Standing Together

Chapter 43

Castiel calls Jack when he gets in the limo to the hotel, just as he told the boy he would. As expected, Jack picks up the phone immediately. Know him, he's probably been waiting with the phone since the earliest Castiel was scheduled to arrive.

"Hi, Castiel!" Jack greets him. "Did you land?"

"I'm on my way to my hotel right now, actually," Castiel says. "I'm ready to start working on the song whenever you are, or I can just hang out in my hotel room eating chips 'til you're free. Up to you."

"We could go meet at the studio now if you want," Jack says, and though his words may make him sound indifferent, he's clearly excited.

"Sounds like a plan," Castiel replies. "I'll just drop my stuff off in my room and meet you there."

"And if you want a ride back to your hotel afterwards that's less conspicuous than a limo, I can drive," Jack says. "I got my license a few months ago, so it's completely legal."

"If you're up for it, then sure," Castiel says.

"Awesome!" Jack says excitedly.

"I guess I'll see you in a little bit," Castiel says. "Bye!"

With their call ended, Castiel goes to his messages and opens his chat with Dean. He's not sure if Dean's home yet, so it's entirely possible he won't see this until Castiel's already at the recording studio with Jack and can't talk for more than a couple minutes, but he might as well ease Dean's fears while he can.

Castiel: I landed safely and am now in a limo to my hotel. Just thought I'd let you know.

Castiel clicks his phone off and leaves it in his lap. Now for the boring part: the traveling.

~~

Castiel gets a call from Dean on the way to the studio. He smiles to himself and answers it immediately.

"I have to say, I was not expecting our first phone call to be half an hour after I landed," Castiel says teasingly.

"What can I say?" Dean says. "I couldn't stay away."

Castiel chuckles. "You're adorable."

"I know," Dean replies. "So, where are you now in your travels? Already at the singy thingy?"

Castiel can't help but laugh. "Not yet, but almost."

"How many cameras have been shoved in your face so far?" Dean asks.

"God, way too many to count," Castiel says. "Especially when I got to LA. I miss when getting recognized was a privilege, not an unavoidable pest."

"Hey, at least you'll be home in a week, and you won't have to deal with the cameras anymore," Dean reminds him. "You'll get to watch Aladdin in peace."

"Talk about living the dream — oh shit."

"Cas?" Dean says quickly. "What's wrong?"

"Uh, nothing," Castiel says, although he's sure Dean can hear that he's rattled just from his tone of voice. "Just a lot of cameras in front of the studio."

"Do you think they know you're coming?" Dean asks.

"I have no idea," Castiel says. "The paps might have just seen Jack go inside and hope they'll catch him leaving." But they also know Castiel's in town, and it's common knowledge that he and Jack are friends, so maybe they're hoping he'll show up. He really doesn't want to give the paparazzi what they want, but he doesn't have much of a choice.

"Well, good luck," Dean says. "If anyone gives you trouble, punch them in the face for me."

Castiel chuckles. "Unfortunately, I really don't want to go to jail today." And they're parked. Castiel slides his sunglasses on. "Alright, I have to go. Talk later?"

"Yep," Dean says. "Love you."

"Love you, too."

Castiel hangs up and slides his phone into his trench coat pocket just as the limo door opens. He quietly thanks the limo driver as he steps out of the car, the door closing behind him. Castiel ducks his head and walks over to the door as quickly as he can.

The voices of the paparazzi mostly blend together, but as he passes them, he can't help but make out a few things being yelled at him. Most of them just yell his name, trying to get him to look their way for a perfect picture, but some of them try asking questions.

"Where have you been these last few months?"

"What are you working on?"

"Are you recording something with Jack Kline?"

"Should we expect some songs about the terrorist attack on your next album?"

Castiel swallows hard and tries his best to ignore them. Any other person would know that asking something like that is going way too far, but they have no concept of "inappropriate." They never have.

He as soon as he's in the building, he leans against the wall and breathes a sigh of relief. How many of them are still going to be there when he leaves? Is it going to be more than there are already? They have been known to wait outside the studio for over 12 hours for him before, and that was back when they could find him just about everywhere he went. With the new shortage of candids from his mini "vacation," he's sure the paparazzi know their new pictures are going to be more successful than ever before, so they'll definitely be willing to put in the wait.

Castiel's head lols back in exasperation. God, why did he choose this life? Why would anyone choose this life? It's the definition of hell on earth — and not the fun type of hell Lucifer would run.

At least there's one plus side to it, though. He gets to make music with a friend.