DISCLAIMER: This is probably by far the heaviest chapter so far. Reader discretion is advised if stuff like bullying or suicide isn't your kind of thing to read about it. I now bring you guys chapter 5! Be sure to have a box of tissues nearby when reading this one. I felt like including a lot of the dialogue from LiS Episode 2 in this chapter, so things may get a bit repetitive at times.
Chapter 5: Guardian Angel
Ben was a man on a mission. He had woken up at 5:00 am as the sun was still fighting to make its way up into the sky. The reason he was up so early on a Tuesday morning was to clean up the mess that was made by certain people yesterday. He was running around all over campus to find and take down any of the pictures that had to do with Kate's video. Ben didn't dare to watch that video, but the printed out photos only made him wonder what kind of sick, twisted, antics were involved in it. He was disturbed by the images of the nicely dressed girl, kissing and grabbing various guys at the party. This just didn't seem like her though. To Ben, he would have loved to meet the practical joker who filmed the video in the first place, and shove the phone that they recorded it on, down their throat. Mostly for them making Ben go through all of this trouble this morning.
He took down one of the photos that was taped to the bulletin board, which was placed right outside of the main academic building, and noticed something different about this one compared to the others. It was simply just Kate walking around the Vortex Club party area and he also noticed what looked like Victoria and her friends on the left side of the photo, pointing and laughing at her. But something was different about Kate in this photo compared to how Ben had usually seen her walking around Blackwell. She looked almost as if she was high. Her eyes were closed, she was smiling, and she wasn't even aware of her current surroundings. It came to Ben again that maybe she really was drugged, just like Chloe with Nathan. This could explain Kate's uncharacteristic behavior that people were raving about in the video. He figured that if anyone would know anything about this, it would probably be Nathan himself.
Even though he still wanted to help Chloe, Ben was hoping that the accusations she made about Nathan yesterday weren't true though. He had already known Nathan for a little over a month, and from what he had always seen, Nathan didn't seem like the kind of person to try and hurt someone. But Ben started to rethink this about the spoiled rich kid since yesterday. Unless someone's trying to get in a quickie with some chick, a guy who happens to be in the girl's bathroom usually doesn't have the best intentions.
"That should be the last one." Ben proudly said to himself, taking down what looked to be the very last printed image of Kate.
He took a mental note in his head of all of the places he searched. The dormitory, both the boys and girls floors, the parking lot which had one on every car's windshield, the main building, and the locker rooms. Ben even took the bold initiative to check the girl's locker room early enough before someone even entered.
"Thanks for the tip, Victoria." He said to himself as he threw the final batch of pictures into a trash can.
'I'd rather shred or burn these to make sure nobody ever sees them again, but I don't have much time. I still need to shower.' He thought to himself as he was sweating through his hoodie and sweatpants he was wearing. He felt like a madman that had just completed some kind of perverse scavenger hunt. Ben wasn't sure if he dedicated two whole hours of taking down all of those pictures, simply because he was truly concerned for Kate or that he just felt that Blackwell needed to be a more respectful and caring environment. Perhaps it was just a little bit of both.
Kate could hear her alarm clock go off once more, reminding her that she needed to get up and begin her early bird routine. She wasn't exactly thrilled to start the day as she usually was. She rolled her eyes and turned to her side to shut off the alarm and get out of her bed. She wore her usual set of pajamas, a white top, with a design of a pattern of flowers at the center, and a pair of turquoise sleep pants with both pant legs rolled up above her ankles. They made her feel like a little girl again on the inside, young and innocent. But she felt anything but innocent anymore. She felt corrupted. She had her long blonde hair worn down, which appeared to be frizzy from tossing and turning in her sleep last night. She looked in her mirror and saw that her eyes appeared to be bloodshot along with a few bags underneath. She struggled to sleep the past few nights as her mind was still fixated on that video and the backlash and shame she was receiving from her classmates and family. Not wanting to see her face anymore, she took a blanket from off of her bed and used it to cover the mirror.
Kate grabbed her basket of shower supplies and her toothbrush and made her way to the bathroom. Walking down the vacant hallway with her head down, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone, she took a left turn down the hall and arrived at the bathroom pushing open the door. As she entered the room, she took one of the unoccupied shower cubicles and closed the curtain behind her. After stripping out of her pajamas, she turned on the warm water hoping that it would help sooth her soul. She finished rinsing the conditioner out of her hair, turned off the water, and slipped back into her pajamas after drying herself off with her bath towel.
Kate then walked over to one of the sinks in the bathroom where she could look into the mirror to tie her hair into her signature bun. She then began to brush her teeth at the sink as Max had entered the bathroom carrying all of her shower supplies.
"Hey, Kate. How are you doing?" Max asked trying to strike a successful conversation with Kate. She was hoping Kate wouldn't be so brief with her this time like yesterday.
"I'm here." Kate simply replied. "I don't know if I told you yet, but that football player named Ben stood up to David for me yesterday." She mentioned in a more cheerful tone.
"That's awesome Kate. Ben seems like a really cool guy compared to the other jocks around here. And David has some serious issues." Max said as she felt glad hearing that someone else was also looking out for Kate.
"Doesn't everybody here." Kate replied in response to Max's comment about David. "By the way Max, do you still have my copy of The October Country?" She asked.
"Oh. Yes, of course. It's great so far. I didn't realize Bradbury was such a poet." Max expressed with enthusiasm. There was an awkward moment of silence that followed, which broke the potential conversation about Ray Bradbury's style of poetry.
"Can you please bring it back to my room this morning? I just need to take some notes for class." Kate asked abruptly as she broke the silence.
"Absolutely. I'll bring it by later." Max promised before she went to jump into the shower.
As Max had closed the shower curtain behind her and began to turn the faucet to get water running, Kate proceeded to brush her teeth and looked down at the sink, not wanting to see herself in the mirror. She felt like she was a different person, compared to when she first moved in at Blackwell on that warm sunny August day. She was all smiles and excitement, moving in all her things with the help of her parents and her two younger sisters, Lynn and Emma. Despite always wearing her hair in the same fashion and having her usual outfit, Kate only felt like she was just wearing a mask for the past few days. To her, the real Kate Marsh had died on that fateful night of the Vortex Club party she attended. All she simply felt that she could do now was find a way, any way if possible, to put an end to this madness she was living through. Suddenly, Victoria and her usual lackey, Taylor, had entered the bathroom, both approaching Kate and standing next to her at both sides of the sink, where she was brushing her teeth.
"What's up Kate?" Victoria asked in a taunting voice.
"School." Kate replied in a monotone demeanor. She tried her best to ignore the two.
"That's it?" Taylor snarked.
"That video of you clubbing sure didn't look like homework." Victoria teased at Kate nastily.
"Victoria, that wasn't me." Kate cried out, feeling humiliated.
"Oh my God. Right." Taylor said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.
"Don't be shy. I think it's awesome that you set a tongue record on video." Victoria stated as she and Taylor began to laugh.
"You're going to be sorry someday." Kate replied as her voice choked. Her eyes began to fill up with tears as she stormed out of the bathroom furiously.
"Oh boohoo, I'm sorry you're a viral slut." Victoria shouted out, hoping that Kate would hear those last few words. "I'm sure she had fun." She added.
"Looks like it." Taylor agreed.
"I know Nathan hooked her up. And you know he has the good shit." Victoria commented.
"Preach it, sista." Taylor applauded. The two girls then began to look at their selves in the mirror.
"Yuck. I still have goddamn paint all over my face." Victoria complained as she still examined herself in the mirror. "'Max Selfie' thought she was a badass taking that picture. I shoulda beat her down."
"That was so uncool." Taylor expressed.
"She's jealous because Mark...Mr. Jefferson knows I'm going to win the 'Everyday Heroes' contest. He thinks Max is a joke". Victoria boasted.
"She's a weirdo with that dumb camera." Taylor remarked.
"I hate that 'I'm so quirky' crap." Victoria said. "Anyway, let's leave the link to Kate's video so everybody gets a chance to see her in action." She said with a sinister grin on her face.
"You are such an evil beeatch. I love it!" Taylor said, encouraging her best friend.
Victoria then pulled out a tube of red lipstick and wrote the link across one of the bathroom mirrors before she and Taylor left the bathroom laughing with each other. However, the two girls were completely unaware that Max was in the shower the whole time and overheard their entire conversation. As she dried off and stepped out of the shower, she was able to see the red lipstick writing on the mirror that had written out the exact link to the viral video.
Max wiped away the link on the mirror with her hand before she left the bathroom.
'Even if I can stop one person from watching it, it's worth it.' She thought to herself.
"Kate? You in there?" a voice called from outside of Kate's room.
"Yes, I'm here. Come in Max." Kate replied recognizing the voice as Max's.
Max entered the room, observing the dark and somber ambiance it had with it. She saw how Kate's mirror had been covered with the blanket. Her window was blocked by her curtains, disregarding the sunny weather outside. She saw Kate's violin case, which reminded her how she hadn't heard Kate play her violin in the past few days. She then saw Kate, still dressed in her pajamas, sitting at her desk and sobbing with her head down.
"Uh, hey, Kate, I brought your book." Max said softly, hoping that she didn't catch Kate at a bad time. As Kate remembered that Max was here to return her copy of The October Country that she borrowed, she picked up her head and wiped away her tears with her hand.
"Max, why do you think that Ben stepped in between me and David yesterday? He doesn't even know me." Kate asked.
"Maybe he just hates bullies. And David Madsen should know better." Max said.
"I was hoping he would. But it's nice to see that someone else cares about me." Kate expressed.
"Kate, Ben might just be another jock, who's a member of the Vortex Club, but he actually does appreciate other people outside of his social group." Max stated. "So, what's the whole story between you and David?" she questioned.
"Well... he's a total paranoid ass! He thinks I'm part of the vortex Club. Yeah right." Kate said.
"Did you party with them?" Max asked.
"I went to a Vortex Club party against my better judgment. Not my scene at all." Kate said with regret. "Do you know how humiliating this is for me?"
"I know this sucks, Kate, but...tell me about what happened that night and maybe I can help." Max said.
"Basically, I went to one Vortex Club party and ended up making out with a bunch of people...and I have no memory of it." Kate explained.
"So, why would you go?" Max asked out of curiosity.
"Lapse of sanity? I just thought I could meet some new people." Kate admitted.
"You have to tell me more than that. What happened at the party? Did you drink?" Max questioned so that she could help her friend.
"I swear to God I had one sip of red wine. And then I drank water." Kate testified.
"Not enough to get wasted, is it?" Max asked.
"I don't get wasted. Ever. I take a sip at church and I don't end up on a viral video, okay?" Kate snapped at Max.
"Did somebody drug you?" Max then questioned.
"I remember...I remember getting sick and dizzy..." She recalled from that night.
"Go on..." Max said as she encouraged Kate to continue her story.
"Then Nathan Prescott said he would take me to the hospital." Kate then recollected.
"Nathan Prescott? Oh, shit!" Max remarked in shock. That was the last name she had wanted to hear.
"He was being nice for a change when he offered to help me." Kate explained, hoping to avoid judgement from Max.
"He's the opposite of nice. What next?" Max said.
"All I recall is driving for a long time...then I woke up in a room...I thought it was a hospital because it was so white and bright..." Kate remembered.
"Go on, I'm listening." Max encouraged Kate to continue her story.
"Somebody was talking to me in a soft voice...I thought it was a doctor...until I heard Nathan and felt a sharp sting in my neck...and...and..." Kate then mentioned.
"And?" Max asked.
"That's all I remember! I don't know what else happened... I woke up outside my dorm room the next day. I didn't have any marks or bruises, but I felt gross." Kate reestablished.
"So, who took the video of you at the party?" Max questioned.
"I have no idea. Probably Victoria. She was there being her mean self." Kate suspected.
"Jesus, Kate, I'm sorry. This is serious shit." Max declared.
"How do I get a viral video taken down? I know it's already spreading. What if my church sees that? I need to know what to do." Kate said frantically.
"Kate, we'll figure it out. I'll check back later, okay?" Max promised.
"Thanks, Max. You can put my book here, near my bag." Kate said, pointing to her backpack. Max placed the book down, right next to Kate's bag. "So, Max, can I ask you a question? And please be honest."
"Absolutely, Kate. Anything." Max said.
"I need to find out if Nathan Prescott helped me...or hurt me after that party. Should I go to the police?" Kate asked with deep concern.
"Yes, you should definitely go to the police, Kate. I totally believe every word you say. Nathan Prescott is truly dangerous." Max advised.
"Bless you, Max. I will go to the police...and also Principal Wells. With you as my back-up witness, they'll have to take us seriously now." Kate spoke as she felt a sense of confidence, knowing someone would have her back.
"Back-up witness?" Max questioned with hesitation. "Well, I mean, I believe you and everything, but...we're still just spoiled punk students to the cops and faculty... I just think we need to be very careful here..." She explained.
"Why? Careful of what?" Kate asked in confusion.
"Nothing...except the Prescotts are a powerful family. I hope this won't backfire on us, that's all. Even though that rich bastard has earned some serious bad karma. He'll get it." Max guaranteed.
Max had walked out of the room, thinking to herself if it was a good idea to encourage Kate to go to the police. After all, The Prescotts did own Blackwell and a good portion of Arcadia Bay. For all she knew, they could just bribe the police to look the other way if they wanted to.
Ben made his way back to the dormitory to head inside and take a quick shower after his morning run that he embarked on. As he began to walk over to the front door, he was stopped by Samuel, the local caretaker at Blackwell.
"Well hello there, Mr. Ben." Samuel greeted to Ben as he sat on a bench.
"Oh hey, what's up Samuel?" Ben asked in reply.
"Samuel is just admiring the beautiful morning. How everything is so calm and peaceful. I can hear the animals waking up with me." Samuel shared with Ben. Ben always felt that Samuel was an oddball at Blackwell. But he did admire the man's optimism, no less.
"Sounds almost relaxing, I was busy this morning with taking down... I mean cleaning up a bunch of trash that people left around the campus." Ben said, changing the subject to not inform Samuel of the kind of gossip happening around the school.
"Ah, Samuel has heard from the great far and wide that you are a good young man at heart. Your future looks very bright, Mr. Ben." Samuel expressed to Ben.
"Thanks, Samuel. I'll catch you around later." Ben said, not knowing how to react to Samuel's "visions."
"Of course you will." Samuel kindly replied.
Just as Ben began to walk towards the steps, he ran into Max, who was just leaving the building.
"Hey, Ben. What's with the Rocky get-up?" Max asked observing Ben's current outfit, which were his sweats he was wearing.
"Oh, hey Max." Ben replied.
"I decided to go out for a run this morning and take down all of the pictures from Kate's video that someone put up all over campus. My guess is that it was Victoria's doing." Ben explained.
"Good for you for wanting to make a difference, Ben. Plus, Kate told me about how you got David to get off her back. That's awesome that you did that for her." Max stated.
"Well yeah, I just couldn't stand seeing her get bullied like that. Especially when it's by someone who's job is supposed to make us feel safe here." Ben shared.
"No argument here." Max stated in agreement.
"Hey, this is between you and me, but Kate still seems pretty phased by this whole video about her. And even worse, Victoria wrote the link on a mirror in the girl's bathroom. I erased it though." Max disclosed to Ben in confidence.
"Seriously? How old is Victoria?" Ben responded in disgust. "Well, I'm you glad that you stepped up and took action like that. Blackwell really needs more people like you, Max." He said as he praised Max for her selfless act.
"Likewise, Ben." Max responded.
"Also, I know that you're part of the Vortex Club and all, but Kate thinks that she might have been drugged by Nathan Prescott at the last party you guys had. She said the last thing she remembered was leaving the party with him because he was going to take her to the hospital. It wasn't bad enough that I saw him pull out a gun in the girls' bathroom yesterday." She added.
"So Chloe was right about all that." He said.
"Wait. You know Chloe Price?" Max spoke out in awe.
"Yeah, I do. Long story short, I was born here in Arcadia Bay and then when I was five, I moved to San Francisco with my mom after she and my dad got a divorce. I'd always live with my dad over the summers in Arcadia Bay and eventually became friends with Chloe a few summers back. She's almost like the big sister that I never had." He mentioned.
"Wow, I never knew that about you. I used to be a native of Arcadia Bay just like you, but I moved out to Seattle five years ago with my parents... I mean..." She said. She felt bad briefly mentioning to Ben how both of her parents were still together.
"It's alright, Max." Ben laughed as he picked up on her word choice.
"It's my parents' own problem that they decided to split, not mine." He said trying not to dwell on the subject.
"Chloe and I are about to get breakfast at the Two Whales if you want to tag along." Max mentioned wanting to include Ben.
"Thanks for the offer, Max, but maybe some other time. Besides, I still reek from running around this morning." Ben said.
"See you later Ben. And thanks for looking out for Kate." She said as she walked away.
"Any time. And just be careful of Nathan, alright." He shouted as he was starting to express concern for her.
Ben walked back into his room and got out of his sweats before grabbing his shower caddy and heading to the bathroom. After coming back from a warm shower, he got dressed into a pair of dark blue jeans with, both of the pant legs slightly rolled up, a gray baseball shirt with navy blue ¾ sleeves and, his black converse. He grabbed his backpack and walked to the cafeteria to grab some breakfast. After making a pit stop at his locker, Ben decided to make his way over to the student lounge. He figured that he would get some of his homework done before he had to be on the field for practice. It began raining outside so no one was hanging out on the grass as usual. As he walked into the room he saw a couple of his classmates like Luke Parker and Evan Harris playing a game of pool at the pool table and was then greeted by a group of his fellow Vortex Club friends all gathered around by the couches, chatting about all the crazy happenings from the past few days.
"There he is," Zach shouted in response to Ben walking in. "The man, the myth, the legend. Big Ben himself!"
"Care to indulge in some of the gossip Ben?" Victoria asked inclusively.
"Thanks, but I'm all set!" Ben replied politely. He loved spending time with all his friends who were part of the Vortex Club. After all, they were the first group of people he met during the first weekend when everyone else had moved in on campus. Some of them he had even met during the summer orientation. But Ben always hated drama and talking about people behind their backs, and it was a common trend in the Vortex Club. Instead he sat at a circular table with four chairs around it, pulled out his laptop from his bag, and decided to continue working on his homework for his Creative Writing class. It was by far his favorite class he was taking at Blackwell next to Drama with Sarah. He remembered how much he loved to read as a little kid, and it inspired him to write stories of his own. Deep down, he didn't just want to act, but he also wanted to write stories that could potentially turn into books and movies. He figured if two of his favorite actors, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, could write the screenplay for an Academy Award winning film like Good Will Hunting at such a young age, then what was his excuse.
Ben was working on the assignment that his teacher, Mrs. Hoida, had left for her class before she became absent on sick leave. No one knew exactly why she had left, but Ben had heard rumors that she was dealing with severe depression. He hoped that wasn't the case. He thought she was really nice and she was very accepting of people's work in the class. She once told Ben that he had a natural talent for writing stories. He put on his headphones, plugged them into his laptop and began to play some music to drown out the commotion of his friends. A few minutes later, Dana Ward had happily bounced into the room and approached Ben sitting at the table to talk to him. Ben looked up to see his cheerful best friend and find out what it was she was smiling so much about, even though Dana was always seen smiling wherever she went.
"Well, you sure look happy on such a cloudy day." Ben teased as he took off his headphones.
"Care to enlighten me." Ben stated as he leaned in closer to the table with his head resting on his hands as if he was a teenage girl wanting to hear the latest rumors.
"Only the best and biggest news ever, Ben. Trevor asked me out to the Halloween shindig." Dana confessed gleefully.
"Trevor? As in the skater Trevor?" Ben questioned in a confused demeanor. "But what about you and... 'Logan'?" He asked as he lip-synced the question and casually pointed to Logan, who was sitting with the group of Vortex Club members.
"Let's just say, that I've decided to go for someone a bit more mature." Dana answered as she made a gagging gesture when Ben mentioned the name of Logan.
"So you're going right?" Dana asked Ben with curiosity.
"Oh! I uh... haven't really thought about it yet." Ben confessed, leaning back in his seat with his hand behind his neck.
"What? Even 'Mr. Bigfoot' himself has to make an appearance. I can help you find a date if you still need one too." Dana brought up.
"Let me get back to on that one?" Ben said with a smirk on his face.
"Oh come on, 'Muscles'. It won't be hard for a guy like you to find someone to go with." Dana teased.
"Maybe I can put in a good word for you and talk to Scarlett on the cheer squad. I did see her eyeing you at the game last Friday against Portland Tech. Or how about Carly in our Statistics class?" Dana stated, coming up with a list of possible dates for Ben.
"Oh, Ben, what about..."
Just then, Kate walked into the lounge area looking down at the floor and trying to avoid eye contact with any of the Vortex Club members. She made her way over to a vacant round table that was on the other side of the room from where Ben and Dana were sitting. She placed her books on the table and began to work on her homework while trying not to acknowledge any of her surroundings.
"Oh, poor Kate." Dana said sadly as she could see how zoned out Kate looked.
"You didn't watch that video did you?" Ben asked Dana with concern.
"Only once... with Trevor this morning." Dana admitted.
"Dana!" Ben said as he was shocked to hear that she of all people would watch a video of one of her friends being filmed in an embarrassing situation.
"I know. It was wrong of me." Dana admitted. "I still don't know why Victoria would do something like that." She pondered.
"She just wants to prove that she's 'Queen Bee' around here, even if she has to drag other people down." Ben stated, almost feeling sorry for Victoria. "I still feel bad for Kate though. She's completely outnumbered by all of these jerks. I wish I was there to help her out at the party if I knew all of that bad shit was happening to her. Instead, I was in the VIP area doing keg stands and taking shots like an idiot." He confessed as he looked down at the table.
"Hey, you can't beat yourself up for something that wasn't your fault. Everybody just has to try to move on and forget about this." Dana reassured Ben. She reached out and touched his arm to help him chin up.
"How can everyone move on and forget when there's a whole website dedicated to that video?" Ben asked Dana.
"So this morning, I found out that all of those beautiful pictures I put up, which capture Kate's true image, were all taken down by someone." Victoria mentioned in a surprised tone, to her friends who sat with her at the couches.
"Yeah, not cool." Taylor added.
Ben could overhear the conversation and knew that his very actions from this morning were already acknowledged by Victoria.
"So my biggest question is, who's the kind of loser to do something like that?" Victoria questioned more loudly as if everyone in the student lounge was a suspect.
"I might have a pretty good idea Vic." Nathan jumped in, who was sitting next to Victoria.
Ben started to freeze for a brief moment. What if Nathan saw him rip off all of those pictures around campus and was going to rat him out. He'd then have to face Victoria and possibly other members of the Vortex Club interrogating him as to why he would do it. Regardless, he would be ready to face them and argue with them that picking on Kate Marsh was wrong.
"Hey, Juliet, you're a reporter aren't you?" Nathan asked Juliet Watson, the school reporter in charge of the Blackwell Totem, the school newspaper.
"Yes. What about it?" Juliet asked as she seemed confused at what Nathan was trying to ask.
"Oh, I don't know. Isn't it just that in the world of journalism, the people who always try to censor stuff are often the ones who don't want the truth to be exposed."
'What are you getting at Nate?' Ben thought to himself.
"Someone like, say... I don't know. Kate Marsh." Nathan casually said.
'Don't you even blame this on her, you bastard.' Ben then thought to himself.
Everyone circled around at the couches then turned their eyes to Kate, who was trying her best to ignore what everyone was saying.
"You? I guess it does makes sense now." Victoria stated as she got up out of her seat and made her way over to Kate.
Ben started to sense a red flag in this situation. He knew that things wouldn't end well. He already witnessed how cruel David was to Kate yesterday. But Victoria would make David look like Saint Peter compared to what she to what she would do to her.
"You took down all of those pictures, didn't you?" Victoria accused Kate.
"No, I... I didn't." Kate swore as she was sitting at the table while Victoria towered over her.
"Oh, just like how that wasn't you marking your territory on all those boys in that video." Victoria responded sarcastically in a nasty tone.
"Victoria, please. Just leave me alone." Kate pleaded as she got up from the table and attempted to bolt out of the room.
Victoria had grabbed Kate by her arm, making sure that she could leave. She had a cruel grin on her face at this point. She was enjoying every second of putting on a show in front of her friends and shaming Kate in a public place. Ben couldn't tolerate seeing any more of this. He didn't know Kate as well as Max did, or maybe even Dana, but there was something about her. He always saw her walking around campus and noticed how innocent and fragile she always looked. Ben figured that he might actually have a fighting chance to be the voice of reason and talk some since into his Vortex Club friends who were enjoying themselves.
"Admit it you little whore! Admit that you took down all of those photos because you didn't want anyone here at Blackwell to know what you're really like." Victoria demanded as she got up in Kate's face.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Ben shouted at Victoria as he shot up out of his seat.
There was a brief period of silence as everyone in the room had looked at him. Ben was outgoing and known for having such a distinct deep voice. He was always known to be loud and heard across the room at Vortex Club parties. But none of his friends had ever heard him raise his voice in such anger before.
"Woah, Big Ben, you good, bro?" Zach asked him trying to play the whole situation cool.
"I'm anything but good right now." Ben responded to his best friend and co-captain on the football team. "What happened to her at the party wasn't her fault guys."
"Did any of you stop to think to yourselves that maybe it could have been her first time drinking here on campus or even worse, that she might have been drugged that night and didn't even realize it?" He questioned out loud as made eye contact with Nathan. "Did any of you even think about helping her when she was in an embarrassing situation? Of course not, because all you guys ever do is look out for yourselves." He finally screamed.
The smiles of Ben's friends began to turn into blank faces of embarrassment and some of them even looked down at the floor trying not to look at Ben, who was upset with them. They knew deep down that he was right about what he was saying.
"And what do you have to say for yourself, Victoria?" Demanded Ben.
Victoria had released her grip of Kate's arm and was met by the gaze of not just her friends sitting down, but by Evan and Luke at the pool table and students who were popping in just to use the coffee machine in the lounge. Kate had stepped several steps away from Victoria and watched as Ben was sticking up for here for the second day in a row. Knowing that she wasn't going to go down like this, Victoria had made one last defensive maneuver against Ben.
"What's wrong Benji? Are you jealous that you weren't added to Kate's tongue count because you were too busy getting shitfaced on the dance floor per usual?" She asked in a teasing and fake sympathetic tone.
"Shut the hell up, Victoria." He retorted without even blinking.
"Excuse me?" She questioned Ben as she put her hands on her waist and raised one eyebrow at him.
"You obviously know what you did wrong. So I think you owe Kate an apology." Ben explained.
"For what?" Victoria asked rudely "Nobody pushed her tongue into everybody's mouth. I watched her Ben." She argued.
"Victoria, I'm being serious." Ben growled at Victoria. He was losing his patience and began to make his way over to her.
"And I'm being serious too." She replied with the same smirk on her face.
Ben was now standing a good five feet away from Victoria and near Nathan and the rest of the Vortex Club group. He was now provoked by Victoria's derogatory remarks directed at him and Kate. He was going to win this fight, even if he had to risk getting suspended or kicked off the football team.
"Dammit Victoria, you know I'm right. Kate isn't like that at all. She was drugged and Nathan had something to do with it." Ben asserted as he pointed at Nathan.
Everyone in the entire room was shocked at the wild accusation that Ben had just made. He remembered his talk with Max earlier today and that what she told him was supposed to be kept between the two of them. But that didn't matter right now, because he was going to press Nathan for the truth.
"Woah, haha, Ben, what the hell are you talking about, man?" Nathan asked him nonchalantly, trying to play the situation cool.
"Don't play dumb, Nate. You left the party with Kate, so you must have put something in her drink that night." Ben argued.
"What?" Taylor asked in shock.
"Nate, is that true?" Hayden questioned.
Kate looked confused as Ben made his statement in the room. How did he know about this too? And what kind of proof did he have to use against Nathan? She could have also affirmed it based on what she remembered that night, but she decided to stay quiet and just watch what would happen.
"I don't know about you guys, but I think Ben over here has had a few too many concussions at practice." Nathan joked.
Victoria and the other Vortex Club members began to chuckle at Nathan's remark.
Nathan continued to tease Ben. "Ben, you do know that they give you guys those shiny helmets for a reason..."
Ben pushed Nathan and knocked him down into his chair that he sat in before.
"Tell the truth right now, Nathan! Admit that you drugged Kate at the party." Ben demanded while pointing at him.
"Ferris, you are so fucking mental, dude!" Nathan shouted at him in reaction to being knocked down.
Before things got ugly, Logan Robertson, another teammate of Ben's, stood up to intervene between the two arguing, blocking Ben's way to Nathan.
"Yo, cool it bro!" Logan urged Ben. A few seconds after, Logan paused in his tracks and he made a dumb face where he dropped his jaw.
"Holy shit, I know what this is all about now." Logan said out loud for everyone to hear as if he had just solved a mystery. "This explains why she left the party with Nathan." He said pointing at Kate, who still didn't move.
"What the fuck are you talking about, Logan?" Ben asked in a confused yet annoyed tone.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about dude. You and Prescott where having a competition for the fake Jesus slut." He said, disrespectfully referring to Kate.
"You should obviously know that the nice guys always finish last, bro." He said getting into Ben's face.
Ben was fed up with this and pushed Logan out of his proximity, which did nothing but piss him off.
"Don't fucking touch me Ferris!" Logan shouted as he charged into Ben trying to take him down. Ben was able to hold out on his own for a while, until the two athletes collided into one of the unoccupied tables, both falling to the floor.
Kate had dealt with enough name calling and harassment for one day. And now, a student who she only met yesterday, was fighting to defend her integrity. She stormed out of the student lounge as fast as she could, where she could escape. She figured that she could be alone somewhere to cry to herself about every misfortune that happened to her since attending the party. Dana stood and watched as her best friend was wrestling with her ex-boyfriend. She knew that this wouldn't end well for either of the two boys and ran out of the room to find David Madsen to help break up the fight. Logan now had Ben pinned down to the floor, giving him the opportunity to deliver a couple of hits to him. He managed to get two hard punches right in his own captain's face before being pulled off of him by Zach and Hayden. Ben seemed to take the first punch like it was nothing but the second punch was a much harder hit to the left side of his face, causing him to stay down on the ground unconscious. All Ben was hoping to do during his hour of free time was to quietly get some homework done. Instead, he had intervened to stop a student he barely even knew from being bullied, freaked out on his own friends, and took a beating from his own teammate. It was quite the day at Blackwell for him so far.
"Alright, let's see how it looks now." said Anne Marie Barenchi, the school nurse, as she removed the ice pack that Ben was covering his left eye with. She then saw that the black eye that he walked into her office with wasn't looking any better.
"How's it look now?" Ben asked her with concern.
"Like you're going to need to keep icing it for another two more days." She answered. "How did this happen again?"
"My buddy didn't know I was behind him and he elbowed me in the face by accident." Ben told her. He knew that lying to her about the fight he got into was a risky move since she documents every visit that a student has to make to her office.
"Alright then." she said, not asking Ben for any more details about the incident. "Your vision from your eye is perfectly fine and there's no signs that you received a concussion so you should still be good for practice today." She then declared.
"Awesome, thanks." Ben said to her as he rushed to get out of the nurse's office before he would be interrogated by her again.
Ben wasn't worried about disclosing any details about the fight to the nurse because it would end up on his spotless record. He was more afraid of having to mention that it had to do with Kate Marsh. After all the attention she was getting regarding the video, Ben thought that her name being involved in today's episode could land her in trouble with Principal Wells and possibly get her suspended or worse. All he needed to do was play things cool for the next few days until no one would be talking about the fight anymore, while avoiding some of Blackwell's authority figures. Suddenly the later wasn't even possible anymore as Ben had ran into David Madsen in the hallway.
"Well, if it isn't Muhammed Ali." David stated sarcastically at Ben, referring to the fight. He observed Ben's black eye and was brought back to the memory of him helping the unconscious boy from the floor, which only happened an hour ago.
"Oh, hey. What's up Mad-Dawg?" Ben greeted to the security guard in the most unprofessional manner.
"That's Mr. Madsen." He corrected him in an uptight response. "You've got some nerve talking to me after that episode involving Kate Marsh yesterday." He said with a hard-nosed look on his face.
"But why am I not surprised? You Vortex Club punks always have to look out for each other anyway." He commented.
"What makes you say that? Kate's not even in the Vortex Club." Ben stated confused as to what David was trying to say.
"Look, all I'm trying to say is that you stepped in between us at a pretty bad time. She's another matter entirely." David mentioned.
"But Kate hasn't done anything wrong." Ben argued.
"Ben, this isn't just about Kate Marsh. My concern is for the safety of all Blackwell students. Including you." David stressed to Ben hoping he would understand. "Look, you should get to class soon. And just so you know, I've already sent a written report of the fight today to Principal Wells."
"Of you course you did. Thanks 'step-douche', now my Dad gets to tear me, Logan, and everyone else on the team a new one at practice today ." Ben thought to himself.
"Ben, over here." He heard a voice call for him. He saw that it was Courtney Wagner, Victoria's second best friend after Taylor, who was sitting at a table in the school's hallway. She was putting together a guest list for the next Vortex Club party.
"Oh hey, what's up Courtney?" Ben asked.
"Ouch. A black eye for sticking up for Kate Marsh? Not worth it if you ask me." She commented observing Ben's left eye. "Anyways, I'm putting together the guest list for the Vortex Club's "End of the World Party" for this Thursday. Want me to add you to the list?"
"Definitely! I need to let loose after how crazy things got today." Ben replied.
"Awesome! I'll add you to the list right now." She said.
"Thanks Courtney. Later." He said.
"No problem. Hope your eye gets better before Thursday night." She added sincerely.
As he began to walk down the hall to his Science class, Ben had ran into Max, who was just finished talking to David about something, and was making her way to her Art of Photography class with Mr. Jefferson.
"What's up Max?" Ben said.
"Hey Ben. Oh man, first Warren and now you. What happened to your eye?" Max asked with concern as she looked at his eye.
"Got in a scuffle fighting for Kate's honor today." Ben brought up. "What happened to Warren?"
"Again? Maybe you should start dressing up as a vigilante." Max joked. "As for Warren, you should ask your friend, Nathan about that."
"So, how was your day with Chloe?" Ben asked.
"Well, after we grabbed food at the Two Whales, things got pretty crazy when we..."
Before Max finished her sentence, she and Ben both stopped in their tracks as they saw a distraught Kate talking to Mr. Jefferson outside of his classroom.
"Stop being so dramatic!" Mr. Jefferson said harshly to Kate.
"Being on a viral video does that." Kate cried.
"Maybe, this is your way of getting attention." He rudely theorized.
"That's really mean, Mr. Jefferson. You just don't get it... Just leave me alone!" She demanded.
"You have to talk to me, Kate." He urged, sounding like he wanted to help her all of a sudden.
"Why? It's all over...like me." She lamented.
"Knock off this martyr crap." He bluntly implored her.
"Well then what do you want from me?" She begged.
"I want you to be honest." He demanded
"Nobody believes me anyway... So you can't help me either?" She sadly explained.
"I'm trying. But you have to understand my position..." He clarified.
"Why? You don't understand mine. Nobody does...nobody..." Kate argued. She began to bawl as her eyes looked hazy and she walked away with her head down.
Max approached Kate to try and comfort her. "Kate is everything ok..."
"Just go away!" Kate shouted as she brushed between Max and Ben.
"What was that all about?" Ben wondered.
"I don't know. Mr. Jefferson would have a better idea." Max said.
The two walked up to their teacher to ask him a few questions and find out what had happened with Kate.
"Hey Ben. Max. How are you two doing?" Mr. Jefferson asked, greeting his two fellow students.
"Hey, Mr. Jefferson. Sorry to bother you." Ben said genuinely.
"I'm only bothered when people, like Max, avoid turning in photos. But you know this already, Max." Jefferson joked.
"So, what can I do for you two?" He asked.
"Well, just between the three of us, Ben and I are worried about Kate Marsh." Max expressed.
"That's no secret. Word on the street Ben, is that you and Kate had a little confrontation with our security chief yesterday." Jefferson brought up.
"I only stepped in between David Madsen because he was barking all up in Kate's face about something... She doesn't deserve that." Ben argued.
"Of course not. Mr. Madsen isn't the most gentle soul. Do you have proof he instigated the situation?" Mr. Jefferson questioned Ben.
"What? My own word isn't good enough? What was I supposed to do, record the whole thing on my phone?" Ben said, feeling completely upset that Jefferson didn't believe him.
"Always take the shot. My number one rule of photography. And Ben, I assure you this matter is being discussed by the faculty." He told Ben. "I assume you both know about this viral video?"
"Yeah, and Kate's freaked out by all of this... She can't even do her homework while she's being tormented in public on a daily basis." Ben testified, referring to the entire scene that occurred in the student lounge.
"What if Kate brought this on herself? She means well, but maybe she doth protest too much... She seems like she's holding back the truth." Jefferson claimed.
"Mr. Jefferson, how can you even say something like that?" Ben questioned him, with a look of disgust on his face.
"Well, have either of you talked to her?" He asked.
"Yes, I talked to her on the phone today. She needs friends and support right now. I just don't want Kate Marsh to become the next Rachel Amber." Max expressed to Jefferson.
Mr. Jefferson's eyes widened at the mention of this name before he questioned Max. "Rachel Amber? What does she have to do with Kate?"
"With all her 'Missing Persons' posters around, it's hard not to think of her." Max stated.
"I miss Rachel, too. But think about yourself, Max. Principal Wells told me about what you said happened in the bathroom." Jefferson brought up.
"It did happen. Nathan Prescott had a gun in the girls' bathroom yesterday." Max bickered with the teacher.
"This is a serious accusation, Max." Jefferson scolded.
"So, you don't believe me? I would never make something like this up." Max pleaded.
"I hope so, Max. But it's easy to point fingers" Jefferson mentioned.
Ben decided to jumped in as he felt that the conversation was now going off topic. "Listen, should we...?"
Just before Ben could ask his question. A ringtone from someone's phone went off, only for it to be Jefferson's. He pulled the phone out of his pocket from his blazer to answer the call.
"Excuse me, guys." He addressed to Ben and Max before answering his phone.
"Hello? Yes? Uh...hold on. I have to take this, so just go into class and I'll be there soon." Jefferson instructed Max. She walked into the classroom. "Ben, I'm sure that you have a class to be in right now too." He reminded Ben.
Ben entered his science class on the other side of the hall, across from Mr. Jefferson's classroom. As he made his way to his seat he greeted Warren who always sat next to him.
"'Warren White', the man!" Ben shouted to Warren, calling him by the nickname he gave him.
"'Ben Pinkman'! What happened to you?" Warren asked as he pointed at Ben's black eye.
"Logan Robertson. You?"
"Nathan Prescott, from yesterday. He tried to strangle Max yesterday in the parking lot and he beat me down when I got in between them." Warren explained.
"Well, at least you tried to stop it." Ben stated as he admired Warren's heroism.
"Yeah, I'd do anything to help one of my own friends. Anyway, you ready to blow some shit up in lab today?" Warren asked him with excitement.
"Wait, it's lab day?" Ben asked with a worried look on his face.
"Yeah, dude. Every Tuesday's been lab day in this class since week one." Warren reminded him.
"Shit! The one day I leave my safety goggles in my room." Ben said.
"Look, Warren, I have run back to my room real quick. I know Ms. Grant is gonna kill me for being late to lab, but just tell her I'm coming back." Ben told him.
"No worries, man. I've always got your back." Warren reassured him.
"Thanks bud, I'm glad I can count on you." Ben said happily as he ran out of the room.
"Ben! Where are you going? Class has started." Ms. Grant called out after him.
Ben left the main building and made his way back to the dormitories. He forgot to grab his jacket from his locker, so he would now have to pay the price of coming back to class soaked from the heavy rainfall. As he continued to walk the path to the dormitory, he stopped walking as he saw David Madsen hiding behind a tree with a photo camera. As he tried to look in the security guard's direction to see what exactly he was taking pictures of, he was alarmed to see that he was snapping photos of Kate walking by herself in the pouring rain. Ben was only confused as to what the man was doing as well as why he was doing it. Was he some kind of sick pervert? Was he that suspicious of Kate and keeping close tabs on her? Maybe it had something to do with how he thought Kate was a member of the Vortex Club. Maybe this whole time, David was actually a narc, who disguised himself as a security guard at Blackwell and wanted to crack down on who was supplying Nathan with so many drugs. Ben then concluded that maybe he had just watched the movie 21 Jump Street too many times as his last theory was a bit of a stretch. Either way, Ben kept his distance from David and tried to sneak his way back to his dorm room to grab his goggles and head back to class. The last thing he needed today was to be caught and suspected of skipping class.
Ben had made his way back to the dormitories and entered the boy's floor, where he went to his room and found his safety goggles. They were sitting right on his desk. "Smooth move, Ben." He said to himself.
Since Ben was still in the building, he figured that he would head upstairs to the second floor, the girls' floor, and see if Kate was there. She entered the dorm shortly before he did, and Ben figured that maybe she just needed someone understanding to talk to or just a shoulder to cry on. Besides, how could Ms. Grant yell at him for being late for doing something so selfless like that? Ben entered through the door leading to the girls' floor, he was familiar with this floor as he had often hung out in Victoria and Dana's rooms. He made his way down the hallway, carefully examining each room's slate, to see which room Kate lived in. He then checked the slate of a room that was the second to last on the left side of the hall. It had a biblical passage written on it. This was definitely Kate's room. He knocked on the door, hoping to hear a response.
"Um, Kate?" Ben called.
"Kate?" He called again as he knocked a few more times.
"It's Ben, from yesterday." He said.
"I just wanted to know if you were alright." He expressed.
Still no answer. Maybe she decided to go to sleep and didn't feel like answering the door. Ben still felt worried about her though. About what Nathan could have done to her the night of the party. How David had intimidated her yesterday. How Victoria posted that video along with all of those pictures around campus and even attacking her in the student lounge. How insensitive Mr. Jefferson was towards her, which caused her to run away. There was no way that she deserved any of that to happen to her. Ben was about to give up on trying to get her to come out of her room until he had actually read what was written on her slate.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." –Matthew 11:28
Ben was then alarmed at what he read next underneath the scripture.
Forgive me lord, for I have sinned. Hope you all you enjoyed watching me and taking pictures of my body.
"Oh my God. It's a suicide note." Ben said as he dropped his goggles out of his hand in shock.
How could everything come this? Kate Marsh, the sweetest girl at Blackwell, who would never mean any harm to anyone, was bullied by so many people that she was driven to suicide. Ben was frozen until he could hear voices coming from outside that shook him out of his trance.
"Bitch flipped out." He heard someone shout from outside. To his wonder, Ben walked over to look outside of the window to see a mass of students standing outside of the dorm. They were all looking up at something in the sky.
"I didn't think she was that messed up." He heard another voice say from outside.
That could have only meant that Kate was on the roof of the dorm. She was up on that roof ready to jump in front of all of those students down there. Some of them, like Dana and Juliet, were watching in horror. Others like Victoria and Taylor had their phones out to take pictures or videos of it all.
"No... no she can't do this to herself... not like this." Ben panicked frantically. His heart began to race. He threw his backpack off of his shoulders and ran to the stairway at the end of the hall. He then charged up the stairs to get to the roof. "I need... to save... Kate... Marsh." He said to himself as he sprinted up every step.
Ben used his momentum and body weight to bust open the door leading to the roof. He found himself out in the heavy rain again, now standing on the roof with Kate, only to see her all the way on the ledge of the roof.
"Kate..." Ben tried to shout, but there were no words that projected from his voice. He was out of breath and panting from running up those flights of stairs. Kate was startled when she heard the sound of heavy breathing behind her, she turned around only to see that it was Ben looking at her while he gasped for air.
"Ben?" Kate asked in confusion.
"Kate. I'm... here." Ben spoke as he slowly began to recollect oxygen again.
"What are you doing here, Ben?" She questioned.
"Kate, this isn't the way..." He pleaded.
"Stop! Don't come near me!" Kate warned as she took a step back on the ledge.
"Kate, please." Ben cried out, not wanting to see her take her own life. He began to take slow steps towards Kate against her wishes.
"Ben, seriously, don't come near me. I will jump." Kate threatened.
"Okay, Okay. I'm right here, Kate. Just please talk to me at least." Ben said nervously. His legs began to tremble as he stood where he was.
"Oh Ben, I can see that you want to help me... I love that you stepped up to David and Victoria just for me, but it doesn't matter now. Nothing matters." Kate said sadly.
"That's not true Kate. You do matter. And not just to me. But to Max too." Ben implored.
"I do want to believe that..." She replied.
"Kate, I'm here for you. And we can get through this together, so let me help you. Like Max helped you by erasing that link to the video in the girl's bathroom." Ben added.
"She did? I'm so glad to hear that Max worries about me... That makes me feel better..." She replied as she felt a bit more hopeful.
"Of course she worries about you. She's your friend, Kate." He stated.
"I did feel better talking to her on the phone today. I always feel like she really listens." Kate brought up, letting out a short smile.
"Kate, please trust me. Just come down from that ledge and stand by me, okay? I can help you and I know I can." Ben begged her as his eyes began to tear up. "I was the one who tore down all of those photos of you that Victoria put up. She had no right to do that to you." He declared. He now had tears rolling down his face from admitting to Kate how far he went to help her.
"That was you? Are you serious? Thank you so much!" Kate said, expressing her gratitude as she began to cry in relief. "The fact that you don't care about that video and would come up here to stop me means a lot."
"I care about you because unlike everyone else, I believe that you were drugged. That's why I accused Nathan today. And I'll help you make sure that he doesn't get away this." Ben promised.
Kate began to ponder before speaking. "You sound so persuasive, Ben... If only..."
"Kate, I believe you. Now, will you believe me?" Ben questioned. "Please...you don't have to do this..."
"Ben, I'm in a nightmare and I can't wake up...unless I put myself to sleep. Then everybody at Blackwell can post pics of my body; I'm already on the internet forever. No wonder they call it a 'web'; nothing can ever get out. Like my video... I wish I could go back in time and erase everything..." Kate cried out in anguish.
"Kate, this is your chance to beat the bullies. To show them that you're Kate Marsh and you're stronger than they think. That's the only way you can win against them." He argued.
"Can I really, Ben? I don't believe in miracles anymore either." She claimed.
"Neither do I. But if you come down with me, I might actually have a reason to start believing." He confessed.
"You're such a good person, Ben. Even if you are part of the Vortex Club. But I'll come with you. Even if I have only known you since yesterday, you've been so kind to me." Kate admitted to Ben.
"Sure, can we just shake hands now or hug things out?" Ben asked as he offered his hand out to her.
"No...nobody cares about me...nobody..." Kate yelled, taking a step back from Ben, declining his heartfelt gesture.
"Do you have any family back at home? I know that I'm an only child, but do you have any brothers or sisters. I'm sure that they care about you." He brought up. He hoped that Kate had happier memories with her family that could convince her to come down from the ledge and continue to live her life.
"Yes, I do. My Dad cares... even though I hurt him. He's actually the only one who believes me." She mentioned as she thought back to the postcard her father sent her. "And I have two younger sisters. The youngest one's name is Lynn. She's only ten... and she does have the best smile ever... I would hate to see her sad." She added as she thought about the joyous memories of her sisters.
"See, if Lynn was here, you would know what to do. So just step towards me, okay? This isn't the end, Kate. I'm not really religious, but I'm pretty sure that God has a plan for everyone, including you." Ben declared
"Nice try, Ben. But God put me on this roof." Kate shouted as she stood her ground, and refused to walk towards him.
'What was that verse on her white board again? Matthew 11:28?' Ben thought to himself, hoping it would inspire her.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Ben recited. For some reason, that passage was still stuck in his head from when he had read it outside Kate's room.
"'Matthew 11:28'... I can't believe you quoted one of my favorite passages..." Kate cried out feeling a sense of faith.
"I wasn't lying. I do care about you. I know that passage must mean a lot to you. It was written on your suicide note." Ben mentioned.
Ben decided to try one more time and extended his arm out to Kate, offering his hand to her. He looked deep into her puffy hazel eyes, waiting for her to accept his gesture. After a brief moment of hesitation, Kate took his hand and he pulled her towards him. The two had both fallen to their knees on the roof and Ben wrapped his arms around Kate to comfort her and let her know that she would be alright.
"I'm sorry...sorry..." Kate wept as she buried her face into Ben's chest. He felt his shirt begin to soak with her tears and the rain that was on her face.
"Shhh, you don't need to apologize for anything. It's the people down there that do." Ben whispered to her as he could hear his own voice start to choke. He began to close his eyes as he felt tears coming down his cheeks and the rain hitting against his face.
Moments later, both Ben and Kate had made their way down the stairs of the dormitory as Ben had both of his arms around Kate. As they walked out of the main entrance of the building, the two were welcomed by the faces of David Madsen and all of their fellow classmates, cheering on both of them for coming down the roof together. Ben paid no attention to any of the students around him. He only looked at Kate, whose eyes were still puffy from crying. Ben was at a loss for words of what to even ask her. She had tried to kill herself and he was still surprised in himself at how he managed to save her life and her soul. Just as they tried to distance their selves from everyone around them, the two were approached by a group of paramedics who collected Kate and escorted her to a nearby ambulance parked on the grass lawn. A police officer, had thanked Ben for what he had done and directed him and everyone else to keep their distance while the paramedics had examined Kate in the ambulance. Shortly after, the ambulance had driven with off Kate, leaving Blackwell to have her escorted to the hospital. All of the student's had gathered around Ben, shaking him and hugging him for going up on the roof to talk Kate down. They eventually crowded together and lifted him up in the air as if he had just scored a game winning touchdown for the football team. He was completely in a trance and didn't move a single muscle in his body, still trying to process everything that had occurred up on that roof.
"What just happened?" He asked himself.
It wasn't long until all of the students were told by Principal Wells and their teachers to report back to their classes. Ben was back inside of the main academic building with everyone else. He had stood at his locker in the hallway, not moving at all and just stared deeply inside his locker as if he was trying to find something even though it wasn't there. His right hand was tightly griped on the door of his locker.
"Is he okay?" Courtney had asked, as she stood down the hall from Ben along with Victoria and Taylor.
"He's just been standing there for almost ten minutes now." Taylor commented sounding almost worried about him.
"I can only imagine what's going through his mind now after what he just experienced." Courtney stated.
"I'll go talk to him." Victoria spoke up as she walked over to Ben.
"Hi Ben." Victoria said calmly. Ben didn't even acknowledge her. He just continued to look inside his locker. "That was really brave what you did for Kate up on the roof." She commented trying to praise him. "I know that you're probably still shaken up about what happened up there, but I just wanted to let you know that we're all proud of you. And, you can talk to me if you ever need anything..."
Ben slammed his locker door shut with all of his force after hearing Victoria speak. Victoria had jumped back and everyone else in the hallway was startled as the slamming noise left off a loud echo.
"You... are the last person... that I even want to talk to right now". Ben said to Victoria in a bitter tone. He turned to face her and had the most enraged look in his eyes. Both of his eyes still looked bloodshot and glassy from crying with Kate up on the roof. His black eye that he had gotten earlier today only gave him more of a crazed appearance.
"Ben, just calm down. Okay?" Victoria pleaded to him as she began to feel nervous in his presence.
"You want me to calm down after Kate Marsh tried to kill herself?" He screamed in her face, getting everyone's attention in the hallway. No one could even look away at what was currently going on between the two.
"Everything... EVERYTHING, that happened today... is all your fault, Victoria." Ben growled at her, not even taking his deathly stare off her once.
"It was all just a joke. I didn't think Kate would actually..." Victoria tried to explain.
"You didn't think she would actually what? Take her own life? After all of the lies, name calling, and slut shaming that you put her through?" Ben screamed, making Victoria feel even more uncomfortable about herself. "She never did anything to you. And I even saw you try to take one last video of her while she was on the roof." He added. A couple of students near Ben and Victoria all looked at her in shock from what Ben just mentioned.
"I deleted that from my phone. And I took down the viral video of her at the party from the website." Victoria confessed.
"And you think that suddenly fixes everything?" Ben briefly laughed to himself. "You know, I'm really glad that I got to see your true colors today. Because all I feel right now is regret, knowing that I even slept with such... filth like you." Ben asserted as he crossed a line.
Victoria slapped Ben right across his face for going that far. Her eyes began to water. She had only intended to help him since they were friends, but she was furious that Ben had even dared to strike a nerve like that.
"This is for you, Kate." Ben said to himself. He then raised one of his hands up at Victoria, nearly about to strike her right back.
"Mr. Ferris!" Someone shouted from behind Ben from down the hall.
Ben lowered his hand and turned around to see that it was none other than Principal Wells, with a stern look on his face and both of his hands behind his back.
"My office. Now!" He demanded at Ben.
Ben simply walked away from Victoria, knowing that she wasn't even worth his time. He now had bigger problems to deal with as he was about to be in the Principal's office for the first time.
"Time to face the music." He mumbled to himself.
Ben walked into the office, just before Principal Wells entered and closed the door behind them. He was surprised to see that the room was also occupied by Nathan, David Madsen, and Mr. Jefferson, all looking right at him. This couldn't be good.
"Please, take a seat, Mr. Ferris." Principal Wells ordered Ben. Ben approached the empty chair that was right next to the one Nathan was sitting in.
"Now, I know today was difficult for everybody, but I'm so proud of the way Blackwell pulled together to save a young girl's life. Of course, you're quite a hero for getting Kate to come down, Ben." Principal Wells spoke, commending Ben.
"It was just the right thing to do." Ben said humbly as he looked down at the floor.
"He's modest. Like a real hero." Mr. Jefferson commented.
"Yeah. 'Real Hero.'" David said under his breath sarcastically.
"As principal of Blackwell Academy, I take my duties seriously. I even take the well-being of every student more seriously. What happened today should never take place in a hall of wisdom and knowledge." Wells addressed.
"Mr. Madsen, as our head of security here, those roof doors should always be locked. That's just standard operating procedure. They were not. And that is indeed your responsibility." He told David as if it was something he shouldn't have had to.
"Mr. Jefferson, I know you can't be expected to know what your students are going through, but Kate has assisted you in class, so you should've known something was amiss." Wells said as he reproved the teacher.
"Mr. Prescott, since you are responsible for the Vortex Club parties, and since Miss Marsh did attend your last party, you'll have to answer some more questions." He told Nathan, who had a smug look on his face.
Nathan looked right next to Ben and remembered how he had accused him in the student lounge earlier today of drugging Kate at that party. He was actually hoping that Ben would keep his mouth shut this time. He was more confused as to why Ben, who was his own friend, would even turn on him like that.
Principal Wells pulled out his cushioned chair from his desk and began to sit down as he now addressed Ben.
"Mr. Ferris, why exactly were you on the roof with Kate Marsh? Did she tell you her plan? Or anything at all? Please, tell us everything." He bombarded Ben with several questions as he placed his hands together waiting to hear an answer from him.
What could Ben even say to him? There were three people in this room right now, that each had something to do with Kate's attempted suicide. Nathan had to have drugged her at the party, and it could only explain how Kate acted in that video. If Ben threw him under the bus, then Nathan would probably try to make the rest of his year at Blackwell as miserable as he possibly could. On the other hand, David had bullied Kate yesterday, which was completely uncalled for. It was definitely something that Principal Wells needed to know about. But then, maybe Mr. Jefferson was right about taking the shot and getting a photo of the incident as evidence. Plus, things could backfire as David could use his position to bend the truth about what happened and he might possibly bring up the fight between Ben and Logan and use that against him as well. Finally, there was Mr. Jefferson who made Kate cry today. Jefferson was such a cool guy to Ben since he had him for class, but he also couldn't believe how insensitive he was towards Kate when she went to him for help. Then again, if he used that against him, it would probably be a really awkward independent study for Ben and Jefferson to work on together. So who could he report to Wells? Someone had to answer for what happened today, and Ben wanted to make sure that Kate would be able sleep a lot safer tonight.
"All I know is that Kate was at our last party and Nathan dosed her." Ben said confidently. The four individuals in the room each looked at Ben as he made his statement.
"She got completely plastered and ended up kissing a bunch of dudes on a viral video without a clue." He added as he looked Nathan in the eye.
"Ha, I dosed her? Without a clue? Have you seen the video, Ferris? Whatever." Nathan laughed, as if Ben had no idea what he was even talking about.
"Kate was loaded and playing the field..." Nathan calmly said with the same smug look on his face.
"You're lying, Nate! You left the party early because you told Kate that you would take her to the emergency room!" He argued, referencing what Max had told him.
"Yeah, I said I was GOING to take her to the ER. She sobered up eventually." Nathan proclaimed.
"You're really full of shit, you know that? Something happened to her and you were involved. You're obviously hiding something, Nathan. Just like how you were waving a gun around in the girls' bathroom, yesterday. Or how you attacked Max Caulfield and Warren Graham in the parking lot." Ben declared angrily as he included the alibis of Max, Chloe, and even Warren.
"Hey! That's total slander, Ferris! I could sue you and this entire school so fast!" Nathan yelled at Ben in his defense. "I already have a personal lawyer." He added trying to scare Ben.
"Careful, Mr. Prescott. I'll have you know that Mr. Ferris is not the first student to bring up this alleged gun incident." Principal Wells interjected. "And I have to admit that the video in question was sent to me by multiple sources."
"Including me." Said David, jumping into the conversation.
"And since Mr. Prescott does appear prominently in the video and was responsible for the party, I have no choice but to suspend him until further notice." Wells decided.
"Whatever. See you in court." Nathan remarked, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration.
"Excuse me, but I think Ben and Nathan need a break before we grill them further. A friend and student just tried to kill herself... They don't need this forum right now." Mr Jefferson suggested.
"Yes, I'm kinda devastated right now. I'd like to be with my family." Nathan said in a deadpan and sarcastic tone.
"Alright, Mr. Ferris, please sign here to confirm what you've told us. I'll continue this investigation from there." Wells said as he slid a white document to Ben and handed him a pen to give his signature.
The rain had cleared up long after Kate had left in the ambulance. Students were outside sitting and conversing with each other about how they witnessed Ben walk down the building with Kate. Not only was he a football captain and one of the more notable members of the Vortex Club, but he was now being referred to as the hero of Blackwell. "Super-Ben" as they were beginning to call him. But where exactly was Ben after all of this? Holed up in his room, surprisingly.
Ben sat on his couch, looking out of the window, right after putting on 10cc's I'm Not in Love on his record player. He felt calmer and relaxed knowing that Kate would be alright and that Nathan Prescott got what he deserved today. He still didn't know what had drove him to almost hit Victoria, but he figured that it was best if he kept his distance from her for the next few days. He was then alerted by a knock on his door, which he had left open. He turned around to see that it was Dana with an ice pack in her hand.
"I thought you could use this for your eye." She said as she walked over to him placing the ice pack on his left eye for him.
"Ah, cold." Ben said as he jolted and took the ice-pack from her.
"How are you feeling now?" Dana asked with concern.
"Better, knowing that she'll be okay." He said with a slight smile on his face.
"I just wish I could have been a better friend to her. I can't even believe she would even attempt suicide." Dana said sadly.
"I think all of us were responsible for what happened." Ben said to her.
"True. But you're the only one who went up to that roof with Kate. And she'll never forget that." Dana brought up to compliment Ben.
"Yeah. I guess so." Ben said softly as tears began to run down his face. Dana wiped one of the tears off of his cheek before she walked out of his room.
"You gonna be okay?" Dana asked him as she stood in the doorway.
"Yeah. I think I just need some time alone is all." Ben answered truthfully.
"Alright! My door's always open if you wanna talk." She reminded him before heading back to her room.
Ben looked at his phone, trying to avoid social media since everyone's tweets and posts would involve him and Kate. He checked his messages to see that he had one sent from Chloe.
Chloe:
Sorry about Kate. I hope you're ok.
He was surprised to see that he also had two from his parents.
Dad:
Heard about what you did for that girl on the roof today from the faculty, and the kids on the team. Can't even express how truly proud of you I am. I know it must be really hard to not think about what you must have experienced, so why don't you take it easy for the rest of the day. See you at practice tomorrow.
Mom:
Just read a news article online about how my son is a hero at his own school. That was so courageous and selfless how you walked down the building with that girl. She must be so grateful that someone like you came to help her. Beyond proud of you, Benji!
As Ben read the two messages from his parents, he put away his phone and began to cry to himself. He wasn't sad or angry though. He was reminded of earlier today, when he had asked Kate about her family and how she talked about her parents and her sisters. Ben might have been an only child with parents who were separated and couldn't even be in the same room with each other, but deep down, he knew that both of them still raised him to always do the right thing. And today, he truly did.
"Thanks Mom and Dad!" Ben said to himself as he stared out the window of his room, still misty-eyed.
This chapter sure was a wild ride to say the least! I really wanted to tell Kate's entire story from the very beginning of the day, hence why this was also the longest chapter yet. I wanted it to mostly be in Ben's perspective to show how a stranger can simply help save a life by just listening and paying attention to the smallest details and being there for that person. In the next chapter, we'll see how Ben and everyone else at Blackwell will react to the aftermath of Kate's attempted suicide. Don't forget to leave a review and favorite this story so you won't miss out on any future chapters.