Cold Lonely Nights

Distractions

On the way to Laurence's grandmother's house after that event in the park, Drew's confusion causes him to be a little distracted. The boy from his dreams was alive and was actually called Shane. He seemed to recognise Drew as well. Things like that never happened in real life, did they?

Laurence notices this the whole journey back and strokes a lock of hair behind her ear while he tries to figure out what she's thinking when he brings her to his room. "What's going on in that head of yours?" He checks, still a little irritated after that aggressive encounter in the park.

Drew is about to explain to Laurence but realises that it sounds crazy. "Nothing, it's just a headache." He replies.

Laurence doesn't seem at all convinced. "You haven't been yourself since you saw those losers in the park, I know it's something." He growls.

"I just thought I recognised one of them, that's all." Drew corrects.

Laurence gives her a dark look. "He couldn't take his eyes off you." He points out.

"I don't even know his name! I have no idea who that boy actually is!" Drew tries to defend.

"Of course you don't know his name! You have the worst memory imaginable! There are times where I wonder if you know your own name! But not knowing who he is, that's just part of the mystery when you think you can cheat on me!" He snaps.

"I would never cheat, Laurence, you know that!" Drew defends desperately.

"Then explain to me how you know that boy!" Laurence snarls.

"I keep having a nightmare and he's always in it!" Drew explains.

"Do I have to compete with this boy of your dreams now?" Laurence hisses.

"No, you're the boy of my dreams, that guy is just a part of a nightmare I keep having. Laurence, there's no competition when it comes to you." Drew tells Laurence desperately. "Let me make it up to you." He adds.

Laurence smirks at the sound of this, kissing Drew's overly sensitive neck. "I've got an idea on how you can make it up to me." He whispers.

Drew shudders under his touch. "I d-don't think I'm ready." He whines.

"Come on Jennie, don't you trust me?" Laurence teases darkly.

"It's not that, I'm just scared." Drew whimpers.

"You're scared you won't be any good? The more you'll put it off, the worse you'll be." Laurence continues, stroking his hands over her shirt.

"Laurence, p-please don't force me into this. I'll do almost anything for you but don't make me sleep with you if I'm not ready." Drew pleads.

"Babe, don't make me sound like that, you know I wouldn't do something like that to you. I just think you need a little encouragement." He teases, lowering his hands a little.

The second his hands get too low, Drew slaps his hands away.

Laurence gets a little frustrated at this. "Come on Jennie, you must trust me. How many times have you proven to be good with your hands down there?" He smirks.

"Don't." Drew mutters.

"Why not?" Laurence whines.

"I told you, I'm not ready yet to take the next step." Drew explains.

"It's not such a big deal." Laurence tries. "It'll be over before you know it." He whispers seductively, leaning in to lick Drew's ear.

Drew tenses up but does everything he can to stick up for himself. "Laurence, I'm tired, I think I'm gonna call it a night." He tells the older boy.

Laurence grabs Drew by the wrist to stop him. "We don't have a problem, right?" He checks. "One of us doesn't have to sleep on the sofa tonight, do they?"

Drew trembles a little but shakes his head. "There's no problem."

Laurence smirks at the sound of this. "You don't need to sleep in your pyjamas tonight babe." He winks.

"Yes I do, I get cold." He replies, heading to the bathroom to wash up.

Drew takes the opportunity to lock the bathroom door, changing into his pyjamas out of sight from Laurence. When he sees his body, he lets out a quiet sigh. "What the fuck, Jen!"

To try to cool off, he puts water in his hands to splash on his face.

For as long as he can remember, he's had these headaches and his parents seem to be confused about his gender. Even though they keep referring to him with female pronouns, he's always confused when he sees his male body.

He tries to think back to see if he can make any sense of his nightmares involving the boy he saw in the park but nothing comes to mind. It's as if he's had a whole life locked away out of reach which only returns with a mammoth migraine so he has to stop trying to look back.

All that he knows is that he's having some kind of operation next week and that Laurence also believes he's a girl. Drew dreads the day that Laurence would find out so he slips into his pyjamas, still wearing tight underwear just in case the older boy decides to take certain liberties while Drew's sleeping.

Laurence is only in his underwear when Drew returns to his bedroom. "No kissing tonight, until you can get that boy out of your mind. I am not going to be competing with some poor kid at the park." Laurence tells Drew firmly.

When Drew gets next to the bed, Laurence takes the opportunity to slap his girlfriend's ass hard. Drew tenses up a little, feeling that familiar feeling of discomfort, before simply climbing into Laurence's bed, making himself smaller under the covers. Laurence joins Drew in bed, turning to face the other way as if to punish Drew.

Drew has to wait for Laurence's breaths to even out before going to sleep, having the same nightmare. At first Drew can relax, seeing the boy go about daily life. The sight of him chasing butterflies brings about a warm feeling inside, seeing his hands also reaching out for the colourful creatures.

When it starts to become the familiar nightmare part, with the same images repeated, Drew starts screaming himself awake.

Laurence wakes up with a groan, turning around and pulling Drew in a hug to reassure her. They've shared a bed enough times to know that this is normal and that she won't remember having freaked out the next morning.

"Jennie, it's okay. None of it is real." He tells her, kissing her forehead.

"I wanna remember... I WANNA REMEMBER!" Drew shrieks.

"You will, give it time and you will." He reassures.

"I wanna remember, it hurts that I don't remember!" Drew sobs into Laurence's chest.

Although Laurence hates seeing his girlfriend like this, it reminds him of one of the reasons why he stayed together with her. All of the girls he's been with since didn't need him even half as much as Jennie did, they'd just hook up for a sexual kick but Jennie was the only girl who needed Laurence to be there for her. That was something Laurence found amazing and special about her. Just the idea of being around her made him feel valued, especially with the knowledge that even with all the money the Bakers have, Jennie would only find relief from her nightmares in Laurence.

"I know you'll remember one day, Jennie. You can do it." He tells her softly, massaging her scalp through her thick locks.

"Laurence?" She whimpers.

"Yes babe." He replies.

His girlfriend looks up at him with a tearstained face and watery eyes. "Please don't ever leave me, I need you." She pleads.

Laurence smiles and strokes her hair behind her ear. "Does it look like I'm leaving you?" He asks her, gently smiling to calm her down.

She looks him in the eyes for a moment before calming down with a relieved chuckle, shaking her head in answer to his question.

"That's right." He whispers, kissing her on the forehead to calm her down. When that doesn't work, he presses his lips against hers, feeling her also kissing back.

Strangely enough for Laurence, the kiss doesn't at all escalate into anything sexual. He keeps stroking Jennie's hair gently, pulling her close until she falls asleep again.