Three days before
Sam heard footsteps behind him and began to become paranoid.
What did I do wrong this time? He thought. He walked faster, although it was hard due to his ribs. It was only when a familiar and soft voice spoke up, that he stopped.
"Hey Sam, wait up!" Sam turned to face Jess.
"How the pain?" Jessica asked with a curious and caring voice. Sam's heart starting pounding.
Does everybody know about my scars? Have people found out about my father? That's when he remembered the three guys who beat him up thoroughly, which was the pain she was referring to, although that pain was nothing compared to the rest. He wished he could just collapse and curl up on the ground.
"Better," he answered, seeing no point in lying.
"Must have been pretty bad if you stayed home for two days."
She noticed?
"Hurt my ribs pretty badly," Sam said biting his lip. They were walking slowly.
"Do you live nearby?" Jessica asked, keeping the conversation casual.
"It's a twenty minute walk if I walk in my normal pace," Sam replied. "You?" That's when Jess blushed. Sam had never seen anything as beautiful.
"Around here. I'm detouring."
"Why?"
"I haven't really spoken to you yet, and you seem like a decent guy," Jessica said. Sam's heart fluttered. No one had ever called him that before. Decent.
"So… Do you have a favourite song?" Jess asked. Sam remembered when he was thirteen and Dean and him were sitting in a diner while their dad was on a hunt.
Sam's body was still aching from two nights before, when Dean had gone out and felt him alone with a monster named John. That's when the most beautiful song he'd ever heard came on the jukebox. Normally, he would just listen to whatever Dean or his dad played in the car, which he didn't mind, but this was so different.
"Asleep by The Smiths," Sam responded, this time it was him who blushed. Jess started humming the slow tune.
"Gosh, I love that song. I just learned how to play it on the piano."
"You play the piano?" Sam asked. He had never met anyone who knew how to play an instrument before.
"Yes, would you like to hear it someday?" She was smiling as always. Sam smiled back.
"That would be great," Sam answered, thinking about when he had time. They smiled at each other for a while, which, unexpectedly, wasn't awkward.
It was different talking to her compared to other people, compared to Dean. It was as though she actually cared about how Sam was. Sam knew that Dean did too, but he was always overprotective. Most of their conversations were just throwing lame insults at each other, plain conversation, sarcastic comments, or Dean being a mother hen.
Sam thought about how Jess and him never had picked up a conversation before, even though they went in the same class. Jess had moved to this town last summer holiday, which was two weeks before she started high school. Sam had lived in different cheap motel rooms around town, before starting school.
They kept on talking.
Sam forgot about his scars while talking to her.
A few blocks later they started laughing at jokes. It hurt Sam, physically, to laugh, but it was more than worth it.
Two blocks before the motel, Jessica had to turn right. Sam was happy about that, because he didn't want her to know that he lived in a cramped motel room. But then again, he didn't want her to leave. He didn't want to go home either. As usual, he started imagining what would happen if he left, but he couldn't do that to Dean.
They waved goodbye.
Nine days before
Wednesday. English class.
"The essay I have assigned to you will seem very mundane," the middle aged teacher, Mr. Johnson, mumbled with a pen in his mouth. "It may seem fairly easy, but trust me, it's not. You have to search for your true selves and be brutally honest."
Get get to the point, Sam, along with the rest of the class, thought annoyed.
"You have to write about your family."
A loud groan was heard throughout the class from those who could understand his mumbling.
Great, Sam thought sarcastically.
A week before
Dean started the engine and a loud riff from AC/DC came blaring throughout the car. He had to replace the music player in order to fix it, because it was simply that bashed in and fucked up. He backed out of the parking spot wondering what had happened to it. He knew that his father could get angry sometimes, but not to the point of actually hitting something.
Sixteen days before
Dean tapped his pocket where his wallet was, having just won a bunch of money. He was returning to the motel by foot, as his father and Sam were out training and had brought the car with them.
Dean was walking into the motel room, when he heard the Impala park outside. He watched as his brother climbed out of the car. Dean noticed how Sam's elbow bled and how he seemed to prefer his right side. John strolled up beside Dean, asking if he was ready to grab some supper.
"Dad, did you… Try to go easy on him." Dean said in a low voice so that Sam wouldn't hear. He looked at Sam and saw how he tried to hide his pain, but with little success.
"S'not my fault if he slips, how dare you think I contributed to that?" John grumbled. Dean's tense face loosened up a little.
This is why I shouldn't jump to conclusions, he thought.
"Sorry sir, I shouldn't have assumed," Dean said looking down at his shoes. His father patted his back.
"It's alright son. Are you ready to go as soon as Sam has showered?"
Dean nodded.
SPN-SPN-SPN
"M' not hungry." Sam said softly, wrinkling his nose at how his father opened his mouth and bit the gooey burger, letting the ketchup drip. It felt nauseating to look at.
Dean knew something was wrong with Sam.
Sam knew he should say something to Dean, but was positive that he wouldn't believe him.
Dean knew that he should keep his mouth shut before making assumptions.
Sam knew that his back hurt because of his father's belt.
Dean knew that Sam was being secretive. He wasn't sure about what though.
No thoughts were exchanged.
Eight days before
John and Dean were as ready as they could be for the hunt. Even though it was a quick, and supposedly easy 'salt and burn', Dean was could hardly wait.
Sam looked at them. Things had changed quite drastically during the last couple of days. For instant, his father hadn't laid a finger on him, nor did he say anything to hurt him. He'd also been talking to him like he talked to Dean and honestly, Sam couldn't more terrified.
SPN-SPN-SPN
The Impala stopped in front of a lake. There was a house so close to the lake, that if you opened the bedroom window, one could see nothing but water.
The ride to this location had been surprisingly comfortable. Even though he knew the peril of his father acting this way, he couldn't help but feeling calm. Jessica had gone the detour again today.
"So, what do you like to do?" Jessica asked, picking up conversation.
"Stuff," Sam replied shrugging. Jess smiled. "I read a lot," he told her. That caught her attention.
"Oh, that's cool! What do you like to read?"
And so the conversation went on, discussing books and finding out, that they had a lot of things in common.
Before they parted, Jessica took a deep breath.
"Sam, I'm sorry we haven't talked before. It's just school and-"
"Believe me, I know." Sam said assuringly. Jessica's gentle smile melted him.
SPN-SPN-SPN
Sam stood with the salt when the cold hit him - and it wasn't the cold November weather. He turned around on the spot, gazing into the nothingness of the ghost's eyes. The soaked ghost pushed Sam into a wall forcefully. Sam gasped out of pain and slid to the floor. That's when he saw his father rushing towards them with a gun. John lifted the gun, but not towards the ghost's direction. Towards Sam.
Sam couldn't move, but the dripping ghost could. He flung John's gun far away from the father's reach, wanting to finish Sam himself.
"DAD? SAM?" Dean voice rang through the house, but with no response. He ran into the living room. His brother was on the floor as the ghost hovered over him. Sam's eyes were filled with fear. He watched as his dad reached for his gun right when Dean came in.
What happened? How did the ghost manage to the gun away from Dad?" Dean thought.
He lifted his own gun and aimed it towards the ghost. It was gone after one simple shot. He took the salt and burned the corpse.
A/N: Hope you liked the chapter!
I would have posted it yesterday, but a party came up.