what if i said i liked you (and i always have)

Neighbors

Everyone says that the best friendships are the ones you make when you're a little kid. On the playground, in your first grade class, at dance lessons, on your soccer team; those are the ones that will be the most important. Castiel Novak disagrees. Now, that's not just because his only friends growing up were his brothers. It's also not because the only brother he still speaks to, Gabriel, always had friends. It's not even because the other kids were often unnerved by Castiel's manner of speaking, the way he thought, or his weird family. The reason Castiel knows that the best friendships aren't those childhood ones is because he made his best friends in college. It all started on his freshman year move-in day.

Castiel dragged his suitcase and a cardboard box full of books up to Gabriel's on-campus apartment. He left them in his new room and went to get the rest of his things from his father's car. On the way out the door, he (quite literally) bumped into a tall man distracted by his own cardboard box full of books.

"Balls!" the man shouted, nearly dropping the box.

Startled, Castiel looked up, not even realizing he had bumped into the man. "Oh my god, I am so sorry," he gushed, backing up against the wall.

The man, an older guy with an ancient-looking trucker cap, a vest over a plaid flannel shirt, and grease-stained blue jeans, looked confused for a moment. He shook his head slowly, adjusting his grip on the box. "Don't worry about it, kid. Be careful."

Castiel nodded quickly, dashing back down to the parking lot across the street from his new apartment building, where his dad was waiting with the last few boxes. "Be safe, Castiel," he told his son. "If you need anything, you can call myself or your brothers." Castiel looked at his feet. He knew what was coming next.

"And if you change your mind about basic training again, you know who to call. There's always a spot for a Novak in the army."

"Yes, sir."

Castiel's father patted him on the shoulder before getting in the car, driving off, leaving Castiel and his boxes in the parking lot.

After unpacking his things, Castiel sat on his bed. He looked out the window at the view of the campus. In the distance he could see the building he knew one of his classes would be in. He looked at the photo on his desk. Himself, his father, and Gabriel at his high school graduation. It was only three years ago, but it felt like a lifetime had passed. Sighing, Castiel left his room, pacing around the empty apartment. Gabriel was still on summer vacation. As a freshman, Castiel had to arrive a week early for orientation so he would have the place to himself until the semester actually started. Unable to stand the silence any longer, Castiel grabbed his phone and his trench coat, determined to get acclimated with the campus before he had to start going to class buildings in the morning. His phone buzzed. Gabriel was calling. Rolling his eyes, he answered.

"Hello, Gabriel."

"Cassie!" came his brother's voice through the speaker. "Dad said you're moved in. What do ya think so far? Pretty banger, right?"

Castiel rolled his eyes. "Yes. It is very 'banger,'" he replied, making air quotes with his free hand.

"Stop the air quotes," Gabriel said, as if he could hear them in Castiel's tone, which he probably could. Castiel had a unique way of talking. "Anyway, what are you doing? Any parties tonight?"

"How the hell would I know? I just got here."

Gabriel laughed. "And? It's the first night of freshman year. There's parties. Go find one."

"No," Castiel told his brother, finally stepping out of the apartment and locking the door behind him. "I'm going on a walk. We'll talk later."

"Alright, party pooper. See you next week, little bro."