If You Dare Challenge - #378 (Graceful Dance)

Are You Crazy Enough To Do It Challenge - #55 (book title) Crush

Fanfiction Writing Month: November [879]

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Dean brought a get well card, a handful of balloons, and a bag of candy for the boy he put in the hospital. He refused to let Sam go with him; he was afraid that James would harm Sam. When he arrived, he kept retreating into his head; Sonny had to call his name multiple times to call his attention.

Both of James' parents were in the room when Dean entered. Terrified, he shook as he approached, ducking his head. He held out the apology gifts to James, who reluctantly accepted them from his hospital bed. Sonny motioned to Mr. and Mrs. Rodgers. "I'm sorry about this whole incident," he said in earnest. "Honestly… It's been really difficult for Dean."

The gray-haired man nodded. "Don't worry about it."

The woman, however, frowned. "What happened to him?"

"What?"

"Sorry. It's just… The scars. On his face. What happened?" Mrs. Rodgers pressed on. "Mr. West told us he was a bit...unstable, so I assumed something had—"

Sonny bristled. "I don't think it's any of your business."

After that incident, Sonny pulled the Winchesters out of public school and enrolled them in private school. He couldn't stand to see them treated with a lack of compassion, especially by the principal himself. With their high test scores, he was able to get them a scholarship to attend the school with little cost. He was also able to get Jaime and Noah into the school without much trouble.

Every morning, Sonny drove the five boys to the private school. Castiel shared every class with Sam and Dean except English. The Winchesters were ecstatic; the private school was much calmer, and they spent most of their time with Castiel. There was a plethora of books for Sam to choose from, and he spent more and more time with Jaime. Jaime had taught Sam a few card games, and now played all the time, competing intensely with one another.

Castiel and Dean were practically conjoined at the hip. They spent all of their time together, playing games, practicing piano, and doing homework.

For the next two years, things went relatively well. Of course, there were setbacks. For instance, Sam and Dean outright refused to take gym at school because it involved getting dressed in front of the other kids. Sonny didn't want to assume that Dean was ashamed of his scars, but he was pretty sure that was the reason. Sam and Dean had instances of panic attacks and delusions while at school, but eventually things got better. Dean soon ate full meals; his illness vanished. He allowed people to touch him, but only briefly. He left Sam with people he trusted: Castiel, Sonny, Amina, Kathy… Soon Dean was fourteen and Sam was ten; they never celebrated their birthdays, however, because Sam still held a violent fear of anything birthday-related.

Once, Cas and Dean were doing their homework on the kitchen table, listening to music, when a song Dean recognized came on. His eyes lit up. "I love this song!"

Cas looked up and grinned. "Night Moves? It's a great one!"

"I used to listen to it in the car," he said, "with Sir before—" His smile faded. "Before…"

Castiel stood up abruptly, interrupting Dean's dark thoughts. He beckoned him closer, holding his hand out. "Come on, Dean."

Dean stared at his friend's hand. "What are you doing?"

"Making some good memories," Cas promised. "Come on. Give me your hand."

Dean hesitated for a second before giving Cas a shy smile and his hand. Sonny watched in shock; Dean was willingly touching someone. And not for a solely practical purpose, either. It was simply because he wanted to be touched and because it felt good. Everyone knew that Dean had a massive crush on Castiel, and vice versa, but the boys had never approached the subject themselves...until now. Cas turned up the music with his free hand before grabbing both Dean's hands and leading him into the center of the kitchen. "Out past the cornfields where the woods get heavy…" Cas pulled Dean forward and back, dancing with him. "Out in the backseat of my '60 Chevy…" Before long, Dean was laughing like Sonny had never seen, dancing as though he was on a cloud. Cas spun him around in circles, both of them flushed and giggling as though nothing bad had ever happened to them. "Working on them night moves…"

Sonny and Kathy watched their interaction from the other room, intrigued. Soon, Sonny realized something incredible. They didn't look at each other the way friends did. They stared at each other and laughed with each other with love in their hearts. They loved each other.

"Where would we be without Cas?" asked Kathy, as Sonny slipped an arm around her shoulder. "Do you think the boys would be able to survive here?"

To be honest, Sonny had no idea. Cas had become an anchor for the Winchester boys, especially Dean. "I don't know," he confessed, "but I sure am glad we have him."

Kathy nodded in agreement. "Sam and Dean would still be lost without him." And it was true. Castiel pulled the Winchesters out of their dark headspace and into the light, enabling them to feel like carefree kids instead of battle-scarred soldiers.

A/N: Thanks for reading! I know this chapter was super short, but I'll post the next one soon. Now, don't miss that there was a MASSIVE time jump in this chapter: two years. I know that's super odd, but I wanted Cas and Dean to move along a little faster, and I couldn't do that if they were still twelve. Thanks for reading, everyone!