Ben struggles with asking his dad for permission to go to New York with his girlfriend. Ben/Denny. 3rd Person POV. Set in the AU of Strange Brew in Season 3.
Disclaimer: I do not own Falling Skies.
Chapter 1
"So," Denny's lips were pursed as Ben slammed the passenger door of her jeep shut, "You talk to your parents yet?"
Ben cleared his throat, fidgeting as he buckled himself in, "Not quite."
She groaned, hitting her head against the seat in frustration, "Not a lot of time left, Benji." Ben nodded his absent agreement as she drove away from his house. "You still want to do this, right?" she said.
He looked over at her, "Of course, it's just," he paused.
"Just what?" she grinned over at him as they hit a red light, "Not afraid are we?"
Ben narrowed his eyes before biting back, "Of course not." She raised her eyebrows expectantly until the light turned green. Ben remained quiet until they were nearly to school.
"My brother's going away for New Year's," Ben said, sighing as he looked over at the other teen, "I don't think they'd appreciate me wanting to leave too."
Denny rolled her eyes, "Right." She parked the car in her assigned spot and turned in her seat, "You're afraid to ask your parents if you can come with me to New York."
"Can you just try to look at it from my perspective?" Ben said, groaning as he took of his glasses to squeeze the bridge of his nose.
"I am," Denny said haughtily, "You don't want to ask because you don't want to be compared to your brother." Ben opened and closed his mouth, trying to think of a response, "Yeah, that's what I thought."
Denny grabbed her backpack from the backseat and pushed open her door. Ben called her name as he followed suit, but she ignored him. He ran after her as she walked quickly from the car, pressing the button on her keys to lock it.
He caught up to her in the hallway by their lockers and he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the side. Few people spared them a glance as Denny pushed him away, into the row of lockers behind them.
"You have a real complex about this," she said, disappointment flaring in her eyes, "So get over it." Ben was left standing there as she walked off. He banged his head against the lockers and wished – not for the first time – that he was better at handling these situations.
His dad and Hal always seemed so much better at talking and dealing with women. Every other week he managed to piss Denny off one way or another. Not that she stayed mad long, she was too laid back for that, but he hated it all the same.
Denny didn't speak to him in any of their four classes together and they just read their books during lunch. He 'd look up every few paragraphs, to see if he could catch her eye, but if Denny was anything it was stubborn.
Her eyes stayed glue to the pages of a Bronte novel. Earbuds blasting Groove Coverage so loud Ben could hear them on the other side of the table. Great lengths had been gone to in order to ignore him. He sighed, resigning himself to her anger for a while.
When she dropped him off at his house after school the place was empty. His mom was at Hal's game, per usual, and his dad was probably grading papers in his office at the university. Biting his lip as he ascended the stairs to his room, Ben stopped in front of Hal's door.
It stood ajar and athletic gear littered the floor. He knew for a fact his mom had asked him to clean it a few days ago. She'd asked Ben the same thing. The difference was that Ben's floor was spotless except for a few stacks of library books he was working through.
Making a quick decision Ben ran out of the house. Two bus stops and a few hallways later he was standing in front of his dad's office door. The secretary for the history department, Jeane, smiled at him. He attempted a nervous one back before taking a deep breath and knocking.
"Come on in," his dad's voice called through the door and Ben did just that. He stood awkwardly in front of Tom Mason as he finished marking up one last paper. He looked up at Ben curiously, "What are you doing here?"
"I needed to talk to you about something," Ben bit his lip again, trying not to over think this. His dad quirked an eyebrow, "Denny and I were – Well, you see, she's –"
"You and Denny are what?" Tom's eyes scrunched together, "Are you two in trouble?" Then his eyes went wide, "She's not pregnant is she?"
Ben sputtered out a negative before rushing through his words, "We're not – We want to go to New York for New Year's."
"What?" Tom leaned back in his chair, taking in the blush creeping up his son's neck and the determination in his eyes as he met Tom's own.
"Her dad's going for some kind of business thing, and he said I could come along if Denny and I wanted to go to Times Square or something," Ben said, slower this time and raising a slow eyebrow, "Can I go?"
It was amusing to see his own expressions on his son's face, although he knew Ben would hate to hear that. Tom rubbed his beard, "I'll talk with your mom first, but I'm not sure I'm comfortable with you and Denny going away together like that."
"Her dad'll be there," Ben said, "Besides, you're letting Hal go with Rita alone."
"Hal's over eighteen Ben, you're not," Tom pointed out, "There's quite a big difference between 17 and 20."
Ben rolled his eyes, annoyance consuming his nerves, "No, there's a difference between Hal's 17 and my 17."
"Ben –" Tom warned, standing up to walk around his desk.
"It's true, he broke curfew all the time and you still let him go to the out-of-town meets and make-out with Rita in his car," Ben ranted, "And it's not like Denny and I ever do anything, half-the-time we just read. In plain view!"
"Ben!" Tom raised his voice and Ben quieted, looking at his feet. His jaw was set and Tom could tell he was upset, "I'll talk with your mother about it and we'll let you know."
"Fine," Ben bit out, storming out of the room. Jeane popped her head in with a curious look and Tom shook his head before plopping back into his chair. He hated when Ben had a point, he couldn't even remember the last time his middle son had broken a rule. He even returned all his library books on time.
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