In The Works

Prologue:

The Winchesters lived a quiet life.

A dull one. Not at all happy, if you asked either of the two brothers. Aside from the occasional visit from Sam's best friend (who lived about ten miles away, inconveniently) and Dean's girlfriend (that changed weekly), there was nothing to do.

That's basically how their childhood went. Two brothers, a dead mom and a usually absent father. That was them.

Let's skip ahead by a few years.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The last day of highschool for Dean was kind of.. Surreal. Boring, though, to sum it up. Dean didn't get laid, and Sam obviously hadn't, ever. He'd still be there for a few years. Sam had spent the day with Gabriel and the crew, while Dean just sort of.. Moped.

Nowadays, Dean didn't have much of a motivation in life. Lisa had moved away three months ago (surprisingly, he seemed to have a speedy recovery from that escapade) and Benny Lafitte (his former best friend) had just turned out to be a homophobic, traitorous, objectifying douchebag wrapped up into a good-for-nothing lying bastard of a human being. Yeah, he hated the guy that much. It was only fair-- Benny had apparently betrayed Dean for some skank in Wisconsin after finding out that the older Winchester might've been a /little/ gay (Benny 'wasn't even his type', either, according to Dean). There wasn't any way that the brothers would tell their father, though. Never. And especially not after the middle school incident, where Dean 'sort of' had a crush on the gym teacher. No, it was not the stereotypical hot-yoga-chick gym teacher you'd think he would have the hots for. No. It was a buff, sweaty, tall (well, tall in Dean's eighth-grader perspective) man with black hair and blue eyes. Dean had only brought it up once, and he can remember what he said (or, at least, what he tried to say in the most conversational way he could muster), "Mr. C is actually really se--"

He cut himself off at the dinner table with a cough and a large gulp of water, wide eyed at what he could have muttered. He knew how to cover things up, though. "... Strict. He's actually really strict." He said with a straight face, looking down at his steak. He didn't want to see his dad's face right then. Or his brother's, for that matter. He couldn't look over to his mother for some type of guidance, she wasn't there.

As everyone in his school knew, his mother was dead-- a house fire in their old Kansas City home had taken her.

Thankfully, they had soon found another house in the vicinity so that they could still go to the same school. It didn't seem like it, but a lot of things changed after that. The Winchester brother's father became more of an alcoholic than he was before (if that was possible), and was hardly ever at home. The times that he was, though, he'd be hammered drunk, or very hostile.. Or both. Dean had always questioned running away. How long would it take for John to notice in the first place? Most likely days. Weeks? He had a sudden interest in knowing, but he also knew that he had to be here for Sammy. For Sammy-- that's what he told himself. He'd do it for Sammy. It didn't always make him happy in the end, but that didn't honestly seem obtainable for Dean.

It wasn't very long before they were both out of school and into college. Dean was going for mechanics (the only thing he thought he was good at, besides cooking), and Sam had told him that he wanted to be a lawyer.

8 and a half years later (as restless as Dean was, he still waited until Sam had graduated before they went looking for another institution to waste themselves in for another few years), that's what the brothers ended up with. They had found a college with both of their interests included, and with a pretty decent campus. Perfect. Sam had friends, too.. It's what Dean wanted for him. His little brother was happy, now what he had to do was... The hardest thing on his mental to-do list. Making himself happy. Who, why, what, when... Those were left unanswered for now. Dean didn't like these kind of guessing games.

He knew he'd always lose.

And, going to college? That made this guessing game infinitely harder.












Chapter One

For Sam Winchester, college was pretty simple. He went by three plain, straightforward guidelines: Get your work done, don't get into useless drama and/or relationships, and stay away from full-time jobs.

Somehow, he managed to stray away from all three of those previously mentioned guidelines. It was only the second week of college for him, and he couldn't believe how many of his highschool classmates had followed him there. It was... Intriguing, actually. He never had 'followers' before, not in this sense. Cool. Now, he found himself looking up and down at a faded shop front. It was a Sunday, relatively quiet around this area (The Waterworks district, a shopping center that you can get to via car or bus-- walking distance from their university-- in a more.. Abandoned-ish alleyway. It just gave off /that/ kind of vibe), save for Sam's idiot friends loudly chatting (whom had insisted on dragging themselves along) being up to no good.

Gabriel Milton, his older but dwarf-like roommate-- former childhood friend (but he still is, the single thing that's changed is the scenery, he was sure of it) was already on the phone with a contractor, apparently, while Chuck and Garth were talking about comic books, getting laid, and the like. Dean was nowhere to be found (didn't Sam text him an hour ago?) and, even though he didn't really know him yet (at all, to be honest), he had invited his brother's roommate, too. Castiel. It had only seemed fair.. He'd probably get to know him better as the months progressed. Ash and Becky were leaning on the dusty window sills of the unnamed establishment, talking about God-knows-what. Jo was standing beside him, humming as she looked over the place once more (she was still a Senior in high school, but she was also at the legal age to work. Sam would be alright with a younger girl working the register-- he knew her well, so trust came naturally).

He huffed out a mildly annoyed sigh. If only Bobby were here right now (their college, The University Of Kansas, was about 5 hours and 40 minutes away from Sioux Falls. There was no way in Hell that Bobby would drive out that far. Not even if his life depended on it.), he was smart. And he was like a dad to Sam. Maybe if he called, and begged. Maybe...

The only thing that the younger Winchester happened to be a little anxious about was the burger joint directly across the street. It was called 'Burgatory' and it looked.. Relatively new, from what Sam could see. The view from the front windows assured him of that-- it was completely empty, void of chairs, tables, registers-- nothing. The name did sound pretty catchy, though. He hoped that the competition, if there would even be any, wouldn't get too intense. Because, it was just two restaurants, not anything special. /Things can't turn out so bad, can they? It's only food./ He thought, skimming through his phone's contact list in search of the only Bobby he had in it.

Boy, was he wrong.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Meanwhile, Dean Winchester was still getting settled in.

He didn't think he /would/ ever get 'settled in'. This.. This was all so new. His surroundings... And /him/. Two weeks into his first year, and he was already going crazy. The first day that Dean actually started college, he wasn't even in his room for more than 5 minutes (to drop off boxes and brush his teeth). He hadn't seen his roommate. Not until now, when the guy was friggin' /cooking/. Cooking, for Dean and himself, at-- what time /was/ it, even?! Five-- six in the morning? ... Something like that. All in all, when he woke up that day (in his own bed; a miracle) to the smell of eggs and pancakes, he couldn't help but be curious as to /why, who, and what?/

The sight of his new roommate struck him like a mallet over his head. Though it was probably because of his hangover, he felt.. Dazed, to an extent. Flushed. Ridiculous for staring, too, of course. Should he say something? Did he even have the capabilities to say something?

Dear God.

Not only was the man cooking breakfast, but he was doing that in a pair of boxers and a tight grey t-shirt. Was Dean actually living in a porno this time? Like-- for real?

He cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Uh.. Hey."

The man turned, and seemed slightly alarmed by Dean's presence.

"Hello."

Holy shit. Dean was not expecting... That.

Holy shit. Holy shit. He was not going to survive. No, there wasn't a chance. Maybe it wasn't too late for a dorm change... Was it?

Apparently, Dean had been staring for too long without a reply, so the man had turned his attention back to what he was cooking on the stove. Well.. At least the guy's eyes weren't boring into his skull anymore. Christ-- he was frozen to the spot in which he stood on the dorm room's hardwood floor. No. Nope. He needed to get breakfast somewhere else. There was no way he could sit through it with that guy. Not today, anyway. He ran a hand through his hair, letting his eyes linger on the other man's ass for a few moments longer before walking back to his room.

Maybe he could just... Stay in bed for the rest of the day. Deal with his problems later. Yeah, procrastination always tends to work out well... In his experience, at least. Dean sighed, looking up at his bare bedroom ceiling, when he suddenly remembered-- had he checked his phone yet? He shot up, head whipping over to look at his nightstand. He picked up his cell phone and unlocked it. Shit. Four missed calls from Sam. Two voicemails. He decided to listen to the first one, putting the phone up to his ear.

"Hey, Dean! Was wondering if you wanted to come down to The Waterworks with me and the old gang. You can take Castiel if you want to, too.. I guess. Anywho, call me back as soon as possible!" Beep!

What the hell was that all about? 'The Waterworks'? He'd never heard of that place before.. Maybe it was a bar. Hopefully. He put on a decent pair of jeans and a faded Led Zeppelin tee, then went to go check it out.