Title: Remembrance only can remain
Disclaimer: Dean's not mine. More's the pity. Title from Lord Byron.
Warnings: pre-series outside pov; spoilers for season 2
Pairings: none stated
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 275
Point of view: third
Prompt: absorb
Rob watches the kid. He's listening but not taking notes, and he won't do the homework, and he'll leave most of the test blank. But he's listening and there's comprehension on his face, which is so frustrating.
"Winchester," Rob calls as the bell rings. "Wait a second."
The kid slouches next to Rob's desk, shifting impatiently. Class before lunch always drags, Rob understands that. He grabs a worksheet from the bottom drawer and holds it out to Winchester. "Give this back to me whenever you can," he says. "No deadline."
Winchester takes the paper with a raised eyebrow, but replies, "Okay, Mr. Paulson. Can I go now?"
Rob nods and the kid rushes out.
He doesn't expect to see the worksheet again, but he had to try. If Mrs. Wilcox hadn't reached out to him junior year, he'd probably be dead or in jail by now, and listening to the other teachers, he knows they've just about given up on Winchester.
A week later, after five undone homework assignments and a test with one problem solved, the worksheet appears on his desk, every answer right. Winchester doesn't show his work, which could be taken as cheating, but Rob knows better. The coursework is too easy and Winchester's bored.
It ends up not mattering because the kid is expelled for fighting the next day. And years after that, when Rob sees the news about a bank robbery downtown and that face staring at the camera in fear—he can't help but blame himself a little. He should have tried sooner. When Dean Winchester was still in his class, the boy could have been saved, but it's too late now.