Another chapter today! Two in one day, lol. I guess that's good? Hmm. Anyway. This chapter might suck, so sorry...I'm really tired at the moment...and have started sleeping again. hehe. Thank God! Anywho. Sam is introduced in this chapter, and I think Jimmy will make another appearance next chapter but I'm not a hundred percent yet. I'm changing some things around. Anyway, thanks again for the reviews! They inspire and motivate me! Keep it up, please!

Onward!


Chapter Four

Castiel wasn't sure why he was doing this. He never went home with anyone. He always waited for his parents to arrive after Drama Club so that they could take him home, because the family car had gone to Jimmy, who had shown an interest in driving before Castiel had. They both had their licenses but it was a matter of there only being one car, and Jimmy had claimed it. Either way, though, Castiel always had a ride from his family. On normal school days, Jimmy and him road home together. On days he had Drama Club - which, this past week, had been every day for rehearsal, but that wasn't so entirely bad, actually - his parents picked him up, or sometimes it was Jimmy, when his brother was free.

Either way, this was new to him. Dean was still inside room 124, talking to Hunter and Ash. Castiel was standing outside the room, waiting for him, leaning against the wall as he stared down the empty hallway before him. It was a little strange, how quiet the school could seem after hours, when during the day it was so loud that he could barely hear himself think. Shaking his head, Castiel pushed those thoughts away for the time being, seeing as how they weren't important.

Dean finally emerged from the room and joined him in the hallway. "Sorry about that," he said, shrugging on a light jacket. "Ready?"

Castiel nodded. Dean turned and started walking down a hallway, and Castiel hurriedly followed after him, wondering again why he was doing this. He felt uncomfortable just thinking about it. His comfort zone mostly consisted of his house and things he knew. Going with Dean was certainly not something he knew much of…even if the two were just going to go get milkshakes and practice their lines again.

Sighing, he stuffed his hands in his pockets. The two exited the school and a harsh breeze slammed into them, causing Castiel to shiver. He hadn't been expecting it to be so chilly out already, even though fall had already started a few weeks ago. It was getting colder out every day, but he hadn't been expecting this. It had been warm this morning and so he hadn't bothered to bring a jacket. Walking through the parking lot, he forced himself not to wrap his arms around himself to keep warm. That would look silly and it was his own fault for not thinking to bring a jacket in the first place.

He startled when a jacket was thrown at him. Catching it, he frowned and glanced at Dean to see that he no longer wore a jacket. The jacket was now clasped in Castiel's hands. Dean shrugged at his confused expression. "You look cold," he stated. "I'm fine."

"Dean, I can't…" He couldn't just take Dean's jacket and leave him to be cold. That wasn't right. It felt nice that Dean was offering to lend him his jacket, but Castiel couldn't just leave him without one simply because he hadn't thought to bring one himself.

"Sure you can," Dean said with a smile. "It's fine, really. My car's not far. I'm fine." He sped up as though to stop this conversation, and Castiel sighed heavily as he pulled on the jacket. Much like Dean's shirt before, the jacket brought with it a seemingly unnatural warmth that Castiel couldn't quite wrap his head around. He hurried after Dean.

Dean stopped in front of a car. "This is my baby," he declared with a grin.

Castiel paused and looked at the car. It was a Chevy Impala, black in color, and looked to be in great condition, shiny and new-looking even though he was pretty sure it wasn't. It was a nice car, though, and found himself grinning. "Nice," he commented.

"I know, right?" Dean chuckled and climbed into the car. Castiel joined him a moment later, climbing into the passenger seat. Dean keyed the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot, rock music beginning to blare from the speakers of the radio. Castiel paused and listened to the music for a moment.

It wasn't really his type of music, but it wasn't unpleasant. It was just that he wasn't used to it. Dean hummed along under his breath and tapped his fingers against the steering wheel in rhythm with the music. Shrugging, Castiel figured he could get used to this.

"We gotta make a stop first," Dean said suddenly, "if you don't mind."

"Okay. Where?" Castiel asked, glancing at him.

"Gotta pick Sammy up from school. He stayed after for some academic thing." Dean shrugged and smirked. "He's a smart kid." There was a fondness that rushed over his face, his eyes softening as he thought about his brother. Castiel watched quietly, not used to seeing this expression on Dean's face. It was nice, though. Like he was seeing a different side of his new friend.

A part of him was nervous about meeting Sam. He was Dean's brother, after all - family. And that made Castiel feel guilty for not introducing Jimmy and Dean, for not evening telling Dean that he had a twin named Jimmy.

Another part of him felt pleased that Dean seemed to trust him enough to have him meet his brother.

But mostly, he felt anxious as conflicting emotions battled within him.

"He'll probably come with us, if that's okay," Dean said, frowning slightly as he glanced at Castiel. "But I can take him home, if you want."

"It's fine, Dean," Castiel told him. Was Dean having second thoughts about having Sam and Castiel meet? Was that why he appeared to be nervous?

The tension left Dean's shoulders and the smile returned. "Good, thanks, Cas. You'll love him."

Castiel frowned to himself. There really was something Dean wasn't saying, he mused, and it must have been about his home life. First the thing in the lunch room with the bringing of his own lunch and the way he got quiet when anyone mentioned it. Now this, the way he seemed tense at the thought of taking Sam home while he and Castiel went to get milkshakes. Was there something wrong at home?

But then again, that really wasn't any of his business, was it? If there was something Dean wasn't saying, then he surely had a reason he didn't want to talk about it. If he changed his mind sometime later, Castiel would be there to listen.

Like always.

Dean started humming again. Castiel relaxed in the passenger seat, wrapped in the warmth of Dean's jacket.

Yeah. He could really get used to this, he decided with a small smile as he looked out the window.


Sam Winchester wasn't what Castiel had been expecting, not really. He had been expecting someone more like Dean, with broad shoulders, thin yet muscular form, short blonde hair, and green eyes. Sam wasn't like that, though. He was small, only twelve, with shaggy brown hair that dipped into his dark hazel eyes, his body thin and lanky. He seemed to be catching up in height, though. Maybe he would be as tall as him and Dean one day, maybe taller.

Sam wasn't like Dean in his personality, either. Dean chatted as soon as Sam got into the car, barely getting out the 'Sam, this is Cas. Cas, this is my little brother, Sammy' before he started talking about various things, switching topics and subjects randomly. Sam was in the backseat, listening as he looked out the window, mumbling a 'He said that? Sheesh' every now and then and a few 'Yes's and 'No's in response to a few of the questions Dean asked him.

It looked like Castiel wasn't the only one Dean talked to a lot. He was a chatter-box all the time, then. But it was the way he looked when he talked that seemed to matter. His expression was softer now than it had been at school, and he appeared more relaxed. Whether that was because they were out of school or because Sam was in the car or a combination of both, Castiel wasn't sure.

They arrived at a small café-looking place soon enough. Castiel had never been here before, but then, he hadn't been much of anywhere in this town since he'd arrived. He didn't get out much, as Dean put it.

They got a table and ordered three milkshakes; a vanilla one for Dean, a chocolate one for Castiel, and a strawberry one for Sam.

"So, what's this play about you guys are doing?" Sam asked casually as they waited on their milkshakes.

"I'm drunk and call him from a party so he can take me home," Dean said with a shrug. "That's mostly it, I guess. We haven't really gotten to rehearse much 'cause Anna gave Ruby, Jo, Hunter, and Aeron this really long one, so they've been practicing."

Sam nodded as though all of those names were familiar to him. They probably were, Castiel realized. He had maybe even met them before.

"Easy lines?" Sam asked as though interested.

"Mostly," Dean said. "It's the actions that are gonna be confusing, though. I've gotta act all drunk."

"Should be easy," Sam said with a snort.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Sam." His tone was warning.

Castiel got the feeling they were definitely hiding something. He was missing something here, he knew, but he didn't bother asking. If they wanted to tell him, they could, but until then, he wasn't going to push it.

Their milkshakes were brought to them and it was then that Castiel's eyes went wide as he quickly checked his pockets. He had no money with him.

"Relax," Dean said, resting a hand on his arm as though he knew what was bothering him. "I've got it. This is on me."

"Are you sure?" Castiel asked, feeling guilty. First he'd been shivering so Dean had given him his jacket, and now he was making Dean have to pay for their milkshakes. That didn't seem very fair.

"Yeah, it's fine," Dean said, shaking his head. He turned toward Sam and smiled. "So, Sammy, how was your academic whatcha-call-it?"

"Academic Club," Sam said with a sigh. "It's was fine, I guess."

"Talk to that girl Jess yet?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Dean."

Dean shrugged. "Just sayin'." He grinned at Castiel. "Sammy's got this crush on this girl, Jess, and he refuses to even talk to her."

"It's not like I can!" Sam muttered.

"Why not?" Dean asked.

"Because…she already has a boyfriend. This guy named Luke."

"Ah. I see. Well, little brother, give it time."

Sam rolled his eyes and Dean took a sip of his milkshake. Castiel started to slurp his down as well.


"Wha' d'ya mean?" Dean slurred as he blinked stupidly at Castiel, leaning against a wall as thought for balance. Castiel frowned at him and stepped forward slightly.

"You're drunk."

"S' wha' if I am?" Dean questioned, still slurring greatly, staggering a little when he started to move away from the wall. To help him, Castiel moved forward even more and grabbed his arm as though to steady him and keep him from stumbling toward the ground.

"I'm taking you home."

"Lemme 'lone," Dean said, pushing him away with a soft growl, looking somewhat dizzy.

"Come on." Castiel kept a hold of his arm and tugged him forward, wrapping an arm around his shoulders as though to guide him and keep him on his feet at the same time. He had to ignore the warm feeling it brought him. Dean tried to pull away from him and he sighed. "Would you stop? You're hammered."

"Whas your point?"

Castiel shook his head. "You're going home. Now. You called me."

"I'm drunk…you shouldn't take anythin' I say ser'sously."

Castiel sighed. "Yeah, well, I did and now I'm here. Come on."

"Lemme 'lone. Leggo." He tried to tug away. Castiel tightened his hold.

"No. Come on."

"Good job, boys," Anna declared from the sidelines. Castiel was snapped out of it as he looked up and took notice of the others watching them. He'd almost been able to forget about them, what with facing Dean and everything, but now he remembered their presence with startling clarity. It was making him feel somewhat uneasy, but the feel of Dean still in his grasp seemed to warm the chill before it could start.

Dean chuckled. "Thanks," he said, no longer sounding slurred, the dazed expression on his face completely gone as though it had never been there to begin with. He was good at acting drunk, Castiel realized.

Maybe there was a story behind that.

Dean pulled away from him again and this time, Castiel let him, not stopping him even though a part of him sort of wanted to, wanted to keep a hold on him even though he wasn't entirely sure as to why.

"Great job," Dean told him with a grin.

Castiel nodded and smiled back. "Thanks. Not so bad yourself."

"Gee, thanks," Dean said, rolling his eyes, his expression still amused. "We're getting better."

"Yeah."

"Only another week to rehearse."

"Yeah."

"But I think we'll be ready," Dean continued.

Castiel nodded again. "Me too." He already knew his lines. He was just trying to remember exactly when to move toward Dean, grab hold of him, and let go. It was surprisingly hard, what with the conflicting emotions running through him, emotions and feelings he didn't necessarily understand.

But then, maybe that was just the life in Drama Club.


Sorry if the ending isn't that great...tired...like I said, lol. Anyway! Please let me know what you think! Thanks for reviewing and please continue to do so ;) Thanks so much!

~Muffy the Dough Slayer~