Alright! I am getting zero response from this story, it's bumming me out, but that's okay! I'll pull through!

Okay, I also wanted to say Cas does not stay a weird, creepy-looking alien-dude for the whole book! I actually made this story in hopes of not doing that! But stupid logic came into play and then this is what I came up with! :( So, I just wanted to tell you in case that was the thing that everybody's been creeped out about, which is what my editor has been saying. It's probably too late now, though, because not a lot of people have continued, but I'm continuing because I find it fun to write and it's the fanfiction version of something I've been planning on posting on fictionpress.

And thank you so much for those of you who have continued this far! I know it's been hard but...you stayed strong! :) Please, please, oh, please comment if you like this chapter. I actually appreciate that way more than anything else because I actually get to hear from you guys!

Well, anyway, I won't ramble on much longer! Without further ado, here's chapter 3! XD

Dean had been hiding Castiel in his Uncle Bobby's barn for…five days, yeah…five or six days. He could lose count sometimes. After the five days he had known the creature, he decided that this…creature was no creature at all. Castiel was a he, he was a person, and…he was his friend…but he would never admit that.

The mechanic ran up to the old barn with an excited smile on as he imagined what Castiel would think of the things in his arms. He pushed the door open with his foot and closed it behind him as he called, "Hey, Cas!"

Castiel's head peaked up from the loft above the man with his black wings perked. Dean then realized that the seraph's expression was full of complete confusion as he heard him repeat, "Cas?"

Dean chuckled when he saw his friend look around the barn, searching for this 'Cas' person. "No, man! It's you!" Castiel then gracefully jumped down, as he was still looking around, confused how 'Cas' entered the barn without him noticing. Dean rolled his eyes. "Castiel." Said person looked down at the mechanic. "You are Cas."

Castiel's eyes widened. "No, I am Castiel."

The young man sighed and rolled his eyes again. "No! It's a nickname!" The seraph had no sense of understanding in his face. "Cas, Castiel?"

Suddenly, Castiel's face erupted into realization as an, "Ohhh…!" came from his mouth.

"Oh, jeez…" Dean shook his head as he put down the things in his arms.

"What possessions do you carry?" Castiel asked with his head trying to peak over Dean's shoulder.

The young mechanic smiled as he suddenly pulled up one of the objects. "A book!"

His friend's eyes lit up with interest and curiosity. "A…book?"

"Yeah, after you tried to sneak out of the barn out of boredom, I asked Sam what a nerdy guy like him does when he's bored. You seem super nerdy, so that's why I asked him, and he said he liked to read books!" Dean explained as he handed the book to the seraph. He then looked back up at Castiel before adding quickly, "And also, I just thought you'd like books."

Castiel hesitantly took the book from the man. He studied the title carefully. "The Old Man and the Sea?" he read.

"Yeah," Dean nodded as he turned around to show him more of the books he had brought. "I also brought Charlotte's Web, The Time Keeper, and To Kill a Mockingbird." Castiel nodded slowly, as he scanned his eyes over the three books on the hay bale. "If you like them, I can bring more, I just didn't know what your interests were, so…."

Dean glanced up at his friend, who was just staring down quietly at the books. Suddenly, the young mechanic felt his heart racing and sweat threaten to form. He didn't even think about that possibility of Castiel not liking them! Is that what was going on? Why wasn't he saying anything? What an idiot Dean was! The seraph just always seemed so nerdy, what with all his questions and everything! But what if he wasn't? Did he feel offended, then, that Dean had called him a nerd?

All these questions swirled around in the young man's head. He glanced quickly down at the books again, tempting to take them and run back to Uncle Bobby's house. Maybe he could bring back something more manly? A beer? A TV to watch football? No, Dean didn't even have an interest in football, he didn't think Castiel would, either.

Right as he moved his hands slightly to take the books away, Castiel suddenly smiled a little and muttered softly, "Thank you…very much, Dean."

Suddenly, all the stress that the young man had been feeling earlier completely vanished. The amount of thanks and appreciation that filled those…five or six words made Dean feel so amazing that he could describe it. He was able to make this stoic and gloomy creature smile and be filled with so much happiness!

Dean nodded and gestured to the books. "Well, you can get right to it, then! I have to go work on this car that's got a busted bumper." The man started to make his way towards the door as he waved goodbye. "See ya later, Cas!"

Once Dean left the barn, unknown to him, Castiel looked down at the four books the young man had brought him. He glanced back at the door, then back at the books, once again. He thought about what just happened before murmuring, "My name is Castiel."

Castiel had not been on Earth for six or seven centuries. So, to assume that he was surprised to be back, would be a considerable understatement. He had no idea how or why he had returned. Most troubling, however, was that he had no proposal, in any way, of how he would get back to his siblings. And the conditions he was in, at the moment, were not helping.

The five miserable days that he had been staying in this repulsive barn, which reeked of swine urine and moldy forage, had not been pleasurable, at all. First off, there was the building he was residing in, which he had already briefly explained the summary of the matter, but the smell and such were nothing compared to what bothered Castiel the most: there were no ways to egress.

Yes, the seraph had seen the young human escape through the giant doors, but when Castiel tried to do the same, he found that he could not open it. It drove him mad the first two days, but on the third, Castiel realized that the human would lock it every time he left.

That brought him to the second displeasing aspect of his situation, the human. Castiel had always been fascinated by humans, but in the way an aspiring scientist studies a toad: one takes much joy in learning about it, but, at the end of the day, one feels no pain as you dissect its heart. So, for this impudent human to treat him, an eonian being, as an equal, it was an insult to his people.

Though, Castiel had to admit, this human who calls himself 'Dean', was incredibly interesting. Presumptuous as he may be, there was something…endearing about him. It was similar to how parents deem their children as annoying, even though they cannot help but love them at the same time.

Dean was relentlessly infuriating, what with how he treated the ancient being as if he was a child whom was just born, but he was also very…kind. Surprisingly kind, in fact. It got to a point that Castiel believed that he had never met someone as caring and generous as this young human.

While everyone else had told Castiel that happiness and fun were primitive and repulsive, Dean took much offense in the seraph not experiencing such things. The human had believed that Castiel was only trying to escape the barn, not because he believed it to be a horrid living space, but because he was bored, which is extremely stupid but charming at the same time. Yes, Dean very much reminded him of a cheeky child: very disrespectful and rude, but, nonetheless, endearing, all the same.

So, when Dean came to Castiel that day with a nickname and four books to occupy himself with, it surprised him very much. It was quite thoughtful, actually, that Dean had brought the books to him because he thought the seraph was bored and was not enjoying himself. But, the young human would not know any better, would he? After all, just like a toddler, his world was full of laughter and play, so he could not possibly comprehend anything that is not related to such things.

The nickname, however, was the most confusing part for Castiel. Why would he need such a thing? What was wrong with his real name? Did the young human not like it? Or was it too long and complicated for him to understand and say? Sooner or later, he knew, that Dean would explain all this to him. That was just the human's way.

That was another thing that Castiel could not decide whether or not was annoying or endearing: Dean's desire for the seraph to understand everything he did. Was that just another human concept? Did it have something to do with how curious humans usually are? Was Dean worried Castiel would suffer from learning-deprivation? Wait…was that a real concept? Castiel assumed so; after all, what would be the need to be so curious if it did not help one's survival?

Whatever was going on in the young human's mind, Castiel believed he would never understand him entirely as he opened one of Dean's books.

"How peculiar…" Castiel muttered as he sat on the least fungal-covered bale of hay he could find and stared at the book the human had got him that read The Time Keeper on the front.

The seraph then started reading the strange piece of literature. It was completely nonsensical and quiet ridiculous, but there was something about it that was extremely captivating. There was one line, however, which made Castiel stop. 'How interesting…but also how sad…'

"Try to imagine a world without time keeping," he read in his head, "You probably can't. You know the month, the year, the day of the week. There is a clock on your wall or the dashboard of your car. You have a schedule, a calendar, a time for dinner or a movie. Yet all around you, timekeeping is ignored. Birds are not late. A dog does not check its watch. Deer do not fret over passing birthdays. Man alone measures time. Man alone chimes the hour. And, because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures." Once Castiel read the next line, his head shot up. 'How peculiar that humans fret over such a thing,' he thought as he repeated the last line over and over again in his head, "A fear of time running out."

Castiel, strangely, could not help but stare off into space, just thinking about this line. How interesting that man fears such an inevitable thing. One cannot stop it, therefore, why fear it? It is what is meant to be. After all, Castiel thought, one is born to die.

The seraph did not know how long he had merely been sitting and pondering about this notion, but he was interrupted when the door of the barn opened with a terrible creak. Castiel looked over to see the young human, Dean, walking in with a pleasant smile stretched across his face.

"Hey, Cas!" Dean greeted happily.

Castiel fought the urge to frown out of frustration, but his irritation shown bright in his tone as he corrected the human, "Castiel."

The seraph noticed how the human rolled his eyes. "I know your name's Castiel. I just feel like you need a nickname."

Castiel tilted his head in confusion. Yes, humans would never stop to confuse him. "Why?"

Dean's expression changed, as if he did not wish to say. "I, uh," He glanced over at Castiel before responding quickly. "Because you look more like a Cas than a Castiel."

What a ridiculous lie. No matter, if that was how the human wanted to answer, he would not push. "I see…"

The young human's smile returned as he sat next to Castiel and unwrapped two cylindrical pieces of food. He then handed one to the seraph and looked up at him with his wide smile. "I brought you a burrito."

Castiel raised his eyebrow as he glanced down at the 'burrito' suspiciously. Dean had been bringing him strange foods, lately. The seraph actually did not need food every day, as his system stored nutrients better than humans did, but he would always accept the offerings the man made. "A…'burrito'?"

The human nodded. "Yeah, it's Mexican. It has meat and cheese and salsa inside. Go ahead, try it! It's really good!"

Castiel rotated the 'burrito' in his hand before taking a hesitant bite. Suddenly, he felt his eyes widen and the world shut down. This occurred every single time he tried something that the human brought him. The seraph was starting to wonder if Dean had been poisoning the treats, but…they were just…so amazing…!

Castiel had never consumed something so delicious and appetizing. He had no idea if it was just him, though, because the young human in front of him never reacted in the same way. Dean always just stared at him, as if he was trying to figure out what had happened to the seraph, which was extremely humiliating.

After regaining his sense of reality, Castiel found himself eating peacefully with Dean. It was actually surprisingly pleasant spending time with the human, no matter how annoying he was. Again, he was similar in many ways to a toddler, annoying but endearing at the same time. He knew that his siblings back home would probably banish him for thinking such a thing, but…he could not help caring, even just a little, for the small creature in front of him.

And the seraph started to wonder if, maybe…that was why the quote from the book he had read bothered him so much. Was this happy, smiling creature in front of him, someone who tries to make the seraph feel better and enjoy himself, was he bothering himself with the notion that…one day…inevitably…he would be gone?

"Dean," Castiel found himself speaking up.

Said human looked up at the seraph and, through his burrito, hummed to let Castiel know he was listening.

"Do you…" Castiel paused. What a silly thing to be doing, asking a human something. The human should be asking him something, not the other way around! But…he kept going, nonetheless. "Do you…fear?"

Dean paused, as if he was waiting to see if that was the whole question. "Do I…fear? Do you mean, do I get afraid?"

Castiel nodded. The seraph then expected many things: a deep conversation and a colossal story of his past, a scolding for thinking that he would ask such a thing, or merely standing up and walking away. What he did not expect, however, was for the young human in front of him to start laughing.

Dean kept laughing until he finally sighed and glanced back at Castiel to answer completely bluntly, "Of course I get scared! Doesn't everybody?" The seraph's eyes widened. How interesting…. This young human was able to admit so easily that he was afraid. "I get scared that my brother won't grow up happy, I get scared that my uncle will get hurt fixing a car, I get scared that I'll accidently hurt my brother during our hunting trips."

Castiel watched as the human shook his head and murmured something about the seraph being strange. No, Castiel thought, compared to this human in front of him, he was not strange. "Then, do you fear…death?"

Suddenly, the young human's expression completely changed, but he did not look worried or mad, he just appeared to be confused by the question. It took Dean a minute to think before he nodded and answered, "Yeah…yeah, I guess sometimes." He glanced up at Castiel. "Well, I mean, I guess I'm less scared of it than most people, but I'd say in a small way, yeah. Though…for me, personally, I'm afraid that my brother won't get by without me. Most people are afraid of death just 'cause it's death, but I'm afraid to leave the ones I love alone."

Castiel was completely taken aback by the young human's answer. How…remarkable that the thing that bothers this man the most is leaving people alone. He cares for others before himself.

How remarkable. Castiel had been taught all of his life that humans were selfish, greedy creatures who only think about themselves. But here he was…sitting with a human who thought the exact opposite. Suddenly, everything started to make sense, why Dean brought him unnecessary food, why he worried about him getting bored, why he hid him in a dirty barn, and why…he saved him.

Because he cared.

Castiel nodded. "I see…"

Dean snorted a laugh. "I know, it's kinda cheesy, but…"

"No, no!" the seraph cut in. "It's…marvelous."

The young human just stared at Castiel for a long while, as if he was having difficulty processing what the seraph told him. Suddenly, Dean started to stand as he grabbed their empty burrito wrappers as he answered, "Oh, don't be creepy, dude."

That comment was completely surprising and unexpected. Castiel watched as the young human took their trash and made his way to the barn door. Dean then told him, "Well, I gotta get back to Uncle Bobby's place before he starts to get out his gun and search the place. Until then, have a good night! See ya in the morning, Cas!"

Castiel listened to annoying creak of the door and the loud slam that followed, just thinking about the peculiar human and his strange answer. Dean was…different from the other humans he had met and heard about, and as he thought about that…the name 'Cas' sounded just right.