Chapter Text
Dean Winchester could certainly appreciate a nice view.
From his table all the way back in the diner his gaze followed the waitress moving around, tending to patrons. She was undeniably cute – especially in that cheesy and so cliché pink checkered dress with its white apron.
One might say that it brought out her eyes. Well, it definitely did bring out her ass.
Dean pondered the idea of making a move. He admittedly was more into guys, but they were hard to come by in these small towns.
And as a hunter constantly on the move never knowing when his bell would toll, he wasn’t looking for a long-time relationship anyways. Just something to pass the time and have mutual fun. And who was he to pass up a pretty opportunity when basically handed to him on a silver platter?
After a successful hunt two towns over Dean felt quite good about himself and for sure deserved a reward.
He had dug up – pun intended – the source of a nasty haunting in a school building fairly quickly. After asking around some, he had found out about the old janitor who had fallen victim to a cruel prank and as a consequence had ended up dead. His vengeful spirit had swiftly taken to add some more ugly pranks to the list. And it had been devoid of any intention whatsoever of letting the small-town folks off the hook anytime soon.
After two students had turned up dead in the school’s basement and neither the Sheriff nor the Fed’s had been able to make heads or tails of it all, Bobby had called Dean.
A textbook salt and burn and a hundred-mile drive later left Dean now enjoying “Horseshoe”.
A very cozy town that could have easily been the filming location for one of these rom-coms people seemed so fond of nowadays.
There was for instance this one place in a show Dean had of course only accidentally seen while flipping through the channels: …”Sleepy Hollow”…no, “Stars Hollow”…yeah, that was the one.
And this here was Stars Hollow’s spitting image:
Firstly, there was this nice tidy park smack in the middle of town with a white pavilion perfectly placed in its center waiting for the next open-air concert to happen.
Then there were these quaint shops and a grocery store lining Main Street and miraculously defying any mall that might be looming nearby.
Not to forget the decent diner on Main Street with its Pig 'n a Poke and homemade pie and of course that homey bed and breakfast run by a very friendly old couple.
True, all that flowery wallpaper, carpets and even tiles were really jeopardizing Dean’s mental sanity, but the breakfast buffet was pure heaven.
And to round things off people were tooth-rottingly friendly, not like other local folks he had met who would watch him throughout his stay with dismay and suspicion.
Dean pondered the idea of staying a bit. Be it for the nice ambiance, local cuisine or any other attractions the town had to offer. He could use a break right about now. The BnB was actually right within his budget, the pie from the bakery around the corner was also delicious and he had nowhere else to be.
He could wait out the blizzard that weather lady had announced in the morning, find someone to cuddle and recharge.
Dean knew that Bobby would actually approve. Only this morning he had lectured Dean on his way of life and had once again offered his unsolicited opinion that Dean was well on his best way to meet an untimely end if he didn’t cut back on the hunting and booze.
Or rather the unfortunate combination of both.
True, Dean might have been a bit drunk during previous hunts. But the injury from a run in with a demon two years ago still hurt like a mother, especially when bad weather was on the way, so sue him.
“Can I get you anything else, hon?” The pretty waitress tore him out of his musings.
Dean looked up and winked at her. “How about a refill for starters?” he asked nodding at his coffee cup and putting on his most charming smile.
It was decided. He would stay a bit and enjoy that soft mattress at “English Rose” – maybe even in the company of…”Jenny” as the waitress’ name tag informed him. Jenny’s smile grew wider: ”Coming up right away,” she beamed. Dean watched her walking back to the counter.
Was she swaying her hips a bit more distinctly than before?
Maybe.
He grinned and quickly shot a text message Bobby’s way. “Will stay a bit longer in postcard-perfect town. Don’t wait up, old man.”
It didn’t take Bobby long to answer: “You watch your tone with me, boy! And don’t get into too much trouble!”
Dean put away his phone with a smirk and instead followed Jenny’s movements behind the counter.
She was busy brewing fresh coffee.
Nice!
Leaning back and considering the pie choices this place had to offer Dean lazily looked out the diner’s big windows.
It was only four p.m. but already getting dark. The setting sun was bathing everything in its pink/reddish light, adding to the romantic flair of the town. The wind had picked up some and was blowing colorful leaves this way and that. Winter was indeed coming…
Dean watched a few people passing the diner, all huddled up in thick jackets, big scarves and woolen hats that sometimes even had earmuffs. Only the locals could pull off something like that.
Dean smirked and briefly entertained the idea of buying one of these hats with earmuffs for Bobby as a souvenir. Bobby would probably even appreciate it, not getting the joke, because seriously…Dean wouldn’t even be caught dead wearing such a thing.
His gaze kept wandering across the pavement and street, faintly lit by streetlights that had clearly been chosen more for their decorative effect rather than their ability to actually illuminate the place.
Well, nothing had ever happened here and people didn’t need stadium-style floodlights to feel safe – lucky, ignorant idiots…They knew nothing about the things that could go bump in the night.
A shadow or rather a man caught his eye. He was standing across the street under a tree, conveniently avoiding the street lamp’s light cone. He was seemingly watching the diner or something on Dean’s side of the street.
Dean’s hunter senses tingled. Mindful of basically sitting in the spotlight – by the window of the diner of all places – he kept turning his head.
Jenny chose that moment to return with Dean’s refill and he ordered cherry pie to have an excuse for prolonging his stay. On the table next to him someone had left his newspaper and Dean snatched it.
Resting his head in his hand he started to idly sift through the paper. It gave him the perfect excuse to turn his head a bit towards the window. From the corner of his eyes, he could see that the guy hadn’t moved one bit.
From what Dean could make out in the dusk the dude was tall with broad shoulders. His jacket however seemed thin and not really appropriate for the temperature that must be dropping by the minute now that the sun was nearly gone completely.
Dean needed to decide if he wanted to get in the middle of whatever this was or plain and simple leave.
But maybe there was nothing to get into in the first place? Maybe the guy was just waiting for someone?
Dean was about to mentally shrug it off when he noticed tall-guy moving.
He was crossing the street now.
As he drew closer Dean could make out a bit more.
The dude was tall, alright, with dark hair nearly reaching his broad shoulders.
However, what really struck Dean as odd was the insecurity basically radiating from the guy.
A dude nearly 6’4’’ should not be that timid.
With his head lowered so his hair was covering most of his face the guy stopped once he had reached the diner’s side of the street. He was obviously freezing judging from his hunched shoulders and both hands buried deep in the pockets of a really too thin jacket.
After hesitating some more, he walked up to the diner’s front door and merely looked inside through its big glass windows. Maybe this was some smalltown drama with the guy being Jenny’s ex or something now trying for the utmost time to win her back?
Dean knew from experience – and soaps – that this could end either way. Better safe than sorry: The hunter slowly moved his hand to his back gripping his Beretta.
By now Jenny had noticed tall guy. She stopped clearing the counter and slightly turned towards the door to give him a tiny nod towards the back of the diner. Tall guy then moved away from the entrance and walked past the diner’s big windows until he was out of sight.
The waitress watched him for a bit and then gave the place and its patrons a once-over obviously checking if anyone had noticed the silent exchange.
Dean had withdrawn his hand from the Beretta and was now successfully pretending to be fascinated by some story in the newspaper he had acquired. He covertly watched Jenny fetch a paper bag from below the counter and then walk to the back-door.
Had he unwillingly stumbled upon some drug-deal? In this postcard-perfect town of all places? Well, it would have been too good to be true. A nice-looking town, with nice-looking people that actually had only nice things going on.
Dean felt a pang of disappointment. With this town, with Jenny, with himself for having misjudged the place so terribly.
But he was not yet ready to give up on this town, its flowery BnB, tasty pies and cute waitress. Dean silently swore because whatever this was had stirred his interest, his curiosity.
Damn it.
The seasoned hunter in him couldn’t let it go so he made a spur of the moment decision.
Dean silently got up from his table and casually made his way to the restrooms. Turning the corner, he just about caught a glimpse of the waitress as she was slipping outside through the backdoor. Recalling the layout of the place – because a good hunter always knew about all available exits – he quickly concluded that he might have a shot at listening to that secret encounter from the ladies’ room.
Hoping that it was empty Dean carefully opened the door to the women’s restrooms and slipped inside. Both cabins were unoccupied and the hunter swiftly locking himself in the one below the small window. Tempering with the locks and swearing under his breath he finally managed to unlock it. Thank god the hinges were well oiled. He carefully pushed it open and listened.
Bobby would probably declare him a basket case by now or at least laugh his beard off at the sight of this seasoned, bad ass hunter hiding in the ladies’ room and secretly listening in on some either meaningless or illegal conversation.
As soon as Dean had opened the window a crack a voice started to filter in from outside: “…..seen you for a while. You ok, Sweetheart?” Jenny.
Tall guy’s answer was not more than a low murmur, so Dean carefully stepped on the lid of the toilet to get closer to the window.
He heard the rustling of some paper. Probably the paper bag from below the counter.
Then Jenny spoke again: “I’m sorry. It’s only two leftover muffins this time. We were as good as sold out yesterday.”
“Thank you, ma’am. That means a lot,” who must be tall guy answered softly and after a moment he added, “I asked about that job at the grocery store and they think they might need someone tomorrow and maybe even on the weekend. Mr. Hammersmith said he’d decide after my first day.”
“That’s great. I knew you’d make a good first impression. And Mr. Hammersmith is a decent man. He is fair and values hard work. I’m sure he will be satisfied with you, Jay. Just listen closely to whatever he tells you. He likes things done his way, I heard. So, pay special attention to his instructions.”
“Yes, ma’am, I will.” Again there was a slight pause and some shuffling of feet, then: “As soon as I have earned some money, I will pay you back, ma’am.”
“Don’t you dare. This was a gift, “Jenny sounded almost angry.
“Sorry, sorry…I didn’t mean to…” came the alarmed response which was cut short by Jenny: “Hey, hey it’s ok. I’m not mad. It’s ok.”
She sounded like soothing a child.
There was a short pause in which Dean couldn’t get over the fact that this tree of a guy could actually be intimidated by a 5’6’’ waitress like that.
Then Jenny continued: “Just promise me that you will stay at the shelter of St. Barbara’s tonight. You told me last time that you like it there and that they are kind, right?”
“Yes, ma’am. The nuns at St. Barbara’s are very kind. I just don’t want to be greedy. There are other people who are in need of a warm place to sleep, too,” Jay answered softly.
Jenny sighed: “Jay, look at me. You have a good heart. But that’s what the shelter is for. To help people. And you also deserve that help. Tonight, it’s supposed to get really cold.”
She paused for a moment and then added: “You know, although we seem like a sleepy town where nothing ever happens, I don’t like the thought of you spending the night out in the alley. So, promise me, Jay.”
In the moment of silence that followed Dean could literally picture tall guy nodding in consent, then: “Yes, ma’am. I promise. And thank you again for the muffins. Good night, ma’am.”
After that Dean could hear steps leading away from the diner. Getting down from his makeshift vantage point he listened to the waitress re-entering the diner and walking past the restrooms towards the front. After waiting another moment, Dean quickly got out of the ladies’ room – he had tested his luck enough.
Returning to his table the hunter tried to make sense of what he had just overheard.
This Jay-guy had sounded young. Not a kid anymore, judging by his height and voice, but no more than 20-something years old. So maybe just five or six years Dean’s junior. But more than sounding young, there had been something naïve about him.
And he seemed shy and was on top of everything very polite, strikingly so. Dean’s mind unexplainably came up with the picture of a kid growing up in an orphanage run by nuns. At least some place far off society and the mundane comings and goings of the world.
Why else would this Jay still need someone to point him towards a shelter or warn him about the dangers of spending the night in some dark alley?
Dean tried to shrug it off, to shrug this Jay-guy off. He was definitely none of Dean’s business. Dean was a hunter. Saving people, hunting things. That was his business as he liked to put it. He didn’t do charity cases.
So that was that.
Period.
On the other hand.
Something about Jay had triggered Dean’s hunter senses. It was outright annoying. So much for chilling in this nice little town and letting himself get pampered by the BnB’s owners and or pretty waitress.
He didn’t know how and why but he knew that he needed to get to the bottom of this.