In This Secluded Spot I Respond As I Wouldn't Dare Elsewhere

Dean Joins the Team

Castiel's first period class was English, in which they were reading Hamlet. English and history were his favorite subjects, along with art. Unlike his classmates, he never had any trouble with the reading assignments and looked forward to completing an entire novel rather than reading the Cliff's Notes.

He'd already read all of Hamlet, skipping ahead of what was assigned just because he was enjoying it so much. His favorite scene was the wordplay between Hamlet and Polonius in Act II; he'd actually laughed out loud in class during the "you are a fishmonger" and "words, words, words" conversation, which earned him confused stares.

The only thing wrong with his favorite class was that it was located on the second floor. Castiel passed the first floor bathrooms and paused in the hallway. The stairs were only a short distance away. He took a deep breath and continued on.

"What's up, Asstiel?"

"Cook anything good for your boyfriend last night?"

"Yoo-hoo, prettyyyy!"

Castiel lowered his head and tried to ignore them. It was the same every morning: Alastair, Tom, and Brady, all lined up and waiting for him to pass by. They were impossible to avoid — their lockers stood in a row directly opposite the stairwell. He'd already tried taking the other stairs near the east entrance but it made him late every time.

"Please leave me alone," Castiel said.

Alastair came up behind Castiel and yanked on his backpack hard enough to spin him around and send him crashing into the lockers.

"What was that, gay boy?"

"I asked you to please leave me alone. I don't wish to be late for class."

"I don't wish to be late for class," Alastair mimicked. "Why are you such a fucking weirdo?"

Alastair poked a finger at Castiel's forehead, and Brady and Tom snickered.

"Al! Alastair!"

Both Alastair and Castiel turned their heads. Someone was calling for Alastair from one of the classrooms down the hall.

"Leave that kid alone and c'mere. I think we might've found our third baseman."

It was Coach Zazel, who had his arm around Dean Winchester's shoulders. Castiel locked eyes with Dean, who then turned away.

"See you later, you little queer," Alastair whispered into Castiel's ear, before grabbing him in a headlock and mussing his hair, knocking his glasses from his face in the process. Castiel squirmed and fought uselessly against him until Alastair let go, purposefully smacking him against the locker as he did so.

The three boys went laughing down the hall toward Coach Zazel's classroom. Castiel stood up and slid his glasses back on his nose, watching as Dean shook hands with his tormentors.