Forbidden

“We should definitely get her to smoke with us sometime.”

Ben Campbell was practically incoherent as he lay sprawled out on his brother’s bed. Brandon and Jason looked on with amused gazes, as it was always a treat for them when the youngest of their group got completely stoned out of his mind. He was pretty much a light-weight when it came to those kinds of things—whether it be getting high or getting drunk—and therefore, was practically falling over after only two or three puffs, while the others were still sober and put together.

“No, we definitely should not,” Jason replied.

“Why not? She’s so innocent. We could like…corrupt her or some shit! It’d be totally awesome.”

“Benji, shut up. She just started hanging with us and you’re already going to scare her away. Even if she agreed to smoke, I wouldn’t allow it. I don’t want to get her into that shit, ya know?”

Ben grinned goofily and handed the joint over to Jason. Brandon moved to lay down opposite Ben, taking lazy drags from his cigarette as he turned his attention to Jason.

“You really care about her, don’t you?” The brown-eyed man questioned with a taunting smirk, though it was obvious his tone was a serious one.

“Yeah,” Jason replied, rolling his eyes. “I do. That’s not a problem, is it?”

“No, of course not. I think it’s sweet, actually. Maybe you two could be boyfriend and girlfriend.” Brandon drew out the last part with a voice that mocked the likes of a six-year-old.

“Dude, you're so gay, shut up.” Jason slapped both hands over his face in embarrassment. His friends just loved to torture him.

“Oh yeah, ya know. I just love the cock. That must be why I enjoy getting with women so much. Makes perfect sense!” Brandon said, gaining a high-pitched laugh from Ben and a punch in the arm from Jason.

“Stop fucking around, nut sack,” Jason said, with a smile, nonetheless. He glanced down at his phone, which had just produced a vibration, and he picked it up to see Jessa's name displayed with a new text message. He smiled after reading it and began to type out a response.

“What’d she say, dimples?” Ben asked, referring to Jason’s cheesy smile, whilst curling into Brandon's pillow with a content sigh. The high was beginning to wear off just a little and was now leaving behind a pleasuring fizzle in the young man’s mind.

Jason scowled at him. “She said she’s glad she met me,” He replied, blushing only slightly and quickly turning his head away from his friends, lest they see the crimson tinting and banter him.

“Aww,” Brandon said. “What a sweetheart.”

“Agreed,” Ben concurred. “But I’m fucking tired. If there’s even a tiny chance of me waking up tomorrow, I’d better get some shut eye.”

“Uh, you’d better get up tomorrow. We have to be there for Jessa,” Jason scolded.

“Slow your roll, bro. I’ll be there.” Ben yawned, and turned onto his side, away from the older men. Brandon eyed his brother and quickly moved to push his twin onto the floor next to Jason.

“What the hell,” Ben exclaimed.

“This is my bed, moron. You have a bed of your own down the hall,” Brandon replied, getting under his covers.

“Yeah, but you both are sleeping in here! I don’t want to be the outcast,” Ben said, petulantly.

“The outcast? Dude, really? Sleep on the floor, then.”

“But-”

“It’s not my fault my room is cooler than yours, Ben.”

“Cooler than mine?! The only reason Jay’s sleeping in here is because your floor is softer.”

“Exactly. Which is why you’re more than welcome to join him.”

With a yawn of his own, Brandon finished off his cigarette and put in in the ashtray on the nightstand. Jason smirked up at Ben and patted the floor next to him.

“I’ll even share my blanket with you,” he purred teasingly. Ben crossed his arms over his chest, but relented, and settled himself down on the floor beside Jason.

It was a surprisingly comfortable setup, as Brandon had said. One would assume sleeping on a floor to be achy and miserable, but Jason found it to be almost as welcoming as a regular bed. This was mostly because of Brandon and Ben’s parent’s money situation, providing more than just a stable living with soft, plush carpeting of top of more carpeting, and creating a lovely cushion to support Jason’s bulky frame.

By the time Ben was settled with a pillow and blanket of his own, Jason noticed Jessa had texted back. He opened his phone and read the message, informing him that she, too, was about to head off to bed. He told her he’d see her tomorrow, before standing back up on his haunches and plugging his phone into the charger located on Brandon's bedside table. Brandon switched off the light, and Jason laid back with a sigh. He found himself looking at the brightly lit clock sitting by the bed, red numbers reading 12:26, and he somehow wondered just where in the hell the weekend went. It kind of seemed like a fantasy, thinking about everything that took place. He hardly expected to be heading off to school Monday morning with the intentions of meeting up with Jessa Davis; and yet, this was exactly what would take place. This, of course, made him happier than a five-year-old on Christmas morning, but the events surrounding it was what had him on edge. He knew for a fact that once Scott Moyer saw Jessa with him, shit was going to go down. Not to say he was afraid of the puny, pathetic excuse for a man, but he was more worried about what would happen to Jessa. He would protect her, no doubt, but it might not be a physical pain that would cause her affliction.

Deciding to just let it go, for the time being, Jason turned on his side and willed his eyes shut, hoping to catch a break and sleep in peace.