Don't Make Me Live Without You

Please Don't Leave

🔽💭 Ben Lovell 💭🔽

It was summer, Annual Camp again. All Ben Lovell could think about was the fact that he was tired as hell from a night of worrying about the douchebag he was about to face- Will Carter.
As he approached the detachment, he saw the cadets piling into the mini van that would transport them in groups to the north of Wales.
He dragged his luggage up the stairs of the van and pulled it onto his seat. He wondered how shitty this year's journey would be. But then, onto the coach stepped his crush and current enemy: Carter. He was a cocky little bastard, but this wouldn't stop Lovell from staring at him. Yes, Lovell was jealous of the fact that Carter has received the rank of Lance Corporal before him, but he had caught up at the end of 2016. Damn Staff Sergeant wouldn't rank him up in time.
He snapped back to the current affair and watched, captivated as Carter sat next to him. Lovell pretended to look at something outside the window and put his bag on his lap in hope of concealing his growing boner.
"Oh shit not now.." He thought as Carter looked over.
"Hey Mr. Happy." He said sarcastically as his gaze scanned him. There was a brief silence.
"Sorry I've been such a douche recently I've felt like shit after the whole thing with my girlfriend. Stress and shit. Sorry."
Lovell gulped. That bloody girlfriend was always on and off with Carter.. He'd never treat him like that..
But that didn't matter.
"Lovell you look like a twat with your mouth open like that."
"Sorry, hi."
"Move your bag it's in my way."
"Uhh.."
The Staff Sergeant looked over and told them to shut the hell up.
"I'm tryin' to concentrate, findin' a quicker way to fuckin' Wales, people." He shouted.
Lovell sighed and put his bag down. Thank god Carter was distracted. The van moved, but about an hour in to the journey traffic struck. Lovell was tired as hell. He fell asleep as the movement of the van didn't keep him awake anymore as it stood motionless on the motorway.

***

"Um- Lovell- what the hell do you think you're doing?" Carter whispered as Lovell awoke slowly and looked up at Carter. He has fallen asleep on his shoulder.
"Crap."
He thought to himself. But then he realised, Carter had his arm around him. He was confused.
"... Carter."
"Oh, I was leaning on you so I didn't fall." He said as he took him arm from around Carter.
"You're wearing a seatbelt dumbass. Carter are you blushing..?" Lovell smiled.
"No! I'm just warm. It's boiling in here."
"We're in Wales Carter it's not boiling." He smirked a little.
He was only joking of course, Carter'd never think of him in that way. Would he? No, he was just leaning on him. Nothing more than that.
"But I can imagine."

***

The cadets climbed out of the van and into the woods after a half-arsed registration was taken by the Company Sergeant Major. They had arrived late so it was getting dark, they unpacked the things they needed to assemble a tent from the provided bags and laid them out on the grass. Lovell noticed how the other cadets of his age were staying well away from him. Ever since he came out as bisexual the male cadets seemed almost fearful of him. Oh well, fuck those homophobic bastards. He'd be out of that place soon. His 18th birthday was the day before he arrived on Annual so he would be leaving the cadet force in around a year, along with Carter.
But then something surprising happened, Carter, the guy he'd been through cadets with and kind of stayed by approached him and asked if he could share the two-man tent with. Lovell was embarrassed at the speed of which he said yes.
"Thanks man. I'm not sharing with Phillips, the little twat."
"Hah yeah, give me a hand?"
Carter winked at that comment.
"Ew no, Carter stop." He chuckled softly.
"Don't make me do it again." He smirked playfully.
Lovell bit his lip and smiled as Carter tied the ropes together and hooked them into the ground. He threw another rope at Lovell and he secured it around a nearby tree. The tent was done after they layer down the ground sheet.
The cadets were called to get their ration packs to put in their tents along with their mess-tins and hexi burners. Carter brushed past Lovell as he ran to get his rations and the rest of his supplies.
Lovell looked at Carter side on as he stared into the trees, unaware of Lovell admiring him from a distance.