The Hell Hounds.
It was the smallest sliver of light, peeking in from behind the curtain, and of all the places for it to land... it was upon Castiel's eyes. The alarm went off, and Castiel, like any regular human, opened his eyes. It was, altogether, a big mistake. He groaned; flailing his arms and kicking his covers. He reached over and shut off his alarm, then turned and flopped his head back onto his pillow with a big floof. Five minutes later, and Gabriel is pounding on his door.
"Wake up, sunshine!" The pad, pad of his feet echoed down the hall and the sound disappeared.
Castiel sat up and got out of bed. He fell over, face first. He got up and groaned, walking over to his shower. The water was cold and Castiel yelled at the below zero temperature.
"GABRIEL!" There was manic laughter down the hall.
He walked down to eat his breakfast, and found that there was no milk. There was a box of PopTarts on the top shelf and like some shining light on his gloomy morning, Castiel excitedly reached for it.
The box was empty.
Castiel looked at the clock on the stove only to see the bright green numbers inform him that he is already ten minutes late for school.
Sam, on the other hand, was already eating breakfast by the time Castiel got out of bed. His hair was brushed and his PJs were still on; ready to get ready. After downing the last of his orange juice, he ran up stairs and picked out his clothes for today. He went from brushing his teeth to putting on Jessica's favorite scent of cologne.
He walked down the hall to his parent's room and ever so quietly opened the door. It was dark, and just barely any light was shining in through the break in the curtain. His fan was going, whizzing cool air onto his father's sprawled form. Covers were tossed haphazardly and he was enthralled in the sheets, chubby and scarred body unconscious and slightly snoring.
Sam walked over and tapped John on the shoulder. Nothing. He prodded him and whispered, trying to coerce him to easily come to. After about three minutes, Sam was almost running late from his desired time of departure and gave in to roaring his dad to consciousness.
"DAD!" He bellowed, full gusto from the diaphragm. John snorted loudly and his eyes shot open. When he was laying face first in his pillow, he turned to look at Sam's smug grin and whined.
"What d'ya want Sammy...?" He slurred sleepily.
"I need the keys to the car-" John groaned. "Unless you want to get up and ready and drive me all the way to school yourself."
John flopped over face-up. He stared at his ceiling and contemplated. Side eyeing his youngest son, he squinted.
"Bathroom counter under the towel." He wiped his hand over his face.
He heard the shuffling of Sam's feet and the jingling of keys.
"And Samuel... Low gas, oil, scratch it, break it, or hurt that car in any way and-"
"I'm grounded for eternity. I know, Dad, I know. God, I'm not fifteen anymore I know what I'm doing."
And with that, he was out the door, giddy as can be, driving the family car.
They walked in an arrow shaped line, like birds flying in sync, as if they were in a movie from the early two thousands.
Front woman, Abaddon, had red, long, flowing hair. She had her scarlet leather jacket (almost never taken off) suiting her curves and covering over the black t-shirt logo'd with a pentagram.
The Masters twins, Ruby and Meg, wore the same tank tops, pentagrams, and red converse. Meg with brunette hair, Ruby with blonde. They both were on either side of Abaddon, sipping their Starbucks and glaring at any who dared to stare.
Crowley, to Ruby's left, wore the same T-shirt. Shorter in stature, slick, black hair, and a cocky smile. Just like the rest of them; dressed to the nines (nineteen ninety if anything).
Last, Azazel, had his carbon-copied shirt and shorts, and a chain coming out of one of the pockets (what is this, 2005?). He had a cigarette atop his right ear and was on the far right of Abaddon, after Meg. The smug expression evident on his thin, pale and gawky face.
They stopped a few feet from Cas' locker, and they somewhat huddled together briefly and broke apart. Crowley strutted up to the locker and slammed it as the rest of them stood back to watch, snickering. Abaddon, unlike the others, wore her pleased, demonic smirk. Castiel, however, just took a simple step back from his locker. The one and only expression appropriate for a situation like this is simple; just under 700% done.
"Novak, how many times have I told you?" The smooth British accent poured out of his mouth like molasses.
Confused as to whether he is more brave or scared, Castiel squared his shoulders and looked down at Crowley. "What, that you're too stupid to write your own damn papers?" His voice faltering on the last note, causing the slightest inflection in his voice.
Azazel slammed his fist on the locker next to Castiel's. "You better watch your fucking mouth, Cas, wouldn't want anyone punching those pretty little teeth in."
Snickering ensued from the girls behind them.
"Listen, Azazel, I don't give a flying fuck as to what you'll do to me. We all know you're all talk." He looked at the girls, too. "Every single one of you. So please, save your breath, and go piss on a fire hydrant or whatever you do in your free time."
"You shouldn't of said that, Castiel." Azazel smiled wickedly. "Crowley, ol' buddy ol' pal, help me out here?"
The sound of Castiel's head crashing against the lockers echoed down the otherwise deserted hallway. With quiet calculation, he studied their every move. He breathed heavy, in and out of his nose. Azazel tilted Castiel's head upwards with the slightest movement of his hand; and Castiel looked down on the pair. All he saw was darkened eyes of mischief and deeply rooted anger.
"Now, Novak, I want that paper by lunch," Crowley smiled up at him. "or Azazel and I will teach you a lesson you won't soon forget."
"Go to hell," Castiel grunted. The grip on his throat tightened and he looked up at the blinding florescent ceiling. He heaved in and out and strangled for his feet to meet the floor, just to get some relieve. Azazel noticed him squirming, and only squeezed harder around his neck.
"Plan on it, mate." Crowley bent his elbow back and with a closed fist, clocked Castiel right in the nose. Blood poured out immediately. Azazel brought him down and kneed him in the stomach. Crowley pulled his face up by his hair and punched Castiel, again, in the same spot before, causing blood to splatter everywhere.
The hall was deserted, but Sam Winchester just emerged from the bathroom, and looking over his shoulder at the noise, he broke into a sprint.
"Cas!" He ran down the hall, heaving heavily as he stopped in front of the group.
Ruby emerged from the three of the girls standing idly by. She smiled malevolently up at Sam and walked over. Stoic, Sam made no pass at her; he sped straight pass to his best friend, bloody and bruised. Ruby frowned, but lurked behind Sam anyways.
"What the hell are you doing?!" He shouted, going red in the face, and was bellowing at Crowley. Azazel let go of Castiel and grabbed hold of Sam's bicep, holding him back, and looked dead at him. Castiel fell down and gripped the locker for support, more or less spent.
"Make a move and you're done for, Green Giant."
Sam ripped his arm out of Azazel's grip, and from that moment on, it all happened so fast.
Castiel breathed in one last breath of gusto and hurled himself upright, grabbing Crowley by surprise. He kicked him right where his kidneys are, causing the shorter arsehole to bellow over. Meg and Abbadon stood back and watched, gasping and clutching their chests. Crowley was on the floor when Castiel kicked him three times in the side, and maybe once in the groin for good measure.
Sam took his newly freed arm and jabbed Azazel in the throat; right in his windpipe. He kneed him in the stomach and, within seconds, the tables turned 180 degrees, two boys were crying on the floor, and three girls were stock still.
Castiel gave Sam a bloody smile.
Ruby, on the other hand, gave him something else.
She grabbed him in the same place Azazel did, and jerked him toward her. She looked at him intensely and smiled.
"Sammy... I gotta say that was pretty awesome..." She looked over her shoulder to the two bodies, barely conscious, and looked back up at Sam. "Absolutely... primal."
"I know what you're doing," Sam jerked out of her grasp, "...and it won't work. Just like it didn't the other twelve times you did it."
"Did what, Sam?" Ruby looked up at him, pleading.
The act of innocence can only go on for so long.
Just then, the bell rang. The only people to leave were Meg and Abaddon, and that was just across the hall, so they wouldn't get pegged with the rest of the group.
"Did what, Sam?" Ruby repeated louder, so he could hear her over the students.
"This bullshit of trying to get with me. You've been doing it for the past... five years and you cannot take no for an answer!" Sam's nostrils flared, and Castiel let his eyes drift between them.
She smiled. Castiel knew what she was thinking.
"You're..." Sam was oblivious, but that's nothing new. He wracked his brain for the right word. "You're horrible." No, that didn't cut it. "You're vile," Not that, either.
It clicked. The light bulb almost burst with light.
"You're poison."
Ruby giggled. "I could have told you that, Sammy," she smoothed a hand over his chest, "besides... everyone needs a little poison."
She leaned in, and kissed him smack on the lips. Castiel could have sworn he even saw some tongue in there.
Just then, Sam pulled away, disgusted and horrified. He looked like he just frenched a garden snake.
And, just then, Jessica appeared on the scene.
"What the fuck are you doing?"
She had a look on her face that resembled that of Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction, if Castiel recalls correctly. The exact scene is that of which they're talking about Wallace and he and John Travolta are about to take care of some lying clients. He screams "SAY WHAT AGAIN" with the fury of Samuel L. Jackson and his character has just about had enough of it.
That is Jessica Lee Moore's face right at this very moment.
"Jessica I swear I had nothing to do with this it all happened very fast and Cas was bleeding and I was running and then Crowley was bleeding and she just-" Sam sputtered like a broken hose.
"Not you," her eyes didn't leave Ruby's 5'4" stature. "her."
Ruby looked unabashed.
"I will ask you one more time what the fuck you were doing to my boyfriend before you end up crying with those two sacks of shit on the floor." She nodded towards the said bleeding gentlemen in fetal position on the tile floor of the hallway.
Castiel snapped back to reality for a split second and asked himself, why are there no teachers around to see any of this? He then noticed the group of his peers forming, not very big in size, but ever growing.
Their time would be cut short soon if the multitude kept increasing at this rate.
"I was doing what I should have done a long ass time ago." Ruby, snarky as shit, sauntered over to Jessica. "What are you going to do about it, Blondie? Break a nail? Cry me a river? Shut the fuck up?"
Jessica brought her fist backwards in a swift motion, and snapped is forwards, right on the bridge of Ruby's nose. She doubled over, and Jessica could feel the pain decrease in her hand as the adrenaline snapped into place. This was not the end of her strike, because she elbowed Ruby in the temple. Pulling her hair back, she squeezed the bridge over her nose with the other hand.
Blood was gushing, people were gasping, and Sam was nothing short of turned on. Ruby squealed in pain, and Jessica squeezed harder.
"Touch him, talk to him, be near him again and I will hunt you down like a bloodhound because you're putrid sent of self-hatred is so potent. I will tear you a shit load of new ones that your reputation of being in this preschool level "gang" will be tarnished to shit. Do you understand?"
Cas looked down the hall, and saw adult-sized silhouettes, "Jessica, we have to go."
"Do you understand?"
Ruby let out a small tone of understanding, and Jessica let go and she flopped to the ground.
The sea of students parted ways, Jess grabbed Sam's hand, and Castiel followed suit.
"Sam, call Dean. We need him to pick us up at the Starbucks down the block and take us to the nearest place that can get Cas cleaned up." Jessica instructed. The three of them were basically sprinting through the outside of the school, trying to get out of there as soon as possible.
It was only second period, and the day got ten times better than it started, in Castiel's opinion. Sam, on the other hand, was reeling it all in.
"But didn't Cas drive his own car-"
"He is in no condition to drive." She retorted.
"What about you?"
She showed him her pulsing and bloody hand.
"What about me?"
"Are you honestly in a settled mental state to be driving us and not get us killed?"
"Well I mean not entirely-"
"Call Dean."
She winked at Castiel.
He blushed slightly and smiled back.
"Can we please just talk abou-"
"Call Dean!" Jessica and Castiel said in unison.