Note: First few chapters are pre-invasion to establish a relationship between Ben and my OC, Ingrid.

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever claim to, own TNT, Falling Skies, or any of its characters/plot scenes. I do, however, own any OCs and plot twists that I throw in.


"Oh, Ingrid," Mrs. O'Hara greeted me Thursday morning at the media center. "If you'll go to Lab C, your desk will be number," She trailed off, referring to her clipboard to find my number. "13," she finished, beaming at me. "Your partner will meet you there, and you can begin whenever they arrive. Have fun!"

"Thanks," I muttered, making my way towards the lab room. I stumbled a bit, falling slightly against a bookshelf. I looked down to see my shoelaces were untied. I rolled my eyes at my own stupidity. The first time I were converses in how many months and I actually forget that you had to tie them. These are the kind of instances that define me and my crap memory.

I walked into the room, noticing how it differed from the other computer labs because of its distinct lack of computers.

I scanned the desks, searching for number 13 after entering the room. Once my eyes settled on the number, I lifted them up to meet chocolate brown eyes. I gulped.

Shit, shit, shit! No one mentioned cute boys! Nopenopenope, I am not doing this. I get waaaaay too nervous around attractive guys.

I stood frozen for a few moments, not wanting to go through with this anymore. Maybe I could play sick for the next two weeks?

His brow furrowed quizzically, and I realized how strange it must look for me to be frozen in place, staring at him. I slowly made my way towards the begrudgingly cute teenager, inching towards him as if he was Death himself.

"Hi, I'm Ben," he flashed me a shy smile, extending his hand. I shook it lightly while taking a seat. "I'm Ingrid."

"What exactly is this thing?"

"Honestly, I have no clue. Mrs. O'Hara is known for being overly enthusiastic, and for her methods being equally... Dramatic," I replied with a smirk. "And unpredictable."

His gaze flitted down to the papers on our conjoined desks.

"Oh. Those are questionnaire sheets," I filled in. "I think it's supposed to be some sort of bonding exercise?"

I went to pick up one sheet, which was connected to five or six more, and my eyes widened in surprise. I flipped the last page over to count how many questions there were.

"Oh my god," I gasped, which contorted to a laugh. "We have to answer 148 of these!"

Ben's eye grew comically large and I felt the urge to smile.

"No seriously," Ben bent his head towards me with a grave expression. "What's wrong with her?"

He pointed accusingly at Mrs. O'Hara and I burst into a fit of giggles. I remember the endless complaints my friends and I used to dish out about the crazy teacher, especially with her cruel and unusual assignments.

He cracked a smile at me, before breathing heavily and saying, "I guess we should get started then."

I smiled to myself, looking down at my paper as well. "I suppose so."

About 30 or so minutes later, the period was up and students were rushing to leave the room.

Ben and I had gotten through a whopping 14 questions, practically each one starting a conversation.

"How are we gonna finish this by Tuesday?"

I looked at Ben, who was slipping the packet in a folder before securing it in his backpack. I gripped my backpack strap tighter, having already packed up. Ben and I were walking to 2nd period together since we were heading in the same direction, something we found out at #8. 'Favorite subject?'

"I know," I groaned, trudging towards the math building. "I think its part of her enthusiasm thing. She has so many 'fun' ideas and projects, but she barely gives us anytime to finish each one. Welcome to hell."

He laughed, which was quickly becoming one of my favorite sounds.

"If we have three more days, that should be, like, 44 questions each day, right?"

"So we have to focus," I concluded. "And you have to stop being so distracting."

"Hey," Ben cried. "How am I the distracting one? You talk enough for the both of us!"

I blushed, heat rushing from my neck to the tip of my ears. "Ha ha," I deadpanned.

"Don't worry," Ben reassured me, and I felt his fingertips brush my arm, causing me to blush further. "Your rambling made it a lot easier to get to know you. Otherwise there would've been awkward silence the whole time."

I smiled at him.

"If there's one thing I'm good at," I proclaimed. "It's rambling."

And with that, we said our goodbyes as we branched off into different rooms in the building. I gave him a wave over my shoulder, before sighing.

As much as I hate to admit it, Mrs. O'Hara really came through with this one.

After entering the classroom and taking my unofficial assigned seat, I pulled out my notebook and pencil, debating whether or not I should bake cookies to thank my eccentric teacher for unknowingly introducing me to one of the coolest guys I've ever met.

BIBIBIB

"#36... Favorite scent?"

I stopped looking around the room and focused my attention on Ben's incredulous gaze.

"Excuse me?" I sputtered out. "You are kidding, righ- never mind. Knowing her, there's probably 50 more like these." I fixed my gaze on him again. "So? Favorite scent?"

"Autumn, I guess," His brows were furrowed as if concentrating as he spoke. "It's my favorite season, too; in case she asks about that"

I chuckled before replying. "A year ago, I found this 'Leaves' scent at Bath & Body Works and ended up buying it in every available form." I laughed again, recalling my obsession. "I got it in shampoo, body gel, spray, car air freshener, wall plug-in, perfume, body lotion, and of course, the candle. I swear to god, I smelled like 'autumn' for the entire school year."

He laughed with me. "Are you serious? I would've loved to know you back then."

"And you don't love to know me know?" I countered, leaning forward on my propped hand and raising a brow.

"Of course not, m'lady," he cried, although I swore I saw a hint of a blush on his cheeks. "It's absolutely horrid to make your acquaintance, as I assume my presence arises similar feelings of hostility?"

I nodded, biting my lip to hold back any more laughter. We were loud enough as it is, we didn't need to draw any more attention to ourselves in the small classroom that was alive with idle chatter.

"Okay guys, only a few minutes left!" Mrs. O'Hara's voice interrupted the conversations in the room.

I gasped. "We have 112 questions to do! And we only have two days left. How are we going to finish?" I groaned miserably, my forehead hitting my desk in frustration.

"You could come over this weekend," Ben said unsurely.

I raised my head slightly, making eye contact with the blonde. I debated how to respond in a way that said I'm-totally-cool-and-hangout-with-cute-boys-all-the-time-no-I-am-not-internally-freaking-out.

"Yeah, sure," seemed to be the best fit. "Saturday, then?"

"Okay, I'll text you my address and the time."

"Okay." I nodded in agreement, fishing out my phone so we could exchange numbers.

The bell rang shortly after, dismissing the class. I slipped my backpack over one of my shoulders.

"I have to go to my locker, but I'll see you tomorrow," I said. "Bye, Ben."

I was met with a wave of goodbye and a small smile, and I skipped off to my locker, filled with anticipation and happiness.

BIBIBIB

"Ingrid? Ingrid?"

"Huh?' I called unceremoniously, turning my attention to the girl snapping her fingers at me. "Oh, hey Cara. When'd you get here?"

Care gave me a withering look. "We," she punctuated, bringing my attention to my other friends surrounding the picnic table. "Have been here for five minutes! Trying to talk to you, I might add."

I gave her a sheepish look. "My bad?"

Katie Beth sighed impatiently. "As I was saying, my mom's finally letting me out of the house. She said I could go to the boardwalk at 8, but I have to be back by 11. And I want all of you," she poked my shoulder for emphasis. "to be there."

"Depends on the day," Colin said, stabbing broccoli with his fork and swirling it around. He looked up at us. "I have that convention for AP Physics on Sunday."

I rolled my eyes; of course boy genius had something smart to do this weekend. Who takes AP Physics their sophomore year anyway?

"It's not this weekend, it's the weekend after the one after next."

The table was silent for a beat before we erupted in laughter.

"Your mom," Steph gasped and spit out between laughs. "Is such a control freak."

"Shut up!" Katie Beth snapped at us.

I wiped the corner of my eyes to catch small tears. Admittedly it wasn't that funny, but everything seemed funny when I was with my friends- especially Mitch. That boy laughed like a hyena and I loved it.

"Are you guys coming or not? It's on a Saturday."

Everyone agreed to mark their calendar for the monumental moment when KB finally broke free from the house that more resembled a prison.

"Why were you so distracted today?"

I heard my best friend since 1st grade, Megan, ask me as we walked to our shared locker.

"If you're referring to lunch today, I was simply tired-"

"Cut the bullshit, you've been losing focus all day today. You were singing in French during our Italian piece in chorus! I swear to God, Ms. Quincy looked like she was going to snap your neck when she corrected you for the third time."

I threw my head back in laughter. Our chorus teacher, Ms. Q (as we like to call her), got easily frustrated, but she was like a motherly figure to all of us. She could never stay mad at anyone.

"There's this boy," I began, not having to look at Megan to know there was a smirk on her face. I checked to make sure none of our friends were around. I never really liked talking about guys, especially with my friends who loved to tease each other relentlessly. "I just met him yesterday through O'Hara's bullshit assignment-" Cue eye roll. "-and I'm going to his house tomorrow."

"Wow, you work fast Ingrid. Promise to be safe and use protection, ok?"

"Shut up," I shouted louder than necessary, hitting her shoulder.

"Want me to come over in the morning?" She gave me a reassuring look, knowing I was mentally freaking out at the thought of going to a boy's house, regardless of whether or not I had a crush on him.

"Yes, please," I begged, throwing my arm around her shoulder as we walked in harmony towards our locker.

"What's he like?" Megan inquired, twisting the lock in compliance with our locker combo.

"The usual." I stated. Although I was attracted to a varied amount of people, I usually went after a certain 'type.' "Smart, slightly dorky, extremely cute." I sighed wistfully. "And funny. Really, really funny."

"Ew," Megan said, grimacing as she grabbed a large binder from the locker. "You sound so gross right now."

"Whatever," I replied, rolling my eyes.

After getting our things, we walked towards the front of the school to be picked up by Megan's mom. I couldn't wait until I got my driver's license in a few weeks; no more motherly chauffeurs. Megan was babbling about a new TV show she got into that involved an alien invasion, but my attention was focused elsewhere. And that 'elsewhere' may or may not have involved a cute blonde who had a soft spot for autumn-affiliated scents.


Thanks for reading! Please review :)

Jackie