A Winchester Halloween
Disclaimer: Supernatural belongs to the amazing Erik Kripke and the very fine people of Warner Brothers/The CW. I am merely playing in their sandbox. No copyright infringement intended.
John Winchester hated Halloween for a lot of different reasons. He hated that it was a night where true evil could walk easily among the costumes and decorations that adorned the streets. He hated that Halloween was one of the busiest nights for Hunters because of this. He hated the commercialism of it all- the costumes in every display window, the bags of candy tempting children in every store they went into, the scary movies on television that usually ended with the monster being killed by the awkward protagonist at the very last minute. But most of all, he hated it because it made him feel like the worst father in the world.
John remembered going trick-or-treating as a child. His mother usually made his costumes, but he didn't mind it. He appreciated how she would take the time to listen to exactly what he wanted and then spend hours crafting a costume better than anything he could have bought in a store. She always made sure that he took a nap before going out and that he ate a good, healthy dinner. Afterwards, she would sit down with him and go through all the candy, making sure it was safe to eat. The candy would then be rationed over the next few weeks, so John would find a few pieces in his lunch box and would be allowed a few pieces after dinner.
Once John grew too old for trick-or-treating, his mother would let him throw parties for his friends. He would invite ten to fifteen of them to the party and they would hang out in the basement, playing games and eating snacks while they listened to music. Sometimes they watched scary movies. John kissed his first girl on Halloween.
Once Dean was born, he looked forward to doing the same things with his own son. Dean was nine months old for his first Halloween and John could remember him crawling around in his Superman costume, his legs getting tangled up in the red cape occasionally. Mary wasn't as in to Halloween as he was and it took some time to convince her to take Dean trick-or-treating.
The next year, Mary decided to dress Dean up like an angel. John couldn't help but laugh at the fact that by the time they left the house, Dean's wings and halo were broken and he had spilled red juice all over the front of him. Mary didn't think it was as funny.
For Dean's third Halloween, John got to pick the costume. Raiders of the Lost Ark had been released a few months before and John loved the movie. He looked all over for a kid-sized fedora, a brown leather jacket, and a bull whip that would work, and by the time he was done, Dean looked adorable. Of course, he really didn't want to wear the hat, but after a few threats and even more promises, he left it on.
John was amazed by his son's fearless attitude. As they walked the streets, Dean ran ahead of them, not at all phased by the kids dressed up like werewolves, vampires, and monsters. He ran up to the houses all by himself, proudly proclaiming "twick-or-tweat" when the door opened and giving the homeowners his best Indiana Jones impression.
For Dean's fourth Halloween, Mary decided to dress him up like the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz. Dean loved his costume and for days afterwards, he would insist on wearing it, running around the house and constantly roaring until John thought he might go crazy. John could still hear the sound of Dean's "rawr" if he really thought about it.
The last "good" Halloween John remembered was Dean's fifth and Sammy's first. Mary decided that they would all dress up as Star Wars characters, much to his chagrin. She was Princess Leia, of course, while he dressed up like Han Solo. Mary dressed little Sammy up in a bear costume, stating proudly that he was an Ewok, but John thought he just looked like a bear. Not that he would tell her that. Dean was supposed to be Luke Skywalker, but he absolutely refused to wear the costume. Instead, he wanted to be Batman and nothing else would do. John remembered Mary trying everything she could think of to get the almost five year old to wear the Star Wars costume, but Dean adamantly refused. John didn't think he had ever seen such a battle of wills as the one he witnessed between his wife and son.
It all came to a head, though, when Dean took the toy lightsaber that came with the Skywalker costume and threw it, nearly hitting baby Sam as he slept near-by. Mary immediately grabbed Dean and firmly swatted his rear end all the way to the time-out chair she insisted on using when he misbehaved. John remembered walking in just a few minutes later to find Dean crying his eyes out as he sat in the chair and Mary angrily flipping through a magazine as she drank a glass of wine.
After talking with both of them, it was finally decided that Dean could go trick-or-treating as Batman as long as he allowed Mary to get a picture of them all in their Star Wars costumes.
Since that Halloween so long ago, John refused to acknowledge the holiday in any way. The first Halloween after Mary had died was unbelievably hard for him. Just two days before the first anniversary of her death, he found himself holed up inside some seedy motel room, listening to the sounds of Sammy babbling as he played with Dean. For the most part, Dean had stopped talking after Mary died, but John could occasionally hear him say something to his little brother while they were playing.
He found that it hurt to look at Dean sometimes, seeing so much of Mary in the boy. Because of that hurt, he often found himself staring into the depths of whatever bottle of alcohol he was drinking at the time. He hated what he had become after she died.
The Halloweens after that weren't much different, except for the fact that he was often gone, leaving Dean to watch out for Sammy while he went out to kill monsters. Once the boys started school, it became a little harder to ignore the holiday. They would often come home from school talking excitedly about costume parades and Halloween parties and John would have to tell them that they couldn't afford costumes or candy. He hated the looks of disappointment that covered their faces after that.
As they grew older, John found it necessary to tell Dean all about the dangers of Halloween. The boy already knew that monsters and evil existed, but he needed to know that Halloween was a particularly perilous night for such things. When he went out to hunt, he made sure that Dean knew not to leave the motel room and not to open the door for anyone but him. He would try to buy the boys at least one bag of candy to share, hoping that would be enough to satisfy them, but knowing that it probably wasn't. But, he trusted Dean to do what he was told.
And he did. Until the Halloween of 1994.
Dean Winchester loved Halloween. He knew that as a hunter he probably shouldn't, but he did. Who wouldn't love a holiday where strangers handed out free candy and general mischief was regarded as harmless, right?
He didn't really remember celebrating Halloween when he was younger, but he had seen a picture of the whole Winchester family dressed up like Star Wars characters once. He knew his dad kept that picture in his journal, too. Dean had a faint recollection of that Halloween, actually. Something about him not liking the Luke Skywalker costume, but that's all he could remember.
As they were growing up, the brothers spent most of their Halloweens sitting in a motel room, watching scary movies as they waited for their dad to come home. Sometimes, John would make sure they had some Halloween candy, other times they just ate cereal as they watched TV. Eventually, they began to want to go to parties or trick-or-treating like the other kids in school, but John wouldn't allow it. Dean could remember Sam throwing quite a few tantrums over the years, but he didn't blame the kid. If he wasn't so set on never disappointing his father, Dean knew he would have thrown a few tantrums himself.
Instead, he stayed home with Sam, trying to get the kid's mind off the fact that almost every other kid in the neighborhood was out getting free candy and having fun, while they were stuck inside a dirty, musty smelling motel room with stained carpets and crappy cable.
Dean did the best he could, but eventually it became too much.
The year that Sam was eleven and he was fifteen, John left on a hunt that would keep him away for almost two weeks. He was supposed to be back the day after Halloween, but he called the day before and told Dean that he would be gone for at least three more days. Dean decided then and there that he would make this Halloween fun for his little brother.
Sam woke up that Monday morning, relieved that they had the day off for some kind of teacher work day. Crawling out of bed, he made his way over to the small table in the kitchenette. He was surprised to see that Dean was gone, but he just fixed himself a bowl of cereal, settled himself back on the bed, and turned on the television. An hour later, Dean returned to find his brother watching Scooby Doo.
"Where have you been?" Sam asked the second he walked through the door.
"Out," Dean replied shortly.
Sam rolled his eyes at his brother's answer. "What's in the bag?" he asked, trying again to get his brother to talk.
"It's a surprise," Dean answered.
"For me?"
"Who else would it be for, dummy?" Dean asked, feeling bad immediately when he saw his brother's face fall. Stepping over to the bed, Dean tossed a small bag of candy at his brother. "Here you go, Sammy. Your favorite, right?"
Sam picked up the bag of Skittles and opened it. "Yeah. Thanks, Dean."
Dean settled in next to Sam, opening up a bag of peanut M&MS. "Isn't there a scary movie on or something? We've seen this episode a hundred times."
Sam got up and slowly flipped through the channels, stopping on an old black and white movie.
"No way, Sam. You know I hate this movie."
"Come on," Sam whined. "The Creature from the Black Lagoon is a classic."
"I don't care if it's a classic. I hate it."
"Fine." Sam continued changing the channel, eventually stopping on A Nightmare on Elm Street. "How about this one?"
"Yeah! Freddy Krueger is the best!"
Sam crawled back up onto the bed and decided to read his book instead of watching the movie. He wouldn't ever admit it to his brother, but Freddy Krueger scared him.
They spent all day watching scary movies, or reading in Sam's case, until finally Dean stood up. He headed over to the small kitchenette and started throwing some Spaghettios into a sauce pan.
"What are you doing, Dean? I thought Dad gave us money for pizza tonight."
"He did, but I spent it on something else," Dean admitted.
"What?! What did you spend it on? I wanted pizza!"
"Calm down, Sammy. And trust me. This is so much better, I promise."
Sam watched as Dean went over to the bag he had brought home earlier. Seconds later, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Where did you get that?" he asked as he stared at the cowboy hat, gun holster, and toy gun that his brother was holding.
"I went to a thrift store. I know you don't really like cowboys, Sammy, but it's all I could afford."
"But why did you buy it?" Sam asked in confusion.
"Because we're going trick-or-treating tonight."
"We can't!" Sam cried. "Dad said we couldn't, remember?"
"Well, Dad's not here, is he? And when Dad's gone, I'm in charge. So….. I say we go trick-or-treating and get us some free candy."
Sam still hesitated, but Dean could see how his eyes lit up.
"Are you sure, Dean? What if Dad finds out?"
"He won't find out," Dean answered more confidently than he actually felt.
"But what if he does?"
"Do I really have to answer that, Sammy? If he finds out, he'll be pissed and we won't be sitting comfortably for a few days. We don't have to go if you don't want to."
Sam hesitated again, but only for a few seconds. "No, I want to go. What are you gonna be? Did you find yourself a costume?"
"No, but I figured I could just take the bed sheet and cut some eye holes in it. That's easy enough, right?"
Sam laughed at that. "When can we go?" he asked excitedly.
"After we eat. Dad said he'd try to call us at six, so we'll wait until then. That'll still give us almost two hours to trick-or-treat. We can get a lot of candy in two hours."
Sam just smiled as he watched his brother pour the Spaghettios into two bowls. "You're the best, Dean."
John called at six-thirty to check on the boys. Dean assured him that they were okay and that they were just having a Halloween movie marathon. After reassuring the man that he would watch out for Sammy and make sure the kid didn't get too scared, Dean hung up the phone.
"Okay, let's go," he said as he grabbed the ghost costume he had made, two pillowcases to hold their candy, and the keys to the Impala. Sam, who was already dressed in his cowboy costume, followed Dean out the door.
"Where are we going?" he asked as he climbed into the seat next to his brother.
"I thought we'd go over by the lake. That's a nice neighborhood and I bet they give out good candy." Dean missed the blush that crossed his brother's face. "Hey, isn't that where that girl lives that you had to do that science project with? What was her name? Angel? Amber?"
"Andrea," Sam answered quietly.
"Yeah, Andrea! Maybe we'll run into her somewhere."
Sam didn't answer his brother. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to run into her, anyway. Whenever he was around her, his stomach felt like it was tied up in knots and he almost forgot how to talk. He knew he had a crush on her and the last thing he wanted was for Dean to find out about it.
By the time they arrived at the neighborhood by the lake, the streets were full of people. Sam felt a rush of excitement flow through him at the thought of doing something so normal. Dean was just excited to get some free candy.
"Listen up, Sam. Don't wander off, okay? You have to stay with me at all times."
"Dean, I'm not a baby," Sam argued.
"No, but if something happens to you, it's me that has to answer to Dad. And I like my head right where it's at."
Sam rolled his eyes.
"I mean it, Sam. Don't go wandering off somewhere. Stay with me."
"Fine."
Sam put his cowboy hat on and waited for Dean to throw the sheet over his head. He couldn't help but laugh at the fact that the eye holes were crooked and the sheet was almost too small.
"What are you laughing at?" Dean asked, but before Sam answered he continued. "Damn! I can't see anything through these holes."
Sam laughed even harder when Dean pulled the sheet off and threw it to the ground.
"Dean, you have to have a costume or people won't give you candy."
"I can't see, Sam. If I try to walk with that thing on, I'm gonna fall."
Sam looked at his brother, looked at the sheet on the ground, looked around, and then looked back at his brother. "I have an idea," he said.
Reaching down for the sheet, he started folding it in a weird way. It took him several tries, but eventually he had the sheet the way he wanted it and wrapped it around his brother, tying it up at the shoulder. After he was satisfied with it, he stepped over to a nearby bush and pulled off some leaves. Dean watched as he twined the leaves together. Once he was satisfied with what he had, he stepped over to Dean and put the twined leaves over his ears.
"What the hell, Sam?" Dean growled.
"Hold on Dean," Sam said as he continued to play with the leaves. After a few seconds, he stepped back and looked at his brother. "There. All done."
"Done with what?" Dean asked, still confused by what was happening.
"It's a toga, Dean. Like in that Animal House movie you love so much."
Dean looked down at himself and then back up at his brother, a huge grin suddenly covering his face. "You're a genius, little brother," he laughed. "A complete genius. Now let's go take candy from some little kids."
"I'm not taking candy from kids," Sam said, offended by the mere thought.
"I was joking, Sam," Dean said with an eye roll. "Maybe you're not as genius as I thought."
They spent the next hour running from house to house as fast as they could, filling up their bags with candy. Whenever they found a house that was giving out the good candy, they waited for a large group of kids to show up and they joined them, hoping that the homeowner wouldn't recognize them amongst all the kids.
Sam looked to be getting tired and his stomach was hurting a little from all the candy he had already eaten. Dean had been eating a lot too, but the older Winchester had a stomach made out of steel. Just when Sam was thinking about asking Dean if they could go home, though, something happened.
They had just left a house they had already hit up once when Sam ran directly into a girl dressed up like a fairy, knocking her to the ground in the process. As he helped her up and started picking up the candy that had spilled out of her bag, he was surprised to hear her say his name.
"Sam Winchester? Is that you?"
Looking up at her, he suddenly realized that it was Andrea Howell, the girl he had had a crush on for the last two months.
"Hi, Andrea," he said nervously. "I'm really sorry I knocked you down. You're not hurt, are you?"
"I'm fine, Sam," she answered. "What are you doing here? Don't you live on the other side of town?"
Sam couldn't help but be embarrassed by the fact that she knew where he lived. "Yeah, but my brother figured that there would be better candy over here." He didn't miss the way Andrea and the girl she was with looked over at Dean and began giggling. Why did girls always giggle and blush when Dean was around?
Turning her attention back to Sam, Andrea smiled shyly. "That's probably true. Some of these houses give out really good candy."
Sam didn't know what to say, so he started picking up her candy again. Once he was done, he handed her bag back to her and smiled. He could feel Dean watching his every move and for some reason he really wanted to kick him.
"Hey, Sam…. We're having a little party at my house right now. Would you and your brother like to come? There's lots of food and games."
"If you're having a party, why aren't you there?" Sam asked, causing Dean to swat him in the back of the head.
"Oh, we just left for a few minutes to walk over to Shawna's house. Her mom made some fresh cookies and wanted us to pick them up. We were just on our way back to our house and decided to hit up a few houses along the way."
Dean and Sam both noticed that the other girl was holding onto a plate of cookies. Sam laughed at the look on Dean's face.
"What kind of cookies?" Dean asked the girl holding the plate.
Both boys noticed the way her eyes widened and her face blushed.
"Um…. uh, chocolate chip, I think. And sugar cookies with frosting."
Dean stepped closer to the girl and looked down at the plate. "Those look delicious," he said with a wink.
"Um… you can have some if you want," she said, holding the plate out towards him.
Dean lifted four cookies off the plate and stuffed one in his mouth before telling the girl thank you. Sam rolled his eyes at his brother's lack of manners, but noticed that the girls didn't seem put off by it.
"Well? Do you want to come to the party, Sam? Please?"
Sam looked over at Dean, who gave him a slight nod. "I…uh, I don't know," Sam finally said. "We have to go home soon. Right, Dean?"
Dean gave Sam a toothy grin. "Not really. You can go for an hour or two, Sam."
Sam glared at his brother. "We're not supposed to stay out too late, Dean. Remember?"
"It's okay. Dad won't mind. I'll just tell him that you're in good hands, Sammy."
Before Sam could say anything else, Andrea grabbed his hand and started pulling him down the sidewalk. "Are you coming, Dean?" she asked when she realized that Dean wasn't moving.
"Nah. You guys go on. I'm gonna find something else to do. I'll pick you up at ten, Sam."
Both girls looked disappointed at that, but continued down the sidewalk, pulling Sam along with them.
Dean watched as the two girls and Sam moved down the sidewalk and turned into the driveway of a large white house. Once he couldn't see his brother anymore, Dean looked around, trying to decide what to do. When he didn't see anything but little kids running around, he decided to head back to the Impala.
He sat there for a few minutes, picking through his bag of candy, and tried to figure out what he was going to do with his almost two hour Sam-free time. Eventually, he decided to make his way over to a nearby diner/arcade that he knew a lot of kids from school hung out in.
They had been living in Bismarck for a little over two months and in that time, Dean really hadn't made too many friends. He had been on at least five dates, though, so he didn't feel too bad about it. Making friends was hard for him, mostly because whenever he came to a new school, he caught the attention of almost every girl around. This didn't sit well with the boys of the school, of course. They all felt like they had something to prove around him and Dean often found himself alienated from most of the male population.
He had made a friend in his biology class, though. They had been paired up to do a dissection of a frog and the poor kid he had been partnered with had a rather weak stomach. Once he learned this, Dean offered to do all the dissecting, if Corey would do all the writing. It was a good deal for both of them and they soon developed a casual friendship.
Dean was surprised to see so many people at the arcade and as he made his way inside, he was happy to find Corey sitting at one of the tables.
"Hey, Corey," he said as he stepped over to the table.
"Dean! Hey, have a seat." Corey waved at the empty chair across from him. "Hey, Dean, these are my friends, Davey and Aaron. Guys, this is Dean."
Dean, Davey, and Aaron nodded to each other and Dean could tell that the two boys were sizing him up. Looking around, Dean noticed several girls looking at him. He couldn't help but give them his trademark flirty grin, oblivious to the angry looks he was receiving from a few of the boys nearby. He brought his attention back to the table when he heard Corey laugh.
"How do you do it, man?" Corey asked.
"Do what?" Dean asked innocently.
"That!" Corey waved his hands towards the girls.
"I didn't do anything," Dean said. "I just smiled at them."
Corey laughed again. "It must be great being Dean Winchester. Knowing that every girl in a ten mile radius wants to go out with you."
Dean didn't know how to answer that, so he tried to change the subject. "You guys have any plans for tonight? Or were you just planning on sitting here all night, staring into your sodas."
"We don't really have any plans," Aaron answered. "Well, we did, but Corey didn't want to go along with it."
Dean eyed Corey closely. "What were you planning?" he asked. "Something fun?"
"Something that's likely to get us in trouble," Corey said. "And I just finished being grounded, so I'm not looking forward to making my parents angry again."
"Come on, Corey. Sitting here is just too boring," Dean said. "Besides, it's fun to do something that you know might get you in trouble, right?"
"You don't even know what they want to do. Maybe you should hear them out first."
"Alright," Dean said as he turned to Davey and Aaron. "What's the plan, boys?"
Sam's night wasn't going very well. Although, he was happy to be at the party, he was so nervous that his stomach was hurting him. It didn't help that he had eaten so much candy earlier and was now on his third can of soda. He knew most of the kids at the party, and although he wasn't really friends with them, he was able to at least hold a conversation without feeling like an idiot.
Every time Andrea looked at him or talked to him, he felt his stomach flip-flop. His hands were sweaty and he hoped that his lack of deodorant wasn't noticeable. He silently cursed his brother for using the last of it and forgetting to buy any more.
Looking at the clock, he realized that he still had at least an hour before Dean would be there to pick him up. All of a sudden, he wanted nothing more than to be back at the motel room, sprawled out on the bed and watching a scary movie.
Before he could think any more about it, Andrea walked over to him and grabbed him by the hand. "Hey, Sam….I think it's your turn now. Everyone else has already done it."
At first, Sam had no idea what she was talking about, but then he noticed the large basin of water in the center of the room that was filled with apples. He had absolutely no desire to stick his head in the basin and fish around for an apple after everyone else had already done it, so he tried to get out of it.
"I better not, Andrea. My brother should be here any minute."
"It's only nine o'clock, Sam. He said he'd pick you up at ten, remember?"
"Yeah, well….."
"Come on, Sam. It'll be fun, I promise. And if you get an apple, you win a prize."
Sam knew he wasn't going to be able to talk his way out of it so he allowed Andrea to lead him over to the basin. "Hey, everyone…. Sam's going to take a turn," she called out.
Sam could feel everyone's eyes on him. He could also feel his stomach roiling and sweat suddenly beading up on his lip. He felt a wave of dizziness wash over him and suddenly felt like he might pass out.
"Are you okay, Sam?" Andrea asked, noticing how pale he suddenly looked.
"I'm fine," he answered, trying to will himself into feeling better. Taking a few deep breaths, he slowly bent over the basin. He could feel the nausea building in his stomach, so he started swallowing convulsively. But, it was too late. Before Sam even knew what was happening, he hurled, bringing up every piece of candy he had eaten, along with the day's breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He stood up with his eyes closed and swaying slightly as he wiped his mouth and gulped some air into his lungs. When he opened his eyes, he saw the true horror of what had happened.
Andrea stood there with a horrified look on her face, covered in the pungent, sticky conglomeration of bile and half-digested food. Everyone and everything was completely still and quiet for several seconds, but then the quiet was disrupted by the sounds of everyone screaming in disgust and running up the stairs of the basement. Andrea still stood there as if in shock, not knowing what to do at the moment. Luckily, her mom quickly made her way down to the basement, alerted by the horde of screaming, running kids.
"What happened?!" she asked as she made her way over to Andrea. "Andrea? Are you okay?"
The three of them were the only ones left in the basement by that time and Sam couldn't help the feeling of shame and embarrassment that overtook him. "I-I'm sorry," he stuttered as he stared at the mess he had made. He could feel his stomach roiling again and he felt a desperate need to get out of the basement and get some fresh air.
Andrea's mother seemed to realize exactly what had happened and tried to step in. "Andrea, sweetie, why don't you go upstairs and get cleaned up. I've got this."
Andrea blinked several times and finally looked at Sam. "Sam…." she said.
"I'm so sorry, Andrea," Sam answered before she could say anything else. "I'm really, really sorry."
"It's okay, Sam," Andrea's mom cut in.
"No, it's not," Sam said. "I ruined the party."
Before anyone could say anything else, he turned and ran up the stairs. He could hear some of the kids laughing at him as he ran through the house, but he didn't stop. In fact, he didn't stop until he was out of the house, down the street, across a small field, and into a small woodsy area.
Dean looked at his watch and realized that it was already nine-thirty. He had gone along with Davey and Aaron's plan even though he thought it was stupid. But what else did he have to do?
After hearing them out, they all piled into the Impala and headed out of town. Dean warned them that if he found so much as a single fingerprint on the Impala he'd knock them out. All he needed was for his dad to find out that he had been driving people around in the car. Technically, he didn't have a driver's license and the Impala was only to be used during emergencies, so if his father knew how much Dean really drove it… Well, Dean didn't even want to think about how he would react.
Following Aaron's directions, Dean eventually pulled onto a gravel road that led to an old, abandoned house, not missing the numerous "No Trespassing" signs that were spread around. He couldn't believe that he was actually going along with their stupid idea to visit a supposedly haunted house, but Dean liked Corey enough to want to protect him in the off chance that the house really was haunted.
The first thing Dean noticed when stepping into the house was how cold it was. That wasn't completely unexpected, though, since it was October in North Dakota. Something else he noticed, though, was a bit more unexpected. There was some type of black goo covering multiple surfaces of the front room and he was pretty sure it was ectoplasm. Suddenly feeling like it wasn't a good idea to be there, Dean tried to come up with a reason to leave.
"This is stupid," he said. "This is the least haunted place I've ever been in."
"Oh, you've been in a lot of haunted places, have you?" Davey taunted.
"More than you, I bet. And this isn't one."
"How do you know, Dean? We just got here."
Dean pointed over to a corner of the room. "Look over there. There's a blanket, a sleeping bag, a pillow, and candles. Someone's living here. That's why people keep seeing lights in the windows and hearing strange noises. It's just a person, not a ghost."
"If someone's living here, where are they then?" Davey snarled, obviously not liking the way Dean was dismissing their idea.
"How am I supposed to know? Maybe they went grocery shopping. Or maybe they went to a Halloween party. Who cares?!"
Dean felt the air grow colder and he wondered if anyone else noticed it. Looking around, he couldn't see anything that looked like a ghost coming at them. "Let's just go. I'm sure we can find something else to do, right?"
Corey, who had been quiet up to that point, joined in. "Yeah, this is stupid. And it's getting really cold all of a sudden. Let's just go."
Davey and Aaron still weren't ready to go, but they changed their minds quickly when they heard the sound of a car driving down the gravel road. Without a word, all four boys ran to the Impala. Dean had the car running before the last boy was even in the car and he started driving the minute he heard the door close. Looking in his rearview mirror, he recognized the shape of a patrol car coming towards them.
"Damn it! It's a cop!"
"Go, go, go…." Aaron yelled, thumping the headrest anxiously.
"Where?" Dean asked as he realized they were on a dead end road. "The only way out is that road! We can't just drive right past him."
All three boys groaned at Dean's words. "Stop, Dean," Corey finally said.
"What?!" Dean asked, even though he knew he really didn't have any other options.
"It's okay. I think it's my dad."
"You're dad's a cop?"
"Yeah. Just stop and I'll talk to him, okay?"
Dean stopped the car and watched as the police car pulled up behind him. He watched in his side view mirror as the cop stepped out of the car and walked towards him, hands resting lightly on his gun. Rolling down the window, he waited.
The police officer stopped right outside his window and looked at Dean. Dean waited for Corey to say something, growing more nervous by the second.
"What are you boys doing here?" the cop asked Dean as he peered into the car. "Corey, is that you?"
"Yes, sir," Corey answered.
The officer looked more closely in the back seat. "Davey? Aaron? What are you boys doing way out here? I thought you were going to the arcade."
When no one answered, the officer ordered them out of the car. He stepped back as Dean opened his car door. Dean stood up straight and waited for the other three boys to come around to stand beside him.
"Is someone going to answer me?" he asked. Dean could tell he was getting angry at being ignored.
"We just came to check out the old Parker place, Dad," Corey finally answered.
"I thought I told you to stay away from here, Corey. It's not safe. And I know your fathers told you the same thing, boys," he said as he looked at Davey and Aaron.
"It was my idea, sir," Dean said, causing all three of his friend's heads to shoot up to him in surprise. "They didn't want to come, but I talked them into it."
"And who are you?" the man asked.
"Dean, sir. Dean Winchester."
"And is this your car, Dean?"
"It's my father's, sir. But he lets me drive it."
"It's a nice car," the officer said. "Much too nice to be driving on this old bumpy road, if you ask me."
Dean didn't know how to answer that, so he kept quiet.
"You boys know you're not supposed to be here. This is private property and the place has been condemned. It's dangerous. And you know you're not supposed to go anywhere without letting me know where you're going, Corey."
"I'm sorry, Dad," Corey said as he stared down at his feet. "We didn't plan it, really. It just happened."
"Well, you and I are going to have a long talk about this when I get home. And I imagine you already know that you're grounded again."
"Yes, sir."
"Davey? Aaron? I'll be talking to your parents, too."
Davey and Aaron groaned, but didn't say anything.
Dean shifted uncomfortably when the officer turned back towards him. "And how can I get in touch with your parents, Dean?"
"Um…. it's just my dad, sir, but he's away on business. He won't be home for a few days."
"Who's watching out for you while he's gone, then," the man asked.
"My cousin Caleb is. He's with my younger brother right now," Dean lied.
Corey's dad looked at all four boys as if trying to figure out what to do. Reaching into his wallet, he pulled out a business card and handed it to Dean. "When you get home, I want you to have your cousin call me, understand?"
"Yes, sir."
"Okay, then….. Boys, get in my patrol car. I'm taking you home. Dean, you go straight home, you hear?"
"Yes, sir," Dean repeated.
He watched as Corey, Davey, and Aaron climbed into the police car before getting back into the Impala. He thought for sure the cop was going to take him to the police station, so he was relieved when the man let him go. Of course, he now had to figure out a way to get Caleb to call the officer without his father finding out, but first he had to go pick up Sam. Looking at his clock, he realized that it was almost ten minutes after ten o'clock and he was late. He only hoped that Sam was having a better night than he was.
Sam watched from the woods, wishing with everything he had in him that Dean would show up soon and thinking about how much he hated Halloween. He was exhausted and cold, and his head was pounding from the crying he had been doing. He had never felt so humiliated in his whole life and he hoped that his dad would come back from the hunt and tell them to pack things up so they could move on. He hoped he never had to see Andrea Howell or the other kids ever again.
He had no idea how long he waited in the trees, but eventually, he heard the familiar rumble of the Chevy coming down the road. Wasting no time at all, he stepped out of the woods and made his way back to the road. He was hoping that Dean wouldn't notice where he was coming from, but doubted he could be so lucky.
And he was right. Dean made it to Andrea's house before Sam could make it across the field, so he knew that Sam had left the party.
"What the hell, Sam," Dean growled when Sam opened the door and climbed in. "You know you weren't supposed to leave the party until I got here. Where did you go?"
"Can we just go home? Please?" Sam asked in a shaky voice.
Dean looked over at his brother, taking in his pale face, reddened eyes, and trembling hands. "What happened? Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, Dean. I just want to go home."
"I need to know what happened, Sam."
"Just leave me alone, okay?" Sam snapped. "I'm fine."
Dean started to argue, but one look at Sam had him changing his mind. If his brother didn't want to talk about it at the moment, Dean would just get it out of him later.
"Let's go home," Dean sighed wearily, wondering how he always seemed to get himself in trouble.
Author's note: I thought I'd try my hand at a little story spawned by Sam's explanation of why he hates Halloween. Poor Sam.
I'm not sure if I'll continue to show how Dean gets himself out of the mess he's in or just leave it as it is. I'd love to hear what you all think. Thanks for reading.