Good Morning, San Antonio! (part 1/2)
Title: Good Morning, San Antonio! (part 1/2)
Author: ZanneS
Genre: RPS/retelling of Hairspray
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Jared Padalecki/Jensen Ackles, Chad M. Murray/Misha Collins, Samantha Ferris, Michael Rosenbaum, Chris Kane, Steve Carlson, Danneel Harris, mentions of Sandy McCoy, Aldis Hodge, Tom Welling, Allison Mack, Justin Hartley, Jake Abel, Sophia Bush, Jim Beaver, Lauren Cohen, Gabriel Tigerman, and the fictional Priestly.
Summary: There are two things Jared Padalecki loves in this world, dancing and Jensen Ackles. If he gets lucky, he might just get to do both.
Author's Notes: Thank you to candygramme and ambiguous_opal for beta-ing! This is a sick mix of absolute ridiculousness and after school special. It's based on the movie Hairspray (more the musical than the Jon Waters version), with a little Footloose and Dirty Dancing thrown in. There are two lines almost directly cribbed from Hairspray, just because they were that hilarious and needed to be in here, and one adapted from Dirty Dancing. I know nothing about dancing, and my internet research didn't help all that much, so you're stuck with the little I know. Boerne is a suburb of San Antonio, so that's how the title came about. There are song links to some of the songs I felt applied to this story. The people belong to themselves, Priestly belongs to Ten Inch Hero, and Hairspray belongs to Jon Waters. No offense intended, as you can tell this is not meant to be taken seriously.
Good Morning, San Antonio!
…Jared’s cock throbbed as Jensen swept him through the halls, Jensen’s strong thigh brushing against his groin with a teasing regularity until they paused in front of Danneel’s bevy of banshees, clustered thickly around Mrs. Henderson’s door. Danneel’s look of open-mouthed shock quickly turned to one of seething jealousy, bringing out the harsh lines of her face and making her look just like their sixty year old history teacher. Jared’s grin widened at the sight, but Jensen paid her no mind, dancing by her as if she and her gaggle of followers didn’t even exist.
Jensen’s blazing green eyes saw no one but Jared, and remained fixed on his face as they sambaed past the principal’s office, nearly knocking over the gym teacher as Jensen spun Jared across the hall. Jared gracefully slid to his knees, pant legs flaring around his shins as he glided in a slow turn across the tiled floor. He spun to a stop facing Jensen, the split spotlight highlighting both Jensen’s lithe form and Jared’s figure poised so regally across from him.
Jensen reached out a hand, taking a deep breath to hit the final chorus as the orchestra started to slow, letting the entire school in on his true feelings for Jared as he belted out, “I will always looo-…”
The school bell suddenly shrieked in accompaniment, drowning out the rest of Jensen’s words as students flooded the hallway and cut off Jared’s view of Jensen. Jared struggled to his feet, his dance suit morphing into too short khakis when he tripped over his own shoelaces as he tried to push his way through the masses in search of Jensen, the bell for passing period only getting louder and louder with every second….
The alarm jolted Jared out his favorite dream, and it took Jared a few seconds to realize he wasn’t standing in the middle of the school hallway with high-water pants and a raging erection. He frowned at the clock’s cheerful jangle; it had cut Jensen’s latest serenade short, something just under nuclear holocaust on Jared’s list of crimes against nature.
And Jensen had just been about to confess his undying love. Dammit. That was Jared’s favorite part. They couldn’t get to the blowjobs without that part.
Well, they could, but Jared’s momma had raised him to be a good boy.
However, if he were really honest with himself, Jared was willing to overlook some of the formalities for Jensen Ackles, but he sure wasn’t going let his momma know anything about that.
Jared threw his legs over the edge of his bed, wincing as he palmed his cock through his pajamas. It was an all too familiar ache, the first step in his morning routine. He automatically averted his gaze from the autographed picture of Jensen that was tucked in the mirror over his dresser, too embarrassed to be seen like this, even by its blank, wide-eyed gaze.
“Jaaared! Pancakes!”
A smile broke over his face as he jumped to his feet, embarrassment forgotten.
And there was step number three.
He stopped by the bathroom to take care of step number two on his way to breakfast.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The long brick façade of Boerne High School stretched across the immaculate expanse of green grass that spread in a perfect rectangle in front of the property. Jared could just make out the lawn spilling out behind the collection of buildings that comprised the high school, spreading like a bridal train to encompass the football field, track, and tennis courts that were the jewels in the crown of the district.
Jared took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of freshly cut grass, damp asphalt, and Axe body spray that carried heavily in the air around the groups of students killing time before the warning bell forced them inside.
Today, Jared told himself, was going to be a great day.
“Hey, Jay-red! How’s it hangin’, buddy? Did you beat the meat to Ackles’ mug this morning?”
Jared optimistic outlook took a hit, and he hunched his shoulders in humiliation, glancing around furtively in the hopes that no one heard Chad’s rather loud mouth announcing his business across the lawn.
But things continued as usual, the crowd of students milling on the grass in front of the high school ignoring everything that didn’t have anything to do directly with themselves.
Thinking his friend might’ve missed him in the crowd, Chad’s voice got even louder, almost obliterating the encouraging chants of the cheerleaders practicing for the pep rally later that day.
“Dude! I’m surprised Ackles’ picture isn’t obliterated by all of your spu-.”
Jared tackled Chad into a tree, slapping a hand over his mouth as Chad’s body slammed into the trunk, his pained huff hot against Jared’s palm. “Shut up!” Jared hissed pleadingly. “Remember that talk we had about public vs. private conversations?”
It was at that moment Jensen Ackles and his posse decided to walk by. Danneel swept by with her usual amount of disdain for everyone not part of their crowd, and the boys yelled at each other amiably as they tossed a football back and forth. One of them caught sight of Jared and Chad over the stair railing and shouted out an automatic insult, the response almost Pavlovian whenever they deigned to notice Jared’s presence.
“Hey, fag. That your girlfriend?”
Jared ignored the insult, though Chad managed to flip a cheerful finger in the boy’s direction. His breath caught when Jensen’s eyes - God! Those eyes! - paused on him, and Jared was barely cognizant enough to offer Jensen a small smile since his bloodflow had taken a decidedly southward direction. Jensen responded with an adorably confused look at the two men pressed up against the tree, before his eyes slid away, and he followed his friends inside.
Jared’s head fell onto Chad’s shoulder with a groan. “Oh, God. Do you think he heard you?”
Chad just shrugged and licked Jared’s palm.
Jared snatched his hand away as Chad made a gagging noise and stuck out his tongue. “Eeew, I can taste your homo-love for Ackles. Didn’t you wash your hands this morning?”
“Don’t be such a jerk,” Jared replied under his breath, still staring in the direction Jensen and his crew had disappeared, as if hoping the boy might reappear and sweep him off his feet.
But, as usual, the world at Boerne High proceeded onward as if Jared and Chad didn’t exist to mar its perfection. Jared slapped Chad on the back of his head and Chad just glowered at him, still wiping his tongue off on his shirt as he mumbled, “Got any gum? It tastes like I had your dick in my mouth.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jared found it hard to believe, but his teachers must have discovered a way to make time stop, because there was no way school could possibly last this long. Every time he looked at the clock, the hands seemed to be cemented in place, except for that one awkward half hour where they actually seemed to go backwards. Danneel was being particularly unpleasant during Chemistry, and her bitchiness could well throw the planets out of alignment.
NASA should really look into that.
The only time this wasn’t an issue was Economics, where he could stare at the back of Jensen’s head the whole period. Jared would pass the hour trying to count the freckles dotting the nape of Jensen’s neck. The fiscal policies of third world countries during World War II had nothing on Jensen Ackles’ freckles, so time was free to do whatever it wanted as long as Jared could stare at the soft, golden hairs bordering that pale, freckled flesh where Jared wanted to leave his mark.
No, Jared did not have a problem, no matter what Chad said.
But finally…finally…the bell rang, heralding the end of the school day. Jared met Chad outside of the gym, grabbed his hand, and dragged him down the street after him at a full run, dodging cars and pedestrians with a skill born of practice and luck.
“C’mon, we’ll miss it!”
Chad’s complaints were lost under the sound of the cars speeding by.
When Jared paused for breath outside of the Sears on First, Chad shook his hand free, saying, “What did I tell you about holding my hand, freak? I don’t want the ladies thinkin’ we’re an item.”
“Yeah, like that’s a big concern,” Jared agreed with a grin, resting his hands flat against the window to stare at the big-screen TVs behind the glass, flashing with a bright array of lights as the heavy beat of the opening credits made the pane throb against his palms. “Shut up! It’s starting!”
A compact, but sturdily built man with bright blue eyes bounded onto the screens, brushing his long hair away from his face as he belted out, “Welcome, cool cats, to the Kris Kane Show!”
The music grew louder as the camera swung to the right to show a burly man with scraggly blond hair strumming away on his guitar, the rest of the band smiling behind him.
“Say hello to Steve Carlson and the Kris Kane Show band!”
The music quickly spilled into a more upbeat tune, and as Kris Kane belted out the theme song to Boerne’s hottest teen dance show, he wiggled his hips in time with the music, in ways that would have made Jared’s momma blush. Jared just swung his hips in sync to his motions, making Chad roll his eyes before focusing on the television as teenagers began sashaying out from backstage to join Kris Kane, partnering up to dance along to the song.
Chad nudged Jared with his elbow. “This show is so lame, dude. It’s like it’s set in the Stone Age or something.”
“Sssshhh!” Jared hissed back with a flailing hand motion, only half paying attention to anything Chad-related. “It’s almost time!”
“And now to introduce the coolest kids in town…”
The teenagers lined up, jitterbugging down the row in pairs as they cheerfully introduced themselves to the home audience - as if everyone watching didn’t already know who they were.
A petite blonde girl bounded up first, her tall, dark haired partner looming over everyone else.
“Hi! I’m Allison!”
“Tom!”
They bounced off to be followed by a shorter girl with long brown hair and a smile that reminded Jared of a chipmunk. Her partner was a sleeker, tall boy with short, cropped blond hair and a wry grin - as if he realized how ridiculous this whole thing was, and loved it anyway.
“Kristen!”
“Justin!”
A petite, dark-haired girl came up next, her partner a lanky black kid with a wide, friendly smile.
“Sandy!”
“Aldis!”
Next came another small chestnut haired girl - making Jared wonder if females over 5’4 were even allowed on the show, followed by a gangly blond boy with large ears.
“Sophia!”
“Jake!”
A perfectly poised redhead came out next, her lips pursed in something that was supposed to look pleasant, Jared was sure, and he wrinkled his nose against the glass in response.
“I’m Danneel!”
A hush fell over the group as the drumbeats rolled in excitement, and the spotlight came up to highlight Jared’s dream center stage as Jensen paused in his dancing to wink at the camera and say, “And I’m Jensen!”
The canned studio audience shrieked with excitement, and Jared was sure he could hear their feet stamping on the bleachers as the catcalls and whistles exploded in response.
The camera picked up Kris Kane once more as he crooned heartily, “We’ll be right back after a word from our sponsors….”
Chad jerked his hand out of reach as Jared grabbed for it, instead taking off down the sidewalk before Jared had time to say anything. “C’mon, slowpoke,” he shouted back over his shoulder. “I’ll beat you home before the commercials are over!”
A couple of minutes later, Jared was slamming his way into his house, Chad already leaping over the back of the sofa to grab the remote just in time to tune in as the show came back on air.
“I’ve got a treat for you today….”
“Y’know,” Chad interrupted, crunching on some stale chips he’d found in a crumpled bag on the floor. “I hear his name is actually spelled with a ‘C’, but he was gay enough to make it match.”
“The studio wanted it that way,” Jared defended automatically. “Now shut up.”
“It’s a wonder your boy isn’t Jensen Jackles.” Chad snorted in amusement, coughing when a chip lodged in his throat.
Jared ignored his friend’s imminent demise as the song slowed, and Jensen swept Danneel into his arms, the picture perfect couple for the Sweetheart’s Dance.
“What does he see in her?!” Jared complained with a huff, slouching back against the couch.
“Great tits and an ass that won’t quit?” Chad offered, the ‘duh’ evident in his voice. “Maybe he likes that she doesn’t have a dick?”
“She can’t even dance!”
“Yeah, ‘cause all guys care about is if a girl can dance,” Chad scoffed, inspecting a half-empty soda can that he’d found under the coffee table. “This still good?”
“I’m a much better dancer than she is!” Jared insisted and glared at the television, where Jensen now had his arms wrapped around Danneel, holding her close as the band sang a syrupy song about young love or some other kind of crap.
“Get yourself a vagina and you’ll be the prettiest girl at prom,” Chad suggested. “Then there’d be no way Ackles could resist your charms.”
“You’re not helping.”
Their budding argument was interrupted by Kris Kane’s loud voice spilling from the tiny TV.
“Hey there, guys and gals! I’ve got an important announcement to make, so pay attention!” He yanked on Jake’s arm, and the lanky boy fell into frame beside him, looking decidedly uncomfortable. “Jake here’s been accepted to the New York School of Ballet, and he’ll be leaving to start classes this week. What this means is that we have an opening on the Kris Kane Council for a new featured dancer! So c’mon down to the studio tomorrow morning at 8:00 and try your luck. You might just be selected to be one of the coolest kids in town!”
Jared’s excited squeal reached a pitch that made Mrs. Laurie’s dog start howling next door. He bounced to his feet, arms flailing wildly, until Chad yanked on his belt and he tumbled back on the couch in a breathless heap.
“Did you hear that?!”
“Yeah.”
“Do you think I could get on the Council?”
“Sure.”
Jared frowned at his best friend, who didn’t look nearly excited enough about this fortunate turn of events. Chad caught Jared’s disapproving expression and sighed, leaning back to make himself more comfortable. “Look, Jay…you’re trying out to be an ensemble dancer on a public access show that hasn’t set foot in a decade past the 50’s. You’ll probably be the only person to show up. You’ll get in, no problem.” Chad slapped Jared on the knee encouragingly, but Jared didn’t look any happier at Chad’s reassurance.
Chad took another breath and admitted off-handedly, “And you’re a good dancer. You’re a shoe-in. Ackles will have a new leading lady in no time.”
Jared’s smile brightened the room.
[The Nicest Kids in Town]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Christian!”
The tone was hard, and was followed shortly by the ominous click-clack of stilettos walking down the hall towards him. Chris glanced around for any means of escape, only to find himself alone, everyone else who had been loitering nearby disappearing in a sudden surge towards the nearest available exits.
Realizing he was trapped, Chris took a deep breath and calmly straightened the lapels on his suit jacket, turning to face the head of the station straight-on. The older woman had her hair pinned back in an elegant French twist this afternoon, leaving the softening, square lines of her face revealed, her stern gaze shielded by the thick brush of her lashes. Chris thought the overtly female touches were some strange form of camouflage, like putting a barracuda in lipstick and heels, and he hadn’t fallen for it, yet.
“Ms. Ferris…so nice to see you this afternoon. I thought you were having lunch with the mayor today?”
“Can it, Kane,” she snapped sharply. “What did I tell you about that kind of dancing?”
Chris tried to look innocent, knowing he hadn’t been able to pull that off effectively since high school. “What kind of dancing?”
She frowned, deep lines carving their way around her mouth. “Don’t bullshit me, Kane.”
“C’mon, Ferris! It was the closest thing to modern we’ve seen on this show! This is not an old folks’ home; this is a teen dance show. We need to liven it up a bit, pick some more recent music, utilize local talent - make this show worth watching!”
She took a step forward, her voice steady as she punctuated her words with sharp jabs to his chest. “This show is number one in its time slot. Our advertising revenue is through the roof. I will not have you screw this up because you want to try out your music on my show.”
Ms. Ferris took another step forward and, even though she wasn’t a tall woman, with the aid of her heels Chris felt as if she were towering over him, and she pressed him back against the wall. “Our sponsors consist of men and women of our community who feel that today’s ‘modern’ influences are detrimental to the children, and who have decided to create a clean and wholesome program for the children of this city and its surrounding areas to watch. So what if it’s a little out-dated? It’s what they want, and it’s what they are paying for. Which means you need to suck it up and keep the hose in the firehouse, you hear me?”
Chris ground his teeth together, barely managing to say, “Yes, ma’am,” before Ms. Ferris was walking off, her steps more delicate as she approached the small group of older gentlemen and ladies who had appeared at the end of the hall, several dressed in religious accoutrements, and they strolled off towards the set.
Chris closed his eyes, taking several deep breaths, and he felt the silent presence of someone at his side before emitting a frustrated sigh.
“Tell me why I’m doing this again,” Chris - not Kris on his off-time, no matter what the sponsors wanted - demanded as he ran a hand through his sweaty hair until it puffed around his face like a startled halo.
“Because it pays the bills,” Steve reminded him, as he finished zipping his guitar into its case. He tossed it over his shoulder and walked with Chris towards the dressing room. “Look at the bright side. At least you talked them out of making us cut our hair…again.” Steve shook out his blond hair and held up a fist in solidarity. “Fight the good fight, brother.”
“I hate this job,” Chris growled under his breath, forcing a pained smile and a wave in the direction of the sponsors that were clustered thickly in the confines of the audio booth with Ms. Ferris. “’Coolest kids in town’, my ass. Some of ‘em are total dicks.”
“Even the girls?”
“Especially the girls,” Chris grumbled, before restating his standard complaint. “The music is so old school. Who in the hell listens to this shit these days?”
“The guys with the money?”
Chris chose to ignore this logic, and focused on the crux of his problem. “How is this show still on the air?”
“Besides your charming presence?” Steve laughed, giving Chris a half-hearted shrug. “It’s like I tell you every time. It’s the only thing on in this time slot that’s even remotely entertaining. You’ve got the kids over a barrel - it’s either you or that British house cleaning show.”
“All we need is Ritchie and the Fonz, and things will be just peachy keen.”
“Is that sarcasm I detect?”
“That’s despair.”
Steve grinned and slapped him on the back. “Does beer work for that?”
“Tequila…this is definitely a tequila level intervention.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jensen did his best to dodge, but Jeannie was too quick for him, planting a firm, if tiny, hand on his shoulder and pinning him in the make-up chair as she liberally coated his head with the hairspray.
“Jeannie!” he grumbled playfully. “I can feel the hole in the ozone layer widening as we speak.”
“Don’t be such a smartass, Jen,” she replied. “You can spike that pretty hair with all the gel you want, but if it deflates when you get sweaty during the show, Ms. Ferris will have my hide.” She tweaked the front of his hair to ensure its solidity, adding with an evil grin, “You know she prefers it stiff and hard.”
“Jensen! Jensen, sweetie…oh! There you are!” Ms. Ferris swept into the make-up room with her usual brusqueness, pausing by Jensen’s chair to study him in the mirror. She reached out to force a stray piece of hair into submission, drawing her long nails down his cheek as she pulled back.
“Give him another spritz, Jeannie. He’s got to look just perfect for the promo shots.” Ms. Ferris rested her hand on his back, caressing the fabric until Jensen shifted forward to keep his ass out of reach. “Then I need a few minutes with our little star.”
With that, she turned and strode out to the main stage, her heels clicking with an almost militant authority across the linoleum.
Jensen winced, watching Jeannie’s body start to shake as she waited for Ms. Ferris to leave the room, and he gave her a glare in the mirror as he hissed under his breath, “Not funny.”
Jeannie was laughing too hard to reply.
~~~~~~~~~~~
“Jensen.”
Ms. Ferris was leaning against her desk, arms crossed under her breasts so that they looked even fuller. Jensen nervously glanced over his shoulder at the door she had closed so solidly behind him before taking her standard position, legs on display from her half-seated position and her pencil thin skirt.
“You’ve got a future, kid. With that face….” She slipped off the desk and slunk closer to his chair, dragging her index finger along his cheekbone. “You could be a star. That’s why you’re on this show, right?”
“Yes, Ms. Ferris.”
“Your face and my connections - a match made in heaven.” Her fingers dropped to his throat, trailing along the edge of his shirt collar, until Jensen fidgeted nervously. “You need someone just a little older, and a lot wiser, to steer you through those shark infested waters….”
Ms. Ferris’ fingernails dragged up through his hair, leaving tracks through the stiff strands as her other hand snuck its way under Jensen’s jacket.
With a muffled squeak of surprise, Jensen leapt to his feet and slowly backed towards the door, saying, “Yes, ma’am. That’s why I’ve got my momma to help me out.” Jensen cocked his head to the side, purposefully widening his eyes until they gleamed with doe-eyed innocence. “You know my momma? She says she remembers you from when she went to high school…you graduated when she was a freshman?”
At the thin-lipped expression that planted itself on Ms. Ferris’ face, Jensen blindly reached for the doorknob behind him and stuttered, “I-I’d better go see Jeannie to get my hair fixed. And you’ve got the auditions to oversee, right?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The studio was exactly like Jared imagined, minus the little flying Jensens that would have made it the Heaven he always assumed it would be. The walls were buttressed with long swatches of light blue drapery, decorated with the names of local advertisers, and large ornamental lamps shaped like starbursts hung along the sides of the room, forming their own planetary system. The floor was a rubberized linoleum, designed to cut down on the sound of the many feet traipsing across it, useful for a show dedicated to dancing, Jared assumed. But best of all the gigantic Kris Kane Show sign taking up nearly the entire wall behind the main stage, each letter on its own plastic tile, like an array of multi-colored tic-tacs strewn across the fabric.
Jared made Chad take a picture of him standing in front of it.
“I’m so excited, I’m about to throw up,” Jared hissed, bouncing on the balls of feet with barely subdued enthusiasm.
“Then how about you not stand right next to me?” Chad said, pushing Jared away to get a clearer view of the dance floor. He threw a wink and a leer in the general direction of the only girls on set; there were a few whose faces he recognized from the show, but most of them were unfamiliar.
“I’m about to meet the man I’m going to marry, and lose my virginity to today - hopefully both within the next hour,” Jared said with all due seriousness. “This is the most important day of my entire life.” Jared planted himself in front of his best friend, grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. “Focus, Chad!”
“I’m trying, dickhead, but you’re blocking my view!” Chad craned his neck to peer over Jared’s shoulder, but most of the girls seemed to be dispersing at the arrival of an older, attractive woman who stalked onto the set as if she owned the place.
“Attention!” The new arrival clapped her hands sharply, and all the nervous chattering immediately stopped. The other girls on-set flared out behind her, forming a line of dancers splayed out across the floor. Chad immediately recognized Danneel, front and center, and he pointed at her, giving Jared a thumbs down as a show of support.
“My name is Ms. Ferris. I run this station, and am in charge of all things related to the Kris Kane Show.” Her eyes roamed over the ten candidates, her lip curling in distaste. She glanced to the side at Danneel and muttered, “Oh, this is going to be good.”
Danneel just snickered in response, before refocusing on the boys in front of her and artfully arranging her mouth into a practiced moue.
“All right! My girls here will go through a few steps, and I want you all to do your best to keep up.”
As the woman strolled back and forth in front of those assembled for the audition, she called out a rapid fire series of dances, the girls behind her performing them like push button automatons, switching quickly between movements at her every word. Jared looked as happy as Chad had ever seen him, making him once again wonder at his friend’s sanity for loving this out-dated crap so much.
Ms. Ferris eyed the boys in front of her with a critical eye as they danced, pausing in front on one to snap, “What's your name?”
“G-Gabriel,” he stuttered.
“Grow another six inches before you even think about coming back,” Ms. Ferris ordered and gestured towards the door.
As the boy ran off, she stopped in front of a blue-haired young man. “And you?”
“Priestly,” the boy stated with obvious confidence.
“This is not Sesame Street.”
“They have better music,” he said with a shrug, and followed Gabriel out.
Next, she stopped in front of Jared and studied his shirt, her frown deepening. “You’re wearing pink.”
“Vogue said it makes people look more vibrant,” Jared replied with a smile, his eyes locked on hers as he twisted. “And I’m Jared.”
Ms. Ferris snorted. “This is not a gay pride parade. Go.” She waved him off as she walked further down the line.
Jared froze in place, disbelief evident of his face before his shoulders slumped in defeat. He stood there in shock, until Chad came to drag him out the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jared slouched into homeroom forty minutes late, unable to lift his eyes from the floor. It just wasn’t fair. He had danced better than anyone there, and Ms. Ferris had sent him away without even paying attention to how fantastic he was!
“Mister Padalecki.”
Jared didn’t hear the voice calling him from the front of the room, and it took the growing snickers of his nearby classmates to make him lift his eyes to meet those of the teacher.
“Mister Padalecki. Do you have a pass from the office to excuse your tardiness to my class?”
Jared slowly shook his head, wincing slightly as the teacher gave him a steady glare and scrawled something messily across the detention slip. Without a word, Jared got to his feet and grabbed his backpack, snagging the slip from the teacher’s hand as he left the room.
Detention on top of the complete and utter failure of his life so far. Just great.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jared was more than familiar with the room they used for detention. It’s drab beige walls, covered with old inspirational posters, the out-dated computer equipment, and the broken tables made him feel as if he were just another piece of school equipment the administration would like to store away and forget about before it caused any more trouble. He’d gotten into enough disagreements - one-sided though they might be - with other students over his sexual preferences that it was practically his home away from home.
He was considering asking his parents to donate their old couch in the basement so he at least could take a nap or something.
But when he walked in the door, he was met with something new and different. Music was playing from a beat up old radio, while the lifers - the students who managed to show up in detention on a nearly daily basis for some reason or another - were dancing across the floor.
Jared stood in the door, shocked for only a second, when a blue-eyed boy side-stepped his way over and ponied in front of Jared with an intrigued smile.
“What are you in for? Crimes against fashion?” The boy flicked at Jared’s pink flowered shirt and gave him an amused grin. “You’re Jared, right?”
“Yeah,” Jared said hesitantly, though he couldn’t help but start to swing his hips to the beat.
Music was his weakness. That, and Jensen Ackles.
“Where’s the teacher?”
The boy shrugged. “He said they don’t pay him enough for this, and left about twenty minutes ago. Said to do whatever we wanted as long as we didn’t burn down the school or leave this room until the bell rang, and that he’d be back later.”
Jared’s eyes widened in surprise
“They,” the boy said, gesturing over his shoulder to the other students, “said you’d probably be in some time today. I wanted to meet you.”
“Um…why?”
Jared’s bag was already dropped in the corner as he started to shimmy with the guy before him.
“My name’s Misha Collins,” the kid said, extending his hand. When Jared grabbed it, Misha spun him in a tight circle and dipped him quickly, before spinning him off to continue dancing. “I’m new…came here last month? I wanted to start a GLAAD club on campus and heard you might be the man to see.”
Jared just stared at him oddly, which urged Misha to continue. “The administration won’t let me bring a guy to prom. They refused to sell me a ticket.”
“You have a date?” Jared asked, squashing that little flare of jealousy that surged inside him. He’d been living in this town his whole life, and he didn’t have a date to prom, but here Misha was, not even here a month, and he did?
Chad would blame this on the fact that Jared was saving himself for Jensen, but Jared decided to ignore that logic.
Misha shrugged. “Not officially, no, but if I find a guy I want to go with, I’ll need a ticket.”
“So, why do you want to talk to me?”
“You get harassed on an almost daily basis, and you wonder what this has to do with you?” Misha asked dryly, arching an eyebrow in subdued amazement. “Don’t you want to be able to take your date to prom? You’ve got one already, right?”
Jared fidgeted on his feet, losing the beat for a moment as he tried to figure out what to say. “Um…are you hitting on me? I’m…uh…kind of taken.”
Misha threw back his head and laughed, before gazing at Jared once more. “Jensen Ackles?”
“How’d you know?”
“You stare at his ass like it’s a magnet.”
Jared chuckled and ducked his head, a blush pinkening his cheeks. “Is it that obvious?”
Misha punched him on the arm. “Totally understandable. It’s more entertaining than primetime. I’ve wasted a minute or two ogling it myself.” When Jared huffed at this news, Misha grinned once more, grabbing him and grinding against him to the slow beat of the music. Jared’s eyes widened at the move, his brain telling him that the Kris Kane Show didn’t permit less than six inches of space between partners, and Misha was definitely breaking that rule.
“I’m not touching your boy, Padalecki. He’s all yours.”
Jared decided to overlook the infraction since they were just doing this for fun and melted against Misha, all loose-limbed and fluid, grumbling in embarrassment, “He’s not my boy!”
“No?” Misha gestured towards the door as he dipped him, where Jared saw an upside down Jensen framed by the still open door. He stood watching Jared with a vacant-eyed expression as Jared pushed his hips against Misha’s in time with the music, his usually pale skin covered with a heated flush.
When Jared stumbled to a stop, panting heavily, Jensen shook his head and forced a smile. He stepped through the open door, and gave Jared a friendly slap on the shoulder. “You’re a really good dancer. Today’s Open House Night on the show, and I’ll bet if Chris saw you dancing, you’d be a sure bet to get a spot on the Council.”
With a wink and another smile, Jensen left Jared standing frozen in the middle of detention, Misha laughing beside him.
“Go get ‘im, tiger.”
As the bell rang for the end of the period, Jared swept out of detention wearing a blissful smile and ran straight into Chad, who had come to collect him before their next class.
“Dude, you look wasted. Do they hide all the good drugs in detention?”
Jared sighed, staring at Jensen’s backside at the end of the hall, before he - and his ass - disappeared around the corner.
“I’m going to marry that man some day.”
[I Can Hear the Bells]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jared was unused to destiny stepping up and asking him to dance - particularly wearing Jensen’s face - so it took several hours of insults, threats to his hair, his wardrobe, his dick, and then a couple shots of Chad’s dad’s whiskey, before Jared could force himself to step through the doors of the studio where they filmed the Kris Kane Show, particularly after his spectacular failure this morning.
The studio seemed a lot smaller with all of the people crammed inside it, and the room was garishly bright with all of the stage lights aimed at the mass of dancing bodies on the floor. Open House Friday was packed ten times as full as the usual show, since anybody between the ages of fifteen and eighteen were welcome to come and dance.
It was Jared’s favorite day of the month, surpassing even free nachos night at the bowling alley.
Jared loved nachos almost as much as he loved dancing, so that was saying something.
He nervously straightened his tie, mentally cursing the dress code that the show had for its dancers. It was harder to dance dressed up like an accountant; he’d far rather be wearing his jeans and tennis shoes, so he could really let loose.
Jared was pulled from his contemplation of his wardrobe by the sound of Jensen crooning on-stage, hair immaculate as always, his body swaying to the beat of the song as he clutched the microphone stand close to his chest. Jared was stunned into immobility at the sight, the swing of Jensen’s hips taking him to his happy place faster than any roomful of porn possibly could.
He was awakened from his lustful daze by Chad’s gruff snort and a quick elbow to his solar plexus. “Nice boner, Jay. Why dontcha use it to clear these dweebs out of our way?” Throwing his arms over his head, he crowed, “Snowplow!” and made a beeline for the ladies clustered near the punch bowl off-stage, leaving Jared standing alone on the edge of the dance floor.
Not daring to look back at Jensen on-stage for fear of drowning himself in drool, Jared glanced around the room. He saw Misha on the crowded dance floor, and Misha jerked his chin in invitation to join him.
Jared sashayed over, keeping the beat as he met up with Misha.
“What are you doing here?” Jared asked in surprise.
Misha shrugged. “Looking for a prom date? What’s gayer than this show in this town?”
Jared threw back his head and laughed, the sound mixing easily with Jensen’s husky singing. “Let’s show these straight boys how it’s done.”
Part 2...