Chapter Two

"Winchester, think you've missed enough school? If you want a chance at passing this semester, you better be ready to fully participate. Let's see how your basketball skills are. You're on the skin team, get your shirt off and go in for Stevens at guard."

"Coach, how about I play with the shirts? It's a little drafty in here and I've just come off sick leave. Don't want to catch a cold." Dean tried to reason with the coach.

"Winchester, I'm the boss here. You got a full clearance from the school nurse, now get in there now!"

Dean knew this was going to cause problems. He was damned if he did and damned if he didn't. His orders from Dad were to play along at school: follow the rules and keep out of trouble. His two weeks off recuperating from his arrow wound from that evil vampire had put his school status in a precarious position.

He wanted to just drop out; after all, Sammy was the one who loved and excelled at school. He was just wasting his time: time better spent perfecting his hunting skills and dispensing of evil beings. Dad wouldn't even consider it; said no Winchester had ever been a dropout. He told Dean to just suck it up and do what needed to be done.

Dean took a long breath and pulled his t-shirt over his head. His shoulder was completely healed and no longer caused him any pain; unfortunately, the scars on the front and back of his shoulder attested to the horrible truth: he had been severely injured when the arrow impaled his body. The red, nasty scars were still fresh and shocking to look at. He hoped that in the frenzy of the practice session no one would notice. That hope lasted all of five seconds.

"God, Winchester what happened to you?" Stevens gasped as Dean ran into the practice to relieve him.

That was enough to stop the action and cause everyone to stare. Anderson came up behind him and he felt his touch on the scar on his back.

"Man, that's nasty. Does it hurt?"

Then they all joined in, bombarding him with questions:

"Damn, what happened, Winchester?"

"Is that why you were out of school so long?"

"Yeah, I heard you had a bad case of the flu."

"That don't look like the flu to me. Dude, that's some serious injury."

They hadn't quite made it to twenty questions, but Dean knew they would reach that point and probably go past it, if he didn't shut down all their inquiries. He took a deep breath and started to fabricate his story. The tale of the vampires and saving his brother Sammy from certain death seemed a little too intense for these teenagers, so he went with the deer hunting story.

He was bow hunting with his cousin over Halloween weekend and they had a little mishap. His cousin accidentally shot him and yeah, it was quite painful but he recuperated and now the only reminder was his lovely scars. End of story.

The coach was now examining Dean's shoulder.

"My nephew's with the sheriff's department and I know he would have mentioned it to me if there was a hunting accident involving one of my students."

"Well coach, it didn't happen here. I was visiting my cousin in Tulsa. I appreciate all the concern, but it was an accident and everything turned out OK."

Dean hoped that would be the end of the inquisition, but it only seemed to fuel their curiosity. The questions just kept coming.

"Man, I bet you've had some nightmares over that. If that arrow had struck a little lower, you'd be pushing up daisies."

"Dude, I'd have nightmares just going over all that pain and agony. How much did it hurt?"

"Yeah, did you get any good pain killers?"

"Got any left over you want to share?"

Thankfully, coach finally put the questions to rest.

"That's enough. Let's get back to practice. We need to see if Winchester can manage to put any points on the board."

The practice scrimmage began and Dean was relieved to leave his travails behind and concentrate on playing basketball. For once he saw a purpose in bouncing a ball around and throwing it through a hoop on a pole, if only to distance him from all the questions.

His abilities and training were not geared toward basketball, but his natural agility and talent applied nonetheless as he scored his first two points. His defensive skills were the most evident; he certainly knew how to protect his own.

Coach blew the whistle to stop the action and called the players around for his final words of wisdom. He finished off practice and sent the players to the showers.

"Winchester, you have natural ability, you're better than some of these kids that practice all the time. Why don't you play for the school team?"

"Sorry coach. Don't have time. I've got more pressing plans."

Dean finished off the rest of his classes and was heading toward the Impala in the school parking lot when he heard Stacy calling to him.

"Dean, wait up."

He was conflicted every time he thought about Stacy. He really liked her, but she fogged his thinking. He didn't blame her for what happened with the vampire fiasco, after all it was his choice to abandon his training and common sense and disobey his orders. He took full responsibility for leaving his brother unprotected on Halloween, but it scared him that he could be so easily compromised by a girl, even a girl as amazing as Stacy.

He had lost control and he didn't like that feeling. His strength came by being in control; he didn't want to risk losing his way again: it would be easier to cut Stacy out of his life.

"Dean, wait up. What's wrong with you? I thought we had a good time at the carnival. Why are you shutting me out?"

"Look, Stacy. It was fun, but I'm not looking for a girlfriend, OK?"

"Well, aren't you full of yourself? Guess what Romeo; I'm not looking for a boyfriend! I just thought we could be friends. I thought we had a connection."

"Sorry, I don't have time for friends either. See ya around."

Dean turned and walked away. He hated how he had just treated Stacy but he knew if he tried to explain or gently let her down, he would be sucked back under her spell. It wasn't her fault. It wasn't like she was an evil temptress leading him down a dark and malevolent path. She was a sweet, wonderful girl that really connected with him but just couldn't be in his future. He was a hunter of evil; he had no room in his life for a normal relationship.