A/N- Wassup? It be TOBN here, with a brand new one shot for a very special occasion.
Now, I have loved this person for a long time [long time being a year], and no; it's not Benny Weir or Dan Howell. *cue the uneasy laughter.* But seriously, not only does this person have a special place in my heart, but in my life.
[Yeah, I am taking the cheesy way through this]
It's officially fanfic buddy day. *Cue the Dan and Phil celebratory music!*
Okay, it's more like the one-year anniversary of me and my fanfic buddy, MBAV fan66, but I mean, come on; who wouldn't want a holiday just for them, am I right? I'm sure I am.
[What? *looks at you.* What? Did...oh god. Did you think when I said "I have loved this person for a long time", I was talking about my boyfriend or something? You know I don't have a love life! Geez!]
But we are going to take the cheesy way, so lemme say a few things first, alright?
Alright, here we go.
First of all, if you don't know what the hell a "fanfic buddy" is, or maybe you don't know that me [TiredOfBeingNice] and my fanfic buddy [MBAV fan66] are the bestest friends in the whole MBAV universe, then you have been living under a rock for all your time on MBAV fanfiction. I mean, seriously. WE REVIEW EACH OTHER'S STORIES EVERY TIME, HOW COULDN'T YOU HAVE NOTICED?!
*Takes a breath* Sorry about that *sheepish grin*
But yeah. You know the 'Evolution Of The Fanfic Buddy', right? If not, go search up that title on Google; I think it's there [shameless self advertisement. Don't judge me], but if you don't, MBAV fan66 and I are fanfic buddies, who stick together into the depths of the fanfiction universe. We are actually do almost everything together. We review each other's stories [every chapter; not one missed :)] and we even made a collab apocalyptic story! [more shameless self advertisement]. Yup. We are basically the best friends of the whole fanfiction universe [in my opinion], and are as close as Ethan and Benny! [Okay, not as close, since we live in two different places, but you know what I mean]
To my fanfic buddy: It's funny how we met, actually. And I will be perfectly honest with you; I kinda knew you existed before we actually met. I mean, before I dove straight into being an avid fanfiction writer, I read a lot of MBAV fanfiction. In more recent ones, I saw you. Not literally, but saw your reviews. You have been a guest reviewer for quite some time, huh? So I'll admit; after actually asking you to be my fanfic buddy, I reread over some of the stuff you reviewed. And I have to say thank you for not thinking I was weird, asking someone, who only reviewed my story throughout the whole thing, to be fanfic buddies. I don't know if you did it to be polite or out of pity [or actually genuinely wanting to be my friend :P], but whatever the reason you actually said 'yes' to being my fanfic buddy, I thank you for sticking out with me. Thanks to you, I don't really have to worry about people not reviewing, nor liking my stories, because I know at least one person doesn't mind it, and that person is you. So yeah. Thanks :)
I don't know how much cheesier I can get, but you are the Ethan to my Benny, the Phil to my Dan, the Winnie to my Christopher, etc, and I couldn't have made it anywhere without you.
Now on this one year anniversary of the 'fanfic buddy', I encourage you all to try and find that special someone to PM almost 500 times or so, and try and think; how would you have met if you hadn't met on the internet?
Because - specifically talking to my fanfic buddy here - I believe that we would've met anywhere else, even if it wasn't on Fanfiction. I guess I feel like we were meant to come together and just be the best of friends in this MBAV fanfiction universe. So I started thinking; what if Benny and Ethan met somewhere else, thus creating this idea. So I hope you like it :) It's an AU, by the way. I mean, except for the last one.
Other people are probably all like "WTF; why do these two people just proclaim their friendship over the internet?" or "Let's get to the freaking' story already!", maybe even "Stop with the rant!" etc, and for that, I am sorry. Don't judge me.
Drop a review, and enjoy this - especially you, fanfic buddy :)
(Wow, over 800 worded author's note. Nice.)
ENJOY!
One Love, A Dozen Greetings
By: TiredOfBeingNice (duh!)
1.
"Um...just one half caff, low fat, latte mochachino; no foam." Benny Weir said in a rush, faking a smile at the young barista who was on the other side of the counter. The barista nodded, but frowned at the cup, not being able to hear anything over the loud crowd.
"You said 'Benny Weird?" People behind Benny snickered.
"Benny Weir" Benny corrected, glaring at the brown eyed boy. The boy just nodded as he scribbled down his name quickly and went to make him his coffee.
The barista went hard at work with his coffee, but he had overheard a few things that people who were waiting for their Starbucks coffee.
"Low fat?" Someone scoffed. "It's not going to help you, fat boy!"
The barista frowned at that one. He also heard a pout and a soft punch.
"Why don't you just die, Benny Weird?" Their cackles sounded like drunk hyenas as the barista snuck a glance at the boy - Benny; he had to remember that - who was just standing there, hoodie over his patch of brown hair, a dull look in his emerald eyes. Two guys were right beside him, laughing at the slightly smaller boy - but they were all pretty tall, to be fair. The barista frowned again as he finished up the coffee.
"One half-caff, low fat, latte mochachino; no foam for," The barista squinted. "Benny Weir!" He pronounced it carefully, so that no one would have a reason to make fun of the poor boy. Benny just rose his hand quietly, murmuring a small "Yeah, that's mine, thanks.".
As the barista leaned over the counter to hand Benny his coffee in its usual white cup, a blonde accidentally hit Ethan in the hip, causing it to spill all over Benny's green and blue striped shirt. The cup flew out of the barista's hands as the hot coffee spilled all over Benny's shirt. He hissed at the scorching hot pain, desperately trying to wipe it off as the barista's eyes widened.
"Oh my god, I am so sorry," The barista rambled over the even louder laughter of the two boys behind Benny, who had tears in his eyes as he just walked out of the small Starbucks, walking into the rain. The blonde girl who had hip bumped the barista by accident gave the two boys the coffee they ordered. They hi-fived and walked out as the barista glared at the blonde girl.
"Erica?! What the fuck was that?" The barista hissed. Erica shrugged.
"Sorry, Ethan. You know it was an accident. Besides, it's just Benny Weird - "
"Weir" Ethan corrected in annoyance.
" - and everyone makes fun of him anyway. He doesn't mind." She finished off. Erica then paused, and looked at the barista accusingly.
"Why do you care? I mean, he is just a guy you happened to meet." Memories started clicking in the barista's mind, and he frowned.
"Actually, I think he is in my chemistry class." Erica clicked her tongue, making herself a coffee and drinking it as she took the next orders. She came back, making the frappuccino. She looked over her shoulder at the brown eyed barista, who had just made a coffee as well.
"I always forget that you are a senior." The barista shook his head as he went around the counter and at the door, snarling as he held the extra t-shirt he always kept with him.
"I always forget that you are a bitch." He said snarkily, and Erica, with wide eyes, saw him walk out into the rain, a coffee in his hand.
…
"Hey! Wait up!" The barista called out.
Benny was on the park bench, tears rolling down his cheeks as he stayed there, his elbows on his knees, and the rain slipping off his drenched sweater. The boy looked up upon hearing his name, but looked down when he realized who it was.
"You don't have to get my another coffee. I get it. Fucking mistake." Benny murmured as the barista just sighed, sitting down beside him and holding out the coffee and wet t-shirt. Benny looked at the barista.
"You do know that your 'extra shirt' is now wet, right?"
"Hasn't your mother taught you to accept nice things?"
Benny snarled at the so called "joke" and sobbed loudly, walking away as fast as he could. The barista frowned and ran after him.
"Hey! Come back! Was it something I said?" Benny turned around, hands in his pocket as he tightened his black hoodie that hid his coffee stained striped shirt.
"Leave me alone, got it?" Benny growled. "You shouldn't know me. It's for your sake." Benny frowned, looking at the puddle as he crossed the street, the barista following him. "I'm a mess." He added hesitantly, and the barista rubbed his shoulder.
"Hey, we're all messes sometimes."
"Says the guy who totally wrecked my shirt." Benny muttered. The barista nearly knocked the coffee out of his hands again when he threw his hands up in the air, narrowing his eyes in frustration at the emerald eyed boy.
"I said I was sorry!" Benny growled at him again.
"As far as I know, you are probably just lying. You, and everyone else, like my misery." He said, turning around. The barista was just getting frustrated at this point.
"What the hell is your problem? I just said 'sorry'! Hasn't your mother taught you any fucking manners?!" The barista yelled at the boy. Benny turned around, tears staining his vision as he locked eyes with the shorter boy.
"She hasn't! She's dead!" He screamed.
The only thing Ethan could hear was silence as he stood in front of the troubled boy. Benny was crying, and he practically sat on the wet ground. Ethan sighed and sat down with him, getting the bottom of his Starbucks apron dirty.
"I-I -"
"Stop it."
"But -"
"Shut up, actually."
"It's just - "
"I don't need fucking pity."
"So many f-bombs." Ethan said with a jokish smile. Benny growled at him.
"If you dare." He said slowly, turning away from the brunette.
"I'm Ethan." He blurted out. Benny looked at him, then at his name tag.
"No shit."
"I want to be your friend." Benny cackled.
"Baaad mistake." He said, stretching the word. He stared at Ethan's face, which actually looked quite serious. "You're joking, right?" Benny added, trying to see over Ethan's shoulder for any jocks that could pounce on him or something. Ethan shook his head.
"I want to be your friend," he repeated himself. "no matter what."
Benny laughed again, pressing his head against the black fence.
"You are asking to get pushed around with."
"You're low of yourself." Benny smiled.
"That's what my mother used to tell me."
Silence filled in once again as Ethan offered the soggy coffee cup filled with cold coffee. Benny frowned.
"It's cold."
"As with you."
And Benny laughed, because he knew it was a joke. Ethan just smiled; this might go somewhere.
2.
"Go Blue Jays!" Benny yelled at the top of his lungs as Donaldson dashed past the third base and went for the run. He slid, dirt flying everywhere, and landed on the base. He was safe! The fourth inning was almost done, and the Jays were leading 4-0.
"WHOOO!" Benny screamed, along with the millions of fans among the crowd. The guy beside him just sat there, holding the baseball hat for the Blue Jays sat there, smiling a bit as he fiddled with his hat. Benny looked down at the boy and frowned.
"Whatcha doin', mate?" Benny asked, and upon hearing his words, the brunette looked up. He just shrugged as he popped a piece of buttered popcorn into his mouth. Benny subconsciously took one of the popcorn pieces from Ethan's bag and popped it into his mouth, chewing loudly as the brunette looked at him quizzically.
"Why are you sitting down? We're winning!" He cheered, hi-fiving everyone beside him. The brunette shrugged again, sighing.
"I just...don't want to be here." He said, after careful thinking. Benny frowned, sitting back down as one of the Blue Jays hit a strike. He winced, but focused his attention back to the brunette, who was sulking in his seat.
"You don't want to be here?" He asked. "Why wouldn't you want to be at a Jay's game?" The brown-eyed boy just sighed.
"I bought two tickets for me and my girlfriend, but we broke it off last night." Benny looked at him sympathetically.
"Damn, I'm sorry, bro." He said, and the boy just sighed.
"I sold the other ticket, but I wanted to see the game. I know they're winning, but I can't help but feel sad throughout the whole thing. Sorry." He added feebly, chewing on his popcorn and sipping his soda. Benny patted his back as Jose Bautista ran to first base. He whooped, but then looked seriously at the brunette.
"We all have those days," He extended out his hand. "I'm Benny by the way." The boy shook it with a sad smile.
"I'm Ethan. And thanks." He said softly, and the 4th inning ended, and it launched into some sort of break. 'Take Me To The Ball Park' played, and Benny and Ethan had started talking with each other animatedly about some stuff.
"So why'd she break up with you? I mean, if you don't mind me asking." Benny said. Ethan smiled a bit to himself, shyly looking away from Benny.
"Um..." He wavered a bit. "I told Sarah, my girlfriend, that I was ga -"
Benny realized he was really close to Ethan at this moment, leaning in to hear him. But the crowds cheering and cooing over what was playing on the big screen, and Benny - although he should be listening - looked at the screen and gasped.
Right on the screen was the kiss cam, and two very startled faces. Faces that belonged to Ethan and Benny, of course.
"Oh shit, oh shit." Ethan mumbled. People chanted "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" and Benny rubbed the back of his neck nervously, wanting to back out, but not wanting to make a fool of himself on live television! Benny looked at Ethan.
"You don't have to do this if you don't want to - "
Ethan had better plans as he just pulled Benny's jersey and kissed him, slowly and passionately. Benny looked startled, but remembering that he was on live television, decided to kiss back, really moving into the kiss. The crowds ate it up - Benny was pretty sure Sanchez whooped - and they pulled back, both blushing.
The two sat awkwardly in silence as this one guy patted Benny's back. He shakily laughed along with him, faking a strained smile as Ethan smiled softly at Benny, looking quite embarrassed, his cheeks flashing red.
"I-I'm sorry, it's just that - " Benny shook his head.
"No problem, man. It's cool." He said with a smile. Ethan nodded as Benny turned around in his seat and scribbled down his phone number on a scrap of a hot dog wrapper with a small pen he found on the floor. He smiled as he handed it to Ethan.
"I want to take you to dinner sometime." He said quickly. Ethan rose an eyebrow, and Benny shook his head.
"Not because of the kiss or anything - " He paused. " - not like it was bad," Ethan smiled. "But I want to get to know you. I feel like we'd become fast friends." Ethan chuckled.
"I mean, we would have an interesting story if we were friends, so why the hell not?" Benny grinned as he continued to watch the game, talking about the baseball game. Ethan could tell he was an avid fan.
"You're a cool guy, Ethan." Benny said after a while. "Almost shocked that Sarah broke up with you."
Ethan just smiled to himself as Benny cheered loudly, and this time, Ethan cheered alongside him.
'If he only knew,' Ethan thought to himself.
3.
Ethan stood at the podium, adjusting his tie nervously. It was the final round, and it was between him and some boy his age, who was fairly smart - correction, very smart - and the prize was twenty thousand dollars. He didn't know anymore. What if he lost? But what if he won -
"Alriiiight!" Rory Keaner, the host of the show, announced. "This is the final round between Benny Weir, and Ethan Morgan! You have sixty seconds to answer rapid fire questions, and whoever gets the most questions right, gets the twenty thousand dollars!" The crowds cheered, and Benny pumped his fist. Ethan shyly looked down, smiling to himself
Ethan made a decision, and exchanged a small look at his opponent, and Benny just smiled. He mouthed a 'good luck', and Ethan nodded, looking down at himself. It happened to be that the most attractive boy he had ever saw in his whole entire life, had to be the guy he had to crush.
"Which city is the capital of Nevada?" Rory asked.
Ethan knew the answer to this, but his opponent hit his buzzer way more faster than he did. Rory's attention went to Benny, who smirked like a fucking playboy.
"Carson City." He announced, and Ethan scowled because he knew he was correct. He had to step up his game.
"Name three Blue Jays players!" Ethan buzzed.
"Donaldson, Bautista, Sanchez." He said, announcing the three he heard his friend, Sarah, say while watching the playoffs. Rory nodded, and a dinging sound was rang.
They exchanged questions in the sixty seconds, and the final one was stated.
"Name all the Star Wars movies in order from episode 1, to episode 7!" Benny quickly buzzed.
"Um..." He smiled to himself.
"Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 1999, Episode II: Attack of the Clones in 2002, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in 2005, and those are the prequels." He announced. "Then there is Episode IV: A New Hope 1977, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back in 1980, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi in 1983..."
Benny hesitated, his head spinning a bit.
Dammit, what is it? Benny thought frantically, watching how the seconds went from 15 to 10. He didn't have much time. Erica showed it to me, I am sure of it. It's the new one. Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT. He thought.
"Eight more seconds!" Rory said.
Ethan saw the fear in Benny's eyes, and saw as he glanced at his grandma. Tears were beading his eyes, and he realized that he was trying to do something for his grandma who was in the front row.
Ethan was in college now. Benny had mentioned he wasn't, since he had been trying to help his grandma financially. Apparently, he had about three jobs to help her, and he had entered this contest so he could have the education he deserved. And Benny looked like a nice guy. He didn't see his parents...but in the start, he mentioned he had no parents...
"Episode VII, The Force Awakens, 2015." Ethan hissed, loud enough for Benny to hear. Benny turned his head around, and saw that their seconds went to 4.
Not wanting to take a risk, he announced what Ethan had whispered, and turned around to see a huge check for $20 000 and confetti! He had won!
Benny smiled, crying a bit as Ethan clapped for him. His grandma dashed to the stage to hug him, and whatever Rory had said was blurred out by Ethan and Benny, standing by each other. They didn't say anything, but Benny frowned.
"Why did you do that?"
"Do what?"
"Tell me the answer." Ethan smiled.
"I want to help your family. You seem like a good guy as well. I don't need this more than you do." He admitted, and Benny gave him a bone crushing hug. Ethan felt the tears down his back, and smiled, through tears.
"T-Thank you." He stammered. Ethan motioned his hand, as if he were tipping his hat.
"Enjoy your money." He said with a smile, about to walk off when Benny grabbed his hand.
"I want to treat you for dinner." Ethan smiled.
"You couldn't possibly." Ethan responded, but Benny shook his head.
"It's not because you gave me the answer," he admitted. "it is because you knew what the Star Wars movies are. You seem like a nice kid. I'd love to hang out with you." Benny admitted, and Ethan smiled happily.
"Okay then." Ethan smiled, and he joined Benny in the celebration that he helped caused - probably the start to a beautiful friendship.
4.
(Read 'The Evolution Of The Fanfic Buddy' understanding)
Ethan smiled dreamily at the screen of his laptop, grinning at all the fluff that he was reading in his Barry/Elliot fanfiction for MNAV while he was supposed to be researching for a project.
A boy was right across from him, reading something on his screen, and he was wearing a small frown.
Ethan finished reading his happy one shot, reviewed it, and decided to move on to the other story he had been wanting to read.
'Elliot leaned closer, and their lips grazed each other's.' Ethan read, squealing a bit. ' "I don't know what I'd do without you, Barry." Elliot begged, leaning over his comatose boyfriend. "P-Please - " He stammered, "C-Come back to me." '
Suddenly, he saw the boy across from him starting to cry a bit, sniffling. He frowned as he peered up from his computer, taking out his ear buds as he looked at the only boy in the library, and looked at him incredulously.
"Are..." He hesitated. "Are you alright?"
The boy looked up, and Ethan saw ruffly brown hair and wet emerald eyes. Ethan stared at him when he locked eyes with the boy, who had sniffled embarrassingly, wiping the tears desperately before they fell onto the ground.
"S-Sorry." He stammered, and sniffed. "Just reading...something."
Ethan - still curious, of course - stood up and walked over to the boy. The green-eyed boy tried to stop him, but Ethan caught a glimpse of what he was reading, and his eyes widened a bit, staring at the emerald-eyed boy.
"Do...you read...Belliot?" He asked, looking at the boy in shock. The boy looked at his screen, and smiled nervously.
"M-Must be an ad or something." He lied, sweating a bit. Ethan chuckled.
"No, no. Don't be embarrassed." Ethan smiled. "Were you reading 'Come Back To Me Again' by DoneWithBeingKind?" He asked, and the boy's eyes lightened up.
"Do you know it?" He asked, hope brightening at his eyes. Ethan nodded.
"I am a huge sucker for Belliot. They are canon in my eyes." The boy nodded.
"There is so much proof! Like how - " The two exchanged grins.
"They fell asleep in the Forever Cage?" The two said in unison. They smiled. "Yes!" They said in unison once again. "Eeks!" They added, once again, in sync, and started laughing again. Ethan smiled as opened his laptop.
"D-Do you want to read it together?" He asked. The boy nodded.
"Might as well. I mean, I could never squeal with this any other way, so I mean, this is perfect." He said, and Ethan smiled.
"I'm Benny by the way." He paused. "If you wanted to know." Ethan grinned.
"Ethan." He introduced himself, and they shook hands. Ethan opened the tab, and began to read.
"Elliot looked at Barry, whose eyes were closed and mouth slightly parted open." Ethan read aloud. Benny nodded.
" 'I-I love you.' Elliot said. He smiled, and pressed his lips against Barry's mouth. Suddenly, something started to happen." Ethan's eyes widened.
" '...B-Barry?' Elliot looked at Barry, wanting to see his emerald eyes. His wish came true when they fluttered open, his mouth emitting a small groan as Barry flickered his eyes to a crying Elliot, who was smiling through his tears "
Ethan stifled his sobs as Benny scrolled down, one hand on his mouth.
" 'Elliot,' Barry whispered. " Ethan wiped away a tear.
" 'I love you too.' " Ethan finished off, and Benny couldn't help but start crying.
"Oh my fucking god they are fucking die for." Benny rambled, and Ethan nodded, sobbing into Benny's shoulder because of how emotional it was.
"Too many feels, and I don't think I can handle it." Ethan added on, and Benny smiled.
"Their chemistry is so real, and I don't know how anyone would ever look at the canon pairings the same way again. I mean, okay, Stacey and Elliot had one moment for two episodes, and their date didn't even happen!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. Ethan nodded.
"And damn everything in 'Tastes Like Mischief' because that love drink made them even more closer! Erin and Barry had one kiss, and we all saw Elliot look at him with a flare in his eyes." He pointed out, and Ethan nodded animatedly.
"Exactly what I said!" He exclaimed. The two smiled as the bell rang. Ethan gathered his stuff, and Benny scribbled something on a piece of paper, and gave it to Ethan.
"I like myself a good fanboy - call me sometime, alright?" Ethan nodded.
"Alright."
The two parted ways, and Ethan heard Benny call out, "And in fangs, we trust!"
5.
"No, no, no, no, NO!" Benny yelled, watching the screen as he saw the words beside 'Whitechapel' flicker to 'delayed'. Benny nearly through his hat on the ground in frustration, hearing the frustrated scream of someone else at the flight attendant's desk. He peered over to see a frustrated brown-haired boy, who held his suitcase, and growled at the nervous flight attendant.
"I don't care if there is wind - I waited five hours for this flight, and I am going to miss the start of school! Why is it fucking delayed?!" The brown haired boy exclaimed. Benny covered his mouth in shock as the tanned flight attendant shook her head.
"I am sorry, Mr. Morgan, but there were some complications with the airplane's motor, and Oscar winning Erica Jones has requested the runway to be empty for her new movie." This 'Morgan' guy growled at the girl again.
"I don't fucking care about Erica Jones," He stared at her name tag, "Sarah, but I cannot be late for classes." Sarah flipped through her papers, and sighed.
"I'll get you a flight as soon as possible, Mr. Morgan. In the meanwhile, just please remain calm." The boy just flipped her papers, and the flight attendant didn't dare say another word as the boy fumed towards a seat. Feeling his pain, Benny rolled all his stuff towards the boy, sitting beside him. The brown-eyed boy looked at Benny, and he stared straight ahead.
"Man, Keaner airlines is a mess." Benny remarked, looking at the boy. He nodded, wanting to get his frustration out.
"I know! I mean, for a five star airline, they are pretty crappy." Benny chuckled.
"You in school?" He asked, looking closer at the boy. "You look a bit young to be travelling on your own." The boy just laughed.
"I skipped a few grades; I'm in college. I'm trying to get home from Spring Break, and I don't want any missing homework." He explained, and Benny nodded.
"I know how you feel. I am a business major, and I can miss a lot." Ethan nodded.
"I'm an English major. Our teacher kind of sucks. Always screaming." Benny smiled.
"In English?"
"You have a lot of nerve to joke around, y'know?" He said, and Benny just blushed.
"Sorry," He mumbled. The boy laughed again, which sounded like bells ringing.
"No problem; I like your humor." He extended his hand.
"I'm Ethan Morgan." Benny nodded, shaking it.
"I'm Benny Weir."
They sat in silence, before Benny laughed.
"I like your outburst, by the way. Nice choice in words," He joked, referring to Ethan's major. Ethan just laughed again, and the two conversed until their flight resumed, in which they gave very dirty looks to the flight attendant, and their pilot.
6.
(This is not how the security at Ikea works; don't try this.)
(For all who don't know, Ikea is a home store that sells furniture.)
"Dammit, where is the fucking mirror I want?" Ethan cursed under his breath, looking under one of the counters as the music in his earbuds blasted in his ears. Little did he know that a security guard, looking for people, passed by him. Since Ethan was hidden under the counters, the security guard assumed that Ethan was not there, so he told the people to close down Ikea.
Of course, Ethan was listening to Queen a bit too loudly, therefore he didn't hear that the store closes down in about -
All the lights in Ikea closed down, and Ethan was engulfed in darkness. He was rather stunned, taking out his earbuds and looking around.
"Hello?" He asked quietly. A voice was heard from down the aisle he was in. He looked across, squinting his eyes to see the silhouette of a person, lined with darkness. He walked up to the confused boy and frowned.
"Who are you?" Ethan asked quietly. The boy, who was slightly taller than Ethan, extended a hand.
"Name's Benny." He said with a smirk. "Why are you here?" Ethan took the hand, shook it, and smiled - he recognized this boy from his science class.
"I'm Ethan, thanks for asking."
"I don't have time for sarcasm. We gotta get out of here." Benny mumbled. Ethan rose an eyebrow.
"We?" He asked incredulously. Benny nodded.
"Yeah. I am gonna assume you are trying to get in the Bulldogs too?" He asked, peering over a counter as he pulled Ethan back before he could be seen by the flashlight of a security guard - female, with blonde hair, blasting heavy metal music while chewing gum. Ethan gulped.
"What the hell are the 'Bulldogs'? I'm just trying to find a mirror, and didn't hear that the store was closing." Benny grinned.
"Alright, newbie. Might as well show you around." He said with a wink, and Ethan just threw his hands up in the air with frustration.
As the went through the kids section, and Ethan rolled on the beds a bit, he stared at Benny.
"Why are you here?"
"I'm trying to get into a club, and the last step is to get out of Ikea without getting caught." Ethan frowned.
"What's the challenge there?" He asked. Benny smiled and got a teddy bear.
"I have to steal a teddy bear and hold it in my mouth the whole time without getting caught. And get past that hot - but very aggressive - security guard, Erica. And the security alarms. In ten minutes starting now."
Ethan's eyes widened as Benny stuffed the teddy bear in his mouth with a smirk, and started climbing up the bunk bed. Ethan's eyes widened in horror at what he was doing, but guessed that if he didn't want to go to jail tonight, he might as well take a shot.
Benny reached the top and popped open the metal air vent, gave it to Ethan, and climbed in. Ethan's eyes widened, but he sighed anyway, slipping in, and placing the metal air vent back quietly - he swore he caught a glimpse of blonde hair.
As the two squirmed through the ventilation system, wind flowing through their hair, Ethan looked at the emerald eyed boy.
"Tell me why this is so important to you?"
Benny took out the teddy bear for a split second, and smiled.
"This is my chance to be cool. It never felt so...refreshing." He remarked, before stuffing the teddy bear back in his mouth and continuing on. Ethan frowned - this seemed oddly familiar, now that he thought of it...
"Is their cult leader named Sarah Fox?" He asked, frowning. Benny turned around and nodded, turning a corner. Ethan grabbed his black hoodie.
"Benny, those people are bad news. I tried joining these said called 'Bulldogs' and I ended up getting a slushie in the face."
"You don't know that they are bad people." Ethan smiled.
"You don't either." He retorted, and Benny just sighed, stuffing the teddy bear back again, and stopping at the part that would lead them to the back of the Ikea store. He smiled, opened it, and popped out. Ethan gasped when he looked down.
A whole pile of garbage was scattered on the spot that Benny fell on, teddy bear in mouth, and slushie on his head. It turns out Ethan was right after all.
Sarah Fox and her gang - even the frickin' security guard - started laughing and taking pictures. Humiliated and angry, Benny threw the garbage at everyone, and they all left, their cackles rising in Ethan's ears.
Ethan slipped out and closed the ventilation thing and sat beside Benny, who was crying.
"I'm an idiot." He murmured. Ethan smiled.
"Correction: you're fucking brave and I want to be your friend." He replied, and Ethan just smiled, handing Ethan the dirty teddy bear, and they held it together.
"What happens in Ikea, stays in Ikea, alright?" Benny asked. Ethan wrapped his fingers around Benny's dirty pinkie.
"Of course." He said with a charming smile, and Benny just laughed.
7.
"Um..."
"Hmm..."
A moment of silence blossomed between the two boys that were sat at the table of the pizzeria. Their friends - Rory, Sarah, and Erica - had sent the two boys on a blind date, since they knew they were both gay, and had been wanting to meet someone new. Ethan or Benny didn't know they were being set on a blind date, but both of them were too polite to leave.
"Do you want to go first?" The green eyed boy asked.
"Do you?" The brown eyed boy counterattacked. Benny just shrugged.
"Alright..."
"...Alright."
Benny fiddled with his thumbs as Ethan took a slice of his pizza, stretching the cheese a bit, then swallowing it. Benny avoided any eye contact with Ethan, and just awkwardly extended his hand across the candle-lit table.
"Er...I'm Benny. Weir." He said, a bit static-y. Ethan munched on his food, swallowed it, and shook his hand, shooting Benny a charming smile.
"Nice to meet you Benny," He paused, "Weir." Benny rolled his eyes.
"I'm Ethan Grayson Morgan" Benny smirked.
"Ethan Grayson Morgan, huh?" Ethan blushed a deep scarlet.
"Um...just Ethan." Benny smiled.
"Alright 'Just Ethan'," Ethan growled teasingly. "What do you have planned for me today?" Ethan rose an eyebrow.
"You?" He asked. "Why do I have to make the plans?" Benny shrugged.
"I dunno; wasn't this your idea? The whole 'blind date concept'?" He asked incredulously. Ethan just chuckled, smiling a bit as he sipped his coke.
"No, this wasn't my idea. I kind of like to keep the whole 'gay thing' in the closet, if you catch my drift" Ethan said jokingly, and Benny actually laughed - he didn't think he would be doing that during this date set by his idiotic blonde haired friend, Erica, who had apparently worked together with two of her friends - who were also friends of Ethan's - Sarah and Rory.
"Same." He said quietly, and Ethan just nodded.
The clock ticked in the background, and the two just sat their awkwardly.
"So...do you like Muse?"
Ethan giggled - literally, giggled - at Benny's attempt at actually making this work, and he just smiled - maybe he'll like this kid.
8.
Benny rushed to the library, where he met his partner, who was busy typing away at his laptop. Benny sighed, and his partner, Ethan, looked up and groaned loudly. Benny just bit the bottom of his lip, and sat beside Ethan nervously.
Ethan and Benny didn't really like each other, let alone want to work together. Despite the decent marks Benny got on his tests by barely scraping through and hardly studying. Ethan on the other hand was a grade A student, who always studied hours. Ethan was quite distressed working with a slacker like Benny, but was obviously trying to be polite.
"Hello."
Ethan just grunted, focusing his glare at the papers in front of him. Benny stood there, dumbfounded.
"Y'know, we are supposed to work on this together." Benny remarked, flipping through papers. Ethan just looked at him, and rose an eyebrow, before shaking his head and burying himself into his reading the passage on his laptop again.
"Dude, do you want me to go?" Ethan smiled sarcastically.
"Please." He answered, and Benny just rolled his eyes, sitting down despite what Ethan had agreed upon, and looking through the document that Ethan was writing. Their project was about modern society, and the behaviors of teens. But to what Benny was reading, there was a lot that Ethan had missed.
"You spelled 'generation' wrong."
"I knew that." Ethan gritted through his teeth, and Benny just chuckled as he scrolled up and changed it.
A moment of silence blossomed, and Benny just crossed his arms, pulling out his phone. Ethan growled.
"If you are going to stay here, at least do something other than playing phone games." He said, and Benny just smiled.
"Glad you noticed my behavior, Mr. Morgan."
Ethan looked at him with a raised eyebrow, and Benny nodded.
"This whole presentation is about statistics, and other things that are completely irrelevant to what this presentation should be - realistic. I think what we should be focusing on is how to be relatable to the people we are presenting it to." Benny pointed out, and Ethan just stopped what he was doing to listen to the emerald eyed boy.
"Enlighten me." He murmured, and Benny just smiled.
"We are presenting this to a bunch of teens who don't want to do this," Benny recited, "but don't exactly have a choice." Benny paused, and looked at Ethan, smiling as he managed to say, "Can't you relate?" Ethan just scowled, and Benny laughed.
"The pressure that the adults around and in their lives are pushing them to do great things. Truth is, however, that is not exactly every teens plan. Some plan to spend the rest of their life partying, or just studying the rest of their lives. If that's what they want, the least the adults can do is teach them the consequences of what those plans have. I mean, society today is rebellious, and teenagers want to rebel against orders. In my opinion, the more boundaries we give teens, the more they are tempted by their own opinions, and others, to break them down."
Another moment of silence blossomed, and Ethan had realized what life he actually had been living.
"Benny?" He asked after a moment of silence. Benny looked up from his game of flappy bird and nodded. Ethan looked away.
"Please help me." He whimpered, and Benny just pulled Ethan into a hug, working on the stuff together.
9.
"Jane!" Ethan yelled, walking around the biggest toy store in the frickin' world. It was four stories, and filled with millions, and millions of toys. Ethan had one job, and that was to take care of his sister, and make sure she doesn't get lost. But of course, there had to be a huge section filled with Pokemon, and it was his obligation to look at it.
Therefore, he lost Jane in the midst of the biggest toy store in the world.
"Jane!" He yelled again, trying to push his way through the crowd. He bumped into a stranger, and mumbled an apology before dashing back. However, this stranger felt some need to pull Ethan back, and looked at him in the eye.
"Whatcha doin', mate?" He asked, his voice a bit deeper that Ethan's. The brown eyed boy squeaked, suddenly afraid this guy was a serial killer or something.
"M-My sister. I-I lost her." He stuttered.
The emerald eyed boy let go of Ethan, and smiled a bit.
"Do you need help?" Ethan was about to decline, but Ethan caught a glimpse of his parents in the crowd, and he nodded quickly, pulling the boy he just met up the elevator, dodging bodies and trying to avoid his parents - if they found him without Jane, he'd be screwed.
"Okay, we need to find her. She is short, dusty blonde hair up to shoulders, and we need to find her before my parents find us." The boy smiled.
"So it's basically like, Pac Man." He said. Ethan rose an objective eyebrow.
"Not really," He gave up, "but whatever. Let's just find her."
"I'm Benny, by the way."
"Ethan Morgan, but that is probably very irrelevant."
"Wait, you go to my school." Benny remembered slowly, "WC High?" Ethan nodded.
"Yes, I think I saw you in math class," He waved a dismissive hand. "But that's not the point. Let's find my little sister, and avoid the big, scary monsters that they call parents." Benny snickered at that, but Ethan rolled his eyes, not finding this amusing.
The two boys sped through the huge toy store, dodging multiple people and salesmen advertising doggy toys.
"Damn, Ethan, they have a whole aisle dedicated to Star Wars! We need to check this out - " Ethan caught a glimpse of his bewildered parents, and just shook his head.
"Not now, Benny! I'll treat you to a light saber if we find Jane." He promised, and he swore, Benny's green eyes lightened up like light sabers themselves.
The two sped to the third floor, found nothing, then all the way to the fourth one.
"Jane!" Ethan exclaimed, collapsed into Jane's arms, and threw away her Debbie Dazzle toy aside. Jane frowned.
"What? You are embarrassing me in this store." She huffed, seeing the bewildered looks of other people. Benny just smiled, tugging the collar of his striped polo nervously as Ethan just hugged Jane tightly.
"Where did you go?" He asked. "I was looking for you everywhere!" Jane crossed her arms.
"No you weren't." She said, motioning her eyes behind Ethan, who turned around to see his parents approaching him. Ethan just patted Jane in the back, scowling on how he had to let Jane go on this one, since the two would both get caught if he didn't.
"No you didn't." Ethan sighed, and Jane smirked. His parents talked to him, and Benny handed Ethan a green light saber. Ethan just rolled his eyes, bought it, and walked out with Benny, who agreed to meet Ethan after school for a Star Wars marathon/mock battle at his place - a perfect friendship blossoming.
10.
Ethan rolled his eyes as his little sister, Jane, and her babysitter, Sarah, looked eagerly at the movie theater screen. He could be watching the new Avengers movie with his friend, Rory, if it wasn't for his parents, who forced him to go with his sister and his - it's Jane's, he protests - babysitter.
He yawned as a pair of vampires had sex right in front of Jane's eyes - how could she even watch this - and stuffed his face in the popcorn.
A guy beside him was on his phone, playing Crossy Road, as the blonde girl beside her fangirled over those Jakeward/Rochelle moments that was happening, despite the fact Jakeward just had sex with a random girl vampire...
"You bored too?" Ethan mumbled, and the boy looked up, nodding.
"Yeah, I hate Dusk." He whispered, trying not to catch the attention of his friend, Erica. "I had to come because I owed her." Ethan chuckled, and popped more popcorn in his mouth.
"Must've been some big task you asked her to do for you." The boy nodded.
"You have no idea."
Ethan laughed, and caught the attention of multiple fangirls that were around him. The boy smiled, and extended his hand.
"I'm Benny. I don't sparkle. I know Sarah, actually. She's pretty cute." Ethan smiled.
"I'm Ethan. I don't want to sparkle. I know Erica. She is beyond hot, but isn't my...type." He said carefully, and Benny nodded.
The two were starting to get nauseous at the amount of kissing, so they plotted to get kicked out of the movie theater, and go to the local arcade. It was a fool proof plan, it would give them the perfect excuse to leave...
"AAAAAHHHH!" Benny shrieked, catching the eye of everyone in the theater. "HE BIT ME! HE IS A VAMPIRE!"
Ethan covered his teeth with red pop, and everyone shrieked - Ethan couldn't tell if they were fangirling, or screaming in terror. He really hoped it was out of terror though, because how disappointing it would be if it wasn't...
The security guard ended up kicking them out, and the two went to the arcade as planned - after explaining it to their parents, of course, which took quite a long while.
11.
"No. No, no, no, no." Benny mumbled, as he turned a corner, and a zombie person jumped out on him! He screamed in terror, curling up in a ball and watching as people darted past. The zombies were poking fun at him, and the security guy in the corner rushed over to Benny. He warded the zombies out, and frowned.
"Hey, you okay, mate? This is just a haunted house - they can't hurt you...I mean, they won't if you don't try and curl up in a corner." He added, chuckling as he helped Benny up. Benny shakily got onto his feet, and caught a glimpse of the name 'Ethan' on the security guard's name tag. He smiled weakly.
"T-Thanks." He stuttered. "My friends ditched me, and I am terrified of these stuff. Stupid Rory always going after the girls." He rambled on, and Ethan just nodded, smiling as he looked at Benny in the eye.
"If you want, I'll walk you through it." Benny was about to decline, but at the sight of all those monsters, he was to scared to resist. He nodded frantically, and Ethan held his hand tightly, squeezing it as he walked Benny through.
They reached a room in which there were dead bodies on the floor. Benny tried to dodge them through tipped toes, but one of the shook a bit, and Benny shrieked, nearly jumping into Ethan's arms, tears in his eyes. Ethan just rubbed his hair.
"Hey, don't worry. They are just machinery," Ethan kicked the bodies, and a large metal bang was heard. Benny nodded, and continued on.
"Why did you go if you are so scared?" Ethan asked after a while, holding Benny's hand as another guy jump scared them. Benny yelled again, catching the glare of others, but looked at Ethan, fear in his eyes.
"I wanted to impress a girl." He mumbled. Ethan patted his back.
"Trust me, my friend, that is the reason why I got this job. I get paid $60 an hour for this, you know?" Benny's eyes widened.
"Is that how scary this is?"
"...No."
That did not make Benny any better, but Ethan managed to get him out of the horror house, and to the exit.
In the end, Ethan offered to take Benny to the kiddy land, in which they went on small roller coasters, and chatted about Star Trek and avoided the topic of zombies the whole entire way. Benny smiled as Ethan gave him some cotton candy - this was the start to a beautiful friendship.
12.
Ethan and Benny, who were happily engaged, rested in their apartment, and watched the sun set.
They were planning their wedding, and Benny had begged for there to be a hologram of them at the altar, and have the Star Wars theme song playing as Benny walked the aisle. Of course, Ethan had to be the one to shoot the hologram idea down, and thought the Star Wars thing as quite silly.
"C'mon, E! This is our wedding - how can you not want the theme song from Star Wars?" He asked. Ethan shrugged.
"I dunno, we are adults now." He said, watching the sun set. "I don't want to make this as childish as we were before." Benny looked at Ethan, whose head rested on his shoulder.
"Dream a little bigger, Ethan. Once again, this is our wedding. Why wouldn't there be a Star Wars theme song! That is us! We are still kids at heart, and you know that." Benny pointed out, and Ethan nodded, thinking about it a bit more.
"Well...I guess you are right." Benny grinned widely, but Ethan sternly said, "But no holograms; you know how expensive that would be." Benny laughed, and smiled at Ethan.
"You know why I love this relationship?" Ethan shrugged.
"Because I am the dreamer, and you are the...realist, kind of." Ethan looked at Benny, and chuckled.
"Enlighten me, Mr. Weir." He said, and Benny nodded, watching the sun turn a fiery color.
"I dream big, and I help you expand your horizons, to help you try and live life outside the box that you have lived in all your life. I was the one who helped you dream, Ethan." Ethan smiled at that, and nodded happily.
"And I am the one who helps you step it down a notch. I am a bit skeptical, and I want you to be a bit realistic in your decisions - not be foolish. I want to help you be a bit more real, Benny." He said with a smile. Benny grinned.
"I just finished my vows based on that, y'know?" Ethan kissed Benny, and smiled.
"You know, I feel that if I didn't meet you on those park swings at least over a decade ago, I would've met you anyway. I feel like our fate is tied together, Ethan Morgan, and that we were going to meet anyway. Are you okay with that?" Ethan grinned, watching the sun set.
"I wouldn't want it any other way."
A/N- And that is that! Sorry if it is long and cheesy - you know how I am.
I really hope that you liked it, fanfic buddy, and you readers!
Drop a review, and thanks for reading!
Keep On Keeping On