The roar of the party made speaking difficult, and Dean and I quickly found ourselves on the front porch, speaking quietly.
"How are your parents?" he asked, wrapping his right arm around me and pulling me closer to him. I leaned into him, my head on his shoulder, the porch swing moving slightly.
"They're good. They got divorced the year I moved out."
"I'm sorry."
"I'm not." I leaned back, just enough to look at him. "They're so happy now, I almost wish they had done it sooner."
"What?"
"It was kind of a 'stay together for the kid' deal. They're still friends, but they fell out of love."
"When did you find out?"
"Two weeks after I moved out. They asked me to come over for dinner and they told me."
"I'm sorry." he repeated.
"Don't be. Everyone's a lot happier now."
"What are they up to?"
"My dad lives in Baltimore with his new wife. They got married about two years ago and moved out there. My mom met a guy about six months later and she travels around with him. Last I heard they were somewhere in Asia."
"So everyone's happy then?"
"Everyone's happy." I smiled, resting my head on his shoulder. "How's your dad?"
I felt Dean take a deep breath before he spoke. "He passed away about a year ago."
"I'm so sorry." I sat up, trying to read his expression. "Can I ask what happened?"
"His heart just stopped, I guess." he averted his eyes, playing with his fingers.
"Dean." I waited for him to look at me. "What really happened?"
"It's a hunter thing-"
"Dean."
"You'll freak out-"
"I will not."
"I don't want to scare you-"
"Dean!" he looked at me shyly. "If you don't want to talk about it, say that, but don't belittle me."
He looked down again. I ran my fingers through my hair, sighing. As I opened my mouth to change the subject, he spoke up. "I was dying.... kind of just a ghost at that point. He sacrificed himself to bring me back."
"What do you mean?"
"He... he sold his soul." Dean's words were slow, but not in a mourning or sad way. He spoke quietly as if to make sure I wasn't scared. I was, but I didn't want him to see that.
Rather than asking more questions, I took his hand in mine, squeezing gently. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It's.... never mind."
Klaus popped his head out of the front door shyly. "Am I interrupting?"
"No," Dean shook his head, smiling. "What's up?"
"We're toasting." Klaus answered, nodding his head slightly, motioning for us to follow him inside.
We stood, holding hands as we entered the house. Everyone in the house had gathered in the living room, where Elijah and Janelle stood, holding hands. Janelle had on the biggest smile I had ever seen, Elijah's almost as happy.
