He's Taken

Chapter 3

Sam realized that Dean had dropped out of the conversation. He dropped down from the pull-up bar that he and his older brother had been sharing. He leaned against the frame and waited. Several moments passed and Dean failed to notice that Sam had stopped.

Sam motioned for Charlie to come over with his head. The little redhead bopped her way over to the younger but taller Winchester. "What's up, besides the clouds all the way up there?" she smiled up at Sam.

Sam chuckled, "Are you ever going to stop telling that joke?"

Charlie shook her head, "Only if you starting shrinking, Gigantor." She rocked back on her heels. It was clear that she was happy with herself. "Why'd you call me over here?" Sam rolled his eyes and pointed at Dean. Charlie walked around so that she facing Dean.

"Dean?" she called up. She got no answer. "Deeeaaaaannnnnn," she drug his name out. Still no answer. She glanced quickly at Sam with raised eyebrows. Sam shrugged his shoulders at her.

Charlie returned her attention to the elder Winchester. She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. She took a deep breath and shouted, "DEAN WINCHESTER!!!" Charlie's shout was loud enough to startle half of the gym. Dean lost his grip on the bar and landed on the floor flat on his back.

"Jesus, Charlie" Dean moaned. He rubbed the back of his head "What the hell? Why did you do that?" Charlie and Sam had hunched over laughing. Dean raised himself up so that he was leaning on his elbows. "Sam. Charlie. Guys."

"BRADBURY!"

Charlie straightened and looked to the other side of the gym. "Yes, Coach?" she answered.

Coach Rufus walked to the middle of the gym. He put his hands on his hips. "Would you care to explain your little outburst?" he bellowed.

"Um. I, uhhhh..." Charlie hedged.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Coach replied dryly and blew his whistle. "Take a lap, Bradbury." He turned and started to walk away.

"But.." Charlie began.

"Want to make it five?" The coach said over his shoulder cutting her off.

"No, Coach," she muttered. Sam tried to keep a straight face during the entire exchange. He was beginning to crack though. Charlie smacked him on the arm as she jogged past to begin her lap.

Dean looked over his brother. "Little help, Sammy?" he asked still on the floor.

Sam rubbed his arm as he walked over. He reached out and grabbed Dean's outstretched hand. Dean hoisted himself from the floor thanks to Sam's help. He wiped his hands on his shorts "Now, would you like to tell me what you two are up to?"

"Dude, we were trying to get you out of your head. You've been acting like a space cadet for the entire period." Sam quipped.

"I have not," Dean scoffed. He knew that his brother and best friend were messing with him. There was no way that he zoned out that hard. Not thinking about a sophomore.

"Yes, you have," Charlie uttered as she collapsed on the mat in front of the brothers. "We both tried to talk to you. You didn't hear us. Hence the yelling," she explained as she laid legs flat out and put her arms behind her head.

Dean looked between Charlie and Sam a couple times with confusion on his face, "You two are talking a load of crap. You did not." He looked at them again. Their expressions gave no hint that they were messing with him. "You did," he conceded and hung his head.

Charlie sat up. Her eye alight with curiosity, "So spill. What's rolling around in the old cabeza?" She put her chin in her hands and made her eyes round.

Dean chuckled at the sight of the small redhead on the floor. "Alright, fine. But it's stupid." He muttered as grabbed the pull-up bar.

Sam mirrored Dean's action but actually pulled himself up. "Well, Dean, that's a given. It is you after all."

Dean shot his brother a damning look. "Shut up, jerk."

"Bitch." Sam countered as he lowered himself. His feet touched the floor and he leaned his forearms against the bar, "Spill it, Dean."

Dean sighed. "Alright. Do you guys know y/n Baker?" Sam had a blank look on his face. Charlie had her face scrunched up in thought.

Charlie suddenly snapped her fingers. "Yeah, yeah, sophomore, right?"

Dean's lips lifted a little at the corners, "Yeah. So what do you think of her?"

Sam's response was quick. "I don't," he blurted. "I can't place the name."

"Really helpful there, Sammy," Charlie gave Sam a dry look. She turned her attention back to Dean. "If it's the same girl that I'm thinking of, she's kinda cute," she said as she scrunched her nose. "She hangs out with that perky blonde chick and sassy brunette. She's got a decent bod and a really cute nose. If I remember right, she had long hair last year. She chopped it this past summer. It suits her."

"Yeah, I might know who you're talking about. She and her friends are always together like the freaking three musketeers," Sam added.

Dean nodded in acknowledgment. "Yeah, that's her." He let out a heavy sigh, "So, would you go out with her?"

Sam immediately made a face, "Depends on how much you pay me."

Charlie rose from the floor and hit Sam in his abdomen, "Samuel. Rude. She's not ugly."

Sam rubbed his stomach, "I didn't say she was ugly. She's not, but there's nothing there. It's just.....void."

Dean glanced across the room and back to his brother. "There's something about her," he admitted. "I have Study Hall with her. I catch her looking at me. A lot."

Sam leaned in and whispered, "Did you stop to think that there could be something wrong with her?"

Dean gave him a withering look and shoved Sam's shoulder, "Dude, I'm being serious here." Sam put his hands up in surrender. "She looks at me like she's in love with me or something."

Charlie grabbed Dean's arm and had a broad smile. "Aw, that is so cute," she said in a teasing tone.

Sam disagreed. "She's a child," he pointed out.

Charlie whirled on him. "So?" she challenged. "It's two years, Sam, not ten. This is high school, in case you had forgotten."

Sam looked down at Charlie. "What's he going to do with her, huh?" he inquired. "She can't party serious. She's way too young to be into that."

Dean threw up his arms up in the air a little exasperated. "You know what, Sammy? Maybe I'm interested in more than a party, okay?" he confided right before he stalked away.

"Come on, Dean. You're not hard up. You've got Anna. Now, that's a woman," Sam called after him. Charlie hit Sam in the abdomen once again. She shook her head at him and ran to catch up with Dean.