somebody to love | ben hardy x joe mazzello

chapter 8 - i wanna be yours

ben's p.o.v:

he was a living work of art. i would know. the five of us spent quite a while joking and laughing together. eventually, rami and lucy had to leave, and that was gwil's signal to leave. it was just him and i left. joe. the singer with the voice of an angel. i stood up from the table, and he did the same. there was a slight moment of silence, that i surprisingly broke. "hey listen i gotta go but today was fun. it was nice meeting you," my brain knew what i wanted to say next, and it came out of my mouth before i could realize. "um, here. i can give you my number and we can talk sometime." i reached into my pocket with one hand, pulling out a pen as i grabbed his hand with my other one. i could feel his eyes on me as i scribbled my number down on his hand. i finished writing it, and looked up at him. we held eye contact, and i felt butterflies flood my stomach. or was it fear? either way, i was a bit in shock. i felt his hand move under mine, flipping so our palms were facing each other. my heart started racing and my hands started shaking. he gently grabbed my hand, and i watched his face, trying to find any kind of emotion or anything. he was unreadable. he gently pulled me over to the couch near us and we sat down, somewhat oblivious to the fact that neither of us had let go of the other's hand. i sat there on the edge of the couch, gripping the edge with my free hand. i felt a gentle squeeze on my other hand and looked down to see joe's hand still holding mine, and mine holding his. i started to panic and i loosened my grip on his hand. he let go, and my now free hand also gripped the edge of the couch for dear life. i glanced down to see my knuckles were white from the tightness of my grip. i heard slight movement then felt a hand place itself gently on my shoulder. i looked over and met eyes with joe, my breathing shaky and my hands sweaty. he gave a small smile that made my heart skip a beat, then offered something i wouldn't have expected. "want me to walk you home?" i stammered for a minute before letting out a quick and shaky, "yes". he stood up, offering his hand. i grabbed it, and he gently pulled me to my feet. he smiled at me, and i felt my mouth smile back, and we walked out of the coffee shop towards my apartment, hand in hand. i didn't think about it at the time, but this was the moment that changed my life for the better. joe attempted some small talk on the walk, but it was so awkward that we both kind of gave up on it and walked in silence. once we reached the steps to my apartment, i turned to him saying, "well, this is it." he smirked at me, asking, "oh so this is the end of the night?" i looked at him, slightly confused. "was there something else you were expecting?" he chuckled, and his eyes crinkled in the corners. "no, no, there wasn't anything else i was expecting," he said. "this looks like a nice place." he looked up at the building, his adorable small smile crawling onto his face. i hesitated before saying what my brain was trying to convince me to say, but i finally spit it out. "why don't you come inside and check it out?"