Breakdown

"Where in the hell is my Chemistry book?" Sam growled to himself as he dug frantically through his locker. He had two minutes to get to class, and he couldn't find his textbook anywhere. He froze at the sound of his name coming from somewhere behind him.

"That's Winchester. The one I was telling you about?" It was a male voice, Sam could tell that much, and he could also tell that the jerk had no idea that Sam could hear him. He feigned continuing his search, straining his ears toward the conversation behind him. "I heard his dad telling the principal that his mom died when he was a kid. More than likely she just split."

Sam's entire body tensed up. He gave up all pretense of pretending to be deaf and merely stood there, bent over, half inside his locker, listening.

"From what I can tell, the whole family's whacked. Wouldn't surprise me if she just decided to take off. I've seen his dad around town. Guy's a drunk. I'm surprised he can even tie his own shoes, let alone raise two kids."

Sam whirled suddenly, startling the kid into dropping his backpack. He glared at the other boy from behind a curtain of shaggy brown hair.

"Oh, hey Winchester," the kid said lightly, though his eyes darted around frantically, searching for help. The girl that he had apparently been talking to edged away from him as if she could sense the danger he was in.

Sam began advancing on the other boy, very slowly backing him into the lockers. "Don't you dare talk about my family like that, you asshole," he said softly, his tone like ice.

"Look, man, it's nothing to be ashamed of. You can't help it that your dad's a worthless piece of—"

Sam cut him off with a fist to the jaw. The kid's head snapped around and hit the locker hard. He slumped to the ground with a groan.

Something in Sam snapped. He leapt onto the kid, driving his fists into any part of the other boy he could reach. A crowd gathered around them and people were shouting, but the only thing Sam could hear was the pounding of his heart and the rush of his anger through his veins. The kid weakly tried to defend himself, but Sam was unstoppable.

A strong pair of arms looped around his waist and hauled him off of the other kid. He struggled wildly as he felt himself pulled back against a sturdy chest and his arms locked behind his back in a vice-like grip. He was snarling like an animal as he thrashed against his captor, nearly managing to break free. The grip tightened, and suddenly his brother's voice was in his ear.

"Sam, calm down, right now," Dean hissed. Almost as if he were under a spell, Sam felt himself stop struggling.

"Let go of me, Dean," Sam growled.

"No," Dean said simply. He glanced down at the kid on the ground, who was moaning and clutching his face. "Christ, Sammy, I think you broke his friggin' jaw."

"Good," Sam hissed. "Maybe now the bastard won't be able to run his stupid jackass mouth."

Dean could feel Sam's entire body trembling, and though Sam's face was currently still contorted into a snarl of fury, he could tell that his baby brother was seconds away from breaking down completely. He pulled Sam back away from the crowd gathered around the injured student and cautiously let go of Sam's arms. He came around to grip Sam by the shoulders and stare into his face.

"Dude, what the hell?" he asked quietly. Sam could only shake his head, clenching his jaw to try and stem the tears he felt burning behind his eyes.

The principal appeared suddenly over Dean's shoulder, staring at Sam in surprise and shock. "Mr. Winchester…" he paused, seeming at a loss. "I'm going to have to ask you to join me in my office, Sam." He glanced at Dean, who now had a protective arm around Sam's shoulders. "Would you like to accompany us, Dean?" he asked, though from the look on Dean's face he knew that there was no other option. He turned and headed down the hall, the brothers not far behind him.

SPNspnSPNspnSPNspnSPNspnSPNspn

Dean honestly thought that his father's head was going to explode. He was torn between running for his life and trying to defend Sam, but one look at John's face and he decided that there was no way in hell he was getting in the middle of that.

Sam sat with his head down, refusing to look up. Dean's heart twisted at the sight of his not-so-little brother sitting there, looking for all the world like a lost little kid.

"What in the hell has gotten into you, boy?" John bellowed. The principal opened his mouth to speak, but Dean shook his head frantically in warning and he shut his mouth again. "I mean, it's bad enough that you've been acting out at home, but now I'm getting called by the school in the middle of the freaking day so they can tell me that my kid's been beating the crap out of the other students?" He leaned in closer, speaking so only Sam (and Dean, whose hunting-trained ears could hear better than the average human ear) could hear him. "Do you have any idea what you interrupted? What have I told you about fighting people who don't stand a chance against you?"

Sam lifted his head slowly, and Dean was shocked at the look of determination on his brother's face. Sam looked John dead in the eyes and spoke in a calm, quiet voice.

"He said that our family was whacked, that mom ran off because she couldn't deal with us, and that you were a worthless drunk who didn't know how to raise his kids," Sam informed his father, who stared at him, speechless. "I wasn't just going to sit back and let him talk about you like that. I know that now is the time for me to apologize and accept my punishment and Dad, I'll accept any punishment you want to give me without complaining. But I'm not going to apologize." He stared John down unblinkingly, waiting for a response.

John's eyes softened, though only Sam and Dean could tell, as his face remained the same. "We'll talk about this when we get home," he told Sam. He very slowly reached out a hand and patted Sam on the shoulder. "You did good, son," he said gruffly.

Sam's shoulders slumped as he registered John's praise. A small smile graced his face as he allowed himself to be led from the office, his equally relieved older brother following close behind, and a completely bewildered principal staring after the family.