Just Another Love Story

Dean

Wednesday and Thursday passed slowly. Friday did too. I waited leaning against my Impala. Cas had to pack up his school stuff before he left. We had forty five minutes until Sam's school got out.
"Hey, Dean." I heard behind me.
"Hey, Cas." I said turning around. "Got everything?"
"Yeah I do."
"Good hop in." I slid in the car turning it on. Music blasted through the speakers extremely loud so I turned it down fast.
"Nice." I heard Cas mutter.
"So what if I like to rock out in the mornings?" I asked.
"I didn't say a word." He made a motion of zipping his lips.
"Okay. Forty minutes until Sam needs picked up. Do you want to just drive around till then or you want to hang out somewhere?"
"Actually. Can we go to the art store nearby? I need some new pencils for art class."
"Sure thing."
"So you really like art?" I asked when we pulled into the parking lot.
"Yeah."
"Yeah? That's it? No speech on how relaxing or in touch you become with yourself?"
"No. Its actually kind of frustrating. I have to get everything just right. I become so focused on the project in front of me that it's kind of dangerous. It's the outcome that's worth it. The beauty. The feeling of accomplishment."
"That's deep."
"I guess."
I followed him into the store watching him as he scanned everything. Nothing escaped his brilliant blue eyes. The art along the wall. The different art supplies lining the shelves. The easels set up everywhere. He soaked it all in like a sponge. He knew exactly where the pencils were but he wove through every aisle. He ran his hands over the different sheets of paper feeling their texture. It was beautiful and almost poetic the way we became around art. His face would scrunch up and he would squint his eyes like he was imagining what would become of the blank canvas in front of him. In art, it was difficult to talk to him. He was, as he explained early, extremely focused. We both snapped back to reality when a girl bounced up to him blocking his path.
"Need help finding anything?" She said cheerily. It made me want to barf.
"No, Sarah. You know that." He said sounding annoyed.
"Yeah, yeah. But this place is so boring. You're the only customer in here for the past like, two hours."
"Well, you let me grab what I need, and you can talk to my friend. Dean." He said motioning for me to come over. "Sarah, this is Dean. Dean, Sarah. Sarah, excuse me." He pushed past her too fast for me to stop him. Sarah's attention immediately focused in on me. I saw Cas giving me a wicked smile before lumbering around the store lazily. Sarah talked without stopping. She would ask a question but not let me answer. Then she would make a joke and laugh at it. Her laugh was more like a cackle with snorts. She claimed to be a college student, but her personality said she was a toddler. I searched over the shelves looking for Cas. He was at the pencils studying each different kind. Finally I stopped the girl.
"I'm sorry but we need to get going. I'm going to grab Cas and we are going to check out, if you want to go get that ready." I said walking past her fast.
"Cas, come on. Let's go." I said tugging his coat.
"Fine." He grunted. He grabbed a couple pencils and headed for the register. When we got there, Sarah rang up the purchase. Just a couple pencils cost so much. Cas went through his wallet.
"I'm a couple bucks short. If you can just take off one of the pencils... That'd be cool." He said sadly.
"No." Cas looked up at me as I blurted that out. "I'll pay. For all of them."
"Dean, don't. It's fine. I'll come back on Saturday after I get paid."
"I insist." I placed a twenty on the counter. Sarah looked at Cas to see if he approved.
"Thanks, Dean. I really appreciate it. I'll pay you back. I promise."
"No it's fine." I took the change and headed back out to the Impala.
Cas made me act so different than my normal self. However, my normal self wasn't my real self. It was the real part of me that Cas brought out. Around my football friends, I was cool. The whole school loved me. Girls swooned as I walked through halls. The attention was nice. It all seemed fake though.

"So you have a job?" I asked while we waited for Sam.
"Yeah. I work at an animal shelter."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Since I was 14. So three years now."
"Wow... Why do you work there?"
"I started volunteering when I was 12 for a school project. I just didn't stop going after that."
"What do you do?"
"I look after the animals. Feed them. Bathe them. Play with them. Train the dogs simple commands. Stuff like that."
"Sounds interesting."
"Do you have a job?"
"I work at my uncle's junk yard occasionally."
"Man work?" He teased.
"Super manly."
"I like super manly men." He laughed.
'Did he just? Was that? I think he just flirted with me...' I thought to myself. I forced out a laugh and an awkward tension befell us.
"Sorry." He whispered. "I didn't mean to say that. I mean, I meant it. I didn't mean to say it out loud." A look of genuine worry was on his face. It made me laugh.
"What?" He demanded.
"Your face. You were so worried. It was cute."
'Shit! Now you're flirting with him!' I yelled in my head. 'Am I forming feelings for him?' I asked myself.
Just then Sam opened the door behind me sliding in