Castiel went through the motions as he ventured to school. The students outside of campus would take one look at his scrawny, intellectual stature, and immediately turn to their friends to degrade his very appearance. Some of the things they said were downright rude; at least the things that Cas would be able to recognize. "Nerd" and "twig" were among the majority, but the others were to be repressed so far down in his memory, even psychotherapy couldn't reveal it.

However, today was different. Today, everything would change, and this newfound hope in Castiel was what kept him going. The insults ran by him like a ninja in the night, paying no heed to the evil intentions his fellow students had. He walked through the campus to his first class as if there were no malicious teenagers trying to crumble his permanent smile.

He was distracted in his classes. Instead of taking notes, he was doodling, covering his notebooks with pictures of him wearing a stunning pair of sunglasses, surrounded by people who were fawning merely over his existence. However, the doodle of himself in his notebooks was the opposite of how he appeared in reality. The suave, and for lack of better words, "sexy" nature of his doodle opposed his rather slim, and somewhat uptight appearance. It was more interesting than whatever the teacher was babbling on about, though, so he decided to stay within his fantasies he knew were going to come true.

The bell rang, signaling that lunchtime has arrived. Castiel raced to the lunch lines, able to make it before the large rush of students came. After he received his salad, he rushed outside to his table of "friends", or rather, a group he aspired to be like, with only one person who actually cared about his existence.

A boy with light brown hair, dressed in red flannel sat across from him, and started unwrapping his burger.

"Hey Cas," he said, smiling.

"Hi Dean," said Castiel. "Eating healthy as usual, I see."

"Shut up," he said, taking a bite. "We're teenagers. We burn it off with the blink of an eye."

"Shh! He's coming!"

Dean rolled his eyes, which went unnoticed by Cas, who was gazing upon the most popular boy in school. Sam Winchester, the tall, dark, and handsome man on campus that stole the hearts of girls (and boys) whose eyes met his glassy gaze. His posse of popular students always followed him, and they all stormed the campus as if they owned the place. They were allowed to, because according to the rules of high school society, they did own the place.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," said Sam, as he and his entourage took their seats at the same table as Cas and Dean.

"Hi," was all Cas could say, stumbling over such a simple word.

"Hey Sammy," said Dean.

"Dean," Sam whispered harshly. "I told you not to call me that while we were in school. I have a reputation."

"Whatever," said Dean, taking another bite. "You're still my little squirt of a brother, so I get to call you Sammy if I want."

Sam clenched his teeth, and turned away from his brother, trying to drown him out with his group of people who, essentially, idolized him. Dean would try to talk to Cas through lunch, but Cas was always only half listening, because of how much he would stare at Sam.

"God dammit, Cas," Dean whispered. "You stare at him as if he's some god. I know you want to be as popular as he is, but I'll never understand why."

"I'm a freshman, Dean," said Cas. "If he lets me hang out with his crowd, maybe people would stop making fun of me because I'll finally have a good reputation."

"Why do you want to be like him, Cas? He's a prick. I would know, because I live with him. I like you just the way you are. Besides, if you turned into that," he made a mild gesture to his brother, so he wouldn't notice. "Who would I hang out with?"

"But he's so cool!" Cas said, obviously disregarding Dean's advice. Cas took another glance at Sam, admiring his very existence, which had Dean rolling his eyes.

"I see that look in your eyes," said Dean, without a change in tone. "You could do so much better. You want to be 'cool' just so he will like you, but no matter what you are, he'll never give you the treatment you deserve."

Dean had been looking after Cas since the day he walked through the campus gates. Dean had invited him to sit at their table, and they were inseparable ever since. The only reason he was able to get Cas to hang out with him, despite the fact that Sam was always a distraction during lunch, was because he would always invite him to hang out at the local mall. The two of them grew fond of each other very quickly. Dean was the only friend Cas had at this school, but the loyalty Dean gave him was more than Cas could ever ask for. It was only in moments like these where he seemed blind to it.

"How do you know?" Cas asked. "He seems like he treats everyone else nicely."

Dean leaned in closer to Cas.

"But when we're at home," he said. "He's bitching to somebody about each and every one of them."

He backed away, staring at Cas as if what he said was supposed to have a lasting impact on him. Cas, however, just nibbled on his salad and shrugged.

"Maybe they're mean people," he said.

"Either way," said Dean. "He's being two-faced. I don't want to see you turn into that. I honestly think you're great, just the way you are. You're smart, you can be kinda funny, you're cute…"

The last bit ended up being a tad muffled, which left Cas squinting and pondering at it.

"What was that last part?" asked Cas.

"Attention, everyone!" Sam exclaimed, drawing everyone's glances to him. Dean just looked away.

"As you all know, I'm having a party at my house tonight, and I just wanted to make sure that you were all coming."

"I am!" Castiel said with enthusiasm, his face shining brightly.

"Good!"

He went down the line of people, getting the same response from each and every one of them. However, he didn't bother asking Dean, and Cas just assumed that this was because they lived together. No one else at the table seemed to care, because Dean only ever talked to Cas anyway.

"Why are you going?" Dean asked.

"All of the cool kids will be there," said Cas. "I have to go."

"No you don't, Cas. We can just go somewhere together, and not worry about them. We can go anywhere, even if it's just going to your house. I like it there."

"Well I want to go. You'll be there too, right? So you'll be there for me if anything goes wrong."

Dean smirked a bit, but he tried to hide it.

"I can only do so much," he said. "I know how Sam is, though. He's gonna pull some douche bag move on you. Sure, he seems nice on the outside, but he's one of the fakest people I know. Just, please, please go somewhere else with me. Anywhere will be better than my house when his minions infiltrate it."

They argued back and forth for what seemed to be hours, but Dean eventually budged. Cas was desperate to be popular, and if that's what he wanted, Dean was going to support him, no matter how frivolous the decision was. Seeing his face light up at the chance of being noticed around school was all he needed to cave in and let him do what he wants. In other words, he would do anything to see him smile.

In the middle of Castiel's last few classes, he received a text from Dean, asking if they wanted to walk home together. Since they lived on the same street, Dean would occasionally ask him if he wanted to walk with him, given that he wasn't busy with soccer practice. Cas would always ask if Sam would be walking with them too, to which Dean would just respond with "I hope not" or "I don't care". Cas would never get the hint, even though it was only very subtle. Cas was so blind to the world because of his mission to become popular, which clouded his reality of Dean's absolute loyalty to him.

After school got out, Castiel exited the campus and met with Dean. Dean wore a genuine, heartfelt smile once he laid eyes on him, and he approached him.

"Ready to go?" he asked with enthusiasm.

"Sure," said Cas. "Where's Sam? Was he going to walk with us, too?"

"No, he's not," Dean snapped, raising his voice. "He's probably off doing douche-baggy things with his douche bag friends. Can I please just walk home with my friend and not have my obnoxious brother to ruin it?"

Castiel's expression quickly changed, showing a sheepish, cowering expression. He nodded lightly, and they started walking home. However, they hadn't even left the campus yet before Dean pulled Cas in for a tight embrace.

"What's this for?" Cas asked, confused.

"For snapping at you," said Dean. "You looked upset afterward. I…I'm sorry for upsetting you."

Cas smiled, and hugged him back.

"I understand, Dean."

Castiel's house was further down the street than Dean's was, but every time they walked home together, Dean would insist on walking all the way to his house first. He knew how the student body felt about Cas, so, knowing this, he took it upon himself to be somewhat of a protector. If anyone even mouthed a negative word about Cas in Dean's presence, he would spring into attack mode. He was determined to make sure Cas had a good high school career, despite how the majority of the students treated him.

"I guess I'll be seeing you at the party then," said Dean, as they approached Castiel's doorstep. "Unless you're having second thoughts."

"I want to go," said Cas, confidently. "I know you think Sam will do something mean, but I don't think he would risk looking like a meanie in front of his friends."

The naivety of Castiel's words had Dean chuckling, and shaking his head. Cas looked confused, and his expression twisted into a frown.

"Okay then," Cas continued. "If he does do something mean, can I count on you to be there for me?"

Dean flashed his warm smile at his friend. The friend who assumed everyone was good, and had such blind determination. The friend, who was a minority among his peers, but was still brave enough to try and defy this label. This is the friend he would do anything for, and give him a shoulder to lean on in a heartbeat.

"You know it," said Dean.

They said their good-byes, and Cas entered his house. He ran upstairs, not having to greet anyone upon his entrance because his parents were quite the examples of what workaholics are. He made himself dinner almost daily, found his own ways to entertain himself, and often called Dean out of pure loneliness. In a way, he felt like he didn't belong there. He desperately desired having a place to belong, which was the reason he was ruthless in trying to be a part of Sam's popular crowd. He felt that, if he was accepted into his posse, he would finally mean something to somebody.

He waited and waited until it was time to head to the party. He hurried down the stairs and out the door, practically bouncing down the street because of how excited he was. This was the first party he had ever been invited to, and by someone he highly admired, nonetheless. He was hoping that this would be the night where he gained the popularity he had been craving. He was hoping to make a strong bond with the boy he admired, and he was hoping Dean was wrong about Sam's evil plan. However, hoping something would happen wouldn't always change the outcome that was already set in stone.

As he approached the house, he could hear the thumping of loud music coming from inside as it beat lightly on his eardrums. There were purple, green, blue, and red lights flashing through the windows, and people could be seen swaying to the beat, igniting the desire in Castiel to join the fun.

He hopped up the stairs to the doorway, and rang the doorbell. It was a surprise that anyone was even able to hear it, because after a few moments, Sam slipped through the front door and stood outside in front of Cas, closing the door behind him. The face on the fragile, young freshman turned bright red, seeing the very man he adored. Sam, however, forced a smile upon his face, and wiped some of the beads of sweat off of his glistening forehead.

"Hey!" said Sam.

"Hi," said Cas, timidly. "You sure know how to throw a party."

"Party? Oh, right! The party!"

The laugh that came out of him hideously insincere, and Castiel's naïve mind was too innocent to process it.

"See," Sam continued. "We decided to move it to another day. My friends and I simply had too much studying to do, so we decided just to have a study day here."

"B-But," said Castiel. "You guys have such loud music going on."

"We were taking a break, but we're gonna be starting up again. I thought Dean sent you a text saying that the party was rescheduled."

"I didn't get that text."

"Oh, that Dean. Can't count on him for anything, can you?"

Even even the most talented actor couldn't reproduce the sad, hopeless look in Castiel's eyes. All his hope had been for nothing, and the person he looked up to most had proved to be nothing but a jerk. He looked at the ground so that Sam wouldn't see his tears welling up. He had already felt miserable, and the last thing he needed was to be mocked for it.

"I'll let you know what day we have it though, okay?"

Cas nodded his head slightly, and turned away from the house. Right when he heard the door close, he allowed the tears to fall. He barely even wanted to keep walking down the dark street, walking less than half the speed he used to get there. He just hoped that, every time a tear fell from his cheeks, a bit of the pain would fall with it until there was nothing left.