Lost Boy
Ruth B.
0:44 ——•———————————
𝑰 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒍𝒚

𝑾𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒊𝒅 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒖𝒑
𝑺𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒎 11 : 𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒅𝒆 8
𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

(A/n Hope you guys are locked in this is a long one)

☆

𝑱𝒐𝒗𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒓 fathers side as they sat on the roof of Jody's house just enjoying the peace but that was rudely interrupted when BAM — her bedroom door flies open like a cheap horror movie jump scare. And there he is: Ares, in all his jock-ish, grinning glory. Football jersey? Check. Stupid smirk? Check. About as much self-awareness as a potato? Check.

She and her dad exchange a look, like, Is he serious right now? but Ares just saunters in, leaning against the windowsill with all the confidence of a guy who's never had a coherent thought in his life.

"What're you smirking about?" her dad finally asks, eyebrow raised in that 'I'm so confused by today's youth' kind of way.

Ares shrugs, looking all proud of himself. "Oh, just scored the next three days off school."

Jovi looks at him with absolute disgust. "How?"

"Didn't want you to take the fall for the Great Shaving Cream Explosion of 2015, did I?" he says, like he's Captain America or something.

Cue the eye-roll. This idiot. He'd gotten himself suspended on purpose, just to back her up."Dumbass! I took the fall on purpose. Why would you rat yourself out?"

Ares shrugged, smiling like he'd just saved a kitten from a tree. "Hey, three days off is three days off. And you're my best friend—"

"Far from it."

"—so I took responsibility. Now we've both got the next few days off. Besties vacay! Right?"

Wrong. This was going to be less like a "bestie vacay" and more like "I-now-have-to-avoid-you-at-all-costs" week. She sighed dramatically, smacking her forehead against her dad's shoulder.

Dean chuckled at her distress. Thanks, Dad, glad my suffering is so hilarious.

"Actually..." he says, with a tone that's way too serious for Jovi's taste, "I thought maybe you'd like to come back to the bunker for a few days."

Her head snaps up. The bunker. Her real home. Like, she might actually get to escape all this dumb high school drama, get away from Ares' little hero complex, and just be normal again —for three whole days. "Are you serious?" She practically squeals, Dean smiled at her reaction nodding. "yeah, it feels empty without you there"

"Yes! I'll come home!" She grinned, feeling like a kid again. Unfortunately, Ares was still very much there, looking from her to her dad with that 'Oh, can I come too?' look.

"Hell no," she shot at him before he could even ask. "I'm going home to get away from you."

"Jovi," her dad said, giving her the look (you know the one that parents give that's like a silent 'don't be a brat'). She grumbled, glaring at Ares, who had now turned the full force of his "I'm a good boy" act on her dad.

"Look," Ares said, making sad puppy eyes at Dean, "I promise I'll stay out of her way. I just really wanna see the bunker."

Dean's face did that thinking-it-over expression, and Jovi felt her hope sinking fast. Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no.

"Fine," he said finally, ignoring her shocked glare. "No harm in it, Jov."

Her heart sinks. She knew right then that her peace was totally ruined. She spends the entire drive to the bunker imagining all the things she's going to throw at Ares, ranging from a roll of duct tape to a whole damn table. Meanwhile, he's babbling in the back seat, talking about how he's always wanted to see the bunker since he first heard about it, like it's some twisted Disneyland.

When they finally arrive, Ares practically trips over himself running to see the garage, swooning over all the ancient cars like he's in some black-and-white movie. She ignores him and drags herself to the library, where Uncle Sam is neck-deep in lore books, as usual.

She stands in the doorway, arms out, looking like she's just conquered the universe. "Guess who just got suspended?" she says, her tone pure 'I-don't-give-a-crap.'

Sam looks up, giving her his best shocked-and-disapproving face. "What?"

"Yep!" She pulls him into a hug, grinning like the little demon she knows she can be.  Absolutely zero remorse radiating off of her. "Apparently, they don't appreciate creative uses of shaving cream in people's lockers. Go figure."

"You did what?" Sam was gaping, looking like he was both horrified and weirdly proud but mostly horrified.

"Oh, it was magnificent." She laughed, but then her face fell. "But now they're making me join the freakin' cheer squad. The cheer squad, Sammy! That's like hell with glitter on."

Sam blinked, shook his head, and sighed. "You know, Jovi, you don't even realize what you have right now, do you?"

Jovi sighed, trying to feign confusion. "Uh... a migraine?"

"No." Sam leveled a look at her. "Jovi, you really don't get what a gift this is,"

She smirks. "Oh, a gift? Is this the part where you tell me to be grateful or whatever?"

"Yeah, actually," Sam says, and he's looking at her all serious now, like he's about to give her some deep life advice she's totally gonna ignore. "You've got a chance here—to have friends, a life, maybe even someone you care about. That's not something you find everywhere, Jovi."

She puts on her best whatever face and nods along, acting all obedient like she's taking notes, but mentally, she's counting down until she can go hide in her room."Okay, well if we're done with the thrilling lecture there's one more thing you should probably know..." she began when guess who barges in like he owns the place? Yep. Ares.

He's looking around the library like it's some kind of treasure trove and — oh god — he even says, "It's like the Batcave!" She cringes so hard she's pretty sure her soul leaves her body.

Jovi quickly turned to her now confused uncle pointing a accusing finger at Ares. "it was all his fault, he was the mastermind and he even built the rig for Arias locker, I just ended up taking the fall so if you wanna blame anyone...blame Bieber over there!"

Ares looks scandalized, like he can't believe she'd snitch on him. "Hey, wait a minute—" Ares tried to defend himself hearing Jovi's false accusations.

"Sticks and stones, Ares!" Jovi cut him off turning to face her uncle as she laughed "I'm actually still annoyed at this absolute amateur! I mean how dare he pin the blame on me? I hardly did anything wrong!"

Sam looked exasperated. Dean looked ready to throw himself back upstairs to avoid listening to the ongoing chaos.

Ares' jaw dropped. "Are you serious right now? Me? You're the one who came up with the whole shaving cream bomb idea! I said we could just put toothpaste in her bag, but no, that wasn't 'chaotic' enough for you."

"Oh, don't even try to pin this on me, Ares," Jovi shot back, rolling her eyes in an exaggerated fashion. "You practically handed me the shaving cream and said, 'Let's make a masterpiece.' You're like a chaotic Picasso, but with foam!"

"Masterpiece? It was a locker, not the Mona Lisa!" Ares argued, throwing his hands up in frustration. "And you were the one who wanted to time it so perfectly that it went off at the beginning of the day! I wasn't the one counting down like a supervillain!"

Jovi gasped, putting a hand to her chest dramatically. "A supervillain? Me? I was just elevating your amateur-hour prank! I'm sorry I didn't want to do some lame toothpaste thing. Real chaos takes dedication, Ares. You wouldn't understand."

Ares rolled his eyes. "Oh, I understand perfectly. You just wanted to show off in front of everyone and make sure Aria never looks at you the wrong way again."

Jovi raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me? Like I need your help to make that bitch regret existing. I was doing just fine before you got involved with your terrible planning skills."

Ares snorted. "Yeah, because your first plan, to fill her locker with glitter, was so much better. That's just begging for her to call you a fairy."

"Better than her calling you a Blake's bitch, which—spoiler alert—she already does," Jovi shot back, smirking. It was true too which only made it more satisfying seeing how Ares was clearly annoyed and searching for a clap back.

"Hey! Enough!" Dean stepped in a stern look on his face as he turned to his daughter "watch your mouth and you..." he turned to Ares "I did not bring you here to listen to you two fight like cats and dogs the whole time, okay? So do me a favour and stay away from each other for the rest of the night, understood?"

Both teens shared a unserious look as they turned back to Dean muttering in sync "understood" Dean let out a heavy sigh running a hand over his face "okay, I'm going to bed, I've had enough of teenagers for one day" Jovi grinned in amusement watching her father walk away, she turned to Ares. "I'm sure Sam will show you to a room far away from mine" she looked up at her uncle who stared at her with a clenched jaw but Jovi started walking backwards sending him one last cheeky smile "night Sammy!"

Ares looked up at Sam "just so we're clear, it was all her idea"

Sam let out a deep breath "I know".

☆

𝑱𝒐𝒗𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒅 asleep, sprawled out like she'd face-planted on the bed mid-fall, snoring, and gripping a pillow like it was her last lifeline in a zombie apocalypse. In her dreams? Oh, she was with Klaus Mikaelson, the very definition of tall, dark, and bloodthirsty. They were right in the middle of a perfect little moment—Klaus staring deep into her eyes, voice dripping with that sexy accent. Everything was right in the world.

Then—splash. A rush of ice-cold water crashed over her face, snapping her straight out of paradise.

"What the hell—?!" she yelled, trying to wipe the freezing water out of her eyes while simultaneously fighting the urge to scream. And there he was. Ares. Holding an empty glass like he's just won the Super Bowl, grinning at her with that stupid, smug look she wanted to slap clean off his face.

"Good morning, Starshine," he chirped, waggling his eyebrows, "the earth says hello!"

She was going to kill him. Actually, scratch that—she was going to skin him alive, wear his remains as a coat, and stroll around the bunker like it was Fashion Week.

"You. Are. Dead." Her voice dropped to a low, dangerous tone, like the opening scene of a horror movie, her eyes narrowing into lethal slits. She leapt up, pointing an accusing finger right at him. "I swear to every god above, below, and in between, when I catch you—"

But he was already gone, tearing down the hallway, cackling like a maniac. "Gotta catch me first, Buffy!"

"Oh, trust me," she yelled, launching out of bed like a bat out of hell, "when I catch you, I'll skin you and wear you as a rug!" Her voice echoed, chasing after him as her feet slapped against the bunker's cold floor. She didn't care that she was in her pajamas with a major case of bedhead. This was war.

"A rug, Jovi?" he shouted over his shoulder, already rounding a corner like he was part ninja. "That's a little cliche, don't you think?"

"Oh, I'll make it special!" she hollered back, ducking under a hanging light as she sprinted after him. "How about turning your skull into a cereal bowl? I'll eat my morning Frosted Flakes right out of your face!"

He burst into laughter as he slid down the stairs, disappearing onto the lower level. "You're gonna have to catch me first, sweetheart!" His voice trailed off, egging her on.

"I swear, when I do, you'll regret every decision that led you to this moment!" She bolted into the kitchen just in time to see him skidding to a stop, too slow to avoid her. She lunged, tackling him to the ground, her fingers locked around his arm, twisting it just enough to make him squirm."I think I might just break it for fun..." she said her eyes locked onto the back of Ares head who was frantically tapping the floor. "dude, read the room!"

And that's when she noticed her dad, standing in the doorway in his robe, eyebrows raised like they were his only defense against his confusion. Sam looked like he'd walked straight out of a Wes Craven movie—somewhere between amused and a little horrified—and then... then she noticed him. Some guy with rainbow suspenders, a yellow-striped shirt, and pants that looked like they'd been designed by a child armed with crayons.

She stared at her dad and Sam, who both looked tense and about as confused as she was, before her eyes landed on the sugary snack buffet spread across the kitchen table. "Uh, who the hell is he?"

Her uncle's face was unreadable as he glanced from her to the weirdo in suspenders. "Wait—can you see him?" he asked, his tone weirdly serious.

Jovi blinked. "Either that or Ares drugged me," she muttered, earning an exasperated groan from Ares.

"Did not! Can you let me go now?" Ares grunted out from where his face was pressed against the floor.

Jovi scoffed, flicking a quick glance at him. "Fine, but only because your whining is giving me a migraine."

Jovi let him go standing up watching him spring to his feet, rolling his shoulder as he mumbled something under his breath. Meanwhile, Sam just looked at them, eyes wide with something between awe and nervous excitement. "Guys...I think this is Sully." He nodded to the rainbow-suspender guy, who shot them a casual two-finger salute like he was greeting old friends."M-my friend from when I was a kid"

Jovi didn't understand what she was hearing, she didn't recall Sam ever telling her about some friend named sully who looked like this anyway...

Dean glanced at Sully judgementally "you mean Mork from Ork here is your dumbass imaginary friend Sully?"

Jovi's eyes narrowed as she squinted at Sully, trying to process this new horror. "Wait... hold up, so... imaginary friends are real?" She cocked her head, looking at Sully like he was some kind of bizarre science experiment.

Sully looked genuinely offended as he turned to Dean. "Uh, first of all, I'm not 'dumb' or 'ass,' thank you very much." Then he looked back at Jovi with the softest expression, like she was some kind of lost kitten. "Yes, we are real."

Her mind spun at the thought. All those stories and rumors? True. Imaginary friends just existing, like it was no big deal. She was too stunned to say anything, though her face probably looked like she'd just been hit by a bus.

Dean wasn't having any of it. "I'm getting my gun," he announced, spinning on his heel and storming out. Typical Dean — when in doubt, go straight for the ammo.

Sully, looking genuinely hurt, reached out a hand to stop him. "No, please—"

Dean whipped around, karate-chopping the air in front of him which earned a grin from Ares. "Someone killed my friend" Sully swiftly added.

Dean stared at him deadpan "You mean your imaginary imaginary friend?"

"First off, "imaginary friend" is more of a descriptive term. How you just said it? That was a little... offensive, just to be honest." Sully said looking up at Sam as if Sam was going to back him up. "Secondly, we're Zanna. Me and... me and the victim, we're Zanna."

She shot her dad a look that could only be described as 'Is this for real?' Meanwhile her dad shook his head at Sam as Sully added "We help kids. We're the good guys. Sam, tell him."

Sam's eyes darted from Sully to Dean and then back to Sully as he shuffled uncomfortably.. "Yeah, okay. Um... You know what, I'm still trying to wrap my head around this whole you being real thing."

Meanwhile, Ares was slowly inching toward the table, his hand stretching toward a marshmallow nacho. Without missing a beat, Jovi smacked his hand away, never breaking eye contact with Sully. "Don't even think about it, traitor."

"Aww! Yeah, no no, of course. No, that's okay, that's okay. This is all really unexpected." Sully told Sam his voice so full of understanding that it nearly made Jovi laugh.

"Yeah, that's one word for it." Dean replied looking Sully up and down with a scowl on his face.

"Just... I need your help. You're hunters, that's what you do, right? I mean, you help people too." Sully asked them glancing between the group with hopeful eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. People. You are not that." Dean snapped waving his hand around gesturing to Sully. Jovi looked at her father with a disappointed look, she can make fun of the situation as much as she wants but she just thought he was being mean and Sully seemed like a nice...imaginary friend?

"Kinda mean, dad" she commented with a shrug as Sam said "Dean, come on."

Dean, glaring at Sully like he was trying to banish him with pure scorn, threw a dramatic look at Sam."Come on?? Are you kiddi—Look... This... mother... You and me, and the teenagers, library, right now. Come on!" Dean dramatically tied his robe together, fully embodying his usual grumpy-old-man energy. Jovi laughed snagging a marshmallow nacho and walking towards the door muttering "so dramatic"

"Oh, I see how it is," Ares mumbled, clutching his hand and pouting. "So you can have marshmallow nachos, but I can't?"

She smirked, popping one in her mouth as she walked out of the kitchen. "Whose roof are you under, again?"

He glared at her, muttering under his breath, "The elderly men who built this place."

She shot him a death glare over her shoulder. "Shut up."

☆

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 into the library, Dean trailing after Sam with his trademark skepticism dialed up to max. "You're not actually buying this crap, are you?" he shot, his tone dripping with disbelief.

Sam didn't even bother looking back at him, just kept moving like Dean's doubt was the least surprising thing in the world. "Dean, when I was nine years old, you know what I wanted more than anything?" Sam paused, reaching into a cabinet like he was unearthing some ancient treasure. "Marshmallow nachos."

Jovi almost snickered. Her dad's face looked like Sam had just confessed he wanted to be a professional leprechaun. "Yeah, you were a weird-ass kid," Dean replied, in classic deadpan.

"They were actually pretty good" Jovi couldn't help but say, shrugging because honestly, the look on Ares face made them even more delicious. Plus, it was too easy to mess with Dean. Her dad shot her the 'please don't encourage him' look, but Ares, standing next to her, cut her a glare that was anything but pleased. "Hope you enjoyed those damn nachos," he muttered like she'd stolen his firstborn.

Jovi just grinned and leaned in with a whisper. "Oh, trust me, babe. I did." She knew the annoyed look on his face meant she was winning this round. Sam interrupted before it could escalate, holding up some small, crinkled paper from the cabinet. "The only person I ever told about it... was Sully." He said it so softly, she could almost feel