Fame Crazy (Sequel to Strings Attached)

Chapter 137

"Sup, bitches?" Charlie says with a grin, jumping into view. Her expression falls when she sees Crowley, not that it's surprising. She gives Castiel a confused, slightly disturbed look and says, not very subtly, "Hey, Castiel, you know that thing that we were working on that we were going to talk about? Wanna go talk about that thing somewhere that isn't here?"

"Yeah, sure," Castiel replies immediately, grateful for an escape. He doesn't hesitate to lead Charlie upstairs, out of earshot of everyone else.

"Was that Crowley?" she hisses.

"Yes, and thank you for getting me away from him because I don't know what I'm doing."

"What's he doing here?" she asks.

"His brother is Anna's boyfriend," Castiel replies. He thought they broke up a few months ago, but apparently that didn't last long.

"And he's talking to you?"

Castiel nods. "Mm hmm. Apparently he's a fan, now." He rolls his eyes at that. "It's ridiculous and kinda scary because this is so not the Crowley I remember."

"Do I need to ninja kick him in the face and buy you some time to escape?" Charlie asks. "Cuz I'll totally do that. He's not that tall."

Castiel can't help but laugh. "No, I think I'm good, but thank you. If worst comes to worst, I bet I could knock him out with a single punch."

"You are your own security guard," Charlie laughs.

"And the best one there is, too, if I do say so myself," Castiel adds.

"And you're s—" She cuts herself off excitedly by saying, "Ooh, hey, Castiel, guess what!"

"What?"

"I met a girl!"

Castiel grins. "Ah, Charlie, that's awesome! What's her name? Is she pretty? When did you guys meet? Are you already together? Do you at least know if she swings the same way?"

"Her name's Gilda," she begins. "She's the most beautiful girl you will ever meet — and you're totally gonna meet her one day, I'm sure of it. We met when I started LARPing again once school got out and she was there too and we —"

"You've known her for months and you're just now telling me?" Castiel repeats. "Et tu, Brute!"

"No, no, wait, it gets better," Charlie tells him. "She's a fairy, so she's got pretty much everyone after her, but she wanted to talk to me! Anyways, as I was leaving I gave her my number because what did I have to lose, right? And she called me the next day so we've been hanging out ever since and, like, a week ago she finally asked me out on an actual date and that was yesterday and it went perfectly and she was already talking about another date and it's like wow, I think I have a girlfriend! An actual, honest-to-god girlfriend!"

"Well, obviously I have to meet said girlfriend to make sure she's right for you," Castiel tells her. "I don't want someone taking advantage of my rainbow over here."

"Don't worry, I'm definitely going to make sure you meet her," Charlie assures him. "And you're gonna love her so much. She is pure perfection in a human's body. And she's a year older which means she's already graduated and she won't have to go away for college this year and we won't have to do the whole long distance thing, and we'll get to hang out a lot."

Castiel can't help but smile. "Sounds like you really like her, huh?"

She nods. "I don't wanna be dramatic or anything, but I can really see myself spending the rest of my life with her."

Castiel's eyes widen slightly at that. "Wow, that's — that's huge."

"I know, and I might be jumping in too fast, but I can't help it, you know? I mean, sometimes you just know, right? Is that just me? Is that how it was with you and Dean? Please tell me I'm not going crazy."

"Well, at 15, I wasn't really thinking about life seventy years in the future, but now, yeah, I kinda get it," he tells her. "21, 22, that's definitely old enough to be thinking about the future. If you think she's the one, go for it. As long as I get a wedding invite, it's all good."

"Oh, you're definitely coming," she replies. "I don't care what's going on in your life. If this is happening, you're gonna be there, no excuses. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am," he replies teasingly. "I think we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves, though. I still have to meet this Gilda and make sure she's worthy of you."

"Already on it," she assures him. "But don't worry. Trust me, you're gonna love her. She's actually a gift from God himself. I don't see us having any problem getting Lucifer to ship it, and you can't disagree with any of Lucifer's ships. That just isn't happening."

Castiel chuckles. "Oh, don't I know it. Well, I look forward to meeting her. Judging by the last three minutes we've spent talking, I'm sure she's a wonderful person."

"And you're completely right," she adds. "Now c'mon, I saw Doritos and I need my chip fix, so let's go."