Strings Attached

Chapter 28

Lucifer ends up driving Castiel and Gabriel to school on Monday, because no one is going to force him to sit on the bus like this. Gabriel has get the wheelchair out of the car, but Castiel refuses to let him help with anything else. Castiel somehow manages to slide into the chair, and he begins wheeling himself towards the school, uncomfortably aware of Gabriel standing behind him.

They're early, around when Castiel used to show up, so he can get to class on time with the wheelchair. Unfortunately, there are still some people here, and he gets some strange looks.

"You don't have to babysit me," Castiel tells Gabriel.

"No, but I'm your bodyguard," Gabriel replies.

"I don't need a bodyguard," Castiel protests.

"Too bad."

Castiel sighs. "What if I ask you nicely?"

"Nope. Not leaving."

"Please leave?" Castiel tries anyway.

"Nope. Not 'til you get to class."

"Fine. Let's go."

But when Gabriel leaves Castiel, he isn't really at his class. He just picked a random room so Gabriel would leave him alone. He begins to wheel himself to his actual class, but he's stopped by a girl coming up to him. She's a redhead, her cheery smile almost making Castiel want to smile, too.

"Hey! Do you need help?"

"No," Castiel replies.

"Are you sure?" she asks.

"Yes."

"Come on, I can bring you to your class," she insists. "You'll get there way faster."

Castiel hesitates. Well, maybe... It's less likely he'll run into the school bullies if he gets there faster.

"I guess," Castiel agrees reluctantly.

"Great! Where to?"

Castiel tells her the room number he has memorized.

"Hey, my class is right next door! I'm Charlie, by the way."

"Castiel," he says softly, hoping she won't hear it because no one wants to help out Castiel.

"Novak?" Charlie asks.

"Yes," he admits.

"Cool," she replies, much to his surprise. "What happened to you?"

"I don't know," he admits.

"Really? You just, what, woke up and you had a black eye and a bunch of broken bones?" she asks skeptically.

"Basically."

"Oh," Charlie replies, seeming surprised. "That's... That's weird. Are you okay, though?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Castiel lies. He should be once the Advil kicks in, but until then, he feels horrible.

"And this is your class, right?" Charlie asks, looking at the room number. "History?"

"Yep," Castiel replies. "Thanks."

"I'll take you to your next class, too," Charlie tells him.

"No, thanks."

"I'm not offering," Charlie replies. "So, I'll see you five minutes before class ends, so you can get to class on time."

"No, really, you don't have to-"

"No, but I want to," Charlie tells him. "See ya in a few." She walks into her class, and Castiel wheels into his own. It's slow, but he makes it to the teacher's desk.