You Won't See Me
He watched as she walked out of her house, balancing lemonade on a tray gracefully. She handed one to a man they called "Miles". From what he had heard, he was quite funny and very sarcastic. Ben smiled in satisfaction as he highlighted the name "Miles" in yellow marker.
She handed the next cup to the Korean man. Ben did not know much about this man, but he supposed the man's comrades did not know much about him either, since he did not speak English. He reached for the orange marker, but paused for a moment, thinking. Though the foreign thing would be a problem, he had heard the others talking about finding his wife. With this in mind, he grabbed another marker and highlighted the name "Jin" in purple.
The third cup went to a scary man with shaggy hair and a beard. At first, he did not even think he should highlight his name. But then, upon the man's refusal of the lemonade, the woman sat down next to him and gave him a one-armed hug, allowing him to rest his head upon her shoulder. With furrowed brows, Ben grabbed the orange marker and highlighted the name "Daniel".
He did not even consider the last name before he highlighted it in red. The man did not even have the courtesy of waiting for her. He rudely grabbed a glass of lemonade of the tray and started drinking from the glass without even a thank you. But it wasn't his rude behavior that made him such a threat; it was how he looked at her. It was the same look that the women had when they talked about him. He did not understand what made him so appealing to them; he was nothing but a bully and a jerk.
He grabbed another sheet of paper and wrote "Mission: Destroy Lafleur" on the top and underlined it three times. He began to write out his first plan—
"What the hell're you doin' out here? I thought I told you to wash the dishes!"
Ben quickly tucked the list in his back pocket and nodded. "Sorry, dad. I forgot."
"I've never seen such a useless boy," he seethed as he grabbed Ben by the scruff of his neck and dragged him towards the house. "Clean it up! I don't want to see you outside until you do!"
"Yes, sir," Ben whispered as his father stalked by him and slammed the door as he entered his room.
Ben reached into his pocket and retrieved the list, with a smile. LaFleur was going to wish he never looked at Juliet as he did. He would make sure of that, right after he finished washing the dishes.
"Poor kid," Juliet said, shaking her head.
Two sets of eyes stared at her incredulously. Juliet shrugged in response as she lightly ran her finger's through Daniel's hair. "He's still a kid," she said, defensively. "He hasn't done anything yet."
Sawyer scoffed. "Weren't you trying to avoid him before your car hit that tree? I say he did it on purpose so he could rescue you from that car."
Juliet rolled her eyes. "Sometimes I wonder whether you think about what you say before you say it."
"I'd have to agree with you on that one," Miles said, ignoring Sawyer's glare. "But you have to admit, the staring thing is a bit much."
"Ben bad," Jin said.
"Rodger said it's because he thinks I look like his mother," Juliet said, simply. "Give the boy a break. He's just showing his admiration."
Miles shook his head and said, "If I ever looked at my mother like that, some would say I had an Oedipus complex."
"I'm sure his father thinks you look like his wife too," Sawyer mumbled.
Juliet smacked his arm, "I'm not even going to dignify that with a response. If I can have pity for him after everything he will put me through, you can at least spare some sympathy as well."
Sawyer crossed his arms over his chest and turned his head to the side, looking very much like an overgrown toddler.
Miles whispered something under his breath that didn't go unnoticed by either Jin or Sawyer. Though Jin did not fully understand the comment, he understood the meaning behind it, which caused him to smile despite himself. The latter responded in a much less subtle manner.
"You've got something to say, Sulu?"
Miles smirked, completely ignoring Sawyers comment. "I said, 'you're whipped'."
Before Sawyer could respond, Juliet glared at Miles and said, "There's some pie on the counter, could you go grab it for me. Bring enough plates and forks for everyone."
Miles stood up without hesitation. Sawyer returned his smirk. "Who's whipped now?"
Miles shrugged. "At least I have an excuse. When there's pie at stake, who cares about dignity?"
As he walked away, Juliet leaned in close to Sawyer's ear and lowered her voice to a stage whisper. "Should I tell him that you made the pie?" she asked.
"You kiddin' me? When have I ever passed up the opportunity to gloat?"
Juliet smiled and shook her head at him. She would never admit that she actually found his juvenile antics remarkably charming.
She turned her head to look at Daniel, who still had his head on her shoulder. "Would you like some pie, Daniel?" she asked, gently.
When he didn't respond for a few minutes, she simply assumed he had fallen asleep. However, as though he had suddenly found a new resolve, he held on to her arm with urgency. "Not supposed to…not supposed to be here. Not now."
"What do you—" Juliet began to say.
"Bad things happen to people around me. First Charlotte, and now…"
As he lifted his head to look at her, Juliet smiled sadly at him. "That's not true, and you know it. You're a scientist, remember? You have no control over the course of events. You didn't wish her to die, right?"
He shook his head and she continued, "Now nothing bad is going to happen to—"
Before she could finish her statement, a big, red something flew in their direction. Juliet quickly shoved Daniel out of the way, leaving her own body defenseless. She closed her eyes waiting for the object to make impact. There was a rather loud noise that followed, but oddly, she didn't feel the impact of the projectile. Instead she heard laughter coming from the kitchen and the men beside her.
Feeling curious, she cautiously lifted an eyelid to survey the scene. She could see that the entire porch surrounding her was wet, including a certain childish but charming southerner who had instinctively jumped in front of her at the last minute.
He turned to her, drenched in water, and asked. "Are you ok, Julie?"
She hid her smile behind her hand and nodded. "Thank you, James."
Miles, who was still chuckling over what had just transpired, regained his composure long enough to say, "Oh my god! If you hadn't been there she would have experienced the very potent dangers of H2O!"
"It looked dangerous, alright! What if it had been a bullet?" Sawyer asked, affronted.
"You find me a bullet that looks like," he paused and pointed to the remains of the water balloon, "that and I'll shoot myself in the foot."
"You'd do us all a favor, trust me," Sawyer mumbled.
"It's the thought that counts, Miles," said Juliet, hoping to avert yet another spat between the two almost-friends. "I think it's admirable and selfless."
"You're only saying that because you thought it was dangerous too," said Miles, knowingly. "You pushed Daniel out of the way too."
Damn. She was hoping that would go unnoticed.
Juliet looked in Daniel's direction and noticed that his gaze was fixated on the wooden porch. "This was all my fault. I cause misfortune to others."
"Misfortune?" she said, puzzled. "Someone else threw that balloon. The water was harmless. The only casualty is James's shirt, and that will definitely dry within the day. Isn't that right J-James."
In the span of a few seconds he had removed his shirt and discarded it beside him on the porch. He now lay casually on his back, his arms folded behind his head and legs crossed. Usually, such an image wouldn't even elicit a raised eyebrow from her. Today it made her palms sweat and her heart race to what felt like twice its natural speed. She blamed it on the heat.
She stared at him a second longer before turning back to Daniel. "See? You have nothing to worry about."
Miles passed her a piece of pie before turning to Daniel to say, "And anyway, we have Sawyer, should any emergencies arise."
"Hell if I ever try to save you," Sawyer mumbled as he cracked an eyelid and glared at Miles, "The most important thing here is that Little Miss Sunshine here is safe from harm. Ain't that right?"
Miles rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, you're a regular knight in shining armor."
Ignoring their comments, Juliet turned toward Daniel and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Don't blame yourself for things you have absolutely no control over, Daniel. There's nothing you could have done and nothing you can do now. The best thing you can do for yourself now is to let things be and live your life. The best way to honor Charlotte's memory is to take care of yourself and remember the times you spent together."
Daniel hesitated before gently placing his hand over Juliet's and nodding in agreement. "I'll… I'll try."
Juliet smiled and removed her hand from his shoulder. She then stood up and bent down to start cleaning up the surrounding area. Before she could wrap her fingers around one of the lemonade glasses with her right hand, she felt a hand intertwine its fingers with her left.
"And just what do you think you're doing?" Sawyer asked, opening his eyes to glance up at her.
"I was cleaning up—" she started to explain, a confused expression on her face.
Before she could finish her sentence, Sawyer tugged gently on her arm, pulling her down on the wooden porch with him. Her body landed in the space between his arm and his side, fitting almost perfectly.
"It's a nice day," he said simply, propping himself up to face her. "Don't worry about the cleaning. Just sit back and enjoy it."
She looked him in the eyes and promptly regretted doing so. His gaze was smoldering and hypnotic; it was a miracle she was still able to breathe. She could feel his breath tickle her cheeks due to their proximity and she turned her face slightly to hide her flushed face from his view.
"Alright," she said softly.
Sawyer smiled and resumed his previous position. His fingers were still grasping hers lightly, anchoring her to the ground.
Miles looked at Jin and raised his eyebrow, subtly gesturing in the direction of their two friends. Jin smiled and shrugged his shoulders in response.
Miles decided to forgo the teasing he had prepared and broke the silence in another way. "Aren't you the least bit curious as to where that water balloon came from? I would have thought you would be ticked off at whoever threw that balloon at you."
Sawyer's eyebrow twitched, but he didn't open his eyes or glance in Miles's direction. "Don't misunderstand me, Bruce. Whoever threw that damn balloon will have hell to pay. I'm just letting the food settle for now."
Juliet smiled despite herself. Miles was right; James was not a knight in shining armor by any means. He was brash, abrasive, bold, and sometimes downright offensive, but she wouldn't change him for the world.
Ben, from his position behind the garden hedge, angrily crumpled up his piece of paper and threw it as far as his arms would allow. He had not predicted this turn of events in the slightest. When he had thrown the water balloon, he had hoped to hit the crazy scientist and prompt him to go home, away from her.
He should have known that Juliet was the selfless kind and simply wouldn't allow any harm, trivial or otherwise, to befall any of her friends. That, admittedly, he should have predicted. What puzzled him was the reaction of the southern oaf, Lafleur. Within seconds of his plan going awry, he secretly hoped the balloon would hit Juliet. She would probably be upset, leaving plenty of chances for Lafleur to make a buffoon of himself. Then he could swoop in and comfort her…
He should have known that he would come to her rescue. It had happened once before, when Juliet had slammed her car into the tree trunk. Lafleur had taken all the credit for rescuing her when it was in fact he, Ben, who had been brave enough to pull her out of the nearly enflamed vehicle. She didn't even acknowledge him for that, didn't give him so much as a thank you. But with Lafleur, she was all smiles. With him she laughed, teased, and stole glances at him when she thought no one was looking. But Ben was looking and he wished she would do the same for him.
He didn't know when it started, this fixation with the beautiful woman sitting a few feet below him. He knew why he admired her; she was strong, capable, determined, and kind. However, despite all he strengths, he saw her as someone he had to protect. To others, she seemed to exude confidence, but he easily recognized the vulnerability in her eyes and stature. If others could see her as he did, they would tear her apart.
I'll keep him away from her, he thought as he watched her laughing at something Sawyer had whispered in her ear. I'll make him pay.
"That was some damn good pie, am I right?"
Juliet rolled her eyes and turned away to hide her smile as she followed Sawyer back to the porch. Under his insistence, they had made Miles and Jin do the dishes in her stead. Though it was a thoughtful gesture, she noted that he had excluded himself from the cleaning volunteer list.
She turned to him, eyebrow raised in amusement. "Are you sure you should you be so confident about your entree, Chef James?"
His smile faltered for a moment before being overwhelmed by a cocky smirk that almost made Juliet lose her composure. "What's not to like?"
That's a damn good question, she thought as her eyes subtly scanned his face.
She cleared her throat, hoping he didn't notice her delayed response. "The pie was pretty good I suppose. But the presentation was severely lacking. The filling was oozing over the sides," she said. She then wagged her finger back and forth, making tsk sounds. "Stray filling… I'm sorry but I had to deduct major points for that."
"Stray filling, huh? Well if that don't beat all," he said as he held his chin in his hand in mock thought. "This 'filling' wouldn't happen to be the same filling that's been on your cheek for the last 30 minutes, would it?"
Her eyes widened and her hand flew to her cheeks in a matter of seconds. Indeed, she could feel a sticky, slightly warm substance on her left cheek. She glared at Sawyer as she wiped it off with her finger and wiped it on the grass below.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"It's more fun this way," he said, laughter alight in his eyes. "And 'cause I think it's a good look on you."
"Pie filling?" she asked, her brows furrowed.
"No," he said, his voice lowering slightly, settings loose an onslaught of butterflies in her stomach, "Fun. I haven't seen you really smile for days and I missed that laugh of yours. I though that if I told you about that filling, your smile would have left right along with it."
She could feel the blush spread across her face like wildfire as she glanced down to avoid his gaze.
"I hate my laugh."
"Well, I guess you don't know how to appreciate the finer things in life," Sawyer said. He prepared to lie on his back again as he had earlier, but noticed that something impeded his path. He reached behind him to grab the object and smiled as he lifted it up to the sun. "Your laughter is as fine as this lemonade."
"You're only saying that because you made it," Juliet quipped. Then she tilted her head in puzzlement. "I thought we put all the glasses back in the sink."
"Must have missed one," he said unconcernedly as he tilted the glass upward, preparing to down its contents.
Before the liquid could reach his lips, Juliet, who had come to a sudden conclusion in the span of a few moments, forcefully knocked the glass from his hand. The glass flew a few feet away, its contents spread splashing everywhere.
"What the—" Sawyer started to say, puzzled by her actions. He stopped as he watched her dip her finger in a puddle of the lemonade and hold her finger up to her nose.
"It's odorless and far too viscous to be lemonade," she concluded, wiping the substance on the grass. "My guess is that it's either soap or cleaning solution."
"Sonuvabitch!" Sawyer growled as he stood up quickly in anger.
"Son of a bastard's more like it." Juliet mumbled as she placed a calming hand on his shoulder. She looked up at Sawyer's' angry face and, coming to a realization, she said. "Why don't you go inside and cool off, James?"
Sawyer looked at her in disbelief. "The coward who did this is probably near by! I'm damn sure he threw that water balloon earlier, too. You don't expect me to just let this go do you?"
"Please?" she asked softly. "Just let me handle this, okay?"
He looked her in the eye, expecting to stare her down until she changed her mind. However, upon seeing the tumult of emotions swirling in her eyes, he knew he had lost the battle before it had even begun. He turned away from her gaze, and felt his shoulders slacken and his anger dissipate.
"Alright," he said as he turned to leave. "But if you happen to need any help teaching him a lesson, you know where to find me."
"Duly noted," she said. "But I think I'll be fine."
Sawyer nodded and headed inside the house, closing the door behind him. Juliet waited a few moments before speaking.
She sighed loudly before saying. "I know you're there, Ben."
Silence.
"You might as well come out now and save me the trouble of telling your dad what you did," she continued.
She heard a rustling noise and watched as Ben emerged from behind the hedges, a nervous, yet defiant look on his face.
Juliet crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her food impatiently. "Why did you do all those horrible things, Ben? As far as I know, none of us has done anything to offend you in the past."
"Miss Burke, I didn't mean for you to get hurt," he mumbled.
"But you meant for James to get hurt?"
He hesitated and then nodded slowly. "I don't like him. I think he's a horrible person, Miss Burke."
A very pronounced chill ran down her back at the anger beneath his words. For the first time since she had seen the boy, she saw his future self reflected him his eyes.
"What did he do to you?"
He shuffled his feet and suddenly he was back to being a nervous 10-year-old and all traces of malice vanished. "He's mean and grumpy. He takes advantage of your kindness and he doesn't deserve your friendship."
Juliet shook her head. "James is a very good person and a close friend. I wouldn't be so kind to him otherwise. What did—what you tried to do was completely…"
Her mounting anger ebbed as she noticed him wincing as her voice became more severe. This wasn't the Ben she had come to know, and as such, she realized, she couldn't fault him for the crimes he was unaware he would later commit. The boy before her was still a child. She knew, though it would be difficult, that she would have to treat him as such.
She sighed and stepped toward him, crouching down so his face was level with hers. "I appreciate what you tried to do for me, but I can take care of myself."
He nodded, still refusing to meet her gaze. She continued regardless. "It was a very brave thing to do, and I can't fault you for your courage, but please don't do anything like that again, okay?"
He nodded again, this time turning away to hide a satisfied smile that went unnoticed by Juliet.
"Good," Juliet said as she stood up. "I'm going to go back inside now, Ben. I won't tell your father or James about this; it'll just be our secret. But if I ever catch you doing something like this again, I won't hesitate to tell your father."
"Yes, Miss Juliet."
He watched as she smiled at him and gave a little half wave before heading back into the house. His smile soon turned into a full-fledged grin as he turned around and headed for his own house.
So she thought he was "brave" after all? He whistled as he headed back to his house, another plot brewing in his head. He would still make Lafleur pay without being punished.
He just had to make sure he was never caught in the act.
Hey! Sorry it took so long! It's been two weeks, I know. I was really busy so I apologize :) There were several moments where I was tempted to turn into kiss scenes. Did you notice? I restrained myself because I know exactly how that will play out later. It took quite a bit of will power…
I'll try to update sooner, but I can't promise anything. I really hope you liked it! The chapter was inspired by the song "You Won't See Me" by the Beatles. I first titled it "Ben" but the death of Michael Jackson really impacted me as I was finishing this and I thought the chapter was an unworthy testament to the song, so I changed it. Maybe later, when I'm up to it, I'll write a chapter devoted to another song or his. For now, I'll have to push that one back. Anyways, enough of that. Let me know what you think!