Your mother's head was neatly sliced off by the something that fell from above. Once your mother's scream had finished echoing around the room, the monster's body had already fallen to the floor, silently (and somewhat comically) falling backwards like it had been gently pushed backwards, your father's head no longer attached to his neck.
The 'something' turned to you, and for a brief second, you held up your arms to defend your face, ready to get up and push past it back into the maze of mirrors. But then...it spoke.
'(Y/N), are you okay? What're you even doing down here?'
Had you finally died and ascended to Heaven, or were you being tricked again? It looked like BEN was standing in front of you, concern covering his face, but you didn't trust your eyes anymore.
'Please tell me that you're real.' The words coming out of your mouth were out of your control, like your vocal cords had taken over, fuelled by a desire to find something that confirmed your safety. 'Please.'
BEN laughed, kneeling down in front of you like he did back in the alleyway. 'You think I'm a hallucination? Are you thinking about me that much? I didn't know you were such a romantic. Now, how do I prove that I'm real...? Remember when you played games all night after Sherry visited you? You got the twirl animation that you wanted. Oh! And when we played Scrabble for the first time, you won, remember?'
In your fear-stricken state, he didn't need to say anything else in order to convince you that he was real. You shuffled forward into his open arms, relishing the warmth and comfort that he offered. You completely abandoned the pretence that you were fine, shattering in his embrace.
'Where were you?' you demanded through sobs. 'I couldn't find you anywhere, and I was so worried that you were hurt so I went looking for you but I still couldn't find you and I don't know what—'
'It's okay,' BEN said, cutting off your rambling, 'honestly. I'm sorry for vanishing on you. I went into town to get you something to surprise you with when you woke up.'
Oh...fuck. 'I'm sorry.'
'There's no need to apologise.'
'There is. If I'd have waited, then maybe I wouldn't have fallen down here and caused so much trouble.' Wiping your eyes, you abruptly lurched back and stared BEN right in the eyes, your heart thumping erratically in your ears as you asked, 'Did you kill James?'
His reply came a few seconds later, but that slight pause felt like it had been dragged out for an eternity. You felt nauseous, and if he had waited any longer to give you his answer, you would have certainly thrown up.
'Course I didn't,' he said. 'Why would you think that?' His eyebrows were furrowed, like he had been given a physics formula sheet after revising for chemistry. 'It was Kyler. Mik and Željko said so.'
'But I got given something, it...it said that you control everything and that you tricked Kyler into—'
'Into killing James?' BEN's words oozed with annoyance, and it made you involuntarily shrink back into yourself. 'What did you get given? Who gave you it?'
Feeling like a young child who had taken an extra sweet without asking, you said, 'It's a notebook. It's in my coat pocket, but I left it in the maze.'
'You mean this one?' BEN gestured to a pile of fabric that sat in a heap about a foot away from him. 'I picked it up for you so you didn't get cold. It can be kinda chilly down here.'
'Yeah...that one.'
You watched closely as BEN shuffled over to your coat, holding it up by the shoulders as he tried to locate the pockets. Once the notebook was in his hands, he flicked through the first few pages, his face visibly souring the more he read, and he looked up at you to ask, 'Iskra gave you this, didn't she?'
All you could do was nod. You felt too sick and ashamed to speak.
'Fucking typical.' Moving back so he was sitting in front of you, he took your hands in his and looked you right in the eyes. 'I'm not mad at you,' he said gently, 'I'm mad at Iskra for giving you this. It upset you, didn't it? You like you've been crying for hours.'
Another nod. 'When she gave me this,' you said, tears still falling down your cheeks, 'I was so mad, and I didn't wanna believe a word of it cause I know that you'd never do that, but the way it was laid out and the apples, it made me think...but I didn't wanna believe it. I didn't wanna think about you setting everything up and manipulating people, cause I know you're not like that! You're kind and funny and helpful and you only want the best for me.' Pausing to regain your breath, you added, 'I'm sorry.'
'Hey, it's okay, you don't have to apologise,' he repeated, pulling you back in for a hug and wrapping his arms tightly around you. 'I know you didn't want to believe any of it. You're not that type of person, and you love me, don't you? You'd never think ill of someone you love.'
'Of course I wouldn't.'
'See? That thought wasn't you—Iskra put it there. I'd never do anything that I knew would hurt or upset you in any way. You know that. And those dreams? I was keeping them safe for you. Did Iskra make it sound like I stole them on purpose?'
'Kind of?' you said, wiping your face and attempting to stabilise your breathing. 'The diary made you sound like some kind of pervert, and that you stole my dreams because there was something in them that you liked or didn't want me to see.'
Despite the severity of the accusations and the situation, BEN let out a small, slightly sardonic chuckle and said, 'Did it, now? I guess I need to have a word with Iskra about falsifying evidence. Did you believe that bit?'
'No!'
'You trust me, don't you?'
'Of course I do. You mean everything to me.' Due to your dazed—almost spellbound—state, you would have no memory of saying that until BEN brought it up a few days later. When the words were pushed out of your throat, though, you couldn't help but be overcome by the need to persuade BEN to stay. In your tired and mangled mind, you had upset him, and people left when they became upset.
'Everything, huh?' The grin in his words was so loud that it would have been heard from miles away. 'I'm flattered, angel. If I mean that much to you, then can you promise me something?'
A desperate nod. 'Anything.'
'Oh? Alright. Promise me that you won't believe anything that you've been told by Iskra or that diary. You know I love you, and you know that I'd never hurt you, so there's no reason not to believe me. If you need to know anything about James or the cult, then come to me and only me. No one else. Can you promise me that?'
'Yes.' If it makes you stay, I'll do anything. 'I promise.'
'Thank you, angel,' BEN said, 'you have no idea how relieved that makes me. Can I get a kiss to seal the deal?' He was joking, obviously—there was that familiar look on his face, and he was grinning in the way he always did when he was teasing you.
But what did you do? You said, 'Sure,' and moved your head so you could comfortably press your lips up against his.
For a first kiss, it was everything you had ever wanted. It was simple and innocent, yet you could feel your blood shooting through your veins as your pulse swiftly quickened, your heart throbbing in your chest like a bird in a cage. Your hand clutched BEN's in an attempt to ground yourself out of fear that you would float away from the amount of euphoria in your brain. It had flooded every single sense you had, leaving you overwhelmed and slightly fervid for more. All you could focus on was the feeling of your skin touching his and how his lips had curled up into a giddy smile.
His lips...were they supposed to feel so cold?
Breaking away for air, BEN murmured, 'I never expected that. May I...?' Once he received confirmation that he could kiss you again, he did so without hesitation. It didn't go any further than playful pecks and the occasional kiss where BEN refused to take a breath, with not a single provocative intent, yet somehow, BEN ended up sitting against the wall with you on his lap, following your clumsy lead.
Who knew that something so simple would set your nerves on fire? The moment his lips wandered from yours, making their way along your jaw and down your neck, a quiet, 'Fuck,' tumbled from your mouth as you entered a trance, feeling nothing but BEN's cold kisses on your burning skin.
'You love me, don't you?' he asked between kisses.
'I do.'
'And you have faith me, yeah?'
'Yeah.'
'Good.' His grip on you tightened. 'Don't worry about me leaving you; I'm not going anywhere. You're all I need—you know that, right?'
His words were like music to your ears. Normally, you wouldn't be fully convinced, and that tiny voice in the back of your head would tell you that he was lying, that everyone would leave you eventually, and that his promises meant nothing. But now? Hearing those words right before he moved to kiss your lips again? That voice was nowhere to be found.
You had no idea how long you spent curled up in BEN's lap in the corner of the maze. At some point, the kisses had stopped, but you were still in his arms, so it didn't matter. The crying had stopped long ago, and your breathing had become slow and steady, deepening as you fell asleep, exhausted from the strain on your mental state.
BEN noticed you falling asleep at once and made sure that you were comfortable, adjusting his legs to prop you up so your head was resting perfectly against his shoulder. Why did it always have to end like this? With you falling asleep? Sure, he loved watching your chest rise and fall as your respiratory system did its job, but the second you were unconscious, he started to miss you, even though you were right there. It was infuriating, but hey, you were under his thumb just as much as he was under yours.
'Come on, you,' he whispered, picking your body up like a rag-doll. 'let's get you somewhere safe.'
got halfway through writing this and suddenly remembered a comment from like, eighteen chapters ago where someone said they'd wait ten chapters for a kiss. heh. hehe. hehehehehe.
- k.
p.s. was out with my parents and grandparents yesterday and when we passed a jewellers my mum said 'hey do you wanna get your ears pierced again' and i was like 'you know what lets go for it' so now i have another set of piercings ! (also the gun broke so my left ear was done twice lmao)