The Knock (Destiel)

Chapter two

2. An invisible day in the life of Castiel Novak

       "Have you always been - you know, mute?"

       Castiel wished he hadn't said yes to saying the Sam around. The tall man had been asking questions the whole way, annoying the anti-social man. People were looking their way, probably curious who both the men were. Castiel hated the attention and just wanted to disappear in the crowd.

       He shook his head, looking down. He could feel eyes burn in the back of his head, but he didn't dare to look up or next to him. He knew that Sam wanted to ask him why. Thank the lord that he didn't.

       He dropped Sam off where he was supposed to be and without even waving he walked away. He looked at his old iPhone, seeing it was almost 10:45 AM. He owned a simple iPhone 4. The screen was cracked and he couldn't download anymore apps because his memory was full. He couldn't even put the new software update on the damn thing, but it didn't bother him. After all, he only used his phone as an alarm and for time, as the batteries of his watch were dead and he didn't have money to repair it.

       Sighing deeply, Castiel decided to already go to his only class for today, social psychology. He avoided kissing couples and bullies messing around with nerds, keeping his head down. Someone had bumped into him but he walked away before there could be a word spoken.

       He arrived at the classroom ten minutes early. The teacher, Miss Milton, was already inside, probably preparing for class. He stepped in quietly, closing the door behind him. Miss Milton looked around after hearing the door close, seeing the student walk to the back.

       She had been his teacher for two years now. She knew that the boy didn't talk and she also knew why. It was heartbreaking to hear the story from her boss. Yet, Castiel always showed up. She had noticed the loss of weight, but when she tried to talk to him about it once, he had run away quickly. She was worried that the boy might do or might be doing something 'bad', but it didn't feel right to share it.

       "Good morning, Castiel," she said softly. The walking boy turned around and gave a small wave. A small smile played on his lips. He had always liked her the most. She didn't act like he was some kind of freak like all the other teachers did. One upside was that his teachers never bothered to ask him anything because they thought so.

       He made his way to the back of the classroom, sitting in his usual seat. It was weird. His classmates never seemed to notice him in any way but they still never sat down in that seat, as if they respected that it was his place. He put his books on the table, watching as one by one the students walked in. The popular students sat in the back, while the actually interested ones sat in front. You'd think that after high school at least those stupid groups would disappear, but in this college, that was not the case.

       Two hours later, all the students that had shown up, which were about twelve, left the classroom in a hurry. They probably had a home to go to. Castiel took his time to grab his stuff, like he'd always done. It always meant he could go back to his dorm, studying a bit and then sleep. This time, he dreaded going back. He figured that his new roommate wouldn't be there, but he didn't have his time alone anymore.

       He waved at Miss Milton before walking out of the classroom. Again, he tried to avoid any activity in the halls. He sighed in relief when he left the crowded place. Ten minutes later he arrived at his home, as he liked to call it, and walked inside. The silence greeted him like his best friend.

       That silence was ruined when someone knocked on the door about an hour later. Castiel groaned in annoyance as he stood up. He opened the door with a bitchface, thinking he'd meet up with his unwanted new roommate. That wasn't the case. He didn't drop the glare, because he still didn't like company, but wow.

       The man standing in front of him was handsome, beautiful even. His green eyes almost busted his own dull ones as they shined. The man had a confident smirk on his perfect lips, as freckles covered his tanned skin. He had a little stubble, which made him look older. The unknown man was just a little bit taller than him, but he almost felt intimidated.

       They just stared at each other for sometime. Castiel felt awkward under the gorgeous man's stare and looked down after a while, noticing the man's bowlegs. It didn't make him less perfect though. The unknown man seemed to sense how uncomfortable Castiel felt in front of him, and spoke.

       "Hiya. Is Sammy here? He forgot something and I kinda need his help." His voice was deep and sent shivers down Castiel's spine. He looked up to the forest green eyes again, shaking his head slowly. The man raised his eyebrows. "What is it? Cat got your tongue?"

       All the hope Castiel had shattered at that moment. He could feel the tears coming up, as the itching feeling on his arms returned. He didn't know what to do, so he just looked down. Apparently, the man noticed that he'd said something wrong, as he just stood in the door opening awkwardly.

       "Can I come in?"

       Castiel didn't bother to actually invite him in, he just walked in himself, leaving the door open. He sat down on his bed, trying to even his breathing. He could feel a panic attack rising in his chest, which he didn't need and definitely didn't want right now. He held his head beneath his knees, as a single tear escaped his eye. He wiped it away as soon as it escaped.

       "Dean, what are you doing here?" Castiel recognised the voice as Sam's, yet he didn't look up.

       "Sammy! I just came to drop something off and tell you what I've got on the case, since it's an annoying one at that." Castiel never heard any reply, but he did hear footsteps, getting closer. He flinched when he felt a hand on his shoulder, looking up at the much kinder face of Sam with wide eyes.

       "What happened?" he asked. Castiel knew he didn't directly ask him, because he tilted his head slighty. He didn't take he eyes off the shaken man, though. Castiel never relaxed under his gaze and touch, just wanting to get away from there.

       "Well, he didn't talk, so I joked and asked him if the cat got his tongue, and then he just freaked." Castiel decided that he didn't like the confident and cocky additude of this Dean person. It didn't suit him. Sam just groaned and rolled his eyes.

       "Of course you did," he mumbled, clearly annoyed by the other man. "Dean, Cas is selectively mute. Obviously he has a reason for it so yeah, of course it would freak him out! Sometimes I forget you're the older one."

       Castiel looked at the tall man in confusion. He had just called him 'Cas'. Nobody had called him that since that night. Then he looked at Dean, who had his mouth open. It was obvious he felt guilty.

       "Now, give me the files of the case and I'll see what I can do. You apologise to Cas, now," Sam ordered, standing up. Dean pulled a brown folder out of his bag and gave it to Sam, who walked out of the room immediately, but not before he glared at his brother dangerously. Dean slowly walked up to the shaken man and pursed his lips together.

       "I-I'm sorry, Cas. I shouldn't have jumped in conclusions that soon," Castiel rolled his eyes. That Sam called him Cas was one thing. Although he hated company, the man was somewhat nice towards him. Dean wasn't. He stood up and grabbed his notebook.

       My name is Castiel, y'know, he wrote, shoving the notebook in Dean's hands. Dean never had the chance to answer after that, because Castiel had already left the room.