A/N: To clarify, despite the fact that I made Lisa kind of dumb, I am not sexist. I love women. I am a woman. I really don't want anyone getting the wrong impression. I made Lisa annoying because she annoys me, and I didn't make her stupid because I think women are stupid. We women are fucking fabulous. So. Just to clear everything up!
Dean really, really doesn't want to go to his parents' Christmas party.
"Mom, I'm not going," Dean complained, putting his feet up on the coffee table. His mother shoved them off of it and wiped the table off for the fifth time.
"First of all, you aren't going anywhere. And second, yes, you are," Mary replied, whacking the back of his head. He winced, but remained resolute.
"Yeah, but it's not like any of my friends'll wanna come," he whined.
"Stop complaining, Dean! We're having the Christmas party and that is final."
He let out an anguished sound somewhere between a wail and a sob. "Fine!"
His brother, who was seated on the couch, laughed. "Stop being so overdramatic, dude."
Dean threw a pillow at Sam and wailed again.
It wasn't that he disliked Christmas; it was in fact his favourite holiday. Dean wasn't good with older people, like his parents' friends. They made him uncomfortable with their judging looks about whatever he was wearing and how he treated his brother. They tended to ask stupid questions, like 'What's your favourite subject at school?' or 'What are you doing when you grow up?' How the hell was Dean supposed to know!?
It was bound to be considerably less horrible if his friends were there, but he severely doubted they would find it an attractive offer. Dean stood up anyway and slouched up the staircase and into his room, where he grabbed his mobile phone.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Cas. It's me." Dean glanced out of his bedroom window and saw Castiel seated at his computer, holding the phone steady with his shoulder while he typed something.
"Oh. Hello, Dean. What do you need?"
"Well, my parents are having some stupid Christmas party and I figured it would be less unbearable if you and some other people were here," Dean said, cursing himself for sounding so stupid. He saw Cas grinning at him from inside his house and managed a small wave.
"That sounds nice, Dean."
"So you'll come? It's Friday at seven. I can clear the basement and we can be down there instead of with the old people."
Cas laughed loudly. "Yes, Dean, I'll come. Why are you such a worrywart about this kind of thing?"
Dean shrugged. "I dunno. I'm not good with adults, I s'pose. I'll, um, I'll see you at school tomorrow, right?"
Cas affirmed this and they hang up. Dean sat back on his bed with his hands clasped underneath his head and thought. He thought about Cas and his eyes. He thought about Lisa Braeden, who was desperate for him to be in a steady relationship with her. He thought about Sam, who was smitten with Jessica Moore, a girl in his grade. He thought about everything and nothing at the same time.
But for the moment he was content.
Friday drew ever nearer, Dean dreading it more and more with every minute that passed. His friends, on the contrary, were excited. Jo and Anna kept chattering about what they would do (i.e. dancing, video games, etc) and Ruby, Meg, and Lisa would have constant conversations about their outfits.
Dean also invited Ash Harvelle, Victor Henriksen, Adam Milligan, and Gordon Walker, three of which were on the football team with him. In a fit of what he could only describe as brotherliness, he even let invited Jess, something Sam was not too happy about.
"But you're in love with her, dude," Dean said, when Sam yelled at him.
"I am not, and I don't want her to feel like I'm trying to—to do it with her!" Sam said hotly, flushing around his neck and ears.
Dean let out a roar of laughter. "Jesus, Sammy! Calm down. I highly doubt that Jess'll think you're trying to have sex with her. You're fourteen-and-a-half."
Sam furrowed his brow, not certain of the trueness of his brother's statement. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, dork. Go do something productive, will you? I'm busy." Dean shoved Sam away from him and turned back to his computer screen. Despite his protests about how stupid they were, Lisa had convinced him to get a Skype account and she intended to talk to him on it, regardless of whether he felt the same way.
L_Braeden says: hey dean :)
D_Winchester says: Hey
L_Braeden says: so did u have trouble w/ that English assmnt mr. shurley gave us?
D_Winchester says: Not really. Mr. Shurley's pretty cool, and I've read the book before. You?
L_Braeden says: lol ur so smart! im not much of a reader, soooo
D_Winchester says: Oh. I don't read a lot of stuff, but it's cool. I really like To Kill a Mockingbird.
L_Braeden says: lol whats that? sounds slightly horrific haha
D_Winchester says: No it's really cool. Not actually about killing mockingbirds!
L_Braeden says: oh ok wow im so stupid next 2 u! hey so the party on friday starts 7 rite?
D_Winchester says: No, you're not! And yeah, it is.
L_Braeden says: awesome! who all is coming?
D_Winchester says: So far, there's you, Anna, Jo, Cas, Adam, Ash, Samandriel, Victor, Gordon, Sam's friend Jess, Ruby and Meg.
L_Braeden says: oh. y is cas coming? dont u think hes…u know…weird? no offence or anything
D_Winchester says: We're friends.
L_Braeden says: oh god i made u mad didnt i?! im so sry
D_Winchester says: No, it's fine. I mean, Cas is a little bit eccentric. But we're good friends. I have to go, sorry.
L_Braeden says: well, any friend of u is a friend of mine! c u l8r :-*
For some reason, Dean found the whole thing exceedingly ridiculous. So what if Cas sometimes recited the entirety of The Hollow Men, without missing a beat? So what if he sometimes stared at Dean so intently it made him feel as if Cas could read his mind? So what if he didn't love to engage in discussions about girls and sports? He was Dean's friend.
"Kiss my ass," Dean mumbled, not really speaking to anyone.
"Stop it with the pacing already, Dean!" John said suddenly, jolting Dean out of his reverie. He had not realised that he had been aimlessly pacing up and down the hallway.
"Sorry," he grunted, and he went downstairs. The basement was prepared for the looming party (which would be in a half hour), with a sound system and an Xbox360, as well as snacks and some board games. Dean was feeling fidgety, so instead of glaring soulfully at himself in the bathroom mirror (which was what Sam was doing), he "fixed" the furniture and "fixed" the food—which was literally him eating one chip and then repositioning the bowl.
At exactly 7 o'clock, the doorbell rang. Dean heard Sam yelling to their parents that he would get it and then the faint chatter of the adults. A minute later, Jo and Anna bounded down the steps to the basement, both looking extremely pretty.
"Hey, Dean-o," Jo said, bouncing over and giving him a peck on the cheek.
"Hey, Harvelle," he shot back, ducking out of reach. "Where's Ash?"
Jo rolled her eyes at Anna. "Getting ready over at Anna's—Sorry, Cas'. The two of them should be here in a minute. Sam looked supremely disappointed when he saw us. What was that all about?"
Dean grinned. "He's got a crush on a nice girl named Jessica Moore. S'pose he wanted you to magically transform into her."
Anna smirked mischievously. "Think you know the feeling, Dean."
"Excuse me?" Dean asked, sounding defensive.
"Oh, nothing. Just something to do with a certain blue-eyed brother o' mine," she crooned, winking first at Dean and then Jo.
"Okay, let's get something straight. Cas and I are not in a relationship. There. Boom. Done." Dean frowned loudly at them both, but then smiled.
"Was it something I said?" Jo asked flirtatiously, but she and Anna turned around. Lisa Braeden was descending the staircase, beaming at Dean. She was dressed simply but prettily—a mid-thigh length black skirt, purple blouse, and boots.
"Hi," she said, tucking a lock of dark hair behind one ear. Jo tried to stop herself from gagging. Lisa was nice enough, but she wasn't the brightest bulb in the light fixture. She was also acting way too girlfriend-y towards Dean and Jo could tell he was slightly uncomfortable.
"Hey, Lisa," he said. He moved to hug her but she instead leaned up and kissed him right on the mouth.
"Oooooh!" crowed a loud voice from the stairwell. Dean was tempted to cry, 'who is it now!?' but he refrained from doing so.
Ruby and Meg were coming downstairs, both dressed slightly too provocatively. "Lisa and Dean!" Meg sang, laughing with the other girls.
"Oh shut up, Meg," Dean grumbled, but Lisa looked quite pleased at the attention.
"So what?" she demanded, mouth crooked into a triumphant smile.
The six of them bantered for a few minutes until Castiel, Ash, and the other guys arrived, all laughing and joking with one another (with the exception of Cas, who was looking slightly uncomfortable). Sam was behind, leading Jess. She really was a very pretty girl, with voluminous blonde curls and a cheery smile.
Dean noticed how happy his brother looked and couldn't help feeling that maybe this party wasn't that bad.