Wow, seriously guys thank you for the reviews. They really did make my day. I'm glad I'm not completely screw up the canon with this fic. Anyway enjoy this final-ish part.
School was nerve wracking for me. Nathaniel was somewhere in the building. I wasn't going to search for him. Yet anyway. But before the day is through I was going to talk to him. By now, it was common knowledge that we were no more and Peggy tried to get more details of it. But after Rosalya talked to me she was almost mama bear protective of me.
"So care to give the details of you and our school president not seeing each other?"
"No." I said flatly.
"It wouldn't have anything to do with Nathaniel's recent absences?" Peggy asked, "Or the fact that you and Castiel have been seen hanging out with each other a lot more around the same time?"
My face became red.
I know the two of us had been hanging out a lot. That's what happens when I decided to confide in him about this. And I'm not going to deny that he's nice looking. And can be sweet when he wants to. But I had to wonder how in the world could they interpret all of that as going together.
"That's none of you business."
"So it's true?"
"Hey!" Rosalya interrupted, "Quit harassing Mir. If you've been doing your work she hasn't been feeling well the past couple of days. You breathing on her isn't making her any better. Now if I catch you harassing her again I'll personally make you eat every single scrap of your articles."
I stared at Rosalya in shock. I never heard her threaten someone before. Especially in detail. Neither had Peggy so she left in a huff. I threw a thankful glance at her. I really wondered what I would do without her. If I had been in my usual mode I probably would have threatened with violence. Rosalya told me that she had seen Nathaniel in one of the classrooms by himself. If I was going to talk to him, now was the time.
"Thanks Rosa, you're a life saver." I said.
"I know. But be careful, he's not in the best of moods." she warned.
I nodded as I took off to the classroom. I noticed him in one of them with the door closed. Now was my moment. I opened and closed the door as quietly as I could. No need to alert anyone else what I was up to.
Except that Nathaniel has exceptional hearing.
He turned to me. For a moment we were both still. The look of shock on his face turned into glare. Deep down, I wanted to run. But I had to stay strong. I need to stay strong.
"What are you doing here Ami?" he asked.
I shook at the venom in his voice.
"I...I. Welcome back?"
He sighed while putting more of his belongings into his bag. I completely failed at that. But my time alone with him was running short. I needed to get everything out of the way.
"I," I started again, "I know this is a rough time. I heard about the cops."
"They questioned both my father and I." he answered, "He should be released in a couple hours."
At that my mouth gaped open.
"You still didn't tell them anything! Can you tell me at the very least you're gonna talk to your dad? Please? Tell him that what he did isn't right." I pleaded.
"That was my intention. I'll talk to him tonight." he said.
I didn't feel great, but it was a start. A little change was happening. For a little while there was more silence. It was sinking in that we were talking to each other as mere acquaintances.
"So...have you been getting my text messages?" I asked.
"Yes," he replied bluntly, "I've been busy sorting out this mess to reply. But I got them. Your concern is duly noted. But I hope you realize that regardless of what happens next I will never forgive you for this."
Tears threatened to appear at the declaration. But I willed them away. I'm not going to cry in front of him. So instead I smiled as warmly as I could. Mom's words were calming me down.
It seemed to bring a legit feeling of shock from him.
"That's fine. I don't mind if you don't forgive me. I won't try to force you to either." I told him, "The days you weren't here made me realize a few things about us. And about myself. So regardless of what happens, whether you forgive me or decide we should try again. Even if you decide to do neither. I will be here if you need me. I legitimately care for you."
I looked down at my feet. Nerves were creeping up on me again.
"You need your space, I understand that now."
He quickly packed up the rest of his stuff and left the room. I watched his back until I couldn't see it anymore. When I knew I was alone I let out a sigh before sitting into one the chairs. I laid my head on the desk for a moment, letting everything catch up with me. That was tense. I didn't know how he would react. But I was glad to see that he looked alright at the very least.
The fact that he talked to me a little was a start too. I'll just need to wait the next few days to see.
Or not.
The next day Nathaniel was at school again. I had heard that something was off about him. But I wasn't going to push into finding him. To be honest, it was hard focusing on my school work with all of this going on. This was one of those times I was grateful that Castiel was in the majority of my classes. To help me focus. I was getting ready to go to my locker to leave for the day.
"Shoot, I forgot my notes." I mumbled.
I walked through the hallway to get up to the Science lab. Before I had bumped into someone of course.
"Sorry..." I mumbled.
When I looked up, I had bumped into Nathaniel. I kinda freaked out about seeing him. After what he said yesterday I was trying to give him space. I was convinced that me being around so much so soon wasn't making this easier for him.
"It's okay Mir." he said.
I was shocked that he was using my nickname so easily now. He had his face away from me as he helped me pick up my stuff. I wasn't sure what to say. I had heard he was still a bit off and I didn't want to provoke him.
"That should be all of it." he said.
As he handed me my papers, I let out a gasp. He had a black eye. I winced at seeing it. I grabbed my books and put them back in my bag.
"Christ, is that a black eye?" I asked.
He tried to laugh it off. Just in general be his usual self. But we both know at this point this was no laughing matter. It really wasn't every day you see the school president sporting a black eye.
"Yeah. I tried to talk to him. Told him that he needed to be careful and then I got this." he explained while pointing to his eye, "It was then I realized, it had gone too far."
I heaved a sigh of relief.
He finally realized it.
"You know, if you two were any louder you might get nosy people coming in."
Nathaniel immediately became quiet at seeing Castiel emerge from the basement. I could just feel the dislike between the two. I gave a little sigh. Some things don't change I suppose.
"We can talk somewhere private." Nathaniel whispered to me.
Quickly he took my hand and led me to one of the unused classrooms. I was so surprised that I didn't bother to pull away. He closed the door behind him and let out a breath.
"Mir, I have to apologize for how I acted towards you. Regardless of how mad I was I shouldn't have yelled at you like I did."
"It's alright." I said, "It's been stressful for everyone. But what are you going to do now?"
"I don't know honestly." he shrugged, "I know that things have to change. This can't continue."
"If I may say something."
The two of us looked to see Castiel at the door. I guess in the midst of our talking he followed behind. Nathaniel didn't look too pleased at him hearing our conversation. Apparently Castiel noticed too.
"Cut the secretive bullshit, Gallade told me everything."
"What? You told him of all people?" Nathaniel asked.
I shirked back from the rising tone of displeasure. Only to feel Castiel put his hand around my shoulder in a supportive gesture.
"Don't go yelling and blaming her. She knew she couldn't do this alone and needed help. Why she decided to tell me, I don't even know. But you and I need to talk."
The two stared each other down for a little while.
"And if I refuse?" he asked.
"There's no refusing. We're gonna talk. Now it's up to you if you want to do it maturely or I have to drag you kicking and screaming."
There was some more silence. Then Nathaniel sighed before the two left the room. I decided not to follow. I think I did all I could for Nathaniel. Now all I could do is just be there when he needs me.
The next few days I didn't see Nathaniel at school. But I figured I should at least thank Castiel for everything that he's done for me. I caught him on my way home from school one of those days. I dug through my bag and pulled out a box of guitar strings.
"You like the Butterfly quality right?"
"I hope you're not trying to bribe me with revealing what was talked about?" he suggested.
I shook my head, "No. If you wanted me to know, then you would have spoke to him in front of me. But I feel bad that I dragged you into this and haven't properly thanked you. I felt like you've helped out Nathaniel more than I did. You didn't have to help me at all. Given your...history with him, I fully expected for you to call me crazy and leave me to do this on my own."
"You think that lowly of me Gallade?"
"No, not exactly. But that doesn't matter. What matter is that you helped me anyway. From the bottom of my heart thank you."
He took the box of strings. But his hand stay lingered on mines for a while. I was confused by the action. His expression was hard to read. It made me a little nervous. One hard tug and our lips met. My eyes widened at the contact. The sudden surprise of it all stilled me. If I was in my right mindset I would have at least pulled away.
But no, like an idiot I waited until he separated from me.
It was probably a few moments, but it felt like minutes. My face instantly became heated at what just happened.
"Cas...why did you ju-"
"My additional reward." he simply said.
"You jerk!" I shouted, "You can't go around kissing girls and saying oh that's my reward! It makes you look like a creep."
"So you're not denying that you liked it then?"
I was silent. He laughed at my embarrassment. much to my dismay. I guess our partnership had come to an end. I was a bit sad about that. It was nice to actually have him not snark at me as much. He poked at my forehead to bring me out of my thoughts.
"That doesn't matter. The point is you can't go doing that randomly like that." I argued.
"It was going to happen eventually Ami, might as well be when there's no attachments."
Wait.
"Eventually?"
It was odd to see Castiel blush.
"Yeah, eventually. Honestly it would have happened earlier if we weren't interrupted in the nurse's office."
Okay, this wasn't making any sense.
"What are you trying to say Cas?"
There was a awkward period of silence between us. I mean he really wasn't going to do anything then. I don't think. But he was calling me by my name now. So he was serious?
"Geez, are you this socially inept? I like you okay."
"What...what?"
His face was turning almost as red as his hair. It was really odd to see him look so bashful. Castiel seemed like the type to not even know the meaning of bashful. But he was displaying this side to me.
"It's stupid and I know you only have eyes for that idiot. But I can't help it Ami. I. Like. You."
For a while, I didn't say anything. This couldn't be true. Castiel only meant it friendly. Yeah, that had to be right. He was just messing with me. But he sounded serious about it. I was conflicted. That feeling that bubbles slightly when I'm around him so closely began to become more pronounced. I was fighting to keep that hidden. Despite the claims of my awkwardness around guys I knew when there was a vibe. There was always that something there between the two of us. Since he never made any indicatio-
My eyes widened. It seemed like one off instances, but he always seemed to speak to me in a way about certain topics. I just wrote them off as my imagination playing with me.
Apparently not.
'You're attracted to him.' Rosalya's words replaying into my head.
I slowly shook my head.
"This is sudden. But I think I understand. I...sometimes felt them too" I admitted, "But I don't think I can't. It's so sudden and then there's the fact I still like Nathaniel..."
"I'm not asking for anything." he said, "I figured since the situation was good you should at least know."
He rubbed my hair, making the stray hairs frizz everywhere. I frowned at it.
"Future tip though, don't go making any weird deals with Amber again. All you did was feed into her mindset that there actually something between us."
"Of course, I wasn't the one who kissed a girl for their reward." I remarked.
"Right, I wasn't the one who didn't punch the guy who kissed a girl for their reward." he replied back.
My face turned red at that.
Dammit, he didn't even skip a beat. From a confession to sniping at me in no time.
"Goodbye Cas." I said plainly.
"Don't go dreaming about me tonight Mir." he said.
Now that I thought about it, it had been a little over a month since this entire thing happened. The school began to go back into normalcy. I was actually enjoying the quietness now. I started to feel a little like myself again. I had thought about that moment with Castiel. It was just a blip, since we got right back into our routine of teasing each other.
But he seemed a little kinder with his words.
Not too noticeable to others though.
"Mir!" called Rosalya.
I was sitting in the garden. Since I hadn't really been fulfilling my duties as part of the Gardening Club, I figured I could take some time in there. I turned to her calling out to me. She looked a little out of breath. I assume from looking for me. She took my hand and led me out of the school. I was wondering where she was taking me before I realized we were at the park. She sat me down on a bench before looking at me.
"What?" I asked.
"Someone wants to speak with you, so wait here."
Just as quickly she left. I sat at the bench quietly. I wondered who wanted to talk with me. It was only a couple minutes before I heard footsteps approaching. When I looked up, Nathaniel was looking at me. My face became a little red at seeing him. He sat beside me on the bench in silence. I glanced at him from the side. He looked to be well. The black eye had faded quite a bit. It's only noticeable when you stare.
"It's nice to see you again." I said.
He nodded. And we were falling into a silence again. Why was it so awkward to talk to him? Right after I assured him I'll be there if he needed me.
"Mir, I-...I wanted to let you know that things are changing now. It'll take a bit of time but it's changing." he said.
"That's good." I remarked, "I'm glad that things are changing. No one should be subjected to what you've been through."
"You're right. And thank you. I was less than pleasant to you but you never gave up on me. I don't understand why, but thank you."
"Because," I started, "I care about you. I care about everyone I like."
"So, what do we do from here?" he asked.
I closed my eyes in thought. It was a good question. We never really talked about our relationship. Not this fully at any rate. I let out a sigh before opening my eyes.
"I suppose we take time out to do what we need to do. I feel like this time away will do the both of us good. I still have feelings for you and I think you do for me. But maybe we shouldn't label ourselves as a couple right now."
"Understandable." he agreed, "After everything, I think we both need time to heal. You know?"
"Yeah, but I'll still be here if you need me."
At that I got up and stretched my torso. I turned towards Nathaniel, who seemed to still be in his thoughts. I put my hand out towards him, a smile on my face.
"You wanna go get some ice cream or something? My treat."
"But Mir I thou-"
"It isn't a date or anything like that." I explained, "Not unless you want it to. But you look like you need a pick me up. The least I can do after somewhat lying to you about my intentions of staying over your house."
I felt him take my hand and lifted himself up from the bench. Our hands remained joined for a few moments before we pulled away. As we started to walk out of the park into the main part of the city, I felt him put his hand over my shoulder in a protective matter. I looked up at him before I looked back down at my hands blushing.
It's going to be really hard to be just friends.
And doneish~! This had gone through so many edits. All the way up until it's upload. I felt weird about how I wanted to end this since the episode itself ended on a kinda cliffhanger.
Also you have no idea how long I wanted to have a legit MC/Castiel moment. Like for reals. So much tension. So I feel happy. Now I may have an one off chapter, but essentially the plot of this fic is done. But the bonus chapter might be up sooner than you think.