Dean-

I was new to Sioux Falls. Right now, I knew four people who lived there- Bobby, Sam, my dad, and the nice girl who was giving me a tour of the town. Charlie.

"So this is downtown, we have a bar/diner, a coffee and comic book shop, and a dollar tree. The school is up the hill. You want to go see around the neighbor hood?"

"Sure." I shrugged.

We kept walking, heading back the way we came, towards my new house. She pointed out where different people who I would meet at school lived. As we walked, the spaces between the houses got wider and wider until they were pretty far apart.

"Uh.. Where are we going, Charlie?"

"Someplace the whole town knows about and you need to see if you want to be an actual resident here. The Novak House."

She said it very dramatically and spreading her arms wide. As if on cue, I looked up to see a creepy brick house. It looked completely different from all the others, with a tall fence that had spikes and barbed wire on the top.

"Woah."

"Creepy, right?"

"It's abandoned?"

"No, actually. Three people live there. The Novak dad, and his son."

"Who's the third?"

"Butler. Only one that leaves."

"Names?"

"The dad is Jimmy. The kid is Castiel. They never, ever, leave."

"Not even for groceries?"

"Butler."

"Oh. Wow."

"Yeah. No one has ever seen Castiel in person, but some say they've seen his face through the window. He's about our age. And at night it gets really creepy. Horrible sounds, like the sound of ghost screaming that can only be heard if you look right at the house."

"Screaming? Why doesn't someone help the kid? What if he's being hurt?"

"Nobody can get inside. Not even police. They've tried arresting the butler, but he never talks. Like his voice doesn't work never talks."

"Holy shit."

"Yeah."

Charlie turned around, and I followed. Right before the house disappeared from view, I looked back. I could've sworn I saw a face in the window.

-

A few days later, I heard a dare floating around school.

"Anyone who runs up and knocks on the Novak's door gets twenty bucks."

"You do it at night and it's fifty."

Lucifer Shirley decided to do it. At night. We were all there. Me, His brothers, Meg, Charlie, Benny, Sam, and Crowley. Crowley didn't want to be there, but he was the one who laid out the bet in the first place.

The howling was truly terrifying, it chilled me right to the bone. We all stood pretty far back as Lucifer made his way up to the house. Almost everyone was video taping this on a phone. Benny brought a whole video camera.

Lucifer was halfway to the fence when an extremely audible scream filled the air. Everyone took a step back. The fence was easy to push open, too easy. Luci sprinted up to the door and knocked a few times, then ran out, slamming the gate behind him. He looked smug, and he opened his mouth to say something to Crowley, when another shriek ripped through the air. Every single person froze, then took off in different directions. I couldn't move. I was petrified, stuck between running and the strange need to see if the kid was okay.

-

A few days later, it was storming. Sam was hanging out with Gabriel, and Dad was on a business trip. He wouldn't been home for a few days.

So, I was home alone in a storm, playing Call Of Duty, when there was a knock on the door. I paused the game and went to the door, opening it without really thinking. There stood a small figure, curled into himself, shaking.

"P-please. My d-dad.."

"Who are you?"

"C-Castiel. P-Please."

"Novak?"

He nodded.

"Help me." He looked around, frantic. "Please."

I gulped. I couldn't shut the door in his face.

"Come in."

"Oh- god- thank you."

He stumbled in and I shut the door behind him. As soon as he took a millisecond to breathe, his shaky legs gave out. I managed to catch him before he hit the wood floor.

"What happened?"

"T-the gate was open and my dad was d-distracted... I made a break for it. Your house was the only one with the l-lights on. I-I- Thank you."

"I couldn't just leave you out there."

"You could've. You probably should've. Oh god. I've put someone else in danger."

His face (somehow) got paler than it already was.

"Don't worry. I'll turn out my lights. I'll make it look like I'm asleep. Calm down."

I helped him onto the couch and turned off all the lights, then closed the blinds and grabbed a flashlight. I heard a few small whimpers from the Novak kid.

"Okay. The bathroom window faces the backyard, come on."

He clung to my arm like it was a lifeline as we walked to the bathroom. He sat down on the edge of the bathtub and I grabbed him a towel.

"Why are you being so nice?"

"Well, a hurt kid shows up on your doorstep, what would you do?"

"M-My dad would- well, he'd tell them to go the hell away and then he'd beat the shit out of me for no reason."

"Okay, well, you're safe here. I'm not going to hurt you. Do you need dry clothes?"

"I-I'll be fine in this, thank you."

"You're wearing soaking wet pajamas. I can get you some sweatpants and a t-shirt."

"T-thank you."

"Yeah, I'll be right back."

He nodded and I ran upstairs to my room. I grabbed him a pair of sweatpants that were a little small on me, and a Black Sabbath shirt. When I came back to the bathroom, he was on the floor, hugging his knees to his face.

"Okay," he jumped and backed away a little, throwing his arms over his head. "It's alright. I won't hurt you."

"S-sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for. I got you some clothes."

"Okay."

"Do you need any help or do you want me to wait outside?"

He shrugged. I turned around to face the door as he got changed, making sure not to look until he told me he was decent.

"Do you want some food?"

"I-food?"

"I have a burger in the fridge."

"A-a hamburger?"

"Yeah. You want it?"

"Please."

My gut twisted at the look he gave me. Huge, pleading eyes.

"Okay. I'll heat it up, come with me."

He held onto my arm again for support. He sat on the couch again as I put the burger in the microwave. I was going to say something, but my phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Dean! Somethings happened at the Novak house!" It was Sam.

I glanced at Castiel.

"What?"

"According to Charlie, Castiel ran away. You need to turn off all the lights and hide. Mr. Novak is on a rampage."

"Okay, Sam. Are you safe?"

"I'm fine. You're closer."

"Okay. Text me later."

"Yeah."

I hung up and grabbed the burger.

"We need to go to my room."

"It's my dad, isn't it? I should go. I shouldn't have tried to escape. I need to just give myself back..." He stood up and tried to run at the door.

"Hey, no. You can't go back out there. He'll kill you."

"I know. I deserve it. I'm so- I'm just a idiotic boy, I don't deserve to be alive."

"Cas, calm down. You can not go back out there. You do deserve to live. You are not stupid."

"Cas?" He looked at me quizzically

"Oh, is that okay?"

His face softened. He didn't smile, it didn't look like he had ever smiled, but his face softened.

"Yeah."

"Come on."

He followed me to my room, where I shut and locked the door. I opened my bathroom door and Cas went in first. I locked it behind us too. My bathroom didn't have a window, so I clicked on the light and shoved a towel under the door. I handed Cas his burger, which he took gratefully.

He was halfway done with the burger, which he was inhaling, when a loud pounding in the door caused us both to jolt a little. Cas covered his mouth with his hands and started shaking more.

"You're okay. You're okay." I whispered, pulling him into my chest.

A huge crash shook the house. Was that the fucking door?

"Castiel!!" Came a shout from down stairs

Cas clenched my shirt in his fist, trying to stifle his sobs by biting his other hand. I turned off the bathroom light but kept the door locked. I could hear footsteps moving up the stairs. There was a sudden bang bang bang on my bedroom door. Cas let go of me and scrambled to the cupboard under the sink. I nodded at him as he crawled in and shut the door behind him. I could hear the bathroom lock being picked. I hunkered down between the toilet and the bathtub.

"Castiel?"

There was so much adrenaline in my body I could barely work up tears. The door swung open and I turned on my best acting skills.

"Please! Don't hurt me!"

"Where is my son?" Mr. Novak grabbed my by my shirt collar and picked me up.

"Please! I have no idea! My brother called me and told me to hide I don't know why. Don't kill me!"

He scoffed and threw me back against the wall, leaving. I didn't move until I was sure he was gone.

"Cas?"

I opened the door. He fell out and wrapped his arms back around me. The hand he had been biting was bleeding.

"Okay. It's okay. He's gone."

A few minuets later, we heard sirens, then-

"Put your hands in the air! You're under arrest!"

Then there were more footsteps up the stairs.

"Hello?"

"In here, ma'm." Cas squirmed deeper into my shirt.

"Winchester, correct? And who's this?"

"Im Dean, yes. This is Castiel."

"The Novak boy?"

"Yes ma'm."

The officer crouched down next to us. Cas looked like he wanted to bury himself so far into my chest that he would just disappear.

"Castiel?"

"Y-yes ma'm?" He said into my shirt.

"Can you look at me please?"

He lifted his head up and moved around so he was facing the sheriff. He didn't make eye contact.

"My name is Jody Mills, and I'm not going to hurt you. We just want to take you in and ask you and Dean here a few questions."

He slowly nodded and lessened his grip on my shirt.

-

The police station smelled like metal. I don't know why, but that's the first thing I noticed. Smelled like iron. Cas wasn't clinging to me anymore, but he didn't seem very keen on leaving my side. Sam showed up and I gave him a hug. He wasn't allowed to stay long. They called me in for questions first.

"Dean. Take a seat please."

"Yes ma'm."

"So, when we found you and Castiel, he seemed pretty attached to you. Have you met the boy before?"

"No, ma'm."

"When did you first meet him?"

"About fifteen minutes before you found us. He showed up on my doorstep hurt, and I got him a fresh change of clothes and a burger."

"Did you knew who he was at the time?"

"Yes.. Yes ma'm."

"Why didn't you call someone when a boy who had obviously been abused, and who we had never been able to protect, appeared and begged for your help?"

"I honestly don't know. I guess I was sort of caught up making him feel safe, I didn't really think about it. He was terrified and stuttering and wet.. I didn't know what to do."

"And when did you find out his father was looking for him?"

"My brother, Sam, called me. He didn't know Castiel was with me, but he told me that Mr. Novak was mad and to hide."

"Why wasn't Sam with you?"

"He was spending the night with his friend Gabriel."

"So you hid in he bathroom."

"Yes."

"And James Novak broke into your house?"

"Yes."

"Did he attack you?"

"Yes."

"How did you manage to keep him from finding Castiel?"

"He hid under the sink. I told Mr. Novak I had no idea what he was talking about and he threw me against the wall and then left."

"Thank you, Dean."

"Sure, Sheriff Mills."

-

When Cas came out of the room, he was pale and his face was wet again. He sat back down next to me and leaned into me again.

"You did great, Cas."

"You weren't even there."

"I know you did great, Cas."

He smiled, a real genuine smile, and I smiled back. Maybe I could make his life even just the littlest bit better.