"Cas! Hey, Cas!"

Castiel turned on his heels, wondering if that was his name being called. Confusion found him when he saw Dean Winchester running towards him. Dean Winchester, the star baseball player, was running towards him.

"Dude, I've tried to catch you for, like, a hallway and a half," Dean huffed, laughing lightly as he was clearly out of breath.

"You were?" Castiel asked, tilting his head. "My apologies, I didn't realize you were calling me." Which was the truth. Castiel had not spent enough time with Dean (let alone anyone) to expect such mannerisms, or a nickname.

"S'cool," Dean assured. "Where you heading?"

"Home."

"You walk?"

"It's not that far." Castiel said as he nodded his head.

"You want a lift?" Dean asked. Castiel raised his eyebrows as he felt his jaw grow agape. Because, honestly, Castiel had never been given a ride home before. He had never been given anything before from his fellow students. They weren't mean or anything, they didn't go to such extremes as bullying. They just didn't really bother. Which was fine by Castiel, he was used to being self-sufficient.

"Come on," Dean said, smiling as he patted Castiel's shoulder encouragingly. "On the way we can talk about my little proposition."

"Proposition?" Castiel asked cautiously.

Dean remained silent (though sporting a smirk) as he lead the way to his Impala. Castiel was left in uncomfortable silence as he put his backpack in the backseat and got in the passenger seat. Dean put his keys in ignition and drove out of the school parking lot. It was a good few seconds before he chose to talk again.

"So, Cas - I can call you Cas, right?"

"Um, yeah, that's fine," Cas said, shifting awkwardly in his seat.

"Dude, I'm not gonna kidnap you or anything," Dean said. "Relax." He added, throwing a smile Cas' way.

"I'm fine," Cas said, smiling weakly.

"Anyway," Dean began, blowing out an air of breath. "Uh, listen, Cas," He paused, mustering up the strength to continue. "You're like the smartest dude in school, and I - uh - I know we don't really hang out or anything, but you seem cool and I was wondering if you could help me out with school and stuff because, like, I'm totally failing most of my classes and I can't really fail any of my classes because, you know, what would my mom say and stuff and I'd get benched from playing baseball and I really don't want that, so, would you maybe help me in my classes maybe?"

Cas stared incredulously at Dean as Dean kept his eyes on the road. He blinked a few times, trying to process all that Dean had told him, that Dean had asked him. "Take a left," he instructed.

"What?"

"To my house, Dean, take a left."

Dean gave an embarrassed smile and an 'oh' before following Cas' instructions. The drive was met with silence before Cas broke the ice hesitantly. "Dean, are you asking me to be your tutor?"

"Um, well, kinda." Dean sighed and looked over at Cas. "Look, dude. I know it's a lot to ask and I know you're getting, like, nothing in return except my never-ending gratitude but…" he paused, huffing out another sigh. "I need you, man. I seriously cannot fail."

Cas bit his lip. It would only be polite to say yes, especially considering the rest of the car ride would be particularly awkward if he chose to say no. But…Dean was popular. He was well-liked, he had girls hanging off his arm, and he was the star of the baseball team. Cas had dutifully managed to avoid people like that the majority of his high school career. Mainly because he didn't want to cause trouble, and hanging away from the crowd was an easy way to do that. But…Dean was nice. Cas even recalled Dean smiling at him in the hall a few times (God knows why). He was a good guy, and Cas didn't want him failing the class. Besides, it was kind of nice to be needed.

"Ok," Cas agreed, feeling a smile creep on his face. He watched as Dean's face lit up and a big, dorky grin plant itself on his face.

"Thanks, Cas!" Dean exclaimed "You have no idea how much this means."

"So, tomorrow after school?" Cas asked as Dean pulled into his driveway.

"Tomorrow after school," Dean confirmed. "Is the Library ok?"

"That should be fine." Cas said, stepping out of the Impala and grabbing his belongings.

"Sweet! Well, I'll see ya later, Cas!" Dean yelled threw the window, waving his hand goodbye and driving off. Cas returned the wave, smiling to himself as he entered his house.