a/n: dedicated to xXBeBraveXx for being an absolute doll and making me the cutest covers! one of them is posted up top, but she made a hell of a lot more and i am so grateful :) it took me ages to pick one lol bc they were all so cute

Chapter 19: Sweet as a Marshmallow

I was not a lip virgin. I was nineteen years old, but the last time I was kissed by a boy called Seamus Ronan. Back then, Seamus Ronan was a cute guy in my co-ed grammar school, but he kissed like a dog. Overeager, wet, and sloppy.

I liked to think that he didn't count, because it was a pretty juvenile kiss at that. But he was, and it saddened me to think that he was who I had to set standards with.

I knew Ben could surpass that, because all he had to do was keep his tongue to himself unless he knew how to use it. I turned into Ben when he shifted and felt my face heat up. Ben stared at me and leant in very slowly, giving me the opportunity to move away if need be.

I didn't though.

I knew that I liked him. He was gorgeous, but that wasn't all. He was kind in his own way and treated Queenie like his baby sister. He was mysterious and calm and kind of ill-mannered, but when he smiled or laughed...oh God. It was the best gift in the world.

I peered into his eyes, pursing my lips. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked gruffly.

"Huh," I said in surprise, mesmerised by the colours swirling in his eyes. "I always thought your eyes were brown, but they're not." I squinted my own eyes.

Ben's mouth quirked up and it made me smile. I loved his smile. "Lottie, I really, really want to ─"

"Yeah?" I asked hopefully.

His face smoothed out into an indecipherable expression. Almost as if a switch was flipped, he scooted away and turned his head in the opposite direction. And suddenly, the old Ben was back.

I cocked my head, the lack of warmth glaringly obvious without him next to me. I was confused. "What do you want to do, Benny?" I prompted.

"Don't call me Benny," he said simply. My eyebrows furrowed. It had been a while since he'd said that to me, and to be honest, it made me feel really awkward.

"Oh, okay. S-sorry." His abrupt change in attitude was messing with my head, but I had to stop being so lame. I took a deep breath and smiled slightly. "I need to get to my next class," I said after checking my watch. "Bye-bye, Ben."

He turned back to me, a slight frown marring his handsome features. I let my smile become lighter, happier, and I shoved my earbuds in my ears before moving out of his way.

I sighed. "Nice work, Charlotte."

***

Ginny threw her arm around my shoulder. "What's wrong with you, poppet?"

I glanced at her from my job of wiping down the counters and flicked soap at her nose. "Oh yuck, I have a thing on my back. Get it off."

She smirked. "That's the repressed sexual tension I hear, isn't it?"

I laughed. "All I hear is 'fwa fwa fwa fwa,' from a snuffy little pig!"

"Don't distract me with your nasty snorting, I did notice that you're lacking enthusiasm, you know," she said sternly. "Now, tell Auntie Ginny what the matter is."

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know, Ginny. Nothing really. I'm being stupid?"

"Was that a question or a response? Because either way, I agree."

I giggled. "Don't worry about it, Ginny. It's just some school troubles."

"Babe, don't lie to me. It's Ben isn't it? Goddamn, I knew that that boy was PMS in a well-sculpted package. What did he do?"

My eyebrows furrowed. "He didn't do anything."

She threw her hands up in the air. "Well that's even worse. Fuck, what happened, was he gonna kiss you and then chicken-shitted out?"

My eyes practically bulged out of my head and I almost choked on my spit. How did she know?

Ginny pumped her fists and let out a wild animal screech. I cringed back. "I was right? I was right! Holy shit! He almost kissed you? What in the actual fuck?"

"I agree!" I said enthusiastically. "Moving on-"

"Wait, no! Don't do that to me, Charlie! Ben almost kissed you? I knew there was something going on between you two!" she yelled, latching onto my arm.

I laughed at her and pulled away from her crushing grip, but I didn't like where this was going. I didn't want to talk about it. I didn't want to talk about Ben wanting nothing to do with me. "Please, Ginny, d-"

The bell to our bakery dinged, and both of us looked up. A brown haired teenager walked in, his hands shoved deep inside his pockets, a vacant expression on his face. When I noticed Ginny's eyes becoming predatory, I made a face at her and shoved her into the back room.

"Good afternoon!" I greeted the boy. He looked at me and grinned quite a friendly grin, and I smiled right back. His smile reminded me of something, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

"Hi," he said. "I'm looking for an anniversary cake. Maybe vanilla? I dunno. It's for my parents."

I pursed my lips. "Are two layers enough? I think we have one in the back. I can pipe on some frosting for the names and date if you'd like."

He shrugged. "Okay."

I held up one finger to let him know to hold on, and I walked into the back room. Ginny was sitting on one of the counters, eating whipped cream from a can. "Ginny, stop it," I said good-naturedly. "You'll become ill."

"Don't tell me what to do," she muttered, and kept licking cream off the sides.

I wrinkled my nose, but let it go and walked over to the fridge. I took out a pre-prepared, two-layered vanilla sheet cake and let it rest on the top of the fridge while I shuffled around, gathering up frosting and piping bags.

"Ben! Ben! " I heard a shout, and I whirled around, surprised. It wasn't Ginny who had shouted, it was the boy. "What are you doing here?"

I grabbed the cake and walked back to the front counter, only to see the boy staring at Ben with wide eyes, while Ben stood stock-still, his jaw ticking. I knew that that meant he was extremely uncomfortable. "What are you doing here? Your house is two hours away," he said gruffly.

I cocked my head, very confused. "You two know each other?" I said, wanting to ease the tension some.

The boy turned to me, an eager smile on his face. "Yeah, Ben is my brother! But he never comes to visit." The last part was accusatory, and he spun back around to glare at Ben. "Why don't you ever come to visit? Or even call?"

My brain was already melting from the fact that Ben had a wee brother that was in the bakery at this very moment. But not only that, Ben was here too, even after our awkward encounter a few hours ago. "Archer, not here," Ben warned, glancing at me.

I, meanwhile, was processing his words in my head. I bit my lip hard, trying not to smile. "Pardon?" I asked, the laugh hidden in my tone. Ben noticed and shot me a look which I promptly ignored.

"My name is Archer?" the boy said, his eyebrows knitting together like he was confused as to what I was laughing about.

"Is it short for anything?" I replied, unable to help the grin that slowly crept up my face.

"Lottie," Ben warned. "If your words aren't necessary, don't say them."

Archer stared at me. "Er...no?" It came out as more of a question than an answer.

"Are you sure?" I prodded cheerfully.

He raised an eyebrow. "And what would it be short for, exactly?"

A laugh escaped my mouth and I pressed a hand to keep myself calm as I thought of the very obvious possibility. "Archibald?" I suggested, before slapping my hand against the counter and laughing to myself. Oh man, I loved that name. Archibald. It was just too good.

Ben pinched the bridge of his nose at my easily-entertained self and let out a low groan while Arched watched me in amusement as I continued to laugh at the thought of knowing someone named Archibald.

"My mum doesn't dislike me quite that much," he joked.

I laughed again and looked at Ben with a wide smile. He returned my look impassively. "Your brother is so polite - what happened to you?" I teased.

Ben's face noticeably soured and I frowned, hoping I hadn't offended him. "Shut up," he grunted, kicking the floor like a little kid.

"Ben, why haven't you come to visit us?" Archer asked again. My forehead creased because of the innocent way Archer asked the question, and I felt a pinch in my throat.

The way Ben was holding himself, I knew there was something the matter that didn't need to come into light. "Oh, don't be silly," I said quickly. "I go to the same uni as your brother. It's so hard to find time between working and lessons to call my dad. If he didn't call me first most of the time, I'd never speak to him."

Archer was in no way convinced, but he simply shrugged and glared at Ben again. "Whatever. Can you put 'Happy 25th anniversary, Harrison and Carrie' on the cake?"

"Carrie Fisher," I said, grinning. "Star Wars, huh?" Archer grinned and snapped his fingers at me. "In what colour would you like it?"

"Er...blue? And red?" I nodded and began piping out the letters in a fancy, curly way. Archer watched me work, and without turning around to look at his big brother, he said, "You're coming back with me to celebrate. Okay?"

I peeked up from the cake and saw how Ben stiffened and how his face paled. My heart pained for him, and I was about to open my mouth to butt in when Ben said, "Fine. But only for a couple of hours."

Even if it made Ben upset, getting his brother to agree to come home with him made Archer so happy that his eyes danced and his hands clutched the front counter until his knuckles turned white. His excitement made me smile, but I was still worried for Ben. I didn't know what was the matter, but I knew that despite him being a little cheesehead a while ago, I still cared what happened inside his head.

"There, it's finished," I said, straightening up. "You like?"

"Yeah," he said. "How much?"

"Oh, don't even worry about it-"

"Archer, don't listen to her," Ben growled. "She wouldn't let you pay if you paid her to let you pay her. Just give her the money and run."

"Ben-" I protested.

"Lottie," he said firmly. "Shut up and let the boy pay." I pouted at him, but he remained firm.

Archer glanced between the two of us, but seemed to decide he didn't care enough to enquire. "Whatever. Here's a twenty. Can you put it in a plastic box, not cardboard?"

I sighed and shoved his twenty pound note into the till, and then I nodded. "Of course. Just give me a minute."

I ducked down and grabbed a plastic box for the cake, and when I straightened back up, I almost collided with Ben's chin. "Lottie, listen," he said, in a low voice so that nobody but me could hear him. "Come with me."

I started. "What?"

"I can't go there alone. Please. Can you come with me?"