DIET MOUNTAIN DEW • SCREAM 1996

1.2 : " PICKIN' FLOWERS "

1.2 : " PICKIN' FLOWERS "

BENNY WAITED patiently just outside of the school in front of a small field of purple flowers. The boy whistled quietly to himself, the toon could be identified as The Addams Family theme song, while crouching to get a better look at the fauna. Just as his fingers brushed one, another set of larger ones plucked it up.

The Mercer boy looked up at who stole his flower only to giggle when he saw Stu bowing with the flower extended towards him. Benny watched as Stu peaked from where his head was bent to the floor, bright blue hues catching his own eyes. The blond tucked the small flower behind the smaller boy's ear. "An apology for my dear Benny Bear."

Benny felt his cheeks heat up with a bright flush. He honestly didn't know what was happening recently. It's like every time he saw Stu's dimpled grin or Billy's endless eyes, a wave of warmth would flood through his face, and his heart would stutter. It was strange, but weirdly enough, the feeling was welcome. It made Benny feel amazing, and who was he to deny such happiness?

Suddenly, Benny was bodied from his thoughts as Stu picked him up in a flourish of movements, somehow maneuvering the boy to his back. The smaller boy hooked his arms tightly around the other before anxiously reaching up to feel if the flower was still there. Fortunately, it was, and that conclusion allowed Benny to relax.

"Jeez, Stu you coulda' dropped me." The brunet grumbled, tugging lightly on the other boy's hair in retaliation.

Stu smiled mischievously, tongue sneaking out from his mouth like the seemingly living sentient it was. He responded in a careless fashion: "I'd never do that, bud. Trust me."

Just before Benny could respond, a voice called out to them. "Hey, Ben!"

Said boy immediately snapped his head back to the entrance of the school. There, he saw Willow Pierson striding towards them. She was as pretty as before with her youthful blowout and pleasant pale orange jumper, but to Benny, something was different.

Willow hadn't changed; she looked and sounded all the same. No, the change lay in his feelings when he saw her. Before, when he just thought about the girl, a smile would work its way onto his lips. However, now, as he stared her dead in the eye, there was nothing. No blush, no heartbeat skipped, nada. Benny found himself actually a bit annoyed at her for coming up to them.

He further chalked up that new invasive feeling to being worried about breaking the rules the threatening phone call gave him.

Similar to Benny, Stu also had a new unravel of rampant thoughts. His were more of the darker kind. This was evident in the way his eyes darkened and grew malicious as he stared down the young girl.

"Ben, hey, uh, how are you?" Willow greeted. It was obvious she was feeling awkward. Anyone would be if they were trying to talk to the boy they liked who happened to be piggy-backing another boy while that guy was glaring her down.

Benny debated answering. If he did, someone might end up dead like last time. If he didn't…there really wasn't much of a consequence other than maybe hurting Willow's feelings. The boy didn't really want to do that, but anyone could tell what the better deal was. So, Benny tucked his head resolutely into the nape of Stu's neck.

Both Stu and Willow were surprised by the sudden display of stubbornness.

The girl laughed dryly, trying to shake off the off-putting reaction. Internally, she was confused. She had thought that Benny liked her back. Why else would he have agreed to meet with her? Sure, he had stood her up, but he looked quite disturbed when she confronted him about it. Obviously, there was something bigger happening behind the scenes.