The Hawthorne Effect (BoyXBoy)

CHAPTER 10: Tuesday.

This cannot be happening.

I cannot have fucking started using Charlie Hawthorne as my personal teddy bear in my sleep.

The worst part about this is I can't even get off him - his arms are wrapped tightly around me... one of his palm spread out on my back.

The room is still pretty dark. We didn't draw the curtains last night so I can see from where I'm laying that the sky is still pitch black.

I have time.

I have time to work out how to get out of this situation without Charlie realising what's happening.

But... a big part of me wants to stay right where I am and not move.

Why?

Well I'm comfortable as shit, for a start.

My position on Charlie means my body's supported in all the right places. His body heat and the duvet combine for an amazing warmth, his breathing is slow and controlled which is, somehow, incredibly soothing and... there's just something about being so close to him (in the least creepiest way possible).

But the main reason why I don't want to move is down to two questions I have in my mind.

How the fuck did this sleeping position come about? Is the first one.

I mean, if it was just me that had snuggled up to Charlie then it would be a different story... but Charlie's snaked his arm around me - either subconsciously or consciously. Which could suggest the boy is somewhat okay with this. Emphasis on 'could'.

And that leads me onto my next question:

What the fuck is happening between me and Charlie Hawthorne?

First it was him buying me a coffee - which was the type of coffee he remembered I had ordered from Costa the day he gave me a lift home - then it was him nearly kissing me, and now it's him and I sharing the same strip of bed in the middle of a city I've never seen before.

So many questions, yet so few answers.

I weigh up my options. I can either try and pry myself off of Charlie and risk waking him up, or I can go back to sleep and see what his reaction to this is in the morning.

I choose the latter.

I need to figure out what is going on with this boy... even if it means embarrassing myself in front of him. I close my eyes once again and let myself drift back into sleep, letting the gentle rise and fall of Charlie's chest lull me there faster.

//

I wake when I hear an alarm and feel Charlie stir; his slow movements pulling me out of my slumber.

I feel his breath hitch and I know he's suddenly realised our position. I strech a little to let him know that I'm also waking up, and I wait to see what his reaction is. After a few seconds of silence, I take his stillness as him not being okay with what he sees. My heart stops because I'm frustrated with myself for believing that there could be any deeper meaning to this; that perhaps there was more to Charlie than I thought. I decide now is the time to get off him, and thus, I need to put on my best acting skills.

I stretch out one more time, open my eyes and pretend to flinch. He can't know that I've been aware of this position most of the night. I un-nuzzle my head from his under his chin and look at our bodies intertwined.

"Oh my god," I act all flushed. "I-I'm so sorry." I pull myself away from him, expecting him to release his arm to let me move over to my side of the bed. I push myself up with my arms and start to move away from him; his grip of me loosening - but only for a moment.