Fame Crazy (Sequel to Strings Attached)

Chapter 26

"I still don't get it," Claire whines an hour or so later, still attempting to learn the same thing.

"What part don't you get?" Castiel asks, starting to get fed up with this. What's so hard about this? It's just plain logic.

"All of it."

Castiel sighs. "Fine. Okay, so this angle and —" He's cut off by his phone ringing. "Hold on." He pulls out his cellphone to see that Dean's calling him. Well, he can't ignore Dean, so he answers the call.

"What, your friends are more important than my education?" Claire asks teasingly.

"You don't want to learn anyway. What do you care?" Castiel retorts with a grin before saying into the phone, "Hey, it's Castiel." He should really think of a new response when answering his phone because this one is getting boring.

"Hey, Cas," Dean replies, sounding amused. "You tutoring or something?"

"Yeah, kinda."

"I heard you kidnapped someone," Dean tells him.

Castiel sighs. "So says the media. No, I just sorta picked her up off the streets and she's crashing at my family's place now."

Dean chuckles. "Because that's normal. Anyway, I'm bored, and I was hoping you were bored and could make me not bored, but it doesn't seem like you're bored so I'll just continue to be bored."

Castiel can't help but grin at how he phrased that. "I've been going over angles for the last hour. Trust me, I'm bored."

"Then do you want to come over?" Dean asks.

Castiel is about to agree, but he pauses. He probably shouldn't leave Claire here. If nothing else, she has homework to do. Maybe he should just stay here with her.

"Sorry. I've got math to do," Castiel tells him apologetically.

"If you've really been doing that for an hour, I bet... whoever's homework you're helping with... their brain is probably fried. Take a break."

"I don't know..." Castiel says hesitantly. "I kinda want to at least teach Claire angles."

"'Claire'?" Dean echoes. "The girl you kidnapped? You could bring her and whatever siblings you feel like bringing and we can have a mini party, and I can meet the girl you kidnapped!"

Castiel rolls his eyes. "I didn't kidnap her, but I'll ask." He lowers the phone and covers the microphone to ask Claire, "Want to come with me and probably Gabriel and whoever else comes — so probably Lucifer, at least, too — to see my boyfriend?"

Claire shrugs. "Yeah, sure. Anything to get me out of math."

"Then I guess we'll see you in a few," Castiel tells his boyfriend with a smile before hanging up. "Who wants to go to the Winchesters'?" he calls loudly.

"Me!" Lucifer yells back immediately.

There's some quiet shuffling upstairs, and Castiel can faintly hear him urging Michael to come as well. A minute or so, both Lucifer and Samandriel come down to join them, but no Michael. Castiel doesn't ask, because he knows Lucifer will tell them anyway.

"Michael's being mean and ignoring me," Lucifer pouts.

"He's studying," Samandriel clarifies.

"Shouldn't he be out of college by now?" Claire asks.

"Med school," Samandriel explains. "Another four years of not having a social life for him."

"Michael never had a social life," Gabriel reminds him, joining them in the kitchen.