24: [Video] Traveling Riverside Blues

[dashboardlite]

[At first, Dean had thought that the dream he had a couple nights before was just weird.  Clockwork dolls, inky-black demon eyes - it was bad mojo.  Things are changing around him, and for the most part it doesn't bother him too much.  He expects it, now, because this mansion is screwed to Hell and back and there's very little that surprises Dean anymore.

Except for when he takes a walk outside, and his tranquility is promptly ruptured by the sight of his car.  Sure, he's been dwelling on the lack of transportation recently, but still.

His car.

An excited video message from a Dean Winchester that hasn't genuinely smiled in months is being broadcasted, and he'd love to share his obsession one true love beautiful lady with all of you.]

Dude.  Dude.  My- guys, I can't even...seriously, it's just- it's my baby.  She's here, and she's beautiful, and she's so goddamn perfect.  You all gotta come down and see her.

[He suddenly wonders if he can project miles of endless highway if he thinks about it hard enough.  It's worth a shot.

Dean is so ecstatic that he doesn't even know who he's advertising this information to.]

Comments

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

...Really?

[ Philip rolls his eyes. Then eyes the fruitcake warily. Then takes a bite.

...All right, he has to hand it to him, juvenile as it may be, Dean's imagination is very tasty. Philip beams, then smirks.

And then he continues eating his cake next to a very, very pink car (http://i.imgur.com/zCbQx.jpg). ]

You asked for it. 1/?

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Dean had thought it was over. Back to the Impala, Dean smiles into his beer, completely unawares. They watch the blood-red sunset for at least another minute before he turns back to the car to get something from the glove compartment and-]

2/?

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

Wha-?

3/?

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Oh no.]

4/?

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Ohhh no no no no no, not his baby, not the love of his life, not...not-]

5/?

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Oh.]

6/?

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Oh.]

7/?

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Well, if it was just a joke, then no worries. No worries at all. It's all good. We're all fine. Yeah. Totally...fine.]

8/?

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[TOTALLY FINE.]

9/?

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Look, he's even starting to laugh! This is so funny.]

10/?

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Oh, light-hearted whimsy!

A companionable arm around your shoulders, Phil? Why yes, that's what it is!]

11/11

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[YOU ARE GOING DOWN TO THE GROUND WITH A COMPANIONABLE TACKLE, BITCH.]

1/4

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[Aaaahahahaha- ]

2/4

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ Haha ahaha ha... ]

3/4

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ Ha... aha... hhauhm... ]

4/I can't count

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ hAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!! ]

5/4

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ ...Ouch. ]

1/2

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[In penance for your traitorous deeds you get a punch in the shoulder and- Yes, you will sit still and take your noogies like a man.]

2/2

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Punishment doled out to the wicked, still laughing - albeit with gasps for air - Dean slumps back against the Pinkpala.]

Ahhh, dude.

[He chuckles, nudging Philip with his toe and imagining another beer.]

If that was my real car, I'd've killed you.

[Ahahahaha- No really, he would have.]

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ On the grand and total scale of things Philip may not be the weakest link, but without enhanced vampire powers there isn't a great deal he can do against a surprise attack by a practiced hunter.

The punishment is over before Philip can catch his breath and get to the StopitsorryI'msorrystoppleasestopit! part however, so he silently inhales deeply and coughs up a bit of the imaginary desert sand before sitting up and eyeing Dean warily. ]

...I hate that I actually believe that.

[ He waits another moment, then scrambles to his feet, wanting to lean on the car for support but no longer daring to do so much as touch it.

Instead Philip stands on his good leg in a wobbly fashion and dusts himself off for the third time today. ]

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Dean tips his head back until it hits the car with a low thump, grin plastered to his face, and the entire vehicle is gleaming black again. The Pink Panther look didn't exactly suit his baby.

Sipping at his not-celery stick, Dean scratches the back of his neck and eyes Philip's leg for a second before looking up at him.]

...how long you had that limp? New acquisition just for the event, or do chicks dig gimpy legs now?

[Don't hate on him for the smile, man. You made his car fuchsia.]

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

I doubt they do.

[ Please accept this glower as a token of his gratitude. It's only short-lived, however, after all Philip can't exactly claim that he did nothing whatsoever to deserve any of this. Dean's reaction, that is. As for the limp... ]

...This event, it's... about making things real by thinking about them, right? I didn't get that at first, so it was...

[ He frowns again, but this time it's not directed at Dean. ]

It was Clarence doing the thinking at first. [ He shakes his head. ] I thought he was just making me see things again, but... apparently not.

...At least I caught on before he could do more than make the floor disappear under my feet.

[ And now Philip leans against the Impala Classic (TM) as well, newly imagined beer in hand, expression none too pleased about the incident or confession thereof. ]

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Seriously? That shit just isn't cool. Dean stares at him. Clarence has a pretty vivid imagination, Dean would be willing to wager, but it's not one he wants to see realized.]

You wanna imagine something nicer, then? I mean...

[He gestures out at the wide expanse of desert.]

What's somethin' you miss? Or somethin' you like?

[Dean likes the lonely grandeur himself, but he knows that it's not everyone's cup of tea.]

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

I'd... rather not. Every time I try something bigger it gets... mixed up. Look.

[ Philip motions ahead and takes a deep breath. In front of them a small corner building slowly takes shape. A look of brick and wood with a few more modern adjustments. The adjacent scenery is largely see-through, merging with the desert landscape before vanishing into nothing. The smell of coffee and baked goods fills the air and the distant noise of traffic and chatter sounds oddly out of place. ]

...It's just a coffee shop we'd go to. Almost every day sometimes.

[ Then again, the signs in the window gave away as much about the nature of the building and the 'we' is left without elaboration.

Philip looks back and motions Dean to follow. A bell chimes as he pushes open the door and makes his way inside. Average as it may be (http://i.imgur.com/Jjm9B.jpg), it's enough to bring a smile to his face.

At least for a moment.

Then he's on his guard, eyes darting around for anything that may be off, face twisted into a frown of concentration.

Around them the air is filled with the clinking of cups and plates, the chatter of the few guests Philip sketched (blurry mirages to prevent emptiness on the benches and seats).

A waitress puts down two cups of coffee and a plate with several cookies on a table nearby. When she pushes past them with an empty tray she turns her head and looks at Dean with a smirk and black, hollow eyes.

Philip grimaces. ]

...See?

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Dean heaves himself off the ground, trailing after Philip into a coffee shop. Coffee shops always feel too...normal for him. He's used to diners and dive bars. Handwaving his beer - because he can do that here in Imaginationland - Dean shoves his hands into his pockets and hunches his shoulders.

He twitches a little as soon as the waitress gives him a look. A look he hasn't seen since he saw Clarence's pretty face.]

...yeeeeah, geez, dude.

[Please allow Dean to fill in the blank spots with random people he's seen along the way. No one particularly specific, just some faces. Random hunters he's seen at the Roadhouse, Mom & Pop stores, and a couple-

Oh. Crap.

Lisa. Lisa, and Ben. Sitting at one of the tables. Ben is kicking his legs back and forth with a cookie, and Lisa is sipping her coffee.

Dean stares.]