Dean chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, uh, like I said. I really appreciate that," Dean shifted more of his weight onto his left foot. "I'm Dean Winchester, by the way.

Castiel nodded seriously. From what Dean could tell, Castiel did everything seriously.

"I thought so. I've… heard your name. I am Castiel Milton."

Dean shook his head.

"Wow, man, what made your parents stick you with a mouthful like that?"

Even as he cracked jokes about it, Dean realized that he sort of liked the sound of it. Castiel Milton. It would have been a burden for most people, but it somehow seemed to fit this thoughtful, blue-eyed boy in front of him.

"I have a brother who shares a name with the devil," Castiel replied calmly.

Dean tried to smother his laughter, but found that he couldn't do it. The sound rang out through the empty streets of the strange neighborhood, if the corners of Castiel's mouth curled up imperceptibly, well, it could have been a coincidence.

"Dude. That's great. That's really, really great," Dean was grinning stupidly.

He noticed Castiel's usual—or at least he assumed it was, he didn't know the guy—half frown had returned.

"So, uh," Dean coughed awkwardly, trying to change the subject. "What grade are you in?"

"I am a senior," Castiel responded, visibly more relaxed now that the topic of conversation was no longer his family.

"Oh. I guess I've just never seen you around," Dean replied, glumly.

People may not have noticed him, but Dean Winchester always noticed people. He was good at observing, and he had plenty of time to do it since no one really talked to him. He didn't think he would have missed someone as, well, as interesting as Castiel Milton.

"That's most likely because today was my first day at your school and I spent most of it in the office sorting out the paperwork they messed up," Castiel said.

Dean felt his spirits rise again.

"I'm new here, too. Well, sort of. I spent most of my sophomore year here, but I haven't been back since then," he said.

"Your brother also attends our school, doesn't he?" Castiel inquired.

He noticed Dean practically glowed at the mention of his brother.

"Yeah, Sammy's a freshman. Real smart, though. He's a great kid."

"The two of you move around a lot then," Castiel noted.

"Yeah, uh," What the hell, Dean thought, and decided to press on. For reasons he didn't really understand, he trusted Castiel. "Our mom died when we were little. Our dad isn't… around… that much."

John Winchester was hard to explain.

"My parents aren't in the picture, either," Castiel replied. "I'm sorry about your mother."

"Thanks," Dean said. "Do you move around a lot too?"

Castiel stared at the ground.

"No. This is actually the first time I've moved since I was a child."

"Can I ask why?"

"My, uh, my brother is… on probation," Cas explained as calmly as he could.

"Dude!" Dean exclaimed. "It's gotta be Beelzebub, right?"

He'd have to thank Mr. Mort for giving them that quiz on Biblical figures.

Castiel's eyes shot back up to meet Dean's.

"His name is Lucifer. And…yes."

Dean missed the hesitation in Castiel's voice.

"So, what, is he like a tattoo artist or a drug dealer or something? Name like that, it's destiny man!"

Castiel looked at Dean strangely.

"He went through what you could call a 'rebellious' phase when he was a teenager, but he ended up going into business like the rest of my family."

Dean nodded at this news.

"How'd he get on probation, then? If you don't mind my asking."

"I believe he was running some sort of scam. I never really found out the details," Cas said. "And I don't mind if you ask me questions. If I don't feel comfortable answering I simply won't."

Dean absorbed this information. It felt… good to be with someone who didn't mind curiosity. Dean's dad didn't really like being asked questions, and he already knew everything about Sam.

"Okay, here's a question," Dean said. "Where the hell are we?"

Cas looked around him.

"I have no idea. As I said, I only arrived here yesterday. Considering you spent most of a year here before, I think you would be more qualified to answer that one," he said.

Dean sighed.

"Well that's great. I've never been to this neighborhood before."

Pretty much the only places Dean had been in this town were the high school, the middle school Sam went to, the motel on fifth, the dingy grocery store on center street, a couple of fast food restaurants, Jo's, and a couple of times, Lisa's.

Dean and Castiel wandered through various neighborhoods, until Castiel stopped under a street sign he recognized.

"I, uh," Castiel paused awkwardly. "I know this street. My house is very close to here."

Dean felt the ease from their earlier conversation drain away. This neighborhood was… well, it was nice. And it had a reputation for being respectable, and upstanding, and normal. Not to mention wealthy.

This was definitely not a good time to tell Castiel that he lived in a motel.

"I should, well, I should probably head home. I don't usually stay after school for very long and my brother is probably wondering where I am," Castiel continued.

Dean made one last attempt at a joke.

"Satan?"

Castiel gave him a look that meant right, because I've never heard that one before. But he found himself answering anyway. Something about Dean Winchester, about the way he just genuinely wanted to know, made Castiel feel like he didn't need to hide.

"No, my oldest brother, Michael," he said. "Are you… do you know how to get back to your house from here?"

Technically, Dean thought, it's a motel.

"Yeah, man, I'm fine. I got it."

Dean smiled, but his heart wasn't in it. Castiel turned down his street and Dean walked down another. He thought of waving, or thanking him again for his help, but he kept his hand down and his mouth shut.

It didn't occur to him until he was back at the motel to wonder what a guy whose family obviously had money was doing walking around after school.

Sam was already back at the motel room by the time Dean returned. He tried to ignore the pang of guilt that Sam had been waiting for him, alone. His brother was fourteen years old, definitely old enough to take care of himself, and he had to want some alone time, right?

"Heya, Sammy. How was hanging out with Jo?"

Dean ruffled his brother's hair in the way that Sam pretended to hate but Dean knew he secretly loved.

"It was good. Ellen says 'hi.'"

"Maybe we should go over there for dinner this week. It'd make her happy," Dean thought out loud. "You talk to that Jess girl today?"

Sam had admitted the first week of school that he was developing a crush on the sweet blonde they'd been introduced to on the first day.

Sam looked uncomfortable.

"No, I haven't really talked to her. She's Brady's friend more than mine."

Oops. Wishing he hadn't asked, Dean quickly tried to change the subject.

"You see any new kids around?" he asked.

"You mean other than us?" Sam retorted.

"Yeah," Dean ignored the bitterness in his little brother's voice. "Like somebody named Milton?"

"Actually, yeah," Sam said. "There's a Rachel Milton in my history class. Just showed up today. Why?"

Dean smiled to himself.

"I think I might have met her brother. Well, one of them anyway. Guy named Castiel."

Sam's eyebrows shot up.

"Castiel? That's seriously his name?"

Even though he had reacted exactly the same way less than an hour ago, Dean suddenly felt the need to defend Castiel's unusual name.

"When you see him, you'll get it. You wouldn't think it would work but, he's got this dark hair and these really blue eyes and—it just fits him, okay?"

Sam was staring at him incredulously.

"Dude, did you just describe another guy's eyes as 'really blue?'"

Dean realized that he had.