Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/602695.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      CW_Network_RPF
  Relationship:
      Jared/Jensen
  Additional Tags:
      AU_-_Drive_Me_Crazy
  Stats:
      Published: 2009-02-22 Words: 7958
****** Things Never Go As Planned ******
by itsthedetails
Summary
     Jared has a plan to make his high school experience perfect, but he
     has to make some adjustments to his plan when he needs a date to the
     Centennial Ball. Jensen seems like the perfect fix, until he falls
     for him for real. AU of the movie Drive Me Crazy.
Notes
See the end of the work for notes
Jared Padalecki had everything a boy could want from the high school
experience. He was well liked, friendly, star of the soccer team and captain of
the James Madison High School Centennial Committee. The only thing he needed to
make the whole thing completely perfect was a date to the Centennial Ball.
Jared knew that he and Sandy McCoy would make a cute couple. She had been
flirting with him for weeks now and Chad said she was totally into him. He
needed a date for the Centennial event – he surely couldn't show up alone. He
was, after all, the guy who put the whole thing together. All he had to do was
ask her out. The thing was; Jared had barely ever spoken to Sandy and truth be
told she made him sort of nervous. As friendly as Jared was—talking to girls
had never come easy for him. He got tongue-tied and sweaty and it just didn't
seem worth the hassle. At lunch today, though, Sandy had been pretty straight
forward—she was going to Tom's big party on Friday and if Jared asked her to
the dance then, she'd definitely say yes.
As he sat in Government class daydreaming about decorations for the Ball, he
caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of his neighbor, Jensen Ackles.
Through the window, he saw Jensen running across the quad and toward the
building with his two friends. Jared rolled his eyes; he wondered what Jensen
could be getting up to now.
***
Jensen crouched down on the roof of the main school building, the knees of his
cargo pants snagging on the rough cement of the ledge, and kept a close eye on
his watch. Lunch was almost over and he was patiently waiting for his little
prank to take effect. Chris jostled Steve, trying to push him into the gravel
on the roof, and Steve flipped Chris off, settling himself against the ledge
with his video camera in hand.
"I can't wait to see their faces when the sprinklers pop on and they're all
covered in orange dye. It's a great prank, Jensen, but—uh—what are we
protesting again?"
Eyes skimming over his classmates, unknowingly chatting away, Jensen smirked.
"We're protesting the inherent class-ism found in the high school setting. You
see all those people down there? They're all sheep. Baaaaa."
Chris laughed. "Only you, Ackles. It's high school, would you expect anything
less?"
Jensen turned to face his friend and leaned in close, his messy hair falling
across his forehead. "Baaaaa." He held Chris's stare for a short moment before
they both collapsed in laughter.
Steve laughed with them until he noticed the time. "Come on, come on. It's
almost time, ten seconds."
The three sat still for the last few seconds before the sprinklers popped up,
surprising everyone. When the mass of students realized not only were they
getting soaked, but covered in bright orange dye, their screams grew louder.
Jensen watched as they ran around the quad like a trapped herd. He was
thoroughly enjoying watching the chaos until he saw one head high above the
rest.
Standing rather calmly and looking relatively amused, despite orange water
spitting around him was Jared Padalecki. Jensen's smirk softened—Jared may be
part of the fascist high school hierarchy, but at least he still knew how to
enjoy a good prank. It was too bad really; Jared wasn't nearly as bad as the
rest of the sheep.
***
Jensen wound up with only two weeks of detention for the prank, mostly because
they had no proof he had actually done anything. He walked down the hill from
the school heading in the direction of the local coffee shop hangout downtown.
From behind, a heavy weight pressed up against him, knocking him off balance
and nearly causing him to tumble down the small embankment. He didn't have to
look up to know that it was his boyfriend, Misha Collins, plastered across his
back. His one hundred percent natural fiber shirt brushed roughly across
Jensen's forearm and the sharp, overly-sweet scent of patchouli surrounded
them.
"Lunch was the highlight of my day. You should have seen them all—whining about
their designer clothes and ruined expensive shoes."
Jensen turned in Misha's embrace, grinning. "Bought me two weeks of detention,
but it was entirely worth it."
Misha kissed him briefly, then tugged on his hips. "Come to the coffee shop
with me? I have my yoga class tonight, so I won't see you later."
Jensen slid his hand into Misha's. "That's exactly where I was headed."
At the coffee shop, Jensen and Misha greeted a few of the regulars and took a
seat on an over-stuffed couch in the corner. Jensen and Misha had been dating
forever, ever since they'd found themselves in a heated discussion about the
disparity of school fund allotment.
Sometimes Misha was a little too cause-y for Jensen, what with his stance on
renewable energy, global warming, organic foods, vegan-ism and a million other
causes Misha got heated up about for a week or two before moving onto his next
hot topic, but then again Misha put up with Jensen's rants about the designated
hitter so it all evened out in the end. They'd been sitting, talking idly for
about twenty minutes, when a guy a little older than them, dressed all in
black, stepped up to the microphone. He was skinny and spoke softly—with a
slight lisp.
As soon as Jensen heard the words medical testing and animal research, he tuned
out. Stuff like that just reminded him of his last days with his mother—the
stark hospital and the suffocating scent of antiseptic.
He tugged on Misha's hand trying to pull his attention back to Jensen, but he
shrugged him off in favor of listening to the guy on stage explain about the
activist group on the local college campus.
Slumping back on the couch, Jensen focused on his cup of coffee.
***
Jared had been at Tom's party for over an hour and was well on his way to a
good buzz. It seemed to Jared everyone he knew was at the party—except Sandy.
At first it didn't bother him, he'd circulated talking to his friends, but as
time passed he got more and more nervous about the prospect of asking Sandy to
the Centennial dance. It was looking more like a better idea to go stag rather
than put himself through this kind of misery. It made the tingle in the back of
his mind make itself known—asking why he was so panicked about asking Sandy to
the dance.
Chad swaggered into the room—obviously drunk—grinning like the cat that just
ate the canary. He smacked Jared on the shoulder and threw an arm around him.
"Sandy's here."
The lump that had been forming in Jared's throat sunk to the pit of his
stomach, settling like a lead balloon. Jared spotted her almost immediately,
her long chestnut hair trailing behind her, and holding onto—someone else's
hand.
Chad made no attempt to hide the glee in his tone. "And she's not alone."
He couldn't stop the small gasp from escaping; he didn't understand what had
happened. It seemed like everything had been set already. Sandy was going to
come to the party and Jared was going to ask her to the dance and they'd both
ride off into the sunset. Nothing in those plans said anything about Sandy
coming to the party with an older guy.
"Who is that guy?" Chad handed him a cup and Jared gulped down whatever foul
tasting liquid had been in it.
"I haven't got the entire scoop yet, but apparently they ran into
each—literally. They had a fender bender in the supermarket parking lot two
days ago and have been inseparable ever since. She's taking him to Centennial."
Relief flooded through him; until he realized that everyone had been expecting
Jared to ask Sandy and she had made a fool of him by showing up with another
guy. Any relief he felt about not having to ask Sandy to the dance rushed away
when he was filled with anger at her for leading him on. Sure—he wasn't
entirely positive he really liked her, but there was a certain way things were
done and Sandy had played all her cards a particular way and now Jared was left
looking like a fool and he didn't like it.
Grabbing the shot Chad had in his hand, Jared swallowed it back and took off
for the bar in the next room.
***
Jared stumbled down Grand Street, tripping over his own feet and nearly
falling. He'd drank way too much at Tom's party and in his inebriated state
thought walking home would be a good idea. He didn't plan on it making him this
tired. His eyelids felt heavy and the grass of the front lawns along the
sidewalk were starting to look rather comfortable. He wondered if he lay down
in the grass for just a moment if he'd draw some strength to make it the five
blocks home.
The cool grass felt nice against his face and just when he thought he might be
able to take just a short nap, there was an incessant, sharp sound that would
not stop. He dragged his eyes opened and struggled to sit up. At the curb idled
a beat up old truck with Jensen Ackles hanging from the window calling his
name.
"Jaaaared! Jaaaay-red! Wake up, sleepyhead; you can't pass out on that lawn."
Jensen's friend Chris was holding onto Jensen's belt to keep him from falling
head-first out of the car window. It seemed Jensen had had a little too much to
drink to as well.
Upon yanking a giggling Jensen back into the car, Chris yelled to him. "Come
on, I'll give you a ride since I'm going your way anyway."
If his head wasn't so foggy with alcohol Jared would have questioned why Chris
was being so nice and offering him a ride, but since he could barely stand up
without tipping over, he figured he shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.
He climbed into the cramped backseat of the truck's cab, nodding hello to
Steve, Jensen's other friend. Chris pulled away from the curb jerkily, causing
Jensen to slide across the front seat and practically into Chris's lap. Chris
shoved him back and muttered something that sounded like 'drunken idiot.'
The night air must have started to sober Jared up because his head was clearing
and he was actually able to focus on what was going on in the truck. Jensen was
trashed; sliding down the seat and giggling. Both Chris and Steve looked at
Jensen with concern. He tried for a whisper, but the alcohol in his system
prevented him from gauging the volume of his voice. His attempt at a quiet
question to Steve ended up a loud boom in the small cab. "What's wrong with
him?"
Steve opened his mouth to answer, but Jensen had twisted in the seat to face
Jared. "You want to know what's up with me? I'll tell you; you'll probably
think it's hilarious. Misha dumped me. Yup, he dumped me, and you want to know
why? 'Cause I didn't want to go to one stupid animal rights meeting. Stupid
boyfriend and his causes."
Jensen huffed and turned, slumping back against the seat just as they pulled up
to his house.
Jensen nearly fell out of the truck, but once he was on his feet, he seemed
steadier. Chris called out to Jensen to call him tomorrow before pulling away
from the curb. Jared trailed behind Jensen up his driveway. "You okay to get
inside? Your dad won't be thrilled if he finds you passed out in a puddle of
vomit."
Jensen's red-rimmed eyes stared fuzzily up at his house and then back at Jared.
"It's fine; his car isn't here. He must be out somewhere." There was a long
awkward pause; Jared didn't know what else to say to Jensen. It's not like they
talked now-a-days—in fact, Jared couldn't even remember the last time he spoke
to Jensen.
"Uh—well—drink lots of water and get some sleep." Jared started over toward his
house grateful that the lights were out and it seemed like his parents were
already in bed. At the last second, he turned back and called to Jensen.
"Night."
***
The sun shone into Jared's bedroom way too brightly and woke him up entirely
too early. Squinting at his alarm clock he saw it was later than he thought. He
didn't want to get out of bed yet, but if he didn't his mom would be knocking
on his door soon with a list of chores to keep him busy.
Rolling on to his side and sitting up, he rested his elbows on his knees and
his head in his hands. His headache wasn't so bad, but his mouth felt like it
was full of cotton balls. Lifting his head, a movement caught his eye. Through
his window that mirrored Jensen's bedroom window, he could see Jensen just
waking up as well. Jensen looked a whole hell of a lot worse off than he did.
Even across the distance between their two windows, Jared could see Jensen
looking rather green. Jared watched as he stood from bed, wearing nothing but a
worn pair of boxer shorts. He noticed that Jensen had a very nicely toned
torso, not that anyone would have ever seen it what with the over-sized t-
shirts Jensen tended toward wearing.
He took in the expanse of Jensen's muscled back and wondered when he started to
notice guy's bodies. Still watching Jensen, Jared saw the green drain from
Jensen's pallor as he turned a chalky shade of gray. Suddenly, he shot across
the room to his bathroom.
While Jensen was no doubt puking his guts out, Jared thought about Jensen and
his break up and the situation Jared was in. He wasn't sure what exactly made
him think of it, but maybe they could help each other out.
When Jensen returned to his room Jared picked up his phone. It took him a
minute, but eventually Jensen's phone number came back to him—even though they
hadn't spoken much in the last few years Jared had called Jensen more times
than he could ever count when they were kids. Watching through the window,
Jared saw Jensen answer the phone. "Feeling better now?"
Jensen's forehead creased as he struggled to place Jared's voice. "Jared?"
Jensen came to the window peering across into Jared's room. Jared waved. "So I
think we might be able to help each other out. Go to the Centennial ball with
me?"
"Huh?"
"Look you want to get Misha back, yeah? What better way to do that then make
him jealous. And last night Sandy made a fool out of me by showing up with some
older guy when everyone knew I was going to ask her to the dance. I need to do
damage control."
"But you're not gay."
"Maybe not, maybe so, no one knows that—and it doesn't matter anyway, doing
something extreme is the perfect way to make everyone forget Sandy dissed me."
Jensen was quiet, leaning against the windowsill and staring at Jared like he'd
lost his mind.
"Look, just think about it and call me when you decide to do this."
***
The bright sunny Monday morning was mocking Jensen. He stood in khaki pants and
a sweater from The Gap, his once unkempt hair cut and spiked with product. He
should turn around right now and forget this whole stupid plan. Of course
Padalecki would think a ridiculous plan like this would work; everything always
worked out for him. Jensen, though, didn't have that kind of luck.
He was about to turn around and head back home, when Jared appeared beside him
and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, don't freak out on me now. You're
gonna be fine and before you know it you'll have Misha back, and no one will
even remember anything about Sandy and I."
Walking up to the school, Jensen literally felt everyone's eyes on him. Not
only was he dressed completely out of character, but he was walking into school
practically on Jared's arm. He felt his skin crawling; he didn't like this kind
of attention.
Jared pulled him along toward the doors of the school. "You look like you're
about to enter the lion cage at the zoo; just smile and you'll be fine."
Muttering, "Easy for you to say." Jensen tried to smile and ignore the curious
stares.
***
Chad nearly knocked Jared over, before falling into his desk in English class.
"What's up with you and your loser neighbor? It's all over school that you two
are an item and are going to Centennial together. But my best friend wouldn't
decide to suddenly bat for the home team and not tell me."
"Chad, I don't know why I'm even friends with you."
Chad turned his desk to lean closer to Jared. "So you've been gay this whole
time? And Jensen is just some close friend we never knew you had."
Jared smirked. "Something like that. Look I'm still into girls, but sometimes
guys spice things up a bit. You've got a problem with that?"
Looking him over, Chad looked impressed. "Nope, no problem at all."
***
Jensen made it through the day, but not without feeling like a total douche
bag. Jared may be pretty normal once you get past his need to 'make the most
out of his high school experience' and have everyone like him. And he had to
admit with Jared even that was kind of endearing, but the rest of his
friends—Jensen wouldn't waste his time on them.
Chris and Steve finally caught up with him after school, and he really didn't
need their ribbing right now.
"Hey, hey, where you running off to? Is there a sale at The Gap?"
Jensen stopped short of the parking lot, waiting for the guys to catch up. They
were laughing when they finally did, but both were looking more than a little
curious at his transformation.
"Look, sometimes you have to go to extremes to get what you want. And if it
works, I get Misha back. Now are you guys gonna stand there staring or is Chris
gonna give me a ride home?"
"Yeah sure, my truck's over there."
Steve stood, not moving toward the car. Both Jensen and Chris stopped to look
back. "Wait, before we go there's just one thing I need to know, Jensen."
Jensen raised a questioning eyebrow, wondering if Steve could truly be upset
with Jensen's act.
Steve reached out a hand toward Jensen. "What is in your hair? It's so shiny.
Can I touch it, please?"
The three of them cracked up, and Jensen ran for the truck with Steve chasing
after him, yelling, "Come on, let me just touch it once!"
***
Jared had to admit this was one of his better ideas. Over the last few days
hanging out with Jensen had really worked. Everyone had completely forgotten
about the whole Sandy mess. And her play for the Centennial spotlight was
crushed.
Jared had everything right back the way he wanted it. The Centennial events
were all coming together. Chad had actually followed directions for once and
all the decorations and lighting was set. Much to Jared's glee, Genevieve had
been named Miss Time Zone over Sandy and everyone was pretty much accepting of
Jared's sudden appearance with Jensen. The only thing he still had on his plate
was finding the perfect band to play Centennial. Katie was still advocating
some Miley Cyrus wanna-be, but Jared wasn't too sure about it.
Sitting at the local burger joint, with Jensen by his side looking completely
appalled, Jared and his crew were discussing the music act.
"She sounds even better than the real thing and is totally the hot act right
now."
Lauren shook her head. "But Miley Cyrus? I mean, I guess she's alright, but a
cover of her? Would be a disaster. Isn't there a Jonas Brothers cover band or
something?"
Jared had to laugh, Jensen looked aghast at the conversation unfolding before
him. He nudged him playfully in the side. "What? Jonas Brothers not your first
choice?"
Jensen rolled his eyes. "God, no."
Turning back to the conversation, Jared saw Katie rolling her eyes. "Well
there's no one else unless you want that geek from the school radio station
that's always trying to slip his band's stuff on air. What's his name? Stu?
Stef?"
Jared could feel Jensen prickle next to him. His eyes blazing, he interrupted
Katie. "His name is Steve. And he's really talented, maybe if you actually
listened to his tapes instead of blowing him off because he's a geek, you'd
know that."
Jensen glared at everyone and an uncomfortable silence settled over the table.
Jared smiled brightly, tugging on Jensen's shirt sleeve. "Jen, hey, I want more
fries come with me to get them."
Jensen glanced at Jared and shrugged his hand from his arm. "Yeah okay, window
three looks open."
They stood and walked over to the order window, a scowl still on Jensen face.
"Your friends are jerks. Steve's a great guy and just because he cares more
about his music than the latest fashion trend or who won last week's basketball
game does not make it okay for them to make fun of him."
He rested his palm flat to Jensen's shoulder blade. "I know, okay, I know they
were being jerks back there. And I know that Steve is a great guy. But don't
let their stupid comments ruin this."
The tension in Jensen's shoulders didn't soften.
"Jared, I'm tired of always doing all your shit, hanging out with your friends.
So far I've gone with you to everything you've asked me to, but you haven't
done a thing for me yet. Other than Misha seeing me with you and your friends
at school this hasn't done a thing for me yet."
He was right. Jared had been so busy enjoying introducing Jensen to all the
things he loved about school that he hadn't done anything for Jensen yet.
"Okay, how about we go back to the table and you be your charming self and then
we go do whatever you want to do."
Slowly a smile spread across Jensen's face. "Cool, Chris and Steve are playing
at Perk tonight. I've never missed a show."
***
Perk was crowded for the small coffeehouse; the crush of people spilling out
the door. Almost immediately Chris spotted them. "Hey man, thought you wouldn't
make it tonight." The tone in Chris's voice as he glanced over to Jared implied
that Jared would keep him away.
Jensen felt protective all of the sudden. "You know I would never miss a show
and Jared was really looking forward to hearing you guys play tonight. He
definitely didn't want to miss it."
Chris's gaze lingered over Jared, but Jared just smiled—his dimples creasing
deep and widening his smile even more. Finally, Chris relented, smiling back
briefly. "Okay, well I've got to get backstage and find Steve. Make sure you're
down front; we're doing the new song tonight. I want you to see everyone's
reactions."
After Chris headed back over to the small stage, Jensen turned to Jared asking
if he wanted a drink. Jared only nodded; the DJ in the cramped corner cranking
up the music.
He pushed his way through the crowd only to find himself right next to Misha at
the bar. Despite the surprise on Misha's face, he looked as good as Jensen
remembered.
"Didn't think you'd be here tonight, isn't there a pep rally you should be at?"
He searched for a witty comeback, but his words were stuck in his throat.
Especially, when the new beatnik boyfriend pressed himself against Misha's
back—handing him a drink over his shoulder and brushing his fingers lightly
over his wrist.
Finally, his chest released and he was able to speak. He tried to hide the
bitterness in voice, but he was still too hurt over the way Misha dumped him to
do a very good job of it. "Just because I'm trying something different doesn't
mean I'm going to give up on my old friends. Some people find they aren't
required to have exactly the same interests as their friends."
There was a biting comeback right on the tip of Misha's tongue, but he never
got to voice it. From across the room Jared swept in front of him, completely
ignoring Misha's presence. Jared's wide hands palmed his hips, pulling Jensen
in close, he leaned down—his long bangs falling into both their eyes—and
brushed his lips to Jensen's. It was soft at first, sweet almost, but once he
realized what Jared was doing, Jensen nipped at Jared's lower lip and pushed
his tongue into Jared's mouth.
He didn't know kissing was part of the deal—he didn't know if Jared was willing
to take it this far—but, damn, Jared was a good kisser. Their mouths fit
together perfectly and as Jensen swept his tongue against Jared's, Jared
shifted closer tightening his fingers into Jensen's hips.
The moments of the kiss dragged until Misha growled in disgust. "Get a room."
They slowly pulled apart, their gaze lingering. Jensen wanted to angle up and
kiss Jared again. He thought Jared would let him too, but as he shifted, the
music from the DJ faded and Chris and Steve took the stage. The DJ shouted a
welcome for Kane and the crowd yelled back.
The moment between them broken, Jensen took Jared's hand and dragged him toward
the stage where Chris and Steve could see them.
***
Jared was looking forward to spending the day at the lake with Jensen,
especially after kissing him last night. They didn't mention it again, but it
was all Jared could think about. It was even better than he imagined and it
finally made him realize why dating girls had never truly interested him. Even
this whole thing with Sandy was more about how poorly she had treated him
rather than being hurt she'd found someone else.
Realizing he'd been quiet for the last ten minutes he lowered the volume of the
radio. "Chris and Steve were really good last night. I can't believe I've never
heard them play before. They really had the place jumpin'."
"Yeah, they really work hard, but they haven't had much of an opportunity to
play publicly. Perk is cool, but it's just a small coffeehouse. They're trying
to get some interest from a few small labels though. After graduation, they’re
gonna get serious about getting their demo out there. It's their dream."
"Cool, I think they totally have a chance."
Jared pulled his truck into a spot next to Tom's SUV and they proceeded to
unpack their gear. The sun was beating down on them and it was still early. It
was gonna be sweltering by noon. Once they had everything set up, Jensen pulled
his t-shirt over his head and dug around in his bag pulling out a bottle of
sunscreen. "Can you do my back? I burn real easy and I don't want to look like
a lobster."
His breath caught in his throat as he took the bottle from Jensen's hands.
Squeezing a glob of cool suntan lotion into his hand, he had to force the
tremor from his fingers. Jared couldn't tear his eyes from the expanse of
Jensen's back as he spread the sunscreen over freckled shoulders and kneaded it
into the sculpted muscles.
He wanted to touch Jensen everywhere—skim his finger tips over his ribs and
tease the tender flesh pulled taught over his collar bone. His cock twitched in
the light material of his bathing suit and he had to pull away before he had a
problem.
Clearing his throat, Jared shifted away. "I think you’re good."
Jensen nodded his thanks; his eyes looking slightly glazed. Jared hurried ahead
and took a running leap into the cool water. Shaking water from his hair as he
surfaced, he splashed at Jensen standing on shore laughing at his antics. "Get
in here, the water's great!"
Throughout the rest of the afternoon Jared couldn't stop stealing glances at
Jensen whenever he wasn't looking. It was obvious Jared was feeling something
for Jensen, the question was: was it because he'd just discovered guys or was
it Jensen himself?
***
Jared was still dwelling over what he was feeling for Jensen when his teacher
assigned him and Misha as lab partners. He was the last person Jared really
wanted to work with, but he tried to keep his head down and do his work. Misha
wasn't going to make it that easy though.
"You've totally ruined him. He used to care about important things and now he's
just a mindless drone like the rest of you."
His shoulders stiffened at Misha's insults. "What? Because he wouldn't go to
some meeting with you, he's a drone. What do you know about his mother? I mean,
do you know anything about him at all?"
Misha looked chastised, but only slightly. "I know she died when he was young,
but he doesn't really like to talk about her."
Jared dug in. "Yeah, that's because it's hard on a twelve-year-old to watch
your mother get sick and die before your eyes. She had cancer and it was rough
fight for her and even more so for Jensen. You think he wants to think about
medical research and sick animals? All it does is make him remember her. Maybe
you should've gotten off your high horse and asked him why he wasn't interested
in going with you to those meetings instead of dumping him without a second
thought."
He was squeezing the pipette in his fingers a little too tightly, his own guilt
over drifting away from Jensen when they were kids and he couldn't deal with
seeing Jensen so hurt and sad bubbled in his stomach.
An embarrassed blush spread across Misha's face as he took in what Jared had
said. He was quiet throughout the rest of Biology, but Jared knew he'd made his
point.
***
The whole ride to tonight's party Jared had thought about how to apologize to
Jensen. They'd once been friends and when things had gotten rough he'd just
bailed. When Jensen found a spot to park the car about a block from the party,
Jared stopped him from getting out right away. "I want to talk to you about
something."
Jensen sat back in the driver's seat. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes, no—I want to apologize."
Jensen's head tilted in question. "For what?"
His palms were sweating and he nervously wiped them on his jeans. "For the way
I acted when your mom got sick."
He could see the way Jensen's eyes dimmed at the mention of her and the way he
pulled back. Jensen tried to silence his apology, but he wouldn't let him. "Let
me say this. When your mom got sick, I was really scared. I'd never known
anyone that was sick like that before. I was afraid to go to your house; I was
afraid to be around you. And you were so sad. You started doing and saying all
these things that I didn't understand at all and it was just easier to pretend
we weren't friends—I'm sorry."
His apology hung heavy in the small space between them. For a moment Jared
thought Jensen might yell at him, tell him to fuck off, but when Jensen met his
gaze his eyes were soft. "You don't have to apologize, Jared. We were kids and
it was a bad situation. I didn't hate you for it. I was mad at the world and I
wanted my mom. Nothing you did or didn't do could have changed that."
He felt like he should force Jensen to accept his apology, but he knew he
wouldn't. He was glad he said it though, if he wanted any real chance with
Jensen he had to say it. "We're okay, then?"
"Yeah, Jared, we're fine. Let's go inside, okay?"
He nodded and they headed into the party.
***
Jensen wandered through the rooms of the house they were at. Jared had told him
whose party this was, but he'd forgotten. He waved to people and nodded when
they called out to them, but he didn't stop to talk to anyone. He was thinking
about what Jared had said to him before they came into the party tonight. He'd
pushed that time of his life so far into the back of his brain that he'd almost
forgotten that Jared had been around for a lot of it.
Both Chris and Steve knew that his mother had been sick and died, but he hadn't
made friends with them until after she'd passed. As sympathetic as they'd been,
they didn't really know what he'd gone through. And Misha—Jensen couldn't even
tell him much more than that his mother was dead—but Jared had been there, seen
how it had changed him. Maybe that's why, even after Jared had stopped hanging
out with him, he'd never really been angry with him.
It made his situation now even more difficult. Ever since Jared had kissed him
the other night, Jensen had been wanting to kiss Jared again and he didn't know
if Jared would feel that way at all. Jared wasn't gay, this whole thing after
all was one big con, maybe he just was playing the scam?
Even more confusing was Misha had been coming around the last few days, talking
to Jensen and acting like he used to.
As Jensen walked through the party thinking about Jared he picked up drink
after drink, not realizing he'd had way too much until he was leaning against a
wall, his knees like Jell-o, barely holding him up. He could hear Jared's
laughter near by and Jensen craned his neck looking for him.
"You know at first I didn't believe Jared was into you. I mean, he didn't date
many girls, but he'd never said he was queer."
Jensen turned his head slowly like he was underwater to find Chad leaning
against the wall next to him. He blinked; he was damn drunk because only half
of what Chad was making any sense.
"I thought Sandy dissing Jay for that college dude was going to take him down a
peg or two, but he came out of that smelling like rose. Even better, he started
showin' up with you—I didn't even have to maneuver that—he came up with that
all by himself. But, hell, no one even batted an eye that ol' Jared was all the
sudden playin' catcher to a dude."
Chad cocked his head toward the room Jared was in. "You think he'd be so into
you if all his friends didn't accept you? That's all Jared cares about—being
the big shot high school hero."
Jensen's brain was a second behind, but he knew that was wrong. Jared wasn't
that shallow and he cared about more than just status. He tried to argue with
Chad, but suddenly Chad was grabbing him by his shirt and pulling him toward
him.
He was wasted and off balance, his arms flailing trying to keep upright. He
wound up pressed chest to chest with Chad, his hands groping the wall on either
side of Chad's head to stay balanced, and Chad pressing a sloppy kiss to his
mouth. He tried to push away, but Chad had a decent grip on his shirt, he
struggled and then all the sudden he was being shoved back.
"Dude, I don't swing that way. Keep your hands to yourself, queer."
He was thoroughly confused until he saw Jared staring at him, hurt clear on his
face. He stumbled toward Jared wanting to try to explain, but Jared shook his
head and disappeared into the party.
He tripped and shuffled his way out of the party, fumbling in his pocket for
his phone. He called Chris to beg for a ride and then turned and promptly threw
up in the bushes.
***
Jared didn't answer his phone calls for the rest of the weekend. Jensen hadn't
even gotten a brief glimpse of him through their windows—since Jared had drawn
his blinds. He was determined to find Jared at school today though. At the very
least he felt he had to explain he'd been set up.
He arrived at school early; hoping to catch Jared as soon as he pulled into the
parking lot, but Misha found Jensen first. He saw him out of the corner of his
eye briefly before he was plastered against the side of his truck—Misha up
close and in his personal space, whispering in his ear. "Jen, I'm sorry about
everything. I was being stupid and I really miss you. I don't care about some
stupid meetings; I care about you. Do you think you could ever forgive me? Can
we be together again?"
Misha's apology was what Jensen had set out for with this scam to begin with.
It should have been what he wanted, but he really wanted to say—no, they
couldn't be together again. He wanted to say he'd moved on. He wanted to say he
was with Jared, but when he saw Jared watching from his truck, giving him a nod
of sad acknowledgment that Jensen had gotten what he'd wanted, he knew Jared
wasn't his.
Jared got out of his truck without giving Jensen a second glance; briskly
heading into school. Instead of following Jared, Jensen let Misha kiss him.
***
During homeroom, Jensen finally got his opportunity to talk to Jared. As soon
as Jared sat down in his desk, Jensen blurted out. "You know I was set up. I
would never have done that to you. I never would have kissed Chad."
"I know. Chad's a douche bag. He likes to fuck with people and likes to fuck
with me the most. It doesn't change anything, Jen. It's over, this was never
real. It was never supposed to last. Besides you got what you wanted. I saw you
with Misha this morning he was looking pretty cozy with you. Just—let it go."
He opened his mouth, but couldn't find the words. He sat back to watch the
homeroom announcements, instead watching Jared out of the corner of his eye.
***
It was the afternoon of the dance and Jared watched out his window as Jensen
ran from his house to Misha's waiting car. Jensen had tried to talk to him
again, but Jared had ignored him. He'd finally gotten his answer to his
question—he wasn't just attracted to Jensen because he'd realized he was
attracted to guys. He was attracted to Jensen for Jensen and Jared couldn't
face telling him and being rejected.
He fell back onto his bed. He was right back where he started—no date to
Centennial—but now he wasn't afraid of going by himself. He certainly wasn't
going to let Chad and his games stop him from enjoying an event he put
together.
He grabbed his tux from his closet and started to get dressed.
***
Ever since Misha had picked Jensen up earlier he'd had a sick feeling in his
stomach. Everything felt wrong; he felt like he should be somewhere else.
Stepping inside Perk, Jensen knew he had to find Jared.
He'd paused just inside the door and reached for Misha's wrist to keep him from
going in any further. "Hold up, we need to talk."
Misha turned to face him and he could tell Misha knew what he was going to say.
"You're leaving?"
He didn't want things to end like this, but this just wasn't what he wanted
anymore. He swallowed the lump in his throat. "I am. I'm sorry, but I fell for
him—Jared."
Misha nodded his eyes downcast. "I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have ever let you
go to begin with, but I can see you care about him. Go, it's okay—I'm okay."
Leaning forward, Jensen brushed a soft kiss to his cheek, grateful that he'd
made this easy.
Running from Perk, all Jensen could think of was getting to Jared.
***
Jared scanned the ball room as he walked the room. Everything seemed to be
going off without a hitch. His friends were scattered throughout the room
mingling and talking; all looking like they were having a great time. A smile
spread across Jared's face—he was proud of himself for putting this whole night
together and it didn't matter at all that he was here alone.
Yeah, he would have loved being here with Jensen, but Jared had learned a
second lesson from this whole thing. He didn't have to have be here with
someone on his arm to have a good time. He was perfectly happy wandering the
crowd on his own.
As he walked away from the buffet table, he saw Steve dressed up—at least for
Steve. He had on what looked like new jeans and a white button down shirt.
"Jared! You made it."
Smiling, he said. "Yup, I'm here. You're looking good, dude. You ready for
this?"
Steve shrugged. "Ready as I'll ever be. Man, I can't thank you enough for this.
Chris and I both—we never thought we'd get the chance."
Jared brushed it off. "It's nothing, really. You guys are good. You deserve
it."
Pink flushed over Steve's cheeks. "Yeah—I gotta get back there. But thanks
again."
It was supposed to have been a surprise for Jensen—asking Kane to play the
Ball. It sucked that Jensen wasn't here to see his friends play in front of the
whole school, faculty and alumni. It may not have been a big concert hall, but
it was a chance to play in front of a large crowd.
The Centennial presentation was about to start, and the unveiling of the senior
class gift was the culmination of all Jared’s work. Mr. Kripke, the Vice
Principal, stepped to the podium set up at the base of the tall staircase to
introduce Genevieve as Miss Time Zone. To his left he could see Sandy narrowing
her eyes as Genevieve’s name was announced and she glided down the stairs—all
eyes on her.
She stepped to the microphone and smiled. “I’m proud to unveil on behalf of the
senior class our class gift." With flourish she pressed the button on the
remote and the white tarp surrounding the sculpture billowed to the ground.
The crowd gasped, more in shock than in awe, and Jared turned to look at the
sculpture. There sitting at the top of the metal structure was Jensen.
He couldn’t help the wide smile that broke across his face. Jensen looked
amazing, the soft light illuminating the sculpture bathing Jensen in the same
soft glow—his dark suit hugging his broad shoulders and cutting tight to his
slender waist.
Grinning with a wickedly, he balanced on one of the steel beams and slid down
into the crowd.
Jared pushed his way through the crowd to where Jensen stood. Their eyes met
and Jared couldn’t believe he’d ever let himself walk away from those eyes.
Jared smiled meekly and through hooded lashed asked, “Do you want to dance?”
Jensen’s eyes lit up and then he burst out laughing. “Do I look like a girl to
you?”
He cocked his head to the side and raised his eyebrow as he let his eyes skate
over Jensen’s body from head to toe.
"Don’t answer that. Just come here and kiss me."
He grinned and let Jensen pull him in close and their lips met, velvet soft. He
slid his tongue between Jensen’s parted lips and let his eyes slip
shut—savoring the feeling of kissing Jensen again.
Jensen pulled away breaking the kiss, and Jared whined. Opening his eyes to
question why Jensen ended the kiss, their surroundings slipped back in.
“You hired Chris and Steve to play Centennial?”
Kane’s music flowed out over the crowd and Jared realized they been playing for
a few minutes already.
He grinned at Jensen’s disbelief. “They were the best for the job and they
deserved it. I think everyone here will thank me, especially since the
alternative was a Miley Cyrus cover.”
“Get over here, I need to wipe that smug grin off your face.”
Jensen tugged him closer, lacing his fingers through the hair at the back of
his head to pull him down for a kiss. Jared sucked on Jensen’s tongue then
pulled back, biting at Jensen’s lower lip and slowly releasing it with a pop.
“Would Chris and Steve mind if you missed the rest of their set?”
Glancing up to the stage, Jensen watched Chris and Steve thoroughly enjoying
playing for a large crowd. “Nah, I don’t think they’d even notice.”
***
Jensen’s bedroom door burst open as he shoved Jared through it towards his bed.
Ever since Jared had kissed him in Perk, Jensen had been dreaming of touching
Jared, stripping him down and exploring every inch of tanned skin.
He wanted to lick that perfect little mole on Jared’s collar bone and trace a
line connecting every other mole he had. Fumbling with Jared’s clothes, he
yanked Jared’s shirt and jacket off and tugged at his belt. When they were
stripped down to their boxers, Jensen manhandled Jared back onto the bed. He
crawled over him, knees skimming the sides of Jared’s thighs and his hands
pinning Jared’s wrists above his head.
Dropping light kisses down Jared’s body, never lingering in any one place, he
teased Jared. A deep whine rose from Jared’s throat and he thrust his hips up
in frustration.
“You want this yes, Jared? You’re sure?”
Jared’s eyes slid open, sharp and wanting. “Yes, God, yes, want it, want you.”
"Good, we’ll start slow, work up to the big show when you’re ready.”
He released Jared’s wrists and slid his hand under the elastic of Jared’s
boxers. The heat rising off his cock was scalding and wrapping his hand around
Jared's dick made him shudder. With his other hand, he teased the curve of
Jared’s hip. Jared moaned and hummed in pleasure as Jensen jacked his cock
harder.
Watching Jared quake and fall apart before his eyes was better than any fantasy
he’d ever entertained. He wanted to see it happen over and over again, he
wanted to suck Jared’s plump lower lip—flush with blood from where Jared had
been biting on it.
Frantically, he shoved his own boxers down and humped against Jared, spreading
the mess of Jared’s come across his stomach. It was wild and muddled, he could
hear Jared rambling, but he couldn’t make out the words. He jerked, frazzled
and fierce, and then arched to the point of breaking before spilling wet and
hot over Jared.
His breath heaved and he collapsed over Jared, his limbs shaky and weak. Jared
slid his palms over his lower back, spanning his waist with those wide hands
and long fingers.
“God, Jensen, I didn’t know—I didn’t know it could be like that.”
He twisted onto his side, winding his legs with Jared’s, ignoring the sticky
mess coating them. “It gets even better, trust me. Right now though, I just
want to kiss you.”
They tilted and their lips met and it was soft and sure and it drove Jensen
crazy.
End Notes
     A/N: Written for
     [http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif?v=100]
whenboymeetsboy. High School AU, based on the movie Drive Me Crazy.
A/N 2: Beta by [http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/
userinfo.gif?v=100]moonfairyhime. Thank you!!!! ♥
Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed
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