Disclaimer: I don't own "Supernatural" or "Eerie, Indiana"
A/N: This story is set after the episode "Hole in the Head Gang" of Eerie, Indiana and is AU from that point on.

Where the Rules Don't Apply

Day One

Sam was sulking in the back seat. Sam had been sulking a lot lately. I dunno why, it's not like our lives had changed drastically recently, it was just the same old story: new hunt, new city. I guess that could be why he was sulking, I think he liked Tulsa and didn't want to leave. I don't see why, Tulsa was just like all the other places we've been. The only thing exciting anywhere is hunting, so I didn't see what Sammy's problem was.

I watched him in the side-view mirror, and I know Dad was glancing at him in the rearview mirror, too, but he just sat oblivious with his arms crossed over his chest watching the flat, Indiana landscape fly by.

The kid was determined, I'll give him that.

I turned my attention back to the road ahead, wondering what the next town would be like. Dad said small, so hopefully that meant this would be a quick hunt. I wondered what we were hunting, but I knew dad wouldn't tell me, even if I asked. I was too young to actually hunt. I had to stay behind and keep Sammy safe.

I hated it.

Sam was nine, he should have been able to keep himself safe by now.

"Almost there, boys," Dad announced. He turned off the radio, cutting off Wild America right at the chorus. I was gonna glare at him, but then I sign caught my eye. It read: Eerie, Indiana. Pop: 16,661.

"That's ominous," I said, eyeing the numbers.

Sam snorted and I whipped my head around, glaring back at him. I wasn't in the mood for his shit. He just shook his head and said, "It's just a number, Dean."

"Yeah, the number of the beast," I said. I couldn't believe he was being so thick.

"Actually, it's not, it's sixteen thousand six hundred and sixty one."

"Well, it…it has the number of the beast in it," I retorted.

"Boys!" Dad interjected before Sammy could make some clever retort (he stuck his tongue out at me instead). "Dean, face forward. Sam, don't tease your brother."

"I wasn't teasing," Sam cried indignantly. "I was correcting his assumption."

Dad didn't respond, and I turned and sat forward, slouching down in my seat with my arms crossed over my chest as I glared out the windshield. It was my turn to sulk. I hated when Sam did that. He talked down to me just because I didn't know as much school stuff as he did and he used those big words 'cause he thought I wouldn't understand (I looked them up, so the joke's on him!). I hated that he acted all superior just because he could get good grades even with all the school-hopping.

Well, I was gonna be a better hunter than him, so he could stuff it!

I turned my head to glare out the window, wondering when we would reach the motel. As if reading my mind, the car began to slow and Dad pulled into the parking lot of something called "The Eerie Inn". It was a tall, imposing, pink house, and I immediately hated it.

Hunters did not stay in pink houses, thank you very much.

"We're staying in an inn?" Sammy asked incredulously. "That's so…normal."

"It's what there is," Dad said, turning the car off. "Everybody out."

We piled out of the car, got our stuff from the trunk, and headed for the building. I tried to look everywhere but at the gaudy pink house, and it's a good thing I did. I was glancing over my shoulder on the way in when I caught sight of two kids on bikes watching us from across the street. I knew they were watching 'cause they took of the minute I saw them.

I waited a few seconds to see if they'd come back or try to look from somewhere else, but I didn't see them, so I just turned and followed Sam inside. The lobby wasn't much better than the outside, with poufy pink chairs and throw pillows to match, and the old woman behind the desk looked like she'd sat so long on one of those chairs that she'd taken on its coloring.

It was more than a little unnerving.

Dad checked us in, carefully answering the prying questions the lady in pink (Mrs. Prister) was asking, then we went up to the room (second floor, one window). Dad gave us the usual speech (be good, stay safe, stick together, don't go out after dark. And, Dean, Take care of Sammy) and then he was gone. Off to hunt, leaving me and Sam alone in a dinky hotel room with a tiny TV.

Sam was already sprawled on one of the beds with one of his books – something thick and totally not suitable for a nine year old, probably – so I flopped down on the other bed and decided to channel surf. I grabbed the remote from the bedside table, flicked on the TV, and discovered that The Eerie Inn got one channel and it consisted of a scary looking guy with no hair and thick-ass glasses reading off the list of events the Eerie Inn would be hosting for its guests.

I turned the TV off very quickly.

"I hate small towns," I announced, laying back on the bed, my hands hooked behind my head.

"They hate you," Sam mumbled.

I knew he wasn't really listening, just talking so I wouldn't try to pester him. It was a trick he'd developed a long time ago, long enough ago that I'd caught on and it no longer worked. He, however, still hadn't figured that out. I grinned up at the ceiling. I could use this to my advantage.

I sighed heavily, loudly, watching Sammy as best I could out of the corner of my eye. He didn't look up from his book, just turned the page and kept reading. I coughed and rolled onto my side, staring at my brother. "Sam," I said quietly, so quietly he probably didn't hear. Then I kept going, saying his name louder every time. "Sam. Sam. Sam. Sammy!"

He looked up. "What do you want, Dean? I'm trying to read!" he flashed the cover of the book at me (something stupid and boring about normal, every day lives of boring people, from what I could tell), then tried to go back to reading.

"Wanna go exploring?" I asked. I would've just gone on my own, but if I went anywhere without Sammy and Dad found out there'd be hell to pay. And Dad would find out because as much as Sam hated having to be baby-sat, he liked getting me in trouble even more.

"No," Sam said simply, his eyes skimming quickly over the words on the page.

"I think I saw a library book sale on the way through town," I tried.

"You didn't see squat," Sam countered. "We drove down back roads and the library would've been on Main Street."

"Whatever," I mumbled, sliding off the bed. "This place is boring, I'm gonna go look around."

"I'm staying here."

"Of course you are." I shook my head as I pulled on my coat and headed out the door. I pounded down the stairs, ignoring the glare Mrs. Prister gave me when I slammed open the door at the bottom and left it ajar as I jogged out into the cool, Eerie air.

Now that I think about it, I remember that it even smelled weird there. If I'd been thinking then, I probably would've noted it, but I was too pissed off at Sammy. I didn't get him. He hated all the things I loved, all the things we'd been raised with, and it just didn't make sense to me. I didn't see what was so interesting about reading or school work. Hunting was exciting (and had the added bonus of saving people's lives), what book could possibly measure up?

I tried to push Sammy from my mind as I headed down the road. I went the way I'd seen those kids go before. Not consciously, I wasn't thinking about them at the time, I just figured it was the way to whatever 'downtown' Eerie happened to brag, since we'd driven in from the other direction and, as Sam had said, we'd taken back roads.

I didn't have far to walk. After only a few minutes, I caught site of store fronts and shops (including the Library, which apparently was having a book sale). I looked around me, taking in the meager entertainment this small town had to offer, and I found myself staring at something called "The World O'Stuff". From the look of it, it was a convenience store to top all other convenience stores ever made. If the window displays and what little of the inside I could see from my spot across the street were to be believed, it had everything.

I crossed the street and ducked inside.

It did, indeed, have everything. There were shelves everywhere stocked full of stuff I didn't even know anyone would ever need, and there were video games and ice cream and people everywhere. The place sold everything from shoes to slide rules. I considered getting a pair of shoes for me and a slide rule for Sammy, but as I was perusing the stock of shoes, I caught sight of two things that made me freeze: the two kids I'd seen earlier and my Dad.

The kids were sitting at the counter across the store, drinking milkshakes and not-so-discreetly watching Dad, who was leaning against the counter talking to a man who could only be the owner of the store. I was about to run out when Dad shifted position, turning so that now he could see the door.

"Shit," I muttered, ducking down behind the shelf. I couldn't believe this, though I guess I should've expected it. Small town, one business street, it only made sense that Dad would stop in here to interview people.

I watched Dad carefully while pretending to still be looking at shoes, praying he would just leave. Right when it looked like he was about to, someone came up behind me and cleared his throat. I turned around and had to look down to find a kid with a shock of white hair, a black trench coat, and a very angry look on his face.

"Uh, hi," I said, feeling stupid already.

"This is my store," he said.

"Excuse me?"

He shoved me back and I knocked into the shelf behind me, sending up a clang everyone in the store must have heard, including Dad. The kid stepped up close to me, glaring up at me, and said "lift your shit somewhere else," in a low growl, then he ducked his head, shoved his hands in his pockets, and disappeared out the door.

I stared after him, even though I knew I should've been getting the hell out, too. The kids from the counter were looking at me, and I think they would've come over to talk to me except Dad was right beside me, glaring down at me. He grabbed my arm and pulled me out the door, dragging me a few blocks before pulling to a stop and turning me to face him.

"What the hell are you doing, Dean?" he asked. "Where's Sam?"

"He wanted to read and I was bored," I said with a shrug.

"There's a TV in the room."

"It gets one channel," I retorted, knowing I sounded more like a petulant child than the 'grown up' thirteen year-old I wanted Dad to think I was. At the time, however, I didn't really care. "And it's not even a real channel!"

"I don't care, Dean," Dad said. "You don't leave your brother alone. You know that. Get back to the Inn. If you go anywhere, Sam goes with you."

"Fine." I turned sharply on my heel and stormed away. When I figure Dad couldn't see me anymore, I slowed my pace and lightened my footsteps. Temper tantrums were all well and good, but they didn't do much when your parent wasn't around to see them. So, I walked slowly (but purposefully) back to the Inn, taking in the not-so-many sights of Eerie as I went.

I wished Dad had found a job in a big city again, at least there I'd be less likely to get bored. There would've been more TV channels for one thing, and more places to convince Sam to go so we could get out of the motel room for another.

As I was nearing the Inn, I heard a scuffle behind me. I turned quickly and found the two kids from earlier. One was taller with chin-length brown hair and a big, green coat. He looked about my age. The other was short with curly, reddish-brown hair and clothes that looked ratty and far too big for him. He looked about Sam's age. They didn't have their bikes this time.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"We want to know why you're here," the older kid said, crossing his arms over his chest.

I shrugged. "Business," I said. "But we'll be gone soon." I hoped.

"What kind of business?" the younger kid asked, mimicking his friend's stance.

I rolled my eyes. "Why do you care?" I asked, debating just knocking them out and bolting for the Inn.

"Because we think we know," the older kid said. "We think you're here about the weirdness."

"What?" I asked, all thought of getting away squashed by my confusion. "Weirdness?"

"Eerie is the center of weirdness for the entire planet," he explained. "At least, we think it is. We're trying to prove it, but no one else seems to see it. But the questions your dad was asking, you guys know."

"Weirdness?" I repeated. The kid nodded. "You mean the Supernatural?"

"No," the younger kid said. "We mean weirdness."

"There's supernatural stuff, too," the older kid added. "But that's not all there is. I mean, we've had ghosts and stuff, but also talking dogs."

I stared. "You're crazy," I said, shaking my head. "I'm just gonna go now."

"If you want to know more about Eerie, meet us at the cemetery tomorrow morning," the older kid said before I could turn away. "Meet us at Devon Wilde's grave."

"You sure about that, Mars?" the younger kid asked, looking up at his friend. "Why not old man Kinkle?"

The older kid (Mars? What kind of a name was 'Mars'?) shook his head. "I gotta take some flowers to Devon for Melanie anyway, Simon," he said. "This way we can kill two birds with one stone."

"I hate that phrase," Simon said with a shudder.

Mars turned his attention back to me and I realized I'd been staring at them. I couldn't help it, everything they were saying was so bizarre. Talking about 'weirdness' and ghosts as if they were an every day thing. Which, as I knew, they were, but other people weren't supposed to, not unless they were hunters, too, but these kids couldn't be hunters. They were too young.

"All right," I said as I realized Mars was waiting for my answer, my curiosity getting the better of me. "But I have bring my brother."

"That's fine," Mars said, nodding. "We'll see you at ten in the cemetery."

"All right."

They watched me for a few more seconds, then turned and walked away. I watched them go, wondering what I'd just signed myself up for. I doubted it was anything good. Just as long as I didn't run into that gray haired kid again I figured I'd be good.

I went to the Inn and up to the room, collapsing on the bed. Sam was still reading. "We're going to the cemetery tomorrow at ten," I said.

"In the morning, I hope," Sam replied dryly. I didn't dignify him with a response. "Why?" he finally asked after a few minutes' silence.

"Because this town is weird," I replied, rolling onto my side. It was early still, but all I wanted to do was sleep until it was time to leave Eerie, Indiana and take our business somewhere else.