Since he was trying to avoid his friends - some more in particular than others - for the rest of the day, Dean sent his brother a text to ask if the two of them could have lunch together. He needed to talk to Sam anyway and it was a very reasonable excuse.

He was just putting some books into his locker when he got Sam's agreement. He quickly let Lisa know about his plans. She would probably tell the others.

When he got to the cafeteria, he noticed his brother was already sitting by himself at one of the smaller tables. Dean smiled and joined him. It felt good to spend some time alone with his brother. It had been way too long.

"Hi," Sammy greeted him when he went to sit down. He was eating one of the tasteless salads they sold at the school.

"You're still eating that crap?" Dean asked mockingly.

"Look who's talking," Sam came back, motioning at the piece of pie Dean had bought on the way to school this morning.

"Bitch."

"Jerk. So to what do I owe the pleasure?" his little brother grinned.

"A guy can't have lunch with his brother anymore?"

Sam shrugged. "Well yeah, but I thought you would still be angry about last night."

The older Winchester put down his fork sighed. "Listen Sammy, I'm not gonna lie: I'm not happy about what happened. But I shouldn't have said those things and I'm sorry. I was pissed and I overreacted. People tend to do that when they're worried."

Sam frowned at him. "So if you weren't angry anymore, why didn't you give me a ride this morning?"

"I told you, I had some stuff to do," Dean said, looking down at his pie.

"Stuff?"

"Stuff."

"What kinda stuff?"

Dean gave him a deadly glare. "You mind changing the subject?"

"Fine," Sam said, putting up his hands defensively. He stayed silent for a couple of seconds, then started, "So uhm... if you're not angry anymore..."

Dean had a really bad feeling about this. "What?"

"Well, I was just wondering..." his brother continued, poking in his salad. "Some friends of mine were planning on hanging out after school a little and they asked me to join them..."

Great. Dean had hoped he could deal with this at home. "Where are they going?" he asked, faking ignorance.

Sam shrugged. "You know, just hang around a bit, grab dinner, maybe go to the park or something..."

His big brother nodded. "Some friends you said?"

"Yeah, you wouldn't know them."

"Really? So they don't happen to be called Lucifer Shurley?"

Sam's head shot up, his eyes big with surprise. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again and frowned. "Dean, I don't know what Michael's told you but..."

"It doesn't matter what Michael says, the guy got kicked out of his house for God's sake!"

"And who says that's his fault?"

"What, you're saying his family conspired against him or something?"

"I'm saying you don't know the whole story, Dean!"

"Ow and you do?"

They stared at each other angrily and in silence.

Eventually Dean said, "I just don't think being friends with him is a very good idea, okay?"

"You don't even know him."

"I know, but listen..."

"No, you listen, Dean," Sam interrupted him. "Lucifer has been nothing but nice to me. He is funny and spontaneous and kind; this is the first time since Jess I've truly felt happy again and that's because of him."

"Wow, you talk about the guy like you're lovers or something," Dean mocked.

"You mean like you and Michael?"

Dean's jaw dropped and he looked at his brother wide-eyed. How does he even... Without another word he started packing his stuff.

"Oh come on, Dean, it was a joke," Sam said, seeming confused.

"Well, it sure as hell wasn't a good one," he grumbled. "I'll see you after school."

~~~

By the time Sam headed back to class he was seriously irritated. Since when was Dean being so touchy?

But more importantly he couldn't help but wonder what Michael had told his brother. Whatever it was, Sam wouldn't let it destroy his friendship with Lucifer. What he'd said to Dean was true. When he was with Lucifer, it made him feel... alive, in a way. More than usual. Definitely more than after what happened to Jess. And he wasn't going to give up on that.

A familiar voice brought him back to reality. "Hey there, Sammy."

He grinned and made his way to Lucifer, who was leaning against his locker. "Don't call me that."

"I call you whatever the hell I want to call you," his friend replied with a mischievous smile.

Sam rolled his eyes and opened his locker to get his books. Lucifer rested his head against the locker next to it. "So what are our plans tonight?"

The Winchester made a face. "I talked to Dean but..."

"But?" Lucifer insisted.

Sam shrugged. He didn't want to hurt Lucifer's feelings by bringing up Michael. He knew it was a sore subject. "He doesn't want me to go."

"Because of last night?"

"Yeah," he lied. But Lucifer was very good at seeing right through him.

He pulled up an eyebrow. "Anything else?"

Sam let out a sigh. He hated lying. "Apparently he talked to Michael," he muttered.

Lucifer's jaw clenched immediately. "I knew it. That pathetic little asshole, I swear..."

"Hey," Sam stopped him. He closed his locker and looked Lucifer in the eye. "Don't worry about it, okay? I don't care what they say. You're my friend." He gave Lucifer's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

He was relieved when the older boy smiled back at him. For a couple of seconds they remained silent, then Lucifer said, "So no Cage tonight?"

Sam thought about it for a second. Dean had told him he couldn't go, but he was hardly their dad. Not that Sam thought his father would approve. Or even Bobby for that matter. But on the other hand there really wasn't anything Dean could do to stop him...

"You know what," he eventually said, "Let's go. Dean doesn't tell me what to do. And it's just a club."

Lucifer grinned at him happily. "I knew there was a reason I liked you."

Sam laughed and was just about to reply when someone approached them.

"Hey, Sam," Kevin greeted him.

"Hi," he brought out in surprise, feeling a little bit guilty. He was aware he hadn't been a great friend to Kevin lately. They always got along well, had a lot in common and basically had been friends for years. But now it felt like ages ago since they'd had a proper conversation. Which probably was also the case. After Jessica's death Sam had shut out all of his friends, even Kevin. Although he felt bad about it, at the time he needed his space and he appreciated his friends respecting that. Then Lucifer had come along and Sam had unexpectedly felt a little bit more like his old self again. But he had to admit that with the arrival of his new friend he had forgotten about his others a bit.

It took him a few seconds to realize both of them were now waiting for him to say something.

"Right, uhm... Kevin, this is Lucifer. Lucifer, Kevin. He's a friend of mine."

"Oh hey, you're Michael's brother, right?" Kevin said and Sam felt like slapping himself.

"Well, I mean..." Kevin tried, as he apparently realized what he'd just said. "I've met him. Through Dean, you know. Don't know him that well..."

Lucifer gave him a small smile. "Nice meeting you, Kevin."

"Yeah, you too, man. Anyways..." He turned back to Sam. "So I was wondering if you maybe wanted to come over after school, maybe game a little?"

"Oh," Sam said. He could barely remember the last time he and Kevin had gamed together. They always had a great time at Kevin's place and he'd really missed it. But then he remembered what he'd just promised Lucifer.

"Actually," he admitted sheepishly, "we kind of already have plans for tonight. There's this club called The Cage and it's kinda cool. You can join us if you want to." He quickly looked back at Lucifer, suddenly doubtful. "Right?"

"Yes, of course," Lucifer backed him up, much to Sam's relief.

Kevin laughed a little. "A club? I don't know, Sam... I mean, I'd like to come with you, but you know stuff like that isn't really my thing."

"Yeah, I know," Sam said, a little bit disappointed. "But hey, maybe we can game next week?"

"Sure, that would be great!" Kevin agreed. "I'll ask my mom and I'll let you know."

Sam nodded excitedly. "Okay! Thanks, Kevin."

"Yeah, no problem. I'll see you in class!" his friend said, starting to walk away.

"See you later!" Sam called after him, before turning back to Lucifer.

"He seems nice," the Shurley said.

Sam smiled. "Yeah, he's great." Then he added, "And I'm sorry about what he said about Michael..."

"What? No, don't worry about it," Lucifer brushed it aside. "I'm not that vulnerable, Sammy."

Sam gave him a broad grin. "Good." Then he poked him in the ribs. "And stop calling me that!"

~~~

Wow, I almost published this without a title... Whoops! 😅