⍟ Broken Strings {A Chaos Theory x Male Reader Story - Ben}

𝟹. 𝙳𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚁𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚑

"Well, here we are." Ben maneuvers the van into the driveway.

"You think she's h--"

"Wait," Y/N cuts Darius off, "Do you smell that?"

"Yeah," Ben perks up, shutting off the van, "Smells like... smoke."

The three of them look up and see big clouds of gray smog emitting from the house.

"Sammy!" They fly out of the van, running up to the door.

"Sammy!" Ben pushes the door open, assuming the worst.

The three of them cough, fanning the smoke from their faces.

"Sammy!?"

"What's all the shoutin'?" Sammy emerges from the kitchen, gasping when she spots them.

She squeals and runs over to them, wrapping them all in a tight hug.

"Sorry about the smoke," She giggles, "Burnt my pie, back-up's already in the oven."

"Always make a back-up."

"I remember hugging y'all being a lot easier," Sammy says with a cheeky grin, "You leave any growth spurts for the other guys?" She playfully pokes at Ben.

"What are y'all doing here?" She asks, leading them further inside.

Y/N shuts the door behind them, "We're here because we're--"

"Come in, come in," Sammy cuts him off, "Welcome! It's a bit of a mess right now, but I wasn't expecting guests or anything."

"Kitchens this way." She nods down the hall, leading the way.

"Gosh, it's just been a minute since I've seen you three."

"Love the locs by the way." She smiles as she heads into the kitchen.

"Thanks." Darius and Ben both say in tandem, confusing all three men quite a bit.

"You hungry? Thirsty? I've got just the thing!" Sammy bursts into the kitchen.

"Didn't think Sammy could get any more Sammy, you know?" Ben smiles at Y/N and Darius.

The three of them settle down on the counter stools while Sammy rummages through the fridge.

"Sammy, we're here because we're--"

The oven timer rings, cutting Ben off.

"Oh! That'll be the back-up pie!" Sammy cheers as she places a pitcher of lemonade on the counter.

"How's the back-up?" Darius asks, earning him a stern look from Ben and Y/N.

"Not there yet." Sammy responds.

"Okay, well while we wait, we need to tell you s--"

"Have you seen my pitchfork? I swear I just had it..." Sammy huffs.

"You remember ol' Bessie?"

The men slowly nod.

"She had a calf." Sammy grins.

"I just love them baby moos!" Sammy sighs wistfully, "I need to get some more hay for her, but you know what? That can wait!"

She begins placing glasses on the table for each of them to have some lemonade.

"Uh, you okay, Sammy? You seem kinda distracted." Darius glances down at his glass.

"Just busy." Sammy shrugs, "It's only been me here for a bit since Yaz has been up north finishing school, and my parents..."