We slurped our tea in silence. Well, Jay sipped his quietly, while I had no hesitation when it came to tilting my cup upside down and guzzling the scalding liquid. I was a bit of a tea addict. Ok, I was a huge tea addict. I drank about four cups, one in the morning, one when I came home from school, one before I went to sleep, and another thrown in there somewhere. What can I say? I love tea. I'm very British.

"Mm," I muttered appreciatively as I drained the last sweet droplets. "That's some damn good tea."

Jay, typically, said nothing.                          

"So... Fancy a tour?" I asked, adopting a false toff accent, holding my arm out as if to take his coat. He nodded.

"Ok. Um, as you can see, this marvellous room is where all the good stuff happens. You know, food, the telly..."

And the tour went on. I explained each room with a healthy dosage of sarcastic comments, and somehow managing to hold a conversation with myself due to Jay's inexplicable silence. I explained how the kitchen needed a painting, how spiders always managed to worm their way into the bathroom. To his credit, despite being silent, Jay seemed unfazed.

We finished the tour climbing down our shaky loft ladders, a rather risky feat.

"Ta da," I finished lamely. "That's it. The whole shebang. Whoop-de-doop."

By this point it was approaching midnight, but I had a nagging feeling that nobody in this house would sleep tonight. I was normally a complete insomniac, a trait inherited from my dad, and my mum seemed far too upset to even think about sleeping. And Jay... well he was most likely worried out of his mind.

Mum seemed to share my thoughts, as when she passed by us she was still fully clothed in a smart black skirt and blouse from earlier that evening. Well, last night if you want to be specific.

"Fancy something to eat boys?" she asked her voice still thick with grief. Blushing, Jay nodded.

"Are you actually offering something to me as well, or are you referring to Jay as a plural?" I enquired keeping my tone polite and steady.

"Both of you," she mumbled, and had the decency to at least look bashful. "Cheese toastie sound good?"

Shrugging, I glanced at Jay. "Yeah, whatever."

Jay smiled meekly. "Thank you."

Mum gave him a soft smile in return, and squeezed his shoulder in sympathy on her way by, igniting a spark of jealousy inside me. I shook my head, trying to dispel the thought. Why should I be jealous? Just because my parents never looked at me like that...

For the second time that day, Jay and I were left by ourselves completely tongue-tied. I didn't even bother to try and hold a conversation with him. He just stood there, glassy eyed, putting on the 'sad-houseguest' act. For some reason, his silence was irritating.

Thankfully my mum called us down five minutes later. I dashed down the stairs, tripping over some stray odd socks as I did so and fell to the floor with an almighty crash. Mum simply rolled her eyes.

"Here you are Jay," she said fondly, handing him a whopping three slices of grilled cheese and bread. Jay nodded gratefully and took the plate.

"Thanks, Mrs Jamieson."

"Call me Tracey," mum laughed, and ruffled his ashen hair. "Ash, have a slice off Jay's plate, ok?"

"Yeah, whatever," I grumbled, still sprawled on the floor. Mum went back into the kitchen singing to herself. I stuck my tongue out and crossed my eyes at her back, electing a small snicker from Jay. I stared up at him in shock. Blushing furiously, he looked away and held out his hand.

"Uh... Nice nails?" I offered, thoroughly confused. Jay put the plate down on the dresser next to my keychain heavy house keys.

"Um, thanks. But I was offering you a hand up."

"Oh." I took his hand, completely mortified, and a deep red blush spreading across my face. What the hell!? I never blushed. Ever.

I led him into the kitchen feeling like a prized idiot and sat down across from my mum and dad. Dad was happily munching on a rather burnt looking toastie while mum was staring into space, eyes misty.

"So Jay," dad started, spraying crumbs onto the chestnut worktop. "How's school?"

"It's ok," responded Jay, shrugging. Dad grinned at him.

"Just ok? I heard you're in all the top classes at your school," dad said, still grinning smugly. "Ash here isn't much of a scholar..."

I aggressively stabbed my toastie with a fork, glaring at my shoes.

"I'm a B+ student, dad."

He shrugged. "Like I said, not much of a scholar." I kept stabbing. "But your mum also said that you're a sporty guy, eh? Fancy a kick about some time? Ash doesn't really get into sports."

I slammed my fists down on the table, stunning them into silence.

"I'm going to bed," I snapped, leaving my mangled toastie on the table. I ran up the stairs without a second thought, fuming. Jay was the fucking perfect son, wasn't he? Jay's so intelligent, Jay's so athletic. I knew that I was nothing but a disappointment to my parents, but did they really have to make a big show of it while I was sitting right there?

I didn't even bother to strip off my jeans as I climbed into bed. Nestling myself in my covers and getting quite comfortable, I turned the light out. And then the door creaked open.

Jay crept into the room silently, his soft padding footsteps hardly noticeable. I kept my breathing deep and slow, pretending to be asleep. I wasn't really in the mood to face the 'perfect son'. Stripping down to his boxers, Jay slithered in beside me, his cold feet resting against my back. It was then that I realised I hadn't given him a pillow.

"Um, Ash?" Jay whispered, lightly prodding me with his toes. I shivered. Fantastic. Now he knew I was awake. But I didn't say anything, determined to milk 'I'm sleeping' façade for all its worth.

"Ash?"

I let out a loud snore, and rolled over onto my back.

"Oh... sorry."

Why was he apologizing!? If he thought I was asleep, then there was no point in being sorry! And even if he knew I wasn't asleep, then why would he apologize? He was just fucking perfect, wasn't he!? Just fucking perfect.

Extremely vexed now, I rolled back onto my side, facing away from him. And, just for adding effect, I fake-snored again. Jay muttered something unintelligible under his breath, before sighing and pulling the covers tighter around him. I closed my eyes and settled in to go to sleep. But no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't.

It might have been something to do with the small slither of light creeping in through the gap in my garish green curtains.

It might have been something to do with the humid atmosphere; sending beads of sweat down my spine and gluing the covers to my legs.

Or it might have been something to do with the lanky, snivelling creature at the end of my bed that just wouldn't shut up.

I exhaled loudly and deeply.

"Jay?" I hissed, poking him with my foot. "Jay, I know you're awake so don't even try to kid me on..."

Jay coughed a little then looked over at me. "Um... sorry."

"Quit apologizing," I hissed again, then slapped myself on the forehead. "I mean, uh, are you ok?"

He sniffed and replied, "Yeah. I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me."

"Yeah, I know I don't," I moaned, "but you're keeping me awake."

"Oh... Um, I'm sor-"

"Dude," I snapped, sitting up. "It's fine. I was just... wondering."

"I'm fine," he insisted, but his muffled voice indicated otherwise. I hesitated for a moment, my forehead creased in thought.

"You could... you can come up this end," I offered, blushing for the second time that day. "I mean, you don't have to! Just... if you want..."

Jay looked at me, confusion etched into his face.

"What, with you?"

I groaned internally. I couldn't believe I just said that... "No, you're right. It was a stupid idea. Forget it."

I cursed myself again and again for saying something so stupid. Jay probably thought I was some sort of creep now, perving on him in his sleep. Just as I was slapping a palm to my forehead again, still swearing, I felt Jay's body shift under the covers so that he was no longer top and tail with me, but lying side by side.

I let out a deep sigh of relief.

"Thanks," he whispered, nuzzling his head into the back of my neck, sending tingles down my spine along with the trickles of a warm, nervous sweat.

"N- No bother," I stammered. I lay there; completely tense for a few minutes, until I heard Jay's gentle snoring. I relaxed. Jay's body was pressed against mine, and I hated to admit it but it felt... almost nice. I lay there for a few moments, making sure he was really asleep then snuggled against his bare chest.

Suddenly an arm snaked around me. I yelped in surprise, but didn't remove it. It wasn't a bad feeling. I mean, it was surprising, but it was... warm. And I simply lay there, nuzzled against Jay, staring at the stars through a crack in my curtains until I eventually dropped off to sleep.