It was difficult for Castiel to enjoy himself now that he knew that Dean was here.
He wants to be able to have fun with his best friend for the last few days of their final summer as high school students, but finds that his anxiety over his brief romance with Dean Winchester is taking up far too much time in his thoughts for him to remain cheerful.
The brunette feels embarrassed that he had fallen so quickly for someone without knowing their age. A part of him feels as though it was not fair to Dean for him to run away from their relationship so quickly, but on the other hand, Castiel is too ashamed of his own actions to even face Dean.
And so he spends as much time as he can today, trying desperately to avoid eye contact with the other. He stays curled up in a tube float with his best friend, Balthazar, as the party goes on around them. They talk quietly in hushed voices so that no one else can hear over the constant chatter of voices enjoying the cookout.
"Cassie, you could always talk to him," Balthazar tries to add helpfully, "It couldn't hurt."
At this, Castiel turns his head to rest it upon his friend's shoulder. "It won't help either," he says quietly, "Just thinking about talking to him again makes me feel sick."
The blond teen frowns in consideration of this, then reaches down to hold Castiel's hand gently in an act of comforting.
"Boys!"
Both of the teens turn their heads toward the direction of the voice to see Castiel's dad waving a spatula in the air from across the lawn, where the grill had been set up. Mr. Novak is a middle aged man, with the same dirty blonde hair as his son Gabriel, though his hairline is receding and turning slightly gray with age. He is a preacher, leaning upon his religion when things in life become difficult. This helped him cope with his wife's sickness and death when Castiel was still a toddler. It helped to give him the strength that he needed in order to raise his four sons practically on his own. However, it also made it difficult for his sons to talk to him about much.
"Burgers are ready," the older man flashes a bright smile over at the two young men. "Come eat as soon as you two get a chance!"
"Let's go," Balthazar says quietly, sliding off of the float and into the water carefully as to not knock his friend out. "I'm starving, really."
"Hey Cassie," Balthazar said, sliding his phone into his bag, "That was my mom. She says she need me to go ahead and head home." He frowns at his friend, feeling guilty that he was having to leave the party on such short notice.
Castiel pouts slightly and stands up, wrapping his arms around Balthazar's neck. "Alright. I will see you again before school starts, correct?" he asks, pressing his face to his best friend's bare shoulder.
"Of course you will," the blond reassures the other. He looks over Castiel's shoulders, accidentally meeting a pair of bright green eyes from the other side of the lawn, which quickly avert their gaze.
The rest of the afternoon went by fairly quickly after that. Castiel sat by the poolside for the majority of it. He had asked his father if he could go inside, but was promptly told that it would be rude of him. He found himself counting the minutes until the party would be over. With an hour left on the clock, Castiel could not sit still any longer. He felt as though he needed an excuse to walk around. And so, he decided he would refill his drink.
It was almost ridiculous how careful he was being as to avoid encountering Dean. He checked to make sure the path to the drink table was clear twice before he made his way over. Even as he was filling his red solo cup back up, his eyes kept darting around the half of the yard that he could see without making it obvious that he was scouting out the area.
From what he could see, Dean Winchester was nowhere to be found. Perhaps the Winchester family had already gone home for the day. Castiel feels a rush of relief flow through his as this realization comes to him.
He cannot help the slight smile on his face at the idea that he had managed to avoid any terribly awkward confrontations. Perhaps he could just pretend whatever happened between him and Dean never really happened at all. He feels a little silly for worrying so much over something like this.
Castiel screws the lid back onto the coke bottle, staring down at his drink as he turns quickly and takes a step back toward the pool deck only to feel his hand bump into someone's chest. His mouth opens to release a quiet squeak of surprise as he loses grip on his cup, sending cold Coca-Cola soaking through the shirt of the person in front of him. He looks up at the person in his way, face falling with surprise and panic.
"Dean!"
Thank you for reading! the next chapter will be up soon so please let me know what you think of this chapter!