A/N:
Hello my sweet cherry pies! I have a new chapter for y'all. Once again thank you for the alerts and thank you to YoungHopeful, DwaejiTokki, guest reviewer (thanks for the tip on the paragraph issue, I'll work on it!), theincredibleinkspitter, ciprianoivashkov, teengrl2, guest reviewer Annie, AwesomePerson12, guest reviewer Livthereader, No Available Pen Names, and guest reviewer sophie for the wonderful reviews. You guys fuel my passion and I love you all :)
Chapter 8:
Castiel rushed home and immediately took refuge in this bedroom. He lay on his stomach on his soft bed, crying quietly into his pillow. He was frustrated with not only the boneheaded peers he had the displeasure of sharing a high school with but with himself also. He was angry with himself for crying, when he promised himself he wouldn't let bullies ruthless words take effect on him, and he was angry with himself for ever thinking Dean Winchester was something special. It was his attraction to Dean which caused this mess in the first place. He was under the impression that Dean was a different breed on jock, one with a heart and a conscience, but it appeared that his previous observations couldn't be any further from the truth. He was the ring leader of his meat headed group of "friends", and his reaction to the kiss just caused a snowball effect, because if Dean Winchester didn't approve of some "homo" kissing him, then obviously everyone else had to follow his lead.
With a sigh, Cas forced himself to sit up and wipe his tears. He didn't want to feel weak for letting those harsh words have such an effect on him. He had to be strong. Prove to his peers that being gay didn't make him any weaker than the rest of them.
He had decided to get dressed in comfortable clothes and choose a movie to watch, settling on Fight Club, a classic that never failed to make him feel just a little bit better about his life. He enjoyed the enticing plot and the psychological aspect of it. He put the disk in his Blu-ray player, closing the blinds on his window and settling into the cushioned softness of his king sized bed. He leaned himself back on a stack of pillows and pressed play. He started to doze off about half way through the film when a knock on his bedroom door startled him from his almost slumber.
"Come in" he grumbled sleepily, rubbing his eyes and sitting up.
His bedroom door creaked open and in entered Jo, Garth, Chuck and Kevin. He offered them a forced smile as they made themselves comfortable, Jo getting under the covers with him, Chuck and Garth taking a seat on his bed and Kevin plopping down in his cushy computer chair.
"Hey, Cas. How you feeling?" Jo asked gently, leaning her head against his shoulder.
"I've seen better days." Castiel admitted with a small sigh.
"I'm a black belt, I can unleash the fury on them if you want, just say the word" Kevin said in all seriousness.
That caused a chuckle from Cas and his friends. He was thankful that they decided to show up, even though he had texted Jo earlier that afternoon to tell her to leave him alone. He should have known better than to think his friends would leave him to deal with something like that by himself.
"Thanks, Kev. I'm good, though." Cas replied.
"You uh, know this doesn't change how we think about you, Cas. We love you no matter who you're into." Chuck said with a small smile.
"Yeah, man. We got your back, don't you worry. They're just a bunch of lugheaded dickbags" Garth snorted.
"Seriously though, Castiel. You're not alone, and we just want to make sure you're okay. What they said to you and what they did to your locker, that's some heavy shit. You shouldn't have to deal with that alone." Jo said in her mother hen tone, wrapping her arm around Cas, squeezing him in a one armed hug.
He was about to reply when Gabriel came busting into his room with an unfamiliar look of rage and worry on his face.
"Cassie, I just heard from Sam what happened today, I'm so sorry. Are you okay? I was so worried! Sam's pissed at Dean, by the way, for doing what he did to you. Are you hurt? Do mom and dad know? Why didn't you tell me you had a thing for him?" Gabriel asked frantically.
Cas stared at him for a moment, not sure on what one of his many questions to tackle first.
"I'm as okay as I can be in a situation like this, Gabe. My feelings are a bit hurt but I'll live. Mom and dad don't know and I don't want them to, they have enough on their plates and this is something I can handle by myself, no need to worry them." He replied, watching Gabriel's impatient face as he tried to figure out how to answer the Dean question.
"And I don't have a thing for Dean, Gabriel. I don't know what I was thinking. I had a couple of drinks and it just happened" he lied.
"What were you doing at dick head Gordon's party, anyway?" Kevin asked.
Castiel just shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know, I just kind of ended up there"
He noted the looks of skepticism on his friend's and Gabriel's faces and sighed, running a hand tiredly down his face.
"Look, guys. It's been a long day for me, can we just drop this?" he asked, a look of pleading etched on his features.
"We're just looking out for you, Cas." Jo said.
"I know, and thank you. All of you, even you Gabriel. You just being here and accepting me is enough, trust me. Now how about we order copious amounts of high calorie foods and have us a movie marathon?" he asked with a small smile.
They all nodded and seemed content to drop the subject at the mention of take out and good movies.
OoO
The next day Castiel was feeling marginally better, even finding himself briefly forgetting the events of the day previous with the help of his friends and younger brother.
He woke up contemplating whether or not to go to school that day, but decided it would be better to get it over with and prove to his tormentors that he was strong enough to return. He wasn't going to give them the pleasure of knowing they were the reason he skipped school. He told Gabriel it was okay if he wanted to leave before or after him so he could avoid being seen with his "fag" brother but Gabriel told him he was having none of that, not caring if anybody teased him for the sexual orientation of his older brother, whom he looked up to.
And so they made their way to school together, ignoring the comments that were made at them when they arrived on school grounds. They were about to enter the school when Sam, who seemed like he was growing larger and larger by the day, ran up to them.
"Hey, Sammy." Gabriel greeted, holding his fist out for a fist bump.
"Hey, Gabe." Sam replied, bumping his larger knuckles against Gabriel's.
Castiel decided to leave his brother to interact with his friend but as he went to walk away, Sam's hand grabbed his arm, pulling him back. Castiel stared at the hand on his arm, then back as Sam, tilting his head in confusion.
"Castiel, I just wanted to say I'm sorry." Sam said, pulling his best puppy dog eyes.
"It's quite alright, Sam. You did nothing to offend me." Cas said reassuringly.
"No, I know. I wanted to apologize on behalf of Dean. Our dad is old fashioned and doesn't believe in a man being with a man, and Dean tries so hard to please our father so I think that might be a factor in it. I just wanted you to know I don't share those views and that I respect you and I think it's pretty bad ass that you've been so strong through this. I tried talking to Dean the day after the party but he told me I didn't know what I was talking about and blew me off. I hope you don't think what Dean did is a reflection on me..." Sam said, looking sincere and frantic as if he was trying desperately for Cas to believe him.
Cas rested his hand on Sam's shoulder and offered a small smile.
"Thank you, Sam. I do not think you're a bad person and it would be unfair to assume that Dean's behavior is a reflection on you. I appreciate your support and I'm glad that out of all the terrible people in this world, that Gabriel chose you as a best friend. You're a good kid, Sam."
Sam smiled his megawatt smile and pulled Cas into a tight hug, catching him by surprise. He awkwardly hugged back and looked at Gabriel who was laughing.
"Sam is a hugger, just go with it" Gabe chuckled.
Cas let out a small laugh and hugged Sam back properly.
After the confrontation with the younger Winchester, Castiel headed inside the school and to his locker, pleased to see that the janitor was successful in scrubbing the hateful words off the door.
It was no surprise that people were still talking about him and staring, but when he was digging in his locker for his text book, a sudden hand on his shoulder startled him, causing him to jump.
"Oh man, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to spook you" a timid looking guy with brown hair and innocent looking blue eyes he knew as Samandriel said.
"Oh, that's alright. What can I do for you, Samandriel?" Cas asked, shocked that anyone outside of his friends were willing to speak to him.
Him and Samandriel weren't what you would call friends, but they had some classes together and at one point had a lengthy discussion on their angelic names.
"I uh, I wanted to say thank you." Samandriel said shyly.
Castiel did his trademark head tilt, wondering what on Earth he could be thanked for.
"Thank you for what?" Cas asked in confusion.
Samandriel blushed and fidgeted with his fingers.
"Well uh, I know it hasn't been easy for you, but, uh, you made me decide to you know, come out."
"I'm afraid you have me confused.." Cas said.
"Well, uh, before you, I thought I was the only one in the school that was, you know, gay." Samandriel said, his cheeks tinged pink.
Oh.
"Oh, I uh..." Castiel wasn't entirely sure what to say. "You sure that's a good idea? You seem like a good kid and we unfortunately go to school with a bunch of kids with old fashioned values and they can be pretty cruel"
"Oh, I know. But uh, maybe if someone else comes out they'll see you're not alone. Strength in numbers, right?" Samandriel said with a small smile.
Castiel smiled warmly at this bashful looking boy who seemed to have more balls then most of the muscle heads in the school. Maybe he wasn't as alone as he thought he was.
OoO
The first two periods of class went as expected, the remarks made by his classmates were just as harsh as they were the day prior but he took solace in the company of his friends. Dean was in his second period class and kept trying to talk to him but he scurried off before the larger man could get a word in.
When the bell rang for lunch he couldn't be happier. He, Kevin and Chuck exited the classroom and went off to find Jo and Garth so they could get lunch together. They were walking by a large group of students circling someone and Cas stopped dead in his tracks when he heard some familiar words.
"Fucking faggot. Must be something in the water here."
He looked and noticed the words weren't directed toward him and he felt his chest tighten. Samandriel.
He forced himself through the crowd of amused looking students ignoring his friend's pleas for him to leave it alone and seen Samandriel who's hair was wet and clothes were soaked in something that smelled suspiciously like soda. His observation was confirmed when he seen an empty Big Gulp cup in Adam's hand.
"S-stop it." Samandriel muttered quietly, looking as if he was holding back tears. Adam replied by shoving him to the floor.
"Don't tell me what to do you dirty ball sucker!" he spat out.
Castiel felt his blood boil. It was one thing for his school mates to torment him, but Samandriel didn't have the same support system that Castiel did and nobody was standing up for the helpless looking smaller boy.
Cas stomped into the middle of the circle, kneeling down to check on Samandriel.
"Hey, Samandriel. Are you okay?" he asked gently.
"Well look what we have here. Little faggot to the rescue" Adam laughed.
Cas stood up, blocking Samandriel from Adam's view.
"You fucking him?" another one of Dean's friends, Michael asked with a disgusted tone.
"No, I'm not. He's my friend and I suggest you leave him alone" Cas bit out.
Adam simply laughed.
"Wow, are you threatening me you little fairy? You know, you're disgusting. You and every other queer out there. You're a fucking pansy ass fudge packer and you and your little butt buddy here should just do everyone a huge favor and blow your brains out!"
Castiel didn't know what came over him and he lunged toward Adam, tacking him down.
He raised his fist and felt a shot of pain through his hand as it connected with Adam's jaw.
"I've had enough of your fucking shit you bigoted piece of crap!" Cas yelled, his fist swinging down for another punch.
"You're nothing but a bully and a loser!" he continued, as his fist made contact yet again with Adam's face.
He continued his assault, only stopping when he felt a pair of strong arms wrap around him and pull him up. He turned around quickly and came face to face with a shocked looking Dean Winchester, who still had his arms wrapped around Cas. He stood shell shocked for a moment before roughly shoving Dean off, walking over to an amazed looking Samandriel, helping him up.
"Don't you ever touch me again, Dean!" Cas growled.
"You weren't saying that the other night" Michael laughed, causing snickers from the rest of the previously shocked group.
Cas clenched his fists, adrenaline still running through his system.
"You know what? I'm fucking so sorry that I kissed you Dean. Sorry it offended you and your group of dumbass friends so bad that you had to result to violence, death threats and torment. But you know what? Get. The. Fuck. Over. It!" Cas spat out, causing Michael to shut up and Dean to gape at him.
"You guys think you're fucking cool, trying to ruin the lives of people who did nothing wrong but like someone with the same fucking genitals? You must all be pretty insecure about yourselves if you feel the deep need to pick on us. And you know what? Samandriel here is more of a man than any of you or your small minded dick headed friends. It takes a lot more balls to come out to a group of prejudice losers like you then it does to make fun of someone who has no back up or support."
"Cas..." Dean started.
"You, Dean Winchester do not get to speak my name as if we are friends. I made a mistake by kissing you and I am sorry if it made you uncomfortable but you could have been a half fucking decent human being and used your big boy words instead of acting like a Neanderthal meat head and starting this fucking hate campaign against me. You know what? I used to like you, and I know, the horrors of having the school fag have a crush on you is terrifying but you can rest easy because I just think you're a pathetic excuse for a man, and you and your friends can beat me and bully me until you're blue in the face but I will never stop fighting against you and I will never let you touch Samandriel again." Cas ranted, breathing hard. Jo and Kevin fought through the now quiet and surprised group of teenagers and grabbed Cas's arm.
"Come on, Cas. Let's go. Don't waste your breath on these idiots anymore." Jo said, glaring at Michael, Dean and Adam who was still laying on the floor.
"Castiel, please.." Dean pleaded pathetically.
Kevin surprised even Cas when he grabbed Dean by the collar of his shirt and glared.
"You've said enough, Dean. Leave him the hell alone." Kevin said, pushing him away.
"Come on, Samandriel. I have a clean shirt in my locker you can borrow." Cas said softly, leading him away from the group of teens.
"Castiel James Novak you are a bad ass." Jo beamed, wrapping her arm around his shoulder as the group left for lunch, leaving Dean standing there confused and dumbfounded over the events that just took place.
OoO
A/N:
Hehe, I love bad ass Cas. No more baby in a trench coat over here. Don't worry, soon Dean will find out who his suitor is, and there will be some more delicious angst for you all because I love torturing you ;)
Hope you enjoyed my love muffins :D