Chapter Five

Dean held his breath as he watched Cas finish his lap of the track, his shirt clinging to his chest, then waited as he showered. The drive home was again uncomfortable, Castiel's smell wafting over him. Dean went upstairs when they got home, but Sam was already in the shower, so he was forced to sit in his room and hope that Cas wouldn't notice. Unfortunately, Dean's discomfort was quite obvious, and Cas approached him, an embarrassed blush spreading across his cheeks.

'Um, Dean?' he said quietly. 'Would you - would you like some privacy?'

Dean's face blazed hot and he hid behind his hands. 'God - yes, please,' he said, without looking at Cas.

'I'll be back in an hour.'

The door opened and closed, and Dean fell back onto his bed, groaning quietly at his own bad luck. Not one to waste an opportunity, however, Dean quickly finished his business, and was much more at ease by the time Cas returned to their room, knocking before coming in.

'Thanks,' Dean mumbled, avoiding his eyes.

'You're welcome,' said Cas, sitting down on his bed. 'We should probably get used to that sort of thing. For college.'

'Yeahโ€ฆ For college,' Dean said. 'And listen, if you ever needโ€ฆ you knowโ€ฆ just let me know, or put a sock on the door handle, or something.'

'Works for me.'

Dean fidgeted awkwardly until he heard Mary call, 'Boys, time for dinner!'

'Thank God,' he muttered, jumping up and hurrying downstairs.

Dean helped Mary set the table, and just as they were all taking their seats, Castiel picked up his plate and joined them at the table. He didn't contribute to the conversation, except when John asked him how his day was, he just sat, listening to them talk and slowly chewing his food.

Once they had all finished eating, Cas, without a word, gathered up their plates and started washing the dishes.

'Oh, honey, you don't have to-' Mary began.

'Please, it's the least I can do.'

Dean watched him for a moment, then leaned over to whisper in Mary's ear. 'You think he's fawning?'

'For sure,' Mary whispered back.

Dean nodded. 'I'll keep an eye on him at school, make sure no one tries anything.'

Mary patted him on the back, then got up to help Cas with the dishes.

Cas was overly helpful the rest of that night and into the next morning, getting up early so that he could make them all breakfast, almost bursting into tears when he burned the eggs he was making.

'It's okay, sweetie, stuff gets stuck to this pan all the time,' Mary said soothingly, taking the frying pan from him. 'Why don't you guys go get some breakfast from that Starbucks on the corner?'

'Oh, good idea,' Dean said, picking Cas's bag up for him. 'Come on, we can grab some coffees for the guys on the way.'

He jumped in the car, messaging the group chat as he went.

Dean

We're going to starbucks, get your orders in. 5 mins or nothing.

Jo H

Americano

Large :)

Crowley ๐Ÿ˜ˆ ๐Ÿ†

Imaginative

Jo H

You can come up with better?

Crowley ๐Ÿ˜ˆ ๐Ÿ†

Watch this

Kevin Tran

Espresso

Double

Crowley ๐Ÿ˜ˆ ๐Ÿ†

Venti dark chocolate mocha, whole milk, peppermint shot, extra foam

Dean

That's nasty

Kevin Tran

Triple

Jo H

Idk if I'd call that better

Dean

Got it. Be there soon

Dean stuffed his phone in his pocket and drove around to the Starbucks, putting in everyone's order.

'What about you, Cas, what do you want?' he asked.

'Umโ€ฆ dark roast with an extra shot.'

'You heard the man,' Dean grinned at the girl in the window. He paid, and pulled up to the next window, where their drinks were passed over to them.

'Here, I'll hold them,' said Cas.

'Careful, they're hot,' Dean said, gently placing the tray in Cas's lap.

'I've got it.'

Dean drove the car more slowly, so Cas could balance the drinks properly, but they still arrived at school in good time.

Dean took the tray from Cas, fully expecting him to sit in his usual seat by the door, but when he sat down, he saw Cas hover awkwardly for a moment, then sit at the empty desk in front of Crowley instead.

Jo was the first to recover from her surprise, and gave Cas a wide smile. 'Hey, I'm Jo,' she said, reaching over to shake his hand.

'Cas.'

Crowley swung his legs off his desk, so he could lean forward. 'Crowley,' he said, running a hand through his hair.

Cas squinted at him. 'I thought your name was Fergus.'

'Yes, I was born with a rather unfortunate name, but does that mean I must continue to use it?'

Cas's expression didn't change. 'Isn't Crowley the name of a demon?'

Crowley looked delighted. 'Why, yes it is, how very clever of you. And isn't Castiel an angel?'

Cas raised an eyebrow. 'You certainly know your mythology.'

Crowley smiled, running a finger over the surface of his desk. 'You know, opposites attractโ€ฆ'

'All right, that's enough,' Dean interrupted, rolling his eyes, a touch of jealousy rippling through him. 'Don't mind him, he does that to everyone.'

Crowley scoffed and leaned back again, putting his feet back up on the desk.

'This is Kevin,' Dean said, pointing over his shoulder.

'I'm in Advanced Placement,' Kevin mumbled.

'He's in Advanced Placement,' Dean smirked.

'I can see that,' said Cas, looking at the exhausted Kevin in amusement.

Cas was quiet for the rest of homeroom, and only offered small comments occasionally whenever he was with them in classes, or at lunch, but Dean was pleased that he was beginning to relax.

He joined the dinner table that night, and again sat in front of Crowley in homeroom on Friday morning. Luckily, he didn't have track Friday afternoon, so Dean took them the long way round home.

'Where are we going?' Cas asked nervously, when he noticed Dean was taking them a different way than usual.

'Just home,' Dean said reassuringly. 'I just wanna get in some scenery, since I gotta give up the car. As of Monday, we're bus losers again.'

'I see,' Cas said, the tension falling from his shoulders.

They eventually got home, and Cas took a seat on the couch to watch TV with Sam, instead of going straight up to their room.

'Hi, boys!' Mary called from upstairs.

'Hey, Mom,' Dean called back.

'Oh, is Cas back?'

'I'm here,' said Cas.

'I dunno why he wouldn't be,' Dean snorted.

Mary excitedly came down and started digging through the closet under the stairs. 'Here you go.' She pulled out a box and passed it to Castiel.

He looked suspicious and slowly opened it, revealing a brand new pair of running shoes.

'Ta-da!' Mary grinned. 'Go ahead, try 'em on.'

Cas hesitantly slipped them on, tightening the laces, wiggling his feet experimentally.

'How do they feel?'

'Good, I think,' said Cas, getting up. 'I'm going to go test them.'

'All right, be back before dinner,' Mary smiled, watching Cas leave the house.

'Mom,' Dean said, 'go easy on him, you're overwhelming him.'

'You think so?'

'I think if he wasn't in his fawning phase, he'd have thrown them straight in the garbage. You need to chill.'

'All right, all right. I just can't help it, he's such a sweetheart, don't you think?'

'I don't really know him well enough to make that judgement. It's only been a week, you know.'

Mary rolled her eyes. 'I can be chill.'

Dean and Sam both burst into a fit of laughter.

'Nice try, Mom,' Dean chuckled.

Cas arrived just before dinner, red-cheeked and breathless. 'They're nice,' he said at Mary's expectant expression.

Mary beamed at him. 'Go wash up, sweetie, dinner's almost done.'

Cas quickly washed his hands and face, then hurried back down so he could help Mary set the table.

'Thank you, Cas,' Mary said warmly.

Dean, eager to get back upstairs and finish the week's homework, all but inhaled his dinner, jumping up and putting his plate in the sink before anyone else was even half way through theirs.

'You're an animal!' John called after him.

Dean waved a hand, running up the stairs. He would be busy working in his father's shop for the weekend, so he wouldn't have any more time to do it. Cas joined him not long after, taking his usual spot on his bed with his laptop and earphones.

Dean was glad of the chance to get away from the house for a while, and not have to run the risk of running into Cas while he was changing, or coming out of the shower, and earning a load of cash wasn't too bad a perk either.

With his homework finished, his bank balance healthy, and a good night's sleep, Dean woke up refreshed on Monday morning, despite Cas mumbling in his sleep throughout the night.

'We gotta get going earlier today, for the bus,' Dean said to him as he shoved on some socks. 'Since we're getting the bus.'

Cas nodded and made his way to the kitchen for some coffee, handing Dean a full flask on their way out of the front door.

It was getting chilly in the mornings and Dean envied Cas his red hoodie by the time the bus pulled up at their stop. He hopped on, making sure Cas was following, and took his usual spot in the seats just before the back.

'You don't want the back seat?' Cas asked, confused.

'Nah, they stick gum back there. It's not worth it.'

Cas nodded in understanding and sat next to Dean.

Jo joined them at the next stop, then Kevin at the one after that.

'Does Crowley catch the bus?' Cas asked.

'He kind of just turns up,' Jo shrugged. 'Why?'

'Just curious.'

Dean did his best to hide his sour expression, but couldn't stop his lips tightening at the thought of Cas with Crowley.

The bus trundled on, picking up more kids until it was full, then shuddered around to the school, Dean wincing at the popping sounds the engine was making.

They found Crowley already in their homeroom and took their usual seats, Cas sitting in front of Crowley again. A normal morning, much like any other, until Dean heard a familiar voice that sent shivers down his spine. He looked up at the girl giggling with some of the other students in their homeroom, her usually blonde hair dyed a soft pink. His mouth went dry, and all he could hear was the pounding of his own heart, and her voice. She caught his eye and smiled sweetly.

'Hey, Dean,' she said, coming over to them.

'Rhonda,' he mumbled.

'Guess what?'

'What?'

'I transferred to your homeroom!' Rhonda said excitedly. 'Looks like we'll be seeing a lot more of each other.'

'Oh,' Dean said, forcing himself to sound pleased.

'These your friends?'

Dean watched with growing dread as she introduced herself.

'We've actually met,' Jo said with a slight barb in her voice.

Rhonda ignored her and turned to Cas. 'So, you're new,' she said.

Cas nodded.

'Are you one of the Winchesters' strays?'

Dean ground his teeth, unable to form words past the lump in his throat.

'What's that supposed to mean?' Cas said, narrowing his eyes.

'Just a joke,' Rhonda said lightly.

Just then, Mrs Neilsen entered the room, so Rhonda breezed off to a seat at the back of the room, where she had an unobstructed view of Dean.

'I can't believe you slept with her,' Jo scoffed once Rhonda was out of earshot.

'Uh-huh,' Dean winced, sinking down in his seat, his palms sweating. He could feel not only Rhonda's eyes on him, but Cas's too, and suddenly he couldn't take it anymore. He got to his feet and snatched his bag up. 'Bathroom,' he muttered, not caring if anyone could hear him, and all but ran to the bathroom around the corner. He dropped his bag on the floor and leaned over the sink, splashing cold water over his face.

'Come on, Dean, get over it already,' he mumbled, but it did nothing to ease the tightness in his stomach. After a few minutes of fighting the urge to be sick, Dean fled the school while everyone was still in homeroom. It wasn't until he was already outside that he remembered he'd got the bus to school, so he was forced to call a cab home.

He could feel his phone vibrating the whole time, but ignored it, and ran up to his room when he arrived. He sat down on his bed for a while, but the adrenaline pounding through him forced him back onto his feet. He looked around the room for something - anything - to do, and his eyes landed on the ceiling between his and Cas's bed. He grabbed a measuring tape from the garage and measured the width of the room, then took off for the hardware store to pick up a curtain pole, a thick black curtain and some screws.

He was half way through drilling holes in the ceiling, goggles on and furniture draped in plastic, when Mary came home.

'Hey, what the hell is going on?' she yelled, bursting into their room. 'Dean, what are you doing?'

Dean stopped drilling, stepped off the step ladder, and pushed up his goggles. 'I'm putting in a curtain. For privacy.' He pointed at the pole leaning against the wall.

Mary looked at him as though he'd grown an extra head, and checked her watch. 'What - what are you doing here?'

Dean shrugged, putting the drill down.

'Dean, look at me,' Mary said firmly. 'What happened?'

Dean bit his lip, staring down at the floor. 'She - she transferred to my homeroom.'

'She, as in-?'

'Yeah. Her.'

Mary nodded.

'I just - she caught me off guard, okay?' Dean said defensively, his chin wobbling.

Mary wrapped her arms around him and he buried his head in her shoulder. 'It's okay,' she said gently.

'Sorry,' Dean mumbled, his voice muffled by her shoulder.

'Don't be.' Mary pulled away and patted his cheek. 'So, the curtain?'

'I needed to do something constructive.'

'I wish you'd asked me before you put holes in my ceiling,' she said fondly, 'but if it helps, go for it. Just make sure everything's clean when you're done.'

'Thanks, Mom.'

Mary left the room and Dean continued with his work. The curtain was up within the hour, and the mess cleaned up by lunch. Mary had made him a mug of hot chocolate to go with his sandwich and stroked his hair while he ate.

Eventually, Dean couldn't ignore his phone anymore, and scrolled through the messages in the group chat, all variations of, "Where are you?".

Dean

Got sick. Came home. Can y'all chill

Jo H

Took you long enough

Dean

I told you I'm sick.

Jo H

Sure you're not just skipping PE?

Dean

That's just a bonus

Jo H

Cas is in PE with us. Total smoke show btw.

Crowley ๐Ÿ˜ˆ ๐Ÿ†

Pics

Jo H

No way I'm not a perv

Crowley ๐Ÿ˜ˆ ๐Ÿ†

Might just have to start taking PE

Dean

Thanks guys I feel much better

Dean sighed and put his phone down, opting not to think about Cas in his gym shorts, instead going into the garage and organising all the tools, with a quick polish for the Impala when he was done.

He felt better by the time everyone else arrived home, but he hoped the new curtain in their room would distract Cas from asking him questions.

'Hey, check it out,' Dean said brightly, pulling Cas up the stairs and showing the curtain to him. 'What do you think?'

Cas pulled the curtain across the room and nodded. 'I like it. Thank you.'

'Oh, and I got you this.' Dean picked up the poster he'd grabbed for Cas. 'It's of the solar system, 'cause you like space and stuff. Thought it might be nice to put something up. If you want to.'

Cas smiled and took the poster from him. 'That's nice of you.'

'It's a sorry for ditching you at school, really.'

'Well, I didn't die, so I guess I can handle being at school on my own.'

Dean chuckled.

'Are - are you all right?' Cas asked awkwardly.

'Oh, yeah, I'm fine,' Dean said, waving a hand.

'Not "I wuv hugs" bad?' Cas smiled.

'Pretty close, but not quite,' Dean laughed. 'Don't worry, I'll be in tomorrow.'

Cas nodded and disappeared behind his curtain, and Dean slumped back onto his bed, finally relaxing, refusing to let the thought of going back to school bother him.


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