Dean was one of those people, the kind who liked to be alone but hated feeling lonely. He had found ways to distract his attention from feeling too lonely, but that hateful feeling was unfortunately never too far away. He had spent his afternoon in his favourite place, the meadow a few miles out from the town where he lived. It was the only place he truly felt at home as everywhere else reminded him of past memories he would rather forget. He would often think about just staying there overnight, if for nothing else but the peace and quiet.
Cas was one of the most popular teachers in his school, all of the students loved him. Even at break his classroom was ever empty. Kids were always flocked around him, asking questions, telling him stories, just generally wanting to be around him. Children from other classes had been known to wander into his class during breaks to ask for advice. His classroom was covered in drawings from all of the children who craved his attention. Not that he had any children of his own, the ones in school were plenty for him.
Since Dean was living in a crumby one bed apartment, it didn't need much in the way of money. However, his funds were quickly running out and that was causing him to panic a little. He thought about how he could bring more money in since he hadn't passed many of his classes due to obstacles outside of his control. He thought about his hobbies and if he could make any money from them. There were few things in his life that Dean was happy with, but his cooking and his photography. Several of his photographs and original recipes had even made it into the local paper, although since he had submitted them anonymously no one would be able to tell that they were his. He figured he would deal with it tomorrow, new day, new start.
Cas had returned home with a smile on his face, one of the little girls in his class had come in from lunch with a few straggly daisies that she had evidently picked herself from the small patches of grass that grew under the fences from neighbouring gardens. He filled up a small glass and carefully set the mangled flowers so the stems were in the water. He placed it on the windowsill where they would get the most sunlight. He picked up the stack of papers of the children's homework they had handed him before leaving for home, he would mark them tonight so the children could stick them into their books in the morning. He headed towards the kitchen to make himself some dinner before he began. Obviously it would only be a microwave meal for one since he preferred an early night to having to wash up dirty pots and pans.
Dean always woke up around dawn, mainly from his running days where he would run for miles before coming back for a quick breakfast before heading to work. He usually enjoyed having the entire day ahead of him but this morning, he knew it would drag. Especially after the shitty night he had with not being able to sleep and tossing and turning. He had spent the night subconsciously worrying about if he could get another job with the little qualifications he had or if he could make a job out of his photography as no one would take on a chef without references. He knew that from experience. He lay in bed for a few hours, not trying to sleep but not fighting to stay awake either. Around 10am he decided that he could go for some breakfast.
Cas' mornings were always slightly more stressful than Dean's, although the other did not know it. He had always slept right up past his alarm and had to run around his house to be ready on time, which meant skipping breakfast and only sometimes having time to pick up coffee on the way to school. Today was one of those mornings. He was running around his apartment with his toothbrush hanging out of the side of his mouth, wearing his shirt, tie and boxer shorts. A few minutes later, he managed to pull the scooter out of the sort of parking space he had found a mere five minutes late.
Dean was pottering around his apartment, barefoot, trying to think what he wanted for breakfast. He wasn't particularly hungry but he needed something to do and cooking was something he was very good at. He got out two eggs and rummaged around in his fridge looking for cheese and the leftover vegetables from dinner last night, he hated cooking only for himself. He often cooked too much for just one person and had pots of food from the last three days sitting in his fridge. He started mixing up the ingredients to make himself a morning omelette. It would keep him busy for maybe 20 minutes. If he took his time.
The school bell had just rang as Cas was making his way across the playground so he was able to walk to class with several children skipping around him, telling him what they had done the night before. He smiled and nodded as he listened to all of them but that just excited the children more and they chattered louder and louder the closer they got to the classroom. It would be hard to get his class to concentrate today, not that it was easy for 6 year olds to focus on work. Cas smiled to himself. He wouldn't change his job for the world. As it was photo week, all of the children were very excited because tomorrow was their turn and they would only have to come in for the afternoon.
After cleaning up his breakfast mess, Dean decided to go for a walk and a smoke. He had technically given up smoking but every so often he indulged himself with one of his favourite cigarettes and since he was feeling particularly lonely, he picked up the carton along with his small lighter. He headed out of the door and paused to close it quietly behind him. Lisa, the woman in the apartment next to his, was sitting with her back against her front door with her head hanging in her hands. Dean and Lisa were friendly with each other, they often called round at the other's for a cup of tea and Dean had occasionally dropped Lisa's son off to school when she was late for work. Lisa and her new boyfriend had been arguing as it turned out and she asked Dean if he could possibly lift Ben from school while she packed up his stuff. Dean naturally agreed, anything to help a friend.
While Cas adored his job, even he had to admit that the day dragged. The children were completely unable to concentrate and Cas felt strained trying to not lose his temper, which was very unlike his normal self. It didn't help that he found one of his students huddled in a corner at lunch, crying his eyes out. It turned out that Isaac had been playing with some of the girls in his class with the doll's house in the corner of the playhouse and some kids from one of the older classes had made fun of him and snatched the doll out of his hands. Cas immediately comforted Isaac and brought him and the girls into the classroom so they could play with the dolls in peace but Isaac wouldn't even look at the house again. Seeing Isaac ridiculed for playing with dolls brought back unpleasant memories for Cas, like the time his older brother Gabriel found him trying on his Mummy's dresses and shoes. The bruises had taken weeks to completely fade away.