Nothing But Bones

17: Sorting Things Out

Elton swivels his desk chair to face his PC, brings it out of sleep mode, and types in his password. Discord is already up (since he left it up). Ben sent a meme a few minutes ago. Something about minions and VHS tapes. That fucking goof and his stupid old people memes he gets from his family on Facebook.

It's Ben now. Right. Elton drills it into his head. It was one of the texts waiting for him when he got into the car earlier: "I'm going to start going by Ben. It's my first name anyway." There was nothing about anything else, anything worse. Just Ben.

Smiling almost involuntarily, he sends Ben a message. "Hey, dork."

The response is almost immediate. "Hey! You and Tiff already done with your adventure?"

"HA! No. Not quite. Just pausing it for a while. Can you talk?"

"Yeah.. um sure."

Elton clicks the video call button. The call screen rings annoyingly for an excruciating amount of time before Ben's face pops into view.

He looks nervous, Elton thinks. He's also adorable looking for someone worrying so much.

Greetings are in order. "Hey!"

Ben waves. "Hey."

"You doing okay?"

He gives a nervous chuckle that crackles gently in Elton's headphones. "I mean, I'm– No. I don't think I am. Just... I'm not sure what to do here."

Elton doesn't say anything.

After a second of fraught hesitation, Ben admits, "I'm scared."

Elton leans back in his chair a bit, studying his friend on the screen in front of him. "Okay. Let's just start at the beginning. Tell me what's making you scared."

Ben breathes out— deeply, shakily. (Elton's sure it's just nerves.) He nods. "Right. The start. Well... I was an asshole. A massive asshole."

Ben begins with his tale of being bullied when he was younger to becoming the bully— years as a middle- and high-school top dog. Quarterback. Lake Wonder's golden boy. That's one of the things that led to him nearly killing Mark Croft. That day in the scrapyard; Ben admits that he can't forget it, no matter how hard he tries.

Elton can't shake the shock, taking in everything Ben is saying. No way could he believe Ben of all people would do something like that.

Yet... he does believe him. Goddamn. He isn't sure why yet. Maybe it's something about the shake to his voice, or the distance and grief in his eyes. It swims in Elton's head like a pool toy he just can't grab.

Then Ben starts talking about Oneiron and his dreams. How Oneiron would taunt Ben and show him things and make him relive the moment he hit Mark with the rock. How Tiff and her friends defeated Oneiron, saving everybody from whatever the Nightmare King had planned. His depression. His insane, all-consuming guilt. Ben told Elton all of it.

When it was all done, it's easy to see how visibly shaken Ben is. "So there's my shame. All of it. This is who I was and what will always be a part of me."

Elton sits with all of this for a moment, absentmindedly petting Dingus's head under the desk.

After a second, he says, "I thought about everything."

"That didn't take long..."

"No," Elton admits, voice firm. "It didn't. I have decided that what you did was fucked up and even though I know you're going to be dealing with it for the rest of your life, I just can't see how that makes me like you any less when the person you are now is so amazing."

Ben stares at his screen, visibly unsure of what to say.

"So my feelings are no different than they were when I told you how I felt. I knew the risks going into it when I said I liked you. So now it's your turn to tell me exactly how you feel."

Laughing quietly, Ben gives a small smile."Ah, yeah. That."

"Yep. That."

"Well, Elton... I never thought about myself in any other way other than straight. I've dated a few girls and I've been into them. I am still into them. Not those girls. Ugh. Goddammit." He waves a hand like he's trying to get back on track. "No, but... women in general."

"Cool. You're not gay."

"I'm not gay."

"Neither am I. My last relationship was with a girl. As you know."

"Oh, yeah." Ben winces. "The stalker. Oof."

"Yeah." Elton draws out the sound of the word. "Honestly, Elton, I'm just sure of one fucking thing: you. I'm sure of you. I don't know why you're the one who made me realize all these... things about myself, but you are. I absolutely like you. Before you even told me. I thought a lot about you, but I pushed it aside. I wasn't ready to face the truth, but now I am. I don't know what I am or where I fall, I just want to be with you. If you want me, that is."

"Of course I do, you idiot."

"Hey, you're an idiot."

They both smile at each other in silence for a moment.

Elton grins. "I have a crazy idea, Ben..."

"Oh no."

"What if I came back with Tiff? Well, not with her. I'd have to drive myself." He pauses for half a second to think about it. "Probably. I have a passport, though! My mother owes me some time off. God knows I'll need it after today."

"Woah... that's... fuck, I would absolutely love that. My dad wouldn't care. Would you really?"

The two teens continue their conspiratory ways, leaning into computer screens to plan Elton's jaunt into Lake Wonder. Somewhere in it, Elton tells Ben what happened at the house not that long ago. After he finishes, Elton realizes the time and promises to call Ben later, already texting Tiff in his sign-off.

"HEY! I lost track of time. You hungry?"