Title: You’re Worth It
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Jensen/Jared, Jared/Tom
Summary: Jared has been, and always will be, in love with the gorgeous football quarterback Tom Welling. Tom finds Jared’s ‘crush’ amusing and frequently uses Jared, but refuses to date him or acknowledge there’s any sort of relationship at all. Concerned, Jared’s friends Chad and Sandy are through with Jared skipping out on the potential for a real relationship with someone who will treat Jared like he deserves and think Tom needs to be taught a lesson on taking people for granted. Enter Jensen, a college sophomore who owes his cousin Sandy a favor and who is the perfect ‘fake boyfriend’ to make even Tom Welling jealous.
A/N: Written for
ashtraythief! Happy Birthday babe!! Birthday fic and there’s a birthday porny pic in here as well! I tried to keep it low on the angst front LOL!
A/N2:Huge thank you to
theatregirl7299 for the quick beta work! ♥ Especially since this was supposed to be a short, kinda cutesy one shot. Complete work of fiction. Feedback fuels the fire!
“Jared, come on man…” Chad groaned, letting his head drop onto his crossed arms. “This is our senior year!”
“You just don’t under-”
“Understand. Yeah, we know Jay. We know that this is the year that Tom will finally appreciate you for who you are and not just for your body. Seriously?” Sandy rolled her eyes.
Jared swallowed hard and stared across the cafeteria table at his two best friends. Chad Michael Murray, best friend since they were in diapers, was peeking at him over his arms now, his blond hair sticking up in all directions which would have been funny if Jared didn’t know he’s been practically ripping his hair out the entire lunch period. Then there was Sandra McCoy, the newest addition to their little group, moving to Austin after her family was killed and she’d come to live with her grandparents. Though, in six months she’d become an important part of their group dynamic.
“Guys… I know you don’t think that it will happen… but it will. I grew up a lot over the summer, you know? He even told me yesterday that I looked hot this year and-”
“Yesterday?” Chad’s head shot up completely now and he threw an exasperated look at Sandy before turning his attention back to Jared. “You slept with Tom yesterday?”
Jared felt his face flush and he looked down at his half-eaten lunch tray.
“Jay… I thought we agreed that you weren’t going to walk back into this again!”
“Fuck, Chad. I don’t need this okay? I was feeling really good until I came to lunch with you two!” Jared shoved his tray away and turned, reaching for his backpack.
“Jared, don’t!” Sandy’s hand shot out, grabbing Jared’s arm and stopping him. “Just… we’re sorry, okay?” Chad muttered something under his breath, causing Sandy to kick him under the table, but Jared paused anyways. “Look… we just care Jared, and we want you to be happy! We want you to have a guy in your life that wants you for more than just sex. Maybe…. maybe this year Tom will man up and ask for a relationship, but he’s not going to do that if you keep giving free handouts!”
“You make it sound like I’m a slut…” Jared muttered, letting his bag drop back between his feet. Sandy gave him a sad look and he had to push back the rise of anger in his stomach. It wasn’t like he hadn’t heard that before from the other guys on the team every time they caught him hanging around the locker room…
“You could do better, J-man.” Chad shook his head and Jared caught his eyes. “You fucking know it too, so don’t give me that bullshit puppy dog crap.”
“What do you guys want me to do?” Jared asked, tearing his eyes away from Chad’s to stare down at his hands. “I like how Tom makes me feel when we’re together. Yeah, after when he ignores me and pretends I don’t exist I feel pretty crappy but…” He shrugged, trailing off.
“I have an idea,” Sandy said slowly and when Jared looked up he saw Chad’s face matched the confusion his held. “But you have to promise to keep an open mind, okay?”
“Um… I mean…. I’ll hear you out.” Jared answered slowly and Sandy was quick to shake her head.
“No, no you have to trust me. If you really want Tom, Jared? We have to show him exactly what he is missing. That means no more booty calls, okay? No more answering his texts to meet whenever he calls, no more checking over his English homework or cleaning out his locker for him. And, you are coming to Mikey’s party this weekend and you are not going to even give Tom the time of day, okay?”
“But Mike usually lets us use--”
“No!” Sandy cut him off and pushed off of the table, her long hair swinging back over her shoulder. “This is my way, Jared. Just… try it, please?”
That was how Jared Padalecki found himself sitting nervously in the backseat of Sandy’s car, twisting the cuff of his sweater and contemplating just how far he could get if he ripped open the door and just ran for it.
“Jay, you’re giving me a fucking panic attack just looking at you,” Chad muttered from the front seat, rolling his head to the side to look behind him.
“This is a bad idea, Chad. This is a really bad idea. I can’t get Tom to even acknowledge me in the hallways. What makes Sandy think this… this guy in college, her cousin or not, is going to want to pretend to date me?”
“Just… shut up, Jared. You don’t even realize half the people that look at you because you’re so far up Tom’s ass.”
Jared snorted at that and opened his mouth, ready to respond when the light for the car clicked on as the car door was opened. Jared’s stomach rolled and he held his breath, eyes staring at the seat beside him as two long legs slid into the car. Jared could feel his heart beating faster in his chest and when the legs cleared their throat, Jared realized he couldn’t stare at the guys knees the entire night.
Slowly, Jared let his eyes trail up, and he felt them widen when he met the bright green eyes of his ‘date’ for the night. Fuck. Someone hotter than Tom was supposed to pass as his date? A nervous laughter erupted from Jared and he turned his wild eyes onto Sandy who was looking back at them from the driver’s seat.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” His voice squeaked. He knew it, but he couldn’t possibly care because this? This was ridiculous.
“Jared!” Sandy admonished, her eyes flicking between Jared and her insanely-gorgeous-cousin. “Way to be freaking rude!”
“Sandy! This is never going to work!” Jared argued, glancing over to see Sandy’s cousin staring back at him with a small smirk on his lips. “Like anyone is going to believe that he wanted to date me.”
“Well it doesn’t matter what anyone believes, does it?” Sandy retorted and swung back around to start up the car. “What matters is making Tom see that you’re not going to be in his back pocket forever and that someone else is capable of paying attention to you. Now, Jared this is Jensen. Jensen this is my rude best friend Jared.”
Jared sighed, his hands shaking in his lap. “Hello,” he murmured and jumped when a large, warm hand closed over one of his shaking ones. His eyes snapped up and he met bright green eyes, illuminated by every streetlight they passed.
“No need to be nervous,” Jensen said, his voice pitched low and soft. “It’s a Friday night, I’m free of studying for a few hours, so let’s just focus on having some fun, okay?”
“Yeah…. okay.” Jared nodded back and Jensen squeezed his hand once more before pulling back. The rest of the ride was filled in with Sandy and Jensen talking about their family, Jensen asking Sandy --and Chad replying-- about how school was going, and Jared was glad he wasn’t expected to join in.
He did, however, spend his ride in silence sneaking glances over at Jensen. Every time Sandy or Chad said something funny, the guy let loose. Every smile took over, his entire body going with the motion, and every time he laughed, he threw his head back or had to cover his face, his shoulders shaking. Jared licked his lower lip and made sure to tear his eyes away every time Jensen threw a glance his way.
By the time they reached Mike Rosenbaum’s house, Jared had finished shaking. Although no one had talked to him, Jensen had managed to include him in the conversation without requiring him to actually respond. Jensen was attractive, he seemed nice, and he made an effort to get along with Chad even though they would probably never see each other again. At the very least, Jared was sure he could enjoy himself in Jensen’s company for a few hours.
The party was well on its way when they approached the front deck. Even with all of the windows and the front door closed, the music from inside was heard clearly. Colored strobe lights flashed through the windows, lighting up all of their clothes, and Sandy flung her hair back over her shoulder and approached the door first, knocking once before it was flung open.
“Hey!” A guy Jared recognized from the football team opened the door and moved aside to let them all in. Sandy made small talk with him for a few minutes and Jared was ashamed to admit he searched the first floor of the house -- from what he could see, anyways-- for Tom.
“Come on,” Chad nudged Jared with his elbow, nearly knocking him over and he was surprised when Jensen’s arms snapped out to steady him. “I’m going to need a drink for tonight…”
Jared felt himself flush and he pulled away from Jensen’s touch and watched as Chad walked off, Sandy following after him a few seconds later. He cleared his throat, realizing that he was now alone with Jensen in the middle of the foyer. “Um…”
“Do you want to dance?” Jensen suggested, shrugging his shoulders when Jared looked up to meet his eyes. “Get a drink? Head outside? I’m up for anything.”
“We can dance, I guess.” Jared shrugged back and he was rewarded with a huge smile from Jensen who grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the living room where the speakers were set up. They were easily absorbed into the small group of people already dancing and despite himself, Jared found himself slowly relaxing and enjoying himself with Jensen.
He searched the crowd for Tom, knowing he would easily be able to see the other guy above the rest of the crowd, and even though he was sure Jensen noticed his wandering gaze, he said nothing. The dancing couples closest to them were staring back and forth between Jared and Jensen, always ending on Jensen, and Jared felt himself flush. Their looks said it all…
Jensen was gorgeous, anyone with eyes could see that. And Jared was… well, not. He had yet to come into himself, something his mother never seemed to fail to remind him every time he complained about his looks, and his long legs and arms made the rest of him seem small and odd. He probably looked just as strange next to Jensen as he did next to Tom…
But Tom didn’t think he was ugly. Every time they were together, Tom would tell him how hot his ass was, how he loved the way Jared felt around him, how he liked seeing his marks all over Jared’s back… And Jared loved it. Honestly, Tom made him feel attractive and he loved the way he could make Tom feel, even if it was only for a short amount of time. Eventually Tom would come around for the rest, Jared would hold out for that. After all, he had to see something in Jared, right? Otherwise he never would have approached him at the start of their Junior year...
Jensen was pressed up against his back, dancing with him and looking completely at ease. Around them, people had finally stopped staring and them, and Jared felt a small pang of wonderment that people actually thought that he could be with someone like Jensen. Jensen felt good, so unlike how he sometimes felt with Tom, and -- No. Jared swallowed hard, guilt suddenly swirling in his stomach. There was no comparison between Jensen and Tom. Jensen was here as a favor, was here to make Tom jealous, and Tom was everything that Jared wanted.
“You’re thinking too loud,” Jensen pressed forward, his chin resting against Jared’s shoulder and Jared stilled against him. He gave a small sigh and Jensen waited a second more before speaking again. “I’m going to get us something to drink. Wait here for me?”
Jared nodded, grateful since all of the dancing they’d been doing had made him hot, and Jensen slipped away through the crowd towards the kitchen. He turned, ready to move to the edge of the crowd so Jensen could return to him easier when someone moved in front of him.
“T-Tom!” Jared took a step back, surprised that he hadn’t even realized Tom had come into the living room. He had just been looking for him… “I didn’t see you…”
“Yeah, I saw you seemed to be a bit busy.” Tom answered, eyes flashing as he looked down at Jared. “Who was that?”
“Oh, um… my date. He went to get us a drink so…”
“Right, well I was thinking we could take a trip upstairs. What do you think?” Tom gave him a wink and Jared felt himself start to shake. God, yes! his mind screamed at him. Was this even a question?
“Well, I have to tell Jensen that--”
“Yeah, I get it, you’re a cock tease. You don’t have to tell him anything.” Tom rolled his eyes and flashed Jared his perfect, blinding smile. “Now can you cut the shit and come upstairs with me? Come on, Jared… I want you.” Tom stepped closer, almost gliding until he was pressed against Jared; Jared melted.
“I…”
“Excuse me.” Jensen’s voice made Jared jump and he gasped as an arm was slid around his waist and he was pulled from Tom’s chest to press back against Jensen’s. “Can we help you?”
“This is between me and Jared, actually. So no. There’s plenty of people here though who would be more than happy to continue dancing with you, I’m sure.” Tom smiled and reached for Jared again.
“I don’t think so,” Jensen snapped, taking a step back and pulling Jared with him. He pressed the red solo cup into Jared’s hand and released his waist only to push forward in front of Jared. Jared peeked over Jensen’s shoulder, his eyes wide at the expression he saw on Tom’s face. Shock, disbelief, and rage. It sent a shiver through Jared. Sandy’s plan might actually be working…
“Excuse me?” Tom’s voice was low and he flexed his arms as he crossed them over his chest. “I think Jared is perfectly capable of making his own choices.”
“Oh, I know that he is. But I highly doubt that my boyfriend would choose to go with you when he can stay here and dance some more with me.” Silence fell between them, the base thrumming from the speakers matching up with the beat of Jared’s heart as he stared between the two of them. Boyfriend?
Sandy and Chad were suddenly there as well, standing on either side of Jared and Jared threw a glance up, meeting Sandy’s wide eyes.
“Um… No, I mean, yeah…” he stumbled over his words, staring at Tom’s chest instead of at his face. “I’m… I’m here with Jensen and my friends…” The smile from Sandy and ‘Yes!’ from Chad almost were worth the murderous glare Tom gave him. Instantly, Jared wanted to swallow his words and go to Tom’s side.
“I think we’re done here.” Jensen stopped him, an arm around his shoulders; Jared hadn’t even realized he’d moved forward…
“Well, since I have no plans on using it, why don’t you and your boyfriend head on upstairs then?” Tom offered, a grin on his face and Jared felt his blood run cold. Well, this was it. He could feel Sandy shifting behind him and he closed his eyes for a moment knowing full well that once he admitted to Tom that Jensen was a fake, Tom would never stop making fun of his newest attempt at getting more of Tom’s attention.
“Oh,” Jensen said quickly and Jared felt his face heat up. Jensen breaking the news would not make things easier… “Yeah, we would appreciate that. You guys don’t mind, do you?” Jensen turned around, looking at Sandy and Chad who were staring back at him, just as shocked as Jared. “No? Alright, come on Jared.” Jensen slipped his arm around Jared’s waist and pulled him in closer. “Lead the way, haven’t been here before.”
Tom stared at them for another second before spinning around and storming through the crowd of people, knowing full well that Jensen and Jared were following closely behind.
“Jensen…” Jared leaned forward, hissing into Jensen’s ear. “What are you doing? He’s going to expect that--”
“Shush,” Jensen fired back at him and Jared snapped his mouth shut, his stomach twisting. This is not what he wanted at all… He’d seen Tom and the guys ‘offer out’ Mike’s guest room to pressure couples, and he knew full well that Tom, Mike, and the rest of the team that wasn’t otherwise occupied would be pressed up against the door listening to everything that was going on inside.
He couldn’t imagine that Sandy would have told Jensen he would be getting anything at all; she knew Jared was in love with Tom, and no matter what was whispered about him behind his back, he was not easy. But the possessive hand against his lower back had his stomach clenching and he was terrified to go into that room.
Tom shoved the door open and Jensen didn’t hesitate, just steered them both into the room.
“Have fun.” Tom said in closing, pulling the door shut behind them; Jared felt his resolve break the second the door snapped shut.
“Jensen, I--”
“Jared,” Jensen took Jared’s head in his hands and offered him a small smile. “Calm down.”
Jared took a deep breath, his heart beating wildly in his chest as he waited for what was next. He could cause a scene, sure, and be the laughing stock of everyone at the party. He could just let Jensen take what he wanted… Jensen was hot enough, but then Tom would think that Jared had moved on and then he would never want him again. Or what if Jensen didn’t really want him and was about to tell him that this had gone too far and he was disgusted at the very idea of--
“Come sit.” Jared let himself be pulled over to the bed and he sunk down beside Jensen.
“Jensen… I…” Jared took a deep breath and looked over Jensen carefully. If he let Jensen do this, maybe Tom would finally realize everything. That was the entire idea of Sandy’s plan, wasn’t it? Jensen was watching him back just as cautious, his eyes never leaving Jared’s face, and Jared exhaled slowly. “Okay. Okay, you can,” he decided and moved to reach for the bottom of his sweatshirt.
Jensen’s hands closed over his wrists, stopping him. “No, Jared.”
Jared felt his heart sink right alongside with his stomach. He shouldn’t have been so foolish. Of course Jensen didn’t want him. It must have been hard enough pretending to be his ‘date’ for the night…
“Oh,” he whispered, swallowing hard. “Right, of course.” The stinging behind his eyes was unexpected and he took a deep breath, trying to steel himself. “It’s fine.”
“Jared, a bunch of guys who feel like you have something to prove mean nothing to me. We don’t have to prove anything to anyone, except for ourselves. I would be lucky to have you, Jared. So please, relax. If we were going to do something? It would be because we wanted to and not because some overly-conceited jock standing outside of this bedroom door things we should.”
Jared stared at him for a second, eyes wide, before he gave Jensen a small smile. He would have to thank Sandy a million times over for getting her cousin to agree to this. He was completely in character, not even blinking an eye at the unexpected interruption to their night. It sounded like Jensen actually cared and if that didn’t give Tom a reality check...
“Thank you,” Jared whispered, reaching forward and squeezing Jensen’s hands. “I… appreciate it, really.”
“Jared…” Jensen said softly, letting his eyes fall closed and shaking his head slightly. “No, Jared, I don’t mean this stup--”
“No, really Jensen. I know you don’t have to be here tonight, and I do want to thank you. I want to make it worth your while. So… so you can, if you want. I’ll do anything you want.”
“Anything?” Jensen asked softly and Jared nodded quickly, getting to his knees on the center of the bed.
“Yeah, Jensen. Anything you want.”
“Lay down.” Jensen demanded and Jared was quick to comply. When he reached to start to take off his clothes, Jensen’s hands batted him away and after he shook his head, Jared let his arms fall to his sides. Jensen wanted to be in control, Jared could roll with that, that was what Tom usually wanted too.
Jensen crawled up beside him, laying on his side, but stayed pressed close against Jared. Slowly, he wrapped an arm around Jared’s waist and held him close. Jared let his eyes fall closed. Like this, he could almost pretend that it was Tom beside him. Tom’s heat, Tom’s breath against his neck, Tom’s arms holding him carefully.
“Jared,” Jensen whispered, and with one question shattered every thought Jared had at comparing him to Tom. “Can I kiss you?”
Jared swallowed hard. “I… I told you… anything you wanted,” he finally answered, his voice cracking as he searched the verdant eyes staring back down at him.
“I know,” Jensen answered, giving him a small smile. “I want to kiss you, which is why I asked. But you can say no, Jared. You can always say no.”
Jared should say no and Jensen was giving him an out. He walked into this knowing full well what Sandy’s plan was, knew that Jared’s heart was already plucked from his chest and handed to Tom Welling in a perfectly wrapped package. He didn’t even know Jensen and yet…
Jared let his eyes flick down, focusing on Jensen’s thick pink lips and he knew he wanted to see what they felt like pressed against his. Jared’s been kissed before, but most of the time Tom was interested in getting things moving, they never had time to kiss or play around. Slowly, Jared nodded his head and held his breath as Jensen dipped down.
Jensen’s lips were warm and gentle as they pressed against Jared’s, his hand tightened at Jared’s side. A small sound escaped Jensen’s lips as he pressed himself closer and ran his hand up Jared’s side until it cupped his face and deepened their kiss. Just as Jared was about to open his mouth, Jensen pulled back with a smile.
“Come on. Sandy and Chad are waiting for us.” Jared swallowed hard and let himself be pulled up from the bed. He was in a daze; Jensen opened the door and told Tom and his friends they could ‘find something else to entertain their time with, he wasn’t playing their childish games’ and then Jared’s hand was tugged forward as they made their way back downstairs. Jared heard Sandy demanding Jensen to tell her what happened and Jensen’s reassurance that they were fine. He felt Chad’s hand on his back, leading him out and declaring this party was ‘crap anyways’.
Jensen even kissed him once, softly and quickly as Sandy dropped him off at the house. He nodded at Sandy when she dropped him off and made his way to his room after kissing his mother’s cheek quickly and dodging his little sister and her million questions of what the party was like. As he crawled underneath the covers, he lifted his hand to touch his lips.
Tom had never kissed him like that.
“Jared!” Tom called his name and Jared turned around, smile at the ready. Tom never came up to him in the hallway… Before Jared could reply, Tom gripped his arm tight and was steering him towards the locker room.Jared twisted his arm against the pressure so that Tom’s grip didn’t hurt as much and allowed himself to be dragged after him. Once inside, Tom released him, stalking away from him and dragging his hands back through his hair.
“Tom?” Jared asked, taking a hesitant step forward.
“What the fuck was that on Friday, Jared?” Tom was almost yelling ass he spun around, throwing his arms out to the side as he stared at Jared. “You fucking brought someone to that party!”
“I… I didn’t want to go alone…”
“Please, Jared. You knew what was going to happen, what always happens at Mike’s parties.” Tom rolled his eyes and Jared stopped moving towards him. His stomach turned slightly and he nodded once.
“Yeah, well… maybe I actually wanted someone to dance with, to talk to. Maybe I didn’t want to show up to a party for once as a single guy.”
“So you just wound up looking like a slut.” Jared stared at Tom for a second, shame flooding his face.
“That’s what you think?” he whispered, tears biting at his eyes as Tom rolled his eyes again.
“I think you showed up with some guy who thought he was getting somewhere with you. You never bothered asking me to go to the party with you, so you brought some guy to what? Make me jealous?”
“I… No, that’s not why.” Jared shook his head quickly and Tom closed the distance between them.
“I was just really looking forward to spending Friday night with you Jared…”
“I… I don’t have anywhere to be now,” Jared whispered and Tom smiled, gripping his hips and pulling him in. Then Tom’s lips were on him, the kiss rough and claiming, mostly teeth, and Jared immediately wanted to recoil. He gasped in pain as Tom’s teeth nicked his lip, but before he could complain Tom had pulled back and was spinning Jared around to press him against the lockers.
There would be no talking now. Tom made quick work of their clothing and before Jared knew it, he was bracing himself against the lockers and Tom was pushing in. Tom was usually careful not to leave marks in places Jared couldn’t cover up, but practice would be starting soon and Tom seemingly didn’t care as he sunk his teeth into the juncture of Jared’s neck and shoulder, coming with a groan.
Tom threw a towel in his direction and kicked off his jeans, moving to his locker to get his uniform on. Jared looked at the towel for a second and cleaned his backside up. There was no need to clean anything else; Jared wasn’t even sure he’d gotten fully hard. He pulled up his jeans, buttoning them before he turned to Tom who had returned and slapped his ass once with a wink.
“Totally worth the wait,” he offered and then he was gone, leaving Jared in the locker room alone with a dirty towel.
For the first time, Jared felt used.
Jared wanted nothing more than to crawl back under the covers of his bed and pretend that this day had never happened. It had been a week since the party and five days since the locker room and the last time that Tom had talked to him and not about him.
“Jared?” Chad entered the bathroom, his sneakers squeaking against the linoleum as he came to the stalls. “Jared… you’ve got to come out.”
“Chad, just leave me alone…” Jared sighed, pushing his foot against the stall door to ensure that even if Chad managed to get the lock open, he wouldn’t be able to barge in. Chad sighed, kicking the door once before stepping away. Jared held his breath.
“I hate you, Jared. I hope you know that!” Chad said and Jared watched through the crack of the door as his best friend dropped to the ground and crawled underneath the stall door.
“Chad!” Jared scrambled back, both of his feet on the toilet seat as Chad used the bar and the toilet paper holder to haul himself up. “What the fuck!”
“Ugh, I need a goddamn shower now.” Chad pinched the front of his shirt, pulling it away from his chest with a disgusted look on his face. “Look what you made me do because you’ve decided to be a goddamn drama queen today.”
“I told you to leave, actually. Not to get on the ground and crawl through piss splatter.” Chad glared back at him.
“You need to stop this, Jared. You’ve skipped three of your classes already. I’ve had to hold Sandy off from barging in here herself, and that’s only because I told her there was no way you would skip lunch!”
“Chad… I can’t be out there.” Jared knew he was whining, but he stared at his best friend, pleading with him to understand. He couldn’t be out there. The past four days had been hell.
“You can’t let them get to you…” Chad said softly and Jared met his eyes, shaking his head.
It had started Tuesday morning, they’d arrived to see the word ‘EASY’ across his locker in red paint and when Jared opened it, hundreds of letters fell out onto the floor. Sandy had picked one up and instantly paled and started gathering them all up before Jared could reach for one. He didn’t need to ask; Tom was there to explain.
“Oh, I guess you won’t ever have to feel lonely again, Jared! Looks like plenty of people want a piece of that ass.” Tom reached forward, squeezing Jared’s left cheek and then walked away, laughing with the rest of the team following close behind.
If only that had been it.
Every day brought something new; from teachers stopping him and talking to him about how if he needed someone to talk to about his ‘problem’ of sleeping with everyone around the school, they could give him a pass for the counselor. His phone number spray painted across the football field with ‘call for a real good time’ underneath and ‘easy’, ‘slut’, ‘pathetic’ scratched or written on all of his desks.
This morning he went up to Tom to ask him to stop, with Sandy and Chad at his back for encouragement. Tom had pulled back from his touch like Jared had burned him and called out, loud enough for the entire courtyard to hear, “No Jared! I don’t want to sleep with you! I am in a relationship so please stop asking me that!” Jared had ended up with a detention and a meeting with the principal to talk about sexual harassment.
“Everyone is talking about me Chad, everyone.” Chad’s arms were immediately around him, and Jared leaned against him, clinging to the back of Chad’s shirt.
“Well… if we’re not going to class, can we at least not hang out in the bathroom?” Chad asked after a moment and Jared found himself laughing. Chad opened the door after Jared washed his face quickly and Chad made another comment of how he was showering before they did anything else, to find Sandy with her arms crossed, her foot tapping.
“Oh! Padalecki is taking customers in the bathroom now!” Mike Rosenbaum came around the corner from behind Sandy and Jared felt himself stiffen. It was only Sandy’s hand on his arm that stopped him from bolting, and it was Chad’s fist colliding with Mike’s face that stopped him from having to respond.
Hey, is this Jared?
Jared stared down at his phone and rolled his eyes, clicking it off just a quickly. The weekend away from school would have been perfect if his phone number hadn’t been plastered across the football field and everyone and their freaking mother felt like texting him exactly what they thought of him or what they thought of doing to him.
A few minutes later, his phone buzzed again.
It’s Jensen, Sandy’s cousin.
Jared stared at it, mind racing at why Jensen would be texting him at all. Maybe Sandy had told him what was going on at school and he wanted to tell Jared he regretted kissing him… Swallowing hard, Jared sent a quick text back.
Yeah, it’s Jared.
Then, his phone was ringing. Without even thinking about it, Jared answered the call and pressed the phone against his ear.
“Um, hello?”
“Hey! It’s Jensen. I hope you don’t mind Sands giving me your number…”
“Oh, no… I don’t mind.” Jared held his breath, waiting for Jensen to speak again.
“Um, so… I just wanted to talk to you about last weekend…”
Jared’s heart dropped. “Yeah, I know. Look, I’m really sorry Sandy put you in that position. I understand how awkward that must have been for you and I’m so sorry that Tom had to act like an asshole. He’s really good at that…”
“Oh,” Jensen said and cleared his throat. “Well, actually… I was thinking that maybe you wanted to grab something to eat sometime… or something.”
“What?” Jared asked, sitting up straight from where he’d been laying on his bed.
“Well, I mean, as friends of course. We didn’t get to talk much that night or anything and I thought you were pretty cool and Sandy talks about you and Chad all the time so I think we would get along really well and…” Jensen gave a small laugh. “God, I’m rambling. Just tell me to shut up. I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Oh, well yeah,” Jared answered quickly, surprised at the small pang of disappointment he fell when Jensen clarified their date as ‘friends’. Again, it would foolish for Jared to think that someone like Jensen would actually want to date him, but he would be lying if he told himself that Jensen wasn’t someone he would want to maybe, possibly date. “Yeah, we can do that.”
“Alright, cool,” Jensen gave a soft sigh and Jared waited. Silence fell over the phone and Jared found himself pressing it tighter against his ear. He could hear Jensen’s soft breath on the other end, so he knew he hadn’t been hung up on. He gave a soft sniff and Jensen was quick to cover the silence. “So… what about tomorrow afternoon? I head back to campus late on Sunday nights.”
“Oh, yeah, that works for me. I’ll be home all day.”
“Alright, well… I’ll pick you up at one then.” Jared couldn’t bite back the smile.
“Okay, tomorrow then.”
“Cool. Uh… have a good night, Jared. And, if you want, you can text me whenever. I don’t mind.” Jared laughed and Jensen hung up soon after. As he crawled back under the covers he tried to push back the butterflies that were swirling around in there; they were going to hang out as friends, butterflies were completely unnecessary.
Jensen had quickly worked his way into Jared’s life, just as Sandy had when she’d made the dynamic duo a trio with barely a blink of an eye. Jensen came home Thursday nights, usually by 8pm, and Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights he could usually be found with Jared alone or Jared and his friends.
It was nice having Jensen around. He fit, balancing out their dynamic and becoming the piece of the puzzle that neither Jared, Chad or Sandy had even realized they’d been missing. Sandy’s parents and Jensen’s were also thrilled that the cousins were spending more time together. A win all around.
Tom hadn’t backed off at school, even though most of the rest of their class had. When he approached Jared a week or so ago, trying to get Jared to go with him into the empty locker room, Jared found it easy to refuse. Tom had sneered that he didn’t know why now was the time Jared decided to close his legs and Jared officially took his heart back. Bruised, battered, but once again it was his.
He had no idea what he’d seen in Tom Welling in the first place.
Now, just before Christmas break, Mike was throwing another party. Although Chad could’ve cared less, Sandy wanted to go. She wouldn’t ask, but Jared saw the way she re-read the facebook page for Mike’s parties, knew that she’s made a lot of friends who would be going, and he felt bad that they’d avoided the last few because of his issues with Tom and the rest of the team.
When he suggested they go to this one at lunch, Sandy almost fell out of her chair in her excitement to come around and hug him. Jared waited until the bell rang, dismissing them from lunch, before he pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Jensen.
Please tell me you’re going to be home on Friday? I need a favor…
Yup. Thursday night. What’s up?
Can you be my fake date again for a party? Sandy wants to go…
Jared stared at his phone as he walked to his next class, waiting for Jensen to reply. When it didn’t come immediately, Jared felt his heart start to race, and he was almost shaking as he sank into his chair, refreshing his text page to make sure he hadn’t somehow missed the incoming text.
Jensen didn’t respond until the end of class, but when Jared read through the text, he found himself sighing in relief.
Of course. What are friends for?
Jensen was picking up Jared on his own, Sandy and Chad taking their own car and meeting them there. Jared paced in front of the door as he waited for Jensen to pull up the driveway.
“Jared,” Megan sighed, rolling her eyes as she plopped down on the bottom stair. “Do you think your boyfriend is going to stand you up?”
“He isn’t my boyfriend!” Jared shot at her and stopped his pacing for almost thirty seconds before he resumed, stopping again to peer out the window beside the door.
“Right. That’s why you took extra long in the shower. I saw you plucking your unibrow!”
“Megan! Will you go away!”
“No way! I want to see your hot boyfriend!” Jared spun around to grab her and drag her back up the stairs but heard the sound of a car door shutting just as he reached her. His eyes widened and Megan grinned. “He’s coming up the stairs!”
“Don’t. Speak.” Jared hissed at her and went for the door, pulling it open before Jensen even had a chance to knock. “Hey! Heard the car. You ready?”
“Hello! I’m Megan! Jared’s little sister. Jared, you didn’t tell me your boyfriend was hot.” Megan wormed her way beside Jared, ducking under his arm and smiling as she looked Jensen up and down.
Jensen laughed and held out his hand for her. “Hey Megan, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Yeah, Megan go inside,” Jared shoved her back and gave Jensen an embarrassed smile as he fled towards the car. Jensen chuckled and followed after him, pausing to give Megan a small wave before slipping behind the wheel. “I’m sorry,” Jared blurted as soon as they were on the road. “She’s just… a little sister. I haven’t been telling my family that we were dating or anything.”
Jensen nodded once, giving Jared a small smile but otherwise stayed silent. Jared bit back the urge to sigh and promised himself he was going to kill Megan the moment he got home tonight. Jared reached forward and turned the radio on, letting the music fill in the silence for the drive towards the party.
“Do you think Chad and Sandy are here?” Jensen asked as they stepped inside of the house. Jared had held his breath as the front door had been opened and was happy to see he didn’t know tonight’s designated doorman - probably a JV player, if he had to guess.
“I think Sandy said Chad was running just a bit late. Had to finish a mission on Destiny or something…”
“They’ll find us,” Jensen shrugged and placed his hand on Jared’s lower back, pushing him forward. “Come on, I want to dance with you before it gets too hot in here.” Jared gave him a small smile and agreed, letting himself be led to the center of the living room. Even though his excuse had been not wanting to get too hot, Jensen was soon pressed up against Jared’s back, his fingers splayed across Jared’s waist, and for the life of him Jared couldn’t remember how he was supposed to move his body and instead, relied on Jensen to move them both to the beat of the music.
Jared should have known it wouldn’t last long.
“Well! I didn’t expect you to be out on the dance floor Jared. I would’ve expected you to have a line waiting for you outside of the bedroom or leading from the bathroom!”
Jensen froze behind him, his hands tightening on Jared’s waist and they turned to see Tom standing before them, his arms crossed and two other players at his back. “Oh, and you brought this one back for seconds, or did you run out of dicks to chase?”
“What’s your problem?” Jensen demanded, shaking his head as he stared Tom down. “We’re not bothering you.”
“Oh, but you are. You see, pretty boy, Jared’s been chasing after me for years now. Pathetic really, but I couldn’t complain when I had a ready, willing ass to fuck. Now it seems like he’ll open his legs for anyone. You should see the amount of offers he gets every morning at his locker.”
Jared felt his face flame up and he swallowed hard, afraid to look at Jensen. He’d told him that Tom was giving him trouble, but he hadn’t explained it -- it was bad enough living it, nevermind re-telling it.
“Tom… please. You know that’s not true.” Jared whispered and Tom rolled his eyes; the face Jared once thought was beautiful and strong now seemed twisted and vile, his eyes cold and cruel as they stared down at Jared.
“I think Jared asked you nicely enough to leave him alone. Now why don’t you leave me and my boyfriend alone?”
“Boyfriend?” Tom laughed. “You’re a pathetic substitute for what Jared wishes he could have. But that must run in the family, huh? You’re Ackles, Josh’s little brother right? He spent most of his time running after my sister Rebecca… It’s been a few years now, right since he decided to try slitting his wrists? Has he figured out how to cut upstream instead of across? Waste of time and energy to do it wrong twice, don’t you think?”
“Fuck off, Tom!” Jared snapped. Hearing the sharp intake of breath from Jensen, he didn’t need to turn to see the look of hurt on his face and he shoved at Tom’s chest hard. Talking about him was one thing, but talking about Jensen and his family? It didn’t take a genius to know what Tom was referring to. He felt Jensen immediately at his back, a hand coming to rest between his shoulder blades, grounding him. He exhaled, trying to swallow down the anger that was bubbling through him. Then Tom regained his balance and was quick to retaliate.
The hit took Jared back and he slammed into Jensen’s chest, his hands coming up to cover his mouth. For a few seconds everything was black, but after a moment the room was in a frenzy. The group of kids that had been dancing formed a circle around them, a chant of ‘Fight, fight, fight!’ breaking out.
“You piece of shit!” Jensen swore, hands gripping Jared tightly, but his eyes were hard and angry as they stared across the circle at Tom. Jared had a moment of panic when Tom started towards them, his eyes trained on Jensen. With Jensen holding him, he had no way to fight back, and Jared knew he wouldn’t be able to defend them.
Chad was suddenly there, shoving Tom away and ducking down from any responding fist to plant himself beside Jared. Sandy shoved through the crowd, shoving her phone in her pocket and crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at Tom. Tom moved on them but Mike yelling out had the room freezing.
“Someone called the cops! Everyone out!”
The fight was instantly forgotten as everyone made a mad dash for the front door. The four of them let the crowd carry them out and Jared was quickly shoved into Jensen’s car.
“I’ll call you later!” Sandy yelled and disappeared with Chad into the night. Jensen slipped into the car and peeled off down the road before either one of them could get their seat belts on.
“Are you okay?” Jensen asked after a moment. He’d gotten onto a main road and was slowly easing the car’s speed down.
“Yeah, I think so,” Jared answered and looked out the window. He thought Jensen had been slowing down because of the speed limit, but Jensen was pulling into a driveway. A driveway that was most definitely not Jared’s. “Um, where are we?”
“Oh, uh… my house. It was closer and my parents are out this weekend so we won’t wake them up or anything.” Jensen answered, shutting off the car and getting out before Jared could answer. He moved towards the garage door, opening up a keypad and punching in the garage door code. The door started moving up and he paused, turning back around to look at Jared.
Jared slowly got out of the car and followed Jensen into the house. “I’m going to get some ice for that lip. My room is back through there,” Jensen pointed down the hallway and after a second of hesitation, Jared went in the direction and flicked on the light.
The room was large, but odd. For one, there was no bed in it, just a large, white flat couch. There was a desk stacked with school books and a dresser, but also bookcases that didn’t seem like they belonged with Jensen -- unless Jensen was into Women’s self help books and the Twilight series -- and an old computer monitor and VHS player in the corner.
“It’s… temporary.” Jensen’s voice at his back made Jared jump and he turned around to meet Jensen’s eyes. “Go ahead, sit. I decided last minute not to move into the dorms this year; unfortunately Josh already took my bed to his new apartment and the upstairs is being remodeled.”
Jared watched as Jensen’s face flushed and he suddenly realized that Jensen was explaining this all to him because he was embarrassed. He’d never really stopped to think why they hadn’t gone to Jensen’s house before and only to Sandy’s…
“Thanks! It's great, Jensen.” Jared gave Jensen a smile and winced as it pulled at his lip. As he sank down onto the couch, Jensen was immediately at his side, his finger light as they touched his chin and pulled his head to the side so he could look at his lip.
“You’re gonna have one hell of a bruise…” he muttered, pressing the pack of ice he brought to Jared’s lip carefully. Jared jumped once, and Jensen immediately pulled back, alarmed. Jared shook his head and lifted his hand to cover Jensen’s,pushing the ice back in place..
“Tender,” he mumbled.
Jensen nodded and let the ice slip into Jared’s hand so he could take his own back. After a moment, Jared cleared his throat. “You… you called me your boyfriend again, at the party.” Jared glanced up and met Jensen’s eyes.
“Yeah,” he whispered back and Jared stared, waiting for more; an excuse, a laugh, something. Instead, Jensen looked away, his cheeks turning pink.
“Why?”
Jared’s heart was beating wildly in his chest, his entire body felt hot as he watched Jensen’s face play out everything he wanted to say. Jensen licked his lower lip slowly and Jared decided he didn’t need to wait for an answer anymore. He leaned forward, closing the distance between them, and kissed Jensen softly.
Jared’s lip throbbed at the pressure, but Jensen was gentle as he kissed him back. He framed Jared’s face with both of his hands, his hands warm and soft against Jared’s cheeks. Jared gasped softly against Jensen’s lips and wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling them closer together.
Just as Jared felt Jensen starting to pull back, Jared surged forward, their bodies pressed against each other on the edge of the mattress. “No,” he whispered, kissing Jensen again. “I want you, Jensen.”
“Jared… you don’t have to-”
“I know, Jensen. But… I want to. Three months ago you agreed to pretend to date me. Tom had one thing right; I was pathetic. I craved his attention, I was blind, and you never failed to treat me like I was a person. You listen to me when I talk, the few times that we’ve kissed you actually kiss me back, and I would be lying if I didn’t think about being with you.
“So I want this Jensen, I want you. I want something to be because I want it and not because someone else does. If… if you do, of course…”
“I didn’t think you would ever come around,” Jensen whispered back and Jared smiled once, shrugging his shoulders gently. Jensen shook his head and sealed their lips once more. Jensen was gentle, his touch firm but not bruising like Tom’s had been, and Jared was like putty beneath his hands as Jensen pushed him back against the mattress and crawled over his body.
Jensen took his time peeling away every layer of Jared’s clothing, kissing the newly exposed skin softly until Jared was sure every inch of his body had been kissed. His hands trailed over Jared’s body, down his sides and thighs, leaving trails of heat as they went.
By the time Jensen leaned back to start taking off his own clothes, Jared’s entire body was singing, the anticipation of what was coming next overwhelming. He swallowed hard, watching as Jensen’s skin came into view and he ached to reach out and touch.
“You can, you know,” Jensen whispered, a small smile on his face as though he was reading Jared’s mind. He reached for Jared’s hand, taking it and pressing it against his stomach. His skin was warm, the muscles beneath Jared’s palm twitching and shifting and Jensen moved. “You’re so beautiful.” Jared heard the awe in Jensen’s voice.
Jared paused his exploration of Jensen’s chest and glanced up, meeting Jensen’s eyes. Jensen shook his head slowly. “He should have told you every single time, Jared.”
Jared bit his lower lip, letting his hands move across Jensen’s skin once again. Just the way Jensen made him feel in the last ten minutes made him regret every time with Tom. Jensen kissed his way down Jared’s throat and Jared ran his hands around Jensen’s back, pulling him closer. He was hot and hard, his cock curving against his stomach and he groaned when Jensen’s body was flush against his and he felt Jensen wanted him just as much.
Jensen rolled his hips against Jared, moaning against Jared’s neck. “Fuck, Jared.”
“Come on, Jensen, please,” Jared whispered, pushing up against Jensen. Jensen nodded once and reached for the small table by the top of the sofa bed. He opened up the drawer, and after a few seconds of searching, came back with a bottle of lube and a condom. Jared shifted, letting his legs fall open wider and giving Jensen all the permission he needed to continue.
Jensen snapped the top of the lube open and slicked his fingers. He leaned down, kissing Jared softly as his hand slipped between Jared’s legs. A single finger pressed into Jared’s tight heat and they both groaned in unison.
Jensen took his time, moving almost excruciatingly slow as he worked his finger in and out of Jared’s body, pressing and twisting while he continued kissing Jared’s lips and jaw and throat. Jared opened his legs wider, his body craving every gentle touch Jensen was giving him, his hands digging into Jensen’s shoulders.
Jensen added a second finger, scissoring and twisting them as he slipped further down Jared’s body. His mouth was hot and wet as he worked across Jared’s chest, biting softly and soothing away the bites with his tongue before moving on. Jared had never felt so worshiped before, so cared for, so wanted. His cock was hard and full, his heart racing.
“Jensen, I’m good, please,” Jared moaned, shifting his hips up and pulling at Jensen to get him back up and closer. Jensen obliged, letting his fingers slip free so he could slip on the condom and slick himself up. Jensen knelt on the sofa bed, pulling Jared’s legs to one side of him. He looked up, locking eyes with Jared as he shifted forward. Jared nodded once and then Jensen was pushing in.
Jared watched Jensen’s face carefully, groaning as Jensen’s eyes fluttered closed, a low moan escaping his throat as he sunk in slowly. When he was completely seated, Jensen reached down and hooked one of Jared’s legs with his arm, managing to shift Jared’s hips closer and himself in deeper.
“Move,” Jared gasped, reaching up to grab his knee, fingers digging in as Jensen slowly pulled out and pushed back in one smooth move. Jensen took his time, setting a slow, hard pace. Jared felt everything, every slide of Jensen’s cock into his body, every slap of Jensen’s thigh against his ass, every squeeze Jensen gave to Jared’s leg as he held him in place; Jared now knew everything he’d been missing and exactly what Sandy and Chad had meant about finding someone that wanted him.
Jared let his hand trail up, wrapped his hand around his dick, and Jensen groaned, watching Jared’s movements.
“God, Jared,” Jensen gasped, snapping his hips forward, the head of his cock finding purchase as it pressed against Jared’s prostate and Jared gasped beneath him. “So fucking gorgeous.”
“Ugh… Jensen, there!” Jared gasped, twisting his hand around his cock and jacking himself in time with Jensen’s hips. He let his head fall back into the pillow, groaning as Jensen rolled his hips and fucked into his body harder. Jared felt like he was falling apart, every piece of him separated and Jensen was there to put him right back together again.
“Come on, Jay… Come for me,” Jensen purred and Jared felt his body respond as Jensen continued driving into him, hitting his prostate on every other thrust. Jared cried out softly, squeezing his cock once before he came hard, thick ropes of white covering his chest and stomach.
“Fuck, yeah… like that,” Jensen groaned, slamming forward once more and groaning low as he spilled himself deep within Jared, his fingers digging almost painfully now into the muscle of Jared’s leg as Jensen lost himself to his own pleasure.
Slowly, Jensen released Jared’s leg, twisting his body to collapse on Jared’s side, his hands massaging to top of Jared’s thigh to make sure he wasn’t sore. Jared felt his heart swell at the fact that Jensen was taking care of him. He head felt light and fuzzy and he fought to catch his breath as he watched as Jensen’s chest rose and sank at the same pace.
“You’re so amazing,” Jensen said after a moment, a smile playing out on his lips as he pulled away from Jared and slid off of the bed. He kissed Jared once and then slipped into the small bathroom off the hallway. Jared waited, smiling at Jensen when he came back with a warm wash cloth and took his time cleaning Jared up, kissing him as he worked.
He threw the washcloth back into the bathroom and shut the door when he returned, clicking off the light and then sliding back onto the sofa. He grabbed the blankets that had been kicked off and covered both of them up before reaching for Jared and pulling him back against his chest.
Jared went willingly, relaxing into Jensen’s arms. He would have to text Chad eventually, let him know that he wasn’t going to end up staying at Chad’s that night and was glad that his parents’ hadn’t been expecting him home. Part of Jared thought he would never get to have something like this… Biting his lip, Jared took a deep breath and then asked, “Do you really want to be my boyfriend?”
“Yeah, Jared. I really do.” Jensen whispered, tightening his arm around Jared’s waist. Jared Jared nodded once and let his arm drape over Jensen’s so he could twist their fingers together.
“Why?”
Jensen placed a kiss to the middle of Jared’s back, sending a shiver down his spine. He whispered against Jared’s skin, and Jared found himself smiling, letting himself melt back into the heat of Jensen’s body.
“Because you’re worth it.”