Summer

Jackson was sitting at the computer in Paddy's surgery, hammering the keyboard and irritably clicking the mouse. The last few days had been pretty dire and he needed to get away, but with no cheap flights to places he wanted to go, that was looking more and more impossible.

Aaron perched on the desk, his back to Jackson. He was scowling, although had he been asked, he might have said he was concentrating. Trying to work out what was happening between himself and Jackson. Ok, so he had been a bit of a dick recently, and every time he spoke he only seemed to make matters worse. Perhaps this was the beginning of the end and Jackson was going to dump him. Well maybe he would just dump Jackson and get it over with.

"Well for goodness sake! Look at the two of you!" Pearl bustled into the office carrying a tray with three steaming mugs of coffee and a plate of chocolate digestives. "If the wind changes you will be stuck with that face" she said to Aaron, handing him a mug and thrusting the plate of biscuits towards him, ignoring the face he pulled at her as she spoke. "And if you break that computer, young man, Paddy will have something to say about it!" she continued as Jackson hit the keyboard with an exclamation of disgust. "What are you doing anyway?"

"He's booking a holiday - alone!" Aaron chimed in scathingly before Jackson could utter a word.

"Just trying to give you some space," Jackson retaliated quickly, trying to sound reasonable, although to tell the truth he didn't feel particularly reasonable.

"I don't need space from you!" Aaron exclaimed, struggling to keep the rising sense of anguish from his voice. "It's all the rest of them!"

"Nothing personal, Pearl," said Jackson, a slight edge of sarcasm lending an unaccustomed harshness to his voice.

"It's me Mam! Cain! Paddy even! And everyone knowing that I'm… that we…" He stumbled into silence; closing his eyes before the hot stinging tears he could feel threatening behind his eyes, fell to betray him. He opened his eyes seconds later in surprise as the biscuit he had not even realized he was holding, crumpled in his hand.

For some reason the sight of the biscuit disintegrating into nothingness spoke more to Jackson than all the words Aaron had - or had not said - over the past few weeks. He had been determined to get away; sure that Aaron wasn't that bothered, and with the whirlwind that was his mother having descended on them so suddenly he had thought Aaron needed space to decide what he really wanted from their relationship; if that is what it was. It seemed to make sense to pay for his mum to stay in the B after all, he couldn't let her impose on Paddy. But as he had noticed before; what Aaron said and what he seemed to feel, were often at odds with each other and sometimes Jackson had a hard time figuring out which he should take notice of.

"And now you are leaving!" Aaron jumped off the desk and began heading through to the house, attempting to push past Pearl on the way. "Go on then! It's over!"

"Now just a minute young man!" Pearl bristled, standing her ground in front of Aaron. "Not so fast. It's a holiday he's talking about; he's not emigrating to Australia! And you!" she turned to Jackson. "Do you want to go on holiday alone?"

"Well…erm…" Jackson's brown eyes opened wide, "erm…no not really, but there has been stuff…things…I thought he would be glad of the head space."

"Well he has just told you he doesn't want it. Don't you two ever talk to each other?" Pearl tutted to herself in momentary discomfort; she hadn't meant to stray into what they might be doing, rather than talking. "So why don't you go together?"

Jackson looked at Aaron; he was leaning against the door, staring at the floor.

"Skint" growled Aaron.

"Well why don't you go camping, that can be great fun!" exclaimed Pearl.

Aaron and Jackson looked at each other; a slow smile began to spread over Jackson's face. Here was an elderly woman advising them on their love life; how mad was that! But maybe she had a point. He looked at Aaron and raised his eyebrows in an unspoken question.

An answering smile slowly began to play on Aaron's lips and a glow of hope light up his eyes; his voice though, was hesitant. "We could maybe borrow a tent?" he said.

"We could put a mattress in the van!" suggested Jackson, excitement suddenly flooding through him. He grinned at Aaron. How could he ever have thought he wanted to go on holiday alone, he suddenly wondered.

All at once they were both moving; Aaron grabbed Pearl and almost hugged the breath from her in his enthusiasm before pulling Jackson's sleeve and dragging him towards the door through to the house. Jackson caught Pearl's eye as he was hurried past; "thank you," he mouthed.

Pearl silently congratulated herself as the two lads rushed from the room; she had wanted to knock their heads together for several days; now perhaps she had.

Paddy was almost dozing in front of the television; he shouldn't have had that lunchtime pint, but he was glad of the peace. The atmosphere had been tense since their guests had moved in. Hazel had gone off somewhere; Jackson had asked if he could use the office computer in the lunch hour and until he was suddenly woken by his name being called at full volume, he hadn't known where Aaron was.

"Paddy! PADDY!" Aaron rushed into the sitting room, Jackson close on his heels. "We're going away! On holiday! In the van!"

"What d'you mean? You're going away? When? How? Who with?" the abrupt disturbance confused him; for a moment he couldn't quite grasp what Aaron was saying to him.

"Me and Jackson of course! We're taking the van. Can I take the mattress off my bed?"

"Slow down a bit will you," Paddy was wide awake now, but he still couldn't take in what Aaron was telling him.

"We're going camping - well, in the van. Can I take the mattress off my bed?" Aaron was pacing the floor as he spoke, twisting his fingers together, excited agitation competing with a sudden fear that Paddy would think it a bad idea.

"But how did that happen?" He looked at Jackson. "I thought you were jetting off somewhere hot and sunny. And alone."

"Turns out that wasn't what I wanted." Jackson looked at the floor as he spoke, "what neither of us wanted." He smiled at Aaron.

"But…but..I don't understand" stuttered Paddy; nothing either lad was saying was easing his confusion. "You're going on holiday - together?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Aaron. "Isn't that what we've been saying! It was Pearl's idea; she said -"

"Pearl?" exclaimed Paddy, interrupting him; wondering what an earth Pearl could have said to transform the sulky sullen teenager into the barely contained bundle of excitement before him.

"Pearl suggested we went camping; she said it could be fun. Then Jackson said we could take the van and I said we could take the mattress from my bed. So can I take it?"

"Yes, I suppose so, but…" replied Paddy, still bemused by the sudden events.

"But my mum, Paddy," interrupted Jackson. "I'll book her into the B&B, no worries."

"No, it's ok, she can stay on here. I'll buy ear plugs," said Paddy distractedly. "But have you told Cain you are going?"