Fame Crazy (Sequel to Strings Attached)

Chapter 57

"Hmm?" Castiel squeaked.

"Because I know you. I know that for all the panicking you like to do, everything always runs smoothly. This isn't going to be any different. You just have to calm down and listen to the music. Just pretend you're back in your room at home, with no audience whatsoever, and just play from the heart. Can you do that?"

"No."

"Yes, you can. Deep breaths," Lucifer had advised him. "Everything is going to go perfectly fine. If you get nervous, just look at me. I'll be in the front row cheering you on. Okay?"

And, sure enough, there he stood, front and center, Castiel's own personal stress reliever. He barely survived that first concert, running on adrenaline, muscle memory, and Lucifer's reassuring smiles that even the bright spotlight couldn't wipe out. And, after his part of the concert when he was freaking out backstage again, Lucifer missed an entire Taylor Swift concert — which, as her biggest fan, is really saying something — to sit with him and calm him down.

That was when the silly selfie tradition began. It was originally just to make Castiel laugh, and it definitely worked. By the end of the night, they were a giggling mess backstage, and he cherishes each and every one of those pictures.

"Do you think he even realizes we're still here?" Gabriel asks softly.

"Probably not," Lucifer replies.

"Shh," Sam whispers. "Let him zone out into happy times."

"God knows he doesn't get enough of 'em," Samandriel adds under his breath.

Castiel blinks a few times, snapping back into reality. Lucifer and Gabriel start clapping obnoxiously until they're slapped by Michael and Sam, respectively. Castiel bitch faces his brothers, and Lucifer sticks his tongue out in return.

"Hey, Castiel," Gabriel says with a teasing smile. "Welcome back to earth. We've missed you."

"Shut up," Castiel replies, but he can't hide his small smile.

He turns the page in the scrapbook to a collage of various concerts of his, each one showing one of his friends taking a selfie with him performing in the background.

Next is four pages of him with various celebrities and accepting various awards. He can't help but smile when he notices the first picture is the first time he met Jody, back when he was really awkward, and the last picture is when he met with Jody a few months ago. Even in the pictures, he can see how much more confident he is.

He takes a moment to reflect on each picture, which is mostly him staring in awe as he remembers that this is actually his life. Seriously, how did he get that many awards? That's ridiculous. He looks at the note on the bottom, written in Charlie's unmistakable handwriting.

You've changed a lot in the last five years. You're not just the little boy in the hoodie, never leaving the house because of your fear of humanity in general. We've watched for years as you've grown into your new Macho Man self, meeting celebrities we could only dream of catching a glimpse of. It could be sad, watching you growing up like this, but..."

He turns the page to reveal what has to be at least thirty pictures of him with his friends and family over the last five years. He takes a few moments to admire them, a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth. Finally, he finishes reading the second half of the note.

"No matter how much you've grown and who you've met, you've never left us behind, and that's why we love you. It's been an amazing five years with you, Castiel. Here's to many more."

"I think I'm gonna cry," he says, covering his mouth with his hands. "Oh my god, you guys. This is... Oh my god."

"You like it?" Charlie asks hopefully.

"'Like it'? Guys, this is... I don't think there are words to describe how much this means to me." He looks between all of them, each seeming both proud of the book and thrilled with the reaction. "C'mere."

They have a big group hug, something that hasn't happened in forever because they're never all at the same place at the same time.

"I love you," Castiel tells them. "I love all of you."

"We love you too, Castiel," Charlie replies.

"You know things are going well when you render a songwriter speechless," Kevin adds with a grin.

"I'm just trying not to cry," he replies, then adds, "It's not going very well,"

This earns a bit of a laugh from everyone.

He spends the next couple minutes trying to find the words to thank them. And yes, he does end up crying.