Strings Attached

Chapter 56

Castiel is fortunate enough not to run into Crowley, Azazel and Alastair until the next day. They corner him as he attempts to head down to lunch, and Castiel realizes he doesn't have an escape. If only he were as short as last year; he could have ducked under them and run for his life. Now, he's stuck just hoping he doesn't get too hurt.

"Long time no see, angel," Crowley greets him, his expression and tone enough to show that it's not a good thing. "Let's chat, shall we?"

Castiel takes a nervous step back until he's pressed against the wall of lockers.

"What, no witty remarks this time?" Alastair observes with an evil grin.

"Not so safe without your wheelchair to protect you, huh?" Azazel mocks.

"You've had your time," Crowley adds. "Now we have ours, and this is long overdue."

He slams Castiel into the lockers, the hinges and locks jabbing into his back. Castiel lets out a small whimper.

"Aw, puppy going soft?" Azazel teases. "It's been too long, huh?"

"That just makes this even more fun," Crowley says, pulling Castiel off the lockers only to pin him up again, this time with his feet hovering above the ground slightly. "You know better than to talk back to us, angel. I don't care that you were in a wheelchair. That doesn't make it okay."

As soon as Crowley brings that up, Castiel realizes that this is about more than just finding Castiel and playing around. They're angry about that, and probably will be for a long time. They won't have any reservations about hurting him for real. And for at least five minutes, they do.

"There you are!"

The sound of Dean's voice has never made Castiel feel better. By this point, he's lying in the ground, more as a sign of weakness than actual pain. Maybe if he acts like it hurts more, they'll stop sooner.

"Dean, we were wondering where you were," Crowley tells him, though Dean was never once mentioned in this fight.

"Well, here I am," Dean replies. "I've got to steal Castiel from you. Only a week and a half 'til finals, and I am not failing those."

"Can't you just ask your brother at home?" Azazel asks. "We're in the middle of something here."

"Sam's only in geometry. I need help with pre calc."

"You're no fun," Crowley pouts. "Fine. You can borrow the angel. We'll finish with him later."

"I'm gonna need study help all year," Dean tells him. "Or someone to do my work. Either one. Don't break him."

Crowley sighs. "Dean, we aren't going to break him. We don't need another hands off order."

"Good," Dean replies. "Then you guys go to lunch, and I'll take the kid. Deal?"

Crowley nods once. "Deal. See ya at practice."

They walk away, Crowley leading the triangle that they travel in. Dean offers Castiel a hand, but he ignores it. Instead, he tries to push himself up. He stumbles slightly, but he manages to stand up eventually. As long as he doesn't stand on his left leg, he'll be fine. Ish.

"You okay?" Dean asks.

Castiel nods. "Yeah, I'm fine," he lies.

"Okay," Dean replies, but Castiel can hear his skepticism. "Well, come on. Let's go escape."

They walk — or, in Castiel's case, limp — down to the band room, where Castiel takes a seat immediately. Dean looks down at him with a frown.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Dean asks.

Castiel nods again. "Yeah, I'm fine," Castiel repeats. "Just gotta get used to it again."

"The fact that you have to get used to this is sad," Dean tells him. "No one should be used to pain."

"Well, I am. Or was. But I will be, at least."

"No, I mean no one should have to be used to it," Dean clarifies. "I'll try to get them to stop bugging you if you want. It'll be tough, but I can try."

"It's fine," Castiel assures him. "I can deal."

"Are you sure?"

Castiel nods. "Yeah. I can handle it."

"Yes, it really looked like you were handling it," Dean says sarcastically.

"I was handling it enough."

"If I hadn't come looking for you, you'd probably be knocked out on the floor by now."

"But you did come find me, so it's all fine," Castiel replies.

Dean sighs. "You can't just wait for me to show up and save you. You've got to stand up for yourself. Consistently, not just that one time. I'm sure that'll get them to leave you alone eventually."

"Or it'll get me hurt more," Castiel adds. "You never know."

"Oh, true," Dean agrees. "Yeah, that's a tough decision."

"Then I'm going to opt for silence," Castiel tells him. "It works wonders."

"Then I'll try to be the hero that saves you from your inevitable doom," Dean jokes.

"If it's inevitable, you can't save me from it," Castiel tells him.

"I'll figure out a way to," Dean replies. "Screw destiny or whatever. I'll always be here to save you."

Castiel doesn't know why, but though this should make him smile, he doesn't. He isn't sure what about it makes him sad. Maybe it's because Castiel knows that Dean isn't a knight in shining armor that will always be there to come in and sweep him off his feet like it was a fairytale. Or maybe it's because Castiel knows that, no matter how much he would like to, he'll never have the chance to pay Dean back for all he times the boy has saved him.