𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐋, d. winchester ₁

𝓿. fake girlfriends and libraries

"I BET YOU THAT'S her," Dean voiced out his thoughts, as he, Sam, and Evan strolled down the sidewalk. They eventually halted their steps in front of a seemingly anxious girl who was diligently hanging up a missing person's poster on a posterboard. Dean broke the silence, "You must be Amy, right?"

"Yeah," Amy responded nonchalantly, her focus unwavering from her task of hanging up the poster.

Dean nodded understandingly, "Yeah, Troy told us about you." He introduced himself and the others, "We're his uncles. I'm Dean, this is Sammy," Dean gestured towards Sam before motioning towards Evan, "And the lady over there is my girlfriend, Evan." Evan found herself suppressing a scoff as she shot a glare at Dean.

"He never mentioned you to me," Amy replied, her voice carrying a hint of surprise. Without another word, she started walking down the sidewalk again, the three adults naturally falling into step behind her.

"That's Troy for you, I guess," Dean sighed, a touch of familial affection seeping into his voice, "We're not around much. We're up in Modesto."

Feeling the need to contribute to the conversation, Sam spoke up, "So, we're looking for him too," he explained, "And we've been kind of asking around."

At that moment, a voice broke through the quietness, "Hey, are you okay?" Amy's friend had joined them, walking in stride next to her. Amy responded with a quiet 'yeah', her head nodding in reassurance.

Evan decided to seize the moment, "Do you mind if we ask you a few questions?" she asked, her voice gentle yet firm, as she stood next to Dean.

⛤

"I was on the phone with Troy. He was in his car, driving home from work." Amy began, her voice slightly trembling as she, her close friend, and Evan took their seats on one side of the roomy booth. On the other side, Sam and Dean sat, their eyes fixed on her. "He told me he would call me right back, but he never did."

"Did he say anything strange? Or out of the ordinary?" Sam questioned.

"No, nothing that I can recall." Amy replied, shaking her head slowly. As she did so, Evan noticed a peculiar object hanging from her neck.

"I like your necklace." Evan complimented, a soft smile playing on her lips as she admired the pentagram pendant that sat on Amy's chest.

"Troy gave it to me." Amy said, her hand instinctively reaching for the necklace. "It was mostly to give my parents a scare. You know, the Devil stuff." Amy let out an airy laugh, her attempt to lighten the mood.

"It actually symbolizes the opposite of what most people think," Evan informed Amy as she rolled up the sleeve of her - Sam's - jacket, revealing a charm bracelet with a similar pentagram charm on it. "A pentagram is regarded as a symbol of protection against evil, if you're inclined to believe in that sort of thing." Evan shrugged. "I, for one, obviously do."

"Okay, thank you, Unsolved Mysteries." Dean interrupted, leaning forward with a smirk, which earned him a glare from Evan. "Here's the deal ladies, the way Troy disappeared...something's not right."

"What he is trying to say," Evan shot Dean another warning glance before turning her attention back to the two girls. "Is that there are some peculiar aspects about how Troy vanished. If you two have heard anything or seen anything out of the ordinary, it could potentially be a great help in locating him." Evan's voice was gentle and reassuring. The two girls exchanged glances, their expressions filled with apprehension. "What is it?"

"Well...I mean, with all these guys going missing, people talk." Amy's friend finally broke the silence.

"What do they talk about?" Sam and Dean asked simultaneously.

"It's a kind of...local legend." Amy's friend ventured. "This one girl, she got murdered out on Centennial, like, decades ago. Well, supposedly, she's still out there. She hitchhikes, and whoever picks her up..." Her voice trailed off ominously. "Well, they vanish forever."

"Thank you, girls, for your time and for sharing this information with us." Evan expressed her gratitude with a soft smile before standing up, Dean and Sam following suit.

As they walked out of the bustling cafe, Evan swiftly raised her hand and smacked the back of Dean's head, causing him to wince in surprise. "What the hell was that for?" Dean exclaimed, his eyes glaring at Evan.

"And the lady over there is my girlfriend, Evan." Evan mimicked Dean's words from earlier in a sarcastic tone. "Invent a lie like that again, and I assure you, I won't hesitate to drive a stake through your heart." Her words were a clear threat, eliciting a proud smirk from Sam.

"I'm sorry," Dean began, his tone laced with a hint of sarcasm. "But weren't you the one who was unabashedly flirting with me earlier?"

"Yeah," The woman shrugged before walking ahead of the two guys.

"What's up with her?" Dean questioned Sam as he watched Evan walk in front of them.

Sam shrugged, "Ever since her last relationship, she's been a no strings attached kind of person," That made Dean smirk. "She hates the word girlfriend." And that made Dean smirk even wider.

⛤

In the quiet and dimly lit library, Evan observed as Dean diligently typed into the search engine on the computer screen. His fingers danced over the keyboard, entering the phrase 'Female Murder Hitchhiking', which, to their disappointment, led to a fruitless search. Undeterred, he started another search with 'Female Murder Centennial Highway', but this too resulted in the same frustrating dead end.

Sam, watching over Dean's shoulder, made an attempt to take over the search. "Let me try-" He started, reaching for the mouse.

"I got it!" Dean retorted, swatting Sam's hand away. The sudden movement startled the younger Winchester, causing him to shove Dean's chair away in response. The domino effect of the action shoved Evan as well, who was seated on the other side of Dean. "Dude!" Dean exclaimed quietly, hitting Sam's shoulder lightly as he maneuvered his chair back to the computer, with Evan following suit. "Such a control freak."

Trying to get back on track, Sam questioned, "So angry spirits are born out of violent death, right?"

Dean nodded in agreement, "Yeah," he affirmed, just as Evan chimed in with a new perspective.

"So, maybe it's not murder," she suggested, thinking aloud. Inspired by Evan's suggestion, Sam's fingers flew over the keyboard and entered a new search term: 'Female Suicide Centennial Highway'. This time, their search yielded a single news article.

"Nice going, E." Sam complimented, sending his friend a small smile before he began to read aloud the contents of the article.

"This was in nineteen eighty-one. Constance Welch, twenty-four years old, jumped off the Sylvania Bridge and drowned in the river." Sam recited the details from the article.

"Does it say why she did it?" Dean inquired, leaning in to get a better look at the screen. Sam nodded in response.

"Yeah, it says that an hour before she was found, she made a nine-one-one call. She left her two little kids in the bathtub alone for a minute, and when she returned, they weren't breathing." Evan's expression turned into a soft frown upon hearing the tragic details. "Both of them died."