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Evelyn didn't reappear that day, or any day for the next two weeks. Ben scoured the hallways for her, thinking he saw her on numerous occasions only to find it was someone else entirely. He knocked on her bedroom door at least twice a day and each time was greeted by stony silence. At one point, he even contemplated going to the Dean to enquire as to where she had gone, but Craig had pointed out that there would be no way the Dean would tell him. All he could do was wait.

Finally, one night a fortnight later, as he lay in bed, Ben heard movement in the room next door and knew that Evelyn was back. Despite the fact it was almost midnight, he leapt out of bed, pulled on some clothes and hurried outside. He knocked on her door and waited. After a few moments, it was opened a crack and Evelyn appeared.

"Hey," he greeted her, "I heard you moving about." She didn't say anything, or open the door any wider, "I wondered if you were ok."

Evelyn pulled the door open wider and then walked back into her room. Ben pushed the door open, stepped inside and closed it behind him. The room was a mess, clothes and books everywhere. She had clearly been about to go to bed, her bedclothes were pulled back and she was wearing a faded t-shirt.

"When you disappeared from class I…" he began.

"I went home," she said quietly.

"Oh, right…" he stood uncomfortably at the door watching as she wandered around aimlessly before sitting down on the edge of the bed. "I don't want to pry…"

Evelyn laughed mirthlessly, "Of course you don't."

"No, I seriously don't," he replied, "You don't have to tell me anything. I just wanted to make sure you were ok." He turned to open the door again.

"My brother died."

Ben turned back around, "Your brother?"

Evelyn nodded, "Danny."

"I'm sorry," he said, "was it expected?"

"No." She took a deep shuddering breath, "He was killed."

"Killed? Murdered?"

"Depends on how you look at it." She looked at him as he frowned, "Danny's always been a bit of a tearaway. He was always in trouble at school, got himself expelled twice. The last few years, he's been running with a bad crowd, you know, taking drugs, petty crime." She bit her lip, "He and some of his 'friends' decided they would rob a store. The police turned up and when they told Danny to put his hands up and turn around…" she swallowed hard, "he turned around too quickly and…the officer thought he had a gun…" she trailed off, "you can guess what happened next."

"They shot him?" She nodded, "I'm sorry."

"I guess I knew that something bad would happen to him some day."

"How are your parents taking it?"

Evelyn shrugged, "Hard to tell. They're a little more drunk than usual I suppose. I came back as soon as I could." She looked up at him, "Did I miss much?"

"No," he replied honestly, "I mean, Whitworth took in the assignments but I'm sure that he won't mind if you…" he broke off suddenly as Evelyn burst into tears. "Evelyn…" for a moment, he just stood looking at her, not sure what to do, then he sat down on the bed beside her and put his arm around her. She resisted his comfort for a while, but eventually, she put her head on his shoulder as she continued to sob.

Ben didn't say anything, instead, he just sat allowing her to cry, feeling the wetness of her tears dripping down onto his sweatshirt.

"I'm sorry," she sniffed finally, as her sobs subsided, "I didn't mean to…I mean I…"

"It's ok," he reassured her.

Evelyn pulled her head away from him and rubbed her eyes viciously, "I don't usually cry."

"About anything?"

"About anything." She smiled wanly, "thank you."

"No problem," he told her, "you should…try and get some sleep." He stood up and moved towards the door. Then he paused and turned back, "Would you like to have lunch tomorrow?"

Evelyn nodded, "Sure, I'd like that."

"Good," he nodded, "Good night."

"Good night Ben," she said softly.

Ben opened the door, slipped out and went back into his own room. As he lay staring at the ceiling, he heard her moving around for a little while longer before it all went quiet.

SSSS

"So, what did Whitworth say?" Ben asked her the following day as they sat in one of the cafes having lunch.

"Well…" Evelyn put down her sandwich, "after he grumbled about me taking time off for no good reason…" she spread her hands as if to say, 'what the hell,' "he said that he would mark my assignment but that I could expect to lose some marks as a matter of course."

"That's not really fair."

"I know," she replied, "but I can't argue with him I suppose."

"You mean you didn't even try?" Ben was surprised.

"Well I tried to explain about Danny but he didn't want to know. I don't really have the energy to take it any further." She sighed heavily and ran a hand over her eyes.

"Are you ok? You look shattered."

"I didn't sleep too well last night," she admitted, "all I can think about is…well…Danny."

"That's understandable."

"You think?"

Ben nodded, "You know, my father died when I was seventeen," he told her, "drank himself to death."

"I'm sorry."

"For months I worried about what I could have done. Could I have stopped him? Was there something I could have said?" he sighed, "After a while you realise there's nothing you could have done and you…let it go."

Evelyn nodded, "Danny and I, we weren't really that close, not for a few years. Seems as though I barely knew him at all." She looked at Ben, "I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me."

"It's all right."

"I suppose you know that I don't really have a lot of friends."

Ben paused, "You know you can always hang with Craig and me. If you don't mind hanging with two guys that is."

Evelyn grinned, "You're very sweet, Ben." At that moment, she seemed to remember something and glanced at her watch, "Shit, I'm going to have to go. I've got an appointment with Nicholls about my product liability assignment."

"Good luck," Ben said.

She made a face, "No doubt I'll need it. I guess I'll see you later?"

"Guess you will." Ben watched as she made her way out of the café, allowing his gaze to linger on her bottom. "Get a grip, Stone," he chided himself.

SSSS

It was a cold, snowy night, the wind biting. Anyone with half a brain was tucked up in their rooms with a hot chocolate or a warm body. Ben, on the other hand, had decided to spend some time in the library going over some last minute research for his family law assignment. At eight o'clock, he put his last book back, lifted his things and began making his way back across the campus. It was dark and the lights cast only a slight glow on the path as he walked back towards Hunter House. He thought he might pay a quick visit to Evelyn before turning in.

His mind was focused so much on that task that when a snowball hit him from behind, he was taken quite by surprise. Turning round quickly, he saw Nick Phillips and a couple of his cronies standing a few feet away.

"Sorry," Nick said, "Didn't see you there." Not wanting to get embroiled in a fight, Ben simply turned and continued on his way. "Hey!" Nick called after him. He stopped again and turned back around, "It's customary to say it's all right when someone apologises."

"If I thought you meant it, I would," Ben replied. He started to walk away.

The next thing he knew, he was being shoved from behind and he turned around to see Nick right up in his face.

"What did you say?" Nick demanded.

"I said, if I thought you meant your apology, I would have said it was all right." Ben's heart was thumping in his chest but he was determined not to let Philips see it.

"That's what I thought you said," Nick said, "I just wanted to check." Then he suddenly head-butted Ben, sending him sprawling onto the ground.

Ben was winded, and when he lifted his hand and touched his face, there was blood on his fingers. He sat on the ground, looking up at Nick.

"Oh dear," Nick said, "looks like that pretty face is a little messed up now Stone." Ben hauled himself to his feet and stood facing his attacker, "Guess the lovely Evelyn won't be as interested in you now." He cocked his head on one side, "maybe I should go mess up her pretty little face too, then you can be a pair."

At the thought of this…bastard…touching Evelyn, Ben felt a rage build inside him and he lunged at Nick who, surprised, stumbled back and fell onto the ground. Ben started raining blows down on him, and he seemed to be gaining the upper hand until he felt strong arms pulling him off. They spun him around and he felt another blow to his head, then another and another as Nick's friends jumped in to help their captain. It seemed to go on forever, until eventually, the blows stopped and he could hear the sound of running feet as they made their escape.

He wasn't sure how long he had been lying there, but eventually, Ben managed to haul himself to his feet and stumble along the path towards Hunter House. The foyer was deserted, although he could hear the sounds of laughter coming from the common room. Grabbing onto the banister for support, he managed to pull himself up the stairs to the first floor and along to Evelyn's door.

"Oh my God, Ben!" she exclaimed when she opened the door and saw his face, "Oh my God, what happened?" She helped him into her room and sat him down on the bed, "Ben…"

"Phillips," he managed to say finally through the blood and initial swelling, "…jumped me."

"Oh my God," she said again, "Stay there." She jumped up, threw the door open and ran down the hallway. Ben fell onto his side onto the bed and tried to control his breathing. His lungs were burning and he felt as though he was going to be sick. A few moments later, Evelyn returned with a basin of water and a cloth. "Here, sit up," she told him, "can you sit up?" She helped him into a seating position and started to unbutton his coat. "You need to take your sweater off too," she told him, and despite his moans of pain, she gently eased it off of him. Then she dipped the cloth in the water and started to gently wash away the blood, "What did you say to them?" she asked.

"Nothing," he replied thickly.

"Surely they didn't jump you for no reason," she said, "although knowing Phillips…" she shuddered, "Sorry," she apologised as he winced.

"Said…said he was going to…to hurt you," Ben said finally.

Evelyn paused and looked at him, "You should have just walked away."

"I tried," he pointed out.

"You don't need to defend me."

"Yes I do," he said.

Evelyn sighed as she dabbed some antiseptic lotion onto another cloth and touched the scrapes and scratches, "You should go to the police."

"After what they did to Danny?"

"Don't be ridiculous," she said angrily, "it's not the same thing. Just because of what happened to Danny doesn't mean I've lost all faith in the cops. Ben…" she paused and looked at him, "Phillips can't get away with it."

"He will," Ben said, "his father will see to that."

"At least let me call a doctor." He shook his head, "You could have fractured ribs or internal bleeding, anything."

Ben lay back down on the bed, "I'll go to the infirmary tomorrow." At that, a hazy feeling overtook him and he fell fast asleep. In his dreams, Phillips was chasing him and he in turn was chasing Evelyn. On and on they ran, faster and faster, his lungs were burning and his eyes streaming and he couldn't seem to catch her…

He woke with a startled gasp, his breathing shallow and raspy. The room was dark and for a moment, he couldn't remember where he was. Then he felt someone move next to him and Evelyn pushed herself up onto her side.

"It's ok, Ben," she told him, "it was just a dream. You're ok." She stroked his forehead gently, "you're fine."

"Evelyn…" he gasped, "Evelyn…"

"I'm here," she told him, "I'm here." She kissed his face, "I'm right here." With that, she put her arms around him and pulled him to her, allowing his head to rest just above her chest. Despite his pain, Ben couldn't help feeling the first stirrings of arousal in his abdomen, but before he could act on them, he was asleep again.