japan, italy and germany

Who: Caleb, Dean, and Nic
Where: MSHS halls, then a classroom
When: Lunch

Was it irrational to feel nervous? Probably. But that didn't mean Nic wasn't doing so as she left her biology classroom behind, shouldering past someone with a mutter as she moved for the general patch of hallway she knew Caleb's locker was in. Her hood was up, headphones on as she moved around other students, muttering just loud enough that the smart ones moved. It wasn't that Nic was in a bad mood, quite the opposite, really. After helping out Jesse that morning, she'd been feeling good. But then the classes slipped by, bringing her closer and closer to lunch all the time, and there was plenty on her mind. Things with Caleb were... things with Caleb. They couldn't be worked out, they couldn't be ignored, but Nic also couldn't let them weigh on her mind too much. He was nervous about her meeting Dean, she knew it. Caleb wanted this to go well because both of them seemed vital to him. And that gave Nic hope, it made her think she wouldn't have to try too hard to get along with Dean. But even with the odds in her favor? She was nervous.

"Aren't you late for a mass-puking session?" she spat at a little cluster of girls as she pushed right through the center of them, ignoring the horrified looks they aimed at her back and looking instead to the hallway ahead, searching for Caleb and wondering if she could guess at who Dean was. It wasn't like you could tell someone was from England just by looking, after all.

Dean was trying to be good - and so he'd made an effort to be early. Which, sure, had included him skipping his last class, but it would probably have been bloody boring anyhow - and people didn't seem to have really clued into the fact that he was back in the country, so the teacher wouldn't exactly notice that he was back. It was a plan, and he was sticking to it - getting another day further behind wasn't going to change much now, was it?

So, he'd been the first to arrive at the meeting point and was leaning against Caleb's locker, looking around and ignoring the occasional stare he got - had been getting all day, actually, given that he still had a black eye (the swelling had gone down, but it was still very bruised) and cuts across his face. Dean felt like turning to some of them and asking what their problem was, and hadn't they seen someone who'd been in a fight before, but he didn't - and he knew he wouldn't. So, he just ignored them, slouched against the locker, hands thrust into the pockets of his rather battered leather jacket, head down as he waited.

Caleb had been busy staring out the goddamn window most of the last hour, seeing it picking up snowing there. It didn't look like it was slowing down, either. whatever. He walked up the hall, and spotted both Dean and Nic, and remembered why it was he was nervous. Fuck. Heading over, he lightly bumped into the back of Nic's shoulder, half waiting for her to turn around and punch him, but he was kinda hoping that wouldn't be the case just now. "Hey." he greeted in hopes that might help out too, and he nodded towards Dean as well once he walked up to his actual locker.

Even if the hit had been harder, or if it had been accompanied by 'dyke' or 'lesbo' or any other pejorative, Nic wasn't in the mood to take a swing. She'd gotten her anger out on the guy fucking with Jesse that morning, and it'd take something special to rile her enough to start punching again. It didn't hurt that Caleb's voice followed the nudge a moment later, and after taking a second to keep from smiling too much,Nic nodded his way. "Hey," she echoed plainly, following after him. Nic looked past him to Dean, connections forming for her quickly. Caleb had said the guy had been in a fight, right? And while she couldn't judge Britishness with a glance, she could tell when someone had been punching and being punched. "And you must be the man of the hour," she said Dean's way, grinning a touch from within her hood.

With the other people in the halls at this time of day, Dean didn't hear the two approaching, but he saw them enough to look up in time to catch the gist of what Nic said. Or, at least, the girl he assumed was Nic . His eyes darted to Caleb, before returning to her as he gave her the barest hint of a smile - which was the most anyone ever really got out of him, save in exceptional circumstances - and a nod. "Dean - you must be Nic ," he said, pushing up off the locker and standing straight, if feeling rather awkward. He still couldn't shake that niggling feeling that maybe it'd be better if the girl hated him on sight. Make it easier between him and Caleb.

"That she is. Dean, Nic, Nic, Dean." Caleb introduced, opening his locker and dumping everything he happened to be carrying into it. Then he shut it and turned to lean his back against it. "The entire basis of my friends who don't suck. I'm sure your mothers are both proud." he added. Now please play nice... he thought to himself.

Nic had opened her mouth to say something, and ended up literally biting her own tongue to stifle a 'your mother' joke that could've been aimed at either of them. But Dean was too new of an encounter for that, and Caleb? Well, she knew he had issues with his parents. So she just flinched for a moment, chuckling at herself and shaking her head. "Gotta say, I'm kinda psyched, "Nic admitted to Dean, "Been waiting on our Germany showing up, Caleb had to work pretty hard to convince me that you actually don't suck. He clinched it when he said you weren't from here, though. I swear these people have it ingrained in their genes to just be willfully fucking stupid." She turned to glare at someone walking past with that last bit, scowling for extra effect as she seemed to aim the words at them and made them pick up the pace to get clear.

Dean's attention was entirely on Nic as she spoke, his eyes dropping to watch her lips move, force of habit, though one he needed right now. He could catch some, but not all, of what she said - and even then he wondered if he'd heard her right. Did she really just say Germany? He was... confused. And wondering if he'd just misheard. What if he had misheard? Would he look like a complete idiot if he started asking about Germany? Fuck, and he was already looking confused, he knew he was and suddenly all his thoughts that it would be easier if they just didn't get along disappeared in a cloud of he was going to look like a fool and this was going to crash and burn and Caleb was going to hate that and he really needed to be saying something here and he shrugged. "Erm, yeah - not from round here," he said, then paused again and straightened slightly, internal flailing clearing as he actually processed things, kicking Germany-or-not to the back. "And not everyone from round here's stupid you know," he told her, more firmly, feeling a little twitch at the generalisation that was an implied insult to his girlfriend.

Internally, Caleb braced himself and grit his teeth a little. He really didn't need Dean getting defensive straight away. Or twitchy. He pushed himself off of his locker a bit. He had also caught the confused look Dean had been giving. "World War references. She can explain that one." he said, sort of explaining but not. At the very least he planned to explain that there was some sort of an inside joke going on that hadn't been told to Dean yet...

She managed not to flinch as Dean seemed to take the joke wrong, shaking her head. "Sorry dude, I really need to work in that two second brain-to-mouth filter," she told Dean, "I know not everyone's stupid? Hell, I've met a few of the exceptions. But they're exceptions, y'know? They're the ones who didn't rush out to join a church and repent their sins the day after Halloween. Still, sorry." Nic had the feeling she'd been too optimistic about Dean getting her sense of humor the same way that Caleb had, mentally amending to dial it down a little and be less of a bitch for all of their sakes. "And yeah, Germany," she went on, explaining the little inside-joke, "When Caleb first told me about you? Hell, I was geeked up, so I said we'd be like an Axis of Awesome or something. Stupid, I know. But Lockwood voted me Japan, which I find offensive, so I called him Italy. Which means you're Germany. And no, we don't share anything aside from names with the other Axis. Those dudes sucked."

Dean shrugged. "S'okay, don't worry," he told her, brushing it off. He'd got his point in, he wasn't going to press it - especially not when he recognised him doing that overreacting thing again. He knew when he was doing it, usually - he just had a hard time stopping it right away. But he'd promised to be a good boy here. "Japan... Italy... So I get to be the Nazi's then? Nice. Great - life's ambition, y'know," he told her, this time actually showing signs of possessing a sense of humour.

"I didn't get much say in the matter." Caleb said. "But yeah. You get to be Germany." he told Dean, slightly relieved that he injected some humor in there. Feeling like everyone needed to come with a warning label and a manual really didn't help. But then he guessed he just didn't hang out with people who were the fluffy, socialite types who were easy to get along with. So he got twitchy ass people who could take offense really, really fast for strange things. Right. "Should I get out of the way here that Nic's about as cynical as I am, and Dean's a twitchy fuck when he wants to be?" he asked, smirking faintly.

Caleb caught her off guard with that, drawing a surprised little laugh from Nic as she jabbed a middle finger his way, shaking her head and giving Dean a pained look. "Thank god there's someone else to put up with this skinny dick now," she commiserated at him, smirking wryly. "And even if you were Nazis, which you're not, just beer and sausages.... shit, rambling. If you were? You get to fight Indiana Jones." She nodded smartly as if that explained away any issues there might be, looking between the two of them. "And what's the plan here, fellas? We getting the fuck out of Dodge for a while? I need some poison in my lungs before I choke somebody, present company excluded."

Dean glanced at Caleb and smirked slightly at that first comment, and at the fact that he wasn't the only one here who thought they babbled. Course, she'd managed to stop herself long before he would have done in the same situation. He turned back to Nic again, his habit of always looking at the person he was talking to making that a natural move since she'd asked the question. "Can do," he agreed, going with his plan of keeping what he said at a minimum when he didn't have anything particular to add. And he wasn't going to add that it looked like it was really starting to come down out there. He'd been warned about winter, hadn't he. So, it was snowing - from what he'd heard, that was pretty standard, he just had to get used to it.

Caleb was glancing towards the windows as well, pausing. "If we're headed anywhere, I'm sure as hell not driving. I'd kill us all inside five minutes, I'm positive of this." he said. A winter driver he was not. Hell, he didn't drive much to begin with. Only...he was kind of thinking he was going to become a winter driver really fast. The world kind of looked like a wall of white. And while generally he liked to go for a walk at lunch time, today he wasn't sure that was the wisest decision. unless they ditched altogether, and he didn't know where they'd head. He was likely thinking this over too much.

Sighing at the both of them, Nic glanced the same way as both Caleb and Dean and scowled. Of course it'd have to really start shitting snow today, when she wanted the buffer of a cigarette to ensure her own good behavior around Dean. "I'm not walking in this shit either," she eventually conceded with a frown, "Wasn't this bad this morning, I only wore my fucking hoodie ." And while it was tried-and-tested for warmth, it wasn't meant for conditions like these. "So since we don't feel like letting Caleb smear us on the road, and I veto frostbite, I guess you two lucky bastards get to deal with nicotine-free me," she informed them both, putting on a mock-cheery grin that quickly faded into a much more natural smirk.

"Well, let's get out of the corridor anyway," Dean suggested, because it was going to be hell keeping up with both of them and actually participating in any way that wasn't going to make him come off as a total brainless moron if he couldn't hear half of what was being said. He had a tendency towards seriousness at the best of times, but when he was running to keep up with a conversation, his sense of casual humour really got left behind.

Caleb nodded, figuring not being in the middle of the hall was a good plan. "Pick a classroom?" he suggested, not really that well versed with the school in general, even if he had been actually attending lately. He'd missed the first two weeks...he'd missed another week in there later...it wasn't as if he had had the most stellar school attendance record. So, he leveled a light smirk at Nic. "You've been here the longest. You're almost local, you find a spot." he told her.

"Find a spot?" she echoed at Caleb, eyebrows crooking incredulously as Nic considered her options. The theater was normally nice and roomy, but there were usually a few kids hanging around there. Head far enough down the right hallways, though, and there were definitely spots of seclusion that could be found. "Fine. Lewis? Clark? Follow the indigenous girl-guide, "Nic said mockingly, turning to head back the way she came and glaring daggers at a big guy in a letter jacket as he stepped around her. Nic made no effort to move, waiting for him to pass before she started moving with Caleb and Dean. "I'm guessing hanging out in the girls' bathroom isn't on either of your lists?"

Dean shoved his hands in his pockets, his shoulders hunching as he followed on after her, stepping up to walk next to her, trying to keep an eye on both her and Caleb, so he didn't miss anything. He noticed her behaviour with the people they came across, which was generally different from how he behaved in school. Mostly, he didn't try and attract attention, ignoring most people, trying to blend in, but ignored in return and left alone. He had varying results with that one, but the drive was there, especially now he was back, after everything that had happened. If he could be overlooked, if most people didn't even know he existed, that was fine by him.

"Which one of us is Lewis, and who's Clark?" Caleb asked, falling into step as well. He watched the guy over his shoulder as they walked, not necessarily giving him the kindest of looks, but he didn't do more than that before he set him on ignore as they walked. "And you know, if you said the girls locker room, I might have to consider it, but just the bathroom...not so much." he said, wondering if he was going to get hit for that.

It was tempting, that was for sure. Nic even had a hand halfway up, fist curled to swing out Caleb's way as she fought the urge to give him a little tap. But Dean's presence was a nice reminder of reasons why not to do that, so Nic instead uncurled one finger to wave it past a few people in the hall. Dean might've tried to stealth his way through the halls, and maybe it worked for him, but Nic ? She relied on the aversion of others. And it worked, once the basis of reprisal was established for people. "You'd regret going in there," she warned Caleb, "I know dudes think it's some sort of Mecca? It's more like the killing floor in a slaughter house."

Dean caught 'mecca' and 'slaughterhouse' there, not really enough to be able to comment with any confidence on what she'd said. Especially not when he didn't really know the girl, though he was beginning to worry about the fact that he was being that dull, quiet guy again. But better that than the idiot - Caleb could just carry the conversation for now and hopefully they'd get wherever they were going soon enough. Of course, there was always the option of actually telling people he had hearing problems, but it wasn't an option that Dean actually ever really chose if he could avoid it. hell, he'd only told Thia because she'd noticed his habits and called him on it, and she was someone who could instinctively understand what it was like, even if she did so from a different perspective.

Caleb winced. That...just was a really, really bad analogy. On several levels for him. One with the whole...it made him want to say 'what, knee deep in blood and entrails?' which...yeah that was just bad. Both in the squick twitch factor for Female Issues he preferred to never really think about, and on top of that, he of course got reminded of the demon bar with all the blood there, where some rooms it was literally puddled. "...I need brain bleach now, thanks, Nic. I hadn't been mentally scarred today yet."

She just grinned within the folds of her hood as she walked, pleased with the admission from Caleb as Nic led him and Dean down the halls. True to her guess, the little clusters of people thinned the closer they got to the library, and Nic drew to a halt at one of the last classroom doors before the library itself. "Then my work here is done," she said proudly, peeking in and nodding to herself. Nice and empty. She turned to look Dean's way, tugging her hood back finally and exposing the nice welt on her neck, then gesturing into the room with the sweep of an arm. "Boys, our V.I.P. area awaits."

Dean chuckled at the comment, getting it this time since she was facing him and because it was quieter here, less people around. He took in the welt, but didn't ask - she hadn't asked about his bruises, he wasn't going to ask about hers - as he stepped into the classroom, the noise levels dropping to a dealable background buzz. "This works," he agreed, moving one of the chairs round and dropping down into it, sprawling a little as he did so - he was one of nature's natural slouchers.

Caleb walked in then shut the door, taking a chair himself, though he leaned back on it, propping his feet on a desk in the aisle next to his. "I don't think I've ever even been in this room." he admitted. But then, most of the school he hadn't really been in. He didn't have to be so he didn't feel the need to look around just because. "But hooray. No one else is here. Good job." he told Nic . He glanced towards the windows again for a moment. "...okay I know I'm an uneducated southern boy and all...but is this normal?"

"I had English here last year," Nic explained, moving behind the teacher's desk to drop into the much more comfortable, and wheeled chair. "Teach thought my attitude was kinda funny, so he lets me duck down here when I actually stay inside during lunch," she went on, propelling herself out from behind the desk slowly with a grin. Using his chair was probably a little presumptuous, but whatever, it wasn't like she was worried about a scolding or even an office visit. They kept the reputation up, after all. "Normal?" she asked, following Caleb's gaze, "Not... not quite. Last winter had some big fucking storms, just Jack Frost shitting all over us, y'know? But not this early."

Dean looked over and out of the window at the world of white out there, then back at the other two. "I was gonna ask the same thing - I've never seen snow like this. Normally at home round now, it'd be pissing down." Though he knew people'd be arsey if it was raining tonight - Guy Fawkes and everything, it'd spoil their fun. "But people kept telling me that winter here was just snow, snow, snow so I figured that this was what they meant," he shrugged.

"So...I'm wondering if I should actually call my brother to come get me or something. I kind of think I'll just kill myself and possibly several others if I attempt driving in it." Caleb said, since he'd made the comment before and really that was truth. "Walking in that kind of seems like a really, really bad idea." Plus he froze pretty fast. He just flat out wasn't used to it. And he still hadn't scored himself a proper jacket, either. "And it's just my luck. I come to town and all sorts of bullshit rains down. Apparently including the weather. Awesome. I live a charmed life."

Nic sighed, shaking her head and wheeling close enough to nudge Caleb with a foot. "Yeah, because you're the only one affected by this," she chided, "Not like I'm gonna have to walk home while my mom's at work or anything." She looked to Dean, giving him an incredulous sort of look and nodding at Caleb. "And you, you picked a great time to come back. Just... couldn't stand not being able to make a snow man or something?" she asked with a grin, "Or is there some weird shit like the ghosts overseas too?" Because if there was? Well, Caleb said he'd been in London, right? There had to be a metric ton more of the spirits there.

Dean had been thinking along the same lines - he had the car today and he really wasn't looking forward to driving home in this. Not at all. But Nic's question distracted him from that. "Er - yeah. There were ghosts back there," he shrugged. Not that that had been the primary reason they'd come back or anything. "We were at a party at an old castle on halloween - loads of them there. Everyone panicked," he added, rolling his eyes a little. It had seemed that he and Thia had been the only ones who hadn't panicked about the ghosts that night.

Caleb picked up the 'we' and wondered if Nic would ask Dean who he'd been with. And then figured that was stupid because it wasn't like Dean wasn't from there or anything, so he could have been with anyone. He was far too aware that there was Something He Wasn't Telling Nic . And it wasn't even his own secret. But really, explaining dead girls she'd probably known wasn't going to be fun. "People weren't that calm here either. Weirdly, the psych ward was probably the calmest place we saw." he said, gesturing between himself and Nic, to indicate they'd fielded that mess together.

Smirking at the memory of that night in the hospital, Nic nodded in agreement with Caleb as she tugged her backpack free from the chair behind her. "Yeah, it was pretty apeshit around here," she agreed, digging free a little bag of pretzels and grabbing a handful, then offering it to both of the guys. "My mom works up at the hospital? And people were freaking out enough to get themselves admitted left and right, then realizing just how many dead people sorta... linger there." Of course,Nic had been realizing it too, but thankfully her first encounter with Lauren had helped her realize how non-threatening the spirits could be. "Of course, next day half the asses in this town were parked in church pews. Almost makes me just wanna hang around the psych ward some more."

"Round where my parents live, there wasn't much. I went for a walk the next morning and there was this one girl under a railway bridge, but that was about it. Not a lot happens round there though. Not normally. Mostly I just saw it on the news - it's all over," he told them, turning down the offer of pretzels. He leaned forward and dug a small bottle of water out of his bag, which was his lunch. He didn't really eat during the day, and he'd only drink the water because dehydration sucked.

Caleb took some of the pretzels. "Well, we can always go back and see Lisa. Though...introducing you to some of the people I knew when I was in there would be a little...weird." he admitted. "Plus, I'm not entirely sure that I'd be okay to deal with Ruby hitting on the both of us at the same time..." he added. "And probably together too, and...yeah let's avoid that, shall we?" he suggested. He looked at Dean for a moment. "Did you see anywhere else in your country? I don't know where you were at exactly, or if you went anywhere else. I'd kind of imagine there would be a lot of spirits hanging around England."

Okay, so it hadn't been London. She'd just been doing that thing where England equated to London, which made Nic feel stupid for a moment even if she didn't let it show. She just needed to stop making assumptions about that sort of thing. "I think it depends?" she suggested to Caleb, pausing to chew a mouthful before going on, "I've been reading,y'know . That, um, that guidebook I got from Nevermore? It said a lot of ghosts have specific conditions keeping them tethered, so.... I guess it could be kinda impossible to predict? Could be, like, empty in certain cities, but then swarming out where old battles were fought." Which was a creepy idea, just stumbling across some kind of teeming mass of spirits.

"Some ghosts are bound to certain things, or areas - I know that much," Dean offered. "Dunno about the rest." His experience with ghosts was really limited to Maddie, who was just enough to give him the knowledge that not all ghosts were scary. Bitchy, maybe - but not scary. And anyway, you got used to Maddie. "And there weren't that many at home, but our last day there, we headed down to London? And there were quite a few there in different areas. Old ones - think some of the poor bastards are gonna end up as tourist attractions," he winced, actually feeling sorry for them in that.

Caleb had to make a face at that thought too. "...you know, it probably should have, but that never even occurred to me." he said. "And I would imagine there'd be nothing in the way of compensation for them either, since it isn't like you can pay something that's not even got a body. That's...fucked up." he landed on. "I wonder if there are any in the lake. Or if this place has a higher instance of them than other places, just because of the weird factor." he mused.

"Might be worth doing some historical research," Nic suggested in response, reaching out to tag Caleb and grinning, "Not it!" She sat back, popping another pretzel in her mouth and chewing to hide her wonder over the idea of selling tickets for people to see the ghosts. It was warped. "And in the lake? Hell, if there's any down there, I don't think much has changed for them. They might scare the fuck out of some divers next summer though."

"Oh god, don't - can you imagine? Just like swimming along and then this ghost drifts out of the murk? You'd shit yourself," Dean laughed, shuddering at the thought. He figured that'd be the one time that he'd be seriously freaked out by a ghost.

Caleb gave Nic a half smirk. "Do I look like a bookworm to you?" he asked. "I don't know if any of us are cut out for much research." he added. They needed a nerd around to do that. As for the thought of a ghost coming out of the murk in the lake being scary, he had the perspective to know that Melia could come out of the murk. And if she did that, you were probably only really going to be terrified for a few moments before she killed your ass and ate you. "...remind me not to go swimming." he said instead of sharing his thoughts on the mermaid, either way--creepy.

She laughed richly at both of them, nose wrinkling as Nic grinned and munched. "And here I know you'd been so excited to dust off your speedos," she teased, "We'll have to cancel the luau and everything." And twisted subject matter or no, this seemed okay. She could see why Dean was on Caleb's good list, though part of Nic wondered just how involved he'd been in whatever else Caleb had dealt with in town. Was he part of the weirdness too? Some sort of magic wielder, maybe? Definitely not an angel on association alone, she decided, rocking back in her chair.

Dean cringed. "Aww, fuck - see, now that's an image a guy just doesn't need to ever have," he complained, shooting Nic a pained look, before rolling his head round toward Caleb. "No offense mate, but you and speedos is an image that my brain just didn't need..."

Dean wasn't the only one who cringed--Caleb did as well, though along with it there was a true flinch in there somewhere. Less because of the mental imagery and just because he never got seen without being fully clothed in the first place, what with the fact that he was a walking mass of scar tissue. "...wasn't really an image mine needed either." he admitted, looking back at Nic. "You already scarred my mind today, think you could call it good for the rest of the afternoon?" he asked her.

Nic's eyebrows darted as both of them cringed, and she stifled a laugh that might've been insulting otherwise. "Okay, okay, I'll show you my parasitic twin another time," she teased, grabbing the hem of her sweatshirt and hinting at tugging it up for a moment. "And really, if I didn't do it now? You'd have that unused brain space for the second half of classes to crap all over."

Dean shook his head at that, and glanced out the window again. "I dunno - how bad does it have to get for them to close the school and send everyone home early?" he asked, still not looking forward to that drive home. He should probably text Thia before he left - she'd be worrying, he knew. Just as long as she didn't decide to learn one of the car mirrors - last thing he needed was her one day emerging out of the rear view as he was going along because she thought he'd got into trouble somewhere.

Caleb shot Nic a smirk and arched his brow slightly when she made the hint at tugging her sweatshirt up. "Yeah but I'd have more sanity intact." he said to her, then glanced back to Dean, thinking the guy had a point. "And that's an excellent question. Another good one, is...how late does your mom get off of work? She's a veteran driver...think she likes me enough to want to bring me home? Maybe Dean too?" Since Dean had just got his license, he knew.

"They never closed us out early from snow last year," Nic answered Dean first, shaking her head, "We had some cancellations before class started, but never in the middle of things." Smirking back at Caleb, Nic held out a hand expectantly towards him. "She's scheduled until six, supposed to pick me up from kickboxing, but I doubt I'm going today. And if this shit's making the roads bad? They may need her to stay late. But I can call and find out, and as long as she's not driving to Big Bay or something absurd, I think she'd be cool."

"If she wouldn't mind... I live out by the island, the end of Lakshore," he told her, jumping at the idea that maybe he wouldn't have to drive in this. Sure, he'd gone out to the old house yesterday, but that didn't mean that winter driving didn't scare the crap out of him - and this was something way more then that drive had been. He figured that, all round, everyone would much prefer him not to be driving today.

Caleb dug his phone out of his back pocket and handed it over to Nic, since she didn't have one and all. "Tell her I'll owe her." he said. Nic's mom was nice. Nice, and she seemed to like him well enough, so he wasn't adverse to this. Plus it was just the smartest thing to do. Even if he didn't live far, this didn't look walkable. And Dean, definitely not. Neither of them knew how to drive in this kind of weather, period. So....yeah. Witness him attempting to go for the smartest route.

"She'll tell me before I get a chance," Nic teased, raising a foot up to rest at the seat of Caleb's chair, then pushing off in her own. She rolled back with his phone, letting herself spin a little as she dialed the hospital and punched in her mom's extension.

Dean glanced over at Caleb, giving him a small upnod and ghost of a smile that was just him saying that she seemed to be alright, even if he couldn't actually say anything, or even imply anything more, since she was right there. And anyway, he didn't want Caleb to think, well, anything really. Didn't want to appear too enthusiastic or anything - that whole thing still made him twitch. Twitching over his friend's twitches.

Caleb acknowledged it with a slight smile of his own and a nod. Yeah, that made him feel slightly better, he'd wanted things to go alright between them. Even if he did twitch over things he wanted the girl he happened to really like to get along with his...were they close? His friend. He didn't know what kind of addition that needed, though he knew it did need one. Most trusted? Whatever. He wasn't figuring it out right now. But he did look like he was at least mildly relieved.

Still spinning in her seat, Nic eventually brought the rotation to a stop as she nodded slightly with every "uh huh" she said into the phone. "That late, huh?" she went on with a frown, "Well, just call Caleb's phone if things change, I guess. This is why I want one for my birthday." She grinned at whatever was said back, scooting back towards Dean and Caleb gradually. "Okay, mom, love you too. Be careful," she said in parting, hanging up and tossing the phone back. "So my mom's not gonna have too much extra? They want her on for at least an extra hour to give relief staff time to come in, and apparently the plows are already pretty busy, but she's going to call as soon as she has a definite plan. Oh, and she's good for playing taxi."

"Great," Dean said, turning that hint of a smile on her as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and sent off a quick text to Thia to tell her he'd be late home, but that he was getting a lift so he didn't have to drive and could she tell Oz as well so he didn't worry. "Honestly - if I don't have to drive in this, the whole town's gonna be safer. Though this'll be the first time I've voluntarily stayed late at school," he added, that hint of a smile turning a little wry. Generally if he stayed after school, it was because he had detention.

"I'm not exactly looking forward to staying late either." Caleb said, not that he was complaining if it meant he didn't have to drive in this. He really would just get himself and or others killed. "So...guess we're going to need to keep ourselves entertained." he added. He was looking towards the windows again. "Is the heat 'round here connected to the power?" he asked, wondering if it would go.

"Depends," Nic answered, shoulders shrugging. "Some places around town are on electric heat? A lot of people have gas-powered though. My mom's got electric, but we have an old wood stove too just in case." Which was more common the farther one got from the center of town, though plenty of people in Marquette proper chose to be prepared as well. If the power lines got iced or the wind got high enough, the snow could often be a hefty delay in restoring power. "Doesn't seem like there's enough wind to drop power, at least."

"Let's hope it's on gas," Dean said, instinctively not liking the idea of being overly dependent upon electricity - especially not when he looked out of the window and imagined just how cold it probably was out there. Without being really conscious of doing it, he tensed slightly, locking himself down. The last thing they needed was him adding to the problems caused by the storm.

"Yeah, not really looking to find out what happens when you stick the teenage population of Marquette in a building they don't like in the first place for a long period of time, then kill the power and heat." Caleb said. "How long do you think it would take before true anarchy set in? Fifteen minutes tops?" he suggested, glancing back at the other two.

She chuckled, sighing and slouching back in her chair with a slow tilt rotating her. "Honestly? As much as I rag on this place, they'd do better than, say, New York or something," she admitted ruefully, "I mean, there's people here who'd insta -freak, yeah, but I know there's plenty who keep their cool and actually plan on that kind of thing happening." Which was standard with how removed the Upper Peninsula felt at times, and had probably gotten the town through more tough times than Nic could really know.

"Good to know," Dean said, glancing up at the lights. He'd still be being careful though. It wasn't fucking funny having an ability that sometimes decided to accidentally go off, though he'd noticed that that seemed to happen more when he was upset. Or around Thia. He figured it was to do with the amount of negative energy around - made sense, at least.

"Yeah, that makes me feel slightly better. Though I'll still say that if push comes to shove, barricading ourselves in somewhere might be a good idea. Any rooms that might work best in?" Caleb asked, glancing to Nic . Not really serious. Okay, maybe there was a tiny pinch of that underneath, but still. He sounded like he was just being flippant.

Nic couldn't say in Dean's case, but she had to assume Caleb wasn't real familiar with the pool, not with his scars. So she didn't even consider teasing him for the question, sitting up as she answered. "Dude, totally the pool. They keep it warm-ish? So if the power dropped, it'd keep heating the room for however long. And if it's like a zombie barricade scenario? Easy access points to seal, lots of room to move." The locker rooms would have that retained heat too, and the boiler would mean they could generate more without electricity, even. But that was a scenario Nic didn't see being too likely.

"Plus added bonus points of a water supply," Dean added, thinking that through. He wondered if Sophie's preparations had rubbed off on him at all - she and Oz definitely seemed to have the preparation for the worst thing going strong. "Anywhere that's away from people who are panicking is good for me."

"The pool, sounds good to me." Caleb agreed easily. "And yes, having heat that'll stick around and a water supply seems like sound logic to me." he added. Since it did. Defensible was also a plus, but he didn't necessarily think they'd have to go there with their day. Though, thinking about it, if they did do the pool, he'd have room for his magic to hit things from a distance. which also had him wondering what the claw spell would do if it hit water....

"Well, here's hoping the plows'll get to work and we won't need to figure out somewhere in here to hide out," she said with a smirk, "I think a school-wide sleepover is a recipe for disaster,y'know? Although if I ever had a chance to fuck with people en masse, it'd be that." Because really, knowing that the whole cheerleading squad was asleep in one room or something? Nic would have to find some way to wreak some havoc. "Should we get back together after classes or something so you guys know what the plan is?" Nic went on, thinking she'd like that. Dean was definitely okay in her book, and Caleb? Well, it'd take a lot for her to suddenly not want to hang out.

Dean shrugged. "Sure, works for me," he offered, knowing he was being kind of quiet, but that was just him - wasn't really much he could make himself do about that , though he felt that possibly he should be making more of an effort, forcing himself to make more of an effort. He just wasn't good at this shit. "I - Can't say I like the idea of staying at school either. That's just nuts."

"Yeah, lets. And jesus, I don't even really want to think about having to spend the night here. I hate the place enough as it is and wonder on a daily basis why I'm even bothering anymore, I definitely don't want to sleep here." Caleb said. "But if that happens, if we are, then I even more want to make sure we've got someplace that isn't overrun with people. If I have to crash out with a bunch of people, I'd rather it be with people I'd voluntarily spend time with, not everyone else."

Nic smirked in unspoken agreement with Caleb, reaching up to toy with the braid hanging over one ear in the name of fighting the craving for a smoke. "I'll make sure I 'borrow' a few tools from the autoshop in case we need to get in anywhere," she mused aloud, thinking that even if she wasn't a practiced lock-picker, she should be able to figure out the basic mechanisms the schools used on the doors. "Plus a screwdriver'll have multiple uses in case we're actually trapped here with a bunch of dumbasses."

Dean chuckled and shook his head a little. "I'm sure most people here'd think twice if you brandished a screw driver at them. Course, there's probably one or two that wouldn't..." he added, glancing over in Caleb's direction. He knew Nic knew about the blood magic, and then there were the other people in school he knew bits about, and he had to wonder about the people he didn't know about - he assumed that there were those. People weren't exactly going around shouting about what they could do, but Dean figured that there were more than a few who weren't strictly vanilla.

"I'm sure there are the select few who wouldn't really flinch, but hopefully the majority would. But just in case, let's try and keep any screwdriver wielding to a minimum." Caleb decided. He shared the look with Dean, thinking along the same lines. That there had to be other people in school. Hell. Leija was an angel, not that he told people that. Ten had been an angel...though he really would have been vaguely horrified at her being in school. What with her mentality of a six year old going on. That still drove him just a little batty. But yes in the grand scheme...the population of people who had something else going on in this town was pretty elevated so far as he could tell. Hell, just Dean's list of people he knew...which actually reminded him about the dreamwalking thing for Nic...which he wasn't going to be asking about. Not right now. Not in front of her.

It might've been worth laughing at the two of them if Nic knew what the look was about. She figured that she was learning about the others around them as fast, if not faster, than Caleb and Dean. Unfortunately, Nic had promised strict silence to Drea , and she was giving the same to Jesse until she knew it was okay to do otherwise. Still, she'd had the same unspoken thought before; that there had to be more people around them who were more than they seemed. "I'll avoid witnesses too," she agreed, opting to not call them boyfriends for sharing that look, "But if it's necessary? You two'd better be good at helping me shut people up."

Dean held up his hands to chest height, warding things off. "Don't look at me for diplomacy - I'm not good at that kind of thing," he warned them. "Tried, tested and failed at anything resembling that kind of crap. Not that,y'know - he's any better. And, no offense, but I can't see you getting a gold star for that either," he added, looking over at Nic. He'd seen what she was like in the halls.

"Yeah, no one wants me trying to be diplomatic. I never did learn to pull a punch. Even if it's just a verbal one." Caleb said, with that touch of honesty going on there. He really, really wasn't. He was blunt. And that was about it. "And yeah,Nic, you definitely aren't diplomatic." He glanced at Dean again. "You're british, shouldn't you be, though? Isn't that in your genetic makeup considering you're english ?" he said, teasing a bit. Because he really thought Dean was right there. Diplomacy wasn't his strong suit either. "...we need a nerd around to do research for us, and someone who's actually got people skills."

"I meant more like... a menacing sort of diplomacy," Nic clarified with a grin, "I figured you two could probably handle that sort that's like 'you don't want us finding out you've been talking'." Caleb definitely could, she thought. She'd never seen him do it, but it wasn't a stretch to imagine him conjuring that quiet intensity that would make people not want to fuck around. As for Dean? Well, being Caleb's friend meant he wasn't a pussy, for one. And it wasn't a stretch to connect his quiet nature to that sort of potential either.

Dean pulled a small, humourless smirk. "I dunno - last guy I warned not to tell didn't exactly listen to me first time round," he shrugged. "Think he got the message after that though. At least, haven't heard anything to suggest he didn't." He made no comment about Caleb's suggestion. he knew someone who'd largely fit that description and so did his friend, but she just wasn't on the cards to be discussed right now, as much as Dean'd planned a story to explain his girlfriend.

"oh just come out and say it. Intimidation practices. That's covered. In spades." Caleb said. He knew he could...Dean could...Nic could...yeah, he was fairly sure if they ever needed to shut someone up on threats alone, that could be done with little to no issue. He also could confirm what Dean was talking about. "Nothing that I've heard." he added. "Things have been fairly quiet all around. Which really just has me waiting for the next disaster of one description or another. And I know. I'm paranoid."

She scowled at both of them, shaking her head darkly. "Man, am I missing out on the espionage? What's a girl gotta do to get into the treefort here?" she asked, wondering what sort of things Caleb had been listening for. She remembered him asking her to listen for Gabe talking about... anything. Maybe that was it? But she hadn't heard any odd rumors, so it wasn't like she had any insight yet. "And jesus, Lockwood. It's not paranoia in this town, it's rational expectations. Even I know that."

Dean eyed her a little, then shrugged. "Someone heard something about me and mine they shouldn't. And they told when I asked them nicely not to. And then, when I tried to explain why telling was a bad plan, they threatened me. And I don't take particularly kindly to threats, so the lesson got rather more physical." He threw a smirk Caleb's way, then looked back at Nic . "Since he'd rather I was all blunt and everything - I beat the shit out of the guy, then asked Caleb to keep an eye on him for me, since I was gonna be out of the country and everything." And that was as much detail as he was willing to give her right now. And if she pressed for more, then he was thinking he'd just have to lie.

"Yeah, but I'm also paranoid." Caleb said. "I know that. Not everything I think comes to pass, and I go in for worst case scenario every time." he added, because he did know that about himself. "And that would be Gabe." he added to Nic , confirming that she knew what they were on about. He looked back to Dean. "I asked her to keep an ear out for anything unusual. She knows more people around here than I do." Then he paused. "You know, you get into more fist fights than I do. How does that work?" he asked rhetorically. Of course, he thought he got into more 'things wind up dead' fights than Dean did, so maybe it evened out.

"He doesn't fear for the state of his hair," Nic answered for Dean, winking at Caleb. Even if she did like it short, she wasn't going to stop that particular jibe until it got back to the shaggy level it had been at before Rose cut it. "And I follow now, fucking Winters. Dude's breath permanently reeks of dick," she added, nodding now that she knew what the situation was. "I like about as many people here as either of you? But yeah, I at least know the names of the people who make me cringe. But I'm jealous Dean, next time you get a reason to beat on Gabe? Do me a favor and hire that shit out. Hell, I'll pay you."

Dean shrugged slightly. "If you're thinking about it? I wouldn't - word to the wise, just... Don't go picking fights with the guy, 'kay?" he suggested to both of them. He hoped that they'd just take it on advice and not ask for details, but he'd spent enough time with Thia to not hope too hard for that - the girl always pressed, so he was already preparing his answers about what he could and couldn't say without betraying Oz' confidence, or putting Gabe in danger, which would be the same at the end of the day. If anything happened to Gabe, it'd hurt Oz, so that meant Dean would tread carefully for his cousin's sake, even if there was no love lost between him and Gabe himself.

"You're the one obsessed with my hair." Caleb pointed out to Nic. Since she tended to make cracks about it a lot. He didn't comment on the rest of it, pretty content to let them talk fights or not between themselves. He would like them to be able to have a dialogue of their own, even if Dean tended not to be that terribly talkative unless you really got him going, and Nic could be abrasive. So, for the moment he just didn't say anything more, hoping they did.

"I pick a lot less fights these days," Nic assured Dean, nodding to back up her words. She still had no problem throwing a punch, but now she had a reason to avoid getting in as much trouble. If she was grounded? Well, she couldn't see Caleb or keep up her training or anything. And knowing there were real monsters out there made punching random jackasses around her that much less important. "I'll cut him a little slack, for sure." she promised, stretching a foot out to nudge Caleb instead of directly ragging on him. Good behavior and all.

Dean nodded, relieved that nobody was going to be pressing for details there. As much as he loved Thia, he had to admit that it was a relief not to have to explain everything sometimes. "So, er - what's the hair thing?" he asked, following up his own relief at not being questioned with questions of his own.

"I don't know, she just has a lot to say about it. Not sure she liked that I got it cut in the first place." Caleb said, dragging a hand through his hair since they were talking about it, and it made him ever so slightly self conscious. "I didn't think it actually warranted opinion, pretty much from anyone, but she's got shit to say. Rose did too, actually, when I cut it." He shrugged, honestly not getting it, and he looked to Nic to see if she was going to have anything to put in there.

"I wouldn't say I'm obsessed," Nic argued, shaking her head and smirking to Dean, "It's more like... I'm working on fighting my bitch-reflex? And even when I'm cool with someone, I talk shit. But his hair's a safer target than anything else that comes to mind." Truth with strangers? How refreshing! "But it's obviously gotten stale, so if you've got suggestions for fresh material, I'm taking submissions."

Dean laughed a little at that. "I value my skin too highly to give you material on him," he told her, taking the safest route there, and also taking the guy's side. You didn't give girl ammo to use on a mate, that was just the way it went - those were the rules. Well, most of the time anyhow.

"You could always try not dissing me every chance you get." Caleb suggested. "It could be new for you. Exciting territory you've never chanced before." he told her, smirking--and very much appreciating Dean not contributing there. "And thank you." he said to Dean, laughing slightly. Not that he could think of much that Dean could hand over, but still.

She rolled her eyes at Caleb, giving him another little foot-shove before withdrawing her leg. He was lucky Dean was here, it meant she was curbing her urge to, among other things, give him a few punches. "Let's see how far I get before I take a cheap shot, then," she ventured with a wary grin, "Any takers on bets?"

"I'm not a betting man. I've got enough shit going on without needing to go out and invite that kind of thing," Dean chuckled. "But if I was pressed, I don't think I'd be going with anything too long there...."

"Five minutes." Caleb put in, eyes on Nic as he made a show of considering it. "Her favorite passtime is giving me shit. And punching me, but she hasn't actually done that today, so the whole shit giving thing might be in overdrive at this point, to make up for that fact." he said conversationally. He looked to Dean. "Ours is a complicated relationship."

It almost didn't last five seconds, not with Caleb saying that. And using the word 'relationship'? Well, that brought out the punching urge to compensate for the awkwardness, but she was trying to resist both now, if only to make a point. So Nic was quiet for a long moment, a dangerous smirk tugging at her lips as she stared at Caleb intently. "Dean," she said without looking over, "Would you say he's asking for it at this point? Or is it just me?"

"Ohhhhhh, no, don't get me involved in your little... thing," Dean told her, warding it off and making a little gesture between them on 'thing'. "You can have your complications, keep them, I'm gonna be Switzerland in this one. Honestly." Since they'd been apportioning countries and it wasn't really that much of a Geographical leap from Germany. He could do that, right.

Caleb just looked back at Nic and flashed a grin. That was all, he didn't say anything. He had a slight bit of pity for Dean there though, getting pulled in, even if he didn't go for it. Though, in an unconscious sort of manner, he was also glad that Dean hadn't decided to take Nic's side.

It seemed like she had something to say? But every time Nic opened her mouth she stopped herself, glaring at Caleb for a moment before pursing her lips thinly. This happened at least three or four times, each time making Nic mourn the waste of some good invectives until she eventually sighed and shook her head. "Switzerland..." she muttered, smirking at Dean. "And you? I'll deal with you later, somewhere without your allies,"Nic added, pointing at Caleb and flashing teeth in a mock-snarl.

Dean upnodded to her. "I choose my own territory - and I choose Switzerland." He glanced over at Caleb and flashed him a small smile. "Though we give sanctuary to anyone who really needs it," he added, jokingly. He was more than convinced that Caleb was capable of holding his own.

"I'll keep that in mind, but I think for now, I'll pass." Caleb said, enjoying watching Nic start and stop so many times. He glanced towards the clock, then back to both of them. "strange, isn't it? She just has to not talk shit about me and suddenly she's got nothing to say...." he said, tsking and shaking his head.

"Hey!" she snapped at Caleb, brows drawing together, "You're doing this on purpose you..." Nic had to stop before she lost, biting her lip for a moment. "No nicotine, I know I'm stuck here at least three or four extra hours, and then you decide to call me on this? I know a conspiracy when I see one, mister." Mister? Jesus. She did use her negativity for a lot of basic interactions. "You know I'm going to half-blame you when I get up in... three minutes and slug the first person I see in the halls."

Dean watched the interaction between them and considered the number of times that Nic had talked about thumping someone and just her general persona and he was grateful that he'd put conditions on the idea of teaching her to shoot, or even raising the issue, because he knew that, right now, he wouldn't be comfortable arming this girl, and he'd need to know her a lot better before he could make that kind of judgment. he was just grateful that there wasn't any rush on that subject, but right now he was kinda worried she'd be trigger happy - he'd definitely need to get to know her better.

"Wait, so because the weather sucks, and I didn't feel like spending my entire lunch hour being randomly insulted by you, it's my fault you're going to go attacking innocent bystanders?" Caleb asked, laughing at that. "Besides, I never said you couldn't hit me. Just that you couldn't talk shit about me for longer than five minutes." he pointed out. Since she hadn't punched him today, and generally speaking he got hit at least once every time he saw her. It was tradition by now.

"Half your fault, yes," Nic confirmed, smirking, "The other half is Dean's. 'The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is the inaction of good men', after all. Replace evil with me and good men with you two and we have a working analogy." She sat forward, fists balling as she raised them in feigned menace, considering Caleb. "...no, no hitting you," she decided, "One generally follows the other? And I'd hate to give you this victory, period. So you just enjoy your isolation over there, Italy." Between the lines? She liked any contact with Caleb, and she liked to think he enjoyed it too, so maybe a little deprivation would make this more amusing for her instead of frustrating.

Dean sat up a little as the blame for.. what? her beating on someone? Really? was laid at his door. "Huh - wait, hold on a minute!" he protested. "If you're gonna blame something - blame the weather." Or your fag addiction ... he thought, but he really, really didn't know her well enough to pull that one out - in Dean's rulebook you didn't go poking at the weaknesses of girls your friends liked, not matter how much of a target they possibly were.

Caleb arched a brow at Nic, then glanced over towards Dean. He didn't really think he qualified as a 'good' anything. Man or no. But he didn't say that. he also didn't say that he considered Dean the genuine article on that same score. And he'd seen evil,Nic wasn't it. "Leave the swiss out of this. If it's got to have blame, I suppose I can claim it." he said, with a mock-sigh.

"Oh fine, ruin the joke," she conceded with a sigh, "Like I was gonna actually go slug someone anyway. I'm cool on that score lately, so no guilt for either of you two." Seemed like it had fallen flat, so she could drop it. "And..."Nic trailed, watching the hands of the clock critically, "You owe me an undetermined victory prize, Lockwood. I'll think of something eventually." She chuckled at both of them, stretching languidly. There was still too much of the day left to deal with, for certain. "Bullshit snow, this is totally the sort of day that asks for classes to be ditched."

"One up on that already - figured that most of my classes don't actually know I'm back yet, so I'm considering them optional today," Dean shrugged. He was helped in that by the fact that he hadn't done any of the work Sophie had emailed him out, so he was massively behind and didn't really want to admit it. He needed to get down to it soon though, he knew - he had no intention of actually failing any of his classes, after all. He just wasn't the academic type, never had been.

Caleb laughed. "I'm sure you'll come up with something." he said to Nic, because he was in fact, sure she would. And he'd be happy to provide. "And seriously? You've got a legitimate excuse to just ditch, and you've already missed a ton of school. That's entirely unfair. Though...currently, you'd what. Skip class and wander around the building doing nothing but look in other classrooms? I'm all for skipping classes, it's just there's a lack of other shit to do while still being in the building." And confined to it.

Nic wasn't calling attention to it, but she was still timing herself. There was no harm in seeing just how long she could go, right? "Yeah, you've got the keys to the amusement park but all the rides are turned off," she told Dean, grinning. "Honestly? I think I'd probably be happy wandering. Got my headphones and some discs, and that's better than going to geometry after this, no matter how many times I've listened to my CDs." Of course, finding somewhere safe to hole up undisturbed without leaving the building? That was the tricky part.

Dean wasn't big on headphones - listening to music that way was an almost sure-fire way to bring on a migraine for him, there was just something about not being able to get away from the noise. He didn't know what, but he'd never been able to get on with it, so mostly he avoided. "Yeah, the weather kinda puts a downer on things, but hey - I went to art. And I'll probably go sit through shit this afternoon. Don't have anything that they're gonna string me up for being behind in."

"Art, where there's nothing to actually keep up with?" Caleb said, even if he'd been glad to have Dean back in art class with him. "Where are we meeting up after school?" he asked. So they'd have a game plan. He didn't especially want to wander around trying to find people. This whole meeting at his locker thing had worked out well.

Sharing that thought, Nic just shrugged her shoulders. "Your locker?" she suggested, glancing Dean's way to see if he had any disagreement, "It did the trick first time around." She wanted a simple plan, because Nic already had the feeling that the Stupid would be extra thick in the halls after last period today. Everyone would be griping about being stuck here, but in Nic's mind? No one was entitled to beyond her and her friends.

Dean shrugged a shoulder. "Works for me." It was as good as anything else, after all. They all knew where it was and one of them had to go there anyhow. "And yeah," he said, looking at Caleb. "Where there's nothing to keep up with. Those classes are kinda high on my list right now. I've got an inbox full of crap that I didn't get round to doing when I was home, and I don't really fancy lectures from teachers right now, so, yeah..."

"Right, well, that's easy then." Caleb said. And he looked at Dean again. "I don't envy you the homework. When I was on my random trip to mexico , I had a ton to catch up on. It sucked." he said. Not to mention he'd started the year playing catch up due to being in the psych ward. That just didn't need to be brought up here and now. Even if they both knew about it.

"Grass is greener and shit, but I'd be fine for some catch-up if I got to bail out of town for a while," Nic offered, smirking at both of them. "I mean, I know you guys weren't on vacation or something? I just... hell, I don't want my life's exposure to the world to be here and Wisconsin." She still knew very little about where each of them had gone, but in Caleb's case Nic could guess the circumstances were special. And with the shape Dean had come back in? It was likely the same possibility.

Dean wondered if she'd still be saying that if she knew exactly what had driven each of them to leave town. Yeah, sure, you get a trip elsewhere for either (a)murdering your best friend -now-girlfriend's father or (b) having to go rescue your brother from demons. Somehow Wisconsin didn't seem that bad. At least, not from where Dean was standing anyway. But the official line for people at school was that he'd had to go home for a family funeral, so he'd stick to that one. "Yup, grass is greener - would have rather stayed here, but that wasn't gonna happen. But,y'know , if you wanted to help a guy out..." he suggested, thinking it was worth a try, even though he fully expected to be shot down so damn fast.

Don't you have a girlfriend for that? Caleb almost said but didn't. He opened his mouth and everything to do so, even, but yeah. At the last moment, didn't, and shut it again. Basically he didn't know what to do on that, not really. And so he figured if Thia was going to come up at all, Dean was going to have to do that. "I'm sure as fuck not helping you with your homework." Caleb said good naturedly. Then he glanced to Nic. "And yeah, not a vacation. I did get to wander around a warehouse that looked like I should be tripping over dead mexican winos, and thinking to myself that it couldn't stand up to a stiff breeze let alone withstand an attack, though. Sound like a good time?" he asked, flashing her a little smile. Just because it was true didn't really mean he couldn't joke about it to some extent.

Nic laughed in surprise at both of them, holding her hands up placatingly. "Whoa there fellas!" she exclaimed, hands going up to both Dean and Caleb, "I never said I thought you had fun, just that I want to get out of town at some point. And I fully plan on that once I've got some time to work on that car." She grinned at Caleb with that, shaking her head and looking to Dean. "He promised I could pick the target once I patched the shit on his car, because seriously? I combat-drove that bitch, and it looked about as bad before as it did after." And really, hitting a werewolf? Thatshould leave more of an impression on a vehicle.

"Yeah, I heard about that one," Dean admitted to her, deciding that it was best to let the out of town thing go. And to try once again to get Thia to help him with his school work, though he figured that'd just get him a lecture about the importance of doing it himself. Of course, last time he'd tried to get her to do something like that they hadn't been dating, so maybe if he asked very nicely...

"I'm pretty sure the car's a lost cause, but you still have free reign to do whatever you want to it." Caleb told Nic, since he'd been serious about it. It wasn't like he knew shit about cars or how to fix them or any of that bullshit. She was the mechanic. Or, mostly a mechanic. "I did happen to tell him about your not leaving when you were meant to." he added.

She'd actually planned to just do whatever she wanted to the car, with Caleb's 'lost cause' comment, but his approval just meant she wouldn't have to argue about it later. And that if it ended up in Ash's shop for a few days, he couldn't bitch. "That car is so not worth abandoning," she chided, "The fact that it was running fine after what I used it for? Plenty of good use still in there." But it was interesting to know that Dean had been told about that night in some detail. "What else did he tell you?" she probed, grinning teasingly between the two of them, "Or is this another of those adorable guy-trust moments?"

Dean shrugged a shoulder. "What else is there to tell?" he asked her, which was answer, non-answer and question all rolled into one. Caleb had told him lots, both about that night and about other things. Just as he'd shared most things with the guy. But there were reasons for all of that and Dean was careful that nothing he wasn't meant to say slipped out. He didn't mind Nic knowing that he was the kind of person you could talk to about werewolf attacks, even if he'd been out of the country at the time, but that was his secret to share and that was shared on the basis of a certain amount of extended trust because of Caleb, but he knew he was growing more cautious these days, more careful, especially with people he didn't really know. He'd learned that lesson by now - not that he'd been the most trusting of guys in the first place.

Caleb internally twitched a little. 'Adorable guy-trust moments' was what did it to him, but not actually for the reason most people would. It was because he and Dean had gotten the trust factor going when everything had gone to hell so fast. There'd been trust before, but it had solidified when he'd been called in after Dean had dropped someone with a bullet to the head. So...adorable didn't fit. It was a 'hey we shared intense fucking trauma that no one's really getting over any time soon' trust. Nothing fluffy about it. So he glanced away for a second, before looking back, deciding she could answer that one, he didn't want to answer for her.

"I'm sure there's plenty," she answered Dean, smiling awkwardly. How much had he been told already? She knew Caleb talked about her to Dean, and obviously he knew the specifics of their encounter with danger. "But I don't think it's story-time yet. Suffice to say, I lost my shit. Caleb helped me round it all up. And here we all are, counting the minutes before that hell-born bell starts screaming," she summarized neatly.

"We'll leave story-time for another day," Dean agreed. "But he's a good guy for when you lose your shit," Dean agreed, not looking at Caleb. the fact that Dean believed that to his very core though was clear. Dean trusted Caleb, truly, deeply and almost absolutely.

"...okay, enough." Caleb said, looking a bit uncomfortable, and he dragged his hand through his hair again, glancing at the clock. "No more about me right now, or whether or not I'm good to have around in shitty situations. But yeah, we'll do story time sometime when we're not in a public building for starters." he added. Since nothing could get him to really talk in a place like this.

Nic's smile was amused but uncertain. She liked seeing that confidence in Dean when he agreed about Caleb, but hated seeing the unspoken tension in Caleb himself. Too many things made him feel scrutinized, she knew, and it was impossible to avoid them all, but Nic never liked seeing that. Glancing up at the clock, Nic sighed and started scooting her chair back towards the teacher's desk. "And when we have more than five minutes before lunch ends," she agreed, thinking that'd turn out to be one hell of a story time. "Either of you need security on your way to your next class?" Nic asked, flexing mockingly.

Dean smiled slightly and grabbed his bag, standing up and slinging it over his shoulder. "Think I'm good, I'll leave you two to it - see you later though," he told them, before heading out the room, leaving Caleb to walk her to class if he wanted to.

Caleb nodded to Dean as he left, then glanced to Nic. "Do you want to be escorted?" he asked. "I'm pretty sure I'm good, I mean, I can even make it without provoking random violence. You might need to be distracted so you don't, though. Sitting with you after school while you're in detention won't be nearly as fun as the idea about breaking into the pool and hanging there."

"You'd get detention just to keep me company?" nic asked as she pushed the chair back behind the desk, smiling like that was actually somewhat endearing. And it was. "I think I could make it to class," she went on, moving to rejoin Caleb, "But I won't turn down milking every minute I can before I'm shoulder deep in mouth-breathers again." Moving over to the desk he'd sat at, Nic planted both hands on its' top and leaned down to get to his eye level, nodding after Dean. "How'd I do?"

He smirked at her. "I don' know. Fine? He didn't immediately leave or get too pissed about anything, so..." he told her, leaning forward a slight bit. "I think it's fine. Give him a little time. He does better and talks more after he gets to know people. I didn't start talking to him a whole lot til after he---" he stopped a second. "Til he looked like he needed it." he said, tripping up for a second there because it was really after Lullaby had died. And Caleb had been a little worried about the guy.

That was a hard stumble to miss, but Nic wasn't going to press. Whatever Dean's story was, she got the impression that he deserved the same liberties that she'd given Caleb, at least as far as not being badgered with questions. And Nic definitely didn't expect Caleb to share all of the guy's details. But she would remember this later, if only to try and piece things together on her own. "He seems cool," she said, moving right past whatever Caleb wasn't saying, "I figure it'd be like when we were hanging out? Just... getting comfortable shooting the shit,y'know?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I know. And yes, he's cool. Quiet, but cool, and someone good to know." he said. then he paused. "He helps with perspective, sometimes. Like you do, just on different things." Because if anyone needed perspective checks a whole lot of the time, it was Caleb.

"Different things are good," she commented, nodding in agreement that he seemed like a good guy to know. "If we overlapped, we'd have to duke it out. And I get the feeling that people you know could probably kick my ass, by and large. Maybe not for long? But for now at least." But that news made Nic want to ensure she got along with Dean, if only so Caleb would be guaranteed the perspective he seemed to need at times.

"I'm fairly certain you have areas of expertise that are wholly separate." Caleb said, laughing a touch as the bell rang, and he took the opportunity to grab her and kiss her, a short if involved kiss. "Now, time for class....." he said with an evil grin, standing up and waiting for some form of retribution.

He did have one coming, no doubt about it. But Nic had gone a whole fifteen minutes without trash-talking or hitting Caleb, and without a nicotine craving? She could control her temper a little better. "Definitely time for class," she agreed, reaching behind Caleb to drag her nails down over his sweatshirt, then back up just beneath the hem for a momentary scratch on actual skin. "That means the no-touching rule is in effect,"Nic warned, stepping back quickly as she withdrew her hand and smirking dangerously.

He made a light little sound, but appreciated that, and he half drifted after her. Then he stopped himself. "Fine. no touching rule. Now go, before I start seeing just how firmly those rules are in place." he mock-threatened, knowing he was going to be late for his next class, if he wanted to stop at his locker and actually get his book. But he probably wouldn't.

"Threats?" Nic gasped, grabbing her backpack and starting a retreat back to the hallway, "I'm shocked, Caleb. Almost makes me think you want me to take my time." He probably wouldn't mind testing the rule, but if they were stuck here after classes ended? Well, he'd have plenty of time to mess with Nic, and vice-versa . "Stay close now, and try not to breathe too deep. Stupidity is airborne, you know," she warned as she left the classroom behind, thinking that she'd actually enjoy getting to 'save' him in the halls, and to see how he'd find a way into detention with her. Dream on,Nic.