Author:
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1){kind=small}
apostropheeWord Count: 4,428
Pairing: Jared Padalecki / Jensen Ackles (Jared is 17, Jensen is 21)
Summary: Just another boring
Warning: Rating: Mild drug usage (marijuana) and future sex between underage Jared and adult Jensen. This chapter is R.
AN: I wanted to write a story about gay!teenage Jared *flailing* about being gay and I always had this thought that what if Jared and Jensen met before Supernatural started filming, but just couldn’t talk about it because of the circumstances they met under. This would be my version of how. I really have to thank
riorhapsody and soydolcelatte for being my betas and dealing with me sending bits and pieces, and leaving them with cliffhangers. You guys are awesome and I’d like the marry your faces. Glitter Boy Machines
Chapter One: Your Standard Introductions Apply
It’s the first week of August in
“Jesus Christ Jare, what’s taking you so fucking long?” Dinah sighed glaring up at Jared as she fiddled around with her cell phone, clicking her tongue to exaggerate her annoyance.
“Hey, you asked me to do this so I’m gonna do it right.” Jared mumbled leaning back against the pillows on his bed.
“It’s a blunt. It takes like two seconds to roll,” she grunted. “I should have known you’d have to make sure everything was oh-so-perfect –like you can’t just roll the damn thing without making sure the edges are all licked down. Geek.”
“Shut up,” Jared groaned. “No I’m not.”
“I hate to break it to you little cousin, but you are. It’s a fucking Saturday and you spent all morning with your big ole head stuffed inside of a book. If that’s not geeky, I don’t know what the fuck is.” Dinah smirked twirling her fingers through her long dark brown hair shifting on her back and sprawling her thin body across Jared’s huge bed.
“Maybe I wanna get into a good college. Not all of us want to spend three years at SACC.”
“HEY! I’ve only been at county for a year asshat!” Dinah argued playfully wiggling her foot in front of Jared’s face. Like most Padalecki women, her legs were long and bone thin, just like their male counterparts. They were a family of giant Polish southerners.
“Whatever. I’d like to get into a real college okay.” Jared laughed dodging one of her feet, his eyes focused on the stash of weed and rolling paper placed neatly on top of his calculus book.
“If you weren’t already gay I’d call you a big fag-”
“Shh!” Jared hissed his face twisting with horror. “Would you keep your voice down?”
“Jesus, you are one paranoid cookie! Nobody’s gonna hear me –the fucking door is closed and locked!” she smiled, “Damn boy, you need to like relax or something.”
“Whatever.” Jared muttered as he brought the joint to his mouth sealing the side with a quick swipe of the tongue.
“It’s true. Ya’ll homosexuals are so high-strung.” Dinah teased sitting up and pulling her knees up to her chest.
Jared eyed her carefully for a moment before frowning. “Fuck, I knew it was a mistake to tell you anything.”
“Come on baby cakes, don’t get your panties all hitched up! I’m just teasing ya!”
“Would you just shut up?”
“You’re such a baby,” she laughed rolling her eyes. “I’m just playing!”
“Well quit playing!” Jared groaned tossing her the blunt. He stood, stretched his legs and watched as his cousin lit up, bringing the joint to her lips and inhaling slowly.
“Jared,” she coughed through her smoke cocktail, “I don’t really give two shits whether you like dick or not. You know that, right? I mean, hello, I’m the biggest dyke here in a ten mile radius.”
“You’re not gay. Making out with one girl doesn’t make you gay.” Jared grunted crossing his arms against his chest peering out of the window watching as the old woman next-door watered her lawn.
“Whatever –sit down. I’m just saying my mind is open is all. And it was more than just a kiss faggot.”
“Can you not call me that?”
Dinah grinned motioning for him to sit back down beside her. “What, a fag? Jesus…you can be so sensitive sometimes.”
“Again with the gay jokes?”
Dinah laughed softly taking another pull before handing the joint off to Jared. He didn’t blink as he inhaled. He wasn’t particularly fond of pot, but sometimes he liked to smoke it to help him relax. Besides, Dinah Padalecki thought the idea of lighting up alone was absurd, preposterous even.
“That time I wasn’t making one. What I mean is I don’t give a damn if you’re into dudes. I think it’s kind of hot.”
“What? How are my sexual…erm…persuasions, hot?” Jared took another pull, the marijuana smoke filling his lungs with a pleasant heat.
“No –you and any kind of sex is fucking disgusting. I mean two guys in general…yeah…that’s so fucking hot.” Dinah sighed laying down, her face glazing over with a dizzying smile. “So fucking hot…”
“You’re weird.” Jared laughed kicking his feet up and lying down beside her.
They smoked in unison, one pull apiece before trading off, inhaling the smoke that breathed around them, each lost in their own thoughts for a few moments before Dinah broke the silence.
“I’m so fucking bored.”
“That’s because you’re not stoned yet.” Jared smiled.
“Hey, you know what we should do?”
“Finish this before someone comes knocking at the door wondering why we’ve been up here for so long?”
“Yeah, besides that. We should totally go to a gay club!”
“Huh –what, no!” Jared grunted taking a pull before handing the joint back off.
“Come on! We totally should!”
“No way! What if I see someone I know?”
“You won’t and if you do, you’ll both be there for the same reason. Come on, we need to do something fun!”
“No way! I’m seventeen anyway, don’t you gotta be like twenty-one to get into those places?”
“Yeah, true, but for one, look at me. I mean, I’m hot. Do you see these boobs?” Dinah stated sitting up and cupping her C-cups. “I could fucking rule the world with these things!”
“Ewe, I seriously never want to watch you feel yourself up again.” Jared laughed inhaling and holding the smoke in his lungs for a moment before exhaling slowly. “And in case you haven’t noticed, I don’t have boobs.”
“But your pussy is bigger than mine.” Dinah laughed.
“Yeah. You’re funny. We’ve established that.”
“You may not have any tits, but you’re fucking huge! And you’re hot –have that whole ‘innocent’ thing going on. Those old queens will eat you up!”
“I’m not hot.” Jared laughed handing her the blunt.
“What?” Dinah shrieked smacking Jared in shoulder. “You’re totally hot!”
“Uh huh,” he muttered. “Shut up.”
“It’s true. I mean, it helps that you look like me and all, but you’re a fox!”
“You are retarded!” Jared laughed dismissing his cousin’s words.
“Whatever. It’s totally true. I mean, you kind have a fucked up hair cut, but I’ll blame Aunt Jackie for that one.”
“What’s wrong with my hair?”
“Dude, seriously? You’re rocking a bowl cut –just shorter. Makes your ears look kind of round…pointy. Like a spider monkey!”
“I really hate you sometimes.” Jared sighed inhaling one last time before stubbing the joint out, pocketing the roach.
“For real, let’s go. Bonham Exchange is like so much fun on a good night!”
“You’ve been to Exchange?” Jared asked eyeing her skeptically. “When?”
“Oh baby cousin, there’s a lot to this old girl you don’t know. I’ve seen a lot in these twenty years. Come on, we’re totally going. Maybe we can find you a hot guy. You can totally blow him in one of the back rooms!”
“Dinah, do you have to be so loud?” Jared grunted, his eyes flashing nervously towards his closed door. He imagined his parents eaves dropping on the other side a thought that made him jump up, crack open the window and spray cherry-garden air freshener in just about any spot in his room where he thought he could smell pot.
“Would you relax? It’s not like anyone’s gonna hear me! And close that damn window back, you’re letting the cold air out and the hot air in.” Dinah laughed. “Come on man, Exchange’ll be fun!”
“No! What if I see someone from school there –or what if, like…someone sees me going in –no way.
Jared’s mild panic attack sent Dinah rolling onto her stomach in hysterics. She loved her younger cousin almost more than she loved her own brother, but sometimes Jared’s behavior could be ridiculously spaztastic.
“You’re no fun, you know that right?”
“Sorry I don’t feel like getting beat up Dinah.” Jared sighed flopping back down on the bed. “And I don’t know if I’m like gay as in…you know, ‘gay’ in parenthesis. I’m just….not sure is all.”
“So that’s why you let Reginald Jacobs jerk you off behind the bleachers, right? Because you weren’t sure?” Dinah teased.
“You’re so not funny. And I am officially never telling you anything again -ever.”
“Jesus! Don’t get so pissy! I’m just playing Jare-Jare! I think your little romance with your science dork friend is cute.”
“Reggie’s not a science dork. And it’s not a romance! It was just something stupid….really stupid that happened.” Jared sighed closing his eyes and shaking his head in regret. He’d love to blame it on the fact that both he and Reggie had been a tad bit tipsy thanks to Reggie’s older brother giving them a bottle of Jack Daniels. If he could just lie to himself and say that was the only reason that things…you know, went in that direction, then everything would be all good. Only things weren’t all good. No amount of liquor in the world can excuse jerking off one of your very male friends on the fourth of July.
Jared thanked God he never told Dinah about the blowjob...
“Did he call you again?”
“Yeah.” Jared replied shortly.
“And did you pick up this time?”
“No.”
“And why not?” Dinah continued rolling her eyes already more than aware of Jared’s chicken-like behavior. When he didn’t respond she laughed, shaking her head left to right sitting up and drawing her legs close to her chest. “What are you so scared of? Seriously. Let’s have ‘serious’ time.”
“You can never be serious.” Jared muttered rolling his eyes.
“Well today I’m gonna start. Talk.” She continued eyeing him expectantly from behind her black-rimmed wire glasses. Dinah had this ability to look stern while acting silly yet somehow finding a balance between the two that both oddly fascinated and greatly annoyed Jared.
“What do you want me to talk about?”
“I don’t know. Maybe your feelings?” Dinah grunted sarcastically. “Just talk. You think you’re kinda gay, then let’s kinda talk about it.”
“God, why do I tell you things?” Jared sighed.
“Because you love me and I’m awesome and I’m the only person who’ll listen to you and not get mad when you stutter.” Dinah smiled.
“I don’t stutter.”
“Yes you do. And you like to deflect too so shut the hell up and talk to me. Why don’t you call Reggie back?”
“Because…things are just too weird. I mean, yeah, what happened was like halfway –okay, all the way awesome, but I don’t want it to happen again…or at least not with him. He’s cool and all, but I don’t think there’s, like… anything there.”
“He’s not your type?”
“Well when you say it like that you make it sound really gay.” Jared stated folding his arms against his chest.
“Jared, the guy came in your hand. How much gayer can it get?”
“You don’t want to know…”Jared trailed off instantly cringing for letting even that much slip.
“Spill it.”
“There’s nothing-”
“Oh! There SO is! Your face is turning red! Oh my god, did he penetrate you?” Dinah shrieked her eyes as wide as saucers.
“DINAH! YOU’RE SO LOUD!”
“Oh my god! He did! Or did you? Oh my god…penetration?” She laughed her face lit up with excitement.
“Would you shut up? It was nothing like that! And ewe, why do you always go to the pervy stuff?”
“Because I’m a pervert and proud of it! Now moving on, if there wasn’t any penetration then...blowjobs?” Dinah asked and when Jared closed his eyes and grimaced, she did the only thing she could do. She jumped up and screamed at the top of her lungs.
“Dinah I’m gonna kill you!” Jared hissed. “Stop jumping on my bed!”
“Oh my god!!! Tell me everything!” She yelled flopping back down.
A knock at the door startled them both, Jared more so then Dinah.
“Why is this door locked?” Jared’s father’s voice boomed turning the knob.
“Oh, dad um we were just…”
“Studying Uncle Gerry! Dinah yelled using her ‘sweet’ girl voice.
“I heard yelling, is everything okay? Jared’s not cupping his farts again and making you smell them is he?” Gerry teased.
“Dad!” Jared grunted his face flushing with embarrassment.
“No, we’re fine!” Dinah laughed.
“Well keep it down in there. I know how excited you get Jared over quadratic equations, but try not to scream so loud. It scares your mother.”
“That wasn’t me; that was Dinah dad.” Jared groaned.
“Really? I thought it was you!”
“You thought I sounded like a screaming girl?”
“Well you are in theater...” Gerry teased chuckling to himself as he walked away.
“Nice dad, real nice.” Jared muttered not seeing the humor.
Dinah pushed him in the shoulder and smiled. “He’s teasing, why are you so defensive?”
“Because he always does that –making jokes, calling me his daughter because I’m not playing football like Jeff. It’s so fucking annoying.”
“Would you stop that? You always make nothing into something. Your dad’s just giving you shit because he loves you. At least yours cares enough to do that.”
“Do we need to have ‘serious’ talk about Uncle Harry?”
“Fuck no and fuck him, I wanna hear about this blowjob! Did ya swallow?”
“You are entirely way too excited by this. Seriously, you need to like stop being so excited.”
“And you need to tell me about this blowjob. Did you swallow?”
“Dinah! Come on, I don’t wanna talk about this stuff with you!” Jared grunted a cherry flush staining his cheeks, dancing down his neck.
“You suck. How are you gonna give me like ten percent when there’s still like ninety left? I want details!”
“It was nothing. He did me –I didn’t do him.”
“You say that like it makes it less gay,” Dinah laughed. “It’s still all the same.”
“Whatever. I’m seriously not talking anymore about this.” Jared stated matter-of-fact, his catlike blue gray eyes burning with severity.
“Fine. I’ll make you tell me later,” Dinah sighed. “I still say we should go to a gay club. Oh! There’s one in Floresville! That’s forty-five minutes away; surely you won’t run into anybody you know!”
“Floresville? I don’t wanna go down there!”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want to get shot!”
“You won’t get shot!” Dinah laughed.
“It’s the ghetto!”
And to this all Dinah could do was laugh harder. “It’s not bad Jared! East of Riverwalk is WAY worse!”
“I’m not going!”
“Yes, you are.” Dinah smiled getting up from the bed.
“What are you doing?” Jared grumbled watching as Dinah began rummaging through his drawers.
“Finding you something that makes you look older…and more gay.”
* * *
His hair was gelled, parted at an odd angle and slicked down in such a fashion, Jared was quite sure he would never be able to wash the stiffness away. He felt uncomfortable in the white wife beater that Dinah had insisted he wear, however he had drawn the line at the three sizes too small soccer shorts. They’d made a compromise with cargos and flip-flops.
Juniors was a nondescript nightclub tucked away at the end of a rambling road hidden away by shadows. Only one car sat in the lot, two guys leaning against the hood chatting quietly amongst themselves. Nothing about Juniors screamed ‘queer’ from the outside and for that, Jared was thankful. No men in pink dresses, no rainbows and sparkles. Definitely no glitter. He still could not believe that he’d actually let Dinah drag him out to a gay club.
Jared breathed a heavy sigh of relief as they walked inside, the stink of sweat, singed cigars and old cigarette smoke didn’t dance in the air, it stumbled and tripped. Of course, Johnny Cash was playing on the jukebox; the man in black was a musical staple in every bar in
“We should’ve gone to Exchange.” Dinah groaned as they made their way to one of the back tables. “There’s like five guys in here and not a one of em hot.”
“Can’t say I’m complaining.” Jared smiled looking over to the four middle aged men who sat in a corner, cowboy hats tipped, poker cards spread out on the table in front of them. “At least no one tried to card us.”
“Come on, this is a bust. Let’s head back home, go downtown or something, walk around Riverwalk.”
“We took an hour to get here and now you just wanna go home?” he grunted. “We should at least have a beer or something.”
“Oh look at you, demanding drinks. What have I done to you? I remember a time when you would tattle if you caught me dragging on a cigarette, now here you are sneaking into nightclubs and demanding PBR.” Dinah grinned standing up. “I’m such a corrupter.”
Jared smiled, watching as his cousin walked across the room; her shirt rib catching tight and navel short, swinging her hips as if she weren’t in the wrong kind of place looking for a man.
Five minutes later Dinah was still at the bar, chatting up the bartender who seemed nice enough in that older man sort of way where Dinah didn’t feel threatened. Normally in a situation like this, where he was alone in a foreign place, Jared would feel extremely uncomfortable. But Juniors was practically empty and all the men inside were old enough to be his father –or at the very least one of his teachers and he felt a strange sense of ease walking over to the jukebox.
Most of the musical selections were composed of bluegrass, honky-tonk and even a bit of zydeco. The outlaw country is what caught Jared’s interest. Growing up, his daddy loved Willie Nelson and The Highwaymen. In turn –much to Jared’s chagrin, he loved The Highwaymen and when he saw ‘Desperados Waiting for a Train’ right below a track by Jeff Carson, he smiled. His grin was so wide you couldn’t wipe it away with a steel napkin as he fished two quarters from his pocket.
Instead of the slow and easy soulful song of a grandson, watching his granddaddy’s years pass slowly, something else happened. There was a woman’s voice singing. No Waylon Jennings, no Willie, but a woman. That woman was Dolly Parton and ‘Working Nine To Five’ droned with thunderous piano keys a’ pounding.
Jared cringed. He wanted to slink back towards his seat, but it was like he could feel everyone’s eyes staring, freezing him in place. He had changed Johnny Cash for Dolly Parton and not just any Dolly Parton song, but one that was possibly the gayest of any other one.
A loud cackle coming from the bar made Jared roll his eyes as he watched Dinah practically skip towards him, shoving a beer in his face while propping one of her elbows down onto the jukebox.
“You just go on and make it easy for a gal, don’t you?” She teased.
“It was supposed to play –you know what? Forget it.” Jared laughed bringing the amber bottle to his lips.
“Does this mean we have to go to gay-day at Dollywood –because I have the perfect rhinestone jacket and red…” Dinah trailed off, her eyes flashing to the door. Loud jovially drunken cheers breezed in, the scent of sweet cologne and sweat blew around easy and clear like an early rising sun.
Jared stood up straight, nervously gazing down at his fingernails as he realized that the guys stumbling in were young –maybe just a few years older than him if not the same age, all attractive, strutting around like they owned the joint.
“Come on, we can go now.” He hissed.
“Oh no, not yet baby cakes, we done found us some men now who ain’t pissing dust and shitting cement. Now we’re gonna have us some fun,” Dinah smiled. “And look at that one –wow! Talk about sexy! He’s wearing a cowboy hat,” she motioned with her head for Jared to look. “A gay cowboy? Who would have believed that?”
Keeping his eyes focused on his fingernails, Jared ignored her, blushing at the thought of guys his own age –or close to it, not only seeing him in a gay bar, but knowing he was in fact, gay –or at least as close to it as he was willing to admit.
“Dolly Parton? I love that girl!” One of the guys cheered. It was easy to tell by the inflection of his tongue that he wasn’t from
“Do you love her music, her tits or her dresses?” Another man asked and this one was clearly Texan, if not slightly smoothed over like he was trying to sound like he was from somewhere else.
“Jared, look! He’s cute!” Dinah exclaimed.
“Shut up Dinah, I’m serious!” Jared grunted his dark eyes burning into her blue ones.
“Would you quit being so damn scary all the time?” she grunted pulling him by the arm, leading them back to their table.
As they made their way past the rowdy group, Jared’s curiosity bested him and he managed to sneak in a quick glance before he could talk himself out of it.
They were cute –oh hell, cute didn’t do them justice. They were gorgeous, tall and lean, neatly dressed in worn t-shirts and faded shorts. They were ruggedly handsome in classic movie stars kind of ways.
One guy caught his eye more so than the others. This guy was laughing at his friends, his smile heavy and clean. A tan cowboy hat sat perched atop his head, the brim tipped down, short strands of dark blonde hair jutted from the sides, a little longer up in front than the back. And god damn, he had dimples. They weren’t very deep, just soft and slight, but there and his lips were full and pink like he’d just spent hours kissing. His teeth were white too. Not pearl-white, but white-white, pure like snow and straight like row houses.
Jared couldn’t breathe –oh fuck, what was breathing again? Something involving air and lungs?
He didn’t mean to stare, but he was transfixed, mesmerized by the smoothness of tanned white skin. A bead of sweat rolled down a rosy cheek and as Jared stared, a conversion took place and suddenly there were eyes staring back at him, a richly warm shade of green that made something inside Jared’s chest ache.
“Oh my god, he’s staring at you!” Dinah whispered. Jared swore that she was louder than she actually was. He swore that the whole damn bar heard her and in his nervous fit of ‘I’m so stupid’, he looked away rushing to his seat.
“I wanna go.” He stated firmly.
“Oh come on. The minute a few hot guys come in, you want to bail,” Dinah groaned. “You don’t have to be nervous or anything, I’m here.” She continued, her tone softening.
“I want to go Dinah! I’m serious! I’m just not comfortable with this –any of this, and I really just want to go back home,” he replied. In a softer voice he asked, “Please?” and that was all that Dinah needed to hear before she was standing up, sighing in resign.
They made it all the way to the front door before Dinah remembered she hadn’t paid for their beers. As expected, Jared waited by the door watching as Dinah pushed herself between the five hot guys, smiling and saying things that Jared couldn’t understand to them. Obviously, something was about him because suddenly their eyes were all on him, focusing on his face like a target. If their staring wasn’t bad enough the fact that they were all laughing –even the guy Jared had nicknamed in his head ‘The Cowboy’, just about mortified him.
Feeling all too uncomfortable in his own skin, Jared made a hasty exit out of the bar before he could watch ‘The Cowboy’ lean in and whisper something into Dinah’s ear.
Finding safety in the parking lot, Jared was thankful Dinah never locked up her 89’ Honda and he slid into the passenger’s seat accordingly.
It was fifteen minutes before she walked out of the bar, her face lit up with a smile.
“Why’d you leave?” There was no accusatory tone to her voice as she started up the car, but that didn’t stop Jared from hearing one.
“Don’t yell at me –I told you I wanted to go! Why couldn’t you just leave with me? Now I feel so stupid.” He grunted, watching as Juniors disappeared in the rearview mirror.
“You know I’m not even gonna talk to you when you act like this,” she stated her eyes focused on the road. “You can be pissed at me all you want, but that doesn’t stop the fact that we’re going to
“
“Because I’m so sick of
“No there’s not!”
“Have you ever been?”
“No, but I mean…just…why the hell would we go so far? And my parents wouldn’t let me go anyway. Sometimes you forget I’m seventeen.” Jared grunted, confusion switching back over to anger.
“And sometimes you forget how persuasive I can be –got you to come out here tonight didn’t I?” she smiled glancing over at him. When she saw the frown on Jared’s face, she poked him in his side, pushing into his stomach until he chuckled and swatted her hand away.
“Would you focus on the road before you get me killed?” He laughed.
“There we go baby cakes, there’s my smile. Oh Jared honey, don’t you worry. Cousin Dinah’s gonna make you have yourself some real fun before this summer is over.”
“Why does that scare me?”
