As the clock struck 7 AM, it screeched loud, obnoxious beeps, doing its job by waking the sleeping person, snug as a bug under the covers. His arm slithered out to smack the snooze button, groaning for it was too early to be awake. He rolled onto his back, rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes, stretching out his body as far as it could go. Castiel finally gathered the energy to get out of bed, yawning his way to the bathroom. Turning on the light, he looked at himself in the mirror. I should probably shave, he thought while rubbing his stubby jaw, but he ignored the fact and turned his attention to the shower. After the water got nice and warm, he stripped naked, and jumped into the falling water, finally getting that jolt of energy he needed. This is going to be a long day, he thought as he washed the rose smelling shampoo out of his hair. He didn't know why, but he loved anything that smelled like roses.

Castiel sometimes hated living alone, but he made the choice to move into the city and start a life of his own. Living with his parents, and brothers was basically living in Hell. They were always fighting with one another, so as soon as he made enough money, he bought a two bedroom apartment in Chicago. After that, he didn't really talk to his family. He stayed in touch with the only other brother that had some sense in the family, Balthazar. They spent a lot of time together, growing up, and even when Castiel moved away. Balthazar left as soon as he could too, and lived only a couple minutes away from Castiel. Even though they were so close, they didn't want to live with each other again, but it would be nice to have someone greet Castiel home when he got back from work. Plus, he could use the help to pay rent. Working part time at Starbucks, and being a waiter at Apple Bee's just wasn't cutting it. He would get a third job, but since he was taking college courses as well, he wouldn't have time to sleep.

He finally got out of the shower and got dressed for work. The required black shoes, khaki pants, black leather belt, black shirt tucked in that has that Starbucks green color strip going along the edge of his collar, and the name-tag that had his name and the Starbucks logo on it pinned tightly over his heart.

The ride to work was the worst part of the day. Every single way possible was always backed up, and he usually was late, his boss didn't mind though. She knew how bad traffic was in the mornings. Week days at Starbucks were always a drag. As popular as it is, barely anybody showed up during the day since everybody was at school or work, but Castiel was glad for that. He wasn't very fond of people.

"Hey Cassie." He heard a familiar voice say. "How's my little brother doing?"

Oh, great. He's here to yell at me for not returning his calls or texts.

He turned around to see his brother standing happily behind the counter. "Oh, hello, Balthazar." He really didn't feel like being yelled at. "What're you doing here?"

"Just thought I'd pop in to visit you, stranger." He wasn't exaggerating, either. Balthazar seemed to "pop" up just about anywhere, which was kind of weird. "Why haven't you been returning my calls? Or my texts? You know you can't hide from me forever."

"I've been working," Castiel said in his defense. "You know I never have time to do anything anymore."

"I understand that, but a call, even a text, would be nice every once in a while." A silence overcame them before Balthazar broke the ice. "At least tell me you took off on your birthday." He looked at Cas with hope in his eyes, and Castiel hated when he had that stupid look on his face because he always ended up hurting his older brother.

"I can't afford to," he said while beginning to wipe the counter, even though it was spotless. He didn't have the strength to look Balthazar in the eyes. "I need to pay some bills before the end of the month."

Balthazar sighed, and put his hands in his pockets. "All I'm asking for is one night. It's your birthday for crying out loud."

He didn't have anything to say, so he just continued wiping the counter before Balthazar put his hand over top his. "Maybe you'll agree to this.." He pulled out two pieces of paper that looked like tickets out of his coat pocket.

"What are those?" Castiel's eyebrows furrowed.

"Two tickets to see Bad Company." He said with a smirk.

"Really?" Castiel's blue eyes lit up instantly. "I thought that show sold out months ago!"

"Let's just say I know a guy who knows a guy. So, whattya say?"

"Uhh, yeah. Yes. Most definitely. I'll just use one of my vacation days."

"Now that's the Cassie I know." Castiel absolutely hated when Balthazar called him that, but right now he could care less. "I'll pick you up at 7 on Friday night. Wear something sexy to impress the ladies... or guys, whichever you prefer." He gave Cas one of those joking smirks.

"Yeah, whatever. Well, hey, do you want something before you leave? It's on the house." It's the least he could do for his brother. I mean, he is taking him to see Bad fucking Company on his 23rd birthday.

"Free? Then of course. Hmm.. how about one of your famous pumpkin spice latte?"

Castiel began making the popular drink for his brother, thinking about how fucking awesome Friday is going to be. He's been dying to see Bad Company for God knows how long.

"One pumpkin spice latte. On the house." He smiled at his brother, handing him the warm cup.

"Thanks Cassie. I'll call you Friday."

"See you then." He called out as his brother left.

Castiel was so excited for Friday night that he wanted to go right into a coma until then. Hopefully the week would go by fast, but they usually didn't. Especially now since he had something to look forward to. The day was a total drag. Nothing ever interesting happened at work. A couple of women had stopped in that day, giving Cas the usual "i-want-to-take-you-home-wink," and leaving their numbers on napkins for him to pick up, but he usually just threw them in the trash. It's not that he wasn't looking, he just didn't want to be with anyone. Not quite yet. Well, at least not until he showed up.