Where Love is Divided by Hate 1/1
Series: Act of Play
Title: Where Love is Divided by Hate
Chapter: 1/1
Word Count: 5898
Rating: R
Disclaimer: The title is being politely borrowed from 12 Stones. This is, obviously, fake and did not happen. I am merely borrowing the names and faces of real life people and none of this is meant in any way to harm their reputation. This is a work of fiction and nothing contained within is thought to be real.
Warning: Contains various remarks to sensitive material. The characters grew their own way and there are hints to events and/or diseases that I had not planned on; as of now, I have not planned to dig into these aspects but that does not mean that the character’s will force me to follow through.
Previous parts: / Are We Feeling Awkward Yet? // Leave Me At the Roadside // The Rose That has been Burnt by Her Son /
A/N: Written for Jellicle’s Ugly Duckling bunny. (And it has now morphed out of control and I’m more than happy that it did... because it’s been way too long that I’ve been able to write anything of substantial length.)
Summary: He had figured it would be easy to slip past everything and everyone; figured that with all the weight loss, he didn’t look like the same person. Then why is everyone noticing him, remembering him? And what made Jared change?
Jensen couldn't stop his arms from crossing against his chest as he felt everyone's eyes move towards him. He raised his eyebrow at his oblivious teacher who was waiting as patiently as any caffeine junky could. "Jensen," the man began, standing up. "I know you understand the importance of wardrobe. The top that was made is too big for you now and Mrs. Mally insist that a week is not enough time for her to fix it with the other items she has to finish. Your character is a rebel, a loner. An easy fix for wardrobe is to see if either a wife beater or completely topless will work for your character."
The man was completely insane on his good days. He felt like a useless teenage girl, standing on the stage by himself, with everyone waiting for him to strip. Yeah, it was just his shirt but even with the rushing that happened backstage, he had yet to allow anyone to see him shirtless. Hell, he still hadn't broken out of the habit of changing in the bathroom. No one had a clue on how thankful he was to have gym for the last period for his whole high school career. He never had to shower in front of people. Of course, the bruises on his hips from Steve were just as embarrassing as the chub that had hung everywhere. Occasionally, he had to work out in long sleeves when Steve would hold his arms down, or ties his wrist.
At the time, the only thing he hadn't cared about was the hickeys. Because he enjoyed the surprised look on people's faces when they saw them. Which was kind of odd for him, but he rationalized it by saying he was just being proud because he proved people wrong. A non-confrontational way to say, 'yeah, got someone who'll make out with me.'
God, he was a stupid teenager. For fuck's sake, could he have gotten any weirder?
Back then, it was the chub. Now, he was pretty damned scared to take his shirt off in front of Jared, who would, with out a fucking doubt, go tell his mother just how skinny her beloved son had actually gotten. Because Jared had regressed into a two year old who tattled on everybody. It was the only explanation as to why he wasn't the bitch he was before. And it made sense in his mind, really, it did. Because a bitchy, jerk ass teenage Jared would have been a cruel and evil two year old who told on everyone.
Made perfect sense. Completely logical.
And why the fuck couldn't he wear a normal shirt? It wasn't like they were doing some super, sci-fi, two billion years into the future play. No, they were doing a play that would make lifetime blush. Why the teacher though a one of a kind shirt was perfect for a poor kid was a good idea in the first place was insane, and now, he's suggesting something that probably should have been done in the first place by the poor wardrobe girl, who was kind of shrinking into the background at the moment, hoping for an exit to magically form behind her. And he would have been able to convince her that a loose fitting shirt was perfect.
Lord, he shouldn't have had coffee this morning. But he had got up late and hadn't had time for breakfast and he needed something. Great, and when Jared ran to his mother to say he could count all of Jensen's ribs, she'd take that out of context.
He allowed a soft sigh to escape him before deciding that he'd better get on with it before the teacher finished getting on the stage, and forcefully stripped him.
Actually, he had to count to himself and close his eyes before he could even grasp the hem. And then it was easy to yank it off rather quickly before everyone was convinced he was completely insane.
"Fuck." Thank you, Brad. First time he opens his mouth and he's gotta say that. "Well, now we know why the shirt doesn't fit."
"Shut the fuck up, Brad." He heard Jared hiss and that was probably worse than standing on stage having everyone gawk at him.
"Maybe a shirt then," The teacher mumbled to himself, trying to see Jensen from every angle.
"Why do I gotta shut the fuck up?" Brad started to complain, staring at Jared in what probably was shock. "You don't fucking hang out with me in forever and now you're telling me to shut up? Fuck you, Jared. How does someone go from being that fucking huge to being able to see the fucker's organs?"
"It's been a few years, Brad." Jared said, rolling his eyes, as he crossed his arms. Jensen, on the other hand was praying that the teacher would finish sizing him up like he was a piece of meat so he could leave.
"Yeah but… man, I wonder if any of the chicks I fucked were that fat before…"
Oh, and thank God, the teacher was stepping back. "Uhm… am I done for the day… I have a doctor's appointment."
"Yeah, yeah, go, go. Mindy will find something for you, she might have to pull it out of her own closet, but she will."
Great, now the teacher was thinking of dressing him in a chick's shirt. Right. Shirt back on, backpack then he can leave.
---
He had counted himself extremely lucky that he had managed to avoid Jared all day. It was quite shocking, since he expected the overgrown man-child to come chasing after him.
Though, now he had the unshakable image of walking into the front door to see Jared and Mamma sitting at the table, hands crossed and staring at him seriously. He didn't find it too odd that he could imagine Jared sharing the look Momma had perfected over many years. Disappointment mixed with worry and more than just a touch of anger.
So, he was standing by his car, loading groceries into the back, beaming over his magnificent ability to avoid everyone when a hand suddenly snatched his arm, nearly making him drop a bag. Which was filled with glass jars so… good thing he had a grip of death on the flimsy plastic.
He didn't even need to turn his head all the way to see a seething Jared standing right behind him. If this had been a cartoon, steam would be coming from the man's head. To be completely honest, Jared looked like he belonged in a cartoon, all towering and huge and shit. He really should have knocked on wood when he was celebrating the fact that he hadn't seen Jared.
Leave it to life to completely fuck up his plan to head home and face facts. Of course, it felt he needed to face all the facts before he got home, where he could go sleep in his bedroom after any confrontations that were bound to happen.
"What the hell's your problem?" He asked, attempting to yank his arm out of Jared's grasp.
If Jared had something to say, the least he could do was allow Jensen to finish putting the bags in the car.
"What the hell are you doing to yourself?" Jared demanded, and had his father been around like he should have, Jensen might have been able to compare Jared to the man. But since his dad hadn't been present often, he was left comparing Jared to an angry uncle instead… which didn't quite work out right because his uncles rarely got that pissed at him.
The only time might have been when he mowed over Uncle George's prized garden. Which wasn't completely on accident; he was really, really tired of eating the tomatoes. Especially the black ones. No amount of convincing would ever get him to believe that tomatoes were ever supposed to be black. They were supposed to be bright red. Unfortunately, the day after the incident he had nothing but those damn black tomatoes.
"What?" Jensen asked, finally pulling his arm free, allowing him to toss the bag into the car - which wasn't the smartest idea because he heard the glass clink together dangerously - and then crossed his arms.
"This!" Jared yelled, his hands motioning wildly around in what Jensen assumed was suppose to motion at his body but failed completely. "What the fuck? You were a fat ass so instead of doing shit the healthy way you decide to fucking become a fucking anorexic shit? Did you puke all the shit back up after I left the other day?"
Oh, the moron has two fucking brain cells. Yeah, he was feeling defensive. Bastard goes around acting all nice and shit and then calls him a fat ass? Was he gonna bring up the names he use to shoot at Jensen in high school? That would be perfect. Instead of jumping and calling Jared the names that were going through his head, he laughed. "Anorexics don’t puke the shit back up, moron."
"So you're the other one; gonna be stupid and fuck up your life some more? Think people will hire you for being a fucking stick. Gay porn is the only shit that's got use for guys that fucking small, you fucking moron."
Low blow. He could either punch Jared, grab a bag, maybe the one with cans in it, and hit him with that shit… "Fuck off, Jared. Fuck off." Had he not been acting, he wouldn't have known his voice could go that low.
"What are you gonna do about it? Fight me? I'd break your fucking ass in half."
Jensen was up in Jared's face now, face squinted in a glare, shoulder's squared. "Like you did back in high school? You think I'm still that fucking weak, Jared? You think I can't fight you? Come on then, 'cause I didn't lose all that fucking weight by sitting on my ass."
It was Jared's turn to laugh at him, staring down at him like he was a piece of dirt. Nice to know that Jared hadn't forgotten that look from his teenage years. "You went to the gym? Don't lie to me again, Jensen. You ain't got a single fucking muscle. We all saw that."
"Lie to you again? What the fuck are you goin' on about? I never fuckin' lied to you and quit acting like a jealous fucking girlfriend."
"Stress made you lose weight, my fucking ass. There's something fucking wrong with you apparently. First you don't know when to fucking stop so you becoming a damn blimp and now, the easiest path is to just starve your fucking self like a pathetic ass chick. You don't understand what a fucking happy fucking middle is; you gotta do everything to the fucking extreme, huh? You don't look like a fucking skeleton because of fucking stress."
"Fuck you, Jared, fuck you. You think after a few weeks of you playin' at nice, that you know me? Bullshit, you don't know shit Jared so got back to your fucking life and stay outta mine. I was the perfect weight before I came back here so screw you. I started losing it again after seeing Steven in the bar. You're a fucking moron if you think I don't know that I gotta gain some back."
"You're lying to yourself, you know that. The hell you were the perfect weight before you got here. I saw your skinny ass when you got here! And don't think I forgot the way you didn't eat shit that first night either!"
"Whatever, what the fuck ever." Jensen hissed, "screw you, Jared. Like I said, go back to your own fucking life and stop acting like you're some reformed angel."
Jared's hand reached out to grab him when he turned around to head for the driver's side door; it was probably meant to just stop him from walking away from the issue but at the moment, he didn't have time to think of rational things. Jensen was round up, every muscle tight and ready to go; so when Jared's hand landed on his shoulder, he spun around and punched.
And in return, Jared punched back.
When the cops came, they had no excuses for their behavior. Standing there, bruised and out of breath, the only option was to allow themselves to be cuffed and put in the back of the car, and try, try with all their might, not to start trying to attack each other with their heads or feet.
---
Jensen looked up with a glare when they put Jared into the same cell as him. He sometime believed that cops didn't have a brain between all of them. You pull up and separate two grown men from bashing each other's heads in, gonna charge them with whatever they had done, and then put them in the same cell? Asking for trouble, really.
Though, admittedly, Jensen had calmed down so he wasn't feeling like throwing any more punches soon. Not with the way his jaw ached or the way his chest seemed to breathe fire. Hopefully, Jared felt as bad as he did.
Apparently, he did, because as soon as he sat down he little out a little hiss of pain before turning to face Jensen. "Sorry."
"For?" He asked, refusing to look at the bulk of pure fucking muscle sitting across from him. Neither of them needed to work each other up again. That could wait until they got out of here and onto private property, with no one around to call the damn cops on them.
"Punching you?"
Smooth, make it sound like a question. Bet his mother had, at some point, given up on teaching the boy how to apologize. Obviously, you had to know what the hell you were saying sorry about.
"Oh, not for being an asshole?"
"No, you know I'm an asshole. Always have been and I'll continue to be. No changin' that."
Jensen couldn't help but snort at that. "Obviously. Gonna force your ideas on everyone around you?"
"Is that how you're putting me calling you a bunch of shit in high school? Sounds better than the fact that I was a fuckin' bully from hell."
All Jensen could do was shrug at that, and very weakly at that. Damn bruises. "I guess. I still hate you for that shit… but, honestly, if it had been all easy for me, what woulda made me change. It was unhealthy being that big… and I was just getting bigger and bigger. It woulda been nice not having to put up with your shit though."
"I was pretty cruel back then. How big were you back then? To be honest, all I got memories of is… you being unrealistically huge."
"Between three hundred and three twenty, I think."
"Oh… how much do you weigh now?"
"As in right now,or before I started losing weight again… oh wait, sorry, you think that's a lie. One fifteen."
"Don't start being an ass again; I said I was sorry." Jensen dared to glance over at Jared, watching how he ran his huge hand through his shaggy hair. "You do realize that's underweight, right? You're too tall for that."
"For punching me, not being an asshole. And what? You know that from the top of your head?" A soft sigh escaped from him before he continued, "Yeah, I do realize that. I'm tryin' to gain it back, get back to one forty-five. It's on the low side, but still considered healthy."
He bit his tongue when Jared snorted at that. "Dude, I'm one ninety. How the hell is one forty-five considered healthy?"
"Jared. If you haven't noticed, you're a giant and a full fucking head taller than me."
Apparently, Jared thought it would be best to change directions in the conversation because he busted out with. "How the hell are you tryin' to gain weight back, all you eat is salads."
"I ate that fucking monstrosity to you got me at the damn café, didn't I?"
"Monstrosity? No, I remember getting this delicious as all hell thing…"
"For someone who thinks sugar is a must have in any and every meal." He couldn't help but smile a little bit when Jared laughed at that. "Wait, sorry, excuse me. For someone who thinks that seven spoons of sugar in their coffee is actually healthy."
"Hey, I work it all off." Jared said defensively, but still smiling.
"You'd have to be in the gym all day to work off all the damn sugar you eat."
They sat in silence for a little while before Jared burst out with a groan. "Man… mom's gonna kill me. I probably shoulda approached you when you were at your mother's… that way neither of us woulda thrown any punches in fear that she'd take the broom after us."
"Your mom wouldn't threaten you with a broom if you just started fighting?" Jensen asked, moving to sit a bit more comfortably on the hard as hell bench/bed thing.
"Uh… no. She keeps Dad's rodeo belt hanging up in the living room. That damn thing hurts."
Maybe it was wrong to laugh at the guy's discomfort, but, hey, he was still slightly pissed at him. "Dude, my ass is as hard as rocks from how many times that damn belt fell across it. And then Grandma and her wooden spoons… shit man, my ass is steel now. Swear to God."
"I do not want to hear you talk about your ass, dude."
Jensen watched as Jared opened his mouth to say something, but apparently caught himself and just shut the hole… which was a blessing, because the slight blush on that tanned face, well, that meant that whatever he had been ready to say would have lead to a rather awkward silence.
What felt like hours later, they both looked up to see the sheriff and their mothers standing outside of their cell. The Sheriff looked rather amused while the two women looked about ready to commit murder. Both of them stood with their legs spread apart, foots taping at an insane speed and their hands resting firmly on their hips. Jared's mother might be a short woman, shorter than his Momma even, but dude, he'd hate to be going home with her… because he was pretty sure she'd put Jared over her knee and take that belt after him. She looks like the type of woman who would say shit like 'You ain't too big for me to put you over my knee.'
That would be an amusing sight, though. Jared the Giant bent over her knee.
For a brief moment, Jensen felt like it was safer to stay inside of the cell for a few years… until rationality took over.
"Okay, boys. Your mothers explained what the hell you were doing. Next time just come and ask us what our response times are, it's better than being thrown in here."
Uhm. What?
Both him and Jared were too scared to even glance at each other for clarification.
"I guarantee you, no report is worth either of you boys gettin' a record. So stay outta trouble." The Sheriff looked like he was about to burst into laughter, and the two of them, they were pretty damn terrified and confused. "Come on, come on. Get up and outta here or I'll make you spend the night to learn you lesson."
"Uhm… okay," Jared mumbled, standing up slowly, looking over at Jensen before offering him a hand.
Okay, maybe the guy had a couple of brain cells… or at least more than two. Because it worked out to act like whatever the sheriff was believing had happened. Better than staying inside the damp cell. So, he took the offered hand, trying not to wince when it pulled some bruised muscle in his chest.
As soon as they stepped outside of the police department, and were near the car their mothers had driven, Jensen felt Momma's hand slam into the back of his head. "Are the two of you morons?" She hissed, slamming the passenger side's door open, glaring at him, and then at Jared. "First, I get a call from Martha, saying the police called her, saying you two had been arrested for fighting and then, then I get a call as well. Fighting! In a parking lot, for God's sake!"
"Have the two of you lost your minds?" Jared's mother began, picking up where Momma had stopped, climbing into the car, glaring at the two of them until they followed her lead, "What do you think charges like those would do to the your futures. Christ, fighting? Fighting! Are the two of you still in middle school? No!"
"You're grown adults and you still try to solve your problems with your fist?" Momma started again, and all they could do was hang their heads in a submissive manner. "Morons. The both of you. Morons. I didn't think I'd given birth to a moron but apparently I was wrong."
"The two of you are so lucky you didn't continue to fight after the police, the police, had pulled you apart. Otherwise they wouldn't have believed a word we had said. Honestly, what were you thinking?"
Jensen glanced over at Jared only to see the guy's head sink lower as his mother and Momma continued on with their rampage. Later, when the two woman calmed down, they could cheer over the fact that their mothers had lied to the police. But right now, the best idea was to keep silent. Very, very silent. He was pretty sure that there was something up in the front that one of the women could use as a weapon if either of them opened their mouths.
"Jared, what the hell would your brother think if he found out you were arrested for fighting Jensen?" He'd probably shout for joy, Jensen thought, and from the glance that Jared shot him, Jared was thinking exactly the same thing, "And your father, Jared? You better hope he doesn't find out about this; no, you better pray he doesn't. And you Jensen, your mother's sick! She doesn't need the stress of finding out her son has been arrested!"
Obviously, he hadn't been thinking of his mother's health when his fist started flying at Jared. He hadn't been thinking of much at the time.
"The both of you, morons. I swear to God, you both need your brains beat back into you."
Jensen hadn't though Jared's mother shared the same temper his mother had, but apparently the both of them were on the exact same page. And tearing a piece out of each of the boys was their main objective.
When Jensen dared to look up, they were in a neighborhood that he didn't recognize and he was past confused but was starting to successfully block out each of the women's bitching since they started to repeat what they had already said.
When they pulled into a driveway, he finally saw his mother's car and realized that they were probably at Jared's house. Which was rather huge compared to his mother's house.
"Out of the car, now!" Momma barked, and Jensen pretty much jumped to attention and was out in record time. Unsurprisingly, so was Jared .
When it came to their mothers, they were trained dogs. At the moment, if either woman told them to roll over and play dead, they would. Mainly because, it's not in either of their best interests to either argue or ignore a demand.
"Now, we're going to sit down and the two of you are going to tell us what in the world brought you two to fighting." Momma said, and it was pretty clear she was trying her damnedest not to yell or grab Jensen by the ear.
Which was painful, to say the least.
"I-it was really nothing, Mrs. Ackles…" Jared said… had the stupidity to say.
"Jared!" His mother barked.
"Yes, Ma'am."
Like he said: trained dogs. No man with an ounce of sense disobeyed their mothers when they were this pissed. Jensen was pretty sure that the same counted for husbands and their wives… was damn sure it was training for when they got married.
The two of them followed their mothers into the spotless house, heads bowed in defeat, followed them into the kitchen and nearly fell into the seats.
"Now," Momma began, her hands clasped in front of her on the table, still glaring but keeping her voice calm. "Please explain to us why we had to drive to the police station to get our sons out. Sons who have never been in trouble with the law before."
"Uhm," Jared said, glancing over at Jensen who just wanted to hide his face in his arms. "It… was, uh, just a difference of opinion."
"Jared." His mother warned him, and Jensen couldn't help but groan out loud. He was glad that Jared didn't want to tell the two women about his weight issue but… it seemed like it was the only way, though.
Otherwise, they'd be here all night.
"Jared was concerned… uh, about my weight. I hit him first."
"Jensen! Why would you do that?" Momma asked, shocked. Why she was shocked was beyond him… one of them had to throw the first punch.
"I was in a bad mood…"
"That is no excuse, young man."
"I know." He mumbled, hanging his head just a little lower, hoping she would take it as a sign of remorse so they could leave. He felt like a ten year old, sitting here before the two mothers.
"And what exactly was the issue with your weight?" She asked and he really, really tried hard to hold in that groan that escaped. "We've all been worried about your weight, you haven't punched any of us before for questioning you about it."
He was pretty sure it was worse when her voice was filled with more concern than anger. He liked the anger better… wasn't as close to pity as the concern was.
"He…" Jared sighed softly, pushing his hand through his hair again. The action seemed to be a nervous tick. Which was nice to know, because now Jensen could tell when the giant was nervous. It had potential to be a fun little fact. "He had to take his shirt off, in class today. I saw how much weight he lost. I was pretty angry when I finally found him… and, uh, started yelling shit at him."
"I thought we had worked on your anger, Jared." Jensen bit his lip, because he was pretty sure Jared would rather have the concerned tone that Jensen had gotten, rather than the disappointment that seemed to fill Jared's mom.
"How much weight have you lost, Jensen?" Momma asked, her hand reaching out to touch his arm at the same time that Jared's hand landed on his knee, to squeeze it reassuringly.
Which wasn't a very reassuring gesture, at least not in Jensen's book.
It only caused Jensen to bite his lip and force himself not to slam his head into the table. "Um, like twenty pounds… give or take a few, you know…" He winced as soon as the words left his mouth, because if Momma had been sitting right next to him instead of across from him, she would have smacked him in the back of his head again for saying that like it didn't matter.
Now Jared's mother was staring at him, and he wished he was at his own home so he could go and hide in his bedroom like he was two. Oh yeah, he was a fucking hard core pussy. "Honey," She began, smiling sadly at him while Jared's hand squeezed his knee that much tighter, "why are you losing weight? You were perfectly fine before… a bit on the skinny side, but you didn't need to lose any weight."
"Uhm," Jared began, and thank the Lord that he was speaking because Jensen really didn't want to. "I don't think he meant to…" For such a big guy, the dude could make himself look small, "Well, I did before when I confronted him but we talked calmly while we were locked up and I don't think so anymore. He says its just stress and I kinda believe him now. I was just really pissed when I first confronted him so…"
He could look small and ramble like a two year old.
"Jensen." Momma said sternly to get him to look directly at her. And Jared's hand began to rub his leg now, and he was this close from pinching the oblivious fucker. "What is stressing you out so much that you'd lose that much weight? I know you didn't eat breakfast this morning… is it me and my illness?"
"No, no Momma. It's not that. The doctor said you're getting' better. It's…" and now it was his turn to run his hand through his hair, though he clearly didn't have as much hair as Jared, so it was more like rubbing his head instead. "It's this whole issue with Steve… you know. He's out and about, and I'm just worried he didn't take the hint when I told him off in the bar…"
He shot a look at Jared and hoped the goof realized it meant not to bring up the whole pictures and videos issue. "You saw him in a bar?" He mother yelped, her hand going to her mouth.
He thought he had eventually told her about that. "Uh, yeah," Jared spoke up and Jensen was gritting his teeth, "I was there when that happened… and then we both found out that the bastard had contacted Jake, like I told you, Mom. And then how Jake hadn't taken the visit with Jensen very well. And I told Jensen that if the bastard bothered him again to try and get a restraining order against him… and he's been helping me try and get the restraining order put back on for Jake…"
It was eerie how the guy didn't even lose a second lying to his mom, because the hell if he had told Jensen to get a restraining order. Though, it was better than saying that he was gonna kick Steve's ass if he fucked with either of them, Jake or Jensen, again. Just getting out of jail for fighting and all; yeah, that wouldn't have gone through well
"Don't worry so much, Momma," Jensen spoke up, "I'm trying to gain it back. Once I noticed, I started. I just didn't have time to eat this mornin'. Ask Jared though, I ate something made out of pure sugar… so I'm tryin' 'cause I know it ain't healthy. So, don't worry."
"Yeah, yeah," Jared nodded, shaking his head way too much, it kinda made Jensen dizzy. "It was those pink cake things I brought home once, Mom. I was gonna force him to eat another one but then we got a meal, and dude, Mrs. Ackles, he ate something other than chicken. He was kinda glaring at the burger, but he ate it."
Where did the fucker get off on beaming, all proud like, at what he just said? That had been the greasiest burger he had ever eaten.
"I wasn't glaring at it; I was scared it was still alive. I was glaring at that cake thing, though."
Jared laughed at that and his mother giggled softly. Jared, the master at changing subjects, had successfully pulled them away from the rather awkward conversation and hopefully there'd be no more questions of Steve or about his weight. Now, if Jared would pry his hand off of Jensen's leg, he might actually be able to get comfortable.
"Okay." Jared's mom said, nodding her head as if she was satisfied. "But no more fighting. Or I'll take the belt after both of you. Jensen, don't you go and think you're too big for it. Your mother already gave me permission to use it before we headed to the police station.
Jensen was actually scared at what the neighbors had overheard when the two woman had, undoubtedly, been bitching at the top of their lungs before and while they had been heading towards the police station.
"Yes, ma'am. We're sorry for putting both of you through this." He mumbled because Momma had raised him to be polite… even when he was being threatened by a rodeo belt, which meant the buckle had to be a huge motherfucker.
"Yeah, sorry." Jared mumbled.
"Are you two okay now?" Momma asked, glancing at the two of them, "No more fighting… or at least fist-fights?"
"Yes, ma'am; we're fine now." Jared said, ignoring the way Jensen swatted at his hand after he squeezed slightly.
"You better be. Next time, we're gonna let you rot for a while. Now, Jared, go take Jensen to pick his car up before it gets towed. We're going to start dinner, and I'm hiding the sugar from you Jared. And when you get back here, there better not be any new bruises." Jared's mother said as she stood up, followed by Momma who stared intently at the two of them until they nodded.
"Good," Momma said, before turning around. She stopped for a second, looking at Jensen before adding, "And Jensen, honey, you're getting second helpings."
As soon as the two women were out of ear shot, Jared turned to Jensen and whispered, "fuck, that coulda gone worse."
Jensen glared at him, standing up, which meant Jared had to let go of him, then smiled triumphantly. "We're lucky we didn't spend the night in there. Fucking cell smelled like piss."
"Come on, let's go get your car. We'll be lucky if Mr. Thompson hasn't had it towed already."
"Yeah, yeah. Don't want to piss them off again."
The ride to the store was rather short, and silent. Both of them were worried about what in the world the two women were gonna cook up for dinner. Jared was pretty sure desert was out of the question. The sugar apparently being taken hostage and all pretty much left him saddened.
Jensen was sure that whatever it was, was gonna be nothing but greasy fat. Momma had never been Mrs. Healthy Cook. She was more for if it tasted good rather than if it kept you trim and she sure as hell wasn't about to change that when she had the chance to try and fatten him up… and Jared's mother… well, he was assuming she wasn't so much a healthy cook either, not with the way Jared seemed to be addicted to sugar. He could be wrong…but hey.
When they got to the parking lot it was to a brilliant surprise that seemed to end the evening off wonderfully. "Do you think it was Brad or Steve?" Jensen asked, pulling his keys from his pocket, unsure if he actually wanted to drive that around.
"No idea," Jared mumbled sadly.
Across the side of his car, someone had spray painted the word whore.
Oh yeah, his car was going in the garage until he could afford to get that off. Maybe Momma would let him borrow her car… maybe. Hell, he'd take the bus instead of drive that around.
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A/N:
Were they suppose to get all angry at each other? No, and especially not yet. Why did they? Who the hell knows. Did it work out? Yeah, yeah, admittedly it works out for what I'm aiming for. But, at this rate I'll never get to the scene I want to write.
On the weight issue: The only thing I know as fact is that both of the boys, more than likely, tower over my short ass. And I'm hoping that my memory is serving me right that Jensen's around 6' and Jared's around 6'4" and that's what I did the ideal body weight by. If I'm horribly wrong and my memory failed me, feel free to murder me, then point out the actual height and I can go back and edit in the right numbers. But right now, with all the homework and research I have to do for my classes, I'm focusing on only researching the important bits for this story. Since the numbers aren't too important, since all that really matters is the knowledge that Jensen is underweight and Jared isn't… so yeah, you got my excuses for if I'm wrong, and if I'm not pretend you never read this.
Hmm, there are black tomatoes… they're really tasty but completely unnerving due to the color.
Uhm, also, I'm scared of this chapter, scared that the characters are coming off… to chicky… so if they feel that way to you, please let me know because my sister said it was fine… but… still freaking out a bit here.
Note that this is based in Texas… and I've been around nothing but people who believe in corporal punishment…
There were a couple of hints in there on the friendship/relationship aspect of this… some of them that weren't that subtle. I'm still unsure on exactly which way it'll end up going because it doesn't so much impact the plot as just means difference in interactions between the two. But you got hints, that kind tie back to a couple of other instances.
I apologize for the long wait, but like I said in the last part, I'm kinda bogged down by my classes and if I want to get into a decent grad school, I gotta focus on my grades. I say this while I'm writing this, putting off the 4 hours worth of homework that's waiting for me. -_-
Once again, thank you all for your reviews, and I hope you all enjoyed this part. I randomly update on the status of the next update in my journal, so if you feel like it, you can learn just how much of a procrastinator I am.
Written to 12 Stones. Mainly World So Cold, but I had all the songs on repeat.
Kay
Hope you enjoyed!
Comments/Criticism?
Title: Where Love is Divided by Hate
Chapter: 1/1
Word Count: 5898
Rating: R
Disclaimer: The title is being politely borrowed from 12 Stones. This is, obviously, fake and did not happen. I am merely borrowing the names and faces of real life people and none of this is meant in any way to harm their reputation. This is a work of fiction and nothing contained within is thought to be real.
Warning: Contains various remarks to sensitive material. The characters grew their own way and there are hints to events and/or diseases that I had not planned on; as of now, I have not planned to dig into these aspects but that does not mean that the character’s will force me to follow through.
Previous parts: / Are We Feeling Awkward Yet? // Leave Me At the Roadside // The Rose That has been Burnt by Her Son /
A/N: Written for Jellicle’s Ugly Duckling bunny. (And it has now morphed out of control and I’m more than happy that it did... because it’s been way too long that I’ve been able to write anything of substantial length.)
Summary: He had figured it would be easy to slip past everything and everyone; figured that with all the weight loss, he didn’t look like the same person. Then why is everyone noticing him, remembering him? And what made Jared change?
Jensen couldn't stop his arms from crossing against his chest as he felt everyone's eyes move towards him. He raised his eyebrow at his oblivious teacher who was waiting as patiently as any caffeine junky could. "Jensen," the man began, standing up. "I know you understand the importance of wardrobe. The top that was made is too big for you now and Mrs. Mally insist that a week is not enough time for her to fix it with the other items she has to finish. Your character is a rebel, a loner. An easy fix for wardrobe is to see if either a wife beater or completely topless will work for your character."
The man was completely insane on his good days. He felt like a useless teenage girl, standing on the stage by himself, with everyone waiting for him to strip. Yeah, it was just his shirt but even with the rushing that happened backstage, he had yet to allow anyone to see him shirtless. Hell, he still hadn't broken out of the habit of changing in the bathroom. No one had a clue on how thankful he was to have gym for the last period for his whole high school career. He never had to shower in front of people. Of course, the bruises on his hips from Steve were just as embarrassing as the chub that had hung everywhere. Occasionally, he had to work out in long sleeves when Steve would hold his arms down, or ties his wrist.
At the time, the only thing he hadn't cared about was the hickeys. Because he enjoyed the surprised look on people's faces when they saw them. Which was kind of odd for him, but he rationalized it by saying he was just being proud because he proved people wrong. A non-confrontational way to say, 'yeah, got someone who'll make out with me.'
God, he was a stupid teenager. For fuck's sake, could he have gotten any weirder?
Back then, it was the chub. Now, he was pretty damned scared to take his shirt off in front of Jared, who would, with out a fucking doubt, go tell his mother just how skinny her beloved son had actually gotten. Because Jared had regressed into a two year old who tattled on everybody. It was the only explanation as to why he wasn't the bitch he was before. And it made sense in his mind, really, it did. Because a bitchy, jerk ass teenage Jared would have been a cruel and evil two year old who told on everyone.
Made perfect sense. Completely logical.
And why the fuck couldn't he wear a normal shirt? It wasn't like they were doing some super, sci-fi, two billion years into the future play. No, they were doing a play that would make lifetime blush. Why the teacher though a one of a kind shirt was perfect for a poor kid was a good idea in the first place was insane, and now, he's suggesting something that probably should have been done in the first place by the poor wardrobe girl, who was kind of shrinking into the background at the moment, hoping for an exit to magically form behind her. And he would have been able to convince her that a loose fitting shirt was perfect.
Lord, he shouldn't have had coffee this morning. But he had got up late and hadn't had time for breakfast and he needed something. Great, and when Jared ran to his mother to say he could count all of Jensen's ribs, she'd take that out of context.
He allowed a soft sigh to escape him before deciding that he'd better get on with it before the teacher finished getting on the stage, and forcefully stripped him.
Actually, he had to count to himself and close his eyes before he could even grasp the hem. And then it was easy to yank it off rather quickly before everyone was convinced he was completely insane.
"Fuck." Thank you, Brad. First time he opens his mouth and he's gotta say that. "Well, now we know why the shirt doesn't fit."
"Shut the fuck up, Brad." He heard Jared hiss and that was probably worse than standing on stage having everyone gawk at him.
"Maybe a shirt then," The teacher mumbled to himself, trying to see Jensen from every angle.
"Why do I gotta shut the fuck up?" Brad started to complain, staring at Jared in what probably was shock. "You don't fucking hang out with me in forever and now you're telling me to shut up? Fuck you, Jared. How does someone go from being that fucking huge to being able to see the fucker's organs?"
"It's been a few years, Brad." Jared said, rolling his eyes, as he crossed his arms. Jensen, on the other hand was praying that the teacher would finish sizing him up like he was a piece of meat so he could leave.
"Yeah but… man, I wonder if any of the chicks I fucked were that fat before…"
Oh, and thank God, the teacher was stepping back. "Uhm… am I done for the day… I have a doctor's appointment."
"Yeah, yeah, go, go. Mindy will find something for you, she might have to pull it out of her own closet, but she will."
Great, now the teacher was thinking of dressing him in a chick's shirt. Right. Shirt back on, backpack then he can leave.
---
He had counted himself extremely lucky that he had managed to avoid Jared all day. It was quite shocking, since he expected the overgrown man-child to come chasing after him.
Though, now he had the unshakable image of walking into the front door to see Jared and Mamma sitting at the table, hands crossed and staring at him seriously. He didn't find it too odd that he could imagine Jared sharing the look Momma had perfected over many years. Disappointment mixed with worry and more than just a touch of anger.
So, he was standing by his car, loading groceries into the back, beaming over his magnificent ability to avoid everyone when a hand suddenly snatched his arm, nearly making him drop a bag. Which was filled with glass jars so… good thing he had a grip of death on the flimsy plastic.
He didn't even need to turn his head all the way to see a seething Jared standing right behind him. If this had been a cartoon, steam would be coming from the man's head. To be completely honest, Jared looked like he belonged in a cartoon, all towering and huge and shit. He really should have knocked on wood when he was celebrating the fact that he hadn't seen Jared.
Leave it to life to completely fuck up his plan to head home and face facts. Of course, it felt he needed to face all the facts before he got home, where he could go sleep in his bedroom after any confrontations that were bound to happen.
"What the hell's your problem?" He asked, attempting to yank his arm out of Jared's grasp.
If Jared had something to say, the least he could do was allow Jensen to finish putting the bags in the car.
"What the hell are you doing to yourself?" Jared demanded, and had his father been around like he should have, Jensen might have been able to compare Jared to the man. But since his dad hadn't been present often, he was left comparing Jared to an angry uncle instead… which didn't quite work out right because his uncles rarely got that pissed at him.
The only time might have been when he mowed over Uncle George's prized garden. Which wasn't completely on accident; he was really, really tired of eating the tomatoes. Especially the black ones. No amount of convincing would ever get him to believe that tomatoes were ever supposed to be black. They were supposed to be bright red. Unfortunately, the day after the incident he had nothing but those damn black tomatoes.
"What?" Jensen asked, finally pulling his arm free, allowing him to toss the bag into the car - which wasn't the smartest idea because he heard the glass clink together dangerously - and then crossed his arms.
"This!" Jared yelled, his hands motioning wildly around in what Jensen assumed was suppose to motion at his body but failed completely. "What the fuck? You were a fat ass so instead of doing shit the healthy way you decide to fucking become a fucking anorexic shit? Did you puke all the shit back up after I left the other day?"
Oh, the moron has two fucking brain cells. Yeah, he was feeling defensive. Bastard goes around acting all nice and shit and then calls him a fat ass? Was he gonna bring up the names he use to shoot at Jensen in high school? That would be perfect. Instead of jumping and calling Jared the names that were going through his head, he laughed. "Anorexics don’t puke the shit back up, moron."
"So you're the other one; gonna be stupid and fuck up your life some more? Think people will hire you for being a fucking stick. Gay porn is the only shit that's got use for guys that fucking small, you fucking moron."
Low blow. He could either punch Jared, grab a bag, maybe the one with cans in it, and hit him with that shit… "Fuck off, Jared. Fuck off." Had he not been acting, he wouldn't have known his voice could go that low.
"What are you gonna do about it? Fight me? I'd break your fucking ass in half."
Jensen was up in Jared's face now, face squinted in a glare, shoulder's squared. "Like you did back in high school? You think I'm still that fucking weak, Jared? You think I can't fight you? Come on then, 'cause I didn't lose all that fucking weight by sitting on my ass."
It was Jared's turn to laugh at him, staring down at him like he was a piece of dirt. Nice to know that Jared hadn't forgotten that look from his teenage years. "You went to the gym? Don't lie to me again, Jensen. You ain't got a single fucking muscle. We all saw that."
"Lie to you again? What the fuck are you goin' on about? I never fuckin' lied to you and quit acting like a jealous fucking girlfriend."
"Stress made you lose weight, my fucking ass. There's something fucking wrong with you apparently. First you don't know when to fucking stop so you becoming a damn blimp and now, the easiest path is to just starve your fucking self like a pathetic ass chick. You don't understand what a fucking happy fucking middle is; you gotta do everything to the fucking extreme, huh? You don't look like a fucking skeleton because of fucking stress."
"Fuck you, Jared, fuck you. You think after a few weeks of you playin' at nice, that you know me? Bullshit, you don't know shit Jared so got back to your fucking life and stay outta mine. I was the perfect weight before I came back here so screw you. I started losing it again after seeing Steven in the bar. You're a fucking moron if you think I don't know that I gotta gain some back."
"You're lying to yourself, you know that. The hell you were the perfect weight before you got here. I saw your skinny ass when you got here! And don't think I forgot the way you didn't eat shit that first night either!"
"Whatever, what the fuck ever." Jensen hissed, "screw you, Jared. Like I said, go back to your own fucking life and stop acting like you're some reformed angel."
Jared's hand reached out to grab him when he turned around to head for the driver's side door; it was probably meant to just stop him from walking away from the issue but at the moment, he didn't have time to think of rational things. Jensen was round up, every muscle tight and ready to go; so when Jared's hand landed on his shoulder, he spun around and punched.
And in return, Jared punched back.
When the cops came, they had no excuses for their behavior. Standing there, bruised and out of breath, the only option was to allow themselves to be cuffed and put in the back of the car, and try, try with all their might, not to start trying to attack each other with their heads or feet.
---
Jensen looked up with a glare when they put Jared into the same cell as him. He sometime believed that cops didn't have a brain between all of them. You pull up and separate two grown men from bashing each other's heads in, gonna charge them with whatever they had done, and then put them in the same cell? Asking for trouble, really.
Though, admittedly, Jensen had calmed down so he wasn't feeling like throwing any more punches soon. Not with the way his jaw ached or the way his chest seemed to breathe fire. Hopefully, Jared felt as bad as he did.
Apparently, he did, because as soon as he sat down he little out a little hiss of pain before turning to face Jensen. "Sorry."
"For?" He asked, refusing to look at the bulk of pure fucking muscle sitting across from him. Neither of them needed to work each other up again. That could wait until they got out of here and onto private property, with no one around to call the damn cops on them.
"Punching you?"
Smooth, make it sound like a question. Bet his mother had, at some point, given up on teaching the boy how to apologize. Obviously, you had to know what the hell you were saying sorry about.
"Oh, not for being an asshole?"
"No, you know I'm an asshole. Always have been and I'll continue to be. No changin' that."
Jensen couldn't help but snort at that. "Obviously. Gonna force your ideas on everyone around you?"
"Is that how you're putting me calling you a bunch of shit in high school? Sounds better than the fact that I was a fuckin' bully from hell."
All Jensen could do was shrug at that, and very weakly at that. Damn bruises. "I guess. I still hate you for that shit… but, honestly, if it had been all easy for me, what woulda made me change. It was unhealthy being that big… and I was just getting bigger and bigger. It woulda been nice not having to put up with your shit though."
"I was pretty cruel back then. How big were you back then? To be honest, all I got memories of is… you being unrealistically huge."
"Between three hundred and three twenty, I think."
"Oh… how much do you weigh now?"
"As in right now,or before I started losing weight again… oh wait, sorry, you think that's a lie. One fifteen."
"Don't start being an ass again; I said I was sorry." Jensen dared to glance over at Jared, watching how he ran his huge hand through his shaggy hair. "You do realize that's underweight, right? You're too tall for that."
"For punching me, not being an asshole. And what? You know that from the top of your head?" A soft sigh escaped from him before he continued, "Yeah, I do realize that. I'm tryin' to gain it back, get back to one forty-five. It's on the low side, but still considered healthy."
He bit his tongue when Jared snorted at that. "Dude, I'm one ninety. How the hell is one forty-five considered healthy?"
"Jared. If you haven't noticed, you're a giant and a full fucking head taller than me."
Apparently, Jared thought it would be best to change directions in the conversation because he busted out with. "How the hell are you tryin' to gain weight back, all you eat is salads."
"I ate that fucking monstrosity to you got me at the damn café, didn't I?"
"Monstrosity? No, I remember getting this delicious as all hell thing…"
"For someone who thinks sugar is a must have in any and every meal." He couldn't help but smile a little bit when Jared laughed at that. "Wait, sorry, excuse me. For someone who thinks that seven spoons of sugar in their coffee is actually healthy."
"Hey, I work it all off." Jared said defensively, but still smiling.
"You'd have to be in the gym all day to work off all the damn sugar you eat."
They sat in silence for a little while before Jared burst out with a groan. "Man… mom's gonna kill me. I probably shoulda approached you when you were at your mother's… that way neither of us woulda thrown any punches in fear that she'd take the broom after us."
"Your mom wouldn't threaten you with a broom if you just started fighting?" Jensen asked, moving to sit a bit more comfortably on the hard as hell bench/bed thing.
"Uh… no. She keeps Dad's rodeo belt hanging up in the living room. That damn thing hurts."
Maybe it was wrong to laugh at the guy's discomfort, but, hey, he was still slightly pissed at him. "Dude, my ass is as hard as rocks from how many times that damn belt fell across it. And then Grandma and her wooden spoons… shit man, my ass is steel now. Swear to God."
"I do not want to hear you talk about your ass, dude."
Jensen watched as Jared opened his mouth to say something, but apparently caught himself and just shut the hole… which was a blessing, because the slight blush on that tanned face, well, that meant that whatever he had been ready to say would have lead to a rather awkward silence.
What felt like hours later, they both looked up to see the sheriff and their mothers standing outside of their cell. The Sheriff looked rather amused while the two women looked about ready to commit murder. Both of them stood with their legs spread apart, foots taping at an insane speed and their hands resting firmly on their hips. Jared's mother might be a short woman, shorter than his Momma even, but dude, he'd hate to be going home with her… because he was pretty sure she'd put Jared over her knee and take that belt after him. She looks like the type of woman who would say shit like 'You ain't too big for me to put you over my knee.'
That would be an amusing sight, though. Jared the Giant bent over her knee.
For a brief moment, Jensen felt like it was safer to stay inside of the cell for a few years… until rationality took over.
"Okay, boys. Your mothers explained what the hell you were doing. Next time just come and ask us what our response times are, it's better than being thrown in here."
Uhm. What?
Both him and Jared were too scared to even glance at each other for clarification.
"I guarantee you, no report is worth either of you boys gettin' a record. So stay outta trouble." The Sheriff looked like he was about to burst into laughter, and the two of them, they were pretty damn terrified and confused. "Come on, come on. Get up and outta here or I'll make you spend the night to learn you lesson."
"Uhm… okay," Jared mumbled, standing up slowly, looking over at Jensen before offering him a hand.
Okay, maybe the guy had a couple of brain cells… or at least more than two. Because it worked out to act like whatever the sheriff was believing had happened. Better than staying inside the damp cell. So, he took the offered hand, trying not to wince when it pulled some bruised muscle in his chest.
As soon as they stepped outside of the police department, and were near the car their mothers had driven, Jensen felt Momma's hand slam into the back of his head. "Are the two of you morons?" She hissed, slamming the passenger side's door open, glaring at him, and then at Jared. "First, I get a call from Martha, saying the police called her, saying you two had been arrested for fighting and then, then I get a call as well. Fighting! In a parking lot, for God's sake!"
"Have the two of you lost your minds?" Jared's mother began, picking up where Momma had stopped, climbing into the car, glaring at the two of them until they followed her lead, "What do you think charges like those would do to the your futures. Christ, fighting? Fighting! Are the two of you still in middle school? No!"
"You're grown adults and you still try to solve your problems with your fist?" Momma started again, and all they could do was hang their heads in a submissive manner. "Morons. The both of you. Morons. I didn't think I'd given birth to a moron but apparently I was wrong."
"The two of you are so lucky you didn't continue to fight after the police, the police, had pulled you apart. Otherwise they wouldn't have believed a word we had said. Honestly, what were you thinking?"
Jensen glanced over at Jared only to see the guy's head sink lower as his mother and Momma continued on with their rampage. Later, when the two woman calmed down, they could cheer over the fact that their mothers had lied to the police. But right now, the best idea was to keep silent. Very, very silent. He was pretty sure that there was something up in the front that one of the women could use as a weapon if either of them opened their mouths.
"Jared, what the hell would your brother think if he found out you were arrested for fighting Jensen?" He'd probably shout for joy, Jensen thought, and from the glance that Jared shot him, Jared was thinking exactly the same thing, "And your father, Jared? You better hope he doesn't find out about this; no, you better pray he doesn't. And you Jensen, your mother's sick! She doesn't need the stress of finding out her son has been arrested!"
Obviously, he hadn't been thinking of his mother's health when his fist started flying at Jared. He hadn't been thinking of much at the time.
"The both of you, morons. I swear to God, you both need your brains beat back into you."
Jensen hadn't though Jared's mother shared the same temper his mother had, but apparently the both of them were on the exact same page. And tearing a piece out of each of the boys was their main objective.
When Jensen dared to look up, they were in a neighborhood that he didn't recognize and he was past confused but was starting to successfully block out each of the women's bitching since they started to repeat what they had already said.
When they pulled into a driveway, he finally saw his mother's car and realized that they were probably at Jared's house. Which was rather huge compared to his mother's house.
"Out of the car, now!" Momma barked, and Jensen pretty much jumped to attention and was out in record time. Unsurprisingly, so was Jared .
When it came to their mothers, they were trained dogs. At the moment, if either woman told them to roll over and play dead, they would. Mainly because, it's not in either of their best interests to either argue or ignore a demand.
"Now, we're going to sit down and the two of you are going to tell us what in the world brought you two to fighting." Momma said, and it was pretty clear she was trying her damnedest not to yell or grab Jensen by the ear.
Which was painful, to say the least.
"I-it was really nothing, Mrs. Ackles…" Jared said… had the stupidity to say.
"Jared!" His mother barked.
"Yes, Ma'am."
Like he said: trained dogs. No man with an ounce of sense disobeyed their mothers when they were this pissed. Jensen was pretty sure that the same counted for husbands and their wives… was damn sure it was training for when they got married.
The two of them followed their mothers into the spotless house, heads bowed in defeat, followed them into the kitchen and nearly fell into the seats.
"Now," Momma began, her hands clasped in front of her on the table, still glaring but keeping her voice calm. "Please explain to us why we had to drive to the police station to get our sons out. Sons who have never been in trouble with the law before."
"Uhm," Jared said, glancing over at Jensen who just wanted to hide his face in his arms. "It… was, uh, just a difference of opinion."
"Jared." His mother warned him, and Jensen couldn't help but groan out loud. He was glad that Jared didn't want to tell the two women about his weight issue but… it seemed like it was the only way, though.
Otherwise, they'd be here all night.
"Jared was concerned… uh, about my weight. I hit him first."
"Jensen! Why would you do that?" Momma asked, shocked. Why she was shocked was beyond him… one of them had to throw the first punch.
"I was in a bad mood…"
"That is no excuse, young man."
"I know." He mumbled, hanging his head just a little lower, hoping she would take it as a sign of remorse so they could leave. He felt like a ten year old, sitting here before the two mothers.
"And what exactly was the issue with your weight?" She asked and he really, really tried hard to hold in that groan that escaped. "We've all been worried about your weight, you haven't punched any of us before for questioning you about it."
He was pretty sure it was worse when her voice was filled with more concern than anger. He liked the anger better… wasn't as close to pity as the concern was.
"He…" Jared sighed softly, pushing his hand through his hair again. The action seemed to be a nervous tick. Which was nice to know, because now Jensen could tell when the giant was nervous. It had potential to be a fun little fact. "He had to take his shirt off, in class today. I saw how much weight he lost. I was pretty angry when I finally found him… and, uh, started yelling shit at him."
"I thought we had worked on your anger, Jared." Jensen bit his lip, because he was pretty sure Jared would rather have the concerned tone that Jensen had gotten, rather than the disappointment that seemed to fill Jared's mom.
"How much weight have you lost, Jensen?" Momma asked, her hand reaching out to touch his arm at the same time that Jared's hand landed on his knee, to squeeze it reassuringly.
Which wasn't a very reassuring gesture, at least not in Jensen's book.
It only caused Jensen to bite his lip and force himself not to slam his head into the table. "Um, like twenty pounds… give or take a few, you know…" He winced as soon as the words left his mouth, because if Momma had been sitting right next to him instead of across from him, she would have smacked him in the back of his head again for saying that like it didn't matter.
Now Jared's mother was staring at him, and he wished he was at his own home so he could go and hide in his bedroom like he was two. Oh yeah, he was a fucking hard core pussy. "Honey," She began, smiling sadly at him while Jared's hand squeezed his knee that much tighter, "why are you losing weight? You were perfectly fine before… a bit on the skinny side, but you didn't need to lose any weight."
"Uhm," Jared began, and thank the Lord that he was speaking because Jensen really didn't want to. "I don't think he meant to…" For such a big guy, the dude could make himself look small, "Well, I did before when I confronted him but we talked calmly while we were locked up and I don't think so anymore. He says its just stress and I kinda believe him now. I was just really pissed when I first confronted him so…"
He could look small and ramble like a two year old.
"Jensen." Momma said sternly to get him to look directly at her. And Jared's hand began to rub his leg now, and he was this close from pinching the oblivious fucker. "What is stressing you out so much that you'd lose that much weight? I know you didn't eat breakfast this morning… is it me and my illness?"
"No, no Momma. It's not that. The doctor said you're getting' better. It's…" and now it was his turn to run his hand through his hair, though he clearly didn't have as much hair as Jared, so it was more like rubbing his head instead. "It's this whole issue with Steve… you know. He's out and about, and I'm just worried he didn't take the hint when I told him off in the bar…"
He shot a look at Jared and hoped the goof realized it meant not to bring up the whole pictures and videos issue. "You saw him in a bar?" He mother yelped, her hand going to her mouth.
He thought he had eventually told her about that. "Uh, yeah," Jared spoke up and Jensen was gritting his teeth, "I was there when that happened… and then we both found out that the bastard had contacted Jake, like I told you, Mom. And then how Jake hadn't taken the visit with Jensen very well. And I told Jensen that if the bastard bothered him again to try and get a restraining order against him… and he's been helping me try and get the restraining order put back on for Jake…"
It was eerie how the guy didn't even lose a second lying to his mom, because the hell if he had told Jensen to get a restraining order. Though, it was better than saying that he was gonna kick Steve's ass if he fucked with either of them, Jake or Jensen, again. Just getting out of jail for fighting and all; yeah, that wouldn't have gone through well
"Don't worry so much, Momma," Jensen spoke up, "I'm trying to gain it back. Once I noticed, I started. I just didn't have time to eat this mornin'. Ask Jared though, I ate something made out of pure sugar… so I'm tryin' 'cause I know it ain't healthy. So, don't worry."
"Yeah, yeah," Jared nodded, shaking his head way too much, it kinda made Jensen dizzy. "It was those pink cake things I brought home once, Mom. I was gonna force him to eat another one but then we got a meal, and dude, Mrs. Ackles, he ate something other than chicken. He was kinda glaring at the burger, but he ate it."
Where did the fucker get off on beaming, all proud like, at what he just said? That had been the greasiest burger he had ever eaten.
"I wasn't glaring at it; I was scared it was still alive. I was glaring at that cake thing, though."
Jared laughed at that and his mother giggled softly. Jared, the master at changing subjects, had successfully pulled them away from the rather awkward conversation and hopefully there'd be no more questions of Steve or about his weight. Now, if Jared would pry his hand off of Jensen's leg, he might actually be able to get comfortable.
"Okay." Jared's mom said, nodding her head as if she was satisfied. "But no more fighting. Or I'll take the belt after both of you. Jensen, don't you go and think you're too big for it. Your mother already gave me permission to use it before we headed to the police station.
Jensen was actually scared at what the neighbors had overheard when the two woman had, undoubtedly, been bitching at the top of their lungs before and while they had been heading towards the police station.
"Yes, ma'am. We're sorry for putting both of you through this." He mumbled because Momma had raised him to be polite… even when he was being threatened by a rodeo belt, which meant the buckle had to be a huge motherfucker.
"Yeah, sorry." Jared mumbled.
"Are you two okay now?" Momma asked, glancing at the two of them, "No more fighting… or at least fist-fights?"
"Yes, ma'am; we're fine now." Jared said, ignoring the way Jensen swatted at his hand after he squeezed slightly.
"You better be. Next time, we're gonna let you rot for a while. Now, Jared, go take Jensen to pick his car up before it gets towed. We're going to start dinner, and I'm hiding the sugar from you Jared. And when you get back here, there better not be any new bruises." Jared's mother said as she stood up, followed by Momma who stared intently at the two of them until they nodded.
"Good," Momma said, before turning around. She stopped for a second, looking at Jensen before adding, "And Jensen, honey, you're getting second helpings."
As soon as the two women were out of ear shot, Jared turned to Jensen and whispered, "fuck, that coulda gone worse."
Jensen glared at him, standing up, which meant Jared had to let go of him, then smiled triumphantly. "We're lucky we didn't spend the night in there. Fucking cell smelled like piss."
"Come on, let's go get your car. We'll be lucky if Mr. Thompson hasn't had it towed already."
"Yeah, yeah. Don't want to piss them off again."
The ride to the store was rather short, and silent. Both of them were worried about what in the world the two women were gonna cook up for dinner. Jared was pretty sure desert was out of the question. The sugar apparently being taken hostage and all pretty much left him saddened.
Jensen was sure that whatever it was, was gonna be nothing but greasy fat. Momma had never been Mrs. Healthy Cook. She was more for if it tasted good rather than if it kept you trim and she sure as hell wasn't about to change that when she had the chance to try and fatten him up… and Jared's mother… well, he was assuming she wasn't so much a healthy cook either, not with the way Jared seemed to be addicted to sugar. He could be wrong…but hey.
When they got to the parking lot it was to a brilliant surprise that seemed to end the evening off wonderfully. "Do you think it was Brad or Steve?" Jensen asked, pulling his keys from his pocket, unsure if he actually wanted to drive that around.
"No idea," Jared mumbled sadly.
Across the side of his car, someone had spray painted the word whore.
Oh yeah, his car was going in the garage until he could afford to get that off. Maybe Momma would let him borrow her car… maybe. Hell, he'd take the bus instead of drive that around.
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A/N:
Were they suppose to get all angry at each other? No, and especially not yet. Why did they? Who the hell knows. Did it work out? Yeah, yeah, admittedly it works out for what I'm aiming for. But, at this rate I'll never get to the scene I want to write.
On the weight issue: The only thing I know as fact is that both of the boys, more than likely, tower over my short ass. And I'm hoping that my memory is serving me right that Jensen's around 6' and Jared's around 6'4" and that's what I did the ideal body weight by. If I'm horribly wrong and my memory failed me, feel free to murder me, then point out the actual height and I can go back and edit in the right numbers. But right now, with all the homework and research I have to do for my classes, I'm focusing on only researching the important bits for this story. Since the numbers aren't too important, since all that really matters is the knowledge that Jensen is underweight and Jared isn't… so yeah, you got my excuses for if I'm wrong, and if I'm not pretend you never read this.
Hmm, there are black tomatoes… they're really tasty but completely unnerving due to the color.
Uhm, also, I'm scared of this chapter, scared that the characters are coming off… to chicky… so if they feel that way to you, please let me know because my sister said it was fine… but… still freaking out a bit here.
Note that this is based in Texas… and I've been around nothing but people who believe in corporal punishment…
There were a couple of hints in there on the friendship/relationship aspect of this… some of them that weren't that subtle. I'm still unsure on exactly which way it'll end up going because it doesn't so much impact the plot as just means difference in interactions between the two. But you got hints, that kind tie back to a couple of other instances.
I apologize for the long wait, but like I said in the last part, I'm kinda bogged down by my classes and if I want to get into a decent grad school, I gotta focus on my grades. I say this while I'm writing this, putting off the 4 hours worth of homework that's waiting for me. -_-
Once again, thank you all for your reviews, and I hope you all enjoyed this part. I randomly update on the status of the next update in my journal, so if you feel like it, you can learn just how much of a procrastinator I am.
Written to 12 Stones. Mainly World So Cold, but I had all the songs on repeat.
Kay
Hope you enjoyed!
Comments/Criticism?