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It took way too long for the crowd of flustered, lovesick students to get to class that morning (much to Dean's despair). They were too busy fawning over the crappy decorations hanging from the ceilings – strings and banners of red, white and pink thrown about like cheap confetti, littering the ground with hundreds of tiny paper hearts; he couldn't take a single frickin' step without one of them crunching beneath his boots, goddamit!
Passing down the hallway, Dean clenched his fists by his sides and adamantly refused to soak in the sappy atmosphere of Valentine's Day. He hated being one of those bitter, single people who instantly detested the holiday because they were lonely. But the truth was just that; he was so fucking lonely… to the point where his heart literally ached with longing every time he clapped eyes on a happy couple holding hands or kissing in the corner. It just reminded him of everything he couldn't possibly have – not with the person he truly wanted, anyway.
He shoved his hands further into his pockets, shaking off the self-pity as he rounded the corner. The crowd was denser here – louder, too. The throngs of giddy students rushing to post their orders before first period made his head swim. His fingers curled around the crinkled slip of card subconsciously, bottom lip caught between his teeth as he reconsidered his plan, tried to make sense of things.
With a sigh, he fished the card out of his pocket. He'd already memorised every little detail from reading it so much, but the apprehension clawing at his chest was enough to make him check it once more, just in case he'd made some kind of mistake.
To – Castiel Novak
1 x red rose
From – Dean Winchester
He frowned at his name, scribbled quickly on the dotted line at the bottom of the card. A lot of people, especially those not technically in a relationship yet, liked to keep their identity a secret for some reason. Probably because they were scared, like him. But even though Dean was frickin' terrified, he knew that something had to be done about his 'little crush' on Castiel Novak, before it got out of control. Maybe it already had.
Somewhere above his head, the bell for first period rang loud and shrill over the bustling crowd. Students began to disperse, saying their goodbyes and slipping last minute orders into the box on the far table.
Dean glanced down at the card between his fingers, ink smudged against his clammy skin, and sighed. When the last of the crowd had disappeared, he marched up towards the box, shoving the note through the slip with every ounce of courage he had. His fingers twitched against the table, instant regret coursing through his veins.
"Shit," He mumbled, slamming a fist against the cool wood "Shit, shit, shit…"
There was nothing he could do about it now; his order had been made, soon to be delivered to Cas at some point throughout the day. It was finally over.
With a shuddered breath, he pushed off the table and headed to the library. There was no way he could face Mr. Crowley right now, especially being as late as he already was. But the dusty smell of books and polished furniture was sure to calm him down; getting lost in the words of Vonnegut never failed to clear his mind, after all.
The cafeteria was crazy, dozens of kids rushing about like a bomb had been dropped or something. He found the gang in their usual spot by the back door, chatting casually as if nothing weird was going on around them, and slid into the spare seat next to Benny.
"What's going on?" He asked with a frown, sneaking a fry from Charlie's plate "Everyone's gone nuts."
Victor snorted into his chocolate milk and shrugged "It's Valentine's Day, Dean. They're all hopped up on teenage hormones."
"Probably excited about the roses," Jo huffed "They'll be coming around, soon."
"What?" He tightened his grip on the table's edge and froze; the roses were never delivered at lunch time, not in the whole four years of him going to this school. They'd always been given out in the afternoon during last period, saving any rejectees the embarrassment of facing their crushes for the rest of the day.
Charlie fixed him with a confused pout "What's up, Deano?"
"Yeah," Benny leaned forward to flick his ear "You're looking a little pale, brother."
Soon, the whole table had turned in their seats to look at him. He felt his face flush several shades darker as he squirmed against the hard chair beneath his ass, desperately searching for some kind of way out of this mess. Cas was bound to show up at any minute, and if Dean was around when the roses were given out, then that would just be the worst form of humiliation.
"I, uh… I-I gotta go," He said quietly "I'm feeling kinda sick…"
Before he could move, a second body was dropping into the seat next to him. His heart thrummed in his chest at the familiar mop of dark hair and deep, blue eyes; they regarded him with caution, chapped lips downturned in a slight frown.
"Dean?" Cas' voice rumbled, sending sparks of want through his flesh "Are you alright?"
His mind was telling him to flee, to jump into his baby and get away before it all came crashing down around him, but his legs were refusing to budge. Once again, he was lost in the midnight pools of Cas' eyes, stomach doing girly flip-flops the longer that their staring match dragged on.
Jo seemed to click before anyone else did; they all had their suspicions regarding his and Cas' relationship, but Jo was the only one that he'd actually confessed to. Her big brown eyes widened in shock, or maybe pity, as a parade of students dressed in pink shirts came barrelling into the cafeteria, baskets of red roses slung over their arms. The school body erupted into applause, whispering and giggling like maniacs as the roses slowly made their way around the room. Beside him, Cas was frowning at the commotion, lips pursed and head slightly tilted to the side. Maybe if he wasn't so numb with fear, he would have found it cute.
"Cas, listen," He grabbed the guy's hand, trying to ignore the painful thumping of his heart "I didn't mean to –"
"Castiel Novak?" A girl's voice interrupted. She was pale and petite, dark red hair brushing her shoulders and owlish eyes glinting with excitement "Special delivery!"
The table was silent as the girl pressed a red rose into Cas' palm, smiling almost shyly at Dean as she slipped the card over the table. The rest of the cafeteria was occupied with their own things, completely unaware of how Dean's life was slowly starting to crumble around him. But at least that meant that less eyes were on him; he was fairly certain that the rest of the gang had clocked on at this point, because they were pretty much all flitting their gazes between him and Cas, holding their breaths in anticipation.
Cas turned the flower over in his hand slowly, brow furrowed in confusion as he inspected the delicate petals. As far as he knew, no one had ever shown any romantic interest in the guy since eighth grade (except for him, of course). The poor dude was probably hoping for some hot chick to be crushing on him, not his faggot of a best friend.
"Thank you," He said softly, breathing in the sweet smell of the rose before placing it back on the table "But there must be some kind of mistake."
The girl shook her head lightly, tendrils of red hair falling over her face like cobwebs "The note specifically says 'Castiel Novak'," She glanced at Dean reluctantly, giving him a small wink before turning to leave "Maybe you should read it."
Cas watched her go with a frown, fingers gently wrapping around the flower subconsciously. He was so confused that Dean almost wanted to laugh; if only Cas knew how gorgeous he was, how unsurprising it would be for the entire school to be secretly pining over him. The notion that Dean was the only sucker out there who'd fallen for this boy made him feel almost giddy. They didn't know what they were missing out on, that Cas was beautiful – inside and out.
"You gonna stare it to death, or actually read it?" Victor smirked, ignoring the scowl Jo was sending his way.
The gang collectively held their breath as Cas reached for the note, locking eyes with Dean as he slid the card closer to him. Dean could swear that there was some kind of hidden emotion behind those baby blues, something important that he couldn't quite make out. But before he had a chance to take a closer look, Cas was bringing the note up to his face. Dean grimaced at the cheap paper, a startling shade of pink with tiny hearts bordering the message inside.
"Dear Castiel," Cas read aloud, forehead scrunched up in concentration "Be my Valentine. Love De –" His eyes practically popped out of his skull, darting up to meet Dean's wavering gaze with disbelief "Love Dean…"
Charlie clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle a squeal, the rest of them watching on with various looks of apprehension. It was as if the entire cafeteria had slowed down, hushed in silence as Dean wriggled in his seat like an animal at a zoo. Perhaps they'd attracted more attention that he'd previously thought.
Cas' throat was working like a fish as he continued to stare Dean down, Adam's apple bobbing with each swallow "Dean… what is this?"
He shrugged. What was he supposed to say? There was no point in lying now; the proof was right there in front of them. The chances of some random student posting a note on Dean's behalf as some sick kind of joke was pretty unlikely, after all. The only thing he could do was tell the truth, and hope that he didn't lose a best friend out of it.
"It's a rose," He said, voice cracking in the silence of the room "For you."
Cas nodded his head slowly, eyes never leaving Dean's face "Yes, I understand that. But why?"
There were a few chuckles throughout the crowd, a couple of whispers, but mainly it was quiet. Dean was wringing his hands together beneath the table, body turned towards Cas with one leg propped up against the seat. He almost looked casual, despite the fact that he was screaming inside, and the urge to close his eyes and disappear was all too strong.
He licked his lips and tasted the coppery sensation of blood; he must have been chewing them without realizing "C'mon, Cas…" He forced a laugh "Why the hell d'ya think I sent you a frickin' rose, man?"
Cas shrugged, unsure "It's… primarily a show of affection," His cheeks were dusted a light shade of pink, but he refused to look away "Romantic affection, for a significant other."
Dean couldn't help but chuckle; even with half of the goddamn school watching them like hawks, Cas still managed to speak like he'd swallowed an Oxford dictionary "I know what it means," He said softly, squeezing his eyes shut as he reached for Cas' hand once again "And I wanted you to have one, 'cos… ya know. You're you, and that's awesome."
Cas had dropped his gaze to their hands, fingers now entwined. He realized that his palms were kind of clammy, but he tightened his grip all the same. The corners of Cas' mouth twitched a little at the touch, making his heart flutter like a butterfly on steroids.
"You don't have to say anything," He continued "But, I… I just thought that it was about time that you knew, before it was too late."
Cas looked back up, blinking furiously. He seemed a little dazed, but his eyes were bright and searching as he grabbed for Dean's other hand "Do you mean it?" He asked firmly, deep voice slicing through the tension of the room.
"Course I mean it," Dean swallowed thickly "Why the hell would I lie to you?"
Cas nodded once, as if he was agreeing with some complex mathematical equation or something "That's good," He said, the ghost of a smile passing his lips "Okay. Yes."
And then Cas was sitting on his lap, mouth pressed against Dean's as the crowd of students began to cheer around them. All he could do was kiss back, hands resting on Cas' hips with fingers carding deliciously through his hair, teeth nipping gently at his bottom lip as soft moans got lost in the back of his throat.
When Cas pulled back, he was grinning like an idiot (which really was a good look on him) "I accept your offer, Dean," He panted, leaning forward to rub his nose against Dean's cheek "I would be honoured to be your Valentine."
Dean smiled back, strangled laugh falling from his lips as he pulled Cas closer "How about my boyfriend?" He couldn't tell you how great it felt to finally ask that question, knowing with confidence that the answer would be a 'yes'.
Cas cupped his face gently and sighed, blue eyes brimming with warmth and affection "Even better."
And if the screaming cafeteria was still cheering them on, he didn't have a clue; he was too lost in the feeling of Cas in his arms, whispering words of love against his lips.