1 - Have you seen this dork?

Towards the end of their talk, Theseus' eyes had drifted significantly downwards - as if he had just realized that Asterius was shirtless. He made no mention of it, though. "Great! See you tomorrow then, Asterius!" What did the other cool kids say in that kind of situation, again? Ah, right! "It's a date," he added with a finger pistol-ing motion.

He jogged back to the football field, where his coach had to reprimand him for kicking the ball too far earlier, most of which he barely even listened to. His mind was elsewhere. Namely, it was already focusing on his friendly spar with Asterius on the next day!

Asterius didn't comment on the choice of words. He had merely raised an eyebrow at Theseus, muttering a "... right", before walking away to the lockers, where he'd meet up with Horknath and probably just recall the events of the afternoon and get a laugh off of it.

On the following morning, however, when they both arrived in school, Horknath definitely lost his will to laugh. He was now tightly grasping Asterius' shoulder, and he could swear he had never been so embarrassed in his whole life as right now, as he stared into a flyer who had been plastered on a wall in one of the University's most trafficked passage points. "Oh my God", he had choked down on his words. "Oh my God it's me. The dork is me. I am the dork." And then, as per his usual, he had proceeded to flee away to go and hide in his class, or in the library, hoping to forget about all of that.

Uselessly, one might add, because while Asterius had simply huffed and shaken his head at that because Horknath please, if you like this girl you wrote to - and since she's clearly trying to reach back to you - just answer to those flyers, what the hell, Ariadne, who had found all of that extremely funny, had decided to text the number on the flyer. "It's for his own good, Asterius", she was telling her brother as she pretended she wasn't struggling to keep up with his enormous strides. 'Hey, the dork your friend's looking for is my brother. That's his dog Spike. Here's his number - please handle him gently, he's shy', she typed, then hitting 'send'. "It's about time someone brings him out of his shell. And this girl looks exactly like the kind of bold one who could succeed with that", she added, before waving her big brother goodbye and walking off to her own lesson.

Of course, that message reached Carleen via Selena in no time. "Look", she showed her the message while they sat at the lunch table together. "This seems like a sure lead to me. I'd try it out."

Carleen read the message and beamed. "Oh wow! Please let it be the one!" She turned fully towards Selena, trying not to let her eagerness get the best of her. "What should we do? Should I try messaging him directly, asking how Spike is doing? Or should you do it?" She had already taken her phone out, to register the number if Selena allowed her to do so. Just in case.

Doing so, she put away the discussion bubble of Theseus that kept popping up. Whatever fantasy was struck in her brother's mind, it could surely wait. If not- well. She'd buy Dean a pie if her brother pestered him instead.
Thankfully for Dean, Theseus was mostly writing a long soliloquy about the fact that he wished he could slay the hours to get to his meeting sooner or something along those lines.


And if Horknath was hiding in the uni's library, someone else that was to be found there at all times outside of his class hours stumbled on him at their usual table - a little remote, and hidden from the rest - and smiled at him. "Good morning, Horknath. Do you have a test today?" Castiel quietly sat down at his table and took his laptop out - his elder brother Michael's old one, that was a little old and only good enough for typing on it - before he took another look at his friend. That was nervousness he had sensed upon arriving, right?

"Maybe you can try messaging him from my phone first", Selena answered, offering her device to Carleen's grabby hands. "Decide whether it's worth it or not, and if it is, well. You can give him your number."

And also thankfully for Dean, that was a lesson-less day for him, so he was still peacefully snoring away in his own apartment.
Yes, at noon and a half. Sue him.

Horknath got a little startled by Castiel's sudden apparition - but honestly it wasn't entirely his friend's fault, even if he was well-known for being surprisingly light on his feet. He was admittedly a bit on edge. "Oh. Hey, Cas", he greeted him, sighing a little. He had his laptop open as well, and a couple of books open next to him. "No, no tests today. I'm just... it has been a strange couple of days, is all. How about you?"

Carleen sighed softly. "Selena, really, I don't deserve you. If this turns out well, how about I make you another dress soon?" She took her friend's phone, and reflected for a bit about what she might write. In the end, she settled for "Hey there! So I've never gotten to ask, how old is Spike?" Aaand send!

Castiel tilted his head when Horknath replied to him. "Nothing too new on my side, although I'm starting to think about taking a part-time job. Is everything alright?"
Speaking of that part-time job: he and his siblings were all sleeping in university rooms, but he had been talking about it with Eileen, and they'd rather find themselves an apartment, perhaps with Raphael too, to get rid of noisy neighbours and have a healthier diet if they could cook their own meals instead of always eating at the cafeteria, or eating out in general.

"Well, I sure hope I'm going through all this trouble for a reason - the reason being so that I can finally wear another Miss Mishra creation", Selena commented, crossing her legs and studying her nails. "Seriously though, don't feel forced to do anything for me. I'm your friend, sometimes I just feel like helping you out for no reason", she added on a softer tone.

Horknath nodded. "I get you. University dorms are a mess", he sighed. And nothing was cut up to his measure, or even Asterius'. At Castiel's question, though, he flushed a little. "Well... you know the University's dating app? I had a profile on it..." He was just barely finished explaining the whole thing - flyers included - when his phone buzzed at his side. "Sorry, just a second", he muttered, thinking it might have been Asterius - just to shriek and drop the device on the table, gaining himself a lous "SHH!" from the other side of the library. "Oh my God she found me", he whispered hastily. "W-what do I do? Should I just- answer, like I wasn't the biggest idiot on the block who overpanicked because he was talking to the prettiest girl of the whole University?"

Carleen smiled back at Selena. "Aw! But you know I just love designing dresses for you. You look stunning in everything you wear! But alright, then. I'll wait until next Spring to offer you a new one." She kindly elbowed her friend.

Castiel remained thoughtful at first, but nodded when Horknath mentioned the dating app - he had installed it once, and wasn't sure he still had it on his phone. Oh, well, it's not like anyone would message him anyway.
He patiently listened to his friend's explanation, and was about to offer some advice when his phone buzzed- and whatever text he had received had him panic.

"Wait a second," he said, frowning slightly while he tried to connect the dots. "Are you still talking about that girl? The one you sent a picture of Spike to, and who spread screenshots of your conversation throughout uni?" His expression softened when his doubts were confirmed. "Well- I'm no expert in that field, but I think it's a good sign." He frowned again. "Unless she's mocking you. Is she?"

Selena tried to suppress a smirk. "You're too kind. If you really end up offering me another dress, I could be forced to reconsider my decision of not modeling", she mused, with a glint in her eyes. 

"I... I don't think so", Horknath muttered, trying hard to force himself to calm down. Castiel's level-headedness was exactly what he needed in these occasions to calm down and reflect.
If this really was the Carleen he found to be absolutely dreamy, and if she had gone through all this trouble in order to find him again even after that terribly awkward chat to talk to him, then maybe, maybe, he should give himself a chance. Right?
He took a deep breath. "Hello, hi. He is three years old", he typed, and hesitated a bit before attaching another picture of Spike, with his belly up and a dumb grin on his face as he waited for pets.
And then, he hit send.

Carleen took in a sharp breath, with a wide grin. "You would? Oh, that's be great! Just- Make sure my father doesn't hear about this, ever. If you model, I want to keep you all for myself," she added with a giggle. "You're really fun to work with." She loved to model clothes for Selena or Dean, because it gave them excuses to spend whole days together talking while she was working on her drafts and adjusting them to their bodies.
She was polite enough not to rush at her friend's phone when it pinged again, instead waiting for Selena to tell her whether or not she had gotten a reply.

Castiel let out a kind smile when he saw that Horknath was replying to Carleen. "I think that if she went through the trouble to find you again, she must have enjoyed the little chat you had together," he said, confirming his friend's thoughts. "And from all of those novels you've been lending me, I think you know it's best not to judge a book by its cover. There are probably many traits of her personality that you ignore - and that you could learn by talking to her."

Selena chuckled. "I promise I'll be your own personal exclusive model", she answered, her eyes following Carleen's own to her phone when it buzzed with a new notification. She eyed the number on it and rolled her eyes a little, even though she was smiling. "You can get it, it's for you", she offered, handing the phone to her friend.

Horknath shot an unsure smile to Castiel. "Yeah. I guess you're right", he answered, still sounding a little unsure. "There must be more to her than just 'she's very, very, very pretty' and 'she seems nice from far away'."

Carleen beamed, and grabbed the phone before she cooed at the picture of Spike, which she showed to Selena. "I think I'll write to him from my phone now - he's sent me two pictures of his dog. He's probably not bad, right?" Was she getting a little ahead of herself? Sure, she knew nothing of the guy yet, safe that he had a cute pup, but... She had a good feeling about this!

Castiel nodded at Horknath's words. "The only thing I would advise you on the matter is to be yourself, and..." he frowned slightly. "Make sure it's her, and not someone impersonating her. It's happened to me once, and it was far from pleasant." In high school, some kids had messaged him faking to be a pretty girl, only to laugh at his expense. It hadn't gone too far thankfully, but that had still hurt him to some extent, since he had believed to have found a friend.
As a result, he was quite wary towards virtual strangers now.

Selena hummed, seemingly reflecting over it all. "If I were you, I'd first ask for an in-person meeting. In a crowded area, possibly, within the confines of the University. That way you'll at least see him, and talking in person is a better way to gauge whether or not this guy is just pretending to be nice or if he is actually well-intentioned." She crossed her arms. "And in case it ends up being one of your exes catfishing you, he won't have your new phone number to harass you with." Carleen probably had to change her number a couple of times because of a couple of very insistent, nasty dudes who kept on writing to her and verbally assault her via text messages. She smiled a little, trying to lighten up the sudden heavy mood she had brought on. "And aren't you curious to see if he's cute?"

Horknath pressed his lips together. Yes, Castiel had told him all about that bad experience of his, and he understood perfectly well where his advice was coming from. "You think I should try to... ask for a meeting, then?", he asked, unsure. Meeting with Carleen vis-a-vis sounded terrifying, but maybe it would put him more at ease for the future.

Carleen let out a chuckle. "You're right. Let's see if he's cute both inside and outside- I could invite him to a café, and make sure there's either you, Dean or Charlie to have my back. Are you free tonight at five?" She texted Mr. Rugby - she was dying to get a name, by the way - back, cooing over how cute Spike was for a bit before she added, "Hey, listen, I'd like to apologize for the posters all over uni. Would you like to grab a coffee at 5? There's a nice café around the corner, at Mr. Crowley's. Right next to the antique book shop."

Castiel nodded. "It's the best way to know you're writing to the right person. And you might be able to know whether or not she's being honest with you or not." He let out a soft smile. "And it might help you relax a bit if it happens in a crowded area. I could- also come along and stay with you until she arrives, if that makes you feel better."

"Unfortunately enough, for as much as I am dying to see how your meet-cute is going to go down, I'll be still stuck in a lesson by that time", Selena grimaced, sighing loudly. "And I can't bail out of that one. The professor said it's crucial for the exam. I'm pretty sure Dean's free, though - hasn't he been boasting on our group chat on and on about how today is his free day and all?" Yes. Yes he had, the lucky asshole.

Horknath seemed to relax a little more, and shot a grateful smile to Castiel. "You'd really do that? That's... hey, thank you, Cas. I think that definitely might make me feel better." He sure was lucky to have such a nice friend. His phone pinged again with a new notification, and he quickly checked it - just to blink, looking surprised at what he was reading. "... seems like she had your same idea", he commented, showing him the message. "Would you be free for that time?", he asked then, before starting to type his answer. "Sure, I know the place, it's alright for me. I'm sure you'll manage to spot me anyway, but for good measure I'll be wearing a rugby jacket of the University's team - with the number two on it." His palms were definitely sweaty now, and he still felt very nervous about all of this - but at the same time, his heart had never beaten faster. It was kind of exciting.

Carleen scoffed. "You know what? He is one lucky asshole. I was about to send Theseus to him so he'd drag him out of his room but I need him to be in a good mood to come with me tonight, now." She smiled when she saw the reply on Selena's phone, told Horknath that she was wearing a white pullover on that day and quickly described her bag as well. She then gave Selena her phone back, grabbed her own, and texted Dean.
"Hey Winchester, I need a bodyguard for tonight at 5. I've heard you're free. I pay in pie."

Castiel nodded, and let out a small smile when he saw just how giddy Horknath was. "I'll be free, yes. I'll leave you two some privacy and move to a nearby table as soon as she arrives." He was actually hoping for his friend that everything would go well. Horknath deserved this.
After a few seconds, though, he felt like asking something "Pardon me for asking, but- I see your eye is a little swollen today. Did you get hurt during practice?"

And Dean - who had just barely dragged himself out of his bed five minutes prior - saw the message just as he was gorging on his self-made brunch, and grinned. "Hell yeah if there's pie to be had then I'm in. Where to, boss?", he answered, while distractedly browsing the University's dating app. Well, he thought it was silly, but Charlie had insisted for him to try it out - she needed as many people as possible on it so she could see if any bug came up.

Horknath quickly read the message, impressing all the details in his memory before answering a quick "Alright, then. See you at 5 in front of the café!" and putting down his phone. He froze at Castiel's question, though. "Oh - yeah, this guy from the football team overshot and the ball ended up hitting me straight on the face", he said, gesturing in the general direction of his eye. "Honestly it's not even half as bad as it should be. He lended me this ointment, and it's kind of a miracle worker." He had almost forgot about it all!

Carleen smiled at her phone and replied to Dean. "The sleeping beauty is awake! To Crowley's. I am to meet my soulmate there - or well, his owner. It's the guy who sent me that pup's pic on the dating app and deleted his profile right afterwards. Apparently his sibling was kind enough to snitch on him and give Selena his number! I just need you in case it's Brad. I'll pay for whatever you order."
And she couldn't ask Theseus, because he'd most likely scare the guy away, willingly or not.

"Oh. Well. That's nice of him I suppose." Castiel held back a small smile. "It indeed looks quite okay, especially if it was a hard blow."

Dean rolled his eyes at his phone. "If someone utters the word 'pie' in a ten kilometres radius I hear it, of course I'd wake up to that. Good on you for finding Mystery Man though - you could easily drop your studies and become a detective!" His face scrunched up. "If it's Brad I can't promise I won't send him to the hospital this time. I'll see you in front of the Uni at 16:50, we'll walk together." He smirked. "Tell Selena I say hi and good luck for her three-hour lecture lasting up to 18."
He kept on browsing the Uni's app on the side until he stumbled on the cute profile picture of a robin. He grinned - he had no idea whose profile it was, but even if he only got to make one stupid joke it would have been worth it. "Hey Robin, it's Batman", he typed. His own profile picture was the Batman logo, so it made sense. "How's the crime fighting going? Saved any cats stuck on trees recently?" Nailed it.

"I know, right?", Horknath commented with a smile. He did frown just a little bit, though. "Strange guy that Theseus, though. He was hell-bent in challenging Asterius to a wrestling match for some reason, and-" He suddenly remembered something and groaned a little. "Aw, I won't be able to go see it. It's at 17 - I had completely forgotten." He quickly messaged Asterius about it, with a barrage of 'sorry's in the middle of barely coherent words.
All he got in return was a "Horknath stop worrying about things", and a "Good luck with your date", with a thumbs up emoji on the side.

Carleen smiled upon reading Dean's answer, and conveyed his little jab for Selena to her, befire she confirmed their rendez-vous hour.

Castiel's brows rose slowly. "Theseus. As in- Theseus Mishra? He's the one who hurt you?" He had heard his phone vibrating but he'd check it only when Horknath and him were done talking, out of politeness. "I've heard a few things about him, but I do not know which to believe," he mumbled to himself. Not knowing that he might have dropped a bomb on Horknath.

Selena snorted, and proceeded to text Dean a very classy "Fuck you" and then complain to Carleen about her poor choice of friends - except herself of course - for the rest of their lunch. After telling her to let her know how the fated meeting of destiny would have gone, at least.

All the blood continuously rushing up and down from his face would have probably made Horknath faint one of these days because wouldn't you look at that! He had paled yet again. "... Mishra?", he squeaked. "He's called Mishra? Like Carleen Mishra, the girl I am supposed to meet today on a non-date? My brother is going to beat up her brother while I'll be out awkwardly sipping coffee with her?" He slowly slumped against the table, face completely buried in his hands.
The very image of despair brought on by social life.
"This is terrible. I want to go home."
Now let's not exaggerate.

Carleen of course promised to tell Selena everything about said meeting as soon as she'd get out of her long afternoon lesson!

Oh. So they were siblings, then. Castiel reached out for Horknath, awkwardly patting his shoulder. "I don't think you should worry too much about it. I mean- when things are presented like this, I get why you'd be concerned. But you said that it's her brother who insisted on fighting with Asterius, right? Then she has no reason to hold you responsible for this." He tried a supportive smile, especially if he could manage to get Horknath to look up from the table.

Even Horknath's despair couldn't keep up with Castiel's logical approach to the situation. He kept being slumped on the table, but did straighten up his head so that his words were't muffled against the wooden table. "Y... yeah, I guess you're right", he muttered. "I hope the topic doesn't come in anyway. For good measure."

Castiel smiled more genuinely. "You shouldn't worry this much about it, Horknath. A negative attitude will bring you bad luck, while I'm sure this Carleen probably won't mention it. Come on now, let's focus on our assignments, it'll distract you."

Horknath sighed, and finally propped himself up from his slouched position. "Alright. I'll try and... do my best, I guess", he muttered, forcing a smile at Castiel as he reopened his laptop.

Castiel nodded, and finally grabbed his phone to see who had messaged him. His eyebrow quirked, however. He didn't recognize that icon. He clicked on it, and read the mysterious message. Before he replied to the stranger, he clicked around.
Ah. It was the dating app. So he hadn't deleted it after all. Castiel actually paused for a moment, his instincts telling him to remain cautious. Then again... this person was talking nonsense-
Their image profile was the Batman logo.
It took him a few seconds and clicked on his own profile, where he was greeted with that one pocture of a robin he had taken two years ago.
A smile grew on his lips. Oh. So this was a joke. And possibly a harmless one. What was the harm in answering it?
"I did save a cat from a tree recently, but I'm afraid you've got the wrong Robin. Crime-fighting sounds rather stressful."