None the Worse ✓

14) 'You Did What?' And Other Questions That Will Be Yelled At You Very Soon

"B-but..."

"But what?"

"I don't—" He cut himself off and rolled past Thijmen's legs, scrambling up from the kitchen floor and dashing to the hallway. Thijmen immediately yelled after him. "What the fuck? Why are you running?"

He was not just running. He was running away.

Thijmen was absolutely crazy.

After the fastest run Benjamin had ever performed in his entire life, he slammed his bedroom door closed and leaned against it, his chest rapidly rising and falling. He tried to calm down as quickly as possible, so he could hear through the door if Thijmen followed him.

Soon, light footsteps sounded, coming closer to his room in a calm pace, and a set of knuckles rapped on the door. "Benjamin."

He didn't reply. He was 'sleeping'.

"Benjamin, why do you always run? Just come out and talk."

No.

"Please."

He said please? Wha—

Still no.

"Fine, play your little game of hide and seek. I'm not gonna look for you. I'm that person that calls 'come out, come out, wherever you are', so have fun hiding till your momma's coming to get you."

Oh, boy. Thijmen sounded pissed. All the more reason not to come out. He'd probably stab him with his knife if he opened the door. Stab him, sell his organs and buy more cigarettes with the money. Or even worse: steal his pillows.

Needless to say, Benjamin built a barricade behind the door. It'd work until he had to eat, go to school or take a piss, or maybe all three, all at once, but either way, it'd do for now.

It appeared he didn't even need it, because Thijmen simply sighed (a rather irritated sigh) and walked away. It should have calmed Benjamin, but it didn't. At all.

Thijmen was angry at him and he was going to have to face him again in the morning, except for if Ben walked to school instead of riding with him in the car. And there was... the kiss. This little bit of touching their lips did had him majorly messed up.

He stared at the ceiling the whole night.

His eyes were burning, when the alarm clock screamed at his side. He moved his arm like a robot and slammed his hand on it to shut the stupid blaring machine off. For the first time in hours, he moved his eyes and glanced at the window.

This day was going to be horrible.

Thijmen didn't stab him. He didn't yell at him. He didn't put poison in his breakfast, cut him into a dozen piece and bury the remains of his corpse in the backyard.

He ignored him. He simply ignored him.

Well, back to the beginning.

Benjamin, following the theme, went back to pretending the floor was of utmost interest just the way he had the first time they'd met. It was so similar to how things were before, Benjamin wondered if they'd actually gone back in time. But no, Thijmen's hair was less nonexistent than when he first entered the Emsworth mansion.

Other than that, and that freaky tingling feeling Benjamin had, everything was back to the way it was before. Most of the squad took the whole ordeal with indifference, which was expected except for Martin, who took the realization he'd never be a cool kid very badly (which was expected, too). Ben could almost see Messiah getting pissy at the whole situation, but fortunately he'd missed school to go attend some vegan meeting or something. Or maybe he'd gotten suspended for attacking a burger stand again. Or attacked by a burger stand. Again. Either way was fine with Benjamin, because he didn't want to hear Messiah's condescending (but probably smart) words.