Sorry if I was a little slower to update this than normal, I'll try and make up for it by updating again in a couple of days. However, I have a beta now, so there should be fewer errors! Thanks again to everyone who reviewed – you're all amazing and you inspire me to continue with this fanfic! *Hands out virtual pie* I'm sorry if this doesn't have as much Destiel action as it could, the next chapter should be their first 'date' so it should contain more! Please review so that I know how I'm doing, and feel free to make suggestions or criticism. This chapter's reviewers can have some burgers from Cas (if he can be persuaded to part with them).
Thanks to rdmnss for beta'ing this – you're amazing!
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or any of the characters. If I did, Destiel would be canon, Gabriel would be alive, and Metatron would never have gotten away with banishing all of the angels from Heaven *sob*
Castiel collapsed onto his bed, still wearing his outdoor shoes and trenchcoat, entirely unsure about what he had just done. It had been so out of character for him, yet at the time, it had just seemed so right. There had been something about that man – Dean – that had made him disregard everything that he had told himself when he had moved here and agree to try out a friendship with him. Possibly more. Castiel didn't even know why he had been so captivated by Dean's incredible green eyes and muscular body, nor why he had found the man's strangely observant and caring personality just as attractive. This was dangerous territory that he was entering, but despite all of the risks and changes that it carried, Castiel knew that he didn't regret giving his email address to Dean.
Knowing that he couldn't just sit and contemplate what had happened all evening, Castiel sat up and glanced at the bag that he had uncharacteristically dumped on his immaculate bedroom floor when he walked in. He supposed that he should look through all the photographs that he had taken today and decide which the best ones were and what he should do with them. Besides, looking through numerous pictures of Dean would give him an excuse to think about him.
Sighing lightly, Castiel bent down to remove his shoes, placing them on the shoe rack in the corner, before removing his trenchcoat and hanging it on the hook on the back of his door. Rolling up his sleeves, he picked up his bag and set it on the bed, rooting through it to find his camera case. Once he had found it, Castiel carried the camera over to the tidy desk in the corner of the room and plugged it into his laptop, turning the laptop on at the same time. Ignoring the various pop-up antivirus and update warnings that appeared (Castiel had never had any idea how to deal with things like that – he was intelligent, but not entirely technologically adept for non-Academy related things), he brought up his images before stopping and simply staring at the first photograph that appeared.
It showed Dean dressed in a smart red shirt tucked into a pair of black suit trousers, with a black tie tightly drawn around his neck and a pair of shiny black shoes on his feet. One of his legs was crossed over the other and he was looking away from the camera, a peaceful expression on his face. Castiel felt his breath catch in his throat as he took in the clearly defined muscles visible through the tight fabric of the shirt, and the way Dean's green eyes practically glowed under the lights. He had a real thing for smartness, and the way that Dean looked there was doing things to Castiel that he hadn't ever thought he would feel. When he had took the picture he hadn't been able to appreciate how attractive Dean looked as he had been concentrating – it was surprising just how amazing the pictures had turned out.
It took Castiel nearly two hours to go through all the photographs, mostly because he kept stopping to admire Dean – it was unnatural the way that he managed to look perfect in every single picture and outfit. Castiel had no idea how he was going to manage to do justice to these pictures, and indeed to Dean himself, when he recreated them. It was certainly going to be a challenge. Closing his eyes, Castiel allowed himself to dream about Dean, pondering what mediums he would look best in. He found himself really wanting to please Dean with his artwork, meaning he was going to have to try twice as hard to get everything right.
Castiel was interrupted from his thoughts by a small 'ding' from the laptop announcing that he had a new email.
Embarrassingly quickly, Castiel clicked on the notification and brought up the email, smiling widely at the fact it was from Dean.
"Hey Cas,
We still on for Tuesday? If you want to come over, any time after 5.30 is cool – I live at number 6 in Red Block, South Apartment Complex. I'm sure you know where it is. I can order in takeout and we can chat or watch a movie or whatever, I don't care. What's your favourite takeaway?
Dean"
Castiel raised his eyebrows at Dean's address – everyone from the Academies or boarding school had heard of that apartment complex, including him and he wasn't exactly well informed. It was the shadiest part of town. You only went there if you wanted to buy or sell drugs or were so poor that you had nowhere else to go. Castiel was nowhere near rich, but with some help from Gabriel and the Academy he had managed to find a flat outside of that area. He was slightly less sure about meeting Dean now that he knew where he lived; but then again, he had been down there before to photograph graffiti for his artwork, and 5.30 was before dark, so it should be safe. Hopefully Dean could walk him back if he stayed after dark, or he could just leave beforehand to avoid the problem.
Deciding not to mention it in case Dean was offended, he carefully replied,
"Dean,
I will be at your apartment at 5.30pm on Tuesday. I enjoy eating burgers when I get takeaway, so could you please order some for me – I will pay for them when I arrive. I do not normally watch movies as I do not have the time. Is that an enjoyable pastime?
Yours Sincerely,
Castiel Novak."
Castiel nodded as he hit send, fairly confident that his email had been appropriate for a conversation between friends. He really had no experience of any of this.
Dean's response was swift, and Castiel was startled that it appeared so quickly.
"Cas,
You don't need to put 'yours sincerely' at the bottom, dude! Haha, burgers? It's nice to know that you have good taste, unlike Sammy and his salads... you don't need to pay, I'll pay, my treat. How can you not watch movies? I am going to have to start educating you in the awesomeness that is Star Wars, just you wait.
Dean"
Castiel frowned, puzzled, before turning off the laptop and going to make dinner. It was hard work attempting to socially interact; he had no idea why so many people regularly did this for fun.
/ / / / /
The next day, Castiel arrived into school early – something he very rarely did because he liked to avoid the stares of his classmates – to set everything up to start his artwork of Dean. He had decided that he was going to start with a charcoal drawing of one of his close-ups of Dean's face, to highlight the shadows in the picture. Ignoring the whispers of everyone else, he set up his laptop so that he could see the picture before heading to the cupboard to try and find a new set of charcoal sticks (his were all very well used, and newer sticks gave greater precision).
Castiel was just emerging from the cupboard with his prize in hand when he bumped into Charlie, who was carrying a pot of water that promptly spilt all over the floor.
"Woops!" Charlie exclaimed, stepping backwards.
"I'm very sorry." Castiel apologised hurriedly, tucking the charcoal in his trouser pocket as he bent down to wipe up the mess.
"It's fine, leave it, it doesn't matter." Charlie smiled at Castiel, pulling out a towel to mop the water up.
Castiel nodded, standing up, but before he could walk away he was stopped by Charlie putting her hand on his arm.
"Why don't you eat with us today? You always have your lunch alone, and we don't bite." Charlie paused, "Hard."
Castiel shook his head. "I like spending time alone. I will probably be working during lunch anyway; I have a huge amount to do for this project."
"You find Dean inspiring, eh?" Charlie teased.
Castiel didn't understand that she was teasing. "Yes, I do. He makes excellent subject matter."
Charlie's jaw basically dropped. "No way?! Becky was right!"
Castiel frowned. "I am afraid that I do not understand."
Charlie just grinned, patting him on the shoulder before walking away, excitedly dropping into her seat next to Becky and Madison and starting to talk too quietly for Castiel to hear.
Castiel frowned in confusion before deciding it was probably unimportant and returning to his seat. Taking out the charcoal he had found, he set everything up ready before sitting quietly, feeling slightly out of place, until Jess entered the room.
She looked hassled and tired, her blonde hair in a messy bun as opposed to her usual smart hairdo and her makeup a little smudged. Worry lines were obvious on her forehead and for the first time Castiel could remember she looked older than her nineteen years. He could tell straight away that she was unhappy about something, despite how inept he usually was with emotions.
"Right, morning everyone!" She tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace. "Today you're all going to start work on your portraits. I'm going to be at the front here if anyone needs any advice or inspiration, but I suggest that everyone just starts now, I'm sure you all know what you're doing. Resources are in the cupboard or next door as normal. Does anyone not know what to start with?"
There was no response, and Jess looked relieved, turning away from the class and switching on her computer.
Dismissing her, Castiel picked out a charcoal pencil and looked over the blank piece of paper he was starting with, glancing at the photograph to find a place to start. Biting his lip in concentration, he began to work.
For the rest of the day, Castiel's mind was entirely taken up with drawing Dean. He barely even noticed the other students moving to and fro, hushed conversations springing up every now and then, or when the bell rang for first break. He didn't even register when the bell rang again to indicate that everyone could go for lunch – instead, he continued working, using his thumb to smudge the charcoal slightly for a better effect. He was so engrossed that he jumped when someone tapped his shoulder, only just avoiding making an unwanted mark on his drawing.
"Castiel?" Someone said gently, and Castiel looked up, noticing Jess stood above him.
"Yes?" He asked simply, setting the charcoal stick down.
"It's lunch time, everyone else is outside. Why don't you take a fifteen minute break at least to have lunch?" Her voice was gentle, but also urgent, as if she really wanted him to leave.
"I need to finish this section – I'm almost done, it just needs a few more touches. I'm not hungry."
"You need to get some fresh air at least – you've been inside all morning."
Castiel just blinked, unmoving. He had no real wish to go outside with everyone else, and he really wasn't hungry - he didn't eat all that much.
Jess looked concernedly at him, before glancing down at the half-finished picture of Dean's face.
"This is really good!" She complimented. "You put a lot of care into sketching this."
"Yes." Castiel answered, not bothering to give more than a one word answer. He wasn't sure why Jess was still talking to him.
"It'll be even better if you get some fresh air to inspire yourself."
Castiel sighed. "You want me to leave."
Jess looked slightly awkward, but Castiel stood, picking up his trenchcoat and folding down the lid of the laptop. Without saying anything, he walked out. People were very strange sometimes.
Behind him, Jess looked very relieved, closing the door before taking out her phone and quickly dialling Sam's number.
Please please write a review so that I know what you think – feel free to make suggestions for the 'date'!