Chad screeches to a halt right in front of Jared. He is, literally, swear to fucking God, bouncing with excitement. Jared's already starting to get dizzy. "Guess who's here, man!! Go on, guess!!" Jared glances quickly around the crowded party just to make sure he hasn't missed Obama or Angelina Jolie or something. "Uh, a bunch of really hot supermodels wearing a whole lotta nothing?" he finally guesses. Given they're at the afterparty for the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, it seems like a safe bet. "Tom fucking Brady. Tom Brady, J!!" Chad repeats, just in case everyone in Dade County hadn't heard the shout the first time. "Do you know what that means?" "Yeah, it means Giselle is around here somewhere, and God willing, she's wearing a short skirt." "It means Tom fucking Brady is here is what it means." "I heard you. The entire bar heard you. Here." Jared grabs a glass from a passing waiter. "Seriously, dude. Have a drink before you give yourself a coronary." Chad takes the glass and downs the contents in two swallows. "Thanks." Then he looks up, and his eyes get all wide. Like, comic-book, anime, wide. "Duuuuuuude..." he whispers. Jared has a pretty good idea what's got Chad looking like he can't decide whether to fall to his knees in worship or scream like a teenager at a Jonas Brothers concert. "He's behind me, I take it?" "And heading this way. Fuck, man, what do we do?" "Start a fanclub to his awesomeness and ask him to be president?" "Fuck you, that's not...uh...hi." Chad audibly gulps. Jared doesn't need to turn to know that Tom Brady, MVP Super Bowl champion quarterback of the New England Patriots, is standing right beside him. With his hand held out to Chad. "Chad Michael Murray, right?" When Chad meekly nods and takes Tom's hand, Tom's dimples (and even Jared has to admit, they're pretty impressive) come out in full force. "I knew it!" Tom exclaims. He looks like Christmas has come early. "I am, like, the biggest One Tree Hill fan." "You are?" Chad squeaks. "You are?" Jared stares. "Yeah, all the guys on the team are. We watch it after practice. They're gonna be so jealous I met Lucas himself." Tom throws a friendly arm around Chad's shoulders and starts to steer him aside. "Hey, you think you can give me a few hints about what's going to happen with Peyton...?" Chad's still looking like a deer in the headlights. Jared snags another drink and watches the trainwreck with amusement. He gives Chad about two minutes to start babbling.
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