CHAPTER THREE

Two days after leaving New Orleans, Dean parks the Impala across the street from the apartment complex that his younger brother lives in. Nyx opens the passenger side door, ready to head inside, but she stops when she notices that Dean hasn't made any move to exit the car. She looks over at him, and she can see it written on his face — he doesn't know how this is going to go, and a part of him is nervous. Maybe even scared. Of course, he'll never admit that.

Closing her door, the brunette settles back into the seat without a word. She knows that he doesn't want to talk about it, and since he's never pushed anything that she wasn't ready to share, she'll offer him the same respect. She glances out the windows at the few people still milling about; it's just after sundown, so they're probably just making it home...or getting ready to head to a Friday night party. Some of them are even dressed up in costumes, seeing as it's the night before Halloween.

Instead of talking, Nyx reaches down to pick up the small box that Dean keeps on the floor of the passenger side. It's his collection of cassette tapes — the rock music that he's always blasting in the car during their long drives. He takes notice of what she's doing, but doesn't say anything. Normally, he'd be bitching about his rule, but his mind's otherwise preoccupied at the moment.

Nyx switches out the tapes, and then the one that she just put in starts playing — Led Zeppelin, one of his favorite bands. He isn't paying attention to which album it is; she leaves the case in the box and then sets the box back in its place on the floor. Her feet move up to rest on the middle of the seat between them, and she leans her back against the door as her head rests on the window behind her.

Dean glances at the teenager, but her eyes are closed as she listens to the album. The two sit for a while with the music as the only noise between them, and he can tell that she isn't getting impatient. She's entirely comfortable to sit exactly where she is until he's ready to go inside, and her choice with the music was her way of telling him that.

Ramble On starts playing, and he smirks as his gaze shifts to the radio. She didn't just pick any album by his favorite band, she picked the album with one of his favorite songs. He's surprised she even remembered the small detail about him — it was brought up once during a debate they were having about the bands they grew up listening to because of their fathers' similar tastes.

A few albums later, and it's now after midnight. Dean chuckles as he shakes his head at Nyx. The younger of the two opted to try taking his mind off of his nerves, and she sparked yet another debate about music. She's trying to convince him to give newer music a chance, but he's unmoving in his argument that nothing will ever beat the classics.

"You're like an old man." The brunette says, disapproval clear in her tone as she looks over at him. "Only twenty-six, and yet so set in his ways already. It's a shame, really."

He shrugs. "Can't teach an old dog new tricks."

"But that's my point — you're not old." She shakes her head. "Just close-minded."

"I have an old soul." He argues, and she rolls her eyes.

"Whatever." She concedes in the argument, and he smirks, clearly amused with himself.

Dean takes a deep breath and then reaches up to put the car in drive. After shifting gears, he pulls forward and parks the Impala behind the apartment complex. He pauses for a moment before pulling the key from the ignition.

"Come on." He says as he turns for his door, and Nyx moves to exit the car on her side.

"Hey." She smirks as she points at the fire escape, and a smile spreads across his face as he looks at it. "Which one is his again?"

"This way. Come on, I'll give you a boost." He tells her, and they walk over to the side of the building.

The brunette places her foot in his hands, and he helps her up. She grabs the bottom of the ladder, and he watches to make sure that she's alright. Once she's on the first landing, he backs up and gets a running start before jumping to grab the ladder.

"Very graceful." She says sarcastically.

"Bite me." Dean barely manages the retort as he pulls himself up.

The two make their way up the fire escape until they reach Sam's apartment, and Nyx is the first one through the window. Dean follows a little too closely behind and he bumps into her, causing her to stumble into a table and knock something over. He grabs her waist and pulls her back, but it's too late and the object crashes to the hardwood floor.

"I was wrong. That was graceful." The brunette whispers, and he pinches her side, causing her to hiss as she then throws her elbow into his ribs. He grunts.

"Ow. Damn it." He mutters as he moves away from her.

Dean starts wandering around in the dark, and Nyx leans against a wall in a shadowy corner of the living room. The teenager sees when his brother moves closer to the room that she's waiting in, but Dean has absolutely no idea where he is. The older boy walks right past him, and Sam quickly grabs the intruder. The brothers immediately start fighting as Dean fends him off, and he pushes the younger boy into the living room and past Nyx. She catches quick glimpses of their faces when the light coming in from the window hits them just right.

Finally, Dean gets the upper hand on his brother and slams him down on the floor. "Whoa. Easy, tiger." He smiles as his entire face finally comes into the light for the first time.

"Dean?" Sam questions, eyebrows furrowed, and his brother laughs. "You scared the shit out of me."

"That's 'cause you're out of practice." The older boy says, and then Sam flips him over, pinning him to the floor. He laughs again. "Or not. Get off me."

"Are you two done yet?" Nyx questions as she moves forward, walking a few steps away from the entrance to the room.

"Dean, what the hell are you doing here?" Sam asks as he gets to his feet, helping his brother up in the process. "And who's she?"

"Well, I was lookin' for a beer." Dean smiles as he pats his younger brother's shoulders. "Oh, and, uh, that..." He looks over at the teenager. "That's​ Nyx."

The brunette girl smiles​ at the youngest Winchester. "Hi."

"Hi." Sam greets, still confused by the current situation.

A woman suddenly walks up behind Nyx and turns a light on to see what all the commotion is about. "Sam?"

"Jess, hey." He greets as his brother turns to look at the two women. The blonde with the wildly curly hair is wearing a thin shirt that stops above her belly-button, and pink underwear that resemble short-shorts. "Dean, this is my girlfriend, Jessica." Sam introduces.

"Wait. Your brother Dean?" She asks, a smile pulling at her lips.

"And this is Nyx, I guess." He adds, looking over at the brunette. "Dean's girlfriend?"

"He wishes." Nyx smirks, and the older boy scoffs at her comment.

"I love the Smurfs." Dean says, looking at Jessica's​ pajama shirt as he walks over to them. "You know, I gotta tell you, you are completely out of my brother's league."

"And you are still a pig." Nyx says​ as she walks​ past him, patting his arm.

"Just— Let me put something on." Jessica says as she starts to turn away from him.

"No, no, no. I wouldn't dream of it, seriously." Dean shakes his head, and Nyx picks up a pillow from the couch and throws it at​ him. It bounces off his head, and he turns to glare at her. "Stop abusing me, you pain in my ass."

"That's your little brother's girlfriend. Have some class." The brunette tells him.

"Anyway." He clears his throat as he glances back at Jessica. "We gotta borrow your boyfriend here, talk about some private family business, but, uh... Nice meeting you." He tells Jessica​ as he moves back toward the younger boy, and the blonde smiles.

"No." Sam says suddenly, and his brother and Nyx both look up at him. "No, whatever you want to say, you can say it in front of her." He then walks over to stand beside his girlfriend, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Okay." Dean says as Nyx moves​ to stand beside him. "Um, Dad hasn't been home in a few days."

"So, he's working overtime on a Miller time shift, he'll stumble back in sooner or later." Sam says, and Dean glances down at his friend for a second before turning back to his younger brother.

"Dad's on a hunting trip, and he hasn't been home in a few days." He tells him, and Sam's demeanor instantly changes.

"Jess, excuse us." He says just as Nyx's phone starts ringing.

"Why don't I give you two a minute to talk?" She says as she reaches​ into the pocket of Dean's utility jacket and takes​ the keys to the car. The brunette then answers her phone as she's walking outside. "What's up, Elena?" The teenager asks.

"I need you to talk to Vicki. She's getting antsy and she doesn't want to listen to me or Stefan anymore." Her sister says as she unlocks the car and grabs​ her jacket from the front seat.

"Are you at Stefan's right now?" Nyx asks​ her as she struggles​ to put her jacket on and hold the phone to her ear.

"Yeah."

"Alright, put her on the phone." She tells her as she continues​ fighting with her black leather jacket. "Stupid sleeve."

"What did you just call me?" Vicki's​ voice comes through the phone, and Nyx chuckles.

"Oh, how I love your strange sense of humor." She says,​ and her best friend laughs​.

"How's life on the road with your hottie?" The older girl asks as Dean and Sam walk over to Nyx and the Impala.

"Hey. Keys." Dean calls, and she tosses them to him.

"So, Elena tells me that you're refusing to listen to Stefan." Nyx says​ as she turns away from the two Winchester men.

"Avoiding talking about him, as always." Vicki says, and she can hear the smile in her friend's voice. "Despite how you may feel about me right now, I'm still your best friend. Give me the dirty details."

"Vic, come on. Seriously." She says​, only slightly amused by her best friend's usual antics when it comes to boys. "What's going on?" She asks, giving up on her jacket and tossing it back into the car.

She sighs. "I've been locked in this stupid house for way too long, I barely talk to my brother, I haven't seen Jeremy, and I love you, but I don't like Elena. Not to mention, the blood that Stefan keeps giving me is gross." Vicki tells her.

"I guess it's not exactly ideal or what you want, but it's safer this way, Vic. You have to learn to control everything so that you won't hurt anyone. And anyone includes Matt and Jeremy." She reminds her.

"I can't go out during the day, Stefan won't let me go out at night. I can't stay cooped up in his bedroom forever." Vicki complains. "I wanna go out. I wanna have some fun."

"Everything is still new, Vicki. You have to give yourself some time to adjust. And you have to trust Stefan so that he can help you. He's been through this before, he can help you with everything." Nyx says,​ and she sighs as she listens to her. "And I promise I will tell Elena to back off, alright? Just... Vic, promise me that you'll keep your distance from Damon."

"But he's more fun than Stefan." She whines.

"Vicki, he's a narcissistic asshole. He's the one who did this to you." The younger girl argues​.

She sighs. "I know."

"Promise me that you'll​ stay the hell away from Damon, and you'll listen to Stefan from now on."

"Yes, Mom." She says, and both girls laugh — the dynamic between them is starting to feel more like it did before Vicki went and screwed things up.

"Look, uh... Maybe I'll talk Dean into swinging by town in the next couple of weeks. How's that sound, little miss crazy?" Nyx asks, almost reluctant, and she can hear her best friend's excitement on the other end of the call.

"You mean I finally get to see this hottie in person?" Vicki asks, and she chuckles​.

"Keep that up, and I'm never telling you anything ever again." Nyx tells​ her, and she laughs.

"Bye, Nycki."

"Bye, Vic. I'll see you soon." She says and then hangs​ up the phone.

"How's Vicki doing?" Dean asks as he shuts the trunk of the Impala. He's been going over John's case with Sam while she was on the phone, showing him everything that they know.

"She's climbing the walls — driving Stefan and Elena crazy." She tells​ him, and he nods. "And, well, me because Elena calls all the damn time, expecting​ me to somehow fix it."

"So... Same as usual then?" He asks.

"Pretty much, yeah." The brunette nods​. "Come on, it's a long drive to Jericho." She says,​ and then climbs​ into​ the backseat, opting to let the newly reunited brothers sit up front together.

The boys climb into the car, and Nyx reaches over to grab her jacket so that it's not between them during the drive. She then sets it on the seat beside her before watching​ out the side window as Dean starts up the car. They then leave Sam's apartment complex and head in the direction of Jericho to find the boys' dad.

"Hey?" Nyx rests her arms over the bench seat and pinches the sleeve of Dean's utility jacket between her thumb and pointer finger before giving it to two quick tugs. "Can I pick a cassette for the drive?" She asks as she points at the box by Sam's feet.

"Guess so." Dean shrugs, and Sam picks up the box and passes it to her.

As the brunette then sits back and starts going through the cassettes, using the light of her phone screen to illuminate the titles, Sam turns to look at her. "So, how'd you guys meet?" The younger boy asks.

"Dean was severely lacking in awesome in his life, and I came along to save him from a lame existence." She says as she rifles through the box.

"Who saved who?" Dean questions, and she glances up at him before looking at Sam.

"Your brother has a big head."

"Uh, yeah. I noticed." He nods. "How long you been on the road with him?"

"Too long." Dean mutters, and she leans over and flicks his ear.

"End of June." Nyx tells his brother after Dean swings his arm back at her in retaliation. "Four months...ish." She shrugs as she returns her attention to the music selection.

"And, uh... How old are you?"

"Seventeen. You?"

"Twenty-two."

"What are you studying at Stanford?" She asks as she passes him a cassette. "Can you put that in for me please?"

"Sure." He takes it and then turns to the radio. "I'm pre-law. I have a Law School interview on Monday." He tells her.

"Ah, so you're the brains of your family."

"And who's the brains in yours? Your brother?" Dean questions as the first Metallica song on the tape starts up.

"Jeremy's a slacking pothead. And I graduated a year early, thank you very much." She glares at the back of his head.

"So, why aren't you in college?" Sam asks as he turns back to her, wanting to get to know the girl that's been traveling with his older brother.

"Uh..." The brunette takes a deep breath as she looks back at him. "My parents died just before my graduation. Just didn't seem quite as important anymore, I guess."

"I'm sorry." He says, and she forces a small smile.

"Thanks. Life happens, you know? Accidents suck." She says, and he nods. "Needed to get out of the suffocating small-town-life, met that jackass, and here we are."

"Yeah, and you're a real peach." Dean says sarcastically.

"Peach?" She echoes. "What are you, my grandmother?"

Sam chuckles as he listens to the two of them start bickering. Eventually, Nyx slaps the side of Dean's head, leans over the front seat, and turns up the music so that she can't hear him anymore. At first, the younger boy was surprised that Dean hadn't already done that himself, but as she sits back, he can see the amusement on his brother's face.

Dean's not nearly as annoyed by the young brunette as he'd have anyone think. He's actually rather enjoyed her company these past few months.