Strings Attached

Chapter 81

Chuck comes home early so he and Castiel can go to Wayward Records and get things finalized. It's Jim Michaels that oversees this, and he makes sure to tell them everything that this will entail.

He promises Castiel only one album, and whether he gets more is entirely up to how well it sells and people's views of it. He makes sure to tell Chuck that, because Castiel is a minor, he has a say in what the boy is allowed do. He can always pull Castiel from anything he isn't comfortable with him doing. He tells them that if things go well, he may have to drop out of high school, or at least be homeschooled, because people get crazy when they realize they're with a celebrity.

"And we want to follow you on all social media accounts, just as a precaution," Jim continues. "We want to make sure you aren't saying anything anyone may think is bad. You know how people are these days. Everything is offensive."

"I don't have any social media," Castiel tells him.

"Then we should change that," Jim decides. "You should at least get a Twitter. People love when celebrities notice them, and that's the easiest way to connect with fans. Obviously, we don't know if you'll have any fans at all, but we're hoping."

"Then I guess I'll make a Twitter," Castiel agrees reluctantly. He's specifically steered clear of any social media because he knows it will probably end in cyber bullying, but for this, he can make one. It will be worth it. Hopefully.

"And steer clear of politics," Jim adds. "Trust me. Not this early in the game."

"Alright," Castiel agrees. No politics. He can do that.

"And I think that's it for today," Jim concludes. "I don't know how busy you are; I'm sure you do a lot with your free time, but are you free tomorrow?"

Castiel nods. "Mostly. I promised I'd go to a sports game at four, but I'm free 'til then."

"Great," Jim replies. "Can you come back from ten to three-ish? So we can start getting you started on the road to success."

"Sure," Castiel replies.

"And do you have any more songs you didn't bring?"

"I do." Four and a half subjects of a five subject notebook of them.

"Great, can you bring those, too?"

Castiel nods. "Of course."

"Awesome. So I'll see you tomorrow, then."

~~

"Mind if I look at those?" Jim asks the next day, gesturing to the notebook Castiel is holding.

Castiel hands it to him as he says, "Here."

Jim flips through pages, his eyes scanning the lines Castiel has scribbled down. Finally, he settles on a page toward the end. Castiel attempts to get a look at which one he's reading, which is made easier when Jim turns it around to face him.

"Is there more to this one?"

Castiel shakes his head. "No, that one's a work in progress," he replies. "I'm not sure if I'm finishing that."

"You should," Jim tells him. "It's pretty good."

"Alright," Castiel agrees. "I'll see if I can finish that one."

"Great," Jim replies with a grin. "And, until then, we're looking for your first single. Eventually, we're gonna need a whole album, but for now, we just need one song. I'm hoping we can release it by the end of next month, maybe sooner. How does that sound?"

"That's — That's pretty quick," Castiel observes.

Jim nods solemnly. "Yeah... The company isn't doing too well. Right now, we're really just looking for anything. I'm really hoping you'll be the push we need to get us out there, because if not... Well, we're screwed."

That explains why they chose him. Anyone works in their minds. Their standards can't be too high. "Well, I'll do what I can, but no promises," Castiel replies. "I'm no hero, but I'll try."

"You're no hero yet," Jim corrects him. "But maybe you will be. Now, let's start working on finding your first hopefully hit single."

And that's what they do. For the next couple hours, they go through the notebook, with Castiel singing the songs Jim likes. They pick out a few songs, putting sticky notes on the pages to remember them. It's around one when Jim gets a phone call, which he answers after a brief apology to Castiel.

"Hello?... What? No! No, don't... Seriously? Please tell me this is a joke... But — No! We needed him!... Well, what do you want to do, huh?... Seriously? But — I know that, but come on! A week?... Two weeks isn't any better!... You know what? Fine. I'll bring it up, but he's not gonna cut it... I'm not being pessimistic, I'm being realistic!... Look, I said I'd bring it up, but I hope you realize you're an idiot. This isn't going to help... It's not the same!... Fine, go. I'll see what I can do, but when this doesn't work, I'd like to get my 'I told you so' out now... Bye."

Jim sighs, running a hand down his face in frustration before turning to Castiel again. "Okay, new plan. We just had our most popular singer drop us, so we don't have as long as I had hoped. We need to have this recorded and ready to be released by next Sunday. Eight days isn't as long as we usually have, so we're gonna need to downgrade this out of necessity. This is all on you now. Pick whatever song you think has the best chance succeeding, and we're going with that, okay?"

"Sure?" Castiel briefly flips through his notebook, but he can't find any exceptionally good ones. Finally, he just settles on a newer one and hands the book back to Jim. "I don't know. This one?"

Jim scans it over approvingly. "Not bad. What's it sound like?"

Castiel sings it for him, and Jim's expression is unreadable. Does he not like it? Castiel can't tell. He has a great poker face. Only when Castiel finishes does Jim speak.

"I like it. That'll work. Usually we'd have this whole editing process with it, but there's no time for that, and this us fine as it is. I say we go record it now."
And that's what they do. By three o'clock, Castiel has officially recorded a song. The only instrument is a guitar, but it sounds fine when Jim plays it back for him. Not perfect, he'll admit, but pretty good.

"Well, that was easy," Jim observes. "Alright, I'll have this out on Sunday at noon. Hopefully, anyway. I know a station that likes debuting songs from here; I'll hook them up with this. It'll be on iTunes, too, and basically, let's just hope this goes over well. I know you said you had somewhere to go today, so go ahead, and I'll call you when I need you back here. 'Til then, keep writing, and we'll see if we can get another single out from you before we have to shut down. See ya later, Castiel Novak. Hopefully when people know your name."