As Castiel drove Deanna back to her house, he was still processing what had happened back at the drive-in. No, scratch that. He was still processing the last two months. He smirked as he remembered that first day back in February when Deanna Winchester came crashing into his life. Twenty-three minutes late, of course. And the picture of him he still had hanging up on his wall. Who knew so much could happen in two months?
Then a thought occurred to him. He asked, "Deanna, I appreciate your affection, and I do reciprocate it, but I thought you-I thought your...sexual orientation...was different?"
She chuckled, propping her feet up on the dash. "Don't believe all the rumors you hear going around Trumple High, Cas. That whole thing started with Hester. She just likes to light up the tilt sign, that's all. And besides, she was the one who made a move on me."
"She what?"
"Oh, yeah. We used to be good friends, believe it or not. We used to live in the same town, over in California. Guess we both ended up here. But anyway, we were on the sofa over at her pad, just a couple of slodges hanging around. And so she put a record on, and went to sit next to me, but rather than just sitting down, she planted one on me! And then when I denied her, that shuck decided to tell the story like /I/ was the one who tried to kiss /her/. And since she was queen, everyone believed her. "
Castiel parked the car in front of the house and looked at her. "So she's been making up lies about you ever since you two both lived in California?"
"Three years of this, Clyde. Three years."
"That sounds awful."
"You're telling me. Well, anyway Cas, thanks for the date. We're gonna be able to do this again sometime, right?"
He smirked. "If you want."
"Do you?"
"I would like that."
"Yeah, me too."
She smiled as she got out of the car and went around to his window. He rolled in down and she tossed a piece of fabric into his lap. Her scarf.
"A mirror-warmer, Cas. Just so everyone knows."
And then, with a smirk, she turned on her heel and scampered into her house, leaving Cas to sit, bewildered, in the car.
Things only got more interesting from there. They kind of just came out and told people on Monday when Deanna led him in the front doors of the school, gripping his hand. And when she kissed him on the cheek before driving her dad's 1955 Chrysler Imperial to work. And of course, everyone in the parking lot gaped. But Cas didn't really care.
At least, not until he saw Hester glaring at him from across the lot. He raised an eyebrow and she turned on her heel to walk away with her possy. But he shrugged and jogged over to Gabriel, who was waiting for him.
And everything was good and normal for about a week. And then came the next Saturday.
Cas sat on the chair next to the fireplace, reading a book. In Kansas, April was still pretty cold, so the fire was warming him up through his sweater. He was just turning the page when the doorbell rang.
Castiel sighed. He was the only one home, so he grunted as he got up to see who was at the door at 11:30 at night.
He opened the door to find a shivering, teary-eyed Deanna Winchester on the front porch.
"What's wrong?" Cas asked urgently.
"I...can I come in?"
"Y-yeah, sure."
She toed off her boots at the front door and padded over to the fireplace in her socks, still shivering a little bit. She sniffled.
"Cas...I don't know if I can go home tonight."
"Why not?"
She gritted her teeth, eyes still watery. "Hester."
"What?"
"That bitch thinks she can go around spreading rumours because she's radioactive...Cas, I...I really wouldn't have bothered you except that it's about you too."
Sniffle.
"Cas, Hester is...she told everyone I've got your bun in the oven."
"WHAT?"
"And news travels fast, so my dad heard. He was trying to hurt Sam because of it. He...he punched me, Cas."
For the first time, Castiel noticed a purplish mark on her jawline.
"So I walked over to my Uncle Bobby's with Sammy, dropped him off there with my Aunt Ellen, took one of the cars from the shop, and came here."
Cas was silent. "Your dad believed the rumors?"
She laughed bitterly. "Cas, if you haven't noticed, my dad is the old drunk of the town. He's believe if you told him the sky was green. And he doesn't think too highly of me."
"So why'd he try to hurt Sam?"
"You listening, Clyde? Town drunk."
There was a little pause. Cas said,"Are you okay? Overall, I mean."
"Well um...my dad...he kicked me out."