Meet You In the Stars Tonight

Crowley laughed as he watched her display defiance. If this were any other circumstance, he would have had her punished in a hot minute. But for some reason, Crowley liked toying with the girl. He liked watching her face change through it’s different expressions. Crowley liked watching the fire ignite in her eyes in a faux show of bravery… Because he knew on the inside she was shaking, ready to break at any moment.

“Creature….” he mocked her, allowing the word to roll of his tongue. He kind of liked the way it sounded, the connotation of the word much less harmful than what he truly was. He smirked at her, reaching his hand up to tap a finger on his chin. “I think you will grow to enjoy my presence, sweetheart.”

Jenny inched down the wall, toward her bed. She was quick to sit down, wanting to keep as much distance between her and Crowley that she could. She knew that it was all on him - everything that happened now, it was up to Crowley. He could be standing directly in front of her with a snap of his fingers. She was powerless during this all.

"When can I expect you?" Jenny forced herself to ask as she looked up to him. She tilted her head to the side, watching him intently. If she was going to have no choice with Crowley appearing, she hoped that she could at least get a heads up.

Crowley took a few steps back, giving the delicate girl a little space. Normally, with Crowley, it was no holds barred. But for some reason he had taken a pity on the young girl. His tongue trailed against his bottom lip as he watched her sit down on her bed. Submissive… he thought to himself, Good girl. Should he give her a warning before he popped in? Of course, not.

Crowley shrugged his shoulder, crossing his arms as he looked down at her once more. “You can expect me when you are least expecting me… But even then, you won’t know my dear. But, don’t be afraid. I promise I will—well, at least try not to catch you at a bad time. You are most lucky I am letting you live, anyway.”

Jenny had been doing so good at keeping herself in control because Crowley had already proven himself to be far more powerful than she would have ever thought possible. But the last comment that he made, it made her blood boil. Her eyes narrowed as she leaned forward, glaring daggers at the man.

"Either stop threatening me or kill me but don't beat around the topic," Jenny hissed through gritted teeth. She edged further onto the bed to continue putting more distance between them. "You can leave now."

Crowley toyed with the idea of messing around with her more. He decided it was time for him to go ahead and make his exit. For some strange reason, totally unbeknownst to him, part of Crowley didn’t necessarily want to leave the girl. It was almost like he wanted to have an actual conversation with the girl.

Crowley eyed her room once more, taking mental note of the way she was looking at him. He gave her a small smile and nodded his head. “Is that what you really want? I can tell part of you wants me to stay, sweetheart. I can tell you are curious.” He chuckled. “But, since you asked so nicely… I will leave you to it.”

Jenny let out a sigh as she walked out of her apartment. She crossed her arms, hugging her jacket closer to her body. It was getting to be later in the air and there was a chill in the air that made it too cold to not wear a jacket but it was still far too warm to actually break out her winter jacket. Straightening up, Jenny tilted her head to the side as she glanced toward the park that she walked by every day. It was just beginning to get dark so she figured that she would have enough time to make it through the short cut.

Her pace slowed a bit more than it probably should as she turned to head into the park, knowing the short cut through would save her a good ten minutes on her way to her night class.

Muttering under her breath, Jenny's hand dropped to the bag that hung by her side. She had rehearsed it in her head time and time again - should someone ever bother her, she would use it as a weapon. It would be so simple, right?

If Crowley said he hadn’t been thinking about the chance encounter with young Jennifer, he would be lying straight through his teeth. The defiance and fire that flamed up in her eyes as she looked at him was ingrained to his memory. He hadn’t yet decided when he would be popping back into see her, he was immensely busy with annoying the Winchester’s—something more important that toying with a girl.

But something was off that day. Crowley felt the air shift, something in the surrounding area was not right. As he sat in his chair, he tongue flicked across his bottom lip as he waited for the feeling to pass. What in the hell was going on? Shaking the feeling off, Crowley decided to go back to the task at hand... Or so he tried. Tossing the decision around in his mind, he decided to sneak up on little Miss Jenny. Once he was there, he kept back in the shadows, eyeing her for just a moment.

It was an eerie sort of feeling. Jenny couldn't explain it but she knew someone was watching her. It wasn't the sort of fear you felt when you were afraid something was going to happen but it was the chill that slivered down her spine. It was the fear that made the hair raise on the back of her neck, the same feeling that caused her to continuously look over her shoulder while gripping her bag tighter.

After the third time of tossing a look over her shoulder, Jenny stopped dead in her tracks when she turned back around and her eyes caught sight of a pair of guys who seemed to appear out of nowhere, walking toward her.

"What's a girl like you walking through here for? You're all lonely... how about we give you some company?"

Jenny scoffed, taking a hesitant step backward. "Thanks for the offer but I'm good," Jenny replied through gritted teeth. She took a step to the side, in hopes of walking around them but they only mimicked her actions. Swallowing the lump that formed in her throat, Jenny shook her head. "I have class, I've got to go now."

Crowley, still lurking in the shadows, watched through narrowed lids as the pair of men encounter Jenny. Something tightened in his chest. For whatever reason, Crowley wanted to be the only person who could intimidate the fragile young girl. It was a sensation close to jealousy, as close as he would ever feel to that emotion, watching and feeling the shift of the air in her emotions.

Crowley wondered for a brief moment if he should intervene. Since he didn’t necessarily know Jenny, that meant he didn’t know if she could defend herself. Why was he even wanting to intervene? She would probably just brush off his presence anyways. But he did want to hear that smart mouth of hers snap back some comment at him once more…

As Crowley watched the men block Jenny in, he decided to make his presence known. “Ah, Jenny. There you are, sweetheart.” He called as he made his way towards the three of them. With a raised eye brow he looked at Jenny, “Are these boys bothering you?”

The sound of Crowley's voice from behind her, hell, Jenny wasn't going to ever admit it but the relief that flooded through her veins and erased the fear that had settled in her was beyond a relief. She made to step between two of the men, only for one of them to toss a hand up to block her while the other turned to Crowley with an annoyed expression.

"This isn't any of your concern, man," the one called and Jenny damn near wanted to laugh. These men had no clue what Crowley was capable of and by the look on his face, Crowley wasn't the least bit amused. Her grip tightened around the strap of her bag.

"Glad I finally found you," Jenny called, giving a hesitant smile in his direction as she stepped back from the arm blocking her. She had no way of knowing what was coming but she could only imagine she didn't want to be too close to the pair.

Crowley smirked at the pair of them. “Aww, how cute.” He murmured as they tried to scare him off as well. With a wave of his hand, Jenny was right back at his side, away from the two men who were perusing her. “There is two ways this can go. You can leave dead or alive. It’s simple really, just leave. Or I’ll kill you.”

One of the men laughed, spitting at Crowley’s feet. “Like hell you will, you’re out numbered.”

Crowley gave them a crooked grin, “That was the wrong thing to do, mate. Wrong, wrong.” He looked over towards the other one who hadn’t spoke up yet. “I would pay attention to what’s about to happen and then you can decide what it is you want to do.” With another wave of his fingers, the man who spat at his feet had a broken neck. Crowley smirked as he watched him hit the grow. With raised eyebrows, he looked at the other. “Well then?”

Jenny, despite her initial reservations about Crowley, was more than revealed when she was beside him. She even went as far as taking a step backward and slightly to the side so that Crowley was standing in front of her. The Jenny from the night she had met him would have laughed if you told her about this, using him as protection? Laughable. There was no way such a ridiculous thing would happen and it wasn't as if Crowley would offer it to her!

Watching as the first man fell to the ground and not even a second later, the other was running back in the direction that they had come from, Jenny let out an indistinguishable noise before turning to Crowley. Her face scrunched a bit as her eyes flicked to the body on the ground.

"I... thank you?" She spoke, not even bothering to hide the fact that it had come out like a question. "Why'd you... how'd you know?"

Crowley smirked as he watched the other man run away a satisfied smile spreading across his face. He turned towards Jenny, raising his eyebrows as he looked at her properly for the first time since he had shown up. She still looked very shaken, but the usual feistiness in her eyes had dissipated into relief. “See, darling. I am not always a cold-hearted son of a bitch.”

Crowley shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket, trying to come up with an appropriate response to her question. For the first time that Crowley could recall, he didn’t feel too comfortable admitting that he had practically been stalking her. How was he supposed to tell her that he was tuned into her feeling and could sense she was in danger? Crowley shrugged his shoulders, a smug look etching its way onto his features. “I was just in the neighborhood having myself a little stroll.”

Crowley could tell that she wasn’t buying his bullshit story so he chuckled once more. He motioned with his hand towards the man who lay dead next to them, “But suffice to say it was a good thing I came then, no? What do you think?”

Jenny's stomach twisted as she looked back down to the body that was splayed out on the concrete. She had never seen a dead body before and she wasn't so sure she could stand being around it too much longer. She twisted around on her heel and began to head in the original direction she had been so set on. She still needed to get to school, she still had class... she couldn't just stop because of this. Right?

Her shoulders hunched as she shoved her hands into her pockets, trying to ignore the man who walked beside her. "It was a good thing..." she spoke quietly after a few moments of silence stretched between them. It was awkward to consider thanking him because she knew what he was. Even if she didn't know everything that he was capable of, Jenny still had a healthy dose of fear when it came to Crowley.

"I guess I should thank you then," Jenny muttered, reaching to run a hand through her hair. "And I guess since you're a demon, you'll say I owe you something..." she trailed off, letting out a dry laugh - hoping that she was wrong.

With a slight chuckle, Crowley took his attention off of Jenny and looked around. Had she really just forced out a thank you? He could tell that it was hard for her to do. A smug smirk made its way to his lips once more when she mentioned her owing him something. “Well, love.” He laughed. “I am sure there will be something that we will be able to work out.”

Crowley looked around once more as he continued to walk with her, taking in his surroundings. He found himself trying to memorize the route. He wasn’t exactly sure why he was doing that, but the fact remained that he was. With a small sense of entitlement, he spoke up once more, “I get the feeling that you will need me again someday.”

Crowley stopped walking, and tuned to look at her properly. “Is there something you are thinking about offering me?”

Jenny whirled around on her heel, her eyes narrowing as she glared at Crowley. "Stop that! I'm not your love, or sweetheart, or whatever you want to call me! I am Jenny, that is my name and you know it so use it!" She exclaimed, unable to contain the sudden burst of frustration. There was nothing that Jenny could do to stop Crowley but just the way the names fell from his lips, she wasn't sure how to react. Part of her wanted to be angry and push him away but there was something else that was welcomed by the attention Crowley offered.

Scoffing, Jenny turned around and continued on her way. Relief eased the tension in her shoulders as they made it out of the park. "Need you? For what exactly? You're not the devil and I'm not selling my soul to you," she answered with a roll of her eyes. She shook her head, only pausing when Crowley did out of instinct alone.

"I have no clue what you could even... want. I have no idea what would even out the deal since you probably just saved me," Jenny had begun to ramble without considering her words. She was coming undone just thinking about the situation she had landed herself in. "I can't help but think this is almost as bad as what I just got out of thanks to you. Because now i owe you and it's not like I can even say no, can I?"

Crowley smirked in amusement as he watched the girl throw a temper tantrum. For some reason, unbeknownst to him, he enjoyed seeing her reactions. He enjoyed toying with her emotions. He liked seeing what made her tick. It was almost a game to him. How far could he push, how much could he poke until she reacted in a fiery, feisty manner. He liked that about Jenny. Normally, the humans that encountered him, were fearful. Jenny seemed to be confused, annoyed, and intrigued all at once. It was refreshing to Crowley to see her reactions.

“I’m sure we can sort something out you little firecracker.” A sly smile pulled at the corner of his mouth as the name left his lips. She didn’t like his pet names so he would naturally figure something out, just as he had for the Moose and Squirrel. “I quite like that nickname for you, Jenny. Don’t you? I think it suits you remarkably well.”

Crowley stuffed his hands in his pockets once more, tilting his head as he looked at her standing before him. “I just get a feeling that you attract a lot of negative activity.” He smiled. “I predict you might need me again one day… So we will leave or bargain open ended, yeah?”

Jenny stomped her foot, scoffing at Crowley's words as she turned around to face him. "No. No firecracker, no sweetheart, no darling. Nothing like that!" She exclaimed, throwing out her hands as if to emphasize her point. "My name if Jennifer so use my name!"

The suggestion that this would be an open ended deal made Jenny stop dead in her tracks. She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat as she turned around to face him. "I don't want to!" She answered, taking a step away from him. She huffed as she looked around, her knuckles turning white around the strap of her bag.

"I didn't run into you because I wanted to. I didn't do any of this because I want to spend time with you. I want to get out of this stupid deal because I don't want to have to live wondering when a demon is going to come knocking at my door!"

“There’s no way of getting out of the deal, Jennifer.” He mentioned casually. Even though it was a lie, Crowley wanted to keep her on a leash. He liked her. She damn sure was entertaining and she wasn’t bad for him to look at either. Demons have needs to, ya know. Crowley wished, however, that she would loosen up for just moment.

“Gimme a chance sweet—Jennifer.” He caught himself before he allowed another pet name to slip from his lips… It was just so easy for him to be endearing towards her. “I promise I don’t bite. And look, I saved you. And I could save you again if need be.”

He gave her a small grin, “And depending on who it is, it can always be good to have a demon on your side. Keeps you out of trouble… And can get you into some, but that is besides the point. It’s mostly good, I promise.”

Jenny would never admit it but she was surprised when Crowley caught the pet name before it fell from his lips. She sighed as she crossed her arms, reluctantly stepping closer to him so that only Crowley would be able to hear what she said. Her eyes found his and focused in on them and for a moment, she wondered what it would feel like if he was looking at her in a different light. Crowley certainly had his fair share of problems but so did she and... no! Crowley was a different sort of creature, there was no fantasizing about something so ridiculous.

"Mostly good? What good are you going to provide me, Crowley?" Jenny asked, raising an eyebrow. She glanced down to the phone she still clutched in her free hand and let out an inward groan. There was no way she would ever be able to get to class on time. She glanced back to the park she had run into Crowley in and shook her head. There was no way she was going back through there again, any time soon.

"I think I'm just going to head back to my apartment. There's no way that I'll make it to class on time so..." Jenny shrugged as she looked around for a moment before turning to him. "Why are you so damn interested in me?" She asked suddenly, raising an eyebrow. "I'm nothing special."