Chapter 3

"Man…this is going to be a killer test," Sam said, relaxing back into his chair with a sigh of relief. He and Pete had just spent the last three hours pouring over notes, textbooks, and various odds and ends trying to force their minds to absorb enough psychology to pass tomorrow's test.

"Yeah," Pete replied. "No kidding. This stuff is complex enough, and three chapters of it? Near impossible."

"How was your weekend?" Sam asked. "We missed you Saturday night."

"Ah, it was just loads of fun," Pete rolled his eyes to accent his sarcasm. "Got all my history reading done though, at least."

Pete shifted in his seat and Sam was barely able to notice a sudden change in his demeanor. Just like last Friday, he looked…nervous.

"So…" Pete started, "how's Jess? I haven't seen her yet."

"She's great," Sam replied, brushing off his doubts, not allowing himself to worry about Pete. "We're both liking the apartment, and she had a good summer with her family. Her classes are alright so far."

Sam paused for a moment as his thoughts from Friday night came back to him once again.

"Hey Pete…" he asked, leaning forward out of his relaxed position to put his chin in his hands and glance sideways at his friend. "Do you think…how young is too young to…get married?"

Pete looked up sharply, straight at Sam for the first time since they'd stopped studying.

"You're thinking of…proposing? To Jess?"

"Who else would I be thinking of proposing to?" Sam asked sardonically, subconsciously trying to cover up his anxiety over how his friend might respond.

Pete suddenly looked away and began packing up his things.

"Um…no. I don't think you should."

Sam looked down for a moment, trying to hide his disappointment.

"Why not?"

"Too soon," Pete replied, zipping up his backpack. "You're both still in school and you'll be going to law school next year who knows where."

Pete got up, obviously intending to leave, and Sam looked up at him again in confusion.

"Wait…where are you going?"

"I forgot I've got a meeting to go to tonight," Pete replied, already turning to walk away. "I'm already late."

"Oh. Well…I guess we'll talk later?"

"Sure," Pete said over his shoulder as he exited the study room, leaving behind a very bewildered Sam.

Well, that was a sudden exit, Sam thought, and wondered what had bought it on. Pete had been fine up until he mentioned Jess…

Sam had no idea what it was, but there was definitely something seriously wrong with his friend and he couldn't ignore it any longer. It was time to pay a visit to Pete's roommate while Sam knew Pete wouldn't be around.

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Chris was exactly where Sam expected to find him—in his dorm room on his laptop with his music blasting. This time, it was Metallica's "Devil's Dance," and Sam couldn't help feeling a part of himself cringe even as he smiled fondly at the familiar tune. It was one of Dean's favorite songs, and he had always liked to crank up the volume when it came on in the Impala to cover up Sam's inevitable "bitching and complaining" about his taste in music.

Sam had to move up right next to Chris to finally get his attention over Metallica.

"Hey, Sam! Sorry, didn't see ya, man. What's up?"

"I was looking for you, actually," Sam said, raising his voice over the music. "Wanted to talk to you about Pete."

"Okay, sure," Chris said, finally turning down the music enough so that Sam didn't feel like he was having to shout over it.

"I've just noticed that he hasn't really been…himself, lately," Sam started. "And he told me something happened, but didn't want to talk about it. I was going to leave it alone, like he asked, but he's really starting to worry me. Has he said anything to you, or have you noticed anything?"

Chris's face grew more serious and he nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I've been thinking he's acting strange, too, but he hasn't said anything to me. He hasn't really been here much, though, and I haven't paid much attention. Thought maybe he was just stressed over classes or something."

"Yeah, maybe," Sam said, not sounding convinced. "It's just…he was fine a couple weeks ago. I talked to him over the phone about meeting up when we both got back. And it's like he's been avoiding me, almost. You don't think iI/i did anything, do you?"

"Nah," Chris said, shaking his head. "You know he'd tell you if it was something you did." Chris sighed and shrugged helplessly. "Sorry, man. Wish I could help, but that's all I know."

"Alright. Thanks anyway," Sam said, sighing in frustration. "Let me know if he says anything, will you?"

"Sure, no problem," Chris said, turning the music back up and giving his full attention back to his computer.

Sam took a step towards the door and was about to leave when he saw something chillingly familiar out of the corner of his eye. He moved over to Pete's desk to take a closer look. A yellowish, chalky residue, barely even there, on the corner of the desk.

Just because he thought he recognized it didn't mean he had to believe it. He reached down and scratched some of it off of the desk with his fingernail and tentatively brought it up to his nose to smell it. Shocked disbelief and fear were the first emotions that gripped him when he realized he had been right. It was sulfur.

He immediately brushed the power off of his finger and left the dorm room, now eager to get out before Pete returned. He couldn't go back to the apartment now, not yet. He needed time to think about what to do next. Very few things left a sulfur residue, and combined with how Pete had been acting lately, there was only one of those things it could be.

Besides a coincidence. Sam vowed that he wouldn't rule it out yet, just to be on the safe side. Something normal could have happened to Pete, and maybe the sulfur had come from a science lab or something. Lots of the chemistry classes used sulfur.

But he also had to be prepared. He couldn't even count the number of times when "coincidences" had almost gotten him killed. And this…if he was right, this was going to be one hell of a job. If he was right, Pete was possessed.