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“Do you think he’ll keep his mouth shut?” Joe asked, without averting his eyes from the book he was holding. He was laying on Elizabeth’s bed, his head on the pillow and the book in one hand, while the other flipped the pages.

“Who?” Elizabeth asked, briefly looking in his direction without stopping her pen on the notebook. She was practising drawing buildings in perspective and she had chosen the 9th dormitory as her first try: she knew that building like she knew the insides of her pockets.

“Ben,” Joe answered and Elizabeth stopped drawing to look at him. She was sitting crossed legs beside him, her back leaning on the bed’s headboard.

“Why wouldn’t he?” she asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

“Dunno, - Joe licked the tip of his finger to flip another page – no reason, I guess… Just wondering if we should be more careful…”

Elizabeth hesitated a moment: did he meant he regretted moving in with her? Was that his way of telling her?

“Joe, - she took a deep breath – if you’re having seconds thoughts about this I understand, I-”

Joe shut his book and sat up to look at her, “What? No that’s not what I meant.” He gently threw the book at the end of the bed and turned to cross his legs as well, “I’m just worried something could jeopardise my year… or yours, for that matter… or even the play, I don’t know what I’d do if they expelled me or worse… - he took a pause – if they cancelled the play.”

Elizabeth chuckled while going back to her drawing, “You need to sort out your priorities…”

Joe laughed, “Ron Wesley? Seriously? You’re throwing Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone to my face?”

Elizabeth slowly nodded, biting her lip to keep from laughing as well and drew another windowpane to the building.

“It’s your fault, Hermione… – she giggled – Your life spins around that play a bit too much if you ask me…”

Joe opened his mouth and brought a hand to his chest, exaggerating his shock, “Excuse me?!”

Elizabeth couldn’t stop giggling and she knew her lack of concentration was messing up her drawing, “Stop making me laugh! I can’t work like this!”

She uncrossed her legs to get up and go sit at her desk, but a hand trapped her arm and made her fall on her back on the mattress. She squealed and left the grip on the notebook, that fell on the floor with a thud.

The girl giggled and realised she still had the pen in her hand. It took less than a second to Joe to understand what she was going to do and he reacted immediately, but he wasn’t fast enough. Before he could trap both her hands by her sides, Elizabeth had managed to draw a small line on his cheek.

For a fraction of a second, they stared into each other’s eyes.

Joe raised an eyebrow, “Really? How old are you? Five?”

Elizabeth giggled shrugging her shoulders, “It was self-defence”

“Oh really? – Joe grabbed both her wrists with a hand – And how do you defend from… the tickle monster?”

“What! – Elizabeth widened her eyes and tried to wriggle herself free from his grip - Let me go, Joe”

She got out of it before it was too late and she swiftly turned around to trap him against the headboard, the pen in her hand and a wily smirk on her face.

“Don’t mess with me” she theatrically threatened him.

Joe couldn’t stop smiling and giggling like a dork, he was well aware of that. But he didn’t care. Because in that moment, in that room, there were only the two of them. And it felt like a jump in the past when they were in middle school and they were always at each other’s houses.

He didn’t want to interrupt that moment of silliness but he couldn’t resist. He began chuckling to himself, “You know? This will sound weird but… this reminds me of when we were thirteen – he looked at Elizabeth and she had sat back in front of him, deposing her fearful weapon - I’d sleepover at your house and you at mine and we’d play Nintendo till past bedtime… I still remember your mom yelling at us to turn off the light and us laughing and turning it off just to turn it back on once we’d hear her climb under the covers.”

Elizabeth giggled, “Yeah, I remember that too… And my mom does too, for that matter…- Joe chuckled as well – She still asks me about you sometimes.”

Joe was surprised, “Really? Martha asks about me?”

Elizabeth lightly slapped his arm, “Of course she does… she wants you to stop keeping me up playing Nintendo games all night”

Joe chuckled, “So I’m the bad influence on you?”

Elizabeth forcefully nodded, “Sure, she says I should really stop seeing you… - Joe acted shocked and she couldn’t keep a straight face – But don’t worry. I’ll never get rid of you, babe”

And in saying so she theatrically and gently caressed his cheek.

It would have been completely normal for them to act that way, but in that moment, as she caressed his cheek, even if she was play-pretending, she suddenly felt embarrassed and the warmth spreading on her cheeks betrayed her. She blushed evidently, partly because of what she realised she’d sad and partly because of how close they were in that very instant.

From Joe’s point of view, the situation had become awkward as soon as Elizabeth had trapped him against the headboard and he couldn’t help but think about what else could have happened there besides threatening each other with a pen.

When her soft hand had caressed his face and redness had spread on her cheeks, he’d understood she had probably perceived the awkwardness as well.

He cleared his voice, “Well we should tell Martha, that her daughter’s not very good either… she draws on people”, he decided to say instead, trying breaking the tension.

Elizabeth lightly chuckled and without thinking about it twice, she licked her thumb and rubbed the black line she’d drawn on him. It was a reflex, something that had looked innocent in her head. Something she had already done in the past and it had been fine.

But that night, it was everything besides fine.

It was like everything they did they could only make the situation more awkward.

Did we lose our chemistry?, she asked herself. Are we not friends like we used to?

She feared those three weeks of reacquainting with one another had been a waste of time. What if their friendship had been damaged permanently?

Joe gulped, the tension was back to make his spine stiff again and his ability of reasoning weaker.

Elizabeth let out a burst of constraint laughter, “I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s gotten into me tonight…”

She shifted on the bed and instead of sitting in front of him, she sat by his side, her back leaning on the headboard and her head abandoned to fall backwards.

Joe glanced at her and cleared his throat again, his voice serious, “It’s okay, Liz.”

He saw her closing her eyes, biting her lip and lightly shaking her head. She probably thought it was imperceptible but he’d seen her.

He took a deep breath. He had to say something. He had a feeling all that was happening for one reason. And he didn’t know whether to be happy, confused or scared that the reason might actually have been what he was hoping for.

“Liz, - he started quietly, slowly turning to look at her as she did the same, the head still resting on the headboard – you remember how we used to play true confessions in high school?”

Elizabeth sluggishly chuckled and nodded.

“Well, - Joe continued – I have a confession to make.”

He paused for a few seconds, knowing he was going down a one-way road, with no chance of turning back.

She frowned, “What, Joey?”

Joey, he thought to himself. If on the outside he looked nervous, the mention of that stupid nickname was causing a storm of emotions inside his head. Joey and Lizzie were how they called each other anytime the other needed to talk about something serious: those nicknames had always made them laugh so they seemed perfect to mention when all the other person needed was a smile.

It worked like it had every time before.

Joe smiled before continuing and Elizabeth smiled at him back.

“Lizzie, - he started again with a half-smile – I know I’ll be talking nonsense from now on, so please stop me if you decide you don’t want to hear it. Because once I say it I won’t be able to get it back…”

The girl furrowed her eyebrows again. Her instinct was telling her she already knew what he was about to say. At least, she thought she knew. She hoped, she knew.

She shifted again and turned her body towards him, leaning on her side on the headboard, a silent gesture to say ‘I’m listening’.

Joe exhaled for the hundredth time in those last five minutes.

“I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while now - he began slowly - Well actually I didn’t know I wanted to tell you at first… I thought I was misreading things and I tried to forget about it all, but then Gwilym happened and I didn’t know how to talk to you… you had disappeared from my life and I couldn’t stand –”

Elizabeth’s smile widened. She still didn’t know how to feel about what was happening. She was feeling too many emotions to choose only one.

“Joe-Joe–” she tried interrupting him, but he kept on talking, his sentences speeding up as they followed one another.

“But when I saw you that day at the park and I told you I was fine, I knew you knew I wasn’t and when I found you alone there, I couldn’t help but feel relieved, even it that makes me a terrible friend to Gwilym. I was happy I could try again and-”

“Joe could you just-” she chuckled: it was like trying to have a conversation during a rapping contest.

“And then, – he continued undaunted, his lips curving into a smile because he knew she had caught on where he was leading to - I came here to tell you because I wanted to know what you wanted to say to me that same day at the park but I saw-”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, the biggest smile lighting her face.

And without thinking of it twice, she shut him up properly.

She swiftly turned and, placing a hand on his cheek, she guided her lips onto his.

Joe hadn’t registered immediately what was happening and the kiss remained barely a long-lasting smack for a couple of seconds.

When he realised words weren’t strictly necessary to let her know what he wanted to say, he smiled against her lips and, bringing a hand behind her neck, he inclined his head to deepen the kiss.

Elizabeth felt like someone had lighted a hot air balloon inside her chest. She couldn’t stop smiling between one kiss and the other and Joe curving his lips in a smile as well could only make her smile more.

They pulled away at the same time, both breathless and with a spark in their eyes. They stared into each other’s eyes for a few instants, before bursting out laughing in unison.

Elizabeth rubbed her eyes, trying recomposing herself. Joe placed a hand on his belly to stop himself from laughing more.

“Why are we laughing?” he asked, still chuckling.

Elizabeth brought a hand to her forehead and shook her head with a small giggle, “I really have no idea…”

They both sat back, their gazes fixed on Elizabeth’s desk at the end of her bed.

“So…” Joe started again.

“So,” Elizabeth echoed him, turning her head to look at him, a small shy smile on her face.

“So, you liked my confession?…” Joe asked and Elizabeth pushed her shoulder against his chuckling.

She looked at her hands fidgeting in her lap, “I don’t know why I did that”

The smile slowly vanished from her face as she thought about it. She had been impulsive. Again. Just like she had done with Gwilym. And look where it has brought you…, she thought to herself.

She hated jumping back and forth from happy to worried all the time. Doing something and then overthinking about it. She was sick of it. Why couldn’t she be more decisive? Why did she have to always question everything her own mind thought?

Joe slowly stopped chuckling and stared at the weaved blanket at the end of the bed, confused. What did that mean? Why had she kissed him if she was already regretting it? Had it not meant the same to her as it had to him?

“Did you… - he tried to find the right words – …want that?”

Elizabeth forced herself to think about the answer. YES. More than anything I’ve ever wanted, her heart shouted. And please tell me you wanted it as much as I did.

“Yes, - she said instead calmly – but I wish it hadn’t happened… I think I might have made things weird”

“Oh, - Joe replied, more disappointment in his voice than he’d wanted to let transpire – then… why did you do that?”

Elizabeth knew he wouldn’t have stopped asking questions until she’d told him the truth and sometimes she hated how well she knew him.

She huffed, “I don’t know, Joe…”. She got up from the mattress and picked up the notebook.

Yeah, I do, she thought to herself.

“I think you do,” he replied, a little bit of anger mixing to the set of emotions he was feeling in that moment.

“No, I don’t”, she walked to her desk to put down notebook and pen.

Stop lying!

“Yes you do, Liz, stop lying!” Joe got up as well to follow her.

“Stop reading my mind!” she shouted back, not realising that was supposed to be just a thought.

Joe raised an eyebrow. Anger and confusion were having the better of him, “Why can’t you be honest? I exposed myself over there! – he pointed at the bed where they’d been sitting – Why can’t you do the same?”

“I’m trying to protect you!” she shouted back staring at him, her eyes slightly watered by the emotions she was trying to push down.

When he frowned again, she averted her eyes and looked outside the window, where darkness had already taken over the sky.

“I don’t want it to happen again, - she confessed under her voice – not with you”

Joe’s expression softened, “Can you please articulate your thoughts?”

Elizabeth forced her hands down her sides so that she could stop fidgeting.

“I don’t want what happened with Gwilym to happen with you as well” she repeated.

She huffed and brushed her hair away from her forehead, “Nothing good comes from when I get impulsive. I only get myself into trouble and end up hurting myself and others - she paused for a second – I already lost a friend. I don’t want to lose you…”

Joe furrowed his eyebrows shaking his head, “Who says you’re going to lose me? – he took a step closer and fixed a loose strand of red hair behind her ear – Just because it didn’t work with Gwilym doesn’t mean it won’t for us…”

Us. At the bare thought, she could feel butterflies flying in every direction inside her stomach. She had never felt that way. With anyone in her whole life. Maybe it’s a sign, her hopeful heart commented.

“How can you already talk about ‘us’? - she half-smiled – And even if what you say is true, do you really want to risk everything? Knowing it might not work out and it might end like it has for me and Gwilym? Do you want to sacrifice everything we’ve built for an impetuous decision on a casual Christmas night?”

Joe registered everything she had listed and he really wished he could think everything through. Twice. But he had already made up his mind at the first half-smile she had given him.

“Liz, - his lips curved into a smile, unable to contain the excitement of the anticipation – you are worth the risk.”

He watched the redness spreading on her cheeks and the smile gleaming on her face but he didn’t give her the chance to reply. Before she knew, his lips were on hers and his hands were already holding her.

Joe had longed for that moment for such a long time he couldn’t believe it was happening. He thought at any time his alarm would have rung and he would have woken up like he had done several times in those last few months.

And somehow even if he had imagined it, kissing Elizabeth was nothing like he’d thought. He figured there would have been hesitation and shyness from both sides, but it couldn’t be further from reality.

There was an unspeakable hunger for the other person from both sides. They looked for each other in every kiss, every touch, every breath, and faster than they could realise, they let passion drive their bodies.

Without breaking the kiss, Joe stepped forward to the desk, making her walk backwards and hit the wooden surface with her lower back.

She effortlessly jumped on it and opened her legs to let Joe stand closer to her. He smiled on her lips when she did that and adrenaline shot up to her brain. She wrapped an arm behind his back and pulled him closer, while his hand found the way behind her neck beneath her loose hair.

Joe felt like soaring a hundred feet above the ground. The scent coming from her hair was inebriating and he felt like he was losing the last brims of lucidity he had left. He felt incredibly happy and the excitement of finally being with her was almost overwhelming.

He was well aware of her doubts and he felt like he could not blame her after everything he had watched her go through. But somehow his gut was telling him that anything could have happened to them and they still would have made past it. Together.

Elizabeth could feel the excitement running through her veins, a sensation she’d never experienced before. Not at that extent at least. It was like someone had poured fire inside her veins and in the few fractions of a second she was lucid, she thought that with Gwilym it had been nothing like this.

Her ability to think straight was being obfuscated by Joe’s hands holding her tight and roaming around her back, but she was well aware of what she was feeling. And she knew, deep inside her self, that Joe could have been endgame.

She suddenly pulled away to stare into his eyes, looking for something even she wasn’t quite sure of. Something to tell her this time her instinct may have been the right path to follow.

Joe simply smiled, asking with his breath short, “Is everything okay?”

She cupped his chin with her hands and lightly brushed her thumbs on his cheeks, returning him the smile, “I’m okay”.

Joe’s smile grew brighter as he leaned in to kiss her gently. He slid his hands down to her lower back and moved her legs to wrap around his waist, picking her up from the desk.

Elizabeth broke the kiss giggling, “What the hell are you doing?”

He did not seem to be handling it well and chuckled, trying to hide the effort he was actually putting into it.

Elizabeth could not help but laugh the whole way to the bed – which took three steps – and her laughs grew louder when he dropped her on the mattress and collapsed beside her.

Joe tried to push down his laughs as well not to interrupt the rather passionate moment, but her laughter was too damn contagious.

“I thought it’d be hot and romantic…” he said between chuckles, a tingle of disappointment in his tone.

Elizabeth got up on her elbows, laughter slowly fading away, “I’m sorry, Joe – she extended her arm to caress his cheek and guide him closer – It was really romantic”

Joe chuckled and shook his head, “You’re a terrible liar,” he said, closing once again the distance between their lips.

He rolled on top of her, holding himself up on the elbows. Her hands climbed up his back, beneath the sweater and t-shirt and it felt freezing cold against his hot skin. That contrast only helped his excitement to grow and a hushed groan disappeared into the kiss.

Elizabeth ran her hands up to help him get his head out of the sweater and for a brief moment they shared a look that meant ‘is this really happening?’.

He came down to kiss her again, hands flying at the brim of her sweater, taking it off with a few rapid motions. His lips left hers only to trace a trail down her neck and above her collarbone. Elizabeth exhaled deeply, her hands roaming on his back and through his hair to keep him close to her body.

The moment he nibbled at the skin underneath her ear, her brain was no longer in control of her actions. A hand rushed to the edge of his shirt and pulled it up so that she could throw it on the floor.

Pulling away for an instant, he got her out of her t-shirt as well. His brain was acute enough to realise it was not the first time he had seen her bra, but it sure was the first time he had seen it and felt the urge to rip it off.

Without a warning, Elizabeth got up and undressed from her pants, while Joe followed with a burning gaze. From a drawer in her desk, she pulled out a silver square and with all the nonchalance she could find, she walked back to the bed, pulled back the covers and gestured him to join her.

Joe was still startled and had trouble thinking and acting straight. The direction they were heading towards was pretty final and irreversible and he couldn’t help feeling a little nervous.

He got out of his pants as well, suddenly feeling… exposed in front of her. He kneeled back on the bed and looked for comfort into her eyes. He could see she was thinking the same. As she rested a hand on his shoulder and gently pulled him closer to crash her lips onto his, he kept thinking how crazy it was doing all that with her.

They shifted so she could lay down on her back again and without breaking the kiss, Elizabeth reached out and turned off the switch of her abatjour, leaving the room in almost complete darkness if it wasn’t for the street lamp outside the window and the decrescent moon watching over them.

He lowered himself and broke the kiss to trace a trail of kisses down her neck to the middle of her breasts. She hushed a moan and ran her hands in his hair, as his lips proceeded down her belly until the elastic of her panties.

“Joe,” she uttered, lifting her hips to help him pull down her knickers.

He smirked on her skin, planting a kiss right where the elastic had been and climbed back up to kiss her lips again. Her hands grazed his skin till the elastic band of his briefs and very slowly pulled them down.

Joe thought he could have cum just because of how slow she was rolling them down: it was torture. He shifted so that he could climb out of them with a sigh of relief.

As he came up to hover her again, he slid a hand underneath her back and unhooked her bra. She got out of it and threw it on the floor with the rest of their clothes, exposing the last piece of herself.

They looked for each other’s eyes in the darkness for one last proof it was all real and just smiled, nodding at each other.

This is it, that meant.

She opened the silver package and Joe adjusted himself and after another brief glance of reassurance, he sank into her, hushed groans leaving his pink lips.

Elizabeth arched her back and exhaled heavily, quiet moans escaping her lips as Joe found a slow pace. Her arms and legs involuntarily wrapped around his body as if to cling to him and keep him as close as she could.

At that new angle, Joe was nearly overwhelmed with pleasure, he shut his eyes and bit his lips to hush himself from groaning out loud.

“G-God… Liz, you’re killing me…” he managed to say and she let out a brief breathless chuckle but couldn’t bring herself to articulate any words.

She roamed her fingertips up and down the soft skin of his back, causing him to mutter something that sounded like fuck under his breath.

While he had slowed the pace to rest a little, she held the grip with her legs and rolled both of them over so that Joe was now laying on his back. As she sat up and started circling her hips in a slow deadly pace, Joe ran his hands through his hair, moaning and muttering swear words.

When his hips spasmed upwards, signalling he was close to his climax, Elizabeth let her head fall backwards, overcome by a rush of pleasure. It felt like electricity in her veins. She felt her core clenching and she knew she was very close as well.

She stopped her hips and lowered herself to kiss him again. Joe took the chance to roll over and thrust a few times more before letting the climax rush through him. As he kept moving for a few seconds after, waiting for Elizabeth to come undone as well, he intertwined his hand with hers and held it tight.

They collapsed next to each other. And for a few seconds, the room was dead silent. The only noises were the radiator and the freezing wind shaking the plants outside.

Elizabeth was still incredulous of what had happened, and even if she may have thought about comparing the experience with Gwilym’s before, she knew she had no reason to. She didn’t want to. They were two completely different matters.

“You literally know everything about me now,” she whispered, a dopey smile on her face.

Joe slowly chuckled, sliding his arm under her neck and intertwining their fingers together, as Elizabeth rested her head between his shoulder and chest.

He hesitated, suddenly vulnerable and insecure, “Did you… regret this?”

Elizabeth tilted her head back so they could look at each other in the eyes, “This may be the first time in my life when I am sure I have done the right thing.”

Joe’s smile widened as he let out a sigh of relief and leaned to kiss her forehead.

“Well, you have done me, - he continued in his usual playful tone – so that would make me ‘the right thing’?”

Elizabeth chuckled and shook her head, “You’re a doofus as always”.

Joe was glad she looked relaxed: he’d worried he’d forced her into something she didn’t want to be dragged into, but now that they were back to their usual shenanigans, he knew they were fine.

“Funniest thing is – Elizabeth continued – Hardy thought we had already done this… I mean from the look he gave us, he seemed to think, if we hadn’t already, then we would have done it soon…”

“Well, we proved him wrong…” Joe sarcastically said they chuckled, as their fingers kept intertwining and untangling.

Elizabeth’s phone lighting up partially ruined the quiet atmosphere. She excused herself and got up to fetch it from the desk, while Joe headed to the bathroom to dispose of the condom.

“It’s my mom… It’s past midnight,” Elizabeth said, before realising she was standing butt naked in the middle of the room.

As she picked up her knickers and Joe’s pijama t-shirt, Joe reappeared into the room with a new pair of boxers and a sweet smile on his face, “Merry Christmas, Lizzie”

He walked up to her and planted a chaste kiss on her lips.

“Merry Christmas, Joey - she replied with a smile, - We are in big trouble…” she added, rotating the screen of her phone in his direction.

Joe furrowed his eyebrows confused and tried focusing on the chain of notifications, “Holy crap,” he just commented.

2 voicemails.

5 missed calls.

3 missed video calls.

37 texts.

All from Alex, the last one saying: ‘I am gonna kill you, woman’

-

Chapters: ⬸ previous | next ⤑

Pretty spicy and damn cute, don’t you think so? Let us know your opinion, reblog and like the chpater if you enjoyed it! Stay safe during these hard times! 💖

Cheers, folks! xx 🌷

Ben walked into the bathroom from his room and saw you on the floor next to the toilet with your head down. He knew he heard someone throwing up when he walked into his room. He woke up an hour before you and had just gotten over his killer hangover. He crouched down beside you and lifted your hair out of your face and the toilet, you hadn’t really noticed that Ben walked in. You were too busy throwing up and your head was still throbbing. 

“Love? Are you ok?” Ben asked as he rubbed your back to comfort you. As much as you loved Ben’s back rubs, you were not in the mood and you were too sick to care. 

“Do I look like I’m OK?” You snapped at him as you placed your forehead against the seat of the toilet. You felt bad for snapping at him like that but god, you just needed some time alone right now. 

“I’m sorry. I mean, do you need any help? Is there anything I can do?” Ben felt bad for you, he really did and he was just trying to be a good friend but damn, he just needed to give you some space right now.

“Yes Ben I’m fine! Can I please just be alone right now?” You were getting irritated and it wasn’t his fault. You didn’t even want to look him in the eyes or even lift up your head for that matter. Then another wave of nausea hit you and you ended back up in the toilet seat, throwing up everything in your stomach. 

“Ok, I’ll be in my room if you need me…” He left through the bathroom door, into his room. Damn it, he was trying to be nice and here you are being a total bitch to him. You would call him back in here but you always stood by your word, even if you were wrong. What you didn’t know was that Ben didn’t stay in his room, he knew to give you space so he found another way to help. He went downstairs and made you tea to ease you up, got you some water to rehydrate you(that’s what he heard would help), and some ibuprofen to take for the headache. He secretly snuck back into your room and placed everything on your night stand next to your bed with a letter. 

You felt like you were done puking but you were scared to go back to bed and have to run into the bathroom again. Your arms and legs felt weak but you pushed yourself up anyways and made your way out of the bathroom. Your hands tried to find things to hold onto as you made your way to your bed. Once you reached it, you moved all of the covers up and slid into it, all you wanted right now was some rest. That was until you realized the tea, water, and meds on your night stand. Of course you knew Ben put it there ‘cause it sure as hell wasn’t casper. 

You sat up against the headboard and grabbed the ibuprofen and water, drinking the water as you took the medication. Your headache had gone down a little before, so maybe the meds would make it go down even more. As you were about to grab the tea, you noticed a little slip of paper under the warm cup. You pulled the note from under the tea and opened it. The slip of paper read: 

I know you wanted space but I REALLY wanted to help because I felt bad, but I gave you some ibuprofen, tea, and water to at least help in some way. If there’s anything else you need, I’ll be in the room next door like always. Also I was gonna say let’s go to the beach today but your probably sick as fuck so we’ll just plan that for tomorrow but for right now I’m heading to the grocery store, if you need anything just text me! Ok bye Love! Get better soon! 

Well ok then Ben. Damn it, why did he always have to be so nice to you even when your a complete bitch to him? You place the note back on the nightstand and resume back to your warm cup of tea. You just sat there and sipped your tea while thinking of anything you needed from the store. Nothing came to mind at the moment, but you knew the minute Ben comes back, you’ll finally remember something you needed. That’s just how your brain liked to play games with you. Stupid piece of shit, stop making life more difficult than it has to be. 

Once you finished your cup of tea, you put the empty cup back on top of the note and tucked yourself away under the covers. Maybe taking a little nap wouldn’t hurt, Ben was out shopping so he probably wouldn’t care. Your eyelids suddenly got heavy and then before you knew it, you were passed out. 

---------------------------------

Ben decided to go out and go grocery shopping which is new to him. Sure, he went shopping with his mom but never by himself. It was new territory for him. Especially since he’s in a whole new state too. He didn’t know exactly what to get either but he didn’t want to call and disturb you. He went to this place called Vons, it had the same vibe as a Safeway back in Arizona so maybe it was all connected somehow. 

He went through the aisles one by one and literally packed the cart with junk food and some alcohol to replace the two wine bottles you both drowned in last night. One girl came up to him and asked if something was wrong since he looked confused.

“No, I’m alright. I’m just new here actually.” 

“You’ve never been to Vons?” She looked quite puzzled. 

“No, but I also meant I’m new to Cali.” Ben chuckled as he saw how the girl’s face turned to a shade of pink from embarrassment. 

“I’m sorry, I’m stupid, I didn’t realize that’s what you meant. Of course.” 

“It’s alright, really, no need to be sorry love.” And with that, the random girl started to help him with his shopping once he explained everything and why he was here. She had to scurry away to her own cart but she gave him her number in case of anything. She seemed nice and she looked like she was in her 20’s. Sadly, he didn’t catch her name at all.

Ben checked out all of the items and was on his way home. He knew you would probably be asleep or dying over the pain. Either way he wanted to make sure you were at least better now than earlier. He pulled into the driveway and started to unload the groceries into the house from the back door. Once he was finished, he started putting all the food in the cabinets and the fridge and freezer. After that, he just went upstairs to check on you. 

----------------------------------

While Ben was away you took a relaxing nap. It was all you needed and the tea really did help. You woke up and checked the time to realize that you slept for only an hour. The hangover had gone away and you decided to go see if Ben was home yet. Right when you were about to walk out of your bedroom, you bumped into Ben at the door frame. You were about to fall back until Ben caught you with his arm. 

“You alright Love?” His warm smile and soft, green eyes made you melt right into him. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Didn’t notice you came back.” You smiled as you stood up straight, out of his grip. You walked over to your bed with the little bit of grace left in you and patted the bed for him to go and sit next to you. You were still in his Bumblebee outfit from last night. 

Ben quickly walked over to the edge of your pink, fluffy bed and sat next to you. You were still kinda tired from earlier so you laid your head in Ben’s lap. His thighs were extremely warm even though it wasn’t even hot outside or inside. Ben’s face turned into a crimson red as you did so. He wasn’t expecting that. He didn’t really know what to do. So Ben just started fiddling with strands from your hair. 

“Hey Ben?” You said in a low hum that sent goosebumps up his body. 

“Yes Love?” Ben said in a deep voice that sent shivers down your spine. 

“Can you sing something to me?” Your hand was on his thigh now as you stared off into the dresser across from your bed. You rubbed your index finger in a circular motion in only one spot on his right thigh. 

“I don’t see why not, but I’m not very good.” Ben said as he was thinking of something to sing to you. He picked Stand By Me by Ben E. King. He loved that song and he knew every word. He started to hum the beginning. 

           “When the night has come

              And the land is dark

    And the moon is the only light we’ll see

    No I won’t be afraid, no I won’t be afraid

    Just as long as you stand, stand by me

  So darlin’, darlin’, stand by me, oh stand by me

           Oh stand by me, stand by me 

            If the sky that we look upon

              Should tumble and fall

   Or the mountains should crumble to the sea

     I won't cry, I won't cry, no I won't shed a tear

          Just as long as you stand, stand by me 

      And darlin', darlin', stand by me, oh stand by me

                          Oh stand…”

Ben whispered the song and sang at such a low voice that it was making you sleepy again. You loved it when Ben sang to you, he has such a beautiful and deep voice. And only you get to hear it whenever you wanted. 

Even though Ben was good at singing, you were great at many different instruments. Such as the double and electric bass, the piano, and the guitar. Sure Ben could sing but you were the talented little bean. At least that’s what Ben called you. 

You had fallen fast asleep in Ben’s lap and weren’t planning on moving. He didn’t want to disturb you but he had to get ready for tonight. He decided to go out again but this time without you. Only so he doesn’t have to watch over you. At least, that’s what he would tell you later. He picked you up bridal style once again and laid you on your bed while tucking you in your cozy blanket. He tiptoed his way through the bathroom and into his room before shutting the door. 

--------------------------------

You woke up to find yourself in your bed and the morning light shining directly on you. It would be perfect if you weren’t so tired. All you remember is Ben singing to you before you passed out on his thigh. You want to get up but at the same time, you don’t. You’ve never been a morning person anyways. But you need to shower because you reek. Your hair was so greasy and matted. Don’t even start on the fact of how gross your face feels. Your face, for some strange reason, has always been oily and greasy as fuck and it gets on your nerves to the point that you take makeup wipes with you everywhere just to make sure your face isn’t shining like the sun. 

You push over the covers of your bed and waddle your way to the bathroom. You turn on the hot water to full blast and hop on in. The scolding water feels somewhat refreshing and great on your skin. It feels good and it wakes you up a bit to start the day. 

You jump on out of the shower and pick out some shorts and a giant t-shirt to wear. You felt kinda bad for being mean to Ben yesterday and then falling asleep on him. Maybe you’ll make breakfast for him if he isn’t already up. 

You walk through the bathroom and to Ben’s door and creak it open a little to peak. He’s still asleep in his bed and barely covered by the sheets. He’s naked alright but hopefully he has some boxers or briefs on. You quietly close the door. When your done with the bathroom, you make your way down the stairs to the kitchen. 

Just as your about to make ground level, you hear footsteps. Weird, the last time you checked, only you and Ben were living here. You turn your head around the corner to see a pretty blonde making herself some cereal in the kitchen. Why the fuck is she here? Does Ben have a secret sister you don’t know about? You slowly but surely go back up to your room to figure out a plan on what the hell to do. 

You instead, go into Ben’s room and start to poke at his biceps slightly. He’s literally flexing in his sleep, Ben is a power machine while you on the other hand aren’t even able to do anything that requires upper body strength. 

“Ben…” You whispered, feeling like a helpless kid who has to wake up their parents to tell them they threw up in the middle of the night. You stab at him a little harder this time and a little louder. 

“Ben, c’mon wake up.” All he did was move around a bit and grumble something. You stabbed at him a little more.

“Ben,” you were giving up at this point until he said something. 

“Come back to bed love. How about a second round before you go?” He grabbed you with both arms and put you on the other side of him on the bed. You could tell that he was only half awake. What did he even mean by second round? 

Before you knew it, Ben was hovering over you, in nothing but his boxers and you could perfectly see the indent in them. You didn’t know what to do, you were too flushed and red to think properly. Ben was getting closer to your face by the second. His knee was in between your legs now, inching closer and closer to your core. Until eventually it was rubbing against it. Even though you’ve been liking this so far, it had to stop because of the problem downstairs. But before you could say anything, all you heard from Ben’s door, was a slam. 

His eyes fully opened and realized that he wasn’t on top of his little fling from last night, but his best friend. He hadn’t fully comprehended who it was and had mistaken Y/n for the blondie, who he had completely forgotten the name of. 

“Shit!” Ben quickly stumbled back to the edge of the bed until he fell on the floor. You were left laying there on his bed staring at the ceiling. You let out a breathe you didn’t know you were holding in. You felt cold without Ben’s body flushed up against you in every physically possible way. Almost every way. 

Ben sat up and looked at you. He noticed your chest was heaving up and down rapidly. Not that he was staring up there anyways. He was breathing fast. 

“I’m sorry, I thought- I didn’t mean-” Ben didn’t even know where to start. He felt like he violated you. 

“It’s okay Ben. Just wasn’t expecting that.” You looked over at him. His eyes were intense, usually they were soft and gentle, but these were different. They had this sort of darkness to them. You shook your head and tried to focus on the real task here.

“Who’s the model in our kitchen?” 

“Model?” 

“The pretty blonde downstairs? Do you know why she’s here?” You still hadn’t gotten the full image. 

“Oh. Well, she’s not here anymore,” Ben sighed as he got up and sat on the bed. “She just slammed the door when she saw me on top of you, I guess.” 

“Why was she here though?” You still weren’t getting it.

“She was my little fling last night, if you want to call it that,” Ben sighed, “I had mistaken you for her and that’s why I got on top of you love. If I had known it was you, I wouldn’t have done that.” 

Your face was bright red. He didn’t play with you like that because he wanted to, it was because he thought you were somebody else, he doesn’t like you like that. At least, that’s what you told yourself. You thought that he did that purposefully for you, not for her. You felt embarrassed and oh so much more. 

“Oh.” Everything was clicking into place now. You brought your legs up to your chest and sat up against the head board. Ben can’t even look at you. 

You decide to climb out of Ben’s bed and wobble your way back to the hallway. Your legs had fallen asleep, which for some reason your brain hadn’t comprehended, and you fell face flat on the floor next to Ben’s bed. He rushed over to you to try and help you up, but you just laid there. You didn’t want to move. All you wanted to do, was turn into a puddle and disappear. You felt like a distressed child. 

Ben didn’t even know what to do, he just stood there looking down at you with his head tilted to the right. He bend down beside you and began tickling you uncontrollably. You turned into a laughing fit and felt like you couldn’t breathe. You even flipped over which was a poor choice since he just assaulted your stomach even more. Tears were springing from your eyes as you tried to fight him off. 

Benny Boy lifted you off of the ground and threw you over his shoulder and carried you down stairs. You were still recovering from that tickle war with Ben and helpless on his shoulder. He sat you down on the couch and brought out the two blankets from your grandma’s house. He sat down next to you while you snuggled into the warm blanket. 

“So Ben, why’d you bring me down here?” 

“I just thought we could talk or hang out for a bit, love.” He said as his bright sage eyes bore into yours. 

“Like?” You were curious on what he wanted to talk about. He seemed confident, until it was his turn to talk. 

“Like, who that girl was. To be fairly honest, I forgot her name.” he chuckled. He felt bad but it’s not like he’d ever see her again. 

“I have a question.” 

“Ask away, princess,” 

“Where’d you go last night? And how did she end up here?” You were curious because you didn’t know what happened after you fell asleep. 

“Well, after you fell asleep, I tucked you into bed and I got bored so I went out to a club for a bit,” He started rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. “I also wanted to have a night where I didn’t have to watch over you.” 

“Oh. Well you could’ve just told me, I know I’m younger than you, but I’m not a child.” 

“I know. But I met the blonde at the bar and we really kicked things off and the next thing I know, we’re back here doing, you know.” 

“Ew Ben, please don’t describe anything to me. I may be eighteen but I’m still a child! Also I’m never going on your bed again.” Now that you think about, you probably were laying exactly were they were- ew, that thought made you want to vomit. You’ve been a virgin all your life, so anything that was sex related was gross to you. You acted like a twelve year old learning about sex in middle school for the first time. 

“Sure sweetheart but knowing you, you’ll probably just end up back on it in a few hours, snuggled in my blankets and clothes.” Ben had a little grin on his face because he knew he was right. You were about to smack it right off his face when Ben threw a pillow at you, hitting you right in the face. You basically pounced on him and got yourself tangled in the blankets with him. It was the start of a pillow fight. 

In just five minutes, Ben was laying on the floor with you straddling him, trying to put your hair in a ponytail as he tickled your stomach. Ben was still just in his boxer and your shorts weren’t very covering so of course you felt his bulge through the fabrics. You didn’t say anything though because you didn’t want this to end. 

Before you knew it, Ben flipped you over so now you were the one on the floor. He was hovering quite close to you. 

“Back where we started huh?” His eyes were hooded and dark. It frightened you a bit but it was kinda of exciting to see this side of the Benny Boy you knew. 

“I guess so.” 

The last thing you said before Ben closed the gap between the two of you. His lips were soft and smooth as they pressed against yours. You thought it would be a soft, sweet and slow kiss but Benny Boy over here was going at it. You wrapped your arms around his neck and tried to flip him back over which he did. You let go of the heavy kiss as you started to straddle him again, purposely pushing against his bulge. Ben let out quiet groan from the friction. 

“Oh Benny Boy? You okay down there?” You usually liked being the dominant one in almost every situation, and maybe even in bed. 

“You’ve got to speak to me baby.”

“I-I’m fine,” His head was thrown back as you kept grinding up against the ever growing bulge in his boxers. 

You leaned back down and started to pepper kisses along his jaw and neck. That was until you noticed the giant ass hickey on his neck. Why hadn’t you noticed that before? Now you weren’t really in the mood anymore. That hickey had sort of set something off in the back of your head. 

You stopped grinding against Ben and climbed off of him. You quickly grabbed your blanket and dashed to your room upstairs where you locked the door and sat against it. Leaving a confused Ben downstairs. 

He didn’t know what happened, did he rushed things too quickly? Had he done something wrong? All he saw was the sad look on your face before you got up and ran off. What he didn’t know was the reason why you left… 

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