— Dean Winchester | @collidingxworlds
Dean’s steps faltered for the briefest moment in surprise when the accusation reached him, but the misstep was subtle enough to go easily unnoticed. The teen had spoken loud enough for some of the students that sat near by to hear him, but his claim seemed to elicit mostly snickering and eyeroll and little else. It was clear that the stubborn statement hadn’t been bought by his peers, especially not when it was coming from someone who was probably already considered an outcast among them.
Deep down, the older Winchester felt a bit bad for the kid. With how often John had moved him and Sam when they had been younger, he knew what it meant to be an outsider. Sure, he had always managed to make his way into some of the crowd, but that had never changed the fact that he had never had the chance to get close to his classmates or to make actual friends. Why should have he bothered, when he would be packing and leaving again just after a few weeks, or a couple of months top? It wasn’t worth the trouble. Not when he had to lie about himself and his family all the time to start with.
However, that wasn’t the time to be sympathetic. Even if no one had paid attention to the teen’s words, it was still irritating that the latter had had the guts to step up and try to out it in front of everyone. It could have jeopardised his position and alert the creatures he was after and Dean couldn’t have that. Not when there were lives at stake. This cemented his resolve to deal with the younger man, whether he was just a brat who needed to get his attitude in check or the monster responsible for the killings.
Ironically, handling him in the former case would have been a worse pain in the ass than it would have been if it had turned out that he was the culprit.
“Oh, of course. Because you know what a ‘real’ FBI badge looks like, kid. Maybe you shouldn’t be watching that much TV. It’s clearly not good for you,” the hunter pointed out with a scoff, coming to a stop just a couple of steps away from the teen. “But sure, contact the local authorities if you want. I’m pretty sure the Sheriff, I’m sure that they will take some random teen’s word over the one of the guy they have been working with for over three days now. I’m sure they’ll be ecstatic to hear that you’re calling them dumb.”
His words were full of confidence and with reason. The sheriff of that small town was a boisterous man with strong opinions and whose mind wasn’t easily changed once he had made it up. Dean had taken two very frustrating hours to convince him to let “the FBI” help out and the guy was prideful enough to refuse to ever even considered the chance that he had been tricked now that he had agreed.
“Now, I asked you to be polite, but mine wasn’t exactly a request. So. We can either make a scene in front of everyone…”
His voice trailed off as he spared a glare in the direction of one of the students, who had started to pull out his phone, most likely to take a picture of make a video. Useless to say, the young man hurried to drop the device as soon as noticed that the older Winchester was looking at him with open disapproval.
“Or,” he resumed, returning his eyes on his current target, “we can go somewhere else, like that little bar just outside the campus, I can buy us both coffee and we can talk like civilised people. Your choice. Just a warning. I’ve brought people in for less and that stain won’t look nice on your record when you’ll be out of school and looking for a job.”
The threat was mostly empty, since Dean was aware that he couldn’t leave too many official tracks of his presence, but the teen couldn’t know for sure. Of course, he seemed pretty adamant on the fact that he wasn’t a true FBI agent, but was he sure enough to want to risk it? The hunter didn’t think so. Also because, when young people were too smart for their own good, it usually meant that they had something to hide too.
The man didn't know where he was getting himself into. The more he spoke, the more certain Shoto was he wasn't working for his father. Judging by the way his old man usually worked — abusing power at every given chance — he would have arrested him already. Yet, the hunter to have been insulted in public view, was still willing to talk, even when not giving him an alternative to it. Despite his efforts, he still couldn't be trusted. A hunter could never be trusted, when there was a monster to chase.
He should already have been suspicious of him. If Shoto refused his offer and chose to reveal his real nature, he'd certainly be confused for the culprit. Meaning the hunter would lose focus on the real case and as the one behind the murders would carelessly run free, more people were going to be in danger. Only because he happened to be there. Because he happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, once again. He indeed was cursed. The question was, was he ready to throw away his own life for the sake of everyone's safety and trust his life in this man's hands? Not yet. Because he still had a goal to fulfill.
Was he ready to give up on everything he had built for one more time? Start over, for one more time? To think of it, there was nothing to hold onto in this town. Having remained a stranger to everyone, living in fear of being recognized and hunted. Even if he managed to get out of this alive, nothing was going to change other than the place. It wasn't life the one he led, no matter how hard he tried to call it one. In the end, he continued to be his puppet, acting according to that bastard's will. He may no longer have to beat him into obeying, but he had found other means to force him to do as he wanted. Driving him to a corner and giving him only one way out. Was it running and hiding he'd have to do next? So he did. Because he hadn't any other choice, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself he had.
“ Good try. ” He walked towards him, closing the gap between them. “ But I know exactly what animals you are here to hunt. ” The man's attempt to scare him had been pointless, yet he had managed to attract more attention than before. Wide heterochromatic eyes stared at the student to have pulled out his phone. Teenagers, never once thinking of what the consequences of their actions could be. How this seemingly innocent video could have been the end of him. Panic written on his face, his heart beating fast in his chest, was pushing him to act as quick as he could — use his power? No, he shouldn't go that far, he should be able to hold himself back. Shoto was about to move towards the student with intention to take his phone from him, before the other acted on his behalf. Why? He must have done it to protect himself.
“ I hate this, ” he mumbled mostly to himself. He wasn't proud of what he was about to do next. He kept his head bowed, gritting his teeth, and moved to stand by the hunter's side. A cold aura suddenly surrounded the two of them. His plan, to show him a tiny glimpse of his power, so nobody else was going to notice. “ Make a scene, and I'll freeze this whole area before you can move an inch, not to say pull out your gun. Choose your enemies wisely. You don't want me to be one of them, ” he whispered. Everyone in the area was his supposed hostage now, even though Shoto didn't mean a single word he said. Just returning the threats the other had so easily been spouting.
His right hand barely touched the hunter's for a single second, and a thin layer of ice covered the area of contact. “ You'll let me walk away. If you don't follow me, you won't see me again. ” Maybe, he'd be smart enough not to chase him. Maybe, he'd be scared enough to let him go. What mattered, was buying even a few minutes to run away. “ I don't expect you to believe me, but it wasn't me that murdered those people. ” In what mad world, would a hunter believe someone like him? One to have fought the supernatural, seen innocent people brutally lose their lives. If their roles were reversed, he wouldn't have believed him either. If he had only been human. Not the monster his father had shaped him into.
