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

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

tune

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.

Cas managed to find his next class and sat down, ready to just sit awkwardly in silence and take in zero information as usual.

At lunch, Nick made it his mission to hunt down his friends. He found Brandon, but Ian was nowhere to be seen. "Hey, so I heard that you like to pick on new kids," Nick said to the other boy.

Brandon raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, so?"

"Pick on them isn't just code for bully them, is it?" Nick asked, studying his friend's face.

"No, of course not," Brandon lied easily. Nick still wasn't convinced.

Cas was sitting alone as usual, barely picking at his lunch. His stomach growled loudly, but he didn't want to be stupid and scarf everything down. Instead, he ate slowly with trembling hands.

Ian appeared behind him suddenly with a grin. “Hey dumbass,” he said, announcing his presence as he walked into Cas’s line of sight. “Table for one again?” He started laughing.

Cas rolled his eyes and flipped him off. "Piss off unless you want the same treatment as your friend."

"Oh, I'm so scared," Ian said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "What are you gonna do, leprechaun? Find me a pot of gold?" That was when Nick happened to look over and notice what was happening. He frowned, standing up to go break things up before they got too serious.

"I'll kick you in the balls as well, and unless you're planning on being infertile, I'm assuming you'd rather I didn't. Piss off."

"What's with the sour attitude?" Ian taunted, noticing his friend drawing within hearing range. "We were just having a chat."

Cas just glared at him and faced forward again, keeping silent for now. He noticed Nick approaching as well.

"What are you doing, Ian?" Nick asked suspiciously.

"Just talking," Ian replied, looking as innocent as he could.

Cas rolled his eyes, staying silent other than a quiet scoff. That's rich…

“It doesn’t look that way,” Nick said, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

“Then what does it look like, Nick? Are you accusing me of something?” Ian asked, getting a bit angry.

Cas glared down at the table, still heavily annoyed. Mostly by Ian, but Nick was pissing him off as well.

Nick bit his lip. He hated confrontation, but if he didn’t say anything Ian and Brandon would keep bullying him. “You have to stop bullying him,” Nick said.

I can take care of myself… Cas sighed softly, but kept quiet. He really just didn't feel like dealing with this right now.

Ian laughed. “You’re so stupid, Nick,” he replied. “I can’t believe it took you this long to notice. It’s almost like you wanted us to pick on those kids.” Nick bristled, angry.

“Don’t say that!” Nick cried in response. At this point the two of them were focused on each other, ignoring Cas completely.

Cas sighed, exasperated. "Can you two bicker somewhere else? The bitching is getting pretty annoying."

They both looked at Cas now, Nick ashamed and Ian annoyed. “Maybe you can move your annoying little ass somewhere else,” Ian responded.

“Can you stop being a jerk? I wanted to believe that you weren’t actually bullying people, but clearly people change,” Nick sighed. “Let’s just leave Cas alone.”