#she was section leader in our marching band ya see

[macro-microcosm]

Happy 2023 to my EST friends and to all who have already or have yet to see it! We made it. We all made it. And we will again!

And to those that haven't, we carry them in our hearts with us and make it for them.

[helliontherapscallion]

omg pls share the story abt the lecture from that girl’s dad (only if u feel like it) but seriously ppl it’s not that hard to put a mask on to help the spread of a virus. just wear it, it keeps u safe. and for the ppl who don’t care then just wait til it affects u, bcs covid isn’t a game. I just wish ppl were more serious abt it

Ok so sit down and buckle up kiddos and grab some snacks bc this is a helluva ride

Little background info: I have been a section leader for both my junior and senior years now. When the new freshmen came in my first year of being section leader I was hyped as hell. And then this new freshman whips out a lighter and lights it WHILE WE’RE INSIDE THE SCHOOL MIGHT I ADD with a straight face looking off into the distance before we ask her to put it away. She also always has a pocket knife on her that we found on the ground during band camp. I’ll call her POS. 

I tried to like POS I really did, but then she turned out to be a bigoted racist asshole (she also drinks deer blood straight from the corpse and simps over jeffery dahmer so even more red flags). It was extremely hard for me to treat her like I did with the other people in my section, but I managed to treat her the same as the other people and avoided her for the most part (thank god she wasn’t in my subsection I would’ve actually gone insane)

Flash forward to this year. Covid was hitting full force and we had to quarantine for the first two months of our season setting us back by a lot. She was wishywashy about rejoining but as the most senior leader of my section my band director was on my ass about getting a straight answer from her and fast. So I kinda had to force her to give me an answer (which she told me she was doing it quickly which leads me to think she already knew she was doing it) so she already was going into the season hating my guts

When we finally had an in person rehearsal for the first time, she wasn’t wearing a mask so when I asked her where it was she looked at me like I was the dumbass and said in a matter-of-fact tone “it’s in my pocket” and pointed to the confederate flag bandana hanging out of her pocket. Those four words told me that this season was going to be a fuckin long one with her. I just deadpanned (she couldn’t see it tho bc mask, sunglasses, and floppy hat blocking my entire face) and said “I’d rather it be on your face. (band director and marching instructor’s names) will have my ass if they see you not wearing one.” She rolls her eyes and puts it on (at least it was over her nose)

A few months go by with me telling her constantly to put on a mask bc I am responsible for my section and I’d be damned if one of them got sick bc of one idiot being stupid that I could prevent. She is getting madder and madder with each passing rehearsal. 

Band camp rolls around and it changed from 5 13 hour days to 15 3 hour ones and I am already done with her bs. We get our dots and I mentally groan bc she’s next to me for the vast majority of the show. She is between me (an asthmatic) and my close friend (vvv immunocompromised and also hates her, I’ll call her S) so now I’m more worried about covid going around the section. It was in this time that I find out that at least 5 other people out of 20 also have pre existing conditions that make them susceptible. So now I make it even more my mission to make her wear a mask. 

It was in the middle of band camp when she is yet again not wearing a mask (we were just marching without instruments) and I turn to her and as kindly as possible (it was the second time that day) asked her to put on her mask. She once again rolls her eyes and says “ya know, (band director) walked past me 3 times and hasn’t said shit, so I think I’m gonna listen to him and not you.” S and another friend of mine looks over in shock cuz she just talked back to me. They were about to say something but I wove them off. POS wants to fuck with me? Fine. I’ll just go full force with this. She wants petty?? I’ll give her petty, I’ve been holding off all season. 

So I’m marching there for the next twenty minutes quietly seething and counting more aggressively. She’s getting annoyed, but I pull the section leader card and tell her that she needs to be counting as loud as I am bc her feet was lowkey off time. After we break off for a gush and go (very short water break), I go straight to my band director and use my limited water break to tell him what she told me. He apologizes and says that he thought she was just taking a breather. He tells her to put on a mask and she does so and glares at me the rest of the rehearsal. 

She blocks me on all social media and I obviously clown on her in private with the other section leader (he’s more of a pacifist and never really told her to wear a mask which kinda pissed me off but I understood) until she makes a passing comment to my other friend about using the knife she kept in her boot. Now he tells me cuz he’s a good friend and I’m shitting myself at that point bc holy shit I might get shanked. 

I think about telling the band director but I realize that there’s no proof of her saying this and she could easily get out of this so it’s kinda pointless to tell anyone. Plus if she did shank me, she’d get into so much trouble and I’d be laughing at her from my grave/hospital bed. 

Many rehearsals go by and she still refuses to wear a mask so after one rehearsal S and I went to the band director and reminded him about our conditions and told him about how we were worried for our safety (I also told him abotu the other vulunerable ppl in the section) and he says he’s gonna do something. Next rehearsal he gives POS a warning and she begrudgingly wears a mask for the rest of the rehearsal. The next rehearsal rolls by and she isn’t wearing a mask (again) and he sends her home. Major victory for S and I.

The next sectional tho was something I wasn’t expecting. I get there like 10 minutes before it starts like I usually do in a good mood. I get out of my car and go to grab my stuff when a massive white truck with a busted muffler pulls up into the parking space next to me with a cloud of black smoke. The window rolls down and reveals POS’s dad and POS herself in the passanger seat. 

Of course I’m thinking that this is the day I die and start mentally preparing to yell for help to my other section members 100 feet away on the field already.

Mans starts to lecture me saying things like “it’s unhealthy to wear a mask outside bc it’s like a pitri dish under there. 6th grade science!” (I am not joking or overexaggerating with this, he actually said that). I really wanted to say “well, 7th grade science says otherwise, but you wouldn’t know that bc I’m sure you didn’t pass 6th grade, but go off ig” but I didn’t bc I didn’t want to get shanked or disappear randomly. I just tell him that I am only doing what my band director told me to do and that there are tons of people (myself included) that can really get hurt from just being in contact with covid. He says that’s bullshit and tries to tell me that I’m an idiot before I cut him off by telling him once again that I am just trying to protect my section and that the sectional was going to start soon so I didn’t have the time for this. I walk away leaving him trying to keep talking to me and soon enough POS gets out of the car and follows me to the field giving me a smug smile on her unmasked face before she puts it on when she sees the other section leader stroll up. 

Lemme paint the picture for you: this guy (a 6′something burly guy in his 50′s that I know has like two felonies under his belt) pulls up next to me (a 5′2 17 year old ball of anxiety that drives a small yellow car) and starts to borderline yell at me. Traumatizing. I was shaking for the rest of the sectional and I spent the rest of the season looking over my shoulder looking for the glint of a knife swingin at me

Now I’m pretty sure she’s suspended bc she was caught with a knife on school property and she wore a confederate t-shirt to school, but I would be lying if I said I don’t still look over my shoulder or speed up when I drive past her house lmao

[coolpolarbear123]

Band Camp Day 3

"we can either be the picconets or the clarilos." "The picc-a-nut?" "clarilo it is"

August 17th, 2021

<< 3 >>

forgive me if this is short:

4 hours of sleep later, we're heading to the field with literal mugs of coffee in hand to start the senior prank

the prank today: hanging underwear on the band director's podium

it's a tradition. I've probably mentioned it in past posts

at 8:30, we start, I'm more anxious than ever bc of all the drama

practice, fundamentals, the works

ML2 doesn't clap for the DI's and it freaks me out bc I know it's bc she hates that I have it

I've literally been texting the picc drum major (her roommate) about it all of band camp

my marching today??? absolutely awful. I could barely pay attention or anything

it's ML2's bday!! so I have been trying to mention it a lot and get her recognition so that maybe she's not as angry at me

We got put in a temporary band block yesterday and it's??? terrible? I'd like for the temporary part to end bc we're still using it

today I did a lot of messing up, and I feel really bad and gross about it

there's been this issue that when we do stuff in our big band block, someone in the middle will mess up, and by the time it gets to the ends of the block (us, the piccs), it's a huge mess, and we get blamed

this happened and our DM (the other one, the one who plays alto) was like "I know when I'm wrong" and we were scrambling to figure out where we were supposed to be

lunch!

people from random sections have been eating with us. This is fine, but?? it seems really early. Do you guys even know your own sections?

full band rehearsal! it was uneventful

our first playing sectionals! we stickered our nametags, then played through a lot of songs

we actually did really well, which is probably because we're mostly returners (re: one freshman)

and!! we were worried that our SL was gonna be super nitpicky and she's not! she's super reasonable!

back to full band rehearsal. Our band director made us watch a bunch of videos?? like they were sorta related to what we were doing but eh

I've been doing a lot of exchanging glances with the alto drum major. Mostly about ML2

we also?? have to move section bonding? which usually happens on Thursday night? I told our section leader that she needs to take that day off from her CA stuff, but she didn't, and now she works that night. Finding a replacement was aggravating, and we chose an hour and a half window on Sunday

that's not enough time, and it's... mediocre at best, really

it doesn't leave much space for fun things

dinner! the other librarian staff person is very well known for making really weird food combos that are super gross, and she is on a roll this week, lemme tell ya

a couple days ago it was coffee and chicken, there was cake and meat sauce at one point, etc

"If I can eat it, it's not a dog"

after dinner was more marching

our band director said he was writing pregame drill tonight, which means us drill librarian staff will have our hands full in the morning

did i mention the IMMENSE AMOUNT OF ANXIETY i have about being leadership bc of certain other members in the section?

it's so bad that our section leader had to give us the "don't talk about other members behind their back" speech

we did our singing at the end, and the 5th years led. One of my best friends is a 5th year, and there's only, like, 5 total, and it was really cute

very last of the real ones

and then we flash mobbed the hey song to scare the freshmen, like we do every year, even though we usually do it in the band room

our freshman caught on to the movements fairly well

the night activity was the scavenger hunt!

on the drive to the main part of campus, i asked if we are still doing the "not last" chant, and ML2 was like "I think the other sections get annoyed at it"

I texted our DM bc I was sad that we're retiring the chant

we get out of the car and the piccs aren't sitting in their usual spot which is like the icing on the cake for my stress rn

and then my SL comes up to me and is like "I'm gonna start the chant" "did [DM] talk to you?" "yeah, and I wanna do it" "let's just... wait and see"

but then later, one of the piccs started it, so at least we chanted it and I'm not the only one who cares

the clarinets only had one returner show up (one of my really good friends), so they requested to combine with a different section, and the piccolos all raised their hands up after a moment and shouted "PICCOLOS" so they joined us!

it was sorta scary bc that's a lot of people? we had all 10 of us, and there was a good amount of them, and we only have 15 minutes to run around and do things

but literally no one else wanted them (one of the clarinet freshmen even begged the drumline to take them) and we're friends with them, so

the scavenger hunt began, and SL did an amazing job of leading. I got to help with it! i called out prompts

and DANG were we efficient

we werent even late to getting back

usually while the scores are being calculated, we dick around, and every section did plenty of that, including us, but it was kinda awkward bc the senior piccs wanted no part of it

i was upset bc why can't we just,,, not separate ourselves like that. Why do we have to be different and extra and not social

I stayed with the seniors bc I was more scared of leaving them, but I was annoyed

after scores were calculated and we were all standing together, I went around and said "reminder! all we want is not last" and I get back to my place where I was standing to hear the seniors just like "idc what we get, I just wanna go home"

cool thanks

but we didn't get last!! and we did sorta scream bc that's huge!

last place had 41 points

AND THEN WE DIDN'T GET SECOND TO LAST

YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN THE LOOKS ON OUR FACES

but then we

DIDN'T GET THIRD TO LAST EITHER

at this point we're holding our breath, not screaming, just giving each other Looks

how well did we do? we had such a big section

fast forward to them announcing fourth place, and that wasn't us either, we were all whispering about how we ranked. No matter what, we were first, second, or third, and that's like getting a medal

and we weren't third

"first place had significantly more photos"

that kinda where we all accepted that we got second

and WE FUCKING WON WITH 81 POINTS

WE

WON

WE WON MY FRESHMAN YEAR AND NOW MY SENIOR YEAR

THAT'S H U G E

piccolos don't win things

we don't even know the clarinets

we called ourselves the clarilos

we're so fckn stoked about our win, guys, it hasn't even set in, really

NOT LAST NOT LAST NOT LAST

[bolbianddolanhouse]

BNHA self insert AU [Book 3]

New? Read here! Then here!

Chapter 1: *Attention By Joji*

“Deep breath in” hold for 10 seconds “and breathe out.” I do these every morning until I’m mentally ready to face my day. OH! Where are my manners? Hi! My name is Iwata El Roca Iida... yeah, my mom thought it was hilarious to call me Rock the Rock but in two languages. If only my dad knew enough Spanish back then! But enough about them! I’m about to turn 15 in a few weeks and it’s Saturday, you know what that means! Yup, today I lock myself in my room and practice for my upcoming auditions at school. But I’ve just woken up, so to the kitchen I go to interact with everyone else over breakfast.

“Buenos dias!” I announced myself in.

“Buenos dias mijo!” That’s my mom! Everyone says she’s a queen but I see her as an Empress. All powerful, beautiful and kind.

“Good morning Iwata!” That’s my dad, Pro hero Ingenium. But here, he’s a house husband that cooks weekend breakfast. I don’t know what my mom sees in him.

“Oh is that Iwee? Good Morning!” That voice coming from my mom’s phone is my older sister Lili Perla. She’s at UA in the dorms, so she’s not here to join in on morning chaos but she video calls on the weekends. Don’t tell anyone but she’s my favorite sibling!

Right as I sat down at my usual spot at the breakfast nook, in came the other two screaming at each other.

“DADDY! Tensei keeps using my hair brush!”

“Why would use your brush?! My hair is too short to brush pendeja!”

Those two are my younger siblings, Tensei Oro and Hanaka Rosa. If you didn’t guess, they’re twins and they couldn’t be anymore different! Tensei is a punk as bitch with a high IQ and Hanaka is a hot headed brat with over powered quirks. At least I don’t have to worry about fire sneezes in the middle of the night, but Tensei does mumble sing in his sleep and that’s a pain when I have an early day the next day.

“Can we go one breakfast without you two screaming over something?” Lili sighed.

“What makes you think Tensei used your brush Hanaka?” Dad asked as he poured me coffee “and what did I say about provoking your sister Tensei?”

Tensei crossed his arms “Don’t play with fire unless you wish to get burned” he furrowed his brow “But it wasn’t me this time!”

“Who else has short blue hair?!” responded Hanaka, smoothing over her hair.

“Wait, was the brush you saw a wood paddled brush?” I asked after my first sip of coffee.

“Yeah why?”

“Aren’t your hair styling tools made of metal?”

Hanaka paused to think, looking like the pinwheel was spinning in her head.

“What smells like burning?” mom said, sniffing the air.

“Nothing!” Hanaka screamed “I uhhhh HAVE CHORRO!” she turned and ran back to the bathroom.

“She set the brush on fire” Tensei sighed as he sat at his spot.

“I still don’t know why you keep buying those wood brushes mom!” Lili commented “Especially with Rosa that tends to set things on fire.”

“They come free after a 10,000 yen purchase at the organic body store!” mom exaggerated “I might be well off, but I’m not gonna deny a freebie! Only bitches that didn’t grow up poor deny free stuff.”

“I do like their freebies” I say as dad hands me my plate “can you pass me the Valentina please?”

“Oh! It almost slipped my mind, Iwa” my mom got wide eyed remembering something “When is your audition? My schedule is changing a bit so I have to request it off.”

“It’s in two weeks exactly” I respond “But you don’t have to take the day off if it’s of inconvenience, I can get a ride from someone else.”

“Nope! I want to drive you to your marching band audition” Mom gushed “back in my day, I lived behind the school I did marching band at and the auditions for drum major were thrilling! I want to see my baby boy give his all for leadership.”

After breakfast, I went back to my room to work on the music part of my audition. It’s my second year of middle school and I’m known as a musical prodigy! Ever since I was little, I was just naturally a-tuned to rhythms and tonality. Mom taught me all she knew about music and told me all her stories about her auditions and other music class ventures. That’s how I bonded with her...well, that and we look so much alike! Same medium tan skin, black curly hair, dark brown eyes, lip shape and stature. Everyone does a double take when we’re seen together, it’s kinda funny. Also just like her, I was blessed with two quirks... Engine and Telekinesis. Having my dad’s quirk is cool and all but the piston on the middle of my palm is kind of a drag. I mastered retracting them so they don’t protrude when doing anything with my arms and hands...giving high fives is unpleasant though. I’ve learned to love my body and being mindful of my mental health, and in turn it aided in controlling my telekinesis. Long tragic back story short, I activated the telekinesis quirk when I saw my mom in a vulnerable position against a home intruder at the age of 4. Scary times, BUT my mom helped me through it. I wish I was as kind and put together as her, then I’d do so many amazing things! But I’m just banging out this jazz piece on the saxophone... for now.

-Monday, on the way to school-

“Hey mom, do you think it’s too soon to start scoping for high schools?” I asked.

“Hmm, I don’t think it is” she responded “Why? Did a school catch your interest recently?”

“I was just wondering. I want to get a leg up on the entrance exams and auditions” I looked out the window.

“You saying that reminds me so much of your dad!” she gushed “He was always the man with a plan, detailed schedules and order with a stiff arm!” she mocked my dad’s iconic arm chops “But in a fight, his strategy is garbage! But ya sabes that I reign supreme, always 10 steps ahead of the enemy.”

“That’s right! You met dad in UA” I beamed as I turned “How did you apply to UA? Was it hard since you were an American student?”

“I-uhhh well, I can say that it was quite a process” she stammered “Oh but you don’t need to worry about getting into a hero school! You don’t need to follow in your parent’s footsteps- Oop, we’re here.”

“We are? Oop!” I check the time, it’s 20 minutes until class starts “Okay, uhhh I have practice today, so I’ll be home a little later.”

“Okay, Have a good day Iwata!” 

I waved her off then scurried into campus. I’m not popular by any means, but sometimes I get the attention of some girls and my fellow band mates. I’m just chill and funny with no rivals, outta my face with that cringe!

“Iwa! What took so long?” that’s my best friend Beizu Hatsune! We were raised together and never grew apart, so you could say we’re pretty close.

I chuckled as I opened my shoe locker “Forgive me Bei, my hair was not cooperating today!”

“But do you have the goods?”

I opened my duffle bag “As promised, alarm clock innards from the one Hanaka set on fire.”

“Sweet! Thanks Iwa” Beizu lit up like a light “Can’t wait to finish up my masterpiece in woodshop today!”

“In woodshop?”

“Yup! I’ve been working on an automated jar opener” he explained “My mom taught me how to do the arm rigging so the jar doesn’t shatter!”

“...made of wood?”

Beizu sighed “Yes, made of wood...BUT! I will finally have a project impressive enough to earn my independent workshop pass for the rest of the school year.”

“Ganbaru then Bei” I said as I put on my shoes and closed my locker “I’ll see you at lunch.”

Now before you go off on me and ship me with my best friend....ewww, who do you take me for? My parents?! I trust and love Beizu AS A BROTHER! Not once did I think about kissing him or crossing the line. I really don’t want to repeat my parent’s love story, to be honest, I don’t know what my mom sees in my dad! He’s a lovesick doofus for my mom and she’s very snarky with him. My sisters think it’s couple goals but I think my mom could do better. But that’s not to say that I’m unlucky in love, I’ve gotten my fair share of confessions and chocolates...but I don’t have an interest in the people that ask. Maybe I should lower my standards? But I have all of my youth to figure that out! For now, I’m Iwata the band kid!

What can I really say about my best friend? He’s really smart and creative, he’s a naturally pink haired. He’s stood up for me when I had really bad body dysmorphia because of my engines. And I’ve comforted him when his creations fail. Our mom’s work together and known each other since the UA days. I don’t know a life without him but I’m glad he’s my best friend.

-Day of audition-

I’m not sure if I did good enough. My self esteem went in the toilet when I saw the other students auditioning. Now I wait for the postings but I don’t have my hopes up.

“What’s the matter mijo?” asked my mom as she sat next to me on the brick steps.

“I’m not feeling too confident in my audition” I sighed “I knew I should’ve audition with piano!”

“Hey! None of that!” she snapped to get my attention “You did amazing, your speech was well versed and you didn’t stumble on your words! And that tower toss while on the parade march was flawless!” she smiled as she put her hands on the sides of my face “No matter what, you’ll bounce back and I’ll still love you.”

“Okay mom” I gave a weak smile “I guess I have to wait and see.”

Sopresa puta, I got the part! I was mentally settling to be the assistant role or be a section leader. But my mom and I gave the most guttural screeching when my name was up there, everyone was getting uncomfortable! I’m not a sore winner, I congratulated everyone who got a position and encouragement for the others. My dad says only villains don’t give encouragement to their fellow competitor....Why do I have a weird feeling that this is the rising action in my life story?

Fast forward to May 7th...

IT’S MY BIRTHDAY! Mis Quince Años as mom says. I’m not a very lavish person, just a small party with my family and Beizu. But of course it lands on a frickin Thursday! Out of all the days, Thursday is the weirdest day to have a birthday party.

“What did you ask your parents to make you for your birthday dinner?” asked Beizu as we walked to the front of the school to get picked up by his mom to take us to my house.

“I asked for sashimi but who knows what kind of spectacle my parents made of it!” I chuckled.

“Ooh! What if it’s boat style?!”

“I wouldn’t rule it out! Maybe they got the family sushi chef to prepare everything fresh” I pondered out loud.

“You have a family sushi chef?”

“On my dad’s side, they have all sorts of family...servants? Is that the right word?” I rub my temples “point is! If you want something done, they know a guy that’s been serving my family for generations.”

“Must be nice” teased Beizu as his mom’s car pulled up.

“Shut your up!” I teased back “You know how I feel about my dad’s side.”

“Hello boys! And very Happy Birthday to you Iwata!” chimed Beizu’s mom.

“Thank you!” I gave a polite smile.

“Oh mom, did you-”

“It’s in the trunk” his mom was quick to respond “Now lets get a move on to the party!”

We get to the house and all the usual suspects were there already. Mom, dad, uncle Jin, aunty Mimi, Nikita, the twins, Lili and her (not yet boy-)friend and uncle Tensei. What makes me not that thrilled to see is Hanaka’s cat and bird friend and Tensei’s metal friend with the sharp ass teeth. I don’t know why the fuck they got these weird ass friends but they grew up with them too.

“Happy birthday to my favorite nephew!” uncle Tensei said as he rolled towards me.

“Tio! Your embarrassing me” I turn red “thanks though.”

“I got you that big gift over there” he pointed behind him and there was 4 really big gift wrapped gifts, but I knew which one was his.

“I can tell! You wrapped it yourself” I roasted “tire-marks and all!”

He did a double take and nervously laughed “Oh right?! Hahaha” he turned to his robo “Pongo, reposition my gift to show less tire marks please?”

“That is the side with the least amount of tire marks” the spotted robo replied.

Beizu and I couldn’t contain our laughter. We were wheezing our way through everyone to get to my room. Every birthday, we sleep over at each other’s house. Those are my favorite birthday memories! He tosses his things at the foot of my bed and we run back down to eat with everyone else. The sashimi was catered from this place in Shibuya my mom frequents. But the cake was one of my mom’s creations, and she really out did it this year with the four layers and piping. One out of tune happy birthday song later, I got to open my gifts! I really loved the gifts my siblings gave me: Lili made me a sweater, Hanaka got me new novelty socks and Tensei got me a book of Post-Moderism Poetry. Uncle Tensei’s gift was a trampoline...I will say that it was better than buying me stock he gave me last year. Everyone else got me gift cards or clothes. Like I said, I’m a simple lad. I’m happy sipping some black coffee in a knitted sweater, no pants and fuzzy socks in a pillow fort. Beizu and I dash up to my room the moment everyone left.

“Here, open my gift!” Beizu tossed me my gift

“It’s big!” I grunted as I barely caught it. I opened it and gasped “You got me that memory body pillow?!”

“Yup, I know you had your eye on it for a while” Beizu beamed “I didn’t want you to open it with the others in case others judged too quickly.”

“I love it! Thank you Bei” I put the pillow on my bed and climbed on “get up here! Lets read the love letters I got today.”

“...pfft! Look at this one! She called your hair a bouquet of black roses!” Beizu chortled “Seriously, like, these are all from the girls that bug us at lunch.”

“They had the decency to also give sweets with their notes” I say as I open a package of Pocky “Want some?”

“Sure...hey, uhhh question.”

“Yes?” I respond, about to shove half of the chocolate sticks in my mouth.

“Have you considered were you’re gonna go to high school?”

I stopped myself from putting all that Pocky in my mouth “Not yet, have you?”

“Yea actually, my number one choice is UA.”

The jazz music in my head stops “UA? Why?”

“Well, my mom went there and I found out my dad was a sidekick for the number 4 hero at his time before working for your mom” he sighed “I kinda feel like I’m meant to go down that path, maybe not support or hero work per say. It’s like your family in a way! Your dad’s a pro hero, mom is an agent and Lili is pursuing hero work. You can’t tell me that doesn’t steer you toward that path?!”

“I don’t know if I should” I said in low voice “I know I can get in UA without taking any tests, but am I really worthy of being in heroics or intelligence like my parents? I mean, my mom was a genius! Look what she did with all that big brain energy! My dad has leadership skills, everyone on that side of the family are natural born leaders and very orderly.” I throw my hands up “Lili honed her skills by dancing since she was old enough to walk on her own! I could barely control my telekinesis and my legs can’t keep up with the kick my arm engines give... I’ll be the family fool if I try.”

“Don’t say that Iwa!” Beizu eyes widen, he got an idea “Lets train together!”

“Huh? Train?”

“Yeah! Just like how our parents did” He slapped his hands onto my shoulders and started shaking me “I’m not that great either but I want to hone my skills. Let’s get strong together!”

“Okay okay! Will you cool it with the shaking?!” I pleaded as I felt like I was going to be sick “We’ll start training....uhhhhh next week? I kinda have a thing this week.”

“Oh that’s this week?!” Beizu gasped “Dang, I keep forgetting its Thursday.”

I throw a pillow at him “Yeah, and we’re spending it not building our fortress!” I floated everything that wasn’t a blanket or pillow off the bed “Let make this one stable enough to last through the night this time!”

We spent our night building a pillow fort to top the one we made last month for his birthday. I couldn’t sleep much that night, what Beizu said really made me think about my future. For whatever reason, I feel like I was meant to do something bigger than myself or my family. But what is it?! Pursuing music will lead me into another fork in the road, fame or education? That’s all I know I’m good at! So maybe going into my parent’s footsteps wouldn’t be that bad....right?

Time passes, but to recap in that time in one go: Lili lost her memories, Lili regained those memories, Lili and Hoshi are dating (finally!), I accidentally peed my pants when I jumped too high on the trampoline, Beizu started an accidental fire in wood-shop, the twins had their birthday and one of Tensei’s friends ruined it, I got appointed officially as the Drum Major at school, and lastly (but not least) Beizu and I started to work out our bodies into shape.

So it’s September, or as I call it, SWEATER SEASON! I hate the cold. You can catch me in big, knit sweaters and Ugg boots that I took from my mom’s closet around this season. This time is was different, I was doing running and other endurance exercises when I’m usually loafing in my room.

“How was your run?” my dad asked as I panted heavily in the hallway “it’s pretty overcast for you to be outside without a sweater.”

I wheezed out “It’s all good! I need to build up a tolerance.” 

“You want a tea? Or protein shake?”

“I’ll take a protein shake” I said as I followed my dad into the kitchen. I sat at my usual spot at the counter, watching him make the shake.

“You know you don’t need to hide it Iwata” Dad said as he poured the blended contents into a glass “I know you’re training for hero school.”

“WHAT! NO! Being drum major is hard work and I just want to be able to lead everyone without getting exhausted in the first leg of things!”

He looked at my body language “You’re doing the arm chops” he put the glass in front of me “You do that when you’ve been caught.”

“Oh” I look at my arms, then at the glass in front of me “Yeah...I am.”

“Why, if you don’t mind me asking? You didn’t seem interested in those things.”

“I know, it’s just that” a sigh escaped my mouth before I dropped my arms “I feel like it’s not a bad thing to get into, to be honest I only did music is because it’s the first thing I was good at as a child and I honed it.” I grabbed the glass “I don’t want my future to be just a musician, I want to contribute to society because I feel like that’s something I was meant to do.”

“Well son, I’m proud of you for seeking your purpose” he sighed “But I don’t know what your mother is going to say.”

I stopped drinking the shake “Mom? What do you mean?”

“Well- she’s still shaken up from what’s been happening to Lili. Plus with your telekinesis still being unstable at times” Dad glances at the family photo hanging in the dining room “You’re not like your mother at your age, she was raised to fight to survive. She raised you to live a life without having to needlessly fight.”

“What should I do then?”

He looked at me “Hate to say it, but you need to ask her to train you in order to prove yourself stable enough to go” he fixed his glasses “This is her territory, wish I understood what it takes to be a telekinesis user.”

I looked down at my half finished shake “...How was mom, when she attended UA?”

“She was extremely skilled! Nobody could beat her and she’d demolish anybody that she went up against-”

“Yeah I know all that” I interrupted “I meant, how was she as a person? Did she seem stable?”

Dad paused to think “She was polite, kept to herself, unpredictable and was an overachiever. But all of that was to mask the fact that she was alone and didn’t want to be there” his tone got serious “Everyday, she’d pray to be back home in America. Pray to stop the fighting because she was tired, at times, I’d catch her crying somewhere. So much stress and strain from surviving her time here took a toll on her mental health that she’d be unstable.”

“So did she get help?”

“Not until she started college, and she still struggles with it” Dad leaned on the counter “But I believe in you to change her mind about letting you go to hero school. She’s given you all the resources to better yourself...show her that you’re capable.”

I down my shake “OKAY! I’ll do it-” my burp cuts in “thanks dad!”

And so started my determination to convince my mom to train me! Only thing is that it’s a little hard to have one on one time with her because now I’m busy with band stuff going into my 3rd year and my mom and her two jobs... oh jeez, I see what dad means by overachieving! That woman has two jobs, TWO! She didn’t even have to have one of them, she appointed herself as CEO of a company! Then again, who asked me to audition for drum major?! Maybe my mom and I are more alike that previously perceived?

-November 24th, technically Thanksgiving-

“I’m so proud of you mijo!” Mom cried out as she drove us home “first parade competition as the drum major and you got Excellent across the board!”

Still sweaty in the backseat of the car, I respond “Thanks mom, I really thought that private school was going to snuff me out of the judges minds.” I take a deep breath “Sooo, uhhhhh I thought of my first choice for high school.”

“Oh? That’s great news! It is nearly the end of this school year” she turned toward the street near home “Who’s got your interest?”

“I was thinking UA” I held my breath, expecting the worst...but nothing happened, in fact, she didn’t respond “Mom?”

Silence until we got to the house. Her face seemed catatonic but was functioning fine. She didn’t talk when she entered the house and just went straight to her office and locked the door.

“Oye, what happened?” asked Tensei “Mom didn’t look like herself.”

“I just said that I want to go to UA then she got quiet” I panicked “I’m scared, what if I broke her?!”

“Maybe she can’t find the right words to say?” he suggested “Or wants to wait for dad to come home to tell him? She let Lili go, I don’t see why she wouldn’t let you.”

My dad’s words ran through my head. I just hope it’s just because she wanted to think about it. Come dinner time and not a mention of it, like she just brushed it off. Honestly, it was making my blood boil that she’d do that. So I confronted her when Hanaka and Tensei ran up to their rooms.

“So what, you’re just going to pretend like you didn’t just hear what I said in the car?!” I slammed my hands on the table.

“Iwata, what has gotten into you!” Dad scolded me “Don’t yell at your mother like that!”

“SHUT UP! I’m talking to her!” I barked back, then turned my attention back to my mom “Mom, please answer me.”

She didn’t flinch at all. She wiped her mouth and stood up “Iwata, don’t fight with me. You won’t last a day in the academy with how unstable your telekinesis is” I’ve never seen her so firm “I’ve fought and honed my skills everyday since my quirks manifested, it was a life of struggle and my body constantly beaten but unable to quit. You don’t want that!”

“But I want to go in the academy! This is different, please just-”

“I said NO Iwata” she snapped at me “END of discussion!”

She started to walk toward the stairs, then I blurted “You know what, you don’t boss me around! This is something I want to do, out of my own free will because I’m trying to find my purpose in life” I pant “And it’s calling me to go down this path. You might not have had a choice, but I do and I choose to go to UA. I want to able to protect my family and not be a nuisance, to be the perfect son.”

That last part stopped her in her tracks. Still facing away from me, she responds “Okay then, but you need to prove to me that you have the drive to learn” she takes a staggering breath “I’ll train you, we start when you get out for winter break. And don’t think I’ll go easy on you because you’re my son!”

Before I could thank her, she teleports away.

“Wow, I’ve never seen her like this” Dad spoke “And I’ve never seen you like this either.”

“I just acted on impulse, I don’t like being ignored” I admitted “What should I expect from her training?”

“The unexpected, a lot of mind games and full contact sparring” Dad chuckled as he picked up the dishes “I trained with her when I moved in with her and let me tell you! I don’t know where she finds the energy to do all that and still want to do couple things. Had to stop training with her because I kept going to work fatigued.”

That made my stomach drop to my ass...oof what have I done!

-Book 3 Chapter 1, End-

Next>

[faithambr]

Tbh..... (continued)

So I posted yesterday something about Kristoff being a band geek and some of you had these ideas about him being in the high school marching band. And so here it goes….. @punkpoemprose @epbaker @letitgeaux and @whitefeather79

Kristoff loved listening to jazz and swing music no thanks to his adoptive parents, Bulda and Cliff. He knew that he wanted to be in music, yet he didn’t know where. So he started by joining his middle school jazz band. There he learned how to play the piano and drums. Over time, his band instructor had taught him many different instruments.

When he got to high school, he was told that if he was planning to take the jazz band class, he would have to take marching band. “That shouldn’t be bad.” He thought while going over his freshmen orientation stuff. He was right, marching band was lots of hard work, but he understood the music and he practiced like crazy. Again, he learned how to play different instruments, including the drums. Over time he became very good with the drums and was soon named the section leader. “Being a section leader is a big responsibility, Kristoff .” His band instructor commented one night after a football game. “I know Mr. Arrendelle.” Kristoff agreed. Mr. Arrendelle just smiled and continued on his way to meet up with the other band members. By the time he became a senior in high school, both him and his two best friends, Sven and Elsa, were named section leaders for the marching band. Kristoff was proud that he and his friends were section leaders. He knew that their instructor could count on them with keeping the band on cue for their parts and that their positions would look good on their college applications. He thought that he could continue on being a section leader, without any worries, until he met a beautiful, yet clumsy red-head. He didn't expect this beautiful red-head girl to make him feel all lovey-dovey and smile brightly whenever he was around her. He didn't know that his scrawny knees could go weak every time her older sister, Elsa, would even say her name in front of the group. Hell, there were many times where she would come by and even just say hi to him. He knew that he wanted her, but there were two problems: 1. She was a freshmen and 2. She has a boyfriend and he's the captain of the varsity football team. However, the only good thing that he was pleased about, was that she was really good friends with him. During the football season, Kristoff would be helping out with the marching band, while his crush was cheering for her boyfriend, in her cheerleading uniform. He loved watching her move her pom poms with such grace, along with her smile brightly showing through. He could tell that she was having a great time watching the game, especially when her boyfriend was playing. 

"Don't you wish that she was cheering for you?" Elsa had asked him one night. "No." He tried to cover up his blush.

 "You have a crush on her, my sister." She grinned. 

"Is it obvious? " Kristoff blushed.

 "Dude," Sven chuckled, as he sat down next to them, "you get all lovey-dovey when you even see her." 

"Ugh." Kristoff groaned, making his other friends laugh. 

"Kristoff," Elsa giggled as she placed her hand on his, "you better make a move on her before it's too late." 

"What do you mean?" Kristoff looked confused.

 "Word is that asshat," Sven coughed after he took a drink out of his water bottle, "is cheating on her with a dancer at a different school."

 "Son of a bitch. " Elsa muttered while Kristoff was brooding in his own anger. He couldn't even believe that his crush was being cheated on by her boyfriend, the captain of the football team. "Please don't let it be true." He prayed. 

Two weeks before homecoming, he sees her outside the gym with tears streaming down her face. "Oh no!" He whispered as he made his way to where she was. "This can't be good." 

"Hey." She sniffled, with her head hung low. 

"Hey." He spoke with such concern in his eyes. " are you alright?" His crush simply answered his words by wailing in his arms. 

"He cheated on me. Hans cheated on me."

 "Hey," Kristoff cooed, while rubbing her back for her comfort, "it's going to be okay." 

"He was my true love." She mumbled in his shirt. "Just like in Taylor Swift's 'Love Story '."

 "Oh." 

"Now I have no one to love me." She added with her heart crushed against his. "You do." He thought. "I love you, Anna."

 By then he knew that her heart was broken and she needed some time to heal. Over the next few years, both Anna and Kristoff had remained in contact with each other. Anna loved it when he came to support her at local school events, such as all of the football games. "Anything for my best friend." He would often say to her, making her feel special every time. She knew that he was going to college to become a musician, but she was hoping that he would be home more often. (He was not only going to school, but he was busy working at a local music shop.) So when ever he had the day off, he would often spend his time with her. During those times, she became very fond of him and has developed some feelings towards him. By her senior year, she had gathered up the courage to ask him about his feelings towards her. 

"Anna, what are you talking about?" He asked after she pulled him under the bleachers during an away game. 

"I'm asking if you have feelings about me?" She asked with such determination. "Ah ya." He looked at her nervously. 

"Really?" Her eyes went wide as saucers.

 "Yes I guess so..." he smiled sheepishly making Anna giggle even more. "Awesome!" She cheered.

 "Why did you ask that question?" He wasn't sure of where this was going. "Cause I just wanted to make sure," Anna batted her eyelashes, "before I do this." She pulled him by his alumni shirt and kisses him hard on the lips. 

"Whoa!" He breathes. "What was that?"

 "My confirmation to you." Anna smiles from ear to ear. 

"Oh," he mouthed, "can we do that again?" 

Anna nodded and he pulled her in for a kiss that would last a lifetime. 

They continued on being in love with each other, even after she had graduated high school and him graduating college with a bachelor's in education with an emphasis on music. Hell, they were at each other's graduation ceremonies, followed by the parties at each their respected homes. 

Once Anna had gotten into college, both her and Kristoff had decided to move into an apartment together, close to the community college. They knew that their relationship was going to beat the odds; all they had to do was to learn and respect each other. "That's our little secret." Anna said one night after she finished her school work.

 "Damn right." Kristoff kisses her cheek sweetly. Eventually, the began to talk about their future as a couple. Kristoff wanted to have her focus on her career, while she was going on about having a career, getting married, and even becoming parents. "I bet that we'll be the best parents ever!" Anna cheered while eating her cup of noodles. 

"I know," he smirked, "but don't you think that we should start somewhere else first?" 

"What do you mean?" Anna looked confused at him.

 "I mean," Kristoff slowly pulled out a small box, "we should...." 

"Yes!" Anna squealed with such excitement as she jumped into his arms. "I will marry you!" 

And just like that he knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. After that night she had said yes, both Anna and Kristoff went straight into wedding planning mode. It literally took them both two years to plan it, no thanks to Anna finishing up with her college courses and Kristoff getting his feet wet in the educational world. They both wanted to make sure that they were ready in their careers and in their marriage, respectively. When their wedding came around, there were very excited to see all of their family members there. He loved her dress, veil, and the simple bun up do that her sister did. She loved the way his suit looked good in all of the right places, especially since they had to have be custom made. She blushed at the thought of them being intimate on their wedding night and many nights to follow. He smiled at thought of them spending nights together in their home, with their future children running around. They both knew that their lives were about to change for the good, once they said those two beautiful words to each other. 

A few years and two kids later, Kristoff had gotten a letter from their old high school. He was surprised that their old high school had sent them a letter, but then again he knew that they were in need of a new band instructor. Their previous instructor, Mr. Arrendelle, had retired last year and had asked Kristoff to take his place.

 "I think that you would be a great fit for them, love." Anna smiled once he told her a few nights ago. 

"Are you sure?" He gave her a concerned look. 

"Yes." Anna rolled her eyes while she was rocking their little boy to sleep. "Besides I think that it would be cool to see you work there now." 

"Alright." 

However, once he had opened the envelope, it turned out to be an invitation to his high school reunion. 

"Has it already been ten years?" He thought as he read the invite at the dining room table. He couldn't even believe that it was already ten years since the last time he was at the high school. He smiled at the thought of him meeting his wife, as his crush back then, and how their relationship had turned into a promising future. 

"Kristoff", a voice had interrupted his thoughts, "What are you looking at?"

 "Oh, this." He grinned as he handed his wife the invitation.

 "Your high school reunion?" Anna took a glance at it while holding on to their oldest daughter in her arms. 

"Yep." 

"Well," Anna looked back at him, "are we gonna do this or not?" 

"Yes." Kristoff got up from the couch and gave his wife and daughter each a kiss on the cheek. "Besides, I think that we need a night out, without the kids. Huh, don't we Becca?" 

Their daughter just smiled and moved her arms towards him. "Daddy."

 "I guess so." Anna agrees to allow their daughter to be carried into his arms. "I'll see if I can get Nana and Papa to take care of them for the night." 

"Oh knowing Papa," Kristoff huffed, as he adjusts his little angel in his arms, "He probably would be there." 

"Right," Anna agreed, "plus Mom wasn't much of a fan for fancy functions like this." 

"Nana!" their child smiled with such glee in her eyes.

“Yes, Nana.” Kristoff began to tickle the little one with his whiskers.

“Daddy, stop!” she giggled while trying to push away from her father.

“Alright.” Kristoff chuckled a bit. “Little missy, it’s time for bed.”

“Ahhh.”

“Now c’mon.” Anna sighed as she followed Kristoff to their little one's bedroom. “It’s bedtime and I can tell you is that you’re getting tired, sweetie.”

“Okay, Mommy.” their baby yawned as she snuggled into her father’s arms.

About two weeks later, both Anna and Kristoff were busy getting ready to go to his high school reunion. “Are you ready, honey?” Kristoff had asked as he adjusted his suit and tie.

“Uhuh.” Anna smiled as she strolled on out of their bathroom, wearing nothing but a green sparkled dress and her hair up in a bun.

“Whoa!” Kristoff mouthed as he looked at his wife with such admiration. 

“What?” Anna looked at him confused.

“You look beautiful.” Kristoff commented.

“Oh, you’re just saying that.” Anna simply brushed him off. 

“And I mean it.” Kristoff pulled her in for a kiss. “You are beautiful and I love that dress on you. It makes you look even more beautiful, my love.”

Anna simply blushed deeply at his words. 

“Mommy and Daddy,” they could hear their names being called out of their room, “Nana is here!”

“Well, we better get going then huh?” Anna gently pecked her husband's lips, much to his protests for more. 

“Alright,” he groaned at her words while being pulled on out of their bedroom. 

After giving Nana their usual instructions on taking care of their two children, both Anna and Kristoff were soon on off to their old high school. 

“I honestly can’t even believe that we are going back to our old high school.” Anna beamed with such excitement. 

“I know.” Kristoff agreed as he drove on into the school’s parking lot.

 “I remember all of the football games that we did together.” Anna sighed. “You being the typical band geek, Elsa being such a book nerd, Sven being the typical jerk of a friend, and me cheering on the football team.”

“Oh really?” Kristoff smirked, making Anna feel flushed to her toes. 

“Yes.”

“Well,” Kristoff stopped the truck and faced his beautiful love, “we should probably go in there and have fun.”

Anna sealed the deal with a lingering kiss on the lips. “Well then what are we waiting for?”

Kristoff returned the favor by moving on out of the truck and went straight to his wife’s passenger side.

It took them about fifteen to twenty minutes for them to enter into the school gym with their arms linked together.

“Oh wow.” Anna eyed the entire crowd as they both got into the gym. “This place is so small.”

“Yes Anna.” her husband squeezed her hand gently. “This place is so different, especially since we are...”

“ANNA!!!” a shriek of excitement came from the crowd right in front of the young couple. “Anna, how are you? What are you doing here?”

“I’m fine.” Anna pulled on a fake smile for the woman right in front of them. “How are you doing, Amanda?”

“Oh I’m doing wonderful!” the young woman slurred a bit. “Now who is this hunk over here?”

“Oh, this is my husband, Kristoff.” Anna introduced her love to the drunk woman.

“KRISTOFF???” the young woman giggled while holding her drink. “You married Kristoff???” “Yes.” Anna rolled her eyes.

“Oh well, you should meet my husband.” the woman smiled. “He’s a keeper and he used to go here.”

“Oh really?” Anna quirked an eyebrow.

“Yep.” the young woman turned around and began to call out to the crowd. “Oh, Hans! There’s someone that I would like for you to meet!”

Both Anna and Kristoff were stunned to see the captain of the varsity football team right in front of them.

“Hans!” the woman groaned. “Honey, this is Anna and Kristoff. Don’t you remember them?”

“Yes.” Hans sighed while adjusting his toupee. “Anna and Kristoff is so good to see you again.”

“Ah yes,” Kristoff stated, while Anna was looking over his ex-boyfriend, “it was very nice to see you. How have you been?”

“Pleasent.” Hans grumbled while his wife was trying to whisper some naughtiness in his ear. “Just. Pleasent.”

“Good.” Anna bit her lip as she rocked on her heels. “Say we should probably go to our seats, right now honey.”

“Alright.” Kristoff agreed as he followed his wife to a table nearby.

“Wow,” Anna whispered in his ear, as they both sat down, “he has certainly changed.”

“More like rocking a toupee and a possible beer gut.” her husband chuckled, making Anna laugh even more.

For the next few hours, both Anna and Kristoff were busy keeping up with old friends and teachers that were still working there. They were surprised to hear many stories about their friends going back to school, settling down with their families, and how they were being successful in their lives. Anna loved hearing that her friends were doing very well with their families, especially since some of them had photos to show off their children. She liked the fact that some of her old teachers were still there, making a difference in the world. Kristoff loved to hear how some of his band members were doing after high school. He knew that some of them were busy either in their careers or their small families. Eventually, they had decided to head to the dance floor, for slow couples dance. 

“Hey, do you remember the time where I have asked you if I could play with your flute?” Anna whispered huskily as her husband rocked her in his arms.

“Ah ya,” Kristoff breathed, reliving the memories in his head, “it was your senior year and you wanted that to happen in behind the bleachers after the football game.”

“Well,” Anna gave him the bedroom eyes, “did you like it?”

“Yes,” Kristoff growled as he pulled her in for a kiss, “oh God yes I loved it.”

“Well,” Anna slowly removed herself from her husband, “would you like for me to do that again, my love?”

“Here?” Kristoff stuttered. “Right now?”

“No silly,” Anna rolled her eyes, “not here. I was thinking maybe right in the same area.”

God the things that she does to him, especially since they’re married and at their old high school. So with that being said, he followed her like a puppy dog to the old high school football field. He couldn’t even believe that he had married his high school crush and they soon were reliving their old high school memories. Now all he can hope and prepare for is that his wife and family were satisfied with what the future would hold. 

[blissfulcastiel]

Out of Step

Fandom Writing Challenge | blissfulcastiel Prompt: Marching Band Pairings: Destiel Tags: high school au, marching band, enemies, enemies to friends drummer!dean, color guard!castiel AO3 - Beta-ed by @adoringjensen <3

“Everyone reset back to set one. Come on, move with purpose! We haven’t got all day!” Crowley bellows into his megaphone from the top of the scaffolding tower. Jesus Christ. Every year, Dean hides that stupid thing but Crowley always seems to find it. Looks like he’ll just have to go for the batteries. “Dean, can you please take one for the team and ask for a water break?” Jo pants beside him as they hustle back to set one. “Yeah, we’re dying here, Winchester,” Charlie agrees as she jogs up beside them. Dean sighs dramatically. “Why does it have to be me?” “Because Crowley has a soft spot for you,” Jo says with a smirk. He rolls his eyes. “That’s not true.” “Sorry brother, but it is,” Benny calls, already in position on his dot about five yards from them. Dean groans, scrubbing a hand down his face where droplets of sweat are beading on the surface. “Fine.” Jo and Charlie share a conspiring smile before racing ahead to their dots. Dean slows down, hovering around the fifty yard line where The Tower is set up. It stands twelve feet tall, with Crowley barely adding any height on the highest platform. Chuck sits silently, as usual, on the lower platform which is just above head level. Maybe Dean can get away with asking Chuck instead. “Uh, hey Chuck? It’s been about two hours since our last water break. Think we can take five minutes after this run?” Chuck glances down at Dean, looking frantic at the question. God, after four years of being in this band, Dean still has no idea how this guy is even the director. “Winchester!” Fuck.

Dean cranes his head back, hand cupping over his eyes to see Crowley through the harsh glare of the sun. “Yeah?” “I thought I said to get to set one.” “I know, but we need a water break. Unless you want a bunch of kids passing out on this field, we need at least ten minutes to sit and cool off.” Dean feels like he’s flirting with death by demanding instead of asking, but how else is he supposed to convince Crowley to give them a break? Crowley glares down at him and for once, the whole field is silent. Dean heard a few gasps at the way he spoke to their assistant director, but now everyone’s holding their breath. “Fine. We run this one more time you all get your precious water break,” Crowley spits out. Dean nods, hiding his smile until his back is turned. People whisper their gratitude as he passes them on his way to his dot, and it lifts him up a little. Even if it means putting his neck out there, he’ll do anything he can to help out his bandmates. They run the first five sets, and it’s far from being perfect, but it’s not a complete disaster. As soon as Crowley’s done lecturing them about terrible marching techniques and some forgetting their dots all together, everyone clears the practice field to fill the front sideline where all their water and belongings sit. Dean collapses next to Sam, who’s busy guzzling down water. “So Sammy, how’s day one of band camp?” Sam takes a few more gulps before answering him. “Hell. That Crowley guy is a jerk. Why did you put up with this all four years?” “Because believe it or not, it’s a lot of fun,” Charlie says as she flops down beside them, Jo, and Benny right behind her. Dean nods, pulling his water bottle from Charlie’s cooler and taking a big gulp. “The first couple o‘ days are always rough,” Benny offers empathetically. Sam looks down at his watch and groans. “It’s only eleven?” “Hey, only an hour until lunch!” Jo says excitedly, which everyone chimes in with. Dean laughs at his brother’s confused reaction. He remembers his first year of band camp. Being in the thick heat, thirsty and exhausted, an hour seems like eternity. But now that he’s gone through it three previous times, an hour is the homestretch. Sam gets to his feet. “I’m gonna go sit by Barry. See you at lunch?” Dean reaches up to ruffle his hair but Sam bats his hand away before he can, causing him to huff. “Yeah, bitch, see ya.” Sam grumbles out a ‘Jerk’ before walking a ways down the sideline. “Oh god – here they come,” Charlie singsongs. Dean doesn’t need to glance over to know who she’s talking about. Color guard. Dean’s always happy when the guard girls join the band. He’s kinda got a reputation with them. He turns his head to watch them make their way closer, but is pulled up short when he sees a new face. “Since when did we get a guard guy?” he wonders aloud, sitting up to get a better look. Not that color guard is strictly for girls, but it’s always a special sighting to see a guy in guard. Dean would’ve definitely known if a guy joined guard, especially if he looks as good as this one. “Must be the new guy. I think he’s brothers with the new drum major too,” Benny answers. That’s right, there was actually some drama around that. People thought it was unfair for this Gabriel guy to come in as a senior and get chosen for drum major, but he must be that good. There was talk he had a brother – half-brother? – but Dean never heard anything more about it. “Huh,” is all Dean can manage to say because holy fuck, the guy is seriously hot. His shorts are slung low around his hips, practically teasing Dean with the little bit of exposed tanned skin that his ratty looking T-shirt isn’t covering. “Dean, please don’t scare him on his first day,” Jo sighs. “What? I didn’t even do anything.” “Oh please, you’ve got that look,” Charlie crows. “Besides, you’ve basically run Kali’s patience nonexistent. She doesn’t want you anywhere near the guard.” Well, he can’t exactly deny that. Kali hates him for ‘causing distractions’ to her girls. No doubt she’ll hate him even more if he makes any advances towards the new guy. In the past, she couldn’t do anything about it. Except now that she’s been graduated a year and is now the guard instructor, she actually has power to keep him away. Which only means he has to be a little more careful. “I don’t have any look. I’m just gonna be polite and introduce myself.” He gets to his feet, ignoring the warnings his friends call after him. The closer he gets, the harder his heart beats in his chest and he feels eyes burning into him as he approaches. Man, is he actually nervous to talk to this guy? That’s… weird. Before he knows it, he’s standing behind the guy, who’s staring down at the set book hanging on a string tied around his waist. Shit, that glistening skin is even better close up… He’s about to turn around and jump ship when the guy looks up, glancing over his shoulder and pinning Dean in place with a pair of vibrant blue eyes. Fuck, fuck, fuck. “Um, hello.” Damn, that voice too. All deep and gravely, and... “Hi. Um, I’m Dean. Dean –“ “Winchester,” the guy finishes for him. It’s probably safe to say the guard girls warned him about the infamous Dean Winchester. Dean laughs uneasily. “Yeah, that’s me. Heard you’re new, thought I’d come introduce myself.” The new guy quirks an eyebrow. “And that is the extent of your intentions with this conversation?” Dean’s eyebrows knit together. “Uh –“ “Because if so, it’s nice to meet you, Dean. However, if what I’ve been told is true, I want to make it clear I’m not interested in any advances you may be planning. You can save your breath, my time won’t be wasted, and we can both be on our way.” Dean’s mouth drops open, absolutely speechless. What the fuck? He doesn’t even know the guy’s name and barely got a sentence out before the immediate rejection. Dean can’t exactly blame him for saying what he said, given Dean’s track record, but still. Now Dean’s a little peeved, his confidence stinging. “That’s some ego you have, buddy,” he replies coolly. “Just thought I’d be a nice guy and welcome you to the band. But whatever.” New Guy shrugs. “I just wanted to make myself clear. I’m not interested in having any relations with you.” Ouch. Dean scoffs. “Wasn’t planning on pursuing,” A terrible, terrible lie, “But hey, if it makes you feel better to think so.” He spins around and stalks away, ignoring the low whistles and taunts being thrown after him. He basically got rejected in front of the whole band because everyone’s stopped to watch on their way back to the field. “Told you to stay away,” Jo tuts when he passes by. “Get to your set, Jo,” he orders, using his section leader voice. He realizes he’s being an ass and he’ll apologize later for it, but he doesn’t need salt rubbed in his wounds right now. He spends the next hour silently seething as he focuses on learning drill and thanking the universe that New Guy’s dot is on the opposite end of the field so Dean doesn’t have to see him. When lunch comes around, the food and air conditioning calms him a bit, but he’s still grumpy. No one dares tease him about what happened. When the band stays inside to learn music, Dean takes the drumline to the field house to practice their music in peace. He typically runs his sectionals more relaxed, but he needs to forget about what happened earlier, so today there’s no goofing off. Even Victor, his co-section leader who’s usually the bad cop between the two of them, isn’t happy with the way Dean’s running their sectional. When the guard comes in to claim the field house, Dean brushes past them without a second look, calling for his section to grab their shit and hustle to the practice field. The last two hours of their eight hour day is spent trying to pair music to the drill they learned today. It’s pretty disastrous, but Crowley does call a compliment to the drumline for ‘sounding the least horrible’. So that’s what happens when they actually work in sectionals. When four o’clock rolls around and the band is dismissed to go home, Dean calls his section together. “Listen guys, I know I was kinda an ass today –“ “We all have our off days, Dean,” Garth offers sympathetically. He can’t help but smile at that. “But you all did good work. We even got a half-assed compliment from Crowley. Rest up for tomorrow.” He claps each of them on the shoulder before gathering their stuff from the front sideline and walking back towards the school. Dean’s about to follow before someone calls his name. When he turns, he’s met with a shorter guy with bronze hair and golden eyes, lips twisted into a smirk. “Can I help you?” “Heard my brother burned you good today.” And there goes his relatively okay mood. Dean scowls. “He’s a real peach.” The guy laughs, throwing his head back and Dean rolls his eyes. “That’s Cassie for you. Name’s Gabriel, by the way. I’m the new drum major.” Dean glances at his outreached hand and shakes it begrudgingly. “Guess you know who I am.” Gabriel motions for them to start walking back to the school. “Sure do. Cassie told me all about it at lunch.” Dean raises an eyebrow at him. “His name’s Cassie?” “Nickname. Castiel would probably kill you if you called him that though.” Dean licks his lips, tempted to try the unique name out for himself but withholds. No, he’s not going to find anything interesting about the guy because he’s an asshole. “Well, you can tell him to relax. I have no interest in egotistical dicks,” Dean says, sounding more bitter than he intended to. “He’s actually a nice guy. Castiel can be blunt sometimes, but you can’t say he isn’t honest.” “The dude can say and do what he wants, I don’t care,” Dean grunts, wanting to be done with this conversation already. Gabriel grins. “Right. You don’t care. Anyway, just thought I’d personally introduce myself before I’d have to reject you in front of the whole band too. See ya bright and early tomorrow, Bucko!” Dean stops in his tracks, watching Gabriel laugh to himself while he saunters ahead. He’s not sure who the bigger dick is between the two of them. It doesn’t matter. Dean’s got better things to do than sulk and seethe over the two of them.

*****

The second day of band camp is better than the first. Dean decided he’s not about to show Castiel how bruised his ego is after yesterday. Screw that guy. Instead, he focuses on Crowley ordering them through basics block the first half of the morning and learning drill the second half. When lunch comes around, he doesn’t even think to seek Castiel out. He laughs with his friends and beats Benny in a competition of who can shove the most grapes in their mouth. Which, of course, earns him a few suggestive comments from Jo and Charlie. He even gets in some good natured teasing when Sam decides to go talk to Jess, one of the freshmen guard girls. Sam isn’t amused, but Dean still smiles proudly after him as he goes. This is the band camp he’s come to love after four years.

Like all good things though, his mood comes to a crashing halt after lunch.

While the band rehearses the show music in the band room, it’s time for the drumline to part for the hour to work on their stuff. Dean brings them to the field house, the spot they always claim, but when he walks through the doors, he stops in his tracks when his eyes rest on Castiel. He’s not alone though. From a quick scan, it seems maybe all the freshmen are with him because Dean recognizes Jess among the baby faced girls.

“Hate to interrupt, but we claimed this space,” he announces from across the room, voice echoing in the large space between them. Castiel glances over at him, the eye roll visible even from where Dean’s standing.

“Kali said it was fine we work here.”

Dean saunters closer, trying to keep up his air of confidence despite the fact that his heart is racing in his chest. “Did she now? Last I checked, the guard practices in the grassy area outside the band room.”

Castiel holds his gaze steadily. “We needed space to spread out. The freshmen require further help and it was too hectic with me trying to teach them while Kali works with the others.”

“And since when are you section leader? Where’s Anna? Or Rachel?” Dean challenges, crossing his arms.

Castiel scoffs. “Not that it’s any of your concern how our section runs, but they asked me to help out. I may be new here, Dean, but I’m not incompetent.”

Dean just smirks. “Well, since you’re new, I’ll be the one to tell you that the fieldhouse belongs to drumline after lunch.”

“Dean, it’s fine. This is a large enough space for everyone,” Victor says, stepping up beside him. Dean shoots him a look, because he definitely doesn’t want to share anything with Castiel, let alone be in the same room.

“Yeah man, we don’t mind,” Ash chimes in.

Castiel nods gratefully. “Thank you. We’d prefer not to have to waste more time finding a new spot.”

Victor simply nods and leads the way to the other side of the fieldhouse, but Dean’s still standing in front of Castiel, glaring at him. He expects Castiel to give him a dirty look and turn away, but the bastard stands his ground, staring right back at Dean.

“Alright, alright. Put the rulers away, boys,” Jo says, nudging Dean to move.

Dean snickers under his breath as he turns away. “Hope you have a strong voice because it gets pretty loud in here.”

Dean keeps true to his promise. The snare drum can already be a loud sound, but he may or may not kick it up a notch just to make Castiel’s sectional that much closer to hell. He glances over at him every so often just to see if he’s getting under Castiel’s skin, but if he is, the guy doesn’t show it. Okay, maybe Dean’s also sneaking peeks at the way graceful way Castiel works his flag. The way he stops to help if any of the girls are struggling and the way he offers them encouraging smiles along the way.

God, he hates this guy so much.

Sectionals couldn’t end soon enough – or far too soon? Regardless, it’s back out into the sweltering afternoon heat to join the rest of the band on the practice field. Guard never shows up though, which is more than fine with Dean.

*****

The days start to blur together. After the first couple days, band camp is pretty routine.

Wake up at seven. Get him and Sammy to school by 7:45 because in band, early is on time and on time is late. Spend just about an hour in basics block. Spend the remaining time learning new drill. Guard joins them occasionally. Lunch at twelve. Sectionals at one. Then for the last two-ish hours, they review the drill learned in the morning with instruments, even if they don’t play. Guard always joins them.

Just as it’s guaranteed for Crowley to yell and push everyone to a near breaking point every day, the same goes for Dean and Castiel sassing each other. If Dean’s standing bored on his dot with his snare while Crowley’s focused on a different section of the field and his friends are too far away to goof off with, he’ll lazily twirl his sticks or toss them in the air. He completely blames the heat for when one fumbles out of his hand and with a groan, he has to either awkwardly crouch to pick it up or duck out of his harness, which he’s almost always too lazy to do. Somehow, Castiel is always nearby when it happens. The bastard is never shy to point out when Dean drops something. What’s even more annoying is that Dean’s never seen Cas drop his flag to return the sentiment.

The way Dean gets his jabs in is when Cas misses his dot and nearly collides with someone or screws up the form of the set. These include but aren’t limited to: “Hey, at least you’re only one yard line off of your dot. Hopefully you’ll get it by the end of the season”, or “I don’t know man, I think you forgot to point your toes that time”, plus countless others. They both get creative with their jabs.

No one seems to know what to make of their quips at each other, but they’re smart enough not to get in the middle of it. Michael, the head drum major, was the only one who stepped in to tell them to shut up when they started getting especially spirited with each other.

Dean thinks there’s no way he can hate Castiel any more than he already does until he’s proven wrong on day five.

It’s unbearably hot today, the weather supposedly spiking to mid-90s. The heat never stops Crowley from keeping them outside though. Given that the outside is practically an oven slowly baking them all to their deaths, some of the girls are marching in sports bras while guys are bare chested all together. Dean’s tempted to follow suit, but he’s not one to flaunt his body. Instead, he spends the next water break pouring one of his extra water bottles over his head, the cold drops rolling down his back before getting soaked up by his shirt. It’s actually better because the fabric clings to his body and it’ll take longer for the sun to suck away his chilled relief. It especially feels nice when he runs his fingers through his hair, the cool droplets finding their way to his scalp and cooling where the sun’s been beating down all day.

“Looks like you got an audience, Chief,” Benny murmurs to him. Dean furrows his eyebrows, following Benny’s subtle eye flicker until he reaches the source, which happen to be blue eyes that instantly dart away. Dean’s heart stutters because what the hell? Was Cas just staring at him?

Dean scoffs. “Please. Cas thinks he’s too good to even look my way.”

Benny raises an eyebrow. “Cas, huh?”

He waves his hand dismissively, trying not to blush. “Castiel, whatever. That’s not the point.”

Benny snickers under his breath and goes back to talking about their plans tonight to gather their friends and head to The Roadhouse, which is the bar run by Jo’s mother, Ellen. They’re obviously not allowed to drink, but nothing can beat Ellen’s burgers and milkshakes. Dean’s having a little trouble paying attention to the conversation though, which Charlie, Jo, Sam and Kevin have chimed in to. His focus keeps slipping away to peek over at Cas – Castiel.

Looks like some of the guard, mostly upperclassmen, brought out their rifles today. Like the rest of the band, they’re all lounging on the sideline, drinking water and chatting with each other. All except Castiel and Meg, a senior who Dean’s never been too fond of. Her favorite pastime seems to be getting under his skin and flirting with him just because she knows it annoys him. But he’s noticed her taking quite a liking to Cas.

They’re both standing, Meg doing lazy drop spins while Cas does some small tosses; singles and doubles. Meg is talking to Cas while he does it, sometimes resulting in a smile or a roll of his eyes. He keeps using his shirt to wipe the sweat from his face in between tosses before he finally sheds the thing, which has Dean nearly choking on the breath he inhales. Thankfully, Jo’s too busy teasing Kevin about being in pit and not having to march while Charlie and Benny are butting heads on whose freshmen are better; the flutes or the trombones. And it seems Jess snuck over to occupy Sam’s attention. No one notices the way Dean has to cough a few times to regain his breath because holy shit, Cas’ body is fucking toned.

Dean’s seen how Cas’ muscles move and shift under his clothes when he stretches and practices his flag work, but there’s no way he could’ve imagined the sight in front of him now. And god, those loose shorts are laying all sorts of low on his hips and it has Dean already half hard in his ‘booty’ shorts, as Sam so kindly referred to them this morning.

To make matters worse, Meg pauses her drop spins to sidle up to him, leaning in close to whisper in Cas’ ear. Castiel looks confused at whatever she says, but a small spark ignites in his expression and he nods. Stepping back, Cas quickly stretches out his arms and rolls his shoulders, taking a few deep breaths.

And so begins the tosses.

He starts off with a single. Then a double. Followed by a triple. Meanwhile, Meg is calling out the numbers, attracting the attention of everyone else. She keeps counting, others starting to join in as Cas tosses a four, a five. Six. Fucking seven. And the fucker nails them all flawlessly! He catches with a strong grip, the strap of the rifle slapping all too appealing between his steady hand and the solid, taped up wood.

“Come on, Clarence. Show us the eight,” Meg crows, arms crossed over her chest with that typical smirk set on her lips. Dean may not be in guard, but he’s dated enough guard girls to know that being able to throw an eight is an impressive accomplishment. Castiel grins, and for a fleeting second, Dean thinks their eyes meet before Cas is bending his knees, pointing the nose of the rifle downwards before letting it sail into the air. It’s as if the whole band stops to hold its breath as they silently count the spins against the glaring sun. All too quickly, the weapon lands solid in Castiel’s waiting hands. Not even a fucking stumble.

Cheers and whistles break out from the group, Charlie being one of the louder ones which is irritating. So much for loyalty. Dean rips his gaze away, his skin getting hot with annoyance and okay, how can anyone not get hot and bothered by that? But the fact that he’s so turned on makes him hate Castiel Novak that much more.

“Fucking show off,” Dean mumbles under his breath before downing more of his water. Benny catches the comment and gives him a look but Dean ignores it. He’s never been so happy to hear Crowley’s grating voice yell for everyone to get set.

*****

The weekend goes by way too quick. The last two days of band camp are always the worst because now’s the point where it gets old standing out in the sun for nearly eight hours a day. Everyone is exhausted. Everyone is sunburned. Everyone is tired of listening to Crowley’s stupid voice demean and order them around.

Dean was able to push Cas’ little stunt from his mind over the weekend, but that all goes away when he sees him again on Monday. He finds himself getting more distracted when guard joins them on the practice field. Well, only by one guard member in particular. Dean only gets more pissed off when it causes him to miss his dot or, being the lead snare, fuck up the tempo because his eyes aren’t on any of the four drum majors. Gabriel teases him for the musical disaster, but Michael, Luke and Raphael are less than pleased. Not to mention Crowley and even Chuck is looking annoyed at his fuck ups. As a result, Dean catches himself taking out his anger by launching harsher jabs at Cas in their usual back and forth exchanges that even Cas starts to look pissed.

Tuesday, the last day, Dean spends fighting hard to stay focused and decides to ignore Cas all together. It works out well for him, actually. He has a good time with his friends, most of whom are seniors like him, and is able to call the last day a success. In fact, Dean’s really bummed about it being his last day of band camp. As much as he hates it sometimes, he loves it. He met his friends here. He made memories here.

To hold onto it just a little bit longer, he offers to cart the drum major’s podiums inside and help pit wheel in the percussion instruments. He promises his friends that he’ll catch up with them to celebrate their last day after he’s done and allows Sam to drive home with Jess and her mom. By the time Dean’s done putting away all the equipment and organizing the drums, nearly everyone is gone.

Dean takes a moment to smile at the empty band room, officially saying his goodbyes to band camp before heading out the door. He stops when he sees Cas a little ways down the sidewalk, phone pressed to his ear, body tensed and his tone doesn’t sound too happy.

“I’ve been waiting an hour. I need you to pick me up –No, Gabriel can’t he – So what am I supposed to do? Walk home?”

Dean hesitates, unable to help tuning into the conversation. Does Cas not have a ride? Where’s Gabriel? He’s the one that always drove them to and from band camp. He snaps out of his wonderings when Cas sighs loudly.

“You know what? Don’t worry about me, Dad. I’ll figure it out myself.” With that, he hangs up and throws the phone onto his duffle bag, hand shaking as he runs it through his dark hair.

Fuck, this is Dean’s cue, isn’t it? Goddammit.

“Uh hey,” he begins, not wanting to startle him.

Cas doesn’t turn. “I’m not in the mood, Dean.”

Dean looks skyward. What cruel god is punishing him right now? Taking a small breath he looks back to Cas and approaches him slowly until he’s beside him, still keeping a fair amount of space between them.

“Do you, um, need a ride?”

Castiel finally looks at him, a scowl on his face. “Why? So you can hold this over my head? So you can tell everyone my father could care less if I’m stranded here? Just please, go away.”

Dean frowns. “Cas, I’m not-“

“I don’t want your help. Now just… just leave me alone.” Cas bends over, shoving his phone in the pocket of his duffle bag before slinging it over his shoulder, reaching down again for his rifle and flag. Dean rolls his eyes.

“Would you stop being a stubborn ass and let me drive you home?” Castiel hesitates although not without a glare, so Dean takes the opportunity to continue. “You’re exhausted and I bet that bag isn’t light by any means. The flag and rifle’s gonna get heavy real quick too. Not to mention your shoulders are burned and you’re probably dehydrated. So why don’t you put aside your pride for five seconds and accept the damn ride.”

Cas’ eyes soften for a moment, though he still doesn’t look happy, and gives a resigned nod.

“Fine.”

Dean nods back.

“Fine.”

When he reaches to for the flag to help carry some of the equipment, Cas brushes past him and towards the parking lot. Dean huffs but follows after, pointing out his car even though Cas already seemed like he knew which one it was. Well, it is kinda hard to miss Baby.

“Careful in shoving your crap in her. I better not find any dents or scratches,” Dean warns, to which Cas mutters something under his breath that he doesn’t catch.

Once they’re both in the Impala, Dean starts her up and pulls out of the school parking lot in the direction Cas said his neighborhood was. They sit in tense silence for several minutes before Dean can’t take it anymore.

“So where’s Gabriel?”

Cas keeps his eyes trained out the window. “He’s had a thing going on with Kali. She finally said yes to let him take her out for ice cream and he didn’t want me ‘cramping his style’.”

Dean can’t help but chuckle, oddly amused at hearing such a phrase come out of Cas’ mouth. The air quotes are more than apparent in his tone.

“I thought I saw Gabe trying to get with Kali. Didn’t know the guy would actually pull it off though. Kali has no tolerance for men. I would know.”

Castiel doesn’t respond and they’re plunged once again into tension and awkwardness. Dean’s about ready to throw himself out of the car if it didn’t mean Baby would get damaged in the process.

“Thank you.”

The two words take him off guard, Cas’ soft voice loud in the silence between them. Dean glances over, but Cas still isn’t looking at him.

“For what?”

Castiel rolls his eyes. “You know for what.”

Huh, guess that should’ve been obvious. “Oh. It’s no problem. You’re on the way home, actually.”

“Still. I know we don’t exactly get along well, so I appreciate you doing this.”

Dean snorts. “I’m not that much of a dick.”

Finally Cas looks over at him, eyes sparkling. “Would’ve had me fooled.”

“You’re one to talk. You’re not exactly a picnic either, Cas,” Dean fires back, but unlike the other times they’ve teased each other, it lacks any real heat. Castiel furrows his brows, eyes turning curious and Dean can tell there’s a question perched on those chapped lips, but it’s never asked.

“I apologize for the way we met. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions about your intentions,” he says, looking down at his hands. “It’s just that I heard all about Dean Winchester from the girls and they were all so sure you’d try your flirtations on me. I shouldn’t have assumed anything before judging you myself.”

Dean blushes because, well, Cas isn’t wrong. He had every intention of going over there to flirt and he just got pissy for being called out and rejected. “No, it’s okay. To be honest, they were right.” He can see the way Cas’ gaze snaps back to him, but Dean keeps his eyes on the road. “You don’t have to worry about that anymore, though. I’m not interested,” he adds quickly, a lump forming in his throat as the voice in his head screams at him for being a damn liar. But he’s not about to take a second rejection from Cas, especially now that it feels more personal between them.

“Oh.” Cas looks away, slumping a little against the seat. Probably out of relief. “That’s… good.”

Dean forces himself not to look over as he turns onto Cas’ street. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry too. For the way I acted.”

“I forgive you,” Cas tells him quietly before pointing ahead. “It’s up there – the third house before the stop sign.”

Dean nods and pulls into the driveway, a question gnawing at his stomach. He’s not sure where he and Cas stand. Sure, they apologized, but this doesn’t exactly make them friends. Hell, they could show up at the next band rehearsal and act like this whole conversation never happened. Maybe even revert back to their old ways. Dean would hate for that to happen because whether he’s happy with it or not, he likes Cas. He’d much rather get to know the guy rather than fight with him.

When Dean parks the car, Cas thanks him one last time before moving to get out.

“Cas, wait.” Damn his traitorous mouth.

Castiel looks over his shoulder, tongue ghosting out to lick his lips before answering. “Yes?”

“I, um…” Fuck, why did he do this? “A group of us are heading to The Roadhouse tonight to celebrate the seniors’ last day of band camp. I know you’re still new to the band, but you’re a senior too. You’re welcome to join us. And if you need a ride…”

The question hangs in the air, and there are conflicting emotions flickering across Cas’ face that are sending Dean’s heart into a frantic tantrum. Why did he have to open his big mouth?

“I appreciate the offer, Dean, but I don’t want your pity.”

Dean feels like the air gets punched out of him. “This isn’t a pity invite, Cas. Not at all.”

Cas still looks unsure but smiles nonetheless. “Thank you, but I’m going to have to decline this time.”

Disappointment is bitter in Dean’s stomach. “Okay. You know where we’ll be if you change your mind.”

They stare at each other for a moment, and Dean almost thinks Cas will say yes right then before he pushes the door open, getting out to grab his things from the back seat. When he passes by rolled down passenger window, Cas pauses to make eye contact with Dean.

“Goodbye, Dean. And thank you again for the ride.”

Dean nods, giving him a small wave. “See ya, Cas.”

With that, Castiel makes his way up the driveway and into his house. Dean waits until he’s inside before backing out and heading home.

God, he’s completely and utterly fucked. All because of Castiel Novak.