Haven

"Had a good night, man?" Jensen asked with a smirk, taking a sip of coffee as Jared padded into the kitchen.

He only offered an eye roll in response as he sat down at his breakfast bar, reaching for a waiting cup of coffee, graciously popping the Tylenol beside it into his mouth before swallowing. It had been a while since he had actually gotten tipsy, let alone drank more than one or two glasses of wine or a beer.

"It was fun," Jared admitted, a smile playing on his lips as he took another sip of coffee, nearly wincing at the bitter taste.

"Fun? That's it?" He prodded, raising an eyebrow at his best friend before turning to face him. "You call me up at 3 in the morning for a ride home and all you're giving me is fun? You know, Dee almost fuckin' killed us both."

Jared let out a laugh, checking his phone for any new notifications before shaking his head, pushing away from the counter. "I had a really good time, okay? She's cute. I like her."

"I knew that much," Jensen muttered with an eye roll. "Think there's something there?"

Jared knew there was underlying meaning to his question, but despite that, he knew there was. He enjoyed being around Peyton and he found himself happier, even. He was looking forward to talking to her, to spending time with her, but he also knew if he wasn't careful, he'd slowly become dependent on her. "There is, yeah, but I think I'm going to try to take it slow this time."

"You kissed her yet?"

Jared chucked the first thing he could reach at his friend, an embarrassed hint of color creeping onto his face. "Dude, shut up."

"You haven't kissed her yet? Wow. You really are taking your time, man. Took you one date to kiss Kate."

Jared tensed at hearing her name, gritting his teeth slightly. Jensen's facial expression changed quickly and he apologized before Jared shook his head, grabbing his keys from the counter. He told Jensen he could let himself out whenever, pulling on a pair of jeans and plain sweater before shutting the door behind him.

He was in his truck and out of the driveway before he could register what he was doing, slamming on his brakes before he got to the end of the road. He had to get a hold of himself. He wasn't an impulsive person and running away from situations when they got too much to handle wasn't like him. Well, it was, but it was taking steps in the wrong direction.

He typed out a quick text to Jensen before sending it, letting out a sigh as he rested his head against the seat, focusing on evening his breathing. Kate wasn't here anymore; she couldn't hurt him anymore. He wouldn't let her get to him. He deserved better than that. He deserved to be loved the right way, and he wasn't going to let her have control over him anymore.

He let out another sigh as his phone beeped, signaling a message. He was prepared to screen it if it was Jensen or anyone else, really – but it wasn't. It was Peyton.

So I just realized... you still didn't get your jacket. Hope this means I can keep it?

Jared grinned as he read the message, quick to send a reply. Sorry, don't think we're at the stealing clothes stage yet. Come over later?

He pulled his lip in between his teeth as he sent the message, deciding to make the drive back to his house. He was supposed to be talking with his manager today about returning to Vancouver in the next week as filming was starting back up soon, but he didn't know how to approach it with Peyton. It sucked, if he was being honest, that he had to leave before anything could really blossom between them, but maybe this would be his chance to see if she could handle everything that really came along with dating him.

He hoped she wouldn't run.



"You know, we really miss you," Megan told him as he balanced the phone between his ear and shoulder, cursing as he burned another casserole. "You should visit when you get back from filming. Are you... you're cooking?"

He slammed the pan on the counter before staring at the ashy, black remains, throwing the oven mit down next to it. "Attempting is the better word. Fuck, I forgot how shitty I am at this."

"Jar, all you had to do was put it in the oven."

He rolled his eyes at his sister before dumping the entire pan in the trash, grimacing at the smell. "Yeah, I know that. I think I just forgot about it."

"You're hopeless," she told him with a laugh, her voice slightly muffled as she covered the speaker. "At least you attempted cooking for her."

Jared's eyes widened at that and he wondered how she could've possibly known. No one knew about Peyton yet, with the exception of Jensen, Danneel and his therapist. Danneel, he thought with an eye roll, shaking his head.

"Don't tell anyone else," was the first thing to come out of his mouth as his sister laughed. "I mean, I just want to tell everyone myself if things do work out. She's a cool girl."

"You're smitten."

"Shut up, Megan."

The doorbell was enough to break him out of his thoughts, his nerves spiking at the thought of seeing her again. "She's there, isn't she? Oh, tell her I said--."

He ended the phone call there, a smile flitting to his lips as he opened the door, his jaw nearly dropping at the sight in front of him. He had seen her in jeans and a sweater before, but she looked damn near perfect tonight. Her hair was in loose waves that framed her face and she had on a little make up, not that she really needed it, and he decided that burgundy was his favorite color on her if he had to pick.

"I hope this is okay?" She got out with a laugh, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Oh! 'Course it is, you look great."

He leaned in to press a kiss to her cheek, stepping to the side to let her in, his face already starting to turn red again. He was so easily flustered when it came to her, and he wondered if that would change anytime soon.

"So do you."

She smiled up at him, her own cheeks tinted with the same color that were on his, and he took it as a sign that maybe he wasn't as bad off as he made himself believe. He hardly considered himself to look as good as she did, but then, he was still in the sweater and jeans from earlier. Not that she seemed to mind at all.

"Does pizza sound okay?" He asked, reaching around to rub the back of his neck sheepishly, glancing toward the kitchen that held his second and third attempt at making dinner for them. "I mean, if not, I can always just take you out, but I don't know, I figured staying in would be better."

"Jared," Peyton laughed, putting a hand on his arm. "You're fine. Pizza sounds great, actually."

"No wine this time?"

"No wine this time," she agreed, letting out another laugh as she handed him back his jacket. He took it from her before laying it across the back of the couch, offering a tour of his house. He figured she'd get lost if she explored by herself, and he needed something that would help him relax.

He started by showing her upstairs, though not much was there apart from various bedrooms and so he was quick to lead her back downstairs. She told him that she'd eventually come over just to watch movies in the theatre room, and he said that he may just allow it if she was nice. She adored his office, and he found himself letting her in all too easily.

Somewhere in between her asking questions about his job and what he loved most about it and watching as she listened so intently to him, he realized that he was already in deep and breaking his own rule of taking things slow. He found himself laughing maybe a little too loudly at a corny joke she would make and he tried to match it. Her laugh was something he could definitely get used to.

And anytime he said something weird or just off the wall, she'd wrinkle her nose up at him before grinning, shaking her head. He was in pretty deep and he wasn't sure he wanted to stop that.
The doorbell broke them out of their bubble, and Jared lead her out of his office before handing the driver a few twenty's, taking both boxes of pizza off his hands. He set them down on the counter before grabbing two waters from the fridge.

"You know, I don't think I can let you back into my apartment after seeing this place. It's beautiful."

"It's not much," He tried to argue, setting two slices onto a plate for her.

She snorted, taking a bite. "Jared, I'm pretty sure I'd need a map to navigate this place for a while. It's pretty big."

"But I like your place. It's a lot quainter. Personal."

"Quaint. See, that's what I mean," she argued before sliding the meat off the pizza, eating it separately. Jared gaped at her as she did so, feigning disgust.

"Okay. That's it. I could handle the whipped cream thing, and even the spoon with the spaghetti. But taking all of the toppings off and then eating the pizza? Nope. Drawing a line."

"Oh, this bothers you?" Peyton asked, sliding all of the cheese of the slice before raising her eyebrows at him. She took another bite of the pizza, grinning at Jared, satisfied with the rise she got out of him.

"You're weird. You're so fucking weird, I swear," He laughed, running a hand through his hair.

"You're one to talk," she shot back easily, tossing a pepperoni onto his plate with a smirk. "You pick off all the pepperoni's and nothing else. So."

Jared grinned up her evilly before picking up a meatball and tossing it at her, laughing when it hit her in the face. "Oh, God, I'm sorry--."

He laughed harder until he felt something hit his cheek and he pushed himself away from the counter, throwing a grape from the bowl at her. It didn't take much longer for it to escalate, and before they knew it, their clothes were covered in various food products and Jared wasn't going to accept defeat. Peyton ended up slipping in the mess covering the floor and Jared was soon to follow, the two erupting into a fit of laughter at how clumsy the other was.

He didn't realize how close he was until his lips were on hers, his hands cupping her cheeks as he held his weight up above her. He wasn't sure how long they'd been kissing, but his heart was ready to beat out of its' chest and his lips were swollen when he finally pulled away, his thumb tracing over her lips.

"Was that... okay?"

Peyton only rolled her eyes, a small smile on her lips as she pulled him into another kiss.

He guessed it was, then.