Chapter 1 – Just One Friend
Cas leaned against the wall outside the principal's office, his hands in his pockets and his tattered beige messenger bag over his shoulder, watching his fellow students file past on their way to their cars and buses. He removed his left hand from his pocket, glanced at his watch, then turned to the office door.
"Five, four, three, two..." he muttered.
The door swung open and a sandy-blond boy in a black leather jacket emerged with a smirk on his face.
"Hello, Balthazar," Cas said.
"Cas! Should've known you'd be waiting for me!" his friend said brightly.
"Just like I've done every week for the last four years," said Cas, rolling his eyes.
"What, has it really been every week?" Balthazar asked, tossing an arm around Cas's shoulders and steering them toward the front doors.
"Sometimes twice a week. I've kept track," said Cas. "How did you manage it this time?"
"I might have brought whiskey to calculus..."
"Balthazar, it's the first day of school!" Cas groaned exasperatedly.
"All the more reason!" said Balthazar.
He kicked open the door and led the way to his car. He unlocked the doors with a click of a button and pranced over to the driver's side as Cas tossed his old bag in and ducked into the passenger seat.
"Besides," Balthazar continued, starting the ignition. "It's senior year. It's now or never, baby!"
Balthazar was Cas' one and only friend. They'd known each other since elementary school, and while other friends came and went, they were the only ones that stuck to each other no matter what. Cas was quiet and didn't make friends easily, an orphan who lived with his aunt and uncle, loved history and animals, and was constantly picked on by Lawrence High's resident bullies – Michael and his little gang of sidekicks, Ralph, Naomi, and Marv. Cas could totally take them if he wanted to, but Balthazar was always there to tell them to bugger off.
Balthazar was not the type of guy you would expect to be friends with the quiet nerdy kid and no one else. He was rebellious and charming, good with girls but never able to make anything last longer than a hook-up. He lived with his mother just a block away from Cas; in fact, Cas could see his roof from his bedroom window. His father had walked out on them when he was little and had shown up many years later to hound them for money multiple times before he wandered drunkenly onto a freeway and got plowed by a semi-truck. Balthazar despised his dad for the trouble he'd given his mom and he admitted once to Cas that he was terrified of growing up like him.
Cas and Balthazar would trust each other with their lives. And there was almost nothing that they didn't know about each other. Balthazar was actually the only person alive who knew that Cas was gay. He was too nervous to tell his aunt and uncle and he couldn't dream of coming out publicly – he got picked on enough as it was without getting "fag" spray-painted on his locker. But Balthazar knew and that was enough for him.
The car came to a stop with a squeaking of brakes outside Cas' house.
"See you tomorrow!" said Cas as he scooped up his bag and got out of the car.
"Au revoir, mon ami!" Balthazar replied.
Cas laughed and shut the door, waving as he walked up the driveway. Balthazar waved back and zoomed off, considerably over the speed limit. Cas just rolled his eyes and sauntered through the front door.
