John spent most of his time away, this wasn't a new thing really, he'd spent most of the boy's lives away, but Dean sorta figured that with the hunt so close to home he'd be around a bit more. Dean spent half of his time trying to figure out how to get rid of a poltergeist and the other half split between keeping Sam happy and hanging out with his new friends. He'd picked up a job working at little job working two days a week a body shop owned by the brother of his auto shop teacher. He was getting extra class credit for working there, which was incredible considering his academic record. With those few extra credits he might even have chance of graduating on time.
Sam had met a couple kids; straight up dorks if Dean had ever seen them. They'd convinced Sam to join the debate club after school, which took up quite a bit of Sam's time. Dean thought it was good for the kid, he didn't seem so sulky and annoying when he had something to occupy his time.
Things with Olivia were progressing nicely by the middle of January. She didn't like putting labels on things, but they skipped class to make out in closets enough to be considered an item. They didn't see Maggie all that much, she was pretty much over the whole high school thing, Dean didn't really mind though; he liked having alone time with Olivia.
"This is going to sound super lame," Dean said as he sat next to Olivia in the crowded cafeteria. "But Sammy got this big debate tonight, and I promised him I'd go watch, and I know that I said I'd take ya to the movies tonight, but Sam's thing."
"Go to the debate," Olivia said kissing his cheek. "The movie will still be there later. Sammy's debate is only once."
"He doesn't like it when other people call him 'Sammy,'" Dean said. "I was wondering if you wanted to come with. I mean I know a middle school debate is probably the most boring thing ever, but it'll be less boring with you there."
"As far as date ideas go," Olivia smirked. "This is, like, the worst one of all time."
"I know," Dean sighed. "But Sammy, and I promised, and he wants to meet you. This is the perfect opportunity."
"I'd like to meet your little brother, too," Olivia said. "But this doesn't get you out of taking me to the movies."
"I'll sit through two hours of whatever chick flick you need to see if you sit through this nerdfest."
"Deal," Olivia smiled.
Sam won his part of the debate, totally blew the other kid out of the water with some argument about how peer pressure effects education. Dean found out very quickly that applauding and screaming wasn't acceptable at a debate. The teacher in charge almost kicked him out, but Dean was able to control himself. Sam was grinning ear to ear afterward when he met Dean in the lobby.
"Nice job kiddo," Dean said ruffling Sam's hair.
"You think so?" Sam smiled. "Crystal said that I probably should have more examples but Hank said that it was fine."
"I think you smoked the other kid," Dean nodded. "Made him look like he had no idea what he was talking about. Didn't you hear me cheering?"
"Yeah," Sam laughed. "Mr. McCarthy was about ready to kill you."
"You're really good at this stuff kiddo," Dean grinned.
"Mr. McCarthy said that I have a real gift for arguing. That's why he recruited me for the team."
"You didn't need a teacher to tell ya that, kid," Dean chuckled. "You've been getting your way for years."
"Yeah, but I'm the youngest," Sam smiled. "You're supposed to just give me what I want. That's how it works."
"Haha," Dean rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I want ya to meet someone."
"Hi," Olivia waved. "Great job up there, Sammy."
Sam looked up at Dean through his hair, look of pure annoyance on his face. "Is this your girlfriend?"
"This is my friend Olivia," Dean nodded.
"You tell her my name is Sam," he said seriously.
"He did," Olivia interjected. "I forgot."
Sam huffed and rolled his eyes, ignoring her completely. "Are we going out for dinner? Or is Dad back?"
"He'd be here if he was home," Dean answered. "You wanna hit up the pizza place or a diner?"
"I could really go for a chicken finger sub," Sam said.
"Well, pizza place it is," Dean smiled, placing a hand on Sam's back. He gestured for Olivia to walk in front of them. "Lead the way M'lady."
Olivia giggled and they watched to her car.
"Be nice," Dean hissed as walked. "I like her and things are going really well. I'm sorry she called you the wrong thing, but don't be a bitch just to be a bitch. She's a nice girl."
"Since when have you ever dated a nice girl," Sam sighed.
"I'm going to make fun of every little nerd you bring home from now to the day you die if you're not nice to Olivia during dinner," Dean said seriously. "I'm not joking. I'll bust out pictures of you as a baby when they first met me. I'll do all that stupid shit that you see sitcom parents do to embarrass their kids. I'm not kidding."
"Fine," Sam sighed.
"Just be civil," Dean said when they reached the car. "You don't have to over-do it, just don't be an asshole."
At the pizzeria, Olivia seemed to talk endlessly about her and Dean's big plans for his birthday the following weekend. The more she talked the more Sam appeared to become increasingly upset.
"On Dean's birthday we always spend the day together," Sam said when Olivia finally stopped for air. "We've always hung out together on each other's birthdays and watch movies and do stuff together."
"Yeah, but you only turn eighteen once," Olivia smiled turning to Dean a clinging to his arm. "It's gonna be wicked exciting. You can have him all day, but after dinner Maggie and I are talking him out. It's gonna be great."
"It's a Friday I have school all day," Sam said.
"You don't have plans with your friends or nothing, Sammy?" Olivia asked.
"It's Sam," he corrected angrily. "And no, I don't have other plans."
Dean kicked him in the shin under that table.
"It'll be fine Sam," Dean said quickly. "We'll hang out later."
"Whatever," Sam sighed as the waitress, a girl that Dean recognized from hanging out in the park delivered their food.
"Anyways," Olivia continued. "Maggie thinks she can get us into a place on campus with Tim's help. It should be pretty awesome since it'll be the first weekend back at school after winter break and stuff."
"You know I'm kinda short on cash," Dean said, never talking his eyes off Sam who just looked more and more heart broken the more Olivia talked. "Not exactly raking in the dough working at the shop. I can't really afford to do anything too extravagant."
"Oh don't worry about that," Olivia smiled. "Maggie and I'll treat ya. It's your birthday! It's gonna be so awesome."
"Alright," Dean nodded stuffing one end of his sandwich into his mouth.
"You have any big plans for this weekend Sammy?" Olivia asked stealing a fry from Dean's plate, a move that would get Sam's own hand stabbed with a fork.
"My name is Sam," he was clearly losing patience with this girl. "And no, I'm just gonna do some research."
"For a project?" Olivia asked.
"For my dad," Sam said looking at Dean. "Something for work. I'm better at it that he is so he lets me help sometimes. Dean's supposed to be helping too, but apparently he's too busy."
"Knock it off, Sam," Dean warned through a mouth full of food.
"I'm going to my grandma's in Worcester, tomorrow." Olivia said. "You guys can have the whole weekend together."
"Glad to have your permission," Sam mumbled, looking down at his plate.
Dean could tell his little brother was upset that he had found someone else to spend all his time with, he always got like this when Dean had a girlfriend or friends and didn't spend all this time around Sam. It wasn't like Sam couldn't make friends; he always managed to have one or two little dweebs hanging around the house or something. No matter how often John moved them or how short their stay was in a particular town, the whole ride to the next one was usually filled with Sam complaining about losing new friends.
When they got back to the house, Sam jumped out of Olivia's car, ran out up the walkway, and slammed the front door, hard. Dean rolled his eyes as he walked hand in hand with his girl toward the door.
"I don't think he likes me," Olivia said sadly. "I really wanted him to like me."
"Sam doesn't like anyone," Dean said. "He's thirteen, moody, you'll grow on him. He's, you know, an eighth grader."
"Yeah," Olivia shrugged, pulling at his jacket until he bent down for a kiss. "Just the way that you talk about Sammy, I really wanted him to like me. Hey, I know that this weekend is a you and Sammy weekend, but my parents have this big Sunday dinner, and my mom really wants to meet you."
"Uh-huh," Dean said pulling away, turning slightly so his back was against the door and searching for the doorknob.
"So maybe you and Sammy can stop by?" Olivia smiled. "If you want to, no pressure, just if you want, that would be cool."
"Maybe," Dean said pecking her on the lips one last time before opening the door and stepping inside. "I'll call you later."
"Okay!" Olivia smiled, then turned and half skipped back to her car.
Dean jumped over the back of the couch and landed next to his sullen and mopey baby brother.
"I thought you were spending the day with Princess Doesn't Listen Worth a Shit, before she took off to wherever." Sam sighed.
"Nope," Dean smiled, tossing an arm around Sam's shoulders. "I got the whole weekend to annoy you."
"Awesome," Sam rolled his eyes.
"What's your problem?" Dean spat turning to look Sam in the eye. "Cut the whiny baby crap, it's annoying."
"I don't have a problem," Sam said crossing his arms over his chest.
"Clearly, Sammy, ya do," Dean said, raising his voice slightly. "Because you're being a baby. So pull the fucking stick out of your ass and grow up."
"My name is Sam," his brother growled. "SAM! I don't know where this girlfriend who's probably not even going to be around next week gets off calling me Sammy after I corrected her three times, but it's annoying. I'm not a baby anymore. So just leave me alone."
"First off dickface," Dean said. "I like her and she'll still be around next week. And she was just trying to get you to like her, because she knows how important you are to me."
"Fuck off Dean," Sam said standing up. "She was being a patronizing bitch."
"Watch your fucking mouth, asshole," Dean spat back.
"I get you refusing to listen to me," Sam yelled. "You never listen to anyone except Dad, but her, she has no reason not to listen when I asked not to be called something. She's just being a bitch for no reason."
"No she wasn't," Dean defended. "She was trying to get you to like her."
"Well she did a horrible fucking job," Sam shouted, face turning red. "I hope the two of you have wonderful time on your birthday together, since apparently you don't give a shit about tradition, even if it's the only tradition we have in this stupid family."
"This is what you're pissed about?" Dean questioned. "That I don't wanna spend every waking moment with you? I'm spending this whole weekend with you. I spend 98 percent of my free time with you! I'm sorry that my friends wanna spend time with me too. That's the whole point of having friends. And since 'being normal' and having real friends is the only thing you ever freakin' talk about, I figured you'd be find with it. And you're right Sam; you're not a baby anymore, which is exactly why I figured you'd have better things to do with your weekend than spend it up my ass. It's my birthday anyway I can do what the fuck I want to."
"Believe it or not," Sam mocked standing up. "You're not most important person to walk the face of the earth." He turned on his heal and stalked to their room, slamming the door hard.
"Fucking little freak," Dean breathed. He got up and went through is back pack finding the little zip lock baggie Tim had given him last time they all hung out. If Sam was going to be a dickhead, Dean was going to make it so that nothing the kid did bother him. He left the front pocket of his bag open when he went out back to light up.
When Dean came back inside, John was sitting the couch watching TV.
"Where's Sammy?" John asked.
"Samuel," Dean answered walking into the kitchen to grab a bag of chips and some water. "As he apparently wants to be called, has locked himself in our room because Olivia called him 'Sammy' when we took him out for dinner after his debate. How's the case coming?"
"A little more research to do," John sided. "Gotta figure out if it's an actual poltergeist or a straight up haunting. It's a weird case, buddy."
"You want some help?" Dean asked collapsing into the chair.
"Not right now," John said, putting his feet up on the coffee table. "Where were you?"
"Just talking a walk," Dean lied. "Had to get away from the walking mass of angst, you know?"
"Wanna explain this, then?" John tossed the plastic bag Dean thought he had hidden well enough in his back pack onto the table next to his feet.
"Not mine," Dean shook his head.
"Really," John said sarcastically. "Cuz it was on the floor next to your book bag."
"It's not mine," Dean repeated trying his best to hide the "oh shit" look he knew was plastered all over his face. "It's… it's Tim's. I'm just… I'm just holding it for him. He left it at Olivia's last time we were there."
"You're a horrible liar in the best conditions," John sighed. "But when you're high, you're even worse."
"I'm not," Dean huffed.
"Look me in the face with your blood shot eyes and try again," John said. "I wasn't born yesterday. I don't want this shit around your brother. And I don't appreciate it my house at all. What you and your friends do when you're out, whatever, but I'm really sick of watching you walk into this house stoned at all hours of the night, and apparently the day too. Drinking… drinking I can deal with, but drugs, Dean. How stupid can you be?"
"I'm not stupid," Dean defended.
"Knock this shit off," John said. "You do this crap around your brother?"
Dean shook his head. "Just out with my friends."
"You're better than this," John said seriously. "A lot better. Your brother looks up to you. You gotta stop doing stupid shit, cuz he's gonna walk right in footsteps your leaving behind ya. You want that? You want you kid brother to end up some pot head?"
"No," Dean mumbled.
"What?" John said sternly.
"No sir," Dean said a little louder. "I don't want that for him. He's got more going for him than that."
"Right," John said. "Smarten up. Get new friends. How much money are you wasting on this shit?" John asked.
"I dunno," Dean said softly, staring at his feet.
"You don't know?" John repeated. "You don't know how much money that you're supposed to be using to buy food to feed your brother you're spending on drugs? If I went had to go off on a hunt for two weeks, would you be able to keep food in the fridge, or would if all get smoked?"
"I… I can… I can make sure Sam gets fed," Dean said. "I can do that. I'm not an idiot."
"Really?" John said. "Because you don't see very responsible to me. You're 18th birthday is next week, you're gonna be an adult."
"I know," Dean mumbled.
"You wanna know what I was gonna do?"
Dean looked up from the floor and toward his father.
"I was gonna buy a truck," John said. "I don't really need that boat of a car anymore that you boys are grown."
"You're gonna get rid of the Chevy!?" Dean interrupted eyes wide. "You can't just do that!"
"No," John sighed. "I was gonna hand you the keys. But since I can't trust you, I think I'm gonna wait, until you can get your act together. You're gonna hafta earn it now. I see this crap," John tapped the bag with is foot. "In my house, or you walk through that door stoned another time, you're never gonna drive that car again. You understand me? I'm not letting an immature idiot drive that car. Pull your head out of your ass and figure out what people you should hanging out with and who you should have around your brother."
"Yes sir," Dean nodded.
"Go to your room," John said "We'll talk more in the morning."
Dean nodded as he stood up and went into his room. He didn't even look at Sam as he dropped onto his bed. He wasn't really sure what he wanted to do. He knew he didn't to stop hanging out with Olivia, Tim, and Maggie, he liked hanging out with them. They were his people. His dad wasn't really around enough to pick and choose his friends for him. He didn't know what that group was like, they were good kids. He really like Olivia, he was careful about falling for anyone, but he knew that if they stayed here he'd be with her for a while. She wasn't the other girls that he thought of as just something to pass the time; he wanted to invest time with this girl. He wasn't going to just stop being friends with her.
He wanted that car. He wanted that car more than anything in the world. He knew that being in this town wouldn't last long; this part of his life would be over before he got to settle into a routine and life here. He'd change to fit into the next town. Here he was doing what he had to do to fit in. It was too late in the game to change.