forum O/O with @Caustic-Fraust-is-The-Pokemon-Champion

Started April 14, 2020 by @MusicElle-is-here

tune

Brandon and Ian kept walking, off to go get slushees. They were only mean when Nick wasn’t around or wasn’t paying attention, which admittedly was kind of a lot.

Cas headed home and locked himself in his room. He hadn't quite opened up to his foster parents, so this wasn't really suspicious. He curled up in a tight ball on his bed and stared blankly at the wall. Not knowing how to read or write made it significantly harder to do homework.

Nick was still obliviously playing video games, not realizing what had just happened. Not everyone in his friend group were jerks, but Brandon and Ian’s awfulness had somehow escaped Nick.

Cas awoke the next morning and got ready for school. Once he gathered his things, he headed out and eventually reached the school.

Nick got off of the bus, eagerly searching for his friends. He spotted Jemma and Leo first thing and hurried over to them. “Where’s Brandon and Ian?” he asked.

Jemma shrugged. “Dunno,” she responded.

They were in the hallway, looking for Cas.

Cas pushed open the door and walked in, too focused on trying to read his schedule to notice Ian and Brandon waiting for him.

“Hey dimwit,” Brandon said, snatching the schedule out of his hands. “What a nice schedule. Were you trying to read it?”

“No, I think he was trying to think of ways to get out of it because he’s a dirty little sewer rat,” Ian added, laughing. Neither of them seemed to realize how dumb their banter sounded.

"Hey! Give that back!" Cas tried to grab his schedule back, but Brandon was holding it above his head, so it was far out of his reach. "I need it! And I'm not a sewer rat! Fuck off!"

“Looks like you’re too short to reach it, sewer rat,” Brandon taunted, grinning idiotically. Ian laughed at that, smirking at Cas.

Cas glared at him and kneed him hard in the balls. "Say that again, bitch!" He growled. "And get another dose of that!"

Brandon dropped the schedule, face contorted in pain. “You little shit,” he muttered, while Ian just laughed at his friend. Their eyes darted over to the middle of the hall, where Nick, Jemma, and Leo were coming towards them. The only one who had seen them yet was Leo, and he looked a bit annoyed with them.

Cas grabbed his schedule and bolted, his heart pounding. He thankfully remembered where his first class was and sat down in there, putting on an innocent expression.

Unfortunately for Cas, all of Nick’s friends had the same first period, including Brandon and Ian. Leo got on their case about messing with the new kid while Jemma and Nick talked about a book excitedly, not even hearing. Leo always gave Brandon and Ian crap for being mean, but not as much as he should to get them to actually stop. They all took their seats in first period.

Cas stared down at his desk intently when Nick and his group of friends came in, not wanting to make eye contact. He stayed silent, listening to the steady thump of his heartbeat pounding in his ears.

"Hi Cas!" Nick said cheerfully, causing Brandon and Ian to exchange smirks behind his back. The boy seemed completely oblivious.

Cas nodded in acknowledgement, but stayed silent. He figured that Nick did actually know and was just playing dumb, which was pretty annoying to him.

Nick frowned, but didn’t say anything because the teacher chose that moment to begin the lesson. As soon as she was done, he turned to Cas. “Is everything okay?”

Cas nodded stiffly and remained silent. He kept staring firmly at his desk, not bothering listening to the teacher considering he didn't understand even the basics of this subject.

Nick frowned, that nod making it obvious that Cas wasn’t okay. But what could he do to make Cas tell him what was wrong? They were in the middle of class and the two of them had barely met yesterday. He cast a concerned look in Cas’s direction before trying to pay attention.

Cas remained silent for the remainder of the class and left without saying a word when it was over. He started heading to his next class.

“Do you think that Cas is acting strange?” he asked Jemma, who shrugged.

“We barely know him, so I don’t know what classifies as strange,” she responded.

“He seems upset though,” Nick responded.

“Yeah,” Jemma agreed. “I hope that Brandon and Ian aren’t giving him a hard time.”

“What do you mean?” Nick asked.

“Sometimes they’re kind of mean,” Jemma replied. “Even you’re not thickheaded enough to not notice.”

“Are you saying they’re bullying him?” Nick asked, instantly a bit angry.

“I don’t know.”

Cas held his things close to his chest and looked around warily, trying to make sure that Brandon and Ian weren't around. He seemed nervous despite his annoyed manner. He was worried that Brandon would rat him out and he'd get expelled on his second ever day of school.

Nick frowned. Ian and Brandon wouldn't actually bully someone, would they? Nick knew that they sometimes teased new kids a bit, but outright bullying was something that he hadn't thought them capable of. They'd grown apart in the past year, so maybe Nick just wasn't seeing it. He had to find out. Unfortunately, Ian and Brandon had different second hours than him, so he would have to wait a bit.