Warning: Graphic description of a nosebleed. If you have a thing with nosebleeds, please stop reading at the first line break (Castiel walked through the crowded hallway..) and then carry on at the second line break ('Cas? What are you doing here?..).. Just thought I'd give you a heads up.

Sam bounded down the stairs, smelling food.

'What's cooking?'

'We ordered cheeseburgers.' Sam's face screwed up.

'Again?!'

'Boy, you watch your mouth or you won't get anything!' Bobby crouched down and began to search for plates in a cupboard.

'Sorry..'

'Cas, do you want fries with that?' Dean asked.

He shook his head and looked down. Dean had never really realised just how thin and frail Cas was until recently.

'You gotta eat more than half a cheeseburger..'

'I'm fine, thank you, Dean.'

Dean's eyes were still filled with concern which Cas appeared to pick up on.

'I have never really eaten that much. I do not have a large appetite.'

'Cas, it's freaking tiny. I know you don't eat at school.. But you're here now, okay? So try to eat something.'

'I am fine, Dean.' Cas repeated, sternly.

The room went silent while Sam tried to think of something to say.

'So, Dean.. Are you going back to school? I kinda miss you being there..'

'Nope. Never.' Dean grinned widely before shoving a large bite of his cheeseburger into his mouth.

'Dean, I would prefer it if you were at school..' Cas murmured.

'Oh, and why's that, Cas?'

'I do not feel safe.' Cas picked at his burger bun, eyeing it suspiciously.

Dean's expression turned guilty and he dropped his gaze to his food. He felt bad for Cas, but he sure as hell wasn't going back. His own bullying had been bad enough.

'Why don't you just stay here with me?'

'Because he has exams.' Bobby answered.

'So? So did I before I decided to quit. I'm fine. In fact, I'm better off.'

Cas shuffled on his chair. 'I would like to achieve good grades, Dean.'

'Why? I don't see the point in them.'

'I've had just about enough of you, Dean. Let the boy eat and stop dragging him down with your stupid decisions.' Bobby was pissed, Dean could tell that much.

'Sorry, sorry.'

They ate in an uncomfortable silence. Bobby stood up to collect the dishes when they had finished and the boys made their way to their bedrooms.

'I apologise if my behaviour upset you..' Cas sat on the chair in the corner of the room, well away from Dean.

'Why would it?'

'Because I did not answer how you wanted me to.'

'Cas, there's a little thing called standing up for your own choices.. What I mean is, don't give a fuck about what I think.. I'd just prefer it if you were here with me..' Dean rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

'Really?' There was a tone of genuine wonder to Cas' voice.

'Well, yeah.'

'Then I am sorry I cannot spend more time with you..'

They stared at each other for a long while before Cas sighed and looked away.

'What is it?'

'Dean, we must talk about my father..'

'Sure.. So what's the plan?'

'I would have to do it alone.'

'Cas, are you friggin' nuts?! I'm coming with you! You can't just go in and stand up to him without back up! I've seen what he's capable of!'

'This is my fight. One thing I would ask of you, though, is your assistance on the journey to my house.'

'You want me to drive you?'

'Yes.'

'What, and then just leave? No! I'm not doing that. I can't just leave you!' Dean's voice was becoming panicked.

Cas sighed once more and stood up, turning himself away from Dean.

'If this was your father, would you not wish to do it alone?'

Cas knew Dean's father was his weak spot and that Dean could never form a valid argument when he was mentioned.

'Fine.' Dean whispered, not wanting to fight a battle that was already lost.

'Thank you.'

Cas gasped when he was spun around to face the other boy.

'Just please, please don't get hurt.' Dean's eyes were stinging at the thought of Cas going through even more pain.

'I can't guarantee anything.. But I shall try not to.' Cas smiled a lopsided smile at Dean and wrapped his arms around him.

'You are so the girl in this.' Dean chuckled.

'Why?' Cas pulled away to look at Dean's face, his head tilted in confusion.

Dean's right eyebrow pulled up. 'Never mind..' He chuckled again and hugged Cas to him.

Castiel walked through the crowded hallway. It was only Wednesday and he couldn't wait for school to be over.

Suddenly, long fingers gripped the back of his hair and he was thrust forward into a locker, his head crashing into the blue metal. It was over quickly and Castiel was left lying on the floor, vision blurry and his face becoming increasingly wet. He saw a figure walk away and expected it to be Zach, but he could tell it wasn't, even with his momentarily fuzzy vision. He stood up shakily and felt his nose. It was throbbing and wet when he touched it. He pulled his fingertips away to reveal red liquid, and lots of it. Hastily, he cupped his nose in both hands, trying to stop the blood from gushing out.

The toilet door burst open as Castiel rushed in to see to his nose. Blood was beginning to dry around his mouth but the flow from his nostrils didn't look as if it would stop any time soon. He could taste the blood, sharp and metallic, on his tongue.

Castiel ripped some paper from a roll and threw his head back. He could see himself in the mirror and the amount of clothing the blood had stained; Dean's clothing. Castiel groaned and wished he'd been more forceful when telling Dean he was fine with his own clothes.

His nose was quickly becoming dry due to him tipping his head back so Castiel dabbed the tissue over his face before throwing it away. His hands gripped around the basin in front of him and he stared at himself in the mirror. The loss of blood was making his head spin, however his vision was becoming clearer. Castiel wondered who could have pushed him into the locker with such force that he could lose so much blood.

He looked awful; the bottom half of his face was mostly covered in sticky, half-dried liquid and there were smudges over other areas on his face. A black eye or two would surely pop up overnight.

Castiel had no idea what he would tell Dean about the state of his face or his clothes. He didn't want to worry him with how far the bullying had gone since Dean wasn't there to protect him anymore. And it wasn't just Zach either, but he was still unaware as to who slammed him into the locker. He drew in ragged breath, wet his face to wash away the thick, drying liquid and left the boy's bathroom.

'Cas? What are you doing here? It's only..' Bobby paused to look at the clock on the wall, 'It's only eleven AM.. What the hell happened to you?' Bobby appeared to have only just noticed the blood soaked clothes bunched up in Cas' hand.

'Is Dean upstairs?' Cas decided to ignore Bobby.

'Yeah, but I'm pretty sure he's sleeping, the lazy-'

'Thank you, Bobby.' Cas rushed off towards Dean's room.

'Come in.' Dean's voice was deep and cracked from sleep as he answered to Cas' light knock on the door.

Cas pushed the door open and Dean immediately sat up.

'Cas! What happened?!' Dean's eyes focused on the bloody clothes in his hand. Cas smiled at Dean's concern and went to sit down next to him.

'I'll be fine.'

'Stop saying you're fine, Cas!'

Cas turned his head away. 'I'm sorry about your clothes, Dean. I'll replace them.'

'I don't care about the clothes.. What happened?' Dean's voice had become softer.

'I don't know who did it.. But somebody pushed me into the locker.'

Dean's fists balled up. 'I'm gunna kill that son of a bitch.'

'Dean, stop.'

'It was Zach wasn't it?'

'I couldn't tell who it was.. But it definitely wasn't Zach. He was much slimmer and.. I think he had a beard.'

'A beard?' Dean didn't sound as if he believed Cas. Nobody at school had a beard that he knew of.

'Dean, please do not worry about it. I'm fine, truthfully.'

'I'm going back to school.'

'No, please, you do not want to, please don't do this just for me.'

'If they want to take the piss out of me because of my appearance, let them. I'm done with those dicks, I can handle them. But the last straw is when they start hurting the people I love. I can't let this happen when you already have so much going on outside of school, Cas.'

'Thank you, Dean.'

'How many times have I heard that line before?' Dean laughed and then lay back down, his smile soon fading. The thought of school and the torment that was sure to resurface when he returned was making his stomach do little flips. He'd been too quick to forget it and now it was all coming crashing back down on him.