Sorry this chapter is short, haha. And it's all in Dean's POV, but yeah, lol. Anyway, thanks so much for the review! They make me so happy :D And make me want to update quickly! So please continue to do so! There's maybe about...nine chapters left? Give or take a few? lol not sure, but around there! It's gonna probably be shorter than Hear Me Now.

Anywho, thanks again!

Onward!

Chapter Eleven

"What the hell is going on here?" Dean asked lowly, narrowing his eyes at the two of them as he stood in the entrance of the alley. Aeron jerked away from Cas and Castiel looked very confused for a moment, before he looked at Dean and stared.

"It's not what you think," Aeron said quickly, holding his hands up defensively. "He's drunk, it's not what you think, Dean."

Dean shook his head. "Lead him to the car, Aeron." Then he turned before he could say something he would later regret. Gritting his teeth, he marched back toward his car. Castiel and Aeron followed behind him slowly in a staggering gait. Dean climbed into his car and revved the engine while Cas climbed into the passenger seat. Aeron bit down on his lower lip and waved them off as Dean pulled away from the curb. "Seatbelt," he muttered to Castiel as the silence consumed the car.

"Dean-" Cas started with a slur in his voice.

Dean wrinkled his nose at the foul smell of alcohol. "Seatbelt," he said again, cutting him off as he continued looking out toward the road and not at Castiel. His grip on the steering wheel was tight, his knuckles beginning to turn white. His fingers began to lose feeling but he didn't care.

"Dean, I'm-"

"Quiet. Let's just be quiet," he said shortly, narrowing his eyes. Talking meant that he would say something he would later regret, and he wasn't willing to do that at the moment. So far, this had been the worst day of his life. As if he didn't have enough to feel guilty about as it was. Now he'd allowed Cas to leave the house and get drunk and kiss Aeron.

A growl formed in his throat at the thought but he swallowed it back down. Cas could kiss whoever he wanted, right? It was a free country. Dean hadn't come to get him and so he'd been angry with him, right? So it was his fault…

He scrubbed a hand over his face and continued driving. Castiel didn't try to start a conversation again, but that was probably because he passed out in the passenger seat. His alcoholic breath filled the car.

Really screwed up this time, didn't you, Dean? he thought with a frown, chewing on his lower lip worriedly. Was he to blame? Cas didn't seem like the type of person to go and kiss people randomly. He was drunk, that was for sure. Even so, surely there had to be a reason he'd kissed Aeron. Obviously Dean had driven him away or something…right?

He dropped Castiel off at his house and helped him inside. Castiel held onto him tightly and Dean swallowed thickly, smelling and practically tasting the alcohol. How had Cas even managed to get a hold of the alcohol, anyway? Why would he have?

Because I didn't come get him… he thought to himself. He should have left to pick him up anyway. Wasn't Cas more important than some stupid conversation about relocating?

He knocked on the front door of the Novak household. Castiel's mom, Bethany, answered, looking tired and worn through. Her eyes went wide when she saw Dean and Castiel standing there.

"What happened? Is that alcohol I smell?" she asked, wrinkling her nose.

Dean nodded wordlessly as he led Cas into the house and helped him sit on the couch. Bethany knelt in front of the couch and looked her son over.

"Is he okay?" she asked quietly.

"I think so," Dean said, "just…drunk. How did he get the, um…alcohol?"

She shook her head guiltily. "I don't know…maybe he snuck out with it when we were fighting…"

Dean nodded and moved toward the door, not knowing what to say or what he was doing there. "I'll just, um…be going, then…" He edged toward the door, watching them to make sure he wasn't needed.

"Thanks for bringing him home, Dean," Bethany said gratefully.

"No problem…" he said. He should have been there in the first place, right? To pick him up so he wouldn't have gone out to get drunk anyway. He shook his head and took his leave, exiting the house and quickly pulling away from the curb once he climbed back into his car.

When he got home, he slammed the door to his room closed without speaking a word to his father or Sam. And if they said anything about it, he didn't know.

Hours later, there was a faint knock at his door. Dean grunted, not wanting to get out of bed. He'd been lying there since he'd gotten home, just staring up at the ceiling and trying to forget the twist of pain he felt in his heart every time he thought about Cas kissing Aeron. Why Aeron, of all people? Sure, Castiel was drunk, but wasn't that when people gave into their hidden urges? Did Cas like Aeron? Was he getting tired of Dean?

It wouldn't have been the first time someone had gotten tired of him, after all. It seemed that people only stayed in stages. Soon, everyone always left.

And maybe everyone always would.

Sighing, he climbed out of bed when the knocking at his door continued. He pried it open a crack and scowled. "What, Sam?" he asked, if not a bit too harshly.

Sam stared at him, frowning. "Is…everything okay? You've been in your room since you got home. Did something happen? Why did you leave?"

"Not now, Sam." Dean slammed the door closed in his brother's face, locking it. It probably wasn't the best move to make in the world, but at the moment, he couldn't find it in him to care. He was just so confused, and he didn't know what to do or how to fix things. How had things gotten so screwed up so quickly?

He couldn't blame Cas, right? He had been the one to send him in that direction, hadn't he? He had been acting weird lately toward Castiel, and he knew that. He did. But it was only because he was trying to find the right way and the right time to tell him about how the police wanted him and his family to relocate elsewhere for the time being. It was hard, though, trying to tell the person he loved that he might have to leave, that he probably wasn't going to get a say in it.

Maybe it would be better if he left, he decided suddenly, narrowing his eyes. Castiel had enough on his plate right now, what with his cousins in town, school, and the way his parents were fighting all the time…he didn't need Dean there causing more problems or putting his baggage on him.

And because Dean had been hiding it thus far, Castiel had probably thought that Dean just didn't feel like coming to get him and pick him up from the house, when in reality, he hadn't been allowed to leave in the middle of the discussion. The police had required that they all three be present. His father had needed someone there for him to see what the police were showing them because he himself couldn't. And Sammy had needed him there at the time, had been a little frightened at the fact that the person who had killed Justin could potentially come after them as well.

Dean had been forced to be in the conversation. He couldn't have just left his brother and father there alone, right? But still, when Cas had called, sounding so upset, he should have gone to get him.

But he hadn't.

And now things were so messed up.

And he didn't know what to do or how to fix it.

Someone was knocking on his door again. Dean swallowed and stood, knowing that he couldn't just ignore it like he wanted. What if it was important? Plus, he had slammed the door in Sammy's face, and that was wrong on so many levels. His brother had just been worried, after all. Nothing wrong with that, right?

Except that he was the older brother. He was supposed to make sure that Sammy never worried, and especially about him.

He unlocked his door and opened it. John stood there, his eyes bandaged but a scowl plastered on his face.

"You made Sammy upset," John said.

"I know…I'm sorry," Dean murmured guiltily.

Another thing I screwed up.

"You should go talk to him."

"…Alright." Dean sighed and moved out of his room and past his father. He moved down the hall and to Sammy's room, where he knocked on his door. Sam answered after a moment and frowned at him. "Sorry I slammed the door in your face," Dean apologized. "I just…have a lot on my mind."

"It's okay…wanna talk about it?"

"Nah, I'm good." He definitely didn't want to talk about it. He didn't even want to think about it, but he had to. He couldn't escape his own mind, after all.

"Did something happen?"

"Sam…"

"Was it Castiel that called?" Now Sam narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah, but-"

"I see. What happened?"

"Sam, not now," Dean said quietly. "I'm not in the caring and sharing kind of mood right now. Let's do this later."

Screw later…how about never? he thought.

Sam sighed heavily. "Fine…but don't think you're getting out of this! We're going to talk." He crossed his arms stubbornly.

Just like Dad…

Dean scrubbed a hand over his face. "Alright. You win. We'll talk later. Are we good?"

"Yeah."

"Cool. I'll just, uh…be in my room…then…" After a brief moment of hesitation, he turned and stalked back down to his room, where he entered and closed himself in, surrounded by the silence and darkness of the four walls around him.

Dean did wander out after supper, though. John had saved a plate of food for him, and all Dean had to do was heat it up. He sat at the table in silence and ate alone, not even bothering to turn the kitchen light on.

The light did come on, though, about five minutes after he'd started eating his food. He looked up, blinking at the change, to see Sam entering the kitchen. Sam sat at the table next to him, frowning.

"Do you…really think we'll have to leave?" he asked worriedly, chewing on his lower lip with apprehension.

Dean paused mid-chew and then swallowed. "I don't know," he said honestly. "I hope not."

"Are you gonna tell Cas?"

Dean looked down and said nothing.

"…Did Castiel do something, Dean?" Sam asked after a moment of silence.

"Drop it, Sam."

"Did he? He did, didn't he?"

"No. Now drop it."

"Dean-"

"I said drop it!" Dean snapped, glaring as he stood so quickly that his chair toppled over. Glaring at the chair and then at his half-eaten food and then at Sam, he stalked out of the room.

For the second time that day, he slammed his door shut without a word.

And if Sam had anything to say, he didn't hear it.

O.o Well Dean seems conflicted, haha. Anyway, thanks for reading! I should have some Cas POV in the next chapter. Please continue to leave your wonderful reviews! Thanks again!

~Muffy the Dough Slayer~