A Crazy Little Thing- Chapter 2

[dontknowmyname]

Master Post


Previous Chapter

Jensen doesn’t remember a time when he’s cared so much about his appearance. Half the time when he walks out of the house, he doesn’t even bother making sure his clothes match or that his hair is combed. Tonight is different for some reason. He finds himself taking over 20 minutes to decide on his outfit, 15 minutes styling his hair just right, and nearly 10 minutes scrubbing at his teeth to make sure every last food particle is gone.

On his way out the door, as he grabs his helmet, he stops to check himself in the mirror for the millionth time that night. He runs his fingers through the spiky hairs in the front, and then finally pulls the door open only to run right into Christian.

“Where you headed, Jen?” His friend asks as he pushes past Jensen. “Do you have a presentation or a hot date tonight?”

“I’m meeting someone,” Jensen says quickly and tries to pull the door shut, but Chris is just as quick.

“Is it the fish from the party?”

“His name’s Jared, man.”

“I know, but I don’t really care.” Chris stares at him with that intense, big brother like glare, and Jensen feels as though he has to look away because he can’t meet Chris’ eyes. “Do you really think it’s a good idea?”

“I don’t know,” Jensen admits. “But that’s my decision to make. Thank you for the advice.”

He slams the door shut and practically jogs down the sidewalk to his bike. All he can think about is Jared and that smile that ignites feelings in Jensen that even he himself didn’t know he was capable of feeling. He has to follow through, give Jared a chance, because there’s something there that keeps pulling him in, and he’s determined to figure it out.

Jensen pulls on his helmet as he hops onto the bike and speeds off toward campus with nothing but Jared on his mind. It’s surprising that he actually makes it there safely considering he wasn’t focused on the road at all, but somehow he manages. With an embarrassingly goofy grin on his face Jensen watches the lanky teen wave from the window before jogging down the concrete steps seconds later. Jensen also doesn’t miss the other teen staring at him from the 2nd floor window as Jared climbs on behind him, and hesitantly takes the helmet that Jensen offers.

“You should really get another helmet if this is going to be a habit,” Jared says as he pulls it over his shaggy hair and smiles at Jensen.

“What makes you think this’ll be a habit of mine?” Jensen asks with a wink. “You’re awfully sure of yourself.”

“And why shouldn’t I be?” He tilts head. “I’m awesome.”

Jensen starts to laugh but he sees the exact second that Jared’s surprising confidence starts to shatter. He turns around and reaches back for Jared’s hands, squeezing them tightly and says, “Of course you are.”

“I sense sarcasm.” Jared scoots closer so that his chest is flush against Jensen’s back, and if Jensen shivers it’s only because there’s a slight chill in air.

“Never,” he starts the bike and waves up at Jared’s nosey roommate as they pull out of the parking lot. The dude’s kind of creepy, but Jensen’s not going to let the jerk screw up his night with Jared, so he forgets about the cold stare as he navigates his way through the streets.

When they reach their destination, Jared doesn’t let go of Jensen right away and Jensen definitely doesn’t complain about it. After a few moments though, he turns around to see Jared staring at the building in what he assumes is shock. He gently pulls Jared’s arms from his waist, and carefully climbs off the bike.

“Do you not like to bowl?” He asks nervously. “We can go somewhere else.”

Jared finally turns to him and shakes his head before his lips finally turn up into a wide smile that melts all of Jensen’s nerves and ignites a whole other set of emotions.

“I love bowling,” Jared says as he climbs off the bike. “It’s just not what I was expecting.”

Jensen stares at him for a moment before he asks, “Is that a bad thing?”

“No!” Jared jumps in quickly. “It’s a good thing. I thought we’d go to some boring restaurant, but I’d much rather go bowling.”

“Well good,” he says with a smile and grabs Jared’s hand. “Let’s go rent some nasty bowling shoes then.”

Luckily it’s not very crowded and they end up on the very last lane with no one beside them. After the first game, Jensen wonders if Jared had just been lying to avoid hurting his feelings because he gets the impression Jared’s never bowled in his life. It’s not like he’s wants to ask though because then he’d have to admit to noticing how awful Jared is at the game.

When Jared stops meeting his eyes half way through the game, Jensen finally has to say something. He can tell the boy’s nervous and heck, Jensen’s been pretty nervous himself the entire time, but he can’t stand that flimsy smile Jared’s forcing. Jensen wants to see those dimples and that spark that lights up those hazel eyes.

“You okay?” He asks as Jared plops down on the seat across from him, and he tightens his fists when Jared nods with the same damn smile. It’s not that he’s angry at Jared, he just doesn’t know what to do and that frustrates the hell out of him. “I think you’re lying to me, so I’m going to try again. Are you okay?”

This time Jared sighs and closes his eyes before finally looking up at Jensen to say, “I suck.”

Jensen bites his lip to keep from laughing, but judging from the way Jared folds his arms across his chest, the other boy knows Jensen’s noticed this little fact. Still Jensen says, “You don’t suck,” and smiles when Jared looks at him in disbelief. “You just need to practice some more,” he suggests.

“I have a confession,” Jared says softly, his eyes falling back to the floor. “I’ve never actually been bowling before.”

“Really?” Jensen asks with his laughter well suppressed. “Why didn’t you say that before?”

“I didn’t want to sound like a loser,” he admits.

“Jared,” Jensen says softly as he gently lifts Jared’s chin till their eyes meet. “You’d never sound like a loser. I don’t know about you but I’d rather someone know I’ve never done something than to have them think I just completely suck at it.”

“You think I completely suck?” There’s a hint of a smile on Jared’s face even as Jensen can feel his own cheeks heating up while his mind tries to think of a quick save.

“No!” He argues, “I just mean that I… you should… okay, yes. I’m sorry, Jay.”

Jared tugs at his hand until Jensen stands up and moves between the other boy’s ridiculously long legs. He smiles and bends down until his lips press against Jared’s, long fingers squeezing gently at Jensen’s neck. It’s not until something crashes to the floor behind Jensen that the two of them finally pull apart, both left a little breathless.

Jensen smiles at Jared as he straightens up and turns around to find the source of disruption behind him. When he sees the group of girls sitting in the alley seats across from theirs, Jensen just winks at them as they continue to stare. He turns back to Jared and sees the red tint on the other boy’s cheeks, but it just causes Jensen’s smile to widen as he steps onto the lane and picks up his ball to take his turn.

He can feel more than just one pair of eyes on him this time, but that only causes Jensen to show off even more. Surprisingly all of the pins fall with his first ball and he hears Jared cheer behind him.

“Next to you anyone sucks,” Jared says with his hand up to high-five Jensen. “You’re like a pro.”

Jensen laughs. “I’m far from pro, but I’d be happy to give you some lessons for the right price.”

“Oh really? Well, how about this?” Jared’s fist closes in Jensen’s shirt and their lips are crashing together for the second time today, but this time feels different, more intense and meaningful. It kind of overwhelms Jensen, but he’s definitely not pulling away until Jared decides their done.

When they finally break apart, Jensen’s left speechless as Jared steps passed him and grabs his ball from the rack. One of the girls now on the lane beside them clears her throat and the other two giggle, but Jensen just smiles.

“Y-yeah,” he says softly, clearing his throat when his voice cracks. “I can agree to that price.”

“Then get up here and teach me something,” Jared says with that wide smile that Jensen had been waiting for all day.

He shakes his head to clear his mind before hopping up onto the lane to stand beside Jared. Once again nosey eyes watch as Jensen guides Jared’s arm back and forth slowly, modeling the correct form. He has Jared bend over just a little at the waist and stands behind the other boy, a little closer than necessary, as Jared swings his arm back slowly before releasing the bowl. He only knocks over three pins, but from the smile on his face one would think he just shot a 300 or something.

The next time, Jensen reluctantly steps back and lets Jared throw the ball completely on his own. When the remaining pins fall over and the screen above them lights up with that slash mark, Jared jumps up and cheers loudly before almost bowling Jensen over as he slides to a stop. There’s a ridiculously huge smile on Jared’s face, and his eyes sparkle even more than Jensen thought possible as he points to the screen and rambles on about his mark. Jensen doesn’t catch everything Jared says though because he’s too busy staring. He doesn’t need to hear anything to know that Jared’s as excited as a little kid on Christmas-and that might not even be enough to describe it.

The girls beside them clap loudly and Jared starts to blush as if he’d forgotten all about them until now. He still turns to them and takes a little bow before smiling brightly at them, and Jensen finds that he wishes they would leave. He doesn’t really care for the way they’re staring at Jared.

And damn if he isn’t jealous of three sixteen-year-old girls. What the hell is wrong with him?


By the time Jensen drops him back off at his dorm, Jared’s face actually hurts from smiling so much. Jared won the last game, and even though he’s certain Jensen let him win, Jensen’s been denying it all night. Instead of arguing, Jared gloats a little as Jensen smiles fondly at him.

When he climbs off the bike, Jared holds the helmet out to Jensen who catches his wrist and pulls him in until their lips are pressed together. Their tongues slide past each other in a rhythm that’s growing familiar and comfortable. Jared feels the moan in the back of his throat, and he pushes into Jensen even more as two strong hands find their way to his neck, thumbs brushing his cheeks.

“Jared!” An annoying voice shouts from the door and effectively ruins the moment for them. “Do you have any idea what time it is?”

Jared smacks a hand against his forehead and sighs as Jensen chuckles. How he can find it funny is amazing, because all Jared can think about is running up to his roommate and ringing the boy’s neck right now. When Jensen pulls Jared’s hand from his forehead Jared finally looks back up at him. Jensen smiles before pressing one more kiss to the corner of Jared’s mouth and then pulling the helmet over his head.

“I hope I got him back before curfew!” Jensen shouts at Chad, sends Jared a flirtatious wink, and then turns his bike.

He pulls out of the parking lot and waves one last time before speeding away from a rather disappointed Jared. It’s not that today is less than he was hoping for because really it was much, much more, but he’s greedy. He wants Jensen to come back and whisk him off to some other spot where they can just spend a quiet night together, preferable somewhere far away from Chad.

“He thinks he’s real slick doesn’t he?” Chad asks before calling to Jared once more. “Come on, Jay! Let’s go.”

Jared takes a deep breath before turning toward his roommate, hoping his face conveys exactly how he’s feeling right now. Of course Chad seems completely oblivious. He follows silently behind Chad as they make their way up to their dorm room, but as soon as the door closes behind them, Jared rips into him.

“Why is it that you insist on sabotaging my time with Jensen?” He steps into Chad’s personal space, practically yelling in the other boy’s face.

“What are you talking about?” Chad feigns innocence, but Jared knows even Chad’s not that stupid.

“Aren’t you the one that insisted I needed to get out more?” Jared asks as he jabs a finger at Chad’s chest. When the other boy nods, Jared continues, “So, why are you being such an ass when I’m listening to what you told me to do?”

“I didn’t say to do it with him!” Chad yells as he takes a step back.

“What is the big deal? What do you have against him?” Jared lowers his voice now, but he’s still staring daggers at his friend.

“He’s a player,” Chad admits. “He’s the type of guy who takes you out, fucks you, and then never talks to you again.”

“How could you possibly know this?”

“Because it’s what I do to girls!” He falls back onto his bed and stares down at the floor. “I don’t date. All I’m looking for is casual sex, and that’s exactly what Jensen’s looking for. I know it.”

“You can’t even get a girl to give you their number,” Jared argues. “So how am I supposed to believe you actually get girls to have sex with you?”

“Don’t judge me by my looks.” Chad says smugly as he points to the crotch of his jeans. “It’s what’s underneath that really counts, if you know what I’m saying.”

“Kind of hard not to,” Jared admits with disgust, “but I still don’t believe you. Plus, Jensen obviously isn’t looking for that or he would have taken me back to his place or something tonight.”

“I threw a wrench in his plans, man!” Chad shouts. “He would have dragged you up here and fucked your brains out if I hadn’t jumped in and saved the day.”

“Oh gee,” Jared says in mock joy. “Thank you so much, Chad! My hero!”

“Has he given you his number yet?” Chad asks, as Jared lies back on his own bed.

“No, but I haven’t asked.”

“But he hasn’t asked for yours either. You know why?” Chad waits until Jared turns his head toward him before he continues. “He’s not interested in staying in contact with you. He’s just hoping to get in your pants and take that sweet virginity from you. You’re like his trophy right now.”

“That’s disgusting, Chad.” Jared throws an arm over his head. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. Jensen’s a good guy, and I think he actually cares about me.”

“Then why don’t you ask him to go to dinner with your folks next weekend?” Chad asks.

“Why should I subject him to that torture?”

“If he really cares about you then he’ll want to do anything to make you happy, right?”

“That would involve saving me from going to dinner with my parents.” Jared admits.

“Or having someone to keep you company.” Chad kicks the side of Jared’s bed and Jared turns to him again. “I’m serious, man. Ask him to go with you. If it all goes well then I’ll back off of the tool.”

“He’s not a tool.”

“Prove it.”

“Fine!” Jared finally agrees. “I’ll ask him, but it doesn’t prove anything if he says no. If he thinks I’m crazy for asking him to meet my family so soon, I’m blaming it all on you and giving him permission to kick your ass.”

“Because beating up your best friend wouldn’t make him a tool?”

“Best friend?” Jared asks. “That’s a self proclaimed title.”

Chad throws a pillow at him and Jared just laughs, pushing it under his head as he turns away from his friend.

“You better not be going to sleep.”

“It’s past my bedtime,” Jared says smugly. “I figured you knew this since you keep track of my curfew and all.”

“Fuck you, and give me my pillow back.” He grabs the pillow from under Jared’s head and then falls back onto his own bed, finally closing his loud mouth for the night.

Jared wasn’t sure how he felt about Jensen going back home with him to meet his parents. It would be nice to have someone there to support him, and make the experience a little less dreadful. Of course bringing Jensen home would only give his parents one more thing to hold against him, but he’s past caring. Chad was right; Jared would like to have some company, but if Jensen says no, Jared’s not going to hold it against him. Jared still might give Jensen permission to kick Chad’s ass even if he agrees to dinner. Chad deserves it after all.


He doesn’t want Chad to know that he’s starting to freak out, so he left this morning before his roommate even woke up, and he walked all the way to Jensen’s place. Jared’s been sitting across the street now for almost two hours, giving himself a pep talk that was only making him more nervous. What if Chad is right? He doesn’t want to believe it, but then why would someone like Jensen actually want to be with Jared, it just didn’t fit.

Finally he gets up the nerve to walk up to Jensen’s door. He knocks once and after only a second he turns to walk away, anxiety getting the best of him.

“Jared?”

He stops in his tracks and slowly turns around, not expecting to see Jensen’s friend Chris, the scary guy Jared spilled beer on, standing at the door. Now he’s even more nervous as he awkwardly stares at the man in the doorway. After a few moments it’s Chris that breaks the silence, stepping aside to invite Jared inside.

“I didn’t know you lived with Jensen?” Jared asks. Why would he know that? He doesn’t know much of anything about Jensen.

Chris shrugs in response and motions for Jared to have a seat on the couch. “Jen and Soph have been nice enough to let me crash with them for awhile. Ran into some trouble with my roommate this semester.”

“Oh,” Jared says softly. “I’m sorry.”

“It happens,” Chris admits with another shrug, but Jared picks up on the hint of sadness in his eyes. “But listen, Jen has class until ten today, so he won’t be back for a bit. Did you want to wait?”

“Y-yeah,” Jared agrees. “I-if that’s okay?”

“Of course, man!” Chris claps him on the shoulder as he walks by the couch. “I promise not to bite, so please don’t have a panic attack or anything. Am I really that scary?”

“Kinda,” he admits with a teasing smile.

“As long as you don’t hurt Jenny, you have nothing to worry about.” Chris folds his arms across his chest and Jared knows he’s being dead serious.

He gulps down the lump in his throat, and nods at the older guy. “I would never hurt him on purpose.”

“Just make sure you don’t.”

Then Jared’s left alone in Jensen’s living room, waiting for him to return so Jared could get this out of the way. He actually is damn close to having a panic attack. As his chest gets tighter and tighter, he scoots closer and closer to the edge of the couch, ready to make a run for the door. Except, Chris walks back in with a glass of water and takes a seat beside Jared, holding the glass out to the younger boy. The gesture would be nice if it didn’t make Jared even more nervous.

Chris stares at him, waiting for Jared to take the glass, but he doesn’t look away when Jared finally takes it and sips at the cool water. In fact, his hand actually moves to Jared’s back when Jared embarrassingly starts to choke.

“You’re strung tighter than a g-string, dude.” Chris gives his back a solid pat and squeezes his shoulder. “Is there something wrong?”

You mean besides me being a complete idiot? Jared wants to ask. Instead he shakes his head, offering Chris a weak smile as he clears and his throat and takes another drink.

“I’m not as mean as I come across,” Chris admits with a teasing smile. “Don’t get me wrong, anyone who hurts my friends is going to have to answer to me, and it’s not pretty. But you’re a nice kid, and I have nothing against you. I’m just not used to having to worry about Jen getting hurt, you know? Usually it’s just Sophia. Jensen’s never been the dating type.”

It’s meant to calm him down, Jared knows this, but it’s anything but calming. He does his best to pretend Chris’s words were helpful, and luckily Chris seems to fall for it. Honestly, Jared thinks he’s deserves an A for effort, because he could have just walked away and ignored the strange, hyperventilating boy on the couch.

Jensen chooses that moment walk in, and the way his eyes narrow at the site of Chris and Jared on the couch makes Jared squirm. It’s a look of pure confusion, Jared’s sure of it.

“Jared?” he asks as he throws his backpack down by the door. “Are you okay?”

For some strange reason Chris pulls his hand back like Jared’s on fire as he jumps up from the couch and locks eyes with Jensen. It’s like Jared’s not even there for a second, and he really wishes he wasn’t because he definitely feels like he’s intruding.

“He came to see you,” Chris says quickly, and Jared really wants to shout duh, but he doesn’t. “I was just trying to calm him down. You’ve got yourself a nervous one, Jen.”

“Bye, Chris,” Jensen growls. It makes Jared want to get up and leave too, but then Jensen’s eyes are one him as Chris finally heads back into the kitchen.

“I’m sorry,” Jared apologizes even though he doesn’t know what he’s apologizing for at the moment.

“How long have you been here?” Jensen sits down beside Jared on the couch and squeezes his knee gently.

He ducks his head and rubs at the back of his neck before he answers. “Not too long. I wanted to ask you something, but Chris said you had class so he let me wait here for you.”

“You’re practically shaking, Jared!” Jensen rubs his hands up and down Jared’s arms, tilting his head to get a good look at Jared’s face. “What the hell happened? Did Chris say something?”

“No.” Jared closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “I came to ask if you’d go back home with me on Saturday to have dinner with my parents.”

Jensen continues to stare at him. “That’s it?”

Now Jared’s staring at him in confusion, starting to get a bit irritated with the smug smile that is now plastered on Jensen’s face. “Yeah, that’s it. Go ahead and laugh at me.”

“I just thought something was wrong with you, Jared.” Jensen’s hands move up Jared’s arms and curl around the base of Jared’s neck. His thumbs gently smooth out the frown on Jared’s lips before he leans in and presses a kiss to them. When he pulls away he says, “You scared me.”

“I’m sorry,” he admits, because he knew he had something to apologize for. “It’s just that Chad said-”

“It’s fine.” Jensen interrupts before leaning in for another kiss. “And I’ll go to dinner with you as long as your parents are okay with it.”

“Really?” Jared takes a deep breath for the first time today and breaks out his wide smile. “They’re not exactly against it, but…”

“You can tell me all about them while we get something to eat.” Jensen pulls Jared up from the couch and tugs him into the kitchen. Chris pushes away from the wall and clears his throat before walking past them with a coffee mug in his hand.

“Hey, Jen?” He waits till he hears Chris walking up the stairs before he asks, “Could I have your phone number?”

Jensen turns around and stares at him for a second before he throws his head back and laughs, and Jared’s pretty certain he’s going to say no after that.

Except that Jensen tugs Jared forward until their bodies are pressed together, and then carefully reaches into Jared’s back pocket to pull out the phone hidden there. He quickly types a few numbers and then a few letters and then turns it off before putting it back into Jared’s pocket.

“There ya go,” he says before giving Jared a short but sweet kiss on the lips.

The hell with Chad and his crazy conspiracy theories, so what if a guy like Jensen usually doesn’t fall for someone like Jared, because for some strange reason Jensen does want to be with Jared. Nothing else really matters right now. Maybe Jensen’s not the dating type, but what the hell does that even mean, really?


“You didn’t even tell your parents I was coming did you?” Jensen asks when they finally pull into the driveway. The tremors in Jared’s hands are enough to tell Jensen that Jared is ridiculously too nervous for what is supposed to be a simple family dinner.

“Not exactly,” Jared says softly.

Jensen pulls off his helmet as he stands, strapping it to the handle bar before turning around to face Jared. The younger boy is still wearing the brand new helmet that Jensen only bought because of the little devil on the side. Above it are the words Hell on Wheels and Jensen couldn’t pass up the irony in that.

Jared had tried to pretend that he didn’t find it that funny, but Jensen caught a glimpse of those betraying dimples as Jared slid the helmet over his long hair.

“Jay,” he says calmly, “that was a yes or no question.”

“Oh.” Jared smiles slightly as he takes the helmet off and hands it to Jensen to strap on to the other handlebar. “Then no, I didn’t tell them.”

“What exactly did you tell them?”

“That we were coming for dinner and okay bye.”

Jensen shakes his head with a sigh as he takes Jared’s face in his hands before leaning in to press their foreheads together. They don’t break apart until a high pitched squeal pierces the air from somewhere behind them, and Jared pushes off Jensen so hard he nearly falls off the bike. Except Jensen, being awesome as always, catches him by the arms just in time and pulls him up onto his feet instead.

“Jared!” The little girl shouts before running down the driveway, barreling into Jared.

Jensen feels the younger girl’s eyes on him over Jared’s shoulder and he offers an awkward wave accompanied by a small smile. Jared’s sister returns the smile as she pulls away from Jared and takes a second to look Jensen up and down. When her eyes met Jensen’s she gives him a look that makes him feel really uncomfortable, but he continues smiling anyway.

“So this must be Jensen,” she says.

He tilts his head toward Jared and the other boy just shrugs, but the pink rising on Jared’s cheeks says it all.

“That would be me.” Jensen turns back to the girl and holds his hand out, but she pushes it away gently and throws her arms around him instead. Jared stands beside him laughing as Jensen stumbles backwards in surprise. “I take it Jared has said nice things about me then?”

“Oh my gosh,” she shouts in Jensen’s ear as she lets go of him and takes a step back. “You’re all he can talk about! I’m Megan by the way.”

Jensen looks over at Jared and notices his face has grown even redder, but this time there’s a smile there as well, which just makes Jensen smile wider.

Megan continues, “It’s like you’re a god or something. I gotta say, you’re definitely just as hot as Jared said you were.”

“Megan!” Jared warns as Jensen laughs and says, “Oh really?” He pulls an extremely embarrassed Jared into his side and places a kiss on Jared’s cheek.

“You guys are too freakin’ cute!” She squeals again.

Jared turns and hides his head in Jensen’s shoulder, but Jensen can tell Jared’s smiling so he continues laughing as he pulls Jared in even tighter. Jared never mentioned his sister, but then he hadn’t mentioned much about his family. Since they exchanged numbers earlier this week, the two of them have been talking a lot more, whether through phone calls or texts, but Jensen didn’t try to pry into Jared’s life. If Jared didn’t want to talk about it, then they wouldn’t. So all Jensen knows is that Jared’s family is conservative and that he is obviously very close to his sister, but for some reason Jared really doesn’t want to have dinner with his parents.

Jensen’s confusion gets even worse when Jared’s mother shouts her son’s name and Jared goes stiff in his arms. Megan turns around and seems to step in front of her brother and without thinking Jensen drops his arms around Jared and stands nervously at the boy’s side. The smile on Jared’s face is long gone, replaced with what Jensen can only describe as a sideways frown. All Jensen wants to do is pull him back in because that frown definitely does not belong on Jared’s face, but everything seems to go from comfortable to tense in seconds and Jensen doesn’t know how to handle that.

“My baby boy’s home!” Mrs. Padalecki shouts as she pushes past Megan and pulls Jared into an unreciprocated hug, completely ignoring Jensen. “You look so good, Jay bear!”

Jensen can’t help snickering at the nickname, but it turns into yelp when Jared stomps on his foot. That’s about when Jared’s mother finally acknowledges Jensen’s presence.

“Who’s your friend?” She asks as she gives Jensen the same once over as Megan had, except she doesn’t seem to be smiling when she’s done.

Jensen clears his throat before holding his hand out to the woman. “It’s nice to meet you, Ma’am, I’m Jensen,” he greets.

It feels like a very long and awkward moment passes before Mrs. Padalecki takes his hand and looks up at him with a genuine smile. She holds his hand in both of hers and says, “It’s nice to meet you too, Jensen, but you can call me Sharon. I’m so glad to see my little boy is making nice friends like you. I was worried that roommate of his would corrupt him.”

“His name’s Chad, Mom. He’s not some demon or anything,” Jared defends, nudging Jensen’s side when he coughs because Jared obviously knows exactly what Jensen’s thinking. It’s a soft nudge though, and Jensen knows Jared’s not holding it against him. Chad hasn’t exactly been very pleasant around Jensen.

Jared scoots closer to Jensen and turns to him as if to make sure that he was okay with the touch. He smiles as he grabs Jared’s hand and gives it a gentle but firm squeeze. In hindsight, he probably should have asked Jared a few more questions before they left school. The biggest question being: do your parents know you’re gay?

When Jared’s mom gasps Jensen drops Jared’s hand and reflexively moves away from the other boy, which apparently is not what Jared wanted. Mrs. Padalecki holds a hand over her mouth, Megan’s staring at them all with wide eyes, Jared looks like the saddest puppy dog ever, Jensen’s not even sure he knows what happened.

“Did you ride here on a motorcycle, Jared Tristan?” Mrs. Padalecki asks with a very threatening tone, but Jensen lets out the breath he’s holding and runs a sweaty hand through his short hair.

Jared turns toward the bike, then to his mother and nods.

“I can’t believe this,” she hisses. “Your father’s going to be so irate. I guess this is your bike, Jensen?”

He really wants to blurt out some sarcastic response, but he knows that would definitely not make the situation any better. Honestly, he could care less if Jared’s mother disapproves of him or his bike, but he does care about Jared and right now Jared looks so damn nervous that Jensen can’t take it.

“Yes, Ma’am,” he answers boldly. “I don’t like public transportation very much.”

Megan snorts behind Sharon and Jensen catches the Jared trying to hide his smile, but Sharon does not look amused at all.

“So you would rather get you and my son killed?”

“Mom!” Jared shouts as he steps closer to Jensen, standing between him and Mrs. Padalecki.

Jensen’s heard that line a million times. He should have been prepared for it, but instead he stands there looking like a fool without a decent defense.

“I’m 18. I can drive with whoever I want on or in whatever I want,” Jared defends.

“I knew you would get into trouble at that school.” She shakes her head at the two of them, and then pulls Jared into her arms once again, glaring at Jensen over Jared’s shoulder. “I’m glad you made it home safely. Dinner will be ready in a half hour.”

Megan waits until her mother finally lets go of Jared and disappears into the house before she wraps her arms around Jared so tightly that Jensen’s not sure he can even breathe. If there was anywhere for Jensen to go he would have given them some privacy because he definitely feels like he’s intruding. Especially when Jared squeezes his sister back just as tightly and bends down to rest his head on her shoulder.

He stands silently and plays with the zipper of his jacket until the two of them remember that he’s still there. Jared’s the one who finally pulls away from Megan, but he still doesn’t look at Jensen.

“Well,” Jensen says, “that was fun.”

Megan smirks and nudges Jared, who finally lifts his eyes to meet Jensen’s.

“I’m sorry,” he apologizes.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for, Jared” Jensen takes a step forward and reaches out to tilt Jared’s chin up a bit more. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“She shouldn’t have said that to you.”

“You’re her son, her Jare bear,” he jokes.

Megan lets out a loud laugh and possibly even a snort, while Jared rolls his eyes with a poorly hidden smile.

“I like that nickname,” Jensen says.

“No,” Jared warns. “Just no.”

“Okay, fine.” He gives in, but when Jared goes to follow Megan inside he gently reaches out to stop him. “So, your parents don’t know you’re gay?”

Jared tilts his head to the side and laughs. “Oh, they know,” he admits. “They’re just in denial.”

Jensen feels a bit of tension roll off his shoulders and he pulls a little harder at Jared’s arm until their chests are pressed together. He just stares at Jared for a few seconds until the other boy starts to squirm.

“So I can do this then?” He pushes his lips to Jared’s, forcing his way inside that warm mouth he’s been dying to explore, and he can’t help but smile when Jared’s tense should relax. When Jensen finally pulls back Jared just blinks at him, mouth still agape, and he glances over Jared’s shoulder to wink at Megan. “That’s okay then, right?”

Jensen hears Megan chuckle, and Jared finally pulls himself together to turn toward his sister, but her laugh quickly turns into a fake cough before practically skipping into the house.

When Jensen clears his throat Jared turns back to him with a rather goofy smile that slips for only a second as Jared realizes he hasn’t said anything yet.

“Y-yeah,” he stutters and Jensen laughs.

“What will you parents say though?” Jensen asks.

“The hell with them,” Jared growls. “I want you to kiss me.”

“Yes, sir!” He grabs Jared’s face in his hands and presses another aggressive kiss to those delicious lips. If he sees Jared’s parents watching them from the window with disapproving eyes, he doesn’t say anything and he certainly doesn’t stop.


Jared would love to say that dinner is going better than he expected, but it’s not. It’s going exactly how he envisioned it would go, except that the looks his parents are giving Jensen make it seem like their trying to exorcise him with their minds. It’s a bit ridiculous, and Jared wants to scream at them, but Jensen’s squeezing his knee and sending him smiles that almost make Jared forget where they are.

Just when he’s starting to feel a bit more relaxed, one of them has to open their mouths and drag him right back to the awkward meal they’re having.

“What are you studying at school, Jensen?” Sharon asks as if she genuinely cares, but Jared knows it’s just because she can’t stand the silence any longer.

“I’m a Philosophy major, ma’am.” Jensen answers with such confidence, and he looks right at Jared’s parents with a very charming smile. It makes Jared melt, but does very little for the coldness his parents bare.

Jared stares a bit at Jensen, watching the older boy explain that his degree is in ethics and philosophy of law, which fascinates the hell out of Jared but definitely does not impress his parents. He probably should have known this about Jensen before now, but he’s realizing now that he really doesn’t know much at all about Jensen. Apparently his impressed and interested expression is a dead give away to his parents, and his father takes the opportunity to pounce.

“You didn’t know Jensen was studying law, Jared?” His father asks.

“No, sir,” Jared replies quietly as he pushes his food around with his fork.

“Seems like something you would know when you’re…you know…” he waves his hand at Jared and Jensen, and Jared bites his lip at his father’s ignorance. “If you’re…with someone.”

He rolls his eyes and thankfully his father doesn’t notice because that would have just made everything worse. There’s really nothing Jared can say to that thought because his father’s right. Jared should have known that, but he didn’t so they’re just going to move on to a different topic, or silence is okay with him too.

“What do you two know about each other?” Sharon chimes in and Jared curls his fists beneath the table. One of Jensen’s hands overlaps his and Jared allows his fingers to slip between Jensen’s.

“It’s not exactly Jared’s fault,” Jensen speaks. “I’ve been so curious about Jared’s life that I haven’t really given him time to ask me about mine.”

Jared turns toward Jensen and offers him the biggest smile he can give at the moment, and Jensen’s hand squeezes his before the older boy continues.

“It’s not every day you meet such a fascinating English major at UT,” Jensen explains.

“Wow,” Megan says, “must be some really dull people at the school then.”

Jared kicks his leg out under the table and Megan simultaneously moans as she reaches down to rub at her sore shin. She glares at Jared and Jared offers her a small smile in return when Jensen nudges at his side. In all honesty, he’s thankful for the lighthearted moment.

“Did Jared ever tell you about Sandy?” Sharon doesn’t even bother to look at Jensen, and she shoves a forkful of chicken into her mouth as soon as she’s finished speaking. Jared doesn’t understand how these are the same two people who raised Jared to be so respectful to others, because they certainly aren’t showing respect right now.

Jensen turns toward Jared with a raised eyebrow and what’s Jared supposed to say? Oh she’s just a girl I used to pretend to date.

“Her and Jared dated in high school,” his father fills in for him. “She’s still his best friend, isn’t she, Jared?”

“Yes, sir,” he agrees but doesn’t look up at Jensen or his father.

“Oh, and don’t forget Katie.” His mother adds to his discomfort, all the time wearing a delighted smile that really aggravates Jared. “She’s such a sweetheart.”

“Another old girlfriend?” Jensen asks.

All Jared can do is nod as he shovels some food into his mouth, despite the fact that he really doesn’t feel like eating at all. He’s waiting for Jensen to pull his hand away, and when it doesn’t happen Jared looks up at Jensen to see the other boy’s still smiling. Instead of smiling back, Jared drops his eyes back to his plate and blushes even more.

Jared isn’t dumb enough to think that the surprisingly normal moment of his parents sharing embarrassing stories meant they were warming up to Jensen. It’s not his parents’ way of trying to make conversation and be typical embarrassing parents, but instead it’s their way of trying to intimidate Jensen.

Luckily for him Jensen seems to pick up on that as well, so their brilliant idea isn’t going to work today.

Just like the bullies Jared dealt with in school, his parents back off when they realize they’re not getting through to Jensen. Eventually the topic changes to another form of torment, specially tailored to make Jared crazy.

“Jeff seems to really be doing well in med school.” His mother’s face lights up as she talks about his brother; as if Jared needed more proof to know he was the only source of disappointment for the family. “I can’t believe my son’s going to become a doctor soon.”

“That’s great,” Jared mumbles. He’s happy for Jeff, he really is, but he doesn’t need to have his brother’s success rubbed in his face. Not to mention that Jared already knows how Jeff is doing since he actually talks to Jeff at least once a week, because his siblings actually accept him.

“Have you even decided what you want to do with your degree yet, Jared?” If it’s not his mother harassing him, it’s his father. They just can’t get enough of it.

He almost doesn’t bother responding, just pushes his food around some more, but then Jensen’s squeezing his hand again and Jared decides he’s definitely the bigger person. After all, he was raised with those southern manners.

“I’m kind of thinking about becoming a writer,” he answers with surprising confidence.

Honestly, Jared has absolutely no idea what he wants to do yet, but watching his parents practically choke on their sorry excuse for a family dinner is totally worth lying. Out of the corner of his eye he can see Jensen biting at his lip to keep from laughing at the reaction, and Megan ends up snorting, which makes it extremely hard for Jared to hold back his own laughter.

After a few minutes of coughing and poorly hidden silent prayers, his parents seem to have recovered from the shock. Gerry looks like he’s about to have an aneurism, and Jared actually feels just a tiny bit bad for being such a smartass.

“That’s not a very stable career, Jared.” His father’s tone is familiar, bringing back bad memories that are still a bit too fresh in Jared’s mind. It’s the same tone Gerry used when he said, god doesn’t approve of that life style when Jared had come out to his parents.

Before Jared can think of a well thought-out response, Jensen decides to speak up on Jared’s behalf, which only provides more proof that Jensen is amazing.

“I think you’ll make a great writer, Jay.” And of course there’s the nickname that has Jared swooning all over again.

Without even thinking of where they are and who is watching, Jared leans over and presses his lips to Jensen’s. It definitely startles Jensen, but Jared doesn’t allow him to pull away because he’s got his hand on the back of Jensen’s head, pulling him in even closer. Gerry clears his throat, but Jared doesn’t stop. He’s not sure if it’s rebellion or attraction that’s fueling his actions, but Jensen doesn’t really seem to be complaining so he’s not exactly in a hurry to stop.

When he finally does pull away it’s only because they both need some air, and Jensen has this really silly smile on his face that makes Jared want to lean in for another kiss. Except he realizes he’s poked the bear enough for one night. Although Megan is giggling, Jared’s a bit overwhelmed by the heat in Gerry’s angry stare and the sadness in Sharon’s silent tears. Apparently hearing that your son is gay means there’s still some hope, but seeing him kiss another guy finalizes his spot in hell.

“Well,” Jensen bravely speaks up again. “Thank you very much for dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Padalecki. This has been truly lovely, but I think it’s about time we be leaving. What do you say, Jay?”

“Sounds good to me,” he answers with genuine excitement. As he stands up from the table with Jensen, he looks to his right and says, “Thank you for dinner, Mother,” and to his left, “Father,” then they’re walking out of the room.

They grab their jackets off the rack, and quickly escape out of the house’s cold atmosphere and into the chilly autumn air. As soon as their outside, Jensen throws his head back with the most amazing laugh ever and Jared responds with his cheesy grin and giant dimples.

“Wow,” Jensen says as he pulls on his helmet and hand’s the other to Jared. “Just wow.”

“Tell me about it.” Jared slips on the ironic, yet hilarious helmet and starts to climb on to the bike before he hears Megan calling his name.

His sister stands at the end of the walkway with her arms folded across her chest and if he didn’t know better, Jared would swear she looks like she’s about to cry. When he opens his arms wide, Megan practically sprints toward him, nearly knocking him over once again, and Jared definitely isn’t imagining the dampness on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” he apologizes.

“I just don’t want you to leave,” she admits as she backs away and wipes her sleeve over her face. “It’s not the same here without you, and I don’t like it.”

“I’ll be back in a few weeks for break, Megs,” he kisses her on the forehead and then climbs onto the bike behind Jensen. “Then you’ll be tired of seeing me, and besides, you only have a few more months until you graduate. Don’t forget my number, okay?”

She shakes her head, but laughs at Jared’s ridiculous comment as Jensen turns on the bike. Jared wraps his arms around Jensen and can’t help smiling all goofy and big when Jensen reaches for Megan’s hand and kisses it gently before telling her goodbye. Megan stands in the driveway waving until it becomes too hard for them to see her anymore, and despite how tired Jared feels, he almost hopes it takes them all night to get back. Being this close to Jensen, with his chest pressed flush against the other man’s back, is exactly where he wants to be right now.

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