Lockers (AO3)

Requested by elyshakate

Prompt: (#382 - LOCKERS) Misunderstandings are the worst. Dean decides he needs to convince Castiel Novak that hitting him in the face with the locker was totally an accident, but considering Castiel hates his guts, he doesn’t hold out much hope.

It was kind of pathetic really.

Dean was pretty sure he didn’t want to know how much time he’d wasted from the extra few minutes he spent at his locker each day, when he had no reason to be there. Sammy’s nerdy whatever-club met early, before the first bell, so Dean was always in the halls way earlier than he needed to be every day. It was plenty of time for him to grab his books and leave, go find someone to hang with.

But that wasn’t what he did.

Every day, he spent time organising his damn locker. Putting his books in order of when he had that class, even filing his homework in order of due date. Not that he even did it, he just organised it so he knew which one to make his excuses for first.

And this was all because of Castiel freaking Novak. Who Dean most definitely did not have a crush on, not at all.

Except he did, and it really sucked. Mostly because Castiel hated his guts, all over a misunderstanding.

His locker was directly next to Dean’s, and every day, Dean busied himself with tidying up, just so he was there when Castiel arrived at school and he had a few minutes to look at him, watch the dark-haired guy pile everything into his locker and take out what he needed for his class. Just being close to him for those few moments was the highlight of Dean’s day.

Castiel was a pretty new student, only arriving at their school at the start of senior year. On his first day, he made an impression on Dean, who fell for the pretty blue eyes like they were a whirlpool, pulling him under and he was helpless to fight against the current. It wasn’t even like Dean’s sexuality was a secret, a moment of triumph at winning a football game at the end of sophomore year had seen Dean locking lips with his best friend, Benny Lafitte. They’d both laughed it off afterwards.

His plan was to ask Castiel out at the first opportunity. They shared English Literature together and Dean sat two rows behind and one to the left of Castiel, a perfect position to stare at him for the entire class. It only took that one class for Dean to realise that Castiel was smart, funny, kinda dorky but possibly the most amazing guy in the world. This was all without speaking to him directly.

It all screwed up when Dean was at his locker after the final bell. He’d planned out everything he wanted to say in his head, to offer to show the guy around since he was new, and then he wrenched open his locker.

Not a big deal, except the force from his pull propelled his locker door straight into Castiel’s face.

“Woah, Winchester just hit the new guy!” Someone yelled, before everyone in the hall started to laugh.

Dean was stunned, and opened and closed his mouth a few times while facing Castiel, trying to overcome his shock and horror so he could apologize. He never managed it, because Castiel simply shot him a dark look of disgust, grabbed some tissues to stop the flow of blood and stalked off down the hall.

They’d never said a single word to each other after that, and Dean had never found a way to apologize, or get over his huge crush on Castiel.

Today, he’d determined that he wasn’t going to wait at his locker for Castiel anymore, which he didn’t. He arrived at school early, as usual, grabbing his books and making his way to English Literature, taking his usual seat. Step one in his plan to move on from Castiel Novak. Step two was to find someone else to turn his attention to.

So that was his plan when the bell rang and everyone began to file into the class. He watched everyone as they came in, narrowing down the possibilities. Lisa Braeden was a maybe, and so was Anna Milton. Dean made a note to talk to both of them at some point that day, to see which one he connected with the most.

And then the bombshell was dropped.

“Today you’ll be partnered up for a group project, and tomorrow I want you to deliver a short presentation on one of the major themes of Wuthering Heights,” Mr Shurley told them firmly. “And I will be picking your partners.”

A collective groan went around the class, but Dean didn’t really care, until his name was called out.

“Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak.”

His heart skipped a beat and he hesitantly lifted his head to meet Castiel’s equally stunned gaze, before it turned cold. Well, so much for his plan to get over the guy, now they would be working in close proximity. So close that Dean was probably going to need therapy to even be able to speak again.

He was still floundering when Castiel scraped his chair over to his desk. “I think we should focus on the theme of betrayal, because it’s prominent throughout the book,” he said shortly. “I want a good grade on this, so can you at least put in some effort?”

Dean blinked, taken aback by the abrupt start to the conversation. He nodded slowly, clearing his throat. “Yeah. Hey, by the way. I’m Dean, I don’t think we’ve ever spoken.”

Castiel fixed him with a cold stare. “With good reason. We’re not friends, and I just want to get this presentation done, if you don’t mind. So how about you work on the first half, I work on the second, then tonight I’ll work on linking both parts together so they’re seamless.”

Dean was totally thrown by Castiel’s unfriendly attitude and deflated. Well, that was a sure-fire way to get over a crush, to have even an attempt at civil conversation shut down. “Yeah. Sure, Cas, whatever you want.”

An odd look crossed Castiel’s face and he paused for a second before starting to write. Dean turned his attention back to his own copy of the book and didn’t speak except to ask a single question related to the presentation until the bell rang.

He didn’t stick around, pretty sure he’d never made a less dignified exit as he all but sprinted for the door. Thankfully, he had gym next so he would be with Benny and could talk about his stupid broken heart over a stupid misunderstanding.

“So you’re sayin’ the whole thing is stupid,” Benny drawled, ducking as a ball came flying towards his head.

“Exactly,” Dean muttered, grabbing a ball and launching it across the room, hitting Crowley right in his smug face and feeling instantly better. “I mean, the guy never gave me a chance to explain myself. What am I supposed to do?”

Benny laughed, catching a ball and throwing it directly back across the gym. “Well, you could always just go for it. Explain everythin’ and tell him how you feel, and if he shuts you down, he ain’t worth your time, chief.”

It was obvious, yet sound advice, and Dean felt determination grow in him as he sidestepped another dodgeball. “You know… I might just do that,” he murmured. “Thanks Benny.”

Of course, it was easier said than done. How was he meant to convey that he was sorry he accidentally hit someone in a face with a locker two months ago, when he should have apologized at the time and explained it hadn’t been a deliberate attempt at bullying the new kid? It was a dick move, Dean had never bullied anyone in his life.

Once he was home, Dean made sure Sam was alright for dinner, before he locked himself in his room for the evening, working on his plan to ask Castiel out. He had no doubt that this would all end in disaster, but he couldn’t help but hope that he would at least get closure from this. Even if he was going to be a laughing stock.

He read over every aspect of Wuthering Heights until he found what he was looking for and wrote it all down on a piece of paper, which he kept with him as he walked into English class the next morning, retaking his seat. Luck appeared to be on his side, because the presentations were ordered so that he and Castiel would be going last.

It went as smoothly as they could have expected, considering Castiel never looked at him or gave him any cues for went to speak, but they muddled through and it wasn’t as terrible as Dean had expected. When it was over, Castiel retook his seat and Dean stayed standing at the front awkwardly.

“Mr Shurley? I looked at another theme in Wuthering Heights last night, and I’d like to talk about it, if that’s okay?” He muttered, feeling his cheeks heat up. He’d never voluntarily done additional work in his life, he rarely even did the compulsory work.

At the teacher’s nod, Dean pulled out his piece of paper, smoothing it out and reading from it. He kept his eyes fixed on that, rather than risk meeting Castiel’s eyes.

“In Wuthering Heights, one of the most prominent scenes is where Heathcliff overhears Cathy talking about how it would be beneath her to marry him. It’s responsible for everything set in motion thereafter, but at its simplest form, it all boils down to a misunderstanding,” he read quietly, his whole body stiff, tense from nerves. “Because at the end of the day, that’s what it was. Cathy wanted to marry Heathcliff, who misunderstood her words and chose to leave instead of confronting her and letting her explain. I find that’s often true to real life.”

Here, Dean risked looking up, meeting Castiel’s eyes, who was looking at him with slightly narrowed eyes, as if he was wondering why Dean had done more work, as if he hadn’t trusted the project would be done properly. Swallowing, he turned his eyes back to his paper.

“Because misunderstandings happen all the time. Like when a new guy comes to school, and he happens to be the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen,” Dean’s voice came out hoarse, strangled, but he couldn’t stop or he’d freak out. “And then I think maybe I’ll ask him on a date, and I get all nervous, and my hand slips and so my locker door hits him in the face. So now everyone thinks I was just being a douche to the new kid, when really all I wanted to do was talk to him and tell him I thought he was smart and funny and beautiful. So we go back to the misunderstandings, and the new guy hates me, to the point where we just worked on our project in silence.”

Dean paused to take a deep breath, all too aware that the class had gone silent at what he was doing, that there wasn’t a single sound of laughter, and he hoped that his small amount of popularity would be enough to keep it that way after he’d finished making a fool of himself.

“So I think that the key theme of Wuthering Heights is misunderstandings, because the major events of Heathcliff’s life are triggered by that one action. Just like my nerves screwed things up for me when all I wanted to do was ask someone cute to see a movie with me. That’s all,” he muttered, shoving his paper back in his pocket and turning to leave the room quickly, uncaring that the bell hadn’t gone.

“Yes.”

Dean paused, his hand outstretched to grab the door handle, and he turned back to see Castiel standing up, his cheeks flushed and eyes shining.

“Yes?” Dean repeated, in confusion.

Castiel nodded and took a few shaky steps forward. “Yes, I’ll see a movie with you. I’m sorry, Dean, I had no idea it was an accident… I should have given you the opportunity to explain. I’d very much like to go out with you.”

All too aware that they had an audience, Dean blushed, but he couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face, mirroring Castiel’s. “Yeah?”

Castiel grinned and reached out to take Dean’s hand, threading their fingers together almost shyly. “Yeah,” he whispered.

It only seemed natural to lean in and peck him on the lips, and if the class erupted into chaos of whoops and cheers and Mr. Shurley buried his head in his hands, well, Dean and Castiel didn’t really stick around to notice. They had much more important things to be doing.

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