"Sloan! Let's go! It's time for school!" Jensen yells up the stairs the following Monday. He hears a loud groan coming from his daughter's room and sighs. "If you don't get up now, you can't go to the convention this weekend!" He hears a thud as Sloan jumps out of the bed and lands on the floor, making him shake his head with a laugh.
"I'm up!" She yells, racing around her room to get dressed.
She pulls on a yellow top that crosses at the bottom, showing off a little bit of her stomach. She then slips into a pair of grey skinny jeans before pulling a pair of mismatched socks on her feet, pushing her feet into a pair of heeled grey lace up boots. She ties the shoes before going into her bathroom and brushing her hair and teeth, pulling the blonde locks into a french braid that started over her left ear and hung over her right shoulder. She opts against makeup and walks back into her room, sliding on a white leather jacket.
Sloan grabs her phone and earbuds before picking up her backpack and walking downstairs, dropping the bag by the front door. She walks into the kitchen where the Padaleckis had joined them for their tradition of having breakfast together before the two left for school. Sloan snatches a piece of bacon from Grayson's plate, ignoring his cries of protest as she approaches Tom, placing a kiss on the one year old's head, making him giggle.
"You have everything ready to go?" Jensen asks his daughter as she sits down on the bench next to Grayson, plopping two pancakes onto her plate.
"Yep." She says, popping the 'p'. "My books are in my bag and my brain is in my head ready to be melted."
"You're so dramatic." Jared says, rolling his eyes.
"I grew up around actors. What'd you expect?" She asks rhetorically before looking at Tom who was sitting at the end of the table in his high chair. "What do you think, little man? You wanna come to school with me today?" The baby shrieks with laughter as Sloan tickles his stomach.
"No!" He yells. Sloan laughs.
"Yeah, me neither." She sighs. She quickly finishes eating and the teenagers stand up from the table. "See ya later."
"Wait!" Danneel says, getting up from her seat as well and rushing for her phone. "We have to take a picture." Sloan groans.
"Mom." She whines, dragging the word out. "Don't you think we're a little too old for that?"
"Nonsense." Gen says. "It's tradition."
"It's cute for little kids but we're in high school." Sloan says. "It's a little ridiculous."
"Just shut up and let them take a picture." Jensen says. "The sooner you cooperate, the sooner it'll be over."
"Alright, stand by the door." Danneel says. Sloan sighs but stands in front of the door. "Smile!" Sloan gives her best 'eat crap and die' smile.
"Sloan." Jensen warns. "A real smile." The teenager rolls her eyes before smiling at her step mom.
"Alright, your turn." Jared says, slapping his brother on the back. Grayson groans but trades places with Sloan. "And look like you're happy. This one's going to Mom."
"Sloan get one with him." Danneel instructs.
"I feel like we're doing a photoshoot." Sloan mutters. Tom starts babbling in his mom's arms and reaches for Sloan. She walks over and takes the baby from Gen. "C'mon, buddy. You can take this one with us."
Sloan stands beside Grayson, setting Tom on her hip between them. The baby reaches up and pulls her hair hair. "Ow!" She says with a grimace just as the cameras click.
"That one's definitely a keeper." Jensen says.
"Help." Sloan says to Grayson, who gets to work on untangling his nephew's hand from her braid.
"Alright, buddy." He says, taking the baby from Sloan. "Time to go back to daddy." He passes Tom off to Jared before going back to Sloan.
"Bye, guys." They say in unison before stepping out the door.
"Have fun!" Gen calls after them.
"Not likely!" Sloan says as she and Grayson climb into his truck.
"I hate the first day of school." She mumbles, making the older boy laugh as he pulls out of the driveway. "Actually, I just hate school in general. What do you say we skip and just hang out at the park or something?"
"Because I'm a good kid and don't want to get killed by my brother for skipping school." Grayson answers. Sloan groans and rolls her head on the seat rest.
"You're no fun!" She exclaims.
When they reach the school, the two make their way to the office to get their schedules. Sometimes they'll have a class or two together even though their a year apart, but not this time. Sloan sighs and puts down her schedule.
"I guess I'll see you at lunch." Grayson says, seeing that they have lunch at the same time. Sloan nods just as the bell rings. Grayson pulls her into a hug. "I'll see you later. Try not to get into any fights until I can help you." Sloan laughs and pulls away.
"We both know I can hold my own just fine without you." She says as she backs away.
Sloan walks down the hallway to her first period of the day. English. She walks in and immediately goes to the empty seat in the back of the room, setting her bag on the floor before sitting down.
"Good morning, guys." The teacher says, walking in. "I believe we have a new student with us today." Sloan cringes as the whole class turns to her. "Why don't you come up here and introduce yourself?" Sighing, Sloan pushes herself out of her chair and walks to the front of the room, a few people who recognize her whispering as she walks by.
"I'm Mr. Roberts." The teacher says. "Why don't you tell us a little about yourself."
"My name's Sloan." She says simply, ignoring the whispers at the strange name.
"What's your last name?" He asks.
"Ackles." More whispers. Sloan look down slightly, her fingers pulling at each other.
"Well, Ms. Ackles, is there anything you want us to know about you?" Mr. Roberts asks. She shakes her head.
"Not really." He nods and gestures for her to sit back down. Sloan walks back to her desk, catching a glimpse of the one kid who gives her the most trouble when she's here. Ryan.
The next three classes go pretty much the same, dragging on until it's finally time for lunch. Sloan quickly stands up from her desk and goes to the hallway, following the crowd of students to the cafeteria. She finds Grayson already sitting down and approaches him, plopping down next to him.
"Shoot me now." She says immediately. Grayson laughs.
"It can't be that bad." He says. Sloan glare at him.
"Do you know how many times I've had people ask if I'm related to 'the guy in that one show'? Or if I could get Dad and Jared to sign something for them?" She asks rhetorically. "I had one girl ask if I could give her their numbers and another even asked if I could get them to sign her underwear." Grayson spits out his water from shock.
"That's just weird." He says as he wipes up his mess. Sloan nods in agreement.
"And you know that kid Ryan?" She asks.
"The one you always get into fights with?" Sloan nods.
"He's in every one of my classes so far." She says.
"Well, we're only here for a few months and then we'll be back in Vancouver." Grayson says. Sloan sighs and nods.
"These next few months are gonna be hell." She says.
After what feels like forever, the final bell finally rings and Sloan practically runs out of her classroom. She meets Grayson at the front of the school and the two walk side by side to his truck.
"Wanna go to McDonald's?" Grayson asks. Sloan nods.
"You know I'm always up for McDonald's." She says. She quickly sends a text to Jensen, letting him know where they're going so he doesn't freak out.
"So how were your last three classes?" Grayson asks as the two walk into the building. He holds the door open for Sloan.
"Thank you." She says before sighing. "They were just like the first three. Ryan, of course, was in all of them. Gym was fun, though."
"Why's that?" Sloan looks up at Grayson with a smirk.
"We got to play dodgeball." She says. "So I pegged Ryan in the face."
"So I'm assuming he was on the other team?" Sloan smiles and shakes her head.
"Nope." She says simply before walking to the counter. Grayson chuckles and shakes his head. "I'll have a medium chocolate shake and a large fry."
"I'll have the same." Grayson says. The man behind the counter rings them up and Sloan starts to pull out her wallet to pay for her half but Grayson stops her, handing the man enough cash for the both of them.
"You don't have to." Sloan says.
"I want to." He tells her. Sloan smiles gratefully and looks down as she blushes slightly. "Why don't you go grab a table and I'll wait for the food."
"Are you sure?" Grayson nods and Sloan walks to a booth in the back of the restaurant.
An hour and a half later, Grayson's walking Sloan up to her front door. She turns to him with her hand on the knob. "You wanna come in and work on homework? It'll be quieter than at Jared's with a screaming baby." She says. He shakes his head.
"I told Gen and Jared they can go out tonight and I'll watch Tom." He tells her. "Maybe tomorrow." Sloan nods and opens the door, taking a step inside before turning to him.
"If you want, I'm sure it would be okay for you and Tom to come over later. You could have dinner with us if you want." She tells him. He gives her a smile and nods.
"I'll let you know." He says. Sloan nods again. "I'll see you tomorrow if I don't come over later."
"Bye." She says, watching him go back to his truck, waving at him as he leaves the driveway before closing the door.
"I'm home!" Sloan yells as she walks to the kitchen, dropping her bag by the table.
"In here!" Jensen calls from the living room. Sloan walks in that direction and sees her dad and step-mom standing in the middle of the room with huge grins. She raises a brow and comes to a stop.
"What's wrong with your faces?" She asks, plopping down on the couch. Jensen rolls his eyes.
"We have a couple surprises for you." He says.
"Okay?" Sloan says slowly, the end of the word going up as if she were asking a question.
"I got a call from Kripke this morning." Jensen begins, his grin returning. "You got the part!" Sloan's eyes widen and her mouth drops as she jumps off the couch.
"I got the part?" She repeats. Jensen nods and Sloan jumps into the air once, her arms raised above her head. "Yes!" The adults laugh as she does a little victory dance before she looks back up at them. "What's the next thing."
"We got you a late birthday present." Danneel says, handing Sloan a little green gift bag. "Open it." Sloan takes the tissue paper out of the bag and pulls out a white t-shirt. She looks at her parents with a raised brow, not realizing Jensen was filming the whole thing.
"A white shirt?" She asks.
"Turn it around." Jensen says. Sloan does as she says and turns the shirt around, reading the words on the front.
"'I'm the big sister'." She reads. She furrows her brow in confusion before looking back in the bag, pulling out a white onesie with writing on it, reading the words on it. "'Don't mess with me, my big sister's crazy.'"
It takes a minute for the meaning of the clothes to sink in but when it does, she drops the shirt and onesie and looks up at Jensen and Danneel with wide eyes. "Really?" She asks, getting nods in response. "This is real? You're not just messing with me?" Danneel shakes her head and turns to the side, pulling her shirt up to reveal the small bump already forming.
"It's real." She says with a smile. Sloan smiles and runs to her parents, tackling them in a tight hug.
"I take it you're happy about this?" Jensen asks with a laugh. Sloan pulls back with a smile and nods.
"Definitely." She says. "Can I tell Grayson? Do Gen and Jared know?"
"We told them this morning." Danneel says. "You can tell Grayson if you want. Just don't post anything on social media yet." Sloan nods and runs out of the room to call her friend. She stops at the doorway and turns around, running back to her parents and giving them another hug.
"I love you guys." She says before running out of the room again.
Sloan runs up to her room and pulls her phone out of her pocket. She presses Grayson's contact and holds the phone up to her ear, letting it ring a few times before he picks up.
"Miss me already?" He asks and Sloan can practically hear the smirk in his voice.
"In your dreams." She says. "I actually have some things to tell you."
"What?" He asks, her excitement contagious as he scoots to the edge of his seat in his brother's kitchen.
"I got the part on the show!" She practically scream, making Grayson hold the phone away from his ear.
"You did? That's amazing!" He says with a wide smile. "I told you you'd get it."
"That's not even the best thing." She tells him. "I'm gonna be a big sister!"
"Really?" He asks. Sloan nods before realizing he can't see her.
"Yeah!" She says. "They just told me. Isn't it great?"
"That's wonderful!" He says, smiling at her excitement. "So I guess maybe tonight isn't a good night for me to come over?"
"Oh crap. I forgot to ask." Sloan says. "Hold on." Before Grayson can object, Sloan runs to her door and stands in the doorway.
"Can Grayson and Tom come over for dinner?" She calls down the stairs.
"I don't care!" Jensen yells back.
"Dad said yes." She says. "Well, technically he said he doesn't care, but I'm taking that as a yes."
"Alright." Grayson says. "5:30 okay?"
"Perfect." Sloan tells him.