Smoke & Lightning, Heavy Metal Thunder [23/?]
Master post.
Title: Smoke And Lightning, Heavy Metal Thunder (23/?)
Authors: bloody_adorable and eviltwin
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Rating: PG to adult.
Wordcount: 3,646
WARNING: More violence and nastiness that we in no way condone or encourage.
Summary: AU. Jared's a classic case of rich kid gone wrong, whose only sense of family comes from his motorbike, the guy he rents a garage from to live in and the precinct cops who know his face better than most already. Jensen's a hard-working student whose family are helping push him towards great things. What happens when their two worlds collide, and will Jared's troublesome nature be too much for Jensen to handle?
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.
Note from Evil: You're probably not going to like me very much after this one.
Note 2, also from Evil: I'll respond to comments as quickly as possible. I'm on hiatus from my own LJ right now. Mostly because I am not feeling too happy at the moment. If this comes through in any of my comments, I apologise sincerely. I appreciate every single bit of feedback I receive. And I won't argue if you guys attach (a small version of) your favourite Jared/Jensen/Jeffrey picture. Or even a picture of a sexy motorbike.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Jensen came inside from saying goodbye to Chris to find that Jared was on the upper level again, sat in front of his computer.
"You online again?" He asked, as he made his way up the ladder. He saw Jared close whatever he'd had open down and then saw him take a CD from the drive. "What's that?"
"Burning some porn for when you ain't here tomorrow," Jared told him, not looking round.
Jensen chuckled, turning towards the bed and starting to undress as he did. Jared glanced round at him to make sure he wasn't watching any more, then hid the CD under a stack of others - just in case Jensen got curious - before deleting all the files from the computer. He didn't feel too guilty about lying to him. If he had to, he'd reveal what plan B was, but he hoped he wouldn't need to. After all, Doug had had his ass handed to him once by Jensen. Maybe he wouldn't try his luck again. Right, thought Jared. And Satan might start eating icepops.
"Jay?" Jensen said, as he was turning the computer off.
"Yeah?"
"I'm here now..."
At that Jared turned, grinning when he saw that Jensen was naked and under the covers, holding up one edge as he waited. Jared stripped down quickly, diving under the covers and attacking Jensen's chest and stomach with his mouth as soon as he was level. Jensen just laughed at him, pushing at his head to make him move. He did, after a while, moving up so he was laid next to Jensen, the younger man in his arms. "You want to make some porn of our own, huh?" His voice was low and growly, making Jensen shudder.
"I don't know. I was thinking it might be kind of nice just to fall asleep like this."
"I guess. Maybe I'll blow you in the morning. Send you off to school in a good mood."
Jensen simply smiled, clinging on to Jared a little tighter. "Maybe."
Tuesday morning was back into the routine of school and Jensen found it difficult to drag himself away from Jared so that he could go and shower and get ready. He wished he could stay in bed at least another two hours, but Jeffrey was taking him in today and he didn't want to make the man late for work. So he forced himself out of bed, amidst grumbles of discontent from Jared, and gathered his uniform together.
"When do you guys break up again?" Jared asked, as Jensen pulled on some shorts so he could go in the house.
"Impatient much?" Jensen retorted. "I'll be back at four, and as soon as I'm done studying I'm all yours for the night."
"Mm, okay. Don't let them give you too much homework."
Jensen promised he wouldn't, though he knew that when he returned from school it was more than likely that Jared would be too busy working on the bikes to notice. He had Eric's being dropped off that afternoon so the garage was going to be pretty crowded by the time Jensen came back. He didn't mind, though. The longer Jared left him in peace to start with, the more fun they could have when he was done. With his things draped over one arm, he opened the door to the kitchen and went straight in without looking.
"Good morning," Jeffrey said, as someone else echoed him and then laughed.
Jensen looked up, eyes wide, and immediately flushed red. Stevie just laughed some more and looked down into her coffee. "Uh. Shower," was all Jensen managed before he was racing for the stairs, taking them two at a time. Jeffrey called something up after him, but he didn't hear. He really had to try and remember to stop wandering around in his underwear from now on. And he really had to hope Jared didn't even think of following him.
When he was showered and dressed, he headed back down. Stevie was stood by the counter, a towel in her hands, drying dishes as Jeffrey washed them. Jensen smiled at her, nervous, and gathered up his school books from where they'd been shifted. His bag was in the hallway and he stuffed them inside as Jeffrey tipped out the dirty dishwater and called through to ask if he was ready.
"Just need my shoes," he called back.
"Okay. We're giving Stevie a lift to school too. I can drop you off a block over if you want, though." It was said laughingly, like he didn't really mean the offer, so Jensen didn't reply. He'd just have to hope that nobody saw him. But he knew what his luck was like. He tensed up when he heard the garage door open, and saw Jared stop short in the doorway when he saw who was in the kitchen.
"Right," Jared said, his voice flat. Nobody spoke, though Stevie glanced at Jeffrey to see if he would say anything. He was busy watching Jared who, after a long and awkward silence, nodded and turned around, shouting a 'see you later!' at Jensen over his shoulder. Jensen didn't get a chance to say anything back before the door slammed behind him.
"You know, he's getting better," he said, just to break the silence. Jeffrey just grunted a response, only smiling again when Stevie neared him and kissed his scruffy cheek.
"Time to go."
Jensen pretty much got away with it at the school gates. They were early. Way earlier than any buses arrived, since Stevie had to go and get ready for her class. Jensen got out of the back-seat, having to wait while Stevie kissed Jeffrey goodbye in the front before he could escape. Since the grounds were empty so far, he decided to walk into school with her. It wouldn't look so weird now that Jeffrey was gone, anyway. Just Jensen being his usual teacher's-ass-kissing self, right?
"So, you and Jeffrey. Is that like.."
Stevie eyed him, and smiled. "Yeah. I think so. You think Jared'll be okay with that?"
Jensen shrugged. "Eventually."
"So what about you and Jared? I never really got the chance to ask how come you're there and never at home. Figured I shouldn't, but.. Well."
"I guess now you can." He looked across at her, and she stopped at the expression on his face. "My Dad threw me out, pretty much. As for winding up there, I don't know. Fate?"
"Life throws us some strange things to deal with, that's for sure. Did he throw you out because you're gay?"
Jensen flinched at the word. It sounded odd to hear her say it out loud. Different than his best friend saying it. Scarier, somehow. He quickly pulled himself together, shook his head. "He threw me out because he's an asshole."
"I doubt-"
"You haven't met my father yet. I hope you don't ever have to. He just... I don't know. Nobody and nothing is good enough for him. You know?"
"My grandmother was the same," Stevie told him. "She hated that I went into teaching. It doesn't exactly pay well. And it's not something you can brag about to your buddies. Fortunately for me, my Dad didn't have a problem telling her what he thought. She was a strong-willed woman, but she raised an even stronger-willed son."
Jensen just nodded, not really knowing what to say to that.
"I think your father will find out that he's done the same, maybe without meaning to."
"Oh, believe me, I'm not a strong person. It's just being with Jared that makes it seem that way sometimes. But.. I don't think I've changed."
"Really? You should try reading your older essays and then look at what you hand in now. Even just a few weeks have changed you. You'll see."
They'd reached Stevie's classroom by then, so Jensen didn't try and argue with her. She said she'd see him later and he left her to it and headed to his locker. He thought about her question as he put his bag in, taking out only the books he'd need for the first class. What about him and Jared? Jeffrey and Stevie, they could end up married and moving in together. But what could he and Jared do? He guessed that eventually they'd take the next step with their sexual relationship. When he felt ready. But after that, there really wasn't anywhere else to go. Just grow old together, he supposed. If that was what Jared even wanted.
Jensen started as someone smacked his shoulder, and turned to find Chris watching him, his face split wide with a grin. "Looked like you were deep in thought there, Jen. You all right?"
"I'm good. Sorry, was I ignoring you?"
"Not much. I gotta shoot. We're having this quiz in Chem today and I need to cram some more facts in before class starts. Meet you at lunch?"
"Sure thing."
As it turned out, lunch wasn't such a sure thing. Before the break, Jensen was passed a message to go and speak to the swimming coach over in the pool. He wondered what it was about all the way there, feeling more nervous that he was about to be thrown off the team or something equally unlikely. There were no swim meets scheduled now, not until well into the following year. They would have practice once a month, and were encouraged to swim in their own time, but that was it.
The lights in the changing room were off when he arrived, but the office light at the far end of the room was on. The floor was wet and slippery as he started making his way between the rows of lockers. As he passed a gap between a couple of them, something was thrown out at him and he just had time to register that it had been a fist before he was skidding back into the lockers opposite and then falling flat on his ass. He tasted blood in his mouth and made to get up, but then Doug was there, holding him down by the shoulders as he crouched over him. Jensen brought his knee up, trying to dislodge him, and it worked. Doug fell back and Jensen thought he could get up and keep fighting, until two more sets of hands pushed him back down to the floor.
Of course. Doug wouldn't do this alone.
"Time to teach you a lesson," Doug hissed, right in his face. Jensen shut his eyes, struggling hard against the arms holding him down. He got one arm free and flailed out with his fist, connecting with something. He heard a grunt and then his head was slammed back against the lockers and his vision clouded for half a second. "You're a lot fightier than you used to be..." Doug remarked, before punching him hard in the face. Jensen's left eye teared up immediately, and he kicked out, but hit nothing.
Doug's other hand caught him on the jaw, then another punch to the face landed just above his right eye. The last one hit the corner of his mouth and he felt a tooth come loose inside it.
Whoever was holding his left arm dropped it, while the guy holding his other wrist gripped even tighter. He heard someone speaking, but it sounded tinny and strange. "Doug, maybe you should-"
"Shut up. No-one asked you. Get his shirt open."
There was a pause, as if the guy was considering arguing, but then Jensen felt the air shift and he opened one eye just a crack. Enough to see one of Doug's friends leaning into his field of vision. He felt weak, but he still tried to wriggle free as they started unbuttoning his shirt. His tie was yanked from his neck and then his shirt was spread wide. Doug poked him hard in the hip, right over the lines of his tattoo.
"You like tattoos, huh?"
Blankly, he watched Doug staring at him. Wondered what the hell he was saying.
"Gonna give you a real special one, Jenny. Your boyfriend's gonna fucking love it."
They'd dragged him into one of the showers and set it going, and they'd kicked him as they left. Jensen had thought that was funny, in a way where it really wasn't. He'd wanted to say, "Sure, kick a man while he's down," but he couldn't get his mouth to work. After a few minutes he managed to reach up enough to turn the water off, and fell into the silence. He stayed where he was, still and uncomfortable, because he was pretty sure that nobody was coming to the pool today. He thought that maybe if he just rested a while, he'd be able to gather up enough energy to get up and out. Maybe get home. When he heard the door at the far end of the locker room slam open he kicked the door to the shower cubicle shut, keeping his foot pressed hard against it.
Chris saw the spots of blood on the floor first. His eyes were drawn to it, so out of place on the white tile. "Jen?" He looked between the lockers, worrying at his bottom lip with his teeth. "Jensen!" Fearing the worst, he headed straight for the pool, hoping to God he was wrong. He scanned the water, but couldn't see any sign of his friend. The noise inside the pool room was distracting and he went back to the locker room, calling Jensen's name again. Headed for the showers and frowned when he saw one with its door pushed shut. "Jen-"
"Don't come in."
"Shit. You sound... Open up."
There was a slick sound as Jensen moved, and a sniffle. "No. Don't come in."
"You need me to fetch someone?"
"No. I just want to be left alone." He sounded awful. Bunged up, tired and defeated. Chris was sure he'd never heard him so low.
"Tough luck. You're opening that door right now." Chris leant against it. "C'mon, man, I'm worried."
There was a stretch of silence then a loud squeak as Jensen moved his foot away from the door and it fell a few inches open. Chris pushed it the rest of the way and eased his body around it, going dead still when he saw the state Jensen was in. There was blood dried under his nose and his mouth, his left eye was puffy and the right was only a little better. He was holding his shirt closed, one hand bunched tightly around the cotton. Chris knelt down, ignoring the wet floor, and reached out to him. Jensen just hugged himself even tighter.
"What'd he do to you, man?" He spoke softly, and gently moved Jensen's hand, pulling his shirt open. He hadn't expected what he found. Doug had written one word - F A G - across Jensen's stomach, the black sharpie he'd used meaning it wouldn't just wash off nice and easy. Chris felt sick when he saw it. Fury, too, directed entirely at the school's quarterback. Jensen looked down at himself, then back up at Chris.
"Huh," he said, sounding surprised.
"We're goin'," Chris told him, wrapping a hand underneath Jensen's arm and starting to lift.
"But we have classes.."
"I don't give a flying fuck. We're goin'. Gimme a hand to get you up here."
With a struggle, Jensen managed to get on his feet. He felt better once he was stood up, like the effort had given him a little more energy. He allowed Chris to help him for only a second longer and then his friend stood patiently while Jensen fumbled his buttons closed and knotted his tie up again. Chris then led the way outside, towards the parking lot. There were a few stragglers from lunch. No teachers in sight, but several students who stopped and stared as Jensen went past.
He kept his eyes focused on his feet, not wanting to see the pity he could already feel. They were about thirty feet from Chris's truck when they heard Doug laughing.
"Hey, fag boy! Someone-" He didn't get to finish whatever he was about to say, because by then Chris was already on him, his fists wrapped around the guy's collar as he got right in his face and dared Doug to say it again. "Calm down, Kane. Plenty of Jenny boy for you too."
Jensen turned around in time to see Chris throwing a punch at Doug, catching the underside of his nose. He heard the crack and he backed away from them both as a teacher who had just come outside came running over to them. Chris was pulled off Doug and pushed to one side and he stood there, panting, as Doug clutched his nose and moaned in pain. Mr Helford looked between them, then glanced at Jensen.
"Someone want to tell me what's going on here?"
Chris pointed at Doug. "That dick assaulted my friend, so I was giving him a taste of his own medicine."
"Mr Ackles? Doug? What do you have to say?"
Doug glared at Jensen, who just shrugged. "I don't know what happened to him, Sir. I wasn't involved. Kane just went nuts on me."
"Did anybody see what happened?" Helford asked, looking around. The few students that had stayed to watch all shook their heads. "Right. Kane, Freeman... Principal's office. Now. Ackles, I suggest you go and see the school nurse."
"What?! Are you an idiot? Sir?" Chris waved a hand in Jensen's direction. "It's pretty damn obvious that he's been assaulted and you're sending him to the nurse?"
Jensen grabbed Chris's arm, held it until he went quiet. Chris took a step closer to him, his voice quiet enough that only Jensen would hear it. "You say nothing and you're a fucking idiot, Jen. Please."
But he couldn't say anything.
Despite what he had, or rather, hadn't done, Chris still came to find Jensen when he was done with the Principal. He didn't say anything as he led him from the nurse's office and out to his car and he didn't say anything as he drove them over to Jared's place. It wasn't until they pulled up in the driveway and he cut the engine that Jensen finally broke the silence.
"What happened?"
"I got suspended for the rest of the week."
"Doug?"
"Two days detention."
Jensen looked down at his hands, folded on his lap, and tried to think of something to say to that.
"It's okay. I get why you didn't say anything. And you're not an idiot for that. They're the damned idiots for not seeing what's going on."
"They shouldn't-"
"Yeah, I know," Chris interrupted. "But you're my best friend and I care enough about you that I'd do it over again if I had to. That bastard needs a good beating. He needs showing."
"Maybe we're just not the ones to do it to him," Jensen told him.
"So get Jared to."
Jensen shook his head, firmly. "He'd kill him. I think he would actually kill him. Then we'd all be screwed."
Chris sighed. "I guess. So seeing as I'm officially off school until next week, you want to come over tomorrow?"
"I'll be at school. I'm not gonna let him drive me away. Not this time." He could feel Chris staring at him and he gazed out of the window, at the closed garage door. He wondered why Jared hadn't come out yet, to see who was home so early. He looked back when Chris touched his arm and nodded at him.
"Okay, man. I'll come by tomorrow night if you need me to. Be careful tomorrow."
Jensen promised he would, then got out of the truck. At least he could walk, he thought. At least it was only his face that was fucked up. He let himself into the house and soon realized why Jared had not come out straight away. There was classic rock blasting out of the door between the kitchen and the garage, and he could hear Jared singing along. He allowed himself a few minutes to stop and listen, smiling as much as his cracked lip would allow as he held onto the edge of one of the counters. He didn't have time to pull himself together before Jared was suddenly pounding up the steps into the kitchen, humming loudly as he came.
Even with the music blaring, the next few seconds seemed to be just about silent to Jensen. He felt like he wanted to throw up, and Jared looked like he wanted to.
"What the fuck," Jared said, though it wasn't a question. He was across the kitchen in a heartbeat, wrapping Jensen up in his arms. A litany of why, what, how-the-fuck spilled from his mouth to Jensen's ear and he forced himself to tell Jared that he was okay. "You don't look okay, Jen. You don't. Jesus fucking Christ, that bastard is going to.. Forget about any promise I made you... Where else did he hit you? What else did he do?"
Knowing that Jared would find out anyway, Jensen stepped back and shakily unbuttoned his shirt. When Jared saw it, he reached out a hand like he was going to touch, but he stopped short of doing it. Brought his hand up and raked his fingers through his hair, shaking his head. Jensen could see, just as he had with Chris, that he was burning up in anger. It took a few moments before he could speak again.
"You need to just tell me something, Jensen. Just one thing. One word."
"What?"
"Agree to let me deal with this. My way."
Jensen nodded, sadly. "I agree, if you promise you're not going to wind up in trouble."
Jared didn't hesitate. "I promise."
--TBC--
Title: Smoke And Lightning, Heavy Metal Thunder (23/?)
Authors: bloody_adorable and eviltwin
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Rating: PG to adult.
Wordcount: 3,646
WARNING: More violence and nastiness that we in no way condone or encourage.
Summary: AU. Jared's a classic case of rich kid gone wrong, whose only sense of family comes from his motorbike, the guy he rents a garage from to live in and the precinct cops who know his face better than most already. Jensen's a hard-working student whose family are helping push him towards great things. What happens when their two worlds collide, and will Jared's troublesome nature be too much for Jensen to handle?
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.
Note from Evil: You're probably not going to like me very much after this one.
Note 2, also from Evil: I'll respond to comments as quickly as possible. I'm on hiatus from my own LJ right now. Mostly because I am not feeling too happy at the moment. If this comes through in any of my comments, I apologise sincerely. I appreciate every single bit of feedback I receive. And I won't argue if you guys attach (a small version of) your favourite Jared/Jensen/Jeffrey picture. Or even a picture of a sexy motorbike.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Jensen came inside from saying goodbye to Chris to find that Jared was on the upper level again, sat in front of his computer.
"You online again?" He asked, as he made his way up the ladder. He saw Jared close whatever he'd had open down and then saw him take a CD from the drive. "What's that?"
"Burning some porn for when you ain't here tomorrow," Jared told him, not looking round.
Jensen chuckled, turning towards the bed and starting to undress as he did. Jared glanced round at him to make sure he wasn't watching any more, then hid the CD under a stack of others - just in case Jensen got curious - before deleting all the files from the computer. He didn't feel too guilty about lying to him. If he had to, he'd reveal what plan B was, but he hoped he wouldn't need to. After all, Doug had had his ass handed to him once by Jensen. Maybe he wouldn't try his luck again. Right, thought Jared. And Satan might start eating icepops.
"Jay?" Jensen said, as he was turning the computer off.
"Yeah?"
"I'm here now..."
At that Jared turned, grinning when he saw that Jensen was naked and under the covers, holding up one edge as he waited. Jared stripped down quickly, diving under the covers and attacking Jensen's chest and stomach with his mouth as soon as he was level. Jensen just laughed at him, pushing at his head to make him move. He did, after a while, moving up so he was laid next to Jensen, the younger man in his arms. "You want to make some porn of our own, huh?" His voice was low and growly, making Jensen shudder.
"I don't know. I was thinking it might be kind of nice just to fall asleep like this."
"I guess. Maybe I'll blow you in the morning. Send you off to school in a good mood."
Jensen simply smiled, clinging on to Jared a little tighter. "Maybe."
Tuesday morning was back into the routine of school and Jensen found it difficult to drag himself away from Jared so that he could go and shower and get ready. He wished he could stay in bed at least another two hours, but Jeffrey was taking him in today and he didn't want to make the man late for work. So he forced himself out of bed, amidst grumbles of discontent from Jared, and gathered his uniform together.
"When do you guys break up again?" Jared asked, as Jensen pulled on some shorts so he could go in the house.
"Impatient much?" Jensen retorted. "I'll be back at four, and as soon as I'm done studying I'm all yours for the night."
"Mm, okay. Don't let them give you too much homework."
Jensen promised he wouldn't, though he knew that when he returned from school it was more than likely that Jared would be too busy working on the bikes to notice. He had Eric's being dropped off that afternoon so the garage was going to be pretty crowded by the time Jensen came back. He didn't mind, though. The longer Jared left him in peace to start with, the more fun they could have when he was done. With his things draped over one arm, he opened the door to the kitchen and went straight in without looking.
"Good morning," Jeffrey said, as someone else echoed him and then laughed.
Jensen looked up, eyes wide, and immediately flushed red. Stevie just laughed some more and looked down into her coffee. "Uh. Shower," was all Jensen managed before he was racing for the stairs, taking them two at a time. Jeffrey called something up after him, but he didn't hear. He really had to try and remember to stop wandering around in his underwear from now on. And he really had to hope Jared didn't even think of following him.
When he was showered and dressed, he headed back down. Stevie was stood by the counter, a towel in her hands, drying dishes as Jeffrey washed them. Jensen smiled at her, nervous, and gathered up his school books from where they'd been shifted. His bag was in the hallway and he stuffed them inside as Jeffrey tipped out the dirty dishwater and called through to ask if he was ready.
"Just need my shoes," he called back.
"Okay. We're giving Stevie a lift to school too. I can drop you off a block over if you want, though." It was said laughingly, like he didn't really mean the offer, so Jensen didn't reply. He'd just have to hope that nobody saw him. But he knew what his luck was like. He tensed up when he heard the garage door open, and saw Jared stop short in the doorway when he saw who was in the kitchen.
"Right," Jared said, his voice flat. Nobody spoke, though Stevie glanced at Jeffrey to see if he would say anything. He was busy watching Jared who, after a long and awkward silence, nodded and turned around, shouting a 'see you later!' at Jensen over his shoulder. Jensen didn't get a chance to say anything back before the door slammed behind him.
"You know, he's getting better," he said, just to break the silence. Jeffrey just grunted a response, only smiling again when Stevie neared him and kissed his scruffy cheek.
"Time to go."
Jensen pretty much got away with it at the school gates. They were early. Way earlier than any buses arrived, since Stevie had to go and get ready for her class. Jensen got out of the back-seat, having to wait while Stevie kissed Jeffrey goodbye in the front before he could escape. Since the grounds were empty so far, he decided to walk into school with her. It wouldn't look so weird now that Jeffrey was gone, anyway. Just Jensen being his usual teacher's-ass-kissing self, right?
"So, you and Jeffrey. Is that like.."
Stevie eyed him, and smiled. "Yeah. I think so. You think Jared'll be okay with that?"
Jensen shrugged. "Eventually."
"So what about you and Jared? I never really got the chance to ask how come you're there and never at home. Figured I shouldn't, but.. Well."
"I guess now you can." He looked across at her, and she stopped at the expression on his face. "My Dad threw me out, pretty much. As for winding up there, I don't know. Fate?"
"Life throws us some strange things to deal with, that's for sure. Did he throw you out because you're gay?"
Jensen flinched at the word. It sounded odd to hear her say it out loud. Different than his best friend saying it. Scarier, somehow. He quickly pulled himself together, shook his head. "He threw me out because he's an asshole."
"I doubt-"
"You haven't met my father yet. I hope you don't ever have to. He just... I don't know. Nobody and nothing is good enough for him. You know?"
"My grandmother was the same," Stevie told him. "She hated that I went into teaching. It doesn't exactly pay well. And it's not something you can brag about to your buddies. Fortunately for me, my Dad didn't have a problem telling her what he thought. She was a strong-willed woman, but she raised an even stronger-willed son."
Jensen just nodded, not really knowing what to say to that.
"I think your father will find out that he's done the same, maybe without meaning to."
"Oh, believe me, I'm not a strong person. It's just being with Jared that makes it seem that way sometimes. But.. I don't think I've changed."
"Really? You should try reading your older essays and then look at what you hand in now. Even just a few weeks have changed you. You'll see."
They'd reached Stevie's classroom by then, so Jensen didn't try and argue with her. She said she'd see him later and he left her to it and headed to his locker. He thought about her question as he put his bag in, taking out only the books he'd need for the first class. What about him and Jared? Jeffrey and Stevie, they could end up married and moving in together. But what could he and Jared do? He guessed that eventually they'd take the next step with their sexual relationship. When he felt ready. But after that, there really wasn't anywhere else to go. Just grow old together, he supposed. If that was what Jared even wanted.
Jensen started as someone smacked his shoulder, and turned to find Chris watching him, his face split wide with a grin. "Looked like you were deep in thought there, Jen. You all right?"
"I'm good. Sorry, was I ignoring you?"
"Not much. I gotta shoot. We're having this quiz in Chem today and I need to cram some more facts in before class starts. Meet you at lunch?"
"Sure thing."
As it turned out, lunch wasn't such a sure thing. Before the break, Jensen was passed a message to go and speak to the swimming coach over in the pool. He wondered what it was about all the way there, feeling more nervous that he was about to be thrown off the team or something equally unlikely. There were no swim meets scheduled now, not until well into the following year. They would have practice once a month, and were encouraged to swim in their own time, but that was it.
The lights in the changing room were off when he arrived, but the office light at the far end of the room was on. The floor was wet and slippery as he started making his way between the rows of lockers. As he passed a gap between a couple of them, something was thrown out at him and he just had time to register that it had been a fist before he was skidding back into the lockers opposite and then falling flat on his ass. He tasted blood in his mouth and made to get up, but then Doug was there, holding him down by the shoulders as he crouched over him. Jensen brought his knee up, trying to dislodge him, and it worked. Doug fell back and Jensen thought he could get up and keep fighting, until two more sets of hands pushed him back down to the floor.
Of course. Doug wouldn't do this alone.
"Time to teach you a lesson," Doug hissed, right in his face. Jensen shut his eyes, struggling hard against the arms holding him down. He got one arm free and flailed out with his fist, connecting with something. He heard a grunt and then his head was slammed back against the lockers and his vision clouded for half a second. "You're a lot fightier than you used to be..." Doug remarked, before punching him hard in the face. Jensen's left eye teared up immediately, and he kicked out, but hit nothing.
Doug's other hand caught him on the jaw, then another punch to the face landed just above his right eye. The last one hit the corner of his mouth and he felt a tooth come loose inside it.
Whoever was holding his left arm dropped it, while the guy holding his other wrist gripped even tighter. He heard someone speaking, but it sounded tinny and strange. "Doug, maybe you should-"
"Shut up. No-one asked you. Get his shirt open."
There was a pause, as if the guy was considering arguing, but then Jensen felt the air shift and he opened one eye just a crack. Enough to see one of Doug's friends leaning into his field of vision. He felt weak, but he still tried to wriggle free as they started unbuttoning his shirt. His tie was yanked from his neck and then his shirt was spread wide. Doug poked him hard in the hip, right over the lines of his tattoo.
"You like tattoos, huh?"
Blankly, he watched Doug staring at him. Wondered what the hell he was saying.
"Gonna give you a real special one, Jenny. Your boyfriend's gonna fucking love it."
They'd dragged him into one of the showers and set it going, and they'd kicked him as they left. Jensen had thought that was funny, in a way where it really wasn't. He'd wanted to say, "Sure, kick a man while he's down," but he couldn't get his mouth to work. After a few minutes he managed to reach up enough to turn the water off, and fell into the silence. He stayed where he was, still and uncomfortable, because he was pretty sure that nobody was coming to the pool today. He thought that maybe if he just rested a while, he'd be able to gather up enough energy to get up and out. Maybe get home. When he heard the door at the far end of the locker room slam open he kicked the door to the shower cubicle shut, keeping his foot pressed hard against it.
Chris saw the spots of blood on the floor first. His eyes were drawn to it, so out of place on the white tile. "Jen?" He looked between the lockers, worrying at his bottom lip with his teeth. "Jensen!" Fearing the worst, he headed straight for the pool, hoping to God he was wrong. He scanned the water, but couldn't see any sign of his friend. The noise inside the pool room was distracting and he went back to the locker room, calling Jensen's name again. Headed for the showers and frowned when he saw one with its door pushed shut. "Jen-"
"Don't come in."
"Shit. You sound... Open up."
There was a slick sound as Jensen moved, and a sniffle. "No. Don't come in."
"You need me to fetch someone?"
"No. I just want to be left alone." He sounded awful. Bunged up, tired and defeated. Chris was sure he'd never heard him so low.
"Tough luck. You're opening that door right now." Chris leant against it. "C'mon, man, I'm worried."
There was a stretch of silence then a loud squeak as Jensen moved his foot away from the door and it fell a few inches open. Chris pushed it the rest of the way and eased his body around it, going dead still when he saw the state Jensen was in. There was blood dried under his nose and his mouth, his left eye was puffy and the right was only a little better. He was holding his shirt closed, one hand bunched tightly around the cotton. Chris knelt down, ignoring the wet floor, and reached out to him. Jensen just hugged himself even tighter.
"What'd he do to you, man?" He spoke softly, and gently moved Jensen's hand, pulling his shirt open. He hadn't expected what he found. Doug had written one word - F A G - across Jensen's stomach, the black sharpie he'd used meaning it wouldn't just wash off nice and easy. Chris felt sick when he saw it. Fury, too, directed entirely at the school's quarterback. Jensen looked down at himself, then back up at Chris.
"Huh," he said, sounding surprised.
"We're goin'," Chris told him, wrapping a hand underneath Jensen's arm and starting to lift.
"But we have classes.."
"I don't give a flying fuck. We're goin'. Gimme a hand to get you up here."
With a struggle, Jensen managed to get on his feet. He felt better once he was stood up, like the effort had given him a little more energy. He allowed Chris to help him for only a second longer and then his friend stood patiently while Jensen fumbled his buttons closed and knotted his tie up again. Chris then led the way outside, towards the parking lot. There were a few stragglers from lunch. No teachers in sight, but several students who stopped and stared as Jensen went past.
He kept his eyes focused on his feet, not wanting to see the pity he could already feel. They were about thirty feet from Chris's truck when they heard Doug laughing.
"Hey, fag boy! Someone-" He didn't get to finish whatever he was about to say, because by then Chris was already on him, his fists wrapped around the guy's collar as he got right in his face and dared Doug to say it again. "Calm down, Kane. Plenty of Jenny boy for you too."
Jensen turned around in time to see Chris throwing a punch at Doug, catching the underside of his nose. He heard the crack and he backed away from them both as a teacher who had just come outside came running over to them. Chris was pulled off Doug and pushed to one side and he stood there, panting, as Doug clutched his nose and moaned in pain. Mr Helford looked between them, then glanced at Jensen.
"Someone want to tell me what's going on here?"
Chris pointed at Doug. "That dick assaulted my friend, so I was giving him a taste of his own medicine."
"Mr Ackles? Doug? What do you have to say?"
Doug glared at Jensen, who just shrugged. "I don't know what happened to him, Sir. I wasn't involved. Kane just went nuts on me."
"Did anybody see what happened?" Helford asked, looking around. The few students that had stayed to watch all shook their heads. "Right. Kane, Freeman... Principal's office. Now. Ackles, I suggest you go and see the school nurse."
"What?! Are you an idiot? Sir?" Chris waved a hand in Jensen's direction. "It's pretty damn obvious that he's been assaulted and you're sending him to the nurse?"
Jensen grabbed Chris's arm, held it until he went quiet. Chris took a step closer to him, his voice quiet enough that only Jensen would hear it. "You say nothing and you're a fucking idiot, Jen. Please."
But he couldn't say anything.
Despite what he had, or rather, hadn't done, Chris still came to find Jensen when he was done with the Principal. He didn't say anything as he led him from the nurse's office and out to his car and he didn't say anything as he drove them over to Jared's place. It wasn't until they pulled up in the driveway and he cut the engine that Jensen finally broke the silence.
"What happened?"
"I got suspended for the rest of the week."
"Doug?"
"Two days detention."
Jensen looked down at his hands, folded on his lap, and tried to think of something to say to that.
"It's okay. I get why you didn't say anything. And you're not an idiot for that. They're the damned idiots for not seeing what's going on."
"They shouldn't-"
"Yeah, I know," Chris interrupted. "But you're my best friend and I care enough about you that I'd do it over again if I had to. That bastard needs a good beating. He needs showing."
"Maybe we're just not the ones to do it to him," Jensen told him.
"So get Jared to."
Jensen shook his head, firmly. "He'd kill him. I think he would actually kill him. Then we'd all be screwed."
Chris sighed. "I guess. So seeing as I'm officially off school until next week, you want to come over tomorrow?"
"I'll be at school. I'm not gonna let him drive me away. Not this time." He could feel Chris staring at him and he gazed out of the window, at the closed garage door. He wondered why Jared hadn't come out yet, to see who was home so early. He looked back when Chris touched his arm and nodded at him.
"Okay, man. I'll come by tomorrow night if you need me to. Be careful tomorrow."
Jensen promised he would, then got out of the truck. At least he could walk, he thought. At least it was only his face that was fucked up. He let himself into the house and soon realized why Jared had not come out straight away. There was classic rock blasting out of the door between the kitchen and the garage, and he could hear Jared singing along. He allowed himself a few minutes to stop and listen, smiling as much as his cracked lip would allow as he held onto the edge of one of the counters. He didn't have time to pull himself together before Jared was suddenly pounding up the steps into the kitchen, humming loudly as he came.
Even with the music blaring, the next few seconds seemed to be just about silent to Jensen. He felt like he wanted to throw up, and Jared looked like he wanted to.
"What the fuck," Jared said, though it wasn't a question. He was across the kitchen in a heartbeat, wrapping Jensen up in his arms. A litany of why, what, how-the-fuck spilled from his mouth to Jensen's ear and he forced himself to tell Jared that he was okay. "You don't look okay, Jen. You don't. Jesus fucking Christ, that bastard is going to.. Forget about any promise I made you... Where else did he hit you? What else did he do?"
Knowing that Jared would find out anyway, Jensen stepped back and shakily unbuttoned his shirt. When Jared saw it, he reached out a hand like he was going to touch, but he stopped short of doing it. Brought his hand up and raked his fingers through his hair, shaking his head. Jensen could see, just as he had with Chris, that he was burning up in anger. It took a few moments before he could speak again.
"You need to just tell me something, Jensen. Just one thing. One word."
"What?"
"Agree to let me deal with this. My way."
Jensen nodded, sadly. "I agree, if you promise you're not going to wind up in trouble."
Jared didn't hesitate. "I promise."
--TBC--