Dissonance - Part 5 (original) (raw)

Title: Dissonance - 5
Author: surevesta
Rating: PG-16
Fandom: CW RPS
Word Count: 6,318 (this part)
Pairing: J2
Main Characters: Jensen, Jared, Danneel, Sandy, Kripke, Chad, Mike, Chris, Sophia, Hayden, Adair, Rainbow, Allie
Other Characters: Samantha Ferris, Samantha Smith, Tom and Jaime, Aaron, Shawn, Kristin K., Kristin B., Alexis, JDM, and an assortment of other RPS regulars and CW actors/actresses.
Betas: anyothergirl415
Disclaimer: The story and plot is mine, the characters are based off of real people and belong to themselves. The places are also based off of real places. I know almost nothing of the foster care system.
Summary: The world of High School through the eyes of violist Jensen Ackles. Life is just notes on a page, waiting to be read and interpreted.
A.Note: Yes you read correctly- that is not a typo. I expanded a section due to the instance of my muse and my Jensen. So a 500-1k word portion of Part 6 ended up being 6.1k or so... thus adding a whole new part to this fic.

Master Post

*****

Homecoming was a pretty big deal, both the game and the dance. There was a big pep rally immediately following second period Friday. Every class for the whole day was shortened to make room for the assembly. As soon as homeroom finished, everyone made their way to the big gym. Some students left their bags in classrooms or lockers, if they had one, but most just brought them along. Jensen was glad he didn't have his viola with him, his freshmen year he'd lugged it around all day. Orchestra had been seventh period then.

The bleachers were out, extended to the sidelines of the large basketball court that was marked out on the polished floor. Jensen entered the gym through the door closest to the music building. The seniors and sophomores always used that door while the Freshmen and Juniors headed around to the other side. The faculty organized it so that the four classes sat in block sections, each getting half a set of bleachers.

The seating was arranged so that there was almost an even distribution of students. The Freshmen and Sophomore classes were always larger while the upper classes attendance dropped of noticeably. Some of this was due to running start, not starting class till third or fourth periods, and students having dropped out. Mostly the upperclassmen tended to not care quite as much and skipped out to find other things to do. Having such an open campus, three large student parking lots and another for the faculty, meant that it was rather difficult to catch everyone who decided to take an early lunch.

Jensen didn't see the point in trying to get out of it, even if he wasn't too enthused about school spirit. He just adjusted his bag on his shoulder and made his way through the crowd. The seniors were in the back right section of the room, the band between them and the sophomores. The section was pretty empty so far. Rather then make his way to the top he decided to sit about five rows up. Not close enough to be dragged down as a 'volunteer' by the cheerleaders during audience participation portions of the assembly but close enough that he could make a quick getaway out the side door that led to the old baseball practice field. There was a new field across the street that included a new soccer field and a half mile track that was open to the public.

He slumped onto the hard plastic bench and settled his bag between his feet. More students were trickling in now, greeting each other and calling out about 'saved spots'. Jensen settled his chin onto his right palm, fingers curling over his cheek and brushing his ear. It took a couple of minutes but he spotted Jared standing, across the room, with some of the other football players. The starting lineup, probably. They were all in their letterman jackets, even the ones whose girlfriends usually wore them. The coach probably made them 'borrow' the jackets back as a show of school spirit.

Jensen sighed and groaned as he took in the large crowds of students. Since it was homecoming week everyday had some sort of 'school spirit' event. Most of it involved dressing up. Today everyone was wearing the school colors, blue and white, as a show of school pride. While he was wearing a white shirt beneath his blue and green plaid over shirt it was entirely unintentional. That just happened to be the first thing he grabbed this morning.

“Jensen, you could have waited for me,” Danneel glared at him, pout on her lips, as she dropped down next to him. Slipping her messenger bag over her shoulder, she settled it across her lap. Danneel was wearing a skirt, one that barely reached mid thigh. Her pale knees touched and her ankles were crossed, legs tucked under as far as the solid bleachers would allow.

“I thought you'd sit with some of the girls?”

She rolled her eyes at him, “Running start. Or skipping, maybe both. They don't do the whole school spirit thing,” one perfectly manicured hand swept in front of them, gesturing to where the cheerleaders were doing a few short stretches, practicing, and chatting. “Too artsy and 'emo'.” He wasn't sure how Danneel had become friends with people that were so different from her, but then she had known most of them since preschool, or so she said.

Jensen straightened, hand dropping to dangle between his knees as he rested his forearms across jean clad thighs, “And you didn't skip?”

“Wanted to see if you'd make eyes at Jared, or he at you,” She dropped her voice, but only slightly. There were only a few students in their general vicinity so far and the room was noisy with chatter and instruments. The marching band was getting set up to do a few short songs for the pep rally. Jensen hoped he wouldn't get a headache from this.

He rolled his eyes, “Not funny.”

“You're right,” She grinned. “It isn't, it's just really, really cute!”

“Danneel,” an exasperated sigh escaped his lips. He paused, closing his eyes and steeling himself before turning to her. “Jared and I aren't even friends. We're just partners for that dumb English assignment.”

That little factoid didn't deter her one bit. She just grinned at him, smiling crookedly, left side wider then the right, “Keep telling yourself that, Jensen. Just keep telling yourself that.” Her right hand patted his left forearm gently and he rolled his eyes.

The pep rally wasn't too bad, just an hour long. Really, the only truly annoying thing about assemblies was the fact that it made lunch forty minutes late. He wondered how Jared could stand the wait, but then the quarterback probably had extra cash to get something from a machine or had a good supply of snacks from home.

They announced the homecoming royalty near the end. Jensen was kind of surprised to find Jared and Sandy hadn't involved themselves in the whole thing. He thought they would have, being so popular. There was this whole ceremony thing that involved the JROTC and turning the lights out. Some of the technology students had apparently set up a spot light. The teacher doing the announcing did some little jovial spiel about each girl like they were a contestant for Miss America or something. Danneel wouldn't stop giggling the whole time. They also introduced the seniors, and the main lineup, of the Varsity football team. Jensen clapped for Jared when he stepped forward. It was the polite thing to do.

Afterwards it was a rush of bodies to escape the rather stuffy gym. It only took a couple minutes for Jensen and Danneel to make their way out of the emergency exit at the back of the gym, opened for just that purpose. Once outside Jensen took a deep breath of crisp air. It was chilly and partially cloudy, but overall not too bad. It only took a minute for him to lose Danneel in the crowd.

“Jensen! Hey, wait up!” He turned, one hand moving up to wrap around the right strap of his backpack. Jared was doing his best to make his way through the crowd. The quarterback nearly plowed down a freshman girl holding a clarinet.

“Jared?” Jensen was frowning, he couldn't think of a reason for the other teen to be in such a rush to get his attention. They had discussed how busy this weekend was due to Homecoming and had already sorted out everything in regards to Jensen following Jared around the following Tuesday.

“Hey,” Jared took a deep breath and grinned, raising his head to squint up at the sky. “Think it's gonna drizzle?”

Green eyes blinked then squinted slightly, “I doubt it. Uh, what's up? Did you need something?”

Broad shoulders shrugged. “Not really,” Jared smiled down at him. “Did you find a date?”

“A date?” He wasn't aware that he needed a date for anything.

“For homecoming! Or are you still being anti-school spirit?”

“I'm not anti anything, I just don't,” Jensen paused and peered up at the other teen. “It's just not my thing. I told you that.”

“So you don't have a date?”

“No, Jared. I'm not going to Homecoming,” He sighed and dropped his gaze down to his feet. They were standing in the grass and it was slightly damp. The crowd around them was slowly dissipating as people headed to their third period classes. “I'm working anyway.”

“Sucks,” Jared's hands were shoved into his jacket pockets. One tennis shoe clad foot scuffed at the toe of the other. “Working late?”

“I'm closing again,” Jensen looked up, eyebrow raised slightly. After a moment of silence he continued, “Why?”

The quarterback shrugged again, eyes hidden by his bangs, “Just curious. Figure it'd be good to know. You know, for the assignment?”

“Oh, well I'm working the closing shift. Eleven. Working till eleven,” He adjusted his grip on his bag, fingers flexing around the strap. “I, uh, better get to class. Mr. Beaver gives detention. He likes to give detention for people being late.”

“Yeah,” Jared nodded, chin jutting out slightly. He rubbed several large fingers against the cleft of his chin and just below his lips. “Detention, you wouldn't want to get it. It sucks, cut into your practice time.”

Jensen shifted in place then took a step back, turning as he went, “I'll talk to you in class.”

*****

After school Jensen went straight home. Since he didn't stick around to practice he caught one of the school buses, the same route he rode in the morning. Denis was the only one home when he arrived and he was shut in his room with the blinds drawn. It didn't take long for Jensen to finish his regular homework so he spent most of the time before he had to leave for work reading.

In addition to the big semester project, Mr. Kripke had assigned them several smaller book reports that involved different types of literary analysis. He was currently reading Memoirs of a Geisha. It hadn't been his first choice, but he chose it because there was only one other person reading it. He had felt oddly sorry, in a way, for the stack of copies. It was actually a pretty good book. He heard there was supposed to be a movie coming out based on it soon, too.

At 5:35 he boarded the bus to head to work. It was oddly quiet, he assumed a good chunk of the population were at home listening to or watching the game on the local TV station. Some were probably even watching it at the stadium. Work went by pretty quickly. The radio in the back of the room played the game till it ended, sometime between seven and eight. Most of the customers that were hanging around were college students, not a single high schooler dropped in to buy a cup of coffee.

For the first time Jensen wondered what it was like at the stadium. The radio didn't give a real clear picture of the game, sure he heard the announcers and the cheers but that wasn't the same thing as watching it. There were only two customers to shoo out the door at eleven and they didn't put up an ounce of resistance.

They were a couple, college students, and they'd been sitting on one of the couches at the far side of the room playing scrabble for about an hour. The girl grinned at him as she hooked her arm through her boyfriends and bade him a soft 'goodnight' and a small wave.

He took his time cleaning up, although he'd managed most of that in the downtime of the previous forty five minutes. Tables wiped down, machines cleaned and turned off, chairs set on tables, and the floor mopped, Jensen headed out the door, locking the small shop up behind him.

It was almost eleven thirty and the last bus would be arriving at the stop in about ten minutes. He walked quickly down the main street, crossing at the first cross walk, ignoring the scattered pedestrians and lights from the stores. Most were closing now, shutting up for the night (and sometimes weekend). One block before the Transit depot, while Jensen waited to cross the street, a familiar car pulled up to the curb.

“Jared?” Jensen frowned as the window rolled down. The other teen leaned out, elbow resting on the side of the door.

“Need a ride?” Jared grinned wide, it faltered after a moment as he took in Jensen's expression.

“What, what are you doing? The dance?” Jensen paused, kicking at the curb. The walk sign had already replaced the red hand. “The dance is still going on, why are you here?”

“Took off,” Jared shrugged. “So, ride?”

“What about,” He frowned and took in the car. The quarterback was wearing his tux still, white shirt unbuttoned to the third button and the tie was tossed in the back seat. “Sandy? Did you ditch Sandy?”

Jared sighed and shook his head, “Nah, she wasn't feeling well. Hadn't been all day but she stuck it out for the game and the first hour or so of the dance. We got our picture taken and then I took her home. Didn't have anything else to do, so I figured I'd give you a ride.”

“Oh,” There was a moment of silence before Jared looked around, a bit nervous.

“So, you want to climb in? I'd rather not get a ticket... this really isn't a parking place...” Jared trailed off.

He blinked, “Oh, right.” Checking for traffic, Jensen moved around the car and climbed in the passenger side. Jared grinned at him as he buckled in.

“Hey, is it alright if I show you something?”

Jensen shifted in his seat, adjusting the belt, before looking up. His lips were pushed tight together in hesitation.

“Not a party,” Jared sighed and motioned a hand above the steering wheel. “Just a place, somewhere I like to go sometimes. You can mention it in the essay since I go there a lot.”

He studied Jared's profile for a moment, a bit unsure. A second later, as the car paused at a red light, Jared glanced over. There was a slightly hopeful and nervous look on his face. “Alright, sounds good. Just remember I want to-”

“Be home by two,” Jared beamed at him as the light changed to green. “I know and I won't forget.”

The drive was relatively quiet. The fingers of Jared's left hand were tapping an unrecognizable beat out on the steering wheel. From time to time Jensen would glance over at him. For the first ten minutes of the drive Jared kept his eyes on the road, glancing to the side when he needed to check for cars. His thin bottom lip was tucked underneath the top, bitten by hidden teeth.

In hindsight Jensen should probably have been a bit worried that this might be the makings of a joke or something, but he wasn't. There was no reason for him to think it would be and Jared had never seemed interested in teasing or mocking him. All things considered the jock almost seemed like he wanted to be his best friend. Jensen shook that thought away and stared out the window.

They drove through familiar neighborhoods and streets. After a bit Jensen realized they were headed towards the high school. If the dance hadn't been taking place at a down town hotel, Jensen might have thought Jared had decided to drag him to Homecoming. It was odd how interested he'd been in whether or not Jensen was going to the function.

He raised an eyebrow as they skirted the edge of the campus and headed down a road that would ultimately take them into the county, “Where are we going?”

“Just a ways out,” Jared glanced over at him, ducking his head a bit. Hazel eyes were a bit wide beneath his bangs. “Just wait.”

They drove for another fifteen minutes. Five minutes out the arrangement of houses grew sparser, no longer were they in an area that had neighborhoods, not in the true sense of the word. The car bumped across a dip in the road as asphalt changed to ground in gravel. Jared sped up slightly as the speed limit adjusted to fifty miles an hour.

Jensen watched out the window as the scenery changed, trees and shrubs and well tended lawns turned into fields that were mostly tilled dirt with broken remnants of wheat or alfalfa. A bit later Jared took a turn out, just a dusty dirt road onto a field. He only drove about a quarter of a mile before stopping the car and putting it into park. The field around them wasn't the usual wheat but vines. It was a wine vineyard and a relatively new one. Jensen remembered Jared mentioning his father had invested into the booming enterprise a few years back. This was probably his father's property.

“C'mon,” Jared said tapping Jensen's arm before pushing his door open and climbing out. The ground was pretty compact, made to allow vans and cars without four wheel drive easy access. Jensen shut the car door behind him and stretched a little, pushing his arms out in front of him.

When he glanced up he noticed Jared was watching him, that look on his face again, “This your Dad's?”

“Yeah,” Jared nodded and turned away. “Over here.”

Jensen jogged a bit to catch up to the taller teenager. Jared was putting his long legs to good use as they walked down the dusty path. About fifteen yards in he cut through the field, ducking between the rows. Jensen followed without question, although he did keep an eye on the dusty ground in case there was a rattler or some other creature around. In the distance he could hear a coyote yowl, but that wasn't unusual and they didn't tend to go after people. He also trusted Jared not to lead him anywhere they might get hurt.

A couple minutes later Jared stopped at the edge of a field. It dipped off at a sharp angle to make room for a road below. There was a tall tree growing out of the edge, just a few feet below the rise. Jensen decided after a moment that it had likely been left alone due to not actually being in the way. The angle it had likely been at before the field had been changed into a vineyard had kept it out of the way of the combines.

Without much fanfare Jared dropped something onto the ground a few feet from the edge. Jensen hadn't noticed that the jock was carrying a blanket. It was a bit dusty, like it had just been slapped a few times instead of washed, but it would keep most of the dirt off their clothes.

Jared shifted awkwardly on his feet, “I kind of always bring this out here. Don't want to explain why my clothes are so dusty and all.” He glanced at Jensen a nervous smile on his face.

It was silent for a moment before Jensen inwardly shrugged. He dropped himself onto the right side of blanket facing into the rows of drying grape vines, “You come out here often?”

“Yeah,” The tension visibly evaporated from Jared's frame. He followed Jensen's example and settled himself onto the blanket. While Jensen was leaning back on his palms, elbows locked, with his legs straight out in front of him, Jared sat down with his knees bent and arms loosely wrapped around them. “Every few days when I can. Just for an hour or so. It's a good place to get away from things.”

Jensen leaned his head back and stared up at the sky. Although there were a few clouds, the stars were visible, pinpricks of light scattered across the sky. He found the big dipper and Orion's belt without trouble.

“It's nice out here,” He murmured, a smile on his lips as he glanced at Jared. The quarterback was looking up at the stars as well. Jensen watched his body shift slightly as he nodded in reply.

“Peaceful,” Jared looked over a small, barely there, smile quirking his lips. “No expectations or people around to tell me what to do.”

“No expectations?” Jensen sat up a little straighter, leaning a bit towards the center of the blanket.

A soft breath of air, barely a sigh, escaped Jared's lips, “Quarterback for the football team. Do you know how much pressure that is? I'm always afraid that if we don't win everyone's going to hate me.”

“People lose, sometimes. Other times people win. It just happens,” Jensen leaned up a bit more, knees bending slightly. The fingers of his right hand twisted in the edge of the blanket. It was an army blanket, dark green and thick. Kind of uncomfortable but it would definitely keep a person warm. “Don't think about it. You said you like to play so play. If somethings not fun you shouldn't do it.”

“Like your music?”

He tilted his head, eyes sliding over Jared's face as the jock turned towards him. It was dark out but the moon and stars were bright. Jensen couldn't make out every detail but he saw enough, “I love to play and rehearse. I also happen to be good at it. If I didn't like it...” Jensen trailed, thinking. “If I didn't like it I'd find something else.”

“Something else that would give you a scholarship? Help you get into a good school?”

“Grades, another extracurricular activity,” Jensen shrugged. Hesitantly, he reached over and set a hand on Jared's elbow. It was a light touch, barely there. “Sports aren't the only thing out there. Neither is music.”

“But you love to play.”

He nodded, Jensen really did love to play the viola. It made him feel like he belonged, content and warm, “Yeah.” His hand dropped to the top of the blanket, resting.

“So,” Jared paused and looked off into the field. “You use a school instrument, but you've been saving for a new one.”

“Yeah,” Jensen glanced away. “I'm planning to buy one next year before college starts if I can afford it. If I get a scholarship I'll be all set.”

“I kinda looked up costs,” Jensen snapped his gaze back to Jared's face. “I was just curious... it looked like they cost a few hundred dollars?”

“Depends on the type, the better ones are closer to a thousand.”

“Why,” Jared looked over at him, hazel eyes meeting his own. “You've been working since you were sixteen, right? So shouldn't you have enough by now?”

“I do,” He bit his lip and ducked his gaze, focusing on the blanket. Jared's right hand was only a few inches from his own. “But, I'm waiting. In case I don't get the scholarship.” He paused before continuing, “If I don't get it I won't be able to go. To college. I don't want to waste the money.”

“But you love to play.”

Jensen nodded and shut his eyes, chin touching his chest, “_Yeah._”

He started suddenly when his left hand was gently covered, warm skin pressing against his own. Eyes shooting open, he turned his gaze towards it. Jared's right hand was covering his left, fingers curling slightly in the place where his thumb met his palm. Jensen swallowed thickly and glanced up.

Jared was looking at him, “I know you don't like to spend a lot, but wouldn't it be worth it? Getting the viola now rather than later? You can always find something to support yourself with. Spending money now so you won't have to live without your music would be worth it.”

“Jared?”

“Yeah?”

Before he spoke Jensen took a moment to run his words through his mind. He didn't want to say something stupid or phrase things wrong. His thoughts weren't always the most coherent and he needed to be sure. Small questions that had been floating through his mind since they started this assignment needed to be answered. Jensen could only hope those answers would actually make sense, because right now? Things weren't making a whole lot of sense to him.

“Why did you keep asking about me having a date? A date for Homecoming?” Jensen looked up from their hands and met Jared's eyes. The other teen swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly, a shadow on Jared's skin.

“I wanted to know,” He worried his bottom lip and Jensen caught a glimpse of perfect white teeth. “I wanted to know if you were dating anyone.”

“Why?”

Jared's hand flexed slightly over Jensen's, but neither boy moved. “Because... because I like you?”

That wasn't exactly the answer that Jensen had been expecting. Sure, Danneel had been teasing him about Jared since that practice... but Jensen had never really put much stock into it. He'd never really considered what those looks meant or why Jared had seemed so interested in him.

“You never really spoke to me. Before. I mean, before Kripke made us partners you never even talked to me.”

“I didn't know how,” Jared averted his gaze an moved his hand. He ran his fingers through his hair, pulling it taught before dropping his hand back to the blanket. “We didn't really know each other. I wasn't sure if you'd even give me the time of day. Plus, I couldn't be sure if you'd be interested.”

“Interested?”

Jared shot him a look, “In giving me a chance, going out with me? I'm a guy.”

“Ah,” Jensen shrugged and accepted that. That was actually kind of understandable given everything. While homosexuals weren't hated or run out of town, they weren't exactly the most popular of people either. There were a few openly gay or bisexual students at the school, hell two girls had made out in front of the commons last spring, but usually they tended not to draw a lot of attention to themselves. While Jensen didn't hide the fact that he was interested in guys it wasn't well known. Danneel and a couple other students in Orchestra knew, his quartet, but no one else.

“What about-”

“Sandy? We're friends,” Jared sighed. “I wasn't kidding when I said it was expected of me to go to Homecoming, with her. We've been best friends since preschool, my parents and her aunt think we're the cutest thing ever. Doesn't matter how many times we tell them it's not going to happen, they still hope. We go to the dances together because she's not interested in dating. She has this whole spiel about not getting tied down before college so we go as friends.”

“Do you think they'd care?”

“About me being gay?”

“Are you, or are you bisexual?” It was suddenly a lot easier for Jensen to talk with Jared. He thought that knowing Jared liked him would make it harder but it didn't.

Jared grinned and moved his hand back over Jensen's, “Gay. Girls are cute an' all, but they don't do it for me. Not a bit.”

“But I do,” A slight shiver ran through his frame and Jensen felt heat rise to his cheeks.

“I meant what I said, you're not ugly, Jensen. You're hot,” Jared tilted his head and wrapped his fingers around Jensen's hand, adjusting their position. “Plus you're intelligent, caring, responsible, and fun. So yeah, Jensen, I do like you. I like you a lot.”

Jensen smiled and lifted his face a bit. He tightened his fingers around Jared's hand and rubbed his thumb over the tan skin, “I kinda, I like you, too?”

The grin that Jensen liked so much was back, wider than ever. Jared's dimples were deep shadows in his cheeks. Jensen bit his lip again, hesitating for a moment before making a decision. Resting his weight on their joined hands, he leaned over, head titled up slightly, and pressed his lips against Jared's. It was slightly awkward and very short. A few fleeting seconds of chapped lips against chapped lips, nose brushing nose and black framed glasses.

Pulling back, Jensen studied Jared's face. It was so much easier to see this close. Jared was watching him, eyes moving back and forth. Jensen clenched his jaw slightly, worried he'd taken something the wrong way or that he'd just been horrible at kissing.

Jared's free hand appeared in his field of vision and gently removed his glasses. He blinked, eyes following their blurry path as Jared placed them on top of his folded hoodie, a bit out of the way but still on the blanket. A moment later that hand was on the back of Jensen's skull, pulling him back in for another kiss.

The press of lips was longer and from time to time a tongue would dart out and trace over, wetting them. It was the first time Jensen had really kissed someone. It was messy and still slightly awkward, but as the moments passed it got better. It was perfect and wonderful. It was too short.

Before it got too intense they pulled back, almost mutually. Jensen may have chased after Jared's lips a bit. Jared leaned back in, pressing one final kiss to Jensen's lips, nipping at them lightly before pulling away. They rested their foreheads against each other and Jared dropped his hand from the back of Jensen's skull to his bicep, just above his elbow.

Green eyes gazed into hazel, only inches apart. Both teens had soft, content smiles on their faces. “I see why you like this place,” Jensen mused.

“Hmm?” Jared raised an eyebrow. A light chuckle escaped his lips, barely a breath in Jensen's ears. “Well, to be honest, I like it a lot better with you here. I didn't realize how lonely it was before.”

“So, this isn't a one time thing?” Jensen's lip biting was interrupted by another quick kiss.

“I don't want it to be.”

“Good,” Jensen let the grin teasing at the edges of his lips do it's best to mimic Jared's beam. It came pretty damn close, too.

*****

True to his promise, Jared made sure they were headed back to Jensen's before two. Not that Jensen would have minded so much if they had stayed out later. It was nice to know that Jared did understand him and his reasoning. It was odd, really, going from being single to kinda not in the span of a couple hours. Jensen hadn't been expecting it, hadn't really thought about it, before they were sitting on that blanket.

They hadn't exactly confirmed anything past wanting to get together, maybe kiss, again. Jared said he liked Jensen, which was sort of unbelievable, and Jensen had admitted he liked Jared. He thought it probably meant they were together now. It seemed like it meant that, but Jensen didn't want make a wrong assumption. Being his first relationship he wasn't exactly sure how it was supposed to work. He wondered if everyone felt this way initially.

The night had been getting increasingly chilly by the time Jared suggested they go back to the car. They hadn't gone farther than gentle, exploring kisses. Jensen was kind of glad for that, even if walking back to the car had been slightly uncomfortable. He didn't want to rush anything. Didn't want to make a mistake. Jared seemed content with how things were, anyway. The quarterback didn't push and seemed kind of hesitant in his explorations as well.

Considering what they had talked about, Jensen wondered if all this wasn't entirely new to Jared as well. Probably was. The ride from the fields to Jensen's house was quiet, but not awkward. The silence was warm and comforting. A few minutes into the drive Jared lightly touched the top of Jensen's hand. In turn, Jensen shifted his hand to twist their fingers together. A warm feeling of contentment had spread through his body. Several dozen small looks and soft smiles were shared.

After parking, Jared pulled Jensen to him for one more soft kiss, gently licking his mouth open. The feeling of Jared's lips on his was amazing. Addicting. Jensen wasn't sure what he'd do if he woke up to find all this had just been a dream.

“Gotta go.”

“Yeah,” Jared nodded and pulled back, letting Jensen slip out of the car.

Looking back Jensen smiled and paused in the open door, “See you Monday?”

Jared nodded, “I'll eat lunch with you.”

“Gonna steal my tater tots?” He ducked his head slightly. The blush had been present practically all night but now that the car door was open it had to be visible, a stark contrast against his pale cheeks, due to the overhead light.

“Always,” Jared grinned then sighed, glancing down at the digital clock on the dash. “I better get going.”

“Yeah,” Jensen shut the door softly, barely hard enough to latch. He paused mid motion to step away then, biting his lip, he turned and rapped his knuckles against the window. A moment later it rolled down, mechanisms whirring inside the door. “Are you, are you busy? Tomorrow, or Sunday?”

“Not really,” Jared grinned leaning across the seat slightly. “Are you?”

“I was thinking, maybe, we could get together? Or something, if you want?” Jensen glanced down at his fingers where they curled over the edge of the car door. The pads were pressed into the leather material that covered the interior. “Work on the assignment or something...”

“That sounds great, do you want to call me?”

He breathed a sigh of relief. It would be easier for him to call Jared since the other teen had a cell and Jensen was relying on a land line. A land line that five other people could possibly answer. While that wasn't a bad thing, Jensen just preferred not to mess with it. With his luck Hayden would answer and insisting on chatting with Jared for an hour and he'd probably go along with it just to be nice.

“Yeah,” Jensen nodded while Jared dug a pad of paper out of the center module. Right, his Mother's car. She probably had all sorts of stuff stashed in here a teenage boy would never, normally, use. He watched as Jared wrote down seven digits and a short message before tearing it off.

“Talk to you tomorrow?” Jared asked softly, their fingers brushed as Jensen took the scrap of paper.

“Yeah, you will.”

As Jared drove off Jensen looked down at the paper, words clearly visible due to a nearby streetlight. A grin spread across his face.

Not a dream. Call me! :)

That night Jensen barely slept. His body was afire with excitement, tingly and warm. After climbing upstairs he ended up taking a long shower. The memory of Jared's lips and tongue, and the awkward clash of teeth, too fresh in his mind.

Under the cascading warmth of the shower he worked through everything that had happened in the past few hours. Going over every touch and glance. It was surreal and amazing and unbelievable. Jensen hadn't been looking for, hadn't really wanted or thought about, starting a relationship with someone. But, there was just something about Jared and the air between them that made it so he couldn't not want to start something.

By the time his mind, and body, had finished going over everything the water had begun to cool. It was still warm, but not the near scalding heat he usually preferred it to be. Jensen shoved his head under the shower head and ducked it, resting his head against his chest. Droplets of water poured over his hair and forehead, plastering the short dirty blond locks to his skin. He blinked away the water that trailed over his eyelids and clumped his lashes.

Reaching down he pushed at the button that controlled the shower and it made a deep click as it switched back to the bath faucet. The shower head drained, fat droplets teasing the top of his head, and a rapidly shrinking stream of water burst from the faucet. As puddle at his feet disappeared down the drain he pushed away from the wall, straightening and snagging his towel off a nearby wrack before climbing out.

He quickly dried, running the faded blue cloth over his body and rubbing quickly at his hair. Jensen pulled on a fresh pair of boxers and a clean shirt before padding softly into his shared room. Rain didn't even stir as Jensen collapsed on his bunk, mattress shifting and causing the frame to squeak a little. Rolling onto his side, he pulled his comforter over his lower body and slid his arm, bent at the elbow, beneath one of the pillows.

Jensen spent the rest of the night staring across the room at a window, hidden by dusty blinds, running a finger lightly over his lips.

*****

Next

A.Note: Next part will be up sometime between Friday and Sunday. Depends on when I get Part 7 to the beta (I want to keep ahead by one part at least). I'm still editing and revising portions of the last two parts.