"Morning, Jack!" My mother's irritatingly sweet voice pulled me from my already forgotten dream. She completely ignored me, wandering around my bed as if it were an inconvenience for her, and greeting Jack like he were a prince. "How'd you sleep, Hun?" She spoke with concern woven into her voice. "Grayson stayed pretty late last night; I was concerned you wouldn't get enough sleep."

He stayed pretty late last night, why the fuck did he stay for that long? He isn't welcome here.

"Yeah, sorry about that. His mum works till late and told him to stay here until she finished work around 11pm so she could pick him up because she didn't want him walking in the dark." Jack explained, voice cracking as he pulled himself out of sleep.

"Oh, no sweetie, you don't have to apologise. Next time he can just stay round." I shot up in my bed, suddenly sitting up right.

Huh?

"What?" I cracked; Katherine turned to me, surprised that I was awake, throwing me a quick tight-lipped smile before turning and putting all of her attention back on Jack.

"Yeah, you two can sleep on Dalton's bed since he has a king-sized bed and he can just sleep on yours for the night." She reasoned.

"I don't fucking think so." I huffed, regaining attention from my mum as she scowled at me.

There is absolutely no chance of them two sharing a bed, anyway, let alone my bed. My bed! My bed, the place that I have to sleep every single night. Not a single chance.

"Language, Dalton, and don't be selfish, Jack is allowed to have friends here."

"Well, they aren't sleeping in this room; it's bad enough that I have to share with Jack. He can sleep on the couch, or in the garden." I spat, not really thinking about the words flying out of my mouth. I was still tired, fresh from waking up therefore, manners were still a little off at this point.

Jack's face paled, quickly looking down at his bed sheet. I couldn't see his facial expression anymore, but I could tell he was upset.

"You are a horrible boy; do you know that?"

"Mhm, whatever." I rolled my eyes, silently rehearsing an apology for Jack once she was out of here.

"Anyway, I was just coming in to tell you that we are going up to a log cabin for the weekend, we won tickets from my work and they have to be used this weekend." She explained.

Jack's face finally lifted again, excitement glowing in his eyes.

"Do I have to go?" I groaned, not ready to spend a whole weekend in a forest with my family, none of which get along with me.

"Yes, absolutely. I'll be taking your car keys with me if you don't."

"Fine." I snarled, aggressively laying back down in bed and throwing the covers over my head.

They both conversed lightly for a minute before my mother strolled out of the room, lightly clicking the door behind her as it shut.

"Are you not excited?" Jack muttered from the other side of the room, only just loud enough for me to hear.

"Not really in the mood for family time, thanks." I rolled my eyes, dreading the days to come.

"We could h-have fun." He offered, as shy as ever. He had rewrapped himself back into his blankets, my eyes only faintly being able to spot the silhouette of his body through the thick cotton.

"At a log cabin? There is no entertainment unless you count playing six games of cards consecutively fun."

"You play cards?" He smiled as if he were intrigued. Intrigued about what? Card games are the worst.

"Yeah, why? What does your family do?"

"Oh, um, well w-we um don't really do t-things like that." Right. I forgot. I forgot he comes from a family who despised him, who disowned him, who kicked him out at his most vulnerable.

"Shit, I'm sorry, about this, and the other thing I said earlier, I didn't mean any of it. Having you here is alright." I bit back my ego slightly and gave Jack a weak apology.

He smiled instantly though, not bothered by my feeble attempt of saying sorry. "It's okay." He was biting his lip to stop the grin that was protruding from either corner of his mouth. He was the cutest, even when he wasn't trying to be. "Should we start to get ready?"

I sat stationary, contemplating whether I should get up from the warm snug conditions that my body lay resting underneath. "Fine." Huffing, I finally used my arms to lift my body from the safety of my bed, quickly feeling the rush of cold air brush against my skin as I pulled the fresh linen from my legs.

Hours had passed and we were finally in the car, Jack and I squashed into the back seats of mums Range Rover. For two nights stay, we sure were bringing a lot of things. Bags had filled up both mine and Jack's footwell, my legs squished to one corner against the car door. Music was humming through the speakers of the car; some old eighties tune that I'd never heard off. My parents were chatting quietly in the front, nothing important but it kept them entertained. I hadn't really spoken to Jack, muttering a quick 'sup' as I collapsed into my seat.

I still felt slightly guilty about what I had said earlier if I were being honest with myself. This boy, sat innocently next to me, had major issues with accepting help and had a fear of becoming an inconvenience or a burden, something he was made to feel like from his parents, and here I was, possibly heightening those fears, making them swell through his mind. Although all this Grayson bullshit was bothering the hell out of me, Jack is the furthest thing from a burden. I've thought, known that in fact, for a while now.

I gazed over to Jack, my head getting tired as it rested heavily against the headrest. He was facing away from me, eyes wide as they flickered from tree to tree outside of the window. Although the view was pretty, I've never seen someone look so mesmerised. Watching out of his window, you could see a canvas decorated with trees and hill, hills coloured with a brighter and healthier shade of green as they got closer. Small and pointed viridescent leaves hugged the thin branches, waving politely at each other through gusts of pleasant winds. Minute flowers, all a beautiful shade of golden yellow, similar to the glorious rays of sun that adorned the precious picturesque landscape, were peppered across the sea of green. Night was calling, a scenic sunset soon to bless over the countryside, a kaleidoscope of colours all preparing to dance freely together under the keen moon.

He suddenly gasped, finger lifting to the window. "A deer!" He whispered in an excited tone. True to his word, following his finger, I searched a small bundle of trees, only to spot a cute chocolate brown deer protruding from the darkness.

"It's so cute." Jack's face was thoroughly lit up, a wide and beaming grin, showcasing his teeth, radiating across his face. His excitement jumped, leaped in fact, when he saw something as minimalistic as a deer, how could you not fall for this boy?

The car kept driving, however, causing Jack to awkwardly and desperately shift his body to keep viewing the deer, until we simply got too far away, to which he flopped back down into his seat, pouting. He is so fucking cute.

Suddenly, the thought of what happened the night before popped into my head, the situation where Jack told Grayson something about him that he failed to mention to me. I didn't want to be nosey, I didn't want to show my jealousy, but I couldn't help it. Jack telling Grayson over me broke my heart a little, it angered me like nothing else had before, and I had to know why. I had to know what Grayson did that I couldn't do. I had to know what Grayson was had that I didn't.

"Hey, Jack, can I ask you a question?" He turned to me thoughtfully, the pout miles gone now.

"Huh? Yeah." He nodded, biting his lip as if he were nervous.

"About yester-" I started but ended abruptly once Jack's phone beeped, signalling that he had received a text.

"O-oh sorry." Jack sounded anxious as he grasped his phone from his back pocket to put it on silent, however pausing and smiling brightly when he read the name, the pink and yellow of the emojis not settling correctly in my stomach. Obviously, that weirdo had to ruin this.

Jack apologised, before texting him back quickly, and placing the phone in between his legs, as if he were waiting for Grayson to text him back.

"What w-were you saying?" Jack spoke again, unaware of how desperate I was to scream my emotions to Jack, my emotions of jealousy and hatred. Fuck talking to him about it, his mind is probably full of Grayson right now.

"Nothing." I bit back my words, clenching my jaw as I completely faced away from him, eyes flickering out of the window in hopes of soothing my irritation.

"W-what's wrong?" He nervously asked, bringing his hand to his mouth and nibbling on his nail slightly.

Instead of answering, I simply shook my head and picked up my mobile, shifting in my seat to grab my headphones from my back pocket and shoving them into my phone, playing Single by The Neighbourhood.

After a while, once my playlist had ran though, due to me skipping half the songs, it switched to a radio, playing songs I had never heard of. One song that caught my attention was one called Moondust by Jaymes Young. I'm not particularly sure why, maybe it was the beat, or the chorus, or his voice, or the melody, but the song stayed in my head, the meaningless lyrics floating around aimlessly through my head as if taunting me.

The rest of the journey was a blur, my mind falling into and out of reality as I fell into a restless sleep, awaking at any small speed bump or sharp turn.

The car soon pulled up to a coffee brown cabin, circled by clusters of trees. Looming ominously over the wooden frame. The cabin was small, each of the four walls fitted with large smooth logs that almost looked artificial. There were two windows from what I could see, dirtied by crusting leaves and evaporated rain drops. There were dim yellow lights hanging from either side of the door, the orange glowing proudly against the contrasting black sky.

"C'mon, boys. Let's get inside quickly." My mother exclaimed, grabbing a bag only for my father to quickly grasp it out of her hands, shaking his head playfully as he gestured for her to get inside where the warmth rested. The love between my parents did make me feel sick but at least my mother loved one person in my small family, possibly two now that we've taken Jack under our protection.

Jack and I grabbed a few bags each, my morals taking over for a brief second as I handed the lightest ones to him, knowing that he was considerably weaker than I was. We headed into the house once my dad had ensured the car was locked up, my mother wearing a guilty look directed at me as soon as I stepped through the door.

"What?" I asked, nonchalantly. She quickly responded saying it was nothing, but I soon realised what she was thinking. At first glance, you couldn't notice anything wrong. There was a sweet little kitchen in one corner, decorated with a fridge peppered with animal magnets, a small pristine sink and soft wooden sides to match with the overall theme. In the middle was a long sofa, probably able to fit ten people of it as it curled around a miniature glass table, which had a thoughtful card laying among it, 'Welcome' meticulously calligraphed across the A5 piece of card. Opposite to the table was a fireplace, one that was stunning, embodied with a warm coloured fine wood that had delicate and expressive swirls and patterns burnt into its surface. Inside, a small fire was accumulating, soft and gentle cracks of the smouldering wood creating a serene atmosphere. There were three doors, two on my right side and one of the left. The door closest to me on the right was slightly ajar, allowing my eyes to roam past the timber boundaries to see the outlines of a shower and sink. Th other two doors were shut so I went on my way to explore the thin confines of the cabin, slightly desperate to get some privacy in my own room, away from everybody. As I checked in both rooms, they were identical. The familiar bronze of the wood shone, contrasting the plain white double bed in the centre of the room, two silver lamps resting either side of the bed. In the corner of the rooms were an average sized wardrobe, with two doors and two drawers just below.

It never really clicked right away, it did take a while, I have to admit, but I did get there eventually.

"Double beds. Mum, why are there only two double beds?" Jack and I-Jack and I sharing a bed. Fucking fantastic!

"Well, sweetie, there's not much we can do about that now, is there?" Katherine sighed, sending me a sorrowful look momentarily.

"I-I could s-sleep on the couch if there's a uhm problem." Jack finally spoke, muttering from behind me.

"No! Nonsense, Jack. I couldn't let you do that. Dalton's just being silly, he doesn't mind." She buzzed quickly. Obviously, can't let your favourite 'son' sleep on the couch now, can you? "And if it is a problem then Dalton can just move." She laughed as if she were the funniest person alive.

"We are going to unpack for the night, okay? You boys can unpack too or just chat." My mother and father finally left; their loud laughs were being distorted by the now closed door.

I wandered into the only room on the left, Jack following behind, shutting the door lightly once we were both inside.

"S-sorry that w-we are um sleeping t-together. Oh! No, n-not like sl-sleeping together together but like um sleeping in the s-same bed with each ot-other." Man, he is so fucking cute. Who even gets this nervous?

"Chill, dude. It's whatever, alright. Can't do much about it anyways, and plus, it isn't as if this is the first time we will be sleeping together." Jack's head flew up at when I mentioned the nights where we slept cuddled up together, the night after we went to the river and the night after the party when I went to Amber's house for the day. His cheeks flushed pretty badly, blood rushing to the surface of his skin, resulting in a smirk crawling onto my face. He is so utterly adorable.

We both decided not to unpack, both happy to dump the contents of our bags over the cream carpet when we needed something. This led to us both sitting on the bed, only inches apart, eyes roaming the room whilst we indulged on a light conversation. This short routine was interrupted when my parents ushered for us to sit in the open area with them, Jack delightfully complying and bouncing into the room. He couldn't be more different to me, how I liked him was a mystery.

About an hour flew by of them three laughing and joking, whilst I sat furthest away from everyone, not making a sound, eyes falling closed as I miserably sat slumped against the sofa. Their talk of childhood memories was quickly brought to a hold when Jack's phone began to ring, the familiar sound of a facetime call buzzing through the once calm atmosphere, to which he declined it with a guilty face, wanting to answer but not wanting to be rude.

"Go answer it, sweetie, we don't mind at all." Mum beamed, to which Jack instantly smiled, thanking her greatly before rushing into the room to answer the call from the mystery person.

Around ten minutes had passed now and sitting here listening to my parents waffle on about arguments at work and recent Facebook posts was almost unbearable. The only reason I made it through an entire hour was because of Jack's soft voice that sang once every while when he decided that he was brave enough to speak up.

I got up quickly rushing to the bedroom. To be honest, my parents were so deep into their convocation that I'm not too sure if they even picked up on the fact that I was leaving.

I barged into the room, thankful to be out of my parent's presence, only to be disappointed when I heard a familiar and wretched voice. Jack was on Facetime to Grayson, enlightening him on all the things he'd seen on his journey here, to which the weirdo responded frequently, returning the same excitement that Jack radiated.

Rolling my eyes and throwing myself onto the bed a little too aggressively, I frowned at Jack. "Do you have to Facetime him? Can't you call him?" I asked sourly, not wanting to hear them flirt whilst being in the same proximity as me. I didn't want them to flirt at all, just especially not next to me.

"T-there's no um s-service here." Jack gulped, eyes apologising to me silently.

"Whatever." I spat, belligerently pulling my headphones from my pocket for the second time today and blasting music out of them, turning the volume up to max so that the music was piercing through my ears, cutting out all sounds of that weirdo.

Jack sat as far away from me as possible, probably as to not disturb the mood I was in, on this double bed which felt significantly smaller than my double bed at home now that Jack was laying on it with me.

As if it were like déjà vu, I was interrupted from my sleep when Jack was stood timidly over me, hands delicately pulling the headphones away from my ears.

"S-sorry, I uhm didn't mean to um wake you, but you fell asleep with your headphones in and when you uhm m-moved in your sleep, the wires kind of wrapped a-around your neck. I didn't want you to c-choke or anything." Furrowing my eyebrows, my hand lifted as just as he said, I felt the wires tightly wrapped around my neck from when I twisted and turned in my restless few hours of sleep. Collecting the wires and hastily unplugging them from my phone, I chucked them to the ground before thanking Jack quietly. We both got up for a quick second, running to the bathroom and brushing our teeth in a thick silence, me not talking due to a mixture of being sour about Grayson and being extremely tired, my eyelids feeling like weights upon my eyes. We got back into bed rapidly, after I simply took my jeans and top off, sleeping in boxers, unbothered by Jack's weary looks. He was already changed at this point, rocking one of my tops that hung hopelessly against his pale skin, draping below his kneecaps, quite possibly the best view to see before closing my eyes again. A shift in the bed indicated that Jack had crawled in on the left side, however my side of the bed never really moved, signifying that Jack was currently laying as far away from me as possible, leaving me feeling cold almost and slightly unsettled, missing the warmth of him that I had never really experienced before.