Paint Me Whole

Chapter One

Ahhh! I'm so excited! This is my first story I have actually decided to publish here. I hope you all like it!

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"This is it," Castiel mumbled just loud enough for a passing student to give him an odd look as he cautiously walked by. Subconsciously, Castiel straightened his light blue button up shirt the best he could and attempted to tame his 'has-a-mind-of-its-own' hair, but to no avail his dark hair remained in a ruffled bedhead manner. It was Castiel's first day at this university and he wanted to appear as normal as possible. This was his fresh start. He needed this to be his fresh start, hence his decision to attend a university half way across the United States, far away from his dysfunctional family and his hostile hometown. The memories from last year sent him mentally cringing. Shaking off the thoughts, Castiel entered the small studio. Half the room was eye blindingly bright while the other remained dim as spot lights were trained on a few easels resting in the corner. Large wooden tables covered in old peeling layers of paint in every color imaginable filled the room. Despite being early, the room was already almost completely full. Students sat in pair at the tables. Swallowing past the lump in his throat, Castiel made his way to one of the empty tables in the center of the room. Sitting down, he spread out his notebooks and writing utensils. It wasn't long before a petite red headed girl flung her Adventure Time messenger bad across the table, skewing his pens. Castiel fixed his pens before sending a glare at his new table partner.

"Sorry dude," the girl laughed sitting down in the empty seat. "Hope you don't mind if I sit here." When Castiel didn't reply the girl continued to ramble. He didn't really know what she was yakking on about but he was pretty sure it had something to do with Harry Potter. He watched the girl bounce around in her seat excited about whatever she was talking about. Her vivid red hair and murky green eyes seemed to glow under the spotlighting. Despite the fact that he was as straight as a slinky, the strange girl he knew nothing about was stunning. He could watch her all day. Her bubbly personality somehow calmed him down, pushing away the unwanted feelings and memories he wished he could forever bury. "...what about you?"

Castiel cocked his head to the side confused. Lost in thought, he had missed the whole conversation. Ashamed and slightly embarrassed, he looked down at the desk as he fiddled with the spiral of his sketchpad. "Sorry...what?"

"Charlie. The name's Charlie. What about you Dumbledork? What's your name?" Charlie chuckled as she waited for him to catch up.

"Oh, I'm Castiel. Castiel Novak." Castiel instinctively stuck out his hand, but quickly mentally regretted it. Dummy! What were you thinking? A handshake, really? Charlie gave him an odd look before meeting his lonely slightly shaking hand. She smiled back at him.

"Hmm, cute and well mannered. I knew there was a reason I felt compelled to sit next to you. Well, it's nice to meet you Castiel." Taken back by the compliments, Castiel nodded his head in response. "So what are you in for? I heard Professor Rowena is a real witch, if you know what I mean," Charlie mumbled the last part as her eyes darted around the room looking for their teacher. "So you aren't here by choice. I mean unless, you're going to be the next Picasso. Are you the next Picasso? Because if you were, I would be even more excited to say that I went to art school with you. However, everyone here thinks they are the next Picasso these days. I, myself, prefer the work of Van Gogh if we're being honest here. Such a sad man, but his paintings, those are something to idolize." Charlie took in a deep breath. "Ha here I am scaring you off already. I'll shut up now." Charlie mimicked the action of zipping her lips shut and tossing away an imaginary key over her shoulder.

He hadn't planned on attending an art school; never even crossed his mind before, his parents always pushing for another med or law degree in the family, but after what his brother liked to call his quarter life crisis, Castiel dropped out of the Pre-Med program and decided to pursue his new dream in art. Who cared if it was a dead end job career...well except his parents. They were enraged that he was throwing away thousands of dollars away in scholarships along with the title of such a prestigious career, but soon they realized that there was no way to talk him out of his sudden decision. They couldn't deny that his drawings weren't amazing, but to them art was a hobby. Not a lifestyle.