Through The Pages

Resolving Problems

     I decided to control her until her friend broke her nose. It was surprisingly painful, so I decided to make my exit before anything worse happened. After that, I just watched from the sidelines. The best part was watching their friendship fall apart in front of everyone's eyes. I didn't think that my brother killing Shae would bring them back together, but it wasn't my fault. Crowley  was the one who insisted on baiting them, so I was never involved. Until now.

As the band finished their number with a crash, Danielle wiped sweat off of her forehead with the back of her hand.

"Before we start this next song, I'd like to say a few words." she began, scanning the crowd. The crowd fell quiet.

"As you all know, we're a fairly new band, and we're also fairly local," she said, flipping her hair out of her eyes and pausing to let the laughter subside. "But we wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for the generosity of Rose Cooper, the manager of the great Inferno!" she said, raising her bottle of beer. The crowd cheered and fell quiet again.

"I'd also like to dedicate this next song to someone. They mean so much to me, and they've helped me through so much. I couldn't ask for someone more supportive. I saw him over at the bar earlier," she said, searching the bar hopefully.

"And thankfully, he's still there. So before we play one of his favorite songs, I'd like to make a toast." She raised her drink again, locking eyes with Dean Winchester, who was sitting three seats down from me.

"To Dean!" she cried, the crowd lifting their drinks and echoing her toast. Danielle quickly set down her beer, grabbed her acoustic guitar from a corner, and started strumming furiously. As the beginning of Ramble On by Led Zeppelin crashed through the room, I tipped the bartender and made my swift exit.

Once I was safely outside, I unlocked the cellphone I was given and dialed Crowley's number.

"Everything is going as planned, sir." I said, turning down a dark alley.

"Excellent. I trust you to send out the signal at the agreed time tomorrow morning. Remember what we spoke about, and you can expect to receive full benefits." he commanded, his accent rumbling though the small speaker.

"Understood, sir." I said before the line went dead. I sighed in relief and vanished into the night.

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(Charlie's POV)

It was just before eleven o'clock, and Danielle was right on time. The familiar Cadillac was parked just outside the entrance, where a few people were mingling after Pride Fest ended. As we got in, she smiled and caught my eye in the rear-view mirror.

"I assume you guys had fun?" she asked sarcastically.

Felicia and I laughed in exhaustion. "No kidding." I said, trying to catch my breath.

She handed two water bottles back to us and started the car. "I borrowed these from the club, I figured you might need them."

I immediately opened mine and started chugging. "Thanks!" Felicia said, happily accepting.

Danielle smiled and drove out of the parking lot, before scowling at someone who cut her off. "Fucking asshole." she muttered angrily.

"Oooh, we got some road rage going on." I joked after I finished my water.

"You think this is bad? You should see Dean when he's driving." she answered.

"Suuure." I said.

"Just shut your mouth and let me drive." she said.

"Okay, mother." I said sarcastically.

"Damn right." she responded. I rolled my eyes and buckled my seat belt as we pulled onto the highway. Danielle rubbed her eyes tiredly and pushed play on the stereo.

"What I need right now is a cold shower and several shots of whiskey." she said.

"As long as you're not reeling drunk and vomiting on me, I don't give a shit." I said. She shot me a frigid glare and turned back to the road. An hour later, a freshly showered Danielle was sitting at the kitchen table in front of me with two glasses and a bottle of Jack Daniel's. Everyone else was asleep.

"You have no idea how bad I need this." Danielle said as she downed a full shot glass.

"Was it that bad?" I asked, helping myself.

"It wasn't bad, I just need to get the adrenaline out of my system and calm down." she replied. "Actually, it went really well."

I smiled. "That's great. Did Dean like it?"

She laughed. "He looked so uncomfortable. Yeah, he was fine with it. I don't think he likes our drummer, though."

"He's kind of got the Andy Biersack thing going on." I said, trying to be relate-able.

She snorted in response and refilled her glass. "Yeah, but 'In The End' Andy. If he was younger. And less hot."

"Fair enough."

She sighed and frowned. "Hey, I have something to tell you, and it's been bothering me for awhile."

I look at her curiously. "What is it?"

She stared at her glass. "It's probably the alcohol making me do this, but I want to get this off my chest anyway. So earlier today I mentioned that I let Dean mess around. That was right before you went out to start the car."

"Yeah, I remember that now." I said.

"So that means that Dean and I have agreed that he can go off and... how do I put this..." she said, sighing. "Basically bang other women, because God knows he can't stand commitment."

I shifted awkwardly in my seat. "Wait, so it's an open relationship?"

She nodded. "Correct, but we have specific rules. Like no last names, no repeat offenders, not in the house, and not on each other's time. And always use a condom."

"How could you be comfortable with that? I could never do that." I said.

"But that's just it: I'm not. I just allowed this whole thing so he could be happy." she said.

"Well, you could try talking things out." I suggested.

"I know, but if I revoke his privileges, so to speak, then he's going to become sullen and angry. Like me, as a teenager." she said with a bitter smile.

I laughed. "No kidding. But you guys are in a relationship for a reason, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, being in a relationship is about making everyone involved happy. So if you're not happy with something, then you need to fix it." I said firmly.

She smiled at me. "Thanks, Charlie."

"Any time. But we should really get some sleep, because we have that thing tomorrow." I reminded her.

"Oh, yeah! It's gonna be great!" she said enthusiastically, returning the bottle and glasses.

"Plus I'm really fucking tired." I said.

She grinned. "Me too." We went to bed shortly after.