The green eyes were bright with life and laughter. Castiel took in the whole face that held the green eyes. It was most definitely a handsome face, the most handsome upon which Castiel had ever laid eyes; a chiseled jaw, some not unpleasant stubble, a straight nose, perfect cheek bones, and tan, slightly freckled skin. He wore a bright smile that reached his eyes. His hair was brown and short, like the bottoms of fresh baked cookies, parted on the side giving him that clean cut look.
Then Castiel swallowed the rest of the man, almost drowning right there in his doorway. He wore a fitted sweater, green like his eyes and complementing his skin. Castiel could tell he was a muscular man, perfectly in shape. He wore faded jeans that clung to his hips, drawing attention to them, and dark brown boots that made him look rugged. He also wore confidence like a second layer of skin. They had accidentally locked eyes when Castiel opened his door, and now Castiel was frozen as if those green eyes belonged to Medusa rather than this Adonis.
The Medusa/Adonis hybrid jutted his chin towards Castiel in form of a greeting, and smiled.
"Hey man! I'm Dean. I guess you're my new neighbor." Dean leaned against his doorway, crossing his arms, accidentally flexing. His deep voice sent shivers through Castiel's body.
"Hello, Dean," Castiel replied, thanking the universe he sounded normal. "My name is Castiel."
"Hi, Mr. Winchester!" A gaggle of giggling girls passed between them. Dean smiled at them and a fresh, high pitched giggle fest commenced.
"Oh my gosh!" Castiel heard one of them squeal. Dean for his credit didn't pay any attention to it. Castiel guessed it must not have been a new or strange occurrence for the man, not with those looks. Dean kept greeting all the students and faculty members that passed by. Some of the taller male students would bump their fists against his, more girls giggling as he greeted them, most waved and greeted 'Mr. Winchester.' Almost none of the passersby noticed Castiel, standing quietly in his classroom doorway. It was as if the classroom across the hall was the East, and Dean were the sun, so bright and attracting attention. The first bell rang and shook Castiel out of his comatose state. His students would find his classroom soon, and when the second bell rang, school would officially start. Castiel went back to his desk, shaking off his encounter.
He picked up Romeo and Juliet.
'I HEART POSSE' Dean read on Johnny Phoenix's tee shirt. The 'O' was a Sherriff's badge, and a silhouette of a group of cowboys was pictured beneath the words.
"Nice shirt," said Dean to Johnny as he passed. Johnny strutted with more confidence after his comment. Dean laughed and looked up at the door swinging open across from him. Dean registered blue eyes on a pale face and jet black hair. Dean greeted the new teacher casually and smiled. Poor guy's gonna be the center of attention for the next few weeks, and call him psychic, but Dean was pretty sure this guy wasn't the type who would enjoy that.
"Hey man! I'm Dean. I guess you're my new neighbor," Dean called out, leaning against his door frame. He unconsciously crossed his arms.
"Hello Dean," answered Blue Eyes. "My name is Castiel." Dean was surprised to hear such a deep, gravelly voice come from the skinny, delicate looking man.
"Hi, Mr. Winchester," sang a chorus of school girls as they passed him. He smiled at them and they broke out into fits of giggles. He greeted more students as they passed by, fully aware that Castiel was still staring at him. He would have made more small talk, but couldn't quite bring himself to look into those intense blue eyes again. Oddly, he didn't feel strange or violated or creeped out by the staring. Maybe because he could tell this guy was an oddball, but also seemed like he was mostly harmless. And hey, Dean Winchester was always a fan of the underdog. The first bell rang and Dean was about to wish the new teacher good luck, but he was already out of sight when he looked up.
Oh. Well, maybe he hadn't been staring after all.
Rinnnggg! The shrill bell sounded, marking the end of fourth period.
"Enjoy the rest of your first day! And if no one is late for the rest of the week, no homework until Monday!" The class cheered as they packed their things.
"Goodbye, Mr. Novak," said one of the braver Freshmen girls. Castiel smiled at her and she blushed like, well, a schoolgirl. Her friends giggled with her as they left his classroom. Castiel shoved his laptop into his messenger bag and followed his class out.
Perhaps Castiel just wasn't paying attention, or his steps were too large, or the wave of students escaping their classrooms was too overwhelming, but whatever it was Castiel somehow found himself only inches away from Dean Winchester's face, barely a breath separating them.
"Personal space, Cas," joked Dean in a lighthearted tone. Castiel smelled the mix of mint and coffee on his breath.
"I apologize," said Castiel, taking a step back.
"Lunch time! It's my favorite time of the school day," Dean informed him, Castiel naturally falling into step with him. "Bacon cheeseburger and pie on the lunch menu today." Dean licked his lips and for some reason this made Castiel's stomach do flips.
"That sounds enticing," said Castiel hoping to attach the flipping feeling to hunger. "I actually brought a lunch," he confessed.
"I don't know man, usually cafeteria food blows, but I swear on my baby this is the best burger in the tri-county area." Castiel's heart jumped to his throat. He stole a glance at Dean's bare left hand. His baby?
"You're acting like some love struck girl," Castiel chastised himself.
"I suppose that sounds better than the microwave dinner I bought from the supermarket this morning."
"Damn straight!" agreed Dean. "Come on." He navigated through the maze of halls and students with Castiel in tow. The large cafeteria was bustling. The wide windows allowed the South Dakota sun outside to flood the room with bright sunshine while the students and staff filled it with chatter and life. Castiel's chest constricted. "Dude, you look like a scared Freshman."
"I am a scared Freshman," admitted Castiel.
"Relax. You're not going to have to sit alone in one of the bathroom stalls. You'll sit with me," said Dean. Castiel blushed at being so transparent, but grateful, too, at Dean's unnecessary kindess.
"Thank you."
"Forget it," Dean waived off. They stood in line, red trays sliding along on the silver counter top. One of the students behind Castiel knocked into him, and like a domino Castiel knocked into a very solid Dean. Castiel noted the hardness of Dean's body, a bolt of electricity coursing through his body at the accidental touch. Dean for his part didn't seem to notice the bump at all. Dean ordered for both of them, 2 bacon cheeseburgers, fries, and 2 rather large slices of apple pie. He expertly flirted with the lunch ladies as they went. Dean winked, joked, and laughed so naturally and effortlessly that Castiel couldn't help but find it. . . what would be the word? Adorable? Endearing?
Sexy. The word would be sexy.
When they made it to the cash register, Castiel pulled out his wallet, but Dean waived him off again.
"I got it. Think of it as welcome to Samuel Colt High School gift."
"No, I couldn't—"
"Hey Pamela," said Dean, charm switching on automatically.
"Dean," the black haired woman replied. Castiel could see the obvious flirtation flickering in her dark eyes. Dean pulled out some bills from his brown leather wallet, but the Pamela woman shook her head.
"On the house, big boy," she said. "You gonna introduce me to your handsome friend here?" Pamela directed her eyes towards Castiel, unabashedly looking him up and down.
"This is Cas. Cas, this is Pamela. Watch out, though. She'll eat you alive."
"It is a pleasure to meet you," said Castiel.
"Wow! What a voice," said Pamela. "I can just imagine what it would sound like in the middle of—"
"Okay! We'll see you later," interrupted Dean, a big smile plastered on his face.
"See ya later, Cas," said Pamela.
"Geez, Cas you're going to do just fine at Sioux Falls," said Dean as they walked away.
"What do you mean?" asked Castiel as Dean waived to a circular table that sat a group of teachers.
"The ladies are gonna be throwing themselves at you." They reached the table and Dean plopped his tray down, turning the chair to face him and sitting down backwards on it. Castiel stood firmly a ways away from them. Dean looked back at him when he didn't sit down, and patted the chair next to him. Castiel's feet moved forward on their own accord. "Hey guys, this is Cas."
The table greeted him. Castiel recognized Lisa and she winked at him again.
"We met earlier," Lisa said.
"Hi, I'm Sam," said the rather large, fit man that sat on Castiel's left. He had long brown hair, a chiseled jaw, a slightly wide, but attractive nose, and kind, brown eyes. "I'm Dean's brother."
"Hello, Sam," said Castiel.
"I'm Charlie," said the skinny redhead sitting across from Castiel. She wore oversized glasses in a thick black frame, and a tee shirt with a blue police box on it.
"Hello, Charlie. My name is Castiel."
"Wow, cool name!" said Charlie.
"Thank you."
"I'm Ash," said the skinny man with the mullet sitting next to Charlie. "If you, uh, need anyone to show you around, you know, maybe put in a good word with the ladies, let me know. I'm kind of the town ladies man around here." Ash took a large swig out of his milk carton, leaving a chocolate mustache. The other teachers laughed and rolled their eyes.
"Hello, Ash. Thank you for the offer. I will consider it," said Castiel with such sincerity that the rest of the table erupted in loud laughter. Castiel found it pleasing that he had made them laugh, though slightly unclear as to how he had done so.
The first day of school went by quickly for Dean. Everything was so familiar and light at Samuel Colt High School. It was easy for him to meet the new students, the old students, have lunch with his friends, joke around. . . The most exciting thing about the day was meeting that new teacher whose classroom was directly across the hall from his. The guy seemed nice enough, a little quiet, a little formal in his speech, but nice all the same. Maybe he'll mix things up for a while. At least Dean hoped so. In fact, the guy must have been handsome because by the end of the day he had been receivig more than his fair share of giggling schoolgirls and school teachers. Dean wasn't sure if Cas realized it, though. He wasn't forward like Dean himself, not silently confident like Sam, but Dean wouldn't exactly say the guy was a nervous wreck like Chuck. He just seemed to be perfectly comfortable being who he was. Hey, if that's not confidence, right?
Dean mused to himself as he locked his classroom door behind him. Most of the students were still hanging around, saying hellos and cathing up about their summers. Dean looked over to Cas's classroom and found it was already empty. Maybe Cas and him could hit up a couple of bars and pick up some chicks together. Not that he needed a wingman, but it was always fun to have company. Something told Dean Castiel wasn't the bar scene kind of guy, and that just made it all the more fun.
He made his way to the parking lot, itching to drive off and grab a beer already. Sammy better not be taking his sweet time today. Dean spotted the black 1967 Chevy Impala given to him by his dad. He kept her clean, pouring as much time into her as she demanded. See, Dean was a great boyfriend after all, despite what others might say.
Dean saw Sam's moose-like frame leaning against his baby. He was chatting it up with someone Dean couldn't see, but guessed it was the owner of the black BMW M3 he had parked next to this morning.
". . .Seriously, this weekend. If you don't have any plans, you should come," Sam said. Dean walked up to the door of his Impala and turned the lock.
"I will consider it," answered a gruff voice.
"Hey Cas," said Dean leaning against the frame of his car as Sam got in the passenger seat.
"Hello Dean," said Cas. They locked eyes and both unaware they were staring until Sam cleared his throat.
"Ready Dean?"
"Hold your horses, Sammy. See ya tomorrow, Cas." Those blue eyes still intently gazing at him.
"Goodbye Dean." Dean got in the car, turning both his a/c and AC/DC on full blast, and peeled out of the parking lot. Sam looked at him questioningly at the sound of the tires squeeling. Dean ignored him and looked in his rearview mirror at Castiel who's head was slightly tilted, staring at the Impala as it drove off.