Twenty-One ~ A Dean Portman Fanfic

Nine

Leaning against the massive window of the bus, the girl found her side aching as it was uncomfortable after a little while. Her feet barely touched the ground as she was a little short and he was tall enough his knees were pressed against the seat in front of them. She could feel her boots become a little heavy due to the heel on them and she wished she could take them off to relax her ankles, but didn't.

The streets moved by them like a motion picture on tape, being rewound quickly. She briefly watched the streets travel by before giving up trying to see what was out there and looked away, at the different and odd people on the bus. Evangeline found the bus to be both exciting yet sketchy because anyone and everyone took the bus, hence why she'd rather walk most places until she got her license.

Evangeline didn't know how long they'd been on the bus for, but assumed it'd been a little if they hadn't gotten off yet. She didn't know where they were going and left on a last minute decisions without questioning where they were headed. The one thing she knew is that she had to trust Dean in wherever they were going, which both scared and amused her.

She looked at Dean every now and then as he talked and for the first time they actually held a nice conversation without throwing insults at the other, or even smacking each other.

He never held on to an overhead buckle or the edge of his seat whenever the bus turned, also pressing his feet down to keep him steady. She never prepared for the turns and therefore fell into the window or his side, merely laughing it off as he shook his head at her.

Seeing the way he looked from sitting beside him, she had the chance to see him in a slightly different way. Evangeline had never sat so close to him before and as she looked at him every now and then, she saw just how chiseled his face was. His features softened when he was in a good mood or simply being nice, even if he was rude or egotistical, she figured they were still there.

One's facial features never really left, just changed slightly.

His shoulders were more broad than she remembered from last year, making her look down at her own and realize if she stood at his height, he could hide her form perfectly. Dean's arm were definitely more muscular than last year and with how much he grew and worked out, kind of worked in his favor.

Evangeline was indeed swooning internally as she tried fighting back the thoughts and feelings, not wanting to reignite them. It was hard to resist someone she used to like so much and she tried to push her old liking for him away, but sitting next to him as he just talked as if she were his best friend made her happy.

She wondered if he trusted her a little.

Even though he was a jerk toward her, part of her knew he would always be around to say something. She feared maybe one day he would not be around to pester her and it didn't sit well. He from Chicago, not Minnesota and if he wanted to, he could leave whenever he wanted.

She pushed her hand in front of her to hold on as the bus turned. "-it's just like weird. What teacher makes it their life to fuck us over?" He asked, she missed the first half of his conversation due to staring at him so goofily.

"Huh?" She furrowed her brows.

"What's her face. That teacher that gives us exams or quizzes every other day. Like the old one." He explained, glancing over to her before looking the window across from them.

"Oh, um." She tried remembering. "Mrs. Madigan."

"Yeah!" His eyes widened as he slouched in his seat with exasperation. "That woman I swear has the devil in her."

She chuckled quietly next to him. "Maybe...Where are we going, by the way?"

He shrugged casually, hiding his smile. "I don't know. I got you out of school, the rest is all you."

"Dean!" She rose her voice with a cry, hand raising as she slapped his arm and he laughed. "We've been on here for like twenty minutes."

"A little bus ride never hurt anyone." He told her.

She leaned over him briefly to see where they were, the window covered in a stick outside that was advertising someone's new company. With a gulp, she sat back in her seat as her feet swung back and forth slowly. "Okay, what do you do when you ditch?"

He again rolled his shoulders. "Anything." His Chicago accent made it so effortless for her to understand him.

That was one thing she used to gush over, the way he spoke certain words with his hometown accent.

"Hmm." She mumbled, unsure where to go. "Hungry?"

"Only if you are." He put an arm behind her chair, not seeing much wrong with it as she let is fly over her head.

She continued to think before realizing which area of Minnesota they were in. Having left Edina in the richer neighborhood where the academy was, she stared out the window before pulling the string above her head, sounding the alarm for the next stop. "You got me to ditch school, so we're gonna go to this place I go with my friends."

He nods slowly. "One of the girls now, yay!" He cheered sarcastically.

Shaking her head, she pushed him out of the chair and he led the way off the bus. Both teenagers had waved to the driver and hopped off into the cool air, the sun still out and shinning. Dean didn't really recall where they were and the girl who'd lived in Minneapolis her entire life knew briefly which part of the city she was in.

He followed next to her with hands loosely in his pockets as Evangeline began pointing and explaining to him the different areas she knew about. She never asked if he knew their whereabouts, but explained away and now Dean listened.

Her voice gentle to the ear as she didn't yell or whisper, a nice voice that caught one's attention just fine. He looked back to see what was behind them and she too turned back to see what he looked at, but shrugged it off and continued talking anyhow.

"I don't really come to this side often. I'm just here whenever my parents are...You have siblings?"

He looked over to her as she kindly met his state. "A sister." He admitted.

"You guys close?"

He didn't know where all these more deeper questions came from, but if it killed time then he assumed it wasn't bad. "Sorta, not really...Why, you got sisters?"

She giggled with a grin. "No. Two brothers. They're older than me."

He nods.

"We were together all summer at the beach house in Florida." She admitted to him, something he almost rolled his eyes about. Hearing the fact she was richer than he believed her to be, kind of made him more aware of who she could potentially be.

"Beach house." He mutters. "Cool."

"Yeah," She agreed. "It's pretty nice." She rubbed her wrist anxiously. "Ugh, anyway, this way." She led the way.

Dean wondered if he said something wrong or maybe their tranquil conversation was too open and kind that it ruined the solid insulting bond they already had.

The way she walked made him stare aimlessly at her butt and the shorter dress she wore didn't help him any. The hem of her dress bounced with every step forward she took and when she began to skip down the street with glee, Dean had to hold himself back. He had to pry his eyes away and covered his face with his hand. She was oblivious to him loathing over her and if she had the slightest insight that he was staring, she would've settled it herself.

He followed her nonetheless down the sidewalk, eyes prying away like dried glue skin as he stared up at the tall buildings. They shone in the sun from the glass panes, causing a shimmer in the sky like stars.