Dean Stavros

     Tracking Dean down hadn’t exactly been the easiest job to pull of, but with a little help (or a lot, but who was keeping track) from Caleb, he’d managed to at least get a rough estimate. And, well, with a little bit of the trailing skills he’d picked up from a fair few too many run in’s with A, Spencer had soon figured out exactly which motel room was Dean’s. It wasn’t like he meant to stalk him, but there was a chance he was in trouble. After what had happened between them, Dean had gone completely off the radar, and it had him worried

     Which was exactly why he’d just headed up the stairs the moment the suspense got too much for him. He was hardly a patient person, something he’d demonstrated time and time again. That was why it only took a few more bangs for him to be dropping in to a crouch in front of the motel door, working it open without a moments hesitation. Honestly, Spencer wasn’t sure whether to be proud or disappointed with quite how easily he picked the lock, but once he was in the room?

     Nothing prepared him for the sight. “Dean?” His voice attempted to remain firm as he moved closer to where he was sprawled out on the bed, but the concern obviously tinged his words. “Can you hear me, Dean?”

          Dean’s eyes  immediately went towards Spencer’s frame as the male broke into his motel room. All he could see were altered shapes, all moving around too much for him to process. His breathing was irregular, almost like it was hitching every other time, though his heartbeat was constantly at a breakneck pace. It was almost as though he was trying to say something, but nothing legible was pouring out of his mouth.

          Batshit high was probably the last thing to describe Dean at this point. It went beyond that. Mixing a few pills and a few other narcotics and various other drugs all at one time wasn’t the best idea, but it was something he was used to doing. Now, Spencer was going to see just how down right shitty his life was before he stopped using. All those years down the drain and Spencer was there to witness all of it.

“NOTHING!” She replied, shaking her head. Clenching her fists tightly, she could hear her knuckles cracking. “I don’t want your help. I can take care of myself on my own. Now, get out of my sight — or else.”

          “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. Look, this isn’t for my benefit, this is for            yours. I’ve seen enough people go down this road and I don’t want to            see you going down that path too.” Nothing but worry could be read            on Dean’s face and he hoped Dakota realized that. “This isn’t something            you can just handle yourself. Believe me.”

         ❛  OW.. it’s FINE, It just hurts. I mean             I should have LOOKED where I was             GOING . It’ll be fine, don’t worry about it.  ❜

          “You’re clearly hurt and I’d rather we be safe than sorry.” Dean huffed            out a breath of air as he shook his head. He leaned down, hooking the            younger male’s arms around his shoulders to help him walk towards his            car. “What’s your name?”

“Did you get that line from a movie?” Dakota took a glance at the small box, letting out a nervous laugh. “That’s not mine.” She wasn’t the best liar, no — she was the worst at lying.

          “No, I just know from experience.” Dean shook his head, tucking the            container back into his pocket. It would likely only make Dakota even            more nervous. “What would it take for you to let me help you?”

          “I—I’m really sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was driving. Are—Are            you sure you’re okay? I can drive you to the hospital right now.”

          “Look, this is going to sound very cliché and I know that, but for me           to have a chance at helping you… You have to admit to yourself that           you have a problem first.” Dean huffed out a breath, holding up a           small box that he knew Dakota hid her pills in. “Hiding things like this           isn’t something a person without a drug problem does.”

          “I can work with that. What if we can do our homework together for the classes that we’re in? That way she’s still getting it done and I’m getting help on this stupid homework.” Hansel wasn’t stupid, he knew a good idea when he saw one and he wasn’t really in the position to be telling Dean what to do. Plus it would definitely lighten the blow when Spencer heard that she wasn’t going to be able to go to school for the next week. “I’ll tell them to not even try to sneak Spence out and that she’ll be in house arrest for the next week.” It was just meant to come out as a joke, but the blonde didn’t know if the man would take it that way. “Do you always watch her though? Like even when she’s showering or sleeping? Oh my gosh you’re like Santa Claus.” Hans was walking the counselor over to the door, wondering if he could go check on Spencer as well. He didn’t know if it was allowed, but he was planning to work his way around it. “Don’t worry, I get it. If I had went crazy like that and popped some pills I wish someone would be this dedicated to making me get better though. Can I walk you to the house though? Talk a little bit more, maybe get your number just in case.”

          “Okay, you can walk with me to Spencer’s house, but the rules are going to apply immediately.” Dean pursed his lips, hoping not to run into any more resistance. He gets it, every single aspect of it, to have friends taken away, sequestered, and almost completely cut off. Hansel may not know this, and Dean hoped he didn’t, but Spencer being cut off for a short while was better than losing Spencer permanently due to the possible lethality of the drugs she was taking. Dean reached into the bag he had by his waist and pulled out a card, his own, though it was nothing fancy. “Here’s my card if you really want my number, but I can’t promise I’ll be able to say a lot about what’s happening with Spencer. It’s kind of like a doctor patient confidentiality agreement between me and her.” Dean nodded, offering the card to Hansel.

          Dean swallowed hard, staring down at the pills at the palm of his hand. Years, he’s stayed off of his dangerous vice, but this one particular moment in his lifetime suddenly made him feel like he was twenty again and in desperate need of a fix. A call could have stopped all of it, a five minute talk with someone from the meetings, but he didn’t want to pick up his phone. That was the worst part, he supposed. He wanted this. Before he knew it, he was glancing back down at his hands and the pills were gone. He’d swallowed them and he could already feel the effects of the drug spreading throughout his body. It would last hours and he made sure it’d be that way. Maybe he would overdose, maybe he wouldn’t; that didn’t really matter. At least not to him.

          A small huff of breath rushed out of his lips as he laid down on his motel bed, staring up at the ceiling. He could feel his heart racing, picking up and slowing down; all seemingly at the same time. His pulse altered his vision, like his eyes had a heartbeat of it’s own. That was just an after effect of the drug. Something he’s gotten so familiar to and distant all in the course of a few years of his life. Much like a lost twin, he was welcoming it back into his life. All because of Spencer Hastings.

          Suddenly, he could hear a knocking at his door. It was close by yet so far away. The knocks were like thunder, and he wasn’t sure what to think about it. All he could think of was that it could be a past starting to haunt him. Either way he couldn’t answer. He was paralyzed, not in fear, but simply just because he was too high to even function normally anymore. He could hear a voice behind the door, maybe calling out his name, but it was too blurred out and slurred for him to even recognize.

Meanwhile I’m just being too lazy to go finish sorting out my multimuse even if I need Spean…Dencer…I have no idea what teir ship nakme is I just need it after that last scene of their siugheuighe

          “Look, I know that you’re trying to help her and all, but I’m her best friend and I just can’t sit on the sidelines when all of this is going down.” Dean wasn’t what Hansel had a problem with. It was that over one small little thing, over just hanging out with the blonde for two hours, Spencer was already not going to be able to go to school again. “Oh yeah I’m sure she had a kick off of the Chinese food we delivered and fro yo we ate before.” It came out a little bit more harsh and sarcastic than he had meant it to, but Hansel cared too much for Spence to let this happen. He stood up right next to Dean, willing to even follow him all the way back to the Hastings’ house if he had to. “Great so I just to see her every day for two minutes when I hand her the assignments. I can’t even gossip about Becky wearing skinny jeans two sizes to short in that time.” He sighed softly. Spence and him didn’t talk about that sort of stuff, but he had already lied about what they had been doing last night. “So this twosome just became a threesome without me knowing it? I appreciate that you’re helping Spencer out and everything, but I don’t want to feel like you have a cup to the door whenever you leave us alone or something.”

          “It’s not just two minutes. You can hang out with her for… An hour or two. I’m putting a limit on that. I’m already risking a lot by giving her that privilege.” It was only making his job harder, but if it meant less resistance from Spencer’s friends then he’ll take it. The only thing he could hope for now was that it would all pay off and that Spencer wouldn’t totally hate him for taking away her ability to actually attend school. “If you could tell Spencer’s other friends about it, then I’d appreciate it. For now, I really have to go before Spencer wakes up.” Hell, he was even risking his job if her parents figured out he left the barn just to speak with Hansel. His job was to stick with Spencer all day and everyday, after all. If he wasn’t doing that, then he might just end up getting fired. “I really hope that you can understand, but this is how it has to be for a while until I can make sure that Spencer is one-hundred percent better. Trust me, what I’m having Spencer do would be a lot better than what Spencer would have to do in rehab.”

          Sure, Hansel knew the gravity of the situation that Spencer was currently in, but he wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her. After she went to Radley, after it felt like Mona all over again, he vowed to always protect her in every way that he could. If that meant fighting for her rights with Dean then so be it. “It was one night and only for two hours and a half. I picked her up and I returned her to make sure she was safe, isn’t that enough? Maybe she just didn’t want to wake you. I sprung it on her last minute.” The blonde sighed softly as he placed the water bottle down on the counter, this was so messed up. “Be honest with me here, do I look like a bad influence? For crying out loud I once told her a person couldn’t hear us because she was blind. If Spence is around me she’s not going downhill. I make sure of that.” Hans shook his head slightly, crossing his arms over his chest. “Sorry, but I can’t let you do that. Spencer needs school, okay? I swear if that girl goes a week without taking an exam she will start to molt. What if I tell you every time we’re going to go out, text you or something, where we’re going to be and for how long?”

          “That’s not the point.” Dean shook his head. Maybe he should have come better equipped to deal with this sort of confrontation. Friends often hated it when their friends were restricted. It was a hive mind, in a way, and something Dean was more than familiar with. “You might not be a bad influence, but I don’t know that. There are plenty of things Spencer can get her hands on even if you two were only watching a movie. There are just precautions that we all have to take.” Dean stood up from the counter, preparing himself to leave. As much as he wanted to continue arguing with Hansel over this, he couldn’t just leave Spencer alone in the house hoping that she’s still asleep. “It’ll just be like the arrangement we had before. Spencer will get her school work and if you really want to, you can be the one to personally deliver it to me.” Of course, he’d be making sure that they weren’t sneaking anything to each other, but he hoped Hansel could understand. “I’m sorry, but that’s not going to happen. If you guys want to hang out, you can do it at Spencer’s house while I’m there, like I said.”

          “That must have been a hell of a conversation to have with her. I still don’t even know how you got her to agree to that in the first place.” Spencer wasn’t always one to follow the rules or comply to something easily, most likely she was the one who had to be in control. As he took a long gulp of his water he finally turned to face Dean, not believing what he was saying. “Look I’m sorry that I made her sneak out last night, but it’s not like we were doing anything bad. We just came back her after getting some frozen yogurt and watched the Notebook. I can show you my most recently rented on my television.” Thankfully he had bought the movie last night, but that was after he got home alone. “Wait, so now you’re saying that she basically can’t be friends with me outside of school? I get that you’re trying to help her and all, but she needs her friends as well and taking that away from her is like taking away her own family. We’re not going to just stop seeing her and she’s probably going going to stop seeing us either. Plus, none of us even do drugs so she’s safe around us.”

          “It’s not like that.” Dean assured, now knowing he had to tip toe around the situation. Friends often don’t understand the gravity of the situation. “I don’t want Spencer not to be friends with you. I just would feel better if she didn’t sneak off at night while I’m asleep.” Trust was very much a needed ingredient to have what they were trying to accomplish work. If Spencer goes out at night without telling him, there is almost no reason to trust her. “Half of this is so that she doesn’t have any potentially bad influence or temptations, friends included. Not that I’m saying you’re a bad influence, but no one can really be too sure.” He took a deep breath before huffing it out slowly. “Look. I’ve already left Spencer alone for too long back at her house and it’s very obvious to me that this is just going to keep happening again. So, what I’ll do is I’ll revoke Spencer’s privilege to go to school for the next week, but I will let friends visit her. With my supervision, of course.”

          “Did you really make her pee in a cup?” The blonde wasn’t going to hide that Spencer and he had countless of conversations about her new counselor. Sure, she tried to hide it at first but soon enough she cracked down about it and explained everything to him. “Suit yourself.” He apparently always told Spencer to stay hydrated, but maybe he didn’t have to because he didn’t seem to be sobering up. When the real reason why he was here was finally shown, Hansel couldn’t help but widen his eyes. He remembered why they sneaked out. It was because of -A but it was Hans decision to take Spencer. With blue doe eyes the blonde spun around and walked into the kitchen. “Um yeah, well look that wasn’t really Spence’s fault so you can’t punish her for it.” He opened up the fridge and took out a bottle of water, opening it as he refused to make eye contact with Dead. “I was going through a whole bunch of mood swings last night and needed her, she’s my best friend and always knows how to cheer me up. I’m sorry…”

          “Yes, I did, for very good reasons. Trust me, it was a little uncomfortable for the both of us.” But, as a counselor, he’s never shown Spencer that level of nervousness. His job was to make sure everything goes smooth sailing, after all, and that meant trying to look confident and comfortable so that Spencer can do the same. “I know that you’re Spencer’s friend and that you may or may not just be covering for her, but this is a very serious matter we’re dealing with.” Of course, Dean would still have Spencer pee in a cup to test for any possible signs of drugs, but he figured getting an answer from her friend first would be worth a shot. Spencer definitely wouldn’t tell him the truth had he asked her. “If you were going through some mood swings, then I’m very sorry; but as a counselor trying to help Spencer, I think it’d be better if she doesn’t do that. I’m sure her family would feel the same way.”

          “Well I already let you into my house.” Which was probably not the best idea, but the man did seem like he had good intentions. When Hansel walked further into his own house he heard the name that was actually familiar to him. Spencer had talked about the man recently. “Oh, you’re Dean!” He didn’t mean to say it that excitedly, but it was nice to finally be able to put a name to the face. “It’s nice to meet you. Spence told me about you, not them.” He shook Dean’s hand firmly, turning to fully face him. “Is this going to be like twenty one questions Spencer edition? Oh, and can I get you anything to eat or drink?”

          “Yeah, I’m sure Spencer had a lot to say about me.” Dean chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck. He knew how resentful Spencer can be towards him, at least after all the stuff he’s made her do. It was for her own good and as her counselor he regretted none of it so long as he could help her. “No, that’s fine,” Dean waved his hand, “I’d actually like to get into what I came here for right away.” Of course, he didn’t want it to end up this way, but it’s how things have played out. “I’m here to talk about Spencer. Last night. I saw her sneaking out with you; and I know I just allowed her to actually attend school, but I might have to retract that privilege again because of that.”