Chapter 22- Can't Stop the Hustle

TIME JUMP ALERT!

Timeline: This story takes place in October 2001. Sam left for Stanford in August and Adam is 14 years old and on the road with Dad and Dean.

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Adam was becoming a problem.

A troublemaker in ways that even Dean was having a hard time reigning in.

Since Sam left the whole family had struggled, John was well aware of that. He'd spent his fair share of time down in the bottle and he had a sneaking suspicion that when he was away Dean was finding comfort there as well. Adam had seemed to fade into the background during those weeks when the raw emotion and loss were just too much. But as the fog of pain cleared and John was able to think with a clear head, he was surprised to find that in the time that had passed his youngest son had gone from naïve teenager to angry young man.

The transformation probably shouldn't have surprised John in quite the way it did. Adam was troubled from the start and the continuing trauma being laid at his feet was hardening him in a way that it never had with Sam. Dean, of course, had been forced to grow up early and the hardness in him grew gradually and although John saw it and recognized it, he also saw how Dean compartmentalized it; something Adam was not yet able to do. The boy was all hard edges, trying to cope with the burning rage and sorrow that lived within him.

It was as if Sam's leaving was the straw that broke the camel's back, the very last thing that was keeping John's youngest son on the right side of rational. John knew that without Sam's emotional, logical counterweight the family dynamic was unbalanced. He felt it himself, in the times when Dean 'yes sir'd' without thinking when John had actually been looking for a discussion, not an automatic agreement.

Since August, Adam had become trouble. The kid was angry, bored and smart: a terrible combination.

Sam had been angry too, John rationalized, but Sam was driven. That kid was never bored, he was always working on something, single mindedly pushing towards his goal of knowing everything there was to know in the world and escaping their family.

Dean could get bored, but he was never an angry kid. He learned early on to fill the tedium that came between hunts. He was able to find happiness in the parts of their lives he could control, indulging in daylong horror movie marathons, competing against himself trying to beat his best mile time, and of course, he always found time for pretty girls.

Adam had the misfortune to have all the brains of both his brothers, but neither the single-minded drive to focus his intelligence nor the carefree attitude to enjoy his circumstances. Which is why John Winchester was being called to the kid's high school principal's office for the second time since school started.

To be fair, it was the first time John actually had to go to the school. Dean had gotten the first call in September right after school had started. Adam had gotten into a fight, mouthing off to a junior in an attempt to solidify his place as a badass freshman in a new school. The junior basketball player took some serious hits and ended up a lot worse off after the fight than Adam. John did have to admit he was proud of his son for taking down a guy who had nearly 5 inches of height on him. He wasn't pleased, however, to get the news from Dean that it was Adam's taunting that started the fight to begin with.

Today he was called to the school for a different reason; Adam had been caught selling book reports to other kids at school.

John had rolled his eyes and shook his head when he'd gotten the call from the principal. He easily played off his anger with his son as normal parental frustration with a boy who was breaking the rules, but inside he was just pissed that Adam got himself caught.

If he'd said it once he'd said it a million times: keep a low profile dammit. The Winchesters had enough bad following them already that they didn't need local authorities or well-meaning civilians getting involved. John thought that Adam understood that, he'd been over it and over it with the kid in the beginning. How important their work was, how much of a risk they took by lying to police officers and making fake ids, how important it was that each boy keep to the status quo and not give any adults reason to give them a second look.

He very rarely had issues with Sam or Dean on that front. Dean could have cared less about school and what other adults told him to do, but the kid was loyal and followed John's rules to the letter. And Sam was so busy striving to be normal that teachers and staff at schools always idolized him, sending home notes of 'Such a hard worker! Great student with a bright future!' so John never had cause to worry about Sam drawing unwanted attention to himself.

Of course, Sam wasn't as squeaky clean as all those teachers thought. John knew for a fact that he was selling book reports and school essays just like Adam had been caught doing. John had turned a blind eye to Sam's little side hustle at the time since the kid wasn't getting caught and, if John was being honest with himself, the more time Sam spent writing papers the less time he spent arguing about everything else.

And anyway who was he to give his kids shit about following the rules when he taught the boys to bend them and break them when they needed.

As he drove to the school, John wondered if Adam had been taking the time to write all the essays he sold or if Sam had passed along his old work. John couldn't say that he'd seen Adam spend half the amount time Sam used to on homework, so John figured it was the latter. The thought made John clench his fists against the steering wheel of his truck, sending another hot drop of rage to the sea of anger at Sam that incessantly bubbled within him.

It was easier to be angry then sad.

Shaking his head again at the stupidity of his youngest son, he parked his truck and made his way into the school. It took him a few moments to locate the main office since this school larger than most of the small town haunts they usually frequented. He glanced through the window of the main office door before opening it, spotting his surly teenage son sitting on a bench outside the principal's office, slumped crudely against the wall, insolent sneer of indifference painted on his face.

Damn it.

Adam's brazen disrespect for authority was easy to see from a mile away and John cursed the kid for not even pretending to care about the trouble he was in. Adam could be so damn bullheaded sometimes. He'd rather enjoy the feeling of thinking he was a badass, instead of playing the role of apologetic schoolboy like he should have been.

John had to take a moment to reign in his temper, reminding himself of his own role that he needed to play in this situation. He needed to be a disapproving, disappointed parent, showing his appreciation for the school's rules and authority while ensuring them that his son had never done such a thing before and would certainly never do it again. In reality, John didn't give a rat's ass if Adam continued to sell whatever the hell he wanted, but he didn't need them to know that. Or Adam for that matter.

With a quiet breath and a steely look of perfect parental concern, John opened the door to the office and strode in, walking straight up to the secretary at the main desk, taking note of his youngest son's instant reaction in his peripheral vision.

"I'm here to see Principal Greer," he said to the older looking secretary, "I'm Adam Winchester's father,"

"Yes, of course," she replied, "Just one moment. I'll let him know you are here,"

She nodded again at him and walked around from behind the desk; over toward the door near where Adam was sitting, knocking softly before walking in.

John followed her movement with his eyes, stopping when they came to rest on his son.

"Adam," he said, his voice flat and emotionless.

Adam shifted in his seat, looking to the floor and then up again as if suddenly remembering one of John's early lessons: always look a man in the eye when speaking.

"Dad," he replied.

John was silent in response, scrutinizing his son with a penetrating stare.

The office door next to Adam opened and the secretary walked out, glancing at Adam before looking at John.

"Principal Greer would like to speak to you alone first, sir, if that's alright," she asked, seeming a little unnerved by John's natural authority.

"Of course," he said charmingly, adding a slight smile, hoping to put her at ease and ensure that she was on his side should he need her.

John didn't look down at his son as he passed, knowing that his focus needed to be on assessing the situation and determining just how to play his role in order to get them out of this mess. If the school had already turned a spotlight onto Adam and his troublesome behavior, they'd be looking at John as a potential cause. John knew that if the principal had any reason to believe that Adam was acting out due to his home life, the man wouldn't hesitate to call the police and Child Protective Services. Adam could be torn away from him before John even had a chance to flee town.

"Mr. Winchester," the principal addressed John as he entered the room and John felt the secretary close the door softly behind him.

Striding across the room John greeted the man congenially, extending an open hand, "Principal Greer. I'm so sorry we had to meet this way."

"As am I, Mr. Winchester," the man replied, shaking John's hand, "Please have a seat,"

"Thank you," John said, sitting down in one of the cheap leather chairs across from the principal's desk, "First off, I wanna apologize for my son's behavior,"

The principal looked slightly taken aback as if he hadn't expected John's words.

"I appreciate that, Mr. Winchester," Principal Greer said with a serious nod, "Adam has found himself in quite a lot of trouble since coming to our school,"

John sighed, Damn it, kid.

"I'm sure your older son told you about the fight Adam was involved in earlier this year,"

"Yes," John replied shortly.

"And of course there is the matter of the essays that we called you about today," Principal Greer continued.

John nodded, anxious for the man to get to the point already. Adam would be writing Latin translations until his hand fell off for making John sit through this shit.

"But I also wanted to speak with you about your son's general attitude. He's a very angry young man,"

John set his jaw, allowing the practiced expression of neutrality to cover his annoyance.

"Adam is continuously disrespectful to teachers and staff. He seems to have no interest in his schoolwork or his grades and he antagonizes the other students almost daily. His teachers say that your son seems to be looking for a fight,"

John sighed deeply, absorbing the man's words.

He hadn't personally seen this side of Adam, but it didn't surprise him. Adam was angry and although he was rarely disrespectful or rude to John (John had taken care to teach that lesson early), the kid had become mouthier to Dean and there had been more and more mumbled side comments lately that John had chosen to ignore in favor of peace within their family.

"I'm sorry that you've had to put up with that," John said sincerely.

"I appreciate that, Mr. Winchester," Principal Greer said, "We'd like to help Adam in any way that we can. Often times when we see kids act out like this it's because of some significant change in their lives. Your older son mentioned that you and your family are new to town, perhaps could be the cause of his behavior?"

John nodded, "I'm sure it is," he agreed, gratefully picking up the story that Dean had laid out, thanking his oldest son for his resourcefulness.

"We have a school counselor here that Adam can see, to possibly help him with this transition. She has the authority to make recommendations for outside care if that becomes needed," the principal explained.

"What do you mean?" John replied sharply, momentarily losing his cover of neutrality.

"I certainly don't mean anything negative, Mr. Winchester. Young people are volatile at this age. I've seen enough teenagers in my time to see the warnings signs of a kid going down the wrong path. If we are able to intervene early with Adam then there is a good chance he can work through his issues and avoid delinquency,"

"My son isn't a delinquent," John said, more forcefully than he meant to.

"Not yet, he isn't," Principal Greer said, in a tone that let John know that he had dealt with kids like Adam in the past and their worthless parents as well.

Feeling himself losing control of the situation, John changed tactics.

"I do appreciate you taking an interest in my kid," he said genuinely, "I'm not sure how much Dean explained, but… well…Adam's mother died recently. And…things in our family have changed pretty dramatically since then and really…well, it's been a lot… for all of us,"

John made sure his words held the sincerity of truth that he intended. He really hated having to explain any part of their lives to civilians, or anyone in general actually, but he'd use the truth as needed to get the results he wanted.

Principal Greer looked taken aback by John's admission as if he had already decided that Adam was a bad kid, but that there probably wasn't a good reason behind it.

"I…I'm very sorry to hear that Mr. Winchester," he said sympathetically, "That does shed a little more light on Adam's situation."

"I know he's angry…about how we lost her," John said, starting his act and comfortably falling into his role, "It wasn't fair, that's for damn sure. I've been thinking for a while that maybe we could use some family therapy or something to deal with it. Seeing how much trouble he's causing at school that I didn't even know about, well…maybe I ought to get that started sooner rather than later,"

"I'm sure that would benefit everyone involved Mr. Winchester. I could have Mrs. Stevens, the counselor, make some recommendations if that would help,"

"I've already called a few places, but thank you," John replied, kindly.

The principal took a breath, clearly shocked but pleased with turn the conversation had taken, seeming to feel that he'd accomplished his goal with their discussion.

"Well…" he said clearing his throat, "Hopefully that will help. In the meantime, we do have to deal with the issue of the school essays. I think we should bring Adam in here now,"

John nodded his agreement and Principal Greer stood up and walked around his desk to open the office door and stick his head out to call Adam into the room.

The man held the door open as John's son shuffled in, looking every bit the troublemaker that he was, keeping his eyes to the floor as he walked past John and fell into the empty chair beside his father.

The principal closed the door and with another rough clearing of his throat, walked back around behind his desk and sat down.

"Adam," he said formally, "I assume you know why you've been called in today,"

Adam shrugged and didn't look up from the floor.

No. This is not gonna fly, John thought.

"Adam," John commanded, his deep baritone immediately making Adam meet his gaze.

John stared at his boy seriously, Show some damn respect and get yourself out of this mess, he telepathed.

Adam bit his bottom lip and sat up straighter in the chair, turning slightly so that he was directly facing the principal.

"Sorry, sir. Yes, I know why I'm here," Adam said.

"Adam, I'm going to ask you a few questions and I'd like you to answer honestly," Principal Greer said.

"Yes sir," Adam agreed, respectfully.

"How long have you been selling these essays?"

"A month," Adam answered, just a little too quickly, and John watched as his son began to artfully weave half-truths and lies together in front of him.

"And did you write these essays?"

"Some of them," Adam responded.

Try none of them, John thought.

"And the ones you did not write, where did you get those?" Principal Greer asked.

"My brother, his friends,"

"Does your brother know that you stole his work? Do you think he would appreciate that?"

"No," Adam said, unfazed by the question, "He doesn't know, but I don't think he would care,"

Principal Greer nodded, annoyed.

"And you were selling these completed essays to other students. How much did you charge for each paper?"

"$20," Adam replied.

Fucking better not be $20 a pop, John 's work was worth way more than that.

"Did you know what you were doing was wrong and against school policy?" the principal continued.

"Yes."

"So why did you do it? Why did you intentionally break school rules?" the man asked in frustration.

Adam shrugged, "I wanted to make some money," he replied.

That's the most honest thing he's said, John thought to himself.

"Well Adam, while I can appreciate your attempt at entrepreneurship, selling work that was not your own to other students to pass off as their own work was not only fraudulent but also robs those students of the opportunity to learn the material. Teachers don't assign reports as a punishment, Adam, they are meant to encourage each student to read, process and understand the material," Principal Greer prattled, making John want to roll his own eyes.

Adam nodded sincerely, impressing John with his ability to appear genuine in the face of such inane garbage.

"Mr. Winchester," Principal Greer said, turning to acknowledge John, "I won't expel Adam given the circumstances that you have shared with me, but he will be suspended for the remainder of the week."

John nodded, reminding himself to look like he cared.

"Adam, you will receive zeros on all your work that you miss while you are suspended," Principal Greer said, staring seriously at Adam, "and given your current GPA…"

"I've got a C average," Adam interrupted.

"A very low C, son," the principal continued. "You would do well put as much effort into your school work as you do to your little side projects. This suspension will likely put you into a firm D average and it's clear that you are smarter than that,"

Adam didn't reply to the criticism and John could tell his boy was working hard to hold in a surly response.

"And as you have proven here today, you do have the ability to be respectful, so I'll expect to see much better behavior in class and more respect shown to your teachers and the staff at this school. I would hate to have to call your father in here again," Principal Greer said eyeing John.

John glared at the man. He'd be damned if he was gonna let this man try to use him as a tool to control his children.

"I'm sure that won't be necessary," John replied, his voice tighter than he would have liked, "If we are done here Principal Greer, I'll take Adam home,"

"Yes," the man said, patting his hands on his desk and standing up, "I hope I will not see you again in my office Adam,"

"No sir," Adam said flatly as he stood.

"Come on son," John said standing up an putting a hand on Adam's shoulder, ushering the boy in front of him and towards the door.

"I appreciate your time, Principal Greer," John said, reaching for a handshake.

"And I yours, Mr. Winchester. Please let me know if the school can be of any help with your family's difficult circumstances," the principal said, shaking John's hand.

With a nod of acceptance, John turned toward the door and gently pushed Adam forward, ready to get the hell out of this joint.

"You need anything from your locker or anything before we go?" he asked after they had left the main office.

"Nah…" Adam replied, glancing around the school hallway.

John paused a moment, looking at Adam expectantly.

"I mean, No Sir," Adam amended, once he'd caught John's eye.

"Fine. Let's get the hell outta here then," John said, turning on his heel and heading back toward the school parking lot and his truck.

He felt Adam follow him, almost scurrying to keep up with his own long strides. While Adam had finally started his growth spurt, he still stood a head shorter than both Dean and John, much to his aggravation.

As they climbed into the cab of the truck and the heavy metal doors slammed home, Adam opened his mouth to speak.

"Am I in ass-beating trouble or run-your legs-off trouble?" he asked hesitantly, wincing with his own words.

John paused a moment, considering, his hand on the key in the ignition.

"You're lucky that we aren't in the middle of a hunt right now," he said cutting his eyes over to his nervous looking son, "Cause that would be a different story,"

John turned the key, bringing the truck to life with a deep rumble.

"As it is, what you did was stupid. You know our rules about keeping a low profile," he said, shifting slightly to look at Adam, "And you know better than to draw attention to yourself,"

"Yeah, I know," Adam said soberly, "I'm sorry about that,"

"But I'll level with you," John said, causing Adam to look up at him in surprise, "I don't really care that you've been selling Sam's papers. I mean, damn, the kid worked so hard on them its only fair they get some more use,"

Adam looked at him in shock and grinned.

"But you can't do shit like this if you're gonna get caught. We can't take the risk," John said shifting the truck into reverse.

"Yeah, I know…" Adam mumbled, as they backed out of the parking spot and began to leave school grounds.

"You are gonna give me an extra 5 miles every day you aren't in school," John said, glancing at his son's grimace, "And 10 pages of Latin translations for making me sit through that god-awful meeting,"

Adam ducked his head to hide his chuckle at his father's words.

"I probably deserve that," he admitted.

"But listen," John said, getting serious, "Don't you do anything, anything, that could get you in real trouble. You understand me? When I say blend in at school, I mean it,"

"Can't I just drop out like Dean did?" Adam begged.

"No." John replied tersely, trying not to get irritated with his son and uncomfortable memory he brought up.

John had never wanted Dean to drop out of high school.

Apparently, Dean hadn't shared that detail with Adam.

"No," John repeated again forcefully, "I send you to school for a reason. Education is important. If you can't do basic math or chemistry, if you can't read the research or think about the meanings behind the lore, you aren't gonna make it as a hunter. School might be a pain in the ass, but it will help you in the long run,"

"So why'd you let Dean quit?" Adam prodded, making John clench his fists around the steering wheel.

"I didn't want your brother to quit school," he admitted gruffly, having to take a deep breath to calm himself from the remembered anger and guilt he felt over the whole situation.

Glancing across the cab, he caught his youngest son's pleading expression. Adam wanted to know the whole story, of course, he did, but he'd never ask. Poor kid had been snapped at too many times for poking his nose into things that his brothers and father considered none of his business.

John sighed.

"Dean turned 18 in January of his senior year," he explained, keeping his eyes on the road, "He never got the best grades, he just didn't care about tests and stuff like Sammy did, but he was doing ok and on track to graduate,"

John kept his eyes on the road as he spoke, but noticed Adam leaning forward, already entranced by the story.

"During the boys' spring break that year, I took them out to help me take down a nasty coven of witches down in Jacksonville,"

"Witches…ugh," Adam whispered, engrossed in John's tale.

"Yeah, that's what your brother said too," John chuckled, "Anyway…well…long story short we all got hit with a curse."

John glanced at Adam in time to catch the expression of shock on the boy's face.

"Yeah..." John said, hating that he had to admit a failure to his son, "Dean got the brunt of it. It was pretty bad and by the time we got out of it and took care of the coven, it was the end of May."

"Sammy was pissed, of course," John said, softly smiling at the memory of Sam's 14-year-old rage that they had missed two months of school.

Sammy was the same age Adam is now, John thought absently.

"Yeah I bet," Adam said quietly, bringing John back from his thoughts.

"So Dean missed graduation and all that. He didn't seem too broken up about it and when Sam suggested the GED it seemed like a good solution, so…" John explained with a shrug.

The GED had been a solution, John admitted that, but not the one he wanted for his son. He'd called Dean's school when they got back and raised all sorts of hell trying to get the kid the diploma he'd earned. The best he could do with Dean's average GPA and spotty school record was an offer from the school for Dean to repeat his senior year and graduate in December. John presented the idea to his son, but Dean adamantly refused, saying the GED was fine and he was done with school anyway.

Mary would have killed him if she knew what happened.

And John hated himself for letting it happen.

Dean would never admit it, even to himself likely, but John could see that not having that high school degree, settling for the GED, took something from his son. It was just another thing that made Dean feel less.

Dean was such an amazing boy: strong, brave, thoughtful, resourceful, smart. John hated that he had any hand in diminishing in his own son's self-worth.

"I could take the GED," Adam offered, pulling John from his musings "I bet I could pass it."

"No." John said firmly, "You're staying in school and you're gonna graduate…and you're gonna start getting better than a C average too," he added as an afterthought.

"But C is average," Adam countered, "I thought you wanted me to blend in, you know, be average…."

John gave his son a slanting glance, "A B+ would be fine,"

They pulled into the motel parking lot a few minutes later and John followed Adam into the room, finding Dean in the kitchen area, sitting in one of the two thin chairs reading a newspaper.

"You're home early," he said, putting the paper down on the table to look at Adam.

Adam shrugged and took off his coat, tossing it on the bed he was sharing with Dean and sitting down in the chair opposite his brother.

"Adam's been selling your brother's old school essays," John said tersely, putting the keys to the truck on the table between the boys and taking off his coat.

"Hmm," Dean said, raising his eyebrows at Adam.

"You know about this?" John asked, looking down at Dean.

"Yeah." Dean answered flatly, not surprising his father.

"Well he got caught," John said, sitting down his own bed, the one closest to the door and the small kitchen area of the room.

"Well, why'd you go and do that?" Dean asked his brother.

"Cause I'm an idiot," Adam said sarcastically, slumping further down into the chair.

"No argument there," Dean replied, shaking his head.

"It was a girl…" Adam admitted with a mumble.

"Ah…" Dean said knowingly and John gave a little smile and nod of acknowledgment as well.

"She's like a really good student, a goody two shoes," Adam grumbled, "I shouldn't have sold it to her, but she was all stressed out about her AP classes and she just looked so…I don't know…"

"Yeah," Dean replied, nodding his head.

"Stupid," Adam muttered.

"Women," Dean said, giving his brother a friendly half-smile smirk that John knew Adam would appreciate.

"Yeah…whatever," Adam said with a sigh and shrug, "I'm gonna go shower," he said standing up and walking towards the other bed to grab his bag.

"I want you to get started on that Latin tonight, boy," John said, drawing Adam's attention.

"Yes sir," Adam answered, picking up his bag and heading into the bathroom, closing the door softly behind him.

As soon as the door closed, Adam leaned against it, letting out a sigh of relief.

Fuck, he thought.

Quickly reaching over to the tub and turning on the tap, he pulled the curtain back to let the water run.

As the sound of water spraying the shower wall filled the small bathroom, Adam dug into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out his cell phone, quickly dialing.

"Hey Jas, it's Adam," he whispered, hoping the shower would cover up his voice.

"Adam!" came the panicked voice of his closest friend at school, Jason, a guy he'd met the first day and hit it off with immediately, "Man, are you dead? Did your dad kill you? I saw him walking into the office. He's one scary ass looking dude,"

"I know right? No, I'm alright, but look…" Adam replied, keeping his voice low, "You gotta put a stop on the orders ok? No more fake IDs for a while. I gotta lay low,"

"Fuck dude, that's like all our business."

"I know man, I know, but I've got eyes on me now with this stupid essay shit, so I can't get caught making fake ids. My dad will murder me," Adam whispered.

"Shit dude,"

"I know man….fucking Jackie," Adam muttered, rolling his eyes remembering her and how stupid he felt now.

"She should at least give you a bj for the trouble,"

Adam snorted a laugh, then paused, hoping Dad and Dean hadn't heard him.

"Dude, I wish." he whispered, "Look, man, I gotta go. I'm suspended till next week. Just tell everyone on the list we're closed for now and we'll get back to them soon.

"Ok man, good luck with your dad,"

"Thanks, dude,"

Adam flipped the phone closed and slipped it back into his pocket, letting out another deep sigh.

Damn, that was close.

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A/N- Hope you enjoyed this chapter!