"Frikkin hell, Sam. We need to find that fairy, like right now!" Dean flings himself into the backseat of the Audi, and then gets madder because he's in the back seat, of an Audi, instead of the driver's seat of his Impala. He kicks the door, and the seat, and folds his arms defensively and pouts.
Sam and Cas look at each other over the roof of the car before Sam slides behind the wheel. "Dean, sit up, and stop acting like the child you don't want us to treat you like." He adjusts the rear view mirror to see the scowling face of his brother. "Suck it up, man. At least they aren't talking about sending you to junior high or to a juvenile detention."
He glances at his brother whose scowl has increased and now also looks skeptical. "Easy for you to say, Sam. You're not the one who was being probed and…"
"There was very little probing, Dean, just that once the doctor…" Cas starts.
"Shut up, Cas!" Dean barks, interrupting him. "Just shut up. They were also probing my mind. So, yeah. Probing. Sam, let's just go, skip town. I can't do this, man."
Fortunately, the trip down South Padre Island Drive and the bridge over the Intracoastal waterways onto Padre Island and to their new temporary home is smooth and fairly short because the rest of it takes place in silence. Sam sighs as Dean slams out of the car before Sam has a chance to turn it off. Cas starts after Dean, but Sam tells him to let him go. "He said his emotions were regressed along with his body, give him a few minutes."
Sam and Cas eat dinner without Dean, who comes downstairs only to get one of his sleeping pills, drinking it down with a large glass of water. He tells Sam he's not hungry, and asks Cas to please, take some silver chains this time and capture the damn fairy who has ruined his life. He turns sad eyes to Sam. "We've got to find the fairy or bolt from here. I am not going back to high school, Sam. It'd be my worst nightmare come true. Like going back to hell." He plods back upstairs.
The local high school is across the causeway, and traffic is horrible as Sam drives across by himself with paperwork needed to enroll Dean in school the next morning. Cas has gone searching for the fairy, and Dean refused to get out of bed. He blamed the sleeping pill, said he was too tired, and pulled a pillow over his head. When Sam told him he needed to be there to choose courses, Dean said he wasn't planning to need them. Sam's a little worried because he also said he wasn't hungry, even though Sam doesn't recall him eating lunch or dinner yesterday.
The high school principal, Ms. Melendez, school counselor, Mr. Roberts, and gifted student program coordinator. Mrs. Thompson, meet with Sam in a small conference room off the main office. They are surprised that Dean is not there, and exchange worried looks when Sam tells them the truth. His brother has not been sleeping well, was prescribed sleeping pills which he took for the first time last night, and wasn't awake enough to get up. Mr. Roberts recommends that if he is going to take a sleeping pill, to take it twelve hours before he has to get up for school.
"Attendance is mandatory, Mr. Singer. Once he is enrolled, we expect him to be here," Principal Melendez is a bit strident. School ratings fall when there are high absentee rates.
The group goes over the scheduled classes they've chosen for him; advanced placement is English composition, college algebra, astronomy, government, and psychology 101. These are all classes that are taught as dual high school and college credit. "Mr. Singer, it's unusual to have someone as young as Dean enrolled in these upper level classes, but his test scores indicate that he is more than capable of college-level work, but is being placed in high school for the social aspects." The school counselor explains. "This brings us to the problem areas. I was hoping to meet him to assess his ability to, well, fit in. We don't know whether he is emotionally mature enough for this. We will need to watch him closely to avoid any harassment."
Sam winces at the thought of Dean facing bullies, for the bullies' sakes. He remembers people bullying him in school, and how Dean would rush to his defense, resulting in trips for Dean to the principal's office and even suspensions. The gifted program coordinator, Mrs. Thompson, suggests with five of the most academically rigorous classes they could find, Dean should also be in two less challenging classes so he isn't overwhelmed. They choose a PE class that because of his schedule may have to be at the same time the other students in it will be baseball players. Sam says Dean may actually enjoy that because he likes sports.
The adults are surprised by how well-rounded Sam is making Dean sound. Looking for an elective that fits in his schedule, the group tries to decide between a shop class, theater, home economics, or choir. They also set Monday and Wednesdays as days Dean will meet with the counselor and other students during lunch in a student grief group. Sam toys with enrolling Dean in choir or home economics to mess with him, but he decides to be a good big brother and not torment Dean. Surprising the rest of the group, Sam says they should enroll him in auto shop. Looking at their doubtful eyes, Sam explains, "Dad had a 1967 Impala that he always worked on with Dean. It's Dean's now – although he's too young to drive of course. He'll be fine. He's actually a good mechanic."
None of the group wants to say they are afraid Dean will be picked on for being too young and too smart in an upper level shop class. The principal makes a mental note of the time, so she can make personal visits to the classroom to make sure everything is going well.
Taking the class schedule, a map of the campus, and Dean's Student Code of Conduct and Dress Code, Sam heads back to the house, hoping Dean will accept what seems to be inevitable and not make this more difficult than it has to be. He stops by a mall on the way, buying Dean several nicer outfits as the dress code does not allow t-shirts as outer-wear, shoes, a backpack, insulated lunch kit, and school supplies. He also picks up a cherry pie from a bakery, and sandwich makings for the lunch bag.
When Sam gets back to the house, it's still quiet and Dean is nowhere downstairs. Sam puts away all the food and goes looking for him. He finds Dean still in bed, staring at the ceiling, and he dumps all the packages on the bed next to him. "Dean, get the hell out of bed, now." Sam's exasperation with his brother is obvious. "You can't just lie around in bed all day and expect me to wait on you hand and foot. Put this stuff away, then join me on the back patio and we'll go over your school schedule."
Sam goes to stomp out of the room, when Dean stops him. "Sam, you're not listening. I am not going to high school again. It ain't fucking happening and you can't make me." The de-aged older brother is sitting up in bed, gritting the words out through his teeth.
"Stop being an obnoxious brat, Dean. You'll do what needs to be done, so leave all this drama queen stuff behind or I'll prove that I can make you." Sam is looming over Dean, giant sized compared to his brother usually, and the disparity in sizes right now makes Dean gulp. Whether he gets his ass handed to him or not, Dean does not intend to back down. Green eyes glare through slits at angry hazel eyes, both Winchesters stubborn enough to try the other's resolve, when the doorbell rings, and Sam spins around to leave with a muttered curse. "Get the hell out of bed Dean. I mean it," are Sam's parting words as he heads down the steps.
Mr. Roberts, the school counselor, is at the door, and Sam is surprised to see him. "I hope it's okay that I came, but I know Doctor Davis really well, and her notes said she thinks you and your brother are under a lot of stress. She thinks that he may be a little desperate. When you said you couldn't get him to get out of bed today, I thought I'd take a chance to come meet him here."
Sam invites him in, and tells the counselor where Dean's bedroom is if he's willing to try. Mr. Roberts says he'd like to talk to Dean, but for obvious reasons doesn't plan to go into a kid's bedroom alone with him. Sam tells him to have a seat then, and he'll be right back. Mr. Roberts takes one look at the underlying anger in Sam's eyes and suggests they both go. The counselor is glad he did because even with him there, Sam's answer to Dean refusing to get up or even pick his head up from under the pillow is to dump the entire mattress off the bed, then pick it up leaving his brother sitting amidst bedclothes and linens on the floor.
"Dean, this is your school counselor. Now get the hell up off the floor and say hello," Sam's fury is barely restrained.
Mr. Roberts isn't sure how much longer the tableau would remain frozen, but he stops the immediate stand off by sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of Dean and introducing himself while taking in the sight of the boy in front of him. He's good looking, pretty really at this age, and that may make things even harder for him at school. His green eyes look intelligent, and sheepish, as he says hello, and suggests they go to the living room to do this. He notices that Dean is shaky and holding onto things to get downstairs.
As they move to the ground level, Mr. Roberts texts Doctor Davis and suggests anti-anxiety medicine for Dean. He takes Sam aside and tells him what he did. "I suspect he really has just reached maximum stress and his body is responding. Let's see if we can't get him started in school and then determine whether we can take him off the medicine."
Now, learning that the doctor and the counselor suspect extreme anxiety, Sam feels like a fraud of a big brother, again. He runs his hand through his hair and gives Mr. Roberts a hangdog grimace.
"Don't worry, Sam." Mr. Roberts says. "We'll get you both through this. Just get the prescription, and have Dean to school on time tomorrow. We'll find a way to make this work."
.