Unlikely Lovers

Chapter 2

The morning came quickly, like always. You fall asleep and then suddenly wake up and it's light outside, almost like time travel. Castiel woke up to the same old yelling and screaming of his temporary parents... they were fighting again, apparently she had been out with another man that night, and her husband could smell the other man's cologne. He was extremely hungover, throwing up and everything; same old same old. Cas sat up rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, eventually standing up. He went up to the bathroom and locked the door, getting ready for school once more. He changed into his clothes, another sweater and some jeans. The man started banging on the door, yelling at Castiel inside.

"Open this fucking door right now you lousy piece of shit!" he screamed.

His words were like daggers stabbing every inch of his being. Lousy? What about all the things I did for you? The thoughts once again ran through his mind, questioning himself as if he didn't know who he was.
Cas spat out the toothpaste and rinsed the remaining toothpaste out of his mouth with water, letting the water run so his saliva and toothpaste went down the drain.
He hesitated to open the door, knowing the man was on the other side, but he couldn't keep himself locked in a bathroom all his life. He unlocked the door and turned the knob and the man shoved Cas out of the way, making him stumble aside. Castiel hurried down the stairs and into the kitchen to gather his bag and head out the door, escaping before any more words were said.

He trudged through the fresh snow on the ground that was quite deep; he could feel the snow seeping into his boots and touching his ankles, biting at his skin with its cold, wet touch. The white powder finding its way into his shoes and melting inside making his socks soaking wet. But still, he went on walking until he got to the sidewalk that had luckily been plowed so he didn't have to walk in the snow anymore. Once he reached the sidewalk it was a straight shot to the school. He exhaled into the cold air, watching as his warm breath resembled that of smoke.

As he arrived at the school he realized that no cars, or buses, or any other students were in the parking lot.
He furrowed his brow in confusion, it was only Thursday, and there should be school. He walked up to the front door and tried to pull it open; no luck. It was locked and there was no way he was getting in. They must have gotten snowed out, figures. He had gotten his feet wet for no reason, while at the same time freezing himself to the bone. There was no way his foster parents would tell him they were snowed out; they didn't care about him in the slightest. He let out a sigh and began his journey back 'home'. A home is supposed to be some place where you are welcome, and loved, and comforted. That was not what he had. He was neglected; he had to take care of himself and most times everyone else. They weren't looking for a child they were looking for a maid.

He started making his way back, kicking the bits of salt along the way. He took a shortcut through the park, the pond was frozen over, and the branches were swaying in the wind. Naked branches with snow covering them. The ducks and birds had flown south for the winter, and the squirrels and chipmunks burrowed into trees with all their acorns. At least they accepted each other for who they are, well besides the whole survival of the fittest part... Maybe he wasn't the fittest, but he was surviving, he survived this long, that had to mean something.

He reached the sidewalk making his journey back to the inevitable; he occasionally rubbed his hands together, breathing into them to keep his blood from freezing since he didn't have any gloves. Cas pulled the neck of the baggy sweater up over his mouth and nose to at least keep his face from freezing off.
Why couldn't they just tell me school had been cancelled? Is it really that hard to say a few simple words? He wondered to himself, but he knew that they would never treat him like the way he deserved.

The occasional buzzing of cars driving by filled Castiel's red ears until he noticed one car slowly stopping near him, keeping pace to the speed to which he was walking. The passenger side window slowly opened and he saw Dean's face leaning over to him.