Ben read over news articles online, praising his heroic deeds and calling him the hero of all centuries to come.
It should have made him feel better, but it didn't. Nothing did. Not soccer, not friends, not fighting. He was always so angry, and he didn't understand why. He wasn't upset with anyone in particular. He was just generally mad.
Not only that, but he could not sleep. No matter how many sleeping pills he took, no matter how many days he went without rest, no matter how many hours he lay at night with his eyes closed trying to fall asleep, no matter how exhausted he felt, Ben could not sleep. It had been three days since he had last slept, and he was going out of his mind with sleep deprivation. He knew he should've asked someone for help, but what could they do except worry?
Ben rubbed his hands over his face in frustration before slamming his laptop closed.
He heard a knock at his door. He didn't feel like saying come in, so he didn't.
"Ben," his mom said, opening his door. "Do you want your dinner?"
"No, mom," he sighed.
"Sweety, please. You haven't eaten all day. It's already six in the afternoon."
"I ate at school," he lied.
"Please. I'm starting to get worried about you." His mom paused, as if thinking. "Maybe having that watch is too much for you."
Before Ben could zip up his mouth, he exploded. "I'M FINE, MOM! GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"
He could see his mom's heart breaking as tears pooled in her eyes.
He rushed to apologize. "No, Mom. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell."
But the damage was done. She closed his door with a restrained sob and left Ben to curse himself for being such a jerk.
What was wrong with them?
He suddenly heard his phone buzzing. It was Gwen. "What?" he said into the phone.
"Don't you know how to say hello anymore?"
"Hello. What is it?" Ben was aware of how rude he was being, and with every word he wanted to kick himself.
"Ben, Kevin and I want you to meet us at Smoothy."
"Why?"
"Will you just come?"
"Fine." It beat sitting here disrespecting his parents and trying to sleep when he knew it wouldn't happen.
"Alright. See you in a few," Gwen told him, but he had already hung up half way through her sentence.
Ben threw on his green jacket, traded out his pajama shorts for jeans, and headed out the door.