College AU | Part 0ne
“Rule numero uno.”
Jared turns slowly and eyes Chad. They’ve had all three months of summer break to determine any possible regulations for living together after spending most of freshman year in Chad’s dormroom (Jared couldn’t stand the smell of his hippie roommate and Chad’s was never around). But this is the first time Chad tries to lay down any laws.
“No anal sex,” Chad says plainly, like it’s a simple request.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“So,” Jared wonders, leaning back on his desk. “That go for you, too?”
“Hell no.”
He crosses his arms and watches Chad start to push t-shirts into his drawers. “Hell no you won’t, or hell no it doesn’t go for you?”
“Don’t go for me.”
“So basically, the gay guy can’t have sex in here?” Jared pushes himself up to sit on the desk and kicks his feet around, waiting for Chad to look at him. But he doesn’t, just nods. Jared adds, “Not even if you’re gone?”
“None at all.”
“How about blow jobs? I can still get blown in my own bed, right?”
Chad turns slowly, squinting, and then staring for a good long time. “Thank you for that. Now I’m picturing you getting your dick sucked.”
Jared smirks. “Awesome, because now I am, too.”
“Fuck,” Chad grunts as he tosses the last of his shirts into a drawer and shoves it closed. “It’s like you’re telepathically shooting gay sex into my head.”
“Yes, I’m most definitely doing that. Now there’s rimming. It feels awesome.”
“Whoa,” they hear from the hallway before a bald head pops into view. “What kinda shit you up to in here?”
“Don’t worry,” Chad replies as he stands. “We’ve already declared no gay sex in here.” He nods at their visitor with a smile. “What’s up?”
The guy moves forward to shake Chad’s hand. “Mike Rosenbaum. 1012, right around the corner.”
“Chad,” he nods back then motions to Jared. “And that’s my big gay roommate.”
Mike nods at Jared with a smile. “Big gay roommate have a name?”
Jared smiles and moves forward, shaking Mike’s hand. “Jared. Nice to meet you.”
“Good strong handshake, man,” Mike smiles as he grips right back.
“I’m gay, not a wimp.”
“Alright,” he laughs. “You guys play ball?”
X + X + X + X + X
Throughout the weekend, Chad and Jared spend most daylight hours playing basketball on the courts outside their dorm. Mike, with his roommate Tom, are pretty good matches, and Mike is excessively loud about losing to them. “Screw your mother,” seems to be his typical cry, and Chad just replies, “I will when I’m done with yours.” They’re all laughs and aggressive-but-playful shoving then more laughs and pizza and beer at night. Jared loves his new living arrangements already.
By Monday morning, it’s established that Mike and Jared have Calculus 350 together at 10am, and Mike’s excited that he has someone on his floor to grab notes for him when he ditches. Jared just laughs and assures Mike that he’ll owe him big for it.
Mike rambles on the way to class about how badly his 200-level Calc class had been last semester because of a teacher with the most unintelligible accent imaginable, but that his friend got him through it. He perks up, slaps at Jared’s chest as they walk in the door. “Bonus! Jenny’s got seats.”
Jared mindlessly follows Mike halfway through the classroom and then he stops and stares and can’t function well enough to sit down. Not even when Mike introduces him to an unbelievably hot guy sitting in an empty row. “Jenny?” Jared asks oddly, not even sure how his mouth managed to get the name out.
As Mike sits down, the guy grumbles, “Way to start up to the new year.”
Mike grabs his notebook and pencil from his backpack and slaps them on his desk. He’s looking forward and not even caring. “Whatever, Jenny.”
“Jensen, dick.” Hearing those two words together does nothing to shock Jared out of openly gaping at him. Jensen reaches across Mike to shake Jared’s hand. “Jensen,” he repeats with an awkward smile that turns a little amused when Jared lamely grabs his hand. “I think you block the view of the people behind us.”
Jared looks back, realizing that everyone is half his size because they’re all seated and he’s not. And he feels like a tool when he's anything but cool as he slides into the seat next to Mike, totally disregarding Jensen’s hand.
Moments later the teacher enters and starts the lecture, and Jared can’t focus on the board because he keeps looking at Jensen out the corner of his eye. Sees how he and Mike are taking notes. And when Jensen leans back in his seat, crosses his ankles, and starts to chew on a pen, Jared’s fucking hooked.
He vows to never miss a class.
X + X + X + X + X
When Jared gets back to the room, he’s beaming and jittery. Chad doesn’t look away from his laptop and asks ever so plainly, “What? Did ya fall on a dick in the elevator?”
“Not in the elevator. In Calc.” He dumps his backpack in front of his closet and ambles further into the room. “Shit. Mike’s got, like, the hottest fucking friend.”
“Really? Do tell,” Chad says, voice flat.
Jared crashes onto his bed, hands landing on his chest and curling into his shirt. “Man, I’m gonna flunk that class. Couldn’t do anything but watch the guy suck a pen.”
“Hey, do me a favor?”
“What’s up?” Jared asks as he sits up.
“Go talk to Sandy.”
He runs his hands through his hair and yawns, always hating how hard it is to get back into the new semester after sleeping in late through all of break. “She stop by?”
“No, but I’m not your fag hag.”
Jared chuckles then stands up to look over Chad’s shoulder. “What’re you doing?” A split second later, he winces and whines. “Dude. Porn before noon?”
Chad stretches his arms out and smirks. “It’s noon somewhere.”
He smacks the back of Chad’s head then makes his way out the door to find Sandy.
X + X + X + X + X
“If I’d known you knew hot people, I’d hang out with you more.”
Jared reaches across the table to steal a fry. “I got dibs.”
Sandy looks up and gives the sweetest smile possible. One she uses when she asks him for rides to the store or to help her with math and chemistry. “Who says he’s not straight?”
“Who says he doesn’t like dick?”
She smacks his hand as he steals another fry. “I’ve got breasts and hair. No one says no to this package.”
“Some do.”
“You didn’t,” she smiles.
Jared snorts. “Please. I was drunk. You were drunk.”
She tosses a fry at his nose that he grabs off the table and eats. “Whatever.”
He gives her a warm smile, knowing that it’s not even a big deal to them that they made out at a party last year. And that once in a while it still happens when they’re good and drunk because as she’d easily explained away: he’s usually one of the better looking guys in the room and him being gay in Texas doesn’t allow many opportunities to get any action. But their friendship is easy enough that it never really bothered them.
“I still say he’s straight.”
Jared finishes the rest of his Cherry Pepsi and barely hides a belch in his fist. “You have no evidence that he is.”
“Ain’t many gays in Texas.”
“What about me?”
She waves a fry in the air before popping it into her mouth. “That’s one.”
“Guys always experiment in college when they’re drunk.”
“Oh, like you,” she smiles.
Jared shrugs easily. “Mouth’s a mouth’s a mouth.”
Sandy wipes her hands on a napkin and eyes him. “We all get drunk and he’ll hit on me first. Guarantee.”
“We’ll see,” he smiles, like it’s a challenge.
X + X + X + X + X
A week later in Calc, he does his best to be kinda cool - because he kinda is, Chad even says so, though he’s going to ignore how accented the word kinda usually is. He slides into his seat and gives a little head nod to Jensen and a low, “Hey, what’s up?”
“Hey,” Jensen says easily. Then he punches Mike’s arm. “Saw you playing this weekend.”
Mike grabs Jensen around the neck and squeezes before ruffling his hair. “Baby, I know you missed me.” He kisses the top of Jensen’s head and Jared just stares, feeling his stomach swirl and he’s not sure if it’s in jealously that Mike can get that close to Jensen or just plain want. Because Jensen seems to not be bothered by the touch, and that just might be Clue Number One that Jensen is gay.
But then he has to wonder if Mike and Jensen are … his eyes clench shut. He’d almost prefer that Jensen were straight so he wouldn’t have to see them act like this.
Jensen’s voice breaks through, “You’re not too bad ... ” Jared glances over and sees Jensen smiling as he talks over Mike. “For being eleventy feet tall.”
Jared sits forward, clutching the edge of his desk to settle his nerves while praying he doesn’t fuck up his first chance for an actual conversation with Jensen. “Doesn’t hurt to reach right over their heads.”
“Nah, it don’t.” Jensen lays his palm above Mike’s head for Jared to give him five, and when Jared reaches out to do so, Jensen quickly moves his hand and Jared, instead, smacks Mike’s crown.
Mike swings an arm at each of their chests. “Fuck you both with a spoon.”
Jensen laughs and leans back casually in his chair while nodding at Jared. And Jared mentally records that moment, putting it on repeat for the rest of class. He replays how Jensen’s lips curled up, the brightness of his teeth, the flash in his eyes, the creases at the corners.
When they’re walking from class, Jared hears Mike and Jensen joke about some girl from last semester’s class. It goes on a little longer than he could care about, but he just listens to Jensen’s voice banter with Mike’s. How level and easy it comes out, and how the laughter is pitched a little high while Jensen tips his head back and smiles. God, Jared thinks, to see that smile.
It’s been just one week since he first met Jensen and he’s done for.
X + X + X + X + X
The thing is … Jared’s really kind of smart. Even if he’d learned the hard way during his first semester that he couldn’t coast by with just paying attention in class like he did for all of high school. He has to put in loads of reading time and spend more than just a few hours on papers, but he still gets near straight As and made the Dean’s list freshman year. Mike insists he has to help with Calc when it gets rough, and he does. But it mostly consists of them sitting around the reading lounge on their floor and bullshitting about other things. Among the range of topics: Tom, who’s a solid guy but kind of keeps to himself when Mike’s not around, and Chad - really just their qualities as roommates, or failures at being good ones; the math nerd of a teacher they listen to every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for an hour; and Jared’s not-so-legendary high school basketball career. Absolutely never broached? Jensen.
Jared spends a majority of class trying to sneak peeks around Mike to see the guy. And while he’s become way too acquainted with Jensen’s mouth - memorizing how the lips suck on the end of a pen or take the brunt of Jensen tapping said-pen against them when he’s lost on the weekly quizzes - he’s not about to drop the name, worried that Mike will read right through him.
Instead, he spends so many other countless hours just thinking about the guy and all the dirty things he wants to do him - all things Chad has outlawed in their room, but Jared would dare to do anyway.
Jared’s pretty much obsessed with Jensen.
X + X + X + X + X
Early one Saturday morning, Mike bangs on the door and instructs them to get their “lily white asses covered and in the hall. Now!”
Jared rolls off the slim bed, knocking Chad on the shoulder on his way, and then drags the door open. “What?”
“Breakfast?”
“Sleep?” Jared asks with a frown.
“Basketball?” Mike offers in a friendlier voice.
Chad marches between them, shoving each out of his way while mumbling, “Gotta piss.”
Mike and Jared share a shrug before Mike goes on. “You gonna play or what? Misha and Jensen are coming.”
“Jensen?” Jared asks, a bit too interested, especially for eight in the morning on a Saturday.
Chad counters with a gravelly, “Misha?” as he pushes his way back into the room.
“Yeah. Guy I know.” Mike shrugs then looks to Jared, punching at his shoulder. “You coming?”
Jared smoothes away the pain at his shoulder but he can’t frown or wince because he’s starting to smile at the thought of seeing Jensen outside of class. His focus goes to not making it all too big, so he just settles himself with an easy, “Yeah.”
They don’t grab a formal breakfast. It’s just dining hall donuts that are obliterated in seconds, even before they exit the dormitory and fight the burning sun. It’s hotter than hell, but it’s also Texas. No real surprise there.
There’s a moment of disappointment when teams are broken off and he’s not with Jensen, but it’s quickly replaced when Mike instructs him to cover Jensen. He does pretty well for himself, running into Jensen’s space, waving arms to block passes. And he and Mike are battling fairly well along with Tom to stay within just a few baskets of Jensen, Chad, and Misha. They’re all getting animated and playing harder than before, like the sun is egging them on to do it right. There are a few errant elbows, some stepped-on toes, understandably all okay. Jared’s team finally catches up and ties at 20, intent to finish the game at 21.
He’s tossed up balls as much as he can in a last ditch effort and Mike’s crabbing at him and Jensen’s talking so much trash it makes Jared laugh. But what really gets Jared into trouble is when the sun is soaking all their clothes and Jensen unabashedly peels his shirt off and tosses it to the corner of the court before pounding the ball back into the asphalt. Jared can’t not stare.
“You ready, JP?” he smirks as he tauntingly moves closer then shifts to the side, avoiding Jared’s defense.
Jared doesn’t even know where the nickname came from, but he’s going to take it, along with that dangerous smile Jensen keeps giving while roughhousing his way into Jared’s space. He gives a sideways grin, “Bring it, Jenny.”
Jensen’s scooting back, edging Jared further into court and closer to the basket while he keeps dribbling and eyes Chad and Misha floating around, practically absorbed by Mike and Tom’s coverage. Jared pulls up right behind him, swiping hands around him, trying to get a finger on the ball and disrupt the play, but it doesn’t work. There are a few swift elbows as Jensen grumbles something about being called Jenny, and Jared tosses out a few more childish remarks. Jensen just pushes back on him and Jared is trying so hard to function and focus on the ball. Absolutely not thinking about how Jensen’s broad back is slotting right up to his chest. Or how hot the skin is against the thin, worn, sleeveless tee Jared’s wearing. Or how Jensen’s still got that sly little grin on his face and he keeps meeting Jared’s eyes as he shifts left then right then left again.
“Thought you could handle playing with the big boys,” Jensen taunts.
He wants to wipe all the sweat out of his face, push hair away, but the minute he moves from Jensen he loses the play as well as all that contact and heat and pressure on his body. He’s dying for it to be more. He leans right in, feeling the slide of their bodies as they keep shuffling along the court. “Think I’m doing well enough,” Jared nearly pants out. Then he reaches forward and gets a digit on the ball. Jensen reaches forward for it, grabbing with both hands and solidifying his current spot on the court without travelling. “C’mon Jenny,” he chuckles. “What’s the gameplan now?”
Jared pushes in closer, swinging hands again and trying to get Jensen off balance, but Jensen pushes right back, forcing Jared to practically cover his whole back. He could step away, but it might mean giving up a pass, and they’re playing to the death now, or so it seems. He’s not going to let up on Jensen, not when there’s trash being tossed around.
“Still got a few tricks up my sleeve.”
“Yeah, right,” Jared laughs.
“Just you wait …”
They’re still pushing and edging each other out while Jared only focuses on Jensen and the ball and his body … and shit, really, it’s all just an extension of Jensen. “Waiting and looking. Ain’t seein’ anything,” Jared taunts again.
And that’s when Jensen pushes rougher with his lower body and Jared feels the distinct press of Jensen’s ass into his groin, across his dick. It’s hot and firm and then Jared’s feeling himself go stiff. He has to back up in an instant to not get any further than thinking wantwantwant, scared to death it’ll become needneedneed and he’ll do something stupid.
Instead, Jensen pivots, takes advantage of the lack of defense, and tosses up a shot. The smirk on Jensen’s face tells Jared that it’s sunk and the game’s over. He moves closer, one hand on Jared’s shoulder and the other smacks, pretty damned hard, at the chest. “Maybe next time, kiddo.”
“Yeah,” Jared grumbles while unconsciously performing a hard-on check.
Jensen’s eyes dart down then quickly back to Jared before he’s moving over to Tom. As soon as Jensen’s gone, Jared frowns and a wide palm covers the place that he’d been hit. He keeps his hand there, not sure if it’s really still the stinging of raw skin or the warmth from Jensen’s hand, while he moves to the edge of the adjacent lawn to grab his water bottle.
Chad pops into view, jabbing fists into the air and sparring with nothing but Jared’s personal space. “Ol’ boy got you good!” he crows.
Jared drops into a seated position on grass just so he doesn’t have to see Chad’s smug face anymore. He’s not pissed at the loss so much as extremely uncomfortable about those last moments with Jensen and how quickly he - or his dick really - had responded. He worries that Jensen felt it and that would explain why the guy isn’t looking anywhere near him or Chad, even when everyone else is. He draws his knees up and rests his forearms on them while tossing Chad evil glares because the guy is then popping back and forth, trying to play but obviously not catching on that Jared’s not up for it. Chad swings a foot, absolutely playing on all the times they wrestle and recreate shitty karate movies, but the foot gets close and he nearly hits Jared in the temple.
He falls back on reflexes and then stays on his back, staring up at the sky. Because then he doesn’t have to see Chad’s head or the back of Jensen’s.
Misha’s face, open and goofy, appears above him. “You okay, Jared?” he asks easily.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he mumbles.
His head tips to the side with wonder. “What’s wrong? You look worried.”
Jared moves to cover his face with his hands. He blocks out the sun and Chad and Misha and fucking Jensen. “Nothing.”
Misha crouches down to sit at Jared’s knees, which forces Jared to give the most confused glance he’s sure he’s ever given anyone, but then he covers his face again. Misha’s voice is still soothing, fairly innocent. “Something’s bothering you. Your chest still hurt?”
“No, my dick,” Jared grinds out between his teeth before he even thinks of it.
“We need a medic,” Misha calls out with a light voice while standing up.
When Jared removes his hands and scrunches his face up to Misha, he’s actually met with a tentative Jensen. “Get up, you big baby,” Jensen mutters while grabbing onto Jared’s arm and hauling him off the ground.
“You’re a big baby,” he replies, lamely. But he doesn’t get any response from Jensen except an odd glance because Chad’s suddenly jumping on his back, winding arms under his neck and drawing everyone’s attention.
“My big gay homo is alive!” he screeches in Jared’s ear.
Except Jared kind of wishes he was six feet under.
X + X + X + X + X
It’s pretty quiet in class that week. Jared does his best to stare at the front of the class rather than to his right. He’s not exactly paying attention to the teacher or what goes up on the board, but at least he’s not looking for Jensen or for any assurances that things aren’t weird after the game. He doesn’t want to see an odd look, telling him that Jensen’s uncomfortable with his presence.
Mike eyes him oddly all week, like he’s waiting for him to give it up and admit to going hard while playing basketball with Jensen, and how every night and most mornings since he thinks about that play again and imagines that they’re both shirtless, sweat draining from their necks down their chests and Jared’s arms wind around Jensen to hold the ripples of muscle against his chest instead of just to bat a ball away and then Jensen pushes back on him …
And basically, Jared keeps reliving the entire moment in his head whenever he’s not focused on something else. He’s torturing himself for the three hours he sits just five feet from Jensen.
That next Sunday night, Mike taps on the door and wedges it open enough to pop his shiny, bald head in. “We’re hitting Wal-Mart.”
“That’s nice,” Jared mumbles from his bed, not looking up from his Microbiology book.
“I gotta take gimpy,” Mike complains, kicking the door open further and showing off Tom with a crisp white cast on his left ankle and a pair of crutches under his arms. “Don’t make me do this alone.”
Chad cackles as he asks, “What happened? Mike try to pop you in the shower again?”
“Fuck you,” Tom says, succinctly.
“You coming?”
Chad jumps up but Jared hesitates. He’s gotten so little out of any class this week that he’s pretty sure he should stay in and finish all the homework on his to-do list. Not to mention he’s been good at pouting over that one awful play of last week’s basketball game. He decides to go back to his reading.
“Jare, c’mon, man.”
He just motions to his book. “Thanks anyway.”
“Come out for an hour. The molecular habitat of monkey lice and Chad’s ball algae will be here when you get back.”
He relents and is actually feeling okay about it, until they get to the front lot of the dorm and he realizes that Misha’s driving them all in his van and he’s forced to slide into the back seat next to Jensen with Chad crowding him on the other side.
Jared gives a low, “Hey,” that Jensen returns much the same. And neither talk for the short minute drive off campus to the superstore, only listening to Tom talk about how he’d tripped over a pile of Mike’s clothes in front of his closet and that he had always been right that Mike’s filth would someday kill him.
At the store, Jared ambles along, a few steps behind the crowd. They cruise the main aisles without a care for how loud they’re talking or what they actually came here for. But Jared gets the idea that it’s not really for shopping when Misha jumps into the empty cart Mike’s pushing. Mike laughs and starts moving them faster, and as they pass Tom, Misha reaches out and snags one of Tom’s crutches.
“Oh, come on!” Tom shouts.
Misha points the crutch in front of him as Mike runs down the main stretch of tile. “On to the castle, my fine man!” Misha calls with a surprising air of dignity to his voice. “M’lady awaits her rescue!”
Jared’s laughing for the first time since that basketball game, and he finds Jensen laughing right alongside him. “What the fuck?” he asks on shrug.
Jensen scrubs a hand over his face, trying to calm his laughter. “I don’t know, man. Not my friends.”
“They are so your friends. I wouldn’t even know you if it weren’t for them.”
He pauses for a second and eyes Jared before nodding then motioning towards Tom, who’s barely making it with one crutch after Chad left him to catch up to Misha’s chariot. “Think we oughta help?”
Jared looks between Jensen and Tom then shrugs. “We have to?”
“Yeah, you dick,” Jensen laughs, punching at his shoulder as they head off to the front of the store and retrieve a motorized cart. Jensen steers it back to the middle of the place, flippant with the controls and randomly swiping to the left and right, chuckling and making Jared pretty damned amused. After a wide turn, he drops casually, “So, what’s been with you this week?”
There’s a quick glance to Jensen then Jared tries to sound innocent with his, “What?”
“Been quiet in class. Everything okay?”
The cart comes to a stop and Jared frowns a little at Tom, realizing the conversation also has to stop here. “Oh, thank the nuts,” Tom sighs. “I’m gonna split Misha right down the back.”
“Kinky,” Jensen smiles as he moves out of the way for Tom to get into the cart and get going. “Think he’ll catch up to them?”
Jared looks around the store, and for as big as it is, it’s pretty empty at this hour. “I’m sure we’ll hear it.”
Jensen starts walking and Jared can’t help but follow. But he’s quiet, especially when Jensen asks, “You sure everything’s okay?”
“Just stuff from home,” he instantly lies.
“Yeah? Like what?”
Jared shrugs, works his mouth a few times before he finally gives a lame, “No need to bother you with it. Don’t worry.”
They’re suddenly in front of the furniture department and Jensen grabs a beanbag chair, dropping it at the edge of an aisle and settling down. “Should probably snag a seat. They’re gonna be at this for a while.”
It’s then that Jared hears the proclamation, “To Nottingham!” and when he turns, Misha is headed their way, crutch still mighty in the air and Mike still pushing him along.
It’s a few seconds before there’s the puttering of the motorized cart and Tom’s crabby voice. “You’re gonna be crawling for days when I’m done with you!”
Jared pulls a beanbag over and plops down with an easy sigh. “How long ‘til they make the next pass?”
His lips curl into a smile before he answers, “I give it a good three minutes. Mike’s not much for longevity.”
“Something you know personally?” Jared asks, trying to joke but he can tell it comes out awkwardly.
Jensen looks over and stares for a few moments. “No, not exactly.”
He leans his head back, staring at the ceiling and welcoming the burn of the bright lights above them. He feels like an ass for having asked.
There are faint rumbles of Misha’s voice calling out other ridiculous things with Tom’s angry response from a few aisles over and Jensen chuckles. “These guys.”
Jared looks over with a small smile, hearing Jensen’s laugh and seeing how his face lights up so easily. “How do you know them?”
He chuckles before settling himself a little lower into the beanbag, stretching his legs out. “Mike and I are both in the Calc program. Freshman year, he attached himself to me when he saw I had a 97 on the first test. He just never seems to go away.”
“Kinda like herpes,” Jared tries to joke, but then he nearly chokes on his own spit when Jensen looks at him oddly. His face screws up for a second. “Not like I know.” When Jensen continues staring, he finally shrugs, “Chad.”
Jensen laughs, truly laughs and it makes Jared smile more. “How in the hell did you ever get Chad as a roommate, anyway? You lose some major bet or is it community service?”
“No, no,” he chuckles. “We were neighbors last year. We were always together because we hated our roommates.”
“So you’re willingly living with him?”
“Yeah,” Jared says, trying to push more confidence in that one word.
“Huh.”
He swallows and looks over at Jensen, trying to not sound as awkward as he feels. “He’s really not that bad.”
Then they hear the raggedy engine of the motorized cart with Tom complaining, “Get off! You’re slowing me down!”
They see Chad perched on the back as it moves no faster than three miles per hour, Jared’s sure. Chad shoots back, “Dude, go scrub your vagina and then tack your balls back into place.” He smacks Tom’s back and tries to encourage, “Let’s go! Pedal to the metal, grandma.”
Jared frowns then tries to hide his embarrassment. “He’s really not so bad.”
“Guess you’re like Mother Theresa?”
He smirks at Jensen’s tease and nods. “I’d like to think so.”
Jensen laughs. “It certainly does put things into perspective.”
“Mishka! We should check out the unmentionables section. Maybe some leopard or zebra pieces?” they hear Mike call out before the cart hauling Misha zooms right past them, now going in the opposite direction.
Jared laughs and looks over to Jensen. “What about you? They’re not exactly sane.”
His mouth quirks. “No, they really aren’t.”
“Don’t think you can judge me on Chad anymore.”
“Dude,” Jensen laughs. “I’m going to judge you forever.”
“What? Why?” Jared asks, as if he were truly insulted by it, though his smile betrays that.
He can’t seem to get through the explanation with a straight face or without laughing. “You live with him.”
Jared points out with a smile, “Yeah, but you still seem to be around Mike and Misha all the time.”
With an odd shake of his head, Jensen tries to explain. “It’s more of a group thing? A collective unit, you know?” he finishes with a shrug.
He watches Jensen for a few moments then looks away with a tiny smile.
X + X + X + X + X
It’s been five weeks now that Jared’s been crushing on Jensen. Things are relatively okay now that they’ve, like, talked. Especially after the basketball game when Jensen didn’t seem to have an inkling to Jared’s bodily reaction to him. So he can manage a few words throughout class and his little wandering fantasies are a bit easier to handle. Or, at least, he’s not so embarrassed by them anymore. Because at this point, he’s no longer only dreaming of all the things Jensen’s mouth could do to him. He’s now imagining how he could make him smile and laugh and eyes shine like they do when Mike cracks a particularly funny joke. Jared’s dying to get closer to the guy but feels like he’s dead in the water because Mike’s always sitting between them or walking along with them from class and Jared can’t even attempt to make a move.
He’s feeling desperate and is dying to figure something out. Mike and Jensen are rambling on about the newest slasher flick when Jared blurts out. “Hey, there’s a party Saturday?”
They turn to him and neither says anything for a few seconds until Jensen smirks. “You askin’ or you tellin’?”
Jared winces for his stupidity, but his stomach is warming to the drawl and he wants to kiss the guy right there. “No, there is. We’re having a party.”
Mike punches at Jared’s shoulder. “Thought you were going to your brother’s? Had to dogsit while he’s gone?”
“Uh, yeah. It’s at his house. Because they’re gone,” he repeats lamely. “You guys gonna come?”
Jensen looks between Mike and Jared. “Where he live?”
“Jared’s farm country,” Mike smarts with an exaggerated accent. “It’s only four towns over.” Jensen shrugs a little with a questioning face.
“Yeah, it’s not far. And they have a yard and a pool and a table. A pool table, you know,” he rambles on, not even knowing how to control himself now that he has Jensen’s attention, and maybe interest. “’But yeah. I’m getting a keg, and inviting old high school friends. And you guys.” Jared smiles, trying to make it all sound right and like it was his plan all along. “It’ll be good. House is big.”
Jensen shrugs again and nods. “Yeah, that’s cool. You gonna go?” he asks Mike.
Mike pushes at Jared’s head. “I’ll think about it.”
But he doesn’t even care, because Jensen said Yeah, that’s cool and it really is.
X + X + X + X + X
Of course, now that he has Jensen agreeing to actually show up to a social gathering that will include alcohol and Jared’s chance to strip the guy down of any inhibitions and find out if he’s possibly, maybe gay, no one else is going to join them. He ignores the fact that he’s giving everyone just twenty-four hour notice and still lays on the guilt trips. None of them work.
Chad bows out because he’s finally got a date with the freshman from his Accounting class. “Dude, I’ve been milking her for weeks. There’s no way I’m driving to your brother’s house when I’ll have the room to myself.”
He comes to realize that most of his high school friends are either at other, farther schools, or they kind of dropped off the face of the earth when Jared stopped making a concerted effort to keep in touch freshman year.
Sandy has a major group project due Tuesday and has to spend hours upon hours with four classmates to tie it all up.
And Mike had insisted he, Tom, and Misha would caravan with a bunch of others, but sometime around six on Saturday, Jared gets a text that Misha’s van had an unfortunate incident with a parking block at Wal Mart and was rendered pretty useless until he could see a mechanic on Monday.
So he sits around the house, grumbling and pouting and crossing his arms tight across his chest while he watches mind-numbing buddy comedies on the big screen TV. Once in a while, he curses Sadie and Harley for even existing, or his brother and sister-in-law for their weekend getaway, because if not for either he could’ve just stayed at school and found something better to do than sulk in the family room.
Jared’s nodding in and out of sleep after a while, literally boring himself to sleep when the doorbell rouses him. He practically stomps his way to the front door and when it opens to Jensen, he just stares and doesn’t move except to widen his eyes.
Jensen tips his head to look around Jared then nearly frowns. “Quiet party.”
“Fuck,” Jared mumbles.
“There a password or something?”
He says lamely, “I’m guessing you didn’t hear? Didn’t talk to Mike?”
“Nah, I came straight from my place,” Jensen shrugs then he gets an odd worried look. “Why? Something happen?”
“Uh,” he starts, not wanting to spit out that everyone bailed on him. This is the first time he’s ever been with Jensen without Mike or a couple dozen other people close by, and he’s pretty sure he doesn’t want to be bitter through the whole experience. “Misha wrecked his car. They’re not coming.”
Jensen stuffs his hands into his pockets and eyes Jared oddly. “So, I’m not allowed in because they’re not here?”
“Oh, well, no, of course not.” Jared moves to the side and lets Jensen in before him. He takes advantage of the moment and checks out Jensen’s ass, which looks amazing in his tattered jeans.
Jensen looks around the house as he creeps down the hallway towards the family room. He chuckles a little, “Everyone else get into a car accident?”
Jared nervously plays with the edge of his tee. “Nah. I guess … guess house parties aren’t cool anymore?” he shrugs and then quickly moves past Jensen to the kitchen. “You want a beer?”
“Drove all this way. Might as well.”
It is so terribly awkward, Jared can’t stand it. And he can’t stand how stupid he is in not doing much more than just offering lame options like “TV in the family room?” or “leftover pizza?”
Jensen takes both and they watch the last half of The Godfather and most of its sequel, both cut so badly for regular TV, and have crappy day-old pizza with a few more beers. They both sprawl out on the couch, feet up on the coffee table. Jared’s too shell shocked by the fact that Jensen’s just a few feet away without anyone else in a couple-hundred-foot radius that he can’t even manage any conversation other than answering random questions from Jensen. Like where the brother went off to, a little about the dogs as he scruffs up their necks, if Jared’s seen the new DeNiro movie. It’s all so awkward and Jared’s dying over the fact that he’s just completely shut down and is unable to do or say a damned thing until Jensen yawns and stretches, pushing himself further into the cushions.
Jared finally looks over, for longer than a quick little glance. He watches how Jensen’s shirt now rests flat across his stomach instead of crunching up like before. He can see the solid planes of Jensen’s abdomen, the crest of muscles at his chest. And he can’t stop staring now, just keeps looking from the corner of his eye until Jensen’s hand pushes into the cushion and he sits up a little. Jared shoots a quick look up to Jensen and he knows he’s caught.
So, as lamely as he’s done everything else so far, he asks, “You have a girlfriend?” When Jensen just stares back, Jared clears his throat. “I have this friend. Sandy. Think you guys might be good together.”
Jensen’s eyebrows rise and then so do Jared’s - he’s not even sure where the hell that came from. “Really?”
“Maybe? I don’t know. She’s real pretty,” he says quickly. “Chad went after her for most of freshman year, but she shot him down. She has standards.”
“Good to know,” Jensen chuckles and goes right back to the TV.
It’s quiet, uncomfortably so, and Jared wants a knife to stab his ears so he doesn’t have to know how weird it all is. He shoots looks Jensen’s way every so often, and he barely manages to pay attention to the TV, and it all really, really sucks. Because he has Jensen right here but he can’t drum up enough courage to do or say anything, even to think of a better activity than just watching a choppy, edited version of The Godfather.
“Hey, you said there’s a pool?”
He looks at Jensen and everything sounds perfect right there. Swimming, wet and warm and Jensen half naked. Jared feels like his mouth is fumbling to respond, but he finally manages, “Yeah, out back.”
An eyebrow goes up. “So, not in the basement?” Jared just stares while Jensen goes on with the teasing. “Funny, my parents have one in their bedroom. I’d never pegged you to be a backyard-pool kind of family.”
Jared finally swallows then shoves at Jensen’s shoulder with a laugh. “Shut up, ass. Now you don’t get to swim.”
“Wanna sit outside at least? It’s kind of a waste to stay in here all night.”
He swallows again, because while it’s not Jensen coming out and saying that this is an all-nighter sort of deal, he is talking about hanging around longer than just a few beers, and he’s reminded … he has Jensen all to himself. Jared scrambles to his feet. “Yeah, that’s fine. I’ll grab more beer?”
Jensen nods with a smile, “Good deal.”
“Um, it’s out there,” he says lamely while pointing just as lamely toward the patio doors off the family room.
His mouth quirks. “Wouldn’t have thought it’d be outside.”
“Shut up, dick.”
Jensen laughs and teases Jared for calling him ass and dick in a one-minute time span. But then Jared’s stomach swirls and warms at those two words together when being around Jensen. He focuses on grabbing as many cans of beer that his hands can manage, and while it’s the shitty stuff Jeff drinks, he’s thankful there’s enough there to keep them lubricated … loose. Jared curses himself out for getting this anxious about the whole thing.
Except when he gets into the yard, Jensen’s already pulling his shirt over his head and even in the dark of the under-lit yard, he can see the toned muscles across his broad back and at his stomach as he turns towards Jared and smiles. “Think that’s enough?”
Jared tries not to gulp and just focuses on setting the cans on a small glass table, but he fumbles them when he hears Jensen’s zipper lower.
“You okay?”
He looks up with a fast nod. “Yeah, I’m cool. Just … a little dark, ya know?” Jared busies himself with the light switches at the back porch and settles on the ones that illuminate the pool water. Jensen’s drinking another beer and Jared’s mouth is dry as he watches Jensen tip his head back and how the throat works with swallowing quickly. Jared grabs a beer, nearly breaking the tab off as he opens it then he swallows nearly half of it before he pauses and meekly smiles at Jensen’s cool grin.
“You good?”
Jared wipes the edge of his mouth with the back of his hand. He sees that Jensen’s pants are undone, but still resting on his hips, giving a peak of dark boxer briefs. His eyes finally meet Jensen’s and he faintly smiles. “Yeah, yeah.”
Jensen sips his way through the rest of his beer and sets the empty next to the couple others Jared had brought. He seems to eye them for a few moments before he tauntingly and aggravatingly lowers his jeans and carefully steps out of them. Jared watches every movement, the roll of Jensen’s shoulders, of his stomach muscles tucking in and out as he reaches down to grab the jeans off the ground and then puts them over the back of a nearby chair. When he looks at Jared there’s a little mischievous quirk to his mouth and he takes two quick steps and launches himself into the pool, cannonballing and creating enough splash to get Jared a bit wet.
But he doesn’t care, he just smiles and watches Jensen break through the water and shake his head and run a hand over his wet spiky hair. He wades around, long arms and legs stroking through the water. “You comin’ in?”
He gulps and then anxiously nods as he trips over the leg of a chair in an effort to get closer to the pool. He hears Jensen laugh, but he doesn’t want to look, just sucks down the rest of his beer. His fingers fumble with the button and fly of his pants, and he has to pause to take a long breath.
“Hey, hand me another beer?”
Jared mumbles, “Yeah, of course,” as he grabs a can and moves to the edge of the pool, and lowers it.
Jensen grabs onto the can but his other hand comes up, circling Jared’s wrist and quickly tugging him into the water, clothes and all. Jared’s sputtering up to the surface, clothes soaked and heavy but Jensen’s laughing with crazy bright eyes and a wide grin that Jared can hardly care.
“Funny, jerk,” he says with no heat and a broad smile.
“I thought it was.”
He tries to frown, but it doesn’t work because Jensen looks amazing in the pool, wet and shiny with the underwater lights highlighting the perfect shape of his body. Jared gulps again. Then he’s moving slowly to remove his soaked shirt and peel away his now-heavy jeans. With a tiny smile, he moves closer to the patio and then tosses the clothes right on top of Jensen’s dry ones.
“Hey!” Jensen calls out with utterly no heat and all laughter.
“What?” Jared laughs back.
“Fucker. Soaking my clothes.”
He just flicks an eyebrow and shoots Jensen a broad grin.
They settle at edges of the pool near the same corner so they’re close but not too close and Jared can keep watching Jensen from the corner of his eye without looking too crazy. He can see Jensen’s abs working as he holds the edge of the pool but strings his legs out in front of him, floating then paddling gently. It’s a nice view. “Too bad no one else came out,” Jensen says so quietly that Jared has to stare for a few moments to realize what it was that he said. “This pool’s pretty sweet,” he smiles.
Jared tips his head back to feel the cool water rush over his scalp and calm him a little. “Yeah. I should probably come out here more often.”
“Surprised you don’t have more parties here.”
He frowns. “Not like my brother’s gone every weekend. Plus you see how this one turned out.”
Jensen laughs then ducks his head far enough below water that he’s blowing bubbles through his nose. He moves up and talks at the surface of the water. “Guess you find out how much people really like you,” he chuckles.
Jared stares at Jensen for a few moments then looks away while biting down on his smile, because he’s pretty sure Jensen likes him enough to stick around like this. And maybe there really is something here.
They drink three more beers a piece then decide to go back in before they’re all pruned skin and unable to even walk up the stairs of the pool. They eat more leftover pizza and settle in the couch with beach towels while Jared runs their clothes through the dryer. Fluffy towels cover most of Jensen’s skin, but Jared doesn’t mind it so much. Just knowing that they’re both in their boxers and just feet apart on the couch is enough for him.
There’s small talk about whatever movie they find but can barely pay enough attention to because it’s nearly four in the morning and they’ve had lots of beer and pizza to hold them down. But Jared’s still smiling about it.
X + X + X + X + X
When Jared wakes up, he’s huddled into a corner of the couch with aches in his back and neck. The TV’s still on, wheeling through some lame morning political show and the room is mostly dark. And empty, because Jensen’s gone, and Jared’s stomach drops. This is the first time he’s been alone with Jensen, had a space all to themselves and he hadn’t accomplished anything substantial. Yeah, he’d had Jensen down to his boxers and laughing and talking, but he’d also … shit, he berates himself. He had offered to set Jensen up with Sandy. Not exactly part of his grand scheme to make out with Jensen.
He’s practically smacking himself as he moves into the kitchen and decides he should just drown himself in beer. But then he smiles because on the kitchen counter is a note. Thanks for the warm beer and cold pizza. You’re a class act. Followed by a goofy smiley face to punctuate the sarcasm.
Next