Title: Unpredictable Measures.

Summary: There's someone in the crowd who's not who they seem to be as the youngest Winchester finds himself in a very tough situation.

Disclaimer: Sadly, don't own anything.

Warning: Un-beta'd. All mistakes are mine.

SFTCOL(AR)S Prompt for Jenilee.

Author's Note: First, I'd like to thank Jen for such a lovely, fun bunny. I hope she enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it. I don't know if this is anything close to what you had planned! For obvious reasons, I won't tell anyone what the prompt is so I hope you enjoy the fic. Again, extra thanks to Devan and Jess for being there for me when I whine about writer's blocks. Thanks a million!

Nine Years Ago.

It was just a family of three. A normal, happy family living in a beautiful small cottage. Soft, white snow piled on rooftops, an ocean of pure white cast over the streets as faded footprints threatened to disappear forever. Christmas Day, arriving in just a mere five days was welcomed with decorations that sparkled and hung from trees, flashing lights danced around the perimeter of the house.

It was dark, almost 9pm but the streets seemed lively with all the Christmas lights. The snow glistened beautifully as it reflected an array of orange, red, green, yellow and a whole range of other different colored bulbs.

Inside the small cottage, the fireplace was crackling as the warmth spread through the whole house. A lady was sitting awkwardly on the couch with her seven year old son on her lap. Her stomach was bulging out quite effectively, obvious to all who laid eyes on her that she was pregnant with a second child.

"Mommy? When's Daddy gonna be home?" He asked, innocent eyes gazing up at his mother. She gently stroked his cheek, her movements slow and careful, the other hand always resting above her stomach.

"I told you sweetie. Daddy's working nightshift these days. He won't be home for another few hours. Now just a few more minutes in front of the fireplace and you're heading to bed. You're way past your bed time."

The boy nodded and snuggled in closer to his mother. His eyes wandered over to the window, the light condensation made the outside view a tad bit blurry. Looking outside, he was captured by the beautiful motion of the falling snow, twinkling in mid-air before landing with a soft splat. Almost trance-like, his eyelids began drooping, his chin dropping to his chest as he succumbed to sleep.

An ear-piercing scream.

All of a sudden, his eyes snapped open and his head twisted to the side. His mother was nowhere to be seen, and it had been her shrill scream that woke him up. Frantically, he crawled off the couch, the fire that had been alive and flickering had now disappeared. He felt a shiver down his spine, the air suddenly dropped and he felt cold.

"Mommy?!" He cried. He ran to the kitchen and his eyes widened. Tears suddenly sprang to his eyes and he was frozen, rooted to the spot. Someone…something in the form of a man had his mom. It looked like human, it sounded human, but its teeth…

This has to be a dream, the boy thought. But it seemed too real!

The man was holding a knife, dragging its point down the mother's arm. She whimpered, her own eyes begging him to let her go, pleading him to not end her life so soon when a second baby was on its way. She was leading a family, and it would crumble without her.

The man smiled, his pointy teeth stained with blood, as he heavily breathed out against her face. She tried to back away, but it was impossible with her back pressed so firmly against the kitchen cabinet, the man in front of her edged up so closely, so dangerously against her pregnant stomach.

They were both oblivious to the fact that the boy was wide-eyed, watching everything that was going on. He began pinching his arm, desperately hoping to wake up from his nightmare and find himself next to his sleeping mother, the fire dancing with joy and his dad coming home.

His skin was turning red, but he wasn't waking up. He tried to stop himself from shaking, tried to stop the tears that streaked down his face as he witnessed what happened next.

The man leant in and sniffed her hair, causing him to smile and show his gruesome bloody teeth again. But one closer look at those teeth, they weren't normal teeth. They were-

The man trailed down her arm and licked the blood that was slowly making tracks down to her fingers, and the mother whimpered even more. She tried to wriggle free, to call her cops or her husband and alert him, but her thoughts were cut short as the man clamped his teeth down on her arm.

She screamed and was soon silenced as the man pulled away from her arm and kissed her lips. Her scream was muffled and she tried to jerk away, the copper taste of her own blood filled her mouth.

She shook her head, pleading him no more, her breath coming out in short gasps.

"You're so delicious." He whispered licking his lips. "You're everything I ever wanted."

The mother's legs failed her and buckled, her knees shaking so intensely they could no longer hold her up. But she didn't fall. The man held her firm against the cabinet, his pressure too painful for her undefended stomach.

"No…" She whispered between tears.

"I'll be nice. I won't turn you, but I'll most certainly kill you. Shame he didn't want a pregnant vampire to join the clan. I would have loved working with you."

"V-Vampire?" Her voice shook as she spoke, confused and shock so evident shown in her eyes.

The man's lips curled into an evil smile, one that told her he wanted more and more as her last sob escaped her lips. The man raised his hand and she flinched, but all he did was caress her cheek, pushing the hair away and tilting her neck slightly to the left.

She was confused for a second, but all was too late. Her last scream died in her throat as the man attacked for the last time, his fangs clamped down onto her neck, sinking into the flesh and blood freely streamed down her body.

The boy had a hand clamped down to his mouth, not believing what he was seeing. He wanted to vomit, to throw his arms around his mother when he finally woke up. He watched as his mother's form drained free of blood, her eyes still wide and open as if not believing she had died.

The man stepped back, causing the woman to slide down and hit the floor limply. She crumbled in slow motion, along with her son's soul and suddenly there was a knock on the door. The man spun around, eyes first landing on the boy and then darting to the door.

The young boy gasped when he saw the stranger who killed his mother had sighted him, but then the door swung open and his dad stepped in. The foul odor assaulted him, while the fresh air entered at the same time making the boy easier to breathe.

The vampire's eyes widened, his orders were only to kill the mother and leave and so he did what he was told. He ran, diving outside the window as it smashed. Broken glass flew everywhere as he disappeared into the night, leaving his bloody victim on the floor of the kitchen.

"Alicia! Alicia!!"

The father ran towards her wife, but it was too late. She, along with her baby, was dead. He didn't see who did this, just heard the glass shatter and a shadowy figure that quickly camouflaged with the darkness run away.

The cops came soon after, and they asked the young boy what had happened. His hands were still shaking and he wouldn't meet anyone's eyes. The story that came out of his mouth blew them away.

A man who sunk his teeth into a woman's neck?

Judging by the condition of the poor seven year old boy, the cops didn't believe him. They marked this under the killing of a wild animal. That would explain the bite marks.

Besides, there were many victims that died under wild animals these days.

Several days later, the son of the murdered mother would not talk and kept his gaze to the ground. He would not communicate with anyone, and all he would mutter was the word "vampire" under his breath.

It was driving his father crazy. His son was closing in on himself, crazy about some vampires and he couldn't do anything about it. He just hoped that his son would somehow come to his senses one day and return to the happy, innocent boy that he used to be.

Oh how wrong he was.

NOW.

Sam opened the door to a beautiful morning day. It was 7:30am and he was ready for school. Dean and John had already been up a long time ago, slowly sipping their coffees browsing through various articles.

The sky was blue and clear, as Sam inhaled the fresh morning air. The horizon was misted with a light fog, as Sam closed the door behind him just blocking out a muffled "Have a nice day" from Dean.

"Thanks!" He shouted back as he jogged down the stairs of his motel, his backpack bobbing up and down behind him.

Dean watched his little brother's figure disappear behind the door and he glanced at his dad. With a small smile, they both knew they were thinking the same thing.

"Soon, he's gonna be taller than both of us."

"No way. I'm the older one, I'll remain the tallest."

"Just you watch Dean. Just you watch."

It was true. Sam looked a few years older than just mere fifteen. He had an athlete body type; his shoulders were broad and stood out from the crowd, his long legs giving him the advantage in any race or hunt. He was becoming an adult quicker than anyone had thought.

000

"Hey Sam!" Someone called as he saw Sam jogging down the street towards him.

"Hey Dylan! You're early for once!" He laughed as he caught up with Dylan. Sam had made a new friend during his three days at his new school, and they were getting along very well. He pushed away the thought that he was going to leave this town, this school, his new best friend whenever his Dad decided to.

"C'mon let's get to school." He laughed as they talked about the things they both liked.

They arrived at the gates and headed in just when the bell rang. Dylan was also pretty new at this school, only started three weeks earlier so he was in the same position as Sam, trying to fit in and not look too lost in the hallways.

The two of them were busy talking while walking to their first class that Sam didn't see someone standing in front of him. He bumped into him, causing them both to stumble and Dylan's eyes widened as he tried to pull Sam back.

"How dare you, Winchester." He spoke and was quickly surrounded by two of his friends beside him. "I heard you were new here."

"Yeah, I am." Sam replied; his voice confident and wondering what was up with this guy.

"Yeah, I am." He mocked Sam and the three of them laughed. "Watch out, because you don't have permission to go knocking into everyone, especially me." He threatened and walked away, his two friends following closely behind him.

When they were out of sight, Dylan grabbed Sam by the arm and walked to somewhere private.

"What's happening?" Sam whispered. "Who were they?"

"Sam, I've been here a week or two longer than you have. They're the toughest bastards in Grade 10. You should see what they do to the other people! You're lucky they let you go today. The one that you bumped into, he's Alex. The other two, they're Ryan and Jason."

"They don't have the right to treat everyone like that. It's unfair and cruel. It was just an accident that I bumped into him. I was busy talking to you." Dylan felt a little bit guilty, and Sam quickly picked it up.

"Sorry. It's not your fault. I didn't mean it that way."

"Let's get to class. C'mon." Dylan suggested as they picked up their paces down the hallway. Shortly they arrived in front of the room and Mrs. Hawk hadn't arrived yet. They smiled to each other and walked to their seats.

Sam, who was trained expertly by their dad, started scanning the room, taking in as much detail as he could without arousing any suspicions. His eyes landed on three guys that sat in the back row. And they were staring back at him, a smug grin pasted on their faces.

Sam quickly looked away and sat down, silently signaling to Dylan that Alex, Ryan and Jason were in the same class as them.

Sam sighed and hoped they wouldn't cause any trouble, especially since the teacher seemed to be late.

000

"Anything?" John asked.

Dean's shoulders seemed to slump slightly, as he put his cup of empty coffee down. "Nope. Nothing. This town is…fricken clean."

"Either that, or we just have to dig harder. There's always something to hunt in every town, and I'm sure this place is no exception."

"You know, Sam seems to be doing well at school right now. He's made that new friend and they seem real close."

"Yeah I've realized. What's his name? It's like Daniel, or something."

"Yeah, Dylan. He's a nice kid. I've seen him around once or twice, and they walk to and from school with each other."

"I just hope Sammy doesn't get too close to him. You know how he's like once we move out of a town."

"I wonder if we'll even find anything to hunt in this town." Dean grumbled.

"Be patient. Something will come to us sooner or later."

There was a moment of silence before Dean stood up and sighed. "You think we could maybe stay in this town for a bit longer than the others?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"I'm just worried for Sam. It seems like he's adapting really well, Dylan's a good kid and I don't want to see him lose another friend."

"We're hunters Dean. We don't stay in one place. You learnt that fast when you were growing up. Sam seems to be picking it up slowly, but he'll learn."

"But this kid seems... special. He seems more different then any of the other friends Sam's made."

"Then if they're so close, the longer they are together, the harder it'll be for me to split them up. He'll want to stay longer and longer Dean, and soon we'll lose him."

Dean rubbed a hand over his face. "Yeah, true. I can see it's really hard for him though. It just hurts to see, every time we move, he gets really upset over it."

"Raging hormones? Moody teenagers? I suppose it'll pass by time."

"I hope so. You know Sammy, Dad. He's unpredictable."

"Learnt from the best." John said with a smile. "C'mon, we really need to find a hunt. I'm missing the thrill and the adrenaline rush when I'm hunting."

They both shared a smile knowing what the other was thinking.

Like father, like son.

000

The shrill bell rang as it tore Sam away from his memories in class, making him jerk up straight in his seat. His classmates were already out the door, rushing to get home or meet up with their friends somewhere.

Sam packed up, grateful it was the last period and walked to the gate that Dylan always met him after school at. He dropped his backpack down containing his History and English books he'd have to complete for homework tonight with a thud and glanced around.

The leaves rustled as a soft breeze wheezed past. Students poured out of the school building, followed by teachers, then silence.

Where was Dylan? He's never usually this late.

Sam glanced at his wristwatch. It had already been twenty minutes. Sure, Dylan was always slow and late, clumsy and forgetful, but he had always been reliable. If something was up, he would definitely message Sam through their cell phones.

Sam dug his cell out of his pocket and checked for any missed calls or texts waiting for him. His eyebrows knitted together. That was strange.

He scrolled down to 'Dylan' and pressed the call button, waiting for someone to pick up but a machine told him that Dylan's phone had been turned off.

Something was definitely up. Sam picked up his bag, swung it over his shoulders and jogged into the school building. Frantically, he looked around, into each classroom but found nothing.

"Whoa! Sam? What are you still doing here?"

Sam twirled around to face Mr. Shawn, his English teacher. "Dylan…I'm looking for Dylan." He panted. "Have you seen Dylan Krrost?"

"He was here today at school. Wasn't he sitting at the back row with you during third period?"

"Yeah we were! He's supposed to meet me at the front gates but-"

"Calm down Sam. I'm sure he's just caught up. Maybe he left already and thought you had gone earlier."

Sam shook his head. "No, Dylan wouldn't do that."

"I'm glad you two are such good friends though. You two seem to be adapting really well since you're both new."

Sam nodded quickly and said a quick goodbye, and he darted off leaving Mr. Shawn wondering why he was so frantic.

Sam had a nasty feeling about this, and when he had nasty feelings about something, they were usually correct. He flung himself into classrooms, left and right, when suddenly a movement caught the corner of his eye. He spun around, staring directly out the window into the hockey field.

His eyes widened, his heart pounding as he sprung from where he was rooted to the ground and burst out of the building. He raced to the hockey field and saw a huge circle of what appeared to be at least a quarter of the school.

He pushed past everyone, and finally came face to face with what he feared. Alex, Jason and Ryan were standing their ground, fists up in a defensive position as Dylan was on the other side.

Three against one. That wasn't fair! Sam thought. With one glance at Alex, Jason and Ryan, he knew they were imbeciles at fighting. They had muscle, but didn't know any techniques. Alex's right cheek was swollen, a big ugly purple bruise beginning to show. Ryan was limping, his right hand rubbing his left wrist. And Jason had a black eye and split lip.

Pretty good, Sam thought.

Dylan on the other hand, had cuts all over his face. He had one arm protectively wrapped around his chest, and his shoulders were hunched but his eyes held a defiant look. Sam, out of all people understood that look.

Before Sam could step in, they Jason advanced on Dylan. He swung his uninjured hand but Dylan ducked it easily, raising a foot and slamming it down on his knee. Jason cried out and went down, and that angered his two friends.

Dylan turned around and proceeded to slam his leg full force into his opponent, but Ryan's hands grasped it and Dylan immediately knew he was in danger. Before he could react, Alex had thrown a punch at his face, and Ryan twisted his leg around making him spin in the air before landing on the floor.

The two of them walked over to Dylan, with Jason groaning on the floor not far away. Sam dived in and with the element of surprise, he slammed his foot into Ryan's torso and did a roadhouse kick and hit Alex on the chin.

For the first time, Sam was glad their Dad had taught them effective fighting moves at an early age.

A rough voice bellowed as Sam spun his head around to see Mr. Shawn pushing through the circle of students.

"Sam Winchester? This is what you meant by looking for Dylan? Alex? Jason? Ryan? I am shocked at this behavior. Everyone, go home! Now! Or you will be joining these people tomorrow on a detention and they will be explaining this. It's already getting late and your parents would be worried sick!"

The crowd of kids began to dissipate as everyone walked off, discussing what just happened.

He walked over to Sam and quietly spoke to him. "What happened? I want the truth." There was something about Sam and it told him that he wouldn't lie, not in this situation. He was a trustworthy kid.

"I-I don't know. I told you, I went looking for Dylan, I saw a huge crowd of people and instantly I knew what had happened. I stepped in because I wanted to stop it, that's all. If I didn't, the outcome could have been worse."

Mr. Shawn nodded convincingly. "Might've." But they both knew the answer to that. "Besides," He added with a low whisper, "They deserved it anyway."

That was one thing Sam loved about his English teacher. He was so understanding.

"So, do I still have detention tomorrow?"

"It's only fair kid. I know what you did was right, but how would the others react if I only let you off the hook and not them?"

Sam nodded. Maybe he wasn't that understanding, but he still smiled a real smile at Mr. Shawn when he patted knowingly on Sam's shoulder.

Sam knelt down beside Dylan and helped him up. "Are you alright? How's your leg?"

"It's fine. I'm so lucky that bastard didn't pull anything. Thanks for stepping in. Those bitches are gonna pay."

"Hey, hey. Not now, Dylan. You need to heal first. C'mon. Besides, when did you learn to fight like that? You never told me."

Dylan softly chuckled. "Could say the same to you."

"Well, I learned martial arts when I was young. I quit several years ago." The lie rolled off Sam's tongue familiarly as he waited for his friend's reply. "You?"

Dylan shrugged and it was then that Sam grew a tiny bit curious. "Karate? Tae Kwon Doe? Fighting doesn't come normally."

Dylan shrugged again. He was avoiding the question. Why?

Sam, of all people, knew that some things should be kept and not shared so he remained quiet after a whispered apology. At that moment, Sam felt his cell vibrate in his pocket. Without looking at the Caller ID he flipped it open, knowing it would only be one person.

"Dean?"

"Sammy? Is everything alright? You should be home an hour ago. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'll be home in around 30minutes. I just got caught in the middle of something at school. I'll tell you all about it when I get home. Tell Dad not to stress. I'm perfectly fine."

"You better be bitch. Hurry and come home and fill me in on all the chicks gossip."

"It's not like that Dean." Sam laughed. "Tell you when I get home."

Sam closed his phone and wrapped an arm around Dylan's torso, helping him stand up. He instantly recoiled when Dylan hissed in pain.

"Cracked ribs?"

"Nah probably just bruised. Those suckers can't fight for shit if their lives depended on it." He laughed dryly.

"C'mon let's get you home. Your parents would be really worried about you."

"Parent." Dylan corrected.

Sam winced and bit his tongue. How could he have forgotten? Dylan's mother died in a car crash and he never got to know her.

"Besides, Dad won't really care. Well, he would, but he's not home. Comes home from work at 6pm." He continued as he finally stood up straight, grimacing as poked and prodded around his face.

"I thought you said he worked nightshift?" Sam didn't know what made him ask that question. He knew he was being rude and invading his friend's life.

Dylan shrugged. "Used to. Ever since mom died he thought it was dangerous leaving me alone at night.

"Sorry for asking."

"It's no problem at all. What's your family like? Who was that on the phone just then?"

Shit. Probably not the best topic to talk about Sam thought. "That was Dean, my brother."

"Older?" Dylan asked as they arrived at the school gates.

"Yeah. Is it really that obvious?" Sam chuckled. Dean, the infamous mother hen.

They arrived at Dylan's house as Sam watched his friend disappear behind his door with a gentle wave.

"Take care of yourself!" Sam tried to sound cheerful as he smiled and nodded once.

Dylan smiled back thinly and nodded tightly before closing the door and Sam was left to wonder what was so different about Dylan today as he walked home by himself.

TBC.

Slow start, I know. Please let me know how you're enjoying this so far!