Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Come on Bobby,” Dean complained as he looked over the case in his hand, frowning with each word he read. His father was off on his own hunt and Dean was getting restless at the motel so he’d asked Bobby if he had anything for him, but this was a little ridiculous. “Don’t you have anything else for me? I mean, a simple salt and burn, skin walker, black dogs, anything?!” If there was nothing else, then Dean was going to of course take the offer, but he was going to do everything he could to get out of it first.

Bobby rolled his eyes as he listened to the younger Winchester babble about some other case. There was really nothing out there right now that other hunters weren’t already on, so this was what Bobby had. “No, there’s nothing else that I can give you,” Bobby answered in a slightly annoyed tone. “This is what I have right now; take it or leave it.” He wasn’t sure why everyone always came to him for jobs, but sometimes it really got to him. And while he wasn’t mad at Dean, per se, he was just not in the mood to listen to his whining today.

It didn’t take a genius to know that something was bothering Bobby so Dean decided against asking about another case again to make sure Bobby hadn’t just forgotten about one he had lying around. “All right, all right,” he muttered with a roll of his eyes. “I’ll take it.” He wasn’t sure if he was going to enjoy the hunt like he did most of the other ones he went on, but it was a lot better than sitting around the motel room waiting for his dad to turn up from the hunt he was on at the moment. “So…what’s the issue?”

Shaking his head, Bobby answered, “I’m not sure exactly. It just seemed a little suspicious to me when I read the article in the paper.” Taking the case file from Dean’s hand, Bobby opened the folder and started leafing through the notes until he found the article he was looking for. “Here; three students have been found brutally beaten and murdered, their bodies dumped in a nearby alley over the last few weeks. The police are thinking serial killer, but I went and took a look at the bodies a few days ago and they all had one thing in common.” Slowly, he turned his attention to Dean who seemed to be listening pretty intently. “All three victims had traces of sulfur on their bodies. I’m thinking demon attacks, but I didn’t investigate close enough to know for sure.”

Now that Dean had all of the possible facts, the younger male nodded, retrieving the file from Bobby once more. “Well all right then,” he muttered, tucking the file under his arm. “I’ll head out and see what I can find out.” He was just about to leave when Bobby called after him, Dean turning on his heel to see what the older hunter wanted. “What’s wrong?”

Quickly, Bobby explained, “You might be there for a while boy, so you’re going to need a cover.” When Dean called him about a possible case, Bobby had taken the liberty of making a student ID card for him because he knew that Dean would never turn something down no matter how annoying he thought it may be; it was either a very good quality to have or a very bad one, Bobby wasn’t sure which yet. “Here’s your student ID card; you’re a third year criminal justice student and you just transferred there from an out of state college.” Smiling, Bobby explained, “I took the liberties of faxing over your transcripts so they know your educational history, Dean Smith.”

When Bobby told him that his name was Dean Smith, Dean nearly rolled his eyes. It was such a tacky name, but he supposed it would have to do. After all, it wasn’t like he could just walk in there with the name Dean Winchester; they would probably have not even accepted him if that were the case because the police were after him for credit card fraud. But when you live the life of a hunter, you have to make money somehow; it wasn’t like the job paid well, after all, so hustling pool and credit card fraud were really the only options for cash. “Criminal justice huh?” Dean asked, finding the major a little ironic. “All right…is there anything else I should know before I start out for Palo Alto?”

At the shake of Bobby’s head, Dean nodded, thanking the older hunter before he left the house and climbed into the Impala, starting the long trip to Stanford. He had to make a few stops for bathroom breaks and food, but other than that, Dean drove straight through, not even stopping to sleep. He figured he could sleep when he got there if he was tired; after all, sleeping in a dorm was going to be pretty sweet as long as he didn’t have a roommate who annoyed the hell out of him. Although he had never been to college, he’d heard horror stories about awful roommates.

He arrived at Stanford around eleven o’clock the next morning, his eyes starting to droop from exhaustion as he headed into the admissions office where he was told to go in order to get registered and all of his information regarding living arrangements and class schedules. It was a long, boring process and when it was finally over, Dean headed to his new room where he planned on crashing for a good three hours before he started really getting into this case.

Because he had arrived so late, he was told to just start going to class tomorrow since he had already missed the first three classes and the fourth was well underway; Dean wasn’t complaining about an extra day off after all. His roommate was in class too, so that meant Dean had the whole place to himself, Dean thanking whoever was listening for small miracles. He quickly tucked his duffel bag into the closet before hiding his weapons duffel under the bed. Once that was finished, Dean climbed under the covers and settled in for a few good hours of sleep, knowing that he had a big day ahead of him and an even bigger one tomorrow.

**~~**

It was around three o’clock when his roommate came home, Dean quickly jerking awake when he heard the door opening, instinctively reaching for the knife he kept under his pillow while he slept. When he noticed that it was only his roommate, he removed his hand, keeping the knife safe where it couldn’t be spotted as he pushed himself into a seated position. “Hey,” he greeted with a small, sleepy smile. “I’m Dean; you’re new roommate.” It was pretty self-explanatory, though Dean didn’t know what else to say in this sort of situation; he had never been really good with introductions because he knew there was always going to be a goodbye in the end so there was no point in getting close.

“Oh yeah hi,” the roommate answered with a small nod. “They told me you were supposed to be coming in today; didn’t think it would be until later, but you’re here now so welcome. I’m Ash so if you need to know anything, need anything in particular, just ask me and I’ll get ya squared away.” Smiling widely, Ash bounced on the balls of his feet, not really sure where the go from here. “There’s a party on the next floor. You wanna come? It’s a great way to meet new people before your classes start.”

A wide smile came to Dean’s lips when Ash asked him if he wanted to go to a party, Dean giving his head a nod. Parties were the only good things about colleges and Dean sure as hell wasn’t going to pass one up because he was new and supposed to be on a case. After all, people were his source of information here until he had something solid so it would have been going against his job to decline the invitation; at least that’s what he was telling himself to make himself feel better as he climbed out of the bed and pulled on his boots. And maybe if he brought a girl home later she could be his number one source of information; yeah, that sounded like he was doing his job.

The party actually had a nice turn out, Ash sticking close to Dean almost the whole time and telling him who he should talk to and who he should avoid. Apparently the criminal justice majors didn’t get along with the business majors, so he was supposed to avoid them; Dean didn’t really care who he was supposed to avoid, knowing that if there was a hot business major in the crowd he would all of a sudden be majoring in medicine, though he let Ash have his moment, nodding when he thought it was appropriate. After all, the guy was his roommate so Dean figured it was a good idea to at least get along with him until Ash gave him a reason not to.

Out of the corner of his eye, Dean saw a young man with a deep purple bruise on his cheek heading for the kitchen. The kid had books under his arm and it seemed as though he had been trying to study in the lobby instead of partying with the crowd. “Who’s that?” Dean asked, pointing in the kid’s direction as he bumped elbows with Ash, hoping his roommate who seemed to be full of information knew something about this intriguing stranger.

Ash had to cock his head to the side to see around Dean though he managed to get a good look at the man Dean was talking about, giving his head a small shake as he sighed. “That’s not someone you want to get involved with,” he assured Dean. “Some kind of twisted relationship thing he has going on with a senior; very jealous type. I would imagine he’s the one who gave Sam the bruise he’s sporting right there.” He shrugged as he continued, “But if you insist; his name is Sam Wesson and he’s a third year criminal justice major like you are. He kinda keeps to himself because, again jealous boyfriend. More often than not, he comes to school with marks on him but he always has an excuse as to how they got there; you know, typical abused boyfriend thing.” Giving himself a moment to think, Ash continued, “He only hangs out with one person for the most part, probably the only person he’s allowed to hang out with; Jessica Moore is her name. I think she had a crush on him when he first got here, but when she found out about Oliver, she quickly just asked to be his friend.”

With another sigh, Ash went on to say, “I talk to Jessica sometimes. She told me that she tries to get Sam to leave Oliver but he never listens; she’s also afraid that one day Sam’s not going to show up for school and she’s going to find him lying beaten so badly in the middle of the road somewhere that he won’t survive. Especially now after those students came up beaten to death in those alleys. Jess is really freaking out about it.”

Now they were getting somewhere. “Students beaten to death in alleys?” Dean asked, feigning ignorance as he looked to Ash for guidance. “I haven’t heard about that yet; care to let the new guy in on the story?”

Frowning, Ash asked, “You haven’t heard it yet? It’s been all over the news, dude. My old roommate was actually one of the victims. He was dating this guy and then one day his boyfriend just went psycho on him. He became real possessive and wouldn’t let Andy go out with anyone; always accused him of cheating when Andy was hanging out with his friends. One time his boyfriend threw a punch at me when I opened the door in my boxers because he thought I was having sex with Andy; I had just woken up!” Shaking his head, Ash concluded, “Andy was dead within a week; I didn’t even see it coming. We were best friends and I couldn’t do anything to stop it. That’s why I’m trying to hook up with Jessica to help her get Sam out of this relationship he’s in now. Sam’s a nice kid; he doesn’t deserve to go out like Andy did.”

As Ash told the story of his old roommate, Dean frowned, feeling bad for the guy because he knew what it was like to lose people you were close to. In his work, a friend was there one day and gone the next; hell a family member was there one day and gone the next. At least that had been the way with his mom; one minute she was tucking him into bed and the next she was pinned to ceiling in the baby’s nursery and the house was on fire. He’d lost two family members that night – his mother and his unborn little brother – and he was pretty sure his father had never fully recovered from that. It was the reason they were in the business after all. “Well, what are the chances I’m going to have class with this kid?” He knew they could talk after class if Dean could catch up to him; his boyfriend probably wouldn’t be there if Dean was lucky.

At first, the only answer he received to his question was a small shrug as Ash mulled it over in his head. “I would say there’s about a ninety five percent chance you’ll at least have one class with Sam. But don’t bank on him talking to you, man; Sam doesn’t talk to anyone. I can’t even get him to talk to me now and we’ve been in the same school since elementary, dude. He only talks to Jessica. If you want to get to Sam, she’s your way in.”

After chatting with Ash for about twenty minutes both to be polite and to get information on this Jessica girl, Dean excused himself, letting his roommate know that he was going to mingle and meet some new people before he started school tomorrow. Luckily, Ash seemed to understand as Dean slipped away into the crowd. He’d seen a woman matching Jessica’s description a few seconds before he got away from Ash and now he was going to catch up to her and see what he could figure out about Sam. If he was right in his theory about Sam being the next victim, he needed to get to the younger male as soon as possible.

He was actually a little worried that he wasn’t going to reach her, but at the last minute, Dean accidentally tripped over another party goer’s foot and fell right into Jessica, nearly knocking the younger woman over. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” Dean apologized, quickly straightening to his full height. “I didn’t even see his foot there; are you all right? I didn’t hurt you did I?”

Although she was more than willing to scream at Dean for running into her and nearly shoving her onto the floor, when she saw Dean – saw how cute he was – Jessica quickly changed her tune. “I’m fine,” she assured with a small nod. “Are you all right? I mean, you nearly fell on your head.” And that wouldn’t have been a good thing; such a pretty face shouldn’t be harmed.

Smiling, Dean gave his head a small shake as he chuckled, “Yeah, well I guess I have you to thank for the fact that I didn’t,” he smiled, allowing his charm to just ooze out of him. “I’m Dean,” he greeted as he extended his hand towards the young blonde, smile widening when Jessica took his hand. “I’m a new student, so maybe that’s why he tripped me, huh?”

Jessica giggled at Dean’s joke as she took his offered hand. “I’m Jessica, or Jess, whichever,” she replied, quickly pulling her hand away from Dean’s with an embarrassed chuckle when she realized she had been staring like a love struck teenager. It wasn’t like it was her fault though; Dean was very attractive and now he was talking to her which was great. All of the other girls who had been staring at him a moment ago were going to be so jealous and Jess kind of loved it. “So…you’re a new student huh?” she asked. “That’s interesting; we don’t get a lot of those around here. What are you majoring in Dean?”

In all honesty, Dean really didn’t want to sit here and have a conversation with Jessica. If there was one thing he knew, it was demons; and demons worked very quickly. This thing that was killing students could have been beating Sam to a pulp right now and there was nothing Dean could do about it because he didn’t have the information that he needed. So, as much as he hated it, he was going to have to mingle and get more info on Sam in order to make this case work. After all, Ash had said that if he wanted to get to Sam, this was his way in. “I’m a criminal justice major,” he explained with a small smile. He didn’t want to talk too much about his fake enrollment here, so he quickly changed the subject. “Do you want to get a drink with me?”

A wide smile came to Jessica’s lips when Dean asked if she wanted to get a drink with him, the younger woman nodding a little too eagerly before Dean took her hand and led her to the kitchen where the drinks were being held. She wasn’t exactly old enough to drink, but that wasn’t really an issue. It wasn’t like Dean was a cop and had asked her to see ID before he handed over the bottle of beer.

They spent the next few hours talking about things that weren’t important enough for Dean to remember, the older male really not even listening and only nodding when he felt like it was a good time. He needed a way to turn the topic to Sam and she just wasn’t giving him a way in. Actually, he was starting to get frustrated though he knew that he had to be patient with this girl and make her happy because this was his one shot at getting closer to Sam. So, he would suffer through this. Besides, it wasn’t like Jessica wasn’t easy to look at; she had a nice face, a smokin’ body and a great rack. She was a little tall for his liking, but that wasn’t really an issue when she was sitting down. Of course, he wasn’t focusing on how hot she was now because he was pretty sure that she had just given him a way in.

“I mean, look at Sam. If there are only guys like that here, then I don’t even want to date,” Jessica was babbling on. “And even good guys like Scott Cary could go bad at any second it seems; you heard about Andy Gallagher, right? It was horrible.” Shaking her head, she gave a disgusted look before she quickly took another pull from her third beer. Talking about Sam’s situation always made her sad and the alcohol seemed to numb the feeling at least for a little while. Countless of times she’d begged Sam to leave Oliver when he came in to school with another bruise or a cut on his face. But of course, Sam insisted that it was his fault and that he was such a klutz that he had fallen and hit a doorknob or slipped on something wet and fell into the kitchen counter; yeah right, Jessica wasn’t stupid. She knew better.

When Jessica looked to him as though to have him start a conversation topic, Dean gave a small shake of his head, not willing to let this opportunity slip out of his hands. “I’m sorry, I don’t know who you’re talking about,” he explained. “Like I said, I’m new here and don’t really know anyone aside from you and my roommate Ash. He dragged me here so I could meet new people, but it seems like no one really wants to talk to me. So maybe I’ll have better luck in classes, huh?” Smiling slightly, he gave Jessica a minute to process what he had just said. “So…who’s Sam?”

She sighed softly as she explained, “He’s my best friend. But he’s dating this dick Oliver Queen and I’m about ninety-nine percent sure that Oliver is abusing Sam, though he assures me that Oliver’s never touched him. I just…can’t believe him, you know? I mean, he comes to class with new bruises on him all of the time and that’s just where we can see them! Who knows what other marks are being hidden under Sam’s clothes! And he wears these giant hoodies to make sure no parts of his body are exposed, so what the hell am I supposed to think, Dean?!” A single tear slipped down her cheek but Jessica quickly brushed it away, giving her head a small shake. “I’m sorry; I don’t mean to cry here like this. It’s just…I don’t want my best friend to end up being the top story on the five o’clock news, Dean.”

Honestly, Dean hadn’t expected Jessica to get so emotional and wasn’t exactly sure what he should do. When this kind of shit happened with other woman, Dean would just tuck tail and bolt, knowing that he didn’t want anything to do with an emotional chick. But this case was different because he needed Jessica in order to get closer to Sam, so he was going to have to deal with the emotions somehow. As long as he was on her good side, he had a feeling she was going to lead him straight to the demon. Slowly, he reached for her, arm wrapping around her back as he pat her shoulder a few times. “It’s okay Jess,” he assured the younger woman. “No one is going to hurt Sam anymore and he’s not going to be on the news, I promise.” Biting into his bottom lip, Dean lied, “You know I kind of have experience with friends being in abusive relationships. Maybe I could talk to Sam and get him to see reason about Oliver? I mean, if it would make you feel better.”

Another wide smile came to Jessica’s lips when Dean suggested that he talk to Sam, the younger woman giving a small nod in answer. “Well, none of us can get through to him, so I don’t see why you would be able to, but it’s worth a shot,” she shrugged. “Oh I could hug you right now!” she exclaimed, not waiting for Dean’s answer as she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tightly to her body. If he was going to help Sam, then she was going to be forever grateful; especially if he could get through to Sam when no one else could.

Dean returned Jessica’s smile and then her hug, giving a small chuckle at the woman’s obvious delight by the suggestion of helping Sam. If he had any say in this, Sam wasn’t going to be the next victim to this thing; Andrew Gallagher was going to be the last poor student this thing harmed, even if Dean had to go down making that a fact. “There’s only one problem,” he mumbled as he pulled away from Jessica. “I have no idea who Sam is.” It was a lie of course, but he didn’t think walking up to Sam and having a conversation with him was going to get him anywhere. As Ash had pointed out, Jessica was his way in.

Shaking her head, Jessica assured him, “Don’t worry about it. Just meet me in the school’s cafeteria after class tomorrow and I’ll make sure Sam’s there.” Her smile widened as she hugged Dean again, this time really holding on and nuzzling into the crook of his neck. “Thank you so much for this, Dean,” she whispered, hoping against hope that Dean was actually as good as he said he was and there was a chance he was going to get Sam to come to his senses and see that Oliver was bad for him. “I just hope you can get through to him.”

**~~**

“How was the party?” a voice asked from within the dark room, causing Sam to jump slightly, his prelaw book falling from his fingers because of the action. Although it was pitch black in the room, he knew who was speaking; it didn’t take a genius to recognize Oliver’s voice after three years of dating, after all. Only, tonight it was different; colder, even more so than usual and Sam knew this wasn’t going to be the night he’d planned on when he left the school lobby because he couldn’t concentrate on his studies.

When he put his books down on the countertop, Sam accidentally knocked over a bottle that he hadn’t seen due to the darkness surrounding him, the younger male gasping when it hit the floor and shattered, warm alcohol sliding along the laminate floors, getting the long pant legs of Sam’s jeans wet. “I’m sorry,” he muttered, dropping to his knees and quickly starting to pick up the broken shards of glass, one larger piece cutting into his hand, causing him to whimper in pain. He didn’t scream; he knew that if he screamed, it would only upset Oliver and that’s the last thing Sam wanted to do. Especially since Oliver already seemed to be in a bad mood.

Another whimper escaped Sam as he felt Oliver’s hand twist painfully in his hair, forcing his head up so that he was staring into his handsome face, the shadows covering Oliver, making him look even more menacing than he did in the light. “I asked you a question, Sam!” Oliver hissed. “How was your precious little party? Did you meet anyone exciting?!” Angrily, he shoved Sam’s head out of his hands, causing the younger male’s forehead to bounce off the floors due to the force he had given the boy’s skull when he pushed him. “You know Sam, I try to ignore the fact that you’re a whore who’s probably out fucking every attractive man who looks at you, but it’s hard for me to do that when you’re out until midnight or later partying with the student body!”

He moved around to the table in the kitchen as he continued, “I made us a nice, romantic dinner while you were out whoring it up and now it’s fucking cold!” With one swipe of his strong arm, everything on the table fell to the floor, the sound of shattering dishes causing Sam to jump once more. Again, he moved towards Sam, grabbing the younger male roughly and dragging him to his feet. “Who were you with Sam?!” he demanded angrily, twisting Sam’s arm until he heard the satisfying gasp of pain escaping his lover’s lips. “Who the hell were you fucking while I was slaving over a hot stove, you little slut?!”

Pulling Sam in closer so that he was right in the younger male’s face, Oliver hissed, “You think he’s safe from me, Sam? I’ll find him…or her if you’re starting to swing that way again. Whoever your lover is, you better watch it because he’s not safe!” With that, Oliver shoved Sam into the counter, smiling once more when he heard Sam hiss in pain. “Now, would you care to finally answer my question, or do you need a little more convincing, Sam?”

Tears were tracking down Sam’s cheeks as he slowly pushed himself away from the counter, holding his abdomen where he had made contact with the unforgiving Formica. “I wasn’t at the party,” he whispered with a shake of his head, leaning over to pick up the book he’d dropped when he had come into the apartment. He showed the textbook to Oliver as he explained, “I have been in the lobby since four o’clock studying for the test I have tomorrow. I swear, I wasn’t anywhere near the party and I didn’t talk to anyone; not even Jessica, Oliver, I promise.”

Oliver’s chocolate eyes widened slightly when he saw how badly he had hurt Sam both physically and emotionally. Quickly, he moved towards the younger male and wrapped his arms around his lover, unable to miss the way Sam flinched away from him as though he was afraid Oliver was going to attack him again. “I’m sorry, sweetie,” Oliver whispered as he pulled Sam into his chest, cradling the younger male in his arms. “It’s just…you know how jealous I get when you’re not with me. I’m always worried that you’re off with someone else and you’re going to leave me. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.” He pressed a kiss to Sam’s temple then, fingers running through the younger male’s hair as he tried to apologize for his earlier outburst.

Although Sam knew that it was hopeless for the most part and he knew deep down that Oliver was never going to change, he forgave him; every time he forgave him. Sam was in love with Oliver and it wasn’t Oliver’s fault that he was jealous. A former boyfriend had cheated on him and now Oliver didn’t see anything but disloyalty when he looked at Sam. But Sam was determined to change that and if that meant he had to deal with Oliver’s wrath when he was gone for long periods of time, Sam was willing to do it. After all, it wasn’t like he didn’t heal given time and Oliver didn’t always act like this. When he wasn’t on a rampage, Oliver was the sweetest, most loving boyfriend Sam had ever had the pleasure of being around.

“It’s okay Oliver,” Sam assured his lover, arms wrapping around the older male’s shoulders as he pressed his face into Oliver’s neck. “It’s okay; I know. I’m sorry,” he whispered, pressing a soft kiss to Oliver’s pulse point as his own fingers worked through Oliver’s hair. “I’m so sorry I make you feel this way. I’ll do better, I promise.” Pulling back, Sam cupped the older male’s cheek. “I’m never going to leave you, so you don’t have to worry about that. I love you; please just try to remember that.”

A surprised moan escaped Sam’s lips as Oliver kissed him, pulling the younger male in closer to him and grinding against Sam’s hip. Sam was still kind of sore from where he had hit the counter, but he wasn’t about to deny Oliver what he wanted; mainly it was out of fear that Oliver would go off the rails again. Besides, Oliver was usually pretty quick about sex when he was in the mood, so Sam did his best to at least pretend like he was having fun. And Oliver never really cared if Sam came or not, so it wasn’t like Sam had to actually enjoy it.

Hands shoved at Sam’s jacket in a desperate attempt to get it off, Oliver whispering, “I want this off you Sam; now.” He was anything but patient and when he wanted something from Sam, he usually got it in a timely fashion. A small chuckle escaped him as he shoved Sam’s jacket completely off with the younger male’s help before he captured Sam’s lips again, walking him backward towards their bedroom. Once he was inside, he kicked the door shut, moaning softly against Sam’s lips when the younger male jumped at the sound. Sam was always so scared at the smallest little noise and it kind of turned Oliver on.

As soon as they were close enough, Oliver gave Sam a hard shove, forcing the younger male to fall back onto the bed before he started opening his own pants, stripping himself of his shirt once that task was done. “Get your clothes off Sam,” he instructed, lust filled eyes watching the younger male as Sam moved to do what he had been told to. “You’re so beautiful Sam; can barely keep my hands off you.” Once Sam’s clothes were off, Oliver climbed into the bed and ran his hands all over Sam’s bare flesh, moaning as he nipped his way along Sam’s neck to his shoulder then back up to nip at Sam’s lips.

Just as Sam had suspected, once Oliver got really into it, the older male lost it completely. Oliver had barely had time to get inside Sam before he was cumming all over him with a surprised groan. After Oliver reached his climax, he didn’t even worry about Sam; he merely wiped himself off with some tissues before he rolled over onto his side and fell asleep. Some nights, Sam could fall right asleep, but the pain in his abdomen was too great tonight. Jessica was a med student and he knew that she could help; he also knew that he was going to have to come up with a decent lie in order to get her help. But he knew there was no way he was going to be able to sleep with this kind of pain, so he needed her help.

Sighing, Sam pushed himself out of the bed and pulled his clothes back on, being extra careful so he didn’t jostle himself too much and so he didn’t wake Oliver. He could only imagine the fit his lover would have if he woke up and caught Sam trying to sneak out of the house. When he was dressed and absolutely sure that Oliver was still sound asleep, Sam slipped out of the room and then out of the apartment. Jessica’s apartment building was only a few blocks away, so it wasn’t like he had to walk far in order to get there, which he was thanking whoever was listening for.

When he finally reached his friend’s apartment, he knocked softly, not wanting to wake any of her roommates though he had seen Jessica’s light on upstairs so he had a feeling she was awake and would hear his knock. Luckily, he was right, the young male smiling when Jessica opened the door. “Hey Jess,” he greeted, trying to hide the fact that he was in pain though he could tell by the look on her face that he was doing a poor job of it. “Can I come in?”

To say that she was surprised would have been an understatement, Jessica giving Sam a small frown when she noticed that he was holding himself in an awkward way; that could only mean one thing as far as she was concerned. “What did he do to you now?” Jessica asked, her voice a bit colder than she had meant for it to be though she wasn’t going to correct it. Oliver was an ass and Jessica wasn’t going to hide her hatred for him anymore. “Get in here before you freeze to death,” she scolded, ushering Sam inside. “Now tell me everything.”