Torn: Chapter 9 & 10
| Chapter 9 |
The cafeteria was filled with students going about their usual business, as Jared sat quietly at one of the tables. He watched the other kids eat and chat. For them, everything seemed so easy. With a sigh, Jared rested his head in his hand and looked at the door to the cafeteria. He hadn’t seen either Chad or Jensen so far today and it was driving him insane. He needed to know what was going on. He needed to do something.
The cafeteria door swung open and Jared felt an incredible weight lift from his chest. “Jensen,” he said to himself, and quickly got out of his seat, taking wide strides to meet him. “Jensen,” he said again, a wide smile as he resisted the urge to wrap his arms around Jensen’s shoulders. “I didn’t know if I’d see you again.” He met Jensen’s confused eyes. “Jensen?”
Jensen took a step away from Jared, a curious look as he made his way to the dinner line.
“Jensen, what’s wrong?” Jared said as he followed Jensen towards the front of the room.
Jensen stopped and looked at Jared, bright green eyes staring up at the other boy. “What do you want?” He asked.
“I was worried.”
“About me?” Jensen said, an edge of confusion to his voice. “You don’t even know me.”
Jared shook his head. He didn’t understand. “What?”
“You act like we’re friends. You’ve never spoken to me before.”
“No. We…” Jared wanted to shake Jensen hard. “Me and you.”
Jensen looked Jared up and down. “Not funny,” he told Jared. “Now if you don’t mind, I want to get something to eat.”
Jared stood in the cafeteria, watching as Jensen picked up a tray and joined the line of waiting students. What the hell was going on?
~*~
Chad stood in front of the urinal, a gentle shake of his dick before tucking it back in his pants. He yawned and turned around, his eyes going wide as large hands grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and dragged him forward. “Whoa,” he yelped as he found himself pushed into one of the cubicles and falling, his ass landing hard on the toilet seat. “What the…” He looked up to see Jared’s angry eyes glaring back down at him. “Jared. What the fuck?”
“What did you do?” Jared said angrily, and kicked at Chad’s foot.
“What did I do when?” Chad asked, confused.
“Jensen. What did you do to him?”
Chad shook his head. “We didn’t do anything.”
“You took him to the Council,” Jared reminded him.
“Yeah, so? They found no reason to hold him,” Chad told Jared. “He’s not what we should be hunting. Believe it or not, we do actually listen.”
“You’re lying.”
“Why would I lie? You’ve seen him, right? He’s in school today.”
“But he…” Jared backed away. He didn’t understand.
“He what?” Chad frowned as he struggled to his feet.
“I don’t know,” Jared said. Why would Jensen pretend not to know him?
Chad sighed and scratched a hand back through his short blonde hair. “Look, as far as my father and the Council are concerned, sure they aren’t happy about the situation, but Jensen did nothing wrong. Not really. He’s handed over the remaining souls and they’ve been dealt with. Opinions may have been shared concerning his future, along with the details of his parentage, but in the end it was left down to him to decide what he wanted.”
Jared lowered his head. Jensen had chosen to forget him? “He acted like he didn’t know me.”
Chad shrugged. “I don’t know what to say. It’s not us, Jared. Maybe you need to go and talk to him.”
Jared met Chad’s eyes. “Why would he do that?”
“You’re asking the wrong person.” Chad gave a comforting smile and added, “Talk to him.”
~*~
“I know,” Jared said as he stepped out in front of Jensen. He’d finally tracked Jensen down on the way to gym class.
“Know what?” Jensen said as he tried to side step Jared.
“I spoke to Chad. Why are you doing this?”
Jensen stopped and closed his eyes, a deep breath before he looked up at Jared, bright eyes settling on him. “I did it for us. For myself, and for you. I thought if I… then maybe I could stay and graduate. That maybe you could move on too.”
“By seeing you everyday, and have you pretend not to know me?”
Jensen rolled his eyes upward. “I didn’t know what to do. All I could think about was what happened to my parents. I thought it was safer for you to forget me.”
Jared shook his head. “The Council let you go.”
“Not without some things being pointed out to me first.”
Jared looked at Jensen. “Like what?”
“My mom ended up dead because she loved someone who betrayed her, because people thought she was something she wasn’t. I don’t want the same to happen to you.”
“You wouldn’t betray me.” Jared protested.
“Maybe, but either way they fear us, the Council. You saw what happened when we combined our powers. They fear that beyond anything else. Together we’re too powerful, too dangerous, and that scares them.”
Jared reached out and took Jensen’s hand. “Then let it.”
Jensen sniffed a laugh. “You make things sound so simple. They’re not. They look at me and I scare them. I’m neither one thing or the other. I don’t know where I fit.”
“With me,” Jared told him.
Jensen looked into Jared’s eyes. “I don’t know, Jared. Is this real or just…”
“I know what I feel,” Jared insisted.
“Do you? A few days ago you…” His words drifted off, as Jared pulled him close and kissed him. “Jared,” he managed as they parted.
“I know what I feel,” Jared told him firmly.
Jensen thought about what he’d been told by Cyrus, by Jared and by the Council; so many mixed feelings. “Cyrus told me once I needed to follow my heart and make my own choices.” He looked at Jared. “Even if that means breaking my heart.”
Jared narrowed his eyes and looked at Jensen. “What?”
“It’s the only way,” Jensen said as he stepped back. He wanted to protect Jared and this was the only way he knew how. “Goodbye.”
“Wait…” Jared grabbed for Jensen but he was too late, a soft breeze as Jensen disappeared from sight, and Jared was left alone.
~*~
Grams stared at her grandson across the dining table. She’d been surprised when Jared had returned home a couple of hours before school had even ended, and yet she understood why. Jensen had gone, believing that staying away was what was best for Jared. She thought she would have been happy. To her, Jensen was still something to be wary of, and yet as she sat and looked at Jared, she felt maybe she’d been wrong.
“What should I do?” Jared asked of his grandmother.
Grams pursed her lips thoughtfully. “It’s not my place, Jared. I’ve always guided you, but this is where I get off. This time it’s up to you.”
“What if I do the wrong thing?”
“It’s not wrong if it’s what you want.”
Jared shrugged. “He thinks he’s protecting me. He said he was following his heart.”
Grams smiled. “And what does your heart say?”
“It misses him.”
Grams laughed. “Then what do you think you should do?”
Jared met her eyes, a smile behind them. “I…”
Grams pushed out her chair and got to her feet. “Supper will be on the table at seven. I’ll set three places.” She looked at Jared. “Just in case.”
Jared eagerly got to his feet. He hugged Grams and told her, “Thank you.”
~*~
An hour later and Jared was standing outside the bus station. He closed his eyes, a small smile as he sensed Jensen inside the building. It had taken him a while, more blind stupidity than anything, as he’d run around town going from motel to motel in the hope of finding someone who remembered Jensen. And then it hit him, the faint aura that was Jensen.
Jared crossed the street steadily and went inside, his eyes glancing over the various destinations of the buses. He closed his eyes and listened for what he needed, the call that was Jensen’s soul. He smiled and ran towards one of the terminals, a brightening of his heart as he caught sight of Jensen sitting on a bench. He wanted to call out, but he couldn’t risk Jensen running again. With a forced calmness, he walked towards Jensen.
“Where are you going?” Jared watched as Jensen looked up at him in surprise. He was holding a small notepad and pen in his hands.
“J-Jared. How did you find me?” Jensen said as he pulled his single bag of belongings close to him.
“I cheated,” Jared said, and tapped the side of his head lightly with his index finger.
“You shouldn’t have come. This connection, it’s not good for you,” Jensen insisted and went to stand, surprised as Jared wrapped a hand around his wrist. “What are you doing?”
Jared held onto Jensen. “I’m not gonna let you run away from me again,” he said.
Jensen sighed. “I’m not running away. I’m just leaving.”
“Because Chad and the others told you to?”
Jensen shook his head. “This has nothing to do with them. It’s me and you. I’ve spent ten years of my life hiding from and hating your kind. And now I find myself…there’s this connection, and I don’t know what to do about it.”
“That’s the past. That’s not who we are.”
Jensen looked down at Jared’s hand still tightly wrapped around his wrist, grounding him in the moment. “What if ten years pass, and in the end, it turns out we are?”
“We’re not. Even the Council saw that,” Jared reminded him.
Jensen shook his head. “You should have seen them as they told me to make the right choice. They were scared. They didn’t believe what they said, that I was no threat, because they know what I might do.”
Jared took Jensen’s other hand in his and pulled the boy closer. “Might do? What could possibly make you do that?”
Jensen felt Jared’s warm hands holding him. He looked up and met Jared’s eyes. “You,” he said. “What if something happened to you?” He tried to explain. “When my mom died, Cyrus was so angry. He did something he shouldn’t have.”
“But you’re not him,” Jared told Jensen. “And besides, nothing’s going to happen to me.”
“There are bad things out there, Jared.”
“I know. I’ve known since I was four years old, and I watched my mom die at the hands of a demon. Bad things happen. Cyrus made his choice, and I’ve made mine. I trained for years to be able to call myself a hunter, and to be able to protect people. People I love, and people I’ve never even met. That’s my job. If something happened to you, I don’t know what I’d do. But I know you wouldn’t want me going on some vengeful mission that’d probably see me dead.”
Jensen lowered his eyes and stared at the concrete ground.
“I don’t know what else I can say to make you stay. I love you, and there is no reason I can think of for us not to be together. Yeah, it’s confusing as hell, but it’s you, and you’re amazing. No one can take that away from you. You’ve done nothing wrong.” Jared slowly released Jensen’s hand. “If you want to get on that bus, then I won’t stop you.”
Jensen looked up as a message came across the speakers; a female voice informing him his bus was due to leave. He turned to Jared.
“I don’t want you to go. But you have to do what you think is right,” Jared told him.
Jensen watched as the other travellers started to board the bus. He reached down for his bag, a moment’s hesitation as he gripped the handle tightly. He listened to the second call for the bus, and turned to Jared as he made his choice.
| Chapter 10 |
The setting sun threw the last of its light over the skyline of Los Angeles, a soft orange glow blanketing the city as the sun dipped out of sight. Jared stood and watched the shadows moving across the freshly mown grass. He wondered what kept drawing the demons to this park. Maybe it was the tasty looking late night runners, or maybe the laughing children throwing a Frisbee between them, a mongrel dog in mid-chase.
Jared smiled as an old couple passed by the bench he was standing beside. He watched them move slowly along the path, warm coats wrapped around them, despite it being summer. He waited until he was alone and then began to search. He could sense a demon. He had done for the last two days, and yet it had so far managed to elude him. With a sigh, he stared at the ground, a frown as he noticed the strangely shaped shadow moving across the grassy area in front of him.
Quizzically Jared tilted his head to one side and stepped forward. He watched as the shadow seemed to stop, and rested over a small dip in the ground. Jared leaned forward, his head slowly rising as he looked up to the sky. There was nothing there. He looked at his shadow and then the other, his eyes widening as he was taken by surprise, the shadow growing in size.
Jared felt himself falling, a dark hand reaching from within the shadow and grabbing him by the ankle. He called out, toppled backward and landed heavily on the ground. He shook away his confusion, sitting up as he watched the shadow rise from the ground. He’d seen some things in the years he’d been hunting, but this seemed so amazing. He curled one hand in the grass he’d landed on, his other slowly coming up to rest in his lap. He waited, watching as the shadow started to transform, thick black fur hanging from broad shoulders.
The demon opened its eyes and looked down at the human sitting on the ground before it. Carefully it lowered itself onto all fours, its back arching as it lifted its head to the sky. It opened its jaw, a yawn as it stretched away the remaining time it had been cramped up in its prison. It was free, and it was hungry.
Jared grimaced, the demon craning its neck, a terrible high pitched howl leaving its throat as it called out into the darkness. He watched the beast cautiously, its dark eyes turning to meet his. “Come on,” he spat, and got to his feet, his hand alight as the air prickled around him, his trusty sword forming in his hand. He waited, the demon’s gaze drifting from him to the space over his shoulder. Warily he looked behind him, a pang of panic as he found a second, identical demon walking calmly in his direction. “Great,” he hissed.
The demons started to circle him. Jared watched the pattern of their steps, their clawed toes falling and rising from the soft ground. He steadied himself and raised his hands, his sword held out as he prepared to defend himself. The first of the demons stopped, arching its back as it prepared to pounce. Jared looked over his shoulder. The other demon was already in the air, baring its teeth as it raced in his direction.
With eyes wide, Jared spun around as he tried to protect himself from both demons. He ducked, a clawed hand slicing through the air above his head as he fell and rolled to the ground. He looked up, panic washing through him as the second demon ran at him. He raised his arms protectively, a caught breath as a shock of blue streaked through the air. He watched as the shot impacted the demon’s side, throwing the demon off course and sending it crashing to the ground. He looked to his right, a small smile as a figure stepped out from between the trees. Jensen returned the smile, a hand on his hip as he nodded towards the space behind Jared.
Jared frowned and turned around, a gasp as the original demon brushed past him, dark fur hitting him in the face. He shook his head to try and clear it, his sword in his hand as he got to his feet. He watched as Jensen walked calmly towards the demon he’d taken down, a mass of bloody fur sprawled out across the grass as he raised his hand and aimed the crossbow at its chest. Jared turned to his own demon as he heard the soft sound of a soul being released, and a demon body decaying. With a determined focus, he ran at the demon, his sword high and cutting through the night air. The demon screamed, the point of the bright blade hitting it square in the chest and piercing through skin and muscle. Jared pushed hard, the tip forced deep into the demon’s body, a low glow from within its chest as the caged soul was split in two.
Jared stepped back, surprised as he found a hand in his as he watched the demon start to burn. He waited, watching as the soul’s light flickered and vanished. He squeezed Jensen’s hand and gently pulled him closer. “Where did you get to?” He asked as he curled his fingers up between Jensen’s.
Jensen leaned closer and bumped his shoulder against Jared’s. “Begging Florence for my job,” he laughed. “Going AWOL for a couple of weeks was a sticky point to argue,” he told Jared. “I’m on probation starting this weekend.”
Jared smiled and leaned down, a light kiss to Jensen’s cheek.
Jensen sighed and raised his hand. “You’re bleeding,” he noticed, and gently ran his fingers over the broken skin at Jared’s forehead. He let his fingertips ghost the area, a small smile as the wound healed. “Good as new,” he said.
Jared touched his forehead, a smile as he wiped away the remaining blood. “Thanks.”
Jensen nodded and looked around the park. “We should probably get out of here.”
Jared agreed, “Sure.”
Jensen smiled, his hand glowing slightly as he pulled on Jared’s arm, a warmth passing between them as he said, “Let’s go home.”
~*~
“Just go and talk to him,” Jensen said as he leaned across the desk, and chewed on the end of his pencil. “We both know you want to.”
“I don’t,” Jared insisted as he looked over Jensen’s shoulder to where Chad was sitting at one of the other desks. “It’s not like he’s exactly trying,” he said, as he looked down at the notepad in front of him and scribbled swirls in the margin.
“Uhuh,” Jensen said, and pulled the pencil from between his teeth and started tapping it against the desk. He turned to look behind him, Chad’s eyes briefly meeting his. “You know what I want? A hotdog,” he said.
Jared raised an eyebrow. “A hotdog?”
Jensen smiled. “Yup,” he said.
“Does that mean we’re eating in the cafeteria again today?” Jared said with a disgusted sigh.
Jensen grinned as he leaned back in his seat, his eyes meeting Jared’s as he said, “Yup.”
~*~
Jared watched as Jensen picked up a bread roll and started picking off the crusty outer surface. He rolled his eyes and looked down at the rather unappetising plate of spaghetti he’d opted for. “I thought you wanted a hotdog,” he reminded Jensen, as the other boy continued to tear pieces of bread from the roll that had been sat on his plate, and eat them.
Jensen nodded. “It’ll be here soon,” he said, and popped another piece of bread in his mouth.
“They do deliveries now?” Jared joked.
Jensen smiled knowingly and returned Jared’s roll. “So I hear you got an A. You must be pleased,” he said.
Jared nodded. “Two in one week,” he laughed. “I really want to go to college.”
Jensen met Jared’s eyes. “You do?”
Jared leaned forward and smiled. “Yeah. I know what I do is important, and I think Mom would be proud, but I also feel that maybe I could do more.”
Jensen nodded and nudged his foot closer to Jared’s beneath the table. “I’m pretty sure you could do anything you put your mind to,” he told Jared.
Jared grinned. “Anything?”
Jensen rolled his eyes. “You’re such a slut,” he said with a smirk.
Jared shrugged. He couldn’t really disagree. He was a slut for everything Jensen. He sighed, his eyes drifting upwards as he was suddenly aware of someone standing behind Jensen, two hotdogs in their hands.
Chad gave a small smile and slid into the seat beside Jensen. He handed one hotdog to the hungry boy, the other he kept for himself. “Hi,” he said shyly, and pulled his seat closer to the table.
Jared frowned and looked from Chad to Jensen. “What’s going on?” He asked.
Jensen shrugged and took a large bite of the hotdog, a smirk as he leaned back in his seat. “Lunch date.”
Chad perched awkwardly on the edge of his seat, resting his elbows on the edge of the table, and couldn’t help but smile at the strange expression on Jared’s face. “A blind lunch date,” he chuckled, and took a mouthful of the hotdog.
Jared sighed, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Jensen. “I knew you were up to something,” he huffed and folded his arms across his chest.
Jensen simply laughed.
Chad lowered his hotdog to the table and looked at Jared. “I’m real sorry, man. I just…”
“How long had you known about me?” Jared asked.
Chad shrugged. “Best part of forever,” he admitted with a small smile. “I was surprised how much I actually liked you, and that we actually became friends.”
“Liked me?” Jared asked curiously.
“I was kind of picked to be your guardian,” Chad said awkwardly. “Keep an eye on you and stuff.”
Jared frowned. “And I didn’t know this because…?”
Chad shrugged. “I wasn’t allowed to tell you. Not until your eighteenth. Not like you needed me, man. You can handle yourself pretty well.”
“You followed me?”
Chad laughed, “I’m not a stalker, dude. But yeah, when larger demons are identified as being in the area, it’s my job to keep an eye on you.” He looked towards Jensen. “I should say sorry to you too,” he decided. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”
Jensen shrugged and took another bite of his hotdog.
Jared sighed, surprised at how forgiving Jensen seemed to be. “He could have got you killed,” he reminded Jensen.
Jensen met Jared’s eyes. What was he supposed to say? “I don’t blame him,” he insisted. “Besides, I did nothing wrong, remember?”
Chad cleared his throat. “I’ve grown up with all the Council crap. You were just there outside Scott’s office. I didn’t mean to hear. And then, I just did what I thought I should.”
Jared lowered his eyes and looked at the plate of spaghetti. He didn’t have the energy to stay mad at Chad. “Fine. But no more secrets,” he told his friend.
Chad nodded as he agreed, “No secrets.”
Jared looked at Jensen. “And you need to stop being so sneaky.”
Jensen sniffed a laugh and continued to eat his hotdog.
“So,” Chad started. “Prom...”
Jared raised an eyebrow. “…is in five months,” he added.
Chad laughed. “It was the only high school thing I could think of.”
Jensen wiped a hand across his mouth and leaned forward. “You got some sweet thing in your sights?” He asked Chad, aware that Jared was looking at him. “What?”
“Never say that again,” Jared told him, forcing himself to keep a straight face.
“Sweet thing,” Jensen said with a slight drawl, and laughed.
Jared smiled and turned back to Chad. “It’s a little early to think about Prom.”
Chad shook his head. “We’re teenagers in high school. You really should get your priorities right.”
“Like you do?” Jared asked.
Chad gave a shrug. “Once upon a time I tried. It was for my father’s sake more than anything else. Too many normals in my family, the lifestyle didn’t really suit.”
“Normals?” Jensen said in a low voice, aware of the other students sat in the cafeteria.
“My father holds a place on the council through name, that’s all. Our family hasn’t been pure blood in over five generations. My mom has no idea about demons and the Council. She’s just, normal,” he sighed. “I mean, I’d be lucky to be able to create a butter knife,” he said with a smirk. “I prefer to live as one of them. Normal. Just being a kid, and having some fun.”
Jensen started laughing.
“What?” Chad asked with a frown.
“And you’re supposed to be looking out for him?” Jensen reminded him, as he waved a hand in Jared’s direction.
Chad picked up his hotdog. “I do look out for him. There was this time when Georgie Astin stole his swim trunks. He was in fucking tears.”
Jared laughed. “Yeah, so you punched him in the nose, got yourself in detention, and I never saw my trunks again.”
“The point is I punched him.”
Jensen smiled. “It’s the thought that counts.”
“Exactly,” Chad chimed as he looked around the cafeteria, a smile on his face as he watched Kiki Ludlow bending over one of the other tables, her hot-panted ass high in the air. “Right, guys. We’re cool, right?” He asked as he got to his feet, his half eaten hotdog abandoned on the table.
Jensen nodded, eyebrows high as he sucked on the straw sticking out of his small carton of juice.
Jared looked up and smiled. “I guess we are,” he told Chad.
Chad glanced over his shoulder. “Good. I’ll catch you later,” he said with a wink, one Kiki Ludlow set in his sights.
Jensen sighed as he watched Chad saunter over to the teenage girl, a finger curling in her hair as she watched Chad approach. “Do you want to go to Prom?” He suddenly asked.
Jared raised an eyebrow and looked at Jensen. “Do you?” He said.
Jensen shook the juice carton, listening to the swirl of the remaining liquid. “Hadn’t really thought that far ahead.”
Jared shrugged. “Me either.”
“We should though, right? It could be fun.”
Jared watched as Chad leaned back against the table, Kiki leaning her ample breasts closer towards him. “It could.”
Jensen nodded. “We should go.”
“We should.” Jared turned to meet Jensen’s eyes. He stared for a moment, taking in the bright warmth they held. “Together,” he added with a smile.
Jensen gently nudged his foot against Jared’s, a soft sigh as he agreed, “Together.”
| Epilogue |