J2AU SUMMER CHALLENGE- H.A.N.A.B.I.
Even though I stretch out my hand, it doesn't reach.
Jared jolts awake when his phone rings and he fumbles with it before flipping it open. As soon as he picks up the call, Chad is screaming into his ear about a curfew, early mornings and work at ungodly hours. He mumbles a few choice words at his best friend and agrees for Chad to come and pick him up.
Closing the phone, Jared looks around to find Jensen staring at him through half-lidded eyes.
“Oh man, I’m sorry for falling asleep like this! I totally didn’t mean to but you know I just got to Dallas today and wow, I woke up early to get here and that’s why I’m tired. I totally did not mean to fall asleep here, and now it looks like I’m a bad guest, jeez, I ‘m sorry. Oh God, now I’m talking too much, I just- um, I’ll shut up now,” blabbers Jared, cheeks growing hotter as he spits out each word.
There’s silence after his little babble and Jensen just smiles at him.
“That’s okay,” he says, voice low and gravelly. “I fell asleep too.”
Jared bites his bottom lip, metal of his lip ring digging into the flesh, as his cheeks grow hotter at the voice. He turns his body away from Jensen, lifting his head to look at the slightly dim stars and wills his body to calm down.
A hand on his shoulder startles him, and then Jensen’s in his space, whispering, “Let’s go out in front so we can wait for your friend, okay?”
Jensen pulls away after, walking away and Jared scrambles after him, careful not to make any loud noises. They reach the front door, and Jensen opens it, gesturing Jared to walk through first.
Jared walks through, but turns his head around as he does so, freezing when he comes face to face with Jensen. It’s as if time slows down as they stare at each other.
Jared spots the rosy pink hue high up on Jensen’s cheeks and he’s sure his face is the same. He watches the slide of sweat down the side of Jensen’s face and feels his own sweat mimicking the motion down his neck.
He looks at Jensen’s face, and feels... feels- something but he’s not sure what.
Before he can decipher anything out of the moment, a car honk startles him and it’s as if time starts again and Jensen pulls away.
“That’d be your friend, I imagine,” he says and Jared doesn’t know if he’s imaging a slightly bitter tone- he doesn’t know anything now. He just feels lost.
Jared nods and waves at Jensen as he trudges down the front steps. He opens the passenger door and looks back to find Jensen still watching, face unrecognisable because of the shadows the night casts on him. He waves again and takes a seat.
“Dude, if you wanted more time with your man you could’ve told me that you weren’t comin’ home or something,” scowls Chad, doing a u-turn on the street. Jared’s too tired to say anything back or even flip him off, he feels a slight knot in his stomach, as if he’s missing something.
“I think you interrupted something important,” he murmurs underneath his breath and Chad turns his head around (thank God they’re at a red light) and asks, “What?”
Shaking his head, Jared dismisses it and keeps quiet.
They get home relatively safe, surprisingly, since Chad’s never been one to drive safe when deprived of sleep. Jared mulls over the changes Chad seems to have gone through since he last saw him, about a year or so ago, but let’s that thought go as they slip into the apartment.
He gets his clothes off, slipping into black and white plaid boxers before staring at the couch. No way in this world would that be able to hold his long frame.
“Hey stupid,” calls Chad, cuffing him on the head and grudgingly pulls to him along to the bedroom. “There’s enough space,” he mumbles, uncovering one corner of the blanket on the massive bed and sliding in. Jared stares at him then smiles, Chad’s always been one for sleepovers when they were younger, and slides in on the other side.
-
The next few days have been nothing short of boring. Jared follows Chad to work, sitting beside him as he does the pricing. Sometimes he serves the customer, smiling bright and wide, hoping that he’s intimidated or at least scared them.
Jared’s met a co-worker of Chad’s as well, one Milo Ventimiglia. The guy was okay as far as co-workers go, a little quirky but nonetheless pleasant. But this morning, Milo was like a God-send or like- like... Milo the news bringer.
“Hey guys, guess what I found out? There’s a new store opening today called Punk&Babys. One of the owners is Sophia Bush,” smirks Milo, cocking his hip at Chad whose jaw almost falls to the counter.
“No way! My Sophia?” he gasps and Milo grins.
“Yep, Sophia and some Asian chick and this guy, um, Jenson or something,” says Milo, shifting the clothes on the rack and it was Jared’s turn to have his jaw drop to the counter.
“Did you say Jensen?” he asks, standing up real fast which gets him dizzy. Chad puts a hand on his hip to stable him before asking Milo more questions.
“Man, I don’t know. Why don’t y’all just go over there and find out? Just down the street, round the corner to the left. Y’know, next to the park.”
Jared and Chad are outta the store so fast, Milo could’ve sworn they were blurs.
True to Milo’s words, there was Sophia in her long, dark brown hair tied into two plaits down the side of her neck. Talking to her was a red-head Asian girl decked out in a full pirate style Lolita outfit whom Jared recognises as, “Nana Kitade!”
The female in question turns away from Sophia to tilt her head at him and he blushes then tries to hide behind Chad.
“Sophia, hey!” shouts Chad, making his way towards her with Jared in tow.
“Hi Chad, hi Chad’s friend,” greets Sophia, smiling at them. Chad smiles back and pries Jared away from his back.
“This is Jared. Jared, Sophia,” introduces Chad.
“Well hi there. Chad, Jared, this is Nana. Her and I co-own this store as well as Jensen,” she says, looking around as if to look for the mentioned man.
“Hello, I’m Nana! Nice to meet you!” says Nana, voice smooth and high pitched. Chad smiles and greets her, nudging Jared to do the same.
“H-hello, I’m Jared. I... I love your music,” he blurts out, feeling his cheeks grow pink. Nana smiles politely and nods, thanking him quietly.
“You have to excuse her, she’s not very fluent in English,” says Sophia, smiling apologetically. “Oh, is that so?” asks Chad, looking at Sophia and Jared can see that no one is going to get his attention now that he’s focused wholly on her.
“Is this your store, Kitade-san?” asks Jared, voice low and soft and she looks up at him in surprise. “Yes it is! Your Japanese is very good and you are very tall,” says Nana, laughing. “Maybe now you can teach me how to say your name? I’m sorry that I couldn’t figure it out straight away... ”
“No, that’s okay. You can call me Jay, Kitade-san,” says Jared glancing over to see Sophia looking amused at their conversation. “Jay-san... I like it! Since we are talking like westerns, please call me Nana! ” says Nana, smiling brightly which makes the blush on Jared’s cheek a dark shade.
“Is Texas always this hot? I feel really overdress with these clothes on! ” she asks, brushing the curly rings of her red hair away from the dampness of her neck. “Summer has always been very bad here, Nana-san. But stay here long enough and you might get used to it,” laughs Jared, gingerly lifting his bangs away from his forehead where they were plastered with sweat.
“Hey, what’s with the party?” asks Jensen, running a hand through the sweat accumulating on his forehead then his short hair. “Sophia, the sound check and everything went fine. We just need Miss Nana to get up and get the show rolling,” he says, eyes turning to look at Jared and greeting him with a small smile.
Sophia turns to Nana and tells her it’s time for her to be on stage and she waves at Jared and Chad before following Sophia.
“So, singing?” asks Jared, biting on his lip ring and he sees Jensen’s eyes avert down to it before coming back up to his eyes. “Yeah, Nana, Sophia and I are co-owners of the new store, Punk&Babys, named after one of Nana’s single. We’re having her sing it to promote the store. The opening was advertised on the net so,” says Jensen, jabbing his thumb at the stage set up in the park beside the store, “we’ve got a lot of fans for Nana and those for the fashion Punk&Babys is going to hold.”
Just when Jared is about to ask more questions, the shrill tone of the speakers blast through the air then the sound of drums and guitars fill it. Jared’s excited and doesn’t think much on it as he closes his hand around Jensen’s and pulls him to watch Nana perform.
They stand to the back of the crowd, letting the fans take their look at Nana as she begins to sing.
Jared feels Jensen’s hand twitch in his during the performance and blushes, pulling his hand away. Jensen doesn’t say anything nor does he look at Jared.
After the chorus though, while Jared least expects it, Jensen grabs a hold of his hand and Jared feels his face heat up again. He’s sure he’s never blushed this much in his life compared to his time in Dallas, by Jensen’s side. He tries to make sure his hand isn’t sweating, whether from the heat or nerves, he’s not sure. Nana continues to sing, flashing smiles and gallivanting around in her outfit. A few girls cheer her on, shouting her name but Jared doesn’t pay attention- can’t.
Not with Jensen by his side, holding his hand.
When the song is over, Jared feels Jensen’s hand pull away and he wants to grab a hold of it again, put it back in his hand because it feels like it belongs there, but he doesn’t. He watches Jensen walk onto the stage, taking a spot beside Nana as Sophia takes the other.
Together they greet the crowd and explain the opening of their store.
Jared feels like a shell along the sandy bay of a beach, consumed by the sand and sea, one shell among the presence of at least a million others. He turns around and leaves, not to be rude to the trio, no, but to hide away because damn, Jared shouldn’t be feeling mixed up and confused on his summer holiday.
But then he didn’t expect to meet Jensen.
He didn’t expect to be charmed by his appearance and personality and the way they seem to sorta fit like jigsaw pieces in the few hours they’ve been with each other.
“Hey, you going already?” asks Chad, putting a hand on his shoulder when Jared just nods. “You sure you ain’t gonna stay to talk more to your man? You haven’t seen him in three days and now that you’ve met him, you sulk?”
Jared just shrugs his shoulders and Chad swears.
“Are you still having these… these moments of yours?” he asks concern visible in his eyes.
Chad’s known him since he was 10. They’d hang out every day and it wasn’t until high school, when they were 15, that Jared would sometimes just… lapse into a depressed mood not eating or talking in that period. Chad’s brought this up with his mom and his family had gotten him a therapist.
Samantha smiles gently at Jared when he walks in, gesturing to the seat in front of her for him to sit on. Jared takes the seat, smiling at her brightly as if they were the best of friends.
“How are you today, Jared?”
“I’m good. School’s been good, just finished a project I had for English and I hope I get a good mark. I’m not really good at public speaking, y’know… oh and Chad was awesome, he got peanut butter on the teacher’s seat and she actually sat on it!”
“That sounds like quite an interesting week you’ve had, anything else new?”
Jared hesitates to answer and Samantha notes this down.
“I… there’s this girl in my Maths class. She’s really pretty and I like her a lot. I think she likes me too, I’m not sure. She holds my hands sometimes but then- then…” Jared trails off, looking down at the floor.
“Have you had any lapses this week?” prods Samantha gently, knowing where this was headed.
“Once or twice, maybe… I just- Sandy holds my hand and it makes me happy but then she lets go and it’s as if I’m losing her or something. I just- then I know, you know? That she lets go because I’m not good enough for her. That she’ll never be with me and she’s probably playing with me. I just- why does it hurt when I realise this? Isn’t realising this better? Because it stops the heartbreak? I just-“
Jared goes silent, shoulders slumping and Samantha sighs softly, reaching into her cabinet for the jar of lollipops she keeps. She hands him one and speaks softly to him, “Jared, listen to me okay? There is no such thing as you being not good enough for anybody. You are you and if someone doesn’t like that then it’s their lost. You have to accept that people have different tastes and personalities.
“You can’t please everyone. By doing that you’re only hurting yourself.”
Jared just accepts the lollipop and when he lifts his head, his eyes are only slightly vacant and Samantha hopes she’s helped in some way today.
“Jay, don’t you dare,” threatens Chad, putting hands on his shoulders and looking up at him, “if you’re thinking about how that guy could do better than you or that it’s a good thing he somehow isn’t in love with you, it isn’t. It’s not true. He’s entitled to his own thoughts and you can’t make them up for him.”
And just like they were kids, Chad tilts Jared’s head down and presses his lips to the top of his forehead. Jared takes a deep shuddering intake of air and trembles slightly in his friend’s arms.
“Y-You’re a goddamn g-girl,” stutters Jared, as if he’s just been allowed to breathe.
“Yeah well… shut up.”
“Everything all right here?”
Jared tenses when he recognises the voice and he doesn’t turn around but knows Chad has.
“Um, I don’t know. Jared’s sick or something, I don’t know what do,” lies Chad and he lets go of Jared. Since it’s unexpected, Jared sways a bit to regain his balance and Jensen steadies him with a hand on his hip, the other on his back.
“Woah there, Jared,” he murmurs, voice low in his ear. When Jared is able to stand properly, Jensen looks at him with concern that turns into a smile. “Did you enjoy the show? Nana is pretty taken with you, so it seems. She likes your height.
“Also… when I was on stage, I saw you walk away. I… you’re all right? Your friend said you were feeling sick…” trails off Jensen and Jared gives him a reassuring smile. “It’s nothing, I swear. I just get that way sometimes,” he says and that’s it. He doesn’t add anything else to it.
“Well, you want to have a look at the store before the fans raid it?” asks Jensen and Jared looks up at him in surprise. “Really? I get a first look?” he asks excitedly and Jensen smiles softly and takes him to the shop.
With a twist of a key and a push of a door, it’s like they enter a whole different world when they step in.
The store is pretty wide, with the walls a warm cream and the floor a white and cream checkerboard. There’s a chandelier hanging on the ceiling and the side of the room is lined with clothing of the Lolita and punk variety, sorted by their colour and style. Underneath the Lolita clothing are shoes of different kinds, also sorted by their colour. In the middle of the room are little open cupboards with small items tucked in like headbands, headdresses, wristbands and socks.
There are two mannequins in the middle wearing the punk and gothic clothing as well as one mannequin on either side of the room wearing Lolita clothes. There’s also changing rooms in the corner with a beautiful classic sofa beside it. The counter is on the opposite side to the changing room and Jensen walks to it, tapping on the keyboard.
Jared just takes everything in, running fingers lightly over the clothes and takes the time to appreciate what he is seeing. Then he realises something and turns to Jensen, with a raised brow.
“Didn’t you say your major is sport science or something, Jensen? How do you co-own a store?” he asks.
“While I’m trying to get a major in sport science, I have a minor in business. And Sophia is a long time friend of mine. When Nana thought of this idea, she needed an international co-ordinator since she can’t speak English. Sophia’s damn good with Japanese from all the crazy trips she’s taken to Japan and from the stories she told, she has been negotiating with business over there to supply her with products.
“That’s when they got her in a meeting with Nana. You see Nana’s been trying to market out her fashion and promote her singing career at the same time. She loves it and they’ve been working together on this store for a while. Sophia usually hits me up with questions until she decided that she wanted me to work with them. We have other workers too, like our accountant Steve and lawyer Chris and we worked for this opening and hopefully business stays good enough to keep this store on its feet.”
Jared stares at Jensen, stunned in silence because that’s the most Jensen’s ever said in one go. And the fact that he looks so… passionate when he was speaking, like he really enjoys his job and that he’s real pleased at the effort put into the store. Jensen looks embarrassed now, cheeks flushing lightly and he apologises for speaking too much.
“No, no. That’s okay, it’s just… it sounds real good what you guys are doing. I’m just awed by everything right now,” laughs Jared, scratching the back of his neck.
“Hello~” greets Nana as she pops her head in, Sophia close behind.
“Jensen, we’re opening the shop in five minute and the fans are getting really hyped up. Just warning you this might get messy.”
Jensen smiles and Nana does too, Jared feels the sense of being out of place and tries to quash it.
“I’ll just go now,” he mumbles, moving to the front but Sophia latches onto his arm.
“No you don’t. Jared, I think you can help us with the store- I mean, if you want. Like, you’re Japanese is pretty fluent and you’re a friend of Jensen’s… I mean, we need to hire workers sooner or later since Nana can’t stay in Texas for this store so it’d just be me and Jensen manning it.”
“Oh, I… I’m here for the summer only,” says Jared biting his bottom lip and Sophia smiles. “That’s okay, we just need the help now. Opening is rocky and the summer holidays are more than a month away, right? By that time I’m sure we’d be more than stable.”
When Jared doesn’t look like he’s going to agree, Sophia turns to Nana, quickly relaying what they’ve been talking about.
“Jay-san, please help the store,” says Nana, looking at him while smiling softly and Jared doesn’t know what to do so he turns to Jensen.
“I’m here for the summer only,” he repeats and Jensen nods and smiles.
“That’s okay, Jared. It’s okay.”
With a nod, Jared says yes and the opening is a blur of fans cheering for Nana, flirting with Jensen, smiling at Sophia and staring at him.
But it didn’t matter, what did was that Jensen was by his side the whole time, whispering little comments and instructions into his ear.
-
Jared doesn’t start his first real shift until Friday and when he walks into the shop at 9 o’clock in the morning, he’s a little out of it. So it’s not completely his fault that he gawks a little when Jensen walks out from behind the counter and towards Jared in a The GazettE tour shirt and pre-distressed skinny jeans that are bleached at the knee with knee-high white Doc Martens. He’s got thick eyeliner around his eyes and his hair is spiked into a Mohawk.
“J-Jensen?” squeaks Jared, surprised, he didn’t think Jensen would dress in this type of fashion. He seemed the business type of guy, suits and ties.
“The one and only,” grins Jensen.
“You look different,” blurts Jared, blushing but Jensen just grins and does a full turn before facing Jared again. “Yeah, I don’t usually dress like this but Sophia’s got this notion that I have to dress up to man this kind of store so here I am, looking like this. To be honest, it’s a cool style. I mean, I’m open to new styles, y’know?
“Though, today you look like you’ve got a more… out there style.”
It’s true. Jared took the liberty of dragging his ass out of bed at six in the morning so that he could do his hair perfectly, teasing and backcombing it into submission with the help of his hairspray to get the perfect natural fanned out spikey look. He took care of his makeup, giving himself dark smoky eyes and he even attached a chain from his lip ring to his ear.
“I wanted to look good for my first day of work,” he says, beaming at Jensen with childish glee which makes the other chuckle softly. “Well then trainee, c’mere and I’ll show you how to use the computer and organise these clothes and where the stock is, yada yada.”
They spend the whole day going through everything and Jared even manages to use the computer properly, serving a cute costumer who blushed heavily under both his and Jensen’s looks.
The store closes at five, and after Jensen locks up, Jared asks him to dinner. Jensen raises an eyebrow but didn’t say anything except, “Sure, why not.”
They have dinner at a small diner two blocks down from the store and it’s with a relatively easy atmosphere.
“So, Jared, you do art right?” asks Jensen, digging into his steak as Jared nods. “I was thinking of getting business cards done but you know I’d have to hire artists or have commissions done so I was thinking… I’ve got the programs and machinery at home for some graphic design, you think you could…?
“I mean, we’d pay you of course but if you do it it’d be much more easier and-”
“Yeah, okay, Jenny Mc Stress-a-lot, I’ll do it,” says Jared smiling at Jensen’s little babble and the blond stops mid word and just stares at him.
“What?” he asks when it seems like he’s done with his little zoning out session.
“I said yes,” laughs Jared throwing a fry at him.
“Oh no, yeah, okay. Thank you so much but- did you call me Jenny Mc Stress-a-lot?” asks Jensen, eyes going a little glassy and Jared nods slowly, cautiously.
“Is it… okay if I call you that? I mean, if you don’t want me to I won’t I mean it just kinda slipped out and it’s cute don’t you think? Oh my God, ignore that, actually, erase it from your mind I mean, I’m sorry.”
Jensen watches Jared with a slight fondness and shakes his head at Jared’s babble.
“No, it’s not a bad thing, it’s just… that Tom used to call me that. He used to always tease me about how I stress over the simplest things,” he says though it sounds more like musing with the fond tone he uses, almost as if he’s reminiscing and ends it there without any explanation to who Tom is.
Jared eats the last of his meal in silence, watching Jensen stare out the window with no indication of continuing to eat.
“Jensen?” he whisper-asks, biting his lip and turns his head away when Jensen finally pays attention to him. He catches the odd looks he gets from other people, most probably wondering what kind of fashion or cult he and Jensen are following.
“Yeah, Jared?” asks Jensen, voice soft and low and Jared looks back at him.
“I… I’m- it’s getting late. Chad’s probably wondering where I am and stuff,” he says, grabbing tissues to wipe off his mouth and that’s when Jensen asks, “Chad’s that guy right? The blond at the opening? Is he… what- your friend or something?”
Jared laughs a bit at what Jensen is implying. Even though Chad is a good-looking guy and Jared appreciates it along with the fact that they’ve had a fling before, the end result was that Chad and Jared? Are better at being best friends than anything else in the world.
“Jensen, do you think that… Chad’s my boyfriend?” asks Jared, putting on an innocent act and tilting his head. “Like dude,” he says with a little tilt to his mouth, like it’s weird or disgusting and thinking about it now? Yeah, it’s a little ew but Jensen gets flustered all the same.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to say that you were you know, um, gay or anything, I just- I saw him kiss your forehead and I thought,” blurts out Jensen, putting a hand over his mouth and doing a pretty good rendition of the ‘deer caught in headlights’ look.
“Oh,” laughs Jared, “Chad and I are childhood friends and I don’t know, he’s touchy-feely like that and it’s stayed with him, you know? He worries about me a lot and apparently, that’s the only method he has that calms me down,” says Jared, absentmindedly, oblivious that he’s triggered Jensen’s curiosity the same way Jensen triggered Jared’s about ‘Tom’.
Jared’s phone gives out a loud sound, playing its happy techno before he picks up the call. Apparently it’s Chad, worrying, yet again, on Jared’s whereabouts and his mode of transportation home.
“Hey, I can take you home, no worries,” says Jensen and Jared smiles at him, relaying the message on. Chad makes lewd jokes about Jensen taking Jared on for a ride and says to get home by the curfew of 11 o’clock. Jared rolls his eyes and tells Jensen his momma told him he’s gotta be home by 11 o’clock.
Jensen grins and nods.
“So, it’s nine now… do you want to go somewhere else? Or go home before your ‘curfew’?” asks Jensen, and Jared thinks of places to go.
“Well… can we have dessert?” he asks, and Jensen’s already waving the waitress down as he pronounces the last syllable. “We’d like some pie, cherry if you have it, as well as apple,” orders Jensen, turning to Jared. “Could we have ice cream with that? A lot of vanilla would be nice.”
The waitress taps her pen on her pad when she’s done writing their orders and tells them it’d be right up.
“So… you like pie?” asks Jared, which gets an excited smile from Jensen.
“Man, I love pie. Can’t live without it,” says Jensen, eyes going wide when their waitress comes with their order on a massive plate, pies oozing with cherry and apples with the vanilla ice cream drenching them.
“Really? My momma taught me how to cook pie.”
Jensen looks up, away from the plate and at Jared, eyes kind of sparkling with this… this interest. He leans closer, pushing the plate to the side for a moment and asks, “Really now? What kind of pie can you… cook?”
Jared flushes underneath the implication and clears his throat, biting on his lip ring and answers, “Any kind of pie, but if you want one I don’t know how to make… I’m always willing to learn.”
This gets Jensen to quirk his eyebrow but he doesn’t say anything, just leans back and pulls the plate between them again. He grabs a fork and twirls a bit of the cherry pie with the ice cream, mixing the red with the creamy white, and holds it Jared’s mouth.
“Jens?- ompf!”
The fork dives into his mouth without any warning, chilling and warming his tongue in unison. Jensen prompts him to wraps his lips around the fork with a tap underneath his jaw, and he pulls it out slowly.
“The pie’s good, yeah?” asks Jensen, flashing white teeth and smiling. Jared nods, not really understanding what happened but figured it was Jensen’s way of showing his excitement about pies. They spend the next hour eating the pies and lapping at the ice cream, no words between them save for groans of appreciation.
When they flag the bill down, the waitress looks at them with something akin to amusement but doesn’t say much when they pay.
Jensen gets to Chad’s apartment with no problem, pulling onto the side to let Jared out. They sit in the car for a few seconds, the rumble of the engine filling the silence, and then Jared says his awkward goodbye, getting out of the car. Jensen mumbles something similar sounding as he does so, and watches Jared walk away.
“Hey Jared, wait!” he calls, surprised at his actions.
Jared stops and turns around at the call of his name, tilting his head at his friend. He watches Jensen open his mouth as if to say something, but there’s a pause as if Jensen’s frozen. Just when he looks like he’s finally going to say something, Jared turns around and looks up at a Chad screaming down at him, flailing his arms out of the window.
“Duude! Could you just get in already? I’m not gonna hold the freakin’ goddamn door open for you for long!” he screeches and a light comes on on the floor above his.
“Shut up! Some people have work tomorrow!” bellows the neighbour, sticking his face out the window.
“No, you shut up!” argues Chad and Jared rolls his eyes, knowing that Chad never backs down from a fight even though he’s that one that starts them and turns back to Jensen with a questioning look. Jensen shakes his head at Jared, dismissing what he was going to say and waves at him before pulling his car back onto the road.
Jared frowns while he watches Jensen leave, feeling like he did when he left Jensen’s house for the thank you dinner and Chad had interrupted them.
“Any longer, doofus,” grumbles Chad leaning against the doorframe when Jared climbs the last of the steps to land on Chad’s floor. Jared’s mouth tilts into a little frown.
“I think you interrupted another important moment,” he mumbles under his breath, walking past Chad, brushing against him.
“What?” asks Chad, closing the door before following him. “Is something wrong? It’s that Jensen isn’t it? All kinds of trouble, huh? Got weird kinks? That should be it.”
Jared turns around and looks at Chad, studying his best friend, trying to figure why he’s been so… weird- protective around him, of him. Chad stares right back, doing that squinty thing he always does before ducking his head and looking away.
“Chad… what’s up with you?” he asks, brows furrowing and taking a few steps towards the blond. “Every second word you say is Jensen and all the others is degrading him as if… as if he’s not good enough for me,” gasps Jared, taking a step back.
Chad looks up at him, a worried expression on his face.
“I just… I don’t want you to get hurt. I know I said to… give the guy a chance but Jay, you… you-”
“I’m not gonna break, Chad. I’m not like before… I’ve changed, for the better. I’m stronger now,” says Jared, in a soothing tone, stepping back into his friend’s space. “And Jensen, he’s not like the others, yeah? Jensen actually talks to me.”
Chad laughs bitterly and Jared steps closer, putting his hand on his friend’s biceps.
“I admit that Jensen is different but there’s no guarantee that…”
Chad sighs and rubs his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. He looks up at Jared with a determined look on his face.
“Look, I know you’re not gonna break but your heart might or your mind. You could lapse again, Jared, and not like those ten minutes one. Like for months, man. You have to admit it before I told your mom you were so bad-”
“I get it, Chad. I get it,” cuts Jared, with a bitter tone but Chad’s eyes narrow in anger.
“The thing is that I don’t think you do! You were on the verge of just, just giving up! Over… over that! It wasn’t even a real relationship, you kept to yourself and pined over her and just- I was so fucking scared.”
Jared stands there in slight shock and silence while his best friend tries to calm himself down. It wasn’t like Chad to be this emotional, the time they spent apart probably fuelled this protective streak Chad’s had since they were teenagers. Jared tries to put himself in Chad’s shoes, thinks of leaving his mentally instable friend behind and fidgets at the feeling of worry that threatens to consume him.
Jared puts a hand around his friend’s shoulders and pulls him close.
“Don’t worry Chad, I mean, if it does happen, you’re here. I trust you as well as your decisions, but let me- let me find out for myself, Chad. I won’t know if I break or lapse until I’ve tried it and I need to.
“You said it yourself, I keep everything to myself, well, don’t you think it’s time I tried a different tactic? Maybe we can cure this,” says Jared and Chad puts an arm around him.
“Okay,” he breathes, “okay. You do what you want but, just don’t put too much hope on this okay? It’ll make things worse.”
Jared nods and Chad pulls away, blush dark on his face. The brunet laughs at him until Chad glares and mutters, “Shut up and go to bed,” before kissing him on the forehead.
That night Jared dreams of dark blond hair and green, green eyes.
[Part 3]
Jared jolts awake when his phone rings and he fumbles with it before flipping it open. As soon as he picks up the call, Chad is screaming into his ear about a curfew, early mornings and work at ungodly hours. He mumbles a few choice words at his best friend and agrees for Chad to come and pick him up.
Closing the phone, Jared looks around to find Jensen staring at him through half-lidded eyes.
“Oh man, I’m sorry for falling asleep like this! I totally didn’t mean to but you know I just got to Dallas today and wow, I woke up early to get here and that’s why I’m tired. I totally did not mean to fall asleep here, and now it looks like I’m a bad guest, jeez, I ‘m sorry. Oh God, now I’m talking too much, I just- um, I’ll shut up now,” blabbers Jared, cheeks growing hotter as he spits out each word.
There’s silence after his little babble and Jensen just smiles at him.
“That’s okay,” he says, voice low and gravelly. “I fell asleep too.”
Jared bites his bottom lip, metal of his lip ring digging into the flesh, as his cheeks grow hotter at the voice. He turns his body away from Jensen, lifting his head to look at the slightly dim stars and wills his body to calm down.
A hand on his shoulder startles him, and then Jensen’s in his space, whispering, “Let’s go out in front so we can wait for your friend, okay?”
Jensen pulls away after, walking away and Jared scrambles after him, careful not to make any loud noises. They reach the front door, and Jensen opens it, gesturing Jared to walk through first.
Jared walks through, but turns his head around as he does so, freezing when he comes face to face with Jensen. It’s as if time slows down as they stare at each other.
Jared spots the rosy pink hue high up on Jensen’s cheeks and he’s sure his face is the same. He watches the slide of sweat down the side of Jensen’s face and feels his own sweat mimicking the motion down his neck.
He looks at Jensen’s face, and feels... feels- something but he’s not sure what.
Before he can decipher anything out of the moment, a car honk startles him and it’s as if time starts again and Jensen pulls away.
“That’d be your friend, I imagine,” he says and Jared doesn’t know if he’s imaging a slightly bitter tone- he doesn’t know anything now. He just feels lost.
Jared nods and waves at Jensen as he trudges down the front steps. He opens the passenger door and looks back to find Jensen still watching, face unrecognisable because of the shadows the night casts on him. He waves again and takes a seat.
“Dude, if you wanted more time with your man you could’ve told me that you weren’t comin’ home or something,” scowls Chad, doing a u-turn on the street. Jared’s too tired to say anything back or even flip him off, he feels a slight knot in his stomach, as if he’s missing something.
“I think you interrupted something important,” he murmurs underneath his breath and Chad turns his head around (thank God they’re at a red light) and asks, “What?”
Shaking his head, Jared dismisses it and keeps quiet.
They get home relatively safe, surprisingly, since Chad’s never been one to drive safe when deprived of sleep. Jared mulls over the changes Chad seems to have gone through since he last saw him, about a year or so ago, but let’s that thought go as they slip into the apartment.
He gets his clothes off, slipping into black and white plaid boxers before staring at the couch. No way in this world would that be able to hold his long frame.
“Hey stupid,” calls Chad, cuffing him on the head and grudgingly pulls to him along to the bedroom. “There’s enough space,” he mumbles, uncovering one corner of the blanket on the massive bed and sliding in. Jared stares at him then smiles, Chad’s always been one for sleepovers when they were younger, and slides in on the other side.
-
The next few days have been nothing short of boring. Jared follows Chad to work, sitting beside him as he does the pricing. Sometimes he serves the customer, smiling bright and wide, hoping that he’s intimidated or at least scared them.
Jared’s met a co-worker of Chad’s as well, one Milo Ventimiglia. The guy was okay as far as co-workers go, a little quirky but nonetheless pleasant. But this morning, Milo was like a God-send or like- like... Milo the news bringer.
“Hey guys, guess what I found out? There’s a new store opening today called Punk&Babys. One of the owners is Sophia Bush,” smirks Milo, cocking his hip at Chad whose jaw almost falls to the counter.
“No way! My Sophia?” he gasps and Milo grins.
“Yep, Sophia and some Asian chick and this guy, um, Jenson or something,” says Milo, shifting the clothes on the rack and it was Jared’s turn to have his jaw drop to the counter.
“Did you say Jensen?” he asks, standing up real fast which gets him dizzy. Chad puts a hand on his hip to stable him before asking Milo more questions.
“Man, I don’t know. Why don’t y’all just go over there and find out? Just down the street, round the corner to the left. Y’know, next to the park.”
Jared and Chad are outta the store so fast, Milo could’ve sworn they were blurs.
True to Milo’s words, there was Sophia in her long, dark brown hair tied into two plaits down the side of her neck. Talking to her was a red-head Asian girl decked out in a full pirate style Lolita outfit whom Jared recognises as, “Nana Kitade!”
The female in question turns away from Sophia to tilt her head at him and he blushes then tries to hide behind Chad.
“Sophia, hey!” shouts Chad, making his way towards her with Jared in tow.
“Hi Chad, hi Chad’s friend,” greets Sophia, smiling at them. Chad smiles back and pries Jared away from his back.
“This is Jared. Jared, Sophia,” introduces Chad.
“Well hi there. Chad, Jared, this is Nana. Her and I co-own this store as well as Jensen,” she says, looking around as if to look for the mentioned man.
“Hello, I’m Nana! Nice to meet you!” says Nana, voice smooth and high pitched. Chad smiles and greets her, nudging Jared to do the same.
“H-hello, I’m Jared. I... I love your music,” he blurts out, feeling his cheeks grow pink. Nana smiles politely and nods, thanking him quietly.
“You have to excuse her, she’s not very fluent in English,” says Sophia, smiling apologetically. “Oh, is that so?” asks Chad, looking at Sophia and Jared can see that no one is going to get his attention now that he’s focused wholly on her.
“Is this your store, Kitade-san?” asks Jared, voice low and soft and she looks up at him in surprise. “Yes it is! Your Japanese is very good and you are very tall,” says Nana, laughing. “Maybe now you can teach me how to say your name? I’m sorry that I couldn’t figure it out straight away... ”
“No, that’s okay. You can call me Jay, Kitade-san,” says Jared glancing over to see Sophia looking amused at their conversation. “Jay-san... I like it! Since we are talking like westerns, please call me Nana! ” says Nana, smiling brightly which makes the blush on Jared’s cheek a dark shade.
“Is Texas always this hot? I feel really overdress with these clothes on! ” she asks, brushing the curly rings of her red hair away from the dampness of her neck. “Summer has always been very bad here, Nana-san. But stay here long enough and you might get used to it,” laughs Jared, gingerly lifting his bangs away from his forehead where they were plastered with sweat.
“Hey, what’s with the party?” asks Jensen, running a hand through the sweat accumulating on his forehead then his short hair. “Sophia, the sound check and everything went fine. We just need Miss Nana to get up and get the show rolling,” he says, eyes turning to look at Jared and greeting him with a small smile.
Sophia turns to Nana and tells her it’s time for her to be on stage and she waves at Jared and Chad before following Sophia.
“So, singing?” asks Jared, biting on his lip ring and he sees Jensen’s eyes avert down to it before coming back up to his eyes. “Yeah, Nana, Sophia and I are co-owners of the new store, Punk&Babys, named after one of Nana’s single. We’re having her sing it to promote the store. The opening was advertised on the net so,” says Jensen, jabbing his thumb at the stage set up in the park beside the store, “we’ve got a lot of fans for Nana and those for the fashion Punk&Babys is going to hold.”
Just when Jared is about to ask more questions, the shrill tone of the speakers blast through the air then the sound of drums and guitars fill it. Jared’s excited and doesn’t think much on it as he closes his hand around Jensen’s and pulls him to watch Nana perform.
They stand to the back of the crowd, letting the fans take their look at Nana as she begins to sing.
Jared feels Jensen’s hand twitch in his during the performance and blushes, pulling his hand away. Jensen doesn’t say anything nor does he look at Jared.
After the chorus though, while Jared least expects it, Jensen grabs a hold of his hand and Jared feels his face heat up again. He’s sure he’s never blushed this much in his life compared to his time in Dallas, by Jensen’s side. He tries to make sure his hand isn’t sweating, whether from the heat or nerves, he’s not sure. Nana continues to sing, flashing smiles and gallivanting around in her outfit. A few girls cheer her on, shouting her name but Jared doesn’t pay attention- can’t.
Not with Jensen by his side, holding his hand.
When the song is over, Jared feels Jensen’s hand pull away and he wants to grab a hold of it again, put it back in his hand because it feels like it belongs there, but he doesn’t. He watches Jensen walk onto the stage, taking a spot beside Nana as Sophia takes the other.
Together they greet the crowd and explain the opening of their store.
Jared feels like a shell along the sandy bay of a beach, consumed by the sand and sea, one shell among the presence of at least a million others. He turns around and leaves, not to be rude to the trio, no, but to hide away because damn, Jared shouldn’t be feeling mixed up and confused on his summer holiday.
But then he didn’t expect to meet Jensen.
He didn’t expect to be charmed by his appearance and personality and the way they seem to sorta fit like jigsaw pieces in the few hours they’ve been with each other.
“Hey, you going already?” asks Chad, putting a hand on his shoulder when Jared just nods. “You sure you ain’t gonna stay to talk more to your man? You haven’t seen him in three days and now that you’ve met him, you sulk?”
Jared just shrugs his shoulders and Chad swears.
“Are you still having these… these moments of yours?” he asks concern visible in his eyes.
Chad’s known him since he was 10. They’d hang out every day and it wasn’t until high school, when they were 15, that Jared would sometimes just… lapse into a depressed mood not eating or talking in that period. Chad’s brought this up with his mom and his family had gotten him a therapist.
Samantha smiles gently at Jared when he walks in, gesturing to the seat in front of her for him to sit on. Jared takes the seat, smiling at her brightly as if they were the best of friends.
“How are you today, Jared?”
“I’m good. School’s been good, just finished a project I had for English and I hope I get a good mark. I’m not really good at public speaking, y’know… oh and Chad was awesome, he got peanut butter on the teacher’s seat and she actually sat on it!”
“That sounds like quite an interesting week you’ve had, anything else new?”
Jared hesitates to answer and Samantha notes this down.
“I… there’s this girl in my Maths class. She’s really pretty and I like her a lot. I think she likes me too, I’m not sure. She holds my hands sometimes but then- then…” Jared trails off, looking down at the floor.
“Have you had any lapses this week?” prods Samantha gently, knowing where this was headed.
“Once or twice, maybe… I just- Sandy holds my hand and it makes me happy but then she lets go and it’s as if I’m losing her or something. I just- then I know, you know? That she lets go because I’m not good enough for her. That she’ll never be with me and she’s probably playing with me. I just- why does it hurt when I realise this? Isn’t realising this better? Because it stops the heartbreak? I just-“
Jared goes silent, shoulders slumping and Samantha sighs softly, reaching into her cabinet for the jar of lollipops she keeps. She hands him one and speaks softly to him, “Jared, listen to me okay? There is no such thing as you being not good enough for anybody. You are you and if someone doesn’t like that then it’s their lost. You have to accept that people have different tastes and personalities.
“You can’t please everyone. By doing that you’re only hurting yourself.”
Jared just accepts the lollipop and when he lifts his head, his eyes are only slightly vacant and Samantha hopes she’s helped in some way today.
“Jay, don’t you dare,” threatens Chad, putting hands on his shoulders and looking up at him, “if you’re thinking about how that guy could do better than you or that it’s a good thing he somehow isn’t in love with you, it isn’t. It’s not true. He’s entitled to his own thoughts and you can’t make them up for him.”
And just like they were kids, Chad tilts Jared’s head down and presses his lips to the top of his forehead. Jared takes a deep shuddering intake of air and trembles slightly in his friend’s arms.
“Y-You’re a goddamn g-girl,” stutters Jared, as if he’s just been allowed to breathe.
“Yeah well… shut up.”
“Everything all right here?”
Jared tenses when he recognises the voice and he doesn’t turn around but knows Chad has.
“Um, I don’t know. Jared’s sick or something, I don’t know what do,” lies Chad and he lets go of Jared. Since it’s unexpected, Jared sways a bit to regain his balance and Jensen steadies him with a hand on his hip, the other on his back.
“Woah there, Jared,” he murmurs, voice low in his ear. When Jared is able to stand properly, Jensen looks at him with concern that turns into a smile. “Did you enjoy the show? Nana is pretty taken with you, so it seems. She likes your height.
“Also… when I was on stage, I saw you walk away. I… you’re all right? Your friend said you were feeling sick…” trails off Jensen and Jared gives him a reassuring smile. “It’s nothing, I swear. I just get that way sometimes,” he says and that’s it. He doesn’t add anything else to it.
“Well, you want to have a look at the store before the fans raid it?” asks Jensen and Jared looks up at him in surprise. “Really? I get a first look?” he asks excitedly and Jensen smiles softly and takes him to the shop.
With a twist of a key and a push of a door, it’s like they enter a whole different world when they step in.
The store is pretty wide, with the walls a warm cream and the floor a white and cream checkerboard. There’s a chandelier hanging on the ceiling and the side of the room is lined with clothing of the Lolita and punk variety, sorted by their colour and style. Underneath the Lolita clothing are shoes of different kinds, also sorted by their colour. In the middle of the room are little open cupboards with small items tucked in like headbands, headdresses, wristbands and socks.
There are two mannequins in the middle wearing the punk and gothic clothing as well as one mannequin on either side of the room wearing Lolita clothes. There’s also changing rooms in the corner with a beautiful classic sofa beside it. The counter is on the opposite side to the changing room and Jensen walks to it, tapping on the keyboard.
Jared just takes everything in, running fingers lightly over the clothes and takes the time to appreciate what he is seeing. Then he realises something and turns to Jensen, with a raised brow.
“Didn’t you say your major is sport science or something, Jensen? How do you co-own a store?” he asks.
“While I’m trying to get a major in sport science, I have a minor in business. And Sophia is a long time friend of mine. When Nana thought of this idea, she needed an international co-ordinator since she can’t speak English. Sophia’s damn good with Japanese from all the crazy trips she’s taken to Japan and from the stories she told, she has been negotiating with business over there to supply her with products.
“That’s when they got her in a meeting with Nana. You see Nana’s been trying to market out her fashion and promote her singing career at the same time. She loves it and they’ve been working together on this store for a while. Sophia usually hits me up with questions until she decided that she wanted me to work with them. We have other workers too, like our accountant Steve and lawyer Chris and we worked for this opening and hopefully business stays good enough to keep this store on its feet.”
Jared stares at Jensen, stunned in silence because that’s the most Jensen’s ever said in one go. And the fact that he looks so… passionate when he was speaking, like he really enjoys his job and that he’s real pleased at the effort put into the store. Jensen looks embarrassed now, cheeks flushing lightly and he apologises for speaking too much.
“No, no. That’s okay, it’s just… it sounds real good what you guys are doing. I’m just awed by everything right now,” laughs Jared, scratching the back of his neck.
“Hello~” greets Nana as she pops her head in, Sophia close behind.
“Jensen, we’re opening the shop in five minute and the fans are getting really hyped up. Just warning you this might get messy.”
Jensen smiles and Nana does too, Jared feels the sense of being out of place and tries to quash it.
“I’ll just go now,” he mumbles, moving to the front but Sophia latches onto his arm.
“No you don’t. Jared, I think you can help us with the store- I mean, if you want. Like, you’re Japanese is pretty fluent and you’re a friend of Jensen’s… I mean, we need to hire workers sooner or later since Nana can’t stay in Texas for this store so it’d just be me and Jensen manning it.”
“Oh, I… I’m here for the summer only,” says Jared biting his bottom lip and Sophia smiles. “That’s okay, we just need the help now. Opening is rocky and the summer holidays are more than a month away, right? By that time I’m sure we’d be more than stable.”
When Jared doesn’t look like he’s going to agree, Sophia turns to Nana, quickly relaying what they’ve been talking about.
“Jay-san, please help the store,” says Nana, looking at him while smiling softly and Jared doesn’t know what to do so he turns to Jensen.
“I’m here for the summer only,” he repeats and Jensen nods and smiles.
“That’s okay, Jared. It’s okay.”
With a nod, Jared says yes and the opening is a blur of fans cheering for Nana, flirting with Jensen, smiling at Sophia and staring at him.
But it didn’t matter, what did was that Jensen was by his side the whole time, whispering little comments and instructions into his ear.
-
Jared doesn’t start his first real shift until Friday and when he walks into the shop at 9 o’clock in the morning, he’s a little out of it. So it’s not completely his fault that he gawks a little when Jensen walks out from behind the counter and towards Jared in a The GazettE tour shirt and pre-distressed skinny jeans that are bleached at the knee with knee-high white Doc Martens. He’s got thick eyeliner around his eyes and his hair is spiked into a Mohawk.
“J-Jensen?” squeaks Jared, surprised, he didn’t think Jensen would dress in this type of fashion. He seemed the business type of guy, suits and ties.
“The one and only,” grins Jensen.
“You look different,” blurts Jared, blushing but Jensen just grins and does a full turn before facing Jared again. “Yeah, I don’t usually dress like this but Sophia’s got this notion that I have to dress up to man this kind of store so here I am, looking like this. To be honest, it’s a cool style. I mean, I’m open to new styles, y’know?
“Though, today you look like you’ve got a more… out there style.”
It’s true. Jared took the liberty of dragging his ass out of bed at six in the morning so that he could do his hair perfectly, teasing and backcombing it into submission with the help of his hairspray to get the perfect natural fanned out spikey look. He took care of his makeup, giving himself dark smoky eyes and he even attached a chain from his lip ring to his ear.
“I wanted to look good for my first day of work,” he says, beaming at Jensen with childish glee which makes the other chuckle softly. “Well then trainee, c’mere and I’ll show you how to use the computer and organise these clothes and where the stock is, yada yada.”
They spend the whole day going through everything and Jared even manages to use the computer properly, serving a cute costumer who blushed heavily under both his and Jensen’s looks.
The store closes at five, and after Jensen locks up, Jared asks him to dinner. Jensen raises an eyebrow but didn’t say anything except, “Sure, why not.”
They have dinner at a small diner two blocks down from the store and it’s with a relatively easy atmosphere.
“So, Jared, you do art right?” asks Jensen, digging into his steak as Jared nods. “I was thinking of getting business cards done but you know I’d have to hire artists or have commissions done so I was thinking… I’ve got the programs and machinery at home for some graphic design, you think you could…?
“I mean, we’d pay you of course but if you do it it’d be much more easier and-”
“Yeah, okay, Jenny Mc Stress-a-lot, I’ll do it,” says Jared smiling at Jensen’s little babble and the blond stops mid word and just stares at him.
“What?” he asks when it seems like he’s done with his little zoning out session.
“I said yes,” laughs Jared throwing a fry at him.
“Oh no, yeah, okay. Thank you so much but- did you call me Jenny Mc Stress-a-lot?” asks Jensen, eyes going a little glassy and Jared nods slowly, cautiously.
“Is it… okay if I call you that? I mean, if you don’t want me to I won’t I mean it just kinda slipped out and it’s cute don’t you think? Oh my God, ignore that, actually, erase it from your mind I mean, I’m sorry.”
Jensen watches Jared with a slight fondness and shakes his head at Jared’s babble.
“No, it’s not a bad thing, it’s just… that Tom used to call me that. He used to always tease me about how I stress over the simplest things,” he says though it sounds more like musing with the fond tone he uses, almost as if he’s reminiscing and ends it there without any explanation to who Tom is.
Jared eats the last of his meal in silence, watching Jensen stare out the window with no indication of continuing to eat.
“Jensen?” he whisper-asks, biting his lip and turns his head away when Jensen finally pays attention to him. He catches the odd looks he gets from other people, most probably wondering what kind of fashion or cult he and Jensen are following.
“Yeah, Jared?” asks Jensen, voice soft and low and Jared looks back at him.
“I… I’m- it’s getting late. Chad’s probably wondering where I am and stuff,” he says, grabbing tissues to wipe off his mouth and that’s when Jensen asks, “Chad’s that guy right? The blond at the opening? Is he… what- your friend or something?”
Jared laughs a bit at what Jensen is implying. Even though Chad is a good-looking guy and Jared appreciates it along with the fact that they’ve had a fling before, the end result was that Chad and Jared? Are better at being best friends than anything else in the world.
“Jensen, do you think that… Chad’s my boyfriend?” asks Jared, putting on an innocent act and tilting his head. “Like dude,” he says with a little tilt to his mouth, like it’s weird or disgusting and thinking about it now? Yeah, it’s a little ew but Jensen gets flustered all the same.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to say that you were you know, um, gay or anything, I just- I saw him kiss your forehead and I thought,” blurts out Jensen, putting a hand over his mouth and doing a pretty good rendition of the ‘deer caught in headlights’ look.
“Oh,” laughs Jared, “Chad and I are childhood friends and I don’t know, he’s touchy-feely like that and it’s stayed with him, you know? He worries about me a lot and apparently, that’s the only method he has that calms me down,” says Jared, absentmindedly, oblivious that he’s triggered Jensen’s curiosity the same way Jensen triggered Jared’s about ‘Tom’.
Jared’s phone gives out a loud sound, playing its happy techno before he picks up the call. Apparently it’s Chad, worrying, yet again, on Jared’s whereabouts and his mode of transportation home.
“Hey, I can take you home, no worries,” says Jensen and Jared smiles at him, relaying the message on. Chad makes lewd jokes about Jensen taking Jared on for a ride and says to get home by the curfew of 11 o’clock. Jared rolls his eyes and tells Jensen his momma told him he’s gotta be home by 11 o’clock.
Jensen grins and nods.
“So, it’s nine now… do you want to go somewhere else? Or go home before your ‘curfew’?” asks Jensen, and Jared thinks of places to go.
“Well… can we have dessert?” he asks, and Jensen’s already waving the waitress down as he pronounces the last syllable. “We’d like some pie, cherry if you have it, as well as apple,” orders Jensen, turning to Jared. “Could we have ice cream with that? A lot of vanilla would be nice.”
The waitress taps her pen on her pad when she’s done writing their orders and tells them it’d be right up.
“So… you like pie?” asks Jared, which gets an excited smile from Jensen.
“Man, I love pie. Can’t live without it,” says Jensen, eyes going wide when their waitress comes with their order on a massive plate, pies oozing with cherry and apples with the vanilla ice cream drenching them.
“Really? My momma taught me how to cook pie.”
Jensen looks up, away from the plate and at Jared, eyes kind of sparkling with this… this interest. He leans closer, pushing the plate to the side for a moment and asks, “Really now? What kind of pie can you… cook?”
Jared flushes underneath the implication and clears his throat, biting on his lip ring and answers, “Any kind of pie, but if you want one I don’t know how to make… I’m always willing to learn.”
This gets Jensen to quirk his eyebrow but he doesn’t say anything, just leans back and pulls the plate between them again. He grabs a fork and twirls a bit of the cherry pie with the ice cream, mixing the red with the creamy white, and holds it Jared’s mouth.
“Jens?- ompf!”
The fork dives into his mouth without any warning, chilling and warming his tongue in unison. Jensen prompts him to wraps his lips around the fork with a tap underneath his jaw, and he pulls it out slowly.
“The pie’s good, yeah?” asks Jensen, flashing white teeth and smiling. Jared nods, not really understanding what happened but figured it was Jensen’s way of showing his excitement about pies. They spend the next hour eating the pies and lapping at the ice cream, no words between them save for groans of appreciation.
When they flag the bill down, the waitress looks at them with something akin to amusement but doesn’t say much when they pay.
Jensen gets to Chad’s apartment with no problem, pulling onto the side to let Jared out. They sit in the car for a few seconds, the rumble of the engine filling the silence, and then Jared says his awkward goodbye, getting out of the car. Jensen mumbles something similar sounding as he does so, and watches Jared walk away.
“Hey Jared, wait!” he calls, surprised at his actions.
Jared stops and turns around at the call of his name, tilting his head at his friend. He watches Jensen open his mouth as if to say something, but there’s a pause as if Jensen’s frozen. Just when he looks like he’s finally going to say something, Jared turns around and looks up at a Chad screaming down at him, flailing his arms out of the window.
“Duude! Could you just get in already? I’m not gonna hold the freakin’ goddamn door open for you for long!” he screeches and a light comes on on the floor above his.
“Shut up! Some people have work tomorrow!” bellows the neighbour, sticking his face out the window.
“No, you shut up!” argues Chad and Jared rolls his eyes, knowing that Chad never backs down from a fight even though he’s that one that starts them and turns back to Jensen with a questioning look. Jensen shakes his head at Jared, dismissing what he was going to say and waves at him before pulling his car back onto the road.
Jared frowns while he watches Jensen leave, feeling like he did when he left Jensen’s house for the thank you dinner and Chad had interrupted them.
“Any longer, doofus,” grumbles Chad leaning against the doorframe when Jared climbs the last of the steps to land on Chad’s floor. Jared’s mouth tilts into a little frown.
“I think you interrupted another important moment,” he mumbles under his breath, walking past Chad, brushing against him.
“What?” asks Chad, closing the door before following him. “Is something wrong? It’s that Jensen isn’t it? All kinds of trouble, huh? Got weird kinks? That should be it.”
Jared turns around and looks at Chad, studying his best friend, trying to figure why he’s been so… weird- protective around him, of him. Chad stares right back, doing that squinty thing he always does before ducking his head and looking away.
“Chad… what’s up with you?” he asks, brows furrowing and taking a few steps towards the blond. “Every second word you say is Jensen and all the others is degrading him as if… as if he’s not good enough for me,” gasps Jared, taking a step back.
Chad looks up at him, a worried expression on his face.
“I just… I don’t want you to get hurt. I know I said to… give the guy a chance but Jay, you… you-”
“I’m not gonna break, Chad. I’m not like before… I’ve changed, for the better. I’m stronger now,” says Jared, in a soothing tone, stepping back into his friend’s space. “And Jensen, he’s not like the others, yeah? Jensen actually talks to me.”
Chad laughs bitterly and Jared steps closer, putting his hand on his friend’s biceps.
“I admit that Jensen is different but there’s no guarantee that…”
Chad sighs and rubs his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. He looks up at Jared with a determined look on his face.
“Look, I know you’re not gonna break but your heart might or your mind. You could lapse again, Jared, and not like those ten minutes one. Like for months, man. You have to admit it before I told your mom you were so bad-”
“I get it, Chad. I get it,” cuts Jared, with a bitter tone but Chad’s eyes narrow in anger.
“The thing is that I don’t think you do! You were on the verge of just, just giving up! Over… over that! It wasn’t even a real relationship, you kept to yourself and pined over her and just- I was so fucking scared.”
Jared stands there in slight shock and silence while his best friend tries to calm himself down. It wasn’t like Chad to be this emotional, the time they spent apart probably fuelled this protective streak Chad’s had since they were teenagers. Jared tries to put himself in Chad’s shoes, thinks of leaving his mentally instable friend behind and fidgets at the feeling of worry that threatens to consume him.
Jared puts a hand around his friend’s shoulders and pulls him close.
“Don’t worry Chad, I mean, if it does happen, you’re here. I trust you as well as your decisions, but let me- let me find out for myself, Chad. I won’t know if I break or lapse until I’ve tried it and I need to.
“You said it yourself, I keep everything to myself, well, don’t you think it’s time I tried a different tactic? Maybe we can cure this,” says Jared and Chad puts an arm around him.
“Okay,” he breathes, “okay. You do what you want but, just don’t put too much hope on this okay? It’ll make things worse.”
Jared nods and Chad pulls away, blush dark on his face. The brunet laughs at him until Chad glares and mutters, “Shut up and go to bed,” before kissing him on the forehead.
That night Jared dreams of dark blond hair and green, green eyes.
[Part 3]