.

VI.

If I could change the currents of our lives
To make the river flow where it's run dry
To be a prodigal of father time
Then I would see you tonight

Castiel stared at the products in front of him. He was standing in a small convenience store he had found earlier today after having woken up early, his whole body aching from stiffness and the cold. The store seemed to be a perfect solution for the cold. He had spent multiple hours just walking through the hallways, every now and then straightening a package that had fallen down or carrying a product to its rightful place after someone had randomly dropped it in the wrong shelf. He found it calming, to restore the order of the shop. After a few hours he had noticed that the employees started staring at him strangely, but they hadn't sent him away. So Castiel continued what he was doing, enjoying the warmth and the tranquillity.

"I'm sorry sir, but we're gonna close the shop, 'cause it's already 6 pm," a voice suddenly sounded from behind Castiel. He turned around to see a teenage boy who was wearing the same kind of clothing he had seen on every employee. Their uniform mostly consisted out of red colours, and in addition to the similar clothing, the boy was also wearing a cap. Castiel remembered seeing him earlier, sitting at the cash register.

"That's all right, I understand," Castiel said and smiled politely. "I wish you a good evening."

"Thanks, you too," the boy answered nicely and walked back towards the cash register, where he started cleaning.

Castiel slowly walked towards the entrance and looked outside. The sky was pit black and Castiel shivered at the thought of having to spend another night in the cold. He looked through the store once more and his eyes landed on a tray of fruit. He hadn't eaten since yesterday evening and his stomach had been reminding him constantly of that fact. He hesitantly walked a bit closer, his hands hovering above the yellow fruits. His eyes flit back to the store; the boy was still attentively cleaning the register and the rest of the employees were nowhere to be seen.

"I apologize, Father, but I don't have another choice," Castiel whispered, and took a banana, quickly hiding it in the inner pocket of his coat. He was surprised that nobody heard his heart beating. With his face red from shame, he quickly turned around and left the shop.

As he walked, Castiel hugged himself himself in a futile attempt to keep himself warm as long as possible. His teeth started chattering soon, though, as the cold had no trouble biting through his thin coat.

He had no idea where he should go.

The thought to visit Dean had occurred to Castiel more than once, until he remembered that he wasn't supposed to know where Dean lived. If only he knew what other people without a home did. But he didn't have any experience at all on that matter, so he just walked, trying to keep his muscles as warm as possible.

After walking for a long time, Castiel neared an alley that seemed to be emanating a dancing yellow light. He stopped and stared, discovering a metal bin filled with burning material next to a person who was cuddled up into a pile of old looking blankets. Castiel found himself drawn to the light and hesitantly took a step forward.

"What are you looking at?" a sharp voice suddenly snapped. Castiel's eyes flashed back to the pile of blankets to take a better look at the source of the voice. It appeared to be a girl, probably in her early twenties. "Never seen a hobo before?"

Castiel had no idea what she meant with her second question, so he decided to ignore that part.

"I was looking at your fire," he answered, shuffling a bit closer once more as he felt the heat reaching out for his body. "May I perhaps join you?"

The girl snuggled a bit more into her blankets and looked at him defiantly.

"What's in it for me?"

"I…" Castiel thought for a moment and then remembered the banana in his inner pocket. Perhaps he could wash away his sin of stealing if he shared the fruit with the girl. "I have a banana."

She stared at him in disgust. "What the hell? If this is some fucked up way of talking me into something, I swear-"

Although he had no idea why what he said was wrong, Castiel was quick to interrupt her.

"I apologize," he said hastily, and took out the fruit to show it to the girl. "I think you misunderstood me. I meant to offer you a part of this."

The girl stared at the fruit for a second and then burst into laughter. Castiel stared helplessly at her, still holding up the banana. He still had no idea how he should handle humans when they were displaying these kinds of emotions.

"So… may I?" Castiel tried again.

Still giggling, the girl rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, do whatever you want, as long as I get a piece of that banana of yours."

Castiel nodded gratefully and walked towards the fire. He sighed in relief when he felt the warmth fill his body once more, his hands slowly thawing. It hurt at first but the warm feeling that was beginning to make its way through his body was entirely worth it. As soon as he was able to move his hands again without hurting, he lifted the banana and tried to figure out a way to divide it in two pieces. He carefully tried to break it, but the contrast between the firm outside and the mushy inside made it quite impossible. All this time, the girl was just staring at him with her eyebrows raised.

"Give that to me," she ordered after a while, and reached out her hand. Castiel frowned slightly at the banana, sighed, and handed it to her. She simply peeled it, took a bite and then moaned.

"Oh, this is good," she sighed, and took another bite.

Castiel just stared at her, watching his banana slowly disappear into the girl's stomach. After her third bite, the girl looked back up at Castiel.

"Oh, crap, I almost forgot it wasn't mine. Here." She handed him the remainder of the banana. It was less than Castiel had hoped, but it was something.

"Thank you," he said quietly, and finished the banana. It had a peculiar, exotic taste; he liked it, but it was nothing compared to the cheeseburger he had had yesterday.

This left him with a peel in his hands. He stared at it for a moment, and then turned his eyes questioningly at the girl. During his visits to Earth, he had noticed that humans seemed to dislike garbage, especially food waste, being left in their environment. Even though Castiel had already noticed that the streets weren't as clean as most of the human's houses, he was not entirely sure what he should do with the banana peel without somehow offending the girl.

"Where should I put this?" he ended up asking hesitantly.

She merely shrugged.

"I don't know, in the fire maybe? It'll keep it burning for a while longer, I guess."

Castiel nodded and followed her instructions.

It was silent for a while. Castiel was enjoying the heat radiating from the fire, his eyes closed, when suddenly a very uncomfortable feeling crept up his throat. It had been hurting all day, but now it began to itch. He cleared his throat, then coughed. It didn't help much.

"So… You got kicked out, or something?" the girl's voice broke the silence.

"I suppose it can be seen that way, yes," Castiel said, his eyes opening again and focusing on the sparks that kept finding ways to escape from the fire and fly freely through the air, only to perish seconds later.

The girl frowned. "So you fucked up."

Castiel sighed softly. "So it seems."

The human seemed to wait for him to continue; when he didn't, she sighed exasperatedly.

"And here I was thinking I had found a decent conversational partner to cure me from my boredom. Come on, tell me more before I kill myself!"

"I can't," Castiel answered earnestly. "It's… very complicated, I'm afraid."

"Come on, handsome, I'm not that stupid," she drawled. "I'm sure I can understand the complicatedness of your life."

Castiel shook his head. "I'm sorry."

The girl threw her head back, groaning. "All right, all right. Then what can you tell me about yourself without revealing some kinds of goddamn state secrets?"

Castiel was taken a bit back by her foul mouth addressing his Father in this manner.

"I… My name is Castiel," he said, and then quickly added, "Novak. Castiel Novak."
"Oh, wow, it's talking. How wonderful to meet you, Castiel Novak." The human smirked lightly. "My name is Meg, by the way."

"Nice to meet you too, Meg," Castiel replied politely. Meg just rolled her eyes and gestured for him to continue.

Castiel hesitated for a moment. "I'm not completely sure what else to tell you."

"You're hopeless, you know that, right," Meg said with raised eyebrows.

Castiel didn't answer. He stared at the fire, and then decided to sit down in order to be a bit closer to the source of the warmth. He heard Meg sighing again; he realized that she probably just was craving for a bit attention. He turned his head towards her, tilting it slightly.

"Would you like to share your story?"

She blinked, her sarcastic façade disappearing for just a moment; Castiel suddenly saw how young she still must be. Why, indeed, was she on the streets all by herself?

"Maybe. If you quit staring at me; it's getting creepy." Meg seemed to have found her composure back again.

"I'm sorry." Castiel redirected his gaze at the fire, and they both were quiet for a while. Minutes later, Meg's voice broke the silence.

"You're gonna get a bladder infection if you keep on sitting on the ground like that."

Castiel considered this for a moment. "Oh."

He shifted for a bit and folded his knees under his body, so that his bottom wasn't touching the cold ground any longer. It was slightly uncomfortable, but he imagined a bladder infection would be even more so. He sniffed, and then coughed again.

At that moment, Meg sighed loudly and dramatically lifted the blanket she was under for a bit. Castiel looked at her again, not sure what to think of this action.

"C'mon, before I change my mind," she said and then glared at Castiel. "No touching, though."

"Do you want me to join you?" Castiel asked slowly.

"Yes!" Meg said exasperatedly. "Gosh, you're a bit slow, aren't you. Get your sweet ass over here before it freezes off."

Somehow, Meg reminded Castiel a bit of Dean. His lips tugged up into a small smile as he stood up; it hurt his knees a little. He walked over and carefully took hold of the rug that Meg had been holding up for him, and then shifted under it. He sat down and covered them again, making sure there still was a considerable distance between himself and the girl.

"Thank you," he sighed as he made himself a bit more comfortable. This was definitely an improvement from the cold ground.

Meg just hummed, and then asked, "What were you smiling about just now? Didn't even know you were capable of any other expression than that staring thingy."

Castiel's smile returned to his face; he studied the blanket as he answered, "I was thinking of someone. You reminded me a bit of him."

"Him, huh? I'm that manly?"

Castiel shook his head. "No. It's not that."

"Then what is it?"
"I…" Castiel shrugged. "Perhaps the way you speak. I'm not quite sure."

"So… he's a good friend of yours, then? If he can make you smile, just thinking 'bout him?"

"Yes," Castiel heard himself say. "We… We share a profound bond."

"Oh," Meg said, and then, a bit louder, "Oh! So, you're like, 'special friends'?"

Castiel looked away from to blanket to study her face. He had no idea why she was smirking the way she was.

"Yes," he said slowly. "I believe our relationship is quite special."

"Ah, right." The smirk didn't leave her face. Somehow, Meg seemed to be much less tense than before. Castiel suddenly had to gasp for air and then broke into another coughing fit. Meg frowned slightly and waited until he pulled himself back together again. "But why are you here, freezing to death, when you could be with him?"

Castiel sighed. "As I said… It's truly complicated. I'm meeting him tomorrow, however."

"And then you can stay with him or what?"
Castiel didn't answer, and thoughtfully stared at the flames. They were starting to get lower.

"Does he know you're living on the streets?" Meg's voice was a bit softer.

"No," was Castiel's simple answer.

It was silent for a moment.

"Well, he will know tomorrow," Meg then said resolutely. "You look like absolute shit."

Castiel looked down; the part of his coat that was visible, was slightly stained. He hadn't seen his face since his first day on Earth, but a quick brush to his cheek told him that his stubble probably look quite unkempt, and it wouldn't surprise him if the same counted for his hair. So he agreed with a small nod.

Suddenly, Castiel felt very tired. His throat was still aching, and his head felt fuzzy. He realized that he just wanted to sleep. He closed his eyes and leaned back a bit more. He listened to the sounds of the flames devouring the last pieces of the material Meg had gathered. His breathing slowed down gradually, and slowly, he started slipping out of consciousness. But then, the silence was broken by Meg's voice once again.

"They kicked me out, you know."

Castiel's eyes fluttered open.

"Who did?"

"My parents." Her voice sounded so bitter. Castiel turned to look at Meg; she was now the one staring at the flames. "Saw me kissing a girl. They called me an abomination, told me uncountable times how much God disapproved of 'that kind of thing', and then said I had to leave if I didn't improve my life. So I left."

Castiel saw how much it hurt the girl and it made him feel bad. He wanted to help, but he just didn't know how. He didn't even know what to say, even though Meg really looked like she needed to be comforted. Then, he remembered the conversation he had had on his first day on Earth, with the kind lady named Martha.

"Don't you have anywhere else to go?" he repeated Martha's words, tilting his head.

Meg just shrugged.

"I got some uncles and aunts, but I don't want to visit them. I don't want my parents to find me. I want them to know that they lost me for good."

Castiel nodded; he understood her reasoning. It was very primitively human, yet it was understandable. What he didn't understand, is why humans took a liking to hating phenomena in the name of God.

"It is a horrible thing your parents have done," Castiel said eventually. "But I need you to know one thing, Meg. Our Father created human kind himself. If He didn't like the possibility of a woman loving a woman, or a man loving a man for that matter, he wouldn't have given it to you. Besides, God truly loves human kind more than you'll ever know. He would never judge anyone for loving another."

Meg's bottom lip trembled slightly, and she averted her eyes. She laughed shakily.

"Yeah, go tell that to my parents."

"I would, if I could," Castiel said, looking at Meg seriously.

"Yeah sure, of course you would," she replied, rolling her eyes. She sniffed, and then smiled again. "But you don't need to go all Clarence on me. I'm a big girl, I can handle myself."

Castiel blinked, confused at both the mood switch and the strange name.

"Who's Clarence?"

She stared at him incredulously, raising one eyebrow.

"Jeez, know your classics."

"I'm sorry." Castiel looked back at the fire, which had almost died out at this point. Then, he felt a sharp elbow in his stomach and he turned around to look back at Meg. Seemingly, she had already forgotten her earlier sorrow.

"Don't beat yourself up." She smiled softly. "You know? I'm kinda glad you chose to be my conversational partner. You're a pretty decent guy."

Castiel smiled slightly before falling in another coughing fit. His whole frame was shaking and at the time he finished, he felt drops of sweat pearling down his forehead. He cleared his throat and tried to ignore the pain it caused. He was feeling both hot and cold at the same time; he chose to snuggle a bit deeper into the fort of blankets.

"I think we should sleep," Meg's voice said.

Castiel nodded in agreement before Meg shifted next to him and laid down. He followed her example. Soon after, he felt her forehead pressing into his arm. The touch startled him, but he didn't move; he merely closed his eyes.

"Good night, Clarence."

Thanks for reading, everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm sorry, but the updates really will be slightly less frequent from now on. I'm a bit stuck on a part in chapter 8. It'd be very motivating if you left a review, though! Tell me what you think – both nice reviews and critical feedback are very much appreciated.
The next chapter will have the song 'Wind of Change' by The Scorpions as prologue.