It was move in day for Dean. His whole family was helping him and Castiel move their stuff into their dorm room. They claimed the bunk beds in the room since there was only one other bed. Dean's roommate must not have an angel.

John dropped a box with their clothes next to the beds. Sam was walking around inspecting the room. Mary began unpacking the clothes.

"Are you excited, honey?" Mary handed the clothing to Dean.

"Yeah." He smiled and brought the shirts to the closet closest to the beds. "More than I expected to be."

"How about you, Castiel?" She looked at the angel as he placed Dean's laptop on the desk by the foot of the bunk beds.

He smiled at Mary and nodded. It was a big adjustment for him, but Castiel was ready to start something new.

Dean left a couple minutes later to get the keys for the room and floor. Sam went with him so he could see a little more of the building. They had to go down a couple floors to find one of the common rooms.

Students and their parents were clogging up the halls as they looked around and walked slowly and tried to find the right room. Dean and Sam entered the room where there were a few tables set up labeled with floor numbers.

"There's floor five." Sam pointed to the line at the end of the table. He and Dean went to stand at the end of the line behind a girl with long red hair.

The line was moving pretty quick and soon they were just a few people away from the table. Sam pushed up to his tiptoes to see the end of the line.

"Dean," Sam slapped his arm, "look."

"What?" Dean pulled his arm away and looked at his brother. Sam pointed to the table. Dean looked up, craning his neck to see over the heads of the students in front of him. He could see a pair of light gray wings beside the man giving out the keys.

There was a female angel sitting next to the man. She was smiling at the girl currently at the table and said something that made the man laugh.

"Who do you think she is?" Sam kept bouncing up on his toes to see the angel.

"How would I know?" Dean felt himself get more excited at the idea that an angel would be involved with his floor somehow, and that she could speak. Maybe he could ask her some things about angels.

"I heard she's with our RA." The red head in front of them spoke as she scrolled through a page on her phone. She turned to them and looked up with a smile.

"How'd you find out about that?" Sam stopped bouncing when she turned around.

"I have my ways." She looked at Dean. "I'm assuming you're the one moving in? He looks a little young to be starting here." She pointed to Sam.

Dean laughed. "Yeah, I'm Dean."

"Charlie." She raised a hand in greeting.

"This is my brother Sam." Dean patted his shoulder.

"Hi, Sam."

"Hi. So, how did you find that out already?"

Charlie laughed. "I can't reveal my secrets."

Dean smiled as Sam frowned. "You from around here?"

"No, I've lived all over. Different foster houses all over the country. I haven't been to Kansas in a long time though. You?"

"Born and raised local. We live about thirty minutes away."

"Wow. Why the hell are you spending so much extra money to live here then?" Charlie glanced behind her and took a couple steps as the lined moved.

"Just wanted the whole college experience I guess." Dean shrugged.

"Sure, and it'll be nice to have some freedom too, right?"

"Exactly."

"Well, I'm in room 540 if you get bored or want to start any trouble." She smiled.

"505."

She nodded and turned back to face forward. Dean and Sam followed the line as she stepped up to the table. When they were that close, Dean got a good look at the angel sitting at the table. She had long dark hair and large green eyes. She seemed to be assessing Charlie as she answered the man's questions.

Her wings were relaxed and open. One of them seemed to be resting on the man's back. She didn't talk much but she did greet Charlie before scanning the room again. Her eyes landed on Dean and he almost jumped when he realized he'd been staring. He smiled and nodded to her. She smiled back briefly before turning her gaze away.

Charlie took her keys from the RA and spun around to leave. "See ya, buddy." She gave his arm a punch as she left.

Dean laughed and rubbed his now sore arm. "Hi." He stepped up to the table.

"Hi, name?" The man looked down at his list.

"Dean Winchester." He watched the man scan the list for his name. He had short brown hair and talked with a deep southern accent.

"There you are." He pressed his pencil into the paper. "505, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay." He drew a line through Dean's name and then pulled out two sets of keys from the metal box on the table by him. "Is Castiel with you as well?" He looked up, bright blue eyes meeting his.

"Yes, he's up in the room with my parents."

The man smiled and held out the keys. "One of those sets is for him. One key will get you onto the floor from the stairs and the other is just for your room."

Dean took the keys and put them in his pocket. The man marked out Castiel's name as well. He didn't know his name would be on the list.

"My name is Benny. I'll be your RA for the year. I'm in room 520 if you have any problems or questions, I'm the one you can tell or ask. We'll have our first floor meeting tomorrow at 6pm and I'll go over all the dorm rules and regulations."

"Okay." Dean nodded.

"Do you have any questions?" Benny looked between the both of them.

Sam shook his head, even though he probably didn't need to. Dean looked at the angel. "What's your name?"

She glanced at Benny before answering. "Andrea."

"Hi, Andrea." He looked back at Benny. "Am I the only other one on the floor with an angel?"

Benny checked his list. "No, we've got three other students with an angel staying with them. Be sure to bring Castiel with you to the meeting."

"I will, thank you." Dean smiled to the both of them and turned away to go back to his room.

Once they were in the hall, Sam spoke. "Wow, your RA has an angel. That's awesome."

"I guess." Dean grabbed Sam and pulled him out of the way of a few people moving down the hall.

"I mean, if you have any trouble about Castiel being around, at least your RA will be on your side." Sam slapped Dean's hand off his shirt collar.

"Yeah, I guess that's a good thing. Hopefully I won't have any problems." They made it back up the stairs and went through the door that was propped open since there were so many people going through the building today.

His parents and Castiel had unpacked most everything and were just waiting for Dean to get back.

"There he is." Mary stood from the bed. "Did you find it okay?"

"Yeah, and I think I made a friend." Dean smiled and walked over to Castiel to hand him his keys. "Her name is Charlie and she's on this floor too."

"Oh good."

"And his RA has an angel that was there when he checked in." Sam sat at the desk.

"Really?" John asked from behind Sam.

"Yeah." Dean turned to look at his dad. "She was sitting by him. Her name is Andrea."

"Good, at least you'll have someone on your side." John nodded approvingly.

"That's what I said." Sam looked at Castiel to gauge his reaction. The angel seemed surprised.

"He told me that there were a few other students with angels on the floor too, so I won't be the only one."

"And Castiel won't be the only one either." Mary put a hand on his shoulder.

"Right." Dean smiled as his mom and Castiel shared a look.

"So, Dean," Mary looked back to him, "is there anything else we can help you with?"

Dean shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Alright, well," she looked around at the others, "I guess we'll head on home then. We were hoping to meet your roommate before leaving, but I guess we won't."

"I'll tell you all about him." Mary stepped up and hugged him. Dean rested his head on his mother's shoulder. "I'll be back to visit soon. It's not like I live far away."

"I'm glad for that." She kissed him on the cheek. Dean returned it before letting her pull away. "Have fun, sweetie."

"I will, mom." John stepped up next and pulled Dean into a hug.

"You call me if you have any trouble." He pulled back to look at his son.

"I will. Hopefully, I won't have any." They smiled at each other and John stepped back toward the door. He looked up and waved a goodbye to Castiel, which the angel returned.

Mary walked over to Castiel and engulfed him in a hug. Castiel returned it, flaring his wings happily behind him.

"What am I going to do in that house when you're not there?" Mary laughed. Castiel leaned his head against hers. She lowered her voice so only Castiel could hear. "Don't forget what I said, Castiel. You're a part of this family and always will be. You're one of my boys."

Castiel had to close his eyes to keep back tears that started burning his eyes. He held Mary tighter.

Dean felt his chest clench when he saw Castiel hug his mother for so long. He could tell how close they had gotten over the years and almost felt bad about the angel staying with him. They let go of each other and Mary stepped away to join John.

Sam walked up to Dean. The brothers just looked at each other briefly before Dean looked up and pulled Sam into a tight hug.

"I'll miss you, Sammy." Sam laughed. "Stay out of my room."

Sam pushed Dean away playfully. "Why would I want to go in there anyway?"

Dean smiled and tousled Sam's long hair. "And stop getting taller." He wasn't too far from matching Dean's height.

"I'll do my best." He looked at a smiling Castiel. "Bye, Cas."

Castiel waved to him. They watched them leave down the stairs and returned to their room.

"Is there anything left to unpack?" Dean looked around at the empty boxes. Castiel shook his head. "Good. So, you want to walk around and check this place out?" Castiel nodded.

They left the room. Dean locked it. It had been open when they got there, but now that his stuff was inside, he didn't want to leave it unlocked. His roommate was just gonna need to get his key first.

They made their way around to look at where the other rooms were as well as the bathrooms. Each set of about five rooms had its own small bathroom nearby with just a couple stalls and showers. There were a few people walking around but Dean didn't see any other angels yet.

"You wanna meet Charlie? She seems pretty cool." Dean looked at the angel. He nodded. "Okay, she's in room 540. I haven't seen any over here higher than 520. She must be across the stairs."

Castiel nodded in agreement and followed Dean to the stairs and across to the other open door. The setup was the same as his side. They both began searching for the right room.

"What are you doing creeping around on this side of the stairs?"

Dean and Castiel both turned to see who had spoken. Dean laughed when he saw Charlie with her hands on her hips.

"Just looking for some trouble." He smiled at the redhead.

"Well you found it." She looked at Castiel. "Who's this?"

"Castiel." The angel stepped forward and waved. "This is Charlie." Castiel raised his brows and looked closer at the girl.

"Hi, Castiel." She looked back to Dean. "Why didn't you tell me you had an angel staying with you?"

Dean shrugged. "It didn't come up."

She shook her head. "So, did your family head home?"

"Yeah."

"So you decided to come over to the girl's side of the stairs and lurk around?"

Dean hadn't realized the girls and boys were divided like that. "I guess so."

"Of course I would end up in the one dorm on campus that splits boys and girls like that. The joke is on the school though 'cause I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

Oh. "Well aren't you lucky."

"I really am." She waved at a couple girls that passed them. "You met your roommate yet?"

"No, he hasn't gotten here yet."

"Too bad. Mine's pretty cute and I think I might just have a chance. We'll have to see."

Dean laughed. "Good luck with that."

"You guys wanna check out the campus?"

Dean looked at Castiel. The angel shrugged. "Sure."

The three of them left the dorm and walked around outside. There were large groups of people everywhere. When they got to the quad, students were all over the grass. Some were throwing Frisbees or footballs. A few had blankets out and were just sitting in groups.

They kept moving and got a good look at a lot of the buildings on their end of campus. Castiel was in awe. He'd never seen so many young people gathered in one place like this. None of them gave him a second look either. The angels walking with the students seemed happy and a part of the group.

Dean could see Castiel watching the angels in the crowd. He was holding Dean's arm, but only so he didn't get separated from the other two. He really hoped Castiel would feel safe and happy here.

About an hour later, they decided to eat at one of the restaurants in the Student Center. Charlie was talking about all the places she'd lived while they ate. They had found out that she really enjoyed talking.

"So, Charlie, how old were you when you were put in foster care? If you don't mind talking about it."

She nodded and swallowed the mouthful of food she was chewing. "It's okay. I was thirteen. My parents…there was an accident."

"God, I'm sorry. You don't have to talk about it." Dean hadn't wanted to bring up any bad things for her.

"I'm fine. After that, I just bounced around from one family to another. I was pretty troubled back then. This last family has lasted almost two years, which is the longest one. It's because of them that I even finished high school." She picked at her food absently.

"I'm glad for that." Charlie looked up at him. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be here with us."

She laughed and looked between the two boys. "I suppose it was a good thing then."

They ate in silence for a few minutes before Charlie spoke again. "I'm assuming Castiel hasn't spoken because he can't?" Castiel looked slightly taken aback but he nodded. "Did you do that?" She looked at Dean.

"No."

She nodded. "How long have you known him?"

Dean liked that she said known and not owned. "A little over two years."

"You like staying with him?"

Castiel smiled and nodded. He picked up a pen from the table and wrote on the napkin close to her.

I couldn't have asked for a better family.

"Aww, he's so sweet." She looked back at Dean with a smile. "Did he already know how to read and write or did you teach him?"

"I taught him." Dean smiled at the memory of Castiel's excitement during those first few lessons.

"Good for you."

"It made it a lot easier for us to communicate. Only being able to ask yes or no questions was difficult."

"So Castiel just always writes down his responses?"

They both nodded. "And he has a phone to text with."

Charlie watched them thoughtfully. "You know, I do know sign language. I could teach you both that if you wanted. It would be faster for both of you."

Dean and Castiel looked at each other. They were both surprised by the offer. Castiel nodded and shrugged. He would love another way to communicate with others.

"Yeah, that would be awesome. Thanks, Charlie." Dean couldn't believe his luck with meeting her the first day here.

"No problem. I'd be more than happy to help you guys."

"How did you learn sign language?"

"I had a couple deaf friends in high school. I got tired of not being able to talk to them as easily so I had them teach me."

Dean laughed. "Wow."

They spent the next half hour talking about Charlie's computer hacking abilities, Dean's affinity for fixing things, and Castiel's drawing ability. Once they had finished their meal, they headed back to the dorm.

"I'll text you guys to set up the first lesson day."

"Sounds good."

"Later." She waved to them as she went in her side of the stairs. Dean and Castiel waved back and entered their side.

"I like her."

Castiel nodded in agreement. She was funny and very nice. He was excited to learn sign language from her.

When they got to their room, the door was unlocked. They went inside and saw that their roommate had arrived and was sitting at his desk. He glanced up when they walked in and then quickly looked back at his laptop.

Dean stopped by his desk. "Hi, I'm Dean. This is Castiel. You must be our roommate."

He just nodded. Dean wasn't sure if he should wait for him to talk or not. He didn't have to wait long. "I'm Rick." It came out as more of a grunt but he understood.

"Hi, Rick." When it was obvious he wasn't going to talk anymore, Dean just shrugged and walked away. Castiel was standing by their beds. He whispered to Castiel, "Not much of a talker I guess. I'll be right back. Bathroom break."

Dean slapped his shoulder before leaving. Castiel felt a little nervous once he was alone with Rick. Although he didn't seem to even notice Castiel, he had a bad feeling. It wasn't long before his instincts showed correct.

"You know, I don't know why anyone lets things like you in schools."

Castiel looked back and saw Rick glaring at him from his desk. His heart rate picked up as he grew more nervous.

"Dean should at least have the decency to keep you on a leash." Rick stood from the desk and moved closer to Castiel. "Things like you should be kept tied up in a corner. That's where you belong, not in college."

Anger and fear flared up inside the angel. He wanted nothing more than to hit Rick but he didn't want to get Dean in trouble.

"It would figure that you're too stupid to say anything. Just stay the hell away from me. I've already tried to get a transfer from this room but that other angel fucker, Benny, wouldn't let me."

Castiel was getting worried about how close Rick was, but he didn't move away. They both heard the door and Rick turned quickly to his bed and picked up some clothing and left the room in a rush.

"What's up with him?" Dean was smiling.

Castiel shrugged. He turned to his bed and tried not to think about what just happened.

"You okay?" He could tell the angel was upset. Castiel just nodded. "Cas, what happened?" He waved a hand. "No, tell me." When Castiel made to wave again, Dean grabbed his hand and turned him to face him. "Tell me."

Castiel bit his lip. He didn't want to upset Dean or cause him to do anything stupid. He took out his phone and started tying up the text.

He really doesn't like me Dean. He told me that I belonged tied up in a corner and to stay away from him.

Dean read the text with increasing anger. "What the fuck? That bastard!" He turned and made to go after Rick.

Castiel grabbed his arm and shook his head. "Cas, he can't talk to you like that."

When he moved again, Castiel held him tighter and pushed him towards the bed. "Cas!"

He shook his head and started typing quickly. Don't! He's not worth getting into trouble.

"So what, I just let him treat you like shit?"

He told me to stay away from him and I will. If he's so against me, he probably won't spend a lot of time here.

"I guess you're right. I still don't like it." He shook his head and moved to sit at his desk. "We've got orientation tomorrow. Let's just think about that. Hopefully we'll meet more people like Charlie." Castiel nodded in agreement.

As it grew dark, Dean and Castiel got ready for bed. Dean took the top bunk so it would be easier on Castiel's wings. He would normally sleep in a way that would let his wings hang loose and free, but that felt too vulnerable in Rick's presence. Now he slept with his wings pulled close to his back and resting against the wall so he could face Rick.