#saying this as the person who’s usually first to defend dean’s emotional outbursts

[fallenangelblade]

can I just say???? crazy to get “nobody cares that you’re broken, cas” and “i’d rather have you, cursed or not” in the same fucking episode

[glowrioustrash]

New Rules

Summary: Elena’s boyfriend left her for another woman, but she’s doing just fine... isn’t she? Her friend Dean has some thoughts about it.

Pairing: Not so much a pairing, but platonic Dean x OC

Word Count: 3200+

Warnings: Swearing

Author’s Note: Hey so I did a thing! I haven’t written anything in such a long time but here this is. It was going to be a practice drabble until it ran away on me. Major props to @castielscamander for encouraging me and her editing skills.

               Elena slammed the door shut to her hotel room and stormed inside, the annoyance she felt towards her so called friends driving her actions. The friends that were supposed to support her and be there for her. The friends that she had overheard badmouthing her as she was getting ready to leave tonight’s venue.

               “I can’t stand El acting like this anymore.” She overheard Nia say to Bayley, Alexa and Seth. “She’s such a bitch lately.”

               She waited to hear one of her friends defend her, but was surprised when none of them did. Instead they agreed.

               “Did you see her freak at Alicia yesterday?” Alexa asked. “She’s lucky Alicia didn’t turn around and snap her in half.”

               “I hate to say it but I really can’t take much more of this.” Bayley agreed.

               Elena had stormed in the opposite direction, not wanting to hear anymore from her “friends.” If that’s how they felt, then she didn’t need them anymore. She didn’t need them just like she didn’t need the asshole that was her recent ex-boyfriend.

               It had been a shock, of course, hearing those words leaving his mouth. His voice sounded tinny, the way it always did when she spoke to him on the phone, as he broke the news to her. When she answered the phone that day, almost a month ago, she’d expected to hear about his work and family. Instead he told her it was over. He told her that he’d fallen in love with someone else while she’d been on the road. He told her that he left his key to her apartment with the landlord and that was that.

               All things considered, she was handling it very well. She wasn’t a very emotional person in the first place and she proudly kept it together as she dealt with the break-up. She didn’t go into too many details as she told her close friends, only giving them the facts that she’d been left for another woman. She didn’t lose her mind and cry over it every waking minute the way they do in the movies. Not Elena, that wasn’t her style.

               She gave her head a shake and huffed, forcing herself to stop thinking about her ex and the people she used to consider friends as she grabbed comfy clothes out of her suitcase. She threw on a baggy hoodie and a pair of shorts before tying her hair into a messy bun before starting on her usual nightly routine. She tried not to, but her mind kept drifting back to what she’d overheard.

               Maybe she’d been a little… much lately, but she definitely could be worse. She’d rather be a little abrasive than walking around grieving a failed relationship with a prick.

               Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock sounding through the hotel room. She popped her head out of the ensuite bathroom to look at the door, waiting a moment to see if the knock had really come from her door or one of the neighbouring rooms.

               The knock sounded again, clearly coming from her door. She groaned as she shuffled her feet across the hotel carpet, not wanting to deal with anyone right this moment. She yanked opened the door without bothering to check the peephole.

               “What?” She snapped, glare already set in place before she met the eyes of whoever was standing in the hallway. It took a second for her to adjust her line of sight to look upwards enough to see the face of Dean Ambrose.

               “Easy, killer.” Dean chuckled. “I come in peace.”

               “What do you want, Dean?” She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

               “You know, there was a time you’d be happy to see me.”

               “Yeah, well I’m getting ready for bed-“ She was cut off as he pushed his way into her room. She watched in disbelief for a second before she huffed in annoyance and closed the door. “No, please, come in.”

               “Got the room all to yourself, huh?” He asked as he moved towards the nearest bedside table and set down the two plastic shopping bags he was carrying.

               “If you’re looking for a booty call, you’re barking up the wrong damn tree.” She growled, not moving from her spot by the door as she watched him.

               “You couldn’t handle me, princess.” He teased, shooting her a wink over his shoulder. He turned back and started unpacking the bags.

               “What are you doing?” She groaned, moving closer to see. Once she’d stepped closer, she could see he was pulling out junk food and placing it on the table.

               “Why you roomin’ by yourself, El?” He asked, ignoring her question.

               “Odd number of girls, I guess. I don’t know.” She shrugged.

               “It’s because you’re being a bitch.” He stated, not stopping his unpacking.

               “Excuse me?” She gaped. “Where the fuck do you get off-“

               “This is an intervention, Elena.” He cut her off, turning to sit on the edge of the bed. That made her pause, looking him over.

               “An intervention.” She repeated, quirking an eyebrow. “You gonna read me a letter about your feelings, Ambrose?”

               “Oh yeah, got it right here.” He held his hand up in front of him like he was reading and cleared his throat dramatically for several seconds. Elena glared, tapping her foot impatiently. “Dear Elena,” he began with a flourish. “We’re very worried, blah blah blah… We all care about you, blah blah blah… It hurts our feelings when you blah blah.” He finished and dropped his hand.

               “What a fuckin’ miracle. I’m cured.” She deadpanned, unamused. “You can go now.”

               “Nah, we ain’t done.” He turned, opened the package of twizzlers on table. “’Sides,” he stuck the candy between his teeth, mumbling around it. “How you supposed to be cured if you don’t even know what we’re interventioning?” He paused. “That can’t be it… Intervening?”

               “Dean!” She grabbed the candy out of his mouth, tossing it towards the little garbage bin. “Seriously, why are you here?”

               “We’re worried about you.” He answered honestly.

               “Who? You and all your little voices?” She scoffed.

               “No, your friends.”

               “Oh yeah? The room full of ‘em?” She gestured to the rest of the room. “If they’re so worried, where are they?”

               “You’ve been pushin’ us all away and you know it.” He pointed out.

               “I don’t kno-“

               “Yes you do.” He interrupted. “You’ve been acting like a psycho bitch lately. Not just towards your friends, but to everyone.”

               “Oh fuck off.” She shook her head, crossing the room to where her suitcase sat on top of the dresser.  She started rifling through her clothes aimlessly, hoping he’d get the point that she was done with this conversation.

               “Don’t believe me? How ‘bout when you lost your shit at Seth last week?”

               “He was being annoying.” Elena grumbled.

               “And making Bayley cry the week before?”

               “Bayley cries at everything. She cries at fucking puppies and Christmas commercials.” She scoffed.

               “And that intern? What did he do, huh? Oh that’s right, he tried to tell you Sasha was lookin’ for you.” He waited to hear her answer for that but she didn’t have one. He stood up, moving to stand behind her. “See, the Elena we all know would feel bad for that shit.”

               “So fucking what?” She reeled on him, her voice rising as she tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her gut. “Is that what you’re here to tell me? That I’m a frigid bitch and if I don’t calm the fuck down I’ll lose all my friends? That you’re the last one willing to put up with me? That I’m gonna die sad and alone with 46 cats and when I die those cats are going to feast on my corpse long before anyone realizes I’m dead? Is that what you’re trying to say?!”

               He took a step back at her outburst, regarding her carefully. “Uh… no. No, that’s not what I was gonna say. That was really specific though.” He blinked for a moment before moving forward again to rest his arms on her shoulders. “I’m here to tell you that it’s okay.”

               “What is?” She rolled her eyes.

               “To break down. To react to your break-up and have feelings about it and all that shit.” He answered, making her scoff and push out of his hold.

               “I don’t need to break down.”

               “Yeah, I’m sure your 46 cats agree.” He crossed his arms. “Seriously, El. You’re going through something tough. We’ve all been there. You’re tryin’ to bottle it all up and it’s driving you crazy. If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t be actin’ like this.”

               “And you’re the magical answer, huh?” She mocked. “They’re all too tired of dealing with me being a fucking hag so they send the Lunatic Fringe to shrink my mind and teach me manners?”

               “I drew the short straw.” He joked. “And they knew I could deal with you. I ain’t scared of you and you can’t chase me outta this room until I’m ready to leave.”

               “That’s the big plan then? Lock yourself in with me until I have this magical breakthrough you’re all expecting?” She marched to the table to look over everything he’d brought with him. “Dean Ambrose, chocolate, ice cream and…” she shuffled through the pile of DVDs. “Chick flicks? Really? That’s what you think will fix me, or is this just your personal favorites?”

               “I’m just the mouthpiece.” He shrugged. “I might be the one actually here but everyone pitched in. Nia and Bayley picked the movies, Seth got most of the junk. Sasha made sure I knew to get Peanut Butter Half Baked ice cream instead of the normal Half Baked.” He explained as she looked over the haul. She felt touched that her friends had pulled together like this.

               “You’re really gonna sit here with me, watching John Tucker Must Die and eating ice cream?” She asked skeptically.

               “If that’s what it takes.” He moved closer to the table again, grabbing another twizzler. He also grabbed the DVD case, figuring that was her way of choosing which movie to put on. He stuck the twizzler between his teeth and picked her laptop up off the bed before flopping down onto it himself.

               Elena watched him as he set up the laptop to play the DVD. She really didn’t believe she needed this intervention or a break down, but maybe it had been a while since she hung out with someone without either them or her storming off. She sat down onto the bed with a sigh, grabbing a Milky Way from the table.

               “Heh, Seth owes me five bucks.” He grinned, sitting the laptop on the bed between them. She shot him a questioning look. “I told him you’d go for a Milky Way first.” She rolled her eyes and leaned back against the headboard, getting comfy.

               Twenty minutes into the movie, and 1/3 the way into the ice cream, Elena glanced over at Dean to see him on his phone, not even paying attention. She rolled her eyes and turned back to the screen.

               Another five minutes later he was still on the phone. He clearly wasn’t just checking the time or answering a quick text. Elena felt herself growing more annoyed as she watched him. Dean had never been into his phone, but now whatever was on the other end of it was suddenly more important than her. She didn’t even want him here! He was the one who insisted on all of this.

               “Dean!” She finally snapped.

               “Mmm?” He hummed, not looking up.

               “You’re not even paying attention. If you don’t wanna be here just go. You’re the one who forced your way in-“

               “Shh, just watch the movie. I’m tryin’ to find something.” He waved her off.

               “Are you fucking kidding me? I don’t even want to-“

               “Watch the damn movie.” He cut her off again, still not looking up. She glared at him for a moment before growling and turning back to the movie.

               “Fucking stupid.” She mumbled under her breath as she took another bite of ice cream.

               “Hey, so…” A few minutes later Dean broke the silence, setting his phone down on his thigh. “I know we got the movie and the ice cream, chocolate, the works, but if you wanted to, like… talk about it.”

               Elena turned away from the screen to look at him skeptically. “What are you doing?”

               “Talkin’ might help.” He shrugged. “You’ve been pretty quiet since we started the movie.”

               “Because I didn’t want to do this.” She shot back.

               “Yeah, I know, but like isn’t that what you’re supposed to do? Girl talk and shit?” He asked.

               “You want to have girl talk with me?” She drawled in disbelief.

               “I don’t want to, but I’m trying to help. Alexa was pretty clear I had to try to get you to open up.”

               “So you thought you’d get me to open up by paying more attention to your phone for half the night?” Elena scoffed. She had genuinely been having an okay time vegging out with Dean, but he had to bring this bullshit back up.

               “I’ve been tryin’ to figure out this girl talk business. I ain’t exactly equipped for it.”

               “So what, you’ve been sitting over there subscribing to Cosmo?” She snorted.

               “One of those articles might have been, I don’t know.” He huffed. “I just googled a bunch of shit about girl talk and dealing with break-ups.”

               “Well this is too fucking good.” She snorted, turning to face him more so than the movie. “Well, lay it on me Ambrose. Let’s dish.” She challenged.

               “Fine, since you won’t start, I will.” He shifted so he was facing her as well, clearing his throat awkwardly. “One of them had a bunch of rules. How to deal with a break up. They made a lot of sense, I guess.” He fumbled, clearly less comfortable with this than the waiting out the bitchiness part of the plan.

               “Do tell.” Elena couldn’t fight the smirk off her face. She may not have been able to push him away, but he was damn paying for it now.

               “Well the first one was like not to answer if he calls. Like I said, makes a lot of sense. What’s he gonna say after “hey, I’m leaving you for someone else.” If he’s calling, he’s probably lonely. Or drunk.” He scoffed.

               “Mmhmm.” She hummed in response. She couldn’t deny the hint of pain she felt at being reminded of the exact reason her relationship had fallen apart. She was pretty sure Dean didn’t mean it as a dig, but it still hurt.

               “The next one was not to see him, again pretty common sense. How stupid are some of these girls? I’m hoping you would know better than that.” He rolled his eyes. “But it says if he comes over not to let him in because you’ll just have to deal with kicking him out when he’s an asshole.”

               That caught her attention. Why did that sound vaguely familiar? Dean took her silence as a go ahead to continue.

               “Third was don’t be his friend. Like you would stay friends after he did that, but it said if you stay friends with him you’re just gonna end up back in bed with him.” As he spoke, Elena covered her mouth with her hand, trying not to laugh. “Is this seriously shit girls do when left to their own devices?” He asked, bewildered. He stopped, noticing her reaction. “What?”

               “What article were you reading?” She asked, barely holding herself back.

               “Fuck if I know, I read about 10 different ones since we started the movie.” He shrugged.

               “Dean, you were reading song lyrics.” She finally laughed. He watched her with a puzzled expression. “I can’t believe you didn’t realize. I know you’ve been around when we were playing that song.”

               “I don’t pay attention to the pop shit that comes out of the women’s locker room.” He huffed, defending himself. He was starting to feel put out that Elena was laughing at him trying to do something he was clearly uncomfortable with when she let out a monstrous laugh, nearly bending herself in half.

               “I can’t believe you just quoted Dua Lipa at me.” She howled. “Paraphrased really, but still. Dean Ambrose practically singing…“ She trailed off as she tried to catch her breath.

               “Yeah, yeah.” He smirked. “Laugh it up.” He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen her laugh this hard, but he’d be willing to bet a hell of a lot of money that it was before the break-up. It was the first time since she’d gotten that phone call he could say he recognized the woman in front of him as the friend he’d met years ago.

               She laughed so hard she had tears rolling down her cheeks by the time she started to get it under control. She looked up at Dean, who was surprisingly silent, to see him grinning.

               “Not trying to defend yourself?” She asked, still chuckling as she wiped at her face with the sleeve of her sweatshirt.

               “Made you laugh. Good enough for me.” He shrugged. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen that.”

               The two were silent for a moment. The only sound in the room was the fading of Elena’s laughter and the soundtrack from the forgotten movie.

               “I guess… I guess it has been a while.” She mumbled, looking away as she realized he was right. She’d been telling herself that she was fine but she’d clearly been holding onto this more than she had realized. She had been miserable. Not just to her friends, but on her own and to herself. She was always tired and cranky. She rarely smiled unless it was for work, and even that felt forced.

               Dean sat quietly as he watched her struggle through whatever was going on in her head. Not only did he not know what to say, but he had no idea what she was thinking. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to come up with something.

               Elena’s breathing grew shakier the more she thought about everything that had happened. About the things she’d done to her friends. About being dumped from a long term relationship over the phone like she meant nothing. Finding out about the other woman – who even knew how long that could have been going on behind her back. Even if it hadn’t been physically, it was likely she had been emotionally cheated on, which was almost worse.

               “El?” Dean asked quietly, reaching out to rest a hand on her shoulder. As she felt his touch, she couldn’t stop the sob from escaping. She moved to turn away but Dean pulled her closer, wrapping her in his arms. Despite her first instinct to run, she curled her hand into his shirt, holding on as she felt something inside her mind snap.

               “It’s okay.” Dean murmured, rubbing her back as she began sobbing in earnest. “You’re gonna be okay, El. I’ve got you. I ain’t goin’ anywhere.”

               Dean was sure he’d made his fair share of girls and women cry in his time, but he didn’t think he’d ever been so relieved for it. Their plan had actually worked and he knew Elena had taken that first step to healing. She was going to be okay.

Part two!