Fame Crazy (Sequel to Strings Attached)

Chapter 193

A disembodied voice — the "Ghost Host," begins to speak. After the incident with the statue, Castiel can't help but look for how everything here works. The walls "stretching" is obviously just an elevator, but there's really nothing else to solve in this room; it's just a cool display.

At one point, the lights go out with a crash, and the screaming that occurs is loud enough that Alex wakes up, and, of course, thats followed by some screaming of her own. Lucifer tried to shut her up, eventually just clamping a hand over her mouth. Castiel flinches at that point in the ride, too, and of course, Dean notices.

"You're so jumpy today," Dean laughs. "You're worse than the little kids."

Castiel shoots him a glare but doesn't answer. It's not the lights shutting off or the loud crash that comes with it that bugs him. It's that the whole situation is just wrong.

The so-called Ghost Host said that there was always "his way" to escape this room with no windows and no doors, and though the light and the crash probably distracted a lot of people enough that they just saw the fake window on the ceiling, Castiel's gaze was immediately drawn to the body projected on it, swinging back and forth in the noose. He's all for Disney being creative, but that "joke" should never have been included in the ride. Maybe he's just being oversensitive, but he doesn't find suicide jokes funny.

There's a bit of a line outside of that room where they hop on the ride, but the carts are constantly moving, so the line does, too.

"You ready?" Dean asks, trying to hype him up.

Castiel just shrugs, but he really means no. After the suicide joke, he doesn't care how fun the rest of this ride is. He's already convinced himself that it's going to suck.

"Aw, come on, it's not that scary," Dean adds.

Castiel just crosses his arms. As soon as they're out of here, he'll be back in the Disney spirit, but until then, he's just annoyed.

They sit in the "doombuggy" together, just the two of them, and the Ghost Host lowers the lap bar, which is really just an automated machine.

Castiel can easily figure out how some of these things work. The books popping out of the shelves are automated. The shadow playing piano is a dummy hidden somewhere that it can't be seen — above the cars, probably. There are some things he can't figure out, though. How do the ghosts appear and disappear? How is the menorah floating? Those are the ones that leave him wondering.

Castiel is so lost in his failed attempt to figure out the ride that he barely processes that it's over until Dean stands up. Castiel quickly scrambles out of the doombuggy, and Dean follows.

"So," Dean says with a grin. "How was that?"

Castiel is about to say it was amazing until he remembers the beginning, and his pact to not enjoy it. Clearly, that didn't work very well. He completely forgot about the body hanging from the ceiling as he tried to figure out how the mechanics of the ride work.

"I don't know," Castiel says finally. "It was okay, I guess."

Dean scoffs. "Okay? How was that not one of the best rides you've ever been on?"

Castiel shrugs. "It just wasn't."

Dean just looks at him for a minute before saying, "I don't know what's going on with you, but you gotta cheer up. We're in Disney, for God's sake! This is a once-in-a-lifetime vacation."

"With my income, I could literally live at Disney," Castiel deadpans. "Not really a once-in-a-lifetime trip unless I make it one."

"No, but this trip is a once-in-a-lifetime trip," Dean insists. "Your first trip to Disney? When everything is new and amazing? That doesn't happen twice, Cas."