Dean pulled up alongside the curb outside Castiel's house, honking the horn as he spotted the boy coming out of the front door. He watched as Castiel made his way down the path leading from his house to the sidewalk, reaching the car. "Morning, Cas." Dean greeted as the boy climbed into the passenger seat.
"Good morning, Dean." Castiel responded happily pulling the passenger door shut as Dean pulled away from the curb, heading down the road. It had been a week since Dean and Castiel had first met, and Dean picking up and dropping him off had become sort of a routine. Dean was happy to spend time with Castiel before school.
"Did you study for Ms. Moseley's test today after lunch?" Castiel inquired looking up at Dean, who was drumming his fingers against the steering wheel to the Led Zeppelin song flowing quietly from the radio. Dean frowned, thinking. "You didn't... You're lucky I make extra notes." Castiel laughed softly when Dean didn't answer.
"Why study when I got you, Cas?" Dean grinned looking over at the boy. Castiel shook his head, rolling his eyes in feigned annoyance. "I can't save you every time, especially when we graduate next year." Castiel huffed, playfully punching Dean's arm. "Hey, I wouldn't punch the guy driving." Dean remarked, laughing.
"Hey Cas?" Dean prompted after a minute of silence passed between them. "Yes, Dean?" Castiel responded, waiting. "Would you wanna see a movie tonight, with me?" Dean questioned glancing sideways at Castiel. "I would like that, what d'you have in mind?" Castiel answered smiling.
"Anything. We can grab junk food and soda after school, my uncle doesn't keep a lotta snacks in the house." Dean announced, shrugging. "Sounds like a date." Castiel confirmed. At that, Dean felt his face growing hot. He hadn't considered inviting Castiel over for a movie as a date. They had hung out a few times over the weekend, but none of those had felt like dates.
Dean liked Castiel as a friend, one of the first real friends he'd had in a long while. But a date? He hadn't thought of the possibility of Castiel being gay or bi. Dean had had a crush on an old friend when he was a few years younger but his father had thrown a fit over the whole thing, it had completely shut Dean off to the idea of he himself feeling a certain way about boys.
-_-_-_
Dean thought about his and Cas' 'date' all morning throughout their first couple of shared classes, so much so he had barely paid attention to any of his teachers and had even been snapped at by his science teacher Mr. Ketch, to which he had snapped back resulting in his being excused to the Principle's office.
"What was that about?" Castiel asked as Dean came out of the Principle's office, his cheeks stained with embarrassment. Dean ignored him, making his way down the hall towards the cafeteria. He didn't know what had happened, and Castiel coming at him didn't help.
"Dean? Are you okay?" Castiel questioned catching up with him in line in the cafeteria, his voice full of concern. Dean scrubbed at his face, trying to clear the spreading blush from his cheeks before turning around to look at Castiel. "I'm good, I think I'm just a little nervous about the test..." he muttered quietly, avoiding Castiel's eyes.
"Oh, it's perfectly normal to be nervous. I'm a little nervous myself, I stayed up half the night studying and still don't believe I'm ready." Castiel said reassuringly, offering him a smile. Dean swallowed a lump in his throat that had come out of nowhere, at seeing Castiel's smile. Shit. He was in deep shit.
"We can go over the notes while we eat." Castiel offered as he and Dean got their trays of food. They sat at their usual table, with Dean sitting a bit further away from Castiel than he normally did. Castiel didn't seem to notice. "Here." Castiel rummaged through his bag before passing a small stack of notes across the table to Dean.
-_-_-_
Dean was leaning against the Impala, having rushed out of school the second the end of day bell rang. He had left Castiel to gather his things from his locker, feeling the need to get some fresh air. He was going over bullshit excuses to cancel their movie plans when Castiel came strutting across the parking lot.
"Ready?" Castiel inquired stopping only a couple feet in front Dean. "Yeah, c'mon, I'm ready to get away from this place." Dean announced, shaking himself mentally. He was being stupid about this whole thing, mentally berating himself for being ridiculous about it.
He could spend the evening watching a movie with his friend without it being awkward. It would be like any other time they've hung out. If things started to feel weird, he could convince Sammy to join them. With that idea in mind, his thoughts on the matter quieted down.
Castiel slid into the seat, shutting the door just as Dean had climbed in behind the steering wheel, shutting his door before revving the engine to life and peeling out of the school's student parking lot. The ride to the store had been comfortably quiet, aside from AC/DC rocking on the radio.
Dean found a parking space relatively close to the store before he and Castiel got out. They made their way into the convenient store, immediately heading for the snack isles. Dean made sure to grab an armful of all the classic movie snacks, while Castiel picked out more unusual snacks.
-_-_-_
"I'm home, uncle Bobby!" Dean shouted as he threw open the front door, his other arm securely holding the paper bag full of the snacks and soda he and Castiel had bought at the store down the road. Castiel followed him inside, making sure to shut the door behind himself. Dean looked around, shrugging when there were no signs of his uncle.
"He must be out in the garage." Dean commented walking into the kitchen, dumping the bag of snacks out onto the dining table by the window. "I think we might've gone a little overboard..." Dean rubbed the back of his neck, giving Castiel a sheepish smile. Castiel glanced down at the pile of snacks spread out on the table.
"That is an understatement, to say the least." Castiel chuckled, the sound catching Dean's attention. Fuck, why did Cas laughing sound so good? And why did Dean want to hear it more? "Well, I can always offer any extras to Sammy." Dean announced smiling. Just then Sam entered the kitchen.
"Oh, heya Sammy. Want some snacks? Cas and I got provisions for a movie night." Dean gestured at the pile of snacks. Sam looked to where his older brother was pointing, his eyes going wide in bewilderment. "I can see that. Thanks, but maybe later. I gotta study for an English test, you two enjoy though." Sam snickered grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge before dashing out of the kitchen.
There went Dean's idea of dragging his brother into dispelling any potential awkwardness between himself and Cas during their movie 'date'. He gathered up their pile of snacks and led Castiel into the living room, over toward the couch in front of the only working TV in the house.