Chapter Text
For over a century, I have lived in secret, hiding in the shadows, alone in the world, until now. I’m a vampire and this is my story.
Dean sits on his bed writing another entry in his journal, one of a hundred that sit in his bookcase.
I shouldn’t have come home. I know the risk, but I had no choice. I have to know him.
He promised himself he would never return here. There are too many dark memories of this place, memories that should stay buried but keep finding their way to the surface. He has been a vampire for 145 years and the face that cursed him to this life is the same face that has brought him back to Mystic Falls.
He is interrupted by Zach, his younger brother Sam’s grandson 6 generations over. Dean did everything in his power to keep Sam safe from this life. Dean was turned when Sam was only 13, and, not wanting to abandon him, he hung around until he became an adult and compelled him to live a normal life and forget that Dean is alive, with Dean watching from afar. He sat in the back row of Sam’s funeral back in 1940, claiming he was a friend of the family, watching as the only brother he ever truly loved was gone forever. Being the only human left in the family after 1864, Sam had managed to keep the Winchester bloodline going, which is how Zach is still living in the Winchester mansion.
“Uncle Dean, I thought you said you would be careful.” Zach is holding up a newspaper with the headline about an animal attack.
“What are you implying, Zach? I didn’t have anything to do with this.”
“Why did you even come back here? Vampires haven’t lived here for over a century, but there are still families here that are aware of their existence, and articles like this might stir things up.”
Dean steps closer to his nephew. “I don’t have to explain myself to you, Zach. I allow you to exist because you are family, but don’t for a second think that I owe you an explanation.”
“Just be careful and please don’t stir up any trouble.”
Zach leaves Dean and the vampire is suddenly reminded of how thirsty he is for blood. He has to fight his true nature every day of his existence. Human blood is his Achilles’ heel. He’s afraid that he won’t be able to resist as the scent of his nephew fills his nostrils, and he knows that he must leave before he kills the last living Winchester. He is fast as he runs through the town, trying to get as far away from Mystic Falls as he can.
He is led to a house just outside his hometown by the scent of the sweetest-smelling blood. There are no voices inside; the occupants must be sleeping. He jumps up to the balcony to get a look inside. There is a young woman sitting at a desk, reading a book. He hasn’t been invited in, so he needs to lure her out here somehow. He knocks lightly on the door, taking a risk that people in this area are still trusting and not suspicious of strange noises.
The woman walks to the balcony door and peeks outside.
“Hello, is someone there?”
Dean pulls her outside and stares into her eyes, compelling her to not make a noise.
“Don’t make a sound. This will only hurt for a second.”
Dean has spent years perfecting the art of feeding on humans without killing them. An unfortunate side effect of being an empath as a human is that the first time you take a life as a vampire, it causes a downward spiral of self loathing and the turning off of emotions. By the time Charlie found him 5 years after he turned, and after he had wiped out an entire village of people, it took her 10 years to finally get him to the point where he could feed on a human and still leave them breathing.
Dean bites into the woman’s neck, the blood coursing through his veins, satiating his thirst and bringing him back from the edge. Her heart begins to slow, and Dean knows that he has taken as much from her as he can. He licks up any remaining blood that is on her neck.
“You never saw me, and this never happened.”
She nods her head and walks back into her room to finish reading her book. Dean runs back home, no longer tempted to take a bite out of his nephew’s neck. Tomorrow, he will be going back to high school, to meet the person that brought him back to this town. He opens his first ever journal to look at the picture that he has hung onto all these years.
The picture is of a man he thought he was in love with all those years ago, when he was only 17, but it had all been a lie. He had been deceived by dark hair and blue eyes and had suffered the consequences of it. The inscription on the photo reads James 1864, the only reminder that he ever existed.
He places the photo back in the book on the bookshelf and falls asleep, excited for tomorrow, when he will hopefully learn why the mystery boy he rescued from the water 3 months ago looks exactly like Jimmy. What is the connection between them?
The sun is blinding as it peeks through the curtains. He rises from his bed and showers, grabbing a cup of coffee on his way out the door. He drives to school in his ’67 Chevy Impala and parks in the student parking lot, watching the other students until he finally spots the object of his affection. He’s walking across the lawn to the front entrance of the school with two girls. One is blonde who looks like she needs to get more sun and the other one has dark hair and a dark complexion.
Dean follows behind them, losing them along the way so that he can stop by the office to get registered for classes. He’s in the process of compelling the secretary to believe that everything she needs is in his file when he hears the boy and one of his friends whispering behind him. They would probably be embarrassed if they knew that his hearing was so good.
“I wonder who that is. Do you think he looks as good from the front as he does from behind?”
“Patience, shh, what if he can hear you?”
“Come on, Castiel, you’re no fun. This could be your chance to move on from Inias.”
“We don’t even know if he’s gay. You can’t just assume that he is because he has a nice ass.”
Dean smiles and takes that as his cue to exit. He turns around, making sure to lock eyes with the boy and girl, an audible gasp coming from them both. As he passes them, he can sense Castiel staring after him. It still takes his breath away how much he looks like Jimmy, but after watching him for the past few weeks, he knows that looks are the only thing that they share. Castiel’s heart is kind and Jimmy's heart was made of stone.
Dean sits in the back of the classroom for his classes and watches how much things have changed while somehow also still staying the same. They still hold the Founder’s events, not realizing that one of the original founders of the town is walking amongst them. He walks to the lunchroom with his ears focused on any mention of Castiel’s name. He hears him and his friends over by the corner of the lunchroom, so he grabs a tray of food, not caring what, since food only works to curb his blood thirst and holds no nutritional or taste value whatsoever.
He sees Castiel watching him inquisitively while he makes his way over to the table.
“Is this seat taken?”
Castiel looks at him and smiles. “No, please, have a seat.”
Dean sits down and notices that everyone is just looking at him with inquisitive glares. He keeps forgetting that, to them, he is the new guy in town. He holds his hand out for Castiel to shake.
“I’m Dean. I believe we share History class together.”
“I’m Castiel and you would be correct about the class.”
The two just stare at each other for an unknown amount of time, until the blonde clears her throat. Castiel is pulled out of his trance.
“Oh, right. Let me introduce you. This is Amanda, Patience, and Inias.”
Dean gives them all a nod. “Hello, nice to meet you.”
Amanda is staring at him like she is trying to undress him with her eyes. “So, what brings you to Mystic Falls, Dean?”
“I just moved back, actually. I grew up here and my family moved away for a while, but now I have returned. I’m living at the Winchester boarding school with my uncle Zach.”
“You’re a Winchester? So, you’re one of the founding families, too,” she says more than asks.
“I guess you could say that. I don’t like to participate in anything they do, though. They’re too uppity for my taste.”
Amanda scoots her hand closer to Dean, very close to actually touching him, and Dean thinks that he should nip this in the bud before she gets her hopes up.
“I don’t mean to be rude, Amanda, but you and I are never going to happen. I’m gay.”
“Oh, yeah, of course.” She snaps her hand back, trying her best to not look disappointed, and Dean can’t help but notice the smile on Castiel’s face at Dean’s confession. They continue to stare at one another as Patience tries to get Dean’s attention.
“So, there’s a bonfire tonight in the woods. Are you interested in joining us?”
“Are you going to be there, Castiel?”
“Yes, I go every year.”
“Then, I shall be there as well.” Dean doesn’t miss the look of disgust on Inias’s face as Dean and Castiel continue to talk. Dean senses that they may have been a couple recently and that Inias doesn’t like anyone flirting with Castiel. The bell rings and the group disperse to their respective classes, Dean excited for the bonfire.
Dean forgot to ask Castiel if he needed a ride tonight, so he just meets up with him at the bonfire. He eavesdrops on some of the conversations going on until he can locate Castiel, who is talking to Patience by the bonfire.
“So, are you going to make a move on Dean now that you know he’s gay?” Patience asks him.
“I don’t know, Patience. I told Inias that I needed some time to think. I don’t want to hurt him by moving on to someone else.”
“Are you planning on getting back together with Inias?”
“No, I don’t like him romantically. But I don’t even know if Dean is interested in me.”
“Anyone with sight can see that he is interested in you. He was practically undressing you with his eyes in History class.”
“Really?”
Dean will have to up his game if Castiel doesn’t know that the vampire is interested in him. He walks towards the two friends to make his presence known.
“Hiya, Cas.”
“Hello, Dean.” Dean should have known just by the voice alone that this wasn’t Jimmy when he first heard him speak. Castiel’s voice is much deeper and has Dean feeling things that haven’t been awake in him for over 100 years. Jimmy never had that effect on him; it had never been real anyway. It was just a parlor trick.
“Do you want to go for a walk?” Dean asks.
“That sounds exciting.”
The two of them walk towards the bridge and Dean would like to get to know Castiel better. He has so many questions. They stop midway across the bridge and Castiel leans against the railing, looking out at the water.
“You seem sad, Cas. Is there anything I can do?”
“I don’t know if you heard the stories yet, but I just lost my parents in the spring. We were driving over the bridge and the car went into the water. I somehow survived, but they didn’t make it.”
“I’m so sorry, Cas.”
“I’m learning to adapt. I just miss them.” Castiel looks over at Dean. “Do you have any other family besides your uncle?”
Dean knows that he can’t answer this truthfully without opening a can of worms he isn’t ready to share yet. “None that I communicate with. My parents died a while ago and it’s just me and my uncle.”
“I’m so sorry. I guess we’re both orphans.”
“You can say that, yes.” Dean lets his guard down for a second as he is drawn into Castiel’s blue eyes, so he doesn’t notice himself reacting, the boy’s smell reaching his scent glands.
Castiel reaches out to touch his face. “What’s wrong with your eyes?”
Dean turns away so that he can get himself back under control. He won’t be able to hide for much longer. He underestimated how much Castiel’s scent appeals to him. He longs to sink his teeth into the other boy’s neck, but he knows he can’t do that. One taste and he isn’t sure he would be able to stop before draining him completely.
“I must have gotten something in my eye.” Dean takes a few deep breaths and wills his blood vessels back beneath the surface so that he at least has some semblance that he is human, even if he’s not. He turns back around to face Castiel. “There, I think I got it.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Dean doesn’t have a chance to answer as Castiel looks behind him and lets out a sigh.
“Excuse me. I have to go talk some sense into my brother.”
Dean watches as Castiel walks away towards a younger boy sitting on a log, drinking a beer. Dean opts to give the two some privacy. He knows all too well the complications that arise between siblings, brothers in particular.
He walks around, trying to get a feel for the atmosphere. He hasn’t heard any mention of any vampires or if any of these teenagers have any idea that this town used to be overrun with them. He knows that he had no idea himself that vampires even existed until Jimmy walked into his life. Sometimes he wishes that he never met him, but as much as he hates his existence, had he not been turned, he never would have been alive to meet Castiel, and he can’t imagine a world where that never happens.
He is just getting ready to search for Castiel when he hears a scream and someone yelling for help. He looks to see Castiel and his brother Gabriel walking out of the woods, Gabriel carrying Inias’s sister, Hester, who appears to be knocked out. They lay her on one of the benches.
“She’s been bitten,” Dean hears Castiel say.
Dean can’t be here right now. He thought he had outrun his past, but it appears his past has caught up to him. He runs at vamp speed to his house, Zach sitting in the living room when he shows up.
“We have a problem, Zach. Are you still drinking the vervain in your coffee every day?”
“Yes, of course. Why do you ask?”
“There’s another vampire in town. I think he discovered where I’m at. Just make sure you’re on guard.”
Dean has run up to his room to try to figure out what he’s going to do when he notices a crow flying outside his window and his suspicion has been correct. He looks over at the balcony window and sees his brother standing there, a hint of a smirk on his face.
“Hello, brother,” the other vampire says.
“Adam, what are you doing here?”
“What, can’t a guy visit his baby brother without having a reason?”
“It’s been 15 years, Adam. I thought I was rid of you.”
Adam walks further into the room, perusing the books on the bookcase, no doubt trying to get under Dean’s skin.
“I’ve been watching you, Dean. I noticed you’ve taken a liking to Castiel. He looks identical to Jimmy, don’t you think?”
“Cas is nothing like Jimmy. You leave him alone.”
“Cas? I see it didn’t take you long to give him a nickname. Some things just don’t change.”
“You can leave now. Nobody wants you here.”
“Last time I checked, this was my house, too. Maybe you should have told Zach not to let me in 15 years ago, or maybe he should have been taking his vervain so I couldn’t compel him to let me in.”
Dean is growing tired of his brother’s ranting.
“I plan on staying in town, so you might as well get used to me.” Adam pauses before stepping closer to his younger brother. “Maybe I’ll pay a visit to Castiel while I’m here.”
Everything in Dean that was keeping him calm just snaps. He produces his fangs and growls at his brother as he charges at him, causing both vampires to crash through the window and down to the ground.
“You will not touch him,” Dean snarls, Adam looking shocked at Dean’s display of strength.
“Looks like someone has been eating the people food. No more bunnies for you, I see.”
Dean pulls his brother into a standing position, not letting go of his shirt.
“Yes, which means we have the same amount of strength, so don’t for a second think you can beat me.”
Adam holds his arms up as a display of surrender. “Whatever you say, brother.”
Dean lets go of his brother’s shirt and watches as he walks into the house, hoping that he won’t leave the town in complete disarray with his mere presence. Dean can’t go back inside. He needs to go for a walk and clear his head, and before he realizes what he’s doing, he is standing outside Castiel’s house. He knocks on the door, hoping that he’s at home.
Castiel answers the door in a t-shirt and sweatpants and Dean loses his train of thought for a split second.
“Hello, Dean.”
“Cas, hi. Sorry to stop by like this, but I just wanted to see if everything was okay with Hester. Did they find out what happened to her?”
“Yeah, I can tell you about it. I just need to make sure the popcorn doesn’t burn.” Castiel leaves the door open and walks further into the house, probably assuming that Dean will follow, unaware that he needs to be invited in. Dean stands there awkwardly, unable to get past the barrier of the door, hoping it won’t take long for the boy to realize that Dean isn’t behind him.
A couple seconds later, Castiel is peeking his head around the door, staring at Dean.
“What are you doing out there? You can come in.”
“Sorry, I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to come in or if you were going to talk to me out here.”
Dean follows Castiel into the kitchen and they sit and talk about what happened with Hester, Dean now certain that it was Adam who bit her. He was always more careless than Dean. Adam usually didn’t leave them alive unless he compelled them to forget, so it was unusual that he didn't kill Hester. He must be getting sloppy.
It’s nice talking with Castiel, but when they realize how late it is, Dean bids him farewell and walks back to his house, not looking forward to spending any more time than he has to with his brother.
Dear Diary, This morning is…different. There is a change. I can sense it, feel it. For once, I don’t regret the day before it begins. Because I know, I will see him again. For the first time in a long time, I feel good.
Castiel looks out the window after writing the new entry into his diary. He had the best night with Dean last night. It had been a while since he felt happy. Since his parents died and he ended things with Inias, he hasn’t truly felt alive, but there’s just something about Dean that makes him want to forget his past pain and look towards the future.
He bumps into his Aunt Lydia in the hall on his way down to the kitchen.
“Which one do you think looks better? This one, or this one?” She holds up two different dresses for him to look at.
“I’ve already told you, Aunt Lydia, not all gay guys have a sense of fashion. I’m one of the ones that doesn’t. Gabriel, on the other hand, even though he’s as straight as an arrow, does have a sense of fashion, so he might be your best shot.”
“No luck with that one. He’s still walking around in one of his moods. I wish I could help him through his grief.”
“He’ll get there. We need to just lean on each other. You lost your big sister when we lost our mom. You don’t have to be strong for us. It’s okay to be sad.”
Lydia pulls him into a hug. “You are wise beyond your years, Castiel. Any guy would be lucky to have you.”
Castiel can only hope that he maybe did find a lucky guy, but he’s not ready to share that information with her yet. He runs downstairs to witness his brother stuffing a baggie in his back pocket before he tries to walk out the door.
“Stop right there, Gabe.”
Gabriel turns around and looks at Castiel, knowing he’s been caught. Castiel holds out his hand.
“Hand it over.”
Gabriel rolls his eyes, but he knows better than to disobey his older brother, so he shoves the baggie into Castiel’s hand. Castiel looks at it and it’s filled with pills.
“Seriously, Gabe, now you’re dealing pills?”
“Why do you care?”
“Gabe, you need to talk to someone. The accident was 3 months ago. Nobody cares anymore that our parents died. Everyone's going to stop giving you second chances.”
Gabe just sighs and storms out of the room with his backpack in his hand. Castiel wishes there was some way he could help him, but he won’t listen to anyone.
Patience is waiting outside in her car to take Castiel to school. He’s only half listening to her conversation, his mind still stuck on his evening last night with Dean.
“Did you even hear anything I said?”
“Yeah, you were saying something about witches.”
“I said that I talked to Grams last night about my weird premonitions and she told me that I’m psychic and our ancestors were Salem witches. Isn’t that crazy? No wonder Dad doesn’t talk to her anymore. Most of what she says doesn’t make any sense.”
“I don’t know. I think it would be cool to have a best friend who is a witch.”
“I’m not a witch, my ancestors were, but I might be psychic. I keep getting these strange feelings like something bad is going to happen.”
“Well, you keep your bad mojo over there. I don’t need any more bad luck.”
They pull up to the school and Castiel immediately spots Dean sitting on one of the benches out front. He tells Patience that he’ll see her later, but before he can make his way over to Dean, he is stopped by Inias.
“Castiel.”
“Hey, Inias, what’s up?”
“I just wanted to thank you for helping with Hester. If it hadn’t been for you and Gabriel finding her, I don’t know if she would have made it.”
“Of course, Inias. Did they say what happened to her? That was a nasty bite on her neck.”
“They said it was an animal attack, but last night Hester told me the craziest thing. She said it was a vampire.”
“What? That’s crazy. There’s no such thing.”
“I know. I’m going over during lunch to check on her.”
“Well, tell her I said hi, and I hope she gets better soon.”
Inias walks towards the front entrance and Castiel gets ready to make his way over to Dean finally, but he’s no longer there. He scans the perimeter to see if he can spot him, but he must have already gone inside since he’s nowhere to be found. Castiel spends the day thinking about Dean instead of paying attention to what’s going on in class. He meets up with Amanda and Patience at the Roadhouse after school so they can put together the flyers for the gathering tonight to watch some comet or whatever go across the sky. Seems lame, but whatever.
“So, did you and Dean make out last night?” Amanda asks, obviously jealous that she wasn’t the object of Dean’s affection.
“No, he came over and we talked, but I don’t know if it will go any further. I’m not sure I’m ready for something more.”
Patience interjects. “You have to at least give it a shot. You owe yourself a chance to be happy. Inias will be fine.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
“Of course I am. We’ll finish up here. Why don’t you go over to his house and tell him that you like him?”
Castiel doesn’t have to be told again. He walks to Dean’s house and rings the bell, but nobody answers. He knocks on the door, and it opens, having not been shut completely. He walks inside and calls for Dean, but nobody answers. He’s never been inside this house before and he is impressed with how big it is. He finds himself in a study with wall-to-wall shelves full of books and antique furniture decorating the room. He gets ready to turn to leave when he bumps into a man slightly taller than himself, about the same height as Dean, with hair a similar shade as Dean’s.
“Excuse me. I was just looking for Dean. The door was open.” He points to the door, but it is somehow closed, which is strange because he doesn’t remember shutting it.
“He’s not here right now. I’m Adam, his brother.” Adam holds out his hand for Castiel to shake, which he does reluctantly.
“Dean didn’t tell me he had a brother.”
“He doesn’t like to talk about me much. He’s been a bit closed off ever since Jimmy.”
“Jimmy?”
“I take it the two of you didn’t have the awkward exes talk yet?”
“Nope.”
Castiel gets the sinking suspicion that Adam is purposely trying to sabotage whatever relationship he and Dean might build in the future. Castiel would never speak this way to someone Gabriel was interested in.
“It’s a pity, really. You would be the first guy he’s been with since Jimmy. You know what they say about the rebound relationship.”
“Adam!!”
Castiel turns around to see Dean staring daggers at Adam. Without taking his eyes off Adam, Dean speaks to Castiel.
“Thanks for stopping by, Cas. I’ll talk to you later.”
Castiel wants to protest, to tell him that he stopped by to talk to Dean, but he can tell just by the tension in the room that the brothers need a moment alone.
“Of course, Dean. Talk to you later.”
Castiel exits the mansion, feeling stupid for stopping by. It isn’t apparent if Adam was just trying to get under Castiel’s skin with the whole Jimmy story, but it’s working. Dean must still care about his ex and Castiel isn’t really interested in being a rebound. He also doesn’t really have room to talk, seeing as though he just recently got out of a relationship. He didn’t really feel anything romantic for Inias, but they were together for a year, so that certainly does complicate things. Plus, Castiel has noticed Inias giving dirty looks Dean’s way. Jealousy doesn’t look good on him, but there isn’t much Castiel can do about it.
Castiel makes it home to find Gabriel sitting on the couch, staring into space. He sits next to his brother to try to pull him out of his funk.
“Are you coming to see the comet tonight at the town square?”
“No, I think I might just go visit Hester at the Roadhouse. She’s supposed to be released from the hospital tonight.”
“Okay, you know I’m here if you need anything, right?”
“Of course, Cassie.”
Castiel hated the nickname his little brother gave to him, but he just went with it to please the younger boy. He lies down on his bed to take a quick nap before the coming of the comet event that he hates attending, but, as one of the only remaining members of one of the founding families, he is obligated. There are only two members of the Shurley family remaining in town, and with one of them pouting on the couch, it is up to him to represent.
He shows up at the town square to see Amanda shamelessly flirting with whomever will give in to her charms and Patience talking to her Grams, who doesn’t get out much, since everyone in town thinks she’s crazy with her psychic premonitions that always come true. It makes Castiel wonder if she’s crazy or if the entire town is just in denial that she might actually be a psychic.
Just when he thinks he’s in the clear, he bumps into Dean, who always happens to be around, as if he’s following him.
“Hello, Dean.”
“Hiya, Cas.”
“I’m assuming this is your first comet here since this only happens once every 160 years,” Castiel jokes.
“Something like that,” Dean says more mysteriously than Castiel would have liked.
Dean is looking at him with those green eyes that make Castiel want to melt, and he can’t do this right now. He has to let him down easily before he gets in too deep.
“Look, Dean. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea, but I just broke up with Inias and you just lost Jimmy…”
“Wait, how do you know about Jimmy?”
“Your brother told me.”
“What exactly did he tell you?”
“Not much, just that you were getting over an ex.”
Dean doesn’t say anything, which confirms Castiel’s suspicion that Dean is still hung up on Jimmy.
“I just think that, had we met in another time or another place, we could see where things could go, but circumstances being what they are, I don’t think it would work. I would still like to be friends, though.”
Dean doesn’t make eye contact and he looks sad and defeated, but he still agrees. “Yeah, Cas, if that’s what you want.”
They don’t have a chance to continue with their conversation before being interrupted by Amanda wanting to introduce Castiel to this new guy she met. Castiel watches as Dean walks away, hoping he didn’t just make a huge mistake.
Castiel is emotionally drained by the time he makes it back home, and the night only gets more interesting when he finds his aunt going through Gabriel’s room.
“Aunt Lydia, what’s going on?”
She’s digging around in his things as she talks and pulls a bong out of one of his boots.
“Well, I see the hiding spots haven’t changed since I was a teen.”
Castiel plops down in the bean bag chair while Lydia sits down on the bed.
“What spurred this invasion of his privacy?”
“I had a meeting with his history teacher today and he made sure to point out how much of a failure I’m being right now.”
“Ahh, so you’ve been Adler’d. If it makes you feel any better, Mr. Adler is a dick to everyone.”
Lydia sighs and stares off into space.
“I just wish I could do things as good as her. She had this perfect life and made it look so simple. Then she died and I thought I would have been able to swoop in and do it as good as her, but I can’t even hold a candle to her.”
“Aunt Lydia, you can’t compare yourself to Mom. She had 17 years of practice. You were given an impossible task with no experience, and you’ve only been at it for 3 months. You have to give yourself time. For the record, I think you’re doing an awesome job. Gabe is just troubled, but he’ll come around. He just needs time.”
“Thanks, Cas. I guess I’m just being hard on myself.”
Castiel stands up to leave the room before turning back to his aunt.
“Whatever you do, though, don’t look under the bed. There isn’t any drug paraphernalia, but you still won’t like what you see.”
“Oh, you mean the Casa Erotica movies? Yeah, I’m not touching those with a ten-foot pole.”
They share a laugh before Castiel walks the few feet to his room, sitting on his bed and contemplating if maybe he should take his own advice. Yeah, he was scared that things wouldn’t work out with Dean, especially if he’s still hung up on his ex. But, on the other hand, they could end up having an epic love story, and does he really want to miss out on that possibility? With his mind made up, he heads over to Dean’s house and hopes that he’s the one to answer the door when he arrives.
Dean opens the door as per Castiel’s wish and he gives the dark-haired boy a big smile.
“Cas, what are you doing here?”
“Do you think we can talk?”
“Yeah, sure.” Dean joins him on the porch.
Castiel looks towards the sky as he talks, trying not to lose his nerve.
“I came over to tell you that maybe I misspoke earlier. Relationships can get messy, and I think I’m just worried about what might happen if we try to give us a shot. I think I’m just afraid of failing and losing someone else, but I don’t want to be afraid anymore, because the truth is, you make me happy, and I don’t want to give that up.”
Castiel looks at Dean and the other boy is staring back at him with so much affection, it makes Castiel’s heart melt. He isn’t sure who makes the first move, but, within seconds, his lips are on Dean’s, and the kiss is soft and tender and full of promise. They stand there for an unknown amount of time just kissing and getting lost in each other’s scents. When they finally break apart, Castiel knows he’s done for. This boy came into his life at a time he needed him most and he’s certain that he’s going to continue turning his life upside down.
“I should probably go. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Yeah, see you tomorrow,” Dean says breathlessly.
Castiel walks back home with a smile on his face, looking forward to a new day.
The moment Castiel leaves, Dean takes off into the woods. He doesn’t have time to try to find an unsuspecting human. Right now, he isn’t even sure if he would be able to hold back enough to prevent himself from ripping their head off completely. He follows the scent of Bambi’s mom, needing enough blood to satiate his thirst for days.
He finds the deer in question and rips into its neck. He doesn’t take the time to calm the creature down like he normally would to give it a peaceful death. He needs the animal to fight back. Dean is a monster and he needs to give into his animal instincts. He can feel the terror in the animal’s body as Dean drains its blood. The deer continues to thrash and try to get away, but Dean is stronger, and his fangs are buried deep in the vein in the animal’s neck, sucking it dry. The animal’s heart begins to slow down and stops all together once Dean has drained the last drop of blood from its neck.
Dean begins to get his humanistic side back and the guilt begins to take over as he stares at the animal whose life he just took.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispers to the lifeless body and runs back home, collapsing on his bed, his eyes focused on his ceiling. He hadn’t expected Castiel’s scent to be so overwhelming. He had never been in the same vicinity as blood as intoxicating as his before. The moment their lips connected, the vampire inside Dean took over, and it took every last ounce of willpower to not rip into the other boy’s neck right there. This is going to be more difficult than he had originally thought.
With his thirst temporarily under control, he ignores his brother’s glare as he leaves for school the next morning. It doesn’t matter that he was around for the content being taught in history class right now, because he needs to keep up the façade that he is a high school junior if he wants to get closer to Castiel. He knows he should stay away, but he finds that it is impossible to resist him. He’ll just have to make sure he is well fed before spending time with Castiel.
He arrives at school to find Castiel and Patience walking towards the entrance of the school. He hangs back, not wanting to interrupt, but unable to avoid turning on his vamp hearing to listen to their conversation.
“I just want you to be careful, Castiel. I think I might have been wrong about Dean. I didn’t get a good feeling from him last night. There’s just something about him that seems off.”
“You’re the one that told me to go for it, Patience. Now you’re telling me to leave him alone?”
“All I’m saying is, just be careful. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Why don’t you come over for dinner tonight at my house, just you, me, and Dean, and you will see that he’s a great guy.”
Dean steps closer before this conversation takes a turn for the worse. He gives Castiel a kiss on the cheek as he greets him, trying not to come off as too possessive.
“Are the two of you conspiring?” Dean says jokingly.
“No, we were just talking about the three of us having dinner at my house tonight. I’ll even cook.” Castiel smiles and Dean can’t help but notice the withdrawn look on Patience’s face.
“I would love to,” Dean says.
“Well, I’ll see you two tonight then,” Patience says as she walks quickly to the entrance of the school.
“She doesn’t like me very much, does she?” Dean asks.
“She’s just very protective of me, but she’s harmless, I promise.”
Castiel leans in and kisses Dean on the lips, Dean taken aback that he is so open with affection. The last time he was in Mystic Falls, even though it was accepted, it was not to be done in public.
“Are you sure we should be doing this in public?”
“Oh, please. Half the people in this town are at least a little bi.”
“Well, if you say so.”
He goes back to kissing Castiel, enjoying the taste of the other boy’s mouth. He is so entranced–and trying to avoid giving in to his temptation to take a bite out of his neck–that he almost misses the sound of a football getting ready to hit him in the back of the head. He turns around just in time to catch it, not missing the shocked expression on Inias’ face, as well as on the face of his friend Lee Webb, who both play on the football team.
Dean throws the ball back to Lee, who seems more impressed than he should, seeing as though Dean is the enemy who is kissing his best friend’s ex. The moment is over quickly as Castiel and Dean make their way to their locker. Yes, they are a cliché, and they share a locker.
“Have you ever considered trying out for the football team?” Castiel asks as he’s stuffing some books into his bookbag.
“I played before, but I don’t think it really interests me all that much now.”
“Well, our team sucks, so you would be doing them a favor.”
“I’ll think about it,” Dean says as he wraps his arms around Castiel’s neck and they walk to their next class attached at the hip.
It takes Dean the entirety of one class period with Mr. Adler and his cocky attitude before he decides to take Castiel up on his suggestion to join the team. Mr. Adler’s the football coach as well and he thinks the guy needs to come down a peg or two, so maybe having a player with supernatural abilities on the team might actually make the guy somewhat likeable.
After much convincing, Zachariah–Dean refuses to call him Mr. Adler anymore since he’s well over 130 years older than the other guy–agrees to at least let Dean practice with them to get a feel for his abilities. He’s on the way to the locker room to grab some gear when he spots Castiel over with the other cheerleaders. Castiel is one of four male cheerleaders on the squad and he looks sexy as fuck in his uniform.
Dean doesn’t have much of a chance to admire his boyfriend, though, as he witnesses his brother pull up in his ’69 Chevy Camaro Convertible. Adam was always one to be competitive, but Dean still has him beat in the classic car department. Nobody holds a candle to Dean's Baby, and who even gets a car that’s painted whatever color blue Adam claims his car to be? Black is a classic color and you can’t tell Dean any differently.
What’s interesting is the fact that Amanda is in the seat next to him with a scarf wrapped around her neck. She gets out of the car and Dean turns his vamp hearing on in time to hear Amanda’s smug response that she got the other Winchester brother as she walks past Castiel, who looks shocked.
“What are you doing, Adam?” Dean whispers, hoping his brother will pick up on it.
Adam looks back at him and whispers, “Don’t worry about it, brother,” before he drives off.
Dean doesn’t have time to think about what is going on right now. He’s too busy pretending to be a high school student. He manages to make it through football practice with just a broken finger that he fixes while nobody is watching. Inias and Lee are indeed not his biggest fans and he understands that he has a long way to go before he can earn their trust. Coach Adler was impressed enough with his performance that he ended up letting Dean onto the team.
Later that night, he ignores his brother’s attempt to get him riled up about Castiel. He knows Adam is just trying to pick a fight and he’s not going to give in. He drives over to Castiel’s house and arrives at 6pm on the nose. He doesn’t tell Castiel that he’s aware that the food is just take-out placed in bowls to make it look home cooked. It’s the thought that counts.
Probably trying to break the ice because he can sense the awkwardness between his friend and boyfriend, Castiel speaks up. “So, Dean, did you know that Patience comes from a long line of witches?”
Now Dean is intrigued, especially since a witch is the reason he is able to walk around in the daylight. In order for a vampire to walk around in the sun, a witch has to give them a daylight ring or some other form of enchanted jewelry. There are only a few witches who know the spell for daylight jewelry and Dean was lucky enough to be around one who knew it. It would have been nice if Alicia would have picked a less gaudy ring to give him and Adam, but if it keeps the brothers from turning into piles of ash and dying permanently when they walk out into the sun, then so be it.
“Castiel overexaggerates. We’re more psychic than anything. My Grams did say that we are descendants of Salem witches, but I don’t know how true that is.”
“Well, Salem witches were thought to be very powerful and very well respected in spite of what the history books allow us to believe. It’s an honor to be in your presence if that is the case.”
“Thank you,” she says with a hint of blush on her cheeks.
Dean will need to stay on her good side. If what she says is true, then that means she is a descendent of Alicia, Jimmy’s personal assistant, who was a very powerful witch in her time. She hailed from a long line of Banes witches who gathered their power from nature. If Patience is able to tap into her true power, Dean needs to become her ally, because having a Banes witch as an enemy could be a death sentence for a vampire, especially a vampire who was around in 1864. The only reason Jimmy had a Banes witch in his back pocket was because he saved Alicia’s children, and she was indebted to him.
His thoughts are interrupted by a knock at the door, Castiel looking confused as he claims he wasn’t expecting anyone else. Dean is at his side as he answers the door to a cheerful looking Amanda and a deceptive looking Adam.
“We brought pie,” Amanda exclaims, and fuck Adam for still knowing Dean’s biggest food weakness after all these years.
“What are you doing here, Adam?” Dean inquires.
“We heard that you were having a dinner party, so we figured we would stop by.”
Dean can tell that Castiel seems a little distraught that Adam just invited himself, but with Amanda being his friend he probably doesn’t want to say anything.
“Yeah, sure, com….”
“No, don’t invite him in. He can’t stay.” Dean does not want Adam to have access to Castiel’s house. How is Dean going to keep him safe that way?
“Don’t be silly, Dean. They came all this way. Come in, Adam.”
Just like that, his brother won another round of ‘let’s see how many times I can screw over my brother’. They have been playing this game for 160 years now and Dean is growing tired of it. While Castiel is helping Amanda put the pie in the kitchen, Dean pulls Adam aside.
“What are you playing at, Adam? Are you mad because I got the guy again?”
“Please, I have no interest whatsoever in men. Jimmy was just a fluke. I still don’t know why I fell for him, but it happened nonetheless. Castiel is safe from my charms, so no worries. But, the moment you step out of line, don’t think I won’t hurt your precious boyfriend.”
The five of them gather in the living room to converse and Dean doesn’t miss the fact that Amanda continues to wear a scarf when she hadn’t been wearing one prior to meeting Adam and also that she seems to do whatever he says without question. Dean had only spent a handful of minutes with the blonde in the past few days, but he could already tell that she was not a girl to just do whatever she was told. It’s evident to Dean that she is under Adam’s compulsion. He will need to find a way to keep Castiel from his brother’s mind tricks.
Everyone leaves and Dean kisses Castiel goodnight before heading home. Once in his room, he digs out the small box of mementos that he has in the bottom of his dresser drawer and produces a ring with a tiny amount of vervain hidden inside the band. He hopes that Castiel will be okay with wearing it. Vervain is an herb that is basically vampire kryptonite. It keeps them from being able to compel someone wearing it or ingesting it and can also be used as a way to weaken a vampire if they themselves are injected with it or ingest it somehow. This is the only way he knows to keep his brother from getting Castiel under his spell.
The last day of school for the week is the homecoming game, so Dean shows up to school in his football jersey. He runs into Castiel, who is not wearing his cheerleading uniform.
“Are you not cheerleading tonight?”
“No, I decided to throw in the towel. It’s not something I’m interested in anymore, so no point in punishing myself.”
Dean pulls him in for a kiss.
“That’s a shame. I was really hoping to see you in it again.”
“I can always wear it for you if you want.”
The kiss lingers and Dean really needs to stop. He had forgotten to feed before the game tonight and Castiel’s scent is calling out to his fangs. He rests his forehead against Castiel’s.
“I’ll hold you to that.”
He regains his composure and pulls the ring out of his pocket. “I know this might be soon and it might seem old fashioned, but would you be interested in wearing a promise ring, so that people know we’re together?”
Castiel pauses at first as if he doesn’t know what to say and Dean thinks that he might say no, but he surprises Dean by taking the ring and placing it on his finger.
“I would be happy to wear your ring, Dean.”
Dean is beyond excited now that he knows his brother won’t have any influence over his boyfriend.
The pep rally prior to the game is interesting, to say the least. Dean is standing in the row of players, listening to Coach Adler give his speech, when he hears a commotion from the other side of the field. He runs over to find Gabriel and Lee rolling around on the ground, fighting. Dean has learned just by word of mouth that Hester is somewhat dating Lee, who treats her like shit, and that Gabriel has a crush on her and can’t stand the way she gets treated by Lee. Love triangles are the worst and some things don’t change in 160 years, Dean guesses.
He doesn’t want Castiel’s little brother to get hurt, especially since the dumbass, who is 120 pounds soaking wet, is picking fights with jocks twice his size. He tries to intervene to break up the fight, but in all the confusion, Gabriel picks up a broken beer bottle to swing at Lee and ends up gashing open Dean’s palm when he tries to step between them. He hisses at the contact and what’s worse is the fact that Castiel witnessed the entire thing.
Castiel drags his brother away from Lee to get him calmed down. Dean looks down at his hand, which is already healing, trying to figure out how he’s going to explain this. He holds his hand behind his back as Castiel walks back over to him.
“Here, let me see your hand. You’re probably going to need stitches.”
“No, it’s fine. He missed me.”
Castiel tries to reach for Dean’s hand, but Dean won’t let him.
“Dean, let me see.”
Dean stops trying to avoid the inevitable and just shows Castiel his hand, which doesn’t have a scratch on it.
“See, like I said, he missed me.”
Castiel looks dumbfounded and furrows his brow.
“I could have sworn he nicked you.”
Dean kisses him to distract the other boy.
“Nope, all good. I’d better get ready for the game. See you after?”
“Yeah, see you after.”
Dean walks over to the side of the building on his way to the locker room, only to find Adam standing there. Just what he needs right now.
“What now, Adam?”
“Dean-o, always to the rescue.”
“I’m not in the mood, Adam. You can leave now.”
“I noticed you gave Castiel that ring full of vervain. Are you worried that I might try to compel him to join my team? I could just eat him, you know, no compulsion necessary.”
Dean has had enough of his brother’s foolishness.
“No, you’re not going to hurt him, Adam, because deep down inside there’s a part of you that feels for him. I was worried that you had no humanity left inside of you, that you may have actually become the monster that you pretend to be.”
“Who’s pretending?”
“Then kill me.”
“I’m tempted.”
“No, you’re not. You’ve had lifetimes to do it and yet here I am. I’m still alive and there you are. You’re still haunting me after 160 years. Jimmy is dead and you hate me because you loved him and you torture me because you still do, and that, my brother, that is your humanity.”
Just when he thinks he’s finally gotten through to his brother, Adler picks that specific time to walk out of the building and call for Dean.
Adam says, “If that’s my humanity, then what’s this?”
Before Dean has a second to figure out what he’s talking about, Adam runs over to the coach and rips into his neck until his blood is drained and his heart stops beating, the teacher collapsing onto the pavement.
“No!” Dean yells, as if that’s going to change anything.
Adam looks at him with his eyes blood red and his fangs still protruding.
“Anyone, any time, any place.”
Then he runs off, leaving Dean standing there, dumbfounded. He can’t be caught here over a dead body, so he disappears to find Castiel. He doesn’t know where he’s at but a yell from Inias alerts everyone that something is wrong. The medical examiner arrives and takes the coach’s body away and Dean tells Castiel that he will talk to him tomorrow. He is still unsure of what his brother’s motives are for being back in town, but Dean just needs to be by himself tonight. He pulls his journal out to write another entry, one that he plans on keeping the promise of.
I thought there was hope, that somewhere deep inside, something in Adam was still human, normal, but I was wrong. There’s nothing human left in Adam, no good, no kindness, no love, only a monster who must be stopped.