"I kept watching and there they were." Benny begins to explain to Reagan and Ethan about the interaction between Kurt and Sarah. "Talking, laughing, very, very, close. Intimate, even. In fact, one might even say they were canoodling."
Reagan rolls her eyes as she and Ethan stare at the pictures that Benny drew. "I can barely tell what I'm looking at," Ethan says.
"You're a pretty crummy artist," Reagan tells him.
"Videos won't work with vampires, so I did my best," Benny says.
Ethan crumples up the drawings in his hands and makes a face. "That's it. I'm gonna teach that pretty boy a lesson. I'll be a wrestling machine!"
Reagan snorts at Ethan's confidence. "Okay, well, good luck with that. Pretty boy is named Kurt 'The Hurt' for a reason."
Benny looks over at the girl. "Well, he may be strong, but he isn't very smart. Why would a girl like him?"
"Well, you did just say he is strong. And he's not that bad in the eyes to a few girls." Reagan chuckles, not realizing the look on Benny's face.
Benny couldn't help but feel in a pinch of hurt and jealously. The way Reagan was describing Kurt made his confidence go down. Maybe a guy like Kurt was who her type was.
He believed he didn't have a chance.
*
"In the spirit of non-competition, I pledge to be a non-partisan referee for tonight's match" Mr. G announces over the microphone. Benny and Reagan were sitting on the bench, waiting.
Reagan could tell something was wrong with Benny by the way he kept a distance from the girl. But she decided not to say anything until the match was over.
"So, uh... well, may every man win, or, uh... at least survive. Representing Conway Collegiate, we have Kurt 'The Hurt' Lochner." Yells and cheers came from the bleachers as the students applauded for Kurt.
"And representing Whitechapel High, we--" Mr. G was cut off as Benny gets off the bench and runs over, taking the microphone away from the teacher.
"From a land of fear and nightmares comes a warrior born to destroy. He speaks only violence. He knows only hatred. His headlock is a crime against humanity! Behold... the Ethanator!" Benny announces as Ethan and Rory runs into the gym. Rory was holding sparklers as they ran in.
Reagan clapped among the other students who were booing at Ethan. Benny and Rory sat between the Sullivan girls as Ethan shook hands with Kurt.
"Do your catchphrase! Do it!" Rory shouts.
"Prepare to be Ethanized!" Reagan facepalms at the sad excuse of a threat.
Kurt holds up an apple in his hands before crushing it. "You're not gonna like these apples." He glares at Ethan. Kurt throws the apple.
Ethan turns to his friends who were on the bench. "Even his catchphrase is better!"
Reagan and Benny give their friend a reassuring thumbs-up while Rory looks terrified.
Once the whistle blew, Kurt immediately threw Ethan around. He drops him onto the ground, slinging him around his shoulders.
"This won't end well..." Rory mutters, and Reagan shakes her head.
When the first half was over, Kurt drops Ethan in front of his friends. He looks at the two boys. "There's your friend, nerds." He looks and Reagan, giving her a wink before walking away.
Reagan rolls her eyes and Benny looks over at her. He may have been upset at the fact Reagan could've possibly liked Kurt, he still scooted closer to her, which didn't go unknown to Reagan. She turns her head to him and smiles.
"You survived a whole round without him breaking your spine in half. Nice!" Rory says to Ethan as he takes a seat on the bench.
"Sorry, dude, but for a guy in agony, you make some hilarious faces," Benny says, receiving a slap on the arm by the girl next to him.
"Ethan, are you insane?!" They look over to see Sarah next to Ethan. "You don't know what you're up against. This guy is unstoppable."
"I guess that's why you like him." Ethan comments.
"What? I don't like him." Sarah says.
Reagan looks between Sarah and Ethan. She could feel the same emotions from Ethan that Benny had before when he was talking to Reagan about Kurt.
That's when it hit her.
Benny believed that Reagan liked Kurt.
Reagan sighs to herself as she made a mental note to DEFINITELY talk to Benny afterward.
Ethan scoffs. "Come on. I saw you watching him, talking, laughing, canoodling."
"Mad canoodling," Benny adds.
"Noodle what?" Sarah questions. "Look, I thought Erica turned him into a vampire, so I was watching him. I even checked his neck for bite marks--which was hard since he's so ticklish, but I do not like him."
Ethan looks ahead and stares into the distance, alarming his friends that the ghost appeared. "I have to pin him? Impossible."
"How about some magic?" Benny suggests. "Let's see how well he wrestles with worms in his ears, huh?" He cracked his knuckles.
"No magic. We can't cheat." Ethan tells his friend.
"Then think of something," Reagan says.
"Everybody has a weakness, right? Just find it and exploit it." Sarah continues.
Suddenly, Ethan falls to the ground in pain, gripping his chest. "Just please stop. Leave me alone."
"Looks like he's practicing new ways to beg for mercy. Smart!" Rory says.
"It's no use." Ethan rises from the ground. "I can't win. I've never won a fight. Ever."
A light went off in Reagan's head. "That's not true." They look at her. "Remember that time in grade two when Benny took your Pokemon lunchbox?"
"You whipped me good. I almost cried." Benny says, his smile fading.
Ethan's face began to lit up. "Grade two... that gives me an idea. Thanks, guys." He runs back to the court, leaving Benny and Reagan to look at each other confused.
When Mr. G blew the whistle, Ethan runs in between Kurt's legs, grabbing him from behind. Reagan's and Benny's eyes widen once they realized what their friend was doing.
"The snuggy bear hug!" Regan exclaims.
"He's got it locked on. No one escapes it!" Benny adds.
Ethan pushes Kurt to the ground and starts to tickle his neck. The four rises from the bench, waiting for the whistle. Mr. G taps the ground and the game was over.
Ethan won.
The four of them cheers for Ethan as he was handed the trophy. Reagan didn't think as she wrapped her arms around Benny, tightly hugging him. Reagan clears her throat as she pulls away with a blush rising to her cheeks. Ethan runs over to them with the trophy in his hands.
"He's back out of our deal!" Ethan suddenly yells.
"What?" Reagan questions. "He can't do that."
"A supernatural pact is binding in all dimensions!" Benny says.
Ethan smiles as the ghost disappears. Suddenly, Kurt's voice was heard from behind them.
"You know what? I will not be beaten by a geek!" He charges at Ethan until Sarah punches him right in the face and Reagan kicks him in the shin causing him to fall to the ground.
"Update: you got beaten by a geek and two girls," Sarah tells him.
"How sad for you." Reagan fakes a pout.
*
"Hey, Benny! Benjamin!"
Benny turns to the sound of Reagan's voice, him instantly smiling. "Hey, Reagan. What's up?"
It was a Saturday night. The two of them were on their way to Ethan's house to watch a movie with the others. But ever since the match, Reagan has been wanting to talk to Benny.
"I actually need to talk to you. About Kurt." She says.
Benny groans. "Don't tell me he tried hitting on you again."
Reagan chuckles. "Actually, no. Ever since I kicked him in the shin, he's made sure to stay away. But, I've noticed that you've been acting weird about Kurt. It was how Ethan was with Sarah. He believed that she liked him. Did you think I liked Kurt?"
The Weir boy stayed silent. He did not want to try and play the jealous boyfriend when they were best friends. He also didn't want her to find out his feelings for her because he was afraid she didn't like him back. "Uh... yeah."
Reagan was silent for a moment before bursting out in laughter. Benny looks at her confused as she laughed. "Oh, Benny." She places a hand on his shoulder. "As if I could ever like somebody like Kurt 'The Hurt' Lochner. He isn't even my type."
"Oh." Benny's face flushes pink. How embarrassing this moment was for him right now. "Well, good. You're better than him anyway."
The Sullivan girl smiles. "So, are we okay?"
Benny nods before smiling. "Of course."
As the two make their way to Ethan's house, Benny couldn't help but ask, "S-So, who is your type?"
Reagan looks over at Benny with a smile. "Geeks."