FNF Multiverse

Chapter 20.3 - Follow your dreams, pt. 1

Cliffhangers, am I right?

Also, apparently Feb 7th is Keith's birthday? ...Too bad I'm not writing about Keith here. I mean, technically I am, but...I don't know, it's too confusing.

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Benjamin was late. Terribly late. By the time he reached the museum, there wasn't a single person outside, and he was wondering if he had gotten the right location. While he was deciding whether to enter the grand, marble building or not, two sneaky hands covered his eyes, holding his head in place. Benjamin yelped in surprise and fear. He gave a weak kick to what he could only assume was the stranger's knee. The stranger laughed, finding his reaction cute.

"Guess who~" she sang. A female voice.

Benjamin kept his mouth shut. He mentally slapped himself for running from Pico's protection. 

The stranger laughed again. "You're a serious one, aren't ya? Don't be nervous," she smirked, letting go of the smaller boy. Benjamin was ready to run the second the girl removed her hands, but she quickly said, "Stop! Wait, I didn't mean to scare you! Grace called me here!" At the mention of Grace's name, Benjamin turned around.

"To kidnap me?" Benjamin grumbled to himself. He looked at the girl with questioning eyes.

"I'm Andrea. Your...tour guide," she said, breathing out a sigh of relief and returning to her usual cheery smile. The first thing Benjamin noted was her choice of outfit. A simple pink sleeveless dress that reached her knees and fell flat against her thighs, with no pants underneath - and no underwear as well, most likely. Sharp pink heels with a touch of glitter at the toe. Wavy pink hair that flowed past her shoulders like a waterfall. A few stubborn strands stood straight on the top of her head, almost forming the outline of a heart. A heavy ton of makeup covering her face. An outfit that told Benjamin she was no star, yet she was an associate of the singers. "That must have been...a horrible first introduction. I'm so sorry." Benjamin was sure Andrea apologetic look was fake, but he chose not to comment.

After days of living on the cruel streets alone, without his loving boyfriend, Benjamin really was doubting his life decisions. He was completely vulnerable to any evil plan Grace and the Fairests had for him. He would rather not go to the art gallery, but what would happen to him then? At the hands of his parents, who by now probably knew his location, courtesy of Grace...Benjamin reached into his hoodie pocket, where he had safely kept the invitation letter, although it was a little wet from the rain. Andrea held out her hand to stop him. "Uh, I already know you have an invitation, so let's get right to it! You're my special guest today!" she said excitedly, her eyes lighting up as she grabbed Benjamin's sleeve and pulled him along up the stairs. Benjamin snatched his arm back with an annoyed grunt and followed the strange girl at his own pace, a small act of defiance. Andrea only chuckled and shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, not the touchy type, I get it," she smiled, skipping up the stairway two steps at a time. Benjamin tried to walk as slow as possible. He was dreading the art gallery. He just knew something bad was about to happen, after the unexpected events at the abandoned mansion. He had broken up with his boyfriend, with Pico, for god's sake. He hoped his gut instincts were wrong this time.

*   *   *

"Welcome to the twenty-fourth Annual Kindred Art Gallery," Mr. Kindred boomed.

"Welcome to the 24th Annual Kindred Art Gallery," Andrea mocked, rolling her eyes. "My dad has to give his boring speech every time. Who says we have to stay around for it? There won't be any crowd now, let's go!"

Before Benjamin could get a good look of the cavernous museum, Andrea was already pulling him along to a room, its entryway frame shaped like a lotus petal. She quickly let go, remembering how "touchy-feely" he was, and walked ahead, expecting Benjamin to follow her. Benjamin, finding himself lost in the crowd already, silently wished Andrea had kept holding his hand. Being shorter than most of the adults, he eventually got stuck in between the visitors and Andrea had to run back and lead him out.

The room she took him to first had lots of weapons showcased in glass boxes, their history written on metal placards. Images of their wielders were hung on the walls, and some had their own separate box. Benjamin had never been to such a grand art museum, except for when he was much younger, and despite his efforts to find an opening to escape if need be, he was amazed by every fine detail on every work of art, stopping every now and then to get a better look at an especially magnificent piece that caught his eye.

Andrea led him to lots of different rooms, laughing at Benjamin's excited reaction to what she thought were simple paint marks on paper. Being the heir of the Kindred family, the daughter of an art entrepreneur, it was surprising to people that she wasn't as interested in art as one would think. She liked music more, but wouldn't go professional with it. She chose to play free music for the local street singers instead, just as a side hobby. Something people didn't seem to appreciate. In a way, Andrea kind of understood Benjamin, how he wanted to be the person no one else accepted. But she didn't have a background of manipulative people after her. In fact, she was the one carrying out Grace's master plan.

So she tried not to go soft every time Benjamin let out an involuntary squeal of excitement at the new and refined art, even the room with dead, paralyzed insects hung in small lass boxes on the walls. Graffiti was great and all, but he was dying for some variety.

After about an hour of wandering around, Andrea decided it was time. With an evil smile curled on her lips, she snapped in front of Benjamin's face, bringing his attention from a fountain sculpture.

"Come on! I've yet to show you the best part!" she grinned, her cheery facade returning. Benjamin had become less alert and trusted Andrea more as time went on. Even a bit excited, he followed Andrea to a room a noticable distance away from the rest, which Benjamin didn't think to question.

"Here. We. Are," Andrea breathed dramatically, her evil grin appearing again and she gestured past the open entryway to the main painting, a huge canvas with a gold frame, holding the portrait of a beautiful girl, a flower crown of many colors perched on her head, laughing to the skies as yellow sunlight illuminated her features. Benjamin could recognize that face anywhere. "N-no, h-h-how did you..." he stuttered in shock, his eyes widening.

For the star of the painting was none else than Cherry Fairest.