AN: SO SO SO SORRY FOR BEING AWAY FOR SO LONG! I was finishing up school and now I am hoping to have more time to devote to writing! I revisited this story and I am so excited to continue it, hopefully I can make you all happy with it!
"Now, Sammy I'm not sure how late I'm going to be at the shop. Mr. Singer, uh.. Bobby, he just told me to come in at 9. But, here's the address and there was a bus stop right on the corner so you can take the bus to meet me there if you want. It's right in town, not far from here." Dean spoke as he shuffled around the motel room picking up his father's dirty clothes strewn around and waiting for Sam to finish eating his scrambled eggs and toast. Their father lay in the far bed snoring every now and then-the only indication that he was actually still alive. Dean scowled in his direction-this always told him that his father was going to be missing his shift at work today. He'd sleep off the booze and by midafternoon he would be waking in a sour mood. He didn't want Sammy anywhere near that which was why he wanted him to meet him at Singers Auto in the first place.
"I may just come back here. They're gonna swap my classes today and I'm sure I've got some work to catch up on." Sammy finished his last bite of egg and stood from the table. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and Dean couldn't help but notice how focused on ignoring John he seemed.
"No, just come to town. I think the library was just a block or so away-you could always go check it out too." Dean tossed Sammy his jacket and grabbed his own leather one off the coat rack by the door. He hesitated for his excuse and cleared his throat, "Dad.. doesn't seem like he feels well. So, we should give him some space for today."
Sammy tucked his jacket into his backpack and Dean watched his face trying to read him. Sammy had such a good poker face. Dean had tried for several years to shield his from their father's toxic behaviors, but Sammy was smart and getting older.. he probably already knew about their father's demons but just how much. "Sure, I'll meet you there Dean. Probably good for us both to know Mr. Singer anyways. If we can get dad to keep us here for a year then it'd be beneficial to have some connections."
Always trying to make connections, always trying to make everything make logical sense. Dean smiled and gave him a curt nod before checking his pockets-cellphone, wallet, keys. And the GED pamphlet given to him by Mr. Novak yesterday. His hand lingered briefly on the pamphlet and he thought back on the words that were spoken to him yesterday- "Do not think it makes you any less of a person". He felt a tightness in his throat and his heart hammered a little harder thinking back on this moment. When was the last time anyone said such a thing to him? He couldn't think of a single sentence in his life that help such a grip on his thoughts as this.
"Ready." Sammy said standing at the door. Dean snapped from his thoughts and smiled at his little brother with a nod. "Let's go then."
Dean followed his brother out the door and made sure to close it gently. He locked it, praying briefly that his father might be gone for the night before they returned, and then follow Sammy down the sidewalk toward the high school. It was a much more silent walk than yesterday, mostly because they had left earlier than usual but also Sammy was not so worried about first impressions as he was about his new advanced placement classes.
"I've got to find some activities. I was thinking about the debate team, or if they have mock trial-those would look really great on my applications!" Sammy was talking mostly to himself but Dean nodded along as if he knew what mock trial even meant. They reached the gates and Sammy ran off with a wave and a "Bye!"
"Have a good day Sammy!" Dean called waving at his retreating form, he laughed at the glare his brother stopped to give him before faintly hearing "SAM!" Dean knew he preferred it, he really did. But he was Sammy-always. Dean glanced at his phone and he thankfully still had and hour before 9 am, the bus came every 10 minutes and based on the schedule it should be dropping him off with 15 minutes to spare. This was definitely one benefit of being in a smaller town.
"Hello Dean." He spun on his heel to face the school gates again and his eyes met with Mr. Novak's. His hair was coiffed today and he was wearing a long beige trench coat over his suit. The color beige seemed so plain but somehow complemented his blue eyes in the most heavenly way.
"Good morning, Mr. Novak." He said with a nod as soon as his brain could remember how to say words.
"I trust Samuel is already off to class, did you have a chance to speak with your father last night about my concerns?" Castiel was watching Dean closely as he spoke and so Dean felt a bit of pressure his his gut. Maybe it was just the pressure of lying, but he felt like anyone else asking the same questions may not have the same effect.
"Oh, yeah. Yes. Yes, I spoke with him last night when he got home.." Dean cleared his throat and glanced away from the piercing gaze-for a moment he could breathe again. He looked back at Mr. Novak. "He agreed. To.. to staying in town. He works construction so he can usually find some kind of work to do."
"Samuel did insist that he is quite busy with work. Hopefully he can keep an adequate lineup to get Samuel through the year." Dean noticed that Castiel smoothed his already perfectly straight and ironed tie as he spoke. He didn't break eye contact as he did this, almost as if it were second nature for him. "Do you walk your brother to school everyday?"
"Yes." Dean replied with a curt nod. "At least lately since I haven't been attending. I.. I actually got a job myself in town so I should really be going. I have to catch the bus in five minutes."
"Yes, of course." Castiel also gave a curt nod and hesitated to walk away before stating. "I hope that you have given the GED course a thought. I checked the calendar last night and the next session begins in a week. I imagine your father would be very proud of you if you-"
This was clearly the wrong thing to say as Castiel watched Dean's eyes darken. He looked away trying to hide the feeling and thankfully the school bell rang to break the awkward moment. "Thank you. Have a good day, Mr. Novak." Dean turned away immediately and headed to the bus stop without looking back.
His father would be proud.. Dean felt a bit of bile rise in his throat and his head was spinning with all the things he felt he suddenly should tell people about what made his father proud. None of them had anything to do with Dean finishing school. He couldn't look at Mr. Novak again and hoped that he had gone into the school, the idea that he was standing there watching him at the bus stop made him both uncomfortable and something else.. hopeful? Was he hopeful that Mr. Novak was interested enough to spend a few more moments on that sidewalk..
The bus pulled up and he paid the small fee before sitting in the back. He was the only person on the bus and could feel the bus driver keeping an eye on him from the large mirror. He ignored him and watched out the window as they made their way into town. He checked the time on his phone again, the bus had been late and it cut 5 minutes off of his time. He didn't care as long as it got him to Singer's on time, which it thankfully did. He walked into the auto shop at 8:55 am and breathed a sigh of relief-on time for his first day, hopefully it helped make a good impression.
Castiel had never been late for work before, so the sound of the bell startled him more than anything else. Even more starling though was the desire he felt to follow Dean Winchester's steps down the side walk. He did not like the look on his face when his father was mentioned, and he did not like that they parted ways on such a feeling. He chalked it up to the counselor in him and shook his head as he moved into the school grounds.
If Dean were a student of his then perhaps he would have followed him, but he was not a student and did not make any hints that he would even pursue the GED course. Castiel would have to remind himself to focus on the students he was assigned to help-not their extended family members.
He made his way to his office and said a plain hello to his coworkers as he removed his coat and opened the door. He was surprised to see brown hair and a bright smile greet him.
"Samuel.. what are-" He stopped himself and cleared his throat. Of course, he was here for his new class schedule. If Castiel had arrived on time he would have remembered, checked his email, and had this printed and ready for him. It was not normal for him to be distracted from his job..
"Good morning, Mr. Novak." Samuel remarked brightly. "Sorry if I surprised you. Your office assistant told me to come on in, I think she assumed you were already at your desk."
"It's perfectly fine, Samuel"
"Please, call me Sam.." He gave Castiel a look that rivaled a sad puppy dog, and for once Castiel found that he had to honor this request.
"Sam." He repeated with a nod. "I apologize. I ran into your brother at the gates and it has delayed my morning."
Sam shifted in his seat and looked nervous for a moment. "I hope he wasn't.. a nuisance." He said the word slowly, as if that weren't what he was nervous about.
"No, he was worried about getting to the bus on time. I may have been the nusiance for him." Sam appeared even more tense at the idea that Dean did not make it to the bus as planned. Castiel found himself speaking again, "He made it to the bus just fine." These words seemed to appease Sam and he relaxed his shoulders again. Castiel moved to sit at his desk and opened his laptop. "If you just give me a few moments I will print off your student schedule and can send you off to class."
"Thank you, Mr. Novak." Sam glanced out the window for just a moment, but Mr. Novak could tell he was burning with questions. Castiel found that.. he was also burning with questions. Questions about Sam, questions about his father and his life experience, but mostly questions about Dean. Sam however broke the silence with the first question. "Mr. Novak? I was wondering if this school had a mock trial or debate team?"
"Yes, we do have a mock trial group." He stated without looking up from logging in to his school email. "You're actually in luck because they do not start until November and it runs through April. The team meets on Tuesdays each week for about 2 hours after school and often times they get together on Saturdays as it gets closer to the competitions."
Sam seemed to brighten with this information and Castiel took note. Perhaps this young man wanted to be a lawyer, it would make sense with his academic record and his drive to get into the Ivy Leagues. How was it that Dean could have no aspirations and his younger brother dream of so much success?
He found that he could not hold back his question. "Sam, can you tell me a little about your brother?"
"About Dean?" Sam asked his eyebrow raised slightly. Castiel looked up at him for moment and suddenly realized that he had asked the question allowed. The young man did not wait for a reply as he began speaking. "Well, I don't really know what all you want to know. Dean is.. Dean. He's been helping my dad take care of me since I was a baby and, well, he's always looked out for me. He does everything he can to keep our lives running as normally as possible. Somehow.. with all of our moves and my dad's.." He hesitated a moment before clearing his throat. "Dean makes every place feel like home."
Castiel found himself staring at Sam as he spoke, drinking in every word and trying to read him. He was looking for hints in his facial expressions, his tone of voice, his body language. Sam was excellent at controlling all of this as he spoke-he would make an excellent lawyer one day.
"If I may ask, what about your mother? All the school records just indicate that she is.. not around?"
Sam paused a moment longer at this question and Castiel was not sure that he was going to answer it. "My mother is dead. She died a long time ago, when I was only about 6 months old."
"I'm sorry."
"I don't really remember her, I just know her from photos that Dean has kept. It was apparently a really terrible accident, our house caught on fire. Dean, he was 4 years old, almost 5.. He actually carried me out of the house while our dad tried to get to mom. He couldn't save her though.." Sam paused again and then looked a bit surprised as he looked back at Castiel. "I guess none of that is in the records because.. Well, I haven't ever told anyone else. We don't talk about it a lot, Mom is kind of an out-of-bounds topic in our house."
"Well, thank you for sharing this with me Sam." Castiel felt so many things racing through his mind and found a desire to continue questioning Sam, to find Dean and question him as well, to make things right for these two. He didn't understand why he was feeling this way-Angel Enterprises training prepared you for stories such as this and to keep yourself detached and objective. Perhaps he needed to contact headquarters regarding this.. have some refresher courses? He focused himself back on his task and printed the new schedule that Principal Shurely emailed him this morning. He stacked the papers and handed them to Sam. "Here you are."
Sam brightened as he took the papers and looked them over closely. "Thank you, Mr. Novak!"
"You're welcome, Sam." He laced his fingers together and set his hands on his desk. "I'd like you to come and see me weekly, just speak with the front desk and they can pencil you in anytime. If you need more than once a week that is perfectly fine as well. I want you to succeed here, Sam, and I believe that you can make your college dreams happen."
"Yes, sir! Thank you again." Sam stood and grabbed his backpack from the chair next to him and turned to leave.
"Oh, and one more thing.. about Dean." Castiel reached into his drawer and handed Sam the same GED pamphlet he had given Dean yesterday. "I spoke with him briefly about this yesterday. Did he happen to mention it?"
"No." Sam looked confused as he read the front, then the confusion changed to surprised and perhaps some excitement. "Is he-"
Castiel shook his head slightly. "He didn't seem very interested, but perhaps with your help he can see that he does still have options. I can tell you both care about each other, maybe you can..convince him that it's worth the time?"
Sam gave a determined nod and smiled thanking him again as he left the office. Castiel sat back and let out a small breath of a sigh. The Winchester Brothers may prove to be a challenge for him. He had never connected with a student or their family like this before. Staying objective was never hard for him to do, so what now was it such a problem? He may have to call Uriel, the Angel Enterprise's assigned colleague. They were always assigned another counselor to confer with and currently his was Uriel. Perhaps he would have some insight into this issue.. Castiel would have for Micheal to learn that he was having issues staying objective..