"Make yourself useful and pour the wine!"
☆

It was from this point that Matty knew that he had something unique in his possession. 

Initially he felt afraid. His understanding was limited, but then he let it go. Some things just couldn't be explained. His blanket had no rhyme or reason as to why it did what it did, but over the following years, Matty began to realise he appreciated its comfort. 

Like the time when Anne-Marie poked fun at Matty for his slightly  heeled shoes on dress down friday. The following Monday, during PE, Anne Marie's shoes were strangely hanging from a beam in the sports hall, with Mr Granger having to get his extra large 'A' frame ladder to get them down. 

Or the time Mr Hall the music teacher had made him miss his bus because his classmates wouldn't keep quiet. He subsequently had a puncture on his pushbike. 

How strange! How unfortunate! No one suspected Matty or his blanket had anything to do with it, but Matty knew. He never saw, but he knew. His blanket was his saviour. His avenger and Matty was feeling invincible....surely this was a connection built to last...

***

JUNE 2018

He had it all planned out. His mother had gone out with her girlfriends, the pizza was in the oven, a bottle of white wine was chilling in a ceramic cooler, bought by his mother on holiday on the island of Crete, three years ago (never used, apart from the weekend after they had returned for the memories). Everything was set! All Matty had to do was to wait for his guest to arrive...Billy Harris.

This was the guy whom he'd met at his local tech college. He was tall, with blonde Bieber esque hair and had these big brown eyes which Matty had told him looked like chocolate buttons. He was rather quiet, thoughtful, always had this attention to detail, not the usual lad, but that's what Matty liked about him. He was different. Matty found that he quite liked different. He made Mattty feel special, he made him feel beautiful and tonight was going to be the night where they were going to take their new found relationship that one step further. 

He jumps a little at the sound of the door bell chime. He was here!

Matty checks himself in the mirror's reflection one last time. His mid length dark brown hair brushed, his shirt buttoned up correctly. He was good to go.

"Hey." He says, as he opens up the door to greet the most handsome man ever, in his opinion. He subconsciously gives him the once over, checking out his plain black rather fitted t-shirt with a black and yellow checked shirt undone over the top, with his favourite skinny jeans covering his legs which seemed to go for miles. 

"Hey." He replies, stepping inside as Matty steps back. The air between them is still a little apprehensive with the newness of first relationships. "You look nice." He comments, looking down at Matty's denim shirt and tiny shorts, finished off with his cat slippers. 

"Thanks." he replies. Closing the door behind then both, before stretching on his tiptoes to reach his lips for a chaste kiss. "The pizza will be ready soon." Matty informs, as Billy offers him a white carrier bag. He looks inside. "What's this?...is it ice cream?" He asks. Taking the small pot from the bag. 

"Yeah, chocolate." Billy replies. "I remember you saying how it was your favourite when we went to Macdonald's last week. 

This was why Matty loved the guy. Attention to detail. He noticed the little thing about him and he loved him for it.

"I do!" he beams, placing the dessert in the freezer compartment of the fridge. 

Billy nervously stands in the kitchen. He had been to Matty's numerous times, he had met his mother, but today he felt extra hyped up. He was looking forward to the pizza and the wine and the ice cream, but ultimately he knew why he was here and he felt anxious. Matty had been the best thing that had happened to him since his crappy time at school, Matty saw something in him which he couldn't see in himself and he would never forgive himself if he messed up this evening. 

Matty notices his nerves and takes his hand, guiding him to one of the chairs at the table. "Make yourself useful and pour the wine." He says as he pulls the oven gloves from their hook to get the pizza out of the oven, which by the looks of it had been taken out in the nick of time, with one side a little black.

He slices it up on the tray and shares the pizza out, with Billy pouring two large wine glasses to the brim. So there they were. Matty and Billy. Young and in love and about to take a step into the unknown together...