Not a Love Story

Twenty-Four // Anything at All

Benjamin Jones

We walked into the house, my mom immediately running up to us when we entered.

"Oh my goodness, I heard what happened is Henry alright?" she asked.

"He's going to be okay. He has a pretty bad concussion and a strained neck, but he'll be up and at it soon." I answered. "Oliver's going to spend the night so I can take him home or to the hospital in the morning." I explained, gesturing towards him.

"Oh of course. Do you need anything, Oliver? Anything at all?" she asked, concern on her face. Oliver offered a small smile and shook his head.

"I'm alright. Thank you, Mrs. Jones."

"Of course. You let me know if you need anything, alright?" she said. Ollie nodded.

"We're going to head upstairs." I announced. My mom nodded, acknowledging me.

"Of course, of course. You two sleep well." she said. I nodded and led Oliver upstairs.

"Could I maybe take a shower?" Oliver asked quietly.

"Yeah, for sure. It's right through that door." I said, pointing to the en suite bathroom door. "I'll grab a towel and some clothes for you. Hold on a second." I said. I went to the linen closet to grab a towel, then to my closet to get pajama pants and a shirt before I handed them to him.

"Thanks." he whispered.

"Hey, wait." I said, gently grabbing his arm. "You let me know if you need anything, okay? Anything at all." I finished. He nodded, a small smile on his face.

"Thanks, Ben." he whispered. I nodded in response and carefully let his arm go. He went into the bathroom and closed the door.

While Oliver showered, I turned the TV on, letting reruns of Parks and Rec play while I grabbed some pajamas to change into once he was done. I grabbed a few extra blankets from my closet and was putting them on the bed just as Ollie opened the door.

"Could I borrow a sweatshirt?" he quietly asked.

"For sure. Hold on, let me find one." I sifted through my closet, finally finding a gray Eastside Football sweatshirt. I handed it to him. "Does this work?" I asked. He nodded and pulled it over his head.

"Thanks." he said.

"Of course. I have extra blankets on the bed, Parks and Rec reruns are playing, make yourself at home." I said.

"On your bed?" he asked.

"I'm not going to make you sleep on the floor, Ollie." I said, softly smiling at him.

"Well I don't want to make you sleep on the floor." he replied, frowning. "Why don't we just share the bed?" he sheepishly suggested. I felt my heart flutter.

"Sure, if that's okay with you." I said, trying to sound nonchalant. He nodded in response. "Okay." I replied. "I'm going to take a shower. Make yourself comfortable." I said. He nodded and headed towards the bed. I quickly showered, my heart pounding in my chest.

I'm going to share a bed with him? With Ollie? Why the fuck am I so nervous?

My thoughts were racing as I turned the shower off and dried off, quickly putting my pajamas on and brushing my teeth. I opened the door to see Ollie snuggled into the bed, a blanket half draped over him. His eyes were closed and his breathing was steady.

I smiled at the sight of him curled up on my bed, in my sweatshirt. He looked adorable. I gently picked up the blanket and draped it all the way over him. I turned the light off, got comfortable and turned the TV off. I looked over at Ollie. His face was relaxed, his curly hair damp and starting to dry at odd angles. I noticed the light dusting of freckles he had over his nose and cheeks. He still had his glasses on, so I carefully took them off, folded them and put them on my nightstand.

I got under the blankets and looked over at him one more time. My heart jumped in my chest as my eyes brushed over him.

"Good night, Ollie." I whispered to him, knowing he wouldn't hear me. I closed my eyes, the warmth of Ollie next to me lulling me to sleep.