Strings Attached

Chapter 61

Monday morning, and still no Chuck. By this point, even the eldest two are getting worried, though they do their best to hide it from the others. Castiel can't help but feel bad for them. College hasn't started back up yet, so they don't have the distraction of school to get their minds off of their missing father.

Dean picks the Novaks and Garth up that morning, just as he did for the entirety of the week before. They all slide in the back because Sam is sitting shotgun, as always.

"How are you guys?" Sam asks politely.

"Horrible," Gabriel replies.

"Just a Monday thing? Or is something up?"

"My dad's still not back," Gabriel tells him, likely having told Sam what's going on a while ago.

"Oh, really?" Sam says, both surprised and sympathetic. "I figured he'd be back by now. If I was you, I would call him again. Even if your brothers don't want you to."

"Michael would get mad," Gabriel replies. "I'm just gonna hang on until midnight on Saturday, and if he's not back by then, I'm calling him."

"Well, tell me how that goes."

"I will," Gabriel assures him. "Trust me, you're gonna get the whole scoop on this, whether you want it or not."

"I'll be waiting."

They finally make it to school after an insane amount of daily traffic. They all slide out of the car, and, for the first time since a week ago, Dean doesn't walk away.

"Dean, go be a friend," Sam instructs him.

"I'm hanging out with you guys for now," Dean replies.

"We already talked about this," Sam reminds him.

"Yeah, I know. And Crowley knows Cas and I are dating, and he didn't flip shit, so I don't need to run away from you."

"How'd Crowley find out?" Garth inquires.

"Cas came to my game on Friday and Crowley found us," Dean explains.

"And he was fine with it?" Sam says incredulously. "They would have made me quit the team, had I still been on it!"

Dean shrugs. "Well, he wanted to win, and he knows they need me for it."

"Wow, so modest," Gabriel says sarcastically.

"Just stating the facts," Dean replies.

"It's true," Sam agrees. "Dean is the basketball master."

"Ahem," Dean replies. "The sports master, actually."

Sam rolls his eyes. "Yeah, sure you are," Sam says sarcastically.

Dean gives his brother a signature bitchface, which Sam returns.

"Bitch."

"Jerk."

"Aw, love insults!" Charlie squeals, running over to them. "I ship it!"

The disgusted faces the two boys make are priceless.

"Ew, god no!" Sam says immediately.

"We're brothers!" Dean adds.

Charlie nods thoughtfully. "Yeah, so... Ooh, got it! Wincest!"

"I swear to god, if you ever say that again, I will beat your ass until you're unable to speak," Dean replies, cracking his knuckles for dramatic effect.

"Hey, look at that!" Charlie says suddenly, looks around. "Uh... Hey, it's Kevin! I'm just gonna go see Kevin now, so..." She runs away as fast as possible, causing the others to laugh. Dean watches with a satisfied smirk. After all, who doesn't love a good old fashion threatening?

~~

Castiel had been looking for Dean before lunch that day, but when he hears Crowley's voice, he stops, hiding behind the wall as if it will protect him.

"Hey, there you are!" Crowley observes. "You finally coming back to the lunch table?"

"Nah," a familiar voice replies. Dean. "I'm gonna hang with Cas today."

Crowley groans. "Oh my god, seriously, Dean? You're picking Castiel over us?"

"Yep," Dean replies confidently. "It's not like it's the first time. Where did you think I went when I wasn't at lunch with you?"

"Seriously? Dude, how long have you been together?"

"New Years," Dean replies. "But we were friends for a while. You know, friends, as in someone you can hang out with and have a good time without making anyone else feel bad. It's really cool. You should try it."

Crowley scoffs. "Is this a joke? What the hell happened to the Dean Winchester I know?"

"I'm still here," Dean replies. "But I promised Castiel I'd be less of a dick this year, so I figured a good place to start would be being a dick to you."

"What are you — You know what? I don't want to know. Listen, Dean. I don't know what's gotten into you, but you've got to snap out of it. This isn't you. You're supposed to be the biggest badass in the school. No one's going to say that about the guy making out in the janitor's closet with the boy everyone hates."

"What did you just say?" Dean growls, his voice dangerous.

"You heard me," Crowley replies, his confidence unwavering despite Dean's warning tone. "Enough with this lovesick puppy shit. You're Dean freaking Winchester. You don't belong at the nerd table making out with a freaking Novak, of all people. Sam, sure. I can sorta see that. But not you, Dean. You're better than this. Come on. The team's waiting for you. Snap out of it, man!"

"This isn't something I could just 'snap out of,' even if I wanted to."

"Why not?" Crowley challenges. "Oh, don't tell me you think you're in love with him. You do, don't you? It's only been a couple weeks, and you think you're soulmates or some shit like that? Well, you're not. You two aren't soulmates. This isn't some destiny thing. This is nothing. You belong with us, not him. You've never belonged with him."

Suddenly, the lockers rattle as a loud thud rings through the hallway. In a dangerously low tone, Dean growls, "You don't know what you're talking about, so drop it, or I will make you."

The lockers rattle again, softer this time, and footsteps approach Castiel's hiding place. He quickly runs towards the cafeteria and takes his seat. The idea of a pissed off Dean honestly scares him. He's seen what Dean is capable of for kicks and giggles, and what he does when he's mad must be even more frightening.

And yet, when he finally shows up for lunch, he acts as if nothing ever happened. Castiel doesn't bring it up. If Dean wants to act like everything is okay, there is no way Castiel is going to be the one to say otherwise.