A/N: Okay so this is my first Destiel fic which is based on my most favourite movie: 13 Going on 30… I really hope that you all enjoy it as it's been a really long time since I've written anything. It's also not Beta'd so all mistakes are mine.

Please let me know what you think at the end as comments fuel my confidence and I love hearing back from people who enjoy my writing! xoxo

"Sammy, get the door for me will you."

There was the sound of feet hurrying along the wooden floor before Deans' bedroom door burst open and Sam poked his head inside before asking, "Are you letting me come to your party tonight?"

Dean sighed as he threw his handful of shirts onto his bed, "I told you Sammy, all the popular kids are gonna be here and I can't have my little brother running around," he ruffled up the mop that Sam calls hair as he walked past him, "I'll get the door myself."

By the time Dean made it downstairs, his mom was already ushering his neighbour, Cas, in with a pretty large box in his hands.

"Did we have a project I forgot about or something?" asked Dean as he took the box from Cas.

Mary beamed at Dean from behind Cas, causing him to look at his mom questioningly.

"It's your birthday gift Dean," answered Cas, "so happy birthday!"

Deans' eyebrows shot up, "Thanks," he said offhandedly and then he made grabby hands at the box, "What is it?"

Mary chipped in, "It can wait until later because you boys are about to be late to school." She walked over to Dean and hugged him close, placing a kiss on his forehead, "Happy 15th birthday my young man."

"Mom!" Dean made a show of protesting his moms' affection but he remained glued to her side.

So I've packed a special lunch for you since you're too late for breakfast," said Mary as she handed Dean his school bag, "Do you two want a lift?"

"Can I drive the Impala?"

"No!" said Mary and Cas at the same time.

Dean placed a hand over his heart as if he was deeply hurt, "I am an excellent driver and besides, it's my birthday. If I have to go to school today, I should at least be able to do it in style."

Cas huffed out a laugh, "Well we can be fashionably late."

"Ugh," Dean rolled his eyes, "You're such a dork, you know that right?" Then to his mom he said, "Thanks for the offer mom but we'll catch the bus instead. Love you, see you later."

"Bye boys, have a good day," said Mary in response as she watched them leave side by side.

"Bye Mrs. Winchester," came Castiels' voice before he turned on Dean. "Your mom could have gotten us there faster. What if we missed the bus?"

Dean slung an arm around his best friends' shoulders, "You worry too much Cas."

Xxx

They managed to enter the classroom just as their teacher walked in.

"See," said Dean as he beamed at Cas, "right on time."

Cas sighed as he took his seat at the front of the class with Dean sitting directly behind him.

"Okay class, settle down," came Miss McLeods' voice. "You all know that it's picture day today," Dean snickered as Cas dropped his head into his hands, "so throughout the day each class will be called into the gymnasium to get their photo taken. Please be prompt and," here she looked exasperatedly at Cas, "-run a brush through your hair if the need arises."

They did their roll call and then the students dispersed for the days classes.

Dean clapped Cas on his shoulder as they exited, "How do you always manage to forget when it's picture day?"

Cas groaned, "Well you could have reminded me."

"You look great Cas," said boy glared at Dean, "I'm serious! You just need to have more confidence in yourself, flash that gummy smile and let the light reflect off of those baby blues and-"

"Hey freak-a-zoid."

Cas narrowed his eyes as both he and Dean turned around to look at Mick.

"Dammit Davies," said Dean in a harsh tone, "I told you not to call him that."

Mick flashed Dean a rather put upon smile, "And we've told you that hanging out with him is just gonna ruin your reputation around here. Besides, you know Alastair was kicked off the football team recently and we're looking for a replacement so you didn't hear this from me but a word in from yours truly wouldn't hurt if you wanna get taken seriously in try-outs next week but then again," he dragged his eyes over Cas' defensive form, "you're not gonna win any favours with this freak dragging you down."

"Hah," huffed Cas, getting both the boys' attention, "Yeah and then when Dean is on the team they'll get to see that he's way better than you and then maybe you can join Alastair on the bleachers for every game."

Mick took a step closer causing Dean to step between them, "How dare you speak to me," he looked at Dean, "how dare he even speak to me that-"

"Whoa look," intervened Dean, "let's just take it down a notch okay. Cas- Cas, come on man…"

Cas had already turned around and started walking away, "I'll see you in English Dean."

"Ah, looks like he wants you to run after him and give him an 'I'm Sorry' kiss."

"Why do you have to be like that to him, he's my friend."

Mick patted Dean on his shoulder, "You really are an oblivious sod aren't you? That little nerd has had the hots for you since you set foot in this school. Why you still entertain him and continue to get his hopes up are beyond me…"

Dean was about to say that Cas wasn't like that and that they were just best friends when the "Six Chicks" stopped beside them.

"Hey Mick," said Lisa, the lead of the group, "Nice to see you around Dean."

At that precise moment, Dean was tongue-tied and he internally cursed himself for it because he had so much that he wanted to say to Lisa- she'd been his crush since he'd laid eyes on her on his first day at Marshall Secondary School- but it seemed best to leave the talking the Mick at the moment since he sounded less likely to embarrass himself.

"Oh hey Lisa, are you still coming to practise today?"

"You'll give me a ride home after," asked Lisa as she ran a hand down Micks' arm.

Mick smirked at her causing her friends to giggle with glee, "Sure thing darling."

Dean watched the exchange with narrowed eyes. Mick knew that Dean liked Lisa, hells, that's what his party tonight was for anyways- Mick had told him that tonight was the night and he had a plan to get Dean a few minutes alone with Lisa.

So Dean couldn't understand why it looked like Mick was getting a bit too familiar with her and so lost in his thoughts, he almost missed Lisa saying bye to him- not that he managed to get anything resembling actual words out of his mouth anyway.

Dean got all up in Micks' face, "What was that? You said that you'd help me with Lisa not get touchy-feely with her- that doesn't help me."

For all Deans' outrage, Mick just bodily laughed it off until Dean felt even more stupid than when Lisa had been standing with them.

Finally Mick got himself under control, "Calm down tiger and stash the jealousy for when she's actually your girl. I told you that I'd get you time with her and I've made good on my promise. You've been nagging me for weeks to get her to come to your party and now she's agreed."

Deans' eyes widened at that, "Lisa's coming to my party tonight?"

"Lisa would like to come to your party tonight," corrected Mick, "but we've also got a science paper to turn in for Monday- supposed to be some extensive research that we were all going to get together for so I guess that means we all can't make it tonight."

Deans' mind was buzzing with thoughts so he said the first thing that popped into his head, "I'll do it for you guys."

Mick smiled, "Ah, good man… then I guess we'll see you later today."

And with that, Mick walked off- his cronies who Dean didn't even notice were hanging off to the sides near the lockers, gave him one last look before following Mick to their class.

Xxx

Cas hated picture day.

He always managed to screw his photo up in some way and ended up with a pained expression every single year in the yearbook.

He was good on the other side of the camera, he liked taking pictures of nature and old buildings and he also really liked taking pictures of Dean.

Dean was one of the most photogenic people he'd ever seen and that wasn't because he knew how to strike a pose- well he definitely knew that as well- but it was mostly because of all the off-guard pictures that he'd taken of the other boy.

Pictures of the way Deans' nose would scrunch up when he laughed, others where Deans' green eyes widened in shock as a camera went off unexpectedly in his face or the ones where Dean would spend an entire day out in the sun and then Cas would snap a few photos of the way his freckles stood out much more on his sun-kissed skin.

He definitely wasn't meant to be on this particular side of the camera where all of his imperfections could be captured.

Of course, Dean always got mad at him when he said that- or anything self-derogatory really but then again Dean was an amazing human being and his best friend so he just took the compliments if only to please his friend.

A small part of Cas hoped that this years' photo might at least be normal but he knew all chances flew out the window when the 'Six Chicks' walked in.

Hannah, Eve, April, Lilith, Ruby and their leader Lisa Braeden made up the 'Six Chicks' and while Castiel felt nothing in particular towards them, he still felt bad that they named themselves that because in the history of all clique names, that had to be the most embarrassing.

He focussed his attention on the camera but then a voice reached him- sounding much like Ruby- and when he looked, she reeled back as if to throw something at him and his face scrunched up just as the camera flash went off which incited laughter from most of the occupants of the room.

Cas just rolled his eyes and left the room without sparing anyone a second glance.

He bumped into Dean at his locker, "Hey, so how did it go?"

Cas shook his head, "The pictures? The way they always go Dean."

Dean leaned a shoulder against a locker so he could look at Cas while the other packed away his books, "You're not mad at me about this morning, are you?"

Cas stopped his movements and looked at Dean, "Do you mean about what Mick said?"

Dean nodded, "Yeah, I mean I didn't do much to defend you and-"

He was interrupted by Cas, "You do enough to defend me from those bullies Dean, besides, you can't defend me forever so I just don't let them get to me that much anymore."

"I'll never leave you Cas, you're my best friend," said Dean sincerely.

Cas smiled at Dean as he pulled out his camera from his locker and snapped a picture of Dean, "I thought you don't like chick flick moments."

Dean sighed as he headed for the doors, "I hate when you do that and no, I don't but I was just saying…"

Cas caught up with Dean and gave his arm a quick squeeze, "Well then thank you for saying it." He was quiet for a moment before he asked, "What did Mick want this morning anyway?"

Dean got on the bus and took a seat, "Well I don't think you're gonna be very happy about it."

"Come on Dean, spill it."

"Well they're coming to my party tonight but now I've got a whole lot of work to do before they even arrive," Dean grimaced at that and Cas realized that Dean was talking about more than just party preparations.

"What do you have to do?"

"Well Lisa and the others had a science paper to do and-"

"Oh no, Dean," exclaimed Cas, loud enough for some of the students to turn and look at them. Cas lowered his voice slightly when he spoke again, "tell me you didn't offer to do their homework for them."

Dean looked out the window, avoiding his friends' gaze, "They wouldn't have been able to come to the party tonight if I hadn't offered."

"Dean, you suck at science," he got a glare for that, "And besides, I don't know why you're so hung up on pleasing them."

"They're my friends."

"They're not your friends, Dean. Besides, you can't be friends with me and also expect to be popular. They've been keeping you on a string all these years and allowing you to feel like you stood a chance but the truth of the matter is that they know that you like Lisa and they're playing that to their advantage like they've been doing ever since you got here."

"Look Cas," said Dean seriously, "I know that you don't like them and that Mick is a total bag of dicks to you but Lisa isn't like that and I really like her. He's just helping me to get a chance to talk to her, after that I promise not to entertain his company."

"Have you ever stopped to think about why he's helping you?" asked Cas, "The entire school talks about how he and Lisa hook-up and break-up time and time again. If he and Lisa are a thing, why would he be helping you to get with her?"

Dean looked exasperated, "That's because they aren't a thing! Mick told me that himself and I mean popular people get caught up in rumours all the time. That's just how life works."

"Popular people," scoffed Cas, "Well now you're trying to be one of them and it's gonna end in a mess because you're too good for them Dean."

All that greeted Cas' statement was silence and that's how the rest of the bus ride home was.

Xxx

Even their walk home was in silence but as they reached their houses to go their separate ways, both Dean and Cas spoke at the same time.

"Do you want-"

"You'll still-"

They stared at each other for a beat before bursting out in laughter. Once they'd recovered, Dean said, "You first."

Cas smiled at him and dug around in his pocket before pulling out a bag of candy, "Razzles?"

Dean rolled his eyes, "Razzles are for babies." But he still stuck his hand out and took the offering anyway.

"What were you gonna say before?" asked Cas.

"Oh uh yeah, I was gonna ask if you're still gonna come around later?"

Cas gave Dean a gummy smile, "Of course, I want to see your reaction when you open my gift anyway."

Dean groaned, "Oh no, I can't open it now?"

"No, be patient. It's worth it, I promise."

Dean beamed at Cas, "Fine, see you later then dork."

Cas snapped another picture of Dean as he walked towards his front door causing Dean to turn around and mock glare, "I heard that shutter go off."

Cas' laughter filled the late afternoon air.

Xxx

Cas stood outside Deans' front door and he was almost bouncing with nervous energy.

He'd given Dean plenty of gifts before, both on his birthdays and also some on random days when the thought strikes but this one was different somehow, more meaningful in a way and Cas felt like somehow he'd be making both him and Dean more vulnerable in a way by gifting him this present.

Cas rang the doorbell and John Winchester opened the door.

"Hey there son, come on in. Dean is just downstairs in the basement; apparently his mom, me and Sam aren't allowed down there tonight."

Cas laughed at Deans' antics as he greeted Mr Winchester and entered the house. He noticed that the box he'd brought earlier had been moved and he hoped that Dean hadn't opened it without him.

It seemed like a close one by the time Cas had got down to the basement because Dean was sitting on his knees on the floor staring at the box like he was trying to look through the cardboard.

"Hey Cas," said Dean when he noticed him at the door, "Come here, we've gotta open this man."

Cas chuckled as he sat down next to Dean, "Okay, go for it."

Dean wasted no time as he tore off the fastenings holding the lid in place and then sunk both his hands into the box to pull out a smaller box of what seemed like loose parts. He looked at Cas questioningly and just got "Put that down, we'll look at it later."

So Dean set the smaller box aside, reached into the box again and this time pulled out a thing of beauty. One glance at it and he knew it was a 1967 Ford Mustang- Collector's Edition Classic.

He looked at Cas with wide eyes and then back at the car, he was sure, with heart eyes.

"Where- How did you even- Thank you Cas but this is, it's too much, I mean how did you even land this beauty?"

Cas beamed at Dean, he was satisfied with Deans' state of speechlessness because that meant that Dean was well and truly amazed by his gift.

"I saved up for it in advance to surprise you and looks like it worked."

"I really don't know what to say besides thank you Cas. And you probably used up all your savings on this and I don't deserve you at all…" he trailed off and his eyes rested on the smaller box that he'd unpacked first.

Cas noticed his gaze, "So it isn't any old collector's item. You can actually take the entire car apart and reassemble it again, that's what the other box is for- it's full of tools and extra parts and yes I know that it's all super tiny and-" Cas trailed off and all of a sudden he felt really embarrassed for being this excited about his gift for Dean, "It's also really stupid… I'm sorry Dean. I just thought that maybe it wouldn't seem so childish-"

'Hey, hey," said Dean as he scooted closer to Cas on the floor, "I love it and it's really special because apart from my family, you're the only one who knows the real me. You're the only one who knows how badly I wanna work with cars, how much I crave the sound of an engine roaring to life after hours of toiling through grease and machinery… You're also the only one who knows that I can't have that because my dad wants his sons to have 'real jobs' by slaving over books and getting a desk job."

Dean looked slightly lost, like he'd started out convincing Cas and ended up reminiscing about the life he'd once thought he was going lead but then he caught himself and smiled at Cas, "So no, this isn't childish. This shows me that you listen to me and you care about what I like and I don't deserve you Cas. So here's the thing, even though it's not a real car, how about we sit down and tear this baby apart later, and then I'll show you how to put her back together."

Cas nudged Dean where their shoulders rested against one another and he felt slightly better about it all, "Happy birthday, Dean."

Dean leaned into Cas' side as he beamed but then the sound of the doorbell ringing made Dean jump to his feet, realizing that his guests had arrived.

Dean tossed the smaller box to Cas and picked up the Mustang, "I'm gonna leave these in here so no one gets hold of it okay," and he proceeded to shove both the car and the box of parts on the highest shelf in the walk in closet.

He stepped out and Cas handed him a stack of papers, "This is the science homework that you promised them because I know that you tried and failed already."

Dean was gaping like a fish and Cas rolled his eyes as he walked up the stairs, "I'm not staying, I'll come back later when they leave."

"But Cas, come on, it's my birthday party…"

"Dean, they don't like me and I don't feel anything positive towards them so I think it's in everyone's interest that I leave."

"I couldn't agree more with that," came the voice of Mick Davies from the top of the staircase.

"See you later Dean," said Cas as he pushed past the sudden crowd of both Micks' gang and Lisas' 'Six Chicks'.

Xxx

Dean stood off to one side as he watched his 'guests' eat the snacks and talk amongst themselves, it was like he wasn't even there and when the hell was Mick gonna give him the okay to go talk to Lisa.

He waited a few more minutes but no one paid him any attention at his own party so he decided to take it into his own hands and he approached Lisa, or almost approached her because suddenly Mick was in his way.

"Hey Dean, where are you going?" asked Mick in an overly cheerful voice.

"Uhm, I was gonna talk to Lisa."

"Yeah, about that," said Mick as he wrapped an arm around Deans' shoulders and led him to the closet, "I thought we could play a little game to build up to that special moment you've been waiting for."

Deans' eyebrows shot up, "A game?"

"Yeah, ever heard of seven minutes in heaven?"

Dean jumped as one of the girls, Hannah if he remembered her name correctly, used her scarf to blindfold him, "That the one where I get to be alone with Lisa in a closet for 7 minutes?"

Mick guided Dean into the closet, "Yeah, I hear she's quite enthusiastic about the whole thing. Now just wait in here, she'll be right through." Before Mick closed the door, he asked, "You remembered the science paper for us, didn't you?"

Dean nodded, "Yeah, it's on the table."

Mick smirked over his shoulder at the others, "Okay good, now you just sit tight okay."

There was the noise of the door clicking shut and then silence.

Xxx

Castiel had been reading to pass his time when he spotted Deans' favourite CD lying on his desk. His first thought was that Dean would probably want to play it at his party and so he picked it up and decided to take it over.

As he walked over to Deans' place, he contemplated when exactly everything had changed.

He had to pinpoint that moment to their first day at school 3 years ago.

That summer beforehand had been one of the best of his life.

The Winchesters had just moved into the house next to his and for the first time in a long time, Castiel actually had a friend.

They had been sitting side by side on the porch overlooking the front lawn on the night they'd first met when Castiel had said, "Dean… I know that you're just being nice to me so I'm gonna let you off the hook here."

Deans' eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, "What have I done?"

Cas sighed, "You don't need to really be friends with me."

"Oh," Dean contemplated the statement for a while, "You don't wanna be my friend or something? 'Cause I mean, ouch, but I get it if you don't wanna."

Cas turned slightly to look at Dean, "It's not that I don't want to; but you're the new kid and popularity really does go a long way here. You're not gonna get any of that by hanging out with me."

Dean huffed out a laugh but sobered quickly when he realised that Cas thought he was laughing at him, "Man, my parents up and left the only place I've ever called home and moved us here where I know nobody and have no friends. I didn't wanna be the loner new kid and so let me just tell you, popularity is the last thing on my mind when all I really wanted was a sincere friend."

They'd been okay after that. Castiel had accepted that he could allow himself a friend and Dean just good-naturedly laughed at all of Castiels' awkwardness.

But then first day arrived, Dean landed eyes on Lisa Braeden and suddenly Dean was on a mission to get noticed.

Castiel sighed because Dean was a good guy and he deserved so much better than the misguided 'acts of good' he got caught up in.

He was startled out of his musings by Sam who let him in and then tried to convince him to take him downstairs so he could join the party but as much as Cas loved Sam, he knew that Dean was hung up on making sure this party was perfect and by that, he meant not having his baby brother in attendance.

Cas was startled to see that as he was making his way down the stairs, all of Deans' guests seemed to be leaving and Dean wasn't anywhere in sight.

"What happened? Where's Dean?" asked Castiel in slight panic.

Lisa was the one to lean over and speak in a whisper, "Oh he's waiting in the closet for you."

And then there was the sound of muffled giggling as they tried to be as quiet as possible before leaving.

Something about this didn't sit right with Castiel. Why would Dean be waiting for him in a closet of all places?

He approached the closet door and when he opened it, he spotted Dean standing there with a blindfold and a smile on his face.

"I thought you weren't going to come," said Dean.

Cas was stunned into silence as Dean reached out a hand and his only reaction was to close the distance and take Deans' hand in his.

Deans' thumb ran over Cas' knuckles a few times before he tilted his head. He used his other hand to run up Cas' free arm and Cas could see the gears shifting in Deans' mind and he realised that Dean was hoping against hope when he called out, "Lisa?"

Cas dropped Deans' hand from his own and stepped back slightly, "Dean, no, it's-"

Dean ripped off the blindfold and stared at Cas in disbelief.

"Cas? What are you doing here?"

"I'm- Dean, why were you waiting for Lisa?"

Suddenly Dean looked over Cas' shoulder and pushed past him, "Where did everyone go? What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything! They just left," protested Cas, too shocked to even acknowledge his underlying irritation at Dean.

"Why would they just leave?" asked Dean as he turned to face Cas again. There was silence as Dean rubbed at his forehead while muttering about losing his one good chance with Lisa and then he suddenly stopped and looked at Cas with wide eyes. "Mick was right wasn't he? You're in love with me and that's why you chased them away by being- by being…"

Cas couldn't even find the words to express how he felt at Deans' accusation, "Dean, I-"

Dean stepped back into the closet then turned to look at Cas, "Get out. Get out Castiel… I don't wanna see you again."

Then Dean shut the door, locked it from inside for good measure and then sunk down to the floor, back against the shelves.

"Fuck, fuck… How is this my life?" he whispered to himself. "I just want a normal life, a happy life. I just want to grow up and be done with all this teenage bullshit… I want Lisa and I want to work with cars and I wanna be older…"

He didn't realise it but he had started to rock back against the shelves, hitting his back forcefully until things on the shelf started to rattle. He felt tears prickle in his eyes and so he shut them, hugging his knees to his chest and bowing his head.

There was so much of noise and he wasn't even paying attention that it was impossible to notice when the Mustang that Cas had gifted him started to roll precariously towards the edge until it finally slipped and fell straight onto Deans' head. His head shot up on the impact and sudden pain before his vision went blurry and then all that welcomed him was darkness.

Xxx

The sound of water as well as the light shining on his face, slowly brought Dean to consciousness.

He cracked open an eye and promptly fell out of bed with a thud.

"Dean, are you okay?"

Deans' eyes widened as he got to his feet. That was the sound of a womans' voice and it most certainly wasn't his moms'. This place he was in was also most certainly not his parents' house.

What the hell had happened? He was so gonna be grounded for this.

He tried to move stealthily through what looked like a really expensive apartment as he approached the bathroom door but he stopped in his tracks in front of a mirror when he caught his reflection.

Well, that wasn't him but that was the only person reflected on the mirror.

He ran a hand over his face, felt the prickly stubble that formed there. His hands moved lower over a toned chest and even lower onto sculpted abs.

He looked back up into the eyes of his reflection- same green eyes and if he looked closely, he could kinda still see familiar features but it just looked like he was older. How was that possible when he had just had his 15th birthday yesterday?

He turned around while watching his reflection, tried to look at his back. Picked a leg up and watched as the 'mirror man' copied. He'd eventually resorted to patting his head and running circles on his tummy when the bathroom door opened fully and a lady wrapped in just a towel walked out.

"Dean, honey… are you still drunk from last night? How much did you drink anyway?"

Deans' mouth opened and closed like a landed fish.

The stranger looked at him funny before dropping her towel and strutting fully nude to sit down on the bed, "Never mind, come here babe. I'll make you feel better."

Dean stared pointedly at the wall as he felt around for the towel as threw it at the woman.

"Look lady, whoever you are… where am I and what's going on?"

Dean was trying not to panic but then the stranger said, "Dean, you honestly can't recognise me?"

Dean shook his head frantically as Lisa approached him, "Fine, I'll bite… whatever game you're playing. Looks like I need to remind you of the feisty fiancé you've got- 'cause no one forgets Lisa Braeden, not even an absolute hunk like you, Winchester."

Lisa turned around to lead Dean to the bed but he bolted- at least he had the good sense to grab a robe as he exited the apartment.

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