"Can I help you?" Please just go away.
"I think you would have a hard time helping anyone but yourself, Winchester." Gordon growls, stopping a few inches in front of me. Why do angry people like to get really up close and personal?
"Oh, ow, I'm wounded, really." I mockingly put a hand over my heart. "And you're using my last name? Well I guess you must be very upset about something." And because, why not, I've already dug myself a grave, I place a hand on his chest and push just enough to make him take a step back. "Could you maybe get out of my face? Sorry sweetheart, I don't bat for that team."
Yup. He's pissed. "I didn't walk over here to deal with your shit."
"I didn't wake up today to deal with yours." I reply flatly.
"Are you finished?" He says through clenched teeth.
"Depends, are you?" I shrug my backpack back up onto my shoulder, shutting my locker.
He shoves me up against the locker, and I push him back. "Chill out. What do you want?"
"What do you think?"
"I'm going to take a guess here and say it probably has something to do with the team, right? Right." I didn't bother to wait for a response because a) I know I'm right, and b) the less Gordon talks the better my day is.
"Ding, ding, ding." Gordon folds his arms.
"Okay that's great and all but if you have a point I'd like it if you got to it." I roll my eyes, because seriously, this is annoying.
"What were you thinking? Do you want the team to look ridiculous? We are going to have our asses handed to us on a silver platter."
"Well for one, I'm just benched for a while, and not to mention the whole 'this wasn't my choice' thing."
"To hell it wasn't your choice. You either show up or you don't, and you didn't. You only think of yourself."
"Yes, I can be selfish. I am one selfish son of a bitch, okay?"
He scoffs at me and I glare back at him before continuing. "But I never wanted this." Understatement of the year. I need football. "Don't you dare accuse me of that. Don't. Freaking. Dare."
"I'm quaking in my boots."
"So you've come to yell at me, then. To blame me for shit I didn't do or mean to do. Awesome." I push past him and walk toward my class.
Naturally, he grabs my arm and pulls me back. I yank it away.
"Dean, you do realize how bad this really is."
"I seem to have a pretty good idea." Who the hell is he to tell me shit about my life?
"No, you don't. Clearly. You aren't benched, Dean. You're off the team."
I can feel all the blood drain from my face. I can see my heart beating in my chest and hear it loud and clear in my ears.
Suddenly I don't really know what to do with my hands, so I just kind of stare at them as they shake slightly. It's enough that I can tell, but not it's not enough that you;d be able to see it if you weren't paying really close attention.
Strange though, I mean I know that the shaking isn't that noticeable, but I feel like a freaking earthquake decided to move from the planet and shake everything inside and out of me.
Standing is slowly starting to seem harder than relying on your own legs should be.
Come on, Dean, breathe. In, out. In, out. Repeat. You've been doing this your whole life.
So why is it so damn hard now?
This isn't supposed to happen. No. I'm supposed to just talk to Coach. To promise I'd do whatever it takes. No. No, no, no, no, anything but this. Lucifer only said I lost my spot. The starting spot. My chance to get into college. My future. Everything.
Stop it, Dean. Breathe. You're going to start hyperventilating if you don't calm down.
But he wasn't really lying. I mean if I'm getting kicked off I lost my position. How is this happening? It can't be. No, everything is fine and normal and... and... No, it's not. And it isn't going to be. I only missed a few practices. The coaching staff can't to this. They can't.
Shut up, asshat, you know they can.
"I figured as much." I barely even heard Gordon as he turns on his heel and leaves me.
In, out. In, out. Come on.
People are starting to file into the school. More and more students crowding me.
Please everyone give me space, can't you see what's happening to me?
I push the palms of my hands against my eyes and focus on my breathing.
In, out. In, out. Repeat.
My future.
In, out. In, out. Repeat.
My reputation.
In, out. In, out. Repeat.
My breathing slowly evens, and my thoughts slow down, leaving me taking deep breaths, motionless and thoughtless in the hallway.
Until someone grabs my arm that is.
I turn around, I am being dragged backwards after all, and try to see who it is.
We stop and I am spun around, facing none other than Lucifer at his locker.
It takes a few moments for me to regain my ability to talk. "If you're going to tell me I'm off the team," breathe, "I already know."
"No, it's nothing to do with that." He shoves his stuff, mostly wrappers from breakfast and very few actual school supplies and books, into his locker.
"What then?"
He nudges my shoulder. "Relax."
"Lucifer, what do you need to tell me?"
"Nothing. You were catching flies, so I came to the rescue like the superhero I am." He smirks and shuts his locker.
We start to head to my first class. "Yeah, a superhero named after the devil. You'll make all the children cheer and the ladies swoon."
"Watch it." I can tell he's serious by his tone, but he relaxes a bit and bumps his shoulder into mine. "But seriously, watch this."
Before I can ask what he's talking about, he nudges my side with his elbow and gestures over to a group of girls. He winks at one of them, Lilith is her name I think, and she damn near falls over.
"I see your point." It was impressive, honestly. I can do it too, but a with different group. Lilith is more his type, but the cheerleaders are more mine.
"Damn right." He nods.
Soon enough we're outside Mr. Roman's room, but instead of going in I turn to Lucifer and adjust my backpack on my shoulder again. "Thanks for snapping me out of that... whatever it was."
"No problem. Look, I'll be around again after first period, if you need someone to walk you to your classes." He has this crooked smile on his face, and it doesn't really look natural on him. It isn't forced, though. Hmm.
I jokingly put my hands on my hips. "Do you think I need a babysitter or something?"
"It seems to me like you could've used one earlier."
I fight the blood rushing to my face as well as I can, but I know there's still got to be at least a slight blush there. "Uh huh, I'm sure."
"Without me you'd be enjoying a nice scenic view of the exact same place in the hallway."
"Uh huh, I'm sure." I repeat.
"You're a pain." Lucifer rolls his eyes.
"No, you're a pain." Great logic, Winchester. Your comebacks are spot on. They can't be beat. Ugh. Kill me.
He laughs and gives a slight wave as he walks away. "See ya later, fly trap."
I mean obviously that makes me blush like an idiot. Come on, not again. Dean Winchester doesn't blush. Well, yeah I do. Everyone does, but to hell if I ever do it as often as I have today. I try to fight it down, but nothing really happens, so I just go into class.
Balthazar can tell something's up, which is pretty obvious by his raised eyebrow.
It probably doesn't help me that I'm clutching my books to my chest like its the only think that could possibly keep me alive. Like if I moved my books my insides would spill out.
How gross would that be?
It'd actually be kinda cool.
I dunno.
Anyway, I sit down and pretend to go through my things so maybe Balthy won't say anything.
Wishful thinking, Dean. "That was really cute."
"What are you talking about?" Don't you dare go red again.
"I heard you two out there. You and your 'babysitter.'" He laughs.
"One, shut up. Two, how is that cute? I was just talking to an ass."
"It was cute, dude. Just admit it. Didn't you used to-"
"I swear to the big guy upstairs if you finish that sentence I will kill you in your sleep." Guess who isn't getting that apology anymore.
"I appear to have struck a nerve." He smirks at me. Bitch.
"Anyway, I'm not going to let him walk me to class." I'll leave early if that's what it takes.
Balthazar ignores me and continues talking. "That's an interesting nickname he gave you there. What was it?"
"Don't."
"Fly trap?"
"I hate you."
-----------------------
I repeatedly bang my head off the table at lunch. Make. Them. Stop.
Meg and Crowley are making a scene.
Like usual.
But worse.
Of course.
And why wouldn't everyone else at the table be getting involved?
Because today sucks.
And the world hates me.
"You're going to get a concussion if you keep doing that." Someone whispers in my ear and I nearly fall out of my chair.
"Jesus, Gabriel! Don't do that." I push his face back.
After a few glares and buzzing silence from the table, everyone goes back to shouting and pretends I'm not there.
Gabe grabs my arm and practically drags me to another table. He's surprisingly strong, for such a short kid.
There's eight other kids at the table, four girls, and four guys.
"Dude, there's no way there's enough room for me here. You already have nine people." I whisper to Gabriel.
"Nah, you'll be fine. Pull up a chair." He smacks my shoulder and I sit down between him and a girl with braces and dark blonde hair.
"So, guys, this is Dean." Gabe starts to introduce me, but he's interrupted.
"We know." Groans one of the guys who then proceeds to sneeze multiple times. The one with black hair rolls his eyes and hands him a tissue.
"Anyway," Gabe continues. "Dean, this is Becky," he points to the girl staring at me and smiling. She's kinda creepy and I move my chair a little closer to Gabriel, which earns a giggle out of the girl with darker hair beside Becky.
"That's Ava, beside her is Tessa, and that's Eve."
He turns to the guys next. "Well these four are brothers, and they call themselves the horsemen. Death," he points to the black-haired one, "is the oldest. He's a senior. War," who happens to be easily the most cocky looking of the four, "is a junior. Pestilence," the one that kept sneezing, "and Famine," even if Gabe wasn't pointing I could figure out that he was the one stuffing his face, "are twins. They're sophomores."
"So the horsemen... like the apocalypse horseman?"
"No." Famine says, with bits of food falling out of his mouth.
Which earns him a flick to the side of the head from War. "Yes, the apocalypse horsemen."
"Who," sneeze, "else would it," sneeze, "be?" Death gives up and hands Pestilence the whole box of tissues.
"I dunno." I shrug.
"Becky don't." I hear from behind me.
"But Eve!" She whines.
"No." Eve folds her arms and glares at Becky.
I look to Gabe for help, but he's currently fighting with Famine over a bag of lollipops.
Becky and Eve are still having a conversation that I can't understand because there aren't any words, just shrugs and facial expressions.
Tessa rolls her eyes and shoves her chair between mine and Becky's, pushing Ava and Becky down toward Eve.
"She was going to start petting your hair." She whispers into my ear.
Oh. "Oh."
Ava starts another giggling fit.
It stops when there's a complete uproar coming from my table. I really can't catch a break today.
I turn to face the table like the rest of the cafeteria, but unlike everyone else I get up and walk over.
Meg and Crowley are screaming at each other in what more or less seems like another language to me. I can't really understand much.
Ruby is trying to get them to separate, Jo is pulling on Meg, and Ash is pulling on Crowley.
"Stop!" I yell and things fall silent for a moment.
"Mind your own damn business, squirrel."
How many ridiculous nicknames am I going to get today? Damn.
I grab the collar of his shirt. "You just got starting position on varsity. Don't be an ass and lose it."
Crowley grumbles and sits back into his seat. Meg puffs and storms out of the room, Ruby hot on her trail.
"Are you done now?"
A reluctant and not entirely grateful nod is the only response I get.
"Good." I turn to walk back to the other table.
"Deeaaaan, wait!" Jo jumps out of her chair and stops me. Can't I just walk somewhere without being stopped, or is that too much to ask.
By this time everyone has gone back to doing whatever they were doing before the near-fight.
"What?"
"Where are you going?" She gives me these sad puppy eyes to try to make me stay.
"You should ask Sam for some pointers. Your wounded animal face could use a little work." I wink.
She stomps her foot and sits back down.
"Why'd you do that?" War almost whines when I get back to the table.
"Do what?"
"Stop the fight!" He says it like its the most obvious thing in the world.
"They're my friends?"
He sinks into his chair. "There hasn't been a good fight in forever." The way he says 'forever' makes him sound less like a teenage boy and more like a twelve year old girl.
I get up to throw away what's left of my lunch, but Famine jumps up and grabs my tray.
I should keep track of how many times I'm stopped today. What is that, four? Five?
"Don't you have any manners at all?" Death rolls his eyes.
"He does when it's the only way he'll get fed." Tessa says, smirking.
The bell rings and we all stand, saying our goodbyes and going our separate ways.
I walk with Gabe to my next class. "Don't forget to meet me after school." He says before he walks away.
"I won't!" I call after him.
I sit down in English, grateful for Cas' help earlier today.
Otherwise I'm pretty sure Rachel would stab me or something.
For someone who demands so much "respect" and "intellect" from her students, it's more than a little weird that she has us call her by her first name.
Maybe today she won't call me a worthless insect for not understanding some old guy's poem play thing in a foreign language.
Okay, so it's English, but I still can't understand it.
"Thou art a terrible teacher." I scribble in my notebook. I smile at the page, satisfied with myself.
My mind quickly goes off of fairies and wedding and onto that strange lunch table and how this afternoon will hopefully go much better than this morning did.
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A/N:
Hi guys! I'm so so so so sorry for taking so long to upload. I've been busy and have written and rewritten this chapter so many times. I finally got past the first couple paragraphs without it crashing and burning. Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter! Sorry it's so short, though.
All your comments and votes are what keeps me going. Seriously, you are the best. I'm surprised I'm already over 1.5k reads, I didn't really think I'd make it over 50 or so.
Until next time~