Stanford exceeded Sam's expectations. He wasn't expecting it to be so green on campus, or to meet so many people with such interesting stories.

He had made the journey on his own, his Camaro stuffed with his possessions. He had figured it would be easier to say goodbye to his parents back in Kansas, and remove the opportunity for his father to be antagonistic over the two days it would take to get there. Mary had cried, and Sam had hugged her hard, torn between not wanting to let her go and wanting to leave straight away, to put as much distance between himself and John as possible.

He was assigned an on-campus house, sharing with five other students on various courses. He was grateful that he still had his own room, though he'd had to fight Dirk for the room they both wanted. It had been a tense few moments, and Sam was grateful while it was happening that Dean had wrestled him endlessly as kids, that John had encouraged them both to learn how to fight. He quickly overpowered Dirk, pinning him to the floor, both of them breathing heavily from the exertion.

"Giving up, Dirk the Jerk?" Sam panted, his knee pressing into the middle of Dirk's back. He supposed that Dirk hadn't been expecting any resistance. It hadn't been Sam's plan to jump his new housemate, but he had been struggling with his duffel bag and a stack of books when Dirk had slipped by him, half-running to the room Sam was clearly aiming for. Sam couldn't help himself, defending his territory. It probably wasn't the best start to a relationship, but he was hoping that Dirk would joke about, give him one of Dean's old nicknames, and they would end up friends. And he would end up with the room.

"Fine, it's yours, let me up!" Dirk sounded broken. Sam stood up and held out a hand for Dirk, who took it grudgingly. "And never call me that again."

"Sorry man, it was just a joke." Sam picked his belongings up again as Dirk stormed off into the only room left to claim, and slammed the door behind him. Sam could feel two of the girls, Madison and Donna, staring at him, and his face heated up. Maybe rough-housing his housemates before they even got to orientation wasn't the best start to his college career.

"It was meant to be a joke. Breaking the ice, you know?" he explained. Madison and Donna swapped a look, and headed into Donna's room, leaving Sam alone in the hallway. He dragged his possessions into his room and began unpacking, mentally planning what he was going to do afterwards.

"So, I was thinking, we should check out the local bars," the other guy in their house, Andy, said as he strode into Sam's room and bounced on his bed. "Nice mattress. Anyway, we've got total freedom, we should definitely see if we can fake ID our way to some alcohol. How 'bout it?"

Sam looked around from his closet, which Andy was now trying to peer into from the bed.

"Wow, you like plaid." He shook his head, and then began rambling once again. "Have you seen around campus yet? Super sweet place. Hey, what're you studying? Law? Wow, you're like, some kind of brainiac. Madison's on that course too. Totally heavy. So, where're you from?"

Sam had never met anyone like Andy. He was like a child in a grown man's body, and he had the attention span of a goldfish. He didn't seem the type for Stanford, but Sam guessed he must have been some kind of a genius. And he was likeable enough. Sam stopped putting his clothes into his closet and focused instead on having a good time with the people he was going to be living with.

"Kansas. What about you?"

"I'm an Oakie," Andy smiled, and then stood up, heading out of the door. "Girls, we're going to try our luck in the bars, are you coming with?"

Sam listened as Andy talked with Donna and Madison, planning where they could go, and carried on packing his things away. He heard them walk down the hallway, knocking on Dirk's door and asking if he was coming along too. Moments later, Andy was back, leaning on the doorframe with his arms folded.

"Sam … it is Sam, right? We're going in half hour. Get your drinking hat on!"

He trudged off and Sam took the time that the girls were obviously using to get ready to put some more of his things away, grabbing his wallet and locking his door at the last minute.

They walked along the sidewalk together, the girls talking non-stop with Andy as Sam trudged next to Dirk, bringing up the rear.

"Hey man, sorry about tackling you, pinning you down. My brother and me-"

"It's fine. Whatever," Dirk folded his arms and practically sulked. It was like dealing with his father all over again. Sam bit back an agitated noise.

"Well, anyway. Sorry."

"Just don't call me it again," Dirk snapped, and strode forward, passing the rest of their housemates and practically running past the bar they had picked. Andy looked back at him and shrugged.

"Let him cool down," Andy suggested. Sam nodded, and followed him into the bar. "Okay, ladies, what'll it be?"

"Please," Lily, their other housemate, scoffed. "Go grab a booth. Sam, come with me. I need you to carry everything." She headed to the bar and Sam followed, watching as she peeled off her jacket and tried to catch the bartender's eye. Sam stood beside her, trying to look twenty-one. He watched as Lily flirted with the bar guy, and got two beers and three cocktails. And his number. She gestured to Sam to carry the drinks, and took two herself, promising the barman that she would be back. As they walked to the table the others had grabbed, she leaned into his side. "Nicely done Sam, very cool. You earned your beer."

"I didn't do anything. You did all the flirting."

"Ugh, yeah. Do me a favour, don't tell my girlfriend when she comes to visit? She doesn't like it when I do that."

Sam tried not to act surprised, that Lily was so open about the fact that she had a girlfriend. He had assumed most people would be like his father, repressed and homophobic. Maybe Lily would understand about Gabriel, and the way Sam felt about him.

"I get you," he tested the water. "My brother was a huge flirt, but then he married this guy he'd met at college and I don't think his husband would like it if he did the same thing."

"Huh. So I guess it's a gay thing, huh?" Lily deadpanned.

"I didn't mean it like that. I meant … because Dean … never mind."

"I take back the cool thing. You're just an awkward nerd underneath, aren't you, Sam?"

They got to the table, and Lily distributed the drinks, sliding into the booth next to Donna and chattering away. Sam perched on the other end of the booth and sipped his beer, wishing Lily had gotten a better brand. It tasted like dishwater, compared to the stuff Dean and John got.

The evening wasn't too bad, as it went. Madison began talking to him about their course and what she thought they would study first, and Sam found himself suckered into the conversation. The next thing he knew, Andy was patting his shoulder.

"Samuel, we're going home. Are you two coming?"

"Uh, sure," he slid out of the booth and held his hand out to Madison to help her out too. She took it, and peeled off the seat, and didn't let go of his hand even as they walked back the way they came. They followed Andy and Donna as they sang songs loudly and off-key, Lily just behind them shaking her head slowly. Sam watched Lily's long blonde hair as it caught the glare off the street lamps, and considered Madison's hand in his. It was small, and soft, and cool to the touch. But she held on tightly to him, her grip surprisingly firm.

Maybe, he thought, this was what he needed. A real distraction from Gabriel, someone new to learn about and spend time with. Then maybe he wouldn't close his eyes and be in his Camaro, in the middle of a corn field, with brilliant golden eyes burning into him. He looked at Madison who smiled shyly at him. He made himself smile back, trying to root around for another topic. They had talked so easily in the bar, why was it so hard now? But then she leaned closer, wrapping her other hand around his arm, and he realised that she was just enjoying the walk home.


Gabriel was regretting his decision to fly halfway back around the world. He had decided to explore the Arctic, or at least part of it. But it was so damn cold, even with all the extra padding he had bought. He was huddled in his tiny tent out by a frozen lake in God-only-knows where, covered in blankets and shivering. It was rare that he had a moment of loathing for travelling, but he'd found it here in this sub-zero wasteland. His only coping mechanism was to think of a place that was hot, pretend that the sun was warming him enough to cope with the bitter bite of icy air that existed even in his tent. He tried to think of the desert in Sahara, or his recent trip to Australia, but instead he found himself dwelling on an old car, and a tall, friendly man-child who had more soulful eyes than a Labrador puppy. He sighed, and felt a chill run through him, and he shuddered, burrowing further under the blankets. At this rate, he was going to have to fly back to Kansas and demand to see Sam, just once, just to take the edge off.


Sam woke up slowly, feeling a warm body in the bed beside him. He rubbed a hand over his forehead as he blinked his eyes open, looking around at his dorm room as the night before slowly came back to him. Drinking at the bar. Lily saying she had a girlfriend. The hours melting by as he talked to Madison. Coming back to their house and bringing her into the room.

"Good morning," her voice was husky with sleep, but when Sam turned his head, she smiled bashfully at him.

"Hey. Did you sleep okay?"

She nodded, looking at him as though she was trying to communicate something very specific with just her eyes. Whereas Sam was becoming aware that he was naked. And Madison probably was too. He strained for the memories, which were hazy and brief, but they definitely fooled around while everyone else went to bed.

"Um, just so you know," she shuffled closer, resting her chin on the inside dip of his shoulder. "I don't normally do that. Sleep with people when I just met them, I mean. One night stands aren't really my thing."

"Me either," Sam admitted.

"So … where do we go from here?"

Sam wasn't sure what Madison was getting at. Or rather, he could sense what was in the offing and wasn't sure that he wanted to go forward. He hadn't come to college with the urge to have a relationship, and suddenly there was one threatening. But he liked Madison, they had a lot in common, and she had been fun the night before. She hadn't quite erased the memory of Gabriel, but she had eased the sting.

"I guess breakfast, then orientation?"

She rolled her eyes, and Sam rolled closer, kissing her softly, clearly surprising her. But she kissed him back willingly, her fingers threading through his hair as he steadied himself above her, pressing into the mattress. When they paused for breath, Madison started to wriggle away from him.

"I'd better get to my room, get dressed before the others start making fun." She pressed another kiss to his cheek, and slipped out of the bed, grabbing her clothes as Sam rolled onto his back and looked at the ceiling. "You need to get dressed too," She poked his chest, and left the room. Sam crawled out of bed slowly, and grabbed his towel and shower stuff, making his way to the bathroom and stepping into the shower.