Author's Note: Aw, you guys are so sweet for all of this kind feedback I've been receiving! I know this fic would probably be collecting dust right now if it wasn't for everyone's flattering and heart-warming comments. To thefatcat25: You are really nice and I'm glad at least somebody reads my off topic author's notes (and I'd be happy to put some Jo/Charlie for you, too :D). But enough of my stupid ramblings and over-bearing (yet totally true) compliments, get started reading the newest (long) chapter!

If Dean's family had noticed his excited tone and slightly anxious stance as he told them that he was going to have a friend over, they didn't comment on it…much.

"Oh, is Lisa coming?" His mother asked him as she settled down on the couch next to Sam. Dean's father was pulling a double shift at the shop tonight, so it'd just be the three of them for the rest of the evening until midnight when he finally clocks out and comes home.

Dean shook his head as he decided to plop down on the recliner chair so he'd finally stop nervously pacing around the living room, "Nah, just some boy from school."

He looked over to the two just in time to see their surprised and slightly curious expressions, causing him to shrug, "What?"

"You're getting twitchy and flustered over a boy coming to see you?" Mary tried to ask casually, though some of her shock was evident in her tone.

Dean rolled his eyes, "Mom, get your head out of the gutter. I said I was having a friend over. Definitely just a friend."

"Sounds to me like a boyfriend." Sam teased, earning a death glare from Dean.

"Shut up, Bitch, I wasn't talking to you."

Their mother sighed, knowing yet another sibling brawl was soon coming on and deciding it was an ideal time to quickly change the subject, "So what's this mystery boy's name, Honey?"

Dean's gaze instantly snapped downward and he found himself smiling shyly as he answered, "Um…Castiel."

He saw Sam's eyes widen out of the corner of his eye and he prayed that his little brother won't bring up the lunchroom fiasco in front of their mother. But Dean isn't that lucky (anymore, that is).

"Whoa, even after what you did to him at lunch today." Well, I did find out that he was lying to me about everything so I think we're even was what he wanted to say, but Dean didn't want the remaining time before Cas comes to be all about speculation on the boy considering that it would make him even more nervous than he already was.

So instead he just sighed irritably and rolled his eyes, "Let's just say a lot of other shit hit the fan after that, okay? Me and Cas have already moved on from that and we're all good now."

Mary looked between her two boys and arched an eyebrow suspiciously, "Excuse me?"

"Dean—" Sam began but one murderous look from his much stronger and aggressive older brother, he stopped abruptly and started again, "Uh…Dean took Castiel's homemade apple pie from him and ate it. He was pretty upset." If it was about anyone else, it would have been the stupidest, most obvious lie on the whole planet, but we're talking about Dean Winchester here; the boy can't control himself around that culinary pastry and it has gotten him in hot water from time to time ("Dean, did you eat that pecan pie I made for the Johnsons?!" "Mom, we've already established that I have a sickening addiction. If you want to stage an intervention, line up right behind Sammy and Ellen." "You mean you're 'the sneaky son of a bitch' that stole her award winning blueberry pie last week?" "Shut up, I know I have problem! Don't rub it in!").

But Mary, after learning to shuffle through the truth from total bullshit because of all of Dean's fake report cards he's given her over the years, saw through Sam's feeble attempt of a lie and looked warningly to her oldest son, "Dean Henry Winchester, what on earth was your brother talking about before you put the fear of God into him?"

Dean tried hard to keep the smirk off his face as he pretended to look utterly offended, "Mother, I am insulted! What do take me for—a manipulative and domineering bully? I would never ever try to control and terrorizing my baby brother like that. Ain't that right, Sammy?" Sam gave him one of his signature bitch faces that read as "don't push it" and Dean knew it was time to back off before Sam blows the whistle on their top secret operation of pure bullshit. So he just decided to lean back and try hard to focus on the television screen, though he always found himself checking the time every other minute as the wait until five o'clock slowly ticked by.

He was so invested in the television showing of "Die Hard," a movie he's seen over a million times but never gotten tired of, Dean almost didn't hear the doorbell ring. But as his mother rose from the couch to answer it, all of his jumpy nerves suddenly jolted back into his body as he shot out of his seat and darted towards the door, "Don't worry, Mom. I'll get it!"

"Um…okay, Sweetheart." He heard his mom answer back, obviously puzzled at his eagerness since usually she has to threaten to withhold his food supply to force him to answer it (and hell, if Dean was honest with himself, he's kind of freaked out by his instant reaction, too) but luckily, she didn't comment on it.

Dean made it to the door in a matter of second, but his hand hovered over the doorknob for much longer than necessary. His nerves have exploded inside his stomach and Dean started to sweat anxiously. What if Cas becomes disgusted of my terribly small and cramped house? What if he finally realizes how boring I am and decides not to waste his time on me anymore? What if—

Stop acting like you grew a vagina and be a man, Dean ordered himself firmly as he forced his hand to grasp the doorknob and jerk the door open. He then found himself faced with Castiel, who was still dressed in his proper suit and huge heavy trench coat even though it was freaking eighty degrees outside, standing at the door smiling at him, "Hello, Dean."

At the sound of his voice, all anxiety suddenly disappeared and was soon replaced with a certain warm gooey feeling as Dean found himself beginning to grin back at him, "About time you showed up, Man."

Cas cocked his head, "Am I late? I was almost certain I would arrive on time considered that I had done the calculations for the exact fifteen minutes it took to get here along with even planning for unexpected setbacks—"

"But while you were explaining all of that nerd junk to me just now," Dean began with a smirk as he casted a glance down at his watch, "The clock had already switched to exactly 5:01pm. So since I hadn't technically let you in yet, you're late."

"Well, if you had invited me inside instead of interrogating me on what the actual time was, I would've made it and this whole ordeal could have been avoided." Cas pointed out in an irritated tone, though his small smile betrayed him by showing he wasn't all that upset.

Dean chuckled and opened his mouth to reply when his mother's voice interrupted him, "Dean, stop squabbling with your little friend and invite him in already."

Dean's smile dropped into an annoyed scowl as he ordered himself not to blush in embarrassment and stepped out of the doorway to let Castiel through. Cas smiled victoriously, "Thank you, Dean. Though I wished you would have let me inside of your own free will instead of just following orders from your mother, I appreciate the hospitality nonetheless."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Shut up."

"Is this the famous Castiel we've been hearing so much about?" Mary asked smiling as she entered the room with Sam following close behind. Dean sighed and wished he could have just snuck his trench coat wearing friend to his room without the other two's knowledge so he wouldn't have to go through the upcoming humiliation he knew his family would bring upon him. But there was no freaking fairy godmother around (unless you count Sam, that it) so wishing is fruitless.

Castiel smiled politely at them but his slightly puzzled expression made it clear he was surprised Dean had spoken about him, "Yes, my name is Castiel. You must be Dean's mother, correct?"

Mary nodded as she affectionately ruffled her son's dirty blonde hair (much to Dean's obvious dismay), "Yea, he's my oldest."

"Hey, Castiel." Sam piped up, beaming at the older boy like he was a fucking prophet or something.

Cas nodded in acknowledgement at him, "Good evening, Sam Winchester. It's delightful to see you again."

Mary furrowed her brow in confusion, "You know Sam?"

Before Dean had the chance to reply, Sam had already rolled his eyes and sighed, "Mom, he was the boy that shared a room with Dean at the hospital."

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I don't remember seeing you." Mary apologized to Cas, obviously embarrassed.

"Most people rarely do," Cas said plainly before sweeping his gaze around the area and changing the subject, "This is a lovely house, Mrs. Winchester."

Mary seemed a little thrown off by his first statement and didn't answer for a few seconds until she finally forced herself to reply, "Um…yes, thank you. We first bought it when I was pregnant with Dean."

"You and your husband?"

She nodded, "I was only eighteen at the time while John was a few years older."

After Castiel was finished looking over the house, he set his gaze on Mary and smiled, "It creates a very warm and inviting environment, Mrs. Winchester. Most of the houses I've been to are quite desolate and lonely. But that's only because most of my father's business associates are rarely married and usually live by themselves in an overly extensive household."

"And who is your father?"

Cas froze for a moment and Dean feared his mother had offended him somehow, but he finally just cocked his head and said coolly, "Do you mean my actual father or just the man I've been commanded to call my male parent figure ever since I was forced into his custody?"

Mary's eyes widened as her mouth fell halfway open and started stuttering, "Um—"

"Well, this has been fun," Dean interrupted cheerfully, feeling the awkwardness becoming too much for him as he started to push Castiel to the stairs, "But me and Cas have to get started on our English paper."

Mary slowly nodded, "Uh…okay, Sweetie. You two have fun. I'll come and get you guys when supper is ready." Dean forced a smile and said goodbye before marching to his room, dragging Castiel along with him.

"Your family's even nicer than I had imagined." Castiel informed him as he followed Dean to his bedroom.

Dean scoffed, "Oh yea, we're the regular Waltons."

"I thought your last name was Winchester?"

Dean stopped dead in his tracks and looked back to Castiel, arching an eyebrow, "Would it kill you to read a book or watch a movie?"

Cas furrowed his brow, "Well, I suppose that if I watched a movie on television in an extremely close proximity or strain my eyes to read a book in the dark, it could potentially harm my eyesight. However, I don't believe it could end my life."

Dean couldn't help but laugh and swing one arm around the other boy's shoulder, pulling him toward his bedroom, "Don't ever change, Cas."

Castiel stared at him questionably because of his statement and physical contact before nodding and saying slowly, "I will try my best, Dean."

Dean grinned wildly and swung his bedroom door open, finally releasing his hold on Castel and flopping down onto his bed, "So…how should we get started on this stupid thing?"

Castiel shrugged as he took out a big heavy red notebook from his coat, "I suppose we start asking each other questions first."

Dean froze as his eyes widened in realization of what they were actually here to do. Shit, I was so focused on just the idea of having Castiel over, I forgot to actually fill out any questions at all. God, I'm such an idiot.

"Um…why don't you start?" Dean suggested somewhat nervously, trying to stall as he shuffles through his mind to come up with reasonable questions to ask about Castiel. He can just picture what he's going to blurt out now: So, is you hotness genetic or did you just get the luck of the draw? Oh god, what if I actually said that? Hell, I'd start pounding the nails in my coffin myself if that shit actually went down.

Dean was so focused on his inner thoughts of anxiety and nervousness, he didn't notice that Castiel had slipped onto the bed and moved right next to Dean until he felt Cas' body warmth next to his. Holy shit, Dean, don't you dare get aroused, he ordered himself as his heart started to beat hard against his ribcage, this is a boy we're talking about—a fucking BOY; not a girl, but an actual BOY that you totally don't like as anything else other than a friend…with benefits. What the fuck? Don't think like that! You are a proud WOMANizer and that is it!

"…Dean, are you even listening to me?" Cas' concerned voice finally broke through his daze of denial, causing Dean to jerk his head up where it was only just an inch from Castiel's face. They were close now—so close that Dean could faintly feel Castiel's minty breath mingling with his own. He then noticed that Cas had stopped speaking and just gazed at Dean with wide fearful eyes. Dean swallowed hard and subconsciously licked his lips, earning a strange shiver from Castiel. What? Is it cold in here or something? Dean didn't think it was too cold; actually he thought it was pretty freaking hot all of a sudden. Steaming hot, really. Before he even knew what he was doing, Dean felt himself tilting his head and slowly leaning in. Stop, Dean, we've already established that you're straight. Did you hear me, dammit?! You're strai—

As Dean's lips were just about to brush against Castiel's, his bedroom door swung open and Sam appeared in the doorway, "Hey, Guys, Mom wanted—" He stopped abruptly at the very compromising sight of the two and Dean suddenly snapped back into his senses as he jerked back and sent a murderous look over at his younger brother, "Don't you knock?!"

"I uh…" Sam started but trailed off, his eyes darting between the two boys on the bed with a very confused and slightly frightened expression, "Um…a-am I interrupting something?"

"We're doing our project, Bitch. Now what do you want?" Dean snapped, trying to fight off his puzzling disappointment that strangely began to spread through his whole body.

Sam swallowed hard, "Um, Mom wanted to know if you guys wanted anything to drink or something."

Dean sighed and forced the tension to leave his body as he looked to Cas, who was staring wide eyed at him with a flabbergasted expression (and yes, his expression was so surprised that Dean had to bring out the word 'flabbergasted' just to describe it), "You want somethin', Cas?" As he addressed the other boy, his voice had suddenly grew rougher and his fingers started to tightly grip his bed sheets.

"Um…n-no, I'm f-fine, Sam. T-Tell Mrs. Winchester I s-said thanks a-anyway." Cas stuttered out, casting his gaze downward to stare hard at his notebook with a pensive look on his face.

Sam nodded slowly and stayed planted at the doorway, causing Dean to roll his eyes, "Sam, we got a lot of stuff to do. Can you please leave us alone already?"

Sam shot him a look that read as "we are so talking about this later" before finally shutting the door, leaving just Dean, Cas, and the terribly awkward silence between them.

"So…" Dean began after a few long painful minutes of deafening silence, "You were talking about questions earlier?"

"Y-Yes, I believe I was," Cas replied in an edgy tone, flipping his notebook open and staring down at the front page, refusing to meet Dean's gaze, "I think we should start on your past. Please, tell me when you were born."

"January 24, 1995."

"Okay," Cas muttered under his breath, scribbling his answer down quickly, "So what about your childhood?"

Dean arched an eyebrow at him but Cas didn't see since his eyes were still focused on that damn notebook, "Um…it was fine, I guess. I've lived in this house my whole life, kids never give me any shit 'cause they know I'd kick his asses, Sammy's always been a pain in my ass but he's sort of tolerable as far as annoying little brothers go, Mom and Dad are still the best…" He trailed off for a short moment before shrugging, "I've had a pretty sweet life so far. And hey, I was one hell of a badass kid; make sure you write that part down."

Cas wrote down his answers and asked, "What about your family? Cousins? Uncles? Grandparents?"

Dean sighed and looked to the floor, "Uh…I don't see any of my grandparents that often. My dad's pop skipped out on him to join the army and his mom died right after that. And my mom's parents don't usually come around that much since they hate Dad's guts. Something about stealing their precious daughter away from the family Taxidermy business and making her into a simple housewife. I only see them when Dad is out of town or working late on the holidays. And cousins? I don't think I have any except for Ash and Jo, but I'm not kin to them by blood or anything."

"Yes, blood isn't always thicker than water," Cas agreed softly as he wrote his answer down quickly before moving on, "And if you don't mind me asking, is Robert Singer related to you or no?"

Dean smiled, "Last time I called him Robert, I was nine year old and got the whippin' that wouldn't let me sit easy for two weeks." He saw Cas smile gently and sneak a quick glance at him before settling his eyes back on the pages as Dean continued, "And no, Bobby isn't my real uncle. But he's been my dad's best friend and apart of our family for as long as I can remember; hell, probably even longer than that. He's a gruff, cranky old drunk but he treats me like his own. Actually, I think he sort of wanted kids a long time ago, but that was before his wife, Aunt Karen, got sick…and it didn't pan out too well in the long run. Long story short, me and Sammy are the pain in the asses that he's always wanted."

Cas nodded, "What about Ellen Harvelle? How did she become a key role model in your life?"

"That was all because of Bill Harvelle. He was my dad's old hunting buddy and our two families have always mingled together. But then on one of their annual retreats, Bill got into a horrible hunting accident when I was still a kid—Hell, I don't even know to this day what really happened since Dad always got pissed off when I asked about it—and we helped the Harvelle survive through their mourning period." Dean paused for a moment before adding, "Actually, now that I think about it, Ellen couldn't even be in the same room as my dad for the first few months after the accident…but I'm pretty sure that was only because he reminded her of Bill so much."

"And what are your feelings for her daughter, Jo?" Casa asked suddenly in a strange tone as his grip on his pencil tightened slightly, "I recall that the two of you used to date."

Dean scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Yea, for like a month in eighth grade. But it practically felt borderline incestuous so we broke it off. Honestly, she's like the annoying little sister I never wanted."

Cas smiled, seeming more pleased and satisfied with that answer than the other ones, "Thank you. That was very informative."

"But Jo is quite a catch. I mean, I could hook you two up if you…" Dean trailed off and instantly wanted to slap himself for his careless ignorance.

Cas grinned and finally rested his blue eyes on him as his hand grasped the fabric of his green dress shirt, "Dean, I had assumed I made myself clear about my true sexual orientation."

Dean felt his face heat up as he averted his gaze and nodded shyly, "Yea, sorry. I forgot."

Cas' smile widened at his embarrassment and looked down at his questions, "Okay, now let us start listing your likes and dislikes—"

"Wait, shouldn't I be interviewing you, too?" Dean pointed out, thinking that his boring life story was done with and enthralled to find out more about his dear Castiel.

Cas remained silent for a fracture of a second before finally uttering flatly, "Trust me, Dean, you're a whole lot more interesting than I could ever be."

"I highly doubt that, Cas," Dean declared firmly as he forced Castiel to look him in the eye, "Believe me when I say that you are the most fascinating and peculiar creature I've ever had the fortunate luck to meet, and I would love to finally see how you tick." Damn, that came out way more creepy and sexual than he had intended. But he couldn't take it back now so he just held his ground and drilled his eyes into Castiel's, entrapping him in a trance until he finally stops being so stubborn and gives in.

It didn't take long before Castiel finally relented and began in a soft voice, "My official name is Castiel Milton. I was adopted into the Milton family when I was only seven years, leaving just my real mother to fight against the odds and struggle to successfully raise my younger sister, Claire. I have a strange fondness for honey bees and freshly pollenated flowers, playing chess with my uncle, trying fruitlessly to teach Gabriel about the importance of a person's dental health and how it isn't healthy for such a small person to consume as many sweets as he does, writing poetry about the delightful yet oddly puzzling world and society we are forced to live in today, and yearning to finally leave this forsaken town the moment after graduation and head toward my dream college and future safe haven away from all of the idiotic Neanderthals here: Amherst University, located in the glorious state of Massachusetts that luckily is far away from damn Kansas." Dean couldn't mask his surprise at Castiel's cursing (sure, he's heard worse but listening to Cas using profanities is kind of like hearing your sweet old grandmother say the F word) and waited for him to continue…but he never did. Instead he just stared at his hands defiantly and simply refused to even acknowledge Dean's existence.

"Cas," Dean finally said after what seemed like an eternity of silence, "I have a strange feeling there's something you're not telling me. Now if I'm imagining it, call me a nut job and let's move on, but if not…" He trailed off before clearing his throat and forcing himself to finish, "Then please enlighten me before I find out from someone else."

"Well, unfortunately, I'm not going to elaborate further…not now, anyway. I still don't know your motive yet. But when I finally discover it, then perhaps we could negotiate on sharing my information."

Dean raised an eyebrow, "Motive?"

Cas rolled his eyes and looked at him like it was the obvious thing in the whole world, "Your motive of befriending me, of course."

Dean couldn't stop the hurt that dripped out of his heart and into his voice, "Cas…do you honestly think I'm just using you?"

Cas sighed and dropped his gaze to the floor, "Everyone always has something in it for them when they choose to recognize my existence. It's been that way ever since I can remember." He let out a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through his hair, "But what I don't understand is your kindness towards me. You're Dean Winchester for crying out loud!And me? I'm the lonely loser that stays in the shadows." He stopped and nervously chewed on his bottom lip for a few moments before he finally forced himself to relax and let his voice soften, "Look, Dean, I just want to know what you want before I begin to allow myself to truly enjoy your company instead of just worrying about accidentally crossing an invisible line that separates this," He made a gesture between him and Dean with his hands, "From reality."

"I don't understand." Dean admitted bluntly, now thoroughly confused on what the hell Castiel was talking about.

"Why me, Dean? Just why?" Cas blurted out angrily, stormy blue eyes demanding him to answer, "Why are you so dead set on befriending me of all people?"

Dean's throat felt like it was coated in sawdust as his question rang through his ears, 'Why are you so dead set on befriending me of all people?' Yes, out of the thousand of residents that were stationed here in Lawrence that he could have with just a snap of his fingers, why was he so fixated on such a difficult boy like Castiel? What on earth makes him so special? Why are his blue eyes just so damn fascinating with their millions of different hues that demand to be recognized and counted? Why does Dean find it so freaking endearing when Cas misses a pop culture reference or speaks like he's from the freaking eighteen hundreds? Why does the sound of his voice send shivers down his spine and make him desperate to hear more? Why?

"I'll let you know when I figure that out, okay?" Dean told him finally after a minute of pure silence.

Castiel pursed his lips together, clearly not satisfied with Dean's vague answer, but thankfully he just let out an exasperated sigh and glanced back down at his notebook, "Anything else I need to know about the infamous Dean Winchester then?"

Dean instantly relaxed at the glorious change of subject and smiled lazily at him, "Okay, I'm an Aquarius. I enjoy sunsets, long walks on the beach, and frisky women."

Cas looked up at him and cracked a smile, "That sounds strangely accurate. Is that it?'

Dean sighed and thought about it for a second before finally saying, "Well…I'm hopelessly in love with my baby—a beautiful '67 Chevy Impala, I would honestly consider killing a man for a slice of apple pie, and I love my baby brother dearly and will kick anybody's ass if they fuck with him. I like hunting with my dad while I secretly love to belt out the lyrics to 'Can't Fight This Feeling' by REO Speedwagon with Jo." He suddenly grabbed Cas' wrist and tried to look mockingly threatening, "And if you put that last part in that stupid essay, I will become your worst nightmare."

Cas grinned and held up his hands in mock surrender, "You have my word, Dean. Anything more I need to know?"

"Um…I always hum Metallica to calm me down, I get scared shitless when I'm forced to fly in an airplane, and I firmly believe that all members of Led Zeppelin are prophets from God."

Castiel wrote down his answers and shyly looked up at him, "I just have one more question and then we'll be done for the day, alright?"

"Lay it on me."

"What's your favorite color, Dean?"

If anyone had asked him this question a few months ago, Dean would have said red without any hesitation whatsoever. The color red was what everything Dean stood for in life: passion, aggression, intensity, desire, and sex. But somehow, a more easy going and temperate color appeared much more appealing to him.

"Blue," Dean answered softly before he even knew what he was saying, "Deep Ocean blue."

Cas smiled and suddenly flushed a faint pink as he shakily wrote it down, "Thank you, Dean. I believe this is enough for one day."

"What about you, Cas?" Dean blurted out, "What's your favorite?"

Castiel's smile slowly slipped into a smirk as he leaned into Dean until his lips barely brushed his ear and said lowly in a rough, gravelly voice, "I believe that a light mossy jaded green is by far my favorite color." Dean's heart hammered in his chest as his pants suddenly became a little tighter.

"U-Uh, u-um…" Dean started sputtering as he desperately tried to hide his bottom half that dared to get aroused by Castiel hypnotic drop of pitch.

Castiel leaned back and his smirk grew (the little bastard) before he started to get his things together, "I'm sorry to depart but I believe our time is up."

Dean nodded dumbly as he stumbled out of his bed and stood up, "I-I'll walk you out, I guess."

Cas nodded and looked like he was the naïve, innocent boy Dean had known him to be (though now Dean was debating on whether it was all an act or not) as he got to his feet and walked out of the room with Dean following close behind, wondering what the hell just happened between them.

As they were walking down the stairs, they ran into Mary already coming up. She smiled, "I was just coming up to get you two. Supper's ready."

Cas looked up to the clock and smiled apologetically at her (and damn, Dean's never seen another person look so fucking sincere), "I am so terribly sorry, Mrs. Winchester, but my family is expecting me home at six o'clock sharp. If I'm even a minute late, I'll never hear the end of it." He stuck out his hand, "But it was such a pleasure to finally formally meet you, Ma'am. Thank you again for your warm hospitality."

Mary looked disappointed (apparently she was looking forward to speaking to Castiel more, though Dean wasn't sure why) but smiled politely and shook his hand, "It was nice to meet you, too, Castiel. Come back any time." It was obvious Castiel knew he didn't have that privilege (not with his family breathing down his neck, of course) but he smiled warmly anyway and told her he will.

"You leavin' already, Cas?" Sam asked as he poked his head out of his room to stare down at them. Dean didn't like how he called him Cas (that was his trademark and damn it if he didn't already want to sue for copyright) but didn't say anything.

Cas looked up to him and nodded, "Unfortunately yes, but I will see you tomorrow in Band, correct?"

Sam grinned and nodded enthusiastically while Dean just furrowed his brow in confusion, "Excuse me?"

His little brother rolled his eyes, "Dean, I told you all of this on the ride home from school. Weren't you listening?" Sorry, I was too busy daydreaming about the boy beside me.

"Oh yea, I remember." Dean lied obviously before switching his gaze to Castiel, "You're a band nerd?"

"Dean!" His mother scolded though Cas looked not at all offended.

"Indeed, I'm first chair trumpet player." Cas told him—or more like bragged to him as though he had won the freaking Nobel Prize.

"He let me sit beside him and Balthazar." Sam informed him, making Dean stiffen and begin to taste a certain metallic flavor in his mouth.

"Balthazar, huh?" Dean grounded out as he forced a cool tone, "You sit by Balthazar often, Cas?" Shit, Dean, you sound like a freaking insecure jealous girlfriend.

Apparently his mother thought so too as she eyed him strangely while it seemed to go right over Castiel's head as he just furrowed his brow and cocked his head, "Of course, he is my friend. Well, I suppose he is. He seems to enjoy my company as I do his. Does that count as a friend?"

Dean bit the inside of his cheek and nodded, "Maybe, but no offense, the guy's a major douche." He saw Cas give him a more puzzled look and Dean felt compelled to continue, "I mean, you could do so much better than some over-dramatic dork," He then smiled broadly and clasped Castiel's shoulder, "Good thing you got me now, right?"

Cas seemed thoroughly confused now but nodded along with him anyway, "Yes, I have come to the conclusion that we must be friends now, is that correct?"

Dean nodded, oddly pleased with his answer, and lead Cas all the way down the rest of the stairs, feeling Sam and Mary's piercing gaze on his back. He followed Cas out the door and expected to see some big-ass fancy limousine or something (he is a Milton, after all), but was surprised to see Cas beginning to walk down the street.

"Hey, did you walk here?" Dean called after him, causing Cas to stop and turn around.

He saw Castiel grimace and nod glumly, "All my family went on strike and refused to drive me to your household," He paused before adding, "Forgive me for being frank, but I don't think they like you very much."

Dean cracked a smile, "Well, let's just say they ain't my cup of tea either."

Cas smiled and said goodbye before turning back around and resuming his journey all the way to the other side of town. Dean only hesitated for a fracture of a second before giving in and shouting, "Hey, Novak, get your ass back here so I can drive you!"

Castiel stopped dead in his tracks but didn't turn around, "Why on earth would you do that?" Yes, Dean, why would we do that?

Dean cleared his throat, "Um…because I want to show off my baby, of course." It's complete bullshit (Dean won't even drive Sam anywhere until his dad threatens homicide) but luckily, Cas didn't notice (that, or just decided not to comment) as he hesitantly replied, "If it's not too much trouble, Dean."

He shook his head, "Nah, my baby needs the exercise anyway." Dean waited until Cas finally reached before he ran inside his house to get his keys. Unfortunately, he left them in the kitchen and had to pass his family to get them.

"Hey, I'm takin' Cas home, okay?" Dean told Sam and Mary flatly, turning back around to face the door only to see Castiel had followed him inside. Oh that's just fucking fantastic. Let my complete humiliation begin.

"But, Dean, the new episode of Dr. Sexy MD is almost on." Sam pointed out, grinning when he saw his older brother flush in humiliation.

Dean chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head, "You mean wrestling, right? 'Cause I so don't watch that stupid chick show." He looked to Cas and saw the dick writing his discovery down on his notebook. Instantly, Dean jerked the notebook out of Castiel's guilty and mischievous grasp, "And if you try to put that in the assignment, I swear I will light this damn notebook on fire and throw it in your fucking window."

Cas pretended to look innocent, "What? I was just writing that you liked wrestling—not a sappy soap opera aimed at feminine audiences to watch and fawn over a poor resemblance of a medical physician that apparently wears cowboy boots to appear more attractive."

Dean started to grin and arched an eyebrow, "And how do you know all that stuff, Cas?"

Castiel scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Oh please, don't get too excited. Gabriel just forces me to watch that idiotic television show with him as some sort of a 'bonding experience.'"

Dean glared at him, "Shut up."

Cas sighed and reached for his notebook, but Dean shoved his hands away childishly.

Castiel shot him a dirty look, "Dean, give me my notebook back. It has all of my classroom notes in it."

Dean snorted, "Okay, first of all, who in their right mind would write notes on the first day?" Cas opened his mouth to answer him but Dean held up a hand to shush to him as he continued, "Second of all, I will give you back your nerd journal only if you admit that cowboy boots are undeniably sexy."

Cas rolled his eyes, "Dean, cowboy boots are not attractive. They only invented them for farmers and ranchers to have a special footwear product to ride horses and because the cowhide made the other animal's dung and mud slide off of them more easily. I'm sorry but I don't see anything 'sexy' about boots with crusted feces and dirt on them."

"Cas, you have to admit that I am pretty sexy on my own, but I'm a whole lot sexier in cowboy boots." Dean then looked to Mary, "Come on, Mom, back me up on this one."

Mary watched the two boys in fascination for another moment before smiling sweetly at Dean and pinching his cheek, "I think you're adorable in anything you have on, Sweetie. You could wear footy pajamas for the rest of your adult life and I'd still think you're cute as a button."

Cas and Sam laughed while Dean just stared at her in horror, "How dare you turn against your own son like that?! How could my own mother side with the enemy?!"

Castiel was smiling brightly but it soon dropped once he saw what time it was, "We really must be going, Dean. It's almost six and Naomi will crucify me if I'm late."

Dean sighed sadly, "I really wish I could help you out, Man, but first you gotta admit it."

Cas scowled and glared at him, "Dean Winchester?"

"I'm listening."

"Cowboy boots are by far the most sexiest clothing accessory I've ever seen on a man in all my sixteen years of existence." There was a defiant pause, "May we please go now?"

Dean smirked and winked at him as he tossed the notebook to Cas, "I knew you'd come around sooner or later." Cas rolled his eyes in response and just stomped his way towards the door.

Dean followed after him and was almost out the door when he heard Sam's voice ask, "But what about your show, Dean?"

He sighed and looked back at him, "I'll watch wrestling later, okay? Now goodbye." Dean ignored his brother's shocked look (hell, Dean's skipped Sam's stupid science fairs five times in a row and even a freaking wedding just to watch Dr. Sexy work his magic) and walked out of the house. They climbed into the Impala and Dean first put in his favorite Metallica cassette tape before starting up the engine.

"Just listen to her purr, Cas." Dean cooed as he pulled out onto the street.

The first half of the drive was filled with comfortable silence with Dean's eyes darting to the passenger seat every now and then to prove that this wasn't a dream or hallucination and he was actually alone in the car with Castiel. Yea, because that so helps him keep his entire focus on the deserted road.

"What is this obnoxiously loud guitar riffs and overly played aggressive beats called again?" Cas asked suddenly.

Dean arched an eyebrow, "That's called good music, Cas."

"If that is what you believe, I suppose." The boy muttered under his breath, casting his gaze out the window.

"Oh yea? And what kind of music do you listen to?" Dean demanded, slightly offended by his (totally stupid and untrue) opinion.

Cas stayed silent for a moment before shrugging, "I don't believe I have listened to any certain type of music to form any sort of preference."

Dean slammed on the brakes.

"You're telling me you don't listen to music?" He demanded breathlessly, staring at Cas wide eyed like he was a mad man.

Cas shook his head, apparently not seeing the total gravity of this situation, "No, I usually listen to Mother Nature's sounds of life like birds chirping on a sunny day or trees whipping in the cool autumn breeze—"

"You don't listen to music," Dean repeated dumbly, "Like, never?"

Cas sighed, "Well, whenever I hang out with Meg, she makes me listen to a 'Fall Out Boy' and I think it is sort of decent. It doesn't make my ears want to bleed like those sickening show tunes Balthazar always wants to belt out every time he hears them." He cocked his head, "Does that count?"

Dean groaned, "Oh you've been depraved of real rock and roll, my dear child." He paused before adding, "And if you think fucking Fall Out Boy is better than Metallica, our friendship might be in jeopardy."

Cas jerked his head around to stare at him, looking slightly hurt, "You would terminate our companionship just because our differ of opinions?" Dude, I just changed my favorite color for you. Of course not.

Dean pretended to think about it for a few seconds before letting out a long sigh, "Nah, I suppose you're just a wayward child mistaking emo guys in tight jeans and eye liner to be actual musicians. Speaking of wayward, you gotta listen to the band Kansas, Dude. They are legendary!"

Castiel gave him a small relieved smile, "Thank you, Dean."

Dean bobbed his head and started rambling as he began to drive down the road again, "But Led Zeppelin, Man. Now rhat's where it's at."

"Dean, I don't think that an aircraft made of lead would be able to operate functionally in the sky."

"You're incredibly frustrating sometimes, Cas." And I think I kinda like it, Dean added quietly in his head.

Cas smiled at him and it gave Dean's heart a tight squeeze, but he proceeded to ignore it and focused hard on getting to the Milton household.

When he had finally made it to the Milton's house, he pulled the car to a stop and switched off the engine. Cas smiled and thanked him for the ride before opening the car door to get out, but Dean's hand on his shoulder stopped him cold.

"Wait." Dean blurted out before he even knew what he was doing.

Cas turned to look at him and raised an eyebrow, "Yes, Dean?"

Dean licked his lips as his eyes snapped down to look at his bundle of cassette tapes, finally hatching a bright idea. Dean took all of his Metallica and Led Zeppelin tapes and shoved them into Castiel's hands, "Here. When you listen to all of them and finally gain some actual culture and appreciation for good old rock and roll, bring 'em back and I'll introduce you to AC/DC."

Cas gazed down at them like they were fucking gold with wide eyes before he finally uttered softly, "Thank you, Dean."

Dean attempted to shrug casually, "It's no big deal, Cas. My temporary donation just makes this world an even better place to live in."

Cas lifted his gaze to Dean and stared at him with a serious and intense expression, his piercing blue eyes peering into Dean's soul.

Dean's heart sped up and tried to say mockingly, "Cas, not for nothing, but the last time someone looked at me like that…I got laid." He meant it as a joke, but somehow his comment just made Castiel lean in closer, now just an inch away from Dean's face.

Neither of them moved away and stayed in that position for a long magical moment before they heard an annoyingly loud voice call from outside, "Cassie, don't you dare kiss him! You don't know where that mouth has been!"

Dean jerked back and moved his wide eyed gaze outside only to find fucking Gabriel standing on the Milton's front steps with a huge lollipop in his smirking lips. The tips of Castiel's ears burned as he turned his eyes onto his older brother and sent him a murderous look, causing Gabriel to shrug carelessly in reply.

"I-I'll see you later, Dean." Cas mumbled as he exited the car and disappeared through the Milton's front door, clutching Dean's tapes close to his chest and ignoring Gabe's half curious and half pissed off look.

Dean let out a tired sigh and moved to start the car up again, but then he saw Gabriel sauntering over to him, having a bright smile planted on his face. He tapped on the window and made a hand motion for Dean to roll it down. Dean didn't want to but he knew he'd have to do what Gabriel says unless he wants his whole locker flooded with a salt water aquarium (tropical fish included) like he did the last time he dumped Anna.

So he reluctantly rolled the window down and was met with Gabriel's careless smile and deadly amber eyes, "Hi, Dean-o. Fancy seeing you here."

"What do you want, Gabe? I gotta get home."

Gabriel's smile never faltered as he leaned his head into the car and said lowly, "Look, all I'm saying is that if you try to pull anymore kissy moves on my baby bro again, I'll take my time pulling out each and every internal organ, grounding them in a blender, and drinking them through a straw made up from your small intestines." He paused, "Well, except for your bladder and liver organs, of course; that's just goddamn gross."

"I-I wasn't going to do anything like that to Cas," Dean sputtered out, his denial now flaring up as he added, "H-He's not my type. I like chicks."

Gabe chuckled and rolled his eyes, clearly amused, "Okay, Dean. Just answer me one question."

"W-What?"

"How does Narnia look so far deep in that closet of yours?"

Dean clenched his teeth and narrowed his eyes at him, "Fuck you."

"I'm flattered and all, but we both know which Milton you would much rather fuck," His face then got surprisingly more sober, "But I'm serious, Winchester. Stay the fuck away from Castiel; he has enough issues at home right now. We don't need a stupid gay relationship screwing up all his progress."

"Progress?" Dean questioned but Gabriel had already backed away and stomped his way inside his house, leaving Dean with a puzzled expression and one big unanswered question.

Author's Note: Damn, cockblocking brothers strike even in stupid high school AUs xD. And random side note: I changed the year of Dean's birthday so it would fit that he was eighteen in today's year. But anyway, yay another chapter completed! Thanks again for all of the reviews and please keep them coming. I'm actually having trouble with finding SPN characters that could be Castiel's parents (not his real parents since I already have that planned out but his adoptive parents) so suggestions would be most appreciated (I would hate to create OCs for this story but I will if I must). P.S. To LilyBolt: Shh...spoilers ;) (we'll see more of David later on and you can judge for yourself ;D). And my offer still stands: Any pairings you would like to see in here please let me know and I'll gladly try to fit them in. But until next chapter, my lovely minions!