"Pass me them jaffa cakes." Hayley told, slumping in the chair with the remote by her side.

"You’re so lazy," Louise said, tossing the small tube to her.

"God it’s not as if it’s far for you to reach Lou…"

"Exactly and its not as far for you either." Louise retaliated.

"It is, its just you can’t see it from my perspective that’s all…" Hayley thought, stuffing a jaffa cake in her mouth.

Lazing on the sofa watching a classically adapted soap with the action packed, juicy storylines, Hayley lay with her legs over the chair, dressed in her pink supergirl pyjamas while Louise sat along the sofa, her eyes watching the on going effects on screen.

"God how made up is this rubbish!" Louise exclaimed. "I mean how can you not know you were pregnant. Hello, the period thing us woman have once a month is a sure give away if it doesn’t come and oh… you slept with him and him!" Louise ranted, pointing at the screen.

"Lou, it’s a TV show. Y’know, helps you escape your dull life…" Hayley elaborated.

"My life isn’t boring!" Louise cried.

"Ahh… so it isn’t. You have a date tomorrow evening…"

"Not a date. Let me make that clear, it is not a date. I’m just going to the cinema with Christian, Mark, Paul and you. That’s all…"

"You put Christian’s name first!" Hayley beamed, her legs now swung forward, the jaffa cake tube resting in her lap. "You said his name first!"

"What?" Louise asked, totally and utterly confused.

"Yes! When you were saying who you were going with, you said his name first! You like him…"

"God you are reaching the verge of sadness now Hay. His name! Talk about find anything to pick and point at. What is in your mind? Too many of those jaffa things that’s what I say…" Louise explained.

"Jaffa cakes, not things!" Hayley corrected defensively.

"Whatever…" Louise laughed. "The point remains, just cos I said Christian’s name first, doesn’t mean I like him."

"So what? You don’t like him?" Hayley asked, sitting up.

"I don’t know!" Louise exclaimed. "I just talk to him as a friend that’s all…"

"A friend that could develop into a boyfriend…"

"Shut up…" Louise snorted, turning her attention back to the TV.

"Denial…" Hayley sang, stuffing another cake in her mouth.

"Are you going to sit there all night, annoy me and stuff those things in your mouth?" Louise questioned, glancing over.

"Let me think…" Hayley pondered, resting her fingers on her chin. "Yes and… yes!"

"Don’t you have anything else to do? Like I dunno… wash up or something? Or… tidy your stuff up?"

"Ha! That’ll be the day! How can you make me wash and tidy up? You know that’s against my policy! When you get me it strictly says in the small print – no household chores and that’s exactly what it means!" Hayley informed, twisting her feet back on the arm of the chair.

"Remind me why I moved in with you again?" Louise inquired, her eyes scrunching somewhat.

"Because I’ve been your friend for years, I always make you happy aaand you lurve me!" Hayley smiled.

"Again, why did I move in with you?" Louise smirked.

Hearing a light tap at the door, both Louise and Hayley looked at each other, Hayley failing to move. Moving her eyes to the direction of the door, Hayley still sat comfortably, not batting an eyelid.

"The door…" Louise notified, in case she hadn’t heard.

"Yeah I know." Hayley replied, watching Tv.

"Well you gonna get?" Louise queried.

"Again, in the small print it says ‘doesn’t open door when busy’." Hayley reminded.

"More like doesn’t open the door when can’t be arsed." Louise huffed, standing up and walking towards the hall.

Trailing along the path, she tried thinking who’d call at this time. Usually Hayley and herself didn’t get many visitors in the evening unless they were going out because most of the time they would be out. Reaching the door effortlessly, Louise turned the handle after undoing the numerous of locks before bearing the guest.

Dressed in a shirt and pair of jeans, he stood with his hands in his pockets, his eyes twinkling in the street lamps behind.

"Fort knocks in there?" He laughed nervously.

"Well what a surprise to see you here? What’s up, you got no work?" Louise taunted before opening the door wider, allowing him to step in.

"Ha ha, funny Lou. In case you hadn’t noticed, Hayley lives here too – my girlfriend." Ben re-established.

"Oh was that before you decided to lock yourself away, or after you realised what a complete jerk you’ve been?" Louise pointed out, closing the door while Ben wiped his feet.

"Look, I know me and you haven’t really got on well but what I’m about to do is going to try and put things right. I have my reasons for being a jerk and whatever you say or have said about me, is most probably true. Call me what you like, what do I care, but don’t block Hayley away from me." He justified, walking through the hall.

"Who was it Lou?" Hayley called, before Ben walked through into the lounge. "Ben!" She greeted, jumping up like a jack-in-the-box, running towards him. "What you doing here?" She asked, surprise evident in her voice.

"Well…" Ben stammered, taking her in his arms. "I… we’ve got to talk."

"Oh don’t mind me," Louise intervened, standing by the door.

"We need to talk alone." Ben finished as he took Hayley’s hand and walked to the sofa, sitting down.

"Yeah still, don’t mind me." Louise repeated, smiling.

"Lou just buggar off for a couple of minutes will you?" Hayley asked, gripping Ben’s hand, nerves slowly adding to the contents of her body.

"Ok, ok. God…" Louise muttered before venturing off to her room, closing the door behind her.

Staring into Hayley’s blue eyes, the innocence that always seemed to shine, radiated only more of the guilt he’d been having. Ostracising the memories of what had happened month’s ago, he’d tried to do but somewhere along the lines, it always came unstuck. He wasn’t a very good liar, so staying away from Hayley seemed the only solution but along those lines which often came unstuck, all he seemed to do was hurt himself more and more in the process, as well as Hayley.

"I’m so glad you came round," Hayley smiled. "But something seems to be up. What’s wrong?" She asked kindly as her smooth touch on Ben’s skin made that guilt burn deeper inside.

"Well… I haven’t exactly been the best boyfriend have I?" He questioned.

"Well…" Hayley stammered, always thinking Ben had been even though his actions hadn’t always proved so.

"Don’t answer it," Ben smiled, placing his finger on her lips softly. "Just… just listen to what I’ve got to say cos its been eating me alive ever since it happened."

"W… what happened?" Hayley asked, getting nervous.

"Something happened a while back, and I s’pose you can say this is why I’ve been acting a little… distant, strange – not to stay away from you but to protect you I suppose."

"Ben, what’s going on?" Hayley inquired, her body growing vigilant.

"A while back, I was working late… and well Mandy… she well… she was there…" Ben started revealing, taking Paul’s advice on board and going for the honest approach even though he’d definitely one hundred percent lose brownie points, if not his relationship.

But it had to be better then lying or hiding the truth hadn’t it?

"Mandy!" Hayley cried. "That bimbo… god Ben, I don’t like the way this is going…" she confided.

Gripping her hand tighter, he stared at her more seriously now as the revelation he was about to make could break her in two. Disclosing this before Valentines Day hadn’t been his ideal plan but the chance of being able to share the most romantic day in the year with someone he loved without the worry like previous, was like flutters of butterflies in his stomach.

"You’re most probably not going to like this…" Ben said. "But you need to know. I can’t lie to you."

"You’ve been lying?" Hayley questioned.

"To protect you," Ben added. "With Mandy, I well… she and I… we well… kissed…"

"Kissed!" Hayley shouted, her eyes stringing open like blinds. "You kissed!"

"I know it was a stupid, horrid, bad, bad thing to do but when she persisted in going further I stopped! I stopped!" Ben cried, Hayley’s hand moving away from his.

"You stopped? Oh well that makes it bloody fine Ben. As long as you stopped!"

"It’s not as bad as it sounds…" Ben pleaded.

"Oh no. It would only be bad if you shagged her for Christ sakes, but no you had some decency within you not to go far! Wow well done Ben! Give yourself a round of applause!" Hayley clapped, getting up.

"Look, I’d only been hiding it from you cos I didn’t want to lose you!" Ben announced.

"Well you did a good enough job hiding it didn’t you!" Hayley shouted.

"But I told you! I did tell you Hay," Ben exposed.

"Well about bloody time! God, just get out!" Hayley roared.

"But hay… you can’t… I… I love you." He reasoned his heart crashing like waves against the rocks with each cold, heart-wrenching look.

"If you loved me then why do it?" She asked calmly.

"I… I don’t know," Ben sighed. "It just happened and god, I wish it never did. Nothing can replace what you have with me. What I have with you!"

"And what’s that?" She interrogated.

"Passion, care, love. Please don’t leave me for some clumsy, stupid, bad mistake?" Ben excused.

"Just leave me alone Ben," Hayley told quietly, walking to her room leaving the silence to awe then both.