September - Freshman Year
Jensen was sitting at his computer, trying to figure out how he was supposed to connect to the internet. Johnson wasn't the biggest of the dorms, but it was big enough that he'd checked in an hour ago and could still see a line of cars unloading in the driveway outside his window. His roommate could be anywhere in the line that wrapped all around the first floor lobby. At least he'd managed to get his parents to go home before Mackenzie taped his baby pictures all over the hallway.
There was a quick knock on the door, and a boy Jensen could only assume was Christian poked his head in the door.
"Jensen?" The guy stepped inside, knocking his cowboy hat to the side as he tried to get through the door with a giant duffle bag and a guitar case.
"Christian?" Jensen asked, and the boy scrunched up his nose.
"Chris," he corrected before tossing his duffle bag near the empty bed and ripping off the tag on the door that said "Christian."
"Sorry." Jensen felt the pain of having a weird name. He was going to kill the first person who tried to call him Jenny.
"Don't worry about it."
"Christian? Honey, did you pack your coat? I know it's hot now, but it might be cold before you come back home for Thanksgiving." Chris's mother followed him into the room.
"Yes, mama. It's in here."
"And the blanket? I don't want you sleeping with just sheets if it gets cold in here."
"I have a blanket. You packed it, remember?" Chris said. He wasn't looking back at Jensen, and Jensen had to suppress a laugh.
"You must be Jensen," Chris's mom said, turning to him and reaching out to shake his hand.
"Yes, ma'am. Nice to meet you."
"Your folks already went home?" she asked as she opened the duffle bag Chris had thrown on the floor.
"Yes, ma'am. They're up near Dallas, so they wanted to get home before it was too late."
"Makes sense. We're just a little too far for that, so I'm getting a hotel for the night. I'll get more sleep, and I can make sure you boys are all settled in." She pulled sheets out of the duffle and started to make the empty bed.
"Mama. You don't have to do that." Chris tried to take over, but she swatted his hands away.
"If I just leave you here, you'll live out of your duffle for a week and go to your first week of classes with your clothes full of wrinkles. I'm not letting you meet your professors lookin' like you just wandered in off the street."
"I promise to unpack, Mama. I'm just worried you'll lose your hotel if you don't check in. There's a lot of people in town this weekend."
"Already paid, baby. They aren't gonna be giving it away." She kissed Chris on the cheek after finishing with the bed.
"Mama, please." Chris tried to beat her to the duffle, but she was already pulling out clothes.
"Did you already take half the drawers, honey?" she asked Jensen.
"Yes. The top three. But we can switch." He wasn't about to argue with her if she thought Chris needed the top drawers.
"No, that's fine." She nodded and turned back to Chris. "Okay, baby, what drawer do you want for your underwear?"
~*~
"Man. We have to find a party tonight." Chris groaned and fell back on his bed.
"Because we spent our first night of college with your mom?"
"Shut up."
"It's your job to find us a party now." Of course, there was no way in hell Chris was going to find the kind of party he wanted, but Jensen didn't know anyone else, either.
"Come on, let's walk around. Find some girls." Chris snatched his cowboy hat off his bedpost. Girls. Yeah. So much for being out in college. He had to have the stereotypical roommate from hickville. Chris probably learned to drive a tractor before a car. What happened to the gay people that everyone said were all over Austin? Chris was probably that guy who made jokes about having to switch rooms if he got a gay roommate.
"Yeah. Sure." Jensen shrugged, but there was a knock on the door before he even got off his bed.
"It's open!" Chris yelled. Great. His roommate was going to invite everyone into their room and get them killed.
"Great. Thanks." Damn. Okay. If murderers were tall, tanned, and fucking hot, Jensen was okay with Chris inviting them in. "I'm Tom. I need to get away from my roommate. He's insane. I need a roommate switch, and the RA says it's too early to switch because I don't like him."
"What room are you in?" If there were crazy people, Jensen liked to know where they were. And maybe he wanted to know where to find Tom, too.
"Two doors down. 720."
"So what's wrong with him?" Chris asked.
"He's just fucking weird. And he's a sophomore. I thought it would be cool when I saw him on my room assignment. He'd have friends already, and he'd know about the best parties, but he's just fucking weird. He shaved his head in the sink this morning."
"Why?" Chris glanced at him and raised an eyebrow.
"I don't know. What if he has lice? What if his gross lice get in my bed, and I get lice?" It would be tragic. Tom had really nice hair.
Chris shrugged. "Maybe he just wanted a change? Did you ask him?"
"You're not sharing my pain." Tom frowned. "Are you Jensen or the guy that ripped his name off the door?"
"Chris. He's Jensen." Chris nodded in his direction.
"Do you agree with me?" Tom asked him.
"Yeah. Very weird, dude." Seriously? He didn't want hair in his sink either. Chris better not do it. Tom shouldn't have to live with that.
"Y'all judge damn quick." Chris shrugged, pulling out his guitar and tuning it.
"You'd be cool if I shaved my head in the sink?" Jensen asked.
"If you clean it up. Just don't wear my underwear or something." Chris nodded to the guitar Jensen only brought so Mackenzie wouldn't mess it up. "So you play?"
"Just a little." Jensen shrugged.
"Came down here for the music scene. I was hoping to put together a band."
"That's a little more than I wanna do, I think." He really needed to worry about not failing out of school first-and figuring out if Tom was gay.
"S'cool." Chris picked a few notes on his guitar, which was helpful because Jensen couldn't think of a damn thing to say, and Tom didn't look like he could, either.
"Tommy!" a male voice called from the hall.
"He's in here!" Chris yelled, ignoring Tom's glare.
"Where's here?" It was like fucking marco polo.
"724!" Chris rolled his eyes when Jensen threw a pillow at him.
"Hey! I thought I already lost you, Tommy!" He was expecting the guy to be completely bald, but it was more of a buzz. "Hey! I'm Mike!"
This guy had way too much energy. Tom should sleep in their room just to get away from him.
"Chris." Chris reached out to shake Mike's hand, but Jensen didn't miss how he guarded his guitar.
"Cool." Mike turned on him then. "And you're?"
"Jensen." Jensen's mama really would kill him if he was rude and ignored the hand Mike held out.
"Awesome. So I was looking for Tommy to invite him to my friend's party tonight. I can't slack off on introducing him to college. Are you guys freshmen, too? Either way, you're invited. My friend Pete won't mind."
"Yeah. You sure he won't care about you bringing three extra guys?" Chris asked.
"Naw." Mike laughed. "He really won't, but don't worry. He's always got more than enough girls around him for you to pick from."
Girls. Great. College was so fucking awesome.
~*~
"Mike! Baby! What did you bring me?" Damn. It made a lot more sense why Mike said Pete wouldn't care if he brought three extra guys to the party. Pete had to be gay. His blonde hair had a streak of pink where it fell into his eyes as he hugged Mike. Jensen was going to have to take back every bad thought he had about Mike because Pete was fucking hot. Okay, not really what Jensen usually looked for, but still damn hot, and Tom had spent the whole ride talking about girls with Chris.
"My roommate, Tommy, and his new friends Chris and Jensen." Mike answered, pointing to each of them in turn.
"Gorgeous. This is why you were my favorite resident last year. And also why I talked you up to Janine. She's over by the keg. She also doesn't know how to make it work. Maybe you can help." Pete pointed to where a pretty redhead was trying to get more than just foam.
"Best RA ever." Mike laughed, turning back to them as he backed away. "Have fun. Don't ruin my game."
"So? What're you boys looking for? Boys or girls?" Pete smirked, glancing around at each of them, and Jensen expected at least Chris to make an excuse to leave.
Chris just laughed. "Girls."
"Got plenty of those. Don't really know your type, but there's dancing in the living room, and Steve's playing out back. He's usually got more girls than he can handle."
"Playing?"
"Guitar and singing."
"Cool. You guys coming?" Chris looked back, and Jensen shrugged even though he'd rather stay with Pete. It's not like he could tell Chris that.
"That mean you guys are both looking for girls, too?"
"Uh, yeah?" Tom was already following Chris, but Pete was looking at Jensen anyway. Jensen thought about telling the truth, but Chris stopped and looked back at him, waiting, so Jensen nodded to Pete before walking away.
~*~
Danneel was hot and he was pretty sure that Tom was actually jealous of him for getting all of her attention, but the last thing Jensen came to college for was a girlfriend. It was late, and he was on his fourth beer, making him just buzzed enough that he wasn't sure how he was going to let her down without seeming like an asshole. He didn't even have any help because Mike left with the redhead and Tom left with some blonde. Chris was supposed to drive him home, and he really hoped Chris wasn't going to be a bastard and ditch him.
"Can you excuse me a minute?" He nodded in what he thought was the direction of the bathroom, and Danneel nodded back.
"Sure. I'll be around." She smiled as he turned to go. He really wished she'd taken to Chris instead.
Jensen was actually grateful for the long line at the bathroom. Maybe Danneel would get tired of waiting before he came back. When he came out, he peeked around the corner, trying to see if she was still waiting on the porch.
"I told her Tom got sick, and you had to take him home. You felt really bad about leaving her, but it was kind of gross," Pete said from behind him. When he turned around, Pete was leaning against the wall behind him, smirking.
"Thanks?"
"No problem."
"She still here?" He really couldn't go back out to the party if she was.
"Yeah, but you can hide in my room." Pete nodded back toward the hall.
"Thanks, but my roommate-" Jensen started.
"Is driving a girl home. He was looking for you, but I told him you'd left with a girl and you wanted me to tell him." Jensen must have looked shocked, because Pete smiled and held up a hand. "I can call you a cab and sneak you out if you want. It'll be on me."
"Or?" This couldn't really be happening. He couldn't fucking let it happen. Mike would find out, and then Chris would find out. Chris would probably punch him.
"Or you can come back to my room, and I'll drive you home in the morning. I won't say anything to anyone. They'll think you hooked up with a girl or whatever you tell them."
When he didn't answer, Pete took a step toward him and rested his hand behind Jensen's neck. "It's whatever you want, baby. Nothing more. We can call that cab any time you want."
"Okay." Jensen felt himself nodding.
"Cool." Pete grinned and let his hand slide from Jensen's neck to his hand, linking their fingers and pulling him down the hall. Pete pulled him into what he had to assume was Pete's room and shut the door behind them, locking it.
"It's locked from the inside," Pete said, grinning and running a hand down his side when he jumped. "You can still get out. Just keeping other people out. Sometimes people get drunk and wander in places they shouldn't, but I can leave it open if you're worried I'm gonna drug you and no one will be able to save you."
"It's okay." Jensen tried to slow down his breathing. Pete used to be Mike's RA. They probably required people to be a certain level of sane for that. Hell, Pete hadn't even done anything yet, and he'd told Jensen that he could leave over and over again.
"Baby, you done anything before?" Pete asked, still stroking up and down his side but not moving closer.
"Yeah." It wasn't really a lie. He'd gotten to second base with girls before.
"With a guy?"
"No," Jensen mumbled. Fuck, he should feel his stupid cheeks getting hot from blushing. Pete was a junior, and he was hot. Jensen was a stupid freshman who had no fucking clue.
"S'okay. We'll do what you want and stop when you want, okay?"
Jensen nodded, and Pete pressed closer.
"It's cool if I kiss you now?" Pete smirked a little like he knew the answer, but he waited until Jensen nodded anyway before pressing their lips together. There was just a little stubble against his chin and when Pete licked his mouth open it was rough and unforgiving. He kissed back and let his fingers hook in Pete's belt loops to pull him closer. Pete moaned against him, so he had to be doing something right.
Pete held the kiss, pushing harder against him until he was moaning in return, then kissed down the side of his neck, sucking at the base. Pete's hands traveled over his back, stopping just short of his ass, fingers teasing under the hem of Jensen's shirt as he sucked an earlobe into his mouth.
"You want more, baby?"
"Yeah." Fuck, of course he wanted more. He'd been waiting for something to feel like this since he figured out girls just didn't do it for him.
"Say stop if you need to," Pete said as he unbuttoned Jensen's shirt and pushed it off, then pulled his own shirt over his head. Jensen nodded, not even trying to talk as Pete kissed him again, harder. Pete pinned him against the wall, kissing down his neck, then his chest, then, fuck, he sank down to his knees and tilted his head to nibble at Jensen's hip. Pete mouthed along the waistband of his jeans, holding his hips against wall when he almost bucked forward.
"This okay, Jenny?" Pete asked. At any other time, Jensen would point out that he was not a fucking girl and Jenny wasn't his name, but Pete's fingers were paused at the button of his jeans and Pete was on his knees, looking up at him and waiting for an answer.
"Yeah. Fuck, yeah." Jensen should be mad that Pete chuckled at his answer, but Pete already had his jeans undone and was pushing them and his boxer briefs down to his ankles.
"So fucking hot, baby," Pete said just before licking a wet stripe up the side of his cock. Fuck. It was a really good thing Pete had him pinned to the wall when he sucked Jensen's cock into his mouth. Pete gripped the base of his cock, pulling in time with his mouth. It was too fucking hot, and it was taking all his concentration to hold on long enough to not embarrass himself. Pete pulled back, jacking him off as he licked up Jensen's balls and yeah, he was about done. When Pete sucked him down again, he figured maybe he should say something.
"Pete, fuck. I'm gonna come." Jensen bit his lip, trying to wait, but Pete didn't pull back, just sucked harder until Jensen was spilling in his mouth. Pete swallowed, sucking him clean and then kissing his hip before standing back up. Pete smiled at whatever look he had on his face and leaned in to kiss his neck.
"You okay, baby?"
"Yeah, amazing." Jensen sighed, letting his head fall against the wall for a second before he realized that maybe he should be doing something. Things like this were usually mutually rewarding. "Sorry. I can…"
Jensen reached for the button of Pete's jeans, but Pete covered his hand to stop him.
"You can. You don't have to. What do you want?"
"I-" Jensen paused. Okay, so he didn't really want to suck off some guy he just met, but he did want to get him off. "I could, I want to." Jensen made a motion with his hand.
"That's good for me." Pete grinned and released his hand so he could undo Pete's jeans and pull out his cock. Pete sighed and moaned against him, breathing hot air on his neck and mouthing down his shoulder until he started to clutch Jensen's hip harder.
"Good, baby. So fucking good." Pete kissed him hard, and Jensen could just barely taste himself in Pete's mouth as Pete came in his hand. Pete rested his head on Jensen's shoulder for a minute as he caught his breath. Then he pulled back and picked a towel up off the floor, throwing it to Jensen to wipe off his hands. "I can take you home in the morning unless you don't wanna sleep here."
Pete nodded to the bed behind them, and Jensen shrugged. He was too tired to go home now anyway. "Here's cool."
"Don't worry. My roommate doesn't even really live here. He only says that he lives here for his parents. He sleeps at his boyfriend's place every night," Pete said as he shucked off his jeans and climbed into bed. Jensen followed him, toeing off his shoes so he could walk to the bed. Naked. He'd really never shared a bed naked, but Pete seemed to think it was normal.
"Don't freak out on me when you wake up. We'll talk, okay?" Pete said, then kissed him before switching off the light.
College was so fucking awesome.
~*~
"Hey." Pete was lying on his side, propped up on his elbow and watching Jensen when he woke up.
"Hey."
"Are you freaking out on me? Are we going to do the thing where you say you only did this because you were drunk?" Pete asked as Jensen let his eyes drift to where the sheet pooled at Pete's hips. Fuck. Pete was still naked under that sheet.
"No."
"So you knew. You're just not out?"
"Yeah." Jensen shrugged. "You're not gonna tell anyone, right?"
If Pete told, Chris would freak out and ask for a new roommate. Jensen would probably have to be roommates with Mike.
"No. Not if you don't want me to."
Jensen nodded. Chris was a hick, and he didn't need the whole dorm knowing that Chris had to switch rooms because his roommate was a fag.
"Look, baby, I probably should have said this last night, but you gotta know I'm not looking for anything serious. I'm going to London in the spring for a semester."
"Yeah, sure." Jensen shrugged again. He'd known Pete for a day. He couldn't expect a drunken hookup to be his boyfriend.
"Not that we can't fuck around and have some fun before then. I've got plenty of things I'd like to show you if you're gonna be okay with me leaving in January. As long as you know I'm not looking for a boyfriend, we're good." Pete reached across the bed and put a hand under his chin to pull his head up. "You all right with this?"
"Yeah, it's cool," Jensen answered. He just got to college. He didn't need a serious boyfriend anyway. College was supposed to be about hooking up and partying.
"Great." Pete pulled him into a kiss and smirked. "Come on. I should get you back before your cowboy starts looking for you. Took me ten whole minutes to get him to leave without you last night."
~*~
"Never woulda guessed you'd be the one coming home in the morning wearing last night's clothes," Chris said when he walked in the room. "Even Tom came home late last night. That girl just got a free taxi home and said goodnight."
"You didn't have any luck?"
"Gettin' a girl? Naw. They all wanted Steve, not some freshman. Talked to him a lot, though, and we're gonna look at putting together a band. He knows some people."
"Sounds good." Jensen stripped off his shirt as he looked for his towel and his flip flops. He was never going to get used to showering with shoes on.
"So you gonna see her again?"
"Maybe." Jensen shrugged. Why did Chris have to know everything he did?
"Maybe? You get her number?"
"Yeah." Pete's number was programmed into his phone, and he'd told Pete he wanted to hook up again, but he still wasn't sure he was going to call.
"You hooked up with her, took her number, and you're not going to call?" Chris shook his head. Great. Chris thought he was the kind of asshole who fucked around and then didn't call girls back.
"Naw. I'm gonna call. I'm just not sure it's gonna end up more when we're both sober. That's it."
Chris nodded as he left the room to shower. Shit. He was going to have to be more careful if he didn't want Chris asking questions all the damn time.
~*~
January - Freshman Year
"Dude, you're not leaving for two more days." Jensen scratched dried wax from one of Pete's candles off of Pete's dresser. Pete's empty dresser. That Pete's subleaser was going to be using in four days.
"Yes. But tomorrow I'm keeping you to myself in my bed all day, and the next day Mike's throwing me the party, and we gotta pretend we haven't been fucking for four months." Pete winked at him, slipped his hand in the waistband of Jensen's jeans, and pulled him forward for a kiss. "Besides, I've been keeping you to myself this whole time, and I can't leave you here like you are now. You'd hide in your room and not get laid for four months. It'd be pathetic."
"I wouldn't." Chris would never let him get away with staying home for four months.
"Okay. You'd only go out with Chris and you'd be so scared of him finding out that you're gay that you'd still never get laid for four months."
"Shut up." It wasn't like he could argue. Pete always told him he could hook up with other guys, and he never did. Pete didn't either, but Jensen was pretty sure he was just afraid Jensen would get upset if he did. It wasn't like Jensen didn't keep him satisfied.
"Baby. You're not in love with me. We both know that. You're just too terrified to go out and meet anyone else. Maybe you're so fucking beautiful that I haven't been pushing you to get out there, but I'm not leaving you here like this." Pete kissed him again before catching his fingers in Jensen's t-shirt and lifting it over his head.
"I thought we were going out." Not that he was disappointed. He didn't want to go out. He wanted to stay in and fuck Pete like usual.
"We are. You're not going like that. Though you're probably pretty enough to get someone no matter what you wear, I'm still not taking you out like this." Pete released him and started flipping through the shirts still in his closet.
"I'm not wearing your clothes."
"Yes, you are. Because you're not wearing your clothes. I have a reputation to uphold." Pete ignored his groan and tossed him a black tank top. "It's black, and it's not mesh. Stop bitching and put it on."
"It's too small." He might as well have painted it on.
"That's the point. It's hot." Pete slapped his hand when he tried to take it off and glared until he gave up before turning to dig through one of his half-packed bags and pulling out a black eyeliner pencil.
"No."
"Yes."
"No." He had rules. Rules that involved not wearing make up.
"Yes. You know you think it's hot."
"On you. Not on me." Jensen backed away.
"On you also." Pete smirked, following him until his knees hit the bed and he had to sit down.
"This would be an example of extreme protest. I'm not agreeing to this," Jensen said as Pete climbed onto his lap.
"I'll keep that in mind." Pete laughed, settling in his lap and tilting his head back. "Look up for me, baby."
"Why the fuck is this necessary?" Jensen said as Pete turned his head to get at his other eye. Pete was practically scratching his eye with the stupid pencil.
"We're going out. You're going to meet people, and you're going to promise me at the end of the night that you will go back after I'm gone and pick up someone cute. Then I'm going to bring you back home to blow you." Pete sat back and examined his work before kissing him and getting up. "And then, you're going to blow me."
"Maybe I don't want to blow you after you write on me against my will."
"You always wanna blow me, baby."
~*~*~
Sophomore Year - October
"Jensen, darlin', I've been looking for you," Chris said as he threw his arm around Jensen's shoulders.
"What the fuck? Are you drunk?" Jensen started to push Chris away. He wasn't even sure how Chris could drink with his stupid ninja costume on that covered his mouth.
"Dude. Just go with it. You owe me. You fucking stole my clothes for your costume," Chris whispered in his ear. Jensen sighed, but he stopped pulling away. Chris thought his costume was hilarious when he showed up at Pete's party dressed as Chris, but he still owed Chris for other things.
"Why am I doing this?" Jensen whispered.
"Brittney. That girl I hooked up with last week? She's fucking here. How did she even get invited here? Pete needs to blacklist her."
"Why?" Jensen asked before he looked up and saw the girl coming toward them. "Dude. How drunk were you?"
"Shut up. I woke up and got out as soon as I could without being mean. But she got my number from someone and called me. I told her that it was a mistake because I was gay and had a boyfriend," Chris said, sliding closer to him and leaning in a little.
"Why the fuck did you tell her that?" Jensen forced himself to smile as he asked. She was going to get to them soon. She'd be able to hear them already if the music wasn't so loud.
"It was the first thing I could think of, and it worked. I pretended to be all confused but told her I loved him and shit. Now I can't fucking find Pete so he can help me. Stop being such a homophobe and pretend to be my boyfriend for a few hours." This couldn't get any more fucking messed up if Jensen tried.
"I'm not kissing you."
"Fine. So we're too classy for that much PDA. Fuck, what's wrong with you? I know you're weird about Pete, but it's not that big of a deal," Chris said.
Jensen didn't have time to think up an answer for that stupid accusation because Brittney was in front of them.
"Hey. You know, I thought Chris was joking when he told me he had a boyfriend." She smirked.
"Yeah? He told you about me? I'm sorry; I don't think we've met." Jensen extended his hand as he wrapped an arm around Chris's waist and pulled him closer. Chris was an idiot, but he was still Jensen's best friend, and there was no way he was letting Chris hook up with her again. It wouldn't have even happened if he'd had Chris's back that night instead of sneaking off to hook up with the hot guy he'd met while Chris was outside talking to Steve.
"Um, yeah." Brittney stuttered before taking his hand and shaking it. "We, um, have a class together. It's nice to meet you. I'm Brittney."
"You were talking about me?" Jensen looked down at Chris, trying to look like he cared. At least those drama classes he took in high school were good for something.
"Of course, darlin'. I'm always talking about you." Chris stood taller and kissed his cheek.
"Yeah. Sorry. I'm just going to mingle. It was nice to see you again, Chris," Brittney mumbled, backing away and turning to go in the other direction.
Jensen started to break away, but Chris held on.
"Dude. What if she comes back?"
"You're going to make me do this all fucking night?"
~*~
"Hey. Brittney went home," Tom said as he sat down on the couch across from them. Jensen pushed away from his place under Chris's arm and sat up.
"You guys didn't know she was gone?" Steve turned to Tom as he sat down. "I told you to tell them she was gone half an hour ago."
"Fucker." Jensen picked up an empty beer can from the coffee table and threw it at Tom's head. Too bad he was too damn wasted to actually hit him.
"But you guys just looked so cute." Tom bent over laughing.
"You just wanted us occupied until all the hot girls left. And you still didn't pick anyone up." Chris rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, but I got some numbers without Jensen distracting them and then disappearing because they aren't hot enough for him or whatever."
"Only because you were sober, and they were drunk. Next week, they'll all be pretending to be lesbians." Chris smirked and looked over at him. "Right, darlin'?"
"You aren't going to let that stick. I'll kick your ass." It was bad enough that he wasn't going to get laid because of this. Pete had pointed him toward three guys who he could pick up as soon as they showed up at the party, and now they all thought he was taken.
"Yeah. Well, I promised two of those girls a ride home. So you guys are crashing here, and I'm taking Mike home."
"Fucker." Jensen glared.
"I asked Pete if he had room for you first," Tom said, shrugging, getting up, and pulling Mike after him.
"Yeah, well, I'm claiming the bed upstairs in Jake's room. You guys can fight over the couches," Steve said, picking up his guitar.
"Big couch is mine. I'm taller," Jensen said before Chris had a chance.
"Fucker. I'm not so short that I fit on the loveseat."
"Too bad. I'm not sharing, and you owe me. Couch is mine." Jensen wasn't getting stuck on the loveseat when it was Chris's fault he wasn't in a bed.
"Jake's bed is a king. Share with Steve. You spent all night hanging on Jensen. It can't actually bother you." Pete rolled his eyes at Chris, but he winked at Jensen when no one was looking. So he wouldn't even be stuck on the couch. He could sneak into Pete's room after Chris was passed out. Pete would wake him up with enough time for him to make it downstairs.
"You mind?" Chris asked, and Steve just shrugged.
"No big deal," Steve said, smirking when he nodded to Jensen. "As long as your boyfriend's not gonna get jealous."
"Naw, he always complains that I kick. Right, darlin?" Chris smirked and leaned over to kiss the side of his head before Jensen shoved him away.
"I should have told her I wanted a threesome and then ran away when you were stuck with her," Jensen said, but Chris just laughed as he followed Steve upstairs.
Pete turned and watched them disappear upstairs, waiting until he heard the click of a door closing before he walked toward Jensen.
"I thought you were going to pick someone else up," Jensen said as Pete straddled him and settled in his lap.
"I was a little worried you were going to kill Chris if you didn't get laid at all." Pete leaned down to kiss him.
"Thought about it. Stupid fucker," Jensen mumbled as Pete moved down his neck.
"You know, you could probably tell him."
"So he can freak out about how I probably enjoyed tonight too much?" Chris would probably never talk to him again.
"I promise to vouch for you when you tell him that you aren't even a little interested."
"Pete."
"Yes, I know. You don't want to talk about it." Pete rolled his eyes, but he still reached for Jensen's hand as he got up, pulling Jensen to his feet and leading him to the bedroom.
~*~
Sophomore Year - February
"Steve called. He says he made some changes to the song you wrote. He wants to talk to you about it," Jensen said when he came in and threw his backpack onto his bed.
"Did he say why? It was fine." It was the third song Steve had left him a message about. Maybe Stephanie was right. If Steve didn't like his songs, he should just try going solo.
"Do you want the edited version or the direct quote?" Jensen asked, putting down his highlighter and sitting back in his chair.
"Just tell me what he said. I don't need you fucking editing for me."
"He said he knows you, and he'd rather sing the song you wrote, not the song Yoko wrote," Jensen said.
"What the fuck kind of shit is that? I write my own damn songs."
"Don't yell at the messenger, dammit." Jensen rolled his eyes as he got up to get a coke out of the mini-fridge and handed another to Chris.
"That mean you don't agree?" Jensen hadn't been any better about Stephanie than Steve, but he couldn't help hoping for some support.
"I haven't seen what you gave him. I liked what you were playing on Saturday, but I never heard the whole thing."
"Fine. What'd you think of the last two he said he wanted to change?"
"Chris. I have this test tomorrow." Jensen frowned and sat back down.
"Bullshit. It's not like it's a fucking chemistry test. I know you have fucking poetry writing tomorrow. It's a stupid elective. Answer the damn question."
"What do you want me to say?" Jensen closed his book and leaned forward like talking to him was a fucking burden.
"I want the truth."
"I don't know exactly how he changed them, but I'll agree that they didn't sound like you. It sounded like you were trying to write a radio single instead of a great song that could end up a great single."
"And you think that's Stephanie's fault, too?" It wasn't like she never had any good ideas. There wasn't anything wrong with wanting some damn radio play.
"I didn't say that."
"Because you didn't think it, or because you don't want to fight about it?"
"Maybe I don't see the point in fighting about her anymore, okay? You don't want to listen to me or to Steve, and it's not like I have to sing your songs."
"Steve doesn't have to fucking sing them, either." Obviously he didn't fucking want to sing them.
"Steve wants to. That's why he's trying to work with you. It's not like you've never suggested changes to his songs before. Why don't you just try writing with him again?"
"Because I can't write anything but shit by myself anymore?"
"You know what? I'm not doing this. Fight with Steve about this. If we're gonna fight, I'll wait until it's actually about me." Jensen got up, throwing his books in his backpack before stalking out the door and letting it slam.
"Fuck." Chris threw his keys down on the bed and started to reach for the notebook he'd written his last song in but stopped. There wasn't a point in writing something Steve was just going to hate again anyway, and Stephanie was going to be over in a few minutes. At least he wouldn't have to bribe Jensen to leave this time.
~*~
"You're coming to the show on Friday, right?" Chris asked as he brushed Stephanie's hair back from her face.
"Friday? I don't know, baby. I've got that thing on Friday with Lynn and Courtney. But I can try to catch the end?" Stephanie sighed and snuggled closer in his arms. "I'll be at the party after, okay?"
"Yeah. It's cool." Chris didn't bring up that she'd missed his last two shows. She had her own life, and she didn't just attach herself to his hip. That's what he'd loved about her in the beginning.
Chris was just starting to drift off in the post-sex haze when the door slammed open.
"Fucking hell," Tom yelled. He was covering his eyes with his hand when Chris looked up.
"This is why you fucking knock." At least the covers were pulled up enough over Stephanie's chest that Tom hadn't gotten a free show.
"You should have locked the door," Tom said, still covering his eyes but not moving to leave. "It's fucking important, anyway."
"So fucking important that it can't wait? Is someone dying?" Tom's idea of an emergency was probably running out of conditioner.
"Yeah. Get dressed and finish whatever. Mike's coming over here."
"Now?"
"Yeah." Tom backed out of the door to talk through it. "Hurry up."
"If someone isn't dying, you're going to be dying," Chris called out as he sat up and turned to Stephanie. "Sorry, baby."
"I'm holding you to that threat," Stephanie said as she sat up and started to get dressed.
"Not a problem." Chris kissed her before pulling on his jeans and a fresh t-shirt. He waited until she was dressed and sitting on the bed before opening the door to let Tom and Mike in. "So what's the big emergency?"
"Dude. This is not public information." Tom cocked his head in Stephanie's direction.
"You interrupted us. I'm not kicking her out because you have issues."
"They aren't my issues, and I'm not sharing someone else's issues with her."
"Then whose issues are they?" Chris looked at Mike, but Mike just shrugged.
"I have no idea. He just called me and told me to meet him here. I know about as much as you do," Mike answered as he sat down on Jensen's bed.
"Look, I'm not trying to start a fight about her. Seriously. I've given you less shit than anyone," Tom said to him and then turned to Stephanie. "It's not an issue with you, really. I'm not looking for a fight right now."
"Yeah. Sure, whatever." Stephanie shrugged and stood up. "I'll call Courtney and see what she's doing. Call me when you're done with your family meeting."
Stephanie kissed him and picked her purse up from the floor before disappearing out the door.
"This better be important." They outcasted her enough as it was. It was no wonder she didn't want to hang out with his friends more.
"It's Jensen," Tom said, starting to pace even though Chris and Mike were sitting down.
"Jensen? What about him. Something's wrong? If he's in the fucking hospital or something, get on with the damn story." Jensen was a pain in his ass, but he still wasn't looking to get a different roommate because Jensen got hit by a car or something.
"No. Dammit, if he was dying, I would've told you right away."
"Then what the fuck is wrong with him?"
"I just saw him. When I was coming back from class." Tom sighed and bit his lip but didn't continue.
"And?" Chris was going to beat Tom over the fucking head one day.
"He was with someone."
"So? Is who he was with what I'm supposed to care about? Because if it is, you could tell me." Stephanie was with him, so it wasn't like Jensen was fucking around with her behind his back.
"I have no idea who it was, but it was a guy." Tom finally sat down in Jensen's desk chair.
"Okay, when you said he was with someone, I figured you meant they were doing something." Chris still didn't see what Tom's fucking issue was.
"I did. They were kissing. Jensen was kissing him."
"What the fuck? You don't just say that shit."
"I'm not! Do you want a fucking diagram of how they were making out?"
"No. Fuck. It was probably really a girl. He just has bad taste." Jensen wasn't gay. Jensen was still weird around Pete whenever they all hung out.
"Dude. I know what I saw. It was a guy."
"So there's some other explanation." There had to be. Jensen was his best friend. He'd know if Jensen was gay. Chris looked past Tom to where Mike was watching them. "Do you believe this shit?"
"Uh, yeah? I kind of figured he was gay a while ago. I figured he'd say something when he felt like it. I thought maybe he'd already told you."
"What? Where the fuck do you get that from? Did he tell you that?"
"He didn't have to. Sometimes he's out all night, but we never meet any girl he's hooked up with. We never see him actually do anything with any of the girls that he hits on at parties."
"That doesn't mean he's gay."
"No. But there's other stuff that adds up, and you know it." Mike was too calm. He was too fucking calm about Tom saying this shit.
"You're wrong. There's some other explanation, and y'all are going to keep your mouths fucking shut until I figure out what it is."
"Chris." Mike got up and started to walk to him, but Chris shook his head.
"Just give me some time. I'll figure out what's going on."
"Yeah, sure." Tom shrugged, and Chris pretended to ignore the look he exchanged with Mike. They thought he was being crazy. Whatever. They were fucking crazy. He knew Jensen. He'd been Jensen's best friend since they showed up at TU. He'd know if Jensen was gay.
~*~
Jensen didn't say anything when he came home, but it wasn't the first time they'd gone to bed without speaking, and it wasn't likely to be the last.
Jensen didn't say anything the next morning, either, but he still left the coffee pot on so it was hot when Chris got up and found a message waiting on his computer.
MadMike: Chase broke up with Pete. Party's canceled.
adMike: Pete said he didn't want anyone to come over, but he didn't say we couldn't kill Chase.
Great. Pete wouldn't even get out of bed for a week. Chris knew he didn't like that asshole. At least he didn't have to worry about getting shit from the guys for skipping Pete's party to go with Stephanie to see her parents. It wasn't like he hadn't tried to get out of going to her parents house, but it was her mom's birthday, and Stephanie didn't want to drive by herself at night.
Jensen's computer chimed from across the room, followed by the familiar chime of his away message answering.
He wasn't going to look. Jensen trusted him, and it would be wrong to look at his messages.
Though it wasn't like Jensen never let Chris use his computer. Jensen had a printer and he didn't, and Jensen never minded. Sure, usually Jensen was there when he did it, but he'd never specifically said, "Chris. Don't get on my computer when I'm not watching over your shoulder."
It wasn't a big deal unless he actually went to the trouble of opening Jensen's e-mail. There wasn't anything wrong with just going to his computer and looking at what was already on the screen.
Yes, he knew it was bullshit, but if Jensen wasn't hiding anything, there wouldn't be anything for him to find.
Jensen had two AIM boxes open. The first was the same IM Chris had from Mike, letting Jensen know that that party was canceled. But the second one….
The second one was from Pete. Pete, who Jensen never seemed to want to talk to; Pete, who Jensen only saw when the whole group was together.
Asstastic69: I know you probably heard from Mike already about Chase. Asshole said I'm too high-maintenance and I want too much attention. I know you're in class right now, but can you come over later? It's okay if you have plans with Alex.
~*~
Chris wasn't stalking Jensen. He wasn't even following him. He was just sitting outside in his truck down the street from Pete's townhouse in case Chase showed up and tried to mess with Pete. It had nothing to do with Jensen at all.
Except that Jensen's truck was pulling into the driveway behind Pete's car, and Jensen was getting out. Chris didn't know what he was expecting to happen when Pete answered the door, but it wasn't for Jensen to take one look at him and pull Pete into his arms.
Pete said something he couldn't hear, and Jensen smiled before cupping his cheek and pulling him into a kiss. It wasn't the kind of quick kiss he could explain away as friendly, but it wasn't rough and passionate, either. It was long and soft, and when Jensen pulled back, Pete smiled and leaned back against his chest. Pete sighed, and Chris could see his shoulders start to shake as he turned his face to press into Jensen's neck.
Chris looked away, but not for Jensen. Pete had always had his back, and he deserved better than having Chris watch him if he was going to fall apart. It wasn't like Pete had ever made any claims about the way things were with Jensen. Hell, he'd always avoided the topic of Jensen. Chris had just assumed that it was because of how Jensen came off as homophobic. He couldn't hold it against Pete that he kept Jensen's secret. Jensen was the one lying to everyone else about it.
Jensen was gay. Or bi, at least, but Mike had a point about Jensen never having any girls around. All this time, he thought he knew every fucking thing about Jensen, just like Jensen knew every fucking thing about him.
~*~
Chris was shoving clothes into his duffle when Jensen came back from Pete's house in the morning.
"Where were you last night?" Chris looked up from his bag. Fuck. Chris never asked where he was. Chris usually guessed something, and Jensen agreed with whatever he guessed.
"I have a chemistry test coming up. Spent all night at the library."
"You look damn rested for a guy who spent all night in the library."
"What are you, my mother?" He didn't need shit from Chris after spending half the night with Pete crying all over him.
"Whatever. I haven't lived with you two years. I have no idea what you'd look like after spending the night studying at the library. You say that you were at the library, then you were at the fucking library."
"Okay." Jensen nodded to the duffle bag Chris was zipping closed. "Going somewhere?"
"Yeah."
"Where?"
"What do you care?" Chris picked up his bag and started for the door.
"I like to know what county I might have to bail you out in. What the fuck is wrong with you? You're still fucking mad about the song? Because I don't need to get in the middle of you and Steve. I'm not even taking his messages for you if it's gonna end up like this." Jensen liked Steve, but he didn't have to live with Steve.
"Whatever. I'm going to Thailand."
"You're going to Thailand?"
"Yeah. And you stayed up all night studying in the library."
~*~
"You couldn't keep your fucking mouth shut on my mom's birthday," Stephanie said, glaring at him before turning her eyes back to the highway in front of them.
"I'm sorry." It wasn't a complete lie. He was sorry Stephanie was mad. He just wasn't fucking sorry that he told off Stephanie's dad for being a prick.
"You're sorry for what you said to my dad? If I call him right now, then you'll apologize?"
"I'm sorry that the weekend got messed up. I'm not sorry for standing up to him."
"For what? Why the fuck do you care if he makes a few comments? Are you gay? Because then we have a whole new problem."
"I don't have to be gay to have a problem with him calling some guy a 'flaming faggot' and planning out how to fire him just because of it."
"Why? Because that friend of yours, what's his name, Peter or something, is gay? He works at a tiny clothing store for a reason. You know he couldn't work a real job with how he acts."
"What? How he acts? So what, if he acted different, then you think he could get a real job?" Pete didn't even want a different job, but that wasn't the point.
"I'm just saying. If he had normal hair, and he didn't make such a show of it, he could probably get a normal job." Stephanie didn't even take her eyes off the road.
"If he didn't make a show of it?"
"You know what I mean. He doesn't need to announce it to the whole world. He could just act a little more normal, and no one would even know. That's all this guy that my dad works with had to do, too. He could have hidden it better, and no one would have known, and he wouldn't be getting fired."
"Or they could stop being homophobic pricks and just not fire him because he's gay!"
"Well, my dad can't have clients getting uncomfortable and leaving because of him."
"So you agree. You think it's okay to fire someone just because they're gay?"
"If it's going to make the difference between keeping and losing clients."
"I can't believe you fucking think that." Chris wasn't going to be that guy that yelled at a girl. His mama taught him better than that.
"Whatever. It's just logical." Stephanie shrugged, like it was fucking nothing.
"Yeah." Chris sighed and prayed Stephanie didn't run them off the road. "Then I think we're over."
"What?" Stephanie swerved on the road but got back on track when the car next to them honked. "What the fuck are you saying?"
"We're over. I meant what I said to your dad, and I'm not changing my rules for you. If that's how you feel, we're over." Pete never seemed to care about people saying shit about him because he was gay, but Chris knew Jensen. Gay or not, Chris knew that kind of shit would upset Jensen if he was gay. Because he was gay. No wonder Jensen went to so much trouble to hide it altogether if people like Stephanie were talking around him.
"Why the fuck do you care? You're not gay!" Stephanie yelled as she changed lanes.
"I don't have to be gay to think that's fucked up. It's fucked up, and if you don't agree, then I don't want to have anything to do with you."
Stephanie pulled over onto the shoulder of the road and stopped the car. "Then get out."
"What?"
"Get out."
"We're a fucking hour from home. There's not even a fucking rest stop here." She had to be fucking joking.
"Get out now, and I'll let you get your shit out of the back before I drive off." Stephanie nodded to his door, and he scrambled out, opening the back door to pull out his bag.
Stephanie pulled back on to the highway, leaving him standing on the side of the road, one hundred fucking miles from Austin.
Chris let his duffle fall to the ground and started thumbing through the numbers on his phone. Mike was the least likely to blab to everyone else about how Stephanie left, but he didn't answer his phone when Chris called. Tom's phone went straight to voicemail, and Pete fucking rejected his call. He couldn't fucking call Steve. He'd gone off on Steve ten times as bad as he'd bitched at Jensen.
Which left Jensen. Fuck. It was try calling Jensen or hope he could hitchhike home.
Jensen answered on the third ring.
"How's Thailand?"
"I'm not in Thailand."
"No shit." Jensen couldn't fucking make this easy, could he?
"I broke up with Stephanie, and she left me on the side of the highway. I'm about a hundred miles away."
"Shit. Which direction am I driving?"
~*~
Jensen didn't say anything on the ride back to Austin. He handed Chris a bottle of water and left Chris to stare out the window.
When they got back to the dorm, Jensen picked up his books and disappeared until Monday morning, when he came back with notes from Chris's geology class. He took one look at Chris, pushed him out the door with nothing but a towel and didn't open it again until Chris came back clean.
No one called him. No one came to see him, and he didn't have to ask why because Jensen had done the same thing when Tiffany broke up with him at the end of freshman year. When Chris picked up his guitar and wrote a song, Jensen just nodded and said, "Sounds good, man."
He didn't do anything any fucking different than Chris would have expected him to do a week earlier, so Chris figured he didn't give a shit who Jensen fucked. It wasn't like fucking Stephanie had actually made him a different person.
~*~
"We're not talking about Stephanie," Chris said when he walked into Mike and Tom's room.
Mike nodded but didn't ask questions. Jensen had told them something already, but he hadn't even bothered to find out what.
"If Jensen doesn't want us to know, then we don't say anything. And you two idiots don't say anything about him to anyone else. We keep our fucking mouths shut and let him tell us when he's ready."
~*~
