Secrets and Camera Flashes

Chapter 47

As soon as the doorbell rings that afternoon, Castiel hops up and rushes to get the door. It's obvious that it's going to be the ever-illusive Charlie, given that everyone else is already here, and Dean can't help but feel a little uncomfortable at Castiel's excitement. Sure, he'd be thrilled to see any friend he hasn't seen in a while, too — especially so close to Christmas — so he can't blame the guy, but...

"Come on." Jo nudges him gently. "We should go greet her."

Dean can hear the reluctance in her voice, and that may be what bothers him the most. He knows she's not too keen on Castiel bringing his mysterious lady friend for the holidays, and the whole time she's here, he knows Jo's going to be uncomfortable. This is where the wingman-ing comes in. Step one: make sure Castiel and Charlie aren't together.

They follow him to the front door, and make it just in time to see a petite redhead drop her bags and jump into Castiel's arms. Dean looks down at Jo to make sure she's okay, but she's just staring blankly ahead. Did this break her? He hopes not, or this is going to be a long few days.

They finally step apart, though 'apart' may be the wrong word, given that they're barely standing an arm's length away from each other.

"Girl, look at your hair!" Castiel gushes. "When did you cut it and why did I not know?"

"I got it done yesterday!" Charlie tells him. "It was supposed to be a surprise!"

"And damn right it was," Castiel says. "You look incredible!"

"Oh, thank you!" Charlie gives him another brief hug. "I knew I had to show you before I made my work debut."

Castiel laughs. "I'm so honored."

Dean looks between the two of them, brows furrowed. This is so not the version of him that they know. He's never seen the guy so excited. Hell, he's heard more words come out of Castiel's mouth in the last 60 seconds than he did all day until this point. On one hand, it's nice to see that he does actually have friends that he can talk to like a normal person and that he isn't always incredibly awkward at all times, but on the other hand, it's almost uncomfortable to see such a big difference in him. How much must he not like Dean and Jo for him to naturally be so enthusiastic but to be so quiet talking to them? And how much more uncomfortable does he have to be about spending Christmas here than he lets on?

No one is as excited as Charlie is, though, when she sees Dean and Jo standing there. Her eyes light up, her smile growing impossibly larger. "Oh my god, you guys actually, like..." She gestures to them vaguely. "Exist!"

Dean chuckles. "I would hope so."

"I feel so far above my social standing right now," Charlie says.

"What, and being friends with me never did that for you?" Castiel asks teasingly.

"No, see, they're, like, celebrities," Charlie explains. "Whereas you will always be the 18-year-old boy folding clothes for minimum wage."

"Fair point," Castiel agrees. "Well, there's no point in standing in the doorway all day. C'mon." He grabs her bags — a suitcase and a duffel — and steps back to let her in. It's very gentlemanly, but Dean can't tell if it's in a friendly way or something more, and if he's not sure, he knows Jo will assume the worst.

"Here, I'll show you where you can leave your stuff," Jo offers.

"Thanks!" Charlie says cheerfully.

They follow Jo down the hall, and she brings them to the closet. Castiel seems confused, but, as Jo silently instructs him to, he puts the bags down on the floor by the wall. It's not a bad idea — the closet is out of the way, but still easily accessible when Charlie needs to get her stuff — but the fact that she had Cas bring his stuff to her room but Charlie's stuff stays here is... well, not as subtle as she'd like to think.

"So, obviously you know Jo and Dean," Castiel says to his friend, "but there are a bunch of other people you should meet, too."

"Coolio," Charlie replies.

Castiel leads her down the hall and towards the living room, where everyone else is gathered to watch a movie. Dean and Jo follow not far behind, both of them still a little confused by this new girl — Jo because she's afraid they're together, and Dean because she's so energetic and peppy and the opposite of what Castiel is usually like.

Charlie perks up — which is an accomplishment, given how perky she'd already been. "Do I hear Heat Miser?"

"Yeah, we, like, just started it," Castiel says. "I knew you'd be excited."

"This is the only Christmas movie that matters," Charlie says.

"If we'd known you were such a fan, we would've waited to start it until you got here," Dean remarks.

"I pretty much know it by heart at this point," Charlie says. "It's all good."

She lip-syncs along to the song, and Dean decides he doesn't really mind this girl. If she and Castiel really are together, he won't complain — though he will pretend to complain for Jo's sake. There are worse girls out there for him to be dating.

Castiel and Charlie get to the doorway of the living room, and even before Dean and Jo have made it with them, they're greeted by a friendly chorus of "Hi!"s.

"Hey!" she says cheerfully. "I'm Charlie!"

Dean makes it to the living room just in time to see Sam pause the movie. Dean takes Jo's hand and pulls her to the couch they'd abandoned just a few minutes before, partially so she doesn't make a fool of herself but mostly so Charlie and Castiel don't steal it from them. Dean may like them, but not enough to give up his seat.

"Nice to meet you, Charlie," Sam says. "I'm Dean's brother."

"Sam," she finishes. "I know. I think..." Her eyes scan the room, looking over each person. "I think I know everyone..." When her eyes settle on Ash's face, her brows furrow. "Except you. I'm sorry."

"Ah, it's fine," he assures her. "Name's Ash."

"Oh! You're Jo's brother, aren't you?" she asks.

He nods, an impressed look on his face. "It's like you've been with us the whole time."

Charlie shrugs. "I like putting faces to names so I know who Cas is talking about."

Castiel gives her a playful jab with his elbow. "Stop, now it sounds like I just talk about them all the time and it's weird."

Charlie elbows him right back. "Am I wrong?"

Castiel elbows her again. "If that's what you're implying, then yes you are."

Charlie elbows him again, too. "I mean, we both know I zone out a lot when you talk about other things because it's not as interesting as behind-the-scenes celebrity gossip."

"That's fair," Castiel says. "You're just using me for insider information."

Charlie grins. "Now you get it!"

Castiel slaps her upside the head, and Charlie laughs, dropping her head against his shoulder.

Dean reaches for Jo's hand and gives it a squeeze. If they're going to keep this up their whole time they're here, she's going to have a very rough holiday.