2 Chapter Two

One flight across the country, and a few restless days later I woke up at my uncle's house and glanced around my new room. He had painted it a dark purple for me, with matching comforters, pillows and everything. Or, at the very least, he had someone else do it. My uncle and I had always been close, no matter where he traveled to, he was always my rock in a way. He treated me differently when everything happened too, but unlike my parents, he didn't look at me with pity or heartbreak, he just skipped right to adapt to my new personality. He doesn't tiptoe around me or make me feel like I am a freak of nature. He just sees me as his favorite niece. He is my dad's opposite in every way. My dad married my mom young, my uncle is still a man whore. My dad is serious, and I don't think my uncle Jeremy has ever really been all that serious. I think I can count on my hand the number of times he wasn't smiling or making a joke. Even when I was laid up in the hospital recovering, he tried hard to keep a smile on his face, though I still remember the pained expression on his face when he first walked in the room. The frown that marred his features that were so like my dad's. Speaking of the devil, there came a knock to my door.

"Yeah?" I called out, sitting up in the bed and waiting. He walked in, already dressed for the day, though it was more casual than the usual business suits he wore to work.

"Hey Kid, glad you're up. I was thinking maybe we could go out and get some shopping done. School starts in a few weeks, so I figure maybe we should get you some supplies and shit. New clothes or. Whatever it is that females seem to need." I blinked at him for a moment and he grins. "Yeah, I know, trust me I do not exactly fancy the idea of going clothes shopping but, I mean if you want to, we can get you some new band tees or whatever. But I was also thinking we could swing by my buddy's car lot. I won't be around all the time and I figure it would be good for you to have your own ride." He looks me over for a moment. I grant him a smile that is genuine.

"Really?" I ask him.

"Fuck yeah, Kid, let's go. Get your butt dressed." He tells me with an easy smile, making his way back over to the door, tapping his knuckles on the frame. "I think he might even have a Baby." He tells me in a sing-song voice and that gets me hopping up and out of bed. My uncle and I both have a deep-rooted love for all things Supernatural, the TV show, not the occult bullshit. From the time it came out on TV for the first time, he and I were hooked, and even when he wasn't around, we would call each other after each new episode and dissect it. My dad, well, he tried to like it, but he wasn't all that interested in it. Just another thing my uncle and I had that we shared.

I duck into my closet and pull out an old pair of Tripp pants I found online and a faded Three Days Grace t-shirt. I was back out and down the hall in record time. I tugged on my combat boots at the bottom of the stairs and made my way into the kitchen to grab something to eat. I shoved my phone and wallet into one of the many pockets. "Can we just skip the clothes and supplies and go straight to the lot? I mean I can always go another day." I tell him as I pull out a pop tart to munch on.

"Well, we can go there first sure, but…." He paused and I looked up at him and he had an expression on his face I couldn't quite read. It flickered out and he smiled his usual easy smile and shrugged. "Whatever you want to do." He said easily and I chewed on the inside of my lower lip. I hadn't taken the piercing out, it was the only visible one. It's amazing what you can do with a fake ID these days.

"I haven't hit up Hot Topic in a while," I said neutrally with a shrug and he seemed relieved.

"Not to get sappy on you Kid, but I want to… I guess I just want to spend time with you, you know? You're growing up on me and I…." he choked up a bit and I frowned. This wasn't my uncle that I knew, he didn't get sappy or sentimental, not in the traditional way. He was the type to buy you something you loved for your birthday because he took the time to get to know you, or the type to say the right thing to make you feel better because he just knows what to do.

"Don't worry, Jer Mer," I tell him, using my nickname for him. "You'll be sick of me after the end of the year." I smile a bit and lean against the counter, suddenly uncomfortable. I didn't do well with emotions these days, and my uncle wasn't a big fan of displaying his, so it worked.

"Sorry." He muttered and then seemed to compose himself. "I'm sure you're right. By then I will be packing your bags for you." He joked back with me and grabbed his stuff off the counter. "Alright enough of this chick flick shit, let's get going."