Prologue
The alarm began to blare the same song it had for the past eight weeks and Jared Padalecki sighed heavily before burying his head under his pillow. Again.
“Who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me? M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E!” Someone had the nerve to sing along with it this morning.
“Hey there, hi there, ho there…you're as welcome as can be…SING WITH ME BIG MAN! M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E!” The culprit, Chad Michael Murray, appeared in the doorway from the shared bedroom to the tiny en suite bathroom.
“Mickey Mouse!” The perpetrator yelped, moving closer to what should be a still-sleeping Jared.
“Donald Duck,” Jared deadpanned from his spot under the pillow, not wanting to see the sun or his zealous roommate yet.
“MICKEY MOUSE!” The other man asserted, this time so close even the pillow was doing Jared no good to block out the noise intrusion.
“Donald Duck,” Jared muttered again, hoping it would mean an end to the assault.
But he couldn't be that lucky.
“Forever let us hold our banner high! High! High! High!” There were now marching noises and had Chad found a whistle? “Wakey wakey eggs and bakey!” An annoyingly pitched voice followed the incessant repeated chorus that was still chiming despite Jared’s best efforts to will it away with his mind. “Today is the first day of the rest of your life, J-Pad!”
Jared rolled over at this and pitched the pillow he had been using as a barrier at the approximate spot he thought Chad would be standing, but managed to hit a shelf instead, knocking things to the ground.
“Dammit, Jared! Those snow globes are worth money!” Chad scrambled to pick up everything that had fallen.
Jared closed his eyes slowly, hoping that this was all a bad dream. Opening them, he found it wasn’t and set about trying to focus the world that he was cruelly still a part of. Chad was scrambling around trying to pick up everything that Jared’s pillow had brought down with it. “Remind me again why you even have them?”
“Because they take me back to the innocence and wonder that is my childhood you inconsiderate asshole.” Chad took the opportunity to lob the offending pillow back at Jared’s head as hard as he could.
The pillow barely managed to make it to its intended target, making Jared chuckle as he shoved it back under his head to prop himself up. “Bullshit. You have them because they are the easiest thing to lift form the gift shops when you go to hit on all the girls working there.”
“Well,” Chad shrugged, “They just make it so damn easy. Would you rather I staple thongs to our wall?”
Jared stuck his tongue out as he swung his legs over the side of his bed. “You’re a heartless bastard and you’re going to get caught. You’re going to get busted down to Goofy one day.”
“Yeah right. Like they would cover this face.” Chad all but strutted to the tiny kitchen area the two young men shared.
“Or worse,” Jared followed. “They can fire your ass. You don’t want that. Hell, I don’t want that. “ He sat down in a chair as Chad rummaged through the cupboards for something that they could eat for breakfast.
“Aww, you love me.” The lanky man tossed a shiny foil envelope towards Jared’s head. “Eat your Pop Tarts.”
“No, jackass, I am afraid that my roommate would be worse than you - though I don’t know who they could get that would be worse.” Jared scowled at the cold, still-sealed pastries.
“There you go again, acting like you aren't in love with me.” Chad took big gulps from the milk jug before shoving more of the Pop Tarts in his mouth.
Jared wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Chad, for the last time, I am NOT in love with you.”
Chad grinned back, shaking his head as he did so. “You have no proof of that.”
“Me saying it should be proof enough.” Jared tossed the uneaten unopened packet back at Chad. “I mean, have you seen yourself?”
“Don’t think I don’t see you looking,” He took another long draw of the milk before recapping it and putting it back in the refrigerator.
“Chad!” Jared barked, making his roommate jump.
He hid the jolt with a shrug. “What?”
“First - no. Second - not just no, but hell no.” Jared wasn't even sure what part of that he was saying no to anymore, but it covered everything. “Thirdly, what do you know about Sandy?”
“Sandy?” Chad was suddenly very interested in the words Jared was saying. “Who is Sandy?”
“Cute little brunette, rooms with the other cute little brunette named Genevieve?” Chad’s face still held a confused frown. “Plays Jane to my Tarzan starting this week?”
“No, but tell me more of what you know.”
Jared grabbed an apple and turned to go take a shower. “You are a letch and I am not saying another word.”
“You doubt me far too much, Padawan.” Chad called after him.
“Don’t call me that.”
“You know you love it.”
Jared stopped at the doorway to the bathroom and leaned on the jamb. “No, I really don’t. Maybe you need to look up what that word means, Chad. Seriously.”
Master Post | Next