Dean Winchester walked down the school hallway with his backpack slung over his left shoulder. It was the first day back from winter vacation, and he was still getting used to having to be up early again. He rubbed sleep from his eyes as he scanned the crowd, looking for Castiel.

The two boys hadn't seen each other since Christmas Eve. Dean was busy figuring out how to become Sam's legal guardian when his eighteenth birthday hits, and Castiel was dealing with his siblings visiting and staying over. They may not have seen each other, but they texted constantly, flirting back and forth. Dean wasn't entirely sure if they were officially dating, but he was pretty sure they were.

Keeping Castiel a secret from his brother and Bobby until he figured out what they were for sure was becoming harder and harder everyday. They often found him preoccupied with his phone, smiling goofily at certain texts. They would question him about it, and Dean would have to lie and say it was one of his friends sending him something funny or that he was watching a funny video. He was pretty sure they didn't buy it, but they didn't push him further.

He was heading to his art class, the one he shared with Castiel, so he wasn't too worried about not finding him in the hallway. But he was worried that Castiel wouldn't be as excited to see him as he was to see Castiel, especially considering they hadn't seen each other in a week and a half. He worried the other boy didn't actually like him and that the hand holding and kiss were just a fluke.

Holy shit, Dean thought. Is this how it feels to actually like someone? He wasn't completely familiar with the feeling. Sure, he had dated girls before, but he never quite felt this way. Except maybe with Lisa.

He finally got to his classroom just before the second bell rang. He paused in the doorway and peeked in, looking for Castiel at his usual table in the back of the class. He saw the dark-haired boy sitting there, his sketchbook already opened on the table. Castiel was hunched over it, concentrating as he drew. Dean smiled.

He walked in and started over to his usual table, also in the back, next to Jo Harvelle. She was a spunky, blond-haired girl, and was physically fit. She was on the track team, after all. Dean and Jo had dated once before in the past, but it didn't last, and they figured they would be better as friends. As he walked over, she looked up and smiled.

Before he got to her desk, however, he heard a, "Dean!" and turned to find Castiel calling him over, a warm smile on his face. Dean smiled back and walked over.

"Hey, Castiel," he responded when he got there.

"Wanna sit with me?" Castiel moved his messenger bag from the second seat to the floor, freeing it up for Dean.

"Do you want me to?" Dean asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Of course I do," Castiel said, furrowing his eyebrows. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know," Dean replied, going around the table to sit next to him. "I didn't know if you wanted to be around me since...you know..."

Castiel didn't reply, he just stared at the other boy, still visibly confused.

"Since we..." Dean paused and looked around before whispering, "kissed."

Castiel chuckled and shook his head. "Why wouldn't I want to be?"

Dean shrugged and pulled his sketchbook from his bag, setting it on the table. "I don't know."

"Wait," Castiel said, staring the other boy down. "Did you think I would stop liking you or something? Even though we've been texting non-stop since then?"

Dean didn't say anything, but he knew Castiel had a point. He didn't meet the other boy's eyes.

"Now who's oblivious," Castiel said with a chuckle.

"Shut up," Dean muttered with smirk.

"Man, I must really be special to make Dean Winchester insecure."

Dean looked over at him. "You are special. But I'm not insecure," He replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Suuuure you're not," Castiel said as he returned to his drawing.

Dean rolled his eyes and laughed, flipping open his sketchbook to the drawing he was working on.

"Wow, Dean. That looks really good."

Dean turned his head to find Castiel just over his shoulder, looking at the drawing.

"Cas...personal space."

Castiel squeaked and said, "Sorry," before backing off. Dean felt a little bad because he was only kidding.

"Is it really that good?" Dean asked.

Castiel nodded enthusiastically. "It's really good. You're making great progress."

"Maybe it's because I have a great teacher," Dean said, smooth as butter. He smirked and watched for the other boy's reaction.

Castiel's face flushed. "Ah, I'm okay."

"Hey, stop that. You're awesome."

Castiel shrugged, but didn't press the issue further. "Dean, wanna come over after school for tutoring?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Absolutely," Dean said with a goofy smile. Castiel smiled back.

X

The final bell rang, and Dean made his way out into the school parking lot with Benny and Lucifer who were chatting enthusiastically about their winter breaks and what they got for Christmas. Dean kind of tuned them out, not really caring about Lucifer's sexual exploits.

As they made their way through the parking lot, Dean spotted Castiel over by the bike racks. His stomach did a flip, and all he could think about was how he couldn't wait to see him in half an hour. He wanted nothing more than to hug the other boy, and maybe kiss him if he would let him.

"Dean!"

Benny's voice broke his thoughts. "Huh?"

"I asked how your winter vacation was," Benny repeated. Both he and Lucifer were eyeing Dean suspiciously.

"Oh, um. It was fine."

"That's it?" Lucifer asked. "Just fine?"

"Yeah," Dean replied, trying to play it casual. "Nothing of importance happened. At Christmas we ate food, opened gifts, and went to bed."

"Right..." Lucifer said, obviously not buying it.

"You guys know my family doesn't really celebrate Christmas," Dean said, shrugging.

"Yeah, Luc. Dean has mentioned that before," Benny interjected.

There was a moment of silence with Lucifer eyeing Dean carefully. "Alright," he finally replied. "Just seems weird that neither of us have heard from you at all. Not even Jo."

"Yeah, sometimes I'm busy."

"Yeah, busy sitting with my half-brother in art."

Dean froze, his heart thumping rapidly. He swallowed carefully before saying, "Yeah, he's tutoring me."

"Tutoring you?" Lucifer asked.

"Yeah. He's helping me draw better so I can get better grades and graduate on time." Dean reached over and unzipped his backpack, pulling out his sketchbook. He handed it over to Lucifer. "See for yourself."

Lucifer grabbed the sketchbook and opened it, flipping through the pages. Benny looked over his shoulder as he did this, and after a few seconds said, "Alright. As long as it's just tutoring." He handed back the sketchbook.

Dean took it and sucked in a breath. "Yeah, and what if it wasn't? What if we were friends?"

Lucifer laughed. "Then you'd be one bold, sorry son of a bitch."

The two stared each other down as the hair on the back of Dean's neck stood up. He held his breath, hoping Lucifer couldn't see the fear behind his eyes.

After a minute, Lucifer broke his gaze and turned around, walking away. "Come on, Benny. Let's go."

Benny hesitated for a second, looking between Lucifer and Dean. "It was good seeing you, brother," he said with a nod, before turning and following Luc.

When both of them were far enough away, Dean let out the breath he was holding. He normally wasn't afraid of anyone - except maybe his father - but he knew that Luc wasn't a person to be toyed with. He didn't know exactly how bad he could get, but he never wanted to get on his bad side and find out.

Dean made his way over to his car. The parking lot was empty now except for him, even Castiel had gone home. He hopped in and tossed his bag on the passenger seat. He leaned back against the seat, eyes closed, and steadied his breathing. He wasn't looking forward to how this eventually could bite him in the ass.

After ten minutes of sitting in his car trying to calm down, he opened his eyes and started it, pulling out of the parking lot and heading in the direction of Castiel's house.