Disclaimer: I do no own Supernatural or the characters. This is a story inspired by the characters set in AU. I hope you enjoy=

"This school is going to suck just as much as the last. I mean Dean, it's already October! Everyone is already going to have their friend groups, lab partners, study buddies!" The Winchester brothers walked along the sidewalk heading for yet another new school-the third one of this school year. Dean was used to it by now, but he was thankful that he wasn't attending any more. When he turned 18 earlier this year, he knew it was finally his chance to get some money together and get he and Sammy out of their dad's shadow. His boozy, aggressive shadow.. So, he dropped out of school and got some work at a local auto shop. His savings were growing, but then John messed it all up as usual. They were basically run out of town and now he had to find a new place to work, and quick.. He didn't dwell on the thought for long before his younger brother's complaining began again. "I don't even know what curriculum this school is going to be on. At the last school I was in advanced placement! Advanced placement, Dean! That would have looked great on college applications!"

"Sammy, chill!" Dean chuckled slinging an arm around his brother's shoulders and tousling his chocolate brown hair. "You're barely in 10th grade, you have plenty of time to think about college. Plus, you're so smart you skipped a grade!"

"It's Sam and no, I don't have plenty of time. All the good colleges start looking at you from the very first day of high school! And with dad dragging us all over kingdom come I already have to work twice as hard as other kids!" Sammy shoved his older brother off and fixed his now crooked hoodie and adjusted his backpack. "And they only bumped me up a grade because dad gave them the wrong birthday! The only grade I skipped was kindergarten, it's not that great an achievement."

"Well, yeah. But those college admission people won't know that unless you spill the beans." They rounded a corner and the school could be seen just a few blocks ahead. Dean thought it looked like a decent place. He hadn't told Sammy yet, but he was also hoping it would be the last school he'd attend. If he could find some steady work, he'd be able to make a decent amount before John inevitably got fired again, found a new job, got fired, repeated the process until his reputation in this town was right where Dean always pulled him from after a bender (the gutters) and then haul them off to the next town to repeat again. Dean was determined that this was the absolute last town they'd move to-at least until Sammy had gone off to one of his big shot colleges. As for himself, he hadn't thought about what he'd do passed then. Sammy was his responsibility, his whole world, and he had tunnel vision about helping him find success.

"Couldn't I have just ridden the bus? This is too far to walk every morning. I didn't even have time to review my class syllabus this morning before we left." Sammy complained again. Dean wasn't sure if it was just Sammy or if all 14 year olds were this whiny.

He just chuckled at his words. "You're not fooling me. I know you have that memorized, you wouldn't shut up about it last night. Plus, it's tradition. We always would walk together on the first day of school!"

"Yes, but you were attending school with me then. Now you're a high school drop out-don't tell me you're going to be that creepy adult who stands on the sidewalks and gawks at all the high school girls."

"No, no." He said raising his hands in defense and letting out a scoff. "High school girls were never my speed anyways. You know that Sammy."

"It's SAM." He insisted again to no avail. Dean refused to give up the nickname no matter how much Sam tried to correct him.

He kept talking, ignoring his brother's words. "College girls are where it's at. They've got worldly experience, and they aren't just a ball of giggles and drama."

"Yeah, well you'd be sure to meet a ton more college girls.. I don't know.. IN COLLEGE." Sammy emphasized his words and sent his brother a lingering glare. He'd given Dean a lot of grief when he told him that he wouldn't be going to college, and even more grief when he admitted that he wasn't even going to be finishing high school.

"We've talked about this. College just ain't for me." He said with a shrug. He was thankful that they were approaching the school's entrance gate because he knew that if given the chance Sammy would lecture him again about the benefit of college. But Dean know he wasn't cut out for that. He wasn't smart like Sam, he was just a grunt. All he was good for was following orders and taking care of Sammy-and sometimes he couldn't even get that right. He took a deep breath as the two brothers stopped their walk at the gate. Dean looked at his brother-little Sammy. A foot shorter than him, but probably not for long, lanky and awkward with chocolate brown scruffy hair and deep green eyes. Dean so often compared him to a chocolate lab puppy when they were younger, but Sam was growing up. It wouldn't be long before they'd meet eye to eye.

"Well, have a good day kid." Dean said with a small smile and he clasped his hand on his younger brother's shoulder. Sammy looked up at his brother and shifted uncomfortably. Dean could tell he was nervous, scared even. He was nearly on the edge of tears when Dean leaned down and whispered, mostly joking. "Hey, no chick flick moments alright."

Sam cracked a light smile and he nodded in agreement. He turned to walked away, heading into the gate and he hesitated just a moment. He turned back and opened his mouth to speak. But, Dean beat him to it. "I'll be right here when you get out of school, Sammy."

The words were exactly what he wanted to hear. He nodded again, this time a large smile on his face and he turned going into the building. Once he disappeared through the doors, Dean felt he could leave. A weight seemed to come off his shoulders knowing that Sammy was in school, he was safe. But, it was replaced by a greater one. Now, he had to go find a job. Any job.

Castiel Novak sat behind his desk in the back office and adjusted the papers and other knick-knacks in front of him. Once he had them aligned perfectly-the stapler on the right and the hole punch on the left, exactly three sharpened pencils, his laptop perfectly centered on the desk, and his plant angled just so the blooms were facing him and he couldn't see any of the blemishes-then he looked over his schedule for the day.

He had been the guidance counselor at Sioux Falls High School for nearly three years now and he truthfully loved his job. The kids here were all special in their own way and he never seemed to have any especially stressful crisis. Every few weeks he may have a kid come in with some bully issues that were more misunderstanding than harassment. The occasional tearful student because a beloved pet had died, and just once he had a girl come in because he was making herself throw up all the time to loose weight so she'd make it on the cheerleading team. But, nothing more involved than that. It was the whole reason he got a job at a small town high school. He worked with an agency, followed their protocols, and was just glad they hadn't shipped him off to the bigger jobs to be filled.

Angel Enterprises was a counseling agency that filled open positions in schools, Human Resources, mental health facilities, and so much more. They helped put new employees through school and training for two years before sending them off to a job they would be best suited for. Basically, being hired by them meant you signed your life away for 5 years. The first two you stays at the main facility in Chicago and worked nearly 100 hours a week, work you weren't paid for of course so it wasn't completely illegal. The next three years you worked where they put you, you did as you were told, and then at the end of the three years you might be offered a permanent position, you might be allowed to move up in the ranks, you might not.

He had worked these last three years and followed everything to the T. He always submitted his paperwork on time, his school had rave reviews about him. He never caused a stir, never missed a day of work, and was never late. He took pride in his work even if it meant he sacrificed a social life. He had no need for friends any ways. Friendship was messy and he wasn't fond of messes.

"Excuse me." A small voice sounded from the doorway and Castiel straightened his button shirt and he turned to face the boy now standing before him. He was small, with deep green eyes and a nervous expression. Castiel didn't recognize him right away, and so he knew there was only one person he could be.

"Yes. You must be Samuel Winchester. My name is Castiel Novak, but you may refer to me as Mr. Novak." He spoke, his voice rough as he gestured for the boy to come in and sit at the chair across from him.

"Just Sam is fine." He crossed the room and set his back pack down on the floor beside the chair and cleared his throat. "I, uh, I was told in homeroom that you wanted to see me?"

"Yes." Castiel nodded as he shuffled through the files on his desk and found the one labeled S. Winchester. "It is protocol that as the school counsel I check in with each new student on their first day of school. I would like to know about you, what you may need from our school, and how I can assist with obtaining those things."

He opened the file and pulled a small notepad from the top drawer of his desk. He checked each of the three pencils to see which was sharpest, which was useless because he'd just sharpened them all to the same point, and then paused his hand ready to write on the top line. He moved his eyes back to Samuel and stared waiting for the boy to speak.

Sam watched the man uncomfortably and shifted in the seat. He was very.. thorough in all of his actions and almost made Sam question if this was really a man talking to him or some kind of lifelike robot.

"Oh, well uh.. that's real nice of you but there isn't much to know. This isn't my first transfer." Sam cleared his throat and watched as Castiel wrote down what he'd said word for word.

"Not your first transfer?" Castiel asked looking a bit puzzled. He was used to the occasional new kids changing school districts or just moving to town, but most of them had only ever attended one other high school-especially if they were only in the begging of their sophomore year. "How many schools have you been to?"

"This year or in total?" Sam asked him raising his eye brow slightly. He hadn't had any other counselor as this question. He'd always know that it was strange of them to move too much, but John wasn't very good at holding down jobs. Sam wasn't really sure why, Dean wasn't completely open and honest about it, but he had a feeling it was something to do with alcohol. Dean could hide things as much as he wanted, but he couldn't hide the boozy smell or all the empty beer and whiskey bottles. He broke away from his thoughts when he realized that Mr. Novak was still waiting for a response. "This is my third school since August. My dad moves around a lot for work."

Castiel let his pencil move over the paper again and he frowned. It was only October, so that would mean nearly every month Samuel was changing schools. He looked over his file again and nodded along as he read. "You get exceptionally good grades, even in your advanced placement classes. You must be very dedicated to your studies."

"Yes, I want to go to Stanford. Or well, any Ivy League would be great. But, we don't really have the money for that so the only chance would be a scholarship. So, I work really hard to hopefully get in."

"You're working through significant adversity and still excelling. I'm confident you could go to any school you'd like if you keep it up." Mr. Novak's words were encouraging but, much like the rest of his conversation, his tone was flat. Nearly monotone. Sam decided he was a robot, it was the only good explanation. "They have you in basic levels right now, but I am confident I could speak with Principal Shurley and have you put in advanced placement here as well."

Sam's eyes lit up at the suggestion and he nearly jumped out of his chair. "Really? That would be awesome! I, mean, thank you!"

"However," Castiel hesitated a moment and then sat up in his desk chair to meet the boys' eyes. "Seeing as how you have been moving so often, I would like to speak with your father. These last years of your high school career are very important for college placement. It is critical that you do not transfer again, at least not in the middle of a school year." He pulled a business card from his drawer and slid it across the desk top. "Please, have your father call me directly. If he has time and availability this afternoon I would be happy to meet with him."

Castiel couldn't miss the sudden dread that entered Samuel Winchester's eyes. He gingerly took the business card off the desk and nodded. "I.. uh.. I'm sure it won't be a problem. He.. He may be working tonight but I will.. I will have him call you." He nodded nearly ten times, eager to show he understood.

"Good. I will talk with Principal Shurley after I speak with your father and we can hopefully have you in advanced placement by tomorrow." Castiel turned his attention back to his notes for a moment longer before he realized Sam was still standing in his office. Perhaps he hadn't been clear. "You may go back to homeroom now. And Samuel, feel free to see me whenever you need."

"Thank you, Mr. Novak." The brunette grabbed his backpack and hurried from the room leaving Castiel alone again. He flipped through a few more pages of the file and frowned. The Winchester family seemed to move nearly every month. He had no mother. And he had just one older brother.

Dean.

So, I hope you guys have enjoyed my first chapter. I don't really have a writing schedule yet because I've got a pretty hectic life, but one of my New Year goals was to write more.

I'm not entirely positive where this story is going, I'm just letting the characters move us along.

Please review, it helps keep me going. Any suggestions I will take into consideration!

Next chapter soon hopefully!