Under a Paper Moon

[Ben's POV]

I smiled contently as I nuzzled my face into the crook of John's neck. He had his arm securely around my waist and I had the palm of my hand held flat against his chest as we lay on his bed. He had the curtains half open, the orange light of the setting sun cascading across the bed and lighting his face up perfectly. This was nice, just lying here in silence (aside from the faint music thumping in the corner of his room - I think it may have been Green Day) cuddling together, just content in each other's presence.

I felt his hand move up from my waist to my head, his fingers picking up strands of my hair as he played with it. It tickled, making me giggle. "What?" he chuckled, raising an eyebrow at me.

"That tickles," I blushed, burying my face further into his t-shirt. He didn't stop though, if anything it made him play with my hair more. His fingers trailed down from my hair to my neck though, where they rested for a few moments before he, quite deviously, began to move them against my skin. An unpleasant sensation burst through me as I squealed, jumping away from him in a fit of laughter, "JOHN!" I complained, still laughing, "you're such a dick!"

"You love me really," he winked, his face broken out into a large grin as he pounced on me, pinning me to the bed as he straddled me before he dove for my armpits, still tickling them.

I yelped, struggling under him and trying my best to get away, "n-nooo!!" I laughed, "stopitstopitstopiiiit!"

"Fiiiiine," John pouted, pretending to huff as he climbed off me and sat back where he'd been a few minutes before. I rolled my eyes at him, climbing across the bed to join him again before wrapping my arm around his waist and resting my ear on his chest.

"You know I hate being tickled," I mirrored his pout. God I really did hate being tickled, I was the most ticklish person you could ever imagine and the guys always took advantage of it. Especially John. What a cunt. No I loved him, even if he was a cunt. Speaking of.... "Hey John, are you okay? Like...after earlier?" I looked up at him so I could see his face.

His face was tensed and hard as he nodded, "yeah...I just... god, some people make me so mad."

"I know," I sighed, reaching up to plant a kiss on his cheek, "you get mad so easily though. If you just...don't let it get to you."

"How am I supposed to 'not let it get to me'?! That dickhead beat up my little brother!" he exclaimed, his sudden outburst making me flinch. His expression softened instantly, "shit Ben, I'm sorry I didn't mean to shout." He reached up, his fingers ghosting across my cheek before he cupped it, leaning down to press our lips together.

"I know," I smiled, pulling away, "it's okay. I'd be mad too if I were you,"

"I swear to god I'll kill him," he muttered, more to himself than to me. But I just shook my head, he couldn't do that! Fraser and Gus had practically begged him to leave it! "But...fine," he sighed, "I'm still not going to be happy about it though."

"You weren't happy about Fraser cheating on Gus either but you didn't beat Fraser up," I pointed out. Hopefully John won't realise that that was because Fraser was his brother, I liked being right okay? I'm not right very much... it's a nice feeling. Then there are the times I'm not right, like when I told Si that I'd help him get Fraser; god that was such a dick move! Is it my fault that Gus ended up like that? Probably, even if it's not I'm going to feel guilty about it anyway.

"What?" John asked, obviously growing concerned about my sudden silence. Do I tell him that I feel guilty? I probably shouldn't, what if he worries? "Is this the whole thing with Fraser and Gus? Ben," he breathed, pressing his lips softly to my forehead before moving them down to peck my nose, and then my lips, "it's not your fault, okay? Don't feel guilty."

Damn he knew me so fucking well, it wasn't fair. I knew him just as well though, so I supposed we were kind of even. "I can't help it... I know they seem fine again and all, but what about Si? I've barely seen him since Max found out, and apparently Max is torn over it!"

"I heard that too," John sighed, wrapping his arms around my shoulders so he could pull me into a hug, "but we'll fix it okay? First thing tomorrow in school we'll go over to Max and explain what happened. Then we can get them together again."

I grinned at him, that was a perfect idea! I knew Simon wasn't going to fix it himself, he was too...I don't know, not awkward but... ah, it's hard to explain. Hopefully we wouldn't be told to fuck off though. "Okay," I smiled before letting out a yawn.

"Sleepy?" John laughed and I just nodded, "go to sleep then, silly."

"Okay," I repeated, scrunching my nose up at him which made him laugh.

He pressed our lips together one more time, "love you, Ben," he whispered.

"Love you too, John," I giggled before I buried my face in his chest again, my hand balling up in the material of his shirt, intent on never letting go.