Chapter 1- In the Beginning

I was walking down the street with the one friend I had. It was the second week of autumn and almost 5 o'clock, so the sky had that pretty, entrancing look to it. We were on our way home from the 7-11. We always went there after school to buy soda pop and potato chips.

My friend Billy and I were heavy into classic rock. We listened to Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Queen, The Stones, The Beatles, and many more. We never stopped listening to music when we were at home. I had tons of vinyls and my parents had the best record player you'd ever see. It was blue, white and tan. My parents got in in the '50s when they first married. I remember the first time Billy saw it, his hazel eyes opening wide and his mouth dropped open before curling into an approving grin. He was so jealous because his parents only had your standard turntable, and he wasn't allowed to listen to rock because it was 'the devil's work'.

That day, at 7-11, I didn't get any potato chips. I was saving up for a stunning pale yellow and white fender guitar. I'd been playing guitar since I was about ten. I taught myself actually. I wanted to be a rock god like Jimmy Page.

Billy snapped me out my dream state by clapping a hand against my back, hard. I jumped and punched him in the arm, "Asshole." Billy laughed.

"Hey man, look!" He pointed to a moving truck diagonally across the street from his house. "I wonder who's moving in. Maybe we can make 'em part of our gang."

"Two people don't make up a gang, dumbass."

"Shut up, Dean."

I laughed at him and he told me he had to get home for supper and he ran off into his house, so I was left alone on the sidewalk. I started walking next door to my house. Before I turned into the driveway, I took one last look at the new family's house. This time I say a boy about our age, fourteen or fifteen, playing a bright red acoustic on his front steps. I couldn't hear because I was too far away but by the way his hands moved I could tell he was pretty damn good. I finally realized I was staring and went inside.

The next morning, Billy and I stepped into school together. On our walk there, I told him about the boy. How he had shoulder-length blackish brown hair, shaped in that normal high school kid way. And the way his hands moved smoothly across the strings of his guitar.

"Jesus, Dean. You act like you're in love with the guy!" Billy said, laughing. He's literally the only person in the world who knew I was gay, and I was glad he wasn't all freaked out when I told him last summer.

"Dude I was just telling you what he looks like."

"Yeah, okay."

We went our separate ways to our lockers and when I got there, I saw you-know-who spinning a combination at the locker right next to mine. I was really shy so I didn't say anything at first, but then I sucked it up and realized that I should. "Hi." It was practically a whisper but, in my luck, he heard me.

"Hey."

"Uhm, so you're new here?"

"Yeah."

"Uh, I'm Dean."

"Hi, I'm Castiel."

"Do you need help getting to your first class?"

"Uh, kinda."

He showed me his schedule. He was in the same class as me. I was nervous and excited at the same time. "Hey! We have the same class first period." My voice cracked a little. I wasn't used to this. "Oh, cool." He sounded nervous, too.

As we walked to class, Castiel and I talked. We came up to the topic that we live on the same dead end street. Then we talked about guitars and it seemed as if we were real close friends instantly.

Well, we were. And I guess he did join Billy and my 'gang'. Along with another friend he made, Jack. He was really tough and funny. Billy and I instantly liked him, too. We never ended up having other friends. I guess we were all just too shy.

Anyway, two years passed and it was 1977. Our junior year. Bad things happened that year.

I was hanging with Jack and Billy. Cas was at a doctor's appointment. At this point, Cas and I were a couple. It took a while til we found out he was gay, but man was I happy. He was just so beautiful with his sparkling blue eyes, his now past-the-shoulder hair, and his sexy scruff. His facial hair grew full for a guy who just turned eighteen.

When Cas would get back, he was gonna take me for a ride in his new car he bought with his work money. For now, we were playing war. It was me against Jack. Billy was cheering us on. I literally never lost at war in my life. They called me 'The Warrior'. But they pronounced it with an accent on the last syllable.

As Jack gave me his last card, Cas walked in. He smiled at me so sweetly, as if I was the only person in the room. I got up and gave him a big hug. "Are you ready?" He asked. "Yeah!" We said goodbye to our friends and got into his car.

We drove to the beach in silence with the windows down. The wind blew through our hair. As we pulled into the parking lot, I squeezed his hand. He looked at me and laughed.

"What?"

"Nothing. You're just so cute."

I blushed and grabbed his face in my hands and kissed him passionately, our tongues tangling together. "You're beautiful." I whispered, my lips moving against his. He took my face is his hands now, and leaned back as if he were inspecting me. He smiled, mouthing the words, I love you. My smile shaped into an ear to ear grin. "I would die for you, Cas."