Anonymous

Chapter 13

Dean and Benny wait in the impala impatiently for almost five minutes after school ends before Charlie and Castiel show up. They both sit in the back seat, with Benny sitting shotgun.

"Guys, this is Castiel," Charlie says. "Castiel, that's Dean and Benny."

"Hey," Benny greets him.

Dean just offers him a wave before he silently pulls out of the school taking lot. He doesn't want to say anything in front of him. He didn't even want to drive the kid home at all. If Castiel figures out that he's the mysterious Smith and Wesson, it's over. Somehow, word will get out that he's bisexual, and that's not a risk he's willing to take.

"Whose house are we going to first?" Benny asks.

"I don't know," Dean says. "Your choice."

"Want us to take you home first?" Charlie asks Castiel.

"Sure," he says uncertainly.

"Where do you live?" Dean asks.

"67 Perdition street," Castiel replies. "It's right by —"

"I know where it is," Dean interrupts.

"Okay, sorry," Castiel mumbles.

Dean glances back at him in the rear view mirror. He feels kind of bad. He didn't mean to upset him. He just didn't realize he was that easy to shut down. He comes off as a lot more confident online.

The rest of the ride is silent. Finally, they reach Castiel's house, and Dean parks on the side of the street.

"Here you go," Dean says.

"Thanks," Castiel mutters. He looks out at the house, his hand on the door handle for what has to be 10 seconds before he gets out of the car, shutting the door behind him.

"Don't go yet," Charlie says to Dean before he can put the car back in drive.

"What? Why?" Dean asks. "I dropped him off, just like I said. I never agreed to having a tea party outside."

"I just want to make sure he gets inside okay," Charlie says. "Then we can go."

"At this rate, I'm never goin to pick Sam up," Dean says. "It's bad enough we had to come all the way over here."

"Then drop me off after you get Sam," Charlie says. "It'll almost even out. I just want to make sure things are okay."

Dean sighs and looks out the window impatiently. He's going to be fine. What's the worst that could happen?

Castiel walks down the driveway, eyeing the car sitting there. It's probably Gabriel. It's no surprise he beat them back, with how long it took for Castiel and Charlie to get out of school. He walks up to the front door, then stops. He just stares at it for a while, and Dean wants nothing more than to go over and talk to him, to assure him that it will be okay, but he can't. So he just has to wait, watching in silence as Castiel stands in front of his house.

"Dean, honk the horn," Charlie says suddenly, already rolling her window down.

"What?"

"Honk the horn," Charlie says again. "Get his attention."

Dean shakes his head. "I'm not honking the horn."

"Then I'll do —"

"Don't you fucking dare," Dean says immediately, a bit too vehemently for the occasion, and Charlie recoils in surprise. "If you do that, everyone inside that house is going to realize we're here, and they're going to realize Cas is here, and clearly that's not what he wants right now."

"I..." Charlie nods slowly. "I guess you're right." She opens the door, calling back over her shoulder, "I'm gonna talk to him. Don't leave without me!"

Dean sighs. "Well, this is fun."

"At this rate, we're all gonna have to pick Sam up if you want to get him on time," Benny says.

"Castiel better not come back, because this car is not big enough for that many people," Dean says, but he doesn't really mean it. If he's not ready to face his family yet, he shouldn't have to.

Bored, Dean pulls out his phone, trying to message Castiel again. But when he looks at the boy's profile to see if he's been on since last time — he remembers the specific gif set of Benedict Cumberbatch that had topped his blog before — all he sees is that he's been blocked. He sigh to himself and exits the app. What the hell, Castiel?

Out in front of the Novak house, Castiel and Charlie share a hug. Dean watches closely, looking for any sign that it could possibly be romantic. It would make sense. Castiel's hot and Charlie's the nicest person on the planet. They probably would like each other

The two come back to the car, and, being the gentleman that he is, Castiel lets Charlie in before sitting down next to her.

"Change of plans," Charlie says. "Castiel's coming to my place."

"Oh?" Dean glances at them in the rear view mirror. That was an awkward time to pick a first date.

"You guys can come, too," Charlie adds. "And Sammy can come, and it can be a real party!"

"I have homework to do," Dean lies. He just doesn't want to spend more time with Castiel than he has to. He doesn't want to risk the boy figuring out that he's the anonymous internet friend. "Sorry."

"Welp, invitation's still open if you change your mind."