Of course, the day Dean can't give Sam a ride home from school, it snows.

The snow starts with a few slow-moving flakes, drifting down from a steel grey sky as the high school bell rings for lunch. Sam meets Dean at his locker and they head to their usual table, where Cas, Gabriel, Balthazar, and Luce are already sitting, digging sandwiches out of backpacks or gazing at sad-looking school meals.

Dean presses a kiss to Cas's messy hair and plops down next to his boyfriend. Sam sits down between Dean and Luce, who's talking to Balthazar quietly about something that's probably illegal. Gabriel, Cas's stepbrother, is sculpting his mashed potatoes intently into a castle, bangle bracelets jangling as his fork assaults the potatoes.

Becky and Anna walk by, stopping to say hello. Sam tries to avoid Becky's stare; she sort of has a thing for him, and it's creepy. At least she hasn't left any "anonymous" love letters in his locker lately.

"Look, it's snowing! Eeee, I hope there's a blizzard!" Becky points out the window at the few flakes that have appeared. Dean groans when he sees.

"Ugh, driving in the snow is going to suck." He's been planning this trip with Cas for months, and a snowstorm is the last thing they need.

"Maybe it'll go away by the time you leave?" Sam offers.

"Maybe…aw shit, Sammy, I forgot you have to walk home." Dean looks sincerely sorry for him. Hell, Sam feels sorry for himself. It's going to be a long, cold walk if the snow starts in earnest.

Becky looks like Christmas arrived early when she hears, but before she can open her mouth to offer Sam a ride he probably wouldn't refuse, Gabriel interrupts.

"Samsquatch, I'll give ya a ride if you need one." He waggles his eyebrows in Sam's direction, but Sam's so grateful that he ignores the lewd look, even though he can feel his face heat up a little.

"Uh, sure, thanks." Becky's glaring at Gabriel, but he just leans over the table to steal a fry from Luce. The two have been friends since middle school, forming what teachers secretly called the Unholy Trinity when Balthazar had moved into town, so Luce is used to Gabriel's penchant for "sharing" his friends' lunches.

"Hey, watch it!" Dean complains as the fringe of Gabe's hideous wool scarf comes dangerously close to knocking over Dean's drink.

When the bell rings at the end of trig, Sam's last class for the day, he's definitely grateful. The snow is falling hard, not quite a whiteout just yet but looking as if it intends to head that way. He says goodbye to Dean and Cas and finds Gabriel leaning next to his locker, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his baggy teal harem pants.

"Geez, Gabriel, could you wear any more layers?" The senior has on at least a t-shirt, sweater, and poncho underneath his coat, in addition to his scarf. As Sam gathers his things for the weekend from his locker, Gabriel pulls a wool hat, complete with ear flaps, out of his pocket and puts it on, grinning at Sam.

"All set, Sammich?"

Sam just rolls his eyes at the nickname. Gabriel shortens everyone's name – with the exception of Dean, whom he calls 'Dean-o' more often than not – but for some reason, Sam's the only one who gets ridiculous nicknames.

"I guess. Where'd you park?"

"Follow meee." Gabriel skips down the hallway, with Sam walking after him. A group of grungy, artsy seniors wave hello to Gabriel, but Sam doesn't recognize them and they don't greet him, a lowly sophomore.

When Gabriel yanks the door open, snow swirls in around them in a blinding eddy, and Sam gasps at the biting cold.

"Holy shit, it's freezing!"

They trek quickly to Gabriel's car, a beat-up yellow Bug that's older than both of them combined, and get in quickly. Gabriel cranks the heat and they wait for the windows to defrost enough to see out. Sam's shivering, his fingers shaking where they're clenched on his bag. Gabriel pulls something out of a pocket and hands it to him: one of those disposable handwarmers.

"Here, Samsquatch. Frostbite's not very attractive."

"Thanks, Gabe!" he exclaims, not realizing what he's called Gabriel until the older boy tilts his head, looking at him curiously as he huddles in the driver's seat. But Gabriel doesn't say anything, just burrows into his scarf.

Finally the car is defrosted. As Gabe pulls out of the parking lot, turning slowly out of the school's driveway, Sam's phone vibrates in his pocket, and he pulls it out to see a text message from his mom:

I'll be home late. Money on the counter for pizza. Stay warm! Xoxo

"Hey, Gabe, uh, d'you want to come over and have pizza? My mom's not gonna be home for dinner, and she left me money for delivery."

"Are you asking me over on a date, Sam-a-lam? No-one home, pizza and movies and snuggling?" Gabe grins at him before looking back to what little of the road is visible.

Sam blushes furiously. "Um, n-no?"

"You don't sound so sure about that, Sammich."

Sam rubs the back of his neck with a cold hand, feeling awkward at the attention, even if Gabriel is just joking. Sam hasn't really made it public that he likes guys, even if general acceptance of Dean and Cas's relationship indicates he wouldn't be harassed about it. And he certainly hasn't made it public that he maaaaybe has a crush on a certain guy with a taste for crazy outfits who happens to be sitting a few feet away. Not even Dean knows. "Look, if you don't want to-"

Gabriel cuts him off, looking more thoughtful, although the grin remains. "Did I say that? Am I the kind of man to turn down free food? I'll even keep my hands to myself, scout's honor."

Sam scoffs at that. "Gabriel, you were never in scouts. I've known you since we were all little."

Gabriel just sticks his tongue out at him. "Party pooper."

By the time they manage to get to the Winchester house, the snow is falling heavier, and Sam wonders if the pizza place will even deliver. But the bored-sounding employee takes his order – half pepperoni and half Hawaiian – although the weather means a fifteen-minute delay.

While Sam's on the phone, Gabriel shucks most of his layers, strewing where they fall on the living room carpet and rummaging through the DVD collection. When Sam shuffles in to sit on the couch, Gabriel straightens up from digging in the entertainment center and raises a brow at him. "Got enough action movies? I barely saw anything without an explosion on the cover."

"They're mostly Dean's and my dad's."

Gabe wrinkles his nose as he plops down on the opposite end of the couch, pulling out a sketchpad and a pencil. "I gotta get some sketches done, anyway."

Sam flips the TV on and channel-surfs while Gabriel settles in, rummaging through his notebook for an empty page. By the time Sam's found an episode of Cash Cab he hasn't seen, Gabriel's hand is moving furiously across the page, and he's buried his neon-sock-clad toes under Sam's thigh to keep warm.

Sam can tell Gabriel's sneaking looks at him, but he's doing the same, until he looks up once and their eyes meet. Gabriel just grins back at him, but Sam flushes, caught staring, and concentrates on the TV until the doorbell rings.

By the time Sam's mom gets home, the pizza's long gone, and Sam and Gabriel are bickering about the novel Sam's reading in English, The Catcher in the Rye.

"It's a classic, Gabe!"

"I don't care, Sam-a-lam, the only part that I remember is that guy asking where the ducks go or something. It was borrrinnggggg!"

Mary grins, recognizing the other voice as she leans into the living room. "Hello? Oh, Gabriel!"

"Mom, I, uh, thought you were going to be home late," Sam says, confused. "Gabe gave me a ride 'cause of the weather."

"Oh, I forgot Dean wouldn't be able to! Well, I'm glad you were there to help, Gabriel!"

Sam checks the TV clock and realizes he and Gabriel have been home for hours, just talking and hanging out. It's been…nice, even if he had been caught staring (and caught Gabe staring, too) a dozen more times. Mary just winks at him as she heads upstairs to change from work.

"Well, I'd better head out." Gabriel stands and stretches theatrically, cracking his back.

"Uh, sure." Sam watches as Gabriel packs everything up and bundles his layers back on, then follows him to the door to walk him out.

"Thanks again for the ride," he manages to say, feeling awkward standing by the open door so close to Gabriel.

"Thanks for the food, Sammich – quickest way to a man's heart, y'know."

"W-what? I-"

Before Sam can protest, Gabriel presses a quick kiss to Sam's cheek that leaves him blushing furiously and shoves a piece of paper into his hand.

"See you, kiddo," he says with a wink and a grin, bounding back across the lawn to his car. Sam looks down at the paper to see it's a detailed sketch of himself. Gabe's a talented artist, and he's managed to capture Sam well.

Sam's kind of glad Dean couldn't give him a ride home.