Fearless~Hardzello

six

ben's pov

joe comes to me after his conversation with gwilym. i was a bit concerned but loosened up once they hugged. joe walks over to me smiling he sits next to me.
"i told gwilym" he says. my heart goes to my throat.
"what?" i say, my gaze filled with concern.
"it's fine he won't tell anyone. it felt good to tell someone.. don't worry, ben. we'll be fine" he says. i sigh.
"don't tell anyone else.. you don't know whether they really mean what they're saying. gwilym might be trying to turn us in at this point.. i'm so scared, joey" i say. he leans his head next to mine.
"i know. i am too but we'll get through it together no matter what. even if they do turn us in, we'll always like each other" he says. i nod my eyes glued to the floor. joe places a hand on my knee and stands up motioning me to follow him. i follow him to the alley. he pushes me against the wall kissing me strongly. i push him away, my heart hammering in my chest.
"look, joe, we can't do this. not here. i'm just.."
"scared. i know. i'm terrified but that's what makes it even better" he says with a small smile. i roll my eyes.
"you're so annoying" i say and kiss him back. when we're together it makes the whole world disappear. i know that's bad but i don't care. he's everything to me. i pull away.
"joe.." i say, my breathing heavy. his lungs heaving for air.
"yeah?" he asks, his eyes staring into mine.
"i-i love you." i say. his eyes widen, a blush creeps on his cheeks.
"really?" he asks, now getting flustered. i breathe out a soft laugh.
"yeah. of course. i'd just rather say that now before we're getting dragged off to prison in handcuffs" i say, caressing his cheek with my hand. he smirks.
"i love you too" joe says, a wide smile plastered on his face. he kisses me quickly and gets up to leave the alley. i spot rami eyeing us across the street. he waves with a smile and i wave back. gwilym looks at us, his eyes squinted in an expression i can't read. it looks almost.. disgusted. i'm not sure from this distance but i know it's not a happy one. joe and i go back to our posts and continue selling papers. joe invites me back to his place. i gladly accept and he says there's an added bonus because his parents aren't home. i was slightly upset about that because i wanted some of his mom's famous soup again. joe and i sit on the floor of his bedroom looking at each other. we take in every crease, every spot, every dimple, every wrinkle of us. we scan each other's faces because in case anything did happen to us, we'd need to remember how we looked for the rest of our lives. nothing can destroy the memory of a first love. joe shows me a birthmark on his shoulder. i press a soft kiss on it and he blushes. we continue looking at each other. joe spends a long time looking in my eyes. he seems to want to take in all the shades and colors of them. his eyes are also massively captivating, a misty shade of brown that almost matching his red colored hair. we look and think and look and thing, my ears grow so used to the quiet of the moment i flinch when his fingertips graze my arm. before i know it we're lying in his bed, his fingertips tracing invisible patterns on my chest. he breathes softly, his mouth slightly open. i run a hand through his soft red hair. he smiles at me and i lean my head on his. i love this. i never want this feeling to end. we lie there for a little while until we hear a knock at the door. thinking it's one of joe's parents we jump out of bed and head to the door.
"who's there?" joe calls out.
"it's me. is ben there with you?" rami's voice calls out. joe opens the door. rami stands in the doorway, water dripping from his cap and clothes. joe and i were so caught up in ourselves that we didn't notice the torrential rainfall outside.
"what's the matter, rami? you okay?" joe asks as he hands rami a blanket which rami quickly wraps around himself. rami shakes his head.
"i'm really worried about you guys.. i talked to gwilym and.. he said he's gonna.. t-turn you in" rami says, his voice wavering. i'm not sure whether he's shaking due to fear or shaking due to the cold but either way it sends chills down my spine.
"what do you mean turn us in?" joe asks moving closer to rami his hands twitching into a balled up fist. i grab his hand and unravel his fist, squeezing it. he squeezes back.
"h-he said that.. uh.. he was gonna call the police on you. i had to tell you that you need to run away as soon as possible if you want to stay together or safe. i know some newsboy friends out in Boston. they can help you. pack up and leave as soon as possible before the police or gwilym can get to you" rami says. my heart thrums in my chest like thunder. i want to punch gwilym in his sorry british face. that nitwit. joe breaks down, tears run down his cheeks. he tries to hold back the sobs but that just makes them worse. rami's eyes show so much sympathy and he tries to comfort joe but to no avail, his tears keep on dropping down. i try to stay calm, but i'm scared too. i hold joe and we cry together. rami joining in.
"thank you, rami. thank you. why are you helping us?" i ask him. there's silence for a minute.
"i just.. i don't think it's fair to hate someone based on who they love. we're friends and that's what friends are for. brother to brother, arm in arm" rami says. my heart pangs with affection towards rami. he saved us. i pull rami into a tight thankful hug.
"you're the best person who ever lived" i burned into his shoulder. he breathes out a laugh.
"now i might not be able to sell papers but i am one hell of a friend" rami says with a cocky smile. i hit his shoulder lightly and joe laughs quietly through his tears. we sit together all pondering on what to do. joe gets up and starts packing his things. i run over to my home and pack up my things. it's a shame joe never got to see inside it. he would have liked it. my parents probably won't care. they barely know i'm alive anyway, let alone a delinquent. joe and i meet on the street, rami standing next to joe his foot tapping the floor impatiently. we say our last goodbyes to rami and joe and i head to the tracks on our journey to come.

to be continued.....