In my opinion souls are lovely. They are the most pure, most enthralling and most fascinating things ever created. And to be gifted with one is the highest honour a creature of any species can get. It is for this reason that I believe that souls should be protected, nourished and loved. Souls are genderless, blind, faithful and bright. They consist of all things considered "good" and there is a reason that they are indestructible. Souls are awfully difficult to create, and once they are, a soul is almost impossible to erase. You can confuse it of course, derail it. But in the end it always finds its way home. And home is where the heart is.
It was the gentle brush of lips against his own that shook him. Made his entire existence fall apart in a simple yet overwhelming motion. 'Stop', his voice cracked, without hesitation he pushed the other boy away. 'I can't do this.' It was a decision, one he wasn't sure was wise. But there were only a few things in life that Castiel found to be clear and cut out. One of them being that you shouldn't be kissing a boy while your date waits for you only a few metres away. She was sitting on a bench, the lamppost illuminating her frizzy hair. She had no name, no role in his life.
But she was waiting for him. And if she'd just turn her head a little bit to the left she would see him. In the arms of another boy. But it was late and the park was abandoned.
He looked at the stranger again, the stranger with the alluring lips. He wanted to kiss him again. Slowly he stepped away, his head still buzzing from the kiss. 'I'm leaving, don't follow or I'll call the police.' He could still feel the heat on his lips, the electricity flowing through his veins. But it was all accompanied by fear.
He wanted to kiss him again, and he knew that wasn't the right thing to do. Castiel didn't even bother going to his date, because he knew none of this was real. 'Why do you always dream about the same things?' Appearing besides him was a mysterious man. 'What do you want Balthazar?' The man grinned, he looked like danger and his British accent made everything he said sound like mockery.
'Good to see you too. It's been a while hasn't it?' Together they left the park, one moment they walked across a street, the next moment they found themselves on a hill in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. Castiel stopped dead in his tracks as he looked at the mountains. 'Why won't you just leave me alone? I'm doing fine, I don't want you here poking around my dreams.' Balthazar simply ignored the plea and instead took a deep breath, pretending to enjoy the sun.
His dirty blond hair got swept to the left by the breeze. 'They should have told me that you are a joy kill before I accepted this job. But you know, it's already too late.' Castiel closed his eyes, hoping to wake up. 'I just came to check up on you. I'll leave soon. Just wanted to make sure that you are still boring old you.' Castiel wished that soon would come now. Balthazar usually hijacked his dreams to bother him about his inner demons. And he wasn't feeling up to it, definitely not when he'd just fantasized about getting kissed by a boy.
The man smiled amused. 'Oh Cassie, don't pull that face. Don't worry your little gay soul too much. I'm not here to judge your terrible taste in men.' He patted him on the head. It was condescending. 'Putting that aside, as it is not of importance: This is the last you'll see of me in a long time.' It made Castiel quickly turn to him. 'This is your first visit in months. Where are you going?' The man only gave him a mysterious little smile. 'Angel business, none of your concern. You just worry about being a good little boy and making mommy and daddy proud.'
With those words the peaceful scenery disappeared and he got violently thrown back in reality. As he woke up in the safety of his bed he let out a panicked gasp. He could already feel the nightmare slipping away, and he was desperately trying to hang on to the details. His short, rigid gasps for air made it difficult to think.
In the end he had to settle on calming down first, and as he did so he looked at his suitcase and the foot of his bed. Still open, packed and staring at him. 'Keep it together, just a nightmare.' He counted to ten once more before lying down again. He kept telling himself that it was just a bad dream. But as he drifted off the nagging feeling in the back of his head remained. He tried to remember the dream, but he only remembered a hill. And there was a name. He groaned in frustration, it was on the tip of his tongue. It was Bal-
Wings flutter
'Mister Novak, if I may say so: You look better today. Still nervous for the big move?' Castiel sat across from his assigned therapist. A man he had met two years ago and had learned to call Zachariah Adler. He frowned, finding it difficult to speak up. 'I slept poorly last night. Kept thinking about what can go wrong.' Castiel scratched his black messy hair, he was lying at least partly but his therapist wouldn't be able to figure it out, hopefully. Mister Adler was a balding man, he always wore the same suits and he had the charisma of a successful business man. He had a friendly smile that gave him the chills.
That aside he was the guy with whom he was supposed to share everything. 'You don't have to worry. You will do just fine, you'll keep using your medication and we will keep having our talks. I understand that it's difficult to return home, but it's been two years.' The man poured him a glass of water, 'it's time for you to spread your wings!' Castiel's frown disappeared, making place for a small reasonable smile.
'What if I told you I'm seeing things again?' Mister Adler's movement stopped abruptly. Exactly the type of reaction he wanted to provoke out of his therapist. 'Really? When?'
As Castiel's eyes drifted through the room, hoping to see one of his non-existent companions, his vision quickly crossed a mirror. Staring back at him was a scrawny teenage boy. Dark bags under his eyes, sad blue eyes. He couldn't remember the last time he'd looked into the mirror. 'I dream about them. I can't remember exactly what, but they are still here.'
He poked his head a few times, wondering if maybe it would get the point across. Mister Adler smiled. 'So what do you suggest Mister Novak? I'm all ears.' He'd had been stuck in this mental institution for two years. Years in which he got drugged, observed and isolated.
'I don't think it's wise to let me go yet. I think I can finish my last year of Highschool here in peace. I won't be a bother to anyone. And we can guarantee the safety of everyone involved.' Most people he'd met in the institution had either lost their minds or desperately wanted to leave but simply weren't able to. Castiel on the other hand was content. He never wanted to leave this safe haven. He'd seen the mysterious glowing sigils on the walls of the mental hospital. He knew he was safe inside. So when they'd given him a room he didn't struggle. When they told him they would try to fix him he'd agreed. Because he'd been sure that something as broken as him, could possibly never be whole again.
Yet here he was, he hadn't had an episode in over a year. No monsters, no angels, no violent outbursts. They called it a miracle, he was fixed. And all thanks to the people around him. He'd told Mister Adler about his parents and he listened. Now they were letting him go, basically declaring him sane. They kept claiming that he should pick his life up again. Go to prom, make some friends and find a purpose. They made it sound so easy.
Mister Adler chuckled at his desperate suggestion. 'Don't you want to have a normal life Castiel?' When the grumpy teenager didn't immediately reply Mister Adler shook his head. 'You are doing so well boy! I know it's difficult for you to accept, but you are completely healthy. I know that you are scared to take the jump, but trust me when I say that you are ready. You have been for a while.'
It was his last hope. Faking issues had been a big gamble, there was a reason his suitcase was packed. But it didn't make the disappointment easier to deal with. His reply although steady didn't mask his insecurity. 'I guess you're right.'
Wings flutter
Once he got a cab he gave up his new address with reluctance. He was going to live with his uncle, whom he'd never been close and whom his parents never liked to talk about. He'd only met him a few times, the guy didn't like to visit him. But he was the only family he had left so until he was eighteen they were stuck with each other.
It was late in the evening when he arrived at the apartment complex that his uncle owned. His name was Emmanuel, and the man welcomed his arrival by letting out a deep sigh. A very positive start. Emmanuel wasn't the type to sugar coat things. 'When people ask you say that I'm your landlord, I don't want you to mention our situation. If you have problems or issues you figure them out. I'm not here to be your guardian, you understand boy?' Castiel opened the door to his apartment and looked around.
His tiny suitcase suddenly felt miniature in the room. He only had few belongings and this apartment felt big enough for two people. Although it was probably the tiniest, ugliest and cheapest one his uncle was willing to give him. 'Your school called, they said you can start next week. I assume you can take care of yourself?' Castiel's trance broke and he looked up at his uncle. The man had thin dark hair and a grumpy face.
He suddenly understood why his parents never talked about him. The man's disappointed expression seemed to be etched into his face. 'Yes, I got it. Thank you.' Emmanuel commented on their being food in the fridge. He would have to take care of his own food, something he'd never done before. After the man explained him how to make the shower work he left without saying anything remotely close to a goodbye. He could now unpack in peace.
There wasn't a lot to unpack tough. He put some clothes in the closet, managed to fill one bookshelf and after a few firm pats he managed to fix the old television. He sat down on the old couch, everything in the room looked old and breakable, but nothing was dirty so that was a win. 'In other news: After killing his family the serial killer Marv Metatron has committed suicide. The police found the body after-' Castiel's peaceful expression quickly darkened as he lowered the volume.
He wasn't allowed to look at negative things, it could turn around his emotions in a simple sweep. 'Deep breaths, you're doing fine.' It was a sad thing, giving himself words of encouragement in a big empty apartment that was supposed to be his new home. When he'd left the institution his eyes had wandered over the walls. Seeking the glowing symbols he'd seen the first day. But they were nowhere to be found. Desperately he looked around, sure he would see something unnatural if he just waited. But the taxi driver was impatient and nothing ever showed. He had to stop lying to himself. The doctors had told him so many times. He was just traumatized, he was imagining things.
'They are right. Stop being an idiot.' He knew that talking to himself was a weird habit, but after living in isolation for an interesting period of time it had become an unbreakable habit. After giving himself some encouragement he dared to check on the toilet, which all things considered looked relatively fine. But when he saw his own reflexion he felt his stomach ache. His dark messy hair made a stark contrast to his pale skin and in the led-light his blue eyes looked watery and red. A bit absent he rubbed the inside of his arm. Remembering how he used to stick needles there to take the edge of things.
'Go to bed you moron.' His words were harsh, he had to remind himself that he was given an opportunity that many didn't. He had the chance to start over again. He just needed to smile and make a good impression at school. He put on a smile, 'see you look better already. Just don't do anything stupid and things will be alright.'
He nodded at himself once again, slowly convincing himself that yes: Castiel did deserve to be saved. And yes: He could live the life that his parents always wanted for him. He just needed to be confident, he just had to show a little faith! He gave the wall beside him a good hit, trying to keep the positive around for a bit longer.
His new neighbour apparently slept on the other side since an angry knock got returned. Quickly he apologized to the wall. Once he realised that the wall wouldn't talk back he decided it was time to go to bed. He could work on his people skills another day.
The night should have brought nightmares, but it didn't. This surprised him a bit. He'd been so used to them that their absence gave him an odd chill. In the little week that he was allowed to adjust to normal life he made it a big mission not to leave the apartment. He cleaned, he made himself comfortable, heck he even read a newspaper.
But soon he was out of food and he really needed a haircut. It was ridiculous how nervous he was to go to the mall. But everything went fine, sure he might have managed to break a few eggs, left a few freezer doors open and of course there were the magazines that had suddenly fallen down the rack. But he had money, and fell like he shouldn't be blamed for the situation. It was after all his first time in a mall after a long period of time. When food wasn't an issue anymore he forced himself to buy some clothes. He was practical and quick about it, afraid someone would question him. But maybe he was just being paranoid.
Turned out his uncle knew a pretty cheap hairdresser, and once his hair was decent and Monday morning arrived he had everything packed and was ready to go back to school. He suddenly hesitated. He could swear he'd heard wings flapping. His heart made a tiny jump. But when he moved towards the window he got greeted by a bird. 'You're a bird.' He didn't know if he was disappointed or not. But the bird simply chirped. 'No more monsters, real life starts tomorrow.' He announced to the bird, which gave him a strange look.
He closed the window, carefully as he didn't want to startle the little bird. Once he locked the apartment and went outside a flashy sun greeted him. He closed his eyes in irritation. Summer vacation was over, but the weather sure didn't seem to think so yet. The girl he passed on the street wore skirts, tank tops and dresses. They giggled and smiled. The boys he passed all had tanned skin from being in the sun all day. And he suddenly felt his optimistic smile falter as he looked at his own clothes. He wore a pair of dark blue jeans, a pair of neat trainers and a white dress shirt with a blue sweater vest.
Because of the heat he'd rolled up his sleeves and decided to get rid of his tie. It would probably be too formal anyways. He readjusted his over-sized glasses. Had he dressed accordingly tough? There was no time to fret it over as he had to keep moving. He didn't want to be late at school.
Wings flutter
Thus the boy found himself in the hallways of a real Highschool. It was the exact same he'd entered two years ago. The exact same one where people used to make fun of him. He walked through the hallways and immediately regretted returning, but it was the only Highschool in town so he didn't have much choice. He recognized a few students. Most of them had been his bullies, some still looked like they would eat him for breakfast.
But they didn't even glance at him, he was a ghost, people probably thought he'd killed himself after what happened. 'But we're not going to think about that.' He declared softly as he found his locker. As he tried to open the lock he wondered how returning to school was good for his development. This simply wasn't his world anymore.
He finally managed to open the damn thing but opened it a bit too enthusiastic. It swinged open and he was lucky that there was no one next to him to get caught in the fire. He could only pray that it would be the last blunder of the day. But it got worse once he found his first class, which happened to be English. He knocked a bit tentatively on the door, releasing he was late. All the students got quiet as he walked in, there was no teacher present and once they realised he was a student they started talking again.
He quickly scanned the faces in room, afraid one would recognize him as the freak. But no one seemed to notice him. That was until he tripped over a bag. Maybe it was faith, maybe it was destiny, but he managed to gain his balance slightly and desperately clutched to the table of the one person who would recognize him with guarantee. Raphael hadn't changed a bit. He still had scary intimidating dark eyes, and once he got sight of Castiel an odd smile formed on his face. 'Castiel?'
Castiel quickly mumbled a sorry, took an empty seat in the front (since the ones in the back were all taken) and didn't look back around. He felt someone stand next to him, and reluctantly he looked up to meet Raphael's surprised expression. Raphael Di Angelo had been the very worst person in his existence. From the moment they met they clashed on every possible subject. The class got quiet as they all curiously turned towards the scene in the front of the class.
How could the school do this to him? Hadn't the mental hospital clearly stated that he shouldn't be put in a class with any of his old classmates? 'Castiel Novak, it's really you isn't it?' He took a deep breathe. Raphael had been a nasty human being, a total dick. But maybe things had changed the last few years? He had to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. 'Hello Raphael, it's been a while hasn't it?'
Raphael smiled, it always seemed forced. Castiel found the guy to be scary for the simple reason that he didn't behave… normal. It was like he was just a meat suit for something far scarier. Like a demon, he thought quietly to himself. 'It has been indeed. It's good to see you back. When did the hospital let you go?' Castiel felt all his courage crash down by one sentence. Of course Raphael remembered his psychotic episode that had caused his admission in the first place. And now he was smoothly informing the entire class that he was a lunatic. All while sounding friendly and polite. 'Oh you know some time back already.' He managed to vocalize after some struggle.
He had to lie, he was only making things worse by saying he was a free man since last week. He felt his hands clutch into fists. Raphael's eyes widened, fake politeness once again as he said: 'Has it been difficult to adjust back to the normal life?' He was pretty sure he could hear some people whisper about him now, they probably remembered him. The angel freak, the crazy boy who'd killed his parents.
The suicidal kid who'd tried to jump of the school's rooftop. It was probably a classic horror story under the students. 'Things are going well, all things considered.' Raphael was quiet for a moment, everything about him screamed dominance, he looked at him as if he was the dirt under his shoes. 'That's good, great to see you back.' Before anything else could be said the teacher arrived. A fancy-looking old lady who of course wanted him to introduce himself to his classmates.
Her smile was kind and friendly, she probably meant well. But as he started speaking she insisted that he should stand up and talk louder. So he did. 'I'm Castiel Novak, seventeen years old. And I live on my own. And that's been nice so far.' He tried introducing himself as shortly as possible, giving only vague descriptions of himself and just hoping, no, praying that the dust would settle soon. God was obviously on vacation as things got worse throughout the day. Students started whispering behind his back, he was like Moses, and the students were the Red sea. They parted for him, out of disgust and fascination.
'New start my ass.' He rumbled to himself. He quickly softened the volume of his own voice. Realizing it wasn't socially acceptable to talk to yourself in public. But it didn't matter anyway, the next time that he saw Mister Adler he was going to act so dangerous and stupid that the therapist would be forced to readmission him.
'Hey you! Wait up!' Castiel couldn't know for sure if they were talking to him, so he took the benefit of the doubt and kept walking. He was surprised when someone roughly took his shoulders. A pretty girl with curly hair and a mischievous smile stood in front of him. 'You are the new boy right? Cassiel?'
He had to adjust his glasses and quickly fumbled with his backpack. This was the first person to talk to him who: 1. He didn't know and 2. Didn't look at him like he was an abomination. 'Actually it's Castiel.' He quickly reminded himself to smile, and he felt victorious when the girl smiled back. She reached out for his hand and shook it.
'Pleasure to meet you. The name is Meg Masters. Headmaster Campbell wanted me to be your guide today. Since it's your first day and I understood that you've been out of it for a while.' She winked at him, something about her yelled danger, but he knew he was just being paranoid again. 'I understand that's really nice of you. Thank you Meg.'
She turned around, 'no problem. No come along Clarence, we have a class to attend to!' He followed her, although a bit hesitant.
'My name isn't Clarence.' He quickly informed her, feeling nervous that someone was talking to him. When was the last time that he'd talk to a girl that wasn't completely nuts?
A while, now that he gave it some thought.
'I know, I was just messing with you. We have biology, up at the second floor. I want to go there now since a friend is waiting for me.'
H nodded, 'ok.' It was the dumbest way of answering, but the only appropriate reaction he could think of. 'So tell me Castiel, how do you like this place so far?' They slowly climbed up the stairs as to keep the conversation going. 'Well it's a lot smaller than I remember. But so far things are going well.' Meg was telling him about the renovations the building had been through. He noted that she was in fact a very smart girl, but she laced all her words with a boredom that was probably supposed to be cool. He was so caught up in the story that he didn't mind his step and fell forward. He quickly got caught by the shoulder and with some trouble he stabilized himself by holding unto the stranger's left shoulder.
'Watch were you're going.' The boy didn't sound mean spirit, but definitely wasn't all too happy. Castiel was still trying to progress what just happened, and in the meantime the boy left. Meg turned to him, 'you okay? You really need to mind your steps more. Do you often loose balance?' He felt his face heat up. 'Yes, I do sort of have a balance problem. But where did that guy go? I didn't get the chance to thank him!'
He turned to look for him in the crowd, but all faces looked the same. A little smirk formed on Meg's face. 'Oh trust me, that guy ain't worth it honey. Winchester isn't one for chick flick moments.' He'd only vaguely seen the guy's features, he'd disappeared as soon as he'd appeared. He couldn't find him, so maybe Castiel wasn't the only school ghost.
In their next class the teacher wanted them to work together in groups. Meg was already teaming up with her friend Ruby, who was extremely pretty but had an arrogant look in her eyes. It made Castiel want to stay away from the girl as much as possible, so instead he sat next to an Asian-American boy. He introduced himself awkwardly as Kevin Tran. 'So you're new huh? Where do you come from?' Kevin seemed like a relatively nice guy, but Castiel found the question to be too personal. 'None of your business.' He answered flatly.
Kevin apparently didn't mind the asshole-vibe he was giving off as he simply smiled understandingly. 'It can be rough in the beginning. But don't worry, soon people will start to get used to you. And when that happens I'm sure they'll start acting friendlier.' Kevin sounded slightly bitter, he might not have said so out loud, but Castiel felt like the guy had gone through same as him but had ended up with zero friendliness.
'You don't sound that positive.' Kevin looked up surprised. 'Well I am.' Castiel simply nodded. Not sure if the conversation was going in the right direction. 'Tell me Kevin, do you like school?' It was one of the stupid topic questions he'd remembered in case the conversation died. Kevin blinked a few times, not sure if he was joking or not.
'Well its school. I wouldn't say it's exactly my favourite thing in the world. But you know being able to hang with friends is nice and makes it easier.' Castiel looked around. 'You have friends?' He exclaimed surprised. The moment he saw Kevin's frown he knew he'd messed up. He felt his face heat up with embarrassment. 'My apology that came out rude.' He kept murmuring awkward apologies. Apparently it was comical as slowly Kevin's expression cleared and he started to smile again.
'It's alright, I was sitting alone and you seem to be terrible at interaction. So I know you didn't mean it like that.' Kevin's confidence suddenly faltered as he spoke softer. 'My friends usually attend school. But Charlie was sick, Jo got in trouble with her mom and Dean actually was here the last few classes. So I guess he decided to go home or whatever.' Kevin looked around suddenly looking very nervous.
'Are you alright? You look nervous. Did you leave the stove on?'
Kevin gave him a quick glance over. He didn't know why, but he felt like Kevin didn't trust him. Maybe he first had, but for some reason the absence of his friends made him scared. And apparently that fear made him distrust him.
Castiel liked Kevin, he wouldn't mind being friends with the guy. But he doubted the boy would appreciate it.
That aside: They were better off on their own. This guy hardly knew him and he would like that that to remain that way. He was already asking questions that were too sensitive for him to answer. Yes it was decided. Castiel could not befriend Kevin. They continued doing their assignment in silence. Only talking when necessary, but he didn't mind. He was surprised when suddenly a little ball of paper hit Kevin's neck. Kevin pulled an annoyed face but kept quiet, Castiel stopped working immediately. Another little paper ball got thrown and this time it hit Kevin's head perfectly.
Castiel turned around, behind them sat a few boys with amused little smiles on their faces. 'What are you staring? Never learned how to blink?' One of the guys asked. He felt annoyance boil inside of him. He had a vague idea what type of people Kevin was scared of when not surrounded by friends. He didn't answer the guy and simply turned around, Kevin's shoulders seemed tense.
So it went on for some time. Castiel and Kevin making the assignment while the guys behind them tried to hit Kevin's back as many times as possible. At some point he couldn't stand it anymore. He turned to Kevin, 'are they bothering you?' he asked carefully. Kevin didn't respond so he continued. 'Because if they do I'd like for you to tell me and I'll take care of it.' Kevin's grip around his pencil tightened. 'I'm fine. Trust me don't bother, they are always like that. It doesn't bother me anymore.' Castiel could only nod in understanding.
'Alright. But if you do need some help-' Kevin interrupted him: 'I'll make sure not to ask yours. Listen, you seem like a nice guy. You shouldn't hang with people like me. It'll get you in trouble. And you don't want them to start picking on you too. Trust me.' Castiel opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't form anything sensible to say. So instead he shut up and started working again.
Once the class was over Meg was once again at his side. 'So you've made a friend already? Very smooth of you.' She commented as Kevin quickly made his way towards the door, not even bothering saying something before leaving him in the dust. Castiel turned to look at Meg, wondering what her position in the class room's social pyramid was exactly. 'I wouldn't call Kevin a friend. But he seems very nice.' He commented although he felt overwhelmingly disappointed. 'Meg why are they picking on a guy like him to begin with?' Ruby was the one to answer. 'Well because he's weird and annoying. Also heard he has an ego, like didn't he once say that he wanted to be president?' Meg nodded, 'yes I guess that's a part of why they screw around him a lot. But honestly? I feel kind of bad for the kid. Usually his friends are around to protect him, so its bad luck that they weren't here today.'
Castiel frowned. Even tough Meg felt bad for Kevin she sure as hell didn't seem to care enough to actually help him. Maybe because she was afraid to be bullied herself, maybe because of lack of empathy. Whatever her reasoning, he wasn't sure if he should trust her. Ruby didn't seem that much of sympathy either. But maybe he shouldn't dwell on it too much. 'Well let's get your ass moving. There is a whole day ahead of us. And as you assigned guardian I'm gonna make sure you get home in one piece.'
Meg twirled with her hair while wearing a devilish grin on her face. 'It's gonna be a long day. So I hope you are mentally prepared on the torture.' He suddenly found himself having troubles breathing. This school was giving him anxiety.
Wings flutter
Castiel's new mentor Chuck Shurley wanted to speak with him. It honestly didn't surprise him. The man wanted to know how his first day had been, and genuinely seemed to care about Castiel's well-being. After their little talk he found himself walking through empty hallways. School was out and all students had made a run to their vehicles to get home. He didn't blame them honestly.
'Today was a good day.' He reminded himself. He was glad that things had gone as good as they could have gone. Meg and Ruby had been nice, not friend material but definitely people he could go to for questions. Kevin had been avoiding him the rest of the day, which was the only thing that gave him a sore feeling. Other than that things had gone well and he was even a bit proud. Sure he'd almost walked into the girl's bathroom when he wanted to take his pills. But luckily Ruby had pulled him at his shirt and called him a dumbass.
He was making his way towards the door when he heard something. It was the sound of people laughing, mixed with someone quietly whimpering. He suddenly froze. Did he hear that right or was he just hallucinating? He heard something big and heavy hit the floor with a muffled thud. Without hesitation he moved towards the sound and was greeted by a terrible sight. Kevin was completely beaten up, blood pouring out of his nose, his left eye already swallowing up for the hit he'd just received.
And standing there in a circle around him were the guys from earlier today. 'I think he's going to cry for his mommy.' One of the boys commented, snickering has he made a picture with his phone. Kevin simply let out a sad sound of defeat. Castiel felt every little wheel in his head turn. He knew this situation was extremely wrong, heck he'd been in a few of these himself. But something in him refused to move, to say something. He felt a familiar feeling imprison his body. It was fear, he was very much afraid.
One of the boy dragged Kevin with his face of the floor. The other cheered and one of them asked for it to happen again. 'I didn't catch it on camera!' He wondered how no-one had come across this scene yet. Weren't there camera's hanging around everywhere? What about the janitors? Castiel felt his nervousness slightly disappear. He should get help, he couldn't take this guys on alone, he needed to get someone and-
'Can I cut him?' One of the bullies asked, holding up a pocket knife. The others agreed after they discussed that the injury shouldn't be visible for others. They held Kevin up, pulling up his shirt to showcase his thin body. 'Jesus he's like a skeleton, creepy as fuck.' Castiel knew he had to do something. He had to help, but how? Kevin let out a painful sad sound, but they quickly covered his mouth.
He froze in place when suddenly Kevin's eyes focused on him. They looked at him in a pleading way. And for a second Castiel was in total panic. He'd seen that look before. That desperate look of fear as his mother tried to reach out to him. As she tried to protect him from his… 'Hey assbuts!' The words blurted out of his mouth. He didn't even have time to progress them, as he was already walking up to the gang.
Every cell in his body was livid. He was acting irrational, impulsive, he was probably making a terrible mistake… but it felt like the right thing to do. The boys abruptly let Kevin fall to the ground, where he gasped for air. One of the boys frowned when he saw him. 'Wait aren't you that new kid?' The smallest one asked. Castiel nodded. 'I don't mean to interrupt you guys. But I would like to mention that the school has a zero tolerance policy on violence guys. You should know that.'
The biggest one of the group slowly made his way towards Castiel. He started feeling smaller and smaller. 'What are you saying little guy?' Castiel felt himself gulp. 'I see that your tiny little brain has failed to comprehend what I said. So I'll repeat myself, using your language in the hope the message will get across: Leave Kevin alone.'
One of the boys started laughing. 'What do you care? Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong and just leave us be. And we'll forget this has ever happened okay?' The guy who'd been filming the whole thing stated. Castiel shook his head. 'I can't. So you let him go or else.' The boy took the hem of Castiel's shirt between his enormous hands, practically lifting him off the ground. 'Or what? You'll fight us?' Castiel felt his stomach turn, he hated violence. 'I won't hurt anyone if you guys promise to leave Kevin alone and let us leave in peace.' He used his scary stare on the bigger guy, knowing it could be intimidating.
The bullies exchanged a few looks. And before he knew it he was thrown harshly on the ground. His head started pounding, everything became a dizzy mess. And staring down on him was Kevin trying to get him back in the real word. But he saw two, no even three Kevin's. And Castiel was pretty sure that wasn't right.
Slowly he raised himself from the ground. 'I warned you.' He told the big guy, Castiel didn't know why, but he felt as if he could actually beat this guy. Or maybe two years of being stuck in an insane asylum were just messing with his head, because one second he was sort of standing. The next thing he was pushed on the ground again. 'You're full of talk aren't you?' The guy with the phone said, once again filming the ordeal. 'You know what? We will let Kevin go. He was starting to get boring anyways. And since you are volunteering so nicely we will take you as a nice replacement.' One of them mused.
Before anything else could happen a woman's voice carried through the hallway. 'Back off assholes.' A young girl with blonde wavy hair stood in the hallway. Her arms crossed and her eyes gave off an intimidating look despite that she was small. One of the boys whistled. 'Jo sweetheart. Good to see you around.' Kevin let out a relieved sigh when he saw the girl approaching. Jo pulled a disgusted face and the word sweetheart. 'You better start running before I start kicking your asses.' She warned them.
Castiel found himself staring in awe as the boys nervously laughed. They were afraid of her, he realised with shock. 'We were just messing around a bit, it looks worse than it seems.' Jo didn't want to hear any of that. 'Oh just messing around?' She raised her eyebrows, seemingly unconvinced. 'You know what I see? I see a group of little kids beating up my friend and the new kid. Give me one reason why I shouldn't call my mom in for this shit?'
The group fell completely quiet. 'Jo you won't tell her won't you? Please?' The guy with the camera asked, suddenly seeming even more terrified at the idea of Jo's mom. Jo held out her hand and pulled Kevin up, she quickly asked him if he was alright and then turned to Castiel. 'You alright there?' He nodded, suddenly he felt like an idiot.
'I suggest you guys leave right now. If I catch you guys again I'll be sure to send you to Hell myself.' Castiel felt his stomach twist at the word Hell. A quick flash formed in his field of vision but it disappeared as soon as it came. He felt like he was about to throw up. The bullies left, leaving Kevin and Castiel to feel relieved. 'What happened Kevin? I thought Dean was with you today?' Kevin pulled a sour face as he helped up his sort-off saviour.
'He was, but he left early and I don't know why. He seemed really weird today, maybe he was sick.' When he saw Jo's angry expression he quickly added that she shouldn't blame Dean for what happened. 'I should be capable of defending myself. You guys shouldn't constantly babysit me. That's not right.'
Jo pursed her lips in disagreement. Castiel simply stood there, awkwardly. 'Jo honestly I am alright. Thanks to him at least, the guy came in to help me.' Kevin turned to Castiel and smiled, it was the first genuine smile Castiel had seen from him. All his fear and distrust had disappeared. Making place for what seemed to be kindness. 'Thank you for trying to save me. I'm sorry that they…' he simply pointed at him, 'did that to you.'
He felt himself take a deep breath. He didn't know how to exactly express his emotions right now. He felt happy, yet sad. He felt scared, proud, stupid and worried. It was a difficult mix. But in the end he smiled. 'You are welcome, you would have done the same for me. I'm glad that we are all okay.' He turned towards Jo. 'Which is thanks to you.' He reached out to shake Jo's hand, which may not have been a good idea, as she gave him a weird look. 'Uhm sure, no problem. You are Castiel right?' He nodded solemnly. 'Well I'm Jo Harvelle, it's nice to meet you. Thank you for looking out for Kevin. That was a really brave thing to do, stupid, but brave.'
Jo insisted that they tell her in detail what happened. And with every mention of a punch or a pull Jo's knuckles started becoming whiter and whiter. She obviously wanted to punch something, or someone. Castiel admired her scariness. They walked out of the building and made their way towards a big car. Castiel wasn't sure what would happen next. 'Is that your car?' Jo looked at it fondly. 'Used to be my mom's, but yes now it's mine. Don't look worried, I'm just going to take you to her. She's a school nurse, she's going to patch you guys up.' Castiel remembered that terrified faces of the bullies once Jo had mentioned her mom.
'Well that's very nice of you.' He managed to mutter before feeling his phone go off. He took a step back and saw the name Emmanuel on the screen. 'Hang on a second, I need to take this. It's my… guardian of sorts.' After a bit of fumbling he managed to pick the call up. He wondered if his uncle would sound worried or not. But the man simply said: 'Your therapist called, if you get back here could you tell the guy to stop calling my house phone?' Castiel nodded, but when the other line kept quiet he realized that his uncle probably couldn't see him. So instead he spoke: 'I understand.'
When he stepped into the car he swore he could hear something flutter behind him. But he didn't turn around, because he knew it was just his imagination playing tricks on him. If he wanted to start living normal he would have to stop looking over his shoulder.
Wings flutter
Jo's mother Ellen was a nice lady. She had stitched Kevin and Castiel up without complaint. Only grumbling a few times about how this situation wasn't acceptable. Although she was a nurse she looked more like an intimidating boxer of some sorts. But her kindness showed through anyways. When she was done cleaning the boys up she started chewing on Jo. Ellen seemed like a very protective mother. And Castiel felt like a part of him was going mad with jealously. That part of him (his pride, his ego and greed) found it unfair that someone like Jo deserved a mother but he didn't.
But in the end he simply smiled, because he knew those thoughts were irrational. Yes, all things that had happened, terrible or not were entirely on himself. You didn't play with fire without getting burned. Ellen offered them all some drinks, she and Jo lived together in an old bar. 'I had to close two years ago, business went bad. But you know I can stitch too. And children are violent. So it's nurse Harvelle at school alright?'
Castiel shared simple pleasantries with both Kevin and Jo. He mostly listened and sometimes he would reveal a bit of his old life. But they all noticed he was a locked book. In the end Jo brought Castiel home. She let out a low whistle when she saw the apartment complex. 'Nice place you got, did you tell your guardian what happened?' He nervously licked his lips, Jo could see that the subject made him nervous. She gave him a reassuring look. 'You should okay? What happened ain't okay. And my mom's going to make work of it.' A sad smile formed on her face as Castiel gets out of the car.
'I'm sorry your first day had to go like this. But we'll see you tomorrow right?' Castiel felt himself nod, Kevin moved closer to the window so he could speak directly to him too. 'Are you alright? You look a bit pale.' His eye was slowly swallowing up more and more. It would definitely become nasty the next couple of days. At Kevin's question Castiel quickly checked his watch suddenly feeling panic boil over. He'd forgotten his medicine. He'd forgotten the medicine! 'Uhm yes, I guess I just need to lay down for a bit.'
Jo nodded. 'You hit your head pretty hard. Make sure you'll be careful the next couple of days.' She warned him, her stern face resembled her mothers. 'I will. Once again thank you for the ride.' He waved at them awkwardly as they left. His head started spinning. He quickly took out the last pill of the day but felt frustration hit him. He had to eat something first. A few curse words left his mouth as he quickly made his way inside the building. Once he found the door to his apartment he started looking for the key. His head hurt, he felt dizzy. It were all nasty side effects to his medicines.
Once inside his apartment he started heating up some microwave food. The mundanity calming him down. He waited impatiently for his food, and once he could finally sit down to eat a voice startled him. 'What are you doing honey?' With a loud thud his fork fell down. Sitting on the couch was a lady with curly chestnut brown hair and blue eyes. She had a soft smile, and got dimples when she laughed. Castiel sat frozen in shock as he looked at the woman. 'You're not real.' His words came out breathless, his head was buzzing.
The woman stood up, slightly frowning. 'You know I was planning on making dinner for us. But if you wanted to eat pancakes you could have told me.' Castiel stared at his food, slowly reaching for the pill. 'She's not real,' He kept telling himself. He took a bite out of the pancake, swallowed the pill and when he looked up again she was still standing there. 'Go away.' He felt anger boil inside of him.
But Isabelle Novak simply smiled. 'I thought you liked my visits? It has been more than a year after all.' He was pretty sure he was going to throw up at the sight of his mother. 'I'm hallucinating. You're not real.' He kept repeating to himself, hoping he could filter out her voice. Yet he couldn't look away from his mother's face, afraid it would be the last time he'd seen it. He could feel his heart break as he saw her cheeky grin. She was so close to him, yet so far away. 'Your father and I miss you very much, when will we be able to see you again?' His mother desperately asked, her eyes incredibly sad.
It was like someone ripped Castiel's heart out of his chest. 'I'm so sorry mom. I can't, I won't let you do this to me again.' But his mother simply kept talking, she wore the same clothes she'd worn the night she'd died. 'But I miss you so much.' Tears filled in her eyes. 'Please come back to us, come back home.' With a loud shove the chair fell down and Castiel made his way towards his room, quickly he closed it and locked the door.
His breathing was ragged. His head spinning, his mother's voice kept screaming in his head. 'We miss you so much. Why did you do this to us? Come back home.' He stared at the window. His hands started twitching. He had to close the window before he'd really do something stupid. With a big gulp he removed himself from the door and quickly moved towards the window. He closed his eyes, afraid to look down and shoved the lock in place.
That night he had a nightmare once more. This time he dreamt of falling of the school building. The people under him had called the emergency too late. He'd felt the cold wind brush in his face as the people under him called for him to come down. But he didn't listen, because his mother was holding his hand and smiling. 'You are my little angel Castiel.' She whispered, eyes filled with tears and pride.
He looked at her, smiled and finally closed his eyes. 'It's just like flying.' She promised him. But once he took the leap he woke up screaming. His heart was beating like crazy, tears streaming out of his eyes as he had to remind himself that he was alright. He'd never gotten around to jumping. Because they'd seen him standing on that rooftop, and they'd talked to him. They'd been kind, for once he'd been treated like a human being. Castiel had never come around to jumping. Because he was pretty sure that it wasn't like flying. And he had no wings to carry him.
Wings flutter
The horrible first day got followed by a wonderful second day. He woke up, feeling oddly good. As he forced himself to eat breakfast (something he'd been struggling with in the past) he happily noted that he'd actually eaten decently this time around. When he opened the window to let the breeze in he found the weather to be a lot less muggy. The bird from last time wasn't around, 'maybe today will be a day for miracles.' He pondered as he appreciated the clouds outside. He was making himself ready to go to school, convincing himself that yesterday night had just been his head messing with him. His mother was long gone, and his medicines worked fine, he'd probably just hit his head a bit harsher than he expected during the fight.
He was in the middle of breakfast when someone knocked on his door. Castiel felt his face heat up, he was still in his pyjama. A bit nervously he looked through the peak hole. His uncle was standing there, seemingly uncomfortable. Slowly he opened the door, afraid for what might happen next. 'Good morning Castiel.' The man greeted him gruffly. The teenage boy stood there in confusion, wondering why his uncle would visit him at this time of day. He was still holding the box under his arms.
'So listen kid, I heard you got beaten up yesterday.' Castiel swore he could feel his heart fall into the deepest of pits. His uncle finally looked him in the eyes. 'And I heard you got beaten up for protecting someone. So I just thought…' he held up a box. 'You know it's just that…' he wasn't sure what his uncle was getting at. 'I just wanted to say you did a good job. And I was cleaning up some old mess when I found this. And I just thought that maybe you'd want it.' He handed Castiel the box, it was quite a heavy thing.
He held it up awkwardly as he checked the insides of the box. The first thing he got out of it was a picture, a picture of his old house. 'Used to belong to your mom and dad, Isabelle always wanted you to have her stuff when she…' Castiel felt an odd feeling stir in his stomach. 'I always kept it around. I guess you could do something useful with it.' The man straightened up, his face once again pulling a terrible expression.
'You can see it as a welcome home gift or whatever. But don't get any funny ideas. Might be your guardian on paper, but you take care of yourself boy. Castiel simply nodded, he wanted to hug his uncle, but knew that the guy was already doing his very best to make things work. I need to get to work and you need to get to school right?' He couldn't help himself. 'Uhm yes. But thank you, I appreciate it a lot. More than you can imagine.' The man turned around and left without saying another word.
Castiel slowly felt a smile run on his face as he looked at the content at bit better. Old paint brushes, photographs and video recordings were a few of the things that could be found in the dusty box. 'Today is really going to be a good day.' He once again declared as he started dressing. He found himself to be pretty pleased with the results. He'd dressed too formal yesterday and instead of a sweater vest he was now wearing a plain white t-shirt and a beige jacket. The thing was old and worn too many times. But he'd failed to find a good replacement in the shop when he went shopping. So he decided it would do, for now.
As he made his way over the busy streets he felt a bit sad at seeing the students who could go by car. He'd never gotten around getting his driver's license. And he was pretty sure his medication didn't allow him behind the wheel to begin with- Castiel thought he was going to die. One moment he was crossing the road, the next moment a black car almost ran over him, pulling the breaks at the very last moment.
He let out a yelp as he fell backward. 'Goddammit watch were you're going!' The guy behind the wheel called. He quickly scrambled up from the ground. 'The light is green!' He yelled back, making clear that guy had been the one to mess up. He couldn't see the driver clearly but he simply got the finger before the guy drove off. This wasn't the end of Castiel's blunders tough. When he finally reached the school grounds he managed to trip over a well-placed backpack.
And once he finally found his locker he was irritated and in pain. Maybe today wasn't a day for miracles after all. He once again struggled to open the damn locker. When he finally opened it (quite aggressively) his neighbour got stuck in the fire and got harshly hit in the face. 'Dammit watch it! What's your problem?!' The guy grumbled, Castiel turned to apologize but couldn't find the right words when he saw the guy's face.
Castiel was sure he was hallucinating, because he saw a bright breath-taking light around the guy in front of him. The light was reaching out behind him in swirls and curls of colours. He tried to find something to say, but at the sight of the light he felt strange. Like he didn't know how to use his mouth anymore, it wasn't his.
'Wait, you're the guy from this morning.' The boy's voice snapped Castiel back into reality. The guy in front of him was slightly bigger than him, with blazing eyes that made him stand frozen. The guy stood like a soldier and gave off an intimidating air. And he emits light. Castiel remembered the car that had nearly turned him into a pancake. 'You should be more careful on the road, if I hadn't seen you in time we would have spoken at the hospital.' The colours around the guy were warm, he realized.
They reached out to him, as if to protect him. 'You were worried.' The statement left him before he could think it through. The guy had pretty green eyes that didn't leave him for a second. 'What?' Castiel felt a surge of sadness at the light around the guy, it was very familiar, but he couldn't place it anywhere in his memories. It gave him an itch that he couldn't find. 'I won't tell your father that you took his car.' He promised simply to show good will. How he'd known that information was beyond him. He just knew.
'Hey Dean!' The boy named Dean had a confused expression on his face. As if he wanted to tell Castiel to fuck off, but he couldn't as Jo was at his side. 'Oh hey Castiel, see that you two have already met?' The gears were spinning in his head to keep up. So this was Dean, one of Kevin's and Jo's friends? The grumpy boy gave him a look over. 'You are the new kid aren't you?' Jo gave him a little kick, it was almost unnoticeable. 'Well nice to meet you,' he offered his hand, 'my name is Dean Winchester and you are?'
Castiel took the hand a bit hesitant. It was firm, warm and slightly rougher than most. It sent a nice warmth through his arm. 'I'm Castiel Novak.' He had completely lost his composure. As Jo told Dean about the quarrel of yesterday Castiel could only keep staring at the guy.
He looked like a normal teenage boy. With dark blond-brown hair, a relaxed composure (when he didn't look angry or intimidating) and when Jo told him the story he got a concerned expression on his face. He looked quite ordinary indeed. Yet no-one seemed to notice the light he was radiating. Which could mean two things: Castiel was losing it, or his medication was messing with his brain. There was also a third option, but he doubted that having a crush meant seeing that person glow.
Also: He wasn't crushing, he wasn't interested in guys. Although he could admit, objectively speaking that Dean was a pretty handsome male. With full lips, a nice build and a dust of freckles on his face that just begged to be counted- ahem, nope not attractive at all. Dean let out a little smile. 'Well sorry about being a jerk with the car and stuff. I'm not much a morning person without coffee.' Castiel felt pretty stupid, just nodding away, not really caring about the car stuff anymore.
'No problem, I almost pushed you of the stairs yesterday so we're even.' Dean laughed at that. 'Oh so that was you?' Castiel felt a stupid little smile form on his face. Dean seemed nice... Turned out that Dean was in fact one of his classmates. If he'd actually paid attention yesterday he could've seen him. The three of them moved themselves to their first class. This happened to be history: Castiel's favourite subject.
Here they were joined by Kevin. When Kevin arrived at school his eye had gotten a terrible deep purple colour. But he wasn't complaining. And when he asked why Dean had left earlier the guy simply raised his shoulders. 'Family business.' Castiel sat with these friends in silence as they laughed and joked. As there was a substitute teacher no-one paid attention. The teacher finally gave up and just let the students talk among each other, deciding to write the homework on the board. This was unfortunate.
This seemed to make both Jo and Dean very pleased, but Kevin and Castiel gave each other a sour look. Things went relatively well, all things considered. But were quickly ruined when his stalker stare finally got noticed. 'Do I have something on my face?' Castiel felt his face slowly heat up as Dean looked at him intently. He'd been staring at him every so often, he was convinced he'd been subtle about it. But apparently not. The light was still there, changing colour like a prism. It was slowly turning a reddish pink.
'Uh no, it's just that…' He couldn't find anything to say. 'Well yes actually.' He stared at the boy intently. But Dean simply kept quiet, staring at him with a questioning look. 'Are you going to tell me where?' He let out an awkward chuckle, but the Kevin wasn't following the interaction and Jo was talking to some female friends. Castiel snapped out of his pondering and nodded. 'Oh right, of course.' Before he could blunder himself to oblivion Meg became his saviour. 'Good morning Clarence. I see that you've met some people?' Meg flashed them all a quick smile.
The mood of the group changed immediately. There was an odd tension as things fell quiet. And he felt surprised when he saw Jo besides him tense up. 'Hello Meg.' Castiel was a bit surprised at the reactions around him, but he decided to turn his attention on Meg for now. She gave him a smirk. 'I trust you're finding your way around feathers?' He slowly nodded. 'Yes, thanks to you.' She nodded, seemingly pretty pleased with herself. 'That's good, but just for good measure-' she suddenly tugged at his hand and took out a marker, '-call me if you need anything?' She dropped his hand after she was finished writing her number. She winked and left, turning back to her friend Ruby. Castiel felt numb, but Jo slowly let out a snort. 'Well guess the demon bitch has an eye for you. Who would've thought so?'
The group laughed it off, telling him that he shouldn't pull such a worried face. Dean in the meantime, was rubbing his face in the hope to remove whatever had gotten stuck there. Luckily for Castiel he never got around to ask him the question again, because he was pretty sure he'd just stare at the light around the Winchester all day.
Wings flutter
The day went by almost perfectly. At some point when things became too crowded to Castiel's liking he quickly looked for a quiet place. Later when asked, he honestly told his new friends about his autism, and how it caused sensory overload. Yes friends. Kevin had basically implied the fact when he'd asked him to join them in going to the nearby lake for a swim. But he felt his head getting dizzy and shook his head. Maybe tomorrow, maybe another time, maybe never.
Dean's glowing light had slowly faded over the rest of the day, making him calm down. Because no matter how pretty or fascinating it looked, the boy was pretty sure it was wrong. At the end of the day both Jo and Kevin decided to leave quickly in case the weather indeed turned sour. (Since the weather cast was talking about rain.) Castiel had already said his goodbyes and was making his way across the street when Dean suddenly called him back: 'Wait a second!' He couldn't hear him over the sound of talking students tough.
'Castiel! Wait up!' Dean had an annoyed look on his face as he finally turned around. He didn't know whether he liked Dean or not. He was foul-mouthed, short tempered and rash. 'Jesus man, don't just walk always like that. I think they were right about that big storm, I thought I could give you a lift?' Dean gave him a small little smile, his eyes looked unsure. Castiel was indeed not sure whether he liked the Winchester or not. But moments like these show-cased him that Dean was probably pulling on a tough act for self-preservation. He was pretty sure his surprise was obvious on his face, but Dean just kept staring.
'Dean are you alright?' Dean's smile became wider, a bit cockier. 'Yeah sure, but do you want a lift or not?' They stood there at the parking lot, both suddenly very interested in the trees. Why are we suddenly so awkward? Castiel wondered confused. A few minutes ago they'd been just fine, communicating without any trouble. Maybe it was the fact that Dean wanted him to answer the question. And for some reasons words couldn't be formed on his lips. He'd had a rough day, he wasn't sure he could handle much more communication.
'Yes I'd like that.' He finally managed to spit out some useful words. But he was blabbering, almost not able to make himself sound decent. 'Great, better get your sorry ass in my baby.' This confused him but he followed the other teen anyways. Dean showed of his car with pride. It was a black one, and it looked old. I really need to learn more about cars, he thought miserably. It was the first time today that he saw so much enthusiasm on Dean's face. Castiel stepped in quietly, making sure his seatbelt was done correctly.
'So what do you think?' Dean was still looking at him with anticipation. 'It looks nice, doesn't your dad mind that you use it?' Dean's facial expression slowly started to go from happy to confused and amused. 'He sorta hates it when I steal it yes. But it's my baby. A beautiful 1967 Chevrolet Impala.' He patted the steer wheel lovingly.
'How did you know it was my dad's anyways?' Castiel tried not to look shocked or bewildered, despite that fact that he still didn't know how he knew. 'A good guess.' He muttered under his breath, staring at the dark clouds outside. He knew things weren't all sunshine and rainbows. He knew that going back to his normal life would take time, but he decided to ignore the negative for as long as he could. This involved lying and pretending to be an ordinary normal teen.
As they drove Dean played some classic rock. 'You mind?' Dean asked, looking at him when they had to stop for a red light. 'Not at all.' Castiel quickly answered, suddenly aware that he was alone with the strange boy. Who he hardly knew. 'I'm a bit surprised,' Dean admitted his fingers moving along with the beat. Castiel tried to keep down a wry smile. 'Surprised about what?' Dean didn't seem nervous at all now that he was driving, he looked perfectly in his element. 'They said you were all kinds of messed up. But I'm not really seeing it.' Castiel felt lost at words.
'Should I take that as a compliment?' Dean grinned, making his insides feel mushy. He took their last turn and slowed down until they were in front of Castiel's place. 'Well you should. I heard you had it rough but you seem nice… ish.' The two boys looked at each other for a second, both smiling. 'Well you seem nice-ish too.' Castiel said, someone feeling all light and giddy. 'Thank you for the lift, I appreciate it.'
A bit reluctant he got out. Dean opened the window, suddenly pulling up his manly act again. 'No problem, see ya around.' Dean wanted to drive off when suddenly he had a thought: 'Hey quick question. Is it pronounced Kastiel or Castiel?' Castiel frowned. 'It's Castiel.' He knew he didn't have a very common name, and while it was easy for some people, others found the name to be rather tedious. Dean's frown disappeared as suddenly his eyes lit up with an idea. 'Well would you mind if I shortened it?'
He'd had a few nicknames over the years. Usually things like Cassie and Cassandra. 'That depends.' He deadpanned. Dean seemed to be thinking. 'What about Cas?' He gave him a questioning look, waiting for approval while wearing a wicked grin. 'Cas sounds fine. But then I get to call you, Dean.' Dean snorted with amusement. 'You already call me Dean.' Castiel-no Cas tried not to roll his eyes. 'I mean your phone number.'
In the silence that fell you could hear a penny hit the ground. Or maybe it were the first drops of rain. Cas felt his face slowly heat up more as Dean tried to find back his composure. 'Uhm I mean as in: I think it's handy for me to have your phone number. In case I've got any questions. You seem familiar around here.' Cas started to quickly chat it away. Moving his arms in an attempt to sound reasonable. He didn't want to scare the other boy away.
Dean let out a forced chuckle, he suddenly looked awkward and his face was quickly getting redder and redder. 'Yes of course, for help and stuff. I knew that!' He pulled at Castiel's arm, Meg's number was still show-cased on it. Dean mumbled something incoherent as he finally found a pen. Without any further ado he quickly wrote his name and number on the palm of Castiel's hand. Cas tried to ignore the warm feeling spreading through his fingers at the touch.
Once the whole thing was written down the rain started getting intense. 'You should go inside, it's really starting up.' Dean quickly warned him, a warm smile still lingering on his face. Cas quickly nodded, suddenly not able to find the right words to express what he was feeling. 'I actually feel kind of warm.' He blurted out. He tried to face palm, hoping for a hole to swallow him. Dean laughed, the sound was welcoming and nice. 'Alright then.' He left him with a simple goodbye:
'Until next time Cas.'
It sounded like a promise.
