"Come on. Do it!"
☆

"It will take at least six hours to get there." Jude comments, tapping the address into the car's satellite navigation system, as he leans across from the drivers seat in Milo's car.

Milo stands by the drivers door, keys in hand watching as Jude settles into position. "You don't need to do that. I know where she lives, I can drive."

Jude just shakes his heads as he looks up at Milo, holding out the palm of his hand. "Keys!" He says firmly. Milo looks down at the upturned palm for a few moments. "Come on! Keys, give!" Jude repeats as he wiggles his fingers as if to beckon the keys forward from Milo's grasp.

Milo huffs out a sigh as the keys get slammed into Jude's hand, with Milo making his way to the passenger side. He opens the door and slams it closed behind him. "Why can't I drive my own car?"

Jude puts the key in the ignition, then turns slightly to face him. "You don't have a clear head right now." Jude hated being blunt with him, but it was true. Even Milo had to admit it. All he could think about was Hester.

"Ok...you drive." Milo admits defeat as he hears the key turn in the ignition, starting up the engine. Jude gets in gear and they head off into distance.

The lull of the cars motion rocks Milo back and forth in the passenger seat and it isn't long before he finds his eyelids getting heavy...

...Milo finds himself on his hands and knees, crawling cautiously into the small tent. "It's a bit snug!" His young voice protests, as he looks around the small space. Two sleeping bags already rolled out, nestled closely next to one another.

"It just for one night." Hester reminds him. "And if it gets too uncomfortable, we can go inside." The tent only being set up in Hester's back garden under the apple tree.

"I guess." Milo sighs in agreement. He watches as Hester pulls his backpack to him from the corner of the tent. "I got supplies!" He says excitedly, pulling out a huge packet of strawberry laces. "Wanna share them now?" He asks, with Milo nodding hurridly.

Hester pulls at the packet with his teeth, tearing off a corner, before managing to open the packet completely. He takes out a few lace strands and hands a few over to Milo, who proceeds to nibble on the end of the first lace, slowly chewing his way up, until it had all gone. He watches as Hester chooses to eat his by lifting the lace high in the air and allowing it to dangle into his awaiting opened mouth.

There is a moment of happy silence as both friends stare at eachother, smiling at their own and each others enjoyment of the sweets. Hester returns to the bag, this time pulling out one extremely long lace. "Woah... That's huge!" Milo says, pointing at the long lace, which felt like it was at least three foot long.

Hester admires the impressive lace, before a smile spreads across his face. Not just any old smile. Milo knew it a mile off! One of those wicked, daring smiles Hester posessed when he wanted to be mischievous.

"What?" Milo asks, half laughing, half a little wary of what his friend had planned.

"Have you seen on tv, where those famous celebrities eat stuff and meet in the middle?" Hester says, excitedly.

"Yess...why?" Milo replies apprehensively, though why he has even asked is unbeknown to him. He knew what Hester was going to suggest.

"I dare you to do it...you take one end, I take the other. See who eats the most." Hester offers one end of the stawberry lace to Milo, with his end, ready and waiting to put in his mouth.

Milo looks at Hester, contemplating whether to take the lace. It wasn't unusual for Hessy's mischievous side to come out to play, but somehow this felt a little different. Milo could potentially be super close to his friends lips and he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

His thoughts are brought back, when Hester again shakes the string in front of him. "Come on! Do it!" He says willingly.

Milo takes a hold of the lace and places it in his mouth.

Throught gritted teeth, Hester speaks "ready, deddy...dow!" Now both teens begin to chew on the lace in their respective mouths. It's amazing to Milo how quick the strawberry strand is disappearing into Hester's mouth, with him now leaning forward a little more on his knees, as he rests on the palms of his hands.

Their eyes lock and Milo can feel the intensity of Hester's gaze as his lips get closer and closer to his own. Milo finds himself feeling the urge to close his eyes, in an attempt to block what may or may not happen next.

It's then that Milo feels it. Lips pressed against his. Too scared to open his eyes, Milo feels paralyzed. Then a hand is felt, gently placed around his neck, pulling him in. The strawberry lace long gone.

Milo cannot quite get his head around what is happening right now. He is being kissed...by his friend. But what is shocking Milo the most is that he's not stopping it from happening. He feels Hester lips, soft, delicate, sweet and warm against his and it feels different. It feels a word he's yet to discover.

Milo is brought back to earth when the connection is broken. He opens his eyes to see Hester pulling back smiling widely. "I think I won. I ate the most strawberry."

Milo looks at Hester a little puzzled. "What?" They had just kissed and he was still going on about that stupid lace? "You kissed me Hessy." Milo says as if to clarify that that is actually what happened.

"I know." Hester says laughing. "I just said I won."

Milo now starts to panic. Were they even on the same page right now?" His mind is now in a state of confusion. Did Hester enjoy it? Why didn't Milo pull away? Was he even interested in Hester that way? "I gotta go!" Milo blurts out, backing away from Hester before turning onto all fours as he hurridly crawls from the small space.

He hears Hester calling him from the tent. "Hey...hey where are you going? Milo....hey....Milo...

..."Milo....wake up!"