Have you heard the news? I meant more to Benjamin Fisher than I had originally thought. I didn't know exactly what that entailed, but it was enough to make me giddy with joy. I meant something to him!

Benjamin Fisher cared about me!

He stared at me while I prodded at his hand that he'd used to punch through a wall. God, he was such a cheesehead sometimes, I didn't know why he insisted on hurting himself. "You need to get yourself cleaned up," I said, letting go of his wrist.

I looked up at him when he didn't respond and realised that he was staring at me vacantly, his mouth slightly open in shock. I smiled in amusement. He looked absolutely frozen.

"Hello!" I said, waving my hand in front of his face. "Does this head have an occupant?"

Ben seemed to be rendered speechless. I figured he was just surprised that I was talking to him. I'll admit, it was incredibly hard to keep a straight face a while ago when all I wanted to do was run straight at him and cry.

But I wanted to keep my head. A few words shouldn't have been able to hurt me so much. He shouldn't have such a hold over my emotions. I shouldn't let him have such a hold over my emotions. I have to be my own person before I start to rely on another. "You're really dopey sometimes," I said. I smacked his cheek lightly. "Get a hold of yourself!"

Ben blinked. "Don't hit me," he muttered.

I laughed and smacked his cheek again, but very, very lightly. "What was that?"

I raised my hand again, but this time he caught my wrist. "Don't hit me!" he exclaimed, his tone bordering on a whine.

I raised my eyebrows. "Sissy," I said teasingly.

Ben's eyebrows furrowed. "What did you call me?"

"I called you a sissy."

"Take it back."

"No."

"Take. It. Back."

I laughed. "Are you twelve?"

A mischievous grin overtook Ben's face that overjoyed and frightened me in equal parts. I backed away slowly. "When I was twelve, I did track and field," he said.

I scoffed. When he was twelve? As if that talent would carry on over eight years...right? "Which area did you specialise in?"

"400 metre sprint." The grin became almost wolfish and I let out a surprised squeak.

"Awesome, brilliant, incredible, fantastic," I said enthusiastically. "Well, goodbye!"

I took off running, well aware that he could catch me in three seconds flat. "Lottie, I have something for you!" he sang loudly in the creepiest voice I may have heard in my life.

I started laughing uncontrollably and clutched my stomach, stumbling over my feet. "Stop it, stop, Ben!" I yelled. "I'm gonna pee!"

"Nobody's stopping you!" he yelled right back. He sounded really close, so I panicked, turning sharply into the nearest corridor.

"Go away before I pee on you!"

"Lottie, where are you going?" I heard the sound of him sliding on the floor, followed by a thump as he fell.

I stopped running then, laughing so hard that tears fell out of my eyes. I worried a little for Ben though, so I ran back to him while still laughing. He lay still on his back, a disgruntled expression on his face. I knelt beside him and tried to kerb my chuckles for his sake, but found it increasingly hard, as every time I looked at his face, I burst into fresh peals of laughter. I literally almost peed myself. "Ben, are you okay?" I said between giggles.

"Laugh it up," he muttered, indignant. "It's really funny, isn't it?"

I clamped my mouth shut and managed to stop myself from laughing some more. "It really is," I confessed. "Ben, did it hurt when you fell? Wait, oh no, what about your hand?" I snatched up his hand before he could hide it, and realised that his fall caused him to scrape it up even more. I frowned. "Can you take me to the loo, Benny? I want to clean this up."

He scowled and turned his head away from me as he sat up. "I can clean it up myself," he said childishly.

"I'm sure you're a big boy, but I feel bad and I want to clean it up for you. Is that okay, sweetheart?"

Ben looked at me, the scowl replaced by a slight blush. I had to contain my coos at how adorable he looked with his cheeks all cherry red and his eyebrows furrowed like a little kid. "Whatever," he said.

The sound of approaching footsteps hit my ears, and I stiffened, looking around the hallway. A man's and a woman's voices reached us and I stood up. Ben straightened so that he stood slightly in front of me, his body angled to block me from view.

"Who is that?" I said, balancing on my tiptoes and trying to shove Ben out of the way. He refused to move, however, and used one arm to stop me from moving.

"Benjamin?" the woman's voice said, saturated with shock. "Benjamin!"

I yanked myself out of Ben's hold, and my eyes widened when I saw the couple standing before us. A rather tall, blonde haired woman and an even taller dark haired man, both middle aged, but both bearing a striking resemblance to the bloke standing next to me, stood still. The woman was beautiful, with a kind face and creases around her eyes which hinted that she smiled a lot. The man seemed older, however, because he was more solemn than his wife.

"Hello, Mum," Ben said, his voice stiff and his body tense. "Hello Dad."

"We...we didn't know you would be coming," his mum said, tears filling her eyes. I was alarmed at the tears and instantly started towards her. Ben jerked me back, reminding me that I didn't know this woman well enough to comfort her, not to mention she was one of the two that turned Ben out of his own home.

"I didn't think I would be either," Ben said. His father had yet to say anything, yet to do anything besides stare at us intimidatingly.

His mum looked uncertain, like she didn't know whether to hold back or come running to him, and that surprised me. I had thought for sure they'd want him gone. "Benjamin," his mother said again, almost despairingly. Her eyes darted to her husband and then back to us.

I narrowed my eyes, trying to figure out what Mr. Fisher was thinking so hard about. "Hello," I finally said, trying to ease the tension in the air.

Mrs Fisher looked surprised, as though she hadn't noticed me. "Hello," she replied politely. "And you are?"

I stepped forward, extending my hand and smiling. "My name is Charlotte, I'm Ben's friend."

She shook my hand. I was pleased, because her grip was firm. "I'm Benjamin's mother, Carrie."

"Pleased to meet you, ma'am," I said with the same, fixed smile on my face.

"Carrie," Mr. Fisher said suddenly. He had a voice as rough as nails. My smile faltered.

Mrs Fisher looked at him and seemed to read his mind. "No," she said firmly. "Not again, Harrison."

My smile fell. Ben caught me by my shoulders and I reached behind me, taking hold of his hand. "Is there a problem, sir?" I asked Ben's father.

He eyed me. "Yes there is. Two problems, actually."

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