Secrets and Camera Flashes

Chapter 3

Dean wakes up to a text from his agent, which is rarely a good thing. He groans and unlocks his phone to see what it is, and he's pleasantly surprised to see it's a compliment.

That Guy™: People are loving the bromance. Keep it up.

Attached it a picture of Dean showing Castiel how to play guitar. It hadn't even occurred to him that the paparazzo would be looking for anything he could sell, and that definitely includes the two of them. And, of course, it's going to be an even bigger deal when Jo ditches him for the guy, not that anyone would tell a paparazzo that. They're notorious snitches, after all.

Dammit, that means he can't hang out with Castiel for a while, either, doesn't it? They don't want people thinking they're on good terms after he steals Dean's girlfriend. Well, that sucks. He actually liked talking to him last night.

"Hey, you're up."

Dean looks over as Jo steps into the room, immediately heading to her vanity and busying herself with her makeup. She must have plans today. She never does makeup on a lazy day.

"That I am," Dean replies, kicking the covers off his legs. "You getting ready to go out?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna go have dinner with some friends tonight," Jo says. "You wanna come?"

Dean scoffs. "Would I have to wear a suit?"

"No, but you can't show up in flannel and jeans."

"Yeah, I'm out," Dean says.

"I figured," Jo says. "Oh, hey, Castiel asked for your number."

"Really?"

"Mm," Jo hums. "I told him you usually sleep until the end of time, so if he texts you today, it probably won't be for a while."

"That sounded like a call out and I don't appreciate it," Dean says.

"It was a call out, so I'm glad you picked up on that," Jo says teasingly. "I have to ask, though, why were you hanging out with him? He's pretty quiet. He doesn't exactly seem like your type of person."

Dean shrugs. "He came over to me, actually. And he didn't seem too quiet."

"Weird," Jo remarks. "But it sounded like he had fun last night."

"Well, the feeling is mutual," Dean says. "He's a great guy. I don't know how you haven't fallen in love already."

"But Dean, what would my boyfriend say?" Jo jokes.

"I don't know," Dean says with a gasp. "I guess we'll find out in a few weeks."

Jo chuckles. "Just be nice to me, will you?"

"Obviously," Dean says. "Your mom would kill me if I talked shit about you."

"You're scared of my mom?" Jo says, amused.

"Uh, yeah, I think so."

Jo just shakes her head at him, amused.

"Oh, speaking of, am I gonna get to see your mom before we break up?" Dean asks. "'Cause I doubt I'll be able to after we break up, at least for a while until people won't think it's weird that we're back on speaking terms." God knows they can never sneak anywhere without word getting out somehow.

"I'm sure we can work something out," Jo says. "Oh, I'll see if she can come up for the premiere!"

"But she always hates your dresses," Dean reminds her.

"Only the slutty ones," Jo corrects him.

"So, like, all of them," Dean says teasingly.

"Oh, shut up."

"I kid, I kid," Dean says. "But really, though. She doesn't like seeing you all dressed up. You sure that's the best day?"

Jo shrugs. "She only hates it because she knows guys are gonna be jerking off to pictures they find online. She won't mind the one I'm wearing to the premiere."

"Do you already know what you're wearing?" Dean asks.

"Obviously," Jo says, as if he should know how women in the industry do stuff. "Ralph Lauren. Already tried it on and had it altered. And his are usually a lot more modest than, like, Alexandre Vauthier or people like that."

"I thought Ralph Lauren was a glasses guy," Dean says, confused.

Jo rolls her eyes. "Designers do a lot of stuff, Dean."

"Right, right, of course," Dean says, as if he cares. "Well, if she starts complaining, I'm out."

Jo scoffs. "You know my mom. She's gonna complain about something, even it it's not the dress."

"Ah, yeah, that's true," Dean agrees. But he loves her anyway. "Ooh, do you think Ash can come, too?"

"Dean, he's still at MIT, remember?" Jo reminds him. "He can't just up and leave because you miss your buddy."

"Ash can do whatever he wants," Dean says. "That's one of the many reasons why Ash is the greatest person ever."

Jo shakes her head. "If I didn't know better, the way you talk about Ash, I would've thought you were in love with him."

"Well, it's gonna get a little awkward when you find out you're dating a gay man," Dean teases.

"Could be worse," Jo says. "Could pull a Carrie Fisher and marry one."

"Fortunately for you, I won't put you through that much," Dean says.

"I think you're forgetting about the hypothetical gayness," Jo says. She quickly turns around to look at him. "Wait, we are talking hypotheticals, right?"

Dean scoffs. "No, Jo, I decided to come out after a year and a half of fake dating by cracking a joke about your brother."

"I just wanted to double check," she says defensively. "I wanted to make sure I wasn't offending you or whatever."

"Well, rest assured, I am unoffendable."

Jo just gives him a really? look. "The Impala sucks."

"Hey, Baby is the greatest car ever," Dean says immediately. "She's been up and kicking over 50 years — wait, no, I see what you did there."

Jo chuckles. "'Unoffendable' my ass."

"Oh, shut up."