Fame Crazy (Sequel to Strings Attached)

Chapter 64

"I'm low key offended you decided to ditch us this soon," Charlie tells him about a week later.

"I've got some stuff to finish up," Castiel explains as he finishes nearly placing his things in a suitcase. He probably should have done this before ten minutes before he's leaving to go to the airport, but that's life as a procrastinator for you.

"'Stuff,'" Charlie repeats. "Very descriptive."

"For my tour," he clarifies. "'Bout as descriptive as I can get." That's mostly because he could, in theory, finish most of it in Sioux Falls. That was his plan, anyway. He told himself when he booked the flight out for the summer that he'd start working the day after his birthday, and he'd have everything done just in time. Of course, it's now been about a week and a half since then, and this late in the game, every day counts. He'll just have to cram a little bit more work into each day. This is only four days shorter than what it took last year — and yes, he calculated this out beforehand. It shouldn't be too hard.

In reality, he's not trying to go home; he's trying to escape his family. Everything has been so dull and lifeless since they heard what happened to Chuck. Even Lucifer and Gabriel, the two comedians of the family, haven't had a lot to say. Castiel won't pretend he's not guilty of this, too, but he can't focus in the quiet like this. Everything just feels so wrong here. He'd rather be at his home in New York, where at least the silence is expected.

"Well, I'm gonna miss you," Charlie tells him. "Like, a lot. I don't know what I'm gonna do without my little music man here I entertain me."

"You could have your little nerdy man entertain you instead," Castiel suggests.

"But that's not the same!" she whines.

"Tell you what," Castiel suggests. "You hang out with Kevin for now, and in a few months, I'll come back and invite you to my concert."

Charlie rolls her eyes. "Right, because it's not like you're giving me the tickets anyway," she says sarcastically.

"Okay, yeah, I am," he admits. He pulls out an envelope from the front of his suitcase and hands it to her. "I meant to give them out on my birthday but I forgot, so I'm trusting you."

"I got you," she replies.

"Okay, per usual, no assigned spacing, so get there early to save yourself a spot and don't move. I think everyone else is going to the first concert, but you can go to any of 'em."

"Or all of them!" she adds.

"Or all of them," he agrees. "Stick around 'til the very end and I'll come meet you guys after everyone else leaves. I think that's it."

"Yep," she replies. "So I'll be there long before the doors open, texting you nonstop so I don't die of boredom."

"You say that every year and yet I never get a single text," he reminds her.

"Because I always end up talking to your brothers instead, but in my defense, you already know I'm never going to follow through anyway, so it's not like a big plot twist every year."

"Yeah, that's true."

"Cassie, hurry up!" Gabriel calls from somewhere else in the house.

"Coming!" he calls back. He zips up his suitcase and turns back to Charlie. "Until next time." He gives her a brief hug, and Castiel picks up his suitcase to leave. Charlie places a hand on his arm to stop him.

"Are you just leaving that here?" she asks, gesturing with her head to Chuck's old guitar. She's the only one outside the Novak and Winchester families to know about Chuck, because she might as well be part of their extended family.

"I don't know what else to do with it," he replies with a shrug. "I mean, I'd like to bring it with me, but there's no way I would trust anyone on a plane with it, and I'm sure it would die in the mail. Unless I'm going to drive it to my house, I'd say this is the safest place for it."

"Yeah, makes sense," she agrees.

They part out front with a "Peace out, bitches," before Castiel hops in his car for a nearly silent car ride with Gabriel to the airport.