Part Two
With Balthazar's help Castiel managed to price up the entire box of records by the time it came round to closing the store. As Castiel finished cleaning up the counter Balthazar resorted to sitting on Castiel's stool and making scathing comments about anyone who walked past the stores windows despite Castiel telling him to stop several times.
"It's like she wants the whole world to think she's a highlighter pen." Balthazar said as a woman in a neon pink dress and leggings walked past the store.
"So they kicked you out of England for being a complete bitch right?" Castiel asked as he finished dusting the nearby shelf. For someone so blasé about things Benny had some strong issues about dust. "Are you finished criticizing the whole of downtown Lawrence?" he then asked throwing the dust rag at Balthazar.
"I might have something to say about the rip in your jeans." Balthazar said with a shrug as he caught dust rag.
"Don't bother. Come on, I'm going to lock up for Benny then we can go." Castiel stored the cleaning stuff back behind the counter and swatted Balthazar on the arm to get him to move. "Pass me the keys will you?" he asked nodding to where the keys were hung up. Balthazar, is a shocking display of actually being useful for once, handed the keys over. "Thanks." Castiel said. Balthazar grinned brightly as he hopped off the stool and followed Castiel out the store.
"So where to now Cassie?" Balthazar said as they walked to Castiel's beaten up old car. It was a hunk of junk and broke down more times than it actually worked but it was the only thing Castiel could afford and it was easier having a car, no matter how shitty, than not having one.
"Bed." Castiel said trying to stifle a yawn. He'd been up since the early morning and now all Castiel could think of was falling face first onto his bed and sleeping for a week.
"Kinky, yours or mine?" Balthazar said with a wink.
"Mine and I'll be alone." Castiel said rolling his eyes.
"Oh you spoil sport." Balthazar huffed leaning against Castiel's car and waiting for him to unlock the door. "We could go to the Roadhouse for a while; I hear there's a pretty decent band playing tonight."
"If we went then the only thing you would see all night would be the parking lot as Ash never lets you in, plus I have to study for a test on Wednesday."
"You're lucky you're a fox because you, Castiel Walsh, are a real nerd." Balthazar said sliding into the car.
It would have only taken them ten minutes to drive from the downtown area of Lawrence but Castiel couldn't help taking a detour to drive past the large houses near the outskirts of Lawrence. Balthazar claimed it was some weird addiction that Castiel had but he really couldn't help it. The houses were so beautiful and huge compared to the run down two bedroom house Castiel lived in that he couldn't help but be in awe of the houses.
"Do you ever wonder what it's like in one of those houses?" Castiel said looking over to one of the largest houses on the row. The house was a large turn of the century plantation styled structure. It was the kind of house that Castiel's mother would have loved to live in. It even had flower boxes underneath the large windows. "That one is my favourite," He said nodding towards the house.
"It's probably too big and full of marble." Balthazar said sniffing. Castiel knew he would have rather stayed downtown but seeing as Castiel was the one who was driving Balthazar couldn't complain that much.
"I don't think so. It's probably full of light with high ceilings and amazing acoustics." Castiel said smiling wistfully at the house. "Whoever lives there probably doesn't have to care out gas bills or the electricity being cut off. They could walk around and have the whole house lit up like it Jay Gatsby's house." Balthazar stared at him blankly at that comment.
"You lost me, who is that?" Balthazar asked.
"He's a character from The Great Gatsby. If you did the reading assignment for American Literature you'd know that." Castiel said digging Balthazar in the ribs. "Anyway, Jay Gatsby would throw these huge parties at his mansion in the hope that his lost love Daisy Buchanan would come to one. Nick Caraway, the narrator of the novel, always said the house was full of light as it was some sort of carnival or it was Christmas." Castiel explained. "F. Scott Fitzgerald based some of Gatsby's house on Oheka Castle in Long Island and he based West Egg, the 'new money' side of Long Island, on Great Neck."
"You know too much about things, I hope you know that."
"There's nothing wrong with knowing about books." Castiel said shrugging.
"Trust you to make a book analogy." Balthazar said chortling.
"I'm just saying that's what the house reminds me of." Castiel said still looking over at the house. Most of the lights were on, two cars and a bicycle were in parked in the driveway so clearly there were people home, and Castiel felt that his book analogy was actually quite accurate.
"Underneath of that sarcasm and contempt you're really just a big, nostalgic romantic aren't you?"
"Maybe I just really like the house." Castiel said quickly.
"Nice save." Balthazar snorted. "Come on, this is enough creepy stalking of houses for one day. Didn't you say you needed to study instead of being cool?"
"I'm never cool Balthazar. I'm never cool." Castiel chuckled more to himself than at Balthazar.
"Please, you're the coolest person I know Cassie and don't forget that." Balthazar interjected. Castiel wanted to point at that Balthazar's comment was as far from the truth as you could get but instead he started the car back up and carried on driving home.
Castiel dropped Balthazar off then returned home. Like always there were no lights on and his father's car wasn't in the driveway. Charles Walsh was probably at the local bar getting started on his fifth beer and continuing to forget that he actually had a son at home. Castiel let himself into the dark, empty house and his mind went back to his conversation that afternoon with Dean. Dean probably lived in some huge house, got along with his parents and never had to return to a cold empty house. He probably had a cook to make his dinner and instead of making crappy Kraft Mac'n'Cheese like Castiel was now at least attempting to do.
"Fuck sake." He muttered under his breath as he rested against the grimy kitchen counter. One stupid conversation with Dean Winchester and now he was all Castiel could think about. How pathetic could he really get? "Get a grip Walsh. Get a grip."
While the cafeteria was where most of the students hung out at lunch time Castel preferred sitting outside in the courtyard. There was less chance of having his tray knocked over or people spitting in his food. For rich kids the people at his school weren't very creative and had terrible manners. The courtyard also didn't smell like day old pizza and fries.
"So this is where you spend your free time." Castiel heard someone say as he chewed on his cheeseburger. Looking up he wasn't that surprised to see Dean standing over him. He swallowed his cheeseburger quickly before Dean could say anything else or sit down.
"Yeah well it doesn't smell like self-importance and overpriced cologne out here." Castiel said shrugging his shoulders
"Wow, you really hate everyone at this school don't you?" Dean asked with a cocked eyebrow.
"They haven't really given me any other option have they?" Castiel replied shrugging. Dean snorted loudly as he sat down next to Castiel. "I didn't say you could sit down." Castiel huffed though he was rather glad Dean had sat down, it would have been awkward with Dean just standing there.
"Well I prefer not to eat standing up." Dean said pulling his own cheeseburger out the paper bag in his hand.
"What, no caviar?" Castiel asked.
"Dude no way, most food here is awful but you cannot beat the burgers. And I know enough about caviar, well basically what it is, to never want to eat it. Sorry if that ruined half of the images you had of me." Dean said smiling and for the first time in a long time Castiel saw the carefree nature that had drawn him to Dean back in ninth grade.
"Like I had any images in my head of you." Castiel said with a snort.
"So…no British sidekick today? Aren't you two joined at the hip?"
"Balthazar is in detention."
"What a rebel." Dean said snorting. Castiel frowned but before he could say Dean cut it. "That was a joke." He said.
"It was a pretty lame joke."
"Jeez man, I really have my work cut out with this don't I?" Dean said rolling his eyes.
"Well two conversations and you walking into me don't really make up for years of us never saying two words to one another do they?" Castiel pointed out.
"Well how about this, you know my favourite song but I don't know yours. What is it?" Dean asked.
"Fuck…that's the worst question to ask me." Castiel said finding that he was laughing out loud. "I have about hundred." He explained and Dean nodded his head in what seemed like agreement.
"Oh man I get that; who's your favourite singer then?" Dean asked.
"Ok that is easy, Bob Dylan. He has to be one of the greatest songwriters I have heard. No matter who or where you are his lyrics will always be so relevant." Castiel said having to reel himself in slightly or he knew he'd end up rambling about music.
"Favourite band?" Dean
"Did you ever tell me yours?"
"It's safe to say it's Led Zeppelin. You?"
"Um…Jefferson Airplane. I know they're old but my mom's favourite song was Comin' Back To Me and she used to play it all the time when I was going so I guess I grew up liking them." Castiel said. "Do you have that one song that you hear and it just takes you back to when you were a kid? You only have to hear a few chords and you're instantly a little kid again...do you have that?" Castiel asked looking over to Dean and being amazed to see a wide smile on Dean's face.
"Yeah I have that. You know The Beatles' song Hey Jude? My mom sang it to me all the time when I was a kid, it was the only song that used to send me to sleep, and every time I hear it now I feel like a kid again. I know it's stupid but whenever I hear her just humming it around the house I can't help but smile because of the nostalgia." Dean said. "I guess that's why you work in a record store…that feeling and all."
"Yeah, I get to surround myself with as much music as I can stand. It's sort of my dream job to be honest; I couldn't imagine doing anything else." Castiel said as a small smile crept across his face. "So The Beatles huh? I guess you're not as awful as I first thought."
"That's good to know Walsh seeing as you thought I was an arrogant asshole originally."
"I didn't…I didn't…Ok I did but that was probably because we hadn't actually spoken before but I don't now..."
"And all it took was a conversation about The Beatles." Dean said with an easy grin.
"God you really think you're smooth and charismatic don't you?" Castiel asked shaking his head. "You're not but at least your taste in music doesn't completely suck."
"That's the highest form of praise I'm going to get from you isn't it?"
"Yeah pretty much." Castiel said before digging back into his cheeseburger. Dean smiled but Castiel could tell that there was something on his mind, it was written all over his face and Castiel had to wonder yet again why Dean Winchester would want to spend his time out in the courtyard when he could be inside with his friends. "Why are you seeking my praise?" Castiel asked after he'd swallowed his burger and placed the last bite back onto the tray on his lap.
"What do you mean?"
"Why are you trying so hard to prove you're not an asshole?"
"Because no one really wants to be known as an asshole?" Dean offered. Castiel just rolled his eyes and went to return to his cheeseburger. "Ok…maybe it's because you're a pretty decent guy and I didn't like the fact that you thought I was a jerk."
"How could you tell I was a pretty decent guy if you wanted said two words to me before yesterday?"
"Because you didn't try to fit in." Dean said and Castiel was shocked by how bluntly he said it. "Look this is going to sound pretty forward but...there's this party on Saturday night at my friend Victor's house and I wondered if you wanted to go with me." Dean said. The smile on his face was easy going but Castiel could tell from the look in his eyes that he was deadly serious.
"But I'm not a girl...and I'm not rich." Castiel said.
"Wait...you're not?" Dean said though his sarcasm was apparent. "I know that Castiel, do you really think that I care about any of that bullshit?" Dean asked. This threw Castiel for a complete loop; one he was under the impression that Dean was completely straight and secondly…well this was Dean Winchester asking Castiel to spend Saturday night with him.
"I think you should." Castiel said. Dean even sitting next to him was big so Dean inviting him to a party...well that was unheard of. Castiel only had three months left and then he was graduating
"Well I don't." Dean said shrugging. "If you don't want to then that's fine, it was probably really forward of me but-"
"No…I mean I want to go with you even though we'll probably have to listen to God-awful music while being surrounded by stuck up rich-"
"Is this going to turn into a long ass monologue? Because I have a Political Science class in like half an hour and I have to hand in a paper." Dean said giving Castiel a slight nudge.
"Yes I'll go with you…but if the music is lame then you'll never hear the end of it." Castiel said
Saturday night come around at shocking speed which would have been fine if Castiel had actually prepared himself mentally for going out on a quasi-date with Dean Winchester. Or maybe he should have told Balthazar about said date because his best friend was still completely in the dark about the whole thing. Castiel had told Dean to pick him up from Trax for several reasons; the first being that he was working that day and wouldn't have had time to go back home, secondly a pep talk from Benny was always needed in situations like this and thirdly because there was no possible way Dean was seeing the shithole that Castiel lived in.
"You're going to put yourself into an early grave kid." Benny said as Castiel glanced over at the clock hanging on the far wall for what seemed like the millionth time. It still said that it was half past six just like it had said the last three times Castiel looked at it.
"Have you been drinking too much coffee or something?" Balthazar asked flicking through Castiel's copy of Rolling Stone magazine.
"No, I'm perfectly fine." Castiel said which would have been convincing if his voice didn't go up two octaves so it now sounded like a normal human's voice instead of a chain smokers.
"Sure…is that why you brushed your hair for once?" Benny asked whacking Balthazar on the legs when he tried to rest his feet on the counter.
"Sothern Comfort is right, you look…groomed. What's up with that?" Balthazar asked. Castiel purposely avoided this question and turned to Benny.
"I don't even know what I'm doing Benny." He said looking down at his outfit which was pretty much what he wore all the time apart from the fact that it was actually ironed for once.
"Wishful grooming by the looks of it kid." Benny said. "Normally I'd find this amusing but if you don't calm down you might have a heart attack or somethin' like that. Decent workers are hard to come by so try not to die on me." He added giving Castiel a reassuring smile. "And don't drink anymore coffee or I'm switching to decaf."
"You wouldn't" Castiel said in mock horror.
"Oh I would. At least your powers of sarcasm aren't lost."
"I actually would die if I lost those."
"Yeah you would actually have to develop some customer service skills instead of just scowling at people."
"Well they shouldn't ask questions like 'Is the new album by The Bangles any good?'" Castiel pointed out.
"You got a point there." Benny said with an agreeing nod.
"Hello…still lost as to what you two are actually talking about over here." Balthazar said still flicking through Castiel's magazine. Castiel rolled his eyes and still didn't say anything. There would no doubt be some sort of explosion once Balthazar found out where Castiel was going.
"What time is Prince Charming coming by anyway?" Benny asked looking at the clock. They had only just closed the store and Benny probably wanted to head off though he was being pretty chill about Dean meeting Castiel at the store.
"I said I would have finished cashing up and locking the store around seven." Castiel said.
"Yeah thanks for locking up tonight kid. Listen, you enjoy the party no matter what." Benny said dropping the keys to Trax into Castiel's hand. "Ifit goes south then Andrea and I will be at the Roadhouse ready to hear you rip those rich kids new ones." He added. Balthazar looked up from his seat behind the counter and frowned.
"Ok Cassie, what is Grumpy the Southern Bear on about?" Balthazar asked.
"Hey Queen Elizabeth, behind the counter is for employees not for mooching teenagers." Benny said pointing at Balthazar. Balthazar sighed loudly and hopped from his seat to sitting on the counter.
"Now I'm technically on the desk, not behind it."
"I'm going to ban you for here if you're not careful." Benny muttered before looking over to Castiel. "Have fun tonight kid; see you on Monday if it all goes well." He said nodding his head before shooting Balthazar one last disgruntled look and heading towards the employee exit.
"Seriously, what was Benny talking about? I thought we were going to the Roadhouse tonight. I dolled myself up!" Balthazar said motioning to his usual low neck t-shirt which he'd teamed with a garish blazer, tight pants and brightly coloured, though odd, socks.
"If we were it would technically be me getting in their while you sat outside for five hours because , as I remind you every time you want to go, Ash never lets you in and he probably won't even after you turn twenty one because you hold him his hair was stupid that one time." Castiel said deliberately avoiding Balthazar's question because he knew he'd get yelled at.
"It is stupid and if I was back home living with my nana then I could, legally, be drinking and getting into bars. This whole country is very backwards." Balthazar said. "But stop trying to change the subject! Castiel, will you just tell me what's going on?" he then asked. Ok things were serious when Balthazar called him by his actual name instead of Cassie. No matter what he said Balthazar would yell at him so it was better to just tell the truth…probably.
"I'm going to a party at Victor Henriksen's house with Dean Winchester." Castiel said after a long pause. He could feel the temperature in the room chilling as soon as the words came out his mouth.
"None of that statement made the slightest bit on sense." Balthazar said staring at Castiel with a look of utter confusion. "Say that again."
"I had lunch the other day with Dean and he asked me if I wanted to go to a party with him…and I said yes." Castiel said. He could see anger in Balthazar's face and he knew full well that his best friend was about to explode.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Balthazar snapped leaping from the counter. "No but really, are you being serious right now?"
"Yes…I know you think he's an ass but once I started talking to him I realised he wasn't actually that bad." Castiel said. Dean was kind of egotistical but there was something about him that was…different, it was intriguing.
"I can't believe you're going to a party with Dean Winchester. Are you completely out of your mind? He's one of the guys who have been shitting all over us for years! He's just like all the other rich assholes in this town and he'll do nothing but mock you and treat you like total crap! Why can't you see that?"
"Why are you making such a big deal out of this?" Castiel snapped. Balthazar was his best friend, he would always be, but he couldn't understand why he was getting so angry over something that actually made Castiel kind of happy.
"Why am I…why am I…" Balthazar practically babbled shaking his head with what looked like frustration. "You don't see it do you? You really don't see it do you?"
"See what Balthazar? See what?"
"You don't see me…I've always been there and I've been crazy about you since like the fourth grade but you've never seen me like that at all!" Balthazar cried looking on the brink of tears. Castiel stopped and it felt like all the air had left his body. Balthazar was right, he'd never seen it. He'd been with Balthazar since they were little kids and he'd never even seen it. He'd always assumed that Balthazar saw him the same way he saw Balthazar; as a best friend. Clearly he'd been wrong.
"Balthazar…I'm…I'm so sorry." He said hating the stricken look on Balthazar's face. "I guess you're right, I never saw it. I never saw it and I'm sorry that I never did but…but you're my best friend and I love you but…just…not like that." Castiel said wincing at his words but he knew it would hurt Balthazar even more if he didn't tell him the truth.
"I'm not particularly concerned with whether or not you love me, because I lived to love you and... and I just can't love you anymore. I can't do it anymore because you're going to go off with Winchester and you don't even realise that he's going to shit all over you because you're not like him!"
"Not like him? He's a guy who loves music and would do anything for his family; I think we're pretty alike!" Castiel said becoming angry again.
"You don't have money! You don't drive some fancy car or have an accountant and you don't live in some huge mansion surrounded by butlers!"
"So I can't go out with him just because he has money? That's ridiculous Balthazar! If I don't go out with him just because he's got money then I'm just as bad as the people who have mocked us for not having money! Don't you see that?" Castiel said stating to shake with anger.
"Fine…fine Castiel. You go out with Mr Money and when you're feeling real low and shitty, and your heart is splattered all over hell because Dean Winchester has dumped you like he's going to do once he gets over what is clearly a phase, don't look to me to pump you back up 'cause...'cause...'cause maybe for the first time in your life I won't be there to pick up the pieces!"
"I can't believe you're actually saying this to me." Castiel said as he stared at his best friend. He couldn't believe that Balthazar was really doing this right now, that he was really saying all of this. "You know what; Dean will be here in a minute. I think its best that you're not here." Castiel snapped. "We're officially closed anyway so you shouldn't even be in here." He added folding his arms across his chest. Balthazar looked back at him, a furious look on his face, and then scoffed loudly.
"Believe me, I don't want to be here to witness the car crash that is Dean Winchester trying to act like anything but the over entitled bastard he really is. He doesn't date people like you Castiel, he dates rich girls like Bela, Lisa and Tessa and the sooner you realise that the better." Balthazar barked as he stormed past Castiel and out the employee's exit.
As the door slammed Castiel felt himself deflate. Deep down Balthazar was probably right because Dean was most likely just doing this because he'd run out of girls to date or because he thought Castiel was a challenge but there was a part of Castiel that didn't believe that at all. That small part believed that Dean really did like him and that was the part he would cling to tonight because, surprisingly, he actually liked Dean…he really liked Dean.
Castiel sank onto his stool behind the counter and sighed heavily. He shouldn't have been so selfish to not see Balthazar, to not see how Balthazar felt about him but really what could he of done? He loved Balthazar, he really did, but as a best friend and nothing else. Castiel rested his head in in his arms and probably would have fallen asleep if it weren't for the knock the store's front window. His head whipped up, thinking for a moment that it might have been Balthazar but that was stupid because Balthazar always came in through the employee's entrance just to annoy Benny. It was Dean, now walking towards the door with a smile on his. Dean knocked on the front entrance and gave Castiel a small wave through the door's window. There was no going back now Castiel thought as he walked to the door and let Dean in.
"Hey…are you ok?" Dean asked as the smile slipped from his face and was replaced by a frown.
"Me? Yeah…yeah it's nothing. I'm fine." Castiel said picking up the keys Benny had left him. "I just need to lock up the back for Benny then we can go."
"Are you sure you're ok?" Dean asked sounding genuinely concerned. Castiel nodded his head but that was the easiest thing to do. He could have explained what had happened with Balthazar but that would have just opened huge can of worms.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Can we just go now?" Castiel asked and Dean nodded his head. Castiel sighed with relief as he guided Dean out the back of the store. He wasn't going to let this get to him; he really wasn't because tonight was about him and Dean and that's what he had to remember.
There was something wrong with Castiel but he clearly didn't want to talk about it so Dean wasn't going to pressure him into saying what was wrong. It did put a dampener on the evening though Dean wasn't going to let that become obvious. For a wild moment Dean thought that maybe Castiel's friend had said something to him, he had always had enough things to say about Dean and his friends in the past, but maybe that was just Dean being paranoid.
Castiel was nearly silent as they walked to Dean's car and Dean racked his brain for something, anything, to say. They couldn't just stay in silence for the rest of the night or it would officially be the worst date of Dean's life, made worse by the fact that he wanted this date to actually go well. He opened the door for Castiel, receiving a small smile in return which was something at least, and quickly got into the car before Castiel was given a chance to realise that this was probably the stupidest thing he'd ever agreed to and left Dean all alone.
"You wanna pick a tape?" Dean asked nodding towards the box of tapes at Castiel's feet. Music always seemed like a good place to start with Castiel. If Sam were here he would have made such a fuss and brought up the whole 'driver picks the music' philosophy Dean had when it came to his car but this was Castiel; if Dean picked the song tape then he would be mocked until the end of time.
"Are you afraid to pick something truly shitty?" Castiel asked picking up the box and rummaging through until he selected a tape. It was scary how accurate he'd been even if he thought it was a joke.
"Like there is anything shitty in there." Dean said trying to cover up his slight blush. Castiel merely scoffed and inserted a tape into the stereo. After a moment the B side of AC/DC's Back in Black started up and Dean couldn't suppress the smile that spread across his face.
"Good choice?" Castiel asked and in that moment Dean thought that maybe Castiel was trying to impress Dean just as much as he was trying to impress Castiel.
"Yeah…good choice Cas." Dean said. There was clearly something still on Castiel's mind as Dean pulled out the parking lot, it was written all over his face, and Dean knew there was probably nothing he could do to make things better. He did know how he could make the evening worse though and that was by making Castiel spend the evening surround by Dean's friends. "Listen…how about we just skip the party?" Dean suggested. The party would be obnoxious and full of idiots; it was the last place Castiel probably wanted to be so Dean wondered why he'd even agreed to go there with Dean.
"What?" Castiel asked looking over at him and frowning.
"Honestly it's just going to be a lame party and we'd probably spend most of the night looking for one another in Victor's house or avoiding people." Dean said trying desperately to sound blasé about the whole thing.
"Because you wouldn't want them to see me?" Castiel said practically pouting which shouldn't have been remotely cute. Or maybe Dean shouldn't have thought that it was cute.
"Hell no, it's because I wouldn't want to talk to them because they're all dicks." Dean said quickly before Castiel thought that Dean would be embarrassed to be seen with him. "How about we go somewhere where you won't get roped into a conversation about the stock market or Madonna?"
"I guess I know somewhere we can go, if you're up for it." Castiel said finally smiling. That damn smile was going to be the death of Dean if he wasn't careful. It was probably because he hadn't seen Castiel smile often, smirking seemed to be more his forte, but when he did smile it seemed like everything around him brightened up just because of his smile.
"Yeah I'm up for it, wanna give me directions?" Dean asked.
"Yeah sure, we're not too far away anyway." Castiel said. "That's if you're ok with sticky floors, questionable mullets and loud music."
"Dude you just described my heaven." Dean chuckled. He knew that Castiel probably thought he was more at home in stuffy clubs while wearing pastel polo shirts but he really wasn't. If Dean could get away with it he would probably spend all his time downtown in dank bars slowly going deaf thanks to loud, decent, music.
"Jesus…you really aren't what I expected at all." Castiel said proving Dean's theory partially correct.
"Well that's why we're here isn't it?"
Dean had never stepped foot in the Roadhouse bar before, mainly because it was downtown so none of his friends would step foot there, but he'd always heard about great bands that played there. He parked up and felt a sense of gladness that his car fitted in with many of the others in the parking lot. His dad's BMW would have stuck out like a sore thumb.
"You sure about this? We could still go to that party" Castiel offered.
"You think a place like this is going freak me out?" Dean asked.
"No, I'm afraid I'll lose my street credentials by being seen with you in here."
"That cut me real deep there Walsh."
"You'll live." Castiel said with a shrug. He seemed to have cheered up slightly which was a good thing at least. "Come on, you got fake ID?"
"Dude please." Dean said pulling out his wallet.
"Don't flash the American Express around too much or I really will lose my reputation."
"The American Express is at home. Tonight I'm just a high school kid with twenty bucks to his name."
"Of course you are Winchester, of course you are." Castiel said and his familiar was back and bigger than ever. If it wasn't possibly for Dean to outwit that damn smirk he was going to end up having to kiss off Castiel's face instead. The latter was the more tempting out the two options anyway.
"Are you going to stay here and smirk at me all night or are you planning on getting out the car." Dean asked and he swiftly received a light punch on the arm from Castiel. Smirking himself he climbed out the car and was soon joined by Castiel.
"Hey Ash!" Castiel called as they neared the main door. A skinny guy with a seriously questionable mullet who looked in his mid-twenties grinned and high fived Castiel.
"Hey man! Who's your friend here?" the guy asked looking Dean up and down.
"Ash this is Dean, Dean this is Ash. Don't let the hair fool you, he's actually a decent guy."
"Hey this is a style unlike your mop." Ash said running a hand through his hair. "It's all business at the front and party at the back."
"If you say so Ash." Castiel said grinning.
"Wait…Dean…are you the rich guy Balthazar was complaining about earlier on?" Ash asked. Castiel's grin quickly disappeared and the look that replaced it was the most pissed off look Dean had ever seen on a human being and it was actually pretty hilarious. He never realised lips could become that pursed.
"Yeah I guess so." Dean said warily.
"Well in that case…name Led Zeppelin's 1975 album." Ash said with a look full of concentration.
"Dude that's easy, Physical Graffiti." Dean said snorting. Castiel rolled his eyes at Ash and wore a bemused expression.
"1979?" Ash said narrowing his eyes.
"In Through the Out Door." Dean shot back. A smirk spread across Castiel's face, thankfully replacing the pissed off expression he wore before, as Ash sighed loudly.
"You're going to lose this one Ash, his favourite band is Zeppelin and he's almost as obsessed as I am when it comes to music." Castiel said.
"Fine, you've passed the test. Proceed." Ash said waving Dean and Castiel inside.
"There's a test?" Dean asked cocking an eyebrow.
"There is if you want to hang out with Walsh over here." Ash said giving Castiel a bright smile.
"Thanks for that Ash." Castiel said sarcastically grabbing Dean by then arm and pretty much pushing Dean inside. "Sorry about that, Ash is - well he's Ash but he's harmless." Castiel said. Castiel's hand was still on Dean's arm guiding him into the bar and Dean was pretty glad of it, the place was absolutely packed out and pretty dark. "I'm going to get some drinks, you find us a table." Castiel yelled over the music. "What do you want?" he asked moving closer. His lips brushed by Dean's ear as he spoke, sending a jolt of electricity down Dean's spine.
"Just a beer" Dean replied. Castiel nodded and let go of Dean's arm before walking over towards the bar. Dean was sorry for the loss of Castiel's touch. Shaking his head, and silently telling himself to get a fucking grip, Dean looked around the place for a free table and spotted one not too far from both the bar and the stage. He had neared the table when he heard name being called from across the room. Looking up he was amazed to see Benny of all people.
"Winchester? What are you doing in this shithole?" Benny asked striding over and punching Dean lightly on the arm.
"I…I'm here with Cas." Dean said nodding towards the bar where Castiel was stood.
"Really? You passed Ash's test then?" Benny asked. Castiel came walking towards them holding two beers and stopped when he saw Benny. "Hey Walsh, the rich kid was Winchester? Well aren't you a well of secrets." Benny said with a huge bear-like grin.
"You two know each other?" Castiel asked handing Dean one of the bottles of beer. Benny laughed loudly causing several people to look over towards them.
"This punk has been coming into the store since I brought it and keeping us in business. He's the reason I managed to get my car last year." Benny said. "What happened to the party?" Benny then asked. Dean wasn't surprised that Castiel had told Benny about the evening, they worked together after all.
"I didn't think Cas deserved to be surrounded by a bunch of rich assholes." Dean said. Benny laughed loudly and shook his head.
"I don't blame you there Winchester." Benny said giving Dean a smile before he looked over at Castiel. "Balthazar's here by the way. What did you say to the kid? He looks like someone ran over that damn bike of his. Sulkin' a baby."
"How the hell did Balthazar even get in?" Castiel asked. Obviously Balthazar hadn't passed Ash's test.
"I think Ash felt sorry for him." Benny said with a shrug. "There he is" he said nodding over to where the British kid Dean always saw Castiel with was walking over to them. He stopped when he saw Castiel and Dean standing next to one another.
"Dean you know Balthazar." Castiel said before he took a large gulp of his beer. Honestly Dean felt like doing the same as the look Balthazar was giving him could have frozen water.
"Not that well, hey man I'm Dean Winchester." Dean said trying to sound as friendly as possible towards the guy giving him seriously questionable looks.
"Oh I know who you are." Balthazar said with a snap. Ok then…Dean thought. "So…you're here. What happened? Did your party run out of caviar or something like that?"
"Balthazar." Castiel said warningly. The exasperated look on his face made it obvious he was used to playing mediator.
"Well I was just wondering why Mr Moneybags was slumming it with us commoners." Balthazar shot back.
"Balthazar I mean it." Castiel said. When it looked like Castiel was going to move towards Balthazar, Dean placed a hand on Castiel's arm to steady him.
"It's fine Cas." He said to Castiel before looking at Balthazar. "Dude, don't you think you're acting like an asshole right now?" Dean asked. "Just leave it."
"Leave it? Why couldn't you just leave it?" Balthazar snapped. Castiel slammed his, now half empty, beer bottle on the nearby table and looked down right furious.
"I think you should all leave it alone." Benny said looking uncomfortable.
"Balthazar just stop it, you're acting like a real jerk." Castiel snapped.
"You're pissing Cas off and making a scene." Dean pointed out because it really did look as though Castiel was a moment away from exploding.
"Oh I'm pissing 'Cas' off am I? Walk waltz in after one lunch with Cassie and think you know him? Who the hell do you think you are?" Balthazar asked.
"Balthazar would you like us to leave, is that it?" Castiel asked.
"Very much so." Balthazar said folding his arms across his chest.
"Fine then." Castiel snapped. He turned to Dean and motioned towards the door. "Come on, let's go somewhere else." He said actually taking Dean's hand in his own. Dean wasn't sure if it was because he wanted to or because he wanted to piss of Balthazar but either way didn't care because it felt damn good. Castiel shot an apologetic look at Benny then guided Dean out the bar. "I'm sorry about that." He said once they were outside and walking across the parking lot.
"It's fine Cas." Dean said and he really meant it. As long as Castiel wasn't upset he really didn't care what Balthazar had said to him.
"It's not, it's really not." Castiel said firmly sounding genuinely upset. "This was supposed to be this great evening and all that has happened so far is Balthazar yelling at me…twice!"
"Twice?" Dean asked with a frown.
"He kind of freaked out earlier on when I told him I was spending the evening with you." Castiel said. That wasn't too surprising given the reaction Balthazar had given them in the bar.
"That's why you were upset earlier on?" Dean guessed.
"Yes…I guess so. He didn't time his first freak out so well. Then again I probably should have told him sooner so it's my own fault I guess." Castiel said as they reached the Impala. "I'm sorry this evening has been so shitty."
"Dude it's not even eight o'clock, the evening isn't over." Dean said. There was no way he was going to Victor's party with Castiel this upset but he did know somewhere that they could go. "I know where we can go. It's not crowded, the music will be awesome and a guarantee of no one yelling at you." he said with a smile.
"Really?" Castiel asked. "You haven't been completely freaked out by this evening so far?"
"Dude, it takes more than a pissed off Brit to scare me." Dean said snorting. "Come on, you can even pick the music again." He added. The smile Castiel gave him at the moment was even worse than his damn smirks. It was safe to say that he was going to be kissing Castiel Walsh by the end of the evening and he didn't care who knew that.