Soft Hearts | In A Heartbeat Fanfiction

17: This is literally the only book I update nowadays wth

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"This part always creeps me out," Jonathan commented as the tunnel scene began where Willy Wonka sang as the boat traveled down the river.

Sherwin nodded, and Jon could tell he was mesmerized by the flashing lights and sounds as they huddled on the couch next to the heater. For extra precautions, he'd gotten a blanket, which was now wrapped loosely around Sherwin. Jonathan smiled to himself. If someone had told him a few months ago that he'd be watching Willy Wonka with a boy that he kissed the weekend before, he'd have laughed.

Sherwin yawned sleepily. "You tired already?" Jonathan questioned, raising an eyebrow at his friend. "It's only half past four." Sherwin just stuck out his tongue, and Jon chuckled, but yawned mid-laugh.

"Hah," the ginger haired boy said, and Jon just rolled his eyes and turned back to the screen. He felt very warm next to Sherwin, and not just because of the heater. Leaning into his friend, he recognized the sweet, earthly scent that had clung to his jacket the other week.

"You smell nice," he mumbled into Sherwin's hair. There was no response from Sherwin except a light snore. Jonathan's eyes drooped. The air was so...warm...

•••

A nudge into Jon's shoulder woke him up. "Jon. Hey, Jon." He opened an eye to see his mom standing over him, still wearing her apron. Sherwin was lying fast asleep with his head on Jonathan's lap. The television's static was the only light source in the room. Jonathan sat up and stretched.

"Mom...what...time is it?" he asked, yawning.

"Almost nine," she answered with a concerned look on her face. "Is this that boy you wanted to have over? Sherman, was it?" His mom glanced at the still-sleeping boy on Jon's legs.

"Sherwin," he corrected.

"Well, I hope Sherwin's mother agreed to him spending the night, because I am not giving that boy a ride home this late," she said, taking off her apron and wiping her forehead.

"He told me he could," Jon assured her, and she nodded and headed to her room. He didn't want to leave Sherwin there on the sofa, but he was already asleep and it was time for bed. Carefully sliding his friend's curly-haired head off his lap and onto a pillow, he managed to get up and stretch his sore limbs.

"Goodnight, Pumpkin," Jon whispered as he adjusted the blanket so it would stay. He took one last look at Sherwin before going to his room. The freckled boy was absolutely adorable sleeping there on the couch, his chest rising and falling and his lips parted ever so slightly. Man, thought Jonathan, I'm so gay. Then he closed his door and climbed into bed, falling asleep immediately.

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The next day was a school day, but Jonathan woke up even earlier than usual. The clock read 5:43 A.M. As he got up and stretched, he noticed he was still wearing his clothes from yesterday. "Shoot," he muttered, and headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower.

Five minutes later, Jonathan halfheartedly dried himself off and wrapped a towel around his waist, then opened the bathroom door. For a second, he was utterly shocked and confused to see Sherwin standing there.

"Good morning," the ginger greeted tiredly, holding his school uniform in his arms. Then Jon remembered that Sherwin had spent the night, then realized that his crush was standing there looking at him half-clothed with dripping hair.

"Uh, um, okay," he sputtered, mentally hitting himself for sounding stupid, and he practically sprinted past Sherwin to his room. Closing the door behind him, he exhaled, and started getting ready for school.

At 6:25, Jonathan walked out into the living room with his hair neatly done and his uniform's sleeves rolled up perfectly. Sherwin was sitting on the couch, looking slightly bored. "Took you forever," he joked, and Jon playfully flicked his hair. "You'd kill me if I messed with your hair, but you still mess with mine."

"Dude, whatever," Jonathan laughed. "It's not like you put fifteen minutes of effort into making it look right. Heck, I don't know how you manage to look great even with your hair all over the place." Sherwin rolled his eyes, but Jon could see his freckled cheeks turning red.

"Anyway," Jon continued, "I'll make breakfast." He sauntered into the kitchen and pulled out an armful of fruit. "Voila! We got apples, bananas and oranges, pick your choice," he said, placing it all on the table. Sherwin looked at the food while Jon picked up an apple and took a bite.

"This sure is gourmet breakfast," Sherwin commented as he grabbed an orange and began to peel it. Jonathan shrugged.

"Well, it's what we got. Just me and my mom," he replied, sitting down in a chair. Sherwin took the other seat and sighed.

"At least you don't live with a huge family," he said.

"What's wrong with that?" Jonathan questioned, putting down his half-eaten apple. "You're really lucky to have what you got."

Sherwin glanced at the table. "What I got is an annoying little sister, a high school dropout brother who probably smokes weed, and two homophobic, super religious parents," he ranted. "And I kid you not, they were just yelling at Bobby yesterday afternoon when I got home."

Jonathan smiled sadly. "But, they do love you, don't they?" Sherwin nodded and shrugged, eating his orange. "Orange fruit for the orange haired boy, huh?" Jon said, and was glad to see Sherwin break into a grin.

Jonathan checked his watch. It was 6:44. "We gotta bounce, the bus'll be here any second," he told Sherwin, tossing the remains of his apple and grabbing his bag.

Sherwin followed him, and they left Jonathan's house together. The cold morning air greeted them harshly, but Jon could see the bus lights glaring through the fog. When it came to a stop at the street corner, he took Sherwin's hand and they stepped through the metal doorframe before it hissed shut behind them.

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