Everything

9

I stripped out of my dirty clothes and got into a warm shower. I washed all remnants of spaghetti off of my body and threw on one of Ben's shirts, and a pair of comfy shorts. I blow dried my blonde hair, pulling it into a messy bun. I walked out of Ben's room and into the living room, finding everyone sitting on the couches.

"Is the kitchen clean?" I asked, drawing Dylan's and Michael's attention towards me.

"Yes, mom. The kitchen is spotless." Dylan sassed, rolling his eyes.

"I'm not your mother, but thank you for cleaning it up." I smiled, moving to sit next to Ben.

"I just showered and you're covered in spaghetti." I said, scrunching my nose up at his stained shirt.

"Come on, sit with me." Ben grinned, spreading his arms out. I crossed my arms over my chest, stopping myself from climbing onto his lap.

"Go shower. Please?" I pouted. He jumped off the couch and pecked my cheek.

"I'll be back." He said, running up the stairs. I heard the shower turn on as I made myself comfortable on the couch. I tossed my feet on Dylan's lap and laid my head on a couch pillow.

"Are you excited for graduation?" Dylan asked, placing a hand on my calf.

"I'm excited to get out of high school and run my bakery." I sighed, letting my eyes slip closed.

"How are you tired? You literally slept all day." Amelia groaned. I opened one eye and looked at her.

"I'm tired because staying up all night takes a toll on the body."

"You wouldn't be tired if you drank coffee." She said, waving a mug at me.

"Not all of us enjoy the taste of coffee. And you don't just drink coffee, you depend on it." I closed my eye again, stuffing my face further into the pillow. I heard the shower turn off from upstairs and heavy footsteps walking down the stairs.

"Are you still sleepy?" Ben asked. I sat up and pulled Ben to where my head was. I threw my head into his lap and got comfortable again.

"Yes, I'm still tired." I mumbled, feeling his arm wrapping around my waist.

"So let's watch a scary movie." Dylan said, jumping off of the couch. Because my feet were in his lap, I went tumbling off of the couch.

"Are you okay?" Dylan asked, panic laced in his voice.

"I'm fine. I'm just not going to move." I said, my voice muffled because my face was in the carpet. I felt arms wrap around me and lift me back onto the couch. Ben threw my legs over his lap and I laid my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead.

"Okay, so what movie are we watching?" Amelia asked, lunging for the remote.

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We'd been watching scary movies since Dylan suggested it around 3:00. It was now 10:00, and we were on the fourth movie of the night.

Halfway through The Amityville Horror my face was buried in Ben's shoulder, and I was shaking. Ben was rubbing my back and whispering sweet things to me in an attempt to calm me down. As soon as I stopped shaking, Amelia screamed, causing me to jump.

"Can we leave? I don't want to sit through the rest of this." I whispered to Ben. He nodded and lifted me into his arms.

"We're going to bed. Night." Ben said, walking up to his room. I kept my face hidden in Ben's shoulder, scared of what could be lurking in the dark.

"Baby, everything's okay. Nothing is in the house, no one can hurt you. I won't let anyone close enough to you to hurt you." Ben said, sitting me on his bed.

"O-okay." I stuttered, looking skeptically around the room. Ben knelt down in between my legs and grabbed my chin, guiding my gaze to his.

"I promise I won't let anyone or any thing hurt you." He placed his forehead on mine, allowing his blue eyes an all access pass to my soul.

"Okay." I breathed. Ben wrapped his arms around my waist and planted his lips on mine. I let my eyes slip closed and wrapped my arms around his neck. My fingers ran through his dark brown hair as I deepened the kiss. Ben groaned and pulled away.

"As much as I'd like to continue this, you have graduation rehearsals tomorrow." Ben breathed, licking his lips. I huffed and threw myself backwards onto the bed.

"I don't have to go tomorrow." I whined. Ben chuckled and crawled on top of me.

"I'd love to keep you here in this bed all day, but you have to graduate before that happens." He grinned, kissing the tip of my nose.

"Fine." I sighed, pulling myself out from under him. I got under the blankets and tensed as Ben turned off the lights.

"I'm right here, Charlotte. I told you I'd keep you safe." Ben said, climbing into bed with me.

"Can you cuddle with me?" I asked, shivering slightly.

"Of course, baby." Ben said wrapping his arms around me. I laid my head on his chest and let his heartbeat lull me to sleep.

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AN: Short, I know. But, this is all I could come up with. I hope you enjoy it despite it's length (that's what he said).