Secrets and Camera Flashes

Chapter 11

"They like it!" she says, beaming. "They really like it!"

"Of course they like it," he says. "I told you, it was fantastic. They'd have to be an idiot to hate it."

"I wanna see the reviews!" She lets him go and folds her legs on the bed, taking Dean's phone from his hands. She tries to scroll, but it just exits the screenshot. "Wait, your dad sent you that?"

Dean shrugs. "He's just having a proud father moment with the daughter he never had."

Jo shakes her head. "Of course he is." She exits Messages and opens Ecosia instead. She forced him to download it a while ago, when she found out that they use all the profits to plant trees, and it just kind of stuck. She searches her movie's metacritic page, opening it up anxiously.

And the score drops.

"Wait, what happened?" she asks. "89? It was just at 96!"

"Looks like there's a fifth review," Dean says with a frown. Fuck whoever made the new review. 89% isn't bad, but after 96%, it doesn't seem as impressive. Fortunately, every review is in the green, so it seems that no one hated it. "Well, come on, let's see what they say."

Jo reads the highest review, with a full 99%, aloud. "The Wall Street Journal says, 'This is just the movie everyone was waiting for. Jo Harvelle takes a step away from her traditional high school prom queen role for a more mature tale of adult life.'"

"Aw, isn't that sweet," Dean says, patting her on the head. "You're such a realistic adult. I'm so proud."

"It's not my fault they never cast young adults as young adults," she says with a frown.

"I'm just messing with you," he says. "They love you. Look, you're the first part of the review. You took the script they gave you and you killed it. I bet you'll get seven million more adult roles now."

Jo smiles at him. "Oh, I hope so. I'm getting really sick of pretending to be 16."

"You've only been doing it for seven years," Dean says teasingly.

"Okay, next up," Jo says, turning her attention back to the phone."

"What, you're not gonna read the whole review?" Dean asks.

"Maybe later," she says. "I just wanna see the excerpts first." She scrolls down a little. "Entertainment said, 'A lovely romance that has you screaming at the screen more often than not.'"

"Funny, I didn't hear any screaming last night," Dean says. "Liars."

"What, so I don't deserve the 96?" Jo asks.

"No, not at all," Dean says. "You deserved 100%. They just lied to you."

Jo shakes her head, amused. "Okay, the New York Times gave it a 95. 'The chemistry between Harvelle and Novak is unmatched.'" She nods thoughtfully. "I like that. I'm not even gonna look at that review. I just want it to end on that.

"Chicago Times gave it a 93. "'A bright, upbeat story about a lovestruck boy and a busy girl just trying to make it in the big city.'"

Dean shrugs. "Well, they're certainly not wrong."

"I don't think it's really upbeat," Jo protests. "It's sad and depressing and you're supposed to feel bad for them."

"But it ends really peppy and upbeat," Dean reminds her. "You know, once you're done screaming at the screen."

Jo laughs. "Yeah, the two reviews don't really go well together." She scrolls to the final review, and her face falls. "Time gave it a 61?"

"Clearly, we were watching very different movies," Dean says. "That's a fucking, what, D-minus? That was not a D-minus movie by any means."

Jo doesn't read the description, instead opening the full article immediately. She begins reading from the top. "'This is perhaps the greatest disappointment in cinema since the Percy Jackson film.

"'Amy (Jo Harvelle) struggles to find her place in a world that she already fits in with. She has a good job, a whole group of best friends, and all the boys are ready to ask for her hand.

"'Enter Matt (Castiel Novak), the popular guy who has a grand total of zero personality. Perhaps a few script modifications could have fixed him up, but Novak gave it his all anyway, which only made it worse.

"'Amy and Matt's relationship is full of forced sexual tension, leaving no doubt that they'll find their way together through all the drama.

"'Overall, this was just embarrassing to watch. There was no suspense, barely any plot, and comes off like a 17-year-old writing fan fiction. Even the best of actors couldn't save it, and that's far from that we got here. It's the equivalent of bubble gum — fun for a little while, but overall, there's no real substance, and you wouldn't give it a second thought once it's over.'"

Jo drops the phone on the bed, but her gaze doesn't leave her hands. She doesn't speak, but she doesn't have to. Her expression says more than words ever could.

"Fuck that," Dean says. "That's just Judy Berman's opinion. Who the fuck cares what Judy Berman thinks?"

"But she hated it," Jo says quietly. "She literally hated it. I mean, I didn't think it was the best movie of all time, but I thought it was at least..."

"It was fantastic," Dean assures her. "I swear. I'd tell you if you sucked, and you didn't. Everyone else that watched it agrees. You can't stop dumbasses like that from hating good material, but you can go out with your head held high and remember the four people who gave you scores in the 90s."

"I guess," she says quietly.

"Besides, it's still in the green," Dean reminds her. "Even dumb-as-fuck Judy Berman from Time said it deserved a green review." He says the name in an overly-proper British accent, and though he sounds like an idiot, he gets a smile from her, so it's worth it. "Numbers don't lie, Jo. The people love you. Even the ones that say they don't love you do."

Jo rests her head in Dean's shoulder. "What am I going to do when you're not around to cheer me up every time something bad happens?"

"Castiel better be able to cheer you up, or I'll fight him and win you back," Dean says. "No sad Jos allowed."

She laughs quietly. "Oh, Dean. My knight in rusted armor."