Against All Odds -Destiel

Chapter V

"They grew up on the outside of society. They weren't looking for a fight. They were looking to belong."
-S.E. Hinton, 'The Outsiders'

Dean woke up early Tuesday morning to get a hot shower. He hadn't slept well all night so getting up wasn't as difficult as it sometimes was for him since he was already awake. He crawled out of bed and staggered into the bathroom, turning the shower on to let it warm up. He threw off his clothes and got into the shower, letting the hot water sting his cold skin. His mind wandered.

All night, Dean had been trying to reach Castiel. He called a billion times but no one answered. He had glanced out his window every few minutes to see if Cas would be there. He wasn't. 

Remembering what Cas had said about Michael that day, Dean began to feel anxious. An agonizing sense of dread washed over him like a tidal wave. Most of the night he sat in his bed staring out the window with his favorite Beatles album playing. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Dean lost himself in his thoughts as the hot water began to get colder. He had to get ready for school, although he really did not want to.

It was like trying to drive on a highway in a thick fog. Going through the motions of his everyday routine, Dean couldn't shake the feeling he had about Cas. Never had he completely ignored him that way. No, Dean knew something was wrong.

His heart pounded in his chest when he saw the yellow school bus in front of his house and hoped that his boyfriend would be there to greet him smiling and apologizing for not answering his calls. But Dean's heart sank lower than it had ever before when he saw an empty seat there where Cas should be sitting.

In every class, Dean tapped his pencil on his notebook, staring into space and droning out the noise of the classroom. He went over in his head every possible reason he could think of that Cas would not answer his phone. Then, halfway through his day, Dean noticed something. Michael was gone, too. Suddenly, with his heart racing and his mind on overdrive, Dean felt as if he would have a panic attack and pass out. It was impossible to not think of the worst possible scenarios. He wished he could steal away to the dark quiet sanctity of the storage room but Cas had the key.

At lunch, Dean tried to focus on something else. Anything to get his mind to stop worrying about Cas. There was nothing he could do. He decided to read. He picked up from where his class left off in "The Outsiders". The story of Ponyboy Curtis and Johnny Cade really appealed to Dean. He read and read all through lunch, but still thought of Cas.

The book closed with a thump as Dean got up to go to class. Of course, people continued to harass Dean today. It wasn't as bad. Maybe it was because Cas wasn't there and they didn't really see the point. Or maybe Michael was the ringleader or the instigator and they felt exposed without his tough persona to protect their mockery. Whatever it was didn't matter to Dean. He just needed to know that Cas was okay.

When he got home, he pounded up the stairs and closed his bedroom door, running straight for the phone and dialing Cas's number. But it was futile. He sat hopelessly staring out his window at Cas's house wondering what the hell could have happened. He tried to think logically but that didn't work either. His heart jumped when he saw the front door open and a male figure step out. His heart sunk again when he saw it wasn't Cas, but his brother Michael that came out of the house,  hands stuffed into his jacket pockets and pulling out the keys to his car. He observed as Michael drove away.

Dean pondered his next move. With Michael gone, he felt more comfortable going over there and knocking on the door. Of course there was the issue with the other brother and their mom. But Dean was desperate. A knot had been forming in Dean's stomach all day and he wasn't going to lay awake in bed all night again.