He sat alone, observing everyone milling about the "nutrition center" as per usual. He hated how they called it the "nutrition center." It seemed like a halfhearted attempt to make the washed out, dingy cafeteria seem sophisticated and adult which, like its occupants, it was not. In fact, the cafeteria reminded him very strongly of his high school experiences. Everything was relatively the same; he was a loner, he was excluded, and he still preferred watching to participating. The only difference was now instead of jocks and cheerleaders hassling him, it was a bunch of head cases with ego complexes. Actually, come to think of it, maybe that wasn't so different either.

Most people would just leave him alone, but every once in a while a new patient or an optimistic orderly would try to hold a conversation with him. Eventually they'd get sick of talking to themselves, though, and he'd be left to his own devices once more. He preferred it that way. All the people here were too fake for his tastes. Their smiles seemed forced and their words seemed insincere. He didn't want to waste his time on liars.

Speaking of fake people, here came Mr. Ken doll himself. Ken, or Dustin as most people called the orderly, sauntered up to him, a wide smirk on his face, and said "Doctor Perri would like to see you, Castiel. She said it's important." Castiel rolled his eyes. Dustin enjoyed escorting him to Dr. Perri's office far too much. Either he loved to see Castiel ignore her for his given hour, or he loved to see Castiel get in trouble for being "difficult" and "disrespectful" day after day. Either way, it was a weird kink to have.

Castiel stood up, leaving his untouched toast and cereal; Becky could take care of it later. He followed Dustin through the halls until they came to Dr. Perri's office. Her door was closed, signaling she was with a patient. Castiel hated when she did that. Why did she have to call him down here only to have him wait outside?

Just as he let out an annoyed huff, however, the door opened. A tall, tan man slipped past Castiel. His eyes were on the floor and his hands were balled into fists at his sides. He took loud, angry steps away from the office, quite literally storming off. It looked quite peculiar, too, because of how bow legged the man was. Castiel's mouth quirked up in an almost smile. At least he wasn't the only one that Dr. Perri infuriated.

Without waiting for an invitation inside, Castiel walked into Dr. Perri's office. She looked up at him from her notepad, gesturing for him to sit. As was customary for him, he sat in the chair farthest away from her. He crossed and uncrossed him legs, waiting for her to say something.

"Good morning, Castiel. How are you?" She put down her pen and set he gaze intently upon him. He shrugged noncommittally. "Have anything you would like to talk about?" Castiel looked up at the clock, watching as the second hand ticked away. He shrugged again.

"Okay. What did you do this morning? Did you eat breakfast?" A harsh edge was creeping into Dr. Perri's voice. She was already starting to get annoyed with Castiel. He was about to shrug again, if only to spite her, when a question came to his mind. He motioned for Dr. Perri to hand him her notepad and pen. She sighed.

"Can't you just ask me, Castiel?"

He shook his head, extending his hand for the notepad. Dr. Perri sighed again, defeated, and handed it over to him. He scratched out a message for her.

WHO WAS THAT MAN WHO CAME OUT OF YOUR OFFICE THIS MORNING?

Castiel held it up for her to see, staring at her expectantly. "Why do you want to know?" Dr. Perri asked, leaning in with telltale curiosity. Castiel just pointed to the question again, ignoring her inquiry. When she stayed silent, he wrote another message.

IS HE A PATIENT?

"Yes, indeed, he is."

WHAT IS HE IN FOR?

"You know I can't tell you that. Why don't we talk about you now? Why haven't you been participating in group?" Dr. Perri's voice was hopeful, but Castiel was already lost in his thoughts again. He felt he had shared enough for one session. His eyes wandered back to the clock. "Come on Castiel, don't shut me out now! This is the most you've communicated with me in months."

Castiel glanced back at her, his eyes blank. He wasn't sure what she expected from him. Did she really think that she could get through to him, that she could change him? He'd given up hope about any such thing many years ago. He'd been here at Blue Grass Mental Rehabilitation Center for just over six years and he still wasn't "fixed." Not that he'd had much faith when he arrived in the first place. This was not the first hospital Castiel had been to. In fact, he hadn't been home since he was seventeen. He'd been bounced from hospital to hospital for years. Every time his doctor got fed up with him, they'd send him away so he could be someone else's problem. This was the longest he'd ever stayed in one place, but Castiel had a feeling he wouldn't be here much longer. Dr. Perri was losing her patience with him. He didn't blame her, though.

"Are you just going to ignore me for our entire session?" Dr. Perri demanded. Castiel answered with silence. "Oh fine. Dustin, take him back to his room until Group. I expect you to participate this time, Castiel."

Castiel spent his afternoon staring out his window, watching the birds fly by. He quite enjoyed watching them swoop and glide through the air. He wished he had the same sort of freedom they had. They had the entire sky at their disposal; they could go anywhere. But those silly birds, most of them never strayed too far from their nests. Castiel didn't understand why they'd waste time at home when they could be flying in the open air. That's all he'd ever really wanted, the ability to go anywhere at any time. He never told anyone this, though. They'd think he was silly and immature to have such wishes. And they were probably right. But it didn't keep him from hoping. He'd spent so much of his life caged and contained, having his every moment planned out for him. What he wouldn't give to be able to just take a simple walk out in the street, to watch as the cars whizzed by.

"Day dreaming again, Cassie?" Dustin was leaning against Castiel's doorway, that ugly grin plastered on his face. Castiel frowned. "It's time for Group."

In Castiel's opinion, Group was pointless. The same people volunteered to go every time, and usually it was the same crock as the time before. Someone would tell a sob story to gain sympathy points, someone would have a "breakthrough," and someone else would have a breakdown. It was almost formulaic and it definitely struck him as fabricated. Once Castiel entered the group therapy room, however, his attitude changed. The man from this morning was slouching in his chair with his arms across his chest and his legs spread wide. He looked bored and irritated; finally someone who shared Castiel's sentiment.

Much to Castiel's dismay, the only seat left was the one to the left of Dr. Perri. He half considered simply walking out, but he decided that hearing the new guy's story would be worth the torture. As soon as he sat down, Dr. Perri cleared her throat to indicate it was time to start.

"Now that everyone is situated, how about we go around and introduce ourselves. As you've probably noticed, we have a new member in the group, and I think it would be nice if we all got to know each other. So please, say your name and something interesting about yourself," Dr. Perri said, smiling. "Why don't you start Jenny?"

Jenny, who was sitting to the right of Dr. Perry, stood up and smoothed her skirt nervously. "Well, I'm Jenny, and I guess something that's interesting about me is that I can crochet just about anything." The new guy snorted at this, and Jenny looked over at him indignantly. "Is there something funny about that to you?!" Though he shook his head, his wide smile said differently.

"Okay wise guy, how about you tell us about yourself, then, if you're so impressive," Allen asserted hotly.

The man stood up swiftly, his head held high with confidence. He cracked another grin before beginning. "My name's Dean and something interesting about me is that I'm a drop out with six bucks to his name."

"And you think Jenny is something to laugh at!" Allen retorted. Dean just shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly before sitting back down.

"Alright then, Allen, that's enough. Why don't you introduce yourself?" Dr. Perri suggested.

"And have this jackass make some wisecrack? No thanks."

"Allen—"

"I said no!"

An uncomfortable silence filled the air. Everyone in the group avoided eye contact with one another; that is, aside from Castiel, who was staring Dean down. Dean didn't so much as blink under Castiel's icy gaze.

"Okay, well, would anyone like to volunteer then? What about you, Tim?"

"Why me? Why not Kim or Castiel?" Tim muttered.

"You think Castiel would actually speak? Are you kidding?" Jenny scoffed.

"He could write it down," Kim offered helpfully.

"Yeah right. Castiel doesn't have time for people like us. He's too important," said Allen. His voice was saturated with sarcasm.

"Let's not attack members of the group," Dr. Perri said sternly. "Castiel, would you like to share?"

Much to everyone's surprise, Castiel nodded. He took the paper and pen Dr. Perri offered to him and wrote:

HELLO DEAN. I AM CASTIEL. THERE IS NOTHING INTERESTING THAT I HAVE TO SHARE.

He handed it to Dean, who was seated directly across from him. Dean read it and smirked. "Nice to meet you, Cas," he said, extending his hand. Castiel simply nodded in response.

After that, Dr. Perri forced Kim and Tim to introduce themselves. Allen still refused and even skipped his turn to share. Dean had obviously made an enemy for himself. Once group was over, and everyone was putting their chairs away, Dean approached Kim.

"So what's up with that Castiel guy?" he whispered.

"What do you mean?" Kim asked.

"I mean… Why didn't he talk? Is he sick or something?"

"What? No. Why would he be sick?"

"I don't know, just a guess. Does he ever talk, or does he always write stuff down?"

"No, he never talks, and usually he doesn't write either. You're actually the first person I've ever seen him acknowledge. I've been here for six months and as far as I've seen, he just ignores everyone."

"Should I feel special or scared?" Dean replied jokingly.

"Definitely special. I spent three weeks trying to get him to talk to me. I sat with him at lunch, I followed him around in the rec room, asked him questions during group, and he didn't so much as look at me. In the end, I just kind of gave up, because he obviously wanted nothing to do with me. But you seem to have caught his interest. Maybe you'll be the one to finally crack him," Kim went on, grinning distantly. "I hope you will be, anyway. It'd be nice to see him take down his walls."

"I wouldn't count on it. He's just curious, I think. I'm just some new guy he wants to figure out. Once he realizes I'm nothing special, he'll ignore me too."

"I don't know about that, Dean. Castiel is one who finds brilliance in seemingly ordinary things."

Kim smiled brightly up at him before walking out of the room. Dean was confused by how flattered he felt by her observations, but her kind words gave him a little hope. Maybe he wasn't completely useless after all.