2013

Easter was Castiel's favorite holiday. Not because of the chocolate, but because he would see his best friends again. Every year, around Easter, he would go to camp. An astronomy camp. It was always fun, and he would learn a lot. Eastercamp (as it was called) was the main event of the year.

And today was the first day of camp.

Castiel woke up insanely early, even before sunrise. He wanted to sleep some more, but this day was too exciting for him. The first day of camp was the day you made new friends after all.

He took a quick shower to wake up, chose his favorite clothes to wear, and got dressed. His clothes would be covered in dirt when this day was over, but it didn't seem to bother Castiel. This day had to be perfect, so his clothes had to be too.

Nothing will go wrong today, Castiel thought by himself.

He slowly walked towards the kitchen to make some breakfast. He didn't want to wake anybody, as it wasn't his own house. He arrived three days ago, and stayed in the house of his best friend Kevin. Kevin lived with his mother, Linda, his father, Rufus, and his two younger sisters, Jo and Bela. Kevin hated his sisters, as they were (according to him) annoying and ungrateful. Castiel liked Jo and Bela, as they had great conversations about video games and Pokémon. Usually Bela was already up this early to play with her Barbie games for the Wii. But today she was fast asleep. Apparently today was a strange day, because everything seemed to be different. Castiel never woke up before ten, unless someone (or something) woke him. The kitchen was usually cold in the morning, as the small kitchen windows were never closed, but it seemed to be warm, almost hot today, despite the open windows.

But nothing seemed to keep Castiel from loving this day.

He watched the sunrise while he cooked an egg, and he smiled. It was a beautiful day already.

--

"Come on Kevin, hurry up, I want to find the best places for my mattress!", Castiel shouted. It was 3 pm, which meant they had to hurry up to be in time for the best places in the barn. And it was really important to have a nice neighbor!

"I am coming! Dad, hurry up, did you pack my telescope?", Kevin yelled back, while struggling with his shoes. As Kevin always had problems with shoes, Castiel started to explain that he wouldn't be needing his shoes for the next two or three hours. After being convinced, Kevin grabbed his shoes and walked towards the front door to reach the car. Castiel noticed Kevin was wearing not-matching socks. He giggled a bit and followed Kevin.

--

"Hi, my name is Dean, I am 12 years old, and I like diabolo juggling, skateboarding and playing video games."

Castiel stood up. It was his turn to introduce himself. But he couldn't find the right words. He didn't quite understand what was happening, but seeing the boy named Dean made him feel weird, but good. He thought Dean was beautiful, and he had problems with looking away from the green eyed boy. Only when the woman named Hedwig coughed to make Castiel aware of the silence, he looked away from Dean. He started to introduce himself, while trying to make proper sentences in his head, which failed miserably. "I am Castiel, I am 12 years old, almost 13, and I like reading, playing video games, archery, martial arts and watching TV."

Luckily that went well!, he thought, while sitting down. It wasn't the best introduction ever, but he didn't say anything stupid.

......Right?

--

Today was the third day of camp. Dean and Castiel barely spoke to each other, and Dean seemed to dislike Castiel. Castiel was aware that he had developed a crush on Dean (although he was to scared to tell anyone), and started to act really weird when his crush was around. They were not even real friends! But today was the day Castiel could change that. The third day of camp meant a small scavenger hunt. It was mostly for the younger children, so they could learn new things about astronomy in an exciting way. The children were sorted in groups, based on their age. Dean and Castiel were about the same age, which meant that they were in the same group. Dean didn't seem to care that Castiel was in the same group as he was, and if he cared, he probably didn't like the idea of hanging around with someone he didn't like at all. Castiel, on the other hand, was very happy and started acting very weird even before the scavenger hunt. He calmed down a bit when he found out Kevin was in a different group, as he was 11. But when Castiel reminded himself that he would be spending the day with his crush, he forgot about Kevin and he excitingly started to pack his bag.

While walking through the forest, Dean, Castiel and some kid named Ash were talking about all kinds of stuff,when a new subject came up: famous youtubers. Something Dean and Castiel were experts in.

"So, do you guys know Pewdiepie?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, duh, everyone knows Pewdiepie," Castiel answered, "but I don't see why. I actually don't really like him."

Dean turned his head in surprise. "Do you really think that?", he asked, almost hoping the answer was yes.

"Yes, why?"

"You are the first person I know to agree with me!", Dean responded happily.

Maybe the scavenger hunt wasn't so boring after all.

--

The last day of camp was always the most exhausting day for Castiel. The children had to clean the place, pack their bags, and, of course, say goodbye. They had to wait a whole year, before they would see each other again, as everyone lived in different states. Castiel hated saying goodbye, and felt really bad when he had to. So when he thought of leaving, he couldn't help himself but cry a bit.

And the worst part of it all was the fact that Dean still wasn't fond of him.

After the scavenger hunt, which was actually really awesome, Castiel started to act weird around Dean again. He just couldn't help himself. It felt like a chemical reaction in his body made him lose control of his behaviour. But he still couldn't tell anyone. How would his parents react if he told them he had a crush on a boy? They were very religious and wouldn't approve. But his heart told him to do what he wanted. If God really existed, he would have given Castiel this feeling. So he approved, right? This neverending battle made Castiel lose confidence. It made him feel small, and he started to build a wall around himself. He wore a emotionless mask, one to hide his feelings, and just pretend nothing happened. It was difficult, but it was the only way.

When it was time to leave, Castiel walked for the last time that year towards the barn to say goodbye. One of his friends, Gordon, asked for his phone number. They were about to put everyone in a What's app group, so they could talk to each other whenever they wanted. After writing his number down, Castiel walked towards the car where Kevin and Rufus were waiting for him. Before they drove off, Castiel looked at Dean one more time. We will meet again, he thought.

Castiel looked forward to the day he met Dean again.