This chapter was actually originally planned to be somethign entirely diffrent, but I liked the idea when I thought of it the other day so I stuck with it. Thank you to all you amazing readers and please REVIEW!

Also, I posted a poll on my profile concerning my next story and I would love if you would pop over and take it! Thanks!

Warnings: Bullying, self-harm, swearing
Disclaimer: See chap 1
Beta: Little Miss Artist
Word Count: 2,200
Chapter: 13/21
Next Update: Wednesday

Textus

Chapter 13: Stolen Dignity

Sam stepped out of the steamy shower. The upside to having gym last class of the day was that he could take a shower after without risking being late for his next class. He usually stayed last so he was the only one still in the locker room afterwards.

When he stepped past the misty mirror, he did a double take. He looked like he hadn't slept in a year. He hadn't been sleeping quite as well as he would have hoped and was often felt drowsy in almost every class. The circles under his eyes were getting more noticeable to the point that if they got any darker, it'd would look like bruising. His skinny torso was mottled with bruises of various colors, though it was much better than it had originally been, and his wrist, though mostly faded, still had a few purple splotches here and there. The thin white lines along his wrist weren't too obvious unless you knew to look for them.

Sam stood there, staring fascinated at his bruised and beaten looking body in the mirror. He'd managed to avoid Mike and his goons very well. He hadn't seen them at all past the occasional dirty look in the hallway.

He suddenly realized that he was standing in the middle of the locker room wearing nothing but a towel and quickly took off for the rows and rows of grey lockers.

His locker was cracked slightly open as he approached. Another plus side of being the last was you didn't have to worry about locking your gym locker so Sam usually left it unlocked and sometimes open slightly. Not that Sam had anything worth stealing anyway.

Sam flicked open the small locker door and froze.

All of his clothes were gone.

Well crap.

There was no doubt in Sam's mind who it was. But that knowledge didn't really help him. After all, he didn't need to point fingers, what he needed was clothes.

He checked all around, just in case, though he knew they wouldn't be there. After checking under the bench, Sam went back to the showers to see if he'd brought them with him for some reason. When that too produced no results, Sam snagged an extra towel off the rack.

The lost and found was a three by three plywood box in the hallway between the girls and the boys changing rooms. With one towel around his waist and another towel tossed over his shoulders, Sam stepped up to it and began to rifle through it. There was one part-destroy and putrid sweatshirt – the owner of which was probably better off without it – several pairs of disgusting socks, a hat and an alarming amount of single shoes. How someone lost one shoe while doing gym class, Sam would never know. Over all, there was nothing useful.

Sam turned back to the locker room. He wanted to scream profanities to the Heavens and go on a rampage, destroying everything in his path, but managed to reign in his temper. He needed to do something useful.

Sam sighed and re-fastened the towel tighter around his waist. He drew the other towel around his shoulders in tighter so it covered almost all of his torso but the very bottom of his stomach. As long as he used his injured wrist to hold the top towel closed, thus hiding it, you would say he was completely healthy, injury-free boy.

The way he saw it, he had two options. He could either walk home like this or he could call Dean for a ride. There was absolutely no contest.

He did one final check of the area before once again stepping out into the hallway. This time, he went straight across to the coach's office. He knocked hard on the door but there was no answer.

"Coach Woods?" Sam asked as he peeked in. Coach Woods was gone so Sam went in all the way and picked up the phone. He felt bad for going in without permission but he needed to call Dean. Since he was at work, he wouldn't have his cell phone on him since the mechanics were supposed to leave them in the locker room so they didn't cause a distraction or get damaged. So Sam racked his brain and finally managed to recall the number of the garage.

"Rocco's Mechanics," said a chipper sounding girl.

"Um, hello, is Dean Miller there?"

"Sure, sweetie, let me get him." The sound of the phone being set down could be heard before very distant sounding shouting. Sam bristled slightly at being called sweetie, but brushed it off. Now was not the time.

"Dean Miller," Dean drawled.

"Uh, hi, Dean," Sam said in a small voice.

"Sam? Is everything all right?" Dean said, instantly sounding more alert. Sam could practically see his brother suddenly standing up straight, holidng onto the phone tighter in worry.

"Yeah, Dean, but, um…is there any chance you could give me a ride home?"

"You're still at school?"

"Yeah, well, I stayed after gym to take a shower then I got…delayed."

"Alright, well I get off my shift in ten minutes, so I'll just leave now and be there in a few." Dean said.

"Okay, oh and Dean? Can you pick me up in the back parking lot? The one by the track?"

"Uh, yeah, Sam, sure, if that's what you want."

"Thanks," Sam said quietly before going to hang up.

"Sam, wait!"

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure everything's okay?" Dean asked worriedly.

Sam nodded then realized Dean couldn't see him so said a quick yes before hanging up. That did bring a new question into light though. What was he going to tell Dean when Dean showed up and found him donning only a towel?

He took a deep breath then pushed open the small door at the end of the gym hallway that lead to the back of the school where the football field, track (which looped around the football field) and the baseball diamond were. The cold air hit him in a rush and he had to stop for a minute. Sam closed his eyes against the sharp sting. He pulled the towels on tighter and continued onward.

The asphalt crunched under his bare feet as he walked across to sit on the bleachers to wait. The cold of the metal managed to reach Sam even through the towel as he sat down. If he wasn't injured and only wearing a towel, he might have started running to keep warm.

Of all the exercises, Sam liked running the best. Mostly because it gave him a few minutes to himself to sort through his thoughts.

Sam heard the black muscle car long before he saw it. Dean roared around the corner, going far faster than one should in a school zone. The car pulled to a stop in front of him and Dean's window rolled down. Dean was sitting there, holding his sunglasses just above his eyes with his mouth hanging slightly open.

"Are you wearing a towel?"

"Two towels, actually," Sam said as he went around and slid into the passenger side.

"Any particular reason why? Or am I just seriously not up to date on high school fashion?"

"My other clothes accidentally got all wet," Sam lied.

"Why aren't they with you?"

"I left them in my locker to dry out. I'd hate to get water all over the leather interior," Sam said.

"Yeah." Did he know how to play his brother or did he know how to play his brother? All he had to do was say he had done it for the impala and Dean would be behind him one hundred percent. "Well don't let it happen again," Dean said as he put the car in gear.

Sam nodded and leaned back in the seat, letting the heat wash over him. Suddenly Sam was afraid to be alone with his brother. Not because he thought Dean would do anything, but because in a car there was nowhere for him to go; no excuses to make should Dean bring up a subject Sam wanted to avoid. And lately, there were several topics Sam would rather steer clear of.

Sam had never been claustrophobic, but the car suddenly felt ten times smaller and it became a bit harder to breathe. He looked out the window, willing some of the vast space out there to come in the car. Sam pressed his forehead against the window and closed his eyes.

"You okay?" Dean asked instantly. Sam mentally berated himself for letting his mask slip even a bit before thinking of an excuse.

"Tired," Sam mumbled. How many times had he used that in the last few days alone? It was Wednesday, three days since the training incident on Sunday. Ever since then Dean had been watching him like a hawk, just waiting for him to make a mistake so Dean could call him out on it and finally get the whole story. In truth, Sam didn't even know the whole story. He couldn't say when this whole mess started. When he'd first taken his emotions out on his wrist? Or when he was attacked the worst by Mike? Or when he lost the shoes? Or maybe even when they first arrived at the town?

Thankfully, Sam looked just as tired as he claimed to be so Dean bought it every time. He'd started sleeping less and less each night. And the precious few hours he did manage to grab were restless and full of awful dreams. Part of him was intentionally keeping him awake to prevent himself from having a nightmare. Sam feared that one of these days he'd actually cry out enough when he jerked awake to wake Dean as well.

Nothing else was said until they pulled up in the drive way.

"Be quiet when you go in, last I knew Dad was crashed on the couch because he stayed up all night talking to Caleb and Bobby about some creature or other," Dean said as he got out. He was completely oblivious to the fact that on the other side of the car, Sam was greedily sucking in gasps of air.

True to Dean's word, John was completely conked out on the couch and they entered silently.

"After you get changed do you want to watch TV in Dad's room?" John's room contained a small TV that was barely a foot wide and only got about five channels, but John was taking up the living room where the normal sized TV was.

The thought of spending even more one on one time with Dean was enough to send Sam running in the other direction.

When had that happened? Sam had always loved every moment spent with his brother, even if they were just bickering. But lately, that, like everything else, was quickly changing for the worse.

"No thanks, I got a huge project to do."

"Another one? Do you ever do anything else at that nut house?"

"It's a school, Dean, of course there are projects," Sam said, mildly annoyed.

"Yeah, well, too many in my opinion," Dean said as he grabbed himself a beer.

"To you any work is too much work," Sam said as he went down the hall into his own room. He pulled on some sweats and a too-large t-shirt then flopped onto the bed.

It was his routine now. Once he got home from school, he'd lay on his bed and just rest. Not sleep, not nap, rest – rebuilding energy without relinquishing control of his mind. Then he'd do his homework followed by dinner. After that, he'd watch some TV before heading to his room. He'd read for a bit then indulge in his secret pleasure. Dean must have said something to their Dad about training because John hadn't brought it up again. After that, Sam would lay in bed for hours staring at the ceiling both trying to succumb to and prevent going to sleep at the same time.

Strange how normal it sounded to him now. Before this town, it was homework, draw, dinner, TV, more drawing, then bed. But that was BeforeSam. He was NewSam now. That's not to say he was happy with he was becoming. No, quite the opposite actually. He was becoming more and more disgusted with himself. Disgusted at himself for lacking the will to draw, for thinking ill of Dean, for lying so much, but most importantly, he hated his secret relief. Hated and loved it at the same time.

Because Sam really need more confusion in his life.

Not.

Review Replies: Sorry they're short, I don't have much time at the moment.

Judyann: Well glad you enjoy it, because I fully intend to play with you guys more! Soon, I assure you, soon Dean will find out.

Cartoon Cow: Dean does have lovely hair. Probably my favorite type of hair, second only to Sammy hair. :)

Sarah: It's true, but sadly, Dean will not always be there for our Sam :( Thank you for reading!

Supernaturalrenegade: I'll leave it up to you to decided if it was a red herring or not. :) It will indeed get worse before it gets better.

Sammy4evacausehesawesome: It'll be a while before Dean gives those jerks whats coming to them, just so you know. A few more chapters before Dean even figures out something major is going on. Thanks for reviewing!

Casammy: Holy crap! I would love to spend more time replying this but I only have a few minutes so sadly I can only give something small. Let me just say, I totally agree with pretty much everything you said. Dean will always be there for Sammy. It may be Dean's job to take care of Sam but he obviously loves doing it! Thanks for the amazing review and hope your weekend was good!

Hummingfox: Sam may be a hunter, but under it all he's just a kid. And I really couldn't bring myself to go this whole story without giving Sammy a single break. Oh and if you'd like, we can say the librarian was not fired. :)

OutTonightAndForever: So glad to know someone picks up on those little lines! Sam's warring with himself quite a bit, sadly. Oh and if it makes you feel better, let's just say the librarian was not fired.

1xadzy3dgftw1xLSNx3dg1xMGG: Calm before the storm indeed :) So I guess this chapter is dark clouds rolling on. Not storming yet, but it's right on the horizon!

Sparkiebunny, LeighAnnWallace: Thanks guys, you make me feel so happy :P

Also, Tin Tin 11: Where'd you go?