WARNING: Major Character Death
A/N: Hey guys, so this is my first fic that I've ever written. If you read through it, please give me positive feedback and/or constructive criticism so that I know what to keep or fix when (or if) I write a new one. Thanks!
Castiel glances over at the calendar on his wall. Thursday, March 5, 2012. "There's only a week left until the university's orchestra concert, and I'm behind on my practicing," he thought to himself. The violin is one of the key components to the performance, and it's not an easy instrument to play if you don't work at it. He traverses from the kitchen across the shoddy one-bedroom home into his bedroom to retrieve his violin and music. He begins work on Mendelssohn's Piano Trio Op. 49 in D Minor. He's only in that one piece for the concert, but he's the solo violinist among a cellist and pianist. While practicing, a knock sounds from the door.
"Coming!" Castiel exclaims. He sets his violin down and makes way towards the door. He twists the knob and opens the door.
"Hey, Charlie, what are you doing here?" Castiel asks her. He didn't expect anyone over today.
"Hey! Sorry I didn't call, my phone battery gave up on me," Charlie answers, "but I stopped by to see if we could practice together?"
Charlie Bradbury is Castiel's best friend, as well as being the cellist for the trio. She carries her cello in the car with her everywhere she went, and only takes it out when we returned home or was in the mood to play. Of course, she also has a habit of making plans that the other person is usually unaware of.
"Perfect timing," Castiel replies. "I was just getting started. Do you have Alessa with you?"
"She's right here!" Charlie pulls her cello from the wall where it was leaning. She had the quirky idea of having the trio name their instruments when they were assigned the piece for the concert. Castiel's violin is called Alexei; Ruby calls her keyboard Aladrin, though the grand piano she uses for concerts is called Colossus.
"So, Castiel, I was hearing you play while walking up here and I couldn't help but notice that Alexei's slightly out of tune…"
"Yeah, I know," Castiel admits embarrassingly. "Though I believe I can play well, I have never been able to tune it perfectly."
"Let me have a look at it. I'll see what I can do."
"Knock yourself out."
Castiel hands his violin over to Charlie. She flips her red hair behind her neck and begins to tweak around with the tuning. "In the meantime," Castiel thought, "it would be nice to prepare some snacks. Some mini peanut butter and jelly sandwiches shouldn't be too much of a hassle now." He is getting the strawberry jam out of the fridge when he hears a loud snap, followed by a horribly pitched twang.
"Shit!" Charlie yells from the living room. Castiel rushes in to see what happen.
"What the—"
"Oh my God, Castiel, I am SO sorry," Charlie panics. "I was just trying to tune your violin, and my fingers slipped on one of the pegs, and it turned too hard, and the string just snapped, and I am so sorry… please don't be mad at me!"
"Alright alright, calm down, Charlie. It was an accident."
"I know, but I still feel really bad! I knew how much Alexei meant to you…"
Of course, she was right. That violin was gifted to Castiel by his mother when he was seven years old, a year before she died. It's the only thing he has left of her memory, and he's kept up on it all these years to make sure it never fell out of excellent condition.
"WAIT! I have an idea!" Charlie exclaims. "I know this music shop about fifteen minutes from here. There's a guy there who does a really good job on stringed instruments. I mean, he mostly works on guitars, but still. A violin should be no problem for him. He also has really good prices."
"Alright," Castiel sighs. "I'll go right now. You can stay here and practice if you want; I have the sheet music over there on my stand. It has all three instrument lines on it. Can you write down the address for me?"
"Yeah, you got a pen and paper?"
"Uh, yeah, sure." Castiel walks over to his computer desk and grabs a piece of printer paper and a red pen. He returns to Charlie and hands the items over, watching her scribble an address down. It seems unfamiliar. "Must be somewhere in downtown Columbus."
"His name is Dean," Charlie notes. "About yay-high, built, brown hair. Tell him I said hi!"
"Will do. But Charlie?"
Charlie looks up. "Yeah?"
"You're paying me back," Castiel says with a little laugh. "Just saying."
Charlie looks away in guilt. "Yessir," she remarks.
Castiel grabs his keys and walks out the door. "Today hasn't exactly gone how I expected, but it was nice to have some form of social interaction." With both work and school going on, he hasn't had much time to catch up with his friends; or, at least, the few friends he has. He only really talks to Charlie and Ruby. As he gets in his '02 Pontiac Grand Am, he smiles to himself. He does enjoy his life, even if it's a little more meager than some.
A/N: I know it starts off kinda slow, but I meant for this chapter to be more of a character introduction. Actual plot starts next chapter!