Camera Shy || Ben Barlow

Nineteen

A/N: I know it's not either of the normal update days but I got bored so happy birthday <3

I woke up next to Ben, that morning, his legs tangled up in mine. I can assure you that everyone was fully clothed and the entire situation was unplanned and innocent; the boys were all in our hotel room until late, trying to figure out how to play Uno. Ben and Dani, being Ben and Dani had fallen asleep.

"Morning," Ben whispered, turning to make sure Cara, Zach and Dani were all still sleeping before kissing me, only lightly. 

"Your breath stinks," I told him, cringing away before he could dive in for another; this was one of those rare occasions in which I didn't want another. 

"Yeah, well so does yours," he said, turning his back to me. I took it as a prompt to get out of bed, even though I knew that's not how he wanted mt to react. "Where are you going?" 

"To brush my teeth. Can't have a gross mouth on my birthday, can I?" 

"True," said, unexpectedly. "We've got you something, by the way." I didn't actually think any of them knew it was my birthday; Zach and Cara had forgotten every year since I'd known them and the boys had never had any reason to acknowledge it until now. 

"I didn't think you-"

"Sam googled you. You've got a Wikipedia page, you know? I don't have a Wikipedia page. It says you had a brief fling with Fil Thorpe-Evans in 2014. Something you aren't telling me?" He asked with an amused smile. 

"It was more of a heated love affair, really," I said, stepping into the bathroom and digging around in my toiletries bag for a toothbrush. I'd left the last one behind in Munich and had ended up having to buy a new pack. 

"I wonder if he knows about this," I heard from the doorway. Ben stood there, half asleep, in his boxers, his hair more closely resembling a rodent than real human hair. I handed him a new toothbrush from my recently opened pack of four. 

"Brush your teeth. I don't think he knows; I didn't know," I said, around a mouthful of minty spit.

"Who knows what?" Said a groggy little voice from the bedroom; Dani. 

"Fil and Essa are dating," Ben said, much too loudly, earning a reaction from Zach (who I'd thought was still asleep, at this point).

"Fil and Essa?!" Zach cried, sounding vaguely disturbed. 

"I can't believe he didn't tell me," Dani said, genuinely sounding distraught. I didn't want to think about how offended he'd be when he found out about Ben and I. 

"It's on my Wikipedia page," I said, bluntly. 

"That's so gross," he mumbled, shuffling around somewhere in the bedroom. "I guess I kind of expected it, though. I mean," Zach continued, stumbling up to the bathroom door to find Ben and I half naked in the bathroom, "you do talk a lot. Oh, and that time at Alton Towers. Don't think we didn't know about what was going on in that bathroom." He accentuated his accusation with a wink; Ben looked sick to his stomach. 

"Essa and I are dating," he blurted. So long to that secret.

"Are you cheating on Ben with Fil or Fil with Ben?" Dani asked, also making an appearance in the door, standing a couple of inches taller than Zach. "I don't understand."

"Neither. I'm not, nor was I ever, with Fil. We don't know why it's on my Wikipedia page. On another note," I said, "I'm twenty now!" Zach looked startled. 

"I thought you were twenty one today!"

"No, Zach. Twenty." Zach groaned and disappeared into the main bedroom, Ben, Dani and I on his heels.