Dean looked at the boy in front of him, his features overwhelmed with the confusion he was feeling. "What the… Castiel?" He uttered, taking a step back as if he was afraid. Who the hell could gank a vamp without cutting its head off? Furthermore, where the hell did he come from?

"This action… it was a necessity." Castiel said, nodding his head as if trying at ascertain it. "Or else your brother would have died."

"Oh yeah? Well how the hell did you know he was my brother, huh?" Dean exclaimed, waving his arms around hysterically.

"That was obvious," Castiel retorted, looking at Dean as if he had said something really stupid.

"How the hell is that obvious?!" Dean exclaimed, seeming more than just a little suspicious of the boy. He replied, again, with that raspy voice of his.

"Because of how you looked at him when you came running… I have brothers myself, I know what it's like."

"Who the hell are you, huh? How did you gank those vamps?" Dean asked, still frowning deeply. Sam was trying to compose himself in the background, just barely able to get his breath back after all the commotion. Castiel tilted his head, staying quiet for a moment as he thought of an answer.

"I am Castiel," he started hesitantly. "And I'm a hunter, just like you."

"A hunter, huh? And I guess you knew I was a hunter because of the way I walk?" Dean retorted sarcastically, almost spitting.

"I…"

"And how did you kill those vamps? What is that thing in your hand?" He pointed at the silver-coloured blade in Castiel's hand. Castiel brought it up and looked at it, seeming slightly nervous.

"This is, uh… I come from an all-knowing family… we know how to get our hands on things." He said with a smile that was so sheepish that Sam, who was watching from the side, had trouble believing it was a real one.

"Huh… well, let me make this clear: I do not trust you. You saved my brother, and I'm thankful, but I do not trust you. I'll be keeping an eye on you."

"I will be keeping an eye on you too, Dean Winchester." Castiel retorted with a monotone voice, nodding his head a little. He just stood there for a while, his composure completely awkward, before he turned around and walked off into the night.

"Wow…" Sam uttered, taking a step forwards to join with Dean. "He's so cool."
Dean turned his head to the side and looked at Sam, hurriedly pulling him into his chest, his hands on the back of his head.

"You okay, Sammy?" He asked calmly as Sam hesitantly wrapped his arms around his brother's back.

"I-I'm fine Dean. No harm done." He chuckled, and Dean let go.

"That's good, then," he said, patting Sam on the head. "I think we'd better get back… this place is haywire as hell."

They started making their way back, constantly looking over their shoulders to make sure there weren't anyone else coming after them. After a while, though, Dean stopped.

"Shit," he cursed, kicking his foot into the ground. "The friggin' bodies." He said, and that's all he needed to say for Sam to understand. They ran back to where Sam had been attacked, but the bodies were gone. "What the…"

"Okay, that's weird." Sam uttered, looking confused.

"Maybe that weapon Castiel used didn't actually kill them?" Dean asked, scratching the back of his head.

"Might be," Sam replied, looking at Dean. They both shrugged and returned to their motel room. Once they got there, they sat down and talked. Even though this was something they should be doing with their father, that wasn't exactly possible at the moment.

"So why all the vamps, huh? And they knew who you were? I'm telling you Sammy, something's up, and I don't like it," Dean said, rubbing his palms together in distress. "We should never have come here in the first place. I should have known something was wrong."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, furrowing his brows a little. "It was just a few vampires."

"But they knew you, Sammy. They knew who you were, and apparently, they were after you. I think something's brewing, Sammy. And I don't think those vampires will be the end of it."

"That's the third god damn shapeshifter this week, Bobby. What the hell is going on?!" Rufus exclaimed angrily, standing over the body of a shapeshifter, smoke from the bullet hole oozing from its body.

"I honestly don't know, Rufus." Bobby sighed, shaking his head in exasperation. They were all just as confused. Something bad was happening, and they knew it. They just hoped those other hunters would arrive in town in not too long, because things were getting hot.

"Well, well, well… if it isn't Bobby Singer? And, oh, is that John Winchester I'm seeing?" A voice cackled from behind them. They all turned around, seeing a man standing there alone, fangs sticking from his mouth.

"Balls!"

Dean made his way into his classroom after saying goodbye to Sam. He hung his backpack over his chair and stretched his arms a little. No teacher yet. Sam had insisted they leave early to make sure they got there on time, which was actually 15 minutes before classes started, so there was in fact no one in the classroom. Well, unless you counted –

"Hello, Dean."

"Holy mother of crap, you scared me!" Dean exclaimed as he turned around, seeing Castiel stand literally right behind him with the most relaxed and serious face Dean had probably ever seen. "Cas, where the hell did you come from?"

Castiel's head tilted sideways, looking at Dean with a curious expression on his face. 'Cas'? Was that a nickname or something. "I was here all the time," Castiel replied monotonously, scrunching his nose a little.

"For how long?"

"About one hour."

"Why the hell would you be here so early, huh?"

"I… Don't have much else to do."

"… Ah." Dean huffed, nodding hesitantly. "Well, okay then. So… how are you after everything that happened last night?"

"I'm quite fine." Castiel replied, still just standing there, close enough to make Dean quite uncomfortable. Dean still didn't know why he was talking to him. He usually wouldn't bother, but this guy was different. He didn't want to think about why, though.

"I see… that's, uh, that's good then. So, hey, Cas…" He said, again making Castiel scrunch his nose a little. "Would you mind meeting me somewhere in lunch break? I need to discuss something with you. It's kind of important."

"Very well."

"Just come to that table next to the football lane, alright?"

"Okay."

Dean sat by the table outside. It was one of those tables with benches attached on each side, so he sat on the actual table with his feet on the bench, looking out at the football field at some people playing football to pass the time.

"What is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"WHAT THE- Cas! Can you just… you're creeping me out, man!" Dean exclaimed as Cas had simply appeared beside him without even making any noise. Damn, the guy was quiet. But Castiel said nothing.

"So?"

"Okay, you should probably sit down for starters," he said, patting the table next to him. Castiel sat down beside him, his eyes flickering back and forth across the field in front of them. "Alright, so you're a hunter, right? Do you know about the things that have been happening around here?"

"What exactly do you mean?" Castiel asked, looking at Dean curiously.

"I mean the crapload of vampires. Creepy sons of bitches that somehow knew the name of my brother, and… I don't know, but something's going on."

"It is a gathering."

"Say what now?"

"A gathering. Evil forces have been assembling for quite some time, and they chose this place. Why, I do not know, but it is also why I am here. The same with your father."

"How the hell do you know about my father?"

"That doesn't matter. But you need to be careful, Dean Winchester. Trouble is here, and you're one of the people who are in danger."

"And why's that?"

"Because you are a hunter. This gathering is meant to wipe us out. All of us. This is war, Dean."

"War? Don't be ridiculous." Dean uttered, frowning deeply as if Castiel had said something incredibly stupid.

"I am not joking around, Dean. Every hunter in the country might be in danger. This is war."

"And how did they get us all to gather here, huh? Magic?" Dean spat sarcastically.

"Isn't it obvious? They created suspicious activity on purpose. They made this town look like the biggest gold-mine for any hunter ever, and that's why they're all coming here. To save lives."

"Huh…" Dean muttered. "Then what are we supposed to do about it?"

"We fight. Simple as that."

"I'm talking to a guy I don't know… and who I definitely don't trust… and he's telling me that I'm going to be part of some sort of war. Do I believe him? There's no way in hell that I'll go along with what you tell me."

"That was not what I expected either." Castiel said casually. His eyebrow suddenly perked up a little, and he looked at Dean with what almost looked like worry. "Your brother. He's in trouble."

"What the… what are you talking about?"

"There's no time. Come with me."
Castiel grabbed his arm and pulled him after him. He didn't run, but instead walked at a hurried pace with his arms hanging daftly by his sides. Dean followed him, but kept asking him questions as they walked over the schoolyard.

"What the hell are you on about, Cas?" Dean growled, almost wanting to grab the guy by his shoulders and shake him unconscious.

"Just come with me." Castiel said sternly, as if he was getting fed up with Dean's persistence. They made their way behind the school, and sure enough, Sam was surrounded by four guys with black leather jackets.

"You think you can just come into our class and make yourself welcome, huh? You may have been nice and stayed away from Amy, but that doesn't mean you should feel welcome to make friends yet either, punk."

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing to my little brother?" Dean shouted at them, walking towards them with an angry expression on his face. They boys looked at him and laughed.

"Wow, did your big brother come to your rescue? He looks like such a pussy, Sammy." One of the kids grinned. He walked towards Dean and pulled a pocket knife on him, holding it out towards him. "You should mind your own business."

"Oh, yeah?" Dean asked, grinning from ear to ear. "See, here's the thing. We Winchester's, we're a closely knit family. And if you even try to put another hand on my little brother, I will make you wish you had never met us." He threatened. He suddenly grabbed the kids' arm and twisted the knife out of his hand, throwing it to Cas. What he didn't see was that Cas let the knife bounce off his trench coat and hit the ground without moving a finger. That wasn't very cool of you, Cas. "Only I get to call him Sammy, you understand?"

The kid yelped out in pain as Dean shoved him to the ground, making his way towards the others. It didn't take long before they ran off, the guy who had held the knife stumbling to his feet to run after his friends.

"You okay there, Sammy? I don't see why you didn't just beat those guys up."

"I already told you, Dean," Sam sighed, brushing his clothes a little. "I don't want to give off that impression anymore. How did you know I was here anyways?" He asked, looking a bit confused.

"Yeah, how did we know, Cas?" Dean asked, turning to Castiel who just shrugged his shoulders. The guy was just too weird, Dean didn't understand at all.

"Cas?" Sam asked incredulously as he looked at Dean, a smug grin on his face.

"Yeah? Shut up." Dean murmured, pushing him a little by the shoulder. Dean was just about to ask Castiel again, but the lunch bell rang, and Castiel was gone. "Damn, that guy is silent. And quick. I'll never understand that."

"You seem to trust the guy quite a lot." Sam chuckled.

"Trust him? No, Sammy, I don't trust him at all."

"But you spoke to him. You gave him a nickname. I've never heard you give someone a nickname before, Dean. Not apart from me."

"That's… just, never mind that, okay?"

"Sure," Sam shrugged. "I'm just saying."