Summary: Jensen hasn't had the best of luck in love so when his best friend Christian wants to set him up on a blind date with his buddy Jared, he decides to go ahead and give it a shot. When the night ends up a disaster he falls right back into the arms of his abusive ex-boyfriend. Will they be able to get through to Jensen before it's too late? Will he even want them to? You'll have to read it to find out!
Characters: Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Tom Welling, Christian Kane, Steve Carlson, Chad Michael Murray, Danneel Harris, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Julie McNiven, Misha Collins
Disclaimer: All actors and actresses belong to themselves; I sadly do not own any of them. I apologize in advance for my portrayal of some of these people as I am sure they are all wonderful people and I don't intend to presume otherwise. This fiction is for entertainment purposes only and I do not make any money off it.
Notes/Warnings: This story contains abuse in all its forms: verbal, physical and sexual. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!
Also, I was inspired to write this story after reading "One More Shot" by sammyndeansgrl1 posted on livejournal.
Chapter 1
Jensen sits nervously in the booth waiting for his date to arrive. It was agreed that they would meet at Willy Jacks at 6:30 pm but Jensen was so anxious that he showed fifteen minutes early. He's wearing a nice green button down and black jeans, nice without being too formal. He hasn't been on a first date since he first met his ex. He didn't really want to go out but Christian insisted that it had been too long. Christian's buddy has a friend that they thought would be a good fit for Jensen and set the two up on a blind date. Jensen checks his watch as the waitress refills his water and watches the door. His date should be here any minute. He doesn't know much about the guy aside from his name and that he is apparently Polish. After a half hour goes by he decides to order a real drink and has the waitress bring him a beer. He spends his time checking his watch and checking the door. Four beers later find him moved from the booth to the bar in the back of the restaurant. By the time 10:00 pm rolls around he is on his way to getting drunk. He looks up when he hears heavy footsteps approach him. He sees a giant of a man with shaggy dark brown hair and hazel eyes. The man has an awkward grin when he starts to speak.
"Hi! You must be Jensen. I'm so sorry I'm late!"
Jensen just looks at the hand that is being thrust at him before turning a hard gaze up to the man's eyes.
"So, you're Jared. I've been sitting here for hours, but you're sorry. You stood me up, but you're sorry. You didn't even have the decency to call and just cancel?!"
Jared drops his hand as his face falls.
"I'm sorry, I was held up at work. I didn't want to cancel; I've been looking forward to this. Especially after the day I've had."
"Six thirty. That was the agreed time and you couldn't be bothered enough to show. Oh, but that's okay because work held you up!"
At this point, Jared is starting to get upset. He doesn't understand why this guy is being such a dick.
"Yeah! Work held me up! I'm a doctor and I'm sorry if helping people that are sick or injured make me late for a night on the town, but I like to think that makes me a better doctor!"
"Oh, that's rich! You stand me up but it's my fault!"
"I didn't stand you up! I'm here!"
"Anything after forty-five minutes is being stood up, asshole!"
"I'm the asshole?! I save lives for a living, what the hell do you do?!"
Jensen finishes off his beer and throws a few bills on the bar. He stands up and pulls on his jacket before turning to Jared.
"You know what? Fuck you!"
He brushes passed Jared and makes his way towards the door. Jared is pissed and pulls out his phone. He quickly dials and waits for the other end to pick up. He curses when it goes to voice-mail.
"Damn it, Chad! I just wanted to say thanks for wasting my time and setting me up with a total asshole! Obviously, your buddy wouldn't know a good guy if he walked up and kissed him!"
He ends the call and decides to just call it a night and pretend this whole day never happened.
"Do you think he just didn't like what he saw and left?"
Jensen is so upset he is close to breaking his phone.
"Gee, thanks a lot Chris! So what, you're saying he was really on time but was so disappointed that he had to leave for several hours just to work up the nerve to spend one fucking night with me?! It's nice to know you're such a good friend!"
"Well, I don't know what the hell to say! Maybe you're overreacting. I mean, the guy is a doctor. He was probably telling the truth."
"Then why didn't he just call? We could have just rescheduled the whole thing."
"Maybe he didn't have time."
"In all of those hours that I sat there, he couldn't find five minutes to call or even have a receptionist or someone that could get a hold of me? All this proves is that he was probably only going along with it because your douche of a friend told him to."
"Hey, now I know you're pissed but don't drag Chad into this. He didn't stand you up."
"Whatever, Chris. I gotta go."
Jensen hangs up before Christian can say anymore and suddenly slams into somebody hard enough to lose his balance. Strong hands reach out and grab him.
"Whoa buddy, what's your rush?"
Jensen looks up to apologize but the words get stuck in his throat when he sees who is standing in front of him.
"Tom? What the hell are you doing here?"
Tom smiles big and has nothing but pure excitement in his eyes.
"Jenny?! Hey, man! What's going on?"
Jensen looks around a second before answering.
"Nothing. Just getting ready to head home. Had kind of a crappy day."
"Well hey, since we're both already here and all, you want to grab a bite and a few beers?"
Jensen is all ready to tell him to just go to hell, but at the last second, he sighs and nods his head.
"Yeah, alright. May as well, not like I got anything else going on."
Two weeks later Jared is coming out of a small clinic that he sometimes helps at when they are shorthanded. They called him in to assist with an emergency. One of their patients with a known history of drug abuse had come in and had apparently overdosed. In his haste to get into the building, Jared didn't pay close attention as to where he parked his car. He came out of the building to see his car in the final stage of getting hooked to a tow truck.
"Hey! Wait! I'm here, please put my car back!"
He runs around the front to come face to face with Jensen. He stops at the glare he receives and then Jensen starts speaking.
"You parked in a no parking zone."
Jared takes a deep breath before answering.
"Yeah, well, they needed my help with an emergency. I wasn't worried about where to park the car; I was just trying to get in there."
Jensen smirks as he finishes hooking up the car and heads to the driver's door.
"That ain't my problem. I may not be saving lives but I do have a job to do and right now that job involves towing your car to the yard where you'll need to pay a fine to get it back. Sorry."
Of course, he doesn't sound sorry at all. Jared is doing his best to not just hit the guy.
"You're a real piece of work, you know that? Did it ever occur to you to be a decent human being?"
"I don't have to defend myself to you. Just because you're a doctor doesn't make you better than me and it sure as hell doesn't mean I'm going to give you special treatment. You're no better than anybody else and if this had been anybody else's car I still would have towed it. Get over yourself."
He climbs in and pulls away leaving a fuming Jared in his wake. By the time that Jared gets his car out of impound he is livid. The only thing that is allowing him to keep his cool is that he's done for the day as far as work is concerned and he is off the next day. He'll be glad to get a good night's sleep before heading to Christian and Steve's place for their barbecue.
Jared opens his door to find Chad waiting for him.
"Hey Jay, you ready to go? Sophia and Genevieve are already there."
"Yeah, just gotta grab my phone."
They head out and make the ten-minute drive to Chris and Steve's house. They and Chad had all known each other for a few years and when Chad introduced them to Jared they had all hit it off. They get to the house and immediately seek out Christian at the grill and start making their plates. They make their way into the house right as the doorbell rings. Steve gets up and answers it. Jared cringes when he hears the voice of the man he'd much rather forget. Of course, they would invite Jensen. He is, after all, Christian's friend. What he isn't expecting is to see his old college buddy. He grins huge and goes to greet his old friend after setting his plate on the coffee table.
"Tom? Hey man, what the hell are you doing here? Do you know Chris and Steve?"
Tom smiles huge and pulls Jared into a hug. Jared only has a moment to register Jensen's surprised look before Tom is pulling away.
"Jay man! Long time no see! Actually, I met them through Jenny here a few years ago."
"Wait, you and Jensen are dating?"
"Yeah. I ran into him outside of a bar a couple of weeks ago. Asked him out for a couple beers and a bite and we just kind of fell back into our old routine."
Jared looks at Jensen for a second before smirking and replying.
"Better you than me. I tell you, watch out. He's a total asshole. I unfortunately met him under less than stellar circumstances. It takes a strong man to be able to put up with someone like him."
If he hadn't been looking at Jensen, he would have missed the flinch that the other man exhibited. He did see it, though, and his smirk and cocky attitude faltered. He also just now realized that Jensen hadn't spoken or even made eye contact since Jared approached them.
"Nah, he's not that bad. You just have to know how to handle him. Ain't that right, Jenny?"
He pulls Jensen into a tight one armed hug when Jensen speaks up quietly.
"I'm going to find Chris, maybe get a plate."
He rushes off towards the kitchen. Jared watches him go with a frown before turning back to Tom speaking.
"So how do you know Jenny? Did he tow your car or something?"
He starts laughing until he sees the look on Jared's face.
"Wait, seriously?"
Jared sighs and replies.
"Yeah, actually. A couple of days ago. I was responding to an emergency at a clinic I volunteer at when they are shorthanded. Apparently I parked in a no parking space and didn't realize it. He already had my car hooked up when I came out but he refused to unhook it. Said he wouldn't give me special treatment just because I'm a doctor."
He snorts once he realizes that he sounds like a whiny six-year-old. He glances up and sees a look in Tom's eyes that he can't decipher. Before he can come to a conclusion Tom grins.
"Well, I guess me and Jenny will just have to figure out a way to make it up to you."
"Jen, what the hell is Welling doing in my house?"
Jensen doesn't look him in the eye when he responds. He focuses on fixing a plate of food.
"He came with me."
Christian snorts and rolls his eyes.
"Yeah, I know that. What I meant is what the hell you were thinking?!"
Christian takes the plate of food out of Jensen's hands to make him look up. Jensen huffs and looks him in the eyes.
"Who I date is none of your business."
"Yeah, it kind of is when I'm the one you're going to come crying to when it blows up. And we both know that it will blow up, just like last time."
"Well it's not like your dickhead friend was interested anyway! I apparently wasn't even worth his time! I mean, he's a fucking doctor. Why the hell would he think I was good enough for him when all I am is a damn tow truck driver?"
They get interrupted by someone clearing their throat. They look up to see Jared step awkwardly into the room.
"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt anything, just came for a couple of beers."
He grabs the beers and heads back to the front room.
"Well it's not like your dickhead friend was interested anyway! I apparently wasn't even worth his time! I mean, he's a fucking doctor. Why the hell would he think I was good enough for him when all I am is a damn tow truck driver?"
Jared is almost sorry he offered to get him and Tom each a beer when he interrupts whatever conversation Jensen and Christian were having. He clears his throat so that he doesn't have to hear any more of what Jensen was about to say.
"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt anything, just came for a couple of beers."
They keep quiet while he grabs the beers and leaves. The rest of the afternoon passes both slowly and quickly as Jared keeps going back to how Jensen was acting and what he was discussing with Christian. He only catches about half of what Tom says but can play along so that Tom doesn't notice. He decides to ask Steve if he knows what happened between Christian and Jensen next time he can get a few minutes alone with him.