Castiel smiles a little to himself, the picture he sets down on the desk being the final item in the last box he has to unpack. He's only been in his new dorm room two days, but he hates disorganization and he despises having to dig for things when he needs them. In his room, there has always been a place for everything, a fact that soothes Castiel's mind. He finds it much easier to focus and relax in an organized place.

He stares at the picture for a minute, thinking about his family. The image is from the day he first left for college when he was 18. His father just wanted a simple picture of Castiel, but his brothers and sister insisted on piling onto him, some of them refusing to let go afterward.

Sometimes, Castiel has a hard time with his family because his father is a very strict man and having so many siblings can be very hectic, but when he looks at that picture, he remembers all of the things that he loves about his family. They've always loved him and will always be there for him no matter what and it always makes him smile.

He's folding boxes over, trying to make a reasonable pile when his phone starts to go off across the room. He fumbles a bit, almost slipping on the cardboard, but answers his phone in time. "Hello?"

"Hello, is this... Castiel Novak?" Castiel is used to the pause as people try to pronounce his name properly. He confirms that it is him. "Okay, great. My name is Richard Roman, I teach the Economics 322 class that you signed up for at Stanford. I'm sorry to say that there's been a slight mix up with the enrollment process. If you're able to come in, I'm sure we can get it sorted out quickly."

Castiel's heart sank as he listened, hoping that it would be as easy a fix as the professor made it seem. He needs that class to graduate early; if for some reason he doesn't get in, he'll have to pick up an extra semester and will have to give up the internship that he has lined up. "I can come in now, if you have time."

"That's great, I'm just working on some paperwork in the classroom, I'll be here until about 5."

Castiel is barely off the phone before he's buttoning his shirt, rolling the sleeves up to the elbows as he grabs his keys. He knows the school inside and out and has already taken several strolls to make sure that he knows how long it takes to move between classes and which ways will have less traffic. He has a full schedule, so there will be very little time in his day for long walks and smelling the roses.

It only takes him a few minutes to walk down the street and through the court and into the building where the classroom is. He knocks tentatively on the door, slowly opening it to peek his head in. "Hello? Professor Roman?"

"Castiel, come in! That was much quicker than I'd expected." The Professor moves to greet him at the door, shaking his hand. "Please, have a seat."

Castiel smiles politely, pulling up a chair in front of the desk as the Professor shuts the door before joining him, moving his chair from behind the desk so they are sitting face to face.

"I'm not sure what happened, but it looks like your enrollment in this class didn't go through on time and we don't have any vacancies left at this point." He has a sympathetic expression on his face, but something about it doesn't seem sincere.

"But I need this class. Is there anything we can do?" Castiel's stomach is tied in knots, not sure what he would do if he didn't get in to this class.

"There are a couple of options, but you getting into the class will mean that someone else has to be removed." His concern seems shallow, but Castiel brushes it off. "I can't make that decision lightly, Castiel."

"I understand, sir, but this is my last semester and I need this class. There must be someone that will have another opportunity, maybe next semester, maybe next year." Castiel's hand grip his pants, desperate to convince the Professor to let him in.

"It's not so simple. It's a very specialized class and small, most of the students are in their final semester." He opens his mouth as if to speak, but stops to prepare his words. "It won't be so easy a decision to make, I'm afraid."

His fingers shake as he tries to keep himself calm. He had made every preparation and every sacrifice to get to where he was and for it all to be thrown away because of some administrative error, he feels sick. "What can I do?"

"Well, for one, I need an aide. If you would be willing to help me, I would be more easily able to justify giving you a position in the class." The Professor stands, leaning against the desk.

"Of course! I have a full schedule, but I can make time." He stands as well and speaks quickly, hoping that the Professor will see how serious he is about the class.

"I think I should let you know that I require a lot out of my aides." The look was back, the one that didn't sit right with Castiel, and his face fell again.

"Please, just give me a chance. Whatever it is, I'm sure I can handle it." Castiel took a step forward.

The Professor takes a step forward as well, invading Castiel's personal space without so much as a blink. He raises his hand, his fingers running across the side of Castiel's cheek gently, watching the student's expression intently. "Are you sure?"

Castiel took a step back, his eyes widening at the touch. He wants to say something, but can't speak. Even if he could, he's not sure what he would say.

Professor Roman takes a slow step forward with a smile that looks innocent enough on the surface, but doesn't fool Castiel. He keeps stepping forward until Castiel's backward movements have him up against a table. He stops walking, but leans in, pleased to see that his new favorite student doesn't move.

Castiel stands frozen, trapped and completely petrified. Even as he feels the Professor's hot breath on his neck, he can only stand motionless.

"We both know how important this class is to you." He runs his lips across the smooth skin as he speaks, wanting to see how far he can push the scared student. His hands agilely snake up to Castiel's waist, touching lightly, but more firm after he realizes that the boy still isn't moving.

Castiel tries to speak and is angry with himself that he can't seem to manage it. He wants to shove the Professor away, tell him that he'd never do what he was implying. He finally finds his voice, but it's shaky and unsure. "Never mind.. I'll take a summer class.. I won't be that far behind." He feels the older man smile against him.

His hands grow more bold, sliding just slightly underneath the boy's shirt. "I'm the only one that teaches this class, even in the summer, Castiel. You can either take my offer or transfer schools. Or drop out, but I doubt you'd really consider that an option."

Castiel's resolve is strengthened by the man's smugness. "I'll tell someone. The Chancellor." He still doesn't dare move.

"Tell them what, exactly?" He insists on breathing haughtily into Castiel's ear as he speaks. "Your enrollment really didn't go through, there's nothing to tell there. Feel free to tell them about my advances and while you're at it, tell them just how badly you need this class. That should go over well."

Castiel knows that no one will believe him, a desperate student, over a Professor of 11 years, but he was hoping his bluff wouldn't be called. "Please, just stop."

"Oh, Castiel.." His hand caresses the side of the boy's face softly as he backs away slightly, shaking his head. "I'll stop right now if you really want me to. I'll never so much as look at you again if you wish. I will also make sure that you never graduate from this school. Chancellor Crowley and I go way back and I know things about him that he would rather keep quiet, so I have no doubt that I will have his full cooperation."

It's all Castiel can do to keep from crying in frustration, his fists balling up at his side. "And what will I have to do as your aide?"

"Everything." Professor Roman smiles broadly as he realizes that he's all but won.

Castiel's face is red with shame and frustration, not sure what to say. His bright blue eyes go wide as the possibilities of that word go racing through his mind.

"I don't want to hurt you, Castiel. Please, believe me about that." He moves forward, closing the gap between their bodies so that Castiel can feel how hard the conversation has made him. "Quite the opposite, actually. I want to make you feel so good. I want to do things to you never even thought possible."

Castiel chokes back a whimper, feeling completely helpless and ashamed that he's even considered what the Professor is suggesting. He has no choice but to accept the offer and sacrifice himself for his future. "Okay."

"Good boy." The Professor slowly backs away, a smug smile of victory on his face, his eyes gleaming. "I'll see you on Monday. Class starts at 3, be here at 2. We need to go over a few things for your first day."

As soon as he's done speaking, Castiel pushes past him, trying to keep from running to the door. His hands shake as he twists the knob, slamming the door behind him; he doesn't do it on purpose, he just doesn't have much control over his body at the moment, his chest heaving irregularly. He moves quickly to the staircase, just wanting to be back in his room so that he can break down in private.

He starts walking down the steps, gripping the bar tightly as he feels his knees wobble. He's halfway down, on the landing, about to continue when he's jolted out of his fog. "Sorry, I... I wasn't paying attention."

He'd bumped into someone. He hadn't even realized that someone was there. He looks down at his hands and they're shaking worse than before, his whole body is shaking and the lack of control he has over it scares him.

"Are you okay?" He barely hears the words as they're spoken to him, but looks up when he feels a hand on his arm, followed quickly by another. He comes to the conclusion that he must have lost his balance because the guy that he bumped into is holding him up, leading him back to the steps to sit down.

"Hey, can you hear me? If you can hear me, look at me." The words are spoken softly, aided by a hand on Castiel's chin, guiding his eyes upward. He tries his best to focus, but finds it to be very difficult until he actually makes eye contact.

Castiel's inability to make sense of words isn't helped by the fact that the man helping him is nothing short of gorgeous. He stares up into bright green eyes, full of concern, surrounded by freckled, tan skin. His hair is a little messy and his chin is a little scruffy, but it works and it's making Castiel even more of a mess.

"I'm Dean, what's your name?" The man smiles and even the wrinkles around his eyes are attractive.

He has to think for a moment before answering. "Castiel." He takes a deep breath and tries to stand up. "I need to get back to my room.." He doesn't get very far in standing up, his legs giving out almost immediately, but he's guided back down gently by Dean.

"Are you okay?" Dean's eyes are wide and full of worry and his hands stay on Castiel's arms to hold him steady.

Castiel hears the question the second time around and it hits him like a tidal wave. "No." There are no words that he can come up with to express how not okay he is and he can't handle that. Suddenly, he feels like his chest is caving in.

Dean's eyes turn from worried to alarmed as he watches the boy in front of him starting to panic. "Hey, it's okay. Just calm down and we'll talk about it. It's all right." He tries to comfort Castiel, but it doesn't seem to work.

"I can't.." Castiel hears him, but all he can think about is how tight his chest feels, his hands reaching up to grab his shirt, fingers clenching the material almost to the point of tearing. "I can't breathe." He starts to collapse in on himself, sliding from the step to the floor below, hunched over.

Without thinking, Dean reaches out and puts his arms around Castiel, sitting on the floor with him as he writhes to get away. "Listen, you're gonna be fine, you just need to calm down and breathe. Can you do that for me?"

"No." Castiel tries to wriggle out of his grasp, feeling claustrophobic. "I can't."

Dean holds tight, refusing to budge. "Yes, you can. Just breathe, in and out." As he speaks, he takes deep breaths, hoping that Castiel will be able to mimic him. "In and out."

Castiel feels Dean's chest rising and falling against him and begins to calm down, his fingers loosening their grip as he regains control.

"That's good, keep breathing. Slow and deep. In and out." Dean keeps his voice soft, but his hold strong. As he feels the boy starting to loosen up and calm down, he begins to rub small circles on his back to encourage him.

Castiel closes his eyes and breathes as deeply as he can in rhythm with Dean, a warm feeling washing over him. He was so scared and so panicked, but with Dean holding him, he feels an inexplicable sense of being safe and protected.

Dean lets Castiel pull back, but keeps his hands in place to make sure he is stable and completely calm. "There, that's better."

"Thank you." Castiel rubs his eyes with his sleeve, embarrassed to have broken down so completely in front of a complete stranger. "I'm sorry I-"

"Don't worry about it. Really." Dean smiles at him and pulls his hands back to himself as Castiel catches his breath. "My little brother, Sam, used to have panic attacks all the time."

Castiel sniffles a little, trying to clear his sinuses and get himself back to presentable. "Hm, I have a younger brother named Sam as well."

"Castiel and Sam, hm? What an odd combination of names." He smiles, trying to get Castiel's mood up.

"Actually, it's Samandriel, but he hates that."

"That sounds more like it. Is it just the two of you?" Dean is glad that Castiel can form a full sentence and tries his best to keep some distracting conversation going.

"Not even close. I have three older brothers and an older sister. Sam is the only one younger than me." Castiel looks up to see Dean staring right at him, honestly engaged in what he is saying and he smiles just a little.

Dean sees the way Castiel relaxes as they talk about his family, his eyes red, but their blue color standing out so vividly. He wonders what could have caused him to freak out like he did. " It's just me and Sammy. Six of you guys has gotta be pretty cool, huh?"

"It's... Complicated." Castiel laughs to himself a little bit before smiling. "But it's mostly great, yeah."

After a second of silence between them, Dean stands up. "You should probably get back to your room now, I guess."

"Oh. Yeah." He had forgotten about his mad dash back to his room, distracted by Dean's charm and conversation. He stands up and immediately feels lightheaded, swaying on his feet. Dean's hands are gripping his waist, holding him close before he even notices that he's unsteady.

"Not so fast!" Dean tried to warn him, but was too late. "Sammy used to get dizzy after almost every panic attack. Hyperventilation and all. It'll pass." Dean tries to keep his hands in a neutral area because you never know how people will react to things like that, but he's pretty sure that Castiel is enjoying their closeness as much as he is. It also hardly seems like the time to be hitting on the poor guy.

Castiel leans his head on Dean's chest with his eyes closed, willing the room to stop moving around him. He reluctantly pulls away after he feels more stable, not wanting to lose the comfort and safe feeling of Dean's arms. "Better, thanks."

"Please tell me you don't have to drive home." Dean smiles, but isn't any happier than Castiel about letting the boy go.

"No, I'm in building C. It's not far." They start walking together down the stairs, making small talk until they get outside. "Well, thank you for your help, Dean."

Dean smiles a little, but it's a little forced. "You know, I'd feel a lot better if you let me walk you there." Dean wasn't sure what it meant for him, but he didn't feel like he was ready to leave Castiel yet.

"I'll be fine, thank you." Castiel starts to walk away slowly, but realizes right away that he doesn't want to go back to his room; or anywhere that Dean isn't, for that matter. He turns around and watches Dean walk away for a moment before surprising himself. "Are you hungry?" He yells out.

Dean smiles as he turns back, looking at his new friend. "I'm always hungry!" Dean jogs over to where Castiel is standing. "You like burgers, Cas?"

-TBC-