Sweet as a Strawberry

8 ~ Sour as a Green Apple

a/n: dedicated to fifthelement- for the beautiful cover you see to the side :) she made another banner with Ben as well, and it's hella good too

Chapter 8: Sour as a Green Apple (Ben)

Yes, my friend Queenie was a six year old girl. 

"Why does it take so long to pick out ice cream?" I grumbled, crossing my arms as I shook my head at the two girls who had their faces pressed against the glass.

Lottie glanced at me and smiled nicely. "It's a very important decision, Ben! Cookies and cream or cookie dough, that is the question."

"That is the question," Queenie repeated, giggling. Since she wasn't tall enough to see through the glass at the ice cream, she was perched on Lottie's hip.

"Alright, poppet, which one do you think looks good today?"

"They look the same every day!" I interjected, throwing my hands in the air. Jesus, it was just ice cream. 

Lottie and Queenie glanced at each other and then looked at me with identical playfully pitiful expressions. "Oh man, he doesn't know the art of choosing the perfect ice cream, does he?" I heard Lottie whisper. I raised my eyebrows at her and.

"Benjy doesn't even like ice cream," Queenie replied in a tone that was just short of horror.

Lottie gave an exaggerated gasp and looked at me. "He doesn't?" she exclaimed.

I crossed my arms defensively. "Why is that so bad?Just pick already!" I groaned in annoyance. We'd been standing around for five minutes, and the lady at the cashier was staring at us.

"Hm...what'll you be having, princess?" Lottie asked Queenie, propping her more securely on her hip.

I noticed her arms shaking slightly from the weight of Queenie's body and I rolled my eyes. Jesus, was it that hard to ask me for help? I plucked Queenie from Lottie's grasp. Lottie stared at me, looking a little shocked. "Pick!" I demanded, holding Queenie away from my body and dangling her almost above the counter, trying to ignore Lottie's penetrating green gaze.

"Benjy, will you buy me a cho-co-lutt ice cream?" she pleaded, widening her cute little eyes at me.

I narrowed my gaze at her. She was already using these tactics to get what she wanted? I was almost impressed. "One chocolate on a cone, please," I told the worker, who nodded brightly. "Now what about you?" I added to Lottie.

She smiled at me and then turned to face the counter. "One cookie dough in a cup, if you please!" she chirped brightly, that constant smile of hers not wavering. "It was a cookie dough kind of day, you know?"

I couldn't meet her happy look. "I guess."

She laughed that tinkling laugh of hers, and I was so put off by the way the sound startled me that it took a minute to realise that she was paying for the ice cream.

"Hey!" I said quietly, my eyebrows furrowing crossly as she accepted the change from the cashier. "Who said you could pay?"

"You didn't want me to?" she asked in confusion, looking taken aback as though she didn't think it was morally right to allow me to pay.