Love is a Battlefield

New Arrival

The next day Carlos stayed at Ben's not feeling up to school, especially if Jay went. Thankfully neither Carlos or Jay showed up to school so everyone could breathe and inform their friends what happened. It wasn't much of a surprise that Ben was down most of the day. His best classes were with Harry who kept him smiling as best he could, the two's friendship returned after the mess of a breakup and they were close again. They sat together at lunch again, just them as Jay and Carlos were both out and the day went by pretty well. The next day Ben forced Carlos to go to school but it was hard, he wasn't really up for it but he couldn't risk missing too many days of school without a valid excuse. Since he didn't turn Jay in for kidnapping him he couldn't risk telling without Jay getting in major trouble. All in all, it was a terrible situation. Jay didn't come back the second day either leaving Carlos and Ben to enjoy what little they could of the day with Harry as a sort of the third wheel.

By the end of the second day of school after the event and party, Carlos crawled into Ben's car curling up looking ready for a nap.

"Tired puppy?" Ben spoke affectionately, brushing some hair of Carlos's to the side. Carlos leaned into Ben's touch allowing him to cup his cheek and caress his cheekbone with his thumb. He sighed nodding, nuzzling his cheek into Ben's hand with a soft sigh. Ben didn't push of rush Carlos to feel better, he just wanted to support him while he knew Carlos needed to recover. He drove them home and cooked them dinner, Ben wasn't the best cook in the world but he managed to make things good enough Carlos could enjoy them, mostly by following recipes to the letter. It was a rare occasion of Ben to cook really but he felt like doing something special for Carlos by giving him a home-cooked meal that he would like. Carlos sat in the kitchen curled up and half asleep while Ben cooked. He didn't like being away from Ben too much. Ben brought Carlos a sense of safety and comfort after being kidnapped and it filled him with unease to really be alone.

Ben set the table and even lit some candles to be romantic before waking Carlos from his nap on the table. He looked so adorable when he woke up, rubbing at his eyes. Carlos saw the table was set and the candles and finally smiled at Ben's sweet gesture. The two talked about school a bit and some movies that were coming out that they should see together, mostly just filling the silence with comfortable small talk. The idea of talking about big and important subjects would ruin the mood for the night. Ben insisted after clearing the dishes to carry Carlos upstairs to bed. He didn't complain much. Ben let Carlos sleep while he worked on their homework, letting Carlos loosely copy the next morning. Ben went to bed holding Carlos and comforting him in his sleep.

On the third day of school after the incident, Jay finally came back to school but he avoided his old friends out of shame. Carlos was relieved to see some semblance of the old Jay peeking through in what little he was forced to see of him but it didn't stop Carlos from being on edge. He didn't like having a class with Jay without Ben there, it made him feel trapped. Carlos wasn't doing well on the inside and that was to be understood, his friend and ex-boyfriend kidnapped him with plans to do things he didn't even want to talk about. With all this pain, fear, and frustration bubbling up inside it didn't help that Ben and Harry were friends again. Carlos couldn't help but feel a little jealous despite Ben's shameless displays of affection for him in front of Harry. He could see how much it bothered Harry every time, but he couldn't help but enjoy it a little bit. The third day, however, turned from bad to worse when Jay came over to apologize admitting to starting therapy and seeking help like Carlos suggested. While it was a good thing, it took every ounce of courage in him not to cower in fear. Jay still scared him for what he did and Jay could sense it. All he did was apologize profusely before leaving them alone. Ben spent the whole of lunch with Carlos in his lap clinging to him for comfort. Nobody seemed bothered, their friends even commenting on how cute and adorable they were together making Carlos bury his face more into Ben's chest.

It ended up being a week before Carlos seemed to be functioning semi-normally again. He was still dealing with the internal struggle but he was acting as if it didn't bother him on the outside, mostly to comfort everyone and stop them from worrying. Well, mostly everyone, because Ben could see right through his fake demeanor to the real emotions bubbling underneath. The first day after a week was punctuated by the arrival of a new student. Everyone was whispering and talking about this new student but Ben got to meet him first hand in one of his classes. His name was Samuel White, son of the tv personality Snow White. He was a tall and fair looking guy with pale full cheeks, naturally, rosy lips and hair as black as ebony. He was absolutely beautiful by all standards, he was seemingly kind as he thanked the teacher for introducing him. He took his seat next to Ben and flashed him a smile. Ben smiled back to be polite, sure Samuel was gorgeous, but no one compared to Carlos in his mind. He had eyes for one boy and he meant it. It didn't stop Harry from watching the two jealously from the other side of Ben. If Ben could see the look on Harry's face he might be surprised. Samuel just flashed Harry a look as if challenging him making him scoff. The nerve this new guy had! Almost every chance Samuel got to talk to Ben he took it and by the time lunch rolled around he decided to sit with Ben and Carlos at lunch. He took Harry's usual spot on the other side of Ben from Carlos making him fume. He sat next to Carlos instead grumbling a bit. Carlos shot him a curious look but he forced a smile and the two dropped it. Harry didn't like this new Samuel White one bit.