Young Love Was Such Dumb Love

"You look so tired," Benny said smiling as John passed her two pancake platters from Whataburger. She thanked him for buying hers, even though she had tried to give him money for it. She even tried stuffing it in his pocket causing him to freak out.

"Yeah, because you've been trying to put money in my pants like I'm some sort of stripper for like an hour now," John chuckled, he had suddenly become less nervous around Benny. It was almost like they were hanging out and playing again, only grown up. Benny put the food on the floor of the truck and crossed her legs underneath her.

"Please John, I know you moonlight as a stripper. Oh you should totally be a stripper for Halloween," Benny laughed clapping her hands enthusiastically when the idea popped into her head. Benny twisted her long brown hair into a bun at the top of her head and took a sip of her Dr. Pepper in the styrofoam cup.

"Alright, for you I would be," John said being completely honest. He would do anything for her, he added mentally. Benny laughed a little her eyes getting drawn to the world moving past them as he pulled out of the parking lot. She was almost like a dog, sticking their head out the window soaking in everything, except less dramatic. They remained silent except for the soft calm noise of the Shins playing and relaxing them both.

"John! I just got the best idea!" Benny called out after seeing the picnic tables by the lake, John read the sign and new immediately what she was talking about. He made a hard right to make it into the parking lot and the two grabbed their food and settled on the best one in Benny's opinion.

"God, I love breakfast, best meal of the day," John commented before stuffing a whole pancake in his mouth, which Benny was shocked to see but entertained to say the least. She wondered how he could eat everything in his path and remain so skinny before comprehending exactly what he had just said.

"It's true, I could have breakfast for every meal of the day," Benny said cutting her pancakes crudely and dousing them in syrup. She noticed John had stopped the carnage he called eating and looked up at her with surprise in his eyes and his damned crooked smile on his lips.

"I love you," He smiled, his eyes growing big and intense. His left cheek puffed out with pancake and his hair messily strewn everywhere. Benny couldn't keep her laughter muffled despite her heart strings pulling tightly to those words ringing in her ears, she almost cried simply from the way he looked at her. John chuckled lightly, only happy that he had made her laugh this hard. That they were alone and having a good time, then he grew solemn remembering Jack.

After Benny's hysterics ended, she wiped her tears and finally started eating her food just as John inhaled his last pancake. He smacked his lips, parched from the intensity of his pancake eating and settled on stealing Benny's. She was completely fine with it barely noticing as she took a forkful of food in her mouth and chewed contently.

"So, are you and Jack, like, together?" John asked, biting his lip not sure of whether or not he really wanted to know the answer. Benny looked up taken back, a curious look in her eyes wondering why John would even ask or care. She stared at him intently while she finished chewing before answering him.

"Not really? Why?" She asked, after getting a socially acceptable level of food-in-the-mouth-ness. She took a sip of her drink before deciding she was full two pancakes in. John was ecstatic not only for selfish reasons, but also for her being smart enough to stay away from Jack Mayer. John opened his mouth to speak before Benny beat him to it, "Do you want the rest of these?" She giving him her puppy dog smile.

"Uh, more breakfast? Fuck yeah!" John grinned as she pushed the plate across the table to him, he sucked her left overs up in a matter of seconds before taking another sip of her drink. Benny looked pensive, despite the fact she had hooked up with Jack last night until the very early hours of the morning she didn't consider them together, although they were.

"Well, I guess we are, I don't know it's really unclear at this point," She corrected, unsure of whether she should have or not, burrowing her face in her hands. John dropped his fork, completely disappointed in her change of answer. When she looked back up, her eyes changed to be filled with concern. Benny bit her lip knowing that look in John's eyes. She'd seen it before when the Cardinals lost the Super Bowl and when they had to give his kitten away because his baby brother was allergic. Something was the matter. "Are you okay?" She laughed, not because she thought anything was funny, but conscious not tot make the conversation too heavy.

"Sure, I guess," John said before checking his phone and busily texting away ignore Benny. In reality, John was very conscious of her staring at his phone slightly offended and that was the moment he decided to go for it. He was tired of watching her go out with other guys and tired of hiding from his feelings. He flipped his phone shut and smacked it on the table, sending Benny back in shock before she looked at him curiously. "No, you know what, I'm not okay. You shouldn't be with Jack Mayer because he's the biggest asshole I've ever met. You deserve someone who will take care of you and someone who will be everything you've ever wanted and more, and- and," John ranted confidently until he ran out of words, desperate for her to know his feelings for her and convey them appropriately.

"Someone like you?" She asked looking him dead in the eyes. The sun filtered through her brown irises making them look almost caramel, she looked so mysterious and beautiful that John forgot for a moment what he was saying. He also couldn't decipher whether or not she was being sarcastic or not.

"Yeah, someone like me, because I think we'd be fucking perfect together," John said realizing it was now or never, and he couldn't afford to care if she reciprocated these feelings. She looked down biting her lip, this was bad sign, despite the fact she was ecstatic this was happening she remembered her promise to Max.

"What about Max?" She asked, trying not to be a buzz kill, but genuinely concerned about what her brother might do to John if he found out about doing this. John remembered suddenly, the events of this morning between Jack and Max and bit his lip before sighing confidently.

"Benny, I wanna be with you. So if you wanna be with me, Saddam fucking Hussein couldn't keep me away from you let alone Maxwell Fallon, so its up to you," John said smiling, praying and hoping with every fiber of his being that she would say yes and hop over the table and they would make sweet love in the sand. Benny's mind however badly she wanted it too, was more conflicted. She thought about the perils of the relationship, but was sobered by how miserable she was now.

"I wanna be with you too, John," she smiled her half-smile coming out before John came around the table to her side, planting a kiss on her lips. Her smile grew into a full one, John's hands cupped her face gently the wind blowing gently through her hair adding some mystic effect.

"Bennett, do you wanna go out sometime, like on a date?" John asked, securing his arms around her and pulling her into his chest. She nodded brightly, her smile cause an aching in her cheeks.

"But, I'm using you as a full-body shield from Max," She clarified with a jesting smile on her face. The one he could wake up to every morning for the rest of his life. He let out a low, raspy chuckled and nodded.

"I think I can take on a guy who goes by Moose," John said, trying to add a tough-guy element to his voice. Benny laughed shaking her head and slapping his skinny chest sending him back. He laughed re-wrapping his arms around her and held her. They both knew this wouldn't be easy, but for now they just couldn't care because the moment they'd both been wishing and waiting for had finally happened and they wanted to baste in it. Relieved that the other actually liked each other, which is all a teenager could ask for.