Stanford, California, USA.
A light breeze and the typical Californian sunshine welcomed the 18-year old, who had just manoeuvred his long legs out of the cab that had brought him to his new home. Placing his travelling-bag next to him on the pathway, he ruffled through his auburn hair and sighed. He was here, finally. But he wished, that the last day with his family – his father, John, and his brother, Dean, hadn't ended like this. A hug, an encouraging pat on the back and last words like, "Visit us sometimes, okay?" were the things which a young person going to college wanted to get on the day he left. But who was he, expecting something of these from his dad? Hunting, that was all John lived for. Killing the demon that took his wife Mary had become his only reason to live and the lacking interest of his younger son in supporting him was something he simply couldn't understand. After spending countless hours trying to persuade the boy not to go, he had eventually given up. When his son had left the motel room the family was living in at the moment the last thing John could be heard shouting was "Don't you dare ever to come back, you traitor!" Relationship to family: A+.
"Hey! Can I help you?" Sam Winchester gave a start when he was unexpectedly ripped out of his thoughts by a loud voice. A young man, about his age, stood next to him, a questioning smile on his face. "Are you one of the new students? " Sam nodded, still a little confused through the sudden interruption. "Yeah, I am Sam," he finally managed to say. "Sorry, I was just lost in thought.". "No worries man I know, Stanford can be pretty overwhelming. Do you know which hall you'll live in?" "Stern Hall, House Serra" "Oh, so you are a Law School student. Law people mostly live in Stern. Grab your stuff, I'll show you the way there." Now in fact slightly overwhelmed, Sam lifted his bag off the ground and followed the nameless person. But still there was one thing he knew. No one had treated him this friendly in many, many years.
Around the evenfall Sam had stored the small amount of clothes he owned, as well as his personal belongings in his new room and he began to feel lonely. His roommate wasn't going to arrive before the next weekend, he had been told. Slipping a light jacket over his plaid shirt he stood up, locking the door behind him as he walked out of the room. Old habit. He brushed one of these damned strands of hair behind his ear and left the Serra building. The campus was alive. Many students were on their way to club meetings or getting themselves something to eat.
It would have been easy for Sam to join them, making a new friend and finding someone who he talk to about anything which hadn't to do with Demons, Werewolves or Shapeshifters, but for some reason he didn't feel like it anymore. Instead he remembered there was a park close to his dorm, the Arguello Park, and decided to go there.
Finding a free bench in a relatively deserted part of the park, he sat down, ruffled through his hair again - he should really get it cut - and let his glance wander up to the sky. It felt weird, just sitting around without anything to do and no one to tell him differently. He practically expected his father or Dean to appear behind one of the big pine trees every moment, announcing that there was a new case, another hunt and more research for him to carry out.
Dean. Was he okay? Leaving his brother behind was the only thing that had Sam made think about staying with his family. He feared, that without him, Dean would become just like John - obsessed with hunting, even more than he was now. How much influence his father really had on the older son, he did not know. Trusting in Dean's capability of realising John's intention of leaving him with the family business was the only thing Sam could do right now.
"Lost in thought again, Winchester?" For the second time today, Sam gave a jerk. It was the nameless guy, but this time together with a blonde girl, who smiled friendly at Sam. "Oh..er..." "Yeah, sorry, forgot to tell you my name this morning. I'm Brady, and this is Jess. Wanna go over to Rinconada lounge and watch Return of the King? I got the DVD yesterday." Watching a movie with new friends instead of doing research or driving around endless hours in the Impala - that sounded kind of surreal. But what did he know about "normal" life? Surely not much. Still, he was now a law student at one of the best universities in the world. Real life was going to hit him at one moment, so why not now? "Sure" he answered, now smiling as well. "Let's go!"