Castiel's grip on the steering wheel was so tight his knuckles were white. He chewed on his lower lip as he waged war internally. It was undeniable. He was scared shitless.

He stared at the deceiving entrance of his new private hell. It looked so innocent from the outside; a grand red brick encrusted building, vaulted ceilings, and pristine, white, freshly painted windows. The shrubbery that framed it all uniformly cut and tended. The American flag lay dead in the wind with the South Dakota state flag mimicked it underneath, and all against the backdrop of a clear, blue sky. He loosened his sapphire colored tie and undid the top button on his white dress shirt. He felt the humid air caress his stubbly face. The car inside which he sat kept in the heat like some sort of luxury mobile oven. Castiel took a deep breath, gathered his courage and brown messenger bag from the passenger seat next to him, and hopped out of his car.

Castiel walked towards Samuel Colt High School, immediately regretting wearing his suit jacket and trench coat. He would have to take it all off as soon as he got into his classroom. He felt the sweat pooling behind his neck and on his forehead. He wiped his soft dark hair out of his face, realizing he needed a haircut.

If it was already this hot at 6 am in the morning, Castiel imagined he would melt by third period.

"There better be air conditioning in my classroom!" Castiel yelled at the school from across the lawn, shaking his fist at it for good measure. One of the perks of getting to the first day of school almost two hours early was getting to be crazy without any eye witnesses.

Castiel practically jogged the rest of the way just to get out of the suffocating heat. He pushed open the red painted metal doors and was greeted with a blast of cool, artificial air.

"I've found God," Castiel said as he relished in the air conditioning, eyes closed.

"Just call me Chuck." Castiel's eyes snapped open. He felt his face grow hot and he cleared his throat. The stranger reached out and Castiel shook his hand. It was a little clammy. "Do you mind closing the doors? The a/c is kinda expensive."

"Yes, of course."

"You must be Mr. Novak?" Chuck asked. Castiel nodded and surveyed the man. He was more or less Castiel's own age, mid thirties. He had a nervous air about him. His shoulders slumped forward and his slightly oversized brown tweed jacket made him look almost sickly skinny. He had curly hair that was disheveled as if he had been running his hands through it. He smiled at Castiel and it softened his face, revealing his brown eyes to be warm and welcoming. Castiel smiled back.

"Hello, Chuck."

"I'm Principal Carver Edlund," Chuck explained. "But please never call me that. You're here really early."

"Yes. I wanted to acquaint myself with my classroom, and I was afraid I would get lost."

"First day jitters? I know the feeling. But I hope you'll find Samuel Colt High School welcoming, Mr. Novak."

"I already do," said Castiel genuinely. "Please, it's Castiel."

Chuck showed Castiel to his classroom. It was a plain beige colored classroom with bare walls.

"I apologize for not making it to the Teacher's Day last week," said Castiel embarrassed. "I just got to town yesterday."

"Don't worry about it," replied Chuck waving his hand dismissively. "I'm sure you'll settle in nicely. Come on, I'll show you the teacher's lounge."

Castiel followed the shorter man making small talk as they walked. The teacher's lounge was upstairs and as far from Castiel's classroom as possible. He imagined swimming against the tide of students for his lunch break. Castiel chewed on his lower lip again.

"You must be tired from the move," said Chuck, grabbing an apple from the basket on the counter. The room was obviously freshly painted. Castiel thought the olive green was a dark choice, especially since the room had only a small shoebox sized window at the top of the wall. The fluorescent light hummed in the background.

"Yes, but I assure you I am quite ready to be here," said Castiel.

"Oh, I didn't mean to imply you're not!" Chuck chuckled nervously. "Your things must still be in boxes."

"Yes. In fact most of my possessions are still in the moving truck," said Castiel gently in offer of friendship. "Thus the wrinkled suit." Chuck chuckled again, this time comfortably.

"Hello!" Castiel turned around and was met with a blindingly white set of even teeth and a very pretty face. Her smile was open and genuine.

"Hi Lisa!" greeted Chuck.

"Hey Chuck!" She shook his hand, smile never once faltering. She was tan with a sprinkle of freckles over the bridge of her straight nose. She had dark hair swept up in a casual up do, uneven strands framing her face from the side quite pleasantly. She turned her 1,000 watt smile to Castiel, her hand out. Castiel shook it and smiled at Lisa. "You must be the new English teacher everyone's been gossiping about." Castiel instantly liked her.

"Yes, I'm Castiel Novak. I believe I will also be teaching Poetry."

"I'm Lisa Braeden. Ms. Braeden to the kids. I teach Economics and Women's History." She hadn't let go of his hand yet, and Castiel duly noted the emphasis on the title of Ms. He also noted her soft hand and peachy scent. "I think my son is in your first period."

"Well I have to go do some Principal type stuff, so I will leave you to Lisa's capable hands," said Chuck. He grabbed another apple and left. Lisa eyed Castiel's left hand.

"Chuck's a great principal to work for," said Lisa, brushing her hair out of her bright eyes. "None of that micromanaging stuff. Some teachers actually think he's a little too hands off."

She giggled and Castiel smiled. He'd have to make it clear to her he wasn't interested as soon as possible.

"I should get back to my classroom and prepare," said Castiel in the most polite tone he could muster.

"All right, have a good day Mr. Novak. Maybe I'll see you at lunch." Lisa winked.

"Perhaps," said Castiel. He made his way back to his classroom, passing a handful of teachers. Everyone nodded at him when they passed him, curiosity instilled in each of their eyes. Ah, yes, the excitement of "the new kid." Castiel told himself it would pass in a couple of weeks. He'd fly under the radar and soon all those questioning eyes would get bored and find something else to focus on. He'd just have to be patient. It was always the same in every town.

Castiel pulled out his laptop and lesson plans for the day. He wouldn't give any of his classes homework. He never did on the first day. He had always hated teachers that did that, and found that students worked harder and learned more under teachers that they didn't hate. It was a real groundbreaking theory he'd write a book about one day. Castiel snorted and pulled out pulled out two books from his worn out satchel. He hadn't decided which book his classes would read first.

Romeo and Juliet or The Old Man and the Sea? Well, he had a few days to choose, and hopefully something would inspire him. He wanted to gauge each of his classes anyways. Maybe he'd wait to do the Shakespearean tragedy until February? Castiel shrugged. Chatter and noise began to steadily grow outside his door. He checked his wrist watch and found it was already 7:35 am. The first bell would ring in 10 minutes.

"Well, here's the first day of my life," said Castiel as he opened the door of his naked classroom. The very first thing he saw was a pair of green eyes.

Author's Note: I'm doing it! I'm writing a Supernatural fanfic! And a Destiel AU one at that! So, if you're interested, check out the song First Day of My Life by Bright Eyes. It will be this fic's theme song. Thank you!