Fifteen – Taylor Swift

'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
When you're fifteen and your first kiss
Makes your head spin 'round
But in your life you'll do things greater than
Dating the boy on the football team
But I didn't know it at fifteen

Prologue

6 years ago…

"Ready or not here I come!"

Jo Harvelle tore her hands away from her eyes and spun around. The Kansas woods shimmered with an eerie silence that would frighten anyone who didn't live there but she sensed her friends nearby. Without hesitation she ran through the woods, her feet crushing the grass and sticks as she did. Her ears caught the tail end of a giggle.

She headed toward the sound but when she got to Sam's usual hiding spot it was empty. She heard Gabriel's giggle in the distance and turned to follow when she heard a voice.

"A little old for hide and seek, aren't you?"

Jo turned and glared at her best friend's older brother, Dean Winchester. "It's fun," she dismissed him with a haughty sniff. They used to be close…when her mom started dating his dad, John. They had spent days and evenings together and she'd become practically like a sister to the boys. That is until the dayDean woke up and decided she wasn't worth his time. He never talked to her, or snuck into the bar for the chocolate chip homework sessions in the afternoons. He never told her raunchy jokes any longer. Seems only the older, silly, busty girls snagged his attention now. Who cared? She refused to follow him around like a little kid. Let Sam do that..he was his brother. "Not that you would understand fun anymore. What are you doing out here anyway?"

He got up from the ground and walked toward her with that easy confident glide. He stood on long muscled legs. His hair was longer than its usual neat style because it was summer and the sun had made parts of it lighter, an intriguing mix of colors from brown to gold. Like her Chex cereal, Jo thought. His face was all lean, angular curves, set off by a perfect set of lips that have always intrigued her. His clear green eyes gleamed with intelligence and a perpetual hint of pain. Jo knew what that felt like. That was one quality she had once thought bonded them as friends. Dean was a cool kid who kept to himself and had two friends, his younger brother Sam and his very polar opposite, Castiel. She always wondered how Sam had turned out so different.

"You should be careful in the woods. You could get lost."

"I know my way around better than you."

He gave her a dismissive grin. "Probably do. You should have been a boy."

Her temper spiked. She clenched her fists at her sides and tossed her ponytail. "And you should have been a girl…that way you could date Castiel without everyone making fun of you two like they normally do."

Direct hit. Now he looked annoyed. "You should learn to act like a real girl."

Jo's eyebrows pulled together in a frown. "How so?"

"Make-up. Looking pretty. Kissing boys."

She'd never spend her precious earned pennies on lip gloss. She saved her money for the things that she really wanted. She'd just bought a beautiful bowie knife. Joe made a gagging sound. "Gross."

"Bet you've never kissed anyone before."

She heard the taunting tone in his voice. At 15, most of her girlfriends had already had their first kisses but the thought always made her stomach turn. She'd rather die than admit that to Dean. "Yes I have."

"Who?"

"None of your business," she bristled uncomfortably, trying to make her escape. "I'm outta here."

"I dare you."

Jo's sneaker stopped mid-flight. "Dare me to what?" She could never resist a challenge.

"Show me you can kiss," Dean gave her a half grin.

Her stomach did a somersault and her heartbeat thundered, even her palms sweat. She made a face. "With you?"

He laughed confidently "I knew it."

Jo stuck her tongue out at him. "Why would I want to kiss you? I hate you."

"Sure you do," he continued "okay, forget it. I just wanted to see if you were a real girl . Now I know you're not."

His words sliced through her as he walked away.

Before she could control her voice, she yelled "Wait!"

He stood with his back to her for a few moments, as if considering her plea. Slowly he turned around. "What?"

She forced herself to close the distance and stopped in front of him. Her legs shook. Her body felt funny. Almost like she was going to throw up. "I know how to kiss. And…and I'll…I'll show you."

"Fine. Go ahead." He cocked his hip in an arrogant stance like he did this every day and was already getting bored.

Drawing on her knowledge from the movies, she leaned forward. I will not screw this up. Relax my lips. Deep breath. Angle my head more to the side so we don't bump nose. God, what if I hit his chin and make him bleed? No Joana Beth Harvelle, do not think that. Kissing is a piece of cake.

No big deal. No big deal. No big deal…..

His breath was light and warm as it rushed over her lips. She tilted her head upward and paused.

Then his lips touched hers.

An array of sensations passed over her all at once. The touch of his fingers on her shoulders. The gentle pressure of his mouth. The earthy scent of the woods mixed with Dean's natural scent.

In those moments, he'd given her a rare gift. Her heart burst open and a strange feeling ran through her veins. Her first real kiss. How long had she dreaded and feared the experience, horribly afraid she'd be bad at it. That's why she pretended to hate anything about boys.

He pulled away slowly and her eyes drifted open. Their gazes met and locked. Her emotions poured through her in roaring, choppy waves. She held her breath and waited.

An odd expression crossed his face. He studied her as if he'd never seen her before. For one glorious moment, she saw something behind those clear green eyes-a shred of vulnerability that he never shared..at least not with her. But when she blinked, it was gone and if she didn't know any better, she would have thought she imagined it. His lips curved into a smile.

She smiled back. She felt safe. She knew he wouldn't make fun of her or ignore her any longer. Things changed. What she denied and protested for so long suddenly popped out of her mouth without thought or consequence.

"I love you."

At that moment, she didn't question his response, confident that he'd felt the same sparks she did when they kissed. She waited for him to agree, waited for their entire relationship to finally change after that one perfect kiss.

But instead he laughed softly.

She blinked, not understanding his reaction.

"You're too young to know what love is," he said in a calm tone. "You're still a child." He shook his head in mocking way, as if the thought would keep him amused for days on end. For laughs with Sam and Castiel, maybe even Michael and Balthazar. And his real girlfriends.

Jo stood there in the woods, only able to watch stunned, for once not able to make a smart mouth comeback.

"I gotta go. See ya kid."

As he walked away a giggle rose through the air. With slow horror, she turned and caught sight of Bela Talbot waiting for Dean to join her. Big mouth Bela…now everyone would know.

In that moment, she made the decisions to never let Dean or any other boy humiliate her again. That had to be the only reason he'd pushed her that way.

She turned and ran, hide and go seek forgotten, and wondered what the ache in her chest was.

Of course she was still too young to pinpoint the actual cause.

Years later, she'd finally understand.

Her heart had been broken.