A/N: So, this is a thing that happened. To the tumblr anon who prompted a SPN/Peter Pan mash-up situation - this is probably not at all what you had in mind, but here you go.

5th Grade

The cafeteria was loud and full of the chatter from his classmates. The parent helpers were attempting to quiet down the gaggle of rambunctious fifth graders, but that didn't seem to be going well for them. Ash walked back into the lunchroom, all casual-like and loose limbed in that way only he was able, and sat down at Dean's table. One of the parent helpers came from the hallway calling in another student.

"How'd it go?"

Ash shrugged and pulled out his homework, that odd little smile still lingering on his face. "Fine, I guess. It's not so weird once you're actually in there, y'know."

Dean nodded, even if he only sort of understood what his friend was attempting to imply and went back to the paper in front of him. Some of the boys from his after-school football team were tossing a ball around down in the far end of the cafeteria, he considered going down there to play with them but decided against it. He wanted the lead role and he was damn well going to get it.

The Fifth Grade play was a big to-do in Lawrence – mostly because there wasn't much else going on. All the districts did them, and last year Hillcrest Elem's production of The Jungle Book beat out Cordley Elementary's Annie shit-show by a landslide. Hillcrest had the best fifth grade plays, everyone knew that. And Dean was going to be the lead this year.

Charlie slumped down in her seat beside him, sighing dramatically as she pushed away the final sheet of homework she'd been working on. "I just can't do this any more. I'm so done."

Ash just pulled over her sheet, looking over the few problems she'd been unable to complete and began to finish them, writing out how he'd come to their solutions. They were the smartest kids in the class, it was fact. They were already doing eighth grade math. Eighth grade. They were practically geniuses.

There were other smart kids in the class, like Kevin who was moved up a whole grade and doing work just as hard, or Hannah who could spell practically any word ever and won the tri-county Spelling Bee three years in a row.

Then, of course, there was Castiel.

Dean looked over at the boy seated in the corner by the window, looking over the packet of lines in front of him, a deep furrow of concentration between his brows. His best friend Meg sat beside him trying to see how many plastic spoons she could balance on her forehead.

Cas was smart too, he was one of the best in Science – Mrs. Merry said so all the time. He won first place in the Science Fair this year, Dean remembered because Cas hadn't been afraid at all of the bees his project used, he remembered being impressed by that.

They were friends in the we've been going to school together since we were six kind of way, but he'd never been exactly close with Castiel. He liked him, thought he was kind of a cool guy, but they'd never really had homeroom together or any classes so it was a little hard to get to know him better. Dean secretly hoped that the play would give them a reason to hang out more, because Castiel's big blue eyes did things to Dean and he really wanted to ask him more about his bee project.

Benny seemed to give up playing football at the other end of the cafeteria and slid into the spot next to Dean at the lunch table they were currently seated at. "Still at it, brother?"

Benny was probably Dean's best friend outside of Charlie. They'd met in school, obviously, but became friends when they both signed up for after-school football and made the team. Benny was a nice guy under his sort of burly exterior and his parents loved him – especially his mom, she was always going on about how Benny was such a sweet boy.

"You know it." Dean looked back down at the lines he'd been studying. He knew them, and he knew them well, his mom had been helping him learn it all and Sammy whined that he went over it too much. "I'm gonna get Peter."

Benny just smiled, "I have no doubt about that, brother."

Dean was comforted by Benny's thick southern drawl and his confidence in him. Benny's family had moved here a few years ago from Louisiana and during the summer they often went back to visit family, so his accent was still pretty heavy. He got made fun of when he first moved here because of it, but that faded away soon enough because Benny was charming and well-liked, the accent stayed.

"Thanks, Benny."

A few more kids came and went, most with smiles on their faces and wild eyes from actually auditioning in front of the director. She was a young woman with a round face and soft eyes, best of all she was enthusiastic and her excitement hyped them all up.

His name was called out by one of the parent helpers, he quickly gathered up his packet of audition papers and ignored his friend's encouraging words, focusing on the songs he'd memorized and the lines still running through his head.

He was placed outside of the music room door, leaning against the wall as he waited for the person before him to finish. He took a deep breath in and out, calming himself. He was bright and charming and he could play Peter Pan in his sleep, there was nothing to be nervous about, he could do this.

Lisa walked out of the room, her hands shaking, but a large smile on her face. Her wild eyes turned to him and she wished him good luck as she walked back into the cafeteria. He was called in.

He walked into the music room, Mrs. Parson, the music teacher sat beside Ms. McConnell the Drama Club Advisor. They were both smiling and seated by the windows, music stands placed in front of them and pencils in their hands. He moved in with a smile and held out the audition packet to them before taking his place in the middle of the music room.

"Hi." Ms. McConnell smiled, her rosy cheeks and big eyes made her look a bit like a doll. Dean found it comforting. "What's your name?"

"Dean Winchester."

She wrote down his name on the sheet laid out on the music stand in front of her, she looked back up at him and smiled. "Okay, Dean, and which character will you be auditioning for?"

"Peter Pan." He smirked in his most charming manner, hoping it would win him some character points.

"Mrs. Parson and I are going to listen to you sing first and then we'll read one of the sides from the audition packet, all right?" He just nodded, "Okay, then. I Won't Grow Up, whenever you're ready."

The music started and he sang out the song. His voice was still a bit high and childish because of his age, but it worked for playing Peter Pan. He went through the song with ease, using his facial expressions that came naturally because of the lyrics and made sure his body was loose and relaxed. He liked being onstage and he liked preforming in front of people, his mom often said it was something he was really good at, maybe even something he could do when he was older.

The song ended and the smiles on Mrs. Parson and Ms. McConnell's faces made him smile as well. His heart was beating a bit fast, but his hands didn't shake. He liked this. "Great job, Dean." Mrs. Parson gave a sturdy nod, which translated to her pride in his small performance. "When you're ready, Ms. McConnell here will ready opposite the side with you."

"Do you need the sheet?" The younger woman asked, holding out the paper for him to take.

"No, I memorized everything."

Ms. McConnell looked impressed as she smiled softly. "Well, all right then. You read Peter and I'll take Wendy. When you're ready, Dean."

The back and forth of the short scene was easy and Ms. McConnell must be an actress in her spare time because she was really good. He felt comfortable saying his lines with her and he felt comfortable acting out the character he had developed for Peter in front of the two teachers. She then asked him to preform the small monologue that was on the sheet, in character. It was smooth sailing. They thanked him for coming in and that the cast list would be given out on monday morning. A part of him couldn't believe he'd have to wait the whole weekend to find out if he'd made Pan or not.

He walked out of the music room and there was Castiel. He was leaning against the wall just as Dean had, paper clutched tightly in his hand. He was about the same height as Dean, and his dark hair was always a wreck that made Dean smile. Maybe it was from the high of just auditioning, his heart still pumping wildly in his chest, that when Cas's big blue eyes met Dean's, he just smiled wide.

"Hey, Cas."

Castiel just looked at him with the same blank face that he looked at everyone with. But, Dean could see the different emotions swirling in his eyes, the subtle shift in his features as he looked at Dean. "You sounded great, Dean."

The praise made his cheeks flush a bit. He knew that he did well, but it was still nice to hear from a peer. "Thanks, Cas." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Good luck, I'm sure you'll do great."

Castiel gave him a small smile. "Thank you, Dean."

Cas was called into the music room and Dean was sent back into the cafeteria. He slid back into his seat beside Charlie and Benny, the smile never melting off his face.

"How was it?" Charlie asked excitedly, getting all up in his face. "Was it terrifying? Were you nervous? How did you do?"

"Jeez, one question at a time, Charlie." He chuckled at her exuberance. "It was good. Terrifying, but good. I think I did okay, I was a little nervous but once I started it was like I was a totally different person. Like when we play football."

"Yeah," Benny agreed. "You get nervous right before you play, everyone's lookin' at you and everything, but then once you're out there on the field, you sorta forget everything else."

"Exactly." Dean nodded.

Castiel came out not long after and was ushered back into the cafeteria where he went back to his seat beside Meg. Dean found himself getting up without thinking about it and going over to Cas' table. He dropped down into the seat across from the two dark haired kids, smiling.

"How was it? How did you do?"

Cas shrugged a shoulder, a small smile on his lips. "It was scary, but I think I managed to do alright."

Meg's name was called out by one of the parents and she stood from her spot beside Cas. "Well, suckers, I'll be back in a flash." And then they were alone.

"Which song did they make you sing? Who did you audition for?" He was still on a excitement high from auditioning and couldn't help his slightly manic behavior.

Castiel just have him a small smile in return as he fiddled with the sheet of homework in front of him. "I auditioned for John, and they made me sing I Won't Grow Up and Follow The Leader."

"They made you sing two songs?" Dean asked with wide eyes. He felt almost cheated. "Shut up."

"Well, it makes sense." Castiel replied, and Dean could sort of see why Gordon called him a robot. It was his stoic demeanor and very matter of fact way of speaking. Dean found it charming. "One song for John and another incase they cast me as something else."

Dean nodded, it did make sense. "How did you like it?" He found himself asking. "Were you nervous?"

"Yes." Cas nodded all straightforward and honest, bringing those big blue eyes up to lock on his. "Were you?"

"A little." Dean decided. "But, I really, really liked it. I mean, my mom calls me a ham all the time and I do like entertaining people, but that was the first time I ever auditioned for anything, you know?"

Cas nods, bright eyes still glued to Dean's, hyper focused on him like he had the answers to everything. It was a little weird, and would definitely take some getting use to, but it also made Dean's stomach feel warm and he liked it. He saw Meg coming back towards their table and the parent helper called out Cole Trenton's name. Dean narrowed his eyes over Cas' shoulder and sneered a bit as he watched the smaller boy get up and follow the adult.

Dean straight up hated Cole Trenton. The guy was a major goon and totally not worth anyone's time; and yet he was practically the class favorite and always managed to get Dean in trouble for something he didn't even do. They've had a pretty intense prank war going on since the third grade, so far no one had come out on top, but Dean knew it'd only be a matter of time before he did.

Trenton was actually the reason he decided to try out for Peter in the first place – besides the fact that it was the Fifth Grade Play and everyone wanted a lead. He'd overhead Cole talking to Gordon about it at lunch the other day and over his dead body was he about to let the likes of Cole Trenton be the lead in their school play.

Cas' brows furrowed as his eyes roamed over Dean's face, he turned to look over the shoulder Dean had been staring at. "What?"

"Yeah," Meg said as she slid into the seat next to Cas, looking over at Cole Trenton. "What? Why you staring death-rays at Trenton?"

"Because fuck that guy."

Castiel's eyes went wide at the swear and Meg started laughing. "You're allowed to say that word?" Cas asked so sincerely, it made Dean want to chuckle.

"No." Dean admitted a little sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"A rebel." Meg cooed, leaning into Cas and throwing an arm about his shoulders. "I like this one, Clarence."

Cas didn't roll his eyes at the name, didn't even blink, but it had Dean confused. "Clarence?"

Castiel did roll his eyes then. "It's what she calls me sometimes."

"He's our own little angel." Meg replied sarcastically, patting Cas on the head like a puppy, which had the dark haired boy rolling his eyes once again. Dean had a feeling he did a lot of that with Meg around.

He got the reference now, It's A Wonderful Life, his mom watched that movie every Christmas. Clarence was the name of the angel. Dean furrowed his brows as he made the connection.

"But, he already has an angel name."

Meg looked at Dean with confusion and Castiel looked up at Dean with wide eyes filled with shock and awe.

"You know what what my name means?"

Dean nodded, wasn't it common knowledge? Didn't everyone's parents teach them about folklore and mythology?

"Yeah, you're the Angel of Thursday." Dean shrugged, feeling the full weight of that too-blue gaze on him. "Or, at least your name is."

Meg looked at him like he'd just rattled off the equation for solving Pi by memory. "Why do you know that?"

Dean looked between the two of them; Cas with his big blue eyes all wide and endearing and Meg with her scrunched up face all confused. He shrugged.

"My family's really into mythology."

Cas just continued to look at him all wide-eyed, it was kind of cute. "No one knows what my name means. Most of the time they can't even pronounce it unless I say it out loud first."

Dean smiled his most charming smile and shrugged, "Well, I know what it means." He watched Cas blush a little, and even though he wasn't sure why the dark haired boy was blushing, Dean knew that he liked it.

"Barf." Meg shook her head, disgusted. "Could you two get your cooties away from me please? I'm sick of you being all cute, Winchester."

Dean rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at Meg, but did heave himself up from their lunch table to go back to his. Cas looked sad that he was leaving and Dean almost stayed, but then Cole fucking Trenton was making his way back into the cafeteria and Dean would never pass up any opportunity to glare at the asshole. He stood fully from the table, hardcore glared at Trenton as he passed and slid back into his seat surrounded by all his friends.

No one really commented on the fact that he'd left them, everyone in their grade was basically friends with everyone else – with the obvious exception of Trenton and goons like Gordon Walker – so it wasn't weird that Dean hung around with others. He thought Cas might be a good fit within their group, he was quiet and stoic, but Dean could tell that there was a sarcastic side buried underneath his slight shyness. He had to be if he was friends with a heathen like Meg.

He finished his homework before the end of their allotted after-school activity time – which was great because who wanted to do homework on the weekend? No thanks. They packed up their belongings and got into two lines, one for walkers and another for pick up. Charlie was going on about how excited she was for their upcoming soccer game, but Dean was distracted by Castiel and Meg laughing about something further down the line.

"Hello? Earth to Dean?" Charlie whacked him in the arm, causing him to turn back around and face her.

"What?" He asked as he rubbed the spot on his arm that she'd hit.

"You're not even listening, dude!"

"Sorry, sorry, what's up?"

Charlie rolled her eyes and shook her head, but the smile on her lips meant she wasn't really mad. "I was asking if you wanted to sleepover this weekend. We still need to finish our Star Wars marathon."

He'd been appalled to learn that his best friend had never seen the Star Wars movies, which was practically a sin in Dean's mind, so last weekend they'd started the marathon that would change her life. In return, Dean promised her that he'd start reading the Harry Potter series so she didn't have to unfriend him. Which, he hadn't quite gotten around to doing just yet.

"Yeah, let me just see where we're going this weekend."

His parents had been divorced since he was four. It didn't really bother Dean, mostly because he couldn't really remember a time when they weren't separated. His parents were both good people, and they still loved each other dearly apparently, but they were just better off apart they said.

His parents never fought and they didn't have specific days or weekends that belonged to one parent like some of the other divorced kids he knew. Mary and John worked together to pick him and Sammy up from school everyday, worked around schedules and after-school activities.

He might spend tonight at his house, tomorrow at his dad's, and sunday back at his house. Sometimes it was reversed. Sometimes they'd go a week without seeing John because of work and other times he picked them up from school everyday. It wasn't always super structured, but that was their life and that was okay.

Charlie nodded, excited anyway at the prospect of a sleepover. He thought about Cas and how he'd like to have a sleepover with him, or even just a playdate. Maybe if Cas didn't live too far away he could ride his bike to Cas' house and they could hang out. He'd have to ask Cas where he lived.

Ms. McConnell stood at the head of the line with the sign out sheet in her hand, smiling and chatting with parents picking them up. The walkers had been let go first and it wasn't the first time that Dean was jealous they lived so close to the school and got to walk home by themselves everyday. He did manage to catch a glimpse of Castiel's mom waiting on the pick-up line, he knew it was Cas' mom because he'd seen her before and some of his siblings were with her.

He knew Anna more than the older brother Gabriel, who was standing next to Cas' redhead sister with a lollipop in his mouth and a comic book in his hands.

The Novaks all looked a bit different, Anna was a redhead and he wasn't quite sure where that came from, Gabriel favored Cas' dad with his honey hair, as did the baby Alfie standing in between Anna and Cas' mom, holding both their hands. Cas looked more like his mom, with her dark hair and blue eyes. Dean didn't know what his other older brothers looked like and if they looked like Cas or not.

Anna was a year older than them, so she was in Middle School now – which was super awesome. Gabe was like three years above them and was as crazy as he was cool, Dean's heard stories about all the insane pranks he's pulled and the trouble he's managed to get into and out of.

His name and Cas' name are called together and it took Dean a minute to realize that his mom and Sammy had been standing right in front of Cas' family. He turns to see Cas untangling himself from Meg as their parents signed the sign-out sheet that Ms. McConnell has and smiles at him. Cas gives a small smile back, one that really should barely constitute as a smile see as it was just the corners of his lips quirking. But, it was in the eyes, and Cas' eyes were very expressive when it came to Dean.

They walked up the front of the line together, Mary's bright smile and golden hair a comforting sight just as much as the small scowl on First Grader Sammy's face at having to wait in the line.

He turned to see Cas approach his family, Alfie immediately letting go of Anna and making grabby hands at Cas and yelling his name. Dean watched as Cas scooped up the three year old and held him in his arms, the baby wrapping his little arms around Cas' neck.

Dean couldn't stop himself from calling out as they all walked away from the school in the direction of the parking lot. "Cas!"

Castiel stopped and turned, Alfie looking up at the sound of his brother's name and smiled wide at Dean, who smiled back at the baby. Sammy was small like that not too long ago and Dean loved babies. "Yes, Dean?"

Both of their families had stopped and were looking at them now, Dean felt a small flush come over his skin at the attention. He turned on his heel and faced his mom quickly with that pleading look that she knew very well. "Mom, two things. One, Charlie wants to have a sleepover again this weekend so we can finish the Star Wars trilogy. Second, can you set up a playdate with Cas' mom cause I wanna hang out with him."

Mary started to laugh at her son, shaking her head and looking up at Cas' mom, who was also chuckling. Mary moved forward with her arm outstretched, "Hi, I'm Mary Winchester, and I'm assuming you're Castiel's mom."

Cas' mom nodded and smiled, taking his mom's hand. "Naomi Novak."

Dean turned to Cas, who's eyes were wide with shock, Alfie squirming in his arms to be let down. Cas set him down on the ground and watched as the little boy made his way over to Dean and Sammy. Dean dropped down to a squat and smiled at the baby, not being able to stop himself from talking to the boy. Sammy dropped down too with a big smile and Alfie kept giving him high-fives, causing Sammy to giggle uncontrollably.

Cas moved so that he was squatting with them, a hand hovering near Alfie in case he became unsteady. He was a good big brother, Dean could already tell – he knew because he was a good big brother, he could see these things in other people. It only confirmed that he wanted to be better friends with Castiel.

"You want to hang out with me?"

The way he asked all shocked and disbelieving made Dean feel sad. "Uh, of course I do. I asked, didn't I?" He said with his signature toothy grin.

"Okay." Was all that Cas replied with, looking up at their mothers who were chatting above them like they weren't even there. "I also wish to hang out with Dean."

Gabriel snorted and Anna elbowed him in the gut. "Ow, jeez Anna, what hell."

"Language." Naomi called before returning back to Mary. "Well, looks like we have no choice." She teased.

Mary smiled and nodded, "I guess we'll be seeing you this weekend then." She pulled out her cellphone and handed it to Cas' mom to input her number. "Come on, Dean. You'll see Castiel this weekend, I've gotta get you and Sammy fed and then to football."

The little group stood, Cas grabbing Alfie's hand, Dean nudging Sam in the direction of the car and away from the cute baby who was waving at them. "Bye Cas, I'll call you. Maybe you can come when Charlie is over and we can all watch Star Wars."

Cas smiled again the same way he'd smiled at Dean early; a small quirk of the lips and a lot in his eyes. "Okay, Dean. I've never seen that movie."

Dean stared at him aghast and horrified. "Excuse you?"

That caused Cas to laugh and he nodded, "I've never seen it." He shrugged, "Actually, I haven't seen most movies."

"Oh, well that's getting fixed asap." Dean declared, causing their mothers to chuckle at each other. "Don't worry Cas, I'll make it my personal mission to get you up to speed before we get to Middle School and you become a lost cause."

Cas smiled, a bit more of a real one. "Thank you, Dean."

They separated after that, moving towards their respective cars. Dean got in and helped buckle in Sammy, smiling the whole time. He couldn't wait for this weekend.

Saturday morning Dean woke up excited and ready. His football game the night before had been great, they won and Benny's mom took them out for ice cream afterwards. He had a soccer match today and then Charlie was coming to sleepover after, but he still needed to call Cas to make plans.

Charlie and Cas would definitely get along, Dean already knew they would. He was excited to have them all hang out together. Everyone was sort of friends with each other in Elementary school, it was just the way it was. But, Dean hadn't ever had a chance to really get to know Cas, like the way he knew Charlie or Benny. He wanted to, and the fact that they were all definitely going to be in the play helped make the decision for him.

He slipped out of bed and headed downstairs, his Mom already in the kitchen making breakfast, Sammy sleepy and rubbing his eyes where he leaned against her leg, a thumb in his mouth.

"Hey, honey." His mother called out with a smile, stirring something in a pan on the stove. "Why don't you take Sammy into the den and watch some tv while I finish breakfast."

Dean immediately went to grab Sam, second nature and all. Sammy was too big to pick up now, Dean use to hold Sammy all the time as a baby, and sometimes his little brother forgot that he wasn't so little anymore and tried to get Dean to carry him places. Dean did it anyway, mostly through piggybacks, because he was a good big brother.

Sam curled into Dean's side, eyes still sluggishly half-closed, thumb still firmly placed in his mouth. Dad said he was getting a little old to keep sucking his thumb, but Dean didn't care what Sammy did.

"Mom, can you call Cas and make sure he can come to the sleepover tonight?"

Mary smiled down at Dean and ran a hand through his blonde hair. "Sure, honey. Let's eat breakfast and then I'll be sure to give them a call."

"Thanks, Mom."

Dean lead Sammy into the den an turned on the tv. Sam leaned against him as they watched Power Rangers and waited for their mom to call them back in for breakfast.

He was already thinking of everything they could do tonight. Star Wars was a must, and Charlie could help him teach Cas about all the cool shows and movies he'd apparently been missing out on. Charlie was good like that. They could make a fort and make funny videos, they could beg mom for popcorn and dress Sammy up in funny clothes. Dean was already imagining how great it would all be.

Mary eventually called them in for breakfast, Dean was antsy as he ate his eggs, and then his mom finally called Cas' mom. He sat and watched Mary put the cellphone up to her ear and address Mrs. Novak on the line, they chuckled and Mary nodded. She informed Cas' mom about the soccer game today and that Charlie would also be spending the night, Mary nodded even though Cas' mom couldn't see it and they chuckled again. When Mary hung up, Dean was waiting with wide eyes.

"Well? Is he coming?"

Mary smirked down and nodded at her oldest's exasperation. "Yes, Dean. He's coming." Dean smiled wide and went to bound off to get changed for soccer. He couldn't wait to tell Charlie.

Mary packed them up in the car, driving to the field. Dean could already see his dad sitting in the stands, never once missing any of Dean's many games. His dad had been happy when he'd made the football team, he'd smiled even wider when Dean went out for baseball and soccer too. John often said that it was good for Dean to get rid of all that excess energy he seemed to have in abundance, but Dean knew that he was happy because they had things to bond over.

It was hard sometimes not having his dad around all the time.

He saw John a lot, just slightly less than he saw Mary, and he didn't care that they were divorced – being separate for most of his young life. But, he missed waking up and seeing his dad in the kitchen or having the urge to go out and practice one of the many sports he did and not having John there to come and help. His dad was just a call away, but sometimes it just felt too far.

But, John was sitting in the stands, Uncle Bobby beside him, and Kate on his other side. Dean liked Kate, she was soft and kind. Different from his own mom who radiated warmth and an underlying toughness that proved she was not to be messed with. No, his mother was the sun and Kate was the moon.

He was happy that his dad had chosen Kate, it could've been worse, he knew, like Grady Dell's step-dad who was a tough piece of work and yelled at him. Or Stephanie Crane's step-mom who was young and had no interest in her or her siblings. Kate was nice.

He waved frantically at his dad, Kate, and Bobby, who all smiled and waved back, and ran to where his team was huddled. Sammy and his mom made their way over to the stands and Dean sought out Charlie immediately.

"Hey!"

Her long red hair was braided and out of her face and whipped around as she turned. "I brought comic books with me!"

"Cas is sleeping over too." Dean pulled out his cleats and shin guards and began to put them on, looking up at her.

Charlie's brow furrowed, "Castiel?"

"Yeah."

"He wants to hang out with us?" She asked confused.

Dean just smiled, "Well, duh. Of course he wants to hang out with us, we're cool."

Charlie scoffed and looked down at Dean. "Uh, hate to break it to you, but we're not cool."

"Hey," Dean said defensively, puffing out his chest as he sat on the grass with his cleats untied. "I'm cool."

Charlie just laughed and patted Dean's head like the puppy he was. "Sure you are."

Dean pushed her away by the hips, Charlie just laughing the whole time as she fell down on the grass. "Well, whatever. Cas is coming over and he told me that he doesn't watch tv or movies and is basically hopeless. We have to get him up to date or else he'll be stuck being lame forever."

Charlie rolled her eyes, "He won't be lame because he doesn't watch tv, Dean. He'll be lame because he's really into science and glares at everyone."

"He doesn't glare at everyone." Dean defended. "And you're one to talk, you're really into science too."

"I never claimed not to be lame, Dean."

"Shut up. We're helping him."

"And he does too glare. He stares at everyone all serious and intense, like this." Charlie then did a striking impression of Castiel. Dean scoffed. "And this is what he looks like when you're talking to him." Her face barely changed, but he could see the hint of a smile and a lighter look in her eyes.

Dean just rolled his eyes and pushed her again by the shoulders.

"Shut up."

"Hey, I never said I didn't like the guy. Just saying he glares a lot."

"I think that's just his face."

They both laughed and Dean finished tying up his cleats when the whistle blew. They huddled into the group and listened to the coach, but Dean couldn't help but look up into the stands to see his family. Charlie's mom, Kate, his dad, Bobby, his mom, Sammy, and then Castiel, his mom, Anna, Gabriel and the baby, Alfie.

Dean couldn't believe that the Novaks were here, Dean smiled bright and waved up to the stands, hoping to catch Cas' attention. Cas smiled back at him, although it was timid and barely even a smile by Charlie's standards, Dean knew that Cas was happy to see him and waved back.

The game felt like it went by too quickly and so slow that it dragged on forever.

He just wanted his pizza party and his sleepover.

They won, of course, and as soon as they were able, Dean ran with Charlie to the stands where their family was moving to meet them on the grass. Charlie's mom hugged both Charlie and Dean, telling them how great they were. Charlie's mom was a nurse, like Kate, and they even worked the same rotation sometimes. That's why Charlie was over a lot, her mom worked late at night and Mary often tucked both of them into Dean's bed.

Benny was his best friend, but Charlie was his best friend. He would tell her things he'd never tell anyone else, she was like a sister he never got. Dean had a feeling that Cas would make a good best friend too.

John scooped Dean and Charlie up into a large hug, making them laugh and squirm to be released. John put them back down and smiled quietly at them, running his hand through Dean's messy hair and nodding, "You did good, son."

Dean beamed at him as Bobby clapped him on the shoulder and slipped him a lollipop. It was like Gabriel honed in on that moment and cleared his throat, holding out his hand with large eyes, Sammy imitating him and doing same.

Bobby just rolled his eyes and cursed under his breath, "Aw, hell." Digging into his coat and pulling out lollipops for all of them.

Cas moved over to where he and Charlie stood, "You did very well. Both of you."

Charlie just smiled bright, "Thanks, Cas! I'm really excited about our sleepover tonight!"

Cas smiled that little upturn in the corner of his lips. "Me too."

They all ended up at the pizza parlor, even though Cas was the only one coming over after, the Novaks accepted Mary's invitation to join them. They sat at two tables pushed together and Dean huddled between Cas and Charlie, asking Cas all sorts of questions and teasing Charlie, which just caused both of them to roll their eyes at him.

Huh, maybe introducing them had been a bad idea. Maybe he hadn't thought this one through if they were going to use their powers to gang up on him.

They eventually moved on to the topic of superheros and what powers they'd want and what their costumes would look like. That subject carried over to the house, when they finished their pizza and Charlie's mom and Cas' mom said goodbye and put their sleepover bags in the trunk. They got cosy in the den, Mary making both Dean and Charlie change out of their uniforms and rinse off in the shower while Sammy distracted Cas.

They built their pillow fort and watched Star Wars, and Power Rangers, and X-Men: Evolution. They drew pictures of their superhero costumes and talked about powers until they passed out with the tv on, all cuddled up like puppies in the blankets they'd put on the floor.

Mary had grabbed Sam at one point and put him to bed, returning to check on the others and finding them asleep. She just smiled and turned off the tv and the mini-camping lamp they'd put in the fort to draw, smoothing back the hair from their faces as they continued to sleep.

The list went out on Monday morning.

Dean sat in his homeroom with Benny, listening to the morning announcements and making adjustments on the picture he'd drawn Saturday night with Charlie and Cas. The weekend had been epic. He'd won both of his games, Charlie and Cas had hit it off instantly, and Cas had stayed over until dinner time on Sunday, watching movies and asking too many questions and sitting much too close to the tv.

Dean knew that Cas was cool, and he knew that he'd easily click with his friends. He asked Cas if he would come sit with him at lunch. It sucked that they didn't have the same homeroom and weren't on line at the same time, but Dean said he'd kick out kids and hold a spot for him. Cas just asked if Meg and Hannah could come too. Dean knew their lunch table was going to be the coolest now, he couldn't wait until middle school where they could be on line together and actually pick their tables.

His head snapped up when Ms. Tracy placed a folder down in front of him and instructed the class not to open them yet. She was still passing them out when Ms. McConnell took over the announcements.

"Good morning everyone! My fifth graders, we're going to announce the cast list for our production of Peter Pan." Dean could hear hoots and hollers coming from the other classrooms, as well as theirs. Ms. Tracy hushed them with a small smile on her face and continued to pass out the folders. "So, your teachers have given you folders, inside are papers I need your parents to sign, rehearsal schedules and your sheet music. Please hold on to these. Okay, open your folders. Your part is written at the very top, if you don't have a speaking role, you won't have a character name, just a tile; like Mermaid or Pirate."

Dean quickly opened the folder, his heart beating too fast. There, at the top of the paper – Peter Pan.

"I'll see you all at rehearsal tomorrow after school in the gym!"

Dean wasn't even listening to the announcements anymore, he was stuck, grinning down at his paper. He couldn't fucking wait to see the look on Trenton's face!

He was going to be Peter Pan.

Lunch couldn't come quickly enough. He felt antsy, he couldn't wait to see all of his friends in recess and talk about the casting. He'd heard in some of his classes who got what, but he wanted to hear it from them. He wanted to talk about the auditions and the play itself. He was dying to find out everything.

Once lunch rolled around, he ended up in the same spot he usually did, squished between Benny and Charlie, Ash and Garth across from them. He kept and eye out for Cas and immediately waved to grab his attention, Meg saw him first and elbowed Cas to get him to turn Dean's way. His brows were furrowed from the not-so-gentle nudge Meg had given him, mouth set into the frown they saw every day, eyes scanning until they landed on Dean. Cas seemed to soften a little once those blue eyes found his and the smile that awaited him. Dean waved Cas and Meg over to sit with them.

"Garth, scoot over."

Garth sort of did without question most of the time and just scooted down while still talking animatedly with Ash. Meg slid in first, but left room for Cas to sit across from Dean. He could get use to her picking up signals.

Dean didn't really have to acquaint anyone because they all knew each other already, but he did make Cas and Meg promise to come with them on the playground. Hannah trailed by later, seeing that Cas and Meg were seated over at their table and took a seat next to Kevin, and just like that they were merged. Dean felt proud at himself at that.

As soon as they were released on the playground, everyone sort of huddled up to talk about the play and the parts. Balthazar proudly proclaimed that he had gotten the role of Captain Hook and Garth smiled when saying he'd gotten Smee. Charlie had gotten Michael, Lisa was their Wendy, Meg their Tiger Lily, and Bela was their Tink. That made sense, she was snotty in real life too. Benny had gotten the Indian Chief and Cas had gotten exactly who he wanted, John.

Everyone else was split between Lost Boys and Pirates and Mermaids and Fairies. And fucking Cole Trenton was a silent Indian, didn't even get any lines. Dean was rolling around on the inside.

School continued on like that for a while, their lunch table became over crowded, recess was spent in a much bigger group, and after-school rehearsal passed with Dean playing pretend and reading comic books with Cas and Charlie.

The play messed with his football schedule a little, but since a few of the other boys from his team were in the show as well, the coach let it slide. He was basically booked on his weekends, between football and soccer, but he still managed to have a couple sleepovers with Cas.

Christmas came soon, which meant they were on break from school – and from the play.

Dean could admit that he was sad about that. He missed the large group they'd formed and going over lines on the playground, or in the gym once it started to snow. But, with winter break came more free time and no reason to not hangout.

He saw Cas, Charlie and Benny practically everyday over break, and before Christmas he exchanged gifts with them.

Cas had gotten him an old X-Men comic that he'd been searching for that he'd mentioned once like, months ago. It just cemented Cas' place beside him.

With Christmas break over, rehearsals grew lengthier and in abundance with their show just on the horizon in February. Ms. McConnell had let Dean bring in cupcakes for his birthday and Dean made sure that Cas got the one with the blue icing he'd help his mom decorate especially for him because it matched the color of his eyes. They did a pizza party at his house with all their friends that weekend, but Dean still liked his little Peter Pan family singing him happy birthday before they did I Won't Grow Up.

When February finally rolled around, they were prepared, but nervous. Everyone was mostly off-book, everyone knew their solo parts in the songs, they all learned the dance breaks. But, the show rested on Dean's shoulders.

He wasn't allowed to feel stupid, Ms. McConnell told him, he had to feel brave and cocky like Peter would.

So, even though the leafy green of his costume brought out the freckles in his cheeks, and it dipped a little low in the front showing off his collarbones which caused the girls to giggle and Cas to blush, he wouldn't feel stupid. Because Peter wouldn't feel stupid. Peter would revel in it, and so would Dean.

They did a performance for the school, technically their dress rehearsal before the show for their parents tonight. Dean's hands were shaking peeking out to look at the whole Elementary school seated on the gymnasium floor, waiting for them as the Principal spoke about being respectful during the show. Cas appeared beside him and slipped his pale hand into Dean's, ceasing the shaking. Dean breathed a little easier now that his best friend was beside him, all silent and strong like a stone.

Dean wasn't quite sure when Cas had transitioned into his best friend, a place that had always been reserved for Charlie and Benny, but he had.

Maybe it was over winter break when they would whisper things to each other as the others slept, or maybe when he'd handed Dean that comic book for Christmas. It could've easily been during rehearsals when they would sit next to each other and laugh quietly as Trenton tried to dance, or at lunch when Cas would share his chicken nuggets and Dean would scoop his mash potatoes onto Cas' plate without question.

Somehow, Cas had slipped his way into Dean's life and Dean absolutely wanted him there. He always knew Cas had potential at being a best friend, he remembered thinking it at that first sleepover they had with Charlie. He just hadn't realized it'd actually happened.

The show started and Dean caught Sammy's face easily towards the front of the crowd with the other First graders and projected there. It was easier once he saw his little brother's bright smile and wide eyes, easy to forget about everyone else and do like Ms. McConnell had said.

There were a few awkward moments, but for the most part the show had run smooth, and when they came out for bows, Dean couldn't help but smile wide. They'd done it.

The parent shows went just as well, maybe even better than the student show. Mary, John, Kate and Bobby sat beside Castiel's family and Charlie's mom, and they all gave a standing ovation during bows.

They were forced to stay onstage in costume for group pictures, posing for all the parents in the audience who whipped out cameras. Once the group shots were taken, everyone split up, running to their families and accepting the flowers and praise they offered.

Dean, Cas, and Charlie had run right up to their parents, letting the wonderful words wash over them with delight. Mary called for Castiel to stand beside Dean and they took pictures with the two of them "in character" and wrapped around each other. Cas looked cute in his striped pajama top and bottom, and Charlie looked like she had a few years ago in the blue onesie and her long hair slicked back into a bun.

They ran offstage after pictures and changed out of their costumes, Ms. McConnell telling each one of them personally how well they did, her rosy cheeks and big eyes all aglow.

Sammy talked his ear off on the ride home, recounting all of his favorite parts and the amazing things they did on stage. He was sandwiched between Cas and Charlie in the backseat, Benny snorting from where he was seated next to Sam, and Dean honestly couldn't think of a better way to end his Fifth grade year.

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