Oliver Thorton

Oliver couldn’t believe it. He pinched himself hard on the arm - it would leave a bruise - but he was already awake, this was real.

Their lips moved perfectly with one another. Oliver brought a hand up - the other was awkwardly trapped between his body and the bed - and laced his fingers through Benjamin’s soft hair. He had always wished he could run his hands through the man’s hair. Of course he had done it before, but out of merriment and play. This was something else. Benjamin had told him that he loved his hair being played with, this feeling was on another level.

Benjamin brought his hand around Oliver’s waist, bringing their bodies closer, if that was possible. He only ever dreamed of being able to kiss the boy in his arms and now here he was. Benjamin no longer cared if he ever got that third star, this was an achievement in itself. He would have never imagined something like that coming to his mind in a million years.

The two continued to stick to one another; darting tongues, playful lips, mesmerizing sounds. Neither were sure how long it continued. Neither wanted it to ever stop.
Finally, the couple pulled apart. Oliver’s eyes were still closed. He was afraid that if he were to ever open them, this would all have been a dream, or Benjamin would look disgusted at the act they had just performed. He had never felt such a wondrous high in his life, he didn’t know what he would do with himself if Benjamin no longer wanted to see him because of this.

Benjamin had the same fears, but he didn’t want to take his eyes off of the boy in front of him. He had waited so long to be able to do this and to think that at one point he had sworn off Oliver altogether. He had wanted nothing to do with him and the baby, focusing instead on the family business. How wrong he was. Benjamin didn’t want to imagine how his life would currently be had he stuck to his word.
Finally, Oliver opened his sea green eyes and looked into Benjamin’s warm chocolate ones.
Benjamin let out a small smile, running his hand in slow circular movements on Oliver’s hip. The younger felt gooseflesh raise on his arms as a shiver racked through him. The things Benjamin did to him.

“Well...” Benjamin found his voice. “This sure changes things." He let out a shaky chuckle. Would Oliver want to see him after this? He hoped to any and every God out there that the answer was yes.

“It certainly does.” Oliver too let out his own weak titter. They were dancing around the words they both desperately wanted to say. “Um...that’s was...um...yeah.”

‘You are...so stupid. That was...yeah? What the hell does that even mean? He’s never going to want to date someone like you, you moron!’ Oliver thought to himself.

“Yeah...that was...yeah.” A similar mental scolding came from Benjamin’s head. “Okay.” Benjamin removed himself from Oliver’s grasp and sat up on the bed. Oliver’s heart immediately went into overdrive.

‘This is it.’ He thought. ‘He’s going to tell me how much of a mistake that was and how horrible of person I am and that he never wants to see me again. Here it comes.’

“I’m tired of beating around the bush and being so careful and acting like I’m not completely taken with you.”

‘Say what?’ Oliver thought.
Benjamin took a deep breath and ran a hand through his already tangled tresses.

“I like you, Oliver. I’ve liked you since the first time I ever saw you at the shop when you were ringing my wine and - and you didn’t even know who I was at the time and - I thought you were really cute and I had no idea that I would ever see you again and what are the chances really and -”
Benjamin was rambling. He did this when he got nervous, Oliver realized, but he didn’t know what the man was nervous about.

‘Does he think that there’s even a small inkling that I’m not already madly in love with him?‘ Oliver thought.

Apparently so because Benjamin kept on talking and making hand motions so hard it was amazing he hadn’t smacked himself in the face already and Oliver thought it was the most wonderful thing. That he was the most wonderful man.

“Benjamin,” Oliver chuckled. “Shut the hell up...please.”

Oliver didn’t want to admit that his stomach was swarming with butterflies. Benjamin liked him. Liked him. Oliver’s feelings weren’t simply one sided. How miraculous! Oliver had wanted to shut him up with a kiss, but he didn’t have nearly that much courage. But then again, he didn’t think he had enough courage to be able to verbalize Benjamin that he too felt the same.

Oliver started panicking and when he panics he does stupid things. So Oliver raised himself into a seating position and crashed his lips once again on Benjamin’s.

Then again, he didn’t think this was very much a ‘stupid thing’.



“You kissed? Like...with lips on each other and everything?” Charlotte was fan-girling.

Oliver had stayed long enough for a few more kisses to be passed around and for Benjamin to somehow pluck up the boldness to ask Oliver out on a date that Saturday. After an extra long embrace goodnight, Oliver had finally headed home and Benjamin waited until he was out of sight before jumping into his own car and heading straight for his family home.

Everyone had been home and his parents had been quite shocked to see him, but Benjamin didn’t even spare them a ‘hello’, he simply ran up the stairs and dove straight into Charlotte’s bedroom where he set to tell her absolutely everything.

The two were sitting cross legged across from one another on Charlotte’s very pink bed, both hugging pillows to themselves. Helena had come up not too long ago with tea and rolled her eyes at the familiar sight.

“Of course with lips Charlotte! And I’m going out with him this weekend. Where the hell are we supposed to go?” Benjamin had been freaking out about it since he asked Oliver out.

“Hold on, let me just let this sink in for a bit. You two kissed!” She stayed quiet for a few seconds and took a few deep breaths before letting out a very high pitched squeal that most likely woke the neighborhood.

Edward came running it with a bat, a very frightened Helena behind him.

“What in the hell is going on in here?” Edward growled out, bat still held high.

“Mum, dad, your son has finally found himself a date!” She squealed again, this time it wasn’t glass shattering. Edward rolled his eyes and stalked out of the room. He was too old for this. Helena smiled at both of her children, but she too left. “Whatever, they’re too old to understand the importance of this day. I never thought this would happen! I thought you two were just going to skirt around each other being friends forever. You need to tell me everything, starting from the beginning. I want every slimy, wet, dirty detail.”

Charlotte was a strange one.

...

“You kissed? Like on the mouth? Nice mate!” James smirked, raising his hand up for a high five. “So what does that mean? Are you guys like dating now or something?”
Oliver flushed, hiding his burning cheeks in his hands.

“I don’t think so.” He muttered, trying - and failing - to hide his bright smile. “He asked me out on a date with him this weekend though, so...yeah.”

James grinned so wide, Oliver could see every one of his teeth. It would have been comical had Oliver not been trying his hardest not to melt into a puddle on the ground.

“It’s not just ‘yeah’, this is huge! The sexual tension between you two has been so high since the first day you laid eyes on each other. The fact that you both finally found the balls to admit your feelings for one another is huge! Have you told anyone else yet?”

Oliver shook his head. He had wanted to tell Johanna since she would be most excited, but with everything happening around her and this pregnancy, Oliver found it hard to look her in the eyes anymore. She had lied to him without a care and now she was practically abandoning their son to ‘find’ herself while caring for a stranger’s child. It was hard for Oliver to not feel just a bit of resentment towards her at present.

And then there was Thomas who would no doubt hear about all of this through his new best friend James anyway - they told each other everything. He wanted to be the one to tell his brother though, but that would involve him picking up a telephone and he hadn’t felt like doing that when he just arrived home.

“I’m going to call Thomas. I think he’ll be happy to hear.” Oliver smiled, reaching for the cordless by his bedside.

“Are you going to tell Johanna? Or speak to her ever, for that matter?” James sighed. He knew it was tense between them, even he was angry at Johanna for her deceptions, but he knew that she needed as much support as she could get at this point in her life. James had walked by her bedroom many times to hear her crying softly into her pillow.

“I don’t think it’s really something important that she needs to focus on right now.” Oliver muttered, feeling the happiness bubble in his stomach slowly deflate.

“I think it’s exactly what she needs right now, Oli. You know she feels awful about this and she needs something to help her out of this stage of depression that she’s found herself in.”
Oliver sighed. He knew that Johanna hadn’t been herself since her confession but he figured that was because she was regretting the fact that she had to stop her partying yet again because she was once again pregnant. He wanted to believe that she was a different person, but if having Sam hadn’t changed her then he wasn’t sure what would. Another baby perhaps.

“Can I call Thomas first? I’d rather be in a happy mood when I tell him.”
James nodded and raised himself from Oliver’s bed and made his way out of the door.
Oliver sighed and dialed his brother’s number. He was already in a sour mood. He almost felt guilty that Johanna was depressed because he had been alienating her, but he felt that she still deserved it after allowing complete strangers into their home to watch their child.
Thomas took the news well. He seemed very pleased and even gave a little cheer. That helped Oliver’s mood a bit.

“I have something to tell you too, little brother.”

“You were born six minutes before me, stop rubbing it in my face.” Oliver giggled and told him to continue.

“Well, I’m seeing someone too. Remember when James and I went on that double date with those girls...”
Oliver gasped. That had been a while ago, he was almost insulted that Thomas had waited this long to tell him.

“Why didn’t you tell me? You hit it off with her? I still have no idea who these women are. What if they’re rapists or something?”

“We’ll meet up when I come over for break and then we can...talk about it.”
Talk about it? Talk about what? Oliver was confused, but he didn’t want to ask too many questions, plus it was getting late and he figured he ought to talk to Johanna now or else he would talk himself out of it.

The brothers said their goodbyes and Oliver sighed before making his way down the hall to Johanna’s bedroom. She had moved Sam’s bassinet back in there so that she could be close to him before she left. The door had been left open and Johanna was sitting on the ground folding all of her clothing and attempting to stuff them into a suitcase. Most of her things had been packed. Her father and older brother would drive down in three days for her.

“Johanna.” Oliver cleared his throat. “I was wondering if I could talk to you...about something that happened today.”
She had bags under her eyes, her once silky smooth hair seemed dull and flat around her sunken face. Oliver hadn’t realized how bad she had gotten.

“Sure...come on in.”
It never used to be this awkward between them. Even when Johanna had first shown up on his doorstep telling him that she was carrying his child.
Oliver awkwardly made his way into the bedroom, seeing Sam sleeping peacefully in his bassinet. Oliver didn’t know how Johanna had the heart to leave that little boy.

“Just...um...Ben asked me out today.” He didn’t know how else he was supposed to come at that. Even still, he couldn’t stop the smile from forming on his lips and the blush from taking over his cheeks.
Johanna gasped, sitting forward on the ground.

“No way, really? Finally?”
It was her way. Oliver didn’t know how else to put it. It was just something about Johanna.
It was as though nothing had happened. She hadn’t betrayed his trust, she wasn’t pregnant with a stranger’s child, she wasn’t moving away and leaving their son. She was just Johanna...

The two talked until the wee hours of the morning. Johanna had wanted every single detail of the encounter and the two squealed and giggled about it all night. Johanna even helped Oliver pick out an outfit for Saturday - she would be gone by then - and when they finally decided that it was time for bed, they hugged.

Oliver never thought this would happen again. But he was so happy that it did.