psychic_wonder

"Hi, you've reached Sam Winchester. I can't come to the phone right now, but leave a message after the beep, and I'll get back to you."

In creating this journal, the author has assumed the identity of a fictional person for use in the role-playing game fandomhigh, for the sole purpose of entertainment, without intending to obtain a benefit or to injure or defraud either the person who created the fictional person, or any reader of this content. The author does not purport to be the creator of the fictional person, or to be affiliated with the creator, or with any person or entity with an interest in the fictional person. The author does not claim to be the person who is being used as the graphical representation of that fictional person, nor intend to obtain a benefit or to injure or defraud that person by use of their image.

Sam had thought that once he and Peter had graduated, they wouldn't see a certain adorable child again until, well, she actually existed. Then Zoe had called, with unmistakable squealing in the background, and once again, Sam was glad to have a boyfriend who could teleport so they didn't have to worry about dealing with Portalocity.

"Man, we didn't even go to prom. Do you think doing, you know, typical post-prom things counts even if you're away from Fandom?" Yes, he was still trying to figure this place out. Old habits died hard.

It was a little strange to be back on the beach again this evening. When the town had come back, Peter and Sam had reappeared right where the darkness had taken them on the shore, and while most of Sam's evening had been spent getting yelled at by Zoe - when she wasn't squeezing him in a deathgrip hug - he'd still had time to think about what had happened to Peter, and how he'd reacted in turn. There were a dozen places on the island he could have brought Peter to for this talk, but the beach had always had kind of a special significance for them, and the sound of the waves had calming potential. This conversation was going to be difficult, and Sam figured he could use all the help he could get.

[For that other guy in the post!]

Sam and Peter had noticed the dark clouds swirling around Fandom's sky, and while they had a decent enough view from Zoe and John's house (which was still Zoe's and John's no matter where Sam's dad had ended up), they'd agreed that getting a closer look would be a good idea. In retrospect, Sam wondered if he should have verbally told Zoe they were heading for the beach, but he figured the note he'd left on the kitchen table was notice enough.

"Am I allowed to say I have a bad feeling about this, or am I going to owe someone money?" he asked, glancing back and forth between Peter and the clouds.

[For ze boyfriend!]

It had started at school.

When one of Sam's professors stopped showing up for class, he thought maybe the guy had gotten sick, until he went to Student Services and was told that his class wasn't in the system, and that there was no professor at the school with that name. Then, some of his study group emails began bouncing back, and that was right around the time that Dean began calling him asking about hunts they'd been on as kids, fighting monsters that Bobby insisted weren't real.

Then things started disappearing. No one else seemed to think it was strange that there was a hole in the middle of the country where Kansas was supposed to be, and Sam was pretty sure that a bunch of state capitals weren't what he remembered from school. It was different where Dean was - whole countries had gone missing from maps, enough that even Dean, whose geography skills didn't stretch much past the continental US, knew things didn't look right anymore.

Then, today, Sam had come back from his last classes of the week to two voicemails: one from Zoe, asking with an almost odd sense of calm if he knew a good reason why John's cellphone had been disconnected, and one from Dean, yelling about a dark, empty cloud before the message cut short.

Now, Sam was curled up on the couch, with Scout's head in his lap, dialing Dean's number for a time that was well within double digits. He didn't know whose voice was on the recorded message of "The number you have dialed is no longer in service," but he hated them a hell of a lot right now. It was pretty much all he had at the moment.

[For the boyfriend, and any calls or emails!]

Sam had missed Peter like crazy this summer, but everything that had happened last week had made the distance between Fandom and New York seem even greater. (Especially since, technically speaking, he was a lot farther away than usual.) Finally, Sam had broken down and asked Peter if he could spare some time for a visit, fully intending to fill him in on the whole sickness and monsters bit, if only to be able to vent about it now that it was over, and Peter couldn't get hurt trying to help.

But then Peter had arrived, and it had been so long since Sam had actually laid eyes on him and not just talked to him, and Zoe was out with Grace, and Peter had looked so good, and one thing had led to another and talking had been set to the side for the sake of tearing each others' clothes off.

Sam probably would have felt more guilty if Peter hadn't enjoyed it as much as he had.

With their more pressing needs taken care of, Sam and Peter were resting in Sam's bed, relaxing all curled up together. "Okay, maybe I miss you a little less right now," he said with a grin.

[For the boyfriend, who was modded with permission!]

Sam was still feeling gleeful over the whole office thing, and today, he'd set up his laptop near the open window so he could enjoy the warm air while he looked for safe websites for his class. It was, at the moment, a sadly short list, at least partly because he kept getting distracted by the view outside. Maybe sitting by the window hadn't been the brightest idea, but he wasn't going to get up now.

[Door and post are open, and I'm on SP until 4pm. Oh testing, how you kill me.]

There were a lot of reasons Sam was excited about teaching this summer, and getting an office was one of them. He felt more responsible than ever sitting at a desk with his laptop, and sure, he was splitting his time between e-mailing Peter and playing games on Facebook, but he still felt like more of an adult than he had at this point last year. Surely, that was some kind of progress.

[Open for visitors/calls/emails/whatever!]

Now that all of his finals were over, Sam was celebrating by...packing for his trip back to Fandom. It still felt weird to be heading back, especially since Peter wasn't coming with him, but Sam knew that Zoe needed help with Grace, even if she wouldn't admit it, and he did miss the island, even if he wouldn't admit it. He wasn't leaving until Saturday, but that didn't mean he was going to do all of his packing later. Sam had a feeling that someone was going to try to distract him when he had the chance, so starting to get prepared now seemed like a good idea.

Sam was well into his second semester of college, and the shiny still hadn't worn off. He still loved his school, and his classes, and his classmates, and everything about being in New York. He did not, however, love tests, especially when they came one right after another with midterms looming not that far in the distance.

He'd spent almost the whole weekend studying, and despite being on his third cup of coffee, he'd reached the point where history was starting to combine with biology which was starting to combine with calculus, and none of his notes were making sense. Admitting temporary defeat, Sam had put his head down to close his eyes and try to keep his vision from swimming. That? Had been over an hour ago.

Hopefully, he wasn't drooling on anything important.

[For the boyfriend!]

Wednesdays were almost always one of Sam's easier days at school. He had lecture classes all morning, and then his whole afternoon was free, which gave him plenty of time to sit in the library and study. He'd managed to find a few other people from his classes who willingly studied in the middle of the week, and they'd sit together and chat while going over their notes and papers. It was completely geeky, and completely the kind of experience he'd been hoping to find at college.

Today though, Sam had been far too distracted by thoughts of Peter to study. He'd barely been able to concentrate in class, so instead of going to the library, he'd gone straight back to Peter's apartment to check on Scout and wait for Peter to come home from work. On his way inside, he'd grabbed the mail, and saw that their internet bill had come again. Taking care of that had been a good distraction from everything else on his mind, as was checking to see how much money he had left in his checking account. There was enough there to cover next month's bill, and if he got money for Christmas, he'd be all set for a while. The thought of being able to take care of Peter in some small way had made Sam feel really good.

Or, maybe it was just thinking about Peter again that had made him feel good. Sam was kind of easy at the moment.

He'd been about to put the envelope away with his books, to hide it with the rest of the old bills, when Peter had come home from work. The bill was forgotten as easily as the rest of Sam's stuff, and if Peter minded getting pounced on as soon as the door was closed, he certainly hadn't said anything about it.

[For the boyfriend!]

By now, Sam was used to the whole turning-into-a-girl thing happening every once in a while. Waking up yesterday morning had been annoying, but he'd been grateful that it was Sunday, when he didn't have much of anything to do. When he woke up this morning though, his attitude was very different. He'd gone back to bed for a few more minutes, in case sleep was what made the whole thing wear off, but nothing happened, and in the end, Sam realized he didn't have any choice but to skip his college classes for the very first time. After sending off e-mails to some of his classmates, claiming to be violently ill and begging them to take good notes for him, Sam had spent the better part of the day sitting in the apartment and moping. He wasn't even sure if he could leave the apartment and take the risk of nosy neighbors seeing him coming and going and thinking something was up.

The one perk to being at the apartment instead of being in class was that Sam had been around when the mail arrived. Looking through the envelopes, Sam found that the bill for his and Peter's internet connection had arrived. Peter still hadn't figured out that Sam was secretly paying that bill every month, and it really was better off that way - Sam got to contribute to the household expenses, and Peter didn't have to feel guilty. Sam took the bill and hid it away inside one of his books, and set the rest of the mail down in the kitchen before going back to lay down on the couch with Scout. If he didn't go back to being a boy soon, he didn't know what he was going to do.

[Open for calls, e-mails, and the boyfriend!]

With classes finally starting, Sam's week had already been crazy busy. He'd had schedules to learn, buildings to find, books to buy, and all in a place he was still getting used to. But no amount of craziness could prevent him from remembering today's date and why it was important. Sam knew his way around Peter's neighborhood pretty well now, so he hadn't had any trouble finding a deli to stop at to get his and Peter's favorite sandwiches for dinner. It might not have been the most romantic anniversary dinner ever, but it also wouldn't get cold if Sam got...distracted once Peter got home from work. After two years, Peter still had pretty strong effect on him.

[For he whose apartment it is!]

After an amazing morning with the best boyfriend ever, Sam had nervously gone off to his first day of orientation. He hadn't known what to expect, but in the end, it wasn't nearly as terrifying as his imagination had led him to believe. He'd had to do a lot of listening and fill out a tree's worth of paperwork, and yes, there was threats of getting-to-know-you games later in the day, but it was totally worth it for the feeling of being a real, normal college student.

At the moment, he was sitting on a bench, looking over his schedule and trying to plan study time around it. It was going to be so weird taking classes that didn't have to do with invasions and fighting monsters.

[For one!]

After spending his afternoon dawdling, Sam had finally gone to the house to start collecting the boxes of books he'd left behind. He hadn't expected to be waylaid by Grace, but he couldn't say no to a little sister who wanted him to play with her, could he? He wasn't in that much of a rush to get back, and it was a distraction from the random urge he was having to go walk in the woods.

[For the Winchesters and their guest!]

Normally, when Sam unpacked, he didn't have any trouble focusing on what he was doing. After all, the only way to make sure that everything was in its exact proper place was to pay attention to where everything was going.

So, it was surprising that as he finished unpacking all of his non-book belongings (making sure they they took up as little of Peter's space as possible), his thoughts kept drifting. It was even more surprising that his thoughts kept drifting to, of all people, his mother. He wondered what she'd think of how he and Dean had turned out, if she'd approve of Peter, if she'd be proud of him for getting into college. She'd never really been a presence in his life, so Sam knew he didn't miss her as much as Dean did, but sometimes he had to wonder what she would think of him. He just wasn't sure why he was thinking about all of this now.

Glancing at the bookshelves Peter had gotten, Sam wondered if maybe he should go back to Fandom to get the rest of his books. For some reason, that seemed like a really good idea.

[Establishy!]

Yes, it was still Peter's apartment in Sam's mind, even though he was making his presence more ad more visible as the day went on. He'd gotten all of his clothes unpacked, and a designated Scout area had been set up by Sam's desk, with his food and water and toys. Now, Sam was tackling his books and trying to decide the best way to organize them. Peter had cleared out more than enough space for him, so it was just a matter of deciding how geeky his organizational system should be.

[For one!]

After they were done at the radio station, Sam asked Dean to help him bring a few boxes to the house. He had some books and things that he wanted to save, but that he really didn't have to have with him in New York, and so stashing them in his room at the house seemed like the best idea. If leaving some of his belongings here made Dean feel more assured that Sam would come back for visits, well, that would be a very nice bonus.

"You know, I never thought I'd actually say this, but I think I might own too many books," he said, smirking at Dean as he fished around in his pocket for his house keys.

[For Dean!]

When Sam first arrived in Fandom, he didn't have much more to his name than a duffel bag full of clothes and weapons. Now, he couldn't even fit his whole closet into one bag, and as he put together yet another box to try to get all of his books packed up, he couldn't help but think about exactly how much his life changed in Fandom.

( Cut for length, and 109 more links. Yes, really. )

The funny thing was, this wasn't the first time Sam had woken up and found himself in plastic form. He was grateful to not be smaller this time, but last time he'd at least had real hair, sort of. Once he'd managed to get upright, he started checking himself out, to assess the situation, and to try to decide if he was going to miss this sort of thing when he got to New York.

[Open, sure!]

The good news was, while everyone else was finding out what kind of embarrassing and horrific things they'd do if hell froze over, Sam wasn't going to have to deal with that at all.

The bad news was, Sam wasn't going to have to deal with that because he woke up in his alcove under the effect of a different kind of the island's insanity. As he shook his head and tried to get his new hair out of his eyes, Sam really, really missed being a puppy.

[Sam is yakified for the weekend because I'm going to be awaaaaay, mwahaha! This is entirely saltandammo's fault, as she's the one who found the picture. :D]

Anyone passing by Sam's alcove in the afternoon might have been able to hear him grumbling as he took his clothes and arranged them over the pile of bags that was growing at the foot of his bed. He'd gotten the feeling that something was up when he'd seen the small bag labeled CONTROL FREAK on the floor. Then RESPONSIBLE FOR MOTHER'S DEATH had shown up, staked right on top of DAD LOVES BROTHER MORE THAN ME, and Sam knew he had to do something to cover the bags up before anyone got a good look at them. He'd just started getting them arranged together when AFRAID OF EVIL DESTINY and AFRAID OF HOW MUCH I LIKE MY POWERS appeared, and suddenly, keeping the baggage out of his own sight became just as important.

As soon as Sam finished getting everything covered up, he turned around and nearly tripped over PSYCHOTIC IRRATIONAL EROTIC CODEPENDENCE WITH BROTHER, looking like it belonged with a trunk for some reason. If this kept up, Sam was afraid he might run out ways to hide them all.

[Open!]

To: FH-friends
From: Sam Winchester
Subject: Birthday Party at Caritas

Hey guys (and ladies),

I know you might be birthday partied out after last week, but I'm having an informal party tonight at Caritas to celebrate making it to birthday number 18, and by informal, I mean the drinks are on me and all you need to bring is yourselves. So, if you're not still recovering from graduation, come on by tonight.

- Sam

[Establishy! And sent far and wide, so feel free to assume you got the message if you know Sam.]

Thanks to Claire's message, Sam was able to pick Maria up from where she'd run off to, and he'd given in to her pleading for pizza since, if he couldn't be surprised by her bringing food back to their room, at least Peter could be. If nothing else, spending time with Maria got Sam's mind off of his conversation with Dean, and any thoughts of universes where he was the worst father ever.

"Hey," he said in greeting to Peter, shoving the door open with his hip as he held onto pizza boxes with one hand and Maria with the other. "Tell me you've been behaving yourself in my absence, or I'm blaming the money missing from my wallet on you."

Sam would be lying if he didn't admit that he loved this weekend, and that he'd been looking forward to the possibility of seeing his potential kids again. Sure enough, Maria was here, handwavily playing with Peter at the hotel, and he was heading to Turtle and Canary to pick up some stuff for the three of them. Stopping for ice cream on the way back was a possibility too, but Sam was still debating that one.

[For people who know who they are laaaaa.]

After the Student Council meeting, Sam went to the post office to check his mail. When he came across an especially large envelope among everything else he'd been handed, he went straight back to his room and grabbed his phone. Whatever was in here, he didn't want to open it alone.

[For the callee!]

Sam had been perfectly content to stick to researching to figure out what was going on with the fog and the creatures, right up to the point where Zoe got kidnapped. Now, he was sitting on his bed and sharpening two of his knives from the weapons locker. If whoever took Zoe thought they'd be getting away with it, they were sorely mistaken.

[Door and post are open!]

Class time had come and gone and, thankfully, no one had said anything to Sam about last night's radio and what Peter had been doing. That didn't mean Peter was off the hook though, so Sam had no problem spending the evening texting him back with all the dirtiest things he could think of. He wasn't sure if he'd have the nerve to send dirty pictures, but the night was young.

[Open, sure.]

After the weekend, Sam had been trying to avoid anyone who might want to talk to him about Lucifer. The less he thought about who he'd been and what he'd told people, the better he felt, but there was one person Sam couldn't avoid for much longer. Whoever his dad had been, he'd known Lucifer, and if anyone would know whether this was a fluke of Fandom or something serious to consider, it would be his dad. The question was, if John knew anything, would he share the information? Sam wasn't sure, but going to the house and knocking on the door was probably the only way he was going to find out.

Jetlag wasn't an issue anymore, but that didn't stop Sam from taking as much time resting with Peter as he could get. When things were quiet and they were curled up together, Sam's hand pressed against Peter's chest to feel the steady thrum of his heartbeat, he could almost forget about the memory loss no pun intended, and pretend that they were both fine, and that everything was okay. It probably wasn't right, but it made things a little easier to deal with.

[For that guy with the missing emo bangs!]

Monday meant classes were back in session, but Sam wasn't going anywhere near the school today. Peter's memories still hadn't returned, and until they did, taking care of him was the only thing on Sam's to do list. They didn't have the house to themselves anymore now that spring break was over, but Sam didn't think Dad or Zoe minded having Peter around, considering everything the two of them had been through over the past few months. If they did, he just wasn't going to listen.

[Open!]

Sam hadn't slept well after talking to Dean, too wound up at knowing that Dean was mad at him, but even fitful sleep was better than what he'd been getting over spring break, and waking up to find Peter still beside him brought Sam one step closer to acknowledging that all of this was real, and that everything, aside from Peter's memories, had worked out exactly like he'd fantasized about.

Jetlag was still kicking both of their asses though, so later in the day, Peter was getting more rest while Sam was trying not to think about what kind of conditions Peter might have been living in in the back of a pub. Now seemed like a good time to share the good news a little further out, but after talking to Dean, Sam decided to stick to voicemail instead. It helped that he didn't want to leave Peter alone for too long, or have anyone else over to the house while Peter's memories were still as fragile as he was. Flipping his phone open again, Sam sat back on the couch with one last call to make. He wasn't sure if people were back from the trip yet, but he figured he had one more rambling message in him in case the call didn't go through.

There was no reasonable explanation for why Sam was wide awake right now. He was tired and he was jetlagged and he hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep in ages, but the fact remained that he just couldn't fall asleep, even with Peter warm and curled up at his side. Although he'd promised to stay close to Peter, there was one thing he needed to do before he could try to rest peacefully, even if he didn't end up sleeping. Sneaking quietly out of the bedroom, he went downstairs and grabbed his cell, dialing quickly and hoping that there would be time zone differences working in his favor.

[For one!]

Once Peter made it clear that he trusted Sam, it hadn't taken much to gather the few belongings he had in that box, as well as the painting he'd done, and say goodbye to Caitlin and Ricky. With Peter safe, Sam's mood had greatly improved, and he'd even said thank you to the two of them for taking care of Peter as they left, despite their failure in getting Peter home to his family and friends. One long plane ride later, Peter and Sam were back in the US, where Sam had booked a portal straight back to Fandom. Peter had been taken from New York, that much was certain, and Sam wasn't about to leave him there to have it happen again.

With Dad, Zoe, and Grace gone, Sam figured staying at the house would be a better idea than taking Peter back to the dorms. They had a kitchen with plenty of food, and most importantly, a nice bedroom to stay in. Sam wasn't about to push for anything physical while Peter still couldn't remember him, but that didn't stop him from keeping his hands on Peter as much as possible, like if he let him go he'd disappear. And that didn't stop him from being a creeper staying awake while Peter rested, so he could watch him and make sure he was really, truly okay.

The fact that Sam was still upright at this moment in time was a miracle, but then, Sam figured he could use all the miracles he could get right now, so he wasn't going to complain.

He hadn't slept at all since he'd had his vision, too busy researching everything he could remember seeing. He'd started with all the heavily Irish cities he could think of, but it wasn't until his trails started coming up cold that Sam remembered the box of money - non-American money. Once he went against all common sense and started looking in the actual country of Ireland, he finally started hitting paydirt, enough paydirt to send him to the airport, waiting to get on the first international flight of his life.

( But the course of true rescuing never did run smooth. )

Sam had expected that staying in Peter's apartment would feel strange, but he hadn't expected the strangeness to be sharing the apartment with Nathan. Still, they'd managed to get along for the last few days, bound by their common interest in Peter's whereabouts, and by being the two people who cared about him more than anyone else in the world.

As much as Sam didn't mind having Nathan around though, he couldn't help but perk up a little when Nathan had hung up the phone and said he had to take care of something, and that he might be gone for a while. When it turned out that "something" was Angela Petrelli getting arrested, well, Sam was just glad he had maps to look at to hide any inappropriate smirking he might have failed at holding back.

Being in the apartment on his own was a lot different, and although Sam felt a duty to do nothing but search for Peter, he ended up in Peter's bedroom, going through his closet like touching Peter's things would keep them connected somehow, like as long as Peter's things were still around where he could hold them, Peter had to be around too.

After all the reading he'd been doing, Sam wasn't surprised when he started to feel the first inklings of a headache, but this pain was too sharp and too sudden, and he had just enough time to realize what was happening to get to the bed before everything went white.

( You can probably already guess what's under here... )

While everyone else had been preparing for a week in the Bahamas, Sam had been getting ready for something else entirely. It was one thing to let himself get distracted with classes, and clubs, and the play - those were his responsibilities, and Peter had always liked that Sam was a responsible person. But spring break was a different story. There was no way Sam could justify going on vacation when Peter was still missing, and having time off from school gave him the perfect opportunity to book a portal and go to Peter's world instead. As useful as being in Fandom was sometimes, Sam was pretty sure he'd exhausted every avenue of searching he could get from there.

The first place Sam wanted to look for clues to Peter's disappearance was Peter's apartment, and luckily, he had a key. As he made his way into the building, Sam couldn't help but smile as he remembered how Peter had given him the key, just handing it to him without any warning, without fanfare, like it wasn't a big deal to say "Here, this is my space and now it's yours too, whenever you want it to be." That was just the way Peter did things, and the stinging sensation that memory created in Sam's chest was a reminder of how important it was to find Peter, no matter what he had to do. Even if he didn't find anything in the apartment, Sam was glad that he didn't have to worry about finding a place to sleep while he was here, and surrounding himself with Peter's things would definitely fuel his guilt complex his searching.

Sam unlocked the door and went inside, closing and relocking the door behind himself. It wasn't until he turned around that he realized he wasn't alone, and all he could do was stare in disbelief.

[For one!]

While Sam had to admit that he was happy to have gotten so many flowers (and was amazed by the skills of whoever had kept those orders out of his sight for so long), the full onslaught of Valentine's Day was taking its toll on him. As he'd looked forward months ago, he'd imagined this day to be a lot different, and the roller coaster of going from thinking Peter was dead to thinking he was alive to not knowing what state he was in was finally making him snap.

It was a completely stupid idea to call Peter's cell phone, but when he didn't get a "Disconnected" message and heard Peter's message instead, Sam stared at the phone for a moment and snapped it shut. He redialed, listened to Peter's voice, and then hung up again, and it wasn't until the third time that he finally left a message.

And here he'd thought he couldn't possibly feel any more pathetic today.

[Establishy! Or not, whee!]

If you still want to send some flowers for Valentine's Day, today's your last day to get those orders in! Please have all your orders left/edited/etc. by 11pm Eastern. :)

With most of the flower orders in, Sam was looking at a map of the town to try to plan the best route of attack for Sunday. Okay, so it wasn't like he was going to be attacking anyone with their flowers or anything, but efficient delivery had the same concept, sort of.

[Expecting a phone call but open as well!]

*uses icon to get everyone's attention*

With Valentine's Day almost upon us, the Student Council will once again be doing their flower selling fundraiser! (See here and here for previous years.)

Carnations and roses are available in all colors and in any quantity. Flowers can be sent to anyone on the island, and can be sent from any character, including alumni and ex-pats. ICly, the flower orders will go through the Student Council (either in person or by e-mail for those who aren't local).

To make an order, leave a comment here with the following information by Valentine's Day:

( Cut to not mess with anyone's flist! )

Sam had gone back to the house after the carnival, and one very long shower later, he was sitting in the living room combing his hair and hoping that he'd managed to get all of the fudge off of himself. He was going to smell like a candy bar if he didn't, and he wasn't sure how Scout would take that.

[For the brother!]

Sam had spent the better part of two days thinking about Peter's drawing, and he wasn't any closer to figuring out what it meant - or, at least, what it could realistically mean. As much as he hated to bother other people with his issues, this was something he couldn't work on alone. Luckily, there was one person he could call who might not think he was completely insane.

[For one, please!]

As much as Sam hated to admit it, he was starting to think that Zoe might have been right while he was wrong. He couldn't stop thinking about how she'd sounded when she said she knew he wasn't all right; he thought he'd been managing to keep himself together better than that, well enough that Zoe and his dad wouldn't worry.

Sam sighed and sat down at his desk, staring at the surface. The letter that Peter had written right before he'd died was still taped down where Sam had first put it to serve as a reminder of how badly he'd screwed things up. It felt a little like giving up to think about starting to move on, but Sam tried to tell himself that this was really only a small gesture, only a baby step towards letting Peter go. He carefully pried the tape off and picked the letter up, intending to tuck it away with his important papers where it would be safe, where he could read it and re-read it over and over, but where it would be out of constant sight. As he tried to remember where he'd put the envelope, he turned the letter over, and for the first time, Sam noticed the picture on the back.

It was good, too good to be drawn by Peter - unless he was using his artistic ability. Setting the letter down again, Sam tried to make sense of the drawing. It looked like him and Peter, but there was no way for the drawing to be true. The explosion was still in the future when Peter had written the letter, so the obvious explanation was that the drawing showed that Sam should have been in the city. But that moment had come and gone with them apart, and that wasn't how Peter's power worked. The only other explanation was one that Sam couldn't bring himself to accept: that this drawing was something that hadn't happened yet. It was dizzying to think about, too amazing to even consider, and Sam didn't know how that could be true, but he did know that this moving on business probably wasn't going to be happening any time soon.

[Establishy!]

There was a small part of Sam that had felt guilty as he'd headed out of town today. There were violent creatures in Fandom, and he was just leaving them behind for everyone else to deal with. But it was Dean's birthday, and considering the state he'd put himself into yesterday trying to fight, he probably wouldn't have been out helping to get rid of the gremlins anyway.

Thanks to Alec, Sam knew where Dean had been planning on spending his birthday, and he hoped that Alec hadn't told Dean he was asking so this would still be a surprise. He made his way through the motel where they were staying, and when he found the right room, he listened to make sure he couldn't hear any sex noises, and then knocked on the door and hoped Dean was there. He didn't want to have to break into the room to wait for him, or search all over town.

[Esablishy and NFB due to distance!]

There was a small part of Sam that had felt guilty as he'd headed out of town today. There were violent creatures in Fandom, and he was just leaving them behind for everyone else to deal with. But it was Dean's birthday, and considering the state he'd put himself into yesterday trying to fight, he probably wouldn't have been out helping to get rid of the gremlins anyway.

Thanks to Alec, Sam knew where Dean had been planning on spending his birthday, and he hoped that Alec hadn't told Dean he was asking so this would still be a surprise. He made his way through the motel where they were staying, and when he found the right room, he listened to make sure he couldn't hear any sex noises, and then knocked on the door and hoped Dean was there. He didn't want to have to break into the room to wait for him, or search all over town.

When Sam first made his way out of the dorm, his intention was simple: protect the island from whatever had decided to invade this time. Right around the time he slipped his knife back into his jacket and started using only his abilities to fight, his intention became protecting the island from whatever had decided to invade this time while practicing using his powers. Then, right around the time his gremlin kills hit double digits, that first part went away, and all that was left was the practicing.

Sam was still more angry about what had happened to Peter than anything else, but he'd been repressing his anger lately, not wanting to scare his friends. Out here though, there was no need for repression. The gremlins were a threat and they needed to be dealt with, so there was nothing holding him back, nothing keeping him from practically tearing the gremlins apart as he made his way to Zoe and his dad's house. The more he used his powers, the more anger he got out, and by the time he'd reached the house, his head was throbbing in pain in time with his heartbeat. Still, he almost felt better than he had in a while, and that was nothing to complain about.

Sam might have let Raven in on what he was doing with his abilities, but that didn't mean he wanted everyone knowing what he was up to now. So, when he agreed to work with Andy, Sam brought them up to Dean's old room, away from their roommates and everyone else.

"I don't think anyone lives here now," Sam said, leaning down to work on the lock. "We should be able to use the room for a while without trouble."

[That Sam and Andy hung out is fine for broadcast but what they're up to is NFB, please!]

One of the downsides to having a dog was the sheer number of times Sam was dragged out into the cold and the dark to take Scout on a walk. If they were going to be outside tonight (Sam didn't have to take Scout out, but he'd spent all these years spoiling Scout at every turn, so he couldn't make himself stop now), then Sam was going to multitask, and that meant practicing his telekinesis by pushing snow and rocks and dirt out of Scout's way as they walked. He'd been getting a lot better with his abilities over the past weeks as he'd quietly practiced, and he was pretty sure that the next time he went to see Anakin, he'd be able to say that he had them all under control.

Which was why he was caught off guard when suddenly, almost out of nowhere, he started having a vision.

The warning headache came early enough that Sam was able to get up against a tree before everything went white, and suddenly he found himself looking at a skyline - Bangkok, the nerdy part of his mind provided - and then at Chuck Bass, of all people, smoking a pipe. It wasn't until Chuck slumped and passed out that everything cleared, and Sam found himself sitting against the tree, with Scout whining and licking his face.

For all that he'd been worrying about Chuck, Sam hadn't actually been afraid for him until now. He didn't have visions unless something was seriously wrong (except for Peter, the darker voice in the back of his mind pointed out, but Sam did his best to ignore that), and the fact that Chuck was one of the few people Sam never expected to see had him even more concerned. He was grateful that the sun wasn't out to make his headache worse, but he still kept his eyes closed as he fished around in his pocket for his phone and dialed 411. Chuck might get pissed at him later for this, but at least there was a chance he'd be around for Sam to deal with.

"Hi, I need a number in New York. The name? Let me try van der Woodsen."

[Establishy!]

Now that the first part of the holidays were over, Sam was back to tracking Sylar. At the moment, he was sitting on his bed with his laptop, reading through an online newspaper, and debating whether or not to call and leave another message for Chuck. The lack of a response had long since gotten annoying, and he wasn't sure if he'd be able to leave a message without sounding pissed. Somehow, he didn't think that would make Chuck want to call him back.

[Open!]