It's okay. Breathe. Just breathe Castiel. You're okay. Everything's okay. Don't panic. Don't panic. Stay calm. You need to stay calm.
That's what he repeated in his head over and over as he stared at the forming bulge in front of his face. The man above Castiel tightened his grip in the teenager's red locks and growled in frustration. "Get to sucking before I break your fucking jaw kid." Castiel tensed and shakily reached his hands up to undo the man's pants buttons. He should have known better than to put himself in such a situation. Castiel's nose wrinkled in distaste as the older man's throbbing erection was released.
Breathe Castiel.
The cold, biting metal of a blade held against his neck is all that kept him from struggling and fighting.
Said knife was pressed harder against his delicate flesh, drawing a long line of blood across his pale neck. It was a shallow cut, but it still bled profusely. "I. Said. SUCK!" The knife was moved momentarily as Castiel's head was dragged forward. The man forced his average sized piece of rank meat was shoved into Castiel's unwilling mouth and he sighed in pleasure. Castiel squeezed his eyes shut as he shuddered and shook, willing himself to keep from letting his eyes water or to lose his lunch.
"Bite me and your little friends will feel this blade along with you."
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Castiel kept looking over his shoulder constantly for the past week. He tried to seem nonchalant about it and hoped no one noticed the slight differences in his character. To the untrained eye he looked the same as ever. But to those who knew him best: Candy, Lysander, Iris, Armin, and even Nathaniel could tell something was going on. That something was wrong with Castiel. He noticed the worried looks some of them sent him. Others like Alexy and Rosalya were even beginning to catch on. He ignored any questions asked and began to avoid them. He even avoided Lysander at this point.
Eventually he stopped going to school.
Then he stopped eating.
Then he stopped leaving his room in general except to take his precious Demon out.
It's been three weeks since the incident.
Two weeks since he stopped going to school.
A week and a half since he stopped eating.
And just mere days since he began staying in his room 24/7.
Demon could pick up on Castiel's depression. He would lay at the foot of his master's bed and make small whimpering sounds every once on awhile. He sometimes hopped up on the bed and nuzzled the teen's stomach almost as if he knew he hadn't been eating.
His phone sat on the nightstand, almost constantly going off since the fourth day of school he missed. Sure, he skipped classes on the daily but he at least made an effort to show up to school. He occasionally glanced at the collar ID but he never answered. It was mainly Candy and Lysander calling him but his other friends called every now and then too. Even Nathaniel called a couple times.
Breathe. Just Breathe. It was all he could remember how to do at this point. He felt numb as he stared at his ceiling.
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When it was bordering on four weeks of him not leaving his home, a knocking sound filled his small home. Castiel chose to ignore it as he stared at the ceiling. Demon began growling as he stalked out of the bedroom towards the front door. The knocking persisted and Demon's growling turned to full on barking.
He kept staring at the ceiling as the knocking and barking grew louder and louder in volume. His head began to hurt. He pulled himself up from his bed and made his way as slowly as possible to the door, silently hoping that whoever was knocking would go away and leave him be. But the knocking just kept going and going.
A deep breathe to relax himself and Castiel opened the door, squinting at the momentarily blinding sunlight. As his eyes adjusted they widened at the group of people crowding his front porch. Lysander, Candy, Armin, Iris, Alexy, Leigh, Rosalya, Nathaniel, Kentin, Melody, Kim, and Violette. They were all staring at him in absolute shock. Castiel knew why.
He was standing there in his boxers which now hung loosely on his hips. His red hair was messy and in desperate need of a dye job, his cheeks sunken and his eyes looked dead. He lost some of his muscle mass and you could see his ribs way more than usual. Castiel looked absolutely horrible.
"Castiel!" It was Candy. She had a look of horror on her face and tears welling up. In a semblance of normality, Castiel crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame.
"What are you all crowding my porch for?" His voice was raspy and hoarse from lack of use. Demon has longed since ceased his barking and was now peeking out from behind his master's legs at the group of visitors. At the sight of Lysander though, the large beauceron squeezed his way outside and began jumping at Lysander happily. Lysander, far too used to this treatment, pet and scratched at the dog's ears while everyone else chuckled nervously. "Down Demon." It was a quiet order from his master and Demon stopped playfully attacking Lysander. He hung his head and made his way back inside. Candy, after snapping out of the momentary daze from watching Demon, looked back at Castiel to answer his question.
"We were all so worried about you Castiel..." She bit her lip nervously and played with her thumbs. "You haven't been to school for almost a month...A-And even you don't skip that much."
"You wasted your time then..." Castiel sighed and rubbed his sore, tired eyes. "I'm fine...Now can you all please, and I mean this in the nicest way possible, get the hell off my front porch and leave me alone." Ignoring the slightly shocked and frustrated faces, Castiel went to slam the door in their faces...Only to be stopped by a black boot wedging itself between the door and its frame. A hard shove against the door sent Castiel to the ground as it was forced back open. Castiel glared up from his place on the floor at Kim as she casually sauntered into his home.
"We ain't leaving," she gave him a smirk and helped him to his feet before making herself at home on his black leather couch. Castiel had tensed at the brief touch when she helped him off the ground. Hopefully she didn't notice. The others outside almost shamefully followed Kim's lead and made themselves comfy all over his living room. "We know," Kim continued, "that something is wrong with you Knuckles, and we ain't leaving till you tell us what's up. We want to help." The others all nodded with looks of agreement, even Nathaniel gave him a concerned look.
Castiel sighed deeply and crossed his arms over his chest as he glared at them all. "Then you're gonna be here awhile because I ain't saying shit, besides," Castiel looked away from all the piercing gazes. "It's not something you guys can help with that will go away overnight." Demon gave a pitiful whimper as he stared at his master. Rosalya stood up from where she sat next to Lysander. She gave him a soft, assuring smile.
"You don't have to tell us right away, but Kim's right. We're not leaving till you talk to us. We have bags of our stuff in Lysander and Mine's cars. It's Friday and there's no school Monday either. So either way, You're stuck with us for four days." She walked up to Castiel and laid her hand on his shoulder gently in an attempt to reassure him that they are all there for him.
Not a single person missed the way Castiel tensed and flinched at the innocent gesture meant to comfort him.
"Whatever...I don't care at this point. There's two guest rooms upstairs and the couch is a futon. If you're hungry there's food in the kitchen." Castiel shrugged and turned to go upstairs but froze when a soft voice spoke up.
"Aren't you hungry Castiel...?" It was Violette in her timid voice. She was biting her lip and it seemed as if time itself had frozen as everyone stared at either Castiel or Violette.
Rosalya broke the silence first.
"When was the last time you ate Castiel...?" The red head didn't answer as he slowly began walking up the stairs. He was stopped again by Lysander's unusually cold voice.
"When Castiel?" He couldn't bare the sound of Lysander's voice like that.
The teenager turned to face the group of people in his living room. He tilted his head, almost as if confused, before shrugging. "I...don't remember." And with that he left them all to their silence, occasionally being broken by a sniffle from Candy or one of the other girls.
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Castiel hid in his room for the remainder of the night. He could hear his friends all downstairs, whispering in hushed tones. Even Demon was down there, happy for the noise instead of Castiel's silence. He didn't want them to know, he wouldn't be able to bare the looks they'd give him. What would they think? What would Lysander think? What would Nathaniel think?
He mentally slapped himself. Who cares what the prez thinks of him? He sure as hell didn't...
That's what he told himself at least.
Breathe Castiel. You're okay. It's okay. Just breathe.
Eventually there was a light knock on his door and Iris's voice rang through the wood. "Rosa made dinner Cas...She's insisting you come down and join us. She made your favorite: burgers and fries. Yours is medium rare, just how you like it..." Castiel didn't even bat an eye before answering louder than he meant to.
"Tell her I'm not hungry."
Iris didn't reply but he soon heard her scurrying footsteps fading.
Castiel's eyes fluttered shut only to widen when his bedroom door was literally kicked in. The young man jumped up and stared over at Rosalya in shock, she was furious and still had the spatula in hand. "You. Are. Going. To. Eat!" Each word was laced with venom but Castiel couldn't care less.
"Fuck of Rosa..." He turned over in bed so his back was to her and buried his face in the pillow.
Again, he heard retreating footsteps and sighed in relief.
The relief was short lived, however, as his room was barged into again causing him to jump again. This time when he looked he saw Rosalya with Lysander in tow.
"Castiel," Rosalya stalked over towards his bed. "You are coming downstairs right this instant!" He just stared at her as if she'd grown two heads.
"Excuse me?" His eyes narrowed and he glared heatedly at the snowy haired woman. "Don't tell me what to do." Rosalya reached forward and grabbed Castiel's wrist.
Everything happened in slow motion...Castiel wrenched himself away from her grasp as if he's been burned. His eyes were wide and his pupils dilated as he held his arm to his chest, shaking like a leaf.
"Cast-" Rosalya began, shock clear on her face.
"D-don't touch me..." Castiel had to choke the words out. "Don't ever touch me." He was still shaking as if he was afraid. But what would Castiel have to fear? Lysander had been silently watching in the background through this ordeal.
"B-But Cas..."
"Rosa..." Lysander's quiet voice stopped her. "Go on downstairs. Let me talk to him." Rosalya could only nod and give Castiel a concerned look before leaving.
Castiel was still shaking and tense as Lysander closed the bedroom door quietly. He quietly approached Castiel's bed and sat on the edge carefully.
"Castiel..." He began. The red head's head was bowed so Lysander couldn't see his face anymore. "Look at me." Slowly, oh so slowly, Castiel lifted his head and Lysander took a deep breathe when he saw the tears welling up in his best friends eyes. "Oh Castiel..." Lysander didn't say anything more as he slid closer to his dear friend and enveloped him in his arms. He held on to the slightly struggling boy, refusing to let him go.
"D-Don't...Let me go...Don't touch me..." Each word was accompanied by a gasping sob as Castiel continued to struggle weakly. Lysander tightened his grip and rubbed soothing circles on Castiel's shaking back.
"Talk to me Castiel..." Lysander mumbled into his ear. "Tell me what happened to you. I need to know...We need to know." Another sob escaped the young teen.
"I-I can't Lys..." He finally succumbed to Lysander's hug and buried his face in the Victorian styled fabric.
"Why Castiel? Why can't you?"
"H-He said..." Castiel choked on another sob.
"He?" Lysander's eyes widened momentarily. "Who's he?"
"I-I don't know...I never g-got a good look a-at his face..." Castiel's tears had slowed but they still trailed down his face in a steady stream.
"Did you get jumped?"
"N-Not exactly..." Another sob wrenched past his lips.
"What did he do...?" Lysander tightened his grip even more. He glanced over at the door as it creaked open and he caught sight of their friends shamefully peeking in. He glared but didn't say anything as Castiel didn't seem to notice. "Talk to me Cassy. Tell me what he did to you..." He hoped the familiar nickname his mother called him would help calm him.
"I-I can't...H-He said..." Castiel couldn't seem to be able to form proper sentences.
Breathe. In. Out. In. Out. You're okay. He's not here. It's Lysander. Lysander who cares for you. Just breathe. Stay calm. You're okay. Lysander is making it okay, just like he always does.
"Tell me what he said." Lysander glanced at the doorway again. Some of the girls and Alexy were openly crying and even a few of the boys were teary eyed.
"N..no. Lysander...don't make me tell you..I don't want to...I never wanted..." Castiel's choppy sentences were beginning to make sense to the Victorian styled man. He tensed and gently let go of Castiel. A glare from Lysander sent the others scurrying away as quietly as possible and, by some of their expressions, he wasn't the only one putting Castiel's messy way of speaking together.
"Shhhh, It's okay Cassy." Lysander soothed him gently. "You don't have to say anything. I think I know what happened." Castiel's head snapped up and his eyes welled up with more tears.
"Y-you do?" He bit his lip and more tears fell.
"Yeah," He looked Castiel dead in the eye and moved to grip his shoulders. "Listen to me though. It was NOT your fault. What he did to you was horrendous. But it wasn't your fault." The loudest sob yet escaped and Castiel clinged to his best friend's shirt, sobs wracking his lithe body. Lysander let him cry. Castiel needed too. Lysander spent ten minutes like that with Castiel until the slightly older teen cried himself to sleep in Lysander's arms.
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Lysander had tucked Castiel into bed and wiped away any remaining tears his face. His hand may have lingered longer than necessary but he's not thinking about that. Lysander left the room silently and kept the door cracked just in case Castiel needed him. The house was surprisingly silent as Lysander made his way downstairs to where the others were in the living room. He sat down next to his brother and possibly future sister in law.
Rosalya leaned her head on his shoulder and sobbed quietly. "I-Is it true Lys-baby? W-was Castiel..." She broke off in another sob. Everyone seemed to be staring at him and all Lysander could do was nod numbly. Soft gasps and cries filled the room. Nathaniel stood up silently and went upstairs without anyone noticing. He made his way to Castiel's cracked doorway and peeked inside at the sleeping form of his so-called enemy. Nathaniel stepped inside and approached the sleeping boy. He still had tear tracks staining his face and an occasional tear rolled down it.
"Oh Castiel..." Nathaniel couldn't bring himself to hate this man, no matter how hard he tried. Especially with how...how broken Castiel seemed. The thought...the thought of someone touching...hurting Castiel made his blood boil and see red. He wanted whoever did this to pay. Castiel was bad...but even he didn't deserve this.
Nathaniel pulled Castiel's desk chair over to the bed and sat in it. He stared at the sleeping boy before him and he felt his heart clench. He gently moved a piece of hair away from Castiel's face, causing the boy to shift slightly. The student body president gave a small smile and leaned back in his chair, just watching the boy sleep. Castiel's normal sneer or glare was replaced by a more serene look in his sleep. He looked like he hadn't a care in the world. But Nathaniel knew better than that.