Youth
Daughter
3:38 ————————————•—
𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒎 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎

𝑺𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 : 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 15 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒍𝒅.
𝑺𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏 11
𝑶𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓

☆

𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒆 𝑱𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, maybe Jovi should call her dad. It had been a full week since Jovi had spoken a word to Dean. Every day, she saw Jody step out to make her check-in calls, no doubt updating Dean on how Jovi was doing. Jovi knew her dad was worried, probably pacing around the bunker, waiting for any scrap of information about her. But she hadn't been ready to talk to him. The hurt still sat deep in her chest, the feeling of abandonment, of being pushed away.

But now, after her first day at school, something had shifted.

Jovi stared at her phone, chewing the inside of her cheek as she sat on the edge of her bed. She had tossed her backpack on the floor and was trying to decide if she could actually go through with this. She knew Jody had probably already told her dad that school went fine, but Jovi knew she wouldn't mention any of the details yet— she was waiting for Jovi to make the call.

All of it — the newness of school, the strange whirlwind of emotions — made Jovi feel like she needed to finally talk to someone about it who wasn't Jody. And despite everything, despite the anger and hurt that still gnawed at her, she knew who that someone was.

She sighed, gripping her phone tighter. Just call him, she thought, but the words were stuck. She stared at the screen, her finger hovering over her dad's contact. Part of her still felt the sting of his decision, the way he had sent her away without a second thought. But deep down, beneath all that anger, she missed him. She missed hearing his voice, his gruff reassurances, the way he always made her feel like she belonged in this crazy world of theirs.

Taking a deep breath, Jovi pressed the call button before she could second-guess herself again. The phone rang once, twice, and then her dad picked up, his voice immediately filled with a mix of surprise and relief.

"Jovi?"

She swallowed hard, her throat tightening. She hadn't thought about what she was going to say, and now, hearing his voice, everything she had been holding back started rushing to the surface. But she stayed silent for a second, gathering herself.

"Hey, Dad," she finally said, her voice softer than she expected.

Dean let out a breath on the other end, the tension in his voice clear. "Hey, kiddo. I—uh, I didn't think you'd call."

Jovi nodded even though he couldn't see her. "Yeah, well... I guess I figured it was time."

There was a long pause. She could almost hear him struggling to find the right words. "Jody's been keeping me in the loop," he said carefully. "She says you've been doing alright."

"Yeah," Jovi replied, her voice clipped. She didn't want to talk about Jody's updates right now. She wanted to talk about everything that had been boiling inside her, but she didn't know where to start. "School was... okay today."

"Yeah? Tell me about it," Dean said, his tone softening a little.

Jovi hesitated, the words piling up but getting stuck. She wasn't used to this—talking about her day like some normal teenager. It felt weird. "I made a friend. Her name's Kat. She's pretty cool."

Dean hummed in approval, sounding genuinely happy to hear that. "That's good, kid. Real good."

Jovi twisted the blanket in her hands, trying to find a way to bring up the other stuff. "But there's this girl, Aria. She's kind of the queen bee, I guess. Made it pretty clear I wasn't exactly welcome."

Dean's voice darkened a bit, the protectiveness in him kicking in immediately. "Want me to come down there and set her straight?"

Jovi let out a small laugh despite herself. "I think I can handle it, Dad."

There was a pause, and then Dean's voice softened again. "Yeah, I know you can. You've always been tough."

Jovi took a breath, steeling herself for what she really wanted to say. "I also met one of Ares' friends. Blake."

Dean made a noise of disapproval at the mention of Ares, but didn't interrupt. Jovi continued, feeling the need to get it all out. "Blake's different from Ares, though. He's more confident and mysterious. He's cool, plus he's in a few of my classes so..."

Dean hesitated. "Different how?"

"I don't know, just... not an ass like Ares, I guess," she said, surprised by how much she wanted to explain it to her dad. But then she stopped, biting her lip. She didn't want to get into Blake too much — not when she hadn't even figured out what she thought about him yet.

The silence settled between them again, the unspoken tension about everything still hanging in the air. Jovi could feel it, the things they hadn't said, the things she had been too mad to talk about all week.

"I'm sorry," Dean said suddenly, his voice quiet and rough, cutting through the silence.

Jovi's heart twisted at the sound of it. She blinked, caught off guard by how raw he sounded. "For what?"

"For... everything," he said, like it was hard for him to get the words out. "For sending you away like I did. For not listening. I thought I was doing the right thing—keeping you safe. But I know I hurt you, Jovi. And that's the last thing I ever wanted to do."

Jovi clenched her jaw, feeling the old anger bubble up again. "Yeah, you did. You didn't even ask me, Dad. You just decided what was best for me, and that hurt."

"I know," Dean replied, the regret heavy in his voice. "I screwed up. But I couldn't—" He stopped, taking a breath. "I couldn't think straight after what happened. You got hurt, and it scared the hell outta me. I... I couldn't risk losing you to this."

The words hung in the air, and Jovi felt a lump form in her throat. She had known he was scared, but hearing it now, so plainly, made it harder to hold onto her anger.

"I get that you were scared," Jovi said, her voice barely above a whisper. "But you still should've talked to me. You can't just shut me out because you're afraid."

"I know," Dean said again, his voice softer this time. "And I'm gonna try to do better, kiddo. I swear."

Jovi let out a slow breath, feeling some of the tension begin to ease. It wasn't everything. It didn't fix all the hurt. But hearing him say that, hearing him admit he was wrong... it was a start.

"Okay," she said quietly, wiping at her eyes before any more tears could fall. "Just... don't leave me out like that again."

"I won't," Dean promised. "We're a team. You and me."

Jovi swallowed hard, her emotions still tangled but feeling lighter than they had in days. "Yeah... we are."

They didn't need to say much more. The silence that followed wasn't heavy like it had been before — it was filled with the unspoken understanding between them, the kind that only family could have.

After a few more moments, Jovi cleared her throat. "I should probably get to bed."

"Yeah," Dean said softly. "You take care of yourself, okay? And if you need anything... anything at all... you call me."

"I will," Jovi said, her voice steady this time.

"Night, kiddo."

"Night, Dad."

Jovi ended the call and sat there in the quiet room for a moment longer, staring down at her phone. The hurt was still there, lingering beneath the surface, but it wasn't as sharp as it had been before. She knew it would take time for things to really feel okay again, but for the first time in a week, she felt like they might get there.

Maybe, just maybe, they'd be okay.

☆

𝑱𝒐𝒗𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 Marshall Highs doors the next day feeling lighter than before, the conversation with her dad having calmed her previous anger drastically. Not that she was holding a grudge...okay, she was, but she was proud of herself for being the bigger person and making that call. Her dad had been calling Jody all week acting as though she didn't know about the calls — it wasn't exactly like Jody was subtle. Stepping out for calls? Come on, it's obvious! Either way, she was the bigger person and she felt better for it.

Today she was sporting a pair of flared blue jeans, a camo green tank top and an oversized leather jacket. Ares walked beside her rambling as per usual, she was half listening but was also trying to channel him out but between his voice and the sound of the buzzing hallways it was pretty difficult.

"And I'm telling you, Jovi, the fact that we're still expected to take gym class in high school is a crime against humanity," Ares went on, gesticulating wildly with his hands. "Like, who thought it was a good idea to make us run laps around the field when we could be, I don't know, learning actual life skills? Like how to evade taxes or—better yet—how to win a taco-eating contest. These are the things they don't teach us, but we need them."

Jovi sighed, rolling her eyes, but couldn't suppress the smirk tugging at her lips even if she wanted to strangle him. He was like a human Golden Retriever, annoyingly loyal and impossible to stay mad at for long.

"You really have this whole gym class conspiracy thing worked out, don't you?" she quipped, half-listening as they approached her locker. "Maybe next you'll run for student council on a 'No More Gym' platform."

"Don't tempt me," Ares shot back. "I'd make gym class optional, mandate a daily snack break and just wait until you meet Coach Steele, she's a monster. I've seen football players cry because of her" Jovi scoffed glancing at the boy "she can't be that bad"

Ares eyed her "you won't be saying that after gym class and—oh, would you look at that." His voice suddenly dropped, thick with sarcasm.

Jovi glanced up, following his gaze, and spotted Blake leaning against her locker.

"Ugh," Ares groaned, rolling his eyes so hard it looked like it physically pained him. "Of course. Why am I not surprised?"

Jovi felt a rush of amusement at Ares' reaction, which was a little over the top, even for him. She smirked, nudging him with her elbow. "Jealous much?"

Ares scoffed. "Please. Jealous? Of him? Blake has two facial expressions: brooding and slightly less brooding. He probably writes bad poetry in his spare time."

"He's got depth," Jovi replied sarcastically, but she couldn't help glancing at Blake again. He hadn't seen them yet, but he looked as casual and composed as ever, leaning against her locker like he had all the time in the world. There was that spark of curiosity in his eyes again, the same one that intrigued her despite herself.

Ares threw his hands up dramatically. "Depth? Right. Sure. If by 'depth' you mean 'staring into space and being mysteriously vague about literally everything.' But hey, you do you, Jovi. I'm just here to make sure you don't fall for his 'tragic bad-boy with a heart of gold' routine."

Jovi snorted, pulling her backpack higher on her shoulder. "Please. Give me some credit. I can handle him."

Ares muttered under his breath. "I'm just saying, if this turns into one of those cliché slow-burn romances, I reserve the right to say 'I told you so.'" He paused, crossing his arms. "And when you two start exchanging deep, meaningful glances over algebra homework, I'm going to need a sick bag. Stat."

Jovi grinned, shaking her head as they approached Blake. "You're so dramatic."

"And you're about to make the worst decision of your life," Ares shot back.

Jovi shot Ares a look but couldn't help smirking. "Give it a rest, Ares."

"Fine, fine," Ares muttered dramatically, throwing his hands up in surrender. "But remember, I warned you. And when Blake inevitably turns out to be some kind of... I don't know, misunderstood villain, I expect a full apology."

Jovi snorted. "Yeah, okay, I'll make sure to schedule that apology in my planner." She glanced at Blake, her smirk growing while Ares walked off probably to bitch to Alex about her.

Blake was still leaning against her locker, casually, like he owned the damn thing. Arms crossed, head tilted, a lazy smirk playing on his lips as he watched her approach. His dark eyes locked on hers the second she spotted him, like he'd been waiting for this exact moment.

Jovi raised an eyebrow, not bothering to hide her amusement. "What? Did you lose your locker or something? Because I hate to break it to you, but mine's clearly labeled."

Blake chuckled, a low sound that somehow made her heart skip. "Oh, I know this is your locker," he said, pushing off the metal door with his shoulder. "Figured it's the best place to catch you."

"Well, congratulations, you've successfully stalked me. Creepy and effective—two stars for effort." She crossed her arms, giving him her best deadpan stare. "Seriously, what do you want, Blake? Need to borrow a pen? Maybe you're here to apologize for your tragic attempt at flirting yesterday."

Blake's smirk widened. "Tragic, huh? That's harsh. I thought I was charming."

"Charming?" Jovi scoffed, stepping up to her locker and giving him a playful shove to get him to move. "Please, I've met demons that were more charming, and they at least know how to open with a proper 'hello.'"

He shifted to the side but didn't leave, instead leaning against the locker next to hers. "Demons, huh? Sounds like a fun crowd. Guess you're into the bad boys then."

"Only if they can keep up," she shot back without missing a beat as she pulled her locker open."But don't get ahead of yourself, Winslow. I'm still waiting for you to 'wow' me."

Blake's eyes gleamed with amusement. "Maybe I'll keep you guessing a little longer."

Jovi pulled out her books and slammed the locker shut, turning to face him. "Oh, I see. You're one of those guys. The 'mysterious, brooding type' who shows up unannounced and thinks he's deep because he doesn't say much. Lemme guess, next you're gonna lean in all close and whisper something cryptic like, 'You don't know the real me, Jovi.'" She put on her best dramatic voice, fluttering her eyelashes mockingly.

Blake chuckled, shaking his head. "And here I thought you would be just a pretty face who sits in the back of class. Turns out, you're a smartass."

Jovi grinned. "Oh, honey, you have no idea."

He leaned in slightly, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "Maybe I like smartasses."

Jovi rolled her eyes but couldn't help the small smile tugging at her lips. "Careful, Blake. Flirting with me could end with you in a world of sarcastic regret."

"Sounds worth it," he replied easily, straightening up as the bell rang overhead.

Jovi gave him a once-over, like she was sizing him up for the first time. Did she like what she saw? Yes. Would she admit that? Hell no! "You're cocky. I like that. But don't think I'm falling for this mysterious, broody act. You're gonna have to try harder than standing at my locker pretending to be interesting."

Blake grinned, looking completely unfazed. "I'm up for the challenge."

Jovi raised an eyebrow. "I'd be careful. You might get more than you bargained for."

Without waiting for a response, she tossed her bag over her shoulder and started walking toward class. Blake's amused chuckle followed her, but she didn't look back. Not yet, anyway.

Okay, maybe he wasn't so bad, she thought. Still cocky, though.

But something about their banter made her smirk all the way to class.

☆

𝑱𝒐𝒗𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑲𝒂𝒕 on the bleachers inside the gym. Admittedly, this lesson she'd been waiting for. All because she'd heard all about Coach Steele, and been warned how intense gym class could be but she hadn't prepared for this. Her gaze landed on the tall, imposing woman standing in the middle of the room, arms crossed, a scowl already plastered across her face.

So, this was Coach Steele. So far Jovi was getting the whole drill Sargent vibe from her, she was definitely intimidating but Jovi had faced the devil...what could Coach Steele do? She was calling out students names for the register, well, by names she meant nicknames Coach had come up with herself. So far Jovi was wide eyed looking at Kat as if to say 'is she serious?' But Kat nodded back at her, Kats was 'mermaid girl' because of her last name and the tv show H20 — Jovi had to fight back a laugh at that.

Coach paused as she reached a name on the list, her eyes narrowed as if questioning where this one came from. She then looked up scanning the crowd of teenagers "which one of you disappointments is named Jovi?"

Kat sent Jovi a look as if to say good luck. Jovi didn't back down she raised a confident hand with a smirk on her face "that'd be me"

Coach Steele's cold eyes landed on the Winchester girl, she pushed her glasses down her nose to see Jovi properly. "What kind of a name is Jovi? Were your parents drunk at a Bon Jovi concert when they decided to bless you with that gem?" Damn. Okay, this woman was a bitch who definitely needed humbling to some extent, question was how far could Jovi go before she crossed a line...guess we'll find out!

Jovi's smirk barely faltered as she turned to face Coach, her quick wit already loaded. "Well, Coach, I'd say they were more likely inspired by tequila shots, but hey, at least they didn't name me Margaret. That's the kind of name that practically begs for a bad '80s villain origin story." Yes, Ares had told her about their Coaches real name — and Jovi loved it. She could hear the snickers and murmurs from her classmates which only urged her on, Kat was side eyeing her trying to hide her smile behind her hand.

Jovi watched as Margaret's eyes narrowed, her lips curved into a cruel smile. "Cute, Jovi. Let me guess, they figured they'd give you a name that no one would expect much from. 'Jovi Winchester'— sounds like someone destined to be the least interesting person in the room."

Little did Coach know, Jovi Winchester was the most interesting person in that room. Especially with the shit she's seen and dealt with. Jovi didn't miss a beat. "Hey, I'll take unexpected over predictable any day. Besides, with a last name like Winchester, I was bound to end up either in a rock band or taking down evil gym teachers. And since my singing's average at best..."

The gym fell silent as a few of the students stifled their laughs. Coach's smirk deepened, like she'd been waiting for a challenge like this. "Oh, I see. You think you're clever. You've got that little spark of rebellion in you, don't you?"

Jovi shrugged, her grin widening. "Spark, rebellion, sheer boredom—it's all the same to me."

Steele took a step closer to the bleachers, folding her arms as she looked up at Jovi, sizing her up. "Well, congratulations, Winchester. You've officially