Previous chapter "Parent teacher interviews tomorrow," Jared says idly, running a finger up Jensen's bare chest. "Yeah," Jensen sighs. "You have no idea how much I'm not looking forward to them." "You and me both," Jared says, rolling onto his back and staring at the ceiling. "What are you going to tell my parents about me?" "That you're a bad, bad boy, who needs to be spanked regularly," Jensen deadpans, then laughs when Jared hurls a pillow at him. ~ This has to be the most uncomfortable moment of Jensen's career, even more so than the time during his training when he had ended up having to explain to two boys that blowjobs were better suited to places like the bedroom, not the corridor at school during classes. Jared's mom and dad are sitting on the other side of the desk with Jared, who's clearly doing his damndest to just look like another student. Jensen clears his throat and adjusts his glasses. "Well, Mr and Mrs Padalecki, Jared's been doing fairly well this semester." "Fairly well?" Mrs Padalecki says, frowning. "This has always been Jared's best subject..." "I know," Jensen says. "He's still doing fine. All his work has been up to scratch, his marks have been mostly consistent..." "Mostly?" Mr Padalecki asks. "Well," Jensen says thoughtfully, "there have been one or two assignments that I really think he could have done better on. Not," he hastens to add, "that he did badly, in fact he's fairly near the top of the class. I just feel that he may have let things slip a little." Jared's parents look at each other, then at Jared, who's squirming uncomfortably and glaring at Jensen from under his brows. "Jared, would you wait outside for a few minutes?" Mrs Padalecki asks. Jared grunts and unfolds himself from his seat, and Jensen forces himself not to stare at Jared's ass as he leaves the room. "Before you jump to conclusions, Jensen - may I call you Jensen?" Jensen nods dumbly at Mr Padalecki. He seems a forceful sort of guy, and Jensen thinks he can see where Jared gets it from. "See, Jared's a good kid. He's always gotten top grades. School's always been his number one priority." "I understand," Jensen says carefully. "What are you getting at?" "His priorities have shifted a little," Mr Padalecki says. "He's got a boyfriend," Mrs Padalecki blurts out, then blushes. Christ. Better play dumb, Jensen thinks. "I see," he says carefully. "And how long has he had this boyfriend for? Because that's not an excuse for letting work slip." Jared's parents both nod, and Mrs Padalecki frowns. "We're not sure how long, or even who it is. You see, Jared only came out to us a month or two back. It was a bit of a shock." "We were worried initially that he was being bullied for it," Mr Padalecki says grimly. "Never in this school," Jensen says firmly. "The staff wouldn't stand for it, especially not me." "Is that so?" Mr Padalecki says, raising an eyebrow. "I'm glad to hear it - Jared seems to think you're his favorite teacher, can't shut up about you. It's good to know he might have someone to turn to if things get tough." Jensen smiles. "I did suspect something like that as the reason for his work slipping. At his age, it's usually romance or family troubles that prompt a drop in productivity, but Jared never seemed unhappy, so I drew my own conclusions." "Don't tell Jared about all this, please," Mrs Padalecki pleads. "He doesn't even know we know he has a boyfriend - we only found out because Meghan - his sister - told us. She wouldn't say who it was, though." "I won't say a word. And, regarding Jared's work, I don't think you have anything to worry about," Jensen says, changing the subject. "When I say his work slipped a little, all it means is that he's in the top 5 of the class instead of the top 3. I wouldn't be surprised to see him graduate valedictorian this year, if what his other teachers tell me about his grades is reliable." Jared's parents' faces light up, and Jensen heaves a sigh of relief. Jared's called back in, and the rest of the interview is spent discussing college applications. ~ Jared's pissed. "Why the fuck did you have to tell them I didn't do so well on my last assignments? Jesus fucking Christ, they were on my back all last night!" Jensen sighs. He'd been expecting this, but had also been rather hoping that Jared was smart enough to understand Jensen's reasons. "Do I really have to explain it?" he says, propping himself up on his elbows and looking straight at Jared. Jared glares at him and turns to face the school, and Jensen rubs his face with his hand, massaging the bridge of his nose where his glasses have been digging in. "I know it sucks, but I'm not about to lie to your parents just to spare your feelings. I can't be your boyfriend when I'm being your teacher, Jared." "I know," Jared grunts. "Still sucks." "Tell me about it. Oh, and by the way, your parents know you have a boyfriend." "What!?" Jared whirls around to stare at Jensen, the horrified expression on his face clear in the bright moonlight. "They know about you?" "They don't know it's me! Christ. They just know you're seeing someone, and I guess they're waiting for you to come out and tell them before they start interrogating you. Apparently Meghan told them." "At least she didn't say who you were," Jared mutters. "I guess the blackmail worked." Jensen grins. "Smart girl." "She takes after her brother," Jared says, winking at Jensen. Jensen shakes his head, rolling his eyes. "You're so damn cocky," he says. "What makes you think I'm gonna pass you this year?" He lies back on the grass, spreading his legs slightly and peering at Jared from underneath his glasses. Jared looms over him briefly before kneeling between his thighs and leaning close. "I dunno, sir... what could I possibly do to convince you to pass me? I really need high marks... I'll do anything..." His voice drops to a husky whisper, and his breath tickles Jensen's ear. It's so filthywrongbad and Jensen groans, tugging on Jared's tshirt to pull him in for a kiss. He can feel Jared smiling against his mouth, and can't stop the huge grin splitting his own face. ~ Jared's been avoiding Coach Welling as much as he can, ever since he and Jensen had been caught together in the movie theater. Unfortunately, it's quite hard to avoid someone you have classes with three times a week, and after Phys Ed last thing on Monday, Coach Welling corners Jared in the changing rooms. "Jared, I'd like a word with you once you're dressed." Jared gulps, tries not to blush, and nods. He hurriedly knots his tie and, heart pounding, makes his way to Coach Welling's office. "Sir?" he says tentatively, knocking on the half-open door before entering. "Shut the door, Jared," Coach Welling says, indicating the chair in front of his desk. Jared pushes the door closed and sits down, gripping the edges of his jacket with sweaty hands. "I think you know what this is about," Coach Welling begins. He leans on the desk, his gaze dark and serious. Jared nods. "Yeah. Yes. Uh. The other night..." "Yes. That." Coach Welling frowns and bites his lower lip in thought. "Jared... I don't know quite how to say this without sounding condescending. I know you're eighteen, I know you're of age, and I know you're a smart young man." "Thank you, sir," Jared says. "It's the truth." Coach Welling sighs. "Look, Jared, if there is anything about this relationship of yours which isn't 100% consensual, you must tell someone. Mr Ackles is in a position of authority, and it would be quite easy for someone in that position to force you into something you're not comfortable with." Jared's taken aback. He'd been expecting a good telling-off, not ... not this. "There's nothing at all non-consensual about it, sir," he says quietly. "You don't need to worry." "And if there was?" "Then I wouldn't be in a relationship with him. I'm not about to be taken advantage of like that. Sir, like you said - I'm eighteen. I'll be graduating in a little over a month. I can take care of myself." "Good," Coach Welling says sharply. "In that case, there's something else I want to talk to you about. Do you have any idea how much you're jeapordizing Jensen's career?" "Sir... I..." "This school - in fact, every school in America - has a zero tolerance for student/teacher relationships. Jensen already dodged a bullet with Alona's accusations last year. That's always going to be on his record, even though she withdrew her statements. One whisper of this ... this thing he has going with you, and he'll never teach again." Jared looks down into his lap, his fingers nervously entwined together. "I know, sir." "Jensen's a friend, so I'm not going to say anything to anyone. Also, he's happy, you're happy, there's nothing destructive about this relationship that I can see. But for the love of Christ, keep it quiet! Don't go making out in movie theaters! Use your goddamned common sense, boy! What if I'd been Dr Rosenbaum? Or Principal Kane?" Jared flinches and doesn't say anything. Coach Welling shakes his head and rubs his face with one hand. "Does anyone else know about you two? Apart from me, that is." Jared thinks. "Um. My sister. Chad and Sandy. Some of Jensen's friends, but only one or two of them know I'm still at school. Oh, and ... the janitor knows, but he's known since it started and hasn't told anyone yet so I think he's gonna keep quiet. Mr Morgan suspects something, I think." "Mr Morgan suspects everyone of something," Coach Welling growls. "But that's still too many people. Make sure no one else finds out, you hear? Just so you know, if this all comes out and it's discovered that I knew about it and didn't tell anyone, that's my career on the line too. Got it?" Jared nods silently, his heart pounding. "Good. You can go now." Coach Welling waves a hand at Jared, dismissing him. Jared gets up and leaves, covered in cold sweat and with shaking legs. ~ "I had a word to Jared," Tom says quietly to Jensen as they're on duty at lunchtime the next day. "Christ," Jensen mumbles. "What did you say to him?" "Nothing much, just put the fear of God into him." "What?" Jensen turns to stare at Tom. "What the hell, Tom? He's not some dumbass kid, you know..." "I know, Jen. Jesus. I just wanted to sorta drum into him to be more damned careful. You could do with a bit of that too, y'know. I mean, the janitor?? Jensen!" "Ugh," Jensen says. "Yeah. He kinda ... kinda caught us. Back when it first started." "What, caught you kissing?" "Um. Not exactly." Tom laughs, and Jensen resists the urge to hit him. "You didn't scare him off too much, did you?" he says, feeling a bit worried. Tom can be quite overbearing, and the idea of Jared being so freaked out by whatever Tom said to him that he breaks it off makes Jensen's stomach churn. "Nah. Just let him know what's at stake is all." "Right..." Jensen says dubiously. They can't talk anymore; there's two boys fighting and they have to go and break it up. Jensen doesn't get a chance to think about Jared again until the end of the day. ~ The moment the bell rings at the end of the final class of the day, the students are rummaging in their bags, pulling out cellphones, turning them on. Jensen would be laughing at them, except for the fact that he's surreptitiously digging in his own bag for his cellphone, having felt it vibrate during the lesson. There's a message from Jared - "im gonna get cofee. meet me by river in 1/2 hr?" Jensen rolls his eyes and replies with an affirmative. Half an hour later, Starbucks coffee in hand, Jensen's down by the river. It's the one place they can go and feel safe together; feel like no one will find them. Five minutes after he arrives, Jared comes crashing through the bushes, clutching his school bag and his own cup of coffee. "Hey," he says casually. Jensen nods. "Hey. Uh. Tom said he had a chat with you." Jared nods. "Yeah. No offense, man, I know he's your friend, but he can be a bit of a scary son of a bitch." "He's a teddy bear," Jensen scoffs. "But seriously - what the hell did he say to you?" "Nothing I didn't already know," Jared says quietly. "He just kinda reminded me how serious this whole thing is. That you'll never teach again if we're found out." "Which is why we're not gonna get found out," Jensen growls. He takes a swig of his coffee, wincing as he burns his tongue. "There's only a month till graduation; we can make it." "Course we can," Jared says cheerfully. "We've made it this far, haven't we?" Jensen nods and toasts Jared with his styrofoam cup. "Hey... remember when we first came here?" Jared says slyly, putting his coffee down and sliding over the grass till he's pressed firmly up against Jensen's side. "Sure I do," Jensen says with a grin, turning around so he's nose to nose with Jared. "If I recall correctly, you sucked me off for the first time in this very spot." "I'm a lot better now," Jared breathes, taking Jensen's coffee and putting it aside. "You want a demonstration?" Jensen grins widely, lying back on the grass and closing his eyes as Jared shows him how much he's learned. Next chapter Back to High School AU page |
