"Can I play teacher?" Lucifer asks.
"Sure?" Castiel says uncertainly.
"M'kay, so how about we all go around in a circle and introduce ourselves."
So that's what they do, and it helps to hear names to bring back memories of these people. Ellen and Jo are friends of Dean's. It's been years since he's seen them, but Dean's mentioned them a few times since then. Eileen and Ash went to school with Anna and Claire, though Castiel didn't know they were friends with her until now. Still, it helps that he at least knew of them before now.
"So, where do we start?" Castiel asks his brother.
"Why are you asking me?" Lucifer asks. "It's your music video."
"You're the director," Castiel reminds him.
"Executive decision," Dean says. "Why don't we — wait for it; it's gonna be your mind — why don't we start at the beginning?"
"I've never actually done that before," Castiel says. Filming is always out of order. Music videos, cameos in tv shows and movies, everything. This is weird.
"There's a first time for everything," Dean replies.
"Does anyone want to be Hester?" Castiel asks, then clarifies, "the chick that very obviously likes Misha-slash-me and doesn't realize Misha-slash-me is gay?"
No one immediately volunteers, though Castiel can't say he expected much different. The only girls who really know him are Anna — and it would be weird with if his sister played the girl with the crush on him — and Claire, who just doesn't seem like the flirtatious type.
After a pause, Jo says, "If you need a Hester, I can do it."
"That works."
Castiel explains how the scene is going to work. He is going to look visibly uncomfortable as Jo fake flirts with him. The camera will cut to Dean, showing up on his motorcycle on the front lawn, but they're only filming the Misha-and-Hester part now.
"And you don't have to say actually flirty things, by the way," Lucifer says. "It'll just play the music, not the audio. You could talk about how much you love Scrat and his little acorn that he can never quite reach, for all anyone will know."
"I can promise you, I won't talk about Scrat," Jo replies.
"Well, you're lame," Lucifer says. "Now, everyone get behind them and act like you're at a party and drink your fake beer and be people who exist and don't look at the camera or at Cassie or Jo."
Everyone does as they're told, and Dean stays back with all the adults who can't pass for college kids as he waits for his scene. Kelly probably could have pretended she was in her twenties, but she opts to play with Alex, instead. Lucifer puts his camera on his tripod and pulls out his phone. There's a pause, and then seemingly from nowhere, Taylor Swift's "I Did Something Bad" starts playing.
"Why?" Claire asks, amused.
"Because," Lucifer says as if it should be obvious, "Taylor ended the male species with "if a man talks shit then I owe him nothing."
"You're part of the male species," Dean reminds him.
"And we deserved to be ended like that," Lucifer replies. "Now, as hard as it is not too sing along to this absolute bop that deserved to be a single, you're not allowed to sing along to any on the bazillion songs my phone plays while we're filming — unless you wanna make it look like you're just talking, I guess. I don't know. You do you." He adjusts his camera, then says, "Action! Be the flirtiest flirty of all flirties!"
Jo looks up at Castiel and puts a hand on his chest. In a flirtatious way, she says, "I have no idea what I'm supposed to say right now."
"Yeah, same," Castiel says, and it's not hard to "fake" the awkward face he wears. The only person he wants to be this close to him is Dean. He's done this type of thing in music videos before, but only when he was single, and never with a girl. He's had more hot gay guys than he can count as costars, but this is new.
"You know," Jo says, resting her arms over his neck, "It's really weird to fake flirt with my cousin's boyfriend."
"Dean's your cousin?"
"Well, not by blood." Jo rests her face on Castiel's chest, looking up at him through her lashes. "But that's what we've always called each other. Not really sure why."
"And suddenly," Lucifer says, "Jensen appears, and when I say 'now,' you both step away a lil bit and look behind me but not at the camera and pretend you're looking at a hot guy. Now!"
They both do as they're told, and Dean and Castiel lock eyes. Dean gives him a small wave, and Castiel can't help but smile slightly. That's an appropriate reaction to seeing a hot guy, right?
"And when I say 'now,' Castiel's gonna smile, and then immediately, Jo is gonna get really excited because she thinks Dean winked at her and not his IRL fiancé. And now!"
Castiel smiles, and, as quickly after as Lucifer had said, Jo gasps dramatically and puts a hand to get heart. She looks up at Castiel, smiling, and back at Dean and all the adults.
"Poifect," Lucifer says. "That be it. Deano's turn!"
Dean groans. "Yay, cameras. My favorite."
"God, you sound like I put a gun to your head and forced you to do this," Castiel says with a laugh.
"I honestly don't know why I agreed to it if you didn't threaten to murder me if I didn't," Dean says.
"Because you love me," Castiel says with a grin.
Dean rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Let's get this over with."
Per Lucifer's instructions, everyone gathers around Dean, leaving a bit of space around him. Lucifer sets up his tripod again, then vaguely explains to Dean what he's supposed to do.
"And action," Lucifer says. "Dean, stand there looking like every girl and gay guy's dream."
"I am everyone's dream guy," Dean says.
"We stan a confident king," Lucifer says. "Now shut up and let me film."
Dean rolls his eyes, but does as he's told. He stands there for a moment, looking around slowly. Lucifer doesn't even have to instruct him to do the wink that sends Hester-slash-Jo up a wall, but he does it specifically to Castiel, probably because it would be awkward if he didn't.
"And izza cut," Lucifer says.
"That was shockingly less work that I expected," Dean says.
"That's because Jensen's hot guy privilege lets you just stand there," Lucifer says. "Now, all that's left is the iconic 'Misha held his glass high as he navigated the crowd.'"
"With my very college-esque drink of apple juice," Castiel adds. "I'm gonna go grab a cup. I'll be back."
Castiel heads to the kitchen, and he doesn't realize he's not alone until he feels a head on his shoulder. Castiel tilts his head, resting it on top of his fiancé's.
"Having fun yet?" Dean asks.
"Mm," Castiel hums. "I like working with Lucifer." His methods are strange and unorthodox, but oddly fun.
"Lucifer said he's going to do mini interviews with everyone that showed up from a behind-the-scenes thing," Dean says. "Do you still like working with him?"
Castiel chuckles softly. "I have to do that type of thing at most of my video shoots, but if you think it's so incredibly painful that you can't do it, I'm sure you can opt out."
"I told him I was going to pass," Dean says. "He said that I'm now the only person he won't let skip it."
"Of course he did," Castiel says, amused. "Then we might as well hurry up and get it over with, huh?"
"Yeah, probably," Dean agrees.
"Y'all are gonna love it!"
Dean and Castiel turn around to see Lucifer watching them, his camera trained on them likely just because he brings it everywhere.
"I hate everything about you," Dean says. "Just so you know."
"I'm aware," Lucifer replies. "Now come on, we have a video to film. And, more importantly, I have some behind-the-scene annoying to do."