Sarah wanted to vanish. Castiel’s sudden closeness and his mother appearing out of nowhere left Sarah dazed. She didn’t know what to do, so she just stood there holding Tim. Castiel looked annoyed.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. “I know dad was supposed to come today but why are you here?”

“I finished the job early and came home for a quick visit because I miss you so much,” Castiel’s mother said and tried to hug her son, but he dodged the attempt. This gave her a chance to notice Sarah.

“Oh, Cassy, who is this young lady?” she asked and saw Tim, who looked surprisingly real from a short distance away. Immediately Castiel’s mother ran calculations in her head: strange girl + baby = Castiel has a child. All colour drained from her face.

“Castiel Armitage Thompson! What have you done?” she shrieked. Sarah flinched and Castiel stared at his mother wide-eyed. “I always thought you’d be smart enough to understand to use protection! I’m way too young to be a grandmother!” his mother continued with anguished tone. Becoming a grandmother in her forties was apparently the worst part of teenage son having a child. Before either Castiel or Sarah could speak, a tall man walked in the room. From the resemblance to Castiel and the pictures on the shelf, Sarah guessed he was Castiel’s father.

“What is going on?” he asked.

“Honey, I’ve always said we need to keep a closer eye on Castiel,” Castiel’s mum sobbed. “Look, your son has a child. You are a granddad!”

Sarah looked at Castiel who had frozen speechless. He stood still, face flushed red, and opened and closed his mouth. Sarah decided to solve the situation before Castiel, or her mother, had a nervous breakdown.

“Umm, excuse me. There has been a mistake. This isn’t a baby. It’s a doll. See?”

Castiel’s parents turned to look at her. She offered the doll for closer inspection. “We have a school project.” Castiel’s mum touched Tim’s plastic face with shaking fingers. When she realised the baby indeed was just a doll, she sighed deeply.

“Thank heavens,” she said and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “I thought Cassy had messed up big time. I think I overreacted a bit. How silly of me.”

“I apologise on the behalf of my wife. She can be emotional at times,” Castiel’s dad said with a soft smile. “You must be Castiel’s classmate. It’s nice to meet you. My name is Franz, and this is my wife Audrey.” He reached out his hand to shake it with Sarah.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Sarah,” she introduced herself and shook hands with Audrey as well. She had recovered quickly back to her positive self since she wasn’t a middle-aged grandmother anymore.

“Very nice to meet you. I hope my son has been treating you nicely,” she said. “Once again, I’m sorry. It’s been a long day of travelling and I think I’m a bit tired.”

“It’s alright. These look pretty realistic so it’s easy to misunderstand,” Sarah said and smiled. Castiel’s parents seemed nice. “But I think I’ll head home. I’m sure you have a lot of catching up to do,” she added and slipped past Castiel’s parents, heading towards the door. Castiel trudged behind her.

“I can take Tim so you can focus on spending time with your parents,” she offered. Castiel shook his head slowly.

“You already watched him all weekend, so leave him. You can stay too. Or take me with you. I don’t want to be here.”

“What? Why? You haven’t seen your parents in a while, right?”

“Yes, and I want it to be that way. You saw what my mum’s like,” Castiel hissed.

Castiel looked desperate but she couldn’t stay, and she absolutely couldn’t let Castiel come with her. Her mind was still boggled by what had happened. Her heart started beating faster just from thinking about it. No, she couldn’t be in Castiel’s company right now.

“Sorry, I have to go,” she said and pushed Tim to Castiel. She slipped outside before Castiel could say anything and hurried down the street. Her cheeks felt warm again. Memories of Castiel leaning closer, the feeling of warm breath on her skin and his hands on her hips made her feel flustered. What had Castiel been thinking about? Why would he come so close? He must’ve been teasing her. She did look at the pictures without permission, but it surely was a weird idea for punishment. But he had been annoyed when his parents interrupted them… It had to be because he didn’t like his parents. Yes, a good explanation. And the embarrassment? Probably because of the chance for misunderstanding which had happened. Yes, it all made sense. There was nothing weird about it. But still, her heart beat wildly, and walking quickly wasn’t the only reason for it.

When she got home, her mum was watching a romantic film on the tv. Sarah walked in the living room just as the couple was about to kiss. The man was resting his hands on the woman’s hips and her arms were wrapped around his neck. They gazed in each other’s eyes and slowly leaned closer. Sarah’s throat felt tight and her stomach pinched. Their noses brushed against each other and they stopped for a moment, hesitating. Sarah swallowed. Her mouth was dry. Then, the woman closed her eyes and cut the distance between their lips. A warm shiver spread from Sarah stomach to her body. She quickly turned around and hurried to bathroom. Her cheeks were burning, and she splashed them with icy water. Castiel had just been teasing her. Nothing more. It had been just a tease. Just a tease…

Sarah didn’t sleep well during the night. The events of the day kept surfacing in her mind, and she couldn’t shake the feeling of Castiel’s closeness and warmth. Thinking about Castiel increased her nervousness rapidly. She hoped she wouldn’t meet him before it’d be her turn to take Tim. She didn’t know how she’d react on seeing him and she didn’t want to freak out.

Her wish disappeared in the wind right after arriving at school. Castiel and Leon were talking in the hallway. Castiel looked annoyed while he talked, and Leon tried to hold back a laugh. They both had their dolls, and Sarah was happy to see that Castiel took care of Tim.

“Oh, hello Sarah,” Leon greeted after noticing her first. Sarah was forced to stop. “Castiel was telling about what happened yesterday.”

“R-really?” Sarah glanced at Castiel. Surely, he hadn’t told everything?

“I bet it was surprising to meet Audrey and Franz.”

“Oh…yeah. Especially when Castiel’s mum thought Tim was a real baby. She was really shocked,” Sarah said and laughed nervously. She wanted to get away quickly. Castiel’s look caused a weird pit in her stomach and her face was getting warm.

Amanda’s arrival gave Sarah a chance to slip away. She muttered German class as a reason to go and hurried off. She didn’t get far when someone touched her shoulder and sent a shiver down her whole body. It was Castiel’s hand.

“Wait.” Sarah stopped on the spot. Her heart beat nervously. What now?

“Can I come over today?”

Sarah felt like she had been clogged on the head. Her jaw dropped and for few seconds she couldn’t speak. Castiel was amused by her reaction which helped Sarah gather herself.

“Absolutely not. Why do you even want to?” Had Castiel lost his mind?

“Mum and dad are still home.” Castiel sounded like it should’ve been the most obvious explanation. “I don’t know if you remember but I don’t enjoy their company.”

“You still can’t just come over to other people’s houses.” Sarah shook Castiel’s hand off her shoulder and continued to walk towards her next class. She didn’t want to be late.

“That’s why I asked.”

“And I said, no way.” There was no way she’d let Castiel in her home. Not now, not ever. Couldn’t Castiel go for a walk or visit Leon instead?

“Why not?”

“Because mum is working. She has so many deadlines and she doesn’t want to be disturbed.”

“I wouldn’t come to see your mum,” Castiel said and made Sarah’s heart take a few wild beats.

“Who then?”

“I don’t know. A wall? Anything is fine.”

“Can’t you stare at a wall somewhere else? Like at Leon’s place?”

“He’s going to the movies with Amanda. And before you suggest, no, I won’t join them. They’re so lovey it’ll rot my teeth.”

“Why don’t you go somewhere by yourself? Take Ares for a really long walk.”

“Do you hate my company so much you can’t spend a few extra hours with me?” Castiel sounded hurt but Sarah was sure he did it for dramatic effect.

“I just don’t understand why you need me.” She liked spending time with Castiel, but she didn’t understand what was going on. Surely an 18-year-old guy could spend time by himself.

“You happen to be one of the least annoying people here,” Castiel said. Sarah assumed this was supposed to be a compliment but being called ‘less annoying than others’ didn’t flatter her.

“Oh well, that changes everything,” she huffed.

“Really?”

“Of course not! Go hide from your parents by yourself if you can’t be adult enough to spend time with them on the few days they can come see you.”

After saying that Sarah marched away. Castiel stayed behind and looked after her. Maybe it was a thrill of a heated discussion, but his cheeks felt warm and smile tried to climb on his face.

“Sarah, wait,” he called and hurried after her. He worried that she would keep going but she stopped. But someone else had her attention.

“Arthur!” Sarah smiled. The boy had called him while hurrying down the stairs. “Weird to see you outside of art class. How are you?”

“I’m great, just going to get myself some tea before class starts. Where are you going?”

“I have German.”

“Oh, wow. Good luck,” Arthur said and patted Sarah on the shoulder.

“Thanks, I need it,” she laughed. Castiel listened to their talk and felt a sting of irritation in the back of his head. He walked closer to them and Arthur noticed him.

“Oh, hi,” he said warily. Castiel ignored him.

“Sarah, about the thing we talked… Even an hour? Please.”

Sarah sighed. Castiel obviously didn’t want to spend time with his parents if he was using ‘please’ already. Maybe it softened her up, or she just found it hard to leave him in trouble.

“Fine. After school or later?”

“After school.” If they timed everything correctly, he’d come home right before her parents went out for dinner. They could spend little time together when they came back, and the next day they’d already head back to work. Luckily it was only a short visit for both. He’d back to enjoying his free life soon enough.

“What do you want to do? Go for a walk with Ares?”

“I’d have to go home for that.”

Sarah rolled her eyes. “What then? We go chew gum and spit in front of the grocery store?”

“Not a bad idea…”

“Seriously?” Sarah regretted her promise already.

“We can go for a walk, just the two of us.” Sarah’s cheeks flushed red and she turned her head to hide it, hoping that Castiel hadn’t noticed. Why would he want to be alone with her?

“Or maybe we go to the library to study?” she suggested. If she was forced to spend time with him, they could at least make use of it. “Arthur could come too…”

Arthur listened the discussion confused and concerned.

“I wouldn’t mind joining,” he said. Sarah didn’t look excited about whatever she had agreed on. He wanted to help her out.

Castiel glanced at him before concentrating at Sarah again. “Yeah, no thanks. Why would you even want to go to library? What are you, a bookworm?”

“Some of us want to get to college after high school.”

“There’s always time for studying. Let’s go for a walk.”

“I’ll think about it.” Sarah wanted to sound stern and show that she wasn’t easy to pull along. She had already given in twice. It’d start to eat her pride soon. But the look on Castiel’s face told he wasn’t going to give in easily either.

“I’ll wait you outside.”

“Feel free to go by yourself if you get bored,” Sarah said but the annoyance was already fading from her.

“See you later.” Castiel smiled and patted her arm as he passed by. Sarah tensed up from the touch. Castiel threw one last look at Arthur before walking away. Sarah sighed.

“What was that about? Is everything alright?” Arthur asked.

“It’s a long story. But everything’s fine.”

“He’s not forcing you to do something you don’t want to, right?”

“No, not at all. He doesn’t want to go home after school and for some reason needs me to keep him company.”

“Okay. You didn’t seem happy about it, so I thought…”

“Oh, I mostly complained for the sake of complaining. I can’t give in too easily,” Sarah smiled. “I don’t mind it. We go for walks almost every day.”

“You do?”

“Because of the doll project. Castiel walks his dog and I walk Tim.”

“Oh, okay. I’ve just heard rumours about him, so I got worried. Like, I’ve heard he’s in a gang.”

“Thanks for thinking about me but you don’t need to worry. People love coming up with stories about others. I’m 98% sure he’s not in a gang.” She hadn’t seen any evidence of it but she hadn’t spent more than a few hours with him. Castiel would still have many chances to participate in gang activities. But Sarah didn’t believe it. Castiel was harsh sometimes and he had a temper, but he was also smart enough to not involve himself in anything questionable. “Castiel’s a good guy.”

“Remember that you can always tell me if you need help,” Arthur said. It was a bit embarrassing to say out loud, but he wanted Sarah to know he’d be ready to help if needed.

“I will. Thank you. And same goes to you too. If I can help with something, let me know.” Sarah appreciated his offer. It was nice to have friends who cared.

Sarah happened to look at the clock on the wall. She had two minutes before class started. “Oh god, I have to go, or I’ll be late. Bye.” She waved at Arthur and ran off. Miss Kermer was a nice teacher, but she hated when people were late. She would always pick the latecomers to do conversation exercises with her, and Sarah didn’t want that. She could read and write the language well enough, but she wasn’t confident in her spoken German. Having a conversation with a native German teacher would be way too stressful. It was already hard with other students who were on the same level as her.

Sarah had to run to the other side of the school, and she arrived at the classroom door at the same time with Ms Kermer. Sarah smiled and tried to catch her breath.

“Guten Morgen,” she panted.

“Guten Morgen,” teacher replied when they walked in. Sarah sat down on her seat and fanned her face with her hands. Her cheeks were red, and she had broken a sweat. At least she wasn’t late.

She was taking out her books when her phone vibrated. She quickly glanced at Ms Kermer to make sure she didn’t notice that Sarah was on her phone. She didn’t approve phones during class unless it was for class work. The new message was from Castiel.

I can take you for a coffee if we go for a walk.

Sarah stared at the screen. Did Castiel try to bribe her?

I don’t drink coffee.

For a juice then. Or whatever it is you drink.

Tea. And you still owe me chocolate.

…. You’re a tough cookie. Fine, I’ll get you the chocolate too. Do we have a deal?

I guess.

Great.

Sarah slipped the phone back to her bag and turned to the right page on the book. Now she’d need to focus but it wasn’t easy. She kept thinking about the afternoon and the walk. Ms Kermer’s teachings fell mostly on death ears.