Candy Pop falls to the floor and behind him stands LJ with a gun pointed at him. You notice the tears streaming down LJ's face as he puts the gun away and steps over Candy's body. LJ notices your look of horror and shakes his head. "I didn't want to shoot him," Lj nods at Candy's body, "But don't worry, he always comes back one way or another." You swallow hard and look away from the body,"Thats what I was afraid of." Ben locks his arms around you and doesn't let go. "Lets get Ben somewhere safe," you say, hoisting Ben's arm around your shoulder. LJ walks over picks Ben up and grabs your hand in one swift motion. "Ready?" he asks. Ben nods and holds onto LJ's feathered shoulders and you nod and hold onto Ben. Lj sighs and you all disappear in a swirl of black mist.
You re-appear at the cave entrance and immediately fall over from dizziness. LJ keeps his balance and Ben buries his face into his shoulder. Laughing jack offers to help you up and you take his hand. Once you were standing, LJ sets Ben down next to you and you hold him up. LJ looks away and says, "Just come to the tent," before disappearing again. You shake your head and turn Ben to face you. "You ok?" you ask. Ben nods his head yes then no, allowing a few tears to slip from his eyes. You hug him gently before looking up at the tent LJ went into and lading Ben up the hill towards it.
Ben stops and takes a deep breath before walking into the tent with you in lead. He looks up at you and wipes his tears. He sighs and hugs you tightly at the bottom of the stairs that led to the upper section of the massive tent. "I suppose I should thank you for helping me," he whispers sadly in your ear. You shiver at the feeling of his warm breath. "N-No it's alright...." you say, "I haven't really done anything, LJ did most everything-" Ben cuts you off by pressing his lips against yours. "You helped," he says while taking your hand and leading you up the stairs. You look at the ground, breathless and blushing. What was that?! Why!? And why was your heart racing so fast?! LJ greets the two of you at the top of the stairs with warm soup, ready and on the table.
Ben, who seems more in charge of himself now, leads you to a chair and sits you down. LJ seats Ben down next to him and slices bread for everybody. "I just got this done really quickly so..." he says in a fake happy tone, "you guys can stay here tonight if you want...." Ben scratches the back of his head, "That might be best." The two of them talked with the pleasant nature of two friends but with an undertone of hidden pain... "Cool! I have the beds ready and you can choose either top or bottom bunk," LJ smiles painfully. Ben looks away and nods, "Thanks, LJ." He walks over to to the bunks and climbs to the top. You sit on the bottom bunk and sigh, feeling sorry for Candy Pop. Then again, he did hurt Ben.
Time passes and it's soon past midnight when you find yourself staring at the underside of the top bunk, unable to sleep. You hear a small sigh and Ben peeks his head over the side of the bunk. You turn to look at him and can see he's blushing slightly. "H-Hey, (y/n)? D-Do you think I can come down there for a bit?" he asks, his voice warm. You nod, moving the blanket for him. He climbs into the bed and wraps himself in the blanket, moving closer to you. You feel your face grow warm and pink. Ben takes a deep breath and looks up at you. "Can I tell you something, (y/n)?" he sits up a bit, propping himself up on his elbow. You feel your heart beat faster, "Sure, Ben, what is it?" you keep your voice soft and quiet. He takes another deep breath and sits up more looking into eyes.
**Pastawolf** I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while> I hope y'all are staying safe and healthy out there! Things are rough but we'll get through it... Stay strong my people! **Pastawolf**
