It's Sad to Eat Pie Alone

One

Castiel walked up the staircase, dodging around the other students, trying to make his way to his room. He was very nervous about his first day of college, especially since he had such trouble connecting with people. He started sweating every time he gave his roommate more than two seconds of thought. The idea of sharing a room with a stranger almost sent him into a panic. All he knew about his roommate was his name - Dean Winchester. When Cas found his room, he opened the door slowly, pulling his suitcase behind him. He made it through the door, but then the box in his arms fell, spilling its contents everywhere. Cas dropped to his knees, scrambling to pick everything up, barely noticing the other boy in the room.

"You need any help?" The boy asked, stepping forward and picking up one of Cas' books. Cas didn't look up.

"Assistance would be appreciated, yes." He and the boy packed everything back into the box and Cas put it on one of the beds.

"I'm Dean. You Casteel?" Dean asked, putting out his hand.

"It's pronounced Castiel..." Cas said, watching Dean's hand awkwardly without shaking it. Dean lowered his hand to his side.

"Okay Castiel, well, I'm at college now, so my first priority is to get wasted, get laid, and eat lots of pie, so I'll see you later," he said, and with that, he left the room, leaving Cas bewildered and not any less nervous than he was before.

***

Cas didn't see Dean much over the next few weeks, and when he did, Dean was mostly passed out on his bed. Dean was in Cas' Latin class, but Cas didn't pay him much attention. The arrangement worked fine for him, and he thought it worked for Dean, but then all of a sudden, Dean decided to change things.

"Okay, Novak, you've been sitting at that desk for weeks doing nothing but being productive. You're coming to a party with me," Dean said, shutting Cas' laptop as he was researching for one of his classes.

"I do not believe I shall be attending any parties tonight, or any other night for that matter, Dean," Castiel said. He tried to open his laptop again, but Dean held it shut.

"Dean, please leave me alone to my work," Cas requested.

"I'm not letting you spend another night alone with homework, Novak. The less you fight me, the sooner I'll leave you alone," Dean said. Cas sighed.

"Fine," Cas said, standing up and heading for the door.

"Hold on, you're not going to a party dressed like that, are you?" Dean asked. Cas looked down at his sweater and jeans, then glanced back up at Dean in confusion.

"I... was planning on it, yes," he said. Dean shook his head.

"No wonder you don't go to parties. You need some serious help, Novak," Dean said, opening Cas' dresser drawers and digging through them.

"Hey! You can't go through my clothes!" Cas protested. Dean just smirked and pulled a dark blue button-down shirt out of the drawer and handing it to Cas. Cas took it reluctantly and headed for the bathroom.

"Dude, We're roommates, if we can't start changing in front of each other, it's going to be a long year," Dean said, his left eyebrow raising slightly.

Cas didn't reply, simply shutting the bathroom door behind him. Dean shrugged. When Cas came back out, he set his carefully folded sweater on his bed and picked his phone up off his desk.

"May we please get this over with now?" Cas requested.

"Alright, Novak, calm down. My car is outside, let's go," Dean said. Cas followed him down to the parking lot where there was a '67 Chevy Impala waiting.

"This is my baby," Dean said, smiling proudly and patting the car's hood before sitting in the driver's seat.

"It looks very old," Cas observed, sliding into the passenger seat next to Dean.

"Are you trying to diss my ride?" Dean accused.

"I was not intending to insult you or your vehicle, Dean. I was just making an observation," Cas replied, looking uncomfortable.

"Good," Dean said, and he started the car. They didn't talk much on the way to the party, mostly because Cas made it rather clear he didn't want to. When they got to the party, Dean disappeared quickly into the crowd, leaving Cas alone next to the make out corner. Cas was very uncomfortable there, but he was afraid to move alone.

"You look like you're constipated." A girl with short red hair walked up next to Cas, making him jump.

"I, uh... I'm not really a party person. My roommate made me come," Cas told her.

"Hey, me too! Well, sort of. I dragged my roommate here against her will. I'm Charlie. Charlie Bradburry," the girl said, holding out her hand. Cas stared at it just like he had Dean's.

"My name is Castiel," he said. Charlie grinned.

"You're supposed to shake it, dumbass," she joked. Cas hesitantly reached out and gingerly shook Charlie's hand.

"Castiel, huh? That's a pretty unique name," she said. Cas nodded.

"Yes, I suppose it is," he said.

"You don't hang out around people much, do you, Cas?" Charlie asked. Cas shook his head, flinching as Dean and a brown haired girl backed past them, practically fused together at the lips.

"They look like they're having a good time," Charlie observed.

"Yes, I suppose Dean would enjoy this sort of setting," Cas said. Charlie raised her eyebrows.

"You know him?" She asked.

"That's my roommate," Cas answered.

"Wow. You two aren't very similar at all, are you?" Charlie said. Cas shook his head. Charlie opened her mouth to say something else, but then a drunk student ran into Cas, spilling his cup of beer all over the both Cas and himself.