Hope you like this story.. These were the early years when Ben and Reed were both single!
I do not own any Fantastic Four Characters.
College Days: National Championship
The lecture hall was jam packed as college students headed in a jumble for the hall's exit. Swinging backpacks, purses, and arms made it all the more difficult for Benjamin Grimm to thread his way through the student body. As if it wasn't hard enough already. Six foot ten with broad shoulders and baby blue eyes, Ben was a not only significant obstacle to the students around him. He was like a camel trying to go through eye of needle when in a crowd of people.
"Hey! S'cuse me, comin' through!" he hollered as he headed for the exit. Then he stopped. Whoa, he thought, where's ol' High Pockets? Turning around, he headed back to the lecture hall. As he was walking, he remembered that his buddy had been sick all last week. Oh yeah, he thought, Reed must be talking to the prof about all the make up work. When he reached the lecture hall, he found his friend talking to Professor Baldwin, as he had suspected. He waited in the doorway patiently, reminiscing on how he and Reed had met. Sometimes he wondered how the two of them could be best friend when they were so different from each other. He was strong and athletic, while Reed, on the other hand, was skinny and academic. Reed was also painfully shy and rather "nerdy" by college standards despite his smooth, dark hair and twinkling brown eyes. Ben looked up. Reed was coming over, looking rather stressed and carrying an enormous stack of papers. "So, where do you want to go for lunch?" Ben asked. Reed sighed. "The usual will be fine," he replied. "You handling all the homework okay, buddy?" "I'll be alright." They headed for Starbucks. When they arrived, some of Ben's football friends and their girlfriends were there. They greeted him warmly.
"Hey buddy! What's up?" cried Dan, one of the quarterbacks.
They gathered around Ben. "Hey man, what're you guys doing here?" he said.
A tall, fair, brunette spoke up. "We've got great news for you. At practice last Friday, Coach said the officials are letting our football team go out for the national championship. Game's tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?! Why didn't you guys tell me earlier?"
"Sorry for the short notice, but we were kind of mad that you missed practice all last week. Where were you anyway, Ben? I know you wouldn't miss practice for anything, unless it was more important than football. But football means the world to you, Ben. Why did you skip out on us when we needed you the most?" Dan asked.
Ben suddenly felt awkward. Of course, he'd stayed at his apartment taking care of Reed because he had been too sick to get out of bed.
"Uh, well, you know. My best friend was sick last week. Too weak to get out of bed, so I had to take care of him."
Reed shook his head and rolled his eyes. He looked embarrassed.
Ben decided to change the subject.
"So, Danny, who's your babe?" he asked.
Danny laughed and blushed. "She's not my girlfriend. She's my cousin. What, you interested?"
Ben laughed. "Naw, I don't have time for a girlfriend."
They laughed. But Ben was thinking of Reed. Reed had about zero love interest, but he thought just maybe this hottie might get High Pockets out of his box.
"So, you got a name or what?"
She laughed. "Sandy. My name's Sandy."
"Oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce my best friend Reed Richards."
Her face fell. "Oh. That's okay. Dan already told me about him."
Oh no, Ben thought. Dan didn't like Reed, but that was not surprising since there weren't very many people who did. "So, uh, Reed, Sandy. Sandy, Reed," he said.
Then she smiled. "Hi-- Reed."
Reed didn't say anything. He just smiled and shook her hand. Dan glanced at Sandy and looked annoyed. He grabbed Sandy's arm. "Well, we better get going, see you guys around." Then he and his friends left.
Ben shook his head. "Well that could've gone better," he remarked.
Reed sighed. "Ben, please don't get started again. You've already tried numerous times. Why should she be any different?"
"Ah, well, that depends on what you think of her. I mean, she's sure got pretty face, Reed. What'd you say huh? She's cute isn't she?" He nudged Reed.
"Alright, alright. She's pretty."
Though Ben hoped he could get farther this time. Because last time he'd tried, the only thing he could get him say was that "she was pretty."
"Gonna give her a chance?"
"Maybe. It depends on if she gives me a chance."
Maybe! Well, Ben supposed he was getting somewhere. That night at the apartment, Reed toiled away at the work from last week. He glanced at the clock. It was 3:00am. I'm almost finished, just few more hours and I'll be done, he thought. But he was on the verge of falling asleep. I need a short break, he thought. He sat down on the couch, feeling exhausted. Just a few minutes.….he began to doze. No! I can't fall asleep! I'm not done, he thought. He sat up abruptly. He got up and started on the last 30 physics questions.
Suddenly, he heard a loud cry and deafening crash. He nearly fell out of his chair. What on earth is going on, he thought groggily. He wondered if the people upstairs needed assistance. Reed frowned, and then proceeded upstairs to see if they were alright.
When he arrived at the upper apartment, he found two blonde twins boys with safety goggles on attending a gigantic broken beaker full of acid, which was rapidly burning a hole in the floor. Reed was now fully awake. He quickly grabbed another filled beaker that had been sitting on the counter and doused the affected area. The acid stopped burning.
"Whew, thanks pal," one of the boys said.
"Not a problem. But may I ask what you are doing?" Reed queried.
"Well, we're just working on the lab Professor Baldwin assigned last week Tuesday. I know, it's really late. But we kinda need help?"
They looked at him expectantly. Oh? There was a lab? Then Reed remembered that the lab had been the last project assigned to him by the professor. Oh no, he thought. I suppose it's not just a few more hours until I'm done. "There was a lab. Hmm. Were partners necessary?" he asked. "Yeah. There are parts of this lab you can absolutely can't do on your own."
There was an awkward pause.
Then, "Are you gonna help us?"
Reed was starting to feel incredibly drowsy. No, he thought-- I can't fall asleep………..
"Hey --dude?"
Reed snapped back to reality. "Help? Oh yes, help. I will help you." Reed helped the two twin boys with their lab. About halfway through, the boys seemed to notice that Reed was quite fatigued.
"Hey, pal, you wanna take a rest on the couch?"
Reed shook his head. "No, that's alright. I'm fine, really."
"Well, uh, why don't we sit down and do this?"
"Oh, well, that's fine."
They sat down on the couch and continued to work. But after a while the twins noticed that Reed hadn't given any input. They looked at him. He was fast asleep.
"Oh, poor guy, he must've been really tired."
"Well, I reckon we can probably finish this up ourselves. Just let him sleep."
An hour later Reed woke up. For a moment he looked around, feeling disoriented. The two boys were in bed. Oh, he thought, they must have finished. What time is it? He glanced at the clock.
It was 6:00am.
Reed was stricken. Oh no! he thought, I haven't finished everything yet! He jumped off the couch and bolted down the stairs. Once he reached their apartment, he tried desperately to complete every bit of the makeup work. By the time Ben got up, Reed was almost finished but exhausted from his efforts.
"Reed! What're you doin'?! You're still up?! Don't tell me you pulled another all-nighter!"
"No.. Ben. It's alright. I'm--almost done…"
Ben grasped Reed and dragged him away from the desk.
"Ben…no. I'm not done-- yet."
But he fainted before he could protest anymore.
Ben couldn't let Reed go to class when he had just pulled an all-nighter, so he placed him on the couch and forced a sleeping pill down his throat.
After Ben had gone to all his morning classes, he went back to the dorm to see how Reed was doing. Didn't look like the sleeping pill he'd given him had lasted very long; Reed was fully awake and working. Ah, sheesh, Ben thought. That guy doesn't know when to stop, does he? When he came in, Reed looked up.
"Ben, I need to talk to you--"
But Ben didn't let Reed finish. He haphazardly swept the papers on the desk into a rough pile and snatched the pencil out of Reed's hand.
"If you wanna say something, you can say it at Starbucks," was Ben's reply. Before Reed could say anything else, Ben grabbed him by the shoulders and marched him out the door.
When they got to Starbucks, Ben promptly ordered both of them frappuccinos. But it was a waste of money because Reed didn't look like he was up to one. He seemed quite anxious and on the edge.
"Ben, I have to ask you to do something for me,"
"Yeah?"
"Ben, I know football means a lot to you. And I've never asked you to do this before, but I really need you to do it. Would you miss tonight's game and do last Tuesday's lab with me? It requires a partner; there are certain parts that an individual would have much difficulty doing by himself. I asked the professor if I could do it by myself, but he said that I would not receive full credit for the lab if I did it without a partner." He looked at Ben pleadingly.
"Reed, you know I absolutely cannot do that. I mean, I already missed practice all last week taking care of you, and now you're asking me to miss the game for the national championship? Come on, dude! You don't have to ask me to do it with you, just ask someone else from our class. You're shy, I know, but good grades are more important."
"Ben, I did! I've asked practically everyone! But you know I'm--well--unpopular. Not only that, but all of them said they were going to the football game." Ben suddenly realized what a fix his friend was in. Moreover, he wanted to help him, but he couldn't let his football buddies down again. He'd already missed an entire week of practice for Reed. But Reed was his best friend! He couldn't let his buddy down. Besides, he could think of countless times when Reed had done something for him even when he really hadn't wanted to. Someday, when he was going to ask Reed to do something he didn't want to do, he would have to feel guilt for the time he'd refused his best friend's request. Furthermore, he didn't think his football friends were going to stick with him for life. But Reed was for sure. Ben sighed.
"Well? Are you going to do it?"
A pause.
"Well…what'd you think I am? A moron? Course I'll do it. I'm just kidding around Reed. No guy lets his best buddy down." Reed smiled. His eyes were bright. "I knew I could count on you," he said as they laughed and hugged.
Glancing at the scoreboard, Dan could see that the football game was going worst than he had thought. But how could anyone expect a football team to play well when two of their quarterbacks, one of them their best, weren't here? Sam, one of their quarterbacks, had called ahead of time saying that he was sick and couldn't make it. However, their best quarterback, Ben Grimm, had not said he wasn't coming. But he wasn't here, and they were getting the pulp beaten out of them. They were nearing half-time as Dan took his place behind the linemen. Since there were no other quarterbacks to replace him, he'd played straight through. He was dead tired, but he tried to play his best anyway. But his strength was giving out, and he slipped in an attempt to pass the ball. He went down as ten other bodies collapsed on top of him. When he sat up, he found his ankle was throbbing dreadfully.
He swore. "Where's Ben when we need him?!" he bellowed.
Meanwhile, Ben and Reed were finishing up the lab.
"Well, that went much quicker than I had predicted," Reed said as he pushed his safety goggles up."
"Yeah! We are done! Who's the man-- ol' High Pockets, eh?" He elbowed Reed.
Reed laughed and shook his head. "You know I couldn't have done it without you." "Hey, without your freaking smart brain, we wouldn't have gotten done so fast."
"Hey, maybe we can catch the tail end of the game," Reed suggested. "What time is it?" Looking at the clock, Ben found it was only 6:15. He didn't believe it! If they hurried, they could still make it to the game by half-time. Laughing, he grabbed Reed by the shoulders and shook him heartily.
"Reed! We can still make it to the game by half-time, it's only 6:15!"
"Really?! Ben! That's great! Well, what are we waiting for? Half-time is in 15 minutes."
Dan was ticked. It was half-time and they had no quarterback. Their game was over, a team couldn't play without a one. Coach came over. "Dan, look, I'm sorry. I know you really wanted to make it into the national championship."
"Its okay, Coach. I just wish Ben could have showed."
Dan went into the locker room to see what the rest of his buddies were up to. Oddly enough, there was no one in there. Dan frowned.
"Guys? Hey, guys! Where are you?"
Suddenly he heard the crowds cheering and the band playing "Wipe out". He went out into the bleachers. Fans were going wild. What? What the heck's going on? he thought. Then he saw all his buddies. They were lining up on the field. Huh? What're they doing? Game's over, we can't play without a quarterback! he thought. Wait a minute….that can only mean one thing. Sam? Maybe. He headed for the fifty yard line. Nope. Not Sam. Ben. Their best man. Dan whooped.
Meanwhile, Reed was in the bleachers. He smiled fondly as he watched as Ben's team made a miraculous turnaround. Fans cheered madly as the team scored yet another touchdown. The band played "Hot Time". Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around. It was Sandy.
"Hi Reed! What's up?" She sat down next to him.
"Oh, I'm just here because Ben's playing." She smiled. "Sorry about yesterday. I don't think you're all that bad, really. Dan just doesn't like you."
"That's alright. I was just a bit embarrassed that Ben was, well, trying to 'hook me up.'"
"Oh, well, I think you're dateable," she said, blushing. "But I already have a boyfriend."
Reed was flattered. No one had ever said that to him before. He wasn't sure what to say. "Oh, well--thank you."
"Yeah, well if you ever wanna hang out or something, here's my phone number." She handed him a piece of paper with her name and number on it. But some her friends were calling her over, so she bid him good-bye.
Wow, Reed thought, she just gave me her phone number.
After a victorious game, Reed met Ben in the parking lot. "So, how'd it go with Dan? Was he angry?" Reed asked.
"Naw, not really. He was just glad we won the game. He's not the guy to hold grudges."
"Ben, I'm really sorry I made you miss half your game. I really wanted you to go. But sometimes you have to do what you have to do."
"Reed, I don't regret a minute of this day. I'm glad I missed half my game to help you with your lab. Hey! We even won it." Reed smiled. "I guess that's what best friends are for."
Together, they got into Reed's car and drove back to the apartment.