Discovering Hell [COMPLETED]

Chapter Fourteen

I hadn't realized I'd even been in the shower for that long but when I looked at the clock on the wall I'd been in for an hour. That meant I only had forty minutes to eat food and then I should probably get some sort of rest before we called Crowley. I got dressed as fast as humanly possible, throwing my hair up in a quick ponytail, and hurried out to the kitchen.

Dean and Zoe were standing by the kitchen counter, the condiments by them untouched, arguing about something and Sam was sitting at the table shaking his head as he ate his sandwich.

"Don't change what you said," Zoe argued, poking Dean in the chest. "You said she would kiss him, not the other way around. I said he would kiss her. You lost. Pay up, Dean."

I choked on my water--narrowly avoiding a spit take--as I heard what they were arguing about. Had they bet on Sam and me kissing? I ignored it for the time being and finished making my peanut butter sandwich. I made myself comfortable in the chair next to Sam. "How long has this been going on?"

He shrugged and set his sandwich down on his plate, brushing the crumbs off of his hands. "Pretty much since we got in here. Dean keeps arguing that he won."

I nodded and swallowed my bite of sandwich. "Did he?"

"That depends on who you believe. Zoe's saying she thought I'd be the one to kiss you and Dean thought you'd kiss me, but Dean is arguing that it was the other way around."

I scoffed. "That's an easy choice."

"It is?" He looked at me, confused.

"Dean's obviously lying his butt off because he doesn't want to pay the insanely high amount of money that they so stupidly bet. Zoe won."

"Is this another...muscle memory thing?"

I smiled but shook my head. I'd learned to read people a long time ago. "It's a street smarts thing. Look at her body language," I pointed at Zoe. "She's smiling and laughing despite the fact that they're arguing. But Dean," I pointed at him now, "he's trying to be light-hearted about it all but his smile is obviously forced. Also, he's got his hand on his wallet. He seriously doesn't wanna part with the money he's got."

"Way to go, Sherlock," Sam said, obviously impressed.

"It's not that hard to read body language if you just pay attention."

"Pay up," Zoe demanded, holding her hand out. "We both know I won."

Dean sighed, finally defeated, and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. He slapped some bills into her hand and, after counting them, she frowned.

She put her hands on her hips. "We said fifty, not thirty, Dean."

He glared at her. "Fine. But that's the last time I make a bet with you." He grudgingly handed over a few more bills and then tucked his wallet away.

Zoe and Dean made their sandwiches and sat down at the table. Now that everyone was eating, I decided it was a good time to bring up the whole 'betting on Sam and me' thing.

"So...what did you guys bet on, exactly?" I asked, innocently taking a bite of my sandwich. Sam groaned like he'd already heard it a million times, and muttered something like 'not this again,' before falling silent and becoming very interested in the table top.

"Oh, nothing much," Zoe shrugged, "just whether or not you and Sam would have a very good time training."

I felt my face getting hot but forced myself to continue. "So what would have happened if nobody had kissed anybody?"

"Then I would still have fifty dollars," Dean grumbled.

I cracked a smile.

Cas fluttered into the room at that precise minute, his cell phone in his hand. "We need to call Crowley now."

I stared at him for a second. I understood his urgency but...right now? Two hours after Zoe and I had finished training?

"We just spent our entire day training," Zoe said, voicing my thoughts, "and now you want us to go up against a hoard of demons? I'm pretty awesome but I'm not invincible."

"We have ten hours to call Crowley, Cas," Dean said. "Take a break, eat a sandwich." He stood up and gathered all the dishes, carrying them to the sink. "We all need some shut eye. Give us a few hours and we'll call in the morning."

Cas frowned. "Fine. Pray when you need me." He disappeared.

Zoe got to her feet and stretched her arms above her head, yawning. "I'm tired so I'm going to bed. Wake me when we're leaving."

"I concur," I said, standing as well. "I'll be in my room if anybody needs me."

I climbed into my bed and pulled The Wizard of Oz out from under my pillow. The clock on the nightstand said it was two in the morning. I was exhausted, but I was also pretty pumped; it felt like Christmas. I was anxious for the morning, for Crowley, so I thought I'd read until I fell asleep. I got comfortable against my pillows and flipped the book open to where I was.

I was just getting to the Yellow Brick Road when when my door opened and Sam peeked his head inside.

"You're still awake." He came inside and closed the door behind him.

I shut my book and set it on the night stand. "You sound disappointed."

He sat on the edge of my bed and shook his head. "No, not disappointed. Surprised, actually. I thought you said you were going to bed."

"I was, that's why I was in bed. What did you need?"

"I just...I wanted to apologize." Sam wouldn't meet my gaze and I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

I raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"Kissing you. It was...unfair."

"How was it unfair?"

"I didn't even know if you were interested or anything. You could've totally hated me and I kissed you."

I smiled and shook my head. "Don't apologize."

He looked at me. "I was thinking about Dean and Zoe's bet. If I hadn't kissed you...I mean, were you interested?"

I smirked and crawled out from under the blankets, closing the space between us and quickly kissing him. When I pulled away, I pushed his shoulder playfully. "Now go out. I'm going to bed for reals now."

Sam smiled and got to his feet. "Goodnight, Lauren."

"Goodnight."