Chapter 26

"What's your favorite color?" Dean asked. "Mine is blue."

"Mine is red or black. To be honest it's a toss-up between the two. J responded to Dean's questions without missing a beat. These run of the mill questions Get-To-Know-You questions were obviously boring the shit out of her.

"Depending on who you are black may or may not count. That has been a topic of discussion in the past with more than one person." J added dryly with a bit of a chuckle.

"What do you mean a 'topic of discussion'? How can black not be a color? How can you discuss that? There isn't much up for debate." Dean looked at J taken again off-guard by the randomness of her added tidbit of information. He looked back out of the windshield as she began to explain.

"Well, if you are an artist of any medium black means the presence of every color. Presumably, if you mix all colors together you would get black. However, I, as a photographer, black is the absence of light. Light is the presence of all colors. See that one Pink Floyd album cover. Prisms that turn light into rainbows, light's different frequencies shown in vivid colors. So, in my theory, black is the absence of color, therefore it is not a color."

As J talked, she gathered her hair over to hang over one shoulder. Dean couldn't help but watch out of the corner of his eye. Even these small movements were utterly fascinating to him. Even such a simple move was riveting. He almost missed what she had said.

"You're a photographer?" Dean blurted out as he now fully looked back at her.

"I thought this was supposed to be a back and forth exchange. You are starting to ask a lot of questions." J smiled out the window as she said it. "Yes, for going on…" she started counting on her fingers for a moment "13 years now. I will assume you are not one, so you do not need to answer that question."

"Show me some of your work. What do you take pictures of?" Dean encouraged. Hoping she would. He wanted to see what kind of art this woman made. It would certainly help tell Dean a little more about her if he could study her interests. And you know what they say about photographs.

"Each one is worth a thousand words." He added. This made her smile.

"I take pictures of people, mostly. Maybe I'll show you some other time. You are kind of driving. It's also hard for me to show my work simply because I have no idea what to share or what's worth sharing. I have over a decade worth of it." She paused. "Tell you what. When we get back to The Roadhouse you ask Jo to show you some of her favorite images of mine. She has all the best ones."

Dean took a mental note. Intrigued beyond reason. He wanted to know what she found interesting enough to photograph. He remembered hearing somewhere that we take pictures of the things we are more afraid to lose. Dean now wondered if J's photography would reflect that particular observation or not.

"Now I get to ask at least two questions because you were a glutton and asked three." J looked out the window for a few minutes, obviously pondering her question.

"Cats or dogs?"

Dean smiled. "Dogs. I've always wanted one. Never had the opportunity growing up. You know how this job is. Commitments tend to not work out."

"I prefer cats. I love dogs. They are always so happy and extroverted. They are goofy and loyal creatures. I love all animals, really. Cats just make me laugh more and jive more with my groove. And I can't stand the smell of dog. I'm kind of sensitive to it." J wrinkled her nose just saying it.

"Ok. Next question." J sat for a moment and pondered her options as she watched the scenery pass by the open window.

Dean was on the edge of his seat waiting to be asked the next question. He was interested where this was going to go. He had questions of his own, of course. Ones he was determined to ask and have answered. They were doing nothing but mounting and adding more to his burning curiosity. This was always a good tactic at the bar when he was picking up chicks. It never failed to at least break the ice.

Not to mention Dean did have a slight ulterior motive for starting this serious of question-asking. It was about time he made good on the things he promised of himself while J had been asleep in the back. It was also about to come back around and bite him in the ass before he had had any chance of getting anything good.

"Will you sing for me?" J asked boldly. There was no hint of trepidation in her voice or in her eyes. Dean looked over at her to judge exactly how serious she was being when he saw that she was back to looking at him rather than out the window. Green and brown orbs alight with the delight of his expression.

"Only if you sing with me." Dean responded without thinking. Once again entirely distracted by those incredible eyes.

He immediately began kicking himself. He NEVER sang in front of people; Sam didn't count. The only singing he did was in the car and maybe in the shower. But never loud enough to actually be heard. Any karaoke he did was when he was wasted and he never remembered any of the times Sam swore he got up on the mic and sang. He just hoped he had never been booed off the stage.

"That can be arranged." J said as she grabbed her bag and opened it. As she looked through it a thought occurred to Dean, and suddenly he was a bit more hopeful. He smiled to himself.

"I only have a cassette tape player, J. Any true classic car owner will never touch anything original. Including not modifying the original radio, meaning no auxiliary." Dean said with a knowingly smug tone in his voice.

J just turned to him and smiled, she had something in her hand that couldn't really see. Dean couldn't help but break eye contact with the road to smile back.

"Oh, I figured as much. You and this car are almost as famous as you and your brother. I have a cassette adapter. Don't worry." J's smile grew wider as Dean's smile grew smaller. She knew he had just used his only Get Out of Jail Free card. His swift thinking didn't get him anywhere. He had to hand it to her, though. She was prepared.

J took a cassette tape with a cord coming out of it out of her bag. She stuck it into the Impala's cassette player and set the radio before grabbing her phone and plugging the chord into her auxiliary outlet.

"Now let's see if this thing still works. I haven't used it since I needed it for my old car. I am still not entirely sure these things work on these classic systems." J scrolled through her phone, Dean felt a single ray of hope, for a moment before she settled on a song and pressed play.

The first few chords of Swine by Lady Gaga started to play through the cab's speakers and Dean's heart and facial expression fell.

"I bet you remember this song! Don't look so shook, Winchester. Learn how to take a joke." J said as she looked up from her phone after pausing it. She leveled another Look at Dean. She teased him with her words and her eyes.

He felt himself grow hot under the collar under her intense gaze. She giggled and Dean looked back at the highway, determined to not break eye-contact with it this time. It was starting to get dangerous in more ways than one. And he still had his questions to ask.

"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny." Dean said as sarcastically as he could. He hoped that by laying it on thick she wouldn't catch the fact that he now felt like his stomach had fallen out of his ass and had been left back on the highway.

Straight ahead. Whatever you do, do not look over.

"Not sorry. I had to. It popped up in my recently played. At least we know it works!" The look of exaggerated excitement on her face made Dean giggle. The feeling of embarrassment subsiding substantially with the goofy look on J's face.

It was obvious she was trying to help him relax a bit more. The thought and feelings alone had Dean burning pink in the face for another reason. One he was not expecting. He did not have much time to think more of it before J interrupted him.

"Do you want to pick something more rock-like what's on the radio? Or maybe something more old school? What about country? Throw me a bone as to what I should pick. I've only just heard you sing once." J asked as she continued to scroll through her phone, considering other options.

***Author's Note: Please listen to Broken ft. Amy Lee by Seether before continuing with this chapter***

J stopped and looked at her phone for a movement before continuing, "Do you know the song Broken by Seether?"

"Actually, yeah. I do know that song. But it's not a duet. Are you just going to sing with me? How is that going to work?" Dean answered, a quizzical look on his face. He had to remember to keep his focus on the road in front of them.

She looked up from her phone with another dazzling smile on her face. Even from his peripheral vision is took his proverbial breath away. Dean did not think it was humanly possible for anyone to be this naturally attractive.

"I will assume you have never heard the version with Amy Lee?" J countered, those beautiful eyes shining brightly again. It seemed she had not noticed Dean's thoughts trailing away,

Dean felt a lump form in his throat. No, he had not heard the version with Amy Lee. Wasn't she that chick from that band? Evanesce or something?

He was about to find out. J pressed play as he tried to swallow around the obstruction that had formed in his throat. He was about to embarrass himself. He could feel it.

"Just sing it as you know it. Look for my hand signals. I'll do the rest." J encouraged as the first notes of the guitar sounded through the cab. Dean broke his eye contact and looked over at her with a torn expression on his face. He heaved a sigh and started with the song.

"I wanted you to know I love the way you laugh. I want to hold you high and steal your pain away. I keep your photograph, and I know it serves me well. I want to hold you high and steal your pain."

With each word Dean grew more confident in his voice, the lump disappearing. Now he looked back out the front window. Concentrating on just finishing the song. He snuck a peek over at J who took a deep breath and continued in with him through the next part of the song. Her voice an octave higher than his, their voices ringing with the harmony.

Dean had to tear his eyes away from her to make sure he didn't wreck. When had he looked away from the road? He was so distracted by what was happening he had almost forgotten they were going 75mph in the middle of nowhere.

Staring out the windshield once again, Dean was resolute on finishing the song and keeping his eye on the road, straight ahead. And most importantly off of the woman next to him. The magnetism he felt, not just in his eyes, could not just be one-sided.

"'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome. And I don't feel right, when you've gone away."

She stopped singing as he continued, "You've gone away. You don't feel me here anymore."

The loss of her voice drew Dean's attention again. At his last word she put her finger to her lips, signaling for him to stop. She carried on the song by herself now.

"The worst is over now and we can breathe again. I want to hold you high and steal my pain away. There's so much left to learn, and no one left to fight! I want to hold you high and steal your pain."

This was definitely not the song Dean was used to. How had he not heard this version before? J sounded like an angel. Even considering she had been asleep not too long before this, she was able to keep up effortlessly. As her line drew to a close, she motioned to both of them.

Dean started singing again. Their voices harmonizing, almost ringing together.

"'Cause I'm broken when I'm open. And I don't feel like I am strong enough. 'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome. And I don't feel right when you're gone away."

There was an instrumental interlude where they just look at each other.

Dean looked back at the road as they both continued, "'Cause I'm broken when I'm open. And I don't feel like I am strong enough. 'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome. And I don't feel right when you're gone away."

Dean couldn't help it. He was compelled. He tore his eyes away from the road again during the final instrumental of the song, catching green and brown eyes with his. With that, the final chorus of the song began and they both continued.

Dean had to look away, but he could feel J's eyes on him as she sang.

"'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome. And I don't feel right when you're gone away. You've gone away. You don't feel me here anymore."

The chords of the song faded into the background. Dean couldn't look at J now even though he could still feel her eyes on him. She didn't say anything for a long moment.

Then she whistled and said "and you said you can't sing or that you're not that bad. I officially call bullshit. And that counts as me singing for you!" J said with another smile.