Dean had decided to take a stab at playing it cool with Cas. Maybe if he gave the boy space and stopped with the longing doe eyes Cas would eventually come around. Playing hard to get had worked for him before, maybe it could help him out here too.

Only problem was Cas was playing it cool right back at him. And doing a much better job of it. Dean realized that was mostly because Cas had friends to distract him and make him seem less lonely. Maybe Dean just needed to make some friends. And he knew just who the perfect candidates were.

After third hour, Dean was actually excited to get to lunch. He did, however, pause for a moment when a bulletin board caught his eye.

Wrestling Try-Outs: All weight classes welcome!

"Wrestling, huh," he murmured to himself as he considered the flier. He smiled. School sports try-outs. Now that was normal.

"Thinking of trying out?"

Dean jumped, turning around and relaxing when he saw Robin standing there, a couple of notebooks held to her chest.

"Uh, yeah, thinkin' about it," Dean told her, smiling. "Why, did you wanna come see me try out?"

Robin blushed. "Um… I mean, I'm class vice president, I uh… I should be at all the major school events…"

"Sounds like a yes to me," Dean grinned. She bit her lip and turned to walk towards the lunch room.

"I'll think about it," she said as she turned her back, and Dean could hear the smile in her voice.

He laughed softly. "I've still got it."

Smiling, Dean made his way to the cafeteria and looked around. He saw Benny and the other boys from Sonny's waving him over, and he crossed the room with an honest-to-god smile.

"Newbie!" Benny grinned, clapping Dean on the shoulder. "Glad you decided to join us. Ash was just telling us about his process. Ya know, it's a miracle he gets his hair to be so majestic every day. I'm jealous."

Dean huffed out a laugh as he sat down next to Chuck, deciding to play along. "Oh yeah, I mean I've always wanted my hair to look like that. I just…" Dean pursed his lips and shook his head, fighting laughter. "I couldn't pull it off like you do."

"I'm thinking of writing one of my characters with a mullet," Chuck chimed in. "As sort of a tribute. To the hair."

Benny, Dean, and Chuck burst out laughing and Ash stared at them deadly. "Ya'll are a bunch of assholes, anyone ever tell ya that?" He flipped his hair behind his shoulder. "You know you're jealous. All business in the front… Party in the back." To accentuate his point, he flipped his head to one side and then the other, showing off his luscious locks. The other boys erupted in howling laughter again.

"So Dean," Chuck said, once they could all stop giggling. "How's your first day going?'

Dean grimaced. "Oh, it's going just great," he told them. "I love having the whole school stare at me everywhere I go. Like I'm some freak or something."

"Oh, it's nothing like that," Ash told him, waving a hand. "Nah, they're just not used to seeing new people. Small town and all that."

That did make Dean feel a little better, but he still didn't feel great when he realized that Cas had been staring too. And based on how Cas had been ignoring him, Dean guessed it wasn't the good kind of staring.

"So, this homecoming game," Dean changed the subject. "Is it worth seeing?"

"Oh, there's something worth seeing, but it ain't the jerks throwing a ball around," Benny said, waggling his eyebrows. Ash and Chuck looked at him blankly. His eyes widened and he shrugged, looking at them like they were crazy. "Cheerleaders. I'm talking about the cheerleaders."

"Ohhhhhh," they both said in realization. Dean laughed. It actually felt really good just talking to boys his age like a normal teenage boy.

"What about the student council? They have to be there too, right?" Dean asked.

Ash looked at him. "You mean Robin? Honestly, dude, give it up."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure she's interested," Dean smirked. "I told her I was trying out for the wrestling team and she said she'd come watch."

Benny and Ash busted out laughing. "Dude!"

Dean frowned. "What?"

"Oh my god, she only goes to those try-outs to see Cas!" Ash told him, patting him on the shoulder and giving him a sad look. "Sorry, man. She's not interested."

Dean began to shake his head, then his jaw dropped when he processed what Ash had said. "Wait, Cas? He's on the wrestling team?"

Benny smirked at him. "Oh yeah. Best one they've got."

Dean felt his face heat up a bit. "Oh. Well, uh, maybe once Robin sees me out there it'll change her mind."

"Yeah alright, lover boy," Ash scoffed. "Keep tellin' yourself that."

The boys went back to talking about cheerleaders but Dean's thoughts wandered elsewhere. He had already been considering trying out for the wrestling team, but now that he knew Cas would be there? Well, this could be his chance to finally have a proper conversation with the boy. Screw playing it cool. He at least wanted to thank him for stopping Gordon from beating the shit out of him. Sure, he could've handled him, but he would've ended up with more than a bruised rib.

Yeah, it was decided. He was definitely trying out for the team.

Despite Dean's plan to get Cas to talk to him, he knew it had to keep his distance until try-outs. He didn't want to push too hard or he was afraid he might ruin everything.

So he decided to keep trying for normal, and he actually found himself enjoying hanging out with the boys from Sonny's. He'd never really had any real friends before, at least not outside of the hunting world. Sure he loved Bobby and some of the others like family, but no one ever talked about anything normal. Sure Dean loved hunting with his dad, but maybe he only thought that because he'd never seen what anything normal looked like. Maybe… maybe his dad was wrong to keep him from that.

Dean shook his head, clearing that thought right out. No. His dad was a hero and he did his best. He truly believed that. Still… until his dad came back for him, what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him, right?

Pushing thoughts of his dad away, Dean found his way to his last class. He was late because the office screwed up his schedule somehow, and this was the only class with an opening. "Sorry I'm late…" Dean trailed off, noticing Cas sitting in the back of the room. He gulped and looked at the teacher. "Last minute schedule change," he finished.

The teacher nodded and gestured to an empty seat in the back of the room… right next to Cas. Oh great, he thought. How the hell am I gonna play it cool when he's sitting right next to me?

Cas was relieved to have made it to his last class mostly without incident. He hadn't seen Dean since lunch which made ignoring him a little easier. And he had his last class with Balthazar so that was a plus. They didn't get to sit next to each other thanks to the seating chart, but it was still comforting to have him close.

Cas was marking and organizing his notebook to get ready for some hardcore note-taking when he heard a deep voice from the front of the classroom. His eyes widened and he looked up. Ignoring Dean just got a hell of a lot harder.

"Howdy," Dean greeted him in a low voice, offering an uncomfortable smile and taking a seat next to Cas.

"Hello, Dean," Cas said politely. He wasn't one to be completely rude. Not when Dean was speaking directly to him. Still, that didn't mean he had to keep up a conversation. If they talked Cas was worried his feelings would spiral out of control and he couldn't risk that.

"Looks like we're lab partners," Dean pointed out the obvious, setting his bag on the floor and looking over at Cas.

"It looks that way, yes," Cas nodded.

"I'm, uh… not too bad at chemistry," Dean told him, lips quirking up in a half smile. "So you don't have to worry."

"Shh!"

They glanced at the teacher and apologized quietly, lowering their voices to a whisper.

Cas finally looked at him, and his throat felt so thick he didn't think he could speak. "I…" he cleared his throat and forced himself to make eye contact. "Dean, you don't have to…"

"What?" Dean frowned. What had he done wrong this time? "I just figure if we're gonna see each other at school… Well, it's kinda hard to avoid me completely. We live in the same house for crying out loud."

"Dean, I'm not-"

Dean's temper flared. He'd had enough of this. Cas could ignore him and freeze him out and refuse to talk at Sonny's but lying to Dean's face? Hell no.

"Cut the crap, Cas," Dean snapped, trying to breathe so he didn't lose it completely. He was trying to keep his voice at a whisper but it was growing difficult. The teacher was glaring at him from his desk. They had been told to work quietly together on the lab sheet but neither of them could focus on that. "I know you've been avoiding me this whole week. I'm not an idiot."

Cas sighed, looking away again, ashamed. "You're right. I'm sorry. It's just…"

"What? What is it, Cas? 'Cuz I don't know what the hell I did wrong." Dean shifted uncomfortably but didn't look away from Cas. He was begging him to tell him what he did so he could fix it. He didn't understand.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Dean," Cas said after what felt like a lifetime, so quiet that Dean wasn't even sure he heard him correctly. "I just don't want anyone else to get hurt because of me."

Dean eyed him carefully. He figured he was talking about Gordon. And Dean could see where Cas was coming from, but he wasn't going to leave it at that. "Well I can take care of myself so you don't have to worry about me," he said, and Cas looked at him. Maybe Dean had a point...

"Dean, I..." Cas stopped himself. He couldn't. He couldn't get close to Dean and he couldn't let Dean get close to him. It couldn't possibly end any way but bad.

Dean sighed, looking away. "Fine. I get it. I'll ask for a different lab partner."

"No," Cas blurted out before he could stop himself, looking at Dean with wide eyes. Shit. "I mean…" Dean frowned at him, confused.

"Cas, don't do me any favors," he bit out, a little too harshly.

"I'm awful at chemistry," Cas told him, offering a weak smile. "I could… I could use a partner who knows what they're doing."

Cas was kicking himself. He couldn't make up his damn mind. He knew he needed to push Dean away, but every time Dean obliged and let him be, he couldn't seem to let him go. What the hell was wrong with him?

Dean couldn't figure out what Cas was doing. "Man, I don't know what you want from me," he said, shaking his head. "If you want me gone, say go."

Castiel's head was spinning. But above all the thoughts threatening to eat him alive, the one that spoke the loudest was that said he didn't want Dean to go. Maybe it was wrong and maybe he was selfish but he didn't. "I… I don't want you to go," Cas said quietly.

Dean stared at him tentatively, waiting for the other shoe to drop but it didn't. He offered a half smile. "I don't think Mr. Tightass would switch things up anyways," he told Cas, laughing and trying to lighten the air a bit. He nodded subtly to the teacher and slid his finger across his throat, making a face, and Cas laughed.

They didn't talk much for the rest of class, mostly because the teacher was glaring at Dean and watching him like a hawk the whole time. But they were both relieved to have cleared some of the tension between them. Maybe they could actually be friends. At the very least they could stop acting like the other didn't exist. It was exhausting.

After class was over, Cas said goodbye to Dean and met up with Balthazar, who was being unusually quiet.

"What's up with you, Bal?" Cas wondered, nudging his arm as they headed towards Charlie's house. "You're brooding again."

"I'm not brooding," Balthazar murmured, smiling at Cas. "Just thinking."

Cas quirked his eyebrow. "I didn't know you could think."

Chuckling softly, Balthazar shook his head. "Haha, Cassandra." He paused. "I saw you were talking to Dean."

Cas frowned. "Yeah… So?"

"He's…" Balthazar trailed off. He was really trying to control the amount of jealousy in his tone. "Did you see him flirting with Robin earlier?"

"I…" The word got caught in Cas's throat. Of course he'd noticed. But Dean wouldn't… well, Cas realized, he didn't really know what Dean would or wouldn't do. He didn't actually know him. But the way he talked to Cas, it sure didn't seem like he was playing him.

And besides, so what if Dean flirted with Robin? Cas didn't even like Dean like that.

Balthazar was watching him closely and bit his lip.

"Don't worry, Cassie, sucker's got nothing on you," he said, clapping his shoulder. "You're still Robin's number one man."

Cas shrugged his arm off.

"Come on Bal, you know I don't like her like that."

"Yeah. I know."

"What are you chumps over there chit-chatting about?"

Balthazar and Cas looked up to see Charlie waving at them from her front porch up ahead. They smiled and closed the distance between them and the steps, following her inside. "Nothing important," Cas answered her question. "How did your first day go?"

"Physics teacher gave us a pop quiz," Charlie groaned, grabbing a water and two cream sodas from the fridge. "On the first day!"

Balthazar winced. "Damn." He accepted the cream soda gratefully as the three of them sat down at the kitchen table. "And I thought our chem teacher was bad."

Charlie laughed and handed Cas the water bottle. "Alright, Cassie, turn me into a math wizard."

Cas quirked an eyebrow. "I'm not a miracle worker. But I can make sure you pass with at least a C."

"Rude," Charlie pouted and Balthazar almost fell out of his chair laughing.

"Nice!"

Cas smiled, looking between them. "Alright, let's focus, guys."

They studied for about an hour before Charlie had had enough. "How the hell is this even math?" she muttered. "I'm good at math, but this bullshit isn't math."

Cas laughed. "You'll get it, Charlie. I promise."

"Professor Cassie, can I be excused?" Balthazar chimed in, putting Charlie's reading glasses on and making his voice all nasally.

"Kinky," Charlie coughed into her fist, and Cas glared at her.

"I hate you both," he grumbled.

"Nope, you love us," Balthazar said cheerily, pushing the glasses up on his nose. "I think this is a good look for me, no?"

"Maybe if they weren't two sizes too small for your big head," Charlie laughed, snatching her glasses back. "I need these to tell the difference between Sine and Cosine."

"SOH-CAH-TOA," Balthazar said, carefully pronouncing each part. He grinned. "I remembered, Cassie. You're such a good teacher."

Cas rolled his eyes, laughing. "You two are impossible. Class dismissed."

"Freedom!" Balthazar exclaimed, standing up with a fist in the air. He was enjoying Cas's laughter a little too much.

"Except for you," Cas continued, pointing at Balthazar and holding back spurts of giggles. "Detention for you, Mr. Hart."

"Double kinky," Charlie coughed. She hit her fist against her chest and cleared her throat. "Agh, sorry. I've just got this nasty cough. I must be coming down with something."

"Bullshit," Balthazar laughed, flipping her off.

Cas erupted into giggles, holding his stomach and grinning so hard his face hurt. Balthazar and Charlie followed suit until none of them could breathe they were laughing so hard. Every time they calmed down for a minute or two, one of them would start giggling again and it would start all over.

"Alright, alright," Cas said finally, taking deep breaths and trying to calm down. His face was flushed and he still couldn't stop smiling. "I should probably get going before dinner time."

"Need me to walk you?" Balthazar asked, standing up.

"No, that's alright," Cas said lightly. "I can handle myself."

Balthazar smirked. "I know you can, Cas."

"Love you, Cassie," Charlie said, standing and giving him a hug. Balthazar did the same.

"Love you guys," he said, stuffing his books in his bag. "See you tomorrow."

With that, Cas grabbed his backpack and headed out the door. It was about 5 p.m. so he figured Sonny and the other boys would be having dinner any minute. He knew he had to be there, but he wasn't looking forward to seeing Dean and having to pretend he didn't notice him.

"Dinner's on the table," Sonny told Cas as he opened the door for him, gesturing inside with a smile. "How was school?"

Cas shrugged. "It was only the first day."

Sonny nodded, chuckling softly. "Fair point. Well get some food in ya."

Cas followed Sonny to the kitchen and took a seat between Chuck and Ash at the table. He saw Dean eyeing him in his peripheral but he didn't look up.

"What do you guys think of that new history teacher?" Chuck asked the table. "He's kinda scary if ya ask me."

"Mr. Donovan?" Benny scoffed. "Nah, he's the best. He let us leave early after the assignment was done. The guy loves me."

"Since when are you a teacher's pet?" Ash blurted out, laughing. "This guy really must be crazy if you're his shining pupil."

"Oh shut up," Benny waved him off, glaring. "You're just mad because your favorite lunch lady moved to Wisconsin or something."

"She gave me extra macaroni!" Ash defended. "I'm tellin' you man, it was the hair. Chicks dig it."

"Alright, chief," Benny chuckled, digging into his dinner.

"That chem teacher is kind of a hardass," Dean chimed in, and Ash groaned.

"God, he is! And there's an odd number in the class, so guess who's stuck with him as a lab partner? This guy."

"Damn, that's rough," Dean said, smirking. "I'm just glad he'll be more focused on you than me."

"Lucky son of a bitch," Ash grumbled.

The chatter died down as the boys ate, and at some point Dean realized that Cas had snuck away from the table. How had he not seen him?

Dean finished his food before the other boys and headed upstairs. He didn't want to push it, but he figured he'd give Cas the chance to say something. He knew it was kind of a long shot, though.

He plopped down on his bed and laid down on his back, staring up at the wooden ceiling. They were so quiet, he could hear Cas breathing from where he was lying on his own bed.

Cas could feel the weight of Dean's presence heavy on his heart, and he tried to focus on the book he was reading. That was extremely difficult, though, when Dean was right there and it was just the two of them. This was exactly why he'd been avoiding one-on-one interaction with Dean. It was too easy for him to fall into it and get comfortable, to let Dean in. He had to make a constant effort to keep himself from giving in.

He was grateful when he heard the other boys bounding down the hall and into the room. At least when they weren't alone, he didn't have to feel so bad for ignoring Dean.

The rest of the week went pretty much the same. Cas ignored Dean when they were at Sonny's, and he made polite conversation at best when they were at school. Things were not going how Dean had planned at all. At least Benny and the others were treating him like one of the guys. That did make him feel a little better.

Still, he wasn't quite ready to give up on becoming friends with Cas. He had chem lab, so that was something. He had to be able to find some way to make nice when they sat right next together for a whole hour every single day. And if not, he had wrestling try-outs as his backup plan.

He refused to acknowledge the nagging feeling that begged the question, why was he so interested? Why did he care so much if Cas liked him? These weren't questions he knew how to answer. Not yet, at least. All he knew was that he wanted to get close to Cas. The rest he would figure out later.

It was Friday and Cas couldn't wait for class to get out. For the first time in almost a year, he was having a movie night with Balthazar and Charlie. Normally he would regret letting Charlie pick the movie because he never understood what was happening, but this time he really couldn't care less what they watched. He just missed hanging out with his best friends.

As soon as class was dismissed, Cas jumped out of his seat and practically skipped to meet Balthazar at the door. The taller boy laughed and slung an arm over Cas's shoulder as they walked.

"I've never seen you so excited to be confused about Star Trek," Balthazar teased, and Cas just grinned.

"Movie nights have always been my favorite, Bal. Especially when we haven't had one since last winter."

Balthazar returned the smile ten-fold. He couldn't help it. Despite his teasing, he had been looking forward to tonight for a solid week now. Movie night with Cas was everything. It reminded him of before things got so damn complicated.

"I just think you have a thing for Captain Kirk," Balthazar said, waggling his eyebrows. "Personally I prefer Mr. Spock, but I can see the appeal."

Cas's face flushed. "I- I do not! I just think he's a hero is all."

Balthazar snorted. "Whatever you say, Cassie."

Cas huffed and shoved him lightly, but he was smiling.

God, Balthazar had missed that smile. He hadn't seen it much since… Well, since before.

Quickly shaking that train of thought, Balthazar smiled fondly at Cas. He couldn't help the swell of hope in his chest at Cas's excitement for movie night. Yeah, Charlie was there too, but movie night had been a thing for Cas and Balthazar since they were kids. It usually ended with the two of them sitting way too close on the couch until Cas was basically curled up in Balthazar's lap. He knew Cas just liked being comfortable, but to Balthazar it was so much more than that.

"You ok, Bal?" Cas asked, breaking him from his reverie. Balthazar looked at him and saw a smirk forming on his face. "Thinking about those Vulcan ears?"

Balthazar made a face at him. "Hey, don't be disrespecting my man Spock. How many times has he saved Kirk's ass?"

Cas laughed. "Don't act like you even watch the show," he said. "You just like those skin-tight suits."

"Yeah, well, I'm not the only one," Balthazar said, throwing a smirk his way.

Cas shrugged. "It's not my fault the cast is full of people who look good in spandex."

Balthazar was suddenly struck with an image of Cas in one of those silly uniforms, and he almost choked. Cas frowned.

"Are you okay?" he asked, oblivious. "You're not getting sick are you?"

Balthazar shook his head, clearing his throat. "No, uh… I don't think so. Just… allergies."

Cas gave him an odd look but accepted his answer.

A few minutes later and they were on Charlie's front porch. She opened the door and, before they could step inside, wrapped them both in a surprisingly tight hug.

"I love movie night," she said with a happy sigh. "Especially when you chumps make the mistake of letting me pick." She pulled back and grinned at them. "I made popcorn!"

"Regretting your decision to let her pick?" Balthazar whispered to Cas as they followed Charlie inside.

"Starting to," Cas whispered back.

"You guys suck at whispering," Charlie said without looking back at them. "And you know it's my turn."

"Only teasing, dearest," Balthazar shot back. "We love you in all your geeky glory."

"Damn right you do," Charlie said matter-of-factly, the satisfied grin evident in her voice.

"Aw, don't you love me too?" Balthazar whined.

"You know I do, babe," Charlie said, winking at him.

"Should I give you guys a minute?" Cas teased, and his friends snorted out a laugh in unison as the three of them sat down in the living room.

"Never in a million years," Charlie said, giggling.

"Ouch," Balthazar said, turning to her and putting his hand on his heart. "Hurtful."

She gave him a look. "Bal, you're gay."

"Yeah, well, you're gay," Balthazar shot back, and Charlie punched his shoulder.

"We're both gay, you idiot," she laughed.

Cas smiled at the two of them, though he shifted uncomfortably. Being around his friends, he felt more comfortable being himself, accepting himself. But he still had a hard time saying it. He didn't know how Charlie and Balthazar were so brave.

"We're all pretty gay," he chimed in quietly. They looked over at him and he smiled hesitantly.

"Damn right, Cassie," Balthazar grinned, wrapping his arm around him. "We're all pretty gay," he repeated, squeezing Cas's shoulder.

Cas settled into Balthazar's side and pulled a blanket over his legs, sighing softly. He didn't know what he would do without his best friends around to remind him that he was loved exactly the way he was. That he wasn't some sort of freak of nature or abomination. They were the only people in the world he could truly rely on and trust no matter what. And that had been enough until…

His thoughts strayed to Dean, and he couldn't help but wonder if Dean would accept him if he knew. Would he still want to be his friend, or would he think he was disgusting? Cas thought he knew the answer, but honestly the risk was a little too terrifying to Cas. He felt silly for thinking it, but he didn't want to lose Dean. Not that he even had Dean, but still. He couldn't bear the thought of Dean looking at him like his father had looked at him when he'd found out…

Disappointed. Disgusted.

The thought of it was too much.

But Balthazar and Charlie, they didn't care. They loved him and they wanted him to be himself. They wanted him to be happy. And he loved them for that.

As Charlie started the movie, Balthazar didn't dare move a muscle. Cas was bundled up against his side, a warm and comforting weight. He was afraid if he moved then Cas would too, and he didn't want to lose the closeness. This happened at almost every one of their movie nights, and it had been so long that Balthazar had almost forgotten how fantastic it felt. Holding Cas close, protecting him, loving him, He wanted to stay like that forever.

After a while, though, he felt an itch on his nose. Dammit. He resisted for as long as he could, but he had to reach up and scratch it. When he did, he half expected Cas to sit up. But then Cas snuggled in closer and Balthazar couldn't even breathe. How the hell was he supposed to breathe when Cas let out that little happy sigh and put his hand on Balthazar's belly and his head on his chest and...

How the hell was he supposed to even think of anything else but that?

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't quench the hope building up in his chest. Though some part of him knew Cas was never going to see him in the way he wanted, it was moments like this when he wondered if Cas could really be so completely oblivious. Did Cas really have no idea the effect he had on him? Did he really not see the way Balthazar looked at him when he couldn't help himself? Was Balthazar crazy for thinking that maybe Cas could love him back?

His head was spinning far too fast to find the answers. For now, he thought, he would just hold Cas for as long as he was allowed. It wasn't as if he had the strength to move away even if he wanted to

And he most definitely, decidedly, did not want to.