AN: I have edited Chapters 1-10 and posting that along with this last chapter. Nothing major that changed the plot, but just more reactions and observations and trying to make the characters sound more like themselves. Thank you so much for sticking around until the very end. This story really means a lot to me and has gotten my mind off stressful times in my real life. I appreciate every single comment and kudos and they really make my day.
Ann was painting my nails red. She was spending the night in my room; we hadn't had a lot of time to talk since I got super busy planning for the annual fair. But she was caught up with what Ben had done to save me from losing my scholarship. I was a little worried how she was taking this whole 'Chris is back' situation.
"How are you?" I asked her. Ann was focused on not messing up my nail polish.
"I'm ok." She answered absentmindedly, not understanding my true question.
"I mean, how are you?" I repeat with a little more emphasis.
Ann looked up and grasped what I was really asking. "I'll be ok, Leslie. I mean, it's been hard. I really loved Chris. I was hurt and confused because I thought he loved me too. And finding out why he broke up with me made me so mad. At first, I thought it was closure. But when I started to miss him, I got really angry that he didn't fight for me, for us. So, I kind of switch between angry and hurt. But I'm going to be fine. I just need to get through it with the help of a lot of distractions. And alcohol." She laughed at the last part.
I gave her a soft smile, I wished I could help her heal faster. Ann didn't deserve to be hurt like that. "Oh Ann, you beautiful fluffy tiger. I know you'll be fine. And I will always be your distraction. God knows I need a makeover on every aspect of my life and you're basically in charge of that."
Ann finished the last of my nail and handed my hand back to me. She looked at me seriously as she said, "Leslie, I know you said you don't want to talk about you and Ben. But you need to tell me at least a summarized version of everything that's happened. And I want you to start from the beginning."
She was right. I really needed her advice on what to do with Ben. I was keeping it from her before because I didn't want to get to the part where Ben said mean things about my best friend in the world. But now that she knows a little bit about it, it would be better if she learned why Ben did what he did. Also, I didn't want her to hate Ben. I know it's weird, but I wanted Ann to like Ben, to approve of Ben.
I took a deep breath and I tell her everything. She held off from saying anything as I told my story. She took my hands when I started getting teary-eyed as I got to the huge fight Ben and I had. And I ended with Ben and I almost having a moment before Chris interrupted us.
"Oh, my God. He still loves you, Leslie!" Ann finally burst out. Her hands going to her chest, she was beaming from ear to ear at me.
I shook my head, "I don't think so, Ann. You weren't there when I said all those things about him to his face."
"But he went to all that effort to clear your name. Can you imagine Ben trying to throw a punch at Mark?"
"I know, I couldn't believe it too."
"Look, Ben may have acted like a jerk at the start, but I think he's fallen hard for you. And he's really trying. Some guys are so dense that even when they realize they've done something wrong; they don't even make a big deal out of it. But Ben seems to care about what you think of him."
"I really blew it though. I mean, I practically told him that I would never go out with him, ever."
"But that was during a fight. He knows you were angry then and didn't mean it."
"Ugh! I don't even know if I should have a relationship. Look what it almost did to one of my classes. Boys are just trouble."
"Oh Leslie, there will be times it's rocky but there will be more times when it's the best thing. And I get that you want to focus on your studies but also don't close yourself up from having a relationship with someone if the right person comes."
"I hope you're right, Ann." Ann gave me a tight hug and I was starting to feel a little better, even if the Ben situation seemed like a hopeless cause.
"So, do we scratch Ben's name out from the list of people to never interact with again?" Ann asked with a twinkle in her eyes.
"Keep it there, I need to accept that he'll probably never ask me out again. But you should add Chris's name on there too. Let's just stay away from both of them to be safe."
"Those two really did a number on us, didn't they?" I nodded my head and couldn't agree more to what she had just said. Ann sighed, "Alright, time to move on. I'm going to teach you how to make the perfect smoky eyes." Ann rummaged inside her purse for her black eyeliner.
"You look amazing, Leslie." Ann said as she put the finishing touches on my face. I looked in the mirror and admired her masterpiece. Of course, I wouldn't be able to replicate this on my own, but I wasn't going to tell her that.
There was a knock on our door and Ann yelled, "Come in!" And to both our surprise, Chris stepped in through the open door.
"Get out!" Ann yelled when she recovered from the sight of Chris.
"Ann Perkins. Please give me a chance to explain." Chris begged. He looked desperate.
"There's nothing to explain, Chris. I don't want to talk to you. Get out."
"Just give me five minutes. That's all I ask."
Ann crossed her arms and she stared at Chris angrily. I could see the wheels turning in her head. "Five minutes. Starting now."
I look at Ann and she gave me a nod, "I'll be outside if you need me." I assured her. I got out as fast as I could to offer them privacy and was startled to see Ben leaning on the wall across our room. He immediately stood up straight when he saw me.
I felt my heartbeat racing again and managed to say, "Hey. I didn't know you were here." Ben was wearing sunglasses to cover his black eye. And I'll be damned if I don't admit that he looked really hot in them.
"Yeah, I'm just here for moral support." Ben smiled.
"Did you have anything to do with this too?" I asked him.
"No, no. This is all Chris. I just drove him here. Yeah, he told his dad that he was going to continue seeing Ann. Chris made a compelling argument about how he should be trusted to make his own decisions and that he would make sure that his grades weren't failing. And it was basically the only thing he talked about during their trip that his dad finally caved just to get him to shut up." Ben explained.
"Oh, well then."
"You look really pretty, Leslie." Ben said in a rush. He looked embarrassed after he said it.
I was probably burning red all over my face. "Oh, this whole thing. Ann was experimenting on my face." I laughed nervously.
"I like it. Your eyes are beautiful."
His words make me want to melt on the floor. "I like your face too." I blurted out. And immediately I wanted to smack my forehead. Oh, my God. Why did I just say that?
"Thank you." He said with a little laugh.
"Listen, I really want to thank you again for confronting Mark. I'm sorry I didn't hear you out first when you kept on telling me that Mark was an asshole."
"No, I totally get it. I was a real jerk to you at times and I can understand why you wouldn't believe me. And I'm really, really sorry that I made you feel bad about yourself. I'm- this is all quite new to me and I'm not really- sometimes, I don't know what's the right thing to say." Ben stammered.
"Ben, I-" I was cut off mid-sentence when the door popped open and Chris came out to the hallway. I don't know whether to feel annoyed or relieved that Chris interrupted what I was about to say. I didn't even know where I was headed with that statement really.
"Hi Leslie." Chris said cheerfully as he gestured for Ben that he'll be waiting outside.
"Uh, yeah, I gotta go. See you later, Les." Ben said quietly. He looked like he had a lot on his mind.
I get back into the room and see Ann shaking her head. "What happened?" I asked.
"He wants to get back together again." Ann said in disbelief.
"And?"
"I don't know if I want to get back with him, Leslie. I'm still angry at him. So, I told him, I'd think about it."
"Do you still have feelings for him?"
"Yes, I still love that optimistic cheerful idiot." Ann said exasperatedly.
"That's great then!"
"I'm just going to make him suffer for a bit. Before I tell him."
I hugged Ann. I was happy for her. And happy for me, if she gets back with Chris, then that means, Ben and I could hang out again. That is, if he still wanted to hang out with me.
The alarm clock on my desk said it was around 1:30 AM. Ann was sleeping soundly on April's bed. I had been staring all night at my ceiling. I couldn't sleep. I just kept thinking about Ben. I needed to clear my head and decided to get some fresh air.
I put on my jacket over my pajama and walked to Freedom Park. I was grateful that this beautiful piece of land was right in front of my dorm. There was hardly anyone in the park at this unholy hour. I sat on one of the benches and hugged my knees to my chest. The moon shone brightly that night. I stared at the stars and marveled at how small I was compared to the vast entirety of the universe. I was hoping to see a wishing star and maybe I could wish that I could forget about Ben so that I wouldn't always feel like dying every time I thought about how I was never going to know what it was like to be with him.
From the corner of my eyes, I could see a silhouette of someone walking towards me. Normally, I would freak out and probably run back to the dorm as fast as I could. But I knew who it was.
My heart did that wild beating that it usually does whenever Ben's around. I couldn't explain how I was so sure it was him. But I just knew. Just like how he always knew where I was and always managed to find me.
Ben stopped in front of me and reached out a hand towards me. I took it and he pulled me up off the bench. I was standing in front of him, my hand still in his.
"Your hands are cold." I said absentmindedly.
"Yes, they are." He replied with a smile.
"How do you always manage to find me?" I asked.
"I don't know." He shrugged and gave me tight-lipped smile, "I think, I'm always just wandering around, looking for you."
My chest was getting heavy. I was bursting with so much emotions right now, I wasn't even sure how to express what I was feeling.
"Thank you. Thank you for finding me when I was in my lowest. Thank you for helping me. I don't deserve any of it." I whispered.
"Everything I did, Leslie. It was all for you." Ben placed his palm on the side of my face. "The last time we were standing out here in the park, you said some things. And if you still feel that way, I'll leave you alone. My feelings have not changed, I'm still crazy about you and maybe even more so now. But just say the words, Leslie, and I'll go."
I was elated to hear what he had just said. There was still hope after all. "Here's what I'll say," I paused and let my emotions pour out of my words, "I love you and I like you."
"I love you and I like you." Ben replied. He leaned down and finally kissed me. The world stopped and there was nothing except for his soft lips on mine. I got on my tip toes to circle my arms around his neck as I kissed him back, releasing all my repressed feelings for him.
We pulled apart and stare at each other's faces. "That was nice." I managed to say breathlessly.
"You don't know how I've been wanting to do that for so long now." Ben confessed.
"I didn't realize that kissing could feel that good. I mean, it was, that was my first kiss. Oh, God. I don't know why I just told you that. But I thought you needed to know, to explain why I was so nervous. And I liked it. I really liked it. I think I could actually do that all day. Well, maybe I'd need to take breaks from time to time, but making out all day sounds really nice-"
"Leslie?"
"Hmmm?"
"Please stop talking." Ben said teasingly. He laughed and then took me by the waist as he kissed me again.
AN: The End! I'm planning on a sequel. :D working title is Crazy Rich Wyatts. So, if you've read that book, you kind of have an idea what the sequel will be about.
