Chapter 14! And for everyone that reviewed the last chapter: thank you sooo much!
Sorry for the wait, I've had a lot of things due lately and it's been hard to find time to write :(
Disclaimer: I own nothing supernatural related!
Hope you like it!
WHERE THERE'S A WILL (Ch. 14)
As Dean approached the school the next morning, he half wondered if he had imagined what had happened the day before. It was all so surreal, dreamlike. How could someone like Cas like me?
But as he approached the kind-hearted teen, all of his doubts were erased as he was greeted with a warm hug. Dean smiled as he breathed in Cas' scent.
"Hello, Dean." Cas' energy was soothing and energizing at the same time. They broke apart, but Cas still remained close.
"Hey, Cas." Dean's smile was bright as he spoke. He had expected to feel awkward the next time he saw the ever-smiling teen. He didn't expect to feel so…good.
When the bell rang to dismiss them to their first period class they walked closely together, side by side. Dean felt a strong urge to touch Cas, to hold his hand, but refrained. He was unsure of how Cas would respond. Dean's eyes stayed glued to the back of Cas' head all through English and he kept sneaking glances at him in Geometry when he thought he wasn't looking. Cas caught him staring more than once and gave him a bright smile each time, amusement painting his expression. Dean, embarrassed, smiled back in response. Everything felt so...right. It was nice to have someone that he felt cared for him. He didn't realize how much he'd needed this until the intensity of it seemed to overwhelm him. He felt silly for getting so attached so soon, but Cas was now like this irreplaceable warmth in his cold and empty life. Everything seemed brighter with him around.
When the school day was over and they were heading for the parking lot, Cas didn't even have to ask if Dean wanted to come over. They simply got in the car and drove to his house, a comfortable silence settling over them. When they pulled up to Cas' house, the slightly smaller teen gave Dean a warm smile before leaning over and placing a soft kiss on his cheek. Dean looked down at his feet.
"I wish you wouldn't do that," came a soft, low voice. Dean looked up at Cas with obvious confusion on his face before looking down again, shying away from the intensity of Cas' stare.
"W-what?" Dean asked softly, still looking down. He felt smooth, warm hands cup his face and bring his chin upward until he was looking directly into Cas' eyes.
"That," Cas whispered gently. He closed the gap between them and lightly brushed his lips against Dean's. Dean relaxed at the delicateness of Cas' touch and briefly nodded his head at Cas' request, a small grin on his face.
They got out of the car after that, and headed for Cas' room. Once there, Cas rummaged through a stack of CD's that sat on his desk before placing one inside of a small CD player. He turned up the volume and headed toward his window. He opened it and glanced back at Dean as in invitation before stepping out onto the roof, helping Dean out once he had a good footing just like he did all those weeks ago. Cas reclined back on the roof and looked up at Dean with a playful smile as he waited for Dean to get settled on the roof beside him.
Dean felt he could never get accustomed to the beautiful view. He scanned the horizon, looking over to the line of trees that sat at the far edge of the sky. He thought back to his hike with Cas, a smile painting over his features. His smile grew as he felt Cas skim his thumb softly over his cheek.
Dean relaxed into the touch as he lie back, soaking in the sun's warm rays.
They had been lying on the roof for a few hours, the window of Cas' room wide open so that they could hear the soft music that was playing from within. Cas was lightly stroking Dean's forehead, occasionally carding his fingers through his short hair as Dean looked up at the early evening sky. The temperature was steadily dropping and Dean shivered slightly when another gust of wind blew over him. Cas scooted closer until the long line of his body was right up against Dean's, the hunter's head now resting on the crook of his arm.
"Do you want to go back inside?" Cas ran his long fingers down the arm of Dean's light jacket.
"No…if that's okay. I just want to sit here for a little longer." Dean murmured.
Cas noticed how much easier it was for Dean to speak. After their brief kiss in the car, Dean was the most at ease he had ever seen him. Cas was beginning to suspect that Dean only had speech difficulties when he was anxious or upset. Dean only seemed truly comfortable when he was around Cas. Cas smiled to himself at that thought as he bent his head down until his nose was buried in Dean's hair. He breathed in the sweet scent and exhaled, his warm breath tickling across Dean's scalp causing the light-haired teen to shiver again. Cas held him closer.
When Dean heard the next song start he turned his head slightly to ask what exactly they had been listening to for the past few hours. The music continued to play sweetly in the background as Cas responded.
"It's some of my brother's compositions. For my birthday last year he gave me that CD and on it are all of my favorites."
Dean was in awe. "Wow. Your brother plays beautifully."
"Thank you," Cas said for his brother. "I'll be sure to let him know what you said."
An easy stillness fell over them again and Dean turned his attention back to the sky. Puffy billows scattered across the otherwise clear sky, softening the intensity of the blue canvas that stretched above them, the golden orb of the sun lightly warmed his face. Dean felt he could never get enough of the beauty of this day, of this moment. He took note of the position of the sun in the sky. Without meaning to, his thoughts suddenly shifted toward his father.
"Cas, what time is it?"
Cas moved a little so that he could glance down at his watch. "Um…it's a quarter till six." Cas felt Dean shift uneasily in his embrace. "You…you have to go?" He tried to keep the sadness out of his voice as he asked, but failed miserably. Dean just nodded his head and Cas reluctantly loosened his grip as he helped the other teen stand. On the drive over to Dean's house, Cas kept his eyes on the road, not really in the mood for talking. He didn't want the time they spent on the roof to end. Dean kept sneaking timid glances at his face and was a bit taken back to see the sadness that seemed to weigh the raven-haired teen down. Cas pulled up in front of Dean's house with a sigh. Dean leaned forward to plant a shy kiss on the corner of Cas' mouth and was surprised when Cas suddenly turned his face to deepen the kiss, his warm hand resting lightly on Dean's face. Dean gave Cas a bright smile as he stepped out of the car before suddenly stopping.
The impala.
He had been so distracted when they were pulling up, that he didn't notice his dad's car in the driveway. He felt his entire body tense at the sight.
"Dean? You okay?" Cas' concerned voice called from the shiny Mazda.
Dean turned to face Cas from where he stood on the front walk. "Y-yeah…I'll…uh…I'll see y-you tomorrow."
Cas felt uneasy at the sound of Dean's stuttering. Why was he suddenly so anxious? "Okay…" Cas sounded unsure. Dean remained standing on the front walk, obviously waiting for Cas to drive away before he would go inside. Cas offered the hunter a small smile before driving off. Once Dean was sure that Cas was gone, he turned back to face the house. He took a deep breath to collect himself before making his way to the front door, opening it slowly in anticipation.
In the dim light of the living room, John was sitting stiffly on the couch. Dean swallowed as he closed the door softly behind him. He began to shift from foot to foot uncomfortably. John icy stare seemed to pierce right through him.
"Where the hell have you been?" John asked, emphasizing each word. He rose from the couch and walked over to where Dean was standing by the door, towering over him, crowding him.
"I-I had an a-after school…I w-was…I-" Dean was suddenly cut off by John's iron grip on his throat, cutting off his air supply. Dean struggled to breathe, clutching anxiously at John's hand, trying to loosen its grip. John, still holding Dean by his throat, slammed the hapless teen's head back against the closed front door. Dean winced at the impact.
"Don't. Lie. To. Me." John's grip grew impossibly tighter. Dean's vision began to blur as he tried his best to hold on to his consciousness. Just when he thought he was going to pass out, John released his grip. Dean fell to the ground, clutching his now sore throat as he took in deep, broken breaths of life saving air, coughing and sputtering.
Dean thought up a lie quickly. "I-I…" more coughing, "I'm in t-the drama club at s-school. W-we have meetings…t-that's why I'm l-late." John seemed to accept this and Dean felt an overwhelming surge of relieve run through him. His father started walk away but quickly turned around to deliver a forceful kick into Dean's stomach. Dean gagged at the sudden blow, the contents of his stomach forcing their way out of his body and onto the wooden floor. Dean clutched his stomach, trying in vain to ease the intense pain.
"Clean that shit up." John muttered before flopping back onto the couch, opening a beer and quickly draining it before moving on to another.
"Y-yes sir." Dean whispered as he carefully limped around the bile -the pain in his stomach hindering his walking- and into the kitchen to get some cleaning supplies. Once the mess was cleaned, he went up the stairs into the bathroom so that he could rinse his mouth. He looked in the mirror at the unmistakable dark red hand print around his neck. Lifting his shirt he could already see the beginnings of a deep bruise on his stomach. Dean had to admit, it could have been a lot worse. John could have been drunk, and Drunk John was ten times worse than Sober John. Dean sighed as he pulled his shirt back down.
In spite of the slowly developing bruises, Dean couldn't help but smile to himself. Now with John thinking he would be having meetings after school with the drama department, he didn't have to worry about beating John home when he hung out with Cas.
Perfect.
Dean walked out of the bathroom feeling optimistic.
As Dean lie in bed that night, his thoughts -as usual- drifted to Cas. That afternoon on his roof had really been nice. Dean sighed contentedly as he rolled over on the hard mattress and quickly fell asleep.
On the other side of town, Cas sat up in his bed thinking of Dean. He wished that he could call him, but didn't know Dean's number. I'll have to ask him for it tomorrow.
Cas sank lower into the nest of blankets that covered his bed. He thought back to the sudden rigidness of Dean's posture when he got out of his car. When Dean had turned to face him, pure terror filled his eyes. It made Cas' heart lurch at the sight. It was strangely familiar.
Hm.
As Cas thought about it a little more, he suddenly knew why Dean's expression had been so familiar: Dean had worn the same expression back in his kitchen all those weeks ago when he had stayed over for dinner.
'…don't, don't hurt me'
What would make Dean say that?
Cas yawned deeply; it had been a long day. As he turned over to go to sleep, Dean's words played softly over and over again on the edges of his consciousness.
'P-please, please, I-I'm s-sorry, don't, don't hurt me'
'Whoa, whoa, no one's going to hurt you...'
Cas turned again, uneasily. His eyelids began to droop.
'Dean?'
Cas frowned as he finally submitted himself to sleep.
TBC
A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! It could be a while before I update again, with finals and everything. But don't worry! I am fully committed to this story, I won't leave you hanging!
Let me know what you thought of the chapter!