Runaway – Ch 1

Pairing: Jared x Reader
Warnings: N/A
Tags: brief and mild intoxication, mother-hen Jared
WC: 2k

Masterlist

Water seeped into the silky shag bath mat as Jared slipped out of the shower and towelled through his hair, shaking the damp out of his ears to clear his head of the strange pulsing echo that was driving him mad. Though, that could be the hangover more than the stray water droplets lodged in his ear canal. Upon clearing out the water, Jared caught flashes of sound coming out of the kitchen that he was not accustomed to hearing most Sunday mornings. The main reason for that being he lived alone – so there really shouldn’t be any noises coming from anywhere. 

Still a little disoriented from the early hour and the tumble of hot water he had just left behind, Jared couldn’t remember any reason that this morning should be different. With only his towel wrapped around his waist, he made his way to the room in question to satisfy his curiosity. As he rounded the corner, a trail of water dripping behind him, he was suddenly reminded of the fact that last night he had brought a girl home with him. This girl was now in his kitchen, with a silver bowl and fork in her hands and a skillet on the stove with butter sizzling inside. 

Now, Jared was not the kind of guy that brought girls home on a regular basis, or… ever, really. He prided himself on the fact that he had never accidentally slept with a hooker whilst drunk. Sometimes after a night out with his friends it was a bit difficult to tell the difference between an actual hooker and just a regular girl with a skimpy top. He also had to consider that, being a fairly famous actor, it would completely destroy his reputation and set a horrible example for his fans if he were to be seen engaging in drunken hook-ups. No, Jared Padalecki was an upstanding, put together role model to the public. So why was there a girl standing in his kitchen, cooking him pancakes? 

The night before had been cold, at least, as cold as LA would ever get during the summer, a light jacket or a cardigan would have been handy to have. Jared had had one – this girl had not. She had been wandering down the maze of streets in just a little sundress. The flip flops on her feet were visibly broken, having been fixed up with duct tape at least once or twice. It was late, past midnight easily, and she had had no idea where she actually was. 

She registered that the pulsing neon lights visible here and there and the long lines on the sidewalks probably meant she was near a hopping segment of LA nightlife. Eventually, she’d decided she simply couldn’t walk any farther and had collapsed on the sidewalk bench provided by a taxi rank. Both the rank and the bench had been, mercifully, empty. Using the small backpack she had brought with her as a pillow, she’d curled up on the bench and tried to block out the lights and noises of the street. 

For ages everyone had ignored her, just as she’d hoped. No one got very near, quickly hurrying past her little bench and on to their own destinations, until the one fateful moment where someone didn’t. 

She’d heard laughter and garbled voices which became clearer the closer they got. Two men, both at least mildly intoxicated, stumbled towards the cab line hoping something would pull up soon. For a moment they’d just leant against the back of the bench, talking about their night in what must have been a nearby club. The girl had tried her hardest to keep her eyes closed and pay them no mind. She cursed internally when their voices faltered – they had clearly noticed her. 

“Um, hey, are you alright?” Jared had asked. The girl had resolutely ignored him. “Hey, Miss, are you okay?” Jared tentatively reached out his hand and the second it touched her shoulder she recoiled and nearly sprang off the bench into the street. “Woah, calm down. Sorry. Didn’ mean t’scare you.” His voice had been slurred but obviously friendly. 

“You didn’t,” the girl’s voice was hard and not at all frightened. “I just don’t like being touched by guys I don’t know.” 

“I get it, ’m sorry,” Jared had kept his hands held up in defense in front of him but they kept swaying a little, giving him the appearance of a rather stupid concert goer failing at following along with the wave of the crowd. “Mos’ people don’ have such an,” he hiccupped, “adverse reaction to me, I forget myself sometimes.”

“Oh, and who do you think you–” she had frozen, recognition flooding her face. After a moment she’d managed to stutter out, “you’re Jared Padalecki.” Wide eyed blinking. “Oh my God, this is humiliating.” Wide eyed panic. 

“Hey there,” Jared soothes, “nothin’ to be ‘barrassed about. I jus’ wanted to make sure you’re alright,” his hands still waving in front of him pointlessly. “Are you lost, d’you need cab fare?” Jared had figured that if she was sleeping on a city bench it was because she didn’t have a way to get home. 

“Thanks for the offer,” she didn’t sound thankful, “but I don’t have anywhere to go. So, taxi bench it is for tonight.” 

Jared had been entirely puzzled. He knew what homeless people looked like, and this girl did not fit that description. Sure, her hair was a little mussed, and her dress was a little limp, like it needed to be washed, but she didn’t look like she had been living on the streets. In fact, it dawned on him when he noticed the way she was clutching her little backpack to her chest as if it was the most valuable thing in the world, this girl didn’t look homeless at all – she looked scared – she looked like a runaway. 

She didn’t look like a child or a juvenile delinquent though. She couldn’t be much older than seventeen, maybe eighteen? She’s very pretty in a glum sort of way, like how they always cast the heroines in Victorian dramas. Her lips were thin and pink, and the bridge of her nose was layered with sunburn, which also gave a rosy glow to her cheeks. Her wild, messy hair probably looked quite nice when it was clean, though it was currently scattered and partially obscuring her dark, sad eyes. Eyes that were also red, and a little watery – she had clearly been crying not too long ago.

“What’s your name?” Jared asked, trying to speak more deliberately, so he didn’t scare her. He cautiously edged around the bench to get closer to the girl. 

Jensen, Jared’s best friend who had up until this point remained silent, grabbed onto Jared’s sleeve and whispered in his ear. Well, drunk whispered, which was nearly identical to talking. “What’re you tryin’ to do? Someone’s gonna spot us, I guarantee.” 

While the paparazzi were obviously a group Jared hadn’t been keen on running into, something about this girl was drawing him to her, rational thinking be damned. Was that the alcohol again? 

“Why do you want to know?” The girl’s eyes betrayed her nerves but she remained where she was, steadfastly defensive.

“I just wanna help,” Jared spoke carefully, trying to keep her calm. “Is there somewhere we can take you?” 

“Like I said, nowhere to go,” she had repeated, vehemently but dejectedly. 

“Well then, I s’pose you should just come home with me,” Jared decided out loud. 

A simultaneous and resounding “What?!” had come from both Jensen and the girl.

“Why on Earth would I do that?” she scoffed.

“Jared, how is that a good idea? You’ve gotta reign in your mothering instincts man.”

“Jensen, shut up for a minute.” Jared had glared at his friend and turned back to the very confused and slightly indignant girl. “You would come with me because you need a place to sleep tonight. And if you don’t come quietly I’m going to call the police and tell them I’ve found a runaway that they should come collect.” Jared had been extremely proud that he managed to orchestrate that little threat coherently, no slurred words in sight, and watched smugly as the girl quickly collected her thoughts. 

“I’m eighteen, they can’t send me back anywhere.” She spoke in a stiff whisper; she had definitely not been a good liar, Jared remembered.

“Then why do you look so scared?” She remained silent, so had Jared pulled out his cell phone. “Come on, it’s one night, you’re either getting in the back of a cab with me and Jensen, or in the back of a cop car. Your choice.” 

A million thoughts had run through the girl’s head as she considered her options. Go with the police and risk getting sent back to the one place she was trying so hard to get away from? Or accept this kindness from a man whom she only knew from behind a screen? Neither were very good or very logical options but she made up her mind remarkably, and probably stupidly, quickly between the two. 

“Alright, I’ll go with you,” she whispered. 

“Good choice,” Jared had smirked and called up a cab. All the while the girl just silently studied him, and behind him Jensen stared judgingly at his back. It was such a typical Jared move, to pick up some pretty, wayfaring, lost girl out of the goodness of his heart. He just really liked to help people – it caused Jensen no small amount of misery. A cab pulled up soon after, and the three of them piled in the back stoically. Jensen wished he could talk Jared out of this crazy idea, but knew it would never work, and that it would have been rude to do so with the girl in question sitting right there. 

The cab was warm, and the girl had felt as if the walls were closing in around her but not in a menacing way, in a way that almost felt safe. Her shoulder was pressed close to Jared’s and they would brush against each other every now and then. Jared was warm too. 

They stopped at Jensen’s apartment first, letting out the still befuddled best friend, then drove on to Jared’s house. Jared paid the driver and reached for the girl’s hand to quietly tug her out of the back seat. She had become very drowsy on the drive through the city, almost falling asleep against the window a few times before jerking herself back awake. As soon as she was out of the cab she had let go of Jared’s hand and gone back to clutching her pack. 

They walked in silence. Jared unlocked his apartment and ushered her inside. “It’s not much, but it’s home.” Jared’s version of ‘not much’ was obviously based on a much higher standard than the girl’s, she had thought to herself. It was unbelievably pretty in her eyes, and homey to boot. Taking her silence as a sign of sleepiness Jared had led her into a small guest room that his friends used, or his sister if she ever came to visit. “So, this will be your room for the night then.” He had flicked on the light, revealing a soft bed with cream linens which was the only thing the girl had had the capacity to notice at the time. “Um, do you need anything? Water, or–?” 

“Um no, I’ll be fine,” she whispered.

“Well, goodnight then,” Jared had offered a little lamely, feeling like he should be doing something more to help.

“Goodnight.” 

Jared had left and closed the door behind him, the sound of the lock clicking into place not unnoticed, leaving the girl alone to pull a worn teddy bear out of her backpack, slip her feet out of the broken flip flops she wore, and curl up under the covers on the guest bed.