Chalk & Chainmail

Chapter 5

Castiel had been spending every waking hour with Dean Winchester since he’d arrived in Kansas. He knew the only reason he was getting away with it was because his father had been gone, but he had never been so grateful for a non-existent father in his life. Dean was all easy smiles and happy freckles and lively green eyes, and his passion for life was contagious. Castiel had never had a friend like Dean before, and he was certain he probably never would again. Castiel knew the possibility of them no longer being friends was always out there, that Dean would someday realize Castiel was boring and serious, but for the time being, he clung to every momenty they spent together like they were his only lifeline on a sinking ship.   

 

"So, why'd you move here?" Dean had asked him on the first day while they searched for Castiel's missing book.

"My father wanted us to be closer our family," Cas explained. "Most of my cousins and family friends live here, and my father is gone quite often. He wanted us to have a good support system."

"Why's he gone all the time?"  

"For work," Cas replied distantly, and Dean, taking a hint, dropped the subject. After that, there were no more questions about Castiel's home life. There was simply Dean and Cas.

  

A soft clink sounded against Castiel's window, and as he stood and crossed his bedroom floor, the sound came again. Throwing back his curtains, Castiel looked down and found Dean, like he knew he would, standing below his window, a handful of pebbles at his side. Castiel opened the window.

"Hey-a Cas!" Dean shouted up to him, a big grin on his face.

"You know we have a telephone, Dean, and a front door. You could use either instead of throwing rocks at my window all the time."

"Nah, then I'd have to go through other people to get to you. This is easier. Besides, makes me feel like I'm in a movie or somethin'." Dean looked up at Cas squinting against the harsh brightness of the sun, and Castiel's lips quirked into a smile.

"Come around I'll let you in."

Dean disappeared around the side of the house and met Castiel at the front door.

"So whatcha doing?" he asked pushing past Castiel. Castiel closed the door and followed Dean to his bedroom.

"Reading."

"Again? Why? Reading is boring!"

"Reading is enlightening, Dean. My father says my mother liked me to read. Besides, I want to be ready when school starts."

Dean glanced at Castiel's bed and spotted the textbook Cas had been reading flipped over, pages down, to hold his place. Dean picked it up and held it up to Cas.

"You're reading a textbook, during the summer?" His eyebrows were raised, and his tone of voice indicated it was the most ludicrous thing he'd ever heard.

Castiel squirmed a little before taking the book from Dean and setting it, closed, on his nightstand. "My father likes me to stay caught up. If I'm going to amount to anything I need to stay caught up," he answered quietly looking at the ground. Castiel knew he was different from most kids, but he'd never had to explain himself to anyone before. The only other peers he associated with on a regular basis were his cousins and his father's friend's children, and they were all raised quite similarly to Castiel. They read textbooks over the summer, too. Ever since meeting Dean, it felt like he was running to keep up with the way Dean threw pop culture references and slang terms around like a baseball at a baseball game. And although Dean was patient, always trying to explain things to Cas so he had never felt belittled, sometimes their differences were far too apparent.