Beyond The Edge

Chapter 1

Sam woke up early to go for a run before school. After slipping his shoes on he calls to Sebastian who promptly appears on his shoulder in the shape of a ferret. Sam walks out of the house and to the end of the block before slipping in his ear buds and beginning to run towards the lake.
It only takes Sam about twenty minutes to run the three miles to the lake. When he gets to the edge of the water he stops for a few moments to let Sebastian go into the water to cool off. When Sebastian lands back on Sam's shoulder, Sam turns around and begins to run again. Getting lost in the feeling of running, Sam doesn't notice his surroundings, nor the man standing along the edge of the road. Sam runs into the man with enough force to knock him down.
Surprised, Sam hesitates for a moment trying to figure out what happened before reaching down to help the man up. Pulling out his ear buds Sam says, "I am so sorry. I wasn't paying attention and didn't see you standing there. Usually there is nobody out this early, much less around here. Are you okay?" He gives the man a concerned look.
"Thanks," the man says when Sam helps him up. "Yeah I'm fine, just a little sore. Not your fault, I should have moved when I saw you coming," he answers rubbing his side.
"Once again I am so sorry." Sam looks at the man closely for the first time. He has shoulder length golden hair and eyes that could only be described as the color of sunshine through a glass of whiskey. The man is quite a bit shorter than Sam. He is thin but looks very muscular.
Realizing he is staring, Sam blushes brightly. He holds out his hand, "My name is Sam."
The man takes his hand and shakes it. "Nice to meet you Sam, my name is Gabriel," he replies.
"Are you new here? I don't think I've ever seen you before."
"Yeah, my family just moved in last week. Today was the first day I have gotten away from my siblings." Gabriel's face brightens as he talks about his family.
Sam smiles. "Do you have many siblings?" he asks.
"Yeah. I have two sisters and eight brothers. All of my siblings except two brothers are younger than me. My oldest brother is twenty and my youngest sister is five." His smile widens when he mentions his sister. "Sorry, I'm not sure why I'm telling a stranger all this," he says suddenly.
"It's okay, I don't mind. You are lucky to have such a big family. It's only me, my brother, and my father. My mother died in a fire before my first birthday."
"I'm sorry to hear that. My mother passed away almost three years ago from cancer." Gabriel looks at the ground, his smile gone.
"I'm so sorry." Sam looks down resisting the urge to hug the smaller man.
"It's alright, you learn to live with it after a while."
Sam opens his mouth to speak when his phone starts buzzing. Confused, Sam pulls it out of his pocket to see why it is going off. When he turns the screen on he sees that it is already 6:30am. "Shit, I gotta go. I still need to get ready for school. Will you be at school today? That is, if you are still in school," Sam asks, trying not to sound too hopeful.
"Yeah I will. Maybe I will see you there." He smiles and winks before turning and walking away.
Face flaming, Sam smiles before putting his ear buds back in and running back home. Sam is only about a quarter of the way home when he realizes that Sebastian has disappeared. Reaching out with his mind he says to Sebastian, "Where did you disappear to?"
"I got bored of you running so I jumped back home," he replies.
"Oh okay. Can you let me know if Dean or dad wake up before I get back?"
"Of course Sam. Be safe." With that Sebastian severs their link. Sam can sense that he is hiding something but he doesn't push the subject, knowing that Sebastian will tell him when he is ready.
Sam arrives home in a record time of twelve minutes. When he walks into the house, a quick check tells him that Dean is still sleeping. Rolling his eyes at his brother's laziness, he walks to Dean's room and knocks on his door. He yells "Get up!" as loud as he can without disturbing his father. Sam waits until he hears a groan before walking to his room to grab a change of clothes and heads to the shower.
When he gets out, Dean is sitting in the kitchen drinking a cup of coffee. "Mornin' Sammy," he says with a yawn.
"Morning Dean. Got football practice after school today?" Sam replies while pouring himself some tea.
"Yeah, it's our last practice before our first game tomorrow so it won't get over until about seven tonight. You can come watch if you want or make other arrangements to get home."
"Okay, I might go to the library after track. I'll text you what I decide later." Finishing his tea he asks, "Ready to go yet?"
"Yeah." Dean stands up, grabbing his backpack and keys before walking outside. Ashton flies out after him in his usual shape of a raven.
"You coming Seb?" Sam asks mentally.
"Nah, I don't feel like sitting through class today. I might come in at lunch."
"Okay, stay out of trouble." Sam grabs his ackpack and walks outside to find Dean sitting in their father's '67 Chevy Impala.
Sliding into the passenger's seat he asks, "Does dad know you are taking the Impala?"
"Yeah, he isn't going anywhere today so he gave me the keys last night." Dean starts driving towards the school.
Only a few minutes later they are pulling into the parking lot reserved for seniors.
They both exit the car with their bags. Once they get inside the school they go down their separate hallways. On the way to his locker, Sam scans the faces in the freshman hall looking for Gabriel, as he never asked what grade he is in. Not seeing him anywhere Sam grabs his laptop and books before heading to first period.
Seeing Lucifer walking ahead of him Sam calls his name. He turns around and smiles. "Heya Sammy! How was your weekend?"
"How many times have I told you not to call me that?" Sam tries to keep a serious expression but ends up smiling at the ridiculous look Lucifer is making. "Weekend was boring as usual. I got to see my uncle finally. How 'bout you?"
"Boring, as always. Hung out with Charlie for a couple hours on Sunday. She is still trying to set me up with all kinds of people."
"Sounds fun," Sam says sarcastically.
A small mouse pokes his head out of Lucifer's sweatshirt. Sam smiles. "Hey Jax."
"Hello Samuel," he replies in a bored sounding voice. Lucifer rolls his eyes at his Anima's formal way of speech.
While Sam and Lucifer are talking they arrived at their first class. When Sam walks into the classroom behind Lucifer he sees Gabriel sitting in the usually empty seat next to his. He freezes for a fraction of a second before walking to his desk. Lucifer sits down in his seat in the front.
"Hiya Sam. I didn't think you would be in any of my classes, you look kinda young," Gabriel says to him as he sits down.
"Yeah, I am. I'm only a freshman but I'm in all junior classes," Sam replies quietly.
"That's awesome! So you must be really smart, huh?" Gabriel asks enthusiastically.
"Yeah, I guess so," Sam says modestly.
"Maybe you could help me with my work while I'm still getting used to the city." Gabriel gives Sam a small wink before facing the teacher as she starts speaking.
Sam's face flushes as he turns. With a sigh he pulls out his notebook for the class, already knowing he won't be able to focus. As the class continues Sam can't stop his thoughts from drifting to Gabriel.
At the end of the period Sam asks Gabriel, "What class do you have next?" Gabriel pulls out his schedule and gives it to Sam to examine. "Let's see. You have Algebra II, then World Lit before lunch. After lunch you have Chemistry, Study Hall, then lastly Personal Fitness." Sam flashes Gabriel a smile, "Well we have the same exact schedule so I can show you to your classes if you want," he finishes shyly.
Gabriel smiles at him warmly. "That would be great thanks!"
"Anytime," Sam says returning the smile.
Suddenly Lucifer yells, "Just kiss already!"
Sam's face flames as Gabriel laughs then yells back, "Maybe later, I don't want to overwhelm the poor guy!" His face turns even more red at Gabriel's comment. Sam grabs his books and hurries out of class just as the bell rings, vaguely aware of Gabriel right behind him.
Right before Sam walks into the Algebra room a small bird materializes in front of him carrying a note. Sam holds out his hand and the bird drops the note into his palm. He reads it as he walks into class. It says: sorry sammy, charlie is rubbing off on me. you two would be cute together. :D
Sam rolls his eyes and slips the note into his pocket as he sits down in his usual seat. "You can sit anywhere, we don't have assigned seats in here," Sam say when Gabriel looks around.
Charlie and Jo walk in as Gabriel chooses a seat directly behind Sam. Charlie takes her normal seat to the right of Sam and Jo in front. Balthazar walks in a second before the bell rings and claims the seat to the left of Sam.
Turning in his seat, Sam makes introductions. To Gabriel he says, "This is Charlie," pointing to the redhead on his right.
Charlie smiles and waves. "Hello!"
Sam points to the blonde girl in front of him. "This is Joanna, but call her that and she will murder you."
She smirks. "I go by Jo."
Lastly Sam points to the guy with spiky blonde hair to his left. "And this lovely fellow is Balthazar." Balthazar smiles at him slightly.
Gabriel smiles at them all. "Hello. It's nice to meet you all, my name is Gabriel but please call me Gabe."
Charlie turns to Sam with a wide smile. "Sam you are finally making friends outside of our group!" she says excitedly.
Sam rolls his eyes. "Oh shut it."
"You know it's true," Jo says laughing.
Sam sticks his tongue out at them and pouts causing the girls to bust out laughing. Gabriel can't help but chuckle at the group.
"Oh come on, not you too!" Sam exclaims, pouting even more.
"Sorry Samster," Gabriel says with a smirk.
Balthazar shushes them once the teacher stops the presentation. "At least look like you were paying attention before she comes over here."
Charlie and Jo roll their eyes, clearly used to him acting like this. After that they all stop talking and focus on the lesson. They go through the rest of the period trading only a few comments.
Once the bell rings they all head to the World Lit. room with the exception of Balthazar. They all sit in the same position as the previous period. At the begining of the class the teacher tells them that they are starting the Norse Mythology unit. They don't talk much during class, all absorbed in what they are learning.
When the 4th period lunch bell rings Jo and Charlie are the first ones out the door. As Gabriel collects his books Sam says, "Hey Gabriel?"
"What's up Sammoose? And please it's just Gabe."
"Okay, Gabe. Um... well, would you like to sit with me at lunch? As much as I hate to say it, Charlie was right when she said I don't have many friends. And you seem nice and funny. If not it's okay, I really don't mind..." Sam blushes when he realizes he was rambling.
Gabriel chuckles at him. "Yes, I would like to sit with you at lunch. Do you mind if my brother and sister sit with us? They are freshmen this year and they aren't used to this big of a school."
"Yeah of course!" Sam replies, wanting to meet some of Gabriel's siblings. When they walk into the cafeteria Sam shows Gabriel where he usually sits before he goes off to find his siblings in the mass of people. Sam sits down and waits for Charlie, Lucifer, and Jo to come in.
It's only a few seconds before they walk in. Charlie is talking loudly and waving her arms around, probably talking about some fandom. As they get closer Sam can start to hear their conversation. Charlie is saying, "There is absolutely no way Thor can beat Loki! Thor is just a useless pretty boy without his hammer!"
Jo replies with, "Sorry but Thor is way stronger. He could beat Loki's wimpy ass without a problem." Lucifer can't contain his laughter by the time they reach the table.
"What do you think Sam? Who would win in a fight, Loki or Thor?" Charlie asks.
"Oh, no. Leave me out of this, I'm not picking sides." At that time Gabriel walks up with a boy and girl. "Hey Gabe, these must be your siblings."
"Yup. This is Ezekiel and this is Anna," Gabriel replies with a smile.
Ezekiel sits down between Jo and Gabriel. "It's nice to meet you," he says somewhat shyly.
"He goes by Zeke usually. It's nice to meet you all," Anna says as she sits down next to Charlie.
"Nice to meet you both! Charlie says when Anna sits. "My name is Charlie. That's Jo, Lucifer, and Sam." She points out each person in turn. Turning her attention to Gabriel, Charlie asks, "Who do you think would win in a fight, Thor or Loki? Jo says Thor would win but I say it would have to be Loki!"
Gabriel sits next to Sam before replying. "Sorry Jo, Charlie is right. Loki is stronger and he doesn't rely on a hammer for his powers."
"HA! I win!" Charlie says enthusiastically.
Jo rolls her eyes, "Fine you win." Che tries to pout but she can't hide her smile.

*     *     *     *     *     *

Towards the end of lunch Charlie says, "So Luce, I heard you have a football game tomorrow."
"Yeah, it's our first one of the year."
"Is the team good enough to win yet?" Sam asks curious.
"Well we have an epic defense this year and if we play the way we do in practice, then we will be unstoppable on offense," Lucifer replies excitedly.
"Dean said you guys had a good team this year, I just didn't think it was that good."
"Yeah we do!"
Sam turns to Gabriel. "Do you play any sports?" he asks.
"I was thinking about doing track again. I did it for five years at my old school," Gabriel says after considering for a moment.
"Well you are in luck, track sign-up started last week. Today is our first practice. What events do you do?"
"I started off doing the high jump and throwing discus but I started doing the long jump, and running both the 1500 meter and 3000 meter run."
"Wow! That's awesome. I do the long jump and 1500 meter also. Are you any good?"
"I'm okay at them. I'm better at the running than I thought I would be."
Ezekiel, who had been listening interrupts. "He is being modest, which is very unlike him. He has never lost high jump, long jump, or discus; and in the 1500 meter and 3000 meter run, he has never placed outside the top three."
Gabriel's face

turns red as Ezekiel shares this information.

"Really?" Sam questions with an amazed look.

"Uhm, yeah," he replies slowly.

"Hmm. I'm thinking that Ellen is going to love having you on the team." Sam flashes him a warm smile.

A/N: This story is only edited by me so any mistakes are my own. If you notice any mistakes or if something doesn't make sense please let me know and I will go back and change it. I am hoping to update this story much more frequently than my others. Any feedback is welcome, please just don't be too harsh. For now, the second chapter is set to be posted in a week tops.