The Other Woman
Chapter Nine: Battlefield (Part Two)
Amy made it to the recreational area, suddenly conscience of the many pairs of eyes that fell on her. Sweeping her bangs out of her line of vision with a swing of her head, she looked around cautiously at the many tables outside.
Ever since this morning's standoff in the hallway, everyone has -once again- been a spectator in her private life, discussing it openly as if it were some sort of teenage drama seen at primetime. And maybe, if it were someone else, she would've been doing the same thing but the fact of the matter was that it was not someone else, it was her. And quite frankly, she was sick of it.
She noticed Lauren and Madison sitting at their usual table with Jack and she decided to forgo sitting with them today since-
She wasn't ready to answer any questions and…
Lauren was still very mad at her, Madison was caught in-between, and Amy just didn't feel like dealing with that right now.
She looked towards the outskirts, growing antsy until she spotted Ben and Adrian sitting with Alice and Henry at one of the benches.
With a wince, she immediately looked to the other side, feeling a hand fall on her shoulder. She jumped slightly, but felt herself smile as Ricky's chiseled features came into view.
"C'mon, I got us the perfect spot," Ricky whispered in her ear.
"Really, where?" Amy asked skeptically with a smirk.
Ricky rolled his dark eyes, "Just, come on." He said and then he walked away, Amy following him with her tray. She noticed that they were going past the lunch area and towards the student parking lot.
"I thought you said you had the perfect spot," Amy said, a frown growing on her face as she followed his retreating back.
Ricky looked back over his shoulder with a grin, "Who said it was at school?"
She shakes her head with a smile. Jerk, She thinks, but without the prior malice behind it.
Adrian watched the scene in front of her, half amused and half repulsed. As Alice wiped off a dribble of milk traveling down Henry's cheek, she felt Ben's hand clasp onto hers and she held back a smile, giving a subtle wink in Ben's direction.
"Did I ever tell you guys that you're disgustingly cute?" The majorette finally spoke up, smirking as she dipped her French fries in ketchup. "Key word being 'disgusting'?"
Henry chuckled, but Alice simply glared at the Latina. "Like you're one to talk," She said breezily. "You and Ben have wanted to rip each other's clothes off for weeks." The Asian girl said unabashedly, causing Adrian to bit her lower lip to stifle a laugh and Ben to clear his throat. "At least Henry and I can conduct ourselves somewhat appropriately in public."
"Yeah," Adrian said dryly with a roll of her eyes. "Because licking each other's lips in the hallway is normal behavior in society."
Alice grinned lavishly, sneaking Henry a seductive glance. "Well, I did say 'somewhat'. And anyways, didn't you go topless last year?" She finished conversationally, as if she had just asked how the food was today.
Adrian's smirk grew when she noticed Ben's blush in her peripheral. "I wasn't topless; per se…I was still wearing a bra."
The two couples laughed until Henry spotted Amy walking with her tray across the courtyard. "Hey…you guys did speak to them, right? I mean – this morning was pretty awkward."
Ben and Adrian exchanged glances until Ben sighed, "Briefly."
"Ditto," Adrian mirrored a bit bitterly. Ben gave her hand a squeeze and she interlaced her slender fingers with his longer ones.
"Well, you know how things with 'It' can get, especially when she doesn't get her way," Alice notes with a wry smirk as she forks her salad.
Ben looks at his longtime friend questioningly as Adrian asks, "Who's 'It'?"
"Amy." Henry supplies readily. "We thought that was the best name to call her ever since you know what happened."
Adrian bit the side of her glossed lower lip, but failed miserably in trying to stifle her laugh.
"You know that 'It' was a clown that sucked the lives out of children?" Ben asked with a shake of his head. He didn't even bother reprimanding Alice and Henry this time around.
Alice swatted Henry's arm, "See, it was a good name after all."
"That's horrible," Ben said, biting into his burger.
"So is what she did to you, Ben," Alice replied, softer this time. "After everything you did for her…" The Asian girl trails off with a rueful shake of her head. A year ago, she was the one who led Ben in Amy's direction, now she found herself regretting it.
"Don't worry about it; it isn't your fault," Ben says when he has the chance. He looks to his right, and sees the beautiful Latina situated by his side and smiles. "I think that it happened the way it happened for a reason because if I didn't find Amy, then Adrian wouldn't have found me."
Adrian looks at him then, smile blossoming over her features and making them soft, and Ben gave her hand a warm squeeze. He thinks now, after all the heartbreak and tears that he doesn't regret it. He'll never regret leaving Amy Juergens because he'll never feel the same way with her as he does with Adrian.
Amy is the past. And right now, he's holding onto his future.
"Hey!"
Jason locked his locker door, and turned towards the direction of the sweet sounding voice. "Hey, Grace." Jason greeted, pearly white teeth revealed with a smile.
She smiles in relief of finally finding him. "I need a favor; what was the homework in AP last week?"
Jason's upper lip tilts, "Chapter eight review, and then the worksheet we got last Monday," He says slowly. "You know, you should've had that done Ms. Bowman." He teases in a professional sounding tone. Becoming serious, he places his hand on her shoulder, "What's going on, it's not like you to not know assignments."
She bites her pink lower lip and looks at him under her lashes, "Nothing, it's just…I guess I've been a little off lately." She shrugs his hand off with a smile, though missing the warm gesture. "And no doctor psychology to me," She grins up at him. "I know all of the tricks."
"That's not what you were saying last summer." He quips knowingly, stifling a grin. She swats him on the arm as they walk down the hall.
"Whatever, it's not my fault that the councilor didn't explain that those techniques have to be used sparingly."
"Yeah, as in, not with janitors. Or other councilors," He says musingly, and Grace giggles, nodding her head.
"Well, I learned my lesson, so, better late than never, right?" Grace asks, looking up at him.
"Right," He agrees.
He can't help it, but he's thinking of Madison. He's thinking of her words, and he just can't get them out of his head. He notices one of the various Homecoming posters in the hallway and he's struck by a thought.
"Hey, Grace," Jason begins, a scratchy feeling in his throat. He usually isn't this forward, but maybe it's time he tries it out. "You wouldn't be going to the dance with someone, are you?"
They're walking slowly down the hall at this point, and Grace cranes her head, "No," She says quietly, a small smile on her face. "I'm not. In fact, I was contemplating not even going this year."
He looks at her curiously, "Why not?"
"Well, last year…" She trails off, a bit embarrassed by it. "I was a cheerleader, and so I was basically forced to go, and then my boyfriend kissed another girl."
Right. He wouldn't know that because he wasn't there –social events weren't his scene at the time. He feels bad for mentioning it. "I'm sorry," He says honestly. Grace was just such a nice girl; she really didn't deserve that treatment.
"It's fine," She says, nodding. "I've gotten over and past it, and Adrian and I are friends because of it, ironically," Grace laughs. "Um, but why do you ask? Were you planning on going with someone?" She smiles brilliantly once more, and Jason sighs.
"I think – I think I do want to go this year. I'm a Junior and I should go, at least once, right?" He asks rhetorically, and Grace nods in understanding. "Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to go to Homecoming, with me."
She pauses at the deep timbre that his voice took, and Jason takes that as a bad sign.
"I mean, if you wanted to. But since it seems like you don't want to go-" He rambles on until he's cut off.
"I'd love to go with you," The blonde blurts out quickly, before she could stop herself. She wanted an opportunity, a chance to try something new, and maybe this was it, presenting itself right in front of her eyes. Her smile grows wide enough to reach her pubescent blues and Jason sighs in relief.
"Great, it's a date," He smirks, and Grace looks off to the side to fight off the impending blush.
She laughs when she feels John tug on her hand, "So, this was the perfect place?"
They're in the church nursery, and aside from the fact that Amy works there, yeah, Ricky thinks. It is the perfect place. Any place his son is the perfect place. He grins when John wobbles on his legs to him from Amy, and he finishes his sandwich before taking hold of his son's hands.
Amy's eating her peaches out of a bowl, smiling at the sight of father and son. It's not perfect, she knows. She has a lot of explaining to do, but for right now, in these small moments she could just be.
She looks at John, and sees a future, for better or worse, and then she sees Ricky, and is almost unbelievably grateful. For all of the small escapes he has given her in her life and everything in-between.
But they only have a thirty minute lunch, and they need about seven minutes to get back to school on time. Ricky makes eye contact with the green-eyed mother and Amy nods her head towards the clock among painted clouds in the room. She steps towards Ricky and leans down to whisper in John's ear, "Be back soon."
Ricky sets down John on the soft carpet, and slings his book bag over his shoulder, "Ready to go?"
Amy sighs, no, she's not ready to go. She's not ready to go back to school, and face her classmates and friends, and Ashley. With a whine, she asks, "Do we have to?" Even though she already knows the answer.
Ricky closes in, and brushes a stray bang back behind her ear with the warm pad of his thumb, "Do you really want me to answer that?" He replies honestly.
"No, I guess not," Amy supposes.
"We could always just skip, and stay here," Ricky smiles with a lift of his lips, and Amy is so tempted to take up his offer, among other things. She shakes her head, she has to set an example, whether she likes it or not.
"No, we should –we should go back. I have to keep up my grades this semester, and so do you," She says softly. "Besides, it just wouldn't be right if we did." Even if it meant staying with John.
Ricky smirks, and presses a kiss to her forehead, "Someone's growing up."
With a roll of her eyes, she grumbles "Shut up," under her breath, even though she's smiling back just as widely.
"So…" Griffin drawled right before the end of lunch bell rang out. He slung his arm around Ashley's shoulder.
"So." Ashley echoed, cocking an eyebrow.
"So!" Griffin emphasized, "The Homecoming dance is this Friday!"
"And?" Ashley said, prompting him to continue as she lumbered down the hallway to her locker.
"And we're going," Griffin finished for her.
She frowned. "Are you sure about that?" She asked cryptically. "Because I think you're going, and I'm staying home," She said plainly, finally getting to her locker and twisting the wheel of her lock.
The teenage boy next to her relinquished her and tutted while leaning on the locker next to hers, "C'mon Ash! This is the only dance we're allowed to go to all year," He whined. Ashley looked at him from over her locker door with a lifted eyebrow. "Seriously, we have to go. Besides," He said with a growing grin, "It's formal, so you can pull out that Gone with the Wind dress you've been hiding."
"What Gone with the Wind dress?" Ashley mumbled innocently.
His eyebrow lifted and he leaned over to put his chin on her shoulder, "You know, the one shoved all the way in the back of your closet that just screams Scarlett."
Ashley took out her Bio textbook and closed her locker solemnly. "I wouldn't wear that…" She says, knowing which one he's talking about, the white one.
Griffin sighs, slapping his forehead quickly. "Ash, you would rock that dress," He says firmly. "Plus, I have this all white tux that would just-" He looks over to the side and notices that Ashley isn't even listening anymore, but that she was staring far down the hallway. He noticed that she was looking at Amy, who just entered through the double doors with Ricky, and then she turned back to her locker. He frowns, "You should go talk to her, Ash."
"No thanks," She says plainly. "She might slap me again." Griffin's frown grew deeper. Ashley looked over at him and scoffed, "What? It's true, she just might."
A hand fell on Ashley's shoulder, and she turned around slowly to see Ricky come into view. She held her Bio book closer to her, "Hey."
"Hey," Ricky's lip tilted upward. He nodded to Griffin in acknowledgement, who nodded back. "I just wanted to clear the air."
"About Amy's current living situation?" Griffin questioned.
Ricky nodded and Ashley rolled her eyes, "I don't care. I really don't."
"Yeah, you do," Ricky refuted quickly. "That's why you tried to stop Amy from leaving yesterday."
"Yeah, well…" Ashley tried to rebut, but paused. "It's not fair; why does she get to run away from her life, and I don't? Not that she should, or that I would, but it's not fair. She took John and I didn't even get to say goodbye, so how's that supposed to make me feel?" She slammed her locker closed inadvertently, "Sorry…" She mumbled at the end of her rant.
Ricky nodded, running a hand through his chestnut coif. "I get it. I came in the picture and took away your big sister."
"In more ways than one," Ashley smirks.
Ricky rolls his eyes, "I'll – I don't know, I'll make sure that you guys see John today."
"And the day after that?"
"The drummer nods, "And the day after that, you're his family."
Ashley gives a small smile in satisfaction, "I think I can handle that, just tell me when you decide to kidnap him next time."
Ricky chuckled. "No problem."
The rest of the day drug on as slowly as possible, Business Tech was a cakewalk as usual, and Ben was wired about two things; okay, maybe three.
Ever since you-know-what happened this weekend, he wouldn't be riding to work with Ricky today –obviously. He actually wanted to physically hurt the guy, when you get down to it. Because even if Adrian didn't say anything about it –and still won't- she was hurt by whatever Ricky said to her today; he could see it in her eyes. Still she was driving him to work, and then she'd go back to school for majorette practice.
He definitely had it in his mind to actually ask her to the dance. Since he still hadn't done it yet, even if he went to her house to see her try on dresses. Very low-cut, equally stunning dresses. Get your mind out of the gutter, Boykewich.
And three, he'd still have to face Ricky, at work. A part of him dreaded it, and then a part of him couldn't wait because he'd confront him.
He heads out to the football field, thinking they're practicing there because it's a wide-known fact at school that the majorettes triumph the field while the cheerleaders rock the gym. Not really savvy to the school hierarchy, he doesn't really understand why that is, but maybe Adrian will tell him one day.
Teenagers are bustling in the hallways, either trying to get a ride or get on their buses, but Ben eventually finds the set of double doors he was looking for, and pushes it to see the mass expansion of the football field, quiet in its enormity.
And maybe, if he wasn't so athletically challenged, he would've joined the football team -or at least something involving a ball and sweat. He walks out, noticing a few majorettes walking along the field and he almost has the inclination to just walk over and ask where his girlfriend is, but he hears his name being called and remembers that the girls on the team don't like her very much.
He turns and smiles when he sees Adrian waiting for him by the bleachers, leaning down on the railing seductively and loosely spinning her baton in her hand. As he walks up, he realizes that he never caught on to the fact that the majorette skirts were so short -the skirt is covering what needs to be covered for the time being, but the expanse of that golden brown skin leading up to the flare of the skirt makes his breath catch. She catches this, and smirks. "See something you like?" Adrian asked; craning her head and letting her curls fall over her shoulder.
He grins, "I see several 'somethings' that I like."
She scoffs with a playful roll of her eyes, "I'm sure."
But she leans over the railing a bit more, close enough to touch him and enough to where her cleavage is showing more predominately. "So, are you ready to get outta here, or what?"
Adrian smiles serenely when she says this because he must know that she's doing this on purpose. But he just smiles and nods, tangling his fingers in her dark curls. She doesn't want to, but she pulls away. It's not that she doesn't want to show him off to her team, it's just that they have to go -but for the record, she'd love to show him off, just like today. She goes to the staircase on the side and her keys jingle in her finger, urging him to follow her out to her car parked right by the field. His arm falls to her waist, and she smiles up to him.
"You're happy today," Ben notes. He hasn't seen her smile like this in a while, so it makes him happy that she is.
She doesn't want to admit it, but before this, there was a lot to be unhappy about. Grace's dad died and then there was that horrible break up between her and Ricky. But the worse thing had to be seeing Ben's face everyday when he was with Amy because Adrian knew he was unhappy with the relationship and wanted to make it work.
That was before Amy cheated on him.
And Adrian was just so infuriated about it, not just because it was with Ricky, but because Ben didn't deserve it. He was too nice and sweet and romantic. So when he came to her front door the way he did, her heart broke for him and in a sense, she felt bad for taking his virginity, even if he was willing. People may have thought that she was nonchalant when it came to sex, but she did always believe that the first person you did it with was important- and maybe, that's why she was always in a struggle over Ricky with Amy. And that was before she knew just how great a guy Ben was.
"Yeah," Adrian agrees after a minute. "I am." She looks down and her fingers intertwine through his longer ones. His hand's so big in comparison to hers, but warm.
"So, I was wondering if…if you wanted to go to the Homecoming Dance Friday with me," Ben looks down at her, slightly apprehensive.
"I thought we already agreed to go," Adrian said, confusion written on her features as they walked into the student parking lot.
"It's not the same as me asking and you saying yes," Ben replied.
She smirks, "True. So, how are we gonna do this?"
Ben steps out in front of Adrian in the student parking lot and pulls her closer, one had on her waist and the other in her thick curls. "Would you like to go to the dance Friday?"
Adrian looks up, both mesmerized and turned on at the same time. She thinks that she wants to just take him into the backseat of her car in the school parking lot and do things that shouldn't be done in public and that didn't require too many clothes. But their relationship was just too new for that, and she wasn't sure if he was an exhibitionist- to that extent at least.
So, she doesn't say anything. Not one word. Instead, she leans up on tip-toe, hands behind his neck, and she kisses him gently, tracing his lower lip with her tongue. Even when he presses closer, she continues to kiss him softly because she wants to savor this. It's smoldering at first, until she goes on tiptoe and her lithe tongue slips in-between his lips and he cups her cheek. It's nearly perfect, being here with him like this, until she runs out of air and begins to pull back. Ben goes forward, and their foreheads meet softly with him staring down into her lust-filled eyes. She starts laughing when Ben breathes out a "wow" afterwards.
"Does that answer your question?" Adrian asks coyly, arms wrapped around his neck and sweet lips tugged up into a seductive smile. Ben nods slowly, a smile growing on his face until it's a full-blown grin.
"Yeah, it actually does."
Ricky unlocks the door to his apartment and closes it, noticing how dark and quiet the place is. Usually, this was the norm of coming home alone before Amy and John moved in. He noticed the faint light under the crack of his bedroom door and opened it, smirking at the sight in front of him.
Amy laid on the bed, cradling John by her side and caging him in with her arm. Then, her bleary green eyes opened and she gave him a small tired smile, brushing her wayward bang out of the way. "Sorry," Amy whispered, voice hoarse. "I fell asleep and-"
Ricky put his hand up, shaking his head with an amused smile. He crossed the room and picked up John from the bed carefully to not wake him from his slumber and put him in his nearby bassinet. Amy's head fell down again against her arm as she silently watched Ricky's movements, him taking off his leather jacket and jeans, and finally pulling his shirt up over his head. His undershirt rode up slightly, revealing toned abs she didn't remember him having before he shut off the light and settled in next to her.
"I took John to see Ashley today," Amy yawned out, eyes closed as she inhaled his spicy scent.
"Do your parents know that you're over here?" Ricky asked.
Amy's eyes opened again, focusing on the chestnut ones in front of her. "If they didn't, they do now. I told Ash, but she already knew."
"I know," Ricky stated. "I told her you're over here."
Immediately, Amy sat up, "You told her I was here?" She questioned, and then contemplated a moment more, "You talk to Ashley?"
"Yes, Amy. I told her you were over here in case of an emergency, and yes, Ashley and I talk sometimes, so what?"
Amy sighed, brushing her hair back with her fingers, "Figures."
Ricky cocks his eyebrow, "What figures?"
"That you would talk to Ashley before I would," The French Horn player said with an exasperated roll of her eyes. She blinks sleepily, already leaning back into the warmth of the mattress. Maybe before, she would've fussed at this, but not finding the reason to why, she almost embraces the fact that Ashley talked to Ricky for the main fact that Ashley would keep their parents in check enough to not try to convince her to come home.
John shifts next to her, but doesn't stir. Amy brushes his light chestnut hair out of his face when she suddenly hears Ricky's voice in the close surroundings, "Remember Homecoming last year?"
She pauses, of course she does. "Not really," She shrugs off.
"I remember telling you that you went with the wrong guy, that Ben wasn't your type." Ricky continues, eyes staring intently into hers, but Amy persistently –shyly- continues to look down at their son.
"This year's definitely different from last," Amy smiles, still not looking up at him. Her russet colored bang slips out from behind her ear and falls in front of her face.
Ricky reaches over and pushes it back, the pad of his thumb tracing her cheekbone. "I was thinking that you should go with the right guy this year."
Amy laughs, "And who would be the right guy? Jack?"
Ricky grimaces at the name before recovering cockily, "How about the father of your child?"
"I thought about that," Amy says honestly, small smile lighting her face. "But then I thought that it'd be cliché; all teenage mothers go to homecoming with their child's father. So then I thought that I should go with that cute drummer from Band, maybe break the ice by going out to Dairy Shack first."
Ricky's jaw nearly drops in shock and anger; what cute drummer from Band? Instead, he creases his jaw line shut, silently fuming. He's already running through names and faces of guys in the drumline. McCormick? Too fat. Jameson? Too serious. Peters? Not good looking, at all.
Amy sighs, continuing. "I think he really likes me, and I like him too, so I'm just gonna ask him and see where it goes from there," She says lowly, finally looking at Ricky in his eyes. He's already halfway down his mental list when she smiles with her teasing pink lips, "So, Ricky, if you don't have any plans on Friday, I was thinking that we could go to the dance together." She grins, biting the side of her lower lip anxiously. "Just make sure that you don't bring that girl you got pregnant last year, she wasn't much fun then."
Ricky doesn't say anything for less than a second before he laughs and agrees.
But for the record?
Amy was a lot of fun last year. Especially last summer.
Okay, a few notes.
UBER LONG IEVGRNROUHFGWA! Time without updating. My apologies. Life decided to put me to work –literally.
My OTP Bendrian? YEAH, it's actually happening on the show for realz. I'm so happy. :) And there WAS Ramy in this chapter. So there. :P
Joined the Ben/Adrian Community here on (go subscribe now!) There are so many awesome Bendrian fics now, it's amazing.
Decided not to put in the Ricky/Ben Butchershop scene OR the Amy and John go see Ashley scene. Whether I put this in at a later date or not is yet to be determined.
I wrote this all before the season 3 premiere; if there are any similarities, Brenda stole my sh-t! xD
And finally! Next chapter is the dance; there were no flashbacks this part of the chapter.
hiddensunshine: Oh, I love that name; my mom's name is Ana; hope you liked the Ramy!
basicHBKnomics: Hmm, a storm? Where? Psyched you out with that one, huh? ;)
Lobaa: This is kickass? YOU'RE kickass, thanks so much!
jojobvco: Thank you for the continuous support!
Meghann.: Thanks girl, you're awesome too.
Mfoto: Thanks so much! :D
hollowmeadow: Okay, so, I'm telling this SPECIFICALLY to you, but. You're the best Bendrian BFF of all time. OF ALL TIME. And. I dedicate this to you because seriously, I may've taken longer to update; much love.
Princess Pinky: Haven't heard from you in a while, but just wanted to let you know, if you're even reading this, that you're amazing. That's it. Oh. And Grason pwns. Oh. And Joe as Urkle is SO MUCH WIN. I LOVE that analogy!
ButterflyFeelings: Thank you so much, I've never had a review like that warm my heart in a while. What you said, it's something I've tried to do, and it makes me happy-over-the-moon to see that someone's noticed. Hope to hear from you soon.
Watashi No Sukinahito: Thank you so much xD
RaeRae: It's great to see another Bendrian fan; glad to have you on board. ;)
So, I leave you with the promise of another update~
DAC