(Ben)
"Thanks, man" Ben said to his Uber driver, as he stepped out of the car.
"Yeah, no problem. Have a nice day" The guy waved, looking back at Ben.
"You too" Ben smiled.
He then shut the car door, before walking towards the entrance of the Italian restaurant.
"Table for 1?" The hostess asked, smiling.
"Uh.. no. I'm actually just joining someone" Ben answered, looking around the casual but busy restaurant.
Most of the tables were filled with people all over, it was hard to pinpoint where they were.
Fortunately though, he then got a text from Marcus.
"to your right, we're in the corner"
He immediately looked to his right after seeing the text. Ben found them quickly, and saw Marcus and Pete waving for him.
"Oh I found them, thank you" Ben said to her.
She only nodded back, while Ben made his way over to them.
"The jet leg is so horrible at times, I've learned to get used to it though" Ben admitted, taking a sip of his water.
"It is, sometimes I just take NyQuil, and knock out" Pete joked, sitting back in his chair,
"I guess that's what we signed up for though" Pete continued, shrugging.
"Yeah, but it's such a fun experience. If I never got this job, I wouldn't even been able to travel. Especially with my student loans"
Ben sighed, he would never give up this opportunity, it's too fun.
"You're right, plus at least it's not just a 9 to 5 job. I hate those" Marcus laughed, before taking a bite of his pasta.
Ben and Pete agreed, laughing as well.
Ben felt that the lunch was going really well. They were all getting to know each other more, and that was good.
Marcus even apologized for being inconsistent with a Ben, and said how he avoided him just because he didn't know him well.
Which Ben could understand to a degree.
However, that was actually a lie from Marcus.
"So Ben, how does it feel to have a job so different to every one else around you?"
Pete asked, giving a quick glance to Marcus before turning his attention back on Ben.
"I would say it's okay, babysitting Nova is the perfectly fine part, but yeah not having someone who does the same thing as me is a little different" Ben answered, honestly.
"Yeah that would be, it is an unusual job per say. Is it fun though?" Pete questioned, taking a bite of his food.
"Well I mean, define fun? We're comfortable around each other which is really good. I play with her and she plays with me back so it's good... or fun. I'm mainly just babysitting her" Ben said.
"What do you mean by play, though?" Marcus asked, raising his eyebrows.
Almost suggesting towards something sexual.
"Uhh.. definitely not what you're thinking. We just play games or she has her toys, nothing like that. You do know that she's just little, right?"
Ben asked, furrowing his eyes.
Ben didn't just mean her physical age of being a teenager and little, but what he really meant was her mental age.
"Well I know that but I'm not an expert on that life style, and definitely don't want to be" Marcus laughed, turning towards Pete.
"Uh yeah, I get it" Ben nodded, understanding where he was coming from.
"I bet I'll never understand this weird, fantasy they're playing with her. But you know different strokes for different folks" Marcus chuckled.
"It is unusual, yeah, but it works for them. I just mind my business and not question it" Ben responded, playing with his napkin.
"Well I'm questioning it. I think it's pretty disgusting" Pete stepped in.
"I mean doesn't she call them daddy or something? Doesn't that scream sexual and inappropriate to you?" Pete asked.
"I mean normally yes, but not for them. They treat her as if she was their actual daughter, nothing sexual. I think they just wanted a kid all together" Ben guessed.
"Still sick to me though, you don't just kidnap a young girl for wanting to have a kid, Ben. Nova's supposed to be continuing her teenage years, finishing high school, hanging out with friends. Not acting like a baby for a five men. You get where I'm coming from?" Pete went on.
In all of that, Ben wanted to ask, 'why are you still working for them?'
"No, I understand" Ben stated, not expecting him to say all that. He almost felt as if Pete was lecturing him.
"You don't always have to defend their every move Ben, it's just us here. You can say anything you want to say" Pete said, gesturing to Marc and him.
Ben only nodded, not wanting to say anymore. He already felt embarrassed.
"Well the thing I'm wondering is if she's really little like you think she is, maybe this is all an act so she can try to escape after awhile" Marcus pointed out.
Ben only shook his head at Marcus's theory.
"I actually don't think she's trying to escape, Nova's been in her headspace for awhile now so she's not—"
"Headspace?" Pete interrupted Ben, not understanding.
"Well I mean now she's mentally regressed. She probably doesn't think about escaping anymore. She really loves the boys—"
"Maybe loves them as a one direction fan, yes, but not like family love, or anything real. You can't possibly tell me she enjoys this, Ben"
Pete laughs, 'this bastard was brainwashed too', Pete thought.
"All I'm saying is that the guys treat her well and she's grown comfortable with them. I've seen the connection between them, and they really adore her" Ben explained.
"But—"
"Anyone can see that Nova is truly their joy, they love her as if she's their own. And I think she's close to feeling the same way about them"
Ben expressed, continuing what he thought.
Marcus and Pete wanted to go off on him but felt if they insulted him too much, he would shut them out.
"Well, that's not what I've noticed. I've seen different" Pete responded, taking a sip of his drink.
"But you guys haven't been around her lately, at least recently. Things have changed now, and they're really their own little family, or big" Ben claimed.
Marcus and Pete only glanced at each other.
Of course they weren't going to mention how they were practically banned from being around her.
It was getting confusing to Marcus and Pete now.
They couldn't tell if Ben actually had no partake in telling the guys about them, or if he was just messing with them.
Either way the two were going to mess with him as well.
"Well we've been around enough to see things. Pete and I have actually been avoiding Nova because we caught the guys being pretty rude to her" Marcus confessed.
"Its not a perfect little family as you think" Marc added.
"Yeah, it was pretty sad" Pete said, agreeing with disappointment on face.
"Rude? What did you see?" Ben asked, trying not believe what they were saying. He didn't want to be gullible.
They probably just interpreted something wrong.