Note: Thanks to my wonderful beta Sarah :) Hope you all like it

A Better Boyfriend

Cas checked his phone. 7:08 pm.

Sighing deeply, he let his cellphone slip back into the back pocket of his jeans before resting his hip against the counter of the shooting gallery again. Of course Dean was running late, he always was. Why Cas still bothered to show up on time was beyond him. Seriously, he should just tell Dean to meet at a certain time and then show up twenty minutes later. Most likely he would still be the first to show up.

Sighing once more, Cas crossed his arms over his chest and berated himself for his thoughts. It wasn't like Dean did this on purpose or to annoy him or anything. Most likely he got held up at work, or by something Sammy-related, or maybe thanks to the amount of homework he always had to squeeze in between working and raising his little brother. Dean tried and Cas admired him for that.

It was just that tonight he really wanted Dean to be here. Being at the parish fair all alone was not only boring, it also left Cas with an uneasy feeling.

An uneasy feeling that only grew worse when all of a sudden he could hear a familiar and not-so-pleasant laugh. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing it to be all in his head.

"Well, look who we have here. If it isn't Cassie."

Nope, not in his head, no such luck.

Cas opened his eyes and looked over in the direction of the voice. Sure enough, his old friends from Lawrence Private were standing there. Michael, the one who had spoken, stood in the middle; always the leader, always the one with the big mouth. He had a girl with long brownish curly hair on one arm and Cas almost did a double take, realizing it was Meg. Last time he'd seen her, her hair had been short, blond and straight. But then again, his former best friend had loved to switch her hairstyle like she loved to switch her men.

On Michael's right side was his best buddy, his right hand of sorts. Crowley gave Cas a grin that reminded him of the old days. Days where they would grin like that together, standing right and left of Michael. Crowley had his short arms around Ruby's waist, a girl Cas had known as long as he had the others but never really warmed up to. It seemed fitting that she would be part of the club now that he wasn't any longer.

Just as Alastair was, it seemed. At least he stood to Michael's left, the place Cas had for many years. It just had to be Alastair, right? His arch-enemy just had to be his fucking replacement. Could the world be any crueler? Oh, right. Let's not forget that he was holding April in his arms, the only girl Cas could have ever imagined himself actually trying anything with. The girl that he had pretended to be dating to get his friends off his back. So they wouldn't suspect that he was bi and more into guys than girls. Yep, she just had to cling to Alastair now, fucking perfect.

And of course, as the cherry on the top, he was standing here, all alone, looking like the stood-up little shit they thought him to be. God clearly hated him, right?

"Cassie, long time no see. How have you been?"

Fantastic, Cas thought, but just looked away from Michael. He wouldn't do them the favor of answering. He knew their game, had been part of the group for long enough to know how this worked.

They were the elite. Star football players, pride of the school, every teacher's favorite students. Cas had been a part of that, had been for years, until he hadn't been able to hide his crush on Michael anymore. It was an accident, really. They had partied too hard after winning the championship. They had had a great time, laughed together, fooled around – and suddenly Cas had kissed him. After that, all hell broke loose. He was shunned, lost his friends, lost his place on the team, basically lost everything. His former friends taunted him for what he was and since they were the elite, everyone went with it. Cas couldn't stand it. Only a few weeks later, with the end of the school year, he had left Lawrence Private and had transferred to the public high school.

It was okay, really. It had been difficult at first, but not because of his sexuality. No, it had been difficult because it had been Lawrence High that they had beaten in that last game. And Cas, being the wide receiver and having scored more touchdowns than anybody else, was part of the reason. But the hate they might have had against him was gone before it could even really start… all thanks to a certain quarterback that sat down at his table on the very first day, looked at him, and asked him if he would like to beat the crap out of the "bitches from Lawrence Private."

Cas, looking into the greenest eyes he had ever seen, found himself incapable of saying no to this guy. So he had nodded and next thing he knew, he was at the receiving end of a grin that rivaled the sun before an arm landed over his shoulder. "Told you boys," he had said to his friends that had gathered around, "the guy's alright." And with that, Cas was part of a new team and a new circle of friends.

The only problem was that said new friends didn't have time today to join in the fun of the fair. Only Dean, but as per usual, he was late.

So after being able to avoid his old friends for almost a year now, he just had to run into them at the city's parish fair, completely alone. And of course, it was exactly what they noticed first.

"All by yourself, Cassie? No friends that would like to hang out with you?"

The fact that Alastair had spoken made it a little better. He had hated that guy ever since he had tried to get him kicked off the team by spreading rumors about him. Luckily Cas had been able to convince the coach that said rumors about him using drugs were just that. But he had no luck in convincing the coach that it had been Alastair who had started these lies to get him kicked off the team and take his place. Seemed he had finally got it.

It made it easier to get mocked by someone he had hated for so long, rather than from one that had been his friend once. But it didn't stay that way, and Cas could feel his throat tightening when Meg started talking.

"Yeah Cassie, what's going on? No boyfriend yet?"

"Or are you back to pretending?" Ruby threw in, making the guys snicker. April, on the other hand, only looked at him with cold eyes.

At that moment, Cas could feel the vibration of his phone in his back pocket. He didn't dare reach for it, just kept his arms firmly wound over his chest. But he could feel the blood draining from his face. What if it was Dean, telling him he was going to be even later? Or maybe telling him he wasn't coming at all? Maybe because of an emergency with Sam?

At the very least, it distracted him from whatever else his old friends had to say. He could hear them laugh and snicker and say spiteful things, but he didn't react. The only good thing about them was that all they ever did was talk. Ignore them, and they would eventually leave you alone. They had never physically harmed anyone and Cas knew it. Not that what they said didn't hurt, but at least they wouldn't beat him up. So Cas willed his thoughts back to Dean and let that distract him from all the spiteful words that were thrown at him.

It seemed to work, because after a few more moments, Meg lost interest and begged Michael to win her one of the ridiculous giant teddy bears. Ruby and April were quick to follow and all three boys complied with their girlfriends (or whatever the hell they were).

If Cas had been a malicious person, his smirk might have grown bigger with every shot they missed. Crowley at least managed three, getting Ruby a plush moose the size of a football. Michael only managed to hit two shots. He looked a little put off by being beaten by Crowley while he handed the keyring with a little stuffed unicorn to Meg. Alistair, on the other hand, failed completely and yes, it did give Cas a feeling of satisfaction. Not because of April – she had been a nice enough human being, although she had been one of the people to taunt him the most after he outed himself. But then again, he had kind of used her, even though he really had tried to make it work. But no, he wasn't angry with her. Yet, seeing Alistair losing so spectacular was priceless.

"If you guys play football like you shoot, I am totally looking forward to our game next weekend."

The six teenagers next to Cas whipped around to look at whoever had spoken. Cas didn't have to look, but he couldn't help it. The moment the voice had begun to speak, he had been able to breathe again and looking up, he felt calming warmth settle in his stomach. Dean alone would have been enough to elicit that feeling, but seeing some of his teammates and friends beside Dean almost made Cas tear up. It seemed whatever their plans for today had been, they had thought better of it.

Balthazar, standing next to Dean, threw Cas a small, barely noticeable wink as if to reassure him. Benny was there with his girlfriend Andrea, as was Gabriel with Kali. He could see Anna, Victor, and Jo and knew that Charlie wasn't far if Jo was here. Even Sammy was standing behind Dean with both Jess and Sarah (Cas reminded himself yet again that he would have to talk to the kid very soon, explaining to him that the girls both wanted more than just friendship from him).

But for now, he focused on Dean. The quarterback of Lawrence High had his usual easy grin and why wouldn't he? Clearly they outnumbered Private and even though it was the city's fair, the ground it was on technically was territory of Lawrence High's side of the city.

"I don't know, Dean-o," Gabe threw in now, seizing up Alastair. "I'd be looking forward to that game even if they had been able to shoot anything. After all, with a wide receiver like that…"

The warmth Cas had felt before only grew bigger. He didn't even need to hear all the jibes his friends gave to his old acquaintances. He knew they had his back, no matter what and that was all that counted. Sure, it was also the normal rivalry between two schools, two teams and all. But what Michael and his gang didn't know: Cas had told his friends about what had happened. He had come clean with who he was right away, not wanting to hide anymore. And they had not only accepted him, but they had asked why he thought that would change anything for them. Because it didn't. It didn't change that they accepted him as he was and made him feel welcome. So he had trusted them even more. Told them the bad experiences he had had with revealing his sexuality. His teammates, although only knowing him for a few days back then, had been furious. And even now, almost a year later, they still were.

Dean also knew something else. A little secret Cas had told them: The fact that half of the cheerleaders from Private had a crush on the quarterback from Lawrence High, those present included. So when Dean turned on his 'brighter-than-the-sun' smile, Cas had a hard time not chuckling as he saw the girls almost melting.

"Well, too bad the guys at your school are such lousy shots."

Oh no, he wouldn't, would he?

"Tone it down, Winchester," Michael growled, not at all impressed that his measly two hits had been overlooked by the other quarterback. "We all know these things are rigged. What, you think you would do better?"

Cas only barely kept himself from letting his head hit his palms. How stupid would you have to be to fall into a trap like the one Dean had just set up? He didn't even need to look at Dean to know that there was a grin on his lips – one that, to a stranger, may look like a friendly expression. His friends however knew this to be Dean's 'you are so fucked' smile.

Without any further preamble but followed by the slightly amused grins of his friends, Dean marched past Michael (he even refrained from the obligatory shoulder bump, he was simply above that), picked up a rifle and aimed. Five consecutive shots followed and to no one's surprise, well, for his friends at least, he hit the mark each time. Maybe they should have told Michael that the owner of this booth was Dean's Uncle Bobby and that Dean had been shooting these rifles since he was three (much to his mother Mary's horror), but what would have been the fun in that?

The kid behind the counter – Alfie, kind of nice but usually a little overeager – thankfully kept his mouth shut so as not to give Dean away, as he handed him the biggest of all the plush teddies. On the white tummy it read in red letters 'I wuv hugz' and it looked just as cheesy as Cas had always imagined.

Because Cas still leaning on the counter, Dean was only arm's length away from him. But instead of turning towards Cas, he turned the other way, having Cas at his back and facing the girls from Private. "Nice teddy, isn't it? Which one of you wanted this again?" he asked with a sickly sweet voice. Cas swore he could see hearts in the girls' eyes as they looked at Dean, showing him wordlessly that any of them would love to get a teddy bear from him. And Cas knew Dean well enough to know the smirk that formed on his face the moment he pulled the teddy just out of their reach.

"Well, too bad. Seems like you simply need to find better boyfriends."

And with that, he finally turned around. The first thing Cas felt was the soft plush of the teddy bear as it was pressed into his left side, followed by Dean's strong hand on his right hip. The smile that formed on his lips was kissed away by his boyfriend of three months to the day and he couldn't help but melt against him, tangling one hand in the soft, sandy blonde hair, while the other held on to the teddy.

"Okay, okay, enough PDA you two," Gabe interrupted after a minute or so. Their group had started moving, slowly passing the couple, greeting Cas and patting Dean on the back. Charlie was suddenly beside him and pressed a kiss to his cheek. He gave her a smile but shook his head, knowing exactly what she wanted. "Oh no, no way. This is mine, get Jo to shoot one for you."

"But…"

"Seriously, girl? You like these?" Jo interrupted Charlie before she could get into full puppy-eyes-mode. They talked for a second and Cas saw that their group had come to a halt once again. Whatever argument the girls had going on, Balthazar set an end to it. "Oi, Harvelle. Stop arguing with your girlfriend and just shoot her that damn teddy. I want to get to the Ferris wheel."

Rolling her eyes, Jo finally gave in, picked up the rifle and not even half a minute later she handed Charlie a similar teddy, only this one had a little crown over one ear and on its tummy it read 'Queen of' and a heart under that. Charlie thanked her with a kiss and finally, finally they all followed Balthazar to his destination.

Cas knew that he had the stunned eyes of six former friends in his back. But while leaning into Dean's side, holding him and the teddy tight, and letting his boyfriend kiss the top of his head, he felt no urge to turn around one last time to either look back or gloat or anything. He had everything he needed right beside and in front of him.

Winning the championship the next weekend was just the cherry on the top…

Thanks for reading :)