Love Conquers All
by Flaming Matt
Chapter 4
October 2015
"How are you feeling?" Ben asks in a loving and caring tone, he had be watching his fiancé sleeping for the last thirty minutes and was happy to see him starting to wake up.
"Sleepy." Matt responds with a half smile, he had taken the events of the past few days hard, but he was starting to process everything and he was feeling better now.
"And your head?" Ben then asks with a little smile, after watching his fiancé yawning and stretching out a little bit.
"It's fine now, but can't we sleep some more?" Matt asks in response, before yawning as he tries to go back to sleep again.
"You're so lazy, seriously if you spend any more time in bed, you're going to end up like some giant fat kid." Ben then states with a grin and while he was still worried about his fiancé, he wanted to try and lighten the mood and see how he reacted, although he has to quickly shake him a bit, just to stop him from actually going back to sleep.
"You would still love me if I weighed like a hundred stone." Matt then retorts in a slightly tired tone, before yawning again and stretching himself out on their bed.
"I know our penises are big Matt, but I would need like a gigantic one to do you, if you were that fat." Ben quickly says with a big grin, while he gently runs his fingers along his fiancé's body and even now, he was still blown away by how beautiful he was.
"Do me, we really need to come up with a better way to say that, it sounds so stupid." Matt then says in a playful tone, before shifting a little so that he was on his side and able to look into his fiancé's eyes.
"I don't know, it's kind of romantic." Ben then responds in an indifferent tone, but as soon as his fiancé starts to pout, he struggles to keep his act up and quickly starts to giggle.
"You're such a dumb ass." Matt then states in an amused tone and even though they were being silly, he loved moments like this and he just thought his fiancé was perfect.
"I'm your dumb ass though and I always will be, Gorgeous." Ben quickly responds from the heart, before just as quickly pulling his fiancé closer and kissing him passionately for a a few minutes. "How are you really feeling though and don't lie Matt." He then asks in a serious tone, after kissing him for another five minutes and leaning back a little bit.
"I think er... well, I don't really know Ben, I feel better today, but I don't think I will be okay until Mitch finds Peter." Matt responds in a sad but honest tone, after deciding to just be honest and actually felt a little bit better after getting it off his chest.
"Mitch didn't say much, well he isn't allowed to Matt, but he kind of said something weird to my dad and I don't think he knew I was nearby." Ben then decides to say, although he was hesitant to bring it up, but he thought that it might help his fiancé and also help him at the very least, get it off his chest so that he could stop thinking about it.
"What did he say?" Matt quickly asks in a curious tone, he may have taken the news badly, but he wasn't a crying mess all the time and he knew his fiancé wouldn't bring it up, unless he thought it was important.
"He said that he wasn't convinced that it was a random attack and he doesn't think that they're looking for adults, well at least er... shit, sorry I can't remember exactly what words he used, but I think he meant they could be like his age or maybe even younger." Ben answers, as he does his best to explain what he had overheard his brother saying and could see that his fiancé was thinking over his words.
"How could kids break into a house and it's not like Alex is a wimp and can't protect himself." Matt responds in a thoughtful tone, it just didn't seem likely, because the doors would have been locked and surely if someone broke in, then their friend would have called the police or something.
"I thought that as well, but I could only think of one thing and that doesn't make any sense either." Ben then says in a slightly frustrated tone, he wanted to help find their friend so much, but he was just a kid and the best he could come up with, just made no sense at all and he knew that while his brother would never tell him, he knew he would just be polite and just humour him if he told him what he thought.
"Well don't be a dumb ass Ben, tell me." Matt then states as he gives his fiancé an expectant look and couldn't help but wonder what his idea was and whether it was stupid or not.
"Mitch told my dad that no one broke in Matt, which means that Alex must have let them in and he wouldn't let someone in, unless he knew who they were." Ben then explains before taking a small pause, just to gauge his fiancé's reaction. "So if Mitch is right about them being younger, then it was someone Alex knew enough to let them inside the house or to at least open the door Matt." He then adds and can't help but feel a little nervous, just in case his fiancé laughed at him or thought he was being an idiot.
"Takeaway!" Matt then almost shouts out as he thinks about what his fiancé had just said and if it was them, at that time of the night, then they might have called a takeaway place and it would make sense for their friend to open to the door for that.
"Huh?" Ben then quickly asks in a confused and slightly concerned tone, he didn't see how a takeaway could have anything to do with what they were talking about and it was a little bit early to even think about having something to eat, let alone a takeaway.
"Takeaway Ben, think about it, if they were having a sleepover and alone, then they might have ordered a takeaway, we've done it and we know Carter and Wesley have done it before, so if they ordered a takeaway, then Alex would open the door..." Matt quickly begins to explain, before trailing off for a few moments. "Ben, what if he just assumed that it was the takeaway guy and opened the door, then got attacked, fuck Ben, it could have been the takeaway guy." He then states in a stunned tone, as he looks at his fiancé and to his relief, he seemed to be taking his idea seriously and he could see him thinking.
"Shit Matt, I need to call Mitch, but er... it can't be the takeaway guy, that would just be stupid." Ben eventually responds after a few moments of thinking over his fiancé's idea and while he thought he was on to something, he didn't think the takeaway guy made sense.
"Why not?" Matt can't help but ask, as he gives his fiancé a curious look and wondered what his fiancé was going to say, because he thought the takeaway guy would make perfect sense.
"Well they would have called the takeaway place and the takeaway place would have sent him to the house, so it would be stupid if he did something like that, because the takeaway place would tell the police that he went there and well it would be stupid and there was more than one person and takeaway people deliver things on their own." Ben responds with a shy smile, he didn't like telling his fiancé that he was wrong about something, but this was important and he thought this could help find their friend.
"Hmm... what if er... well Alex could have still just assumed it was the takeaway guy and opened it, but then whoever attacked them er... well did." Matt then states in a hopeful tone, he really wanted to help find their friend and he knew that if he and his fiancé could just work this out between them, then they could tell Mitch and he would be able to use what they came up with, but they needed to make sure they talked it through first.
"But that's a bit weird though, I mean someone or well some people just happened to be about to break in or something at the same time Alex was expecting the takeaway guy to arrive, that just sounds weird right?" Ben then asks in an unconvinced tone, after thinking about what his fiancé had just said and while they weren't making much progress, they were definitely getting there and he was getting a little excited.
"And Mitch never said anything about the takeaway place, I mean surely they would know about that right?" Matt then asks in response and while he didn't exactly answer his fiancé's question, he had just thought about a hole in their theory.
"Oh shit, you're right, I mean wouldn't the takeaway guy been at the house at some point after Alex and Peter were attacked, surely he would have seen something was wrong and called the police or he would have seen all the police and ambulance around the house.
"Yeah, shit, I thought we were going to help." Matt then states in a disheartened tone. "Wait, what if he did come, but before Erica got there Ben?" He then asks in a more upbeat tone and despite what they were talking about, he couldn't help but smile a bit.
"Oh shit yeah, I mean if the door was shut, he could have knocked and thought it was a prank call or something, I mean it happens right, so he probably just walked away or something." Ben responds with a small smile, before leaning forward to give his fiancé a quick but loving peck on the lips.
"But you should call Mitch, the delivery guy might have seen something, even if it didn't mean much at the time, he could have seen a group of people or a car or something." Matt then suggests and while there were probably a lot of problems with their theory, it couldn't hurt to tell his fiancé's brother and he knew that even if they were wrong about what they thought happened, the police might find something else because of their help.
"Okay, but fuck, I hope this helps Matt." Ben quickly responds with a smile, before giving his fiancé a kiss as he gets up and walks over to the table to get his phone.
"Me too." Matt then says with a hopeful smile, before shifting a little bit to get a little more comfortable.
"Hey mate." Jarred says in a friendly tone, after opening the door and walking into the little shed.
"Hey Jarred." Peter responds in a happy tone, he had been a little bored and had thought about leaving and trying to go home for a while now, but he just couldn't quite bring himself to do it, not yet anyway.
"I brought you some more stuff to read and some food and drink and I have some cards, so we can have a little fun playing later." Jarred then says as he walks over to the other boy and sits down after putting the bags down between them.
"You're staying?" Peter quickly asks in a surprised and happy tone, he knew his friend had said he would spend the night with him, but he wasn't expecting him to spend the day with him as well and was genuinely happy about it.
"Well I can't stay all day, but I have a few hours and then I will be back later with some more food and stuff for both of us tonight." Jarred responds with a friendly smile and although he didn't really want to spend any time with the other boy, it was part of the plan and he was going to try and use the cards to get the other boy ready for what he was going to tell him about Alex and while risky, he was hoping it would work.
"Oh okay, but thank you, it's lonely and boring on my own and a little cold." Peter then says with a small smile, which widens when he sees his friend pulling something out of one of the bags he had brought with him.
"I checked the weather and I'm sorry Peter, I didn't think about the cold before, but I got you some more clothes and these." Jarred responds with a smile, as he holds up a couple of blankets and despite himself, he couldn't help but find the other boys smile interesting.
"It's okay, I wasn't that cold and well thanks Jarred, you're the best." Peter then says with a big smile and despite how confused he has been, he was happy to have such a good friend and while they apparently weren't that close before, despite being friends, he thought he was cool and he really liked him.
"Why don't you eat something and then maybe get changed, you've been in those for a couple of days now and you shouldn't stay in dirty clothes." Jarred then suggests and while he was a little nervous, he wanted to test out a few things and he knew that the others boys reaction to this, would determine whether he goes through with the cards idea today or leaves it until tomorrow.
"In front of you?" Peter then quickly asks in a surprised and slightly embarrassed tone, the shed wasn't very big and he knew his friend would see him if he changed.
"We're both boys Peter, but I can wait outside if you want, I don't mind." Jarred offers in response and although he wasn't quite sure how this part of the plan would play out, he knew he could always try again the next day.
"You can just turn around, you don't have to go outside." Peter then suggests, he wasn't that shy or at least he didn't remember being shy, but for some reason, he just didn't want his friend to see him naked and it confused him a little bit.
"Fucking Alex!" Jarred then states in an annoyed tone, before turning around and facing away from the other boy with a smirk, he knew what the other boy would ask now and was just hoping he didn't mess it up by being too over the top.
"Huh? What has he got to do with er... huh?" Peter quickly asks in a confused tone, he couldn't see how the other boy had anything to do with him getting changed and was a little worried about how angry his friend sounded.
"You never used to be shy Peter, I mean you were always smaller than most of us other kids, but that never bothered you and yes, that means that I've seen you naked, a lot Peter and so has anyone who has been in the same gym class as you, but now you're too shy to even change in front of me and it's his fault, he's a fucking prick and I hate him for what he did." Jarred responds in an angry tone, but has to keep his back to the other boy to hide his smirk, he just couldn't quite believe how easy this appeared to be and he was now starting to realise that maybe the other two chickening out was a good thing.
"Oh." Peter then says in an awkward tone. "What did he do to me?" He then asks in a hesitant tone, he was sure he was starting to remember Alex, but it was foggy and very confusing, which made him want to know what the boy did to him and why his friend seems to hate him as well.
"Get changed Peter and I will tell you some of it, but until you start remembering things, I won't tell you everything, it just wouldn't be fair okay." Jarred responds in a fake friendly tone, after turning back around and sitting down, he wasn't sure if the other boy would notice this or ask him to turn back around, but with his idea about the cards later, he was hoping he would change in front of him.
"Okay." Peter responds in a slightly hesitant tone, he had noticed his friend had turned back around and wanted to ask him to look away again, but after being told that he wasn't shy and already thinking that he never used to be shy, he decided to slowly start undressing.
"Before I tell you, I just want to say that I'm sorry again Peter." Jarred states in a slightly uncomfortable tone, he wasn't planning on saying anything, but as the other boy had stripped to his briefs, he couldn't help but sweat a little and he could feel himself react in a way he never expected and he didn't like it at all.
"Sorry for what?" Peter asks in response, before nervously sliding down his briefs, while avoiding looking directly at his friend, he may have not been shy before, but he could feel himself blushing now and just hoped his friend wasn't looking directly at him.
"For not believing you Peter, I just want you to know that I'm sorry, because I don't want you to be mad at me." Jarred answers quickly, although he was still a little distracted by the other boy being naked in front of him and despite all his planning and scheming, he hadn't even thought of this happening and he was starting to get confused by his thoughts.
"I might be mad, well I probably was before, but I promise not to be if you tell me what happened, I just want to know Jarred, please." Peter then says with an almost pleading look, although if he hadn't been so preoccupied with his own embarrassment, he would have noticed how his friend was looking at him now and not facing the other way.
"Just get dressed Peter." Jarred then says and only just manages to hide the annoyance in his voice, he wasn't gay and he was sure of it and even if he was, he would never accept it, so he wanted to get the other boy dressed and just concentrate on the plan to get back at his former best friend and then he could just get on with his own life again.
"Okay." Peter responds in a slightly timid tone, before reaching down to pick up some clothes and begins to get dressed.
"Peter, you came to me a little while ago, well you know, before er... well you know before this." Jarred begins to say after the other boy had finished getting dressed, but he was still a little distracted by his other thoughts and quickly coughed a couple of times to hopefully cover the fact he was nervous from the other boy. "But anyway, you were really upset and scared, even I could see that at the time, but you weren't making any sense and the things you were saying were just stupid..." He then begins to say, before being interrupted and while it annoyed him, he had composed himself from his earlier thoughts, to remember the plan and avoid ruining it all, by showing the other boy what he was really like.
"Stupid? What do you mean?" Peter quickly asks, from everything his friend had told him, he wasn't expecting him to say something like that.
"Peter, remember, I'm a prick and that's never going to change and the things you were saying were crazy and about Alex and I'm sorry Peter, but me and Alex were best friends, I've known him since I can remember and the things you were saying about him, well there was no way he would do that, so I got angry with you, I even pushed you to the ground and threatened you." Jarred responds in an honest tone and while he technically was lying about this, he knew that if the other boy started to remember things, then he would remember being bullied by him and if he did this right, he could just make the other boy think he was just remembering what he was being told now and not what really happened.
"You threatened me?" Peter quickly asks in response, he had other questions, a hell of a lot more questions, but he couldn't help but ask about his friend threatening him, because since he woke up in the shed, his friend has been nothing but nice and friendly with him, so he was finding it hard to process.
"He was my best friend Peter, I thought you were going to get him in trouble and I told you that I would hurt you if you told anyone else what you told me." Jarred answers in a sad and apologetic tone and even though it was fake, he did surprise himself with how believable he sounded. "I mean I didn't mean it, well I did, but I would never have actually hurt you, but I had to protect my best friend, anyone would do the same." He then decides to add, after seeing the other boy was too busy thinking to respond to his first answer.
"I guess so, but how come you er... well you're being nice to me and looking after me, so er... well how come you don't, you know..." Peter then begins to say, before stumbling on his words and to his relief, his friend interrupts him.
"Because he..." Jarred begins to answer, before trailing off and although he didn't actually mean to, he knew that it probably made it more believable. "Because what you told me about him was true Peter, I didn't believe you and even when I started to see it for myself, I pretended that I didn't and then he, he... Peter, I promise to tell you, but not now, let's just hang out and I will tell you tonight okay." He then says with a reluctant smile, which he can see had worked, as his friend reaches over and puts a hand on his knee, which he actually found himself liking, before realising what that meant and quickly reached over to one of the bags, so that he could get the other boys hand off his knee and not make it too obvious that he was uncomfortable
"Okay, I'm really hungry and thirsty anyway." Peter responds in a slightly curious tone, his friend was hiding something, but while thought it was big, he trusted him enough to know there was a reason he was holding back for now and decided to stop pestering him about it.
"Good thing I brought plenty of both, but I can only stay for like two hours remember." Jarred then says, before passing the other boy a bottle of apple juice and some sandwiches, while getting the same for himself and again despite his best efforts, he couldn't help but feel a little funny inside, especially after seeing the other boy smiling appreciatively at him.
"You're the best." Peter quickly states after placing the bottle beside himself, before unwrapping the sandwiches and missing the surprised and slightly blushing face of his friend.
"Takeaway guy?" Erica asks in a confused tone, after waiting for her boyfriend to hang up the phone to his little brother and while she tried not to eavesdrop, she heard some of what her boyfriend had said and couldn't help but wonder what the call had been about.
"Shit, look I need to head into work in a little..." Mitch begins to say in a slightly strained tone, before giving his girlfriend a surprised look when she interrupts him.
"Your boss told you to take two days off Mitch and you told me that it wasn't just a request." Erica quickly states in an unimpressed tone, although at the same time, it just made her even more curious about what the phone conversation was all about, because it had to be something important for her boyfriend to react like this.
"You don't understand Erica..." Mitch then begins to respond, before once again finding himself interrupted.
"Then tell me, because Ben must have told you something and for you to want to go into work, it was a lot more than getting something to eat tonight." Erica states in a firm tone and while she knew that she was being unfair, she was still worried about him and knew that just because she had managed to get him to open up and accept that it wasn't his fault, Jim's death was still on his mind and she couldn't just let him head into work and risk getting in trouble.
"Shit..." Mitch quickly states, before pausing and shaking his head. "Okay, Ben overheard me talking to our dad about Peter's case and well he and Matt got talking and they actually came up with some useful stuff and I need to head into work and follow it up Erica, it's important and it could help us find Peter." He then explains with a half pleading expression, he didn't want to be rude, but he wanted to get his team working on this as soon as possible and was hoping she would let him go.
"Okay, but talk to me first Mitch, what does a takeaway have to do with finding Peter?" Erica then asks and while his answer had reassured her, she still wanted to know more before she let him go to work and risk getting himself in trouble for going back so soon.
"Fine, but until we investigate, nothing is for certain." Mitch states after sighing, he just wanted to go and work on the case, but his girlfriend was looking out for him and as he began to think about it, she was actually there and she might be able to shed some light on his little brothers ideas. "Erica, the boys think that the reason there wasn't any sign of a break in, is because Alex opened the door willingly, but we know Alex and we know his dad and there is no way that Alex would open the door, unless he knew who was on the other side." He then states in a slightly hopeful tone, before stopping to let his girlfriend take in what he had just said and hopefully remember something that may help his investigation.
"Like if they were expecting a takeaway to arrive." Erica then says in a thoughtful tone, after taking a few moments to think about her boyfriends words and was starting to understand why he wanted to head into work, but even though she now accepted he should go in, she wanted to talk about it a little more because something in the back of her mind was telling her that she knew something, but she couldn't quite figure it out just yet.
"If they ordered a takeaway, then at that time of the night and especially given the fact they would know roughly when the takeaway was due, he would have likely just opened the door, hell I've done it Erica and more than once, even when I was around their age and a couple of times before that, so it makes sense." Mitch responds with a small smile and even though he would rather be at work right now, he knew that this conversation could be important and he was glad that his girlfriend had pushed him to talk and not for the first time, realised just how special she was.
"Makes sense and I've done the same, but still, what are you saying Mitch? Do you suspect the delivery driver is responsible?" Erica then asks in a unconvinced tone and despite thinking it was a good place to start, it would take someone really stupid, to commit a crime while working, especially since it would be on record that he went to that address at his place of work.
"The delivery driver himself? No, there was at least two people and although given most delivery drivers ages he could fit into the profile, it just wouldn't make any sense, but it's a good start and he could know something and it's definitely worth investigating." Mitch responds with an appreciative smile and again was hoping that his girlfriend knew something that could help.
"There wasn't any takeaway in the house." Erica then quickly states, she hadn't had much of a chance to look around, but she didn't see anything and surely if there had been evidence the boys having a takeaway, then they would have already interviewed the takeaway driver.
"Ben said as much himself, they think that for whatever reason, the delivery driver never showed up, but they could only guess to why and while they obviously tried their best, none of their ideas are worth looking into." Mitch then states in a slightly frustrated tone, before giving his girlfriend a smile when she takes his hands into her own.
"Oh fuck, I might have something Mitch, well a couple of things..." Erica then states in a thoughtful tone, before trailing off for a few moments while she tried to work it out in her head.
"You do?" Mitch quickly asks in a hopeful tone and while he knew that it could turn out to be nothing, he was still excited and knew that it could help solve the case.
"Okay, well the delivery driver wouldn't just not turn up, so there are two possibilities Mitch, one is that he turned up later, but if he did, then he would have surely seen the police and ambulance, so I don't see that happening and he would have had to have been running very late, because obviously Alex opened the door thinking it was him and I doubt he turned up after, because the front door was slightly open, so he would have suspected something and either looked in the house or called the police." Erica then starts to explain, after thinking it over in her head and while it was possible, she didn't think it was likely.
"Okay, I agree with you about that, but I can't rule it out completely until we speak to the guy Erica, but what about the second thing?" Mitch then asks in a warm tone, after thinking over her first idea and while he would look into it, he really did agree that it was highly unlikely.
"That he came on time, but as he walked towards the house, whoever attacked the boys, convinced him that they either lived there or were on their way inside and would take it for him, I mean it sounds unlikely, but if they paid him and gave him a tip, then I'm sure it wouldn't be the first time a delivery driver has done that, especially considering it's just a takeaway." Erica responds with a warm smile and while there was something else, she wanted her boyfriend to take in this first and then she could tell him the thing that she had just remembered.
"Fuck, that's good Erica, but there are so many takeaways, I need to head to work right now and start..." Mitch then begins to say, before trailing off after noticing the look on his girlfriends face. "What?" He then asks in a curious tone and while he wanted to leave right now, he knew that look and knew that she knew something and couldn't help but smile.
"I don't know for certain, but I think I saw your old friend Simon driving past Michelle and I as we walked towards Alex's house, I mean I doubt he was coming from there, but it's like a twenty minute walk from mine to his house, so it..." Erica then begins to responds, but she couldn't help but frown a little bit after not only being interrupted by her boyfriend, but also seeing his expression.
"Simon? I mean okay I can talk to him, but seeing him driving is hardly suspicious Erica and you probably walked past plenty of..." Mitch begins to state in a disappointed tone, but before he can finish, he can't help but be surprised by his girlfriend interrupting him.
"Well we will talk about you interrupting me like that another day Mitch, but if you let me finish, I saw plenty of cars, but Simon works for that Chinese takeaway in town and I know Gordon has talked about it before and how much Alex liked the food there, even though it was unhealthy, he said it was like a little guilty pleasure for Alex and it's a hell of a coincidence to see him driving nearby and Alex ordering a takeaway and it even makes him opening the door without checking more believable Mitch, because it's likely he knew most of the delivery drivers." Erica then states in a slightly annoyed tone, although as much as she wanted to be a little mad at him, she also remembered what he was going through and knew that she should be more considerate and not take anything personally.
"Fuck, sorry Erica, you know I love you, but well, just sorry." Mitch then says in a sincere tone, before suddenly feeling himself being cuddled and despite not wanting to, he couldn't help but sniffle and hold her tightly in his arms.
"It's okay and it's me who should be apologising, but what do you think? I mean about Simon?" Erica then decides to ask, after reluctantly letting her boyfriend go, she was feeling even more guilty for snapping at him before and could see that he was barely holding himself together.
"It's good and I will definitely be talking to him or well someone will, I'm not sure I should be doing anything like that for a couple of days." Mitch responds with a sad smile and despite wanting to just get on with things, he suddenly realised that he really wasn't ready and was too fragile to be of any use to the investigation in that capacity.
"Let's get dressed, I'm going to drive you to the station and that's not open for negotiation Mitch." Erica then states in a firm but caring tone and smiles when she sees him giving her a loving look.
"Oh fuck." Mitch then states as he realises something and if this all turned out to be a real lead in the case, then he just thought of something that could solve it.
"What?" Erica quickly asks in a concerned tone and wondered what was wrong.
"If this is all true and happened how we think, then Simon, if he was the driver, would have known it was the Gilmar's house, he would have delivered there plenty of times and the only way he would let someone take the food in for him, is if he knew who they were Erica." Mitch quickly answers with a big grin and despite everything else, he can't help but feel happy and quickly pulls his girlfriend into a loving kiss.
"Come on you idiot, get dressed and you can get your team on this as quickly as possible." Erica then states with a loving smile, after breaking the kiss reluctantly and despite wanting to take it further, she knew that this could help find Peter and that was infinitely more important than anything else right now.
"Okay, just give me a minute." Mitch responds with a smile, before getting dressed, while at the same time glancing at his girlfriend doing the same.
"Right come on." Erica then states with a grin, before walking towards the front door, with her boyfriend closely following, but after opening the door, she can't help but be surprised as she almost walks straight into someone.
"Dad?" Mitch then asks in a surprised and confused tone, after steadying his girlfriend after she had jumped back a little in surprise.
"We need to talk Mitch." Mike says as he gives his eldest son a worried look, he could see that he was both stressed and upset, but he had to talk about what had happened Friday night and what he found out yesterday from Gordon.
"Your mum was being weird." Ben says in a thoughtful tone, as he gently pushes his fiancé's feet and sends him into a slow spin and despite both their parents acting strange for the past couple of days, the contented sigh his fiancé makes, just makes him smile happily.
"Yeah, she's hiding something, but I don't want to think about bad stuff Ben, please." Matt eventually responds in a half pleading tone, after enjoying the slow spin his fiancé had sent him in and despite the fact they usually did this to their brother when they swam together, he was actually surprised by just how relaxing it actually felt.
"Anything you want, my little submarine." Ben quickly responds in a playful tone, after seeing that his boyfriend was hard and could only just stop himself from reaching out for it, but despite no one else being home, it was one thing to skinny dip, but to do any more than that, then they were crossing a line that neither dared to cross, especially in the middle of the day.
"Huh?" Matt quickly asks in a confused tone, they rarely called each other by pet names and his fiancé calling him his little submarine didn't make much sense.
"This." Ben responds cryptically, before spinning his fiancé around a little and moving between his legs and despite the fact he knew this was risky, he just couldn't resist this time.
"What are you..." Matt then begins to ask, before gasping in surprise as he feels himself being sucked, but doesn't get to enjoy the feeling for long as he suddenly sinks and takes in a huge mouthful of water, before feeling himself being pulled back up.
"Oh fuck, you okay?" Ben quickly asks in a scared tone, he knew he messed up and couldn't believe that he not only did something so risky, but he didn't even think about whether his fiancé would be okay.
"Fuck Ben, what the hell?" Matt quickly asks in an annoyed tone, after coughing a few times to clear his throat and what felt like his lungs as well.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to er... fuck, I just wanted to surprise you and make you feel good." Ben quickly apologises in a distressed tone, the last thing he ever wanted to do, was hurt his fiancé and he knew he just did that, but just as he feels himself starting to shake a little, he feels himself being cuddled.
"It's okay Ben, I'm fine, but don't do that again or at least warn me so that I can hold on to you or to the side of the pool." Matt then says in a soothing tone, after giving his fiancé a chance to calm down a little and while he was still a little annoyed about what his fiancé had done, even more so because they had talked about not doing that kind of thing outside, he knew it was an accident and wasn't going to get into a fight about it, especially with everything else that was going on.
"Are you really okay or are you just trying to make me feel better?" Ben then asks with a small smile, after leaning back enough so that he could see his fiancé's face and eyes.
"Both." Matt quickly responds with a playful smile, before giving his fiancé a couple of playful pecks on the lips.
"I love you Matthew Walker." Ben then decides to say with a loving smile, while also looking carefully into his fiancé's eyes, to gauge his reaction to what he had just said.
"I love you too Ben..." Matt then begins to responds with a big smile, before trailing off for a few moments. "Wait, did you just say Walker?" He then asks in a surprised tone, as he looks at his fiancé curiously and despite being surprised, he found himself not hating the sound of that name.
"Well my penis is bigger and as we have the same birthday, I think that makes me the man of..." Ben begins to answer in a teasing tone, before quickly finding himself being dunked under the water and held there for a few moments.
"Your penis is not bigger than mine and besides, I like the sound of Benjamin Summers." Matt quickly states with a grin, after letting his fiancé back up and couldn't help but find his expression amusing.
"We could get the tape measure again and have a little bet." Ben then decides to suggest, after getting his breath back and despite wanting to talk about their surnames, he wanted to let the idea of being Benjamin Summers, sink in a little bit first and could already feel himself liking the sound of it.
"Balls, length and girth again?" Matt then asks in an excited tone and while he wanted to talk about their surnames, he got them impression that his fiancé wanted to put it on hold for now and was happy to wait until he was ready to talk about it.
"Yeah and this time we can do a bet for each of them, so er... well I'm not giving you any ideas for dares, so er... yeah, deal?" Ben responds with a shy grin and while he almost let slip a couple of his ideas for each others dares if they lost, he just managed to stop himself and could see that his fiancé was a little gutted that he hadn't slipped up.
"Deal." Matt then simply states in response, before pulling his fiancé's head towards his own and kissing him lovingly.
"But you're are okay though right, I mean your head, it's not hurting again?" Ben then decides to ask and while he didn't want to dampen the mood or annoy his fiancé, he was starting to think about getting him to go to the hospital if the headaches didn't go away soon.
"I'm fine Ben, people have headaches and I've had worse." Matt quickly responds with a loving smile and while it was a little annoying that his fiancé kept asking about his headaches, he knew he was only looking out for him and he couldn't be angry at him for that.
"Okay, but if they get any worse, we're going to the hospital." Ben then states in a firm tone, before leaning in and giving his fiancé a quick but loving kiss.
"Okay, but only because I love you." Matt responds with a shy smile and despite being a little worried about the headaches himself, he wasn't quite worried enough to see a doctor just yet.
"Good, but well er... should we talk about our names? I mean it's years away, but married people take one of the others names right." Ben then asks in a shy tone, after deciding to change the subject and even though he knew they were still only twelve, they were both growing up fast and now that they were engaged, he thought they should be thinking about what that means for them.
"Huh? Oh er... okay, well I like my name, but well I don't like it as well." Matt responds after a few moments, after being caught off guard a little, but quickly remembers what they had said a few minutes ago and despite thinking Benjamin Summers sounded amazing, the more he thought about it, the more he thought about his dad and he found himself wondering if he even wanted to be a Summers any more and found himself wanting to talk to his mum about this as well and even his brother, because he didn't want him to think that Summers was a bad name or anything like that.
"Huh?" Ben then quickly asks in a surprised tone, he knew he started the conversation, but he wasn't expecting his fiancé to say that. "Oh shit, you're thinking about your dad aren't you?" He then asks in a sympathetic tone, before pulling his fiancé a little closer, so that their foreheads were just touching.
"I don't hate it and my mum hasn't changed her name back to James and then Tobias surname is now Summers, so er... well, I don't know Ben, I've never thought about it before, but I don't know, I don't really want anything of his, you know?" Matt answers honestly and while he felt a little sad about it a few moments ago, the way his fiancé had pulled him close enough for their foreheads to touch, just meant the world to him and he knew that no matter what, his fiancé was and would always be on his side and even though he would carry on talking about it, he had made up his mind already and couldn't help but smile a little.
"Can I be honest?" Ben then decides to ask in a slightly hesitant tone, he understood exactly what his fiancé meant and would support him no matter what, but he couldn't help but think about what changing his name would mean and he found himself thinking about his own mum.
"Always Ben, no matter what, whether it's good or bad, we promised that we would always tell each other the truth, remember." Matt quickly responds in a firm tone, before giving his fiancé's nose a quick peck and despite being the one being comforted a few moments ago, he quickly realised that his fiancé needed him to do the same for him now.
"I know Walker is my dads name, but it was my mums name as well for a long time and er... and well when she died and I don't want to change it Matt, it's stupid, but it's like... it's like it's a... like it's..." Ben then begins to try and explain, but despite trying his hardest, he can't stop himself from breaking down and can already feel the tears rolling down his face.
"Come here." Matt then quickly says in a loving tone, before pulling his fiancé into a loving embrace. "It's not stupid and I think it's really sweet of you and I want to be Matthew Walker, I already decided before you said that Ben, but now I'm even more sure." He then decides to add in a sincere tone and couldn't help but smile when he hears his boyfriend already calming down.
"You really mean it?" Ben then asks in an amazed tone, his fiancé never stopped surprising him and he once again couldn't believe how lucky he was to have him love him as much as he loved him.
"I'm yours Ben, completely yours and I want to be Matthew Walker." Matt responds with a big smile and quickly leans back enough to give his fiancé a loving and passionate kiss.
"No you can't see it again." Jordan responds in a firm tone, although he can't quite stop himself smiling a little bit and knew that they could see it.
"We'll see about that." Ashleigh quickly says with an evil grin, before pretending to reach across to her friend and quickly starts to laugh when he moves his hands down to protect himself.
"Oh, you bitch!" Jordan then quickly states in an embarrassed tone. "Oww! What the hell Tobias?" He then asks in a surprised and annoyed tone, after feeling his friend punching him in the arm and despite knowing it was more of a playful punch, rather than anything serious, it still hurt a little bit.
"You not allowed to call people that, my mum said it's a very bad word." Tobias answers in a serious tone and despite only being half serious, he really didn't like swear words and he was hoping if he kept telling his friends and brothers off, then they would stop using them or at the very least around him.
"Okay, but fuck, that actually..." Jordan then begins to apologise, before feeling his other arm being punched and quickly looks over in surprise.
"He said no swearing, now be a good boy and pour me another juice, my cups empty." Ashleigh decides to say with a small grin, which widens when she sees the look on his face, before he then reaches for the bottle of juice.
"Whatever." Jordan then mutters, but as much as he wanted to pretend to be annoyed, he really liked her and wanted to ask her to be his girlfriend, but so far he just couldn't quite pluck up the confidence to do it, which actually confused him a little bit, because he was never really that shy and wondered if it was because he really did like her, which just made him smile happily to himself.
"Why are you smiling like that?" Tobias quickly decides to ask in a curious tone, after seeing his friend smiling and couldn't quite figure out why.
"Because Jordan knows his place and doing things for me, makes him happy." Ashleigh quickly answers before he can answer for himself and she can't help but find his expression kind of sexy.
"I'm not your slave." Jordan then mutters in a slightly embarrassed tone, just as he passes over the drink he'd just poured and quickly blushes even more.
"Of course not." Ashleigh responds with a grin, before taking a few sips of her drink and despite the fact they were having fun, she was actually feeling a little frustrated that he hadn't asked her out yet, she thought he was going to do it a few times today already, but for whatever reason, he just seemed to stop himself and she couldn't make up her mind whether she found it cute or annoying.
"I like doing things for Lily, she's pretty and funny and I love her." Tobias then says with a happy smile and despite everything that had happened in the past few days, just thinking about his girlfriend always made him feel all warm and happy inside.
"Oh for the love of god, cross your legs or something when you think about her Tobias." Jordan then states with a shake of the head, he hadn't noticed until he heard Ashleigh snigger a little bit and followed her gaze and just thought their friend was too adorable sometimes, if not equally embarrassing at the same time.
"Not my fault, all boys get hard willies." Tobias quickly retorts with a grin, which widens when he sees Ashleigh spitting out her drink in surprise and Jordan staring at him opened mouthed and knew they weren't expecting him to react like that, but he had decided that he had no reason to get embarrassed, all boys got them and the fact he had a girlfriend and his two best friends found him sexy, let him know that he had nothing to be ashamed off, even if others tried to make fun of him.
"No wonder why Lily loves you." Ashleigh then says in a bemused tone, after composing herself and despite not liking him that way, she could still see why her friend loved him and he really was amazing to be around, especially as he was unfiltered most of the time and said the funniest things sometimes.
"I like kissing her, she tastes like cherries and I like cherries." Tobias then states in a thoughtful tone, before sighing in content after thinking about his girlfriend and how wonderful she was.
"So anyway." Jordan then begins to say, before pausing slightly as he realises that his friend hadn't made any attempt to cover his boner and despite himself, he couldn't help but compare it to his own size and felt a little relieved, because while he knew he was at least average, he had seen Matt, Ben and Wesley naked and they had given him a slight complex about his own size.
"Oh, Lily is calling me." Tobias then announces in an excited tone, after hearing the ringtone he had set for her and quickly answers it.
"That's just too cute." Ashleigh then says in a happy tone, some people she knew would probably make fun of him for having a ringtone like that, but she just thought it was sweet and she was starting to learn that was just the kind of boy he was and thought it was really nice.
"Why don't you take a walk for a few minutes Tobias." Jordan decides to suggest to his friend, who gives him a quick suspicious look, before smiling and slowly getting up and doing as he is told.
"Don't want to hear the two love birds telling each other how pretty and sexy they are?" Ashleigh then asks in a slightly curious tone, as she wonders why he would tell their friend to take a walk.
"No, but well I guess there's that as well." Jordan responds in a slightly surprised tone, he wasn't expecting her to say anything and couldn't help but forget what he was going to say for a few moments.
"Are you okay Jordan?" Ashleigh decides to ask in a curious tone, she could tell that he wasn't expecting her to say what she did and couldn't help but feel like an idiot, because he had obviously wanted to tell her something and she had probably ruined it.
"I er... fuck it." Jordan starts to respond, before just going for it and quickly leans over and kisses his friend for a few moments, before leaning back with a slightly nervous and shy expression.
"Wow!" Ashleigh states in a surprised tone, she had kissed him before, but that had been her jumping on him to distract him, but this was a real kiss and she couldn't stop herself smiling, even if her life depended on it.
"I really like you Ashleigh and er... well I'm not normally this shy, but well will..." Jordan then begins to ask, before being interrupted by the feeling of her lips pressing against his own and despite being a little surprised, he quickly returns it and knew that he just got his answer and quickly pushed her gently down on to her back.
"Oh man, they're kissing each other Lily." Tobias states in a disappointed tone, after walking back over to see his friends kissing and despite being happy for them, he knew that it meant his girlfriend won their bet and could only hope she went easy on him.
"Ha! I told you that's why Jordan told you to walk away for a little while." Lily responds with a grin, she was happy, well delighted for her friend and knew how much she liked Jordan, so she was genuinely excited for her, but she was even more excited about winning the bet she made with her boyfriend and couldn't wait for him to come around hers tomorrow.
"Just don't be mean." Tobias then says in a nervous tone and while he trusted her and he loved her, he couldn't stop himself from worrying that it was at the very least, going to be embarrassing for him or worse, she was going to make him do girlie stuff with her, which was a horrifying thought for him.
"I'm your girlfriend Tobias and I wouldn't ever hurt you okay, I just want to have some fun and I promise that it will be fun for both of us." Lily respond in a reassuring tone and while she was going to embarrass him a little bit, she knew what he and his family had been through and she would never hurt him or humiliate him.
"I know and I'm going to er... well I love you Lily." Tobias then says, before frowning a little bit when he hears some sniggering and turns back to his two friends and could see them looking at him.
"I love you too Tobias, but I got to go, just remember to tell Ashleigh that I won't be home until around six, okay." Lily responds with a smile, while also just remembering to remind him about letting her friend know not to come round too early.
"Bye, Lily and I will tell her, I promise." Tobias then says, before smiling as he hangs up, although he quickly sticks his tongue out at his two friends. "Smelly Heads!" He then states with a grin, before sitting down in from of them both.
"Why the frown Tobias?" Ashleigh can't help but ask in a curious tone, he was obviously happy and was smiling when he hung up, but he was frowning slightly now and she wondered if he was okay.
"You two are a couple now." Tobias answers honestly, although he is too busy thinking about what his girlfriend is going to make him do, to see the confusion on his two friends faces.
"And that makes you angry or sad?" Ashleigh then quickly asks, just beating her now boyfriend to the question and despite their friend acting strangely, she really liked the way he smiled at her just now and knew that he would be making her laugh and smile a lot.
"Huh?" Tobias then quickly asks in a surprised tone and quickly realises that they thought he wasn't happy for them. "Oh no, it's good, but well er... Lily kind of made a bet with me and well I lost now." He then quickly explains with a smile and despite knowing his girlfriend would do anything bad to him, he was still nervous and hoped she didn't give him dares like his friends and brothers have given him before.
"You bet that we won't be together?" Jordan then asks in a slightly betrayed tone and while he knew that his friend wasn't that kind of person, he was still curious to know why he bet against him being happy.
"No, well I guess so." Tobias quickly responds, but he just as quickly sees the look on his friends face. "No, not like that er... well me and er... Lily and me knew you would be boyfriend and girlfriend, but I bet her that it won't be until the weekend and well me lost." He then adds with a shy smile and instantly relaxes, after seeing his friend frown and then smile at him.
"Damn, why didn't you tell me you idiot? I would have held out for you." Jordan then states in an amused tone, before feeling the back of his head being slapped and quickly turns to his girlfriend with a confused look.
"Hold out for him? Jeez Jordan, I've been waiting for you to ask me out ever since you got out of hospital you idiot and you're saying you would have waited longer?" Ashleigh states in a less than impressed tone, although inside she was actually amused, but he didn't need to know that and she was also curious to see how he would react to her being annoyed with him.
"Oh fuck, I'm really sorry Ashleigh..." Jordan begins to apologise, but quickly gives his friend a half glare, when he feels him punching his arm. "Okay, I get it, no swearing, I promise." He then states reluctantly, after realising why his friend punched him and despite knowing that if it were some random kid, he would have likely beat him up, his friend was different and despite only knowing him a short time and still being uneasy with the English accent, he really was starting to see him as his best friend and he hoped he felt the same way, although he had seen him around his ex boyfriend and figured they were more than likely best friends already.
"It's okay and well er... I don't mind if you swear, but I'm still going to punch you when you do." Tobias then states with a big grin, although it was as much to do with his talking, than his friend swearing, he still noticed when he slipped into his stupid talk, but it was getting rarer and rarer and no one else seemed to even care, so he knew it must be almost completely fixed now.
"But anyway, I believe my boyfriend was just in the middle of apologising to me and I would like to see what he has to offer." Ashleigh then decides to say and while the two friends interacting was fun to listen to, she wanted to see what her boyfriend was like when he apologised and was secretly hoping that he was really shy and awkward.
"I was?" Jordan asks in a fake confused tone and could only just keep a straight face when he sees the look on his girlfriends face.
"Oh, you better do a better..." Ashleigh quickly begins to say in a disappointed tone, before seeing his lips curling up a little bit in the corners. "Oh, you're so going to pay for that Jordan, the next time we're alone, I'm going to show you whose boss." She then says in a semi serious tone and can't help but enjoy the look on her boyfriends face and knew she had quickly turned the tables on him.
"You two are just like Mitch and Erica." Tobias then announces and gives both his friends a smile after the turn to him in surprise.
"I guess so, I mean I'm great looking and she is a girl, so yeah, cheers mate." Jordan quickly responds with a smile, before giving his girlfriend a cheesy grin.
"So anyway, what did Lily want you to tell me Tobias? It had to be important if she made you promise not to forget." Ashleigh then asks, after deciding to change the subject and not let her new boyfriend bait her so easily and can't help but smirk a little bit, after glancing at him and seeing that he was a little frustrated at being ignored.
"Oh, well er... she just wanted me to tell you that she wouldn't be home until like five or six, so don't go round hers until after then Ashleigh." Tobias quickly answers, after being a little caught off guard by his friend asking him a question, he had settled down and was going to enjoy them trying to wind the other up, he always enjoyed it when his friends and brothers did it to each other and he especially loved it when his big brother and Erica teased each other.
"Oh, that's great, it means I get to spend a bit more time with my new boyfriend, all alone and no one to help him." Ashleigh then states with a big grin, which quickly fades when she sees the look on her boyfriends face and wasn't quite sure what was happening.
"Oh." Tobias then says, before quickly moving across and cuddling his friend, he wasn't quite sure what happened, but he had been around his brother enough to know that he was scared and he knew what to do.
"Did I do something wrong?" Ashleigh then asks in a nervous and slightly unsure tone, she had seen him upset before, but that was when she had groped and kissed him and nothing like that had happened this time and even though she wanted to comfort him herself, she wasn't sure if she should or not and she couldn't help but feel a little upset herself as well.
"I think he'll be okay Ashleigh." Tobias responds in a sad tone, while giving her a quick but reassuring look. "He's dead Jordan and he can't hurt you, I promise and he would have to get past Ashleigh and she is mega scary and everyone knows that girls kick boys in the balls, so no one will mess with her." He then says in a quiet but soothing tone, while gently rubbing his friends back.
"I don't understand." Ashleigh then says in a confused and emotional tone, she heard what he had just said, but she didn't understand what the pervert teacher who molested him has anything to do with this, no one mentioned him or said anything to do with that sort of stuff and she just felt hopeless.
"It's like Matt, sometimes certain things can just make him remember things Ashleigh and it can be something really er... well random and well you just need to cuddle and help them until they er... you know er... calm down." Tobias then says as he does his best to explain what happened and while he didn't really know what set their friend off, he again knew what was happening and had seen both his brother and Jordan get upset like this before and just felt so sorry for them.
"Oh crap, it is my fault, I told him that I would have him all alone and he would have no one to help him, shit Tobias, I'm so stupid." Ashleigh then states in a guilty and emotional tone, she was only messing around and she should have known better, he had told her so many times since they started hanging around each other that he was vulnerable and how he still struggled with what happened to him and she just went and upset him within ten minutes of being his girlfriend.
"It's okay Ashleigh." Jordan then states in an embarrassed tone, he hated that his teacher still had this effect on him and despite knowing Matt still had the same issues, it didn't make him feel any less pathetic.
"I'm so sorry Jordan, I should have..." Ashleigh then starts to apologise, after being caught off guard by him talking, but before she can finish, she feels herself being cuddled and can't help but be surprised.
"Don't be, you're my girlfriend and well I should be the one saying sorry, I'm broken and I will understand if you want..." Jordan then begins to say, before being interrupted himself by his girlfriends lips pressing up against his own.
"I need a poo." Tobias then says out loud, which makes him blush as he wasn't meant to say it like that, he was just thinking it and he can't help but look at his two friends with a mortified expression, especially as they were both grinning at him now.
"Oh man, you're so freaking awesome Tobias." Jordan quickly states in an amused tone and despite what just happened and still feeling sorry for himself, he couldn't help but smile at his friends ability to come out with the most random and funny things ever.
"Yeah er... thanks for telling us Tobias, but in future you might want to keep that to yourself." Ashleigh then says with a smile, although she was still worried about her boyfriend and even though it kind of freaked her out, it just made her like him even more and she just wanted to talk to him about it and try and help, although that would have to wait until later.
"Sorry, I always say stupid things, but I really need to go." Tobias then states in a shy tone and despite wanting to laugh it off, he actually really needed to go and was a little worried that he couldn't wait too long.
"Well your house is on the way to mine, so why don't we head that way and I can then spend some time with Ashleigh." Jordan then decides to suggest with a warm smile, he was tempted to let his friend walk home alone or use the park toilets, but he just couldn't do it, while his friend was pretty kick ass as it turned out, he just couldn't let him go alone when he was meant to be looking out for him and especially after what happened at the weekend and knew that he would never be forgiven, even if nothing happened.
"You two going to do the..." Tobias then begins to ask, as he temporarily forgets about his need to relieve himself, before finding himself being cut off by his friends hand over his mouth.
"Yes, we're going to talk and hang out like normal people Tobias, but let's get moving, otherwise you might not make it." Jordan quickly states in a slightly panicked tone, he knew exactly what his friend was about to say and there was no way in hell he was going to let him.
"What was he going to say?" Ashleigh asks in both a curious and confused tone, it was obvious that it was something embarrassing, but she couldn't think what it could be about and her boyfriend being so quick to shut their friend up made her even more curious.
"Honestly, you don't want to know Ashleigh, trust me, it's embarrassing and I think we've had enough of that, I know I have for one day." Jordan quickly responds, before slowly taking his hand away from his friends mouth, although he keeps a close eye on him, just in case he tries to finish his question.
"I did it again, didn't I?" Tobias then asks in a subdued tone, he knew that he almost made a fool of himself again and wished that he would think before he spoke sometimes.
"It's fine, but come on, let's get home." Jordan responds with a reassuring smile and while he could be angry, he knew it wasn't his friends fault and wasn't going to upset him over it.
"Tell me later." Ashleigh decides to whisper in her boyfriends ear, she accepted that for whatever reason she couldn't know now, but she wanted him to know that she expected to be told when they got to his house.
"Right, let's go then and we better take the shortcut." Jordan then suggests as he gives his friend a quick smile, before looking over to his girlfriend and holding his hand out and can't help but feel his heart beat a little faster when she smiles back at him and takes his hand into her own, before heading towards their friends house, with him walking just in front of them both.
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