Chapter Two

Dean chewed at his bottom lip, flicking absently minded through the crappy TV channels, his mind focused entirely elsewhere.

It had been three days since Sam had left for college and Dean was already missing him. Aside from a text Sam had sent the same day he left Lawrence, Kansas to say he had arrived safely at the college, Dean had yet to hear from his younger brother again.

He didn't want to cramp Sam's style or fuss too much, but Dean just wanted to know how he was settling in and living completely alone for the first time in his life, was starting to get on Dean's nerves, even though it hadn't been that long at all.

Making a quick decision, Dean grabbed his cell phone and dialled Sam's number, unsurprisingly it rang out to voicemail and Dean cleared his throat before speaking.

"Oh umm, hey Sammy it's me…just wanted to call and see how you're doin, I mean I know it's only been a few days but…you know…wanted to see how you're settling in I guess…just give me a call…when you get chance…don't worry if you-"

'End of Message'

Dean pulled the phone from his ear and frowned, realising the voicemail had even cut him off for rambling on for too long about…well, nothing really. He cursed and threw the cell phone down.

"Get a fucking grip Winchester" He muttered to himself and shaking his head.

He got up, grabbing his leather jacket, apartment keys and headed for the only other place that felt like home.

The Roadhouse.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Dean parked his impala out front and made his way inside to the bar. The Roadhouse was Dean's favourite haunt, nothing fancy, just a simple roadside bar with some familiar faces and of course, where Dean worked part time.

He made his way through the doors; there was a few people skulking around the place but not overly busy. Dean nodded in greeting to a few familiar customers before heading straight for the bar.

"Hey Dean, usual?"

"Yeah, thanks Jo"

Dean smiled at the blonde girl behind the bar. Jo was a childhood friend, her mother Ellen owned the Roadhouse, she was a good friend of John Winchester back in the day and thought of the boys as family.

Ellen and Jo were always helpful and supportive of both Sam and Dean, she had immediately hired Dean to wipe down tables and collect glasses; the moment she found out Dean had dropped out of high school and was trying to support Sam, Dean had worked behind the bar ever since along with his other part time job at Singer's auto yard down the street.

Jo put a beer down in front of Dean and he nodded in thanks, before taking a long swig. She sighed and watched Dean with a sad smile.

"Missing Sam?" She enquired, wiping down the bar.

Dean looked up and rolled his eyes, letting out a long drawn out sigh.

"Yeah I guess, not used to living alone. At least there is friendly company in here…"

"It's also your workplace…freak" Jo replied with a laugh, playfully slapping Dean with the cloth in her hands.

"Shut up, I take back the friendly company part! And besides like I'd drink anywhere else…the booze here is free" Dean said laughing, adding a wink for effect.

"Only cause we pity you…cheap skate"

Dean and Jo continued to laugh, a figure sat alone in the far corner of the bar watching everything.

When the laughter died down, Dean declared he was going to grab a table before it got busy and he made his way over to a small table with one lonely chair. Pulling it out he sat down with a thud and placed his beer on top.

Dean let his eyes scan the bar and all of the regulars that graced it on a Friday night, his eyes stopped on a man sitting alone at the corner table. Blue eyes suddenly pierced into his own green eyes and the man was staring right at him unashamedly. Dean shifted in his seat, feeling suddenly uncomfortable and averted his gaze to the table in front of him.

He couldn't help but glance over again, only to find the same blue eyes were still locked on him intently. It's not like Dean hadn't been checked out by guys before, in fact it happened a whole lot, but there was something about this guy's stare that was beginning to freak Dean out.

Dean let his eyes fall back to his beer and he shook his head with a frustrated grunt, swigging his drink back and focusing his attention elsewhere.

This continued for the next hour and a half.

Dean was now on his third beer and the bar had gotten considerably busier, frustration was starting to build even more inside of Dean. Even though he had made a decision not to look back, he KNEW for a fact that the guy was still there and he could still feel those eyes burning a hole in the back of his head.

Jo came over to Dean's table to wipe it down; he let out a relieved sigh.

"Hey…do you know who that weird dude is back there?" Dean asked Jo, jerking his head discreetly in the direction of the stranger.

She glanced up briefly and looked back to Dean, with her hand on her hip.

"Who trenchcoat guy?"

Dean nodded in response.

"Nope never seen him in here before tonight, he got here like ten minutes before you did" She shrugged her shoulders, before strutting back to the bar.

He risked a final glance back to 'Trenchcoat guy' as he was now appropriately named, to find he was still staring. That was the final straw.

Dean gulped the final remains of his beer, slammed the bottle on the table in frustration and stood up abruptly, storming over to the table in which the stranger sat.

Suddenly the piercing blue eyes were wide and slightly taken back, the guy looked down right nervous at Dean's sudden presence.

"You got a problem with me or something buddy?" Dean asked loudly, frowning slightly at the man's wide eyed look. He looked terrified and Dean wondered if he had made a fatal error in going over there. Maybe the guy had a problem or didn't realise he was staring.

The man gulped and shook his head rapidly.

"No…of course not"

The reply that came was quiet, almost unheard and his voice was low, almost gravelly sounding. It sent a wave of multiple shivers down Dean's spine.

"Well you have been staring at me for the best part of two hours, any reason why?"

The man bowed his head and averted Dean's gaze.

"My apologies, I didn't realise I was so…obvious"

"So you admit you have been staring at me?" Dean asked, sounding a lot harsher than he intended to.

"Yes, you are very hard not to…look at. I thought about approaching you to say hello…but I'm not very good with social situations" The man explained, his blue eyes now darting back up to meet Dean's with a slightly renewed confidence.

Dean shook his head and huffed out a laugh.

*Weird guy...* he thought inwardly.

"Well quick tip, next time you wanna say hi to someone, just walk over and say Hi. Cause the staring thing? Kinda creepy dude"

The man nodded and stood up, Dean noticed he was a tad shorter than himself and dressed in a suit beneath his trenchcoat. All of his clothes were entirely too big for him and Dean wondered if this guy was here on business, it wasn't a big town so the local folks tend to know each other.

"Again my apologies, I'm leaving now. Sorry to have bothered you." The man said, meeting Dean's eyes for a final time and heading for the door.

"Wait…I'm sorry if I came off a little abrupt, I didn't mean to…if you're new round here, we're usually pretty friendly…honest" Dean said with a smile as the other man turned back around to face him.

"Thank you, I appreciate that." The man continued to walk towards the door.

Before he could walk out, he came to a stop once more and hearing Dean call after him.

"I didn't catch your name by the way…"

The man turned his head slightly and let out a small smile.

"Castiel"

And with that he walked out of the bar, leaving a curious and slightly nervous Dean behind.