With Or Without You

(1)

"Hold on... you did what? Spencer, what happened? I thought things were good? Why would you break up with him?"

"We were good. Nothing happened. I just... I don't know. I thought it would be stupid to stay together since we're taking completely different paths after graduation. There's no point in staying together when our lives are taking us to completely different parts of the world."

"Spencer, honey, don't you think breaking up with him the first day you see him after break was a bit rash?"

"I thought it would make the rest of the year easier. I thought it would give us time to move on. There's no way our relationship will exist once we graduate. It just won't..."

"Spencer Kate, I know this is not what you want to hear right now, but I think you made a huge mistake... You love Ben. Honey, he absolutely adores you. He would do anything for you... Spencer, he bought you a ring and was planning on proposing to you next weekend... He asked our permission when he was here this summer. Spencer, he was willing to make changes in his plans for you..."

"Mom, he would never be happy. He hates America. He wants to live in London, he has to for the play. And, I've already accepted admissions at Michigan for the fall. We won't be happy mom. It's for the best."

"Spencer Kate Cooper, you listen to me. Did you not hear what I just said? He was going to ask you to MARRY him. He bought you a gorgeous ring."

"Wait... what?"

"Spencer, he found an agent willing to work with him if he stayed here in the states. He's been looking at housing in Detroit."

"Why wouldn't he have said anything? Mom, he never said a word of this. He never tried to fight me."

"Spencer, honey, he knows you. He knows how stubborn you are. He probably thought he didn't have a fight. He wouldn't have won. You'd already made up your mind. You need to take some time to think about this. You just shattered that boys heart. He's absolutely mad about you, Spencer."

"FUUUUCK. I fucked up. FUCK, FUCK, FUCK."

"Spencer, calm down. Take some time today and think about everything. I think you may have jumped to a solution a bit quick..."

"Mom, I love him. What the fuck did I just do?"

"Spencer, watch your language, please... I know you're upset. I want you to call me before you go to bed tonight. And if you need me before then, call me. Understand?"

"Okay, mom. I will. I love you."

"I love you, too, honey. Now, please hand the phone back to Nora..."

"Here it's for you..." Spencer handed the phone back to Nora who had a confused look on her face.

"Hello, Mrs. Cooper?"

"Nora, honey, don't let her out of your sight today. Please. I don't know what's come over her. And, I'm concerned. Keep her occupied and text me if you need anything, alright?"

"Okay, Mrs. Cooper, I will. Thank you."

"Of course, darling, thank you for calling. Alright." Naomi hung up the phone and Nora set Spencer's phone back on the table.

Nora made sure to keep Spencer as busy as possible for the rest of the day. She needed to keep her occupied and not allow her to crawl into a ball in her bed and sob for the rest of the day. She ordered take out and the two ate dinner on their couch, covered in a blanket while they watched Mean Girls.

Meanwhile, Ben was in his room laying on his bed in silence. He had been that way since he got home from Spencer's. Adam walked into their apartment and called out for Ben.

"Yooooo, maaaaate. Where you at?" Adam shouted from the entryway.

Adam heard no response so he went in search of Ben. His car was in their carport, his keys were on the table, and his phone was next to his keys. He went straight to Ben's room and saw the door was wide open. All he saw was Ben laying motionless and silent on his back staring up at the ceiling.

"Ben, mate, is everything alright?" Adam looked a bit confused knowing this was the first day he had seen Spencer since summer.

"Uuum, no, not really. Spence broke up with me..." Ben quietly spoke, still staring at the ceiling, motionless.

"What? She dumped you? Why? You just told me yesterday you were planning to propose to her next weekend. What the fuck are you talking about? She dumped you? Is this a joke?"

"No joke. I wish. She thinks it's best since we're taking different paths after graduation. I'm moving to London. She's moving back home. She said it was for the best..."

"And you didn't fight her? Or propose right then? You just said okay and left?"

"Basically. I wouldn't have won. She'd already made up her mind. You know how she gets... She asked me to leave. I didn't know what to say. So, I just left..."

"Text her. Right now. Tell her you need to talk. This is fucking nuts, man... You guys are, like, relationship goals..." Adam was so confused.

"I can't text her. She won't respond to me..."

"Then text Nora! You need to talk. There was no talking on your end it sounds like..."

"I just don't have the energy for this today. Maybe we'll talk about it eventually. But not today. I'm just going to call it a night a bit early. I'll talk to you tomorrow, alright?"

"Mate, it's 8. A bit early is an understatement... Let's go to the bar. Get hammered. We can come back here and play FIFA after. You are not sitting in your bed and crying all night.

"Not tonight... I'm sorry. I just want to be alone..."

Adam nodded at Ben, knowing better than to push the subject anymore, and walked out of his room. He closed the door behind him. Ben just laid there, deep in his emotions. He was so confused. That was definitely not the reunion he had thought it would be. All he could think about was that there was more to it than what Spencer was leading on to... He just didn't have the energy to figure out what at that moment in time. He fell asleep and dreamt of the love of his life.

He woke up 2 hours later to a loud banging on his apartment door. He waited for Adam to answer it. After a few seconds he didn't hear any movement. The silence was followed by more knocking. He got up from his bed and walked out to the entryway and opened the door. On the other side, he came face to face with Spencer.

"We need to talk..."

____________________________________

my apologies if you enjoyed the first few chapters of my prior story

this will still contain the same characters and the same plot

i just needed a more fresh approach when i couldn't figure out how to fill in the time between college and ben's career taking off.

stay tuned for the next chapter, hoping to get it published sooner rather than later!

don't hate me for this chapter, i promise it gets better!

-KJ