A/N: I'm so sorry for the delay in posting but life got busy like it does, and I lost a bit of motivation to write (which may explain why I haven't gotten any reviews lately) but I got myself motivated to write again and post this newest chapter. If y'all could review too, that'd be great. Let me know if I should continue writing this, or tell me how your day is going or if you actually like what I'm putting out. It'll help me and make my day more than you know!

Also, I won't post the lyrics, but the song that Jamie sings in this chapter is called Only Hope and it was performed by Mandy Moore (Switchfoot also did a cover of it for the A Walk To Remember soundtrack), but I would suggest for full effect of the chapter that you listen to it :)

Chapter Seven

Over the course of the next week and a half, Dean and Jamie spent every afternoon together. After school, when he wasn't playing the part of the school janitor with Gabriel (as Mr Speight insisted on being called), he was rehearsing lines with Jamie on her front porch. She would read for every character his would talk with, and when he faltered without the use of the script, she would encourage him to take a breath and pause before saying a line if he needed a moment. She would make helpful little suggestions, and when she noticed that he struggled with the wording, she would slip the script from his hand and edit it with a pencil.

"Here, try saying it this way instead," she'd say before handing him back the bound paper.

Dean would simply nod a thanks to her, and continue on.

When they weren't busy rehearsing lines, Dean would drive them to Dale's, the local burger joint to grab dinner. Most times, they got meals to go since Dean had to pick up Sam from Bobby's, whatever friend's house the kid was at or the library. Other times, they would choose a booth at the back of the establishment, order and take their time talking.

Jamie liked to talk about her faith, and God, and how she believed that everything happens for a reason. How He had everything planned from the get go, and their job was to follow his cues, and have some faith that things would work out okay in the end.

"It's just like the scripts, Dean." Jamie suggested one afternoon, as they sat in Dale's and enjoyed orders of fries and milkshakes. "We have cues to follow in the play, and we have God's cues to follow in life. He'll make sure that we have a happy life, but we have to be willing to follow those cues, and trust Him."

"Well, God's cues suck." Dean countered, shoving a french fry dripping with ketchup into his mouth. "If he wanted us to be happy, then why do bad things happen to good people?"

Jamie's brows knitted together, a small wrinkle forming between them as she thought over his query. Taking a sip of the chocolate milkshake, she swallowed.

"Well, without suffering, there wouldn't be compassion."

Dean snorted in disbelief. "Tell that to the ones who suffer."

Jamie didn't answer, choosing to take a bite of a fry instead. Her beliefs were not something she liked to debate. She couldn't make someone believe in what she did, or understand and see things from her perspective if they didn't want to, and Dean Winchester was a man who didn't want to believe that good things could happen to him.

As they talked, they learned that they had more in common than they originally thought. On the outside, Jamie Marsden and Dean Winchester were as different as could be. Jamie was plain, with a simple beauty to her. She dressed in overalls, maxi-dresses, and sweaters. Comfortable to her, but definitely out of style in comparison to every other teenage girl in Beaumont. She was smart, and liked school, and in her own way, funny. She had big dreams for the future, and during one afternoon where she had driven Dean home after his car got a flat tire and he wasn't able to fix it right away, listed off some of her Bucket List items. Lose a fight, get a tattoo, be in two different places at once and witnessing a miracle were on there, among others. When he had asked her what her number one item was, she had simply told him it was a secret and if she told him, she'd have to kill him.

Dean Winchester, on the other hand, was classically handsome with his dark blonde hair and deep green eyes. He was into dressing like a typical bad boy. Jeans, biker boots and his favourite leather jacket. He had a "Devil May Care" attitude about life, only concerned with living in the present and not thinking about the future. He was his own kind of smart, but had no plans to go to College, only to find a job as a mechanic. Number one on his Bucket List? Getting the hell out of Beaumont.

"I don't think getting out is going to be the problem," Jamie had commented. "I think it's figuring out what you're going to do when you get out."

Beneath their outwardly differences, they had more common than they realized. Both had lost their mothers - his to a house fire when he was four years old, and Sam was still just a baby, hers during childbirth - and were able to understand and sympathize the pain the other felt with this particular loss. Even though Dean had gotten four years to know his mother, and Jamie had never been extended that same opportunity, they still understood each other's pain in not having a mother to protect them from life's nasty problems.

Both had others they felt they needed to take care of; For Dean, it was Sam, whom he practically helped raise. For Jamie, her aging father who had already been quite a bit older when he had married and became a father.

Finishing up his fries, Dean paid for their food, waving off Jamie's offer to pay since Dean had gotten the check the last time and slid out of the booth. Heading out to the Impala, Jamie settled herself on the leather bench seat beside Dean, who popped in a Bob Seger tape and hummed along with the music.

Pulling up alongside the curb in front of her house only a short ten minutes later, Dean lowered the volume until it became a quiet humming.

"So, tomorrow night is the night we do our swan song, eh?"

A quiet little smile played across the brunette's face, her green eyes twinkling with amusement. "You really think it's going to be that bad that you'll equate it to death?"

"Uh… yeah, I do."

"You've been doing so well when we've practiced."

"Well, you're one person. Tomorrow night is going to be different. Charlie says the play is sold out. The theatre is going to be packed."

"I think you just need to have some faith, just this once, Dean." Grabbing the straps of her purple tote bag, she shouldered it and opened the door. Turning around as she closed it, Jamie knelt down to peer at Dean through the open window. "But I'll pray for you."


"Dean Winchester! Where you been, man?" Christian chortled, grabbing hold of Dean's hand and pulling him in for a Bro Hug, clapping him on the back.

"Oh, nowhere special," Dean shrugged, taking a step back. He had already decided that it was better for him if he didn't reveal that he had been hanging out with the Minister's daughter instead of them. Even if it had been for a good cause. The teasing and torment that the four would hold over him was more than he wanted to deal with.

"Dude, are we cool?" Christian slung an arm around Dean's neck, squeezing lightly. "We never see you around anymore."

"Life just got busy, man. You know I have to go all Oscar Worthy tomorrow night with the play."

"Oh, yeah." Meg teased, brown eyes gleaming, her lips tilting upwards in a smirk. "We forgot you're becoming quite the George Clooney."

"Speaking of George Clooney," Gordon cut in, waving the five movie tickets in his hand. "We got a movie to catch, so let's go."

Taking his own ticket stub, Dean flashed it to the greeter before pocketing it. He didn't even know what movie they were going to see, only that he had agreed to tag along. It felt like it had been forever since he had his "rag-tag crew" as Principal Jones had referred to Christian, Gordon, Meg and Cassie.

When they had gotten out of the theatre, just a little before midnight, Dean had said his goodbyes and split. Sam was already at home in bed, probably fast asleep too, and with John having made it back into town a few days prior, Dean didn't see any rush to get home. It had been a long while since he had been able to have a late night.

As Dean drove, he tried not to let his thoughts wander. Tonight hadn't seemed to be as much fun as he usually had with his friends. Gordon, Christian and Meg had been up to their usual antics - making smart comments about the cast or movie with a play-by-play commentary, while Cassie regularly shushed them so they wouldn't get kicked out. Dean, who would normally be too busy to snicker or to toss popcorn at the guests who had the guts to threaten to complain to the theatre manager, had simply slunk down into his seat, and tried to focus on whatever was going on in the movie. Which he had really had no idea about. His mind had been too busy on tomorrow's events and he knew he should've been home, rehearsing for the thousandth time that week, but he figured he needed the night out. He figured he deserved it, but he hadn't been able to bring himself to completely enjoy the time spent with the others.

"What the hell?" he mumbled aloud to himself as the headlights of his car caught one Jamie Marsden slinking into the darkened town cemetery. Pulling over to the side and cutting the engine, he got out and called her name.

"Do you normally walk alone in a cemetary at night?"

"Maybe."

"Where you going?"

Jamie flashed the beam of light from her flashlight into Dean's face, making him squint. "Come and see."

Dean pocketed the Impala's keys and hurried to catch up to the brunette. He followed her in silence to a small clearing he guesstimated was only fifteen feet or so from the graveyard's entrance. Still quiet, he watched her unload a few items from her backpack, taking her time to put them together, which Dean recognized as some kind of stand. Settling a long brown tube approximately two feet long into a pair of grooves on the stand, Jamie took a step back and waved her hand over it proudly.

"This is my telescope." She beamed, and Dean could swear it was the first time he had seen her genuinely happy. "I built it when I was twelve."

Dean quirked a brow and looked over the contraption, gingerly running his fingers over the homemade gadget. While he hadn't noticed it at first, there was a smaller tube attached to the longer one, which Dean recognized as the eyehole. The whole contraption, as simple looking as it was, made him think of how much Sam would love something like it, the geek.

Jamie gestured to the telescope with her head. "Go ahead, take a look."

Dean accepted the invitation, bending over to peer through the eyehole, squeezing his left eye shut. Seeing what he thought was a small orange ball, bright in the dark background of the night sky, he hummed. "Is that Saturn?"

"Yup."

"Very cool," he admonished, stepping back after another long moment.

Pocketing his hands, he turned to face Jamie, who stepped closer to the telescope and lovingly ran one hand over it. "I'm planning on building a larger one so I can see the comet Hyakutake." Lifting her eyes to meet his, Dean noticed the green appeared darker in the moonlight, and he felt his stomach tighten. With what, he didn't know. "It comes this spring, but nobody knows when it'll be back."


The next night, Dean found himself on stage, clutching a tumbler in his hand. Sleeves of the blue button up he wore were rolled up to his elbows, and he could feel the grey suspenders clipped to his black dress pants tight against his shoulders. Pursing his lips, he lifted the glass to his lips, swallowing the amber liquid inside. While it was only non carbonated Coca-Cola, mixed with Sprite to give it a lighter appearance, he kind of wished it was real whiskey he was drinking. It'd probably make this whole thing easier to get through, and if he failed (although he felt like he was doing well enough, if he was willing to give himself some credit), at least he wouldn't remember it entirely.

The lights were much too bright, and he felt warm beneath them. The audience was much too quiet, rapt with attention.

"Pour me a drink, Joey." Dean lifted the glass in his hand, waving it in the direction of the makeshift bar they had, and signaling for the student playing Joey to do as asked.

Standing in front of the table where he currently sat, Madison frowned, hands on her hips. Her dark hair had been curled, the right side of her hair clipped back and secured with a faux-diamond hair clip, a couple of yellow feathers attached to match the sequined dress she wore.

"You promised me, Tommy." she claimed, with sadness and frustration lacing her voice. "No more of your no-goodnik schemes. You promised me we'd go to Paris."

Dean waved the tumbler again before resting it on the old wooden table he sat at. "I won't sit on my keister and watch the fat cats get rich."

Standing up, he rubbed a hand against his hair, slick with gel to keep it in place. Crossing the way between them in less than a stride, Dean wrapped his arms around the woman's waist, pulling her in. "Trust me. This is a sure thing."

Madison gave a grunt of disgust and pushed against his shoulders, effectively breaking the hold he had had on her. "That's it, we're through."

Turning on her heel, Madison took two steps away, towards the wings of the stage before turning back to him. "Go ahead and run your booze, you big dope! And I hope you drown in it!"

Before Dean could retort, a hooded figure entered through the fake door onstage, the black cloak shielding her face from view. The figure approached closer to Madison and Dean, lowering her hood.

Dean suddenly found it hard to swallow. Jamie's usually straight hair was curled itself, but left to fall free among her covered shoulders. Her face, while pretty in a plain sense, had been made up to give her colour (much like Dean's had been) under the bright lights. Her green eyes, already rather pretty on their own, had been outlined with thin black eyeliner and mascara to make them pop and seem larger and brighter than normal.

"So you must be the new girl he's hired." Madison greeted, not bothering to hide any disgust her character felt for Dean's Tommy. Thumbing over her shoulder to Dean, she jerked her head. "You want some free advice about this one? Stay far away. He's nothing but trouble in cheap suits."

With another huff, Madison stormed through the fake door on stage, leaving Jamie and Dean alone. Jamie, who hadn't uttered a single word yet, simply stood where she was.

Dean waved a hand over her, inviting her to remove the cloak. Jamie did, sliding it off her shoulders to reveal a blue form-fitting dress. The top tied up behind her neck, leaving her back bare, which Dean could see as she turned away from him to toss her cloak on the bar.

As Jamie turned back to him and crossed the stage in three steps to meet him at the table, Dean let his eyes rove over her form.

The blue silk fabric clung to her form, showcasing every curve he didn't know she had. Fabric gathered at the small of her back, pinned together with a small glittery star broach, helping in showcasing her small waist and hips. The neckline of her dress, a deep V that came to a point in the valley between her breasts, hinted at what lay beneath the material. A small gold cross rested against her collarbone.

She looked so different than she did during school. Jamie Marsden was absolutely beautiful as she stood before him, and while Dean knew that it was just a costume she wore, and that he would most likely never see her dressed so elegantly ever again, he was finding it hard to breathe.

Jamie just offered him one of those smiles of hers, the ones she used whenever they would rehearse and he'd need encouragement.

That kicked his brain into gear, and he remembered what he was supposed to say.

"When you walked out of the rain, and into my club…" He started, re-taking his seat. Waving a hand over the empty one beside him, he invited her to sit. "...that wasn't just coincidence, was it?"

"Nothing's coincidence." Jamie confirmed, her voice light and soothing as she sat before him, elegance and grace with every move.

"Your face… You look so familiar." Dean's voice became husky in thought. "Like this dame I knew once. Only it wasn't real, it was a dream."

Jamie tilted her head in thought and curiosity. "Tell me about this dream girl."

"Well, I don't remember. All I know..." Dean shrugged, looking at his empty glass tumbler and then back up to her, and they locked eyes. "...is you're beautiful."

At this point, he was sure there was another line, something he was supposed to say. But he found it difficult to look away from the girl in front of him. He found it difficult to even think. Jamie looked so different than she normally did, but so beautiful at the same time, and while he knew it was all an act (after all, they were performing the school play), there was just something about her right now at this very moment that he couldn't figure out, but oh damn, did he want to.

Offstage, Charlie Bradbury stood with the student director. Her own red hair had been pulled back into a ponytail so she wouldn't be able to fuss with it while making sure the play ran smoothly.

She bit her lip as she watched the two students interact and when Dean didn't immediately say his line, she grimaced.

"The song!" She hushed out just loud enough for the pair to hear. "The song!"

His teacher's voice cut into the thoughts that plagued Dean's head and he shook his head as he tried focusing.

"The dream girl." He blurted out suddenly. "She sang. Help me remember."

Reaching over, Dean gently took Jamie's hand in his, thumb stroking the soft skin.

"Will you sing for me?"

Jamie, as the Mysterious Night Club Singer, smiled softly in response and soon the melodious, twinkling notes of a piano fluttered from back stage and filled the theatre house.

Jamie's voice accompanied the notes, just as captivating as the notes, and while she sang, Dean found himself unable to look away, that twisting in his stomach returning.

At the climax of the song, Jamie stood facing the audience and sang with such love and power in her voice that Dean could see a few women in the front rows sniffle and wipe their eyes.

He tried to suppress the shiver that threatened to run the length of his spine.

"...I know now you're my only hope,"

Returning to her seat, eyes locked on his, Jamie sat down and hummed the last few notes of the song, silence taking over when the last note faded away.

Dean swallowed thickly and without thinking, leaned over and placed a chaste kiss upon her lips. Jamie closed her eyes as his lips were on hers, and it was only when the kiss ended did the audience burst into cheering and clapping, and the curtains drew closed.


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