Author's Note: Next chapter already? I'm on a roll, aren't I? Oh well, I'm not going to waste any time babbling like usual. Just continue on reading!

"Let me guess...Alastair's handiwork?" Nurse Jody Mills sighed out as soon as she spotted the three at her door, grimacing as they nodded, "And you don't want me to report it, do you?"

"Trust me, the bloke learned his lesson this time." Crowley said with a malicious grin as he carefully led Castiel to the bed.

Jody rolled her eyes, though she had a hint of a smile on her face at his words, "I don't even want to know." Her gaze flickered to Dean, and confusion was evident in her eyes, "Dean Winchester? You're not in the usual pot of victims."

"He tripped over his own feet trying to play hero." Crowley supplied helpfully with an obnoxious grin that only widened at Castiel's dirty glare.

"I think I have a sprained ankle." Dean told her, studiously ignoring the English asshole, "Just give me a pack of ice, and I'll be fine. Cas is the one you need to put your effort into."

"How about that, Angel?" Crowley said mockingly to Cas, "Chivalry isn't dead."

"Crowley, shut up." Castiel said darkly before wincing like just speaking was painful. Crowley rolled his eyes but looked vaguely concerned at Cas' obvious pain.

Jody walked over to the pained boy and looked over his injures, making note of his split lip, black eye, and decoration of bruises on his abdomen and back.

Jody let out a long breath and mumbled, "If I were still sheriff, I would've locked that son of a bitch up a long time ago. It's bullshit he keeps getting away with this."

"Don't get your panties in a twist," Crowley said flatly, rolling his eyes, "Naomi's the principal now, remember? I don't think the wanker will get off easy once she hears he beat up her golden boy."

"I hope so," Jody scoffed, taking out some antibiotics from the cabinet to treat Castiel's wounds, "And don't talk about a woman's panties, Boy. That's a sure way to get slapped."

Crowley smirked, "Maybe I like it when my lovers play rough."

"Quit flirting with the nurse," Dean said with disgust, "It's painful to watch." Crowley rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to retort, but the sudden shrill ringing of the Nurse's phone silenced any comeback about to tumble from his lips.

With an eye roll, Jody walked over and answered it. She listened to it for a moment before she let out an exasperated sigh, "How the hell did he accomplish that?"

After she hung up, she looked to the three boys, "I'll be back, Boys. Garth hammered a nail through his hand. You," She pointed at Crowley, who raised an innocent eyebrow in response, "Report to the Principal's. Tell your side of the story before that demon spawn convinces her otherwise."

"Oh I can be pretty persuasive when it comes to Ms. Tapping," Crowley assured her with a sinister grin (but aren't his grins always sinister, Dean scoffed to himself) before he casted a glance at Cas, "What about him? Is he going to be alright?"

"He'll be fine," Jody said, causing a sigh of relief to fly from Dean's mouth, "Just gonna be sore for a little while. Now," She looked to Dean and Cas, "Don't you boys get into any more trouble while I'm gone. Okay?"

"Jody, when have I ever caused trouble?" Dean asked with a smirk, causing Jody to roll her eyes and flick him in the back of his head.

"You behave yourself or I'll tell your mother." Jody warned, and Dean's grin dimmed because her threat was not hollow.

"We will, Ma'am." Castiel declared with a wince.

"I'll be back in a few minutes." Jody said before she left out of the room, hopefully walking fast enough to reach Garth before he injured himself any further.

"Well, sadly, this is where I must depart," Crowley announced not long after she left, bowing dramatically and causing Dean to roll his eyes, "I'll put in a good word for you with the boss."

He was halfway out of the door when Castiel uttered quietly, "Thank you, Fergus."

Crowley threw a glance over his shoulder, and Dean could have sworn he saw the malice dim from his eyes, "Anytime, Angel. Have fun with your frog."

After he disappeared out of sight, Dean turned to Cas and crinkled his brow, "What did he call me?"

"Nothing," Castiel sighed, "It's a stupid saying Balthazar started. I've been trying to make them stop. It's very ignorant and childish."

Dean nodded and stayed silent for a minute, questions and apologies rattling around in his head but his mouth refusing to voice them. Instead, he just cleared his throat after a long pause and asked half-jokingly, "So what's up with you and British guys? You got a type or what?"

"My infatuation with Balthazar was fleeting and now currently nonexistent," Castiel said with obvious chagrin, "And Crowley..." He trailed off, shrugging slightly, "I've known him ever since I first relocated here. I do not desire him romantically."

"You knew the local psychopath when he was in miniature form?" Dean laughed, his heart lightening as Castiel's lips formed a small smile.

"He was quite the disturbed child growing up." Cas admitted, "When I was feeling sad, he used to rip the wings off of butterflies and give to me."

"That's...sweet, I guess." Dean said, arching an eyebrow as he added, "You want me to rip off Alastair's demon wings for you?"

"That's quite alright," Castiel said wryly, "He'll need them when he's burning in Hell." There were hints on pain painted on Castiel's features, and Dean felt his own brow furrowing in concern.

"Are you okay?" He asked, and at Cas' meek nod, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "This is my fault, Cas. I should've done something, or protected you—"

"You did not know he would attack me to hurt you," Castiel pointed out, "And when you did discover it, you came rushing to my aid. That's all I could ask of you, Dean. This is not your fault. You must believe that."

Dean stared at him before releasing a sigh, carefully getting up and limping over to sit beside Castiel. When he sat down, they were so close that their thighs touched, and while there was still plenty of room on the bed, Dean didn't scoot away. Instead he hesitantly wrapped his arms around Castiel's smaller, bruised form and let Cas lean his head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Cas," Dean whispered into his hair, not giving a damn about his heterosexual side that screamed this wasn't the kind of hugs friends gave one another, "God, I'm so sorry. You don't deserve those bruises; I do."

"I think I look best dressed in pain." Castiel replied with a dry chuckle, a kind of chuckle that made Dean's heart bleed.

Dean didn't respond and let his eyes droop shut, shutting down his brain as he breathed in the scents of blood and Castiel that mingled so effortlessly. They stayed in their close embrace for what seemed like hours before they heard Jody open the door and reluctantly pulled apart. But Dean didn't put any space between them even with Jody and Garth present. He needed the closeness almost as much as Cas did.

"Jody, Cas and I are gonna take off," Dean told her after she bandaged Garth up and sent him back to class, "Maybe get a burger or something."

"You gonna miss any important classes?" They both shook their heads, causing Jody to add with a sigh, "Fine, but Dean, you can't drive on that ankle."

Dean rolled his eyes, "What do you want me to do, Jody? Call in a gurney?"

"Well, I was thinkin' about calling your old man—"

"No," Dean refused quickly, shaking his head, "He's at work. Don't bother him. Look, it was my left ankle; I can drive."

Jody gave him a skeptical look, "Dean, you can barely walk. There's no way in hell I'm letting you drive."

Dean rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated, defeated sigh, "Fine. I guess we'll just chill out in study hall for the rest of the day."

"That's better," Jody said with a victorious smile, "I'll call your mom and let her know she needs to pick you and Sam up today."

"Thanks, Jody," He said, rising from his chair and limping to the door, "C'mon Cas, Mr. Devereaux's an old bastard, but he's cool enough to let us hang out there."

Cas nodded and rose to his feet, saying tightly in an effort to mask the pain, "Okay, Dean."

They spent the rest of the day just talking. Mostly about funny, trivial stuff ("Dude, I'm just saying...the day Led Zeppelin gets back together will probably be the Second Coming of Christ." "Dean, don't blasphemy."), but there were also silent, tender moments (like when Dean squeezed Castiel's shoulder and the other gave him a soft, radiant smile in return). As the hours and minutes passed like seconds, Dean was startled to hear the bell and realize the school day was over.

"Hey, you wanna ride with us?" Dean asks as they walked together towards the exit mere seconds after the last bell rang, "My mom'll be happy t—"

"Naomi will most certainly keep a closer eye on me today," Castiel said with a shrug, shaking his head, "It's safer for me to just hitch a ride from Meg or something."

"Lookin' for a ride, Angel?" Crowley's smooth, obnoxious voice sounded behind them. They both turned and took in Crowley's flushed, ruffled appearance. They hadn't seen Crowley ever since he left to go to the Principal's office (which was all fine with Dean, don't get him wrong), and it seemed that the English juvenile didn't go back to class after their chat; Actually, it looked like he'd just gotten done with a steamy make out session (which ew, Dean didn't want to know who'd be that batshit crazy to hook up with that lunatic).

"I thought the police confiscated your vehicle last summer." Castiel replied with a curious arch of his eyebrow.

Crowley gave him a wicked grin, "I got friends in holy and unholy places, Angel. You should know that by now."

"So Naomi would have a cow if she saw you with me, but she lets you hang around this jackass?" Dean exclaimed in frustration and confusion. He honestly didn't understand what that woman had against him. Shit, Dean was just as harmless as Balthazar; he sure as hell was a lot more innocent and sane than Crowley!

"You just gotta know how to get on her good side." Crowley said with a dangerous wink.

Dean rolled his eyes, "Frankly, I don't think it's worth it. The bitch is poison anyway. She drains the life out of everyone she touches."

Crowley let out a laugh that sounded like a sneer, "And you're such a good judge of character. Shit, Pretty Boy, you spent most of your high school career hanging around homicidal jocks and sadistic tormentors. And you call her poison—"

"Let's just go, Crowley," Cas advised almost soothing, walking away from Dean to join Crowley, tugging at his elbow with a fierce gleam in his eyes, "Let Dean catch up with his brother."

As they walked away, Dean shouted, "I'll see you tomorrow, Cas!"

"As I will you, Dean." Castiel called back, glancing back with a smile that he most certainly did not find dreamy (Dreamy? Wow, he'd been hanging out with Charlie too much...).

"Dean, where have you been?" Sam's worried voice filtered through his ears as Dean turned and found his younger brother looking at him demandingly, "Andy told me—"

Dean sighed and silenced his brother with a simple raise of his hand, answering "Look, those bastards tried to fuck with Cas, but it won't happen again." I'll make sure of it, Dean thought about adding before a sudden thought hit him, "They didn't threaten you, did they? Because if they hurt you, I'd shove my fist up their—"

"They didn't, Dean," Sam assured him with a wry grin, "They know better." He glanced down at Dean's swelling ankle, "How'd you get that?"

Dean looked down and smirked, "Well, after I kicked Alastair and his gang's asses, a rapid pack of hellhounds came swooping in..." He trailed off when Sam gave him his 'Dean, I asked for an answer; not bullshit' look (which, oddly enough, he'd gotten a lot in his life). Dean threw his hands up in mock surrender, "Okay, fine. It was a pack of wolverines—"

"Dean."

"I'm telling the truth!" My version anyway, he thought wickedly to himself as he led Sam out into the parking lot to wait for their mother. As they waited, Dean thought back to seeing Castiel bloodied and bruised, and how his heart felt like it had combusted and then shattered into dust. He never wanted to see Cas that broken ever again, but would he ever get his wish?

The following month and a half passed like a blur as Dean and Castiel's battle wounds healed into scars and their brave tale turned into over-exaggerated stories. But during that time, they remained as close as ever ("Practically attached by the hip," Mary informed John with an eye roll full of affection and endearment for the two boys), only separating when the outside world intervened. Balthazar and Meg complained loudly about how Dean "stole their angel away from them" in a mocking manner, but he could see the real glint of concern in their gazes as the two boys spent their time together. Dean didn't know what they were worried about though; Castiel was as happy and content as he was—or, at least, he seemed to be. The only weird thing about his behavior was that gleam in his blue eyes grew with every passing day, but Dean wasn't necessarily certain that that was necessarily a bad thing.

But as all was paradise in Dean's world, Jo Harvelle was learning how soul-crushing it was to live without her best friend's constant ray of affection. Now Charlie spent most of her time with Dorothy; ugh, just the thought of her and her stupid cocky grin and stupid feministic ways made Jo's mouth curl into a scowl. She didn't know why Dorothy was getting under her skin so easily; Charlie hung out with a lot of people other than her—Ash, Dean, Sam, Kevin—but the thought of her hanging out with a girl—especially a girl as beautiful and charismatic as Dorothy Baum—was...revolting, for the lack of a better word. And hey, it wasn't like Jo wasn't some kind of homophobe or anything (she was completely supportive when Charlie came out, and she even went to a gay pride rally with her one time); she just wasn't very fond of the idea of Charlie dating Dorothy.

But obviously she was just looking out for her friend, okay? There was something off about Dorothy (seriously, nobody could be that perfect), and Jo just had to figure out her baggage and warn Charlie before she did something stupid like fall in love with her! But it wouldn't get to that point; Jo would make certain of it.

So when she announced that she was having a party at the Roadhouse, it was purely out of best intentions. Honest.

"A party?" Dean repeated with an interested grin, stealing a fry from Castiel's plate and popping it into his mouth before the other boy could scold him.

"Yup," Jo confirmed, stealing a glance over at Charlie and Dorothy just to confirm they were paying attention, "Like an epic badass, I somehow managed to convince my mom to let me use the Roadhouse for Saturday night."

"What'd it take to swindle that deal?" Dean asked with a scoff.

Jo shrugged, "Working a whole month without pay and the promise to clean everything up once it's all over."

Dorothy chuckled, "So to be badass, you gotta kiss ass?"

Jo glanced over at her and disguised her sneer with a bright smile, "You got it, Baum."

"And let me guess," Charlie began dramatically, "You want me to help orchestrate this potential disaster and help clean up the mess after it all goes it hell?" Damn, she's so adorable, Jo thought with a smile, no wonder Dorothy's chasing after her.

"You want me to beg?" Jo asked, unleashing her puppy dog eyes on the redhead, "I'm not above using these to my advantage, Charles."

"I'm powerless!" Charlie exclaimed with her usual geeky, theatrically flair, "How can I say no to such cuteness?"

"You're a doll, Charlie." Jo expressed her gratitude, swinging her arm over Charlie's shoulder, "And hey, when we're done, we can watch a Star Trek marathon." Like old times, she wanted to add but refrained from doing so at the last minute.

Charlie seemed about to nod when Dorothy cleared her throat, capturing both the girls' attention as she asked, "And where am I during this whole shebang?"

"You're invited to the party, of course," Jo assured her and hesitated only a fracture of a second before adding, "And if you know your way around a broom, you can join the thrilling after-party."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Yes, watching old sci-fi shows while pigging out on junk food is very exhilarating."

"I didn't know the word 'exhilarating' was even in your vocabulary, Dean," Ash mocked, dodging Dean's halfhearted launch of a fry at his head, "Cas' intelligence must be rubbin' off on you."

"You're hilarious, Asshat," Dean said teasingly, "How's your impossible quest to sleeping with Pamela Barnes?"

"Slow and steady wins the race, my friend," Ash responded, not rising to the bait, "It's a slow process, but I think I'm starting to win her over with my intellectual mind and rockin' bod."

"Don't forget your modesty." Castiel added, batting Dean's hand away as it crept towards another fry.

"Trust me, my little friend down there is even bigger than my ego." Ash assured him, waggling his eyebrows suggestively and making Dean roll his eyes.

"Whatever, Jailbait."

"It's not statutory rape if she's a really hot woman." Ash declared firmly.

Castiel narrowed his eyes at him as he corrected, "The law doesn't possess gender bias."

Ash crossed his arms over his chest, grumbling, "Well, then it shouldn't count anyway."

Dean sighed and turned his attention to Jo, "So the party's on Saturday, huh?"

Jo glanced away from Charlie and nodded, "It starts at seven. You guys are all invited, and you can invite anyone you want." She paused before adding, "Except, you know, total dickbags or something. Or Garth. Especially not Garth."

"I think you should let him come," Castiel told her with a shrug, "He's not that bad of an individual. Honestly Jo, as far as stalkers go, you could do a lot worse."

"And you can do a lot better," Dean added before he poked Cas teasingly, "Right, Cas?"

The boy blushed at the reminder of his own stalking tendencies but didn't waver from his stance as he looked back to Jo and continued, "Besides, he might meet someone new and shift his affection onto them."

Jo groaned, "Ugh, fine. Dammit, Cas, I hate when you force me to be a good person." Cas smiled at her words and seemed distracted, so Dean used this to his advantage and swiped the last remaining fry on his tray.

"Why must you steal my food?" Castiel demanded exasperatedly.

"Because Ellen's mad at me and won't pack my usual cuisine, and I can't ransack Sammy's food because he's over there with his new girlfriend." He motioned to Sam, who was at a completely different table laughing at something Jess said like it was the funniest thing known to man.

As the rest of the lunch period carried on like usual, Jo smirked silently to herself with the knowledge of her true plan.

No matter what it took, Joanna Beth Harvelle was going to prove what a wicked witch little innocent Dorothy was.

Author's Note: First of all, don't hate Jo for her conniving mind! She just doesn't know how to handle being jealous. As for more important news, next chapter is going to be a landmark for this fic! So many ships are going to become canon in chapter sixteen (and the one moment you've all been waiting for and despairing after will finally happen—perhaps 50, 000 late, but you can't rush perfection!). And since the story is wrapping up (and by wrapping up, I mean that it has eleven more chapters before it's officially finished), updates will be faster (and yes, a little shorter than you're used to). I'm hoping to get next chapter done within a week or two at most. Be warned: it will have a lot of feels.