First Grade

first grade class was large this year at close to 30 students. Today was the first day of school ever for many kids and a lot were hanging on their parents crying, but not Dean Winchester. Dean was off at the table in the back of the room, changing his name card with another student so he was placed right in the center of the girls table. He then took his seat with his crayons and markers in front of him, waiting for further instructions, he looked so innocent.
The only other boy at the small table for six was a small dark haired, blue eyed little boy named Castiel. Castiel was quiet as he sat waiting for the room to fill up. His mother had died not long after he was born and his dad was never around enough, so he had been dropped off by one of his older brothers who would now be late for their own school. If they planned to go that is. Silently little Castiel watched as the rest of the class filed in around him, he recognized no one and sadly he realized he was among the few who didn't. All he wanted was just one friend.
School started as the bell rang. Everyone in the classroom seemed quiet waiting for instructions from the teacher as to what they would do. The class room looked like most 1st grade rooms, complete with easy books and a few toys and art supplies. Along the front wall to the left of the door was the cubbies where jackets and colorful backpacks hung on hooks under tape pieces with their names on them.
"Welcome!" said with a smile "I'm , and I'll be your teacher this year!" She looked around the room trying to pick out who would cause trouble this year. Her eyes glided to a stop on the green eyed boy in the rough jacket, he seemed to be more fascinated by the girls sitting around him than he was on her. She then looked at her seating chart trying to figure out the boys name since he obviously was not Ella.
"Were going to start off this morning with a name game, so everyone gather in a circle over here on the carpet," Her eyes continued to scan the paper finally finding the boy. Dean Winchester. The name caught her off guard, she had known a Winchester, he worked with her husband. Could this be John Winchester's son? She asked herself silently as the kids all gathered in a circle.
Dean looked around, recognizing a few people who he had gone to kindergarten with. The one that caught his eye though was a rather small boy standing about five people to his left. He looked sort of strange with tousled dark hair and blue eyes that matched his sweater. He had dark pants that seemed worn and glasses that were a little bit to big. Slightly nerdy but looked descent enough. Dean couldn't figure out why he was so captivated by this little insignificant boy.
After several hours of learning rules and Dean paying no attention at all he had almost forgotten about the boy with the blue eyes. Almost. But every few minutes he would catch a glimpse out of the corner of his eye. The boy with the blue eyes always seemed to be staring at the teacher, listening intently like they were all supposed to be doing. It seemed though that a few others had noticed blue eyes but not quite in the same captivated way the Dean had. They noticed him more as a target. A nerd they didn't intend to be kind to. Dean didn't like it at all.
The bell with meant lunch finally rang. Being most of their first times eating at school it took longer than it should have. Everyone trying to group with people they were familiar with. Girls in groups, trying their best to stay together. Boys mostly in smaller friend groups including the small gang which seemed to have latched on to Dean as a leader. The blue eyed boy stood alone at the back.
Castiel was never very good at making friends. He had never had the dashing charm his brothers did. Last year he had been written off and was left with a single friend who he wasn't sure even liked him that much. Although maybe this year things could be different. If he just had a friend first grade would be a lot more fun. But all the same he sat alone at the far end of the table, surrounded by girls with the stuffed animals they had brought and boys discussing the best pokemon.
Dean smiled sitting with his new friends, showing off his pokemon knowledge. It felt good to be liked. The boy next to him named Ash seemed the smartest. He bragged about his reading skills and all the time he spent on the computer and even Dean was impressed. 'I bet Sammy would like him' Dean thought to himself, already missing his baby brother. He noticed the blue eyed boy sitting alone and he almost invited him over but the last spot was quickly filled by one of the other boys. Every one of them was impressed when Dean told them stories of how his dad would take him hunting sometimes on the weekends. Every one of their eyes went wide when they heard he had even held a gun.
His dad wasn't really a traditional out in the woods hunter but Dean pretended he was. His father was gone so often, hunting the things that went bump in the night. They had a house at least. They had needed to buy a new one when theirs had burned down and this one was a lot smaller, but at least they had someplace. Most nights when he got home their 'uncle' bobby was at their house and he would make them dinner and get them to bed, because their dad was busy on a hunting trip.
Looking around the lunch room there were four tables of first graders on one half and on the other was four tables of second graders, separated in the center by trash bins and a place to stack the plastic trays. Most of the kids had devoured their turkey sandwiches, making the pile of trays mountainous and the trash cans almost filled to the brim. Sitting now with nothing left to eat the noise level grew slightly. As the year went on it would probably be louder. Thank god they weren't as loud as the older kids.
There first recess was started with dozens of rules. Rules about how to play, where to play, may as well have told you who to play with. All Dean heard was limits and restrictions. He was used to that though. He did everything his dad said because he was scary if he didn't. Dean sat trying to be quiet, looking around at the other kids who looked so nervous. The blue eyed boy just sat there, maybe once they were allowed to play Dean would go talk to him. Maybe they could be friends.
The recess monitors let them go after what seemed like hours. The group of boys who had sat with him at lunch gravitating back towards Dean, asking what he wanted to do. He looked around unsure for a moment, spotting the blue eyed boy trying to work up courage to ask people to play four square with him.
"Let's go play four square," Dean told them starting off at a run towards the whit painted box on the tar. After a little bit of prodding they all joined Dean by the boxes.
"You wanna play?" The blue eyed boy said after a moment, his eyes wide as if unsure.
"Sure, why not," Dean said grabbing the ball and taking the kings square at the head of the game. "I'm Dean by the way," But Castiel already knew that, the teacher had only said it a dozen times.

"I'm Castiel," He gave a little smile unable to believe that these boys wanted to play with him.

Dean smiled staring the game. He seemed to be the only one sure about the blue eyed boy-Castiel, but really it didn't bother him. He just wanted to be friends, and friends they were.

The other boys were never friends exactly with Castiel, but they stuck with Dean and his insisting that Castiel would eat with them and be in groups with them, and sit with them. It eventually just became the accepted fact that Dean thought of little Castiel as his best friend. And it never bothered Castiel that none of the other boys liked him, and it never bothered Dean either.

Never once though did they have play dates though like all the other boys. Dean's dad was never home, and when he was it was probably best not to have any friends over. At least Dean though had Sammy. He loved his little brother more than anything else. He always put his little brother first even if that meant he was missing out on 's family was so much worse. His father was worse than Dean's in many ways that the little boy didn't even want to think about. Always drunk. Always scary. His brothers were his only protection. None of them were exactly star students, but all were braver than Castiel. Neither boy would ask and so it just didn't happen.

All though the year no one fought. Every day at recess they all played pirates, running up and down the plastic slides. Lunch seemed to be louder every day with the shouts of small boys trying to make their voice heard over everyone else. Grades were great because things were easy. the worst point of the year was when Ash broke his arm chasing the girls. Really Castiel was just happy to have real friends, but Dean was the happiest of them all because losing your mom in a fire just two years ago was hard for a kid to grasp, and since no one here knew he could just be happy.