Burned - Destiel

IX

        Dean was pretty sure that Castiel dealed drugs.

        It were the little details that stood out, since Dean didn't really have friends. On multiple occasions, he had seen Castiel receive money in the halls and put it in his pocket. After that, a handshake was the end of said suspicious act.

         Then there was the fact that he caught Charlie and Castiel talk to each other, not once, but twice in the last three days. It was no secret that the two of them were somewhat rivals, which indicated that there was something weird going on.

        Yet, the attention Castiel gave him hadn't faltered in the slightest. Every day at lunch period, they would sit under the willow tree and the jock would try to make him smile. Some days worked more than others, but it began to feel less foreign to smile. That didn't mean it was regular for him, as he only smiled around Castiel.

        Yeah, Castiel subconsciously made him the happiest he had been since he was four.

        But Dean still didn't like the fact said boy might be dealing drugs.

         "Well hello there. How's my favorite mute friend doing?" The devil himself said, throwing an arm around Dean's shoulders. The boy rolled his eyes but didn't push him away. Instead, he started walking towards the entrance of the building, putting his hands up to sign his answer.

        'Mute.'

        "Fair enough. Anyways, we gotta run this awful amount of laps in p.e. today. With this heat, I think half of the students will die," Castiel rambled. Dean chuckled to himself, unaware of the fond smile that was sent in his way because of it.

          'You're on the football team and you have one hell of an endurance. I'm not even gonna worry about you.' Castiel gasped and pulled his arm away from Dean's shoulders, who rolled his shoulders subconsciously. Instead, Castiels hand went up to his left chest as he gasped.

        "You don't have a heart, Winchester, I swear." Dean let out a quiet laugh again, shaking his head before looking at Castiel in amusement. His smile faded when he noticed that the jock wasn't smiling back.

        'Is there something wrong?' Castiel's eyes trailed towards his hands as he signed the words, only to move back up when he had finished. Although Castiel shook his head desperately, Dean felt an all too familiar ache in his chest.

        "No, there's nothing wrong. Don't worry. I'm just so proud of you. I mean, just a few months back you didn't let anyone near you and you never smiled, and look at you now. That smile is so special, and I just have to take a moment to let it get stuck in my brain. Hell, I just put my arm around you and you didn't flinch. That's progress, Dean."

        Dean had stopped walking, and merely watched how Castiel kept walking for a few seconds, before realization hit him and he turned around in confusion. The mute boy didn't care that he was standing in the middle of the halls and that people were sending him weird looks. Castiel had just made him feel so weird inside, like he was going to burst.

        "Hey, are you OK?" Castiel asked worriedly, hesitating to touch him for a second before placing one hand on his arm. Dean, probably on contrary to what the jock was expecting, let out a hoarse laugh, followed by a small cough.

        'Thank you,' he signed, trying to look as sincere as possible. The message got across well, because Castiel smiled and put his arm on Dean's shoulders and pulled him along into the stream of students.

        "You deserve to know the truth," the boy said, squeezing Dean's shoulder lightly as he spoke. The boy bit his lower lip and looked down, trying to stop the blush that was creeping up on his neck. "So, I was wondering if you wanted to come over after school. You know, to hang out?" Dean's blush darkened, but he did look up with surprise covering his features.