Awkward

Who: Dean and Gabe
Where: MSHS corridors
When: Evening

So, they'd had a plan - Dean had met up with Caleb and Nic and they'd agreed that whever they were 'meant' to be staying for the night, they were actually breaking into the pool and kipping there, away from everyone else. So, they'd headed that way and dumped their stuff and now it was just a case of getting their allocations of blankets there as well, without being spotted by any of the staff and herded in with all the dross.

Dean had managed the first bit of his mission - he'd collected blankets and he had his rolled up under his arm as he headed back through the now fairly quiet halls. There were still students hanging around here and there, so actually doing homework in some of the classrooms he passed, others talking to friends and parents on cell phones, discussing the weather and the fact they were here for the duration. Dean ignored them all, as he normally did, hoping to pass completely unnoticed, though his bruising still drew stares.

Gabe was following a similar strategy: get blankets, then settle down elsewhere. As a human he wouldn't have been fond of the idea of camping out with the rest of the school, but as a werewolf that sounded like the worst idea ever. All those people in one place, all those conversations to overhear. He'd wouldn't have gotten even a moment of rest, so after obtaining his and Claire's blankets, he skirted off with the eventual plan to make it up to the library.

He was easily distracted, though, hearing bits and pieces of people on the phone, able to hear the voice on the other end just as easily. He was caught up listening to a news report when he turned down another hall and spotted Dean, heading towards him. Last he'd heard, Dean was elsewhere. Apparently that was no longer the case. At first, Gabe thought about saying nothing and just letting him pass, but guilt had been eating away at him every time he thought of what had occurred with Lullaby and Dean, and if there was ever a chance to say anything, now might be it. "Hey," Gabe said, his footsteps slowing as he got closer to Dean. "You got a minute?"

Dean slowed and then stopped as Gabe approached and then spoke to him. Had the other guy walked on by, Dean knew he would have let him go. As it was, he was fine with stopping and he nodded, glancing around to see who else was around, or could possibly within earshot. It wasn't like he and Gabe had anything they could really discuss that would come under 'normal' now, was it. "Sure - what's up?" he asked, he voice subdued and quiet as it normally was.

Gabe realized that talking to Dean was probably never going to be easy, but he'd rather speak up now than continue to let things go unsaid. "I wanted to apologize again," Gabe said softly, hyper aware of who might over hear them. "It might not matter, cause I don't really expect you to trust me, but I... I was just stupidly ignorant of the situation. I would never put her in danger." He didn't say who, but he knew Dean would know. There was only one person that Gabe had threatened in a highly idiotic fashion.

"You already did," Dean pointed out. "You didn't know what you were doing, but you did." But then again, so had he. By suggesting that stupid costume party in the first place, but there'd been something about it that he'd just wanted them to go. It wasn't even his type of thing, though he thought maybe he'd thought it would be her type of thing. Maybe. He'd just wanted to make her happy.

Gabe instantly regretted the apology. Dean didn't want it, it didn't make a difference, and it only made Gabe feel bad about it again. Apparently he just should have known better and there was no excuse for his ignorance. Clenching his teeth together, Gabe gave a stiff nod and continued on his way. He had better things to do than waste his time with someone that would probably turn around and do the same thing to him, just to get back at him.

Dean was tempted just to let the guy walk away. Was there really anything else to say? They could just avoid each other and that would be that. Except Oz was trying to help the guy and he was going through a hard time right now. Though the part of Dean that was extremely good at holding a grudge said that that wasn't his problem, the part of him that instinctively understood what Oz was on about when he talked about pack stood with his cousin, no matter what. He sighed slightly and shook his head. "We've both learned something about putting people in danger since then. How easily it's done," he said, quietly, though he knew Gabe would hear it - most people wouldn't have really been able to make it out, but he knew he would have done, so a werewolf should have no problems there.

Gabe turned, able to hear Dean perfectly and not entirely aware that he shouldn't have been able to hear him. It was something he was still getting used to, hearing whispers and remembering that they were whispers, that reacting and responding was not appropriate. It was easier in a crowded hallway, when he knew people weren't talking to him, but Dean couldn't have been speaking to anyone else. "It wasn't something I'd thought a lot about, or even realized how it could be twisted. I just... wanted to protect my own, and I thought you were threatening them." He realized now that that probably wasn't what had been happening, but in moments of anger Gabe wasn't the most logical of creatures. He was trying to get better now, keep himself calm and out of trouble, but this had been before. He'd definitely misunderstood.

Dean's jaw flexed slightly but he nodded, looking at the guy, taking a few steps closer. Gabe didn't know he knew what he was - and he wasn't telling. He was sure Gabe didn't trust him any more than he trusted Gabe - and, really, he didn't blame the guy. He had no reason to trust Dean, and it was better that he didn't, even if Dean was actually pretty damn trustworthy. Dean understood about earning trust, all round. So, not giving away secrets today. "Well, we were both in the same boat then," he offered.

While this was a little better, Gabe still wasn't sure he knew what to do now. It was an uncomfortable situation that he normally would have avoided, but he was also set on doing what was right. This felt right. "Will you let her know I'm sorry?" Gabe asked, stepping closer so that he could talk softly without worrying that Dean could hear him or not. "I didn't... I didn't handle things well. And I may have said things that were unintentionally uncaring. It was all just a lot at the time, but... my excuses don't help if I hurt her feelings." He couldn't recall exactly what he'd said, but he knew he hadn't treated her like a human at all. At the time, it hadn't occurred to him to worry about such things, but a lot had changed since then and he still felt bad about how he'd handled it. He hadn't known better, not completely, but that didn't change things from her end.

Dean nodded. "I'll tell her," he agreed. When the time was right, when he thought it wouldn't bring up issues she couldn't deal with. It might not be straight away, but he'd tell her. "It wasn't so much you hurt her feelings though, Gabe - you scared her," he told the other teen, wanting to get that out there. "She's always scared that people will find out. That they won't understand. And most people wouldn't - it's a hard thing to deal with, I know that."

"I know," Gabe sighed. He hadn't really meant to scare Lullaby. In fact, his threat had been meant to scare Dean and his reaction the night he'd met her was him being scared himself. But he was at the point where he was sorry for all of it, where he knew just how bad he'd fucked up, and he just wanted to be one thing that Lullaby and Dean didn't have to worry about. He had a new found appreciation for how much that sucked. "I didn't have a good appreciation of the consequences."

Dean really wished the guy didn't have to have that. That he didn't even have to know there was anything for there to be consequences for. It wasn't as if this life was easy. He wouldn't swap it for another - he'd tried that and it hadn't worked, but even so, he wouldn't wish it on anyone either. "Well, you have now. So, yeah," he gave, which was as much as he could allow. He wasn't known for being particularly forgiving.

"Yeah," Gabe said, not sure there was anything else to say. He'd made his peace, even if it didn't matter to Dean, and he could move on. He had blankets he needed to get up to the library. "Thanks for... listening," Gabe said, not sure exactly how to say it now. "I've gotta go. See you around." It wasn't that big a school, so he was sure they'd cross paths again. Maybe next time it wouldn't be quite so awkward. Or maybe not.

Dean shrugged a little. "Sure. Stay safe," he offered, biting back any other comments. He wasn't sure what else to say. He didn't know how really to treat the guy. Didn't really know how to treat most people at the moment. He always seemed to be second-guessing himself.