Authors: Angel2008-2009 & Smallville Lover.
Disclaimer: we don't own any of the characters or actors of this story. Jensen doesn't actually play in Raise Your Voice, but we thought it would be a neat idea to use him in the fic.
Prologue...
Later that Summmer...
Terri Fletcher had an awesome summer with Jay and her parents. He even spent two weeks with them in Paul's room of course and not hers. They had barbeques and the best Summer of their life as a couple with more long walks on the beach and late night talks.
But all that came to a crashing hault when Jay got the call that he had been invited to join a very popular band called Three Days Grace, the same band her and Paul went to see that very night he was killed. Jay hated to leave but he had to and both him and Terri had promised to keep in touch through emails. And phone calls.
That lasted maybe several weeks. One evening, coming from her Aunt's place, Terri came to check her email at her music school. After not hearing from Jay for several weeks; Terri finally got an email. From Jay it said:
Terri,
Hi there. I'm sorry I haven't called or written any emails over the past two weeks. Things have been pretty hectic on the road here, and after most performances I am dead tired. I hope things are fine with you and your folks. Terri, I think we need to start seeing other people. This long distance relationship thing, is hard, and you and I know that most long distance relationships don't work. If I was there with you, things would be different. It wouldn't be fair to you if we kept this long distance thing going, and you hardly being able to see me. I hope after this email that we can still be friends and keep in touch. Just know that keeping the long distance thing, will be hard to do and it is best to end things now and not lead each other along. I wish the very best for you Terri and keep singing!
Love,
Jay.
After she read the letter, her eyes filled with tears. Jay had broken things off with her! Where did she go wrong in the relationship? Feeling angry, Terri shut the computer off unable to respond to Jay at the moment. First Paul leaves her, and now Jay does. When would anyone stay around her! Terri wanted to cry her eyes out but she couldn't because she would wake up Denise who was now snoring in her bed.
Grabbing her jacket, Terri went to her favorite place up on the roof top over looking the city. She began to cry, unawere that anyone could be listening. Terri bursted out crying. The pain hurted so bad.
Jensen gazed out of the plane, overcome by the expanse of land that stretched out before him, the unlimited directions in which his life could turn laid out before his very eyes. He soared above the clouds, merely an observer of the overwhelming amount of opportunity available below him, experiencing a world which he would never be able to fully explore, to fully know. Seeing his face reflected in the window, he smiled, knowing that he was finally beginning to grasp one of the worldsâ–“ infinite paths of life, and he had a purpose. The choice to teach at a music school had been a difficult one, as it required leaving the place he had known all his life to teach. He had often felt cooped up in his hometown, a typical small friendly place where everyone knew each other. That meant his friends remained the same from preschool through college, and everyone knew what everyone else was up to. That also meant that the world was an unexplored canvas to him, living in the confines of just a small corner for his whole life, and he was finally ready to explore and leave his own mark on the world. To others, his life in the small town had seemed to be the perfect life - on the school football team, looked up to by the little boys that lived there, musically talented, and with a good job. Yet the life that seemed perfection to others seemed routine to him, and he couldn't help but wonder what else was out there in the world, what he hadn't yet encountered. He couldn't spend his whole life wondering about what would have happened, and the predictability of his life began to bore him.
The whole town had gathered to throw a party for him as he left. Tears were shed as they presented him with a memory book and he said goodbye to the family he had grown close to for his whole life. And now here he was, on his own for the first time with no one he knew, off to make a fresh start. He could write his own story, make it into anything he wanted it to be, something that wasn't boring or predictable. His mother had always told him when he was little that he could grow up to be anything he wanted to be. He had always imagined a life in the town, taking over his father's business. And now that he could go beyond that, he felt liberated.
Music had always been something that he loved, and Jensen looked forward to being able to share his talents and experience with the most talented young people from around the world.
Terri continued to cry up on the roof of the school. Worried about her youngest child, even though Terri was now becoming
a beautiful young woman, Terri's mom and dad followed her to her Music school to check up on her. Ever since Paul died,
Terri was on an emotional rollar coaster ride. And the next few weeks were going to be
difficult. Terri had ran out of the house and straight to school with her Aunt. Without telling her parents what was going on.
They found her up on the roof of the school overlooking the city. "Terri, sweetheart", said her mom concerned for her
daughter. Before Jay, Terri had never had a boyfriend before. "What happened?" she asked.
Terri looked up her eyes still filled with tears "He broke up with me. Jay broke up with me! We were so happy! I keep wondering what I did wrong!" she briefly told them about the email and what all Jay had said about life on the road.
Her mom hugged her close "Oh Honey, I'm so sorry to hear all this! But Honey, Jay is right, long distance relationships never do work out". she hugged her daughter closer. "But you know what, Jay isn't going to be the only boyfriend you'll ever have. You will find Love again and next time, it might be the real thing".
Terri looked at her mother "You think so?" She sniffed still clinging to her mom. She didn't bother to ask her parents why they followed her here, she knew they were being concerned.
"I know so sweetheart. Your father is living proof of that". she smiled over at Simon.
Terri sighed as the tears continued to fall "Then why does this hurt so much?" she asked. Making no move to move from her mom.
"Sweetie, it will hurt for awhile. But then your life will go on, and you'll meet some other new guy and will forget all about Jay". she smiled.
Terri slowly cried herself to sleep in her mother's arms. It was now her second year at the Music School and she wondered if she could carry on with her music without Jay around, They had always played and sang music together. Terri wondered what did life had in store for her now. Who would be there for her when things got tough, when she had bad days, and when she was missing Paul terribly? Still to this day, she blamed herself for telling him to sneak out. Had she not done that, he would still be with them. Jay had always been there to comfort her. Now that he was gone, she felt like she had no one at the school to cry on their shoulder with.She had her parent's of course, but they couldn't always be there.
Terri often lay awake at night wondering where her future was going. Would she ever become the popstar she always dreamed of being? Would she get to travel the world, with her soulmate by her side? More questions often ran through her head as she desparately tried to sleep. WOuld she ever get married and be happy just like her parents if not happier? What if she was destined to be alone?
Terri's mom looked at Simon "We better get her back to her dorm, before they notice she's missing". she handed Terri to Simon who was still asleep. Surprisingly Terri wasn't heavy to pick up.
Simon held Terri, gazing down at her face with concern and love in his features. He had always been overprotective, telling himself that it was for Terri's well-being. It had taken him so long to realize that he was only holding her back that he wondered what else she might have experienced, had it not been for him. He brushed the thoughts aside and told himself that he had only done those for her benefit. Taking care of Terri was so hard sometimes - he had trouble finding the balance between what was too protective and hardheaded and what was being too lax. He figured that the former was better than the latter, so he kept her tightly held. He was glad now that he realized that she couldn't be locked up forever, and that it would only lead to her resentment. To someone who merely observed their family, he may have seemed like a villain who was holding Terri back from everything that she wanted and dreamed of, but there was another, more tender side to Simon. He cared about his daughter so much, maybe too much, that he couldn't help but worry about her and keep her on a tight leash. She was the only child he had left, and he thought that he was able to protect her. His actions were out of love and came from the depths of his heart, not because he wanted Terri to be miserable. He only wanted her to be happy, but her safety came first. Thankfully, he had gotten over his confusion and reached a balance - while he still wasn't quite comfortable with her going off on her own to a boarding school all summer long, he knew that he needed to trust Terri's judgment. After all, it had never led her down the wrong path before.
As of now, his protective side was furious with Jay. He knew that if he thought it through rationally, he would have realized that it wasn't Jay's fault, that long distance relationships frequently didn't work out. However, emotion and rationality had never gone hand in hand, and he quickly allowed his anger to get the best of him, washing away the reasoning that his mind tried to bring to his heart. He had always had a soft spot for Terri's tears, and the fact that they had been caused by someone who she had loved and trusted with her heart made him all the more furious. He looked down at the beautiful, serene sleeping face in his arms, now stained with tears. He couldn't stop the haunting feeling that maybe he had been right in the first place... If he hadn't let Terri go to that school, then she wouldn't have met Jay, and then she wouldn't be in pieces right now... No. He couldn't think that way. She could get hurt no matter what she did. What was that old saying? "It is better to love and have lost then to never have loved at all." And Terri had so many happy days with Jay, that though she was sad now, she would be able to get over it. Thinking back on one of his dear friends who had passed away, Simon realized that though the pain of losing him was unbearable, he would have made the same decision to befriend him if he had to go back in time. Happiness was worth the pain, sometimes. Without either, you would go through your life emotionless, never really living.
And as he carried Terri back to her room and laid her down, gently tucking her in under the blankets and hoping her wounded heart would patch itself up and grow even bigger despite the hurt she felt, he felt a renewed hope that everything would be alright.
The morning came soon enough. Terri woke up to the sound of students playing music down the halls. Her roommate was gone to where... Terri slowly glanced at the clock a little after 8?! she was suppose to be in her singing class!
Nearly freaking out, Terri immediately got up, showered, then got dressed and then put on some jeans and a comfortable pink t-shirt. She didn't have time to curl her hair so she wore it straight and applied very little makeup. Grabbing her purse, she went out to the door and to the theater, where they were suppose to meet their teacher.
She walked inside the theater wanting to hide herself from everyone. She knew she was late, and that probably wasn't a good thing. She noticed soem students were onstage practicing a skit of some sort. She found Denise and sat beside her.
"Girl, you are so late", said Denise.
Terri yawned and sat down "I Know. I've been going through a lot the past couple days". Terri grumbled not really in the mood to talk about Jay.
Denise raised an eyebrow "Do tell. How was your summer since you spent it with a hot guy?".
Terri looked at her "The Summer, it was fine and Jay and I had lots of fun. But at the end of the summer, Jay broke it off with me since he had to go on tour with Three days Grace".
Denise looked at her friend concerned. "OH my gosh. Terri I'm so sorry to hear that. How are you handling things?"
Terri tried not to show any hurt to her friend that moment "Not good. Last night I was a complete mess. All I kept doing was cry my eyes out around my parents".
Both her and Denise turned their attention back to the stage. A young man possibly in his twenties was talking to several students on stage. He looked handsome, a bit too young to be a teacher.
"What is he doing here? Where is the teacher we had last year?" asked Terri somewhat confused. She hadn't heard about a new music teacher moving here.
"OH that is Jensen Ackles, our new music teacher. The other one retired early", said Denise.
Terri kept staring at Jensen wondering why their former teacher wanted to retire early. He was handsome, movie star material; But she couldn't be thinking about another guy already, or could she? "Great, now we have to learn how to do things all over again", she mumbled grumpily mostly to herself. Terri wasn't in a good mood that day; and things with Jay were bringing her down. She wasn't even sure she was in the mood to sing that morning. Terri slumped in her seat.
Denise looked at her friend "Girl, you might need to wake up on the right side of the bed". she joked with Terri.
"No thanks, I think I can deal", she told Denise. And then she slumped in further in her seat.
"...And just let me know if you need any more help," Jensen finished with a smile, glad to be able to get along with the students. With that, he began heading back to his seat, realizing that the announcements were going to begin soon.
Nearly tripping over a chair that lay just behind him, Jensen caught himself in the nick of time and quickly glanced around to see if anyone had seen him stumble. Thankfully, all of the staff had their attentions focused elsewhere. Sitting down with relief (and to avoid any more inconveniently positioned chairs), he surveyed the students. His attentions were immediately captivated by a girl whose eyes lit up as a knowing smile crossed her face. Her eyes sheepishly flicked away as he looked towards her. Well, it appeared that someone had seen his near-trip over the chair after all. The girl had turned to the girl who sat next to her, and since she was involved in a conversation, he was able to watch her without arousing her suspicion. He was struck by the glimmering blonde hair and passionate eyes that sparkled as she spoke, conveying her emotions and feelings as much with her face as she did with her words. She wasn't just beautiful - so many of the women he knew had an empty beauty. Instead, she radiated warmth and beauty from the inside as well as the outside. Shaking his head, he tried to clear his mind of these thoughts. His eyes moved slowly over the rest of the students - a girl, eyes darting around shyly, looking incredibly out of place; two boys, doubled over in laughter at a memory from camp before; a group of friends hugging and jumping up and down; a boy in the corner, drumming on the back of seats with drumsticks pulled from his pocket. The room was so alive, filled with excitement and potential. His eyes darted back to the blonde girl, almost of their own accord. As beautiful as she was, he could tell from her expressions that she had been hurt. As she spoke to her friend, he could almost feel her pain pouring out from behind her soulful eyes, and he couldn't help but wonder what had made her so upset. He hoped that it wouldn't distract her from what her goals were that summer. Every person chosen to attend was so talented, and he knew from experience that letting your problems interfere with your goals didn't allow you to fully focus, and he didn't want that to happen to her or to any of the students there. A much better way, he found, was to connect your emotions and channel them into your music and art - it made the creations so much more genuine. He made a mental note to hint at that if he ever had the opportunity to get to know the girl better. Her eyes darted towards his once again, and his heart sped up. No, his heart couldn't have sped up. She was a student, he was her teacher. That was all. Yes, that was all.
As Terri and the young vocal coach teacher kept exchanging glances, every now and then Terri would shyly look away after she smiled back at him, of course. He made her blush! Not only was he cute; he was a total hottie! But she couldn't be thinking all this so soon, she was still emotionally hurting from when Jay broke things off with her. Little did she know, that Mr. Ackles sensed her pain even from across the room.
Both her and Denise talked some more before the announcements started.Despite what she went through with Jay, Terri was eager to start back school and she hoped to learn more songs to sing at competitions and stuff. Last summer had been a fun experience. She was a bit let down that her former music teacher Mr. Torvald wasn't there any more.Terri remembered when she had first come here to the school. She had been new, and had problems fitting in and adjusting to her brother's tragic death. The older and wiser music teacher had offered her words of wisdom, which did carry her through-
out the entire School year.
Things had been much easier then to. Jay had helped her fit in with his group of friends. And the two of them had gotten really close. Not only were they boyfriend and girlfriend, Jay was her best friend at the time and would listen to her when things got tough or when she just simply wanted to cry on his shoulder about Paul. Losing Paul had been Terrible. But now losing Jay hurt even worse. Terri was a bit afraid if she got close enough to anyone that they would eventually all leave her. What if she was destined to be all alone the rest of her life?
Who was she suppose to go to now when things got tough and she wanted a shoulder to cry on? The announcements started, and soon the Dean walked up on the stage to greet everyone who was new, and who came back the second year to achieve more goals. Mr Gantry welcome everyone back to another exciting Semester. He even went on describing what to expect at the end of the year.
"I am pleased to announce that at the end of the year, a major record label will be at the competition and they will look for a talented singer whom they see as a brilliant artist so they can sign them on. Along with that, the winner would get prize money".
The audience clapped and so did Terri and she tried to smile. She remembered last summer, she didn't win the competition.
Deep down, she was dissapointed and she knew her dad was to. But she was happy for Denise for winning it. The girl was so super taleted, and could play the violin well.
After the announcements were made and Mr. Ackles was introduced to the entire room, everyone was told to go to their right classes. Terri read on the paper that her and Denise had Jensen Ackles as their Music teacher. This should get interesting,
thought Terri as she followed Denise into the classroom and found Jensen at his desk ready to greet each student. Their eyes made contact again for the tenth time that day. All through out the assembly, Terri could feel him occasionally glance at her. Of course she would blush and smile back. She acted really shy around him. As she now walked closer to him, Terri felt her legs turn to rubber. And, to top it off, she was actually speechless and wondered what she could say to him without it sounding totally stupid. "So you must be Jensen Ackles, my friend Denise said you were the new music teacher". said Terri. There. That was a decent start.
