There he was, at his first official party. And while it was definitely an experience to be had, the room surrounding him smelled much different than Dean expected it to.
"You're a fresh, aren't you?" As he sets his drink down, not enjoying the taste of cheap liquor nearly as much as he wanted to, Dean is approached by a guy he assumes is probably higher on the chain than him. Heck, he was probably a jock too, judging by his fancy Letterman's jacket.
"Y… Yeah" Dean turns slightly away, flinching at the thought that college jocks might actually hold up to their reputation.
Dean knew he wasn't weak. Those countless hours spent running and going to the gym
had payed off, his muscles filling out his tight T-shirt quite well. But instead of standing his ground, his secluded geek-like nature got the best of him, causing a slip back into his stutter that he tried so hard to get rid of. Were all those years of training just going to go down the drain?
"Whoa there, relax" The still quite unknown peer places a reassuring hand on Dean's shoulder, continuing. "I'm not going to hurt you, I was just curious. I've never seen you around at school or at any other parties, and I just wanted to make sure I wasn't 'out of the loop'" He adds a twinge of narcissistic attitude to the end of his comment, causing Dean to become instantly annoyed.
"Well, as glad as I am to help YOU stay 'in the loop', I have to go talk to my friend" Dean doesn't realize that he's completely insulted his only chance of staying alive in college until he's already done.
The guy just stands there, completely dumbfounded by the attitude that was just thrown his way. As soon as Dean realizes his opportunity, he flips around, slipping into the crowd before the jock comes to.
"Where could she have gone? It's not like this is a big place..." Dean says to himself, knowing that even though he may be looking, there was a very low chance he would find her even remotely soon. As he pushes through the dancers, he silently thanks the DJ for blasting the music so loud that nobody could hear his comments.
"Hey! I wasn't done with you!" Dean's previous encounter's voice somehow pierces through the soul-shaking bass emanating from all around.
"Oh great, who's pissed off Crowley now?" The comment comes from behind Dean, it's sayer remaining hidden from view.
He quickly shifts to face the direction of the comment, but everyone had already gone back to grinding up on one another, forever destroying any chance Dean had of seeing whoever said it.
Realizing he's a sitting duck, Dean starts again, squeezing his way through the crowd, all the while slowly increasing the distance between him and his challenger.
"Ruby!" Dean yells out, surprised he almost missed his best friend in the midst of his daze.
There's no response, probably because his shout was actually unrealistically quiet, especially when being drowned out with background noise. He really needs to work on projecting his voice more.
Ruby continues to move her body against her dance partner's, oblivious to the fact that she is being called for. Dean only watched for a moment, letting his disappointment set in before approaching his tall, red-headed friend.
"Hey" Dean taps her shoulder, awkwardly half-shoving her boy toy away. He starts to protest, but decides against it when he sees the serious look in Dean's eyes.
"Whoa, what was that for?" The slur her voice shows near the end of her comment proves that she has had way more than one too many drinks.
"I think it's time to leave…" Dean's voice trails off, looking around to make sure he's safe while nonchalantly pushing his glasses back up his nose.
"What?! No, I don't want to!" He misses the rest of Ruby's answer when he realizes who just made his way through the crowd.
"Listen, you told me to come get you when I was ready to leave, so if…" He gets cut off.
"I'll find a way home later" Dean almost takes her seriously, until she almost trips over her own feet. Those six inch stilettos probably aren't helping her situation.
"Fine. But don't come blaming me in the morning if you end up in some random guy's bed tonight." He finishes, knowing his words came out way harsher than he intended them to, but he doesn't really have time to think about regrets right now.
Instead of retaliating, Ruby merges back into the crowd, not even missing a beat to start dancing up on the nearest guy. Dean knows he'll get an earful in the morning, but quickly decides to slip out the front door when he sees Crowley making his way closer to him.
Just as the door clicks shut, Dean is hit with a wall of freezing cold air. It's to be expected, especially in the dead of winter in Michigan, but it still catches him highly off guard.
Someone lets out a huff, obviously mocking his sudden shiver that made his whole body convulse.
"Wh… who's there?" Dean peers into the shadows, eyes locking on the silhouette of a man about his height. It's too dark though to make out any facial features.
"Sorry, couldn't help but laugh…" The stranger steps forward, holding his hand out for Dean to shake as the light coming from the street pours onto his face. "Name's Castiel, but you can call me Cas" He adds a cocky smirk near the end of his greeting. Dean isn't impressed.
"Dean" He returns the guy's handshake anyway.
"Th' party too much for you?" Cas' eyes dart toward the door and back to Dean, their ocean-blue color almost too vibrant for the lighting they're in right now.
"You could say that…" His voice trails, not wanting to admit he was more than mildly frightened by his encounter with Crowley.
"Could?" Cas had somehow managed to maneuver over, now lounging in a chair, gesturing for Dean to sit in the one next to him.
"Yeah, could. I have to go though" Dean spins around, starting to walk down the stairs.
"Wait!" Dean stops, turning back around.
"Yeah?"
"Are you walking home?" Cas has stood up, now with a less cocky, more serious look on his face.
"Yeah, car broke down the other day. So for now I'm stuck with my feet, at least until I get it back out of the shop" Dean's hands slide into his jean pockets. Why didn't he remember to bring his warm leather jacket?
"Do you need a ride? I was planning on heading out soon anyway" Cas starts pulling his keys out of his pocket, the loud clanging of key against key shattering the serene quiet that had previously only been disturbed by their conversation.
"No, I'm fine. Thanks, but I only live a few blocks away. It's not too far" Dean turns again, facing the road as he travels down the walkway toward the front gate.
"You sure? It's really cold out, wouldn't want ya to freeze to death" Cas calls out from behind him, but Dean doesn't face him this time. As tempting as his offer is, he has to remember that he can't just accept rides from people he just met. Last time that happened… He quickly changes his train of thought, trying to wipe that memory from his head.
"Yeah, I'm sure" Dean turns his head over his shoulder, returning the answer and catching a final glimpse of Castiel, then he opens the gate and sets on his way.
There are a few footsteps heard from the porch, and Dean assumes it's Cas going back to where he was before their conversation. Afterwards, the night plunges back into silence, only interrupted by the occasional scuff of Dean's shoes against the pavement.
Dean was used to walking by himself. But this time, for some strange reason, he actually felt alone. Without a second thought, he dismisses the feeling as a result of the strong mix of alcohol and cold that now floods his entire body. With his mind cleared by the silence, Dean thinks back to his two, very different, encounters at his first ever college party.
"Whoa!" The toe of his show catches on a crack in the sidewalk, throwing Dean out of his train of thought and forward onto the ground. Dean's hands force themselves out of his pockets and out in front of him, attempting to stop him from smashing face first into the sidewalk. It only partly works.
"Dammit!" He pulls his hands up after they caught him, inspecting the damage done. He immediately regrets it. The sight of his scratched up palms, bloody and stinging, only add to Dean's growing headache, the nausea becoming almost unbearable.
With an angry grunt, he presses his hands to his sides. He'll deal with those when he get's home.
Getting up, Dean realizes an unfamiliar absence of weight from his nose, immediately cursing under his breath again.
"And just when I thought my night couldn't possibly get worse" He kneels back down, wincing as pressure is applied to his newly opened injuries. The pain gets ignored, his already handicapped eyes searching along the dim ground.
"There they are!" Dean turns toward a flash of light, the reflective surface located on the road.
"I thought I was going to have to buy ANOTHER new pair… With all of the money I don't have" He half-chuckles to himself, getting up to walk over toward his glasses.
Crouching down, Dean picks them up, remembering how the reason he had to buy these ones was actually not too different than circumstance tonight.
A loud car horn breaks Dean from his trip down memory lane, the one who sounded it swerving out of the way, narrowly avoiding him as he shoves himself back onto the sidewalk.
"Ah!" Dean hisses when he receives yet another jolt of pain from his already cut-up hands.
This time, instead of thinking too deeply about the past, he quickly, but gently, pulls his glasses back up to his face, sliding them back into their rightful position.
"Are you okay?" A voice sounds from behind Dean, almost making him jump.
"Wh…? Yeah" There's something a little familiar about this voice. He turns around and is surprised to see Castiel, his porch encounter, standing about five feet away.
"I heard the car horn, and I just wanted to make sure nobody had died or anything… That happens way too much around here" The cocky attitude that had previously oozed from Cas' entire being had since been replaced with a more sincere, yet still semi-cold, look.
"Nah, I'm fine, still alive here" Dean gestures his health, using his hands to show he's fine. Cas' eyes fixate on them, observing the blood coming from them.
"Your hands? You're 'okay' my ass" He steps closer, grabbing Dean's hand in his, pulling it closer to his face.
"What are you doing?!" Dean tries to pull away, but Cas squeezes harder to hold it still, causing Dean to let out an involuntary yelp.
"Hold still. I'm a third year med student, let me take a look at it" Cas commands, studying the wound from right to left.
Knowing he won't win, Dean releases an unhappy grunt, letting the stranger do his thing. He watches as those blue eyes focus intently on his hand, soaking up every detail possible.
"Other hand" Dean's right hand is let free, and surprisingly, he gives up his left willingly, quite enjoying the heat that was transferred from Cas' hand to his.
After another quick check-up, his "doctor" lets go, allowing Dean to take a step backward. He attempts to analyze what Cas was thinking, but his face shows absolutely nothing.
"So…?" He presses his palms to his sides again, trying to push the stinging feeling out of them. Of course it doesn't work, but right now Dean doesn't care. He just wants to be semi-comfortable.
"You'll be fine" He smirks, continuing. "But, you do need to get those cleaned up and bandaged soon. It'll help with the healing process".
"Good thing I'm headed home then" Dean starts turning, but a sudden hand on his shoulder prevents him from moving any further.
"I'm giving you a ride home, okay? You barely made it two blocks without almost dying" Cas lets out a quick grin, trying to lighten up the mood, even though his expression before and after show he is serious.
"But my…" He's cut off again.
"I'm going to give you a ride home, you only live down the street right?"
"Yeah…"
"So it's settled." Another smirk finds it's way onto Cas' face as he turns back toward the frat house they both had just come from.
"Okay…" Dean follows behind, Cas' hand falling from his shoulder as they start walking.
Dean takes note of the way the man walks. Cas has his hands in his trenchcoat pockets, half-leaning back, obviously enjoying the nice cold night. It's very interesting, seeing this guy dressed all up in a suit, while everyone else there at the party had been so casually dressed.
"Are we going to remain silent, or shall we make small talk? Just to pass the time of course" The silence is broken by Cas after a small while of walking through the tangible quietness.
"I suppose… You said you were a med student?"
"Yeah, decided I didn't want to take over the family business back home. So, I pursued my dreams of saving people" His voice contains emotions that seem held back.
"Family business?" Those are still a thing? Dean thought that for sure those had all been replaced by now.
"It's complicated… Anyway, what are you studying? Cas' sudden change in topic make it obvious he doesn't want to talk about it, so Dean just lets it go.
"I'm studying to become a car engineer" He smiles, unable to contain the excitement he has. He's finally here.
"Fun! Second year?" Cas asks, running his hand through his hair, setting it back into place after the wind messed it up.
"Nope, this is actually my first quarter. Just got done moving out of the parent's house back over in Washington. The state, not the capitol" The image of Sammy, his five-year-old little brother, begging him not to go, flashed through his head. Dean already misses him…
"Washington?! What made you move here?" Cas presses the unlock button on his keys, opening the door to his car as Dean walks around to the other side.
"I don't really know… I guess…"
"FAGGOT!" A yell comes from across the street.
"You taking him home to make him one too?!" A second voice adds in.
Dean is taken back by these comments, looking over to Cas' ashamed-looking face. He then follows que, getting into the car and closing the door.
"What? Why were they saying those things?"
"It's nothing… Don't mind them, they're just being stupid"
"Huh?"
"Let's go."