Against All Odds -Destiel

Chapter 10

Tap tap tap. He beats on the glass door from the outside and motions for me to finish my drink and come out to the van. It's time to hit the road. Again. I take a sip of whisky. And shake my head. I told you I can't go back.

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"My Love For You Is Strong,
With You There Is No Wrong."
-Led Zeppelin "Thank You"

The Monday morning alarm beeped loudly and violently for Dean to wake up. He reached over his bed, slamming the bedside clock with surprising force, even though he was still half asleep.

The golden sunshine spilled in from his window, still wide open, and made his eyes squint. When Dean blinked, he could see the Novak's house directly beneath the rising sun. Dean knew that it would set behind his own house. Then an aching thought came to Dean. The thought that had once given him butterflies and made him feel giddy and light as feather now left him feeling sick with dread and his body felt heavy like a rock. He still had to ride the bus with Cas.

Dean didn't bother with breakfast that morning. He almost didn't even bother to change his clothes but decided to change out of the Beatles shirt and into a nice red sweater with some nicer pants. He gathered his reorganized schoolwork into his bookbag, slinging it over one shoulder. He ignored the grumbling in his stomach and bolted straight out the front door, eager for it all to be done and over with. Dean ignored his father but smiled apologetically at his mom who sat at the kitchen table with her coffee. Her smile in return gave Dean the confidence he needed to conquer the day ahead.

Dean kept his head low as he boarded the bus, looking anywhere but their regular seat, not wanting to see that pained and confused look in Cas's eyes again. It was too much not to steal one quick glance, but as he did, Dean saw merely an empty seat. Dean searched the rest of the bus for a boy who stuck out above all the rest, too different to be overlooked among the cluster of regular students. But Dean's hopes were in vain. He sat alone, in Cas's seat, looking out the window with his headphones around his head, blasting Metallica.

As he was waking to class, hugging his books to his chest, Dean noticed Tina eyeing him from across the hall. He approached her, dismissing in his mind the presence of her peers at either side of her. "Hi, Tina." He said weakly with a trace of a smile.

"Hey." Tina glanced down, not wanting her pride hurt by showing any sort of interest in talking to Dean Winchester.

Dean gulped and decided to go for it. After all, he and Tina were friends and he had turned her down once, so why not try again? He knew now the mistakes he had made and wanted to fix them. He asked, "You wanna go get a bite to eat after school today?"

Tina looked to her friends for support as they raised their perfect eyebrows and tried to stifle their mocking laughter. She looked back to Dean, "I'm sorry, Dean. I just don't think it's the best idea, now. I mean people are saying you're a freak and a poser." She giggled, too, as if that would make it sound any less offensive.

Dean scoffed at her ignorance and arrogance. He continued the humiliating walk to first period alone and vulnerable. Dean sat in his normal seat in the middle row, second from the back. He half expected to see Michael in the seat behind him to the right. But Michael was gone. He never wanted to mention it to Cas, but Dean figured that he was dead. And in a dark place in his heart, Dean hoped that he was.

For all the torment and hell that he put Cas through, for what he did to kids like Dean, for his violent and unpredictable ill nature, Dean hoped to God that Michael was gone for good. Perhaps beaten to death in a fight. Maybe choked on his own drunken vomit. Dean hated himself for thinking those things, but he hoped, honestly, that Michael Novak would never return.