The Name's Dean

School

Sam took a deep breath. Dean put a hand on his shoulder. "You'll be fine, Sam. The first day is never that bad." He smiled reassuringly. "Sure, Dean." Sam said sarcastically. "Alright, Mr. Sasshole, get out of my car and go make some friends!" Dean received Sam's famous bitchface. Sam sighed and yanked open the car door. He slammed it shut, and began the descent into hell, which was easy. He could hear the Impala screeching away, hauling Dean's ass to work for yet another late shift. Those late shifts pay for your education. Sam reminded himself quickly. He trudged up the stone steps and swung open the door, walking right into an older boy. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" Sam apologized immediately, searching for his books that had scattered across the linoleum floor. The older boy smiled kindly. "No, it's my fault. I was just standing there." He chuckled. Sam smiled back, picking up his last notebook. He held out a hand. "I'm Sam Winchester." The other boy's eyes flashed with recognition. "Wait. Are you Gabriel's friend?" He asked. Sam shook his head, looking down. "I guess. We used to be friends, but I kinda... I said something I shouldn't have, ok?" Sam looked back at Castiel again, who nodded. But he pressed on one more time. "You told him you thought you were gay, right?" He asked. Sam looked at his shoes. "Yes, I liked Gabriel. Can we stop with the interrogation?" Sam pleaded. Castiel seemed to snap out of it. "Oh, I'm so sorry! It's just- well, Gabriel's my brother." He smiled again. Sam's head immediately shot up. "And before you ask, yes, he talked about you. All the time, actually." Castiel smirked. Sam waited eagerly for his next words. "Honestly, he wouldn't ever shut up once he met you. He kept saying something about looking like a moose." Sam blushed slightly. Then he shook his head. "And I ruined all of that. Now, he won't even talk to me." Castiel seemed to want to say something more, but restrained himself. "I wouldn't count on it." He said finally. "What's that supposed to mean?" Sam asked, narrowing his eyes. "Let's just say, I know my brother better than even he does sometimes." Castiel sighed, shaking his head. "School is going to start in ten minutes. Where's your first class?" Sam looked at the schedule he'd crumpled up more than a hundred times the night before, and grimaced. "Room 210, math class." He shuddered. "I'll help you around as much as I can, moose." Castiel smiled kindly. Sam smiled back. "Thanks. What are you?" Castiel laughed. "I'm an angel. No, I'm joking, I'm a senior." Sam grinned. "I'm quite obviously a freshman. How old are you?" "Eighteen." Castiel answered, raising an eyebrow. "You're the same age as my brother!" Sam exclaimed. "Where does he go?" Castiel asked. "He...doesn't go to school. They won't use his name in their system. He's got a job anyway, working with our Uncle Bobby." He sighed. "Why won't they use his name?" Sam froze. Why did he have to go and say that? "Never mind, Castiel." He said firmly. Whether Dean wanted people to know he was transgender was his own choice, not Sam's.  Castiel nodded. "I won't pry." He stated. "Thank you. We should get to class." Sam sighed, starting to walk again. Castiel followed him, not saying a word.

"You're late." The teacher, Mr. Aza, scowled at Sam as he entered the classroom. The younger boy slowly took his seat and tried to make himself as small as possible. He half-wished the earth would swallow him whole, submerge him in every ocean on the planet. Mr. Aza began his math lesson, turning his icy, almost yellow, eyes on Sam every once and a while. As he tried desperately to comprehend everything being written rapidly on the board, he pulled out the pencil Castiel had given him to write notes.  He had thanked the older boy and promised to sit with him at lunch, before scrambling to this class. "If your math is done, you may have the last minute or so to talk among your classmates. Keep it at a dull roar!" He warned venomously. Sam put away his books and binder quietly, not wishing to draw more attention to himself than he already had. "Hey, you!" A small redhead waved at him, smiling, as she came to stand beside his desk. "Hi." Sam replied shyly. The girl stuck her hand out. "I'm Charlie." She grinned wide. Sam smiled back, feeling comfortable around Charlie. "My name's Sam. I just moved here with my older brother." He said. Charlie nodded. "I can show you around if you like." Sam shook his head. "No thanks, Castiel is giving me the grand tour." Charlie stared. "Castiel Novak?" Sam suddenly felt uneasy. "Yeah..." The girl in front of him bit her lip. "Just...be careful." Charlie then skipped off to her desk as the bell rang. Sam sighed and collected his things.

Sam picked up a lunch tray and went trough the line, putting a taco, mixed fruit, an apple, and chocolate milk on his foam tray. He paid for his meal and looked through the sea of students. Castiel was practically signaling a plane with the gestures he was making. Sam grinned and made his way over to the table. "Hey, Sam." Castiel greeted with a smile. "Hey, Castiel." Castiel eyed the crispy taco shell warily. "Might not wanna eat that taco. They taste funny." He chuckled. Sam took an anxious look at the food and scooped up his mixed fruit instead. "Thanks for the warning." He said. "Uh, Cas? Can I ask you a question?" Castiel nodded, taking a sip from his water bottle. "Sure." Sam took a deep breath. "I met a girl, Charlie, and she kinda said to be... careful around you." He furrowed his brow in that classic Sam Winchester look. "Oh." Castiel was silent for a moment. "Look, I'm not dangerous. She meant she didn't want you to hurt for me. I'm not going to tell you what happened, but just know that you're safe around me. I didn't pry about your brother and I would really prefer you don't pry into my past." Sam nodded. "Ok." Castiel smiled again and pretended like the conversation hadn't happened at all. "You gonna eat that apple?" He asked. "Nope." Sam replied. The older boy took the apple. "How's your day gone?" He asked, taking a large chunk out of the crispy fruit. "Pretty good, though Mr. Aza scares the hell out of me."