Prologue

Love is a figment of the imagination.

Or at least, that's what we're taught in the real world. As a child, it is the most beautiful and coveted thing that we all aspire to obtain.

But what is love? Everything says that it is caring, selfless, and the strongest power in the world. As we have seen all around us, however, things shared between humans can be proven false. What if love isn't that? What if it isn't completely selfless or the strongest emotion? What if it is something that can be within us until it is finally spent?

Are we meant to be monogamous, to take just one lover in our entire lives? Or are we like other animals, where we mate with someone to reproduce and move on to the next?

Love is not always pure. It's not always easy. And sometimes, it can't overcome everything.

But the one thing that can be proven between these two people, is that love is a beautiful thing. With enough time, patience, and endurance, love could very well be eternal and rewarding.

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The sun shone down on the small city of Sweet Amoris. It was the season of autumn once again and schools were beginning to start. Not far from the city rested the campus of Amoris Community College, the college many Sweet Amoris High School graduates attend before moving onto big universities far from home. The buildings were large and all specific to different types of courses.

Only a few were specialized in majors, seeing as the community college didn't have enough funds to support a large variety. Nursing, education, and more common majors were there. If one wanted to become a doctor or lawyer or even an engineer, however, they would not be in the halls of the community college for long.

Regardless, many locals start their futures in these very buildings. It was a place that was close to home, but sanctioned off enough to allow students to grow and become their own adults before venturing out into the world. Parents found this more comforting and the school offered many scholarships to those that deserved them. Tuition in the long run wouldn't be as difficult but only if you were academically gifted.

Today, the very first day of the semester, looked to be a bright one. Multitudes of students were exitting dorms they had moved into a few days before classes began. Others could still be found asleep, their schedules not starting until later. Either way, the campus could be found quite lively throughout the many hours of the day. Even well after the sun disappeared, students could be found roaming the campus.

Airyn Lockhart was the type of girl you would find sleeping in the early morning. Her schedule didn't start until nine, allowing her to sleep moreso than she had in high school. She loved picking out her schedule when she registered and was thankful for the fact that sleep was not far from her like she had surmised.

Oh, how she would learn.

Today was an easy day, however and she was able to rise quite early. Her roommate had left early in the morning, providing the freshman a nice bit of privacy with her dreams. Every girl wanted to have some alone time with the inner visions of her head. The things that they could reveal, could fulfill, was just enough to keep some sane. Airyn needed to keep ahold of her dreams as much as she could and for as long as possible. For soon, they would disappear.

After Airyn awoke and readied herself for her first class in college, she found herself more excited than she would have expected. After all, she was going to class. Perhaps the extra hours of sleep did her wonders.

But that mood soon ended. For just as she reached the mathematics building, she bumped into someone she hadn't seen since graduation. Bright red hair was no longer his style. Instead, he was rocking his natural, black hair. His clothes were rather the same as when she met him, but a bit of maturity had gripped the threads in a way only a former friend could see.

Castiel... He had been quite the student when they were in high school. He caused trouble but only so much that it gave him attention from the wrong people. As for his education, he seemed to have done well enough to make his way into this college.

The minute she looked up to apologize to him, he scowled at her. The air around him was foul, something horribly negative to such a great day. Airyn wasn't sure what could possibly be wrong with him. "Castiel? Are you okay?" She had known the boy long and well enough to feel comfortable speaking with him so informally. Though over the years, her nack for asking many questions had simmered down to only an average amount. Perhaps it was the fact that she had grown up enough to deduce what people were feeling or thinking through just one question.

"If you must know, I am not." Shaking his dark locks and dusting off his jacket, he glared at Airyn. But the minute he noticed who she was, his expression and mood seemed to change. Did he not expect her to be there for some reason? "Uh... Airyn? What are you doing here?" What a strange question... And yet, it did indeed comfirm her suspicion.

"I attend classes here." A slight glare of her own appeared. But it wasn't out right angry but seemed to read more as, "Are you stupid or what?" Castiel looked at her with a slight shrug as if to toss away what he previously said. "Right... My bad. Listen, are you busy right this minute?"

"I have college algebra," she stated matter-of-factly. She wasn't really into going to the class but she wasn't about to miss her first day either. Castiel nodded before letting out a sigh. "Right, of course," he said. The reply seemed to be to himself more than toward Airyn. "Whatever. I'll talk to you later." He waved half-heartedly before heading in the opposite direction. Before his face disappeared from sight, Airyn caught a glimpse of sadness in his eyes. But why? Was there something going on with him that might make him down?

Feeling curious, but deciding to ask about it later, Airyn made her way toward class. Calculating equations this early did not seem like such a wonderful thing.

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With how her schedule went, Airyn was finished just in time to visit the cafeteria for some food. Classes from nine to three on her first day weren't bad at all. Though, she would have to sacrifice such wonderful timing to go to a lab class later on. For now, she could only rejoice in her spare time.

Now that she was grabbing her tray and filling it with food, she looked around in hope of seeing familiar faces. One table caught her eye in particular. Dajan, another old student from high school, was seated next to Castiel. The two had bonded over basketball in the final months of their senior year, seeing as Cas finally found some motivation to attend more practices. Seating next to the stoic boy sat his old friend Lysander, who was accompanied by his brother Leigh.

As Airyn looked around, she could find no one else she would like to sit with. When she finished giving the cashier her student card to add to her meal plan, she walked over to the table. It didn't take long to see that the guys were sort of consoling Castiel.

"Would shooting some hoops in the gym help you feel better," Dajan asked softly.

"What about a small jam session? Leigh can sing with Rosalya." Lysander offered but only to be interjected by his brother. "Or if you would rather keep yourself busy, I can offer you a sort of job at my shop. You might meet someone too."

Airyn didn't know if she should interrupt but found herself too curious to walk away. "May I sit with you guys?" She asked it quite gently, showing that she recognized the tone of the table and that being rejected would be fine. Lysander rose his hand and his facial expression showed that he wanted to object, but he was interrupted again. This time, it was by Castiel. "You can sit. Perhaps I need a girl's opinion on this as well."

She was forced to sit across from the sullen boy and right between Dajan and Leigh. She picked at her food but gave most of her attention to her former classmate. Castiel was leaning forward, his arms folded and his head down. Even if the guy was upset, he rarely allowed this much pain to show. It had to be something serious.

"Okay, here's what's happening." He lifted his head to look at Airyn, the bags under his eyes showing a lot more than they had this morning. She also noticed him checking his phone every now and then, creating more tension for her. "My grandmother is in the hospital."

"Oh-"

"I'm not done." Castiel cast her a cold look before checking his phone again. "She's been there for about a week and the doctors think she isn't going to last very much longer. My parents have moved to where she's being treated, but they tell me she looks worse each day." This was one of the first times that Castiel spoke without putting up a fight first. That fact alone worried Airyn deeply. "I haven't seen her in a long time and I know that if she dies now, I will be filled with regrets." His eyes shot up to Airyn's, the guarded pleading looking out at her and touching her very soul. "I want to do something for her but I'm not sure what."

The girl's appetite was completely gone and she found herself thinking immediately on a solution. This? This was the horrible thing that occurred to him on his very first day of college?

"Castiel usually isn't this open or torn up over such things but his grandmother used to be the one there for him when he was younger," Leigh said. Castiel glared at the older male but that didn't stop the rest of the words from coming. "We've tried to think of some ways to show gratitude but it just doesn't seem possible. If she dies this week..."

That was when a fork hit the eldest of the siblings at the table. Dajan had thrown it with an exasperated sigh. "Look, he's going through a hard time as is. He doesn't need to be reminded of it. I know you're a little thick on emotions, but come on." Many men would have grown defensive but Leigh knew that what Dajan said was true. So nothing more came from the argument.

Airyn looked to Castiel, seeing the pain in his eyes and she felt like she wanted to do something. He had helped her so many times in the previous years. She couldn't imagine the pain he was going through and no one being there for him.

Reaching across the table, she grabbed his balled up fist and looked to him with sympathetic eyes. "This must be horrible for you. If there is anything I can do, and I do mean anything, you just let me know." His eyes had grown wide as he looked at the girl. At first, the table was silent and the air seemed to grow heavier with each passing second.

But as Castiel removed his fist from Airyn's comforting hand, he closed his eyes and turned away. Something had clicked. He had thought of something and everyone was dying to hear it. She leaned forward and asked immediately, "Castiel? What is it? Have you thought of something?"

Shaking his head, he looked back with a faint, reddish tint to his cheeks. "Airyn? Be my wife."