Castiel trudged home, to Frank Devereux's Hoover store. Frank had been kind enough to let him stay in a guest room above the store, since Castiel had nowhere else to go, even thought the street singer knew nothing about vacuums.

"Ah, Novak!" Frank said when Castiel returned. "I was wondering when you would get home. At first I was afraid you were kidnapped!"

Castiel shook his head. "No, but I met someone."

"Really? Is it a girl? Is she pretty?" Frank asked.

"No, it was a guy, and there was nothing romantic about it. He offered me a potential job at the Harvelle Roadhouse."

"Oh." Frank paused. "But was he pretty?"

"Um, I guess he was." Castiel could feel a blush coming on as he thought about Dean's easy way of talking, and his sparkling green eyes.

Frank nodded. "Can you heat up some of the pizza in the fridge? I'm starving."

"Sure," Castiel replied. He went upstairs to his room, threw his guitar case onto the bed, and then went to the fridge in the cramped kitchen he and Frank shared. He pulled out the pizza, and then, humming to himself, put it in the microwave. He thought about Dean, and how he'd so readily offered dinner and a potential job opportunity before he'd even known Castiel's name. Did he normally do this for strangers? Or was the guy in the trench coat an exception? Castiel decided he would visit the Roadhouse tomorrow and see about working there. After all, it was a free meal.

****

In the morning, Castiel ate breakfast before going up to his room and practicing. He did scales, and then worked on a few new songs. After lunch, he headed onto the street to sing. Afternoons were usually some of the busiest times of day for shoppers and kids arriving home from school, ready to get some fresh air. In the early evening, Castiel went back to Frank's early so he could have enough time to walk to the Roadhouse. He didn't own a car, so he walked everywhere unless he could get a ride.

He arrived just past six 'clock. The blonde hostess greeted him cheerfully at the door. Her nametag read Jo.

"Um, Dean Winchester gave me this." Castiel shyly handed her the Post-It note from yesterday. Jo studied it, and raised an eyebrow. "Huh. It's not often Dean Winchester does something like this for someone. You must be really special. C'mon, I'll give you the best seat in the house." She led him past the front desk to the main dining hall. A large empty wooden stage dominated the hall, surrounded by circular tables.

Jo led Castiel to a table near the front, where the occupant could see everything happening onstage mostly without difficulty. She stuck his Post-It to the tablecloth, next to a menu. "Your server will be with you shortly."

Castiel looked at the other diners, most of whom were chatting amongst themselves. He felt slightly out of place.

A young red-haired woman came up to him, wearing an apron and holding a notepad and pen in her hand. "Hi, I'm Charlie and I'll be serving you today. Can I start you off with a drink?"

"Just water, thanks. Do you know when the entertainment starts?" Castiel asked. Charlie looked up at the stage and checked her watch. "I guess it'll start in a few minutes. I'll get your water right away, sir." She breezed away.

Castiel opened his menu and looked at the choices. It felt strange, eating at a sit-down restaurant. Usually, this would have been too expensive for him. It also felt odd that he didn't have to worry about paying, since Dean had taken care of that. And he still wasn't sure about his feelings for the guy. Castiel sighed.

Charlie came back, holding a glass of water. "Are you ready to order?" she asked, setting the glass in front of him and taking out her notepad.

"Yes, I think I'll get the bacon cheeseburger."

Charlie smiled. "Good choice."

She took his menu and walked away, back towards the kitchen.

At that moment, a man walked onto the stage, carrying a microphone in one hand and a stool in the other, a guitar slung over his shoulder. Castiel straightened in his seat. It was Dean.

Dean set the mike stand and stool on the floor. He tapped the mike. The sound reverberated throughout the room. He leaned in close and asked, "Can you all hear me?"

The crowd, which had taken notice of him now, murmured their assent. Dean smiled. "Good. I have a few songs for you tonight. The first is a request from a regular, so here you go, Mr. Alistair." Dean cleared his throat and began strumming on his guitar.

Steel to my trembling lips
How did the night ever get like this?
One shot and the whiskey goes down, down, down
Bottom of the bottle hits
Waking up my mind as I throw a fit
The breakin' is takin' me down, down, down
My heart's beating faster, I know what I'm after
I've been standing here my whole life
Everything I've seen twice, now it's time I realize
It's spinning back around now, on this road I'm crawling
Save me cause I'm falling, can't seem to breathe right
Cause I keep runnin', runnin', runnin', runnin'
Runnin', runnin', runnin', runnin'
Runnin' from my heart

Castiel recognized this song. It wasn't usually what one would chose for a guitar acoustic, but Dean's voice seemed even more spectacular than yesterday. He found himself nodding along and mouthing the words.

Charlie silently came up to him, carrying Castiel's burger and watching the stage. "Isn't he amazing?" she whispered as she set down his food and stood by his table. Castiel nodded.

I've been standing here my whole life
Everything I've seen twice, now it's time I realize
It's spinning back around now, on this road I'm crawling
Save me cause I'm falling, now I can't seem to breathe right
Cause I keep runnin', runnin', runnin', runnin'
Runnin', runnin', runnin', runnin'
Runnin' from my heart

The entire restaurant was listening intently, all conversation stopping. Everyone was focused on the singer with the powerful voice. Castiel was slightly in awe. Never before had he seen this any people pay such close attention to one musician, except at a concert.

Everything I've seen twice, now it's time I realize
It's spinning back around now, on this road I'm crawling
Save me cause I'm falling, now I can't seem to breathe right
Cause I keep runnin', runnin', runnin', runnin'
Runnin', runnin', runnin', runnin'
Runnin' from my heart
Cause I keep runnin', runnin', runnin', runnin'
Runnin', runnin', runnin', runnin'
Runnin' from my heart

Castiel and the rest of the audience stood up and applauded. He had never felt so enthusiastic about a performance. When the clapping died down, he sat and took a bite of the bacon cheeseburger. It was delicious. Charlie had disappeared and he could see her in the distance, waiting on other tables. Dean sang two more songs, Blackbird and Dust in the Wind. Castiel had never been a fan of either, but he loved hearing them in Dean's voice.

As Dean was ending his performance, Charlie came back to Castiel's table. "Are you done?" she asked, pointing at his plate. "Yes," he replied. "It was very good."

"Would you like dessert?" she asked as she stacked his play on top of the others she was carrying. "Ellen's pie is to die for."

"Okay, sure," Castiel replied.

Dean had left the stage and Castiel could see him quietly making his way to Castiel's table. He waved.

Dean pulled up another chair. "Did you like it?"

"I loved it. That was amazing," Castiel replied as Charlie came back, holding a slice of cherry pie aloft in one hand. "Here you go," she told Castiel as she set the plate in front of him. "Great job, Dean." She squeezed his shoulder before sashaying away.

"Are you two-?" Castiel asked, pointing after her.

"What? Oh, no, Charlie's just a good friend," Dean replied. At Castiel's confused look, he clarified, "She's a lesbian."

"Ah." Castiel nodded.

"So," said Dean, changing the subject, "Thinking about taking the gig here?"

Castiel's eyes widened. "I would love to."

Dean grinned. "C'mon, I'll take you to Ellen." He jumped up, grabbing Castiel's hand, and took off, weaving between tables to the kitchen.

Ellen was cooking when they reached her. "Dean, what-"

"Ellen, this is Castiel, uh-"

"Novak," Castiel whispered.

"Castiel Novak, and he would like to take a job here singing like I do."

Ellen turned her attention away from the cooking burger patties. "Okay, let's hear."

"N-now?" asked Castiel nervously.

"Yes," said Ellen, "I don't have much time."

Castiel took a deep breath and tried to remember a song he'd practiced that morning.

We keep this love in a photograph
We made these memories for ourselves
Where our eyes are never closing
Hearts are never broken
Time's forever frozen still
So you can keep me
Inside the pocket of your ripped jeans
Holding me closer
Till our eyes meet
You won't ever be alone
Wait for me to come home

When he finished, Dean and all of the kitchen staff clapped. Ellen studied for a moment, then said, "Can you play any instruments?"

"Yes, guitar and piano," Castiel answered.

"Good, you're hired. You start this time tomorrow." Ellen turned back to her burger patties.

Dean clapped Castiel on the back as they left the kitchen. "I told you! You were awesome! Congratulations!"

Castiel smiled weakly. "Thanks."

"Oh, hey, is it okay if I call you Cas?" Dean asked.

"Um, sure, okay," Castiel replied.

"Thanks. Could I have your number? I was thinking we could duet sometime." Dean grinned.

"Okay. I'd like that," replied Cas.

They exchanged phone numbers, then bid each other goodnight.

"See you tomorrow!" Dean called as they walked out of the Roadhouse together before parting ways.

"See ya!" Cas giddily and quickly walked home. Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough.

((A/N: Sorry if this chapter is too long, person who may be reading this. I'll try to update quickly. Feel free to comment on anything. 😊))