J2 | Gossip Guy | NC-17 (2/2)

[dugindeep]

Part One

By Saturday’s all-day meet, Jared’s swelling has gone down along with some of the bruising. He can breathe well enough that Coach puts him back in the rotation and he hustles through every race like it’s the last he’ll ever get to swim. In between matches, he relaxes in the stands with his parents or Chad. Whenever his teammates are swimming, he gets back down to deck level and joins the rest to cheer on each race.

Somewhere in the middle of it all, he spots Jensen a few rows behind his parents. He’s not sure when Jensen showed up, or why, and he’s afraid to comment on it. As if he’ll give away what happened between them in the locker room.

In a way, he’s relieved when Matt huffs, “I miss Tom. He was always nicer than that turd.”

Jared follows Matt’s sights to Jensen in the stands, but doesn’t match the scowl Matt gives off. Jared smiles a little as he relives the other day after their home match. He adjusts his pants then shoves Matt back towards the rest of the team, laughing the whole thing off.

Once the whole day wraps up, Jared is tired. He’s so exhausted that it barely registers that Jensen is milling around the visiting locker rooms, waiting for Jared.

“Hey,” Jensen offers lamely. Then bites his lower lip and it’s kind of adorable, if Jared were looking into that sort of thing. “You did well out there. Three medals all on your own.”

“Yeah, too bad none of them were first.”

“Looks like Dameron had the jump on everyone. Just five tenths between you guys in the final two legs. He’s small but fast.”

“Yeah, that runt gets us every time.”

“At least Miller missed his third flip.”

Jared tips his head with interest, registering that Jensen has his stats and names straight.

“Or you could’ve had some real competition there.” Following a brief silence, Jensen scratches the side of his head. “But uh, yeah, you kicked some butt out there otherwise. Any thoughts for how this foretells your rematch at Regionals?”

Now, Jared smiles, because Jensen’s awkward and yet trying. It’s so different from Tom, who’s cool and quick to the point, even bitches at Jared when there isn’t much to say. “Well, I hope I grow a few more inches between now and then and really kick some ass.”

Jensen chuckles. “Can’t really say ass. But I can use butt.”

Jared chuckles, too. He nearly giggles at how plainly Jensen says it. “But either way, the team had a good showing,” he offers, knowing as captain it’s more than just his own performance. “Our relay wrapped up first place and the guys are really nailing the jump.” He watches Jensen scribble fast on a small note pad and makes a thoughtful noise. “You know, Tom never really took notes.”

“That’s because Tom is lazy,” Jensen replies with attitude. Then carefully smiles when he looks up at Jared. “And he probably makes up half the quotes.”

He grins and shrugs. “Always made me sound good. Unlike some people.”

It seems that Jensen struggles to maintain eye contact as he apologizes. “Yeah, I’m working on that.”

“Good.”

“I even edited out a few lines in the latest edition.”

The after we messed around goes unsaid. Still, Jared fights to not smile at the thought that Jensen is maybe a pretty nice guy underneath it all. “Glad to hear it.”





+


“This ain’t half bad,” Danneel says after proofing Jensen’s latest story on the swim team.

He looks up from the entertainment section that’s in need of serious work. She’s waving his pages around and he clears his throat. “Uh, thanks?”

“I mean, it has like real meat to it. And no mentions of Jared being a douche.”

Doing his best to ignore her, Jensen goes right back to scanning the latest news on Ms. Buckmaster’s intentions to run Little Shop of Horrors to the delight of the drama club, which battles the disappointment of a normally traditional school board that wanted to see Fiddler on the Roof. Again.

“It’s kind of like you’re praising him or something.”

“I’m not praising him.”

“You’re not bitching about him anymore.”

“Not the same thing.” And it isn’t, because Jensen has tried exceptionally hard to not look like he’s giving any bias to Jared. Though, he supposes that no longer pulling cheap gags in the paper is close enough. “I just have other things to worry about.”

Danneel snorts and throws a pencil at him. “Like what? What’s got you so busy lately that you’re only here to file stories and proof other columns?”

“You mean like my job?”

She crosses the room and sits down on the large print out Jensen had been trying to edit. He leans back and glares at her, while she just smiles. “This has been your life since freshman year. But the last week or two, you’ve hardly been here to boss us around and give cheesy inspirational speeches.”

Jensen frowns as he realizes it’s more obvious than he thought. There’s been a lot on his plate, always has been, but he always put the paper first. “I’ve been busy, you know? Picking up Tom’s slack, covering the swim team, and serving out my dumb detention, remember? I’m trying my best, Danneel.”

Danneel frowns, too, but more in mockery. Then she pats his cheek. “My poor li’l newshound. Has no time for himself.”

He shirks away from another pity tap and rolls his eyes. “It’s just for now. Once Tom is back to a hundred percent and Omundson puts me in charge, this office will run like brand new again.”

“Including The Gossip Tab? Because you’ve let that lag, too. You know that’s half the reason anyone bothers with the paper.”

“Yeah,” he sighs, tired of her pestering when he just wants to get this editing done. In the next half hour, he has to drive across town for tonight’s swim meet at Highland Park then has a crap ton of homework on top of writing a round-up on the swim team’s performance. “I’ll get right back to that.”

“In the meantime, want me to run it?”

“It does have your name on it, ya know?”

Danneel scrubs the back of his neck. “Just asking. You’re so tense lately. Covering the swim team is that bad, huh?”

Jensen shrugs because it’s not bad. Just different. Radically different from anything he’d previously thought about Jared. And himself, because he feels like he wants to constantly talk to Jared any time he can, which is a totally new feeling for Jensen regarding anyone. He’s finding it increasingly difficult to deal with these feelings all by himself. But for now, he keeps them bottled up.

Especially when she says, “Adam heard that someone was making out in the janitor’s closet recently.”

He bites his tongue to avoid answering that it was probably Genevieve and Felicia. As much of a gossip hog that he’s always been, it all feels different now that he has his own news to hide.

“Maybe an athlete, they’re not sure. Genevieve’s got fresh hickeys and Tom is still out …”

“Oh really,” Jensen mumbles.

“I was gonna dig a lil more, unless you want to the next time you’re there.”

He knows he should insist on handling it so he can later claim the lead went nowhere. Or he could ignore her altogether and be happy she’s looking at something far away from him. Instead, his flight intuition kicks in. He piles his stuff together and insists he’ll miss the swim meet.

“What about the arts section?” Danneel asks, noisily waving the page around.

Jensen snatches it then slips it into his backpack. “I’ll look at it later.”

“Okay, weirdo,” he hears her say as he’s leaving the office.


+



“Oh, hey.” Jared tries to balance between not sounding excited or disappointed because Matt and Chad are right behind him and glare at Jensen as they fill the small hallway.

Jensen immediately shrinks back from the bright smile he’d first shown. “Hey. And hey to you two, too.”

“Did he just call us tutus?” Chad asked.

Matt narrows his eyes at Jensen. “I think he did.”

Jared shoves at each of them. “You guys are morons.”

“He’s the moron,” Chad insists, and Jared normally would agree with him.

Before the past two weeks, at least, when he was rather impressed to find out that Jensen is far less of an asshole and more of a cool conversationalist. After the locker room exhibition, they’ve spent time together at the meets where Jensen asks a hundred questions about the team. During some practices, Jensen watches from the bleachers and after, Jared joins him where they chat comfortably. Jared has found himself pleasantly surprised that he enjoys the soft waves of heat between them as they nudge knees and elbows, discuss some of the finer rules of the sport, and crack jokes about Chad. The last part is by far the easiest.

No matter how Jared feels, though, he can’t say anything to his teammates. They’ve taken plenty of Jensen’s barbs in the paper, so there’s no way they’ll let Jensen walk away unharmed. Unless Jared stands up as team captain, which he thinks may be premature.

“I’m not a moron,” Jensen grumbles, adding, “you moron,” under his breath.

Matt flinches forward to strike, but Jared gets between them and pushes Matt away.

“He’s not worth it, guys. He’s just a measly lil school reporter. I got it.” Jared watches his friends slowly walk away, constantly looking back down the hall until they finally disappear around the corner towards the parking lot. When he turns to Jensen, his stomach bottoms out at the way Jensen’s face drops.

“Just a measly lil reporter, yeah, of course.”

“No, I didn’t mean it,” Jared argues immediately. “I just had to get them to leave us alone.” He tries to pull Jensen closer, but it’s a fight until he lowers his voice to ask, “I mean, you wanted to be alone, right?

Jared smirks when Jensen bites his bottom lip without answering.

So Jared goes for the kill, licking his lip and biting his tongue before taunting. “Like before? It was awesome, if I remember correctly.”

Jensen seems to fight it, but is quickly won over with Jared’s arms wrapping around him and Jared leaving tiny nipping kisses along his jawline. “Yeah, it was kinda awesome.”

“I think …” Jared kisses Jensen soundly on the lips. “Really totally awesome …” And again, with a bit more pressure. “Is what you said.” And finally with his tongue slipping into Jensen’s mouth. He’s reminded instantly of the connection from that day and how his skin had burned with excitement because he had hated Jensen so much, and now he just wants so much.

Jensen tries to break the kiss, mumbling against Jared’s lips. “Mmm, we should go somewhere.”

“Where do suggest?”

“I hear the janitor’s closet is the place kids go these days?”

Jared immediately laughs then falls into giggles at the ridiculous statement, combined with how hopeful and excited Jensen is.

Instead, he has a better idea to get to know Jensen a little better. “What about my house? Mama’s making fried chicken tonight.”

Jensen’s stomach growls and he covers it with his hand, eyes going embarrassingly wide.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”


+


Jared kind of becomes a thing. Not really something, but more than nothing.

Enough of a thing that they wind up hanging out at each other’s houses nearly every night after Jared’s practice, eat dinner with the other’s families, then spend the evenings doing homework together … among other things.

It stays quiet at school, though Danneel continues to ask Jensen why he’s gone soft on the swim captain. Jensen had choked on his Dr. Pepper when his brain wanted to answer I’m actually quite hard for him.

And quite often, really, because Jensen suddenly fills every second of teenage want with Jared, and it’s going pretty darn well. Even evenings packed with homework are shared. After all, Jared is a math whiz and helps Jensen through his Physics midterm, and Jensen puts his writing to use in helping Jared craft his English paper.

“How’m I suppose to write a paper that’s longer than the dang story? It’s only like 15 pages.” Jared sighs and drops his head down to his text book, which rests on Jensen’s bed.

“How long is your paper?” Jensen asks as he pokes Jared’s side with his foot.

“Presently or as required?”

He chuckles at Jared’s pathetic whining, but sticks with it because he wants to help Jared. Which is a frighteningly new feeling, while also being completely exhilarating. “Both.”

Jared turns to his side, brushing hair off his face then blowing at the strands that fall forward. Jensen smirks and Jared rolls his eyes, because he still thinks Jensen’s smiles are antagonistic rather than because he’s truly happy around him in their stolen moments. Jensen tries to soften his smile to something warm and heartfelt, and Jared’s defenses immediately drop.

“I’m at two pages, but it has to be twenty when we’re done.”

“For tomorrow? Are you serious?”

“Mrs. Rhodes is a drill sergeant, I tell ya.” He sets his hand over Jensen’s foot and lightly massages as he goes on talking. “I mean, the final paper for May will be twenty, but our draft has to be five now, then ten in another month. How can we spend a whole semester on one story?”

Jensen had loved having Mrs. Rhodes last semester for short stories, running through a handful of tales that appear short yet are extensively full of allegory and imagery that he can still recall to this day. “Which one are you writing on?”

“I still can’t decide. Fall of the House of Usher or The Yellow Wallpaper.”

“Man, that’s a tough choice.”

“It’s a dumb choice. They’re both dumb.”

Rolling his eyes, Jensen crawls forward to join Jared and flip through the book of short stories together. “In Fall, you have the classic tale of deception and hiding, while forcing yourself to face your greatest fears of insecurity and rejection. The Yellow Wallpaper is empowering once you get between the words and really understand the prison she’s locked up in. What all comes alive in the walls represents her entire consciousness ...”

Jared looks at Jensen, even as Jensen points at pages and tries to grab his attention while continuing to explain the themes. He ends up resting his elbow on the bed and his cheek against his palm to watch Jensen rattle on about what great elements beg to be written about.

“… and when you get beyond the torment of what she imagines, you understand the prison is just as much her own as the one that’s imposed on her.” Jensen stalls when he realizes that Jared is quietly staring at him. “What?”

With a small smile, Jared rocks forward to jostle Jensen. “You’re kinda smart, huh?”

Jensen purses his lips in mock annoyance. “Kinda? I basically run the Austonian/”

Jared chuckles. “I wouldn’t be too proud of that.”

“Well, we can’t all be swimmers.”

“That’s probably good. I’ve heard some of them are huge assholes.”

Jensen holds his breath when Jared shifts closer, their noses nearly touching. He crosses his eyes to look at Jared’s and belatedly realizes he’s now holding tight to Jared’s hip, dragging him closer. “Says who?”

“Some douche at the school paper.”

“I’ll have to talk to Danneel,” he murmurs just before kissing Jared.

“Kinda like The Gossip Tab, when you said she runs it?”

Jensen chuckles as he remembers that argument outside the Austonian’s office. “Okay, so maybe I do. But Danneel’s better liked around school, so we put her name on it.”

Jared hums then fully leans into Jensen so they’re touching from shins on up. “Well, so long as it stopped featuring me, I guess I don’t mind it that much.”

In lieu of answering, Jensen pushes forward to take Jared’s lips then rolls onto him. Their books and notes slide off the bed as they shuffle around with Jensen kissing his way along Jared’s jaw, his neck, and down to the opening in his polo shirt where his smooth chest is bared. Jensen drags his hand over Jared’s chest and down to his stomach, fingers clenching into fabric and lightly scratching at Jared’s hips. When Jared hitches his legs and hips up, Jensen takes the sign to go lower, reaching down to cover Jared’s dick, which is growing hard in his jeans.

Jared huffs loudly then grabs Jensen’s face to keep them kissing messily as he ruts up into Jensen’s hand. “Can you?” he whispers, tiny and quiet.

Jensen stares down at Jared and is blown away by the depth of Jared’s dark pupils and the high blush on his cheeks. They’ve done a whole lot of kissing and plenty of grinding over clothes, but barely any real contact. Jensen can’t contain his excitement. “Yeah, of course, I’ve been wanting to.”

Jared’s tiny smirk eggs Jensen on even more, and he swiftly tugs at Jared’s belt, button, and zipper to get his hand inside. He fists Jared and tugs a few times, then smiles when Jared arches his back and whines. So Jensen does it again and tightens his grip, quickens his fist, alternates between kissing the hell out of Jared’s mouth and watching Jared’s face turn redder and redder the faster Jensen jacks him off.

“Oh god,” Jared groans then quickly mumbles, “Oh god, oh god, oh god.”

When Jared comes, his face is completely flushed and his lips look like they’ve been bitten raw. Jensen kisses along Jared’s jaw and cheekbones, smiling against the heated skin, before meeting Jared’s lips in a slow, thoughtful kiss.

Jensen is shocked by Jared’s recovery time because seconds later, their positions are flipped and Jared is returning the favor. He then goes a step further and folds himself down to kiss and lick at Jensen’s cock. The soft, careful touches of Jared’s mouth are more surprising, both that they’re coming from Jared and how they make Jensen feel all jittery inside. His stomach keeps spinning over and it seems like he can’t catch his breath. Especially when Jared opens his mouth around Jensen and drops lower, bit by bit while still fisting Jensen down to the base.

It feels like an eternity, a space that Jensen wants to burrow into where his skin burns up while he floats with his blood pumping fast and his muscles tingling. He dares to glance down at Jared and finds Jared looking right back at him with half of Jensen’s cock in his mouth. Jared’s lips are dark red and stretched wide around Jensen while he keeps staring up the bed at him. And that’s it, lights out, curtains, game over. Jensen shoots inside Jared’s mouth with come dribbling down the corners of Jared’s lips.

He continues to fly, lightheaded and boneless, as they both get their pants back in order. Jared stays stretched out towards the headboard while Jensen remains right where he is at the foot of the bed. He blinks at the blank white ceiling as he thinks about what this could really mean. He’s never had a boyfriend, never done more than kiss a few random people at weekend parties when Seven Minutes in Heaven is the main attraction. But this is the first time he’s really touched someone that he wanted, and had the same in return. He thinks it really means something, yet is terrified to say so.

Jared seems guarded, too, as he hesitantly touches Jensen’s foot. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Jensen whispers.

“Did I do it okay?”

Jensen thinks on it and it’s more than okay, it’s excellent and mind blowing. So he breaks into laughter because his body is still light as a feather and he’s suddenly giddy with excitement over what they’ve done. He drops his arm over Jared’s legs with his palm resting high on Jared’s thigh. “You definitely did okay.”

“Okay, good,” he replies with a tiny smile. “I just … that’s the first time … to do that.”

Biting his lip, Jensen keeps staring at the ceiling. He squeezes Jared’s thigh in comfort before gently rubbing it. “Me, too.”

“I really liked it.”

“Me, too.”

“I’m glad you did,” Jared says quickly before a long pause. “Jensen. I think … I really like you.”

Jensen closes his eyes as his lips curl up high and his cheeks grow hot. “Me, too.”


+


The newest Austonian is passed around during homeroom, which is also Mrs. Rhodes’ Junior Lit class. Jared takes one when the stack makes it around, then flips to the sports section to catch Jensen’s latest story. He’s smiling as he takes in the words that give the whole team high praise going into Regionals this weekend. The writing insists that the relay team is getting even faster off the blocks and that Dameron will be in trouble when Jared’s hard work pays off.

By the end of the story, he’s grinning, though it doesn’t last long. Confusion takes over as the class is growing loud with hushed conversations—everyone but him.

Jared glances around and realizes most are staring at him, at least until he looks back and they hide behind hands and books to keep talking.

“What the hell?” he mumbles.

Sadly, it’s Chad to put him out of his misery by dropping his own copy of the paper on Jared’s desk, open right to The Gossip Tab.

Star Swimmer in Love Affair with Jaded Newspaper Editor

Jared snatches the paper up to read every word below the corny headline. There’s little more than a few lines, but it insists that a certain athlete has been sneaking around school with the paper’s snarkiest writer, even making out in the janitor’s closet.

Thankfully, the bell rings just a minute later and Jared grabs all his things—including the paper—and hustles down the hall to Jensen’s locker. Jensen is already there pulling books down from the top shelf and Jared immediately knocks them out of his hands. The items smack on the tile floor and grab the attention of most in the area.

“What the hell?” Jensen asks with wide eyes.

“I’d ask you the same!” Jared yells. He holds the paper up to Jensen’s face while pointing at the incriminating column. “What’s up with this, huh? Just another story for you or something?”

And that’s what it all comes down to for Jared. The solid rock in his stomach is thanks to deception from someone he was really beginning to care for and Jensen’s ability to lie through it all just for a bit of gossip.

“I didn’t write this!” Jensen insists, but Jared snorts at him.

“Really? Kinda like you didn’t write all the other bullshit gossip you put in about me?”

“I swear I didn’t.” Jensen grabs the paper to look Jared in the eyes. “Why would I write about the both of us?”

Jared shakes his head and spits out, “Because you’ll get more attention, Jensen. And I know that’s what you’re all about.”

Jensen flinches back. “That’s not true.”

“Of course it is. You didn’t give a shit about covering the swim team until you could find yourself a story, and you sure did, huh?” Jared moves in close as a fire grows inside of him, waiting to burst out of his skin. “Gonna tell all the juicy details about us? Talk about all what all we did in your bedroom? Better make room for a whole page, right?”

“I would never.” Jensen stands firms and clenches his jaw. “Because I didn’t write this.”

“Right,” Jared scoffs. “Because it’s Danneel’s name on the column. That’s what you said last time, just before admitting that you’ve been making shit up about me for months.”

“I didn’t write it, Jared! I couldn’t have. You were over too late for me run the final copy.”

Now nodding, Jared purses his lips and vibrates with a bright spark of pain rumbling beneath his skin, turning it into anger rather than what feels a lot like heartbreak. “What a perfect cover. Have your friends run the story for you.”

Jensen closes his mouth as his nostrils flare in desperation. He bends over to pick up his books and has little to excuse his behavior, which makes Jared even madder. To learn far too late that Jensen really was out to get him this whole time. That he never meant any of the quiet moments they’ve shared, or even his words last night about really liking him. Jared thought he was falling in love and learning a whole new side to Jensen. But it was all just an act.

“You’re gonna believe what you want,” Jensen says quietly. Then he glances around to the big audience that has grown around their fight. “You’ll all believe anything in print, huh?”

He leaves Jared standing alone in the small circle within the crowd. And no matter how Jared tries to spin this, and no matter where he goes through the day, that loneliness follows him everywhere.


+


Jensen skips gym and hides out in the Austonian’s office, even when it gives him the creeps. On one hand, it’s the easiest place for him to stay away from students whispering behind his back, and on the other, it’s the first place he thinks to look for Danneel. Still, he hates having to use this place as refuge when it’s the very place to bring him this heartache.

She shows up at the next bell for lunch, stopping in the doorway when Jensen picks his head up from the desk to glare at her. “Hey, peaches. How’s your day going?”

He narrows his eyes at her. “Like you don’t know.”

“I don’t. What’s the big dea—ohhh, no,” she drifts off when she sees the page Jensen has his paper opened to.

“Why would you do that to me?”

“I didn’t,” she quickly insists.

“You said you had a rumor about the janitor’s closet.”

“Yeah, but it was Gen and Felicia. I couldn’t write about someone on the paper.”

“Well you did now!” Jensen yells as he throws the paper at her.

“No, it wasn’t …” Then Danneel’s eyes widen and her mouth falls open. “Wait, is this real? You and Jared, for real? Oh my God, no wonder you’ve been so nice about him lately.”

“You’re not helping! He’s totally pissed at me. Made a scene in the hall and everything. He thinks I did it.”

After a few quiet seconds, Danneel sighs. “Shit.”

Jensen sighs as well, dropping back to sit and burying his face in his arms. “Yeah, so thanks for that.”

“No, not that … I had to pick up my brother from baseball practice, so I asked Adam to file the final draft to the printer.”

Slowly, he picks his head up and blinks. “Wait, what?”

“It was taking longer than I thought then I had to get Gino. You know how annoying he is when I’m late.”

Jensen blinks at her some more, unable to understand the situation. Especially Danneel trusting the dumb freshman. “You asked Adam?”

Danneel shrugs nervously. “He was the only one left, and it was just to package the files then email them.”

“Well, he did more than that, obviously!” Moments later, Adam appears at the doorway and Jensen shouts, “You’re fired! Don’t you dare come in here.”

“What?” the dumbass asks without moving another inch.

“You’re fired,” he repeats slowly. “You no longer work here.”

“I thought we couldn’t get fired if we don’t get paid.”

Jensen huffs while he considers that thought. “Then you quit!”

“I do?”

Jensen writes a quick letter of resignation, ironically right on the page with The Gossip Tab. He brings it to Adam with a pen. “Sign it.”

Adam shirks against the doorway, looking between Jensen and Danneel, who now stands next to Jensen in solidarity. “What if I don’t?”

Danneel snorts. “Then I’ll run so many Gossip Tabs on you, you won’t know what hit you.”

“You can’t do that.”

“You did today,” Jensen points out, “and we will.” He and Danneel step even closer to Adam and crowd him against the door. “Sign it. Now.”

“I did it for Tom!” Adam shouts.

“What?” Danneel and Jensen shriek together.

Now Adam can’t stop talking, going on and on about how Tom wanted the Editor-in-Chief job and knew they had to find a weak spot in Jensen. When Tom read back issues and noticed Jensen was nicer about the swim stories, he thought a rumor about Jared and Jensen would make a decent story, especially to get Jensen pulled from the running for Editor-in-Chief if he was messing around with his subject. As little as Omundson hung around their offices, he always insisted on journalistic integrity above all, and Jensen would likely be demoted to covering the lunch ladies or something.

“What up, asshats?” Tom says upon entering with a Cheshire grin in place. He doesn’t get far into the office, though, because Jensen marches up to him and lands a hard right hook at Tom’s nose.

Jensen groans at the pain running through his hand and up his wrist, but holds it together long enough to glare at Tom laid out on the floor. “You’re an asshat. Asshat.”


+


For Jared, the rest of the day is no easier. People in every class watch him and whisper, friends make jokes about him hooking up with a newspaper nerd like Jensen Ackles, and his teammates essentially ignore him throughout practice. Even Chad, who calls Jared a pussy.

“You’re a pussy,” Chad taunts once everyone’s back in the locker room after practice. “Should’ve just knocked him out for writing those kinds of lies. Am I right, or am I right?”

No one responds until Chad annoys the others long enough that Matt rolls his eyes then points at Jared. “It wasn’t lies. Look at him. He’s guilty as fuck.”

The room falls quiet aside from the sounds of banging locker doors when the rest of the team leaves. Jared finally gets his stuff together with a long sigh, tired of dealing with this whole mess.

“Really? You and Ass-les?” Chad asks from behind.

Jared figures the cat’s already out of the bag, plus Chad has been his friend since kindergarten when the dumbass tried to cheat off of Jared’s alphabet chart. Instead of turning Chad in, Jared had decided to help him out and he hasn’t been able to lose Chad since. “For a while. Couple months.”

“Months, wow.” Chad sits beside Jared on the bench and stays surprisingly quiet.

“Yeah.”

“Hmm.”

Jared turns to Chad, expecting more jokes and harassment, but there are none. Chad just looks at him thoughtfully. “What?”

“So that’s really why you’re mad? Because you dig him?”

With a sigh, Jared drops his swimsuit and towel in his duffel bag. “Yeah. Or I did, I guess.”

“What do you mean you guess?”

“Well, not anymore,” Jared laughs harshly. “Look at what he did.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Chad parrots in much the same sad, defeated tone as Jared.

“Why are you bummed?”

Chad shrugs. “Because you are.”

Jared makes a face and shakes his head. He’s not in the mood for Chad’s odd ramblings. He’s not in the mood for much of anything right now. “So?”

“And you’re my friend. I’m bummed that you’re bummed.” Jared huffs angrily before Chad shifts around to look him right in the eyes. “I’m not totally heartless. You make fun of me about Sophia, but I love that girl. She was my first and all that.”

Suddenly Jared can’t breath and his head swims. On top of Chad sounding like a human being, Jared now has to face the thoughts of whatever Jensen really was to him … or is. His first … whatever. The first guy Jared kissed with any real meaning, the first he ever touched, the first he admitted to really liking. And all of that just makes his heart sink further in his chest because it’s all been ruined by Jensen’s dumb newspaper and his dumb need to make it edgy.

Jared drops his head, letting his hair fall over his face and shield him from Chad’s view. Even if his friend is now thoughtful and supportive, Jared wants to block out the world as his mind reels over just how badly he feels having been betrayed by Jensen.

It’s made worse when he leaves the locker room to find Jensen standing in the hallway, like he has for every day for the last month or so. Jared spins around to go the other way, ignoring Jensen as he chatters on and on in apology.

“I swear to you, I didn’t do this,” Jensen argues. “I fired Adam and told Mr. Omundson about Tom and they’re going to print a retraction in next week’s edition.”

Jared does his best to ignore all that Jensen says, shaking his head and walking as quickly as possible. But Jensen stays right with him, even tugging on Jared’s arm for attention.

“Are you listening to me? It wasn’t me. Tom did it. He had Adam do it just after Danneel left for the night. She told Adam to submit the final copy, but then Adam changed it”

In an instant, Jared stops and turns on Jensen. Heat fumes in his belly as he thinks he’s going cross-eyed because he’s so angry and feeling wild with Jensen’s claims. “So Tom did it and Adam did it and Danneel let it happen and none of it is your fault?”

Jensen stutters and steps back while trying to formulate his answer. “Well … yeah, yeah, exactly. That’s pretty much it. It sounds crazy, I know—”

“It is crazy!” Jared yells. “And it’s crazy that I even care anymore. It’s crazy that you’re blaming everyone else but yourself for that stupid gossip column that’s obviously nothing but trouble.”

“No, Jared,” Jensen complains while grabbing Jared’s arm, only Jared moves out of reach with a deadly glare. “I’m sorry,” he insists. “But it wasn’t me this time.”

Jared snorts and looks away. “This time. Right.”

“How many times do I have to tell you I didn’t do it?”

He darkly chuckles. “About forty?”

“Jared, seriously, I—”

Jared finally stops and glares at him. “Bye, Jensen,” he says in a quiet, low tone, then heads home to sulk for the rest of the night.


+


For a week, Jensen mopes through school. He stays quiet in all his classes—raising quite a number of his teacher’s eyebrows—and keeps his head down at the Austonian. Mr. Omundson barely bats an eyelash at the situation, rubbing his beard as he stares at Jensen after he’s ‘had time to ponder.’

“You don’t think it’s wrong,” Jensen says more than asks.

“It’s not about right or wrong,” Mr. Omundson replies. “This is all a very grey area, you know.”

“You think it’s fine that Tom went behind our backs and used the paper to embarrass me and Jared.”

“Was it a lie?”

Jensen doesn’t answer. He looks away when Mr. Omundson continues to wait for an explanation that never comes

“Then Tom did his job and reported the facts.”

“But he trashed us in The Gossip Tab.”

Mr. Omundson smirks. “The only time people dislike gossip is when you gossip about them.”

Jensen now avoids talking by digging his fingernail into thin lines littering the top of his desk.

“Will Rogers.”

It’s hard to not roll his eyes at his advisor. Mostly because he’s right. Jensen had always enjoyed hearing wild stories behind people’s backs and then writing thinly-veiled stories about them. Now that it’s tarnished Jensen’s own life, he’d rather rip up the paper and burn it.

Mr. Omundson leans forward as if imparting great secrets. “The old cowboy also said ‘Never let yesterday use up too much of today.’ Which means, you have to look forward to tomorrow and move on.”

“I just really like him,” Jensen admits quietly, feeling his heart rip just a tiny bit more. And it’s true, because having gone just a few days without seeing Jared or hearing his voice, even when arguing, is tearing him apart. He doesn’t want to eat or talk to anyone or go to class. He doesn’t even want to do his job, which had always been his number one priority. “Like … really, really.”

“Young love,” Mr. Omundson says dreamily. Then he stands, pats Jensen on the shoulder, and leaves Jensen to his own sorrows.

Though not for long, because someone makes themselves known in the doorway by clearing their throat. Jensen barely glances up, trying to hide the tears blurring his vision. “We’re closed right now.”

“I … uh … I’m sorry.”

Jensen looks to the doorway and his eyes widen while his mouth drops open. “Jared.”

Jared clears his throat again and takes just one step inside the office. “I’m sorry. I didn’t meant to eavesdrop in here, but … I heard. I heard what you said. And what Mr. Omundson said. And I’m sorry.”

It’s hard to smile as shock still holds Jensen still. Jared’s eyes are wet and his cheeks flushed with angst. He’s in his after-practice sweat suit with wet hair plastered at his temples and around his ears.

Jensen thinks he couldn’t look more perfect. And the words he’s said hit Jensen deep in that empty pit in his chest. “I didn’t do it.”

“You’ve said that a few times.”

“Do I have really have to say it forty times?”

Jared chuckles and brokenly smiles as he takes a few more steps inside. “No, but I should probably say sorry about a hundred for not listening to you.”

Jensen sucks in a long breath and thinks about all that’s run through his brain this last week. It’s been a rush of anger and guilt, sadness and loss. But Jared is here and talking to him again, so Jensen can’t look a gift horse in the mouth. He has to be open about Jared’s apology. “I can’t really blame you.”

“Oh?”

“Danneel said so.” He shrugs and sadly smiles. “I have a track record after all.”

“Yeah, you do,” Jared concedes when he reaches Jensen’s desk. He nervously taps his fingers at the surface. “But, maybe you can have a clean slate instead.”

Jensen pushes up from his chair with his heart ready to leap out of its cage. “Really?”

“Really, really.”

“Really,” he repeats softly.

Jared glances away before sneaking a look, like he can’t bear to see Jensen when saying, “Kind like how you said you really, really like me? If that was true after all.”

“It’s really, really true,” Jensen insists as he leans against the desk to be nearer to Jared. When Jared nods, Jensen reaches across the way to grab Jared by the lapels of his zip-up sweatshirt and bring him in for a kiss. He considers climbing up onto the desk, but then laughs at the absurdity of it. And also with the joy bubbling up from his toes that Jared is back.

Jared presses his forehead to Jensen’s and they share a breath while Jensen does his best to not faint right now. It’s all too real and tangible, like he could fall over if Jared weren’t here to bring them back together.

“I’m sorry,” Jared whispers. “That’s four times.”

Jensen laughs and kisses Jared again.


+


Jared makes sure that he meets his quota. In the morning, and for dozens and dozens that follow, Jared meets Jensen at his locker before the first bell. He always smiles, kisses Jensen, then offers “I’m sorry,” and states the new number he’s reached in lieu of a real greeting.

After a while, Jensen rolls his eyes, but still grins in return and grabs Jared’s hand as they walk each other to class. Their fingers thread together and palms match up with a comfortable warmth, all while they ignore any looks their classmates give them for being so cheesy.

By the time Jared reaches one hundred, Jensen frowns that the tradition is over. Yet, Jared surprises him with a whole new one.

On the ninety-seventh day from their reconciliation, when Jared has cleared a hundred sorries, Jared kisses Jensen and slowly breaks away. Then he softly smiles and whispers, “I love you.”

Jensen’s eyes go comically wide before he jumps at Jared to kiss again. “Me, too.”