AU in which the apocalypse and angels and demons never happen, and Sam and Jess and Dean live together in a suburban lifestyle -- and then suddenly, nothing is alternate universe at all. Told from Sam's POV. Dean is compelled to tend a dead rose garden, if only Dean could remember why; and remember why it is so important.

It's 1995, and Castiel's high school years are destined to be difficult: home-schooled until eighth grade, he is awkward, shy, and socially inept. The weird kid with the funny name would rather isolate himself and draw in his sketchbook than deal with the constant bullying he faces every day. Things only get worse in his junior year when he excels in home economics class, leading the captain of the baseball team, Alastair, to start taunting him for being gay. Then new student Dean Winchester arrives at Flour Bluff High School, sharing many of Castiel's classes. Castiel has seen his type before -- handsome, athletic, arrogant, and sure to be the most popular kid in school. But Castiel eventually learns that he and Dean have more in common than he thought, and they form an unlikely friendship. This story was originally published October 20, 2010 as part of the Dean/Cas Big Bang Challenge. Warnings: Bullying, homophobic language, some violence related to bullying. Cover for this story comes courtesy of @_thebat

War. Cold, unyielding war. Sometimes, cowardice can save your life. Sometimes, hiding while the world fell apart is the only way survival could be possible. For Gerard, that was the only option available. And so he hid for weeks until, one day, he arose from his shelter and began his life as the last man on Earth. Collecting, roaming, searching, and praying that one day he will die quietly from old age, even though he knew that would never happen. His solitude went on for weeks and weeks and months and months and Gerard stayed in a cycle of light and dark. Until the day when the last man on Earth realized he was not alone.

Frank Iero has just started work at Glenside Mental Institute, New Jersey. All seems easy enough, until he's assigned to the new patient, Gerard Way. [only read if you canstand chapters shorter than frank himself]

"Rose, I'm sorry, but your eyesight will be gone by the end of this year." Who knew one simple sentence could change a life so drastically? Rose is a normal seventeen year old girl with a normal life, normal friends, and what she thought to be normal vision. When she receives the news her vision is slowly deteriorating, she doesn't know what to think. Her life is over. What's a life without being able to see? Enter Chace, a young man who tackled Rose to the ground, mistakingly thinking she was about to commit suicide. He's handsome, suave, and has no idea why Rose is so upset. And even though she is a complete stranger, he decides he wants to help her feel better. With four months until her vision is gone forever, Rose slowly falls in love with this happy-go-lucky young man, but never reveals her problem to him. She's scared. Will he stay with her when he finds out she's going blind? Or will he ditch her when he finds out the truth?