Dean flies out to New York that night, but, obviously, he doesn't sleep a wink on the plane. He manages to get a little shut eye at his hotel before his alarm wakes him up, and it's time for interview numero dos — or numero uno, going in the order that they're broadcasted. Jody's interview airs that evening. His New York radio interview is live in the afternoon.
The radio DJ — Garth Fitzgerald IV, a dorky little dude whom Dean adores — barely gets the chance to force him into a hug before they're seated across from one another, giant headsets in check and ready for their interview.
"Hey, guys!" Garth says, beaming — and, because no one can see him through the radio, it's obvious that it's a genuine smile. "I'm currently sitting here with one of the biggest pop stars in the country. Sales, streams, critical acclaim; he's got it all. Say 'hello' to Dean Winchester!"
That's the thing about Garth is that there's really no way he should still have this job. No self respecting radio DJ asks their listeners from all across the state to say hello to them or their guests. But he's such a little dork that he's had this job as long as Dean's had his, and no one ever complains.
"Hey, Garth," Dean says. "It's good to see you again."
"I know! I have missed you so much!"
Again, he's a little unorthodox. Dean's learned to just roll with it.
"And I love your new song," he adds, then sings, in that voice that really shouldn't be used for anything music, a piece of the chorus, and Dean has to fight the urge to laugh.
"Thank you so much," Dean says. "You know, I'm really impressed that you seem to have it down already. I should've given the song to you instead."
"Ah, stop," Garth gushes. "Now, tell me about this song."
"Well, it's called 'Going Well' and it's just a happy, upbeat song about life going well," Dean says with a shrug. People like peppy songs as lead singles. His second single will be more down-to-earth.
"Well, I know that," Garth says. "I mean, it is the song I just blessed everyone's ears with."
Dean chuckles. "Well, tell me, Garth, what do you want to know?"
"Where did it come from?" Garth asks. "What was the inspiration behind it?"
So, of course, he defaults back to last night's story.
"Well, I'd just started my last tour," he says, "and it occurred to me just how lucky I was that a whole stadium full of people were there just for me. It really got me thinking about all the things in my life that I take for granted, you know? And how my life may not be perfect, but it's going pretty freaking well. And, so, I wrote a song about it, and here we are."
"That is so cool," Garth whispers. "What type of things did you take for granted that you realized you shouldn't? Obviously, the song talks about fans and friends and fame, but what else?"
Dean opens his mouth to answer that, but Garth seems to have a different idea.
"Oh, and, obviously, there's a whole verse about love," he says. "Can't forget about Jo, amirite?"
"Um..."
Garth cocks his head to the side, confused — and not Jody confused; she's known Dean and Jo's relationship was fake since day one, but no one else outside of their families, very close friends, and teams do. "Did I say something wrong?"
"Oh, no, no, of course not," Dean says. "I, um... Well, I guess it's my bad for running late, 'cause I never got the chance to tell you before the show, but we actually broke up."
Garth gasps so dramatically, Dean almost thinks he's going to pass out. He sounds like a bad actor, except the only one acting here is Dean.
"Oh my god, I am so, so, so sorry," Garth says quickly. "I should've asked or emailed you to see if there was anything you didn't want to talk about —"
"Garth, it's fine," Dean says. "People were gonna find out in a few hours, anyway." With a humorless laugh, he adds, "Just makes me wish I chose a different song to put out today, but can't change that now."
Garth really seems to feel bad, though, which Dean hasn't anticipated when he'd agreed to do this interview. He knew there was a good chance Jo would come up, and that his team would be thrilled if it did, but he hasn't accounted for how Garth would feel about it — not into accidentally bringing up a breakup to the broken up with party, but also announcing it to the whole world.
So it looks like it's time to do damage control.
"But, you know what? That's just life,' Dean says, trying to sound as though he's just trying to sound peppy and is actually still a bit upset, even though he's really not upset and he is trying to sound peppy. That's a sentence that made no sense, just like most of his life, and he's come to accept it. "You know what I think we should do, though, is play some music, and what better way to make you feel better than listening to Halsey?"
Garth seems to know what he's trying to do, because he snaps back into DJ mode — which isn't much different than normal Garth, but at least he doesn't look as guilty anymore.
"That is a phenomenal idea," he says. "What song do you want to play today, DJ Dean?"
All the songs he's allowed to play were pre-chosen — by himself, fortunately, but pre-chosen nonetheless. Fortunately, he was prepared for a situation like this.
"Okay, I know this isn't, like, the hot new song anymore," Dean says, "but with an artist like Halsey, you know damn well that those songs aren't gonna age, so I don't think anyone would complain if we put on Halsey's incredible song 'Graveyard.'"
That gives them the length of the song to talk. They kill the mics and take off their headsets, and Garth is immediately back to his sympathetic self.
"I didn't know you guys broke up!" Garth says. "When was this? What happened? Do you need a hug?"
"A few days ago, long story, no thanks," Dean says simply. He doesn't have to play it up when he's off air, and he's decently sure Garth won't care that his answers are short because in Garth's mind, nothing can stop Dean from needing a hug.
"It's only been a few days?" Garth repeats, sounding even more sympathetic. "Oh, no, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to put salt in a fresh wound."
And then Garth pulls him into a hug, and Dean has no choice but to let him.
"Are you okay?" Garth asks when their hug is finally over. "Is there anything I can do? I don't have ice cream here, which would obviously be the go-to, but —"
"Garth, buddy, it's fine," Dean says. "Yeah, it sucks, but it's been a long time coming."
"What? But you guys always seemed so happy!"
"Well, she found someone new to be happy with," Dean says.
"What? No way," Garth says, enthralled. "Who could she possibly like more than she likes you?"
"It's..." Dean looks around at the few other people in the room, workers to make sure everything goes smoothly, and leans in closer to him. "I want to keep this on the DL until she's ready to admit it, okay?"
"Of course," he says immediately. "My lips are sealed."
Dean makes a show of glancing around again, then leans in even closer, despite knowing that everyone's going to hear it anyway. "Castiel Novak."
Garth gapes at him. "No way."
Dean just nods.
"No flipping way!" he says. "Her costar? She picked her costar —"
"Shh,"
"Right, right, sorry," Garth says, then repeats in a lower voice, "She picked her costar over you?"
"Pretty much."
"I can't believe them," he says. "Guess who's not watching their new movie as a punishment?"
"Honestly, you'd be punishing yourself more than you'd be punishing them," Dean says. "As much as I hate to admit it, it was a cute movie, and one ticket sale or DVD isn't going to make any type of impact on their lives."
"Really?" Garth says hesitantly. "That wouldn't be against the bro code?"
Dean doesn't feel compelled to point out that he only ever sees Garth when he's promoting a lead single or new album, and that the bro code doesn't necessarily apply here.
"No, not really," Dean says. "It's just a movie. Don't let my relationship problems disrupt your cinema time."
"Okay, cool, because I actually kinda wanted to see it, and if you think it's good..."
Look at that clutch. He's promoting his album, low-key milking his breakup, and getting Jo some new viewers. He didn't even know he could do all three.
Maybe this breakup was worth it, after all.