Dean does his best to ignore the staring as best as he can, simply for Sam's sake. No need to go freakijng him out and undoing how far they'd come. However, he sends the room a silent glare that plainly asks 'What the hell are you lot looking at?' It's got enough subtle threat for most to turn away.
Of course, there's always some morons in a room.
He sits Sam in a booth away from the majority of the crowd, sitting himself the other side to watch the room in his peripheral. The waitress comes over, looking reluctant to serve the two. But it's her job, and she's doing it. She greets them with a too-sweet smile and a too-perky tone to her voice, trying to act like Sam's weird behaviour wasn't bothering her and failing. "Hi, what're you having?" and yet Dean heard Hurry and order so I can go. Mind you, he's currently in a state of suspicious hyper-awareness, which probably isn't helping.
Getting from the Impala to the diner is a struggle, but Sam tries. He keeps his hand on his brother, relying on him to keep him steady. His head down, Sam doesn’t appear to notice the stares or furitive whispers. ‘Silent Sam’ they called him. Once they slide into a booth far removed from the noise of the kitchen, he relaxes, letting go of Dean’s arm.
He gives the waitress a guilless smile, clearly the message of ‘oh hi, pleasegoaway’ not registering. The pictures on the menu capture his attention and Sam stares, forgetting everything around him. His fingers trace over the bright colors, entranced, even if he doesn’t exactly understand what it is he’s looking at.
A muttered comment from a nearby table about giving the mutie a coloring book is completely lost on him.
But it's not missed by Dean. He suppresses a frustrated growl, and scans his menu. "Coffee, water, salad, cheeseburger." He says sharply, handing the menu back. He's also partially wondering if this is such a good idea. Maybe he should have waited... but no. Sam taking th initiative on eating was another breakthrough, so it's still a fan-freaking-tastic idea.
It's not his fault if they're surrounded by assholes.
The waitress moves to take the menu from Sam, but Dean holds up a hand. "It's fine, leave it with him." He gives her the best charming smile he can manage in her direction. She's gone, and dean leans over towards Sam.
"What'cha looking at, Sammy?" Forget everyone else. Focus on Sam. That's all he's gotta do.
The colors and shapes are familiar, and Sam runs his fingers along them. Square waffle, round cup of coffee. He might not understand what they are, but something about the images is pleasing and his faint smile returns, his eyes moving around and alive. Ordinarily the excitement would prove to be too much and he’d withdraw, or they’d find him in one of the smaller rooms of the house, huddled in on himself, tears leaking down his face. But the ride in the Impala seemed to give him some sort of a boost, a vital energy he’d been missing for years.
Lunch is delivered quickly and Sam picks up his fork. He’s seen this before. In short, uncoordinated movements, he stabs a piece of lettuce and brings it to his mouth. “Eat,” he muttered. “Eat.”
Despite himself, he has to laugh. It's not even been out half a minute and he's being told off for not eating yet. "Yeah, yeah, I'm eating, Sammy." He picks up the burger and with a small eyeroll, he tucks in.
He watches Sam handling the Salad without trying to make it too obvious that's what he's doing. He's glad that Sam's engaging, wondering why the hell he didn't think to take Sam out in the car before. Makes sense it would help.
“Dean.” There’s a quiet note of contentment in his voice. Like it was something he’d been missing without even being aware of it. Sitting with his brother. There’s a crash from the kitchen, a dropped skillet or something and a barrage of curses from behind the swinging door. The sudden noise startles Sam badly and he drops his fork, eyes going distant and panicky. His knuckles go white as his hand tightens around the amulet.
“D-d-d..”
Another snide comment from the nearby table. The giant isn’t a mutie. He stutters. Or maybe he’s retarted.
This time, he does growl in frustration, throwing a poisonous look over to the other table. Then it smoothes as he turns his attention to Sam, putting a gentle hand around Sam's. Touch was usually the way forward. "Sam, it's okay."
He mutters a curse. Okay, time's up. He tries getting a waitress's attention, but fails due to them trying to see what's going on in the kitchen or serving other diners. "Shit. Okay. Sam? I'm gonna go get this to go. It won't take long. just..." He tries to decide. Leave Sam here, possibly to freak, or lumber him everywhere? what does he do? He starts moving from the table. "Sam? you wanna go wait in the car?" He's... kind of hopping yes. He might calm down in the car while Dean gets the food. Maybe enough to start eating again.
The mention of the car helps and Sam gives a jerky sort of nod. “B-b-baby.” It’s too much in the diner, his already fragile state getting rapidly overwhelmed with noise and chaos and it’s all blending into blood and fire. “Dean.” He’s shaky as he gets to his feet, jostling the nearby table. Sam’s eyes are going distant, retreating into himself at the indignant sounds of protest
( ... )
By the time the protest reaches his ears, he's already all but tapping his foot in impatient frustration. He turns and sees the girl, and more importantly, the three guys. He's out of the diner without paying, and putting himself squarely between Sam and the girl and the guys. To get to sam, They literally will have to go through him. He turns briefly to her, giving her a quick smile in her direction even though he's not taking his eyes off the other three. "Thanks, sweetie. you did real good. Now go inside."
"Come on, guys. Bring it the hell on, unless you're too chickenshit fight someone that can actually fight back." As he's taunting, his fist's already ready at his side, he's tensed and ready to go. It's all a question of who the first punch is thrown by. If they hadn't settled down in this area, it would have been him, no qualms about it, but having settled, he wants to see if he can taunt him into the first punch. Why? Then it's self-defence.
“They tried to take away his necklace,” the little girl said before dashing back inside to her family. The poor man’s brother was there. He’d be okay. If he wasn’t, she’d tell Mommy to call the sherrif.
Sam, for his part, is unaware of what’s going on around him, the only sound is the slow thunk of his head against the car door. If he could find his voice, he’d be keening in distress. They had tried to take it away, tried to take away the amulet and that was Dean and if they did, he’d be lost. Dean wouldn’t be able to find him.
“Stupid stuttering freak, he took a swing at Tommy, think he broke his nose!”
A slow, cold smile creeps over his face. There's nothing good or kind about it. "Oh, trust me. I'm going to do a lot more than that."
Hearing he tried to take the amulet was enough to push him over the edge of waiting for the first punch. He took a single step forward, closing the distance between him and the guys easily. there's little warning before delivering a powerful right hook to the guy that dared call his brother a freak, following it up with a cross that had all of his muscle and weight behind. Both found their mark with a satisfying crunch of bone and a snap of the jaw.
"I really don't like bullies. Especially ones who pick on people who can't. Fight. Back." The words are punctuated with yet another kick or blow to the three. He's taking hits, but giving out two, three times as many. All of his hate to them, and pretty much all of his frustrations towards everything to do with this situation are pouring out into the fight.
“Dean! Dean!” Jodi throws herself into the fight, hanging on his arm before he can land another blow. She might be a slightly built sherrif, but Jodi Mills was strong enough to stop the punch from connecting. “Dean, stop. You made your point.”
“Annie told me what happened. Now you get your brother and get outta here.” She blows out her breath and surveys the three groaning, badly beaten men. “Think we can call this a lesson learned here. Word of advice? Don’t leave Sam alone, okay? Oh Jesus. Sam.” Kneeling down, she tries to stop him from hurting himself further.
It was too much. Sam’s eyes were dull and empty, still hitting his head against the car. The pain doesn’t even register, not really.
She stops his punch, and he stands there for a good few seconds, breathing heavily. Then it's llike a switch flips, kicking his brain back into gear and bending down to Sam. He pulls his head away from the car, pulls it into his chest, restraining him with gentle hands that were moments ago all too nearly lethal weapons. "Stop, Sammy. stop it. Please."
Not letting him move from there until he was sure Sam would quit, he looks up to Jodi with him still tucked against his chest. "Next time they come near him, I'll kill 'em." there's nothing but deadly promise in his eyes... and then it passes, like clouds across the sky. But the sky is slightly washed out, tired. "Is Annie the little girl?"
“I’m pretty sure they’ve figured that out without me having to clear it up,” she answered with a wry look. Her expression softened a bit as she watched Dean gather his brother close, smoothing his hair down and speaking quietly to him. No one really said what happened to Sam and it was a damned shame to see the young man in such a terrible state.
His outlet gone, Sam lays passively against his shoulder, tears leaking down his cheeks. They had tried to take Dean. He didn’t want to get lost. Not again.
“Yeah, little firebrand that one. She told me they started in on Sam. Take him home Dean. Go take care of your brother.”
About that time, Annie had slipped out and crept up to where the two men were huddled on the ground. Her eyes were wide and sympathetic as she looked from Sam to Dean. “Is he sad? I told them to leave him alone. He wasn’t doing anything.”
He's trying not to let the fear and sadness at the possibility that all the progress Sam had made had just been undone in one fell swoop. He turns his attention to the little girl who's crept up next to them, offering a small smile. "I saw. Thank you." and he sighs softly, wondering how to explain even slightly. "Yeah, he's a little bit sad because they tried to take his necklace. He had... an accident a while ago, hurt his head, which is why he's... different. I gave it to him not long after that, and it's just really special to him. us, even - it used to be mine. He's upset they tried to take it." It's not all strictly true, but close enough.
He smooths Sam's hair again. "I'll take him in a minute. I want to calm him down first."
"That happened to my big brother. He got hurt in the Army. He's sad a lot too." Annie reaches to pat Sam's hair. "I'm sorry you got hurt. Hey, wait." She pulls off the long chain she wears around her neck and offers it to Sam. "That way you always have two. If.. if you want. My Mommy comes here every week. Maybe if those bad men aren't here, you can come back?"
There's a long silence until Sam slowly extends his hand to take the chain. He takes a long, shaky breath and leans into his brother.
Of course, there's always some morons in a room.
He sits Sam in a booth away from the majority of the crowd, sitting himself the other side to watch the room in his peripheral. The waitress comes over, looking reluctant to serve the two. But it's her job, and she's doing it. She greets them with a too-sweet smile and a too-perky tone to her voice, trying to act like Sam's weird behaviour wasn't bothering her and failing. "Hi, what're you having?" and yet Dean heard Hurry and order so I can go. Mind you, he's currently in a state of suspicious hyper-awareness, which probably isn't helping.
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He gives the waitress a guilless smile, clearly the message of ‘oh hi, pleasegoaway’ not registering. The pictures on the menu capture his attention and Sam stares, forgetting everything around him. His fingers trace over the bright colors, entranced, even if he doesn’t exactly understand what it is he’s looking at.
A muttered comment from a nearby table about giving the mutie a coloring book is completely lost on him.
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It's not his fault if they're surrounded by assholes.
The waitress moves to take the menu from Sam, but Dean holds up a hand. "It's fine, leave it with him." He gives her the best charming smile he can manage in her direction. She's gone, and dean leans over towards Sam.
"What'cha looking at, Sammy?" Forget everyone else. Focus on Sam. That's all he's gotta do.
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Lunch is delivered quickly and Sam picks up his fork. He’s seen this before. In short, uncoordinated movements, he stabs a piece of lettuce and brings it to his mouth. “Eat,” he muttered. “Eat.”
“Dean?” He points at the untouched burger. “Eat.”
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He watches Sam handling the Salad without trying to make it too obvious that's what he's doing. He's glad that Sam's engaging, wondering why the hell he didn't think to take Sam out in the car before. Makes sense it would help.
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“D-d-d..”
Another snide comment from the nearby table. The giant isn’t a mutie. He stutters. Or maybe he’s retarted.
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He mutters a curse. Okay, time's up. He tries getting a waitress's attention, but fails due to them trying to see what's going on in the kitchen or serving other diners. "Shit. Okay. Sam? I'm gonna go get this to go. It won't take long. just..." He tries to decide. Leave Sam here, possibly to freak, or lumber him everywhere? what does he do? He starts moving from the table. "Sam? you wanna go wait in the car?" He's... kind of hopping yes. He might calm down in the car while Dean gets the food. Maybe enough to start eating again.
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"Come on, guys. Bring it the hell on, unless you're too chickenshit fight someone that can actually fight back." As he's taunting, his fist's already ready at his side, he's tensed and ready to go. It's all a question of who the first punch is thrown by. If they hadn't settled down in this area, it would have been him, no qualms about it, but having settled, he wants to see if he can taunt him into the first punch. Why? Then it's self-defence.
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Sam, for his part, is unaware of what’s going on around him, the only sound is the slow thunk of his head against the car door. If he could find his voice, he’d be keening in distress. They had tried to take it away, tried to take away the amulet and that was Dean and if they did, he’d be lost. Dean wouldn’t be able to find him.
“Stupid stuttering freak, he took a swing at Tommy, think he broke his nose!”
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Hearing he tried to take the amulet was enough to push him over the edge of waiting for the first punch. He took a single step forward, closing the distance between him and the guys easily. there's little warning before delivering a powerful right hook to the guy that dared call his brother a freak, following it up with a cross that had all of his muscle and weight behind. Both found their mark with a satisfying crunch of bone and a snap of the jaw.
"I really don't like bullies. Especially ones who pick on people who can't. Fight. Back." The words are punctuated with yet another kick or blow to the three. He's taking hits, but giving out two, three times as many. All of his hate to them, and pretty much all of his frustrations towards everything to do with this situation are pouring out into the fight.
He kind of doesn't want to stop.
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“Annie told me what happened. Now you get your brother and get outta here.” She blows out her breath and surveys the three groaning, badly beaten men. “Think we can call this a lesson learned here. Word of advice? Don’t leave Sam alone, okay? Oh Jesus. Sam.” Kneeling down, she tries to stop him from hurting himself further.
It was too much. Sam’s eyes were dull and empty, still hitting his head against the car. The pain doesn’t even register, not really.
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Not letting him move from there until he was sure Sam would quit, he looks up to Jodi with him still tucked against his chest. "Next time they come near him, I'll kill 'em." there's nothing but deadly promise in his eyes... and then it passes, like clouds across the sky. But the sky is slightly washed out, tired. "Is Annie the little girl?"
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His outlet gone, Sam lays passively against his shoulder, tears leaking down his cheeks. They had tried to take Dean. He didn’t want to get lost. Not again.
“Yeah, little firebrand that one. She told me they started in on Sam. Take him home Dean. Go take care of your brother.”
About that time, Annie had slipped out and crept up to where the two men were huddled on the ground. Her eyes were wide and sympathetic as she looked from Sam to Dean. “Is he sad? I told them to leave him alone. He wasn’t doing anything.”
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He smooths Sam's hair again. "I'll take him in a minute. I want to calm him down first."
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There's a long silence until Sam slowly extends his hand to take the chain. He takes a long, shaky breath and leans into his brother.
Home. He wants to go home.
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