Fic: RPS (Jared/Jensen): In It for Love [1 / 16] | PG-13 | 8000 words
Title: In It for Love (1/16)
Author: dragonspell
Fandom: RPS
Pairing: Jared/Jensen (and Jared/a slew of other characters including Misha Collins, Tom Welling, Mike Rosenbaum, Danneel Harris, Sandy McCoy and some OMCs and OFCs)
Rating: Currently PG-13 (eventual NC-17)
Warnings: AU. Cheesiness. Fandom cliches. The usual drill.
Summary: After a drunken dare, award-winning writer Jensen agreed to on a reality television show to vie for the attention of megastar Jared Padalecki who he's had a crush on for years. Only Jensen doesn't know how he's going to be able to tolerate all the other contestants and their widely varying personalities and he's pretty sure that you're not supposed to be able to get used to somebody filming you 24/7.
Word Count: 8000 (this part)
Disclaimer: Never happened, no affiliation.
A/N: Have been working on this off and on. Let's see how well I deal with doing the whole 'chapter' thing again.
Master Post
Master Post | Part 2
Episode 1 - First Half
Jesus. Just what the fuck did Jensen think he was doing here? Jensen stared at the absolutely huge, tacky house in front of him, questioning his sanity for the millionth time. Beside him sat two bags of luggage and he was facing the fact that this place with its clashing exterior colors of red, blue and purple, trimmed with a little bit of pink and yellow and currently being framed by the flaming orange of the setting sun was where he was going to be living for the next four to five weeks. Well, at least until he got kicked out. Jensen glanced down the line of hopeful faces standing beside him and swallowed. He was going to be living with all of them, too. Jesus.
He stared at the paved ground of the driveway and tried not to make eye contact with anyone, ignoring the excited chatter around him.
It was all Chris’s fault. Really, it was. Jensen didn’t do things like this. He just didn’t. And really, did it matter that, yes, Jesus, all he talked about was Jared Padalecki and his killer abs? Crush aside, just what the fuck did he think was he doing on a reality dating show, pathetically hoping for a chance with the big name actor? People did things like this to boost their sagging or nonexistent careers. Or because they were bored. Or couldn’t find a date. Jensen fit absolutely none of those categories.
Okay, so maybe the last one, but just who’s fault was that one? It wasn’t like he was a freak or anything-he just needed to get out more. Like Chris had said. Just, more along the lines of, say, at a bar and not a reality dating show.
Except that bars were full of people that Jensen had absolutely no interest in meeting-people shallower than their shot glasses-and there was at least one person in the gaudy house in front of him that he knew he did want to meet. So here he was like a wallflower-little too fucking close to home, thank you-waiting in front of the damn stretch hummer that had brought him here with a bunch of other losers and wannabes.
Jensen wasn’t a wannabe. He liked to think he wasn’t a loser either, though Chris frequently said that he was. Jensen was actually fairly successful in life. He just wasn’t, you know, plastered on billboards-shirtless or otherwise-like some people that he could name. He’d like to think, though, that being a New York Times Bestseller wasn’t exactly worth nothing.
He had a good career, a nice house, some would say that he had a rather good life. But yet here he was just asking for it.
Jensen finally looked up from his introspection of the finer points of the blacktop and checked out his competition with tiny little glances out of the corner of his eye. It wasn’t that he was particularly interested. He was…just curious.
The guy next to him was, of course, gorgeous. Jensen would be surprised if he wasn’t. After all, this was Jared Padalecki that they were talking about. The guy had his freaking pick of the entire world, so of course there would be totally gorgeous models just dying to meet him. The guy might have started with cheesy horror flicks but his latest movie had won him an Oscar and Jensen has no problem admitting that he cried during the death scene. It was just that good. Chris can make fun of him all he wants but it’s one thing Jensen’s not going to feel embarrassed about because he saw Chris secretly wiping his eyes, too.
So, yeah, it’s not real surprise that Jared’s got a lot of beautiful people lined up around the block wanting to date him. Guys and girls because that was just who Jared was. Ever since the new amendment had been passed allowing gay marriage, a ton more celebrities had come out of the closet and Jared had been one of the first, proudly proclaiming that he didn’t discriminate. There were still the religious zealots out there but they were a minority and within the little bubble that was Hollywood and celebrity egos, it was very hard to hear the outraged screams.
Jensen kept eyeing tall, dark and handsome next to him and wondered what the guy’s story was. He didn’t look like he couldn’t get a date. Matter of fact, he looked like he would have the opposite kind of problem-the kind that could only be solved with a few big sticks, some bodyguards and maybe a few tanks. Jensen was willing to bet that he was a model. Probably from L.A. Maybe he was only here because his agent wanted him on TV. Jensen bet that the guy, Mr. Chiseled Jaw as he decided to call him, probably already had a boyfriend. Or two, maybe three. He'd left them all back at his condo, sprawled out over the bed like the terribly attractive people they were, just to come here. He had to have an Antonio and a Lars and a Jamison all lined up, waiting for him to come back. Antonio was probably setting him up a rose petal hot bath in the ridiculously huge tub, Lars was eating ice cream in bed and Jamison was cooking up a seven course dinner. Because, of course, when you have your pick of the litter, you really chose the cream of the crop instead of no account slackers.
Jensen looked down from Chiseled Jaw and caught site of Lawyer Barbie and had to groan. God, she was gorgeous, too. She was dressed in a smart, black pinstripe suit with her long hair flowing around her shoulders and he thought that she'd probably just left her briefcase in the car because she wanted to show that she was serious. Otherwise, she’d be calling up Bob from accounting and Doris, her secretary, and Kevin, the mysterious but hot detective that always brought her the inside scoop on all the cases because he had a bit of a crush on her.
Next to Lawyer Barbie complete with subpoena serving action was Mr. Blue-eyed Artist who was checking out the architecture of the house and nearly hidden behind him was a perky former cheerleader turned actress. Jensen narrowed his eyes at her because he had a feeling that he’d seen her before but he just couldn’t place her. He didn’t think that she was from Dallas but he knew that he’d seen her face before.
Also down the line, Jensen could make out a few people that either had to be professional athletes or personal trainers-nobody else can ever have that many muscles, especially not the women-and a tiny Latina standing on five inch heels. He wondered if she knew that even with the heels she would only come up to Jared’s waist. To the other side of Jensen, there was a girl that looked one shriek away from puking, and a guy with such ramrod posture that he had to be military. The alternatives were too scary to contemplate because the guy was even standing at parade rest. There was also a bald guy talking excitedly to a woman with the biggest boobs Jensen had ever seen and that included his unfortunate foray into heterosexual porn before he finally figured out that he’d been born to love dick. She looked like she should need at least three bras or an anti-gravity field to hold them up. On the end of the line were some of the most beautiful people that Jensen’d ever seen and considering the assortment gathered in front of the house, that was saying something. One he knew for sure was a girl and the other he wasn’t quite sure.
Like always, he started making up stories for them as well, just like with Chisel Jaw and Lawyer Barbie, naming one Twinktastic (he’d decided it had to be a guy) and the other one Ten. Twinktastic had one of those emo-looking haircuts and looked like the only reason he wasn’t traveling with Fall Out Boy was because he decided that he was just too pretty to hang around with them. He probably had had a tragic, torrid affair with Pete Wentz before coming to L.A. to make his dreams of becoming a star a reality. Number Ten down on the end, she had to be a model considering the way she was posing for the cameras. She was staring straight at them, making sure that they got her best side at all times.
Jensen resumed staring at the ground. Just what did he think he was doing here? Okay, so he wasn’t exactly bad looking-nobody he had ever dated has ever had any complaints in that department-even with his freckles and bowlegs. Chris, though, says that sometimes he looks like a duck when he presses his lips together so Jensen made a conscious decision to keep them loose. Unfortunately, that also meant that he wanted to lick them nervously or bite them bloody and neither one would probably play very good on camera.
Fuck but there were a lot of cameras. Jensen caught himself trying to sink into the ground and straightened out his spine. He could do this. He was the one that had ultimately decided to do this thing, so he was going to fucking do it. It might have been a drunken dare from Chris but it was Jensen that hadn’t said no during the entire casting process, so damn it, he was going to go through with it. Just…that was a lot of cameras.
Speaking of the cameras, half of them were beginning to turn towards the entrance of the house instead of just the line-up of hopeful losers and the chattering stopped, silence falling in anticipation. The double doors were absolutely huge, about ten feet tall and looked to be made out of solid freaking wood but they opened easily enough. Instead of Jared standing there, though, an older man and a skinny blond guy emerged. Jensen tried not to let the disappointment show on his face because there was pathetic and then there was pathetic.
“Hey, everyone,” the older man said, raising his hand as he walked to them. “I’m Jeff Morgan, the show’s producer, and welcome to ‘In It for Love.’ I certainly hope you all know what you’re here for?” A loud cheer erupted around Jensen and he jumped. The bald guy down on the end whistled, loud and piercing and Jensen winced. Jeff, though, laughed. “Alright. I can see everybody’s in the right place. So we’re all aware that this is the Jared Padalecki version?” The screaming and the catcalls started up again until Jeff waved them back down. “Alright. Well he’s inside BUT-” he held up his hands “we’ve got a few ground rules to lay first.”
Jensen jumped as a hand roughly grabbed onto his shirt and he glanced down to see a tiny woman pulling it up to place a microphone on him. Just what had he gotten himself into? She grinned at him and Jensen couldn’t suppress the blush when he realized that he’d said that out loud.
“Microphones stay on at all times unless otherwise told or you will be kicked off. This means when you sleep, when you eat, and especially when you talk with other members of the house, are we clear?” The line-up nodded and Jensen made sure that he joined in. “Good. Do not try to hide from the cameras-it will do you no good and will just make our editing crew not like you very much and no one wants a bad edit.” Jensen shuddered. An editing crew was really the only thing on shows like this that stood between a guy coming out looking like the homecoming king or a creepy stalker. “Jared’s room is on the second floor. Under no circumstances are you to enter his room at any time unless specifically invited. You can ask but if he says no or does not answer, you are NOT to go in. Clear?” More nodding, though a bit more reluctantly on some people’s parts. Jensen eyed the girl who’d looked ready to puke before. She was scowling now, probably trying to look serious but ending up more resembling being really pissed off.
Jeff was starting to pace in front of them like a drill sergeant. “Do not talk to the crew-they are not there. Do not strike, hit, or attempt to maim one of your fellow houseguests-you will go to jail. Follow all instructions to the best of your ability. You are not allowed to contact anyone outside this house unless they are approved and only then only from the Phone Booth. You’ll see it when we get in there. Confessionals are mandatory and be forewarned, if you give us nothing, we’ll still get something out of it-you probably just won’t like it. Ladies and gentlemen, these are the ground rules. Are there any questions?”
Jensen glanced to his left and to his right, watching everyone mimicking him and then he turned back to Jeff. Jeff clapped his hands. “Good! Now, before we go inside, we’re going to do a short-bit with Chad here and then we can all go meet Jared!” The cheers erupted again and the skinny blond guy stepped out in front of Jeff. Chad Michael Murray, Jared Padalecki’s noted best friend for life. Even Jensen knew that and it wasn’t like he kept up on celebrity gossip (even for ones as hot as Jared).
The cameras re-centered and Chad jumped in front of them, looking as excitable as a cocker spaniel and just as terrifying as one. “Alright, listen up! So you all may be here to see Jared, but keep in mind, as his number one confidant, I am your GOD!” He pointed at himself, puffing up his chest for the camera before swinging around to regard the contestants. “Just so we’re clear. Now, Jared’s waiting inside and you all are going to get to meet him, but first, you’ve got to go through me.” He grinned. “And you better get used to it, because that’s how it’s going to be the entire time you’re here. Now!” He scrubbed his hands together. “Who’s first?”
Jensen glanced at the people around him, confused and definitely not wanting to be the first to volunteer for whatever evil scheme Chad had cooked up. Others were doing the same thing but a few were smiling straight at Chad and the girl with the big boobs stepped forward. “I’ll go first,” she purred and Chad grinned, wiggling his eyebrows as he stared straight at her chest.
“I bet you will,” he replied and motioned her closer as he addressed the rest of the crowd. “So you guys know show and tell? Well this is just show! Jared’s a big star who’s always having people take pictures of him and he’s got to have someone that makes him look good. So, no talking, just step up and show me what makes you ‘picture perfect.’” A couple of the video cameras zoomed in, rolling on their wheels to get closer to Chad as he pulled out a Polaroid camera and Jensen felt his gut sink to just about his toes. Oh this was just going to suck. He glanced around at the people surrounding him only two looked even remotely troubled and one, Ten? She really didn’t have anything to worry about but she was still fluffing her hair and smoothing her dress. The girl that had looked ready to puke before now looked even closer and desperately trying to find something about herself that she could flaunt. Personally, Jensen didn’t think that she had much to worry about either.
The girl with the big boobs and the bottle blonde hair, predictably just cupped her certified weapons of mass destruction and hoisted them for Chad’s leer. “Oh yeah,” Chad said, snapping a pic. “That’s a good one.”
Jensen closed his eyes and tried to fight his nerves down. This was all just part of the show and he’d agreed to do this-signed a damn contract and everything to just flaunt himself in front of the entire freaking world. He could have been back in his condo in Dallas, writing on his next book but no, instead he had to do something crazy and now here he was waiting to make a fool of himself and for a movie star’s best friend to perv on him.
…And maybe tell him he wasn’t good enough.
Jensen gritted his teeth at his own self-pity and put it out of his mind. He was good-looking. He could do this. When he opened his eyes again, the former cheerleader was already heading inside and so was Chiseled Jaw. Chad pointed to the Private Hot Ass, the guy with the military stiff posture and had him march himself front and center. “What you got?” Chad asked, already aiming the camera. The guy just smiled and pulled off his jacket.
Jesus, Jensen thought, getting a good look at the guy’s arms. Apparently all that time in boot camp must have paid off. Private Hot Ass flexed his biceps and Chad snapped away while Jensen fought the little pit of fear in his stomach. What the hell did he have? He certainly didn’t have those kinds of muscles. He wasn’t a slouch or anything but, well, he’d never been particularly cut per se-and, unfortunately for him, Jensen noted sourly as Twinktastic stepped forward, he wasn’t exactly slim and slender and anymore. He was about average for thirty-matter of fact he was above average-he knew that. Above average, though, wasn’t going to get him very far in a sea of A plus over achievers. Ten stepped forward after Twinktastic gave his best headshot and Chad looked her up and down as she stood in front of him. “Right. Whole package,” he said and snapped a picture. “Tell you what, how about you turn around, too?” Ten swung around, her eyes keeping on the camera the entire time and there was no way she wasn’t a model. “Yeah, that’s nice.” Chad took another picture. “Gonna have to keep some of these…”
The tiny little Latina stepped up next, showing off her legs and Jensen sighed, looking around. “Okay, yeah, you next.” Jensen cringed as Chad pointed straight at him. “Yeah, you, c’mere.” Jensen swallowed down his nerves and stepped forward. Yeah, okay, this was utterly and completely degrading and disgusting but he could do this. He bit his lip, staving off the anxiety. “Oh yeah…” Chad said, clicking the camera. That’s a good one.” Jensen’s eyes widened. What? “Tell you what, though,” he said, “how about you turn around?”
Jensen blinked but did as instructed. Okay? Remembering what Ten had done before him, he looked over his shoulder at Chad just in time to catch the camera’s flash. “Yeah, that’s good,” Chad told him and then apparently he was free to go. Jensen smoothed his shaky palms against his pleated pants and grabbed his stuff like he’d seen the others do, heading into the house while Chad picked out Lawyer Barbie.
He was in. He was so in. He could do this.
The inside of the house had to be worse than the outside. Jensen winced at all the bright, clashing colors coating the wide-open space and dubiously eyed the tacky, zebra print couch and the gigantic red apple sitting beside it. This had to be somebody’s idea of a sick joke. Nobody would intentionally put these all this stuff in a room together.
With a soft, resigned sigh, however, Jensen came to the conclusion, that no. The design team, instead of having a wacky sense of humor, had most likely decided that their choices were cool and hip and modern. Great. Jensen quietly pined for the clean lines and muted colors of his condo while he took a tentative seat on the edge of the couch.
“This place is awesome,” the bottle blonde proclaimed from her spot on top of the pool table. Jensen wondered if nobody had ever explained to her that pool really tended to be better if you weren’t on the table but, then again, arguments could be made otherwise. She’d also apparently already found the liquor and had mixed herself a drink, clutching it in between her hot pink claws.
“Hey, I’m Mike.” Jensen glanced up to see the bald guy from outside holding out a hand. With a small smile, Jensen took it.
“Jensen,” he replied.
“Cool,” Mike said. “Mind if I sit here? No?” Mike threw himself down on the couch, sprawling out every which way and Jensen scrunched himself along the arm, trying to keep himself out of the way. “This place is hideous,” Mike pronounced and lack of a concept of personal space or not, Jensen decided he liked him. “I like it. Especially the purple fuzzy rug.” Jensen frowned. Purple fuzzy rug? Mike sighed and wiggled against the couch. “Feels great against my toes.” Jensen finally glanced down to see Mike’s socked feet disappearing into what he was sure had to qualify as some kind of unknown life form instead of a rug.
“Purple fuzzy rugs are indeed some of the finest things in life,” a man added, sitting down next to Mike and doing the same.
Mike grinned. “Yes, they are.” He held out his hand again. “Mike.”
The man, who had to have the most vivid blue eyes Jensen had ever seen, smiled and shook Mike’s hand. “Misha.” He turned towards Jensen, raising his eyebrows.
Jensen hurriedly held out his hand as well. “Oh! Uh, Jensen.” He managed not to wince but it was a near thing. Cripes. He sincerely hoped he would do better when he met Jared-even though Jensen knew that was already a lost cause. He probably wouldn't even be able to speak.
“Nice to meet you oh, uh, Jensen,” Misha repeated like it wasn’t one of the oldest jokes in the world. Jensen still found himself smiling, though.
“Just Jensen’s fine,” he said with a shrug.
“Just Jensen it is!”
“So,” Mike said, breaking in. “I’m a photographer. What do you guys do? You know, in the interests of getting to know each other since we’re going to be faux roommates for the next however many days.”
“Oh,” Misha said. “I train dogs to do that little backflip you see in the circus.”
“Sounds good,” Mike replied, nodding. “Teach them anything else?”
“Sometimes the backstroke. But they’re really bad at it.” Misha leaned towards Jensen to stage whisper, “Not really built for it, you know.” Jensen snorted a laugh and automatically brought his hand up to cover his smile.
“So,” Mike began, “We’ve got one photographer, one professional bullshitter and you?”
“I, uh, I write.” Jensen did more than just ‘write’-even according to his worst critics-but he wasn’t here to brag.
“Oh, cool,” Mike said, sitting up. “Like for a newspaper or a blog?”
“Novels. I write novels.”
And maybe Mike should have been a reporter instead of a photographer because he leaned in, ready to ask more questions. Jensen prepared himself to bolt if he had to but they were joined by the girl Jensen had termed the former cheerleader. “Hi, guys!” She smiled perkily, bouncing on her tiny feet. “I’m Sandy.”
They dutifully repeated their names-Jensen a little bit smoother this time than he’d been with Misha-and the clue-by-four suddenly hit Jensen right between the eyes. He knew where he’d seen Sandy before and it definitely hadn’t been in Dallas. Well, not really. “You’re Sandra McCoy,” he blurted and she giggled.
“Yes.” Holy shit. Talk about A-list. Okay, so maybe not, but Sandra McCoy was definitely more famous than Jared Padalecki, as much as that pained Jensen to admit, so just what was she doing here?
Mike cocked his head. “So why are you here doing reality TV?”
Jensen blinked at the lack of tack but Sandy seemed to take it well. She waved Mike off. “Well, I’m on a break right now, post-production and all that, and uh, to confess, I’ve kind of had a crush on Jared for years now. So, I couldn’t not do this.”
Sandy giggled again, talking with Mike and Misha about the latest movies and Jensen stared down at the purple fuzzy rug. He already knew what role Sandy was talking about even if she hadn’t mentioned it. It would probably be the exact same scene that Jensen replayed over and over even though it made him feel like a dirty old man and that well-worn VHS would be one of the major pieces of blackmail that Chris had threatened to use if Jensen wimped out about all this. The other one would be the new DVD that still had yet to leave Jensen’s DVD player.
It wasn’t Jensen’s fault if jailbait Jared had stripped off his shirt when he was seventeen and rolled around on a bed for a little while. That was the stuff fantasies were made out of, after all. And really, the latest of Jared’s movies to make it to DVD (his newest was actually still in theaters), well, Jensen would have had to have been dead not to find it hot. When you’ve got six foot four of bronzed, muscley God pretending to jerk himself off, well, that just not something that you forget very easily.
Jensen forced his thoughts away to tamer things before his dick started to get ideas. Mike, Misha, and Sandy were all still talking animatedly, though they’d been joined by Ten and a woman whose thighs, Jensen was sure, would never touch. Private Hot Ass had wandered over, too, but he wasn’t talking, just sitting in one of the chairs watching everyone else.
Across the room, the blonde was still on the pool table, talking with a guy that Jensen was fairly certain played sports and the teeny, tiny Latina. Lawyer Barbie was talking with Chiseled Jaw and Twinktastic. The last person in the room that wasn’t behind a camera was the girl that had looked ready to puke and now she was staring forlornly around the room, kind of like a forgotten puppy. Jensen did a quick count, coming up with 14 including himself and not including the circling crew members.
“Everyone, can I have your attention please?” Jensen glanced up to see Jeff standing on the balcony overlooking the room and, despite himself, he felt his heart skip a beat. This was it, right?
Chad took over for Jeff, stepping in front of him as he waved his stack of Polaroids. “Alright, let’s get this show on the road! Jay, come on out, man!”
The double doors behind Chad swung open and Jensen felt his breath catch in his throat. No one had a right to look that good. The crowd around Jensen erupted into cheers and applause but he found himself frozen, just caught up in staring. Jared may have been dressed only in plain jeans and a pink button down shirt but it was definitely something that he managed to pull off well. The man was fucking glowing.
And then the guy laughed and Jensen felt himself melting into a pathetic pile of goo. “So, uh, hi!” Jared said, stretching up an arm to scratch the back of his head. “Uh, welcome to my house and I’m excited to meet you all.” He fell silent, smiling down at all of them like an over-eager puppy. Chad elbowed him. “Oh, right. So, uh, Welcome to ‘In It for Love.’ I’m Jared Padalecki and you’re all here, or hopefully are all here, to date me!” He clapped his hands together. “So, how about you all go chose a bed to set your stuff on, get comfortable, and meet me back here in an hour so we can do the whole meet and greet thing?”
There was a mad rush towards the stairs, people tripping over themselves in an effort to get to the rooms first but Jensen kept staring for a moment longer. Jared had the most ridiculous, floofy hair he’d ever seen but yet, on him, it didn’t look so bad. Jensen kind of wanted to bury his hands in it. Jared was alternating between laughing at the crowd making its way to the stairs and cringing, depending on if any of it looked painful. For some reason, though, his eyes swung back over to meet Jensen’s and Jensen swallowed hard, feeling something stab into his gut. Jared winked and then he backed away from the balcony, heading off to God knows where.
Jensen picked his heart back off from the floor from where it had dropped and headed into the still milling crowd. It was a stupid fucking crush and this was a stupid fucking idea but, yet, for some reason, he was still here. And apparently Jared Padalecki made his heart skip a beat just like a thirteen year old girl.
Thirty year old men should really, seriously, know better.
Jensen considered himself extremely lucky. Or maybe just smart. He’d ended up with a fairly good spot in the house-a double bed in one of the few rooms that weren’t painted a garish color but instead dressed out in grays and blues and white. He could deal with that. The only reason he’d gotten the room, though, despite being one of the last ones up the stairs, was the fact that, unlike most of the other people who’d wanted to check out every room beforehand, he’d just selected the first one he’d come to.
Chiseled Jaw, otherwise known as Tom, had eventually wandered in as well, along with Lawyer Barbie whose name was apparently Mary. She’d been a bit apprehensive about sharing a room with two guys until Tom had pointed out the very obvious fact that they were both gay and she’d made a joke and that had been that. Jensen figured that he could deal with that. Both Tom and Mary were fairly neat and quiet-at least compared to the rest of the crowd and, yeah, Jensen considered himself lucky. At least, unlike in some of the rooms, everyone’s belongings were staying neat and tidy and not sprawling all over the beds.
The house had four bedrooms, each with three beds, and it hadn’t taken a math genius to add them up to twelve. Meaning that they were two beds short. Georgie, though, of the crystals, peace loving ways and thighs that would never, ever touch, had quickly surrendered her bed to take a place on the floor and David, the laid-back former NFL player had eventually followed suit. Everyone knew that it would only be temporary anyway. Apparently some people were going home tonight.
Jensen had counted three bathrooms on the upstairs level and he sincerely hoped that it would be enough. Some of the girls had already unloaded in one of the bathrooms, dumping make-up everywhere while they fixed themselves up and Jensen had given them a wide berth even as he changed into his swimsuit and party clothes like instructed. Apparently they were going to a pool party later on and the suits wanted everyone to be prepared. Jensen had the feeling that they were going to be doing this a lot-obeying orders, following instructions on everything from how to dress to when to laugh. It was more than a little unsettling.
Now, though, he was back down in the house’s main room of a foyer, watching Jared’s breath-taking laugh. He was talking to Misha of the piercing blue eyes and apparently Misha was hilarious. Either that or Jared was just being nice. Jensen liked to think that it was a little of both. Instead of training little dogs to do backflips and backstrokes, though, Misha confessed that he was an animal rights activist which had been the right thing to say-Jared’s eyes had lit right up and he’d grabbed Misha’s hand and starting gushing about his dogs.
Jared had two dogs, Harley and Sadie, and animal rights were apparently very important to him. It was obvious that he really liked Misha and Jensen tried not to feel too threatened by that fact. After all, Jared was just getting to know all of them and Jensen needed to remind himself that, competitive streak aside, Jared was not really Jensen’s. In fact, Jensen barely even knew the guy-besides what he looked like, what movies he’d been in, and the knowledge that Jared had an infectious laugh, Jared was just a big question mark.
Jensen glanced at the checkered floor again, patiently waiting his turn. Jared was meeting them all one by one and then releasing them out into the back lawn to wait for him. It, really, was kind of terrifying. Jensen was no good at crowds. He liked to think he held his own one on one-well, at least after he got to know the other person-but crowds and parties were generally not his thing. It made him want to shriek like a girl and go hide underneath the bed. If he thought he could have gotten away with it, that’s probably where he’d be right now. Instead, he clenched his fists at his side and reminded himself to just behave. All he had to do was play it cool, not give in to a panic attack and maybe he’d make it through this alive. And hey, then, all he had to do was get used to all the people that were going to be living in the house and he should be just fine.
Well. Get used to them and the cameras at least. Jensen shot a glance out of the corner of his eye at one of the closer cameras, pretending not to look at it like he was supposed to even if he was really staring for all he was worth. Jensen had the sneaking suspicion that the cameras were going to be harder to get used to than the people. And the cameras were everywhere. There was no less than five in the bedroom that he was sharing-one for each bed, one for the doorway and one for the center of the room-and they made no bones about the fact that they were there. Out and fucking proud, apparently.
Jared finally stopped talking to Misha and called the next person in line forward. Jensen sighed-this was going to take forever. Next was Ten-Danneel-and Jensen had been right: She was a model.
Jensen mused over his earlier assumption that the only people that did these kinds of shows were either looking to boost their careers, bored, or couldn’t find a date. Judging by Danneel’s answers, Jensen thought that she fell into all three categories but probably more the middle and last one-surprisingly. Also, she had a degree from UCLA.
Jared had already gone through quite a few people already. The bottle blonde-who’d, of course, made sure to line herself up first-was named Lita and she was apparently a ‘dancer.’ Jensen was sure that she’d just forgotten to add that little ‘exotic’ tag to the front. She’d plastered herself all over Jared and had refused to leave for awhile. The next one had been the girl that’d looked ready to puke earlier. Her name was Felicity and she’d loved Jared, ‘like, forever!’ She was also a spoiled little rich girl who apparently was only one step away from procuring Jared’s used underwear. She hadn’t said that but Jensen thought that she might as well have.
Twinktastic’s name was Justin and he’d just moved to California to act. Tom had also gone through Jared’s version of Twenty Questions and he was a model who was just starting to get some notice in the fashion world. Jared had seen one of his shows. There was also tiny little Katrina, a wannabe singer, and, of course, Ben: Ben of the huge arms, military dedication and bright blinding smile that Jared had taken time out to feel up good.
Jensen knew he was being ridiculous. After all, that was why everybody was here and not just him and by letting jealousy get the better of him, he was probably crossing the line from acceptable to ‘crazed stalker’ territory. He rolled his shoulders uncomfortably. He wasn’t a crazy stalker and, in fact, he didn’t even know Jared, so it shouldn’t matter to him just who Jared talked to.
“It was nice meeting you, Danneel. I’ll see you outside.” Jensen snapped back to the here and now as Danneel smiled and simpered in front of Jared for just a little while longer, playing to the cameras. But then she was striding past Jared’s little table and that left no one between him and Jared. Jared smiled-camera fucking ready and God, Jensen was just so screwed, wasn’t he? For some reason, Jared was twenty times as intense in real life as he was on the screen and Jensen had a disturbing urge to squeal like a girl. Jensen smoothed his sweaty hands against his slacks and stepped forward to his doom.
“Hi,” Jared said and he was too perfect to even be breathing. Jensen got lost somewhere between his, frankly, adorable puppy dog eyes and wide, sparkly grin. “I’m Jared.”
“Yeah,” Jensen agreed. What was the question? Jared’s grin grew just a fraction bigger and Jensen shook himself and colored. Jesus, he was pathetic. “Uh, I’m Jensen.” He took Jared’s hand, trying to recover from being a dork. Unfortunately, that brought him into contact with Jared’s hand which was absolutely huge and Jensen found himself wanting to melt. Wow that was a big hand. Jensen himself wasn’t exactly small but he was completely lost by how engulfed he looked caught in Jared’s grip.
It was just a good thing that Jared didn’t apparently mind Jensen’s bemusement, gamely shaking Jensen’s hand and then letting him go. To Jensen’s utterly pathetic disappointment. “It’s nice to meet you. So, you’re a writer?”
Jensen nodded. “Yeah.” He’d put that in his application, hadn’t he? Jensen was pretty sure he had-he just hadn’t put specifics. He glanced down at the table, unable to keep meeting Jared’s big eyes. It was like the man was staring directly into his soul.
“That’s cool. I’m an actor.” Jensen glanced up sharply to see Jared grinning at him. Jared winked and Jensen felt his breath catch in his throat and his heart skip a beat. So fucking screwed… “So what do you write, Jensen?” Jensen liked the way that Jared fairly purred his name.
…He probably should have gotten laid before coming on the show. He might have been able to focus a little bit more.
But, then again, Jensen had the sinking feeling that he would have been acting the exact same way, regardless. Especially considering the way that his stupid heart was starting to pound. “Uh, novels. I write novels.”
“Oh,” Jared said, nodding. “Good ones?”
Jensen stared at the table again to try and keep down his embarrassing flush. “I’d like to think so.”
“That’s good. I like to read. Could I read your novels?”
Jensen supposed that he shouldn’t be surprised that Jared liked to read. He really shouldn’t. The guy had to read scripts after all. “I suppose you could.”
“I’m gonna,” Jared replied, his grin growing impossibly bigger. “I’m gonna hunt them all down and read every last one.”
Jensen forced down his blush and kept staring at the table. “That, that shouldn’t take you too long.” He’d only written four.
“Maybe I’m a slow reader,” Jared said with a wink. “Or maybe I’m gonna want to reread them.” Oh fuck. Jensen gave up on not flushing from head to toe. Flame on, apparently. Jared gently reached out and Jensen found that he couldn’t breathe as Jared touched his cheek. “Wow. Does that go all over?”
Double fuck. Jensen wondered if it was possible for him to sink through the floor. He bit his lip and closed his eyes. “Possibly.” God. His mother was going to watch this.
“Maybe I’ll get to find out one day.” Double flying fuck. And Jared was holding his hand out again and all Jensen could think about was Jared’s huge, huge hand and him finding out just how far Jensen’s blushes went. “So I’ll see you outside,” Jared said and Jensen nodded, not trusting himself to speak as he took a hold of Jared’s warm hand.
God but Jensen hoped that it wasn’t going to be like this all the time. Jared probably thought he was such a freak. He walked away from the table and Jared’s impossibly beautiful face, wandering outside in a bit of a daze. What would Jared be like in bed? Would he be all ‘what do you like?’ or maybe he’d be pushy and demanding? Jensen shivered. He kind of liked pushy and demanding.
He really shouldn’t be thinking of things like this. Especially not right now.
The rest of the houseguests were milling in the backyard, which, really, Jensen wasn’t sure that it could be classified as a yard when it was nearly bigger than the local park a few blocks from his apartment. There was a swimming pool sunken down into the stonework patio and Jensen followed the swirling pattern of the stones to find the slightly raised hot tub, tucked away under the veranda. An image of Jared in either one flashed through his mind and he quickly looked away to the rest of the yard. In the center, there was a spread of food and drinks that Justin was hanging around, probably hoping for alcohol that he was too young to drink.
Scattered around the rest of the yard were various sets of chairs and benches, tucked back in among the landscaping of bushes, trees and mounds of flowers. Actually, some, Jensen realized, were just barely out of view of the house and perfect for-he shoved that thought away too. What was wrong with him today?
He walked over to a small cluster of chairs and sat down, pretending to look at the small fountain in front of him when all he could focus on was just how damn good Jared had looked in person instead of through a video camera. Wasn’t that supposed to go in reverse? With the camera, weren’t the movie stars supposed to look better because of all the make-up and lighting and crap? Or hell, airbrushing?
Apparently Jared’s little flaws just made him hotter. And in no way was a camera prepared to convey that type of intensity. He swallowed and stared at the grass. He probably should be mingling with the rest of the lovesick losers instead of sitting over here in a corner like the wallflower he was. At least he should probably grab a beer. It might even help with his nerves. Jensen nodded to himself and stood up, wandering over to the tables.
Justin of the twinktastic emo-ness had finally wandered off and Jensen quietly selected a beer, pulling it out an ice bucket. He wasn’t sure what kind it was or even if he’d like it but it was wet and cold and hopefully it would help the dryness in his mouth.
“It’s kind of a bit much, isn’t it?” Jensen jumped and swung his head towards the voice. Ben was there, peeling at the label of his beer. He took a swig of it. “When I first left the Marines, this really wasn’t where I’d pictured myself being.”
Jensen was a little lost as to why Ben had singled him out, but, then again, he was a little lost on why anything was happening in this house and he’d never been one to turn down a possible story. “Oh?” he asked, settling in next to Ben to take a swig out of his own bottle.
“Yeah,” Ben said with a shy smile. “I mean, no one ever pictures themselves on a show like this, you know? …Except for maybe those ones.” He tipped his bottle towards the corner of the yard where Justin, Katrina, and Lita were apparently trying to see who could be the loudest, cameras circling them and hoping for drama. Jensen snorted. Those three probably had a couple of shows like this penciled into their long-term plans. Ben turned his smile on Jensen and Jensen noticed absently that the guy was rather gorgeous. It was catalogued like any other random detail such as the sky being blue or the house being tacky and a sick kernel of fear grew in Jensen’s gut.
He was crushing so fucking hard, wasn’t he? Every other guy in the entire world, as far as he was apparently concerned, could not hold a candle to Jared fucking Padalecki. Jensen took another chug of his beer to give himself enough time to wrestle the potential panic attack to the ground as he stared blankly at the yard. “Any, uh, big plans, then?” he asked.
Ben shook his head. “Not any definite ones. I got big plans alright, but they’re more just dreams than anything.”
“I hear you.” Too many dreams to pick from, probably.
“So, I’m Ben by the way.” Jensen glanced over to see Ben offering his hand and with an apologetic smile, Jensen took it.
“Yeah, I heard. I’m Jensen.”
“Nice to meet you, Jensen.”
“Same.” Jensen took another pull of his beer and Ben copied the motion.
“So what do you do?” Ben smiled again when Jensen glanced back over. “Sorry, I didn’t get to hear like you did.”
Right. “Oh. I, uh, I write.” The more times Jensen said it, the guiltier he felt. It was kind of like he was putting down his own profession, just giving it a simple label like that. Oh well. “And you?”
Ben’s eyes twinkled. “What I used to do, you mean?”
Jensen glanced back at the green grass at his feet. …Was that a camera hidden in that bush? “Uh, yeah.” Jesus, it was…
“Well, I used to blow shit up.” That definitely sounded cooler than just ‘I write.’
“Really?”
“Yeah,” Ben said, nodding. He looked like he was going to add more but then shut his mouth and tilted his beer towards the sliding patio doors of the house. Jensen followed where he was pointing and felt his stupid, stupid heart skip another freaking beat and it didn’t matter how much beer he’d already drank, his mouth was dry.
Jared stepped out onto the backyard patio, every inch the movie-star as he smiled and waved at the waiting crowd. He was flanked by Jeff and probably a million cameras. Jensen swallowed. Just how many cameras did a show like this use, anyway? And how did Jared act so naturally with them continuously following him around like that?
Probably just used to it, Jensen supposed. Jared had spent nearly his entire life surrounded by the things, so it wouldn’t be such a strange thing to have them following him around now. Jensen didn't think, though, that he'd ever be able to get used to that. He was pretty sure it wasn't natural to be used to it, actually. Jared must be some kind of laid-back god or something.
“Everyone enjoying the party?” Jared asked. A few loud cheers erupted-some from the Power Trio’s corner and Jensen was willing to bet the others were from wherever Mike and Sandy had gone off to. “Great! So, we’re just going to have a good time out here and get to know each other a little better. Help yourself to whatever you want and have fun.” He stepped off the safety of the patio on to the grass and was immediately attacked by the fawning groupies. Jensen twisted his mouth and took another swig of beer.
This was going to be a long night.
Master Post | Part 2
Author: dragonspell
Fandom: RPS
Pairing: Jared/Jensen (and Jared/a slew of other characters including Misha Collins, Tom Welling, Mike Rosenbaum, Danneel Harris, Sandy McCoy and some OMCs and OFCs)
Rating: Currently PG-13 (eventual NC-17)
Warnings: AU. Cheesiness. Fandom cliches. The usual drill.
Summary: After a drunken dare, award-winning writer Jensen agreed to on a reality television show to vie for the attention of megastar Jared Padalecki who he's had a crush on for years. Only Jensen doesn't know how he's going to be able to tolerate all the other contestants and their widely varying personalities and he's pretty sure that you're not supposed to be able to get used to somebody filming you 24/7.
Word Count: 8000 (this part)
Disclaimer: Never happened, no affiliation.
A/N: Have been working on this off and on. Let's see how well I deal with doing the whole 'chapter' thing again.
Master Post
Master Post | Part 2
Episode 1 - First Half
Jesus. Just what the fuck did Jensen think he was doing here? Jensen stared at the absolutely huge, tacky house in front of him, questioning his sanity for the millionth time. Beside him sat two bags of luggage and he was facing the fact that this place with its clashing exterior colors of red, blue and purple, trimmed with a little bit of pink and yellow and currently being framed by the flaming orange of the setting sun was where he was going to be living for the next four to five weeks. Well, at least until he got kicked out. Jensen glanced down the line of hopeful faces standing beside him and swallowed. He was going to be living with all of them, too. Jesus.
He stared at the paved ground of the driveway and tried not to make eye contact with anyone, ignoring the excited chatter around him.
It was all Chris’s fault. Really, it was. Jensen didn’t do things like this. He just didn’t. And really, did it matter that, yes, Jesus, all he talked about was Jared Padalecki and his killer abs? Crush aside, just what the fuck did he think was he doing on a reality dating show, pathetically hoping for a chance with the big name actor? People did things like this to boost their sagging or nonexistent careers. Or because they were bored. Or couldn’t find a date. Jensen fit absolutely none of those categories.
Okay, so maybe the last one, but just who’s fault was that one? It wasn’t like he was a freak or anything-he just needed to get out more. Like Chris had said. Just, more along the lines of, say, at a bar and not a reality dating show.
Except that bars were full of people that Jensen had absolutely no interest in meeting-people shallower than their shot glasses-and there was at least one person in the gaudy house in front of him that he knew he did want to meet. So here he was like a wallflower-little too fucking close to home, thank you-waiting in front of the damn stretch hummer that had brought him here with a bunch of other losers and wannabes.
Jensen wasn’t a wannabe. He liked to think he wasn’t a loser either, though Chris frequently said that he was. Jensen was actually fairly successful in life. He just wasn’t, you know, plastered on billboards-shirtless or otherwise-like some people that he could name. He’d like to think, though, that being a New York Times Bestseller wasn’t exactly worth nothing.
He had a good career, a nice house, some would say that he had a rather good life. But yet here he was just asking for it.
Jensen finally looked up from his introspection of the finer points of the blacktop and checked out his competition with tiny little glances out of the corner of his eye. It wasn’t that he was particularly interested. He was…just curious.
The guy next to him was, of course, gorgeous. Jensen would be surprised if he wasn’t. After all, this was Jared Padalecki that they were talking about. The guy had his freaking pick of the entire world, so of course there would be totally gorgeous models just dying to meet him. The guy might have started with cheesy horror flicks but his latest movie had won him an Oscar and Jensen has no problem admitting that he cried during the death scene. It was just that good. Chris can make fun of him all he wants but it’s one thing Jensen’s not going to feel embarrassed about because he saw Chris secretly wiping his eyes, too.
So, yeah, it’s not real surprise that Jared’s got a lot of beautiful people lined up around the block wanting to date him. Guys and girls because that was just who Jared was. Ever since the new amendment had been passed allowing gay marriage, a ton more celebrities had come out of the closet and Jared had been one of the first, proudly proclaiming that he didn’t discriminate. There were still the religious zealots out there but they were a minority and within the little bubble that was Hollywood and celebrity egos, it was very hard to hear the outraged screams.
Jensen kept eyeing tall, dark and handsome next to him and wondered what the guy’s story was. He didn’t look like he couldn’t get a date. Matter of fact, he looked like he would have the opposite kind of problem-the kind that could only be solved with a few big sticks, some bodyguards and maybe a few tanks. Jensen was willing to bet that he was a model. Probably from L.A. Maybe he was only here because his agent wanted him on TV. Jensen bet that the guy, Mr. Chiseled Jaw as he decided to call him, probably already had a boyfriend. Or two, maybe three. He'd left them all back at his condo, sprawled out over the bed like the terribly attractive people they were, just to come here. He had to have an Antonio and a Lars and a Jamison all lined up, waiting for him to come back. Antonio was probably setting him up a rose petal hot bath in the ridiculously huge tub, Lars was eating ice cream in bed and Jamison was cooking up a seven course dinner. Because, of course, when you have your pick of the litter, you really chose the cream of the crop instead of no account slackers.
Jensen looked down from Chiseled Jaw and caught site of Lawyer Barbie and had to groan. God, she was gorgeous, too. She was dressed in a smart, black pinstripe suit with her long hair flowing around her shoulders and he thought that she'd probably just left her briefcase in the car because she wanted to show that she was serious. Otherwise, she’d be calling up Bob from accounting and Doris, her secretary, and Kevin, the mysterious but hot detective that always brought her the inside scoop on all the cases because he had a bit of a crush on her.
Next to Lawyer Barbie complete with subpoena serving action was Mr. Blue-eyed Artist who was checking out the architecture of the house and nearly hidden behind him was a perky former cheerleader turned actress. Jensen narrowed his eyes at her because he had a feeling that he’d seen her before but he just couldn’t place her. He didn’t think that she was from Dallas but he knew that he’d seen her face before.
Also down the line, Jensen could make out a few people that either had to be professional athletes or personal trainers-nobody else can ever have that many muscles, especially not the women-and a tiny Latina standing on five inch heels. He wondered if she knew that even with the heels she would only come up to Jared’s waist. To the other side of Jensen, there was a girl that looked one shriek away from puking, and a guy with such ramrod posture that he had to be military. The alternatives were too scary to contemplate because the guy was even standing at parade rest. There was also a bald guy talking excitedly to a woman with the biggest boobs Jensen had ever seen and that included his unfortunate foray into heterosexual porn before he finally figured out that he’d been born to love dick. She looked like she should need at least three bras or an anti-gravity field to hold them up. On the end of the line were some of the most beautiful people that Jensen’d ever seen and considering the assortment gathered in front of the house, that was saying something. One he knew for sure was a girl and the other he wasn’t quite sure.
Like always, he started making up stories for them as well, just like with Chisel Jaw and Lawyer Barbie, naming one Twinktastic (he’d decided it had to be a guy) and the other one Ten. Twinktastic had one of those emo-looking haircuts and looked like the only reason he wasn’t traveling with Fall Out Boy was because he decided that he was just too pretty to hang around with them. He probably had had a tragic, torrid affair with Pete Wentz before coming to L.A. to make his dreams of becoming a star a reality. Number Ten down on the end, she had to be a model considering the way she was posing for the cameras. She was staring straight at them, making sure that they got her best side at all times.
Jensen resumed staring at the ground. Just what did he think he was doing here? Okay, so he wasn’t exactly bad looking-nobody he had ever dated has ever had any complaints in that department-even with his freckles and bowlegs. Chris, though, says that sometimes he looks like a duck when he presses his lips together so Jensen made a conscious decision to keep them loose. Unfortunately, that also meant that he wanted to lick them nervously or bite them bloody and neither one would probably play very good on camera.
Fuck but there were a lot of cameras. Jensen caught himself trying to sink into the ground and straightened out his spine. He could do this. He was the one that had ultimately decided to do this thing, so he was going to fucking do it. It might have been a drunken dare from Chris but it was Jensen that hadn’t said no during the entire casting process, so damn it, he was going to go through with it. Just…that was a lot of cameras.
Speaking of the cameras, half of them were beginning to turn towards the entrance of the house instead of just the line-up of hopeful losers and the chattering stopped, silence falling in anticipation. The double doors were absolutely huge, about ten feet tall and looked to be made out of solid freaking wood but they opened easily enough. Instead of Jared standing there, though, an older man and a skinny blond guy emerged. Jensen tried not to let the disappointment show on his face because there was pathetic and then there was pathetic.
“Hey, everyone,” the older man said, raising his hand as he walked to them. “I’m Jeff Morgan, the show’s producer, and welcome to ‘In It for Love.’ I certainly hope you all know what you’re here for?” A loud cheer erupted around Jensen and he jumped. The bald guy down on the end whistled, loud and piercing and Jensen winced. Jeff, though, laughed. “Alright. I can see everybody’s in the right place. So we’re all aware that this is the Jared Padalecki version?” The screaming and the catcalls started up again until Jeff waved them back down. “Alright. Well he’s inside BUT-” he held up his hands “we’ve got a few ground rules to lay first.”
Jensen jumped as a hand roughly grabbed onto his shirt and he glanced down to see a tiny woman pulling it up to place a microphone on him. Just what had he gotten himself into? She grinned at him and Jensen couldn’t suppress the blush when he realized that he’d said that out loud.
“Microphones stay on at all times unless otherwise told or you will be kicked off. This means when you sleep, when you eat, and especially when you talk with other members of the house, are we clear?” The line-up nodded and Jensen made sure that he joined in. “Good. Do not try to hide from the cameras-it will do you no good and will just make our editing crew not like you very much and no one wants a bad edit.” Jensen shuddered. An editing crew was really the only thing on shows like this that stood between a guy coming out looking like the homecoming king or a creepy stalker. “Jared’s room is on the second floor. Under no circumstances are you to enter his room at any time unless specifically invited. You can ask but if he says no or does not answer, you are NOT to go in. Clear?” More nodding, though a bit more reluctantly on some people’s parts. Jensen eyed the girl who’d looked ready to puke before. She was scowling now, probably trying to look serious but ending up more resembling being really pissed off.
Jeff was starting to pace in front of them like a drill sergeant. “Do not talk to the crew-they are not there. Do not strike, hit, or attempt to maim one of your fellow houseguests-you will go to jail. Follow all instructions to the best of your ability. You are not allowed to contact anyone outside this house unless they are approved and only then only from the Phone Booth. You’ll see it when we get in there. Confessionals are mandatory and be forewarned, if you give us nothing, we’ll still get something out of it-you probably just won’t like it. Ladies and gentlemen, these are the ground rules. Are there any questions?”
Jensen glanced to his left and to his right, watching everyone mimicking him and then he turned back to Jeff. Jeff clapped his hands. “Good! Now, before we go inside, we’re going to do a short-bit with Chad here and then we can all go meet Jared!” The cheers erupted again and the skinny blond guy stepped out in front of Jeff. Chad Michael Murray, Jared Padalecki’s noted best friend for life. Even Jensen knew that and it wasn’t like he kept up on celebrity gossip (even for ones as hot as Jared).
The cameras re-centered and Chad jumped in front of them, looking as excitable as a cocker spaniel and just as terrifying as one. “Alright, listen up! So you all may be here to see Jared, but keep in mind, as his number one confidant, I am your GOD!” He pointed at himself, puffing up his chest for the camera before swinging around to regard the contestants. “Just so we’re clear. Now, Jared’s waiting inside and you all are going to get to meet him, but first, you’ve got to go through me.” He grinned. “And you better get used to it, because that’s how it’s going to be the entire time you’re here. Now!” He scrubbed his hands together. “Who’s first?”
Jensen glanced at the people around him, confused and definitely not wanting to be the first to volunteer for whatever evil scheme Chad had cooked up. Others were doing the same thing but a few were smiling straight at Chad and the girl with the big boobs stepped forward. “I’ll go first,” she purred and Chad grinned, wiggling his eyebrows as he stared straight at her chest.
“I bet you will,” he replied and motioned her closer as he addressed the rest of the crowd. “So you guys know show and tell? Well this is just show! Jared’s a big star who’s always having people take pictures of him and he’s got to have someone that makes him look good. So, no talking, just step up and show me what makes you ‘picture perfect.’” A couple of the video cameras zoomed in, rolling on their wheels to get closer to Chad as he pulled out a Polaroid camera and Jensen felt his gut sink to just about his toes. Oh this was just going to suck. He glanced around at the people surrounding him only two looked even remotely troubled and one, Ten? She really didn’t have anything to worry about but she was still fluffing her hair and smoothing her dress. The girl that had looked ready to puke before now looked even closer and desperately trying to find something about herself that she could flaunt. Personally, Jensen didn’t think that she had much to worry about either.
The girl with the big boobs and the bottle blonde hair, predictably just cupped her certified weapons of mass destruction and hoisted them for Chad’s leer. “Oh yeah,” Chad said, snapping a pic. “That’s a good one.”
Jensen closed his eyes and tried to fight his nerves down. This was all just part of the show and he’d agreed to do this-signed a damn contract and everything to just flaunt himself in front of the entire freaking world. He could have been back in his condo in Dallas, writing on his next book but no, instead he had to do something crazy and now here he was waiting to make a fool of himself and for a movie star’s best friend to perv on him.
…And maybe tell him he wasn’t good enough.
Jensen gritted his teeth at his own self-pity and put it out of his mind. He was good-looking. He could do this. When he opened his eyes again, the former cheerleader was already heading inside and so was Chiseled Jaw. Chad pointed to the Private Hot Ass, the guy with the military stiff posture and had him march himself front and center. “What you got?” Chad asked, already aiming the camera. The guy just smiled and pulled off his jacket.
Jesus, Jensen thought, getting a good look at the guy’s arms. Apparently all that time in boot camp must have paid off. Private Hot Ass flexed his biceps and Chad snapped away while Jensen fought the little pit of fear in his stomach. What the hell did he have? He certainly didn’t have those kinds of muscles. He wasn’t a slouch or anything but, well, he’d never been particularly cut per se-and, unfortunately for him, Jensen noted sourly as Twinktastic stepped forward, he wasn’t exactly slim and slender and anymore. He was about average for thirty-matter of fact he was above average-he knew that. Above average, though, wasn’t going to get him very far in a sea of A plus over achievers. Ten stepped forward after Twinktastic gave his best headshot and Chad looked her up and down as she stood in front of him. “Right. Whole package,” he said and snapped a picture. “Tell you what, how about you turn around, too?” Ten swung around, her eyes keeping on the camera the entire time and there was no way she wasn’t a model. “Yeah, that’s nice.” Chad took another picture. “Gonna have to keep some of these…”
The tiny little Latina stepped up next, showing off her legs and Jensen sighed, looking around. “Okay, yeah, you next.” Jensen cringed as Chad pointed straight at him. “Yeah, you, c’mere.” Jensen swallowed down his nerves and stepped forward. Yeah, okay, this was utterly and completely degrading and disgusting but he could do this. He bit his lip, staving off the anxiety. “Oh yeah…” Chad said, clicking the camera. That’s a good one.” Jensen’s eyes widened. What? “Tell you what, though,” he said, “how about you turn around?”
Jensen blinked but did as instructed. Okay? Remembering what Ten had done before him, he looked over his shoulder at Chad just in time to catch the camera’s flash. “Yeah, that’s good,” Chad told him and then apparently he was free to go. Jensen smoothed his shaky palms against his pleated pants and grabbed his stuff like he’d seen the others do, heading into the house while Chad picked out Lawyer Barbie.
He was in. He was so in. He could do this.
The inside of the house had to be worse than the outside. Jensen winced at all the bright, clashing colors coating the wide-open space and dubiously eyed the tacky, zebra print couch and the gigantic red apple sitting beside it. This had to be somebody’s idea of a sick joke. Nobody would intentionally put these all this stuff in a room together.
With a soft, resigned sigh, however, Jensen came to the conclusion, that no. The design team, instead of having a wacky sense of humor, had most likely decided that their choices were cool and hip and modern. Great. Jensen quietly pined for the clean lines and muted colors of his condo while he took a tentative seat on the edge of the couch.
“This place is awesome,” the bottle blonde proclaimed from her spot on top of the pool table. Jensen wondered if nobody had ever explained to her that pool really tended to be better if you weren’t on the table but, then again, arguments could be made otherwise. She’d also apparently already found the liquor and had mixed herself a drink, clutching it in between her hot pink claws.
“Hey, I’m Mike.” Jensen glanced up to see the bald guy from outside holding out a hand. With a small smile, Jensen took it.
“Jensen,” he replied.
“Cool,” Mike said. “Mind if I sit here? No?” Mike threw himself down on the couch, sprawling out every which way and Jensen scrunched himself along the arm, trying to keep himself out of the way. “This place is hideous,” Mike pronounced and lack of a concept of personal space or not, Jensen decided he liked him. “I like it. Especially the purple fuzzy rug.” Jensen frowned. Purple fuzzy rug? Mike sighed and wiggled against the couch. “Feels great against my toes.” Jensen finally glanced down to see Mike’s socked feet disappearing into what he was sure had to qualify as some kind of unknown life form instead of a rug.
“Purple fuzzy rugs are indeed some of the finest things in life,” a man added, sitting down next to Mike and doing the same.
Mike grinned. “Yes, they are.” He held out his hand again. “Mike.”
The man, who had to have the most vivid blue eyes Jensen had ever seen, smiled and shook Mike’s hand. “Misha.” He turned towards Jensen, raising his eyebrows.
Jensen hurriedly held out his hand as well. “Oh! Uh, Jensen.” He managed not to wince but it was a near thing. Cripes. He sincerely hoped he would do better when he met Jared-even though Jensen knew that was already a lost cause. He probably wouldn't even be able to speak.
“Nice to meet you oh, uh, Jensen,” Misha repeated like it wasn’t one of the oldest jokes in the world. Jensen still found himself smiling, though.
“Just Jensen’s fine,” he said with a shrug.
“Just Jensen it is!”
“So,” Mike said, breaking in. “I’m a photographer. What do you guys do? You know, in the interests of getting to know each other since we’re going to be faux roommates for the next however many days.”
“Oh,” Misha said. “I train dogs to do that little backflip you see in the circus.”
“Sounds good,” Mike replied, nodding. “Teach them anything else?”
“Sometimes the backstroke. But they’re really bad at it.” Misha leaned towards Jensen to stage whisper, “Not really built for it, you know.” Jensen snorted a laugh and automatically brought his hand up to cover his smile.
“So,” Mike began, “We’ve got one photographer, one professional bullshitter and you?”
“I, uh, I write.” Jensen did more than just ‘write’-even according to his worst critics-but he wasn’t here to brag.
“Oh, cool,” Mike said, sitting up. “Like for a newspaper or a blog?”
“Novels. I write novels.”
And maybe Mike should have been a reporter instead of a photographer because he leaned in, ready to ask more questions. Jensen prepared himself to bolt if he had to but they were joined by the girl Jensen had termed the former cheerleader. “Hi, guys!” She smiled perkily, bouncing on her tiny feet. “I’m Sandy.”
They dutifully repeated their names-Jensen a little bit smoother this time than he’d been with Misha-and the clue-by-four suddenly hit Jensen right between the eyes. He knew where he’d seen Sandy before and it definitely hadn’t been in Dallas. Well, not really. “You’re Sandra McCoy,” he blurted and she giggled.
“Yes.” Holy shit. Talk about A-list. Okay, so maybe not, but Sandra McCoy was definitely more famous than Jared Padalecki, as much as that pained Jensen to admit, so just what was she doing here?
Mike cocked his head. “So why are you here doing reality TV?”
Jensen blinked at the lack of tack but Sandy seemed to take it well. She waved Mike off. “Well, I’m on a break right now, post-production and all that, and uh, to confess, I’ve kind of had a crush on Jared for years now. So, I couldn’t not do this.”
Sandy giggled again, talking with Mike and Misha about the latest movies and Jensen stared down at the purple fuzzy rug. He already knew what role Sandy was talking about even if she hadn’t mentioned it. It would probably be the exact same scene that Jensen replayed over and over even though it made him feel like a dirty old man and that well-worn VHS would be one of the major pieces of blackmail that Chris had threatened to use if Jensen wimped out about all this. The other one would be the new DVD that still had yet to leave Jensen’s DVD player.
It wasn’t Jensen’s fault if jailbait Jared had stripped off his shirt when he was seventeen and rolled around on a bed for a little while. That was the stuff fantasies were made out of, after all. And really, the latest of Jared’s movies to make it to DVD (his newest was actually still in theaters), well, Jensen would have had to have been dead not to find it hot. When you’ve got six foot four of bronzed, muscley God pretending to jerk himself off, well, that just not something that you forget very easily.
Jensen forced his thoughts away to tamer things before his dick started to get ideas. Mike, Misha, and Sandy were all still talking animatedly, though they’d been joined by Ten and a woman whose thighs, Jensen was sure, would never touch. Private Hot Ass had wandered over, too, but he wasn’t talking, just sitting in one of the chairs watching everyone else.
Across the room, the blonde was still on the pool table, talking with a guy that Jensen was fairly certain played sports and the teeny, tiny Latina. Lawyer Barbie was talking with Chiseled Jaw and Twinktastic. The last person in the room that wasn’t behind a camera was the girl that had looked ready to puke and now she was staring forlornly around the room, kind of like a forgotten puppy. Jensen did a quick count, coming up with 14 including himself and not including the circling crew members.
“Everyone, can I have your attention please?” Jensen glanced up to see Jeff standing on the balcony overlooking the room and, despite himself, he felt his heart skip a beat. This was it, right?
Chad took over for Jeff, stepping in front of him as he waved his stack of Polaroids. “Alright, let’s get this show on the road! Jay, come on out, man!”
The double doors behind Chad swung open and Jensen felt his breath catch in his throat. No one had a right to look that good. The crowd around Jensen erupted into cheers and applause but he found himself frozen, just caught up in staring. Jared may have been dressed only in plain jeans and a pink button down shirt but it was definitely something that he managed to pull off well. The man was fucking glowing.
And then the guy laughed and Jensen felt himself melting into a pathetic pile of goo. “So, uh, hi!” Jared said, stretching up an arm to scratch the back of his head. “Uh, welcome to my house and I’m excited to meet you all.” He fell silent, smiling down at all of them like an over-eager puppy. Chad elbowed him. “Oh, right. So, uh, Welcome to ‘In It for Love.’ I’m Jared Padalecki and you’re all here, or hopefully are all here, to date me!” He clapped his hands together. “So, how about you all go chose a bed to set your stuff on, get comfortable, and meet me back here in an hour so we can do the whole meet and greet thing?”
There was a mad rush towards the stairs, people tripping over themselves in an effort to get to the rooms first but Jensen kept staring for a moment longer. Jared had the most ridiculous, floofy hair he’d ever seen but yet, on him, it didn’t look so bad. Jensen kind of wanted to bury his hands in it. Jared was alternating between laughing at the crowd making its way to the stairs and cringing, depending on if any of it looked painful. For some reason, though, his eyes swung back over to meet Jensen’s and Jensen swallowed hard, feeling something stab into his gut. Jared winked and then he backed away from the balcony, heading off to God knows where.
Jensen picked his heart back off from the floor from where it had dropped and headed into the still milling crowd. It was a stupid fucking crush and this was a stupid fucking idea but, yet, for some reason, he was still here. And apparently Jared Padalecki made his heart skip a beat just like a thirteen year old girl.
Thirty year old men should really, seriously, know better.
Jensen considered himself extremely lucky. Or maybe just smart. He’d ended up with a fairly good spot in the house-a double bed in one of the few rooms that weren’t painted a garish color but instead dressed out in grays and blues and white. He could deal with that. The only reason he’d gotten the room, though, despite being one of the last ones up the stairs, was the fact that, unlike most of the other people who’d wanted to check out every room beforehand, he’d just selected the first one he’d come to.
Chiseled Jaw, otherwise known as Tom, had eventually wandered in as well, along with Lawyer Barbie whose name was apparently Mary. She’d been a bit apprehensive about sharing a room with two guys until Tom had pointed out the very obvious fact that they were both gay and she’d made a joke and that had been that. Jensen figured that he could deal with that. Both Tom and Mary were fairly neat and quiet-at least compared to the rest of the crowd and, yeah, Jensen considered himself lucky. At least, unlike in some of the rooms, everyone’s belongings were staying neat and tidy and not sprawling all over the beds.
The house had four bedrooms, each with three beds, and it hadn’t taken a math genius to add them up to twelve. Meaning that they were two beds short. Georgie, though, of the crystals, peace loving ways and thighs that would never, ever touch, had quickly surrendered her bed to take a place on the floor and David, the laid-back former NFL player had eventually followed suit. Everyone knew that it would only be temporary anyway. Apparently some people were going home tonight.
Jensen had counted three bathrooms on the upstairs level and he sincerely hoped that it would be enough. Some of the girls had already unloaded in one of the bathrooms, dumping make-up everywhere while they fixed themselves up and Jensen had given them a wide berth even as he changed into his swimsuit and party clothes like instructed. Apparently they were going to a pool party later on and the suits wanted everyone to be prepared. Jensen had the feeling that they were going to be doing this a lot-obeying orders, following instructions on everything from how to dress to when to laugh. It was more than a little unsettling.
Now, though, he was back down in the house’s main room of a foyer, watching Jared’s breath-taking laugh. He was talking to Misha of the piercing blue eyes and apparently Misha was hilarious. Either that or Jared was just being nice. Jensen liked to think that it was a little of both. Instead of training little dogs to do backflips and backstrokes, though, Misha confessed that he was an animal rights activist which had been the right thing to say-Jared’s eyes had lit right up and he’d grabbed Misha’s hand and starting gushing about his dogs.
Jared had two dogs, Harley and Sadie, and animal rights were apparently very important to him. It was obvious that he really liked Misha and Jensen tried not to feel too threatened by that fact. After all, Jared was just getting to know all of them and Jensen needed to remind himself that, competitive streak aside, Jared was not really Jensen’s. In fact, Jensen barely even knew the guy-besides what he looked like, what movies he’d been in, and the knowledge that Jared had an infectious laugh, Jared was just a big question mark.
Jensen glanced at the checkered floor again, patiently waiting his turn. Jared was meeting them all one by one and then releasing them out into the back lawn to wait for him. It, really, was kind of terrifying. Jensen was no good at crowds. He liked to think he held his own one on one-well, at least after he got to know the other person-but crowds and parties were generally not his thing. It made him want to shriek like a girl and go hide underneath the bed. If he thought he could have gotten away with it, that’s probably where he’d be right now. Instead, he clenched his fists at his side and reminded himself to just behave. All he had to do was play it cool, not give in to a panic attack and maybe he’d make it through this alive. And hey, then, all he had to do was get used to all the people that were going to be living in the house and he should be just fine.
Well. Get used to them and the cameras at least. Jensen shot a glance out of the corner of his eye at one of the closer cameras, pretending not to look at it like he was supposed to even if he was really staring for all he was worth. Jensen had the sneaking suspicion that the cameras were going to be harder to get used to than the people. And the cameras were everywhere. There was no less than five in the bedroom that he was sharing-one for each bed, one for the doorway and one for the center of the room-and they made no bones about the fact that they were there. Out and fucking proud, apparently.
Jared finally stopped talking to Misha and called the next person in line forward. Jensen sighed-this was going to take forever. Next was Ten-Danneel-and Jensen had been right: She was a model.
Jensen mused over his earlier assumption that the only people that did these kinds of shows were either looking to boost their careers, bored, or couldn’t find a date. Judging by Danneel’s answers, Jensen thought that she fell into all three categories but probably more the middle and last one-surprisingly. Also, she had a degree from UCLA.
Jared had already gone through quite a few people already. The bottle blonde-who’d, of course, made sure to line herself up first-was named Lita and she was apparently a ‘dancer.’ Jensen was sure that she’d just forgotten to add that little ‘exotic’ tag to the front. She’d plastered herself all over Jared and had refused to leave for awhile. The next one had been the girl that’d looked ready to puke earlier. Her name was Felicity and she’d loved Jared, ‘like, forever!’ She was also a spoiled little rich girl who apparently was only one step away from procuring Jared’s used underwear. She hadn’t said that but Jensen thought that she might as well have.
Twinktastic’s name was Justin and he’d just moved to California to act. Tom had also gone through Jared’s version of Twenty Questions and he was a model who was just starting to get some notice in the fashion world. Jared had seen one of his shows. There was also tiny little Katrina, a wannabe singer, and, of course, Ben: Ben of the huge arms, military dedication and bright blinding smile that Jared had taken time out to feel up good.
Jensen knew he was being ridiculous. After all, that was why everybody was here and not just him and by letting jealousy get the better of him, he was probably crossing the line from acceptable to ‘crazed stalker’ territory. He rolled his shoulders uncomfortably. He wasn’t a crazy stalker and, in fact, he didn’t even know Jared, so it shouldn’t matter to him just who Jared talked to.
“It was nice meeting you, Danneel. I’ll see you outside.” Jensen snapped back to the here and now as Danneel smiled and simpered in front of Jared for just a little while longer, playing to the cameras. But then she was striding past Jared’s little table and that left no one between him and Jared. Jared smiled-camera fucking ready and God, Jensen was just so screwed, wasn’t he? For some reason, Jared was twenty times as intense in real life as he was on the screen and Jensen had a disturbing urge to squeal like a girl. Jensen smoothed his sweaty hands against his slacks and stepped forward to his doom.
“Hi,” Jared said and he was too perfect to even be breathing. Jensen got lost somewhere between his, frankly, adorable puppy dog eyes and wide, sparkly grin. “I’m Jared.”
“Yeah,” Jensen agreed. What was the question? Jared’s grin grew just a fraction bigger and Jensen shook himself and colored. Jesus, he was pathetic. “Uh, I’m Jensen.” He took Jared’s hand, trying to recover from being a dork. Unfortunately, that brought him into contact with Jared’s hand which was absolutely huge and Jensen found himself wanting to melt. Wow that was a big hand. Jensen himself wasn’t exactly small but he was completely lost by how engulfed he looked caught in Jared’s grip.
It was just a good thing that Jared didn’t apparently mind Jensen’s bemusement, gamely shaking Jensen’s hand and then letting him go. To Jensen’s utterly pathetic disappointment. “It’s nice to meet you. So, you’re a writer?”
Jensen nodded. “Yeah.” He’d put that in his application, hadn’t he? Jensen was pretty sure he had-he just hadn’t put specifics. He glanced down at the table, unable to keep meeting Jared’s big eyes. It was like the man was staring directly into his soul.
“That’s cool. I’m an actor.” Jensen glanced up sharply to see Jared grinning at him. Jared winked and Jensen felt his breath catch in his throat and his heart skip a beat. So fucking screwed… “So what do you write, Jensen?” Jensen liked the way that Jared fairly purred his name.
…He probably should have gotten laid before coming on the show. He might have been able to focus a little bit more.
But, then again, Jensen had the sinking feeling that he would have been acting the exact same way, regardless. Especially considering the way that his stupid heart was starting to pound. “Uh, novels. I write novels.”
“Oh,” Jared said, nodding. “Good ones?”
Jensen stared at the table again to try and keep down his embarrassing flush. “I’d like to think so.”
“That’s good. I like to read. Could I read your novels?”
Jensen supposed that he shouldn’t be surprised that Jared liked to read. He really shouldn’t. The guy had to read scripts after all. “I suppose you could.”
“I’m gonna,” Jared replied, his grin growing impossibly bigger. “I’m gonna hunt them all down and read every last one.”
Jensen forced down his blush and kept staring at the table. “That, that shouldn’t take you too long.” He’d only written four.
“Maybe I’m a slow reader,” Jared said with a wink. “Or maybe I’m gonna want to reread them.” Oh fuck. Jensen gave up on not flushing from head to toe. Flame on, apparently. Jared gently reached out and Jensen found that he couldn’t breathe as Jared touched his cheek. “Wow. Does that go all over?”
Double fuck. Jensen wondered if it was possible for him to sink through the floor. He bit his lip and closed his eyes. “Possibly.” God. His mother was going to watch this.
“Maybe I’ll get to find out one day.” Double flying fuck. And Jared was holding his hand out again and all Jensen could think about was Jared’s huge, huge hand and him finding out just how far Jensen’s blushes went. “So I’ll see you outside,” Jared said and Jensen nodded, not trusting himself to speak as he took a hold of Jared’s warm hand.
God but Jensen hoped that it wasn’t going to be like this all the time. Jared probably thought he was such a freak. He walked away from the table and Jared’s impossibly beautiful face, wandering outside in a bit of a daze. What would Jared be like in bed? Would he be all ‘what do you like?’ or maybe he’d be pushy and demanding? Jensen shivered. He kind of liked pushy and demanding.
He really shouldn’t be thinking of things like this. Especially not right now.
The rest of the houseguests were milling in the backyard, which, really, Jensen wasn’t sure that it could be classified as a yard when it was nearly bigger than the local park a few blocks from his apartment. There was a swimming pool sunken down into the stonework patio and Jensen followed the swirling pattern of the stones to find the slightly raised hot tub, tucked away under the veranda. An image of Jared in either one flashed through his mind and he quickly looked away to the rest of the yard. In the center, there was a spread of food and drinks that Justin was hanging around, probably hoping for alcohol that he was too young to drink.
Scattered around the rest of the yard were various sets of chairs and benches, tucked back in among the landscaping of bushes, trees and mounds of flowers. Actually, some, Jensen realized, were just barely out of view of the house and perfect for-he shoved that thought away too. What was wrong with him today?
He walked over to a small cluster of chairs and sat down, pretending to look at the small fountain in front of him when all he could focus on was just how damn good Jared had looked in person instead of through a video camera. Wasn’t that supposed to go in reverse? With the camera, weren’t the movie stars supposed to look better because of all the make-up and lighting and crap? Or hell, airbrushing?
Apparently Jared’s little flaws just made him hotter. And in no way was a camera prepared to convey that type of intensity. He swallowed and stared at the grass. He probably should be mingling with the rest of the lovesick losers instead of sitting over here in a corner like the wallflower he was. At least he should probably grab a beer. It might even help with his nerves. Jensen nodded to himself and stood up, wandering over to the tables.
Justin of the twinktastic emo-ness had finally wandered off and Jensen quietly selected a beer, pulling it out an ice bucket. He wasn’t sure what kind it was or even if he’d like it but it was wet and cold and hopefully it would help the dryness in his mouth.
“It’s kind of a bit much, isn’t it?” Jensen jumped and swung his head towards the voice. Ben was there, peeling at the label of his beer. He took a swig of it. “When I first left the Marines, this really wasn’t where I’d pictured myself being.”
Jensen was a little lost as to why Ben had singled him out, but, then again, he was a little lost on why anything was happening in this house and he’d never been one to turn down a possible story. “Oh?” he asked, settling in next to Ben to take a swig out of his own bottle.
“Yeah,” Ben said with a shy smile. “I mean, no one ever pictures themselves on a show like this, you know? …Except for maybe those ones.” He tipped his bottle towards the corner of the yard where Justin, Katrina, and Lita were apparently trying to see who could be the loudest, cameras circling them and hoping for drama. Jensen snorted. Those three probably had a couple of shows like this penciled into their long-term plans. Ben turned his smile on Jensen and Jensen noticed absently that the guy was rather gorgeous. It was catalogued like any other random detail such as the sky being blue or the house being tacky and a sick kernel of fear grew in Jensen’s gut.
He was crushing so fucking hard, wasn’t he? Every other guy in the entire world, as far as he was apparently concerned, could not hold a candle to Jared fucking Padalecki. Jensen took another chug of his beer to give himself enough time to wrestle the potential panic attack to the ground as he stared blankly at the yard. “Any, uh, big plans, then?” he asked.
Ben shook his head. “Not any definite ones. I got big plans alright, but they’re more just dreams than anything.”
“I hear you.” Too many dreams to pick from, probably.
“So, I’m Ben by the way.” Jensen glanced over to see Ben offering his hand and with an apologetic smile, Jensen took it.
“Yeah, I heard. I’m Jensen.”
“Nice to meet you, Jensen.”
“Same.” Jensen took another pull of his beer and Ben copied the motion.
“So what do you do?” Ben smiled again when Jensen glanced back over. “Sorry, I didn’t get to hear like you did.”
Right. “Oh. I, uh, I write.” The more times Jensen said it, the guiltier he felt. It was kind of like he was putting down his own profession, just giving it a simple label like that. Oh well. “And you?”
Ben’s eyes twinkled. “What I used to do, you mean?”
Jensen glanced back at the green grass at his feet. …Was that a camera hidden in that bush? “Uh, yeah.” Jesus, it was…
“Well, I used to blow shit up.” That definitely sounded cooler than just ‘I write.’
“Really?”
“Yeah,” Ben said, nodding. He looked like he was going to add more but then shut his mouth and tilted his beer towards the sliding patio doors of the house. Jensen followed where he was pointing and felt his stupid, stupid heart skip another freaking beat and it didn’t matter how much beer he’d already drank, his mouth was dry.
Jared stepped out onto the backyard patio, every inch the movie-star as he smiled and waved at the waiting crowd. He was flanked by Jeff and probably a million cameras. Jensen swallowed. Just how many cameras did a show like this use, anyway? And how did Jared act so naturally with them continuously following him around like that?
Probably just used to it, Jensen supposed. Jared had spent nearly his entire life surrounded by the things, so it wouldn’t be such a strange thing to have them following him around now. Jensen didn't think, though, that he'd ever be able to get used to that. He was pretty sure it wasn't natural to be used to it, actually. Jared must be some kind of laid-back god or something.
“Everyone enjoying the party?” Jared asked. A few loud cheers erupted-some from the Power Trio’s corner and Jensen was willing to bet the others were from wherever Mike and Sandy had gone off to. “Great! So, we’re just going to have a good time out here and get to know each other a little better. Help yourself to whatever you want and have fun.” He stepped off the safety of the patio on to the grass and was immediately attacked by the fawning groupies. Jensen twisted his mouth and took another swig of beer.
This was going to be a long night.
Master Post | Part 2