John had not been amused as Sam dashed onto the football field after they had arrived at the high school and saw that the Aswang had Dean. He had tried to grab Sam before he ran onto the field, but Sam had taken off so fast that John had been unable to stop him and found himself with no other option but to follow his son onto the field with his weapons drawn. And hope that the Aswang was too engrossed in its conflict with Dean to notice the two of them coming across the field.
When all that remained of the Aswang was a scattering of dust, John marched over to his youngest son, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and spun him roughly around to face him.
"What the hell did you think you were doing?" he snapped gruffly.
Caught unaware, Sam stammered, "I…I was…I was just helping Dean."
"Well, that was the stupidest thing you've ever done!" exploded John. "And if you ever…"
But, as usual, Dean wedged himself between them and grabbed his father's arm where he was holding Sam. "Dad, let him go."
"Not this time, Dean," warned John as he grabbed Dean's wrist with his free hand and twisted it off his arm. "He's far too impetuous. And I can't have that on a hunt. He's lucky he didn't blow this job and get you killed."
"Yeah? Well, he didn't," challenged Dean, not giving an inch, before he continued warily, "So, just give him a break, okay."
"How many 'breaks' am I supposed to give him?" bellowed John, obviously annoyed. "How many times am I supposed to ignore what he's done wrong and just let him get away with it?"
"Dad, he's just a kid," stammered Dean. "You can't expect him to be perfect. Besides, we killed the thing. It's over. That's all that counts."
"And the next time he performs a similar stunt? I'm just supposed to give him another break?"
With that, John turned his attention back to Sam. He glared at his youngest son and opened his mouth to speak. But once again, Dean drew his father's attention back to him.
"It wasn't his fault! I'm the one who screwed up! If I hadn't gotten caught, Sam wouldn't have done what he did! He wouldn't have tackled the Aswang and risked his own safety! Or jeopardized the hunt!" He grabbed hold of his father's shirt to emphasize his point. "So if you're gonna be mad at anybody, you should be mad at me!"
John rolled his eyes and countered, "Dean, you were in a very dangerous situation. There was always the chance that you'd get caught."
"But you trusted me to follow the plan! You trusted me not to get caught! But I screwed up! And now you're blaming Sammy for my mistake!"
"Dean," warned John. "You never would have done what he did! You never would have jeopardized an operation like that!"
"That's because you never would have made gotten caught! So I was never faced with the same situation! I never had to make a choice like that!" clamored Dean. "I never had to worry about rescuing you during a hunt! Because, if I had, I probably would have done something worse – maybe even getting us both killed!"
"You always had more control than that," countered John, not giving in to Dean's arguments.
"No, Dad. I didn't!" stated Dean emphatically."I had you! And you were always too good to get caught. But I'm not as good as you! I got caught! And Sam reacted to that! He responded to my mistakes!" replied Dean, desperate to have his father understand his reasoning. When John didn't counter with further objections, Dean continued, "Can't you see that this is all my fault?"
John released his hold on both his sons. He knew that Dean was just protecting Sam; that he'd rather point out his own inadequacies than admit that his brother had done something wrong. And he was right about one thing – they had killed the Aswang. Well…maybe two things. Sam was still a kid.
He decided not to pursue the issue any longer; instead he let go of both his sons and turned to leave.
"I'll meet you both back at the motel. Don't dally."
Sam and Dean watched their father retreat into the shadows.
Dean slapped his brother playfully on the back and said, "Come on Kiddo. Let's beat him back. Then we won't have to put up with him questioning us about what took us so long."
As they drove back to the motel, Dean looked at Sam and stated, "That was a pretty brave thing you did back there."
"Maybe," shrugged Sam. "Dad thinks it was pretty stupid."
"Well, he's right," conceded Dean. "But so is walking into an open field, hoping that some bloodthirsty creature will come looking for you. Or even trying to hunt down that creature in the first place. That's pretty stupid too. As a matter of fact, most of what we do is pretty stupid."
"What if Dad had been right and I had gotten you killed?"
"How were you going to do that?" questioned Dean. "The thing was getting ready to tear me apart. The only reason it didn't was because you jumped it, not because Dad was there to save me."
Sam didn't respond but still looked skeptical as he rolled his eyes.
"Sam, I mean it," admonished Dean. "Don't take what you did so lightly. And don't take Dad so seriously. He's wrong. You saved my ass. You knocked that creature off me so I was able get my gun and shoot it. Then all Dad had to do was show up and kill it. He may have finished the job, but you started it. And everything worked out okay." Dean paused before he added, "So you should be proud of yourself. I am."
Sam just shrugged and resisted looking at his brother. He knew that, even if he had screwed up, Dean would never admit it. He could always count on Dean to tell him he'd done the right thing. And it always made him feel better to hear his brother say it.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The next morning found the three Winchesters all feeling better than they had since the beginning of the week. Only Dean was suffering some lingering effects from the hunt the previous night. But before he had gone to bed, his father had forced him to drink three glasses of warm salt water to neutralize the poison that the Aswang had released into his system when it slashed him across his arm. Although, he had been almost positive that the cure was worse than whatever the poison would do to him, Dean had to admit that he did feel a lot better this morning.
Almost as good as new. And that was good, because there was still Robin and his posse to deal with.
Dean drove Sam to school and then headed across town to the high school. As he turned the corner to the school parking lot, he saw Robin, Andy and their group of cohorts standing in the empty spot beside Robin's Mustang. So Dean drove the Impala along the parking lot until it was parallel to the boys. He slowed right down, almost stopping the car, before he cranked the steering wheel and turned the car rapidly, watching the boys scatter as the Impala filled the vacant parking spot.
As he exited the car, he heard Robin utter, "Smooth, Winchester."
Dean shrugged, without looking at any of the teenagers. "Sorry. Didn't see you there," and proceeded into the school.
Dean was at his locker, gathering the books he needed for his morning class, when he noticed a pair of feet behind him. He slowly turned around and recognized Derek Turner, a kid in his English class. Dean looked at him quizzically; they had never spoken before today.
"Um," started Derek, glancing nervously around the hallway, "I just want to let you know the rumor that's going around the school."
"Yeah? What's that?" asked Dean casually.
"That Robin, Andy and a couple of other guys on the football team are gonna be waiting for you after school. They're gonna ambush you on your way to your car." Derek shoved his hands in his pockets and swayed back and forth on his feet. "I just wanted you to know. I heard what happened in the locker room yesterday."
"Well, thanks for the warning, Derek" nodded Dean. "And, uh, as far as what happened in the locker room yesterday, you probably shouldn't believe everything you hear."
"Maybe not," acknowledged Derek. "But, according to the grapevine, you whipped Andy's ass pretty good and now he's really pissed off. I think it's great that you stood up to that jerk but I don't want to see you get hurt without at least knowing what they're up to." Derek glanced down the hallway in time to see Robin and Andy turn the corner. He looked quickly at Dean and muttered, "I gotta go" and retreated quickly down the hall.
Dean stood at his locker and waited for Robin and Andy to approach him, but they ignored him as they walked by. Dean watched them walk past before he set out after them, trailing the boys at a distance. He wanted to leave no impression whatsoever that he was afraid of them. Better to face an adversary than run away from it. Isn't that what his father always told him?
But, when Robin and Andy stopped to talk to Nancy at her locker, Dean shot Nancy a quick smile and proceeded on to class. He'd catch up with them later.
The morning progressed without incident. Not that Dean had really expected anything to happen; neither Robin nor Andy was in any of his morning classes. He wouldn't see them again until gym.
But he did notice that some of the guys from the football team were watching him. So, whenever he caught one of them staring at him, he met their gaze head-on. And he never looked away first. Depending on how long they engaged in a staredown, Dean would slowly break into a grin. Just a little lop-sided smirk designed to make the other boy uncomfortable. To make him wonder what he was thinking. Or maybe doubt his sanity. And it always worked; the guy would look away and refrain from meeting his gaze again. It was easy to intimidate someone like that and, then maybe, they would just keep their distance instead of challenging him later.
At lunchtime, Dean headed to his locker to unload his books and get the ones he needed to complete some work for his afternoon classes. As he turned to go to the office for his last detention, he ran smack into Robin and Andy.
"What's up fellas?" he asked as he maneuvered around them. "Surprised to see me here today and not locked up in the county jail?"
"Funny," replied Robin. "But it's too bad, for your sake, that the sheriff didn't keep you there last night."
"And why's that?" solicited Dean.
"Because now you'll have to deal directly with us," said Robin smugly. "Right on the scrimmage line."
"Well…you know," sighed Dean, "Football's not really my sport. I kinda like rugby better. Less equipment to get in your way. And not as many rules either. But, if it's football you want to play, I'm game. Just tell me when and where."
"Oh, you'll know when it happens," retorted Robin. "Just thought we'd give you the heads-up in case you decide to play chicken instead." Then he turned to Andy and said, "Let's go. Wouldn't want Deanie-boy to be late for his lunch date with Mrs. Martin. He's been a bad boy after all."
Dean watched them head towards the cafeteria before he turned and walked to the office. About halfway through the lunch period, Mrs. Martin came out of her office and approached him.
"I didn't see you with any lunch today, Dean," she stated matter-of-factly.
"No, Ma'am," replied Dean. "I was late today and didn't have time to grab anything. And I didn't go to the cafeteria to get anything before I came here. I didn't want to be late."
"Well," answered the principal, "Although I commend you for taking these detentions seriously, it's not really a good idea to miss lunch. I am willing to excuse you from the remainder of your detention as long as you promise me that you'll go to the cafeteria and get yourself something to eat."
"Yes, Ma'am," responded Dean, packing up his books.
When he got to the cafeteria, Dean bought a sandwich and a coke. Then he walked through the cafeteria until he found an empty space at a table. He had hoped to find a place to eat that was closer to a corner, where he could sit facing the rest of the tables. But, the cafeteria was pretty crowded and the choice of tables was slim. So he ended up in the middle of the cafeteria, surrounded by other tables with no way to guard his back.
He hadn't been sitting down for very long when he observed Robin walking toward him. As he watched Robin advance, he suddenly felt a sharp pain between his shoulders as he was elbowed from behind. He gripped the table's edge with his hands to straighten himself up. Before he could turn around, he found himself trapped in a headlock. As his tormentor pulled his head back, Robin stood directly in front of him, grinning wickedly.
"Think you're tough now, Winchester?" came a hushed whisper in his ear.
Dean recognized the voice as belonging to Andy but he didn't respond; instead he glared at Robin and asked hoarsely, "What the fuck do you want?"
"Just to scare you a bit. So maybe you'll come to your senses about challenging me"
"Think this is all it'll take?" replied Dean as he jerked his body sideways and planted his elbow roughly into Andy's ribcage. As the bigger teenager reacted to the blow, he stepped backwards, loosening his hold on Dean's neck.
Dean grabbed Andy's arm and swung it over his head as he stood up. Then he spun around and quickly adjusted his hold on Andy's arm until he had it pinned behind the teenager's back. As he yanked upwards on Andy's arm, he used his weight to slowly lower him over the table and hold him there.
Dean looked at Robin and grinned. "Your team's just not good enough. I still win." Then he bent carefully over Andy and whispered in his ear, "And I'm gonna kick your ass all the way into next week. Unless you still think you're tough enough to stop me."