"When you finally trust me

Finally believe in me"-Let You Down, Three Days Grace

Sam Winchester knew his father was off, knew that he loved his elder son more than his younger one. John and Dean knew it too. But Sam never thought John would do this.

They had been low on money. John's drinking habits were expensive, and credit card fraud only got them so far. So when John sent Dean out for a coffee run, he took his other son and dropped him off at a motel, saying he'd get Dean and drive back later.

So Sam waited. But the next morning, he knew something was wrong. So he called his father.

"Dad? Where are you?"

"Dean and I are on our way to Maine."

Sam frowned. "I'm in Ohio."

"I know, son."

"What's going on, dad?"

"We're short on money, and this was the only solution. I paid for you to sleep in the hotel for a week, and enrolled you at a school there, start tomorrow. But you can't come with us anymore."

The phone slid out from Sam's grasp, and he fumbled to pick it up. "What does Dean think about this?"

"I'll force him to understand if I have to." John hung up.

Sam threw the phone across the room, watching it bounce off the wall.

Gabriel sat on his couch, candy wrappers spread around him like flower petals. Castiel

frowned at his brother but didn't say anything.

"Lighten up, Cassy," Gabriel stuck out his tongue, which was tinted blue from a lollipop he had unwrapped a few moments ago.

"I will not 'lighten up'. Do you not have homework to do?"

Gabriel shrugged, and Castiel threw up his hands before leaving the room, muttering something that sounded like "You're impossible."

Not wrong.

Sam didn't really want to go to school, but figured since John had already enrolled him, it'd draw unwanted attention to not show up. He was a junior, and dreading every second of it. He was too busy wondering what the fuck he would do when his week at the motel was up. He had no money, no job, and did not particularly want to be homeless.

But he couldn't really explain that to his teachers, and until he was able to contact Dean (John disconnected his phone) and sort this out, he was stuck.

Oh, and his math teacher, Mr. Walker, seemed to automatically hate Sam the second he walked through the door. It was wonderful.

By the time lunch rolled around, Sam still hadn't talked to anyone he wasn't forced to, so he didn't have anyone to sit with, choosing an empty table in the back of the cafeteria. He had no food, so he just took out some of his homework and spread it across the table, until someone plopped beside him, and threw a candy bar at his face. Sam looked up.

"Hi?"

"I'm Gabriel, and my creepy brother standing behind you is Castiel."

Sam whipped around to the guy standing behind him, and then back to Gabriel. He was sure he was making a weird face, but then his phone, which he managed to repair, started ringing, and he answered it.

"Dad?" he asked, gesturing to Gabriel and Castiel that he'd be right back before walking away.

"Hi, Sam."

"Hi? Really? What the fuck dad? I have no money, no where to live when the week is over, and you say hi?"

"Look I'm sorry, Sam. I really am, but this is the only way."

"You're disgusting."

"Look, I know I have no right to ask anything of you-"

"You don't." this time, Sam hung up, staring at his phone for a second before sitting back down with Castiel and Gabriel. "Sorry about that."

ONE WEEK LATER

Sam was shaking violently as he stepped out of the hotel. With his week over, he had no where to go. He only had his phone and a small bag of things like clothes and a hairbrush. He walked around, not sure what to do with himself. This town was too small to have a homeless shelter nearby, and he had no way to get to one. The only thing he could think of was to call Gabe and Cas, his friends, and he'd rather have a needle stuck in his eye than to ask them for help. So eventually, Sam found an alley that looked safe enough, and grasping his knife, fell into a troubled sleep.

The next day at school, he was sore beyond belief. After sleeping on the cement, his body was not happy with him, and he hadn't eaten since he stole that loaf of bread and cheese two days ago. Sometimes Gabriel threw candy at him, and Sam hoped that today was one of those days.

"Sam? Did you do your homework?" Mr. Walker asked, smirking as Sam inwardly groaned.

"No."

"And why not?"

"Because I have bigger issues than my algebra homework."

A few students giggled behind them, but Mr. Walker assigned Sam a detention for the next day. Awesome. Sam looked out the window. It was raining.

Fucking awesome.

It was easy for Gabriel to sense that something was wrong when Sam approached him, looking like there was a bomb strapped to his chest.

"What's wrong, kiddo?"

Sam frowned at the nickname. "I was wondering...uh...nevermind." he turned around, ready to run away, but Gabriel grabbed his arm and made Sam face him.

"What do you need?"

"I don't have anywhere to sleep tonight." Sam said softly, looking at the floor.

"You wanna sleep at my place?"

Sam nodded, still refusing to meet Gabriel's eyes.

"That's not a problem."

At this, Sam did look up, surprise shining on his face. "Really?"

"Yeah, course. Meet me by Walker's room after school."

Sam agreed, and soon the younger boy was gone.

However, Gabriel couldn't stop his mind from worrying. Why did Sam not have a place to sleep tonight? Was he abused? He seemed fine, just tired and hungry, which was why Gabriel gave him candy bars, but was there something he just couldn't see? He had a place to sleep every other night, but was he safe there?

The rain had shifted to a downpour by the time the school day ended, and Sam met up with Castiel and Gabriel. Gabriel had a cherry red Mustang, and driving skills that scared Cas and Sam. They managed to get to the Novak house in one piece, and Sam gasped when he saw it.

It was more like a mansion than a house, and Sam felt a flare of anger and jealousy. Why did they have so much when Sam only had a small bag of possessions, an alley, and stolen food? But he shook his anger off. The Novaks were nice people, and they deserved what they had.

"I'm just gonna warn you, Sam, some of my family can be...intense. Like, worse than Cas." Gabriel smirked.

"Nothing I can't handle."

Gabe nodded, and the three of them made their way into the house. The entryway was bigger than most of the hotel rooms the Winchesters had been stuffed into, and it only got larger from there, to the point where Sam was worried he'd get lost.

"Castiel, Gabriel, who is your friend?"

The three of them turned to a man who simply radiated power.

"Michael, this is Sam. He requested a place to sleep for the night." Castiel answered.

"Hello Sam." Michael turned toward him. "Do you not have anywhere to sleep?'

"I just need somewhere for tonight."

"Does this have anything to do with the fact that it is raining?"

Gabriel noticed how Sam stiffened. "No."

Michael nodded, and let the boys continue upstairs. "You can sleep in one of the guest rooms tonight." Gabriel gestured to an empty room, stopping for Sam to put his stuff down on the bed before continuing to Gabriel's room. Cas headed off in his own direction to do homework.

Gabe flopped down on his bed, and Sam sat in a weirdly fluffy chair.

"So why do you not have a place to sleep tonight?" Gabriel asked, his voice gentle yet firm.

Sam shrugged, his mind too tired to come up with a lie but not tired enough to tell his friend the truth.

"It's fine if you don't want to tell me, but...you're safe, right?"

Sam nodded, not trusting his voice to lie to Gabriel.