Chapter Text
Junior year was supposed to be a fresh start for Dean Winchester. No more sleeping with the entire cheerleader squad at his new school, no picking fights with his teachers. It had taken him a few too many years to realize how much his actions at school impacted his younger brother’s life, and he planned to make good on those regrets.
But of course, whatever supreme being was up there, who Sam prayed to every night their father went out on a “job” and didn’t return for a week, had to intervene.
His first day went to Hell the moment it started. Naturally, their father couldn’t have bothered to buy any groceries for the boys before leaving for a two-day job, and Dean was forced to make do with the measly vegetables they had left to satisfy his younger brother’s health food obsession. Seriously, what kind of twelve-year-old needed a salad every morning? On top of that, his brother nearly forgot all his books on the dingy motel room bed, since he was up studying his syllabus to “be prepared because he didn’t know his classmate’s capabilities.” Dean was rest assured that no seventh grade dweeb could beat his brother when it came to being a nerd.
Hence, they were late.
The next thing the universe had to throw to dampen Dean’s mood was his favorite flannel tearing against a hinge it had to get caught against in the rush to find Sam’s class, within the labyrinth of a school they were thrown into in Houston, Texas. Their father gave the same old excuse, “Merchant Navy job,” ”Better prospects there.” Sammy was starting to grow suspicious. Heck, the kid was growing tired of the hand-me-down clothes and leftover takeout meals, and that feeling would only worsen the more he hung out with kids his age at school.
“Are you listening to me, Dean? I bet everyone else has a tiffin!” He could hear Sam yell over the noise in the hallway, but he was too pissed off to argue with the little brat then. He had the weight of an empty backpack and having to be a decent student for said-brat on his shoulders. It was difficult enough finding Sam’s English class, over his brother’s rants about the inaccuracies in his History textbook and the stampede of late students shoving and pushing. Dean was inclined to step on a particularly speedy and clumsy student’s shoe, but he reminded himself of his goal this year. Never mind the annoyingly apologetic look the boy flashed back in a hurry, or the fact that he could’ve tripped on the trench coat he wore alone.
Being nice-adjacent for the sake of his brother.
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What came as a surprise to Castiel’s family on his first day of school, was that he managed to sleep through his alarm in the morning. He wasn’t able to sleep the entire night, too busy playing out every possible scenario that could take place during his class introductions. It’d be his first time studying amongst so many new peers his age, since his family had been adamant on having him home-schooled until college, as they did for his cousin Gabriel. Unfortunately, the plan backfired on them, because Gabriel didn’t remain upstanding and respectful the way he was before he ditched college and started up his own bakery. Castiel, of course, was delighted for his brother. His parents? Not so much.
So, they decided to enroll his reclusive self, and his younger sister Anna, to the first reputable high-school they could find in the vicinity. What could possibly go wrong?
“I can’t believe we get to wear whatever we want to this school.” His sister chirped excitedly at the breakfast table between spoonfuls of cereal, before standing up and giving Castiel a twirl in the blue top and jeans she was wearing, “How’s it? I couldn’t pick between this one and a-”
“Not whatever you want.” Their uncle, Balthazar interjected. The moment he’d speak up at the table, Castiel could see Anna’s expression fall instantly, “There’s still a dress code, young lady.”
After finishing his cereal, Castiel stood up from the table and patted his sister on her shoulder, putting on the most reassuring tone he could muster through his own exhaustion and rush to get to class, “I think you look wonderful, Anna.”
Castiel barely had the time to look at the mirror near the entrance to their home once, and try to tidy the mess of brunet hair, as he put on the comforting, beige trench coat over the first gray button-up he could find in his closet. The trench coat was a gift from Gabriel, though it was more of a secondhand relic, since it didn’t fit his brother and was thus ‘gifted’ to him. Still, it reminded him of the side of his family that cared and loved, so he couldn’t care less about the maddening Texas heat. He’d wear it everywhere he went.
The bus ride to school was quiet, peaceful. It calmed his nerves just a bit, and seeing his sister next to him, practically jumping on her seat and giddily describing everything she’d do on her first day of middle school, put Castiel to ease. For now.
The relaxation didn’t last long, because the moment they entered the premises together, it felt like all of Castiel’s hopes crashed down to the ground and were combusting in front of his eyes. He didn’t exactly expect people to move in an orderly manner, or introduce themselves to him, or help him to his class. He also hadn’t predicted the bell ringing the moment he stepped foot into the building, or Anna ditching him for the first girl she could find to ask about her classes.
Just the feeling of students pushing against him at the entrance to run through the hallway, the sight of people taller and better dressed than him, lounging around amidst the chaos, set panic rushing through him. Was he supposed to run, too? How much trouble would he get in for arriving late to his first class? So, Castiel did the same as the rest. Or, he tried to.
Every time his shoulder bumped against the current of high-schoolers, he’d have to turn around and apologize, during which another student would promptly push him in the opposite direction. Between trying to find a door that had his grade written on it, and making sure he didn’t step on anyone’s shoes, his side slammed against an awfully pissed-off, flannel wearing teenager. He was about to apologize when he turned back, but the look on the boy’s face…he’d watched enough of Gabriel’s cliche movie collections to know he was in trouble, and ran for the closest path to another hallway he could.
Getting to class on time would only be an issue if he didn’t get punched in the face by some bully who looked like he ate rocks and pure hatred for breakfast.