Friends, Foes, and Life's Natural Woes (Homecoming) (High School)

Dean sat on the lumpy couch next to a couple that was swapping saliva. His mind was still reeling from what Castiel had told him earlier about Anna. He didn't know why this information bothered him. Maybe he was jealous, but of which one? This is what worried Dean the most. Now Dean had made the mistake of dragging Castiel along to a party. He knew he would probably regret it, but he just wanted to hang out with him. They had spent so much time in their own separate circles that they had seen each other in ages. But now…

Castiel had vanished from his side and he was becoming nervous. He had always felt protective of Castiel, but he wasn't sure why. He just felt that it was kind of like it was his job.

"Dude, what's the nerd doing here?" Dean heard someone shout and he shot up from his perch on the couch dislodging the face sucking couple. "He's totally wasted…he's pretty cute. Let's see if we can mess him up for showing up here."

Dean's eyes grew wide as he rushed towards the voice. He found a couple of guys standing over Castiel who had been pushed up against the wall. Castiel looked scared and nothing pissed Dean off more. He rushed over towards him and the others.

"Get the fuck away from him." Dean yelled as he shoved the burly guys away from Castiel.

"Dean, what are you doing with this pathetic guy? I thought that you would have higher standers." One mocked with a loud obnoxious laugh.

"Well at least he will always be better and smarter then you." Dean said with a smirk growing across his face as the one guy's face grew red with anger.

"I should kill you Winchester!" The guy yelled loudly which earned him a number of looks from the various party guests.

"Then your pathetic team would never win!" Dean yelled back at him. This made the one snap and he swung his fist a Dean, who dodged it with ease.

"You'll regret pissing me off Winchester." He yelled once more as he and the others retreated into the depths of the party away from Dean.

Dean sighed he had been lucky it had only been a small fight that hadn't escalated. He reached out and grabbed Castiel's hand and dragged him out of the house towards his beloved Impala.

"Dean, slow down your hurting my arm." Castiel whined as Dean finally turned to Castiel and gave him a pissed off look. He had just saved Castiel and now he was complaining.

"Cass, we need to get out of here because you can't seem to hold your liquor and you're just too fucking adorable." Dean spat as Castiel tilted his head in confusion.

"You think I'm adorable?" Castiel giggle obviously still very drunk.

"No…Yes…I don't know?" Dean sputtered as he yanked open the passenger door to the Impala.

"You want to know a secret Dean?" Castiel slurred as Dean helped him into the car.

"Sure Cass." Dean sighed just trying to humor his drunken friend.

"I really like this one person, but they are a complete jerk…Do you want to know who it is?" Castiel said as he giggled once again.

"No Cass…Not really." Dean said as he turned the key to the impala and it rumbled to life.

Suddenly Dean felt Castiel's hand caress his face. Dean turned and looked at him and their lips connected. Dean completely and utterly shocked that he pulled away out of alarm, and Castiel looked hurt.

"I knew it." Castiel mumbled as he looked away from Dean and at the floor of the Impala. Dean wanted to speak, but he couldn't think of what to say so he just drove back to his place. By the time he reached his suburban home Castiel had already passed out and was leaning against him. Dean sighed. He wasn't sure what he felt at this current moment. He reached out and stroked one of Castiel flushed cheeks.

He pulled Castiel from the car and then cradled him in his arms as he walked up his drive and into the house. He trudged to his room and gently placed Castiel on his bed. He stared at him for another long moment, and then climbed into bed next to him.

Dean curled himself around Castiel's stiff body. He had made the mistake of tuckering the poor angel out; of course the term angel was only a term Dean used to describe what Castiel's perfection was. He felt Castiel's chest rise and fall with each breath and Dean smiled. He could always seem to find peace with Castiel, even after chaotic events. He slowly felt himself become drowsier and drowsier until he too was lulled into sleep.

"Dean, wake up." Castiel's gruff voice made him wince as he slowly opened his eyes blinking excessively at the sudden brightness that filled his bedroom. Dean groaned and pulled himself up to a sitting position. Dean noticed Castiel expression was distraught and that he was also hunched over pacing around the cramped space of his room.

Dean raised his eyebrows confused. "What's wrong Cass?" He muttered still fighting off the lingering feeling of sleep.

"Us, that's what wrong." Castiel said sternly and Dean perked up immediately, becoming instantly worried about what the future of this conversation might have.

"What about us Cass?" Dean said slowly hoping to calm Castiel's mood even if it was just slightly.

"What are we Dean?" Castiel demanded as he stopped pacing and turned to glare at Dean, his sapphire gaze burning into Dean.

Dean's shoulders slouched as he tipped his head up and thought about the answer he wanted to give. Finally he spoke. "We are best friends Cass." Dean sighed.

Upon hearing those words Castiel's expression softened and his figure relaxed as he slouched down upon the bed next to Dean. Dean sighed once again pushed his hands through his short matted hair. He hadn't wanted to have this discussion…ever.

"That's a relief because I thought we, you know wouldn't be after I hooked up with Anna." Castiel mumbled into his palm which his chin was now resting on as he leaned back against the wall that was beside Dean's bed.

"Cass, I wouldn't let one girl come between us." Dean tried to chuckle, but to him it sounded forced so he stopped and Castiel turned and gazed at him concerned. "Sorry, I am still really tired. But that party last night was awesome, wasn't it?" Dean said brightly even though he was lying, he was just hoping to change Castiel's facial expression and the subject.

"Yeah, I just wish I remember how we ended up back at your place." Castiel said with a light chuckle.

"Heck I don't even know how we got back here." Dean lied. Dean knew exactly how they had gotten back. Dean remembered everything from last night perfectly.

"So, are you really okay with me hooking up with Anna because I would totally get it if you weren't?" Castiel spoke in a rapid tone. Anna had been one of Dean few long time girlfriends back freshman year, and Castiel seemed to assume that Dean was still carrying a torch. Dean exhaled a long breath then shook his head; he had since gotten past Anna. The only thing that worried Dean was why she was bothering to pay attention to Castiel now, after all this time of ignoring him. What was her angle?

"It's fine Cass." He muttered as he slid himself up off his bed and headed over towards his closet. "Hey do you wanna burrow my car for the homecoming dance, since you're going." Dean said lightly as he gazed deeply into the depths of his restricted sized closet.

"Wait, what you're not going?" Castiel stammered Dean couldn't see Castiel expression, but he was sure it was probably in the realm between shocked and undefined. "But Dean the only reason I worked so hard to find a date was because I figured you already had one."

"Yeah, I was thinking about skipping the homecoming dance this year. Plus the person I wanted to go with already has a date." He muttered in an indifferent tone as he pulled his football jersey off its hanger. He turned and chucked it at Castiel who caught it with ease as Dean shed his old worn out Metallic t-shirt that Castiel had given him for his birthday many years ago.

"Dean, you're the starting QB. You can't possibly think that you could get away with that." Castiel stammered once again.

"How could they possibly force me to go to the dumbass formal after I win them the game?" Dean said slyly and a small smirk grew on Dean's lips.

"Well I mean you have a point, but seriously. There are over two hundred girls at our school, who want the chance to just speak with you. There is no way you couldn't not find a date." Castiel said forcefully as he tossed Dean's sports jersey back over to him.

"See this is where you misunderstand Cass. It's that I don't want a date, not that I can't find one." Dean's voice was muffled slightly as he yanked the jersey over his head. "Let's just get to school so we can get this cliché and overly dramatized sporting event over with." Dean muttered walking over to his bed and extending his hand for Castiel to grab.

Castiel gripped his hand and Dean gave Castiel a gentle tug, which put Castiel back on his feet. Both guys strolled out of Dean's room and into the well lit kitchen of Dean's house.

Mary Winchester was bustling about the kitchen fixing breakfast as Sam was sitting at the table nursing a small bowl of Coco Puffs. He looked up from his bowl and smiled at the two boys that had just entered the kitchen.

"Cass, I didn't know you spent the night." Sam chirped as he got up from his seat and rushed over to the Castiel who stood beside his brother. Sam wrapped his arms around Castiel waist, and Castiel just smile as he gave Sam a small hug in return.

"Oh Castiel, I didn't know you were here. If I had known I would have worked harder on breakfast." She said with a light smile and a pleasant laugh.

"It's alright Mrs. Winchester." Castiel said speaking politely that just made Sam giggle and Dean choke back a stiff laugh. "What?" Castiel said slowly genuinely concerned at the response the brothers had given him.

"You know you can call her mom too." Dean chuckled as he headed over to the toaster. He slipped a slice of bread from the loaf that had been resting on the counter beside the toaster into each of the slots.

"I can't do that." Castiel said clearly embarrassed as Mary gave him a bright smile.

"You can call me whatever you like Castiel, we're practically family." She said turning and strolling out of the kitchen for a brief moment. The boys then heard her call for their father John.

Dean watched the bread pop up and now in the form of toast. "I got breakfast, let's get going." Dean said as he slipped one of the slices in between his lips and he held up the other for Castiel to take.

Castiel nodded his thanks and took the toast and gave it a bite as he followed after Dean to the front of the house were Dean's Chevy Impala graced the driveway of the Winchester's suburban home. It was probably the only thing that made the house look different from all the others that were crammed inside the cul-de-sac. Dean still had the toast between his teeth as he struggled to pull his keys out of his jean's pocket. He finally got them loose and shoved the keys into the door. He yanked it open and slid inside reaching over and pushing open the door for Castiel to crawled in.

Castiel jumped into the car as Dean turned the key in the ignition and the Impala roared to life. Dean couldn't help but smile. This car was his baby; he wouldn't be him without it. He pulled out of the driveway swiftly and sped off towards school. Castiel nibbled on his toast as Dean focused on his driving. Between them fell a comfortable silence, this truly showed how deep their friendship was.

The drive to the school was only fifteen minutes away from Dean's house, so they were there pretty quick. He pulled into the student parking a lot and received loud cheering from bystanders and from the football team. Castiel slunk down slightly in his seat and Dean frowned.

For some reason Dean didn't understand why Castiel thought their friendship was a burden to Dean whenever they entered school grounds. It was almost like they were on completely different spectrums when it came to the vast society that was their high school, which they were, but Dean never really bothered to notice.

Dean was considered high school royalty because anyone and everyone knew his name because he was the QB one and the reason the team had won them one state championship during his freshman year, which had been a huge deal. He could get any girl he wanted and not just because most threw themselves at him, but because he was genuinely good looking and charming. He just had to wink or smile in their direction and they would fall for him. At first he thought it had been flattering having so many people want to know him and be his friend, but he quickly learned who his true friends were.

He looked over at Castiel, who had an uneasy look stretched across his face. Castiel was completely on the other side of spectrum due to the fact that he was the typical nerd of the school; captain of the HiQ team and the chess team. Castiel had lead both his teams to the championships, but his victories were over shadowed by Dean's accomplishments with football and other varsity sports Dean played. But Castiel didn't mind though since Dean had been his friend him since the first day he and his family had moved to this town so long ago. When both the boys had been back in junior high when they had felt that life had actually seemed simpler.

Dean parked his car with ease, but only because he taken up two parking spaces in the process, but no one complained because everyone was too caught up in treating him like a hero. It annoyed the hell out of him, and was one of the many reasons he wanted to hang out with Castiel so often. Castiel didn't treat him like a hero, Castiel just treated him like Dean and nothing made Dean happier. Dean turned to Castiel to tell him something, but he realized that Castiel had already bolted from the car. Dean frowned and his toast fell into his lap. He scrambled to pick it up and quickly sped up his pace to catch Castiel, who was almost across the parking lot and to the campus.

He ignored all the cheering and raced over towards his friend finishing the last few bites of his toast in a mouthful. He swallowed the toast difficultly as he then matched his pace to Castiel's, who was shooting him an angry glare. Dean shrugged and Castiel rolled his eyes in an annoyed fashion.

"I thought we agreed that we shouldn't be seen together Dean?" Castiel sighed turning his head away from Dean, in what may have been an attempt to ignore him.

"No, I never agreed to that Cass." Dean said curtly, which made Castiel turn his gaze back towards him.

"I am not a person you want to be seen with socially Dean." Castiel said in an exasperated tone.

"You worry about this kind of thing way to much Cass. Don't sweat it." Dean muttered as he began to shuffle his feet across the pavement, which made Castiel stop and turn to look at him.

"Dean, what are you doing?" Castiel demanded as he shrugged his shoulders in a defeated fashion.

Dean just shrugged his response as Castiel started up his brisk pace again leaving Dean lagging behind slightly, but this is what Dean wanted.

Castiel slowly began to throw glances over his shoulder as if to confirm Dean was still there behind him. Dean could help but find this amusing so he smiled at Castiel who flushed slightly and turned away from him. Dean liked making Castiel irritated, but for some odd reason he couldn't really put his finger on why.

He waved goodbye to Castiel who walked off towards his AP Chemistry class, while Dean headed for the gym for his weight training class. He waltzed into the boy's locker room. It smelled terrible, but Dean was use to it. It was the smell of victory. He quickly changed out of his jeans and threw a white t-shirt that had his last name scrawled across his back in his chicken scratch hand writing over his head.

His tennis shoes squeaked as he strolled across the gym's wood floor, towards the rest of his class that had begun to congregate. Most of the people he passed past by on the way to get to his class waved at him. He smiled and nodded his head. This was why he really disliked homecoming everyone was just caught up in the moment waiting for him to take them to victory. He felt the pressure, but he tried to not let it get him down.

He was hoping the teacher would make them go for a run, because he really needed to clear his head. Luckily enough for him that was what his teacher made them do. He paced down to the track his hands buried deep inside the pockets of his running shorts. A few of the guys in his class wished him luck at tonight's game and he thanked them with a nod of his head.

When the class had reached the track Dean took off running. He was easily the fastest and the best in shape in the entire class, but he also trained after school every day with the football team so being fit was almost a given for him. He felt the cold air brush against his skin with each stride he took. This was probably the only time he would actually find peace.

He thought of a lot of things when he ran, but mostly he just thought of Castiel. He had always felt protective of Castiel ever since they had met way back in the seventh grade when Castiel had just moved here. Now thinking about what had happened at the party last night made him extremely confused. He had also cared about Castiel, but now there was more to it than that. Just right at this moment Dean didn't know what it was.

Dean's thoughts began to travel to Castiel's large family and that even though Castiel was probably the smartest guy in the class, but he was ignored by his family due to the fact of his other over achieving brothers. Dean had met each of them at least once, but Dean's impressions of each of them were that they were dicks. Castiel was just as smart or smarter as them; well at least that's what Dean believed.

He slowed his pace down slightly as his breathing would even out. He started another loop around the track, but got distracted by someone one moving up in the bleachers that were above them in the stadium. He halted his pace and jogged up the cement steps. He saw a flash of red in the corner of his eye up by the announcer's booth and he continued towards it.

Suddenly his eyes connected with another pair of eyes, and it made his heart jump up into his throat and it was hard for him to breath. He didn't say any words he just turned around and sprinted back towards the direction he came. He didn't look back, even though he heard his name being called.

Dean changed quicker than he had ever changed before as he hurried off to catch up with Castiel before he scurried off to AP History. He saw him and Dean felt his heart skip a number of beats before he reached him and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Cass, I gotta tell you something." Dean said in a hushed tone. Castiel turned and looked at him with his eyebrows raised in confusion.

"Look Dean I really don't have time for this. I have a huge presentation I have six minutes to set up for and you're wasting them." Castiel muttered annoyed, which made Dean interested.

Suddenly Dean felt himself get tugged away from Castiel and suddenly warm lips were pressing against his. He blinked in surprise as he tried to pull away, but the kisser wouldn't budge. Finally they released him and he gasped for air and looked over at Castiel who had a horrified expression upon his face.

Dean blinked for a couple moments as everything began to register in his brain as Anna slender hand began tracing his abs through his jersey. He pushed her hands away.

"Dean, you were right we should go to home coming together." Anna said in a malicious tone as she then turned to look at Castiel. "Sorry Cass, I am sure you understand why I have to cancel on you. Who could say no to the QB?" She said sweetly and innocently. Dean felt like he was starting to grow sick to his stomach as he fumbled to try to find the right words to explain to Castiel.

"Cass, what she is saying…I swear I didn't invite her to homecoming. I am sorry." Dean sputtered still struggling to find the right words. Castiel looked beyond hurt as he turned and hurried down the hall away from Dean. Dean shot Anna a dark look as he turned and rushed after Castiel. "Cass, you have got to listen to me. She is lying" Dean yelled as everyone eyes bored down upon them.

"No Dean, I don't have to listen to you. I am done listening to you. Heck that's the only thing I have ever done. I asked you if this would be a problem with you and you told me no. How could you do that?" Castiel turned on his heel and nearly screeched at Dean. This took Dean aback slightly since Castiel was one who was always cool, calm, and collected.

"I swear…She set me up because I caught her…" His voice faded away as he realized Castiel had vanished into the crowd. Dean cussed and headed towards his second period class.

He slunk into his desk feeling incredibly pissed. He clenched and unclenched his fists as he seethed silently at his desk.

"Dean, what's the matter." A sweet voice sounded and he could feel himself slowly take back control of his anger.

The voice belonged to another one of his long time friends Jo. She was a pretty blond with a wicked aim, which was probably why she was the gunnery sergeant for the ROTC. Dean and she had dated for a while, but they realized that made better friends than anything else. She was more like a sister to him anyways. She had actually been the one to introduce Dean to Castiel due to the fact that she was always insistent at meeting and knowing everyone.

"Cass hates me." Dean mumbled still struggling to maintain control of his anger. So far he was doing a really good job.

"No seriously what's your problem?" Jo asked clearly not believing what Dean had said.

"I already told you Cass hates me because he thinking I stole his fucking homecoming date." He sighed as he finally relaxed and slouched back into his chair.

"Seriously? I don't see how Castiel could hate you. He fricken' idolizes you." She muttered as Dean's eyes widened in surprise. "What you didn't know?"

"No, I didn't. Why didn't you tell me earlier? I mean I now that he has…." Dean demanded at first but then his voice faded away.

"I thought you already knew. It seemed obvious to me." She said with a shrug of her slender shoulders.

"Well I didn't and that doesn't really help with this problem now does it?" Dean said harshly and then cussed feeling bad for taking his anger out on Jo.

Jo shrugged she could handle Dean. "True. I think your best bet is to just explain the situation to him. Sooner or later he will come around." She tried to sound bright and confident, but Dean could hear the uncertainty in her voice and he looked away towards the front of the classroom.

"That's just it I don't know if that will happen this time. He looked really upset, as upset or more upset then that one time freshman year." Dean said in a barely auditable tone that was more to himself then to anyone else.

He didn't speak to Jo for the rest of the class period even though they were doing independent study time. Dean just sat at his desk going over all the possible ways to get Castiel to listen to him. He jumped in his seat when the bell rang indicating the period was over. He didn't bother to search out Castiel right away because he figured that he would show up when lunch rolled around.

Dean stood at the entrance of the cafeteria waiting for Castiel to show up, but he never did. Dean felt a wave of nausea start to fill up his stomach. He had thought he had gotten over these spells, but they were coming back and with vengeance no less.

Dean clutched his stomach as he stumbled into the boy's bathroom. He walked into a stall and wretched into the toilet bowl. After he was finished he sat down upon the tile floor of the bathroom and pressed his knees to his chest. He felt the pressure starting to creep up on him.

Dean stayed locked in the bathroom the rest of lunch and all of fourth and a majority of fifth period. The only reason he convinced himself to leave the bathroom was because he shared sixth period with Castiel. He had to talk to him; he had to make him understand. He had been setup. By Anna? By the football jerk from last night? He felt sick and confused. He needed to apologize, but he wasn't sure exactly why he felt such a need to apologize.

He stumbled to the classroom, his stomach was still upset and he was starting to become more and more overwhelmed. He saw many eyes bore into him unsure if they were truly concerned for him, or just the game. He exhaled a shallow breath as he took his seat which was next to Castiel.

Castiel ignored him, but Dean really hadn't been expecting a different response.

"Cass, can we talk?" Dean asked in a low voice.

Castiel continued to ignore him and Dean eye's narrowed at him. "Cass, I deserved to be heard out as your best friend." Dean snapped and Castiel finally turned to look at him. Dean's face fell as he gazed at the tear stained cheeks of Castiel. "Cass, I didn't." Dean stammered shaking his head rapidly from side to side. He wasn't sure why Castiel had been crying, but he was positive it had to do with him and it tore him apart.

"Dean I have heard you out on every excuse one could possibly have. Please don't bother me again." His voice was low and it was filled with sadness and all Dean could do was gape at him unsure as to what to say.

"No Cass, you can't do that." Dean stammered in disbelief. "Castiel…" Dean murmured as Castiel snapped his head back and stared wide eyed at Dean due to the use of his full name.

Dean felt a tear creep up into his eye, but he blinked it away. He didn't want Castiel to see him cry especially when he wasn't at fault. He had been framed by Anna after he had found her shagging it out with a lineman from the football team.

"Castiel…you have to hear me out." Dean sighed as he rested his head in his hands and covered his pale face.

"Dean, I am sorry, but I can't." Castiel murmured as he stood from his seat and rushed out of the classroom.

Dean slammed his fist into the desk, but he knew he couldn't convince Castiel of anything now. He was feeling sick once again. He tipped his head back and felled over blacking out way before he even hit the hard carpeted floor.

"Dean!" He heard his name but it was too difficult to pry his eyes open so he just lulled back into the blackness of his subconscious.

Dean awoke with start as he sprung up to a sitting position gazing around at his surroundings. He recognized them as the nurse's office. He tipped his head back and exhaled a long held breath. He was actually feeling a tad bit better after his episode, but he was positive that he wouldn't be allowed to play in the game. That didn't bother him; at this point he really hated football and homecoming. He looked over towards the door to the small entrance of the office as Jo's mother and the school's nurse entered. Her name was Ellen and Dean was a little afraid of her but he also held her in high respect.

"My, my Dean…Why hasn't anyone told me you suffer from an anxiety disorder?" She said with a concerned yet scolding tone as Dean hung his head in shame.

"Sorry, but most of the time I can keep it under control." Dean muttered down towards his palms that rested in his lap.

"Well then what came over you?" Ellen's voice was full of concern as she sat at the end of the bed which Dean was occupying.

"The only person I could control my anxiety for now hates me." Dean sighed

"Oh…so what's her name?" Ellen asked in an indifferent tone.

Dean raised his head and gave her a look of confusion. He wasn't following what she was getting at. "I don't understand?" Dean muttered

"Well you seem to be in love. I mean you are letting her opinion of you drive you mad. This seems like love to me. Grant it I haven't been in love lately, but when I had been, wow it was really amazing." She said brightly as a smile spread across her face.

Dean on the other hand looked horrified. If he truly was in love that meant… Ellen gave him a confused look now, since she didn't understand the horror that was positioned onto his face.

"Honey what's the matter?" She asked slowly

"I…" Dean couldn't even seem to form a word let alone a sentence, with this new and sudden revelation that was welling up inside of him. "No, I can't be." He sputtered finally and Ellen just gave him a sweet smile as she stood up from the bed and headed up and out of the office.

"Wait, will I be able to play in the game?" Dean asked abruptly.

"We'll see, but I think you probably can. Of course this is only if you want too." Ellen said trying to sound cheerful

Dean frowned this wasn't exactly the answer he wanted to hear. He had actually wanted a real reason to not have to go to the game. He didn't want to play in the game, and he really didn't want to go the homecoming afterward. All he wanted was to have Castiel understand what had happened and to forgive him, but he also didn't want to burden Castiel either. He didn't know what he would do if Castiel had never forgave. He needed Castiel more then he had ever realized before, but something slowly started creeping up in the back of Dean's mind. He laid back down and stared up at the ceiling.

"Dean?" A gruff voice broke through Dean's concentration upon the ceiling as he sat up and gazed over at Castiel who was leaning on the doorframe of the entrance.

"Cass?" Dean murmured surprised to see him here.

"Dean, why didn't you tell me you were relapsing?" Castiel said in a pained voice as he drew near to Dean.

"It's not a big deal." Dean muttered as he avoided Castiel steely sapphire gaze.

"Dean, it's of course it's a big deal." Castiel said in an irritated tone as he reached Dean and placed his slender hand upon Dean's broad shoulder.

"No, obviously it's not. You said that we couldn't be…" Dean's voice faded and he looked down at his hands.

"Dean…" Castiel's voice also faded as he sat down on the side of the bed next to Dean. Castiel's hand suddenly falling from Dean's shoulder and limply to his side, but he also couldn't seem to find the right words to say to Dean.

"Cass, I have wanted to explain everything to you, but I can't I have now realized this. You are right. I have recently come to a very new and scary revelation. You were right. We shouldn't be friends" Dean said firmly finally looking up to stare at Castiel who looked shocked and in pain.

"Wait what? No…That's not fair." Castiel snapped. "I asked you if you had a problem with me and Anna and you said no."

"Cass! This has nothing to do with Anna. But it has everything to do with you." Dean sighed as Castiel just gaped at him.

"What are you talking about?" Castiel stammered unsure exactly what Dean was trying to say to him. "You truly think it would be best if we gave up on our friendship?" Castiel demanded angrily

"I don't think I can continue to be your best friend..." Dean mumbled tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Fine Dean…This is just like you. I thought you had gotten over this need to run away every single time, but you're still the same kid who can't grow up." Castiel screamed and shot to his feet then sprinted out of the nurse's office.

Ellen frowned as she gazed at Dean who had tears streaking down his cheeks. "Dean I think it might be best if you skip today's game." She said slowly as Dean looked up at her and nodded his head.

"Can I go home?" His voice sounded miserable; Ellen just nodded her head up and down as Dean stood up slowly.

He wobbled a little on his feet, but found his balance quickly as he trudged out of the nurse's office. He walked to the student parking lot keeping his eyes glued to the ground to avoid meeting the eyes of anyone. He had never felt this terrible ever. No there had been one time it had during freshman year when he had felt this terrible. He and Cass had a fight similar to this one and at the time it seemed that it there was no way for them to make up, but they had. Now Dean had thrown it all way. No he had done Castiel a favor. Castiel had been drunk that night and confession hadn't been real, so Dean wasn't going to burden him with his feelings.

He reached the Impala and fumbled to find his keys. Driving home seemed so much longer then it had ever had before. Dean parked the Chevy in the driveway as he felt another wave of tears starting to flow down his cheeks and cling to his eyelashes as he tried to brush them away with the palm of his hand.

Finally he climbed out of the car and up into the house. It was quiet because Sam was still at school, John was still at work, and Mary had gone out grocery shopping. He waltzed to his room and fell on top of his bed struggling to pull the covers up over his head. He heard his mother call his name a few times when she had arrived back home, but he ignored him and remained under his blankets unwilling to move.

"Dean?" The voice of his mother was louder now so he assumed she was standing in his doorway trying to figure out why he was home so early when there was a huge game to get ready for.

"I was sick." Dean mumbled answering her unspoken question.

"Oh honey, are you feeling better?" She said as she drew nearer to him and pulled the covers away from his head and stared into his red eyes.

"No…" He sobbed as he grabbed his mother around her waist and buried his face into her stomach. Dean felt her hand stroke his hair as he continued to sob into her dress. She didn't seem to mind, and Dean was just too miserable to care.

"What happened honey?" She asked slowly probably gauging whether it was or wasn't a loaded question.

"Cass hates me because of this dumb bitch…and I had another anxiety attack." He said pulling himself away from his mother and looking up at her in a forlorn fashion.

"Dean language…I am sorry. Did you try to talk to Castiel about this misunderstanding?" She asked slowly and Dean looked away from her in a guilty fashion. "Why didn't you explain it Dean?"

"Mom, do you always want to spend time with Dad?" Dean asked suddenly which took Mary aback slightly.

"Well yes and no. I love him very much and love is a very complicated thing Dean. Why do you ask?" Mary said as she sat down on the bed with Dean.

"I think I am in love…I don't know when it happened or why. It just did." He stammered and Mary nodded her head as she followed along with what Dean was saying. "I don't want to hurt them, but I feel that I might be the one hurting them the most."

Mary exhaled a very long breath as she stared into Dean's sea green eyes that also belong to his father.

"Dean if you love someone you need to tell them." She said slowly as Dean looked away from her yet again.

"No, I can't hurt him like that." He eyes grew wide as he realized his slip and he looked over at his mom who was just gently smiling at him.

"Did you ever think Dean that maybe being self –sacrificing isn't always the way to go. I mean just look at poor Romeo and Juliet. If you love Castiel and I believe you do, mostly because I have never seen you taking a shining to anyone that well other then Sammy. You should tell him. Whether or not he accepts your feelings is a different story, but that's the thing about love…its always risky, but a lot of time the risk is well worth the reward." She said as she ruffled Dean's hair one last time as stood and exited Dean's room.

Dean sighed and thought about what his mother had said. Sure what she said was true, but could he actually go through with that risk especially after what had happened today. There would be no way Castiel would ever forgive him and after all that he wasn't even sure he would even want to be forgiven. He yanked back the covers and crawled out of bed. He scrambled to find his keys as he hurried out of his room and out of the house. He heard his mom tell him good luck as he pulled open the front door and raced to his car yanking the door open and sliding inside, while shoving the keys into the ignition. The drive back to school was a blur. It was already getting dark, and the stadium lights lit up the student parking lot. He parked in a rush and stumbled out of the car running towards the football field.

Some of his teammates saw him and they cheered and yelled surprised that he had shown up after his strange incident that landed him in the nurse's office. He ignored them; they weren't who he was looking for. He stopped running and gazed around the massive crowd. He really hadn't thought this through. How would he ever find Castiel in this massive crowd?

He started running again and nearly ran into Jo who was in her ROTC uniform since she was one presenting the colors. She gave him a confused look before she spoke.

"Dean what are you doing here? The rumor said you were too sick to play." She muttered still stunned to see him in front of her.

"I have to find Cass, have you seen him?" He asked in a rush as Jo's eyes grew wide with understanding.

"No, but I know he was around here. His brother Michael is receiving a sports award and his whole family is here. I assume he is down on the field getting ready to congratulate him." She said as she then noticed that Dean had already bolted down towards the field in a mad rush. "Crap I hope he doesn't doing anything rash… But then again." She sighed even though a little smile was crawling across her lips.

Dean raced down towards the field pushing and shoving past people who blocked his way. He had never been so determined in his life. He spotted Castiel, who was standing as far away from his family as he possibly could. Dean sprinted over towards him.

"Cass!" Dean yelled and Castiel looked up and over at him a stunned expression crossing his face as he watched Dean grow closer.

"Dean. What are you doing here?" He asked as Dean stopped in front of him panting and gasping for air.

"Cass I lied. I could never not be your best friend. The whole Anna thing she did that so I wouldn't expose after I caught her shagging up with that lineman over there." Dean said in between his panting as he tried to catch his breath. "Also I said that the person I wanted to go already had a date..." Dean's voice faded as he struggled to get the words he so desperately wanted out." Cass the person I wanted to go with was you."

Castiel just stared at him to stunned to speak.

"I have pretty much loved you since we met. I just never really realized it until now after having help from some really unexpected sources. I don't know what else to say really. I just had to let you know especially since I thought it would do you a favor for me to just stop being your friend. I am sorry." Dean sighed finally finished with his speech.

"Why would you assume you were doing me a favor by cutting your ties with me? Did you ever once think about how I felt about that? I have been by your side for years; did you ever bother to think that there might be a reason for that?" Castiel demanded and Dean shook his head. "It's because I love you too dumbass." Castiel mumbled as Dean eyes grew wide.

"Then why did you get so mad about the whole Anna thing?" Dean sputtered as Castiel sighed clearly not wanting to give Dean the answer.

"I was jealous. I tried so hard to get a date, because I figured you already had one and I was going to crash it… I just thought…" Castiel's words stopped abruptly as Dean's lips slammed into his.

Dean used one of his hands to grip Castiel's shirt as the other one pushed through his mattered hair. Castiel though surprised at first returned the kiss with force as he wrapped his arms around Dean's neck pressing their bodies closer together.

They pulled away from each gasping for breath as they then turned away from each as they noticed the whole football team, Castiel family, and a number of announcers staring at them. Castiel turned a bright shade of pink, while Dean flipped them off and grabbed Castiel hand and pulled him away from the field, away from the school, and away from everyone else.

Dean reached the Impala and reeled Castiel in and kissed hard pushing him up against the Impala forcefully. Dean ripped at Castiel button up shirt, while Castiel lips slipped on to Dean's neck making Dean moaned in a low voice.

"Let's get out of here. Homecoming is highly overrated anyways." Dean said in short gasps as he felt Castiel's tongue tickle his earlobe. "This wasn't what I thought was going to happen at homecoming."

"No, but its better." Castiel whispered as he pulled Dean into a tight embrace.

A loud roar erupted from the stadium. Dean and Castiel weren't the only ones about to celebrate what seemed like a nearly impossible victory.