When Iris questioned him about his “trade,” Cas toyed with the hem of his shirt as if it was suddenly interesting. He’d never been a smooth liar, and he wasn’t always quick on his feet when it came to coming up with excuses either. It was a skill he’d simply never had the chance to develop, since he rarely found himself in a situation where he had to play dumb. But he didn’t want to just give up either. Things were going so well with her. He didn’t like the thought of ending the ease of their conversations by confessing that he wasn’t actually going to trade school. Even his closest friends, Jay and Miles, didn’t always speak their minds to him out of fear that his father would have them arrested if he found out. They had to agree with everything the royal family said just like everyone else.

[color=#b97703]“You could say that,”[/color] he shrugged in response to her inquiry. Being the next king [i]was[/i] pretty important. [color=#b97703]“I don’t really like to study though. It’s boring. I just do it because I have to, so I know what I’m doing when I start working my future job.”[/color] It was a good enough answer, he thought. As long as she didn’t directly ask him what sort of field he was going into, he hoped it would slide.

As he spoke about his curfew, he noticed that her mood seemed to wane again, and he wondered what had made her upset this time. He observed her with a frown. Was it something he’d said? He’d gotten pretty comfortable in their conversation, so he had forgotten to watch his tongue as closely as he had the night before. He hoped he hadn’t done anything that had offended her when they were getting along so well. It would have been nice to still be on her good side by the time she recovered. He still wanted to go out for drinks with her.

After a moment of silence, Iris spoke again, and Cas was sure he’d messed up something. Just a minute ago, she had been eager to spend time with him, but now it almost sounded like she was pushing him toward the door. He groaned inwardly. [color=#b97703]“Yeah, I spend a lot of nights out, but no one is doing anything tonight as far as I know,”[/color] he shrugged, glancing at his phone. Usually, someone would text him whenever a good party was happening, since they always wanted him to join. He hadn’t gotten any alerts this time though.

[color=#b97703]“You’re not keeping me from anything,”[/color] he assured her. [color=#b97703]“I don’t have to spend every day going to parties anyway. A little variety is good.”[/color] Still concerned that he might be overstaying his welcome, he added: [color=#b97703]“…But I can leave if you want to get some rest.”[/color]

Honestly, he had been hoping to hang around until nine, since he really enjoyed talking to Iris, but if she didn’t want him to be here that long, there was nothing he could do to change that. He reached for his phone to turn off the music that had been playing. Whether she wanted him to go or not, he didn’t want to drain the battery like he had last time. If his father tried to call him, he needed to be able to answer to let him know he was okay.

[color=#b97703]“Someone will probably come for you tomorrow, you know,”[/color] he said, hoping to lift her mood if he could. [color=#b97703]“They probably just haven’t thought to check the hospital yet. I bet they’re searching high and low until they find you though. They’ll be here as soon as they realize where you are.”[/color]