Strings Attached

Chapter 34

And, for once, none of the jocks have anything to say to that. Castiel looks between each of them, enjoying every moment of seeing the stunned expressions on their faces. Azazel, Alastair, Crowley, and... Dean? What's Dean doing here? Well, it doesn't matter. Castiel just likes to see the utterly shocked expression on his face.

"Preach it, Castiel!" a voice yells from behind them.

Castiel turns around in his wheelchair to see Gabriel standing at the end of the hallway, an approving grin on his face. With him is Sam, of course, and Castiel's three friends. Every time Castiel thinks the word, he feels his mood lift.

It's Crowley that speaks finally. "That sounds like sour grapes to me."

"I honestly don't care what you think," Castiel replies. "Just leave me and my friends alone."

Surprisingly, Castiel doesn't get any objections to it. He's sure he will; it's only a matter of time until they regain their composure, and it will not end well for him. Until then, Castiel will enjoy the fact that he managed to stun them speechless, and hightail it out of there out of fear of being literally murdered — but in a casual way, so they don't know how much Castiel is panicking on the inside.

When Castiel is in the clear — which takes way to long with his wheelchair, but he refuses to accept any help — he takes a deep breath, trying to release the stress that that encounter created.

He wheels himself back to third block because he doesn't feel like having to move later, and his friends follow not far behind.

"Oh my god, Castiel, that was freaking awesome!" Charlie squeals.

Castiel doesn't think as highly about it. "How long do you think I have until they kill me?"

"You showed them up," Garth says. "They're not going after you ever again."

"I give you a day, maybe two," Sam answers.

Castiel thinks about this for a brief moment. "Well, that's not too bad. I guess. And how's things go with you yesterday at practice?"

Sam shrugs. "Fine. I've been exiled by my team, but I never really fit in, anyway."

"Dean's not ignoring you, though, right?" Gabriel asks.

"At school, yes," Sam replies. "And at practice. But not at home. Well, mostly."

"Why mostly?" Gabriel asks. "He's better than them. He knows beating people up like that is wrong. Hell, he should be glad. He and Castiel were friends."

Sam shrugs. "Well, not anymore. He's just sorta... Different."

"Different how?" Gabriel asks.

"Just more like them. He spends most of his free time with them now, and he doesn't even try to step in when his 'friends' are being little shits."

"Isn't he one of them?" Garth asks. "One of those guys was Dean, right? Wait, who's this Dean kid again?"

"My brother," Sam replies. "He was one of those guys, but he hasn't always been."

"I think you give him too much credit," Castiel says. "He's always been one of them. You just haven't always been around to see it."

"No, he's different," Sam protests. "Nicer. Like, he's the one that gets all the girls and all that."

"Uh, yeah, because he's hot," Castiel replies as if it's obvious.

"That is not where I thought you were going with this," Kevin says with a laugh.

"Okay, that is just a fact," Castiel says. "He's way hotter than those other guys. That's why he gets all the girls. Not because he's nice."

"But he's nice," Sam protests. "Or, at least, he was, 'til recently. I just wish I knew what happened."

Castiel sighs. "Look, Sam. I get that you have this undying love for your brother, but he's a dick. Always has been, always will be."

"Damn, Castiel, you're salty today," Gabriel laughs.

"Which is ironic, because I'm having a much better day than usual."

"Must be because you have friends. Gee, I wish someone could have thought to tell you to make some friends. Oh wait, I did."

"Do you have to do the I-told-you-so thing now?" Castiel asks, slightly annoyed.

"Damn right I do. Hey, Castiel, guess what? I told you so! Oh, hey, you know what else? I told you so. Oh, and I totally told you so, by the way."

Castiel rolls his eyes. "Are you done yet?"

"Almost. I totally told you so. You should have taken my advice a year ago, saved ourselves a lot of trouble, because I was totally right and I told you so. Okay, I'm done now."

"Good."

"Oh, wait, one more thing," Gabriel adds quickly. "Since I was right about this, I'm probably right about Dean, so you should go talk to him and be his friend again and stuff."

"No!"

"But I was probably right and you should!" Gabriel whines. "Besides, you said he was hot."

"I said he was a dick, and I stand by that."

Little does he know that Dean was listening to their whole conversation, and he is not thrilled with what he found.