Haunted

Matt was scared. No, he was terrified. Max had bought up the idea that they should all have a guy’s night in and watch a movie. They were all in favour of the idea, even Matt at the time. In fact Matt was probably more excited than all of them (well apart from Max of course). He rather liked the idea of spending the night in, instead of staying out and partying for once.

Then he saw the movie that Max had his heart set on watching.

Matt began to protest straight away, but unfortunately it was no use, because as everyone knew, no one could refuse Max anything when he pulled that stupid puppy dog face. It was that stupid expression that always seemed to get Matt into trouble one way or another. Not wanting to put a downer on the evening, he finally gave in and agreed to watch the stupid movie, muttering “wanker” under his breath, which Chris caught on to and started to chuckle a little, before getting up to make popcorn.

Dan sat down next to Matt and offered him some of the blanket that he was under. Matt accepted it gratefully as he realized that he would probably need it to hide under for majority of the movie.

Max slipped the DVD into the player and practically threw himself into Josh’s lap on the other sofa. Chris sat on the bean bag, his phone beside him awaiting a text from his girlfriend, handing around the bowls of popcorn he made before he got too comfortable.

The movie began and all the lights were off, making Matt even more on edge. Even the introduction on screen before the movie had even started sent chills down his spine. Shit. This was going to be even worse than he originally thought.

Throughout the film, Matt found himself slowly shrinking deeper and deeper into the sofa as he pulled the blanket further over himself, using it as a sort of shield. A loud bang suddenly occurred on screen and the dark haired boy found himself grabbing onto the closest pillow and burying his face into it.

He was taken by surprise as the pillow grew arms and Matt was being enveloped in them. Matt let out a small shriek and grabbed the pillows arms in an attempt to save himself. Wait a second, these arms weren’t fluffy, they were muscular and strong and protective and... Matt opened his eyes, and...Dan.

He had grabbed onto Dan. Dan smirked at him, raising an amused eyebrow at Matt’s sudden realization.

“S-sorry,” he managed to stutter, releasing his grip on Dan’s arms and pushing himself up from the blonde boys chest (which he noticed was just as muscular as his Adonis like arms) and back to his previous position on the sofa.

“S’ok,” Dan shrugged. “My arms are always open for you Matthew,” he winked. Matt just nodded letting out a slight...giggle? Yeah, an embarrassing little giggle. He then turned back to the television to try and prevent any more awkward situations from happening. He was just glad that Josh was too busy fiddling with Max’s hair and vice versa while being too wrapped up in the plot of the movie and Chris too busy with his girlfriend on the phone to notice.

Dan discreetly watched Matt as he fixed his eyes back on the screen. Had he really just giggled? Dan felt a small smile grow on his lips as he replayed the somewhat girlish giggle in his mind. It was - dare he say it - rather cute.

No matter how much Dan tried to focus on the movie, he found his eyes returning to the fried-chicken loving boy seated beside him. He noticed how he was becoming tenser by the second and the way he would jump a little every so often. It was a little unnerving to Dan as he didn’t like the idea of Matt being scared.

Before Dan knew exactly what was happening, he found his hand wandering towards Matt under the blanket. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was searching for, but then his hand suddenly found Matt’s and he took hold of it gently, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

Matt turned towards the drummer, his mouth slightly agape in surprise at the sudden contact. When he saw the blonde smile at him gently, he felt his lips twitch as a smile automatically made its way onto his lips. The two continued to hold hands as they focused back on the screen. Well to anyone else they looked as if they were just focusing on the movie as they were facing the screen and no one could see their joined hands under the blanket, but really they were both so caught up in their thoughts.

Matt felt far more at ease than he had previously, now that Dan had his warm, protective hand over his own. He felt the heat rising to his cheeks a little and he tried to breathe normally. He didn’t understand how Dan could be so calm when he was literally a mess on the inside.

But that wasn’t exactly true, as really, Dan’s heart was racing and thoughts were flying around in his head, all revolving around the dark haired boy sitting beside him, clinging onto his hand for dear life. He didn’t know exactly why he did it at first, but it just felt natural, the right thing to do and if he was perfectly honest, he was glad that he did.

The movie finally finished, but the two still continued to keep their grip on the others hand under the blanket.

Chris got up and said goodnight to everyone and Max and Josh literally ran upstairs into Josh’s room. Dan and Matt soon realised that they would have to get up off of the sofa. They let go of each other’s hands and Matt followed Dan up the stairs, noticing how cute his ass was in those tight jeans that he insisted on wearing. Dan turned around to face Matt and Matt nearly bumped into him. Dan gently took hold of his elbows to steady him and kept them there, a lopsided grin growing on his face.

“Th-thank you,” Matt managed to get out quietly. “For...uh...calming me down.”

Dan’s heart beat began to pick up immensely at the cuteness of the slightly older boy standing in front of him. “You’re more than welcome; you know you can always come to me for anything. I’m just glad I was able to help a little.”

Dan let go of Matt’s arms and watched him go into his room before going into his own. Matt pulled off his shirt and his jeans before crawling into his bed and staring up at the ceiling. All of the images from the movie began to flash through Matt’s mind and the eerie voices also began to creep their way in. That was the downfall of having an overactive imagination like Matt’s; he couldn’t control what was replayed. Another thing that sucked was how vivid the images were.

He tried deep breathing, tucking himself right under the covers and also thinking about fairies eating chicken, but nothing was working. He soon began to see things out of the corner of his eyes and he began to hear noises. He was being basically haunted by that stupid movie. He couldn’t stay in his room by himself as he was worried that if he stayed there any longer, then a monster would emerge from under his bed, grab his leg and drag him to the depths of hell and no one would even notice. Well at least not until morning and by that time it would be too late.

He threw the covers off of himself and jumped out of his bed as quickly as possible and ran out of his door. He closed it behind him, trying to stop or slow down any creatures that may have been hiding in his room with him. He quickly but quietly made his way down the hall and heard giggling coming from Josh’s room.

Quite frankly, he didn’t particularly want to go in and find Max and Josh in any state of undress or voluptuous position. Just the thought of it was more than disturbing to Matt, so disturbing them was out of the question and Chris wasn’t here. That left one person.

Dan.

It was his only hope of comfort and he honestly didn’t feel safe going back into his own room as he was sure that there were a gang of monsters laying in wait under his bed for his return. He also didn’t fancy standing on the landing alone all night as if anything were downstairs and came upstairs, it would spot him first and he would be prey for sure.

The bassist found himself making his way (sort of half running) to Dan’s room eager to get out of this death trap of a hallway. He knocked on his door somewhat quietly but also urgently. He was immediately met with by a soft, comforting voice.

“Come in.”

Matt opened the door and stepped inside, quickly shutting the door behind him, not wishing anything that had been lurking outside to follow him inside. He quickly did a once over of the room, checking for anything unusual, and then his eyes landed on Dan, sat up in his bed, his duvet only half covering him, his hair sticking up in cute directions due to the little sleep that he had received and a small amused smile on his lips.

“Uhm,” Matt decided that he should probably explain his strange actions. “Can I uh stay in here for a while?” Matt was sure that Dan was going to think that he was a complete freak, but the look in the blonde’s eyes just seemed to be that of a light amusement and a good portion of concern.

“Bad dreams?” he asked. Matt simply nodded, relieved that Dan didn’t seem as if he was going to kick him out back into the dangerous depths of the corridor. Dan patted the space on his bed beside him offering it to Matt. Matt found himself making his way over and sitting awkwardly on the side of the bed as he remembered his state of undress.

“Awh come on Matty, I don’t bite,” Dan winked, as he took hold of Matt’s hand and pulled him under the covers with him. Matt felt so much safer under the covers with Dan, but he was still a little worried about the fact that there may be some kind of creature lurking in the room. To Matt’s surprise, Dan somehow noticed this and smiled down at him.

“Awh Matt, there are no monsters in here, I promise. Do you want me to check for you?” Matt felt stupid and childish, but he needed to make sure. He nodded feebly, a blush tinting his cheeks. Dan smiled and got out of bed and started his search for the creatures that were putting his favourite bassists mind in such a stressed and scared state. He checked in the drawers and in the wardrobe announcing that there were no monsters to be found.

Matt couldn’t help but notice what Dan was wearing, or the lack of. He too was simply dressed in just his boxers, and Matt found himself blushing deeper at the perfect boy in front of him. He noticed how the tight material, much like his jeans perfectly framed his little butt. His hips were swaying as he walked and Matt noticed just how perfect his back was and how wonderful it would feel to run his hands up and down it.

Dan finally made his way to check under the bed and before Matt knew what was happening, the bleached hair of the boy disappeared along with the rest of him and a squeal was let out.

“Dan!” Matt called; terrified that something had got him. After a few seconds of sheer terror, the mop of bleached blonde hair reappeared and Dan had a grin plastered on his face. “Oh my gosh Dan, you scared me so much! I hate you!” Matt picked up a pillow and threw it at the drummer, pouting and turning over in the bed so he didn’t have to face him.

“Awehh Matt, please don’t get annoyed with me,” Dan cooed. Matt paid no attention and was determined not to turn over, even though he couldn’t possibly stay angry at the blonde boy for too long. He felt Dan climb into the bed behind him and his arms snake around the darker haired boy’s waist. He gently pressed soft kisses to Matt’s neck, making him gasp slightly.

Matt turned around in Dan’s grasp and felt his lips being instantly consumed by the ones that had just been on his neck. Matt reacted immediately returning the pressure that Dan was applying to his lips. Both boys felt something close to butterflies bubbling up in the pits of their stomach and Dan pulled Matt closer as Matt curled his fingers into the drummer’s blonde locks. The kiss was heated but still gentle and by the time they pulled away they were both grinning like fools.

“So am I forgiven?” he said in a sultry voice that sent shivers down Matt’s spine. Honestly, Matt forgave Dan before he even did it, but he wasn’t going to give in that easily.

“Well, that depends Drummer Boy,” he replied, removing his hands from the blonde hair that they were currently tangled in and running them down Dan’s chest, resting them on his toned stomach. “Do you promise to keep me safe?”

“I’ll always keep you safe, from monsters, aliens, Joshzilla, absolutely everything.” He sealed his promise with a kiss on Matt’s nose, causing him to squirm slightly.

“Well then, I suppose you’re forgiven,” and with that Matt snuggled up into Dan’s strong arms under the warm duvet and he felt safer than he had felt in his lifetime. And when Dan held Matt in his arms, he felt protective and as if it was his duty to keep this boy’s mind at peace. They needed each other and they belonged together.

***

“Dan, have you seen Matt anywhere?” Josh asked, rather loudly opening Dan’s bedroom door, waking both the drummer and the bassist up. Josh looked into Dan’s room and saw the two boys wrapped up under the duvet, arms and legs tangled together. Josh let out a laugh, before screeching “MAX! Come and look at this, you have to see it!” It was only a matter of seconds before Max came bundling into the room and giggling at the sight of the two tired, confused boys.

“What have you two been up to eh?” he asked, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“Looks like they were getting it on,” Josh howled with laughter.

“Get your mind out of the gutter Instagram Whore, we were doing no such thing,” defended Dan. “Unlike you two may I add? Can’t you keep it down at night?”

“Well, sorry for party rocking,” sang Max, making Josh laugh even harder. “I bet they were getting jiggy.” And with that both of the intruding boys at the door broke out into their own rendition of Getting Jiggy With It by Will Smith. Dan threw a pillow at them as they scurried off down the corridor giggling like a couple of school girls.

Dan turned back to Matt planting a small kiss on his lips, causing them both to grin despite their tired states. “See I told you I’d keep you safe from monsters.”