Pamela was right. Castiel was SO screwed.
He fully realized the truth of his best friend's words when he showed up to work Saturday morning.
It wasn't bad enough that Castiel had fallen for the biggest jackass he had ever met. That he had to see him every day at school. No, said jackass had to make matters so much worse by applying for a job at Castiel's work, the place he had been working since he was fifteen, and get the position. Castiel hadn't even been aware that there was a position open at the store. Oh, but you can bet when he walked in to work that day Dean "I'm so smug it will make you vomit" Winchester was right there to enlighten him.
"Novak, you know Dean Winchester? Don't you? He's my new mechanic," Bobby Singer informed Castiel as he entered the front office.
Taking time to assess the situation before responding, Castiel could only guess that Bobby was in the middle of showing Dean around the store and that was why they were near his work station.
Castiel worked at Singer's Auto Shop as a cashier. Bobby, who was a crotchety old man with a warm heart, took pity on Castiel when he was fifteen and gave him the job even though he knew next to nothing about cars. Thankfully, running the register and keeping the store clean were two things Castiel could and did do to perfection.
"Yeah. I know him. He's my neighbor," Castiel mumbled, looking down at the counter.
He had just clocked in and already he was having a crappy shift. And it was all Dean Winchester's fault.
"Ah, I see. Well, do me a favor and show Dean around the rest of the store. I just remembered I've got some bills that need to get done before the day is over," Bobby said, and before Castiel could protest he was locking himself away in his office.
It was the lamest excuse for getting out of walking Dean around the rest of the store Castiel had ever heard, but what could he do? Bobby was the boss after all.
Castiel's heart was thudding against his chest as his eyes moved from Bobby's closed office door to land on Dean.
And much to his surprise, Dean was eyeing Castiel oddly, standing there with his hands in his pockets.
Swallowing hard, Castiel noticed that Dean was wearing his typical faded jeans with holes in the knees and a tight black short sleeve shirt.
Of course he had to show up here of all places looking drop dead gorgeous, Castiel thought to himself.
Suddenly he heard the sound of Dean clearing his throat, snapping him back to reality.
Focusing on Dean, who was still looking at him but now with raised eyebrows, Castiel took a deep breath, regaining his composure. Lord, he must look like an idiot to Dean. Always gawking at him.
Pull yourself together, Novak! Castiel thought, scolding himself mentally.
Shaking his head, he pushed the embarrassing thought from his mind, determined to stop acting like he was star struck.
"You gonna show me the rest of the store like the boss asked or you just gonna stare at me all day?" Dean asked finally, breaking the silence between them.
"I'm not staring at you," Castiel lied.
"Whatever you say, sweetheart," Dean replied slyly.
Castiel then motioned for Dean to follow him, trying with all his might to ignore the fact that he had just called him 'sweetheart.'
It didn't take long for Castiel to show Dean the rest of the store. The facility wasn't that large to begin with. First, he took Dean to the garage, where he would be spending most of his time, and then showed him around the front desk just for the sake of wasting time.
"There is one more part of the store you might have to access, and that's the storage basement," Castiel told Dean as he led him down a dimly lit hallway. The hallway led to a flight of stairs that went downward about ten steps to their destination.
Personally, the storage basement scared the hell out of Castiel. It was small and dark, even with the light on, and always gave him goosebumps anytime he had to go down there.
"It's always cold in here for some reason," Castiel informed Dean as they both reached the bottom of the stairs. "And the lights flicker every now and again."
"Huh," Dean replied, looking around. "Any scratching noises like rats?"
Castiel, who was caught off guard by Dean's inquiry, shot him a confused look.
"Yeah…How'd you know that?" Castiel asked.
"Lucky guess," Dean said, shrugging the whole exchange off like it wasn't a big deal.
In response, Castiel titled his head to the side, narrowing his eyes. He wasn't buying Dean's lame answer.
"Don't give me that look," Dean barked, which startled Castiel. "Now, if you don't mind I'd like to get out of this creepy ass basement."
And before Castiel could say anything Dean was headed back up the stairs. Not wanting to be alone in what Castiel considered the scariest place he'd ever been, he darted up the stairs, hot on Dean's heels.
Shockingly, when Castiel reached the top, Dean was there waiting for him.
"Are we copacetic now? Or is there another sketchy room I need to see?" Dean asked, putting forth no effort to hide his contempt.
"Copacetic? That's a big word, Dean. Who taught you to use a dictionary?" Castiel spat, letting his temper get the best of him.
After all, Castiel had been dealing with Dean's bullshit for the better part of eleven years now and sometimes he let his anger cloud his judgment. Plus, they were in a professional setting. It wouldn't kill Dean to put his personal feelings aside while they had to work together. If Castiel could do it, then Dean definitely could.
"Watch your mouth, Novak," Dean warned, stepping closer to Castiel.
"Or what?" Castiel challenged, refusing to be intimidated.
Castiel's bravery seemed to throw Dean off, but only for a moment. In a flash, Dean had Castiel by the collar, yanking him forward. With his free hand Dean balled up his fist, preparing to punch Castiel, when they both heard the bell at the front desk ring. Luckily for Castiel, a customer had entered the store, ringing the bell when he or she had come across the empty front desk.
"This isn't over," Dean threatened, shoving Castiel as he released his collar.
Castiel, not wanting to press his luck, kept his mouth shut but could not resist the urge to roll his eyes at Dean's words.
He then pushed passed Dean, making his way to the front desk as quickly as he could. The customer who had rang the bell, Mr. Carpenter, was standing in the waiting room of the front office, his hands folded across his chest impatiently when Castiel finally arrived.
"Sorry about that, sir. I was showing a new employee the store," Castiel explained with a warm smile, receiving no pleasantries in return.
With his heart beating rapidly in his chest, Castiel focused on controlling his breathing, burying thoughts of Dean and his threats deep down in his mind. Covering up his fear and disappointment with professionalism was something Castiel had become quite good at considering the majority of the town disliked him.
"I'm not interested in your excuses, Mr. Novak. I just want to pick up my car," Mr. Carpenter said rudely, scowling at Castiel.
"Of course, sir. I just need you to sign this form," Castiel said, handing the man a clipboard and a pen, "and you'll be ready to go."
Taking the items, Mr. Carpenter signed the paper grumbling under his breath.
"Where is Mr. Singer?" Mr. Carpenter asked, handing the clipboard back to Castiel. "I want him to know about you neglecting your post."
"He's in his office. I'll get him for you." Castiel sighed, reluctantly heading out from behind the desk to get Bobby.
It was always the same. No matter how hard he worked to earn respect and acceptance, Castiel was targeted because of his sexual preference. Most people knew Castiel's sexual orientation and most people, like Mr. Carpenter, were always looking for ways to make his life harder because of it. If it had been anyone else who had kept him waiting for the short amount of time Castiel did, Mr. Carpenter would not have thought anything of it. But because it was Castiel, it was unacceptable.
Trying his best not to let his emotions show, Castiel was about to knock on Bobby's office door when he heard Dean's voice from behind him.
"Excuse me, Mr. Carpenter?" Dean said, causing the older man to look over at him.
Castiel then turned around to see the two of them shaking hands.
"Dean, how are you son? How's your dad?" Mr. Carpenter asked pleasantly.
"I'm doing well, sir. And the old man's just fine," Dean replied with a smile.
"Good to hear," Mr. Carpenter said, his mood visibly brightening.
"Sir, just to let you know, I'm afraid I'm the reason Castiel was away from the front desk earlier," Dean confessed suddenly, causing Castiel's jaw to hit the ground.
"Oh?" Mr. Carpenter asked, looking slightly to the side, narrowing his eyes at Castiel.
"Yes sir, he was showing me around the store. Today is my first day working here and Bobby wanted me to have a feel for the place," Dean explained, shooting Castiel an unreadable look.
"I see. No trouble, son. I think you will be a nice addition to this place. The service here now is…average at best," Mr. Carpenter said, shaking his head at Castiel. "I'm sure you'll be able to improve it by a long shot."
"Thank you, sir." Dean chuckled, noticing that Castiel was trying desperately not to explode with rage. "Your car is right this way," he added, pointing toward the door that led out to the garage.
"Thank you, Dean," Mr. Carpenter said with a smile before following Dean's directions and heading out the door.
Once Mr. Carpenter was gone, Dean quickly grabbed the keys to his car which Castiel had laid out on the desk earlier.
Then without a word, Dean gave Castiel a shit eating grin and a quick wink before joining Mr. Carpenter in the garage and leaving Castiel alone in the front office, completely bewildered.
XXXX
When Castiel got home from work that day at 5 p.m., his first order of business was to call Pamela and tell her about his crazy day.
"So you're saying Dean Winchester threatened to kick your ass and then turned around and saved it?" Pamela asked once Castiel had given her every last detail.
"Well, in theory, yes. I mean Bobby gets BS complaints about me all the time. He usually tells the customer he'll handle it and then just talks crap about them when they leave," Castiel explained, holding his cell phone up to his left ear as he stretched out onto his bed.
"I knew I like that old man." Pamela giggled, making Castiel smile.
"Yeah, he's a good guy," Castiel agreed. "But back to my point. Dean Winchester smiled and winked at me after stopping Mr. Carpenter from ripping me a new one."
"Calm down, Cassie. You sound like a thirteen year old girl with a case of puppy love. Oh Pam, he smiled at me, swoon!" Pamela mocked.
"For one, I loathe you. And for two, don't call me Cassie. You know can't stand that nickname," Castiel said bitterly, making Pamela laugh.
"Damn, Dean Winchester got you all riled up huh?" Pamela teased.
"Earth to Pamela! Dean Winchester, captain of team We Hate Castiel just did something nice and WINKED AT ME. This is serious!" Castiel said, yelling into his phone.
"Okay, okay!" Pamela yelled back. "I'm just messing with you. I know this is serious. So what do you think? Was he actually being nice or do you think it's some sort of sick game he's playing?"
Crap. Pamela brought up a really good point. What if Dean was setting him up for some cruel joke?
"Awesome. Thanks for planting that seed of doubt, Pam. I needed that," Castiel said, sighing deeply.
"Aw, Castiel. I'm sorry. I just don't want you to get hurt. Besides, as your best friend and a person who is invested in your well-being, the fact that you even want to be in a relationship with that asshat Dean Winchester honestly makes me cringe," Pamela informed him.
"Let's get serious, Pammy. You don't have to worry about Dean and me 'cause it's never going to happen," Castiel admitted in a defeated tone.
"You listen to me Castiel Joseph Novak. Dean Winchester would be lucky to have a man like you. Don't waste your breath on that douche canoe. You'll find someone and he will be amazing," Pamela said sincerely.
"Thanks Pammy. Did I mention how glad I am to have you as a best friend?" Castiel asked, smiling brightly.
"Not hardly enough," Pamela joked. "No, but seriously. In a year we'll be in California getting a great tan and a higher education. And old what's-his-name will just be a bad memory. Hey, maybe you'll meet a hot surfer?" she added with a giggle.
"One could only hope," Castiel teased when he heard a knock at his door.
"Dinner is ready, honey," Castiel heard his mother call from the hallway.
"Be right there," he answered, sitting up in his bed. "Welp, that's my cue. Food's on the table, I gotta go," Castiel told Pamela.
"Eat well my friend. And don't let Douchey Losechester get into your head," Pamela teased, making Castiel laugh at her inventive nickname.
"Douchey Losechester. Gold star for you, best friend. I'll talk to you late," Castiel said happily.
"Bye bestie," Pamela replied before they both hung up.
