High School is one hell of a place. Either, you're a bully or you're being bullied, and for Castiel Novak? It was no different.
Cas bolted into the bathroom, dodging his brother, Gabriel, and sister, Anna, in an attempt to be first. The pounding of fists and threats drowned out around him as he looked at himself in the mirror. His skin was pale and white. Something he inherited from his mother, though he'd never met the woman. If looking from a distance, he seemed like another teenage boy, fresh off the puberty train. It would take someone special to notice the voidness of those electric blue eyes.
It was Senior year for Castiel. Another year in another new high school. Saying he wasn't jazzed would be an understatement.
After a quick shower and an attempt to mask his emotion, Cas headed down the stairs, sitting at the table, before eying his sister and mumbling "Anna, if you intend on driving me it will not happen."
"Cas, it's just this once. I'm just not ready to let you out alone again." She responded dryly. It was clear he wasn't winning with her. Picking up his bag and stomping out to the Altima Anna owned, he crossed his arms over his chest, a bit self conscious, considering the events of his past.
When they finally approached the school, Anna casted a sidelong glance at her little brother, "You can do it Cas. If you need me, you can call. What happened in Ohio? It will stay there." She'd reached across the car to comfort him, when Cas jumped out swiftly, not wanting to be touched. Touching was still hard. Anna cringed.
"Stop mothering me. I don't want to think about it. Any of it Anna." he'd bit out lowly, blue eyes flashing hurt and anger before he nearly ran into the building.
Anna didn't know what to do. She was loosing Castiel. "You have to talk about it sooner or later little brother. You have to."
After completing a few papers in the main office, they'd handed Castiel his schedule. Great, the first class of the day is stupid English. Today can't get any worse. Stupid school. Stupid Anna. Stupid everything, He thought bitterly, stepping out into the halls full of teenagers waiting to attack or be attacked. Cas knew that he'd be on the attacked in. The kids have been here their whole lives. They had friends and order, and Cas' presence screwed everything up.
He hadn't expected three people to come up to him. The first to speak was a blonde girl. She seemed nice enough. The two boys standing behind her seemed more annoyed with the fact she approached the new kid more than anything else, but she seemed nice.
"Hi! I'm Jo! You must be new here. Would you like some help around?" The blonde spoke a mile a minute.
Cas looked at her, tilting his head. "Uh- sure?"
The first boy, tall and slightly muscular with a British accent, introduced himself as Balthazar. He'd moved to the small town in South Dakota from England over the summer, and Jo practically befriended him on the spot. Cas figured they'd be friends if he were looking for them.
The other was shorter and lanky, wearing a crumpled star wars shirt. His name was Ash. He was some kind of computer wiz and he'd been there his whole life.
Jo snatched Castiel's schedule out of his hands. "Let's see, locker 23R. Right this way, Novak." She said brightly, offering her arm to him. "Don't worry, I won't let any of these asshats bother you. The only one you really need to look out for is Meg and her posse. She's evil." She stuck her tongue out at the mention of the girl.
Cas hesitantly looped arms with the girl, flinching at the word evil. Get a grip on yourself, Cas. No one knows here, he thought to himself, straightening a little bit more as Jo whisked him down the hall, to his locker.
He'd managed to tug it open when she started shrieking, causing him to drop the books he'd just taken out for his morning classes"OH! We have matching schedules you guys! THIS WILL BE PERFECT!"
Cas sighed deeply, flinching at her outburst. There was no way in hell he could do this.
"Mr. Winchester is the best. We're family friends, but don't tell anyone that. You're going to love him, Cas. Can I call you Cas? Castiel seems a bit too long." She giggled in delight.
"Um, yes, you can all call me Cas if you so desire, everyone else does." He blinked rapidly, bending to collect his discarded books when the small group was approached by a man.
He was wearing black jeans and a polo. His hair was a sandy shade of blonde and brown, and his lips were a rosy pink. Cas took a minute to take in the creature, before he caught his eyes. Piercing green eyes that seemed to level with his blue ones. There seriously was no way in hell Cas could get through the year now. Not with that man walking around the facility.
"Mr. Dean Winchester!" Jo squealed loudly.
Cas felt his face pale out. The most gorgeous man he'd ever seen was his English teacher. Gulping audibly, he felt his resolve slip as the man spoke.
"Hey Joanna, Balthazar, Ash" He looked over the group, eyes falling on the mop of black hair he'd never seen before "and who might this be? Remember, just call me Dean. It makes school so much easier."
"Castiel. My name is Castiel Novak. Pleasure to meet you." Cas piped up, choosing to leave off the 'Dean' bit.
"He's in our class! Yay! This will be so awesome." Jo giggled more to herself.
Dean's eyes were trained on the blue hues in front of him. "Castiel, hm? Well welcome to Sioux Falls High and I'll see you shortly." He smiled, offering a hand to Cas.
Cas stared at his hand for a moment, before reluctantly slipping his own into the outreached palm and giving it a strong shake. He retracted his hand just as quickly as he shook the other mans. Castiel's eyes followed Dean as he left. It was a pretty nice view.
"English guys! Most of you have been with me for the last 3 years and you know how I run things. One of you, are new. Welcome, Castiel." Dean smiled at him, pointing at the open seat next to Jo. "Right, as I was saying. This is your last year, don't think I'll be letting you slack off. I won't be. Today's assignment is on the board, as well as the first project of the year. There's 17 of you in this class, and the project is a group assignment. One of you will have the honor of working with me it seems. Congratulations, you're my oddball class. I'll be walking by each table and allowing you to draw one name. What are you waiting for people? Let's get to work."
It had taken all of ten minutes before Dean was standing at the last table, Jo and Castiel's. Jo sucked in a breath pulling out the last name card and showing it to Cas. No one had moved towards him, so he took it as he was the odd man out. Looking up at Dean, he offered a nervous smile. "The new kid is the odd one out." He half mumbled.
Dean had heard him. The blue eyes seemed to be burning into his flesh every moment they got a chance to roam. Letting out an audible sigh as the bell rang, he watched his kids file out quickly. He'd felt a spark when Castiel touched his hand, and right now? He wanted nothing more than to figure out what exactly happened. "Mr. Novak, may I speak to you for a moment?" he called out, beckoning the boy forward.
Fear bubbled in Cas as he dragged himself forward to the desk. "Ye-yeah?"
"I've known all of these kids for 3 years. I know the kind of work they do. Your project will be a little different. I would like for you to write a short story or essay. It can be on a topic of your choice. Since it isn't a full report, I'd like to have it on my desk in the morning before class. Can you do that for me?" Dean smiled.
Cas nodded rapidly, feeling his palms sweat. He'd never been great at writing. "Anything I want?"
Dean nodded again. "Yes. As you know we're on a block schedule after this first week, you'll be spending 90 minutes in my class on Mondays and Wednesdays, and the normal amount on Fridays. I like to know what type of work to expect from my students. I want to know the type of work I can expect from you."
Cas sighed softly, understanding, luckily for him, he had a free period next. The boy already had enough credits and only really needed four classes to graduate. "I understand. Tomorrow before class, alright."
With that, Cas headed down the hall to greet Jo. School sure knew how to kick him in the ass.
A/N: This fic does have a song to go with it. It's Outlaws of Love by Adam Lambert. That can kinda point you in the direction this fic is going. Cas is kinda squirmy around people, which I kind of made obvious, but ALL WILL COME OUT IN THE FIC!
Please Review? I need them to see if this fic is even worth investing in and I love hearing others opinions on my writing.
That is all. Thanks for reading.