Wow, that took forever to update. I'm sorry about that guys. Life's a bitch, ya know? Anyway, I'm glad I got this up before my birthday, so this is progress. One thing I've learned from this is not to post a story until you've completed it. That said, after I finish this, I may not post for a while. And I have the rest of the chapters sketched, I just need to write them down.

Thank you, my loyal followers. This is for you. And here's a playlist for you to listen to while reading this. Just click here.

Two weeks passed by quickly. After our first initial outing (Gabriel kept teasing me by calling a date, which made me vehemently blush every time), Dean and I began to hang out practically every day. Or respective brothers joined us whenever they wanted to, but for the most part, it was just me and Dean.

I liked it like this, though. As much as Sam and Adam have grown on me, Kate especially, I still prefer the comfort and warmth that came from being with Dean. I guess having a real friend for the first time in a long time did that to you.

I was broken from my trance-like state at my mother yelling, "Castiel, hurry up! We need to leave soon for The Roadhouse." I grinned and finished getting dressed quickly. I was excited like Mom, but for different reasons. I enjoyed any time I could spend time with Dean and/or her siblings. Mom was excited because Dean had mentioned to her that her friends and fellow classmates usually frequented the place. In other words, Mom was hoping I would make more connections like I had with Dean.

As much as I hated to disappoint her, I already knew that I would never make a connection as strong as the one I have with Dean.

I opened the door to my bedroom and ran out quickly. I then flew down the staircase and into the living room to wait for the rest of my family to hurry up. I waited impatiently for my brothers to finish dressing and whatever else Michael and Gabriel happened to be doing to get ready to see their respective crushes.

They had also made friends with Dean and her siblings, but the three of us had a Winchester we liked to spend time with. I liked to spend time with Dean; Gabriel passed his minutes with Sam; Michael and Adam talked for hours on end.

Or families just seemed to connect. After their first initial playdate the day after we had officially moved in, Kate and Jimmy had been nearly inseparable. It helped that they not only got to play with each other, but with Kate's Winnie the Pooh (Dean had explained that she had gotten him for Kate about a month after she was born, and Kate hadn't let him go since) and Jimmy's Eeyore (I told her that Gabriel gave the toy to Jimmy when he turned four, and he too refused to give him up at any time as well).

Even our parents got along exceptionally well, especially since Dean said she and her siblings could take their "little brats" (her words not mine) off their hands for a few hours for "grown-up talk" with John and Mary.

I giggled as I remembered Gabriel's indignant "Hey!" and Michael's "bitchface" (Dean explained that she named all of Sam's expressions "bitchfaces" because her term of endearment for him was apparently "bitch"). Jimmy and I didn't mind though. While Gabriel and Michael were the oldest, Jimmy and I instinctively knew better than to argue with a female on such matters. We had seen Dad lose too many arguments with Mom to know.

It's not that Mom and Dad fought a lot. Every couple has their fair share of arguments; I don't know of any who haven't. I would be worried if they didn't.

I nearly had a start when I felt my cell phone vibrate in my pocket to the beat of The Eye of the Tiger. I smiled as I recalled nearly dying of asphyxiation from laughing so hard when Dean danced to it in the Impala. Sam, Gabriel, Adam, Michael and I had all been sitting out on the Winchester's front lawn discussing the credibility of J.J. Abrams new Star Trek movies, when Dean had pulled up in the Impala. She then killed the engine, winked at me (while looking like she was trying, and failing, to suppress her giggles), then had laid down in the front seat.

I had turned to Adam and Sam, and had given them a look that conveyed quite clearly What is your sister up to, and should I be scared? They had shrugged their shoulders simultaneously when we saw Dean pump her fists in the air to the first beats of the song.

It all went downhill from that point as Dean then climbed out of the window of the driver's side and made hand gestures that related to the lyrics playing from the speakers of her baby (Dean also explained to me that her car was a "she," since Captain Kirk called the Enterprise "she" in Star Trek.) She also had had the strangest expressions on her face, breaking the last of our composure. Michael, Adam, Sam and I all had fallen back on the grass in hysteric mirth. It wasn't until I had my breathing under control that I noticed that Gabriel was not only barely biting back his laughter, but had recorded the entire thing. Sam and Adam had whooped for their sister after her little impromptu performance was finished.

I came back to the present as I checked my phone for the new text message from Dean: Cas where r u guys?! Sammy & addy r gettin very anxious. Think tonite will b the nite?

I roll my eyes at the text. We had discussed our brothers' "eye-fucking" and had agreed to try and bring them together, since her's are stubborn and mine are clueless to the point of stupidity.

I quickly reply with I don't know. But, if it makes you feel better, my brothers are nervous as well.

I got an immediate response: Thats awesome! & Cas, y do u nevr use abbrs.?

Me: Because I do not wish to butcher the English language.

Dean: Smartass

Me: Heathen.

Dean: Always ;)

I laugh aloud as Gabriel and Michael finally come down the stairs. I give a low whistle at the outfits (and is that hair gel?!) that my brothers chose for the evening. Michael has chosen dark blue jeans and a green polo to brighten his eyes. A good look for going to an eatery such as the Roadhouse. Gabriel, on the other hand, wore something one would wear to a den of iniquity: black skinny jeans., and a skin-tight, semi-translucent white t-shirt that men commonly wear underneath their normal shirts. I quickly lift my phone, take a picture and send it to Dean with the message SOS! attached to it.

As Gabriel opens his mouth to ask what I was doing, we all hear an extremely loud "SON OF A BITCH!" from the house next to ours. It is deadly silent after the outburst for about thirty seconds before we hear insistent knocking at the front door.

Michael opens the door to a very annoyed-looking Dean Winchester. "Where is that dumbass Trickster?" she asks as she stalks through the door. Her eyes zero in on Gabriel and puts her hands on her hips, the epitome of exasperation.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Gabriel begins to reply, but upon realizing it was a rhetorical question, promptly snaps his mouth shut. Dean smirked and said, "Thought so." Turning to me, she asked "Can you show me to his closet, please?" I comply immediately, heading up the stairs with Dean and Gabriel right behind me. Before we reach the top of the stairs, Dean shouts over her shoulder, "Good choice Michael!"

At the second floor I go straight down the hall until I see a sign that says Trickster's Lair on the front of it. I moved out of the way as Dean makes a beeline for Gabriel's closet. When she opened his closet, she let out a low whistle. "Wowza," Dean said as she saw all the... varieties that lay in Gabriel's closet. She gave it a quick once-over, then grabbed an olive-green jacket and a chocolate-colored t-shirt. "Here," she said, shoving the articles of clothing into Gabriel's arms, "try these on. It oughta work."

Gabriel, now smirking at the choices that were in his arms, said, "Aw Dean-o, what's the matter with what I have on?"

Dean rolled her eyes dramatically and replied, "'Cause we're going to a diner, not a cheap whore house."

I try to suppress a giggle, but I can tell I failed greatly by the surprised look on my brother's face. Dean smirks at Gabriel and says, "See? Cas agrees with me." She then begins to walk out the door. "Besides, I have no urge to see my brother jump you in a crowded restaurant."

"What?!" Gabriel exclaims. I take this as my opportunity to escape, shutting the door behind me, Gabriel's dumbstruck expression still burned on my retinas.

Dean takes my wrist and drags me down the stairs into the living room. Once there she lets go, turns around and, with an exasperated look, asks, "How the hell are you, Michael and Jimmy related to him?"

I shrug. "Nobody knows," I say. "I think he was dropped on his head multiple times as a toddler."

Dean gives me a small smile. "How is it that no one wanted to be your friend? Cas, you're fucking awesome!"

I blush vehemently at her praise, and before I can even think of a response, I hear Gabriel burst through his bedroom door and gallop (yes, gallop) down the stairs, the shirt and jacket Dean picked for him in place on his body. The green of the jacket accentuates the color of his eyes, making them look even more like liquid gold than they normally are.

Dean gave Gabriel, what I can only accurately describe as, "a shit-eating grin."

"You see? Now, that wasn't so bad was it?"

Gabriel opened his mouth to respond, But Dean cuts him off a "Never mind, I don't want to hear!" She then blinked and said, "Oh," looking as if she just remembered something important. "MICHAEL!" Dean yelled.

"You don't need to shout; I was just in the kitchen," Michael replied, walking into the living room holding a bottle of water.

Dean rolled her eyes at him. "Anyway, now that you two are in the same room, she said, indicating to Michael and Gabriel, "we need to talk."

Michael looks puzzled. Gabriel, on the other hand, looked like he was ready to bolt.

She smirked at the expressions of their faces and gestured for them to sit on the couch, and me on the loveseat opposite them.

Dean remained standing, though. She turned to Michael and Gabriel and said, "I hope you realize that I'm not a total idiot." Michael sat up straighter, opening his mouth to comment, Dean held up her hand, halting him. "Now, I've seen the way you two look at my baby brothers. I can't say I'm completely surprised, with the way they look at you... I see that same look in your eyes. All I can ask is this: treat Sam and Adam with the same respect you would give Cas and Jimmy. Because if you break my brothers' hearts, as their big sister, it is my right and duty to break your faces. Okay?"

Gabriel and Michael nodded in agreement. Dean smiled. "Good, now that we've got that established, I have to go back and check on my brothers whom, for your information, are just as anxious to see you as you are them."

My brothers look surprised by this. Dean turned to me and said, "Wow. 'Clueless to the point of stupidity' is very accurate, you in a few."

I nod. "Goodbye, Dean."

After she leaves, Jimmy comes bounding down the stairs, looking very excited to be going out. Mom and Dad came down the stairs soon after. Mom took stock of Michael and Gabriel's still-shocked faces, and started giggling hysterically, to which I joined in after her outburst broke through their reverie and they got twin expressions of indignation.

Soon after that we were all packed in the car and following behind the Impala that was becoming more and more familiar each day.

As my family and I followed the Winchesters to the Roadhouse, my parents and older brothers made conversation while Jimmy read his Magic Tree House story and I stared out the window. I noticed that, the closer we got to the Roadhouse, the more landscape there was to look at. I didn't realize we were leaving town until we passed a sign that said You are now leaving Lawrence and a sign underneath that said Roadhouse - 1 mile.

A few minutes later we had reached the Roadhouse. As I took in the old building, I could understand Dean's appeal for it. For one thing, it looked big enough to house all of Lawrence's population. It looked like it had been standing here for roughly a hundred years, given the style in which it was built. I don't know how long I stared at the building until I was startled by a rap on my window. Dean was blocking my view of the Roadhouse, her hands on her hips and a smirk upon her lips. She backed up as I opened the car door. As soon as I was clear of the door, Dean used her hip to close it and said, "I told you it would be awesome."

I reward her with a small smile and say, "Yes. Yes you did."

Dean nodded her head towards the "joint," as the Roadhouse was apparently nicknamed. "C'mon, I'll introduce you to the best of Lawrence."

I cant my head to the side. "I thought the band who wrote, and I quote, 'the best fucking song since Hey Jude' was Kansas?"

Dean just stared at me, slack-jawed. She then burst out laughing. I blushed when she finally caught her breath and came over to hug me. "Yeah," she said into my ear, "you're the best of the best, Cas. I think I'm finally starting to believe in your phony-baloney God."

I return her gesture, wrapping my arms around her waist. "Why?" I exhale, curious as always to the inner working of Deanna Winchester.

I could feel her smile, even though I could not see or literally feel it. "Because," she responded, "He created you, didn't He?"

I blush even more, not just because of her answer, but because I hear someone clearing their throat somewhere near us.

"Well..." I hear Adam say, "I don't know about everyone else, but I'm starving."

"Agreed," Dean said, extracting herself from our embrace. She didn't seem awkward as I felt, but I assumed it was because she embraced people on a regular basis. Me, on the other hand... I had never hugged anyone outside my family before now. It felt nice, and now I understood why people liked to do it so much in the movies.

Dean gave me a small smile, as if she had just read my thoughts. "C'mon Casassy. Let's introduce you to the rest of the insane asylum."

I snort. "Dean, I highly doubt that anyone in the Roadhouse is crazier than you."

Adam starts laughing, Kate giggles, both John and Mary snort, and Sam claps me on the shoulder saying, "Oh, Cas. You really shouldn't have said that. Or thought that, now that I think about it."

I cant my head to the side. Sam just shakes his. "Just wait and see." He then grabs Gabriel's hand, interlocking their fingers and I notice Adam doing the same thing with Michael. My older brothers blush simultaneously, but they looked very happy. I can't help but smile slightly.

"Well," I hear Dean say. I turn to see her smirking, but her eyes are bright with happiness for her brothers. "I say we get or crazy on." She then does a perfect imitation of Gabriel's eyebrow-waggle, turns around and opens the double door entrance.

When we enter the Roadhouse, its already crowded, surprising considering how huge the place is. Its mostly filled with teenagers and adults my parent's age, but there were also a few elderly fork and children here as well.

I hear laughter from all around, and the happiness of all the patrons seemed to radiate from every corner of the Roadhouse. Kate and Jimmy ran off after they found a group of children sitting and playing together. Not five seconds after that, a man with a bizarre haircut walked up and and hugged Dean, who was still standing close to me upon entering the large diner.

"Hey, Dean," Mystery Man said. He finally noticed me and gave me a wide grin. It took my entire being not to grab Dean and take a step back, even though I knew that she knew this man. "Whose your little friend?"

Dean punched him lightly in the arm. "Hey, I haven't been 'little' since Summer 2011." She then puts an arm around my shoulders. "This is Castiel aka Cas. Cas, this is Ash, Jo's uncle and owner of this fine establishment."

As soon as I put a name to the face, I began to relax. I had heard nothing but good things about Ash from Dean. Though she did warn me not to insult his hair style, which I now remembered was called a "mullet." I held out my hand to Ash, which he took and we shook in greeting. "Hello, Ash. Dean has told me nothing but good things about you."

Ash nods and releases his hold on my hand, which I return to my side. "Same. Dean kept going on and on about how awesome you are."

Dean groaned and put her head in the hand that wasn't currently resting on my shoulder. "I hope you realize I have two parents to embarrass me. I don't need you to do it too."

Ash shrugs, then hooks his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of a table full of teenagers. "Jo's been asking when you'll be here. She's dying to meet the guy who has, and I quote, 'stolen my best friend and left me alone to die'."

Dean snorts, her arm shifting from my shoulders back to her own side. I fight the sudden chill that crawls across my back at the lack of Dean's warmth. "Bullshit," Dean says, "she's still got Charlie. And as far as I know, no one's ever had their cause of death be boredom. I'm sure she's just exaggerating." She turns to her brothers, whom have lingered in the doorway. I now notice that our parents are nowhere to be seen. "Sam, Adam," Dean shouts. Their eyes turn towards their big sister. "C'mon," Dean continues, "the Novaks have a date with destiny." She turns back to me, winks, then swaggers over to the tables occupied by Dean's friend group.

I followed reluctantly, nervous about meeting Dean's other friends. What if they didn't like me? Almost immediately I felt a phantom smack on my arm reminding me of the conversation with Dean a few days earlier.

"So at the Roadhouse," Dean said, hesitating before blurting, "myfriendskindasortawannameetyou." We were sitting in the Winchester's living room watching Star Wars, since I said I had never watched them before, and Dean had claimed it was "a crime against humanity."

My first reaction to hearing this was to panic. By some miracle I had managed to stay friends with Dean. What happens if they didn't like me? Would Dean stop communicating with me? I didn't realize I had said this out loud until I felt a sharp smack against my arm, Dean's face contorted with rage until she meets my eyes, compassion burning stronger than anger in her eyes.

"You're really worried, aren't you?" she murmured softly. When I nod, she scoots closer until we were joined at the hip. We hadn't noticed that we had absolutely no personal space with each other until Gabriel had pointed it out. I had blushed but Dean had shrugged, saying that it doesn't really matter, that "it shows how comfortable we are with each other. If you don't like it, you can suck my metaphorical dick." I blushed at the memory, focusing on Dean as she started speaking again.

"Cas, even if the entire world was against you, I'd still be by your side." She squeezed my shoulder before continuing. "But I think I should tell you about my other friends so when they tell you who they are, you'll have the same advantage they do."

I signal my agreement before she pauses Star Wars and giving me her undivided attention. "Okay so I'm gonna tell you who's dating who first. Then I'll go into details. First there's Meg and Anna. Meg Masters is the daughter of Azazel and Lilith Masters, our more prominent Satanists. Anna Milton is the niece of Pastor Jim, and her parents are strictly Catholic, so don't tell them their daughter's a lesbian. Then we have Charlie and Jo. They have enough sexual tension that we could cut through it with a plastic butter knife. But they aren't an actual couple. Charlie Bradbury is a tech wiz, so don't piss her off unless you want your computer to die. Jo Harvelle is the daughter of our school's principal, Ellen, and my boss, Bobby Singer. She may be shorter than I am, but she can kick your ass just as well."

Dean stops to take a breath and let me process. Meg Masters. Anna Milton. Charlie Bradbury. Jo Harvelle. I nod my head for Dean to continue.

"Okay, moving on. We already know about our brothers' eye-fucking, I don't need to go in-depth about it. But I will tell you this: Adam wants to be a doctor, and Sam a lawyer. And they are not only just as stubborn as I am, but also like a true Winchester, when they set their mind to something the only person that can stop them is God Himself."

I bob my head at this. "It is the same with my brothers. Michael also aspires to be a lawyer. I don't know what Gabriel wishes to do with his life, though."

Dean laughs. "Yeah, that sounds like Gabe. Anyhow... oh! Balth and Luci! Balthazar Roché moved here a few years ago with his father Sebastian. They came here from France. Its weird: I'm not sure if we've ever had two separate families move to Lawrence in the same decade since before my dad was born. Sorry, babbling. Lucifer Pellegrino (don't give me that look Cas, he's Meg's cousin) used to make fun of Balth until I figured out he was pullin' pigtails and everyone decided to help set them up. Their one-year anniversary is coming up in a few weeks." Dean smiled, nostalgia plain on her face. I felt envious that I was not a part of these memories. I wiped the expression I knew was on my face before Dean could see it.

"Phew. I haven't talked this much in a long time. Now that I've got all the friggin' couples, I can move on to the single people. There's yours truly. You already know I wanna be a mechanic. There's you, and I already know you wanna be a therapist."

I clear my throat and Dean immediately stops talking. "I have told you about what I want to do with my life now. But when I was a child, I had considered devoting my life to God."

I blush and look down. I look up at Dean in surprise when she says, "Very well, Father Castiel." She smirks, continuing. "There's Crowley Sheppard. He's got an accent like Balth's, but that's only because he watched a lot of Brit TV shows growing up. And that's basically my, hopefully our, friend group."

Dean looks at me expectantly, and all I can do is stare back. She continues to wait, but I'm still wondering if her friends were going to like me. I had already told Dean that I had problems making friends, and that it was a miracle that I was able to talk to her. Blind panic coursed through my being at the thought of Dean not being my friend anymore.

"Have you not listened to anything I've said?!" Dean practically shouted. We were at her house with only Jimmy and Kate, but she still had to keep quiet because they were taking a nap. "I'm not going to drop you like a sack of bricks when I'm done with ya! Why can't you understand that?" I have to look away now, because I do not want to see the hurt in Dean's eyes.

I sigh before I finally speak. "When I was in sixth grade, I didn't have any friends until this one girl walked up to me and introduced herself. Her name was Ruby. We were good friends until later in the year, when she started bullying me. It got to the point where I was nearly expelled for posting mean about my teacher, Mr. Raphael, on the Internet. My family knew I was framed, since I was Mr. Raphael's best student. But I didn't make the connection to Ruby until I overheard her bragging with her friends about it. I immediately told the principal, and Ruby was expelled. After that I kept to myself, because I couldn't trust anyone. Then I met you, and I felt at peace for the first time in a long time. But I can't help but wonder if there's something wrong with me."

I put my head in my hands. I look straight up when I felt a hand go through my unruly hair. Dean is smiling softly at me. "I can't change your past," she says quietly, but I can alter your future. I know you don't believe me. But I will prove you wrong." She leans forward and kisses me on the cheek. "Cas," she whispers in my ear, "that bitch didn't deserve your kindness."

Dean gets up and heads into the kitchen. As soon as she's gone, I lift my hand tentatively to my cheek. I smile a little before I compose myself. Dean comes back out a few minutes later with a big bowl of popcorn. She gives me a lopsided grin before sitting down next to me, so close there was a straight line from our hips to our ankles. "How about we finish the movie?"

I nod, and Dean unpauses Star Wars, and for the first time in a long time, I feel hopeful.

"What's up?" Dean exclaims as soon as she reaches the table. She hugs the two ginger females and the blonde, but the brunette she high-fives. Dean merely mock-salutes the guys, whom return her gesture immediately. Dean notices I'm waiting behind her so she walks back over to me and drags me over to the table. "Guys, this is Castiel. He also goes by Cas. Cas, this here is Meg, Anna, Charlie, Jo, Balth and Crowley. Luc has decided to disappear."

"He texted me that he was running late," the blonde male, Balthazar, said.

Dean snorts. "Figures." She takes a seat. When I don't sit down immediately, Dean looks at me and pats the seat next to her and I sit between her and Balthazar.

I watch Dean and the others talk about various subjects. She seemed comfortable with everyone, but I could tell she was holding back for some reason. Before I can examine this, a teenager with dark blonde hair comes over to our table and sits in Balthazar's lap. No one even bats an eye; all they do is nod in acknowledgement. "Hey, Luc," Meg says. Lucifer doesn't pay her any attention. His eyes zero in on his boyfriend and leans down, kissing him. I feel myself blush, scooting closer to Dean in an effort to give them some space. I see Dean roll her eyes at me, but only says, "Gross, huh?" Lucifer flips us off as he continues to make out with Balthazar. "Sorry, Luci," Dean replies, "but I love Balth too much to ever consider fucking you."

They break their kiss, Lucifer turning to Dean. "Good point," Lucifer says, "though I don't understand why Balthazar would be jealous of you" Balthazar colors when Lucifer winks at him. Dean rolls her eyes again, but ignores them when they begin to kiss once more.

:You should've seen them when they were first dating," Dean mumbles to me, "it was horrible. You couldn't be within fifteen feet of them."

I nod. "That doesn't seem surprising."

I guess I had made a straightforward statement, because this time Balthazar is the one to pull away and stare at me. "What makes you say that?" he asks, breathless. I shrug.

"From what Dean has told me about the two of you, before getting together, Lucifer acted like a tribble with ADD around you because he liked you so much."

Both boys openly gape at me, and I feel the stares of everyone on me. Shifting uncomfortably, I turn to Dean. She stares at me too, her lips quivering. The moment our eyes meet, she ruptures into a fit of (what can only be described as) violent laughter. Soon the others join in.

"See," Dean says once she begins to breathe normally again, clapping me on the back, "I told you guys he was a keeper."

"Yeah, you're right," the blonde female, Jo, says. Jo then proceeds to pout. "Now I don't have anyone to blame my boredom on."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll think of something, love," Crowley (?) replies.

Jo blows a raspberry at Crowley (I was certain it was Crowley, now that I think about it) before sipping her soda. After that, conversation picked back up again. And, just like usual, I was that awkward kid who wasn't needed for the conversation to carry on.

Except...

"Hey, Cas," Dean says after poking me in the face and waking me up from my depressing brain-nap. "Please tell Meg that the original trilogy is better than the new one."

All I can do is blink. "Star Wars or Star Trek?"

"Star Trek doesn't have a trilogy," Sam points out.

"The new one does," Dean says back. She smiles at me, making a flush crawl up the back of my neck. "Nice catch. But I'm talking about Star Wars."

I cock my head. "I still don't understand why you don't like the prequel trilogy. It gives more background information to comprehend the original trilogy better. But... the prequels don't have the same style to them, if you really think about it. Besides, I believe that the old-style graphics are considered 'cooler'," I say, raising my hand to use air quotes for the word "cooler."

Dean rolls her eyes (most likely because I used air quotes), but she seemed smug when she turned to Meg, smirk firmly in place. Meg, on the other hand, looks thoughtful as she stares at me. "Well then, Clarence, I see how it is."

"Hey," Dean said, "don't be crackin' on homeboy just 'cause he has good tastes."

Meg snorts derisively, her eyes mirthful. "I wouldn't call liking you 'taste,' Dean-o."

"Oh, fuck you," Dean says, the words lacking the usual heat that would usually accompany them, "there's nothing wrong with Cas' sense o- JESUS CHRIST!"

I look over too late, but just time to see our brothers pull away. Somewhere during the conversation, Gabriel must have climbed into Sam's lap and kissed him. Both had mussed hair and red lips. I shift uncomfortably in my seat. Dean saw this, because she narrowed her eyes at Sam. "And you're supposed to be the smart one," she scoffed before turning to her youngest brother. "Adam-"

Adam snorts. "Please. Remember, I'm the sensible one." He then winks at Michael, who blushes slightly.

"Then what the fuck am I around for then?" Dean asks to no one in particular.

Apparently my brain-to-mouth filter decides to allude me once more, because I tell her that "you're kept around because of your compassion, Dean."

Dean looks at me with an unnameable emotion written across her face before she smiles a very genuine smile, making the area around my heart heat up. "Yeah," Dean mumbles, "that works." She narrows her eyes at Sam and Gabriel once more. "Go sit in the corner, the both of you."

Sam's wearing "the-super-mega-bitchface" expression, but still pulls Gabriel away from the table into a recluse corner of the Roadhouse. "Testosterone," Meg says, "what'cha gonna do?"

"Says the girl with enough libido to make even Dean cringe," Anna mock-complains with a raised eyebrow. Meg shrugs unabashedly and gives her girlfriend a lewd grin. "No," Anna says.

Fortunately, the food is brought to our table. I squint at the food in front of me. I got a clap on the shoulder, from a stranger when I look up. "Don't worry, brother," he says with a Southern accent, "the burger ain't poisoned."

"Haha, very funny, Lafitte," Dean jokes. "Cas, this is Benny Lafitte. Benny, this is-"

"Castiel," Benny says, his eyes roaming up and down my body. I shiver when it hits me that he's studying me. "I hope Deanna put her faith in the right person." Benny then leans forwards until his face is only a few scant inches from mine. "Don't hurt her," Benny mumbles, only loud enough for me to hear, "or you will find that a bunch of pissed teens are the least of your problems. Capiche?" I nod. "Good," Benny says as he smirks. He gets out of my personal space (much to my relief), and leaves to go take care of some other customer.

I guess the look on my face must've been priceless, because Dean puts down her food in favor of putting a hand on my shoulder (but not before wiping the grease off her hands). "Lemme guess," she said with a sad smile, "he told you that if you hurt me, he's gonna whoop your ass?" I swallow before I glance over at Benny. His back was turned to me, but I still could see all the muscles underneath his clothing. I turn back to Dean.

"Something to that extent," I say. I pause when I remember what Dean told me the night we first became friends. "This has to do with your ex-boyfriend, doesn't it?"

Dean sighs. "Really can't pull the wool over your eyes, huh?" She looks down at her abandoned food. "C'mon," Dean says as she stands, heading towards the exit. It only takes me a moment to catch up to her.

When we get outside, the humidness is a shock to my system, since it had just become acclimated to the air-conditioning inside the Roadhouse. "Talk to me," I say.

Dean sighs. "You know how you told me about Ruby and I don't hold it against you?" I nod. "Well..." Dean puts a hand on the back of her neck, hesitant. "My ex's name was Alastair. He was nice to me at first, but then things went downhill pretty quickly." She pulls down her jeans slightly, exposing her hip. I gasp at the multiple scars that I see there. "I said that I was a virgin, right? Not entirely true. I've never had full-on sex, but then again, I don't count blowjobs as sex. Not really. He used to cut my hips during... Anyway, turns out he was twenty, not seventeen like he told me, and the cops arrested him for statutory rape." She pauses, looking thoughtfully at her hip before rolling her jeans back up. "I don't regret it though. It taught me something."

She doesn't say anymore, though I can't really blame her. "He didn't deserve your kindness," I echo her words. "And I can promise you, I would never hurt you like that."

Dean smiles with her eyes when they meet my own. "Believe me, I know. The others don't know though. Only my parents and Benny know the truth. The others believed me when I said that he cheated, that's why he left. And now you know." She looks down at the ground, and to my horror, Dean begins crying. Not in the snot-and-tears way that Jimmy does whenever he injures himself, but streams of tears roll down her cheek. "I don't deserve your kindness," she mumbles, low enough for me to know that I wasn't meant to hear.

I grab her face in both of my hands and, with a sheer amount of impulsiveness, bring our foreheads together. "Don't ever think that," I growl, surprising both myself and Dean. "You are a good person, Deanna Winchester, and I am vehemently proud to call you my friend. And don't you let anyone ever tell you otherwise. And I could give less of a fuck if you don't believe me, because I will spend however long it takes to show you otherwise."

We stare at each other until Dean mumbles, "You swore. You're not kidding."

I roll my eyes. Apparently stubbornness was truly a Winchester sibling trait. "Duh." But now that I knew what was plaguing her, I understood why she hid herself from the others. "No more secrets?" A curl of her lips is all the answer I get. "I'll take that as a yes, then."

Holy hell. 6200 words and 13 pages later, we got chapter 3. I hope this makes up for not updating for months. Pray that this author gets off her lazy ass long enough to at least have the fifth chapter by Thanksgiving. Until then, remember: the more love, the better incentive for me.