Life Is Fragile, Handle With Care- Chapter 4
Master Post
Jensen's only just fallen asleep when his cell phone vibrates on the nightstand next to his bed, playing a tinny snatch of a melody poorly masquerading as a Guns 'N' Roses classic.
Groaning under his breath, Jensen fumbles around clumsily in the dark until he finds the ‘on’ switch for his lamp and makes a grab for the phone.
Crinkling his brow in confusion Jensen reads a short but sweet text message from Jared asking if they can meet at Mount Hope Cemetery in thirty minutes time. It's the same cemetery where Jared goes to stargaze and Jensen knows it well. He could drive over there from his house in less than fifteen minutes, ten if he really gets the lead out.
Jensen pushes a hand through his disheveled hair and climbs out of bed, reluctantly stripping out of his creased, bed-warm pajamas, and into his jeans as quickly as possible. He pulls on a thick sweater for warmth and contemplates climbing out of the window because there's no way his mom is going to agree to him leaving the house at this time of night.
Jensen's second storey bedroom window has a good eighteen-foot drop to the ground below and worse luck, there isn't a conveniently positioned tree for him to swing down from Tarzan-style. Instead, Jensen carries his sneakers in his hands and tiptoes down the stairs in his socked feet, somehow still managing to hit all of the creaky floorboard despite his best efforts-like a particularly incompetent cat burglar.
"Jensen?"
Damn his mom's radar sensitive ears.
The ceiling light above his head suddenly flickers to life and Jensen apprehensively turns around to see his mom standing at the top of the stairs in her dressing gown, squinting at him as her eyes adjust to the brightness. "Yeah?" Jensen asks, as though there's nothing remotely strange about him creeping around the house in the middle of the night.
"You're sneaking off to meet Jared aren't you?" Donna whispers, closing in on Jensen as she pads down the first couple of steps in her carpet slippers.
"Yes, Mom." Jensen admits sheepishly. His mom can see through his lies like Superman can see through solid brick walls. It's not even worth trying to come up with a plausible fib.
"Jared's a good kid, don't stay out too long, okay?" Jensen stares, stock-still, not quite daring to believe his mom is being serious with him or whether this is her version of Punk’d. "Go on, get out of here before I change my mind and if you tell your sister that I let you go out so late I'll put you on laundry duty for a month."
"Yes, Mom." Jensen's face breaks into a wide grin before he hurries the rest of the way down the stairs and out of the house, sprinting towards where his car is parked behind his mom's station wagon in the driveway.
Sometimes Jensen's mom is way cooler than he gives her credit for.
When Jensen finally finds Jared in the cemetery, he's only slightly out of breath from running. Jensen might be a big, strong, guy but he's not a fan of walking around graveyards where there are hundreds of dead bodies buried below his feet. He's probably watched one too many horror movies but Jensen still can't look at a grave without expecting a decaying skeletal hand to pop up out of the earth to try and make a grab for his ankle.
Jared's already set up camp in an open area close to an old, crumbling, mausoleum-one that is probably sinister enough to inspire Stephen King's next bestseller.
He must hear Jensen's soft footfalls because he turns around, smiling. Jensen returns the smile, still rubbing sleep out of his eyes as he pulls his coat tighter around himself.
"Hey, you alright?" Jensen asks, judging from the small mountain of empty soda cans and discarded candy wrappers it's clear that Jared's been out here for awhile.
"I'm good. Thanks for coming."
"So, you want to tell me what all this is about?"
"What?"
"This hush hush, late night, rendezvous." Jensen says, shuffling from one foot to the other. He’s freezing out here and seriously contemplating how best to suggest they snuggle together to share some body heat without sounding a) lame and b) sissified.
"Alright, come over here." Jared rotates the telescope, takes a peek himself and then motions for Jensen to look through the lens.
Jensen sighs and does as requested. There'd better be a Deep Impact-sized comet headed directly for the Earth.
The telescope is pointed at a star. It's a bright star-nice and shiny-granted but it's still just a star. "A star?"
"Yep."
"You dragged me out of bed to show me a star? A big exploding ball of gas? Because Jared, you do know that I’ve already met Chad right?"
"Oh, hardy-ha-ha.” Jared grouses, pointing up at the sky. “That’s not just any star, that one is called Jensen."
"It's got the same name as me?"
"It's named after you, dummy." Jared laughs when Jensen quickly bends down to take another look through the telescope. "I wanted to do something special for you and I found a website online called Wishingonastar.com where you can choose a star and dedicate it to a friend...or a loved one. Anyway, I had a star named after you, as a surprise. So, uhm, surprise!" Jared's on the verge of babbling now. He's obviously flustered, worrying over whether or not Jensen likes his gift or thinks it’s the lamest lame thing he’s ever heard. “I’ve got a star deed certificate for you and everything,” Jared adds, self-consciously worrying his hands.
Jensen stands bolt upright, agog, shaking his head slightly, "Seriously?" When Jared nods he blathers, "It's a great star. I reckon you bagged the best one up there." Jared laughs louder, covering his mouth with his hand. "In fact all the other stars should be ashamed, trying to compete with a star as fine looking as that."
Jared's still grinning as he rummages around in a plastic bag at his feet and throws a can of Dr Pepper in Jensen's direction, which Jensen catches easily, one-handed. "Can you stick around for awhile?"
"Why you haven't named a planet after me too have you?"
"Pluto is due to rise tonight, I thought you might like to see it."
Jensen cracks open his can and takes a seat on the curved ridged top of a gravestone, only to have to start hunting around for something else to use as a chair when Jared glowers at him. He ends up hunkering down in the dirt to sit on a small grass covered mound, "Awesome, now I'm Little Miss Muffet."
Jensen's wry grin disappears and his face grows sober when Jared crouches beside him and kisses him on the lips. The kiss is gentle, exploratory. Jared's tongue tracing over Jensen's teeth and Jensen exhales a breathy sigh when Jared pulls away again. "I love you, Jen."
It's not that he didn't already suspect that Jared might love him but hearing it, actually hearing the love word said to him by someone who isn't his mama, makes Jensen's stomach flip over. "Can you say that again?"
"Why?"
"I'd like to record it and use it as my cell ringtone."
"You're crazy Jensen Ackles."
"Crazy about you."
"You want to know what's number one on my list?"
"Wow, you really do love me don't you? Are you going to have to kill me after you tell me?"
Jared stands up, brushing dirt off his pants and walks a few steps away. "Number one is to get married on the beach at Katherine Cove in Ontario. That’s where my parents had their wedding. My mom, she loved the outdoors and she told me that beach was her favorite place in the world."
"Well, that's pretty cool."
Jared lies down on his back, staring up at the sky and Jensen shuffles around on his mound before deciding to lie down next to him, shoulder to shoulder, heads almost touching.
After a few seconds, Jared's hand crawls across the grass and steals Jensen's. They don't talk, don't have to, some things are better communicated without words.
Two weeks later Jensen finds that he’s the happiest he’s ever been with a group of friends he never thought he’d have. He’s completed four retched years of high school and can finally get out of this town, away from his past so he can start a brighter future. And what a great reason to throw a party in the mists of a major heat wave-not that heat is anything new in Texas.
He glances out the back window to where his friends are gathered, some sitting at the picnic table while others lounge in the lawn chairs. The group may not have been his first choice but he realizes now that they should have been. With them it’s not about what you have or what you do, it's about how much you care.
Sometimes he wonders how Chad made it in the group but there's probably some rare side of Chad he hasn't seen yet.
The back door swings open and Jensen smiles as Jared walks into the kitchen, skin glistening from the summer heat. He watches as Jared opens the fridge, standing in the cool air for a few moments before he grabs himself a bottle of water and turns back toward Jensen and his mother.
"Do you need any help?" Jared asks, holding the chilled bottle to his sweaty brow.
Jensen turns away and tries to ignore Jared as much as possible, not really wanting his mother to see how extremely turned on he is at the moment. He feels Jared's body push up next to his, their bare arms touching. Jensen fights against everything he really wants and moves away with a slight blush to his cheeks.
"You could take that bowl of chips out if you don't mind, Jared." Jensen’s mother smiles and points to the bowl Jensen is currently clutching tightly.
Jared pries Jensen's hands off the bowl with a devious smile and Jensen knows his once innocent boyfriend is purposely letting their hot skin touch for longer than necessary. Finally Jared grabs the bowl and heads back outside, letting his shoulder brush Jensen's on the way.
"You've got it bad." his mother says with a laugh.
"Excuse me?" Jensen asks, his voice cracking and eyes widening with embarrassment.
"Nothing," she smiles as she lines the crackers up on the other side of the platter. "You're serious about him aren't you?"
"I think so; I mean I am, yes." he stumbles over his words and quickly tries to come up with an out for this conversation.
"That's good, I like him."
"Thanks, I guess."
"He's been good for you and he makes you happy, right?"
"Definitely," Jensen nods with a fond smile.
"Well then what are you waiting for, sweetie?" Jensen stares at her in confusion but she just laughs and hands him the platter. "Go be with your boy, but no funny business you hear me."
He just laughs and shakes his head before kissing his mother on the cheek and quickly heading out the back door. The sound of laughter hits him as soon as he walks outside and he's not at all surprised to see Chad standing in the middle of the yard doing God only knows what.
Jensen places the platter down on the picnic table and then squeezes in to the space next to Jared, their knees touching. Jared smiles at him, slides closer and lets his hand fall onto Jensen's thigh as Jensen wraps his arm around Jared's lower back.
"We decided to play charades and Chad offered to go first." Jared explains just as Chad drops on the ground and starts doing what looks like the worm. "I'm not even sure he knows what he's doing."
Chad stands back up and stares at them in confusion as if they were all slow and should definitely have gotten the answer by now but no one says anything. Finally he drops on to his knees and puffs out his cheeks-making very inappropriate gestures-which causes Steve to spit out his soda as Sandy gasps and Jared throws his head back with a loud laugh.
Apparently that isn't the reaction Chad had expected and he quickly stands back up and stomps toward the table in frustration.
"I give up," he complains and he falls into one of the lawn chairs. "You all suck at this game."
"What on earth do a worm and a blow job have in common?" Steve asks.
"It wasn't a worm!" Chad throws his hands up and then takes a deep breath. "It was a fish and a-"
"Oh!" Jensen shakes his head and laughs. "Was it Hootie and the Blowfish?"
"Yes!" Chad pumps his fist and then leans forward to high five Jensen. "I knew there was a reason I liked you."
Jensen slaps Chad's hand and smiles even though he's not exactly sure being liked by Chad Michael Murray is something to be proud of. Jared squeezes his thigh gently and smiles at him as Gabe stands up and takes Chad's place in the center of the yard.
The game continues on much smoother when someone else besides Chad is in the center. Every time Chad gets up he figures out some way to include something rather perverted in his actions which manages to make everyone laugh. Even Sandy snickers, though Jensen can see how rosy her cheeks get the first couple of times.
After a few rounds of Jensen just watching everyone else, he leans over and kisses Jared softly before standing up from the table and heading back inside for a drink. When he turns around he gets his foot twisted in the bench and nearly ends up on the ground, his eyes focused on the figure standing at his back door.
Jared quickly jumps up from the table-surprisingly much more graceful than Jensen-and grabs onto Jensen's arm.
"It's okay, Jen," Jared whispers as his grip tightens. "I invited him."
Jensen goes from anger to confusion in seconds as he looks between Jared and Christian, who is incapable of meeting Jensen's intense glare. Finally Jared sighs from beside him and moves toward the stairs, grabbing Chris's arm and dragging him to the table.
"He's your friend." Jared steps away and nudges Jensen gently toward Chris. "Now kiss and make up."
It's almost comical how Chris screws his face up in disgust but tries to cover it quickly and Jared laughs from behind them. When Chris realizes he's been caught his eyes immediately drop to his shoes again and Jensen shakes his head but smiles.
"You're an ass, Kane," Jensen says quietly as he holds his hand out toward Chris. "But if Jared can forgive you then I guess I'm willing to try."
Chris's face lights up and he quickly throws his hand out, grasping onto Jensen's and pulling him in for a very tight but very manly embrace. Jensen chokes out a laugh, his chest constricted by Chris's strong arms but he can hear the chorus of aww's behind him.
"I missed you, man." Chris's arms tighten for a moment before he lets go and steps back, giving Jensen space. "I'm so sorry, for everything."
"I missed you, too."
It's true. Chris has been Jensen's best friend since they fought over who could be the green Power Ranger in kindergarten. He knows his friend has asshole tendencies but so does Jensen. His asshole tendencies have just been occurring less often since him and Jared started dating. If Jensen is able to change then he has to give Chris the same chance and he really hopes his friend doesn't ruin it.
Jared has managed to give Jensen a spark of something he hasn't had since his dad walked out. Jensen can't forgive as easily as Jared does but he's willing try because life's too short to hold grudges. High school is a time to make mistakes and learn from them and he is finally able to have faith; faith that Chris has done just that.
"I hate to break up this touching moment," Chad says from where he stands in the middle of the yard, tapping his foot impatiently. "But we're in the middle of a game here."
"And Chad's losing." Gabe adds.
Chad grumbles something that is most definitely not important and Jensen just laughs anyway as he claps Chris on the shoulder. He guides his friend over to the table and motions for him to have a seat as he and Jared reclaim their seats as well.
Once everyone's attention has returned to Chad making a fool of himself, Jensen turns slightly and pulls Jared toward him. His hands cup Jared's face as their lips meet but he keeps it light, though passionate. Jensen catches Chris’s stare over Jared’s shoulder and his friend offers a small smile-just enough to show Jensen that his unease is slowly fading.
"Thank you," he whispers softly when they break apart.
Jared smiles and leans in for another quick kiss. "You are very welcome."
As the sun starts to go down and charades starts to lose its appeal-after Chad's exhausted every possible innuendo-everyone seems to relax and drift into an easy conversation. It starts with favorite high school memories; which is rather entertaining.
Especially when he hears about the first time Jared got drunk. It doesn't surprise him that it only took a few beers to have Jared conversing with a plotted plant or that Jared never drank after that but it does surprise him that Jared even tried it in the first place. He squeezes Jared's knee and gives him a reassuring smile before deciding to share his own first time story.
Of course he had been a lot younger than Jared's sixteen and Chris had been right there beside him. They were twelve and stumbled across a case of his Chris’s dad's beer in the basement. He remembers an extremely lame game of truth or dare that ended up with him calling Sally Turner's house only to find out that it had actually been her mom he had flirted with on the phone.
Chris even adds his own detailed memory of the evening which only leaves Jensen's face redder and everyone breathless from laughter. He hadn't realized-and he's pretty sure Chris hadn't either-how much fun can be had without alcohol or other crap that they shouldn't mess around with. Just hanging out with friends and having a genuine, sober, good time is such a shock to him but he's definitely enjoying it.
"So the big question," Jensen asks as he leans forward with his forearms resting on table. "What's everyone going to be doing with themselves after the summer?"
"I've decided to take a year off and maybe go to LA." Chad is the first to speak and everyone moans at his answer.
"And do what?" Sandy asks. "Do you have a list of actresses you plan on impregnating?"
Everyone turns to Sandy in shock but she simply shrugs her shoulders and takes a sip of her soda as if what she said wasn't completely out of character. Jensen worries that the innocent good girl of the group has finally been corrupted but heck, he kind of likes it. Sandy's always been a bit too uptight in his opinion.
"How about you two?" Chad ignores Sandy and instead points toward Jared and Jensen. "You guys going to run off and move in together or something?"
"Maybe,” Jensen says with a laugh as his arm snakes around Jared's lower back. "We both got into TSU so we've been talking about going there and getting an apartment together. Right, Jay?"
Jared nods but doesn't say anything, doesn't even look at Jensen or anyone else for that matter. His eyes stay focused on his hands that are clasped tightly atop the table and Jensen’s pretty certain he isn’t imagining the way Jared shifts away from him.
"Is something wrong?" Jensen asks softly, his arm tightening around Jared and refusing to let him move any further.
"No, everything's fine." Jared turns toward Jensen with a smile but it's not hard to see that it's fake especially when his eyes never meet Jensen's.
"Listen," Jensen sighs and scoots closer so that only Jared can hear him, "if that's not what you want then it's okay. You're not going to hurt my feelings."
"It's not about what I want!" Jared pushes away and flies up from the table, shocking everyone into complete silence. His face automatically goes red and he quickly stuffs his hands in his pockets, stumbling away from the table slowly. "I'm sorry. I have to go."
Before anyone can even think to stop him, Jared turns around and practically jogs toward the gate. When Jensen's mind finally catches up with what's happening, Jared's already fumbling with the latch and slipping out of the backyard.
"Jared, wait!" Jensen quickly jumps up and sprints across the yard, hopping over the fence like an Olympian-he has years of running from trouble to thank for that skill.
He catches up with Jared at the side of the house, forcing the other boy to stop by pushing him up against the wall, arms pinned tightly. Jared doesn't fight him so Jensen loosens his hold but leaves his hands on Jared's arms.
"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" he asks after a few seconds, tilting his head to try and get a look at Jared's face.
"I'm sick."
"Why didn’t you tell me sooner?" Jensen rubs his hands up Jared's arms, his voice softening into concern rather than annoyance. "Come on, I'll take you home then."
"No," Jared shakes his head and finally looks up so that their eyes meet. "It's my heart."
"Excuse me?"
"I have a Ventricular Septal Defect." Jared lowers his head again and tries to pull away from Jensen but Jensen's fingers tighten. "It's a hole in my heart and my medication isn't helping anymore."
"Why..." Jensen's hands fall from Jared's arms and he clenches his fists at his side instead as Jared rubs absently at the marks left from Jensen's bruising grip. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"You would have looked at me different, treated me different. I just wanted things to stay as normal as possible for awhile."
"You should have told me!" he turns away from Jared and curls his fists tighter, fingernails digging into his palms.
"I told you not to fall in love with me!" Jared shouts back and Jensen can hear the threat of tears in his voice. "Everything would have been okay if you hadn't. I had accepted it, was dealing just fine."
"So it's my fault?"
"I just don't need a reason to be angry with God!"
Jensen turns around at that, ready to shout something back but Jared's already started walking away with his head lowered, hands stuffed in his jean pockets and shoulders slumped forward. He wants to call out and run after him but something keeps him there, rooted in his spot as everything comes crashing down.
Jared's not answering his cell and Jensen's one small step away from losing his mind with worry. His friends seem to sense that something bad has happened, Jensen's not blind and he doesn't miss the concerned glances they exchange as he walks back to the picnic table, a curled fist still wiping furiously at his red, puffy, eyes.
One by one they make their excuses and leave until only Jensen and Chad are left behind. For all his dumbass ways, Chad is the only one perceptive enough to figure out that something much more serious than a lovers tiff has just gone down between the boys.
"Spill it, Ackles."
"Chad..."
"Don't Chad me, man. I care about Jared and you're part of my posse now too so come on, you know you want to talk about it."
Jensen sighs heavily, hauling himself up so that he’s sitting on the table with his feet resting on the bench seat. Jared's sick. Jared's really sick. They didn't go into fine details and Jensen doesn't know the first thing about heart conditions but what he does know is Jared. The look on Jared's face told him his boyfriend could be on the verge of losing everything-his life-and that is Jensen more than he is willing to accept.
Jensen scratches at a scabbed-over graze on his elbow, breathing deeply though his nostrils as he tries his damn hardest not to break down again. Not in front of Chad. "Jared needs to tell you for himself."
"Shit," Chad growls, walking away a few paces before turning and walking back again, fingers laced behind his head. "I knew it had to be fucking bad. Can't you tell me now? It's going to drive me fucking insane! Jared's my best friend."
"It's not my news to tell." Jensen's chin wobbles, he jumps down from the table and kicks at the dirt, sending a small shower of tiny pebbles flying. When Chad starts to press for information again, Jensen holds up his hands. "Chad, go home. I can't...I can't deal with this right now." Jensen glances over towards the house, he can see his mom at the kitchen window watching him with a troubled expression on her pretty face. He's got to do something, he can't be this helpless, not when Jared needs him. "I need to get out of here."
"Jensen?" Chad grabs his wrist, hard enough that Jensen would swear he could feel the bones grind together.
“Owww! Shit, man! What?”
“Is it his heart?” Chad asks desperately, grappling to keep hold when Jensen yanks his hand away and Jensen’s steel gaze transmits the message that his mouth can’t vocalize. You knew, you knew all along. "JENSEN!"
Jensen is already running towards his car, he can hear Chad calling his name but he's deaf to everything around him. There's somewhere important that he really needs to be right now.
The house is small but modern, a contemporary glass and steel construction with an arched timber roof. It's the kind of house that Jensen's mom would hate because it lacks all the qualities that make it a traditional home but then, maybe, that's why Dr. Ackles decided to buy it.
Jensen hasn't been here in over a year, out of his own volition because his father has never given up trying to convince his son to come visit. The doctor even went so far as to have bedrooms specially designed for his two children but Jensen hasn't spent one single night in his room, wouldn't even know what it looked like if Mac hadn't taken some photographs of the large king-sized bed and black and white designer wallpaper with her iPhone.
Jensen parks his car in the pebble driveway, behind his dad's Jaguar. He doesn't knock when he reaches the front door, just rushes inside, his sneakers slipping on the polished oak floorboards as he races through the house shouting his dad's name.
"Jesus Christ, Jensen!" Alan Ackles appears at the top landing rail, still dressed in his pajamas as he runs his fingers through his tousled sandy hair. He must have been working the night shift at the hospital again.
"Dad!" Jensen takes the steps two at a time until he's standing face to face with his father.
Alan grabs Jensen's shoulders, holding him steady. It's only then that Jensen realizes he's shaking. "Jensen, what is it? What's happened?" Alan asks sternly, trying to make Jensen look at him.
"It's J-Jared..."
Alan shakes his head in confusion, he finally lets go of Jensen's arms and lets Jensen follow him into the bedroom as he slips into his robe. "Jared?"
"He's sick, Dad. I think...God...I think he’s real sick."
"Jared's a friend of yours?"
Jensen's eyes dart away before coming back to his father's careworn face. There was a time, long ago, when Jensen believed his dad could do anything. When he was little he wasn't able to understand exactly what his dad did for a living but he knew that his dad saved lives and in Jensen's young eyes, that made his dad a superhero. Now that's exactly what Jensen is still hoping to be true. There’s nothing that Jensen wants more than for his dad to make everything okay again. "He's my boyfriend.” Jensen closes his eyes against his dad’s sharp exhale. This isn’t how he imagined breaking the your son is a queer bomb. “Dad, can you help him? Please?!"
Alan rubs a hand over the back of his neck, pulls his son into a brief hug and guides him downstairs towards his study.
Jensen sits anxiously in his dad's favorite leather recliner, running his fingers along a small split in the material he prods at the fluffy white padding trapped inside. "Jensen?" He looks up sharply when his father speaks and tries to stop his nervous fidgeting.
"Jared has a hole in his heart."
"A large hole?" Alan asks, his brow furrowing as he takes a seat on the corner of his desk.
"I don't know. He said," Jensen takes a shaky breath and starts again. "He said that his medication isn't working."
"Jensen, I don't. I'd need to examine Jared. To study his medical history. I have a hectic work schedule as it is, I simply can't..."
"Dad, please?"
"I'm sorry," Alan leans over his desk and reaches for his Filofax, flipping through the worn pages. "There's a phone number here, for the coronary care unit at the hospital."
"You're not even going to try and help him yourself, are you?!" Jensen stands up, eyes ablaze. “Whenever I’ve needed you, you’ve always too busy. I should have known it was a stupid idea to come to you for help.” He yanks the study door open and storms outside to his car. The engine revs loudly as he drives away.
A short distance from his dad’s house, Jensen’s pulls over at the side of the road. Resting his forehead against the steering wheel, he squeezes his eyes closed tight and cries.
Jensen doesn’t get out of bed on Monday morning. He manages to convince his mom to leave him alone by telling her that he has a monster stomach-ache when in truth, it’s his heart that’s aching-and isn’t that the kicker.
Jared won’t return his calls, no matter how many messages Jensen leaves with the Pastor. Quite honestly, curled up under his duvet is the only place Jensen wants to be today. Wallowing in his misery with a quart of Triple Caramel Chunk ice-cream and his PS3.
Jensen’s dozing, hazy half-formed dreams of acting on stage with Jared during a Drama Club production, when he distinctly hears the sounds of someone clearing their throat and the sound is coming from inside his bedroom.
Jensen’s heart is in his mouth as he sticks his head out from under the covers but he’s disappointed to find that it’s not Jared. Chris is standing at the end of his bed, apparently fresh from his afternoon shift at Starbucks because the rich, roasted smell of coffee is almost overwhelming, wafting out from Chris’s every pore.
“Please tell me you’re here to bring me a Dark Cherry Mocha?” Jensen moans, pulling the blanket back over his head when Chris grunts out a response in the negative.
He feels the bed dip as Chris sits down and a hand lands on his ankle. “I’m sorry about Jared, man. I didn’t understand before,” Chris coughs, clearing his throat for a second time. “I didn’t understand how important he is to you.”
“He won’t talk to me. I’ve been calling him practically every hour on the hour since yesterday.”
“Huh, stalker much?” Chris mutters, wearing a careful smile which fades as he continues, “I saw the Pastor speaking to Mrs. Brannings when he dropped by to pick up his usual espresso this morning and I might have overheard something.”
“What?” Jensen asks, pushing back his covers and sitting up straight.
“They were talking about college and the Pastor was saying that Jared’s too sick to go. They said something about him needing to take a year out, so I’m guessing it must be pretty bad.”
“Fuck, really?”
“Yeah.”
“What am I going to do, Chris?”
“Go, talk to him.”
“He doesn’t want to see me.”
“Don’t give up so easily Jen, Jared’s worth fighting for isn’t he?” Jensen nods enthusiastically scrabbling out of bed in just his boxer shorts and Chris adds, “but uhm, dude?”
“Yeah?” Jensen barely manages to stifle a wide-open mouthed yawn as he struggles to pull on a pair of socks.
“Brush your teeth first, your morning breath stinks!”
“Whatever Starbucks boy,” Jensen manages a low-wattage grin, despite his troubles, and pushes Chris off his bed. Smirking when Chris lands heavily on his ass with a surprised yell.
