"You're leaving? Before someone even shows up?" Jensen had put up with this shit for a week, and maybe if his friends were fucking normal, he'd believe this.

"Figured I'd let you shower." Chris shrugged. "I've got to meet Steve anyway. Steve? Remember Steve? Who you're still avoiding?"

"Yeah. Well, I'm pretty sure Mike followed me into the shower yesterday, so I figured privacy wasn't your biggest concern." If Jensen ignored the comment about Steve, maybe Chris would drop it.

"Yeah, and he says he heard you jacking off. I'm pretty sure you were faking it to make a point, but I'm still having nightmares from when I walked in on you."

"So how long do I have until someone shows up to relieve you? Gonna tell me who it is? I know Lexi's in Houston already."

"Not a chance." Chris smirked as he picked up his bag and walked out the door.

So that probably meant he didn't have all night. Most of his friends were booked until Mike got off office duty at ten, but he wouldn't put it past them to recruit Eliza or Kristen.

So he wasn't that shocked that he'd barely had time for a shower and some quality time with the flexi-power rod when there was a knock on the door.

What he didn't expect was for Jared to be standing on the other side. If they fucking told Jared the whole story, he was murdering every single one of them.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me. I'm not some fucking weak little girl. And I'm not a complete idiot either."

Jared's eyes widened, then dropped to the ground and he took a step back. Shit. Maybe he was wrong. Fuck, he was such an asshole, and that was why he really didn't deserve Jared.

"Shit, Jared. I'm sorry. I thought Alexis sent you. I shouldn't have gone off on you like that."

Jared shifted his feet and looked up without really raising his chin. "If she kind of did, are you going to get all pissed off again?"

"How exactly did she kind of send you?" Even if he meant well, he didn't need Jared thinking he needed to be babysat.

"I was asking around to find someone that could help me figure out this chem stuff before my test tomorrow. She just said now would be a good time to ask. Which was obviously not true, and I'm beginning to wonder if I should have given her a second try on this friends thing."

Jensen opened the door wider and waved him in. He couldn't have Jared mad at Lexi again, even if she kind of deserved it. Besides, it wasn't Jared's fault Jensen's asshole friends pulled him into this.

"I guess it would be unfair to punish you for falling for her manipulations."

"Look, man, really, it's no big deal. You don't have to help." Jared shrugged and picked at the cover of his notebook, tearing it a little. Yeah, sure, Jensen could turn him down-if he was straight and he kicked puppies. Lexi was seriously fucked in the head.

"Because you can pass this test just fine without any help?"

Jared looked down and shrugged, making Jensen wonder how much he'd freak out if Jensen just pushed him against a wall and kissed him. Probably a lot.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Besides, I should help you so I have a friend left after I kill every single one of my old friends." And he was still killing them, even if he didn't mind hanging out with Jared. It was the principle.

"You'll still have one left whether you help me or not, dude. And I'll let you borrow Allie if you let me move into her room after Alexis is gone. Because Chad? I'm about to steal all his socks." Jared laughed, and Jensen had to smile. There was something about Jared's smile that made it pretty much impossible not to smile back. It probably had something to do with the dimples and how much he wanted to lick them.

"It's a deal. But I'll help you anyway. Can't have you flunking out of school and leaving me with no friends." And no eye candy. He still had to figure out how to use the waterproof vibrator when Jared was showering with him. It was too creepy and stalkery to follow Jared into the shower, so he needed to guess when Jared was likely to shower and go in first. Having his friends stalking him was really making that difficult.

"Awesome. Though for my own personal survival, can I ask why you're killing all your old friends so I don't end up the same way?" Jared asked as he came inside and sat next to Jensen on the couch.

"Alexis said you saw Justin last week?" He might as well give Jared part of the story if he was probably coming up with all kinds of conclusions anyway.

"Yeah." Jared nodded, watching him.

"Well, when it comes to him, they can get a little overprotective, and by a little, I mean insanely. Bordering on psychotic. Or you know. Just psychotic. Way past the border."

"At least they care?" Jared smiled a little and didn't ask why they were so crazy. That was good.

"Yeah, well, normally, Alexis and Chris can't stand each other, so I only have to deal with one at a time. But when they found out Justin knew where I lived, I'm pretty sure they've decided to work together for my sake or some shit like that. They organized shifts." Jensen watched his face, trying to see if Jared thought the whole thing was too insane.

"Shifts for what?"

"Guarding me." Jensen rolled his eyes and let his head fall against the back of the couch. The whole thing was so fucking stupid.

"For the past week, they've been around every second I'm not in class. First, Chris had to borrow a book and happened to have a meeting in the direction I had class. Then Mike happened to be in the area when I got out of class, so he might as well walk home with me since he lives here and play Super Mario until he had to go to class, right around the time Alexis came home and couldn't go in her room because Allie was hooking up, which I'm pretty sure wasn't even remotely true. Then Tom wanted to sleep on my couch because supposedly he had some fight with Chris and couldn't be in the same house with him, which of course meant Chris had to come over the next day because he was pissed at Tom. And it's just been going on all fucking week. They finally all had some kind of plans they couldn't cancel tonight."

"So Alexis got me to do it," Jared finished.

Jensen nodded. "Alexis was actually talking about feeling sick earlier, but I'm guessing after she figured out she could sic you on me, she decided to go ahead and go to the concert with the rest of the girls."

"Dude. If you want to chill by yourself for a while, I can come back in a couple hours or something," Jared offered, but Jensen had never managed to turn him away, and part of that was that he never really wanted to. Lexi knew that. It was probably why she set this up.

"How about we study now, and when someone shows up in a few hours, you say Chad's kicked you out of the room and you're spending the night on my couch? I really just want to sleep in peace one night. You can sneak out once they give up." Tom snored. He had no idea how Mike ever got any sleep when they were roommates.

"If you promise not to let Alexis kill me," Jared said, smiling at him again. If Lexi ever managed to kill Jared, they might as well lock her up. Anyone who could really hurt him was obviously going to end up some psycho serial killer of babies.

"Not a chance. Maybe I'll teach you how to soften her up instead," Jensen smiled and took the chemistry book from Jared. "So what's on your test?"

"I have a review packet," Jared said, passing him a stapled packet of papers. He moved closer to Jensen on the couch so they could share the papers, pressing his thigh against Jensen's. Fuck, this was going to make intro to chem feel like organic II. How was he supposed to think when he could smell Jared?

"Jensen?" Jared turned his head, looking at him when he didn't answer.

"Sorry. I was just reading over the ones you already did," Jensen lied. Damn, he really hoped those were all right, because he had no idea what they even said.

"Thanks. I'm mostly stuck on the third page. I think Chad and Amanda talked me into going to parties that week instead of class." Jared shrugged and looked down. Lexi was right about him being adorable. So fucking adorable, and it wasn't fair that Jensen couldn't have him. Maybe God really did hate gay people like his parents said.

"It's okay. I'm pretty sure that's what you're supposed to do when you're a freshman. Don't worry. I'll make sure you don't fail like the rest of them," Jensen said, and Jared smiled back at him. Yeah, he was going to have to do this without actually looking at Jared because his brain couldn't even fucking function with Jared smiling at him.

~*~

"You're my new favorite person in the world," Jared said as he slammed his chemistry book closed and pulled Jensen into a hug. Chris would mock him forever if he knew how Jensen leaned into it. Because Jensen didn't do hugs. He really didn't. Not with guys. But Jared was always throwing his arms around everyone, and Jensen couldn't complain when it gave him an excuse to feel Jared up just a little. It was really wrong, but he was already going to hell anyway, right?

"Well, you're my only friend, so that's good." Jensen laughed as Jared pulled back.

"Aww, come on. Your friends just care about you."

"They're insane. Of my friends, you've met Lexi and Mike. You should know this."

"Yeah, but you love them anyway. It's like how I love Amanda and Sandy, even though they like to make me do embarrassing things in front of a lot of people."

"Like put a condom on a dildo in front of the whole dorm?" Jensen grinned when Jared blushed. Amanda and Sandy probably put him through hell because he looked so damn cute when he blushed.

"Yeah. Like that."

"Well, at least you surprised them by knowing what you were doing?" He couldn't help it. He had to know.

"Yeah," Jared chuckled. "My brother wasn't going to let me go to college without knowing. He made me practice on a banana until he thought I had it down. I think he thinks I'd get embarrassed if I wasn't prepared, and I might get some girl pregnant because I let her push me around."

"At least he cares?" Not that Josh never cared, but in his family, they just signed the permission slip for sex ed and never talked about it again except to tell him he was supposed to wait until he was married-which he was pretty sure Josh didn't do either, but they all pretended they would.

"Yeah. Just a little too much sometimes. He keeps threatening to show up because I haven't gone home, but I'm just busy, you know? And I don't want to be that kid who goes home every weekend and might as well not live on campus."

"Yeah, but you're going home for Thanksgiving, right?" Not that Jared had to value it like he did. He still regretted staying in Austin his junior year. If he'd known, he would have gone while he still could.

"Oh, yeah. Allie and Sandy are coming with me since they can't go home. I wouldn't miss my mom's Thanksgiving dinner for anything." Jared smiled, and Jensen had to force himself to smile back and nod this time. At least they were interrupted by a knock on the door before Jared could notice.

"Come in!" Jensen didn't bother to get up. His friends only knocked so they didn't walk in on him jacking off anyway. Lexi didn't even bother.

"Hey! Jensen, man, big favor," Mike said as he came in.

"Yeah?" Jensen exchanged a look with Jared. Sure, he knew Mike was full of shit, but Mike wouldn't admit it in front of Jared.

"So Jake was doing some kind of science experiment in his room or some shit. I have no fucking idea, but it smells like ass in my room now. I need to crash here. I really can't sleep there."

"Sorry, man. Couch is taken." Jensen said. He knew Jared couldn't lie, but they'd be okay if he did the talking.

"What?" Mike frowned, and Jensen didn't even try not to laugh.

"Sorry. I already offered it to Jared. Chad kicked him out again." Jensen shrugged. Mike wouldn't even argue, though when Chris heard, he'd probably show up all worried and concerned about Jared spending the night in his room, and Jensen would have to tell the truth so Chris would get off his back.

"Oh, okay. I guess I'll ask someone else." Mike shrugged and closed the door behind him. Seconds later, they were holding back laughter as they listened to him bitching to Tom about his room smelling like ass.

"Okay. That was kind of mean," Jared said when he was gone.

"He'll just go sleep on Tom's futon. He'll be fine. I need a break."

"Yeah. I know." Jared shrugged, but he wasn't laughing.

"You're really upset I lied to Mike?"

"No. I mean, he obviously set the whole thing up."

"Then what's up?" Fuck, why did he hate himself so much just because Jared looked like that?

"It's just… you're not going to see him when I leave, are you? Because he seems like an asshole, and I'm not helping with their plan, but they're probably doing it for a reason." Jared looked at him with those puppy eyes, and even if he was planning to call Justin-which he wasn't-he'd never be able to do it now.

"I'm not. I'm just going to enjoy having more than two hours to myself. Really," Jensen said.

"Okay. That's cool, then." Jared smiled, believing him without question when Jensen knew all his friends wouldn't-but they had reasons. He'd lied to them enough to lose all his credibility. Still, he was pretty sure lying to Jared was right up there with stealing lunch money from kids on reduced lunch.

"You want me to go ahead and go?" Jared asked when he got distracted and didn't answer. He did that too much around Jared.

"You should probably stick around. They'll probably check back." It was true. It had nothing to do with him wanting Jared to stick around. "You want to work on Mario some more?"

"Sure!" Jared grinned and moved to turn on the system and pick up the controller. Jensen leaned back to watch him speed through the first levels. He could get through them in just a few minutes now. He was already passing waterworld most of the time, and every time he died, he'd just start over and make it a little further than before.

"You really are going to try this until you win, aren't you? You're as bad as Mike."

"Clearly, I am better than Mike. You don't want to do it?"

"I've done it four times. Though I only have witnesses for three." Really, it wasn't that hard. Mike just always got distracted and died.

"Really? I was beginning to think it was impossible."

"Nah, you'll get it. It took Mike twice the time to get to waterworld."

Jared beamed at him, and Jensen really should send him back to his room soon, because every time he looked at Jensen like that, it just got harder and harder not to make a move. Even though at this point he was sure Jared would be nice about it and just remind Jensen that he was flattered but straight, it would probably still make everything weird.

He almost yelled, "Come in!" when there was another knock on the door. It was probably just Mike coming back to check if Jared actually stayed.

"Jensen. Hey, man. I know you're in there. I saw Mike leave earlier." Justin. Shit. Jared let Mario die and slid closer to Jensen on the couch, but this time he didn't notice Jared's thigh against his. Jared was hot and all that, but he wasn't lying when he told Chris it was a crush. He wasn't Justin.

"Dude, just don't answer, and maybe he'll go away," Jared whispered, and Jensen turned toward him.

"Come on, man. Please? Just talk to me." Justin said though the door.

Jensen met Jared's eyes and nodded. Jared wasn't Justin, but he was still Jared, and Jensen wasn't going to disappoint him. Besides, Justin would just ask who Jared was, and that could end up really fucking messy.

"Jen. Come on. I know you're mad. I'm sorry. I just need to see you," Justin said through the door, and Jensen could hear his voice shake. Shit. What if something happened? What if Justin finally left Jacqui, and Jensen was just ignoring him. Jensen looked away from Jared and stood up. Jared was great, but he was straight, and he didn't know Justin. He just knew everyone hated Justin and assumed he was an asshole. He didn't know that Justin's life had been perfect until Jensen went after him. Sure, it had been a lie, but it was probably easier to live before Jensen showed him what he was missing.

Jared stood up and blocked the way to the door. He rested his hands on Jensen's biceps. Shit. Jared wasn't letting this go so easy.

"Jensen, you know if you open that door, he's going to make you feel like shit later." Jared's voice was hot in his ear.

"Jared. You don't know him. You don't know everything that happened." Jensen tried to keep his voice steady, but he knew he was failing. This wasn't fair. It was one thing for Lexi, or hell, Chris to see him like this, but not Jared. He tried to push back, but Jared held on. Fuck, he was strong, and damn if it wasn't the hottest thing in the fucking world that Jared could hold him back.

"I know how he acted after he left here last time. I know he's just saying this shit to get to you and make you feel sorry for him so he can treat you like shit and act like a bastard later. I know you're so much better than he thinks you are. And that's all I need to know."

"You know I hate this as much as you do." Justin said, and that told him enough. He hadn't left Jacqui. Of course not. He just wanted Jensen to be the dirty secret on the side again. This was why it was so fucking stupid for him to always let Justin back in. His vision blurred, and, fuck, he couldn't let Jared see him cry. That was just not an option. Jensen tried to push past him again, but Jared held tight-probably because he thought Jensen was still trying to get to Justin instead of just away from him.

"Don't listen to it. Listen to me, okay? You can kick my ass if you really want to, but that's the only way you're getting to that door. And really, you should know I mean that. Because if I let you open that door and don't look like I got my ass kicked trying to stop it, Alexis will just kill me anyway. I've got nothing to lose here, man," Jared said. Jensen tried to concentrate on him, on the way he smelled, the way he gripped Jensen's arms. It probably wasn't what Jared had in mind, but right now anything that kept him from breaking down in front of Jared was fair game.

"What the fuck is your problem, Jensen? Is Chris in there or something? Telling you how much you don't need me? Because he's fucking wrong, Jensen. You fucking need me, and you know it." Justin pounded harder on the door. Shit. He was going to make a scene, and everyone was going to know. Everyone in the dorm was going to know about his stupid big gay drama, and all the respect he earned was going right out the window.

Jared relaxed his grip just enough to rub up and down Jensen's arms and get his attention again. Fuck, it felt too fucking good to have Jared's hands on him. It didn't help that he knew he could probably get away with kissing Jared now. He could just blame it on the situation, say it was because he was upset or something, and Jared was just there.

"Come on. How can you need him? I mean, you've got friends who love you enough to stalk you for an entire week and then manipulate me into helping them. That's some love, man. I mean, think of all that time they had to be sitting around waiting for you to go places. Mike probably had to sit outside your class in case you got out early, and you know how much it takes for him to sit still. Plus he did some kind of freaky thing in his room to make it smell all funny. Really sucks for the people that live next to him, too. And you've got me. And I'm really important because I'm always going to make you look good. Like any time you feel like a moron, you can think about how I'm still a virgin and I've gotten one blow job in my whole life and Alexis made me cry over the whole thing. And really, nothing can ever be more pathetic than all that."

Jensen had to look up then, because really, Jared had to be desperate to bring that up. Jared had pretty much forbidden the world from ever talking about it, but he was willing to bring it up to make Jensen feel better. Jensen couldn't help smiling.

"You are going to be fucking sorry about this, Jensen. You-"

"Dude! Give it up already!" Justin's tirade was interrupted by Chad screaming from down the hall. "Either he's not interested, or he went out with one of those hot chicks he's always got around. I mean, we'd all be gay if we knew it'd get us all the hot chicks. But either way, you're killing my fucking mood, and I'm trying to get laid here. So give the fuck up, or I'm calling the police."

There was silence, and then Jensen could hear Justin walking away. Jensen relaxed, accidentally dropping his head so it fell on Jared's shoulder. Before he could move away, Jared moved closer and pulled him into a hug. It should've been weird, but Jensen decided to not give a shit. He totally deserved to get a chance to cop a feel. It wasn't creepy if it was just Jared's back, and his shoulders, and those really fucking strong arms.

"I guess I can't complain about Chad getting laid all the time now. For at least a week." Jared ran a hand up and down Jensen's back, and Jensen didn't in any way move closer and sink into his arms like a girl. He was really just taking advantage of the opportunity to feel Jared up.

"Guess so. Jared?"

"Yeah?"

"So I guess if Chad's really hooking up…" He wasn't going to ask Jared to stay. He'd be fine if Jared left now that Justin was gone.

"Good thing you've got a couch for me, huh?" Jared said, still not moving to let him go.

"Yeah," Jensen sighed. He really should pull away before this got weird. It should be weird already. So he was really going to let go-as soon as Jared did.

~*~

To: Jensen
From: Pete

Subject: I'm sick of hearing this shit from Mike and Alexis

But I can forgive you because you didn't let him in. Alexis said Jared held you back and it was all hot and sexy. I WANT DETAILS.

~*~

To: Pete
From: Jensen
Subject: Re: I'm sick of hearing this shit from Mike and Alexis

The details aren't that exciting. But he was all over me. And he was holding onto my arms and rubbing his huge fucking hands all over me-okay, I only wish they were all over me. It was more like all over my arms and my back.

I'd say you should be jealous, but he's still straight.

~*~

To: Jensen
From: Pete
Subject: Re: Re: I'm sick of hearing this shit from Mike and Alexis

Still sounds hot. I'd let him restrain me any day.

~*~

To: Pete
From: Jensen
Subject: I'm going to die

For the record, this falls under things you cannot repeat, or I will tell everyone about that weird guy you dated that liked to spank you.

Jared's been crashing on my couch every time his roommate kicks him out-which is like three times a week. I think I'm going to die. You need to come down here and tell me if he's straight.

Lexi's starting to really think he's bi, because he's been hanging out with us a lot. She thinks he's doing it on purpose or something, but I don't know. He actually showed up at the stupid program they made me do about study habits.

But then, he does have this habit of waiting until the last minute to study. Maybe he was actually interested-except I don't think his study habits have changed all that much.

~*~

To: Jensen
From: Pete
Subject: Re: I'm going to die

You know I don't tell people shit. They tell me shit! Though Chris will not stop e-mailing me and trying to get me to tell him shit. You might want to watch him around your computer and make sure he doesn't set it to forward all your e-mails to him again.

Anyway, you know I can't just fly down there and check him out right now. I can barely afford to live here, and you can't spend money on that. Steve already told me how much you have. (Does he know your social security number or something?)

You need to just develop some gaydar and figure it out. From what Alexis and Mike have told me, he's probably not straight. But he could just be like Mike and not give a shit if people are gay or straight as long as they're fun to hang out with.

Make a damn move already. That will tell you.

~*~

To: Pete
From: Jensen
Subject: Re: Re: I'm going to die

I can't just make a move. He probably won't freak out completely, but if he's straight, you know that would fuck things up.

How do you always know? Give me something to gauge by!

~*~

"I promise I didn't mean to invite him," Lexi giggled as she ducked into Jensen's room without knocking.

"You invited Jared?"

"I didn't mean to! He asked what was up, and I said we were going to see Superman, and he said he'd been wanting to see it. I couldn't just say, 'oh, that's nice, see you later,' I had to invite him. I'm telling you, he's doing this on purpose."

"He probably wants another shot at convincing you to go out with him." Jared had been hanging out with them both a lot since he'd stopped Jensen from seeing Justin. At first, Jensen had thought he was worried Justin was going to come back, but if that was true, he wouldn't be hanging out with Lexi all the time, too.

"He does not. He's so over me."

"And you know that how?" Lexi really had no credibility in this area.

"I was worried about the same thing. So I asked him whether he thought I should hook up with Milo from Spanish class or just hook up with Tom again because Milo was acting like he might want more than just a hook up."

"And?"

"And he asked if I had pictures. Then he said I should hook up with Tom because he was better looking and I already knew he wouldn't cause drama."

"Maybe he just wants to show he can put up with you or something."

"Oh, please. You know that's weak. He's totally over me. He's trying to get to you, and you're so afraid of getting disappointed that you won't give him a chance."

"No. I just remember that he's straight."

"He's obviously not."

"Based on what? That he's been hanging out with me a lot? Chad kicks him out of the room every other night. He's just crashing here because he feels bad kicking you out of your bed and making you sleep in mine."

"No. He's just hoping that one day you'll say, 'oh, Jared, don't sleep on the couch anymore. Get in my bed and let me suck your cock.'"

"I'm pretty sure if I said that, he'd pick Amanda and Sandy's floor instead."

"Yeah, right. Twenty bucks says he makes sure he sits next to you at the movie."

"No. Because you'll set that up on purpose."

"Okay. No bet. We'll just go and see what happens."

~*~

"Do you even remember a single thing that happened in the movie with Jared all over you?" Lexi asked after they left Jared with Sandy and went back to his room.

"He wasn't all over me. He's just a big guy who doesn't fit in a chair." Which led to his leg and his arm being pressed up against Jensen for the whole fucking movie. Jensen lay back on his bed as Lexi sat on the couch.

"Uh huh. There was like an inch of space on my side. He wasn't even touching me."

"He probably didn't want to be inappropriate."

"Oh, please, you're just making excuses. Make a fucking move already. You could have done something. He's going to give up because he thinks you don't like him." Lexi sighed, stretching out across the couch.

"What could I have done?"

"I don't know! Moved closer to him? Shared the armrest? Held his hand?"

"In a public movie theater?" Lexi was insane. She knew better. Hell, she was there to sit between Justin and him when they went to the movies.

"Yes. Because this isn't Poduckville. There were two guys cuddling two rows behind us."

"Lexi-"

"Yeah, I know you won't do that. Fair enough. But you should try something. I really think he likes you. I'd know. He liked me."

"And that worked out so well."

"You wouldn't let that happen because you're crazy about him." Lexi sighed and kept going. "Did I ever tell you why I hooked up with him even though I really should have known better?"

"Because he's hot?"

"Other guys are hot. No, I hooked up with him because he's so big. I mean, he's tall, and his hands can wrap around my arm. I had to know if he was proportional."

"Don't tell me." Lexi was evil.

"He is, of course. Bigger than Tom. It's probably good I couldn't have sex with him because he's a virgin. Because I'd have had to at least try, but I'm really not sure I could take it. I've had big, but not that big. I'm so lucky he'd never had a blow job before because it really wasn't my best work. I had trouble fitting it in my mouth, and I had to use my hand a lot."

"I hate you."

"And it's not just that he's hung. He's got girth, too. I probably wouldn't even be able to walk if we had sex. It's the kind of cock you just feel for days after."

"I really, really hate you."

~*~

To: Pete
From: Jensen
Subject: My residents are evil.

Amanda is a minion of evil. She saw me on the way to the shower today.

Five minutes later, Jared came in the shower because she spilled her drink on him.

He makes orgasm noises when he washes his hair.

~*~

To: Jensen
From: Pete
Subject: Re: My residents are evil.

HAHAHA. I want to meet her!

You know you loved it.

~*~

"Is Jared coming?" Mike asked as Jensen loaded snacks and drinks into a cooler. He was beginning to have second thoughts about combining his program with Mike's floor. Sure, it was just a pool party, but Mike was never going to let him live it down if he spent half of it staring at Jared-and if Jared spent the whole time shirtless, it was going to be kind of hard not to.

"I don't know. I didn't ask him."

"You're supposed to ask everyone. You know you're trying so hard to not get caught liking him, he's going to end up thinking the opposite."

"We hang out all the time. He knows we're friends. He wasn't home when I was knocking on doors inviting people, but I told Allie to invite him, and she said she would." She didn't say if she thought he'd come, of course.

"Okay. That's fair." Mike shrugged and scratched his head. "Did she say if she was coming?"

"She said she'd come if Jared did." Maybe if he was lucky, Mike would be too busy ogling Allie in a bikini to care if he was staring at Jared.

"Awesome." Mike smiled and picked up the cooler. At least Mike was the one giving up his parking spot to drive the cooler to the pool.

"Hey! Am I in time to hitch a ride to the pool? I know you guys said we were meeting there to get out of driving everyone, but I just took two hours of ballet, and you love me?" Sandy smiled up at him, and Jensen nodded. One more in Mike's car wouldn't matter.

"Just you?"

"Yeah. Allie, Amanda, and Jared all have Spanish. Taking French leaves me alone on Thursdays."

"So they can't come?" Mike asked, frowning as they loaded up his car. Sometimes his crush on Allie came in handy.

"They'll just be a few minutes late." Sandy climbed in the back of the car, smiling as she answered.

"Cool!" Mike grinned as he drove them the few blocks to the campus pool they'd reserved for the program. A few residents had already shown up. Even Chad was there, probably for the promise of girls in bikinis.

"Dude, this is going to be a lot of people. Should we have hired a lifeguard? Are we liable for this if Chad falls in the pool and drowns?"

"There's a sign that warns that there's no lifeguard. We're safe."

"Jared will be here anyway," Sandy said.

"Jared?" Mike looked at him, and he shrugged.

"Yeah. He's certified. He worked as a lifeguard all last summer." Sandy shrugged as she got out of the car with her towel, and Mike turned to smirk at him like he knew what Jensen was thinking. Jared was lifeguard? Was there anything about him that wasn't hot?

At least Sandy had already walked off toward the pool, and he could calm himself down while he unloaded all the shit they brought for this thing.

~*~

"Hey, Jensen. You have to help me." Mike ran up to where he was sitting by the pool with Lexi. Obviously, no one ever explained to Mike that running around a pool was how people died.

"Help you how?" Helping Mike often led to him looking like an idiot.

"I'm getting nowhere. You guys challenge Allie to a chicken fight so I can put her on my shoulders."

"That's not going to work."

"Please." Mike pouted, and Jensen sighed. If he said no, Mike would just move on to blackmail.

"Fine. But I'm not putting any of the girls up but Lexi or Kristen."

"I'll do it. I'm bored." Lexi shrugged and got up, pulling him with her and jumping into the pool. "Swim over by her so it's not totally random when I tell her to get on your shoulders."

"Awesome." Mike jumped back in the pool, swimming over to her before they even made it in the pool.

"This is stupid." Jensen sighed as he got used to the cold water.

"At least he's making an effort," Lexi said over her shoulder as she swam over to them. She grinned, talking to Allie, and Allie laughed and started trying to get on Mike's shoulders. This was only working because for some fucking reason Lexi was helping him. She grinned as she swam back to him, and he knelt down so she could get on his shoulders. Mike had to know they were going to win. There was a reason Lexi always got on his shoulders instead of Tom's, and Mike was the worse base in history. He wobbled all over the place.

Lexi grinned as she reached out and laced her fingers with Allie's. She pushed to the side, and Jensen stepped with her, while Mike, of course, stumbled, making Allie slip and go crashing into the water. Jensen couldn't make Mike win if he tried to be bad at this.

"Jared!" Allie yelled as she popped out of the water. "Jensen and Lexi are mean! Come be my base!"

Jensen mouthed sorry to Mike. Really, he should have known better. He should pick something he was good at. But Mike glanced at Jared and shrugged. At least Jared wasn't real competition for Allie.

Allie giggled as Jared hoisted her up out of the water and set her on his shoulders. Oh, yeah, that didn't make him want to do dirty things at all.

"You're going down!" Allie grinned at Lexi. Lexi glared down at him like she was saying, Don't let me get knocked down just because you're ogling Jared.

Allie and Lexi linked their hands again, and this time it was harder. Jared was better at this. He moved with Allie and held his footing even when she wobbled. He really thought they might have met their match until Allie suddenly leaned way too far to the side and practically jumped off Jared's shoulders.

"This is too easy," Lexi laughed as Jensen took her hands and popped her off his shoulders.

"You're supposed to defend my honor or something." Allie pouted at Jared as she came up.

"You fell! I'm not even sure how you managed to fall like that."

"So not the point!"

"Okay, fine." Jared laughed and smiled at Jensen. "I think I'm supposed to defend her honor, and I can't attack Lexi. She's a girl."

Jensen didn't have time to answer before Jared had an arm around his waist, pulling him under the water. Reflex made him fight back, griping Jared's shoulders to try to dunk Jared under the water. His hands slid over Jared's body as they wrestled, and he didn't give a shit if he was losing. He was only putting up a fight so he could keep running his hands all over Jared's bare chest and arms. He heard Amanda whistle, but he couldn't fault her when he kind of agreed that this was damn hot. When Jared finally managed to get him under and let go, he took the hand Jared offered to pull him up and pulled Jared under with him, starting the match over again. When they were laughing too hard to keep fighting, Jared kept an arm around his shoulders and leaned into him.

"Truce?" Jared asked, and Jensen nodded, letting his head rest against Jared's since Jared was in his space anyway.

"I think her honor is defended."

"Yeah." Jared laughed and let him go, swimming to the deeper end of the pool and holding onto the side.

"If you don't go over there after that, I'm telling him that you like him myself," Lexi whispered in his ear when Jensen let him go. Jensen glared, but he wouldn't put it past her, so he shrugged and swam after Jared.

"Please tell me you're giving me a few minutes before a rematch," Jared said, turning to him and smiling.

"Yeah. Lexi tends to get pissed off when I defend her honor anyway." Not that Jensen would do that right now. She was the one making him try to have conversation when all his brain could think was hot, half-naked Jared.

"Doesn't surprise me." Jared laughed and leaned back against the edge of the pool, closing his eyes and sighing. At least he didn't expect Jensen to say anything eloquent, since that was pretty much out the window.

It was probably because he was too busy taking advantage of his chance to stare that he didn't hear Mike yelp until he was already falling in the pool and slamming into Jensen. Jensen blocked his head with his arms but gasped for air too late and sucked in water instead. He was still trying to get out from under Mike when an arm hooked around his chest and pulled him to the side and out of the water. He coughed as he was held against the wall of the pool, strong arms holding him up and a warm hand rubbing over his back.

"It's okay. You're okay. Just gotta cough it out." Jared's voice was calm and steady as he tried to focus. He coughed hard, eyes watering as the water came out… onto Jared's chest. He was killing Mike. Mike made him spit up on Jared. Jared was never going to go gay for him now.

"Sorry, sorry," Jensen managed, like that really made up for throwing up water all over him.

"For what? Mike falling on you?" Jared said, moving the hand on his back to rub down his arm. Jensen didn't answer. He wasn't going to specify. His throat and nose still burned, and he really had to get the watering eyes under control even if it was just from coughing.

"Hey… Jensen? Are you okay? Did you hit your head? Did you black out at all?" Jared's hand moved to his head, feeling over his hair while still holding him up with the other hand. Shit, he really should try holding himself up at some point.

"Jensen?" Lexi appeared at his side. "Is he okay? Does he need to go to the hospital?"

"No, I didn't hit my head. I'm fine. Really." Jensen took a deep breath and reached for the edge of the pool, but it wasn't where he thought, and he just slipped. "Fuck."

"S'okay. I got you." Jared pulled him up, holding Jensen against his side as he guided him to the shallow end of the pool, and he'd enjoy it if it was any other situation that didn't make him look stupid. "You're sure you didn't hit your head? Did Mike hit you in the head when he fell?"

"I'm sure," Jensen sighed as his feet found the ground. As soon as they were shallow enough for Lexi to touch ground, she wrapped around him, pulling him away from Jared until he squeezed the arm around her and kissed the top of her head. "I'm fine. Really."

"Dude, I'm so fucking sorry." Mike stayed a foot away from him, forehead wrinkled in worry even though Jensen knew that as soon as he was fine, Mike would be making fun of him for spitting up all over Jared.

"I lived. Which means I'll be able to kill you later," Jensen said, and Mike relaxed and laughed. Jared smiled and then glanced at Jensen, realizing that he still had a hand on Jensen's waist and there was really no reason for it. He let go, blushing, and Jensen figured maybe he'd just maim Mike permanently.

~*~

To: Pete
From: Jensen
Subject: Say goodbye to Mike

I'm killing Mike. I'm not joking, so you should just say goodbye to him now. He was running around the pool and he slipped and fell in the pool ON TOP OF ME. I nearly drowned.

Except apparently Jared's a LIFEGUARD and he pulled me out of the water and made sure I didn't die. Of course, I was very cool and coughed the water I swallowed all over his chest. I'm sure he was really turned on by me throwing up on him.

He was all over me and I couldn't even enjoy it. I just looked like a fucking idiot.

~*~

To: Jensen
From: Pete
Subject: Re: Say goodbye to Mike

I'm sorry, babe. I'm sure it wasn't that bad and Jared didn't think you looked like an idiot. I've seen you in a pool. Even drowning, you were probably hot.

Actually, when I called Mike to say goodbye, he said that prior to you almost dying, Jared was wrestling in the pool with you. He's probably not straight, baby. Even Mike doesn't do that. Chris maybe, but we all know he's fucked in the head.

Mike also said Jared was really worried about you and didn't want to let you go afterward. MAKE A MOVE.

~*~

"Hey. I promise I'm not here to stalk you. They have a new system anyway," Sandy said when he opened the door to her knock.

"Yeah? Do you know the new system?" It was bad enough that she knew there even was a system.

"Yeah. I overheard Alexis talking to someone on the phone about it, but just because I'm not helping them doesn't mean I'm telling. Your friends are clearly insane, and I'm staying out of it."

"So what's up?" Jensen stepped back to let her in and sat back down on his bed to leave the couch free for Sandy.

"So, like, people don't really do the whole go and talk to the RA thing very much. It's kind of weird because I know you and you're Jensen and not some random counselor person."

"Sandy, that doesn't mean you can't. Or you know, if something's up and you don't want to talk to me about it, you don't really have to stick to your own RA. I'm not going to mind if you defect and go talk to Mike or Kristen or something. Or even Danneel. You haven't gotten to know her much, and that might be easier for you." Most of the residents didn't think about it, but he usually brought it up. Sometimes it was easier on both sides, and Danneel and Mike had both sent him residents before. Plus, he'd never thought about it before it happened, but it wasn't shocking that most of the gay residents came to him automatically.

"Mike?" Sandy raised an eyebrow and he laughed.

"Hey, Mike is great at this kind of shit. You'd be surprised."

"Okay. Maybe, but I think I'll stick with you if that's okay?"

"Of course it is."

"And you can't, like, repeat any of this to anyone, right?" Sandy asked as she sat down.

"I can only repeat up the chain. Which is Samantha, but I wouldn't do that without telling you. I've never had to do it before, because it's really only if I don't think I can handle whatever it is. Unless I feel you're a danger to yourself or someone else, then I have to do a report. Or if you tell me you're going to do something really illegal. I'm not a priest or a doctor, so I'm supposed to tell on you." He had to say it, but it wasn't like he turned in kids for stupid things like underaged drinking or smoking pot.

"Like if I say I'm going to hurt myself or someone else? Or steal a car or a baby?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. That's fine." Sandy sighed and sat down on the couch across from him.

"That's good. I'd really have to do something if you were going to steal a baby."

"Sorry. That was a stupid example."

"It's okay. You know my friends are insane. It's far from the weirdest thing I've heard." Jensen smiled, trying to figure out how to make her comfortable.

"I'm not sure if that makes me feel better. Being more sane than your friends isn't really an accomplishment." Sandy laughed, and he smiled back but didn't answer so he wouldn't get her off track from what she really wanted to talk about.

"Amanda asked me if my parents were upset I was planning to go to Jared's for Thanksgiving, and I kind of lied to her, and now I really don't know what to do." Sandy looked down and picked at the hem of her jeans.

"What'd you tell her?"

"I said they understood that it was stupid to fly back to California when we only really get four days off."

"And that's not true?" Mike and Tom had never really gone home. Most out of state kids didn't.

"Not exactly." Sandy sighed and took a deep breath before continuing. "My parents died when I was fourteen. I could go back and spend time with my family or something, but it's not worth flying that far when it always feels weird without them. So, yeah, I could go back, but it's not like my aunt's that upset about it either way."

"Sandy… I think you could've told her that." He felt like he should say he was sorry or something, but she didn't look like she wanted it anymore than he wanted people to apologize for his parents disowning him.

"I couldn't. It's November, and I have all these friends, and I've avoided telling all of them all semester. They're going to be upset and feel sorry for me, which was exactly why I didn't tell anyone in the beginning. Yes, it was hard, but I don't need all my friends walking around feeling sorry for me and thinking I'm not okay. I miss them, yes. But I'm still me, you know? I just want to feel normal here. I want to have a normal college experience. And so I didn't tell anyone so things could be normal. But now they don't know, and they're going to be mad I lied to them-except they're going to just be weird because they'll think they can't be mad about it." Sandy sighed as she finished and stared back at him. She didn't hide her face or look away like he'd expect most people to do after a confession like that.

"Or they might just understand why you did what you did. I'm not being weird, am I?"

"You're different."

"Because we're not really friends?" Jensen was not going to let the disappointment show on his face. It was stupid.

"No, stupid. Gosh, do you have some kind of complex? Of course we're friends." Sandy rolled her eyes and kicked him in the shin.

"So why am I different?"

"Because you clearly have some kind of parental secret. I have no idea what it is, but you avoid the topic. So I figure you can't hold it against me, and you won't be all weird about it."

"It's that obvious?" He really didn't need everyone knowing about his parents. They'd just feel sorry for him… okay, maybe Sandy had a point. His parents weren't dead, he should be thankful for that, but he was dead to them.

"Only to me. Don't worry, no one else has a clue. Well, no one else you met this year. I'm kind of assuming all your other friends know." Sandy shrugged and pushed her hair back. At least it wasn't too bad.

"Yeah."

"You don't have to tell me what it is. I wasn't really even planning to bring it up. It just kind of happened."

"Thanks."

"But anyway, I figured you wouldn't be all weird about it."

"You don't know all your friends will be."

"Says the guy whose friends establish shifts to protect him-even though he's really obviously capable of taking care of himself."

"Okay, fair enough. They'll probably say the 'I'm sorry' thing and they'll be a little weird when you tell them, but they'll get over it. And I think they'll really just understand why you didn't tell them right away."

"So you're going to go tell everyone your issue?"

"I didn't say I follow my own advice." Who exactly was he supposed to tell, anyway? He didn't tell Amanda anything anyway. Allie? Jared? "Besides, my situation is kind of different. My parents are still alive."

"But you think I should tell them?"

"I think you want to tell them. If you didn't, you wouldn't even be in here asking me."

"Okay. Maybe I almost knew that and was just testing on you." Sandy smiled and sat back.

"That's cool. I'm always open to being a sounding board." Which was good, because it was kind of part of his job.

"So, and you really don't have to answer this, do you just not want anyone to know? I mean, I know we aren't that close, and, well, I get why Amanda totally scares you, but you hang out with Jared all the time, and I know you haven't told some of the other RAs because Danneel mentioned she was surprised you weren't going home for Thanksgiving."

"It's kind of the same thing. My friends that know… they were around when it happened, so I didn't have to tell them, and they still treat me weird sometimes."

"Hum. You think maybe they have a harder time forgetting because they were there?"

"Yeah. Chris is the worst because he saw me the most right after. Mike was more removed, and he doesn't even think about it most of the time."

"So maybe Jared and Allie and Danneel would be cool?" Sandy said. "I mean, I'd never say anything to them about it, but I could let you know how weird they are with me."

"Thanks." Not that it would matter. There was no way he was telling Jared and having Jared give him that pitying look.

"And you can test on me if you want. But you don't have to."

"You didn't sign a confidentiality contract."

"I wouldn't tell anyone!" She probably had a right to look offended, and now that they were talking about it, it would be nice to tell someone who wouldn't look at him like he was someone to pity.

"You know what? I can do that-if you promise not to push me to tell other people, because I really don't want to."

"Okay. I can promise that. It's your business." Sandy nodded and looked him in the eye as she waited.

"I told them I was gay last year. They didn't take it so well."

"How bad is not so well?"

"They said I could go to this place where they try to teach you not to be gay-with therapy and stuff-or they were done with me. I'm pretty sure they wrote me out of the will and everything. I haven't seen them in almost a year."

"I'm so glad you didn't try to do the stupid sexual reorientation therapy. Research shows it just messes you up."

"Forgot you were a psych major." Jensen laughed and shrugged. "I already knew that when they suggested it, so I just never contacted them again. They could find me if they wanted, but they haven't."

"So is there a specific reason you don't want to tell Jared, or you just don't want to tell anyone? I'm not pressuring. I'm just asking because you guys hang out a lot."

"I just don't feel like telling anyone. Plus, when I do, lots of people start saying I should try harder to contact them or something, which is stupid, because they were the ones that decided."

"Okay. I was just wondering if it was because you have this massive crush on him." Sandy smirked, and he tried not to react. If he didn't react, he could say she was wrong.

"I don't have a crush on Jared."

"Yeah, you do, but don't worry. I won't tell him. Don't you think if I was going to tell him, I would have done it when I figured it out? I haven't even told Amanda. I swear."

"Is it obvious?" If she knew, it was probably better to admit it so he could swear her to secrecy.

"No. Not really. I just caught you looking at him a few times when it was obvious, but I don't think anyone else has figured it out. Well, except your friends, because I really think they did that thing at the sex program on purpose. They did, right?"

"Yes. That's why I hate them. Promise me you won't tell anyone?"

"Yeah, of course. Amanda's my friend, but we're not the same person."

They sat in silence for a moment, and Jensen jumped when there was a knock on the door. Sandy giggled and shrugged. "It's cool. You can get it. Thanks for helping."

"Of course. You can always come by… unless you have motives that Amanda put you up to." Jensen grinned back at her as he unlocked and pulled open the door.

"Hey, Jared was looking for Sandy, and I thought I saw her come in here?" Lexi said, but there was a look in her eyes that made him want to push her back out the door-except he couldn't, because Jared was next to her, and kicking Jared out was pretty much impossible.

"Yeah, I'm here. What's up?" Sandy said as she stood and moved toward the door.

"My back is still killing me from when Chad talked me into helping that girl push her car. Not that he helped or even got her number out of it. I was hoping you had something I could put on it?"

"That's what you're looking for Sandy for?" Lexi interrupted before she could answer.

"Yeah? She's always got something because of her dance classes."

"Okay, well, that makes sense, but that's so not what I do for sore muscles." Lexi grinned, ignoring the glares he sent her way.

"You have something that works better?" Jared asked, and Jensen really wished he could think of some way to get out of this.

"Totally. See, Jensen used to be a physical therapy major before he decided to be an over-achiever and switch to pre-med. He took some massage therapy classes. He always works on my sore muscles. He's amazing. You should just ask him to work the kinks out of your back." One day, he was getting revenge on Lexi for this.

"It's... it's okay. I can just get some icy hot or something," Jared shrugged and looked down, but Jensen caught the adorable blush on his cheeks.

"No way! Jensen totally doesn't mind helping you out, right?" Lexi looked right at him, and what the hell was he supposed to say?

"It's cool. You know, if you want," he said, because hell, he couldn't actually pretend it would be a hardship to feel Jared up with an actual excuse.

"Yeah? Because it would be really awesome to be able to carry stuff to class without dying."

"Sure. Your room? Mike's more likely to break into mine to give Amanda a show." Mike might actually respect the rules for Jared's room. Besides, if he got Jared half-naked on his own bed, he would end up doing something stupid.

"Yeah, sure. Chad actually went to class," Jared smiled, all teeth and dimples as Jensen found the bottle of massage oil he kept in one of his drawers. The one he always used for Lexi was this girly rose oil shit, and it would really kill the mood-not that he was trying to set a mood. Jared didn't need to know the last time he used it was on the guy he picked up in the student union. It was amazing, really, that he could get a football player to roll over with just a massage. Shit. That was not what he needed to be thinking about.

"So? How do you want me?" Jared asked after he locked the door behind them. Naked, on the bed, while I suck your cock was probably not the right answer.

"You can lie down on your stomach, or if you want to sit, you can sit backwards in a chair. Either works."

"I need to take off my shirt right?"

Yes, and your pants, Jensen thought, but he said, "Yeah, if it's your back you want me to work on."

"Yeah," Jared said as he stripped off his shirt and threw it somewhere Jensen really wasn't paying attention to. He was pretty sure Jared said something about where it hurt or how it hurt or something, but he was going to have to figure that out again later or guess because all he could see was the muscles of Jared's bare chest as he raised his arms above his head and stretched.

"Jensen?" Jared paused as he sat on the bed. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Sorry. You wanna lie down?" At least if Jared was lying down, he wouldn't see Jensen checking him out.

"Yeah." Jared stretched out on the bed, with his feet hanging over the edge. "Thanks for doing this. I know Alexis kind of pushed you into it, but you don't have to."

"It's okay, I don't mind." Like he was going to turn down the chance to touch Jared this much. He'd never live it down if he did. "I doubt you'll ask me for it as much as Lexi."

"You must be really good."

"She says it's better than sex… well, most sex. She says it depends on the person." Jensen laughed even as Jared turned his head to hide the blush on his cheeks. It was probably the most inappropriate thing to say, but if Jared wasn't so damn adorable when he was embarrassed, everyone would stop doing it. "I'm just going to use a little oil. Make it a little easier. Don't worry, I'm not using Lexi's girly shit."

"Alexis has her own massage oil?"

"I told you she was demanding," Jensen chuckled as he rubbed the oil between his palms to heat it before skimming his hands over Jared's shoulders. Jared shivered under his hands, but relaxed before he could ask if it was okay. "Let me know if anything hurts or if I'm missing something."

"Okay. You know Amanda has all kinds of weird theories about you guys," Jared said as he smoothed his hands over Jared's back, easing some of the tension out of his muscles.

"Me and Lexi? Like what?"

"She says you're married emotionally, and that's why you're not in relationships."

"Interesting theory." It was pretty far from the first time he'd heard it. Jared sighed as he pressed harder into a knot in Jared's shoulder.

"I don't think she's right, though."

"Why?" Even Steve had brought up the question before.

"Because Alexis doesn't seem like she wants you to stay single. She thinks you're ready for a relationship again, and she won't be for a while."

"She told you that?" Of course she would. She was always hinting that she thought Jared might not be straight.

"Um hum," Jared mumbled as Jensen worked on a knot in his shoulder.

Jensen's answer caught in his throat when he kneaded into Jared's shoulder and Jared moaned. Fuck, he couldn't hold a conversation if Jared kept doing that.

"Are you?" Jared asked and he couldn't even remember what they were talking about.

"Am I what?"

"Ready for a relationship again?"

Fuck. How could he answer that, and why the fuck was Jared asking? He let his hands move over to Jared's other shoulder and concentrated on finding the tension in his muscles. "I don't know. Maybe."

"Maybe?" Jared asked but he didn't turn to look at Jensen. Instead, he let his eyes drift closed with a sigh as Jensen moved down his back. Fuck, if Jared wasn't interested, he could come out of this looking stupid, but what if everyone that thought Jared liked him was right? No, he hadn't thought about having another relationship, but if it was Jared? Yeah, for Jared, he could do it. He'd want it. Jared moaned again as Jensen worked down his sides and pressed his thumbs into the small of Jared's back.

"I think I'd be ready if it was the right person. I'm not gonna get into something just because I want something. I'd rather be alone or just messing around. But if it was the right guy, yeah. I'm not… well, I'm finished with Justin. I'm ready to move on."

Jared nodded, but he didn't say anything else as Jensen worked on his back, let his thumbs brush just under the waistband of Jared's jeans. He just wanted to keep going, push Jared's jeans down, drip oil down his ass. Jared moaned again, and Jensen forced himself to move his hands back up to Jared's shoulders. He wasn't really listening when Jared told him where it hurt, but he was pretty sure it was more in the shoulders than his ass.

The only sounds in the room were Jared's soft sighs and moans as Jensen worked any tension he found out of Jared's back and arms. Jared sighed, and Jensen could feel his breathing start to even out. He let his fingers thread just a little in the hair on the back of Jared's neck. "Better?"

"Hum. Yeah. I'm not even sure I can move," Jared whispered.

"Don't try." Jensen really didn't need Jared seeing what this did to him anyway.

"Mmm. 'Kay." Jared moved his arms up to curl around his pillow as Jensen pulled the sheet from the end of the bed and draped it over him.

Jensen was so fucked.

~*~

Read Part four of six of The One Where Jensen Is A Man Whore (Until He Meets Jared) by Aleia