Alright, well here's the next chapter as promised! I'm going to try and update every other day, so next update on Wednesday!

This chapter is one of my favorites as the plot develops a bit more – congrats to Mystery Madchen for (even if she didn't know it) nailing the plot for this chapter.

Thanks for all the awesome reviews! Keep them coming, please!

Beta: Little Miss Artist
Warnings: See chapter 1
Disclaimer: See chapter 1
Word Count: 2, 500 (woo!)
Chapter: 3/20 (maybe 21)

Textus

Chapter 3: Borrowing

The next morning was rather chaotic as both Sam and Dean had over slept their alarms. A general rule for the Winchesters, whoever went to bed first set the alarm, all the alarms if they got separate rooms. Thankfully they had both been set, but just because there was an alarm didn't always mean you got up when it went off.

Sam ate away at a piece of toast while packing his school bag. He glanced over at the clock, he was running out of time.

"Dean, hurry up!" Because the school was on the way to the mechanics, Dean would usually walk with Sam in the morning. They walked back separately as Dean got out at four and Sam at three. This morning, because they were running late, they'd gotten permission to take the impala from John.

"Dean!"

"I'm coming, already, geesh, give me a sec!"

"I'm gonna be late!" Sam shouted. Shoes…shoes…where were his shoes? He looked around the kitchen for the old grey sneakers. Finally he spotted them by under the table. He went to pull them on only to stop.

They were soaked. And falling apart even worse. If he wore them in this condition they'd no doubt fall to pieces by the end of the day.

"Dean!" Sam called as he jogged down to Dean's room.

"I'm coming!" Dean hollered as he opened the door and literally ran into Sam. "I said I was coming, did you need to stand right there to check?"

"No, Dean, that's not…do you still have your old sneakers? The ones that don't fit you anymore?"

"Uh, yeah, I think I still have them. Why?"

"Can I borrow them?"

"Sure, can I ask why?" Dean asked as he turned and began to dig around his mostly unpacked duffle. After a minute or two, Dean managed to procure the sneakers. They were old, but not falling apart like Sam's were.

"Mine are still wet," Sam said simply. Because of their seedy condition water did far worse damage than it would to good sneakers.

"Thanks!" he called as he went back down the hall, sneakers in hand. Sam crammed them onto his feet, ignoring the fact that they were slightly small.

"Dean!" Sam shouted when his brother still didn't come after him. Someone came into the kitchen, but it wasn't Dean.

"What is all the yelling for?" John demanded as he started making himself coffee.

"Dean's taking too long, I'm gonna be late."

"Dean!" John hollered down the hall before sitting down with his coffee and the newspaper.

"Coming! I'm coming!"

After a little more scrambling, both brothers managed to get in the car with all their stuff and on their way.

"See you around four," Dean called as he pulled away from the curb. Sam turned and began to fast walk into the school and down the hall.

But, try as he might, he still didn't make it to his first class before being spotted by Mike and his goons.

"Hey! New Kid!" Mike called as he caught up with Sam. "I believe we have some unfinished business," Mike hissed under his breath.

"And I believe I'm going to be late," Sam said, trying to slide by. He wouldn't stoop to their level of name calling and verbally degrading people…at least, not yet. If this started getting physical, Sam would certainly rise to the occasion with a few insults, but not now. Now he just wanted to get to class without being late on his second day to school.

"I'm not done with you," Mike growled. He forcefully grabbed Sam on the shoulder and spun him around to face them. The other two Neanderthals each grabbed onto one of his arms and held him in place. Mike leaned forward until he and Sam were almost nose to nose. "You and me. After school. We'll finish what we started yesterday." Mike spun on his heel and strutted away. One of the others slammed Sam sideways, causing him to crash into the locker before they too went after their ring-leader.

Sam stared after them. What was he supposed to do? It's not like he could avoid them, and even if he somehow managed to, they'd just see him the next day anyway. There was a small chance he'd be able to take them all, but he didn't really like fighting all that much. It was necessary training to be a hunter, nothing more to Sam. He certainly got no pleasure out of harming others unless they'd done something truly deserving. And besides, he wasn't even sure he could take all three of them at once. Not without getting himself a good handful of injuries along the way.

This would have to wait until later, he was already late.

The next class Sam had was biology with Mrs. Chambers. Of all the teachers Sam had met so far, she was easily his favorite. He wasn't really sure what it was about her, but there was just some quality about her that seemed to draw everyone to her.

Sam certainly didn't want to get off on the wrong foot with his favorite teacher, but too late. Mike had made him four minutes late. He slowly pushed open the door.

Mrs. Chambers was in her early thirties and had honey brown hair which she kept in bun. But it was her eyes that Sam liked the most about her appearance. They were light blue and were always kind and smiling.

"Sam," she said as he entered. Even when scolding she still seemed friendly. "Please try to be on time next class, alright? Now take your seat." Sam nodded and went to his seat in the back of the middle row.

As much as Sam liked her class, he couldn't help but let his mind wander back to Mike. He still hadn't concluded what his plan of action would be. He most certainly wouldn't be going to Dean with this problem. Oh no, he would prove that he could handle a couple of schoolyard bullies by himself. Besides, if he couldn't do that, how could he expect his dad to believe that he could handle himself on a hunt?

Sam absentmindedly began to draw a tiger-lily flower on the edge of his paper while "taking notes" on Mrs. Chamber's presentation about the cardiovascular system.

He wouldn't hide from them, that was for sure. He was a Winchester, damn it, and he would not let some pea-brained assholes who preyed upon younger kids get to him. Oh yes, he would go, but he wouldn't fight. Not unless he had to. Besides, fighting would draw unwanted attention to him and, by extension, his family. He would just try and ignore them and get home as soon as possible. He would take their petty insults with dignity and not let them affect him. However, if they started a fight, Sam would certainly try to rise to the occasion and show them why you never mess with a Winchester. That was what he would do. Feeling much better having decided a course of action, Sam brought himself back to the present, only to realize Mrs. Chambers was standing right in front of him.

"Please pay attention in my class, Sam," Mrs. Chambers said before turning to go back to the front. She sounded…disappointed. Sam hated that tone of voice, no matter who used it. It was better to be yelled at and have someone furious at you then have to listen to the disappointment in their voice, knowing you let them down.

So much for making a good impression.

"Oh, and, Sam?" Mrs. Chambers added, pausing mid-way up the aisle of desks, "See me after class, please."

Sam gave a small nod as confirmation that he heard and Mrs. Chambers went to the front to continue her presentation.

As requested, Sam stayed behind after the bell signaling the end of class. He grabbed up his stuff and walked to the front of the classroom where Mrs. Chambers sat at her desk writing something. Sam wasn't sure if she was aware of her presence so he lightly cleared his throat. She looked up with her sparkling blue eyes and Sam was surprised to see, not disappointment, but kindness once again.

"Sam, do you have that paper you were taking notes on today?" She asked, surprising Sam.

"Um, yeah," Sam said as he began to dig through his bag for said paper. "Why?" he asked. He felt a little jittery as he put it before her. His notes weren't very good nor were they in-depth enough to actually understand anything from them. He'd been too preoccupied.

"This," she said, fingering the edge that had the flower drawn on it, "is a beautiful flower. A tiger-lily, correct?" Sam nodded, still not knowing where she was going with this. "Did you know that we have a wonderful art program here?" she asked, looking up to meet his eyes.

"No," he said quietly. Well, he probably could have guessed that they had an art class, but what did that have to do with him? Since he'd come mid-year he didn't get to choose his classes and instead had been automatically signed up for all the basics of his grade plus a study-hall each day to fill the extra blocks. They especially didn't want him to take too many other classes because John had informed them that Sam would most likely be leaving in about a month anyway due to John's "job".

"Do you enjoy art?" she asked conversationally.

"Yeah," Sam said honestly. A pretty smile crossed her face, reaching all the way to her eyes.

"I'll see if I can't pull a few strings and get you into an art class, okay?"

"Thank you," he said. He grabbed the paper and slid it back into his bag before heading towards the door.

"Oh, and Sam?" She said. His hand froze on the knob. "I get the feeling you're a hard worker normally, so I'm going to let today's incidents slide. However, do try to pay attention in the future and arrive on time, please." Sam turned back to look at her, trying to read her face. She was smiling good-naturedly and gave him a small wink before sending him on his way.

Despite another lonely lunch, the rest of the day went by without incident.

As if in some type of foreshadowing of the events to come, it started raining as soon as Sam stepped outside the school doors.

Sam walked warily down the entryway to the school doors, looking every which way like a frightened animal. Like an animal being stalked. Like prey. Sam scoffed at the thought. Winchesters were hunters not the hunted. But no, not him, he was always the black sheep in the family.

Dean's shoes splashed in the already forming puddles as Sam walked down the street. He wanted to get home. Weird, he thought wryly, that was the second time he wanted to leave school. That had never happened before and now it'd happened twice in a row. Must be the town, he thought to himself. But in reality, it was no longer a reprieve of hunting he sought, it was a reprieve of Mike. And if a reprieve of Mike meant hunting then so be it.

The problem was, even if he managed to get home without incident there was still tomorrow and the day after that and so on for another three weeks.

"Hey," an eerie voice said from behind him. Sam cursed himself as he involuntarily jumped. Mike chuckled at his reaction before plastering a shit-eating grin on his face. All of sudden Mike reached forward and shoved Sam backwards. Sam hadn't been expecting the sudden move and tried to stay upright as the old sneakers slipped on the rain soaked concrete.

"Go back where you came from, Loser, because you're freakiness sure isn't tolerated here." Another shove. Sam reigned in all the self-control he owned. He wasn't going to fight them yet.

"Thanks for the tip," he said icily before spinning on his heel and stalked towards his current residence. He knew rule number one was never turn your back on your enemies, but frankly, he was hoping he'd catch them off guard with his defiance and maybe they'd just let him go today. But perhaps that was a bit naïve of him.

This time the shove from behind did send him sprawling to the ground, backpack rolling into the damp grass. He barely managed to get his hands out in time to catch himself. The small stones on the ground dug into his hands painfully, but he ignored it. He had bigger problems, after all.

A swift kick was delivered to his stomach, effectively flipping him on to his back. He fell back onto the wet ground.

"Hey, Mikey, check out his kicks." All eyes, including Sam's own, slid down to look at Sam's sneakers. Personally, he didn't see what it was about the ratty shoes that had caught their attention. Whatever it was, apparently it had given Mike an idea as a creepy smile spread across his face.

"Take 'em," he said simply. What on Earth would they want with his sneakers? Suddenly there were two hands on his shoulders pinning him down and two latched onto his legs to hold him down.

Sam wasn't going down without a fight.

He took a few swings at random and started kicking out. He was rewarded when his foot connected with something solid and someone let slip a string of curses that would put even John Winchester to shame. In retaliation, someone decked in the stomach. Hard. Sam instinctively tried to curl in on himself, but the hands on his shoulders held firm. His shoes were ripped off his feet and his toes curled slightly as they were exposed to the wind and rain through the thin socks.

"Please, they're not mine. I'm just borrowing them," Sam said rather desperately. He didn't need Dean on him again.

"Well, so are we. We're just…borrowing without permission, is all." Sam watched the faces above him as the one on Mike's left tied the shoe laces together. Now what were they doing? Mike snatched them and in one swift movement, tossed them up to the electrical wire going across the street with impeccable aim. The sneakers looped around so the laces were hanging over the wire with the sneakers on each side, balancing each other out. What exactly they gained from doing this, Sam didn't know, but the point was that he was now, once again, shoe-less. Plus, now it was Dean's shoes that'd he'd lost.

"Have fun walking home," Mike said before turning and leaving, his cronies following behind like puppies. But these puppies were more like wolves…sick, mean wolves.

Sam pushed himself off of the street, wincing slightly as the pain in his stomach became known. Between pain, stress and anxiety, it was a wonder Sam didn't lose his lunch right there. Once he righted himself, he looked down at his clothing. He looked like some homeless hood of the rough city streets with his dirty, soaked clothes and bare sock feet.

Sam scooped up his dripping backpack from where it'd fallen when he was pushed over and began the long trek home.

TBC…

P.S. for some reason we have a lot of sneakers hanging from wires and such around where I live so that's where that inspiration came from.

Review Replies: I'm actually having a lot of fun doing these, so as long as no one has any objections, I think I'll continue throughout the story.

judyann: I agree with you, don't like don't read. Simple as that. I like Teenchesters the best, they're just more fun for me. Thanks for reviewing (as you always do)!

supernaturalrenegade: Well, Ms. Lucifer, glad you enjoyed it! And unfortunately for Sam, it's only gonna get harder. I guess all of us hurt Sam people are just sadists, lol! More soon, I promise! P.S. got the book :)

Cartoon Cow: OMG, you had me laughing like crazy. Don't forget the dog, he'll come back ;)

1axdzy3dgftw1xLSNx3df1xMGG: That's okay, Matthew is just so ridiculously lovable! And a crazy good actor (like he's so nerdy in Criminal Minds but he also plays other rolls really well). Do the other letters in your penname stand for something? MGG was the only one I recognized. I know, Mike's a total dick right? Yeah it's unfortunate how often that happens, even in real life. Hmm, you know, I almost forgot to add that part into the story. If you have any ideas about how revenge should be executed on them, send me a PM or something because I completely forgot (hence the change in the number of chapters at the top)

primadonna cat: Yeah, not really a huge John fan myself. I think he needs a bit of a wake up call in how he raised his children (children not soldiers). Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

Punkin09: I will try to make sure it's epic ;) I'm totally a sucker for hurt Sam as well. Especially in teenchester! Parakeet's review was certainly something, huh? Originally it got me really down but supernaturalrenegade cheered me up substantially. I promise more updates soon, thanks for reviewing!

Arikae: It's kind of funny because in most movies and the stuff, the character thinks their life is too normal and too boring, but Sammy here strives for normal (with good reason) I'm a totally sucker for brotherly (or sisterly as the situation may be) relationships. Thanks for reviewing!

Lilithakaducky: Yeah, that's Sam for you. Always hiding stuff, no matter how much it bothers him. No, thank you for reading and reviewing!

MysteryMadchen: I'm so glad you picked up on that. So far you're the only one who commented about the shoes. And yes you were correct, Sam's shoes were also "uplifted". And Dean is not going to be very happy, I promise you that. Greater limpage, but before limpage will come much much more angst. Thanks for reviewing!

rozzy07, caz21, Sparkiebunny, LeighAnnWallace, cursedgirl: Thank you all for your reviews and I promise more updates soon!