The Barrier (A Destiel AU)

Chapter 3

1979

John was obsessed with trying to get past the Barrier to Michael.

For days, he stood for hours and hours imagining himself crossing into the grim forest before him but nothing happens. Nothing will.

He has cried more than he has ever in his life, feeling crazy and impulsive, and his family is starting to notice.
His mother sees the dark circles under John's eyes when he comes down for breakfast every morning, leaving without so much as a goodbye. His Uncle Bobby knows what had happened but John wasn't talking to him anymore, ever since Bobby told him that there was no way back across the Barrier. John knew it wasn't his Uncles fault, but he could control his emotions anymore.

John was flunking school, his grades an average D-. His friends were worried about him and so were the teachers but no one knew where to find John. There were rumors of some kids spotting John walking near the forest and some claimed to have witnessed him cross into the darkness. Most of these rumors were shot down because who would be crazy enough to enter the forest?

If only they knew the truth of what was going on inside of John Winchester.

2000

The day the Winchester's moved in was a drizzly Monday and now, a week later, it was still raining and Dean hadn't met anyone his own age. In the past week, John had dragged his sons around the tiny town, showing them where they would be attending school in the fall, nice hang out places, even the market. The only people they had met on the way were John's old buddies and older people who had once taught him or helped him. Everyone embraced John like a lost brother, excited that he had moved back. Pamela Jenkins, an older woman who ran the tattoo parlor, told Sam and Dean about the good ole' days when John and Pam had been "star-crossed lovers" to which John simply rolled his eyes and denied the accusation. On the way out, Pam whispered into Dean's ear, "If you ever wanna tat, I'll do it for free, just don't tell your daddy."

Dean had just smiled- no way was he marking his body with those crazy demonic symbols Pamela had all over her arms and neck.

A man named Caleb owns the Clearwater Mart and told them about when John and him were young and lived across the street from one another. John had been thrown into a lapse of nostalgia, Dean could tell, as his eyes glazed over.

An old lady named Martha owned the library with her granddaughter Eva, who was around Sam's age. Eva had tattoos and piercings and talked with a sultry voice which interested Sam who weirdly had a thing for bad girls.

The best part was when John took them to the Roadhouse, where John's Uncle Bobby spent most of his time after his wife Ellen died. He had a daughter named Jo who was Dean's age and right away they hit it off. Jo seemed to be a real tomboy and she liked talking about her gun collection. Uncle Bobby, who was in his late 40's, edging on 50, was really cool and both Sam and Dean instantly liked him. Bobby was like John- kind, wise and a hardass. He was gruffer and called them idgits most of the time but John looked at him like a father. The only thing about Bobby that seemed off was the look in his eyes. He looked like he was constantly in pain, which concerned Dean for a bit but maybe it was just mental pain from losing his wife.

A woman named Jody seemed to be interested in Bobby though and Dean thinks to himself that maybe Jody can help his Uncle out of the sadness he had been thrown into,

Dean started to wonder if he would ever meet some kids his age while Sam, on the other hand, was a chick magnet. The girl across the street, Jessica Moore, was infatuated with the nerd. So was Eva, the librarian's granddaughter, a girl named Ruby who Sam met at the store and this other one who Dean hadn't got the details of yet. They all loved the little dork. Well, not little. Sam was only 14 going on 15 and he was already 6 feet tall. He wasn't weird looking, he was actually incredibly handsome and only slightly lanky, but he was substantially taller than most kids his age and that drew a lot of a attention, even from older men and woman which bothered Dean to the point of glaring at them until they looked away, ashamed. He went over to Jessica's house almost every day, insisting that her basement was the "coolest place to hang out these days" which meant the Winchester's house was boring as hell.