The Less I Know The Better [complete]

44 ;; midnight

The fireplace by the dining table crackled merrily, accompanying the sounds of cutlery against plates and the chink of glasses as John sat opposite Mimi at the table, eagerly stacking potatoes and cuts of lamb onto his plate. It was a chilly night, and John was wearing an orange jumper that was a tad too small for him - Paul's, actually, since he'd left it at his place the other night - partly to take the edge off the cold, and also because it gave him a sense of comfort to be wearing something of Paul's (not that he'd admit it to anyone, it was a little embarrassing); he'd felt exhausted and rather hungry after that particular school day, so he was already eating a second helping.
It had been a week since he and Paul had finally, properly made up with each other, and they'd become basically inseparable since, knowing their feelings were reciprocated. Not a day had gone by where they hadn't spent at least some time together and most nights they were sneaking into each other's bedrooms, to talk late into the night or just simply hold each other. It was hilarious at how incredibly sappy they'd suddenly gotten after they'd got their feelings out into the open - even if they both still struggled with open affection, always on the lookout for potential spectators or people walking in on them, they had been spending a lot more time together. John hated to admit it, but he really couldn't stop thinking about Paul - always wondering what he was doing, when he could see him again, wanting to do all these stupid lovey-dovey things with him. He'd never been this wrapped up in another person before, even with previous girls he'd dated, or even Stuart. Not that he minded all that much, though; being with Paul in general made it a bit hard for him to care.

"I've never seen that jumper before." Mimi's voice brought him out of his reverie, and he looked up to see her eyeing him curiously.

John blinked for a moment, fighting not to blush before he lied easily: "Oh, it's an older one of mine, I think. It's a bit small for me." He paused, taking a sip of his drink. "Maybe some old Christmas present from a family member or something."

"Right." His aunt nodded slowly, and they were silent for a few minutes as they ate, until she spoke again. "How did you get into that fight again?"

The auburn-haired boy paused; he knew she'd be upset by the reasoning, but he didn't want to lie to her.

"Well.. one day some kid, our old friend Kevin, had come up to us and started talking shit to us, y'know, calling us fags and that. So I punched him in the face. And we sort of- fought a bit until the teachers came in and we both got suspended. He'd said I'd regret it.. And well, he jumped me and the others outside a chip shop with his goons and they beat me up. Not too badly-" He began when he caught a look of Mimi's horrified expression. "Some older guys intervened before it got bad and they bolted. But- yeah, that's basically what happened."

"Why, that's terrible! I don't condone you starting fights with people, but still." Mimi took a slightly shaky sip of her wine. "You should have reported it."

"What's the point? It wasn't on school grounds or anything." John shrugged. "Look- Mimi, I'm fine now, and it's over. I know nothing else is gonna happen. That was kind of the end of it." He paused. "I'm graduating in a few months, anyway." The thought made him feel strange. What the hell was he going to even do after he left school? He hadn't given it proper thought yet.

His aunt only nodded slowly, not saying anything else in return. They ate the rest of their dinner in a silence that wasn't entirely uncomfortable, but a rather upsetting thought nagged the back of his mind. Before he could really stop himself, the words spilt from his lips:

"What do you think Julia would've thought? About me graduating?"

Mimi's shoulders tensed ever so slightly, but gave nothing else away as she took another sip of her wine. Her eyes softened a little when she looked at John, though.