Not a Love Story

Seventeen // Yes, Dummy

Oliver Greene

I drove to Strawberry Lane as fast as I could, keeping my eyes peeled for a stumbling teenager. I finally spotted Ben lying down in the grass of an empty lot. I pulled over and got out of the car.

"Ben, are you okay?" I asked, looking over him as I approached him. He slowly sat up and looked up at me, a toothy grin on his face.

"Whoa you actually came." he said. I rolled my eyes.

"Well yeah, when my friend calls me clearly very drunk and lost I'm not going to let them wander around in the middle of the night. Come on, let's get in the car." I said, offering him a hand to help him up.

"I-I'm your friend?" Ben asked, his eyes wide in shock. I rolled my eyes, a small smile creeping onto my face.

"Yes, dummy. C'mon let's get you out of here." I said. Ben's smile widened and he nodded.

"Cool. You're a good friend, Ollie." he slurred.

"Okay, okay. You can praise me later. We need to get you home, let's go." I said. He grabbed my hand and I pulled him up. He immediately stumbled, making me to reach forward and steady him. "Can you walk?" I asked, worried he'd trip again.

"I dunno." he said, shrugging. I sighed and gingerly wrapped my arm around his side, his arm slung over my shoulders to support him on our walk to my car. I felt him lean into me as we walked, making me slightly tighten my grip around his waist and feel my stomach flip at the feeling of his body against mine.

I helped him into the car and made sure he was buckled before putting the car into drive. I felt eyes on me as we drove and I looked over to see Ben's head on the headrest, angled towards me. He was watching me as I drove, making me feel self conscious.

"What?" I asked as I stopped at a red light. Ben shrugged and smiled. I gave him a questioning look but had to look back at the road as the light turned green. When we pulled into his driveway, Ben was starting to doze off in the passenger seat. I turned the car off and gently shook his shoulder.

"Ben? Ben, we're at your house." I said, he slowly opened his eyes.

"Huh?"

"Come on, let's get you to bed." I said, unbuckling and going around the car to help him out. He was able to unbuckle himself but nearly faceplanted trying to get out of the car. "Whoa, take it easy." I said, catching him and wrapping my arm around his waist to support him again. He fumbled in his pockets for the key before handing it to me, letting me unlock the door. I pushed it open and carefully led him inside.

"Where's your room?" I whispered, trying not to be too loud and wake up his parents.

"Stairs." Ben mumbled. I nodded, slowly helping him up the stairs.

"Which door?" I whispered. Ben grunted and pointed to the one slightly a jar on the right. I pushed the door open with my foot, still supporting most of Ben's body weight and led him to the bed. He flopped down and groaned. I closed the door behind us.

"Do you want to change?" I asked. He nodded and pointed to his closet, his eyes struggling to stay open. I grabbed some random pajama pants and a shirt and handed them to him. He pulled his shirt off, making me feel my cheeks heat up and I turned around so he had some privacy.

"What? You don't have tickets to the gun show?" Ben laughed.

"Just get changed, dummy." I said. Ben kept laughing as I heard rustling behind me.

"All done." he said. I turned around to see he'd put his shirt on backwards, but I didn't have the energy to fight him on that. I carefully took his shoes off and put them next to his closet.

"Lay down. I'll be back in a second okay?" I said. Ben hummed in response and wrapped his blankets around him. I quietly went down to the kitchen to get a glass of water and some Advil. When I got back to Ben's room I closed the door behind me to see he had already fallen asleep. I placed the water and bottle of Advil next to his bed. I scribbled a quick note on a sticky note I found on his desk and put it next to the water.

I heard him mumble something and start moving around. I froze, worried I'd woken him up, but he settled down and his breathing evened out. I felt a soft smile on my face as I looked at the sleeping form of the athlete. He looked so peaceful, unaware of the monstrous headache he would have when he woke up.

I dropped my eyes from Ben and headed towards the door, quietly shutting it behind me. I padded down the stairs and out the front door. I got back into the car and let out a breath of relief. I rested my head on the steering wheel for a second, feeling exhaustion sweep over me. I started the car and backed out of Ben's driveway, taking one last look at his house before driving home.