The pizzeria was small and homely. Only a few wobbly, mismatched tables, weighed down with candles leaking wax over the splintered wood. The chairs were metal and cheap, the decor slightly tacky. But the strong aroma wafting out from the kitchen smelt delicious.

Theo walked over to a small booth, providing shelter and protection from the rest of the restaurant. It felt more personal, like a bulletproof bubble. A waitress wandered over shortly after, handing us a couple of menus, "Oh, hey, Teddy." She smiled, ruffling his hair. She was fairly tall with chestnut hair, umber eyes and dark chocolate skin, her smile emitting a warm glow of happiness.

"H-Hey, Mercy." He smiled shyly, gesturing to me, "This is Luca."

"I know." She grinned smugly, "You're on the football team at Wolfpine. You totally defeated us last year." She giggled, "Alright, give me a shout when you're ready to order."

"That's Milo's girlfriend." Theo told me once she'd left to deal with an elderly couple a few tables over. "She g-goes to his school."

"Your stutter's faded." I commented, watching him intensely, paying no mind to the waitress or how Theo knew her. That wasn't important right now.

"Y-Yeah, a little." He smiled, flicking through the menu as an excuse to dodge my questioning stare. "M-Maybe I've gotten...comfortable, around you?" He questioned.

I sunk back into the booth, relaxing as I forced my shoulder muscles to unclench. There was no reason to be nervous. It was Theo. He was cute and smart and funny and we got on incredibly easily. There was no reason to be worrying so much that my palms sweated.

We ordered. We talked. We laughed. We ate. We ordered a second round of drinks. We talked. We laughed. It was perfect. Everything seemed to work so well between us, the conversation bouncing effortlessly back and forth. I hadn't smiled so much in one night, my cheeks started to ache as we got the bill. I tried to pay but Theo insisted, clearly still feeling guilty about me paying for bowling. I suggested a compromise and he reluctantly agreed, so we both paid half.

The walk home consisted of more laughter, joking and teasing through chattering teeth. I glanced across the shorter boy beside me, the moonlight glowing off his silver hair, the stars twinkling in his gemstone eyes. I slipped my leather jacket off, trying hard to ignore the chill of the night's air as I draped it over Theo's shoulder. His eyes snapped up to mine in curiosity, "I-It's okay, Luca-"

"You're trembling like a chihuahua." I snorted, tightening it around his small, shaking frame.

Luckily for him, his blush wasn't visible in the darkness. Yet, somehow, I still knew his face was red, "B-But what about you-?"

"I'm fine." I rolled my eyes, my fingers running along the dried leaves of a bush as we passed, nearing his street.

"Th-Thanks." He leaned into me to show his gratitude, our cold hands brushing past each other every so often.

A few minutes of exposure later, and we were stood in front of his door, the cold air pressing up against us, suffocating our lungs. "D-Do you wanna come in?" He offered shyly, fiddling with his keys.

I rose my brows teasingly, "What for?" I pressed, trying to wind him up.

His movements were rapid and unexpected. He crashed his lips against mine abruptly, balancing on his tiptoes for better access to my face. I was so surprised, I had no time to react before he was stumbling off of me, backing away until he hit the door, "Uh...th-that?" He whispered uncertainly.

My face settled into a satisfied grin as I nodded, waiting for him to unlock the door before following. We crept upstairs, passing closed doors as Theo instructed me which steps creaked. After being safely secluded behind his bedroom door, we let out synchronised sighs of relief. I did hesitate before pulling him flush against me, leaning down to capture his lips in mine. He let out a small sigh in surprise, slowly melting into a moan as I pinned him up against the back of his door, my hands clinging to his waist.

It grew passionate fast as he leant up to reach my face, his arms wrapped tightly around the nape of my neck. My hands were on his hips, running up and down his sides, trying to feel and memorise every inch of his body.

This was dangerous. I was getting a little too excited a little too fast. This was the longest I'd gone without sex and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't getting aggravated. Theo's body pressed up against mine like this, paired with the way his butter soft lips felt, the heat was starting to reach me, clawing at my throat. But I couldn't stop. His mouth was warm and inviting, his moans soft and encouraging, his small hands sending prickles of energy across my skin.

He was pulling me closer, desperate for our bodies to merge into one singular ball of bliss. I ripped my lips off of his, panting heavily, our breath dancing together. "I need to know where this is going." I murmured still trying to catch my breath.

He gulped, "I-I've never..."

"It's okay." I whispered, our foreheads still connected, our faces so close, our lashes almost brushed together. I ran my fingertips down his face lightly, leaving a trail of goosebumps on his cheeks. "We'll do this however you want. You pick the pace. You decide the speed you wanna take things, I just need you to tell me."

His glimmering eyes were staring up at me like marbles. Then a small smile graced his features, "You're s-such an amazing person, Luca." He whispered, pulling me down for another kiss, his slender fingers wounding around curls of my raven hair.

My hand slid up his jumper, tracing his hipbone, creeping higher and higher, my fingertips tracing the outline of his ribs. I never realised just how skinny Theo was, especially behind all those baggy jerseys he hides behind. But I could clearly feel every bone, every twitching muscle, every goosebump. But I didn't have time to dwell on it as he tugged me towards his bed, causing the pair of us to topple over, laughing childishly as I clambered over him to resume the desperate kiss.

I ripped the jacket off of his shoulders, tossing it blindly across the room before starting to pull his jumper off. He froze, grabbing my wrists in alarm, "L-Luca, I-I..."

"What is it? Are you okay? We can stop if you-"

"It's just that..." He glanced between our bodies shyly.

I frowned, tucking a stray curl behind his ear. I knew exactly what he was afraid of. "Theo, you're beautiful, d'you know that?" I assured him firmly, slipping his glasses off his nose and placing them on the nightstand. "I don't care, okay?"

He blushed, unable to stop the smile tugging its way onto his lips, "It's just that...y-you're like a s-supermodel or something-"

"And you're not?" I laughed incredulously, "Theo, you're the only boy I've ever been attracted to in my whole life. Surely that's a little confidence booster?" I teased. "Come on, you managed to seduce a straight boy, don't be so hard on yourself."

He laughed at my feeble effort to reassure him, "Can we just...k-keep our clothes on, for now?" He asked nervously.

I smiled at him, then nodded. I dived down, attacking his neck with kisses as I trailed my lips down his collarbone, kissing every inch of his hot skin I could reach.

He grabbed my face and pulled me down for a deep, meaningful kiss. I smiled into his mouth as his fingers wound into my dark locks.