Sam opens a cleverly disguised curse box for his birthday.

The end, as I would write it.

When Dad kicks him out one cold night at the tender age of 15, Sam embraces his newfound freedom and steps onto the unforgiving Appalachian Trail to chase a grand adventure. Dean thinks he can find his brother before anything too bad happens, but he doesn't count on the ghost of the AT killer beating him to the punch.

When Sam gets left behind to help Dad run "the family business," will Dean come to regret his decision to try for something better? How many run-ins with ghosts and ghouls can a teenage Sam survive without one big brother watching his back? And what's up with the guy who holds Dean's contract? Is the world of professional racing supposed to be marked by starvation and cruelty?

What if the deal went down like this? Spoilers for Season 12, Episode 9: "First Blood."

Sixteen-year-old boys don't always make the best decisions, but Dean's been on a role lately. He's tired of playing big brother, tired of playing hunter's son. He'd like a little time to himself to hang out with a bad crowd, smoke and swear. He'd like a chance to do what the crowd is doing for once. He just had no idea that the crowd had a score to settle with Sammy.

This story contains spoilers for Season 12, Episode 2 of Supernatural.

Sam's first serious girlfriend is two years older and a world wiser than the youngest Winchester. She also has a secret. Sam's girl likes to play rough. Dean doesn't like it - even worse - he's not sure Sam likes it either. Warning for graphic content.

The photo in Dean's hand is awful, taken from too far away and grainy as hell. It's his newest target; the latest hit on his list of supernatural baddies. It looks like a man, but in reality, it's a monster that's committed horrible, unspeakable crimes. To kill it, Dean will have to convince himself that it only LOOKS human. It only LOOKS lost. It only LOOKS exactly like Sam.

This story contains spoilers for the Season 11 finale of Supernatural.

Sam's going to be best man at Danny Ritter's wedding, but the trip back to Benton might not be the joyful reunion the boys foresee. When an over-zealous religious leader fixates on Dean, will Sam be able to get him out before the cult swallows him whole? And when the enigmatic leader ultimately demands a sacrifice, what or who will Dean offer up?

Dean needs surgery, Dad's gone AWOL, and the hospital won't commit without proof that Sam has a job, so the 16-year-old does the only thing he can - signs on as help for the Alaskan fishing vessel, Brown-Eyed Girl. It's greenhorn against the Bering Sea in an endurance race to save one brother's life.

Sam was thirteen the year his father fell in love for the second time. Leslie was smart, attractive and a perfect match for the elder Winchester. She loved classic rock, old muscle cars and guns. The only affinity they didn't share was Sam. Leslie disliked inconveniences who took up too much of their father's time. Luckily for her, she had ways of removing them.

After his father instigates a particularly brutal sparring session one evening, Sam is forced to run for his life. Dean's determined to get his little brother back safely, but when he finally catches up, the younger boy is hurt far worse than Dean could ever have imagined.

Sam's going through a hard time, and Dean remembers what it felt like to be 14 and crazy. Sam will grow out of this new phase eventually, but will his teenage hormones cause him to make a decision that could land him in serious peril?

"People, man. People are crazy." Dean knew it. Those guys just proved it. The question was: Would Sammy survive dinner?

Dean's matchmaking attempts spell hurt and humiliation for his little brother when he inadvertently sets him up with the date from Hell.

Sam's sixteen now, but he's still way too trusting. Dad has a grim plan to remedy that particular flaw and insists that Dean be the one to carry it out. When Dean reluctantly agrees, will Dad's form of tough love be more than the youngest Winchester can weather?

On a frigid Minnesota winter night, a moment of dubious judgment by John leads to trouble for his teens. Will Dean live to regret trusting Dad to take care of Sammy? And when Dad forces Dean's hand into leaving a sick Sam behind and unattended, how will Dean ever get his little brother back from the madman who stumbled upon him at his weakest?

When a hidden hex bag forces a young Dean to abandon his 16-year-old brother in the backwoods of Pennsylvania, the guilt may be his undoing. But with Bobby's help and a trail of cell phone messages, can the two hunters find their way back to the youngest Winchester?

When Sam and Dean land in a town too small to even hustle up an honest game of pool, a misunderstanding between brothers forces one to make a sacrifice he's not ready to face. How will Dean make it up to his brother for forcing him into a cruel corner?