I Dream of Jensen (Part Two)
Title: I Dream of Jensen
Author: queeberquabbler
Fic Prompt: Disney's Aladdin
Pairing: J2
Rating/Warnings: PG-13 for swearing. No warnings otherwise--it's your standard J2 :)
Disclaimer: See Master Post.
Jared is in such haste to drop off the coffee and lunches that he nearly throws them in his friend’s faces. They each call for him to slow down and tell them what’s going on, but he just yells back, “Not now, gotta run!” And run he does, first to his backpack, then with it, out the building, into the main lot, and all the way down to the huge prop warehouse. Jim, the head security guard, is in his usual spot at his desk, drinking his coffee and reading the morning newspaper. He looks up at Jared’s arrival and gives the kid a grin.
“Where’s the fire, Jared?”
Jared laughs as he catches his breath. “Hey…Jim…whoo! One sec.” It isn’t being out of shape that has Jared breathless (since Jared is in excellent shape, thank you very much), but rather his excitement over David. It took everything in him not to skip all the way over here! He can’t remember the last time he felt this alive, and his happiness is infectious: Jim grins again as he hands Jared the sign-in sheet.
“So what they got you lookin’ for today?”
“Uh…well, it’s kind of a secret.” And Jared knows he has to tell Jim-that’s how it works down here-but he brings up the fact that it’s a secret to show Jim that he trusts him.
Jim nods and mimes zipping his lip. “I won’t tell a soul,” he swears.
“I know. Thanks, man.”
Jim stands up and motions for Jared to follow. “Right this way, kid.” The pair ventures inside and moves around the corner. The room balloons out in front of them, as a seemingly endless aisle stretches out before them, with hundreds of rows of high, dusty shelves on either side. Jim turns to Jared and waits for Jared to speak.
“I know you know this place like the back of your hand,” Jared begins, “but all the times I’ve been in here, I’ve never seen anything close to this.”
“A challenge!” Jim smiles. “Been a while since I had one of those. Shoot.”
“I need a genie lamp.”
Jim’s smile falters for a split second, and his mouth twitches. “A genie lamp,” he repeats. “Now that is a toughie.”
“Oh no, you mean we don’t have one?”
“Of course we have one…several, in fact.” He scratches the back of his neck as he looks away from Jared.
“So what’s the problem?” Jared asks. Jim doesn’t reply, just keeps looking back into the warehouse, and Jared is forced to walk in front of his old friend to get his attention again. “Jim? You all right?”
“Yeah, m’fine…” he says, sounding distant. “Just, ah…” He lets out a light laugh. “Just remembering an old friend of mine. Knew this day would come. End of an era…” Jim looks up at the PA. “I’m glad it’s you, son. You’re a good man. You deserve a lot better than you got in life.” He pats Jared on the arm, eyes sparkling with sentimentality. Jared doesn’t react or reply-how can he when he has absolutely no idea what Jim is talking about? And the guard must sense his confusion, because a second later, he clears his throat and stands up straight. “All right. Last place I saw genie lamps was in Row 51, Bay 10, second shelf from the top. You’ll wanna take that.” He nods to the mint green platform ladder resting in the first row.
“Thanks Jim,” Jared smiles, and Jim waves it off.
“No problem, kid. See ya in a few.”
Jared runs over to the ladder, grabs hold of its parallel railings, and pushes it in front of him as he starts his long walk down the main aisle. It isn’t long before he feels like he’s been shrunk: this warehouse is HUGE, more like a cave than a building, with stalagmites of metal shelves that go on and on and on. Row 51, Jared repeats over and over in his mind as his eyes keep watch on the odd numbers written high on the side of the end shelf of each row. He’s never been down to 51 before-his current record is row 28, where he found the phonograph they needed for the time-travel-themed season opener. But 28 soon comes and goes, and Jared shivers as he presses on.
After what feels like an eternity of walking, he finally sees it: a dusty red 51 high above his right shoulder. Jared peers down the dark aisle; this place never has enough light for his liking. At least it’s on one of the top shelves, he consoles himself. It’ll be right by the lights. Jared turns the platform ladder toward the row and pushes forward, now counting the even-numbered bays on his left. When he gets to 10, he parks the ladder and sets the locks on the wheels. Then he climbs up, taking slow, careful steps; this ladder has been around almost as long as Jim, and it has slid out from underneath him before. He really doesn’t want another sprained wrist. So Jared takes his time until he gets to the platform at the top of the ladder. He grabs hold of the railings that surround the square landing, looks at the second shelf from the top…
And finds dust. Lots and lots and LOTS of dust. Jared takes a deep breath and blows out as hard as he can, and the dust becomes a cloud, engulfing its disturber in seconds. Jared coughs and waves and ducks-anything to escape to clean air, but the dust is thick and is taking its time resettling. Jared finally tucks his nose and mouth into his shirt as a makeshift mask, and, keeping his eyes narrowed, takes another look at the shelf.
It’s littered with the oddest assortment he’s seen-and that’s saying something, since this warehouse is anything but organized. From left to right, he spies a doll’s baby carriage, an antique waffle iron, a Viking helmet with one horn missing, a pair of oversized scissors, a trombone made out of Styrofoam, a teddy bear with Hitler’s moustache-and two genie lamps.
“Jackpot,” he says to the dusty props, and he grabs careful hold of them both and pulls them out for a better look. The one in his right hand looks like a typical genie lamp: made of curvy brass, with the handle on one end and the spout on the other. The lamp in his left looks like the bottle design they used on I Dream of Jeannie: a tall, narrow spout sticking straight up from a round, ornate base. Jared blows more dust off it, and a brilliant blue shines in the light.
Question is, which one would David like better? Jared wonders. He keeps looking at them in turn, finding beauty and function in both of them, but in the end, he can’t decide. “Guess I’ll just have to bring you both along and see which one he prefers.” With that, Jared takes his backpack off and grabs a pen and scrap of paper so he can jot down the identification numbers on the bottom of each of the props. Opening the top flap in his pack, he wraps the Jeannie lamp in his now mostly-dry jacket and places it inside the main cavity, while he sets the sturdier brass lamp in the front pocket. Then he puts the pack back on, climbs down the ladder, and heads back to the warehouse exit. Jim is back at his desk when Jared arrives.
“So? Find it?” he asks.
“I found TWO, actually,” Jared tells him as he signs out.
“Two?”
Jared shows him both lamps, and when he looks up, he finds his old friend looking bemused. “Is it okay?” Jared asks. “Do you only want me to check out one at a time?”
Jim blinks and seems to regain himself: he shakes his head and smiles at Jared. “No, you can always take what you need, kid. You’re about the only person on this entire lot I trust.”
Jared hands the security guard the slip of paper with the numbers on it. “Thanks, Jim. See you soon. Take care of yourself, all right?”
“You too, Jared!” he waves. Jared bounds off, but he hears Jim tell him to wait a minute. Jared stops and turns around, and Jim yells, “Take good care of him! This one’s different from the rest-a regular diamond in the rough!”
Jared frowns and yells back, “What are you talking about? Who needs taking care of?”
Jim just waves him off with a grin, so Jared turns back and shrugs his backpack up higher. “You gotta get out more, Jim,” he mutters with concern. Then he resumes his hurrying and is soon back on set, heading toward the hair and make-up rooms. He’s just about to step inside when he hears David growl-really, truly, growl.
“Okay, seriously? You’re growling at me now?” Alona snaps, sounding fresh out of patience.
“It looks awful. Do it again.”
Jared creeps into the room and watches David, who is sitting in the chair, glare at Alona, who is standing next to him. “Why,” she asks flatly. “It’s fine.”
“It is NOT fine, it looks stupid!”
“It’s the exact same look I gave you last week! You weren’t bitching about it then!”
“Well, that was then, this is now. FIX it.” David settles back into the chair, and Alona rolls her eyes as she takes her place behind him again. Jared clears his throat to let them know they’re not alone, and both of them smile when they see him.
“Hey Jare!” Alona greets. “Please tell me you brought brownies…”
Jared laughs but shakes his head. “Not this time. I’m actually here to speak to David.”
Her smile drops at once. “Be my guest. I could use a break…” She sets her combs down into the sanitizer water and walks to Jared, where she whispers, “I still don’t understand why you’ve got a crush on that dick…”
She moves out of the room, and Jared gives a quiet sigh. Does EVERYone know I’ve got a crush on him? And why don’t you all see what a great guy he is? So he gets impatient-we all do!
“Wow, what crawled up her skirt, huh?” David asks as he waves Jared over. “It’s not like I’m asking her to do anything special. Just her JOB.” He shakes his head. Jared just smiles, too thrilled that David is talking to him again to really take in what his crush is saying. David smiles in turn and leans in. “So? Did you find it?”
Jared swings his backpack off. “Yeah, actually, I-”
“Shh! Get the door first.”
Jared does as he’s told, easing the door shut and locking it. Then he returns to his backpack and unzips the front pocket. He lifts the bronze genie lamp up to the light, and David’s chestnut eyes are positively roasting, sparks of red umber wonder rising up from the deep brown depths. He holds his hands out, and Jared rests the object in his open palms.
“At last,” David whispers, looking the lamp over. He glances up at Jared, all dimples and pride at pleasing the star, and David chuckles as he hugs the lamp. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been looking for you?” Jared shakes his head, letting his smile beam out pure joy. David is beaming, too. “Thank you. Aaah! Thank you SO MUCH! You’re my dream come true! I can’t believe it, you’re just so…beautiful! And right here in front of me!”
Jared blushes deeply. “You’re not so bad yourself,” he sends back.
David looks away from the lamp and frowns. “Huh? Oh, sorry, Jason, didn’t know you were still here.”
“It’s Jared.”
“Mm?”
“My name. It’s Jared.” He smiles again, still bashful, and puts on his full cute act, hands behind his back, toe of his shoe tapping and twisting on the ground. “But you can call me Jason if you want to.”
“Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever,” David answers, sounding distracted. He waves Jared off. “Do me a favor and go find that hair girl.”
Jared nods. “Sure, but first I should show you the other one-”
“NOW,” David glares. “We’re behind schedule as it is.” He grabs Jared’s backpack and shoves it into his chest, and Jared nods vigorously.
“Going! Right away!” He steps out of the room, and the door shuts hard behind him, rattling in its doorframe. Jared is rattled, too. What did I do? How did I get on his bad side? He goes over everything in his mind, trying to find any little mistake, but all he can come up with was his “you’re not so bad yourself” compliment. Jared turns and thumps his forehead against the opposite wall. Stupid stupid STUPID, he berates as he thumps. His head withholds its protest for a few more smacks and then lets Jared feel its ache, and he pulls away and trudges down the corridor to head back to his department.
Back in the room, David listens to Jared’s footfalls fade away and grins. “Finally!” He rushes back to the lamp and picks it up. “Time to make some REAL changes around here!”
Looping his left fingers through the handle, he breathes on his right hand to warm it for maximum friction and reaches forward to rub the lamp. But the handle breaks off first. The lamp drops to the floor and shatters.
“No…”
David kneels down and grabs pieces of the metal, but they crumble to red sand; the insides of the cheap lamp have completely rusted out, making the vessel as brittle as an eggshell. David sieves his fingers through the remnants and watches his dreams of glory seep through cracks in the floor and disappear.
“NO!”
The star’s anguished cry goes unheard. Alona is outside bitching about him over a shared cigarette with Katie from Make-Up. The majority of the construction crew is hammering away at the new set, drowning out almost every noise in every department even remotely close by. And Jared is now walking past the set, nearing Props and his waiting work.
“THERE you are!” Chad comes out of nowhere and is by Jared’s side in a second, and he pulls his coworker away from the set and pushes him into their work room. “Misha’s been looking for you everywhere,” Chad says before Jared asks. “The Suits called an emergency meeting. They’re super pissed at all the delays, and they’re taking it out on everyone who missed the meeting.”
“Who missed it besides me?”
“No one,” a voice snaps back-one that makes Jared gulp. He looks down and finds the same Suit that had been arguing with David back at the cafeteria. A thick vein is pulsating atop his forehead, and it only adds to the ‘You’re Doomed’ vibe he’s getting from the man. Misha is standing behind him, appearing tense and worried. He keeps quiet as the Suit gets right down to business. “Where were you?”
“I-I was running an errand for David.”
“Which David?”
“Boreanaz, sir.”
“He has his own PAs to do that for him.”
“I know, but he asked me.”
The Suit stops and looks back at Misha, who shrugs, indicating he knows nothing about this. The Suit sighs through his nose and turns back to Jared. “Your coworkers say you headed out to lunch,” he looks at his watch, “almost an hour ago. How long is your lunch break?”
“30 minutes, sir.”
“So why were you gone so long?”
“I’m sorry, sir, but it’s like I said, I was getting something for-”
“For David, yes, I heard you. I’ll ask him to corroborate your story later. For now, you’re suspended.”
“WHAT?” Jared, Chad, and Misha all say together.
“One week, without pay.”
“B-but sir!” Jared stammers.
“You missed an all-crew meeting, Jared, and that is unacceptable! We need everyone working together, not taking long lunches or doing errands for a completely different department! Understand?”
“Of course he understands,” Misha says, stepping in. “And it won’t happen again, and that’s a promise. But please reconsider your decision, sir. Jared is one of the best PAs we have around here.”
“He’s just a PA. They’re more than replaceable.”
Jared sags at the dismissal, and Misha again comes to his defense. “But sir, we’re behind schedule as it is. If we hire a new PA, we’ll have to start training him from square one, and it’ll put us even further behind. Jared already knows everything! Please, sir, don’t suspend him. We NEED him!”
The Suit casts a weary glance at Jared…then his eyes narrow, and he looks the tall PA over. “Those aren’t your clothes.” The Suit isn’t asking: before Jared can say a word, the Suit has pushed down Jared’s backpack and pulled out the tag from Jared’s shirt. He reads it, scowls, and shoves Jared away. “His shirt bears a costume ticket number,” the Suit snaps. He looms over Misha and asks, “You really need a PA who steals studio property?”
“He didn’t steal it, sir!” Chad insists. “He came in drenched this morning so he was just borrowing these clothes until his own dried out!”
“That’s no excuse. The suspension stands.” The Suit looks one last time at Jared, regarding him as a bug that needs squashing. “And if you want to keep this job, you’ll remember that you are a production assistant and NOTHING MORE. You were hired as a PA. You’ll be fired as a PA. And trust me: NO one will notice you’re gone.”
The Suit walks past him and calls several crewmembers over. Meanwhile, Misha puts his hand on Jared’s shoulder. “I’ll talk to him tomorrow, Jared. He’ll be in a better mood once we’re back on schedule.” Jared nods his thanks, and Misha turns around and heads back to his desk. Jared’s eyes wander to Chad’s face, but as Chad starts to speak, Jared shakes his head. Chad shuts his mouth again, and Jared gives him a tiny smile of gratitude. Shifting his backpack up higher on his shoulders, he looks away and slowly heads out the door.
It isn’t raining anymore-that’s about the only upside Jared’s optimism can find. Everything else is bleak. The bus ride back to the station is quiet. The train ride back to his town even more so. The dogs are happy to see him home early, but Jared doesn’t share their joy. Instead, he wanders over to his bed, drops in face first, and wonders why he bothered getting out of it that morning.
It isn’t long before he feels his dogs lie down beside him-Harley on his left side, down by his feet, and Sadie on his right, up by his face. She whimpers in his ear, licking it once, and he turns his face to her. “It’s all right,” Jared says, giving her soft ear a little scratch to comfort her. “I just got some bad news. That’s all.” Harley whines behind him, and Jared moves to face his left side so he can give his bud a pat. “I don’t know why it’s bothering me so much,” Jared admits. “It’s not like I wanted that crummy job in the first place. I’m an actor! I want to ACT! It’s why I moved out here in the first place, y’know?” Harley nods, like he really understands what his human is saying, and Jared sighs as he rolls onto his back. “But I NEED this job. Can’t pay the bills with wishes and dreams…”
He shuts his eyes and starts making a mental list of all the things he has to cut back on if he wants to make rent this month. It’s a lot. His dogs both snuggle in closer, Harley claiming a leg, and Sadie claiming an arm and part of Jared’s chest. He smiles at them both. “At least we get to spend more time together this week, right? That’ll be nice!” They bark happily, and Jared laughs. “Thanks for your support, guys. I really appreciate it. So who’s up for a cat nap?” The dogs both look up and alert at a certain word, and Jared laughs again. “You know what I mean. Let’s take a snooze.”
The dogs yawn, which makes Jared yawn, and they all settle into the cushiony mattress. Maybe things will somehow be better when I wake up, Jared lies to himself. He relaxes and allows the gentle ocean breeze coming through the open window lull him to sleep.
When Jared wakes up several hours later, he doesn’t know what to do with himself. He lets the dogs out for a pee in the small, fenced-in yard behind the apartment building, and they’re happy enough, but Jared doesn’t go out and sit with them like he usually does. He’d prepared himself that morning to be pulling an all-nighter at work, but now instead, he’s sitting in his kitchen, sipping at a can of warm Pepsi, and sulking. No, he isn’t even sulking-sulking would at least be something. He’s just sitting. Existing, really, and barely that.
It would drive him mad if he weren’t so sad about it all.
Jared knows it isn’t the job that’s really got him down. It’s David. My ONE CHANCE with the guy, and I blew it. He replays the conversation in the dressing room for the zillionth time, and as usual, he sees himself as a stupid, buck-toothed yokel instead of the cute sweetheart angle he was going for. His voice even sounds like Goofy’s. Ah-heyuck! Yer not so bad yerself! You kin call me Jason if you want to, ah-heyuck!
Jared smacks his palm to his forehead again; he’s sure he’ll have a hand-shaped bruise there tomorrow for all the times he’s smacked it so far. I wonder if there’s a rock in the neighborhood big enough for me to crawl under and die. He sighs. Yeah, right. Like I’ve ever been so lucky.
It’s time to let the dogs back in, so Jared jogs down the building’s stairs and opens up the door in the back. The dogs scamper back in, all happy and energetic, and he welcomes their distraction from his moping. “You wanna go somewhere?” he asks them both, and his babies start jumping around. He gives them a scratch behind their collars. “Yeah? Wanna go to the beach maybe?” Now they’re barking and wagging their tails, so Jared pats his pocket to make sure his keys are there. “Okay, one sec. Wait right here.” But they don’t: They run right up the stairs with him and rub his legs and lick his fingers-their way of helping-as Jared grabs their leashes and his backpack. Then the trio runs back down again, Jared leading the way, but soon heading up the rear as the dogs overtake him and beat him out to the car. He unlocks the doors and lets them in.
The part of him that still wants to sit inside and sulk is whispering that the beach might be a bad idea. What if someone he knows sees them there? What will he say to them? Oh come on, it’s not like I got fired, Jared thinks back to his inner naysayer as he gets in the driver’s seat.
No, you got suspended, the Inner Naysayer replies. That’s kinda worse. It means that when you go back, you have to be extra good to show them you still deserve to be there. That means working overtime and never, ever taking a sick day. That means forgetting about auditions, big and small. And that most especially means putting off your dreams of being an actor for who knows how long. AGAIN.
Jared sighs at the sad truth, but he won’t let it weigh him down. Looking at himself in the rearview mirror, he tells his reflection, “I’ll still be an actor. I’ll make it happen somehow.” He starts up the car and adds under his breath, “Now I just gotta work on the ‘how.’”
Sadie barks at him, and he looks back and smiles at her. “I know, I know. Priorities. Beach first, THEN work on the ‘how.’” He backs the car out of the driveway and heads for the beach.
To his relief, the little, semi-private beach he likes to take his dogs to is empty. That’s ‘cause everyone’s at work, unlike you, the Inner Naysayer can’t help but point out. Jared ignores it and instead focuses on the utter glee from his dogs as they bound away from the car and parking lot and head toward the surf. Jared grabs his backpack and heads down to a nice spot. He spreads out a beach blanket and takes off his shirt, only now realizing that he’s still wearing the clothing Sandy gave him at work that morning. They’re now nice and wrinkled from being worn during his afternoon nap.
“Shit, better not get them covered with sand on top of it…” Jared takes another look around to make sure he really is alone before he strips down to his underwear. He opens up his backpack to get his own clothes out, and he finds his jacket on top, wrapped tightly around…something. A light bulb goes on over his head as he remembers what’s in there. He picks it up and carefully unravels the jacket. The second genie lamp-the one that looks like Jeannie’s famous bottle-rolls into his waiting hand. He blows the residual dust off the object as best he can, and out of the corner of his eye, he sees the dogs coming over to find out what their human is holding.
“Sorry, guys, it isn’t a toy,” he tells them. They jump up on their hind legs as their noses lean in for a sniff, and both of them sneeze from the dust. “Careful!” Jared warns. “Don’t sneeze it right out of my hands. I have to get this back to Jim in one piece.” He sits down on the blanket, and Sadie and Harley sit down next to him, staring at the not-a-toy as Jared takes a closer look. It really is a beautiful bottle: royal blue with a pattern of orange-yellow arches and leaves that circle the lamp in three bright bands. There’s a matching stopper on top, and he wraps his fingers over it, but refrains from peering inside.
“Better not disturb the genie, huh,” Jared winks at Sadie and Harley. The dogs’ eyes follow the bottle as Jared rests it in his lap. “Too bad it isn’t real,” he says to no one. “I could use a few wishes right about now.” The royal blue pigment catches his eye again, so deep and rich despite the patches of dust still covering the majority of it. He can only imagine how intense it would be if it was all clean. All he has to do is rub it. Yes, rub it and let the genie out! the little-boy-that-won’t-ever-grow-up in him squeals. His hand has already lifted up, but he realizes what he’s doing and shakes his head. “Don’t be an idiot, Jared,” he tells himself. Sadie tilts her head, and he looks at her and explains, “It’s just a prop, right? There’s absolutely zero chance there’s actually a genie in there.” He looks back at the lamp. “Of course, since there’s no chance…I guess it really doesn’t matter if I rub it, huh?”
Neither dog answers, but both of them sit up a little, tails gently hitting the blanket as they sense their human’s curiosity rise. Jared breathes out, still embarrassed at this, even though no one is around to see him struggling to make up his mind. “Just do it already,” he orders himself.
Hesitates anyway.
Looks at the sky.
Looks back at the bottle.
And rubs.
The bottle shimmies in his hand, and the dust drops off, revealing the royal blue in its full glory. Then the stopper pops off, arcing high over Jared’s head, and as he struggles to hold on to the lamp, blue smoke shoots out the top and into the sky. Balls of lightning and plumes of sparkles burst forth as well, swirling up and around the smoke as it fills in everywhere in front of Jared. The dogs yelp and run back, and Jared moves backward as well, silently freaking out.
All at once, the commotion stops, and the blue smoke is gone. On the beach in front of Jared rests a huge, peach boulder, just as tall as he is. Several small boulders are lined up to the right of it, each one slightly smaller than the last. What the…? Jared approaches the biggest boulder and reaches a hand out to touch the surface. It’s warm. And smooth. It doesn’t even feel like stone, but softer. Almost like skin.
Jared’s heart leaps up into his throat as he realizes the truth: this is no boulder. He looks to his left and finds another set of not-boulders, mirror to the ones in front of him. Then he hears a groan-not an angry groan, but the kind you give when you’re taking a long-overdue stretch, and it feels really great. Jared peers up…and up…and up and up and impossibly up…eyes moving past vast, billowing sails of blue silk, past a seemingly endless expanse of chiseled muscle, and there, just under the cloud cover, two arms longer than football fields stretching high…and a face.
A face that’s just noticed it’s being looked at.
The immense form starts to collapse toward Jared, and Jared screams and takes off running. He looks over his shoulder at the silent avalanche of motion behind him. The blue silk flutters down first, followed by a THUD that sends tremors through the beach and trips Jared up. He takes a digger into the sand, but picks himself right back up, just as a second THUD rumbles through and sends him skidding again. Jared doesn’t dare look back this time, just gets up and runs. A long, peach-colored barrier drops down to his left, cutting him off from the ocean, and a moment later, another one just like it falls to his right, blocking out the parking lot and the rest of the world. There’s a final, gentler Thud, and all falls quiet again. Jared is trembling head to toe.
Shit. Now I have to turn around and look. Jared takes a deep breath to try and settle his frazzled nerves, but the breath is just as jittery as the rest of him; it only makes him feel more nervous. So, slowly and with extreme “I don’t wanna!”-ness, Jared turns and has a look.
He finds a huge head of hair directly in front of him. It’s that peculiar shade where dark blond meets light brown, and it is sticking up in soft, almost bed-head spikes and tufts. The long “barriers” on either side of Jared end in a perpendicular wall of muscle-Shoulders, Jared discovers. He follows the line to his right and realizes that the barriers are just-as-muscular arms, spread out sphinx-like in front of the colossus.
Wait...it’s BOWING? To me?! That can’t be right. Jared looks around for someone else-ANYbody else-but other than his dogs, who are frozen in fear far behind him, he’s alone.
“Well?” a deep, slightly rough voice asks.
Jared turns around and finds that the hair is now pointing at the sky. In its place is…Green. Gorgeous, intense, moss green in the form of two round and gargantuan stained-glass panes. Each is rimmed in forest green and speckled throughout with jade and aquamarine. Lining the glass are long lashes flecked with gold, and beneath them, a spatter of light freckles-each as big as Jared’s hands-that are spread across a noble nose and over shapely cheekbones. At the bottom, just above a chin that is touching the sand, are the lips. Lovely, fully luscious lips just begging to be kissed despite their enormity. Jared can’t help but stare at every detail of the most beautiful face he’s ever seen.
Now if only it wasn’t so huge and Jared wasn’t so damn terrified.
On to Part Three
Master Post
Author: queeberquabbler
Fic Prompt: Disney's Aladdin
Pairing: J2
Rating/Warnings: PG-13 for swearing. No warnings otherwise--it's your standard J2 :)
Disclaimer: See Master Post.
Jared is in such haste to drop off the coffee and lunches that he nearly throws them in his friend’s faces. They each call for him to slow down and tell them what’s going on, but he just yells back, “Not now, gotta run!” And run he does, first to his backpack, then with it, out the building, into the main lot, and all the way down to the huge prop warehouse. Jim, the head security guard, is in his usual spot at his desk, drinking his coffee and reading the morning newspaper. He looks up at Jared’s arrival and gives the kid a grin.
“Where’s the fire, Jared?”
Jared laughs as he catches his breath. “Hey…Jim…whoo! One sec.” It isn’t being out of shape that has Jared breathless (since Jared is in excellent shape, thank you very much), but rather his excitement over David. It took everything in him not to skip all the way over here! He can’t remember the last time he felt this alive, and his happiness is infectious: Jim grins again as he hands Jared the sign-in sheet.
“So what they got you lookin’ for today?”
“Uh…well, it’s kind of a secret.” And Jared knows he has to tell Jim-that’s how it works down here-but he brings up the fact that it’s a secret to show Jim that he trusts him.
Jim nods and mimes zipping his lip. “I won’t tell a soul,” he swears.
“I know. Thanks, man.”
Jim stands up and motions for Jared to follow. “Right this way, kid.” The pair ventures inside and moves around the corner. The room balloons out in front of them, as a seemingly endless aisle stretches out before them, with hundreds of rows of high, dusty shelves on either side. Jim turns to Jared and waits for Jared to speak.
“I know you know this place like the back of your hand,” Jared begins, “but all the times I’ve been in here, I’ve never seen anything close to this.”
“A challenge!” Jim smiles. “Been a while since I had one of those. Shoot.”
“I need a genie lamp.”
Jim’s smile falters for a split second, and his mouth twitches. “A genie lamp,” he repeats. “Now that is a toughie.”
“Oh no, you mean we don’t have one?”
“Of course we have one…several, in fact.” He scratches the back of his neck as he looks away from Jared.
“So what’s the problem?” Jared asks. Jim doesn’t reply, just keeps looking back into the warehouse, and Jared is forced to walk in front of his old friend to get his attention again. “Jim? You all right?”
“Yeah, m’fine…” he says, sounding distant. “Just, ah…” He lets out a light laugh. “Just remembering an old friend of mine. Knew this day would come. End of an era…” Jim looks up at the PA. “I’m glad it’s you, son. You’re a good man. You deserve a lot better than you got in life.” He pats Jared on the arm, eyes sparkling with sentimentality. Jared doesn’t react or reply-how can he when he has absolutely no idea what Jim is talking about? And the guard must sense his confusion, because a second later, he clears his throat and stands up straight. “All right. Last place I saw genie lamps was in Row 51, Bay 10, second shelf from the top. You’ll wanna take that.” He nods to the mint green platform ladder resting in the first row.
“Thanks Jim,” Jared smiles, and Jim waves it off.
“No problem, kid. See ya in a few.”
Jared runs over to the ladder, grabs hold of its parallel railings, and pushes it in front of him as he starts his long walk down the main aisle. It isn’t long before he feels like he’s been shrunk: this warehouse is HUGE, more like a cave than a building, with stalagmites of metal shelves that go on and on and on. Row 51, Jared repeats over and over in his mind as his eyes keep watch on the odd numbers written high on the side of the end shelf of each row. He’s never been down to 51 before-his current record is row 28, where he found the phonograph they needed for the time-travel-themed season opener. But 28 soon comes and goes, and Jared shivers as he presses on.
After what feels like an eternity of walking, he finally sees it: a dusty red 51 high above his right shoulder. Jared peers down the dark aisle; this place never has enough light for his liking. At least it’s on one of the top shelves, he consoles himself. It’ll be right by the lights. Jared turns the platform ladder toward the row and pushes forward, now counting the even-numbered bays on his left. When he gets to 10, he parks the ladder and sets the locks on the wheels. Then he climbs up, taking slow, careful steps; this ladder has been around almost as long as Jim, and it has slid out from underneath him before. He really doesn’t want another sprained wrist. So Jared takes his time until he gets to the platform at the top of the ladder. He grabs hold of the railings that surround the square landing, looks at the second shelf from the top…
And finds dust. Lots and lots and LOTS of dust. Jared takes a deep breath and blows out as hard as he can, and the dust becomes a cloud, engulfing its disturber in seconds. Jared coughs and waves and ducks-anything to escape to clean air, but the dust is thick and is taking its time resettling. Jared finally tucks his nose and mouth into his shirt as a makeshift mask, and, keeping his eyes narrowed, takes another look at the shelf.
It’s littered with the oddest assortment he’s seen-and that’s saying something, since this warehouse is anything but organized. From left to right, he spies a doll’s baby carriage, an antique waffle iron, a Viking helmet with one horn missing, a pair of oversized scissors, a trombone made out of Styrofoam, a teddy bear with Hitler’s moustache-and two genie lamps.
“Jackpot,” he says to the dusty props, and he grabs careful hold of them both and pulls them out for a better look. The one in his right hand looks like a typical genie lamp: made of curvy brass, with the handle on one end and the spout on the other. The lamp in his left looks like the bottle design they used on I Dream of Jeannie: a tall, narrow spout sticking straight up from a round, ornate base. Jared blows more dust off it, and a brilliant blue shines in the light.
Question is, which one would David like better? Jared wonders. He keeps looking at them in turn, finding beauty and function in both of them, but in the end, he can’t decide. “Guess I’ll just have to bring you both along and see which one he prefers.” With that, Jared takes his backpack off and grabs a pen and scrap of paper so he can jot down the identification numbers on the bottom of each of the props. Opening the top flap in his pack, he wraps the Jeannie lamp in his now mostly-dry jacket and places it inside the main cavity, while he sets the sturdier brass lamp in the front pocket. Then he puts the pack back on, climbs down the ladder, and heads back to the warehouse exit. Jim is back at his desk when Jared arrives.
“So? Find it?” he asks.
“I found TWO, actually,” Jared tells him as he signs out.
“Two?”
Jared shows him both lamps, and when he looks up, he finds his old friend looking bemused. “Is it okay?” Jared asks. “Do you only want me to check out one at a time?”
Jim blinks and seems to regain himself: he shakes his head and smiles at Jared. “No, you can always take what you need, kid. You’re about the only person on this entire lot I trust.”
Jared hands the security guard the slip of paper with the numbers on it. “Thanks, Jim. See you soon. Take care of yourself, all right?”
“You too, Jared!” he waves. Jared bounds off, but he hears Jim tell him to wait a minute. Jared stops and turns around, and Jim yells, “Take good care of him! This one’s different from the rest-a regular diamond in the rough!”
Jared frowns and yells back, “What are you talking about? Who needs taking care of?”
Jim just waves him off with a grin, so Jared turns back and shrugs his backpack up higher. “You gotta get out more, Jim,” he mutters with concern. Then he resumes his hurrying and is soon back on set, heading toward the hair and make-up rooms. He’s just about to step inside when he hears David growl-really, truly, growl.
“Okay, seriously? You’re growling at me now?” Alona snaps, sounding fresh out of patience.
“It looks awful. Do it again.”
Jared creeps into the room and watches David, who is sitting in the chair, glare at Alona, who is standing next to him. “Why,” she asks flatly. “It’s fine.”
“It is NOT fine, it looks stupid!”
“It’s the exact same look I gave you last week! You weren’t bitching about it then!”
“Well, that was then, this is now. FIX it.” David settles back into the chair, and Alona rolls her eyes as she takes her place behind him again. Jared clears his throat to let them know they’re not alone, and both of them smile when they see him.
“Hey Jare!” Alona greets. “Please tell me you brought brownies…”
Jared laughs but shakes his head. “Not this time. I’m actually here to speak to David.”
Her smile drops at once. “Be my guest. I could use a break…” She sets her combs down into the sanitizer water and walks to Jared, where she whispers, “I still don’t understand why you’ve got a crush on that dick…”
She moves out of the room, and Jared gives a quiet sigh. Does EVERYone know I’ve got a crush on him? And why don’t you all see what a great guy he is? So he gets impatient-we all do!
“Wow, what crawled up her skirt, huh?” David asks as he waves Jared over. “It’s not like I’m asking her to do anything special. Just her JOB.” He shakes his head. Jared just smiles, too thrilled that David is talking to him again to really take in what his crush is saying. David smiles in turn and leans in. “So? Did you find it?”
Jared swings his backpack off. “Yeah, actually, I-”
“Shh! Get the door first.”
Jared does as he’s told, easing the door shut and locking it. Then he returns to his backpack and unzips the front pocket. He lifts the bronze genie lamp up to the light, and David’s chestnut eyes are positively roasting, sparks of red umber wonder rising up from the deep brown depths. He holds his hands out, and Jared rests the object in his open palms.
“At last,” David whispers, looking the lamp over. He glances up at Jared, all dimples and pride at pleasing the star, and David chuckles as he hugs the lamp. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been looking for you?” Jared shakes his head, letting his smile beam out pure joy. David is beaming, too. “Thank you. Aaah! Thank you SO MUCH! You’re my dream come true! I can’t believe it, you’re just so…beautiful! And right here in front of me!”
Jared blushes deeply. “You’re not so bad yourself,” he sends back.
David looks away from the lamp and frowns. “Huh? Oh, sorry, Jason, didn’t know you were still here.”
“It’s Jared.”
“Mm?”
“My name. It’s Jared.” He smiles again, still bashful, and puts on his full cute act, hands behind his back, toe of his shoe tapping and twisting on the ground. “But you can call me Jason if you want to.”
“Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever,” David answers, sounding distracted. He waves Jared off. “Do me a favor and go find that hair girl.”
Jared nods. “Sure, but first I should show you the other one-”
“NOW,” David glares. “We’re behind schedule as it is.” He grabs Jared’s backpack and shoves it into his chest, and Jared nods vigorously.
“Going! Right away!” He steps out of the room, and the door shuts hard behind him, rattling in its doorframe. Jared is rattled, too. What did I do? How did I get on his bad side? He goes over everything in his mind, trying to find any little mistake, but all he can come up with was his “you’re not so bad yourself” compliment. Jared turns and thumps his forehead against the opposite wall. Stupid stupid STUPID, he berates as he thumps. His head withholds its protest for a few more smacks and then lets Jared feel its ache, and he pulls away and trudges down the corridor to head back to his department.
Back in the room, David listens to Jared’s footfalls fade away and grins. “Finally!” He rushes back to the lamp and picks it up. “Time to make some REAL changes around here!”
Looping his left fingers through the handle, he breathes on his right hand to warm it for maximum friction and reaches forward to rub the lamp. But the handle breaks off first. The lamp drops to the floor and shatters.
“No…”
David kneels down and grabs pieces of the metal, but they crumble to red sand; the insides of the cheap lamp have completely rusted out, making the vessel as brittle as an eggshell. David sieves his fingers through the remnants and watches his dreams of glory seep through cracks in the floor and disappear.
“NO!”
The star’s anguished cry goes unheard. Alona is outside bitching about him over a shared cigarette with Katie from Make-Up. The majority of the construction crew is hammering away at the new set, drowning out almost every noise in every department even remotely close by. And Jared is now walking past the set, nearing Props and his waiting work.
“THERE you are!” Chad comes out of nowhere and is by Jared’s side in a second, and he pulls his coworker away from the set and pushes him into their work room. “Misha’s been looking for you everywhere,” Chad says before Jared asks. “The Suits called an emergency meeting. They’re super pissed at all the delays, and they’re taking it out on everyone who missed the meeting.”
“Who missed it besides me?”
“No one,” a voice snaps back-one that makes Jared gulp. He looks down and finds the same Suit that had been arguing with David back at the cafeteria. A thick vein is pulsating atop his forehead, and it only adds to the ‘You’re Doomed’ vibe he’s getting from the man. Misha is standing behind him, appearing tense and worried. He keeps quiet as the Suit gets right down to business. “Where were you?”
“I-I was running an errand for David.”
“Which David?”
“Boreanaz, sir.”
“He has his own PAs to do that for him.”
“I know, but he asked me.”
The Suit stops and looks back at Misha, who shrugs, indicating he knows nothing about this. The Suit sighs through his nose and turns back to Jared. “Your coworkers say you headed out to lunch,” he looks at his watch, “almost an hour ago. How long is your lunch break?”
“30 minutes, sir.”
“So why were you gone so long?”
“I’m sorry, sir, but it’s like I said, I was getting something for-”
“For David, yes, I heard you. I’ll ask him to corroborate your story later. For now, you’re suspended.”
“WHAT?” Jared, Chad, and Misha all say together.
“One week, without pay.”
“B-but sir!” Jared stammers.
“You missed an all-crew meeting, Jared, and that is unacceptable! We need everyone working together, not taking long lunches or doing errands for a completely different department! Understand?”
“Of course he understands,” Misha says, stepping in. “And it won’t happen again, and that’s a promise. But please reconsider your decision, sir. Jared is one of the best PAs we have around here.”
“He’s just a PA. They’re more than replaceable.”
Jared sags at the dismissal, and Misha again comes to his defense. “But sir, we’re behind schedule as it is. If we hire a new PA, we’ll have to start training him from square one, and it’ll put us even further behind. Jared already knows everything! Please, sir, don’t suspend him. We NEED him!”
The Suit casts a weary glance at Jared…then his eyes narrow, and he looks the tall PA over. “Those aren’t your clothes.” The Suit isn’t asking: before Jared can say a word, the Suit has pushed down Jared’s backpack and pulled out the tag from Jared’s shirt. He reads it, scowls, and shoves Jared away. “His shirt bears a costume ticket number,” the Suit snaps. He looms over Misha and asks, “You really need a PA who steals studio property?”
“He didn’t steal it, sir!” Chad insists. “He came in drenched this morning so he was just borrowing these clothes until his own dried out!”
“That’s no excuse. The suspension stands.” The Suit looks one last time at Jared, regarding him as a bug that needs squashing. “And if you want to keep this job, you’ll remember that you are a production assistant and NOTHING MORE. You were hired as a PA. You’ll be fired as a PA. And trust me: NO one will notice you’re gone.”
The Suit walks past him and calls several crewmembers over. Meanwhile, Misha puts his hand on Jared’s shoulder. “I’ll talk to him tomorrow, Jared. He’ll be in a better mood once we’re back on schedule.” Jared nods his thanks, and Misha turns around and heads back to his desk. Jared’s eyes wander to Chad’s face, but as Chad starts to speak, Jared shakes his head. Chad shuts his mouth again, and Jared gives him a tiny smile of gratitude. Shifting his backpack up higher on his shoulders, he looks away and slowly heads out the door.
It isn’t raining anymore-that’s about the only upside Jared’s optimism can find. Everything else is bleak. The bus ride back to the station is quiet. The train ride back to his town even more so. The dogs are happy to see him home early, but Jared doesn’t share their joy. Instead, he wanders over to his bed, drops in face first, and wonders why he bothered getting out of it that morning.
It isn’t long before he feels his dogs lie down beside him-Harley on his left side, down by his feet, and Sadie on his right, up by his face. She whimpers in his ear, licking it once, and he turns his face to her. “It’s all right,” Jared says, giving her soft ear a little scratch to comfort her. “I just got some bad news. That’s all.” Harley whines behind him, and Jared moves to face his left side so he can give his bud a pat. “I don’t know why it’s bothering me so much,” Jared admits. “It’s not like I wanted that crummy job in the first place. I’m an actor! I want to ACT! It’s why I moved out here in the first place, y’know?” Harley nods, like he really understands what his human is saying, and Jared sighs as he rolls onto his back. “But I NEED this job. Can’t pay the bills with wishes and dreams…”
He shuts his eyes and starts making a mental list of all the things he has to cut back on if he wants to make rent this month. It’s a lot. His dogs both snuggle in closer, Harley claiming a leg, and Sadie claiming an arm and part of Jared’s chest. He smiles at them both. “At least we get to spend more time together this week, right? That’ll be nice!” They bark happily, and Jared laughs. “Thanks for your support, guys. I really appreciate it. So who’s up for a cat nap?” The dogs both look up and alert at a certain word, and Jared laughs again. “You know what I mean. Let’s take a snooze.”
The dogs yawn, which makes Jared yawn, and they all settle into the cushiony mattress. Maybe things will somehow be better when I wake up, Jared lies to himself. He relaxes and allows the gentle ocean breeze coming through the open window lull him to sleep.
When Jared wakes up several hours later, he doesn’t know what to do with himself. He lets the dogs out for a pee in the small, fenced-in yard behind the apartment building, and they’re happy enough, but Jared doesn’t go out and sit with them like he usually does. He’d prepared himself that morning to be pulling an all-nighter at work, but now instead, he’s sitting in his kitchen, sipping at a can of warm Pepsi, and sulking. No, he isn’t even sulking-sulking would at least be something. He’s just sitting. Existing, really, and barely that.
It would drive him mad if he weren’t so sad about it all.
Jared knows it isn’t the job that’s really got him down. It’s David. My ONE CHANCE with the guy, and I blew it. He replays the conversation in the dressing room for the zillionth time, and as usual, he sees himself as a stupid, buck-toothed yokel instead of the cute sweetheart angle he was going for. His voice even sounds like Goofy’s. Ah-heyuck! Yer not so bad yerself! You kin call me Jason if you want to, ah-heyuck!
Jared smacks his palm to his forehead again; he’s sure he’ll have a hand-shaped bruise there tomorrow for all the times he’s smacked it so far. I wonder if there’s a rock in the neighborhood big enough for me to crawl under and die. He sighs. Yeah, right. Like I’ve ever been so lucky.
It’s time to let the dogs back in, so Jared jogs down the building’s stairs and opens up the door in the back. The dogs scamper back in, all happy and energetic, and he welcomes their distraction from his moping. “You wanna go somewhere?” he asks them both, and his babies start jumping around. He gives them a scratch behind their collars. “Yeah? Wanna go to the beach maybe?” Now they’re barking and wagging their tails, so Jared pats his pocket to make sure his keys are there. “Okay, one sec. Wait right here.” But they don’t: They run right up the stairs with him and rub his legs and lick his fingers-their way of helping-as Jared grabs their leashes and his backpack. Then the trio runs back down again, Jared leading the way, but soon heading up the rear as the dogs overtake him and beat him out to the car. He unlocks the doors and lets them in.
The part of him that still wants to sit inside and sulk is whispering that the beach might be a bad idea. What if someone he knows sees them there? What will he say to them? Oh come on, it’s not like I got fired, Jared thinks back to his inner naysayer as he gets in the driver’s seat.
No, you got suspended, the Inner Naysayer replies. That’s kinda worse. It means that when you go back, you have to be extra good to show them you still deserve to be there. That means working overtime and never, ever taking a sick day. That means forgetting about auditions, big and small. And that most especially means putting off your dreams of being an actor for who knows how long. AGAIN.
Jared sighs at the sad truth, but he won’t let it weigh him down. Looking at himself in the rearview mirror, he tells his reflection, “I’ll still be an actor. I’ll make it happen somehow.” He starts up the car and adds under his breath, “Now I just gotta work on the ‘how.’”
Sadie barks at him, and he looks back and smiles at her. “I know, I know. Priorities. Beach first, THEN work on the ‘how.’” He backs the car out of the driveway and heads for the beach.
To his relief, the little, semi-private beach he likes to take his dogs to is empty. That’s ‘cause everyone’s at work, unlike you, the Inner Naysayer can’t help but point out. Jared ignores it and instead focuses on the utter glee from his dogs as they bound away from the car and parking lot and head toward the surf. Jared grabs his backpack and heads down to a nice spot. He spreads out a beach blanket and takes off his shirt, only now realizing that he’s still wearing the clothing Sandy gave him at work that morning. They’re now nice and wrinkled from being worn during his afternoon nap.
“Shit, better not get them covered with sand on top of it…” Jared takes another look around to make sure he really is alone before he strips down to his underwear. He opens up his backpack to get his own clothes out, and he finds his jacket on top, wrapped tightly around…something. A light bulb goes on over his head as he remembers what’s in there. He picks it up and carefully unravels the jacket. The second genie lamp-the one that looks like Jeannie’s famous bottle-rolls into his waiting hand. He blows the residual dust off the object as best he can, and out of the corner of his eye, he sees the dogs coming over to find out what their human is holding.
“Sorry, guys, it isn’t a toy,” he tells them. They jump up on their hind legs as their noses lean in for a sniff, and both of them sneeze from the dust. “Careful!” Jared warns. “Don’t sneeze it right out of my hands. I have to get this back to Jim in one piece.” He sits down on the blanket, and Sadie and Harley sit down next to him, staring at the not-a-toy as Jared takes a closer look. It really is a beautiful bottle: royal blue with a pattern of orange-yellow arches and leaves that circle the lamp in three bright bands. There’s a matching stopper on top, and he wraps his fingers over it, but refrains from peering inside.
“Better not disturb the genie, huh,” Jared winks at Sadie and Harley. The dogs’ eyes follow the bottle as Jared rests it in his lap. “Too bad it isn’t real,” he says to no one. “I could use a few wishes right about now.” The royal blue pigment catches his eye again, so deep and rich despite the patches of dust still covering the majority of it. He can only imagine how intense it would be if it was all clean. All he has to do is rub it. Yes, rub it and let the genie out! the little-boy-that-won’t-ever-grow-up in him squeals. His hand has already lifted up, but he realizes what he’s doing and shakes his head. “Don’t be an idiot, Jared,” he tells himself. Sadie tilts her head, and he looks at her and explains, “It’s just a prop, right? There’s absolutely zero chance there’s actually a genie in there.” He looks back at the lamp. “Of course, since there’s no chance…I guess it really doesn’t matter if I rub it, huh?”
Neither dog answers, but both of them sit up a little, tails gently hitting the blanket as they sense their human’s curiosity rise. Jared breathes out, still embarrassed at this, even though no one is around to see him struggling to make up his mind. “Just do it already,” he orders himself.
Hesitates anyway.
Looks at the sky.
Looks back at the bottle.
And rubs.
The bottle shimmies in his hand, and the dust drops off, revealing the royal blue in its full glory. Then the stopper pops off, arcing high over Jared’s head, and as he struggles to hold on to the lamp, blue smoke shoots out the top and into the sky. Balls of lightning and plumes of sparkles burst forth as well, swirling up and around the smoke as it fills in everywhere in front of Jared. The dogs yelp and run back, and Jared moves backward as well, silently freaking out.
All at once, the commotion stops, and the blue smoke is gone. On the beach in front of Jared rests a huge, peach boulder, just as tall as he is. Several small boulders are lined up to the right of it, each one slightly smaller than the last. What the…? Jared approaches the biggest boulder and reaches a hand out to touch the surface. It’s warm. And smooth. It doesn’t even feel like stone, but softer. Almost like skin.
Jared’s heart leaps up into his throat as he realizes the truth: this is no boulder. He looks to his left and finds another set of not-boulders, mirror to the ones in front of him. Then he hears a groan-not an angry groan, but the kind you give when you’re taking a long-overdue stretch, and it feels really great. Jared peers up…and up…and up and up and impossibly up…eyes moving past vast, billowing sails of blue silk, past a seemingly endless expanse of chiseled muscle, and there, just under the cloud cover, two arms longer than football fields stretching high…and a face.
A face that’s just noticed it’s being looked at.
The immense form starts to collapse toward Jared, and Jared screams and takes off running. He looks over his shoulder at the silent avalanche of motion behind him. The blue silk flutters down first, followed by a THUD that sends tremors through the beach and trips Jared up. He takes a digger into the sand, but picks himself right back up, just as a second THUD rumbles through and sends him skidding again. Jared doesn’t dare look back this time, just gets up and runs. A long, peach-colored barrier drops down to his left, cutting him off from the ocean, and a moment later, another one just like it falls to his right, blocking out the parking lot and the rest of the world. There’s a final, gentler Thud, and all falls quiet again. Jared is trembling head to toe.
Shit. Now I have to turn around and look. Jared takes a deep breath to try and settle his frazzled nerves, but the breath is just as jittery as the rest of him; it only makes him feel more nervous. So, slowly and with extreme “I don’t wanna!”-ness, Jared turns and has a look.
He finds a huge head of hair directly in front of him. It’s that peculiar shade where dark blond meets light brown, and it is sticking up in soft, almost bed-head spikes and tufts. The long “barriers” on either side of Jared end in a perpendicular wall of muscle-Shoulders, Jared discovers. He follows the line to his right and realizes that the barriers are just-as-muscular arms, spread out sphinx-like in front of the colossus.
Wait...it’s BOWING? To me?! That can’t be right. Jared looks around for someone else-ANYbody else-but other than his dogs, who are frozen in fear far behind him, he’s alone.
“Well?” a deep, slightly rough voice asks.
Jared turns around and finds that the hair is now pointing at the sky. In its place is…Green. Gorgeous, intense, moss green in the form of two round and gargantuan stained-glass panes. Each is rimmed in forest green and speckled throughout with jade and aquamarine. Lining the glass are long lashes flecked with gold, and beneath them, a spatter of light freckles-each as big as Jared’s hands-that are spread across a noble nose and over shapely cheekbones. At the bottom, just above a chin that is touching the sand, are the lips. Lovely, fully luscious lips just begging to be kissed despite their enormity. Jared can’t help but stare at every detail of the most beautiful face he’s ever seen.
Now if only it wasn’t so huge and Jared wasn’t so damn terrified.
On to Part Three
Master Post