Schoolyard Bullies

Dean always looked after Sam. That was his job ever since Dad gave him at six months to carry out of a burning house. Dean tried to live up to the standards that he had set for himself when it came to protecting Sam. If he had his way, he would be with Sam 24/7 but as it was, they had this annoying thing called school.

Dean was never interesting in going to school but Dad was responsible in that respect and it really was the law that said that they had to be in school. At least there were plenty of adults to make the school appear to be safe. Like that was the case since Dean knew that there were things those teachers had no clue about.

Right now he was sitting in class and they had to write a story about anything that happened in their life. Dean could have blown it off but he had already gotten in trouble for 'nudging' a kid who was 'nudging' him. He had to stay in for the upcoming recess. It pissed him off since it was the only time he was able to meet up with Sammy and check on him. He also wanted to ask Sammy about the spelling test that he was supposed to have today since he spent the week helping his little brother learn the words and practicing.

Dean smiled in pride at his little brother. At seven Sammy could already read and write better than the kids in his class. He was good in math and science and of course he knew how to kick butt. Dean fondly remembered the times he spent reading with Sammy and teaching him how to write. They made up their own code and would leave messages for each other. It drove Dad crazy to find scraps of paper everywhere but he was proud of his boys. Thinking about the more happy thoughts, Dean decided to write about the day he taught Sammy how to throw a punch. It would probably piss the old biddy who was his teacher off but he didn't care. When Sammy was able to finally punch the dummy with the clown face he had taped to it, Dean had wanted to whoop for joy.

Picking up his pencil, Den began to write, occasionally looking at the girl next to him and flirted with her. He once got a slight tap from the old biddy and when her back was turned, he stuck his tongue out at her. The classmates who saw started tittering and Dean quickly bent over his paper to avoid being caught. When recess came, Dean crossed his arms and stared defiantly at the old biddy. He only hoped that Sammy had done all right.

Sam looked around the schoolyard for his brother Dean. He wanted to tell him that he got all the spelling words right. He knew that Dean would be proud and would probably take him for an ice cream after school. Dean usually did when Sammy brought home good grades.

Sam looked around the playground but he couldn't see Dean. He wondered if something happened to his big brother and decided to look around the playground. He went by the sandboxes first where the cute girls hung out. Sometimes Dean liked to talk to them and when he did, Sam was supposed to look cute or get lost for a little bit depending on the signal Dean sent him. He didn't find Dean there so he wandered around the places that they sometimes hung out with.

At one point Sam was starting to worry about Dean. He wasn't scared but he was lonely. Dean had never left him alone without telling him. He wandered around the playground until he was pushed by a bigger kid that had been running. Sam didn't realize that he had wandered into the middle of a basketball game and he was caught in the middle.

The kid that pushed him ended up tripping. When he got up he looked for the guy that tripped him and he saw Sam on the pavement. He walked up to him and said, "What you do that for you little punk?"

"I'm looking for my brother," Sam answered honestly.

The kid started laughing. He said to his friends, "The kid's looking for his brother. What are you a baby?"

Sam looked at the taller kid with big eyes. He was used to people being taller than he was but this kid was downright scary. He mustered up his courage though and replied, "I'm not a baby. I like being with my brother."

The kid began laughing. "What a freak!" He then beckoned to the others and they began pushing at Sam calling him a baby and a freak.

Sam tried to fight back and pushed against the kid that taunted him. "I'm not a freak! Leave me alone!"

The bully had never been pushed like that and he loomed over Sam. He motioned his friends to stand back and he asked, "You gonna make me midget?" He gave Sam a hard enough push to knock him on his rear. He laughed. "Come on midget. Make me."

Sam tried hard not to cry even though the tears threatened. Dean had always looked after him and now he wasn't here. He had to do it by himself. He knew how to throw a punch but actual fighting was beyond him.

Stand up.

Sam heard something but he wasn't sure what it was. He sat there on the ground looking up at the bully.

Stand up. It will be all right.

Sam listened to the voice in his head. It was gentle and firm. He slowly stood up with his little fists balled up. He glared up at the bully who was laughing at him. He said, "Take it back."

The bully laughed, "Forget it pipsqueak." He then turned to walk away with his friends.

Sam watched as a pencil that had fallen out of someone's pocket roll to a perfect place right under the bully's foot. He watched as the guy stepped on it and he rocked and fell over backwards. He couldn't help but laugh at the guy.

The bully stood up and glared at Sam. "You think you're pretty smart pipsqueak?" He then made a charge towards Sam.

Move to the right… Now.

Sam obeyed and the bully ran past him and fell on the ground. He looked at the bully with a surprised look. Dean had been trying to teach him how to avoid tackles and he was too slow. He stood there oblivious to the kids starting to form and shouting for a fight.

The bully stood up and dusted his palms and it was clear that he was angry. He started towards Sam. It was clear that he was going to swing a punch. Sam waited and then ducked as Dean showed him and followed through with a 1-2 punch to the kid's gut. That earned him a push where he landed on his back hard and his head bumped the ground.

Suddenly one of the teachers on duty started to break it up. One hauled Sam up to his feet as he gave his best puppy dog eyes mostly to hide the fact that he was trying not to cry from his head hitting the ground. The teacher took pity on him and let him off with a warning not to fight again. The bully was sent to the principal's office.

"So you did the 1-2 punch after ducking the douche's swing?"

"Just like you showed me Dean," Sam replied as they walked back to the motel that was home.

"Great job Sammy." Dean gave a pat to Sam's shoulder. He was proud of his little brother. He then began to tell Sam about the story he wrote in class. It was his way of apologizing for not being there. He paused to say, "Great job on the spelling test Sammy."

Sam smiled as he walked with his brother. He didn't tell Dean that someone helped him to focus. Well that he heard them in his head. Dean would think he was crazy. Sam told his brother most things but this he wanted to keep to himself. Dean told him that Mom used to say that angels were watching over them. He wondered if it really was one of those angels and if it was, she sure knew how to fight.

The boys walked past a woman wearing dark sunglasses who was heading in the opposite direction. Sam accidentally bumped her and he said, "I'm sorry."

The woman stopped and looked at the pair of boys. She smiled at Sam and said, "That's all right. No harm done."

Dean stepped to put himself between his brother and the woman. He didn't see her as a threat but it was his job to look after Sammy. He replied, "You better watch where you're going next time."

"I'll do that. You just keep looking after your brother. Everyone needs a protector." The woman smiled and then said, "You look after each other." Then she turned around and walked away.

Dean watched her before saying, "Come on Sammy. You've got homework to do."

Sam had been watching the woman and thought something was familiar about her but couldn't place it. When his brother told him to come on, he replied, "Okay Dean." He followed his brother back to the motel and the routine they established proceeded as normal.

A/N: Funny how this woman is always around when the Winchesters are and often in plain sight. You would think it would be hard to forget a pair of tawny eyes or even someone wearing dark sunglasses. *thoughtful smile*

Anyway this sheds some light on implications from Chronicles and other short pieces and I thought a non supernatural chapter during school would help. Stay tuned for the next short...