AN: Hey everyone, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please review! And just in case anyone was confused, the line breaks indicate POV changes between Dean and Castiel.

Italics are memories

A Week Later

Castiel wandered into the lunch room after his fourth period class, his eyes searching out Dean. It had become a routine for the two of them to have lunch together, at the same table, just the two of them.

He resisted the company at first. The first few days Castiel would sit there tensely and stiffly, silently praying that Dean would go away and leave him alone. Castiel didn't like the thoughts that Dean brought out in him, and the feelings were even worse. They terrified Castiel, made him afraid to go home after school.

For the first time in his entire life, Dean was making Castiel question everything. He made Castiel question the beliefs of his parents, the food he ate, the music he listened to. Dean was never mean or rude about these things, though it was part of his personality to make incredibly lewd jokes- a fact which had nearly caused Castiel to choke on his salad.

Simply put, being around Dean scared Castiel. But it didn't stop him from sitting with him during lunch, or talking to him during the two classes they shared.

"Hey Cas!" Dean shouted from their table, waving to get his attention.

A small smile tugged at the corners of Castiel's mouth and he walked over silently, nodding at Dean. Dean gave Castiel the nickname 'Cas' on the third day they had lunch together. It had just slipped out, without Dean even noticing, and it wasn't until the next day that Castiel had a chance to ask him about it.

"Dean, could I ask you something?" Castiel had asked, his eyes fluttering between Dean's intently.

"Sure, Cas. What's up?" Dean asked around a mouthful of the cafeteria's apple pie.

"I was wondering why you call me that." Castiel said nervously. He didn't want to insult Dean, and he actually kind of like the shortened version of his name. He had just never had a nickname before. It felt nice though, like every time Dean said it Castiel could feel his affection for him, and it was comforting in a terrifying and unfamiliar way.

"Call you what?" Dean asked, his eyes squinting as he thought over Cas's question. "Oh, Cas? It's just a nickname. If you don't like it..." Dean trailed off, his tone very much suggesting that he hoped Cas did like it.

"I don't mind. It's... nice." Cas admitted quietly, smiling. Dean grinned widely and reached across the table to clap Cas on the shoulder. Cas flinched instinctively, still unused to touches that weren't harmful, or from Gabriel, but smiled at Dean through his discomfort. He really did like that nickname.

"Hello Dean." Cas greeted his friend as he sat down. Cas set his tray down, then extended his hand for the habitual exchange of peanut M&M's. Dean gave him a handful every lunch, and it was something that Cas looked forward to very much.

"Hey Cas." Dean said, handing over the M&M's happily. "What's up?"

"Nothing of particular interest." Cas said honestly, shrugging. There really wasn't very much that went on in Cas's life, and he frequently allowed Dean to steer the conversation instead.

"You always say that." Dean said with an affectionate shake of the head. Dean took one of his M&M's and threw it playfully at Cas. Cas grabbed it and popped it into his mouth, smiling at Dean. No way was he going to waste one of these delicious things by throwing it back. He picked up a piece of lettuce from his plate and threw that at Dean instead.

That seemed to be an excellent choice, because Dean screeched at the top of his lungs and ducked to avoid it. Cas laughed, a hand covering his mouth in an effort to stifle the sound. Dean turned to look at the innocuous piece of lettuce from where it landed on the floor and he turned back to glare at Cas, his eyes swimming with mirth.

"Cas!" Dean exclaimed, his mock glare turning into a full blown smile at the sight in front of him. Cas was leaning forward with his elbows on the table, a hand clapped over his mouth and his entire body shaking with laughter.

"Dean, what did you do to Castiel?" A voice over Dean's shoulder asked, sounding incredibly amused. Cas immediately stopped laughing, and his eyes shot up to see who was there. He breathed out a huge sigh of relief when he realized that it was just Dean's little brother, Sam and he relaxed into his seat.

Dean grinned at this little brother, puffing out his chest proudly. The first few times he had lunch with Cas, it was hard to get him to smile even a little bit, let alone full out laugh. He seemed to really be loosening up around Dean though, and Dean just hoped that what he planned to ask today would just make things even better.

"Hey Sammy. I think I broke him." Dean said, looking over at his friend. Cas was wiping his watering eyes with his hands, and appeared startled by the moisture. He studied his hands intently for several seconds, as if trying to decide whether to tears were real or some sort of illusion. "Dude, I made him laugh so hard that he cried." Dean told Sam happily, his smile stretching even wider, if that were at all possible.

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother but smiled at Cas, saying, "Hi, Castiel. I don't know how you put up with him."

Cas looked up from where he wiped his hands against his pants and said, "Hello, Sam. Your brother is fairly good company."

"Fairly good?!" Dean demanded, putting a hand to his heart and giving Cas a wounded expression. Cas gave Dean a blank face in response, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly as he fought a smile. Dean turned back to Sam, jutting his lower lip out in a pout. "Did you hear what he said, Sammy?"

Sam snorted and rolled his eyes at his brother's typical over dramatic attitude. "Dean, I just came over to let you know that I'm going to Madison's house after school today."

"Did you ask Bobby?" Dean asked. He knew Sam probably did, he was the responsible one after all, but Dean was the older brother and it was his job to make sure that Sam was doing what he was supposed to.

Sam gave Dean a look and rolled his eyes again. "Yes. He said it's fine."

"Good. Is he picking you up later?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. I'm going to go eat lunch so I'll see you later." Sam said, hurrying over to his usual table. He threw a quick wave over his shoulder and Dean waved back, shaking his head at his brother.

Dean turned around to face Cas, a small grin on his face. Cas was wearing a more typically stoic expression. "Who's Bobby?" Cas asked, tilting his head slightly.

Dean frowned. It hadn't occurred to him that he neglected mentioned Bobby yet. Although, that actually wasn't that surprising. Dean wasn't much of a sharing-and-caring type of guy. He like to laugh and joke around, and make other people laugh but when it came to feelings and stuff, Dean left that to Sammy.

"Bobby's the guy Sam and me live with." Dean explained. He frowned, realizing how incredibly strange that sounded, and added, "He's like a father to us. He took us in when our parents died."

Cas frowned and put down the M&M he had been about to eat. "I didn't know your parents died." He said, his voice more somber than usual. A fact which, until just now, Dean didn't think he would be able to believe.

Dean shifted uncomfortably in his seat, feeling an unpleasant heat go through his entire body. His eyes drifted down to his lap where his fingers began picking at a loose strand on his jeans absently. He hated talking about his parents. Most of his friends knew the basics but Dean only told them the absolute bare minimum and left it at that. He refused to speak about it to anyone, even Bobby and Sam. It was something that Dean vowed to keep buried for the rest of his life.

Dean's eyes flickered back up and he reluctantly brought them up to meet Cas's. Cas's head was tilted slightly, and he was giving Dean one of the most compassionate looks he had ever seen. Dean thanked God it wasn't pitying. Dean hated it when people found out about his parents and immediately assumed he was some sad, lonely child with a buttload of issues. Regardless of whether or not that was true, Dean didn't like people thinking that way about him.

Dean's gaze shifted from Cas's unusually moist eyes to his full, slightly parted lips. He was the picture of compassion, and it looked as if he actually felt for what Dean had went through. Not just felt bad for him the way people normally did, but it was almost as if Cas could understand the full extent of Dean's pain, and it hurt him to think that Dean had had to suffer in that way.

Licking his lips nervously, Dean turned his jade eyes around the cafeteria to make sure that no one was listening to their conversation. He would die if anyone over heard him talking about this subject.

He had the overwhelming urge to confide in Cas. Dean never told anyone the full extent of what happened, of what he went through that night. Not even Sam and Bobby knew everything, not really. It was something that had been building up inside Dean for a long time, and he thought that maybe Cas was the right person to tell.

"I, uh..." Dean cleared his throat, his eyes going to Cas's once more.

Cas's eyes softened at Dean's visible distress, and the light blue of his irises seemed to darken. Hesitantly, Cas reached across the table and placed two fingers on Dean's arm. The touch was feather light, but it was warm and real. Something about it felt so right to Dean, as if this simple touch, this one connection was something he was subconsciously searching for his entire life.

"It's okay, Dean. You can confide in me." Cas spoke quietly but purposefully, his eyes never wavering from Dean's face.

Dean gulped and stared back, feeling as though the intensity of their gazes caused the air between them to heat up and become charged with electricity. It seemed to crackle between them, and a similar feeling was radiating from Cas's fingers. It was the most intense and pleasant experience of Dean's life, and he did not want it to end.

"When I was four, my house caught on fire. My mom and dad were asleep in their room so I went in and I- I tried to wake them up. My dad woke up and he told me to grab Sam and get out of the house and not to come back in. I grabbed Sam from his nursery he was only like 6 months old then- and I booked ass outside. I waited but they never came outside. A neighbor called the fire department." Dean explained as quickly as he could. Now that he was finally decided to tell someone, he needed to force the words out of his lungs as quickly as possible before he changed his mind. "Everyone knows that part of the story. But... I never told anyone this." Dean confessed, his troubled eyes seeking out Cas's consoling ones before he continued. "My mom and dad had a fight the night before they died. It was a really bad one. They were both really drunk and screaming at each other... I was really scared, Cas." Dean's voice broke, his lip quivering with the force of his suppressed emotions. Dean licked his lips and shook his head, letting out a humorless laugh. Getting a tighter grip on his emotions, Dean finished, "Anyways, I think that's why they didn't get out of the house in time. Mom was still passed out and Dad probably couldn't carry her out, he was probably still drunk."

Dean still had nightmares about that night. He still remembered what they were fighting about, though he refused to ever think about that part of the night or tell anyone about it, ever. Not even Cas. He could still feel the heat of the fire on his skin sometimes, how bright it was that night against the dark sky. Dean could remember his father's voice, yelling to take Sam outside as fast as you can and don't look back. Now, Dean, go!

"I'm so sorry, Dean." Cas said, and out of all the people Dean had recited this story to- albeit a much shorter, less detailed version- he never believed anyone meant it as strongly as Cas did.

Dean nodded, clearing his throat. Cas removed his fingers from Dean's sleeve and resumed eating his M&M's, not wanting to push the subject, for which Dean was unbelievably grateful. "It's fine. I barely remember them and Bobby's really awesome. You should meet him. Castiel's eyes widened in surprise and he almost choked on his M&M. Dean laughed at the sight, wishing he had a camera to capture the moment.

"You want me to meet him?" Cas asked, his tone oddly disbelieving. Dean wondered what was so shocking about that.

"Yeah. I was thinking that you could come over after school today since it's a Friday. We could watch some movies and hang out." Dean said, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. He didn't want Cas to think that this was a big deal and get all worked up about it. Dean wasn't an idiot, he could tell that Cas wasn't interested in him that way. And even if he was, it would be a very, very long time before he would be willing to even admit it considering everything Dean knew about his family. But knowing all of that wasn't going to stop Dean from trying to get closer to Cas, even if it was just as friends. Dean would take him however he could get him.

"I... I don't know." Cas murmmered hesitantly, his eyes suddenly cloudy and downcast.

Dean frowned, his heart sinking. He had thought over this conversation with days, trying to find the exact right way to bring up his question and phrase it to make Cas say yes. He wanted to spend time with him, get to know him, and he couldn't do that sitting in school. Dean had worried endlessly over the past few days about what he would do if Cas said no, but that was just normal anxiety. He never actually thought that Cas might legitimately not want to spend time with him outside of school.

"Hey, it's cool man. You don't have to if you don't want to." Dean muttered dejectedly, his eyes falling away from Cas's face and onto his half-empty tray of food. It all suddenly looked very unappetizing, and Dean pushed it away resolutely.

"Dean, it isn't that. I want to, but I'm not sure my parents will let me." Cas admitted, his cheeks blushing in embarrassment. Dean nodded. From what Cas told him, his parents were a bunch of psycho-religious-freaks. They were crazy over the top. Seriously, they didn't even let the guy eat candy for God's sake! Pun fully intended.

Dean sighed and cast his mind around for a solution. He hadn't thought about Cas's parents when he planned to ask him over, his thoughts had been on Cas only. Now though, an idea popped into Dean's mind easily and he grinned at the simplicity of it. "Why don't you just tell them that you're staying after school to work on homework or a project?"

Cas's eyes shot up to Dean's before they darted away. Dean frowned as Cas squirmed uncomfortably, wondering what could possibly be wrong with such an easy plan. "Dean... I've never lied to my parents before." Castiel admitted quietly. It was absolutely true. He had always been too terrified of his parents to lie to them. They always told him that lying was a sin, and punishments for sinning in their household were harsh.

Dean's eyes almost bugged out of their sockets at that. "You've never lied to them before? Ever?" He asked incredulously. Cas shook his head, his eyes mournful at the inconvenience of his inexperience. Dean sat back, thoroughly shocked. It wasn't like he made lying to Bobby an everyday habit or anything, but it certainly happened. Dean didn't think it was possible to survive life without lying to your parents sometimes. Making up his mind about what to do next was easy, Dean just hoped that Cas would go along with it.

Dean sat forward and rested his arms on the table. He glanced around, as he saw Cas doing so many times in the past, before gesturing forward with his fingers. Cas's eyes widened and he did a sweep of his own before leaning in as well, his adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed hard.

"Good thing you're with me, Cas, 'cause I'm a great teacher." Dean whispered conspiratorially, smirking.

"You're going to teach me to lie to my parents?" Cas asked, his tone strangely deadpan. His arms, which were stretched across the table next to Dean's, were twitching slightly, though from excitement or nervousness Dean couldn't tell.

"Hell yes." Dean responded, grinning at the small glare Cas gave him for the language. "If you want me to." Dean amended. He didn't want to push Cas into anything, although he was fairly certain that this particular push was long overdue.

Cas looked around the room once more, his tongue darting out to lick his lips nervously. He finally turned back to look at Dean, his eyes sparkling with excitement "Okay. Let's do it."

"This feels ridiculous." Cas complained later that day. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Dean, feeling severely uncomfortable with this plan.

"Trust me, Cas, it'll help." Dean said, his tone brooking no room for argument. "Now, let's start over."

Cas sighed, hating this lying training already. They had only been at it for a few minutes, but Cas was certain that he was never going to get it. He and Dean were sitting in their usual seats in the back of the room during their shared Art History class. It was the only elective that fit into Cas's schedule, so he had no choice but to take it. The teacher was considered one of the easiest in the school however, and everyone took it to get an Easy A. They spent the first fifteen minutes of every class talking about old artists and looking at some of their paintings, then spent the last half hour as a study hall.

And during the last half hour of today's class, Dean was trying to teach Cas how to lie. Needless to say, it wasn't going so well.

"Dean, this is never going to work." Cas huffed, his voice dangerously close to a whine. He was helplessly frustrated. It was impossible for him to lie to Dean, let alone to his mother. Dean assured him that it would be easy with his mother, especially since he would be asking permission over the phone after school, but Cas wasn't so sure.

"C'mon, Cas. You just have to loosen up, that's all. It's easy, watch." Dean held out a blank piece of paper towards Cas, who gazed at it in confusion. "I'm holding an apple." Dean said with a completely straight face, and Cas frowned in utter bewilderment.

"Dean, that is not an apple. It is a blank piece of paper." Cas corrected his friend immediately, wondering what was wrong with him.

Dean rolled his eyes and sighed, then placed the paper back down on the desk. "I was demonstrating lying." He said, exasperated.

"Oh." Cas said, his cheeks heating up.

"Come on, let's try again. I'll be your, Mom, okay?" Dean said. He arranged his fingers into the classic phone shape and held them up to his ear. Making his voice go obnoxiously high, Dean pretended to answer, "Hello?"

Cas rolled his eyes and felt his entire face flush. He looked around quickly to make sure no one was listening to this atrocity. "Dean, you would never be able to accurately portray my mother." Cas said seriously. Dean really should take that as a compliment.

Dean gave Cas a severe look and said, "Fine. Let's just go through what you're going to tell her, okay?"

Cas nodded, his forehead scrunching in concentration. "I'm going to tell her that I was just assigned a project that requires me to work in the library after school."

"Good." Dean said, nodding encouragingly. "And?"

"And that I will be home in time for supper because my study partner will be giving me a ride home." Cas recited, his stomach tingling nervously.

"See, you'll be fine." The bell rang noisily overhead and Dean grinned. Cas's eyes widened as he realized what he was about to do and he shook his head frantically, speechless with fear. "Don't worry, Cas. I'll be there the whole time." Dean assured his friend. Dean reached down and grasped the motionlessly boy by the shoulder and hauled him out of his seat.

Cas could no nothing but follow as he was dragged out of the classroom, down the hall and into the office. His heart was beating a million miles a minute and he was sweating profusely. Cas couldn't go through with it. His mother would know he was lying in an instant and when she found out she would kill him. Dean didn't understand the full extent of what this meant. Cas couldn't disobey his mother or her rules, and that included lying to her. He couldn't. There was no possible way-

Cas stared numbly at the office phone that Dean pressed into his hand. He couldn't do this. His head was dizzy with fear and his palms sticky with sweat. Cas raised pleading eyes onto Dean, who stared back at him with confusion.

"What is it?" Dean asked, noticing Cas's extreme nervousness for the first time.

Cas licked his lips and opened his mouth to blurt out how much he was not prepared to do this, how it wouldn't work, his mother would catch him, but snapped his mouth shut. Dean's perfect, intense jade eyes were flickering between his with worry and a bit of fear, as if wondering if he had done something wrong. He was worrying his bottom lip between his teeth, a habit which Cas noticed now Dean did a lot, and his eyebrows were drawn together unhappily.

Cas hated that he was the reason that that look was on Dean's face. He knew how disappointed Dean would be if he didn't go through with this. Dean would feel rejected, and Cas didn't want to be the cause of that. He didn't want to hurt Dean.

Taking a deep breath, Cas wordlessly dialed his home number and put the phone up to his ear. Dean nodded encouragingly, though he still looked worried, and Cas let out the breath nervously.

His stomach was fluttering so badly that it was actually starting to hurt and with the way his hands were sweating and trembling, Cas was surprised that he was able to hold the phone steady.

Hello?

At the sound of his mother's voice, Cas almost hung up the phone right then and there. Instead, he kept his eyes on Dean's and responded, "Mother, would it be alright if I stayed after school today? I was assigned a project that requires me to do research in the library."

There was a momentary silence on the other line and Cas's heart seized with panic. She must know! Cas knew that she would find out! He was stupid to think that this would ever work. He was doomed...

Fine, just make sure you're home for supper.

"I will. My study partner is giving me a ride home." Cas said, his eyes going impossibly wide. She believed him? Dean punched a fist in the air victoriously and his entire face lit up with a smile that Cas decided made all of this anxiety worth it.

Very well. Behave yourself.

"I will. Goodbye." Castiel hung up the phone and handed it back to the secretary with shaking hands. He turned his stunned gaze onto Dean, who immediately clapped a hand on his shoulder and let out a loud, uproarious laugh.

"Dude, I thought you were going to pass out back there! But she said yes!"

A slow grin stretched out across Cas's face as he realized what this meant. She couldn't tell he was lying, and she hasn't been able to tell what he's been thinking lately. It made Cas wonder what else she wouldn't be able to notice.

Instead of voicing these thoughts aloud, Cas turned to Dean with a grin and asked, "Do you have more peanut M&M's at your house?"

And that's all for this chapter, folks!

Please Review!

Also, just in case any of you were worried, John and Mary weren't always drunk. That was just an unfortunate, one-time thing.