Chapter 1
Dean walked into school with Sam like he did every day. Today, was the first day of Dean's second semester of his sophomore year of high school. Dean and Sam split ways as they each headed to their own homerooms. Dean walked into his homeroom and started to walk over by Jo, Ash, and Garth, but he walked into the room and stopped dead in his tracks when his eyes met these piercing blue eyes that stopped Dean in his tracks. Dean removed his eyes from the blue eyes and trailed down the body to find a boy about his height with jet black hair and a slim build.
The boy did a once over Dean and the boy's eyes lingered over Dean's crotch, but his eyes quickly moved away and lifted to meet Dean's green emeralds. Dean moved away and moved over to his group of friends. He sat down in front of Jo and leaned against Jo's legs like he always did. Jo moved her hand into Dean's hair and started to mess with it. Dean tried to move his head away from her, but was unsuccessful as Jo held his head in place.
"My mom is inviting you and Sam over for dinner tonight. Bobby is making his famous stew; if you and Sam are interested," Jo stated.
"Bobby is making his stew, hell yea Sam and I are coming over. Is Ellen making pie for dessert?" Dean asked as he whipped his head around.
"Yes, I informed her that if I am to invite you over that she has to make pie. My mother knows you, Dean. I mean she practically helped your mother raise you and Sam, Dean; I think that she knows that if you come over for dinner that she needs to make pie."
"Hey, you make it sound like she is gone. My mom is coming back; she promised. She wouldn't leave Sam with my father if she wasn't coming back. She travels, and she also calls me every night to let me know that she is alright," Dean defended in a whisper so only Jo could hear him.
"I know, Dean. You don't have to get all defensive. I also know that if she doesn't call you one night you move yourself and Sam out of that house with John and race to our house. I know, Dean, so don't make a scene here, Dean," Jo whispered in Dean's ear. Dean glanced over at the boy with the piercing blue eyes and found him staring at him and Jo.
"Who's the new kid?" Dean asked as he raised his voice back up to its normal level as he turned his head and let Jo continue to play with his hair. Dean rested his elbows on Jo's thighs as their homeroom teacher walked in the room. Ms. Harvelle planted herself in front of her desk and looked out into the sea of students in her homeroom class.
"Okay, kids, shut up and settle down. So some announcements, we have a new student that is joining our class today. His name is Castiel Novak, and you all are going to treat him nicely and make him feel welcome. Mr. Winchester, I want you and Ms. Harvelle to show him around school. No questions and no whining about it, Mr. Winchester. On with the other announcements. The principal wants me to inform you that you are not going to be able to get away with hiding away in empty classrooms to get out of class anymore. She doesn't want to know what you are doing in the empty classrooms, but she wants it to stop. Now, get to your homework, which I know you haven't even started, before the bell rings." Dean turned to Jo and rolled his eyes at her. "Mr. Winchester, don't roll your eyes at me, and don't deny it either. Do it again, and I will make sure you don't do it again."
Dean turned and looked back at the front of the room, and he saw that Ms. Harvelle wasn't even looking at him. "How does she do that?" Dean whispered to Jo.
"Because I know you very well, Mr. Winchester. I helped your mother raise you, so don't test me, Dean," she stated without turning towards Dean.
Jo just shrugged her shoulders at Dean and went back to playing with Dean's hair. Dean made sure that all of his books that he needed for his first few classes were in his bag before the bell rang. As the bell rang, Dean pulled Jo up with him and pulled her over to Castiel. "Hey, Castiel. I'm Dean and this is Jo. Do you have your schedule?" Castiel pulled a sheet of paper, and he handed it to Dean. Dean took the paper in his hand and he read through the schedule. Dean found that Castiel had the same schedule as him, and he handed the paper back to Castiel.
"You have the same schedule as me so I can take you from class to class until you get the hang of it if you want my help," Dean suggested. Castiel looked from Jo to Dean and back again, taking in as much information as he could without asking any questions. Castiel figured out that Jo and Dean weren't dating but they were extremely close, maybe brother and sister, only they didn't have the same last name so they obviously weren't.
"Yeah, I would be okay with you showing me around," Castiel stated as he looked Dean up and down again trying to figure out which way Dean swung, because he wasn't actually sure by looking at him. Dean was a mystery to him, and he wanted to figure him out.
"Okay, let's go. I'll see you at lunch, Jo," Dean said as he gave her a hug and a kiss on the top of her head. She pushed him away, but not before quickly returning the hug.
"Yeah, go. Today is another chicken day, so you're taking me out," Jo informed him.
"Yes, I know, now get to class." Dean grabbed Castiel's arm and wrapped his arm around his shoulder. "You are in great hands, Castiel. I know this school like the back of my hand, and I honestly spend way too much time here thanks to Ellen." Castiel gave Dean a strange look like he didn't know who he was talking about. "Ms. Harvelle. She's my aunt and my mom's best friend, so I spend a lot of time with her, Jo and my Uncle Bobby. Bobby is John's step brother, and he married Ellen a few years after Jo's father died. John's my father if you were wondering, he's an ass, and you never want to meet him. Here's Mr. Ackles class. I love PE. It'll be fun." Dean guided Castiel into the gym and onto the bleachers. "Hey, Mr. Ackles. How's your wife?"
"She's doing great, Dean. Thanks for asking."
"Yup, that's me." Dean mounted the bleachers with Castiel in tow, and he sat down at the top of the bleachers and leaned up against the wall.
"Are you on friendly terms with all of your teachers?" Castiel asked Dean.
"Yeah, like I said I spend a lot of time here. I do my homework in the teacher's lounge, so I get to know the teachers very well."
"Why do you do your homework in the teacher's lounge, can't you drive?" Castiel asked him.
"Yes, I can drive. I have my father's old car before my mother took the keys from him and got him a truck. It's a 1967 black Chevy Impala, and man is Baby a beauty. I do my homework in the teacher's lounge with my brother, Sam, and Jo because Ellen won't let us leave until our homework is done. She's an amazing person. Sometimes I wish she wasn't so pushy, but other times I love her for it because without her I wouldn't have made to my sophomore year without her," Dean clarified. "Enough about me. Tell me about yourself, Castiel."
"Oh, there isn't much to tell. My father left my mother when he found out that I was gay, and my mother was okay with me being gay and my father being the religious pastor that he is wasn't okay with it. They got into a fight about it. The fight ended with my father slapping me and my mother packing my father's thing and throwing him out. My mother thought that he would be the last of our issues but unfortunately it wasn't," Castiel said as he looked around to see if anyone was listening.
"Why'd you switch schools?" Dean asked.
"Bullying. Let's just say some people in Kansas don't like gay people," Castiel informed Dean.
"Oh, I understand that, my little brother came out last year. He's not gay, but he is bi, so I kind of understand. He didn't get that much bullying since he did like girls, but he did get a little bullying."
"Well, it's the same situation in general though. My mother thought that this school would be best for me fresh start where no one knows who I am or that I'm gay."
"But you decided to tell me, why?" Dean questioned.
"I don't know you just kind of had that vibe that you're okay with it, you know what I mean. Us gays can sometimes tell when people are either gay or have a family member that are gay. I didn't mean to scare you if that's what I did." Cas apologized as he stood up to walk down to the floor, when Dean grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the seat next to him.
"Good thing for you I don't scare easily. I'm fine with you being gay, Castiel. So don't sweat it." Dean said as Mr. Ackles whistled to get the classes attention. Dean and Castiel whipped their heads up to look at the teacher.
"Okay, now that I got your attention. Time to go through class rules. First things first. You can call me Mr. Ackles, Coach Ackles, or just Coach. Nothing more. Second…" Dean tuned out what he was saying and ended up staring at Castiel trying to figure him out, Castiel was focused on Mr. Ackles, and it kind of looked like Castiel was him checking out. Castiel shifted in his seat and pulled his knees up to his chest.
"Hey, are you alright?" Dean asked him as he noticed Castiel's movements. Dean shifted so he was sort of facing Castiel, but he still looked like he was paying attention to Mr. Ackles.
"Yeah, I just don't like having to change in front of people, so PE was not the best choice for me, and it wasn't my idea, but your school requires three credits of PE and since I didn't have to have any at my other school; I have to take PE every semester until I graduate here." Castiel looked afraid of people judging him or what he looked like.
"Hey, it's okay. There are stalls in the locker room that you can change in, Cas, so it'll be alright. Okay?" Dean comforted Castiel without making it look like he wasn't paying attention.
"Yeah, okay. Thanks, Dean."
"Yeah, I know. My brother had the same issue after he came out; he thought people looked at him different after he came out, and he didn't, doesn't, like having to change around people. The only person that Sam trusts is me, and I've barely gotten him to trust my close group of friends. He trusts Ellen, Bobby, and Jo, but that's because he has grown up with them around before he came out. You are in good hands with me, Cas. You can trust me, promise." Dean informed Castiel.
"Thank you, Dean. I appreciate that a lot. Dean, when and why did you start calling me Cas?" Castiel looked him in the eyes and waited for him to answer, and Dean looked Castiel in the eyes and just stared not knowing how to answer.
"I didn't realize that I did start calling you Cas. I'm sorry, I would call you Castiel, because I can if you are more comfortable with that? I just thought that Cas would be easier to say than Castiel. I'm sorry," Dean apologized.
"No, it's fine. I was just caught by surprise by it. Is he done ranting, yet?" Cas asked as he changed the topic to Mr. Ackles, staring at him.
"Yeah, he should be getting to the uniform in 5…4…3…2…1." Dean counted pointing at Mr. Ackles when he reached one.
"And we reach the uniform portion of my rant. You are to wear a white tee shirt with a pair of orange basketball shorts. If you don't have these, the school will provide them for you. The school has locker in the locker room that your uniform will be put in unless you are taking your clothes home to wash them. You will change before class, I will give you a five minute leeway from when the bell rings until I mark you tarde. I will release you 15 minutes before class ends to change and shower if you want to, so you can get to your next class on time. That is all that I have to say to you, so you are dismissed. You can have a free period in the gym until the bell rings," Mr. Ackles stated as he blew his whistled. The class sprang from the bleachers and raced to the equipment room to grab equipment to mess with in their free time.
"So what do you want to do? I'm on the football team, basketball team, and I'm also on the baseball team. So your choice." Dean stated as he jumped over the side of the bleachers and landed on his feet, and Cas just walked down the bleachers and met him at the bottom.
"I'm for basketball, if you are okay with that. I'm actually pretty good."
"We'll see about that, and if you do beat me you should join basketball team next year," Dean stated.
"What are we playing?" Castiel questioned.
"I'm all for horse, if you are okay with that?"
"You are on." Castiel grabbed a basketball out of the closet and raced Dean over to a basketball hoop; Castiel shot the ball and he made a basket. Dean took the ball and replicated Castiel's shot. By the time that the bell rang, Dean had h-o-s, and Castiel had h-o.
"We are going to pick this up some other time, Cas." Dean threw the ball into the closet, and escorted Castiel out of the gym. "We got AP English with Mr. Shurley. I love his teaching style; he has a relaxed teaching style." Dean escorted Castiel to Mr. Shurley's classroom, and he found them good seats in the middle of the classroom. Jo plopped down in the third seat at the table and wrapped her arm around Dean's shoulder.
"How is your day going so far, babe?" Dean asked Jo like it was his normal greeting.
"Great; how is yours, darling?" Jo responded.
"Awesome. Cas, is great at basketball. I informed him that he has to join the basketball team with me next year."
"That would be great; I love watching the boys run around in those basketball shorts. It is just so sexy; you do look great in those shorts, darling." Jo stated.
"Thank you, babe," Dean stated as he leaned in and pecked Jo on the cheek. Castiel was staring at Dean and Jo like he was trying to figure something out. "Cas, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just trying to figure you two out," Castiel stated.
"Well, I don't know if we should tell you, should we, darling?" Jo asked Dean.
"Yes, put him out of his misery, babe."
Jo leaned in and whispered to Castiel. "Dean and I pretend that we are dating because Dean doesn't like it when women that he doesn't want anything to do with asks him out and I get to filter the guys that I want to be with a little easier because they think that Dean is going to pumble them if they try anything with me, which he will if they hurt me, but if we pretend that we are together then no one will bother us if we don't want them too. It makes high school a lot easier," Jo explained as she leaned in and gave Dean a kiss on the lips as a group of girls walked by them.
"What happens when you do find someone that you want to date?" Cas asked.
"Well, let's just say that Dean and I have broken up a few times since high school has started, and when either one of us breaks up with whoever we broke up to date Dean and I get back together. Dean and I have a very unique relationship; we are like brother and sister who aren't actually brother and sister, which is why this works out the way it does," Jo explained.
"Well, that is actually a smart plan, if it works for you."
