Here's the second chapter! Thanks for everyone who's reading this.

I hope you enjoy! (also, the next chapter will have more Dean in it than these first two, so there's that to look forward to!)

"Trust me

There's no need to fear"-Let You Down, Three Days Grace

Gabriel sat in his room, awake long after Sam had made his way over to the guest room. He couldn't stop thinking about Sam, the way he avoided eye contact when Gabriel asked him if he was safe. Gabriel was determined to make Sam trust him, to let him help, because something was so obviously off but Gabriel just couldn't pinpoint it. He figured he could figure it out if he dug enough, but a part of him wanted Sam to tell him himself.

The next morning, Gabriel was driving Cas and Sam to school when Sam's phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Sammy!"

"Dean! How'd you even-"

"Managed to escape dad long enough to find a pay phone. So where the hell are you?"

"I'm still in town."

"Really?"

"He enrolled me in school."

"I swear, the second I can get to you-"

"I know, Dean." Sam smiled. "Jerk."

"Bitch."

Sam laughed as he ended the call.

"Who was that?" Cas asked. He knew it wasn't whoever called him that first day, since Sam had come back ready to murder someone.

"My older brother, Dean."

"Where is he?"

Sam shifted in his seat. "Away." His voice left no room for further questioning.

After a few tense and silent minutes, Gabriel finally pulled into the school parking lot. Sam basically jumped out of the car, and Gabriel frowned at his brother before following Sam.

"What was that?" he asked when he had caught up.

"What was what?"

"The little disappearing act you just tried to pull."

"I'm just walking to school." Sam didn't want to admit how embarrassed he was that he had to stay at the Novaks the night before. "I don't want to be late. I already have a detention with Mr. Walker today."

Gabriel winced. "That sucks."

Sam nodded in agreement.

"Do you have a place to sleep tonight?" Gabriel blurted, watching Sam's eyes grow.

"Yeah. I'm good, thanks."

Sam didn't show up for lunch that day, and Gabriel and Castiel tried calling him, but got no answer. They didn't share any classes, and they never caught a glimpse of him in the hallways. Gabriel was determined to find him, and after school dropped his brother off at their house before heading downtown. He had no idea where to look, or where Sam even lived. Eventually, he pulled his car into an empty lot and headed out on foot.

It took him around an hour to find Sam, and even then it was nothing but stupid luck. Gabriel went into a store to buy some gummy worms, and happened to see Sam there. He opened his mouth to call out his friend's name, just as Sam quickly grabbed granola bars off the shelf and stuffed them into his pants. He then picked up another one, digging around in his pocket for the money to pay for it.

The words died on Gabriel's lips as Sam payed for the granola bar and walked out of the store. Candy forgotten, Gabriel followed Sam, waiting a few seconds before grabbing his arm and twisting him around.

Sam's face flashed briefly to panic before calming slightly down. "Hey."

"Really? Hey? Where were you today?"

"At the nurses." Sam said truthfully. His head had been killing him since the morning, and the last thing he needed was to get sick. "And then detention."

Gabriel accepted the answer. "Okay. Why did you just steal granola bars?"

Sam's face drained of any color. "You saw that?"

"Yeah, you're lucky no one else did."

Sam didn't say anything.

"You're coming over tonight." Gabriel said, and dragged Sam back to the car before driving the both of them to the Novak house. Cas was napping on the couch, and Michael just frowned and said that Zachariah was going to be there in an hour or so from the airport, but Sam was still welcome.

"Great." Gabriel muttered under his breath before leading Sam up into his bedroom, shutting the door softly. He turned to Sam. "Do not move, I swear to god, I will knock you out."

Sam just gave him a confused look as Gabriel left the room.

Michael gave his younger brother a look as Gabriel gathered an armful of food. "Dinner's at five."

"I know."

Sam protested as Gabriel came back into the room, stuffing all the food in a very large insulated bag before placing it in his mini fridge. "You can take that in the morning."

"I don't need-"

"Yes you do. You're not the type to steal for fun, and the only thing I've really seen you eat is the candy bars I give you. I don't need to know why, but I'm gonna let you starve. Okay?"

Sam was stunned, and considered pinching himself. "T-thanks."

"And if you ever want to tell anyone about what's happening, I'm here. Anytime, okay? You can call."

Sam grimaced. "I actually don't have a phone anymore."

"Why not?"

Because dad stopped paying for my phone. "I broke it."

"You can't get a new one?"

"I have to steal food."

Gabriel sighed. After a minute he located an old phone of his, grabbed the charger, and handed it to Sam. "I can pay the bill."

"What am I? Your charity case?" Sam said with a hint of venom.

"No! Course not." Gabriel thought over his words for a second. "You can deny it all you want, but I don't think your very safe. I can't do anything without proof, so I want to be able to reach you, and vise versa."

Sam didn't look happy, but plugged the phone in to let it charge. Gabriel grabbed his laptop and put Sam's phone on his plan, making a mental note to tell Michael before he cancelled it.

By the time everything was set up, they were being called down for dinner. Zachariah was sitting at the table, along with Cas and some other family members. Michael was at the head, and Gabriel sat Sam and himself as far away from his uncle as possible, but Zachariah was a nosy son of a bitch, and was very interested in Sam, firing question after question. Sam answered politely, but said no more than he had to.

"Where are your parents? I hear this is the second night you've spent at this house."

"My mom's dead." Sam said softly, and everyone except Zachariah sent Sam sympathetic looks.

"And your father?"

"My dad and my brother are out of the state."

"Really? Why?"

Sam squirmed in his seat, and Gabriel decided he'd had enough. "Are you interviewing him for a job? Let's talk about something else. Zachariah, how was your trip to Italy?"

Zachariah launched into a very long, very boring tale of his third trip to Italy and fifth to Europe. Sam sent Gabriel a grateful smile, and Gabriel returned it. However, his mind was spinning. Was Sam by himself then? Gabe knew he had a brother, Sam talked about Dean all the time and they called each other a lot, but what about his father?

What exactly was Sam's life like?