A/N: Hey guys! I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I was super busy with school, and my beta hasn't sent this chapter back to me, but it didn't seem fair that you guys couldn't read the chapter. So here you have the unbeta-ed version of it. I will update it after my beta sends it back, but until then, you have this one to entertain yourselves with.

I am going to post a Valentine's Day fic on the 14th because I got inspired to write it. Feel free to go read it and review it!

I want to ask you guys a favor. I get too distracted with tumblr, and that keeps me from writing... PLEASE! SEND ME ASKS FROM TIME TO TIME TO REMIND ME I HAVE TO WRITE! you can send it to .com because if you want chapters, you gotta make me write them. ~you can also send me asks just to give me suggestions on stuff you think would be fun or would go well with the story or something like that!~

Also, thank you A LOT for the awesome reviews you guys write me! I read them all and I grin like an idiot and my smile lasts for the rest of the day! Reviews motivate me a lot so the more you write me the sooner you get new chapters, and that is why I failed in my math test... I'm too worried planning chapters to listen to my teacher speaking. I would love to thank you for all the follows and favs you guys leave me... SERIOUSLY YOU'RE AWESOME! I am hoping to get my 200th review with this chapter, so, if you're the lucky 200th person, I will write you a one-shot! ^-^

One last thing, I am trying to write longer chapters ~but you probably have guessed that already~ so if it takes a while, it's because my dad won't let me stay on my computer for much time, I gotta study a lot for him to let me come near my computer. But that doesn't mean I won't start writing it on paper! ;)

Without further ado, Chapter 24!

Chapter 24 – Cold Water

Dean ran out of the locker room and about three hallways down, he stopped to think about what happened. He knew it was cowardly of him to just walk away like that, but he wasn't ready to talk to Cas. If th boy was going to flirt with him, he needed some time to think about a reply. Every time he dreamt of it, Dean would think he would ace it. Yet when the actual moment came, that wasn't what happened, of course. Dean's brain froze along with his heart, only to have a thousand thoughts penetrate his mind and his heart beat faster and faster. Who could blame him for what happened? Who could blame him for running away?

Dean let out a breath and started walking home, dragging his school bag and shower things along with him.

The walk home was uneventful. Except for the thousand replies Dean was thinking up- he had the best answers too-but he knew he wouldn't say any of them. He was too shy to say them out loud. Maybe if he tried saying them in front of a mirror? Hmm, but that would just seem like a chick-flick-and he really couldn't have his life looking like that! Of course he could thinkof a thousand ways that he could actually say what he wanted and only be slightly embarrassed, and of course it involved singing. To Cas. He knew the other boy liked his voice, but he couldn't do it… How could he look to Castiel's face after he sang him a silly love song? He wouldn't ever be able to face him after it happened, so that one was crossed off the list. There was something Dean thought could actually be the answer…

What if I stopped running away? Would he hurt me? He hasn't so far… So maybe next time I could stay and figure something to say…

And with that, he found himself by his front door. He unlocked the door and went inside.

His evening would be mostly uneventful that day… Since Bobby told him he didn't need to go to work that day, Dean was home early. He sat down and started doing his homework. His routine was simple: wake up, shower, breakfast, school, lunch, school, practice, work, shower, homework, helping Sammy, making dinner for him and Sammy, having dinner, making dinner for his dad and go to sleep after getting the kitchen clean. Since he was two-steps ahead of schedule, Dean decided to start cooking before time so that he could catch up with Sam a bit more during dinner. He finished his homework and started to get everything he would need to cook.

The pan was on the stove and Dean had to try his best not to let it burn. He succeeded placing the meat on the pan and so far, it was going well. Because of his lack of skills, Dean had to wait until he finished getting the meat done to start cooking the pasta. His day had been a good one-somehow. Castiel had noticed him, and that made him panic slightly-'cause you know, despite dreaming one day it would happen, he never actually thought the other boy would ever say he liked his body.

Humming to 'The god that failed' by Metallica, Dean kept his thoughts idle by preparing dinner.

The front door opened, but Dean didn't mind it, it was probably Sammy getting home from school. But as the door was shut with too much force, Dean knew that it was his father getting home.

The young Winchester stood in the kitchen, waiting nervously as his father stomped inside their place, going straight to their kitchen.

What's he doing here? He should be at work!

"What are you doing boy?" John asked, looking at his son. Dean looked at his father, standing as a soldier would before their superior. One look at his father's eyes told him everything he needed to know. Just by looking at his face, he knew that John had been drinking.

"I'm making dinner, sir." Dean replied. Not only did the way he stood remind him of a soldier, but also the way he spoke to his father, the way he looked at him waiting for the consent to speak… In no way did it resemble the typical relationship of a father and his son.

John looked at his son, pleased with the way he spoke to him. He liked when Dean showed him respect. However, there was something about the situation that made John angry.

"Are you going to lemme taste it or what, boy?" John asked, stepping closer to a chair and sinking down into it.

"Yes… Of course!" Dean answered, taking the pan away from the stove, and placing it carefully on the table, in front of John. Quickly, Dean moved around the kitchen to grab a fork and a knife. As he was about to hand the cutlery to John, he simply grabbed it out of Dean's hands, muttering something that resembled "Fucking idiot".

John cut a bit of one of the hamburgers Dean had cooked and placed it in his mouth. He chewed for a few seconds before spitting it all out. His faced showed disgust and his eyes reflected the fury in his mind.

"WHAT THE FUCK?! ARE YOU TRYING TO POISON ME, BOY?!" John yelled at Dean, making the boy shiver. He knew what was going to happen. Every time, it happened like this. But Dean still hoped for a day when it would be different. A day where John would just calm himself down and not do anything to him. "WHY THE FUCK DID YA PUT THIS MUCH SALT IN IT, BOY?!"

Dean was scared. Dean was always scared. The only thing that kept him going was Sammy. The only thing that made him want to put on a show and pretend to be brave was Sammy. Even when his little brother wasn't around, Dean still tried to live his life as he would like his brother to see him.

"Sammy says he likes it this way…" The young Winchester replied in a low voice, afraid of what would could next. He knew it would happen, he knew he couldn't avoid it, but that didn't make his eyes shoot wide open. That didn't make him not gulp in fear of what would happen. He visibly flinched.

"I DON'T GIVE A SHIT! FUCK YA! YOU'RE A GOOD FO' NOTHING! YA CAN'T EVEN COOK DECEN'LY!"

As usual, Dean stood in his spot, not daring to move. His father would only be more enraged if he moved. John grabbed the first thing he saw and threw it towards Dean. As the pan's route was almost ending, Dean defended his face and grabbed the pan with his bare hands. As stupid as that could possibly sound, Dean did the best he could to protect where it would hurt more. If he got hit on the face with the burning hot frying pan, not only would he possibly have broken his skull, but he would also have his face burnt. Getting his hands in front of his face to grab the pan seemed like the most logical thing he could do in the short amount of time he had to think. He grabbed the pan right above the place where it had been on the stove, and for about fifty seconds, he couldn't get his hands from letting go. The oil in the pain was all over his arms and it all hurt. His hands got burnt and for once, Dean let everything go. He couldn't handle letting all the pain inside of him, so he just let it all out.

In an agonizing scream, Dean let the world know what he felt. His scream was powerful, since it showed all the pain Dean had trapped inside of him.

Dean's voice woke something up in John. He felt the desire to hit the boy until he shut up. Screaming children always made him angry. Moreover, listening to his own son behaving like that made him as angry as he could be. John stomped closer to Dean and kicked him in the abdomen. The pain in Dean's hands was strong, and suddenly receiving a blow like that somewhere else only made him let out a strangled scream, trying to stop himself from doing so. After so many years of living with John, he knew what his father liked and what would hurt him. He knew all too well that his father wasn't one for screaming people, that was also part of why he never let his father know how he felt when John hit him. Despite everything, Dean still wanted to make John proud, even if it was just by being strong enough…

"STOP SCREAMIN'" John yelled, kicking Dean's chest. Dean tried, he really did. And he would have most likely succeeded if it weren't for the kicks he was getting.

Dean was curled up on himself by the counter. He was trying his best to protect his body from the kicks he was getting from his father. Doing the best he could, Dean bit his own tongue to make himself shut up, and soon he was feeling the taste of blood in his mouth.

"YA FUCKIN' PUSSY!" John kept yelling, accentuating each word with a kick wherever his foot would reach.

Without knowing what was happening inside their home, Sam walked through the door, a smile plastered on his face while thinking about how tasty the cookies Gabriel gave him when they hang out after school. It was hard not to listen when Sam walked through the door. He heard his father screaming and that could only mean that he was hurting Dean. Quickly, Sam closed the door and followed his father's angry words to the kitchen.

As soon as he stepped inside the kitchen, he felt nauseous, his brother curled up on the floor and his father being just as aggressive as usual, channeling all his anger into Dean. A kick in Dean's hands made him howl in pain; not even biting his tongue helped. By that point, tears were streaming down his face and he just couldn't stop the strangled sounds he was making.

A bit startled with Dean's scream, Sam decided it was enough - he couldn't just stand there and do nothing to help his brother.

"YOU'RE SUCH A GIRL! I SHOULD JUST CALL YA DEANNA! YA CAN'T EVEN HANDLE A LI'LE BIT O' PAIN!" John was still yelling at his oldest son, when he noticed Sam had arrived. "Oh, hey Sammy!" John greeted happy to see his youngest son home. "Do ya see that? Your 'sister' over here can't even handle a bit of pain!"

It wasn't necessary to say that Sam was furious. Getting home and seeing his brother in such a state made his heart clench. He was sick of just standing there and not being able to make John stop. He had no idea why John liked him better, but everyone else in that home knew it was true; Dean was a much better son than he was, and while his brother still hoped John would change, he knew that wasn't going to happen. Doing the best he could to understand the best way to get Dean away from John, Sam looked around the kitchen. The stove was on, but the pan was on the kitchen floor right next to Dean, there were bits of hamburger meat all around the floor and John was looking at Dean with disgust. The same emotion was on the youngest Winchester, directed at his father. How could someone do this to their own son? Just like pieces of a puzzle, Sam connected everything around Dean and he just knew what had happened.

"Dean…?" Sam called, ignoring his father. He was too disgusted to even try to look at him at the moment. Sam was too preoccupied with his brother.

Of course John wouldn't think that Sam not answering him was a good sign. He was drunk and all that made sense to him was that his son wasn't showing the respect he should.

"Answer to me when I talk to ya, boy!" John demanded, voice thankfully not reaching a scream. Almost robotic, Sam turned to face his father. His eyes were stone cold; all he wanted to do was grab his brother and run away from that place.

"I'm gonna go make Dean understand that he can't continue like this… When I get back I'll cook you dinner." Sam told his dad, doing his best to choose the right words; words his father would approve of.

John grinned at his son, thinking that Sam would teach Dean a lesson.

"Make your 'sister' see she can't cry unless I say so, will ya boy?"

Sam made himself smile towards his father, and carefully, through clenched teeth he replied.

"Of course, father."

John stumbled towards the fridge and grabbed himself a beer.

"Tha's ma boy." He said as he started walking towards the living room to sit in his chair and watch TV while waiting for his son to cook him dinner.

As soon as John was out of the kitchen, Sam kneeled on the floor near his brother.

"Dean…" Sam whispered. "What happened? What did he do?"

Dean starts letting his body shift, carefully trying not to think or feel the pain inside of him. Once his eyes flashed open, Sam saw everything; they showed the emotion he was trying to hide, and just how hard Dean was trying to be strong.

"I'm ok…" Dean managed to say, trying to keep Sam from worrying too much. It was a failure from the start.

"Alright…" Sam nodded, trying to keep his own worry from showing. He knew that Dean wouldn't let him dote on him, and avoid the topic completely whenever it was brought up, prompting Sam to focus on school.

"Let me just help…" Sam reached his hand to Dean's and as soon as he grabbed them, a muffled sound came from Dean. The sound made Sam look to his hands, trying to understand if he grabbed any place John had been kicking. Instead, he saw Dean's hands were many shades darker, showing a pure red in them. "Oh God…" Sam whispered as he took Dean's arm –while trying his best not to hurt him in any place- and threw it over his shoulder. "Let's take you upstairs…"

Sam was getting taller and taller as days passed by; his body was strong enough for him to help his brother walk up the stairs and deposit him on the toilet seat.

"Let me see!" Sam demanded, full of concern.

Dean shook his head and hid his hands behind him. He didn't want Sam to be concerned. He wanted to be left alone for a bit, to just cry in silence, and to try to get his hands to stop hurting so much. But Sam was just as stubborn as Dean was.

"Come on Dean! Let me help you!" Sam begged him. The best way to get Dean to agree was obviously by showing him the 'puppy eyes' and add a bit of begging, and that's exactly what Sam did. "Please…"

Dean sighed and nodded, showed Sam his hands.

"Oh my god…" Sam whispered in disbelief, as he saw the red covering Dean's palms. "Your hands… They're burnt!"

Dean decided to go with a funny approach to the situation.

"Thanks for clarifying that, Captain Obvious!"

Sam looked at his brother and frowned.

"This is not the time to be sarcastic, Dean! You need to put your hands under cold water… Like, right now!" Without another word, Sam walked to the sink and let the cold water gather up on a metallic pail –that was under the sink- for a bit. He moved fast, not wanting his brother to hurt unnecessarily. "Put your hands inside this…"

Dean didn't wait for Sam to finish talking, his hands were desperately yelling for him to ease their pain. A sigh of relief came out of him when his hands touched the water.

Sam didn't know much about burns, all he knew was the basic… Apply cold water… Aloe Vera… ointment… He remembered once reading in one of his Science books about putting something to cover the burnt areas, it was supposed to protect the area from getting infected. So that was what he decided to do.

"I'm gonna need to patch this up, Dean… I don't want it getting infected…" Sam told his brother as he left the bathroom and went to grab his first aid kit.

Dean moved his hands against the water and he never felt more relieved for his brother's presence at the house. He felt everything inside of him hurt… How could he not? John hadn't been this aggressive in a while- of course Dean wasn't ready for him to go all crazy on him. It was one thing just to get Dean's hands burnt, but kicking the shit out of Dean AND getting Dean's hands burnt was completely different… The thoughts of leaving the house and never coming back crossed Dean's mind. After the knife incident, things had been pretty normal, nothing drastic happening around, but the peace wouldn't last forever… It never had, why would it now? But Dean wanted to give his father as many chances as it was needed, so he wiped those thoughts away. After what happened that day, Dean wasn't sure his father could ever change… Everything was so strange, he couldn't ask anyone what to do, since he didn't want to involve anyone, but it was still tiresome to think of it alone.

Sam walked into the bathroom once more and saw Dean thinking, his eyes were closed and there was a sad look on his face. His face was pale, almost as white as the walls of the bathroom. Sam didn't want to disturb his brother as he looked like he was thinking about something important –his face changed from a sad look to a pensive one- and announcing his presence could make Dean lose his train of thought. Sam stood in the bathroom tiles for a few minutes, before he decided to let Dean think for a while. He backed out of the bathroom and got himself to the kitchen to cook something for their father –and themselves too. Sam was worried about his brother… He knew Dean wouldn't tell him if he was in pain; he knew Dean wouldn't tell him if John did anything to him while he, Sam, was gone; and all of it only made his concern for his brother increase. What would happen if one day John was too violent to Dean? Dean couldn't go to the Hospital, John had made it clear he didn't want anyone knowing what he did; Dean would never go to the Nurse's office; the only person who knew about what was going on was Charlie, but what could she do? She tried to distract Dean outside of home, which was a blessing. If Dean only thought about all the shit that happened to him he would, most likely, be depressed. She was the best friend Dean could have ever got, and Sam thanked every star in the sky for it. Dean needed her, just as much as he needed Sam. Charlie was someone Sam would usually go to when he needed some extra medical supplies or whatnot. He couldn't just go to the pharmacy all the time and get stuff, people would ask questions, so he asked Charlie to get very high amounts of everything… And about one in every three months –if things were normal– they would buy more. But if John got too violent, Sam needed more material to help Dean get back to health. The other thing that helped quite a lot was that Charlie never let him pay. Her father owned a company and earned quite a lot of money, which made Charlie somewhat rich –not that she ever told anyone about that- and she helped the boys as much as she could with the money she had. Every time Dean worked at the Roadhouse, she would go there and leave a very generous tip for him… But she would discretely put it in Dean's apron when he wasn't looking… He would think it was weird if he noticed.

Sam decided to go and talk to Charlie about what happened the next morning, he didn't know what else to do, and she could help him…

Charlie always knows everything… She can help me help Dean…

With that, Sam finished cooking their dinner. Unlike Dean, he actually knew what he was doing, so things were actually tasty. He walked to their bathroom and saw Dean wincing as he swirled his hands in the water, the pain even more evident in the contours of his skin.

Sam gently closed the door behind him and walked over to his brother with a sigh. Oh Dean, please let me help you.

A/N: It's now beta'ed!