John Watson

Secord Lesson: Journalism

11:15-12:45

The bell rang through the halls like an intruder alarm in an army base. At least that's what it sounded like to John. The inspiring military doctor had been to enough bases from army cadets and been through enough drills to know what an alarm sounds like and to John, the school bell was no different. It went off and everyone scatters to their needed destinations in order to keep the entire location safe. The young man sighed as he made it to his class. It was in nicest of the computer labs at the back end of the school. It wasn't far from the cafeteria, he was grateful for that. When he arrived at the lab, he was a little surprised to see Dean sitting in the far corner. To be honest, he didn't mind Dean at the start. He seemed like a genuine guy. kind, smart. At least that's what he would say if his friends weren't the ones to out Castiel before he was ready then proceed to bully him until...well John didn't want to think about that day. It hurt to even think about that day, hurt to see Castiel...Watson shook the thought from his head and went to sit next to Dean. Mostly because he wanted to comfort him about what happened between him and Cas...and because the teacher would have them sit together anyway.

John placed his books near the computer and leaned over to Dean. He was surprised to see the windows were opened to a page to anti-bullying campaigns and a blog page on how to come out to your parents. He turned back to his own computer but not before Dean noticed he was looking over his shoulder. The other man didn't seem to mind though. He just seemed exhausted and fed up.

"I'm bi," Dean said suddenly

"Okay? Good to know." John replied awkwardly.

"Aren't you at least a little bit shocked?"

"The fact you flirted with Cas and I've seen you flirt with everyone you speak...no I'm not shocked. I am shocked that you haven't told anyone about this."

"Kinda hard when your family have traditional views and your teammates are a pack of homophobic animals. That's why I stopped treating them as friends. I was grateful my actual friends wanted me back."

"That is surprising considering..." John started

"Considering the hell my friends cause many people including Castiel. "

John sighed. He kinda felt bad for Dean. The man was dealing with his own conflicts at school and at home. He had trouble being who he was not only at school but at home as well. His football team was filled with homophobes, homophobes that were responsible for keeping Dean safe from the opposition. Dean was student body president; responsible for keeping the school and its students. He was the most popular man in school. He didn't understand why he went out of his way to flirt with his best friend. He didn't mean it in a rude way. Just that Dean's kind didn't exactly stray away from their own social status. Plus, it didn't help that Dean was responsible for making Cas' life hell over the last few years. He was curious if Dean really liked Cas or not. Before he could bring up the topic to Dean, a few more students came walking in with the teacher. He sighed in relief when he saw who the teacher was. It was Ms Hanscum. She was the head of the English and Journalism depart and was loved by all. Even Dean seemed excited to have her as a teacher. She waited until the rest of the class was sat down before beginning the class.

"I'm Ms Hanscum as of you little tikes will know. My rules are simple, respect me and I will respect you. If you have a phone only use it when I tell you too or if it's an emergency. Updating your Instagram isn't an emergency. And lastly, if you have a question or wish to comment please raise your hand. If you follow these simple rule we'll get on greatly." Hanscum smiled

John couldn't help but smile when she did. Ms Hanscum had that aura about that made everyone happy and bright. She made the most horrible day, the greatest day ever. It's not really a surprise that this class was so quiet. Unlike the first one he had where it was filled with bitching and giggles. This was a nice change of pace. John remained his attention on the teacher as she grabbed a piece of lined paper and a pen.

"I'm passing around a piece of paper. Write down your full name so I can mark you on my attendance later on. In the meantime, I'll give you scamps the down low on this course okay?" Ms Hanscum smiled

John watched as the piece of paper went around the room. He looked back over to Dean. Now was a better time than any to confront Dean about his suspicion. He just hoped the other man didn't take the next conversation with bad intent. John just wanted to protect his friend, wanted to make sure Dean was actually genuine.

"Cas told me you flirted with him. Did you mean anything by it?"

John watched as Dean immediately froze. His eyes never left the computer screen and his movements were almost non-existent. If John hadn't seen Dean inhale and exhale, he could have sworn had died from shock. He was almost relieved when the jock let out a sad chuckle.

"I've liked Cas since we started high school. Since he sung the school song at first full school assembly. He sounded like an angel, looked liked an angel. He was this dorky little guy with those bowties he used to wear. I couldn't tell him because of my friends. Instead, I was forced to make his life hell. I wasn't ready to come out yet, so I couldn't anything about it. Just try and protect him in any way I could."

John looked over at Dean. He could tell that he really regretted his actions towards Cas and he kinda understood the not ready thing. Still, that was no excuse to bully his best friends. John couldn't remember the number of times Castiel called him up crying over what Dean and his friends did. John sighed as Hanscum began talking again.

"Now, this class only has one major assignment of the year and three minor ones, which are scattered throughout the year. You will have exams based on the work we covered so keep that in mind." Hanscum paused for a moment. "This year the media and journalism class are working together to create the school's news bulletin and the newspaper. Your major assignment will be this. How exciting. Anyway, half of you will be the newspaper while the other half the news bulletin. Starting next month you'll be using what journalism knowledge you have to create each item. You'll be marked on creativity, research and charisma. The each will come out once a week but the news team will need to be on stand by in for special occasions and dire announcements. You'll have this month to prepare and come up with collum you'll like to cover. So half of our lessons will be dedicated to that while the other half with being dedicated to our topic for the topic for half of the term. " The teacher smiled as she went to her bag to pull out a pile of sheets

John sighed. He hadn't expected this. For years, the school news were two extracurricular activities used for students to didn't have enough English points. John never saw the point of the school newspaper or the bulletin. If he wanted to know more about the school, he would talk to the biggest gossip of campus. He supposed it wasn't so bad as long as he didn't have his face plastered on every screen in the school. John wasn't really a public speaker, he was a writer or so his friends told him. He didn't really believe them, no matter how many times they told him how good John was at writing.

"John...I know I don't deserve it but I need your help. I really like Cas but I know how much he hates me."

John was almost jumped from his seat when Dean spoke. He must have been in a deep trance. He looked at the man next to me. He could see the hurt in Dean's eyes. The desperation. He couldn't forgive Dean for what he did to Cas. Unfortunately, he was taught that everyone deserved a chance to redeem himself. Dean was no exception. He supposed it wouldn't hurt to help Dean out but he had to clear one thing up first. John's mind wandered back to the beginning of the lesson, to when he first noticed Dean's searched pages. One especially. It made John wonder if Dean was the one responsible for the sitting plan idea.

"I will if you answer this question honestly. Did you create the sitting plan for this year?"

Dean sighed. "Yes, I did. I read it worked in other schools to combat against bullying and I suggested to the principal. I thought that if people were forced to sit next to or near someone that they don't normally associate with then it would make them more tolerant of people different from them. But all I'm getting so far is negative feedback."

"It's only second period. I'm sure it will get better. I mean I did get detention cause I was next to the biggest prick in history but hey...not the first detention I've had."

Dean couldn't help but chuckle at that. "This means you'll help me."

"Sure, come by after school and we can get started. But it won't be easy. Cas hates your guts. Cried to me with the things you did. I just hope Cas is worth it to you." John said

"He is. I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to him."

John shook his head. That was an encouraging thought. At least Dean was prepared to do whatever it took to become Castiel's boyfriend. With that said, John didn't mind as much now to help Dean. The man knew he made mistakes and was willing to leave with the consequences. Regretted all he had done to do his crush wrong. If he was honest, he kinda felt bad for Dean. He was the quarterback for the school and was back up by a bunch of hate-filled morons who took one too many hits to the head. On the bright side, if he helped Dean out, the man might have the courage to come out to everyone and he might finally be happy to be in his own skin. One can only hope.