Don't Tell Sammy

Chapter 15: Diet Coke

After lunch they took to the streets and walked around for a little over an hour. There were many casual places to see around them, mundane places that offered services and boring stores and the like, and the sidewalks were plastered with trees, palm trees in some areas and other trees in others. Santa Monica Boulevard was certainly less exciting than the Sunset Strip about a ten minute drive in the opposite direction, where Dean and Cas had generally been venturing. Their building was closer walking distance to SMB, but the strip and was still within driving distance.

Once they'd looked at all there was to look at, they headed back to the apartment on foot and decided to get in the car and drive in the opposite direction towards the strip, which they couldn't walk to from SMB without it taking nearly an hour. They found a parking space, and began to explore this place on foot, too.

It was almost a different atmosphere here, and there was even more to see for the next half hour of walking around wherever the sidewalks took them. They almost got lost a few times, but they were able to find their way around by a familiar building or something or other.

Walking around generally didn't seem exciting, but it was fun. Seeing things, overhearing things whenever they stopped to look around them. They didn't actually do anything much but it was nice to get out and explore what was around them even though most of the buildings served them about as much purpose as a store selling glasses of air would.

While out, Dean did end up buying a very soft blanket and he rented three movies, asking The Exorcist, The Shining and Poltergeist as soon as they got there. He hadn't ever watched any of them all of the way through, but he had heard a lot of hype about those three being three of the scariest. Probably not for them, but they might at least add a creep factor as they watched in the dark in a "haunted" building with something living in the walls.

Then they'd made a detour to a grocery store where they picked up several 2l bottles of several different sodas to accompany whatever they ate that night.

They turned back towards the car as it neared three and didn't reach it until ten after, and drove back to the building satisfied with their afternoon. The parking lot was dull as always, but it wasn't empty of human life like it usually was. There was a man there with three small children standing by a car a few spaces down from Dean and Cas's spot, and the little girl who looked to be the youngest, three or four maybe, waved and smiled at them as they passed on the way to the elevator. It was an automatic thing to do the same back, because kids were generally sweet and put anyone in a good mood.

'Three kids,' Dean whispered quietly in Cas's ear as they walked, glancing back at the family as another man stepped out of the car looking frustrated at the one by the trunk. 'Damn. I wonder where they all fit?'

'The tenth floor?' Castiel suggested. 'There's only two apartments on each side. They must be bigger. More bedrooms.'

'And Dani did say yesterday that even the apartments on the right side of the building are the two bedroom ones,' Dean recalled, Dani having told the story of how she and Piper originally wanted a two bedroom place but it was too expensive so they opted for a one bedroom and a sofa bed, rather ironically, considering the setup of Dean and Cas's place.

'So ... tenth floor right side must be the biggest.'

'Yeah, must be,' Dean agreed, pressing the button for the elevator as it slowly came down from the ninth floor.

It was so weird to think there were families in the building. Like, actual families with kids and stuff. In the same building as them ... it made sense, though, it's not like every person in the community was either single or paired and family-free. And the place did seem kid friendly, gardens and picnic tables and a pool ... but it was still weird.