Rating: NC-17 (This part: PG-13)
Summary: High School AU ~ Dean Winchester has it all. He's captain of the football team, a self-confessed ladies' man and one of the most popular guys in school. But, is all of that about to change when he meets the mysterious Castiel Novak in an online chat-room?
Pairings: Dean/Castiel (More in later parts)
Warnings: None (For this chapter)
Author's Notes: This is unbeta'd so all mistakes are entirely my own.

It's funny how a little chiming sound coming from his laptop could make Dean's heart flutter with excitement. How that little red circle with the number '1' in it popping up in the corner of Dean's laptop screen could make his day ten times better. It all started a few months ago.

One night, Dean was bored. The type of bored that he couldn't fix with just going out; especially not at that time of night when he had school the next day. So, he flipped open his laptop and signed into a random online chatroom. At first, he was a bit doubtful that he'd find anyone who would actually want to talk to him about anything other than sex.

His dad had warned his little brother about sites like this, told him people aren't always who they say they are. The thought that Dean could be whoever he wanted to on this site sent adrenaline rushing through his veins as he pursed his lips, trying to find a chatroom that suited him.

Dean had always wanted to be someone else, he never felt quite good enough. The fact that he could pretend to be a better person than he believed himself to be on these types of sites was a comforting thought. He had total control of what these people thought of him. That fact alone made him feel less anxious about sending that first, 'hi'.

A few hours had passed and so far he'd only managed to have a few conversations. People really were crazy on here; probably about eighty percent of them were just looking for pictures and sex talk. Dean wasn't really up for that right now, he needed someone to vent to. He'd had a rough day, getting detention in the very first class and then almost getting kicked off the football team for beating up some kid who called Sam a 'geek' even though the punk deserved it. Sam was his little brother and no one was going to make a fool out of him.

With all of that running through his head, finally someone with the username, 'Wingless-Wonder' popped up and said 'hello'. A wave of nervousness swept over Dean's body as he placed his fingers on the keyboard and began to type the best reply he could think of, 'hey there'. His heartbeat was beginning to speed up as he took a breath, convinced that the person just wouldn't reply or would ask 'asl?' like everyone else.

But, he didn't and they spoke until the early hours of the morning. His name was Castiel Novak and he just so happened to live a few miles away from Dean. He was seventeen, had a sister and two brothers and lived in a farm house just outside of town.

After a few months of talking online for almost four hours every day, Dean felt as if he really knew this guy. Talking to Castiel slowly became the highlight of his day. He would go without sleep just to talk late into the night, finding out more about him and telling him more about himself.

Dean found out interesting things about Castiel; such as the fact that he played piano and wrote poetry. He also found out pointless little facts; how Castiel's favourite colour was green and he loved walking on the beach at night. Even though there was still an air of mysteriousness about Castiel, Dean enjoyed finding out these silly little facts. It made him feel one step closer to actually getting to know the guy.

He soon found himself being completely truthful with this … stranger. Because that's what he was essentially, a stranger. This 'Castiel' guy could be anyone; he could be a forty year old creep for all Dean knew. However, Dean had a good feeling about this guy.

The only strange thing that Dean noticed about Castiel was the way he would simply stop replying for days on end. Dean would check his email several times a day. Before school, between classes and even during football practice and there would be nothing. Then, a few days later, he would suddenly get a reply and Castiel would be acting as if he hadn't just disappeared for days. Dean just disregarded this, maybe Castiel was just a busy person.

Over the next few months, they talked about everything from school to family and even about relationships. When Dean was upset or angry the only person he wanted to turn to was Castiel, and he'd always be there for him. Things were going great and Dean felt really at ease until Castiel popped up on his chat that Wednesday night in October.