Given the recent addition of Sabriel content, I decided to write a fic. The world always needs more Sabriel. Part credit to one of my friends for most of the plot points and editing! I really appreciate reviews. Let me know what you want to see! I'll be slow to update so please stick with me.

For two years, I have been preparing for college. Taking all the right modules, studying to the point of having no social life, and choosing the right college. But in the stress of it all, I lost sight of how quickly the first term was coming around. Now, I'm sitting in my new dorm, things unpacked, and I have no idea where the time has gone.

I wander over to the window to soak in my view for the next year. I can see the quad which has a few large oak trees lining it, which would provide good shade from the sun. The quad is surrounded by the main faculty buildings, including the library. I spent most of high school finding sanctuary in the library, and I get the feeling that pattern will repeat itself. I've never really been a natural at making friends. It's usually easier just to keep myself to myself. Keep my head down and work hard.

After an hour or so of putting it off, I decide to make my way into the communal area and meet my new flatmates. As I enter the room, I see a girl with long blonde hair sitting in the arm chair with her back to me. She's looking at her phone so doesn't seem to hear me walk in. I walk round the side of the arm chair and lean down slightly to the side so she can see me.

"Hey, I'm Sam. I believe we're flatmates for the year."

She looked up from her phone and smiled at me.

"Hi Sam! I'm Ruby. It's great to meet you. Have you only just arrived?" She looked at me with a soft smile on her lips.

"I got here about two hours ago. I've been moving all my stuff into my room, getting it right and all that. How long have you been here?"

"I arrived yesterday. Early move in. My parents went to Europe today so we had to move my stuff yesterday. How do you feel on your first day? Ever lived away from home?" She asked inquisitively, her smile beaming at me.

"Umm… I haven't lived away from home, but my family has moved around a bit." I moved over to the sofa next to her and sat down. Given the price of college, I had hoped the furniture would be more comfortable.

"So what modules are you taking this term, Sam?" She said, running her fingers through her hair.

"I have no idea, to be honest. I'm pre-law so it'll have to be geared towards that, but I don't know. How about you?"

Ruby smiled. "I'm doing journalism, so mostly writing-based. I tell you what, all the professors have taster sessions this week so you can try out their course before you make your choice. Why don't we try a few out? I already have mine chosen, but I don't mind coming with you to see what they're like."

It seemed a little odd that Ruby would want to come to taster sessions with me for modules completely unrelated to her course, but if it was how I was going to make my first friend then I was going to go with it. And to be honest, it would be nice to know someone in the room.

We first tried out the class run by a professor Clayton about property law, but it quickly became apparent to me that property law is just as dull as it sounds. I looked at Ruby as we left the class. I'm sure I could see some sleep appearing in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry. I had no idea it was possible for one man to make half an hour seem like an eternity."

Ruby looked over at me with a deadpan expression, and then burst into laughter. "This is the course you want to take? Are you serious? This will be your life for the next few years!"

I considered defending my choice in course, but realised it was probably pointless. "Look, there's a Latin taster in an hour. Whatever modules I choose, this one will be really helpful. And hey, no one can be more boring than that guy!"

Ruby looked up at me through her upper lashes. It felt as though her stare was going to burn though my head.

"Seriously? Watching grass grow would be more exciting. I'm amazed I didn't actually fall asleep in there."

Ruby's comment made me chuckle. She wasn't wrong. The guy seemed to have a talent for making every sentence sound incredibly dull.

"You don't have to stick around if you don't want to. I realise these classes probably won't interest you. Why don't you go back to the flat and we can meet up later?"

Ruby's face dropped ever so slightly. Maybe I misjudged her interest in law. No, that couldn't be right. She practically heckled the last guy. Someone interested in a topic doesn't make fun of the professor.

"I've not exactly got anything better to be doing. Anyway, I have a whole 24 hours over you on knowing where to go. I can show you where the next class is. Ruby looked up at me with wide eyes and that soft smile she used when we met.

"Well, I'm not going to object to that."

This seemed to be the right thing to say as Ruby was now smiling from ear to ear.

"Do you fancy grabbing a coffee before the next class? There's a little coffee shop by the quad which serves the best coffee I've ever tasted."

"Sounds like a plan." Quite frankly, I needed the caffeine after that.

We wandered slowly towards the coffee shop discussing each other's coffee orders. Ruby preferred soy milk, and all the added shots, and cinnamon, and everything else you could think of, and seemed almost offended at my choice of a simple cappuccino with no extras.

Once we had our drinks, we sat down at a table in the corner by the windows so that we could watch all the people walk by. It was only the first day of term, but the campus was already buzzing with activity and life.

I looked across to Ruby sipping at drink. "Would you like some coffee with those shots?"

This made Ruby giggle under breath. "I still think you're missing out. You could not have chosen a more boring order. Hey, maybe you would enjoy professor Clayton's class after all! Two peas in pod."

"You can't talk. You came in for a coffee and got a cup full of sugar!" I laughed a little at my own joke, then turned my head slightly to look out of the window at the passers-by.

Ruby took a long sip from her cup. "Ahh, the sugary goodness." She smiled to herself and then looked over at me. "I noticed another guy wandering in and out as you were moving your stuff in."

"Oh yeah, that's my brother, Dean. He's leaving on a road trip tomorrow so he offered to help me move in as he won't be by in a while. He travels for work."

"That's so cool. I've always wanted to travel but I've never had the opportunity. My parents would never take me with them on their trips, even during the summer. Instead, they would hire a nanny so I could go to summer classes."

"I wish I could have stayed at home in the summer. I was dragged from motel to motel against my will." I always feel a lump creeping up in my throat when I think about the way I grew up. I know that my dad always did his best for my brother and me, but I always wondered what it would have been like to live like a regular family. Not constantly on the road. "Where is home for you?"

"Austin. But I grew up in New York. My Dad's company transferred him to Texas to manage this branch of the company. I can't say I don't miss New York. There was so much going on. Nowhere else it quite the same." She pursed her lips together then looked away from me out of the window. "Anyway, tell me more about you, your family. You mentioned your brother… Dean, was it?"

"Yeah, Dean. He's a few years older than me. He's the stereotypical protective older brother. Always looked out for me when I was young. He still does, really. My mom... er…" I coughed away the block in my throat to get the next bit out quickly. "My mom died when I was a baby, so it's just been my dad, Dean and me ever since. My dad had to travel a lot for work, and with no one else to look after us, we had to go with him. He was busy a lot so Dean looked after me most of the time." I half smiled at Ruby, hoping I'd given her enough information to move onto another topic.

I asked Ruby about her friends from home, and some of her favourite things to do, which she talked about passionately, and at length. From then on, the time flew by as we talked and watched the people walking past the window.

"So, college campus expert. Who is the next taster run by?"

Ruby giggled at the comment and then pulled the timetable out of her back pocket. "It's run by one Dr Shurley." Her eyes widened suddenly. "Crap. We gotta go! It's on the other side of campus." She looked at her phone for the time, then looked at me and bit her lip. "And it started two minutes ago.

We both burst into laughter before jumping to our feet and making a run for the door. I thought I'd follow Ruby seeing as she seemed to know where she was going, but before I had a chance to complete the thought, she took hold of my hand as we jogged across the quad.

We reached the door to the correct lecture hall and burst through the door. We immediately stopped as we realised the class had already started and our abrupt entrance put all the attention on us. There were around 30 pairs of staring eyes on us, including the professor's.

The professor was a relatively short guy (although I'm hardly one to judge another person's height) with floppy, sandy-coloured hair and hazel eyes. He raised his eyebrows as if to scold us, and then gestured towards a couple of empty seats right at the front of the class. Ruby and I glanced at each other, both with a slight smirk on our faces. This was the first time I had ever been the student to walk in late and disrupt the rest of the class. We sat in our seats and the professor continued.

"So, as I was saying, if you put the work in, this will not be a difficult module. I'll turn up and teach the lectures if you show up and listen to them. That's the deal." He took a moment to glance around the room to assess the reaction of the group. "To give you a chance to understand what sort of work you would be doing, we're going to do a little task. Each of you has a sheet in front of you. If you could turn to a person next to you who you don't know and complete it." There was an audible, collective groan around the room. "Oh, come on guys. Hardly any of you know each other anyway."

Ruby looked at me and rolled her eyes which made me laugh under my breath, and she reluctantly turned to the girl sitting on her other side. I glanced to my other side to realise there was no one there. A quick look round the room told me that there was no one else without a partner. I glanced at the professor who also glanced around the room, obviously realised my situation, then pushed himself from his leaning position on the desk to come and sit next to me.

He smiled at me and held out a hand to shake. "Hi there. I'm Professor Shurley. You are?" He took a sip from his take away coffee cup, which had a name scribbled across the side of it, which appeared to say "Gabriel".

"Err… Sam. My name's… Sam." There was a kind look about his eyes. They were more of a soft amber than the harsh hazel I had initially seen.

"Hi, Sam. So, if you take my class this year, can I expect that sort of entrance each time, or was that a one off?" He raised his eyebrows and continued staring at me as he took another sip of his coffee.

"Oh, no. I'm really sorry about that. I was having a coffee with my new friend, Ruby." I gestured to her sitting next to me. "We lost track of the time and ran here as soon as we realised." I felt my heart rate increase ever so slightly. I hadn't anticipated being late, let alone being subjected to the third degree because of it.

He chuckled slightly. "Don't worry about it, I'm just yanking your chain. It's your first day here, I'm guessing?" I nodded in response. "It's a big campus. After 5 years I still don't really know my way around." My heart rate dropped right down at this point. It was a relief to know I hadn't made a bad reputation for myself amongst the professors on my very first day. "It's good to meet you, Sam. So, what do you think the chances are that you'll be taking Latin this year?"

I couldn't help but watch his lips as he spoke. They looked soft, and gentle. I was hanging on each of his words more than I realised, as I took a moment longer to respond than normal. "Strong. Very… strong." I quickly added "I'm pre-law. I figure this will help me with the rest of my degree."

He nodded along in understanding. "Have you ever studied Latin before?".

I felt myself stop breathing momentarily, eyes widening the tiniest amount, unsure how to answer the question. "Ummm, yeah, a little. My dad knows some, and I've kinda picked it up off him over the years." I moved my gaze away from the professor then glanced around the room, trying to avoid eye contact, hoping he wouldn't ask another potentially probing question.

I could feel his gaze on the side of my face as I stared at the desk at the front of the room. I then slowly moved my gaze back towards the professor, but maintained a low eye level, focusing on the coffee cup he had clasped between both hands.

After a moment, I ventured my gaze back up to his eyes to find he was still looking into mine. Our eyes locked onto each other's. A moment passed where neither of us spoke. Normally, I would comment that this made for an awkward few seconds, but in this case, it didn't feel like empty silence.

I used this time to really take in the man's face. His floppy sand-coloured hair was pushed back from his face – effortless and perfect at the same time. He had hints of stubble surrounding his mouth, giving him an almost dishevelled look, but still looked clean and smart. From what I could tell, he was in his late twenties to early thirties – you for a professor – but he seemed a little older. I couldn't tell if it was the beard, something in his eyes, the way he held himself, but something was ageing him. He was wearing a pair of dark brown round glasses which only accentuated the colour of his eyes, making them look even bigger than they could possibly be.

He suddenly took a breath in and said "I suppose we should take a look at the task." as he looked down at the piece of paper in front of me, breaking the eye contact I wished could have lasted a little longer.

We spent the next ten minutes or so discussing the exercise, not really looking at each other. I tried to focus on the work, but part of me was completely distracted.

A short while later, once we had exhausted the topic at hand, he stood up and called the room to attention. He asked for volunteers to throw around ideas about the task, and then followed up by explaining its purpose and how it reflected what the course would consist of. He talked so passionately about his subject, making me genuinely believe that no other module would even be necessary.

He drew to a conclusion and thanked everyone for coming along, and the class responded with a small round of applause before grabbing their papers and making for the door.

Ruby leaned over her desk and into my side. "Teacher's pet already, huh? It's not even the first class yet." She giggled to herself as we both stood up from our seats. I heard what she said, and I even took it in, but quite frankly, I wasn't that interested in listening right now. "Wanna head back to the apartment? We have ages before that next taster session you wanted to go to. International Law this time, right?" Ruby continued to talk, but in my head, it got quieter and quieter, until I could hardly hear her at all.

The professor was standing by the door, thanking everyone for coming and wishing them a good rest of the day. I made our way over, Ruby staying glued to my side, and my heart rate increased as we got ever closer to the door. He looked up from the student in front of us and his eyes hit mine.

Like me, he stayed still momentarily before almost jumping to action. "Ah, Sam. Do you want to come and grab that book we mentioned earlier? It's in my office just down the hall."

"Yeah, definitely." I dropped my gaze to my shoes as I realised I may have sounded a little eager in response.

"Sam? I thought we were going back to the apartment?" Ruby looked up at me as she tapped my arm. She seemed a little annoyed but I'd already had the conversation with the professor about a book that discussed the origins of European languages in Latin. I realised it would be a little rude to go back on my plan with Ruby, but part of me really wanted to drag out the interaction with the professor, and he had given me the perfect reason to.

"Oh, um. Yeah, you go, I'll meet you back there." I nodded and gave her a smile. She stared at me, brow furrowed, before turning on her heels and making her way out of the door and down the hall.

I turned my gaze back to the professor who had the smallest of smirks on his face. "Looks like someone has a crush." He raised his eyebrows as he said it in a playful manner.

"Who? Ruby? She's just a friend. I only actually met her today. I hardly know her." I wasn't sure why I was blurting all this out, but it was too late now. I'd already said it.

"I wasn't talking about you." He smirked again. "Come with me. Let's go find that book."

He held the door behind him, allowing me to walk through first. We continued to discuss Latin roots as we walked down the halls of the old building. I enjoyed talking about the topic with him. He obviously knew what he was talking about, and actually cared about teaching others, unlike some professors who were only in their job as a last resort. He talked passionately, and with enthusiasm which I couldn't help but smile at. It was endearing.

We reached his office and he fumbled around in his bag looking for a set of keys. "Sorry. Can't seem to keep a track of anything at the moment." He huffed out a long breath as he continued to search. "Success." His tone didn't match his words, however. He seemed frustrated with himself.

He managed to open the door and made his way towards the desk which had multiple stacks of books on it. In fact, as I peered round the door, I could see many stacks of books everywhere, anywhere there was floor space.

He skimmed through the piles of books, trying and failing for a while until he looked up at me and stared for a moment before saying "Don't just stand in the door. Take a seat or something. This may take a while. Like I said, no idea where anything is right now." He went back to looking.

I couldn't help but let my mouth gape open at the sheer number of books he had on shelves and in stacks. It was like his own personal library. "It must have taken years for you to collect all of these."

He sidled up next to me, following my line of sight as I stared round the room. "Like what you see?" I could just about see him looking into the side of my face through my peripheral vision. He had the same smirk on his face that I'd seen earlier in his class.

I let out a breath with a smile. "You can say that again."

His face softened slightly. "You know, you can always borrow any books you want. They're meant to be read, after all." He turned his head, then wandered towards the book case in front of us, stretching out his arm to grab a particular book. He handled it gently, opening the front cover to glance at the first page.

"Here." He handed it towards me, arm out stretched. "Take it for as long as you like. It's become somewhat of a museum piece in here now. I don't read many of them at all nowadays." His voice sounded empty, like there was a lack of emotion.

I pushed my arm out to take the book from him. I grasped the same side of the book as he was holding, stretching slightly more than I intended, and folded my hand around a few of his outstretched fingers. For some reason, I froze, not letting go of the book or his hand. It was so soft, and small in my own hand. I looked to his face to see he was staring at our hands, then up at my face.

I felt as though my heart was in my mouth. My heart beat was increasing to the point I thought it might break a rib. I could feel my cheeks flushing, probably going a bright shade of pink. I suddenly released my grip on his hand. "Oh, my God… I'm sorry. I… I wasn't… looking" It felt as though words were just tumbling out of my mouth.

He closed his eyes, a faint smile on his face and shook his head gently. "Don't worry about it, Sam." He stared directly into my eyes for a long moment. "After all, it's the most action I've got in months." A grin spread across his face and he chuckled at his own joke under his breath.

I could feel my heart slow down. I took a moment to let my thoughts slow down. I then tried again to grab the book without taking his hand with it, paying more attention this time. "Thanks… for the book, that is." I couldn't bear to look into his eyes at that moment. "I better head back to my apartment. I said I'd go to a few more taster sessions with Ruby."

"Sure thing. Don't let me hold you up." The professor made his way around the back of his desk and pulled out the chair to take a seat. "I look forward to seeing you in my class this semester, Sam."

I'd already turned towards the door but stopped in my tracks to turn back and look at him. "I look forward to taking your class, professor."

He let out another laugh. "Please, Sam. Call me Gabriel. I sound old when you call me professor."

I mumbled his name under my breath. Gabriel. So, his coffee cup was right. I expected it to be a joke. I'd never met someone with that name before. I only knew it because of the angel Gabriel. Maybe his family was religious. Gabriel. I liked the name. It fell off my tongue so easily.

"Ok… Gabriel." I furrowed my brow after I said it. This was going to take some getting used to. I had always been so used to having a more formal relationship with teachers and professors.

I turned back to the door and made my way back up the hall. Gabriel. Damn, he was attractive. There was something about his unshaven look, and the soft eyes that seemed to look straight into me. Gabriel.

I was only four hours into my first day at college, and I could already tell this was going to be a good year. However, I was now looking forward to my Latin classes more than any of the compulsory law classes. Perhaps this was because it was a class I had chosen for fun. Perhaps it had something to do with a certain Latin professor.

Gabriel…