It Had To Be You 1a
You can close your eyes to things you don't want to see, but you can't close your heart to the things you don't want to feel.
--Unknown.
The week Jared's world ended for the second time it was a sunny, breezy afternoon. He never saw it coming, couldn't have even with a crystal ball in his hand, and it all started with one phone call. It's a day Jared wishes he could forget, a time in his life he wishes never happened because everything had been going so good for once, everything was fitting into place. Jared had just been accepted to Texas Tropes University, the same college as Jensen, his boyfriend This was his year, their year, a time for partying, studying, creating a life together. Jared was opening up more, wasn’t as shy in large crowds and it was an improvement he was proud of.
And then the phone call came.
“Dude,”
“Chad, I just dropped you off at your house, seriously. Did you forget your cap in the car again? Because man you can just pick it up tomorrow-“
“Shut up dude. This is important.” It’s the tone in Chad’s voice that stops him. His best friend is very rarely serious, it takes deaths in the family to make that tone appear in his voice. Jared’s heart stutters a beat.
“Okay, hey sorry. What happened?”
“You’ve been dumped.” The world tilts sideways.
“What are you talking about Chad? Did you try to do an aerial again? I thought we agreed never to try that cause of the Great Skateboard Accident of ’09.”
“No dude seriously, did you check your boyfriend’s Facebook status?” The air in Jared’s car thickens, suddenly he can’t even see the road in front of him. Everything’s such a blur.
“You’re insane Chad, I’m meeting Jensen in ten minutes. What the fuck are you going on about.” It’s not a question because Jared doesn’t want to know. All he wants is to meet Jensen at Starbucks and forget Chad even called him.
Dude it says… you know what, no. I gave you fair warning bro, when shit goes down I’ll be here.” The line beeps and goes dead. It feels like a death sentence.
When Jared pulls it together enough to tell himself that Chad is a stupid motherfucker who doesn’t know what he’s talking about, he’s pulling up next to Jensen’s Toyota. He sits in the car staring out, something inside of him is telling him to turn the car back on and go home. It takes five minutes of looking through the windows at Jensen before Jared even gathers enough guts to pull the keys out of the ignition and climb out. The walk inside feels like walking to his own execution, each step feels heavier, each breath harsher. Jared doesn’t want to do this.
But it's too late now. He's standing in front of Jensen, in front of his boyfriend, and for a moment he forgets to breathe, forgets there was a crisis going on in the first place. When Jensen looks up at him their eyes connect and it’s like freshman year all over again. It's those bright eyes, it's that happy grin, it's the small crinkles forming at the corners of Jensen's eyes because he's smiling so big. Jared lets out the breath he was holding with relief, a calm spreading through his bones as Jensen whispers a "hey" and leans in to kiss him.
Chad was just being an idiot, he probably got Jensen and Jason mixed up or something because this is Jensen, and he wouldn’t break up with Jared. No way.
"Hey Jen, how'd the exam go? Swear to god McMillon is trying to kill as many of us as he can before grad." As they thrum into familiar territory, the conversation easy and slow, Jared feels his hands unclench and his grin become just that much brighter.
"I got you an Ice Mocha a while before you walked in actually." Jensen motions towards the plastic container in front of him, his own coffee releasing curls of steam in constant harmony.
"I still don't understand how you can even drink that stuff, it tastes like crap." Jensen wrinkles his nose and purses his lips. He's adorable. Jared is the luckiest guy in the world.
"Don't knock it until you try it asshole, and that one time when you were six does not count!" Jared says, holding up his hand and pointing accusingly at his boyfriend, grinning when Jensen pouts.
Jared can't resist leaning in, biting at that plump lower lip. It turns heated quickly and forces a surprised gasp out of Jared. Jensen hates PDA on a good day and he had kind of expected to be pushed slowly away with a scolding mock glare. What Jared didn't expect was for Jensen to grab him by the back of his head and clash their teeth together. It was rough, frantic and just this side of painful, Jared moaned into it and tried to keep up. It seemed to last forever and Jared savored every swipe of Jensen's tongue, every clink of teeth and every touch of Jensen's fingers on him. Eventually though, Jensen pulled away and Jared remembered they were at Starbucks, holy crap! Jared would be damned if he wasn't as red as a tomato, thank god today was a slow day and there was nobody here but them.
He tried to pull his head back, to inch just a bit away, but Jensen kept his hold on him and wouldn't let go. When Jared opened his eyes he saw dark rings of green filled with... something. There was something in Jensen's eyes that he had never seen before, something that set his stomach in a sickening knot. Jensen rubbed his thumb across Jared's cheekbone, looking at him like Jared was going to disappear for good.
"What's wrong Jensen?" Jared doesn't know why he was whispering, why he feels like he should look away and keep his eyes locked at the same time.
"I... Jared we need to talk." No.
"I just, I think we should end this. It just isn't working out..." No. No.
"...just friends... understand?" No, Jared doesn't understand. What the fuck.
"No, fuck you Jensen. You have the goddamn nerve to change your Facebook status to 'single' before you break up with me? What kind of person does that, huh? Answer me." The look on Jensen's face is lost on Jared at this point. His eyes are darting around him, taking in the few people that came in during his little 'talk' and fuck if Jared gives a shit.
"Jared, calm down I--" Jensen flinched. Obviously he knew that was a bad thing to say-- Whoop de fucking doo.
"No, I think I have the right to freak out right now Jensen! You know what, Chad was right. Fuck you, you asshole. I don't want to see you again, you got that?" Jared grabs his iced coffee, looks at it for a split second before he throws it at Jensen’s face. It's a pretty satisfying sight to be honest, Jensen jumping back two seconds too late as the ice smacks him in the eye and the coffee stains his new shirt. Asshole.
Jared turns on his heel and storms out, ignoring Jensen calling his name and yanking open his car door. He jams the keys into the ignition and yanks the car on, tires squealing as he turns around and heads out of the parking lot.
He doesn't look back, pretends that that isn't his name being called, isn't his phone ringing. It isn't Jensen who broke his heart, it couldn't be.
In all actuality Jared has no clue where he was going, just kept on driving. His cheeks tickled with tears, his heart thrummed in his chest so loud that not even the busy traffic could penetrate the boom boom boom his heart was beating. Nothing made sense, the world didn't make sense and all Jared wanted was for it to end. He wants to go back in time and fix whatever he did wrong, wants to do something anything to change the black hole his life is spiraling down. He just wants to know why, what the fuck and how. His hands are clenching the steering wheel low and his body is curling into an awkward ball when a knock on his window jerks him out of the stupor.
He's parked in front of Chad's house and Chad is standing outside his car, the look on his face reminding Jared why he was here in the first place. His body is still shaking though, the tears still crawling down his face and limb functions are lost on him. Chad stares at him a few more seconds, his brow low and eyes misty when he pulls open the door and manhandles Jared out of the seat belt.
"Broke up with- I didn't even- didn't know where else to go I just can't believe- you were right Chad, so so right..." Jared isn't sure what he's saying, repeating meaningless words over and over again because his brain can't work the same right now.
"Yeah Jay okay, come on let's head on inside alright? Gotta help me buddy ‘cause you’re a freaking Sasquatch." Later, neither Jared nor Chad will ever understand how they got him to cooperate but in ten minutes Jared finds himself curled up on Chad's couch while he talks in low tones to his mom. She nods at Chad after a minute, her eyes worried as she gives Jared a sympathetic smile. Jared wants his mom, wants her to hold his head in her lap and let him cry; two things that Jared loves more than anything and he can't have either one of them.
"She's gonna call your dad, you’re staying here.”Jared isn't sure if he nods or not but when his eyes close they don't open for a long time. It's the best thing that's happened to him all day.
Four months later
"Dude, that line goes on for fucking ever. Tell me Sasquatch, can you see the information booth at all?" Chad is standing up on his tip toes trying to squint over a guy at least a head taller than him, that right there is a priceless moment.
"Why would I do that when watching you hop in public is way more entertaining?" Jared asks, squinting around the people anyway and trying to find the trusty table full of papers Jared doesn't want to read.
"Is it just me or do you think this 'information booth' is some sort of sick freshman hazing ritual? We've been standing in line since 12 and it's, like, 12:30 now."
After a few minutes of slow shuffling Jared starts to believe that Chad might just be right, this could be some sick pre-semester entertainment, when the blond in the jumpsuit hops out of the way and right in front of some hot guy in a tight Cowboys shirt, is the information booth. Thank god.
"It's right up ahead Chad, cool your shit." Chad does this weird dance hop thing and apparently manages to see the front of the line because he turns back towards Jared and gives him this look.
"What?" Jared shifts, uncomfortable and trying to ignore Chad because that look is never a good thing for him.
"Nothing man." And after that it's silence, not uncomfortable but not settled either. Jared ignores Chad for his phone, txting Sophia because she's the only person who won't give him looks like Chad does.
"Jay, hurry the fuck up the lines moving." Apparently Jared had been so zoned out that he did not notice they were next in line next. Fun.
"Name." The girl behind the table looked exhausted and pissed. Jared decided that he wouldn't want to piss her off and wake up in the middle of the forest or something. You can never tell, it's always the small ones that turn out to be evil.
"Jared Padalecki." She gives him a look. Jared knows the protocol.
"P-A-D-A-L-E-C-K-I."
"Okay, you're in Crux Hall fourth floor room 4C. You're RA is Sandy McCoy, you can find her on the first floor, room 1B. You're ID, refined class schedule and information packet is in that manila folder. Here's your key, your roommate signed in twenty minutes before you so he's up there already." That stops Jared in his tracks.
"Wait, no see this guy next to me, the squinty one? He's supposed to be my roommate, we sent in the form on time and everything." He doesn't even care that she's glaring at him right now because Jared and Chad planned their college years out and fuck if Jared's going to let that go.
"I can't find anything in your paperwork that mentions you turning in the form. Look kid, I have to go through a hundred more of you freshies. If you have a problem go see your RA." And just like that she motions for the next person in line. He's barely at college for an hour and already it's off to a bad start.
"What do you mean you didn't send in the form Chad? I filled out the form and gave it to you in the freaking envelope!"
"I don't know Jay! You were so fucked up over... you know, that I guess I forgot to send the stupid envelope in the middle of your crisis! Fuck, sue a guy for trying to be a good best friend." Jared kind of feels like an ass, Chad's right he wasn't exactly in a good place back then. Dammit, Jared hates it when Chad's right.
"Alright okay? I fold, you win. I'll just go talk to the RA and see what I can do, but for now let's just set up in our dorms." Jared hefts his bag up on his shoulder and scans the parking lot for Sophia, she should have called him five minutes ago--- his phone rings. Speak of the devil.
"I swear Soph you are psychic and one of these days you'll believe me." He can hear her eyes roll and expects the amused snort before they happen. This argument is old, familiar and easy enough that Jared can recite it word for word. He spots Sophia leaning against her car across the parking lot, her phone tucked between her ear and shoulder as she digs through her purse.
"Oh dear God woman you can eat later! I promise, I will take you out to eat at McDonald's or something but right now is college-time. You remember that? It's kind of the reason why you're here in the first place." She looks up, squints in his direction for a few seconds before their eyes catch and she grins.
"I'm going to hold you to that promise college boy. Run you out of your paycheck before the semester even starts."
He sticks his tongue out at her and she laughs, hanging up as they pop open the trunk.
"Where’s Danni? Wasn't she supposed to meet us here with the other load around now?"
"She got distracted at Juice It Up awhile ago and I haven't heard back from her. I suspect she's having a fruitgasm as we speak."
"Oh ho! Do I sense jealousy Missy?" Jared laughs when she flips him off and grabs another suitcase out of the trunk. This is the only part of college Jared wasn't looking forward to.
"You know what? Here I was, going to help you move your crap in. Forget it, I'm going to go find Danneel and have sex with her in my car in peace."
"UGH images Soph!! Come on, that's just gross. Anyways, Chad here forgot to send in the residency request form so I have to go talk to our RA and see if we can switch roommates or something. Chad, d'you have all your bags? Good." Jared slams the trunk closed and adjusts the load he's carrying. Sophia takes one look at Chad while he tries to juggle six bags, a box, and his suitcase and goes to help him, rolling her eyes in the process.
"You are completely useless Chad, lucky you have me to help you."
"I'm going to head on over to my room and drop off these bags. Don't go screwing anything else up alright!"
"Fuck you Jay!"
The journey to his dorm took a lifetime. Seriously. The stupid little map they gave him told him nothing but that the Food Hall was in the middle of campus and that Beavers Rule! why the fuck they're talking about beavers when their mascot is nowhere near them is beyond him. It took half an hour, five different people, and six wrong turns before he found the front doors to Crux Hall. Getting all his crap inside is a different story Jared never wants to think about again, but when he does it's all smooth sailing from there. He catches the elevator just in time and only has to go through the hall twice before he finds his room.
The door is slightly ajar and Jared loves his roommate already for making this easy for him. If Jared had to fish through his pockets for his keys, there would have been bloodshed. Jared nudged the door open with his hip and plopped his bags on the bed, at least he got the good one, speaking of which. Jared claps his hands together and glances over at the other side, might as well get to know a little about his roommate while he's here.
The first thing he notices is the big Star Wars poster above the headboard and Jared's heart thumps uncomfortably. The last time he saw that poster was... a long time ago. He looks over the other stuff, eyes roaming over collectible action figures and more signed posters, a book case filled with things like Lord of The Rings and Harry Potter. Jared's heart is practically in his throat trying to suffocate him, beat so harsh in his ears and his blood racing that he doesn't notice anybody else until someone clears their throat and Jared turns his attention to the desk.
"No. No fucking way." Jared shakes his head, backing up towards the door as Jensen pushes out of the chair, his face twisted into an expression Jared doesn't want to think about, his hands reaching out towards him.
"Jared, wait just listen to me." The door couldn't have slammed harder if Jared were the fucking Hulk. This cannot be happening, in no universe is he hated this much, just, no way.
It doesn't take long to run down the stairs really, he's jumping down half a flight anyways so it’s not much of a surprise that it only takes him five minutes tops to make it to 1B. Jared isn't sure if it's the run that has his heart constricting and his chest aching but he sure as hell is telling himself that. No reason to get worked up for something that can be fixed so easily. He pounds his fist on the door frantically anyway, hoping desperately that the RA is there. When she finally does open the door though, Jared almost smacks her in the face.
"Whoa! Slow down there cowboy what's got you in a hurry?" She's wearing a tag on her shirt Hello, my name is Sandy! and thank the heavens she's here. His RA, Sandy, is a small little thing with long black, sleek looking hair. If Jared were straight and not in the middle of a crisis he would take time to appreciate the fact that she's wearing a low cut top. Very low cut.
"I just, okay so Chad was stupid and didn’t turn in the form, and Jensen is up there, and I mean-- my ex-boyfriend ya know? And it was bad and the flying coffee and cherry slushies and Chad and prom and Star Wars and fuck he's so pretty but there was slamming doors and--"
"Whoa, whoa! Hey, take a deep breath there you." Sandy reaches up and covers his mouth with her small hand, a frazzled look on her face as Jared huffs in breathe after breathe. His lungs are burning with lack of oxygen and Jared is trying to calm down from his impeding panic attack but Jensen is his roommate!
"If I remove my hand from your mouth will you promise to stop babbling? I thought you were having a heart attack or something." She waits until Jared nods, slow and deliberate, before she spares him a smile and moves away.
"Okay, now tell me what's going on. You freshies, always the first day with the crisis’s." She shakes her head fondly and looks up at him with rapt attention. Jared feels like a specimen under a microscope, and it takes him awhile to speak again.
"I really need to switch roommates. You have no idea how disastrous this is! My friend Chad forgot to send in the stupid residency request form and it turns out I got roomed with my ex-boyfriend, which by the way it did not end pretty. Please, please tell me you can do something." He fixes her with his best puppy dog look, eyes wide and pleading, full of hope. He can see her eyes soften and her smile become more sympathetic. Jared hates sympathy but if that's what it takes to get her to switch his room then Jared has no problem pulling that card.
"Look, I really want to help you..."
"Jared."
"Jared, I really do but I just can't. The dorms are all completely full and there’s already plenty of complaints filed. The most I can do for you right now is put you on the waiting list, and you might not even see any improvement until next semester at the earliest. You're just going to have to deal with it anyway you can because you don't have any choice. I'm sorry." She really is sincere which gets to Jared because he would hate to loath someone so nice. His life is fucked, Jensen fucked up his senior year and came back to fuck up college for him too. Damn, he'd completely forgotten that him and Jensen had applied for the same University. Jared wishes he could take it all back, if he had known what the douche would do to him...
"Jared? Is there anything else you needed? Because I have a meeting with the girl half of the dorm in five minutes." She sounds guilty enough that Jared would hate to impose on her any more than he is, but there is one thing.
"Could you give me the room number for a Chad Michael Murray?"
"So, let me see if I understand what's going on. Because I forgot to send in the request form you ended up getting roomed with your douche of an ex-boyfriend who broke up with you long before he let you in on it and we can't get a dorm change because they're all full and there's already a waiting list not even three hours into the first day. You left your crap back at your dorm and you came all the way here because you want somewhere to crash until classes start so you can grab your stuff and find somewhere else to stay." Jared nods, his fingers fidgeting together against his thigh as Chad just looks at him.
"Dude,"
"I know."
"You are so fucked."
"I know." He really just wants to curl up in a ball and hide in the corner. Jared thinks he must have been a serial killer in a past life, that's the only logical reason he can find for why he's going through so much crap today.
"Wow, so old four eyes had the nerve to try and talk to you huh?"
"See, when you say it like that I can't tell if you're being serious or not. Kidding!" Jared says when Chad gives him his exasperated bitch face.
"Look man, I have no problem letting you stay here or anything but you do know that eventually you're going to have to go back to your place right? You can't stay here forever."
"Yeah, I know. Doesn't hurt to try though right?"
"No Jay, doesn't hurt to try." Chad squeezes his shoulder as he gets up and Jared falls back on the bed. He stares up at the ceiling as the door opens and a guy, who Jared assumes is Chad's roommate, steps in. For a second the guy just stares at him with a confused look on his face, the door left open and forgotten.
"Chad?" he asks, kicking his bag to his side of the room and juggling his keys.
"Nope, I’m Jared. Chad's reluctant friend who's being held hostage against his will."
"Oh, sure. I was going to say you got taller from the last time I saw you." The guy closes the door and throws himself down on his bed.
"Yeah, I get that a lot." Jared says, rolling over and burying his face in the clean pillow.
"I'm Aldis by the way." He hears from his right, and Jared shifts just enough to free an arm.
"Hi Aldis, don't worry about Chad. As long as he takes his meds he's good." he waves his hand in what he hopes is in Aldis' direction.
"Oh fuck you asshole." Chad says, and Jared peeks open an eye.
"Oh, were you still here? I didn't notice you there my vertically challenged friend."
"Ha ha bastard, very funny. Really, I'm laughing so hard right now."
"You know you love me." Jared says, flopping on his back again. He wonders if things will be okay or if shit is going to hit the fan.
"Soph said she'd stop by in a few days to drop off the rest of your crap. She says that it's bugging her and she's just this close to throwing it out over a bridge."
"That isn't overly dramatic at all. I swear it's been four hours that she's had my stuff and already she's contemplating object murder."
"Now who's being overly dramatic? "
"Shut up Chad. Remind me again why I put up with you?"
"You know, this might be a crazy question but, what are you doing here Jared?" Jared looks over, remembering that Chad has a roommate. Oops.
"He got roomed with his asshole ex- boyfriend, so he's going to crash here a few days." Chad says, rooting under his bed for something as he speaks.
"I hope it isn't a problem or anything Aldis, if you really do mind then I could just go somewhere else."
"Nah it's cool, just making small talk over here. I'm going to take a nap now because I flew in from California and I'm going to start hallucinating dancing pumpkins soon if I don't get some sleep." Aldis rolls over and within seconds he's snoring lightly and curled up in a ball, the strong muscles in his back flexing as he breathes deeply.
"Oh no, I don't think so." Jared looks down at Chad, startled a bit out of his revere.
"'Oh no' what?" he asks, catching the small bag Chad throws at him.
"I've seen that look before Jared and I know what it means. My roommate is completely off limits asshole, I don’t need to deal with roommate related awkwardness my first week of college."
"Pop a pill dude. I'm not going to try and sleep with your roommate. his gay-virginity is safe from me." Jared looks down at the bag in his hands, tired enough that he can barely recognize it.
"What's this?" he asks as he pulls open the zipper.
"It's one of your bags, I took it up with my stuff by accident." Chad lays back down on the ground and sighs. Jared knows exactly how he feels.
Four and a half hours into college life and already the drama runs pretty high. Jared'll be damned if he lets his life turn into an episode of Degrassi though.
"You do know that you're sleeping on the floor right? No fucking way do I like you enough to give you the bed." Jared groans and throws a pillow over the side of the bed. Chad throws it back and Jared laughs. for the first time that day, he feels like maybe things are starting to look up.
Jared spends the next three days at Chad's dorm. It's pretty uneventful to say in the least. They sleep in until noon and watch cartoon network while Aldis is out buying Chinese food at the take out place down the street. Jared does his best to ignore the Jensen situation and calls his dad to let him know that he's settled in.
Jared's dad hasn't been doing too good lately, he's been down for a couple weeks with the flu or else he would have been out with Jared and helping him unpack and being a total mother hen. Sometimes Jared wonders if he's trying to be as involved as his mom would have been if she were still alive, or if maybe he realized that kids don't stay kids forever. Either way though, Jared promises to head out next weekend after classes and go fishing with him down by the lake near their house.
"Yo Jay, do you want orange chicken or teriyaki?" Jared looks away from the TV and up at Aldis.
"Uhhh, orange chicken I guess. Hey, where did Chad go?" Regular Show switches to commercials and Jared lowers the volume.
"I'm not sure he said he had to go pick something up." Aldis flops down on his bed and slides a hand under his head, staring up at the TV.
Jared stands up and stretches, yawning as his spine pops and his shirt ricks up. He catches Aldis' eyes and smiles a little as he sits down on the floor Indian style.
"Thought you were going to get the Chinese?" Jared says, looking up through his bangs at his friend's roommate and watching him swallow thickly. Flirting never killed anyone really, and it's not like he doesn't know Aldis is off limits or anything.
"I can stay for awhile longer." he says, leaning a little closer to Jared as the show ends and a rerun of Scooby-Doo comes on.
"Huh." Jared makes a noise in his throat and shifts just a bit, his shoulder bumping Aldis' hand that's dangling off his bed. Jared glances up to see Aldis watching him and if Jared sort of muzzles his hand just a bit, Chad doesn't need to know.
Of course that's when the door opens though and Chad sidles in, churro in hand. He stops dead in the doorway, taking in the scene before he goes in and grabs Jared's wrist, tugging him up off the floor and leading him outside. the door shuts behind them and Jared sighs.
"You are such a fucking man whore. Pun intended. I thought we agreed that my roommate was off limits Jay!"
"I know that, I was there when we had that talk too ya know. Anyways I wasn't trying to sleep with him or anything, and hey I am not a man whore! Just because I get laid more often than you do doesn't mean--"
"Nah man, I couldn't care less if that was all it was. You're just... you're not the same. What happened to the shy 'love is the best thing on earth' dork I used to know? Because I haven't seen him; ever since Jensen-"
"Shut the fuck up, Chad. Don't you even dare bring him up right now." Jared doesn't even recognize his own voice right now, it's deep and booming in a way he's never heard it before.
"See! That's what I mean Jared, you're so bitter over this break up that you can't even hear the guy's name without throwing a bitch fit! Look Jared, I love you and all but this needs to stop. You need to get your act together and be an adult for once. You can't avoid him forever, not like this." He doesn't wait for Jared to respond just turns on his heels and yanks open the door. The door slams shut behind him and Jared can't help but flinch, he stands there in the hallway alone and pissed, guilty. He's not worried though, Chad throws hissy fits all the time but nothing ever lasts longer than a day or two.
Jared stares at the door for a second, wondering what to do next. Sophia won't be coming back for a few days and he has no clothes and nowhere to sleep. After awhile he starts to wander, walking down stair ways and blocks before he makes it to the part of the quad right outside his dorm. Jared finds the perfect spot underneath a large tree where he spends the better part of an hour staring up through the branches. He spots clouds floating in different shapes, birds landing between branches and bright blue blending in with everything else.
He's trying to decide between calling Sophia or braving a trip back to his dorm when the door opens and Jensen steps outside, squiring against the glare of the sun. Jared watches in morbid fascination as he hitches his bag higher up on his shoulder and walks toward the library. It feels like forever since Jared last saw him, and he may be 'bitter' but sometimes he wishes he could keep the past in the past and move forward. Jensen got a bit taller, wider in the shoulders, prettier. Jared shakes his head and looks away just as Jensen turns a corner and out of sight.
Five minutes later, after firmly denying any positive thoughts toward Jensen, an idea pops into his head. Jensen just left for the library and if Jared learned anything about Jensen, it's that he can get holed up in there for hours. It's perfect, probably his only opportunity.
"You can't avoid him forever, not like this."
Then Jared just has to make the best out of a crappy situation. Jared can do this he's not going to let Jensen win.
He's putting the finishing touches on his idea when the door opens, and Jared glances back a quick second before cutting the last piece of duck tape and smoothing it against the carpet. It's perfect really, his idea, and Jared has to say he's kind of proud of himself.
"What's this?" Jared had been too shocked before to notice how deep Jensen's voice has gotten, rougher around the edges that had always been silky smooth. He tells himself that it means nothing to him, but at this point not even Jared himself can believe his bullshit.
"Glad you asked." Jared replies, stepping back towards his bed as Jensen throws his bag onto his. Jared watches it bounce a few times before he dares look up at Jensen, his heart is pounding before they even make eye contact. It makes Jared feel pathetic all over again.
It's a shock really, if he was honest about it, he didn't take the time to notice anything about him three days ago and now that he has the chance it's like a punch to the gut, literally. Jensen got new glasses, his hair is cut shorter and spikes up like he woke up perfect. It's unfair really, that Jensen is not only smart and nerdy but hot as all hell and popular. It's a combination that has never worked before as far as Jared knows and seems unlikely now even as the evidence fidgets right in front of him. That's when Jared realizes that he's been staring, dammit. He clears his throat gets his head back in the game, motioning towards the line of tape dividing the room.
"If I'm going to be staying here for a semester I'm laying down the ground rules. See this line? You do not cross the line. That is your side and this is mine, under no circumstances will you cross over to my side of the room and touch my things because I will suffocate you in your sleep. I won't be going to your side either so don't get your panties in a bunch, alright? And just because I came back doesn't mean I want to share feelings or anything, I don't make small talk and in all honesty I don't care what you have to say. I won't talk to you unless I have to, let's get that straight. Now I'm going to bed, have fun." If Jensen is shocked by any of this he doesn't say so, just nods and turns toward his desk, going through the papers already scattered everywhere.
If Jared was honest with himself, he would almost say that it looked like Jensen was hurt. Of course it's utter bullshit but Jared has never seen Jensen's face completely blank like that, almost like an empty canvas. It kind of scares him really, because he's known Jensen from childhood and there really isn't anything about him that Jared doesn't know. He ignores the feeling of guilt and dread that starts to climb into his throat though, he really doesn't care. Jensen treated him like shit after years of friendship, years of a relationship, and if the bastard was hurt then he deserved it.
Jared climbs into bed and burrows under the covers. He's trying to ignore it but it just keeps creeping back in, keeping Jared from sleeping. He spends ten minutes tossing and turning, the silence itching under his skin and driving him insane until he hears the tell tale scritch scratch of Jensen drawing. Jared almost forgot that Jensen loved to draw, among the other things he forced himself to forget, he forgot that Jensen would draw him pictures daily. Pictures of him, pictures of them together, of places Jensen wanted to go see and of places they could go to together. It hits him deep in his chest, brings back memories he'd rather keep forgotten, but it doesn't stop him from peeking his eyes open an inch.
He watches Jensen draw, watches the frown of concentration on his face as he glides the pencil over his notepad. It's graceful really, the way Jensen draws, its an art, a magical process just to watch him. He's leaning against his headboard, body angled a bit towards Jared, and he's hunched over his notepad tracing lines and angles softly. It's hypnotic, beautiful in a way Jared forgot it could be, and he falls asleep to it, to Jensen.
When Jared wakes up the next morning Jensen is gone. His bed is perfectly made, his book bag gone from where he'd hung it up on his desk chair and Jared can only assume that he's off being his usual nerdy self. Jared feels something that is totally not disappointment, swell up in his chest and he busies himself with getting ready to drown it out. He laces his shoes and sits back against the wall, staring across the room at Jensen's side. It reminds him of Jensen's room back home.
The posters seem to be in similar places, hung up pristinley and without wrinkles or tears. His books are ordered alphabetically and then from Jensen's preference and favorites. It's a system Jared learned way back in the day, he even remembers the day Jensen explained it to him, pointing out favorites and quoting from movies and books Jared hadn't seen yet. It was something Jared used to be able to do every day, listen to Jensen go on and on about movies he loved, books he obsessed over, and most importantly his drawing. Jared used to spend hours going through notebook after notebook would watch Jensen as he sketched with skillful hands, built a world out of nothing and made it beautiful.
Jared gets up and leaves, not looking back as the door clicks shut.
When he makes it down to the common room Jared realizes that he has no idea where he's going, no idea what he's even doing. It makes him pause mid-step on the stairs, looking down towards the lobby and left to the common room. No one's down there so it's quiet everywhere around him, it occurs to Jared that everyone is probably still asleep. He never even checked what time it was.
"It's 10:30." Jared jumps, hand flying towards the rail as he spots Sandy perched on one of the large plush sofas.
"Did I say that out loud? I do that sometimes, people always give me weird looks about it but it can't be that weird, I mean people talk to themselves all the time they just don't admit. In all honesty people judge way too fast, it pisses me off sometimes. You probably don't remember me and are wondering why I'm talking to you huh?"
"Actually, I do remember you. Your name is Jared and you got roomed with your ex-boyfriend because your friend was stupid and didn't send in the residency request form. There was also talk about slushies and iced coffee but I think I'm afraid to know what that was about. I also see that you babble quite a lot, but its okay, it's kind of cute."
"I tend to do that when I get frazzled, what are you doing up so early anyway? Doesn't most everyone take advantage of the 'no school for a week' thing and sleep in until 2?" Sandy motions for him to join her so he does, hopping the final pair of stairs and makes his way into the common room. He plops down next to her and takes a quick look around. There's a TV right in front of the three couches down here, a small fridge underneath a large white counter where several appliances like coffee makers and toasters stand by themselves. Jared notices that most of the things on the counter have names scribbled on their sides.
"Like I said, it's cute. How’re things on the Jensen front going anyway?" Jared looks at her and she amends.
"After you left I looked through the room listing and found out his name. Sorry, I'm nosy by nature." Her nose scrunches up as she smiles and Jared has the urge to pinch her cheeks.
"It's okay, and I don't really know. He really treated me like crap at the end there..." Jared tells her everything from the Facebook incident to Chad comforting him with cherry slushies. He even tells her about how he started sleeping around, tells her about how amazing Jensen used to be to him. The look on his face as he drew and the smile he'd get when he talked about his nerdy things, the way they would lay under the stars and just watch them, not really saying anything as they basked in the comfortable silence achieved from being someones friend for so long. She nods at parts, gasps at all the right places and looks at him with an analyzing expression written on her face. Jared really doesn't know why he's telling a complete stranger everything about himself but he trusts her for some reason. He doesn't try and analyze it because at this point he figures it's not worth it.
"You know what it seems like to me, and feel free to tell me to shut up since I've only talked to you twice including now, but it seems like there's so much unfinished business between you two. There are things you need to talk out with him, unresolved feelings and thoughts, and it seems like he wants to talk to you and work things out. You really can't avoid him forever, especially since your roommates, and I know it hurts but at this point I'd say suck it up and talk to him. It's the only way the wounds you have will start to heal." She's nervous, fidgeting but standing her ground and Jared likes her, really he does and that's the only thing that keeps him from telling her that she's right, it is none of her business. But he really likes her, even hopes that they'll become friends, so he just nods. She gives him an unconvinced look but Jared excuses himself by saying he has to meet his friend because she's dropping off his stuff.
"Okay, but Jared will you at least think about what I said? You're just going to make this harder for the both of you if you repress like this, at this point it looks like the both of you are too stubborn to do anything about it."
"Sure Sandy, and thanks. I'll talk to you later okay?" He doesn't wait for her reply, he needs to get out of there because suddenly he can't breathe and the world seems to be spinning. When he pushes his way outside and into the Texas heat he takes a deep breathe and tries to fill his lungs. It's so bright outside that at first he has to squint against the sun, blinking his eyes rapidly until they adjust to the change. He's making his way towards the cafeteria when his pocket starts buzzing, and when Jared pulls out his phone Danneel's number is flashing on the screen and her picture bright and stark in the middle.
"Yes Danni, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" He veers off course and finds a vending machine instead, popping in a few quarters as he punches in the selected code.
"Oh college boy, college boy, college boy. Your amazing auntie's are dropping off your crap for you." Jared bends down and sticks his hand in the uncomfortable slot trying to fish out his bag of Cheetos.
"I still don't know why you call yourself my aunt when you're only three years older than me. It's kind of disturbing, is this a kink of yours? Because I don't want to be involved in some sort of sex thing between you and Sophie."
"Shut up child or I'll ground your ass. I'm telling Sophia you called her Sophie too, you know she hates it when you do that." She threatens and Jared can't help but chuckle.
"Yeah yeah, whatever floats your boat princess. Where are you guys anyway, I though you were coming tomorrow?"
"We were but Sophia got pissed about all your stuff int he back of her pretty car and we decided today is better. So hurry up and meet us, we're in the parking lot."
"Bossy much?" Jared says, making his way over to the parking lot in question. He spots Sophia's car parked crookedly in the visitor's space and Danneel is waving at him, and that's when Jared notices that she's sitting in his car.
"You brought my car!" In all honesty, Jared's car is a piece of crap that he hates most of the time, but she gets him to and from and that's all he can really ask for at this point.
"So I did, Sophia was getting tired of it taking space in our garage."
"Why do I get the feeling that Sophia doesn't like me?" Jared is smiling and when Danneel hops out of his car he picks her up and twirls her, laughing as she squeals and yells at him to put her down. Sophia emerges from her own car and cheers along with Jared as Danneel cusses a blue streak. When he finally puts her down she glares at him and fixes her hair.
"Are you going to take your crap or what?" She huffs, crossing her arms across her chest as Sophia smiles fondly at her.
"Well Jay, looks like you went and made yourself an enemy."
"She started it!" He exclaims, ruffling both their heads as he jogs passed them and pops open the trunk.
"You little bastard!"
"Calm down children, Mommy doesn't want to deal with you two today." Sophia leans against the hood of her car and tosses the keys at Jared when he makes his way back around, arms full of boxes, they land perfectly on the top box and Jared shakes his head.
"Really, is this some sort of kink thing? I'm starting to think it really is."
“Shut up and go put your crap away. I really am tired of seeing it all in my poor pretty car.”
“You have a mini-van, in what way is that a ‘pretty car’?” Something soft hits him in the back of his head and covers his eyes. He sets down the boxes to pull it off his face and finds out it’s a t-shirt, a TTU shirt.
“What’s this?” He asks, turning back towards the girls. Danneel smirks.
“What, we can’t give our favorite nephew a little welcome-to-college gift? So much for appreciation.” Jared rolls his eyes and picks the boxes back up, bracing himself for the long walk back to his dorm.
"Jared."
"I know."
"Oh honey,"
"Yes, I know Sophia."
"You are so screwed!"
"You know, me and Chad had this exact same conversation last week. Is there something you’re not telling me?" Jared twists over onto his stomach and stares up at his friend. She's been there for as long as Jared can remember, her parents have been friends of the family since before Jared's older brother was born. She's helped him through his countless a crisis, through geometry tests and papers he was too lazy to write. Sophia had always told him she would help him no matter what, would always be there for him, so he's not sure why this time feels different
"Oh really now? Looks like old squinty has some sense after all." She runs her fingers through his hair and he closes his eyes.
"We are talking about the same Chad right? Chad Michael Murray, the idiot who used to try and play red rover with our puppies?"
"Don't be a jealous bitch, Jay. Just because you could never get as far as I could." Sophia's hand pauses and he can hear the both of them try and stifle giggles.
"He was standing there the whole time wasn't he?" Jared peeks open his eyes an inch and lifts up onto his elbows, looking up at Chad as he swings Jared's bag around.
"You left your crap at my place." Chad throws it at his face and Jared catches it just in time.
"Your concern is flattering, thanks." Jared tosses the bag towards the trunk of the oak tree and settles back on Sophia's lap. Chad plops down next to him and Danneel tries to catch a grape in her mouth.
All in all Jared would have to say that things were taking a turn for the better. Now all he had to do was survive the next 282 days. College is such a joy.
Jared's first day of classes were interesting to say in the least. The T.A for his Advanced Composition and Critical Thinking class was more than likely stoned out of his fucking mind. He acted like it at any rate, and judging by his name, totally had hippie parents to boot. Jared doesn't remember what it was right now but it was something like Miso. Actually, okay so that's a soup but it started with a 'M'.
His professor, Professor Lauklen, was twenty minutes late on the dot. What Jared learned is that as long as he pays attention and turns his shit in within a reasonable time, he'll pass. It's a nice class in all honesty, Jared loves her dry humor and the passion she obviously has for her class. The thing about English classes and Jared though, is that he really hates them. He doesn't like all the rules writing has and hates essays almost as much as he hates math. Which is ironic because he's been in the Honors program since high school, life was just cruel wasn't it?
Which brings him to the problem right now; Jared had such a relatively good time in his last class that when it was time for his Photography class he had high expectations. He'd grabbed a cup of coffee, a blueberry muffin, and finished them both on the way to the Arts Building. One thing Jared learned about Texas Tropes was that they stuffed all the arts related courses into one big building. The drama department had a whole section to themselves as well as the musical performance classes. Computer graphics, photography, and advanced drawing classes all shared two floors together so needless to say it was pretty crowded when Jared finally found his floor. Another thing that he learned, is that Tropes Uni has a pretty good Performing Art/Arts program, so lots of students will fly in from everywhere just for it. They also have a good nursing program but Jared's not planning on becoming a nurse anytime soon so that one doesn't really apply to him.
There were two things that Jared notices when he steps into B213. One, was that compared to some of the other classes he'd passed, this one was the only he'd seen that had a reasonable amount of students, so he had some sort of choice seat wise. The second was sitting in the first row and he's not sure why he was so shocked, at this point he shouldn't be surprised that life was still in the process of bitch slapping him. Still though, the only thing he focused on was the fact that Jensen had gotten hotter in the past two days and that was just fucking stupid. Jared needs to get over whatever residual crap he was going through, this was just getting ridiculous.
Jared has to walk in front Jensen's seat, the bastard is sitting right front and center and of course it's only natural that the only way to get to any seat is passed Jensen. He shouldn't, but Jared feels his skin crawling with tension as he throws his cup away and makes his way around him. For a minute Jared wonders whether this class is worth the trouble he has to go through, the torture he's going to undoubtedly endure, but then he realizes how stupid he sounds. Jensen does that to him and it’s starting to piss him off.
When he plops down in his seat it feels like he's run a marathon. His heart is pounding in his chest and his blood feels like it's simmering. When he spots Jensen a few rows ahead, Jared doesn't know what to call the feeling that bubbles in his chest. Apparently, going by the fact that Jensen's head has been down the entire time and the fact that he has a book in his hands, Jared's going to take a while guess and say he was too busy reading to notice Jared even walk in. Wow, nice.
"Alright everyone listen up! My T.A, Van, is going to be passing out the course requirements. I suggest you go over them carefully because this isn't high school and I'm not going to baby you. You read this on your own and are responsible for meeting every one of the criteria if you want to pass. I suggest you shut up now while I take roll, or I might just not see you in your seat there. Notes are already up on the board, go crazy." Jared likes this class already. He takes the paper handed to him and holy crap this guy is hot. Not the Professor, the T.A -just to clarify, because Professor Morgan equally awes and scares the shit out of him- and maybe enduring 200 days of Jensen related torture might not be that bad after all.
Jared loves college.
On to the next part.
--Unknown.
The week Jared's world ended for the second time it was a sunny, breezy afternoon. He never saw it coming, couldn't have even with a crystal ball in his hand, and it all started with one phone call. It's a day Jared wishes he could forget, a time in his life he wishes never happened because everything had been going so good for once, everything was fitting into place. Jared had just been accepted to Texas Tropes University, the same college as Jensen, his boyfriend This was his year, their year, a time for partying, studying, creating a life together. Jared was opening up more, wasn’t as shy in large crowds and it was an improvement he was proud of.
And then the phone call came.
“Dude,”
“Chad, I just dropped you off at your house, seriously. Did you forget your cap in the car again? Because man you can just pick it up tomorrow-“
“Shut up dude. This is important.” It’s the tone in Chad’s voice that stops him. His best friend is very rarely serious, it takes deaths in the family to make that tone appear in his voice. Jared’s heart stutters a beat.
“Okay, hey sorry. What happened?”
“You’ve been dumped.” The world tilts sideways.
“What are you talking about Chad? Did you try to do an aerial again? I thought we agreed never to try that cause of the Great Skateboard Accident of ’09.”
“No dude seriously, did you check your boyfriend’s Facebook status?” The air in Jared’s car thickens, suddenly he can’t even see the road in front of him. Everything’s such a blur.
“You’re insane Chad, I’m meeting Jensen in ten minutes. What the fuck are you going on about.” It’s not a question because Jared doesn’t want to know. All he wants is to meet Jensen at Starbucks and forget Chad even called him.
Dude it says… you know what, no. I gave you fair warning bro, when shit goes down I’ll be here.” The line beeps and goes dead. It feels like a death sentence.
When Jared pulls it together enough to tell himself that Chad is a stupid motherfucker who doesn’t know what he’s talking about, he’s pulling up next to Jensen’s Toyota. He sits in the car staring out, something inside of him is telling him to turn the car back on and go home. It takes five minutes of looking through the windows at Jensen before Jared even gathers enough guts to pull the keys out of the ignition and climb out. The walk inside feels like walking to his own execution, each step feels heavier, each breath harsher. Jared doesn’t want to do this.
But it's too late now. He's standing in front of Jensen, in front of his boyfriend, and for a moment he forgets to breathe, forgets there was a crisis going on in the first place. When Jensen looks up at him their eyes connect and it’s like freshman year all over again. It's those bright eyes, it's that happy grin, it's the small crinkles forming at the corners of Jensen's eyes because he's smiling so big. Jared lets out the breath he was holding with relief, a calm spreading through his bones as Jensen whispers a "hey" and leans in to kiss him.
Chad was just being an idiot, he probably got Jensen and Jason mixed up or something because this is Jensen, and he wouldn’t break up with Jared. No way.
"Hey Jen, how'd the exam go? Swear to god McMillon is trying to kill as many of us as he can before grad." As they thrum into familiar territory, the conversation easy and slow, Jared feels his hands unclench and his grin become just that much brighter.
"I got you an Ice Mocha a while before you walked in actually." Jensen motions towards the plastic container in front of him, his own coffee releasing curls of steam in constant harmony.
"I still don't understand how you can even drink that stuff, it tastes like crap." Jensen wrinkles his nose and purses his lips. He's adorable. Jared is the luckiest guy in the world.
"Don't knock it until you try it asshole, and that one time when you were six does not count!" Jared says, holding up his hand and pointing accusingly at his boyfriend, grinning when Jensen pouts.
Jared can't resist leaning in, biting at that plump lower lip. It turns heated quickly and forces a surprised gasp out of Jared. Jensen hates PDA on a good day and he had kind of expected to be pushed slowly away with a scolding mock glare. What Jared didn't expect was for Jensen to grab him by the back of his head and clash their teeth together. It was rough, frantic and just this side of painful, Jared moaned into it and tried to keep up. It seemed to last forever and Jared savored every swipe of Jensen's tongue, every clink of teeth and every touch of Jensen's fingers on him. Eventually though, Jensen pulled away and Jared remembered they were at Starbucks, holy crap! Jared would be damned if he wasn't as red as a tomato, thank god today was a slow day and there was nobody here but them.
He tried to pull his head back, to inch just a bit away, but Jensen kept his hold on him and wouldn't let go. When Jared opened his eyes he saw dark rings of green filled with... something. There was something in Jensen's eyes that he had never seen before, something that set his stomach in a sickening knot. Jensen rubbed his thumb across Jared's cheekbone, looking at him like Jared was going to disappear for good.
"What's wrong Jensen?" Jared doesn't know why he was whispering, why he feels like he should look away and keep his eyes locked at the same time.
"I... Jared we need to talk." No.
"I just, I think we should end this. It just isn't working out..." No. No.
"...just friends... understand?" No, Jared doesn't understand. What the fuck.
"No, fuck you Jensen. You have the goddamn nerve to change your Facebook status to 'single' before you break up with me? What kind of person does that, huh? Answer me." The look on Jensen's face is lost on Jared at this point. His eyes are darting around him, taking in the few people that came in during his little 'talk' and fuck if Jared gives a shit.
"Jared, calm down I--" Jensen flinched. Obviously he knew that was a bad thing to say-- Whoop de fucking doo.
"No, I think I have the right to freak out right now Jensen! You know what, Chad was right. Fuck you, you asshole. I don't want to see you again, you got that?" Jared grabs his iced coffee, looks at it for a split second before he throws it at Jensen’s face. It's a pretty satisfying sight to be honest, Jensen jumping back two seconds too late as the ice smacks him in the eye and the coffee stains his new shirt. Asshole.
Jared turns on his heel and storms out, ignoring Jensen calling his name and yanking open his car door. He jams the keys into the ignition and yanks the car on, tires squealing as he turns around and heads out of the parking lot.
He doesn't look back, pretends that that isn't his name being called, isn't his phone ringing. It isn't Jensen who broke his heart, it couldn't be.
In all actuality Jared has no clue where he was going, just kept on driving. His cheeks tickled with tears, his heart thrummed in his chest so loud that not even the busy traffic could penetrate the boom boom boom his heart was beating. Nothing made sense, the world didn't make sense and all Jared wanted was for it to end. He wants to go back in time and fix whatever he did wrong, wants to do something anything to change the black hole his life is spiraling down. He just wants to know why, what the fuck and how. His hands are clenching the steering wheel low and his body is curling into an awkward ball when a knock on his window jerks him out of the stupor.
He's parked in front of Chad's house and Chad is standing outside his car, the look on his face reminding Jared why he was here in the first place. His body is still shaking though, the tears still crawling down his face and limb functions are lost on him. Chad stares at him a few more seconds, his brow low and eyes misty when he pulls open the door and manhandles Jared out of the seat belt.
"Broke up with- I didn't even- didn't know where else to go I just can't believe- you were right Chad, so so right..." Jared isn't sure what he's saying, repeating meaningless words over and over again because his brain can't work the same right now.
"Yeah Jay okay, come on let's head on inside alright? Gotta help me buddy ‘cause you’re a freaking Sasquatch." Later, neither Jared nor Chad will ever understand how they got him to cooperate but in ten minutes Jared finds himself curled up on Chad's couch while he talks in low tones to his mom. She nods at Chad after a minute, her eyes worried as she gives Jared a sympathetic smile. Jared wants his mom, wants her to hold his head in her lap and let him cry; two things that Jared loves more than anything and he can't have either one of them.
"She's gonna call your dad, you’re staying here.”Jared isn't sure if he nods or not but when his eyes close they don't open for a long time. It's the best thing that's happened to him all day.
Four months later
"Dude, that line goes on for fucking ever. Tell me Sasquatch, can you see the information booth at all?" Chad is standing up on his tip toes trying to squint over a guy at least a head taller than him, that right there is a priceless moment.
"Why would I do that when watching you hop in public is way more entertaining?" Jared asks, squinting around the people anyway and trying to find the trusty table full of papers Jared doesn't want to read.
"Is it just me or do you think this 'information booth' is some sort of sick freshman hazing ritual? We've been standing in line since 12 and it's, like, 12:30 now."
After a few minutes of slow shuffling Jared starts to believe that Chad might just be right, this could be some sick pre-semester entertainment, when the blond in the jumpsuit hops out of the way and right in front of some hot guy in a tight Cowboys shirt, is the information booth. Thank god.
"It's right up ahead Chad, cool your shit." Chad does this weird dance hop thing and apparently manages to see the front of the line because he turns back towards Jared and gives him this look.
"What?" Jared shifts, uncomfortable and trying to ignore Chad because that look is never a good thing for him.
"Nothing man." And after that it's silence, not uncomfortable but not settled either. Jared ignores Chad for his phone, txting Sophia because she's the only person who won't give him looks like Chad does.
"Jay, hurry the fuck up the lines moving." Apparently Jared had been so zoned out that he did not notice they were next in line next. Fun.
"Name." The girl behind the table looked exhausted and pissed. Jared decided that he wouldn't want to piss her off and wake up in the middle of the forest or something. You can never tell, it's always the small ones that turn out to be evil.
"Jared Padalecki." She gives him a look. Jared knows the protocol.
"P-A-D-A-L-E-C-K-I."
"Okay, you're in Crux Hall fourth floor room 4C. You're RA is Sandy McCoy, you can find her on the first floor, room 1B. You're ID, refined class schedule and information packet is in that manila folder. Here's your key, your roommate signed in twenty minutes before you so he's up there already." That stops Jared in his tracks.
"Wait, no see this guy next to me, the squinty one? He's supposed to be my roommate, we sent in the form on time and everything." He doesn't even care that she's glaring at him right now because Jared and Chad planned their college years out and fuck if Jared's going to let that go.
"I can't find anything in your paperwork that mentions you turning in the form. Look kid, I have to go through a hundred more of you freshies. If you have a problem go see your RA." And just like that she motions for the next person in line. He's barely at college for an hour and already it's off to a bad start.
"What do you mean you didn't send in the form Chad? I filled out the form and gave it to you in the freaking envelope!"
"I don't know Jay! You were so fucked up over... you know, that I guess I forgot to send the stupid envelope in the middle of your crisis! Fuck, sue a guy for trying to be a good best friend." Jared kind of feels like an ass, Chad's right he wasn't exactly in a good place back then. Dammit, Jared hates it when Chad's right.
"Alright okay? I fold, you win. I'll just go talk to the RA and see what I can do, but for now let's just set up in our dorms." Jared hefts his bag up on his shoulder and scans the parking lot for Sophia, she should have called him five minutes ago--- his phone rings. Speak of the devil.
"I swear Soph you are psychic and one of these days you'll believe me." He can hear her eyes roll and expects the amused snort before they happen. This argument is old, familiar and easy enough that Jared can recite it word for word. He spots Sophia leaning against her car across the parking lot, her phone tucked between her ear and shoulder as she digs through her purse.
"Oh dear God woman you can eat later! I promise, I will take you out to eat at McDonald's or something but right now is college-time. You remember that? It's kind of the reason why you're here in the first place." She looks up, squints in his direction for a few seconds before their eyes catch and she grins.
"I'm going to hold you to that promise college boy. Run you out of your paycheck before the semester even starts."
He sticks his tongue out at her and she laughs, hanging up as they pop open the trunk.
"Where’s Danni? Wasn't she supposed to meet us here with the other load around now?"
"She got distracted at Juice It Up awhile ago and I haven't heard back from her. I suspect she's having a fruitgasm as we speak."
"Oh ho! Do I sense jealousy Missy?" Jared laughs when she flips him off and grabs another suitcase out of the trunk. This is the only part of college Jared wasn't looking forward to.
"You know what? Here I was, going to help you move your crap in. Forget it, I'm going to go find Danneel and have sex with her in my car in peace."
"UGH images Soph!! Come on, that's just gross. Anyways, Chad here forgot to send in the residency request form so I have to go talk to our RA and see if we can switch roommates or something. Chad, d'you have all your bags? Good." Jared slams the trunk closed and adjusts the load he's carrying. Sophia takes one look at Chad while he tries to juggle six bags, a box, and his suitcase and goes to help him, rolling her eyes in the process.
"You are completely useless Chad, lucky you have me to help you."
"I'm going to head on over to my room and drop off these bags. Don't go screwing anything else up alright!"
"Fuck you Jay!"
The journey to his dorm took a lifetime. Seriously. The stupid little map they gave him told him nothing but that the Food Hall was in the middle of campus and that Beavers Rule! why the fuck they're talking about beavers when their mascot is nowhere near them is beyond him. It took half an hour, five different people, and six wrong turns before he found the front doors to Crux Hall. Getting all his crap inside is a different story Jared never wants to think about again, but when he does it's all smooth sailing from there. He catches the elevator just in time and only has to go through the hall twice before he finds his room.
The door is slightly ajar and Jared loves his roommate already for making this easy for him. If Jared had to fish through his pockets for his keys, there would have been bloodshed. Jared nudged the door open with his hip and plopped his bags on the bed, at least he got the good one, speaking of which. Jared claps his hands together and glances over at the other side, might as well get to know a little about his roommate while he's here.
The first thing he notices is the big Star Wars poster above the headboard and Jared's heart thumps uncomfortably. The last time he saw that poster was... a long time ago. He looks over the other stuff, eyes roaming over collectible action figures and more signed posters, a book case filled with things like Lord of The Rings and Harry Potter. Jared's heart is practically in his throat trying to suffocate him, beat so harsh in his ears and his blood racing that he doesn't notice anybody else until someone clears their throat and Jared turns his attention to the desk.
"No. No fucking way." Jared shakes his head, backing up towards the door as Jensen pushes out of the chair, his face twisted into an expression Jared doesn't want to think about, his hands reaching out towards him.
"Jared, wait just listen to me." The door couldn't have slammed harder if Jared were the fucking Hulk. This cannot be happening, in no universe is he hated this much, just, no way.
It doesn't take long to run down the stairs really, he's jumping down half a flight anyways so it’s not much of a surprise that it only takes him five minutes tops to make it to 1B. Jared isn't sure if it's the run that has his heart constricting and his chest aching but he sure as hell is telling himself that. No reason to get worked up for something that can be fixed so easily. He pounds his fist on the door frantically anyway, hoping desperately that the RA is there. When she finally does open the door though, Jared almost smacks her in the face.
"Whoa! Slow down there cowboy what's got you in a hurry?" She's wearing a tag on her shirt Hello, my name is Sandy! and thank the heavens she's here. His RA, Sandy, is a small little thing with long black, sleek looking hair. If Jared were straight and not in the middle of a crisis he would take time to appreciate the fact that she's wearing a low cut top. Very low cut.
"I just, okay so Chad was stupid and didn’t turn in the form, and Jensen is up there, and I mean-- my ex-boyfriend ya know? And it was bad and the flying coffee and cherry slushies and Chad and prom and Star Wars and fuck he's so pretty but there was slamming doors and--"
"Whoa, whoa! Hey, take a deep breath there you." Sandy reaches up and covers his mouth with her small hand, a frazzled look on her face as Jared huffs in breathe after breathe. His lungs are burning with lack of oxygen and Jared is trying to calm down from his impeding panic attack but Jensen is his roommate!
"If I remove my hand from your mouth will you promise to stop babbling? I thought you were having a heart attack or something." She waits until Jared nods, slow and deliberate, before she spares him a smile and moves away.
"Okay, now tell me what's going on. You freshies, always the first day with the crisis’s." She shakes her head fondly and looks up at him with rapt attention. Jared feels like a specimen under a microscope, and it takes him awhile to speak again.
"I really need to switch roommates. You have no idea how disastrous this is! My friend Chad forgot to send in the stupid residency request form and it turns out I got roomed with my ex-boyfriend, which by the way it did not end pretty. Please, please tell me you can do something." He fixes her with his best puppy dog look, eyes wide and pleading, full of hope. He can see her eyes soften and her smile become more sympathetic. Jared hates sympathy but if that's what it takes to get her to switch his room then Jared has no problem pulling that card.
"Look, I really want to help you..."
"Jared."
"Jared, I really do but I just can't. The dorms are all completely full and there’s already plenty of complaints filed. The most I can do for you right now is put you on the waiting list, and you might not even see any improvement until next semester at the earliest. You're just going to have to deal with it anyway you can because you don't have any choice. I'm sorry." She really is sincere which gets to Jared because he would hate to loath someone so nice. His life is fucked, Jensen fucked up his senior year and came back to fuck up college for him too. Damn, he'd completely forgotten that him and Jensen had applied for the same University. Jared wishes he could take it all back, if he had known what the douche would do to him...
"Jared? Is there anything else you needed? Because I have a meeting with the girl half of the dorm in five minutes." She sounds guilty enough that Jared would hate to impose on her any more than he is, but there is one thing.
"Could you give me the room number for a Chad Michael Murray?"
"So, let me see if I understand what's going on. Because I forgot to send in the request form you ended up getting roomed with your douche of an ex-boyfriend who broke up with you long before he let you in on it and we can't get a dorm change because they're all full and there's already a waiting list not even three hours into the first day. You left your crap back at your dorm and you came all the way here because you want somewhere to crash until classes start so you can grab your stuff and find somewhere else to stay." Jared nods, his fingers fidgeting together against his thigh as Chad just looks at him.
"Dude,"
"I know."
"You are so fucked."
"I know." He really just wants to curl up in a ball and hide in the corner. Jared thinks he must have been a serial killer in a past life, that's the only logical reason he can find for why he's going through so much crap today.
"Wow, so old four eyes had the nerve to try and talk to you huh?"
"See, when you say it like that I can't tell if you're being serious or not. Kidding!" Jared says when Chad gives him his exasperated bitch face.
"Look man, I have no problem letting you stay here or anything but you do know that eventually you're going to have to go back to your place right? You can't stay here forever."
"Yeah, I know. Doesn't hurt to try though right?"
"No Jay, doesn't hurt to try." Chad squeezes his shoulder as he gets up and Jared falls back on the bed. He stares up at the ceiling as the door opens and a guy, who Jared assumes is Chad's roommate, steps in. For a second the guy just stares at him with a confused look on his face, the door left open and forgotten.
"Chad?" he asks, kicking his bag to his side of the room and juggling his keys.
"Nope, I’m Jared. Chad's reluctant friend who's being held hostage against his will."
"Oh, sure. I was going to say you got taller from the last time I saw you." The guy closes the door and throws himself down on his bed.
"Yeah, I get that a lot." Jared says, rolling over and burying his face in the clean pillow.
"I'm Aldis by the way." He hears from his right, and Jared shifts just enough to free an arm.
"Hi Aldis, don't worry about Chad. As long as he takes his meds he's good." he waves his hand in what he hopes is in Aldis' direction.
"Oh fuck you asshole." Chad says, and Jared peeks open an eye.
"Oh, were you still here? I didn't notice you there my vertically challenged friend."
"Ha ha bastard, very funny. Really, I'm laughing so hard right now."
"You know you love me." Jared says, flopping on his back again. He wonders if things will be okay or if shit is going to hit the fan.
"Soph said she'd stop by in a few days to drop off the rest of your crap. She says that it's bugging her and she's just this close to throwing it out over a bridge."
"That isn't overly dramatic at all. I swear it's been four hours that she's had my stuff and already she's contemplating object murder."
"Now who's being overly dramatic? "
"Shut up Chad. Remind me again why I put up with you?"
"You know, this might be a crazy question but, what are you doing here Jared?" Jared looks over, remembering that Chad has a roommate. Oops.
"He got roomed with his asshole ex- boyfriend, so he's going to crash here a few days." Chad says, rooting under his bed for something as he speaks.
"I hope it isn't a problem or anything Aldis, if you really do mind then I could just go somewhere else."
"Nah it's cool, just making small talk over here. I'm going to take a nap now because I flew in from California and I'm going to start hallucinating dancing pumpkins soon if I don't get some sleep." Aldis rolls over and within seconds he's snoring lightly and curled up in a ball, the strong muscles in his back flexing as he breathes deeply.
"Oh no, I don't think so." Jared looks down at Chad, startled a bit out of his revere.
"'Oh no' what?" he asks, catching the small bag Chad throws at him.
"I've seen that look before Jared and I know what it means. My roommate is completely off limits asshole, I don’t need to deal with roommate related awkwardness my first week of college."
"Pop a pill dude. I'm not going to try and sleep with your roommate. his gay-virginity is safe from me." Jared looks down at the bag in his hands, tired enough that he can barely recognize it.
"What's this?" he asks as he pulls open the zipper.
"It's one of your bags, I took it up with my stuff by accident." Chad lays back down on the ground and sighs. Jared knows exactly how he feels.
Four and a half hours into college life and already the drama runs pretty high. Jared'll be damned if he lets his life turn into an episode of Degrassi though.
"You do know that you're sleeping on the floor right? No fucking way do I like you enough to give you the bed." Jared groans and throws a pillow over the side of the bed. Chad throws it back and Jared laughs. for the first time that day, he feels like maybe things are starting to look up.
Jared spends the next three days at Chad's dorm. It's pretty uneventful to say in the least. They sleep in until noon and watch cartoon network while Aldis is out buying Chinese food at the take out place down the street. Jared does his best to ignore the Jensen situation and calls his dad to let him know that he's settled in.
Jared's dad hasn't been doing too good lately, he's been down for a couple weeks with the flu or else he would have been out with Jared and helping him unpack and being a total mother hen. Sometimes Jared wonders if he's trying to be as involved as his mom would have been if she were still alive, or if maybe he realized that kids don't stay kids forever. Either way though, Jared promises to head out next weekend after classes and go fishing with him down by the lake near their house.
"Yo Jay, do you want orange chicken or teriyaki?" Jared looks away from the TV and up at Aldis.
"Uhhh, orange chicken I guess. Hey, where did Chad go?" Regular Show switches to commercials and Jared lowers the volume.
"I'm not sure he said he had to go pick something up." Aldis flops down on his bed and slides a hand under his head, staring up at the TV.
Jared stands up and stretches, yawning as his spine pops and his shirt ricks up. He catches Aldis' eyes and smiles a little as he sits down on the floor Indian style.
"Thought you were going to get the Chinese?" Jared says, looking up through his bangs at his friend's roommate and watching him swallow thickly. Flirting never killed anyone really, and it's not like he doesn't know Aldis is off limits or anything.
"I can stay for awhile longer." he says, leaning a little closer to Jared as the show ends and a rerun of Scooby-Doo comes on.
"Huh." Jared makes a noise in his throat and shifts just a bit, his shoulder bumping Aldis' hand that's dangling off his bed. Jared glances up to see Aldis watching him and if Jared sort of muzzles his hand just a bit, Chad doesn't need to know.
Of course that's when the door opens though and Chad sidles in, churro in hand. He stops dead in the doorway, taking in the scene before he goes in and grabs Jared's wrist, tugging him up off the floor and leading him outside. the door shuts behind them and Jared sighs.
"You are such a fucking man whore. Pun intended. I thought we agreed that my roommate was off limits Jay!"
"I know that, I was there when we had that talk too ya know. Anyways I wasn't trying to sleep with him or anything, and hey I am not a man whore! Just because I get laid more often than you do doesn't mean--"
"Nah man, I couldn't care less if that was all it was. You're just... you're not the same. What happened to the shy 'love is the best thing on earth' dork I used to know? Because I haven't seen him; ever since Jensen-"
"Shut the fuck up, Chad. Don't you even dare bring him up right now." Jared doesn't even recognize his own voice right now, it's deep and booming in a way he's never heard it before.
"See! That's what I mean Jared, you're so bitter over this break up that you can't even hear the guy's name without throwing a bitch fit! Look Jared, I love you and all but this needs to stop. You need to get your act together and be an adult for once. You can't avoid him forever, not like this." He doesn't wait for Jared to respond just turns on his heels and yanks open the door. The door slams shut behind him and Jared can't help but flinch, he stands there in the hallway alone and pissed, guilty. He's not worried though, Chad throws hissy fits all the time but nothing ever lasts longer than a day or two.
Jared stares at the door for a second, wondering what to do next. Sophia won't be coming back for a few days and he has no clothes and nowhere to sleep. After awhile he starts to wander, walking down stair ways and blocks before he makes it to the part of the quad right outside his dorm. Jared finds the perfect spot underneath a large tree where he spends the better part of an hour staring up through the branches. He spots clouds floating in different shapes, birds landing between branches and bright blue blending in with everything else.
He's trying to decide between calling Sophia or braving a trip back to his dorm when the door opens and Jensen steps outside, squiring against the glare of the sun. Jared watches in morbid fascination as he hitches his bag higher up on his shoulder and walks toward the library. It feels like forever since Jared last saw him, and he may be 'bitter' but sometimes he wishes he could keep the past in the past and move forward. Jensen got a bit taller, wider in the shoulders, prettier. Jared shakes his head and looks away just as Jensen turns a corner and out of sight.
Five minutes later, after firmly denying any positive thoughts toward Jensen, an idea pops into his head. Jensen just left for the library and if Jared learned anything about Jensen, it's that he can get holed up in there for hours. It's perfect, probably his only opportunity.
"You can't avoid him forever, not like this."
Then Jared just has to make the best out of a crappy situation. Jared can do this he's not going to let Jensen win.
He's putting the finishing touches on his idea when the door opens, and Jared glances back a quick second before cutting the last piece of duck tape and smoothing it against the carpet. It's perfect really, his idea, and Jared has to say he's kind of proud of himself.
"What's this?" Jared had been too shocked before to notice how deep Jensen's voice has gotten, rougher around the edges that had always been silky smooth. He tells himself that it means nothing to him, but at this point not even Jared himself can believe his bullshit.
"Glad you asked." Jared replies, stepping back towards his bed as Jensen throws his bag onto his. Jared watches it bounce a few times before he dares look up at Jensen, his heart is pounding before they even make eye contact. It makes Jared feel pathetic all over again.
It's a shock really, if he was honest about it, he didn't take the time to notice anything about him three days ago and now that he has the chance it's like a punch to the gut, literally. Jensen got new glasses, his hair is cut shorter and spikes up like he woke up perfect. It's unfair really, that Jensen is not only smart and nerdy but hot as all hell and popular. It's a combination that has never worked before as far as Jared knows and seems unlikely now even as the evidence fidgets right in front of him. That's when Jared realizes that he's been staring, dammit. He clears his throat gets his head back in the game, motioning towards the line of tape dividing the room.
"If I'm going to be staying here for a semester I'm laying down the ground rules. See this line? You do not cross the line. That is your side and this is mine, under no circumstances will you cross over to my side of the room and touch my things because I will suffocate you in your sleep. I won't be going to your side either so don't get your panties in a bunch, alright? And just because I came back doesn't mean I want to share feelings or anything, I don't make small talk and in all honesty I don't care what you have to say. I won't talk to you unless I have to, let's get that straight. Now I'm going to bed, have fun." If Jensen is shocked by any of this he doesn't say so, just nods and turns toward his desk, going through the papers already scattered everywhere.
If Jared was honest with himself, he would almost say that it looked like Jensen was hurt. Of course it's utter bullshit but Jared has never seen Jensen's face completely blank like that, almost like an empty canvas. It kind of scares him really, because he's known Jensen from childhood and there really isn't anything about him that Jared doesn't know. He ignores the feeling of guilt and dread that starts to climb into his throat though, he really doesn't care. Jensen treated him like shit after years of friendship, years of a relationship, and if the bastard was hurt then he deserved it.
Jared climbs into bed and burrows under the covers. He's trying to ignore it but it just keeps creeping back in, keeping Jared from sleeping. He spends ten minutes tossing and turning, the silence itching under his skin and driving him insane until he hears the tell tale scritch scratch of Jensen drawing. Jared almost forgot that Jensen loved to draw, among the other things he forced himself to forget, he forgot that Jensen would draw him pictures daily. Pictures of him, pictures of them together, of places Jensen wanted to go see and of places they could go to together. It hits him deep in his chest, brings back memories he'd rather keep forgotten, but it doesn't stop him from peeking his eyes open an inch.
He watches Jensen draw, watches the frown of concentration on his face as he glides the pencil over his notepad. It's graceful really, the way Jensen draws, its an art, a magical process just to watch him. He's leaning against his headboard, body angled a bit towards Jared, and he's hunched over his notepad tracing lines and angles softly. It's hypnotic, beautiful in a way Jared forgot it could be, and he falls asleep to it, to Jensen.
When Jared wakes up the next morning Jensen is gone. His bed is perfectly made, his book bag gone from where he'd hung it up on his desk chair and Jared can only assume that he's off being his usual nerdy self. Jared feels something that is totally not disappointment, swell up in his chest and he busies himself with getting ready to drown it out. He laces his shoes and sits back against the wall, staring across the room at Jensen's side. It reminds him of Jensen's room back home.
The posters seem to be in similar places, hung up pristinley and without wrinkles or tears. His books are ordered alphabetically and then from Jensen's preference and favorites. It's a system Jared learned way back in the day, he even remembers the day Jensen explained it to him, pointing out favorites and quoting from movies and books Jared hadn't seen yet. It was something Jared used to be able to do every day, listen to Jensen go on and on about movies he loved, books he obsessed over, and most importantly his drawing. Jared used to spend hours going through notebook after notebook would watch Jensen as he sketched with skillful hands, built a world out of nothing and made it beautiful.
Jared gets up and leaves, not looking back as the door clicks shut.
When he makes it down to the common room Jared realizes that he has no idea where he's going, no idea what he's even doing. It makes him pause mid-step on the stairs, looking down towards the lobby and left to the common room. No one's down there so it's quiet everywhere around him, it occurs to Jared that everyone is probably still asleep. He never even checked what time it was.
"It's 10:30." Jared jumps, hand flying towards the rail as he spots Sandy perched on one of the large plush sofas.
"Did I say that out loud? I do that sometimes, people always give me weird looks about it but it can't be that weird, I mean people talk to themselves all the time they just don't admit. In all honesty people judge way too fast, it pisses me off sometimes. You probably don't remember me and are wondering why I'm talking to you huh?"
"Actually, I do remember you. Your name is Jared and you got roomed with your ex-boyfriend because your friend was stupid and didn't send in the residency request form. There was also talk about slushies and iced coffee but I think I'm afraid to know what that was about. I also see that you babble quite a lot, but its okay, it's kind of cute."
"I tend to do that when I get frazzled, what are you doing up so early anyway? Doesn't most everyone take advantage of the 'no school for a week' thing and sleep in until 2?" Sandy motions for him to join her so he does, hopping the final pair of stairs and makes his way into the common room. He plops down next to her and takes a quick look around. There's a TV right in front of the three couches down here, a small fridge underneath a large white counter where several appliances like coffee makers and toasters stand by themselves. Jared notices that most of the things on the counter have names scribbled on their sides.
"Like I said, it's cute. How’re things on the Jensen front going anyway?" Jared looks at her and she amends.
"After you left I looked through the room listing and found out his name. Sorry, I'm nosy by nature." Her nose scrunches up as she smiles and Jared has the urge to pinch her cheeks.
"It's okay, and I don't really know. He really treated me like crap at the end there..." Jared tells her everything from the Facebook incident to Chad comforting him with cherry slushies. He even tells her about how he started sleeping around, tells her about how amazing Jensen used to be to him. The look on his face as he drew and the smile he'd get when he talked about his nerdy things, the way they would lay under the stars and just watch them, not really saying anything as they basked in the comfortable silence achieved from being someones friend for so long. She nods at parts, gasps at all the right places and looks at him with an analyzing expression written on her face. Jared really doesn't know why he's telling a complete stranger everything about himself but he trusts her for some reason. He doesn't try and analyze it because at this point he figures it's not worth it.
"You know what it seems like to me, and feel free to tell me to shut up since I've only talked to you twice including now, but it seems like there's so much unfinished business between you two. There are things you need to talk out with him, unresolved feelings and thoughts, and it seems like he wants to talk to you and work things out. You really can't avoid him forever, especially since your roommates, and I know it hurts but at this point I'd say suck it up and talk to him. It's the only way the wounds you have will start to heal." She's nervous, fidgeting but standing her ground and Jared likes her, really he does and that's the only thing that keeps him from telling her that she's right, it is none of her business. But he really likes her, even hopes that they'll become friends, so he just nods. She gives him an unconvinced look but Jared excuses himself by saying he has to meet his friend because she's dropping off his stuff.
"Okay, but Jared will you at least think about what I said? You're just going to make this harder for the both of you if you repress like this, at this point it looks like the both of you are too stubborn to do anything about it."
"Sure Sandy, and thanks. I'll talk to you later okay?" He doesn't wait for her reply, he needs to get out of there because suddenly he can't breathe and the world seems to be spinning. When he pushes his way outside and into the Texas heat he takes a deep breathe and tries to fill his lungs. It's so bright outside that at first he has to squint against the sun, blinking his eyes rapidly until they adjust to the change. He's making his way towards the cafeteria when his pocket starts buzzing, and when Jared pulls out his phone Danneel's number is flashing on the screen and her picture bright and stark in the middle.
"Yes Danni, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" He veers off course and finds a vending machine instead, popping in a few quarters as he punches in the selected code.
"Oh college boy, college boy, college boy. Your amazing auntie's are dropping off your crap for you." Jared bends down and sticks his hand in the uncomfortable slot trying to fish out his bag of Cheetos.
"I still don't know why you call yourself my aunt when you're only three years older than me. It's kind of disturbing, is this a kink of yours? Because I don't want to be involved in some sort of sex thing between you and Sophie."
"Shut up child or I'll ground your ass. I'm telling Sophia you called her Sophie too, you know she hates it when you do that." She threatens and Jared can't help but chuckle.
"Yeah yeah, whatever floats your boat princess. Where are you guys anyway, I though you were coming tomorrow?"
"We were but Sophia got pissed about all your stuff int he back of her pretty car and we decided today is better. So hurry up and meet us, we're in the parking lot."
"Bossy much?" Jared says, making his way over to the parking lot in question. He spots Sophia's car parked crookedly in the visitor's space and Danneel is waving at him, and that's when Jared notices that she's sitting in his car.
"You brought my car!" In all honesty, Jared's car is a piece of crap that he hates most of the time, but she gets him to and from and that's all he can really ask for at this point.
"So I did, Sophia was getting tired of it taking space in our garage."
"Why do I get the feeling that Sophia doesn't like me?" Jared is smiling and when Danneel hops out of his car he picks her up and twirls her, laughing as she squeals and yells at him to put her down. Sophia emerges from her own car and cheers along with Jared as Danneel cusses a blue streak. When he finally puts her down she glares at him and fixes her hair.
"Are you going to take your crap or what?" She huffs, crossing her arms across her chest as Sophia smiles fondly at her.
"Well Jay, looks like you went and made yourself an enemy."
"She started it!" He exclaims, ruffling both their heads as he jogs passed them and pops open the trunk.
"You little bastard!"
"Calm down children, Mommy doesn't want to deal with you two today." Sophia leans against the hood of her car and tosses the keys at Jared when he makes his way back around, arms full of boxes, they land perfectly on the top box and Jared shakes his head.
"Really, is this some sort of kink thing? I'm starting to think it really is."
“Shut up and go put your crap away. I really am tired of seeing it all in my poor pretty car.”
“You have a mini-van, in what way is that a ‘pretty car’?” Something soft hits him in the back of his head and covers his eyes. He sets down the boxes to pull it off his face and finds out it’s a t-shirt, a TTU shirt.
“What’s this?” He asks, turning back towards the girls. Danneel smirks.
“What, we can’t give our favorite nephew a little welcome-to-college gift? So much for appreciation.” Jared rolls his eyes and picks the boxes back up, bracing himself for the long walk back to his dorm.
"Jared."
"I know."
"Oh honey,"
"Yes, I know Sophia."
"You are so screwed!"
"You know, me and Chad had this exact same conversation last week. Is there something you’re not telling me?" Jared twists over onto his stomach and stares up at his friend. She's been there for as long as Jared can remember, her parents have been friends of the family since before Jared's older brother was born. She's helped him through his countless a crisis, through geometry tests and papers he was too lazy to write. Sophia had always told him she would help him no matter what, would always be there for him, so he's not sure why this time feels different
"Oh really now? Looks like old squinty has some sense after all." She runs her fingers through his hair and he closes his eyes.
"We are talking about the same Chad right? Chad Michael Murray, the idiot who used to try and play red rover with our puppies?"
"Don't be a jealous bitch, Jay. Just because you could never get as far as I could." Sophia's hand pauses and he can hear the both of them try and stifle giggles.
"He was standing there the whole time wasn't he?" Jared peeks open his eyes an inch and lifts up onto his elbows, looking up at Chad as he swings Jared's bag around.
"You left your crap at my place." Chad throws it at his face and Jared catches it just in time.
"Your concern is flattering, thanks." Jared tosses the bag towards the trunk of the oak tree and settles back on Sophia's lap. Chad plops down next to him and Danneel tries to catch a grape in her mouth.
All in all Jared would have to say that things were taking a turn for the better. Now all he had to do was survive the next 282 days. College is such a joy.
Jared's first day of classes were interesting to say in the least. The T.A for his Advanced Composition and Critical Thinking class was more than likely stoned out of his fucking mind. He acted like it at any rate, and judging by his name, totally had hippie parents to boot. Jared doesn't remember what it was right now but it was something like Miso. Actually, okay so that's a soup but it started with a 'M'.
His professor, Professor Lauklen, was twenty minutes late on the dot. What Jared learned is that as long as he pays attention and turns his shit in within a reasonable time, he'll pass. It's a nice class in all honesty, Jared loves her dry humor and the passion she obviously has for her class. The thing about English classes and Jared though, is that he really hates them. He doesn't like all the rules writing has and hates essays almost as much as he hates math. Which is ironic because he's been in the Honors program since high school, life was just cruel wasn't it?
Which brings him to the problem right now; Jared had such a relatively good time in his last class that when it was time for his Photography class he had high expectations. He'd grabbed a cup of coffee, a blueberry muffin, and finished them both on the way to the Arts Building. One thing Jared learned about Texas Tropes was that they stuffed all the arts related courses into one big building. The drama department had a whole section to themselves as well as the musical performance classes. Computer graphics, photography, and advanced drawing classes all shared two floors together so needless to say it was pretty crowded when Jared finally found his floor. Another thing that he learned, is that Tropes Uni has a pretty good Performing Art/Arts program, so lots of students will fly in from everywhere just for it. They also have a good nursing program but Jared's not planning on becoming a nurse anytime soon so that one doesn't really apply to him.
There were two things that Jared notices when he steps into B213. One, was that compared to some of the other classes he'd passed, this one was the only he'd seen that had a reasonable amount of students, so he had some sort of choice seat wise. The second was sitting in the first row and he's not sure why he was so shocked, at this point he shouldn't be surprised that life was still in the process of bitch slapping him. Still though, the only thing he focused on was the fact that Jensen had gotten hotter in the past two days and that was just fucking stupid. Jared needs to get over whatever residual crap he was going through, this was just getting ridiculous.
Jared has to walk in front Jensen's seat, the bastard is sitting right front and center and of course it's only natural that the only way to get to any seat is passed Jensen. He shouldn't, but Jared feels his skin crawling with tension as he throws his cup away and makes his way around him. For a minute Jared wonders whether this class is worth the trouble he has to go through, the torture he's going to undoubtedly endure, but then he realizes how stupid he sounds. Jensen does that to him and it’s starting to piss him off.
When he plops down in his seat it feels like he's run a marathon. His heart is pounding in his chest and his blood feels like it's simmering. When he spots Jensen a few rows ahead, Jared doesn't know what to call the feeling that bubbles in his chest. Apparently, going by the fact that Jensen's head has been down the entire time and the fact that he has a book in his hands, Jared's going to take a while guess and say he was too busy reading to notice Jared even walk in. Wow, nice.
"Alright everyone listen up! My T.A, Van, is going to be passing out the course requirements. I suggest you go over them carefully because this isn't high school and I'm not going to baby you. You read this on your own and are responsible for meeting every one of the criteria if you want to pass. I suggest you shut up now while I take roll, or I might just not see you in your seat there. Notes are already up on the board, go crazy." Jared likes this class already. He takes the paper handed to him and holy crap this guy is hot. Not the Professor, the T.A -just to clarify, because Professor Morgan equally awes and scares the shit out of him- and maybe enduring 200 days of Jensen related torture might not be that bad after all.
Jared loves college.
On to the next part.