── ❂ ──

Cleo was desperately bored. She knew this job was for Bobby, the Winchesters, and saving the world, but she was restless. It's been a month, and she hasn't made much progress. All she's made are friendships, and those aren't worth anything with the kind of life she has. The girl though, Charlie... Cleo felt drawn to her, as though there was some sort of magnet within her, pulling Cleo in. Aside from that, IT was cycles and cycles of asking if someone had turned their machine off and on again. That usually solved it, and when it didn't, one of them got to go and help. The highlights of her day was when she got to work, and talked to Charlie holding her wonder woman coffee mug before they had to get started. Today, however, when Cleo walks in, Charlie isn't at her cubicle and Harry looks concerned.

"Hey Harry, what's wrong?"

"Charlie's been called into Pete's office." Cleo shifts her purse (for show of course, she despises purses) up her shoulder more.

"Why- is that bad?" Harry puts his hand on his hip and half nods, half shakes his head.

"I'm not sure, but she hasn't been in there for very long. I guess we'll have to see." Cleo bites her lip, and wonders if maybe this could have something to do with the whole leviathan situation. Probably not, but it's still possible. Cleo pats Harry on the back reassuringly, and heads to her own cubicle. Just as she's about to sit down, Charlie comes out of the office, wide-eyed and slightly breathless. Passing Harry's cubicle, they have a small exchange, and she continues to her desk. Cleo watches Charlie's head disappear into her cubicle, and she sighs as she faces her computer, staring at it blankly. The computer reflects the blinding office lighting, the lights from the ceiling in perfect reflection on her screen. Turning back to Charlie's cubicle, Cleo's phone rings. Not her office one, her personal one. Her hunter phone. She pulls it out of her jacket pocket, and answers.

"Hello, this is Cleo."
"Hey, Cleo." A smile spreads across Cleo's face when she hears Sam Winchester's voice.
"How are you doing, Sammy?" A small chuckle sounds from the other line.

"Well, not so good. We have a lot to fill you in on. We're going to be coming there, we need something where we've set you up. We'll talk in person." Cleo swallows and nods, hurt by his lack of detail but understanding it's necessary.

"Okay, see you then."
"See you." Cleo opens her mouth to add something, but the sound of him hanging up rings in her ear. Setting down her phone with a sigh, she comes face to face with Pete.

"Robinson, Dick Roman wants you in his office." Cleo's heart drops to her stomach and back up to her throat.
"I- He- Yes sir." Not knowing what else to do, she smoothes out her pencil skirt and follows after her boss, possibly confronting her death.

Luckily enough, Dick had no idea who she was, just that she could motivate Charlie. So here she and Charlie were, Cleo having changed into a pair of pants she got from her apartment (a trip there and back) and Charlie clacking away at her keyboard.

"Anything?" The dark haired girl asked, and Charlie looks up briefly.
"No, nothing but taunting messages from this asshole." Cleo snorts, and flips around in her chair to be sitting upside down.
"Hey, do you want me to grab some food?" Charlie nods absentmindedly, and Cleo flips right side up again.
"Chinese sound good?" Tearing herself away from the screen, she turns to Cleo with a warm smile.
"Completely. Can you get some egg rolls?" Cleo tosses her keys up and catches them with a jingle.
"Of course. See you later, computer genius!"
"Don't forget the soy sauce!" Charlie calls, and Cleo laughs to herself.

After waiting outside her usual Chinese place for a few minutes, Cleo calls up Dean.
"Hey, Dean. Heard you and Sam were heading my way. He didn't say much, I was wondering if you could give me more details?"

"Well, we'll probably be there tomorrow. We have to drive. Would it be okay for us to crash at your place instead of booking a motel?"
"Yeah, of course. Um, so- I've been given an assignment. I'm working with someone on it, Charlie Bradbury? Anyways, it's a hard drive that Dick said belonged to Frank Deveraux. Does that ring a bell?" A heavy silence fills the air around Cleo as the other line goes quiet.

"Yes. That's why we're coming, actually. Don't let them hack into it, it's important." Dean hangs up, and Cleo sighs. Those Winchester boys really are awfully vague. Running her fingers through her hair to push it back, she starts wondering. Charlie's incredibly good at hacking... she might be done by now. Cleo slams her car door open, and leaps out. She has to get that food and get back, act normal, and make sure no one learns what's on there.

Cleo's hands are full of bags as she walks back into the building. She scans her keycard, reading "Cleotha Robinson", and makes her way to the elevator. The emptiness is deafening, and the dark outside makes her skin crawl. Light up numbers slowly change with a ding as she goes up floor by floor. She shifts her weight, and the plastic from the bags is starting to dig into her fingers. A final ding and the settling of the elevator tells Cleo she's on her floor. The doors open unceremoniously, and she walks back out to the empty cubicle area. Empty except for Charlie, the redheaded wonder. 

"Hey, Charlie. I'm back!" Cleo calls over the carpet, the call echoing back at her.
"Hey, Cleo!" Smiling, Cleo makes her way to Charlie's cubicle. She sets down the takeout, and flexes her hands, happy the plastic isn't digging into her skin anymore.
"Made any progress?" Sighing, Charlie raises an eyebrow at the dark haired girl.
"Nope. But I am hungry, thanks for getting food." She lifts up a bag onto her desk and starts pulling at the plastic. "Do you need me to pay you back?" Cleo shakes her head quickly.

"No way, my treat. Thanks for working so hard. You're so good at that stuff." A soft blush appears on Charlie's cheeks, and it doesn't escape Cleo's notice. It makes something flutter in her stomach, and she's not sure why. She shakes it off, and opens up her food, sitting down at the chair she was in before. Grabbing a plastic fork, she bites her lip and looks up through her eyelashes at Charlie. Deciding she's hungrier than she is wanting to figure out what this means, she opens the foam box, and takes her first bite.

Tired and full, Charlie sits at the computer and Cleo has her walkman playing in her ears. Charlie's concentrated, typing away, and ultimately amused by the 'wargames' parallels. Cleo's listening to her favorite mixtape, the same one she keeps in her car at all times. Nodding along, she starts to drift off, because it's already midnight. She shakes herself awake quickly, and stops the tape. Pulling off her headphones, she looks up from her place on the floor to Charlie.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Charlie nods slightly, staring at the screen.

"Not great. But I'm still making progress." Cleo bites her lip nervously. She wants Charlie to succeed, but she's conflicted because she doesn't want her to hack into the hard drive. That's not what the Winchesters wanted, and Cleo trusts them completely. Maybe she should just tell Charlie the truth...

"Hey Charlie?" Charlie pauses her typing, and makes tentative eye contact with Cleo.
"Yeah?"
"You wanna come down here?" Charlie looks back at the computer, then wistfully at Cleo, and stands up out of her chair.

"So, I don't even know that much about you. Where are you from?" Cleo asks softly, friendly, trying to keep her tone light.
"Uh, Michigan. It was kind of boring, if I'm being honest." Cleo laughs. "How about you?"
"Missouri. I haven't been back in a while though... I got in a fight with my sister." Which was true, but all Cassie wanted was for Cleo to stay.

"I'm sorry." Charlie says quietly, tracing circles on her knee.
"Me too." Cleo leans her head back against the desk, and shuts her eyes.
"Do you have any other family? Besides your sister?"
"Just my mom. My dad passed away when I was in college." Charlie opens her mouth to say 'I'm sorry' again, but just closes it.

"I lost my dad too, if it's any, you know, condolence." Cleo looks in Charlie's wide open eyes, and something inside her stirs awake.
"I guess I'm just sorry we didn't have more time with them." The redhead smiles, and pulls out two bottles of water.

"These don't really do them justice, but to our dads?" She hands Cleo one, and Cleo uncaps it with vigor.

"To our dads." She says as they tap their water bottles together. They drink, and both smile softly, thinking of memories bathed in sunlight and unsaid words. Cleo sets hers down on the floor, her cap cupped in her hand.

"What about- did you have a mom?" Charlie tilts her head, and stares at the floor.
"Yes. She- she, well, she's not with me. And I can't talk to her." Cleo furrows her eyebrows.
"Why not? Did you have a fight?" Charlie shakes her head and gestures with her hands.

"Yeah." She says, but Cleo has a gut feeling that she's lying. She lets it go though, because these are really sensitive topics and Charlie's told her a lot.

"I hope you two make up soon." She says with a lopsided smile, and Charlie smiles back, a bit of a wavering smile.
"I hope you and your sister make up soon too." Cleo holds her wrist with her opposite hand.

"If you talk to your mom, I'll talk to my sister. Deal?" Charlie laughs, lightly.
She says, "You're on." And holds out her hand for Cleo to shake. She takes it firmly, and shakes with conviction.
"I'm glad I met you, Charlie Bradbury." The geek smirks, and a quiet happiness stirs within Cleo.

"Me too." Charlie says softly, still holding onto Cleo's hand. She slowly loosens her grip, and they pull away.
"I- I better get back to it." Cleo gulps, the nervousness returning to the pit of her stomach.
"Yeah- yes, yes you should. We should not disappoint the boss." Charlie laughs.
"The eye of Sauron." Cleo nods, chuckling. She decides to try to get some sleep, so as Charlie sits back in front of the computer, Cleo closes her eyes and tries to think about anything but Leviathans.

The next morning, Cleo sits up with a groan, holding her forehead.

"Where the hell...?" Then she looks around, and remembers she had to stay all night at the office, to watch her coworker Charlie type away at a hard drive Cleo doesn't want opened. She looks up at Charlie, who is no longer typing but scrolling. Cleo stands up with a start, and reads the screen. Word after word on Leviathan fills the screen. Shit.

"Charlie, did you get in?" She says, trying to stay calm, and make it seem like she has no idea what Leviathans are. Although, what if she just told her? No, she can't.

"Yeah... I- I just need to-" She closes the folder. "Give it to the eye of Sauron." Charlie's voice has a faux lightness to it, and Cleo begins to panic.

"Okay, I'll meet you back here in a few minutes. I've gotta use the bathroom." Cleo pulls her sweatpants up, and walks, wobbling to the bathroom. When she makes it in there, she checks every stall to make sure no one else is in there. Then she opens her phone and calls Sam. It rings twice before he picks up.

"Cleo?" She bites her lip before speaking.
"I- Charlie got in. I don't know what to do." Sam takes in a sharp breath.
"Can you keep her there?" Cleo sighs.
"I don't know, but I can try."
"Text us if anything changes. We'll be there as soon as we can." Cleo nods even though Sam can't see her.

"I will. See you-" He hangs up. "Soon." Cleo finishes, and laughs dryly. Slipping her phone into her pocket, she decides to use the bathroom anyways.

She walks up to Charlie's desk, and she's not there.

"Shit." Cleo says under her breath, and looks around the office. She slips the hard drive into her pocket, and deletes all traces of the files on Charlie's computer. Then Charlie walks up to her, her eyes wide, speechless.

"Shit." Cleo says again, louder this time.
"I- Cleo- what-" Charlie stammers, and Cleo takes her arm.
"Stay calm." She mutters, and starts to guide her outside. "We need to act like we're leaving for a reason. Cramps?" Charlie nods, starting to regain composure.

"We're going to your apartment, and-" Charlie interrupts.
"You're not- one of those things, are you?" She whispers.
"No- I- I don't know how to prove it you right now, but when we get to your apartment there'll be someone there who can." Charlie nods, and shakes her head.

"I trust you." She says softly, and a warm feeling spreads from Cleo's chest to her fingertips.
"I trust you too. Let's go." They get into Cleo's car, parked out in front of the building.
"When we get back, you're going to have to call Pete. I have to call someone else and let them know to meet us there." Charlie bobs her head in agreement, and Cleo starts up her car. They pull out of the parking lot, and Cleo leans her head back against the seat as they sit at an intersection.

"We're going to be okay." Charlie fiddles with her hands.
"I know." She says with conviction. "But why didn't you tell me?" Charlie looks her hurt, her eyes shimmering and her eyebrows creased.

"I- I couldn't. I'll explain everything when we get there." Cleo tries to ignore it, but now the air in the car is different. Tense. And Cleo doesn't know what to say to make it go away. Because now Charlie is entangled in all this and Cleo knows she can't save her. 

── ❂ ──

AUTHOR SPEAKS

this is literally the longest chapter I've ever written??? hope y'all enjoyed it, I definitely enjoyed writing it because I love their dynamic. if anything about it annoys you or you think could be better, let me know because I'm always trying to improve <3