Chapter Two
Sunday was much the same as Saturday. Dean stayed out of Castiel's way as much as possible, doing what was left of his homework at the table instead of his room.
Castiel came downstairs for lunch, but stayed upstairs for dinner. He was in the observation phase, Dean could tell. His eyes flicked around rooms and he watched them all in silence, figuring out their routines, what they were like, how best to keep himself as small and unassuming as possible, so he wouldn't draw attention to himself. When he sat at the table with his lunch, his eyes darted between the door and everyone coming in and out of the room, like a caged animal. It was tough to watch.
Dean always hated this phase, and how they would all have to go about their business as usual, pretending that everything was normal. Mary always told him that this was the best way to make the foster kids feel at home and relax, but Dean was never so sure.
Dean and Sam shifted into their usual roles, Sam doing his best to include Castiel in whatever game he was playing, or whatever he was reading, Dean keeping a respectful distance so Castiel could establish his own space.
Mary strained to keep her motherly instincts to herself, at least for the time being, and John ignored all of it in favour of reading his papers and working on the car in the garage.
Sunday evening came and Dean was unable to avoid his own room any longer. He went upstairs and sat at his desk, seeing Castiel sitting in the corner with his laptop out of the corner of his eye. Dean rearranged his bag with the books he would need the next day, then spun around in his chair.
'Nervous for tomorrow?' Dean asked. 'New school and everything.'
Castiel just shrugged without looking at Dean.
'Got all your books and stuff?'
Castiel glanced up from his laptop and nodded at the bag at the foot of his bed.
'Okay, cool. You mind if I turn the lights out soon? I gotta sleep.'
'It's your room, you don't have to ask,' Castiel mumbled.
'Actually, it's our room, so I do have to ask.'
'If you insist.'
Dean grabbed his pajamas, changed and brushed his teeth and came back into the room. Castiel had not moved an inch, so Dean switched off the light and climbed into bed.
'See you in the morning,' he said.
'Goodnight, Dean.'
Dean threw his blankets off the next morning, hopping out of bed to get ready for school. Castiel was still in the same spot, staring at his laptop with earphones dangling from his ears.
'Did you sleep?' Dean asked incredulously.
Castiel shook his head.
'Are you gonna be okay?'
'I don't need to sleep much.'
'Right.'
Dean threw himself through the shower and got himself dressed, hurrying downstairs with his bag and snatching some toast from the table.
'Whoa, whoa, slow down,' said Mary. 'Where are you off to in such a rush?'
'Uh, school?' Dean said, pouring coffee into a flask.
'You've got plenty of time, you're not getting the bus this morning.'
'Oh, I'm not?' Dean said, halting in his tracks.
'Nope,' said Mary, holding up some car keys.
'Seriously?' Dean said, approaching her with a grin. He went to take them from her, but she pulled away slightly.
'Take Castiel with you, he needs to go see the principal anyway.'
Dean rolled his eyes. 'What, you thought I'd just make him get the bus on his own, on his first day? What do you take me for, Mom?'
'All right, all right,' she said, dropping the keys into his palm.
'Yes!' Dean said, pocketing them. 'Awesome, now I got time for pop tarts.' He turned around to go and call Castiel down for breakfast, but bumped into him in the doorway.
'Good morning,' Castiel mumbled, seemingly unperturbed, staring down at his phone. He looked tired, and Mary glanced at Dean in concern.
Dean shook his head. 'Morning,' he said. 'Pop tart?'
'No thank you.'
Dean considered him closely, still wearing his red hoodie. 'Coffee?'
Castiel looked up from his phone. 'All right.'
'Thought so,' Dean grinned, pouring Castiel a fresh mug. 'Where's Sam? He up yet?'
'Not yet, you wanna go get him?' Mary said.
'No way, not after last time. That's all you.'
'Oh no, I'm definitely not dealing with that.'
'So get Dad to do it.'
'Good idea. John!' Mary yelled. 'Go wake up Sam.'
There was a good deal of grumbling, and John emerged from the garage and stomped up the stairs.
'What happened last time?' Castiel asked curiously, sitting at the table with his coffee.
Dean and Mary both laughed.
'You know that thing that some people do in the mornings when they wake up?' said Dean. 'I caught him doing that.'
It took Castiel a moment, then comprehension crossed his face and he nodded.
Dean scarfed down his pop tarts. 'Come on, we gotta go,' he said to Castiel, checking his watch. He brushed the crumbs from his hands and face, then grabbed his bag and headed for the door.
Castiel drained the last of his coffee and shuffled after Dean.
'Be careful,' Mary called after them.
'Bye, Mom,' Dean called back.
He opened the front door and turned in to the garage, the door already opened.
'Sweet,' Dean said, gazing at the shiny black Chevy Impala inside. He climbed in the driver's side, running his hands over the dashboard. 'Man, I love this car,' he said as Castiel got into the passenger seat, shoving his bag down between his feet.
Dean caressed the steering wheel, then turned the key in the ignition. The car roared to life under his fingers and he grinned, pulling out of the garage.
'Hey, don't worry, I'm a great driver,' Dean said when he noticed Castiel had pressed himself against the door, still holding his phone tightly.
Castiel didn't respond and they fell into an uncomfortable silence.
'So...' Dean said after a moment. 'You play any sports?'
'There's no need to make this more awkward than it already is,' Castiel said.
Dean raised his eyebrows and Castiel glanced at him.
'I run track,' Castiel said eventually.
'That's cool.'
'No it isn't.'
'It's more than I do,' Dean snorted.
Castiel gave him a confused look.
'What?' said Dean.
Castiel shrugged. 'You look like you would play sports.'
'I'll take that as a compliment,' Dean grinned. 'I'm just in shop a lot, you get a good workout handling the heavy machinery.'
'You make things?'
'Yep. I'm going for mechanical engineering at college next year,' Dean said, pleased that Castiel was starting to ask questions. 'What about you? What do you wanna do?'
'Astrophysics,' Castiel said quietly.
'Oh cool, maybe I can make you one of those space probes one day.'
'Maybe.'
Dean glanced at him again, still staring down at his phone. 'Who are you talking to?' he asked, not entirely expecting an answer.
'My friend Charlie,' Cas said.
'Oh yeah, where's he?'
'She. In Chicago. She graduated early, so she got to start college.'
'Girlfriend?'
Castiel snorted softly. 'Not even close.'
'Ah, that sucks. She not like you back?'
'We're both gay, Dean.'
Dean blinked, taken aback. He liked guys himself, even slept with one once. He'd never told anyone, but the nonchalant way Castiel told him made him want to blurt it out.
'Is that a problem?' said Castiel, prickling slightly.
'No, not at all,' Dean said. He thought he should say it too, but he couldn't seem to let it out. 'Lucky you guys met. Of all the people you could have been friends with.'
'As a group, we tend to stick together,' Castiel said.
'Right.' Dean ran out of things to say, so he switched on the radio for the rest of the drive to school.
It was still mostly deserted by the time Dean parked the car. He led the way inside the main entrance, to the reception desk, Castiel dragging his feet behind him.
'Morning, Jane,' Dean smiled at the receptionist.
'Good morning, Mr Winchester,' she said warmly. 'I wouldn't expect to see you in so early.'
'I'm bringing in the fresh meat for the principal,' he said, pointing to Castiel over his shoulder.
'Oh, you must be Mr Novak,' Jane said, smiling at Castiel. 'I'll go let him know you're here.'
She got up and went to the principal's office, leaving Dean and Castiel alone.
'Don't be nervous,' Dean said, watching Castiel stare at the floor with his hands deep in the pockets of his red hoodie.
'I'm not,' Castiel mumbled, shuffling his feet.
Jane came back out with the principal in tow.
'Morning, Dean,' he said with a wide smile.
'Mr Jackson,' Dean grinned back.
'And you must be Castiel.'
Castiel nodded.
'All right, come on in.' He waved them both inside.
'Oh, me as well?' said Dean. 'I was gonna wait out here.'
'You're early anyway, you might as well. The more the merrier.'
Mr Jackson gave Dean a meaningful look as Castiel passed him, and Dean nodded.
They took their seats in front of Mr Jackson's desk.
'Right then, Mr Novak, we got all your paperwork in something of a hurry, so let me just get this all organised,' Mr Jackson said, sitting down and rifling through papers on his desk. 'Okay, here we go… we've tried to put you in as many of the classes you were already in as possible, but there are a couple we don't offer, we've put you down for a free period for those while you decide which you'd like to replace them with. Here's your schedule-' He passed a piece of paper to Castiel. 'We can be flexible about your classes if you'd rather change them, so just let Jane know if you'd like to sign up or drop any classes. We'll just apply any existing grades to whichever classes you choose.' He flipped through some more paperwork. 'Excellent grades… oh you're a runner, our track team could use a little boost, so you're more than welcome to have a look at the field and see what you think… I don't think you have a locker assigned yet…'
'There's one near me that's free,' Dean said. 'Garth doesn't need it anymore since he dropped out to go on his world tour. I've got the combo for it - I mean, I would never try and get into anyone else's locker,' he added at Mr Jackson's stern look. 'I only know the combination to my own locker.'
Mr Jackson rolled his eyes. 'I suppose that's settled then. Which locker?'
'Seven-three-nine.'
Mr Jackson made a note. 'Okay, so that's the admin done. Welcome to Lawrence High, here's your school planner, and there are noticeboards around if you want to look at any of the teams or clubs. Do you have any questions, or do you want to just dive right in?'
They both stared at Castiel, who had completely zoned out, staring into space, chewing the end of one of the drawstrings on his hoodie.
Dean nudged him gently. 'Hey,' he prompted.
Castiel blinked and shook his head. 'No, I don't have any questions, thank you.' He took the planner from Mr Jackson and got to his feet. He exited the office without being dismissed.
'He didn't sleep last night,' Dean explained quietly. 'I'm sure he just needs some time to settle.'
'Sure,' said Mr Jackson. 'Can I count on you to keep an eye on him? I've got his file, and let's just say there have been some ups and downs. We want his time here to go as smoothly as possible.'
'You got it,' Dean said, getting up and hurrying after Castiel. 'See you later.'
He caught up with Castiel just as he was exiting the reception building. 'Lockers are this way,' he said, leading Castiel around the reception building and across the courtyard to the science building.
By now, other students had begun to arrive, milling around the courtyard and making their way to their lockers. Castiel seemed relieved to be able to blend in with the crowd and followed Dean to his new locker.
Dean grabbed a notebook and pen from his bag and scribbled on a scrap of paper he tore from the book. 'Here,' he said. 'This your locker combo, and this is my number in case you need something. Give me those a sec.' He took Castiel's schedule and planner while Castiel opened his locker and examined the schedule. 'You've got a free period last thing this afternoon… are you cool to wait for me so I can give you a ride home?'
'Do I have any other choice?' Castiel muttered.
'Sure you do,' Dean said. 'You can always Uber home if you don't wanna wait, but I don't recommend it. The Prius should not exist and that's a fact.'
'Oh hey, new guy alert!' came a voice, and Dean turned to see a scrawny boy holding a camera.
'Get outta here, Alfie,' Dean said irritably, standing between him and Castiel.
'Come on, Dean, it's for the yearbook,' Alfie complained.
'Do I look like I care? Get lost, kid.'
'I'm older than you, you know.'
'Not the point, go take some pictures of the football team or something, you know how much they love that crap.'
'Fine, I'll get him later.'
Dean turned back to Castiel. 'All right, let's get you to homeroom.'
Castiel slammed his locker closed. 'You don't need to babysit me,' he snapped. 'As you say, it is not my first rodeo, I'm perfectly capable of making my own way.'
'Of course, but I thought since we're in the same homeroom, I might as well take you there,' Dean said soothingly, handing Castiel his schedule back.
Castiel sighed. 'I'm sorry,' he muttered.
'Don't sweat it, come on.'
Their homeroom wasn't far from their lockers, and as soon as they were inside, Castiel immediately took the seat closest to the door and put his hood up.
Dean went to his usual seat next to the window on the other side of the room, where his friends were already waiting.
Jo, his childhood friend, was sitting on the desk in front of his. Fergus, preferring to go by Crowley, a British exchange student lounged at his own desk next to Dean's, and Kevin was sitting with his head on his desk, behind Dean's.
'Hey,' Jo smiled. 'Who's that?' She nodded at Castiel.
'Name's Castiel,' Dean told her. 'He's living with us.'
'What? But your mom said you wouldn't have to do any more fostering,' Jo said indignantly.
'Keep your voice down,' Dean said. 'Mom said it was some kind of emergency. I don't really mind, he's okay so far.'
Jo glanced at him. 'He's kinda cute.'
Dean sniggered. 'Bats for the other team.'
'That's a shame. Hey, Crowley, maybe you could take a crack at him.'
Crowley considered Castiel then put his feet up on his desk. 'Nah, he looks like I would snap him in half.'
Dean rolled his eyes. 'Come on, guys, leave the guy alone. We've got way more interesting things to talk about, like what's sleepy's problem back there?'
They all turned to look at Kevin.
'Just studying,' Kevin said, his voice muffled by his arms.
'Oh, is that what you're calling it?' said Crowley.
'Get lost,' Kevin grumbled.
The room filled and the teacher finally walked in.
'All right, everyone, settle down. Not much to get through this morning, so let's just get on with it. Mr MacLeod, get your feet off your desk.'
'Ouch,' said Crowley, sitting properly. 'You wound me, Mrs Neilsen.'
She rolled her eyes, and sat at her desk to take attendance.
'All right, and we have a new student with us today, would you like to introduce yourself, Mr Novak?'
Everyone stared at him. He had one elbow on his desk so he could rest his head on his hand, and he was quietly tapping the desk with the other hand.
'No,' he said, staring down at his desk.
Mrs Neilsen waited a moment for him to continue, as though she thought it was a joke. 'Right… okay, well unless anyone needs anything, you're all free to get yourselves organised, just make sure you get to your classes on time, please.'
Castiel was the first to leave the classroom, and Dean watched him go.
'He doesn't seem like he's too happy to be here,' Jo said.
'Yeah,' Dean said slowly. 'I don't blame him.'
'We can catch up with him later,' said Jo. 'Right now, we gotta get Kevin to Calculus.'
Dean laughed. 'Good luck with that, I have Biology first. See you guys later.'
Dean shouldered his bag and left the room, catching a glimpse of Castiel's red hoodie at the end of the corridor as he went.
Welcome back everyone! Thanks to Dizzybunny, Wildfire's Flame and Brookie Twiling for the reviews! See you again soon :)
