“Anytime”
My first one shot in forever! Yay! Seriously, though, guys, I wanted to apologize for being so inactive up until a month or so ago. There’s been a lot going on with school, applying to colleges and all that jazz, but I graduated high school almost a month ago (about when I started posting again :P)!! So that’s exciting :) Quick life update: I’m going to UMBC in the fall to major in psychology, and eventually I’m planning on going to grad school to get a doctorate in Physical Therapy so I can become a physical therapist (obviously haha). So I’m super excited about that! Anyways, this wasn’t requested, my inbox is actually empty right now (I think somehow all of my messages got deleted...so sorry if you had sent something in! Please feel free so re-send it if you would like), so if anyone wants to request anything, be it an imagine or one shot, go right ahead and I’ll try to get on it as soon as I can! Or if ya just wanna drop in and say hi/start a conversation or if you have any questions or anything like that, I would appreciate that, too ;) Enjoy!
(Y/N) = your name Warnings: themes of depression/anxiety, language
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With the life you were living, it was a no-brainer that you were gonna have your fair share of bad days. When they occurred, you managed to pull yourself through them with the help of your friends, and you kept your head up. Because that’s what you were supposed to do.
But you knew something was wrong when you started feeling worse and worse, and more frequently than before. And not even because of everything that was going on. It just felt like there was this constant fog always clouding your thoughts, and no matter how hard you tried to make it go away, it wouldn’t budge. It wasn’t even just feeling sad. It was the tiredness, the ever-growing irritability, the worry, the feelings of low self-esteem. For the first time in your life, you felt absolutely worthless, and you didn’t know why.
So you started distancing yourself from everyone. Maybe it started as an unconscious action, but when you realized you were doing it, you started to think that maybe it was for the better. If no one knew you were suffering, then no one would worry about you, and things would just go on as normal. Anyone worrying about you was the very last thing you wanted; you didn’t want to become annoying or be a nuisance.
This went on for a few months. You would hunt, kill a few evil sons of bitches, come back to the bunker, and then retreat into your room until someone informed you of another case. And it worked out well. You didn’t get in anyone’s way, you were still a sharp and competent hunter, and while you were working, you were able to keep your mind occupied. The trouble only came when you were locked up in your room, with nothing to distract you from your thoughts. Sure, you had Netflix, and you spent countless hours scrolling through social media, but it was never enough. Your mind kept drifting off and ended up in dark places.
It’s not even like you matter, your brain would tell you. Sam, Dean, Cas, everyone...it’s obvious that they all love each other more than they could ever love you. Hell, I’m not even sure if they like you. You’re nothing like them; not a good hunter, not a good friend, not even a good person. I’m sure they’d all be better off without you.
Most of the time, you were able to push those thoughts away, even if only for a second, and distract yourself with solving long division in your head or some other ridiculous thing until you were able to stop ridiculing yourself. Other times, though, like today, you broke.
You tried to be quiet, you really did, but apparently you’re a louder crier than you thought, because after a few minutes of it, there was a light knock on your door. “(Y/N)?” you hear Sam call, kindness in his voice. “You alright in there?”
“Yeah I’m fine!” you reply, trying to sound as normal as possible. There’s a pause, and for a fleeting second, you think Sam is going to leave you alone. But he cracks the door and peeks his head in, and you know that once he looks at your face, there’s no hiding anything. Still, though, you quickly wipe your tears and try to play it off. “I think my allergies are acting up. The pollen count must be really high today.” Your voice cracks on the last word, giving you away, and Sam gives you a sympathetic smile, making his way over and sitting beside you on your bed.
“Wanna tell me what’s going on?” he asks, and you shake your head, tears escaping your eyes, and you bite your lip to keep from making any noise. He tilts his head and raises his eyebrows, though, making it clear that he’s not giving you a choice; you’re going to have to talk to him, whether or not you want to.
“I just,” you hiccup. “I’ve just been having a really hard time recently.” Sam nods encouragingly at you, and suddenly, you spill everything. “I’ve been feeling really fucking awful, and I don’t know why. I feel like the world is crashing down around me and I can’t do anything to stop it, and I feel like a fuck up because I can’t do anything right, and I’ve been so damn irritable lately, and I feel like I’m being a bitch, and everything just really hurts right now and I’ve been feeling this way for a really long time but I didn’t want to say anything but now I have and oh God Sam I’m so fucking sorry.”
You start crying again, putting your hands over your face. Sam clicks his tongue in sympathy and wraps one arm around you, his hand rubbing up and down your arm soothingly. He uses his other hand to gently remove your own from over your face, and to take your chin to force you to face him.
“(Y/N), look at me.” Reluctantly, you lift your head slightly to meet his eyes, and he gives you a small smile before continuing. “I want you to listen to me very carefully, okay? First of all, you don’t have to apologize for anything. Anything at all. You can’t control how you’re feeling, and it’s okay to not be okay. Secondly, you’re not a fuck up. I promise you’re not. You’re a damn good hunter, you’re one of the most kind and compassionate people I’ve met in my entire life, and you’re an absolute joy to be around. Honestly, I think I speak for everyone when I say that most of the time, you’re the one holding us all together. I know that recently you’ve been distancing yourself -” Your eyebrows raise slightly at this, and Sam chuckles. “Yes, I’ve noticed. So has everyone else. We’ve all been worried, you know.”
“I’m sorry,” you mumble. “I thought that would be the best.”
“It isn’t though,” Sam replies. “All you’re doing is shutting yourself out from the people who love you most, and the people who want to see you happy. Like I said, we’ve all noticed that you haven’t been yourself lately, and all we want to do is help. We can’t do that if you don’t tell us what’s wrong, though. Even if you don’t know what’s wrong, talking about your feelings is really a good way to feel a bit better, even if only for a moment.”
“I just didn’t want to annoy you guys, especially since we all already have enough to worry about. And I didn’t want to look weak, because I know I’m supposed to be strong and I know that -”
“Hang on,” Sam cuts you off. “You’re not ‘supposed’ to be anything. Talking about how you’re feeling isn’t weak; recognizing that you’re not okay and asking for help just shows how strong you really are. It sure as hell isn’t an easy thing to do, and it’s definitely not fun, but it allows other people to love you and to help you get through whatever’s going on.”
“I know,” you sigh. Deep down, you knew that you couldn’t get through this all on your own, you just didn’t know how to bring it up.
“I want you to talk to one of us whenever you’re not feeling great, okay?” Sam tells you.
“Okay,” you reply, sniffling. At least I’m not crying anymore, you think to yourself.
“C’mon,” he says, smiling and standing up. “Dean left a little bit ago to pick up some dinner and should be back any minute. What do ya say we go pick out a movie for us all to watch when he comes back?”
You smile back and get up, wiping your eyes. “That sounds great.” As the two of you walk down the hallway together, you look up at him. “Sam?”
“Hm?” he hums in response, looking down.
“Thank you.”
“Anytime, hon,” he smiles, wrapping an arm around you and giving you a hug from the side. “Anytime.”