Fic, A New Direction, Part Two cont
Go Back
Sitting at a table in the corner of the bar, Adam watched as Dean pocketed another ball, making his pool opponent groan. They hadn’t had a lot of time for things like this since he’d gone on the run and, even when Sam and Dean had found the time to go to the local bars, John had stayed behind with him, insisting he needed to keep his head down for a little longer. Now, though, he’d been deemed forgotten enough about to be allowed out.
“Having fun?” Sam dropped down into a seat and slid another beer towards him.
“It’s good to be somewhere apart from motel rooms, diners and the car, yeah.”
“I hear you, man, I really do.”
He took a sip of his beer and then shrugged. “I guess I just wish you guys were around more, it gets pretty lonely.”
“Yeah, I remember when Dad used to leave me and Dean for ages, it’d-”
“You had each other, though. You had Dean to keep you company. It’s different.” Cheeks flushing, he kept his eyes fixed on the table even though he could feel Sam watching him.
“You’re right.” Sam sighed. “It is. You know we don’t like leaving you on your own, right? I mean, it sucks, we’d rather have you with us or be keeping you company.”
“All right, boys.” John clapped Sam on the back as he sat down at the table. “What are we talking about?”
Eyes widening, Adam looked up at Sam, hoping he wouldn’t say anything. He didn’t want his Dad thinking he was complaining, that he wasn’t adult enough to be able to suck it up and get used to his own company.
Sam shook his head. “Nothing much, just betting on how many more idiots are going to take Dean on before the night’s out.”
“If they bet with him after watching him play, they deserve to lose all their money.”
“That seems fair enough to me.”
“Damn right it does. You good, Adam?”
He nodded at his Dad. “I’m fine.”
“Glad to hear it.” John tilted his head towards the pool table. “Looks like they’re finishing up there, why don’t you go play with your brother for a while?”
“Are you trying to get rid of me?”
John chuckled. “No, trying to start you on the road to being a good hustler. ‘Sides, Dean takes on many more of these guys, we’re going to have to either leave or fight and then leave.”
Adam scraped his chair back across the floor, grabbing his beer before walking across towards where Dean was. A few people glanced his way and he wasn’t surprised; this place wasn’t the type of bar where college students liked to hang out and he was definitely the youngest person present. To them, it also looked like he was walking right up to a stranger who’d won every game of pool that night and challenging him which either made him really awesome or just plain stupid.
Dean didn’t smirk at the idea of playing him, though, just handed over a cue. “You ready?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m not taking any of your money, by the way. We’re playing this friendly style.”
He snorted, crossing around to the other side of the table. “Dude, I’ve got no money for you to take even if you wanted to.”
“True. Okay, you’re up first then.” This time, Dean did smirk. “Not that you’ll be there for long.”
Keeping his face straight, he pulled back the cue and took the shot, pocketing two balls in the process. He very pointedly did not laugh at the look of disbelief on Dean’s face.
~~
“I can’t believe you nearly beat him.” Sam turned back to glance at Adam for the third time since they’d started to walk back to the motel.
“Why not?” John sounded almost proud. “He’s a natural, just like you and Dean.”
“It’s not like it was my first time playing pool, you know.”
“No.” Dean shoved Adam lightly in the back and then caught up with him, walking by his side. “But it wasn’t mine either. How’d you get so good?”
He grinned. “Mom taught me to play. A friend of hers owned a bar and we used to go along during the day when it was closed and play for hours. I got good. Then, I don’t know, I got older and I started playing against people from school. It was a good way to make a little extra money.”
“See, man, you fit right in with us.” Dean smiled, slinging an arm around Adam’s shoulders. “Pool for money over fun, the ability to hold your alcohol and an appreciation of good cars. That’s actually one more thing than Sammy.”
“Thanks, Dean.” Sounding more amused than offended, Sam flipped Dean off without bothering to look back.
They fell into a comfortable silence, Adam getting used to the unfamiliar feel of his brother’s arm around him as they walked. After a minute or so, Dean pulled away and walked a little faster until he was level with Sam, murmuring something that Adam couldn’t make out to him.
“You had fun tonight, right?” John seemed more relaxed than Adam could remember him being ever since he’d first shown up in his dorm room.
Glancing sideways at his Dad, Adam grinned. “Sure, I did. It was good being somewhere other than the car or a sucky motel room.” He realised that had sounded harsh and, trying to make it appear more casual, stuck his hands in his pockets. “Crap.” He stopped walking.
“What?”
“I think left my wallet back there.”
Turning around, Dean sighed. “Okay, you and me’ll go back and look for it.”
He shook his head - he’d been the one to forget it, there was no need for Dean to trail back to the bar too. “It’s fine, I can go by myself. I’ll meet you back at the motel.” He met his Dad’s eyes. “Look, I’ve got to do something by myself at some point. It’s not a long walk - I’ll be fine.”
John nodded. “You have. Right, I’ll compromise. You go back but we’ll wait here, not at the motel. I want you to call me when you’re at the bar and if you’re not back here in twenty minutes, we’re coming looking for you.”
Twenty minutes meant he’d have to walk quickly but Adam wasn’t going to complain; this would be the first time he was outside by himself since they’d hit the road and it was a freedom he’d missed. “I’ll see you soon, then.”
Using his cell phone for light, he kept his eyes trained on the ground as he walked back towards the bar, just in case he had remembered it and it had fallen out of his pocket. Losing a little money didn’t bother him - he wasn’t really paying for much at the moment anyway - but he’d had photos in his wallet and the wallet itself had been a present from his Mom for his eighteenth birthday. He hoped it was still there.
The bar was in sight, the faint sound of music reaching his ears, when he spotted his wallet lying at the side of the road. Glad he hadn’t lost it for good, he bent down to pick it up and shouted out as a heavy weight barrelled into him.
He landed on his back, head hitting back against the ground with a thump. Dazed, he tried to sit up but hands pushed him back down again and he wasn’t strong enough. Adam continued to struggle anyway; this was his fault - he’d been the one to complain and complain until his Dad had finally given in - but he wasn’t going to give in without a fight. Managing to push his assailant back a little, he caught a glimpse of his attacker, saw black eyes that made him want to scream. Instead, he brought his head up, smashing it into the demon’s. He thought the move probably hurt him more than the thing trying to kill him but it loosened it’s hold and, adrenalin kicking in, he rolled out of the demon’s grasp and started to run.
At school, he’d never been much of a runner, hadn’t really cared about doing well in sports as long as he aced science and math and did what he needed to get into medicine. Now, all of that was useless and running was the only think that mattered right now. A shot rang out behind him but he kept on running, needing to get away because that was a freaking demon and someone - or something - was shooting behind him and he needed to survive.
He couldn’t run fast enough. Something else crashed into him from behind, knocking him once more to the ground. Face down, he had even less room to manoeuvre to fight back and he cursed, only starting to register that someone was speaking to him as he was bringing his elbow back into soft flesh.
“Fuck, kid. Come on, it’s me. Will you just stop?”
“Dean?” He relaxed a little but still struggled, wanting to stand up.
“Yeah, it’s me. If I let you go are you going to take off again?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I thought you were the demon.”
“The demon isn’t a problem anymore.” Dean’s weight lifted from his back and his brother waited until Adam had managed to stand up before glancing back in the direction they’d come from. “I shot it - with the Colt.”
“The gun Dad had?”
“Yeah, that’s the one. Only thing that’d kill that son of a bitch for good. ”
“How are you here, though?” Swaying a little, he started to walk back towards where his wallet was, trying not to look at the dead body any more than he had to. That was a human there, too, he knew; someone’s brother or son.
“Dad asked me to follow you.”
Snorting, Adam glanced at Dean. “He was never going to let me go alone, was he?”
“Course not - that would have been stupid. Good job, too. Are you hurt?”
He grabbed his wallet and straightened back up slowly, trying not to fall over. “Head hurts a little bit.”
“Yeah, well, you did try to knock a demon out with it.” Dean pulled him in for a hug before Adam could protest, murmuring in his ear. “You’ve got a hard head, man, but not that hard.”
Laughing, he didn’t even try to act irritated and leaned into his brother for a moment. “I didn’t have a lot of other options.”
“I know. You did good, kid.” Dean moved back and started walking along the road, gesturing for Adam to follow.
“Do we just leave the body?”
“Usually we’d salt and burn him but someone must have heard that shot, we’ve got to move quickly so we’ll just take the risk, hope we don’t have to come back in a couple of months to deal with a spirit.”
Adam wanted to ask more questions but his head was pounding and he felt like he was going to throw up so he stayed quiet. He didn’t know what to ask first, anyway. There were too many new things, thoughts and scenarios playing out in his mind and the one thing that was standing out was that if Dean hadn’t been there he’d probably be dead but he didn’t want to say that out loud.
“Hey.” Dean nudged him. “You’ve gone quiet.”
“Yeah.”
“You’re safe now - a little banged up, maybe - but safe. That’s the important thing, okay? Not the what ifs I know you’re thinking about right now.”
Adam shrugged.
“Look, kid, I - there they are.”
He looked up to see their Dad and Sam hurrying towards them, the worry on their faces becoming clearer as they got closer and then he was being pulled towards John and into a hug.
“What happened?” John’s voice was right next to Adam’s ear but Adam could tell the question was being directed at Dean.
“The demon - thing came out of nowhere and attacked Adam. It’s dead now. Adam’s probably a little concussed -he decided to smash his head into the demon’s - but he’s okay, just shocked, I think.”
“Okay. We’ve got to get out of here. Sam, Dean - you go on ahead and pack up. I’ll stick with Adam.”
John’s hold loosened slightly and Adam stepped back, watching as his brother’s set off back towards the motel at a jog. They’d had to leave town in a hurry a few times before and he knew that, by the time he and his Dad got back, their bags would already be waiting in the impala, the engine running. The Winchesters were efficient at the whole going on the run thing.
“You fought back.”
“What?”
John’s hand stayed on Adam’s shoulder as they started to walk. “You fought back against the demon - your head.”
“Wasn’t going to just lie there and let it kill me.”
“No. No, I guess not.”
Adam was quiet for a moment and then he looked sideways at his Dad. “Why didn’t you just say I couldn’t go alone? That Dean had to go with me instead of having him follow me?”
John sighed. “Because you - well, we all - had a good time tonight. I didn’t want to ruin that by arguing with you. I mean, if nothing had happened, you wouldn’t have known - you’d have had the freedom without any of the risk.”
“I guess that makes sense.” He couldn’t bring himself to be angry at the deception now, not when it had probably saved his life.
“Yeah.” John squeezed his shoulder and then let go. “You know, the reason I stayed away all those years was so you could have that freedom. I hated it, not being there for you, but it meant you could be a normal kid, that you could be happy. That’s what I wanted for all of you boys and you’re the only one I could try to give it to. Not that it lasted.”
Adam nodded. “But you tried. Thank you, for that.”
~~
Adam wasn’t sure how long they’d been driving for when he woke up, neck aching because of the way he’d been positioned while sleeping. It was light, though, and it had been dark when he went to sleep, which meant he’d been out for a least a couple of hours. He’d have to ask his Dad to please, next time he had a bump on the head, make sure he was woken up every hour in case he was concussed.
Pushing himself up so he was sitting straighter, he saw that Sam was driving, Dean asleep in the passenger seat. He looked out of the window, trying to work out where they were but all he could see was fields and miles and miles of road ahead of them.
“How’s your head?” Sam glanced over his shoulder quickly, shooting him a grin, and then returned his eyes to the road.
Gingerly touching the bump on his forehead from where he’d hit the ground, Adam snorted. “Sore. How long have we been driving.”
“About seven hours. If I know Dad, he’ll keep us going for a couple more before we can stop and rest.”
“Great.”
Sam laughed. “Go back to sleep if you want.”
He shook his head. “Don’t think I’d be able to anyway. Where are we heading?”
“Bobby’s.”
Adam had heard the name mentioned a lot since he’d been reunited with his Dad, another hunter who seemed to be a very good friend of the family’s, a sort of uncle to Sam and Dean. He’d been curious about the guy but now he knew they were actually heading towards him, he wished they weren’t. He wasn’t anything to Bobby, just some kid John had kept hidden like a dirty secret for years, and meeting the man, seeing him with his brothers, would be just another reminder of how far he still had to go to fully fit in with the Winchesters.
“Hey, Adam?”
“Yeah?”
“If you want to talk about what happened last night, then it’s okay, you know? I mean, you saw your first kill and-”
“It wasn’t the first. Might have been the first demon but it wasn’t the first human I saw dead.”
“Right. Yeah, I’m sorry - I didn’t mean to upset you. I just thought it might help you to talk about it.”
“Well, it won’t.”
Sam shook his head, hands gripping the wheel a little tighter. “You’re just as stubborn as Dean.”
He didn’t bother to answer that. What was the point in talking about things? It wouldn’t stop him from remembering James, from wondering whether he could have stopped it if he’d just turned around a second sooner or walked back to his dorm using another route. It wouldn’t change the fact that he was on the run, wanted for murder. Talking wouldn’t change a damn thing, only make him think about it even more and he didn’t want to.
“I don’t want to fall out with you, Adam.” Sam spoke so quietly that Adam would have thought his brother was murmuring to himself if he hadn’t used his name.
“So talk about something else then.”
There was a moment’s silence and then Sam nodded. “Did Dad ever tell you about the Marines?”
~~
The motel where they had stopped to rest was a bit cleaner than the ones they normally stayed in, the welcome at the desk a little friendlier and a little less suspicious. Still tired, though, Adam hardly noticed the conditions as he waited for John to book them into some rooms.
“Planning on moving any time today?”
Adam looked up to see Dean smirking at him. “What?”
“Rooms are ready.” Dean pointed to the corridor, which John and Sam were already heading down. “Think you’d be more comfortable sleeping in there than out here.”
“Sorry, I’m just tired.”
“No, really?”
“Sarcasm.” Adam fell into step alongside Dean as they walked after John and Sam. “Great. It’s okay for you, you didn’t get knocked in the head by a demon last night.”
“No, I didn’t. How’s your head feeling, anyway?” Dean glanced sideways at him, looking concerned.
“It’s fine, I guess.” He heard but chose to ignore Dean’s noise of disbelief as they walked inside the motel room.
Sitting on one of the beds, John nodded towards Dean. “Close the door behind you, will you? We all need to talk.”
Adam sighed. “Look, if you’re going to do the whole ‘Adam can’t be by himself for one single second’ thing again, I get it so-”
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“Oh. Okay.” Shrugging, he leaned back against the wall and waited for his Dad to continue.
“I do want to talk about last night, though.” John looked from Sam to Dean then back to Adam, making sure he had their full attention before continuing. “What happened last night shouldn’t have happened. Adam came close to getting really hurt, even though we knew that the demon was after him. But he’s right, there can’t be one of us with him all of the time; it wouldn’t be fair on any of us and, as last night proved, it doesn’t mean threats still won’t get at him. So we need to find another way to work things.”
“We don’t have a whole lot of options.” Dropping down onto the other bed in the room, Sam snorted. “Sorry to point out the obvious.”
John nodded. “You’re right, we don’t. Which is why Adam’s going to start his training first thing tomorrow.”
Adam stood up straighter. “What?”
“I think you proved last night that you’re capable of looking after yourself but that survival instinct will only take you so far. If you’re going to be on the road with us, I’m going to make sure you’re equipped with everything you need to give you the best possible chance, okay?”
“I can stay?”
“Course you can stay, kid.” Dean clapped him in the shoulder. “What? You thought as soon as the demon was sorted we’d just let you wander off into the distance on your own?”
John cleared his throat. “Dean’s right. You’re family and I dragged you into this mess, we’re not going to leave you in peace that easy. What do you say?”
Looking at his Dad, his brothers, Adam knew what he was signing up for; a life on the road, on the run, risking his life every day. Saving people, protecting people like his Mom who didn’t know what was really out there. It wasn’t how he’d imagined his life going but, maybe, it was the next best thing.
Back to masterpost
I want to say a huge thank you to mandraco, who not only produced some amazing art for this fic but who was also very understanding and made the process so fun (loved the cartoons, mandraco! Thanks must also go to ishilde for being wonderful as always and beta-reading this for me. And a final thank you to everyone at the spn_adambang community, particularly _bluebells, ladyknightanka and synnerxx for making this challenge such a fun experience.