Chapter One:

Castiel Shirley Hates Mondays

The cave is dark. No sounds puncture the musty air. Shadowy creatures lie comatose in every corner and the only sign of life is the slow rise and fall of fabric as fearsome creature under it slumbers. The terrible monster turns in its sleep, and begins to make long, rumbling growls, its spindly claws twitching and reaching for something that isn't there.

Suddenly, a fearless hero appears, clutching the monster's only weakness: A freezing, dripping, sunshine-yellow face towel. With cat-like agility, and a total disregard for her own life, our graceful hero enters the monster's den, her only companion in this troubling time; her sidekick, the noble Princess Anna of Purple-Scalextrics. The hero, Lady Hannah of LemonCloth, approaches the beast. With commendable steadiness, Lady Hannah looms over the creature, and launches her attack.

The moment the icy cloth hits the monsters tanned skin, it awakens. The ear-splitting roar is met with cackles of victory from our two heroines, and they run for their lives, revelling in their success.

Castiel trudges after them, cloth in hand. Hannah and Anna are long gone, probably to the safety of their well-stocked fort commonly known as the kitchen, and he knows there's no use running after them. That doesn't mean he won't get them back, eventually. He grabs his uniform and wastes no time claiming the bathroom as his own.

When he does emerge from the bathroom he's met with a queue. Zachariah pushes past him, and Lucifer, the eldest in the home, who a devilish knack for weedling blackmail information from even the sweetest souls, glares. "Why'd you take so long?"

"Blame Hannah and Anna; they woke me up." He grins, saying his piece louder than he needs to, guaranteeing that everyone in the house knew who was really to blame. Hurtling down the stairs and into the dining area, Castiel takes a strategic spot closest to the door.

"Hey, Cassie! How are you, this most glorious of mornings?" Anna's ever-irreverent snob-voice made Hannah giggle as the two of them took seats opposite him. Anna ruffled the younger girl's hair and stole a croissant from the middle of the table.

"Simply wonderful, thank you for asking, Anna. I will make you regret every single one of your life choices. Fair warning." The bitter-sweet grin never left his face, and Hannah retorted with a goofy face and mocking sound. "You laugh now, but just you wait. Remember, my dear, revenge is a dish best served cold."

"Ca! Up!" Ezekiel, the youngest resident at Garrison Care Home for Young People, and Castiel's own personal limpet, waddled up to the boy. Castiel smiled at him and picked him up, plonking him in his highchair carefully.

The room slowly filled up as people awakened, and eventually they were all there, pouring cereal and buttering toast. The room seemed to have and invisible live down the middle, dividing it into 'Early birds' and 'Night owls', half chattering animatedly, and half throwing glares to anyone that dared to mention what time it was. Castiel was lucky enough to find himself on the 'fuck-off-before-I've-had-food' side, and began to think.

Next to him, on his left, there was Ezekiel, slowly eating the weird, porridge-like food that one gives to small children. Ezekiel had wisps of blond-ish hair, and bright blue eyes that shone from pale skin. Master of baby-talk and snot, Ezekiel [S1] had worked out that if he made what Lucifer referred to as 'puppy-eyes', then anyone within a few feet would bow to his every whim.

On Ezekiel's other side, at the far left of the table, sat Hannah, the second youngest at age six. She had dark hair and eyes, and loved the colour pink. Obviously. Although, recently, she'd been in favour of blue because that was the colour, shed sternly told him over imaginary tea one time, that the Ice Queen wore when she sung the musical masterpiece in the latest princess movie. Of course.

Then there was Zachariah, who was trying desperately to solve a puzzle in a Scooby Doo book while not spilling cheerio's everywhere. He started to argue when Raphael correctly suggested that the answer to the puzzle was 'Great Dane'. Zachariah's most prominent feature, Cas pondered, was probably his gobby mouth.

Anna was picking at the thread of Lucifer's jumper, and the two were squabbling playfully, as Anna was picking at the thread of Lucifer's jumper, and the two were squabbling playfully, as Anna's bright red hair trailed in her food. They were the eldest residents in the home, Lucifer being Castiel's other biological brother. It was the three of them: Lucifer, Castiel, and-

"Hey, Cassie!" Gabe grinned through a mouthful of-

"Is that caramel? Gabriel, it's not even eight!" Castiel chastised. "And don't call me that!" Gabriel was a year and a half younger than Castiel, but acted like he was everything that was right with the world.

"Aww, wassup, Cassie? Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" Lucifer teased. Castiel ignored him.

These, Castiel sighed into his oatmeal, were the people with which he chose to spend his time. Not that a lot of other people talked to him.

This was going to be a long Monday.

One of the carers in the home, a stern woman named Naomi, raised her voice from the hall. "You have to leave soon if you're going to get to school on time!"

The portion of the room she was talking to let out a synchronized groan.

Castiel was a sophmore, as well as Gabe (obviously), and Balthazar. Castiel and Balt finished eating and pulled each other out the door. Raphael, the only sophomore, trudged after. Gabriel was last to leave, sparing a second to sneak Hannah and Zeke, the youngest of the group and both middle schoolers, a piece of caramel each.

The trek to their high school was not a long one. It took five minutes, in which Balthazar had miraculously managed to mess Castiel's hair up more than it already was. Castiel had thrown him off good naturedly, but it was too late. The birdsnest was back with vengeance.

They'd managed to get all the way through the doors of the school when Castiel's day plummeted. Hey, new record.

"Castiel, honey, can you do me a favour?" One of the receptionists called.

He sighed inwardly, nodded farewell to Balthazar and Gabriel, and swung his gaze to the woman. "Yes?"

"I'd like you to show a new student round the school today, if you wouldn't mind," she said, as if he had anything better to do.

"OK, I will." He nodded, and she smiled.

"Dean, come here, hun, now, this is Castiel, he..."

Whatever the lady said next was lost on Castiel. The boy in front of him was stunning, as much as a teenager could be. He had blondish hair that framed his features brilliantly. Green eyes, a plethora of shades that Castiel could lose his way in, and no doubt held secrets beyond imagination, studied him cautiously. Freckles scattered his face and neck like stars in the sky, and Castiel was left breathless.

"So, Cas, where to?"

Shit.

[S1] Anna(17), Lucifer, (17) Balthazar(15), Castiel(16), Gabe (15), Raph(14), Zach(10), Hannah(6) , Zeke (18 months)