Sleeping At The Wheel

Closer Than You Thought...

Dean's POV

"You..."

I slowly blinked open my eyes, first staring at the ceiling before sitting up. My bedroom was pitch black and it took my eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness.

I reached out to touch Juni's shoulder in an attempt to confirm that she was still beside me, but my hand hit the mattress. Eyes narrowing in concern, I glanced down and saw that her side of the bed was empty.

"Yeah, you, Winchester." The voice that had woken me was mellow, but somehow also eerily harsh. I looked toward the doorway, where I'd heard the voice.

"Juni?"

Juni shook her head slowly. "No... not exactly."

I tilted my head, feeling the hunter's instinct that sent goosebumps up my arms. "Juni, what the hell are you doing? Let's go back to sleep."

Again Juni shook her head, slow, painstakingly slow movements that made my skin crawl. "You don't get it, do you?" Juni mumbled. "I'm... not Juni." Her voice were oddly spaced out and almost strained, like she had to force out the syllables. "I'm something much worse..." 

I sat up a little taller, subconsciously reaching for the weapon under my pillow. "Then... Then what are you? And where is Juni?" I mumbled, going with the odd game that Juniper seemed to be playing. Maybe she was sleep walking or something.

"Oh, she's right here... Inside. Trapped." Juniper edged closer to the foot of the bed. "It's dark inside."

"Juni... what's going on with you?" I asked. "You're kinda freaking me out."

"I'm not Juni. Just Juniper." 

With narrowed eyes, I raised my hands in a conciliatory gesture. "Okay... Juniper..." She was putting me more on edge the more I watched and listened to her. 

Juniper walked toward me until she was standing at the foot of the bed, and she leaned forward. Our eyes met, and she smirked before blinking. Her eyes turned from their bright, sparkling blue to a deep black.

"This is what I am, Dean. Deep, deep, down... I'm dark."

"You're not Juniper," I instantly said.

"Technically, I'm just a darker Juniper. And you can't save the weakling that Juni is."

Juniper's face suddenly altered, and she looked concerned. She rolled her shoulders and tilted her head. For a fleeting moment, her eyes turned blue again.

"Dean!" I could tell it was Juni this time, not... Juniper... "Dean, don't listen. I won't let it in--" 

Juni's eyes went back to black, and Juniper practically growled in anger. She clenched her fists and stared straight at me with the same intensity that Juni had, but for a different reason.

"She is weak! She can't fight it forever..." She breathed deeply, closing her eyes. "And you let it happen."

I was frozen in place, unable to speak. Juniper's jaw clenched, and when her eyes opened again, they were blue. She frowned and stared at me blankly.

Silence unfolded for a long moment before I found my voice. "J-Juni...?"

"Still not Juni..." She muttered. "No matter what you do, how much you deny it, how hard you try to save her... She's still not your Juni..."

~~~~

I jumped when I heard breathing beside me that interrupted the otherwise silent room. My shirt was drenched in sweat and I was breathing harshly. I sat up slowly and glanced around, running a hand through my hair as I did so. 

When I looked down at the bed, Juni was sleeping beside me. Peaceful. Without black eyes... hopefully.

I grabbed my phone from my nightstand and clicked it on, squinting to defend my vision from the bright light it emitted. The time on the lock screen flashed 2:48. With a relieved a defeated sigh, I put my phone down and laid down, rolling onto my side to look at Juni.

I had to make sure. "J-Juni..." I mumbled, tapping her shoulder gently. "Juni? Are you awake?"

She groaned and stretched a little, her eyes still closed. "I am now..." She slurred, pulling the blanket up over her shoulder with a sigh. "Why?" 

Juni blinked open her eyes and met my gaze, her eyes squinted from tiredness and the remnants of sleep. But they were blue. That beautiful, amazing shade of blue that I loved so much...

"Sorry, I just... Had a weird dream. Wanted to make sure you were okay..."

Juni closed her eyes again and smiled, leaning closer to press a small kiss against my lips. "'M fine. Promise..."

"Goodnight, Juni."

"'Night."

I heard her deep sigh as she rolled over and dozed off again. I rolled onto my back and stared up at the ceiling, knowing that I probably wouldn't go back to sleep. Juni was fine. It had just been a stupid dream that my twisted brain conjured up to freak me out. Nothing more...

The only sound in the room was the quiet sigh of Juni's breaths, so I tried to let that lull me back into at least a semi-peaceful sleep. It was working, for a while, and I eventually began to drift off into darkness and sleep...

"Dean..." A faint whisper had my eyes wide open again. "I'm closer than you thought..."

~~~~~~~~~~~

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! I tried to make a little spooky, Halloween-themed thing in celebration of my favorite holiday of the year. It is probably not that spooky, but I enjoyed writing it. It was a good, short, quick challenge for me, and even if it isn't great, I'm happy with it. That's all that matters in the end, right?

ANYWAY.... This little scene may or may not have tiny ity bity teensy weensy bits of foreshadowing in it. Maybe. Don't read too much into that, like seriously, they're tiny things. I would never spoil something big, gosh...

Also, a note: This scene was simply spur-of-the-moment to celebrate Halloween and does not have a specific place within this whole book. It won't be commonly referenced as a significant plot point, but Dean might recall it once of twice, fleetingly.

With that, I will once again say HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! Hope you enjoyed this little scene. (Okay, that kinda rhymed. Cool.) Hope your Halloween was great, I know mine was! Bye!

xxpoisonparadexx