Shooting Star

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural. If I did, there'd be a lot more homosexuality between a certain hunter and his angel ;)

Warnings: M/M pairings, self-harm, domestic abuse, brutal bullying, etc. (In short; some trigger topics)

Summary: High school AU, Castiel Novak is a quiet, intelligent guitar player. He's never really noticed, until Dean Winchester moves into town. He seems confident and cool, but as soon as Castiel digs deeper, Dean becomes more and more troubling. Will Castiel figure out who exactly Dean is?

A/N: I've wanted to write this fic for a while… I have recently thought of and revised ideas so I'm going to type them up before I forget. Hope you enjoy!

Beautiful music fills the large house as Castiel strums his guitar. He sits at a stool in the center of his room, his black Fender acoustic guitar in his lap. He reaches to a table and scribbles something down on a piece of paper. He then strums a few more chords.

"Castiel!" a sharp voice calls. "I swear, if I have to call you one more time-"

"Alright, I get it," he yells back. He adds to himself, "Just one more chord..."

He quickly scribbles something down on the paper and puts his guitar carefully in its case. He latches each silver latch and runs out the the staircase, past the kitchen, and into the entryway he goes. He puts on his favorite shoes, a pair of simple Converse.

"Your siblings already left," a voice behind him says. He turns and sees his oldest sister Naomi. "You might be able to catch up with them if you hurry."

Castiel nods once and exits the house. He doesn't bother trying to catch up with his family; he knows they'll just ignore him anyway. So, he strolls down the sidewalk humming a tune to a song he can't quite place.

The Novak family consists of eight members, from oldest to youngest: Lucifer, Naomi, Michael, Hannah, Castiel, Balthazar, Gabriel, and Anna.

Lucifer is the oldest. However, the rest of the family hasn't heard from him in ten years. He left right out of high school to go and do something their mother didn't agree with.

Naomi is the caretaker of all of the siblings. She is strict and has strong beliefs.

Michael and Hannah are twins, although you wouldn't know it. Michael is a lot like Naomi; having strong moral beliefs. Hannah, however, is unsure of her beliefs. She is more like Castiel than any of the siblings.

Balthazar is a character, and that's putting it nicely. He can be brutal, but he's usually nice. He even adopted a foreign accent, simply to annoy Naomi.

Gabriel is a different story entirely. He's very… Spontaneous? No, more like obnoxious. He's always playing pranks on everybody.

Then there's Anna. She's the youngest, only twelve years old. The Novak's don't see much of her; she's in a psychiatric hospital. She started hearing voices when she was six, and was diagnosed with schizophrenia a year or two later.

That leaves Castiel. He's the smartest child. Granted, they're all very smart, but Castiel's IQ exceeds all of theirs. He's also the quietest, the least noticed. Everybody knows Lucifer, he's the talk of the town. Naomi is famous for her political work. Even Michael and Hannah are well-known. Balthazar is the one who throws the parties, along with Gabriel. Of course Anna is talked about.

But Castiel? No. He's hidden in the shadows of his family. But he wouldn't have it any other way. He hates being noticed. He's perfectly happy watching from the sidelines.

So, here we are. Castiel trudging along the sidewalk, watching his beloved family four blocks ahead of him laughing and joking with each other.

When Castiel finally arrives to school, he finds that he only has two minutes to get to his first class before he's late. He all but sprints up the stairs to his locker, then back down to class. He silently slips into his seat in the back of the room. He doesn't even pay attention, he already knows who won the Revolutionary War.

At lunch, Castiel sits alone. Usually. Today, as he was eating his school pizza, a tray was set down across from him. He freezes, swallowing the bite of pizza in his mouth. Looking up tentatively, he sees another boy. This boy has green eyes, short brown hair, and a shit-eating grin on his face. It's obvious he means nothing but trouble.

"What do you want," Castiel grumbles.

The boy's grin falters for a second. "Well, aren't you a little ray of sunshine."

"Just leave me alone."

"Alright."

The boy doesn't leave. "Well?" Castiel presses.

"Well," the boy swallows whatever was in his mouth, "I'm leaving you alone."

"Aren't you going to leave? Go talk to your buddies or something."

Castiel looks up again. That's a mistake, now he and the boy are having a staring contest.

"I don't have any buddies," the boy finally breaks the silence. "The name's Dean. Dean Winchester."

Castiel stays silent.

"Well?" the boy- Dean- drawls. "Aren't you gonna tell me your name?"

Hesitation, then, "What do you want? I have no more money, so just leave me alone."

"Woah, woah, woah, dude. I don't want your money. I just want your name."

Castiel looks at Dean's face. He seems… sincere. "Castiel," he hesitantly offers.

Dean seems to mouth the name a few times, as if trying to remember something.

"Yea, it's the name of an angel. All of my siblings are named after them, too."

Dean looks surprised. "That's awesome. My brother and I were named after our grandparents. A little mainstream if you ask me."

Castiel chuckles, finishing his pizza. Dean asks if he was going to eat his pasta, and Castiel hands over his tray. "Just eat the rest."

"Really?" Castiel nods. "Thanks, Cas."

"Cas?"

Dean swallows before saying, "Yea, short for 'Castiel'. It's easier to say."

That's better than Cassie, thinks Castiel. Gabriel and Balthazar call him Cassie on a daily basis.

But there's still a thought tickling the back of Cas' mind. What if this is all one big joke? He could just want to make a fool of you. Or even worse, What if he gets you into trouble?

Castiel decides that he has to distance himself from the Winchester. He won't tell him anything more about himself. He absolutely, without a doubt, will not be sucked into a life of crimes and drugs. He doesn't want to turn out like his oldest brother.

So, Cas acts on this notion. "Well, I better go. See you around." Hopefully not.

Dean looks up, surprised. "Leaving so soon? I thought we were friends."

"Please just leave me alone. I'm not in the mood for this."

"For what?"

Really? He's playing dumb. "For this… this joke- or something- that you're playing on me."

Dean blinks a few times. "Joke? There's no joke, Cas."

Cas shakes his head. "Just leave me alone." With that, he walks out of the cafeteria.

In his next class, Cas sits in the center of the room. The bell rings and the teacher enters, writing something in bright red on the board.

About fifteen minutes in, the door slams open and the one and only Dean Winchester strides in. "Sorry," he says to the teacher. "Couldn't find the right room. Somehow found myself in the senior lounge."

The teacher grumbles and looks at a sheet on his desk. He points to the center of the room, seemingly right at Castiel. "Sit behind Mr. Novak."

Great. Cas slides down in his seat, trying to avoid everyone's gaze. I few moments later, he feels a soft tap on his back. "Hey, Cas," Dean whispers. "Long time no see, eh?"

Cas slides down even further. He starts writing lyrics on a scrap piece of paper.

Rain and wind

Torrents of cold

You are a sin

Wrapped in gold

Cas feels hot breath on the back of his neck. Dean was reading over his shoulder. "Kinda dark, don't ya think?"

Quickly covering his work, he replies in a hushed whisper, "Seriously, leave me alone."

Dean sits back and spends the rest of class drumming his pencil on the desk. It doesn't bother Cas, because he's figuring out strum patterns on his thigh that would fit with the beat Dean is creating.

Castiel ends up having two more classes with Dean. But, to Cas's relief, he sits halfway across the room. However, Dean continues turning around to mouth something to Cas before getting reprimanded by the teacher. This is going to be a long year, Cas thinks.

Walking home by himself, Cas decides to stop at a small gas station to get something to drink. He's too busy scanning the shelves (looking for Monster) to notice a man clad in black walk in. In fact, he doesn't notice the man approaching him until he has an arm around his neck and a gun to his head.

"Alright, nobody move!" the man roars. "Two people, you and you, go lock the doors with the padlocks I have in my bag. Yes, you. Fatty in green shirt, also. Now- go quickly or this boy dies!"

The two civilians do as he says. Castiel squeezes his eyes shut as the man half-drags him into the center of the store. Both of his hands are on the man's arm, trying to keep his throat safe.

"Now you two, bring the bag to the lovely cashier."

The same two civilians bring the large blue duffel bag to the lady behind the counter. The one the robber called 'fatty in green shirt' has silent tears streaming down his face.

Cas feels breath on his left ear and assumes the man lowered his head. "Now kid," he whispers roughly. "I want you to reach down to my right hip." Castiel does as he says. "That's it, kid. Now, feel around. Feel that button?" Cas nods shakily. "That button has wires connecting to an explosive device strapped to my chest. I want you to warn everybody, so they know what's gonna happen if they don't do what I say."

Castiel considers keeping silent. If the guy is telling the truth, and the bomb is strong enough, this little gas station will be blown up. He decides not to take his chances. "He's got a bomb!" he yells out.

There is a scream, coming from a woman in the corner.

"Now, lovely lady, put all of the money in that bag. And don't even think about pushing any buttons, or I'll push mine."

The man drags Cas towards the front of the station. "And if anybody calls the police," he continues, "well, let's just say that if you want to get out of here alive, I wouldn't."

"Already called them," a familiar voice says. "Now, don't even think about moving. I have a very sharp knife to your throat. If I so much as see your fingers twitch, it will have already cut through your throat."

"Dean?" Cas whispers.

"Yea, Cas. Don't worry, I'm here."

Castiel has never been happier to hear that voice. Even though he only first heard it a few hours previous.

"Now," Dean continues, "we'll all just wait here until the cops come. Well, I guess you guys stuck here can grab drinks and snacks."

Nobody moves.

"Alright, suit yourselves."

Cas chuckles and asks, "Is there any way you could get him to release me?"

There's a pause then, "Afraid not, that would require his fingers to twitch."

Cas is slightly stunned and disappointed. Fortunately, they don't have to wait long. The police arrive within the next thirty seconds, sirens blaring. They bash the doors in and disarm the man. Cas stumbles free of the man's grasp and grips the counter, steadying himself. He turns and sees Dean bring the knife to his side, nodding to an officer.

"Hey, Cas," Dean says, suddenly behind him.

Castiel's eyes are closed.

"Cas?"

"You saved a lot of lives."

Dean chuckles. "Yea, I guess so." He pauses, then, "Look, man, I'm sorry about refusing to let him release you. It's just… If he had both arms free, he would've pushed that button or pulled the trigger."

Understanding, Cas nods. "I'm just glad nobody died."

Dean leads Cas out, a hand on his shoulder. Medics check Castiel over, poking at the bruises on his neck from the man's choke-hold. Dean sits beside him the whole time.

Reporters come and interview the pair of teens. Castiel's questions are along the lines of, "Were you scared? Did you have any plan of escape? How did Dean Winchester save you?"

Dean was the new local hero. Headlines would read his name for weeks.

Eventually, Naomi came and picked Castiel up, not even looking at, let alone thanking, Dean.

"Cassie, Cassie! Are you hurt?" Gabriel stutters.

"No," Cas replies. "And it's 'Castiel', not Cassie."

Gabriel disregards Castiel's correction. "You have bruises! Naomi told us, but she didn't give details. Tell the whole story."

Castiel looks up from his guitar and at his fourteen-year-old brother. "I don't really want to."

"Alright," Gabe sits on Cas's bed. "I'm just worried."

"Look," Cas sighs. "A man came in, grabbed me, put a gun to my head, and demanded money. Then, some kid came and put a knife to his throat. The police came and arrested him. The end."

Dissatisfied, Gabe leans back on the bed. "You're gonna be in the paper tomorrow."

Oh great. "Just please get out of my room. I have homework."

"Homework?!" Gabriel jack-knifes up. "You almost died, and you're worried about homework?"

"Yes, now leave."

Gabe complies, grumbling about something.

Castiel puts his guitar down. He lied about homework, he just wanted to be left alone. He needs to sort out his feelings about this annoying kid who just saved his life.

Boom! Chapter uno done! Did y'all like it? *blushes* You did? Awe, thank you!

Even though I know you loved it, please review!

I'll try to update as soon as I get chapter two done.

+Gellie