So, here's the next chapter for ya! Hope you all enjoy it XD

As the final bell rang out loud and clear, Sam made his way out of the school building, past the other kids forcing their way out of school and into the freedoms of the streets beyond the gates. He glanced over to see Damien beside him. They'd just had the last class together. Damien smiled – his smile barely seemed to leave his face. It was like he was eternally happy.

"So where are you headed?" Damien asked as they stopped at the school gates.

"I'm getting picked up. You?"

"Walking home. I only live a few minutes away. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?" Damien replied, tilting his head slightly in curiosity.

"Yeah. See ya."

Damien disappeared down the street, and Sam sighed, a smile creeping onto his face. For the first time in over three years, he'd had a good day at school. Better than good even, it was great. He had friends, he had no enemies, and he hadn't been bashed or even threatened!

The honk of a horn startled him out of his thoughts. He saw the Impala across the street, John in the driver's seat. Sam frowned, crossing the street and sliding into the passenger side.

"I thought Dean was picking me up," Sam asked as he clicked his seatbelt into place.

"I'm just as capable," John said, and Sam ducked his head. He hadn't meant to upset his father. He'd merely been curious as to why Dean wasn't there. He was surprised. Dean hardly let him out of his sight.

Maybe he's actually living up to his promise of letting me live my own life a little more Sam thought as the Impala roared into life and pulled out onto the street.

/\/\

At home, Dean heard the sound of the Impala driving into the driveway, and hung his head. He sighed, running a hand over his face as he thought about what he was going to do. Sam was going to be devastated. Dean only hoped that Sam could eventually forgive him for hiding it from him in the first place.

The door opened and shut, and Dean heard footsteps racing through the house, slower ones behind them. He looked up as Sam burst into their shared room.

"Hey Dean," Sam said brightly. When he saw the look on his brother's face, his smile faded and he looked worried.

"You okay?"

Dean took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he was going to say. He wasn't about to back out of it now. He couldn't, for both Sam's and his sakes.

"What's up?" Sam asked, sitting down next to him on the bed.

Dean glanced at him for a split second. It was all he could manage, because Sam's puppy dog eyes were turned on him in full force. In that split second, everything he'd told himself before went out the window.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't hurt Sam like that. Not when he'd been hurt so badly before. Even if Sam forgave him, he would always feel guilty for burdening his little brother with the knowledge of monsters that shouldn't exist.

"Nothing. M'just tired," Dean said quietly, hating himself even more with every word that passed his lips. He was a coward. A gutless, scared and desperate coward.

Sam didn't appear convinced. He didn't move, and neither did Dean for a good few minutes. Finally, Dean spoke again, his voice still low and quiet.

"How was school?"

Sam's face brightened again. Dean couldn't hold back the wave of guilt that washed over him as he saw how happy Sam was. He looked as if nothing bad had ever happened to him, and never would. How could he then tell Sam that bad stuff would always happen if he stayed with them?

"It was actually great! I haven't had a day like that in over three years," Sam said, speaking quickly as he mentioned the last three years. Obviously he wasn't fully over what he'd been through, and
Dean wondered if he ever would be. If either of them would be.

"I made two friends, they're awesome," Sam smiled "Damien and Kane. Damien's actually from Australia, isn't that cool? Anyway, I didn't get bashed or threatened, or anything!"

Dean managed a tiny smile at his brother's happiness, the black hole of guilt inside him eating away more and more. There was no way he could ever destroy Sam's happiness or his innocence. Sam was lucky he still had any innocence left after his three-year ordeal. Dean had lost his a long time ago, and he knew he couldn't do that same thing to his little brother.

Suddenly, the lights started to flicker. Dean's stomach churned in horror and his heart sank. Sam looked up, shrugging.

"Guess the wiring isn't great... Dean, you okay?"

Sam was looking at him strangely, and Dean realised his mouth was hanging slightly open, and he must have looked utterly scared out of his mind. He shook his head.

"I'm fine."

"Dean, you're obviously not fine. What's going on?"

Sam's tone stabbed at Dean's heart and he closed his eyes. He had to do it. But he couldn't. Confusion whirled in his mind, twisting everything he thought he knew and turning it upside down and inside out. Everything was supposed to be alright now that Jason was dead and the Winchester family was back together. But it looked like there were a few more challenges to overcome before anything like that happy ending could come to the surface.

"I just need to sleep. I'm okay, really."

Sam swallowed, worried. He knew Dean would just think he was worried because they were brothers, and brothers were supposed to look after each other. But that wasn't why he was afraid. He was scared because he remembered what Jason had said in the last dream.

It was the one thing he was still afraid of. An irrational fear, he knew, but one that scared him to the core nonetheless. When he'd been in hospital, he'd had dark and morbid nightmares of Dean being killed by Jason. They had all been his fault. Sam knew that if he had never become friends with Dean, then his brother would never have been in danger. But he also knew that he would still be living in hell.

Jason still taunted him, still haunted him in his dreams, and now he was threatening to do the one thing that had Sam frozen in terror.

/\/\

Dean avoided Sam for the rest of the day. He couldn't face the puppy eye assault again. Every time he saw Sam, he got the hurt look that wanted to know why his brother was walking away from him all the time. Dean kept his eyes to the ground, stayed in his room, and kept as far away from Sam as he could. He was trying to deal with the fact that not only had he let Sam down, but Bobby and himself as well.

"I'm such a fucking coward!" he muttered angrily to himself, moving to punch the wall. He stopped himself just in time. He knew Sam would come running, and then he would have no chance as hiding
the truth from him. He flopped back down on the bed, letting out a deep breath. He didn't hear the door open or Sam walk in.

"Dean?"

Dean sat upright and saw Sam in the doorway. The look on his face sent spikes of guilt and self-loathing racing through his heart. He looked so hurt and guilty himself.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked, beating Sam to it.

"I thought maybe you could tell me," Sam whispered quietly.

Dean frowned, confused. Sam wandered over and sat on the bed next to his older brother, staring at the floor. Dean waited for his brother to say something, wondering what Sam was worried about.

"Did I do something?"

Dean was startled by Sam's question, "What?"

"Did I do something to piss you off?" Sam clarified "Or something to make you angry? I did, didn't I? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. Whatever I did, I didn't mean to do it. I'm sorry..."

Dean stopped his little brother's rambling with a hand on his shoulder. He looked at Sam with surprise, shock and more guilt weighing down on him.

"Sammy, of course not. You didn't do anything."

"I must have. I must have done something, otherwise you wouldn't be angry with me."

"I'm not angry with you," Dean said, puzzled.

Sam kept his eyes to the floor as he spoke, "But... you're avoiding me. You've got that look on your face when you're really angry but you have to keep it inside. Whenever you see me you get that look and walk away."

Dean's heart plummeted. He hugged his little brother. Sam didn't move, just kept staring at the ground and fiddling with his hands.

"Sam, I'm not angry at you. I promise. I'm just... trying to deal with something at the minute."

Sam finally looked up as Dean released his hold on him, "What is it?"

Dean sighed, the guilt rushing over him again in a fresh tidal wave of emotion, "It's nothing really important."

"You can tell me anything. You know you can. That's what we agreed, right? We can tell each other anything."

Dean nodded, remembering the conversation they'd had a long time ago. Sam had been having nightmares, and he'd hidden them from everyone. Dean had eventually found out. The pair had made the pact that they would always be able to tell each other anything without the other becoming angry, worried or hurt.

Before he could reply, there was a knock at the door. John poked his head in the room.

"Time for bed, boys," he said with a small smile. The pair nodded, Dean both relieved and frustrated.

"We'll talk about this tomorrow, okay?" Dean said to Sam as their father disappeared. Sam nodded.

/\/\

Sam tried his best not to sleep that night. He lay awake, staring at the ceiling, listening to the soft breathing of his older brother. He figured that if he wasn't asleep, Jason couldn't hurt Dean. He knew it was stupid – Jason was only a dream now, he couldn't hurt anyone – but he didn't want to take the chance. The silence around him, broken only by the shifting of Dean as he slept, soon lulled Sam into sleep, despite his intentions.

"Sammy, Sammy, Sammy!"

Sam opened his eyes to the taunting call he recognised so well. He saw Jason across from him, in the same room from the previous dreams. The blood on the walls still looked fresh, dripping down to the carpet where it joined pools already there. Jason was leaning against a wall, arms crossed, a knowing smirk on his face. Sam glared.

"I've been waiting. So rude of you to keep me waiting," Jason said.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?"

Jason pushed himself off the wall. He paused to look at his hands, covered with blood. Shrugging, he wiped it off on his shirt, staining the white material. He walked over to Sam, stopping a few paces away.

"Because, Sam, you are the one thing that I have always hated with a passion. You and Dean. You two little brats fucked up my life, and I'm going to make you pay for it."

Jason raised his hand, and Sam ducked a little in a conditioned reaction. Jason laughed.

"Not yet. Just a moment."

Sam watched as Jason waves his hand just a little. It was barely a movement. But Sam saw it, and he saw what happened next. His stomach flipped with horror, and his heart started racing at a hundred miles an hour.

/\/\

Dean tossed in his sleep, vaguely hearing muttering from the background. He wasn't sure if he was awake or asleep, but he figured that since he was asking himself the question, he was relatively awake. He groaned, rolling onto his back. Why was it so hard to get proper sleep?

The darkness behind his eyelids deepened, and Dean twisted his head in surprise. He could hear voices around him, and he opened his eyes at the sound of a chilling, familiar voice.

"It worked," Jason smirked, obviously pleased with himself. Behind him, Dean saw Sam, watching on with horror in his eyes. Dean scrambled to his feet, his stomach staying on the ground. He'd been
right. Jason was back, and he hadn't done anything about it. He felt sick, but he glared at Jason with all the hatred he could find in himself. Jason just chuckled.

"Now that I have the pair of you, I can finally finish what I started."

Dean saw Jason move towards Sam, pulling something from his jacket pocket. He raced towards his brother as he recognised the glint of wire.

"Fuck you!" Dean yelled, jumping on Jason's back.

The older man twisted violently, sending Dean flying off before he could get a proper grip. He crashed into the wall, slightly winded. He tried to get to his feet as Jason grabbed Sam by the hair. The teenager struggled, punching and swearing and fighting back like a true Winchester. Jason hurled Sam to the floor, a sickening crack echoing as his head slammed against the floor.

"No!" Dean cried, staggering to his feet as Sam whimpered, his eyes screwed up in pain.

Jason spun and backhanded Dean. The younger stumbled back, but moved forward again to attack. In the background, Sam moaned in pain and tried to sit up, a hand to his head. Dean lunged, grabbing Jason and punching him in the gut. Jason grunted, almost doubling over. Dean rammed his knee up into Jason's face, sending the man to the ground. He didn't back down though; he kicked Jason hard in the head, before dropping to his knees to wrap his hands around the man's throat.

Jason jerked, trying to push Dean off. The younger held on, pressing harder and harder.

"I'm not going to let you hurt Sam again," Dean growled savagely.

Behind him, there was a small choking cry. Dean looked away for a moment to see Sam against the wall, blood running from a wound on his head. In that moment, Jason swung upwards and trapped Dean's head between his feet. Dean was thrown to the ground and pinned. Jason laughed.

"I'm going to enjoy this."

Oh noes, cliffhanger! Heh, the next chapter should be up soon. School holidays are coming up, and I'll have more time on my hands. Please, read and review! Hugs to you all!