Soldier Boy

Chapter Ten

When Sam got to school on Monday, he raced to his and Barry's agreed meeting place, leaving Dean behind with Castiel. Cas was super anxious about his test, but they all knew he'd pass.

Barry was waiting by Sam's locker, as expected. Sam had already thought up a plan of how to become Dirk's friend. Really, it was quite simple. Be nice to him during class, get anyone they heard saying 'Dirk the jerk' to shut up, and apologize to him after class for all of the douchebags in the school. Simple, but effective.

"I really don't want to do this, Sam," Barry whined after learning the plan, already knowing he'd get beat up or thrown in a trash can for telling someone off about 'Dirk the jerk'.

"Listen, Barry, no one'll mess with you. People are scared of me and of my older brother. If someone messes with you, they're messing with me, and, by extension, my brother. No one wants that, trust me. You'll be fine," Sam reassured his friend, knowing it was true. Only girls weren't scared of the Winchester boys, and Sam highly doubted a girl would throw Barry in a trash can- though they could. Barry was pretty scrawny.

"Fine, but if I get beat up, I'm blaming you." Barry sulked, following Sam to their homeroom with Mr. Wyatt- also their English teacher.

"You can blame me, Barry," Sam agreed amusedly, knowing the kid would if he actually did get a beating. Of course, Sam would ensure he didn't. Barry was his friend, after all.

Not too far in to class, kids started making fun of Dirk. "Hey, cut it out!" Sam hissed at the kid next to him, taking the paper ball he was about to throw at Dirk.

Dirk barely noticed though, his head buried in his arms, hiding from the others. Sam wondered what his life was like at home. Barry had to deal with newly divorced parents fighting over custody and depression. What was Dirk's story? Everyone had one. Sam's and Dean's mom died when they were young and their dad spent more time away than with them. Castiel's mom died, his oldest brother chased out the second oldest, and the fourth oldest ran away. Jo's dad died halfway across the world, fighting in a war when she was only a baby. Andy and Ansem had no idea who their birth mother was. Kevin's dad died when he was young, leaving him with only a ring. Alex, Sheriff Jody Mills's adopted daughter, had no blood family left. Bobby's wife was gruesomely murdered, and no one knows who did it to this day.

What was Dirk's tragedy?

Were his parents unhappily married? Abusive parent? Dead parent? Absent parent? Horrible sibling or siblings? No parents? Was he a foster kid? The possibilities were endless, and Sam wished he could comfort the other boy.

After Sam told the kid to stop, the rest stopped too, all sending him confused looks. After class, Dirk was slow to collect his things, and Barry and Sam matched his pace. Well, Sam did. Barry quickly packed his things and waited for Sam.

"What, you gonna beat me up again, Winchester?" Dirk asked, sounding like he'd let Sam beat the snot out of him instead of putting up a fight.

"No. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for calling you 'Dirk the Jerk'. You don't deserve to be treated like how you treated Barry," Sam said, and at his last statement, Dirk flinched.

"Yeah, sorry about that, Barry," Dirk murmured, and Sam saw Dirk's eyes glisten over with tears, but he didn't mention it. Barry stared in wonder at Dirk, clearly shocked.

"Um, I'm sorry too, Dirk," Barry murmured, genuine and honest. He'd been just as mean.

"So can we all be friends?" Sam asked, sending a friendly smile to Dirk. Dirk nodded, smiling back slightly. Then his smile fell, looking to Barry with hope. Barry nodded tentatively, and Dirk smiled again.

"Boys, get to your next class," Mr. Wyatt reminded lightly, smiling. All three boys scuttled out of the class, hurrying to their next classes. Sam was proud of himself. No one should get bullied, and Sam had corrected what he'd done. He wouldn't be able to sleep very well if he'd caused Dirk to be bullied like Barry had been. It wasn't fair or right, and Sam didn't want to be the cause of someone else's depression for any reason.

At lunch, Sam invited Dirk to sit with him. Barry had been surprisingly welcoming, Andy had just welcomed him with a smile, and Ansem followed Andy's lead, smiling awkwardly. Jake gave him a fist-bump, Kate smiled sweetly at the boy, and Lily greeted him nicely. Kevin had been awkward due to the fact he was unaware of this morning's developments, the others having at least heard about it through the gossip vines. Jess didn't acknowledge Dirk much, too busy glaring at Kevin for the events at the sleepover. She'd been unable to attend, along with Kate and Lily, due to the fact they were girls, but she had heard about it not too long after from Sam, and she was pissed at Kevin for Sam. The others hadn't heard about it yet, Andy not getting to spread the amazing news yet. He wanted to do it with everyone at the table- he forgot Dean would be there. With that plan sunk, Andy was almost sad.

Dean had been downright hostile towards Dirk until Sam had told him to cut it out. Castiel had smirked behind his sandwich, covering his amusement by eating while Anna, Balthazar, and Jo had started giggling over Sam snapping at his brother in defense of the ex-bully. Charlie had smiled proudly, Ash had given Sam a fist-bump, and Benny remained quiet, staring at the table. Bela had smirked with amusement.

Sam had rolled his eyes at his brother's friends, returning Ash's fist-bump, and Dean turned his glare on his giggling friends. At least he isn't glaring at Dirk, Sam thought to himself, mentally shrugging. They knew what they were getting into when they befriended Dean. Dirk was still new to this group. He didn't deserve to receive glares from his justifiably terrifying older brother.

"So, Dirk, how are you today?" Charlie asked sweetly, smiling at the freshman.

"Better than usual," Dirk answered honestly, blushing. He wasn't used to kids being nice to him. Not in a while, at least.

"How many strays will this table be taking in, anyhow?" Bela asked mock-curiously, raising an eyebrow while examining her nails. Sam glared at the attractive, older girl. She really got on Sam's nerves sometimes.

"Bela, hush. Leave the poor kid alone," Jo ordered, her voice brooking no argument with her gorgeous best friend. "What? It was a simple question. This table seems to have a hard time turning away all the lost souls," Bela defended herself innocently, battling her eyelashes at her friend, who just rolled her eyes.

"I like strays," Ash stated simply, smiling. Bela bit back a comment about how he would like them since he was one; Jo might just kill her for that kind of comment. Ash might be protective of Jo, but Jo was just as protective and twice as dangerous. It didn't matter how close the girls were- Jo loved Ash more.

"I'd adopt a stray animal," Charlie stated, grinning.

"Charlie, you'd adopt a cricket," Dean teased, and Charlie threw the bread roll from the school-provided lunch at him.

That thing hurt when it hit him soundly in the face.