Sam, Dean, and Bobby laugh, which leads Castiel to believe there is no body to bury, and everyone else just stands around in a confused silence as a man enters the room. He eyes the cookies on the table before walking over to the fridge and searches through it for a moment. Finally, he pulls out a beer, muttering, "Good enough."

"Hey, Rufus," Dean greets him. "Want a cookie?"

"Depends. Did you make them?" the man who is apparently Rufus asks.

"Yep," Dean replies proudly.

"Then no."

"Well, thanks, Rufus," he says sarcastically. "Oh, guys, this is Rufus. Rufus, these are the Novaks; Castiel, Gabriel, Lucifer, Samandriel, Anna, and Michael, and that's our half brother Adam."

"'Novak'?" he repeats, glancing at Castiel before turning back to Dean. "That the kid you keep talking about?"

"Yeah," Dean admits sheepishly.

Rufus eyes Castiel for a moment. "I don't see why."

"Were you ever nice?" Bobby asks.

"1985. Worst year of my life."

Castiel's phone rings, so he pulls it out to check who's calling. It's probably a spam number; he's already here with Dean, and if his friends want to chat, they'd text the group chat. He's wrong; it's Wayward Records. He mouths "Excuse me" and walks into a quieter room to answer it.

"Hello?" Castiel says.

"Hey, Castiel," Jim replies on the other end. "I have good news and great news. Which do you want to hear first?"

"Uh... The good news, I guess?"

"You're number one on Billboard!" Jim informs him.

"Yeah, I already knew that," Castiel tells him.

"Oh. Okay, but you didn't know this. I just got a call from Jody Mills  — you know, the talk show host — and she wants to have you on not next Saturday but the Saturday afterwards."

It takes Castiel a moment to process this. Jody Mills? She's, like, a legend! But that Saturday...

"I'm busy then," Castiel tells him. "I'm going to my boyfriend's graduation."

"Then cancel," Jim replies. "Look, Castiel, this is huge. Everyone loves Jody, and everyone will love you. That might be the push you need for actual fame."

"But —"

"Castiel. This is Jody freaking Mills. You can't pass that up. You can hang out with your boyfriend whenever, but you can't reschedule on Jody Mills. I already talked to Kripke. We can debut your next single there, too. You know a lot of people watch that. You can start off your next song with thousands of people watching. That'll help it out a little, too. And then you can chat with Jody for a while, and then it'll be over."

"But —"

"It could be the push your career needs."

"No! I can't do that," Castiel tells him.

"Why not?"

"In case you haven't noticed, my 'people skills' are 'rusty.' You really want to put me on live tv?"

"Yes, we do," Jim replies. "You need to popularity. Even if you sound like an idiot — which I'm sure you won't — it'll get people to know about you."

"But it won't end well. I guarantee it," Castiel replies. "And I promised my —"

"I know," Jim interrupts. "But look at it this way. Little picture? Yeah, you miss a couple days with your boyfriend. But big picture? You get to go to LA and meet Hollywood's favorite talk show host, and boost your career, big time. Come on, Castiel. You have to. She's going to get your name out there, and that's what you need. That's what we need."

Castiel sighs. "Fine. But can my family come, too? Because I'm not going all the way to California without my family."

"Of course," Jim replies immediately. "If that's what you want, sure."

"Then I'll go," Castiel agrees reluctantly. "But when it ends horribly, I'll be here to say 'I told you so.' Be ready for it."

"And when you rock it, I'll be the one saying 'I told you so,'" Jim replies. "Alright, talk to you later."

"Bye."

Castiel hangs up with a sigh. He was actually really excited to go to Dean's graduation, not for the graduation part but because he just wanted to hang out with Dean. Now he can't.

Dean peeks into to room that Castiel is in just as he's putting his phone away. He gives Castiel a smile.

"Hey," he greets his boyfriend. "What was that about?"

Castiel frowns. He has to do this now?
"Uh, that was Jim Michaels," Castiel tells him. "You know Jody Mills?"

Dean nods. "Yeah. Everyone knows Jody. Why?"

"She wants me on her show."

"Well, that's awesome!" Dean says enthusiastically.

"But it's on your graduation day," Castiel finishes. "And I sorta said I'd go."

Dean shrugs. "That's fine. I'll just have to find it on YouTube."

"You're okay with that?"

Dean scoffs. "Of course I am. Dude, you're gonna be on Jody freaking Mills' show! Do you have any idea how awesome that is?"

"Not really," Castiel admits. "I don't watch it. I don't think I ever have."

"Well, you better brush up on it before you go," Dean replies. "You've gotta know what you're walking into."

Castiel nods in agreement. "Yeah. It'll be bad enough going at all. I might as well be prepared for it, I guess."