Pages Turn Chapter Two
Rain was falling, gradually getting Jensen more and more soaked through as he stood outside the store smoking a cigarette. He had promised himself that he would quit but he needed it too much right now. It was all Jared’s fault; Jared’s fault for being so attractive, for going on a date with someone else, and it was definitely Jared’s fault for ever doing a random act of kindness for a complete stranger. And it was Jared’s fault that he was going to catch pneumonia standing outside a bookstore in the pouring rain because the thought of having to face him and pretend to be happy for him made Jensen feel sick.
He wasn’t totally sure if he could pull off being Jared’s friend and nothing more, not now that Jared was actually going on dates and still wanting to see Jensen all the time.
He jumped as someone knocked on the window behind him and spun around to see Jared standing, bemused, looking at him through the store’s window. Nodding, he held up his cigarette so that Jared could see it and then dropped it to the ground. There was no way he could put it off any longer so he headed for the door and plastered a grin onto his face as he stepped inside.
“You’re going to catch a cold.” As he spoke, Jared began to tug at Jensen’s wet jacket. He shook his head. “All for a cigarette.”
“No, I was just - it was a really nice cigarette.” Jensen brought his arms up to let Jared pull his jacket the rest of the way off and then ran his fingers through his wet hair, grimacing.
“There’s no such thing.”
He sighed at the familiar argument and turned to look at Jared. “How was your date with what’s-her-name?” He tried to meet Jared’s eyes but ended up looking at a poster on the wall behind him.
“Luke.”
“That’s - Luke?” He took a step back, trying to process the fact that Jared was gay and he hadn’t known. He had no idea how he had managed to miss that important bit of information.
Jared shrugged. “He wasn’t really my type.”
“Oh. That’s-” he met Jared’s eyes, “I’m really sorry.” He wasn’t sorry at all because it hadn’t worked out and Jared was gay and single and that meant he was a really terrible person and friend and he didn’t deserve to have Jared in any capacity at all.
“It was just a first date, Jensen. Not like it’s the end of a two year long relationship.”
Jensen nodded and moved over towards the shelves of books, running his finger along the spines as he tried to remember a point when Jared had told him he was gay. But as far as Jensen could recall he never had, even though Jensen himself had told Jared that he was the first time they’d gone for coffee together.
Maybe Jared had just assumed he would know. Maybe he had thought it wouldn’t matter between friends. Or maybe, just maybe, Jared had meant for that first coffee to be a date after all and that, after that, he had thought that Jensen wasn’t interested. Over the past few months it had been Jared who had initiated their conversations, their lunches together and maybe it was just because he was a good friend but there was a chance it was something more. There was only one way for him to find out; he needed to start letting Jared know that he wanted to spend time with him, too.
Taking a chance, he walked over to the counter where Jared was processing some books and leaned against it, waiting until he had gotten Jared’s attention before speaking. “Your shift finishes soon, right?”
Jared checked his watch and nodded. “In twenty minutes.”
“Do you - do you want to drop by my place for a bit? I can give you that book I said I’d lend you. I still have your shirt, as well.”
A familiar grin appeared on Jared’s face, “That would be awesome. Did you drive here?”
“No, I got the bus.”
“Hang around for me, then, and I’ll drive us there.”
He watched Jared work for a few more moments and then picked up a book to keep himself busy while he waited; now was not the time to start thinking about what was going to happen when they got back to his place.
Jensen glanced back to look at Jared as he turned the key in the lock, pushing open the door to his house. He had been to Jared’s apartment a few times and, while it wasn’t the tidiest of places, it was at least clean. Thinking back to the beers and take-out he had shared with Chris last night, he wasn’t entirely sure that the same could be said for his own home.
Shrugging it off, he stepped inside; if Jared hadn’t been put off by his obsession with books and the smoking and his tendency to freak out at the smallest things, he wasn’t going to be scared off by a few empty beer bottles.
“It might take me a few minutes to find the book.” He toed out of his sneakers and kicked them into a corner. He had always preferred just wearing socks around the house, even when he had been a kid. “It’ll be in a box or a random pile somewhere or something. I’ll get your shirt, too, before I forget.”
Jared smirked, looking around, “I’ve got time. How was it, by the way - the thing at the gallery?”
“The same as ever. Lots of people promising that they’ll buy this piece or that piece. Chances are, I’ll hear from two of them if I’m lucky.”
“That sucks.”
He shrugged. “It’s just the way it is.”
“We should watch a movie or play Scrabble or something.”
“Scrabble sounds good. Or -”he groaned. “That was a joke, right? About the Scrabble.”
“Jensen, Scrabble sounds awesome. Honestly. It’ll be fun.” Jared rested his hands on Jensen’s shoulders and squeezed lightly. “Should I take my shoes off too?”
“Only if you want to. I have a policy in this place that people can wear whatever they want on their feet.” He closed his eyes; he was sounding more and more like a dork with every sentence.
“This is exactly why we make such good friends, Jensen. You’re just as daft as I am.” Turning away, Jared began to study the photos that Jensen had hung on the wall, leaving Jensen standing stock still.
Good friends. Just friends. Not even best friends. Nodding to himself, Jensen forced himself to move past Jared and into the living room. He heard Jared follow behind and gestured towards the sofa.
“Make yourself comfortable - I’m going to go and find the game.”
Stretched out on the sofa, one leg hanging over the edge, Jared slept while Jensen read. They had played Scrabble for hours, occasionally arguing about which words were really words, and had then turned a movie on. It was still playing in the background but neither of them was taking any notice; Jensen had seen it too many times before and Jared was out for the count.
Sitting in the armchair that he had stolen from Chris when he had first bought his own place, Jensen turned the page of his book and glanced towards Jared, smiling at how comfortable the situation felt. It shouldn’t really surprise him; they had been friends for a while and Jared was easy to get along with. But this, this felt like a different kind of comfortable than he felt with Steve or Chris. It felt like relationship-comfortable and it didn’t scare him at all.
But, earlier, Jared had said the f-word again. Jensen ran his fingers through his hair and sighed; if Jared didn’t like him in that way - which he clearly didn’t - then he just needed to accept it and move on. If he let it ruin their friendship then he was just as stupid as his father always said he was. Gripping his book tightly, he stood up and moved towards the door. He glanced back at Jared one last time before hitting the lights, leaving Jared sleeping in the darkness as he went up to his own room.
Jared finished stacking the new set of books onto the shelves and turned around, jumping when he saw a man leaning against the counter.
“Dude, you gave me a shock.”
The man shrugged and Jared just managed to stop himself from taking another step back when angry eyes met his own. He frowned because it really didn’t make much sense; bookstore customers weren’t exactly known for having anger issues.
He tried again. “Are you after a book?”
“No.” The man shook his head. “I’m Chris.”
“Erm, okay.”
“Chris as in Chris - Jensen’s friend.”
“Oh, right.” He could sense that Chris disapproved of the fact that he hadn’t realised this immediately and cringed inwardly; he had wanted to make a great first impression on Jensen’s friends, knowing how important they were to him. “It’s really good to meet you, is - oh God, is something wrong? Is Jensen okay?”
“He is for now.”
“For now?”
“That’s why I’m here. Jensen - he’s got a few issues.”
He nodded, “Yeah, he told me about Josh and-”
“It’s not just his brother, it’s his whole family. He’s been let down a lot in the past and I’m not going into details because he’s going to blank me for at least a week just for talking to you.” Chris took a step closer. “Don’t mess him around.”
“I’m not going to-”
“What do you want from him?”
What exactly was he meant to say to that? The right answer depended on what Jensen had told Chris, on what Jensen really wanted and Jared still hadn’t managed to figure that one out. “We’re friends, we-”
Chris gave a hollow laugh, “Friends. Right.”
Jared frowned. The guy was just being plain rude now and it was really getting on his nerves. Chris didn’t know a thing about him and Jensen and here he was, judging them. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Chris leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Just make sure that Jensen knows the score, knows that you’re just friends.”
Jared didn’t really know what to say to that. It didn’t make sense; Jensen had really never given any solid indication that he wanted anything more. There had been moments when he had thought Jensen was flirting but he had written them off, not wanting to risk ruining their friendship if he was wrong. He was still struggling to come up with a decent reply when the guy spun around and stalked out of the store. Sighing, he leaned back against the counter and tried to reconcile the man he had just met with the friend that Jensen had told him about. The Chris that was always up for a good night out, the Chris who constantly complained about Jensen’s love of books but bought him a set every birthday anyway. The guy he had just met wasn’t the easy going person he had imagined. He was just plain scary.
Sitting in Jensen’s seat - or at least the seat that Jensen always sat in - really wasn’t helping Jared sort through the muddle in his mind. He shifted onto the next seat and tried to work out what Chris had meant, and sighed when, instead of just sitting in Jensen’s seat, he ended up staring at it instead.
“Are you actually going to do any work?” Katie dropped down next to him, perching on the arm of his chair.
“My shift ended twenty minutes ago.”
“I know. So why are you still here?”
He shrugged. “I always hang around here after my shifts.”
“No.” She squeezed his shoulder. “You always used to. Before you met Jensen and started hanging around with him. So, why are you still here?”
“I’m in love with Jensen.” It felt strange to say it out loud and he turned to glance at the door for a moment to double check that there was no-one there.
“Well, yeah, I know that. Continue.”
“I just,” he trailed off with a sigh, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t know if he’s in love with me. Or even if he likes me. But I think maybe he does because Chris said something but I don’t want to do anything stupid if he doesn’t like me, even though I think he does.”
“Chris is?”
“Scary. And he’s also Jensen’s best friend.”
“Do you want to know what your best friend thinks?”
“Yeah.” Jared nodded, smirking slightly. “Maybe I should call Chad.” He laughed as Katie punched his arm and then turned to look at her. “Just kidding. Some advice would be great.”
Face serious, Katie wrapped her arm around Jared’s shoulders. “You’re never going to know unless you talk to him. Just-”
“You’re right.” He stood up. “I’m going to ask him out.”
“What? Jared, I meant just ask him if he likes anyone or-”
“No. I’m just going to ask straight out. Total honesty. It’s the best policy.”
Katie shook her head. “I think that’s a bad idea.”
“What’s a bad idea?”
They both span around to see Jensen standing in the doorway and Jared stumbled back into the edge of the settee, glanced at Katie for something to say.
Katie licked her lips. “Putting a television in here.”
“What?” Jensen stalked forward, stopped just in front of Jared, face scrunched into a frown. “I can’t believe you would - that’s such a bad idea it’s insane.”
Jared glared at Katie for getting him into trouble with Jensen and then shrugged. “I wasn’t being serious.”
“Hmmm. I hope not.”
“And, that’s my cue to go and get some work done.” Katie bumped her fist into Jared’s shoulder before walking away.
“Seriously, Jared. Putting a television in this place would be awful.”
“Yeah.” He stepped forwards and tugged the zipper of Jensen’s jacket down. “I know it would. Don’t worry, it’s not happening.”
“Good.” Jensen glanced up at the clock on the wall. “You’re done now, yeah?”
“I am. I thought you had to work today.”
“I do. I just came by to buy a copy of Good Omens for Steve and then I’m going straight home to work again.”
Jared liked the fact that Jensen still hadn’t given up on trying to find a book that his friend would actually read. He liked Jensen’s stubborn streak.
“You’ve got a copy in stock, right?” He was already pulling his wallet out and Jared nodded, crossing over to the shelf where he knew the book was.
“Of course.” He bit his lip and then spun back around to face Jensen, hoping that this wasn’t going to backfire. “Are you free tomorrow?”
Jensen shrugged, “I’m meeting Chris tomorrow night but I’m not doing anything before that. Why?”
“I was sort of thinking we could maybe go on a date.”
“What?”
He wiped his hands against his jeans and watched as Jensen patted his jacket in search of his cigarettes. “A date. Me and you. Food. You know.”
“I - are you - is this a prank?”
“No.” He shook his head frantically. “I’m being totally serious, Jensen. I promise.”
“I- okay, yeah.” Jensen grinned, wider than Jared had ever seen before. “Does lunch sound okay?”
“Lunch sounds great.” He took a step closer to Jensen now that he was sure he wasn’t going to get punched. “How about we meet at that new place that’s just opened up along the street? And,” he held out a book that he thought would get Jensen in a suitably romantic mood, “You should read this because it’s awesome.”
Jensen took the book from him, grimaced at the title and then smiled. “Okay. I’ll see you there at one.”
It took Jared a whole ten minutes of laughing and spinning Katie around to realise that Jensen had left without the copy of Good Omens that he had actually come in to buy.
“The book sucked.” Jensen sat down at the table, nodding at the waiter when he handed him a menu.
Jared put down his own menu and fixed his attention on Jensen. “What?”
“That book you were reading yesterday. It sucks.”
“No it doesn’t. It’s an awesome book. I mean, the relationship between the main characters is just-”
“Cheesy. Sickeningly romantic. Unbelievable.”
Jared raised his eyebrows. “Dude, what do you think people would say about us?”
“Us?”
“Yeah, I mean, the way we met, becoming friends and then going out on a date.”
“That’s not -it’s true, though.” Jensen took a sip of water. “I mean, the book was unbelievable.”
“It’s called escapism, Jensen.” Jared rested his hand on top of Jensen’s, grin turning into a smirk when Jensen didn’t answer back again.
The waiter arrived to take their order and Jared smoothly led the conversation away from the book, asking Jensen about his favourite author, and then for the story of how he met Steve and Chris. They talked as they ate, tucking into steaks that reminded them both of home.
Jared reached over to grab a few fries from Jensen’s plate and laughed when Jensen batted his hand away then passed a few over anyway. “Thanks. Are you doing anything - oh, it’s the dreaded lunch with your parents tomorrow, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.” He grimaced at the reminder. “It should be just as horrible as lunch with my Mom and Dad always is.”
“Just think of me while you’re there,” Jared smirked. “It’ll make you feel happy.”
“That’s what you think.” He smiled to let Jared know that he was joking, deciding against telling him that, actually, thinking of Jared had gotten him through the last two visits to his Mom and Dad’s house. “You’re lucky your parents are awesome.”
“You’ve never even met my parents.”
“I’ve talked to your Mom on the phone.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, you were in the shower. I think she liked me.” He frowned. “Although, that was before we came on this date. Maybe she won’t like me now that I’m your - that we’re-”
“Trust me.” Jared pointed his fork towards Jensen. “She’ll like you even more when she finds out we’re dating.”
“You think?” He jumped slightly as Jared hooked their ankles together but didn’t pull away from the feeling of warm skin against his own.
“I think. Were your parents always like that? Even before-”
“Yeah, they were.” Jensen shrugged. “It didn’t matter so much when Josh was still around - he made it all bearable - but now there’s no-one to act as a go-between.”
“You miss him a lot.”
He usually hated talking about Josh with anyone other than Chris but this was Jared so he placed his knife and fork down and looked him in the eye when he replied. “More than a lot. He’s my big brother, you know?”
Jared nodded and reached across to take hold of Jensen’s hand again, twined their fingers together, “I’m always here if you need to talk.”
“Thanks.” He shook his head. “Sorry, it’s not exactly first date material.”
“That’s okay. This isn’t exactly a normal first date.”
“No, it isn’t. Are you done?”
“I don’t think I could eat another thing.” Jared patted his stomach for good measure.
Jensen paid the waiter and they walked back towards the store, their shoulders brushing together all the way.
“I had a good time.” Jared played with the hem of his top, ran a tongue over his bottom lip.
“So did I. We should do it again. Soon. I mean, not too soon like, I’m desperate soon, but soon.”
He grinned, placed a hand on Jensen’s right hip, and moved closer to kiss him. Just a soft, gentle press of lips against lips before he pulled away again.
“Soon, Jensen.”
Jensen nodded, turned to walk away and glanced back around, smirking. “The book still sucks.”
“I think I offended him.”
Chris tugged another beer out of the cooler and handed it to Jensen before sitting down, sprawling in the deck chair that he’d dragged out onto the front lawn. “How?”
“I insulted his taste in books. Well, one book. I just kind of blurted it out, I didn’t even mean too. We had a really good time and then he kissed me and I told him his book sucked.”
Chris threw his head back and laughed, then turned to smirk at Jensen. “He kissed you?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, then. I don’t think you insulting a book is going to put him off. And you two have been friends for a while now - he knows what you’re like. I can’t believe you missed last night because of this.”
Jensen took a long drink from his beer. “But it will insult him. He’s like I am with books.”
Chris schooled his face into a serious expression, leaned over and rested his hand on Jensen’s arm, “Neurotic? Obsessed.”
“Passionate. I’m passionate. So is he.”
Chris smirked. “In that case, you’ve got no chance.”
Saturday morning and Jared was there, in their spot, and Jensen tried to convince himself that he’d never really thought that he’d scared him away by insulting a book. He drank his coffee down in one before turning to face Jared.
“I’m sorry I insulted the book.”
“What?”
“I - the book. I kept insulting it and-”
“Jensen.” Jared placed his hand over Jensen’s mouth. “It’s okay. Seriously. It’s a book, it’s not like you insulted me. I hadn’t even - you’ve been stressing about this?”
“Maybe.”
“I didn’t give it a second thought, man.”
He tugged Jared’s hand down and held onto it. “Good. Because everyone likes different books and if you want to read all of that romance stuff then it’s not my place to judge.”
“It’s okay - I’ll probably have you reading them by the end of the month, anyway.”
Jensen laughed, looked around the store and leaned over to cover Jared’s mouth with his own. He brought his hand up onto Jared’s shoulder, raised his eyebrows when Jared grabbed it and brought it down to his waist, instead.
“Distraction techniques won’t work, you know. I will have you reading them.”
He shrugged, “Distracting you is pretty fun, though.”
“It is.” Jared shifted back in the seat and pulled Jensen in closer. “How was yesterday?”
Jensen grimaced. “Painful. Dad was on my back the whole time, wanting to know when I’m going to get a proper job, like Josh did, and Mom was too busy entertaining guests to even notice.”
“That sucks. You deserve better. He shouldn’t be comparing you to Josh - you’re different people. And you do have a proper job.”
“Yeah, try telling him that. Apparently, art is a hobby and not proper work.” He scowled; it wasn’t as though he sat and did nothing all day.
“Maybe I will.”
“What?”
“Someone should tell him. I mean it, Jensen, he needs to appreciate what he’s got instead of-”
Shaking his head, Jensen pulled away from Jared and stood, “Instead of what? Instead of mourning for his dead son? That’s - I can’t believe you would-”
“No!” Jared pushed himself up of the seat and grabbed hold of Jensen’s arm. “No, that’s not what I said. Don’t put words into my mouth. And of course he’s allowed to grieve but that doesn’t mean he should take it all out on you.”
“Sorry.” Jensen sank back down onto the settee and rested his hand on Jared’s knee. “That was - I over-reacted. I’m just wired after yesterday.”
“Don’t worry about it. I spoke to my Mom last night.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. I told her about our date.” Jared laughed. “I swear she’s talking weddings already.”
Jensen stared. “I…don’t really know what to say to that.”
“Don’t say anything, then. What should we do today?”
He looked around the store. “Well, you’re supposed to be working.”
“Once my shift’s finished, I mean.”
“I don’t know. Go for a beer or something?” He jumped as a hand landed on his shoulder and turned to see Katie standing behind them.
“Or,” she squeezed his shoulder, “You could come to a party at my place tonight.”
Jared sat up straighter. “You’re throwing a party?”
She smiled brightly. “I am indeed.”
“Awesome. You want to go, right, Jensen?”
“Yeah, sure.” He grinned at Katie. “What time?”
“Any time after seven.”
Jared knocked his knee into Jensen’s. “Our first party together, man.”
“You’re such a dork.” But he didn’t complain when Jared wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him up against him, just shifted even closer.
Jared sat on the wall outside Katie’s house, fingers tapping against it in time to the music that was coming from inside. He glanced along the length of the street and saw the groups of people who were obviously coming to the party, wandering lazily along the sidewalk as they headed towards their destination. Some were carrying bottles of beer, others arriving empty-handed, but none of them were who he was waiting for.
After spending the afternoon together, they had both wanted to go home and get changed so he had written down Katie’s address for Jensen and arranged to meet him at the party. It was only half past, so Jensen wasn’t too late, but Jared would still feel better once he had arrived.
“Still waiting for Jensen?” Katie slid up onto the wall next to him and handed him a beer.
“He’ll be here soon.”
“I know. Do you want some company while you wait?”
He twisted the cap off the top of the beer and took a long drink from the bottle before setting it down on the ground. “You know I always enjoy your company.”
“That’s because I’m awesome.” She pointed down the street. “Although not as awesome in your eyes as he is. Enjoy the party.”
“Will do.” He pushed himself up off the wall as Jensen approached and didn’t bother to hide the fact that he was looking him up and down. Dressed simply in jeans and a t-shirt, Jensen still managed to look as though he had made an effort getting ready.
“Sorry I’m late.” Jensen reached out and squeezed his hand lightly before looking up at the house. “I got lost.”
“You’re not late - people will be arriving for another couple of hours yet.” He bent over and picked up his beer before leading the way inside, nodding at a few people that he recognised. “Do you want a drink?”
“A drink would be good. In the kitchen?”
“That’s usually where they are.”
“Cool. I’ll go and get myself something, you should go mingle.”
Jared looked around at the crowded room. “Are you sure?”
Jensen shrugged. “Yeah, course, these are your friends. I can manage by myself for five minutes, dude.”
“Right, okay, I’ll see you in a few, then.” He watched as Jensen weaved his way through the room and then headed over to join a group of his friends, content in the knowledge that he had an awesome boyfriend. As he stopped walking, he rested his hand on Katie’s shoulder and nodded at Tom and Chad, who he had known ever since he had moved into the area.
“So that’s Jensen?” Chad peered around him at Jensen’s retreating figure.
“Yeah, that’s him. He’s getting a drink then I’ll get him over here to meet you.” He wrapped an arm around Katie’s waist and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Do you think that’s a mistake?”
“Is he going to talk about books?” Chad tilted his head to the side. “I hope he’s not going to talk about books.”
Katie snorted, “Definitely a mistake. It’s unavoidable, though. You’ll just have to hope your hotness outweighs the fact that Chad’s crazy.”
Chad patted Jared on his chest, “He looks a bit like Greg what’s-his-name, the one you dated during those two weeks in Mexico. Don’t you think?”
“Do I want to know what he’s talking about?” Jensen stepped up beside Jared, drink in hand, and winked at Katie.
“No, you really don’t. Not at all. Jensen, this is Chad and Tom. This,” he wrapped his arm around Jensen’s shoulders, “Is Jensen. Chad, please don’t embarrass him, or me, or yourself.” He relaxed just that little bit more when Jensen laughed, long and loud, and then held out his hand to shake Chad’s, apparently not bothered about the slightly unusual introduction.
Hands resting on top of the grass, Jensen tossed his head back to look up at the stars and tuned out the voices of the other people who had drifted outside. Jared was still in the house, had been caught up in a pretty competitive game of Twister the last time that Jensen had seen him. He would have stayed and watched but he had needed some air, some time to think.
It had been a long time since he had been to a party like this. His own group of friends favoured smaller get-togethers where they could drink a couple of beers and play a few songs. The last time he had been to this sort of a party - with the music blaring and people coming from all around town - he had been with Josh. It was always harder the first time he did something without him. Next time, it would be easier.
He wished it was next time. Inside, Jared was laughing and dancing and enjoying spending time with his friends and he didn’t want to ruin the night for him. Sitting up, he took out his pack of cigarettes and his lighter. He wasn’t going to give up, didn’t want to give up and, if Jared complained, he would say that it was a social cigarette and blame Chris for giving him the idea. A couple of guys ran past, the last one knocking into him and he flipped them off even though he knew that they couldn’t see before taking a long drag of his cigarette.
“Having fun?”
He turned to watch Jared as he lowered down onto the grass. “Yeah, I just needed some air.”
“And a cigarette, apparently.”
He shrugged but dropped the cigarette down onto the ground anyway, “It’s a party.”
Jared shifted closer so that their legs were touching. “Want to go home?”
“I don’t know.” He brushed his thumb across Jared’s wrist. “Are you ready to go home or are you just asking because you think I want to?”
“I’m ready when you are.”
“Where do you want to go?” Groaning, Jensen stood up and stretched his arms up above his head.
“I’ll walk you home so you don’t get lost again and then I’ll head back to my place, unless you want to just crash on my couch.”
“You don’t want to-”
“Not yet.” Jared rested a hand on Jensen’s hip. “I want to wait until we’ve been going out a little longer, just, you’re special and I want it to be special.”
“You’re a fucking sap.”
“I know.” Jared smirked and brushed his hair out of his face. “Don’t hate me for it.”
He glanced back up at the house that was full of Jared’s friends, the friends that Jared could have been spending time with instead of coming to check that he was alright, and smiled. “I’ll try not to.”
Chapter One
Chapter Three