Dean watched Castiel walk away, then sat back down.

"Now I feel like a monumental jerk," he said.

"Well don't. You didn't know. I'm sure Cas will forgive you," Charlie told him.

"I hope he does," Dean said.

"Yeah, I bet you hope he does," Charlie said with a sly smile.

"Charlie, shut up," Dean said, grumpy.

"You totally have a crush on him," Charlie teased.

"Who wouldn't? Well except for you," Dean defended.

"It's true, he is pretty hot. Just take it slow, okay, Dean? He looks pretty damaged," Charlie told him, getting serious.

"And I'm not?" Dean asked.

"That's not what I meant. It's just that you dealt with your damage by running towards it and fighting it. He dealt with his by running away, by retreating into himself. I don't know if he's been mute his whole life, but if he wasn't, something screwed him up really bad. You have to be careful," Charlie said.

"You're getting deep there, Charlie. Sure you won't drown?" Dean teased.

"Just be smart, Winchester. And not a smartass, either," Charlie said, giving him a little shove, then standing up and walking away. Dean thought about Cas most of the rest of the day. He only caught a few glimpses of Cas for the rest of the day, and then he had to track Sam down. He found him sitting out in front of the school with a few other students.

"Heya, Sammy. Ready to go?" Dean asked. Sam stood up.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow, guys!" Sam said, waving to his friends, then following Dean to the car.

"I see you made some friends," Dean said, smiling.

"Yeah. Garth and Kevin and Jessica," Sam told him.

"Jessica, huh?" Dean teased, raising his eyebrow. Sam didn't say anything. Dean grinned and started driving. They drove a little bit in silence before Dean spotted someone walking down the sidewalk in front of them. It was Cas. When they were next to him, Dean slowed down and rolled down the window.

"Hey, Cas! Need a ride?" He asked. Cas shook his head.

"You sure? I don't mind." Cas shook his head again.

"Okay. But if you ever change your mind, just let me know," Dean said. Cas nodded and Dean waved, driving away and rolling up the window.

"Cas, huh?" Sam teased.

"Shut up," Dean muttered, turning red. Sam grinned. They rode the rest of the way in silence, and when they got back to Bobby's, they both headed to their rooms. Dean went straight for his headphones and grabbed some paper and a pencil. He didn't have a clue what he was doing, all he knew was that he wanted Cas to talk to him. As much as a mute boy can talk. Dean turned on some AC/DC and stared at the paper, wondering where to start. Eventually he started trying to draw wings, but they weren't coming out too well.

"Nice rat." Dean jumped as Sam spoke from the doorway.

"It does look like a rat, doesn't it?" Dean said, putting down his pencil.

"Well I don't have a clue why you're drawing, but I'd suggest starting with something else. Try drawing the Impala instead," Sam suggested.

"Maybe I will. Did you need something?" Dean asked.

"Yeah... can we talk?" Sam asked.

"Sure," Dean said. Sam came in and sat on Dean's bed.

"Dean, how do you talk to girls?" He asked.

"Well how the hell am I supposed to know that?" Dean exclaimed. Sam glared at him.

"Shut up and give me advice," he said. Dean smiled.

"Okay, fine. You want my advice? You get the gang over here in a couple of weeks to hang out, and I'll evaluate Jessica to give you specifics," he said.

"I don't know if I trust you with that," Sam said.

"Why not?" Dean asked.

"Because you're not very subtle," Sam said. Dean pretended to look hurt.

"Hey, I am a freakin ninja, man!" He said. Sam rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, whatever. Good luck with your rat drawing," he said, standing up and walking out. Dean made a face and turned back to his desk. He stared at the paper for a minute before deciding to take Sam's advice.

***

The next day, Dean was a bit nervous. He had a drawing of the Impala in his backpack as he walked to art class, keeping an eye out for Cas. When he walked into the classroom, he saw that Cas was already in there, sitting in the corner. Dean walked over and sat down next to him.

"Hey, Cas," he said. Cas, of course, didn't respond. "I, uh... I drew you this," Dean continued, placing the drawing on the table in front of Cas. Cas glanced up at Dean before taking the paper and examining it. "It's not very good, I know, but it's the best I could do. That's my car." A tiny smile flickered across Cas' lips, and he folded the drawing and slid it into his bag, giving Dean a nod of thanks. Dean grinned. "See! I knew you'd warm up to me," he said. He looked away from Cas as the teacher started talking.

As art class ended, Dean gave one last despairing look at his misshapen bowl of oranges. He shook his head and stood up, not taking it with him.

Dean saw Cas sitting by himself at lunch again. Charlie noticed him looking and smiled.

"Go on, I won't be mad. Who can be mad at such a beautiful romance blooming?" She said. Dean gave her a glare and headed over to sit across from Cas.

"Hey, Cas," he said. Cas looked up, then quickly back down at his food. "How are you?" Dean asked. Cas shrugged. Dean noticed the sketchbook laying on the table next to Cas. "Do you mind if I look at some of your drawings?" He asked. Cas looked up sharply and pulled the book off the table. Dean put his hands up. "Okay, okay. If you don't want to show me, that's fine. I was just curious. You're really good," he said. Cas stared at Dean, tilting his head and looking confused. "Has no one ever told you you're good before?" Dean asked. Cas shook his head and held up one finger. "Only one other person? Who?" Cas paused a moment before flipping to a page in his sketch pad with a drawing of a boy with golden hair labeled "Gabriel, brother" and a phone number. At the bottom, it said: "If Castiel is lost or injured, please call above number". Dean nodded. "Your brother. I have a brother. Do you... want to hear about him?" He asked hesitantly. Cas paused for a second before nodding. Dean grinned. "Well, his name is Sam, he's three years younger than me, and..." Dean started rambling, thrilled that Cas seemed to be interested.