I'm so sorry for taking so long! I don't know what happened, really. I just lost motivation, I guess, haha. Got stuck for a moment. I know what's going to happen next chapter, mostly, so hopefully it will be up soon. Anyway, sorry this chapter is so short...I just wanted to go ahead and post since it's been so long. Plus it was a good stopping point. Anywho, thanks for reading and reviewing, you guys! You make me so happy and make me want to continue this story! I might write another one-shot for this 'verse but I make no promises. Hehe, thanks again!

Onward!

Oh...and sorry for any typos...I'm very tired at the moment, hehe.

Chapter Four

Well, this week was starting off nicely. Could anyone hear his sarcasm? The first day back to school since before Christmas Break and Dean was late. Technically, it wasn't his fault. He'd plead blame-little-brother in a court of law, but he doubted that would go over very well. Grumbling to himself, he hurriedly ran through the halls even though he was already late. He held a tardy pass in his hand, which completely sucked out loud, the red notice seemingly sticking out in the air around him. He kept catching sight of it when he glanced around. He just wanted to get this day over with, and the best way to not make his first period teacher mad was to be not-completely late to his class. A few minutes, sure…but twenty? No. So it'd been twelve already…big deal. Dean just had to hurry…

Don't send me to the office, don't send me back to the office…can't I just get through this day in peace? Damn it, Sammy, if I get in deep trouble, I am so blaming you, you bitch, he thought to himself as he thought back on that morning. He and Sammy had been halfway to the middle school when Sam had decided he was hungry and had demanded pop tarts, forcing Dean to stop at the nearest store to buy said pop tarts. Little brother had still complained, stating that there was no chocolate frosting. Dean had told him to shove it and had hurried him to school on time. Unfortunately, he himself was late. Figures.

He opened the door and entered his first period. Thankfully, Cas was in this class, which made the start to each morning better. At least now he had something to look forward to, right? Not to mention they had Drama Club after school today. Even though Dean often argued that he hated it, he actually rather enjoyed it. The people were friendly, the scenes were fun, and it was just an easy-going atmosphere that he loved. Not to mention, it was how he'd first met Cas, and anything that brought the two of them together couldn't be bad, right?

Castiel smiled at him as he handed the teacher the pass and hurried to his seat in the back of the classroom. Mr. Freeman, his English 12 teacher, scowled at him before returning to writing things on the board. "Where were you?" Castiel asked in greeting as Dean took a seat next to him.

Dean sighed. "I'm fine! How are you? Thanks for asking!" He grinned to let Cas know he was kidding and then he shrugged. "I have an idiot for a brother. I blame him."

"What'd he do this time?"

The humorous tone in Castiel's voice made Dean's lips lift upward in a brief smile.

"He wanted freakin' pop tarts and refused to go to school without them. So I stopped to get him some…and he bitched some more. And now I'm late and it's all his stupid fault." He shook his head and sighed. He didn't really blame Sammy…not really. After all, he'd been Sammy's age once, and he'd been moody then too. Sam was just going through a phase, like all teens. Right? It was nothing to worry about and he'd grow out of it one day.

Dean just hoped that day was sooner rather than later.

"Maybe you should talk to him," Castiel suggested…for about the hundredth time. Dean shook his head and opened his mouth to answer but stopped when the teacher sent him a stern look, clearly telling him to be quiet. He shrugged and turned so he was facing the front, like the good little student he clearly wasn't. Innocently, he smiled at the teacher and nodded.

"Continue," he said, "I'm listening."

The teacher rolled his eyes and continued speaking. Honestly, what was so interesting about learning where to place a comma was beyond Dean. Even so, he forced himself to focus today. Maybe, at least then, it would distract him from the rotten morning this had already been.

Except for being with Cas, of course. That part could never be bad.

Lunch was loud, as always. Castiel had almost forgotten how loud it actually could be, with so many students crowded into one place, each trying to be heard, their voices raised over the roar of the others. Yeah, it was definitely loud. Sighing, he glanced at Dean, who was sitting to his right. To his left sat Anna, who was grinning.

"I have something very special planned!" she gushed, causing Dean to pause and look at her, his fork hovering a few inches from his mouth, laden with food, specifically what looked like mashed potatoes and gravy, but with cafeteria food, Castiel could never be completely sure.

"Should I be scared?" Dean question, quirking a brow.

Anna shrugged and giggled, not answering him. Instead, she turned to the girl next to her, Kelly, and started talking animatedly. Castiel sighed. Kelly and his brother had been dating on and off for a while now, but they were currently off. She was supposedly dating that guy, Logan, from Drama Club. Castiel didn't really care. Personally, he didn't think Jimmy and her were very good for each other. They struck him as just close friends, which Jimmy had agreed with the last time they'd broken up. Things seemed better this way, or so Castiel thought.

Besides, Jimmy was currently interested in that new girl, Amelia, who had just arrived about two weeks before Christmas Break. To Castiel's knowledge, he hadn't even spoken to her yet but he'd been watching her, trying to get Dean to dig up information on her. Dean seemed to know a little about everyone in the school, therefore Jimmy seemed to think that he magically immediately knew all there was to know about Amelia. The thought made Castiel want to roll his eyes, but he successfully managed to suppress that urge.

He couldn't quite wait to go to Drama Club after school today. He actually missed the gang of people there, since he hadn't seen them since before break. Sure, at first, he'd been rather shy around them, sure they would ignore him and allow him to become part of the background like everyone else seemed to do, but now, they were actually his friends. Him, Castiel…he had friends. That thought was still a little foreign to him but he was growing very, very fond of it. He wasn't the background anymore, wasn't the one forgotten or left behind by the others. No, this time, he was a part of what was happening. He was important.

And he loved that feeling…a lot. He liked knowing that there were people who cared.

His eyes landed on Dean, who was currently swallowing down the last of his water. He never got milk, claiming that he couldn't trust the school's milk after a fiasco in eighth grade, but due to the burst of laughter the statement had gotten out of Hunter, he wasn't so sure he wanted to know exactly what had transpired back then. Either way, Dean always got one of those small, miniature bottles of water when he got food.

Dean grinned at Anna, who frowned at him suspiciously. "If you take my tray up, I will love you forever."

Anna smirked and slid her gaze toward Castiel, who scowled.

"Second only to Cas, of course," Dean said with a smile. "And maybe Sam…and we can't forget about Dad…and Hunter, he's clearly better than you…and, dare I say it….Ruby."

Anna narrowed her eyes. "You sure know how to ruin your own kind words, Dean." She smirked and shook her head. "But don't worry, I'll get back at you later for it." She grabbed his tray and stood, moving to get rid of it. Dean smirked after her and turned his attention to Castiel.

"I was thinking milkshakes and cheeseburgers," Dean told him seriously, as though handing him the world's secrets on a silver platter. Castiel stared at him momentarily and then rolled his eyes.

"Again, Dean, there's more to life than cheeseburgers."

"I very seriously doubt it," Dean told him. "So, we good to go after Drama Club?"

Castiel nodded and smiled at him. It wasn't like he could say no, anyway. He didn't want to go home and listen to his parents argue all the more. It kept getting worse and he seriously wished they would stop, but he figured the odds of them doing that were slim to none. Plus, he liked going places with Dean. He enjoyed being with Dean period, after all.

Plus, who was he to turn down a good milkshake?

"We are going to be having one more major play for this year, as a sort of last hurrah for the seniors," Anna announced first thing in Drama Club. Dean and Castiel were barely through the door when she started speaking, seemingly too excited to hold it in any longer. Hunter was at her side, forever the loyal boyfriend, and he was grinning from ear to ear. Clearly he was pleased too. Ash had graduated and so he wasn't around anymore, putting Anna in complete control of the group, along with Hunter since he was dating her.

There were a few groans but mostly people cheered. The groans were from the newest members, who had joined shortly before Thanksgiving for some strange reason. Dean had a feeling they'd lost a bet or something, but he wasn't sure.

"I will need as many people as I can to be in it," Anna continued, that large smile still plastered on her face. Her cheeks were going to start hurting if she didn't stop soon, Dean was sure. "I want every senior to sign up. We need to make this play count!"

There were a few cheers, mostly from the girls. The guys just stood there and watched.

"What's it going to be about?" Kelly asked, looking surprised. Clearly Anna had kept this a secret from her. Huh. And here Dean had thought that girls couldn't keep their mouth shut about anything, especially when talking to other girls. They certainly talked enough, after all.

Anna grinned. "I will let you know that when I cast the lead roles. So everyone sign up! Here is the sheet, pass that around." She handed out a paper and a pen and it started moving through the crowd. Dean looked at Cas, shrugged, and signed both of their names before passing it on. "Since this is the first day back, I thought we could just relax a little. Do homework if you need to, or just relax and talk."

She hurried off with Hunter, leaving them all standing there, clutching at the piece of paper as it continued to move around.

Dean shrugged again and sighed. "Sometimes, that girl really scares me."

"Same here," Cas told him, grinning.

Dean loved his grin. In fact, he loved it so much, he was going to kiss those lips. And he did.

Several times.

Until someone cleared their voice, forcing them apart for the time being. Joy.

Sometimes, people could be very annoying. Like Sam.

But at least there would be milkshakes later. And cheeseburgers…and Cas.

Three of Dean's favorite things. Cas ranked first, of course. Along with Sam, but who was counting?

Anywho, thanks for reading! Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon! Please keep reviewing! Thanks!

~Muffy the Dough Slayer~