"This is my room," Ben said awkwardly, unable to meet my eyes. He stood at least three feet away from me.

I rubbed my arms and coughed. "I like it." The room was spacious, and the only pieces of furniture present were a bed, a desk and office chair, and a bookshelf. "It suits you - boring and plain," I added.

"Rude," he said, a hint of a smile on his face. My face relaxed - I loved his smiles. They were like flowers peeking out during a thunderstorm. They made me feel warm and cosy on the inside.

I sat down on the chair and looked around. The bed frame and desk and bookshelf were made of the same dark brown wood, and his walls were beige. I couldn't see any decorations besides a wall clock. Even his desk was free of pencils or paper. I ran a finger across the desk and a streak of dust came off with it. My brow furrowed and I said, "It's like-"

"-I was never here to begin with."

I looked down and willed myself to relax. I had lost my temper back there, and I couldn't afford to do it again. But the way his parents treated Ben...it made me sick to my stomach. "Yeah," I said with a sigh. I used my hand to feverishly push off all the dust until the surface of the desk was shiny and clean. I smiled. Better.

There was a pause. "You know, there are other rooms you can stay in," Ben said, his eyes on the floor.

I bit my lip, trying to hide my devilish grin. The poor guy felt incredibly awkward because we had to share a room. I couldn't torture him, no matter how much I wanted to. "I could just sleep on the floor," I suggested. "I'm not sure I want to be alone in this huge place."

Ben scowled. "You're on the bed, I'm on the floor," he said.

"I refuse. Your germs have been festering in those sheets for years."

That comment loosened him up a little, and he walked over to me, sitting on the desk. "I'm sure they're clean."

I looked up at him and smiled. His handsome face was free of suspicion for once, and that made me happy. "Wanna bet? If dust comes flying up when you sit on the bed, I win."

He raised his eyebrows and crossed him arms. "What are the odds?" he asked.

"I haven't decided yet. Just go." I pushed him off the desk and motioned over to the bed. "Go on, then."

Ben rolled his eyes but walked over anyway, flopping down on his back. "See?" he said smugly. "It smells like lemons, and there's absolutely no dust. I win."

I laughed at his self-satisfied expression. "Okay, I lose, whatever. What do you want in return?"

He propped himself up on his elbows and eyed me carefully. "I'll think about it," he said, "but when I figure it out, you have to listen to me, whatever I say."

"Within reason," I chirped.

He nodded. "Within reason."

I sprang off the chair and launched myself on the bed, landing on my stomach, above and perpendicular to Ben, my limbs spread-eagled. I sighed in delight as I sank into the soft mattress. "It's like a feather."

Ben rolled over onto his stomach and looked at me. When I reached out and patted his head like a dog, he just rolled his eyes.

"You've got lovely hair," I said softly. The patting gradually became stroking, and then my fingers threaded into his dark, silky locks and combed through the tangle. He was one of those guys who wore a bed-head proudly, and it suited him.

Ben's eyes closed as I continued to comb his hair with my fingers. I scooted around the bed until I was lying beside him, and kept my hand in his hair. A small noise escaped him that almost made me squeal. He had literally purred.

I couldn't handle the cuteness. My smile was so wide that I felt my cheeks begin to ache. Before I could talk myself out of it, I ducked my head and planted a kiss on his cheek. "You're so cute!" I squeaked.

Ben's eyes opened and he furrowed his brows at me, frowning. "Cute like a puppy or cute like a man?"

Of course he'd bring that up. I just shook my head playfully and said, "Like the manliest man I know."

"Which is me, right?" he asked, concerned, turning his head towards me.

I giggled, and then I stopped when I realised how close we were. I didn't want a repeat of last time to happen, so I rolled onto my back, stretching my arms and legs out. My right arm collided with his back, but I didn't move it. I was too comfortable. "Not that your head needs to get any bigger, but you're brilliant, Benny."

He made another noise. "You haven't called me Benny in a while."

I grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, I know you don't like it, sorry."

There was a pause. Then, "I don't mind when you say it."

***

A few hours later, I lay on my back on Ben's bed while he worked on something on his laptop. Despite how much I stretched my limbs, I barely took up half the bed. It had to be even bigger than a king, but what was bigger than king?

We'd spent the time watching The Breakfast Club on Netflix on his laptop, because there was nothing else to do. Now I was tired and hungry, but it wasn't even past six.

"What are you doing?" I asked Ben. "I'm hungry. We missed the party. I want food."

He spun the chair around and looked at me with raised eyebrows. "Did you want to go to that party?"

I threw my hands up. "I saw cake," I said sadly. "It looked really delicious." I felt insides twist in disappointment at the thought and a really embarrassing growl escaped from my belly. I laughed nervously and clasped my stomach, looking up at Ben with big eyes. His expression darkened, and then he shook his head and stood up.

Ben beckoned to me. "Let's go scavenging then, Lottie."

I cheered as I leapt off the bed. "Sweet!"

Ben and I walked out of his room quietly. Nobody lingered in the halls, but we could hear sounds of couples that would be staying the night talking in the extra rooms. "Let's take care to not run into anyone," Ben said.

I nodded agreeably. "I'm not really fancying the idea of meeting any more high society prats."

He chuckled humourlessly. "No kidding."

I winced. "Are they all..."

"Snobby, posh, condescending? Maybe not all, but a good few are."

"I'm sorry," I said.

He sighed. "Me too." I could feel my heart melt for him, and I glanced at him before slipping my hand into his. The good thing was, he didn't mortify me by letting go.

We made it to the kitchen without seeing anybody. Thankfully, Ben remembered all the detours that nobody who was visiting would know, and so we managed to avoid everyone.

"Benjy!" a loud, female voice said in a scolding tone. I looked up and jumped, and our hands disconnected. For a moment, I was disappointed, but then a woman was stomping over to us, and my eyes fixed on her.

I'd seen her when I was helping out in the kitchen some hours ago. She reminded me of my granny with the stern yet loving expression on her face, and I knew right away that she meant a lot to Ben. "Hey, Miss Franny," Ben said weakly, cringing into me. I would've laughed, had the woman not begun to eye me up.

My back straightened immediately and I smiled. "Hello, ma'am," I said, holding out my hand. "Nice to meet you."

She frowned, and my brow dipped worriedly. "Hello," she said politely, shaking my hand suspiciously.

I didn't lose my smile, but I felt my head dipping down slightly. "Miss Franny," said Ben, "what's wrong?"

I then noticed the wooden spoon in her other hand, and she began whacking Ben with it. "Every day you lived here, I told you how important it is to eat! And yet you skipped your meals! What were you doing, Ben? Were you with this girl?"

I flinched slightly at her words, but shrugged it off. Overprotective mother-like women were not my speciality. Ben glanced at me and stepped forward, bending over to whisper something in her ear. I didn't hear what was said, I just knew that what he said made his Miss Franny beam like a little girl.

When Ben stepped back, Miss Franny brought her hands up and cupped my cheeks, as gently as my own grandmother. "How lovely!" she said.

My eyes widened and I looked at Ben's smug expression. What had he said?