[Slash] So Few Words - 1/7
So Few Words
Author: anyothergirl415
Pairings: Jensen/Jared (other characters include the various randoms)
Rating: NC-17 (as an overall series, each part varies)
Disclaimer: Oh if only these boys were mine, the things I would do :)
Warnings: AU, HS fic, h/c, angst, schoomp
Words: 4,781 (this part)
Summary: Jensen would just like to let his parents know that moving at the beginning of his senior year is so not cool. But it’s forgivable if he can get the oh so pretty Jared Padalecki to just say something to him.
Author Notes: I could no longer fight off the bunny, thus my favorite, a high school fic! Thanks so much to surevesta for being an awesome beta for me!! And for the amazing banner!
It becomes quite obvious to him upon scanning the high school parking lot that his parents were never 18 and in this position. No matter how often his mother sympathized with, “Oh honey I know it’s rough.” She didn’t know anything. She had this idea in her head that she had Jensen all figured out, that he would make friends easily and Jensen loved her too much to point out he never really had friends in the first place. It wasn’t like all his quirks and oddities were going to vanish suddenly and leave him Mr. Popular.
Jensen was definitely not going to join any sports team or nerd club. Really, he would probably be better off without making any friends; it wasn’t as if he planned on staying in this hell hole. He had been dragged to against his will just because his parents saw this as a great opportunity for everyone to get a fresh start.
And alright, maybe Jensen was getting into a little too much trouble before after all there was that one time with the cop. Really, though, that spray can was not his. And Jensen had been told if he slipped up once more he would be expelled. But it wasn’t really his fault that trash can caught fire. It’s not like he planned for it to happen.
Regardless of all that, Jensen really wished his parents had caved on the whole home schooling thing when they’d decided to move. There were programs online where they even provided you a free lap top with your courses. Come on, a free lap top? What more could you ask for?
“Watch it queer,” the grunted sneer from a thick jock brought Jensen harshly out of his thoughts. His backpack must have brushed the boy and, upon eyeing him, Jensen thought it best to keep his mouth shut and continue up the steps towards the large blue front doors.
He’d never seen so many stereotypes in the flesh before. The hallway was full of football jocks wearing letter jackets surrounded by tiny girls in short skirted cheerleader outfits. Blondes. Lots of blondes. Giggling and snapping bubble gum while dangling off the thick arms of said jocks who grunted like gorillas.
Up ahead and to the right his eyes land on what was obviously the geeks, thick glasses and pale boys with scattered freckles. Standing around quoting Buffy or debating mistakes made between the original Star Wars series and the new ones. And although Jensen had his own share of opinions on the matter he knew better then to join in that discussion.
And to the left: the emos. Or were they goths? Jensen had never bothered learning the difference between the two. Whatever they were they came with dark, tight clothes, color smeared hair and various facial piercings. None were smiling, they were just leaning together whispering things or writing on their jeans and shoes and backpacks. Jensen let out a snort at a few painting their nails black and received some death glares in return. He couldn’t help rolling his eyes.
Jensen reached the Principal’s office next, which was really a relief because he wasn’t sure how much more he could take. He already felt like he’d stepped into an after school special. This has to be the first time he’s ever been relieved to see this room.
“Hello there!” The bright cheery voice of the secretary behind the front desk temporarily has Jensen rethinking his relief. It should be illegal to be so peppy this early on a Monday morning. “What can I do for you today?”
“Um, I’m new,” Jensen offers up, shifting the backpack on his shoulder and trying to not look suspicious. Old habits die hard he supposes.
“Oh okay! So you’ll be needing your schedule and books of course,” the woman continues, typing on her keyboard for a few minutes, “What’s your name?”
Jensen can’t help wondering what she was typing previously while he mumbles his name and shifts a hand over the back of his neck. A bell rings and inwardly he groans. Being late was easily excused but he really didn’t want to do the whole awkward new student coming in late deal.
“Jensen huh?” a short brunette steps up beside him, smirk on her face as she snaps her gum. “That’s pretty weird.”
“Yeah? Never heard that before,” Jensen doesn’t bother disguising the sarcasm.
The girl laughs, “Alright that was called for. I’m Sandy so relatively normal name provides no witty comebacks for you unless you can come up with a new one about all the places sand can get stuck in a body.”
He eyes her for a moment before smirking, yeah he could probably come up with some remark about it but the girl seems half decent so he doesn’t.
“Okay Mr. Ackles here you go,” the secretary hands him a folder with a schedule. “You can get your books from your teachers.” Jensen nods his thanks and opens his backpack to slip in the folder while the lady turns to Sandy. “Miss. McCoy, late again I see.”
The brunette offers an apologetic smile and big puppy dog eyes, “Yes… it’s just that my mom had to work early and my alarm didn’t go off and-“
“Save it, this is the last time,” the secretary rips a piece of paper from a notepad and hands it to her.
Jensen follows Sandy out of the office and chuckles as they both head down the hall, “Nice excuse.”
“Well I try,” Sandy laughs. “What room are you heading to?”
“Um,” Jensen glances at the paper clutched in his fingers. “143 A?”
“Oh that’s by mine, I’ll walk with you,” Sandy casually slips her arm through his and leads him off down the hall. Jensen is left reconsidering his “no friends” statement and not quite believing he might actually have made one.
*
Jensen manages to make it through the first half of the day with only mild embarrassment. The teachers of both his classes make him stand in the front to be introduced but neither asked anything too out of the ordinary. He’d even succeeded in locating his locker after first block which made his backpack much more manageable.
At lunch his eyes scan the quad, though he’s not entirely sure what he’s looking for and they land on Sandy. Which is simply because she’s waving at him or more precisely waving him over and he checks over both shoulders before heading her direction.
“Hey! You can sit with us, I know its way awkward to be new,” Sandy moves over on the bench and Jensen nods his thanks as he slides into the seat. “Guys this is Jensen. Jensen meet Chad, Tom, Danneel and Jared.”
“Hey,” Jensen glances at each of them, making an effort to place the names with the faces in case he has actually found a group to fit in with. Instantly it occurs to him that these people don’t seem like what might be his typical group of friends. Chad is too blonde. Tom looks like he could be one of those football jocks and Danneel is outrageously gorgeous and could be a model for all he knew.
Jensen only had a few friends at his old school. Two had been in juvenile hall once already. The other was the real owner of the spray can and very quick to point a finger if it got him out of trouble. All were dark and moody and not these kids.
Then his eyes land on Jared.
It’s not necessarily the floppy brown hair, chiseled jaw line and smooth tan skin that give him pause though that doesn’t hurt. No, it’s more the look in those blue green eyes. There’s something dark hidden just beneath the surface that causes a faint shiver to run up Jensen’s spine as their eyes lock.
If he believed more in fate and things of that sort Jensen would have to give longer thought to the way time seemed to freeze around them. Instead he merely licks his lips and looks down at his backpack to break the moment, not sure why there is a slight shake to his fingers.
“So where’d you come from?” Chad asks around a large bite of cheeseburger and several fries.
Jensen pulls out a sandwich from his backpack and a soda, “Dallas.” He answers and really doesn’t want to play this getting to know everyone game. Though he supposes it’s nice of them to try.
“Chad’s pretty much the missing evolutionary link so you’ll have to excuse him,” Sandy explains, joining in the laughter with Tom and Danneel while Chad tosses a piece of ketchup covered pickle at her causing her to squeal.
Jensen smirks though his eyes stray to Jared who, he can’t help noticing, doesn’t even smile at the joke. Defensive maybe? That is assuming Jared swings that way and then swings that way for Chad.
Giving the blonde a quick once over Jensen quickly decides Chad is just feminine enough to most likely not swing that way. So maybe it’s an unrequited thing.
“Who’d you have this morning?” Danneel asks, taking a careful bite of microwave pasta.
“Um, Colgate and Hettinger,” he answers after checking the paper of his classes. This answer sparks up a long debate over which teachers are easy to manipulate, which ones Jensen should avoid at all costs and which ones would probably screw a student if they could get away with it. That part is brought up by Chad and Jensen’s only a little bit disturbed at the level of thought he’s put into it.
“We all have our favorites,” Tom explains. “I think that’s mostly because of their weaknesses. Personally, I’d steer clear of Adams if you want to survive here.”
“Adams is a push over,” Sandy laughs, sipping her Diet Coke.
“Only ‘cause you let him look down your shirt slut,” Chad smirks finishing the remains of his fries in one large mouthful.
“What about you?” Jensen asks, looking directly at Jared because really, the boy hasn’t said a word the entire time he’s sat here. If it wasn’t for his eyes shifting from one person to the other as they spoke Jensen would wonder if he’d even heard a thing.
It’s quiet at the table for a moment or two before Sandy is laughing and patting Jared’s shoulder, “Oh every teacher likes Jared and I imagine he likes most of them. He’s the all star student.”
And before Jensen can ask any more questions Jared rises from the table, Danneel and Chad in tow, saying goodbye and heading off.
The bell rings and Jensen is left watching the tall boy walk off between his two friends. There’s a soft sway to his hips and Jensen finds his pulse picking up just a fraction. He feels remotely silly.
After all, he is 18 now and his days of insta-crushes should have faded with middle school. And if he spends the rest of the day trying to interpret that intense look in Jared’s eyes it’s only because the boy kind of freaked him out.
*
Jensen can’t help the sigh of relief that escapes his lips as he makes his way across the parking lot, weaving through shiny sports cars and beat up pickup trucks. To say the rest of his day went as smooth as the beginning half would be an extreme understatement.
His third block teacher had required him to stand in front of the class for a full ten minutes listing off his favorite book, author, time period, movie, actor, band, moment with his family, etc. to a room full of students who stared at him with extreme disinterest. It would, of course, be the class lined with football jocks and their barbie girlfriends.
He’d been forced to put up with cracks about ‘wanna be punk rockers’ and ‘momma’s pretty boys’ for the rest of the block. It didn’t seem to matter how low he sank in his seat, the teacher was constantly making remarks like, “I’m not sure how they did it in your old school Mr. Ackles…” and “Mr. Ackles, what can you tell us about English literature in the early 19th century?”
The only perk of the last block of the day was Jared. Jensen had walked into the room and seen the boy sitting in the far back corner, eyes glued out the window staring at something Jensen couldn’t quite spot. He’d taken the seat next to him, offered up a, “hey” just before the teacher came in.
He’d received a nod in return of which he was grateful for. He might have felt slightly stupid otherwise, but after his previous class he had an intense desire for a more pleasurable company and Jared was definitely pleasant to look at. This teacher barely mentioned him, just in passing as he checked the attendance. Jensen was relieved to not be addressed for the rest of the class.
Now, as he made his way down the sidewalk towards his house, he couldn’t wait to kick off his shoes and explain to his parents the finer points of the home school program once more. Jared may be nice to look at but he wasn’t a worthy trade when it came to a class full of assholes and teachers too intent on his well being.
Speaking of Jared, there he was, walking ahead by himself in a casual stride that spoke of great familiarity. And here they both were, walking home in the same direction, Jensen speeds up his steps just a little to fall in beside him, “Hey how’s it going?”
Jared’s steps falter slightly, his head turning just a fraction of an inch to look at Jensen before he resumed his normal pace.
They are silent for a few minutes while Jensen tries to figure out why Jared isn’t answering him. Had he done something? Said something? Did he smell bad?
Resisting the urge to sniff his armpits, Jensen clears his throat and shifts the backpack on his shoulder, “So um… look was it something I said?”
Jared only glances at him again before give a slight negative shake of his head.
“Okay…” Jensen trails off, biting his lip. He wasn’t really sure what to do at this point. Obviously this was some sort of… thing that Jared did. Was he mute or whatever? Shit, Jensen would feel awful if he was. Why didn’t Sandy tell him that? “Are you mute or something?” He blurts out; figuring it may be insensitive but at least he could mutter an apology and pretend he lived down the street up ahead to avoid the awkward tension.
A faint smile, so brief Jensen mildly thinks he’s imagining it, crosses Jared’s face as he gives another negative shake of his head.
“Alright,” Jensen nods as if he’s been given a reasonable answer, as if he’s not more confused than before. So he hasn’t made an ass out of himself in front of this greek god wanna be and that’s good but he’s still not speaking which is not good. “Well that’s pretty weird I guess,” Jensen nods, rubbing the back of his neck.
Silence reigns as they cross the street and Jensen considers his escape plan for a few moments. Then, with an almost invisible shrug of his shoulders, decides to go along with this… whatever it is. He makes a mental note to ask Sandy about it tomorrow.
“So Chemistry wasn’t too bad,” Jensen begins, glancing at Jared out of the corner of his eye and catching Jared’s brief flash of surprise. “Mr. Butler seems a lot better than my last teacher. God, she was such a fuckin’ idiot. I swear I knew more about Chemistry then her and I thought it was a math thing.”
Jared doesn’t respond, which at this point is no longer a surprise, but his shoulders angle just a little and Jensen knows he’s listening. Maybe even amused.
So he continues, “But man before that I had English Lit and god it was hell. I think every member of the football team and cheerleading squad is in that class. And my teacher? Mrs. Wilson or whatever wouldn’t stop talking to me. I was really considering getting up and walking out.”
Another tilt of broad shoulders as Jared adjusts his backpack and glances toward him.
“I don’t know how you guys handle this block shit,” Jensen goes on. “I mean... four classes a day are cool but for like two hours a piece? Way too long. The only good thing is not having them tomorrow. We had eight classes a day at my old school, which was probably pretty obvious since I was just complaining about-”
Jensen stops talking abruptly, halting because Jared has stopped in front of a large house with blue siding and white shudders. He’s looking at Jensen intensely, like maybe he’s attempting telepathic conversation and Jensen sincerely hopes that’s not the case.
“You um… live here?” Jensen gestures to the house and Jared nods in his barely noticeable way. “Okay well… thanks for walking with me. I’ll uh… see you tomorrow I guess.”
Jared turns and walks up the path, disappearing inside without a backward glance at him. Jensen has to kick start his brain to get himself moving again, feeling mostly stupid for standing around and watching.
The rest of the walk home he tries to put the pieces of this puzzle together. There’s definitely something wrong with Jared. Or if not wrong, definitely weird. Off.
Whatever it was it succeeded in keeping Jensen’s mind occupied for the rest of the night. He didn’t even remember his idea to once more mention home schooling to his parents when they questioned him about school that day.
*
The following morning Jensen finds himself once more considering whether Jared’s attempting telepathic communication as he approaches the large blue house at almost the precise moment the taller man is walking down the path. They both stop and look at each other oddly, Jared’s eyebrow arch just an inch or so up.
“I’m not stalking you,” Jensen finds himself defending, though no words were spoken. He continues to walk and Jared falls into step with him. “Maybe you’re stalking me. I mean, for all I know you were just waiting for me to walk by.”
Jared shifts his backpack and doesn’t look at him.
“Okay maybe not. Just a weird coincidence,” he admits, wondering if he can start to understand Jared just by watching his very subtle movements. “God I hate this.” Jensen finds himself suddenly confessing. Jared’s eyes slide to him, “Not you. I mean, this being a new student thing. I’ve never had to deal with it before and it’s not like I hold any real sentimental attachments to Dallas but seriously. Starting at a new school after the years begun and it being my senior year is just too much. Does that make any sense?”
Jared gives one head nod, his eyes tracing the path ahead of them.
“Are you a senior?” Jensen watches the slight head tilt and licks his lips, “Have you been living here all your life?” Another nod and Jensen is suddenly fascinated by his hair sliding across his eyes. Jared reaches up to brush it back and Jensen’s heart speeds up. “So you’ve been friends with Sandy and them all this time?”
When Jared nods this time Jensen is relieved. If they’ve been friends all their lives Sandy will most likely have an explanation to Jared’s oddity.
They walk the rest of the distance to the school in a not quite comfortable silence. About halfway through the parking lot Sandy’s call has Jared pausing and Jensen hesitating, not sure if he should wait to greet the girl as well or just disappear inside.
“Hey guys! Did you walk here together?” Sandy looks quizzically at them and, at Jared’s brief nod, smiles brightly. “That’s great! Hey Jay I totally killed my printer last night. Since you’ll be in the computer lap this morning can you print these for me?” Sandy holds out a USB drive, offering it but not forcing the other to accept.
Jared does though, pocketing the device and briefly touching her arm. He gives another short nod to Jensen before heading the rest of the way into the school building. “Yeah, see ya,” Jensen finds himself muttering to the disappearing figure, despite feeling slightly moronic. Once Jared’s disappeared inside he rounds on the brunette. “So… what’s his deal?”
“Jared?” Sandy’s smile fades a little as they begin a slow walk inside. “The no talking thing?”
“No, I want to know how he got so tall,” Jensen eyes her skeptically.
Sandy lets out a soft sigh, “Yeah I know, of course the no talking thing. I don’t really know how to explain it. I mean, he hasn’t always been this way.”
“No?” This thought it is mildly comforting. After all, if Jared talked before there’s nothing to say he won’t talk again. “When did it start?”
“A few years ago. At the beginning of our sophomore year actually. He had gone away with his family over the summer and when he came back he was just… silent. Didn’t say a word to anyone. Ever. Not even his parents. They tried to send him to a therapist and everything but it never worked. Seriously, they threatened all his freedom. He was even grounded and wasn’t allowed to get his license because of it. They still haven’t let up on the license bit, but he’s not grounded to the house anymore.”
“God. What happened?” Jensen asks though he figures he can guess her response and is right when she answers.
“No idea. No one knows. He won’t even write about it. The only time he writes is for classes. It’s a pity too. He was a basketball player before and probably could have gotten far with it but after that summer he just stopped. Everyone thinks he’s had some sort of mental breakdown…”
“Wow that’s… that’s really sad,” Jensen worries his lower lip between his teeth, spinning the combination of his locker. “So you guys are pretty much all he has?”
“Yeah, his family really doesn’t get it. They think he’s going through some rebel phase but I know Jared and that’s not it. He… he’s a great guy you know? Something happened. Something made him this way,” Sandy leans against the locker to Jensen’s right for a moment before pushing off and looking seriously at him. “Jensen…”
“What?” Jensen shuts his locker and they begin to walk down the hall. He lets her lead and they pause at a locker not far from his.
Sandy spins the lock open, gathering her things before turning to continue her steady gaze, “You have to be careful with him.”
“What?” Jensen’s eyebrows raise. “What are you talking about? I mean, we’re not anything. Who says we’re going to be something?”
“Yeah, whatever, so we’ll just pretend you aren’t totally crushing on him,” Sandy rolls her eyes at the slightly guilty expression Jensen can’t quite hide.
“Am I that obvious?”
“I’m just way good at reading people,” Sandy pats his arm and the warning bell echoes through the hall. “All I mean is… you could be good for Jared. None of us are doing him any good anymore. Just be careful. No one knows what happened and it’s got to be intense to make him this way.”
Jensen watches her walk down the hall before turning towards his own classroom. He only half pays attention through first and second block, Sandy’s words circling around his mind on repeat.
*
Lunch is not too different from yesterday. Only this time there’s no introductions and Jared doesn’t stare at him with such intense eyes. He does, however, give a short nod of acknowledgement and Jensen thinks it may be Jared’s way of saying he’s been accepted into this little group.
Everyone else seems to think so as Sandy is quick to make room for him and Danneel compliments his t-shirt, which reads ‘What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.’ Chad starts off about ‘some fuckin’ cheerhoe’ who ‘fuckin’ told the teacher he was smokin’ a joint out back.’ It turned out to be the truth but the teacher couldn’t prove it so he’s just got detention for ditching class.
Tom, Sandy and Danneel all start in on how Chad has detention almost every day so there’s no point in complaining about it. Jensen chuckles but his eyes can’t seem to stop wandering in Jared’s direction.
He’s not smiling really but there’s a hint of something like amusement in his eyes. It’s just barely there; fighting its way out against whatever it is that’s haunting those orbs. When he meets Jensen’s steady gaze the amusement fades into the background and Jensen finds himself sucking in a surprised breath. Something intense flashes between them quickly before Jared is looking down at his food.
Jensen forces himself to eye his own sandwich and tune back into conversation, offering his own opinion on detentions and smoking joints behind the school building.
*
After school Jensen tries to not look for Jared. After all he really shouldn’t be playing up this crush thing. Not that he’s admitting he has one; it’s really just him appreciating the view. Jared isn’t exactly in a stable position for a relationship anyway, that much is clearly obvious.
As it turns out he doesn’t really have to look for Jared because there he is, standing at the bottom of the steps and looking out at the parking lot. Jensen walks up beside him, clearing his throat and smiling when Jared glances down at him. “Well we do both live the same direction. No reason we shouldn’t walk together,” Jensen offers.
Jared gives a nod and they set off.
“Did you have a good day?” Jensen asks, wondering if the awkward tension of asking a question he knows won’t be answered will ever go away.
Jared nods once more then looks at him.
“Yeah, mine was alright,” Jensen finds himself answering, only briefly considers how odd that is. “The novelty of a new student must have worn off, none of the teachers bothered introducing me thank god. Not sure I could have handled another day of that.”
They cross the street in a silence that holds a new level of companionship to it. Like maybe Jared doesn’t mind Jensen rambling on about not so important things and if that’s the case Jensen thinks it’s pretty cool. He’s never really had anyone to ramble to.
“So I have this little sister right? God she like… came from the mold of perfection I swear. Last night she couldn’t stop talking about all her new friends and I have no idea how someone can just go into a new place and click with people like that,” Jensen shakes his head. “Got siblings?” Something about Jared’s nod has him making assumptions that turn out to be correct. “Sister and brother? Yeah… me too…”
Jensen goes on to describe just how much he’s not like his brother or sister. How he holds secret theories that he, or at least one of them, is adopted. And though he loves his mom and dad deeply they don’t get him and probably never will. Jared gives him a look and Jensen just knows Jared understands what he’s saying. Maybe even feels the same.
He can’t quite explain it but there’s something between them. Some connection he can’t name without risk of sounding like a character straight out of a cheesy chick flick.
They reach Jared’s house and Jensen hesitates, biting his lip as Sandy’s words from early once more float to the front of his mind. “Well, I’ll be walking this way in the morning so if you want to, you know, walk together or whatever…”
Jared watches him for several long moments and Jensen can’t quite fight off the flush rising up to his cheeks. A small breath of relief falls from his lips as Jared finally gives a brief nod.
At this he turns and walks up towards his house, once again not looking back as he silently opens the door and heads inside.
“See you…” Jensen whispers into the space previously belonging to Jared before turning and walking the rest of the way to his own home, not quite giving name to the faint fluttering in his stomach. Or the eagerness for tomorrow morning. Wouldn’t his parents be shocked if he admitted he was actually looking forward to the next school day?
Part Two
Author: anyothergirl415
Pairings: Jensen/Jared (other characters include the various randoms)
Rating: NC-17 (as an overall series, each part varies)
Disclaimer: Oh if only these boys were mine, the things I would do :)
Warnings: AU, HS fic, h/c, angst, schoomp
Words: 4,781 (this part)
Summary: Jensen would just like to let his parents know that moving at the beginning of his senior year is so not cool. But it’s forgivable if he can get the oh so pretty Jared Padalecki to just say something to him.
Author Notes: I could no longer fight off the bunny, thus my favorite, a high school fic! Thanks so much to surevesta for being an awesome beta for me!! And for the amazing banner!
It becomes quite obvious to him upon scanning the high school parking lot that his parents were never 18 and in this position. No matter how often his mother sympathized with, “Oh honey I know it’s rough.” She didn’t know anything. She had this idea in her head that she had Jensen all figured out, that he would make friends easily and Jensen loved her too much to point out he never really had friends in the first place. It wasn’t like all his quirks and oddities were going to vanish suddenly and leave him Mr. Popular.
Jensen was definitely not going to join any sports team or nerd club. Really, he would probably be better off without making any friends; it wasn’t as if he planned on staying in this hell hole. He had been dragged to against his will just because his parents saw this as a great opportunity for everyone to get a fresh start.
And alright, maybe Jensen was getting into a little too much trouble before after all there was that one time with the cop. Really, though, that spray can was not his. And Jensen had been told if he slipped up once more he would be expelled. But it wasn’t really his fault that trash can caught fire. It’s not like he planned for it to happen.
Regardless of all that, Jensen really wished his parents had caved on the whole home schooling thing when they’d decided to move. There were programs online where they even provided you a free lap top with your courses. Come on, a free lap top? What more could you ask for?
“Watch it queer,” the grunted sneer from a thick jock brought Jensen harshly out of his thoughts. His backpack must have brushed the boy and, upon eyeing him, Jensen thought it best to keep his mouth shut and continue up the steps towards the large blue front doors.
He’d never seen so many stereotypes in the flesh before. The hallway was full of football jocks wearing letter jackets surrounded by tiny girls in short skirted cheerleader outfits. Blondes. Lots of blondes. Giggling and snapping bubble gum while dangling off the thick arms of said jocks who grunted like gorillas.
Up ahead and to the right his eyes land on what was obviously the geeks, thick glasses and pale boys with scattered freckles. Standing around quoting Buffy or debating mistakes made between the original Star Wars series and the new ones. And although Jensen had his own share of opinions on the matter he knew better then to join in that discussion.
And to the left: the emos. Or were they goths? Jensen had never bothered learning the difference between the two. Whatever they were they came with dark, tight clothes, color smeared hair and various facial piercings. None were smiling, they were just leaning together whispering things or writing on their jeans and shoes and backpacks. Jensen let out a snort at a few painting their nails black and received some death glares in return. He couldn’t help rolling his eyes.
Jensen reached the Principal’s office next, which was really a relief because he wasn’t sure how much more he could take. He already felt like he’d stepped into an after school special. This has to be the first time he’s ever been relieved to see this room.
“Hello there!” The bright cheery voice of the secretary behind the front desk temporarily has Jensen rethinking his relief. It should be illegal to be so peppy this early on a Monday morning. “What can I do for you today?”
“Um, I’m new,” Jensen offers up, shifting the backpack on his shoulder and trying to not look suspicious. Old habits die hard he supposes.
“Oh okay! So you’ll be needing your schedule and books of course,” the woman continues, typing on her keyboard for a few minutes, “What’s your name?”
Jensen can’t help wondering what she was typing previously while he mumbles his name and shifts a hand over the back of his neck. A bell rings and inwardly he groans. Being late was easily excused but he really didn’t want to do the whole awkward new student coming in late deal.
“Jensen huh?” a short brunette steps up beside him, smirk on her face as she snaps her gum. “That’s pretty weird.”
“Yeah? Never heard that before,” Jensen doesn’t bother disguising the sarcasm.
The girl laughs, “Alright that was called for. I’m Sandy so relatively normal name provides no witty comebacks for you unless you can come up with a new one about all the places sand can get stuck in a body.”
He eyes her for a moment before smirking, yeah he could probably come up with some remark about it but the girl seems half decent so he doesn’t.
“Okay Mr. Ackles here you go,” the secretary hands him a folder with a schedule. “You can get your books from your teachers.” Jensen nods his thanks and opens his backpack to slip in the folder while the lady turns to Sandy. “Miss. McCoy, late again I see.”
The brunette offers an apologetic smile and big puppy dog eyes, “Yes… it’s just that my mom had to work early and my alarm didn’t go off and-“
“Save it, this is the last time,” the secretary rips a piece of paper from a notepad and hands it to her.
Jensen follows Sandy out of the office and chuckles as they both head down the hall, “Nice excuse.”
“Well I try,” Sandy laughs. “What room are you heading to?”
“Um,” Jensen glances at the paper clutched in his fingers. “143 A?”
“Oh that’s by mine, I’ll walk with you,” Sandy casually slips her arm through his and leads him off down the hall. Jensen is left reconsidering his “no friends” statement and not quite believing he might actually have made one.
*
Jensen manages to make it through the first half of the day with only mild embarrassment. The teachers of both his classes make him stand in the front to be introduced but neither asked anything too out of the ordinary. He’d even succeeded in locating his locker after first block which made his backpack much more manageable.
At lunch his eyes scan the quad, though he’s not entirely sure what he’s looking for and they land on Sandy. Which is simply because she’s waving at him or more precisely waving him over and he checks over both shoulders before heading her direction.
“Hey! You can sit with us, I know its way awkward to be new,” Sandy moves over on the bench and Jensen nods his thanks as he slides into the seat. “Guys this is Jensen. Jensen meet Chad, Tom, Danneel and Jared.”
“Hey,” Jensen glances at each of them, making an effort to place the names with the faces in case he has actually found a group to fit in with. Instantly it occurs to him that these people don’t seem like what might be his typical group of friends. Chad is too blonde. Tom looks like he could be one of those football jocks and Danneel is outrageously gorgeous and could be a model for all he knew.
Jensen only had a few friends at his old school. Two had been in juvenile hall once already. The other was the real owner of the spray can and very quick to point a finger if it got him out of trouble. All were dark and moody and not these kids.
Then his eyes land on Jared.
It’s not necessarily the floppy brown hair, chiseled jaw line and smooth tan skin that give him pause though that doesn’t hurt. No, it’s more the look in those blue green eyes. There’s something dark hidden just beneath the surface that causes a faint shiver to run up Jensen’s spine as their eyes lock.
If he believed more in fate and things of that sort Jensen would have to give longer thought to the way time seemed to freeze around them. Instead he merely licks his lips and looks down at his backpack to break the moment, not sure why there is a slight shake to his fingers.
“So where’d you come from?” Chad asks around a large bite of cheeseburger and several fries.
Jensen pulls out a sandwich from his backpack and a soda, “Dallas.” He answers and really doesn’t want to play this getting to know everyone game. Though he supposes it’s nice of them to try.
“Chad’s pretty much the missing evolutionary link so you’ll have to excuse him,” Sandy explains, joining in the laughter with Tom and Danneel while Chad tosses a piece of ketchup covered pickle at her causing her to squeal.
Jensen smirks though his eyes stray to Jared who, he can’t help noticing, doesn’t even smile at the joke. Defensive maybe? That is assuming Jared swings that way and then swings that way for Chad.
Giving the blonde a quick once over Jensen quickly decides Chad is just feminine enough to most likely not swing that way. So maybe it’s an unrequited thing.
“Who’d you have this morning?” Danneel asks, taking a careful bite of microwave pasta.
“Um, Colgate and Hettinger,” he answers after checking the paper of his classes. This answer sparks up a long debate over which teachers are easy to manipulate, which ones Jensen should avoid at all costs and which ones would probably screw a student if they could get away with it. That part is brought up by Chad and Jensen’s only a little bit disturbed at the level of thought he’s put into it.
“We all have our favorites,” Tom explains. “I think that’s mostly because of their weaknesses. Personally, I’d steer clear of Adams if you want to survive here.”
“Adams is a push over,” Sandy laughs, sipping her Diet Coke.
“Only ‘cause you let him look down your shirt slut,” Chad smirks finishing the remains of his fries in one large mouthful.
“What about you?” Jensen asks, looking directly at Jared because really, the boy hasn’t said a word the entire time he’s sat here. If it wasn’t for his eyes shifting from one person to the other as they spoke Jensen would wonder if he’d even heard a thing.
It’s quiet at the table for a moment or two before Sandy is laughing and patting Jared’s shoulder, “Oh every teacher likes Jared and I imagine he likes most of them. He’s the all star student.”
And before Jensen can ask any more questions Jared rises from the table, Danneel and Chad in tow, saying goodbye and heading off.
The bell rings and Jensen is left watching the tall boy walk off between his two friends. There’s a soft sway to his hips and Jensen finds his pulse picking up just a fraction. He feels remotely silly.
After all, he is 18 now and his days of insta-crushes should have faded with middle school. And if he spends the rest of the day trying to interpret that intense look in Jared’s eyes it’s only because the boy kind of freaked him out.
*
Jensen can’t help the sigh of relief that escapes his lips as he makes his way across the parking lot, weaving through shiny sports cars and beat up pickup trucks. To say the rest of his day went as smooth as the beginning half would be an extreme understatement.
His third block teacher had required him to stand in front of the class for a full ten minutes listing off his favorite book, author, time period, movie, actor, band, moment with his family, etc. to a room full of students who stared at him with extreme disinterest. It would, of course, be the class lined with football jocks and their barbie girlfriends.
He’d been forced to put up with cracks about ‘wanna be punk rockers’ and ‘momma’s pretty boys’ for the rest of the block. It didn’t seem to matter how low he sank in his seat, the teacher was constantly making remarks like, “I’m not sure how they did it in your old school Mr. Ackles…” and “Mr. Ackles, what can you tell us about English literature in the early 19th century?”
The only perk of the last block of the day was Jared. Jensen had walked into the room and seen the boy sitting in the far back corner, eyes glued out the window staring at something Jensen couldn’t quite spot. He’d taken the seat next to him, offered up a, “hey” just before the teacher came in.
He’d received a nod in return of which he was grateful for. He might have felt slightly stupid otherwise, but after his previous class he had an intense desire for a more pleasurable company and Jared was definitely pleasant to look at. This teacher barely mentioned him, just in passing as he checked the attendance. Jensen was relieved to not be addressed for the rest of the class.
Now, as he made his way down the sidewalk towards his house, he couldn’t wait to kick off his shoes and explain to his parents the finer points of the home school program once more. Jared may be nice to look at but he wasn’t a worthy trade when it came to a class full of assholes and teachers too intent on his well being.
Speaking of Jared, there he was, walking ahead by himself in a casual stride that spoke of great familiarity. And here they both were, walking home in the same direction, Jensen speeds up his steps just a little to fall in beside him, “Hey how’s it going?”
Jared’s steps falter slightly, his head turning just a fraction of an inch to look at Jensen before he resumed his normal pace.
They are silent for a few minutes while Jensen tries to figure out why Jared isn’t answering him. Had he done something? Said something? Did he smell bad?
Resisting the urge to sniff his armpits, Jensen clears his throat and shifts the backpack on his shoulder, “So um… look was it something I said?”
Jared only glances at him again before give a slight negative shake of his head.
“Okay…” Jensen trails off, biting his lip. He wasn’t really sure what to do at this point. Obviously this was some sort of… thing that Jared did. Was he mute or whatever? Shit, Jensen would feel awful if he was. Why didn’t Sandy tell him that? “Are you mute or something?” He blurts out; figuring it may be insensitive but at least he could mutter an apology and pretend he lived down the street up ahead to avoid the awkward tension.
A faint smile, so brief Jensen mildly thinks he’s imagining it, crosses Jared’s face as he gives another negative shake of his head.
“Alright,” Jensen nods as if he’s been given a reasonable answer, as if he’s not more confused than before. So he hasn’t made an ass out of himself in front of this greek god wanna be and that’s good but he’s still not speaking which is not good. “Well that’s pretty weird I guess,” Jensen nods, rubbing the back of his neck.
Silence reigns as they cross the street and Jensen considers his escape plan for a few moments. Then, with an almost invisible shrug of his shoulders, decides to go along with this… whatever it is. He makes a mental note to ask Sandy about it tomorrow.
“So Chemistry wasn’t too bad,” Jensen begins, glancing at Jared out of the corner of his eye and catching Jared’s brief flash of surprise. “Mr. Butler seems a lot better than my last teacher. God, she was such a fuckin’ idiot. I swear I knew more about Chemistry then her and I thought it was a math thing.”
Jared doesn’t respond, which at this point is no longer a surprise, but his shoulders angle just a little and Jensen knows he’s listening. Maybe even amused.
So he continues, “But man before that I had English Lit and god it was hell. I think every member of the football team and cheerleading squad is in that class. And my teacher? Mrs. Wilson or whatever wouldn’t stop talking to me. I was really considering getting up and walking out.”
Another tilt of broad shoulders as Jared adjusts his backpack and glances toward him.
“I don’t know how you guys handle this block shit,” Jensen goes on. “I mean... four classes a day are cool but for like two hours a piece? Way too long. The only good thing is not having them tomorrow. We had eight classes a day at my old school, which was probably pretty obvious since I was just complaining about-”
Jensen stops talking abruptly, halting because Jared has stopped in front of a large house with blue siding and white shudders. He’s looking at Jensen intensely, like maybe he’s attempting telepathic conversation and Jensen sincerely hopes that’s not the case.
“You um… live here?” Jensen gestures to the house and Jared nods in his barely noticeable way. “Okay well… thanks for walking with me. I’ll uh… see you tomorrow I guess.”
Jared turns and walks up the path, disappearing inside without a backward glance at him. Jensen has to kick start his brain to get himself moving again, feeling mostly stupid for standing around and watching.
The rest of the walk home he tries to put the pieces of this puzzle together. There’s definitely something wrong with Jared. Or if not wrong, definitely weird. Off.
Whatever it was it succeeded in keeping Jensen’s mind occupied for the rest of the night. He didn’t even remember his idea to once more mention home schooling to his parents when they questioned him about school that day.
*
The following morning Jensen finds himself once more considering whether Jared’s attempting telepathic communication as he approaches the large blue house at almost the precise moment the taller man is walking down the path. They both stop and look at each other oddly, Jared’s eyebrow arch just an inch or so up.
“I’m not stalking you,” Jensen finds himself defending, though no words were spoken. He continues to walk and Jared falls into step with him. “Maybe you’re stalking me. I mean, for all I know you were just waiting for me to walk by.”
Jared shifts his backpack and doesn’t look at him.
“Okay maybe not. Just a weird coincidence,” he admits, wondering if he can start to understand Jared just by watching his very subtle movements. “God I hate this.” Jensen finds himself suddenly confessing. Jared’s eyes slide to him, “Not you. I mean, this being a new student thing. I’ve never had to deal with it before and it’s not like I hold any real sentimental attachments to Dallas but seriously. Starting at a new school after the years begun and it being my senior year is just too much. Does that make any sense?”
Jared gives one head nod, his eyes tracing the path ahead of them.
“Are you a senior?” Jensen watches the slight head tilt and licks his lips, “Have you been living here all your life?” Another nod and Jensen is suddenly fascinated by his hair sliding across his eyes. Jared reaches up to brush it back and Jensen’s heart speeds up. “So you’ve been friends with Sandy and them all this time?”
When Jared nods this time Jensen is relieved. If they’ve been friends all their lives Sandy will most likely have an explanation to Jared’s oddity.
They walk the rest of the distance to the school in a not quite comfortable silence. About halfway through the parking lot Sandy’s call has Jared pausing and Jensen hesitating, not sure if he should wait to greet the girl as well or just disappear inside.
“Hey guys! Did you walk here together?” Sandy looks quizzically at them and, at Jared’s brief nod, smiles brightly. “That’s great! Hey Jay I totally killed my printer last night. Since you’ll be in the computer lap this morning can you print these for me?” Sandy holds out a USB drive, offering it but not forcing the other to accept.
Jared does though, pocketing the device and briefly touching her arm. He gives another short nod to Jensen before heading the rest of the way into the school building. “Yeah, see ya,” Jensen finds himself muttering to the disappearing figure, despite feeling slightly moronic. Once Jared’s disappeared inside he rounds on the brunette. “So… what’s his deal?”
“Jared?” Sandy’s smile fades a little as they begin a slow walk inside. “The no talking thing?”
“No, I want to know how he got so tall,” Jensen eyes her skeptically.
Sandy lets out a soft sigh, “Yeah I know, of course the no talking thing. I don’t really know how to explain it. I mean, he hasn’t always been this way.”
“No?” This thought it is mildly comforting. After all, if Jared talked before there’s nothing to say he won’t talk again. “When did it start?”
“A few years ago. At the beginning of our sophomore year actually. He had gone away with his family over the summer and when he came back he was just… silent. Didn’t say a word to anyone. Ever. Not even his parents. They tried to send him to a therapist and everything but it never worked. Seriously, they threatened all his freedom. He was even grounded and wasn’t allowed to get his license because of it. They still haven’t let up on the license bit, but he’s not grounded to the house anymore.”
“God. What happened?” Jensen asks though he figures he can guess her response and is right when she answers.
“No idea. No one knows. He won’t even write about it. The only time he writes is for classes. It’s a pity too. He was a basketball player before and probably could have gotten far with it but after that summer he just stopped. Everyone thinks he’s had some sort of mental breakdown…”
“Wow that’s… that’s really sad,” Jensen worries his lower lip between his teeth, spinning the combination of his locker. “So you guys are pretty much all he has?”
“Yeah, his family really doesn’t get it. They think he’s going through some rebel phase but I know Jared and that’s not it. He… he’s a great guy you know? Something happened. Something made him this way,” Sandy leans against the locker to Jensen’s right for a moment before pushing off and looking seriously at him. “Jensen…”
“What?” Jensen shuts his locker and they begin to walk down the hall. He lets her lead and they pause at a locker not far from his.
Sandy spins the lock open, gathering her things before turning to continue her steady gaze, “You have to be careful with him.”
“What?” Jensen’s eyebrows raise. “What are you talking about? I mean, we’re not anything. Who says we’re going to be something?”
“Yeah, whatever, so we’ll just pretend you aren’t totally crushing on him,” Sandy rolls her eyes at the slightly guilty expression Jensen can’t quite hide.
“Am I that obvious?”
“I’m just way good at reading people,” Sandy pats his arm and the warning bell echoes through the hall. “All I mean is… you could be good for Jared. None of us are doing him any good anymore. Just be careful. No one knows what happened and it’s got to be intense to make him this way.”
Jensen watches her walk down the hall before turning towards his own classroom. He only half pays attention through first and second block, Sandy’s words circling around his mind on repeat.
*
Lunch is not too different from yesterday. Only this time there’s no introductions and Jared doesn’t stare at him with such intense eyes. He does, however, give a short nod of acknowledgement and Jensen thinks it may be Jared’s way of saying he’s been accepted into this little group.
Everyone else seems to think so as Sandy is quick to make room for him and Danneel compliments his t-shirt, which reads ‘What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.’ Chad starts off about ‘some fuckin’ cheerhoe’ who ‘fuckin’ told the teacher he was smokin’ a joint out back.’ It turned out to be the truth but the teacher couldn’t prove it so he’s just got detention for ditching class.
Tom, Sandy and Danneel all start in on how Chad has detention almost every day so there’s no point in complaining about it. Jensen chuckles but his eyes can’t seem to stop wandering in Jared’s direction.
He’s not smiling really but there’s a hint of something like amusement in his eyes. It’s just barely there; fighting its way out against whatever it is that’s haunting those orbs. When he meets Jensen’s steady gaze the amusement fades into the background and Jensen finds himself sucking in a surprised breath. Something intense flashes between them quickly before Jared is looking down at his food.
Jensen forces himself to eye his own sandwich and tune back into conversation, offering his own opinion on detentions and smoking joints behind the school building.
*
After school Jensen tries to not look for Jared. After all he really shouldn’t be playing up this crush thing. Not that he’s admitting he has one; it’s really just him appreciating the view. Jared isn’t exactly in a stable position for a relationship anyway, that much is clearly obvious.
As it turns out he doesn’t really have to look for Jared because there he is, standing at the bottom of the steps and looking out at the parking lot. Jensen walks up beside him, clearing his throat and smiling when Jared glances down at him. “Well we do both live the same direction. No reason we shouldn’t walk together,” Jensen offers.
Jared gives a nod and they set off.
“Did you have a good day?” Jensen asks, wondering if the awkward tension of asking a question he knows won’t be answered will ever go away.
Jared nods once more then looks at him.
“Yeah, mine was alright,” Jensen finds himself answering, only briefly considers how odd that is. “The novelty of a new student must have worn off, none of the teachers bothered introducing me thank god. Not sure I could have handled another day of that.”
They cross the street in a silence that holds a new level of companionship to it. Like maybe Jared doesn’t mind Jensen rambling on about not so important things and if that’s the case Jensen thinks it’s pretty cool. He’s never really had anyone to ramble to.
“So I have this little sister right? God she like… came from the mold of perfection I swear. Last night she couldn’t stop talking about all her new friends and I have no idea how someone can just go into a new place and click with people like that,” Jensen shakes his head. “Got siblings?” Something about Jared’s nod has him making assumptions that turn out to be correct. “Sister and brother? Yeah… me too…”
Jensen goes on to describe just how much he’s not like his brother or sister. How he holds secret theories that he, or at least one of them, is adopted. And though he loves his mom and dad deeply they don’t get him and probably never will. Jared gives him a look and Jensen just knows Jared understands what he’s saying. Maybe even feels the same.
He can’t quite explain it but there’s something between them. Some connection he can’t name without risk of sounding like a character straight out of a cheesy chick flick.
They reach Jared’s house and Jensen hesitates, biting his lip as Sandy’s words from early once more float to the front of his mind. “Well, I’ll be walking this way in the morning so if you want to, you know, walk together or whatever…”
Jared watches him for several long moments and Jensen can’t quite fight off the flush rising up to his cheeks. A small breath of relief falls from his lips as Jared finally gives a brief nod.
At this he turns and walks up towards his house, once again not looking back as he silently opens the door and heads inside.
“See you…” Jensen whispers into the space previously belonging to Jared before turning and walking the rest of the way to his own home, not quite giving name to the faint fluttering in his stomach. Or the eagerness for tomorrow morning. Wouldn’t his parents be shocked if he admitted he was actually looking forward to the next school day?
Part Two