CHAPTER 3 – OUR PASTS REVEALED
Castiel was not really a big drinker, not since the last time he had drank an entire liquor store, but he could not refuse this offer. She ordered a drink and he asked for one in the same. He did not want to seem like the weird guy for buying her a bunch of drinks and not drinking himself. Dean had told him one time that doing that was creepy, and kind of suspicious.
"You know," Piper leaned forward against the table. "I never did ask you your name. You probably think I am just taking advantage of you being a fan."
"I would never think such a thing," Castiel shook his head. "I know better than that."
"Oh, you do?" She laughed, leaning back against her seat. She pushed her mouth to the side as she looked at him. "And how do you know this? I could be taking advantage of you."
"Not that I would mind," Castiel laughed, swirling the straw around his drink. "But I can see your soul and it tells me that you are actually a very nice person. It has been through a lot, that is for certain, but it is pure and good."
"Great," she laughed, throwing back her head. "You are a crazy person. My biggest fan is a crazy person."
Castiel was not sure how to respond. Once again, he felt like he had done something he shouldn't have. He was not supposed to talk about people's souls or being able to see them. Normal people did not say things like that. Normal people would just say they had a gut feeling but not him, he was not smart enough to pull off normal, obviously. "I apologize."
"I never said it was a bad thing," Piper put her hand out and put it on top of his. Obviously, she could tell that he was nervous. "It is the ones who hide their crazy; those are the ones you have to worry about."
"So," Piper took a sip of her mixed drink, her eyes looking over Castiel. "Do I get to know the name of my biggest, craziest, fan?"
Castiel laughed, but he was still nervous. He was not sure why he was so nervous with her. Normally, he was good at talking, whether or not he was saying the right thing. But now he found himself struggling for words. Is this what it was to be a fan of someone?
"Castiel," he indulged her. He knew he was going to have to go in depth into his name, that was how it normally went. "But you can just call me Cas. Everyone else does."
"Nah, I like Castiel. I will call you that." She smiled over at him and suddenly he was more comfortable than he had been the entire evening. "So, where are you from Castiel?"
"Kansas," Castiel was quick to answer. He could not very well tell her that he was from Heaven. Unless there was a town called Heaven. He needed to look into that. That would be ironic. "I am from Kansas."
"Wow," she seemed shocked by his answer. Being as it was not really the truth, he could not blame her in any way. "So, what brings you to the big city?"
"Was just another stop on my travels," Castiel admitted to her. "I got into some situations in life that were not so good for me. I decided that I needed to get away from that life for a while. I have been travelling ever since."
"Where all have you been?" She suddenly became even more interested in the conversation.
"I have been all over the world." Castiel admitted to her, though he was not sure if he should leave some of it out. "Every state, and recently I was in Egypt and Spain."
"Which place was your favorite?" She followed up with another question.
"Here," Castiel found himself saying, though he was not sure why. He wanted to change his answer but currently it was the correct one. Being here with her was his favorite moment in a very long time.
"Really," she laughed at him again. At first he was worried about her laughter, like maybe he was doing things wrong, but now it was a sweet sound. He wanted to do whatever he could to make her smile more. "All the places you have been and New York has been your favorite?"
"No, not New York," Castiel could feel himself blushing slightly. "Here. Right where I am now; with you."
There was silence for a good while after Castiel's comment. This time he had done it. He had completely pushed her away and she was just looking for the right moment to leave. He needed to find a book or a class. Anything that could teach him how to be a proper human and talk to other humans, even though he was not a human.
"I'm still not sleeping with you," she put on a serious face but Castiel could see the smile lingering behind it.
"That is okay," he nodded.
After that, they talked for what felt like hours. They talked for so long they had to leave the bar and find a twenty-four-hour diner. They talked over coffee and greasy breakfast food. Castiel learned that he was right about his impression of her based on her songs. She never knew he mother and her father was a dead beat, she had not seen him since she was sixteen. She also had two brothers. Both of them were a little messed up and only showed up when they needed something. Castiel told her that they were similar, telling her a loose version of his story. He could not really tell her the real thing. Not yet anyways.
"So where are you staying?" Piper asked, forcing Castiel to sit up straight. He was not really staying anywhere. Since he did not have a need for sleep, he just kind of moved around to other places when the world around him was asleep.
"I, uh," Castiel tried to think of the name of a hotel that would be close by, anything that would convince her but he was drawing a blank. Dean would be disappointed. "I have been staying with a friend."
"A friend, huh?" He could sense that she did not believe him. He had taken a little longer than he should have when answering her. "Where does this friend live, exactly."
"Downtown," He tried his best but he was not the best at lying. Not telling people things was one thing but lying when asked was sometimes harder than it needed to be. The worst was lying to her. He did not know what it was but he did not want to lie to her.
Castiel argued the entire walk to Piper's apartment, but she was not hearing it. She said that if he decided to stay in New York, he would always have a place to stay. He tried to tell her that he would get a hotel room but she had an extra room that was just sitting there and she would love to have some company for a while. Plus, she had a cat, Castiel had always been fond of cats.
"Home sweet home," Piper flicked on the lights and led him into her apartment. It was small, even though it was a two bedroom. To have anything big you had to pay an arm and a leg for it in New York. Castiel was not sure when they started taking body parts as payment, but it did not seem pleasant. Besides, there was nothing wrong with small. A home was a home, no matter the size.
"I will not over stay my welcome," Castiel promised as he shut the door behind him.
"Please do," she smiled, though it could very well be the alcohol talking. She had a lot to drink before she started onto the coffee. Castiel was not sure how sobering up worked, but he had a feeling she was not quite there yet.
Castiel stood in the entryway, taking it all in and trying to get himself to feel slightly comfortable. Would this be a situation that a normal person would feel comfortable in? He was not sure if he should walk in and make himself at home, whatever it was that meant. Heaven had always been his home. There were no rooms, it was a vast number of places to explore. The idea of walls and rooms making up a home was still new to him.
