Work Text:
Mr. Singer is still going over the details of their free-writing assignment, but Dean isn't listening. Free-writes are always the same: Singer sets a timer, you write on the topic without stopping until the timer goes off, then you use what you wrote to build your next paper. Rinse, lather, repeat -- they've been doing this all year, and Dean gets it. He's got other things on his mind right now, like the conversation he'd had with Charlie at lunch...
"Stop saying you don't have a shot with him!" Charlie had hissed, punching him hard on the arm.
"There's no way, Charles. He's... He's so smart, and cute, and really nice to everyone, and there's no way he'd be interested in me."
"Why not, Dean? You're a great guy! You have so much to offer to the right person. Any guy or girl would be lucky to have you."
Dean had scoffed and changed the subject, but Charlie's words are still bouncing around in his head. You have so much to offer... Like what? What does he have that Cas Novak could ever want?
Singer stops talking, and the sound of shuffling paper pulls Dean out of his thoughts as the free-write begins. He looks down at the blank sheet in front of him.
"What Do I Have To Offer Cas Novak?" he writes at the top of the page and underlines it. Screw the assignment, he thinks. I've got the next paper pretty much outlined already. I need to think this through. He starts adding bullet points under the heading:
- Someone to slow dance with at prom
- Sweet rides to/from school in Baby
- Can get him burgers for free at the Roadhouse
- I could fix his car if it ever breaks down
Does Cas even have a car? Dean's not sure. He wants to know everything about the boy, but they rarely interact outside of class. Dean gets so tongue-tied around him. Even when they do talk, it's always kind of stilted and brief.
He runs a hand through his hair and closes his eyes. He can't think of another bullet point. Cas is amazing and Dean's nothing special. This is hopeless.
He doodles the Metallica logo in the corner of his paper until the timer goes off, then moves to crumple his list up and throw it in the garbage. Except then Mr. Singer says something that shuts down Dean's entire nervous system.
"Okay idjits, like I said, you're gonna swap these free-writes with a partner for feedback. But I want you all to get real feedback, so you're not just gonna trade with your bestie. We're gonna mix things up. Bass, trade with Sanchez. Banes with Miller."
Dean's spine turns to ice. His brain catches on fire. Someone is gonna read what he wrote. Singer keeps rattling off pairs of names. Too many people get up at once to pass their papers to their assigned partners, and there's a traffic jam in the middle of the room. Singer tells everyone to sit their butts back down and he starts grabbing pages off desks and dropping them onto other desks.
"Novak with Winchester."
Dean's pretty sure he has an actual heart attack and dies when Mr. Singer scoops the paper off his desk and places it in front of Cas. Unfortunately, death doesn't free him from the slow-motion train wreck he's trapped in here. Singer drops Cas's page onto Dean's desk and moves on.
Five, ten, fifteen minutes pass and Dean's still dazed with panic. He does actually try to read over Cas's writing and make some helpful notes, because what the hell, right? Might as well be remembered as a good student when they're giving the eulogy at his funeral. He's not sure if what he writes makes sense, though, or is even legible. The pencil doesn't seem to want to stay gripped in his numb fingers.
Singer calls time, gathers all the pages up, and returns them to their owners. Dean hears paper hit his desk but he's got his eyes closed, and he doesn't plan on opening them again, ever. He doesn't want to see whatever polite "I'm flattered, but..." note Cas has left him. Or, shit, what if Cas wasn't flattered, wasn't polite? What if he was insulted, or disgusted, or angry? What if Dean's paper is full of curse words scrawled in red ink with a big "FUCK OFF" at the top? Or, what if Cas didn't write anything at all? Dean thinks somehow that would be the worst, if Cas just ignored it completely. He has to look. He has to know. He opens his eyes.
Where there had been four bullet points before, there are now twelve. In his tidy hand, Cas has added things like "a beautiful heart" and "fantastic sense of humor" and "endless kindness" and "gorgeous". He's also left some notes beside Dean's original items. After "Someone to slow dance with at prom" he's added "yes, please!!!" He's written "your car is so cool!" next to the item about Baby, and he's drawn about twenty tiny hearts next to the word "Roadhouse" and then "I love Ellen's burgers!"
At the bottom of the page, Cas has left him a grade, perfectly mimicking Dr. Singer's style: "10/10 - see me after class! Burgers and mini-golf Friday? 778-237-3022"
Holy crap. Dean's got a date.