Castiel always hated the first day of school. It was just another day when he had to turn around from the glory of summer vacation and face all the kids that basically ignored his very existence. This time, however, it was a whole new set of faces set out to ignore his very existence. Grand.
"Hey Cas!" he hears a voice call from down the hall and he stops to turn and wave confusedly at Sam. He hadn't expected Sam to actually communicate with him optionally out the view of his brother's keen eye. Sam caught up to him and stopped by his side. "So, you know where you're going for your classes?" he questions, twisting the cap off of the water bottle he is carrying.
"I think so. The principle told me where most of the stuff is."
"Have you been to the classes?" Sam asks, eyebrow raised.
"No," Castiel says, second guessing his knowledge of location. He glances back to the paper in his hand. He bites his lip and cocks his head slightly, suddenly befuddled.
"Here, let me see it," Sam says, holding out his hand. Castiel hands over his schedule and Sam takes a moment to examine it. His face breaks out in a grin and he pats Castiel on the back. "Good news Cas, you're stuck with me for most of the day," Sam says.
"Well at least I will know someone," he chuckles softly.
._.
Castiel feels terrified as he moves towards the lunch checkout, his finer gripping tightly to the Styrofoam tray in his hands. He is about to face the move terrifying portion of any first day; figuring out where to sit in the cafeteria. At his old school he had at least had a few friends he could avoid humanity with. Here, however, he is going in completely blind.
Once he pays for the glop on his plate he moves forward from the line slowly, taking his time to examine the large room in front of him. He only has a minute to panic over his limited options before her feels someone lightly bump his shoulder. He would have assumed it an accident had it not come directly from his side, and not in passing. He turns to see Sam standing there and nearly breaths out a sigh of relief.
Sam has been his saving grace throughout most of the day. There has only been one class they haven't had together, which was right before lunch when Sam went to Wood Shop and Castiel went to Financial Literacy. Sam apparently felt like saving the day just one more time, offering Castiel a friendly smile. "Hey Cas, some friends and I are sitting over there if you wanted to join us. Fair warning, they can be a bit… overwhelming" Sam says, trying to pick his words carefully.
"Thank you Sam," Castiel smiles softly and Sam grins, beginning the walk towards his table. Castiel follows behind quietly, eyes locked on his tray. Once he and Sam are seated he takes a moment to look around the table. "Quite a rowdy group Sam," Castiel comments sarcastically, pointing out the lack of people.
"They're all still in the lunch line. They all come from the science lab which is all the way across the school. Ah, look, here comes Jo now," Sam says the last sentence a little louder, drawing the girl's attention. She shoots him a glare.
"Not telling stories are we?" she asks, a threatening tone in her voice. Castiel can't quite tell if it's meant to be joking or not at first. However, her eyes quickly soften and her face splits in a grin. "So, is this the newbie I've been hearing about all day?" Jo asks, her eyes moving to Castiel.
"Jo, this is Castiel Novak. His brother and he just moved here from North Carolina. Castiel, this is Jo Harvelle. Her mother owns the Roadhouse," Sam says and Castiel nods. He remembers Dean and Gabriel planning a dinner for their group of internet friends as well as Sam and himself involving said restaurant.
"Hey Cas," a familiar voice says to Cass left. Cas turns to see Kevin pulling out the chair next to him and he smiles at the boy. He and Kevin had made fast friends the previous day, perhaps even quicker than he and Sam. There was just something about Kevin that Castiel liked, but he couldn't quite place what it was. The fact that they liked pretty much the exact same things helped a little.
"Hello Kevin," he greeted.
"And last but not least we have Andrew Gallagher. Andy, this is Castiel Novak. Cas, this is Andy," Sam says, waving his hands between the two. "Occasionally we have a few others that will sit here but this is the main part of our group," Sam says before attempting to stab his fork into the sad excuse for a salad on his plate.
._.
It was almost odd how quickly Castiel was accepted into the conversation of the table, as if he had known all these people for years.
"I'm being serious! I think Mrs. H was coming onto me! You better watch it Kev, she's after the brains," Andy says, tapping his head and wiggling his eyebrows at Kevin. Kevin's face distorts in disgust.
Jo snorts. "Please, we all know Kevin has got a freaking heart string dedicated to Chuck. No way he would go after the old she-witch," she says, rolling her eyes.
"Chuck is one of the guys that sits with us sometimes. He's on the football team and he has an obsession with literature. Him and Kevin have been flirting with each other ever since Kevin helped him with his Pre-Cal last year but they're both blind as bats," Sam whispers to Cas and he chuckles. Sam has been the only one kind enough to fill him in on who is who in their stories, always in a lowered tone as if they were sharing gossip. Which they pretty much were.
._.
Sam is conflicted.
His day was fine, wonderful even, but he felt terrible. It wasn't like he didn't know why; of course he did. It was Castiel.
Perhaps the only reason Sam originally tried to befriend Castiel had been because his brother had pleaded with him, but he found himself growing fond of the kid. Perhaps a bit too fond, Sam realizes, and mildly panics. It has been happening more frequently than he would like to admit. Castiel isn't the first male that he has felt an attraction for.
Sure, Sam has nothing wrong with gays, obviously. His brother is gay, but that also means that Sam had to see what his brother went through. Sam can't even begin to recall the number of fights Dean was involved in that revolved around his sexuality. Some kids cannot handle the idea of same sex relationships.
Sam isn't as strong as his brother. He doesn't think he can handle the bullying, physically or mentally, and it isn't like he doesn't like girls. He does, but he likes boys too. It isn't just a physical thing for him; it's more the person inside that he sees. The person inside that he falls for. Sure, he is physically attracted to the human anatomy, but he wants- craves more than just a physical attraction.
Sam sighs, rolling over in his bed, his thoughts still racing. He grips at the sides of his head, rubbing his temples as he feels a headache coming on. He needs sleep.
(A/N: Cas and Sam flirting? What? I thought this was Dean/Cas and Sam/Gabe? Patience my darlings; it will all come in time.)