CLOSED TO NEW PROMPTS // REAL PEOPLE Prompts Post // July 1 - 15
This post is for ANY AND ALL REAL PEOPLE PROMPTS. People from other fandoms are allowed as long as the main pairing includes one person from the Supernatural cast. Exceptions made for Jared, Jensen, and/or Misha's wives.
Reminders:
Prompts or fills mentioning real people under the age of 18 are BANNED, they can not be aged up or mentioned in ( Read more... )
Reminders:
Prompts or fills mentioning real people under the age of 18 are BANNED, they can not be aged up or mentioned in ( Read more... )
“There’s a lot more… Jared.”
The boy turned from his mother to his dad. “No! What were you thinking? Just because someone else said Jeff was bad you gave up on all your kids?”
“We did the unthinkable for our kids. You have no right to judge us!” his father shouted.
A knock on the door made all of them turn. Mayor Ackles, his wife, Sam Ferris from the bar and Sheriff Sheppard entered the house without any explanation.
“What happened?” Mrs. Padalecki asked.
“It’s my fault.” Sheppard was moving forward. “They deserve to know, but he wouldn’t listen to me. Jensen… he understood.”
“Why you had to do this to him?!” Jared’s father shouted on his face.
“Both boys deserve to know, they’re old enough to know.” Mrs. Padalecki looked at Sheppard with something like fear and pain.
Sheriff said he was sorry once more before he faced Jared. “Wanna know what happened? The day Jensen died your brother went to the bar and outed you. He was too upset and too drunk to think straight.”
Jared gasped and turned to his parents.
“It was never a problem for us. Never, we love you, and who you love is not an issue.” Mr. Padalecki stated.
“Sadly there was one person in the bar that shouldn’t have heard him.” Sheppard turned to Mayor Ackles.
“Anders…” Jared knew it before they had to say anything. “But I was fine, he was nice, he even offered me a ride the day Collins killed my brother.”
“Because I stopped him.” Jensen’s mother was looking into his eyes and Jared remembered. They were going towards the Sioux fall’s pond exactly the opposite direction from his house.
“You don’t mind right kid? I have a thing to take care of, and I’ll drive you home afterwards.” The man said while caressing his knee. Back then he didn’t though twice about the touch.
“I found him when he was about to rape a handcuffed man, I found him when he had the poor guy bent down. He left the station in a hurry saying he’d do the right thing and end with the fucking faggots.” Sheppard leaned on a chair. “We had no idea what he was going to do, there were only two gay guys in this town and Jensen was already dead.”
“I heard him, saying he’d fix you or kill you trying.” Mrs. Ferris said. “I couldn’t let it happen again. They chased my girl out of town for being too mouthy to marry one of their boys. I couldn’t let them do to you the same they did to Jensen or Misha.”
“When we heard what he did. When Sheppard told us, we couldn’t deal with the guilt, Jensen said the true, and we ignored him for being different.” Mayor Ackles continued, and looking to his wife finished. “We took care of that bastard.”
Jared turned around the whole room looking at him, this people all council members now killed a man?
“He went missing the day my son died.” Jared’s mom spoke. “I just had lost my boy, and he suffered so much, people say he didn’t even defended himself he knew he deserved it. I want to believe that he’s in heaven because he asked for forgiveness.” The lady cleaned her face with the tip of her fingers. “But I needed to make someone pay for all that.”
Jared’s dad moved to hold her.
“But… Is it true? Was Jeff? Was he..? With Anders when… was my brother a rapist?” His mom sobbed.
“All I knew was what was on those pictures, on that cellphone.” Jensen’s mom explained. “I knew it wasn’t fair for his parents, as it wasn’t fair for you what Anders was about to do to you.” She wasn’t crying, she had the same quiet strength Jensen showed all the time. “It was more than obvious, and Jeff wasn’t there to ask him about it anymore.”
“I don’t know what happened. I took his keys and sent him out with that other kid he was with all the time, he was too drunk for anything.” Mrs. Ferris tried to explain.
“I can’t believe this, this can’t be true.”
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“We did this on our own Jared, we are all mothers and fathers, we finished it so no children would suffer what Jensen and others suffered.”
“Son, it’s true. The people in this room is responsible of a murder, the entire town knows about this, we just want to believe that it made our town a better place.” His father tried to make him understand.
“And if you think they didn’t love you, you’re wrong.” Mrs. Ackles explained. “Donna saw Sheriff Anders had you in his car, we couldn’t wait.”
“You had to stay away in order to be safe, just like Meg and Mac, just like Jensen will do in a couple weeks.”
“And you thought I didn’t deserve to know this?”
“You were a kid.” his father reasoned. “We couldn’t burden you with this.”
“We swore secrecy Jared, we couldn’t tell you” his mother got close but he moved away again.
“I have to go…” Jared got to the lawn and stood there in blank.
“Kid.” Sheppard got close. “I was about to tell you, you should have stayed in the bar…”
“Shut up.”
“Stop the self pity party, I’ve seen your mother covered in the blood of the man that was a threat to you, you should at least thank them for that. You think Misha was badass for the killing spree? You haven’t seen those three ladies there, they’re the scariest creatures I’ve ever seen, all to protect their cubs.”
“Shut up.” He moved towards his car.
“This entire town knew, that’s why they were all at Misha Collins funeral, they understood.” He kept talking but Jared started running.
Jared didn’t stop. he went home, ignoring the cold or the hour. He had made his mind. It was about 10 pm, it was like 6pm in California. He dialed and let Stanford know he was going to join in at the start of fall.
He started packing that night. He couldn’t wait to leave this town..
***
Jensen went home to find his mother up.
“Baby…” she hugged him and didn’t let him go no matter what he said. The gesture made him understand something had happened.
“Is Jared safe?” his mother nodded and Jensen left her behind going to his bedroom. He called his friend but Jared never picked up.
So by dawn he was out of bed and walking the mile and a half to Jared’s house only to find it empty.
Of course it was empty. Jared woke up early to pick up few gallons of pig blood from a slaughter house and marched with Genevieve and Pellegrino to the partially deceased health center.
He was so angry. He didn’t say a word to his friends he just shouted and throwed things, from the blood, to stones. It was almost ten in the morning when he saw a pair of dark eyes looking at him, long straight lashes framing them. He saw rosy cheeks and a sweet smile on the face of a young boy.
“What?!” he asked blunt and the kid giggled.
“Don’t you recognize me?” and the kid shook a bag of gummy bears in front of him. It was Osric and he had his eye color back. He was officially back.
Sadly Jared was still too angry and just smirked at him and moved to a side.
“You’re a rotten nothing more.” And then someone from behind brought a bucket of blood and poured it over the kid, Jared by instinct pulled the boy towards him and hugged him but he was still soaked in blood.
Osric’s pretty dark eyes filled with tears while his mother ran to him, the Christian ladies were roaring in anger. “Os…” Jared tried to get close again while the kid’s mom hugged him. “I’m sorry.”
Osric looked at Jared and throwing the candy at him said “I knew you were lying when you said you were Jensen’s friend now.”
“boo hoo little monster.” Mark Pellegrino had one of his giant paws on Jared’s shoulder and was laughing.
Jared stood under the sun the entire morning of his Saturday, without thinking without feeling anything. He only left when his mother went there bringing refreshments for the ladies. He couldn’t face her.
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Jared had to go back and walk all the way across their neighbors backyards in order to avoid him but finally was inside his house, he went straight to the fridge looking for a beer, to find nothing, no beer, there were only two stupid apples and a couple bottles of water.
Thinking about that, he haven’t needed beer to sleep since Jensen was in isolation with Osric, after that he always had a reason to wake up, and not since then either he had been in one of the demonstrations of the militia.
“I was going to give up everything for a fucking rotten, I was giving up-” he punched the wall. “Everything, I was ready to do everything for a bastard that could hurt kids and defenseless people.” Another punch and he started crying. “for someone who could take pictures of a rape instead of stopping it.”
“You didn’t know.” The voice was soft and emotionless, during this whole thing that same voice kept him calm, why does it anger him now?
“Leave.” Jared got up and walked down the hall “And leave my key.” He passed the door into his room closing the door, still he stood against it; one ear close trying to hear if Jensen will actually leave his house without saying anything else.
He woke up, it was dark and he by instinct held his phone, he had nobody to talk to, nobody else but Jensen, and he refused to talk to him.
The beer returned to the menu as the main source of nutrients, the only thing Jared did aside of drinking himself stupid was getting ready to leave, that same Monday he gave his two week notice and went from work to the militia meetings, then home and he drank himself to sleep.
Jensen tried to talk to him the first week, by Tuesday the next week he gave up. And Jared still felt miserable and sad. He looked himself on a mirror two days before leaving. And saw a ghost.
“Damn it! The only rotten thing here is you.” He shaved and got his stuff ready, he had everything packed already and sent away; Just a couple more days. He marched to the door, nothing in his mind or his schedule for the day, he just needed peace.
“What you’re not gonna tell anyone you’re leaving?”
It was Josh Ackles sitting on the same spot his baby brother favored when visiting Jared’s house, or more specifically at Jared’s front door.
“What the fuck do you want?”
“I want you to help Me.” he got up and showed him two shovels.
“I have to work.”
Josh’s face twisted. “I know you left your job, remember who you work for? He told me.” of course the factory manager was a guy from Josh class, his football team buddy, another of those from the red pickup truck gang.
Jared sighed and turned his eyes down to control his temper.
“What you really want?”
Josh moved closer.
“Jensen’s treatment will be done in two weeks and by then I hope I get some answers about a different matter” and offering Jared working gloves and one of the shovels. “For a start: We’re digging out Anders to burn the remains and get our parents free.”
“Free of what?”
“Just… free.” Jared stared at him not getting it. “You didn’t understand right? You think they wanted to stay here? Where their kids were killed? You think Sheppard wanted to stay here where things were shitty and people was scared of him? Or Sam wanted to be away from Alona?” Jared blinked stupidly. “They had to stay because any other sheriff or Mayor would be asking questions about a missing sheriff and this town is not ready for that.” And Josh moved tossing him the gloves. “Now, move, we’re taking care of stuff.”
Josh drove across fields and fields and empty planes and roads of dirt until they reached Samantha Ferris’ property at the very end of the city.
“My mom said, your father and mine brought him here, after whatever my mom and your mom did to the bastard.” Josh walked without saying another word until he found a specific depression on the soil, it was about six foot long and 10 inches wide, and without a word he stuck his shovel.
“You can ask, you know?”
Jared looked at him for a while.
“Ask what?”
“How’s Jensen.”
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He noticed Josh had stopped digging and turned to see the bathroom curtains from his house, from when he was 16. “Oh My God.”
The putrid smell permeating the air forced Josh to cover his nose.
“Oh My God.” Josh parroted.
To Josh this was maybe harder than it was for Jared, he knew his baby brother died and that his parents took care of the man that hurt him, but seeing in reality what was left of the man was a complete different thing.
“I can’t believe this is what’s left of a man I knew when I was young.” He moved around the body. “Look at this. it’s so small and so…” Josh removed some dirty stuck on the plastic and a part of what once was Anders face was revealed, Jared felt about to pass out. “This was a man once…”
Jared was looking at it thinking pretty much the same, but also thinking about the fact that what reduced this man to the small pile of rotten meat and bones had been his and Jensen’s mothers. Josh moved to pick the curtain from one end to take it out of the dirt in order to burn it.
“I think I saw a show where the murderers were caught for digging out the body themselves…” Jared said out of nervousness, this was the first time he touched a dead body.
Josh giggled. It was the same sound from Jensen.
“Good thing we’re not the ones that killed this bastard.” The body was pretty much out of the dirt so he pulled the plastic open to spray the remains with fuel. The smell was ten times worst and Jared could see a couple crawlers among the exposed bones.
Coughing and with watering eyes Jared backed away while Jensen’s brother sprayed the bottle of lighter fuel over the remains and climbing out of the hole throwed a lit matchbox. “Rot in peace.” Josh Ackles claimed as the flames wrapped the body
Jared noticed the similarity with what his militia told people outside the health center. More now that they were brazen and started attacking those rottens they found alone.
Josh took a small ice box from the back of his truck and offered Jared a beer. They sat watching the remains turn into nothing more than ashes without saying much.
“I wish I was here by then…” Josh had his jaw set and his eyes were fix on the smoking pile of ashes, it was far past noon and Jared felt hungry for the first time in over a week.
“I wish I knew about all this.”
Joshua Ackles turned to face Jared before letting out a breath.
“I’m glad that you didn’t, you were a kid, this kind of burden on a kid?” and shaking his head from side to side. “I’d have kept it a secret too.”
He got up and moved to the pile kicking the hot cinder away across the land and without fuss opened his fly peed over the last remains of ember.
“What the fuck, man, that’s disrespectful!”
“Oh. I’m sorry, I disrespected the bastard who raped and made my baby brother kill himself?” and zipping himself up moved to the car. “I guess I’m going to hell.”
Jared sat on the car and thought about this, Anders passed away no long after Jensen and he didn’t came back, just like Jeff, then there was the lady he killed. She came back after she passed away for the abuse suffered from her husband who abused her son after she was gone. Osric had leukemia, The deputy’s mother had cancer too. Jensen killed himself, case after case it had one common denominator. All of them were good people who had bad luck. Maybe that’s why Misha didn’t came back either, because he killed someone.
Jared understood that his brother was a monster, just like the man they burnt. He understood there was a reason why Josh didn’t come back. Jared thought that if he were to die, he wouldn’t come back either. His throat closed, his eyes stung, and Jared slept almost all the way back to the city.
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Just wanted to say I'm still loving this. Not sure if I should be angry with Jared or feel sorry for him.
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Jensen was called by Osric’s mom to her house, the day after Jared kicked him out, by the time he got there Osric was throwing stuff around.
“I can’t make him stop.” Mrs. Chao was in tears. “Please make him stop.”
Jensen held her for a second before moving inside Osric’s room.
The boy was feral, covered still in pig blood and crying. “The lamp too, broke the stupid lamp your mom kept here for you.” Jensen took it and offered it to the kid.
“It’s your entire fault!” he shouted angry moving in front of his friend with a wild expression. “You said he was your friend and I believed you, but he’s not!!” he sobbed and covered his eyes. “He’s mean and cruel. Just like everyone else.”
Jensen understood immediately. “Let’s just say I made a mistake.”
“He made fun of me, like when I was sick! Like before I died.” He rubbed his face and Jensen moved closer to hold him.
“He’s an idiot, and I have the bad habit of believing people can change.”
The kid faced his friend and gasped, actually both gasped. Jensen saw the dark in his eyes. And Osric saw the giant bluish-green mark of a bruise on his friend’s temple.
“What happened to you?” Osric asked.
“Someone got mad at me.” and Jensen moved a step closer bending to look into Osric’s face. “Look at your eyes, they look a little different.”
The kid smiled and blinked owlishly, surprised to have his friend this close.
“They were hurting last night and then this morning they were like this.”
“Amazing…” and standing up Jensen looked around. “We only need to get rid of the smell.” Osric looked down to his ruined shirt.
“Jared’s friends did this.”
“Well, you just made a mess out of the house.” The kid looked around surprised. “You better rein your temper. You have a grade A mom there.” Jensen pointed to the door. “Don’t go wasting her time with these things.” Osric sighed and pouted. “I’ve learnt something Os, you can’t judge anyone for his friends.” Jensen heard Mrs. Chao close. “Go take a shower, and say you’re sorry so we can go out. Did you heard? I’m taking liquids now, and if you’re not grounded. I’ve been said I can try with ice cream.”
The change in the boy’s demeanor was obvious, arms rose in the air with an excited hoot. “ICE CREAM!” and he ran down the hall to the bathroom.
Mrs. Chao kept crying when Jensen turned and let her hug him.
“He was not himself, he was nothing but a ghost until you came into our lives.”
Jensen wondered how it would affect the kid when he went away with his brother.
That afternoon he tried with strawberry and lemon ice cream, he wanted to be as far away from any memory as possible, he sat on the park with Os and let him pet the stupid stray he kept seeing everywhere.
Jensen saw a group of people getting closer. Militia’s all of them. They as everyone else avoided even eye contact with him, that’s when the nausea hit him and he hardly had time to move the few feet to the trashcan.
The next day he went to see Jared looking for an explanation on why he attacked his young friend, but couldn’t talk to him, the next couple days happened the same over and over, it felt like being bullied again, it hurt.
“Get the hell up from that door, seriously…!” Josh was there. “What are you? A fucking dog?” and pulled his brother and carried him to the only place he knew Jensen would enjoy; To Town’s library.
After Josh got there he made Jensen do something. Every day after treatment Jensen went to community college, he could learn some things, and it’ll make it easier for him if he ever decided he wanted to do more with his life than roam the town like a specter.
“I’m moving with you Josh, why I need any of this shit?” he protested at first.
“Because Jay… I’m not gonna support you forever and I’m a fucking biologist, I won’t have a grunt of a brother, you better find something you like and learn about it.” Josh sighed and facing his baby brother kept talking. “You deserve more than this, more than memories and pain. And mom and dad deserve more than guilt.” Jensen scoffed. “YES! They do, you weren’t here kid. You didn’t see it. They paid for it. It’s time to let it go.”
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It helped, Jensen never again sat at Jared’s door like a dog put on time out, and he no longer missed him. At least he doesn’t feel the need to go to him every time something is not alright.
By the morning of a Wednesday when Josh said he’d be taking care of things before going home Jensen was out with Osric, the kid was going back to school that fall, after almost five years, they went shopping for school supplies. Osric was nervous. Most of his class were HS juniors and he was going back to 9th grade.
“Were you nervous?” Asked while sipping on his slushy, another of the things Jensen could have without puking. “Going back to school I mean.”
“Yep.” Jensen was walking down Main Street with his little friend. He was carrying a heavy backpack full of books on his shoulder. “Not to mention I was the oldest one there.”
“Oh no… ” Jensen noticed his little friend distress. He was getting better at emotions now. “Don’t worry, you look quite normal, I’m sure you will just fit and you’ll have a girlfriend in no time.”
Then they heard the engine, Josh had taken them around more than once. They knew the car and Jensen was surprised when he saw Jared sitting next to his brother.
“I don’t want to talk to him.” Osric was looking around, still too humiliated from the incident at the center.
“Okay, let’s go to see if your mom is done with the ladies’ meeting.” And they turned around ignoring Josh’s horn.
Jared felt miserable seeing his once friend walking away from him. He felt he deserved that.
***
The day came and Jared had the keys of his house in hand, he had to drop them with the neighbor. That was the last thing before leaving this place for good. He was just waiting for the taxi. He was nervous, a 21 years old freshman sounded terrible to him. But being the guy leaving without a soul caring was even worst.
He waited for the taxi sitting on the steps, right where Jensen sat. And he couldn’t help thinking about his friend. He missed Jensen but he felt it was all Jensen’s fault. Even when his brain said he was wrong.
Jensen woke up early without a reason and he was watching the news in the kitchen with a glass of orange juice when Josh entered running. Without explanation changed channels while rambling about work on his phone.
“… Close to 12 million people in the entire world.” The anchorman said. “While scientists have still no idea of why the phenomenon has occurred, they’re certain there will be no more new cases, since no other person was brought back in the last six days.”
Josh kept talking.
“That’ll leave us with a frame of time of what?” he passed in front of Jensen babbling about dates and facts and numbers.
“Get out of the way, jerk…” Jensen Slapped his brother’s bottom making him shriek.
“… for people death in the bracket of a very specific window of time.”
Basically news said there was no reason for one or other person to be back other than a specific period of time of death. Jensen’s head was swimming. But if he had the dates right, Misha wasn’t back because he killed himself on October 12th, Jared’s brother wasn’t back for the same reason.
“We agreed we will not be releasing info until next month. What happened?” Josh kept talking
“He’s not back for two stupid days.” He felt the tug of something on his lips, a smile. A sad smile pulled at them. “Two stupid days.”
Josh and his mother called him but Jensen just wandered out, he forgot his classes. He forgot everything. Just walked to Jared’s house, he needed to talk to someone more than Osric. He got there when Jared was getting back into his yard, a white cab was coming down the street and he understood immediately what was happening.
“You’re leaving!”
Jared got up and walked to the taxi.
“Go away Jensen.”
“Why are you leaving?” he didn’t got an answer, Jared climbed on the car and left.
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His heart had just beaten. His heart was back.
***
Jensen opened his eyes slowly to see his family staring at him.
“What?”
His mother was crying and without warning pulled him into a tight embrace.
“MOM!” he squeaked as best as he could.
“You were on the street right outside of Jared’s house.” She said between sobs. “You were on the street and I thought… I thought…” her voice broke in heartbreaking sobs.
“I’m fine. I just… felt my heart beating.”
Doctors don’t have a standard, there’s not a specific order for the things to come back Jensen started with feelings and emotions. For Osric were eye color and hunger. There was a story about a girl that first had her period, yeah must suck to be her.
There were different ways for the body to be aware of life again. Wanderlust was only one of them, especially when it came almost a year after he came back.
Osric fit back in school as if he never left. Legally he was still 12 after all, and now he was all excited for Spring Prom and Jensen had to smile at the excitement.
“Okay, I have my ensemble.” Osric faced Jensen showing off his perfectly fit dark charcoal three pieces suit. “Now you can tell me your news.”
Jensen smiled while fixing his little friend’s tie. “I’ll be leaving this fall.”
“What? Why?” Josh had gone home, and Jensen remained in town because he felt it wasn’t time to leave yet.
“There’s nothing for me here Os. Besides I’m going to live near Josh in San Francisco, so I’ll be around in a couple years when you end up in CalTech or something.” Both chuckled.
“I don’t want you to go.” Jensen felt his eyes watered when the boy hugged him. “You could be here forever! With me!”
Jensen felt the tears choking him, but they left as soon as they came. “I could but you are meant to be great kid and you won’t be staying here. Okay?” and pushing him away to look into his face. “Besides I’m old and this could be my last chance to go to college. And I’m not going tomorrow, we still have months.” Jensen searched around looking around for a different shirt. “I’m still gonna kick your ass in Silent hills (Zombie based VG) this weekend.” Osric laughed and everything was forgotten until they were sitting outside the ice cream parlor.
“Jared is supposed to be in California too, right?” asked the young boy.
“I don’t know.” Jensen still had the pale -white eyes of every partially deceased and his heart never again had beat. But still he was nervous his face would show his lie.
“You said he was going to Stanford.”
“Stop it, he left us, we don’t have to worry.”
“I know, I just don’t want you to find him when you move there.” Jensen smiled. “What if he finds one of us alone? You think he’d act like the militia?” riots were reported in several places, mostly angry people because their loved ones weren’t coming back.
“I don’t think so. I wouldn’t let him get close anyways.”
They heard Mrs. Chao’s car and Osric said good bye and carried his stuff and his ice cream to his mom’s car.
Jensen waved the lady and saw them leaving. He sat there alone. Days like today made him miss Jared, when he wanted to discuss how much he missed the only person that was nice to him without over compensating for something else. He missed that Jared always knew when to talk to him and how to make him laugh. He wished he could explain Jared that whatever his brother did was not on him, or tell him he was sorry. But that he had to set things clear.
“Hey Jay, you have math’s homework?” asked a voice from behind and Jensen’s head snapped back, in the alley between the buildings to find a man dressed in rags, the smell was so strong he could feel it from where he was sitting. “Don’t you recognize me?”
Jensen moved his head from side to side. He didn’t remember anyone like that man, greasy long light brown hair, pale skinny face, unkempt beard. He wasn’t even as tall as Jensen.
“I kinda expected that… I was in your AP Math Class. I sat behind you and copied you every test during three years.” Jensen still shook his head. “Stephen?”
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“Hey!” Jensen was about to say *how are you*but Amell was obviously living on the streets. The awkward silence that fell was broken by the voice of an old Man.
“YOU hobo!!” shouted pointing a finger to them “beat it.” The older man showed him a baton.
“I should leave, he means it, he’d beat me before…” Jensen noticed the man mumbling *first a fucking rotten perverting a kid and now that bum.* So Jensen got up and walked away with Stephen.
“What an ass.” Jensen commented.
“Yeah, Mark Pellegrino Sr. is a mean bastard…” The man chuckled. “Just like his son.” Jensen was surprised. “You didn’t know? He’s Mark’s father.”
Jensen raised his eyebrows. “At least they’re not as bad as Anders used to be… Just as mean as Sheppard, he’s the worst when his men find me around.”
“What happened to you?” the man was twitching, and Jensen had his answer. He was using.
“Nothing.” He rubbed his face. “I just think all Marks are dicks, maybe is a law or something, but I can take it, I deserve it.”
“Nobody deserves that.”
“I do…”
“Why?” Jensen saw how the eyes filled with tears.
“Because, I should be called Mark.” He joked. “I haven’t seen you until today. I wanted to say I’m sorry.” He mumbled before he left.
***
Jared left a Wednesday, and all the time he spent on the plane he thought about one thing. Why he didn’t cleared things with Jensen?
He settled in an off campus apartment and looked for a job, with his experience he found one quite easily, he was in charge of a bookstore. His days were empty and his nights were filled studying and doing homework.
He met a couple friends but never really wanted to be close to anyone, he felt lost and alone. And once more out of place.
But that was the strange part. He always felt out of place, except for few months. He felt as if left behind his entire life. The only one time in his life he felt like this was when Zachary left.
“We’ll met in college in a year, Jay.” he pressed as he helped Jared fill applications. Stanford, he was going to Stanford and Jared will go to. “I love you and I’m not gonna let you behind.”
Jared kissed his boyfriend and cried the entire night because he finally had a family on his own. That’s why it hurt so much, just when he was about to graduate and just had his acceptance letter.
“What you mean you’re going home?” Zach asked while Jared was packing. They spent two summers together already.
“It’s complicated…”
“Is this about your brother again?” Jared looked at Zach hurt. “Oh no, don’t give me that look, when are you going to let it go?”
“Man, he was my brother! And he was killed. Wouldn’t you want to know why?”
“Jared.” He got close and had his hands in his shoulders. “Sweetheart, I love you, I do, but you have to let it go, your family deserted you, why you insist in doing this to yourself?”
“It’ll be only a couple months.”
“Months? You do realize I’m going back to school in like three weeks right? And that you’re supposed to go with me?”
“Zach, it’ll be just for one term, I can get there for winter.”
It didn’t end well, it didn’t.
Jared went home for a couple weeks, and his parent only offered money and couldn't wait for him to leave. He tried calling Zach but never had he answered his calls.
By the time he moved on and left for college he found Zach with a girl all over him.
“You had your chance, you took your decision is not my fault.”
Now, sitting in the empty room filled with memories and regrets he understood Jensen, the only person he felt normal with. Maybe death wasn’t that bad.
***
Jensen tried to find Stephen again, but he was nowhere to be found.
“That boy is nothing but trouble.” his father Sentenced. “It’ll be a thousand times better if he weren’t here at all.” And he refused
to say anything else.
“He’s the one Misha Collins let go.” Osric’s mom said. “rumors said he killed Jeff Padalecki in front of him, but when was about time to kill Amell he just told him it’ll all be on his conscience and killed himself.” Then Mrs. Chao told him the kind of places Stephen used to be around.
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He was cornered by a couple girls and a bunch of guys either offering or asking for sex and he felt nauseous. That’s when he sat on a grimy bar looking around. some girls pointed him there, and asked if he was buying and if he wanted to share.
Jensen didn’t even asked what they were talking about.
“The word on streets says you’re looking for Amell.” A dark skinned man sat in front of him. “Name’s Gordon.” He just offered a weak nod. “And Stephen, good old Stephen works for me.”
“I’m Jensen Ackles.” He was revealing his condition by giving his name, just in case his clear dead-ish pupils were not enough. “And my business with Stephen is my business only.” Only then he inched forward leaving his too pale skin and pupils exposed to the entire room. Gordon was up in one second and backing away screaming there was a rotten in their place.
“Calm Down… ” Jensen had changed. The once bitter kid became a powerful monster; he had embraced his new situation and took advantage of it. He still didn’t feel pain. He still didn’t had a beating heart. He still was dominated for the less evolved part of his brain. “I just need Stephen and then I’ll leave you all alone.”
He heard tumbles and screeching chairs and people gasping and cursing. Many of the men in this bar were new, and they thought that the reason for Jensen to be left alone was that he was a especially violent Rotten.
It was a thing of magic, in three second Stephen Amell was produced from somewhere around the back entrance and sat in front of Jensen.
“Hello again Stephen…” Jensen smiled. He was still the goofy boy Misha loved. At least he wanted to believe so even if the look of sheer terror on the face of everyone in the room said differently.
“I need you to leave me alone.” Amell showed him a knife.
“Have you ever seen what happens before a rotten dies?” Everyone had seen it, most rottens fought, as a cornered animal and even if they had to die they took as many as possible with them “And I need you to tell me everything you know about my death.” Jensen reached for the knife and didn’t felt the sting of the sharp steel entering his skin. “Everything.” He repeated while throwing the weapon away. “now sit, and start talking.”
Stephen smiled but the smile only lasted a couple seconds. “I’ll tell you but I can’t unless I’m at least half drunk.”
Jensen ordered a bottle of bourbon and Stephen drank at least three glasses before starting talking.
“Jeff Padalecki was jealous of you. He didn’t hate you, he…. ”
“Oh Yeah, jealous, that’s why he bullied me every fucking day of…”
Stephen made movement with his hand. “He was jealous. he used to say that if it were his baby brother he’d do the same. that you had so many chances of a better life and you were wasting all of them for a grunt like Misha Collins.” Jensen made a sound that had Stephen at the edge of his chair. “Sorry but he said that every time.”
Stephen looked away for a couple minutes. “He wanted to wear you out and make you leave… but you’re a stubborn son of a bitch.” Stephen took the bottle and gulped from it without even flinching at the burning. “I remember you going around with Olsson, people said he was gay, everybody said that. It was like the worst hidden secret in this fucking town’s history…” Jensen gasped. Ty wasn’t gay, he couldn’t be. “He spent two thirds of his life minding his own business just like the rest of us, until Sheriff Anders found him making out with Misha Collins at the gas station. That was like a month after your brother left.”
“As far as I know things went down between them when you appeared in the picture, I heard around that Josh wanted you to be with Ty.”
Jared snorted and blinked. “I’ve never heard a bigger stupidity.”
“Well… was your brother’s stupidity.” Amell took another swing of the bourbon. “And then Ty got attacked, that’s another big not secret, and Misha just changed goals. But you had to go around making out in public, you fags…” Amell’s eyes watered a little this time. “I can’t stay here… I can’t.” he got up carrying his bottle and left.
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It was almost the end of summer when he found him again, right two days before Osric arrived from partially deceased reinsertion camp. He found Amell on an alley where another bum told him he was waiting.
“There you are…” Jensen got close and Stephen broke in tears.
“Why you do this? Why you won’t leave me alone?”
“Because I’m about to leave town and I need to know.”
“The day we found Misha outside Pellegrino’s Jeff didn’t expected you to be inside.” Jensen chuckled remembering the day. So much pain started for one fucking ice cream cone.
“He told him to let you go, told him you had a future and he shouldn’t pull you back.”
“Padalecki had no right to tell Misha what to do or to have an opinion on my life.” Jensen Stated angrily.
“Collins told him that he should come out of the closet and even if he did so he’d never had a chance with you.” And Stephen chuckled. “Thinking back to that day? We just had some pot, we weren’t really thinking, I wasn’t really thinking and so much happened because of that simple conversation.”
“Jeff went to the hospital after you broke his fingers, he made us lie, Tahmoh and I. We all said a colt broke his fingers. By the time I drove him home we were all regretful of the fight.”
“The next day he was different, he said his baby brother told him something that had him drinking that afternoon, I had to take his car keys and his phone from Sam Ferris. He was hammered, he couldn’t drive.” And Stephen sobbed. “I just wanted to help. I just wanted to…” another sob left his mouth. “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry…”
Jensen felt the same painful stab on his chest, something loud and heavy on his ears, his entire body went numb and he couldn’t breathe for the pressure. “It was you? If Jeff didn’t had his phone-” and his mouth fell open, his legs went wobbly and he fell on the floor, his face inches away from the floor because his hands weren’t obeying. “It was you…” he wanted to get angry, but the feeling of abandonment filled him faster. “It was you there.”
“I told you the first time, Jensen, I should be called Mark. I told you I deserve everything that happens to me.”
“Why?” Jensen asked incoherently.
“He was after me, I knew it, word on the streets said he was gay, and a sadist bastard. I was afraid, if he had you, if he had someone else, I’ll be safe. Besides I thought you’d leave, and Jeff would be finally at peace, and the whole town would be thankful, once in my life I wouldn’t have to be behind the fucking perfection of Jensen Ackles and his tragic story.” And Stephen moved his hands from his lap to show a bloody gash on his abdomen.
“Jeff came couple days later telling us, he said- he said Jared told him he was gay and-” Stephen sighed. “He said: brother we’re wrong, we did all this and it’s wrong, Jensen doesn’t deserve this, I’m not gonna let my baby brother go through the same.”
“And, and I told him, what I did, what Anders did to you.” Stephen sobbed. “He was so angry.” Jensen was fighting to breath, fighting to keep conscious, this was too much, too painful. “He forced me to give the phone to the police, but I was too much of a coward.”
“We went looking for you, to help. I swear… he wanted to help.” Jensen moved his head trying to make him stop, but he couldn’t produce a sound. “We found you hanging off on that tree while we were going to Krushnick’s farm to talk to you.” Jensen tried to move away once more, but he only felt the same pain again, this time his stomach knotted and he felt like throwing up.
“Jeff told Misha what happened, he told him, and said he was sorry. But it was too late.” Stephen looked at his wound and then to Jensen. “Jeff asked him to let the rest of us leave. He begged for the rest of us, even for me… even for the one that ruined everything.”
“Enough…” Jensen fought to move, wanting nothing more than to go away. “Stop, please.”
“I was there when he was shot, I was there, he said, he asked me to let it rest, when Misha killed himself… when it happened it was my obligation to put all this to rest…”
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***
Jared entered the class room and sat near the back, he didn’t have friends and didn’t care for them either, same at work, he felt like he didn’t belong there. He never belonged anywhere since he was 16.
“Welcome to Creative Writing 301, I’m Mrs. Smith.” The lady in front of the class, tall and lean moved to close the door. “I’m gonna be your teacher this semester and you’re gonna understand the process of writing does not come from your brain but from your heart and your very soul as long as you have the tools to understand those voices. And no, mental health issues however unavoidable are not a requirement for this class” people chuckled. “Everyone here had to go through at least two workshops and two classes about writing before joining this class.” She moved to the desk in front of them. “And yet you have no idea of what this semester will carry.” She took a blank page and passed it to the first desk for the students to add their names. “Rules! The basic rule, your desk right now is your desk for the entire semester, remember that. Rule number one; You’ll have homework every class, number two; You will present your homework in white official paper, times new roman font, size 11, 1.5 lines, number three; There’s no excuse to…” the door opened and a tall guy was standing there. “Yes?” Mrs. Smith asked.
“Uh... I’m looking for…” the guy checked the paper in his hand. “Mrs. Smith’s class? Creative Writing 301?”
“Right place, wrong time…” and smiling pointed to the one desk empty at the back. “Guess you’re the last one joining, I heard about you Mr. Ackles.”
Jared jerked on his desk and the whole room heard the screech of his chair.
“Please take your sit and for the rest, that’s the next rule... rule number three; there’s no excuse to be late, EVER! Rule four; this room is to be quiet while we’re working, understood Mr…?” and her eyes fixed on Jared.
“Padalecki, yeah, I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay… now, rule five; This place is for you to learn, so cell phones off, and real life drama stays out too, is that clear?” many nodded and the entire room filled with the rusting of people turning phones off. “By the end of the semester you’ll have to present me with a 20 chapter’s novel about anything you want, as long as it follows the rules of the house.” And moving to the white board she kept talking. “So, what is it you have to know before you start writing?”
It was by the end of the class that Jared had finally approached by Jensen.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to study, and I can take this class.” Jensen almost smiled. “And I was sent by the people from home. Your parents are trying to reach you…”
“I don’t care.” He was walking away.
“What are you doing?” asked Jensen.
Jared’s long legs carried him away very fast. “Avoiding you.”
“Well, then I shouldn’t tell you Rachel passed away.” Jared stopped and hesitated before keep walking.
Jared saw Jensen the next morning as he walked into campus, Still not back long enough to have his license back. And suddenly he missed something, missed the moments of companionship they shared, the groans Jensen let out every time they got in trouble, which was quite often.
It impacted him so much he even wrote one of his assignments about it. His piece “The willow missing his shadow” granted him the top score on his first quarter and he had girls and boys fawning for him, the sensible brokenhearted poet.
Now imagine the color of his face when a couple kids said that to him; in his face. He couldn’t ignore the short of Jensen or the way he was leaving as fast as he could to not laugh right away.
“Something funny?” Jared asked after him catched up with him.
“No, not really, Oh, great brokenhearted poet.” Jensen smiled. The kind of smiles that makes him crinkle his face.
Jared rubbed his neck and rolled his eyes. “It’s just homework.”
“Yeah I got it, the poor cat almost falling from the cupboard? Like the one from your mother’s birthday?” Jared felt his face getting hot. “Condoms and Joanna?”
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***
Right before thanksgiving Professor Smith gave them the craziest project ever, they had to make a scene and play it in front of the entire class, in groups of two.
“And I’m gonna pair Ackles and Padalecki, not only because you’re all the way back there, but also because you have the same drawl.” She said taking another color tag for them while the entire class smiled at her joke. “That’s it guys, go crazy! I’ll see you in a week.” And taking her glasses off continued. “Don’t eat too much and if you do, bring me something, I’ll be here grading your papers.” People started getting up and leaving wishing the professor happy holidays.
Jared rushed to the table and asked Professor Smith to let him do this alone.
“Nope, I said couples, I mean couples, and I expect couples.” And carrying her briefcase towards the door waited for him before closing the door. “Go now, don’t disappoint me.”
Is not like they don’t talk to each other, they try, every now and then they find a way to spend a moment together, but the second Jensen mentions anything about their town. Which happens very often, his friend just leaves and they don’t see each other for a couple days, Jared has gone as far as to ignore news and e-mails just to be sure he’s not gonna be bothered with anything that will remind him of the worst time of his life
Jensen appeared at the bookstore with a couple notebooks and two cups of coffee. Jared met him when one of the tellers called him.
“What are you doing here?”
“My last paper was bad; I seriously need a good grade in this one.”
Jared rolled his eyes and turned around towards the office “okay come in.”
They tumbled ideas about what they should write about. The craziest ones had a giraffe and a panda. Jared had a long gulp of his coffee and laughed when Jensen suggested “The amazing adventures of Moose and Squirrel.” like Sheriff Sheppard named them.
“I believe that has a show already.” Jensen was so matter of fact about some things it made Jared guffaw. “He’s fine now, you know?”
“Let’s get things straight, we’re working on a paper, we’re not talking about that stupid town ever again.”
“You have to listen to me. I found out things about…” Jared got up repeating he had left everything behind and he should drop the subject once and for all. “Fine!” and throwed him the pad with the few notes there. “I’ve been trying to talk to you for three months, I’m not gonna beg.” Jensen got his stuff and was moving to the door. “I’ll send you my first draft by Saturday, I’m going home tonight.”
Jared saw the retreating form and wanted to make him stop. Wanted to call and ask him to stay with him, wanted to hold his hand like the day when Sheppard got them in jail.
“That means you’re eating?” Jared slapped himself internally for asking such a boring thing.
“No.” Jensen asked. “Apparently my treatment is not working anymore; I haven’t progressed in the last six months now.” For one second white pale pupils fell on Jared face and he was closing the door. “Still I’m going home, its election year and my dad’s having a big dinner, your parents are going, Megan too.”
Jared’s head moved so fast he felt a little dizzy, but maybe was because of the news.
“She’s there?”
“For the holidays, I told you. Things changed and are far better now.” The door closed and Jared was left in complete silence. He was finally coming out of the shock of what Jensen said and his legs were finally moving forward when the phone on the desk ringed and he had to go back to work.
He had to call Jensen and talk to him.
***
Jared stared at the skype icon on his screen for a couple minutes. Jensen had the little green thingy. He could see him. He could talk to him. He had a million theories in his head, maybe their parents came out clean and the town stopped hiding things, after all it’s been almost six years, maybe nobody cared anymore.
Suddenly a request appeared, from Jensen, and he clicked yes before even thinking. Instead of Jensen he saw a dark form, it took him a couple minutes to make out what the form was, and it was an elbow.
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“Told you… you’re a freaking genius.” He heard Jensen’s voice and Osric’s laughter. “I knew you’ll win.”
“It’s just a stupid fair Jensen, is not like I’m a rocket scientist or anything.” The kid moved back while the older man was holding Osric on a hug, both laughing, the kid tried to escape his friend and he elbowed the computer once more.
The kid then noticed he had opened a conversation. Jared had just one second to duck. But he could still hear what they were saying. “OH! I did something to your… Jensen. Why is Jared among your contacts?”
“Give me that Os.”
“Tell me…”
“Give it back Os…”
“You are in the same school? In his same class?”
And the conversation was off. Jared felt miserable.
But not as bad as Jensen, Osric felt betrayed and was about to cry. “You can’t be friend with both of us; I won’t talk to him ever again. I’d hate to stop talking to you aswell”
“I’m not asking you to. Just to respect my right to chose other friends.”
“He’s not like US Jensen, he’s not a rotten.”
“He’s not a rotten Os, but is like he were, is like he died with me, the same event changed our lives.”
***
Jared got Jensen’s first draft few hours later but he couldn’t read it. Not after he read the title. *The man in the apple tree.* and it was about a boy’s suicide.
“Hell NO! you’re not gonna get a good grade with the same thing over and over.” He texted to Jensen
“OH great brokenhearted poet, you tell me about using personal tragedy to get good grades.”
Jared rolled his eyes at the small screen and sent his reply. “You’re never gonna let that rest, do you?”
“Me? 3:) never!”
Jared let out a chuckle and missed Jensen and home a little bit more.
He sent his own work the next night. “The curious cat that lost its lives” was sent back with a giant cross across the pages.
“Really? How mature….” He texted back.
“You could call it the coward cat that rather be a chicken, it’ll make more sense” and after a second a second message. “And why are we having this conversation on texts? Would it kill you to call me?”
“STFU”
On the other end was Jensen’s time to smile and dial Jared’s number.
“What?” Jared asked as all greeting without real heat in his words.
“Nothing, just wanted to know if we could finally get to decide the subject. And I was looking at the rules: you should write about the things you know” he read from the pad in his hand. “You should know the end of your story beforehand. But let your characters guide you and…” he stopped hearing Jared’s laughter. “Are you making fun of me?”
“It depends. Are you always the teacher’s pet?”
“Fuck you, man, I’m just trying to pass this class, I don’t want to be the oldest and being flunked aside of it.” Jared’s laughter made him smile, not the same mechanic smile his brain provided when he was in front of a smile, this one was like the rare ones only his family and Osric could get out of him. And; Jared. Of course, Jared.
“Just let’s try something new, something that has nothing to do with that Godammed town.”
“Okay, I’m all ears, tell me what do you want us to do?” silence fell between the boys.
“No idea.”
“That’s what I thought…” and sighing. “I have this idea about something that has nothing to do with life as we know now, but is about my time in school when I played football.”
“Wait… your pretty ass played football?” Jared was bent down laughing; he had tears running down his face.
“I’m gonna let that one pass because you think I have a pretty ass.” That phrase made Jared choke and start coughing. It was Jensen’s time to laugh.
***
By the end of the week they still had nothing.
So the first thing Jensen did was to face Jared, he brought him a box his mother sent; Things from his old bedroom.
“Why you brought this?”
“Your momma sent it.” And he left the box inside Jared’s department. “There’s also a can of cookies from Megan.” Jared felt like crying but also felt angry for no real reason.
“Take them and throw the whole thing away…” he moved to the couch not even checking his box. “I’m serious. I’m done with that town, and once the semester is over I’ll be done with you too.”
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