NOTES:

Disclaimer- I do not own Supernatural or its characters, only this story based on them.

Also, please review, and tell me if I messed up on the structure of American high schools, as I am English so really I have no clue! This story is just a test run befor I post it to AO3, so, again, tell me what you think!

Chapter I

Castiel was nervous. He had never, in all his life, been to school and tomorrow he was starting Edgewater High School. Castiel's inexperience due to homeschooling led him to be slightly socially inept and awkward, according to one of his half-brothers, Gabriel. Castiel knew lots about the school- he wasn't stupid, he'd done his research. He had found out that it was a combined Junior-Senior High school, which was uncommon, and that it was just outside of Lawrence, so he would be accompanying his half-brothers to get there.

In his nervous state, Castiel had memorised the entirety of his schedule, and could recite it perfectly; on Mondays (tomorrow) he had something called Homeroom first, and then he'd attend Calculus and AP Physics. Then, it was lunch, after which he was required to attend AP Psychology, before a free period. Castiel had it all sorted out.

Gabriel had been going to Edgewater for a while now, so as it was the night prior to his first day, Castiel decided to talk to him about it. Castiel had always been close to Gabe, but since their Father left, they were closer than ever. Though he was in the same grade as Raphael, Gabriel was the middle son of their Father, and was born of a different mother to Castiel . His two brothers, namely Michael and Raphael, were, as Gabriel put it, 'absolute dickheads', so Gabe usually hung around Castiel and his sister Anna. Those two were the only members of Castiel's inconceivably complex family who had a positive reaction when he came out as homosexual, so Castiel found himself in their company the most.

When Castiel found his brother, he was lying on his stomach an his bed, flipping through a magazine.

"Hey, Gabe?" Castiel tentatively approached the boy.

"What's up baby bro?" Castiel always hated when Gabe called him that.

"Nothing much," he sat heavily on the bed and hesitated, "What is Edgewater like? I know it's supposedly an excellent school, and the students are very well-behaved, howeve-"

"Woah, woah where did you get that from, Cas?! Edgewater does not have very 'well-behaved' kids, for starters..."

"But the website said—"

Gabriel waved his hands dismissively and scoffed. "False advertising! Schools do that, to get a good reputation." Gabriel closed his magazine, and stretched out on the bed on his front. "What you gotta realise, Cas, is that people lie. People lie when they want something, and you can't just believe everything you hear."

"But that's a sin!"

"Sometimes lying is for the best."

"But-"

"Give me a chance," Gabriel exclaimed. "Let's see... Say someone got a new haircut and asked your opinion. You think it looks horrible. What do you say?"

"I would tell them it looks horrible."

Gabriel looked at his brother hopelessly. "My god, Cas! You're turning seventeen this year! You need to learn these things! Honesty isn't always that good. I know dad told us we were to be honest and just, blah, blah, blah, but if you said the haircut looked horrible, that person would be really sad."

Castiel looked frankly alarmed. "I don't want to make them sad!"

"Exactly."

There was a moment of silence, in which Castiel contemplated his values, before saying- "So Gabe... what is Edgewater like? Really?"

Gabriel thought briefly. "Well, normally in the first week, kids get beat up or something," seeing Castiel's shocked and frightened expression, he added "but don't worry, I'll be there with you, so will Raphael, even if he is a douche. After the first week, you'll be left alone, and hopefully you'll make some friends. Most of the kids are okay, but there's usually a bunch of idiots in each class."

Throughout this synopsis, Castiel had been watching his brother carefully. It hadn't calmed his nerves much, but it helped to know his brother would be there.

—

The next day, Castiel woke up and almost forgot what was happening today. He sat up, heart thumping. It's okay, he told himself, you've got Gabe and Raphael, as well as Michael's reputation. It's fun. It's learning, and you love learning!

Castiel didn't usually put much thought into his outfits- he'd never really needed to, being homeschooled and all. He didn't put much thought into it today- after all, Gabriel had told him just to be himself, so he'd just pulled on a white shirt and tan sweater. Throughout breakfast, he and Anna were quiet, their half-brothers relaxed but slightly sour. Michael was away studying Law at Harvard, so it was just the four of them.

The journey was long yet exciting, as Gabe and Raphael, despite their moral differences, were swapping stories about their time at school, and Anna was fantasising about what she'd get up to. Castiel stayed quiet for the most part, but he enjoyed listening to their retellings of their school life and Anna's foreshadowing. They pulled up outside the school, and slowly climbed out the car. Castiel suddenly felt odd. Certainly, he was sixteen, and should, in theory, be able to fit in with general society, but Castiel hadn't gotten much interaction with people, so he felt as though he were a fish out of water as he approached the school.

The building was decent-looking on the exterior, however Raphael, seeing Anna's awed expression, muttered something along the lines of 'it's not as great once you get inside', so Castiel didn't get his hopes up.

"Castiel," Anna whispered, her anxiety showing. "Do you wanna meet at lunch or something? I don't think I'm gonna make many friends today..."

Castiel smiled, surprised, but nodded. He wasn't entirely sure he would be very popular today, based off what Gabe had told him, and the two seniors weren't likely to want to sit with their freshman and junior half siblings, considering they both had reputations to uphold.

Eventually, they all found their way to 'homeroom'. Castiel had been told that was simply a registration period, and that most people 'messed around' during it, so Castiel figured he may be able to simply keep his head down and sit back for ten minutes. Hence, he took a breath, and opened the door.

"...oh! Here he is! This is Castiel Novak. He's a Junior, and was homeschooled before now, so he's a bit new to school." And with those few sentences, all hopes of going unnoticed flew out the metaphorical window.

The woman speaking was relatively short, middle-aged and had shoulder-length, dark red hair. She was gesturing towards Castiel with a wide and obviously false smile, and was addressing a small group of teenagers who seemed as though they would really rather not be there. Castiel was quite lost and confused.

"Uh...Hello."

"Yes, hello, Castiel, nice to meet you- why don't you sit over there, next to Benjamin-"

"Benny!"

"Next to Benny, then. He joined last year."

Feeling as though he wanted to crawl into hibernation for a century, Castiel walked slowly towards the slightly unruly looking boy in an odd hat, and sat down. On his other side was a boy with the most striking emerald eyes Castiel had ever seen wearing a worn leather jacket. Castiel's eyes lingered on him for a moment, before moving to roam across the room. It seemed to be a class predominantly used for modern history, as all around the room Castiel could see quotes and images of the founding fathers and former presidents, as well as propaganda for the first and second world wars. The room was old and had clearly been used frequently, according to the graffitied tables and slightly damages displays.

—

The remainder of homeroom went smoothly, and, after the horrendously awkward first introductions, he was, as predicted, able to sit back and observe. Next, Castiel had a calculus class, which he rather enjoyed. The boy with the emerald eyes was in that class too, and Castiel learned that his name was Dean and he was known as being reasonably smart, though somewhat a troublemaker. Castiel decided he didn't want a troublemaker as a friend, so perhaps he should stay away from the boy.

After calculus, Castiel attended AP Physics, before heading out to find Anna at lunch. As of yet, Castiel hadn't had a problem with bullies, so he carried on searching for Anna, unaware that the entire school expected something to happen at lunch to one of the new students. All of a sudden, Castiel found that he was surrounded by four large boys, one of which he had spotted in his Calculus class, each of whom carried a rather threatening atmosphere with them. Castiel's heart jumped to his throat, but before they could do anything or say anything to him, Raphael and two other seniors and pushed through the barrier of jocks to get to Castiel.

Castiel was surprised to say the least to see Raphael of all people defending him.

"What the hell are you doing here, asshole?" The man directly in front of Castiel ground out.

"Well," said Raphael, "this guy here is my half brother. I know we're not on the greatest of terms, however if you hurt him or his sister in any way-"

"You'll what? You've got nothing on us."

Raphael looked at him with an expressionless face, cool and collected. "Hm. Do you remember my brother Michael? The huge, 6' something guy who was our star player a couple years back? Well he's all grown up now, and he's got a few good friends of his own around here. They could come round here, maybe teach you a lesson or two..."

The ring leader stared at Raphael, clearly trying to find an appropriate retort. When he couldn't find one, he dragged Castiel up close to his face and growled "I ain't forgetting this any tome soon, b*tch," before walking away, his cronies lumbering along with him.

Castiel goggled at Raphael.

"But you hate me— why-why would you do that?"

"Of course I hate you. I'll never stop that. However, you are of my blood. I don't want to cause any arguments." Raphael glared at Castiel pointedly, likely referring to the enormous rift Castiel had caused by coming out last year. Then, he walked away.

It wasn't the bullying that shocked Castiel- after all, he had dealt with idiots like that before, so thought he would have no problem with them now. No, the thing that bothered Castiel most was the way Raphael had so willingly helped him out of the situation, when at home their only conversation was through chilled looks and snarky remarks (both of which usually came from his brother).

When Castiel looked around, he found several groups of students staring at either himself or Raphael's retreating form. People were whispering and staring and oh Castiel hated it so much. Wanting desperately to get away, he walked hurriedly down the corridor and he didn't even look up when he collided with someone around the corner, only muttering a quick apology, keeping his head down and rushing on.

When Castiel eventually found Anna, she had been accepted into a group of girls, so he decided to leave her be and perhaps wander aimlessly around the school grounds. The school grounds were small, but there was a large field apparently used for sports that Castiel thought would be the most devoid of people. As he walked, Castiel thought about what had just happened. He hoped that it would come to nothing, else they would get bored and leave him alone. Raphael still disliked him, however he knew Gabriel would always be there, unless something catastrophic happened to weaken their relationship.

As for friendships, Castiel had no problem with being alone. The majority of his life had been spent with his family, so Castiel didn't have many friends excluding them. Generally, he had been very happy without friends before, so why on earth should he need friends now? There was a part of Castiel that wanted someone to be his friend- maybe someone he could share things with- someone who wasn't Gabriel or Anna, that is.

Castiel had reached the edge of the field, so sat down beneath the trees that lined it and pulled out a book. It was only then that he spotted three figures sat beneath another clump of trees that lay on the adjacent side of the field to him. He, squinted to try and make out who it was, and thought he could make out a leather jacket- maybe it was the boy from his calculus class and homeroom (Dean, wasn't it?). It seemed he was with two younger students; a girl and a boy. They youngest boy was clearly either a 7th or 8th grader, judging by his height and seemingly nervous position. Castiel wasn't sure why he took so much interest in the group, but he passed it off as curiosity.

After lunch break, he went along to AP Psychology, which he had been looking forwards to the most. Castiel always found the human brain fascinating. It had such complexity, and he was curious to know why people felt certain things when, and what caused certain reactions to events. His psychology class went smoothly, though he didn't learn anything he didn't already know, as they just went over basics and what the course would include etc.

His free period was spent reading in the library, before he met up with his family again and went home. The evening was uneventful and seemed to stretch out longer than usual, what with the renewed awkwardness between Castiel and Raphael. Castiel had mixed feelings about his next day at school- he wanted to look forward to it, however there was a part of him that was unreasonably worried.