Halloween. A time of ghosts and ghouls, witches and warlocks, black cats and skeletons...and apparently balls of ugly sweaters curled up in a corner?
Dean paused in his musings. There was someone curled up in the corner of a room in the local haunted house.
"Dean? You coming?" Sam called from the doorway leading to the next room.
"Yeah, go on ahead. I'll catch up," Dean waved his little brother off. Sam just huffed through his nose, sent over a bitch face #15 and turned the corner out of sight.
Dean turned back to the figure in the corner. "Hey, you alright over there?"
The head of messy dark hair lifted enough to peek over the arms that surrounded it. The bluest of blue eyes stared back at Dean through black rimmed glasses. Dean swore the eyes even glowed in the low light. After a few moments of hesitation, the person's head nodded, then shook, as if not sure how to answer.
Dean sat down in front of the person to not seem intimidating. It was clear that they were scared. Upon closer inspection, he was able to tell that the person was a guy around his age. "What's the matter? Got a little too spooked?" he asked, making sure to keep his tone reassuring and a bit playful.
The other boy lowered his gaze, nodding again in answer. "Did you come in here with somebody? Friends? Family?" Another nod. "Do you know where they are?"
"No. I was pressured into coming, but then my friends abandoned me once we were in here," the boy explained. Dean wasn't expecting such a deep voice from such a geeky person and took a moment to gather his thoughts.
"That's harsh… Not to dictate your life, but drop your shitty friends."
That got a huffed laugh out of the boy. "I'll take that into consideration." Jokes. This was good, the guy needed to be more relaxed so that he could function enough to get out of there.
"Here, how about me and you walk through here together?" He offered, trying to ease the other man onto his feet.
The geeky stranger took Dean's outstretched hand and accepted the help up. He brushed off his Halloween sweater with his free hand, keeping the other one tightly gripped to Dean's. A scream sounded from the room before theirs, making the guy flinch and squeeze their connected hands.
"I'm Dean, by the way," Distraction, keep him distracted, "what can I call you?"
"M-my name's Castiel," he managed as Dean started to lead them to the next room.
"It's nice to meetcha, Cas. Can I call ya Cas?"
Cas only got a nod in before a woman in all white jumped out at them with a high pitched cackle. He jumped out of his skin, latched onto Dean's arm, and buried his face into the place Dean's neck met his shoulder.
The hot breath on his neck sent a shudder up Dean's back despite the side of Castiel's glasses also digging into his skin. He let out a nervous chuckle, rubbing Castiel's back before easing them forward to continue on.
Every time a decoration popped out or when what looked to be fake turned out to be someone, or when something jumped out period, Cas would tighten his hold and suction cup to Dean's side. Most of the time, he had his eyes closed and Dean had to usher him through the rooms, giving him reassurances and calming hushes.
After a while, Castiel's feet hit soft ground, followed by Dean's gentle, "hey, we're out, it's done. You can open those lovely baby blues of yours now."
Cas cautiously opened one eye then straightened up, peering around to make sure everything really was okay.
"See? You're still kicking! Everything's fine," Dean sent him a charming smile.
Can blinked a few times before noticing that he was still wrapped around Dean's arm. Clearing his throat, he started rambling an apology. "I-I'm sorry. I don't leave my house often. I kept telling my brother that I have anxiety over large groups and the haunted house would just trigger an attack, and and and-"
"It's fine! Really, Cas, it's okay," Dean raised his hands in a disarming motion. "I completely understand, it's alright."
Before Cas could say anything, a kid came up and punched Dean in the arm. "What the hell, Dean? You said you'd catch up!"
Dean laughed, rubbing his arm where it was hit. "I caught up, Sammy, it just wasn't until after going through," he argued half heartedly.
It was then that Sam noticed Cas. "Hi, I'm Sam. You're the one that was cowering in the corner in there, aren't you."
Cas suddenly found his shoes fascinating, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I-I scare easily…"
"That's fine, not everyone is equipped to handle scare houses," Sam shrugged.
"There you go using that brainy vocabulary of yours," teased Dean as he ruffled the kid's hair. Sam let out a whine and punched Dean in the side before scurrying off to the haybale maze across the street.
Dean let out a grunt and chuckle. "C'mon, Cas. You wanna join us?" Dean offered, "answer quick, we don't want to let the kid get lost without us."
Cas nodded then Dean was reconnecting their hands and jogging to catch up to the energy ball of a little brother.
The maze wasn't nearly as bad as the painted house, but they still got separated from Sam halfway through and got lost themselves. At least they had gotten more time to talk with each other as they walked, hands staying intertwined the entire time.
Once they got out, they found Sam biding his time in the activities area while he waited. Dean let go of Cas to go get his little brother.
"See? I knew you could handle being outside for a day," a cheery voice spoke up from behind Cas. He would've jumped if he didn't already recognize the voice. Instead he opted for a roll of his eyes.
"Balthazar, where have you been? You all just left me!" Cas seethed.
"Aw, come on, Cassie. You did fine, now didn't you? And I saw that you made a rather handsome new friend."
Before Cas could give a retort, Dean returned with Sam. "Heyya Cas. This one of your friends you talked about?" Cas nodded. Turning to Balthazar, Dean said, "you, sir, are an ass."
Balthazar smirked. "Maybe, but at least you got to meet this nice piece of ass because of it." Balthazar placed a hand on each of Castiel's shoulders as if showing him off.
"Balthazar!" Cas scolded, emphasizing it with an elbow to the gut. The man let out a grunt followed by laughter.
"Cassie, you brute. We taught you well."
Castiel didn't even grace that with a reply, instead taking Dean's hand and storming away.
"Well if you ever need a getaway, you can always come over to my place," Dean offered once they were farther away.
"I… I would like that…" Cas lowered his gaze and blushed.
They just reached the entrance of the festival when Dean stopped them. "Text me whenever you want to talk with anyone or need some comforting," Dean pulled a marker out of nowhere, pushed Castiel's sleeve up slightly, and wrote his number on the inside of Castiel's forearm.
"Dually noted." Cas fidgeted a bit before continuing, "I, uh… could you also give me a ride home? The others are going to be out till real late and I would really love to relax at home instead of having to wait for them to drunkenly stumble home."
A smile crinkled Dean's eyes. "I'd happily be your scapegoat." His smile was infectious and Cas found himself breaking out into a gummy smile himself.
Is that a good place to stop? Idk, but I almost didn't get this written by today cause I've been so busy. Moving is such a hassle.