I'm addicted to the thrill,
It's a dangerous love affair.
Can't be scared when it goes down,
Got a problem tell me now.
Only thing that's on my mind,
Is who's gonna run this town tonight.
-Run This Town, Jay-Z
Chapter Five- The Ugly Sweater Party
In which Gabriel throws a Christmas party, Jo looks at pictures, and Michael gets locked in the attic.
Michael came home three days before homecoming.
Chuck and Castiel had gone to pick him up from the airport and arrived back two hours later.
Anna had always looked up to Michael, as did the other Miltons. Though Gabriel and Balthazar found him easy to prank, and Castiel was intimidated by him. Anna found him rude and closeminded at times, but still enjoyed his company. Luce had used to be Michael's favorite, and the feeling was mutual, but once Luce had starting be a "bad kid", by Chuck's standards, they had hated eachother.
Luce and Castiel were making dinner that night, so they went off to cook while Balthazar and Gabriel led Anna upstairs.
Michael was unpacking, in the guest room, where he would be staying until he left in early January.
They walked in, and while Michael obviously noticed them, he didn't greet them.
"What's up, Mikey?" Gabriel snickered.
Michael looked up from his suitcase irritably. "Mikey is the nickname I had when I was twelve. I'd prefer Michael."
"I'd prefer you not living in my game room for the rest of the month." Gabriel responded. Anna, despite herself, giggled.
"This isn't your game room. It's my room that Dad converted into a guest room."
"The X-Box in the corner says otherwise." Balthazar said.
"So does the stash of candy in the closet." Gabriel added.
"What does your candy stash have to do with the gameroom?" Anna whispered.
"Nothing, I just needed to tell Balthazar where I was keeping that stuff." Gabriel whispered back. Balthazar grinned.
"I'm staying here, Gabriel. Get over it." Michael stuffed his suitcase under the bed before sitting on the bed.
Gabriel smiled in a way that made Anna fear for her safety and well-being. "You might reconsider your living arrangement when you realize I found this," He whipped a small picture out of the back pocket of his jeans. "hanging out of your backpack."
Michael raised an eyebrow and looked closely at the picture. A few seconds of quiet passed before Michael roared "GABRIEL GIVE ME THAT PICTURE, NOW!"
"Run for it!"
The group ran down the stairs, tripping over the other's feet as Michael chased after them. Once in the foyer, they dashed into the living room and ducked behind a couch.
"What was that picture of?" Balthazar whispered.
"Some chick." Gabriel showed them the picture. A young girl with her brown hair in a flawless bun smiled back at them.
Gabriel put the picture away again as Michael ran into the room, breathing heavily. Anna braced herself for Michael finding them, but, as he was about to check behind the couch, Chuck walked into the room.
"Michael, what are you doing?"
Michael turned, eyes widening. "Uhm, I was-"
"Nevermind. I have to go to a meeting with Uriel. You're in charge. I'll be back late, probably around 1 in the morning. You got it?"
"Yes sir."
"Great," Chuck smiled and patted his son on the shoulder before leaving.
Uriel was Chuck's publisher. Seeing as how the last deadline for one new book was two months ago and Chuck had never finished it, Uriel was probably going to chew him out.
Anna's father had always been a writer. Not a good writer, but a writer. That's how Maria had met him; she was an editor for his first book, The Unnatural Omens, which sold about 1,000 copies in all.
As soon as the fron door closed, Michael reached a hand behind the couch and grabbed Gabriel by the collar, pulling him out and throwing him on the armchair.
Gabriel swallowed. "This is not how I expected this to turn out."
"Give. Me. My. Picture."
"C'mon Mikey-"
"I swear on Aunt Josephine's grave, Gabriel, I will kill you."
"Touchy."
Michael growled.
"Okay, okay, here!" Gabriel handed the picture over. Michael's expression softened as he put it in his jacket pocket.
Anna and Balthazar popped out from behind the couch, staring at the floor. Punishment was sure to come from Michael, despite them not causing the trouble.
"Balthazar, you and Anna are grounded for two weeks."
"NO WAY!" They yelled in unsion. "Michael, homecoming is in three days!"
"Guess you'll have to miss it, then." Michael said cruelly.
Gabriel remained silent. He wasn't laughing at them, but he didn't defend them.
Anna swallowed. "Balthazar's got a girlfriend this year! He never has girlfriends for homecoming!"
"Hey! I took Bela last year too!"
Anna sighed. "You idiot. That was a cover."
"Oops."
Bela Talbot, a girl who lived in a very rich neighborhood a few towns over, had been dating Balthazar on-and-off for two years now, and Balthazar was hoping it would stay on for awhile.
"You can go to the dance," Michael began, and Anna's heart soared. "IF, and only if, you clean out the basement as soon as you get back."
Balthazar and Anna shivered. The basement hadn't been touched for over a year by now. Gabriel enjoyed stashing his siblings homework up there to piss them off.
"Let's be reasonable here, Michael," Balthazar tried, but Michael silenced him with a glare.
"Do you want to go or not?"
Anna hung her head. She had to go, she had promised Jo and Dean. Was cleaning the basement worth going to homecoming?
Definently not, but she wasn't going to refuse the offer. Anna was loyal enough to not abandon the others.
"Fine."
Michael smiled. "Good. Now, for you, Gabriel-" He turned to point at him acusingly, but no one was there. Gabriel was gone.
"Damn." Michael cursed.
He gave another warning glare to Anna and Balthazar before jogging up the steps to look for Gabriel. Balthazar collapsed into a pile on the couch, Anna following in suit. "That," She sighed, "was exhausting."
"Yep." Balthazar said.
The doorbell rang, and Balthazar looked at Anna pleadingly.
She rolled her eyes and pushed off the couch. "I got it."
"You are my favorite sister." He declared.
"I'm your only sister." Anna mumbled and walked into the foyer. She glanced through the doors small eyehole, and gasped.
"Hi Anna." Jo said cheerfully when the door had been opened.
"Are you stalking me or something?'
"Actually," The blonde said, letting herself in and shutting the door. "I'm here for your brother's party."
"BALTHAZAR, GET IN HERE!" Anna yelled, and Jo jumped a good foot of the ground at her commanding voice.
He trotted in, whining "Annnna, what do you want?"
"Why'd you throw a party?" Anna asked.
"Um...I didn't? At least I think I didn't." Balthazar said.
"LUCE! GET IN HERE!" Jo jumped again.
"Anna, cut it out!" Balthazar demanded. "Why yell for me and Luce, when you've gotta at least assume it's Gabe."
Anna raised an eyebrow. "You knew about this?"
"Of course. I didn't lie though! You asked if I threw it!" He added at Anna's harsh glare.
"Why is Gabriel throwing a party when he knows Michael's here?"
Jo stepped forward. "I can answer that one, actually. The party was scheduled three weeks ago. Did Gabe know about Michael at that time?"
Anna glanced at her brother. "I don't think so? Or at least didn't know dad left Mike in charge. But, he knew dad was going to be here."
"Actually," said a voice behind them. "He took care of that."
"Gabriel, what the hell are you talking about?" Anna asked.
Gabriel sauntered forward until he was pratically leaning into Anna. "You think Uriel bothered to contact daddio? Nope, that call wasn't by his secretary, I called him and told him to drive to a certian empty warehouse quite awhile away. He won't even get there for another hour."
"Oh my God, you are the worst son. Ever." Anna said, but she was laughing.
"It's a gift." He said with a smirk. "So, while I've cleverly locked Michael in the attic, let's get our party on."
"YOU LOCKED MICHAEL IN THE-"
Gabriel rolled his eyes at his brother. "He didn't see me. Can't trace it back to me, so I'll blame it on Cas."
"You can't just lock Michael in the attic, Gabriel. He's going to kill you."
"He was going to anyway."
The doorbell rang again, and Gabriel grinned. "Operation Ugly Sweater Party is a go." He swung open the door and was instantly slapped by a girl with curly black hair.
"Gabe I knew you were stupid but I never thought you would lie to my parents! They're going to find out, you know, and then they'll never let me out of the house again. You're lucky I could get here today, I had to lie and say I was picking up Baldur's shift at the shop."
Gabriel's smile dipped. "Okay Kali. You know what? I'm sorry. Sorry I lied to your parents and sorry I broke your locker door once in seventh grade and-"
Kali growled, and Anna got the feeling she would like this girl. Anyone who could force Gabriel to apologize for something was obviously badass. "That was you?!"
"Anyway, sorry. Now won't you please forgive me so we can have fun?" He pleaded. Balthazar was in the corner laughing at Gabriel's plea. Things like this didn't happen often.
Kali leaned up and kissed him. She still sounded angry, but maybe that was her natural tone of voice. "Fine."
Jo smiled at the couple and locked eyes with Anna for a millisecond before looking away. "So Anna, I see you're dressed for the party."
Looking down upon the sweater Castiel had bought her last year for her birthday, Anna raised an eyebrow. "What?"
Jo smirked. "Didn't you hear Gabe? It's an Ugly Sweater Party. Hence," She gestured to her own sweater, which had two reindeer in a compromising position, Santa's sleigh flying behind them in the night sky, on it. "this wonderful work of art."
"Where did you get that?" Balthazar asked. "And more importantly, where can I buy one?"
"Mrs. Winchester is one of the most badass mother's I know." She said as an answer. "She overheard me and Dean talking about his last art project, which, yes, was this design, and made us both matching sweaters. I think Dean's is molding to his closet."
"My sweater isn't that bad." Anna insisted. "It's just a snowman."
"It's disfigured. Coffee stain is covering it." Jo said, and Anna frowned.
It had come to a point where Anna had known Jo for less then a month, and was already used to her rude humor. "You have two reindeer having sex stiched onto a Christmas sweater, that your friends mom made for you."
"Much better then a snowman."
Over the next ten minutes, more and more guests showed up. Anna, concerned about Michael, asked Gabriel if they couldn't try something different. Gabriel insisted it was under control, and reminded her about the girl in the picture. Blackmail purposes.
At one point, it became loud enough for Luce and Castiel to come out of the kitchen. Luce grinned and declared he had almost forgot the party was today. Castiel threatened to tell Michael and call Chuck, but Gabriel appearently had blackmail for him too, because minutes later Castiel was chatting it up with Dean.
Anna stood in the corner, nibbling on a cookie she had stolen from Balthazar. Everyone was dancing to a very loud song, so you could barely hear Michael yelling and pounding on the basement door.
"Hey Annael," Jo said, sliding beside her.
"Which nickname have you decided on?" Anna asked tiredly.
"Defintely Annael. You hate it the most."
"How do you know?"
"I can read people." Jo assured her.
"Uh huh." Anna began scanning the crowd. Bela Talbot was flirting with Balthazar- guess they were on again. Castiel was still talking to Dean, but Becky Rosen, an tenth grader, had been invited into the conversation, somehow. Ruby had showed up, and was eyeing Jo with obviously feigned interest; she seemed to actually be wondering why Anna was talking to her.
Jo rolled her eyes, and turned to the fireplace. "So, the Miltons make Christmas Cards? Didn't see that one coming."
Twenty-three cards stood on the mantle, one made every year since Michael had been born. Anna stood proudly in eighteen of them, Castiel in seventeen, Balthazar and Gabriel in sixteen, Luce; the youngest, was only in fiveteen.
"Yeah. They're stupid." She couldn't help but notice the siblings slowly gravitating away from each other in each photo. Michael had paired off with Chuck, Gabriel and Balthazar stood side-by-side in every picture, Castiel was close to Anna, but not as close as Luce.
"Your mom got busy," Jo chuckled. "New baby every year- Gabe and Balthazar are the same age? Also, your themes are awful. Everyone looks really uncomfortable in those elf hats."
"Gabe's idea."
"That makes sense."
There was an awkward pause for awhile, in which neither of them spoke. "So..." Jo prompted. Anna racked her brain for a response.
"I guess homecoming's at Reaper?"
"Oh, yeah. Truman's always sucks majorly."
"You remind me a lot of Dean." Anna noted.
Jo grinned, and for whatever reason, Anna's heart started beating against her chest. "I would hope I do. I've known him since I was in pigtails."
Across the room, Gabriel was chugging a pop with everyone cheering him on, but Anna nor Jo even glanced at it. "How long ago were you in pigtails?"
"Six, maybe seven?" Jo stared at one of the cards on the mantle, almost accusingly. "You know, this '09 one isn't too horrible."
"Thanks. How'd you two meet?"
"At a funeral." Jo said absentmindedly.
"What?"
Jo turned to her tiredly. "John," She began. "used to be a police officer with my dad. They were partners, and during one case, my dad got killed. Winchesters came to the funeral."
"Oh." Anna stared at the floor. "I'm sorry." She could relate to a dead parent. Maria had gone from cancer when Anna was eight.
Jo nodded. "Yeah, well, it was awhile ago. No big deal. I'm going to go talk to Bela. See you at homecoming."
Almost instantly, Ruby was at Anna's side. She was dressed entirely in black, despite the party being sweater-themed. "Was that Jo Harvelle?"
"Um. Yes?"
Ruby grinned wickedly. "She's pretty cool. I've seen her at parties." She glanced at Anna. "You two are friends?"
Anna wasn't sure what her connection to Jo was, but she wouldn't describe it as a friendship, though Jo most certainly would. "Yeah."
Once again, Ruby grinned, but it was more of a knowingly smile then a 'oh-yeah-she's-really-awesome' smile.
"What?" Anna asked.
"Nothing." Ruby waved her off. But Anna had known Ruby since they were both twelve, so she could tell something was going on. "It's just that she was giving off certain vibes-"
"Have I ever told you that you're a weirdo?"
Ruby continued, ignoring her. "Like, I think she might be interested in you."
"Oh my, God, Ruby. Jo's dating some guy."
"Are you sure it's not a cover?"
"Ruby!"
She held up her hands in mock retreat. "Okay, okay, I'm just saying, she was staring pretty intently at you."
The rest of the night went smoothly. Balthazar and Gabriel had downed several drinks, Castiel and Meg Masters had been aquainted, Ruby got in a fist fight with Dean, nothing seemingly unusual.
After the partygoers left, Gabriel let Michael out of the attic. Before Gabriel could be beat-up, he explained to Michael that he had gone through his phone and asked who Naomi was. Michael had paled. "If you don't tell dad, I won't tell dad."
Chuck himself had arrived home an hour later, pissed that Uriel had stood him up and declaring he was going to drive straight to the office tomorrow and demand answers. Gabriel barely even flinched.