The Seduction of Scott, Parts 7-11, Supernatural, PG-13, Keeper!Verse
Fandom: Supernatural, Keeper!Verse
Title: The Seduction of Scott, Parts 7-11
Characters/Pairings: Dana, Sam/Dean, Scott Wu (OMC)
Rating: PG-13
Authors: shotofjack and amara_m
Summary: Dana and Scott are officially dating, but life isn't all cherries and roses for the young couple. When Dana gets obsessive about winning a meet, Sam has doubts about her methods.
A/Ns & Warnings; No real warning except the sugar warning. This is sticky sweet schloomp boys and girls. Five vignettes penned by shotofjack and myself over the last couple of weeks. This is, of course, only a beginning. there are more bits of the story before we reach the Prom. Yes. Prom. But since Mary's going off on vacation, the next bits may be a while.
Part the Seven
Hey, I need to talk with you.
Dean snapped his head in response, whacking it soundly on the hood of the German import he was currently trying to wrestle into submission.
I fucking hate when you do that. I’ve told you a million times.
Dean wiped his fingers on a rag as he walked out the open door of the garage and crossed the street. Sam was sitting on the bus bench, sprawled out, head tipped up to the sky, eyes closed, limbs everywhere, sex in blue jeans. Ari was sitting at his feet, leash in her mouth, ball at her feet.
Dean stopped a foot from Sam and looked down at him. “Why can’t you just come into the garage to talk to me like a normal person?” Dean asked.
Sam opened one eye and trained it on Dean. “You know it makes your guys really uncomfortable. No reason to cause that.”
“How come you make ‘em nervous but I don’t?”
“You are so butch, what with the muscle car and mechanic skills and poker playing and cock rock. They read you as straight but, except when they see me, then the reality hits. Threatening.”
Dean pointed at the bench. “This makes me feel like a husband sneaking away from work to see his lover.”
“And that’s a bad thing? Dude, you’re cheating on me with me, if that’s the case.” Sam laughed and added, “And I want flowers tonight to make it up to me.”
Dean motioned with his hand, “Scoot over, lover,” and plopped down to slouch on the bench next to Sam. Ari set her head on Dean’s feet and nudged her ball at him.
“Your dog is dumb Sam. She wants me to throw her ball in a busy street.”
“Babe, insult me but don’t insult my dog.” Sam passed Dean a soda and reached into his pocket, pulled out a package of peanut M&M’s and tossed them at Dean.
Dean ripped open the bag and shoved a handful into his mouth. Mid chew he said, “So, peanut M&M’s, small bag….that means about a 5 on the Winchester 10 scale.”
“More like a 6,” Sam replied. Then he sat up, stretched his back and turned to Dean.
“What does Dana want more than anything?”
“For you to stop harassing her about going away to college,” Dean answered, while wadding up the now empty candy bag.
“Well, yeah,” Sam conceded, “But after that?”
“To beat last year’s state mile champ in this Friday’s meet. What’s her name?” Dean crunched his eyes.
“Janie Fredricks. And Yahtzee.”
Dean groused, “That’s my line, Dude.”
Sam twisted and looked at Dean meaningfully.
“What?” Dean held his hands up. “So, she wants to win a race. That a good thing, right?” Dean hated to be impatient but that damn BMW wasn’t going to fix itself.
Sam harrumphed, “What if she’s cheating?”
“WHAT? How can you even think that?” Dean shot straight up, felt his neck muscles tighten.
“When’s the last time you played poker and didn’t cheat? Huh?” Sam’s eyes held Dean’s.
Dean flinched, “Ok, point taken. But, she has no need - she’s fast, good technique, a natural.”
Silence. Sam continued staring at Dean, not blinking.
“Jesus - you think she’s been cheating the whole time?”
“No, I don’t. It was something last night. Scott posted that great mile time last Saturday and she was so excited. I heard her on the phone with Erin, talking about Friday. I caught a wave of how critical winning this one is to her.” Sam inhaled.
“But why? If she hasn’t been cheating up till now, what’s different?”
Sam shrugged. “I don’t know…maybe because Scott posted that time…” He trailed off and scrunched up his face in disgust with himself.
“She’d cheat to impress Scott? Sam - she isn’t that girl.”
“I don’t want to believe it either. But, if she is, we have to pull her off the team.”
“No. Sam - No. She’d be crushed. And who cares if she cheats to win a race?”
“Dean,” Sam punched Dean’s arm, “we have to be united on this.”
Dean considered it and shrugged. “Ok Sam. We do this your way. But, how are you gonna know?”
Sam hung his head. “I’m not. You are. I’m going to put you in her head. She can’t lie to you, you know that. You’ll know.”
Part the Eight
“Ugh.” Dana poured half her bottle of water over her head, making sure at least some on it got into her mouth.
“It was good, Dana.” Scott said, tossing her a towel.
She rolled her eyes. “Not good enough.” Not by a long shot.
“Maybe you’re thinking about it too much. You gotta get your head in the game, but you can’t run the race in your head.”
She smiled at him. “You sound like Sam.” She wiped her face and shook her head again. “If I can keep pace with her, I can take her in the last ten meters.”
“You can pace her, Dana. If you wanted to you, you could make her pace you. Your stamina is better. I don’t know how you control that reserve like you do.”
“Practice.” She poured more water into her mouth and walked to keep from cramping up. “I don’t want to be in the lead. I want to let her think she’s going to win until I burn her in my wake.”
“You’re going to be fabulous.”
Dana wasn’t as confident, and she wasn’t normally this competitive about her running. It had always been like therapy for her. Something she did to get her head straight…until Scott…and then it had been a way to get his attention. Now though…she had a reason to want to win this time. A reason that was five feet, three inches tall, red-brown hair and went by the name of Janie Fredricks.
“Stop obsessing.” Scott’s hand closed around hers and pulled her close.
“I’m not obsessing.”
Scott grinned and kissed her forehead. “That’s the Dana ‘I’m obsessing, somebody stop me’ face.”
She rolled her eyes again. “Okay…maybe a little. No one talks shit about my boys, Scott. No one.”
“I get that. No one really believes her, you know that right?”
“Yes they do. I mean…you and Erin are the only ones even speaking to me.”
“Trust me, when this meet is over, no one will even remember anything Janie said.”
“Yeah?” Dana hated the tears hiding in her eyes, but kind of loved the way he hugged her, his lips brushing over her cheek.
“Yeah.”
“Okay.”
“I need a shower if we’re gonna cuddle.” Dana said with a chuckle as she pulled away.
“Yeah, you stink.” Scott said, laughing. “I’ll meet you out front. We can grab something to eat.
Dana grabbed his hand and reeled him back, kissing him quickly. “Or we could just go make out.”
Scott grinned wide. “I like your plan better.”
Part the Nine
“I don’t want to do this your way, Sam.”
Dean rolled over in bed. Sam was laying on his back, staring at the ceiling. Dean pulled up close to him, put his head on Sam’s shoulder.
“I just want to ask her.”
Dean felt Sam nod. “Yeah, you’re right. Been thinking about it all night. Hate spying on her.” He glanced at Dean. “God, I hope I’m wrong.”
“Why didn’t you wake me?” Dean’s hand went to stroke Sam’s stomach, caressing the muscle.
“You work twelve hours a day at the garage. I sit around the house and nap a lot. Not really fair for you to have to baby sit me on a sleepless night.”
Dean’s hand crept down, touched Sam’s pubic hair.
“No.” Sam’s hand stopped Dean’s. “Let’s get up, make breakfast and talk with her.”
Dean moved to sit up. “Ok, but my idea is more fun.”
Sam smirked, “True that.”
Dana walked into the kitchen, hair disheveled, barefoot, rubbing her eyes.
“I smelled bacon, on a Friday morning. What’s that - about a four on the Winchester ten scale?”
Her dad glanced at her. “Good morning sunshine. It’s a six. Sit.”
Dana looked at Sam and her Dad. Sam was cooking and Dean had his arms wrapped around him, head resting on his back. Her dad released his arms, kissed Sam’s neck, walked to the table and sat down. He motioned at the other chair. Sam filled their plates, passed them over and sat down too.
Dean looked at her, green eyes boring into her soul. Shit - what had she done? She racked her brain quickly but she’d been a proverbial angel lately. She hadn’t cleaned her room but that hardly warranted a breakfast talk. She reached out for Sam but he was shut down to her. Not good.
Her father held her eyes and asked, “Dana. The Truth. Are you considering using your powers in some way in your race this afternoon?”
“How?” She turned to Sam. “Damn you’re good. You caught that little inflection of mine the other night? Damn.”
So, it’s true?” Sam looked like he was three and had lost his teddy bear.
“Dana, no boy is worth cheating like that,” Dean stated. “You’re my daughter, your charm is more than sufficient.” He smiled at her.
“Boy?” Dana squished her face. She needed some coffee because Dad wasn’t making sense.
A couple of beats, and a good swallow of coffee later and it clicked. “Christ - you think I’d cheat to impress Scott?” She laughed out loud. “That is so lame. I’d never.”
Sam interjected, “Then why Dana? It’s just a race.”
Dana didn’t want them to know the truth, had been blocking this for weeks. There was no way around it now. He was right, it was just a race…except that it wasn’t just any race. It was her first race against Janie Fredricks since Dana had posted a mile time that was just seconds off her record.
She looked at them, concern shining in their faces. Most parents couldn’t be bothered to even show up to watch a race. Her guys made her breakfast to have a heart-to-heart. She sent them a surge of appreciation. And now she had to tell them something hideous.
“Ok, I’ll tell you but I need you to promise that you’ll stay out of it. Promise.,” she demanded.
They both nodded. Sam transmitted, Promise honey
“Janie Fredricks is a hateful bitch. She’s been spreading nasty rumors about me for three weeks, ever since the Ventura meet when I won all of my three races with strong times, since I came close to beating her record ”
Rumors?
“Well, not exactly rumors Sam,” she admitted, looked away. They weren’t going to like this. “Hate talk. She…called me names.” She made a face. Said that way, it sounded so petty and childish. “The N word and other stuff. Not nice…stuff about my mother…” She squirmed in her chair.
“That Bitch.” Dana felt Dean’s anger shoot through the room.
“You promised,” she poked him in the ribs.
That isn’t all of it.
She glared at Sam, wide-eyed. “Damn, you’re good. How did you pick up on that? I have it really locked down. We need to go back to training. There is obviously some good crap you haven’t taught me.”
“Know a mental lock pick or two, only use it on teenagers.”
Dana muttered, “Figures,” then waved her fingers at Sam, “get out of my head. Shoo.” She reached for her bacon.
Dean stopped her hand mid-reach. “All of it baby girl. Now,” in a pitch-perfect John tone.
She snapped her head up in response. “It’s ugly,” she warned. She debated with herself, what to say and how to say it.
“Oh,” said Sam. Both Dana and Dean jerked their heads. Sam looked at Dean. “Us babe. Janie is talking trash about us.”
Dean looked at Dana who now was sipping her coffee.
“Is that true Dana?”
“She’s going down today. Miss State Champion and number one ranked nationwide recruitment prize. No one and I mean fucking No One says that shit about you two. I’d prefer to put the smack down on her in an alley but losing the race will hurt her more.”
Dana was on a roll, she let the floodgates open wide.
“I’m kinda convinced I can beat her fair and square. But, in the last ten meters, if I can’t, she’s either gonna trip and have a bad sprain or I’m going to super-charge my stride and pass her at the finish. Haven’t decided which will piss her off more.” Dana ripped off a piece of bacon in her mouth and chomped on it.
Dean looked at her, clasped her face gently, stroked her cheek. “Honey. You can’t use your powers. No matter what. I have to ask that of you.”
Dana’s anger erupted. She all but vibrated in her seat as she pulled her head free. “Ha! If you heard what she said about Sam you would break both her legs and maybe an arm for good measure. She had everyone she knows call everyone I know. The only people talking to me are Scott and Erin. I’m a pariah.”
She stopped to take a breath, then whispered, “She told everyone that there was no way we could afford this nice neighborhood on a mechanic’s income. That Sam goes into Kansas City every weekend to turn tricks - called him a scarred-up fag whore.”
Angry tears fell down Dana’s face. Dean scooted over and wrapped his arms around her, kissed her hair.
Sam laughed, “Well, of all the truly crappy things I have done, she managed to accuse me of something I haven’t.”
Between tears, Dana got out, “It…. It… isn’t… funny, Sam.” She hiccupped.
“No honey, it isn’t.” Sam altered his expression, clasped her hand. “Dana. No powers to win the race. Channel your anger into the race, create speed with it. I saw you in practice yesterday. You can beat her straight up.”
Dean added, “I agree. Race fair and square. We’ll deal with the rumors later.” He stroked her hair.
Sam pulled on his ear, “Would you prefer me not there today? Will I make you uncomfortable?”
“Fuck No. Screw her and every one of my so-called friends. You need to be there for my moment of glory.”
She wiped her face dry.
Dana cocked her chin. “That bitch is going down, fair and square.
Part the Ten
Sam and Dean were walking in the infield with Dana, back and forth. “I’ve defeated demons for god’s sake. Why am I such a wreck?”
Sam smiled at her. “Because you’re defending my so-called honor.” Dean laughed and hit his arm.
“Dana, I know it is hateful but you have to see the funny in this. I’m guilty of horrible crimes and you’re upset because she called me a fag whore. Really, in the big picture, it is ridiculous.”
Dana shushed him. Scott was approaching, looking cute in his team track suit. The purple and white team colors flattered him.
“Dean. Sam.” He shook both their hands.
Turning to Dana, “Have you decided yet? You gonna go out fast and pound her into the ground or stay at her feet and beat her with your killer kick?” Scott was bouncing on his toes.
Dana looked at him, felt that familiar tingle. Her shoulders loosened up. “As much as I want to pound her into the ground, her pace setting is better than mine. But, the bitch got no kick. I can take her at the end.”
Dana smiled, the flush of confidence flowing through her. “You know the part I hate? That I won’t be able to see the expression on her face when I pass her.” She turned to her Dad. “Make sure you zoom in tight and get a good shot of that. Gonna make a giant poster out of it.” She prodded his arm to make her point.
Dana saw her coach waving her over. She kissed each of them on the cheek. “Wish me luck.”
We love you honey. In reply, Dana spun back and winked at Sam then spun in a circle before sauntering off, head held high, long legs gleaming in the sunshine as she waved bye over her shoulder.
Scott turned to Sam and Dean. “I think she can beat her. And Janie knows it too.”
Sam spoke up, “She told us this morning Scott. We aren’t upset about the talk except how it has hurt her.”
Scott looked immensely relieved, pushed the hair out of his eyes. “Here’s the crazy part. Most kids our age hate their parents or at least want little or nothing to do with them. But you three - thick as thieves. She worships you. You could call her names all day and she’d laugh it off. But when Janie went at you two, Dana freaked. I swear this glass statue across the room shattered and for a second I thought that somehow her anger had broken it.”
Dean laughed tightly, “Yes, our Dana - very powerful mind.”
Stop it Dean.
Sam cleared his throat, shuffled his feet. “Thank you for sticking by her. It couldn’t have been easy. Just you and Erin, huh?”
Scott nodded, “Sucks but yeah. We’ll fix it.”
Dean looked at his watch. “We’ll cover that later. Time to get into position.”
Dean was standing on the bench in the stands filming the warm-up. Janie was prancing around, queen of the race. Dana was oddly still, staring at the sky, yawning in order to pull in more oxygen.
What is she thinking? She’s too still.
Not in there. She needs to be alone.
What good is your psychic skill if we can’t know what she’s thinking?
Sam smirked, “Look at her face Dean. That’s the Dana ’I’m about to apply a beating face’. I’d know it anywhere.”
Dean cracked a nervous smile. “Looks a lot like the Sammy Bitchface special to me.”
John walked up the steps to them. “Boys.”
“Hi Dad,” they called simultaneously.
And then it was time and it happened fast. The girls took their marks. The gun cracked. Predictably, Janie surged forward, legs pumping. She was going to set a punishing pace.
“She does have a beautiful stride,” Sam tossed out as he watched through his binoculars.
As she promised, Dana tucked in right behind Janie’s heels, looking comfortable with Janie’s pace. Janie’s ponytail bobbed up and down, stride perfect, focused, arms pumping. Dana looked zen-like, with a relaxed face, hair bouncing in the back, pinned off her forehead in the front.
They stayed one-two through three laps, all the rest of the girls in a pack five strides back. It was a two girl race, to no one’s surprise.
The bell sounded loudly as they started the fourth and final lap.
John muttered, “Here we go. Don’t go too soon honey. Don’t go too soon.”
What’s she thinking Sam?
Still not in there babe. She has to do this herself. Anyway, if I were in there, I’d be tempted to cheat for her.
Dean choked down a laugh, kept the camera trained on the girls.
Half way through the last lap, both girls had kicked into gear. The rest of the pack was ten strides behind now. At the three-quarters point, Janie moved it into fifth gear. The crowd screamed in encouragement. She took a half a stride lead. But it lasted only a millisecond and Dana reeled her in and was tucked right back in on her heel.
Five more meters and John yelled, “Now honey. GO NOW.”
And, as if it were John and Dana that shared the psychic connection or somehow she had heard him over the crowd’s roar, because, on cue, Dana kicked hard, lengthening her stride just a bit more, pouring on reserve speed. And Janie Fredricks didn’t know what hit her. Dana surged past. Janie reached for her kick but she had nothing left in the well. All Janie could do was look at Dana’s bouncing hair and purple race shoes as she screamed past and flew across the finish line.
The Three Winchesters in the stands screamed as one in victory.
Dana ran another thirty meters to slow down and then jumped up and down, waving her arms joyfully. Janie Fredricks looked like she had swallowed nails, stalking off toward her coach.
Dana looked up into the stands and smiled at her guys.
That was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
She nodded in reply and a second later was tackled by a jubilant Scott and then her coach and Erin.
The announcer spoke up then. “Ladies and gentlemen, you just witnessed a new Kansas state high school one mile record and the fastest high school mile posted in the country this year.”
The crowd applauded in approval. Dana’s teammates chanted, “DA - NA, DA -NA, DA -NA” and urged her to take a victory lap with the team’s mascot. Local reporters were lining up to get a quote from the lady of the moment. Dana beamed as Scott wrapped his arms around her and she was surrounded by her team.
Dean felt eyes and looked up to find Janie and her team looking at them. Dean reached for Sam, pulling his hand close and kissing it lightly. Dana bounded up the steps to jump into Sam’s arms, grinning from ear to ear.
Janie Fredricks stormed out of the stadium.
Part the Eleven
“You aren’t nervous are you?”
Dana fidgeted a little, tugging on her sweater. Nervous was a good word. A week after she’d beat Janie Frericks and Scott’s parents had invited her to dinner. Dinner with Scott’s parents.
She’d never been invited to dinner at a boyfriend’s house before. Okay, so she’d never really had a boyfriend before Scott. She clung to his hand and shook her head. “No. I’m fine.”
“Relax, they’re going to love you.”
“Yeah, right. Of course.”
“We could have waited until my brother and his girlfriend were home from college and my aunt Colleen was visiting, if you like…if you really wanted to be nervous.”
“Not helping, Scott.” Dana said. She smoothed her hair and blew out, then nodded. Scott opened the door and held it for her.
“Mom, Dad, we’re here.”
Mrs. Wu was the first to find her way to the front door, emerging from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. Dana had known she wasn’t Chinese, but somehow her appearance startled her. She was tall, taller than Dana with orange-red curls that were pulled up off her face with a scarf. Her eyes were pale blue behind a pair of rimless glasses and she smiled as she pulled Scott into a hug.
“Mom, this is Dana Winchester, Dana, my mother Rachel Wu.”
“Mrs. Wu, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Scott speaks very highly of you.”
The smile widened and Dana was a little surprised as the woman swept her up into a hug too. “I’m so glad you came, Dana. We’ve been trying to get Scott to bring you over for weeks. You’re all he talks about.”
“Mom!” Dana felt the embarrassment rolling off of Scott and squeezed his hand.
“At least she isn’t cleaning her gun collection.” Dana offered softly as Scott blushed.
“My husband will be down soon. He had a slight mishap coming home from work and I sent him up to shower.” Mrs. Wu gestured toward the living room. “Can I get you something to drink Dana?”
“Water would be fine, ma’am.” Dana said as she sank on to the couch.
“Please, ma’am makes me feel old. Water it is.”
Dana’s stomach was still flipping like a dying fish when Mr. Wu came down the stairs. Scott stood immediately, his back ramrod straight, hands at his sides. Dana stood a half beat behind. Mr. Wu stopped, his eyes skimming over her, then looking to Scott. “Dad, this is Dana. Dana, my father Dr. Chan Wu.”
“Dr. Wu, I’m happy to meet you.” Dana held out her hand and he took it slowly, his eyes narrowing as he looked her over again.
“Good race last Friday. It was a good win. Clean.”
“Thank you, sir.” Dana said. The man had a grip on him. Mrs. Wu swept in with a glass of ice water for Dana and announced dinner was nearly ready, pulling Scott away to help set the table. “So, Scott tells me you were an Olympic runner.” Dana said once Dr. Wu had sat in the big arm chair and she was back on the couch.
“Short distance. Fifty, a hundred yards. Nothing like the distance you run.” He picked at his finger nails and made a face. “Grease…it just doesn’t come out.”
“What kind of grease?” Dana asked, though she suspected she knew.
Annoyance rolled off him and she sat back, afraid she’d said something wrong.
“Engine grease. The car died on my way home.”
“Oh…car trouble sucks.” She sipped on her water. “You know, my dad’s a mechanic. He could take a look at it.”
“Your father repairs cars?”
Dana grinned. “He and my Papa own the garage over on Mason. He’s good too.”
She could almost feel him adjusting his image of her. It took a lot not to reach over and get a better reading. She wanted to make a good impression. She wasn’t sure why it was so important…but it was.
Scott touched her shoulder and she looked up. “Has he started regaling you with stories of his running days?”
Dana grinned up at him. “No, we were talking about his car. I was telling him he should take it to my dad’s garage.”
Scott nodded. “He’s certainly been helpful with the Camaro, Dad. Mom’s got dinner on the table.”
Dana followed Scott, smiling to herself as he held her chair…not that he wasn’t a gentleman when they weren’t in front of his parents, she just usually beat him to the punch. Dinner was a traditional Chinese meal, cooked from scratch. Dana was glad she’d learned to eat with chopsticks the year before so she didn’t look like a fool trying.
“So, Dana, where have you applied for college?” Mrs. Wu asked
Dana paled a little and set her chopsticks down. “I’ve applied a few places, but there’s only one I want.” She glanced at Scott, then reached for her drink. “I’ve always wanted to stay here, go to UofK. Sam wants me to go to Harvard or Yale or something.”
“Scott and his father have their hearts set on Stanford.” Mrs. Wu responded.
Dana nodded. “I looked at Stanford, but Sam’s pretty adamant that he doesn’t want me there.”
There was a brief frown on the older woman’s face, but she hid it fast. “And Sam is…?”
Oh. Yeah. They hadn’t talked about that yet. “My father’s partner. In many ways, my second father.”
She smiled now, as if all that she had needed was to have it said. “And what is his problem with Stanford?”
Dana shrugged. “I really don’t know. He’s never really said. It’s where he went to school. I always thought most parents wanted their kids to go to their alma mater, you know?”
“With the times you’ve been posting, you’re going to start to see recruiters looking for you.” Dr. Wu interjected, poking the air with his chopsticks. “Like our Scott. Already three schools. Good schools. You may find you have many more options than staying here in Kansas.”
“Dana doesn’t see running as her future, Dad. It’s something she does for fun.” Scott said, winking her way.
“I never even intended to join the team.” Dana added. “I’ve always run just for me…until Erin asked me to help her work on her stamina…and then…I just sort of fell onto the team.”
“You should consider how much better you could be if you were dedicated to the sport.” Dr. Wu said and Scott rolled his eyes.
“Not everyone has to live their life for the competition, Dad.”
“No, I get what he’s saying Scott, and he’s right. If I did dedicate myself to running, I’d be even better. It just isn’t my passion. I think we should all reserve that dedication to the thing we’re most passionate about, don’t you?”
For a long moment, Dr. Wu stared at her, then his face broke into a smile. “You have a very good head on your shoulders Dana. That is very good. Very good.”
Dana grinned at Scott and went back to eating her rice. When they had finished eating, Dana started to help clear. “Dana, leave it. You’re our guest.”
“I make Scott help when he eats over. It’s only fair I do the same.”
She followed Mrs. Wu into the kitchen and started scraping dishes. “It was a wonderful meal. Scott wasn’t kidding when he said you were a good cook.”
“You’re going to make me blush.”
Dana grinned. She had no idea why she’d been nervous about this. “If you’re done enslaving my date, Mom, I was going to show her my trophy case before I took her home.” Scott said from the doorway.
“Go on you two. I’ll finish up.”
Scott led her by the hand up the stairs and down the hall to his room. “Dude, what is it with you and the zombies?” Dana asked as the first sight to greet her was a “Night of the Living Dead” poster on the wall just inside the door.
Scott shrugged and flipped on the lights. His room was smaller than hers, though his desk was impressive, what she could see of it under books and papers and figurines of horror movie monsters. “What’s with you and ‘dude’?”
Dana shook her head. His dark blue walls were covered by horror movie posters, a mix of vintage movies from the seventies and newer ones. Over the desk were posters from the original Wolfman movie and a remake from a few years ago.
She picked up a wolfman figure, squinting at it. “So, zombies and werewolves?” Dana asked, holding it up. “That says something about you.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What?”
She laughed and held the figure up. “Think about it. Both are monsters, but both are monsters because someone or something made them one…they had no choice. They straddle the lines of good and evil.”
“So…what does that say about me?”
“Well…you’re over identifying with a creature like this…it could indicate a fear of things beyond your control…that you’re afraid of being forced to do things you don’t want to do.”
“Is that so? Dr. Dana to my rescue?”
She laughed and put the wolfman back onto the desk, turning to look up at the posters. Werewolves made her uneasy. The ambiguity hurt. “They don’t look like that, you know…not so hairy…it’s more about the teeth and the hunger.” He came to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “They don’t know…they don’t remember…it’s sad…”
“Oh, and I’m the one over identifying with fictional characters?”
She leaned into him and chuckled. “Yeah…I know. It’s that Psych class Erin and I are taking. We’re doing a chapter on the psychology of American pop culture.”
Scott kissed her cheek and she turned to press her lips to his. It still tingled, all the way into her belly when he did, when his tongue swiped over hers. He tasted like ginger. “Trophies,” she said finally when they separated. “You’re supposed to be showing me trophies.”
“They’re over there.” He waved a hand at the wall and its lines of shelves. Then he tilted his head and his lips found hers again. “Seen one…seen them all. This is more fun.”
Dana pushed him back with a chuckle. “And if your parents came in?”
Scott rolled his eyes and pulled her toward the wall, before sliding his arms around her again and kissing over her neck. “There…you can look and I can kiss.”
Of course, she couldn’t really look, because her eyes kept closing to savor the feeling of his lips on the skin of her neck and the little bit of her shoulder he could reach in the sweater she was wearing. There was a warmth coiling inside her…a desire for more…more she wasn’t getting tonight.
The time was coming. Things had moved past casual dating. She wanted more. She wanted to take the next step…but not tonight. It would be so easy…but she wanted to be ready…so she turned and kissed him, light, chaste. “I think we should go. I wouldn’t want your mother to think I was up here seducing you.”
Scott grinned, exuding a warm affection that made her want to do anything but stop touching and kissing him.
“Like that isn’t what you’ve been doing since we met?”
Dana grinned and leaned against him. “Well, yes…but I don’t want your mother to know.”
“How do you think she got my father?” Scott asked, then he kissed her nose. “But, you’re right. Your father wanted you home early.”
“Yeah, so he and Sam could torment me more with college applications.”
“It isn’t so bad.”
“Easy for you to say.” Dana pouted for minute, then he kissed her pout.
“Come on, we’ll go slow and stop for ice cream.”
She smiled broadly. “You must love me.”
“I think maybe I might.” Scott said, a little more seriously than Dana had meant it. Her grinned dimmed a little, taken back by the waves of emotion suddenly flowing off of him. “Is that okay?”
She nodded, pressing her lips together and swallowing a lump in her throat. “Yeah…I think that’s better than okay.”
Title: The Seduction of Scott, Parts 7-11
Characters/Pairings: Dana, Sam/Dean, Scott Wu (OMC)
Rating: PG-13
Authors: shotofjack and amara_m
Summary: Dana and Scott are officially dating, but life isn't all cherries and roses for the young couple. When Dana gets obsessive about winning a meet, Sam has doubts about her methods.
A/Ns & Warnings; No real warning except the sugar warning. This is sticky sweet schloomp boys and girls. Five vignettes penned by shotofjack and myself over the last couple of weeks. This is, of course, only a beginning. there are more bits of the story before we reach the Prom. Yes. Prom. But since Mary's going off on vacation, the next bits may be a while.
Part the Seven
Hey, I need to talk with you.
Dean snapped his head in response, whacking it soundly on the hood of the German import he was currently trying to wrestle into submission.
I fucking hate when you do that. I’ve told you a million times.
Dean wiped his fingers on a rag as he walked out the open door of the garage and crossed the street. Sam was sitting on the bus bench, sprawled out, head tipped up to the sky, eyes closed, limbs everywhere, sex in blue jeans. Ari was sitting at his feet, leash in her mouth, ball at her feet.
Dean stopped a foot from Sam and looked down at him. “Why can’t you just come into the garage to talk to me like a normal person?” Dean asked.
Sam opened one eye and trained it on Dean. “You know it makes your guys really uncomfortable. No reason to cause that.”
“How come you make ‘em nervous but I don’t?”
“You are so butch, what with the muscle car and mechanic skills and poker playing and cock rock. They read you as straight but, except when they see me, then the reality hits. Threatening.”
Dean pointed at the bench. “This makes me feel like a husband sneaking away from work to see his lover.”
“And that’s a bad thing? Dude, you’re cheating on me with me, if that’s the case.” Sam laughed and added, “And I want flowers tonight to make it up to me.”
Dean motioned with his hand, “Scoot over, lover,” and plopped down to slouch on the bench next to Sam. Ari set her head on Dean’s feet and nudged her ball at him.
“Your dog is dumb Sam. She wants me to throw her ball in a busy street.”
“Babe, insult me but don’t insult my dog.” Sam passed Dean a soda and reached into his pocket, pulled out a package of peanut M&M’s and tossed them at Dean.
Dean ripped open the bag and shoved a handful into his mouth. Mid chew he said, “So, peanut M&M’s, small bag….that means about a 5 on the Winchester 10 scale.”
“More like a 6,” Sam replied. Then he sat up, stretched his back and turned to Dean.
“What does Dana want more than anything?”
“For you to stop harassing her about going away to college,” Dean answered, while wadding up the now empty candy bag.
“Well, yeah,” Sam conceded, “But after that?”
“To beat last year’s state mile champ in this Friday’s meet. What’s her name?” Dean crunched his eyes.
“Janie Fredricks. And Yahtzee.”
Dean groused, “That’s my line, Dude.”
Sam twisted and looked at Dean meaningfully.
“What?” Dean held his hands up. “So, she wants to win a race. That a good thing, right?” Dean hated to be impatient but that damn BMW wasn’t going to fix itself.
Sam harrumphed, “What if she’s cheating?”
“WHAT? How can you even think that?” Dean shot straight up, felt his neck muscles tighten.
“When’s the last time you played poker and didn’t cheat? Huh?” Sam’s eyes held Dean’s.
Dean flinched, “Ok, point taken. But, she has no need - she’s fast, good technique, a natural.”
Silence. Sam continued staring at Dean, not blinking.
“Jesus - you think she’s been cheating the whole time?”
“No, I don’t. It was something last night. Scott posted that great mile time last Saturday and she was so excited. I heard her on the phone with Erin, talking about Friday. I caught a wave of how critical winning this one is to her.” Sam inhaled.
“But why? If she hasn’t been cheating up till now, what’s different?”
Sam shrugged. “I don’t know…maybe because Scott posted that time…” He trailed off and scrunched up his face in disgust with himself.
“She’d cheat to impress Scott? Sam - she isn’t that girl.”
“I don’t want to believe it either. But, if she is, we have to pull her off the team.”
“No. Sam - No. She’d be crushed. And who cares if she cheats to win a race?”
“Dean,” Sam punched Dean’s arm, “we have to be united on this.”
Dean considered it and shrugged. “Ok Sam. We do this your way. But, how are you gonna know?”
Sam hung his head. “I’m not. You are. I’m going to put you in her head. She can’t lie to you, you know that. You’ll know.”
Part the Eight
“Ugh.” Dana poured half her bottle of water over her head, making sure at least some on it got into her mouth.
“It was good, Dana.” Scott said, tossing her a towel.
She rolled her eyes. “Not good enough.” Not by a long shot.
“Maybe you’re thinking about it too much. You gotta get your head in the game, but you can’t run the race in your head.”
She smiled at him. “You sound like Sam.” She wiped her face and shook her head again. “If I can keep pace with her, I can take her in the last ten meters.”
“You can pace her, Dana. If you wanted to you, you could make her pace you. Your stamina is better. I don’t know how you control that reserve like you do.”
“Practice.” She poured more water into her mouth and walked to keep from cramping up. “I don’t want to be in the lead. I want to let her think she’s going to win until I burn her in my wake.”
“You’re going to be fabulous.”
Dana wasn’t as confident, and she wasn’t normally this competitive about her running. It had always been like therapy for her. Something she did to get her head straight…until Scott…and then it had been a way to get his attention. Now though…she had a reason to want to win this time. A reason that was five feet, three inches tall, red-brown hair and went by the name of Janie Fredricks.
“Stop obsessing.” Scott’s hand closed around hers and pulled her close.
“I’m not obsessing.”
Scott grinned and kissed her forehead. “That’s the Dana ‘I’m obsessing, somebody stop me’ face.”
She rolled her eyes again. “Okay…maybe a little. No one talks shit about my boys, Scott. No one.”
“I get that. No one really believes her, you know that right?”
“Yes they do. I mean…you and Erin are the only ones even speaking to me.”
“Trust me, when this meet is over, no one will even remember anything Janie said.”
“Yeah?” Dana hated the tears hiding in her eyes, but kind of loved the way he hugged her, his lips brushing over her cheek.
“Yeah.”
“Okay.”
“I need a shower if we’re gonna cuddle.” Dana said with a chuckle as she pulled away.
“Yeah, you stink.” Scott said, laughing. “I’ll meet you out front. We can grab something to eat.
Dana grabbed his hand and reeled him back, kissing him quickly. “Or we could just go make out.”
Scott grinned wide. “I like your plan better.”
Part the Nine
“I don’t want to do this your way, Sam.”
Dean rolled over in bed. Sam was laying on his back, staring at the ceiling. Dean pulled up close to him, put his head on Sam’s shoulder.
“I just want to ask her.”
Dean felt Sam nod. “Yeah, you’re right. Been thinking about it all night. Hate spying on her.” He glanced at Dean. “God, I hope I’m wrong.”
“Why didn’t you wake me?” Dean’s hand went to stroke Sam’s stomach, caressing the muscle.
“You work twelve hours a day at the garage. I sit around the house and nap a lot. Not really fair for you to have to baby sit me on a sleepless night.”
Dean’s hand crept down, touched Sam’s pubic hair.
“No.” Sam’s hand stopped Dean’s. “Let’s get up, make breakfast and talk with her.”
Dean moved to sit up. “Ok, but my idea is more fun.”
Sam smirked, “True that.”
Dana walked into the kitchen, hair disheveled, barefoot, rubbing her eyes.
“I smelled bacon, on a Friday morning. What’s that - about a four on the Winchester ten scale?”
Her dad glanced at her. “Good morning sunshine. It’s a six. Sit.”
Dana looked at Sam and her Dad. Sam was cooking and Dean had his arms wrapped around him, head resting on his back. Her dad released his arms, kissed Sam’s neck, walked to the table and sat down. He motioned at the other chair. Sam filled their plates, passed them over and sat down too.
Dean looked at her, green eyes boring into her soul. Shit - what had she done? She racked her brain quickly but she’d been a proverbial angel lately. She hadn’t cleaned her room but that hardly warranted a breakfast talk. She reached out for Sam but he was shut down to her. Not good.
Her father held her eyes and asked, “Dana. The Truth. Are you considering using your powers in some way in your race this afternoon?”
“How?” She turned to Sam. “Damn you’re good. You caught that little inflection of mine the other night? Damn.”
So, it’s true?” Sam looked like he was three and had lost his teddy bear.
“Dana, no boy is worth cheating like that,” Dean stated. “You’re my daughter, your charm is more than sufficient.” He smiled at her.
“Boy?” Dana squished her face. She needed some coffee because Dad wasn’t making sense.
A couple of beats, and a good swallow of coffee later and it clicked. “Christ - you think I’d cheat to impress Scott?” She laughed out loud. “That is so lame. I’d never.”
Sam interjected, “Then why Dana? It’s just a race.”
Dana didn’t want them to know the truth, had been blocking this for weeks. There was no way around it now. He was right, it was just a race…except that it wasn’t just any race. It was her first race against Janie Fredricks since Dana had posted a mile time that was just seconds off her record.
She looked at them, concern shining in their faces. Most parents couldn’t be bothered to even show up to watch a race. Her guys made her breakfast to have a heart-to-heart. She sent them a surge of appreciation. And now she had to tell them something hideous.
“Ok, I’ll tell you but I need you to promise that you’ll stay out of it. Promise.,” she demanded.
They both nodded. Sam transmitted, Promise honey
“Janie Fredricks is a hateful bitch. She’s been spreading nasty rumors about me for three weeks, ever since the Ventura meet when I won all of my three races with strong times, since I came close to beating her record ”
Rumors?
“Well, not exactly rumors Sam,” she admitted, looked away. They weren’t going to like this. “Hate talk. She…called me names.” She made a face. Said that way, it sounded so petty and childish. “The N word and other stuff. Not nice…stuff about my mother…” She squirmed in her chair.
“That Bitch.” Dana felt Dean’s anger shoot through the room.
“You promised,” she poked him in the ribs.
That isn’t all of it.
She glared at Sam, wide-eyed. “Damn, you’re good. How did you pick up on that? I have it really locked down. We need to go back to training. There is obviously some good crap you haven’t taught me.”
“Know a mental lock pick or two, only use it on teenagers.”
Dana muttered, “Figures,” then waved her fingers at Sam, “get out of my head. Shoo.” She reached for her bacon.
Dean stopped her hand mid-reach. “All of it baby girl. Now,” in a pitch-perfect John tone.
She snapped her head up in response. “It’s ugly,” she warned. She debated with herself, what to say and how to say it.
“Oh,” said Sam. Both Dana and Dean jerked their heads. Sam looked at Dean. “Us babe. Janie is talking trash about us.”
Dean looked at Dana who now was sipping her coffee.
“Is that true Dana?”
“She’s going down today. Miss State Champion and number one ranked nationwide recruitment prize. No one and I mean fucking No One says that shit about you two. I’d prefer to put the smack down on her in an alley but losing the race will hurt her more.”
Dana was on a roll, she let the floodgates open wide.
“I’m kinda convinced I can beat her fair and square. But, in the last ten meters, if I can’t, she’s either gonna trip and have a bad sprain or I’m going to super-charge my stride and pass her at the finish. Haven’t decided which will piss her off more.” Dana ripped off a piece of bacon in her mouth and chomped on it.
Dean looked at her, clasped her face gently, stroked her cheek. “Honey. You can’t use your powers. No matter what. I have to ask that of you.”
Dana’s anger erupted. She all but vibrated in her seat as she pulled her head free. “Ha! If you heard what she said about Sam you would break both her legs and maybe an arm for good measure. She had everyone she knows call everyone I know. The only people talking to me are Scott and Erin. I’m a pariah.”
She stopped to take a breath, then whispered, “She told everyone that there was no way we could afford this nice neighborhood on a mechanic’s income. That Sam goes into Kansas City every weekend to turn tricks - called him a scarred-up fag whore.”
Angry tears fell down Dana’s face. Dean scooted over and wrapped his arms around her, kissed her hair.
Sam laughed, “Well, of all the truly crappy things I have done, she managed to accuse me of something I haven’t.”
Between tears, Dana got out, “It…. It… isn’t… funny, Sam.” She hiccupped.
“No honey, it isn’t.” Sam altered his expression, clasped her hand. “Dana. No powers to win the race. Channel your anger into the race, create speed with it. I saw you in practice yesterday. You can beat her straight up.”
Dean added, “I agree. Race fair and square. We’ll deal with the rumors later.” He stroked her hair.
Sam pulled on his ear, “Would you prefer me not there today? Will I make you uncomfortable?”
“Fuck No. Screw her and every one of my so-called friends. You need to be there for my moment of glory.”
She wiped her face dry.
Dana cocked her chin. “That bitch is going down, fair and square.
Part the Ten
Sam and Dean were walking in the infield with Dana, back and forth. “I’ve defeated demons for god’s sake. Why am I such a wreck?”
Sam smiled at her. “Because you’re defending my so-called honor.” Dean laughed and hit his arm.
“Dana, I know it is hateful but you have to see the funny in this. I’m guilty of horrible crimes and you’re upset because she called me a fag whore. Really, in the big picture, it is ridiculous.”
Dana shushed him. Scott was approaching, looking cute in his team track suit. The purple and white team colors flattered him.
“Dean. Sam.” He shook both their hands.
Turning to Dana, “Have you decided yet? You gonna go out fast and pound her into the ground or stay at her feet and beat her with your killer kick?” Scott was bouncing on his toes.
Dana looked at him, felt that familiar tingle. Her shoulders loosened up. “As much as I want to pound her into the ground, her pace setting is better than mine. But, the bitch got no kick. I can take her at the end.”
Dana smiled, the flush of confidence flowing through her. “You know the part I hate? That I won’t be able to see the expression on her face when I pass her.” She turned to her Dad. “Make sure you zoom in tight and get a good shot of that. Gonna make a giant poster out of it.” She prodded his arm to make her point.
Dana saw her coach waving her over. She kissed each of them on the cheek. “Wish me luck.”
We love you honey. In reply, Dana spun back and winked at Sam then spun in a circle before sauntering off, head held high, long legs gleaming in the sunshine as she waved bye over her shoulder.
Scott turned to Sam and Dean. “I think she can beat her. And Janie knows it too.”
Sam spoke up, “She told us this morning Scott. We aren’t upset about the talk except how it has hurt her.”
Scott looked immensely relieved, pushed the hair out of his eyes. “Here’s the crazy part. Most kids our age hate their parents or at least want little or nothing to do with them. But you three - thick as thieves. She worships you. You could call her names all day and she’d laugh it off. But when Janie went at you two, Dana freaked. I swear this glass statue across the room shattered and for a second I thought that somehow her anger had broken it.”
Dean laughed tightly, “Yes, our Dana - very powerful mind.”
Stop it Dean.
Sam cleared his throat, shuffled his feet. “Thank you for sticking by her. It couldn’t have been easy. Just you and Erin, huh?”
Scott nodded, “Sucks but yeah. We’ll fix it.”
Dean looked at his watch. “We’ll cover that later. Time to get into position.”
Dean was standing on the bench in the stands filming the warm-up. Janie was prancing around, queen of the race. Dana was oddly still, staring at the sky, yawning in order to pull in more oxygen.
What is she thinking? She’s too still.
Not in there. She needs to be alone.
What good is your psychic skill if we can’t know what she’s thinking?
Sam smirked, “Look at her face Dean. That’s the Dana ’I’m about to apply a beating face’. I’d know it anywhere.”
Dean cracked a nervous smile. “Looks a lot like the Sammy Bitchface special to me.”
John walked up the steps to them. “Boys.”
“Hi Dad,” they called simultaneously.
And then it was time and it happened fast. The girls took their marks. The gun cracked. Predictably, Janie surged forward, legs pumping. She was going to set a punishing pace.
“She does have a beautiful stride,” Sam tossed out as he watched through his binoculars.
As she promised, Dana tucked in right behind Janie’s heels, looking comfortable with Janie’s pace. Janie’s ponytail bobbed up and down, stride perfect, focused, arms pumping. Dana looked zen-like, with a relaxed face, hair bouncing in the back, pinned off her forehead in the front.
They stayed one-two through three laps, all the rest of the girls in a pack five strides back. It was a two girl race, to no one’s surprise.
The bell sounded loudly as they started the fourth and final lap.
John muttered, “Here we go. Don’t go too soon honey. Don’t go too soon.”
What’s she thinking Sam?
Still not in there babe. She has to do this herself. Anyway, if I were in there, I’d be tempted to cheat for her.
Dean choked down a laugh, kept the camera trained on the girls.
Half way through the last lap, both girls had kicked into gear. The rest of the pack was ten strides behind now. At the three-quarters point, Janie moved it into fifth gear. The crowd screamed in encouragement. She took a half a stride lead. But it lasted only a millisecond and Dana reeled her in and was tucked right back in on her heel.
Five more meters and John yelled, “Now honey. GO NOW.”
And, as if it were John and Dana that shared the psychic connection or somehow she had heard him over the crowd’s roar, because, on cue, Dana kicked hard, lengthening her stride just a bit more, pouring on reserve speed. And Janie Fredricks didn’t know what hit her. Dana surged past. Janie reached for her kick but she had nothing left in the well. All Janie could do was look at Dana’s bouncing hair and purple race shoes as she screamed past and flew across the finish line.
The Three Winchesters in the stands screamed as one in victory.
Dana ran another thirty meters to slow down and then jumped up and down, waving her arms joyfully. Janie Fredricks looked like she had swallowed nails, stalking off toward her coach.
Dana looked up into the stands and smiled at her guys.
That was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
She nodded in reply and a second later was tackled by a jubilant Scott and then her coach and Erin.
The announcer spoke up then. “Ladies and gentlemen, you just witnessed a new Kansas state high school one mile record and the fastest high school mile posted in the country this year.”
The crowd applauded in approval. Dana’s teammates chanted, “DA - NA, DA -NA, DA -NA” and urged her to take a victory lap with the team’s mascot. Local reporters were lining up to get a quote from the lady of the moment. Dana beamed as Scott wrapped his arms around her and she was surrounded by her team.
Dean felt eyes and looked up to find Janie and her team looking at them. Dean reached for Sam, pulling his hand close and kissing it lightly. Dana bounded up the steps to jump into Sam’s arms, grinning from ear to ear.
Janie Fredricks stormed out of the stadium.
Part the Eleven
“You aren’t nervous are you?”
Dana fidgeted a little, tugging on her sweater. Nervous was a good word. A week after she’d beat Janie Frericks and Scott’s parents had invited her to dinner. Dinner with Scott’s parents.
She’d never been invited to dinner at a boyfriend’s house before. Okay, so she’d never really had a boyfriend before Scott. She clung to his hand and shook her head. “No. I’m fine.”
“Relax, they’re going to love you.”
“Yeah, right. Of course.”
“We could have waited until my brother and his girlfriend were home from college and my aunt Colleen was visiting, if you like…if you really wanted to be nervous.”
“Not helping, Scott.” Dana said. She smoothed her hair and blew out, then nodded. Scott opened the door and held it for her.
“Mom, Dad, we’re here.”
Mrs. Wu was the first to find her way to the front door, emerging from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. Dana had known she wasn’t Chinese, but somehow her appearance startled her. She was tall, taller than Dana with orange-red curls that were pulled up off her face with a scarf. Her eyes were pale blue behind a pair of rimless glasses and she smiled as she pulled Scott into a hug.
“Mom, this is Dana Winchester, Dana, my mother Rachel Wu.”
“Mrs. Wu, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Scott speaks very highly of you.”
The smile widened and Dana was a little surprised as the woman swept her up into a hug too. “I’m so glad you came, Dana. We’ve been trying to get Scott to bring you over for weeks. You’re all he talks about.”
“Mom!” Dana felt the embarrassment rolling off of Scott and squeezed his hand.
“At least she isn’t cleaning her gun collection.” Dana offered softly as Scott blushed.
“My husband will be down soon. He had a slight mishap coming home from work and I sent him up to shower.” Mrs. Wu gestured toward the living room. “Can I get you something to drink Dana?”
“Water would be fine, ma’am.” Dana said as she sank on to the couch.
“Please, ma’am makes me feel old. Water it is.”
Dana’s stomach was still flipping like a dying fish when Mr. Wu came down the stairs. Scott stood immediately, his back ramrod straight, hands at his sides. Dana stood a half beat behind. Mr. Wu stopped, his eyes skimming over her, then looking to Scott. “Dad, this is Dana. Dana, my father Dr. Chan Wu.”
“Dr. Wu, I’m happy to meet you.” Dana held out her hand and he took it slowly, his eyes narrowing as he looked her over again.
“Good race last Friday. It was a good win. Clean.”
“Thank you, sir.” Dana said. The man had a grip on him. Mrs. Wu swept in with a glass of ice water for Dana and announced dinner was nearly ready, pulling Scott away to help set the table. “So, Scott tells me you were an Olympic runner.” Dana said once Dr. Wu had sat in the big arm chair and she was back on the couch.
“Short distance. Fifty, a hundred yards. Nothing like the distance you run.” He picked at his finger nails and made a face. “Grease…it just doesn’t come out.”
“What kind of grease?” Dana asked, though she suspected she knew.
Annoyance rolled off him and she sat back, afraid she’d said something wrong.
“Engine grease. The car died on my way home.”
“Oh…car trouble sucks.” She sipped on her water. “You know, my dad’s a mechanic. He could take a look at it.”
“Your father repairs cars?”
Dana grinned. “He and my Papa own the garage over on Mason. He’s good too.”
She could almost feel him adjusting his image of her. It took a lot not to reach over and get a better reading. She wanted to make a good impression. She wasn’t sure why it was so important…but it was.
Scott touched her shoulder and she looked up. “Has he started regaling you with stories of his running days?”
Dana grinned up at him. “No, we were talking about his car. I was telling him he should take it to my dad’s garage.”
Scott nodded. “He’s certainly been helpful with the Camaro, Dad. Mom’s got dinner on the table.”
Dana followed Scott, smiling to herself as he held her chair…not that he wasn’t a gentleman when they weren’t in front of his parents, she just usually beat him to the punch. Dinner was a traditional Chinese meal, cooked from scratch. Dana was glad she’d learned to eat with chopsticks the year before so she didn’t look like a fool trying.
“So, Dana, where have you applied for college?” Mrs. Wu asked
Dana paled a little and set her chopsticks down. “I’ve applied a few places, but there’s only one I want.” She glanced at Scott, then reached for her drink. “I’ve always wanted to stay here, go to UofK. Sam wants me to go to Harvard or Yale or something.”
“Scott and his father have their hearts set on Stanford.” Mrs. Wu responded.
Dana nodded. “I looked at Stanford, but Sam’s pretty adamant that he doesn’t want me there.”
There was a brief frown on the older woman’s face, but she hid it fast. “And Sam is…?”
Oh. Yeah. They hadn’t talked about that yet. “My father’s partner. In many ways, my second father.”
She smiled now, as if all that she had needed was to have it said. “And what is his problem with Stanford?”
Dana shrugged. “I really don’t know. He’s never really said. It’s where he went to school. I always thought most parents wanted their kids to go to their alma mater, you know?”
“With the times you’ve been posting, you’re going to start to see recruiters looking for you.” Dr. Wu interjected, poking the air with his chopsticks. “Like our Scott. Already three schools. Good schools. You may find you have many more options than staying here in Kansas.”
“Dana doesn’t see running as her future, Dad. It’s something she does for fun.” Scott said, winking her way.
“I never even intended to join the team.” Dana added. “I’ve always run just for me…until Erin asked me to help her work on her stamina…and then…I just sort of fell onto the team.”
“You should consider how much better you could be if you were dedicated to the sport.” Dr. Wu said and Scott rolled his eyes.
“Not everyone has to live their life for the competition, Dad.”
“No, I get what he’s saying Scott, and he’s right. If I did dedicate myself to running, I’d be even better. It just isn’t my passion. I think we should all reserve that dedication to the thing we’re most passionate about, don’t you?”
For a long moment, Dr. Wu stared at her, then his face broke into a smile. “You have a very good head on your shoulders Dana. That is very good. Very good.”
Dana grinned at Scott and went back to eating her rice. When they had finished eating, Dana started to help clear. “Dana, leave it. You’re our guest.”
“I make Scott help when he eats over. It’s only fair I do the same.”
She followed Mrs. Wu into the kitchen and started scraping dishes. “It was a wonderful meal. Scott wasn’t kidding when he said you were a good cook.”
“You’re going to make me blush.”
Dana grinned. She had no idea why she’d been nervous about this. “If you’re done enslaving my date, Mom, I was going to show her my trophy case before I took her home.” Scott said from the doorway.
“Go on you two. I’ll finish up.”
Scott led her by the hand up the stairs and down the hall to his room. “Dude, what is it with you and the zombies?” Dana asked as the first sight to greet her was a “Night of the Living Dead” poster on the wall just inside the door.
Scott shrugged and flipped on the lights. His room was smaller than hers, though his desk was impressive, what she could see of it under books and papers and figurines of horror movie monsters. “What’s with you and ‘dude’?”
Dana shook her head. His dark blue walls were covered by horror movie posters, a mix of vintage movies from the seventies and newer ones. Over the desk were posters from the original Wolfman movie and a remake from a few years ago.
She picked up a wolfman figure, squinting at it. “So, zombies and werewolves?” Dana asked, holding it up. “That says something about you.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What?”
She laughed and held the figure up. “Think about it. Both are monsters, but both are monsters because someone or something made them one…they had no choice. They straddle the lines of good and evil.”
“So…what does that say about me?”
“Well…you’re over identifying with a creature like this…it could indicate a fear of things beyond your control…that you’re afraid of being forced to do things you don’t want to do.”
“Is that so? Dr. Dana to my rescue?”
She laughed and put the wolfman back onto the desk, turning to look up at the posters. Werewolves made her uneasy. The ambiguity hurt. “They don’t look like that, you know…not so hairy…it’s more about the teeth and the hunger.” He came to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “They don’t know…they don’t remember…it’s sad…”
“Oh, and I’m the one over identifying with fictional characters?”
She leaned into him and chuckled. “Yeah…I know. It’s that Psych class Erin and I are taking. We’re doing a chapter on the psychology of American pop culture.”
Scott kissed her cheek and she turned to press her lips to his. It still tingled, all the way into her belly when he did, when his tongue swiped over hers. He tasted like ginger. “Trophies,” she said finally when they separated. “You’re supposed to be showing me trophies.”
“They’re over there.” He waved a hand at the wall and its lines of shelves. Then he tilted his head and his lips found hers again. “Seen one…seen them all. This is more fun.”
Dana pushed him back with a chuckle. “And if your parents came in?”
Scott rolled his eyes and pulled her toward the wall, before sliding his arms around her again and kissing over her neck. “There…you can look and I can kiss.”
Of course, she couldn’t really look, because her eyes kept closing to savor the feeling of his lips on the skin of her neck and the little bit of her shoulder he could reach in the sweater she was wearing. There was a warmth coiling inside her…a desire for more…more she wasn’t getting tonight.
The time was coming. Things had moved past casual dating. She wanted more. She wanted to take the next step…but not tonight. It would be so easy…but she wanted to be ready…so she turned and kissed him, light, chaste. “I think we should go. I wouldn’t want your mother to think I was up here seducing you.”
Scott grinned, exuding a warm affection that made her want to do anything but stop touching and kissing him.
“Like that isn’t what you’ve been doing since we met?”
Dana grinned and leaned against him. “Well, yes…but I don’t want your mother to know.”
“How do you think she got my father?” Scott asked, then he kissed her nose. “But, you’re right. Your father wanted you home early.”
“Yeah, so he and Sam could torment me more with college applications.”
“It isn’t so bad.”
“Easy for you to say.” Dana pouted for minute, then he kissed her pout.
“Come on, we’ll go slow and stop for ice cream.”
She smiled broadly. “You must love me.”
“I think maybe I might.” Scott said, a little more seriously than Dana had meant it. Her grinned dimmed a little, taken back by the waves of emotion suddenly flowing off of him. “Is that okay?”
She nodded, pressing her lips together and swallowing a lump in her throat. “Yeah…I think that’s better than okay.”