"I don't like leaving you here alone." Cas frowned at his friend. "Are you sure you don't want to come?"
"Yeah, Cas. I can't miss school." Cas was leaving. For a week. Without Dean. There was a convention in California dedicated to his books, and his agent had booked him as going ages ago, well before he dropped out of school. Castiel Novak had several panels to host.
"I still don't like it." Dean laughed and pulled the smaller boy into a tight hug.
"I know, Cas. But it's just a week. I'll be alright, I'm a big boy." Cas grumbled unintelligibly.
"You burn down my house and I'll end you, got it, Winchester?"
"Yes, sir." The boys exchanged a last hug before Cas climbed into the back seat of the large black sedan his manager insisted he ride in. Dean waved until Cas disappeared around a corner before going back inside. Not three minutes after he closed the door, there came a knock. Dean made his way slowly to answer. "Eve? What are you doing here?"
Cas was exhausted by the time he got to his hotel. He and his driver had chatted most of the drive- 8 plus hours. Luckily, Cas made it to his room without being seen. He wasn't quite ready for the screaming fangirls, on the off-chance someone recognized him. Cas collapsed on the bed and fell asleep immediately. Word of his arrival was already spreading through the hotel.
The next day, Cas was up early. It was time to step into his mask. He got dressed in a pair of black jeans, a fitted black band tee, and his black converse. He didn't bother doing anything with his hair- it wouldn't make a difference anyway. Then he sat on his bed, eyes closed for about ten minutes. When he opened them again, he was Castiel Novak, and he could take on anything his fans had to throw at him.
Almost as soon as Castiel left his room, he was seen. A teenage girl squeed and pointed him out to her teenage friends. They rushed him excitedly, all talking at once. The author whipped out his phone and had them all squish close in, snapping a quick picture with them. He sent it to Twitter with the caption- 'You guys sure get an early start!' Once the girls all got a hug he extracted himself and went in search of breakfast before wondering the con, mostly blending in with the rest of the crowd.
Castiel walked onto the stage to some rock song he had never heard. The audience screamed and cheered- his first panel of the day.
"Hey, guys!" he greeted, grinning. "You guys doing alright today?" The crowd responded with the affirmative. The questions that followed flowed smoothly about his characters, his upcoming books. He explained that he was having a lot of trouble with the next book and answered questions about the possibility of a movie. Then-
"How's your boyfriend doing?" That gave Castiel pause.
"What?" he tilted his head, confused, and the girls in the crowd giggled. "We broke up a few days ago..."
"No!" The audience cried, apparently in agony. The girl at the microphone gasped.
"You broke up with Dean?!"
"What? No!" The crowd stopped their wailing and listened.
"I never dated Dean. He's got a girlfriend."
"Then who'd you break up with?"
"His name was Adam." Cas grinned. "He was really great, but it just didn't work out, you know?"
"I think we need to break up." Adam spoke slowly, as though he wanted to make sure Cas couldn't misunderstand. The author's eyes widened.
"Why?" He felt tears begin welling up in his eyes. Adam had come over just a few minutes ago. They sat on the front stoop together, shoulders brushing. Adam held Cas's hand tightly in his own.
"I could be in love with you, Cas."
"Is that so terrible?" the younger boy wanted to know, refusing to meet the older's eyes.
"Yes." Cas flinched. "Because I know you're not in love with me. Not even a little."
"I could be."
"No you couldn't." Adam laughed and Cas heard the tears in his voice as well. "You love him." Adam's head jerked back towards the house behind them, clearly indicating Dean.
"I..." Cas couldn't think of a reply. Did he love Dean? Of course. But was he IN LOVE with Dean? ...Yeah, probably. The tears began to flow down Cas's face and Adam wrapped him in his arms.
"Shh. It's okay." Adam rocked them for a few minutes and Cas slowly calmed down. "Go on inside, Cas. We both know Dean will make you feel better than I can." Cas flinched again, though the words were said kindly. Maybe because of it. The men both stood and Adam pressed a kiss to Cas's forehead before turning to go.
"Will we still be friends?" the boy asked, twisting his hands together, staring at the ground.
"Yeah, Cas. We'll still be friends." Cas began to cry again as he heard the barely suppressed tears in Adam's voice. He nodded and Adam got into his car. He just sat there for a moment before driving away. Cas wrapped his arms around himself and began to sob loudly. Dean found him that way a few minutes later.
Castiel Novak laughed.
"Sorry guys, I zoned out for a minute there." He grinned, lightening the suddenly tense air.
"So," began a new girl at a microphone. "If Dean didn't have a girlfriend, would you be interested?" The author blushed.
"Potentially." He only answered because he was sure Dean would never see, despite the many camera phones that were trained on him. "Potentially." The rest of the panel passed easily with only slightly invasive questions. Castiel's favorite part of any con was the photo ops. He loved getting to meet his fans and hug them, pose in silly poses with them, make stupid faces. It was fun. The first day of the con ended, and Cas fell into bed, cell phone clutched to his chest. He was hoping Dean would text, because he didn't have the energy to start the conversation himself. Cas fell asleep, phone sitting silently in his hand.
"Come on, Dean. The freak isn't even here and you still won't pay attention to me." Dean sighed frustratedly, silently counting to ten. Twice.
"You're the one that suggested we watch a movie. The point of a movie is to pay attention to it, not the person next to you." Eve rolled her eyes.
"Sure, if you're thirty." She stood and stretched, showing off her midriff. She smiled to herself when she caught Dean looking at her. "Come on," she purred. "Don't you wanna have... fun?"
"Not here, I promised Cas-"
"Shh, come on, baby." Eve crooked her fingers towards the green-eyed boy. "Follow me." Dean did as he was told, following Eve down the hallway. Unerringly, she skipped over the guest bedroom and stopped in front of Dean and Cas's room. She put her back to the door and pulled Dean close, kissing him. She opened the door behind her and pulled him into the room. The door closed behind them with a soft click.