Chapter 2- Day One
Gossip girl here. Your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Constance High, where a king and queen are back to reclaim their throne for the new year. Some students have returned, some are new to the school, and some are here for their last year. But the real question is who will survive until the end. Welcome to the games, loves.
Castiel was waiting by the side of the school, watching his two friends run up to him quickly, Chuck; with his glasses running down his nose, his shirt untucked and his books falling out of his arms, and Meg, her wavy black hair tied up in a bun and she was trying very hard to help Chuck with his things.
"You look like you got hit by a car." Castiel was grinning as they stopped, all of Chuck's things finally toppling over to the ground. Castiel got down with the two of them to help pick up his things and put them in his very old bag.
"I keep telling him to get a new bag." Meg rolled her eyes.
Chuck let out a sigh. "Some of us can't afford new bags." he gathered what he couldn't fit inside his schoolbag and held his books to his chest.
Castiel felt his heart give a little squeeze. "Chuck, if you'd let me talk to my mom..."
"No, really, it's fine, honest," Chuck said quickly, letting out one of his shaky laughs. "Let's just get this day over with, yeah?"
"Alright." Castiel and Meg exchanged weary glances before following their friend past the gates into the courtyard of the school. For a moment, all three of them stood there, frowning at the building. Meg not so much, she always had a tender place in her heart for Constance, not so much for the education, but because it was her mission to get to the top of that throne.
Castiel thought the whole thing was utterly ridiculous. He went along with it though, mostly because Meg scared him.
On the steps, waiting for the bell to ring was the royal family.
Anna, the queen of Constance was looking over all her subjects, her red hair in a beautiful wave, curling expertly over one of her shoulders, with a black headband to keep it away from her face. By her right hand side, was her best friend, and her second in command, Jess. Her blonde hair was perfect and curly, her body was ridiculous and her face looked innocent enough which was precisely why she was able to get away with murder. Both were seniors, unlike Castiel and his friends. The minions of royalty were varied in their grades, a little bit from everywhere. The most dangerous minion in, Castiel's opinion was Meg's older sister, Ruby.
One would think that since her sister was a part of the royal squad, then Meg would automatically be in. However, because Meg was friends with people like Castiel and Chuck, she was being put through a series of trials and tests to see if she was worthy by Anna to be deemed a future queen. Anna had to choose someone before she graduated this year.
On the other side of the railing, were the men of the throne. The king of the whole thing, Dean Winchester, was leaning against the railing looking uncomfortable as usual in his uniform. He was frowning, speaking low to his two other friends, Balthazar and Gabriel, his sidekicks, as he attempted to fix his tie.
Balthazar and Gabriel were both fairly attractive, but they were both arrogant pricks as well so it cancelled out all the rest for Castiel. Balthazar was a blonde where Gabriel was a brunette, and Balthazar taller than both Dean and Gabriel. He wore a lot of v-necks, where as Gabriel was a man who focused more on his hair. Each of the two had their strengths, unlike Dean, whose entire physical being seemed to be strength.
It was like watching a movie.
"Well," Meg gave them looks. "I guess I'll see you guys later."
"Right." Castiel said, because they probably wouldn't.
She waved goodbye and walked up to the stairs, where Anna looked down at her as though she were just an insect. Dean looked over at Meg and smiled kindly, and then his eyes turned to where she had walked from, and they settled on Castiel.
If there was a way the world could stop, even for just a moment, now was that time. This was the first time Dean had ever looked at Castiel in school, which, in this high school, that was a big deal. Even from a distance, Castiel could see the green in Dean's eyes, the ones that looked like the exact shade of a brilliant forest.
Even more surprising, Dean lifted up his hand and gave him a wave.
Castiel grinned stupidly, then tucked his head, blushing madly. Jesus.
"Are you alright Cas?" Chuck asked.
"What? Yeah. Sure." he murmured, grabbing Chuck's arm. "Come on, let's go."
"Wait for them to leave," Chuck pleaded quietly. "I'd rather not endure the taunts of Balthazar and Gabriel."
Castiel nodded. "Sure. Come on, let's go sit down."
They walked over to a table that was empty and sat at it, Chuck looking through his things to look for whatever it was he had forgotten that day. Castiel watched him for a while, but that was until the whole courtyard went silent. For a moment, Castiel thought he missed the bell, but when he turned his head, he saw what was really going on: Sam Winchester had arrived.
"Dean." he said, coming up to the steps.
"Come on guys," Dean pushed himself off the railing.
"Dean, stop." Sam snapped, grabbing his brother's arm. Dean yanked it away and looked like he was ready to punch Sam out. Sam in turn, taller but scrawnier, looked like he was ready to take the hit. "Not here, not at school. Don't be like this."
Dean put his arms out, like he was waiting for a challenge. "Come on Sammy. Why don't you tell everyone why you left?" he looked around the courtyard, knowing he had an audience around him to take the bait. When no one said anything, all waiting in anticipation, Sam stepped down a step, basically admitting defeat.
He looked to Jess. "Jess, please."
Jess turned on her heels and ran inside the building, Ruby and the minions following her. Anna was the one who crossed her arms and stared Sam down, her head high and her back straight.
"Stay away Sam." she warned him.
Spotted: The Winchesters in the Wild West. Except here, I'm the sheriff, and I'll decide when the shots really go off.
Castiel knew that Sam Winchester was a smart guy. He knew that because Sam was rich, last year he had flaked school all the time, but still managed to get his attendance marks, and as though that wasn't enough, somehow managed to complete all his homework and pass all his tests, and the few times he was in class, always called out the right answers.
So it never made sense to Castiel why Sam had always taken to sitting in the back of the class, or never showing up at all. Castiel couldn't even remember the last time he had seen Sam in school on the first day.
But here he was, sitting just two seats in front of Castiel in the row next to him. Taking notes, running his hand through his hair, and occasionally calling out an answer.
Chuck probably hated the whole thing. Castiel tried to catch Chuck's gaze but his friend was busy writing down notes like a fury, his unspoken and apparently one sided rivalry with Sam, reaching impossible levels.
Castiel , like everyone else in the school, did wonder what Sam had done to Dean. It seemed incredibly personal, and from what Castiel knew about the Winchesters, it had to be something big to get thrown out of New York for the summer. The Winchesters ruled the upper east side, and did not just leave New York to go to a lesser state. If they left the island, it was to go to Europe.
When the bell rang, ending first period, Castiel bolted up from his seat and found himself moving towards Sam. He was faintly aware of a few people whispering about it, because someone like Castiel does not simply go up to a Winchester. He wondered briefly what these people would say had they known that Dean and he had shared a moment the night before.
Shared a moment. Jesus.
"Hey, Sam." Cas smiled, nearly putting a hand on Sam's shoulder, but then thought better of it.
Surprisingly, when Sam looked up, he had a kind smile on. "Hi."
"Hey," he said again. "Listen, um, my friend Chuck and I, we're going to this pizza place for lunch, you should come, if you want."
Sam raised his eyebrows in surprise, but he seemed very touched by Castiel's words. "That sounds fun." he said. "I'm in."
"Cool," Castiel said lamely. "Awesome, so, meet us in the courtyard at lunch."
"Alright, see you then."
"Yeah, see you."
"Hey," Sam said. "It's Castiel right?"
"Yeah."
"Weird name." but he was smiling.
"Yeah," Castiel grinned, then before he could use the same word for a fourth time, handed Sam a wave and went on his way. The moment he stepped out of the door, Meg grabbed his arm much too tightly and dragged him down the hallway, with Chuck behind them, looking over his shoulder like they were running away from an axe murderer.
Or gossip girl. Which, in this world, was just as dangerous.
"Are you insane?" Meg hissed. "Are you trying to make my life hell?"
"What?"
"You just made friends with the black listed Winchester brother, while I'm trying to get into a group in which his ex-girlfriend is very important!"
"Are you kidding me, they won't even care. You won't be there anyway!" Castiel hissed, lowering his voice as everyone was filing out of their classrooms.
"But I'm associated with you." she scowled. "Cas, please, please, please, stand him up or something."
"I'm not doing that." Castiel rolled his eyes. "Get a grip, Meg."
"Ugh!" she stamped her foot like a child. "You don't understand anything!" she stomped away, huffy, and Chuck stood next to Castiel, looking at her go.
"So, we're having a date with Sam Winchester?"
"Yup."
"Sounds horrifying."
"Yup." Castiel sighed.
Dean held Anna's hand in the hallway, feeling out of place, annoyed and fake. He hadn't been like this before, he had been able to deal with the whole thing before Sam...before it all went to hell...
Now Anna knew his secret, Sam was back, and god he had acted like such a prick in front of Castiel. That was the last thing he had wanted.
"Anna," Ruby came running up to her in a hurry. She looked sideways at Dean, and then hesitated.
"Go ahead," Anna allowed her. "Whatever you have to tell me, I'll tell Dean anyway."
Ruby bit her lip but then proceeded, "Sam is going out for lunch with Meg's two friends, Chuck and Castiel; the two really poor ones."
Dean frowned, feeling overwhelmingly angry. "I wouldn't say really poor." he muttered. But then when Anna looked sideways at him, he added. "I don't get the big deal, he's staying away like we wanted."
"Yeah, but he's gone to the club of a member's baby sister." Anna informed him. "This is unacceptable. Ruby, Meg will not be punished on the count of this, so you be sure to tell her that. It's not her fault she can't control those two idiots."
Dean let go of her hand, Anna looking at Dean in surprise. "I gotta go." he mumbled. "Class."
Anna didn't say anything as Dean walked away. He walked quickly, hoping no one would notice him or ogle him, but obviously none of the above happened to him. He turned a quick corner, looking over his shoulder and then when he turned his head back straight he walked right into someone.
"Crap!" he exclaimed, watching his victim fall to the floor. "I'm sorry."
It was Castiel who looked up at him, his blue eyes shining brilliantly. So many thoughts were whirling around in his head, but Dean ignored them all. He ignored gossip girl, secrets, Anna and Sam. Right now, Castiel was here, and Castiel made him forget things. He had done that at the bookstore, make Dean feel so at ease. He was hoping that their second encounter would be a similar one.
But then Dean remembered they were at school, and Castiel was going out for lunch with Sam, and Dean had to keep up appearances.
"Sorry," he said, helping Castiel up. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Castiel smiled lightly. "How are you, Dean?"
Dean wondered how Castiel could make his name sound different from other people, like Castiel ran out of breath every time he said it. "I'm..." Dean shrugged. "I don't know, I guess."
Castiel nodded. There was a moment of awkward silence before Castiel said. "I don't know what happened between you and your brother." he shrugged. "But, if you want to talk about it, I'll listen."
Dean couldn't help but smile. "Thanks. I might take you up on that."
"I hope you do." Castiel blurted quickly.
Dean smiled wider. "How about after school? We can get a coffee together, maybe hit a book store."
Castiel grinned back, looking surprised but eager. "That sounds good."
"Right," Dean said. "See you." he began to walk away and then turned around, calling out. "Oh, and hey, Cas, have fun with my brother today."
Uh-oh. Little Castiel from Brooklyn, already in the middle of a battle. Doesn't he know that booking both dueling Winchester brothers in the same day is an act of war? Dean might not act on it, but we all know that Queen Anna won't take it lying down. She told Sam to stay away, but now there's a third party involved. And we all know how much Anna loves being the only important party in Manhattan.
"I'm sorry sir." the man behind the counter said. "We can't accept your money."
Sam frowned, looking at the crisp twenty in his hand. Castiel and Chuck exchanged glances, Chuck already in a bad mood because Castiel had to pay for him, and now Sam was having trouble too.
Castiel walked forward and took out his wallet, putting his pizza on the side. "I have money."
"You misunderstand me." the man said. "I can't serve this man." he turned away but not before giving an apologetic look.
Sam laughed under his breath. "Anna."
"Are you joking?" Castiel asked, grabbing his pizza and turning around with Sam. He walked over to the table that Chuck had found, sitting with him. "She cannot have that kind of power."
"She does, believe me." Sam said darkly. "She probably paid him off."
"Well I won't let you starve." Castiel gave him one slice of his pizza. "You're lucky I bought two."
Sam snorted. "You're lucky Anna didn't apply this no service thing to you too." he took a bite and gave Castiel a look of pure thanks. He was clearly hungry. "Especially since you're going out with Dean tonight."
"What?" Chuck asked. "Since when did you even become social."
Castiel frowned at him. "You're confusing us." he pointed between the two of them. Chuck flipped him off. "We're just going to look at some books. I ran into him yesterday."
"He's trying to make sure you take his side." Sam said. "Since he found that someone wants to be friends with me."
"I don't think so." Castiel furrowed his eyebrows. "I don't think your brother is so evil."
"You don't know anything about my family." Sam took another bite. "Just be careful."
Castiel shrugged. He wouldn't let anything ruin his night with Dean tonight, especially not some stupid war.