And... Action!

Subject: And... Action! Thu May 30, 2013 10:39 pm

Castiel was gathering the rest of the items he was putting in the large box and soon found himself taping it closed. He wrote "Living Room 3" on the top, sides, and bottom of the box before picking it up and placing it next to the others at the far side of the room.

He couldn't believe that they were finally getting out of Crescent City, California and moving to San Francisco. It had been his and his best friend's, Kathryn, dream to get out of town for years. And they were finally doing it. The place they had found was just outside of city limits and a little less expensive than something you would have found in the city itself. Not to mention, it wasn't nearly as crowded as the heart of it all. The place almost scared him, but he was willing to deal with it for Kathryn and for the sake of being able to get his performing on stage going again.

Since he was young, he had dreamed of performing on stage in front of hundreds of people. He was in several plays growing up through school and two productions in the local theatre group. But there wasn't much promise in that group and, to be honest, it wasn't good enough for his standards. The productions they put on were mediocre more often than not and the ones that had any true sense of thrill had a director that was too biased to let any new faces take part in any substantial role.

So San Francisco it was, and they were going to be happy there.

"Well that's the last box for the living room, I think. How's it going in there for you, hon?"
And... Action! 2qwot9s

Subject: Re: And... Action! Thu May 30, 2013 10:50 pm

Kathryn was packing up her bedroom, box by box, and getting frustrated at just how much stuff she had. She had sold a lot, threw away a lot, but she still found she had many more boxes than she would have liked. She knew Castiel's room would fit in less than six boxes. Hers on the other hand...

Fifteen boxes. Fifteen boxes. I am way too attached to my stuff.

"I'm just about done! Just need to finish up another box or two and I should be good to go. We'll be able to get everything put in the U-Haul after dinner if we aren't too wiped out by then!" She shouted back down the stairs so that Cas could hear her. "We could leave tomorrow morning rather than tomorrow afternoon that way!"

She turned around and looked at her nearly empty room. Her bed had already been moved out. Her sewing machine, table, and bedside table had been in the U-Haul since that morning. They figured it would be easier to pack all of the smaller things if the bigger things were already out of the way. She usually complained about moving larger things, because she didn't feel strong enough to do so, but she pushed herself this time around.

She had wanted to move to San Francisco for a very long time. She had made a good few trips there growing up and fell in love with it all over again many times. It was one of the most beautiful places she had ever seen outside of Europe. It had taken a little persuasion on her end to get Cas to agree to it, because his experience with the city was very mixed, but he had agreed. She had been counting down the days for seven months and now the time was finally here. She was going to leave her childhood home behind; along with all the memories that came with it.

"Done with the living room already?!" She asked, breaking herself from her thoughts.

Subject: Re: And... Action! Thu May 30, 2013 10:59 pm

Castiel laughed aloud at the surprised tone in Kathryn's voice and shook his head in disbelief around the room. It was remarkable he had been able to fit the entire living room into three boxes. Then again, they didn't have much in the first place for the living room. Most of their belongings were things to be stored away in boxes, honestly. More sentimental value than they were actually functional. But they were both guilty for it. Just Kathryn more than him.

"Yes, I'm done with it already. About time, too 'cause I'm starved."

He made his way up the stairs and into the room directly across and diagonal from the top. He watched as his roommate, and best friend of 8 or so years, was finishing up the last of one box.

"Do you want any help with the rest of the stuff? Everything else is basically done. I've got some free hands."

He wiggled his fingers about playfully and smiled before putting his thumbs in his pockets.

Subject: Re: And... Action! Thu May 30, 2013 11:10 pm

Kathryn couldn't help but let out a small laugh at Cas's hand movements. He had always been quite the character. She nearly snorted at the end of her laugh, her eyes shot wide, and she shook her head. She had definitely been packing for far too long that day. She looked down at the things she still had left to pack. There honestly wasn't much left and she didn't think she'd need help. She turned back to him and shrugged her shoulders.

"I've probably got it." She let out a sigh. "What are we going to do for dinner then? Everything is packed."

She picked up a few of the items still laying around and gently put them into a box. They would be driving her car while her parents drove the U-Haul down. She was very happy that they were going to come down with them. She didn't like the idea of driving down in the car by herself while Cas drove the U-Haul. It would have been a very boring seven hour drive. Now she would be able to treat it like the road trip it should be.

Subject: Re: And... Action! Thu May 30, 2013 11:17 pm

Cas shrugged his shoulders at her.

"If you say so." He leaned up against the wall, sighing in the process. "And I'm not sure about dinner. I don't really want pizza, but at this point it might be our only solid option. We could go to McDonald's I guess, but I'm not sure if either one of us is really in the mood to be driving around right now."

At that moment, Castiel's neck and shoulders began to ache so he removed his thumbs from his pockets and started giving himself a small massage. He sighed with relief at the immediate release of tension and rotated his shoulders a few times when he was finished.

"It's really up to you, though. Either way, I think neither of us are gonna really be happy about the decision made. Ha ha!"

Subject: Re: And... Action! Thu May 30, 2013 11:21 pm

Kathryn filled up one of the last two boxes and taped it closed, writing all over it that it belonged in her room. She set it aside and looked at the final box, glad that it was nearly over. She just had to pack up the last of her books, which were scattered on the floor, and then she would be good to go. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was just starting to sink in with her. The more empty their apartment got the more real it was that they were going to leave it behind.

"I say we just grab McDonald's, simply because pizza doesn't sound the most appetizing right now. I'll drive, but we are hitting the drive thru." She picked up a few of the larger books and put them at the bottom of the box. "Are the bathrooms completely cleaned up? Did you already scrub everything down?"

She had already paid to have the carpets cleaned and every room in the house was spotless other than that the carpets needed to be vacuumed before they took off. That was, as long as everything in the bathrooms and kitchen were completely done.

She had done the kitchen and left the bathrooms to Cas. She hated cleaning. Was often anxious about it, really. She did it, though. The more she did the faster they would finally be done with their small ocean side hometown. She quickly stacked the rest of her books, knowing the way they were stacked would not effect them, and when they all fit in the box she taped it closed and wrote on all of its surface space that it once again belonged in her room.

"Wow...done."

Subject: Re: And... Action! Thu May 30, 2013 11:30 pm

Cas pushed himself from the wall and began to applaud the completion of her bedroom.

"This feels amazing. I mean, I am nervous about being in such a big place, but getting out of this small shit hole is going to be the best thing that we ever did for ourselves..."

He ran his fingers absentmindedly through his hair and sighed, letting it all sink in.

"Wow it's just really hitting me all of a sudden. You feeling it, too?"

He looked at her quizzically, with a small dash of panic. He couldn't quite believe this was really happening.

"Anyway, yeah. McDonald's it is. You ready now or what?"

Subject: Re: And... Action! Thu May 30, 2013 11:36 pm

Kathryn wasn't surprised that Cas was getting the same feeling in that moment that she was. Panic, but the excitement and relief overpowered all of the panic and nervousness welling up inside. She pushed the box aside and turned to face her best friend. She shivered involuntarily and she knew that would answer his question.

"It really has set in for me in these past few minutes. I think it's just the house being so empty and everything." She grabbed her purse and pulled her keys out of it. "Yeah, let's just get it over with and get back here and eat so we can pack everything into the U-Haul."

She knew that there were sleeping bags rolled up downstairs for them to sleep in that night. The only things they would leave unpacked would be clothes for the following day and their computers. They would need to use them for entertainment, if they didn't pass out after loading up all their stuff anyway.

Bacon cheeseburger. Mmm.

"Alright, let's get going." She began to lead the way out of the room and down the stairs, anxious to get their food and get back. "I'll honestly be glad not to be going to this McDonald's anymore."

She laughed aloud and headed out the front door and towards her 2013 Toyota Highlander. She had always wanted a hybrid SUV and when she got some money in the bank she jumped on buying one. She unlocked the car with the press of a button and waited for Cas to lock up the house and follow her.

Subject: Re: And... Action! Thu May 30, 2013 11:42 pm

Cas rolled his eyes and nodded in agreement with her. That restaurant held more bad memories than good for both of them. Neither of the two could really look some of the employees in the eyes anymore. Kathryn had an excruciating heartache there and Cas had been harassed by the store manager. They both had worked there at one point, and things got extremely messy.

"I hear ya... Never have to see Mike again? I'll take that door, Alex."

He locked up the apartment behind them and followed her to the SUV. He quite liked the car, really. Spacious, good gas mileage, and decently aesthetically pleasing. The perfect car, in his honest opinion. He jumped into the passenger seat and quickly buckled up.

"Do you remember what CD you have in the stereo?"

Subject: Re: And... Action! Thu May 30, 2013 11:45 pm

Kathryn started up the car and tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, trying to remember what CD was in the stereo. She knew it was one of her mixes, but she couldn't quite remember which one it was. She decided to take a shot in the dark and go with one of the few she usually had playing in the car.

"I think it's the mix with Maroon 5 on most of it." She threw out there. "I could be wrong, but yeah."

She pushed the play button and 'One More Night' started up out of the speakers. She grinned at the fact that she was indeed correct about the CD in the stereo and began to sing along. She had a case full of over fifty CDs in the backseat for their road trip. She was going to make more, but packing had taken up a lot of their time.

"Well, McDonald's here we come." She pulled out of the parking lot, which was never a fun thing because she had to reverse almost fifty feet before they even exited the parking lot. "What are you going to get to eat?"

Subject: Re: And... Action! Thu May 30, 2013 11:50 pm

Cas grinned as he realized Kathryn had been right about which of the CD's it was. He enjoyed Maroon 5, so it didn't bother him in the least.

Adam Levine is a beast!

He sang along to the song a little while before answering Kathryn's question.

"I can't decide between 2 McChickens and a large fry or that Premium McWrap with ranch and chipotle BBQ sauce and a large fry. Either way, I know I want a large fry. I guess I'll figure it out when we get to the speaker, for sure. Ha ha!"

He began drumming along to the beat and tapping his feet as well.

Man, I love this song!

Subject: Re: And... Action! Thu May 30, 2013 11:54 pm

Kathryn drove the short distance to McDonald's. This was one of the things she would honestly miss about a small town. It didn't take too long to get anywhere. San Francisco was gigantic. It would probably often take them a while to get wherever it is that they needed to go. She was going to be finishing up her online courses once they got there and was happy she wasn't going to have to commute to school. She had already become a certified personal trainer and now she was working on her associates in business. She wanted to be able to help Cas out if he got famous one day.

She grinned to herself at the thought. She wanted Cas to be successful because she knew that acting was his dream. She had always wanted to act herself, but she would never go for it in the same way he would. She was far too confident that she wouldn't make it. She had a lot more faith in him.

"I'm going to get my usual. Two bacon cheeseburgers and a shake." She pulled up into the drive thru and was glad to see it was empty. She didn't want to wait forever for her order.

The person welcomed them and asked what they could get for them. She quickly relayed her order and then looked to Cas.

Subject: Re: And... Action! Fri May 31, 2013 12:05 am

Cas swished around his mouth, debating which would taste better as his, more than likely, last meal in Crescent City. He twiddled his fingers and wiggled his toes for a few seconds and decided.

"Two McChickens, a large fry, and a large Sprite, please."

He sat back in his seat and waited while the person told them the amount it would be. He whistled, loving the low price, and watched as Kathryn drove around the sharp corner that led them to the first window. The girl at said window was someone that was new, from what he could tell. Definitely not someone that he worked with himself. There were a few people that were new compared to when he worked there over a year ago.

Kathryn paid and then they were up to the next window where their food was already prepared and waiting for them. Cas's old friend Brian was at the window to hand them the food and they exchanged a short and somewhat awkward farewell.

When they were away from the window and headed back home, Cas reached into the bag to snag a fry or two.

"I'm gonna be so happy to get out of this place. That was just plain weird..."

Subject: Re: And... Action! Fri May 31, 2013 12:10 am

Kathryn drove out of the parking lot and began the short drive back to their apartment. It would be the last night they would spend there and she was beyond excited. She took a deep breath as they entered the parking lot. She wasn't going to miss this apartment at all. Noisy neighbors and feeling awkward every time she walked out the door. No, this was going to be great. Though she knew she was going to miss her family quite a bit, especially her mother.

"Let's eat and move the stuff into the U-Haul. I really want to leave in the morning." She parked, turned off the ignition and climbed out. When she heard Cas's door shut she locked it before texting her mom to let them know they'd probably leave in the morning rather than the afternoon. It didn't take long to get a "all go" text back.

"So, have you put any thought into which theater company you are going to try for?" She unlocked the door and led the way into their living room. "How long are you going to wait after we move in to get out there?"

Kathryn had honestly debated on trying modeling in the area while Cas did his acting, but she wasn't sure she was up for the task. She had lost weight in all the right places, but her confidence hadn't grown too much.

Subject: Re: And... Action! Fri May 31, 2013 12:18 am

Cas took a deep breath and prepared himself for his small speech.

"Well, I've looked into two, so far. There's a smaller company that I looked into called, 'The Custom Made Theatre' and it's actually in San Francisco. They have put on some good productions but it's kind of more like just a bigger version of LRT here. The other one I was looking into was 'The San Francisco Playhouse'. They've done some well-known productions and have gotten quite a bit of good reviews. I dunno. I figure I'll go for both and whichever picks me, I'll go with to start out... I was thinking I should probably look just within the first couple of weeks of being there?"

He took a seat when he was done talking and began to grab his food out of the bag.

"God, I feel like I'm starving..."

Subject: Re: And... Action! Fri May 31, 2013 12:32 am

Kathryn sat down on the living room floor and pulled her two burgers out of the bag. Her vanilla milkshake was starting to melt and she was glad, because usually it was a bit difficult to drink it out of the straw. She opened one of the wrappers and looked up to respond to Cas before taking her first bite. She could smell the ketchup and grinned to herself.

"I think you should do it as soon as possible, yeah." She nodded her head and took a small bite, chewed, and swallowed. "I'm just glad I get my money every month. It will help us out a lot."

She took another bite and leaned back against the wall and her sleeping bag. She was excited to get all of the stuff loaded into the U-Haul and get some shut eye. Sleeping meant she would be one step closer to getting out of town.

"This burger is so good!"

Subject: Re: And... Action! Fri May 31, 2013 12:47 am

Cas alternated taking a bite of his sandwich and then putting three fries into his mouth before chewing and swallowing. This was the way he always ate his McChickens, with a mouthful of fries. He grinned at Kathryn and her enthusiasm over the burgers. He was feeling the same way about his own food.

The next few minutes they spent mostly in silence and then Cas took the garbage and put it in the trash in the kitchen. The trash bin wasn't emptied because Cas knew it was going to be used up until they left the apartment for good.

"Okay well let's go ahead and get started hon."

He smiled at Kathryn when he reentered the room and began the long process of loading up their U-haul.

Subject: Re: And... Action! Fri May 31, 2013 12:53 am

Kathryn crashed down onto the living room floor with a loud and long groan. It had taken them just over an hour and a half to load all of the boxes into the U-Haul. She hated that they still had so much stuff, but it would be nice not to have to worry about having an eerily empty home. She hated looking around and feeling empty.

"Finally...done..." She grumbled, finally pushing herself up so she could unravel the sleeping bag. "I can't believe how tired my arms are."

And it's already almost nine o'clock!

"What time should we head to bed then? I was thinking we should leave by 9 tomorrow." She unrolled the sleeping bag and lay it out on the floor before grabbing her pillows and placing them. "It'll get us in around dinner time."

Subject: Re: And... Action! Fri May 31, 2013 12:57 am

Cas followed Kathryn's motions of unrolling the sleeping bag and listened to her as she spoke of her thoughts. He nodded in agreement, liking that they would get there in time for din din.

"Well it sounds like a good idea to me. And honestly, I don't know when we should get to bed. I don't feel like I can really sleep right now. I'm exhausted, yeah, but I'm also wayyyy to excited to just crash. So I really don't know. If you wanna go to bed soon, we can. Just not too sure how quickly I'll be able to fall asleep tonight is all. Ha."

He got into the sleeping bag and scooted down so the top of the zipper was just under his nose.

"Ha! I'm in a cocoon! Heh, heh..."

Cas looked at Kathryn nervously and wiggled his toes in the sleeping bag.

God, I'm such a dork!

Subject: Re: And... Action! Fri May 31, 2013 1:02 am

Kathryn laughed at Cas's little cocoon comment. He did the weirdest things sometime, but it was one of the reasons they were best friends. She thought the weird things he did were hilarious or adorable; sometimes a mix of the two. She scooted down into her own sleeping back and got comfy, squirming around until she found the right spot.

"You're a dork." She finally commented, laying her head down on her pillow. "Well, we could watch a movie I suppose."

She looked over towards the computers and looked over at Cas. She was fine going to bed now, even if it would be difficult, but she'd feel bad if he was stuck up without her. So, he would be the one grabbing the computer in return. She felt it was only right.

"But if so, you'll have to get one of the computers." She pointed over in their direction, her finger just popping out of the top of the sleeping bag.

Subject: Re: And... Action! Fri May 31, 2013 1:07 am

Cas looked in the direction that the computers were sitting and frowned at Kathryn as he turned his attention back to her.

"Really? You're gonna make me get them? Ugh..."

He exited his sanctum of comfort and made his way towards the large silver latptop he knew would be the better option for watching a DVD. The small purple one was the one they used for watching shows on the internet and such because for some reason it ran better than the silver one. But they used the silver one for DVDs if they wanted really good audio quality. It didn't lag at all like it did with the internet.

"So what do we wanna watch then, hm?"

He plugged the computer in and made it come out of hibernation by opening the screen. The user screen popped up and he quickly logged in.

"What're you in the mood for? Brave again?

Subject: Re: And... Action! Fri May 31, 2013 1:14 am

Kathryn tossed around movies in her head. She left a few out for them to choose from. Most of them were kids movies, because she enjoyed them. They honestly really relaxed her at the end of a long day. Brave was one they had been watching quite a bit lately, and she actually wanted a break from it.

"Actually, put in My Neighbor Totoro." They both loved Miyazaki movies, and she knew this would make Cas happy.

Hopefully I don't fall asleep to quickly during it!

She knew she'd have to get plenty of sleep, though, because she was going to be driving the seven hours down to San Francisco. They would be living in the Berkley area, which was only a twenty minute drive from the city. She figured it would be a good place for them to live. It was a very diverse place and still just as great as San Francisco was.

Subject: Re: And... Action! Fri May 31, 2013 1:23 am

Cas replied to Kathryn with a grin that just about took up his entire face. "My Neighbor Totoro" was one of his favourite Miyasaki movies and he loved watching it every time. He quickly took it out of its case and put into the CD drive of his computer, impatient for Windows Media Player to kick-start and play the movie already.

When the program started, he jumped to the title screen so he could press play immediately. Once he adjusted the volume and the screen, Cas got back into his sleeping bag and pulled himself back into his cocoon-like state.

"I have the feeling that I won't last through this entire movie. Ha ha!"

Subject: Re: And... Action! Fri May 31, 2013 1:30 am

Kathryn laughed at Cas's enthusiasm and was glad to see him so happy about her movie choice. She repositioned herself so that she could see the screen better and smiled as the opening song came on. She really loved how adorable this movie was. The two girls were incredibly cute. She looked over at Cas and nodded her head.

"I know I won't." She laughed and looked back toward the screen. She was already pretty sleepy. "Sooner we fall asleep the sooner we get up and go, though."

The sooner I never have to worry about people here again.

Kathryn had a lot of bad memories in Crescent City. Heartbreaks, two-faced friends, and a lot of other things she would rather not think back on. It was going to be a huge relief to start fresh.

"Where do you want to stop for lunch tomorrow?" She was thinking ahead, as usual.

Subject: Re: And... Action! Fri May 31, 2013 1:33 am

Cas hummed along to the opening song and made a couple of noises in time with the beats. He looked over to Kathryn and tried to think about what she had just asked him. Then he realized.

"Uhm. I really don't know. Anywhere but McDonald's, since that's what we had tonight. I don't think we should really pick without your parents two cents on it as well, though. Only fair, since they're coming along too, you know?"

He turned his attention back to the screen and bobbed his head side to side with the music.

Goodness I love this movie!