Dean gave Sam a wet willy in the ear and one last slap on the back of the head before he stood up to face his father. John clipped Dean for his cheap shot at Sam and then bent down to help hoist the teen up. Sam had carpet marks embedded in his cheek and he was wiping the spit from his ear as he yelled at Dean.
"GROSS!!!! You are such a freakin jerk! What, you can dish it out but you can't take it? You're such a monster pain in my ASS".
"Oh, I'll give you a pain in the ass" Dean said lunging at Sam again.
"O.K., knock it off! John interjected grabbing Dean's arm and pulling him back. "What the hell is going on here? That was Terry calling to see how you both were feeling. Apparently you two yahoos are supposed to be sick. Now, I'm no doctor, but you both look fine to me so you better start talking, fast".
Sam and Dean looked back and forth at one another and they knew there was no way out of this. John was a smart man and it was only a matter of time before he discovered the truth. The boys knew from experience that the longer it took for him to find out the worse the punishment was so they both started explaining at the same time.
They were talking a mile a minute." Well, there were these two brothers and they went missing and we thought that it may be something supernatural so I went to check it out but they were holding tryouts for American Idol and the tryouts were in the same conference room that the guys disappeared from and the only way to get in was to audition but then he showed up and the judges called us in and we think the Demon is possessing Simon so now we need to use the golden ticket to go to Hollywood to check it out so we can kill the Demon"!!!
John's head started spinning. He had hardly understood a word the boys had said and as usual his patience was wearing thin.
He rubbed his hand over his face trying desperately not to loose his cool. "O.K. let me get this straight. You ditched work and you ditched school to go to a singing audition"?
"Uh huh" they nodded together.
"And you did this because two brothers disappeared and you thought it could be something supernatural"?
"Uh, huh"
"So you ignored a direct order to behave and stay out of trouble, to go on a hunt; by yourselves"???
Both boys remain silent.
"Let's try this again. You ignored a direct order to behave and stay out of trouble, to go on a hunt; by yourselves"???
"Yes Sir" they answered meekly.
"And now you want me to let you go to Hollywood, by yourselves, because you think the Demon is possessing some guy named Simon"?
"You can come too"!! Sam said innocently.
Dean looked up at the ceiling bracing himself for the outburst he knew was coming.
"HAVE YOU BOYS COMPLETELY LOST YOUR MINDS"?????? John shouted.
"First you disobeyed a direct order, second, you attempt to go on a hunt BY YOURSELVES which you KNOW is strictly forbidden and third you actually auditioned for American Idol?
"Yes Sir"
"And you actually made it to the next round"? John asked calming down a bit.
"Yes Sir" Sammy answered.
"Well, let me see your ticket Sammy" John asked roughly.
"I don't have one dad". Sam said softly.
"I thought you just said you made it to the next round"? John asked confused.
"I did, but it wasn't me, it was Dean"
Kill me now Dean thought to himself.
"Dean"? John was shocked. "I didn't know you could even sing son".
"Yeah, well the judges are really old. I think they're like 40 or something so their hearing is probably shot, so…."
John shot Dean a look. "Watch it kiddo. You're in enough trouble".
"Dad, you should have heard him! He was totally amazing" Sam burst out. "And Paula, Paula was really digging him. She even squeezed his butt"!!!
Dean just gave John a shy half smile as he shot daggers at Sammy. John just looked at Dean not quite sure what to make of all this. How could he not know that Dean could sing??
"So can we go dad, please"??? Sammy begged. "The Demons got Simon dad; Dean saw it in his eyes".
"Dean, are you sure son"?
"Yeah Dad, I'm sure".
"Well then. I guess we're going to Hollywood". John clapped Dean on the shoulder.
"Dad, no offense or anything but do you think I could do this one on my own? I mean I'm going to have to rehearse and stuff and I don't think I would be able to concentrate with you and Sammy there".
"Tough" John said. "You're not going by yourself, you're not ready; and if this thing really is the Demon we're going to need back-up. Sammy, go call Caleb and Bobby and tell them to meet us here bright and early in the morning. Now, John said turning back to Dean, let's talk punishment".
"This is so freakin unfair" Dean growled from the backseat of the Impala. "Two weeks???? I can't drive the Impala for two weeks??? You can't do this to me dad!
"Watch me".
"Come on dad, this is bullshit"!
"Make that three" John said flatly.
"DAD"!!
"O.K., now it's four. Want to keep going"??
"This bites"!!!
"Excuse me, what was that"?
"No Sir"
"Ha Ha" Sam giggled and Dean punched him hard in the arm.
"OW"!
"FIVE"
"DAD"!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The five hunters arrived bright and early Monday morning. Dean felt as though his heart was going to leap out of his chest. What had he gotten himself in to? I mean sure, he knew how to sing, a little. But he wasn't so sure he would be able to do it in front of all those people especially if his father and the other three were there. And as if things weren't bad enough he had to concentrate on a hunt. What if Simon really was being possessed by the Demon?
"You o.k. son"? John asked noticing how uncomfortable Dean looked.
"Yeah, I'm cool, why wouldn't I be"? Dean replied unconvincingly.
"Hey Deuce, you look like you're going to totally loose your breakfast" Caleb said grabbing Dean by around the waist and swinging him around.
"Well if I do you can be damn sure I'm aiming for you. Put me down you stupid behemoth". Dean snarled
"Wow, who peed in your cornflakes dude"? Caleb huffed as he dropped Dean on the sidewalk.
"He's still steamed cause dad won't let him drive the Impala for….what's it up to now Dean….eight weeks"??? Sam said laughing.
"Keep it up kiddo, remember paybacks a bitch and you have to go to sleep sometime" Dean threatened.
"Ooooh, I'm sooo scared" Sam replied.
"O.K., enough; let's go" John said to no one in particular as he stepped over Dean.
"Thanks for the hand" Dean muttered picking himself up and sticking his tongue out at John when he was sure he wasn't looking.
The four of them fell in line behind John and headed towards the hotel.
Paula and Randy were the only two judges present at the moment. Supposedly DemonSimon had flown back to England but he was expected to return later that evening for the first round of cuts. That would give the team at least a few more hours to prepare.
As soon as they hit the lobby Dean was immediately swarmed by camera men and Idol representatives. He was swept away before he even had a chance to check-in. As he was being led down the hallway he glanced over his shoulder towards John. The look on his father's face said it all. Remember that we are here to do a job. Keep your eyes and ears peeled and don't get caught up in all this hype. Terrific Dean thought; just terrific. Another dream about to be extinguished for the good of the cause.
The Idol reps insisted that Dean go to make-up and wardrobe first. As soon as Dean heard the words make-up a small bead of sweat formed upon his upper lip. A petite man named Chris and his posse of stylists rushed up and surrounded him as he stepped into the room.
"OH….MY…..GOD!!!! You are soooo fabulous"!! Chris squealed. "Of course that hideous jacket needs to go and we'll need to trim his hair and OH MY, those eyebrows, but…gasp shut my mouth and call me Nancy, those EYEs, just gorgeous and those lips, ggrrrrr!!! Oh sweet heart I am going to go just CRAZY on you!!!!
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, No Sir, no one is touching the jacket or the hair". Dean said in a panic.
"Sir"? Are you like in the Marines or something? Ooooh, Semper Fi!! You are too sexy for words! But seriously, can we talk Deano? The eyebrows need to go". Chris said waving his tweezers in front of Dean's face.
Deano?? "No Sir, no ones touching me with anything, ya hear? Of course I'd let you touch whatever you want to sweet heart" Dean said smiling broadly, flirting with the tall, leggy blonde standing next to him.
"Ugh, what a caveman" Chris said in disgust. "Let's go ladies" and in a huff he turned to target his next victim.
"Dean ran his fingers over his eye brows as he looked in the mirror. "Caveman"?? He quickly scoped the room and when the coast was clear he slowly reached over and in one smooth motion took the tweezers from the counter and placed them in his pocket. "Caveman my ass" he said to himself.
The next several hours were spent in rehearsals. Dean had to learn two new songs in addition to writing a song of his own and learning a dance routine. As he clomped around the stage in his combat boots all he could think of was what Sammy, Caleb and Bobby would do if they saw him like this. He didn't even want to think about what his father would have to say. John never understood anything that had to do with the arts.
The hours seemed to drag on forever and John was growing more and more irritated with the fact that Dean wasn't around to help plan the attack and get the supplies in order. He took his frustrations out on poor Sammy barking orders at the young teen.
When they finally met up again with Dean before the audition started everyone was tired and tensions were running high.
"Where the hell have you been" John asked Dean. "We've got a job to do or have you already forgotten that's why we're here".
"Dad, I told you I was going to be in rehearsal all day" Dean said defensively. "I've been working my ass off for the past 8 hours. The voice coach said I've got some real potential".
John didn't hear a word Dean said. He was too preoccupied trying to figure out where the best place to strike was.
"O.K., now listen to me. Bobby, you take Sammy and go over there behind those curtains. Caleb, you and I will stay over here off stage. When Dean gives the sign, you guys hit this Simon character with the holy water and we'll shoot him with the rock salt. That will give us enough time to trap the Demon before we send him back to Hell. Any questions"?
"Yeah, I have one. Are you wearing eye make-up"? Sammy inquired trying to touch Dean's face.
Dean grabbed Sam's finger and bent it back. "No, but I'm going to give you a black-eye if you touch my face again" Dean hissed.
"Come on Sammy" Bobby said pulling him out of Dean's grip. He paused a moment to take a good look at Dean.
"Huh, I'll be damned" he said bluntly.