Anonymous

Chapter 11

Castiel's been having a bad day in general. Aaron wasn't here; Castiel was paranoid that everyone was talking about him this morning; he accidentally low key outed himself after a few hours; and then he essentially got bullied out of the cafeteria. All he wants now is to talk to Smith and Wesson in peace, just for the company if nothing else, but he can't even hide in the bathrooms because neither of the two he checks have WiFi.

He stands in the hallway for a few moments, typing out a message just to see if Smith and Wesson is on his phone.

marvelbutmostlyloki: I need help

But a minute or two go by, and there's no sign of him.

He slides down to the floor with a long sigh. What is his life coming to? Everything was going so well until Lisa and Meg walked into his life, and now it's all falling apart. And he can't imagine facing his brother again after that. And if he tells their dad... God, this is going to be bad. This is going to be really, really bad, and it's not going to get better soon.

"Castiel?"

His head snaps up immediately at the sound of his name. There's a girl standing in front of him; a redhead that he can't remember the name of. He's decently sure she's a senior, which makes this even more intimidating.

"If you're just going to make fun of me, can you come back later?" Castiel asks quietly. He's afraid that if she starts now, he's going to be in tears by the time lunch ends.

"What? I'm not going to make fun of you," she says. "Can I sit?"

Castiel instantly thinks back to how this all began — a brief Can I sit? from Lisa Braedon. This can't be a good sign, but he can't say no, either.

"Okay."

Charlie sits down next to him, her back up against the wall. "It's gonna be awkward if I'm wrong, but those guys, were they bugging you because you're gay?"

Castiel sighs to himself. "Word travels fast, huh?"

"Perks of a small school, I guess," Charlie says. "I know you don't know me, and I don't really know you, but I wanted to say I'm sorry about how close minded people are."

Castiel just shrugs.

"I'm sure this isn't much of a consolation," she continues, "but, for what it's worth, you're not alone."

"Oh, I beg to differ," he says.

"I'm gay too," she says, spitting the words out quickly.

Castiel gapes at her. "Wait, you..."

She just nods.

"I didn't think anyone else..." But that's three of them now. Him, Charlie, and Smith and Wesson. Maybe there aren't as many straight people as he thought. Or maybe he's found all the lgbt people from his school. But at least he's not alone.

"Me neither," she says. "That's kinda why I haven't told anyone else. And I don't think I'm going to now, either, but I've finally told someone. But I just want you to know, so you know you're not alone. And I know it doesn't mean much, but, you know, if you need anything, just ask."

"Thanks," he says with a small smile. "But I don't think there's really anything you can do. I just have to hope my dad doesn't kill me."

Charlie's eyes widen at that. "Oh, right, you're religious. I didn't even think..."

"I'm sure it will be fine," he says, but he's not sure he means it.

"I know this really isn't my business, but I have to ask," Charlie says. "Your parents, they're not, like, abusive? So you're not in danger, right?"

Castiel shakes his head. "Physically, no, I'll be fine." Although part of him wishes he knew his death was coming as soon as he got home.

"If you need someplace to stay or whatever if your family isn't happy with you, you can come stay with me," she says. "Give me your phone and I'll put in my number. If you ever need anything, tell me."

Castiel unlocks his phone and hands it to her. As she's putting her phone number in, he says, "It's fine if you don't want to, but if you're really up for helping, could you maybe find me another ride home today? I don't want to sit with my brother for the full 15 minutes home."

"Of course," she says. "Here, I'll call my friend right now, and I'm sure he'll be able to help you out." She hands him his phone back, then takes out her own to call her friend. "Hey! Yeah, I'm just out in the hall. Can you drive Castiel home? Just for today. It'll be, like, five minutes. Dude! Sam will be fine waiting for two minutes! Dean — Thank you. Bye."

"I'm getting mixed signals from that," Castiel says.

"Don't worry, I got you," Charlie says. "I annoyed my friend into it. Meet me by the front door when school's out, okay? I can show you his car."

"Thanks," Castiel says, and he hopes she can hear how truly grateful he is.

"You know what they say," she says. "Friends that gay together stay together."