The Hawthorne Effect (BoyXBoy)

Chapter 11: Wednesday.

Charlie starts to fully come out of his sleep a few seconds after I have.

"Morning..." He mumbles as he adjusts his position. "What time is it?"

"Uh," I reach out for my phone and press the home button. "7."

He sighs and gets himself comfortable again. Deciding that there's no point in trying to back to sleep, I unlock my phone, check for any missed notifications and see that I have an unread text.

From: Mason Harris:

Hey! :) How's London?

An odd feeling washes through me. Mason reminds me of home... and that this trip can't last forever. I have just two more nights with Charlie before I go back to normality. Mason probably thinks I'm hating every single second that I'm out here, when in fact it's quite the opposite.

To: Mason Harris:

It's fine, dragging on a little haha. How's things at home?

No, my time here isn't actually 'dragging on a little', but I'd rather him not know that. I put my phone on the open space of mattress beside me and reposition myself up against Charlie a little bit. I'm about to close my eyes and enjoy the moment when I hear my phone buzz.

From: Mason Harris:

Well the weeks half over now so :) How's Charlie, is he driving you as insane as you feared?

I breathe a laugh through my nose at that. He really has no idea.

"Who's that?" Charlie asks, breaking the silence. The small height difference means that he can just see over the top of my head as he spoons me from behind. I can tell this because the hairs on the top of my scalp move a little every time he breathes.

"Excuse me Sir," I scoff, craning my neck to look up at him. "Have you been reading my messages?"

"Only when I saw my name being mentioned."

I scoff again.

"So, did you really think I was going to 'drive you insane'?" He sounds actually offended, which doesn't sit well with me.

"Well yes." I reply honestly. "But not in the way you think."

A look of confusion springs onto his face.

"...it's too early in the morning for your cryptics." He groans.

To: Mason Harris.

Nah, he's been fine. Can't wait to come back on Saturday, though. Gtg, but I'll speak to you later! :)

"So this Mason guy," Charlie speaks up after I press send. "Is he like... your boyfriend?"

"Oh, God no!" I snort, the idea of that actually humouring me. "I mean, he likes me apparently, but I don't like him. Well I do, but not like that. I mean, he's nice but like..." I'm suddenly aware I'm waffling so I stop.

"So, he's not your boyfriend?" Charlie clarifies.

"Nope." I say, putting my phone on the table next to the bed, fully prepared to ignore any other messages I get.

"Good. Otherwise you would've been lying to me last night."

"Lied to you, how?" I ask.

"Because you said you liked me."

Woah.

Woah, woah, woah. I know I drank a little last night, but I didn't get THAT drunk.

"No I did not." I scoff.