August 2nd, 2006
6:15 A.M.
// Castiel //

He woke up to his obnoxiously loud alarm clock. Castiel rubbed his eyes and blindly reached for his glasses. He heard a clatter on the floor, knowing he just knocked the glasses off his nightstand. "Dang it! Every time!" he grumbled.

"Bro, why are you up? Oh, wait. Shoot! Why does today have to be the first day of school?" Gabriel said as he rolled over, still half asleep.

"Don't ask me. Just get up, I think Dad has breakfast ready or something."

"No, Cassie! Let me sleep for ten more minutes, please!"

"Gabe. Up. Now. Or else we'll be late." As he said that, Castiel flipped on the light and walked to the dresser.

"Fine, but I'm calling the bathroom. Use Dad's or whatever."

"Gabriel! Forget it, just get up out of bed."

Gabriel did as his brother told him, only to see Castiel run to the bathroom, clothes in hand. Of course. Castiel wasn't going to let his brother do that. Besides, Gabe the one that just threw something on, not caring as much. Castiel, on the other hand, had to try to tame his hair. That took about five minutes, and he still couldn't do that.

"Cas! Bathroom. Mine, now!"

Barely hearing Gabriel, Castiel just mumbled "Alright," and walked down the stairs.

"Morning, Cas. I've got a plate made for you, if you're hungry." Chuck smiled, sipping on freshly brewed black coffee.

"Course. Dad, when are we leaving?"

"Oh, probably 7. You okay to be early? I mean, it's a new building and school doesn't start until 8:05. Can you even stay in the halls beforehand?" He seemed to have a million questions, all of which Castiel could answer.

"First off, yes. Secondly, yes to that too, the teachers said you can be in the main halls, cafeteria, gym, or courtyard. I just can't roam around, meaning a stop at my locker and then pick a place and stay until 8 or so."

"Good. Just don't get in trouble. Don't get lost, either. Use the paper they provided for that, okay?"

"Yeah, I was planning on checking out my classrooms again. Like we did yesterday."

"Right. Well, go ahead and eat," Chuck walked towards the stairs, "Gabriel! C'mon and eat! We've got twenty minutes, then we're out the door!"

Castiel saw Gabriel rush down the stairs as he heard his dad yell. He grabbed his plate and went over to his older brother at the table. Castiel, almost done with his piece of toast, got up from the table. He put his plate in the dishwasher and ran to get his bag. He was already downstairs when he realized he forgot his book. He had to run back upstairs and search for a minute, but he found it.

"Boys! Time to go, get to the car."

"Yes, Dad! We're right here." Both boys yelled, being in the kitchen.

The ride to the elementary was only five minutes, but it felt like forever. As Gabe was led to the school by his dad, Castiel watched.

"Cas, are you zoning out again? You're staring at the school." Chuck asked, concerned.

"What? Oh, yeah. I guess I'll just miss the elementary."

"Well, at least now you'll be in school with only two grade levels instead of Pre-K through 6th, right?"

This caused Castiel to laugh. "Yes, I suppose so. Although, it's still going to be crowded. That's okay, though."

The last six minutes of the car ride fell silent. It wasn't a strained silence, just a calm one. Chuck stopped the car right next to the steps.

"Here I go. Thanks, Dad." Castiel reached over hug his dad and then stepped out of the car. He could hear the noise of the car fade away, not bothering to look back. Today was going to be major. Castiel just wished it would be a good day, it is the first after all.

It was 7:25 now, and Castiel has found a quiet spot in the halls. It was still too early for the all of the teachers to be here, so he decided to read. Castiel was only four pages into his book before he felt a tap on his shoulder. Not expecting it, he flinched.

"Cas! It's just me, chill!"

"Dean? Why're you here? It's only," he paused to look at his watch, "7:35. You're early."

"I could ask you the same thing, buddy."

"Right. Hey, what are your classes?"

Dean handed Castiel the paper and he immediately gasped.

"Dean, did you know we have all of the same classes? Wait, why are you taking art as your elective? I thought you hated it." Castiel questioned, as he handed Dean's schedule back.

"Uhh, I guess I just wanted to get better at it. It beats taking choir or drama, you know I can't act or sing. I mean, I can't really draw either." Dean was rambling and folding up his schedule.

"Yes, right. Well, that's fun. Also, you're not bad at drawing, you just don't practice enough. Trust me."

Castiel saw Dean quickly glance away and whisper "Okay, I guess."

By now it was almost eight. Castiel knew he needed to get to his locker in the main hall before it was blocked by kids. "Dean, we need to go to our lockers, bell rings in five."

"Yeah. What's your locker number, anyways? Mine's M17."

"I think my locker number is L45. So, I think we're right across the hall from each other."

"Oh, cool. Now, let's get to Science. It's our first class of the day."

"Alright, Dean."

The two went through the day learning about their teachers and their classroom guidelines. After fourth period, the school ate lunch. Back at the elementary, you couldn't eat outside, but now you could. So, Cas and Dean ate their lunches while sitting on the benches, quietly talking. After the thirty minutes was up, they finished the last four classes of the day. Castiel left before Dean, trying to find his father's blue, yet slightly rusted, Ford Taurus.

Nobody caught it, but that was when Castiel felt an awful pain in his back. One like never before.

A/N-
I'm feeling so much better today. Also, don't kill me for the cliffhanger. You'll see what it is in the next chapter, hopefully.

<3