I Promise | A Destiel High School & College AU

CHAPTER 14 - Silver Linings

"Now the night is coming to an end. The sun will rise and we will try again."
-Truce by Twenty Øne Piløts

In the time that it took for Dean to find Sam and pack them up to stay at Cas', a new and inevitable problem had surfaced.

What exactly were they supposed to do?

Sam and Castiel still had school, and there was barely enough money to support Cas on his own. How were they meant to sustain three people? It was too risky for Sam and Dean to look for work after what had happened at the diner all that time ago.

The café at the end of the street that Cas' apartment was on was hiring, but there was no way Dean wouldn't be recognized, especially after the news report done about him earlier in the day.

"I know someone," Dean said, startling Sam and Cas out of the silence. "Someone who might be able to help us. The only problem is that he lives halfway across the country...in San Francisco."

The confusing tension in the room was almost tangible enough to reach out and grab. No one knew what to say.

Until Sam did.

"I guess I wouldn't mind being the new kid again."

~

The drive to San Francisco was tedious and unsatisfactory.

Castiel really regretted taking the passenger seat when he looked back and saw Sam sleeping peacefully along the leather seats. Well, as peacefully as a giant of a teenager could be.

In the front, the only places to lean were against the window, which wouldn't be peaceful at all, or on Dean's lap, and he figured that would be a distraction. He wasn't sure who it would distract, but still decided against it.

It looked like Cas wouldn't be sleeping.

It wouldn't be the first time Cas had stayed awake an entire day, which was about how long the drive would take. He wasn't sure, however, if he could handle almost 1600 miles of paved road as his only source of entertainment.

Unless Dean would talk to him.

And as if Dean read Cas' mind, he said, "So, Cas...what have you been up to?"

Castiel thought back to the last year and a half without Dean.

"Well," he said, "As soon as I turned 18, I got the hell away from my uncle. I had an art scholarship to the college in Kansas, but art wasn't my passion. I'm pretty good at it, I guess, but I've always wanted to work with animals."

Dean was paying as much attention to Cas and the road as he could.

"I studied there for a while...learned a lot...met a few people who I've long lost ties with. I was never very good at making friends," Cas said, a certain sadness settling onto his eyes.

"But with the money I had saved from the scholarship, I was able to afford an apartment. It wasn't much, but it will always be better than when I lived with Metatron," he said, letting out a harsh chuckle. "Last I heard from the police, his sorry ass was rotting in jail. Good riddance."

Dean looked over to see the look in Cas' eyes, which showed how much hatred he had for his uncle. Who could blame him?

"What about you, Dean?" Cas asked. "What's life like on the run?"

Dean chuckled humorlessly as he thought of what to say. "Well, there's never a dull moment. It's kinda thrilling. Not the good kind of thrill you get before you go on a roller coaster, but still."

Cas tilted his head. "I've never been on a roller coaster."

"What?!" Dean shouted, causing Sam to stir and mumble, "He said he's never been on a roller coaster Dean, now shush," before turning to face away from the other boys, soon falling back asleep.