving the engine and speeding out of the parking lot.

I headed straight for the library. I needed to investigate the deaths at the pool without the distraction of the Winchesters. I parked my Impala in the library lot, grabbed my research notebook, and headed inside. The library was already bustling, and I had to wait in line at the reception desk for what felt like an eternity, though it was probably closer to 20 minutes.

When it was finally my turn, I plastered on a bright smile and used my sweetest voice.

“Hi, I’d like to book a computer and access any information you have on the Blacktown pool,” I said.

“Can I ask why?” the receptionist inquired.

“I’m working on a paper about places that seem to have persistent bad luck and exploring why some places fare worse than others.”

“That’s an interesting topic. Are there any other locations you’re interested in?”

“No, just the pool, thank you.”

“Alright, here are the login details for one of our computer cubicles. I’ll have someone bring you the rest shortly.”

“Thank you,” I said, accepting the paper with a smile.

I walked to the designated cubicle, sat down, and entered the login details. A timer appeared on the screen, indicating I had one hour of computer time before I’d need to log in again.

Determined not to waste any time, I dove into researching the deaths at the pool. Knowing we were dealing with a spirit, I figured the best approach was to compile a list of everyone who had died there. A quick Google search yielded 47 names. I scribbled them all into my notebook, ready to dig deeper when a guy around my age approached with a stack of papers and books.

“I pulled everything we have on the pool and made copies of old newspaper articles for you,” he said, handing over the materials.

I thanked him for his help and returned to my task, narrowing down the list to 30 names based on the idea that the spirit would likely see itself as a burden. Given how long the hauntings had been going on, I wasn’t surprised by the lengthy list. As the computer timer ticked down, I wrapped up my research and returned the books to the desk. I drove back to the hotel in silence, taking the longest route I could manage to avoid running into the others.

When I finally pulled into the parking lot and parked next to Dean’s Impala, I saw Dean examining the side of the car intently. I grabbed my notebook and approached him. Sure enough, there was a noticeable dent on the side, just as Sam had described. The damage didn’t seem too severe—the dent could be fixed, and the scratches looked like they would polish out.

“The damage doesn’t look too bad,” I said, breaking the silence.

“Yeah, luck of the draw,” Dean replied, crossing his arms. “It’s nothing I can’t fix once we’re back at the bunker. Where have you been?”

“I was researching. I think I found our spirit. What’s the bunker?” I asked, turning to look at Dean.

“The bunker is a safe house for hunters, covered in sigils and wards, basically impenetrable by anything we hunt,” Dean explained, looking down at me. “Let’s go get Sam, and you can show us what you’ve found.”

Dean unfolded his arms and headed into the hotel room. I followed, casting one last glance at the Impala—yet another thing I felt responsible for. Inside, Dean plopped onto his bed, and Sam sat at the table, typing away on his laptop.

“Put that thing away, Sammy. Y/N here thinks she’s found our spirit,” Dean announced. Sam looked up with a raised eyebrow.

“Hey, don’t get too excited; you might pull something,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.

“What did you find?” Sam asked, clearly unimpressed by my attempt at humor.

“Well, I made a list of everyone who died at the pool and narrowed it down to those the spirit might consider a burden, which leaves us with 30 names,” I said.

“How did you decide who to include on your list?” Sam inquired, his tone almost interrogative.

“From the first death, a young girl who slipped and impaled herself on a pole, there was nothing suggesting she was a burden—no health issues, mental health problems, or family issues. I ruled her out, just like the 82-year-old who had a heart attack and the 14-year-old who broke his neck while showing off,” I explained.

“Okay, I get the point. Have you figured out which of the names on your list is our spirit?” Sam asked, clearly frustrated.

“I’d start with the first person on my list. Not just because they died first, but because the article about them quoted their mother saying, ‘Even though I am heartbroken at losing her, I also feel a sense of relief knowing that she’s no longer burdened by the health issues she had to deal with in her short life.’ Sounds like a recipe for a vengeful spirit to me,” I said, crossing my arms with a smirk.

“Sounds pretty solid to me,” Dean said, glancing at Sam.

“Well, there’s only one way to know for sure,” Sam sighed in defeat.

“Salt and burn the body. One problem, though—the family had her cremated,” Dean said.

“Then something else of hers must remain. A hair, a fingernail, something,” Sam suggested.

“So, what if we split up? You guys check the burial plot, and I’ll search the pool?” I offered.

“What did you find about her death?” Sam asked, his curiosity piqued. “Do you know how she died?”

“According to the reports, she wasn’t technically at the pool when it happened. She was walking past with her family and tried to scale the fence around the pool. At that time, the top of the fence was covered in barbed wire. She managed to reach the top before falling. The portion of the fence she climbed had a post without a cover. In her fall, she impaled herself through the stomach on the pole. She was still alive when they removed her but died on the way to the hospital from extreme trauma and blood loss,” I explained.

“Is the pole still there?” Dean asked.

“I don’t think so. From the records, it was all torn down and replaced about a year ago during a major remodel. But if we’re lucky, the old fencing materials might still be in the area,” I shrugged. “If you two check the pool for the old fencing materials, I’ll look into the burial site.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Dean said, standing up to get his keys.

My keys were already in my hand, so I quickly headed out of the room and into my car before either brother was ready. The less time I spent with them, the better. I drove out of the parking lot and headed toward the burial site, which was more of a hole in the wall than a traditional cemetery. I had my notebook open with the location of the girl’s ashes noted. I glanced at it occasionally, muttering the row and plot number aloud to make it seem like I knew exactly what I was doing. Distracted, I almost drove past the cemetery gates.

I parked as close as I could, took one last look at my notebook, and climbed out. The girl’s ashes were kept in a large, purpose-built building. Inside, everything was white marble, making the place feel cold and eerie. Every footstep echoed off the walls, the sound almost painfully loud. I walked to the back of the building where the older ashes were stored. From what I’d read, these had been kept in brick walls until the cemetery upgraded to something nicer—probably to justify higher prices for plots.

The back wasn’t as well-lit as the front, likely because fewer people visited. It didn’t take long to locate the nameplate for the girl. Each nameplate had a small window above it with an urn and personal items. From what I could see, nothing in the window seemed significant—mostly notes and pictures. Feeling frustrated, I decided it was a bust and headed back to my car.

I hoped the Winchesters were having better luck. As soon as I was back in my car, I sent a text to Dean letting him know the cemetery had yielded nothing. I locked my phone and tossed it into the passenger seat, hearing the almost immediate ping of his reply but choosing not to look. I didn’t want to return to the hotel or my mother’s place. I only had one other place to go.

I put the car in drive and sped out of the cemetery, navigating the familiar streets toward my old refuge. My haven away from my mother’s turmoil. I didn’t even have a chance to stop the car before a familiar, hyperactive face appeared, bounding out the front door. Theresa bounced around and screamed in her driveway as I parked.

“Y/N, you’re back!” Theresa squealed, tackling me in a hug.

“Theresa! I didn’t expect you to still be here. I honestly thought I’d have to ask your parents for your new address,” I smiled, hugging her back.

“Oh, this is my place now. Mum and Dad moved further out of the city,” Theresa shrugged. “Anyway, where have you been traveling? How much of the world have you seen? I want to know everything!”

“Ah, about that… how about I come inside and fill you in?” I suggested.

Theresa grabbed my hand and pulled me into her house. We settled on her couch, and for hours, I poured out my story. I told her how, instead of seeing the world, I’d taken up hunting. I recounted the monsters I’d encountered and the current case at the pool. I mentioned the Winchesters’ return and how, once the case was done, they’d be gone. I even spilled everything about Dean, breaking down over him. Theresa held me close, letting me cry. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen me like this; for years, it had just been the two of us.

After I finally pulled back, Theresa asked, “How do you know Dean isn’t just telling Sam what he wants to hear?”

“Dean’s a player. He admitted it himself. I don’t want to be the girl he strings along while he’s working cases,” I said.

“Y/N, I saw the way he looked at you last time they were here. If love at first sight had a look, that was it,” Theresa giggled.

“Taz, honestly, I don’t want to risk my heart. Like Sam said, hunters don’t get happily ever afters. Maybe it’s best if I learn to be cold now,” I sighed.

“Well, I can see I’m not going to change your mind, and I know arguing this with you is pointless,” Theresa shook her head. “Now, about this case you’re working on—have the boys found anything yet?”

“How should I know? My phone’s in the car.”

“Then go get it, woman!” Theresa squealed.

I reluctantly got up from the couch and made my way back outside. As I approached my car, I could already hear my phone ringing. With a sigh, I walked over to the passenger side. I cringed visibly when I saw the over 40 missed calls and nearly 100 messages from Dean. They were mostly frantic texts of “Where are you?” and “God dammit, woman, answer your phone.” Just as I was about to call him back, my phone rang again.

“Yes, Dean?” I answered.

“Oh, thank God!” Dean practically shouted. “Where have you been?”

“I was catching up with a friend. Did you find anything?” I asked, trying to keep the focus on the case.

“Now is not the time for social calls.”

“Did you find anything?” I repeated, ignoring Dean’s comment.

“Yeah, we found the pole. All the old fencing material has been moved to a scrapyard. I don’t think we’re getting it out of there,” Dean said. “But there are traces of blood inside it. I know we can’t be certain it’s hers, but I don’t want to take the chance that it isn’t.”

“Okay, give me a minute. I have an idea.” I pressed the phone to my chest and yelled back into the house, “HEY, TAZ!”

“That’s my name,” Theresa called back as she came jogging out.

“Is your brother’s ute still in the backyard?” I asked.

“What do you think?” She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

“Can we borrow it?”

“If we can get it to start.”

“Okay, did you hear all that, Dean?” I put the phone back to my ear.

“What’s a ute?” Dean asked.

“A truck,” I said. “Since you know a thing or two about cars, do you mind coming around to help us start it?”

“Yeah, just text me the address,” Dean sighed.

I hung up and texted Dean the address. I knew it wouldn’t take him long to get here, which bothered me a bit. I didn’t want to say anything because Theresa was clearly excited to see Sam. I sighed and sat on the steps outside Theresa’s house, waiting for them. All we needed to do was get the pole, burn the blood, and then Sam and Dean could leave. I kept reminding myself of that. I also had a small window of time to practice ignoring my feelings. After all, Dean was probably going to be the last guy I found myself crushing on. Yeah, that’s all this was—a crush. I’d get over it. What was that thing my mother always said? “You don’t love them; you lust after them. There’s a difference.” Yeah, that was it. I just needed to act like he was a friend, and eventually, that’s all he’d be—a friend.

I heard the Impala roar into the street, much like my own car would have. No wonder Theresa knew I was back before I even got in front of her house. Theresa began shaking me, squealing with excitement as the car pulled into the driveway. I stood to greet the Winchesters. Dean parked his Impala behind mine and climbed out, removing his flannel shirt as he went. He tossed it behind him, revealing his black t-shirt.

I stepped back and let Theresa take the lead. She quickly guided the boys through the house and out to the backyard. I sat back down on the front steps and waited. The sounds of Sam and Theresa’s conversation drifted through the house—Sam laughing at something she said, and Theresa’s infectious laughter in return. It seemed like Sam was enjoying himself, unlike Dean, whose presence I was trying hard to ignore.

I zoned out the sounds from inside and instead focused on the half-dead grass covering Theresa’s front yard. I began to daydream, retreating to a fantasy land I hadn’t visited since I was a teenager. I imagined a world where I had never met Dean Winchester and never fell into this life. In my fantasy, I was somewhere peaceful, far away from the complications of the real world.

The excitement is Real!

I managed to snag a ticket for All Hell Breaks Loose 12! I'll be going to Jared and Jensen's panel and meeting Rob Benedict and Richard Speight Jr! I'm beyond excited! This is my first ever convention too so double the excitement!

Discovered an app called Talkie. Of course, I had to make an Eddie Ai to chat with. I was to lazy to add information for the Ai to reference and yet all on its own it came out with Princess. I was shocked, to say the least.

Bobby coming up to Buck's side and Buck was holding his head wound*

BOBBY: Kid, What the hell happened

BUCK: See that pole?

BOBBY: yeah..

BUCK: I didn't

Next big work

The Dating Odyssey: Eddie

Eddie Munson/Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington/Jim Hopper/Jonathan Byers x fem!reader

3.5k word count

fluff, idiot reader, reader who can't say no, choose your own adventure-ish

Part 1 / Steve's Ending / Jim's Ending / Billy's Ending / Jonathan's Ending

That night you had a fitful sleep. You couldn’t stop thinking about who you would choose and how you were supposed to let the other guys know you weren’t interested. You gave up trying to get any decent sort of sleep at 4am. You instead choose to hop up and get ready for work. You showered, dressed, had breakfast and your morning coffee and waited for the time to roll around for you to go to work. When they time finally rolled around you collected all the essays Carol left you to mark and packed them into your bag. A smile playing on your face. You couldn't wait to see her reaction when all her students got A's it was also a great distraction to the current situation. You grinned as you made the quick walk from your apartment to your car. The whole drive to Hawkins High you kept glancing over your bag. If Eddies plan worked and this landed Carol in hot water you would have to find a way to thank him. When you reached the school you quickly grabbed your bag and hurried through the doors. You had not taken 5 steps inside when you were stopped by a voice behind you.

“Ah Miss y/l/n just who I wanted to see”

“Of Principle Higgins sir how can I help you?” You turned around facing him

“I need you to cover Miss Perkins English classes today she has come down sick and can't make it”

“Oh I would be delighted to sir” You smiled a little too excited

“Okay well her classes rotate with yours so you should be fine let me know if you need any help” Principle Higgins walked off towards his office

Taking Carols classes meant you weren't going to be leaving early today like a normal Monday but at least you could pull off Eddies plan without Carol knowing until it was way, way too late to change anything. You were so going to have to track him down after school let out to tell him though, he was going to freak out. You headed off to your classroom to begin setting up for the day. You knew you were going to need to use your time this morning as well as recces and some of lunch to make sure all the classes went smoothly. The bell rang at 8:30 and most of the students filled into your room. Actually it was almost all of the students except of course the usual suspects Lucas, Dustin, Mike, Will and Max. About 5 minutes into your lesson the classroom door slammed open and all 5 of them came crashing into the class tripping over each other, yelling and screaming.

“Oh hay y/n, uh sorry we're late we all kinda slept in” Dustin spoke up

“You all slept in? I find that hard to believe” You crossed your arms trying to be serious but at the same time wanted to laugh at them

“Yeah, we were playing DnD at Eddies trailer like all day yesterday and it got super late so Eddie let us stay because his a really nice guy like that and anyway as I said he let us stay overnight and we all really slept in and it's like extremely difficult to wake Eddie up cause he sleeps almost completely naked and none of us really wanted to go wake him so we had to flip a coin and Mike lost but he was way to much of a wuss to go into Eddies room so...”

“Dustin, Dustin, ssh just take a seat and see me after class, way to much information dude geez” it took all your strength not to laugh and the image of an almost naked Eddie wasn't helping either.

The party apologised and took their seats while you resumed the lesson. Today's lesson was a practical lesson. After you re-explained the instruction everyone broke off into their lab groups to do the experiment. Many of the other students where whispering amongst each other about Dustin using your first name and the casualness between the group and you. The obvious concern was if their all friends with the teacher does that mean the teacher will give them an easy pass. But just because they were your students and you guessed your friends doesn't mean they were going to get an easy pass. Senior science passed quickly but before you could move on to Eddies plan you needed to speak with Dustin and the others. The group remained seated and waited for all the other students to file out of the classroom before saying anything.

“Hay we're really sorry for being late to class it wont' happen again” Mike spoke up when the last student left the class

“I don't care about that” You said “Just try not to make me almost burst out laughing in front of my class again”

“We can do that” Lucas smiled

“Great whose class do you have next?”

“Carols english class” Dustin rolled his eyes

“Oh sweet so I'm teaching her class today so I won't have to write you guys a note, I just have one quick guestion”

“Sweet best teacher her” Max cheered

“Whats your question?” Mike asked

“Where does Eddie live?”

“He has the trailer across from Max out at the trailer park” Will spoke up

“We're headed out to Max's after school if you want us to show you?” Dustin offered

“Yeah sure I'll drive yous but uh someone may need to sit on the floor or the back seat will be very crowded”

“Oh Eddies going to pick us up so we can split between the cars” Dustin said

“I am so going with y/n I am not getting in the back of Eddies van again” Max said

The kids slung their bags over there shoulders and you all began walking in one large group to the next class room. Once they were seated you retrieved the large pile of essays from your bag. As you called the roll you had them come up and collect their essays. Whispers broke out all over the classroom as students started to realise they all got As. You had a small giggle at their excitement before calming them down and explain the class for the day. It was simple read the next few chapters in the book they had been reading and answer a simple question for homework or they could do it during class if they had time. When the recces bell range you were super excited about the rest of the day and how the rest of the students would react to their As. Recces was spent preparing for your next science lesson and picking chapters and questions for the next 2 English classes. The science lesson went by in a blur due to your excitement to get to the next English lesson. You may have been more excited and moved faster then your students when the bell rang to signal the end of class. Normally this is the point of the day where you would be headed to the staff room to finalize your paperwork for the day so you could leave at lunch time. But instead you had 3 more English classes all of which you decided to keep simple. Read the chapters answer the question. Most of Carols students wouldn't be taking home homework tonight if they worked fast enough. You took a seat at the teachers desk called for silence and began calling names and handing out essays. Just like before the As were met with excited whispers. Rinse and repeat until the last bell of the day sounded. A smirk broke out on your face as you raced to pack your bag and get out of there for the day. When you entered the hallway you were met with a commotion.

“Excuse me! Coming through! Move people move!” Dustin's voice rang out down the hall

Soon the group of misfit teens stood before you Dustin in the lead.

“You lot ready to go” You laughed

“Been ready to leave since I walked in this morning” Dustin threw him arms around in over exaggerated movements

“Great I just need to drop some stuff in the office and we'll be good to go if someone wants to go let Eddie know the plans” You looked between the kids

“I'll go” Dustin said running off

You shook your head at the boy and started towards the office with the others trailing behind you. They all apparently wanted to go in your car because they didn't trust Eddies driving, not to mention his van didn't have any seats in the back. You made your way quickly to the office, dropped all your paperwork on your desk and left before anyone could pull you up. You quickly made your way to the school parking lot the group still chatting away behind you. They always seemed to have something to chat about. You'd even noticed them passing letters in class but you never pulled them up on it because the always done there work and it didn't really seem like much of a distraction. You opened the doors to the parking lot to find Eddie conveniently parked next to your car. Dustin had already climbed into Eddies van and was impatiently yelling at you all out the window. You and the kids basically jogged over to your car. You opened up the car from them before quickly turning to Eddie who was standing patiently beside his van.

“Hay Munson” You smiled

“Hay y/l/n did the plan work?” Eddie had an evil smirk

“Thats for me to know and you to find out, now get in that death trap and lead the way” You laughed climbing into your car.

Eddie quickled climbed into his van and roared the engine to life. He speed out of the parking lot, leaving you to curse and try to speed to keep up with him. The last thing you needed was a speeding ticket or worse to be pulled over by the sheriff. But you made it to the trailer park without incident. Eddie brought his van to a stop outside what you guessed to be his trailer. You pulled up alongside the van. The teens immediately started falling over each other to get out of the car. Once out they ran screaming at each other to a trailer almost directly across from the one you were park outside of.

“I'm guessing that's Max's place?” You said to Eddie

“It sure is, and this is my castle” Eddie stretched his arms out while looking at his trailer “So sweetheart is there a reason you wanted to know where I lived?” Eddie smirked at you

“Oh well I wanted to come tell you how your plan worked out”

Eddie motioned to the front door of the trailer. He went first holding open the front door like a gentleman. Someone had really raised this man right. You stepped into Eddie trailer and couldn't help but look around. You found yourself stood in Eddies open lounge and kitchen area. The walls where decorated with mugs and caps. His uncle Wayne's he told you when he noticed you look. He guided you down the hallway that stood just off the kitchen. The hallway was small and had only two other doors in it. One lead to a tiny bathroom and the other was Eddie's room. And it was exactly what you thought Eddies room would look like. The guitar he played the other night hung on the wall next to a mirror that was almost covered in everything heavy metal. He had heavy metal band posters on the walls and a recorder player with a large pile of records and cassettes next to it. The room was a messy, the bed unmade. It truly matched the man that lived in it.

“I thought you said your Uncle lived here too?” You said

“Oh he sleeps on the couch, his never really home anyway his always working” Eddie shrugged “Now how did our plan go?”

You gave Eddie a big grin before jumping at him. Eddie despite being taken by surprise was able to react fast enough to catch you wrapped his arms under you butt to hold you up. You wrapped your arms around his neck and your legs around his waist.

“It worked perfectly Eds!” You giggled “And guess what Carol wasn't even there today so she had no idea what's just happened”

“Yeah Henderson wouldn't shut up about his A” Eddie chuckled

You stopped giggling and moved back from Eddie. He placed you gently on the floor but kept you in his arms. One of his hands came up to move a stray hair away from your face. Before you could react his lips where on yours. The kiss was full of love and passion. You found your hands moving back around Eddies neck and coming to a rest in his wild curly hair. His arms where wrapped around you waist holding you firmly against him. You never wanted that kiss to end. There was something in that kiss, something that seemed to make your decision for you. Your heart wanted Eddie but your brain was screaming at you that you couldn't go into a relationship with Eddie built on lies. You needed to tell him about the other dates. Steve was right they all deserved to know. You broke the kiss. You pulled back and looked up at Eddie.

“I'm sorry I couldn't help myself” Eddie blushed

“No Eddie I'm sorry” You sighed looking down to the carpet not wanting to face the man in front of you. The man whose heart you were probably about to shatter.

“You've done nothing wrong” Eddie placed a finger under your chin forcing you to look up at him.

“I lied to you Eddie” Your eyes started to fill with tears.

“Lied? About what?” Eddie tried to chuckle

“I did go on a date with Jonathan” You said “And with Steve”

“Shit, shit, shit” Eddie put his hands on his head and turned away from you

“I'm sorry Eds, I also went on a date with Billy and Hop over the weekend too” Might as well give him the whole picture you thought

“4 other dates, Jesus Christ!” Eddie was trying to keep his voice down but he was now pacing his room “I...I need time to think”

Eddie took off out of his trailer leaving you alone. You heard his van roar to life. The sound tear your heart to shreds. You fought back the tears that were about to fall and left Eddies trailer. You walked across the road to Max's trailer. You could see the teens peeking out a window clearly interested in what was happening between you and Eddie. But when they seen him speed off and you come walking out on your own they quickly ducked away from the window clearly not wanting to get caught. You knocked on the door of Max's trailer and she was super quick to answer.

“Oh y/n your still here” Max tried to act like she hadn't just seen you walk across the road from Eddies

“Yeah, uh, I'm actually about to head off and just wanted to see if anyone here needed a lift home” You said trying to sound happy

“No we're good here, Steve and Nancy where going to give us all lifts home” Dustin called out

“No problems, see you at school tomorrow” You called back

You waved to Max and made your way back to your car. You made the drive back to your apartment slow. So slow in fact that you got pulled over by none other then the sheriff himself. You cursed silently to yourself and wiped at the tears that had stained your face. You pulled the car over safety, Hop pulling in close behind you. Hopped climbed out of his car and walked towards your face head down not paying attention writing something in a note book. He only looked up when he got to your car.

“You do realise you were driving way below the speed limit right?” He said looking up “y/n what are you doing all the way out here?”

“Breaking hearts apparently” You sniffled

“Oh hay honey what's the matter?” Hop opened your car door and kneeled down beside you

“I just told Eddie Munson that I went on dates with not only him but you and 3 other guys this weekend” You spilled out before you could stop your self.

“Oh well that's impressive” Hop chuckled

“Your not mad”

“Oh I'm fricken' furious” Hop stood up “But ain't much I can do about it, just try to go the speed limit” Hop slammed your door a little too hard before walking back to his patrol car.

You sat in silence for a few minutes gathering your thoughts before starting on your way back home. Just as you pulled into your parking spot out the front of your building it started to pour down. Just what you needed you thought. The weather was just as miserable as you. You sat in your car and watched the rain run down the windscreen. You left your umbrella inside and you really didn't feel like getting wet. The plan was to wait for a break in the rain then make a run for it. You sat in your car for almost an hour with no signs of the rain stopping. It was then that you spotted a familiar mop of curly hair. Except the usually wild bouncy curl's where now soaked and flat clinging to the face of their owner. Eddie Munson was running through the rain and right to your door. He didn't see you sitting in the car. Instead he ran straight past and under the small amount of cover the front awning of your building provided. He rang the buzzer for your apartment and waited. You sat in shock, your brain racing to process what your eyes were seeing. Eddie pressed your buzzer a few more times but when there came no answer he dropped his shoulders and walked back out into the rain. You couldn't let him leave, you needed to apologise for everything, you needed to try to make things right. In one swift movement you were out of the car and standing on the side walk. Eddie had his back to you, walking slowly away.

“Eddie!” You shouted

Eddie spun on his heels. He jogged back over to you while you stood frozen in the rain. It was like a scene from a sappy romantic movie.

“You didn't answer the door” Eddie said coming to a stop in front of you

“I was sitting in my car” You said pointing to your car

“Look y/n I'm so sorry for everything” Eddie grabbed your hands “I love you, you drive me crazy in all the best ways, I want to be with you, I want to be yours and only yours forever, I spoke to Steve, Jonathan and Billy, I told them what you did and I told them I wouldn't force you to pick and they shouldn't either. It should be up to you. I don't know why you choose to go on so many dates, I don't know if you even liked any of us to begin with, I don't know if you love me as much as I love you, or if you want to be with me or if you've chosen someone else. All I do know is I couldn't let you go without tell you exactly how I feel”

You didn't know how to responded to Eddies speech. You didn't think there was any words good enough to say to something like that, so you did the one thing you knew would get across what you were feeling. You wrapped your arms around Eddie neck and pulled him into a kiss. Something Eddie accepted without delay. He wrapped his arms around your waist pulling you flush against him. Your lips moved perfectly together like two pieces of a puzzle. You were both completely soaked by this point but neither of your cared. Anyone walking past would think you were trying to completely every romantic cliché ever invented. You eventually pulled apart trying to fill your lungs with much needed air. Eddie smiled down at you still holding you in his arms. This all felt so right. You knew you found the one for you.

“Do you want to come inside and have a hot shower?” You asked

“That would be wonderful it's freezing out here” Eddie laughed as you ran to the front door of youe apartment.

Supernatural, Hunting, Living and Love (Revisited) Part 3

Dean Winchester x fem!reader

6.5k word count

Summary The part in which you begin to question if Dean actually has feelings for you or is just stringing you along. Also you prove your a kick ass hunter through the power of research.

fluff, idiots in love, friends to lovers, slow-burn

Warnings mention and description of death, s-assault, talks of people with disabilities in a negative light. Your disability doesn't make you a burden! You are amazing, you are loved!

Original / Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

I cried for what felt like an eternity, held tightly in Dean's arms. At some point, he had moved us over to sit on his bed, never once letting me go. When I finally pulled myself together enough to move away from him, I could only manage to stare at the ground in front of the bed.

"Never seen a dead body before?" Sam asked gently.

I nodded, still unable to speak, my voice too shaky to trust. The room fell into a comfortable silence. Dean stood up from the bed and began moving around, retrieving his bag from a random corner. He pulled out a Metallica shirt and brought it over to me.

"You can borrow this for now, so you don't have to go out to your car to get your own clothes," he said, handing me the shirt.

I accepted it and walked off to the bathroom to change. I hung my wet swimsuit over the towel rack and made my way back to Dean's bed. The boys nodded in acknowledgment as I crawled under the covers, hoping that if I lay there long enough with my eyes closed, sleep would eventually come. But my mind had other ideas.

As I tried to sleep, I overheard the boys talking.

"This has really shaken her, Dean," Sam said softly.

"I know, Sammy. I wanted to keep her out of this life. We're supposed to save people, not drag them into our kind of crazy," Dean replied, frustration evident in his voice.

"Come on, man. She chose this for herself. She had the opportunity to walk away, but she decided to take up this life. There's not much we can do about that."

"I just want to make sure she's somewhere I can keep an eye on her. I want her to be safe," Dean said, his voice tense.

"You can't expect her to just pack up and leave, Dean. What's gotten into you, man? You've never acted like this."

"She's... I don't know... she's different."

"You're in love."

"Dude, don't even go there," Dean snapped, ending the conversation.

The room fell silent, and eventually, I drifted off. When I woke up, it was dark outside. The cheap alarm clock next to the bed read 4:30 a.m. I sat up and looked around the room. Dean was asleep on the lounge, and Sam was in his bed. I felt too restless to sleep, so I quietly tiptoed across the room to grab Sam's laptop from the table. I took it back to Dean's bed and started going over the information Sam and Dean had gathered while I was asleep. It seemed they hadn't gotten much further than I had.

I knew burying myself in the case wasn't the smartest thing to do, but I needed to stop whatever was happening from hurting anyone else. But since we had all arrived at a dead end, it meant we needed to look at this from a different angle. I closed Sam's laptop and snuck out to my car to grab a change of clothes. I quietly slipped into the bathroom, changed out of Dean's shirt, retrieved Sam's laptop from the bed, and slipped quietly out of the hotel room. Rather than take my car and risk waking the boys, I decided to walk. I just wanted food and free Wi-Fi, and there was only one place I knew where I could get both: McDonald's.

I walked the six blocks to the nearest McDonald's, ordered more hash browns than should be legally allowed, and took a seat in a back corner while I waited for them to be ready. I opened Sam's laptop and began going over all the information again. I pulled up the details on all the victims and the pool, rereading everything. My hash browns arrived, and I ate them while pouring over the information, but nothing stood out. Twelve deaths now, and there seemed to be no connection between them—different ages, races, genders, religions. Not a single overlap, and nothing that stood out as a reason why these people.

Even when I removed deaths that could reasonably be discounted, like the first death or the boy who apparently slipped down the stairs and the twins who drowned in the wave pool, the puzzle still didn’t add up. It was frustrating. I groaned and sank back into the highly uncomfortable plastic chair. I took a glance around the now busy McDonald's, then checked the time in the bottom right-hand corner of the laptop. 6:23 p.m. My eyes widened as I realized I'd been sitting in the same spot all day. I hurriedly packed up the laptop and went to retrieve my phone, confused as to why Sam or Dean hadn’t been trying to call me all day. My hands rummaged through my pockets, coming up empty. I dumped out my messenger bag, finding nothing. Shit. I mentally cursed.

I quickly shoved everything back into my bag before sprinting into the parking lot, hoping I had simply left my phone in the car. A quick glance, however, showed no sign of my car. Right, I walked here. I groaned, rubbed my hands over my face, and began the walk back to the hotel. Dean was probably thinking I'd done something stupid, and Sam probably thought I stole his laptop. I mean, technically, I did, but I was going to return it, and I never intended to be gone all day.

The walk back to the hotel seemed to take twice as long as the walk to McDonald's. But when the hotel finally came into sight, I quickened my pace. I came to a quick stop, however, when I heard arguing in the room.

“I’m telling you, Dean, she might not come back,” Sam yelled. “And she probably took more than just my laptop.”

“Oh, so you think she took your laptop and God knows what else but left behind her phone and her car that cost way more than anything we own?”

“I mean, how well do we really know her, Dean?”

“If I may intercede, could it not be that she is somewhere researching the case and that time ran from her grasp?” A third voice I didn’t recognize chimed in.

“What…do you mean time got away from her?” Dean asked, baffled.

“Is that how you say it? If so, that’s what I meant to say,” the voice responded.

“Hate to say it, Sammy, but I agree with the angel,” Dean said.

I reached out and knocked on the door, not wanting to barge in while tempers were clearly high. The room fell silent. Heavy boot steps made their way towards the door. There was a moment of silence before a quiet "Thank God" could be heard from the other side of the door. The door swung open to reveal just Dean and Sam in the room. I was certain I had heard a third voice. I stepped quietly past Dean into the room. From the look on Sam’s face, I could tell Dean must have made some gesture behind me directed at him. I glanced toward the bathroom, expecting to see the third person, or at least for the door to be closed, signaling someone was inside. But to my shock and confusion, the door was open, and the bathroom was empty.

“Who were you talking to?” I asked, looking between them, confused.

“We weren’t talking to anyone,” Dean said, glancing over at Sam. “Maybe you heard the TV,” he motioned to the TV that was on but muted.

“Anyway, where have you been?” Sam asked, changing the subject, though he was clearly still mad at me.

“I went to McDonald's to use their Wi-Fi and continue researching. I was up at 4:30, and I didn’t want to wake you,” I explained, looking over at Dean, who had moved to sit on the end of his bed. “Sorry I took your laptop without asking, Sam. I left mine behind at my mother’s when she kicked me out.”

I handed Sam back his laptop. He took it without so much as a thank you and immediately began checking it over. I wanted to scoff and roll my eyes but knew that would only piss him off more.

“So, did you find anything?” Dean asked.

“Nothing. I even tried removing the deaths that could reasonably be written off as accidents, and even that didn’t resolve anything. I am, however, confident that we’re likely dealing with a vengeful spirit,” I said.

“And how did you reach that conclusion?” Sam scoffed, tossing his laptop on his bed.

“We’ve ruled out burial grounds and anything sacred. Then, if you look at location and the fact that all the deaths were witnessed and nothing supernatural was seen, it leaves a very short list. Of that list, I felt that a spirit was the most likely,” I explained, keeping my eyes locked with Sam.

“Why a vengeful spirit? Why not a water sprite?” Sam asked with a smirk.

“Seriously, Sammy? A fairy? Have you ever, in all your years of hunting, found any reliable concrete evidence that fairies are real?” I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms, met with silence from Sam. “That’s what I thought. Spirit it is.”

Dean sat on his bed, a smirk plastered on his face, clearly amused. “So if that’s the case, then I guess we should head back to the pool and ask more about these deaths,” Dean said, clapping his hands together.

Sam silently huffed and made his way to the door. Dean muttered something along the lines of "he’ll get over it" before moving to the bathroom. I heard the shower turn on while I stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. With nothing else to do for the night and both boys otherwise occupied, I retrieved Dean’s shirt from the corner where I had tossed it that morning and got ready for bed. I was just chilling on the bed, enjoying a nice stretch and yawn when Dean stepped out of the bathroom in nothing but his towel. The boy really knew how to make a girl blush.

“Sorry, the room was quiet, so I just thought you’d, you know, left,” Dean said awkwardly.

I opened and closed my mouth a few times, unable to form a proper sentence. Dean seemed frozen in place too, his expression unreadable. My eyes wandered over Dean’s chiseled chest. It was clear he worked out—a necessity in his line of work, but it still caught me off guard. Before I could stop myself, I was standing in front of him, my hand reaching out to trace the contours of his chest down to his stomach. His skin was marred with old scars, and I felt the muscles twitch beneath my touch.

Dean placed a finger under my chin, gently lifting my head so our eyes met. The intensity in his gaze made my heart race. Neither of us moved for several moments, locked in a silent standoff. When it became clear neither of us was going to break away, Dean began to close the distance between us.

“I brought dinner,” Sam suddenly announced, walking in the door.

Dean and I jumped apart, startled, as Dean made a beeline for his clothes, quickly pulling on a shirt before heading back into the bathroom. I silently cursed Sam for the interruption. He glanced awkwardly between the now-closed bathroom door and me, clearly realizing he had walked in at the worst possible moment. Sam didn’t say anything, and I took a seat at the table as he began to silently dish out the fast food he’d bought. Dean’s and my dinner was burgers, while Sam had opted for some kind of salad. Dean emerged from the bathroom moments later, fully clothed. He grabbed his burger and fries and left the room, mumbling something about going to see a friend.

Sam and I ate in silence before he went to shower. I retreated to Dean’s bed, pulling his shirt up over my nose to breathe in his scent. The comforting mix of sandalwood, leather, whiskey, and gasoline filled my senses, but I was jolted back to reality when Sam suddenly exited the bathroom and started talking.

“What’s happening between you and Dean?”

“I...uh…what do you mean?” I stammered, caught off guard.

“After we left last time, Dean kept talking about you. He was hoping we’d see you again, but at the same time, he was hopeful you’d listen to him and take his advice,” Sam said as he sat on his bed. “He clearly loves you, but I don’t think having you around is best for Dean.”

“If there was anything between Dean and me, it would be none of your business,” I snapped, my anger flaring. “I love Dean. I’ve felt myself falling for him from the moment I met him. I hoped you guys would come back, but I accepted that you probably wouldn’t. Besides, who are you to say what’s best for Dean?”

“I’m his brother,” Sam yelled, his voice filled with frustration. “Having you around is distracting him, and in this line of work, distraction guarantees death.”

Sam’s outburst scared me, and all I could muster was a quiet “Goodnight, Sam” before curling up in Dean’s bed. Sam stormed out of the room, and moments later, I heard the roar of Dean’s Impala as it drove off. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I cried myself to sleep in the now quiet room.

When I woke the next morning, Sam and Dean were already discussing their game plan for the day. I sat up in bed, listening to their conversation before heading to the bathroom for a quick shower. After getting dressed, I packed my swimsuit into a bag and slung it over my shoulder. Dean grabbed his car keys and asked if I was joining them in his car or if I’d be driving my own. I chose to go with Dean to save on gas. The less money I had to spend, the better.

We drove in silence until we reached the pool. The parking lot was nearly empty. Dean found a spot close to the entrance, parked, and turned off the engine. He asked me to go in ahead of them to check if the police were still around. I made my way into the building, scanning the area from the reception desk. There was no crime scene tape, and no signs of police presence.

“Sad, wasn’t it?” a voice said from behind me.

“What?” I asked, turning to see a woman standing beside me.

“Didn’t you hear about the suicide two days ago?” she asked.

“Oh, they ruled that a suicide?” I replied, trying to sound casual.

“Yeah, they said the girl had been sexually assaulted a couple of weeks ago, and that was apparently her breaking point. Poor thing.”

I nodded in agreement as the woman walked off towards the pools. I headed back outside to inform the boys, who were now dressed in their suits and digging through the trunk. I wasn’t going to question when or how they had changed. I grabbed my bag from the back seat and filled them in on the details of the recent death. Dean and Sam exchanged a knowing look before we all headed back into the pool. I paid to swim while Sam and Dean flashed their badges, continuing their story about investigating on behalf of a victim’s family.

As Sam and Dean went off to speak with the staff, I wandered around the pool area, trying to piece together anything that could help with the case. I checked an information wall in the reception area, but it said nothing about the incidents. I walked around to the locations where the previous accidents had occurred but found nothing out of the ordinary. Frustrated, I was about to head back to Sam and Dean when I overheard two familiar voices that made my blood run cold.

“I swear she was here the other day with two hot guys.”

“Oh my god, I always knew she was such a slut. You watch—soon she’ll be pregnant and won’t have any idea who the father is.”

“Look, there she is.”

“Hi, Rachel. Jordan. Do you work here too?” I asked, panic slowly creeping in.

“Yeah, what of it? It pays well,” Jordan replied, crossing her arms.

“Oh, okay. I-I was just going to go for a swim while I wait for my boyfriend to finish up.”

“Boyfriend or boyfriends?” Rachel snickered.

Not wanting to continue the conversation, I quickly turned and fled. I had been outside in a general seating area, but I made my way back into the main swimming complex. I spotted Sam talking with a lifeguard near the wave pool, but I didn’t want to face him after last night, so I hurried on, continuing my search for Dean. It wasn’t until I saw him speaking with the man behind the snack counter that I realized how badly I was shaking. Dealing with my high school bullies had rattled me more than I wanted to admit.

I changed direction and headed for the changing rooms instead. I needed to calm down before continuing the investigation. If there was one thing I agreed with Sam on, it was that distractions could get me killed. I made my way to the sinks and splashed some cool water on my face, staring at myself in the mirror as I tried to push down the anger and fear that were consuming me. Fear of the bullies and anger at myself for still not having the courage to stand up to them. After a few deep breaths, I dried my face and headed back out to the pool area where I had last seen Dean.

A quick glance at the snack counter told me he was no longer there, starting my search for him all over again. Luckily, it didn’t last long. I spotted him in the adults-only area above one of the 25-meter pools, which had sun chairs and a spa. Unfortunately, he was speaking with them. I sucked in a deep breath and walked towards the area, steeling myself. I walked up beside Dean and laced my fingers with his, standing silently by his side as I listened to their conversation. Dean was asking questions about the other accidents that had occurred at the pool, but at the same time, he was absentmindedly rubbing circles into my hand with his thumb. It was incredibly distracting, and I found myself staring at our hands, lost in thoughts about last night.

"Here’s a question: How does someone as unattractive as her end up with someone as handsome as you?" My head snapped up to see Rachel giggling at her own comment.

"Yeah, it just doesn’t add up unless you’re only with her because of her money," Jorden chimed in.

"Or maybe because she was easy to get into bed," Rachel added with a laugh.

"Shut up, both of you," Dean said sharply, turning to face them. "Y/N is the most beautiful, amazing, intelligent, sweetest person I’ve ever met. God knows I don’t deserve her, but here she is right next to me, and that makes me one hell of a lucky bastard." He said this with a look of intense sincerity before turning back to me with a smile.

I was stunned into silence, my cheeks burning with a deep blush. Clearly, Dean’s words had left them speechless too, as they quickly excused themselves. Dean watched them leave before turning back to me.

"So, did you find anything?" Dean asked, clearing his throat awkwardly.

"Oh, uh, a woman told me that the death the other day has been ruled a suicide and that the girl had been assaulted about a week ago," I said.

"Assaulted? Did she mention if the friend who was with her here was also there then?" Dean asked, a sudden realization crossing his face.

"No, she didn’t. Why?" I asked, puzzled.

"I think I know what’s going on. We need to find Sam," Dean said urgently.

Dean, still holding my hand, led me out of the adults-only area. He scanned the pools and seating areas before dragging me up the ramps toward the reception. Dean’s determined stride must have looked intimidating, a grown man pulling what appeared to be a teenage girl. I felt the eyes of the onlookers on us as we reached the reception and practically sprinted to Sam, who was talking to someone at the desk.

Sam looked at our interlaced hands with a questioning expression before Dean, realizing we were still holding hands, awkwardly let go. He rubbed his hand on his suit jacket before shoving it into his pants pocket and waited for Sam to finish his conversation. Sam thanked the receptionist and led us to a more private corner.

"I think I’ve figured out what’s going on here, Sammy," Dean said before Sam could speak.

"Well, fill us in," I said, both exhausted from running and impatient.

"I’m pretty sure our spirit is viewing these people as burdens on those closest to them," Dean explained.

"Care to elaborate?" Sam asked, crossing his arms.

"One lifeguard mentioned that the American victim’s mother said they were here to see a world-class behavioral specialist to help calm down the kid. Another lifeguard told me that one of the victims fell over the railing from the spa area to the concrete below—she was in a wheelchair, and she died instantly," Dean said.

"And the assault—she would have been depressed," I whispered.

"So what? That doesn’t bring us any closer to figuring out who the spirit is," Sam said. "It could be someone who felt like a burden or someone who saw others as a burden."

"Then we need to look at all the deaths and figure out who fits the pattern and who doesn’t. We know it has to be someone who died here," I said, looking between them.

"Then let’s investigate each victim more closely," Dean agreed.

Sam and I nodded, and we all headed to the parking lot. As we stepped outside, Dean was rummaging for his car keys, Sam was absorbed in his phone, and I was staring at the ground. None of us paid much attention to the parking lot until Dean looked up, his face contorted with anger.

"What the hell?!" he exclaimed. Sam and I turned to see the empty space where the Impala had been.

"Oh dear, was that your car?" A familiar voice came from behind us.

"You bitch!" Dean shouted, storming toward Jorden.

"I’m sorry, but the car was illegally parked," Jorden said, unfazed by Dean’s rage. She maintained a smirk as Dean nearly confronted her.

"Baby was parked perfectly!" Dean yelled in her face.

"Well, not when I came out," Jorden said with a dismissive shrug, turning on her heel and walking back into the building.

"Come on, I know the way to the impound lot," I sighed, leading the way.

Dean walked beside me, while Sam trailed behind us, his gaze burning into the back of my head. I had no idea what his problem was. All we needed to do was finish the case, and then they could go back to the U.S., where they wouldn’t have to see me again—assuming no more cases came up here. The walk to the impound lot took nearly 45 minutes, during which Sam’s intense stare and Dean’s monologue about his car made the time drag. I stayed silent, plagued by the thought that if I hadn’t been here, Jorden wouldn’t have targeted Dean, and Sam wouldn’t be so worried.

"Oh, thank God," Dean said suddenly, breaking my reverie.

"Oh, we’re here," I said, looking at the impound lot sign in a daze.

"Hey, Sammy, why don’t you go get the car, and I’ll wait out here with Y/N?" Dean said, his voice tinged with concern.

Sam scoffed, rolled his eyes, and walked into the lot. I watched him disappear among the rows of cars, some crushed and piled high. Dean observed me watching Sam, and once he was sure Sam was out of earshot, he spoke.

"What’s going on with you?" Dean asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Huh? What? N-nothing is wrong," I stuttered.

"Don’t even try it, short stack. You’ve been silent since we left the pool. So are you going to tell me what the problem is, or am I going to have to make you talk about it?" Dean’s voice grew serious.

"Honestly, it’s fine. It’s probably just in my head," I tried to smile.

"Oh no, you’re not getting out of it that easily," Dean said firmly. "Now spill."

"It’s just that I feel like I’m the problem," I sighed. "Everything that’s happened today could have been avoided if I weren’t here. Hell, everything that happened last night might have been prevented too if I think about it." I hugged myself awkwardly.

"Okay, first off, you are not the problem. You’re far from it," Dean said, uncrossing his arms and pointing at me. "Secondly, I never want to hear you call yourself a problem again."

“Well, Sam seems to think I’m a pretty big issue, and Jorden only did what she did because of me,” I said, my voice breaking as tears began to fall. Before I could stop them, Dean had me wrapped in his arms. One arm was around my back, his thumb gently rubbing my arm, while the other hand cradled my head against his chest. He kissed the top of my head and rested his chin lightly on it.

"I’ll talk to Sam," Dean said softly. "And as for those girls, I think they’d have been snobby no matter who was here."

I nodded, resting against Dean. It felt like an eternity before Sam returned. Dean released me, and we put some space between us. We talked about Jorden and Rachael, recounting their high school antics. I admitted how I still felt like a failure for not standing up to them. Dean, however, pointed out how he’d noticed the envy in their eyes whenever they saw me. He even mentioned how he’d make it obvious he was checking me out, just to see them squirm with jealousy. I chuckled at that, wishing I could’ve seen their faces.

Sam arrived with four bags of stuff but no Impala.

“Where’s Baby?” Dean asked, his anger palpable.

“Sorry, Dean. They’re right about to close. I paid the fine, and they said we could pick up the car in the morning,” Sam explained.

“Son of a bitch!” Dean cursed. “Did you at least check for damage?”

“Uh...” Sam looked nervously between Dean and the pavement. “The passenger side is dented. It looks like they pushed it with another car. Sorry, Dean.”

“SON OF A BITCH!” Dean yelled.

I quickly placed a hand on Dean’s arm to get his attention. “It’s okay, Dean. We can go to my mum’s place for the night. She won’t be home anyway, and we can come back first thing in the morning to get Baby and assess the damage then.”

“I’m gonna kill them,” Dean’s voice trembled with anger as he tried to calm down.

I took Dean’s hand in mine and began leading him away from the impound lot. Sam asked how far the walk was and how I could be so sure my mum wouldn’t be home. I told them it was about a 20-minute walk—a distance I knew well from my teenage years, dealing with my car being impounded for various reasons. My mum worked abroad most of the year, managing a large baby and children’s business. She was rarely home, spending her time between London and Sweden. I’d been looking after myself since I was 14, often hosting friends like Theresa to avoid feeling too alone.

By the time I finished explaining, we were at my mum’s house. I led them down the steep driveway to the side gate. It was unlocked, so I lifted the metal latch and walked into the small backyard, which hadn’t changed since my last visit. I entered through the sliding door into an open living room, kitchen, and dining area, with a staircase leading upstairs.

“Those two lounges are pull-out sofa beds,” I pointed to the metal sofas that looked like they were from the '80s. “I’ll be sleeping through that sliding door, which is my old room. The door next to it is a bathroom with another sliding door into my room.”

“Oh, I have to see your room,” Dean said with a laugh.

He went straight for the sliding door, pushing it open and stepping inside. His immediate burst of laughter drew Sam in, and I followed, feeling embarrassed by the state of my room. The pink and purple walls, the fairy bedspread, and, most mortifying of all, the life-sized cutout of Gerard Way taped to the ceiling above my bed.

“Are you sure you have the right house?” Sam laughed. “I mean, come on—fairies?”

“It was a phase,” I huffed.

“Sam, did you see the poster on the ceiling?” Dean laughed.

“Oh, get out, both of you,” I said, waving my arms around.

The boys left the room, still chuckling. I locked the sliding door and the bathroom door, craving a moment of peace and a hot shower. I rummaged through my cupboard, found an old band shirt I used to sleep in, and headed for the shower. As the hot water washed away the day’s stress, I allowed myself to relax. Afterward, I dressed, dried off, and climbed into bed. In the silence, I heard Sam and Dean speaking softly in the lounge area.

“She’s a distraction for you, Dean,” Sam’s voice was hushed but intense.

“That doesn’t give you the right to upset her. Besides, once we’re through this case, we can go home, and you can go back to pretending she never existed,” Dean replied.

“But you won’t. You’ll always wonder if she’s okay, if she’s alive,” Sam said. “This is why hunters don’t get happily ever afters.”

“Don’t worry so much, Sammy. Once we’re home, I can hit up a few bars, get laid, and get her out of my system. It’s worked in the past; why wouldn’t it work this time?”

I couldn’t listen anymore. I looked up at the poster on my ceiling and cried, letting the tears come until I fell asleep, just as I had on so many nights in that room.

“You know she’s different, Dean,” Sam said.

“Oh yeah? How would you know that?” Dean asked.

“You love her. It’s obvious,” Sam shrugged. “After we were here last, you kept bringing her up. You literally got every form of social media to track her down and see what she was up to. You were worried about her then, but now that you have her number, what happens if she doesn’t message or call you? What will you do?”

“You know what? I’m done with this conversation,” Dean said, turning his back to Sam, trying to get some sleep.

Suddenly, I was jolted awake by a familiar voice yelling from the lounge room. “Who the hell are you? Why are you in my house?”

It was my mother. I jumped out of bed and raced into the lounge.

“Mum, it’s okay. They’re my friends,” I said, stepping into the room.

“Y/N, what are you doing here? I thought you were traveling and had no intention of ever coming back,” Mum said.

“We just needed somewhere to crash for the night while Dean’s car gets fixed. We’ll head out in the morning. Honestly, I didn’t think you’d be home.”

“I wasn’t. I just flew in early this morning from London. Are you going to introduce your friends?” Mum asked, gesturing to Sam and Dean.

“This is Sam and that’s Dean. They’re brothers,” I said, pointing to each one.

“Are you sleeping with them?” Mum asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Mum! Seriously, why would you ask that?” I almost shouted.

“Sorry, ma’am, we’re just friends. Travel buddies,” Dean spoke up, trying to defuse the situation.

“Oh, American. I see. Figures you’d end up with someone American. It was always going to be that or someone British,” Mum shrugged.

“Seriously, Mum,” I sighed.

“What? I’m just stating the facts. Would you boys like breakfast before you all rush off? God knows my daughter can’t stand me, and now that she knows I’m home, she’ll be dying to leave as soon as possible,” Mum said dramatically.

“That sounds great, thank you very much,” Sam said with a smile.

I sighed and went back to my room to change. I grabbed another old band shirt and a pair of ripped skinny jeans, then packed a suitcase with items I should have brought earlier—my laptop, extra clothes, and my jewelry box. I placed the suitcase next to the boys’ duffle bags and headed upstairs to the kitchen.

Sam and Dean were already at the dining table, chatting and laughing with my mum, who was busy cooking pancakes. I sat silently at the table, listening to their conversation. Dean seemed to be getting along great with my mum, which only made the previous night more painful. I knew I was falling for him, but if he planned to leave, return to the U.S., and pretend I never existed, why make a big deal about not letting me out of his sight? Why go out of his way to comfort me?

“Okay, breakfast is ready,” Mum said cheerfully.

“Oh, this looks amazing, Miss Y/L/N. Thank you,” Dean said, taking the plate of pancakes from my mum and placing it on the table. The boys began to dig in, enjoying what was probably their first home-cooked meal in a long time. The conversation with my mother continued effortlessly, and I couldn’t help but notice how convincingly Dean lied about how we met, what they did for a living, and why they were in Australia. It made me question if everything he’d told me was a lie. Maybe I needed to be more like Dean and just move on after this case was over.

Thought it was about time I gave an update/schedule. I'm going away for a week over Christmas to see family but I'm hoping to post something New Year's Eve before I hit the town. I'm not going to give exact dates for when I'll post parts cause lord knows I will never stick to it lol. Also I'm working on a novel that I hope I'll actually finish this time and get published so we'll see how that goes I guess. So for now this is the plan:

Dec 2023:

Supernatural: Hunting, Living and Love (SHLL) Part 3

Dating Oddessy: Eddie

Jan 2024:

SHLL Part 4

Dating Oddessy: Jim

SHLL Part 5

Dating Oddessy: Billy

Feb 2024:

SHLL Part 6

Dating Oddessy: Jonathan

SHLL Part 7

I also have a bunch of other ideas that I may drop in here or there just to break it up a bit. If you have any requests let me know and I'll add those to my list too!

The Dating Odyssey: Steve

Eddie Munson/Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington/Jim Hopper/Jonathan Byers x fem!reader

2.8k word count

fluff, idiot reader, reader who can't say no, choose your own adventure-ish

Part 1 / Eddie's Ending / Jim's Ending / Billy's Ending / Jonathan's Ending

 Sleep that night was a stranger to you. You tossed and turned nodding off only to be jerked back awake by the consequences of your actions. Before long the first light of day was breaking through your window. You decided to abandon sleep and instead start getting ready for work. You showered, dressed and collected the large pile of assignments before loading them into your car and driving to the school. You made it through the day by drinking copious amounts of coffee and plastering on the best fake smile you could manage. Making it home that night you abandoned all thoughts of food and went straight to bed. Yet once again in your quite apartment you were meet with the thoughts of the decision looming over you. Maybe the best solution was to leave Hawkins. Move somewhere new and try again after all isn’t that why you moved here in the first place, for a fresh start. You quickly abandoned that idea, you didn’t have the money and it was hard enough landing the teaching job in Hawkins let alone looking elsewhere.

And so you went another night with very little sleep. Your week went by at a snail’s pace. You thought you were doing a good job hiding your inner turmoil but apparently one particular student had noticed something was a miss with you and decided he needed to check in.

“Hi Miss Y/L/N I was just wondering if your okay you seem very distracted this week, I mean normally you laugh at all my jokes but you haven’t even laughed at one, I’ll admit some weren’t that funny, but I thought a few were pretty good” Dustin rambled standing in the doorway of your classroom

“I’m fine Dustin just some adult drama you don’t need to worry about” You smiled at the curly haired boy

“Is it to do with Steve?” Dustin pushed “Cause his like my best friend I can talk to him if you like”

“No it’s not Steve, but thank you Dustin”

“Well the offers there, see you next week Miss” Dustin smiled walking away

“See you next week” You smiled

You finished packing up your desk glad it was Friday and walk out to your car. In the parking lot you found Dustin, Lucas, Will and Mike goofing around with Eddie who looked like he was picking the boys up from school probably to go play Dungeons and Dragons. You wanted to hurry to your car to avoid being spotted by him. But you stared in the boys direction just a little too long. Eddie looked up from loading the boys into the back of his van just long enough to see you watching. He said something to the boys that you were too far away to hear before jogging over to you. You froze in place, wanting to run but your feet not allowing you to.

“Hi” Eddie smiled coming to a stop in front of you

“Hi Eddie” You gave a small smile back

“Uh oh someones not happy, kids give you hell?” Eddie chuckled

“Eddie” You looked to the ground “I…”

“Y/n whats the matter?” Eddie became serious

“I’m so sorry” You whispered

“What was that?” Eddie asked placing a hand on your elbow “I didn’t quite catch that”

“I’m sorry” You looked up at him

“Sorry? For what?” Eddies face was filled with worry and concern

“Last weekend…I loved our date I really did but I also went on a few other dates and now I don’t know what to do, I messed up and I don’t know what I’m suppose to do, I’m so sorry Eddie” You rambled a few tears escaping to run down your face

“Jesus H. Christ” Eddie turned away from you running a hand through his hair “How many other dates?” Eddie asked still facing away from you eyes closed

“4”

“4!” Eddie shouted turning to face you as he did “4 fucking dates and you didn’t think to at least have the decency to tell me”

“I wanted to but I was scared of this” You said

“Look I’m sorry” Eddie tried to calm down “I just thought a girl finally might give Eddie ‘The Freak’ Munson a chance, I guess not”

Eddie stormed off back to his van while you stood in the parking lot and sobbed. You really had fucked up. You needed someone to comfort you right in that moment but at the same time you didn’t really know anyone here. You hoped into your car and decided to go find the one person you had been honest with right from the start. You drove the busy after school streets all the way to Family Video knowing today being Friday that Steve would be working. You walked in the doors looking immediately to the counter for Steve. But he wasn’t there. You began looking down the aisles hoping Steve was just out the back and would be back out soon. A woman you knew to be Robin soon came from out the back having heard the door chime.

“If your looking for Steve his not here” Robin walked over placing a few DVDs on the shelf.

“Is he home sick?” You asked

“I honestly have no clue. Mr Perfect called to take the week off for family reasons” Robin scoffed “Like we all don’t know his parents are rarely ever home and his never mentioned any other family”

“Oh okay well thank you Robin I guess I’ll be going” You managed a smile heading for the door

“If you see the dingus tell him he owes me for working all his shifts” Robin said

“I will” you chuckled

You made your way back to your car and began driving mindlessly around town. You had no clue what to do, no idea where to go. A small piece of you wanted to drive to Steves but you didn’t want to be a burden on him. You drove and debated with yourself on if you should go to Steves or not. It would seem that your unconscious mind made that decision for you because before you could process where you were driving you found yourself in front of Steves. You would have kept driving if it wasn’t for the fact that Steve was sitting on the front step having a smoke. He stood up and waved at you. You silently cursed as you pulled up in front of Steves house. You braced yourself and climbed out of your car and walked towards Steve. At some point between your car and Steve you had begun to shake. By the time you got to Steve you were completely sobbing. Steve pulled you into his arms, gently shushing you and rubbing small circles into your back.

You stayed like that for quite a while before you were able to compose yourself enough to move away from Steve. He guided you into his house, leading you to his lounge room where he had you sit on the lounge while he fetched you something to drink. Part of him was glad you had come to him, yet part of him was scared you where only here to tell him you had picked someone else over him. He came back into the lounge room carrying a glass of water which he handed off to you. Steve sat silently by your side as you sipped at your glass of water waiting for you to speak when you were ready.

“I think I really fucked up” You said after a short but comfortable silence

“Well you don’t say” Steve gave a small smile “What happened?”

“I told Eddie everything” You sighed

“Only Eddie?” Steve questioned

“Yep and given how he reacted I’m not sure I could tell anyone else”

“How did he reacted?” Steve asked

“He snapped at me, he screamed at me, he was very angry”

“Honestly knowing Eddie I’m not at all surprised that that’s how he choose to act”

“What am I suppose to do Steve?” You asked

“I can’t answer that I’m afraid, it’s your choice” Steve sighed running a hand through his hair

“I can’t make a choice Steve, I don’t know even know what I want but it certainly wasn’t this”

You began to sob, dropping your head into your hands. Steve pulled you into his arms. You rested your head on his chest while he rested his chin gently on top of your head. He began to rock the both of you slowly. He truly felt bad for you but at the same time he wanted to be selfish and tell you not to worry about the others and just choose him. But he knew he couldn’t do that, it wasn’t his choice to make. During Steve’s inner turmoil he missed the slowing and evening out of your breathing and the occasional hiccups you made. It wasn’t until he went to ask you if you wanted him to cook you both some dinner that he realised you had fallen asleep. The stress and panic had finally worn you down and you had passed out in the safety of Steves arms. Not wanting to wake you Steve pulled you onto his lap and stood up. He carried you upstairs to his room and place you on his bed. As he went to stand up you clung to his shirt as if he was your life line, your safety net to the situation you found yourself in. Steve tried several times albeit not very hard to get away from you. When he realised he wasn’t getting away from you he moved you further across his bed before joining you. He made a silent prayer to whatever possessed him to wear sweatpants instead of his normal tight jeans before pulling you close to him and falling asleep himself.

The next morning you woke up when sunlight filtered though a nearby window hitting you in your face. You blinked taking in the plaid walls and matching plaid curtains. You started to internally panic, how had you ended up in Steves bed? If you fell asleep why didn’t he just wake you? Better yet why was Steve holding you in his arms. You tried to keep your breathing calm as you attempted to free yourself from Steves arms. You placed a hand on Steves wrist that was currently draped over your waist and tried to slowly lift his arm up. You managed to successfully move his arm from your waist but as you went to move his arm to the bed you lost your grip. Steves arm came down on the bed with a thump startling the man awake. He groaned and you froze. Steve brought his arm up to his face and rubbed his eyes before looking at you. He gave you a half awake smile. In that moment something happened you weren’t quite expecting. Your heart started to race and you couldn’t help but smiled back.

“Morning” Steve yawned

“Good morning, uh, why am I in your bed?”

“Well I didn’t want to wake you up or risk you trying to drive home with how upset you were” Steve shrugged

“Okay and why are you in your bed with me?”

“That would be your fault” Steve smirked poking your nose “You refused to let me go so I had no choice but to stay, I was going to be a gentle man sleep on the floor again”

You started laughing at the absurdity of it all and pulled Steve’s blankets over your face. Steve quickly pulled the entire blanket away from you wrapping himself up like a burrito in the process. He gave you a big goofy grin from inside his burrito causing you to laugh even harder at the man.

“And this is for being the worlds worst blanket hog” Steve got out between his own laughter

Steve unwrapped himself before holding out a hand to you. You gladly accepted it. Steve pulled you from his bed and guided you down stairs to the kitchen where you took a seat at the kitchen island. Steve began running around the kitchen making you both a simple breakfast of bacon and eggs. He poured you a glass of orange juice which you took with a thank you. You sat in relative silence and watched the man work hard on making you both what your sure from previous experience would be an excellent breakfast. At one point Steve spilt some oil on the floor, waved it off and then almost immediately slipped on it. He landed with a thud directly on his butt. You couldn’t help but laugh at him even if he did seem a little mean. Steve quickly stood up and gave you the most over exaggerated look of betrayal. You tried to apologise between laughs but Steve just waved his arm around while saying he would never be able to forgive you. All in good fun of course no actual feelings where hurt. You found yourself deep in thought as Steve finished cooking the bacon and plating breakfast. Steve placed the plate of now ready bacon eggs in front of you. He took a seat beside you and began eating his breakfast. This seemed to bring you out of your head and cause you to start eating for your own food in response.

“So I feel like we need to talk about this situation” Steve said after taking a bite of a piece of bacon and swinging it around in the air

“Uh we’re two adults eating breakfast what is there to discuss?” You tried to avoid what you knew was coming “No y/n I mean this situation you’ve found yourself in” Steve sighed

“I really don’t know what to do” You sighed

“You can’t just avoid everyone forever”

“I’m not avoiding you”

“Y/n no that’s” Steve groaned in frustration

“What do you expected me to do Steve I screwed myself over is that what you want to hear?” You sighed

“You can say that again” Steve sighed “Look I can’t tell you what to do or who to choose and yes I know its hard and it would be easier if I made the decision for you but it doesn’t work that way I’m afraid”

 “Can I just have today and then I’ll make my decision tomorrow?” You asked

“Sure but I’m going to subject you to the worst romantic comedies I can find” Steve smirked moving to put his plate in the sink

After breakfast was finished the two of you moved to the lounge room where Steve quickly picked out Grease as the first of your movies. You settled down on the lounge while Steve went to get snacks and drinks. By the time he came back Danny and Sandy where in the middle of singing about summer love. You had left some space between you and Steve so as not to create any awkward situations. As the movie played on you could feel Steve looking at you. You turned to look at him and he quickly looked away. You shrugged it off and went back to the movie. Several more times during the movie you could feel Steves eyes on you but anytime you looked to him he would be back looking at the movie. Steve even started singing along to the movie at some point. Then as the final number started Steve stood to dance around.

“Come on y/n join me” Steve smiled grabbing your hand pulling you up from the lounge

Steve spun you around while you laughed your way through the song. As the song and the movie came to its close you found yourself in Steves arms smiling from ear to ear and trying to catch your breath. This was the man you wanted to began with. The guy you had basically been crushing on since you got to Hawkins. Would you really be happy with someone else knowing you never gave him the chance? You didn’t want him to be the one who got away.

“Steve I made my choice” You said

“Really? I thought you were going to wait until tomorrow?” He said getting nervous

“I was but I changed my mind” You shrugged

“Okay well what have you decided”

Rather then giving Steve an answer you grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him into a kiss. He was shocked at first but soon settled into the kiss. He wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you flush against him. Your arms wrapped around his neck. You smiled into the kiss. He stole your breath away just like the first time you’d kissed. You pulled apart for air resting your forehead against his. This felt right. Steve felt right.

“So this mean your choosing me?” Steve asked

“No doy” you giggled

Supernatural, Hunting, Living and Love (Revisited) Part 2

Dean Winchester x fem!reader

4.5k word count

Summary After completely ignoring Deans warning you find yourself reunited with the Winchesters after a perplexing case brings them back down under.

fluff, idiots in love, friends to lovers

Warnings mention and description of death

Original / Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

It's been a year since I met the Winchesters. I tried to return to my old life, but the knowledge that there were creatures out there that could kill me at any moment made it impossible to concentrate. So, I decided to hit the road. I packed my most important belongings into my car and left everything else at my mom's. I dropped out of university and began searching for other hunters. The Winchesters didn’t leave me a how-to guide on hunting monsters, so I had to figure it out on my own. I traveled far and wide, leaving messages for hunters wherever I could—monster books in libraries, notice boards, online chat rooms, you name it. After two months of relentless searching, I was finally contacted by a guy named Johnny. Johnny owned a roadhouse near Broken Hill, one of the few hubs for hunters. He gave me a list of known hunters' hubs, a list of essential tools, and a job to get me started. "An easy find and burn," he said. He advised me to call him for jobs for now and assured me that I would gradually learn how to find my own hunts. And that's how I ended up on the job I'm working today.

I had driven through the night to get back to Sydney, to the suburb of Blacktown where my story began. It was the first time I'd been back since everything that happened with the boys. This time, a similar case had brought me back: a ghost causing accidents at the local pool, leading to 11 deaths so far. Something needed to be done soon. The latest incident occurred just a week before. A paraplegic kid had seemingly stood up from her wheelchair, climbed onto a diving board, and dove headfirst onto the cement below. The ghost was escalating its attacks, putting this case at the top of my list. Before tackling the case, though, I needed to rest. I decided to book into a hotel, take a hot shower, eat, and sleep. I had only enough money for one night, so I found a cheap hotel close to the pool with vacancies and pulled in. As I parked and hopped out of my car, a certain vehicle caught my eye. Everything else was quickly forgotten as I ran to the room the car was parked in front of. I stopped to catch my breath before knocking on the door.

"Well, well, look who we have here," Dean said, crossing his arms with a smirk as he opened the door.

"Hey, Dean," I smiled.

"Y/N, is that you?" Sam asked, appearing behind Dean.

"In the flesh," I replied. "What brings you two back to town?"

"We're working this case," Dean explained. "A friend of ours called after getting a tip from a hunter here—some ghost killing a bunch of people at a pool."

"What a coincidence. I'm working that case too. It's been on my radar for the last three months, but it's really ramped up in the last month, so I figured I should probably get my ass back here and take care of it."

"I thought I told you to stay away from all this," Dean suddenly snapped, his hands balling into fists at his sides.

"I tried, Dean. I really did. But I couldn't shake it. I was second-guessing everything and everyone, and I felt like I needed to do this to feel safe," I said, recoiling at his words.

"I told you there were other people like us doing this job so you could be safe. Trust me, this isn't the life you want."

"You packed up and went back to the States. You left me here where there are barely any hunters. What did you expect me to do?" I snapped back.

"I expected you to listen to me!" Dean yelled, jabbing a finger toward the ground.

I flinched away from Dean, and he immediately noticed. The regret on his face was clear. He tried reaching out to touch my arm, but I moved back. Sighing, he stepped aside, allowing me into the room. Sam motioned for me to come over to the sole table where he was working on his laptop. Dean, meanwhile, moved to sit on his bed on the opposite side of the room. Sam ran me through everything they had found so far. He mentioned a friend of theirs named Bobby, who had been contacted by a local hunter overwhelmed by the case. It was something I had noticed too, and it had only motivated me more to become a hunter. Over the past year, I had been taking on the harder cases that other hunters struggled with. I had made contacts at all the hunters’ roadhouses in Australia and had hardly had a day to myself since. I told Sam about Johnny, a name he instantly recognized. Apparently, Johnny had been the one to call Bobby, requesting the boys' help after many other hunters had come up short.

"What have you found so far?" I asked Sam.

"Well, the earliest accident recorded at the pool was two months after it opened," Sam replied.

"I found that too during my initial research. She was running, slipped on the wet floor, and got impaled on a sign pole. Not a nice way to go, but it doesn't seem like something to create a vengeful spirit," I said.

"My thoughts exactly," Sam sighed. "But I can't find anything about the place being built on a burial ground or sacred site or anything."

"So, what you're saying is there's no reason for these deaths to be ramping up at this joint?" Dean finally joined the conversation.

"Well, none we can find," I said. "This is why I've avoided the case for so long. Every time I've looked into it, I haven't been able to find a reason. Nothing I know of could be causing this, nothing Johnny knows of could be causing this. Maybe Bobby might know something?"

"I'll call him," Sam sighed.

Sam grabbed his phone and left the room. I looked at Dean in confusion. We were working this case together, so why would Sam leave? Dean mumbled something about Sam thinking best when he was walking around. I just shrugged and stayed at the table, waiting for Sam to come back. Dean and I fell into an uncomfortable silence. I knew he wasn't happy with me being here and giving everything up to become a hunter, but I didn’t see any other choice. I understood the dangers; I knew a hunter's life was often short. But if it meant making a difference while I was still here, then so be it. Dean needed to understand this.

"Dean..."

"Save it. I know I won't be able to change your mind, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let you leave my side," Dean said, looking over at me. "I wanted to save you from this life. I wanted you to walk away and never look back. I don't want you to end up broken like me."

"It's not like I have anything to lose. My father abandoned me, my mother and I barely talk, and I don’t exactly have any other family. Just friends, and as far as they know, I came into a small fortune and I'm off traveling the world," I sighed.

"Sounds like every hunter origin story I've heard before," Dean chuckled coldly.

"Why? What's your story?" I asked.

"Mum died, Dad abandoned us, then he died. I'm one of the lucky ones, though, because I got Sammy. And I guess now I have your dumbass to look out for too," Dean smiled at me.

"You make that sound like a bad thing," I laughed.

"Oh, it is. You're a pain in my ass," Dean laughed too.

"Who, me? Nah, I'm delightful."

Sam walked back into the room, greeted by the sight of Dean and me laughing our asses off, a stark contrast to how he had left us. He looked between us before awkwardly starting to explain that Bobby would investigate the situation, contact some other hunters in the area, and call Sam back if he found anything. Until then, Dean decided it would be best if we grabbed some food and called it a night. Dean left Sam and me to clean up the table while he went to get what he called the world’s smallest McDonald’s burgers. Sam and I just shook our heads at him and continued to tidy up. We talked about what the guys had been up to since they were last here and everything I had done. Sam was quite impressed at how quickly I had learned to spot signs of the supernatural and my ability to research and handle problems. It turned out they had heard from Bobby about a badass new hunter on the scene out here, but they had no clue it was me. It didn’t take us long to clean off the table, and soon Dean returned with the food. He dumped the bags on the table and began tossing burgers at each of us, cursing when he reached for the fries and found they had all fallen out in the bag. Sam and I shook our heads at Dean and started on our burgers while he fixed the fries. After we had eaten, we all agreed to get some sleep while waiting for Bobby to get back to us. Sam went off to shower first while Dean kicked off his shoes and flopped onto the bed. I, on the other hand, moved toward the door, planning to book my room for the night.

"Where are you staying?" Dean suddenly asked, stopping me in my tracks.

"Going to book a room for tonight, then probably sleep in my car until this is over. Why?" I turned back towards Dean.

"You can't be serious."

"Well, normally I'd loo or a free campground, but we're in the middle of a city. Luckily, I recently found this really cool inflatable bed thing. You move the seats forward, put it in the back seat, and it acts like a real bed. It's actually pretty comfortable," I rambled.

"Like hell you're sleeping in your car. Take my bed, and I'll take the couch," Dean grumbled, getting up from his bed. "Besides, it saves you the money you'd spend on a room for a single night."

"Dean, I can't kick you to the lounge again," I sighed.

"Nonsense. Hunters need a safe place to sleep."

"We don’t exactly get paid, Dean. I do odd jobs in the towns I’m in between or sometimes even during hunts, just to get enough to eat and to put fuel in my car. I can’t afford a hotel room."

"And that’s where credit card scams come in," Dean smirked.

"How? I mean, you’d need fake IDs and birth certificates, not to mention the limits. Eventually, they’d cut the card off."

"Bobby hooks us up with a whole host of fake IDs—cops, FBI, CIA, you name it. The trick with credit cards is to get the card with the highest limit. For instance, a card with a $10,000 limit before repayments are needed. Use it for the case, and before you get out of dodge, withdraw the remaining amount. That way, when they come looking for Mr. Hector Rodriguez, it looks like he never left town."

"Jesus, Dean, that’s insane."

"That’s the life," Dean shrugged, making himself comfy on the lounge.

I took off my shoes and made myself comfortable on the bed while waiting for Sam to finish with the shower. I had planned to use the bathroom to change, but I must have been more tired than I realized because I nodded off. I woke up the next morning to an empty room and noticed that Dean’s Impala was gone too. They must have heard back from Bobby and headed off to chase a lead. It kind of sucked that they didn’t wake me up first, but there was nothing I could do about it now. I grabbed the remote and turned on the TV, mostly for background noise, before heading to my car to grab a change of clothes. With clothes in hand, I went to the bathroom for a shower. I always found that the shower was the best place to organize my day. I turned the water on, cranking up the heat until it was almost unbearable. As the shower screen fogged up, I began to write out my plan for the day. First, I needed to find some breakfast, then I needed to locate the guys. The problem was, I didn’t have either of their numbers and wasn’t keen on driving aimlessly around the city to find them. After washing up, I begrudgingly turned off the water. As I reached for a towel, I was horrified to realize there were only two towels in the bathroom. I rummaged through the room but found no additional towels. I returned to the bathroom, eyeing the two towels on the rack. At this point, I was almost dry, so I grabbed the obviously unused towel and quickly dried myself off, hanging the towel back as neatly as possible when I was done. Once I was dressed and dry, I grabbed my phone and keys before heading out to my car. I was honestly surprised that Dean had managed to pick out which car was his and which was mine. The engine roared to life as I settled into the driver's seat. I drove to McDonald's to grab a breakfast deal. After I got my food, I figured I might as well continue investigating the case on my own. As I waited in the drive-through, I pulled out my phone to continue my research. It was then that I noticed a text message from Dean, which caught me off guard since I hadn’t saved his number.

Hey sleeping beauty, when you get this, give me a call. If I don’t answer, I put Sammy’s number in your phone too.

I chuckled to myself before dialing the number. After a few rings, Dean picked up.

"Hey, enjoy your sleep?" Dean laughed.

"It was great, thank you. Your bed is very comfy."

"At least someone’s enjoying my bed," Dean chuckled.

"Yeah, you should really try it sometime. It's so comfy and warm, it would put you straight to sleep," I taunted.

"Pfft, who needs an awesome bed when they have a perfect lounge to sleep on?"

"Where are you anyway?" I laughed on the phone.

"About to head to the pool," Dean sighed. "We’ve exhausted the library. They have nothing on the pool that we didn’t already know, so the only place left is the pool."

"Have fun with that. I’m just getting breakfast. Oh, and here it comes!" I squealed, winding down the window.

"Yeah, yeah, stuff your face then get your ass over here," Dean chuckled, hanging up.

I took my food with a thank you before pulling into the parking lot. After parking my car, I started on my breakfast. It didn’t take me long to finish, and I tossed my rubbish into a nearby bin before heading to the pool. When I arrived, I parked towards the back of the lot and went inside. It annoyed me more than it should have that I had to pay to enter the pool, even though I had no intention of swimming. It felt weird paying just to watch, but being on my own, it seemed the only option. I walked down the ramp into the main pool area, which featured a wave pool, a splash pool, and two 25-meter pools. It wasn’t overly busy, so it didn’t take more than a quick glance to spot Sam and Dean. It also helped that they were the only people in the building in suits. They were standing near the wave pool controls, talking to a lifeguard. As I started making my way towards them, I was suddenly halted by the sound of a giggle. It was a giggle I would recognize anywhere, sending an ice-cold shiver down my spine. I almost turned around and fled back to my car, intending to wait for Sam and Dean to finish. The only thing that stopped me was Dean spotting me and giving me a wink, which caused the lifeguard to look over her shoulder towards me. I squared my shoulders, held my head high, and walked over to them. Upon reaching them, however, my mouth started spilling out words before my brain could catch up.

"Hey, babe," I said, leaning against Dean's side. "I thought I’d come for a swim while you take care of things, but I don’t have any swimwear." I winced inwardly at the cringe-worthy line.

"Oh, hi Rachel! Haven’t seen you since graduation. Still lifeguarding, I see?" I greeted, trying to mask my awkwardness.

"Y/N, yes, I am. It pays quite well. How did you end up with such a handsome man?" Rachel asked, crossing her arms and giving me a disapproving look.

"Well, as you probably heard, I’ve been traveling the world, and during a trip through America, I found this handsome man," I said, smiling up at Dean.

"Lucky you," Rachel scoffed.

"Yeah, lucky me," I replied, still smiling at Dean.

"Anyway, baby, here’s my card. Go get yourself some swimwear and have a good time," Dean said, handing me a card.

"Thank you," I said, taking the card and giving Dean a quick peck on the cheek before darting off.

As I was leaving, I heard Dean say, "Now, if you don’t mind, we’d like to ask all the staff about the incident."

I went to the main counter and bought a swimsuit—one of the things I had left behind when I packed up and left, thinking I’d never use it again. With the swimsuit in hand, I headed back to find Sam and Dean to return Dean's card, thank him for his help, and apologize for putting him on the spot. As I wandered back into the main pool area, I quickly spotted Dean standing at the edge of the splash pool, talking to a lifeguard. Just as I was about to approach him, a hand suddenly came down on my shoulder. I jumped and spun around, ready to punch whoever had touched me.

"Wow, easy there," Sam chuckled.

"Sam, why would you do that?" I slapped him on the chest.

"I didn’t mean to scare you. Just figured I should fill you in before you blow our cover story any further."

"Yeah, sorry about that," I muttered, dropping my head.

"Oh, it’s fine. No harm done," Sam smiled. "Anyway, we were researching the deaths this morning, and one of the victims was a young girl on holiday from America. So Dean and I decided to come in and ask some questions, posing as representatives from the American Embassy investigating on behalf of the parents."

"That’s actually pretty smart. I’ll go change into these swimmers and stay out of your way. Also, can you give Dean back his card?" I handed it to Sam. "I feel kinda bad for taking it."

"Well, it’s not our money anyway, so nothing to feel bad about," Sam smirked.

I laughed at Sam's comment and walked away with a wave towards the female changing room. Only two other people were in the changing room when I walked in—two young girls, probably no older than 18. It seemed they had just finished their swim and were getting ready to shower and change. I ducked into an empty changing booth on the opposite side of the room from them. They were giggling and whispering between themselves as I walked by. If only they knew what was happening here, what was happening in the world. I quickly slipped into the swimsuit—no easy feat when both you and the suit are as dry as the Sahara Desert. Just as I bundled my clothes in my arms and was about to open the door, the room was suddenly filled with a blood-curdling scream. I dropped my clothes and threw open the door. One of the girls from earlier was now pressed up against the wall on the opposite side of the room, while the other lay motionless on the floor.

I ran over to the girl on the floor and dropped down by her side, assessing her for any signs of life. She was gone; her neck was clearly broken. Standing up, I walked over to the other girl as more people began pushing their way into the bathroom. Sam and Dean were among them. Seeing the scene, they began pushing people back and asking for someone to call emergency services. I took the other girl into my arms, shielding her face from the horrific sight and encouraging her to look away. I nodded to Sam and Dean, knowing they would need to leave the building quickly but quietly while I stayed behind to answer questions. I tried to ask the girl what had happened, but all I could get was the word "why," spoken in a whisper between sobs. I just held her, rubbing circles into her back while waiting for help to arrive.

It felt like forever, but it was probably no more than 15 minutes before the police and ambulance arrived. The police stood back, allowing the paramedics to do their work. Once the paramedics confirmed there was nothing they could do for the girl on the floor, they turned their attention to her friend. They checked her over and then escorted her to a waiting ambulance. The police followed, making sure I stayed put in the room. Returning to where I had discarded my clothes, I gathered them up and sat on the bench running the length of the room. Holding my clothes to my chest, I suddenly felt naked in the now-empty room. It wasn’t the first time I had seen a dead body, and living the life I chose, I knew it wouldn’t be the last. But that didn’t make it any less jarring. The absolute stillness of her body, the lack of the normal rise and fall of her chest, the absence of any movement, the fading pink hue of her skin—it was all so stark, so sudden. I closed my eyes and prayed she went quickly.

The quiet of the room was soon broken by the arrival of crime scene techs and coroners. They completely ignored my presence and went about their tasks, examining the deceased girl and the room. The only interaction I had was with a woman who came over and asked for my clothes. Confused, I asked why, since they hadn't been near the girl. She insisted it was needed just in case and that they would get them back to me as soon as possible. Reluctantly, I handed over my clothes and filled out the paperwork she provided. With no other address to use, I gave her my mother's address for the return of my clothes.

I watched as the coroner bagged the girl's body and removed it from the room while the techs continued to take pictures and discuss their theories about what had happened. Eventually, after what must have been 30 minutes, the police returned to the room to speak with me. They asked a flurry of questions that blurred together: Did you know the victim? No. Did you see what happened? No. Do you know Samantha? Was that the other girl? No. What were you doing here? Changing to swim. On and on, question after question. They questioned me for over an hour. It felt like a waste of their time, as I had nothing to offer—they were asking a witness who hadn’t witnessed anything. Before they let me go, I asked what Samantha had said about the incident. They gave me the usual response: they couldn’t divulge much but assured me that the investigation would reveal the truth.

I thanked the officers and left the room. I fell into a sort of autopilot. Before I knew it, I was out of the pool, in my car, and back at the hotel, with no recollection of the drive. I parked next to Dean’s Impala. As soon as I shut off the engine, I began to shake uncontrollably. I took a few shaky breaths, gripping the steering wheel tightly. I climbed out of the car and walked to the room door, knocking and waiting for someone to answer. When the door finally opened, it was Dean standing there.

“They took my clothes,” was all I managed to say before the weight of the day hit me. In the year I had been working cases, I had never seen a dead body or witnessed someone die. I had only read about it, keeping a safe distance from the true horrors. The only dead body I had seen before this was my grandmother’s, and I had hoped she would be the only person I would have to see die in my lifetime. Today’s events had dredged up all those memories and emotions I had tried so hard to bury.

As I broke down, Dean pulled me into the room and shut the door. He wrapped his arms around me, offering a safe, warm refuge where I could finally let my emotions flow.

The Dating Odyssey pt.1 (Stranger Things Guys X Reader)

Eddie Munson/Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington/Jim Hopper/Jonathan Byers x fem!reader

8.8k word count (just a little carried away)

summary You moved to the little town of Hawkins, Indiana for a fresh start. What you didn't expect was to end up having 5 dates in one weekend.

fluff, idiot reader, reader who can't say no, choose your own adventure-ish

Steves Ending / Eddies Ending / Jims Ending / Billy's Ending / Jonathan's Ending

The guy in the video store, the metal head guitarist in the band, the photographer, the lifeguard and the chief of police. Hawkins just seemed to breed hot guys. It didn’t help that all five had asked you the pretty new girl in Hawkins on a date. And you in your bumbling awkwardness had agreed to the five dates. You now sat in your apartment having a meltdown trying to find a solution to your problem. You had never done anything like this before then again you hadn’t had this many guys hitting on you before. At least you had the sense to make all the dates on different days. But in such a small town the chances of the other guys finding out you had been on another date was super high. The best course of action at this point would just be the tell them all right? Be straight-up honest and hope for the best. You threw yourself onto your bed with a groan bringing your arm up to cover your eyes. All you had wanted to do was move to a small town where life was cheap, work as a teacher and travel during your spare time. Just you and your cat for the rest of your life. Mr. Fancy Paws was the only man you needed in your life. At least that is what you would have told yourself before moving to Hawkins. You sat up with a sigh and reached out for a notebook sitting on your nearby computer desk. You took the pen attached to the cover and opened it to a blank page. The video store guy's name was Steve and he wanted to have dinner and watch a movie at his place. The metalhead Eddie wanted you to go to his show Saturday night. Jim the chief of police wanted to take you out for a romantic dinner. The lifeguard Billy wanted you to join him for a private swim at the pool. And Jonathan the photographer wanted you to join him for a hike and photograph some animals and other nature shots. At the end of the day, it wasn’t like any of them had asked you to be their girlfriend so it shouldn’t be a problem if you had just one date with each of them. After that, you could decide if you liked any of them or wanted to go on an additional date with any of them. Steve's date was for Friday, Jim's was for Sunday night, Jonathan's Sunday day and Billy's today was Thursday. It was going to be a busy few days. You sighed and threw the notebook on the bed, before dragging yourself to your closet. You pulled out the only swimsuit you had. A plain black one-piece. You tossed it on your bed and went about getting ready. No makeup because duh, hair pulled back in a messy bun. You slipped on your old beat-up black Converse, grabbed your swimsuit from your bed and stuffed it into a bag adding in a towel with it. You grabbed your car keys and headed for the pool. You arrived 30 minutes after the pool closed just like Billy said to. He told you he would leave the light above the side door on and all you needed to do was knock on said door and he would let you in. You took a few deep breaths and approached the door. You knocked lightly and Billy opened the door. He stood before you shirtless with nothing but his red lifeguard shorts on.

“Hi Billy” you smiled

“Hi y/n” Billy looked you up and down while chewing on a piece of gum “Ready for a late-night swim?”

“Am I” You smirked

You followed Billy through the now-empty building to the pool. You took your swimsuit from your bag and ducked into the changing room briefly to change. When you came back out Billy was floating around in the pool. He seemed different to what you’d heard people say about him. You’d only been in town 3 weeks but you’d heard from all your female co-workers and plenty of others about how flirty he was, how he’d probably slept with all the girls in Hawkins. Yet the Billy you had met was different. He was sweet, a little flirty and seemed generally interested in you but maybe that was just how he pretended to be. Billy meanwhile was fighting his own internal battle. As he floated he thought, that when he first saw you walking out of the family video he saw you as another conquest the new hot-looking girl in town. Then the day you walked into the pool he saw his opportunity. As he stood by the pool, the warm sun shining down on his skin, he couldn't help but steal glances at you. The way you moved through the water, your effortless grace and confidence, was mesmerizing. It was at this moment he realised that you were more than just another conquest. He felt he may actually be falling for you.

Finally, he gathered the courage to approach you. "Hey," he said, his heart racing, it never raced before. "I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me sometime?"

Your eyes lit up, and a smile spread across your face. "I'd love to," you said, your voice soft and sweet. "How about we meet at the pool tomorrow evening and go for a swim together? And then we can see where the night takes us?"

His heart swelled with excitement and anticipation. "That sounds perfect," you said, feeling a surge of joy and hope. "I can't wait." And as he looked at you, he hoped that this was just the beginning of a beautiful romance, one that would be filled with laughter, adventure, and endless love.

You broke Billy from his thoughts when you swam up beside him. He brought himself upright in the pool and smiled at you. He quickly looked down to the water and scratched the back of his neck. For some reason, all of Billy's confidence was lost on you. He could normally flirt his way into any girl's pants but you were different. Good different. He didn’t feel the need to flirt with you. He didn’t want to just hit it and be done with you. He actually wanted to put effort into you. He wanted to keep you around but had no idea where to start.

“So Billy” You broke the silence. “Is it true what I have heard about you around town?”

“And what would that be?” Billy tried a flirt grin but it was probably more of a grimace

“That you just flirt and act nice to get in a girl's pants?” You smirked

“Oh so you heard all about that” Billy sighed “Look I won’t lie yeah all that’s true but you're different, I actually want to get to know you, Most of the girls here in Hawkins are shallow and easy for the 6 years I’ve been here I haven’t met one decent chick until you. You’re the kind of girl that I could picture the rest of my life with and I’ve probably just scared you away” Billy splashed a fist into the water

“You know you’re not like how they describe at all but your description of them is spot on. Like one of the girls I work with at Hawkins High Carol, she is the absolute worst. She’s the English teacher and she comes in dressed like she’s going to a fashion show, face full of makeup, with a mean girls I peaked in high school attitude”

“Oh my gosh, Carol Perkins works at Hawkins High? And here I thought she left to become an actress or something” Billy laughed “I mean not that I’m one to talk I’ve been working here since high school and if I’m not here I’m working in the local garage I don’t really have much else to do or any other life plans. I didn’t exactly pay attention in school you know”

“You know Carol? Oh god don’t tell me she's one of the girls you dated?” Not that I’m much better you thought.

“No way. She was literally one of the ones I turned down. Contrary to popular belief I haven’t slept with every girl in town” Billy smiled “You know this is probably the most honest conversation I have ever had with anyone”

“Well thank you for being honest with me” You smiled back.

You and Billy just floated for a little while enjoying each other's company in a comfortable silence. After a few minutes you glanced across to Billy, he seemed to be back deep in thought. You saw this as an opportunity. You sink beneath the surface of the water and sum up next to Billy who was still blissfully unaware. Once you were by his side you grabbed him quickly around the waist and dragged him under. Billy flailed and kicked clearly taken off guard. You quickly surfaced bursting into laughter while Billy wiped his hair from his face and caught his breath. His heart was racing but he wasn’t mad. He quickly scoped his hands through the water sending it flying into your face. You gasped and looked at him shocked before splashing back. Before long the pool was filled with the sounds of laughter and splashing water. Hours passed, and you felt like old friends, you were so comfortable with Billy. You really didn’t want the night to end but you knew if you didn’t you’d likely be too tired for your movie night with Steve the following night. The clock above the pool told you it was getting ready to tick over to 10:30. You looked into the water for a little while trying to work out how to end the date. With a sigh, you looked up just in time to see Billy dive from the diving board. You smiled and giggled.

“10 out of 10 perfect form” You clapped for Billy

“Thank you I only do that every day” Billy chuckled nervously

“As much as I love our date I need to get home” You sighed

“Really? It’s still early” Billy said

“I know but I’m meeting with a friend tomorrow for a movie marathon and the last thing I want is to fall asleep” You lied thinking on your feet

“Well your friend sucks but I should probably be getting the pool closed now anyway” Billy smiled as you continued to laugh and chat as you hopped out of the pool and walked towards the changing rooms. You showered and changed back into your clothes. You walked back to the side of the pool where Billy was pulling the cover over it. You waited patiently for him to be done. When he was done he walked you out to your car locking the door behind him.

“I really enjoyed tonight y/n Thank you” Billy smiled

“I should be thanking you, This is the most fun I have had in quite a while.” You smiled up at him

“Can we do this again?” Billy asked “I would really love to spend more time with you”

“Maybe we’ll see I’m busy over the next few days but I have your number so I will definitely give you a call okay” the smile never leaving your face

“Okay” Billy nodded opening my car door for you “Oh and y/n one last thing”

You turned to face Billy. He leaned in quickly capturing your lips in a soft sweet kiss. His calloused hands found their way to cup your face. You could feel his moustache tickling the top of your lips. You didn’t pull away rather you leaned into the kiss. The kiss seemed to go on for hours but was most likely no more than 5 minutes. Billy backed away dropping his head he gave you a goofy sideways smile and walked off towards his car. You stood and watched as he drove off. Your heart was beating a mile a minute. You still had 4 more dates to get through and yet you were hooked on Billy. This was going to be harder than you thought. You hopped in your car and drove home. Once safely back in your apartment, you let out a small squeal. You changed into your PJs and climbed into your bed. You curled up and replayed your date with Billy over and over. If all your dates went this well how would you ever be able to choose. It didn’t take long for you to fall asleep thankfully because you were super exhausted.

You woke up with your alarm at 6 a.m. You dragged yourself out of bed, showered and got ready for work. You got through the day by thinking about your date with Steve that night. You’d heard that he was an asshole during high school but then after a fistfight with Jonathan, he matured and had been a real gentleman ever since. Steve was the first guy to ask you out and you were so glad when he did. You had made it a weekly habit when you arrived to go to the video store to get a movie on a Friday night. Honestly, it was just so you could talk with Steve. Normally when you arrived the video store was a ghost town so you could have Steve all to yourself. You could ask movie questions, collect information on him and just enjoy this friendly acquaintance you made. You had plans to ask Steve out but you had chickened out when you’d walked into the video store last Friday. Steve thankfully had been thinking the same thing you were so he asked you out. If only you had known then what was to come. I mean you weren’t complaining they were all majorly attractive guys but going on a date with all of them on the one weekend was just pure madness. You wondered what Steve's house was like. Given that he was working at Family Video you assumed that he was living in a small unit after all what else could he afford with a job like that. And what movie would he pick for you to watch? Probably one of the latest blockbusters no doubt. The day quickly came to an end. You were in the staff room finishing off your paperwork for the weekend when Carol came up to your desk.

“So I heard you went on a date with Billy last night?” Carol smirked

“I may have why?” You asked

“Well does Steve know about your date? I mean your going on a date with him tonight right?” Carol's smirk got bigger

“How did you know that?” You asked worry taking over

“Well they are both old friends and I wouldn’t want either one to find out about this” Carol crossed her arms

“What do you want?” You asked getting grumpy

“Could you please mark all these essays for Monday?” Carol faked a sweet smile while dropping a pile of at least 100 essays in front of you

“S-sure” You looked wide-eyed at the large stack in front of you

“Thanks you such a good friend” Carol winked and walked away

You had literally worked overtime just to make sure your weekend would be empty and now you have gone and accepted this. There was no way you would be able to go through with your plans and do all these essays. You sighed grabbed the pile of paperwork and headed to your car. You tossed the paperwork on the passenger seat and started up the car. Once you were safely back at your apartment you took the pile of paperwork and dropped it on your kitchen bench. You sighed and moved into your bedroom to get ready for your date. You pulled out your most comfortable pair of jeans and a nice black blouse to wear and headed for the shower. Once you were freshly showered you grabbed your keys from the kitchen bench and took one more look at the pile of papers before heading out the door. You drove to Family Video where Steve said he would meet you at the end of his shift to pick out a movie and grab some snacks before heading back to his house. When you got to Family Video Steve still had 30 minutes on his shift. You sighed as you walked up and down the aisle trying to decide on a movie. Steve had already created a stockpile of snacks in his locker out back. He has apparently been working on the perfect movie night since he got to work that morning. Even his co-worker Robin had been impressed with his efforts to make your date perfect. She had never seen him so concentrated on any date before.  Robin signed out as you were walking in, it was Steve’s night to close and being that it was 8:30 the place was basically empty. The only other people there when you got there were a couple of high school seniors you had in your science class, Dustin, Lucas, Will and Mike. As soon as you walked in they started gloating to Steve about how amazing you were ‘the best science teacher ever’. Steve confidently gloated back about how he was having a date tonight with the best science teacher ever. Needless to say, the boys were awestruck. When they left you’d asked Steve how he knew them. Apparently, he was their unwitting babysitter and best friend. He’d known them since middle school and they were the closest thing he had to family.

At some point, you had gotten distracted from the movies coming to a stop in front of some random romantic comedies. You had started thinking about that pile of paperwork abandoned on your kitchen bench. You were never going to be able to complete it with all your dates and you knew if you tried to rearrange the dates you would most certainly get caught out. If you could somehow forgo sleep then maybe just maybe you could get the paperwork done. Each essay only appeared to be about 4 pages long so hopefully quick and easy.

“Beetlejuice? What’s that even doing in romantic comedies?” Steve’s sudden appearance made you jump “It’s a comedy. It’s pretty good too is that what you want to watch?”

“I, uh, I actually haven’t seen it so maybe” You shrugged

“Okay if there is one thing I know it’s a distraction and you are very clearly distracted so what’s the hold up? If it’s me and you don’t want to go on a date then just say so and we can go our separate ways” Steve gave a small smile

“No it’s not you, it’s nothing, it’s work-related” You smiled

“Anything I can help you with?” Steve asked

“No it can wait, so Beetlejuice so good is it?” You asked taking the movie from the shelf

“Well yeah it’s like borderline horror movie, creepy, weird, funny” Steve ran a hand through his hair

“Then let us get it” You smiled

“Okay great just let me check it out, grab my stuff and close up and we’ll get out of here” Steve took the movie and headed to the front.

“Sounds great to me” You gave a small smile

You made your way to the front of the store and went out to wait in the parking lot. As you waited a familiar van pulled up in front of the store. You had a small panic attack as the van came to a complete stop and Eddie hopped out followed by Dustin.

“Okay now hurry up, The Master must return to his dungeon” Eddie crossed his arms and leaned against the van

Dustin shouted out an okay before racing into the store. He said a rushed hi to you as he ran past leaving you alone in the parking lot with Eddie. You would have just gone to hide in your car but Eddie had already spotted you and was waving you over. You closed the 100-meter gap between you and joined Eddie beside his van.

“Hi sweetheart what brings you here?”

“Oh um I stopped in to get a movie like every Friday and I made the mistake of telling Steve I haven’t seen Beetlejuice yet so now he is forcing me to go to his house and watch Beetlejuice with him” Not completely a lie

“Really? Harrington? Did you tell him we’re dating so he keeps his hands off you?” Eddie smirked

“We’re not dating Eddie we’re simply going on a date tomorrow night, one date then I’ll decide if your worth” You smirked back “Although I may need to take a rain check on that” you sighed

“Why? What’s going on?” Eddie became concerned

I’m an idiot. You thought “I have somewhere near 100 essays to grade by Monday morning all because I didn’t have the balls to stand up to Carol over some stupid secret she thinks I’m hiding”

“Well, there is an easy solution. A way to get the essays graded, get revenge and still have our date” Eddie had a mischievous grin

“Well please don’t hold back” You crossed your arms and looked at him

“Mark the essays and give all the kids A’s, By the time she realises it’ll be too late to do anything without dobbing herself in” Eddie had the most evil grin

“You Mr Munson are an evil genius I love it” You smiled

“Anything to make sure our date goes ahead”

At that moment Dustin came back out of the store with Steve in tow. Steve paused to lock the door while Dustin hopped back into Eddie's van. Eddie gave you a small wave and headed back to the driver's side of his van. Eddie and Dustin drove out of the car park as Steve approached you.

“So are you going to follow me to my place?” Steve asked

“Yep lead the way,” You said jumping into your car

You followed Steve to his house. As you drove you noticed you were heading to a part of town that you had never been to before. The houses you drove past were large and expensive looking surely beyond the salary of the video store employee. Steve pulled into the driveway of one of these houses. You parked behind him and walked up to the front door where Steve stood waiting for you.

“There is no way you can afford to live here,” You said

“Yeah well, it’s my parent's house, They never home anyway so what’s the point in moving out if the people who own the place are never here and they don’t make you pay rent” The way Steve spoke made it clear his parents he would something he would rather not talk about.

“Sounds like the greatest hook-up ever wish I lived rent free” You tried to make a joke

“So you know Munson?” Steve changed the subject leading you into the lounge room

“Well yes and no,” You said “I met him at a bar a couple days after I got here, his a random acquaintance”

“He's not a bad guy, he keeps Dustin out of trouble and out of my hair” Steve smirked

“Oh yes your bestie Dustin, I want to hear all about that”

Steve motioned to a bar seat at the container in the kitchen. You took a seat and watched as Steve started removing pots and pans and many random ingredients from the assortment of cupboards around the kitchen. Steve began cooking what looked like his take on Spaghetti Bolognese while telling you the long tail of how he and Dustin became unlikely best friends. It was a little unbelievable at times but Steve showed you his scars and his story made sense for the scars you’d seen on Eddie's neck and arms, and why you’d seen Dustin walking around with a slight limp. Steve made you promise not to tell the others that he had told you. Apparently, it was an unspoken agreement to just pretend like none of it had happened. Steve sat down beside you and placed a plate of pasta in front of you.

“Spaghetti a la Harrington” Steve smiled at you

“Why thank you it looks amazing” You smiled

“I wonder how Dustin would react to us right now” Steve smirked

“Ah if that boy is anything outside of school like he is in school then he would be yelling at the top of his lungs and saying something like Are you kidding me right now”

“Yeah that sounds like the Henderson I know” Steve chuckled

“You know your no the asshole pretty boy I thought you would be” You bumped your shoulder against Steves

“Well you're not the boring school teacher I thought you’d be” Steve bumped you back

“Nice Harrington” You giggled

You continued to eat and talk. Steve told you about Billy, Eddie, Jonathan and Jim as well as several people they all knew. It was the definition of a small town. Steve had given you many things to panic about with this new information. They all knew each other so what if one of them said something to the other and they all turned on you. Or worse still what if someone said something to Joyce and she came screaming at you the school for going on a date with both her son and her ex. At some point, you must have stopped listening to Steve to follow your trail of thoughts. That was until Steve started snapping his fingers in front of your face with a highly freaked-out look on his face.

“Oh thank god you are still with me” Steve let out a sigh “What were you thinking?”

“Sorry, sorry I just had an internal panic” You blurted out before you could stop yourself

“Panic? About what?” Steve asked clearly concerned

“Promise not to get mad?” You asked moving slightly away from Steve

“Why would I?” Steve said confused

You took a deep breath and began to explain to Steve the mess you were in. At some point, Steve had stood up and began pacing the kitchen. One hand was constantly running through his hair while the other was sitting on his hip. Things were quiet for a few minutes before Steve placed his hands on the kitchen island counter and dropped his head.

“I’m glad your being honest with me but I would have liked to know all this before we started this date”

“I’m sorry” You whispered

“I’m not saying I want to end this date because it took me way too fricking long to work up the courage to ask you out but I gotta ask why? What in the world possessed you to say yes to all the dates?”

“I honestly have no idea, I was just caught so off guard with so many guys asking me I kinda just said yes without thinking then when it all did set in I couldn’t figure out how to back out of them all”  You dropped your head

“So do you even want to be on this date with me?” Steve asked sounding slightly annoyed

“Yes, you’re the only one I wanted to go on a date with and I was glad when you asked me out because I was too chicken to ask you out”

“Well at least I have that going for me right now” Steve smirked over at you “How about we start fresh, pretend none of this was ever said?”

“Fine by me”

You and Steve finished eating and continued to chat about the others and about Steve. Once you were done Steve took your plates, placed them into the sink then guided you out to the lounge room. He fiddled with the TV for a short while putting on the movie before settling down next to you on the lounge. He pulled you into his side allowing his hand to snake around your waste. You allowed yourself to curl into his side. Steve spoke excitedly all through Beetlejuice pointing out little details. He almost lost it when you pointed out that Lydia looked a lot like a younger version of Joyce. He even said he would have to point that out to Joyce. When the movie concluded you were way too tired to drive home. You voiced this to Steve who happily suggested you stay the night. He dragged you to his room before racing off. When he returned he was carrying pillows and blankets. He made a bed on the floor before turning to his cupboard. He stripped down to his boxers before pulling on a pair of sweatpants. He threw another pair at you along with one of his shirts before making himself comfortable on the floor. You turned away from Steve and quickly got changed into the clothes he provided for you. Once you were dressed you turned off the light. You tiptoed quietly over to Steve. Once you were by his side you crouched down and gave him a kiss on the cheek before quickly jumping into his bed. Steve sat upright and looked straight over at you as you giggled from your spot on the bed.

“What was that for?” Steve said

“Think of it as a thank you for everything tonight” You smiled at him

“You’re welcome”

Steve laid back down facing the bed. You lay down in the bed facing Steve. The two of you fell into a peaceful silence, looking at each other until you drifted off. Steve, however, stayed away a little longer unable to believe the beautiful girl whom he looked forward to seeing on a Friday night was here asleep in his bed. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little heartbroken by you agreeing to a bunch of dates but for tonight he had you and he enjoyed every minute of it. Steve drifted off staring at your peaceful sleeping face. He woke up before you the next morning. He hopped up and stretched from his night on the floor. He looked at you still sleeping on his bed and smiled. He crept over to you, bent down and kissed you on the head allowing his lips to linger for a few seconds. He stood and walked from the room making his way to the kitchen. He decided that even if you couldn’t be his forever he would make the time you did have together amazing. He moved quietly around the kitchen preparing breakfast for the two of you. Steve wanting to get everything right and not knowing what your favourite breakfast food is pulled out a selection of cereals, cooked-up pancakes, bacon and eggs, toast and baked beans. He brewed up a pot of coffee and poured a couple of glasses of orange juice. Steve was just finishing up the bacon when you walked into the kitchen rubbing your eyes. Steve took you in, his shirt hanging loosely from your shoulder, his sweatpants making you look like a toddler who wanted to play dress up in their parent's clothes. To Steve you were adorable.

“Morning sleeping beauty, didn’t know what you would like to eat so I made basically everything” Steve motioned with one hand while the other rested on his hip

“Good Morning, you really didn’t need to do all this through”

“But I wanted to” Steve motioned for you to take a seat on the bench.

Steve placed a plate in front of you and you began filing it with the stuff in front of you.

“Not really a cereal person I take it?” Steve smirked

“Not really, I guess it comes from my Mum forcing me to eat cornflakes every day,” You say screwing up your face at the memory

“Fair enough, so what's your plan for the day?” Steve asked

“I have about 100 essays to mark before I head out to watch Eddie’s band” You could audibly hear Steves's heartbreaking

“And how exactly are you going to mark that many essays in a day?” Steve tried to ignore the Eddie part of your day

“Well actually Eddie helped me with that one, you see They aren’t my essays to mark” You explain your situation to Steve and Eddie's solution to the problem

“You know that sounds just like Munson also sounds like he might be getting some person payback with that one too” Steve smirked

“Oh?”

“Carol used to bully Eddie when we were all at school together, when we graduated and he didn’t I know she got worse with the bullying” Steve sighed

“Wait I assumed you were older than Eddie given that you graduated in ’85 and Eddie in ‘87,” You said shocked

“Eddie redone senior year 3 times,” Steve said like it was public knowledge

“Wow poor Eddie”

Steve just nodded in agreement. You ate the rest of your breakfast changing subjects to music and movies. Once breakfast was done and dishes washed and put away you returned to Steve's room to get dressed. Part of you wanted to just call the other dates off you were already so torn between Billy and Steve and throwing the others in seemed like a bad idea. But at the same time, you didn’t want to have to admit what you’d done. No, instead you decided to suck it up and go through with the dates. You collected your things and went to say goodbye to Steve before heading home. As you reached the bottom of the stairs Steve stood waiting for you.

“Let me at least walk you to your car” Steve smiled sadly

“Thank you for everything Steve I had an amazing time” You smiled as you approached your car

When you reached the side of your car you turned to give Steve one last smile before hopping into your car. Steve quickly slipped his arms around your waist. He pulled you into his chest. His lips captured yours in a passionate kiss. Your fists balled up in his shirt. Your heart racing once more. If they were all going to take your breath away then however would you be able to choose just one of them. Steve stepped back dropping his head to look at the driveway.

“I’m sorry I shouldn’t have” Steve looked like he was about to cry

“No it’s fine” You smiled

You brushed your fingers down the side of Steve's face before hopping into your car and heading home. Steve stood in the drive long after you were out of sight. All he could do now was hope you came back to him.

Back in your unit, you began sorting through the pile of essays. It should be simple just take your red pen write an A in the corner, circle it and move on to the next. You took a deep breath and began marking. One thing was for certain if this blew up in your face Eddie Munson would be no more. It took you no more than 30 minutes to pretend to mark all the essays and put them back into your bag for Monday. With your now gained free time, you decided to outfit plan not only for tonight but for tomorrow with Jonathan and Jim. If you planned today that would leave you more time tomorrow to shower and recover between dates.

At around 4 you decided it would be a good idea to get ready to go on your date with Eddie. You had picked out a pair of fishnet stockings, a short black skirt, an old Judas Priest shirt, knee-high black boots and a black leather jacket. Remnants of your youth that you had wanted to throw away many times but never could. You changed before slipping out onto the street. The bar Eddie was playing at The Hideaway wasn’t all that far from your unit. You enjoyed the short walk to The hideout before making your way cautiously inside. Once inside you found yourself being called from the stage. Eddie stood on stage waving to you. You walked over waving back.

“There's my princess” Eddie jumped off the stage showing off “Hi Eddie” You rolled your eyes smiling

“Uh introductions” The guy on drums shook his drumsticks in the air

“Oh right, y/n meet Garath, Jeff and Sam the other members of Corroded Coffin” Eddie pointed to each man on the stage

“That is such a metal band name” You grinned

“Only the most metal name for the most metal band” Eddie bragged

“Oh that’s yet to be seen” You smirked crossing your arms

“By the time we’re done, you're going to be begging for more sweetheart”

Eddie leaned so close to you that could feel his breath on your face. The scent of cigarettes, mint and that awful cheap axe body spray filled your nose. You became intoxicated with so much so that when Eddie leaned back making his way back on the stage you almost immediately had withdrawals from it. You stood proudly in front of the stage waiting for them to begin playing. After half an hour of warm-ups, the real performance began. Eddie was amazing up on the stage, the whole band was. It was like they were born to be on stage. It was no surprise that Eddie had failed senior year as much as he had. It was clear that he never had an academic future he was also supposed to be an entertainer, a creative free soul. You enjoyed every second Corroded Coffin played and were sad when it had to end. The band wrapped up and started to pull apart their things. You climbed up on the stage in an attempt to help them.

“Anything I can do?” You asked

“Here go open my van for us princess” Eddie handed you his keys pointing to a stage door.

You went the direction he pointed finding his van with ease. You opened the back doors sat on the back and waited. As you waited a group of girls your age or a bit younger appeared from around the front of the van.

“Oh look girls another wants to be trying to steal our boys” One girl looked you up and down

“I’m sorry who are you?” You asked trying to be polite.

“That is none of your business,” another said

“Look I’m sorry but Eddie invited me out to watch Corroded Coffin play If I’m stepping on toes I don’t mean to” You slipped out of Eddie's van moving back towards the stage door

“Hay Sweetheart what's taking you so long” Eddie jogged up beside you he took one look at the girls and tensed “Are these girls giving you trouble babe” Eddie slipped an arm around your waist pulling you to his side

“We’re just talking Eds” The first girl spoke up again

“Well I think it’s time you leave, My girl here is tired and I’d like to get our stuff packed up and get home” Eddie fake smiled at them “Thanks for coming out though”

 “Oh come on Eds don’t be like that” The girl took a step towards you

“I’m asking you to leave” Eddie pushed you behind him

The girl came right up to Eddie practically pushing up against him. She walked her fingers up his chest, grabbed the collar of his shirt and tried to pull him in for a kiss. Eddie pushed her back. She shot you daggers before storming off. Something told you this wasn’t the first time she’d tried something like that.

“Sorry about that” Eddie turned smiling at you

“What was her problem?” You asked

“No idea All I know is she's a few dice short of a set” Eddie made a goofy face

You couldn’t help but giggle at Eddie. Eddie smiled proud of himself for making you laugh. Eddie took your hand and dragged you back into the Hideout. He kept you close by his side as they loaded their equipment into his van. Eddie then locked up before dragging you back inside.

“So did you enjoy the show” Eddie asked taking a seat at the bar

“Did I ever” You smiled “It was amazing Eddie”

“Told you most metal ever” Eddie wore a shit-eating grin

“Wipe that smile off your face Munson”

Eddie threw up his hands in defence. He ordered drinks and the two of you began talking. Despite appearances much like Steve had said Eddie was a great guy. He was sweet, charming, and funny but a bit rough around the edges. You came to learn that when Eddie wasn’t rocking out with his band he was working at a local mechanic which was quite surprising. He shared his dream to get out of Hawkins and travel the world with Corroded Coffin. Apparently, they had been discussing hitting the road for a few months. Touring the states and picking up gigs along the way to support their travels. What better way to get discovered Eddie had said. It sounded wonderful. Eddie asked you lots of questions about yourself like what had brought you to Hawkins. You were so mesmerised by Eddie that you completely forgot to keep an eye on the time. It wasn't until the bartender told you that it was the last call that you looked at the clock. 12:30. Shit.

“Eddie I have to go I should have been in bed by now,” You said

“Why got something important on in the morning?” Eddie questioned

“Well uh yes actually I’m supposed to be going on a photography trip with Jonathan Byers” You answered honestly

“As In a date,” Eddie suddenly seemed hurt

“No just as friends, Photography was something I had done before I came here and Jonathan said he knew a good spot for nature shots” You half-lied

“Oh okay sounds boring to me” Eddie's smile came back

“It's actually quite fun” You played hurt

“If you say so Princess” Eddie smirked downing the rest of his drink

Eddie offered you his hand pulling you to your feet. He opened the door and threw his arm out while bowing motioning for you to step out. Once outside he slid his arm around your waist and asked you to guide the way to your car. You told him you walked so he offered to walk you home. He held you by the waist all the way home. Once you reached your unit Eddie the gentleman, held your door open for you before kissing, bowing and taking his leave. You giggled and watched as he practically danced back down the street.  Eddie too had made your heart race. You made your way inside. Changed into your pyjamas and flopped onto your bed. You fell asleep thinking about Eddie and all the fun you could have on the road. No obligations to tie you down, chasing fame. It would be wonderful, a new town every night. Sleeping out of the van, exploring the places less travelled. You were ripped from your dream by your alarm going off at 6 a.m. You groaned as you ripped yourself from your nice warm bed. You walked into the kitchen and made yourself a coffee. You were going to need a lot of coffee to get through today. After pouring yourself a cup of coffee you began to brew the pot again to fill your thermos. You also filled up your drink bottle with cool water. You had an hour to be ready before Jonathan would be on your doorstep. He had organised to pick you up to save you from getting lost looking for the trailhead you’d be taking. You pulled out your camera gear and the outfit you had picked out for today. You jumped into the shower to remove as much of the alcohol and cigarette smoke smell from last night. Thankfully you weren’t hungover and you could thank Eddie and the never-ending conversation for that. You were dressed and packing your hiking bag when Jonathan knocked on your door. You finished stuffing your stuff into your bag and slung it over your shoulder before opening the door.

“Hay Jonathan” You smiled at him

“Hi” Jonathan smiled looking at the ground

So Steve was right when he said Jonathan was the shy, quiet guy you thought. You followed Jonathan to his car and climbed into the passenger seat. The trip to the trailhead was filled with awkward small talk. It was obvious that Jonathan was trying his best to make sure you were comfortable but it was also obvious that he didn’t have much experience with girls. It was kinda cute honestly. Jonathan finally got you to the trailhead. He offered to carry your bag. He pulled on your backpack before throwing his camera bag over his shoulder. He led the way into the trail. You were a complete beginner when it came to photography but Jonathan from what you had heard had been a photographer for a long time.

The air was crisp, carrying with it the earthy scent of moss and leaves. Rays of sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, creating a mesmerizing dance of light and shadow on the forest floor.

As you walked side by side along a narrow path, your camera slung around your shoulder, and the tranquillity of the surroundings enveloped you. The gentle rustling of leaves and the distant calls of birds added to the serenity of the moment. Rays of sunlight gently kissed the vibrant foliage, creating a stunning interplay of colours that seemed almost surreal.

You paused by a tranquil stream, its crystal-clear waters meandering through the heart of the forest. It was the perfect spot to capture the delicate beauty of nature. Your date watched in awe as Jonathan set up his camera on a tripod, adjusting the settings with precision. With the press of a button, the shutter clicked, capturing the essence of the babbling brook, the sunlight glinting off the water like scattered diamonds.

"Wow, you're really talented," you exclaimed, admiration evident in your eyes.

Blushing, he smiled and gestured for you to join him. "Why don't you give it a try? Nature is the best subject to capture."

You took the camera hesitantly. You focused the lens on a delicate wildflower growing by the stream's edge. The soft petals seemed to beckon you closer, and you crouched down, framing the shot just right. A gentle breeze ruffled the flower's petals, and you snapped the photo, capturing a moment of perfect imperfection.

Laughing softly, you looked at each other. "I can see why you enjoy this so much," you said, your voice filled with wonder.

Encouraged by your enthusiasm, Jonathan continued your exploration, guiding you to hidden spots where the forest's beauty was magnified. The vibrant colours of a butterfly's wings, the intricate patterns of a spider's web glistening with dewdrops, and the grandeur of ancient trees stretching towards the sky – each moment was an opportunity to freeze time and capture nature's artistry.

As the morning turned into afternoon, you found yourselves perched on a moss-covered rock overlooking a tranquil meadow. A breathtaking backdrop for your final shots of the day.

"Thank you for this amazing experience," you whispered, your eyes fixed on the horizon. "I've never felt so connected to nature before."

Jonathan smiled, his heart swelling with contentment. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. Nature has a way of bringing people closer together."

Soon you packed up your camera, cherishing the memories you had created together. The forest had been your canvas, and your shared moments were the masterpieces that adorned it. Your walk back to the car was spent chatting and getting to know each other a bit more. Jonathan was a really sweet guy but you could see how Steve found him to be an easy target in school. He was much like Eddie in that he was the odd guy out, the loner. Yet part of you wished that others had gotten to know him more. Jonathan told you about his and Steve's mutual ex Nancy. You’d seen Nancy around the school a few times picking up her brother Mike. How Jonathan ended up with Nancy you’ll never understand, She really didn’t deserve him or Steve. Once back in Jonathan's car, he drove you back to your apartment. He walked you to your door.

“Thank you for joining me today” Jonathan looked between you and the ground

“I loved every moment of it” You smiled at him

“Well I better be getting home” Jonathan smiled at you

He quickly leaned into you and kissed you on the cheek before waving awkwardly and walking away. You couldn’t help but stand at your door and giggle for a moment before making your way inside to shower and change. A small part of you was thankful your dates were coming to an end but you were also dreading the choice you would have to make when all was said and done. You pushed that thought to the back of your mind and began getting ready for dinner with Jim. He had told you that he was taking you out to a fancy restaurant so you needed to dress semi-formal. You chose your nice dress and a pair of nice heels. You sighed as you looked at yourself in the mirror. You opted to drive to the restaurant because heaven forbid you had to walk in those heels, especially after walking all day you might just die. Jim was waiting outside for you when you pulled up.

 Underneath the soft glow of candlelight, you found yourselves seated at a cozy corner table in a charming restaurant. The ambience was warm and inviting, the murmur of conversations and the gentle strains of a violin creating a soothing symphony in the background. The air was infused with the enticing aroma of delectable dishes being prepared with love and care.

As you looked across the table, the dim lighting played beautifully on Jim's features, casting a gentle halo around him. His eyes sparkled with a mixture of excitement and anticipation, and the soft smile on his lips made your heart flutter.

The waiter arrived, presenting you both with a menu of culinary delights that promised to tantalize your taste buds. You exchanged glances, sharing a playful moment of deliberation as you decided on your choices. The anticipation of the meal mirrored the excitement of your budding connection.

As you engaged in conversation, your words flowed effortlessly, each topic leading to another as you uncovered shared interests and experiences. Laughter punctuated the air as stories were exchanged, creating an intimate bubble where only the two of you existed, cocooned in the enchantment of the evening.

The first course arrived, a delicate symphony of flavours and textures artfully plated before you. You savoured each bite, your taste buds dancing in delight as you indulged in the culinary masterpiece. The conversation continued to flow, seamlessly weaving between lighthearted banter and more intimate exchanges, creating a bond between you.

As the main course was served, you noticed a brief pause in the conversation, a moment where your eyes locked and the world seemed to fade away.

Dessert arrived, a decadent conclusion to the evening's culinary journey. The sweet flavours danced on your palate, a perfect mirror to the sweetness of the moments you were sharing. The final bite was taken, and you both leaned back in your chairs, content and fulfilled.

As the evening drew to a close, the waiter discreetly presented the bill, and you both exchanged glances once more. With a gentle smile, your date reached across the table, their fingers brushing against yours in a tender gesture. "Thank you for such a wonderful evening," Jim said, his voice soft and sincere.

You smiled back, your heart warmed by his presence. "The pleasure was all mine," you replied, your voice carrying the weight of unspoken emotions.

As you left the restaurant, the night air felt crisper, more alive. The stars above twinkled as Jim walked you out to your car. You turned to smile at him when you reached your car.

“Well this is me” You smiled

“Thank you again, I haven’t had a night quite like this in some time” Jim smiled

“And again the pleasure was all mine” you smiled “It's good to know the sheriff isn’t such a bad guy”

“Well that depends on who you ask, Take Munson and Harrington for example, they probably think I’m the worst”

“They think you’re a hard ass I can tell you that much” you giggled

“Well it’s late and I don’t want to keep a pretty thing like yourself out in the dark” Jim moved slightly closer.

He kissed you softly on the cheek, told you to drive safely and walked back in the direction of the restaurant. You drove quietly home only completely panicking once you were safely inside your apartment. As soon as your heels were off and you flopped on your bed your head swarned with thoughts. The biggest being who do you choose?