A/N- Thank you to everyone who sticks with me in this series! I so appreciate all the love you have shown! The next few chapters are gonna jump around in time a little, this first one starting back at the beginning when Adam has first joined the family.
Timeline- 12-year-old Adam has been with his new family for about six months now. He's learning that Dad is gone more often than not and still figuring out his new brothers and their outrageous life.
Dean crumbled up the wrapper of his burger, leaning back in the tiny metal kitchen chair to aim, then easily tossed the paper into the trashcan across the room.
"3 pointer." He said, smiling across the table at his brother.
Adam returned a grin from over his collection of french fries and ketchup, spread out on its own wrapper on the motel room table.
"Alright," Dean said, standing up and dusting off any remaining crumbs from his shirt, "I'm out."
Adam looked up in surprise, "Where you going?" he asked curiously.
"Out," Dean replied shortly, patting his pockets to feel for his car keys.
"Out? Out where?" Adam pressed.
"Mind your own business, Nancy Drew," Dean replied sarcastically, turning away from his younger brother and scanning the motel room.
"Are you gonna go play pool?" Adam asked, ignoring his brother's irritated tone, "Can I come?"
"No," Dean said, spotting the keys on the nightstand table between the beds, he crossed the room quickly and grabbed them.
"Why? Come on Dean. It's so boring here!" Adam pleaded emphatically.
"Gee thanks," Sam scoffed from his place laying across one of the motel double beds his own lunch and an open book in front of him.
"Come on!" Adam said, ignoring Sam's comment, "Sam's just gonna read all afternoon."
"No," Dean said again, more firmly, walking to the door and putting a hand on the doorknob.
"Ugh. Dean!" Adam moaned, earning a scowl of annoyance from his brother.
"I said no, kid," Dean replied.
"Ugh," Adam groaned, slumping down in his chair and dejectedly throwing a fry into his pile of ketchup. "You suck."
Dean just rolled his eyes and opened the motel door, "Keep eye on him Sammy?"
Sam gave a half nod, having already lost interest in his brother's argument, his focus back on his book.
Adam didn't look up from his stack of wilting fries as Dean walked out, locking the door behind him. Hearing the engine of Dean's Impala roar to life though, he couldn't help but stand up from the table to watch from the window as his brother drove away, picking up speed before he'd even pulled out of the parking lot.
Adam looked around the room gloomily, walking over and flopping back dramatically into the vacant bed next to his remaining brother.
"Ugh. He sucks," he repeated, staring at the yellowing popcorn ceiling. Rooms like these always had popcorn ceilings and they were always yellow with the years of cigarette smoke that had been billowing up at them.
He heard Sam's quiet chuckle and sat up, aggravated.
"What?" he demanded.
"Nothing," Sam said, his nose still stuck in his book.
"What!" Adam demanded again, more annoyed. He hated when Sam or Dean laughed at him and he didn't know why. Based on what he knew from television it was probably a normal part of being the youngest brother, but damn if it didn't make him mad.
"Nothing," Sam said again, the smile in his voice gone but his face still hidden.
"Sam!"
"He's gonna go hustle a game Adam," Sam said finally, putting his book down and sitting up, reaching over to the nightstand table to grab the drink that came with his meal.
"Oh."
"I think we just spent our last $20 on lunch." Sam said, nodding down to his abandoned burger and fries.
"Oh," Adam said again softly.
Most of the time he forgot how much responsibility Dean had in taking care of him and Sam. Dad was gone more often than not and Dean was always in charge. It was Dean who got them food, who paid the rent on the rooms they stayed in, who took them places and got them things. Adam suddenly felt stupid that he never thought about it. He was just used to taking what he was given without question. Maybe it was just part of being young? He'd always just eaten the food his mom bought, worn the clothes she gave him and lived where she said they'd live. There was never anything about it to question. Suddenly though, with Dean doing all those things and not Mom, not even Dad, it felt weird. Adam felt like he should be helping, contributing somehow or at least trying to ease the burden on his brother.
"I could hustle," he said softly, more to himself than to Sam.
Sam looked over at him incredulously, "Adam, you're a terrible pool player."
"I'm not that bad." Adam said, annoyed, "And anyway I just started, I'll get better. I'd get better faster if Dean would let me go with him sometimes."
Sam raised his eyebrows in doubt but said nothing.
"How much do you think he'll make?" Adam wondered.
"I don't know," Sam said with a shrug, "100 bucks? Maybe more? Depends on the mark,"
"The mark?" Adam questioned, "like the person he's hustling?"
"Yeah," Sam said, sitting his drink down and reaching over to grab a handful of fries, "Dean always does best when we hit a college town and he can pretend to be a student and take advantage some dumb frat guys or something,"
"I'd say in this town though, he's probably looking for a middle age Dad type to hustle," Sam continued, "Someone who's looking to get out of the house on a Saturday afternoon and won't be too pissed about a young kid taking his money,"
Adam nodded thoughtfully, the wheels of his mind beginning to turn with the possibilities.
"I'm gonna learn to hustle," he said, picturing himself leaning across the worn felt of a pool table in a dimly lit room.
"Yeah, we'll teach you," Sam said nodding in agreement.
"Can you do it Sam?" Adam asked, forgetting his fantasy and looking over at his brother.
"Yeah I'm ok at it, I guess," Sam said, "When me and Dean go together I'm usually just the bait for the mark. I win a few games, beat Dean pretty easily, lull them into confidence, then Dean takes over."
Adam tried to picture the scene: Sam and Dean playing pool laughing and teasing as Dean missed shots, both surreptitiously lining up possible victims for their scam. He desperately wanted to be part of it.
"You have to take me," he implored.
Sam chuckled lightly at his excitement, "Yeah we will don't worry. But you have to learn to play really well first. You can't fake losing if you actually suck."
Adam nodded, thinking about the possibility of spending time with his brothers at the pool hall or the bar. Man, it would be nice to get out of these stupid motel rooms on the weekends. And being able to make some money to help Dean out would be even better.
"Wait," Adam said suddenly, the thought of Dean and money startling him, "You said we were down to our last $20. What if Dean loses?"
"Dean doesn't lose," Sam said confidently, reaching down to grab another handful of fries.
"Yeah but what if he does?" Adam asked with concern.
"There's always sleep for dinner." Sam joked, giving his little brother a shrug.
Adam frowned at him, not amused by the lame (and probably true) joke.
"Adam relax," Sam said coolly.
"What if he loses Sam? When is Dad even coming home? What happens if we run out of money? How do we eat? Do we get kicked out of the room?"
"Adam chill. Seriously," Sam said, "Dean will take care it,"
"But Sam!"
"Dean's got everything under control, Adam," Sam replied confidently.
Adam was quiet for a few minutes, still worrying about the possibility of running out of money and what they might do if that happened. Had it happened before? Were Sam and Dean used to living this close to the edge of destitution? Before, with mom, Adam never thought about money. It literally never occurred to him how much money they had as a family or that they might not have enough for their needs. He knew they weren't well off, living on just his mom's nursing salary, but they were comfortable and he never felt fear like he was experiencing now, listening to his older brother joke about having 'sleep for dinner'.
"Should we do something?" Adam asked, watching Sam eat the last of his cold fries, "Try to help? Make money somehow?"
"I don't think Dean really wants our help, Adam,"
"But… I mean…we should though." Adam said, feeling uncertain about what they could do to earn money, but completely certain that Dean shouldn't bear the burden alone.
Sam was quiet for a moment, considering his younger brother and his admirable conviction that they help Dean.
Finally, Sam sighed, "Yeah alright fine." He said, crumbling up the wrapper of his burger and easily tossing it into the wastebasket near the foot of his bed.
"Yeah?" Adam asked with excited surprise.
"Yeah." Sam agreed, "You've got a polo shirt right? Or something with a collar?"
"Uh… yeah, I think so," Adam answered in confusion.
"Ok, well put it on. And see what kinda change you can scrounge up. We need bus fare."
"Uh. Ok?" Adam said, standing up and going to find his duffle bag, completely confused as to what his brother was planning.
A/N- Thank you for reading! I hope you review! Working on the next chapter where we get to see Sam's plan to help Dean make some money!