1st December.
"What can I get you?" A woman wearing a green apron asked brightly, smiling at the customer from behind the counter. It's seven o'clock in the morning - far too early for anyone to be up, she thought, but it's her job to serve coffee to those who wander into the shop. It was early on a Saturday morning, and Castiel Novak was standing at the front of a small queue in a coffee shop, which is called Starbucks. He transferred his gaze from the menu board to the employee. "I'll have a Pike Place Roast." He finally told the Starbucks employee.
"Can I take a name?" The coffee shop worker, badge labelled 'Allison', replied instantly.
"Castiel," He replied swiftly and without hesitation.
Allison laughed slightly, "You're kidding, right? God, what were your parents thinking?"
"No...I am Castiel." He repeated. Castiel then frowned after a moment's thought and said gruffly, "Oh. I don't know. I have never considered that."
Allison stared at him before stating, "That'll be one dollar and fifty cents."
Castiel removed a handful of coins from one of the pockets of his tan overcoat, which billowed just below his knees and handed them to her across the counter.
Allison counted up the coins and placed them in the cash register before handing back the appropriate change. "Your order will be there by the end. Thank you and please come again!" She said chirpily.
Castiel waited for his order and carefully carried the cup to a cozy looking chair in the corner of the shop. He waited a few minutes for the liquid to cool before taking a tentative sip. It was revolting. Castiel had his angelic status removed and became human, and was now completely cut off from heaven. Being an angel for several millennia, he was not much yet used to human life, but he knew that he must consume copious amounts of comestibles, as well as imbibing various quantities of liquids in order to survive. Hence why he happened to be sitting at a circular wooden table in an extremely crowded place, which he found quite disconcerting. Being stationed on earth is far more interesting than being in heaven, although he does miss the company there at times. On earth, the world is so busy: full to the brim with people rushing to meet their friends at the little coffee shop in town, hurrying to catch that next flight to the furthest city, or scurrying along in the rain to get back home. Humans never stop. Castiel admires them. It made him realise, people know nothing about each other; the strangers they pass by on the streets. They shall never know how another's day has gone or what their goals and aspirations are, nor whether they like tea or coffee or neither. Castiel felt as though the human race could achieve so much more if they slowed down a little in the day in order to contemplate their actions. How are humans supposed to relax when their brains never give them the chance to? Maybe that's why they have the tendency to over think things at night; because their surroundings are quieter and give them time to reflect. The coffee, now filled almost to the brim, stood abandoned on the table as Castiel got to his feet and left the coffee shop.
"Okay, remind me again why we're in Pontiac, Illinois investigating some case about some stupid werewolf? We could have easily avoided this one, but no. You insisted on dragging both of our asses half way across the country because "it looks like our kind of thing". It was a seven hour drive, man. What the hell?" Dean Winchester asked his brother, Sam, angrily as he threw his pistol onto one of the beds in the motel room.
"Dude, chill. We haven't had a case for a while, I thought we both needed something to work on. Besides, you use any excuse to drive the Impala."
"You couldn't have chosen something closer to home, Sammy?" Dean argued, "The weather is terrible; it hasn't stopped raining since we got here. Don't even get me started on how freezing it is either. Plus this motel gives me the creeps: the carpet and wallpaper are too old and there are weird paintings everywhere. It's freaking weird, like something out of an old horror movie, though it's probably a hell of a lot more normal than most of the things you and I have faced."
Sam sighed in exasperation, "Look. We're probably gonna be here for a while, so I'm gonna stay here with my laptop and do some more research about the so-called animal attacks, whilst you go out and try and get a normal job. Got it?"
"That doesn't seem fair, Sammy, and you know it." Dean replied in annoyance, knowing when he was fighting a losing battle. Maybe it could be educational, actually working whilst undercover. After all, a guy needs something to do other than drown his sorrows in alcohol, right? "Fine." Dean said reluctantly, glaring at his younger brother before shoving his battered leather jacket on and leaving the room. Sam smiled and started typing away at his computer. He heard the sound of the Impala's engine roaring into life two minutes later as Dean drove away.
"Sammy!" Dean called out a few hours later, walking into the room. "I got a job! Someone actually wanted to hire me, kiddo. I'll start working as a barista at a chain coffee shop tomorrow morning at seven. It's called Starbucks. Awesome, huh? I'd rather be working as a mechanic, but you suggested something inconspicuous, so we 'blend in'. Like that's ever worked before."
Sam laughed at his older brother's enthusiasm. "Yeah, working at a coffee shop. Hitting on chicks, serving beverages. It's your dream job, Dean," Sam smirked.
"Shut your cakehole. You've gotta give me credit for actually finding something."
"Yeah, I'm so proud. Serving people, making drinks: the family business." Sam laughed.
"It's two hours later and there's still nothing to do in this place except watch crap TV and drink beer." Dean groaned, staring at the television screen before switching it off, "What the hell is Glee even meant to be?"
Sam shrugged "Beats me."
"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm gonna find a burger place before I slam my head into the nearest wall. You want anything?" Dean asked, hovering by the door.
"Nah, I'm fine. I ate when we stopped for gas. Thanks." Sam answered quickly. Dean was gone before he could get the last word out of his mouth.
Dean had brought back a burger for his brother but Sam had fallen asleep next to his still-running laptop, which was whirring as it overheated on the distastefully patterned bed sheets. Dean shrugged and picked the laptop up from the bed where Sam was sprawled out, and carried it to the table where he watched re-runs of Dr Sexy online until the early hours of the morning.