Aaron leaned against the door, the glass cool against his cheek as he fumbled to get the key in the lock in the relative darkness- even on the rich side of town, street lamps couldn't illuminate under the overhang that protected tables ad chairs from possible rain. He was struggling to keep his eyes open; a late night before, followed by school and then working late again had exhausted him.
Aaron finally managed to lock up the store, cursing half-heartedly when the key tried to stick in the lock. He buried the key in his pocket, trading it for the iPod Kris had forced upon him. It wasn't new, but it was in good condition and contained almost every song Aaron would ever want to listen to. He put the headphones in his ears and hit shuffled, turning the volume up high in hopes that the blaring music would keep him awake.
It didn't; Aaron was yawning, eyes half closed, as he began the walk to the bus stop. The loud, pounding beat of the Puddle of Mudd song was actually more a lullaby, and Aaron found himself drifting. His steps were slow, and he lazily listed back and forth across the sidewalk. He was in great danger of collapsing, snoring, to the sidewalk when the phone in his pocket vibrated, violently jarring him awake.
Aaron pulled out the phone he still refused to think of as his, the corners of his mouth turning down as he wondered why in the world Harry, of all people, was texting him so late at night. He dragged his finger across the screen, and then pulled up the text. His frown deepened as he red the odd message: Run and hide, Benji's looking for you.
It took the words a few minutes to sink in, but when they did, Aaron's eyes snapped wide open. It never boded well, that text- the last time he'd received it, Benji had dragged him 320 miles in the middle of night to buy a bloody pie. As tired as he was, Aaron was certain he would snap if that happened again, and that was never a pretty sight. So he hurried his step and put his head down, the hood of his ratty hoodie pulled over his hair and shoulders slumped to make him as unrecognizable as possible.
Unfortunately for Aaron's plan of passing out at home, the text had come too late and he was too familiar to be mistaken- and so was the sleek red convertible that idled in front of the bus stop. Benji was sitting on its trunk, one leg dangling and the other cocked up so he could rest on elbow on it while swirling a sucker in his mouth. A smile broke out on his face when he saw Aaron, and the boy's attempt at evasion made him laugh. "Nice try," he said cheerfully, "but you're coming with me."
Aaron gave the bench at the bus stop a wistful glance, his breath coming out in an aggravated sigh. He knew better than to try to escape- Benji actually kept handcuffs in his glove box, and he wasn't afraid to use them, and the countless jokes about kinky sex last time had been too much for Aaron to handle. Resigned, he tipped his head back so the hood would fall, freeing his curly brown hair, before trudging to Benji's car.
The first time he had been to the twins' house, his mouth had dropped open and he had all but pressed his nose to the window while the other boys laughed. The house was so much bigger than his- at the least, seven bedrooms, three sitting rooms, two kitchens, and an indoor pool- and Aaron hadn't even seen it all. He guessed it was expensive even by Sherwood standards, but he had nothing to compare it to; the other boys refused to open their houses for visitation. Still, Aaron had been so awestruck he was speechless as the twins gave the grand tour.
But there was no remnant of that awestruck boy anymore- at least not outwardly. He was as calm and unimpressed as Kris, though Aaron completed the careless look by closing his eyes and tilting his head back to enjoy the way the wind ruffled his hair. It also meant he missed all of Benji's sideways glances, and the odd expression nobody would be able to name.
The porch light turned on as the car pulled in front of the steps. Benji parked right there, despite the difficulty that would cause for anybody else who wanted to park. Aaron noted that, raising an eyebrow, but Benji ignored him, pulling the keys out of the ignition and getting out of the car. Aaron checked the clock on the dash- twelve o' three- and sighed before following Benji up the steps. The door opened before they got there.
"Evening, Lia," Aaron said politely while Benji blew past the woman without a word. Benji's mother smiled prettily, used to the way the temperamental twin acted, and let him go. She said something that sounded like coffee, but a jaw-splitting yawn wiped out all of her words.
Lia smile again and opened her mouth to say something, but Aaron was suddenly yanked by his right elbow. "Leave him alone, mum," Benji commanded.
Aaron shouted, "Sorry, Lia!" over his shoulder as Benji dragged him away. The woman's sad expression before he spun so he could walk without tripping irritated him enough that he asked, "What's wrong with you? How could you treat your mother that way?"
Benji looked as Aaron, his expression frozen but a slow fire burning in his eyes- Aaron was starting to think that boy was always angry. "You wouldn't understand," Benji finally said.
Aaron snorted, but he knew better than to push for a real answer; without Harry, he'd be walking home if Benji kicked him out. Shaking his head, Aaron skirted around the stairs, heading for the rooms downstairs Lia had cordoned off for the boys.
"Hey puppy, where do you think you're going?" Benji called out.
Aaron looked up to find the boy halfway up the stairs, amusement sparkling in his eyes. "I... um..." Aaron sighed and turned around, climbing the stairs slowly to avoid tripping, "I thought we were going to the usual rooms."
"We're going to my room."
Aaron looked sideways at Benji, surprised. As far as he knew, Harry was the only other person allowed in Benji's room. None of the host boys has ever been invited up. Aaron wasn't entirely certain whether he should be flattered or worried. He settled somewhere in the middle, marking the turns they took in case he needed to find his own way out.
They stopped in front of two doors that were right next to each other. One was painted purple, the other green, but the both had the same silver paint spelling out the boys' names on their doors.
Benji's door was the purple one. He pushed it open, hesitating a moment before straightening up and walking through. "Well, come on then," he said impatiently when Aaron stopped in the doorway.
It seemed wrong to intrude on what was obviously a very private part of Benji's life. Aaron knew, just from looking at the bookshelf, that Benji was a fan of horror- both books and movies. There was a bulletin board hung over his dark oak desk, but it was only distinguishable as such because of the pins sticking out of the pictures that plastered it. Aaron made a beeline for it, but he only had time to notice that the pictures were all of the twins before high school- then Benji was pulling him away.
"Why did you bring me here if you don't want me to see anything or talk to anyone?" Aaron snapped.
Benji had the audacity to actually look hurt. His gaze dropped to the ground, his shoulders drooping as he dug the toe of his shoe into the plush carpet. "Well, Harry won't be back until early morning, and I, well, I didn't want to be alone."
"Oh," Aaron said faintly.
Benji looked up, and there was hope in those green eyes that made them breathtaking. The boy rarely allowed himself to show any kind of real emotion, so to see him so completely vulnerable was like seeing Alexander Skarsgard dance around in a tutu. Aaron found his heart melting, despite his best efforts to prevent it. He ground his teeth, giving himself a few more seconds, before groaning his defeat. "Alright, alright. I'll stay here until he comes back. But you better have something active for us to do, or I'll fall asleep."
Benji didn't jump for joy, but the innocently pleased smile was about the same thing for him. He padded to the TV that occupied the wall, ad turned on one of the game systems. "Have you ever played Just Dance?" he asked, waggling a controller in Aaron's direction.
"No," Aaron gave the controller a wary look but took it without protest.
Benji laughed at his reaction. "Well then, you're in for a treat!"
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