For the First Time | n.h.

Chapter Nineteen

CHAPTER NINETEEN:

                “Ben?” I questioned through the darkness. It was a useless inquiry though; I knew it was him.

                “Hey Megan,” he said playfully with an underlying hint of malice.

                I gulped, unsure of what to say. I could barely see him in the lightless environment. That frightened me because it meant that I couldn’t see his body or how close it was to mine. My heart was sputtering uncomfortably at the thought of even accidently coming in contact with him. His touch was like poison and I felt as though it would destroy me.

                It suddenly occurred to me that my fear was still rendering me motionless. I felt stuck. I was too afraid to walk around him or even turn around in case he reacted. Who knew what he wanted from me? Perhaps we simply ran into each other? Or maybe he had purposely gotten in my way? It didn’t really matter. All that was going through my mind was how afraid I was.

                “So, how’s Niall?” Ben asked, hissing his name.

                I just swallowed, apparently speechless as well. Somehow I had never imagined our next confrontation being like this. I thought by some miracle I would tell Ben what an asshole he was but of course I was too much of a coward.

                “You’re not saying much Megan,” Ben pointed out, “How are we supposed to catch up if I'm the only one talking?”

                “I-I don’t want to catch up with you,” I stuttered pathetically.

                He laughed cruelly, “You’re never up for anything, are you?”

                “When it comes to you, no.”

                I didn’t see or hear him come closer, but I felt him. His chest just barely made contact with mine, making me shudder. I took a large step back and tried not to trip.

                “Do you need something?” I asked, finding my voice.

                I watched his silhouette shrug, “Maybe.”

                Suddenly a spark of courage erupted from inside of me. I grabbed hold of it and stood my ground. “Ben, you need to leave me alone,” I stated simply yet firm.

                He laughed, “And why is that? Will Niall kick my ass if I get too close? Oh wait, he’s not even here, he’s not even in the country.”

                I slowly shook my head even though I wasn’t sure if he could even detect the slight movement in the darkness. “Actually I was thinking more along the lines of ‘you leave me alone or I’ll call the police.’”

                Now that managed to scare him. I watched the black figure freeze. Nothing but silence followed.

                “I didn’t press charges against you Ben, but if you don’t stay the fuck away from me, I swear to god I will,” I told him, my voice confident and finally void of any shakiness.

                When the silence was prolonged, I decided that I wasn’t going to wait around for him to give me some bullshit reply. Instead I tightened my grip on my shoulder bag and took one tentative step around him. Once I started to walk it became a lot easier. I didn’t look behind me, I just kept moving until I felt I was far enough away. There were street lights where I was then, which somehow took away nearly all of my uneasiness. The confrontation with Ben was still making my heart race, however. But I tried to ignore it. I just kept walking until I reached the familiar light from my front porch.