Chapter 2: An Unusual Being
It was quite the miracle that Dean made it to his next class on time. The warning bell rang as he took his seat near the back corner. He enjoyed the desk he chose. It reminded him of his first class where Castiel stared out the window. Dean wondered what Castiel had been looking at. There was nothing special about the sky that day. There were no storms brewing off in the distance, no wispy clouds covering patches of the sky. It was just a normal, fall day. Dean shook his head. He quickly realized that he too had been staring off into the distance. He shook his head again and turned his attention to the teacher at the front of the class. It was the same woman who had broke up his fight with Lucifer. She gave his a sweet smile and motioned to the side of her face. Dean knew she was asking how his face was, so he gave a quick thumbs up. She nodded and proceeded with attendance.
Dean found himself slowly drifting off during the lesson that ensued throughout the class time. To keep himself awake, he impatiently tapped his fingers on the desk. His leg also jumped up and down underneath the desk. His eyes flickered towards the clock near the door. The clock's hands ticked by slowly, Dean watched every second the red, clock hand moved around its circular path. Once it was near the end of the class and the teacher gave some free time to the students, Dean got up and asked to leave early because "he didn't feel good." The teacher, being the nice woman she was, let him go. Dean didn't give it a second though; he sped out of that prison box. Of course he felt fine, which was weird since he had been socked in the face. Though ever since Castiel pressed on the injury, the pain melted away. Dean knew something was up and he was going to figure out what it was. "One more class period until lunch. I can ask him there."
"Ask who, what?" Dean stopped in his tracks. There was no one in the hall before he blinked and now someone was asking him a question of what he had just said to himself. The voice was familiar, causing Dean to sigh in relief.
"Sammy, you're getting better at sneaking up on people. Nice job, kid." Dean smiled at his little brother, walking over to him and patting him on the shoulder. "How's this hell hole treating you?" He asked, genuinely worried about his brother getting accustomed to the new school. "Meet any hot girls?" Dean nudged Sam's shoulder, winking in his direction. They started to walk with each other down the hall; Dean swung his arm around Sam's shoulders.
"Dean, is that all you think about?" Sam walked a little faster, getting out form underneath Dean's hold. Sam looked at Dean's swollen face and sighed. He knew his brother couldn't resist fighting. "-And you never answered my question, Dean." They both stopped when the bell rang. Students began to flood the halls, surrounding the Winchester brothers. Dean was glad that the bell interrupted the conversation he was having with Sammy. Dean didn't want to be seen as a hypocrite. He was the older brother; he had to make a good impression on Sam. Not lie to his brother, telling him not to make friends because it wasn't worth it, and then be seen talking to and hanging out with some guy from his class.
"Sorry, Sammy!" Dean yelled with a raspy voice as he was walking further into the crowd of students. "School, you know how it works." Dean shrugged and disappeared into the mass of commoners. Sam just sighed and turned away from Dean's direction to head off to his next class also. He was so busy trying to figure out what was up with Dean that he ran straight into someone. Someone that was a lot bigger than him and clearly an upper classman. Sam staggered backwards and dropped his bag that had been hanging off one shoulder.
"Watch it, Bambi." Sam held his head low and picked up his bag, throwing it back over his shoulder. He was going to apologize before the guy called him Bambi, but when things were all said and done, Sam just glared at the guy. He stood there defiantly, blocking the path of the aggressor. Staring down at him, from a considerable distance above Sam, was Lucifer. Sam continued to glare. "What are you looking at, Bambi?" Lucifer crossed his arms over his chest. Students stopped and witnessed the small conflict. Sam hadn't quite hit his teenage growth spurt yet. He was a shrimp next to the upper classman, but he held up his end.
"Well, I guess I am looking at your ugly face." Sam's heart was racing; Dean wasn't there to back him up. I can do this. He told himself over and over again in his head. I can do this. This guy is just a jerk. Sam adjusted his bag on his shoulder and continued to stare down Lucifer.
More students were crowding around, some with frightened looks on their faces, some laughing at Sam's apparent stupidity, and some whistling for a fight to break out. One student with dark hair and blue eyes stepped out from the crowd and held his hands up to Lucifer. "Luc, you must stop this harmful activity." The crowd around them slowly dispersed, leaving Sam confused as to who was standing between him and Lucifer. Lucifer scowled and walked away; huffing with each step he took down the hall. Sam sighed with relief, loosening his tense shoulders. He had survived his first conflict at school.
"Thanks- Uh…" Sam didn't know the guy. Hell, Sam didn't know anyone at the school. He never bothered to remember anyone's name. After all, Dean had told him not to worry about fitting in. It wasn't worth it. Soon they would be out of this school, on the road again, hunting down demons, and then thrown into another school when their father didn't want them with him again. It was the same cycle over and over again. Sam wondered why his father never just put his brother and him into a boarding school. Things would have been a lot easier that way.
"My name is Castiel." Castiel stood there, not offering his hand or anything. He just stood there and stared at Sam with his deep, blue eyes. "You are Sam Winchester, are you not?" Sam nodded, confused as to how Castiel had known his name. Castiel just continued to talk. "I am sorry for my brother's actions. He can be… quite temperamental." Castiel glanced behind him, making sure Lucifer was clear out of range. "You see, he is mad at our father, and takes his frustrations out on…" Castiel's words trailed off near the end. Sam could have sworn he head Castiel say 'humans,' but he knew his ears had to have been tricking him.
"Oh, okay. It's fine." Sam began to walk away; this Castel character was just a little too weird for him. "Thanks." He walked away down the hall, only glancing back a second later to see that Castiel was no longer there. He had disappeared without a trace. There were no students left in the hall at all. St. Michael's High School bothered Sam. He wasn't sure what was going on exactly, but something was up and he needed to talk with Dean about it.
Surprisingly, there weren't any more encounters the next class period. Sam continued to take notes and pay attention to the lesson given. Dean snored in the back of the class, not caring about anything the teacher had to say. Everything was normal for once, other than the fact that both brothers were confused about one particular student, Castiel.
Lunchtime came around for the students at St. Michael's High School The next class period. Dean sat at an empty table in the cafeteria. No one even thought of sitting with him. News spread around the school that the Winchesters were bad news. Dean even heard of his brother standing up to Luc. When he heard the news, at first, he was furious that Luc had tried to start something with his younger brother. Then when he heard the rest of the story, hearing about how Sam stood up to the jerk, he was proud of the kid. Dean popped open the tab on his soda can and took a large gulp. When he was finished, he crushed the can and threw it at the trash bin that was a few tables away form him. It hit the rim of the bin and bounced to the ground. Dean cursed at his terrible aim. He stood up, straightened his jacket and walked over to pick the can up. Though, someone made it to the can before he did. Yet again, it was Castiel. He leaned over, grabbed the crushed can, and placed it in the trash. "Hey, Cas." Dean greeted Castiel, raising his hand in a small wave.
"Hello, Dean." The blue-eyed student said, before even turning towards him. His face was stoic as he stared at Dean. "I see you are still here. I thought maybe your head injury would have caused you to leave the school." Castiel gave Dean a questioning look. His eyebrows were lowered and his eyes were shadowed. His hand fidgeted at his side. Dean got the feeling that Castiel was, again, waiting for something to come blasting through the wall. "I must go." He suddenly said, turning on his feet and starting to quickly walk away.
"Wait, I-" Dean almost got a hold of Castiel's sleeve, but he was too slow and Castiel was already too far away. Damn that guy walks fast. I just need to get him to sit still and ask him what the hell is going on around here. Dean scowled, turning back towards his table. He smiled when he saw that his brother was sitting there, waiting for him to walk back. When Dean got a little closer to the table, he noticed Sam giving him a funny look. "What's up, Sammy?"
Sam took a large bite out of his sandwich. He swallowed then gave Dean a stern look. "That guy has something off about him, Dean. Why were you talking to him?" Dean was taken back. He had no clue how Sam knew Castiel. He was also intrigued to know that Sam also felt that something was up with Castiel. "Dean?" Dean stayed silent. He took the seat next to his brother, pushed the chair back and lifted his feet to the table.
"Just eat your lunch, Sammy." Sam was about to protest when a group of students walked up to the table. One of which he knew all too well. He frantically looked over to Dean, who was scowling at the guy in the center of the group. There were two girls there at the guy's side. Sam didn't know them, but he knew Dean had met them already. The look that his older brother gave the group matched that of the face he would give to a demon or monster.
"Well, well, looks like we have a couple of Winchesters enjoying their lunch." Lucifer was standing opposite from Dean, casting his shadow onto the table. Sam saw, just for a second, a second shadow within Lucifer's. It was a pair of wings. Before he could get a second look, Lucifer pulled out a chair and sat down. The shadow disappeared. "Mind if we sit?" Lucifer asked, tapping his dirtied fingers on the table. Sam's heart was racing; he pushed back in his seat just a small amount. Lucifer caught that slight movement and smiled. "What's the matter, Bambi?"
Dean kicked off from the table, standing up defiantly. Sam pushed back his seat and stood next to his brother. "Listen, Luc. I don't know what crawled up your ass and died, but you don't want to mess with us." Lucifer threw his head back with laughter. He bared his teeth towards the brothers, pulling Meg and Ruby closer to his sides. Dean grabbed Sam by his coat collar and yanked him away from the table. "Come on, Sammy." They walked away from the table, leaving Sam's lunch sitting there. Dean watched Lucifer glare back at him as they walked out of the cafeteria. Dean then saw Castiel walk up to the table and stand in front of Lucifer. He couldn't hear what they were saying to each other, but Lucifer seemed to listen to Castiel, leading Dean to wonder who was the older brother.
Dean knew that he and Sam were okay when they made it down the hall. Sam was struggling to walk with Dean gripping hard on the back of his collar on his coat. "Dean! Dean, let go!" Sam wriggled in his coat before getting his arms out of the sleeves and pulling out of the coat backwards. "Dean, what is going on!?" Dean stopped in his tracks, and looked back at Sam. He held the coat in his hand, loosening his grip and letting it drop to the ground.
"We're getting out of here, that's what is going on." Dean leaned over, picking the coat up from the ground and throwing it over to Sam. "Come on, let's go." Dean was about to exit from the doors leading outside the school, when again he was stopped. Although this time he wasn't stopped by Lucifer. A painful ringing in his head stopped him. He clamped his hands over his ears, hoping to block out the noise, but it just got louder. Cringing, he looked for Sam, his knees trembling beneath him. "Sam, are you hearing this?" Sam was quickly walking towards him, a worried look on his face. Dean clenched his teeth together. The ringing was a million times worse than when the gym teacher blew the whistle in his ear. His knees finally gave out on him; his body went crumbling to the floor. "Sammy, what the hell is that?" Dean looked up at his brother, who had taken him by the shoulders and shook him.
"…" Dean couldn't hear anything other than the blasting ring. He saw his brother's lips move, but utter no words. Sam yelled again, his expression getting more and more worried. He shook Dean roughly. "…n! …an! ...ean! Dean!" The ringing lowered down to a continuous hum. Dean pulled his hands away from his ears. The phenomena had ceased altogether. "Dean, what's wrong?" Sam asked, helping his brother to his feet.
Dean patted the dirt and dust from his pants while looking around the hallway confused as hell. He grabbed Sam by his shirt and pulled him out of the school. They were on the pavement in front of the school before Dean spoke. "You didn't hear that at all?" He let go of Sam's shirt and plugged his ear with his finger. Good, my eardrums are still in tact. Dean blinked hard, rubbing his face. Sam gave him a questioning look. "That ringing, Sammy! That damn ringing!"
Sam just shook his head and raised an eyebrow at his brother. "Dean, the hallway was completely silent. All that happened was you falling to your knees and covering your ears. Are you okay?" Sam pulled his arms through his coat sleeves. The autumn air was chilly on his skin. A few orange and red leaves floated through the air around the brothers. They stood there in silence for a moment until Dean shuddered and walked off.
"I'm fine. Let's just get out of here." Dean flipped up the collar of his leather jacket to protect his neck from the cold wind. He stopped a moment to let his brother catch up with him. Once they were within pace with each other, they walked off school grounds, forgetting about the rest of the school day. Dean didn't care about the classes, and Sam frankly, was worried about his brother. Before they out of seeing range of the school, Dean felt a chill run down his spine. He slowed down and looked back at the school. Sam continued to walk, not noticing his brother's lowered pace. Dean squinted at the school windows. On the second floor was a person staring back at them. Dean's green eyes widened when he noticed the familiar outfit and features.
Castiel stood on the second floor of the building, staring out the window at the brothers. They were far away, but he could see every expression. He saw Dean squint at the school, then glare at his presence in the window. Castiel turned swiftly on his feet, walking down the hall to make his presence less known to Dean. He had failed speaking with Dean in his true voice. Castiel took a deep breath and continued down the hall. "Dean Winchester needs faith." He said to himself in a low tone.
"Dean isn't the right person for you, sorry Castiel." Lucifer walked out of the shadows of the hallway. Castiel kept walking and ignored his unruly brother. Lucifer gave a wicked grin and followed his younger brother down the hall. "I mean, you said it yourself. He needs faith. Sadly, his lifestyle won't allow it." Lucifer scratched at his forehead. Small flakes of skin peeled off. He ran his fingers over the damaged area, instantly regenerating the skin. "Damn, this vessel is going to break down sooner than I had thought."
"How would you know about Dean's lifestyle?" Castiel snapped back at Lucifer. They stood in the hall, facing each other. Lucifer's grin widened, while Castiel's forehead wrinkled in slight anger.
"I have my own interests in the Winchesters." Lucifer twirled a finger in the air, pacing Castiel in a circular motion. "Especially the younger one, Sam." He chuckled, loving the expression Castiel was giving. It was a mixture of confusion and anger.
Castiel took a step towards Lucifer. The immense pressure between them rose higher. Lucifer's eyes glowed hot while Castiel's blue eyes iced over. "You will leave the Winchester's alone. Father would be angry if you interrupt his plans for them." The air around them crackled with energy. The light above them flickered.
"We will see about that, Castiel." Lucifer laughed louder, walking away from his brother. The light above them flickered once more and then went dark. Castiel stood in the shadow of the hallway. The sound of Lucifer's laughs echoed off the walls.
"Father will not be happy with this at all." Castiel disappeared with the fluttering sound of wings.