Dean Barrett (oddsagainst) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2021-10-19 19:38:00 |
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Entry tags: | #june 2018, dean, dean x jen, jen |
Who: Jen and Dean
When: evening, Thursday, June 21st
Where: car, Dino's
Status: complete
Dean had been pretty worn out the day before, after he arrived and talked to Grady and got settled in. Like all of the stress had caught up to him now that he was somewhere safe, and forced him into bed for a long nap. His sleep schedule was weird anyway, and he’d only been half awake when Jen had arrived home that evening, so they hadn’t gotten much of a chance to talk. It had been damn good to see his favorite -- only -- niece however, and he’d almost thrown his back out by picking her up to spin her around as a greeting.
Thursday was a different story. Dean had slept in until almost noon, then tracked Jen down once he was decent to see if she wanted to get out and do something that day. Hunter not living there anymore was going to give him more opportunity to get some one on one time with his niece, and Dean wanted to take advantage of it. They’d settled on a plan for dinner and a movie at the Orion. They were doing a horror movie fest, and Nightmare On Elm Street was the best one on the list anyway, so it all sounded good.
Dean ran some errands in the afternoon, then came back to the house to shower and get ready to have a little date with Jen. She was just his niece and he was just in jeans and a flannel, but it still felt kind of nice to have a plan for the evening. When he was ready, he went to Jen’s room to tap on the door. “You ready for pizza and Freddy?” he called.
"Nobody's ever ready for Freddy," Jen replied cheerfully as she opened the door and of course she was ready! Hanging out with the coolest uncle ever - the only really cool uncle she had - was not something she was going to miss out on. He wasn't around often enough but he was so much more fun than her dad and seeing him rib her dad was always funny, like it gave her some insight into what he'd been like when he was younger and showed her more sides to him than just dad. "I am ready for pizza though and I'll do my best to prep for the dream menace." She honestly had no idea what she was in for when it came to Nightmare on Elm Street. It was an old classic so she knew plenty about it through cultural osmosis, but she'd never actually watched the whole thing. Her goal this weekend was to go see all the horror movies and not having to play third - or fifth - wheel with her friends was refreshing.
Dean hadn’t been around for a lot of the twins’ childhoods, but he’d tried to pop in here and there when he could. He loved them, he’d just never been great with little kids, besides being able to carry them around on his shoulders and act as a human jungle gym. They were practically grown up now, and in more recent years he’d connected with Hunter over sports, but not much else. Dean had always felt a bit more of a kinship with Jen. She was smart and a little weird, but he liked that. She’d gotten hilarious in her teenage years too, and that was something he definitely appreciated. He flashed her a grin. “Plenty of caffeine then, to keep you awake,” he said, bouncing his eyebrows a bit. Snickering, he turned to head down the stairs.
That made Jen think of that cursed weekend when nobody could sleep and how Freddy wouldn't have been anyone's problem then. Did Dean know about all those weird things? She'd never talked to them about any of them, hadn't really known much of it until she actually moved to town and was not as dependent on her dad for getting around. "In this town, you never know," she said as she joined him in the kitchen and tried to keep it light, even if it was terrifyingly accurate. "Freddy could show up even if you're awake." She widened her eyes in a show of terror, but it came out more amusing than anything since she was still grinning. Not that she really wanted to talk about Point Pleasant, they were going to go see a horror movie and horror that wasn't based in reality was still fun, damn it! "He might come crawling out of the movie screen, what are you gonna do to protect me?" she challenged him, nudging his arm playfully.
Having grown up in Point Pleasant with a cop for a father, Dean was well familiar with how the town could be. He couldn’t say he was super pleased to be back, but the chips were down for him, so he had to come home. Hell, maybe some of the weird shit would even work in his favor for once, fuck with anybody who came after him instead. Dean knew that was probably a pipe dream, and he was already bracing for Point Pleasant fuckery, but if Grady could live here with his kid, Dean could manage not to be a huge pussy either. He could definitely keep it light for Jen’s sake, at least, and he laughed as he slung that arm around her shoulders and escorted her toward the front door. “Shit, it’s been so long since I’ve seen it, I’ve forgotten his weaknesses,” he admitted sheepishly. “We’ll just have to play it by ear and hope it comes back to me.”
"Oh no," Jen said with a giggle. "We're going to die, Dean. That pizza had better be good if it's our final meal." She was positively giddy as she got in the car, it was so rare that she got to hang out with Dean and then hardly ever without Hunter there. It felt more special without him there, he could really cramp her style sometimes - he definitely wouldn't have wanted to go see an old horror movie though so maybe he would have stayed home if he'd been in town. Jen really wanted to ask Dean about his experience growing up in Point Pleasant, but it felt like a subject for a later time and not one for a fun night out so she bit back on the urge. At least he seemed to be staying more than just a couple of days from what she gathered. "So what are you doing in town anyway?" she asked. "Are you gonna move here again?"
“Dino’s is always good,” Dean assured her as they climbed into his car. He definitely wouldn’t want it as a final meal, but he had a feeling they would survive the night. He’d been to plenty of spooky showings at The Orion and nothing bad had ever happened to him there. Dean knew there was a first time for everything, especially in Point Pleasant, but it wasn’t like he could predict that kind of thing, and he wasn’t going to not live life, even here. His brows lifted at Jen’s questions and he hummed a thoughtful sound. She wasn’t a kid anymore, so maybe she deserved to know the truth, but at the same time, Dean didn’t want her to lose all respect for him. “Well ... I’m in a bit of financial trouble,” he admitted, glancing over with a wan smile. That was close enough. “So your dad’s helping me out for a while. I’m not sure about a move yet, but maybe. It’s all kinda ... up in the air, right now.”
Jen was at an age where she was starting to get a slightly better understanding of the workings of adulthood while at the same time feeling like she didn't know a damn thing about it. Financial things were not something she was well versed in but she knew most people were struggling so it didn't really surprise her that her uncle was too. "Well, I'm sure dad already told you that but you can stay as long as you want," she told him though she didn't want anyone to get stuck in Point Pleasant which so often seemed to be the case. People left and came back, she had to admire Hunter's eagerness to stay away because she felt so drawn to this place despite everything bad that had happened here. "Hunter is probably not coming back and if he visits he can take the spare mattress."
Had Grady told him he could stay as long as he wanted? Dean couldn’t remember exactly, but he was inclined to think it was more of a ‘you can stay as long as you absolutely need to’ sort of situation. Maybe that was splitting hairs though, because Dean didn’t really want to stay longer than he needed to. The point was that Jen was approving of him crashing with them, and he appreciated that. The part about Hunter at the end made him laugh, and he flashed a grin over at his niece. “Jen! That’s so cold,” he said, obviously still highly amused by it. “I appreciate that though, I was hoping I wouldn’t cramp your style or anything now that you’re out of school and growing up for some inexplicable reason ... who said you could do that, anyway?” He clucked his tongue. “I turn around for a couple of years and suddenly you’re all mature and shit.”
"Tell that to dad," Jen said with a grin. "He still thinks I'm seven sometimes. Oh hey, if you're still here this winter you won't even get rid of me! I'm going to community college in Bangor and a lot of the work is online." She kind of hoped he would be there that long but that was probably selfish of her, he'd want to sort out his situation and move on probably. It was just that when he left, he tended to stay gone for so long at a time, barely even a holiday uncle and Jen liked having him around.
Dean didn’t have kids of his own and had never wanted them, but he was fairly sure that feeling like your kids would always be kids was a standard part of parenting. It was easier for him to have perspective, and Jen was definitely a young woman now. “Hey, that’s amazing!” Dean said with enthusiasm, glancing over at her with a grin. “Look at you, college girl. Was that your first choice, staying here and doing it remote? Or did Grady talk you into not skipping town like Hunter did?” If he had to guess, Dean thought Grady probably wanted Jen to go far away to college, to get out of the shadow of this town. But it got its claws into people and wouldn’t let go, Dean knew that as well as anybody.
"Nope, dad wants me to leave town," Jen said with a little nose wrinkle. "But I've made some awesome friends here who haven't graduated yet and I like it here, despite everything." Did he know what that everything entailed? No, she wasn't talking about that today. Maybe they could have a heart to heart some night when Grady was working and neither of them went out. Tonight she just wanted to have fun. "Hunter's going to California," she added with a roll of her eyes. "He's gonna turn into such a himbo, oh my God."
There were those ominous words -- ‘despite everything.’ Dean wanted to say that Jen was too young to really know the truth about what was possible in Point Pleasant ... hell, what was possible in the world at large. But he knew better. Even if her father wasn’t the sheriff, she was a smart girl. Dean thought it was pretty inevitable that they would have a conversation about it someday, but now wasn’t the time. Since Jen seemed to be on the same page, Dean laughed at what she said about Hunter. “Okay, I think I know what himbo means, but I really want you to describe it to me,” he said, grinning as he glanced over at Jen. “Forgive me, I’m old now.”
"You're not old!" Jen exclaimed though, yeah, Dean kind of was old. He just never felt old to her, too laid back and cool to be considered some old geezer. "Now that I think about it, he might not fit the bill," she added with a smirk. "Himbos are dumb, built and... Muscles, no brain, heart of gold? Yeah that won't be Hunter. But you know, he'll be a ... surfer dude or something. He'll be insufferable. Did you know- did dad tell you he came out?" Maybe that wasn't hers to tell, she didn't know and god she hoped Grady had told his brother so she wasn't the one outing her twin.
Dean was tempted to ask which of those traits -- built, heart of gold, or dumb -- that Jen thought wouldn’t fit Hunter, but it seemed like a mean thing to ask about his nephew, so he didn’t. He knew it was all in good fun, he was pretty sure that Hunter and Jen didn’t have a bad sibling rivalry or anything, which was good. He hoped they stayed close and remembered how much they needed each other, like Dean needed Grady. His brows lifted at Jen’s question and he glanced over. “Oh yeah, he did,” he answered. “Right after it happened, I think. Pretty close, anyway. I even talked to Hunter about it for a sec, told him I support him no matter what. I just want you both to be happy. ... How did you feel about it?”
"Very unsurprised," Jen said with a shrug. "I think most people don't give a shit about that stuff, but mom's ex was one of those jerks so that was super fun." She rolled her eyes and praised whatever powers be that that particular relationship was over. Her mom might be hurting now but she'd get over it. On some level Jen still hoped her parents would get back together but she knew that was probably very unrealistic. "It's why he came to live here last summer, I just followed because I love this town. Which... probably makes me weird?"
That answer made him a little curious if Jen and Hunter had talked about his orientation before he really Came Out, or if she’d just known through some twinnish sixth sense. He’d occasionally wondered if he and Grady would be closer if they’d been twins ... but would he really want that anyway? The older/younger brother dynamic was annoying sometimes, but maybe it wouldn’t have been much different if they were born at the same time. Grady was always going to be older than him in spirit, if nothing else. “Do you really give a shit about being weird, though?” Dean asked Jen, flashing her a grin. “It makes you interesting. What do you love about it?”
"No, I don't give a shit," Jen replied, a little smug about it and pleased Dean got it. "I love that this town is a creepy little place, even when it's scary. It's so pretty here. I like the people too, I just connect better with them than the people in Portland. I think maybe you have to be a certain way to stay here. Hunter couldn't take it, he hated this place." She understood why, after what he went through, but she wasn't so sure anything could really scare her away. She'd already seen monsters, witnessed a possession and heard more than enough tales to scare her away for life and yet she still loved it.
Dean nodded along slowly as Jen talked. All of those were things he could appreciate about Point Pleasant too, though he didn’t love the scary shit so much. He counted himself lucky to never personally end up on the bad end of the supernatural, but he’d known plenty of people who had, and he didn’t envy them. “You can hate it, but it’s hard to leave,” Dean murmured with a faint chuckle. “Hunter may be back someday. Just like me.” He made a vague sweeping gesture. “I said I’d never do it, and here I am. So I’m glad that you like it. Be here ‘cause you wanna be, that’s a better way to live.”
"I'm glad you're here," Jen said and hoped this town wouldn't make her eat her words by having something awful happen to Dean. It was getting harder and harder to skirt around the topic of the town and its oddities but thankfully they were arriving at Dino's so it was easy not to get stuck on the topic. "He might visit, but I can't imagine he'll want to move back here. He had a boyfriend here and they broke up when he left, super awkward. Especially since his sister is my best friend." Thankfully Sebastian had never been weird with her about all that and if anything she'd taken his side in things. Hunter had left badly and she wasn't so sure it was just because he needed to go back to Portland.
There were always so many things to read between the lines when talking about Point Pleasant, Dean was fairly sure that he and Jen were on the same page. He was sure they would have a discussion someday about how she knew the truth of things -- or how much truth in the first place -- but tonight didn’t seem like the time. It was supposed to be a fun evening of uncle-niece time, and Dean wanted to keep it that way. As he parked the car, he laughed over the rest of what Jen said. “Wait, so your brother’s ex’s sister is your best friend? That’s great high school drama,” he said, grinning. “Fucking small ass town, I was caught in so many weird social circles like that.” Dean opened his door to climb out.
Great high school drama summed it up okay, but these days it didn't even feel like that. There was so much else to worry about and Sebastian had a new boyfriend and seemed pretty happy. "Portland's not much better, honestly," she said. "It's like every high school is its own little small town. Drama everywhere." She'd never been a part of it before though, just watched from the sidelines and rolled her eyes at it all. "It's not that much drama now, it was a little hard when it happened but it's been a while. I'm just glad Hunter didn't stay to make things even more awkward." She sounded flippant and she often spoke badly of her brother, but she still missed him sometimes, even if he was an ass. "Did you have any weird high school drama with dad?" she asked cheekily as they entered Dino's. "You know you have to tell me, if you did. Embarrassing stories, please!"
She was right about every high school being its own little microcosm of society. It had been many years since Dean had been in high school, but he remembered it well. And most people hadn’t grown up much since then, in his experience. He chuckled as he held the door for his niece, shooing her in further before he answered. Once they were in a booth, Dean sucked some air in between his teeth and grimaced a bit. “We definitely didn’t have any weird drama together, your dad had graduated before I even started high school,” he told her. There were six years between the two of them, he wasn’t sure if Jen even knew that. “But I don’t remember hearing about much while he was in school, either. He was pretty popular, everybody liked him. He was a lot of fun back then, more than he is now.” Dean flashed her a grin. “I’ll probably get in trouble for telling you anything, but ... I had these little plastic bug toys? Like spiders and cockroaches, real realistic looking. Grady is scared to death of bugs. So I used to prank him by putting them in unexpected places -- his bed, in the cereal boxes, under the toilet lid, that kinda stuff. He would scream pretty much every time ... then hunt me down and kick my ass.” He laughed.
"Oh no," Jen exclaimed and made a show of hitting him on the arm. "You made it worse! No wonder he never comes to my room. I've been trying so hard to get him to accept little critters. They're cute and harmless and he's so scared of them. I can't even get a spider until I get my own place and it sounds like it's all your fault!" She was laughing as she spoke so the accusation wasn't serious, and yet! Scaring someone into acceptance wasn't a good tactic so Dean had absolutely made Grady's phobia worse. It was still funny to imagine her dad freaking out over tiny toys like that - though it wasn't quite the gossip she'd been hoping for.
Dean laughed with her and shrugged in a ‘what can you do’ sort of way. Grady had been afraid of bugs before he’d even been born, and as an obnoxious pre-teen, rehabilitating his brother’s phobia had not been on Dean’s mind. All of the wrestling and punches as punishment felt like they were worth it at the time. “Sorry, sorry,” he said with fake contrition, lifting his hands in surrender. “He did warn me when I got there to never open your door, so I guess it hasn’t gotten any better in his old age.” Dean chuckled. “But naw, there wasn’t much embarrassing about him ... I remember when mom and dad caught him making out with a girl once at home when he wasn’t supposed to have anybody over, but that’s all I can think of off the top of my head.”
"Well, you're just useless," Jen teased him. "Or maybe dad is just super saintly." She rolled her eyes in a benign way and honestly she hadn't exactly been expecting to hear some super juicy stories from Dean. Her dad had probably done all the things Jen had done, underage drinking and that kind of thing but nothing truly shocking. There was comfort to be had in that, if she was honest. It wasn't like she really wanted to know some strange new side to her dad when she really felt like she knew him well already. Once the waitress had come to take their order, Jen turned her attention to Dean again. "So what are you gonna do here? You got a job lined up?"
It was possible that Grady had gotten up to shenanigans that Dean had been too young to know about. Their parents had been pretty good about not disciplining one kid in front of the other. But he’d never heard about Grady doing anything that made Dean lose any respect for him, so maybe he had been pretty saintly. Dean had always looked up to him as a Good Person, that was for sure. “Eh, I wouldn’t say lined up ...” Fiddling with his wrapped utensils, Dean glanced up at Jen and huffed a little laugh. “I got nothin’. I’m going to be looking though, starting like ... tomorrow. Can’t just bum around your dad’s house too long. He’s probably never mean to you like he is to me.” Dean grinned. “What about you, are you working for the summer?”
"Yup," Jen groaned before doing some finger-gun action at him in a heavily satirical expression of joy. "You can come work with me at the local supermarket." She'd applied at more interesting places than that but the fact remained that she was just barely out of high school with no experience or diplomas and Point Pleasant was a small town. "I'm so keeping my options open for something better. I applied at the library and museum and some cafes and restaurants but so far the only yes I've gotten is the supermarket so I guess I'll be doing that for a while." It was a job, she needed some money, she supposed she couldn't complain too much.
Dean made a sympathetic face. Even though he had many ways of making money that didn’t involve punching a clock -- something that he hated to do -- he knew he had to keep his nose clean here in Point Pleasant, and it would be difficult to fake having a job when his brother and landlord was the sheriff. Grady could check up on him anytime. Maybe that had been part of why Dean had chosen to run here, on some subconscious level. He wasn’t quite introspective enough to figure that out though. “Hopefully something else will pop up,” he told Jen. “And if I get some sweet job that needs an assistant, I’ll rescue you from that cashier life. Too bad there’s not a zoo around here with like, a bug sanctuary or something, right?”
Jen nodded in agreement. "That would be the dream," she agreed. "Handling spiders and snakes all day? Sign me up. I wish dad would cave to nepotism and hire me as a dispatch or something but I think he'd die at the thought alone, you know, me working at the station. Dad is a tiny bit overprotective, I don't know if you've noticed." The last words were heavily sarcastic and she tittered a little but she was glad Grady never went overboard with that tendency. He could have been so much worse. "I'd totally work as your assistant though, that'd be fun."
He chuckled faintly at the bit about Grady being overprotective ... Dean wasn’t sure that was possible in this cursed town, honestly. It was amazing that Grady let Jen out of the house at all, knowing what he knew about Point Pleasant. His brother had always been a logical and pragmatic person, but Dean knew he’d surely had enough experiences to believe what was right in front of his face. “I disapprove of you working at the station too,” Dean admitted, making a little face at her. “I’m sure you can handle yourself, but I think we as a family need to move out of law enforcement. Break the cycle Jen, haven’t you young people learned that all cops are bastards?” He grinned a bit. “With one notable exception, of course.”
"If dad could hear you now," Jen said as she shook her head in feigned disapproval. He was right though, her dad was a good sheriff and most of his deputies were great as far she knew, but it was still hard to reconcile that with what was going on nation wide and she wasn't blind to it. "Don't worry though, I'll never be a cop. I think you have to be able to be a total asshole when the occasion calls for it and that just sounds depressing as shit. Some laws are just meant to be broken too, guess that's not a good motto for a cop."
“That’s my girl,” Dean said with obvious pride, grinning at her. “Stick it to the man at every opportunity, that’s my bad uncle advice.” He didn’t want to get in depth with Jen about how he made his money, but not much of it was legal. Obviously, since he was in trouble over it. But none of that was shit she needed to know. Having Grady’s disapproval was enough. “Though I will say that being a total asshole on the right occasions can save you a lot of bullshit, so ... develop that muscle for when you need it. Like if some little shitstick boy tries to put hands on you when you don’t want them there.” Dean gave her a meaningful look. He was sure Jen could hold her own, but since he was doling out advice, he might as well say it.
"Oh, I can be an asshole if I want to be," Jen said stubbornly. "But having to be one for work, like if someone is breaking minor rules and I don't personally give a shit? Not for me. But I also wouldn't want to be known as that cop who lets everything slide. God I'm glad I don't want to be a cop." She could easily imagine working with the cops though, if she worked in forensics, things that kind of fascinated her. "And it's not bad uncle advice, sticking it to the man is pretty vital sometimes."
“So many times,” Dean agreed, rolling his eyes at the general state of the world. He wasn’t opposed to all law enforcement, obviously, but he tended to be more of an anarchist in his philosophies. It was one of the many big differences between him and his brother. Dean was about to say something else but their pizza arrived just then, and he let out an appreciative “heyyy” as it was placed in front of them. He was starving by now, ready to dig in and then get to their fun and campy movie. “So a more fun topic ... you seeing anybody? Is there some sock-on-the-doorknob system in the house I should be aware of?” he asked once the waitress was gone, flashing Jen a grin.
Jen gave him a highly amused look, cocking her eyebrow skeptically. "Yeah, dad and I have a sock-on-the-doorknob system," she said and couldn't get through the whole sentence without laughing. "Are we going to need one with you in the house?" she added and that was just as laughable because Grady would probably kick him out if he was having wild sex while Jen was living there. Well, maybe not kick him out, but at least give him a stern talking to and frown a lot. Jen didn't really love the idea of Dean bringing home some random stranger either. She didn't want to know anything about her uncle's sex life. He wasn't married, never had been, and had never really brought any serious girlfriends to holiday gatherings so her guess about what kind of girls he hooked up with didn't paint them in the best light. It would just be awkward and maybe she'd be a little bit jealous in a dumb little niece kind of way.
Dean supposed it was inappropriate to talk about sex in any form with his niece, but she was old enough to know what was what. He didn’t like to censor himself for anyone, but he wasn’t really around kids very often. “Because of me? Pfft, hell no,” Dean said, waving a hand. “I’ve got enough problems without piling women on top of it all. Your dad’s the one with the girlfriend, just making sure he didn’t miss telling me anything in my debriefing when I arrived.” Dean had some decorum, and if he did get laid while he was in town, it wouldn’t be in his brother’s house. He’d also been fishing to see if Jen was dating anyone, a question which she had artfully dodged. Dean gave her a lopsided grin. “And you didn’t answer my question. Even if you don’t bring them home, any sweeties in your life?” He was careful not to be specific about genders -- there could be more than one gay kid in the family, for all he knew.
"No sweeties except my friends," Jen said with a little roll of her eyes. "That's all I need right now." She did think of Phee and that kiss they shared but she'd been drunk and horny and that was different - albeit very, very nice. She was just glad it hadn't complicated things because the last thing she wanted was to lose the best friend she'd had since elementary school over something like that. "I'll be sure to let you know if that changes since you're so so curious about it," she added before shoving pizza in her mouth, grinning cheekily at Dean as she chewed.
Dean laughed a bit at the last part as he picked up his own first slice. “Keep me updated, yeah,” he told her, rolling with the cheekiness. “I gotta live vicariously through somebody, you know?” It was more that he thought seeing Jen with somebody would be adorable and it would be nice to see her happy, but he could pretend to be selfish about it. Grady hadn’t wanted to talk about his new relationship either, so maybe being intensely close-mouthed about that kind of thing was genetic. Oh well. Dean started to eat enthusiastically, giving an appreciative grunt as he chewed. It tasted like hot cheese and nostalgia and it was perfect.
"You'll be the first I'll tell," Jen promised him between bites. "I kissed a girl," she then blurted out. "I don't know if that makes me bi or something but it was nice." It was easier for girls, she was well aware of that. So many girls kissed other girls just to turn guys on - at least in theory. It was less stigmatized either way, as long as they ended up with guys, of course. "I think most people are a little bi. Maybe not you though," she added that last bit a little teasingly, cocking a brow curiously.
That revelation surprised Dean, and he almost choked on the swallow of soda he’d been taking. Not that he was opposed to it at all, he just hadn’t expected Jen to reveal anything at all, much less something like that. “Maybe not me?” he asked with a small laugh once his mouth was clear. “What makes you say that?” Dean grinned at her. “I’m proud of you for trying what you wanted to try, though. A lot of people hold back on that kind of thing for way too long. You don’t have to figure out any labels for yourself yet, you got plenty of time to figure out who you’re becoming.” That sounded like good advice, right? It was true, at least in Dean’s experience.
Jen wasn't even sure why she'd told him, she wasn't trying to shock him, it'd take more than a kiss for that, but maybe she was gauging for some reaction. "I'm in no rush to label myself," she said with a shrug. "But you do know that the worst thing you can do to a straight guy is question whether he's straight. You men are so delicate." She gave him another cheeky smile but it was sadly true, even if she presented it as a joke. Such a weird thing to be upset about but homophobia didn't make much sense to her in general.
Dean made a face. He knew all too well where Jen was coming from, but as a grown man who was very comfortable with his sexuality, it sucked to be lumped in with fragile-ego homophobes. “I’m regularly ashamed of my gender,” he told her. “When you’re raised to believe your ego is all you should nurture, it can fuck you up pretty good. Especially when society said for so long that being un-straight made you less of a man.” Dean tsk’d. “Glad we’re learning better now. But no, to answer your indirect question, I am genuinely straight, I’ve experimented enough to know. Wish I’d been as smart as you at seventeen, would’ve saved me a whole lot of trouble.” He chuckled and picked up his pizza again.
Jen laughed and reached over the table to tap his wrist playfully. "This is why you're my favorite uncle," she said without a trace of irony, beaming at him. They'd never talked about this before but she wasn't really surprised to hear how truly open about it he was. It was one thing to be 'okay' with her brother coming out of the closet, being open like this was everything. "And I'm not that smart," she added. "I feel so lost all the time, like I'm supposed to know everything already and I don't even know half of it. Everyone says it gets better when you get older but dad always seems pretty lost to me too, even if he knows a whole lot more than me."
He wasn’t sure if the approval came from his blase attitude about sexuality or the compliment, but Dean would take it. Probably the former, Jen didn’t seem like one to be won over with cheap flattery. He grinned a bit, then grimaced as she went on about Knowing Things. “Being smart isn’t about knowing everything, or not being lost, it’s how well you can figure stuff out in the moment and find your way,” Dean told her sagely. “That’s what we’re all doing here, as humans. Trust me, most adults? They’re lost about a lot of stuff. Some of them way more than you are right now. Believe me, I’ve also experimented a lot with dumbassses, and you’re not one.” He gave her a bright smile before slurping down some soda.
"Why thank you!" Jen chirped and while she sounded flippant about it, it was actually really nice to hear that. Reassuring, especially coming from someone she both looked up to and wasn't her parent. "I was kinda starting to realize adults are clueless too when mom and dad got a divorce. The awkward chats we had about it were painful." She rolled her eyes at the memories and even if they were still a little painful, she could ignore that tonight. "How's your pizza?" she asked before shoving more food in her mouth, ready to not linger on that sad topic.
Dean supposed it was easy to see that adults were only human when their lives fell apart in front of you, so Jen probably had some perspective on that. He didn’t blame her for not wanting to dwell there, though, and he rolled easily with the subject change. “It’s fuckin’ awesome,” Dean answered with a bright grin. “I’ve had some damn good pizza in different places, but I always had a soft spot for Dino’s.” He wasn’t even going to ask how Jen’s was, she seemed to be inhaling it and enjoying herself. “You ready to be scared?” he asked, moving his foot to nudge hers under the table as he made a corny ‘ooooo’ ghostly noise. She would probably think the movie was cheesy as fuck and stupid, but they would have fun together anyway.
"I'm so ready to get scared," Jen said and laughed at his antics as she lightly kicked his foot back. Cheesy horror movie scary was so different from real life scary, it was harmless and it tended to ease some tension, kick something loose so she could laugh and relax afterwards. "Just brace yourself for the classic nails-in-your-arms move," she added in a joke-threat and made a clawing gesture with her hand. He honestly had nothing to be afraid of there, she was more likely to crush her popcorn and even if she did reach for him, her nails were very short and blunt. It didn't matter if the movie was good or not, she wanted to go see all the classics this weekend and spending time with Dean was just the cherry on top.