It was a cold Monday morning, colder than it should be in September. It was also Castiel’s first day of his senior year, which just made it even worse. He had successfully stayed unknown for the past few years, but he recently became a target for bullies once they caught him on their radar. Or “gaydar”, to sum up why they bully him. Castiel hadn’t even come out as gay, heck he wasn’t even sure if he was, but all it took was him to wear one overly flamboyant outfit and he was suddenly their new victim. Still, it’s not like it made any real difference. He wouldn’t be seeing any of these people in nine months.
“Castiel, you’re gonna be late for school!” Gabriel, his brother, called up.
“Coming!” he yelled back, putting on a sweatshirt and jeans, not bothering to make a good first (“Basically fourth”, Castiel thought) impression. He ran downstairs to see that his brother had made him eggs, which was really weird. Gabriel hadn’t made Castiel breakfast since their parents’ funeral two years back. They had both died in a car crash, but he didn’t try to think of it much. Neither of them did.
“I made you breakfast since it’s, y’know, the last good year of your life,” Gabriel said, scooping some eggs for Castiel on a paper plate. “That, or I just made too many eggs and I’m giving you them to get rid of them.”
Castiel tilted his head to one side. “Is that supposed to be a joke?”
Gabriel sighed. “Listen, Cas, if you want the bullies to stop making fun of you, you could at least try to understand some things people do and make some friends for a change.”
“Why does that even matter?” Castiel squinted his eyes now. “I won’t be seeing these people in nine months and I don’t have any reason to care about what they think of me.”
“Yes, but you’ll be seeing people in college, in your job and everywhere else in the real world, so you should at least be prepared a little bit.” Gabriel said.
“I still don’t understand,” Castiel muttered, this being his usual response to most things.
Gabriel sighed yet again. “And I don’t think you ever will. C’mon, let’s get you to school before you’re too late.”
The car ride there was awkwardly silent. At least, for Gabriel it was. Castiel never noticed social cues or anything of the sort, making him an awful person to be around. When they pulled up to school Castiel started to get out, but Gabriel grabbed his shoulder.
“Hey, listen,” he said, pausing before going on. “Cas, listen, these high school kids can get violent sometimes, and just know that if anything starts to happen you can tell me and I’ll put an end to it. Or just listen, whatever floats your boat. Or, what I’m saying is that I’m here for you, ok?”
Castiel nodded, and he breathed a sigh of relief. “Remember, I’m going to be working today, so you’re getting a ride home with Sam Winchester, the freshman kid who lives down the street from us. You know him, right?” Gabriel asked.
“Yes,” Castiel confirmed. “He seems to like me when enough and I don’t think it will be too much of a problem.”
“Ok, and we’ve sorted it out, he’s cool with it.” Gabriel let go of Castiel’s shoulder. “Have a good day, kid.”
Castiel nodded and muttered a reply before getting out of the car. He walked up to the school, looking around. The school seemed to get smaller and smaller each year, which is probably due to the fact that Castiel keeps growing. He used to be really short, but now he’s reached the average height for a high school boy. He’s still a lot skinnier than most guys are, but he figures that’s how he’s going to be for the rest of his life.
