Dean had been rewarded with running a mile due to his tardiness to practice, but he was grateful for the time to think. He had never talked to someone about his mother like that, not even to his closest friends. He had confided one of his innermost struggles with his teacher of all people.
What the fuck.
The poor guy had looked so... vulnerable. He had fought hard to repress the urge to hug the guy, and Dean was not into chick flick moments. He was aware that he had just had an intimate glimpse into the other man's life, and he had a feeling that not many people had shared the same experience other than maybe his family. Wait, his family! Cas had been out for the entire week while his brother covered his classes for him. Why hadn't he taken the week off as well?
He had finished his mile, hustling to join up with the rest of the team for practice before Coach could pull him aside to berate him again. It was a great practice, the kind that made him ache all over. He had picked up his brother and headed home. When he had finally stepped out of the shower, he had found his brother in the kitchen, attempting to make pancakes and bacon. Dean had been touched by his brother's attempt to help, and only teased him once as he joined in, fulfilling his brotherly duty.
Full, clean, and exhausted, he sat down in front of the TV and pulled out his phone. He stared at the picture Lisa had set as his lock screen of the two of them embracing after a game last year. He was grinning from ear to ear, and her face reflected his own happiness as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Feeling weirdly uncomfortable, he unlocked his phone to avoid looking at the picture any longer. He pulled up his girlfriend's contact, thumb hovering over the call button for several seconds before finally making the call. No answer. He sighed, sending her a quick text to let her know he was heading for bed, fighting the feeling of unease that had trickled into his insides like ice water.
Dean woke up early the next morning, and for once, he and Sam were actually early arriving to the school. He decided to head to his homeroom early so that he could review the information for his quiz in Earth Science first period. As he approached the corner where his locker was located, he heard low voices. Familiar voices.
"Look, if he finds out he'll kill me. I'm not going to do that to him," Benny hissed.
"He doesn't have to know. He's too busy playing house with his brother," Lisa hummed.
"He's my brother, too, do you not understand that? It'll crush him," Benny pleaded.
"You weren't saying that the other night," she snapped. "Just think about it."
Dean heard Benny slam his locker shut, and he had to fight the rage that wanted to slam Benny up against the lockers. That's why she had been acting so strange. She was cheating with his best friend. He quickly grabbed his belongings, slamming his own locker shut for good measure. He wasn't necessarily surprised at Lisa, but his best friend? He felt like he had been stabbed straight through his gut.
After contemplating what to do with this information for his first three class periods, the lunch bell finally rang. Dean had ignored Benny all through second period, but before he could even protest, his friend had dropped into the seat beside him as they did every lunch period.
"Hey, brother," Benny greeted brightly, clapping an enormous hand onto his shoulder.
Dean shrugged the hand off, trying to control his silent rage. He glared at his tray, refusing to look up from his chicken sandwich.
"O-kay," Benny mumbled, leaving his friend alone for the time being.
Dean picked at his lunch, remaining silent for the duration of the lunch period. When it was finally time to leave, Benny stopped him again.
"Look, man. The Dean I know would have inhaled his lunch," Benny accused. "Are you feeling okay, brother?"
Dean squared his shoulders, clenching his jaw, "I don't know, dude. Does a brother sleep with his best friend's girlfriend?"
Benny recoiled in shock, "What? Dean, I would never do tha-"
"Save it. I overheard your little conversation this morning," Dean snarled, taking a step closer to the other teen.
"Now, you best listen to me, Dean Winchester," Benny warned, "It ain't what you think it is."
Dean threw the first punch.
When he found himself on his back, being pinned down underneath the bigger boy, he took satisfaction in the fact that his nose was bleeding, and from the looks of it, broken. He shifted his weight, throwing Benny off of him before crawling over him to deliver more blows. A circle of students had formed around the two of them, and Dean realized that he was also tasting blood.
Suddenly, he felt hands grab him by his shoulders, yanking him off the other boy, "That's enough, Mr. Winchester."
Shit, Cas.
Michael Novak was there as well, dragging Benny up from the floor and putting his arm underneath him to support his weight. Benny was in rough shape. Coach is going to kill me. He pulled against Cas's grip on his shoulders, but surprisingly, he didn't even budge.
"Enough, Dean," Cas hissed, pushing him in the direction of the principal's office. He forced him down into the chair, glaring at him with disappointment just as Michael deposited Benny into the other.
"Mr. Lafitte will need to see the nurse," Michael stated, "Can you handle these two for a moment while I fetch her, Castiel?"
"I think you'll find that I am more than capable, Michael," Castiel threatened. "They're good boys."
Michael scoffed, exiting the waiting area with arrogance. Pompous dick.
"I don't know what's going on here, but I am greatly disappointed in both of you. Dean, you'll be lucky if you aren't suspended. Are you both really going to feed into the stereotypical jock archetype? You're better than that," Castiel scolded, staring hard at both of them. Neither student would meet his eyes.
After separate meetings with the principal, Benny was given two days' detention, but sent home for the day due to his injuries. Dean had received a weeks' worth of after school detention, and worst of all, would be benched for this week's game. By a stroke of luck, it was Castiel's turn to staff detention for the week, meaning that he wouldn't be stuck with Michael Novak.
When his final class was up, he simply stayed put, watching the other prisoners drift through the door. There were four of them. In the front of the room was Chuck Shurley, the local pot dealer, in the middle, sat Dean. In the back of the room was Sam's friend Kevin, looking terrified. And to his left, was a red-headed girl he had never seen before.
"Good afternoon," Cas called from the front of the room, staring them all down. "I'm sure you all are aware of why you are here." He glanced at Dean, giving him a hard stare before turning to the others. "I need to go make some copies, so please remain seated while I am gone. You may talk amongst yourselves, but do not leave the room. Dean, I suggest that you use this time as an opportunity to work on your essay."
Dean blushed, looking down at his desk. He reached down into his backpack, realizing that he had not even opened the envelope yet. He tore along the seam, pulling out the folded paper within. As his eyes slid over the words, his heart sank, Cas was trying to make a point. "How have the choices you've made in your life shaped who you are?"
A flash of red to his left, caught his attention, "You know he didn't do it, right?"
Dean stared at the girl in confusion, "What?"
"Your southern friend? Benjamin? He didn't do it," she stated simply, typing away on her laptop.
"And who the hell are you," Dean questioned defensively.
"Charlie. Charlie Bradbury," she smiled, "Aren't you going to ask how I know?"
"Look, Charlie," Dean sighed, "With all due respec-"
"Dude, you never say 'with all due respect'. The next thing out of your mouth is automatically disrespectful," she grimaced. "Benny didn't sleep with your girlfriend, Prince Charming."
"Okay, I'll bite. How do you know," Dean inquired, crossing his arms.
"I was at the party on Friday. Not by personal choice, but I did get some ass out of it," she smirked, noting the bewildered expression on Dean's face. "That's right, Ken doll. I bat for your team."
Dean blushed, realizing that his mouth was open, "I mean, that's cool. Good for you."
"Save it," she dismissed, grinning at him, "Anyway, when I was sneaking off upstairs, I encountered your very drunken friend in the hallway. Your girlfriend had tried to kiss him, but he pushed her away. He then puked on her shoes, and spent the rest of the night passed out in the bathtub."
Dean shook his head, "But, I know what I heard."
"Dude, does that jacket restrict the blood flow to your brain? She lied. Benny was so drunk he doesn't remember a damn thing from that night. She convinced him that he had slept with her in an attempt to get him to actually sleep with her. Your girlfriend's kind of a bitch."
He rubbed at his eyes in irritation, mulling this information over, "Look, even if that is true, how do you know?"
Charlie brightened immediately, "Oh. That's easy. I hacked her phone."
"Wait, you hacked her phone? Isn't that like, illegal or something," Dean sputtered.
"Eh, the less details you know, the better. Let's just say, I owe her some strife after what she did to me in middle school," Charlie muttered bitterly. "She texted her friend Meg and told her about the whole thing." She turned her computer, showing him the messages.
Dean felt the air leave his lungs. Benny was innocent, and he was a dick. He pulled his phone out and sent a quick text to Lisa, confirming that they were done, then to Benny.
Dude, I am so sorry. I am such a dick.
His phone buzzed immediately with a text from the other teen.
You couldn't have come to that realization before you broke my nose? I told you it wasn't like that.
Dean winced, knowing that he had done a number on his best friend.
Yeah, well, I know the truth now. Lisa and I are done.
As if on cue, he received a message from Lisa.
Are you fucking kidding me? Call me.
Dean put his phone away, staring at Charlie, "Okay, I've gotta know. Why are you here?" He gestured vaguely around the room, noting the smirk on her face.
"I am so glad you asked," she chirped. "Do you remember the assembly we had last week?"
"Yeah, the 'Say NO to drugs' thing?"
"Remember how the presenter's screen locked up and started playing Return of the King? That was me," she beamed.
Dean laughed, shaking his head at the girl, "That was awesome. Novak was pissed." He remembered the man rushing onto the stage and trying everything he could think of to get the presentation back, finally pulling the plug completely. The entire school had been talking about it all week. He smiled, reaching over to shake her hand, "Charlie, you are something else. I like that."
"Did we just become best friends," she grinned, shaking his hand back.
He noted the movie reference, and nodded, "I think we just did."