Sorry for the shortness and the amount of time it took. School got crazy again and I had to focus on studying. But winter break starts tomorrow. I will be writing presents for people and hopefully working more on this one. The ending is still hanging in the balance of two sides. I have decided to make it way longer too, so there is still many chapters to come. (I hope.. I'm so lazy) Anyway, I own nothing but the story line. Enjoy!

It had been almost three months since Dean had stopped talking to Cas. His dad had relapsed into his usual presence but still stared at Dean accusingly from across the table. Their mom had tried many times to make Dad change his mind but he never budged. Hell, even Uncle Bobby had accepted Dean for who he was, but nothing seemed to help change John's mind. Dean had given up the hope of ever being himself in his household. There was too much drama when he tried and it always ended with someone getting hurt.

School was hell now; he walked in and the first thing he saw was Cas. Whenever he snuck a glance he made sure Sam wasn't looking at him and Dean would observe how his love was doing.

It was bad; Cas was hunched over like he used to be, he had big black sweaters or his trench coat to keep people from noticing him too much. What Sam had told him about Cas floated through his mind each time. Each time he looked for scars but Cas's arms were always covered with long sleeves.

Dean longed to go over and explain the whole situation to him but he knew that he couldn't. Sam was on his ass all the time, telling him that it would end bad for everyone if he went over. Dean told him he could just not tell Dad but Sam shook his head saying "Dad would find out some other way." After having seen the marks on Sam's collarbone he knew he couldn't. Dean wasn't sure exactly what he meant by John would find out another way, but he assumed it meant he had more than just Sam watching him.

This day at school was no different, except for the fact that Cas looked smaller in his sweater more so than normal. He looked more hunched over and he looked terrified. Dean wanted to go over, wrap a protective arm around the beautiful boy and protect him from the world. He couldn't though and cursed his father and everyone who was keeping them apart. Cas was struggling, Dean could see that and he couldn't do a damn thing about it. There was nothing he could do to help him.

Lunch time that day came along and Dean left his football buddies to go to the washroom. When he walked in it was completely empty, except for a crumpled form on the floor. Worry set in and he rushed over to make sure the person was alright. He lifted the black hood off his face and gasped in horror at what he found.

Underneath was the mess of black hair he loved so dearly, his eyes were closed and breathing ragged. The form opened his eyes after a couple seconds and blinked at the sight of Dean's face. He scrambled away from him, holding his arms close to his chest. Dean looked down where Cas had just been and gasped. There was blood, all over the tiles. Way too much, the blood was in pools everywhere.

"Cas..." Dean inhaled, looking up at the broken boy. Tears were in Castiel's eyes and he was staring at Dean angrily "I'm... I'm so sorry Cas." Dean whispered, moving closer to the boy as he saw his eyes start to flutter. He caught him just as he was crumpling sideways. "Hey... hey it's okay, I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere. Not again."

Cas looked up at him and whispered "Why'd you leave in the first place?" His voice was hoarse as if he hadn't spoken for days and his eyes were bloodshot. Dean knew Cas probably hadn't slept in awhile. The scars along both his wrists were angry and new. Cas had relapsed, the older scars proved that much.

He shook his head "I had to... My dad... He found out and told me if I talked to you... Well either me or Sammy would've gotten hurt. I know it was selfish of me and I'm so so sorry." Dean let tears come to his eyes, he could cry just this once. Cradling Cas close to him he whispered "Please don't leave me here alone."

Shaking his head Cas rolled his head against Dean's chest "You left me first."

"I know and that was stupid of me, but you have to believe me when I say that I didn't want to. I was so happy with you Cas. I swear to God I was, I should've fought harder but I was worried about my brother. He'd never been beaten before and I didn't know if he could handle it." Dean cried, "Turns out it didn't matter. My dad beat him anyway." He looked down at Castiel's wrists and saw how deep there were. Vertical instead of horizontal. He knew what that meant and he choked on his tears. He saw how much blood was pouring out onto his pants and the floor. Cas was going to die if he didn't get help here soon.

Shifting Cas to his one arm and clutching him close; he pulled out his cell and dialed an ambulance. He explained what was happening and where they were. When he hung up he cradled Cas close and pressed his face into his hair "Stay with me Cas, help is coming. You're going to be okay, I swear everything is going to be okay. Please don't leave me alone here with these people."

Cas opened his eyes and looked up at Dean "You... you really do still care?" His breath was faint and Dean worried that he would be there with them for much longer.

"Yes, oh god yes I do Cas. I love you, I love you so damn much." Dean whispered into his hair, shaking as sobs wracked him. He tried not to be too loud; he didn't want to attract too much attention to himself until he had to. He could feel Cas's pulse waning and urged the paramedics to get here faster. They had to save him, they just had to.

A small smile spread over Cas's lips and he closed his eyes again, "I love you too Dean... I never stopped loving you as much as I tried to make myself believe I hated you." He inhaled sharply and Dean knew there was too much blood around them. Cas was deathly pale now, he didn't have much longer. Who knew how long the boy had been sitting there before Dean walked in. There was so much blood, Dean could hardly stomach the smell, knowing it was the boy's life force.

"The ambulance will be here soon, hold on Cas." Dean whispered, rocking him gently.

"I'll try." Dean faintly heard the boy whisper.

They sat like that for a few minutes, Dean talking and trying to keep Cas awake while rocking him back and forth. He grabbed paper towels from above them and pressed them to Cas's wrists. He hoped to stop the bleeding but he'd already lost so much. Soon he felt Cas's breathing slow, slow down way too much and Dean had to force him awake. He shook him, a little violently but it made Cas's eyes flutter open and he gave Dean a weak smile. They both knew what was going to happen yet Dean refused to acknowledge the fact. He wasn't going to lose him, not this time, not again.

Cas exhaled and said "I love you Dean, remember that. I love you."

Dean stared at him and shook his head "Don't, don't do that. Don't you dare say your goodbyes! Don't leave..." His whole body shook as he whispered into Cas's neck "Don't leave me..."

He felt Cas's pulse... There was nothing. He searched all over the boy's neck, his wrists. He cried out his name but there was no response. Grasping the corpse close to him he yelled "CASTIEL!"

That's when the door burst open and the paramedics took over. They took Cas's body and strapped tubes and IV into his scared wrists. They saw all the blood, nodded to one another and put in a blood bag. Dean knew it would be the universal blood type until they knew what Cas was. They checked for a pulse and began to perform CPR. Dean was pulled out of the bathroom, much to his protests and forced to wait outside.

As he watched the paramedics push Cas away on the stretcher he made a vow to himself. He would leave this place. He would run away and start a life somewhere where people wouldn't know him. Wouldn't judge him for who he loved or what he did. He was leaving town and he was never coming back. He knew Cas was already gone, he would cry about that for the rest of his life; but he needed to be strong and needed to move on. Cas would've wanted that, he would've wanted Dean to be happy.

At least Dean hoped he would.

That's what Dean would do, he would be happy. As happy as he could be. Move on with his life and make his own decisions. No one would be able to tell him what to do, or what was right; he would decide those for himself. His dad wouldn't be there telling him he couldn't talk to the boy he loved. There would be nothing holding him back.

It was time to choose his own path, and Dean had found it. He would drive two states over in his car and graduate from high school somewhere over there. He had the grades to transfer and he could always lie about his name, saying he'd been adopted and Winchester wasn't really his last name. He'd make it impossible for anyone to ever find him. To hell with these people, Dean was done with them. Dean was ready to be free and he was ready to love freely.