Chapter Text
The sky was a deep turquoise that morning, just like Castiel Novak’s eyes. He gazed above him and sighed. It was a day just like any other in Lawrence. Castiel (or Cas for short) peered out of the window of his father’s maroon Honda Accord. He was dreading another Wednesday of high school. It was hell for Cas, who was teased by many of the “cool” guys in his grade. Being a freshman wasn’t the easiest for him, even though he had lived in Lawrence his whole life.
“Don’t worry, Cas,” Chuck, Cas’ father, spoke reassuringly. “You come home every day and you’re just fine.”
But what Chuck didn’t know was that every day while he sat in his office working on his next novel, Cas was locked in his room dreading another day of school.
As his school gradually came into view, Cas held his breath. He could feel the anxiety starting to take over. Chuck pulled up to the curb and unlocked the car door. “You’ll be fine, Cas,” Chuck promised.
Cas offered a weak grin in response, slinging his backpack over his shoulders before stepping out the door.
Cas pulled his chair out and sat down. He flipped his book to where he left off and tuned everyone out
A familiar smooth gait caught his attention, making goose bumps prickle his skin. He closed his eyes and braced himself for what was about to go down.
A big, fat hand smacked the cover of his book shut. “Hey, Cat, whatcha readin’ there?”
He winched. “It’s Cas.”
“Whatever.”
Cole was the toughest freshman at Roosevelt High and had spent the whole school year torturing Cas.
Cas went to open his book again, but Cole pressed the cover back down.
“I’m not finished, Cat. You finish my math homework?”
Cas sighed, pulling a sheet of notebook paper out of his binder.
Cole smirked. “Great, Cat. Better be an ‘A’.” He pushed his way back to his desk and sat down.
Cas took a deep breath and pulled out his notebook. He wrote the date in the right hand corner when he caught sudden movement from the corner of his eye.
A tall boy stepped into the room. His hair was brown and cut rather short. He had a blue plaid shirt layered over a gray t-shirt and dark jeans. Cas let his eyes linger for a few seconds before the boy turned to meet his gaze. Cas felt his face heat up nervously and looked down at his notebook. The boy’s eyes were green.
The boy made his way over to the front of the room and handed a slip of paper to the science teacher, Mrs. Edwards.
“Class,” Mrs. Edwards began as the class brought their attention curiously to the front of the room. “This is Dean Winchester. He will be in our class from now on. Please make him feel welcome.”
Dean strolled over to an empty seat in front of Cas and sighed. He didn’t seem very nervous, but neither was Cas on his very first day.
He was terrified.
He spent the whole hour glancing over at Dean’s seat and found it hard to concentrate on what Mrs. Edwards was saying. Something about him intrigued Cas, who wasn’t the type of person to be strung along by curiosity.
Cas was drawn away by his thoughts when the bell chimed, signaling the end of class. He looked down at his paper and realized that he hadn’t taken as many notes as he should have. He would have to get them from his brother, Gabe, later.
He collected his things and emerged into the hallway. The chaos was almost overwhelming to Cas, who had mild anxiety. He had learned to control it over the past few years, but it always managed to get out of control at times.
He went to a few classes (social studies and creative writing) before making his way to gym class. It was his least favorite class of the day and found himself dreading it from the moment he left third period.
He wearily stepped into the locker room and walked over to a row of lockers. He entered his combination and changed into his gym clothes. Today they would be running on the track. Cas sighed.
Suddenly, he spotted familiar movement from the corner of his eye and lifted his gaze. His eyes met Dean Winchester’s, off all people. Cas took a shallow, nervous breath and snapped his head over to his own locker.
Once the moment passed, Cas sat down on one of the benches and waited for Coach Drews to come and take role. Cas couldn’t help but sneak glances over at Dean, taking note of the tiny freckles dotting his cheeks. His eyes were a vibrant green and his hair was light brown.
Cas must not have noticed how long he had been staring until Dean looked up and caught his gaze. Cas widened his eyes. Embarrassed, he bit his lip and turned away.
He could have sworn he saw Dean smile slightly, but it could have just been his imagination.
Once everyone was accounted for, the boys all made their way out the door and onto the track. Cas fell behind in the group and found himself at the very back. Well, not the very back.
“Damn. It’s my first day and we have to run a mile.”
Cas felt his muscles tense and a lump formed in his throat when we turned to his right. Dean.
“Um…yeah. It really does,” Cas agreed. He could feel his face start to get hot. Perhaps it was because the sun was beating down on them?
“I’m Dean, by the way,” he grinned. “Dean Winchester.”
Damn, that grin made Cas blush every time.
It took Cas a minute to process what was happening. Dean raised his eyebrows and Cas shook his head slightly in amusement.
“Castiel Novak,” he replied.
“I’m going to call you Cas.”
He chuckled. “That’s what my friends call me, so sure.”
“Does that make me, Dean Winchester, your friend, Castiel Novak?”
Cas couldn’t help but feel the corners of his mouth slowly creep upwards. “I suppose it does.”
As they chatted, Cas felt his brain become crowded with thoughts and questions he was too nervous and awkward to ask. Finally, he gained the courage. “How is your first day going?”
Dean huffed and shook his head. “Alright. I’ve gotten lost and it’s been a hell of a day so far, to say the least,” he sighed.
“I can imagine,” Cas nodded.
That was the moment when Cas realized his life would never be the same.
It was so easy to talk to Dean. Although he was somewhat temperamental at times, Cas couldn’t help but want to stay with him for hours on end. Dean was a well-traveled guy; he had been all over the country with his father, who was a mechanic, and his brother, Sam. It turns out their mother passed away when he was four.
“It feels weird to be back in Lawrence where she died,” Dean admitted one afternoon. He was beginning to trust Cas more and more with each day, and Cas certainly noticed this. He also noticed the way Dean’s eyes lit up when he turned on the radio to find some classic rock and narrowed his eyes when someone or something angered him.
In fact, Dean wasn’t very pleasant to be around when he was angry and easily became agitated. Cas hadn’t realized this until one day about two weeks after they had met when Cole was being, well, Cole.
Cas was seated in Science class, just like usual, when Dean stepped through the door. He set his things down on his desk next to Cas, which he had started doing a few days after they met in gym class.
Cas was no longer shy and reserved when Dean was around. Something about this boy made Cas break out of his shell. During the classes that he didn’t have with Dean, he was back to his quiet, lonely self, just like he was before Dean Winchester came into his life.
“Are you trying out for any sports teams this year?” Cas asked curiously. Dean seemed like the type of guy who would go out for something like football or wrestling.
Dean shrugged. “I haven’t decided. I’m guessing you aren’t?”
Cas chucked. “You know me so well.”
Dean went back to his locker to grab something. They only had a few minutes before class started.
Of course now that Cas was finally happy for the first time in a very long time, the world just had to come around and twist his day.
Cole stepped into the classroom, his eyes darting around the room mischievously. They lit up when they landed on the boy sitting alone in the back of the room. Cas hadn’t even realized Cole had entered the room, stealthily making his way over to the empty desk next to Cas.
“Hey Cat,” Cole sneered.
Cas whipped his head to face him. His eyes widened in fear.
“How’s things with your little friend going?” Cole taunted once more.
“Fine. Just fine.”
“Because people talk. Especially girls,” he chuckled, a sly grin creeping his way up his face. “And they have their eyes on Dean. I figured you would want to know.”
Cas narrowed his eyes and felt his face begin to heat up. “Why would I want to know?”
Cole raised his eyebrows in amusement. “You know exactly why.”
Cas felt his heart sink because he knew exactly what Cole was talking about.
Ever since Dean had arrived, Cas couldn’t keep his eyes off him. When they spoke, Cas studied the way Dean’s nose curved at the tip and the sharpness of the edge of his jawline. When they ran the track, he noticed the ripples of movement in Dean’s shoulders from under his gym shirt. Cas observed the way his tiny freckles dotted his cheeks and how his eyes contained tiny brown specks…
But Cas was sure he wasn’t gay. Sure, he looked at Dean a lot and his cheeks turned bright red when they touched even the slightest bit, but that didn’t make him gay. Even though he found himself sneaking glances at Dean’s soft, pink lips when he spoke, that didn’t make him gay. When Dean walked into the room and made Cas’ heart leap in his chest…
He was tired of lying to himself. Castiel Novak was gay.
But how Cole had found out about this was a mystery to Cas.
Cas wasn’t sure if Dean even was gay. He had talked about how he had dated many girls in the past, but it just never worked out.
“Maybe it’s because I flirted with their friends a few times,” Dean chuckled one day during gym. For the rest of the day, Cas tried to imagine Dean kissing some random girl Cas didn’t even know and it made a burning sensation rise in his chest. Jealousy.
But when he fantasized about the moment he got to press his lips against Dean’s and feel his warm hands against him, everything felt right to Cas.
“I’m not gay,” Cas lied, trying his best to sound determined.
“Admit it,” Cole spat. Cas flinched.
“What did you just say?” a voice called from behind.
Cas turned around to face Dean, who had walked back in the door at the perfect moment. He narrowed his eyes and stormed past everyone crowding around the door. “I asked you a question,” he raised his voice and spat through gritted teeth.
“I—nothing,” Cole stated, obviously not telling the truth.
“Get the hell out of my way or I swear I will bust your brains out,” he threatened, pointing his forefinger.
Cole hesitated before stepping out of his seat. “This isn’t over,” he muttered, taking heavy steps over to his seat.
Cas felt his jaw drop. Had Dean really just stood up to Cole?
Dean slid into his seat and let out a heavy sigh.
“Thank you, Dean,” Cas managed to mumble in shock.
“Anytime, Cas.”
“What did Cole even want, anyway?” Dean asked Cas with curiosity as they slipped out of the school’s big double doors. Cas was relieved that Dean hadn’t asked about the incident all day, but the relief flooded away in an instant.
“Nothing,” Cas mumbled.
Dean stopped in his tracks in the middle of the sidewalk. “Cas, do you not trust me?” He raised his eyebrows and pressed his lips together.
Cas sighed. “I—yes, Dean. I trust you more than I trust anyone else.”
That made the corners of Dean’s mouth curl up slightly, but the expression faded away. “Then what happened?”
“Cole isn’t worth worrying about.”
“Cas…” Dean took a few steps forward and lowered his voice. “How long has he been doing this?”
“Doing what?”
“Being a complete asshole towards you,” Dean scoffed. “Did something happen that caused all this?”
Cas shook his head.
“The next time he does anything, and I mean anything, I promise I’ll do something. I swear I will,” Dean reassured him. His hand brushed against Cas’ fingers accidentally. Which was completely logical, since they were standing so close. It’s not like Dean Winchester purposely wanted to feel the ridges of his knuckles and the warmth of Castiel Novak’s hands.
Dean kept his promise. The next day when Cas showed up for science and Cole went over there to tease him, Dean was there to shove him away. When Cole tried to trip Cas in the hall, Dean was there to pull him out of the way. A few hours later when Cole took Cas’ notebook, Dean snatched it right back.
Cas always felt his stomach lurch when Dean came to rescue him. Nothing felt better than having his own guardian angel.
But Dean couldn’t always be there.