Hey guys, I'm back! So I personally think this chapter is super long but it's because there's so much dialogue going on. Also, i don't know if you'll notice but Lysander is alot more playful in my story than in the actual game. I just thought it would be funny and I don't know why but I think this kind of personality suits him as much as it suits his mysterious, quiet personality. As it is summer vacation for me, I have sooooo much free time and as a result, I will be writing and updating this story quite frequently as also my other story, Special Mission: Operation Phoenix, so please check that out also. As always, enjoy! -Yuu
"Damn it all!" Castiel yelled in frustration when the E string of his guitar broke. "That's the last time I'm buying this cheap brand again. It's already been the third one in two weeks."
Lysander gave a light chuckle. "You should have learned your lesson by the second time. Why do you keep buying it?"
"Like I said, cheap brand." He motioned to himself from head to toe, "still a student, no job, kinda broke."
"Well, you can always use your parent's money." Lysander knew Castiel hated relying on his parents, but found it funny to joke around with him about it.
"Hell no. I will not rely on them and use their money. Except for food." He mumbled the last part.
Castiel's father worked as an airplane pilot while his mother was a stewardess. From the time he was little, they were never around and if they were, well you can say they were not the nicest people on earth. Instead of having to deal with him, they rather leave him alone with a whole bunch of money for him to use on anything he wished to spend it on.
"Well my friend, I guess practice ends here then." Lysander gave out a sigh clearly disappointed that their rehearsal was cut short.
"Man, we need to practice more. The gig is in five days." Castiel thought for a second. "Tell you what, I'll take up your offer in using my parent's money and tomorrow we'll go and buy new strings."
"Sounds good. We can go check out that new music store that recently opened up right in front of Leigh's store."
"Ohh yeah, I've been thinking of going in there. That place seems pretty cool."
The boys packed up their equipment and exited the basement under the stairs of their school, silently locking the behind them, pocketing the keys, and sneaked out of the school.
~ Next Day ~
*BRIIIIING! BRIIIING! BRIIIIIIIING!*
"Ugh, shut up." Castiel groaned as he was woken up from his cell phone. Finally, he grabbed it off his nightstand and saw from the caller I.D. that it was Lysander and answered it. "Hello?"
"Rise and shine sleeping beauty. Might I say that your waking up voice is quite sexy."
"Shut up. Ugh what time is it Lys?" He lifted his head and looked to his alarm clock but was still unable to see clearly as he was still groggy.
"7:30." He said this in the most amused voice every.
Castiel's head flopped back in defeat. "Why the freak are you calling me so early in the morning? Not to mention it's the weekend." Needless to say, he was getting a little pissed. The man needed his beauty sleep.
"You said we would go out and buy new strings at that new music store."
"When I said that, I kind of meant like in the afternoon or something. Not like 7 freaking 30 in the morning."
"Well aren't we a little cranky today?" Castiel could just imagine Lysander on the other side of the phone line all smiles, bright and cheerful.
"Yeah, and guess who I owe that to."
"Well as flattered as I am because I know you're talking about me, get ready now cause I'm coming to pick you up in 30 minutes."
"But-" Before he could oppose, Lysander had ended the call leaving Castiel hanging. "Dang it."
There was nothing he could do now. When Lysander said he was going to be there at a certain time, he meant it. Never late, never early. As for Castiel, even if he didn't want to, he got out of bed, grabbed his towel and headed into the bathroom to take a shower. Demon, his Belgium Sheppard, who was asleep just moments ago next to his bed was stretching in the hallway and made strutted downstairs.
After his shower, Castiel got dressed in his black skinny jeans, band shirt, winged skulls of course, and black leather jacket. After dressing, he dried his hair.
Once he was done prepping up, he headed downstairs to see demon waiting for him.
"Morning bud." He opened a cabinet in the kitchen and scooped a bowl of dog food, pouring it into Demon's bowl.
Castiel glanced at the time which read exactly eight o'clock. "Lys should be here any-" he was cut off as the doorbell rung, "-moment now." He smirked at how punctual his best friend always was.
"Good morning." Lysander greeted him as Castiel opened the door, smiling at him.
"I hate you." Castiel didn't even bother with a proper good morning response. He turned and went to grab his keys, wallet, and phone off of the kitchen counter while mumbling things like "who the heck gets up this early" or "I'm still tired and I wanna go back to sleep". He bid Demon a farewell and headed out the door, locking it behind him.
Just as Castiel had seated himself and closed the door in the passenger seat of Lysander's car, Lysander reaches behind him in the backseat handing Castiel a bag from IHOP. Castiel gratefully took the back fishing out its contents immediately.
"Got you pancakes and an omelet. That coffee there is for you too." He motioned over to the cup of coffee in the cup holder.
"And suddenly I feel much better. I take back what I said about hating you cause I totally love you for this."
They drove on towards the music store. They sat in silence as Lysander let Castiel eat his breakfast, which was devoured in just a few moments.
"Did you hear that there's this hot chick that works at the music store?" Castiel broke the silence when he was done eating.
"Ohh really? I'm surprised that you haven't gone there yet."
"I was gonna go a week ago but with this gig thing coming up, I thought practice was more important than checking out some hot chick."
As Lysander stopped the car on a red light, he turned to Castiel putting his hand on his chest as he feigned disbelief. "Who are you and what have you done to my best friend?"
"I'm actually a very committed person once I say I'm going to do it and set my mind to it."
"Ohh yea? Then what happened to that one time when you said you were going to read Romeo and Juliet for me? Or the time when you said you're going to find a job?"
"Shut up." Castiel crossed his arms across his chest and sulked.
Lysander parked his car in one of the parking spaces available in the shared parking lot of the music store and Leigh's store. The music store was called "Silent Beat". Castiel pulled the door open and a little bell rung that hung above the door.
"Welcome! A cheerful voice said from behind some shelves. The owner of the voice appeared smiling at the two boys. "How can I help you guys? Looking for anything specific?"
Castiel's POV
"Welcome!"
*Ugh, another cheerful person* I thought as I resented every happy person in the world. *How can anyone be so happy this early in the morning?*
"How can I help you? Looking for anything specific?"
"Yeah. I-" that's when I looked up and saw her. My voice hitched at the back of my throat. "I-I-" *I'm stuttering. When do I ever stutter?* I cleared my throat.
Her long ash brown hair that cascaded down her back in subtle waves gleamed in the sunlight coming through the window. Her round eyes, framed with long lashes, was a golden brown.
I was in a daze, staring at her and the things is, I was completely aware of it, yet I could not look away. That is until Lysander, who I had completely forgotten about cleared his throat and finished what I needed to say.
"We," he motioned to the two of us, "are looking for guitar strings."
She gave a light chuckle.
*Great. She's laughing at me.*
"Alright, I'll show you where they are. Follow me please." She waved her hand as she turned and walked away indicating that we should follow which we did. She glanced back to see if we were still following, but instead, she caught me staring at her. We made eye contact, but I look away immediately.
*Ohh just great. I just made it even more awkward than it actually is.* I looked back only when I knew for sure she had already turned around. I saw her shoulders shaking slightly. *And she's laughing at me again.* I mentally slapped myself.
I look around the store to avoid any more awkward eye contacts in case she turns around again. I see that this store is ginormous. It even has a second floor and I can even see a recording booth.
"There right over there." She points to a wall filled with all types of strings. "Here are the guitar strings." She motioned to the section with about ten different guitar brands. "This store is super big and they just had to put these in the very corner on the other side of the store."
"It's quite alright."
*Smooth Lys* I felt the need to say something too. "I haven't seen you around. You from out of town? Names Castiel and this is Lysander."
"Yup," she smiles at us, showing perfectly lined white teeth. "I just moved from California a week ago. My name is Gail. I'm the daughter of the owner of this music store."
"California huh? I've been there and I love the sunny weather that they have there, unlike here. I hope you get accustomed to life here soon." Lysander says.
"Thank you. I'm already loving it here. So, anyway, if you need anything else, feel free to call out to me." She gave us a bright smile before she turned to leave from the direction we came from.
"W-Wait!" I nearly screamed acting without thinking. It was louder than I meant to say and I saw that she flinched. *The list just keeps adding up of how stupid I can be. I scared her* and I mentally slapped myself, again.*Is she shaking?*
Third Person POV
"W-wait!" Castiel nearly screamed causing Gail to flinch. She stood there for a few moments, her back to them. She didn't think the boys notice but she was shaking a little bit. Her hands, shoulders, and lips trembled slightly. She took a deep breath to calm herself, and turned around with a full smile on her face.
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout." He shook his head apologetically. "I um… There's so many brands and I was just wondering what you recommend is the best."
Gail walked back to where the two were standing and turned to the row of guitar strings. She scanned her options.
"Hmmm… I personally think the D'addario or the Elixir strings are the best, but then it also depends on what type of music you play." Gail explained pointing to the strings she just mentioned.
Castiel leaned in to check the prices for them. "I don't know, $20 for a set sounds kind of expensive."
"Well I think it's worth it if you're looking for good strings unlike the cheap ones they sell at the dollar store." She spoke as though she enjoyed the talk of guitars, maybe even proud.
Lysander smirked, nudging Castiel in the rib with his elbow.
Castiel swatted Lysander's elbow away from him. "I told you it's the last time I'm going to buy those strings. Fine, I'll get the D'Addario set."
Gail picked up the set and walked her way back to the cashiers located at the adjacent wall from where they stood. The two boys followed behind her.
"So Miss Gail, you seem to know a lot about guitars. Do you happen to play?" Lysander asked her she rung up the guitar strings.
"That will be $12," she said to Castiel then turned to Lysander. "Why yes, I do play guitar, but I mainly play bass. I just filled in from time to time for this one band whenever their guitarist couldn't do a gig or something back in Cali."
"Wait, before you two continue your conversation, I think you got the price wrong. You said they were twenty doll-," Castiel interrupted only to be cut off.
"Let's just say it's a grand opening discount."
Castiel didn't say anymore satisfied with the discount he received. "You said you play bass right? Lys and I are in a band and we've been looking for a bassist for a while now. Maybe you're interested?" He used his lowered sexy "convince any girl" voice.
"I don't know. You two any good?" She mimicked Castiel's voice lowering her own voice in a mischievous, sexy voice.
"Ha! Are we any good? We are freaking amazing! And chestnut, don't try that voice thing cause it doesn't fit someone like you. I'm the one capable of doing it."
"Chestut?"
"Yup, cause of your hair." He gave her his signature smirk.
"It's not even the same color. Chestnuts are darker compared to my hair."
"I don't care." Lysander stood aside them, amused by their argument.
"Whatever cherry top." She rolled her eyes at him while handing him his strings in a plastic bag.
"Cherry top? Why are you calling me cherr-"
"Gail! Your song is finished." Castiel was cut off by a man coming down the stairs. He was probably in his mid 40s and was wearing a short sleeve light blue button up shirt and black pants. He held in his hand a CD case with a disk inside.
"Thanks Papa." She took the case from him and placed it in a drawer of the cashier table.
The man who Gail mentioned as her father eyes the two boys. "Hello there."
"Papa, these two are Castiel and Lysander. They said they're in a band together and they asked me if I could join."
"Ohh really?"
"Yup. They're looking for a bassist."
"Okay, I'll tell you what, you can schedule an appointment and come back here to use the recording booth. You can play with Gail and see if you sound any good together."
Castiel and Lysander faced each other, gleaming with happiness.
"Thank you so much sir." Castiel shook hands with him followed with Lysander doing the same. After giving their proper thanks, Gail's father went back upstairs.
"We can finally send in an official demo to any company Lys." Castiel jumped and fist pumped the air.
"Whoa there cherry top. Stop before you end up punching yourself. Wouldn't have taken you the type to get uber exited about something like this."
Castiel snapped back to his normal self, but he couldn't help the grin.
"Miss Gail, are you by any chance going to Sweet Amoris High School?" Lysander asked.
"Yup. Are you two seniors?"
"Yes we are."
"Great. I'm starting on Monday."
"Wow, it must suck for you to start like two months late, not to mention on your senior year." Lysander elbowed Castiel in the rib.
Gail chuckled. "Yea, it does suck. I'll be the weird new loner girl. I passed by it a few times and it looked huge. I'll most likely get lost."
"Well chestnut, luck for you, you're actually not a loner cause you know us now."
"Yea, cause knowing you, cherry top, makes me feel so much better."
"Why I'm honored." He put his hand on his chest bowing. He was glad he could be all out sarcastic with her. "Well then, we must be on our way, Mademoiselle Chestnut. See you at school."
"And farewell to you Sir Cherry Top." She curtsied to Castiel. "Sir Lysander," then to Lysander, laughing.
"Same to you miss Gail." Lysander grabs her hand and gave it a light kiss. Gail's eyes went wide and she blushed like mad but she giggled while Castiel rolled his eyes.
The two boys walked out of the music store, but Castiel glanced back to Gail who was already getting back to work. He couldn't help but smile.
"Someone's got a crush." Lysander hooked his arm around Castiel's neck, ruffling his hair. Castiel managed to struggle out of his grip.
"Shut up. Let's go Lys."