“Well, the public high school here is a pretty good school,” Nick’s mom continued. “You’ll be fine.”
O/O with @Caustic-Fraust-is-The-Pokemon-Champion
"I hope you're right, ma'am… I've got a whole pile of homework at my house that I just don't have any clue how to do…"
“Isn’t that what you two were doing earlier?” she asked.
“We were studying for a different class,” Nick explained, casting a glance at Cas.
“You two must have quite the workload,” she responded.
Cas nodded a bit, looking down at the floor. "It's… it's a lot to try and do, especially so early in the year."
Nick’s mom nodded. “Don’t worry hon, you’ll get the hang of it.”
"You really think so, ma'am?" He asked softly. "I-I dunno… it seems really hard…"
“I’m sure!” she said with a smile. “And Nick can help you if need anything!”
Cas nodded a bit. "Okay… it's just… it's a really hard transition…" He sighed shakily. "It's different than I thought…"
Nick’s mom nodded, looking concerned. “Oh, it’ll be alright. Don’t worry.”
"I'm not… I'm not used to being around other people. It's been years since I'd lived with anyone. It's so strange…"
“Didn’t you live with your parents?” Nick’s mom asked, visibly confused.
Cas paled a bit. "Um… n-no, ma'am… I… um… I ran away from home three years ago. I-I have foster parents now, though."
“Oh,” she replied, looking a bit disappointed. Nick frowned, wanting to defend Cas but unsure how. “Well, you’re welcome here.” Nick could see the disdain on her face, and he felt awful about it. He tried to shoot Cas an apologetic glance.
"I… um… thank you…" Cas replied nervously, trying to figure out how to explain that he wasn't just done reckless delinquent. "I-I didn't just… I didn't just run away for no reason… my dad treated me… poorly, to say the least, and he was always drunk and I just… I couldn't take it anymore… but apparently he's dead now and I….I-I have no idea how to feel about it…" He sighed shakily.
“Oh, honey,” Nick’s mom responded, her eyes widening. “You poor thing.” And while she clearly felt bad for Cas, Nick suspected that she wouldn’t want Cas anywhere near him now. Or at least she wouldn’t be happy about them hanging out.
"I'm… I'm really sorry, ma'am… I shouldn't be forcing my problems on you… you seem like very nice people and I have no right to do that…" Cas said weakly, staring down at the table.
“Cas, it’s okay if you need someone to talk to,” Nick burst out, looking at him with concern before his mom could say something dumb and not helpful like “be positive”.
Cas jumped a bit at the outburst and cowered a bit again. "I-I'm sorry, I just… s-sorry…" He whispered in reply.
Nick’s mom continued to eye him with a mixture of concern and disdain. “Cas, it’s okay,” Nick said softly. “You don’t have to apologize.”
"I couldn't… I-I couldn't stay there…" Cas whispered shakily. "H-He'd have killed me…"
“Cas?” Nick asked, noticing the other boy drift off.
"It… it was my only option at that point, I swear… I-I didn't want him to kill me… I couldn't be there anymore…"
“Cas?” Nick repeated, slightly louder. His eyebrows were raised with worry.
Cas looked over at Nick nervously, his eyes shining with tears. "I don't… I don't wanna die…" He whispered shakily.
Nick looked into Cas’s eyes. “You’re not going to die, Cas,” he responded. “You’re not with your dad anymore; you’re safe.”
"I-I know, I know… s-sorry…" Cas rubbed at his eyes a bit, drawing in a few wavering breaths to try and pull himself back together.
“Do you need anything?” Nick asked gently. “Like some more water?”
"Um… s-sure… I'm… um… I'm sorry, again…" He stammered nervously.
Nick went to get him some more water. “Don’t worry about it,” he said as he left the room.
Cas closed his eyes and sighed when Nix left, trying to clear his mind. He really didn't want to be thinking right now.