The Little Scout

Chapter One

Ben's POV

"Why are you staring at me, Ben?" She asked Ben Mason. He couldn't help it, Tessa was just so beautiful. Deep brown, almost black, waves fell down her back gracefully. She smelled strongly of vanilla. Beautiful green eyes, she truly was Breathtaking.
"Um...no reason." IDIOT! Why? Why did he say that!
"It's kind of scary." That accent. The cross between British and American. It was sweet, kind of posh but sweet.
"Tessa, are you scared?" She shrugs.
"Kind of. Are you?"
"Don't be scared, I've got your back." He smiles, hopelessly.
"That makes me feel so much better." She jokes.
"Hey, nice little date you've got here, but we're on a mission?" Hal called. "Ben, stop talking to your girlfriend!" Ben shakes his head. Tessa blushed a little, but he couldn't really tell with the lighting here.
"Leave them alone, Hal! You hypocrite." Maggie shouted at him.
"Incoming!" Tessa chorused with Jimmy. She slid beside Ben and ducked behind the crashed car. Ben positioned his gun in unison with her. The heavy boom of Mech feet echoed in the night air, soft scurrying of Skitter's followed it.
"On the count of three." Ben whispered to Tessa. She nodded. "One, Two...Three." They both pulled the trigger.

Moments later, Hal was shouting at them. "STOP!" He shouted. Tessa stopped firing but Ben didn't.
"Ben! Stop!" She told him. He ignored her.
"There's one down there." He shouted.
"Ben!" He jumped from his cover and to the quite not dead Skitter. Tessa followed him. He took out his knife and pushed it through the Skitter's head. "Ben, c'mon." She urged him.
"Tessa, keep quiet." He started firing at a shape, obviously a Skitter. It dropped dead and there stood a man. Tom Mason.
"What the hell?" Tessa shouted. He smiled weakly at Ben and then dropped beside the skitter.
"Dad!" Ben shouted, he raced toward his dad.
"Ben!" Tessa ran after him.
"Oh, God. What have I done?" Ben muttered. Tessa kneeled beside him.
"We've got to stop the bleeding!" She shouted at him. She ripped some cloth from her t-shirt and tried to stop the blood from gushing. "Hal!" She shouted. "Hal!"
"What?" Hal shouted back.
"Help us! This Man's hurt!"
"It's Dad!" Ben shouted.

Hal rushed towards them, picked Tom up and ran with him back to the trucks. Tessa and Ben cleared the way. He clambered onto his bike while Ben and Tessa climbed in the truck with Dai. Back at camp, Ben sat outside the Medical Vehicle. Tessa sat next to him. "I shot my own Dad." He mumbled.
"No, it was dark, Ben. It could've been anyone." She soothed him. Why didn't he cry? "Ben, it's okay, I could have shot him." Somehow that was supposed to make him feel better.
"That's a nice thought."
"Ben, don't blame yourself."
"But I shot him."
"He's going to pull through." Tessa put a hand on his knee.
"But what if he doesn't?"
"Don't think like that." There's that smell of vanilla, strong and pure. She hadn't showered in ages, Ben knew that, how did she smell so good?
"Why do you smell?"
"What?"
"I meant, you smell...nice...how?" She shrugged. "You haven't showered in ages."
"How do you know?"
"Because I can tell."
"What else can you tell?"
"That you're near your period."
"You've got a sixth sense about girls, don't you?" Tessa laughed. Her laugh. So high-pitched but so normal.
"It's all new to me."
"Really, you wouldn't think so."
"Why is she here?" Matt looked hurt by Tessa presence.
"Ben looked pretty upset; I thought I'd see if he was okay." She told him.
"Well, he's fine. You can leave now; it's not your dad." Matt snapped.
"Hey. Matt, be nice. She's only being sweet." Hal spoke from behind him.
"No, I'll leave. I'm sure you all want to be alone." Don't leave, please. Ben thought. But she stood up and left anyways.
"Matt, why did you do that? You were being a total brat." Ben snapped.
"Just because it's your girlfriend."
"She's not my girlfriend!" Ben shouted at him.
"Yes she is! You like her!" Matt shouted back.
"Hey, hey!" Hal raised his voice louder than the other two boys. "Pack it in! Do you think Dad would want you to be fighting about a girl? Matt, stop acting like a brat. Ben, get over it. You're a Mason." Ben looked at his shoes.
"Sorry." He replied. Matt said just after him.