Wow! Look at how fast I've gotten a new chapter up! (I had some FREE TIME! WOOHOO!)

Please enjoy :)

Updated: 09/24/2012

…

Benny had left a little bit after he had woken up, giving Ethan's hand a gentle squeeze before he went, and Ethan would be lying to himself if that hadn't made his day just a little bit brighter.

Until Rory came knocking at the door.

Ethan's face paled but he took a deep breath and remembered what Benny had told him.

"I want to protect you. No matter what. I care about you. Remember that."

Rory smiled his trademark smirk at him as he walked into the Morgan house.

"Where is everyone?" he asked, turning swiftly to face Ethan, who tensed up a bit but tried to hide it.

"Mom had a headache so she's resting in her room. Jane and my dad are gone…"

"Oh really?" Rory said, taking a couple steps closer to Ethan. "That's good. We haven't spent much time … together since I moved back."

"I-I can't today. I've got to go to … Benny's! and work on our project some more," Ethan said, quickly reaching for his bag and books. "I'm sorry. Maybe… maybe another day."

"Hmm…" Rory hummed, walking towards the door with Ethan. He just stared at the darker boy before he slammed his hand against the door, blocking Ethan from moving. "I don't think you should go over there."

"I-I have to. This is a REALLY important project." Rory's eyes narrowed and he leaned closer to Ethan.

"Are you avoiding me?"

"I would never avoid y-you."

"Didn't you miss me? You have no idea how much I missed you."

"O-of c-course I missed you. You're… my best friend," he whispered, making Rory smile a toothy grin at him.

"Good. Don't forget that."

…

Ethan knocked nervously on the door before him, clutching his backpack like a lifeline. Soon, an older woman opened the door.

"Ethan! How delighted of you to come by! I've been waiting to meet you," she said, reaching for him and practically yanking him into the decorative house. "Benny will be so happy to see you! You're all he talks about you know."

"Really?" Ethan asked, surprised and pleased.

"Oh yes. BENNY! GET YOUR BUTT DOWN HERE!"

"What do you want Grandma? I just got out of the show…" his voice trailed off as he saw Ethan in front of him. Benny was dressed in only a pair of shorts, shirtless. Ethan's face heated up and looked away. "Ethan!" Benny said with a happy smile. "What are you doing here?"

"… Project…" is all he mumbled, lifting his backpack some. Benny smiled softly.

"Well come on to my room then," he said, turning so Ethan could follow him. Once they were in the safety of his room and Benny had shut the door behind them, Ethan collapsed on his bed. "What's the real reason you're over here?"

"…Rory came over today. He…" Ethan just shook his head, unable to go on.

"Did he hurt you again?" Ethan sat up and looked at Benny, sighing.

"Can I tell you what happened between us?"

"Of course," Benny said, quickly slipping on a shirt and sitting next to Ethan. "You can trust me," he said, reaching for Ethan's hand, smiling when Ethan didn't pull away.

"Rory and I had been friends for a long time. We were always hanging out, spending the night at each other's houses… Typical friend stuff. But then… when we were 13…" Ethan closed his eyes briefly and took a sharp breath.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"If you're going to protect me, you have to know what from." Benny smiled softly and nodded. "We were 13. Rory had never done a thing in his life to hurt me. At least not on purpose. But then… he was staying the night one night. He asked me if I thought everyone was asleep since it was nearing midnight. I said yeah… He then pounced on me, making us wrestle. I said I didn't want to. So he suggested we do something new. I asked what… he said it was a surprise." Ethan felt the tears prick in the corner of his eyes again, and he shook his head.

"Ethan…"

"He … he forced me into doing things with him," Ethan whispered, the tears beginning to roll down his cheeks now. He felt one arm encircle his shoulders and pull him against the leaner teen's body and the other begin to wipe his tears away with a gentle touch.

"How long did he do that to you?"

"Months. It ended the day before he moved away."

"And that's why you stopped hanging out with people."

"Yes. I didn't want to risk that happening to me again."

"Then why do you hang out with me?"

"I feel safe with you." Benny smiled at Ethan, who slowly smiled back, even though tears still rolled slowly down his cheeks.

"I will do everything I can to make sure he doesn't hurt you again."

…

Ethan was having fun. He hadn't been this relaxed or happy in a long time.

And it was all thanks to Benny and his grandma.

They had ordered out and were all watching a raunchy comedy that 15 year olds probably shouldn't have been watching.

Benny had Ethan close by his side as the two boys laughed at the movie. Grandma had retired to bed early, claiming to be exhausted, but Benny believed she had done it just to give them some alone time.

Ethan needed this. Benny knew this. But there was something that had been bugging him for a while now, and he hoped that Ethan was comfortable enough now for them to talk about it.

"E?" Benny asked suddenly, turning to the other boy, who looked at him questioningly. "Do you remember that first night I babysat for Jane?"

"Yeah… What about it?"

"Well… You had fallen asleep against my shoulder remember?"

"Mhm."

"And then your mom came home and offered to let me stay the night…"

"Yeah."

"And after her and I had finished talking, you said something to me."

"I did?" he said, clearly surprised, although his cheeks did turn slightly pink.

"Yeah. You said… You liked me?"

"Really?" he squeaked out, face burning even more.

"Yeah… I was just wondering… What did you mean by like?"

"Uh… I-I don't know Benny. I-I was asleep r-remember?"

"Yeah… I guess…" Ethan was hardcore blushing now, so much that his face looked like it was on fire. Finally, he let out a long held breath.

"I do like you."

…

Aww, there's some light Bethan for you all :D

Although the next chapter… Well I'll let ya'll see for yourselves when I write it =]

Hope ya'll liked it.

-JustMe133