In the end

Chapter 18 - Morning and Darkness

~ Bree POV ~ Sunday Nov. 1st

I woke up sweating. Why the hell was it so hot. I shifted a bit and froze when I felt a body pressed against me. I cautiously opened my eyes and they immediately widened. I was laying on my living room couch curled around Jared.

Holy crap. I remembered being tired while we were talking but not falling asleep. We were both fully clothed so my panic quickly subsided, instead my eyes crawled over his face, drinking in his breathtaking features. His jaw was chiseled and strong with a hint of stubble. His nose was straight and long but fit his face perfectly. I tentatively lifted my hand to his face and traced his bottom lip with my thumb. He stirred and opened his eyes. I froze until his face lit up into a blinding smile. I let my body relax into him and pressed my face into his chest. He tightened his arms around me and whispered 'good morning' into my hair. I raised my head to look at him and desperately hoped my breath wasn't horrible. He let out a quiet chuckle. "What?" His eyebrows scrunched together as he liked very serious. "Looks like you got to sleep with you on the first date after all." I rolled my eyes at him and he just buried his face in my hair.

"As comfortable as it is to share a couch with a giant, I'm way too hot." He laughed again and whispered in my ear. "Yeah, you are." I playfully smacked his arm while disentangled himself from me. He stretched his arms over his head and I could see a peek of hard stomach right above his jeans. My god. I blushed and quickly turned my face. I got up and stretched the stiffness in my neck. "Coffee." I asked him. "Definitely." I went into the kitchen and turned on the my keurig, washing last nights mugs while the water heated up. Seeing that he had gone into the bathroom I ducked downstairs to grab the mail. I felt a creepy feeling on the back of my neck like I was being at stared at. I looked around and saw a man standing on the side walk across the street, a giant camera around his neck. It looked like he was taking pictures of the tree in front of my steps which struck me as a little odd but whatever your into right. Forgetting about him I grabbed the mail and went back upstairs. I made our coffees and brought into the living room settling back on the couch. I flipped through the usual amount of crap flyers and junk before getting to the paper. I leafed through it ignoring the usual political bull they were selling and stopped dead at the entertainment section.

Holy fuck! On the cover of the section was a picture of Jared and I heading inside the party. My head was down and you couldn't see my face clearly but it was definitely us. I practically ripped open the paper to the section of the story and felt my stomach drop. The headline seemed to smack me in the face. "Jared Padalecki no longer a bachelor ?" I quickly scanned the article. "It looks like Supernatural's sexy leading man may finally be off the market. The actor arrived to costar Misha Collins' annual Halloween fundraiser dressed as Thor with a mystery woman at his side and our sources inside the party saw things getting hot and heavy as the pair shared a steamy kiss right 
on the dance floor. Our sources also tell us that the couple left together hand in hand at the end of the night. Sorry ladies but it looks like this sexy hunter may be taken." I felt the blood drain from my face and noticed my hands were shaking.

I faintly heard the bathroom door open but couldn't seem to lift my gaze from the paper in my hands. "Bree? What's wrong." I finally looked at him but couldn't seem to get any words out. Instead I held the paper out to him. He took it and his face fell when he saw the article. He read it quickly and looked back to me with his eyes full of guilt.

"Bree, I..." He sat down next to me and put his head in his hands. I felt my hands ball into fist as anger swelled in my chest. "So what, was this some big joke to you? Try to sleep with the clumsy, naive girl you meet on the street." He looked at me, his face filled with horror. "No I swear that's not how it is at all. It has nothing to do with any of this crap." He held up the paper he was now clenching. "I'm sorry. I should have told you I just... It was nice being treated like a normal person for once." I felt a tug at my heart seeing him like this. "Why didn't you just tell me?" I asked him, my voice barely audible. "I'm so sorry. I was selfish and it's no excuse but guess I just wanted someone to like me for me." He reached over and took my hands in his. "Can we still- I mean this doesn't have to change anything." I felt selfish and stupid because it shouldn't change anything. I suddenly remember the guy with the camera. "Oh my god. When I went downstairs to get the mail there was a man across the street with a camera. I thought he was taking pictures of the trees or something." Jared sighed deeply and swore. "He wasn't photographing the scenery was he?" I asked already knowing the answer. He just shook his head. I felt panic rising in my stomach and darted to the window and closed the blinds. I nervously paced back and forth. "I don't know if I can do this. I can't handle surprise parties how am I supposed to deal with my picture in the friggen newspaper." I could feel myself starting to hyperventilate. I couldn't breathe. Concern fill Jared's face and he pulled me to the couch forcing head between my knees. Oh god. Please don't pass out. Please don't pass out. My vision started to darken and I felt myself falling forward. The last thing I felt was strong arms grab me and him calling my name before the darkness closed around me.