Chapter 5: The diner

A/N: Bit of a warning for this chapter, there are several transphobic slurs dropped through the chapter and if that's something that'll make you uncomfortable just know they're there. I'm still working on the overall story and trying to figure out where I want everything to end up, but so far I've been able to get a pretty good idea of how I want the characters to act and functions. I'm still thinking that Jacob and Ben's relationship is going to be a slow burn with lots of angst and hurt but eventually there will be a lot of comfort and love so just bare with me for the chapters to come. Also, I've almost hit 300 views and i'm actually quite proud of that.

*Song:Running with the wolves by Aurora

Ben pulled the hot cup toward himself, relishing in the warmth that spread through his frozen fingers. The smell of sweet chocolate and greasy food coated the air, making his stomach growl. The diner was just as he'd remembered it, and considering how much everything else had changed, he found it extremely comforting.

He brought the steaming liquid up to his lips and took a careful sip. He'd always loved the hot chocolate here, homemade and topped with lots of whipped cream.

Leah chuckled from across the table and then reached over to wipe her thumb across Ben's top lip. He flushed and then rolled his eyes as she licked the cream from her finger, "Geez, thanks mom." Setting the cup down, Ben pulled the paper place-mat towards himself. He'd picked up several hobbies since leaving Forks, but his true passion had become art.

He produced a ballpoint pen from his jacket pocket and then stared over Leah's features. His eyes studied her face like he was trying to memorize every detail. "Don't move for a minute."

"Dude I've modeled for you about half a million times this year alone, you could probably draw a perfect portrait of me even if you were blindfolded." Her tone was teasing as she leaned forward and rested her hand on her palm, allowing her long braid to fall over her shoulder. He watched her settle into her position and then began sketching. Since becoming roommates and close friends he'd used her as his model every chance he'd got. Could anyone really blame him though?

The diner was still mostly empty and Ben was thankful that they'd arrived before the breakfast rush. He was not ashamed of who he was, but he still wasn't ready for the intrusive stares and questions that came with people finding out. He'd grown used to spending time around people who understood him, like Lee, but he knew that Forks was probably going to be less forthcoming. Small towns were like that.

Leah's assessing eyes moved toward the entrance and then the little bell above the door jingled and was followed by several voices. Ben didn't bother looking up from his place-mat, his hand steadily working away at the shading of her face.

Peering back up at Lee's face, he frowned. Her brow was furrowed and the hand that had once been relaxed was now balled into a tight fist. "Lee, what's wrong?" He slid his hand across the table to touch her arm and her eyes snapped to his face. She was utterly pissed.

"They're talking about you Bee. They spotted you a couple minutes after coming in." Her voice was like ice and it sent a chill down his back. Over the years they'd spent together he'd had to talk Leah's temper down often. You can take the girl out of the wolf, but you can't take the wolf out of the girl.

Slowly, Ben turned his eyes from hers to look around the restaurant. The tiny place was still mostly empty, but then he caught movement in one of the corner booths on the other side of the room. Ah, of course that's who it was. Lauren Mallory,several of her pretty bitchy lookalikes, and a couple guys sat staring and gesturing towards him, it only made him roll his eyes. Turning his attention back to Leah he could see she was now fidgeting with something under the table, her face deadpan as she found his eyes again. He gulped, "Lee it's ok, they're just a bunch of assholes from high-school."

"Bella? Bella Swan? Is that you?" The high pitched voice was exactly as he remembered it, but he did not find this extremely comforting. He didn't bother turning, didn't want to give her the satisfaction. That was not his name and it hadn't been his name for a long time, he wouldn't respond to it now. Instead, he went back to his sketch and silently prayed that she'd lose interest.

"Hello?" He sucked in an exasperated breath, life really was a cruel bitch. Her hands appeared, pink acrylics tapping against the table impatiently. He didn't even raise his head as he responded, "My name is Ben, Benjamin Swan."

She let out a shrieking laugh that was just too loud compared to the rest of the noise in that small diner, he could feel the headache coming on. After his nightmare this morning he was not in the mood to deal with this.

Peering under his lashes, he could see Lee and the thing she'd been fidgeting with under the table. She'd bent a fork into a twisted and bent heap of metal and it now laid out on the table like a morbid art piece. She'd been very protective of him since the moment they'd seen each other in that trans support group and he'd watched her punch out grown men for harassing him. Leah had known who she really was from a young age, and had been on estrogen for years so unlike him she was rarely clocked. Ben on the other hand though was often picked out easily, and although it didn't usually draw too much attention he'd experienced his fair share of name calling and hate. He didn't mind that he didn't look like most men though, he knew himself.

"So like what.." He already knew what she was going to say before she said it, "You're like a tranny now or somethin'?" Leah was out of her seat in a heartbeat and towering over Lauren, lips pulled up in a scowl so that her canines were exposed. She was a predator staring down her prey, it made him shudder as memories of the way dream Jacob had looked at him flashed through his mind. "Call him that again and I'll pull that wiggling thing out of your head with my bare hands." She spoke the words in a hushed tone, so only the three of them could hear her threat.

Lauren shook in her shoes, her big green eyes nearly popping out of her head. He moved slowly from his seat, and then walked around her so that he was standing next to Leah. He needed to calm her down before she did something that would get them in trouble. This wasn't Seattle, they couldn't just disappear into a crowd after this. Well at least his father was the police chief.

"Lee, let's get out of here. She's not worth it." He set his hand firmly on her shoulder, trying to get her to look at him. The diner around them had gone deathly quiet, everyone waiting to see what happened next. God, so much for keeping a low profile. Leah relaxed under his hand and then snatched her jacket off the seat. Shrugging it on she gave Lauren one last look over, "You're lucky he has a heart for ignorant bitches."

She turned her head and found his eyes, "I'm going to go cool off." He watched her until she disappeared from view out the door, and then turned towards the table to gather his things. He'd see her back at the house, she needed time to run off the rage.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Lauren recovering from staring death in the eyes. She let out a shuddering breath and then turned her claws back on him. He could feel her staring daggers but he promptly ignored her, instead heading for the counter so he could pay and get their food to go.

"Hey Cora, do you mind making our order to go? Sorry for the trouble." He held his head high as he found the waitresses eyes. She studied him for a moment, but then gave him a warm understanding smile. "Yeah doll, just give me a sec'." He nodded at her and then pulled $25 out of his wallet, enough for the cheap food and a nice tip.

He could see Lauren standing just to the side, watching him. "I notice you're not wearing a wedding ring." The words cut deep, but he didn't even flinch. Slowly, he turned his eyes towards her direction. He looked her over, she wore workout clothes and an annoyed look on her face and it made him want to call Leah back in.

He let out a sigh and leaned his arm against the counter, "You're just as boring as you were in high-school." It was a simple insult, but he could tell it made her furious. She scoffed and he simply turned his attention back to Cora as she handed him his food. He finished paying, thanked her, and then walked out of the diner without another word. That woman just couldn't leave well enough alone though.

He was unlocking his truck when he heard her stomping up behind him. "You're a freak, I bet that's why he left you. Faggot." He ignored her again as he set the food in the passenger seat. He should have let Leah punch her. Suddenly he was yanked back painfully by his hair, a yelp escaping his lips as he was dragged away from his truck. He toppled to the ground, hard.

"You think you can threaten me? I'll call you a tranny if I want to, TRANNY." He looked up, trying to figure out who had their hands on him. One of the guys that had been sitting at Lauren's table sneered down at him. Great, he could handle Lauren but this dude was huge. Fuck Leah, now would be the time to whip out an ass beating. He struggled under the firm hand and clawed at the mans skin, but the guy had a good grip on him. "Get the fuck off me." He spoke steadily, but tears were pricking the corners of his eyes from the pain. Lauren let out another shrieking giggle and then reared back to kick him in the side. Ben flinched, braised for the impact but it never came. The hand in his hair pulled away, taking several strands with it. He opened his eyes and quickly got to his feet.

In front of him stood a huge tan shirtless man, and he towered over everyone. Ben peaked around him and saw that the man was holding Lauren's friend off the ground by his neck. Lauren had fallen back on the ground and looked like a horrified deer in headlights. "Consider yourselves lucky to be alive. If I ever catch you FUCKING with him again, there will be blood." The voice was familiar and Ben tried to place a face to it. The huge man pushed the guy away from him like he was nothing more than a 10 pound sack, rippling muscles tense in his back. He landed with a gasp and then scrambled away, pulling Lauren with him. Ben watched them scurry back to the safety of the diner and then looked up.

The man turned, long black hair framing his face like a shadow. Ben recognized him instantly, Paul Lahote. Fuck.

Paul peered at him from under his dark brows, and they just stood there for a moment in heavy silence. Then, the man let out a deep hearty laugh and slapped a huge hand on Ben's shoulder. "Shit Swan, you've grown some balls."

He sucked in a relieved breath and straightened his back, "If only it was that easy, Lahote."

…

Ben sat in the passenger side of his truck staring out the window at the passing trees. His head hurt but he was glad that his injuries weren't anything beyond a couple bruises and some lost hair.

"Does stuff like that happen often?" The words broke the comforting silence and he couldn't help grimacing. "Sometimes, but having Leah around tends to keep the assholes in check." He shifted so that he could peer over at Paul. He'd insisted on driving him home, even though he'd said he was fine.

He paused and ran a hand through his knotted curls, "Hey uh-...Thanks for helping me back there. I was lucky you were around." He watched big shoulders raise into a shrug and met dark coffee eyes. "It wasn't luck." Paul's words were serious and cut through him like a hot knife through butter. The man held his stare, studying his reaction. He had a million questions he wanted to ask, but after the dream this morning decided he didn't want to know answers to most of them. He wasn't ready. "They're not coming back." His voice was small, but he held Paul's piercing eyes. "That's why y'all are watching me, right? Seeing if I brought them with me?"

The man looked at him for a few more heartbeats and then turned his attention back to the windshield. His face was an unreadable mask and it reminded him of the way Jacob had looked in the woods. Ben turned back to the window, his headache finally turning into a migraine. He shut his eyes against the pain and tried taking even steady breaths. The scars under his jacket throbbing, he wished he wasn't so cold.

"That's only part of it." The words made his heart drop into his stomach, and instead of replying he wrapped his arms around his middle in a futile attempt at comfort. Neither of them said anything else during the ride home, and Ben silently thanked him for that.

…

Paul pulled open Ben's door and he slid out of the seat. Holding the 2-go boxes close to his body he made a B-line for the front door. Leah sat on the front steps, peering at them from under her sunglasses. She looked him over and was immediately on her feet. Lee stopped him and looked over his disheveled hair and dirty clothes, and then turned her anger on Paul. "What the FUCK happened to him? What did you do?" She practically growled the words. "What do you mean what did I do?" Paul snapped back. Ben rolled his eyes, what a lovely pack reunion.

"He didn't do anything Lee, those assholes at the diner jumped me after you left." He spoke calmly, not wanting to add more emotional energy to the already growing storm. She turned back, and he knew she was already beating herself up. "I'm ok, Paul put the fear of god in them. I don't think they'll be trying again anytime soon." Ben shifted the food to one arm and grabbed her hand with the other. "I'm alright." She nodded and then bumped her forehead against his. "They're probably lucky it wasn't me because i wouldn't have put the fear of god in them...I would have sent them to meet her." He knew she was probably right.

They looked over each other one last time and then broke into laughter. Leah slung a protective arm around his shoulders before turning them both to face Paul. "Lahote, you stickin' around for breakfast?" He looked her over, big burly arms crossed over his equally burly chest. "Yeah, I could eat." Ben knew this was the closest Lee would get to an apology and thank you, wolves were so proud.