fic [ja/jp]: i'll rep your name 'til i die
Title: i'll rep your name 'til i die.
Pairing(s): Jensen/Jared, implied Chad/Sophia and Sophia/OMC.
Rating: R.
Warnings: Angst, character death(neither of the J's).
Disclaimer: The boys belong to themselves, I just like to play with them every now and then.
Summary: He waited all night and well into the next morning for the phone to ring or the door to slam open and Chad to shout an obscenity to announce his presence. Neither happened.
Word Count: 1195.
Notes: Inspired by, title, cut text, and lyrics from 1 Day by Plies (edited slightly). Also, many, many thanks go to my wonderful beta, dserene1. I also took liberty with the football stuff; but if I recall correctly, the Eagles did stomp Dallas a while back. I think. AH WELL. Enjoy♥
God give me my friend for 24 hours,
so we can ride and laugh at these pussy ass cowards.
The day it happened, Jared didn't feel a thing. Not a damn thing.
He was sitting on the couch, PS3 controller balanced on one knee, feet kicked up, beer sweating on the coffee table as the game loaded.
Jensen walked in, face grave, lip quivering, and put his hand on Jared's shoulder.
"Jay,"
Jared blinked, tilted his head up, curious.
"It's Chad."
Jared blinked again, opened his mouth, snapped it shut. His eyes flicked back to the TV, idly watched as the game began, bullets were being fired at him from every angle.
Chad?
"He's dead, Jay."
"Oh," Jared said, voice barely audible. He barely registered the shocked expression on Jensen's face - what was he expecting, exactly? what were they even talking about, exactly? - because on the screen, Jared's guy went down and everything went red. He watched his man's blood roll down the screen like rain--thicker, slower, redder rain. It sucked, right? He hadn't even gotten the chance to shoot anybody, take anyone with him, but it was okay. Of course it was okay.
He could always start over.
Jared picked up the controller, thumbed the buttons: X, X, up, up, up, Start. New Game, more bullets. Everything was fine. "Yeah, okay."
He didn't watch him leave, but the click of the door signaled Jensen's exit.
---
Around noon the next day, hours after Jensen had gotten fed up and left in a huffy, crying mess (again), Jared dialed Chad's number, got his voicemail.
"Yo, bitches, you've reached Chad. I'm a little busy dickin' your momma at the moment, so leave me a message and I'll think about gettin' back to you. Oh, and Jay, you owe me fives bucks, fucker!"
BEEP!
Jared felt a grin pull at his lips, "What'd I tell you 'bout the momma thing, man? And I don't owe you shit, so get that off'a here, asshole."
He paused, looked around at the messy floor, caught sight of an ugly Eagles jersey stuffed in one corner, singed in a few places. Jared remembered the night Chad wore it, the blonde strutting around the living room and shouting about how badly his team had stomped Jensen's.
Jared had stayed out of it, mostly. At least, until Chad ran screeching from the kitchen and Jensen trailed behind him with a knife. Of course Jared stepped in then.
In the end, after Chad had fallen asleep, half naked, on their couch, Jensen took a lighter to it.
Anytime Jared had looked at the rumpled, burnt-up mess before he just laughed and shared the slightly crazy story with anyone nearby and willing (or not, he wasn't picky. an ear was an ear, after all) to listen. Now, though, it just caused his stomach to turn in on itself.
Jared looked away, coughed a little awkwardly, started again; "Anyway, you gotta--gotta call me back, dude. Something just feels weird. Jensen's being... and your mom called earlier. How weird is that? So, just, call me ba--"
"This message has exceeded--"
Jared hit the red phone on his keypad, stuffed the cell into his pocket, and deflated against the couch.
He waited all night and well into the next morning for the phone to ring or the door to slam open and Chad to shout an obscenity to announce his presence.
Neither happened.
Instead, he got Jensen, who was pale and worn out and Jared wondered why until the other man opened his mouth and reality hit Jared like a sledgehammer to the heart.
---
Two days after his best friend died, Jared found out his house had been broken into, his "valuables" stolen.
Two days after his best friend died, Jared finally accepted the truth of Jensen's words.
He cried.
He swore.
He screamed, ranted, and became violent. The process repeated itself over and over again until he was too exhausted to do anything more than hurt.
That time, Jensen stayed. He sported a bruised chin, a busted lip, and a black eye, but he stayed.
---
A sea of people dressed in all black surrounded a giant hole in the ground, a pretty hardwood box being lowered into it holding the body of his best friend. The whole thing was unsettling and Jared couldn't quite quell the growing panic that clawed at him. What if it's a joke? What if he's alive?
What if he's fucking alive?
It didn't seem right that he never even got a chance to see Chad again before he was gone forever, lost beneath mounds of dirt.
But Chad's body was battered, torn apart. A giant hole in what used to be his face.
Jared's heart thudded painfully in his chest and he felt Jensen squeeze his hand, grounding him. Jared had to wonder; had he felt it, too? Had he known Jared was a second away from losing it all over again?
Chad's momma was talking now, the sound of her voice making him ache. Jared was a second from blocking her out, a second from retreating somewhere within himself, getting lost in the darkness so he didn't have to listen anymore, and then he heard it.
A giggle sounded from somewhere behind him. At first, Jared thought it was a sniffle, a hiccup, anything but what it was, because how could that be? But Jensen squeezed his hand harder this time, squeezed it like he was trying to hold Jared still, steal his attention.
Slowly, Jared turned around, eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses. The first thing to catch his eye was all the color. Pink, white, orange. The second thing was a face, the third a hand.
Jared's breath caught in his throat and he stared at Sophia with disbelief, anger, sadness.
"Jay..."
It was Jensen's voice in his ear. A warning, a plea, a question in nothing but his name. Don't. Don't. Please? Jared shook it off, zeroed in on the hand inching up underneath the ugly pink dress.
Jared took in a breath, let it out, plastered on a smile, "Hey, man," he said.
Too loudly, too cheerfully; Jensen tensed up next to him.
The man withdrew his hand slowly, gave Jared a look that clearly said he was annoyed at being interrupted, smiled a toothy smile, "Jared. H--"
One, two, three steps forward and Jared was there. He pulled his arm back, swung for his face, got him square on the jaw. The other man fell fast.
"Jay." Jensen said, his voice was back at Jared's side, and he glanced over. He didn't look angry, just tired; Jared nodded, wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand and took a few steps toward Sophia, leaned in.
"You're lucky Jensen's here," he whispered, felt her chill at the exhale of his breath across her neck, "'cause if he weren't, I'd kill you where you stand, you fucking bitch."
Pulling away, Jared tossed one last look over his shoulder, gave his friend one last salute.
Get to the liquor park and let's talk for hours;
show him how if they die they lose their power.