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

Cas is Bullied

Two weeks passed since the conversation with his mother, during which Castiel suffered from almost non-stop verbal and physical attacks on his way to English every morning. Once he ducked out of the way when a rotten and moldy orange was thrown at his head. He was shoved into lockers. He tried to ignore the whistles and shouts of "fag" and "queer" and other insults. He nearly fell when someone grabbed the cuff of his jeans while he was walking up the stairs. One morning he decided to try the east stairwell again and make up an excuse to Ms. Milton why he was late, until Alastair discovered it and waited for him there instead.

He was exhausted from constantly being on edge, but didn't know how to make it stop. If he told someone he could trust — like Ms. Milton — Alastair might be reprimanded, which meant the harassment would get worse. And as kind as Ms. Milton was, she was young and idealistic, and didn't really understand the social hierarchy of high school.

He tried not to let it affect his grades. Most mornings, though, it was a struggle to simply get out of bed.

The first bell for homeroom rang and Castiel stifled a yawn. He had been having nightmares because of his constant thoughts about Alastair, and although he kept what was happening from his mother, he knew she was worried.

"Apparently congratulations are in order."

Castiel and the rest of his homeroom classmates looked up for Mr. Zachariah's announcement.

"The new guy, Dean Winchester, made the baseball team. Good for you, I suppose. Other announcements...tickets for the Spring Fling are on sale during lunch periods in the cafeteria. The drama club is producing Bye Bye Birdie for all you theater enthusiasts, with performances over the next three weekends. More details can be found posted in the auditorium. And you people are still parking in the visitors' spaces. Why is this hard to understand?"

Castiel tuned out the rest of the announcements and concentrated on his sketchbook. Now that Dean was officially a member of the baseball team, chances were that he'd pick up harassing Castiel in homeroom where Alastair left off in the hallways. Strangely, Dean hadn't participated with Alastair while he humiliated Castiel, but he never helped either. Dean just stood there and watched. He was sure Dean had ulterior motives, and it was just a matter of time before they became obvious.

When the bell signaling the end of homeroom rang, Castiel watched Dean run off down the hall. Castiel took his time gathering his things. His mind was preoccupied with Dean's acceptance onto the baseball team and what Alastair was planning. If Dean started bothering him while he was still in homeroom Castiel wasn't sure if he could deal with it. Being on constant guard against Alastair was one thing, but having to watch his back in homeroom, English, and doubly so in auto shop was too much.

He passed the first floor bathrooms and wasn't paying attention to where he was until he felt a hard shove and tripped over someone's outstretched foot. The momentum carried him forward, allowing the left side of his body to connect with the edge of the stairwell banister. His backpack and books scattered across the hallway.

He landed with a grunt and had to lie there for a minute to catch his breath. Castiel sat up, holding his bruised ribs. Alastair's laughter and that of Tom's and Brady's spread throughout the hallway, along with a dozen others who watched it happen. They were all laughing at him, except Dean, who was staring.

Why that was Castiel couldn't decide, but for the moment all he could do was sit there, so angry he was shaking. He crawled over to his backpack and gathered up his books and papers that were strewn across the tiled floor, then stood up where everyone could see him and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Fuck you, Alastair Folterknecht! Fuck you and the whole Hornets baseball team! Fuck you, you...fucking fucks!"

At that, the laughter got even louder, and without thinking he burst through the side door and ran for the baseball field.