FIC - Pada...Padasomethin' -- PG, CWRPS, College AU
Title: Pada… Padasomethin’ (Roommates 1/?)
Author: Anne (exsequar, formerly starsouls1013)
Fandom: CWRPS
Rating: PG (this part)
Pairing/Characters: Jensen/Jared (not in this chapter, but later), Christian, Tom, Mike, Chad
Genre: AU (College!)
Word Count: 2,563
Summary: Jared is chosen to be trained as a goalie for his soccer team at UT Austin, and his mentor is none other than Jensen Ackles.
Notes: First (chronologically) installment of my College AU, which has been tentatively titled “Roommates”. Even though they’re not roommates yet. The first ficlet, which occurs several months down the line, can be found here: What Are Friends For? (NC-17) Thank you to my darling mona1347 for an awesome beta!
Most importantly, this is my humble gift to the extraordinary poisontaster, on the happy occasion of her birthday! Erin, you’re a wonderful friend and a great mentor (you’re the Jensen to my Jared! *sniff*) and I really appreciate all the support and advice you’ve given me. You’re also mindblowingly talented, and I am so grateful for your amazing contributions to the canon of Sam and Dean! I love you, darling, and I hope you have a splendiferous birthday! *hugs*
"Padalecki!"
Jared looked around at the sound of his name and saw Coach Brecker gesturing for him to come over. He bumped the soccer ball at his feet to a teammate with a lift of his chin and jogged across the field to the stocky man standing by the bench with... Ackles, Jared thought his last name was. Tall and lean, with light brown hair spiking above his forehead and an easy, off-kilter smile. Kept to himself, mostly, but seemed nice enough. They both watched as Jared approached and came to an easy halt, tossing sweat-slicked hair out of his eyes with a flick of his head. "Yeah, Coach?"
"I wanted to run an idea by you, Jared. How would you feel about training to be our new goalie?"
Jared raised his eyebrows in mild surprise, looking at the other guy, J... J something, with new understanding. He turned his eyes back to Coach, curious and feeling the first stirrings of excitement and pride. "What about J--" Jared halted and resorted to tilting his head in Ackles's direction, "our current goalie, Coach?"
Coach grinned and clapped his hand on Ackles's shoulder. "Well, Jensen here" aha! "is getting to be quite the old man. He'll be graduating this year and with Derek out I don't have anyone else trained up to take his place. Besides, I'm sure he'd like a sub every once in a while, eh Ackles?"
Jensen Ackles, identity finally complete in Jared's head, quirked his lips in a half smile at Jared. "Sure would, Coach."
Coach turned his attention back on Jared. "So how about it, Padalecki? You've got the height, and I'm sure Jensen here could train you up good."
Jared grinned at full wattage, thrilled at the prospect of being important to the team so early in his career. He tried to refrain from bouncing on his toes with anticipation; Jensen was, after all, a senior, and cool points stood to be lost. "Sign me up, Coach!"
"That's the spirit! I think you'll be an asset to us, kid. Now, Jared Padalecki, I'd like you to officially meet your new idol and master, Jensen Ackles." Coach chuckled, thumped them both on the back with his meaty hands, and jogged off to yell at the rest of the team, currently devolving into less-than-organized chaos.
Jared laughed and stuck out a hand. "Nice to meet ya." He pulled his hand back slightly, raising an eyebrow. "Or is the flesh of the Holy Jensen too sacred to touch?"
Jensen tilted his head back and laughed, a happy laugh that made Jared's grin widen in response. He snagged Jared's hand and shook it firmly. "Right back atcha, Pada..."
"Padalecki," Jared supplied, unfazed.
"Right. Padalecki. I'm sure I'll get that right. Eventually." Jensen smirked, releasing Jared's hand. "So, Jared. You ever play goalie before?"
"Nope! But I'm always up for something new!"
Jensen shook his head. "Freshmen," he murmured, but his eyes crinkled in a warm smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"C'mon Padalecki, faster! You can't be afraid or they're all gonna get past you. Just throw yourself out there!"
Thud. Jared's breath whooshed out of him as he slammed into the ground for what felt like the three hundredth time, but the ball was clutched to his chest and he grinned in exhausted triumph. He'd only been at this a couple weeks, but he felt like he was getting the hang of it. Jared hauled himself to his feet, tossing the ball back at Jensen and bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. "That all you got, Ackles?"
In answer, Jensen suddenly dropped the ball and rocketed it off his foot and directly past Jared's head, which snapped around so fast he thought he must have whiplash. Jared could practically feel Jensen's smug smirk, and he turned around, rolling his eyes. "Showoff."
Jensen shrugged, smirk giving way to 'serious mentor face'. "Just proving a point. You can't get cocky, Padalecki. Anybody can score on you at any time, so you've always gotta be ready, up on your toes."
Jared nodded, rubbed his gloved hands together, and watched Jensen's hands as they picked up another soccer ball.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jared squirted cold water over his face with relief, long bangs plastered on his forehead and thin rivulets sneaking around his neck and down his back. It felt heavenly. His limbs were loose and vaguely achy from the pounding they'd taken, but he knew the real soreness wouldn't set in until tomorrow when the bruises reared their ugly heads. He heaved a great sigh, giving his head a sharp shake that scattered water droplets in every direction.
A hand thunked down on his shoulder, accompanied by a familiar laugh. "You okay there, Padalecki? Don't tell me I went too hard on your delicate self."
"Screw you, Jensen," Jared retorted, but he couldn't stop the grin from spreading across his face as he turned to face green eyes sparkling in a sweat-slicked face. "I can take anything you dish out."
Jensen's answering grin was wide and cheerful, and he squeezed Jared's shoulder before bending down to scoop up his water bottle and bag. "That remains to be seen!"
Jared made a face and they set off across the field toward the locker rooms. They walked in companionable silence for a few minutes.
Suddenly, Jensen said, "So some friends and I are heading out to see a movie tonight. D'you wanna come?"
Jared's eyebrows flew up and he looked at Jensen, blinking in bemused surprise. "I... what?"
Jensen laughed. "Y'know, a movie? These moving, talking people up on a huge wall, only they're really really flat?" He laughed again and dodged away as Jared took a swing at his arm.
"Jerk," Jared snipped, but he was grinning despite himself. "Um, sure, sounds like fun."
"Great. I'll swing by and pick you up around 7:30. What dorm do you live in?"
"Jester."
Jensen nodded. "D'you wanna exchange cell numbers in case something comes up?"
"Oh, uh, sure." Jared fumbled in the side pocket of his sports bag, pulling out his phone and looking at Jensen expectantly.
"972-561-1861."
Jared tapped the number in and stored it under Jensen. "Here, I'll call you." There was a buzzing from the side of Jensen's bag, and Jared flipped his phone shut.
"Great," Jensen said, smiling. "I'll see you tonight then?"
"Yep! See you then."
Jensen raised his hand in a jaunty salute and split off to head for his car. Jared tried not to be too obvious about staring after him, but he was little gobsmacked. Jensen was a senior - a cool, popular senior. What the hell was he doing asking Jared to hang out with him?
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jared spent eleven excruciating minutes from 7:30 to 7:41 debating with himself whether or not to call Jensen. What if he'd forgotten? What if plans had changed? What if he had realized his invitation was the result of too many soccer balls to the head and had since regained his senses? At that thought, Jared snapped his phone shut and shoved it deep into his jeans pocket, telling himself to quit being such a girl.
But when a battered, topless old Jeep screeched up to the curb, a deep sigh of relief most certainly did not explode from Jared's lips. And then there was a smirking Jensen Ackles, somehow making his craptacular ride look like a royal carriage, and Jared shook himself and reached up to open the door. The handle gave with an alarming scraping sound, and Jared looked at Jensen with wide eyes. Jensen laughed. "Yeah, she's a piece of crap, but I promise she won't fall apart."
Jared grinned sheepishly and pulled the door open, folding himself inside with a little difficulty. Damn growth spurts. He groped for something to say. "So where're your friends?"
"Oh, they're meeting us there." Jensen abruptly pulled away from the curb with another screeching of tires, tossing a grin at Jared. "Wouldn't want to miss the previews!"
Jared just held on to the door a bit harder.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jensen's friends turned out to be quite the cast of characters. Mike was just this side of institutionalization, Jared was sure, and Tom seemed to have developed a dry stoicism to deal with and balance his roommate's extravagance. Chad was vaguely... greasy, but fun, so Jared didn't mind him. And Christian? Christian had a cowboy hat that Jared got the impression was glued to his head, and a cockiness that managed to be attractive instead of obnoxious. His wide smile and bear hug in greeting for Jensen gave him points in Jared's book, though Jared couldn't really explain why.
They accepted Jared's presence with a simple "Hey, man" (with a bonus noogie from Mike) and maybe a couple raised eyebrows (a freshman? really?) but none of them seemed to have a problem. All in all, it was a rowdy group, not exactly prone to silence, so Jared was subjected to far more "Shhhhh"s in the theater than he was used to, and he shrank down in his seat, again cursing his ridiculous height. Not exactly conducive to invisibility. Jensen had just smirked that smirk and nudged Jared's knee with his own, rolling his eyes in commiseration about Mike's loud one-sided conversations with the characters onscreen. Jared had grinned back, shrugging as if to say, "He's your friend, you deal with it!"
But finally the movie was over, and Jared breathed in the fresh air with some relief. He honestly couldn't remember what the movie had been about. There were hot girls, and guns, and explosions, and at least three car chases - pretty typical action fare. He'd been a little distracted. Though definitely not by the movie's light flickering over Jensen's freckled face - of course not. After all, who could focus on a movie with Mike and Chad tossing insults back and forth?
As they exited the theater, Chad popped up at Jared's side. "So, I hear you're Jensen's new apprentice, huh? You any good? 'Cause, y'know, Jenny here's really really good, and you got some really big shoes to fill, y'know."
Jared blinked and looked around for Jensen, but Jensen had his arm slung over Christian's shoulders, chatting easily and tilting his head back in that happy laugh of his. He turned back to Chad and raised an eyebrow. "Jenny?"
Chad cackled. "Yeah! I mean, he's totally a girl, just look at him, y'know? Except for the part where he's not. But whatever!"
Jared laughed despite himself, shaking his head. "Um. I don't know if I'm good, I've only been trying for a couple weeks. Jensen says I'm making progress though."
Chad hooked an arm around Jared's neck and ruffled his hair. "Good to hear, good to hear! Team's countin' on you, man. Ain't that right Jenny!"
Jensen turned an exasperated glare in their direction, which hardened into a scowl when he saw who Chad was hanging on. Jared got the feeling that Chad's presence wasn't exactly Jensen's choice. "For the last time, Murray, you call me that again and I'll show you who's really the girl around here." As he spoke, he detached himself from Christian's side and moved to stand next to Jared, glaring at Chad coolly.
Chad's impertinent grin faded slightly and he removed his arm from Jared's neck, backing away with his hands up. "Hey, man, sorry. Didn't realize he had your name tattooed on him."
Jensen snorted and rolled his eyes as Chad turned to poke his head in on Mike and Tom's conversation. "Sorry about that, Jared. Chad's just... Chad. I guess you'll get used to him."
Jared grinned and shrugged. "He's not so bad. He did say you were a good goalie."
Jensen just rolled his eyes again. "Well, if you can handle him, more power to you."
They had reached the sidewalk outside of the theater and Jared looked around, unsure of what to do now. Suddenly, they were accosted from behind by a large mass that Jared identified as Mike, who practically yelled in their ears, "So boys! You up for a night on the town? Find us some foxy ladies and hard liquor? You know you waaaant to." He inserted himself effectively between them, arm around each.
Jensen laughed and shook his head. "Naw, Mikey. We've got a game tomorrow, you know we can't get plastered."
Mike pouted extravagantly. "What about pleasantly tipsy? Slightly buzzed? A little sloshed?"
"Sorry, man. I'm gonna drive Jared here home and make an early night of it."
Mike heaved a heavy sigh and extricated himself. "Well, if you insist." His depression lasted all of 0.5 seconds, and then he was zooming back over to Tom's side to loudly decide on what bar to hit that night. Christian came over and thumped Jensen on the back.
"I'll see ya tomorrow, Ackles, yeah?"
Jensen nodded and squeezed Christian's shoulder. "Sure thing, man."
Christian smiled and tipped his hat at Jared. "Nice to meet ya, son."
Jared smiled back. "You too."
Christian nodded and faded into the dark of the parking lot. Jensen tilted his head toward where the Jeep was parked. "You ready to get outta here, Padalecki?"
"Sure," Jared nodded, and they set off across the expanse of asphalt. If his stomach flipped a little with pleasure that it was just him and Jensen again, well, he won't mention it if you won't.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
They pulled up in front of his dorm with a bit more aplomb this time. Jensen seemed pretty mellow, relaxed, humming softly and tapping the wheel to some internal beat. Conversation during the ride had been brief, simple things like how many siblings you got, and what major are you, and where're you from. There had been some good natured clashing over the Mavs versus the Spurs when Jensen found out Jared was from San Antonio, and it was pretty much the most fun Jared had had with anyone here at UT Austin yet.
He couldn't quite seem to wipe the smile off his face when he looked over at Jensen. "I had a good time, man, thanks for the invitation."
"Hey, no problem. Sorry for my friends being kinda jackasses." Jensen grinned without a trace of apology, suggesting that if Jared couldn't deal with Mike's particular brand of crazy, he probably shouldn't stick around.
Jared grinned wider in response. "Nah, they were fun! A little insane of course but hey. The most interesting people are."
Jensen laughed. "Too true, Padalecki, too true."
Jared grinned and pushed open his door, wincing at the loud metallic protest, hopped to the pavement and slammed the door behind him. "Seeya tomorrow at the game!"
"Yep. Make sure you get some sleep. I'm getting this odd feeling that I might get tired early and need a sub." Jared turned around in surprise; Jensen smiled broadly and added, "You've earned it, kid. Night!"
And with that, Jensen pulled away, grumbling off in a cloud of exhaust. Jared was left with a head slightly spinning from the unexpected vote of confidence, and maybe a bit from Jensen himself. The guy kept twisting in and out of his life like a tornado, and Jared wasn't quite sure what to make of him. Or of the fact that Jensen's smile seemed to do something to the strength of his knees.
TBC!
Author: Anne (exsequar, formerly starsouls1013)
Fandom: CWRPS
Rating: PG (this part)
Pairing/Characters: Jensen/Jared (not in this chapter, but later), Christian, Tom, Mike, Chad
Genre: AU (College!)
Word Count: 2,563
Summary: Jared is chosen to be trained as a goalie for his soccer team at UT Austin, and his mentor is none other than Jensen Ackles.
Notes: First (chronologically) installment of my College AU, which has been tentatively titled “Roommates”. Even though they’re not roommates yet. The first ficlet, which occurs several months down the line, can be found here: What Are Friends For? (NC-17) Thank you to my darling mona1347 for an awesome beta!
Most importantly, this is my humble gift to the extraordinary poisontaster, on the happy occasion of her birthday! Erin, you’re a wonderful friend and a great mentor (you’re the Jensen to my Jared! *sniff*) and I really appreciate all the support and advice you’ve given me. You’re also mindblowingly talented, and I am so grateful for your amazing contributions to the canon of Sam and Dean! I love you, darling, and I hope you have a splendiferous birthday! *hugs*
"Padalecki!"
Jared looked around at the sound of his name and saw Coach Brecker gesturing for him to come over. He bumped the soccer ball at his feet to a teammate with a lift of his chin and jogged across the field to the stocky man standing by the bench with... Ackles, Jared thought his last name was. Tall and lean, with light brown hair spiking above his forehead and an easy, off-kilter smile. Kept to himself, mostly, but seemed nice enough. They both watched as Jared approached and came to an easy halt, tossing sweat-slicked hair out of his eyes with a flick of his head. "Yeah, Coach?"
"I wanted to run an idea by you, Jared. How would you feel about training to be our new goalie?"
Jared raised his eyebrows in mild surprise, looking at the other guy, J... J something, with new understanding. He turned his eyes back to Coach, curious and feeling the first stirrings of excitement and pride. "What about J--" Jared halted and resorted to tilting his head in Ackles's direction, "our current goalie, Coach?"
Coach grinned and clapped his hand on Ackles's shoulder. "Well, Jensen here" aha! "is getting to be quite the old man. He'll be graduating this year and with Derek out I don't have anyone else trained up to take his place. Besides, I'm sure he'd like a sub every once in a while, eh Ackles?"
Jensen Ackles, identity finally complete in Jared's head, quirked his lips in a half smile at Jared. "Sure would, Coach."
Coach turned his attention back on Jared. "So how about it, Padalecki? You've got the height, and I'm sure Jensen here could train you up good."
Jared grinned at full wattage, thrilled at the prospect of being important to the team so early in his career. He tried to refrain from bouncing on his toes with anticipation; Jensen was, after all, a senior, and cool points stood to be lost. "Sign me up, Coach!"
"That's the spirit! I think you'll be an asset to us, kid. Now, Jared Padalecki, I'd like you to officially meet your new idol and master, Jensen Ackles." Coach chuckled, thumped them both on the back with his meaty hands, and jogged off to yell at the rest of the team, currently devolving into less-than-organized chaos.
Jared laughed and stuck out a hand. "Nice to meet ya." He pulled his hand back slightly, raising an eyebrow. "Or is the flesh of the Holy Jensen too sacred to touch?"
Jensen tilted his head back and laughed, a happy laugh that made Jared's grin widen in response. He snagged Jared's hand and shook it firmly. "Right back atcha, Pada..."
"Padalecki," Jared supplied, unfazed.
"Right. Padalecki. I'm sure I'll get that right. Eventually." Jensen smirked, releasing Jared's hand. "So, Jared. You ever play goalie before?"
"Nope! But I'm always up for something new!"
Jensen shook his head. "Freshmen," he murmured, but his eyes crinkled in a warm smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"C'mon Padalecki, faster! You can't be afraid or they're all gonna get past you. Just throw yourself out there!"
Thud. Jared's breath whooshed out of him as he slammed into the ground for what felt like the three hundredth time, but the ball was clutched to his chest and he grinned in exhausted triumph. He'd only been at this a couple weeks, but he felt like he was getting the hang of it. Jared hauled himself to his feet, tossing the ball back at Jensen and bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. "That all you got, Ackles?"
In answer, Jensen suddenly dropped the ball and rocketed it off his foot and directly past Jared's head, which snapped around so fast he thought he must have whiplash. Jared could practically feel Jensen's smug smirk, and he turned around, rolling his eyes. "Showoff."
Jensen shrugged, smirk giving way to 'serious mentor face'. "Just proving a point. You can't get cocky, Padalecki. Anybody can score on you at any time, so you've always gotta be ready, up on your toes."
Jared nodded, rubbed his gloved hands together, and watched Jensen's hands as they picked up another soccer ball.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jared squirted cold water over his face with relief, long bangs plastered on his forehead and thin rivulets sneaking around his neck and down his back. It felt heavenly. His limbs were loose and vaguely achy from the pounding they'd taken, but he knew the real soreness wouldn't set in until tomorrow when the bruises reared their ugly heads. He heaved a great sigh, giving his head a sharp shake that scattered water droplets in every direction.
A hand thunked down on his shoulder, accompanied by a familiar laugh. "You okay there, Padalecki? Don't tell me I went too hard on your delicate self."
"Screw you, Jensen," Jared retorted, but he couldn't stop the grin from spreading across his face as he turned to face green eyes sparkling in a sweat-slicked face. "I can take anything you dish out."
Jensen's answering grin was wide and cheerful, and he squeezed Jared's shoulder before bending down to scoop up his water bottle and bag. "That remains to be seen!"
Jared made a face and they set off across the field toward the locker rooms. They walked in companionable silence for a few minutes.
Suddenly, Jensen said, "So some friends and I are heading out to see a movie tonight. D'you wanna come?"
Jared's eyebrows flew up and he looked at Jensen, blinking in bemused surprise. "I... what?"
Jensen laughed. "Y'know, a movie? These moving, talking people up on a huge wall, only they're really really flat?" He laughed again and dodged away as Jared took a swing at his arm.
"Jerk," Jared snipped, but he was grinning despite himself. "Um, sure, sounds like fun."
"Great. I'll swing by and pick you up around 7:30. What dorm do you live in?"
"Jester."
Jensen nodded. "D'you wanna exchange cell numbers in case something comes up?"
"Oh, uh, sure." Jared fumbled in the side pocket of his sports bag, pulling out his phone and looking at Jensen expectantly.
"972-561-1861."
Jared tapped the number in and stored it under Jensen. "Here, I'll call you." There was a buzzing from the side of Jensen's bag, and Jared flipped his phone shut.
"Great," Jensen said, smiling. "I'll see you tonight then?"
"Yep! See you then."
Jensen raised his hand in a jaunty salute and split off to head for his car. Jared tried not to be too obvious about staring after him, but he was little gobsmacked. Jensen was a senior - a cool, popular senior. What the hell was he doing asking Jared to hang out with him?
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jared spent eleven excruciating minutes from 7:30 to 7:41 debating with himself whether or not to call Jensen. What if he'd forgotten? What if plans had changed? What if he had realized his invitation was the result of too many soccer balls to the head and had since regained his senses? At that thought, Jared snapped his phone shut and shoved it deep into his jeans pocket, telling himself to quit being such a girl.
But when a battered, topless old Jeep screeched up to the curb, a deep sigh of relief most certainly did not explode from Jared's lips. And then there was a smirking Jensen Ackles, somehow making his craptacular ride look like a royal carriage, and Jared shook himself and reached up to open the door. The handle gave with an alarming scraping sound, and Jared looked at Jensen with wide eyes. Jensen laughed. "Yeah, she's a piece of crap, but I promise she won't fall apart."
Jared grinned sheepishly and pulled the door open, folding himself inside with a little difficulty. Damn growth spurts. He groped for something to say. "So where're your friends?"
"Oh, they're meeting us there." Jensen abruptly pulled away from the curb with another screeching of tires, tossing a grin at Jared. "Wouldn't want to miss the previews!"
Jared just held on to the door a bit harder.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jensen's friends turned out to be quite the cast of characters. Mike was just this side of institutionalization, Jared was sure, and Tom seemed to have developed a dry stoicism to deal with and balance his roommate's extravagance. Chad was vaguely... greasy, but fun, so Jared didn't mind him. And Christian? Christian had a cowboy hat that Jared got the impression was glued to his head, and a cockiness that managed to be attractive instead of obnoxious. His wide smile and bear hug in greeting for Jensen gave him points in Jared's book, though Jared couldn't really explain why.
They accepted Jared's presence with a simple "Hey, man" (with a bonus noogie from Mike) and maybe a couple raised eyebrows (a freshman? really?) but none of them seemed to have a problem. All in all, it was a rowdy group, not exactly prone to silence, so Jared was subjected to far more "Shhhhh"s in the theater than he was used to, and he shrank down in his seat, again cursing his ridiculous height. Not exactly conducive to invisibility. Jensen had just smirked that smirk and nudged Jared's knee with his own, rolling his eyes in commiseration about Mike's loud one-sided conversations with the characters onscreen. Jared had grinned back, shrugging as if to say, "He's your friend, you deal with it!"
But finally the movie was over, and Jared breathed in the fresh air with some relief. He honestly couldn't remember what the movie had been about. There were hot girls, and guns, and explosions, and at least three car chases - pretty typical action fare. He'd been a little distracted. Though definitely not by the movie's light flickering over Jensen's freckled face - of course not. After all, who could focus on a movie with Mike and Chad tossing insults back and forth?
As they exited the theater, Chad popped up at Jared's side. "So, I hear you're Jensen's new apprentice, huh? You any good? 'Cause, y'know, Jenny here's really really good, and you got some really big shoes to fill, y'know."
Jared blinked and looked around for Jensen, but Jensen had his arm slung over Christian's shoulders, chatting easily and tilting his head back in that happy laugh of his. He turned back to Chad and raised an eyebrow. "Jenny?"
Chad cackled. "Yeah! I mean, he's totally a girl, just look at him, y'know? Except for the part where he's not. But whatever!"
Jared laughed despite himself, shaking his head. "Um. I don't know if I'm good, I've only been trying for a couple weeks. Jensen says I'm making progress though."
Chad hooked an arm around Jared's neck and ruffled his hair. "Good to hear, good to hear! Team's countin' on you, man. Ain't that right Jenny!"
Jensen turned an exasperated glare in their direction, which hardened into a scowl when he saw who Chad was hanging on. Jared got the feeling that Chad's presence wasn't exactly Jensen's choice. "For the last time, Murray, you call me that again and I'll show you who's really the girl around here." As he spoke, he detached himself from Christian's side and moved to stand next to Jared, glaring at Chad coolly.
Chad's impertinent grin faded slightly and he removed his arm from Jared's neck, backing away with his hands up. "Hey, man, sorry. Didn't realize he had your name tattooed on him."
Jensen snorted and rolled his eyes as Chad turned to poke his head in on Mike and Tom's conversation. "Sorry about that, Jared. Chad's just... Chad. I guess you'll get used to him."
Jared grinned and shrugged. "He's not so bad. He did say you were a good goalie."
Jensen just rolled his eyes again. "Well, if you can handle him, more power to you."
They had reached the sidewalk outside of the theater and Jared looked around, unsure of what to do now. Suddenly, they were accosted from behind by a large mass that Jared identified as Mike, who practically yelled in their ears, "So boys! You up for a night on the town? Find us some foxy ladies and hard liquor? You know you waaaant to." He inserted himself effectively between them, arm around each.
Jensen laughed and shook his head. "Naw, Mikey. We've got a game tomorrow, you know we can't get plastered."
Mike pouted extravagantly. "What about pleasantly tipsy? Slightly buzzed? A little sloshed?"
"Sorry, man. I'm gonna drive Jared here home and make an early night of it."
Mike heaved a heavy sigh and extricated himself. "Well, if you insist." His depression lasted all of 0.5 seconds, and then he was zooming back over to Tom's side to loudly decide on what bar to hit that night. Christian came over and thumped Jensen on the back.
"I'll see ya tomorrow, Ackles, yeah?"
Jensen nodded and squeezed Christian's shoulder. "Sure thing, man."
Christian smiled and tipped his hat at Jared. "Nice to meet ya, son."
Jared smiled back. "You too."
Christian nodded and faded into the dark of the parking lot. Jensen tilted his head toward where the Jeep was parked. "You ready to get outta here, Padalecki?"
"Sure," Jared nodded, and they set off across the expanse of asphalt. If his stomach flipped a little with pleasure that it was just him and Jensen again, well, he won't mention it if you won't.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
They pulled up in front of his dorm with a bit more aplomb this time. Jensen seemed pretty mellow, relaxed, humming softly and tapping the wheel to some internal beat. Conversation during the ride had been brief, simple things like how many siblings you got, and what major are you, and where're you from. There had been some good natured clashing over the Mavs versus the Spurs when Jensen found out Jared was from San Antonio, and it was pretty much the most fun Jared had had with anyone here at UT Austin yet.
He couldn't quite seem to wipe the smile off his face when he looked over at Jensen. "I had a good time, man, thanks for the invitation."
"Hey, no problem. Sorry for my friends being kinda jackasses." Jensen grinned without a trace of apology, suggesting that if Jared couldn't deal with Mike's particular brand of crazy, he probably shouldn't stick around.
Jared grinned wider in response. "Nah, they were fun! A little insane of course but hey. The most interesting people are."
Jensen laughed. "Too true, Padalecki, too true."
Jared grinned and pushed open his door, wincing at the loud metallic protest, hopped to the pavement and slammed the door behind him. "Seeya tomorrow at the game!"
"Yep. Make sure you get some sleep. I'm getting this odd feeling that I might get tired early and need a sub." Jared turned around in surprise; Jensen smiled broadly and added, "You've earned it, kid. Night!"
And with that, Jensen pulled away, grumbling off in a cloud of exhaust. Jared was left with a head slightly spinning from the unexpected vote of confidence, and maybe a bit from Jensen himself. The guy kept twisting in and out of his life like a tornado, and Jared wasn't quite sure what to make of him. Or of the fact that Jensen's smile seemed to do something to the strength of his knees.
TBC!