We Will Write You [Requests CLOSED]

“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 🌷

The alarm going off made him jump off the bed. He turned it off fast but not fast enough to prevent Rami from waking up.

“Sorry mate,” Ben apologised to his roommate as he pulled a suitcase from under his bed.

“It’s Christmas Eve – Rami mumbled, rolling on the other side of his bed – did you need to set a goddamn alarm today?”

“It’s almost twelve…” Ben observed, chuckling.

“Yeah, but still… Christmas Eve…” Rami complained, using his pillow to cover his ears.

“My dad’s picking me up in an hour – Ben shook his head chuckling and threw him a cushion – we’re going to Italy on the annual ski trip”

“Right, - Rami threw the pillow back and got up, stretching his spine – how did he convince Miss New Americana?”

Ben rolled his eyes, chuckling lightly. Miss New Americana was his dad’s fiancée and she was… not easy, to be nice. Something of a bitch, to be honest.

When his parents were still together, the Hardy’s would always go to Italy in the winter break and Ben only had happy memories of that time.

After Ben’s mom died just as he was starting college, he and his dad went on the ski trip on their own for a couple of years. And then he met Linda, a sparkling pink American who inexplicably made his dad happy but who was clearly more interested in his dad’s money than she was in his actual happiness.

That would have been the first year someone outside the family had joined their trip and Linda didn’t seem like the type of person who liked to… mess up her hairstyle with sky goggles.

“I suppose he’s gonna tell her we’re gonna go to Milan to go shopping and then listen to her complaints during the whole trip once she realises he lied to her” Ben answered, making Rami chuckle from the bathroom.

Rami closed the water and emerged from the bathroom with the towel around his neck, “Are you gonna survive with her there?”

“No Rami, - Ben stopped and pointed a finger at him – the question is: is she gonna survive with me there?”

Rami laughed, “Oh God, you’re gonna be your own first client, Mr lawyer…”

They were both laughing when Ben’s phone rang and his dad’s number appeared on the screen.

“Yeah dad, I’m almost ready, what time are you gonna be here?”

Rami got out of his pijama and went through his drawers to find a shirt, he could tell something had happened by Ben’s facial expression. He watched him slowly put the wool socks back on the bed, out of the suitcase, and sit on the mattress.

“You must be joking. Tell me you’re joking.” Ben harshly said on the phone and Rami mouthed him a ‘what’ but Ben just shook his head.

“Dad, you know she’s just playing you, right? Are you still falling for her crap?” Ben rubbed a hand on the back of his neck and let it fall on his side.

“I cannot believe you’re taking her side…”

Rami walked up to him and sat on his bed while buttoning up his shirt.

Ben was defeated. His dad was one of the best lawyers in the UK, after all. He let his head fall forward and hid his face in the palm of the hand that wasn’t holding the phone.

“Fine – he blurted out, interrupting his dad on the other side – Do whatever she says. I don’t care. I hope you two are gonna be happy.”

He was about to hang up when, “Oh, and I’m glad to hear I’m the only one of us to still give a shit about mom.”

Hitting the red button, he ended the call and threw the phone into the suitcase. He brought his hands to his face and rested his elbows on the knees, exhaling frustrated.

“I can’t believe her – he began – when he told her about the trip she flipped out and caused a scene in the middle of his Christmas dinner party and threatened to leave him and go back to her parents and my dad, being the dumbass that he is, told her they didn’t have to go if she didn’t want to…”

Ben exhaled tiredly, even if he’d just woken up.

“What a manipulative bitch… - Rami commented – I’m sorry, man”

Ben got up again and began unpacking, “Yeah, I know”

“You can come with me and my folks… I can try booking you a last-minute ticket to Egypt”

“Thanks, Rami, but I don’t think it’s possible… and in any case, I’d feel like an outsider with you and your family”

“You know my parents love you,” Rami patted on his shoulder before going to the wardrobe again to pick out his trousers.

Ben half smiled, “Thanks, man”

An effusive knock on the door interrupted them.

Rami opened the door and an impeccably dressed Lucy made her entrance.

“Happy Christmas Eve boys,” she kissed him on the cheek and went up to Ben to place a kiss on his lips.

She noticed Ben was unpacking and frowned, “Aren’t you supposed to be already packed? – she shot a look at Rami and he shook his head while looking down – What happened?”

Ben exhaled and threw his last T-shirt on the duvet, “Linda. That’s what happened…”

Lucy placed a hand on his back and brushed it soothingly, “I’m sorry, babe… you can always come at my parents’ if you want”

“Thanks, Luce, but I think I’m not in the mood…” Ben walked away to put his clothes back in his drawers, letting Lucy’s hand fall back to her side.

She furrowed her eyebrows, “So where ‘re you gonna go?”

Ben closed the wardrobe and put his hands in his pockets, “I think I’ll stay here…”

“Here? – Lucy shrieked – You wanna be alone at Christmas?”

Ben huffed, “I’m not gonna be alone, Luce. There’s a lot of people who don’t go home for Christmas and I know they’re throwing a small party tonight at the cafeteria… more like a Christmas dinner for the ones who cannot have one with their families and-”

“It’s because of her, isn’t it?” Lucy cut him off. Steam was already bowling up in her head and she had to force herself to listen to what he had to say instead of storming out of the room.

“What? No, Lucy I-”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Ben, I know you’re not telling me something and I plead you tell me before I walk out of that door or I won’t be coming back”

“Alex’s gonna be at her parents for the holidays… – Rami jumped in – She was telling Elizabeth the other day at rehearsal. She’s leaving tonight…”

Lucy moved her eyes from Rami to Ben, “That doesn’t answer my question, though”

She knew Ben better than she knew herself and he was hiding something. Since the beginning of the month, she had noticed that something was off with him. He talked less and missed a couple of rehearsals. He hung out more with his canoeing team than with the cast of the musical. And more importantly, he’d been avoiding physical contact as much as he could.

Lucy knew something had happened with Alex, she just knew.

Since that kiss on stage, she hadn’t believed a word he had told her. He swore it didn’t mean anything and he was just acting but she smelled the lie from miles away.

Lucy distinctly remembered Ben kissing her like that, with that passion… but it had stopped ages ago. And she had been fine with it because she had always been told that after the excitement of the beginning, it was normal to lose the spark in a relationship and ‘get used’ to the routine.

Seeing him having the same spark they had with another woman had nearly driven her crazy.

She refused to believe they were done. She couldn’t accept the idea she was losing him. Ben. They had been through so much together and she knew for sure her parents were already looking into wedding halls for when they’d graduate. They had not-so-discretely told her they needed to be together because ‘it was good to the families’ on countless occasions.

And even though all of the above was true, she still needed to know what had happened so she could dump his ass before he could do it with her. She refused to be the cheated loser who got dumped by Ben Hardy. God, my parents are gonna kill me, was the only thought that circled inside her head.

She struggled in keeping up her stone-cold bitch façade, but she felt like she was crumbling to pieces and she knew she couldn’t have held it much longer.

Ben almost involuntarily glanced at the dresser by the door and Lucy followed his gaze.

The picture of them at the first canoeing race he ever won was sitting in its frame, the glass completely shattered.

“What happened to that picture?” she asked, her voice squeaky.

“Crap,” Rami muttered under his breath and walked away from the couple, closing the bathroom door behind him.

Lucy stared at the broken glass, her mouth agape, “Did she do this?” her voice feeble.

Ben looked at his feet, running miles in his head to find a plausible answer that wouldn’t completely shatter their relationship.

“Fucking say something, Ben!” Lucy shouted.

“It was an accident! – Ben shouted back, still averting her eyes – Alex had come by and-”

“That’s all I needed,” Lucy cut him off and aimed to the door, but Ben blocked her arm.

“Let go of me,” she wriggled her arm away.

“I’m sorry, Lucy, I really am-”

“For what Ben, uh? For wrecking our first memory as boyfriend and girlfriend? For cheating on me? Or for me founding out about you two? Uh?”

Ben didn’t know what to say.

“You bastard,” Lucy’s voice broke as she completed those last words and while Ben stood there she opened the door.

She walked out, but before shutting the door behind her she turned one more time, “Rot in hell, Ben Hardy”.

With that said Lucy slammed shut the door on their relationship.

It was over.

Ben walked back to his bed and sat there staring at the floor.

“Jeez mate,” Rami emerged from the bathroom.

Ben looked up to him, “You heard everything I suppose…”. Rami nodded.

Ben scoffed, “What have I done, man?”

“Well, to be honest… a fucking mess” Rami sat in front of him and Ben emitted a bittersweet chuckle.

“Thanks… – Ben brushed a hand in his hair – What do I do now?”

Rami exhaled, “How much do you need me to be honest?”

Ben looked at him and realised Rami was probably the only person who knew him well enough to give him advice on this, “100%. Shoot.”

Rami nodded, “Listen, Ben, you’re my best mate and you choose complete honesty so I have to tell you… You acted like a dick.”

Ben sarcastically chuckled, “Well thanks, man, I needed that…”

“Let me talk…” Rami shushed him, “You acted like a dick with both Lucy and Alex. You cheated on Lucy, knowing all the shit you two had been through and you lied to her about the kiss with Alex on stage. You deluded Alex you two could be together without telling her that you still hadn’t talked to Lucy and you had no intention of doing it soon…”

Ben was staring at the floor, feeling all the horrible things he’d done stabbing his back like daggers.

“So now you have to do only one thing and you have two ways to do it… - Rami continued – You have to make things right with both of them and you can either choose to run after Lucy or go talk to Alex. Your choice.”

Ben finally looked up at him and saw a half-smile on Rami’s face, meaning that he’d support either of his choices. Like he had always done.

He smiled, “Thanks, Rami”. They both got up and Ben hugged him, suddenly knowing what to do.

He walked away from his friend, picked up his phone, jacket and keys and headed to the door.

“I’ll probably be gone by the time you’re back, – Rami said, making Ben turn to look at him – so don’t do anything stupid. And keep out of trouble.”

Ben smiled, “Merry Christmas, mate”

As he closed the door behind him he heard Rami shouting Merry Christmas asshole back to him. He chuckled to himself and let his feet walk him in the only direction he wanted to go.

***

“So you’re telling me you’ll spend New Year’s Eve here?”, Denise tucked her phone between her head and shoulder and picked up her books, then headed towards the library’s exit.

“Apparently so,” Gwilym was cheerier than she’d expected and it made her smile to herself.

“That’s cool… – she tried to keep a straight tone while dodging the people in the corridor and finally stepping outside the building – Well, let me know when you’re gonna be here. We could… grab a bite… and maybe wait for New Years in the main hall with the others…”

Gwilym smiled widely, “I would love that”

Denise was able to contain her joy only because of the books she was holding. She was actually jumping around inside her head.

As she proceeded on the sidewalk of the 9th dormitory, she noticed a familiar puff of blond hair waving at her from the distance.

“Listen, Gwil, I’ll call you back.” She hung up the phone and fished it not without some struggle in her pocket.

“Hi, Ben… What are you doing here?”

“Hey Denise, – he sounded nervous and after everything Alex had told her, she didn’t know how what to think of him – I was looking for Alex and I know she lives here, but I don’t know her room… Is there any chance you could tell me?”

Denise furrowed her eyebrows and narrowed her eyes, “And why should I tell you that?”

Ben was confused at first, but then he realised Alex had probably told her what had happened between them.

“Listen, Denise – he started, brushing his hair nervously – I need to speak to her as soon as possible. She hasn’t picked up my calls in weeks and, besides that, I need to do this in person… I wanna make things right, trust me. I’m here to make things right.”

Denise stared at him and he did look desperate. She knew Alex would have killed her, but she decided to trust her instinct, “The room is 986. Second floor, west end of the corridor.”

Ben let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, “Thank you”.

He patted her on the shoulder and smiled, before climbing the steps to the building.

“Don’t make me regret this, Hardy” she shouted before he could enter and he turned to wave as if to say ‘promise’.

Ben eluded security and ran towards the stairs, jumping two steps at a time. He was so focused on arriving in time that he couldn’t think of anything to say to her face.

When he got to the door, he almost hesitated to knock.

Suck it up Hardy, he said to himself and rapidly knocked on the wooden surface, eagerly waiting for an answer.

“Who is it?” Elizabeth asked.

“It’s Ben,” he cleared his voice.

The door opened and Elizabeth emerged with only her head from behind it, a nervous smile on her face, “Hey Ben, what are you doing here?”

Ben looked her up and down and hesitated for a second, wondering who was she waiting for that made her so nervous.

“Uhm, I was looking for Alex… I need to talk to her urgently”

Elizabeth’s expression changed, “Oh, ehm… she left last night to go to her parents… I’m sorry”

“Oh,” he lowered his gaze as to think about a backup plan. He had not seen that coming. He looked up to Elizabeth again, “They live in town right? Do you know the address?”

“Wow, well Ben you’re asking me a lot…” Elizabeth inadvertently opened the door more and he took it as an invitation to walk inside.

He looked around and noticed that only one bed was undone, sign that at least one of the roommates had probably not slept there that night.

The girl closed the door with a scoff and he squared her up and down. She was wearing a large t-shirt that was most certainly not hers and that only barely covered her super short shorts.

Elizabeth scoffed again and crossed her arms on her chest, “Eyes up here, Hardy… - he recomposed himself but couldn’t hide a smirk. She was evidently waiting for someone – What you’re asking me is betraying a friend. A friend that clearly doesn’t want to hear from you… or she would have picked up at least one of your calls, wouldn’t she?”

Ben looked at his feet and brought a hand on the back of his neck, looking for a good excuse as to why Elizabeth should have trusted him.

When he was about to speak, the noise of water starting and stopping right after interrupted the silence.

Ben looked at the girl with a confused and way too amused face, “If Alex’s not here… who’s in there?”

He watched her gasping for words and then hiding her face behind her palms when the bathroom door opened.

Joe emerged from the door frame in pijama pants, with no t-shirt on and a towel around his neck. He widened his eyes as soon as he registered what was going on.

Ben’s eyes widened as well and he brought a hand to his mouth in disbelief. He darted his look between the two of them and a smirk gleamed on his lips, as he did the math: Joe’s pants and Elizabeth’s t-shirt were undoubtedly two pieces of a whole pijama.

“Oh shit,” was the only thing Joe could say.

“Oh my God… – Ben snickered – what the fuck’s going on here?”

Joe glanced at Elizabeth but she was still hiding behind her hands. She peeked from between her fingers and she could see the two boys staring at her. She let her hands fall and huffed.

“We are both staying here for Christmas and both roommate-less… - Liz hoped the phrase would complete itself, but when she saw Ben nodding in her direction, asking to continue, she rolled her eyes – Joe moved in here for the holidays”

Ben laughed out loud, earning a punch on the arm from the girl, “Cut it out, Hardy.”

She knew she should have been more worried about someone knowing that a guy was sleeping in the female dormitory, but when she caught Joe who had started breaking as well, she couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Fine, - she conceded recomposing herself – but you can’t tell anyone about this, okay?”

Ben tried pushing down the laughter and nodded forcefully, clearing his throat, “Don’t worry… Your little secret is safe with me…”. He winked at Elizabeth, unable to hide his wily smirk.

“There’s no secret – Joe blurted out, his face more nervous than he cared to admit – Nothing happened here…”

“Right, – Ben nodded condescendingly – and she’s wearing your tee because she doesn’t have any clothes?”

He raised an eyebrow and chuckled at the redness that was spreading on both their faces. They were so cute, both embarrassed and awkward every time he suggested there was something between them.

It was crystal clear to his eyes that there was something there and he smiled to himself, wishing he and Alex had taken things as slowly as they had. Because it was evident to him now that there had always been something else besides friendship between Joe and Elizabeth. All those stolen glances he had caught during rehearsal and the way Joe had reacted when he’d seen Elizabeth kissing Gwilym. It was not casual.

Only after a few seconds, he realised that whatever had happened in that room, they probably hadn’t talked about it yet.

“Listen, guys, - he started, - I’m not here to mess around… I have to talk to Alex. I screwed things up and I want to make them right, now that I have the chance. I need to make things right.”

Joe and Elizabeth shared a glance.

“Can you please help me? – Ben continued – I’ll keep your secret, I swear. Just please, will you help me?”

Elizabeth glanced at Joe again and he nodded as to say ‘it’s your call’.

She exhaled, “I’ll write it down for you – Ben let out a breath of relief, but Elizabeth continued – but you have to swear on everything you’ve got that you will not make me regret helping you.”

Ben forcefully nodded, “Sure, I swear. I do”

“And you have to shut your mouth about what you just saw,” Joe jumped in.

Again, Ben nodded and watched as Elizabeth picked up her phone and texted him the address.

“Thank you. For real,” he said to both of them.

Elizabeth half-smiled, “You’re welcome, Hardy. Now get out of here before I change my mind…”

“Merry Christmas, guys,” Ben said with a chuckle, before patting Joe on the shoulder and sprinting towards the door.

As it closed behind him, Joe turned to Elizabeth, “You know you sent Alex a ticking time bomb right?”

She sat down on the bed, thinking that Joe was probably right and that Alex would have killed her for what she’d done. But she also knew Ben and Alex were both secretive, big-headed people that lived in the fear of letting someone close.

Well, sometimes people like them needed a small push to take the leap.

Elizabeth chuckled to herself, “Yeah, that’s my Christmas present.”

***

“I told you, it’s not just another musical. It will be very important for my extra credits and, besides, I get to play the piano in front of the whole campus which is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a concert” Alex replied, shrugging her shoulders and placing the carrots on the cutting board.

“Thank you, dear,” her mom said and Alex smiled, kissing her on the temple. It was Christmas Eve’s afternoon, but Christmas dinner was already taking its form on the stove.

“Still find it useless, you could be studying other stuff instead of wasting your time playing a witch” her brother Jason commented.

“Oh, like economy? Like you, Jay? ‘m sorry to disappoint you, but my place will never be behind a computer typing on the board all day” Alex sassily replied, raising her left eyebrow.

“And where’s your place, Alex?” Jason used his smart-ass tone, that knew would have bothered his sister for days.

Alex inhaled sharply and walked towards the table where Jason was sat at. She put her hands on the marble surface and leaned down until her eyes were looking straight into his.

“In front of thousands of people, that cheer my name”

“Like mother like daughter – their father appeared in the kitchen, still wearing the gloves he had used to collect the firewood – she always used to say she would have sold theatres and would have danced for the Queen,” he proudly continued, hugging his wife from behind.

“And that’s exactly what I did. Apart from the exhibition in front of the Queen”, the woman chuckled, turning her head to place a brief kiss on her husband’s lips.

Alex looked at them and sincerely smiled, before turning in her brother’s direction.

“You see: a dancer, a conductor – she started, indicating their parents – a wanna-be musician – she went on indicating herself – and then there’s you, an accountant” she ended her sentence indicating Jason.

They all started to giggle.

“How many times will I have to hear this story?” Jason asked, defeated.

“Until mom and dad admit you’ve been adopted, there’s no other explanation to me” Alex joked, messing his hair up. He pushed her away and they cackled again.

“It would be weird to discover that at thirty years old, don’t you think so?”

“There’s always time for new discoveries. Am I wrong dad?” Alex said, walking closer to her mom and stealing a carrot to munch it.

“You’re absolutely right, my dear” the man answered, winking at his daughter and walking out of the kitchen to go and light the fire up inside the fireplace.

The two women started to laugh, while Jason rolled his eyes getting up to help his dad with the wood. Alex’s mom scrolled her head and kissed her daughter’s forehead.

“Let me help you,” Alex said, taking the knife from her hand.

All of a sudden, while the two men were struggling with the fire in the living room and Alex was cutting vegetables for her mother, the doorbell rang.

“George, are you expecting someone?” Alex’s mom shouted from the kitchen.

“No, Eveline, I’m not. Christ, why won’t it light up?” her husband answered in a rush, before starting to insult the wood that did not want to burn.

“I’ll go and see who’s it,” Alex promptly said, and her mother thanked her before going back to cook.

She cast a glance at the salon and could not contain a hushed chuckle that escaped her lips in seeing her dad so pissed kneeling in front of the fireplace and an even more pissed Jason standing behind him.

She scrolled her head and toddled towards the door.

Alex did not know whom she was expecting to find; maybe a family’s friend, or the postman, or even one of their relatives that had decided to surprise them. She was sure of only one thing: she surely would’ve not expected to find him.

“Ben! – her welcoming smile fading away from her lips in the exact moment she opened the door and saw him, standing there – how … what ar-”

“It’s over. Between me and Lucy, it’s over” he cut her off and let out in a rush.

He seemed out of breath as if he had run a marathon to get there in time. His coat was unbuttoned and his scarf was carelessly entangled around his neck, while the keys of his car were dangling from his index finger.

Alex opened her mouth and, looking behind her back, she took a step outside to have some ‘privacy’.

“Ben, I … that’s … I mean, I don’t think it’s the right time to have this conversation” Alex stuttered and had to cough halfway into the sentence to recompose her tone.

Her heart was jumping at the sight of him, but her brain was sending thousands of warning signs. She had to think about the way she had felt when she left his room that day, the way she had felt every other day at rehearsals when she had to pretend nothing had happened.  

Ben slightly nodded and looked down to the ground for a brief instant, while a few snowflakes graciously fell on his blonde hair.

“It’s just, that… ‘ve missed you, Alex. And I know I screwed everything up, but … you know, when this morning Lucy walked out of my bedroom I felt I finally had a choice,”

He paused again, finding the strength to look into Alex’s eyes.

“And I choose you” he then confessed.

A long stripe of frozen breath flew out from the corner of his mouth and, while he was breathing, free from the burden he had carried on his chest, Alex, at those words, felt as if her lungs had stopped functioning.

“Ben – she started, unsure on what saying after – I think it’s better if we talk about all of this after the holidays” her tone was cold. Glacial.

Panic had taken over her body and her insecurities had immediately built a barrier to shield her, cutting Ben out once again.

“There’s my whole family inside, it’s not the right time for this. You understand that right?” she proceeded when she noticed Ben had not dared to speak a word yet.

“I understand – he echoed her, nodding – Merry Christmas, then” and saying that, he turned on his heels and walked towards his car.

Alex felt tears reaching her eyes and had to look up to push them away. When she decided to reserve one last gaze at Ben, she noticed he was struggling with the car’s ignition.

He punched the steering wheel and exited the car.

“It doesn't start-up,” he said, letting his arms fall loose by his sides.

“Are you joking?! – Alex shouted, feeling her heart pumping harder inside her chest; when he scrolled his head, she knew she didn’t have any choice – come inside” she surrendered.

Ben’s chin touched the ground as he tried, and failed, to hide the big smile that was now adorning his face. Alex opened the door for him and let him step inside first.

“I talk, you keep your mouth shut!” she threatened him and, as an answer, Ben pretended to zip his lips.  

“Alex, who was at the … oh, hi” Jason appeared from the living room and grinned at the scene in front of his eyes. Soon, their parents too emerged from the salon and the kitchen and Alex felt as if she was under the spotlight.  

“Ehm, this is Ben, a friend from college – she cleared her throat and felt her mouth go drier – his car broke down”

“Oh, that’s terrible!” Alex’s mom immediately commented.

“One of my friends is a mechanic! I’ll call him and tell him to come here and have a look” Alex’s dad, promptly suggested.

“No need to rush, sir. Really. No one is expecting me at home, so I’m in no hurry” Ben almost innocently replied in front of all that kindness, not thinking about how terrible his situation sounded from outside.

Alex had snapped her head in his direction, not sure she had heard correctly. When Ben met her worried gaze, he immediately said:

“Not a big deal, no need to be preoccupied. Everything is… fine”

“Don’t be ridiculous, no one should be alone on Christmas! You can stay here with us. Alex what do you think?” her mom kindly offered and Alex could not stop the redness that spread all over her cheeks.

Jason smirked when she saw her blushing.

Alex looked up at Ben, who shrugged his shoulder and she found herself sighing in defeat.

Her heart had won another match.  

“You can stay. If you want”

On Ben’s lips crept a smile so big, that he thought he would have burst of happiness in a couple of seconds.

“I can’t even find the words to thank you right now,” he then said, diverting his eyes from Alex to her family.

“Oh don’t worry, dear. It’s a pleasure – Alex’s mum said walking closer to hug him – George, Jason, ask him if he needs help with the luggage and Alex, come in the kitchen and add one more seat for tonight’s dinner” she added, plucking Ben’s cheek.

“At your orders” Jason answered and took his coat. Once he was close enough, he elbowed Alex who reserved him an immediate middle finger.

Ben laughed under his breath and it was in that moment that Alex thought about one thing. She took him by the sleeve of the jacket and, as he was about to step out and guide Alex’s brother and dad to his car, she pulled him down and whispered:

“How did you know my address?”

Ben flushed and, nervously adjusting his scarf, he caressed the back of his neck and replied:

“That’s actually a pretty funny story”

-

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