The Game

(Tuesday Afternoon, July 9th)

"It's just you, then," Belle notices as she sets the tray of tea on the table, sitting across from him.

"I didn't want to bring Ella into this," King Charming frowns. "She's always been so strong, emotionally, but family is her weak point."

"That's understandable," she acknowledges, "given her history."

"This sounds serious," Adam prods on.

"Uh, yes." Charming adjusts his seating, "I'm afraid it is." He hesitates, "This is all very uncomfortable for me to say, and I must say in advance that I don't mean any offense by it."

"This had to do with our sons," Belle prompts.

"Yes. Um." Charming takes a moment, "I guess there was something Mal refused to do as Ben's girlfriend, and so he asked Chad to do it instead."

Belle sighs, and Adam questions, "What did he ask, exactly?"

"This is where I feel I'm overstepping." He explains, "I know how private you are as a family, and when I was told this I couldn't help but think…"

"This is a private matter," Belle frowns. "Private things are bound to come up." She looks to her side, "Isn't that right, Adam?"

"Uh, yes," he agrees. "Of course."

Charming breathes, "Okay." but he still takes a moment. "Ben asked Chad if he could, um, well, drink his blood, wrote it off as some sex thing."

"Oh, God," Belle gasps, before she briefly touches his hand. "Pardon me."

"I understand," he evenly expresses. "It's a lot to take in." He pauses, "But if I may ask, it was an excuse, wasn't it?"

Adam grumbles, "Magic can go wrong. It's part of the reason we outlawed it."

"Retired, dear," Belle places a hand to his shoulder.

"Awe, yes." He corrects himself, "Retired."

"That's what I thought." Charming continues, "What I don't understand is that Ben keeps asking him. Chad agreed to it once, just because of the close friendship they've always had, but after he said he didn't want to anymore, Ben has still continuously asked for it."

"Wait," Adam holds up a hand. "When was this?"

He slowly shakes his head, "This last week, I think."

"But that would be twice in a week," he announces.

"Adam?" Belle inquires, and he makes a noise.

"I saw Ben take some from Doug yesterday," he admits. "If he did the same to Chad, that's twice in a week he's done this."

She gives him a look, "You told me they were behaving."

"It was consensual," he excuses. "I didn't want to bother you with it.

She shakes her head, "You know, I saw him getting close to Audrey the other night too, but silly me. I thought it was just normal, teenage behavior."

"Audrey," Charming's mouth gapes. "She was there when Chad told me. She didn't say anything about that."

"I stopped it before it could happen," Belle informs. "Audrey… she said she just wanted Ben to get help. She didn't want her family to get upset."

"I still don't believe it," Adam voices. "He lied to me. He said he was taking care of it."

"Well, that wasn't a lie now, was it?" Belle half laughs. "He was taking care of it. It's just… illegal, unethical, and morally irresponsible."

"Did you hear that?" Adam gazes towards the hallway.

"Hear what?" Charming asks.

He narrows his eyes before shouting, "Ben."

Belle and Charming look towards the hallway, before Ben slowly peeks out from it with an awkward smile, "Hey. What's going on?"

"Come here," he commands, and Ben eyes from the floorboards to him, shifting his feet, but he finds himself unable to move.

"It's okay, honey," his mother reassures. "We just need to ask some questions."

Ben slowly makes his way to the table, and Charming switches to the other side to get a better view of him. Ben eyes over them as he sits, "Am I in trouble?"

"Of course, not," his mother breathes. "We just need to hear your side of things."

"I, um." Ben finds his mind blank, "Which side of what?"

"Of Chad's story," Charming comments. "He says you told him you have a blood fetish, and you've been requesting him to do things for you."

"Okay." Ben straightens, "I never did anything he didn't consent to."

"Pressuring isn't consent," his mother reminds him.

He whispers, "I know."

"Then why have you been doing this to him?" she counters. He fails to speak, and she continues, "He's your friend. You've been friends for years. How could you do this to him?"

"I," Ben emphasizes, but then he lets out the breath and shakes his head.

"You what?" his father sternly questions.

Ben stares at his folded hands, "I couldn't stop thinking about him." before he peeks at their expressions. "Most people are sweet. He… It's different." Ben half laughs and reaches for his temple, "He drives me crazy."

"You're victim blaming now," his mother accuses.

Ben frowns at her, and after a moment of quiet, Charming speculates, "Was it just an excuse?" Ben turns to him. "Or is blood… is it more than food to you?"

"I don't know," his pitch raises. "How am I supposed to know?"

"It's your body," his mother points out.

"Well, sometimes the body can be wrong. Okay?" Ben panics. "You can't depend on something like that to—"

"Honey," she interrupts, and when his words halt, she taps his forehead and he tensely blinks. "The brain is part of the body too."

Ben cowers in his seat, "I think it's time for me to hide in the office."

"I think it's time you gave some straight-forward answers," his father asserts, and Ben folds his arms and eyes down. "You've had two feeding sessions this week. Can you really still not tell the difference, even when you're full?"

When Ben shakes his head, his mother inquires, "Is that why you broke up with Mal?"

"I didn't like thinking about her like that," he whispers.

"But you don't mind thinking about Chad like that?" his father counters.

Ben eyes off, "It doesn't make sense. That's not even what our fight was about."

"You said you didn't know what it was about," Charming reminds him.

Ben takes a moment, "I think I do now." before he shakes his head and meets their eyes. "I need to talk to him."

"You expect me to let you talk to my son," Charming's eyes widen, "after what you just admitted to us?"

"It's important," Ben insists.

"He doesn't want to talk to you," Charming reminds him.

"He'll want to see me for this," Ben insists. "Please."

He takes a minute, "I'll allow a supervised visit."

"It's private," Ben negates.

"You say you can't control yourself around him," his mother disbelieves. "If that's really the case, you need someone there to supervise."

"You," he immediately answers.

She laughs, "I didn't mean for you to pick."

"I'll allow it," Charming inserts.

"In the meantime," his father faces him. "How often do you drink?"

"I don't know." Ben's eyes shift, "I told you I don't keep track of it."

"An estimation," he reasons.

"Do we really need to talk about this?" he pleads.

"Yes." Ben looks down, as the tears intrude his eyes and his heart races. His father frustrates, "Just tell me. What is it? Once a week? Twice a week? What?"

"I don't know," Ben widens his eyes at him, before he breaks into sobs and lowers his head. He holds his arms tight, as he shakes and feels his face warm.

"Honey," his mother places a hand on his shoulder.

Adam urges, "Don't do that."

Belle gives him a long look, before she focuses back on Ben and moves his wet bangs out of his face. She lingers her hand there and observes his expression, waiting for him to calm, before he looks up and she moves her hand away. She smiles, "We're going to play a game."

"A game?" he manages.

"I'm going to hang a calendar in the kitchen," she explains. "Any time you… drink, I'd like you to put a red dot on that day."

"We need to take care of this now," Adam asserts.

Belle sighs but keeps eye contact with Ben, "Do you think you can do that for me?"

He nods, "Yeah." before he glances down. "I think so."

"Okay." She thinks, "Have you eaten anything today?"

"Um," he eyes away.

"Grab something from the kitchen," she interrupts. "We'll be leaving soon."

Ben merely shifts in his seat, "I'm not hungry." before he meets her eyes.

"You need to eat something," his father sternly says.

Ben widens his eyes at him, leaning towards him, "I'm not hungry."

"You know, it's no wonder you drink so often," his father complains. "It's not like you ever eat anything else."

Ben's expression falls, and Belle defends, "Adam. Please."

After he grumbles, Ben mumbles, "There's some weeks I don't drink at all."

"But you did skip both lunch and dinner last night," his mother reminds him, and when he doesn't respond, she reaches for his hand. He looks from it to her, and she softly says, "I would like it if you ate something. I want you in your right mind when you see Chad."

"Yeah. Okay." He eyes over them before standing from the table.

When he reaches the archway, Belle calls out, "Make it decent."

"What was that?" Adam furrows his eyebrows at her.

She faces him, "Which part?"

"All of it," his voice raises. "Starting with getting so close to him."

"I was trying to calm him," she reasons.

"You know why it calms him," he starts.

"Adam."

"And you still did it," he finishes.

"This is not the time nor place," she hisses.

"Why not?" Adam points a hand, "He knows about everything else now. Why not this?"

"Think of Ben," she asserts. "He must feel embarrassed enough."

"He's in love with you," Adam points at her, "and you're encouraging it."

"I'm not encouraging anything," she furiously whispers.

"And holding his hand," he counters. "What was that?"

"I was trying to get him to eat." She persists, "Shouldn't it be a good thing that I have this influence over him? That I can help him when he shuts down like that?"

"Not when you're connecting with him on such an inappropriate level," he condemns.

"Inappropriate," Belle disbelieves. "I've probably been the least affectionate mother one could be. The least I can do is let him know I care."

When Adam scoffs, Charming evenly interrupts, "I don't think Ben knows what he wants." They turn to him, and he explains, "Ben seems really confused by a lot of things right now, and you need to remember he's still a teenager. When I was his age something as simple as a pen and ink could influence me. I can't be any easier for him." Charming pauses, "And I know it doesn't explain everything, but children need affection and validation to build confidence and grow. If they can't get enough of it from their parents, they're going to look for it. I suspect it's why Chad dates so many girls. It's probably why Ben fixates on select people." He hesitates, "There is no replacement for a mother. You're close to the school, so he hasn't given up on getting that affection from you."

Belle partly smiles, "I appreciate what you're trying to do, Charming, but at this point I worry that may just be hopeful thinking." She turns to Adam and raises her eyebrows, "But he has never acted on it and he has been dating, so it's nothing you should have to make him feel guilty over."

"He should feel guilty," Adam voices. "You're his mother. He should be respecting you."

"He does respect me," Belle bypasses. "It's you he has a problem with." She meets his blue eyes, "What's this I hear about you showing him a scratch on the floor?"

He clears his throat, "I will tell you later."

Her eyebrows rise, "So, we can discuss that later, but we needed to embarrass Ben behind his back in front of his colleague now?" Adam stays silent, and she sighs before noticing Ben hurry through the dining room. "Hey," she shouts. He turns to her, and her mouth gapes in disbelief, "I told you to eat something." Ben holds up a jar of Nutella with a spoon in one hand and the two coconut drinks in the other. "You're not eating that by itself?"

His eyes shift, "It's how I always eat it."

"I said something decent," she complains. "Does that even have protein in it?"

"Chocolate always has protein and iron in it."

"And you can't just put some in a bowl," she frowns.

"I'll be having half now and half another day," Ben's frown deepens.

"And how much is that?" she inquires.

"The calories?" Ben asks, and she nods. "Two hundred for two tablespoons."

"And how much will you be having?" his father intrudes.

Ben looks at the label and wets his lips, before he faces them, "Two thousand and six hundred calories."

"That's more than a person is supposed to have a day," Charming gives a look.

Ben uncomfortably shifts before facing his mother, "Can I go now?"

"Yes," she sighs, before she shoes him away. "Go." He walks out of the room, and Belle shakes her head with wide, tired eyes, "I don't know how he does it. If I ate like that, I would be thicker than the dictionary."

"Didn't he just say he wasn't hungry?" Charming recalls.

"Yes," Adam answers, "but only protein is going to make him feel full. Eating a thousand empty calories is a good way for him to get it in if he's not hungry."

"Not nutritionally, though," Belle dismisses. "Empty calories can't be used. He should be storing them, but he's still so thin."

"Because he is using them," Adam counters. "His nutrients were already mostly taken care of with the blood. He's using the non-nutritional calories just to keep his weight up."

She rubs the back of her neck, "I don't like it."

"I don't either," Adam agrees. "He should be drinking less and eating more… You know, more meat, though. Not like… like this."

"Have you ever thought about a nutritionist?" Charming suggests.

Belle and Adam share a look, before they turn to him, "No."

He uncomfortably shifts his seating, "Alright, then."

"What's that?"

Ben's eyes widen as he reaches the main floor, "Evie."

Her eyebrows furrow, as she eyes the items in his hands, "Wouldn't it just be easier to use laxatives?"

"Laxatives?" Ben frowns.

"The things that—"

"I know what laxatives are," he interrupts. "Why are you asking me about them?"

"Because." She points from the Bai water, "You're using that." before she points to the Nutella. "To detox that."

Ben blankly stares at her, "Don't tell anyone."

"No. Of course, not," she laughs. "I just want to know why."

"Why what?"

"Wouldn't a laxative work better?" she inquires. "You have the money. It's not like you would have to steel them, so why don't you use them?"

He takes a minute, "Well, um. Laxatives are… You need to be twenty to buy them." before he scratches the back of his head. "And they're hard on the body. The more you use them, the less your body will work for itself."

"Does it work?" Evie points to the drink, "The antioxidants?"

"Well, um," Ben thinks, "the one I use for pizza does what I would think a laxative would, like make things go faster or, uh, run smoother…" He eyes from the white liquid to her, "But I only use this one with Nutella." He lifts a shoulder, "It's more… It usually kind of just makes things less… you know, solid."

She nods, "Hmm."

He faces her, "I didn't give you any ideas?"

Evie grins, "Don't worry. My problem isn't eating. It's not eating, so I don't have to deal with what you do." She places a hand on his shoulder, "Have fun with your diarrhea." before she moves past him.

Ben turns around to watch her leave up the other staircase, before the shock of her comment passes, he shakes his head, and continues to walk to his office. He opens the door and situates himself at his desk, before he turns on the news. He takes the lid off the Nutella, peels off the seal, and twists the cap off the antioxidant drink. An intense sensation settles on him. Why is he doing this? He takes a drink of the water, takes a spoonful of the spread into his mouth, and repeats. Thirty minutes later, he's a quarter the way through the jar, one water down, and it's time to use the bathroom.

- Oh. By the way, I noticed that I had part of a month repeated, but even though I didn't fix that in older chapters, I think I continued it correctly. Things should be all good now.