Lean on me

Chapter 17

Two months passed and Sloan felt like she was doing much better. She started eating again without having to be forced and she only had two more breakdowns, one at New Year's Eve when the Padalecki and Ackles families started shooting fireworks and another the next day when someone down the street shot their fireworks. Bandit helped significantly with both attacks, not having enough time to calm the girl before they started but calming her down quickly after they passed. Jensen tried to get Sloan to see a therapist but the teenager just sat on the couch and stared at the man for an hour so her father decided that wasn't the best course of action at the moment.

Sloan started filming on Captain America: The Winter Soldier a month ago and quickly found a second family away from her Supernatural family.  Sloan found that she would sometimes be exhausted from having to travel from Cleveland to Vancouver twice a week but determined it was nothing she couldn't handle. There was a Supernatural convention this weekend in Cleveland so Sloan wouldn't have to fly back to Vancouver until Sunday night. 

"You're sure you'll be here tonight?" Grayson asks over the phone for the millionth time. Sloan rolls her eyes at her friend. It's now Friday and Grayson was worried that Sloan wouldn't be at the convention in time for their rehearsal. 

"Yes, Gray." She says, nodding hello to Anthony Mackie as she passes him on the way to her trailer, Bandit hot on her heels. She walks up the steps to her trailer, holding her phone between her shoulder and cheek as she fishes the key out of her pocket. "I'll be there. If I'm late, just play the set like we planned and have someone stand in for me and I'll take over when I get there." Sloan tries sliding the key into the lock but drops it, her fingers numb from the cold. "Son of a bitch." She mutters as she watches the key fall between the cracks in the wood of the platform she was standing on.

"What?" Grayson asks. Sloan sighs and wraps her hand around her phone. 

"I'll call you back." She says before hanging up. "Hey, Mackie?" She says, turning around. "Can you help me move this? I dropped my key." 

The man walks over as Sloan descends the stairs. They both stand on one side of the wooden structure and push it far enough that Sloan can slip her arm through the holes and grab the key before pushing it back.

"Your little boyfriend worried about you making it to your convention on time?" He asks, making Sloan roll her eyes.

"He's not my boyfriend." She says. "And he always needs something to worry about. Plus, he knows me. I'm always late." Anthony lets out a laugh as Sloan walks up the stairs and unlocks the door, inviting the actor into the warm trailer. She walks to the kitchen area as he shuts the door behind him. 

"You want some hot chocolate?" She asks, looking over her shoulder at him as she gets a mug out of the cabinet. 

"Sure." Anthony shrugs, moving into the kitchen. 

He sits down at the table as Sloan gets another mug and sets it on the counter next to hers. She gets two packets of hot chocolate out before getting the milk out of the refrigerator, cursing when she realizes the seal on the lid hasn't been broken yet. Sloan sets the milk on the counter and tries to open it, only causing the jug to turn when she does. 

"Need help?" Anthony asks after a few moments. 

"I got it." Sloan tells him stubbornly. She hops up on the counter and wraps her legs around the jug, holding it in place before twisting the cap off. "Got it!" She exclaims, holding the lid up triumphantly. 

She pours the milk in the jugs and heats it up. When she's mixed the hot chocolate, she sets one mug on the table in front of her costar before grabbing hers and sitting down at the table. As soon as she sits down, Sloan's phone rings and she runs across the trailer to answer it.