Chapter Seven
Papers and magazines across America and countless websites were still talking about the 'Win A Date' competition, Dean and Anna even after a whole week. Dean couldn't go anywhere in New York without seeing his face all over the front page of far too many glossy magazines. He couldn't go anywhere without bumping into countless fans and it was starting to get to him. He'd never minded being in the public eye so much. When he was dating one of his co-stars from a film he had been in three years previous the media had gone insane over it but there was nowhere near as much publicity back then as there was now. Dean had several suspicions that Pamela was behind most of stories being printed.
Sam and Jo had been no real help apart from making countless jokes at Dean's expense. Normally he loved having Sam in New York with him but part of him was actually glad to see Sam go back to Palo Alto in the end because the constant piss taking was starting to seriously annoy Dean. Jo could clearly see this so she'd stopped once Sam had gone back to Stanford but now Dean could feel himself getting into a funk that he was sure would take a while to get out of.
"Maybe you should take a break or something like that." Jo said shrugging her shoulders as she made him a cup of coffee. Dean had dropped into the café where Jo worked to see her and complain that he was feeling like shit.
"Yeah, because Pamela would love that." Dean said yawning. He'd been up all morning at meetings with casting directors and he was exhausted even though it was only midday.
"What is really getting to you? Because it can't just be the press; they've been hounding you for years and it's never gotten you this annoyed before." Jo asked passing Dean his coffee. Dean shrugged because he wasn't sure if he wanted to mention to Jo that he was actually missing the person he felt like he was when he had been with Anna the weekend before. "Shit…it's not the 'Win A Date' girl is it?" Jo asked peering at Dean. Dean hated that Jo had known him for so long that she could practically read his mind over certain things. "Oh holy shit, you're introuble…you liked the 'Win A Date' girl didn't you?"
"Jo…"
"I'm not going to shut up Dean, if you like her then go and do something about it." Jo said bluntly.
"Yes because Pamela wouldn't mind me having a relationship with Anna." Dean said sarcastically.
"Well isn't she the one shoving all the stories in the papers?"
"Yes but that's for publicity to stop the whole 'Greenwich' thing from rearing its head." Dean explained.
"Are you ever going to talk about-"
"No I am not going to talk about it Jo." Dean said firmly.
"Um…excuse me?" a small voice asked from Dean's side. Dean looked at Jo as if to tell her to get back to work and serve the customer but Jo just smirked. Taking that as a hint Dean turned and saw a teenage girl smiling widely at Dean. "Hi…I'm really sorry to interrupt but…but could I possibly have an autograph? I'm a huge fan…" the girl said holding out a notebook.
"Um…yeah sure. What's your name?" Dean asked slipping into his charming 'actor' mode that Jo liked to take the piss out of all the time.
"Oh it's Katie." The girl said happily as Dean quickly wrote out a small message and signed the notebook.
"Hey Katie, how about I take a lovely photo of the two of you?" Jo asked smirking at Dean. Dean shot her a glare but then smiled back at Katie who just looked star struck. Katie nodded her head and handed Jo an iPhone while wearing an expression of awe. "Smile for the camera Dean." Jo said before she quickly took the photo of Dean with his arm around Katie. Once Katie was gone Jo couldn't stop laughing.
"I really hate you sometimes." Dean said glowering at her.
"Oh bite me Winchester and grow some fucking balls already. If you like the 'Win A Date' girl then go and do something about it. At least Pamela won't mind if you have sex with this person."
"You're a bitch sometimes Jo and her name is Anna." Dean said making sure he had his coffee before he said goodbye to a smirking Jo. He didn't want to admit it but maybe she was right, he should just grow some balls and do something about the fact that he hadn't been able to stop thinking about the 'Win A Date' night all week. "Pamela would kill me though. She'd be convinced that I was going to screw everything up."
"Don't tell her then. Say that you're going to go and see Sam over in California."
"I've never lied to Pamela before."
"You always lie to Pamela." Jo pointed out.
"Fine but-"
"No, you're going to wherever that Anna girl is from and you're going to grow spare, so help me God." Jo snapped giving Dean the firmest look ever. This was the look that she had inherited from Ellen and was the same look that Dean had seen for most of his childhood whenever he did something that had pissed Ellen off, like getting himself suspended from school for fighting though that had only happened once…ok maybe five times.
"You're bossy." Dean said pointedly to Jo.
"And you're frustrating. Now get out of here, I've got work to do." Jo said though she gave Dean a warm smile as he left.
Lying to Pamela turned out to be a lot easier than Dean thought it would be purely because Pamela knew full well how much Sam meant to Dean, she would never really complain about Dean leaving new York for a few days to visit Sam in Palo Alto and Dean was pretty damn thankful for that.
Discovering whereabouts in Chicago Anna lived in had also been easier than Dean originally thought. All it took was to distract Pamela long enough to have sneaking look into the files Pamela kept that were about the 'Win A Date' competition. Anna's entry, along with her address, had been right at the top so now as he turned up the volume of the Impala's radio Dean pressed his foot against the accelerator and he could feel the car's speed increase rapidly. The highway leading towards Chicago was relatively clear and Dean was enjoying the feeling of justdriving. It had been too long since he'd just been out on the road though throughout the journey so far Pamela had kept up a steady stream of messages.
Pamela Barnes: How long are you going to be in Palo Alto for? There's a meeting with the Diversion people next week. I'm not sure if you'll be needed there yet.
Pamela Barnes: Don't do anything stupid in Palo Alto. The publicity from the Win A Date is still going strong.
Pamela Barnes: And by stupid I mean that you go out and get drunk with your brother thus ending up in the papers for looking like a complete and utter drunken idiot.
Pamela Barnes: Oh I've gotten you an interview in UK Vogue. They want to shoot in two weeks. Don't do anything stupid like get a new tattoo in that time like you did when you had that GQ shoot.
Pamela Barnes: For your interview with Jimmy Fallon in two weeks you're wearing a Gucci suit as requested by the designer and for your interview with Good Morning America! I'm currently arranging outfits with a stylist. Don't demand to wear ugly ratty shoes like the last time.
Pamela Barnes: Don't forget you have an interview with next Monday!
Pamela Barnes: You better be driving because if you're just ignoring these messages to piss me off then I'm going to butcher you.
After the last text Dean had put his phone on silent and had just turned up the volume of the radio even more. Led Zepplin blasted out and for the first time in ages Dean felt truly free. He knew he could only ignore Pamela for so long before she went into a fit of rage but until that time Dean was going to enjoy the silence and pretend that Pamela didn't exist for once.
By the time he got to Chicago it was around ten in the evening, windy and freezing cold. Living in New York had made Dean used to the freezing cold weather but still, he actually wouldn't mind a trip to California now if it meant that he could see some sun for once before the summer. After about ten minutes for searching for the right street he spotted the apartment building that Anna lived in and there was no turning back. Here went nothing…
Dean knocked on the apartment's front door hoping that this was the right place otherwise he was going to feel like a total jackass standing in front of some random person asking about where Anna lived. He heard shuffling coming from inside the apartment then the door opened to reveal not Anna but a messy haired Castiel wearing a University of Chicago hooded pullover and jeans. Was Dean destined to have only Castiel answer doors or something? Judging by Castiel's both shocked and vaguely annoyed expression Dean was the last person he thought he would be opening the door to.
"Well at least I got the right apartment first time round." Dean Winchester said and instantly regretting it because there were probably a hundred other things he could have said instead of that.
"What…what are you doing here?" Castiel asked looking utterly bewildered. Dean couldn't blame him to be honest. He doubted that Castiel and Anna had actors appear at their apartment doors every night of the week.
"I came to see Anna." He said. For the entire drive here Dean had been thinking about seeing Anna and yet now he was relieved that it had been Castiel to open the door even if Castiel was the Milton sibling that clearly disliked him. There was something about this scruffy and scowling guy that intrigued Dean and Dean had to admit that he had found himself thinking about Castiel from time to time over the past week or so. He had made sure not to mention that to Jo in any way, shape or form.
"Yeah well that's the general feeling around here most times." Castiel muttered. "Anna's not here at the moment but I'm not going to be a jerk and make you wait in the hall." Castiel said turning back into the apartment. A shadow of a smile fell across Dean's lips as he remembered Castiel saying something along those the first time they had met at the hotel. "That was a cue to come inside in case you didn't realise that." Castiel said when he looked over his shoulder and saw that Dean was still standing in the doorway. Dean quickly hurried inside and shut the apartment's front door. Castiel had clearly been working because a laptop was on the couch surrounded by a few old looking hardback books and a notepad covered in notes. Several half-drunk cups of coffee sat on a coffee table near the couch.
"I'm sorry if I interrupted you. You're not working on anything are you?" Dean said nodding at the laptop.
"No not really so don't burden yourself with worry about it; all I was actually doing was postponing the definite writing of a paper of mine that is due in three days." Castiel said motioning for Dean to come into the main area of the apartment. There was a small yet very tidy kitchenette to the side that had the cleanest looking stove ever. Either Anna and her brother were clean freaks or they rarely cooked. Judging by the amount of take-out menus stuck to the fridge it was the latter.
"So...this is where you and Anna live...it's nice." Dean said looking around the small apartment. It was a modest looking place but the bookcase near the TV held more books and DVDs than Dean thought physically possible.
"Well it's not movie star nice but it's decent" Castiel said with a shrug picking up a few of the coffee cups and taking them into a small kitchenette on one side of the apartment.
"I didn't mean it like that man" Dean said hating the fact that this guy made him feel nervous and like he was saying things he didn't mean to say.
"Oh I know." Castiel said smirking at Dean for a moment before he turned away. Dean was going to ignore the fact that his stomach jolted when Castiel smirked at him because that was too much to think about right now. Instead of looking at Castiel he turned to look at the large bookcase near the TV. Well-read and worn looking books and DVDs were fighting a battle against one another for space. There were countless titles that Dean owned himself with both the books and the DVDs as well as titles he had never heard of. Dean remembered that Castiel was a fan of Vonnegut and wasn't surprised to see all of Vonnegut's titles on the shelf. Then Dean noticed several of the film titles underneath a cluster of books.
"Wow, sweet movie collection here. Both the original and the remastered versions of Star Wars, the extended editions of Lord of the Rings…nice." Dean said whistling. "Anna had good taste."
"Those are mine actually. Anna's collection contains a lot less taste and a lot more you. Although the PBS The History of Art box set belongs to Anna, she's watched it far too many times if I'm being perfectly honest." Castiel said. The piss taking coming from Castiel was a whole new experience for Dean, apart from Jo and his brother he had never met anyone who made joke at his expense when it came to his films. "Anna is probably going to be a few hours at least as she's with her friend Ruby so do you want to grab a drink or something? There's a quiet bar down the road that I sometimes go to and if I carry on looking at my laptop screen or that stack of books then I might go insane…or actually write something which would be even more insane." Castiel said surprising Dean because up until that moment he was convinced that this Castiel guy really disliked him and spending time with Dean was the last thing he wanted to do in the world.
"Um yeah sure." Dean said.
"Ok, let me grab my wallet then we can go." Castiel said walking into one of the small looking rooms off from the kitchenette. Dean went back to looking around the room and was drawn to a large photo on top of the bookcase. Anna and Castiel stood with their arms around one another and a younger looking blonde kid was on Anna's other side grinning mischievously at the camera. Dean assumed this was their younger brother Gabriel whom Anna had mentioned during their dinner in New York. Anna and Castiel looked about eighteen in the photo and the blonde kid looked about thirteen. All three of them looked so carefree and happy with wide smiles on their faces. Dean noticed that there were no photos of Anna and Castiel's parents, all the photos in the room were of Anna with friends or with Castiel and of Castiel with Anna or with Gabriel. It reminded Dean of his own apartment that was full of photos of him with Sam or Jo but hardly any of his parents.
Dean heard Castiel come out of his room and quickly turned to look at him so Castiel wouldn't think Dean was snooping around the apartment. Though Castiel wouldn't have noticed either way as he was busy shoving a wallet into his back pocket. "Ready?" Castiel asked Dean finally looking up. Dean had forgotten how freaking blue Castiel's eyes were.
"Yeah sure, where is this bar we're going to?" Dean asked after a moment. He didn't mind going out but he wasn't keen on going to place that was full of people who could recognise him seeing as he had lied to Pamela about where he was going and had told her that he was going to visit Sam at Stanford in Palo Alto.
"It's a really small place and I guarantee no one there will know who the hell you are." Castiel said.
"Are you sure about that?" Dean asked warily. He wasn't too fussed about people asking for photos or autographs but Pamela would kill him if she found out he was really in Chicago when he had told her that he would be in Palo Alto.
"Oh I'm sure. Unless you were in some PBS drama or documentary about eighteen century literature or the history of Renaissance painters then I doubt anyone in the bar will even know of your existence." Castiel said with a slight smirk still on his lips.
"No, I've never been on PBS." Dean said.
"Oh I know; you really don't seem like the PBS kind of guy. You're going to be completely safe from detection and fan adoration but if that gets too weird for you we can always find some sorority sisters who no doubt worship the very ground you walk on." Castiel said smiling at Dean yet again with a mocking smirk. If this was Jo or Sam saying this then Dean would have called them a 'bitch' and then swiftly told them to go to hell but he didn't want this Castiel guy to hate him more than clearly did already so he refrained from saying anything. Then Dean realised that he shouldn't have to worry if some random guy from Chicago hated him or not, why should he care so much? He really had to stop himself for a moment and remind himself that the last time he did anything to do with a guy it he landed him in hot water with Pamela and it was the reason he'd been made to this whole 'Win A Date' thing in the first place. Wait, where had that thought come from? He wasn't planning on doing anything with Castiel and he was sure Castiel wouldn't let him either way. He didn't even know what team Castiel even played for. Then again from the way he looked Dean knew Castiel wouldn't have to worry about either sex finding him unattractive. "Shall we get going then?" Castiel asked nodding towards the door and tearing Dean away from his confusing inner monologue.
"What? Oh yeah, sure. Let's go." Dean said.
The bar turned out to be a small dive of a place that was hip enough to have stacks of books all over the place and play music that Dean had never even heard of. It had that unkempt feel to it even if it looked clean…sort of. Dean had to admit that Castiel was right; Dean doubted anyone here knew who he was and he found himself actually liking that. He could just sit, drink a beer and talk to Castiel…if Castiel actually wanted to talk to him that was. As they walked through the bar Castiel nodded at a few people and when they got to the bar he smiled at a lanky guy with short dark sandy hair that didn't look old enough to have graduated from high school let alone work in a bar.
"Hey there Castiel" The guy called waving a hand when Castiel walked towards the bar.
"Hey there Alfie, can we get two beers please?" Castiel asked the guy with a warm smile.
"Sure thing man, is Anna not with you tonight?" The guy Castiel called Alfie asked sounding eager.
"No, she's out somewhere with Ruby tonight and the least I know the better." Castiel said grimacing slightly though still smiling. "Oh Alfie this is Dean, Dean this is Alfie." Castiel said motioning to both Dean and Alfie. Alfie gave Dean a genuine smile and it was clear he didn't recognise Dean at all. It was a happy feeling that Dean could get used to actually.
"Nice to meet you Dean." Alfie said smiling as he grabbed two bottles of beer. "You two have a good night and say hello to Anna for me." Alfie said to Castiel.
"I will Alfie." Castiel said nodding his head. Castiel led Dean through the bar until he found a small booth. The pair of them sat down and Dean looked around the bar. Despite the fact that it looked like the floor had never been cleaned properly and natural daylight was not something you easily find Dean thought it wasn't a bad place at all. In fact it reminded him of Ellen's, Jo's mom, bar back in Kansas. "One day Alfie will get over his undying love for my sister but today is not that day. I doubt any day this year will be that day either." Castiel said more to himself than Dean but Dean still found himself smiling. When Castiel wasn't giving him that unnerving stare that made Dean feel uncomfortable he was actually quite amusing.
"He hardly looks old enough to drive let alone work in a bar." Dean said chuckling. Castiel looked up at Dean and grinned back.
"Yeah, Alfie does suffer from having a serious case of the 'baby face'. You wouldn't believe he was actually twenty-one." Castiel said.
"I wouldn't even believe he's eighteen." Dean said.
"The baby face is one of the many reasons why Anna won't date him actually." Castiel explained. "Well that and his full name."
"Oh?"
"It's Samandriel Alfred, you can understand why he prefers Alfie. The poor kid "
"If it's any consolation towards Alfie I was named after my grandmother Deanna."
"Oh I know. That's just one of the many, many titbits Anna knows about you and has 'fascinated' me with over the years." Castiel said darkly as he rolled his eyes. Dean stopped grinning and saw the small frown on Castiel's face. Like that the feeling of content disappeared.
"I'm getting the sense that you really don't like me very much." Dean said. Castiel gave him a surprised look but then gave an agreeing nod.
"Your perceptions of deduction are actually stellar. Ok, no I don't really like you…I didn't really like you. Then again the only insights I had into who you were came from Anna's endless supply of gossip magazines lying around the apartment…oh and those shitty E! News interviews that Anna has clogging up the TiVo." Castiel explained.
"God, now I feel really sorry for you for having to watch those fucking things. I hate doing those damn interviews. I never know what to say and I hate talking about my family life so I always come across like a great big tool." Dean said. He sipped from his beer and looked away from Castiel because the way Castiel was looking at him was making Dean nervous. Those fucking blue eyes were really intense.
"You certainly come across as less of an ass here than you do in interviews." Castiel said shrugging.
"Well that's a good thing I guess." Dean said grinning and he hated that his stomach jolted when Castiel grinned back.
"You're certainly surprising. You're less of an ass than I thought you would be which is a good thing considering my sister likes you and you came all the way to Chicago just to see her." Castiel said smirking. "Plus knowing that you've read and that you like Vonnegut makes you seem like less of a moron." Castiel added with yet another very thinly veiled insult towards Dean.
"Well then hearing that someone doesn't think that I'm an ass or a moron definitely makes up for the drive here." Dean said.
"Wait, you drove all the way here from New York city?" Castiel asked raising his eyebrows. "Isn't that like a twelve hour drive?" Castiel asked furrowing his brow.
"Yeah give or take thirty minutes depending on the traffic leaving the city but I really love the drive plus I'm not that great with flying if I'm being perfectly honest." Dean explained scratching the back of his neck nervously. Just talking about flying made him feel nervous sometimes even though that made him feel like a complete wimp.
"Really? But you're an actor Dean; you travel all over the world. How can you be scared of flying?" Castiel asked raising an eyebrow before he sipped his beer.
"If man was made to fly he would have been given wings, it's as simple as that." Dean said and he was surprised when Castiel chuckled. "I try not to think about it too much when I have to fly abroad. Normally I always have some good music and a really distracting book. When I have to go to somewhere here in America I just drive. I like driving, when it's just me, a decent soundtrack and the road in front of me I feel so different from when I'm in New York or filming or at some award ceremony. When I'm on the open road I can pretend that my face isn't all over buses and trains in New York. I can pretend that I'm just some regular guy from Kansas driving down some random highway singing along, badly, to ACDC." Dean explained and he saw Castiel's face soften as he spoke. It was comforting to see Castiel's soft expression as it made Dean feel like less of the ass Castiel thought he was before.
"That sounds nice actually. Anna and I hardly ever drive anywhere. Everything we need is in walking or cycling distance or we just get the train. Whenever we go back home to Lincoln to see Gabriel we just get the train, we're only about two hours away from home." Castiel said before sipping on his beer.
"Man now that sounds nice. Driving to Kansas or Palo Alto to see my brother is amazing, I really love it, but the drives can be really long." Dean said.
"I can imagine." Castiel said smiling slightly and it was amazing how different Castiel looked when he smiled. He didn't so…sarcastic or blunt.
"Yeah it takes nearly a day to get to Kansas and nearly two days to get to Palo Alto but my brother is worth it." Dean found himself admitting. God he never talked about his brother to people other than Jo and yet here he was sat in some random bar in Illinois talking about Sammy to some guy he really didn't know a lot about.
"Does your brother live in Palo Alto?" Castiel asked sounding genuinely interested in hearing about Dean's family and not in the infringing way that reporters or journalists normally did.
"Well he goes to school there; he's at Stanford studying to become a lawyer. We go back to Kansas to see family friends though and obviously we grew up there. My best friend Jo lived in Kansas up until a few years ago then she moved to New York and now she lives not too far from me. Her mom lives back in Kansas though." Dean explained. He hardly ever talked to people about his life back in Kansas unless he was asked in an interview and even then he never mentioned Bobby, Ellen or anyone else from his hometown of Lawrence. When he saw that Castiel was not only looking at him but smiling at him so much that the corners of his eyes were crinkled he found it difficult to look away.
"Wow, Stanford is a really good school." Castiel said sounding impressed. "Is your brother enjoying it there?"
"Yeah Sam loves it. He's got this great girlfriend that he's clearly crazy about and he loves the studying there so much. God he can talk for hours without stopping if you ask him about it which is great, the kid deserves some damn happiness." Dean said shaking his head slightly. God, he really never spoke about this sort of stuff, even to Jo sometimes, so it felt freeing to talk about Sam with the pride Dean really felt for his brother. He never liked mentioning Sam in interviews and he had a total blanket ban when it came to talking about his family history apart from growing up in Kansas.
"That sounds like Anna actually. If you get her talking about certain artists then she won't stop talking about them until you beg her." Castiel said with small chuckle.
"Funny, she said the same thing about you and authors." Dean said remembering how Anna had spoken about her brother during the meal in New York. Both Anna and Castiel spoke about each with fondness, it was clear to see that they were very close and it really did make Dean smile.
"She might have a point there if I am being honest. I can get very passionate when it comes to talking about authors." Castiel said looking a tiny bit shy almost.
"Who are your favourites?" Dean asked.
"You really want to know?" Castiel asked raising an eyebrow.
"Well you said that I seem like less of a moron now for liking Vonnegut so I'm genuinely interested." Dean said grinning slightly when he saw Castiel's surprise.
"Ok. Well obviously I love Vonnegut. Salinger is another one of my favourites as is Scott Fitzgerald. I must have read The Great Gatsby at least fifteen times when I was in high school actually. I've read a fair few Stephen King novels, then again who hasn't? I love the classics as well like Dickens and Hardy. There are so many amazing class novels out there and I think more people should read them. Oh and Hemingway! He's one of the greatest writers in American literature. I love Truman Capote as well, In Cold Blood was pretty much a new genre when it was published and is such a great novel. Oh and Charles Bukowski is another incredible author." Castiel said and the passion in his voice made Dean smile widely because Castiel clearly loved reading so much. It was actually pretty adorable if Dean was being honest.
"Wow, Anna was right. You really love your books don't you?" Dean asked.
"Oh yes, I've read from a very young age. I've always loved to read just like Anna's always loved art and everything to do with it."
"I really didn't get into reading until I was a teenager. I mean I read to Sammy when he was younger. God he loved the Harry Potter books. I read the first few to him and he couldn't get enough of them." Dean said still smiling at Castiel and he was glad when Castiel smiled back just as brightly. "I thought Sam was a nerd actually but you might beat him." Dean added.
"Your brother sounds like a really good person." Castiel
"Yeah…yeah he is. He's smart as hell and really going to go places." Dean said looking at Castiel and they both smiled at one another. Dean could feel a twinge in his stomach, it felt like something was actually pulling him towards Castiel and he couldn't shake it. Everything, from the fullness of Castiel's lip to the angular shape of his jaw drew Dean in making it impossible to look away.
A buzzing sound coming from Castiel's pocket broke the spell instantly though. Castiel looked away from Dean and down at his phone then drained his beer. "Oh, Anna is on her way back to the apartment, shall we head back there?" He asked Dean. Dean shrugged; he was actually having a good time with Castiel once they found some common ground. "I'll tell Anna that I'll be back in ten minutes or so. Her face when she sees you is going to amuse me greatly." Castiel said looking away from Dean and typing a message out on his phone. "Do you want to finish your beer?" Castiel asked without looking away from his phone.
"Urm, yeah sure." Dean said picking up his bottle and draining it of its content quickly.
Dean was actually quite sad that the walk back to Castiel and Anna's apartment from the bar was relatively quick. The weather was cold but in his leather jacket Dean didn't mind too much. Castiel kept up a conversation by pointing out places like a small café that he and Anna apparently went to a lot.
"I have enough early morning lectures to warrant drinking more coffee than most people put together." Castiel with a nonchalant shrug of his slim looking shoulders.
"What are you studying?" Dean asked once he realised he didn't actually know what Castiel was studying at university.
"My major is in English Literature." Castiel explained.
"Well I should have known what with all the books." Dean said with a slight chuckle.
"Yes, apparently most people can tell my major from a mile away." Castiel said wirily.
"Do you enjoy it?"
"Nine o'clock lectures can be brutal sometimes but it's nice to be getting a major for just reading some of my favourite books."
"What are you reading at the moment?"
"You're genuinely interested in knowing what I'm reading?" Castiel asked raising an eyebrow at Dean.
"Well yeah…" Dean admitted. He liked watching Castiel talk about books because of how passionate the guy became. There was something very adorable about it.
"We've just started reading The Sun Also Rises, it helps that I read it five times during high school."
"I've never actually read it." Dean said with a shrug.
"You should. Hemingway is a very good author. As I said, he's one of my favourites."
"I guess he would have to be seeing as you read his book five times."
"I re-read most books even if I didn't like it the first time round. I like to see if my opinion could be changed by life experience and sometimes I find that it is true. I can go from disliking a book I read at the age of fourteen to thoroughly enjoying it at the age of nineteen."
"Huh…maybe I'll have to try that with a few books I've abandoned in the past." Dean said.
"You really should. Opinions certainly can change over a varied period of time." Castiel said with another shrug of his shoulders before he stopped in front of a building and removed come keys from his pocket. They were back at the apartment building. Suddenly Dean felt nervous, he'd travelled all this way to see Anna and yet now he wasn't sure if he had made the right decision or not. What if Anna wasn't remotely happy to see him? "Are you coming Dean?" Castiel asked. Dean looked over at the guy, surprised that he had called Dean by his name and not something sarcastic like 'Hollywood Ken'.
"Um…yeah. Come on then." Dean said. They walked into the lobby which was completely empty of people.
"Most people are either out or back in their apartments by this time. This isn't a very lively building unlike other student housing" Castiel explained casually while they walked up the flights of stairs back to Castiel's apartment.
"No elevator?"
"Sorry Dean, you'll have to use those actor legs to something other than walking up and down a red carpet." Castiel said with a smirk. Well Dean might have walked into that one if he was being honest. They stopped climbing and soon came out into a hallway
A devilish laugh could be heard from inside Castiel and Anna's apartment even from out in the hall that sent a shiver down Dean's spine. That was a laugh that could probably be heard down in hell actually. Dean looked over towards Castiel questioningly and the look that Castiel gave him back was not at all helpful.
"Guard your loins." Castiel said with a sickening sneer across his lips. Dean was genuinely afraid of what was to come.
"Guard them against what exactly?" He asked warily.
"It's more 'who' than a 'what' and that 'who' would be the one and, luckily, only Ruby." Castiel said. Oh, Anna's best friend that she had mentioned back in New York. She couldn't be that bad could she? Could she? Castiel quickly unlocked the apartment door and Dean heard a whoop from inside the apartment.
"Cassie! Cassie can you come and make me a coffee? Anna's coffees are shit compared to yours!" Dean heard someone cry loudly. Castiel rolled his eyes and motioned for Dean to follow him into the apartment. Dean braced himself and breathed in deeply while he walked into the apartment.
"Cassie where have you…holy shit!" Someone cried when Dean walked into the apartment. "Oh sweet holy Hell, I'm fucking dreaming." The one apparently called Ruby said when she saw Dean walking in slightly behind Castiel. She had a devilish grin and long brown hair that hung wildly down her back. The look in her eyes was that of pure mischief. "Oh my…Anna…Anna…Anna!" Ruby yelled towards a closed door. The door opened to reveal Anna puling a hooded top on over her head. When the top was on she looked over at Ruby sighing loudly.
"What are you shouting about?" Anna asked. Ruby pointed at Dean animatedly causing Anna to finally look over to where Dean and Castiel had been stood. "Dean? My God, what are you doing here?" Anna asked staring at Dean with wide eyes.
"I came to see you." Dean said hating how pathetic that sounded and how it just didn't seem all that right now that he'd spent time and gotten to Castiel better.
"Damn, ginger gets all the luck." Dean heard Ruby mutter with a shake of her head.
"God…wow. It's great to see you." Anna said smiling happily while still looking surprised to see Dean here. She looked over towards Castiel who was wearing the same bored, mocking expression he always seemed to wear.
"Don't worry Anna; I kept an eye on Hollywood Ken for you and didn't corrupt him too much." Castiel said smirking. Dean's heart sunk when he heard to derisive tone in Castiel's voice, clearly their time was over. "If anyone wants me, which I highly doubt they do, I'll be in my room catching up on my reading." Castiel said going to the fridge, grabbing a can of soda then heading back towards the room Dean assumed to be Castiel's.
"Castiel-" Anna called but Castiel waved his hand to silence her.
"My good friend Hemingway is calling me Anna." Castiel said not looking at Anna, Dean or Ruby before he went into his room. Anna looked at Dean and chewed at her bottom lip while looking nervous.
"I'm really sorry about him; I hope he didn't give you too much shit." Anna said with a light yet nervous sounding laugh.
"Oh you know, he can be a little blunt and sarcastic but it's nothing I can't handle." Dean lied shrugging and Anna smiled brightly clearly not hearing the lie in Dean's words. Dean didn't really want to mention that he found Castiel kind of fascinating even if he was a bit sharp and normally insulted Dean without caring what Dean thought. If he was being really honest Castiel had mocked him most of the night but Dean really hadn't actually minded after he'd gotten more used to it, he'd found it refreshing and he'd found Castiel refreshing yet now it was making his reasons for coming here to see Anna only more confusing.
"That's good." Anna said happily.
"Well I hate to ever follow Cassie's example when it comes to anything but I'll be heading off as well. If I'm not the centre of attention in a room I tend to turn murderous." Ruby said flipping her hair dramatically.
"She's joking." Anna said reassuringly to Dean.
"Only slightly." Ruby said winking at Dean. "You folks have a nice night." Ruby said winking at Anna then Dean before she strolled out the apartment. As she was closing the door Ruby gave Dean a flirtatious smirk. It was truly terrifying.
"So that was your friend Ruby…" Dean said raising his eyebrows.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about her as well actually. She can be pretty blunt and sarcastic as well just like my brother…I seem to draw sarcastic people towards me like moths to a flame." Anna said before she shook her head and looked at Dean with disbelief. "I can't believe you're here though, it's such a surprise."
"Well I was back in New York and I kept thinking about everything you said to me and I realised that I needed to talk to you again." Dean said and he couldn't help but smile when he saw Anna's face light up.
Castiel swiftly shut his bedroom door and swore to himself as he marched over to his bed. What the hell had happened tonight? One moment he was ignoring the essay he needed to write and the next moment he was inviting Dean Winchester out with him. Not only that but he wastalking to Dean Winchester and not just mocking him. He was enjoying talking to Dean Winchester as well, he had enjoyed the company they had shared and he'd been surprised that Dean was less of a moronic dickhead than he thought. Dean was actually quite a decent and interesting person if Castiel overlooked the fact that Dean had driven for over twelve hours to, no doubt, try and get into Anna's pants. Apart from that Dean was a decent guy who clearly cared about the people around him…the only real downside to him was that he was a shitty actor who had been in some truly terrible films…oh and he was straight…
Not that Castiel cared about that…much…
"Shit" he muttered to himself as he grabbed for his worn copy of The Sun Also Rises. "I'm in trouble…"
Castiel woke in the morning groggy and annoyed. He hoped more than anything that nothing had gone down between Anna and Dean, he was glad that he had gone to sleep with his headphones in as hearing his twin sister potentially have sex with Dean Winchester was not something he wanted to hear. It wasn't just because hearing his sister having sex was not something he wanted to hear anyway it was because it would be with Dean Winchester, a guy who, up until several hours previously, Castiel had thought a completely egocentric moronic ass with zero talent. He still thought Dean Winchester had little talent; Castiel had after all been made to watch all of the guy's films, but knowing that he was actually smarter than Castiel had thought and very family orientated had slightly changed Castiel's view of Dean. Castiel wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not. The safest thing to do was to simply shove earphones into his ears, turn the volume on iPod up as far as it would go and hope that steady guitar music would help him to forget everything that had gone on during the evening. Actually not thinking about Dean full stop would have been more helpful as now the lines were beginning to become a little murky.
Castiel dragged himself out of bed for his crack of dawn lecture without and real motivation purely because it was so early. He walked out of his room and into the main area of the apartment in search of much needed coffee. Stretching out with a yawn he went over what he needed to do that day and was about to walk to the kitchenette to make said coffee when he noticed someone lying on the couch fast asleep and looking relatively peaceful.
Dean Winchester did not look like the millionaire film star he was when he was asleep. He looked like some regular guy, someone who Anna could have picked up at a local bar without a dollar to his name. He looked…peaceful actually. He really didn't look like the conceited asshole Castiel had thought he was the day before. The night before had made Castiel see this guy in a completely different light but that really didn't matter now because Dean was here for Anna. Last night it was clear that Dean was here for Anna and Anna alone so it didn't matter what Castiel thought of Dean in the slightest right?
Shaking his head Castiel tried to distract himself by making a large mug of coffee but making coffee only took so long and it wasn't before too long that he was stood near the end of the kitchenette, sipping coffee and watching as Dean slowly breathed in and out, looking at ease and very tranquil while he slept. This wasn't helping matters at all so, after telling himself to grip of himself, Castiel slammed his coffee mug on a nearby surface and ran his fingers through his permanently messy hair.
"Cas…Castiel?" he heard someone mutter. Turning back towards the couch he saw Dean opening one bleary looking eye.
"Oh…sorry if I woke you." Castiel said quickly. He needed to get going…now.
"Were you watching me sleep?" Dean asked rubbing sleep from his eyes.
"Hardly, I just came in here to make some coffee and noticed you were in here. I would hardly watch you sleep, I'm not some crazy Dean Winchester fan." Castiel said with a snort. He grabbed his mug, gulped the last dregs of his coffee and went to turn away from Dean but a thought went through his head and he couldn't stop himself from asking Dean a question despite him wanting to get the room as soon as he could. "What exactly are you doing sleeping on my couch?"
"Oh well I just drove here and forgot to book into a motel or anything so Anna offered me the couch to sleep on." Dean said sitting up and stretching out his arms "Actually it's damn comfy, better than some crappy motel mattresses I've slept on in my time." Dean explained between loud yawns.
"Yes, you look like a regular motel patron." Castiel said sarcastically.
"Actually when I was first auditioning for roles I spent a lot of time staying in shitty motel rooms." Dean said frowning slightly and Castiel felt strangely proud that he had gotten a rise out of Dean even if was a bit of a jackass move.
"Well, Hollywood Ken, there are fresh towels, enough mini shampoo bottles stolen from upscale hotels thanks to Ruby's kleptomania and even a coffee making facility, also known as the coffee maker, so you can pretend this is a lovely motel with all your Hollywood Ken needs. Oh just don't eat the Apple Strudel Pop Tarts in the cupboard, I've been living on Ramen noodles since New York and those Pop Tarts are my only luxury." Castiel said and before Dean could say anything Castiel strolled back into his room to grab anything he needed for his morning lecture minus his laptop and the reading material because that was back in the main room with a no doubt slightly pissed off or insulted Dean Winchester. True Castiel had started to like the guy last night but that wasn't going to stop him from mocking the guy, heck he could easily take it being a millionaire with his face plastered all over Times Square.
Castiel grabbed a jacket from the messy pile of clothes on top of his clothes hamper and shoved it on. He only had the class in the morning then his entire was free so he could finish off the paper he'd been neglecting. Knowing he only had to sit in a lecture for two hours wasn't too bad, at least the highly annoying girls who sat behind him would be too tired at nine in the morning to witter on about nonsense.
"Can you tell Anna that I have a lecture until eleven then I'll be back home?" Castiel asked Dean who just nodded. He probably thought that if he said anything else then Castiel would give him some snappy comment. It was tempting but if Castiel stayed around for too long antagonising a movie star then he would be late for his lecture and end up having to sit at the back with the stoners who would do nothing but sleep or watch Family Guy clips on their laptops. "Thanks" Castiel said appreciatively as he picked up his laptop and books then shoved them into his messenger bag. "Oh if you do need to use the shower or anything like that then do go ahead" Castiel then said just because he felt like he needed to be less of a dick towards Dean until he thought up more snappy insults to throw Dean's way.
"Thanks man." Dean said giving him a quick smile. Castiel felt obligated to return it before he hurried out the apartment.
Author's Note:
Well I certainly didn't mean for this chapter to be more than 8,000 words…ooops. Oh well, I regret nothing.
You guys have no idea how much research I did for this chapter just to find out where places are in America, how far they are from one another and how long it would take to drive to places. I should have set this fic in the UK then I would at least know where places are! Then again I was convinced that Bristol was by Cornwall/Devon…it's not, it's by Wales. Oh well, it's not like I took a geography GCSE and thought India was in Europe (unlike one of my friends).
