Camera Shy || Ben Barlow

Ten

I sent a quick text to my brother, apologising for not coming home to say goodbye before I left the country and switched my phone off in a feeble attempt to preserve my battery until we could find an outlet. Manchester Airport was my least favourite of all the airports, simply because we'd had the most delayed flights to and from here in the past, but today seemed to be running smoothly. We hadn't lost Dani in any big crowds, no one's food orders had been forgotten (nor had any band members), and no one had (yet) been sick on anyone. 

The boys had crowded around for an Instagram photo, but Ben wasn't paying any attention whatsoever; he was far too focused on that ridiculous white book that Cara still hadn't managed to get her hands on. "Ben?" I called, "What the fuck are you doing?" In his startled panic, he dropped the beloved book, which Dani and Cara simultaneously dived for, Ben pulling the best face I'd seen him pull since meeting him, reaching for the book. And so, the best photograph I had ever taken to date was born - along with multiple bruised knees and a little scratch on Ben's left cheek that he somehow received tumbling to the floor to wrestle his book from Dani's fingers. Cara had scrambled to her feet at this point, cheering Dani on as if both their lives depended on it.

Dani was not budging. He'd curled himself around the book like a sibling having stolen a phone, the book clenched tightly in his hands. Ben was seemingly a lot weaker than I'd thought he was; Dani wasn't small exactly but he wasn't very big either - long story short, Dani was scrawny (for a drummer, anyway, and Ben was not. 

I felt bad for Ben, being someone in the crowd and watching him claw at his friend to get back his most prized possession. He was desperate. That didn't stop me taking photos of the boys, though, as they scratched at each other. 

"What even is it that's so important?" West asked Fil, not very discreetly.

"My copy of Wuthering Heights!" Ben cried, trying to force the book from Dani's fingers, without much luck.

"Not it's fucking not," West replied, grimacing as old women glared at us. I couldn't tell if it was for the swearing or the wrestling twenty-somethings rolling around on the floor of the airport. Ben stood up, presumably to re-evaluate his tactics, and that was it. Chaos.

The book was open.

"Ben?" Dani said, clearly confused, staring down at the book at an angle that none of us could see. "Wha-" Ben snatched the book, snapping it shut with an abrupt thud. 

"We'll talk later." And that was the end of it. "How about that Instagram photo, then?" Ben said, cheerily, in an awkward kind of way, as if nothing had ever happened. Dani looked as if he'd just seen a ghost. I nodded, slowly, not entirely sure what had just happened. 

"You guys need to be in this one," Fil said, aggressively, dragging Zach and Cara into the group. "You too, Es." I smiled, slightly. When had calling me Es become  a regular occurrence? I nodded and used a display platform as a makeshift tripod, not having been able to take mine on the plane (because why would I want to?), and therefore not having it at the gate, either. I rushed to set a timer and get over to the group; Dani and Fil were already proudly standing tall with happy little grins on their faces. Distracted by their adorableness, I stumbled over my own feet, after standing on a loose shoelace. I prepared myself for the impact of the floor, but it never came. Instead, I lived every twenty something pop punk scene girl's dream; I came nose to nose with Ben Barlow.

I was slumped, slightly, against him, one of his arms under my ribs, the other slung over my shoulders, the tips of our noses barely brushing. He dipped his chin, slightly, bringing our foreheads together. My world was spinning; I never even  heard the camera shutter, or the chaos of our friends around us. All I could hear was his breath on my face, which smelt offensively of salt and vinegar crisps, but I didn't mind. I found my footing, slightly standing up onto my toes, before realising what was happening and removing myself from his arms. I was not going to kiss Ben Barlow.