Novak Academy of Dance

I plan on updating this about once a week, maybe once every two weeks. It'll probably be short, maybe about 15 thousand words or so. I hope you like it!

Chapter One: Prologue

Castiel sat in his room, reading a mindless, nonsensical romance novel and mentally going over his dance routine in his head. Today was the day he was set to audition to get into his parents' Academy. The Novak Academy of Dance was the most reputable and well known dance school on the East Coast and his great-grandmother had built it from the ground. His parents met there- both budding dancers, his father, Emanuel, was studying Contemporary Dance and his mother was training to be a Ballerina in the Russian Ballet. They had fallen in love in the cheesiest way and when his father's mother had died they had both abandoned their other plans and taken over the ownership of the school. They married and had kids- The twins, Michael and Lucifer (Mike and Luke for short) Gabriel, Anna, and finally Castiel himself. But that was before Emanuel had suffered the accident.

Only Gabe and Castiel had pursued dance as a career, Gabe was a year above Cas and sticking to ballet. Anna had gone into marketing but had turned back to the Academy after she finished college and was now the treasurer and receptionist. Michael had become a priest and preached at a Christian chapel near the Academy, and Lucifer had gone into politics (and was less than honest, as most politicians are).

Gabriel came into Castiel's room with great fanfare, munching on a Hershey's bar with a grin. The door slammed against the wall and jolted Cas from his book. He frowned at his brother.

"Yes, Gabe?" he sighed, standing to stretch a bit, already dressed in his tights and leotard. He pulled a pair of baggy sweats on as his brother chattered.

"Cassie! It's your big day today!"

"I am well aware," Cas rolled his eyes. "And don't call me Cassie," Gabriel ignored him.

"I just want you to know that I believe in you. and if you can make Uriel laugh at a Christmas party, you're as good as in."

"He was drunk." Cas pointed out with a half-smile.

"And who got him drunk?"

"…Me," Castiel muttered and Gabe beamed.

"Exactly!"

"I didn't mean to,"

"But you did!" Gabe crowed. Cas sighed again. "Alright, alright," Gabe danced towards the door. "I know when I'm unwanted. We're leaving in 30." Cas acknowledged his brother with a grunt and lifted the straps of his dance bag (complete with portable boom box) over his shoulder and headed for the basement. The Novak's lived in an old hotel/ speakeasy that had been restored. The speakeasy had been converted into a full dance studio, complete with stunt mats, partial soundproofing, barre, and mirrored walls. Castiel shed his sweatpants and took out his stereo and played "Hurricane" by Panic! At the Disco. He smiled as he stretched and then pulled on his ballet slippers.

Freestyle was definitely his favorite type of dancing. He often found a song he liked, learned the beat pattern and words, and then came down into the studio and just let the music carry him. It made for a great warm up, too. He threw himself into the dance. The song changed to another, "I Constantly Thank God for Esteban" by the same band, his favorite band. Once he was sufficiently warmed up, he skipped to "Teenagers" by My Chemical Romance and began a routine of freestyle flips and stunts. After that, he ran his audition routine once for safety and twice for good measure. In the middle of the second time through, he was interrupted by a knock on the doorframe.

"See?" Gabriel crowed when Cas spun to face him, barely sweating despite the arduous routine. "You'll be perfect. Don't worry about getting in; even if you fail the audition, mum can just slip you in on the class list." Castiel sighed and pulled on his sweats, returning his stereo to his dance bag and using a rag to dab the minimal sweat away.

"I'm not you, Gabe," he scoffed. Gabe clutched his chest in mock pain.

"That hurts, little bro," he gasped out. Cas sighed and walked past him, back up the stairs. He would never admit it but Gabe's antics actually did sooth his nerves and his teasing encouragement did make him feel better. Slightly.

Gabe met him at the car and they both hopped in and made the drive in silence, only the radio filling the air between them. They waited in the hallway outside the auditorium until Cas was called in by Anna. His sister gave him a kiss on the cheek and followed them in quietly.

Castiel walked onto the stage nervously, wearing his tights, ballet shoes, and a wife beater. Uriel, the Contemp. Dance teacher, was sitting in the sixth row with a scowl. Next to him sat Cas' mother, Evanna, and three other teachers (Raphael for World Culture Dance and Lyrical, Pamela for Toning, Conditioning, and Precision class, and Castiel's cousin Balthazar for Flips, Lifts, and Stalls) that were there to judge Castiel's ability as a dancer and eligibility for the Academy. Gabriel smirked at Cas reassuringly.

"You'll do fine," he mouthed from backstage. Cas glared lightly. 'Easy for him to say,' he thought with a roll of his eyes. 'He chose not to audition.'

Gabriel had gotten into the Academy due to their mother telling him he needn't audition if he wished to pursue a career through her school Cas had been offered the same treatment, but he had turned it down. He needed to prove himself worthy of the school, not auditioning was like cheating on the Entry Level Examination. His mother smiled widely as he took another deep breath.

"Whenever you're ready, Castiel," She called. Cas nodded and gestured to Anna to play his track. The opening started slow, a slightly more modern version of Fur Elise and Cas threw himself into the dance. He did a few doubles while moving gracefully across the stage in a clockwise circle- nothing to fancy of showy. If he had been able to see them, he would have noticed the judges puzzled looks. They had expected more than this from the young prodigy.

The music made a scratching noise as Cas sunk into his splits, right foot pointed forwards and head tossed back. A dubstep remix of the same song blared through the speakers and Cas rolled into a stall, still doing the splits but now upside-down and he pushed into a half-flip and landed on his toes, moving with the music as he top rocked and did a one handed handstand before spinning on his shoulders and rolling up as the music slowed again. He leaned back so that his left leg was straight up and his hands were touching the floor behind him, his right leg still flat-footed and slightly bent as he kicked into another stall before scissoring his legs over and landing on his toes, turning into a triple spin as the music sped up again. He executed a perfect grand jeté and landed neatly before bending his knees and tossing himself onto his side as the music stopped. He rolled onto is back, sprawled out and still. He pulled his chest up with the sound of a heartbeat. He repeated the pulse in unison with the heartbeat as it slowly sped up and then lay still again as it flat lined.

There was a beat of silence and a euphoria filled Cas as it was broken by the applause of the Academy staff. His mother stood and whistled with a large grin and Gabe echoed it from backstage. Cas stood and bowed slowly, struggling to keep the massive grin off his face. It was the best he'd ever done that routine and he knew it. Sure, he had made the routine himself, but he had done it all in theory and it still took him numerous hours of practice to get everything timed right. The applause died down and Uriel stood with a stern look upon his face.

"That was a very unique audition. Thank you for your time," he dismissed Castiel with a nod. Uriel acted like he had a pole up his arse most of the time and compliments like that were rare. Cas nodded back respectfully and practically floated offstage. Gabriel greeted him with a slap on the back and a congratulatory grin.

"Good job, bro! Father would be proud." Cas nodded gratefully and tried not to think too much about their father. After the car accident that had paralyzed him from the waist down, Emanuel Novak had turned to drinking to drown his broken dreams of starting his own travelling dance crew and touring the world with Gabriel and Castiel. Cas still had hope that his father would recover from his depression, even after three years of drunken rages and missed birthdays. No one else except Evanna was as optimistic. They loved their father, really, but one could only take so much disappointment. Gabriel was the worst, he had a bad habit of talking about their father in past tense, like he had died and the drunken, disabled man that had taken his place was another man altogether. And he was, in a way, but that didn't mean Castiel liked thinking of him like that.

Gabe drove them home excitedly, chattering about how good his little bro was the whole drive. Castiel appreciated it, but now that the adrenaline had worn of, his nerves were back.

What if he didn't make it? What if Gabriel was biased? Sure, he didn't mess up, but plenty of other people would do flawless routines and not get in. What if he was one of those people?

"Hey," Gabriel spoke up, breaking into Cas' worrying. "Would you like to go to Lisa's?" Cas exhaled heavily and nodded.

"Yes. Thanks, Gabe," his brother shrugged it off.

"You look like you need some stress relief." Cas smiled gratefully and leaned back into his seat. Lisa was a friend of their mother who lived above the yoga gym that she owned. Castiel and Gabe went there for yoga classes every Tuesday, but Lisa had always doted on Castiel. She had given him her spare key to the gym for his own personal use, saying that he needed to stop "flitting aboveground from one stressor to the next" and "plant his feet firmly and feel the earth's energy".

Castiel had been much obliged. Yoga was the thing he was best at, second only to dance. And Lisa's gym was special. Instead of having mirror walls and a wood floor, she had opted to keep it au natural. Her floor was made of clay with a few inches of soft, white sand atop it. The walls were stone and special moss grew freely around a waterfall in the corner which flowed into a koi pond. The lights were soft and relaxing and the one wall that did have a mirror was fitted with a special non-glare kind that didn't take away from the atmosphere. When they arrived, Cas grabbed his mat from the back of Gabe's car and kissed his brother on the cheek before hopping out and unlocking the gym, already ten times more relaxed. He laid out his mat, flicked on the soothing nature music, and stretched himself before doing several minutes of breathing exercises.

He was halfway through his second hour of slowly changing positions when his mother showed up to bring him home. Cas packed up and brushed the sand off his feet in a relaxed haze, swaying slightly as he walked because he was so close to sleep. He managed to remain conscious through the silent car ride home but as soon as he reached his room, he was out.

The smell of bacon reached his nose before he was fully cognizant. He moaned and sat up slowly, yawning and reaching upwards into a stretch. He trudged to the shower and cleaned himself, dressing into a simple pair of black skinny jeans and an oversized "Doctor Who" shirt. Gabe knocked on his doorframe just as Cas was finishing combing his hair.

"Mom made eggs, hash, bacon, and pancakes for breakfast. I think this is a good sign, bro." Castiel furrowed his brow.

"A sign of what, may I ask?" Gabe rolled his eyes.

"Your acceptance," he said in a 'duh' tone. "It's the same thing she made for me the day I was 'accepted'." He put appropriate finger quotes around the word; even he knew that he had technically cheated to get into the Academy. Castiel shook his head with a small, self-depreciating smile.

"She always makes bacon, eggs, and hash." He stated. Gabe sighed loudly.

"But she NEVER makes pancakes," he pointed out. Castiel gave him that one, but he still didn't allow his hopes to be lifted. He followed his brother into the kitchen and sat down obediently. His mother greeted him with a smile and set his plate in front of him with a kiss on his forehead. He grinned back at her and ate ravenously, yet politely. He was raised to be more of a gentleman than a pig. He glanced across the table at his brother and fought down a quirk of his lips. The same could not, apparently, be said for Gabe. The elder male had essentially inhaled his food and was now cutting into his too-syrupy pancakes with a vigor that made it seem as if he was worried that they would vanish mid-bite.

"Gabriel, save some for your brother," Evanna chastised as she whacked the honey blonde son's knuckles lightly with her spatula when he reached for seconds. "After all," she added nonchalantly, "it is his acceptance we're celebrating,"

Castiel froze mid chew. Evanna giggled at his reaction and Gabe clapped him on the back enthusiastically. Slowly, Cas looked up to meet his mother's eyes, swallowing his half-chewed food harshly.

"I… got in?" he asked tonelessly. Evanna beamed and nodded. "Seriously?" a bit of shock and elation leaked through. Evanna giggled and nodded again. And then Castiel did something very un-Cas like. He whooped loudly, causing both his mother and his sister to jump. The nineteen year old stood and swept his mother into an embrace, swinging the petite ex-ballerina in a circle. Gabriel clasped his brother in a hug and ruffled his hair.

"Told you that you'd get in," he grinned. Castiel only laughed.