Chapter One



Oh yeah, this was the life!

Jared Padalecki cruised down the highway, and to be honest he'd completely forgotten which one. He didn't have a care in the world, other than having some fun and getting away from the shit-hole of a thing called his life.

Five years! Five fucking years he'd been with that bitch and he couldn't be sure she'd been faithful for a single day of them. He'd always known of course, which actually hurt worse, because every single time he'd told her he knew about her fucking every good looking guy that crossed her path, she'd turned on the water works - oh, she was so good at that! The thought made Jared's blood boil. She'd promised it would never happen again, that she loved him and only him. And being the trusting sap he was, he believed her. Every time, he took her back, every single fucking time.

But not this time. This time he was getting away.

He'd told her that her things had to be out of their place by the time he got back. She'd protested of course, asking why she was the one that had to leave. Jared had patiently reminded her that it was his house they lived in, he'd earned the money to pay for it, and it was his name on every, single signed piece of paper. Plus, she was the one that had done the dirty, repeatedly, so she could just go and shack up with one of her conquests for all he cared. God! He was so glad he'd never married her.

Jared put his foot down on his Chevy; it was his pride and joy - the car he'd wanted since he was a kid and had worked damn hard to afford. His black '67 Chevy Impala. He'd thrown a bag full of clothes in the back seat, grabbed his wallet and thought of nothing else. He'd peeled out of his driveway without looking back, leaving a gob-smacked Sandy gaping after him. She'd always hated his car; said it was too big, too noisy. But then again, at 6' 4" Jared was big, and noisy, so the car suited him perfectly. Sandy was a slip of a girl, not to belittle her - she was gorgeous - but the chip on her shoulder was bigger even than Jared.

It had been early afternoon when he'd left, so Jared had no idea where he was heading, and he was finding he liked it that way. He planned to just drive and drive, see where the road took him. But now it was dark and Jared was getting tired, making it so he had to find a place to stop soon. Surely there's a motel around here somewhere!

Okay, so in hindsight, maybe it wasn't the best idea to not keep an eye on where he was going; now he couldn't even look at his map to see where the closest rest stop was. He hadn't seen a single car in the hours he'd been on this road and he couldn't remember seeing any turn offs either.

What the hell.

Jared leant over and rummaged in the glove compartment - he knew there was a map in there somewhere. He thought maybe he could get a read on where he was by his surroundings, he had to pass a mile marker somewhere along this road.

Ah-huh! Success! Jared grinned as he felt his fingers touch the little folded map. Jared pulled it out and sat straight behind the wheel again.

That's when he saw them - bright green and glowing in the headlights, just staring at him as he bore down on them.

"Jesus, fuck!" Jared slammed on the breaks and swerved the car away from the stunned person standing in front of him on the road.

Oh crap, please God, no! As soon as the car skidded to a stop - narrowly missing a tree at the side of the road - Jared pushed the car door open, grabbed a flashlight that had fallen from the glove compartment in his exploration, and began searching the road for signs of the person who had been standing there moments before.

"Hello?" Jared called; his heart pounding as he scanned the pitch black road with his poor light. "Can you hear me? Are you okay?"

"Fuck!" Somewhere off in the distance Jared heard cussing and immediately headed in that direction.

Eventually, following some very colourful language, Jared found the source of the verbal abuse on God and anything else thought of. Jared shone the flashlight in the direction of the voice and his breath hitched as he was met with the sparkling green eyes he'd seen in his head lights.

"Are you okay?" Jared asked, moving quickly to the guy's side.

"Am I okay? Am I okay? What kind of fucking question is that?" Came the guy's pissed off reply. "You nearly ran me the fuck down! Of course I'm not okay!"

Jared took a step back. Okay, so maybe I deserved that. He took a deep breath, then moved to crouch beside the guy sprawled on the ground.

"I mean, are you hurt? Are you sure I didn't hit you?" Jared reached out his hand, touching the man, searching for any blood or sign of a serious injury.

"Get your fucking hands off me, you pervert," exclaimed the man as he swatted Jared's hands away, causing Jared to recoil again.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Just… let me help you, make sure you're okay!" Jared reached out his hand again, but this time he didn't initiate contact, instead he held his hand out in an offering, to see if the man took it himself. The guy stared at him for a moment, seemingly sizing him up. Then he slowly and cautiously took Jared's offered hand, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. Jared sighed with relief.

Suddenly, the guy hissed in pain and stumbled on his feet. Jared quickly moved to catch him and hold him upright.

"You alright?" Jared asked urgently.

"No, I'm not fucking alright!" The guy repeated as he held onto Jared unconsciously, but at the same time trying to lean as far away as he could. "I'm having the worst fucking day of my life and then I nearly get hit by a fucking car. How could I possibly be alright? Jesus, stop asking me that"

"I'm sorry. I just meant are you hurt?" Jared reiterated. He'd managed to help the guy to the front of his car and together they leant on the hood, illuminated by the headlights. Jared stared at the guy in concern and the guy stared right back at him, seeming to hesitate for a moment.

"Um, my side hurts a little where I hit the ground, but I think I'm okay," the man told him, his voice suddenly soft and he offered Jared a weak smile in reassurance.

"Jesus, you might have internal bleeding or something," Jared panicked. What if this guy is really hurt? He'd never forgive himself.

"No, I'm okay, I think I might be in much worse shape if that were the case," the man said with a gentle smile. "Look - I'm sorry for going off at you like that. I'm Jensen," he told Jared, holding out his hand.

"Jared… Padalecki," Jared informed him, taking the pro-offered hand gently but firmly, still terrified Jensen might have been hurt more than he was letting on. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just having the worst fucking day of my life!" Jensen growled, agitatedly poking experimentally at his side and wincing a little.

"Yeah, so you said," Jared smiled, pleased when Jensen smiled back. "Anyway, I kinda deserved it, I mean; I did nearly hit you with my car."

"I noticed," Jensen smirked. "What's up with that, dude?

"Well, you were standing in the middle of the road, in the pitch black," Jared attempted to defend himself. "What the Hell were you doing crossing the road like that anyway?"

"Trying to get to the other side," Jensen quipped, biting his bottom lip as he grinned cheekily. Jared's stomach did a flip. He let his eyes roam over Jensen as the other man pulled up his shirt to examine his side in the Impala's headlights. He had short, slightly spiked, dirty blonde hair; his startling green eyes were framed by slightly hooded lids sporting long, thick lashes, and his slight stubble led down to full, plush lips. Jared couldn't look away - the man was undeniably beautiful. When Jensen hissed in pain, Jared's eyes moved and he was struck once again with an awe inspiring sight. Where Jensen had pulled his shirt up, he'd revealed well defined abs covered by soft pale skin. Jensen's muscles rippled as they flinched away from his touch, and Jared had the sudden and unbidden urge to reach out and discover what those muscles felt like under his finger tips.

"Nothing's broken, I think it's just bruised," Jensen confirmed, sighing in relief as he covered his body again with the thin material of his dark blue shirt. Jared was snapped back into reality and mentally shook himself. What am I thinking? I'm not gay, he thought to himself incredulously. He'd never had any desire to be with another man nor found one attractive enough to warrant thinking about it. He laughed to himself quietly; breaking up with Sandy must have messed with his head more than he thought.

"Uh, I don't find anything funny," Jensen snapped suddenly.

"Oh, sorry man, I wasn't laughing at you," Jared was quick to reassure him. Jensen eyed him for a moment before looking away, shivering suddenly.

"Jesus, it's friggin cold out here," he noted, wrapping his arms around his body.

"Oh, hey," Jared replied quickly, already bounding his long limbs around to open the passenger door for him. "Get in the car. I'll turn the heater on." Jensen eyed him warily. "Don't worry; I'm not some psycho axe murderer or anything."

"Obviously," Jensen said, but hesitated once more. Then he shivered again, and finally climbed into the welcoming warmth of the car's interior.



Once Jared was safely sitting behind the wheel, he reached into the backseat and rummaged in his duffle bag, pulling out a large black hoodie. He tossed it to Jensen who pulled it on happily and seemed to snuggle into its soft warmth.

"So, did you run out of gas or something?" Jared asked as he started the car again. "There a car somewhere I can take you to?" Jared reached for the roadmap, turning over in his hands but otherwise staring blankly at it.

"Yeah, I wish," Jensen huffed as he slumped back in his seat, his body slowly warming. "No, no car. Just me."

"O-kay," Jared said slowly. "Do you live around here somewhere then? Can I drop you off?"

"Dude, I don't even know where here is," Jensen exclaimed and Jared's mouth fell open.

"You're kidding me, right?" he responded and Jensen shook his head.

"I wish I was, buddy."

"Wait, don't tell me," Jared deadpanned. "You were abducted by aliens and found yourself out in the middle of nowhere?" He chuckled and grinned widely when Jensen laughed with him.

After a few seconds, however, Jensen's laughter faded and a dark look fell over his soft features.

"That would have been a picnic compared to what I've been through today."

"What happened?" Jared asked cautiously.

"Let's put it this way, never tell your boyfriend that his mom can't cook, even if it's true," he replied, a small smile catching on his lips. He raised his eyes to Jared's, grinning wider at the other man's shocked and confused expression.

"You ended up in the middle of nowhere, not knowing where you are - at God knows what time of the night - because your boyfriend's mom can't cook?" Jared clarified incredulously, and Jensen nodded.

"Yep, pretty much." When Jared looked at him inquiringly - admittedly amused, but even more confused - Jensen explained.

"Tom - my boyfriend - well, my ex-boyfriend, I think, but anyway -"

"Jensen, focus," Jared prompted him with a chuckle. Jensen flushed a little.

"Tom had taken me to his parents place to do the whole meet them over dinner thing, but seriously man, this food was inedible. I made out I wasn't feeling well, which to be honest, watching him and his dad dig in like it was the finest steak or something -" Jensen grimaced. "I wasn't. Then we were driving back today and he asks me what was up, why I was so weird during dinner and then again at breakfast this morning - and dude, those pancakes could've been used as Frisbee's, seriously. So I told him, said I couldn't understand how he could eat it like it was sent from God or something."

"And he didn't like that I presume?" Jared interjected, trying desperately not to laugh, but unable to withhold the amusement from his face.

"That's putting it mildly," Jensen replied. "He started ragging on my brother, saying he was like an interfering old busy-body and that his partner was the most boring guy alive. Well, I told him to shut the fuck up. I mean, just cause his mom can't cook doesn't give him the right to say shit like that. Then… well, things were said, most of them were meant, most of them came out of his mouth - and he can have a nasty mouth when he sets his mind to it - a lot of those things were about my friends and how much he hated them. I told him if that's the way he felt, he wouldn't have to see them again 'cause when we got back home, I was moving out."



Jensen was breathing heavily by this time, his face betraying his anger and Jared shifted uncomfortably in his seat while he waited silently for Jensen to continue.

"So you know what the asshole did then?"

Jared shook his head but couldn't wait to find out, completely enthralled. "He stopped the car, opened my door and literally kicked me out. Then he drove off and left me there, on the side of the road. I've never been to this part of the fucking country before; I've got no clue where I am or which way to go. All I know is that I'm at least a hundred miles from home."

"Dude, that sucks." Jared rejoined the conversation. "He really kicked you out of the car?"

"I got the impression I was lucky it wasn't still moving at the time. Son of a bitch drove off with my jacket, which of course has my cell and my wallet in it." Jensen slumped in his seat, looking completely exhausted from his outburst and ordeal.

"Well, you're totally welcome to catch a ride with me, but I have to tell you something," Jared said as he peered sheepishly at Jensen, who just raised an eyebrow, waiting. "I have no idea where we are either. I kinda just got in the car and drove, didn't pay any attention to where I was going, just figured I'd hit a motel at some point."

Jensen stared at Jared like he was insane and Jared felt like he was shrinking under the scrutiny. Then all of a sudden, Jensen burst into laughter - loud and strong and heartfelt.



"We're a Goddamn pair, aren't we?" Jensen laughed, and Jared found a chuckle rumbling in his chest until finally he threw his head back and let it out. The car was filled with hysterical laughter, the two men holding their sides and gasping for breath.

"Okay, okay, stop. This hurts," Jensen said, tears falling from his eyes and cradling an arm against his hurt side.

"Alright, how's this?" Jared began once he'd calmed down enough. "We just keep driving down this road; it's gotta take us somewhere, right? Then, when we find some signs of life, we can ask directions from there."

"Sounds good to me - it was daylight when I watched that bastard drive off," Jensen responded. "God knows how long I've been walking for. Kinda figured he'd come back for me, you know? Like I'd ever wanna see that face again."



Jared watched Jensen sadly; he knew all too well what that kind of betrayal felt like. When Jensen saw him staring, he flashed him a bright smile, making the corners of his eyes crease into complicated lines. Jared felt his breath hitch again, and smiled unconsciously.

"Come on man, get this beautiful beast of yours going and let's get the Hell outta here," Jensen said, interrupting Jared's thoughts.

Jared laughed, slammed the Impala into drive and stepped on the gas.



They'd driven in silence for a while - both lost in their own thoughts - until Jared became aware of Jensen watching him. He looked over and smiled slightly, but Jensen just kept staring.

"What?" Jared asked nervously.

"Your turn," Jensen said simply.

"My turn for what?" Jared questioned, confused.

"You heard my story, now what's yours?" Jensen explained. "Why are you driving around without knowing where you're going?"

Jared sighed. It was only fair he supposed; that he reciprocate the storytelling.

"Had enough of my girlfriend cheating on me," he explained with a shrug. "Got sick of being treated like the faithful dog that would always be there no matter what, you know?"

Jensen cocked his head to the side and listened; his expression was kind but there was sadness there too. Jared got the feeling he was being felt sorry for.

"There're only so many times I could take her back. I don't even know why she stayed with me at all; I obviously wasn't enough for her. God, she must've fucked every guy I know! I lost more friends to her in the last five years than I made in ten, and enough was enough. Sometimes I thought guys just spoke to me so they could get in her pants - kinda felt like her pimp, except I never got paid and wasn't treated with any respect. I just set up her next fuck and walked away." Jared took his eyes off the road to look over at Jensen, whose lips were pressed into a tight line and his forehead was creased by a heavy frown.

"Bitch," Jensen said so quietly Jared wasn't sure he'd actually said it.

"So when I walked in on her actually going at it in our bed with a work mate - who by the way, was supposed to be home sick - I'd had enough. I'd really thought we'd make it this time; I'd gone home to surprise her. I'd taken a few weeks off work and was planning on sweeping her away somewhere nice, find whatever plane tickets we could get last minute and just go, just the two of us. God, I think I might even have asked her to marry me. How deluded am I? What a sap!"

"So, what did you do?" Jensen queried, leaning forward towards Jared in interest. Jared smirked.

"I knocked the guy out, packed a bag and told her to be the Hell out of my house and my life by the time I got back," Jared grinned. It felt good to get this out of his system; he didn't really have anyone to talk to back home anymore.

"Nice," Jensen grinned back. "Serves the bitch right."

"Then she told me that she'd never loved me and had only stayed with me so she didn't have to work. That she actually couldn't stand me, that I was too tall, I needed a hair cut, ate like a pig, laughed too loud, talked too much, touched too much, was naïve as Hell, and that she hated my car," Jared reeled off, squinting his eyes in thought trying to remember all his apparent faults.

"She dissed the car? Man, she had to go!" Jensen tried to lighten the mood.

"Yeah well, I guess I'd kinda been asking for it," Jared said. "I was so stupid to stay with her all that time. Guess I had it coming huh?"

"What? Jared, don't say that. Don't even think that. That drama queen never deserved you," Jensen said crossly.

Jared scoffed. "Yeah, cause I'm such a catch."

"Yes man, you are. It's just that your taste in women sucks." When Jared looked at him, Jensen winked and they both laughed.

"Well, I give 'em up - women are just not worth the heartache." Jared concluded and threw a hand in the air carelessly.

"Really?" Jensen raised an eyebrow with a chuckled as Jared suddenly realised he'd said that in front of a gorgeous gay guy.

"Well… I… What I meant was…"

"Relax Jared. I was just yanking your chain." Suddenly Jensen yawned, covering his mouth, embarrassed. "Sorry."

"Hey, why don't you catch some sleep? I'll wake you up if we hit a motel or something, okay?" Jared told him.

"You sure?" Jensen's eyes were already drooping.

"Yeah, I'm sure. You were walking for God knows how long, you must be exhausted. Take a nap, dude."

"Yeah, alright. Thanks." Jensen shuffled down and tipped his head back to rest against the seat, his eyes closed and Jared heard him sigh deeply. "Night Jared."

Jared smiled. "Night Jensen."



That's it! Jared killed the engine, huffed out a breath and leant back in his seat. His eyes were refusing to stay open any longer and he knew that if he didn't want to run his car off the road or wrap it round a tree, he had better stop driving now.

He tipped his head and looked to see if Jensen was still asleep - he'd been fidgety all the while he'd been dozing, trying to get comfortable. Now he was leant back against the door with his head resting on the seat and his knees bent at an awkward angle. Jared watched him in the dark, finding it difficult to tear his eyes away - Jensen couldn't possible be comfortable! Jared looked around the car, he decided that he would climb into the backseat and let Jensen spread out in the front. With a soft smile, Jared shifted slightly in his seat, and watched Jensen sigh in his sleep.

Adorable.

He smiled, closed his eyes and was asleep within minutes, completely forgetting to climb in the back.



Jared immediately closed his eyes again as the bright sunlight assaulting them painfully. He groaned and turned his head into his pillow, snuggling a bit closer to the warmth there.

"Jared?" came a soft whisper.

"Mfph, f've mohr mn'uhts," Jared mumbled, trying to reach for the covers to pull over his head. That sunlight was way too bright, had he forgotten to close the blinds last night?

"Jared. Time to wake up, man." A hand gently shook his shoulder, and then moved to brush his hair off his face.

Jared's hand gave up on finding the covers, he must've kicked them off again, or maybe Sandy was being cruel and had removed them to make him get up.

Sandy? No, Sandy and he… So who was…?

Jared forced his eyes open and looked around.

Jared's head was on a pillow of denim, he was still in his clothes and when he tried to move, his body ached in protest. He turned his head up and was met with green eyes and a full lipped smile.

"Morning," Green Eyes said softly. "I thought you'd never wake up."

A name, there's a name that goes with those eyes, those lips, that beautiful face.

"Jensen?"

Oh crap.

"Jensen, man. I'm sorry." Jared hastily pushed himself up, wincing as the aches and pains of sleeping in the car assaulted his body.

He'd been sleeping with his head on Jensen's leg, cuddling right into his thigh. God, how embarrassing.

"Nah, it's cool. You looked too comfy to move." Jensen shrugged off his apology. "Nice dreams?"

"Huh?" Jared frowned. Jensen raised an eyebrow and lowered his gaze. Jared followed until he came across his very prominent morning wood.

"Oh, Jesus."

Jensen howled with laughter while Jared rearranged himself, his face burning hotter than before.

"Want me to help you out with that?" Jensen said seductively, leaning forward slightly, leering at Jared.

Jared's stomach flipped and his dick jumped. The next second, he saw in his mind's eye, Jensen's moist lips wrapping themselves…

"I... um..."

"Hey, I'm just kiddin with ya." Jensen chuckled, smacking him on the back with a huge grin. Jared let out a shaky breath. "You should've seen you face."

Jared flushed again but that only made Jensen laugh even harder.

"You know, I could always kick you out of the car," Jared warned a little grumpily but his mouth couldn't help but pull into a smile because, embarrassing as it was, it was pretty funny.

"Oh please, like you'd ever be that cruel!" Jensen teased him, and Jared wondered if he was really that transparent.

"Yeah, you're right," Jared admitted. Then he paused for a moment. "But what would you have done if I'd taken you up on your offer?" Jared quirked an eyebrow and Jensen's mouth fell open.

Ha, Jared thought, grinning again. Not so predictable after all.

Their banter was interrupted by Jared's stomach growling loudly and it occurred to him that he hadn't eaten anything since yesterday afternoon and he was starving. Jensen probably hadn't eaten since yesterday morning, if he'd even eaten any of those dodgy pancakes.



Leaning over Jensen, Jared dug around in the glove box. It was a variable chest of wonders, after a few second rummaging, he pulled out a couple of chocolate bars and handed one to Jensen.

"Breakfast of champions." He toasted Jensen with his bar, ripped off the wrapper and took a huge bite.

"Jared, you were sent from God!" Jensen said, eagerly taking a big bite himself.

"I know, just don't spread it around, I don't want people following me around kissing my feet," Jared grinned. "Makes it real difficult to walk."

"I'll bet," Jensen laughed and looked around. "So, I take it we didn't find a motel last night?"

"Nah and I just got way too tired to risk driving."

"And you thought I looked comfy?" Jensen teased.

"No way, you're all muscle dude, not a single bit of squishy fat to get comfortable on," Jared teased right back, even if it was more of a compliment.

"So, what's the plan for today?"

"Same as yesterday, I 'spose. Keep driving 'til we hit upon someone who can help us out," Jared shrugged.

Jensen stretched in his seat. "Well, alright sasquatch. Let's go."



Read chapter two of nine of Lycaness' Escape to Where?