Title: Step-Brothers: Blood Doesn't Tie Us
Genres: Family / Friendship / Drama
Rating: T
Summary: Sam didn't want a new mom or brother but couldn't deny his dad happiness. With drama and problems, the Winchesters must learn to get along. Sam/Dean later
Warnings: Sam/Dean, Mary/John, het pairings, slash pairings, incest, cursing, Sam/others, Dean/others, homophobia, no hunting AU, family drama, epic length
TWO
Maddie was looking at him all through Art class today. Dean wasn't so busy with working on his sketch to not notice the way her lashes fluttered over lush, green eyes. She saw him gazing back at her and raised an eyebrow high behind her bangs, her face expectant, her lean relaxed and sure. Dean was certain she expected he'd just get up and walk over to her like all the other jocks that she seemed to have wrapped around her pinky, but all he did was raise his eyebrow back at her, a crooked little grin plastered to his face. For a moment they held each other's stare. Then Maddie huffed, her face looking offended as she gave a slight toss of her shoulders and took out a small compact mirror from her purse. Dean rolled his eyes and got back to his drawing. They'd talk later after class, maybe at lunch.
He was right. When the lunch bell sounded, Maddie was already making her way to him just as he reached his locker. He paused for a brief moment, fingers hovering over the locker combo. "Sup, Maddie," he said as he turned the combo and jerked the handle to open his locker in one fluid movement.
"Don't 'sup' me, Winchester. You purposely ignored me today."
"Dunno what you're talkin' bout," Dean mumbled.
Maddie let out a soft sigh and leaned up against him. He could feel the heat of her body as she pressed in close and tried not to jerk back in response. He still wasn't used to girls like Madison Green–all pretty, popular and older–paying a lick of attention to him. "You know you want me," she said, a nimble finger playing up his arm. "You've wanted me ever since you first laid eyes on me. Don't deny it." He could smell her perfume coming from her skin, the conditioner in her hair, like flowers in the summer. He tried to stop his breath from stuttering but with the way she ran her fingers lovingly up and down his skin he knew he failed and was slowly falling for her seduction. "It's OK, Dean. I want you too."
If Sam thought Dean was a player, he really never witnessed Madison Green in action.
Dean hung out with the 'in' crowd. Despite popular belief, not everyone in the group were jocks and cheerleaders. In fact Dean found a lot of the stereotype to be untrue.
Madison Green was a part of the flock of course, clinging to Dean like he was her favorite teddy bear, and despite what people gossiped about her, she was actually clever and smart when she wanted to be. Everyone always assumed because she was a blonde, she'd act like a typical blonde and he supposed it didn't help that she was a cheerleader. He knew all about the hundreds of movies out there that made fun of blondes and cheerleaders and football quarterbacks. But most of that stuff was made up for entertainment. The only thing that seemed to be typical of Maddie was how she was really good at seducing men; then again maybe that was just the power of all women.
There were five people not including Dean that made up the group, or as Dean liked to refer to as 'Dan's Group' because really that was what it was. Daniel Carter. He was the typical hot senior that had girls falling down and swooning. If Dean had been strictly gay, he'd probably be drooling. But he wasn't so he didn't. The difference between Daniel and most the other guys was the fact that he wasn't a jock. He didn't play any sport but he could if he wanted to probably. He had dirty blond hair that went down to his shoulders, sometimes pulled back in a ponytail.
Steely blue eyes hid behind black framed glasses. Most days, however, he wore clear contacts. He had a muscular physique underneath a black, turtle neck sweater that Dean would kill for, and wore tight denim jeans that clung to his ass. Despite dressing like a geek, he had a certain charm to him that Dean couldn't deny even when he wanted to. He was anything but a geek though. Dean could attest firmly to that because despite the guy's high GPA, he definitely loved women and wasn't shy on getting what he wanted.
Lunch rolled by slowly. Dean and Maddie were waiting at their usual table by the double doors. High school food wasn't so bad. Dean decided a long time ago that school food could've been a lot worse and continued going into lunch lines even when Mary taught him to cook properly. It was easier that way and it passed time. He picked at the mash potatoes and green beans that'd been piled on his tray. He felt Maddie's gaze. It felt a little awkward and he gripped his fork a little more tightly.
He couldn't deny she was cute because she was and she knew it too, knew that he knew it. Last year she wouldn't give him the time of day. This year was different and he knew why. A faint 'thud' snapped his attention to his right. "Oh look who finally decided to show his ugly mug," Maddie drawled, twirling her fork into the spaghetti.
Eliot scowled, dark eyes narrowed. Of course he wasn't that ugly. Dean was sure if he was he wouldn't be allowed to hang out with them. Though most of the rumors about them weren't true, he had to admit they were a bit shallow on appearances. But so were most people.
Eliot was a baseball player. He was sort of short but not shorter than Dean. If Dean had to guess, he'd estimate that the junior was only an inch or two taller. Dean stood at 5'5 last he checked but then again, he was only fourteen and still had a lot of growing left to do. Eliot sighed and brushed a couple strands of hair from his eyes. He sat down heavily next to Dean but didn't bother to toss him a greeting, too busy shaking his milk and shoving a straw in it.
"At least I'm prettier than you," he sneered, half-joking. It was only half-joking because everyone knew that was untrue. But on some level Dean thought Eliot actually meant it because he was a bit of a narcissistic freak.
Maddie made a small huffing sound, but not looking at Eliot. Instead she was staring at Dean making him shift uncomfortably in his seat, trying hard not to full out squirm. "Hey, babe, c'mere, give me a kiss," she paused, puckered her lips as Dean froze, "The little freak made me all self-conscious–just a peck on the cheek. Babe, please?"
Before Dean could respond, Eliot was laughing, his eyes darting from Maddie's seductive expression to Dean's 'deer caught in headlights' one. "So Maddie's finally got you on a leash too?" Dean couldn't stop the grunted 'oof' as Eliot thumped his back. He leaned down and mock-whispered, "Good luck with her; she's a tiger–get lots of condoms and candlesticks." At Dean's confused look, "She's a sap for dinner dates and despite her being a blonde, she doesn't put out on her first date. But I can guarantee you; she's definitely a good lay–Oww! What the hell, Maddie!"
"What the hell would you know if I was a good lay or not–you never got close to doing me," Maddie hissed, hand still poised in the air from the smack. Dean wasn't sure to laugh or excuse himself so he could make a run for it. He was still frozen on the fact that Eliot assumed they were going out and Madison was making it look like they were an item. He didn't want to look inexperienced but that was pretty much what he was and by the looks of it, Eliot knew it.
"That's because you never put out and I couldn't take all the lovey-dovey crap," Eliot complained. "I'm just trying to help my good friend here–you can understand that, right, Maddie?"
Dean started to stutter as Eliot leaned closer. Maddie smacked him upside the head again. "Quit scaring my babe! Geezus, Eliot, you're such a freak."
That seemed to quiet Eliot a bit for the rest of lunch.
Last period couldn't come fast enough for Sam. While Dean liked to hang with older crowds now, Sam liked just having two close friends. In this case their names were Mike Kingsley and Neil Summer. Neil was originally Mike's best friend from Texas, but when he heard Neil's mom got a job here in Lawrence, Kansas and was going to attend Lawrence High School for sophomore year, he couldn't wait to introduce him. Neil and Sam hit it off from the start.
Neil had a younger sister still in elementary school and liked nothing more than to torment his older brother. Sam had laughed when he finally shared the reason behind his reluctance to show Sam his house. It just seemed natural for the younger sibling to annoy the older. Still, Neil didn't want to give Shel–Shelby–more ammunition.
He learned that Neil was only shy and slightly awkward meeting new people. When he and Sam became closer, Neil was outgoing and friendly and had a penchant for sarcasm. He sort of reminded him of Dean, except he wasn't interested in girls–though from that one display Sam saw, he had to wonder if he had his step brother all wrong after all.
Last period was one of Sam's favorite, it was P.E. He met up with Neil and Mike by the boys' locker room. It was annoying that they had to dress in uniform when it was a public school but he supposed the school district didn't want random, angry complaints about how new clothes came back torn and dirty every day. It was just a hassle in Sam's opinion.
"Oh thank God, I caught up with you," Neil said, leaning against the doorframe. He shifted his bag. "I wanted to make sure you guys knew I'm going to be hosting a Halloween party this year." Sam made to respond but Neil quickly cut him off, looking away for a moment, "It's gonna be at my house–hitch a ride with Mike here, his dad knows where I live. And uhm, Sam, you can come with your…step brother if you want–Dean, right? But just, ah, you and him. Make sure to tell him that if he's, you know, interested. OK?"
Sam looked back at Mike. Neil was acting strange and it didn't go unnoticed to both boys. Mike gave him a helpless shrug before Sam nodded, despite feeling a little light-headed. Neil visibly relaxed and smiled. The rest of the day went by in a blur for Sam. Neil continued to act all weird and Sam kept catching him looking at his step brother.
P.E. was one of the many classes Sam and Dean shared together, but since Dean liked to hang out with juniors and seniors, he always noticed Dean would be standing by himself or slouched in a far off corner. Even when he sat in the front surrounded by peers his own age, Dean made it look like he was still alone. It was weird and Sam wasn't sure how his step brother could always somehow pull off the 'lonely prince' look.
September came and went and Sam didn't really remember too much about it. Dean was still seeing this blonde guy that looked way too old to be dating a fourteen year old. In early October, Sam finally got a name. Dean said his name was Daniel Carter and then went into mocking him for not knowing who he was. Of course Sam heard of Daniel Carter–he was pretty sure everyone in the entire school knew him.
Daniel was a senior, just turned eighteen a few weeks ago. He had a perfect 4.0 GPA and already applied for Yale and got his acceptance letter early. He didn't play sports but Sam saw the toned muscled abs a dozen times by now that he knew with certainty the guy worked out regularly. Sam was still annoyed to see him prancing around the house like he owned the place no matter how many times Dean told him he should be honored to have a sex god like Daniel in the house three days a week. Sam wasn't honored though, and he told that to Dean who just responded with a simple, "Suck it up, pal. It ain't like he's living here." Thank god for that.
That took Sam down another path of thinking though. Daniel was very heterosexual in school. Everyone knew him to be a womanizer and he'd seen the way Dean and Daniel act in front of their friends–casual, brotherly, nothing the way they acted here. It took the first week of getting used to Daniel coming home with his step brother to realize the 'player' was just an act. Dean was bisexual, and Daniel said he was strictly gay. Girls just did nothing for him apparently. It took another week to realize the only reason they weren't hiding from Sam and his friends was because no one would believe little geeky sophomores with barely any social lives.
Sam supposed it was true. Still he wished the rib hurt a little less.
It was nearing Neil's Halloween party when he decided to invite his friends back to play some Mario Kart on the Wii. Mary was running late picking up some last minute groceries and Sam's dad was lounging on the couch, watching with vague interest as Sam won the third race. Neil sighed but tossed him an amused grin as Sam did his little victory dance, fist pumped in the air. Mike shared a look with John, leaning back against the couch.
"He must've gotten that from somewhere," Mike said as he watched his friend dance and laugh with Neil.
John smirked and folded his arms. "Don't look at me, kid. Not everything silly comes from the father." Which was true, but Sam was pretty sure dad did stuff like this when he was a kid. Even if he couldn't personally picture his stern dad as a kid acting goofy and strange and not serious like Sam. But John just shook his head and leaned forward, an amused grin on his face. "I will confess to giving him that stubborn streak that just drives people crazy though." Everyone laughed and despite being the butt of the joke, that included Sam.
Dean didn't come home until well past six. Mary was dragging him through the door looking mad as hell. She had a right to be. He promised her he'd come home by six or he'd call her when he found he couldn't make the curfew. Sam knew he was in for one hell of a lecture by the look on her face and he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him even if it was Dean's own fault. Sitting through one of Mary's lectures was like going so close to the sun you're afraid you'd burn, it was that scary.
Neil and Mike stayed for dinner, which consisted of chicken, mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. Sam was helping himself to seconds when the phone rang. John moved immediately to grab the phone. He looked slightly exasperated when he put the phone to his ear and said, "Hello", and Sam was sure he wanted to just slam the phone down and rip the cables out. Dad had been getting called in nonstop all week. He was tired and cranky and Sam couldn't blame him if he'd been in his shoes.
There was a moment of silence as John seemed frozen in place. Sam wondered if it was bad. He looked back to Mary and took in her wide eyed expression, knowing what she thought, that her husband was going to have to take another case when all everyone wanted was to relax and hang out as a family. Two minutes passed in heavy silence and Sam felt a sense of dread in his stomach. Then John looked back at the table blankly and Sam wondered who it was on the other end. It took another moment to realize his dad wasn't looking at Mary with a grimace that he normally did when he got called in, no; instead he was staring to Sam's left…at Neil.
"It's for you, son," John said dully. Neil stood awkwardly; face ashen as he walked over to take the phone. "I'm sorry."
The 'I'm sorry' rang into the silence like a knife slicing through butter. Sam felt himself swallow, suddenly scared for his friend. The table was quiet and awkward as Neil huddled into a corner after the first words 'Hi, mom' were croaked out. He nodded heavily, eyes rimmed red. After fifteen minutes and the phone was put down again, Neil made his way back to his seat but he didn't say anything and no one said anything back to him. It was one of the worse dinners Sam could remember.
Neil's mom picked him up at just ten past eight. They had to go to the hospital. That was all Sam was able to get out of Neil. Sam turned in early that night. In bed, he pretended to count stars on his ceiling. Dean didn't go to sleep right away. He only knew that because he could hear the faint rumblings of his step brother's guitar through the wall.
For the next few days, Neil was absent from classes. Then Friday came and Sam saw Neil slowly getting off the morning bus heading straight for him. He brought disappointing news with him but Sam knew Neil would cancel the party. The weekend passed in a blur.
Sam had Neil and Mike over still but they only ended up playing a couple hours of videogames before they had to go. Dean came home almost past curfew on Saturday. He wasn't alone however and this time, it wasn't Daniel behind him. It was a pretty blonde girl. Madison Green. She was part of the cheerleading squad. Sam had seen her hanging out with Daniel and Dean. Supposedly they were dating.
Madison grinned when she noticed Sam watching her. He felt a flush on his cheeks when he realized he'd been caught. "Well, well, babe, you should've mentioned your brother was as cute as you."
Dean looked at Sam and grimaced. "He's not actually my brother," Dean mumbled pulling off a shoe. "He's my step brother." He didn't say anything about the 'cute' comment.
"Oh it's just semantics. You know what I mean," she said waving away the concern.
"C'mon let's leave Sammy alone and go upstairs–I wanna show you something." It had always made Sam uncomfortable when Dean was with his friends, especially when he got all 'hands on', even if it was with a girl. Madison leered at Sam as Dean gently pushed her up the stairs. It made the feeling worse when it was a pretty girl.
"But he's just so adorable, babe," Madison said, her voice faint from the top of the stairs. He finally heard his brother's door close and Sam let out a shudder.
He still didn't understand why Dean liked hanging out with them. They just seemed creepy to Sam.
Mary Campbell liked to believe she made more good choices than bad ones. There was always a lesson that went along with every bad choice she made. But the one that kept coming back to bite her in the ass was probably this: Life always goes on. It was as true as the sky was blue, as the ocean lapped the beaches, as ice melted in the sun.
Mary had been stupid back in college. She'd been smart enough, ambitious enough and yet still was able to make stupid choices like choosing to befriend a lonely boy that wanted to become a musician. His name was Nelson Reed, she used to call him Red because of the jacket he always wore, the one that Dean wore on occasion now. Red had confessed to her he didn't actually like his first name. If Mary had been honest to herself, she'd have said, "Well I do. I think it's adorable." Because really it was. But Red insisted she kept calling him 'Red' because he thought that was adorable.
She fell hard for him during freshman year. He was almost graduated by then. Mary had a habit of being attracted to older men. She couldn't deny it now, being married to John who was older than her by at least five years. But Red was different than John. If John had been there with Mary, he'd consider Red a 'bad boy'. He liked rock music and guitars and sang loud to annoy his friends. He owned a motorcycle that he used to take Mary on every other weekend off campus.
But despite being utterly attracted to wild and danger, Red had been only half a mistake. Mary would never be able to forgive Red for walking out on her, but she realized early on she couldn't hold a grudge on him forever because he gave her, intentionally or not, a gift she'd cherish forever: Dean.
And while it had been a devastating blow to her college self, life did go on without Red.
