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On Madison’s birthday, Sam had genuinely thought he was sick. A stomach bug, food poisoning,—anything. He scrubbed it down to nerves, that meeting new people just wasn't his thing. He had no idea if anyone else would be showing up, what the plan was. He didn’t like not having a plan.

Sam stared at himself in the small mirror in the hallway. He looked unfamiliar to himself. He didn’t look in mirrors very often. His hair was growing, bangs long enough to irritate his eyes. He was growing, losing the baby fat around his jawline, and by his nose.

“Alright, Sammy,” Dean stepped behind him, catching Sam’s eyes in the mirror, “where’re we headed?” Dean pulled his leather jacket on, adjusting the collar around his neck.

“Uh,” Sam turned around, fingers tightening around the wrapped up gift in his hands, “to the park. By Hugo Street.” Dean pouted his lips slightly, nodding his head before grabbing the keys from the small dresser to his right.

“Let’s go then.” Dean opened the door, leaving it open behind him. Sam trailed after, getting in the passenger side of the front bench. He put the gift down in his lap,—a small box wrapped in old newspaper. They didn’t exactly have wrapping paper laying around. Sam had never actually wrapped a gift before, and the ceramic being round didn’t make it any better. He had spent almost forty minutes getting it right, and had tried to search the internet far and wide for an explanation.

There wasn’t any.

So the gift was ugly. The ribbon was in reality just a piece of string, and the bow was crooked, and incredibly uneven.

”You’re tripping, Sam.” Dean finally spoke, reaching forward to turn down the music. “You nervous?”

He was teasing, Sam knew it,—digging for material to make more fun of him.

”Yes.” Sam admitted honestly, shifting in his seat.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine Sammy, it’s probably just a family barbecue, or some boring campfire.” Dean scoffed, his smirk that signature, tilted tease. Sam pressed his lips together in an awkward smile, nodding his head before looking out the window.

The drive was short. The park was on the opposite end of town, whereas the ranch was just north of the town.

Dean parked the car on the small parking lot by the edge of the park. The parks fencing was only just staying upright, the green paint chipping. Dean cranked the old ‘67 into park, turning to look at Sam with a knowing grin.

“Alright man. Have fun, stay safe,” Dean grinned, stretching his arm across the back of the bench, fingers tugging at Sam’s hair, lowering his voice; “use protection.”

Sam flinched forward, gagging at Dean’s jokes before hastily unbuckling his seatbelt.

“Ew, Dean, ew! Fuck off, jerk, I’m—“ Sam blurted, stumbling over his words as his cheeks flushed.

Dean laughed, loudly, as he leant back, grinning at his younger brother. He lifted his hands in defence, watching as Sam scrambled to get out of the car.

“Okay, okay! Go get ‘em tiger.” Dean almost sounded proud as Sam got out of the car, slamming the door behind him. Dean frowned, rolling the window down and sticking his head out.

”Don’t slam the doors on Baby, bitch!”

Sam waved his hand dismissively behind him. Dean stayed still in the car for a moment, watching his brother nervously wipe his hands on his jeans as he walked towards the park's entrance. Dean drove back home.

It was a gray day, the fog rolled across the grass in low waves. The grass in the park was moist, softly blanketed in dew. Sam nervously rounded the playground before spotting the small crowd.

It was only about six people;—an older man, gruff and wearing a trucker cap. Beside him stood a pale girl, maybe around Dean’s age, with long red hair. She was talking to Madison who stood opposite of her. The three were standing with a grill between them. To Madison’s right stood an older woman,—not an elderly woman, but an adult, with wavy, dark hair. On her left stood a girl with long, blonde hair, curls light and bouncy. A few feet away stood an older woman,—she looked a lot like the blonde girl—, setting up paper plates on a picnic table.

Sam swallowed thickly, suddenly found himself incredibly shy. He felt bile rise in his throat, and the fog by his feet suddenly felt like it had risen and was choking him.

He hadn’t snapped out of it till his name was called.

“Sam!”

Madison had turned, her grin wide. Sam couldn’t possibly suppress it, another awkward smile lighting up the apples of his cheeks. The other around Madison turns, all looking seemingly welcoming.

Sam nodded, lifting his hand in a wave as he approached the group of six.

“Hey!” Madison exclaimed, being the first to peel herself away from the group. Without a second thought, seemingly, she reached up, wrapping her arms around Sam. Sam’s movements stuttered at Madison’s hug until he eventually managed a shaky hand on her upper back. “I’m so glad you could make it.”

Madison pulled back, grinning up at Sam. His cheeks had flushed, turning a warm rose compared to the cool colour of his skin.

“I’m—“ Sam choked on his own words, his smile shy and wobbling for a moment as Madison led him towards the others. “I’m happy I was invited. Thank you.”

Madison grinned, and Sam swore she almost looked proud.

“Guys,” she beamed, placing a hand on Sam’s arm to lead him forward, like presenting a prize dog, “this is Sam! He’s my classmate.”

“Hi.” Sam managed, lifting his hand in another awkward wave. God, he thought, I’m not built for this.

Everyone politely greeted Sam, but he only really caught about two names; Bobby and Charlie.

“Madison,” Sam blurted before she could step back into the conversation with the others. She turned around, brown hair framing her face like a Victorian painting, eyes woody.

“Yes?”

“I, um,” Sam swallowed thickly, suddenly losing his brief confidence. What if she hated the gift? What if she actually didn’t like pumpkins, and Sam had imagined the pumpkin scent she carried so easily. “I got you a gift.”

Madison’s eyes widened, her smile splitting and flashing her sharper canines. Sam always found it endearing, although he felt it would’ve been weird to say so.

“Really? Sam, you didn’t have to—“ Madison said, though didn’t reject the gift as Sam put it in his hands.

“It’s not anything big, but I’ve been told showing up empty handed isn’t polite.” Sam admitted, rubbing the back of his neck, trying to lessen the nervous tension settling there.

“You’re not wrong, to be fair.” Madison said, glancing around before she walked towards the picnic table. Sam followed, stuffing his hands in his pockets, his palms turning clammy. Madison sat the gift down, catching the attention of the woman setting the table.

“Oh, you’re gettin’ spoiled, huh?” The woman purred, smiling at Madison before giving Sam the same sweet smile. She reached forward to shake his hand; “Ellen Harvelle. Jo over there’s my daughter.”

Sam shook her hand, looking over his shoulder. The blonde girl. They did look alike.

“Nice to meet you.” Sam smiled politely, letting go of Ellen’s hand. Beside him, now sitting down on the bench, Madison untied the bow and peeled back the paper. Sam shifted his weight on his feet, his eyes locked on the ceramic as it was revealed.

Ellen’s smile widened as she watched the two young teens, her eyes lingering on Sam. The way he watched her, attentively and with interest, was endearing.

“Oh, my God,” Madison gasped, her breathing hitching as she held up the dish, “Sammy!”

Sam’s eyes widened, catching his muscles twitching and tensing at the nickname. He calmed himself, quickly, as Madison flew up from her seat. She wrapped an arm around him, bringing him down. In her free hand, she still held the ceramic pumpkin.

“It’s adorable!” She exclaimed, only a few centimeters from Sam’s ear. She pulled away, but kept her hand on Sam’s shoulder. Sam didn’t dare move. He didn’t remember the last time someone had been so openly affectionate with him.

“I love it,” Madison grinned, letting go of Sam before stepping forward, rushing to get to Ellen’s side. “Look, it’s like a trinket jar.”

“It’s real cute,” Ellen said, placing a hand on Madison’s back in a light rub. Madison was beaming, taking off the lid, peeping inside and walking off, calling for the others with excitement. Ellen looked up, her smile knowing and appreciative of the act.

“You know her well?” Ellen asked, straightening up her posture. Sam pressed his lips together, shaking his head. “Not really. I’ve been eating lunch with her the past two days.”

“Only two days?” Ellen asked, finding it a little humouring. Sam nodded. “Welp,” Ellen shrugged, reaching down into a box, grabbing a few plastic cups, “welcome to the family. Most of us work with Maddi. Or are regulars.”

Sam nodded, looking around at the five others.

“Pamela owns the place,” Ellen explained, passing a few cups to Sam, who naturally started lining them up by the plates. “Bobby owns the local auto shop down the road of the shop. Charlie,—the pretty redhead—, and Jo, my girl, both work with Maddi. The three are practically inseparable.”

Sam listened intently, nodding his head as he watched them. He could imagine it, the three manning the store. Pamela looked intimidating, older with at at least five years, maybe more. Charlie looked closer to their age, but he hadn’t seen her at school. Maybe she was younger, too young to share classes with them.

“It’s nice to meet you all.” Sam said, again, repeating himself. Because it truly was nice to meet them, someone, anyone, who was friendly. The town had been to Sam’s liking so far.

Unlike his brother, he didn’t crave the warmth of Texas. He missed it, yes, most definitely. He had a few friends in Lawrence, but it was few, and none of them ever got close enough for Sam to call them his best. Sam liked the town. Maybe it was because, for once, he was the one who had fit in. Made friends, been invited to things, laughed with and not at.

Though Sam didn’t blame Dean for not liking the place. Dean had voiced his opinions about the town within mere hours of having lived there. The two were in Dean’s room, Sam sat on the floor while Dean unpacked his worrying amount of vinyl’s and music memorabilia.

“What d’ya think of the place then?” Dean had asked, lifting a box of vinyls onto his bed, the iron frame creaking. Sam had frowned a little in thought before answering.

“It seems like a nice town.” Sam said, twisting the cord of his headphones between his fingers. Dean frowned, flicking through the vinyls before grabbing Led Zeppelin II and propping it on his dresser. Not a lot of things surrounded the paper cover that held the vinyl safe. A cologne, one Dean used everyday, but was in reality very cheap despite its luxurious look. A bottle of whiskey, still sealed,—a gift from the neighboring farmers for his twenty-first birthday the year prior. There was a bit of clutter as well, a ball of used packing tape and scraps of cardboard.

“We haven’t been in town yet.” Dean said, questioning Sam before reaching into a different cardboard box and pulling out his record player.

“We drove through it on our way here.” Sam told him matter-of-factly. Dean stood still for a moment, setting the record player down on the dresser beside the whiskey. He looked thoughtful for a moment, his lips pursed in a light pout.

“Eh.” He had shrugged, jerking his head in a small whatever like movement, “was probably sorting the tapes by then.”

“Do you like it?” Sam had followed up with another question. Dean had hesitated, pulling a face Sam could easily read. Dean didn’t like the place. It was everything Lawrence wasn’t to him; cold, humid, and a close-knit community Dean wasn’t a part of. He didn’t have an excuse to head into town, he didn’t know how to find a circle. Sam would, eventually, Dean had imagined, make friends at school. John would make relations with stores in town and local shoppers.

How did a twentytwo year old make friends in a town he did not belong in?

”Like what?” Dean had eventually answered Sam. Sam frowned, not quite understanding his brothers questions.

“What do you mean?”

”Like what?”

”Like the ranch. Oregon.” Sam had said. Dean had gone quiet again, distracting himself as he guided the record players chord behind the dresser, and to the nearest plug.

“Mm.” Dean had mused, plugging in the player. “Not really. It’s cold. Wet. Muddy as fuck, have you seen the shed? It’s practically falling apart because of the water damage.”

It was then that Sam realised that Dean was now in his usual position. Awkward, detached from the community, and isolated by their father. Sam now found himself in the position Dean had so often been in, a group setting, and actually contributing to the ongoing conversations.

The birthday party was nice. Sam hadn’t been to one for quite a few years, not since Dean celebrated Sam’s tenth birthday with him by climbing their barn and playing card games on the hayloft. Dean had refrained from cheating, Sam knew that now, because he hadn’t won a game of poker against him since.

Sam sat perched by the far end of the picnic table. To his right sat Madison, who so easily engaged in conversation. Sam found it admirable how someone who had been so timid when talking about herself was so outgoing and expressive. She had explained to Sam that she wasn’t actually that popular at school, and that had puzzled him, because she was extremely likeable, and she had been the first person to talk to Sam at all.

Sam watched Madison with intent as she talked, her hands animated as she explained a dramatic story,—something about almost burning her bedroom down with beeswax candles. Despite February being a cool, cold month, and the fog turning into a light mist rolling by their ankles like corn in the wind, the sun had started to peek through the clouds. Sam couldn’t really believe it, it felt too unreal, but the sun broke through the clouds like small spotlights. One particular spotlight, the only one Sam could get himself to care about, hit Madison. It was like a silhouette drawing, the warm light a stark contrast to her cooler toned features, strands of light and shadow making her look abstract, but soft.

She was a very beautiful girl, Sam thought.

I can’t even lie to you, I did NOT enjoy writing the second half of this chapter, and I fear it shows… It’s been rough, what can I say. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed, and thank you so much for reading xx

Sammy and Maddi make me so happy, they’re absolutely adorable I can’t with them <333

taglist. @pumpkineataaa , @dean-winchesters-cherry-pie