by Raathi Chota
“Benny!” Liam groaned in what seemed to be a seductive way.
“Oh Benny!” Ethan joined in as my cheeks flushed.
“You guys!” I whined as I playfully punched Ethan.
“Benn—”
“What?” a familiar voice asked, and I turned to see Benny. He walked to us in a muscle tank top and Adidas shorts. I turned back to the three guys, who laughed. I swear I was red as a tomato when Benny stood next to me. We stood there as the rest of them fooled around. Coach Harris entered the gym, and the guys cursed.
“Eight laps around the gym, now!” he yelled, then blew the whistle, making Liam jump. He tugged on his friend Tyler, and they ran. I watched as they jogged around the gym but felt a hand entwine in mine. I looked over my shoulder to see Benny. We walked out of the gym and stood in the empty hallway. I leaned against the wall as he glanced down at me. He nervously licked his lips, then rested one arm on the wall next to me.
“I had fun last night,” he murmured.
“Me too.” I smiled.
“Look, err…I want…” he stuttered, then took a deep breath. His brown eyes met mine as I saw the nervous look. “I know we’ve only been on one date, but Thanksgiving when you kissed me, I-I wanted you. I like you, Lana, and I want to be with you more. With Levi here, it just makes me nervous, and…what I’m trying to say is…” Benny trailed off as he looked at me. “Lana, would you be my girlfriend?”
My blank expression immediately changed as a smile grew onto my face. I slowly placed my arms around his neck as I brought him closer to me. Our foreheads were pressed together as I smiled at him.
“I’d love to,” I whispered. Benny let out a sigh of relief, then smiled. He leaned in as he pushed my glasses up, then gazed at my lips. He pressed himself against me as he leaned on the wall for support as our lips met. I smiled against his lips. The thought of Benny Nielson being my boyfriend couldn’t register, but it was genuine. We could kiss in public, hold hands, and feel comfortable around each other. The kiss was soft at first as his lips pecked mine but soon filled with admiration. His body clung to me as my mouth parted. Benny took the chance as he deepened the kiss, and I raked my fingers through his hair. He let out a hoarse groan as the kiss became gentle.
“Stop that before I hose you two off,” a loud voice interrupted as I pulled away. I glanced over my shoulder to see Coach Harris. Benny awkwardly scratched his neck as I blushed. Coach shook his head then walked back into the gym. As soon as he was gone, Benny came up beside me and smashed his lips against mine. It was quick yet sweet as he pulled away, then grabbed my hand. We walked back into the gym together, and I noticed Liam and Ethan grinned as they ran. I sat in the stands as I did homework yet I couldn’t focus or slap the smile off my face. I had a boyfriend!
“Benny!” Liam and Ethan moaned as they ran past us. I swore at them, and Liam gasped. Then Benny passed, and I smiled at him. He sent me a wink, which apparently made my cheeks warm up. I still couldn’t believe that I had a boyfriend.
Chapter Seven
Lana
I stirred in my sleep as the memories of that night entered my mind. I suddenly calmed down as an arm wrapped around me, and I was brought closer to the person’s body. I smiled at the thought of Benny, who had me securely in his arms. Before I went to bed last night, he called and said he missed me. Then we talked for two hours until I fell asleep. My eyes shot open as I remembered that Benny didn’t come over, he dropped me off, but that was it. I glanced over my shoulder to see Levi’s face buried in the pillow. I got up too quickly and fell off the bed. I landed on my butt as I squinted at my window. It was already morning. I sprung up as Levi sat up and stretched. I ran to my closet and took out casual clothing. I ran into the bathroom and showered. Five minutes later, I was out in a plain white tee, jeans, and denim jacket. Levi was in the same spot as before. I glared at him the whole time as I slipped on my boots and glasses.
“What the hell were you doing in my bed?” I demanded.
“In the middle of the night, I needed to take a piss, so I used your bathroom, then came out to see you mumbling stuff in your sleep,” he began. “You tried grabbing something, so I just extended my arm and, well…you pulled me in.”
“I’m locking that door from now on. I have a boyfriend!” I exclaimed as I took my phone. I glanced down to see that I’d received a message from Benny. Without giving Levi a second glance, I sprinted down the stairs and into the kitchen. Mom and Jade had coffee, and I could’ve sworn I ran past Dad. “Hey, Mom. Hey, Jade,” I said as I grabbed an apple. Benny’s car honk echoed as I dashed through the house. “Bye, Mom. Bye, Jade!”
I scrambled into Benny’s car and shut the door. I turned to face him as he leaned forward. I smiled as we kissed then drove on.
“Listen, since the game is tonight and there’ll probably be a party afterward, I was thinking maybe we ditch the party?” he suggested as I took a bite out of my apple.
“And do what?” I grinned.
“Chill at my place, watch movies, y’know, since it’s the last day of school.”
“Fine with me.” I smiled. We arrived at the school on time. Since we had Physics first, Benny and I walked together to class. I sat at the back of the class with Benny in front of me. Ethan sat on my right as the teacher roamed in the front. Once everyone was in class, Mr. Gorton picked up a bunch of papers and handed them out. Everyone groaned at the thought of doing work on the last day of school.
“It’s not my fault that someone piped up that we didn’t do work the other day,” he mumbled and snatched the basketball from Tyler. We sat in silence and did the sheet on Nuclear Physics. I finished earlier than everyone else, so I looked around the classroom. I noticed Benny sunk in his seat. He leaned back and rested his head on my table. I smiled as I sat up straight and leaned forward so that he’d see me. Benny smiled at me as I ran my hand through his dark brown hair. I kissed his forehead. He let out a sigh as he leisurely shut his eyes. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Liam raise his arm. I propped my chin on the palm of my hand as I rested it on the desk and watched Liam.
“Yes, Mr. Sanchez?”
“Have you seen Jack August?” he blurted out as Benny’s eyes snapped open.
“Who the heck is that?” Mr. Gorton asked as he spun the basketball with his index finger.
“Wait—is he that hobo on the news?” Ethan asked as Nick turned around to glare at Liam.
“Yeah, he’s missing. Wonder why the police are making such a big fuss about it,” Britney explained as Benny slowly sat up. I nervously bit my lip as whispers and murmurs spread throughout the classroom. Liam turned to us as he gave an apologetic smile. Benny groaned as Nick flicked him. Mr. Gorton stood up from his seat and went to the front of the classroom.
“Quiet down!” he exclaimed. Once everyone was settled, he turned to Liam and raised a brow. “Why do you ask, Liam?”
“He’s just missing…” Liam shrugged as he avoided eye contact. Mr. Gorton sighed as he told us to get back to work. I sighed. Jack. Yeah, he’s missing, and it doesn’t look like he’s going to be found very soon.
***
“The best thing about Nick is that he always gives me his jacket.” Melissa smiled as we entered the gym. The rest of the day flew by in an absolute blur. Blake and Carter didn’t come to school, and Ethan told me that they never went on the last day. Park Town High was opposite us, and Liam was right. They were tall and massive. I sat down in the stands with Miranda on my right and Melissa on my left. Marcus and Parker were next to her as they talked. We got the perfect view as both schools got ready. Benny’s eyes met mine as he sent me a warm smile.
“This has Levi written all over it,” Miranda said. I raised a brow as I followed her gaze to my faded hickey. I descended in my seat as they stared at me with questioning looks.
“It happened before Benny asked me out, okay?” I mumbled. Miranda let out a sigh as she glanced up at Benny, then me.
“I adore that you guys are finall
y together, but I just have this strange feeling that Blake is going to ruin it.”
“Or Levi,” Melissa added.
“Oh, shit. There goes my happiness,” I said.
The game started and everyone quieted down. Benny played well; the way he dribbled the ball across the court and passed to his teammates showed how skilled he was. Ethan played center as he directed his team while Nick was shooting guard and Liam was the point guard. The rest of the game went well, but Park Town High was full of surprises with a better tactic. Ethan, Benny, and Tyler were the ones who scored the most, as well as the taller guys from Park Town High. One of them was benched for foul plays, yet he seemed familiar. Miranda and Marcus bought food while Melissa scolded them to stop and actually focus on the game. When they finally did, I noticed that there were thirty seconds left.
“They just need to score two points then we’ll win!” Marcus said since the score was 45-45. I watched eagerly as the big guy from Park Town High stole the ball from Nick and ran the opposite way as he dribbled the ball. Ethan came out of nowhere as he flipped it out of his hand. Giants surrounded Ethan as he tried to score.
“Pass it to Sanchez!” Coach yelled as Ethan snapped his head toward Liam. I glanced at the clock to see twenty seconds were left. Ethan threw it to Liam, who caught it with ease as he dribbled the ball past the Giants. People were at the edge of their seats as we watched the brunette run across the court like there’s no tomorrow.
“Come on, Liam!” Parker yelled as he stood up. Soon everyone followed as we stood up and cheered Liam on. He stopped at the three-point line and glanced at the clock. Eight seconds left as he looked at the hoop. The opposite team came as Liam angled his hands to score. We watched as he threw the ball in the air. It soared and hit against the backboard. Everyone suddenly froze as we watched the ball drop on the ring. It did a semi-circle and at the last second fell in the hoop. As the ball landed on the ground, the buzzer went off as we cheered. Everyone made his or her way down as the team congratulated Liam. Park Town High glared at us but was immediately snapped from their stares as their coach yelled at them. Benny ran up to me and engulfed me in a hug as I stood on my tippy toes.
“You were amazing,” I said as we pulled away.
“Let’s go party!” Nick cheered as we walked out of the gym.
“Err, we’ll see you guys later,” Benny said as he gathered his things. They didn’t mind at all and walked on. Miranda spun around and pointed to her neck while Benny grabbed his stuff. I gave a short nod as I buttoned up my jacket. We walked to Benny’s car, and I was glad that we didn’t go to the party. I wasn’t in the mood, and I heard that those after game parties got wild like the last time when Benny and I did a body shot.
We arrived at the house and noticed that his parents were home. We entered the house to see no one in the living room.
“They must be sleeping,” Benny mumbled as he put his things down. I followed him into the basement and was immediately thrown with noise. Once we reached the bottom of the stairs, I glanced up to see Sam on the sofa with a controller in his hand as he stared at the TV.
“Sam, go play in your room.” Benny sighed as he took off his jersey.
“Aw, I thought you wer—” Sam said as he paused the game and spun around. He cut himself off as his eyes met mine. His blank expression changed into a smirk as he walked over to us. “Hey, sugar, came back because you realized your life wasn’t so good without me?”
“Sorry, little bro, but she’s mine,” Benny stated as he slung his arm around me and kissed my forehead. Sam’s jaw dropped, then he scrunched his nose up as he turned to me.
“You went for the ugly Nielson?”
Benny glared at his little brother as I chuckled. I sat on the sofa as I watched Benny try to persuade his brother to go upstairs, yet Sam ignored him and turned to me.
“Why? Of all people, why did it have to be my own brother?” he fake sobbed as Benny pushed him toward the stairs. “Can’t Lana and I play video games?” he asked as he pointed at the controller. “I’ll even let her use my special controller, but just know I’ll always be in control!”
I laughed as Benny grunted, then literally threw his brother over his shoulder. Yet that didn’t stop Sam as he continued with his sorry pick-up lines.
“Dude, you’re not hanging out with Carter anymore!” Benny exclaimed as he pulled his brother up the stairs.
“Can I at least get her picture? I want to show Santa, and hopefully he’ll take me off the naughty list!”
With one last attempt, I heard a door shut, then Benny’s footsteps down the stairs. He looked at me with flushed cheeks as I laughed.
“Your brother is quite something,” I said as he plopped down next to me.
“It’s Liam and Carter who keep influencing the poor kid,” Benny added as he reached over for the remote. He flicked through the shows on Netflix as I rested my head on his shoulder. “What you feel like, babe?” he asked as I looked at our choices. I bit the inside of my cheek at that word, babe. I’d never thought I’d ever hear it from Benny Nielson.
“Zac Efron,” I casually replied as I looked at Seventeen Again.
“Sure, let’s order pizza.” He chuckled as he threw the blanket over us and took out his phone. The rest of the night we watched movies and cuddled. It was nice to relax with someone and have no worries. It got late, and I sensed Benny was tired, so I decided to go. I wanted to take an Uber, but Benny insisted that he’d take me because he didn’t want a total stranger to drive me home at this time of the night. So he drove me home and said he’d see me tomorrow as we kissed. I hopped out of the car and walked to the front door and saw Benny waited for me to get inside. I smiled as I quietly unlocked the door and went in. I slowly shut the door and tiptoed through the house.
I walked into my room to see that it was neat and tidy. Hmm, maybe Levi finally decided to clean up his mess. I shook the thought away as I began to undress. I slipped on a pair of sweatpants and an old sweater, then tied my hair up in a loose ponytail. From the corner of my eye, I saw movement. My head snapped to that direction as I saw a figure by my window. My eyes widened as the person began to knock. I slowly approached my window and grabbed the first thing I saw for protection. With the scented candle in my left hand, I opened the window to my right. I was about to hit the person until I froze.
“Blake? What the hell are you doing here?” I stared down at the teenage boy who dangled by my tree.
“Lana, I need your help,” he rushed out as I took in his appearance. He seemed flustered with a panicked look in his eyes. The sleeves of his leather jacket were rolled up, and his Linkin Park band tee was creased. “Weren’t you at the party?” He raised a brow at me. I shook my head as he nodded, then ran his hand through his dark brown hair.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s Levi. We were at the party, and he got drunk and started to yell and argue with people, so we got kicked out,” he said as I looked over his shoulder to see Levi’s Mustang parked by the street.
“Well, where is he?” I asked. Blake anxiously licked his lips as he stared at me.
“I don’t know.”
***
Levi
I gathered a vast amount of spit, tilted my head back, and spat on the ground. I chuckled at the saliva mixed with blood and shook my head. Asshole couldn’t punch correctly, that’s what. I recalled the random guy hit me because I made out with his girlfriend. Yet he punched me? He should go all ape shit on her for coming on to me. I shook my head as I walked down the streets. I continued to walk as I sipped the remains of my beer bottle. I saw the familiar sculpture up ahead and walked toward it. I stared at my reflection and saw how lifeless I looked. The beer bottle dangled beside me as I inched closer to get a better look at myself. My hair was in all directions, the cut from the other night faded because I didn’t want a Band-Aid on, eyes bloodshot and droopy, not to mention the bruise on my cheek from that fight.
I suddenly straightened my
posture as I stared at myself. I gripped the beer bottle in my hand as I raised it and threw it against the sculpture. The harsh noise of the bottle hitting against the structure made my jaw clench as I watch it shatter to the ground. I looked straight ahead as I walked. Thank goodness I wore combat boots as the glass crushed under my shoes. Once I was under it, I crouched down and rested on my back. I gazed up and took everything in. A sudden chill brushed against my body as I received goosebumps. It snowed earlier, yet I still froze because I misplaced my jacket. I raised my left arm and stared at it. Right below my wrist was a small hole where they injected me. I ran my fingers over it and nervously bit my lip. I didn’t mean for it to happen; thank goodness it only happened once. Yet that one time fucking ruined everything.
I quickly got up and dusted myself off and jogged through downtown in search of the simple building. Once I reached my destination, I gazed up at the stairs. They still haven’t built a fucking elevator for the place? I cursed under my breath as I walked upstairs. My head spun more the further I walked. I felt my tummy twist as something lurked up my throat. I leaned over the fifth flight of stairs as everything I had from the party hurled out. I gagged as I tried to get everything out. I looked down to see the massive puddles of barf on the stairs and walls. I let out a hoarse groan as I continued to walk until I got to the seventh floor. I strolled to the old wooden door that read thirty-eight and banged on it. After a few attempts, it flew open with an exhausted Keene.
“Dude, what the hell are you doing here? It’s like…” he croaked, then looked over his shoulder. “Late.”
“Well, hello to you too,” I said, and Keene scrunched his nose up as I walked past him into his apartment. I flopped down on his couch and took in the scent of his pillow.
“You smell like shit,” he said from the kitchen.
“Oh yeah, err…you need to clean the stairs,” I stated as I adjusted myself so that I was on my back.