Deacury - School Of Loverboys

Sweet Sixteenth

It was the day of my birthday and as soon as I woke up, Freddie began to sing happy birthday to me.

"Thank you" I puckered my lips

He gave me a kiss before saying, "stay there"

I did as I was told and Freddie came back with a gift in his hand.

"Freddie you shouldn't have" I was so grateful anyway

"I saw it at the airport in India and I had to get it" Freddie smiled

I opened the present and it was a soft little teddy bear with a red emboldened heart in its chest.

"I love it Freddie" I went all mellow

"Look!" Freddie gave the bear a kiss on the heart, "whenever you miss me, kiss the heart"

"You're perfect, you know that right?" I caressed his cheek

"I try" he bashed his eyelashes

"Thank you" I smiled at the teddy which I have put on my bed side table

"You know..John..now you're..16" Freddie said between kisses

I knew exactly what he meant, "Fred we can't, as much as I want to, my parents are around" I whispered

Freddie continued to pull my T-shirt over my head. I closed my eyes and giggled quietly. Then everything became silent. Eerily silent. I opened my eyes and saw Freddie staring at my side. His eyes were wide and his mouth agape. Roger was right, he was going to find my wound. How could I let this happen? How could I be so careless?

I pulled my T-shirt on again and turned away from Freddie. Tears threatened to fall from my eyes.

"J-" Freddie began

I stopped him with a sob escaping my lips.

"What happened?" Freddie asked

"I didn't want you to see it!" I was angry with myself

"It's happened now dear. Please explain" Freddie pulled me to face him. I ended up with him cradling me and pushing back the front of my hair

"I was hurt" I muttered

"Yes I can see that" Freddie quipped

"No. Attacked" I said plainly

"Oh John" Freddie pulled my T-shirt up to see it again

"Don't. It makes me feel ugly and worthless" I mumbled

"You could never be those things John. Especially not to me. You are beautiful and worth everything to me. A scar is not going to change that. I promise" Freddie rubbed over the marks left on my skin. I won't lie, it did make me feel better about the trauma.

"I wanted to protect you" I wiped away a tear

"What from? The people who did this? Or was it to protect me from being sad?" Freddie quizzed

"Both. They are locked up now, awaiting court. I didn't want to upset you. That's all I've been doing recently" I rolled my eyes at myself

"You've done no such thing" Freddie furrowed his brows

"I had a meltdown yesterday, I'm crying today" I stated

"Due to the circumstances I understand. I understand you John, more than you think." Freddie said

"I know. I just feel bad" I said whilst scratching the back of my head

"There is nothing to feel bad about. Come on, it's your sweet sixteenth, let's have a good day" Freddie kissed me on the forehead which made me smile, "there we go, that beautiful smile"

"Look Freddie. I want to promise you that I'll never hide anything from you again" I butted in

"Alright. It's all forgiven. Let's go open some presents" Freddie grabbed my hand and pulled me out of bed

In a sleepy daze I went downstairs. I think Freddie was more excited than me. It was great to see him so happy.

"Good morning birthday boy" Mum hugged me

"Happy birthday" Dad smiled from the other side of the living room, he had my present in his hand

"Thank you" I grinned

"Here's you present" Dad passed it to me.

I sat down on the sofa and Freddie sat next to me. As I opened my present I saw Freddie in the corner of my eye. He was peering at the gift, trying to work out what it was.

"Thank you!" I pulled out the camera from the blue wrapping paper

"Oh that's magnificent" Freddie's eyes lit up

"Sit there you two, I'll get a photo" Mum pointed ant me and Freddie

We posed. Freddie had his arms wrapped around me and our cheeks were pressed together. We both had brazen smiles on our faces.

"Dad has built a developing area for the photos in the shed. He's learnt how to do it" Mum said

"I'll go and make that photo now" Dad seemed excited about his new hobby

"What time are Roger and Brian coming over?" Freddie asked me

"Not until the afternoon" I answered

"What shall we do in the meantime?" Freddie questioned

"How about we go and get dresssed, you can pick my outfit" I suggested

"Oh goody! I've always wanted to go through your wardrobe" Freddie clapped

We made it back up the stairs and Freddie virtually dives into my wardrobe. He pulled out some small yellow shorts and a graphic T-shirt. I smiled and put it on. It was surprisingly good, Freddie has impeccable fashion sense.

"My turn" I got on the floor and started pulling clothes out of his suitcase

I found some bold red shorts that were slightly longer than mine and had toggles on the front. I then pulled out a white meshed vest. Without hesitation Freddie put it on and began to twirl around in front of the mirror.

"Not vain at all are you Fred?" I joked

"I just have an appreciation for beauty my dear" he joked back