Fame Crazy (Sequel to Strings Attached)

Chapter 192

In his quest to avoid pictures, he almost walks into someone, but quickly stops himself. He mutters a halfassed "Sorry," already prepared to make a run for it, until he realizes that it's Cain and Anna. "Oh, hey, guys. Where have you been?"

"Around," Anna says vaguely.

"Ride any fun rides?" Castiel asks.

"Some." She's about to walk away, but stops herself. "Did you kidnap a baby?"

Castiel can't tell if she's joking playfully or being rude, but it almost sounds like the former, which is out of character for her lately.

"Oh, yeah, I took Alex for a little while so Lucifer could have some fun," Castiel explains.

"Well, he did plan the whole thing," Anna says. "He kinda deserves it."

Castiel furrows his brows in confusion. Since when is Anna this nice to them? Especially to Castiel, whom she does nothing but complain about?

"Uh, yeah?" Castiel says uncertainly.

"Well, we gotta run, but see ya later." With that, Anna takes Cain's hand and drags him away, practicing skipping to their next destination. Wow, this really is the happiest place on earth.

Castiel meanders through the streets, once again trying to be inconspicuous. When he notices too many lingering looks, he ducks out of the crowd and into a gift shop, lined wall to wall with Disney pins. While he can't look at the individual prices because his arms are full, the price key on the wall lists prices with an average of about ten dollars for a small hunk of metal, which makes him feel a lot better about the price of his own merchandise.

Castiel gets so distracted by the pins that he doesn't process how much time goes by until he gets a phone call. The ringer startled Alex into tears, and he quickly rushed to quiet her before answering the phone.

"Shh," Castiel whispers. "It's okay, sweetie. Don't cry. Please don't cry. I don't know how to handle a crying baby." He leaves the store and takes a seat on the bench just outside of it, where he starts to sing softly to her, this this time with a different one of his more popular songs. Eventually, she quiets down again, which is a relief.

"If I put you down, so you promise not to cry?" Castiel asks.

He obviously doesn't get an answer, but he does put her down in his lap so he can check his phone, which says he missed a call from Lucifer. They must have just gotten off the ride. Castiel calls him back, and Lucifer picks up after a few rings.

"Is Alex still alive, or do I have to prepare your murder?" Lucifer asks immediately.

"Alive and kicking," Castiel replies, then mutters, "literally" under his breath. "Am I gonna find you guys, or are you gonna find me? Or are you gonna stay away from me, because it's easier than hanging out with the two buzzkills?"

"Depends on where you are," Lucifer replies.

"Some pin trading place," Castiel replies. "I think it's labeled as something like that on the map, so if you wanna find me, it's not impossible."

"I'm gonna say yes just because I like pins," Lucifer replies. "See you in a few." With that, he hangs up, leaving Castiel and Alex alone again.

Castiel picks Alex up again and holds her to his chest. "Dada's coming," he coos. "And he's probably gonna be soaking wet and you can laugh at him. Do you wanna laugh at Dada with me?"

Alex just giggles, smiling and staring blankly into space.

"You're so cute but so inattentive."