Secrets and Camera Flashes

Chapter 75

Castiel actually has a pretty decent call time. He's so used to early 5:30 mornings that not having to be on set until noon feels like a miracle. These are the perks of being a side character, apparently: he gets much better hours.

It takes him a little longer to get to set than he'd expected because he can't find the goddamn parking lot, but he planned for something like this so he's still a few minutes early, and then he's off to base camp. This is always the worst part of the first day of a new job: figuring out where the hell he's supposed to go. Fortunately, it's not too difficult to find the trailers, and now he just has to figure out who to report to.

It's at that moment that he catches sight of Alex Jones, one of the stars of the show. It doesn't really sink in until he sees her walking towards him (or at least in his general direction; she doesn't seem to be heading straight to him) that he's actually here. He's actually on the set of Wayward Sisters -- and for a recurring role, no less. He can barely believe it.

It's basically been drilled into his head since day one that side characters shouldn't talk to the main actors unless they start the conversation, but that doesn't mean he can't look at her since he's walking that way anyway. He does his best not to make it obvious, but he can't help it. Alex Jones is right there!

It gets a little awkward when they lock eyes, and Castiel just smiles politely before looking away. Plan "act casual" is in place.

With that confrontation over, he turns his attention to the group of crew members he'd been gunning for before he got distracted by Alex. He doesn't seem to be interrupting anything, and they point him in the direction of the second acting director for instructions. The second AD points him to his trailer, tells him to get in costume, and that they'll be ready for him in hair and makeup whenever. That should be easy enough, right?

He heads to his trailer, and he's greeted by... Well, he's greeted by a pretty damn good trailer for a somewhat small TV show, but most importantly, he's greeted by his costume, which is...

A goddamn trenchcoat.

Castiel had to sign an NDA for this role. He has to sign NDAs for all his roles. Legally, he's not allowed to tell anyone outside of set any of the details, but it would take a hell of a lot more than a piece of paper to stop him from sending this to Charlie. She's never going to stop making fun of him for this, and that's a sacrifice he's willing to make if it gives him the chance to remind her that apparently someone out there likes his trenchcoated looks.

Charlie doesn't text back within the first 90 seconds, so he moves on from that and starts getting ready. He throws his new costume on, and he never thought he'd say this, but he's grateful they're outside in the middle of a Canadian winter because he would be sweating to death in his three layers if it was any hotter.

He hopes to run into the girls during hair and makeup, but they're nowhere to be seen -- they're probably already on set, hair and makeup not even a thought in their minds anymore -- so the whole experience is pretty boring. He spends most of the time reviewing his script, checking for any last-minute changes.

He still has some time after that before they need him on set, so he heads back to his trailer and pulls out his phone. Just as he'd suspected, Charlie has already sent him a very enthusiastic text back.

Charlie: NOOOOO PLZ TELL ME THIS IS A JOKE THERE'S NO WAY THEY'RE MAKING YOU WEAR THAT

Castiel opens the camera app and awkwardly holds his phone out in front of him, trying to somehow get both his face and his outfit in the picture at once. The final product ends up missing half his face, but it's good enough that she'll know it's him as soon as he sends it.