Road Trip, Chapter Five
Oct. 28th, 2009 06:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fleurlb
Disclaimer: SPN and FNL are copyright of their respective copyright holders. I don't own anything here and am just doing this for fun.
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Shreveport, Louisiana
Dean pulled up in front of the diner and smiled when he saw Sam was sitting where he left him. The girl was gone, but judging from the way Sam was staring into the distance, Dean thought it looked like the meeting had been a success.
Dean gave a sharp blast of the horn, causing Sam to startle before he gathered up his papers and came outside.
“So, how’d it go with Julie?” asked Dean as Sam got into the car.
“Good, Dean, real good.” Sam’s goofy grin reminded Dean of another lifetime. “Uh, I hope you don’t mind, but I told her that we’d meet her and her friend for dinner in New Orleans tonight.”
“Sammy! Mind? I’m totally proud of you. Where in New Orleans?”
“We’re going to meet on Bourbon Street around 8 and then find some place.”
“No, absolutely not. That’s not the way to do it. You go that way then you got four people standing around on a crowded touristy sidewalk saying ‘I don’t know, what do you want?’” Dean shook his head as vehemently as he could while still keeping his eyes on the road.
“Then what do you suggest?”
“I know a place, real laid-back and low-key, nearly a roadhouse. Best burgers in the South, good music, just a simple kind of place.”
Sam shrugged. “If you think that’s the right call.”
“I do Sammy, I absolutely do. You got this girl’s number? Good, dial it there and then give me your phone.”
Reluctantly, Sam pulled out his phone and handed it over to Dean, who put on his charming voice and explained to Julie the change of plans. In less than two minutes, the call was over and Dean was pleased.
“So, tell me about her friend.”
Sam covered his mouth, then rubbed it, a troubling tell as far as Dean was concerned.
“Oh, I see, I’m going to be playing wingman here, taking one for the team. That’s fine. I can do that for my brother.”
“I don’t know,” said Sam with a mischievous gleam in his eye. “Some people might find her friend attractive.”
“Yeah, well, some people are into all kinds of weird shit. We don’t have to go down that road.”
“How’d it go at Tino’s?” asked Sam.
“Tino’s great. Check under the seat.”
Sam leaned down and fumbled around, eventually coming up with a small shoebox. He pulled off the lid and flipped through its contents. “Bureau of Indians Affairs. CDC. FBI. Homeland Security. State Liquor Control Board. These are great.”
“Yeah, I told you the guy does great work.”
“Seems like you were gone a long time.”
“Yeah, well, you’re not going to believe what happened.”
“What?”
“I was waiting out front and this dude comes out and insults my baby.”
“No!” exclaimed Sam in a joking tone that made Dean’s blood pressure rise a little more.
“Yes, he did,” replied Dean as he patted the dashboard. “You know I don’t like it when someone insults my baby.”
“What did the guy say?”
“He said she was idling a little bit rough,” said Dean, his eyes wide with disbelief.
“Well? Was she?”
“That’s not the point, Sammy. The point is that you gotta work up to something like that. Maybe you compliment the rims first. Ask a question or two. You don’t just walk up to a guy and announce that his baby is idling a bit rough. It’s bad form.”
Sam tried but failed to suppress a chuckle. Dean shot him a dirty look and gave the dashboard another reassuring pet.
“You still haven’t answered my question. Was she idling rough?”
“Maybe, a little,” said Dean, brimming over with agitation. “That’s why I was late - I had a check and there was a loose connection that I had to take care of. And maybe I hadn’t heard it because I was listening to the stereo. But still, Sammy, that’s not the point.”
“No, apparently the point is that a guy has to buy you dinner before he can give you any constructive criticism about your car.”
Dean sighed in disgust. “Sammy, it’s like I don’t even know you. Maybe you’re the milkman’s kid or something.”
“Maybe I just get that the guy was trying to be helpful. His only crime was maybe being a bit too blunt. But maybe it’s just that you’re too sensitive.”
“Sammy,” said Dean, pointing a warning finger at his brother. “We are going to have to agree to disagree on this one.”
“Fine, Dean,” he said, putting his hands up in surrender. “Want to talk about where we might go after New Orleans?”
“Sure. You got some place picked out?”
“Well, I was reading the paper and doing a bit of online research and it looks like we’re spoiled for choice in a 500 mile radius.”
“The gothic South, what do you expect?” said Dean with a crooked grin.
Sam opened the journal and flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for. “So, let’s see.....we got....possible poltergeist in Huntsville, Alabama. Mysterious history of college students going missing from the Whispering Pines Lodge in Mobile, a crying statue in Jacksonville, and a suspicious death involving a combine harvester in the backwoods of Georgia. Or, if you wanted to head back to East Texas, there are reports of a chupacabra.”
“Tempting. But maybe we should wait and see where your special lady friend is heading and make our plans based on that.”
Sam rolled his eyes and continued to lay out the pros and cons of each job, just like he always did. Dean settled in for the duration, but part of his brain was ticking over plans for how to make sure that Sammy had the best chance of spending as much time as possible with Julie. God knew that it had been a long time since his brother had seemed so relaxed and hopeful. Anything Dean could do to prolong that had to be a good thing.
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
New Orleans
The Winchesters stepped into the dimly lit interior of the bar and Sam groaned.
“I thought you said this was a good place.”
“It is a good place, Sammy. Trust me.”
“Dean, there are peanut shells on the floor and it looks like those bikers at the bar could start a fistfight any second.”
“All part of the charm,” said Dean, scanning the room. He spotted the familiar blonde just as she waved to him. The guy sitting next to her was also familiar, and not at all a welcome surprise.
Sam took a step forward but Dean pulled him back.
“What?”
“Sammy, what’s he doing here?”
“Oh, right. Um, that’s her friend,” said Sam with a tentative smile.
“I’m going to overlook for right now your lame practical joke, making me think her friend was a girl-”
“Good,” interrupted Sam as he pulled away and walked over to the table, greeting Julie warmly. Dean trailed behind, grumbling ominously to himself.
“Hi Dean, this is my friend Tim, Tim this is Sam’s brother, Dean.” Julie made the introductions quickly, her eyes darting between them.
Recognition dawned in Tim’s eyes and he smiled. “Hey, I remember you - the Impala guy. You get that fixed?”
Dean nodded stiffly and sat down across from Tim.
“Oh, you’re the owner of the famous Impala that Tim talked about for two hundred miles?”
A proud smile crept onto Dean’s face before he could stop it. “I am.”
“Good,” said Julie, her eyes on Sam. “I’m sure you two will have plenty to talk about.”
As it turned out, Julie’s friend wasn’t much of a talker. Dean tried, but the kid’s vocabulary seemed limited to a few words and gestures. He seemed especially fond of shrugging, like he didn’t know or care about anything.
For Dean, the dinner was excruciating so he consoled himself with how delicious his burger was and how happy Sam seemed. If conversation with Tim was hampered by too few words, the conversation between Julie and Sam had far too many words. And they were all about books and authors and symbolism. Dean thought he’d even heard his brother say something about the role of literature in the post-Reconstruction South. It was enough to give a guy a headache.
After the waitress had cleared their plates away, Julie excused herself from the table, leaving the three guys to sit in awkward silence. Dean gave Sam a tight smile and Sam tried to make small talk with Tim. Dean leaned back casually in his chair and felt better as Sam got even less out of Tim than he had.
Dean looked around the bar and noticed Julie at the jukebox. She fed a handful of quarters into the machine, smiling to herself as she made her selections. Then she practically floated over to the table.
“I really hope one of you guys is willing to dance with me,” she said, looking intently at Sam.
“Oh, I don’t know about that....is this really the kind of place-” stuttered Sam.
Dean cut him off with an elbow to the ribs. “Of course it is, Sammy. Look over there - that big old square that doesn’t have any tables or peanut shells, that’s the dance floor. Go on.”
Julie handed her purse to Tim and then took Sam’s hand and pulled him away. Sam looked back with an expression that Dean couldn’t quite read. But he could read Tim’s expression just fine. Someone wasn’t very happy to be the designated purse watcher, that was for sure.
Tim looked down at the purse on the table in front of him, his hair falling into his face. God, the kid needs a haircut even worse than Sammy does, thought Dean. He picked up the pitcher of beer and topped off Tim’s glass.
“So, you can tell me the truth....you hitting that?” asked Dean with a smarmy grin, his head tilted toward the dance floor. Julie was twirling around, smiling and laughing, while Sam held her hand over her head.
“No,” said Tim, looking up. “But I’m going to seriously hit you if you talk about Julie like that again.”
Dean put his hands up. “Okay, okay. No need to get your chivalrous panties all in a bunch.”
Tim picked up his glass and drained half of it. Dean motioned for the waitress to bring them another pitcher.
“I just can’t figure out why not. Unless she shot you down.”
Tim shook his head. He drank the rest of his beer and re-filled his glass.
“Because, you know, she’s really something else. Smart, pretty, funny. You two been friends a long time?”
“Yeah, a while.”
“And you never even tried. You sure you’re not gay or something?”
Tim laughed, a deep rumble that surprised Dean. “Yeah. I’m sure.”
Dean found himself wanting to rattle this guy, wanting to get a reaction out of him, wanting to push him. He looked up at Sam, who was now slow-dancing with Julie, her head resting on his chest.
“She looked like a nice girl.”
“She is,” said Tim, looking over his shoulder. Something flickered on his face momentarily and then was gone. Dean didn’t know what it was and would have missed it if he hadn’t been looking for a reaction.
“But you know, nice girls.... Sometimes that’s all an act. They just seem like nice girls when really they’re totally wild and game for just about anything. Julie-”
Tim stood up and started to walk away. “I don’t want to hear it. I’ll be at the bar.”
Dean put out an arm to stop him. “I’m sorry, man. I’m an asshole sometimes. Sit back down. I promise to knock it off.”
Tim looked at Dean appraisingly. He sat back down, Julie’s purse now resting in his lap.
“Let me ask you a question though. Why didn’t you hit me?”
Tim shrugged and looked down. After a long pause, he spoke slowly. “I guess because your brother would jump in and it would ruin Julie’s night.”
“You weren’t worried about fighting the both of us?”
“No.”
“You should be,” said Dean.
“Maybe.”
“How do you know Sam would’ve jumped in?”
“You’re brothers, aren’t you?”
Dean nodded and Tim said nothing, but his look said it all.
“You got a brother?”
“One, Billy. He’s way older than me.”
“You two close?”
“You ask a lot of questions,” said Tim.
“What else is there to do? Watch my brother make out with your girl.....friend?”
Tim looked over his shoulder and Dean laughed.
“Ha! Made you look.”
“Real mature,” said Tim, leaning back in his seat.
Dean didn’t know how many quarters Julie had put in that jukebox, but she and Sam seemed to be dancing forever. Or maybe it just felt like forever, since even with at least two pitchers of beer in him, Tim was still not much of a talker. After yet another long and only partially comfortable silence, Tim stood up.
“I think I need a few shots. You want one?”
Dean nodded.
“Oh, and could you watch Julie’s purse?” asked Tim as dropped the bag in the middle of the table.
“Sure,” said Dean.
He watched Tim walk up to the bar. He ended up standing next to a woman with big hair and long legs. Dean smiled and started counting in his head. Seven seconds. It took all of seven seconds before the woman was leaning forward, asking Tim something.
Dean stole a look at Sam and Julie, but they were dancing like the rest of the world no longer existed. Perfect. Dean reached into the purse, pulled out Julie’s journal, and dropped it in his lap. The girl was as organized as he’d expected and her itinerary covered the first several pages. An entire month of traveling planned out.
“Jackpot,” said Dean to himself as he memorized as much as he could. He took another look at the dance floor and decided he couldn’t risk any more snooping, much as he might like to see what Julie may have written about his brother.
He slid the journal back into the purse and leaned back casually. A few minutes later, Julie and Sam returned to the table.
“Where’s Tim?” asked Julie as she sat down in the seat he’d just vacated. Sam sat down next to her, smoothly moving the chair closer to Julie. She leaned into Sam’s arm.
“Went to get something from the bar. I think he’s been delayed.”
“So, Dean, Julie was telling me about this walk she’s doing tomorrow morning. The Confederacy of Dunces tour,” began Sam.
“And what? You need me and Tim to go along to be the dunces?”
“No,” said Sam with an impatient smile. “I was thinking you could sleep in and then I could go on the tour.”
“Sure, Sammy.”
“Uh, have you made our next appointment yet? I know we’ve gotten a few inquiries” asked Sam, his eyes trying to tell Dean something.
Dean was momentarily confused before he realized what Sam was doing. “Inquiries, of course. We pretty much have our pick. You got anything in mind?”
“Tim and I are staying here for five days, then we’re going to Mobile. A few of my favorite bands are playing a concert there and I’ve got tickets. Tim, well, he hates my music, so I’m sure he won’t mind if Sam goes with me instead. You know....if you’re going to be in Mobile then.”
“Sure. Out of curiosity, where are you planning on staying on Mobile? I know the town pretty well.” said Dean.
“Whispering Pines Lodge. They had a special deal on the internet.”
Dean’s eyes widened as he looked at Sam. It was at times like this that Dean wished they’d been the kind of kids who’d invented their own secret language.
“Julie, I don’t think Tim’s ever coming back. Can you be a pal and check up on him there?” asked Dean.
Julie bit her bottom lip and looked between the brothers. “Yeah, sure.”
“Dude, what the hell?” asked Sam.
“I know you haven’t had enough to drink, so you must be drunk on something else, but think for a minute, Sammy,” said Dean.
“What?”
“Whispering. Pines. Lodge.”
“Oh, shit.”
“On the bright side, I guess we’re going to be in Mobile.”
“Yeah, but Dean, we gotta be there right away and make sure the job is done right before Julie gets there.”
“I know. You go on that walk with her tomorrow and then we’ll leave right after.”
“No, screw that. We’ll leave first thing.”
“Sammy, a few hours isn’t going to make a difference. Have some fun.”
“All right, Dean. But then we get right to work,” said Sam with grim determination.
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no subject
Date: 2009-10-28 06:17 pm (UTC)Oh, I love TurnTheTables!Sam.
“He said she was idling a little bit rough,” said Dean, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Hi Timmy.
“No, apparently the point is that a guy has to buy you dinner before he can give you any constructive criticism about your car.”
Oh, Dinner is going to be FUN.
Recognition dawned in Tim’s eyes and he smiled. “Hey, I remember you - the Impala guy. You get that fixed?”
Dean nodded stiffly and sat down across from Tim.
“Oh, you’re the owner of the famous Impala that Tim talked about for two hundred miles?”
A proud smile crept onto Dean’s face before he could stop it. “I am.”
“Good,” said Julie, her eyes on Sam. “I’m sure you two will have plenty to talk about.”
Coffee out my nose.
“And you never even tried. You sure you’re not gay or something?"
Tim laughed, a deep rumble that surprised Dean. “Yeah. I’m sure.”
Wiping tears from my eyes. I'm loving the stilted conversation and Dean trying to get a rise out of Tim and asking these questions. Tim must be fucking cracking up on the inside and taking notes for later conversation with Julie.
Dean’s eyes widened as he looked at Sam. It was at times like this that Dean wished they’d been the kind of kids who’d invented their own secret language.
Snorfle, and really, I'm surprised they haven't.
Anyhow, I see you've engaged the plot device and I'm very much looking forward to more misadventure.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-29 01:46 am (UTC)I'm having a lot of fun writing this -glad you seem to be having as much fun reading it.
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Date: 2009-10-28 10:16 pm (UTC)Tim and the Impala is beautiful, and love how afronted Dean is on his baby's behalf. In fact, I love all the Tim/Dean interaction, I can see them getting on pretty well once they've sized each other up. And Tim being all 'grr' over Julie is beyond brilliant!
♥
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Date: 2009-10-29 01:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-29 04:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-29 08:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-30 04:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-30 07:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-30 01:14 pm (UTC)Hey, do you get DirectTV over there? If not, there's an FNL link in my LJ...
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Date: 2009-10-30 01:50 pm (UTC)For the next bit, I happen to live in Mobile, so if you need any details for the setting I'd be happy to help.
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Date: 2009-10-30 06:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-31 10:04 pm (UTC)Tim laughed, a deep rumble that surprised Dean. “Yeah. I’m sure.”
Oh, this made me laugh. I could so hear Tim's answer and see the smirk that would be on his face.
Tim looked over his shoulder and Dean laughed.
“Ha! Made you look.”
“Real mature,” said Tim, leaning back in his seat.
And this cracked me up too. So Dean and so Tim!
Love this story. I am so looking forward to what happens next!
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Date: 2009-11-01 07:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-04 11:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-05 02:55 am (UTC)