Secrets and Camera Flashes

Chapter 46

Castiel rings the doorbell of Jo's house and takes a step back. He's still a bit wary about spending the holidays with Dean, Jo, and their friends, but at least it's only for a few days. Charlie should get here in about an hour and he already plans to spend most of his time with her -- partially to do damage control but mostly because he's far less likely to make a fool of himself in front of her than anyone else -- but he'll have to bide his time until then. He's sure he can do it; he just doesn't really want to.

Jo opens the door within seconds of him ringing the doorbell, and she beams when she sees him. She throws her arms around him in a big hug, and Castiel awkwardly hugs her back. There are no paparazzi nearby -- that he can see, at least -- so he's not sure why she felt compelled to give him a hug, but maybe she just greets all her friends like this. Castiel can't relate -- other than Charlie, the only people he hugs when the cameras are off are fans -- but to each their own.

"Come on in," she says eagerly.

Castiel follows her inside, where he's greeted by way more people than he'd expected to find in one house. The first two he sees are Sam and Jess, who were in the midst of a very intense game of checkers. Ash was watching, which makes him the next person Castiel says hi to, followed by Ellen Harvelle and John Winchester. They're all really nice and he's sure they're trying to make him feel welcome here, but he's never felt so out of place.

And then, to multiply the awkward, Dean steps into view. Castiel forces a smile, but just seeing Dean there stresses him out more. He never thought they'd be in the same room again, and knowing that Charlie's going to be here, too... It's a recipe for disaster.

"Hey, Cas," Dean says with a casual wave.

"Hi." He clamps his mouth shut after that. He doesn't want to say something stupid. This is probably the easiest way to go about it — he'll just say nothing, and nothing he says can be stupid.

"How's it hanging?" Dean asks because he just has to make Castiel's life harder.

"I am very tired," Castiel says.

"Travel tends to do that to a person," Dean says.

"Do you want to take a nap?" Jo asks. "I can show you to my room; you can sleep in there."

Something about the idea of sleeping in Jo's bed just makes him shudder. Obviously he can't say that, so he brushes it off with, "I'm sure I'll wake up in a few minutes." He looks down at the suitcase he's been wheeling around. "Where do you want me to put my stuff?"

"That can go in my room," Jo says. "You know, get it out of the way."

Castiel follows her to her room. This house is smaller than her home in California, albeit still bigger than any house he's ever lived in, and it doesn't follow the same pattern. Instead of having the bedrooms upstairs, Jo's room is at the end of the hall, which is weird to say the least. He doesn't question it. Houses are weird. This is why he could never be an architect.

Jo pushes the door open. "Voilá."

Castiel steps inside and pushes his suitcase against the wall. He turns and walks out fairly quickly afterward because he's not sure if she wants him looking around, but he takes in a lot in the short time he was in there. He sees the dull purple walls, the array of photos covering the walls, and the king-sized bed with pink sheets. He has to admit, it's a cute room. It almost looks like it belongs to a child, but with a much bigger bed than most children would have. He can't help but wonder if this is the same room she's grown up in.

"I got you a Christmas gift," Castiel says awkwardly. "I don't know if you want me to take it out now, or..."

"Oh, you didn't have to do that!" Jo gushes.

Castiel is decently sure he did have to do that. It's Christmas, and she invited him over for a few days. He couldn't just show up empty-handed. Instead of saying he felt morally obligated to do it, he shrugs it off. "It was the least I could do."

Jo just beams.

"I didn't get something for everyone, so I don't know if I should put it under the tree or just keep it here so no one feels bad," Castiel says. It was hard enough to find a gift for Jo; he wasn't going to find something for all these people he barely knows.

"You can put it under the tree," Jo says. "Trust me, no one was expecting you to get them anything."

Castiel ventures back into her room -- which, to be fair, is only a few steps away -- and rifles through his suitcase for a few moments. He pulls out out a gift bag and a small wrapped box, which he leaves on the floor as he zips his suitcase back up and rests it against the wall again.

"Who's the other gift for?" Jo asks.

Castiel picks them both up. "It's Charlie's."

"Oh, cool," Jo says, and her smile seems a little less than sincere. "Well, um, c'mon, let's go check out the tree."

Castiel follows Jo down the hall and to the living room, where a fake tree stands tall off to the side. It's littered with gifts underneath, and the tree itself is covered in way too many ornaments and lights that haven't been turned on yet. He puts his two gifts down towards the back of the tree, where he knows they won't be the first ones chosen but they won't be the last, either. He doesn't want to draw too much attention to himself like that.

"Are you hungry?" Jo asks. "We have a whole bunch of munchies."

"I ate on the way over."

"Oh, okay," she says. "Is there anything I can get you?"

Castiel shakes his head. "I think I'm good."

"Alright, cool," she says. "Well, c'mon, then. There's a very intense game of checkers going on that's not going to watch itself, you know."

Castiel forces a smile. "Sounds like a plan."

He follows her into the kitchen, where Sam and Jess are still taunting each other over board games like the mature and responsible adults they are. Jo sits down on the last open stool at the counter, and Castiel stands a solid three feet away from her, close enough that he can watch but not close enough that he feels like he's intruding on her personal space.

"Grab a chair!" Jo says with a grin.

"No, I'm good, thanks."

Dean hops off his own stool to take a chair from the kitchen table, which he pushes up against Castiel's legs. "There you go. I grabbed it for you."

"You really didn't need to," Castiel protests.

"Ah, but I did," Dean replies. "Sit. Relax. Be a person."

"Thanks," Castiel mumbles, sitting down in the chair because he really can't say 'no' at this point.

"Much better." Dean pats him on the back before returning to his own stool, seemingly oblivious to the shudder Castiel gave at his touch.

He really has to deal with this for half a week, huh? This isn't going to go well. He's too gay for this shit.

A/N i figure the last few updates have been kinda lame so i might as well pull out the christmas stuff, ya know?