Dissonance - Part 6
May. 24th, 2009 10:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
surevestaTitle: Dissonance - 6
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
surevesta
Rating: PG-16
Fandom: CW RPS
Word Count: 6,241 (this part)
Pairing: J2
Main Characters: Jensen, Jared, Danneel, Sandy, Kripke, Chad, Mike, Chris, Sophia, Hayden, Adair, Rainbow, Allie
Other Characters: Samantha Ferris, Samantha Smith, Tom and Jaime, Aaron, Shawn, Kristin K., Kristin B., Alexis, JDM, and an assortment of other RPS regulars and CW actors/actresses.
Betas:anyothergirl415
Disclaimer: The story and plot is mine, the characters are based off of real people and belong to themselves. The places are also based off of real places. I know almost nothing of the foster care system.
Summary: The world of High School through the eyes of violist Jensen Ackles. Life is just notes on a page, waiting to be read and interpreted.
Master Post
*****
It was 11:36 am, just over nine hours since Jensen had last seen Jared. He was chewing on his bottom lip, worrying it between minty fresh teeth. It had only been an hour since he'd woken up. Jensen had spent most of the night awake, unable to drift off till the tell tale sings of sunrise peaked through the window blinds. Even now he was still processing everything that occurred the night before.
His fingers felt clammy where the were clenched around the hard plastic phone. In the palm of his other hand was the note Jared had given him, slightly crumpled from half an hour of indecision. Jensen was sitting on the tacky flower patterned love seat kitty corner to the TV in the living room. The thumb of his right hand was posed over the third digit of Jared's phone number. He slipped it up to cancel the call.
Sighing, Jensen stared down at the old wireless phone that belonged to the land line. It looked like it was almost a decade old- from whenever they first started making them. He had already dialed the first three digits of Jared's number four times... and six whole digits half a dozen more. Each time he ended up canceling the call before the seventh digit was even entered.
It wasn't that Jensen didn't want to call Jared, he was just nervous and scared. He knew that there wasn't any real reason for either, but still. The fact that Jared liked him like that was difficult for him to comprehend. It was just so amazing and mind boggling and it felt like a dream. Obviously it wasn't a dream; though, the note was proof of that.
Jensen closed his eyes, forehead dropping to tap against the rubbery plastic of the phones antenna. It was cool and he ran it across his forehead a couple times before pulling back, eyes opening to stare at the faded buttons. Double checking the number, he steeled himself before taping the buttons. Seven numbers, each button letting out a short 'beep' that broke through the dial tone when pressed. After the last number went through there was a pause, only a few seconds of dead air, and then a ring tone.
Pressing his lips firmly together, Jensen lifted the phone and set it against his ear. There was a slight static sound just before each ring. Across the room from him was the stair case. His eyes traced the wooden railing up and down, following the curve of the molding where it spiraled a bit at the end before sliding back up to where it disappeared above the ceiling.
He counted three rings before Jared picked up, “Hello?” The voice, Jared's voice, was almost hesitant, hopeful. Jensen's fingers clenched a bit around the phone as Jared spoke again, “Hello?”
“Hey,” His voice was quiet, a soft breath. “It's me. Jensen, it's Jensen.” Dropping his head, chin to collar bone, he clenched his eyes tightly together.
“Hey Jensen,” Even through the slight static on the line, Jensen could hear the smile appear on Jared's face. His own lips were pulling up into a slightly lopsided smile. Chin lifting a bit, he opened his eyes and stared at the area rug. It needed vacuuming, there was a trail of small dirt clumps down the center probably from Rain running through the room while still wearing his cleats.
The line was silent for a moment, it wasn't awkward per se, just silence. Jensen spread the slightly crumpled piece of paper over his knee, smoothing it down. “I, so, you want to... maybe do something?” He cringed, jaw clenching and fingers tensing around the phone.
“I'd love to, how about we get together later this afternoon? I could pick you up around, say, four thirty and we can snag something to eat and hang out. Just the two of us.”
“Yeah, okay. That sounds great,” He felt his body relax, muscles loosening and lips stretching into a soft smile. “Did you, uh, want to work on the assignment?”
“Nah, let's just hang out,” There was a very short pause before Jared continued, “Like last night?”
His eyes widened and he sucked in a breath, “Yeah? Sounds... sounds good.”
“Great. So I'll see you around four thirty then?”
“Yeah, I'll watch for you, for your car,” Dipping his head down Jensen let out a soft sigh. “I'll keep an eye out for your car.”
“It's a date,” There was a touch of amusement clearly audible in Jared's voice and Jensen felt his cheeks warm with embarrassment. “I'll see you then.”
“Yeah,” Jensen said just before there was a click and complete silence on the line. He hit the 'end' button before the dial tone could start. The phone hit the inside of his leg, just below his knee, as his hand dropped down. A date. He had never been on a date before and now his mind was trying to process just what that meant. How was he supposed to act? What was he supposed to say, do? The paper covering his knee fluttered to the ground as his free hand rubbed over his face and eyes. What was he supposed to wear?
Lunch was rather difficult for him. Jensen was nervous to the point where he almost felt nauseous. It was an odd sensation because he was hungry, he hadn't eaten breakfast since he got up so late. He ended up making himself a sandwich and snagging some potato chips to go along with it. Jensen practically nibbled on it, taking almost an hour to clear his plate.
By the time three o'clock had rolled around, Jensen had finished all of his homework, done the dishes, and taken a shower. He was the only one in the house, other than David, due to Margaret and Hayden dragging Adair and Rain with them to a 'Work Day' at the church they attended most Sundays. A good portion of the congregation tended to get together at least one Saturday a month to tidy the grounds and perform tasks that the Janitor couldn't do alone. Jensen usually went with, although it wasn't often that he actually attended Church, but they took off before he got up this morning. After staying up all night he hadn't even heard Rain get up once he had fallen asleep.
Half an hour later Jensen was staring at the open drawers of his dresser, hunched over and leaning his forearms against the top, head in his hands.
“Are you going on a date or something?”
He started, elbow banging against the hard wood surface as he turned around. Hissing, Jensen grasped it with his other hand, rubbing at it as a prickly tingling sensation ran through it. Hayden was standing in the doorway, clothes only slightly less than perfect, hair pulled back into a pony tail and a half empty water bottle in hand. Rain was standing next to her, biting his lip to contain his amusement.
“Uh,” Jensen dropped his hands to his side, slipping the right into his pocket. He winced as his elbow brushed the front of the dresser.
“Oh god, you are,” Hayden's mouth fell open slightly before twisting into a grin. “You're going on a date!”
“Yeah,” He shrugged and dropped his gaze to his bare feet. Curling his toes in, he shifted slightly. “So?”
She studied him for a moment as Rain slipped into the room and maneuvered around Jensen to grab a change of clothes from his own drawers. After a moment her nose crinkled, “You're wearing that?”
Jensen glanced up at her for a moment before staring down at his current ensemble. He sighed, motioning towards the open drawers, “Wasn't planning to?”
“But you have no idea what to wear, do you?”
“Not really...” He watched her warily as she entered the room. Normally the girls didn't come into their room and they didn't go into the girls'. She walked straight up to him and motioned for him to move out of her way. He did so without thinking about it. As she shifted through his drawers, nose wrinkled and eyebrows drawn in a look of concentration, Jensen couldn't help but wonder if it was a good idea to let a twelve year old girl choose his outfit.
In the end she actually made a pretty good choice. The ensemble wasn't something that he wouldn't normally wear, it was just more 'put together', as Hayden put it. The jeans were a dark, navy blue with barely any wear to the cuffs. He was wearing a spotless long sleeved white shirt with a short sleeved thin, brown, blue, and white patterned plaid over shirt. When she came back into the room to inspect him, after he finished changing, she wrinkled her nose and made him put on the necklace she'd made him to complete the look.
“You really need new glasses, Jensen.”
He sighed and turned to the mirror, slipping his hands into his pockets, “I know. Thanks for helping me with this.”
“No problem,” Hayden grinned at him, eyebrow raising in question. “Who is she? Or should I say... he?”
Turning away from her prying eyes, Jensen shifted through a drawer till he found a pair of white socks. “Why do you think it's a guy?” The inside of his left cheek was caught between his back molars, lips pressed tightly together as he dropped onto his bed to put his shoes and socks on.
“Come on Jensen,” She rolled her eyes, one hand on her hip as her stance shifted. “I'm not stupid and I'm not homophobic either. I really don't give a shi- care who you date. No one does.”
Pulling his work shoes out from under the bed, he slipped them onto his feet, “Some people would.” At her pointed look he sighed, “Yes it's a guy. It's Jared-”
“The quarterback Jared? Padalecki Jared?” Hayden giggled and sat down next to him. The nails of her right hand caught the light. They were covered in a pink tinted clear nail polish.
“Yeah?”
Rolling her eyes she punched him lightly on the shoulder, “I know. It was kind of obvious.” Hayden tilted her head as he raised an eyebrow, “He was trying way too hard to make a good impression at dinner. Plus, he totally looked at you.”
Frowning, Jensen dropped his gaze to his feet as he tied the laces, “What?”
“He watched you practically the entire meal. And the way he watched, it was like you were the greatest thing since sliced bread or something,” There was a smile on her face when he glanced up at her. “I really don't think you have any reason to be nervous. You'll be fine.”
He returned the smile and sat back with a shrug, “You think so?”
“Yep! What time's he coming to pick you up?”
“You make it sound like I'm a girl or something...” Jensen grimaced, taking in the amusement in her eyes.
“Nah, it's just logical since he has a car and you don't,” Hayden patted his forearm gently. “I know you're not a girl and I'm pretty sure he does too.”
Fidgeting, he ran his hands over his knees and stared down at them. She giggled lightly before leaning in and pecking his cheek. Jensen wrinkled his nose, lifting a hand to rub at it. Hayden had apparently found time while working to keep a layer of lip gloss on her lips, “Hey!” He glared as she darted to the door. “You better take a shower- you stink!”
“And you're rude!” She shot back before disappearing across the hall.
*****
By four thirty Jensen was doing his best not to be anxious and nervous and failing horribly at it. He was leaning against the molding surrounding the large picture window behind the television. The fingers of his left hand were wrapped around the maroon and pink flower patterned curtains, holding them away from the window. Behind him on the couch Hayden was curled up, munching on some chips with a book in her lap. It was some book she borrowed from the church, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. He wondered if she just borrowed it because she liked the Chronicles of Narnia. It didn't look like a book a kid her age would usually read.
“You know, a watched pot never boils,” Hayden pointed out from around a mouthful of chips.
Jensen rolled his eyes and looked over his shoulder, “You're going to get grease on that book.” She stuck a finger in her mouth and raised an eyebrow. He turned his attention back to the street in time to see a green Mazda, Jared's car, roll to a stop in front of the walk.
“Your boyfriend here?”
Jensen ducked his head as his cheeks flushed a bit, “I'll be back later Hayden.” He hurried to the door, pulling it open forcefully. The panes of glass rattled a bit inside their frames. “Gonna eat out, so don't wait for me.”
He almost missed her reply, a snorted 'duh', as he pulled the door shut behind him. Pressing his lips together nervously, Jensen glanced up as he made his way to the curb. Jared was watching him, a smile on his face, from the other side of the car. The quarterback was standing in the open door, one hand on the hood the other on the door frame, ready to climb back in.
“Hey Jared,” Jensen felt a smile tug at his lips. Coming to a stop a foot from the car, he paused and shoved his hands into his pockets. He shifted nervously, green eyes dropping to the ground before darting back up to meet hazel ones.
“Jensen,” Jared nodded. Clearing his throat he motioned towards Jensen with his right hand. “Ready to go?”
“Yeah, uh, yeah I am,” he stepped forward as Jared dropped back down into the drivers seat and pulled the door shut. Sliding his fingers under the handle, he pulled the door open and climbed in. There was a couple minutes worth of silence as they buckled up and Jared pulled out onto the road, heading towards the busier streets.
Jensen bit his lip and stared down at his hands, rubbing them over his jeans for a moment before forcing them still. Glancing over at Jared, he cleared his throat, “So, uh, where... where are we going?”
“Well,” Jared grinned over at him for a moment flipped his turn signal on. “I was thinking we could get some Cheeseburgers and shakes or something from Ice-Burg? Go eat it somewhere quiet and then maybe...” As he pulled up to a stop sign he looked over, “I thought we could catch a movie. Sound good?”
It did sound good, the Ice-burg had the best cheeseburger's in town. “Yeah,” He nodded and Jared turned his attention back to the road, pulling away from the stop sign and turning right. “That sounds great.”
“Awesome.”
The small burger joint was busy, as usual. Every car mic was already taken and there were people milling around near the counter. Most of the people were in their thirties or forties, a few college students mixed in. The only person Jensen recognized was one of the cooks, Traci from his calculus class. She was busy in the back of the small building with the burgers.
They parked along a red wooden fence that afforded the fifties-esque restaurant privacy from the business next door. It was an old family run drive-in that had survived surprisingly well over the years. The owners kept it in good shape and, from what Jensen had heard, the menu had changed little over the years. Apparently they had originally served their hot dogs cut in half on hamburger buns, go figure. Jensen hadn't eaten there much, a couple times a year since he moved in with the Orchards, but he loved it all the same.
They ordered two cheeseburger deluxes, both with onion and tomato, two pepsi's and extra fry sauce. The deluxes came with a small order of fries each, warm and crisp just the way Jensen liked them. Jared paid for the meal, insisting that Jensen could pay for the movie (but not the concession snacks). The burgers and fries were made to order so it took ten to fifteen minutes before Jared's name was called.
After ordering, the taller teen pulled Jensen over to a recently repainted picnic table, an old wood one that, prior to the paint job, was probably covered with splinters. He grinned at Jensen as they sat down, shoulders, thighs, and feet pressed together. Jensen grinned back and let his hand drift over to settle against Jared's jean clad knee.
There was a soft breeze rusting the leaves of the tall trees surrounding the drive-in. They were old, probably as old, if not older, than the Ice-burg itself. The asphalt was elevated and cracked around the base of the largest tree where roots had grown over time. On the fence behind Jared, just within Jensen's line of sight, a squirrel was slowly making it's way, tail curling over it's back and twitching.
“Want a T-shirt?”
Jensen blinked, refocusing on Jared's face, “What?” The other teenager had an amused look on his face. He reached over and brushed the tips of his fingers across the back of Jensen's hand.
“An Ice-Burg T-shirt to 'remember the experience' by.”
“Not really,” Jensen rolled his eyes and then glanced down at where their hands touched. “I doubt I'm gonna forget this.” Glancing back up, he turned his hand over so Jared's fingertips were pressed into his palm. Before Jared could reply they heard Jared's name called by the cashier.
Jared closed his hand around Jensen's and gently squeezed for second before letting go. He stood, nodding towards the counter, “Let's get our food and head somewhere quiet.”
“Yeah,” Jensen's fingers wrapped around the bench seat for a moment. He watched as Jared walked off a few paces before stopping and glancing back, eyebrow raised. Smiling, Jensen pushed himself to a stand and hurried to follow. Jared waited till he caught up, one hand smoothed over Jensen's back, not quite between his shoulders when he did. They grinned at each other and walked in step the rest of the way to the counter.
*****
They didn't go far, less than a mile down the road. Jensen raised an eyebrow in question when they pulled into the parking lot of an elementary school. Jared shrugged and grabbed one of the bags and a drink before pushing the door open, “It's like a park!” To his credit, it was.
The school had been built partially below ground and other than the front and back of the building, it was one big grassy hill. Ground was sloped up and the roof covered with grass and it was almost like a park- complete with a play ground. The only real thing missing was the trees. There were only a couple of them spaced around the grounds. He pushed the door open and heard it click as Jared locked and shut his own.
Jared crossed to the front of the car and motioned towards the school, “C'mon, let's find a place to sit.”
It was quiet, the grounds were empty. Only the occasional car passed by the back of the school. There was a narrow road that passed between the school and a small, quiet football field and then continued down to the VA hospital. The only real noise came from the movie theater that was in front of the school on a main road. There was a fence separating the theater's parking lot from the schools so they wouldn't be able to just walk across when they were done eating.
Jensen followed Jared to the top of the school. The quarterback dropped down near the top just as the hill leveled out, leg's bent at the knees and food settled between them. He grinned up at Jensen and reached out, wrapping a hand around the wrist of the hand that contained a food bag and tugging gently.
A light blush spread across Jensen's cheeks as he dropped down next to Jared. It was quiet for a few moments as they pulled out their food and started eating. Jensen started with his burger, taking a large bite and enjoying the taste. It was one of the few things he actually enjoyed the taste of sweet relish on. Beside him Jared was grinning, watching him with his almost cat like hazel eyes.
“Good?” Jared asked, pulling open the small plastic container that held the fry sauce. Jensen nodded in reply and licked his lips before taking another, slightly smaller, bite.
“Why here?”
“Hmm?” The quarterback's mouth was full of about five long french fries when Jensen spoke, all of them covered in the pinkish-tan sauce.
Reaching over, Jensen dipped one of his own fries into Jared's sauce, “Why come here instead of one of the real parks?” It was a valid question, there was a park about two minutes away that had a fishing pond and ducks and another two minutes in the opposite direction that had lots of trees and a skate park- plus portions of the VA hospital were open and practically parks themselves.
Jared shrugged, “I like it here. I went to school here and it's quiet.”
“You like the quiet,” Jensen murmured, nodding slightly he turned his gaze to the scenery in front of them. There was a building across the field, a small children's museum or something with a fenced off playground. There were only two children playing on the swings. A car horn sounded down the road, someone had pulled out of the VA hospital on the main road in front of another car.
“I do, but I like you better,” Jared bumped their shoulders together causing Jensen to look up at him again. Leaning down, he pressed his lips against Jensen's in a short kiss. It wasn't exactly chaste, but it wasn't long or deep either. Just a press of lips, and a light teasing of a tongue against Jensen's. Jared tasted like salt and fry sauce and something that was just Jared. Jensen pulled back and looked down at his hand and half eaten burger.
“We should probably finish eating...”
“Yeah,” Jared nodded and grinned at him again. Between bites of his own cheeseburger, he shifted his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. “We have about half an hour before the movie starts.”
“What movie?” Jensen couldn't help but ask around a mouthful of fries.
“Uh, well there's two that start about five minutes apart,” Jared shifted and looked up sheepishly. He took drink from his pepsi, lips pursed around the white straw, before continuing, “A horror movie and an action one. I figured you could choose... wasn't sure which one you'd like.”
Crumpling the wrapper from his cheeseburger, Jensen shoved it into one of the bags and snagged a napkin. “Either ones fine,” He shrugged and watched as Jared polished off his own burger and a few more fries. “I'm not really partial to either genre.”
“Alright,” Jared grinned and ran his fingers over his jeans. He was lucky there was no condiments and very little grease clinging to his skin. Jensen watched the trail they made over the rough dark blue material. “How about the action movie then? Or, oh! Do you scare easy?”
“What?”
Laughing Jared shook his head, “Never mind.” He glanced down at their mostly gone meal. There were a few fries left but they were cold and Jensen wasn't hungry enough to eat them. “So...”
Jensen tilted his head as Jared leaned towards him a bit, “Yeah?”
“Wanna make out?”
“Yeah,” As their lips met again, Jensen could feel his face warm again. He ignored it and reached up to wrap a hand around the Jared's head, fingers slipping through the dark curls at the nape of the other teen's neck.
*****
They didn't go much farther then kissing, expanding on that particular area was good enough for Jensen as it was. He wasn't really ready to do much else yet, especially not on top of a elementary school during the day. Time went by quickly and they were just lucky that Jared had set his phone alarm to five minutes before the show started. They might have missed the beginning if not for that. Not that Jensen would have really minded all that much.
Jensen recognized the guy manning the ticket counter from school. His name was Misha Collins and he was a theater student, he'd played Jud in the high schools presentation of the musical Oklahoma! last fall. The guy greeted them enthusiastically and winked at them as he slipped their tickets over the counter to them.
“Enjoy the movie!”
Another blush was playing connect-the-dots with his freckles as Jensen snagged the tickets and handed Jared his. He ducked his head moving towards the glass door only to be stopped by Jared's hand on his elbow. Glancing up he met the other teens eyes and swallowed.
Jared was frowning slightly, his hand moved up to settle on Jensen's shoulder. “You think too much, Jensen. There's no need to be embarrassed,” he spoke quietly, not a whisper, but quiet enough that the conversation was obviously private.
“I'm not... not embarrassed,” Lifting a hand he wrapped it around Jared's bicep. The quarterback slipped his hand down Jensen's arm and snagged his hand. “Just not used to this. It's all new.”
“It's new to me too,” Jared slipped their fingers together and squeezed gently. “I'm not interested in hiding this Jensen. It's not who I am.”
Raising an eyebrow, Jensen frowned, “I thought people didn't know-”
“I don't broadcast my sexuality,” Jared shrugged, shoulders flexing beneath his letter jacket. “But I don't hide it. People make assumptions sure, like with Sandy, but I'm not going to lie about our relationship to anyone.” He grinned, “Doesn't mean I'm going to jump you in public though. School tends to frown on PDA's and I'd rather not get detention.”
“I'm not really into that sort of thing. I mean, making out in public. Public, public... like school or on the street,” Jensen cringed as Jared tugged him into the theater.
“Neither am I, although Sandy's told me I can be rather affectionate and gropey- but not inappropriately so,” They handed their tickets to another employee, some college age girl who looked vaguely familiar. She probably stopped in for coffee at the cafe from time to time. “I hope that doesn't bother you?”
The girl gave them a disinterested look, a smile plastered on her face, before telling them the theater was to the right three doors down.
“I,” Jensen paused for a second. “I think I could get used to it?” He cleared his throat before motioning towards the concession counter. “Want anything?”
Jared made small 'hmm' noise and Jensen watched as his eyes wandered over the counter, “I could go for a few snacks, what about you?”
“Only if we split the cost,” He replied and Jared was already tugging him towards the counter. They were lucky, the line was short and the woman in front of them was already paying for her food. She handed a small bag of popcorn to her son who looked to be about eight before snagging three drinks. As they stepped up to the counter Jensen heard her scolding her son for throwing popcorn at his sister.
Leaning against the counter, Jared peered down at the display of candy biting his lip. “Oh! Twizzlers, we want a package of twizzlers and,” Jared glanced up at Jensen.
“Gummi worms and a medium popcorn.”
“Gonna share with me?” Jared smiled.
“If you play nice...” Jensen bit his lips eyes darting up to the cashier. “Yeah, of course.”
“A soda too?”
“Yeah,” Jensen nodded, fingers running over the seam where the granite counter met glass. “Get a medium? The cups are pretty big.”
“Alright so we want one package of twizzlers, a package of gummi worms, a medium popcorn, and a medium soda,” Jared pulled out his wallet and started sorting through a few bills. The cashier announced the total and Jensen handed her his debit card. Jared stuck a couple of small bills into Jensen's closest jean pocket, tugging Jensen slightly closer to him before dropping his hand back to his side.
The previews were already rolling by the time they got to their seats. Jared pulled them to a nearly empty area at the top left of the theater. There were only about twenty other people present in the room out of what was space for probably two hundred. The seats were comfortable, even for Jensen and Jared's tall frames. Jensen set their drink into the holder between them and the popcorn on the ground before snagging the twizzlers from Jared. The guy had been trying to open the package with his teeth and failing.
Jensen rolled his eyes as he opened the container and handed it over before opening the gummi worms. It was habit, opening up anything with a wrapper before the movie started. He figured it was the polite thing to do as having an intense scene broken by the sound of crinkling plastic? Very annoying.
They spent the first third of the movie actually watching the story and the action. It wasn't a bad movie, there were lots of car chases and a few explosions. In fact it was quite entertaining. A short way into the movie Jensen slanted his gaze toward Jared's face. As much as Jensen enjoyed watching a movie, he enjoyed watching other peoples reactions even more. The ever present grin was back on Jared's face, illuminated by the changing colors on the screen. At some point after they sat down their hands had drifted together and the drink had migrated to the other side of Jared. The tub of popcorn was in the quarterback's lap, about half full of butter- and cheese as Jared had begged Jensen to cover it with the powder- covered popcorn.
Reaching over with his free hand, Jensen moved as if to snag a few kernels. He paused when Jared turned his head toward him, eyes glittering in the light from the movie. His hand was stilled, inches above the popcorn, for only a moment. Slowly it drifted up to slid around the base of Jared's skull and he tugged the taller teen toward him, pressing their lips together.
When the credits rolled and everyone started to leave, Jensen honestly couldn't remember what the movie had been about. He doubted Jared could either.
*****
The date was great, or at least Jensen thought so. After the movie they drove around for a little while, Jared really loved just driving in the countryside. They didn't go to the field though, Jensen didn't want to stay out too late since he'd been out late the night before. The kisses they shared had gotten longer and more heated over the course of the day. They also had more of an affect on his body. He loved kissing Jared and the other teen seemed to enjoy kissing him too. A lot.
The only complaint Jensen had at the end of the day wasn't anyones fault, really. Well, it was sort of his but Jensen didn't really have a way around it. He really did need to get a new pair of glasses, or maybe contacts. Although Jensen had tried contacts once a year or so ago. They dried his eyes out really quick and tended to annoy him so he had stuck to his glasses. He was pretty sure, at least, that getting a new pair of glasses was something for his to do list. These were getting in the way of kissing at times and Jensen didn't want to constantly take them off only to be half blind.
It was just past ten when Jared dropped him off. They shared a last kiss in the car,tongues tangling together and tracing the contours of each other's mouths, before he climbed out. Watching Jared's car disappear down the road Jensen felt odd, like something was missing. In the short time that he'd gotten to know Jared the other teen had grown on him so much. Being without him was surprisingly... Jensen wasn't sure how to describe the feeling. He didn't like being without Jared, without his... boyfriend.
Jensen pressed his lips together and angled his head up towards the night sky. It was a clear night, a lot of stars were visible and so was the moon. The sky was only slightly obscured by the light from the street lamp. He pulled the cuffs of his shirt over his hands and stuffed them into his pockets, pausing on the walk to take in his surroundings.
The night air was cool, not quite chilly. A breeze was filtering through nearby trees, rustling leaves and shrubs. It teased the back of his neck. Jensen needed to trim his hair soon. The lights were on upstairs in his room; Rain was still up but would be going to bed soon. The porch light was on as well. Denis had replaced it just last week after it burnt out.
A sigh escaped his lips and he scuffed his shoes against the cement before continuing up to the porch. Margaret and Hayden were in the living room, folding laundry and reading respectively, while Denis had the TV turned to a football game. The channel was one of the better quality ones, only a few lines of static visible on the screen. Jensen glanced at the game, the score board in the corner stated Nebraska was in the lead by seven points in the third quarter. He didn't recognize the other team.
“How was your night, Jensen?” Margaret asked stopping mid fold, hands dropping onto the towel in her lap.
“It was good,” His eyes darted to Hayden who just rolled her eyes in response before returning to her reading. “Fun, even.”
She smiled at him, “I'm glad, honey. Jared seems like such a nice boy... are you two going to go out again?”
Jensen stilled completely, his eyes darted to Hayden again but she didn't even bother looking up. Biting his lip, he shrugged, “I, uh, I hope so?”
“Jensen,” Margaret sighed, hands taking up the task of folding again. “It's alright, we don't mind. He's a nice boy and we're happy for you- right Denis?” Jensen glanced over at his foster father who momentarily turned his gaze away from the game to his wife. He wasn't actually sure if Denis even knew what they were discussing.
“Of course not,” Denis smiled at him. He waved a hand in Jensen's direction. “'s your life, we're not going to tell you how to live it. Unless you're doing something illegal or such.” He raised an eyebrow till Jensen shook his head negatively. “Alright then, doesn't matter to us. We're glad you're happy.”
Dropping the last towel into the hamper, full of folded, and probably still warm, towels, Margaret stood and picked up the basket. She crossed the room to stand in front of him and balanced the basket on her hip before reaching up with her right hand to pat his shoulder, “You're happy, right?”
“Yeah,” Jensen felt a grin tug at his lips and let it grow. “I'm happy.”
“Well then,” She smiled and stepped away. “Don't stay up too late. There's left over macaroni in the fridge if you're hungry.”
He watched as she headed up the stairs and turned his attention back to Hayden and Denis. His foster father was watching the game intently, a half empty bottle of corona in his hand. Denis didn't drink much, but occasionally he'd have a bottle while watching a game on the weekend.
“How's the game going?” Jensen asked after a moment, moving to sit on the cushion Margaret had just vacated.
Denis barely spared him a glance before launching into a replay of the entire game. Next to him Hayden sighed, a small annoyed noise, and flipped a page in the book. While he might not be that into football, Jared was and Jensen wanted to learn a bit more about the game. He spent the next hour listening and watching the game, almost getting into the spirit of it all by the time the fourth quarter clock ran out and Nebraska won.
*****
Next
A.note: Okay I do still need to get the next part to the beta, but I said I'd post this by Sunday and I did. Next part should be up Thursday or Friday at the latest. I ended up visiting my parents this weekend and accidentally left my outline and notes on my desk at home. Since I couldn't write I visited the HS and took pictures of the outside. Here is a photo tour of the campus I based this fic's HS off of.
Author:
surevestaRating: PG-16
Fandom: CW RPS
Word Count: 6,241 (this part)
Pairing: J2
Main Characters: Jensen, Jared, Danneel, Sandy, Kripke, Chad, Mike, Chris, Sophia, Hayden, Adair, Rainbow, Allie
Other Characters: Samantha Ferris, Samantha Smith, Tom and Jaime, Aaron, Shawn, Kristin K., Kristin B., Alexis, JDM, and an assortment of other RPS regulars and CW actors/actresses.
Betas:
anyothergirl415Disclaimer: The story and plot is mine, the characters are based off of real people and belong to themselves. The places are also based off of real places. I know almost nothing of the foster care system.
Summary: The world of High School through the eyes of violist Jensen Ackles. Life is just notes on a page, waiting to be read and interpreted.
Master Post
*****
It was 11:36 am, just over nine hours since Jensen had last seen Jared. He was chewing on his bottom lip, worrying it between minty fresh teeth. It had only been an hour since he'd woken up. Jensen had spent most of the night awake, unable to drift off till the tell tale sings of sunrise peaked through the window blinds. Even now he was still processing everything that occurred the night before.
His fingers felt clammy where the were clenched around the hard plastic phone. In the palm of his other hand was the note Jared had given him, slightly crumpled from half an hour of indecision. Jensen was sitting on the tacky flower patterned love seat kitty corner to the TV in the living room. The thumb of his right hand was posed over the third digit of Jared's phone number. He slipped it up to cancel the call.
Sighing, Jensen stared down at the old wireless phone that belonged to the land line. It looked like it was almost a decade old- from whenever they first started making them. He had already dialed the first three digits of Jared's number four times... and six whole digits half a dozen more. Each time he ended up canceling the call before the seventh digit was even entered.
It wasn't that Jensen didn't want to call Jared, he was just nervous and scared. He knew that there wasn't any real reason for either, but still. The fact that Jared liked him like that was difficult for him to comprehend. It was just so amazing and mind boggling and it felt like a dream. Obviously it wasn't a dream; though, the note was proof of that.
Jensen closed his eyes, forehead dropping to tap against the rubbery plastic of the phones antenna. It was cool and he ran it across his forehead a couple times before pulling back, eyes opening to stare at the faded buttons. Double checking the number, he steeled himself before taping the buttons. Seven numbers, each button letting out a short 'beep' that broke through the dial tone when pressed. After the last number went through there was a pause, only a few seconds of dead air, and then a ring tone.
Pressing his lips firmly together, Jensen lifted the phone and set it against his ear. There was a slight static sound just before each ring. Across the room from him was the stair case. His eyes traced the wooden railing up and down, following the curve of the molding where it spiraled a bit at the end before sliding back up to where it disappeared above the ceiling.
He counted three rings before Jared picked up, “Hello?” The voice, Jared's voice, was almost hesitant, hopeful. Jensen's fingers clenched a bit around the phone as Jared spoke again, “Hello?”
“Hey,” His voice was quiet, a soft breath. “It's me. Jensen, it's Jensen.” Dropping his head, chin to collar bone, he clenched his eyes tightly together.
“Hey Jensen,” Even through the slight static on the line, Jensen could hear the smile appear on Jared's face. His own lips were pulling up into a slightly lopsided smile. Chin lifting a bit, he opened his eyes and stared at the area rug. It needed vacuuming, there was a trail of small dirt clumps down the center probably from Rain running through the room while still wearing his cleats.
The line was silent for a moment, it wasn't awkward per se, just silence. Jensen spread the slightly crumpled piece of paper over his knee, smoothing it down. “I, so, you want to... maybe do something?” He cringed, jaw clenching and fingers tensing around the phone.
“I'd love to, how about we get together later this afternoon? I could pick you up around, say, four thirty and we can snag something to eat and hang out. Just the two of us.”
“Yeah, okay. That sounds great,” He felt his body relax, muscles loosening and lips stretching into a soft smile. “Did you, uh, want to work on the assignment?”
“Nah, let's just hang out,” There was a very short pause before Jared continued, “Like last night?”
His eyes widened and he sucked in a breath, “Yeah? Sounds... sounds good.”
“Great. So I'll see you around four thirty then?”
“Yeah, I'll watch for you, for your car,” Dipping his head down Jensen let out a soft sigh. “I'll keep an eye out for your car.”
“It's a date,” There was a touch of amusement clearly audible in Jared's voice and Jensen felt his cheeks warm with embarrassment. “I'll see you then.”
“Yeah,” Jensen said just before there was a click and complete silence on the line. He hit the 'end' button before the dial tone could start. The phone hit the inside of his leg, just below his knee, as his hand dropped down. A date. He had never been on a date before and now his mind was trying to process just what that meant. How was he supposed to act? What was he supposed to say, do? The paper covering his knee fluttered to the ground as his free hand rubbed over his face and eyes. What was he supposed to wear?
Lunch was rather difficult for him. Jensen was nervous to the point where he almost felt nauseous. It was an odd sensation because he was hungry, he hadn't eaten breakfast since he got up so late. He ended up making himself a sandwich and snagging some potato chips to go along with it. Jensen practically nibbled on it, taking almost an hour to clear his plate.
By the time three o'clock had rolled around, Jensen had finished all of his homework, done the dishes, and taken a shower. He was the only one in the house, other than David, due to Margaret and Hayden dragging Adair and Rain with them to a 'Work Day' at the church they attended most Sundays. A good portion of the congregation tended to get together at least one Saturday a month to tidy the grounds and perform tasks that the Janitor couldn't do alone. Jensen usually went with, although it wasn't often that he actually attended Church, but they took off before he got up this morning. After staying up all night he hadn't even heard Rain get up once he had fallen asleep.
Half an hour later Jensen was staring at the open drawers of his dresser, hunched over and leaning his forearms against the top, head in his hands.
“Are you going on a date or something?”
He started, elbow banging against the hard wood surface as he turned around. Hissing, Jensen grasped it with his other hand, rubbing at it as a prickly tingling sensation ran through it. Hayden was standing in the doorway, clothes only slightly less than perfect, hair pulled back into a pony tail and a half empty water bottle in hand. Rain was standing next to her, biting his lip to contain his amusement.
“Uh,” Jensen dropped his hands to his side, slipping the right into his pocket. He winced as his elbow brushed the front of the dresser.
“Oh god, you are,” Hayden's mouth fell open slightly before twisting into a grin. “You're going on a date!”
“Yeah,” He shrugged and dropped his gaze to his bare feet. Curling his toes in, he shifted slightly. “So?”
She studied him for a moment as Rain slipped into the room and maneuvered around Jensen to grab a change of clothes from his own drawers. After a moment her nose crinkled, “You're wearing that?”
Jensen glanced up at her for a moment before staring down at his current ensemble. He sighed, motioning towards the open drawers, “Wasn't planning to?”
“But you have no idea what to wear, do you?”
“Not really...” He watched her warily as she entered the room. Normally the girls didn't come into their room and they didn't go into the girls'. She walked straight up to him and motioned for him to move out of her way. He did so without thinking about it. As she shifted through his drawers, nose wrinkled and eyebrows drawn in a look of concentration, Jensen couldn't help but wonder if it was a good idea to let a twelve year old girl choose his outfit.
In the end she actually made a pretty good choice. The ensemble wasn't something that he wouldn't normally wear, it was just more 'put together', as Hayden put it. The jeans were a dark, navy blue with barely any wear to the cuffs. He was wearing a spotless long sleeved white shirt with a short sleeved thin, brown, blue, and white patterned plaid over shirt. When she came back into the room to inspect him, after he finished changing, she wrinkled her nose and made him put on the necklace she'd made him to complete the look.
“You really need new glasses, Jensen.”
He sighed and turned to the mirror, slipping his hands into his pockets, “I know. Thanks for helping me with this.”
“No problem,” Hayden grinned at him, eyebrow raising in question. “Who is she? Or should I say... he?”
Turning away from her prying eyes, Jensen shifted through a drawer till he found a pair of white socks. “Why do you think it's a guy?” The inside of his left cheek was caught between his back molars, lips pressed tightly together as he dropped onto his bed to put his shoes and socks on.
“Come on Jensen,” She rolled her eyes, one hand on her hip as her stance shifted. “I'm not stupid and I'm not homophobic either. I really don't give a shi- care who you date. No one does.”
Pulling his work shoes out from under the bed, he slipped them onto his feet, “Some people would.” At her pointed look he sighed, “Yes it's a guy. It's Jared-”
“The quarterback Jared? Padalecki Jared?” Hayden giggled and sat down next to him. The nails of her right hand caught the light. They were covered in a pink tinted clear nail polish.
“Yeah?”
Rolling her eyes she punched him lightly on the shoulder, “I know. It was kind of obvious.” Hayden tilted her head as he raised an eyebrow, “He was trying way too hard to make a good impression at dinner. Plus, he totally looked at you.”
Frowning, Jensen dropped his gaze to his feet as he tied the laces, “What?”
“He watched you practically the entire meal. And the way he watched, it was like you were the greatest thing since sliced bread or something,” There was a smile on her face when he glanced up at her. “I really don't think you have any reason to be nervous. You'll be fine.”
He returned the smile and sat back with a shrug, “You think so?”
“Yep! What time's he coming to pick you up?”
“You make it sound like I'm a girl or something...” Jensen grimaced, taking in the amusement in her eyes.
“Nah, it's just logical since he has a car and you don't,” Hayden patted his forearm gently. “I know you're not a girl and I'm pretty sure he does too.”
Fidgeting, he ran his hands over his knees and stared down at them. She giggled lightly before leaning in and pecking his cheek. Jensen wrinkled his nose, lifting a hand to rub at it. Hayden had apparently found time while working to keep a layer of lip gloss on her lips, “Hey!” He glared as she darted to the door. “You better take a shower- you stink!”
“And you're rude!” She shot back before disappearing across the hall.
By four thirty Jensen was doing his best not to be anxious and nervous and failing horribly at it. He was leaning against the molding surrounding the large picture window behind the television. The fingers of his left hand were wrapped around the maroon and pink flower patterned curtains, holding them away from the window. Behind him on the couch Hayden was curled up, munching on some chips with a book in her lap. It was some book she borrowed from the church, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. He wondered if she just borrowed it because she liked the Chronicles of Narnia. It didn't look like a book a kid her age would usually read.
“You know, a watched pot never boils,” Hayden pointed out from around a mouthful of chips.
Jensen rolled his eyes and looked over his shoulder, “You're going to get grease on that book.” She stuck a finger in her mouth and raised an eyebrow. He turned his attention back to the street in time to see a green Mazda, Jared's car, roll to a stop in front of the walk.
“Your boyfriend here?”
Jensen ducked his head as his cheeks flushed a bit, “I'll be back later Hayden.” He hurried to the door, pulling it open forcefully. The panes of glass rattled a bit inside their frames. “Gonna eat out, so don't wait for me.”
He almost missed her reply, a snorted 'duh', as he pulled the door shut behind him. Pressing his lips together nervously, Jensen glanced up as he made his way to the curb. Jared was watching him, a smile on his face, from the other side of the car. The quarterback was standing in the open door, one hand on the hood the other on the door frame, ready to climb back in.
“Hey Jared,” Jensen felt a smile tug at his lips. Coming to a stop a foot from the car, he paused and shoved his hands into his pockets. He shifted nervously, green eyes dropping to the ground before darting back up to meet hazel ones.
“Jensen,” Jared nodded. Clearing his throat he motioned towards Jensen with his right hand. “Ready to go?”
“Yeah, uh, yeah I am,” he stepped forward as Jared dropped back down into the drivers seat and pulled the door shut. Sliding his fingers under the handle, he pulled the door open and climbed in. There was a couple minutes worth of silence as they buckled up and Jared pulled out onto the road, heading towards the busier streets.
Jensen bit his lip and stared down at his hands, rubbing them over his jeans for a moment before forcing them still. Glancing over at Jared, he cleared his throat, “So, uh, where... where are we going?”
“Well,” Jared grinned over at him for a moment flipped his turn signal on. “I was thinking we could get some Cheeseburgers and shakes or something from Ice-Burg? Go eat it somewhere quiet and then maybe...” As he pulled up to a stop sign he looked over, “I thought we could catch a movie. Sound good?”
It did sound good, the Ice-burg had the best cheeseburger's in town. “Yeah,” He nodded and Jared turned his attention back to the road, pulling away from the stop sign and turning right. “That sounds great.”
“Awesome.”
The small burger joint was busy, as usual. Every car mic was already taken and there were people milling around near the counter. Most of the people were in their thirties or forties, a few college students mixed in. The only person Jensen recognized was one of the cooks, Traci from his calculus class. She was busy in the back of the small building with the burgers.
They parked along a red wooden fence that afforded the fifties-esque restaurant privacy from the business next door. It was an old family run drive-in that had survived surprisingly well over the years. The owners kept it in good shape and, from what Jensen had heard, the menu had changed little over the years. Apparently they had originally served their hot dogs cut in half on hamburger buns, go figure. Jensen hadn't eaten there much, a couple times a year since he moved in with the Orchards, but he loved it all the same.
They ordered two cheeseburger deluxes, both with onion and tomato, two pepsi's and extra fry sauce. The deluxes came with a small order of fries each, warm and crisp just the way Jensen liked them. Jared paid for the meal, insisting that Jensen could pay for the movie (but not the concession snacks). The burgers and fries were made to order so it took ten to fifteen minutes before Jared's name was called.
After ordering, the taller teen pulled Jensen over to a recently repainted picnic table, an old wood one that, prior to the paint job, was probably covered with splinters. He grinned at Jensen as they sat down, shoulders, thighs, and feet pressed together. Jensen grinned back and let his hand drift over to settle against Jared's jean clad knee.
There was a soft breeze rusting the leaves of the tall trees surrounding the drive-in. They were old, probably as old, if not older, than the Ice-burg itself. The asphalt was elevated and cracked around the base of the largest tree where roots had grown over time. On the fence behind Jared, just within Jensen's line of sight, a squirrel was slowly making it's way, tail curling over it's back and twitching.
“Want a T-shirt?”
Jensen blinked, refocusing on Jared's face, “What?” The other teenager had an amused look on his face. He reached over and brushed the tips of his fingers across the back of Jensen's hand.
“An Ice-Burg T-shirt to 'remember the experience' by.”
“Not really,” Jensen rolled his eyes and then glanced down at where their hands touched. “I doubt I'm gonna forget this.” Glancing back up, he turned his hand over so Jared's fingertips were pressed into his palm. Before Jared could reply they heard Jared's name called by the cashier.
Jared closed his hand around Jensen's and gently squeezed for second before letting go. He stood, nodding towards the counter, “Let's get our food and head somewhere quiet.”
“Yeah,” Jensen's fingers wrapped around the bench seat for a moment. He watched as Jared walked off a few paces before stopping and glancing back, eyebrow raised. Smiling, Jensen pushed himself to a stand and hurried to follow. Jared waited till he caught up, one hand smoothed over Jensen's back, not quite between his shoulders when he did. They grinned at each other and walked in step the rest of the way to the counter.
They didn't go far, less than a mile down the road. Jensen raised an eyebrow in question when they pulled into the parking lot of an elementary school. Jared shrugged and grabbed one of the bags and a drink before pushing the door open, “It's like a park!” To his credit, it was.
The school had been built partially below ground and other than the front and back of the building, it was one big grassy hill. Ground was sloped up and the roof covered with grass and it was almost like a park- complete with a play ground. The only real thing missing was the trees. There were only a couple of them spaced around the grounds. He pushed the door open and heard it click as Jared locked and shut his own.
Jared crossed to the front of the car and motioned towards the school, “C'mon, let's find a place to sit.”
It was quiet, the grounds were empty. Only the occasional car passed by the back of the school. There was a narrow road that passed between the school and a small, quiet football field and then continued down to the VA hospital. The only real noise came from the movie theater that was in front of the school on a main road. There was a fence separating the theater's parking lot from the schools so they wouldn't be able to just walk across when they were done eating.
Jensen followed Jared to the top of the school. The quarterback dropped down near the top just as the hill leveled out, leg's bent at the knees and food settled between them. He grinned up at Jensen and reached out, wrapping a hand around the wrist of the hand that contained a food bag and tugging gently.
A light blush spread across Jensen's cheeks as he dropped down next to Jared. It was quiet for a few moments as they pulled out their food and started eating. Jensen started with his burger, taking a large bite and enjoying the taste. It was one of the few things he actually enjoyed the taste of sweet relish on. Beside him Jared was grinning, watching him with his almost cat like hazel eyes.
“Good?” Jared asked, pulling open the small plastic container that held the fry sauce. Jensen nodded in reply and licked his lips before taking another, slightly smaller, bite.
“Why here?”
“Hmm?” The quarterback's mouth was full of about five long french fries when Jensen spoke, all of them covered in the pinkish-tan sauce.
Reaching over, Jensen dipped one of his own fries into Jared's sauce, “Why come here instead of one of the real parks?” It was a valid question, there was a park about two minutes away that had a fishing pond and ducks and another two minutes in the opposite direction that had lots of trees and a skate park- plus portions of the VA hospital were open and practically parks themselves.
Jared shrugged, “I like it here. I went to school here and it's quiet.”
“You like the quiet,” Jensen murmured, nodding slightly he turned his gaze to the scenery in front of them. There was a building across the field, a small children's museum or something with a fenced off playground. There were only two children playing on the swings. A car horn sounded down the road, someone had pulled out of the VA hospital on the main road in front of another car.
“I do, but I like you better,” Jared bumped their shoulders together causing Jensen to look up at him again. Leaning down, he pressed his lips against Jensen's in a short kiss. It wasn't exactly chaste, but it wasn't long or deep either. Just a press of lips, and a light teasing of a tongue against Jensen's. Jared tasted like salt and fry sauce and something that was just Jared. Jensen pulled back and looked down at his hand and half eaten burger.
“We should probably finish eating...”
“Yeah,” Jared nodded and grinned at him again. Between bites of his own cheeseburger, he shifted his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. “We have about half an hour before the movie starts.”
“What movie?” Jensen couldn't help but ask around a mouthful of fries.
“Uh, well there's two that start about five minutes apart,” Jared shifted and looked up sheepishly. He took drink from his pepsi, lips pursed around the white straw, before continuing, “A horror movie and an action one. I figured you could choose... wasn't sure which one you'd like.”
Crumpling the wrapper from his cheeseburger, Jensen shoved it into one of the bags and snagged a napkin. “Either ones fine,” He shrugged and watched as Jared polished off his own burger and a few more fries. “I'm not really partial to either genre.”
“Alright,” Jared grinned and ran his fingers over his jeans. He was lucky there was no condiments and very little grease clinging to his skin. Jensen watched the trail they made over the rough dark blue material. “How about the action movie then? Or, oh! Do you scare easy?”
“What?”
Laughing Jared shook his head, “Never mind.” He glanced down at their mostly gone meal. There were a few fries left but they were cold and Jensen wasn't hungry enough to eat them. “So...”
Jensen tilted his head as Jared leaned towards him a bit, “Yeah?”
“Wanna make out?”
“Yeah,” As their lips met again, Jensen could feel his face warm again. He ignored it and reached up to wrap a hand around the Jared's head, fingers slipping through the dark curls at the nape of the other teen's neck.
They didn't go much farther then kissing, expanding on that particular area was good enough for Jensen as it was. He wasn't really ready to do much else yet, especially not on top of a elementary school during the day. Time went by quickly and they were just lucky that Jared had set his phone alarm to five minutes before the show started. They might have missed the beginning if not for that. Not that Jensen would have really minded all that much.
Jensen recognized the guy manning the ticket counter from school. His name was Misha Collins and he was a theater student, he'd played Jud in the high schools presentation of the musical Oklahoma! last fall. The guy greeted them enthusiastically and winked at them as he slipped their tickets over the counter to them.
“Enjoy the movie!”
Another blush was playing connect-the-dots with his freckles as Jensen snagged the tickets and handed Jared his. He ducked his head moving towards the glass door only to be stopped by Jared's hand on his elbow. Glancing up he met the other teens eyes and swallowed.
Jared was frowning slightly, his hand moved up to settle on Jensen's shoulder. “You think too much, Jensen. There's no need to be embarrassed,” he spoke quietly, not a whisper, but quiet enough that the conversation was obviously private.
“I'm not... not embarrassed,” Lifting a hand he wrapped it around Jared's bicep. The quarterback slipped his hand down Jensen's arm and snagged his hand. “Just not used to this. It's all new.”
“It's new to me too,” Jared slipped their fingers together and squeezed gently. “I'm not interested in hiding this Jensen. It's not who I am.”
Raising an eyebrow, Jensen frowned, “I thought people didn't know-”
“I don't broadcast my sexuality,” Jared shrugged, shoulders flexing beneath his letter jacket. “But I don't hide it. People make assumptions sure, like with Sandy, but I'm not going to lie about our relationship to anyone.” He grinned, “Doesn't mean I'm going to jump you in public though. School tends to frown on PDA's and I'd rather not get detention.”
“I'm not really into that sort of thing. I mean, making out in public. Public, public... like school or on the street,” Jensen cringed as Jared tugged him into the theater.
“Neither am I, although Sandy's told me I can be rather affectionate and gropey- but not inappropriately so,” They handed their tickets to another employee, some college age girl who looked vaguely familiar. She probably stopped in for coffee at the cafe from time to time. “I hope that doesn't bother you?”
The girl gave them a disinterested look, a smile plastered on her face, before telling them the theater was to the right three doors down.
“I,” Jensen paused for a second. “I think I could get used to it?” He cleared his throat before motioning towards the concession counter. “Want anything?”
Jared made small 'hmm' noise and Jensen watched as his eyes wandered over the counter, “I could go for a few snacks, what about you?”
“Only if we split the cost,” He replied and Jared was already tugging him towards the counter. They were lucky, the line was short and the woman in front of them was already paying for her food. She handed a small bag of popcorn to her son who looked to be about eight before snagging three drinks. As they stepped up to the counter Jensen heard her scolding her son for throwing popcorn at his sister.
Leaning against the counter, Jared peered down at the display of candy biting his lip. “Oh! Twizzlers, we want a package of twizzlers and,” Jared glanced up at Jensen.
“Gummi worms and a medium popcorn.”
“Gonna share with me?” Jared smiled.
“If you play nice...” Jensen bit his lips eyes darting up to the cashier. “Yeah, of course.”
“A soda too?”
“Yeah,” Jensen nodded, fingers running over the seam where the granite counter met glass. “Get a medium? The cups are pretty big.”
“Alright so we want one package of twizzlers, a package of gummi worms, a medium popcorn, and a medium soda,” Jared pulled out his wallet and started sorting through a few bills. The cashier announced the total and Jensen handed her his debit card. Jared stuck a couple of small bills into Jensen's closest jean pocket, tugging Jensen slightly closer to him before dropping his hand back to his side.
The previews were already rolling by the time they got to their seats. Jared pulled them to a nearly empty area at the top left of the theater. There were only about twenty other people present in the room out of what was space for probably two hundred. The seats were comfortable, even for Jensen and Jared's tall frames. Jensen set their drink into the holder between them and the popcorn on the ground before snagging the twizzlers from Jared. The guy had been trying to open the package with his teeth and failing.
Jensen rolled his eyes as he opened the container and handed it over before opening the gummi worms. It was habit, opening up anything with a wrapper before the movie started. He figured it was the polite thing to do as having an intense scene broken by the sound of crinkling plastic? Very annoying.
They spent the first third of the movie actually watching the story and the action. It wasn't a bad movie, there were lots of car chases and a few explosions. In fact it was quite entertaining. A short way into the movie Jensen slanted his gaze toward Jared's face. As much as Jensen enjoyed watching a movie, he enjoyed watching other peoples reactions even more. The ever present grin was back on Jared's face, illuminated by the changing colors on the screen. At some point after they sat down their hands had drifted together and the drink had migrated to the other side of Jared. The tub of popcorn was in the quarterback's lap, about half full of butter- and cheese as Jared had begged Jensen to cover it with the powder- covered popcorn.
Reaching over with his free hand, Jensen moved as if to snag a few kernels. He paused when Jared turned his head toward him, eyes glittering in the light from the movie. His hand was stilled, inches above the popcorn, for only a moment. Slowly it drifted up to slid around the base of Jared's skull and he tugged the taller teen toward him, pressing their lips together.
When the credits rolled and everyone started to leave, Jensen honestly couldn't remember what the movie had been about. He doubted Jared could either.
The date was great, or at least Jensen thought so. After the movie they drove around for a little while, Jared really loved just driving in the countryside. They didn't go to the field though, Jensen didn't want to stay out too late since he'd been out late the night before. The kisses they shared had gotten longer and more heated over the course of the day. They also had more of an affect on his body. He loved kissing Jared and the other teen seemed to enjoy kissing him too. A lot.
The only complaint Jensen had at the end of the day wasn't anyones fault, really. Well, it was sort of his but Jensen didn't really have a way around it. He really did need to get a new pair of glasses, or maybe contacts. Although Jensen had tried contacts once a year or so ago. They dried his eyes out really quick and tended to annoy him so he had stuck to his glasses. He was pretty sure, at least, that getting a new pair of glasses was something for his to do list. These were getting in the way of kissing at times and Jensen didn't want to constantly take them off only to be half blind.
It was just past ten when Jared dropped him off. They shared a last kiss in the car,tongues tangling together and tracing the contours of each other's mouths, before he climbed out. Watching Jared's car disappear down the road Jensen felt odd, like something was missing. In the short time that he'd gotten to know Jared the other teen had grown on him so much. Being without him was surprisingly... Jensen wasn't sure how to describe the feeling. He didn't like being without Jared, without his... boyfriend.
Jensen pressed his lips together and angled his head up towards the night sky. It was a clear night, a lot of stars were visible and so was the moon. The sky was only slightly obscured by the light from the street lamp. He pulled the cuffs of his shirt over his hands and stuffed them into his pockets, pausing on the walk to take in his surroundings.
The night air was cool, not quite chilly. A breeze was filtering through nearby trees, rustling leaves and shrubs. It teased the back of his neck. Jensen needed to trim his hair soon. The lights were on upstairs in his room; Rain was still up but would be going to bed soon. The porch light was on as well. Denis had replaced it just last week after it burnt out.
A sigh escaped his lips and he scuffed his shoes against the cement before continuing up to the porch. Margaret and Hayden were in the living room, folding laundry and reading respectively, while Denis had the TV turned to a football game. The channel was one of the better quality ones, only a few lines of static visible on the screen. Jensen glanced at the game, the score board in the corner stated Nebraska was in the lead by seven points in the third quarter. He didn't recognize the other team.
“How was your night, Jensen?” Margaret asked stopping mid fold, hands dropping onto the towel in her lap.
“It was good,” His eyes darted to Hayden who just rolled her eyes in response before returning to her reading. “Fun, even.”
She smiled at him, “I'm glad, honey. Jared seems like such a nice boy... are you two going to go out again?”
Jensen stilled completely, his eyes darted to Hayden again but she didn't even bother looking up. Biting his lip, he shrugged, “I, uh, I hope so?”
“Jensen,” Margaret sighed, hands taking up the task of folding again. “It's alright, we don't mind. He's a nice boy and we're happy for you- right Denis?” Jensen glanced over at his foster father who momentarily turned his gaze away from the game to his wife. He wasn't actually sure if Denis even knew what they were discussing.
“Of course not,” Denis smiled at him. He waved a hand in Jensen's direction. “'s your life, we're not going to tell you how to live it. Unless you're doing something illegal or such.” He raised an eyebrow till Jensen shook his head negatively. “Alright then, doesn't matter to us. We're glad you're happy.”
Dropping the last towel into the hamper, full of folded, and probably still warm, towels, Margaret stood and picked up the basket. She crossed the room to stand in front of him and balanced the basket on her hip before reaching up with her right hand to pat his shoulder, “You're happy, right?”
“Yeah,” Jensen felt a grin tug at his lips and let it grow. “I'm happy.”
“Well then,” She smiled and stepped away. “Don't stay up too late. There's left over macaroni in the fridge if you're hungry.”
He watched as she headed up the stairs and turned his attention back to Hayden and Denis. His foster father was watching the game intently, a half empty bottle of corona in his hand. Denis didn't drink much, but occasionally he'd have a bottle while watching a game on the weekend.
“How's the game going?” Jensen asked after a moment, moving to sit on the cushion Margaret had just vacated.
Denis barely spared him a glance before launching into a replay of the entire game. Next to him Hayden sighed, a small annoyed noise, and flipped a page in the book. While he might not be that into football, Jared was and Jensen wanted to learn a bit more about the game. He spent the next hour listening and watching the game, almost getting into the spirit of it all by the time the fourth quarter clock ran out and Nebraska won.
*****
Next
A.note: Okay I do still need to get the next part to the beta, but I said I'd post this by Sunday and I did. Next part should be up Thursday or Friday at the latest. I ended up visiting my parents this weekend and accidentally left my outline and notes on my desk at home. Since I couldn't write I visited the HS and took pictures of the outside. Here is a photo tour of the campus I based this fic's HS off of.
