Dress for the job you want
Chapter 6: Late Night Books
By Animeguera

"Sam Winchester is a nerd!" Dean shouts to the empty campus. He laughs as Sam shoves him to the side. Sam making the best bitch face he can as he laughs along his brother. The college campus echoed back silence, with finals over, the majority of the student body was already off campus laughing was induced by a few extra beers they both consumed at the nearby bar. A bar that didn't look too closely at identification. Dean was still extremely sober, being the designated driver. He never drinks more than two beers an hour anymore. Not if he wants to keep his bad thoughts at bay. The chill wind blew and woke Dean up. Sam was still laughing as they walked, his entire body shaking. A night out was Dean's gift to him for finishing his exams for the semester. The inebriated joy on his face was worth it. It had been dollar beer night anyways.

Sam stood up straight and made a declaration. "Dean! I gotta buy a book." Slurring his words just a bit.

"Dude, again? Jesus." Dean muttered as he followed the inebriated giant to the glowing light of the campus bookstore that was still open at 2 in the morning. Sam stood in front of the door, pondering how it worked, so Dean opened the door to let him inside. If he didn't help him buy the book he thought he needed, Sammy wouldn't shut up about the entire night. It's how the Winchesters gathered an eclectic collection of books. Dean didn't mind really, there were worse things they could spend the little frivolous money they had than on books. Dean always read them anyways once he got bored. He actually enjoyed Cat's Cradle and continued to read that author, even without Sam's drunken book shopping. Dean used to wallow in self misery when he drank too much. His kid brother buys books, like a nerd.

Sam was humming loudly, mouthing some words to some song, walking through the aisles, his body dancing along badly. The blonde student working the register barely acknowledged them. She continued to read her textbook and glanced up every so often to make sure they were still in the store. Dean followed Sam around the store, picking up books he dropped and steering when he deviated towards a shelf, all the way to the back of the store. Sam finally found what he was looking for, or at least something that caught his attention.

Dean's attention was stolen by the clearance aisle with a non fiction called The Monster Show. There were over a dozen copies of several Halloween related books that were marked down to ridiculous prices. It tweaked Dean's curiosity, especially after the adhoc talk he had made to the high school club months ago. Castiel hadn't contacted him since, which hadn't been an issue for Dean. His relationship with Lisa had been going well enough. He saw her every couple of weeks for drinks and sex. Lisa hadn't wanted to escalate it to something more. Dean was fine with the casual fling, for now. He still worked at least fifty hours a week and he opted work on Saturdays too. He hadn't thought of Professor Novak in weeks, not since he felt his solid body at the grocery store before Thanksgiving. He still remembers the brightness of his blue eyes. He remembers the flush of his face when Dean stepped into his personal space.

Dean can't be a professor like Castiel but a little reading never hurt anyone. He grabbed one of each kind of book that related to horror movies in any way and walked to the register. Sam was already there, proud of his choice. It was a thematic cookbook. He placed his books on the counter. He nodded when the cashier asked if it was all together.

Sam stared at her as she rung up the purchase. It was unnerving how long he kept his eyes on her. "What's your name?" He asked, his head in his hand as he leaned on the counter, with his height, he bent at the waist. Some semblance of a pose. Dean rolled his eyes and grabbed Sam's wallet from his jacket and handed her some bills.

"Jessica." She muttered, not bothering to look up from the register as she counted out the money.

"You're pretty gorgeous." Sam responded, his voice sighing. Dean grabbed the bag and felt the need to record this event but couldn't bring himself to look away from the impending trainwreck.

"You're pretty drunk." Jessica answered, glaring at Sam. Dean offered a shrug and small smile of apology and pulled Sam away before he did something more ridiculous like profess his undying love for her. It would not be the first time. Jessica seemed way out of his league.

Dean finally resigned to help Sam at a chance of getting laid. Dean pulled his brother up to full height and nodded at Jessica. "This is my brother, Sam Winchester, pre-law and he thinks you're cute. Whatddya say you give him a chance once he's sober?"

Jessica looked up at the bleary eyed brother. She eyed Dean as well. "Give me his number, I have an idea." Jessica smirked as she pulled out her own phone.

"Is it going to be embarrassing for him?"

"Hell yes." He rattled off Sammy's number and was grinning the whole time. "You're a terrible brother." Jessica mused as she saved the contact information.

"I just got him a cute blonde's phone number!" Jessica laughed and waved him away, returning to her textbook. Dean chucked the bag of books to Sammy's hands as he pulled his brother towards the door.

The next morning, Sam was hungover and miserable. Dean was getting ready for work as his brother groaned at his coffee and breakfast. "Don't let me do that again." Dean packed his sandwich and pulled his backpack up on his shoulder. It was also one of Sammy's hand me ups.

"Not until you pass next semester's exams." Dean responded. He came back to the kitchen and slammed his hand on the table next to Sam. Sam jumped up in surprise and groaned at the pain.

"Jerk." He muttered hiding his head in his arms.

"Bitch." Dean laughed as he left the apartment. He had left Sammy's cookbook in the bag from the book store. The rest of the books, he had stuffed in Sam's old backpack while Sammy feigned interest in the eggs Dean had cooked him. He just wanted to read them in peace. He had never explained to Sam what thing his professor had asked him to do. He wanted to keep this secret to himself. He didn't have to share everything with Sam.

1/26/18

-Guera-