Nathaniel saw the car coming around the corner.

Castiel didn't.

It would have been so easy to just let him get hit by the car.

But of course there was that instinct to just run and push him away. Castiel stood there frozen, staring at the oncoming car, and suddenly Nathaniel was sprinting over and then he was in so much pain and vaguely he thought he heard someone say his name but he wasn't sure and he laid there on his back staring up at the sky through the haze that was clouding his mind.

And then he saw a shock of red hair and someone's face staring down at him with a mix of anger and concern and guilt and apology and he knew this person and for the life of him he couldn't remember their name but their mouth was moving and saying something-

And then it was dark.

"Dang it, Nathaniel," Castiel hissed, staring as blood pooled under the student council president's blond head.

People around them were gasping and exclaiming. Cars were pulling over, honking angrily, the drivers getting out to see what the hold-up was. He heard sirens off in the distance, getting closer with the passing seconds.

Castiel's hands hovered uselessly over Nathaniel, unsure of what to do. Should he try to stop the bleeding? No, Nathaniel's limbs were sticking out at odd angles, touching him would make any broken bones worse.

But there was so much blood...

Before he could dwell on the thought, there were people pulling him gently away from Nathaniel. He let them, as Nathaniel was placed on a bed and driven off to a hospital.

And he stood there in the middle of the road, just staring as the ambulance drove off into the distance, as a paramedic draped a blindingly bright orange blanket over his shoulders. He blinked, shrugging the blanket off immediately- it was a hot day out, he had even ditched his usual leather jacket, he didn't need a blanket.

He wanted to go home. He wanted to just lie down and try to figure out why in the heck Nathaniel had thought he was suddenly worth saving.

He didn't.

Instead, he walked aimlessly- or he thought he was walking aimlessly, at the very least.

He soon found himself pacing the hospital waiting room. More than a few people were fidgeting uncomfortably from the aura of impatience he was emitting, but he didn't really care.

Eventually he went up to the front desk and asked again if he could see Nathaniel Harrison.

The receptionist sighed, obviously getting annoyed with his incessant asking.

"Look, kid," she said, "I get that you're worried about your friend or brother or boyfriend or whatever this guy is to you, but y'know, asking ten times within an hour isn't going to help anything. Just go sit in the waiting room and we'll get you when he's out of surgery. M'kay?" She smiled with fake sweetness at the end. Castiel rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath as he made his way back.

He wasn't really certain when he fell asleep, exactly. Blearily he looked up at the sound of his name being called.

"Oh, yeah, wait, that's me," Castiel stand, waving lazily. The nurse motioned for him to follow, leading him up a few floors and down a few hallways.

And then they were in a room and Golden Boy was sitting in bed, staring at Castiel. There was a cast on both his right arm and right leg, and he had bandages wrapped around his head and chest, and he looked like crap, really.

He sat in the hard plastic chair next to Nathaniel's bed, and for a long while they just stared at each other in silence.

Finally Castiel spoke.

"Why?"

That was all he said, but Nathaniel knew what he meant.

"Because it'd be pretty boring without you screwing around."

Castiel snorted. "Still should've been me," he muttered.

"What was that?"

"Hm- nothing."