No one at school talked to Dean after that. Not without cringing, anyway. Dean didn't mind people respecting him because he was a capable fighter, but fearing him because they thought he was a psycho killer?

He could have done without that.

If Phil had still been speaking to him, he could have explained about the demons to him, but of course, Phil hated him because of Benny. And now that Dean had no friends in the world but Sam, Benny, Cas and Bobby, he wasn't exactly keen to lose any one of them. He certainly wouldn't turn his back on Benny for a guy as fickle as Phil.

He didn't spend a lot of time attending classes, though, and eventually a guidance councillor suggested he finish his courses by correspondence or get his GED.

He'd settled for taking the test, which had disappointed Bobby because he thought it was less likely he'd end up going to college if he took that route. Bobby still thought Dean wanted something like a normal life. He didn't understand that Dean liked his new life. Something inside of Dean recoiled at the thought of going to vocational college and finding a nice girl to have a family with. It seemed…boring. It also seemed like someone else's life. Hunting came naturally to him and he knew in his bones it was what he wanted.

Eventually Bobby saw that, too. He put his foot down when Sam said he wanted to go away on hunting trips with Dean, saying Sam would stay with him until he was old enough to make his own decision. Dean was guilty about leaving Sam behind—but Bobby's place was always going to be home base, and he honestly doubted Sam really wanted to be a hunter, anyway.

Bobby wanted Dean to travel with one of his hunter friends. He seemed to think that those vipers with were better than nothing, though Dean couldn't really agree. Dean wanted to convince Benny to hunt with him, but he wondered if his friend had built too much of a life for himself to want to leave.

Dean and Benny were putting the finishing touches on the Impala's interior when Dean finally broached the subject.

"You ever think of leaving town?"

Benny looked up in surprise. "Of course. I'm a vampire. I've always got one foot on the road, no matter where I settle down."

"Cause people eventually realize you don't age?"

"Or my teeth come out at the wrong time, or someone notices I never eat in public and calls a hunter. I've laid down plans, but they're never set in stone. Actually I've considered just telling some other vampires and seeing if they could do the whole blood disposal thing. It's kind of too big a job for one man, and most vamps have nests."

"Aren't you supposed to bite people to make a nest?"

"I wouldn't turn anyone, Dean. You know that. I mean, even if they want me to, I wouldn't. But if I was so inclined, I suppose it would help me with group endeavours," Benny smiled. "Why do you ask? You think your friend Phil is going to tell people about me?"

"I don't think he's ever going to tell anyone. I could see him getting drunk and trying to burn your trailer down or something, though. I mean, you'd probably hear him coming, being a vampire and all. But I just wondered…you wouldn't ever…I mean, I guess you'd never want to try being a hunter," Dean said.

"Hunters wouldn't like me around."

"I would," Dean said. "I mean, I don't know how you'd feel about hunting vampires…but maybe you wouldn't mind hunting other things."

"Hunters hang out together. There's bars and things. Like symbols in windows of stores and restaurants to show you it's friendly to hunters. You wouldn't think we'd know that, but the fact is, a heck of a lot of vamps used to be hunters, and they spread the word. And if you were with me you wouldn't be able to go into those places."

"I don't need to hang with hunters. Judging by those guys we hunted with before, I don't want to be around them at all," Dean said.

"You'd be safer in a group. With a community," Benny said.

"I'd be safer with you. If you—shit. I'm not trying to force you into anything. You don't have to. But I'd rather travel with you than any hunter."

"It might seem like you don't have anyone but me. But that's just not true. And if you went away to college, or started hunting with some nice humans who understood the supernatural world better than the kids at school, you'd see that there's plenty of people better than me to hang out with. I just don't want you to turn your back on everyone else and make it true when it doesn't have to be," Benny said.

"People who really care about me won't care about who I hang out with. Everyone else can go to hell," Dean said. Benny shook his head, and Dean took his arm. "I made my choice. I mean, it's not just because there's no one else. We get along. We work well together. Didn't you have fun when we went to find Ruby?"

"Sure, but we don't even know each other that well," Benny said.

"This isn't a marriage proposal. If it doesn't work out, we just stop working together," Dean said.

"If you're sure. Yeah. Count me in," Benny said.

"You've got to agree to one thing, though, before you decide," Dean said seriously.

"Okay. What?"

"We're taking the Impala, not your piece of shit camper."

"Camper makes more sense," Benny said.

"It would make more sense, if it wasn't a piece of shit. That thing won't go faster than forty-five miles an hour if it runs at all. But even if it made sense, man…just no. The Impala is the car, especially since I put the false bottom in the trunk where we can hide all of our hunter gear. Besides, you can totally sleep in this baby. Her backseat is probably bigger than the beds in your camper."

Benny laughed lightly. "I really wasn't got to argue against travelling around in a classic car, Dean. And don't even try to pretend you don't just want to take the Impala because it's cool. You told Bobby and Sam you want me to be your partner?"

"Nah," Dean said. "They'll figure it out eventually. Or not."

"Dean—"

"—I'm not turning my back on my family or anything like that. I'm just eighteen years old and want to go out in the world and do something without getting approval for everything."

"I seem to remember you wanting to work to get money for Sam to go to college."

"He'll get a scholarship. He's got crazy grades," Dean said. "My dad always told me to take care of Sammy. All my life, it was forget about what you want and look after Sam. I never resented it. Shit, I was good at it. But now I can see that, at least right now, Bobby is better at looking after Sam than I am. So why not do what I want? I fucked up taking care of Sam anyway. I let dad attack him and I let Ruby practically kill him."

"Neither of those things were your fault, Dean. Did you ever see that therapist?"

Dean shook his head. "Most of the things I'd talk about are supernatural. I'd just get thrown in the looney bin with dad. It doesn't make any sense."

"Well, what about your dad? You could tell him that he let drugs and alcohol and an evil bitch of a demon turn him into the kind of guy who would abuse his son. The kind of guy who would make a kid who was only four years older than his brother feel like everything is his responsibility," Benny said.

"I suppose I should go and see dad before I go," Dean said. "But it won't change anything."

Benny shrugged. "I'm not trying to change your mind. I just don't want you to regret anything."

"Highways go both ways, Benny. If I start to miss home, I'll turn around and come back," Dean said. "And I'll keep in touch with Bobby and Sam, and if either one of them needs me, I'll come back."

The next day Dean drove to see his father. He wasn't sure he could convince his dad that Ruby had been a demon but that Sam was innocent, but he had to try.

He didn't want to speak to his father on the grounds again—if John got agitated he wanted people with drugs nearby. So he ended up in a half-empty activity room speaking quietly to his dad so he couldn't be overheard. He told him everything he'd learned, including his decision to hunt with Benny.

"…And that's what I found out," Dean said, concluding his tale.

"Dean, you shouldn't mess with things like that," John said.

"Things like what? Magic? Of course I won't," Dean said.

"No, I mean a vampire! You shouldn't trust someone like that. Someone who is probably going to lure you into some danger and kill you," John said.

"Did you not hear the story? He's only ever looked out for me," Dean said.

"It seemed like Ruby was looking out for me, too. But she used my protective feelings to get me to do exactly what she wanted," John said.

"It was your choice to start drinking more, and to take all your worries and confusion out on me," Dean said.

John seemed to shrink into himself. "I know that, Dean. I should have gotten some help, with the drinking and drugs. I never should have hit you. But this vampire wants you to turn your back on everything you know and leave your family. What do you expect me to think?"

"I expect you to listen to me," Dean said. "I'm the one who asked Benny to come with me. And it's not because he manipulated me to do it. It's because hunters are dicks, Sam's too young and smart to be a hunter, and Benny's got freaken superpowers! Why wouldn't I want to hunt with him?"

"You can't trust someone like that," John said, shaking his head. "You'll regret it."

Dean sighed heavily. "I never expected you to approve of all my choices. You never once told me, 'good job, Dean, you cleaned up that mess I made with Ruby' or, 'you'd make a great hunter'. I guess that was too much to ask."

"Great job? You made her so mad she came and attacked your brother at a school, Dean. You want me to congratulate you for that?"

"That is so not fair! I've done nothing but try to protect Sammy, primarily from you, for my entire life. And I'm not going to feel guilty for something someone else did. I won't," Dean said.

"Don't just continue the Winchester tradition of blaming everyone else for the terrible things you've done, Dean. That second attack on Sam was completely on you," John said.

Dean walked to his car on shaky legs, trying to deny his father's words. He knew he was too upset to drive, and did the only thing he could think of. "Cas? Please? I need to talk to you."

"Why are you so upset, Dean?" Cas' asked from the passenger seat.

"Ruby's attack on Sam…it was my fault, wasn't it?" Dean asked.

"Of course not. She was always going to attack Sam. At the most, you moved her timeline up a little. But isn't it better she went after Sam while you were around to protect him, instead of miles away when he was in college?"

Dean shook his head. "Maybe if he had been older, he'd have been able to protect himself. He has been training with me and Bobby."

"There's never a good time for a demon to seduce and then try to kill you," Cas said.

"Wait, hold up. Are you saying Sam slept with Ruby? They had sex?"

"Didn't Sam tell you?"

"Jesus Christ," Dean breathed. "That poor kid."

"If you want to make up for any part you had in the attack, then stay with him. Help Bobby raise him and make sure he's okay. Do local hunts with Benny, sure, but forget about leaving Sioux Falls for good. Sam needs you, and if he's worried about anything at all, it's not getting into college, or even demons trying to kill him. It's his brother abandoning him."

"Look, it's my fault he was attacked! It's better if I leave. I can't fuck up anything else if I leave," Dean said.

"You feel bad for messing up, and you're running away. Take responsibility, do the work, and help your brother," Cas said.

Dean shook his head. "I don't think I can. I'm not good enough. Not strong enough."

"Dean, you're capable of anything. Everything. You can do the impossible," Cas said.

Dean rolled his eyes, convinced this was some religious mumbo jumbo Cas would have said to any human. "I don't want to mess up. I don't want to just do what my dad said because he's an asshole and I'm done taking orders from him. But I love Sammy, and I am good at taking care of him. If anyone can help him through this, it's me."