When Iris said she wouldn’t go crazy, Cas just shrugged. He could tell she wasn’t the type to take advantage of his offer, so he trusted she wouldn’t go over the top. Not that it mattered if she did. He didn’t mind covering the cost for her to have a decent sized wardrobe. He had more than enough money to pay for it. As long as she was enjoying herself, he would leave her to do as she pleased and follow along with a credit card to charge everything on.

While she wandered the store to pick out all the different clothes she wanted, he trailed behind her, keeping close enough to help her if she needed it but also giving her a little space so she wouldn’t feel pressured to hurry for his sake. When she searched the lingerie section, he took out his phone to absentmindedly check for new text messages, uncomfortable at the thought of watching her choose underwear. He definitely didn’t know her well enough to do that.

There wasn’t much, but he did have one text from Miles, who was pestering him again for details about what had happened two nights ago. He rolled his eyes, sending back a simple: ‘Busy now. I’ll tell you later.’ Hopefully that would be enough to get his friend to let it go for now. He wasn’t trying to keep it a secret from him or Jay, but he didn’t have time to repeat the story again while he was helping Iris get settled in at his place. They would just have to wait until he could give them an update when everything had calmed down.

As she asked him about the people staring, Cas looked up again, shoving his phone back into his pocket. He glanced over his shoulder to find another group of shoppers watching him. As they saw him turn their way, they all averted their gazes, trying to pretend like they hadn’t been ogling. [color=#b97703]“Yeah,”[/color] he answered, turning back to her again with a smile. [color=#b97703]“Don’t worry. I didn’t think you were trying to be insensitive.”[/color] He looked over the pile of clothes she had picked out. [color=#b97703]“I grew up being stared at everywhere I went, so it’s normal to me now. I don’t pay attention to it very much anymore, to be honest.”[/color] The only reason he’d noticed this time was because he’d been concerned that it would make her uncomfortable, since she probably wasn’t used to being the center of attention like he was.

At her follow-up question, he lifted his shoulders again. [color=#b97703]“I mean, sometimes. I know I can’t get away with doing anything stupid in public, because someone is always watching me, but I try not to read into it too much.”[/color] He hooked his thumbs in his jean pockets, glancing back at the staring girls once more. [color=#b97703]“They’re more nosey than judgmental, I think. As long as I don’t give them a reason to start gossiping, they’ll probably just brag that they saw me at the mall today.”[/color] He rolled his eyes. They would probably say they’d seen him with a girl too, but he kept that to himself. It was important to make sure Iris had everything she needed to get by at the Maydestone house. He didn’t want to make her worried that she might get looped into the rumors and want to leave before they could get all the supplies she was missing.

[color=#b97703]“Okay, let’s check out then,”[/color] he led the way over to the counter when she had enough. [color=#b97703]“You’re welcome,”[/color] he smiled at her again when she thanked him. Approaching the girl at the register, he helped Iris set some of the clothes down on the table—not the underwear, since it still felt weird to him—to be scanned. Once the worker finished ringing it all up, he took out his wallet and retrieved his card, a solid gold-colored piece of plastic that only members of the royal family owned. Of course, the transaction went through, and he collected the bags, so she wouldn’t have to carry them while she hobbled on her crutches.

When she asked if he needed anything, he thought about it and then shook his head. [color=#b97703]“Not for me,”[/color] he said as they headed back out of the shop. [color=#b97703]“But we still need to get you some toiletries. Luckily, there’s a place that sells bathroom stuff on this level not too far from here. I think that’ll be our last stop unless you can think of anything else you need before we go.”[/color]