𝙳𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝙶𝚒𝚛𝚕𝚜

a glitch in the game, i loop like a bug

       You don't know what to say. You cautiously return the smile, as much as you can, and gentle push his hands away from your face. Before your silence begins to add to the thick tension in the room, You hear your front door open. You glance to your clock; surprising, your mom's actually back from work on time. Thankfully, it gives you a path to escape the situation for a few moments. 

        "I should go say hi." You see his face twist into confusion, opening his mouth to say something. The expression is gone as quickly as it had appeared. 

        He nods, as if to grant permission, as if you needed permission to go greet your own mom. 

        You're swiftly out of the room, now noticing how much warmer the hall outside is. You rest against the door to collect as much of yourself you could manage. "The hell....?" You breath. Similar questions are asked to yourself as you slowly descend the stairs. 

        Turning into the kitchen, you assume a cheerful demeanor. "Hey, mom!" 

       Looking up from her purse, she takes immediate notice of your uncharacteristically joyus poise. "Hey..." She starts. "You're awfully happy today. Everything alright?" 

         "Yeah-! Just a really good day." You lie.

        She grins, satisfied with you answer. "That's great to hear, Pumpkin." She places a hand on your shoulder, giving it an encouraging squeeze. "You're always so depressed and mopy. Christ, I thought you'd never leave that cave of yours." She laughs, and you force yourself to chuckle along with her, silently swearing to yourself that you'll never leave your 'cave' again. 

        "Yeah but, I just wanted to say hello, so uh, yeah." You fiddle with the hem of your shirt.

        "Well, hello. You fixin' for something to eat?" She asks, picking up her purse, sliding it up her arm, and over her shoulder. 

       You debate it for a few seconds, thinking back to your peculiar ghost friend thats maybe hanging out in your room? "I think I'll pass. Had Frito pie and cornbread for lunch- real filling." 

       She makes an 'o' shape with her mouth before humming. "Well alright. Theres rice and chicken in the fridge if you change your mind." She yawns through her next words. " I'm gonna go take a nap. Goodnight, sweety."

       She makes her way up the stairs, ruffling your hair as she passes. You anxiously watch as she hits each step and walks past your room. You wait for a few seconds after you hear her door click close before silently rushing up the stairs. 

        You glance back at your mothers room at the end of the hall. You hope that miraculously she'll walk back out and help you further procrastinate this whole situation. Chances are, she passed out the second she took her heels off. You sigh, gripping the doorknob, now just realizing how sweaty your hands are, and twist it open.

        Sure enough, He's still there.

       "Your rooms a mess." He comments as you walk in. 

       "So," You ignore this repetitive remark. "You're my online friend, who's also a ghost, and knows how im gonna die?"

       "I didn't say die!"

       "You didn't say didn't die!"

       His brows furrow, both baffled and irked. He shakes his head. "Look, I don't know exactly what's going on, alright? But I love you, and I dont want to see you get hurt." 

        His eyes dance across your face. He examines every slight twitch of your muscle, every slight jitter of your eyes. He examines you in your entity. He tries to guess what you'll say next, what you'll do, what new expression you'll give him the honor of witnessing.

       "My teacher." Not exactly what he expected, nor wanted.

        "What about him?" He was almost tyrannical in the way he asked.

        "I overheard him talking with some guy- about me and you, right? Tim Wright?"

       He seems anxious, pursing his lips before continuing. "He's a coworker of mine- kinda. He's basically in charge of like, observing in a more, uh, personal way, I guess?"

        "Observing what?" 

       "This town." 

       "Why?" 

       "Don't know. Just unlucky, I guess."

        You cross your arms, leaning against your door with a distant stare. "So, should I try to talk to-"

         "No!" He answers frantically, shoeing the thought away immediately. "Me and him don't really get along. I just- I wouldn't trust him if I were you." He warns. 

        The thought makes you anxious. The man seemed seen trustworthy enough. He was just a man, wasn't he? But, if Ben's warning you against him, maybe it's best to trust his judgment.  

        "So.... what's with the eyes?"

       "No clue."
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Small a/n: i 'designed' ben to look a little more like?? creepy ig??? idk i wanted him to look like how a lot of ghosts tend to be represented in media-- the way they looked when they died!! although technically it's based iff if my very basic understanding of how a decomposing, drowned body looks, plus changing a few logistics to make him seem closer to his actual design (((((or like fanon design el oh el)))) ex: blackish/grey lips instead of blue, which is what you would actually see, and the fungus would be white n typical around the mouth and nose 

n e ways yeah :)

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