Textbooks and LARPING
Chapter Three: The boring, average, not-so-extraordinary Castiel Novak
Castiel groans as his alarm clock goes off at ten in the morning. He crawls out of his bed and drags his feet across the carpet until he reaches the kitchen where his brother is waiting with coffee. While Castiel is a studious person, he is by no means an early riser, which is why all of his classes are after noon. Ten is the earliest he can get up and function.
"Cassie, you are looking beautiful this morning. Like every morning." His brother, Gabriel, teases with a wide grin. He knows his brother hates that nickname, really Castiel has yet to be given a nickname he enjoyed.
"Please stop talking." Castiel grumbles, taking a long sip from his coffee.
"Someone's edgy today. Something happen at school?" Gabriel asks, and although he is trying to come off light, Castiel can hear a hint of concern in his voice.
"I met a strange man the other day." Castiel begins, staring at his coffee as he recalls the night before, and the day before that.
Gabriel looks at him curiously. "How strange?"
Deciding not to mention their initial meeting, Castiel goes with the strangeness at the library instead. "He watched me sleep in the library."
"Whoa! Someone's got a stalker!" Gabriel teases, "Who is this little creeper your big, strong, brother has to knock into place?"
"Dean Winchester." Castiel mumbles, taking another drink and heading to the fridge to make something to eat.
"Sam's older brother?" Gabriel sputters, "Seriously? The Dean Winchester was creeping on you?"
"He had to talk to me about something he deemed very important," Castiel explains as vaguely as possible before looking to his brother, "Why? Is he well known?"
Gabriel laughs, "You bet your ass he is! He drives an old impala that is in impeccable shape, is lusted after by a shit ton of women on campus and no small amount of men either, and adores his baby brother-as everyone should." He adds and Castiel frowns, uncomfortable with his older brother's interest in his younger study partner.
"I see." Castiel mutters, unimpressed. Whether Dean is cool, or a geek, he honestly has no interest in seeing him again. Someone who muddles up history just for….whatever he and the others at that strange place get out of it, is not worth Castiel's attention.
Yet here he is.
Thinking about him.
"So, why is he on your mind? Creeped out at being watched while you sleep? Because let me tell you, Cassie, you do your fair share of sleep watching as well." Gabriel points out.
"No, he needed to discuss something with me so I understand. It was very polite of him to wait, and not make one joke about my major." Castiel murmurs, "He was odd, but nice. A little too…pushy, though."
"He's pretty attractive, must be in the Winchester genes, maybe you've got a little crush going on Cassie?" Gabriel teases and Castiel pales at the thought.
"No." He flat out denies, "It is not something like that. He is just…peculiar. He tried to invite me to dinner at his house."
"What?" Gabriel gasps, "Someone invited you to something? Damn, kid, why didn't you go?"
"I do not know Dean, and I did not want to impose on Sam." Castiel mumbles. He did want to go, honestly, but the thought of going alone to a new house with relatively unfamiliar people terrified him. Along with said people not wanting him to stay.
"How is it that you have me and Balthazar as your closest pals and yet you are awkward as fuck?" Gabriel sighs.
"You are my brother, Gabriel, which is not a 'pal'."
"Shut up, we're buddies baby bro."
"Besides, I have followed father and Michael's rules which means I have not participated in any of the scandalous activities you and Balthazar have." Castiel points out, cooking them up some scrambled eggs.
"Not even Michael and daddy dearest live lives as repressed as yours. Twenty bucks says you wouldn't recognize a sexual act if it was happening in your face. Michael had sex the first time when he was seventeen. Also, you know, fairly certain he has watched television in the past five years."
"School comes first, I choose not to have distractions like television and internet." Castiel grumbles, tired of explaining himself on this.
"I suppose, you never harp on my lifestyle so it'd be dickish of me to do it to you."
"Yes, it would." He agrees quickly, making Gabriel pout.
"Well, anyways, got any plans today?" Gabriel asks and Castiel shrugs.
"The plans I always have, unless Balthazar wishes to do something today after classes."
"So the library," Gabriel sighs, "I swear you are there more than your own house, Cassie."
"Yes, well I do not have to worry about being bothered in the library, while here you are in my room every ten minutes because you are bored." Castiel points out, finishing his food and heading to the bathroom, "I am going to shower and leave. Would you like me to bring anything special home for dinner?"
"Nah, I can make something!" Gabriel grins at him and Castiel narrows his eyes as he studies his brother.
"…Cake is not dinner."
"It is some places."
"No. No one does that, stop." Castiel says before turning and going into the bathroom for a shower.
After a finishing his classes Castiel grabs a snack from the café inside their campus library and sits at a table outside to eat it. He pulls out a textbook and begins reading about the proper way to dispose of cremains, and all the extensive ways one must cover their ass when dealing with them. It is a shame that funeral homes have to be so paranoid. Especially with abandoned cremains.
They must be in a vault away from the funeral home so any damage to that building will not affect them in the event someone wants them someday.
Castiel wonders if this is what his father and Michael are doing with him, keeping him so sealed off from dangerous things just in case they need him in the future. Lucifer certainly will not be taking over the family business, since he is a famous singer now, and Gabriel would sooner pack his bags and move to Europe than take on that amount of responsibility.
Perhaps his father and Michael wish to keep him so wrapped up in his studies so that he does not go out and experiment, perhaps losing a part of him that as a whole makes him valuable to them. Like cremains to a family.
It is still just a bunch of ashes, though, and even if he changed he would still be Castiel. Simply, perhaps a less boring Castiel.
It doesn't really bother him, being considered boring.
Probably.
Except it totally does and all he can hear in his head is Dean and his promise to make his life more interesting. Castiel cannot help but wonder how the man would go about that. Taking Castiel to those strange gatherings? Or making him watch a show Dean really likes?
He can't particularly say either of those is an attractive idea to him.
Perhaps Dean will go the other route, then, since he is apparently known to be popular. Parties, drinking, movies, and even fights?
That sounds a million times worse.
Castiel sighs and pokes at his pasta salad, eying the same phrase in his text book over and over again.
The cremains are for the family, above all else.
And then he realizes he is comparing himself to a pile of ashes of all things and he quickly slams the textbook shut, only to hear someone plop down beside him seconds later.
"So, last night during my ménage à-what's French for twelve?" A familiar voice, Balthazar's, asks without preamble.
Castiel sighs, "Douze." He mumbles, "Although 'ménage à trois' actually refers to a domestic relationship between three people. A polyamorous arrangement, as it were, rather than an orgy where there are no emotional connections."
"Touché, Cassie. Although I must say I felt quite the connection with girl five and girl ten." Balthazar grins, "Anyways, during my 'orgy' a lovely woman informed me that Dean Winchester has been asking around about you all weekend."
Castiel pulls a look at his friend one could only describe as pure disgust, "Why on earth would you be discussing me during sex, Balthazar?"
"Nothing better than discussing your best friend and Dean Winchester during sex. Gets you where you need to be."
"Flaccid?"
Balthazar bursts into laughter and pats his friend on the back, "Look at you having a sense of humor, Cassie!" Once the laughter subsides he eyes Castiel, reading him in a way only Balthazar can, "So what's bugging you, Cassie?"
Castiel shakes his head, looking down at his book, "Nothing."
"Something in there upsetting you?" Balthazar asks, scooping up the book and flipping through it, "Finally weirded out by your own major, love?"
"There is nothing to be uncomfortable with about my major, Balthazar." Castiel defends, snatching the book back, "Besides, it is probably the most interesting thing about me."
Balthazar stares at him for a minute, searching Castiel's face to see if he truly means that, and upon reaching a conclusion he is not happy with he glares at the teen. "That's the most idiotic thing you have said. Ever. Cassie you are easily the most fascinating person out there, which is probably why Dean Winchester is so intent on finding out more about you." He says, using the tone Castiel knows better than to argue with. "Now, share with the class how that man even got you on his radar."
"I am study partners with his brother." Castiel shrugs, "He needed to talk to me on Friday about something and upon discovering I do not watch television or spend idle time on the computer he decided to make my life more 'fun'. However he intends to do so."
Balthazar smirks at his friend, "If you're lucky it will involve copious amounts of whipped cream and a lot of fists digging into sheets."
The brunette simply stares at him blankly, trying to figure out how those two things go together. "I would not be bribed into helping him make his bed simply with desserts, Balthazar, I am not Gabriel."
His friend chokes on his laughter this time. Once he regains his composure he shakes his head and pats Castiel on the back. "Poor, poor Dean. Soon he will know the pain of trying to get with an idiot like you."
"I highly doubt those are his intentions, Balthazar."
"Hey, you're cute, you never know."
Castiel frowns, "I am not cute."
Balthazar leans in, "Alright, then how's bloody adorable?"
"…Much, much worse."
A/N: ...I washed dishes at work for three hours straight the other day and now my hands hurt and it is so unfair, I didn't sign up for pain. I signed up for money.