Everyone in the locker room scattered as Dean stormed over to his locker, which suited him just fine, seeing as he really wasn't in the mood for pleasantries right now. He just wanted to be left alone. He was tired of dealing with idiots; idiots who thought that he'd be scared of them just because they were bigger than he was, or there were more than one of them.
Not one of these idiots knew who he really was or what he was capable of. If any of them had faced that Aswang last night, they would have shit their pants. Or if they had any inkling that all the things they watched in horror movies were real, they'd all still be clinging to their mother's skirts like a bunch of babies, instead of laughing at their girlfriends because they were scared.
But they all thought they could intimidate him. A bunch of fuck-ups with the combined fighting abilities of a litter of puppies. They had no idea what it was like to actually have to fight for their lives. But he did.
And he was tired of these fucking morons thinking he was just like them.
Sure, they could gang up on him. That had been done more than once in the past few years and he'd taken some good beatings because of it too. But he was never the one who ended up in the worst shape. No, there were always three or four other guys who had worse injuries by the time it was all over.
And he always found it amusing that, everywhere they had lived, after one of these little mêlées, they always gave him lots and lots of space. No one had ever tried it twice, although Dean figured that was bound to happen some day. But that couldn't be any worse than dealing with some supernatural creature a couple of times before they finally killed it.
Dean looked around and noticed that he was the only one left in the locker room; he was going to be late for his next class, which concerned him about as much as dealing with Robin and his buddies. But his back was hurting and he presumed that a couple of the wounds were bleeding again – probably due to a combination of being slammed against the wall, hit on the back and playing basketball.
Funny how an excess of adrenaline killed all the pain and he hadn't felt it until now. No wonder the Aswang had been so intent on making a meal out of him last night.
Dean exited the locker room and went to his locker to drop off his gym bag and gather the books he needed for the rest of the day. A quick glance at the clock on the wall informed him that he was going to be about 10 minutes late for class. He'd think of some excuse before he got there.
Dean walked into class and was surprised to find that the teacher wasn't there and he was able to take his seat without incident. There were only a few whispers when he walked in and Dean figured that was because there were only a few guys from gym in this class. It always took gossip a couple of classes to spread throughout the school. By the time school was over for the day, most of the school would have heard some version or another about what had happened in the locker room. He was sure that most of what the school heard – and passed on – would resemble the truth about as much as a story in the National Enquirer.
But that was okay with him. If the entire school thought that Andy was going to kick his ass, it would give him that much more of an advantage when Round Two came up. And Dean knew that was going to happen very soon.
He managed to make it through the rest of the school day without incident although he found it harder and harder to sit as the day progressed. School chairs just weren't meant to sit in when your back was full of stitches. And most people tried to avoid causing extra stress to their bodies when they were injured; they didn't try to antagonize their adversaries. But since when was he like other people?
When the bell rang to end the last class of the day, Dean got up stiffly and headed into the hall. He did his best to ignore the pain and walk as normally as possible. He didn't want to add to the telling of the story by acting like he was hurt. But he couldn't help but notice that most of the students were giving him a pretty wide berth in the hallway. Maybe some of the truth had actually remained in whatever gossip was going round.
Either way, he really didn't care.
Dean threw his books in his locker and left the school. There was no point taking any books home; he seldom did any homework and tonight there just wouldn't be any time anyway. He still had that meeting with the sheriff and, after that, he'd be out on a hunt with his father. Homework just wasn't in the cards tonight.
Dean climbed into the Impala and put it in reverse. Just as he started to back up, a pick-up truck drove behind him, blocking his exit. Dean looked in the rear-view mirror to see who was in the truck. He recognized a couple of the guys from the football team, but didn't see Robin or Andy. As he was trying to determine exactly how many people were in the truck, Robin and Andy materialized – each one on opposite sides of the Impala. Dean threw the car into park, leaned back in the seat and shut his eyes.
'Fuck, this is getting old.' "What do you want?" he asked impatiently as he turned to face Robin, who had come up to the driver's window.
"Just to let you know you should watch your back," answered Robin. "And maybe your brother's, too."
"Maybe," countered Dean, "You should be a bit more concerned about yourself and a lot less concerned about me."
"You know what your problem is, Winchester?" quipped Andy. "You think you're a lot tougher than you actually are."
"Is that a fact?" queried Dean. "Because I don't recall being on the receiving end of too much earlier today."
"You were just lucky that Mr. Thompson came in when he did."
"Well, I don't see him here now, if you feel like testing that theory," challenged Dean, and he looked at both Andy and Robin as he added, "Either one of you."
"No," stated Robin, "I think we'll let the sheriff deal with you first. I'd hate to see you end up in the hospital and miss your little meeting with him." He patted the roof of the Impala as he stood up and looked over the car at Andy. "Let's go."
Dean watched the two boys walk over to the truck that was still behind his car. As they talked to the occupants of the truck, Dean put his foot on the gas pedal and revved the engine.
"I'd get out of the way if I were you," he called out loudly as he watched the group of boys in the driver's mirror. Then he threw the Impala into reverse and started to back up.
Robin and Andy quickly moved off to the side and the driver of the truck pulled it ahead and out of Dean's way. As Dean backed past Robin and Andy, he heard Andy say, "Catch ya tomorrow, Winchester."
"Wouldn't miss it."