Before I Met You (DESTIEL HIGHSCHOOL AU)

Chapter 43

Cas' POV

I stood impatiently in the living room of the Winchester house , waiting for Dean to come down so we could leave for the dance. I've been waiting for about half an hour now, making small talk with Bobby and chatting with Sam.

"So, uhh... Are you looking forward to the dance..?" Bobby asked awkwardly.

"I don't know," I replied slowly. "Not really, I guess."

Sam, who at this moment had been sitting in the kitchen, shouted, "He's lying!"

With a smirk on my face, I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "Yeah, I am sorta looking forward to it, but I've got a reputation to maintain, so let's keep it lowkey." Bobby did the same thing I did. He chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"Sam, go upstairs for a bit please. I want to talk to Cas alone," Bobby said.

With an exasperated sigh, Sam trudged up the stairs to his room and then Bobby and I were left in uncomfortable silence. I think he had intentions of going on a huge spiel, but he didn't know how to start it. After a few more moments of awkwardness, he broke the silence, and he was pretty damn blunt with what he said. 

"You changed Dean a lot, and definitely for the better. I can't thank you enough for that. For a while I was uneasy about you, but looking at this in the bigger picture, I can see how much of a positive impact you've held on him, and I'm sorry if I ever treated you poorly," he said. I was a bit taken aback by the suddenness of all of that.

"It wasn't because I disliked you, so again, I'm sorry if that's how it came across. It was just because I was afraid of Dean getting hurt. I wanted to do everything in my power to protect him, but at the time, I didn't see that you weren't a threat. Now, in a realistic and rational stance, I know that you are the last thing that would hurt him. Thank you for everything you've done to help my boy."

I had been looking at the floor the whole time, simply because I didn't know what to do. For the first time since Bobby started talking, I looked up at him, and I was greeted with a sight I thought was near impossible. Tears falling from the face of the man I thought had no emotions. Anytime I had encounters with Bobby, he was so nonchalant and indifferent to everything.

I guess that just goes to show that people could be, and probably are, waging a war inside their heads that no one else knows about. The indifference was just a façade for everything he really was feeling, which happened to be concern, worry, love and care. I reached over and put a hand on his shoulder, so he looked at me.

I put my other hand out for him to shake it, but again, he did something I didn't expect. He turned his whole body and hugged me, close and tight. After a moment of shock, I hugged him back.

"I care about Dean more than anything, and although that sounds unrealistic, it's true. I've spent the last few months falling for him over and over again, each time I look at him. I'm not giving up on him anytime soon." As I spoke, tears welled up in my eyes too, but I blinked them away quickly.

"I l-" As I went to speak, I was interrupted by the sound of squeaking stairs, and muttered apologies for being so long, and then Dean, wearing the blue and beige suit we bought not long ago, appeared before me.

"Wow," I said. "You look... ravishing."

He tried to stifle a giggle, but he failed. "Ravishing? Were you scrolling through a thesaurus before I got down here?"

Without responding, I just took a step forward and embraced him tightly, not wanting to let go. I felt him smile against my cheek, which made me smile as well.