Chapter 6 – The House at the End of Maple Street

Cas, Dean, and Sam sat around the Winchesters' kitchen table waiting for the kettle to boil so they could make hot chocolate. They had just finished their last day of school before winter break and it was a cold, rainy afternoon.
"I had a weird encounter with Naomi today," Dean said.
"Weird how?" asked Cas.
"Well it was almost like she'd come looking for me but when she tried to say whatever it was she wanted to tell me, she changed her mind or lost her nerve or something and just ran off," said Dean.
"That is kinda weird... actually, she's just been kinda weird for a while now. Have you noticed that she hasn't been hanging out with Ralph and Marv at all since November?" Cas said.
"Yeah, I did notice," said Dean. "I wonder what's up..."
"Yeah..." said Cas, trailing off as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.
He knew it had to be either his aunt or uncle since the only two other people who would text him were sitting across the table. He pulled out his phone, then froze the minute he saw the ID, heart hammering.
"What is it, Cas? Everything alright?" asked Dean.
"That's impossible..." whispered Cas.
"What is?"
"That couldn't... how..." Cas said.
"What's wrong?" Sam asked.
Cas looked up from his phone at the two brothers.
"Well... I guess I can't avoid the subject any longer..." he said, taking a steadying breath. "I should've known I'd have to tell you eventually."
"Tell us what, Cas?" asked Dean, looking a bit worried.
"I wasn't completely alone before I met you... I did have a friend, but..." Cas bit his lip. "He died in a fire just the weekend before you came to Lawrence."
Cas looked down at his hands, not wanting to see the Winchesters' reactions.
"I'm sorry, Cas," said Dean quietly.
"His name was Balthazar," Cas continued. "We'd known each other since we were kids, he was the only person who stood by me through everything. When he died... it was like my life ended. I was such a mess when I met you two..."
Dean placed his hand over Cas' and gave it a gentle squeeze. Cas smiled sadly at him, then looked back down at the phone in his hand. Dean followed his gaze.
"So what does your friend have to do with this text?" he asked.
"Well... somehow... it's from him," Cas said.
"What?" said Sam, raising his eyebrows.
"I know, it's impossible. His phone should have been destroyed in the fire that killed him," said Cas. "But the ID says it's him."
"What does the text say?" Sam asked.
Cas glanced between the two Winchesters. Dean gave him an encouraging nod. Cas took a deep breath and opened the message.
"Okay, now this is really impossible," he said.
"What is it?" asked Dean.
"Well, it's written in a code Balthazar and I came up with in eighth grade. It's not a great code at all, it's actually kinda stupid, but we used it whenever we had secret messages for each other. We just switched the first and last letter of each word... but we never told anyone else about this code..." said Cas.
"What does it say?" said Sam.
"It says 'Meet in the old house at the end of Maple Street at midnight. Bring food and a light.' That's all," Cas read.
They all exchanged a confused look.
"Are you gonna go?" asked Sam.
"I... well, I have to, don't I? I have to know," said Cas.
"Well then you're not going alone. Sammy and I are coming with you," Dean said.
Cas looked at him and smiled gratefully.
"Thanks. Maple Street's not far from my house, so we can sneak out and meet in my yard at... 11:45? Then we'll head to the house," he said.
"Sounds like a plan. We've got a camp lantern in the shed, we can bring that," suggested Dean.
"Great. I can sneak some food from the fridge," said Cas.
They fell silent. Cas stared at the coded message on his phone, frowning, wondering... then suddenly the kettle whistled loudly, snapping him from his thoughts, and they scrambled up to make their hot chocolate.

Cas looked at the digital clock glowing faintly in his dark room. 11:40. He swung himself off his bed and crouched down, pulling the napkin stuffed with bread and cold leftover chicken from under his bed where he'd hid it earlier. He picked up the full water bottle from his desk and placed it next to the napkin, then grabbed his old beige bag from the corner. Making sure the napkin was folded securely over the food, he packed the provisions. Then he tiptoed silently to his closet, tied on his tennis shoes, and tossed on a warm coat. He went to his desk and pulled a small leather pouch out of the drawer and placed it next to the food. Finally, he picked up his flashlight from the nightstand, tested the battery, and tucked it into the outside pocket of his bag.

He glanced back at the clock. 11:45. Just on time. Cas slowly slid his window open and removed the screen. Placing the screen on the floor under the window, he grabbed his bag from the bed and set it carefully on the roof, then climbed out after it. He slid his window closed, leaving just enough of a crack that he would be able to open it again when he returned, then slung his bag over his shoulder. Cas walked gingerly along the roof until he got to the edge closest to the giant tree in the yard. He took a deep breath, then jumped into the tree, grabbing at the first branch he could and holding on for dear life. He paused a moment to settle down from the sudden adrenaline rush, then swung himself closer to the trunk and climbed carefully down. When he reached the lowest branch, he hung for a moment before dropping into a crouch on the grass.

Cas straightened up and glanced around. He could see two shadowy figures standing at the edge of the yard and walked toward them.
"Nice jump, Cas," Dean whispered.
"Thanks. Ready?" Cas replied.
"Yeah," said Sam.
"Let's go," Dean said.
Cas led the way down the deserted road until they finally reached the end of Maple Street. The house in front of them had been abandoned years ago, its windows all either cracked or boarded up, graffiti peppering the lower walls. Cas swallowed hard, then led them up the overgrown path onto the front porch. Sam tried the door.
"It's locked," he hissed.
"Don't worry, I've got it," said Cas, reaching into his bag and pulling out the leather pouch.
He unfolded it to reveal a lock-picking set. He squinted at the doorknob, then selected a pick and crouched down.
"Why the hell have you got that?" Dean whispered incredulously.
"My uncle used to be a locksmith. Can you shine a light for me?" Cas replied.
Sam pulled out his flashlight and pointed it at the lock and Cas set to work. He didn't really know how to pick a lock so it took him a while, but finally, they heard a click and the door swung open with a creak.
"Well that's not sketchy at all," said Dean, peering into the cobweb-strewn entrance hall.
Cas stood up and stuck the lock-pick set back into his bag, exchanging it for his own flashlight.
"C'mon," he whispered, leading them slowly inside. "Close the door behind us."
The dusty floorboards squeaked under foot and they heard a faint scurrying of mice inside the walls.
"You do realize we are probably seconds away from becoming the idiots in the first five minutes of a horror movie, right?" Dean said.
"It crossed my mind..." Cas replied.
They walked slowly down the hall. Finally, they reached the first room. It seemed to have been the living room. There was an extremely dusty loveseat pushed against one wall and in the middle of the floor stood a coffee table that was missing half a leg. Cas and Sam shone their flashlights into all the corners.
"There doesn't seem to be anyone here," whispered Sam.
"Wait," said Cas, forgetting for a second to keep his voice quiet.
He stood frozen, his flashlight aimed at what looked like a shoe peeking out from behind the loveseat.
"Shit, it's probably a corpse..." muttered Dean.
Cas swallowed hard again and forced his voice to remain steady.
"Who's there?" he called tentatively.
The shoe slid back behind the loveseat and there was a faint shuffling as a dark figure stood up. Cas lifted his flashlight to the person's face and went white as a sheet.
"Balthazar?" he gasped.
"Hello Cas," Balthazar said hoarsely.
"It's not possible," said Cas. "You're dead. They said no one made it out of that fire."
"That's because the firemen expect anyone who escapes to run to them, not to Denver. They never found my body, did they?" said Balthazar.
"No, they didn't. They said you were... incinerated," Cas said, his throat tight. "Why did you run away? Why did you let me think you were dead?"
"Because I knew that bastard Michael was behind the fire and that he'd come after me, or send his cronies after me. And because... because I'd just seen my mother burn to death in front of me... that's not an easy thing to cope with," said Balthazar.
He walked toward Cas and as he stepped more into the light of the flashlights, Cas saw what bad shape he was in. His clothes were dirty and worn and hung loosely on his underfed frame. His face was pale and there were dark shadows under his usually lively blue eyes. Cas felt his own eyes sting with hot tears.
"Balthazar..." he whispered.
He took a step forward and pulled his friend into a tight hug, holding him as though it was the last time. The fact that he could feel almost every bone in Balthazar's body as they embraced brought even more tears to his eyes. Finally they pulled away and stared at each other, both smiling through their tears.
"I brought food," said Cas.
"Oh thank God, you're a saint, Cas," said Balthazar, heaving a sigh of gratitude.
Cas dug the napkin of bread and chicken and the water bottle from his bag and handed them to Balthazar. They sat on the dusty floor and he began to eat ravenously. After a few minutes, he paused and asked,
"So Cas, who're your new buddies?"
"This is Dean Winchester and his younger brother, Sam," Cas replied.
"Pleasure," said Balthazar, nodding to them both and taking a swig of water. "And... thanks for taking care of Cas for me. I've been worried sick about him. I'm glad he hasn't been completely alone."
"Cas is a great guy. I'm so lucky to have met him," said Dean, smiling at Cas, who smiled back.
Balthazar glanced between the two of them.
"I'm missing something, aren't I?" he said.
"Oh, yeah, well uh... Dean's my boyfriend," Cas said, blushing.
Balthazar grinned and a bit of the life came back to his eyes.
"You two are killing me, stop looking so bashful! Dean, I think you're my new favorite person now. After Cas, of course. Thank you so much for seeing just how special Cas is as I have without the barrier of being so painfully straight," he said.
"I, well... you're welcome," Dean chuckled.
Sam rolled his eyes, earning him an elbow in the ribs from his brother.
"So what were you doing in Denver?" Cas asked.
"Hiding. Bumming... trying to get back to Lawrence," said Balthazar. "I knew why Michael set fire to my house and I'm pretty sure he intended me to die in the fire. It was a stupid reason, he was jealous because I hooked up with his ex the night after they broke up. He confronted me about it just a day before the fire and, well... I could tell he was unhinged. No one gets that angry over something like that, not without being seriously unstable. I knew if I stayed in Lawrence that he'd find out I survived and would hunt me down, so I ran. I regretted it almost as soon as I got off the train in Denver and discovered I didn't have enough money to come back..."
"You don't have to worry about Michael anymore, Balthazar. They caught him, he's in prison, and if he really is unstable then I don't think they'll be letting him out anytime soon," Cas assured him.
Balthazar instantly looked as though a huge weight had been lifted from him at this news.
"And you don't have to hide now. You can come stay at my house, I know my aunt and uncle won't mind," Cas added.
"Really? They'd be alright with that?" said Balthazar.
It sounded almost as though he was surprised to hear that anyone other than his best friend could possibly show kindness to him.
"Of course. I think they'll just be so glad you're alive that they wouldn't even think twice," said Cas.
"And what about Ralph and Marv and Naomi? They're not gonna... I dunno..." Balthazar said nervously.
"We'll take care of them. Even if they try to mess with you, we won't let 'em. We've already shown them what they're dealing with and we'll do it again if we have to," said Dean.
"Wait, you guys...?" said Balthazar in amazement.
"They fought them in the bathroom and got detention," Sam said proudly.
"Damn, I'm gone for three months and I come home to bunch of little heroes!" Balthazar exclaimed.

It was after one in the morning by the time the four of them left the old house. When they reached Cas' house, Cas and Balthazar said goodbye to the Winchesters. Dean gave Cas a kiss and told him to keep him updated, then he and Sam slipped off into the night. Cas and Balthazar climbed the tree and crawled carefully onto the roof. When they got to the window, Cas slid it silently open and let Balthazar climb in first, then tossed his bag in and followed. He reattached the screen, shut the window, and latched it.
"You can sleep in my bed," he offered. "You deserve it after three months on the streets."
Balthazar looked for a minute as though he was going to protest, but he gave in. Cas gave him some clean sweatpants to change into, then curled up on the floor with a blanket and a throw pillow.
"You sure you're comfortable down there?" Balthazar asked.
"I'm fine. More than fine, actually. Just get some rest," said Cas, smiling up at him.
Balthazar smiled back and slid under the sheets, sighing contentedly.
"You have no idea how great it feels to be in a real bed," he said.
They laid in silence for a moment. Cas frowned and looked back up at his friend.
"Balthazar?" he whispered.
"Hm?"
"How did you keep your phone charged all that time?"
"I turned it off," said Balthazar. "I didn't need it when I was in Denver, and I knew I would once I came back, so I saved the battery until I needed to contact you."
"Ooh. That makes sense. Good night, Balthazar," Cas said.
"Good night, Cas."
They fell silent again and both of them were asleep within minutes and didn't wake up until long after the sun had risen.