Timeline- Adam is 13 years old and has been with the Winchesters for a little over a year. This would take place the fall before Sam ends up leaving for college.
Adam sat on the bench in the school office, tapping his foot and trying to keep from wringing his hands. They said they had called his father.
Fuck.
The thought of John Winchester having to drop what he was doing and come to school for a meeting made Adam want to throw up. It wasn't so much that he was scared of his father, not that he didn't have a healthy respect for the man's right hand, it was more that he knew how important his work was. Any time away from hunting could mean more potential victims, more lives lost and more guilt than Adam wanted to consider. Hunting was serious business, certainly not something to be put on hold for a middle school fight.
Adam sighed, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his well-worn sweat jacket that had once been Sam's (and probably Dean's too) and glanced at the clock. He'd been sitting on this bench waiting for almost two hours. Adam wasn't sure if the teachers were actually able to get in touch with his father, but this long wait suggested they might have been successful. He couldn't remember the name of the town that Dad's latest hunt was in, but he knew it was standard practice for Dad to station them at least one town over from any hunt he went on for safety, so it would take him an hour or more to get to school if he had to.
Watching the quiet bustle of the school office around him Adam tested the cut on his newly busted lip, pleased to find that it was small and the blood had already dried. That asshole Trevor had barely gotten any hits in at all. If it weren't for his two cronies jumping in Adam could have beaten his ass completely. Regardless, that jerk got was what coming to him. Adam overheard one of the office ladies saying that Trevor's jaw was broken and he was going to have to have it wired shut. Adam smirked at the thought. That'll make him shut the hell up.
Adam was brought back from his thoughts when the door to the small school office opened next to him.
"Mr. Winchester?" the school secretary questioned.
Adam hesitantly glanced up, prepared to see a stormy glare from his father, but was instead met with the back of his older brother's head as he blew right past Adam and moved into sweet talk the secretary.
"Yeah, but you can call me Dean. Actually," he said, leaning over the counter, flirtatious grin lacing his voice, "you can call me anything you want,"
Adam rolled his eyes, secretly impressed with Dean's skill. It never ceased to amaze him, but Dean could take the most normal sounding phrase, like 'Hey I'm Dean," and turn it into something that sounded dirty and made every woman a puddle at his feet. Seeing it made Adam embarrassed and envious. He watched the secretary bite back a smile at his brother. She was young and pretty and probably never got hit on quite this smoothly, being surrounded by 7th and 8th-grade boys all the time. Adam could tell she was trying to stay professional all while smiling excitedly at the young man in a leather jacket with the devil may care attitude leaning against the counter.
"Dean?" she said looking down and away from the bright green eyes that were studying her face, "Adam's father is listed here as John Winchester. You are?"
"His older brother." Dean supplied, "Our dad's away on business, so I'm looking after the little squirt." he said, giving her a thousand watt smile and turning up the charm.
"Oh," she said, with a small smile in return, seeming a little overcome under Dean's gaze. "Oh, um well ok. I'll just go and tell Principal Ross that you're here."
Dean smiled at her again and tilted his head to watch as she turned and walked away down the short hallway before he spun around to face Adam.
"What the hell did you do?" he hissed, all pretense gone.
"Dean! I'm sorry man! He deserved it! He did." Adam pled, "I didn't mean to drop my knife!"
"Your kni-!" Dean growled "Ugh. Damn it."
"Adam, Dean." Came the call from down the hallway, "You can come in now,"
Dean glared at Adam as he stood and they walked toward the principal's office, passing the young secretary on the way. Adam didn't look but he felt the exchange of flirtatious smiles between his brother and the woman. Despite being nervous about meeting the principal, Adam made a mental note to ask Dean for pointers later.
They entered the office to find the principal already standing behind her desk. She motioned for them both to take a seat in the chairs opposite her.
"Principal Ross, I'm sorry we had to meet under these circumstances," Dean said respectfully, reaching out to shake her hand before sitting.
"As am I Mr. Winchester," she said professionally, returning the shake and sitting down in her own chair.
Principal Ross was a good 25 to 30 years old than Dean, so Adam wasn't sure if he could work his magic on her to get Adam out of this mess, but damn if Adam wasn't gonna enjoy watching him try.
"Ms. Ball says that your father is away on business?" she asked, looking between the brothers.
"Yes, ma'am," Dean replied.
"And how old are you Dean?" she asked, cocking her head to appraise him.
Dean sat up a little straighter in his chair, " I'm 21, ma'am."
"And I suppose you are Adam's guardian, in place of your father while he is away."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Alright then, I'll tell you what I had planned to tell your father and I hope that you will pass along the information. If he has any questions or concerns, or if by chance you cannot remember any part of the conversation, you may have him call me directly," she said smartly.
Adam snuck a sidelong glance at his brother, who simply tightened his jaw slightly saying respectfully "Of course ma'am. I understand".
He was amazed at Dean's self-restraint. Adam himself wanted to scream at this woman, call her out on being such a rude bitch. Instead, he grit his teeth and sat quietly, following Dean's lead.
"Your brother got into an altercation with another student today that resulted in the other young man being taken to the hospital with a broken jaw and multiple lacerations," she said staring at Adam. "Not only that, but Adam was found to have a weapon on his person, something strictly forbidden on school grounds!"
Adam didn't cower or duck his head in shame like he felt she wanted him to; instead, he stared at her biting the inside of his lip from habit and was reminded of the cut there when he got a sting of pain.
"Because of the severity of the young man's injuries we have yet to get a clear statement on what caused the incident. Your brother here has refused to speak to us. I'd hoped your father's arrival would prompt him to offer an explanation."
Dean looked over at his brother expectantly. "Well?"
Adam was quiet a moment, trying to think of the best way to explain the situation, a way that wouldn't have him coming out looking like a wimp who couldn't take some teasing or a homicidal maniac who brought a knife to school.
"Trevor has been giving me crap since we moved here. He went too far today." Adam said, with a shrug.
"What'd he say?" Dean said, turning in his chair to face his brother, instantly dropping whatever strategy he was planning to use on the principal and focusing intently on Adam.
Adam was hesitant and quiet again. He hadn't told Dean or Sam about the bullying. Trevor was a jerk, his friends were jerks and the two months Adam had spent at William Hays Middle School so far had completely sucked, but Adam didn't wanna seem like a wuss.
Not only that but after a year of Dean's hand to hand combat training Adam was wary of getting into any fights with someone he didn't actually want to kill. Dean hadn't taught him any half-moves, only techniques to disarm and kill. The fact that he might accidentally go too far within a fight scared Adam into keeping his temper in check more often than not. Except for today. Except for when Trevor said that awful thing. Adam saw red. He didn't think about the damage he could inflict upon the boy, who had nothing but football practice and schoolyard scuffles to fall back on. It was probably a good thing that Trevor's friends had jumped in and probably an even better thing that Mr. Greggs and Mrs. Miller pulled Adam off the three boys.
"Adam?" Dean tried again, his voice full of concern.
Now Adam did duck his head, his brother's worry making him feel all the heartache he had masked with anger.
"He said… He said mom probably killed herself to get away from me," he whispered in a rush, his voice trembling a little.
Principal Ross let out an audible gasp from across the room, but when Adam glanced up all he saw was Dean's soft gaze, staring deeply into him. Adam grit his teeth against the tears that were filling his eyes and he took in a sharp shaky breath feeling his lip quiver embarrassingly. Adam hung his head, trying to hide the tears that were threatening him.
"Hey," Dean whispered, leaning in closely and putting a gentle hand on the back of Adam's neck. "You're alright, its ok."
Dean's soft words of concern nearly cracked the tight wall Adam had built around his pain and he had to fight to hold himself together. Dean hated 'chick flick moments' and for him to be this intimately concerned, especially in front of someone besides Sam, made Adam want to hide his face in his older brother's shirt and sob.
He didn't though. He grit his teeth and tried to man up, taking in another slow unsteady breath as Dean moved his hand away with a subtle pat on Adam's back.
Principal Ross cleared her throat, seemingly now uncomfortable with the emotion that had developed in the room. "Well, I will certainly speak to Trevor and his parents about this, Adam."
Adam nodded numbly, just ready for this whole thing to be over with.
"However, that does not excuse your level of violence toward the boy, nor the fact that you had a weapon. The weapon alone is reason enough for expulsion," she continued.
Adam looked up at her in shock. Expulsion?
"At the very least you face several weeks suspension and a note on your permanent record."
Suddenly there was a knock on the principal's door and the young secretary opened the door a crack, popping her head.
"Principal Ross? Trevor Miller's father is on line one for you," she said.
The principal nodded, standing up from her desk. "I'll take the call in Vice Principal Timmons office, thank you."
The secretary nodded, flashing a smile Dean before closing the door.
"If you'll please excuse me for a moment. I need to take this call." She said, walking around her desk.
Dean gave her a nod of approval, which she returned before walking out the door and into the hallway leaving the brothers alone.
"She said this was going on permanent record!" Adam said, putting his head in his hands.
Dean scoffed, "Permanent record? Dude."
"Dean this is serious! I can't have this on my permanent record! I can't get expelled! I'll never get into medical school if I get expelled."
"Ok... relax kid," Dean said nonchalantly
The boys were quiet for a little while, Dean looking around the office and Adam gazing desolately out the window.
"So you kicked his ass huh?"
Adam looked over at his older brother to find a shit-eating grin all across his face. As miserable as he was over the thought of being suspended, or worse expelled, he couldn't help but return the smile.
"Yeah. Took on all three of those dick heads." He replied proudly.
"And the knife?" Dean questioned curiously.
"I actually forgot I had it," Adam admitted. He'd been so intent on pounding Trevor's skull into the hallway floor he'd totally forgotten the butterfly knife that Dad insisted that he carry at all times.
"You weren't gonna use it?"
"No. I didn't even know I dropped it. It stopped the fight pretty quick though" Adam said with a shrug.
"Yeah, I bet," Dean said.
Just then the door opened again and Principal Ross strode in, walking immediately back around to her desk.
"Well, I've spoken to Trevor's father and convinced him not to press assault charges against Adam."
Charges? Adam didn't even know that was a possibility. It was just school fight. Could he really have gone to jail just cause that idiot didn't know when to shut his trap?
"We certainly appreciate that Principal Ross," Dean said courteously.
Principal Ross nodded at Dean, sitting back down at her desk. "Unfortunately we still have to deal with the fact of the knife Adam brought to school."
"Ma'am I'm sure..." Dean started
"Dean I'll stop you there," she said cutting him off, "No matter what reasoning your brother might have had for bringing a knife to school, we have a zero-tolerance policy. I have no choice but to expel Adam for the remainder of the school year."
"Ma'am!" Dean protested.
"I'm sorry Adam," she said, grabbing a pen and a small slip of paper from the corner of her desk. "I'll give you the name of the alternative school in our area. Your father may choose to enroll you there."
Adam could only stare at her open-mouthed. Expelled?
"There will also be a note on your permanent record about the incident Adam. You'll
need to clear out your locker and turn in your books before you leave the building today." She gave him a sad look and held out the note she had written to Dean.
He took it from her, a hard look on his face. "The knife?" he asked.
"Yes." She said, taking out a key from her pocket and unlocking one of her desk drawers. Adam watched as she opened the drawer and took out the small butterfly knife, handing it across the desk to Dean. "Here you are."
"Principal Ross," Dean said, his face still hard but clearly trying to keep an edge of respect to his voice, "Please reconsider this. Adam is a good kid."
The principal looked away from Dean to Adam and he felt her study him. He wondered what she was thinking, seeing him sitting across from her, wearing worn-out clothes two sizes too big, his older brother coming to his rescue rather than his father. Adam could only imagine the kind of awful home life she was picturing for him.
"I'm sure." she said, "But the rules apply to everyone. And bringing a weapon to school cannot be overlooked."
"Principal Ross, please!" Adam cried.
"I'm sorry Adam. Please go clean out your locker."
Adam looked over at Dean, who only gave him a sad look in return and patted a heavy hand on his shoulder. Adam stood up dejectedly, throwing one last pitiful look at Principal Ross for good measure.
Adam followed Dean out of the office and ignored his flirtatious exchange with the school secretary on the way out. He couldn't believe this was actually happening to him.
"This is so unfair," he said kicking the air and scuffing his shoe along the tile hallway floor on the way to his locker.
"Sorry kid," Dean said, scrubbing a hand through his hair.
Adam looked up in surprise. "Why are you sorry?"
"Cause she might have been waffling on if you were a good kid or not but she made her decision the minute she saw me," Dean said, staring at the lockers as they walked past.
"Oh," Adam said quietly, unsure of what to say.
They made quick work of cleaning out the few things Adam had in his locker and turning in his textbooks. Before Adam really had time to process it, they were walking out to Dean's Impala.
They drove in silence for a long time, Dean stoically watching the road and Adam silently staring out the window.
"Look, kid," Dean started, not taking his eyes off the road, "It's gonna be ok. We are outta this town next week. Two weeks at the most."
Adam was silent and continued to stare out angrily the window.
"You can teach yourself. You're a smart kid," Dean continued, trying to smooth over the situation, "And what you can't figure out Sam can teach you. Hell, I'll help out where I can. I mean a GED is as good as an 8th-grade education right?"
Adam rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Are you gonna tell Dad about this?" he asked, finally turning to look at Dean.
"Yeah. Of course."
"Do you have to tell Dad?" Adam pushed.
"Yeah," Dean said, giving Adam a half-hearted look.
"Ugh," Adam said, sliding down into the seat.
"Do you think I'm gonna catch the belt for this?" Adam asked with a sudden realization.
"Nah don't worry about it kid. I won't let the old man go too hard on you," Dean said, giving Adam a nod.
"Even though I broke that kid's jaw?" he asked skeptically.
"Shit, with the moves we've been practicing that kid's lucky to still be breathing," Dean said, stifling a chuckle.
"He's gonna be mad though," Adam said, looking back out the passenger side window "getting expelled is not really 'keeping a low profile'."
"Yeah… well. I got your back kid. Don't worry about it,"
Adam sighed deeply and watched the landscape pass. He still couldn't believe he'd been expelled.
"You know…" he said quietly, not looking away from the window "I used to be a good kid. Before…before all this. Jeez. Man, mom would have killed me for getting into a fight at school."
Beside him Dean was silent, no quick-witted reply or typical sarcastic joke to lighten the mood.
The ride back to the motel didn't take long and before Adam knew it they were 'home'. Not that Adam ever really considered any motel they stayed at 'home'; nowhere but the house he grew up with his mom would ever be his home.
As Adam was grabbing his backpack out of the back seat he saw Dean turn his head and at the same moment, Adam heard the familiar rumble of their father's pickup truck coming around the corner toward the motel.
Adam felt his stomach tighten into a knot as the truck pulled into the parking space beside Dean's car.
"Hey boys," Dad said, as he opened the door and slid out of the truck wearing his fed suit, the tie slightly loosened and askew. "Where's your brother?"
"Sam's got a tutoring gig," Dean supplied, walking around his car toward Dad.
"Yeah?" Dad asked curiously.
"Yeah," Dean said with a smirk, "He said his new friend Stacy needed some help in algebra,"
"Ahh," Dad said, smiling back knowingly "Friend."
"Yeah," Dean said grinning with a suggestive nod.
Dad gave a soft chuckle and reached back into the cab of the truck grabbing his duffle bag and a small stack of manila folders.
"How was school?" he asked Adam casually, as they all walked into the motel room they'd been renting.
Adam shrugged and didn't answer, throwing this backpack the motel bed he'd claimed.
"That good huh?" he said, tossing his own duffle under the motel room table and shrugging off his suit jacket, hanging it over the back of one of the chairs.
"How were your interviews?" Dean asked, quickly changing subjects.
"Pretty good." Dad replied, taking off his tie and laying over his suit jacket "I'm going back down the morgue tomorrow but I've got a pretty good idea of what we're dealing with,"
"And?" Adam asked, momentarily forgetting about the knot in his stomach.
"Shapeshifter," Dad answered.
"Really?" Adam questioned, his interest piqued. He'd studied all about shapeshifters with Sam but they hadn't actually run across a case involving any yet.
"Yeah. I still need to get ahold of some security cam footage but that's where all the signs are pointing."
"Cool," Adam replied in awe. Shapeshifters were fascinating. The ability to become someone else at a moments notice completely entranced Adam.
"Adam, how do you kill a shapeshifter?" Dad quizzed suddenly.
"Silver!" Adam answered back immediately, proud that he knew the correct answer right away for once.
"Right." Dad confirmed, "Silver burns their skin and you pierce them through the heart,"
"Decapitation works too if you're feeling feisty," Dead added, earning a smile from Dad.
"Dad, you want us to help you go through these files?" Dean asked, walking over to take a look at the folders Dad had laid on the table.
"Sure kiddo. Let me hit the can and then we'll take a look."
Dad walked off to the motel bathroom and once the door was closed Dean looked at Adam expectantly.
"What?" Adam asked confused.
"You gonna make me tell him?" Dean asked, grabbing the top folder off the small stack and bringing with him to sit on one of the motel room beds.
"You already said you were going to," Adam shot back at him, annoyed.
"He'd like it better coming from you," he replied, turning on his most mature, older brother-y tone.
"He's not gonna like it at all, so it doesn't matter," Adams said aggravated with Dean's righteous attitude.
"You wuss," Dean said, shaking his head at his little brother and turning his attention to the case file he'd grabbed.
Adam rolled his eyes at his brother and grabbed another folder off the stack, just at the bathroom door reopened and Dad appeared.
Dad crossed the small room and came to sit down at the tiny kitchenette table across from Adam, grabbing the remaining folders from the stack and opening the one on top.
"So Adam had an interesting day..." Dean said, raising his eyebrows in a taunt in Adam's direction.
Adam glared back at his older brother.
"Son?" Dad asked
Adam felt the knot in his stomach return and he shifted in his seat uncomfortably under his father's questioning stare.
"Yeah… uh... I got called to the principal's office today," he said quietly.
"Yeah?" Dad questioned in surprise, "Why?"
"I…uh…got in a fight."
Dad's eyebrows rose in disbelief, then his eyes settled and began to study Adam's face. Adam cleared his throat and shifted again.
"Oh, so that's what that is," he said motioning to Adams split lip, "I was hoping that was from sparring with your brothers,"
"Aw come on Dad," Dean interjected, "I wouldn't hit him in the face!"
"Cause I wouldn't let you!" Adam snapped back, still annoyed with Dean and momentarily forgetful of his father's stare.
"Pssft. Please," Dean scoffed.
"Boys!" Dad said firmly. "Adam, you hurt anywhere else?
Adam shook his head, "I'm fine."
"Ok then, what happened?"
Adam sighed and looked away from his father, staring down into the open manila folder in front of him.
"This guy Trevor has been messing with me since we moved here… and..." Adam hesitated not wanting to say those awful words again. "and he just.. He just deserved it."
"Deserved it?" Dad questioned skeptically. "It's not like you to get into a fight Adam, what did this Trevor kid say?"
Adam slumped in his seat, pulling his hands into his lap and staring intently at his cuticles.
"Adam?" Dad prodded.
Adam stared at his hands and bit his lip, the sharp sting of pain there bringing tears to his already stinging eyes.
"Uh…" he whispered, "He uh…."
"Dad," Dean said, standing up and walking over to the table. He leaned down quickly, turning his back to Adam and spoke softly into his father's ear. Adam couldn't hear Dean's exact words, but he knew that his brother had spared him from having to relive the bully's taunts.
Unlike Principal Ross Dad didn't gasp when he had heard what Trevor had goaded Adam with. Adam looked up to see his father's jaw clenched tightly and his eyes set hard, a scowl growing on his face.
"That little bastard," Dad said, through gritted teeth.
"Yeah," Adam nodded in agreement.
Dad shook his head with a sigh. "He did deserve it. How many days did you get?"
"Suspension?" Adam asked, "No. I… uh... I got expelled."
"Expelled?" Dad asked in surprise looking over at Dean for an explanation, "For a fight?"
"Well, it wasn't exactly the fight," Adam admitted, his stomach tightening again.
"Then what was it?" Dad asked suspiciously.
"Well… I kinda dropped my knife during the fight. The teachers saw it and freaked out. I guess they thought I was gonna kill the kid. But I wasn't!" Adam said, looking away from his father's rapidly darkening gaze, "I just forgot I had in it my front pocket. Me and Dean did drills last night and I stuck it in there and just forgot," he added in a rush.
"You forgot about your weapon? And then you lost it?" Dad questioned quietly, anger growing in his voice.
"Well yeah, but Dad. This kid. I mean I couldn't even think straight. He's lucky I didn't kill him," Adam continued on, trying to ignore his dad's irritation. "The principal said there's zero tolerance at school for weapons, so I got kicked out. I think if it was just the fight it would have been ok. I know it's not part of the 'keeping a low profile' thing and I didn't mean to. I really didn't. But Dad this kid… ugh. I couldn't take it anymore. He really had it coming. He did. And his two friends jumped in too, but I kicked all their asses. Trevor's gonna be drinking his lunch out of a straw for the next eight weeks." Adam said with a malicious smirk.
"Adam," Dad said firmly, drawing Adam's attention back. "The fight might have been unavoidable, but dropping your weapon was not. That was simple carelessness on your part."
"Wait. What? Are you actually more mad about me dropping my knife than breaking Trevor's jaw?" Adam asked in shocked disbelief.
"Watch your tone son. And for what that boy said to you, a broken jaw should be least of his worries. I can't fault you for that. Hell, I'd have done the same thing," Dad said, "But not knowing where your knife is? Forgetting where you put it? Dropping it in a fight? That's something I can't overlook. That kind of negligence will get you killed when you're hunting."
"Oh," Adam said softly.
"Where's your knife now?" Dad asked.
"Here," Dean said, reaching into the back pocket of his own jeans and grabbing the knife, handing it over to their father.
Dad took the knife and pointed at Adam, "Do you have your other weapons?"
Adam swallowed, suddenly nervous at the interrogation. "I have my lock pick set and my Swiss army knife..."
Dad stared at him intently for a few moments, clearly contemplating Adam's impending punishment, before sighing and shaking his head in exasperation. "Go get changed. You owe me 5 miles before dinner."
"But I..."Adam began to protest stubbornly before a dark look from his father silenced him mid-sentence.
"Do I have to tell you again?" Dad questioned warningly.
"No sir."
"You're lucky I don't duct tape the damn knife to your hand," Dad said staring at him. "You gotta learn to pay attention boy. Now go run."
Adam stifled a sigh and stood up to go find his duffle, still feeling confused by their conversation. This really wasn't what he expected. He figured Dad would be pissed about the fight, irritated that Adam had blown their cover and even more angry that Adam had been expelled from school. Any normal parent would be. As the thought crossed his mind, Adam reminded himself that in his experience so far, John Winchester hadn't been like any normal parent. The constant training, strict discipline and weekly abandonment were all definitely not normal.
As he dug through his bag he overheard Dean speaking to their father in a voice so low he could barely make out the words.
"Dad, go easy on him huh? It was the heat of the moment. You know how a fight is."
Dad's voice was hushed as well, but serious, "That's exactly when it really counts Dean. This is about survival. He won't survive if he doesn't know where is damn weapon is."
Adam moved mechanically, letting his mind wander while he got changed. The whole day kinda felt like a blur. He still felt exhausted from the adrenaline crash after the fight and now he felt numb after the conversation with his father.
"5 miles son," Dad reminded him as Adam prepared to leave.
Adam replied silently with a nod, his mind still on the events of the afternoon. That was one good thing about the run he guessed, some quiet time to think without Dean's glib comments or Dad's endless quizzes. He left the motel room, briefly checking his watch to time himself before starting to run.
As he began to run he focused first on the feeling of running, before trying to make sense of the day. He'd never been a runner before joining the Winchesters, he'd only run during sports practices and games and even then he never really cared about it. But after so many months of daily morning runs he found he was beginning to enjoy the process of running. He liked the feeling of it, the gradual warming and stretch of his muscles, the feeling of his feet rhythmically pounding the pavement. He thought he'd hate running and really at first he did. But, as with most things demanded by John Winchester, there was no getting out of it and after he'd finally figured out how to pace himself and built up enough stamina to keep up with his brothers he really didn't mind it. That being said, he wasn't really looking forward to an extra 5 miles today.
Getting into his rhythm he began to think through the day. He didn't regret kicking Trevor's ass. That kid totally deserved it. And he was pretty happy (and surprised) to hear that Dad agreed. He wondered what was being said about him at school and what everyone would say tomorrow. Not like he had a wide circle of friends, but he'd love to know what everyone thought of the quiet kid in school kicking ass.
He honestly couldn't believe he'd been expelled though. That stupid knife. How could he have forgotten about it? How could he have dropped it? As much as Adam didn't want to admit it, Dad was probably right. Dropping his weapon was a stupid and costly mistake. It cost him his clean school record and maybe even his chance a medical school. Ugh. That reminded him. Alternative School. Adam wasn't even sure what that really was. Just a school for the bad kids? He figured so. And if that were the case, how would he survive there? Today's fight was a spur of the moment thing, and it only happened because he'd lost control of his emotions. Adam wasn't a fighter. Even with all Dean's training and Dad's constant pushing, he knew that deep in his heart he was a healer, not a warrior. He could train and learn and fake it, but he'd never have the natural talent and physical prowess Dean did.
Adam shook his head, trying to clear away the intrusive thoughts. He tried to focus on his breathing, taking a moment to watch the pavement steadily moving in front of him but his traitorous mind instead brought back the conversation with his father. Adam could picture Dad in his mind's eye, elbows leaning on the unsteady motel room table, face contorted in a mixture of anger, frustration, and disappointment. Come to think of it, it was rare that Adam saw anything else on his father's features. The man always seemed exhausted and out of patience. Even on a good day like today where the interviews had gone well and he was close to the end of a successful hunt, happiness seemed to elude him. Dad could toss a half smile or make a light joke with the boys, but it never lasted. The smile would quickly fade back into the standard mask of weary, heartbreak he unconsciously wore. Adam knew the minute he was pulled apart from Trevor that Dad was gonna be mad at him. That really came as no surprise, but the look of disbelieving disappointment was a shock. Dad had looked at him as if couldn't believe Adam could even be so stupid. Adam knew it had been careless to misplace the knife, but jeez it was an accident. And shit happens. Dean said so all the time. Adam clenched his fists, pounding harder into the pavement. Dad would never cut him any slack. The expectations were always too high and no matter what he did Adam would never measure up. He'd never be as strong as Dean and never as smart as Sam.
Damn this day.
Adam forced himself to stop thinking. It wasn't helping. Thinking was just making everything worse. And he was getting to the point in the run that he couldn't focus anyway. He pushed away all conscious thought and concentrated on his body. Pumping his arms. Pushing against the pavement. Breathing in. Breathing out. Over and over. Over again.
He rounded the corner coming back into the parking lot of the motel feeling completely spent, emotionally and physically. He slowly trudged back into the room, finding his father and brother sitting at the motel table discussing the case over open beers.
"Hey," Dean said acknowledging him as he walked in, "Not a bad time kid,"
Pure exhaustion prevented Adam from being able to come up with a quick smart-alecky reply, so he settled for a shrug as he sat down on the motel room bed and began to unlace his shoes.
"Adam," Dad said, drawing Adam's attention away from his shoes. "I've been giving this some thought and with you being expelled from school it seems like as good of a time as any for you to come with me on some interviews. Learn the process,"
"Really?" Adam asked, shock drawing him out of his haze of exhaustion. Dad had never mentioned Adam coming on interviews before. He'd been on a few hunts, werewolves, ghosts and the like, coming in with Sam and Dean at the last minute to 'gank the baddie' and torch the scene. He'd sat with his brothers in libraries all over the country reading newspapers, scouring old books and digging through archives, but never once had the possibility of Adam going out to the scene or tagging along to witness interviews been brought up.
"Yeah." Dad replied, "There's a hunt in Naples I need to send Dean in any way, so it's a good time for you to shadow me and learn how to deal with people. How to ask the questions or how to spot a lie,"
"Oh. Cool, but wait what about Sam?" Adam asked. As excited as he was to be included and that Dad thought he was finally worthy of going on interviews, he really didn't like the idea of Sam being all alone, especially if Dad was sending Dean out on another hunt so far away.
"Don't worry about your brother. I'm sure he'll be happy to stay here and focus on his schoolwork." Dad replied with thinly veiled displeasure.
"Oh. Well…. Ok," Adam said hesitantly, "but what about alternative school?" Adam asked suddenly remembering the note Dean had been handed.
"What?" Dad asked, confused.
"They told Dean you could send me to an alternative school," Adam explained, "Since I got expelled."
"Oh…No." Dad said with a dismissive shake of his head, "No. I'm close to finishing up this case as it is, it'd be a waste of time to get you re-enrolled at another school.
"Oh. Ok."
"Go on and get a shower," Dad said, nodding toward the motel bathroom, "then I'll catch you up on the case."
"Ok," Adam said, forgetting his exhaustion and bouncing off the bed with excitement.
He couldn't believe it. Going out with Dad, doing interviews -actually working the case in person. Wow. Adam's mind was spinning. This day had been a whirlwind and this was definitely not the way he saw it ending. After a brief moment of uncertainty, he quickly decided not to press his luck and just accept that maybe good things could still happen to him sometimes. He still didn't like the idea of being expelled, but maybe it wouldn't affect his college chances, and if it meant it got an opportunity to go out with Dad and prove himself well maybe it was worth it.
Hey all! I haven't abandoned this series, its just taking a lot longer to get things written these days. Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed the stories so far. I really really appreciate it! I love getting your thoughts about the characters and the scenes! Hoping to write some more soon!
