Castiel sighed in frustration as he stared up at the concrete building. This wasn't the student center either. The school wasn't all that big, the whole campus fit within a few blocks, but he needed lunch and only one building held the food court. Castiel was hopelessly turned around. He started considering just going back to his apartment and scraping together whatever food he had in his mini fridge. Castiel shoved his hands in the pockets of his trench coat and trudged off. If only there was a map of the campus somewhere. And there was. It was in the student center. Which he couldn't find. Because he needed a map. This was ridiculous.

A visitors' tour walked by and Castiel was almost tempted to ask the guide for directions for his own college campus. Almost.

The guide said to his group, "This is the academic advising building. Pretty boring but very important. It's really smart to go in each semester and make sure everything is in order for you to graduate on a schedule that works for you. Over there, though, is also important. That's Taylor street. If you ever need a meal, Taylor has you covered. The whole block is just diners, cafes, shops, and bars. Equally as important as advising if you ask me."

Castiel tried incredibly hard not to bolt for Taylor street the second the tour guide said that. He tried not to look like he was listening in, and he tried so very hard not to jump at the thought of food. It wasn't like he was starving or anything, but he had had breakfast nearly five hours ago. His stomach would probably start digesting itself if he didn't do something.

As the group moved on to other landmarks of the college campus, Castiel walked very quickly towards Taylor. The guide hadn't been lying. Food shops galore overran the street. He walked past a sandwich shop, not at all sure what he wanted for lunch. Finally, he happened upon a bar. It was sort of small, and there seemed to be an apartment above the bar. It looked warm inside, and Castiel could already smell cheese fries. Perfect.

He opened the door of The Roadhouse cautiously and stepped inside. A group of college students surrounded a foosball table, shouting in unison at random intervals. Otherwise, the place was pretty empty.

Castiel walked over to a seat in the front corner away from the foosball enthusiasts. At least it was quieter on that side.

An older woman walked up to him with a smile and asked, "What can I get for you, honey?"

"Some water and an order of cheese fries if it's not too much trouble," Castiel replied.

The woman smiled warmly. "Coming right up," she said. She walked back behind the bar, and Castiel pulled out his notebook. It was only the beginning of the semester, and he was already behind on his notes. Latin was the worst. For a dead language, his professor really seemed to have a handle on correct pronunciation.

Before he could fully immerse himself in the world of unintelligible syllable emphasis, a blonde girl sat down across from him, looking at him curiously. "Hi," she said, "Mind if I join you?"

Castiel shook his head but kept reading his notes. The information had made no sense when he'd written the notes and even less now that he was reading them.

"You go to the college?" the girl asked.

Castiel looked up and nodded.

"Cool, we get a lot of the college students in here," she said, "What class is that for?"

"Latin," he said.

The girl laughed for a moment and then said, "Wait, you're serious? You're taking Latin? Why?"

"Language requirement," Castiel said.

The girl looked at him for a long, uncomfortable moment, and he returned his gaze to his notes in order to avoid her stare.

"You're really quiet," she said.

"Well, I don't know you, so..." Castiel replied.

She sat up straighter and extended her hand across the table formally. "My name's Jo," she said.

Castiel hesitantly shook her hand. "Castiel," he replied.

Jo grinned. She said, "Well, I'll definitely remember that name."

He lowered his eyes back to his notebook. His name was always a source of contention. Jo was certainly not the first to think it was weird, and she certainly wouldn't be the last. Apparently, naming him Castiel had been his mother's idea, but when she died giving birth to him, his father hadn't had the heart to ignore her wishes. Castiel liked his name even if it was a little weird, but it still was a bit embarrassing when others didn't feel the same way.

"It's kinda cool. Castiel. You're like a sci-fi character or something," she said, smiling.

He laughed a little at that.

"So, why are you sitting all on your own in here when you could be playing foosball with everyone else?" Jo asked.

Castiel shrugged. "I've never been in here, I don't really know them, so I figured I'd just sit over here and study," he said.

"Oh, am I interrupting you? I didn't even think, I just kinda sat down, and-"

"No, no it's fine. I'm deplorable with Latin. Your presence isn't going to change that."

"Why are you taking Latin, again? I get the foreign language requirement, but that still seems really off the wall," Jo said.

Castiel sighed and said, "I'm a History major, so it goes into the Classics part of my degree, but I also figured there'd be no oral presentations or anything since it's a dead language."

"There are oral presentations in Latin?" Jo asked.

"No, but my teacher still grades our pronunciation."

"That sucks."

The woman who had taken Castiel's order came over with his cheese fries and water. She shot a look at Jo and said, "Don't you have something else to be doing? Like working? I've got at least two rounds of drinks waiting at the bar."

Jo grinned and hopped up. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Castiel," she said. The other woman walked back to the bar.

Castiel asked Jo, "Wait, you're twenty-one?" She didn't look like she was even in her twenties, but Castiel had always been a bad judge of these things.

Jo said, "To anyone that asks, yes, I'm legal. I'm actually seventeen, but my mom and stepdad own the place, so they let me work anyway. Just, y'know, can't be on the clock if the cops show up."

Castiel nodded and was vaguely concerned that she was working illegally, but Jo didn't seem too bothered by it.

Just as Jo walked away and Castiel turned his attention back to his notes, his phone rang. The universe did not want him to learn Latin apparently. Castiel pulled his phone out of his trench coat. It was his dad.

"Hey, dad," Castiel said, answering the call.

His dad said, "Hey, kiddo, how's school going?"

"Oh, it's going okay. It's only been a couple of weeks, but it's been good."

"How's the apartment treating you? I feel like I haven't asked enough about how you're living. You're still eating and locking your doors and everything, right?"

"Yeah, Dad. And the apartment's fine. It gets a little drafty around the windows, but it's nice having my own place," Castiel said.

His dad chuckled and said, "Enjoying your independence. Nice."

"How's work been going?" Castiel asked.

His dad sighed. "It's been slow. I'm going to have to pack up and head to another town soon," he said.

Castiel's dad was a salesman. He'd sell appliances to companies or door-to-door if things got really tight. He was actually pretty good with words, and he did sell a fair amount of inventory, but it meant that he moved a lot. So much so that Castiel had gone to twelve different high schools.

"Of course, I'll call when I get to the next town," his dad said.

"Oh, yeah," Castiel said, "Of course."

An awkward silence formed on the line. Castiel and his dad had never been particularly close, but his dad was all he really had. At the same time, bonding over the phone was incredibly hard when nobody knew what to say.

"Hey, dad?" Castiel said.

His dad replied, "Yeah?"

"I'm glad you called," Castiel said,"But I've got to go. Studying for classes and stuff."

His dad said, "Yeah, I probably shouldn't distract you. I'll check in later this week. Good luck with your classes."

Castiel hung up his phone and pocketed it, returning to his fries.

After he finished his food, he grabbed his notebook and headed for the door.

"See you around, Castiel," Jo called, giving him a wink.

He'd never been good at making friends. Always on the move with his dad, he never had the need to form any attachments. Now that he was so far from his dad, from the only home he'd ever known, maybe it made sense to make a friend.

Castiel smiled at Jo and walked outside. He might be on his own now, but maybe he wasn't as alone as he felt.