Theater No. 9
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or any of its characters. Sorry to disappoint.
Credit: The cover image for this story is an edit I created using the art of the amazing linneart on tumblr! Definitely go check out her work, it is amazing and a huge inspiration for this story!
Chapter 1
Cas sighed deeply as he ran his dirty rag over the glass case for the umpteenth time, wiping away the now nonexistent dirt. He'd already swept through the entire theater lobby twice and cleaned out the sweets counter so many times that the bags of M&M's practically sparkled. He was only passing time until he could go clean up Theater 9, finally call it a night, and head back home. Working at the movie theater wasn't always too bad, he mused, but tonight had been a particularly slow night, with the exception of the one big midnight screening of The Outsiders. His boss, the owner of the small theater, was a big 80's movie nut and always did big screenings like this to showcase some of his personal favorites. Cas had never been very interested in classic movies, but he sure as hell wasn't going to say anything to his boss. The man was nice, but he got very passionate about certain things, his favorite movies included. Despite his distaste for old movies, he did enjoy the extra attendance the theater gained for its famous weekly screenings. It meant more work for him, but he enjoyed the calm and quiet of the theater after a big crowd had been through and finally left. He'd grumble about people spilling their popcorn and leaving trash for him to pick up, but being inside the theaters after hours and closing up gave him the perfect opportunity to clear his head and just think about things. Sometimes he just needed to sit in the dark and ponder his life. God, that sounded so lame, he thought, maybe being surrounded by all the chick flicks really was getting to his head.
As two giggly teenage girls stumbled out of the darkness of the theater and made their way to the parking lot, he decided that was the last of the stragglers, and grabbed his plastic broom and dust bin. He stepped through the theater doors and got to work clearing out the entrance aisle where people left wrappers that had in turn been trampled by the crowd flooding out of the theater. He subconsciously started humming along to the song playing during the end credits, only to realize it was "Stay Gold" by Stevie Wonder. Sort of a sad song he thought, and that's when he heard the noise. He could hear the sound of someone sniffling just a few feet above him. He could've sworn everyone had left by now, but as he walked up the main aisle, he could hear the noise getting louder. Sure enough, he saw the outline of a boy about his age sitting just a couple seats away. No, not just a boy, more like a movie star, he thought as his eyes adjusted to the theater lighting.
The boy, maybe 18, looked like he could've pranced right out of the movie screen. He had spiky, sandy blonde hair that stuck up a little in the back from where he had used the chair headrest, a strong, lean frame, kissable pink lips that had no right belonging to any boy, and a slightly crooked nose dusted with freckles. All of this coupled with his worn looking leather jacket probably could've made girls swoon like a young Matt Dillon or Rob Lowe from the movie he'd just watched. But the thing that really stood out to Cas was his eyes. His big green eyes were expressive and soulful, framed by thick dark lashes, but there was something wrong with them. They glistened and the closer he looked, he could see some wetness threatening to spill out and the way his lashes clumped together with unshed tears. The boy didn't seem to notice him, but continued to stare at the screen behind him without really seeing it. He vaguely reminded Cas of a lost puppy, and he felt compelled to go comfort and hug him, disregarding how strange that would be for a stranger. Cas refrained from doing so, but he still felt dirty like he had seen something he shouldn't have. There was something so wrong about seeing such an innocent, beautiful looking boy looking like he was trying to hold back sobs. With a small shudder and quick calming breath, the boy seemed to put himself back together and expertly wiped his eyes, effectively hiding all evidence of his momentary lapse in composure.
He finally looked up to see Cas standing there watching him, probably looking like an idiot. Cas thanked God for the way the darkness hid what he knew was a bright blush spreading across his cheeks. He cleared his throat and tried to look casual, like he hadn't wanted to go up and wipe the tears away from the stranger's eyes with his own hands. "Sorry," the boy said in a smooth, deep voice that sounded only a little thick from crying. "I should get going. Don't want to keep you from doing your job." The boy flashed him a brilliant smile that didn't quite meet his eyes, but made Cas's knees go weak nonetheless. "Um, yeah..I mean okay. That's probably best," Cas muttered, cursing how words seemed to fail him and how squeaky his voice sounded in comparison to the stranger's. The boy looked only slightly disappointed before he put his poker face back in place and stood up. He was taller than he'd originally thought, Cas noted, and the brief flash of disappointment in his eyes hadn't escaped his notice either. "Wait. Sorry, that was rude of me. Feel free to stay however, uh, long you want." The boy smiled a little, inspiring Cas to keep going. "The movie isn't over yet anyway." he gave a smile of his own and gestured toward the screen where the names no one ever bothered to read were still flashing. The boy laughed "You're right. It's the most exciting part, man! Don't know what you're trying to do, kicking me out now. I paid good money for all of this." He gestured to the never ending list of names. But even as he said it, he made no move to sit back down. Cas was afraid he'd scared him away before the boy bent down and picked up an empty soda cup and old straw wrapper from under his seat. When he noticed Cas's confused expression he just shrugged and said "I can help clean up. I mean, if it's okay with you. I contributed to the mess, might as well" Cas wanted to refuse any help and was about to gesture to his own dust bin, assuring him he had it covered, but truth be told the theater was a total wreck. It looked like it had been host to a typhoon, instead of classic movie junkies.
So that's how the tall, gorgeous stranger ended up digging around under the rows of seats, picking up wrappers while Cas swept away the dust and gooey bits of Lord-knows-what from the floor. While the stranger tidied up, he hummed to himself, and Cas was once again surprised by what a nice voice he had. "It'd probably sound even better being whispered in my ear," he thought before he mentally slapped himself and tried focusing on the job at hand. All too soon, they were finished. Cas marveled at how much faster it had gone than his normal post movie clean ups. Not so much because the boy had been able to pick up much, but because his company seemed to make time go by quicker.
He emptied his bin in the trash and walked back into the theater just as the credits stopped rolling and the screen went totally black. When he walked back in, the stranger was sitting down in the front row. "Finally come to kick me out, have you?" he said with a grin. Cas just plopped down into the seat next to him. "Nope." The boy didn't respond, but he didn't object to Cas's closeness. It was dark except for the distant glow of the lobby lights and the sound of the old popcorn machine whirring. Normally at this point, Cas would've locked up and hurried home as soon as possible, but it felt cozy here with his new companion, and his desire to go home was overshadowed by his curiosity to get to know the stranger who didn't seem to be in much of a rush to leave either.
"Uh.." he didn't know quite how to phrase what he wanted to say to the boy and he ended up just blurting out, "Why were you crying?" "Real smooth," Cas internally cursed his own stupidity as their comfortable silence became awkward. "I'm sorry. I don't even know you, I was just…" he trailed off without finishing the thought. The boy looked up with a slightly conflicted expression on his face and started fidgeting with his hands, "No. it's alright. It's not like the movie was a chick flick or anything, it just sort of…hit close to home, I guess. Besides, Ralph Maccio always gets to me, the damn heartthrob." He pretended to swoon, but Cas ignored the attempt at comicality and quickly ran through what he knew about the Outsiders in his head. He vaguely remembered someone dying at the end. Maybe he had lost someone similarly. Or maybe Cas was just overanalyzing the whole thing. "After all, sometimes people just get upset," he thought to himself. He decided not to pry and kept his mouth shut.
He was distracted by his thoughts as the boy's mischievous grin returned and he looked Cas in the eyes and said, "Besides, you gotta buy me dinner first before I go telling you all of my secrets," and winked. Cas straightened up and blushed bright crimson before realizing he was just joking again. The last thing he wanted the boy to know was that he had briefly pictured both of them sitting at that 24 hour diner down the street and how he wondered whether the boy liked milkshakes because they had really good…no. He needed to stop before he let himself get carried away with stupid fantasies, even if it did seem like the boy was flirting with him. No. He was definitely imagining it. He'd probably watched one too many romantic comedies, and this boy just happened to share the same charming personality as a movie star. And the looks of one. With those damn luscious lips and…He stood up abruptly, running his hand through his hair for something to do and hoping his face wasn't as red as he thought it was. "Well I better close up now, I don't want to get fired." It sounded stupid even to himself. His boss wouldn't care if he closed up late as long as he got to work on time the next day. But the boy grinned graciously anyways, looking amused at how flustered he had made Cas. Cas couldn't believe how quickly he had gone from looking like a kicked puppy to teasing him with his adorably cheeky smile. Cas lead the way to the front of the building. He didn't trust himself to look the boy in the eyes without doing something stupid like begging him to go on a date with him. Chances were he wasn't even into guys. Cas imagined him wrapped around a gorgeous girl, and he couldn't stop the disappointment he felt. While he continued his tortured inner monologue, the boy just hummed to himself and followed Cas. When they reached the door, Cas awkwardly turned around to face him. "Thanks for, um, helping me clean up and stuff. It gets sort of lonely here sometimes, so just, um, thanks." What he didn't say was that he thought the boy was thoughtful and funny and looked ten times more beautiful when he was smiling, and seeing him cry broke his heart, and more than anything he wanted to make sure he never saw that look on his face again. But he just left it at thanks.
"Well thanks for letting me squat here for a while and not kicking me to the curb. Oh, and for walking me to the door. I don't think I would've found it on my own," Cas laughed at that, "Who knew cleaning up other people's trash could be so much fun? We should do it again sometime, Cas." Cas blanched, "How do you?.. I never told you my name?" The boy just winked, and with that he turned around and walked out to the parking lot before driving away in a shiny black car. Cas just stood there breathlessly, watching him walk away. It took him five whole minutes before he remembered he was in fact wearing his name tag and realized how stupid he'd probably looked. He groaned and wished more than anything that he could go bury himself in a hole. He couldn't help but hope to make up for the terrible first impression he'd probably given, but it wasn't until he had locked up and was starting up his own car that he realized he hadn't even gotten the stranger's name.