Chapter 7: Easter with the Bensons Part 2

When we got to the park, we were standing by the side. I sort of felt like a loser, seeing a bunch of elementary schoolers running around and giggling.

My arms were folded as I watched all of those kids running around, and the wind was blowing my hair to the side. I looked to my right, up at Freddie. He smiled at me. And then, for some reason, I didn't feel like a loser standing here anymore.

"You really go here and hunt for eggs every year?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said, but then he leaned down to my ear and whispered: "But, I don't try to find eggs. I just go to my secret place."

I smirked and raised my eyebrows. "Your secret place?"

"Yeah, but my mom thinks I go for eggs. So, don't tell her."

"Oh yeah, 'cause all I do all day is gossip with my best friend your mom."

Freddie laughed. "Follow me," he said. He gave his mom a wave, and then he started running.

"Wait!" I said, laughing as I ran behind him.

Freddie turned around to me and started running backwards. "Come on, Puckett! You can run faster than that!"

I was laughing, and soon I caught up with him, and a little after that I even got in front of him.

"Wait," Freddie said, out of breath, after a while. "This is it."

I looked around. It was beautiful. I'd never seen grass so green, sky so blue, and the sun so bright. Also, between two trees was a bench swing. You could tell that the bench swing wasn't made by professionals.

I looked up at Freddie, and he was smiling at me. "Freddo, this is amazing."

"Yeah, you don't even realize how fast we ran," Freddie said, smiling. "We're at this part of the park that no one knows about. See? Do you see or hear any annoying kids?"

I was quiet for a second, looking around. "Yeah, you're right! But um… someone else must know about this place. There's a bench swing here. Was it here last time?"

"Yeah…" Freddie said uneasily. He sat on the bench swing and I gently sat on it next to him. He looked at me. "My dad made it once. He's the only person who I showed this spot to… besides you."

I chuckled softly. "I feel special." I tried to remember Freddie's dad, but then I realized that Freddie barely ever mentioned him. And, I don't remember meeting him. "I've never met your dad, have I?" I asked, looking at my black flip-flop next to Freddie's sneakers.

I realized that it was taking Freddie a while to answer, and I looked at him. He seemed to be fascinated by our shoes. He took a deep breath, and I looked at him as he looked down. He had a sort of sad look on his face. He then looked back at me and he smiled. "You know what? I'll tell you about him later. But let's just say… I think you've met him before. He's your Uncle Carmine. I'm your cousin, Sam."

I looked at him, my heart dropping and my eyes widening. But, Freddie was smirking as he said: "Gotcha."

"I hate you!" I exclaimed, but I was smiling. I stood up.

Freddie got a truly scared look on his face, but he was still smiling a little. He stood up too, and he sprinted away, even further from the park.

"Oh, you know I'm faster than you!" I shouted happily as I ran after than him.

"Not when I'm scared!" he exclaimed, running too.

I didn't try to run fast, because honestly, I can't see myself hurting him anymore. It's fun, it really is, but I don't know. And I guess Freddie knew that, because he did look kind of scared but not as scared as usual.

But soon, I saw Freddie trip and fall. I kept running, and I was chuckling at him lying on the grass on his stomach. I knew he was okay because he was smiling too.

"I tripped," he muttered.

I laughed, seeing a small twig under his shoes. I picked it up. "On this?" I chuckled, showing him.

"Oh, come here, Puckett," Freddie said, grabbing both of my ankles. I tried to get my feet out of his grip, only causing me to fall down, too.

I was lying on my stomach after I fell. Freddie was lying on his stomach, too. It was windy and the grass was long and soft. I made myself face him, so now we were both on our stomachs facing each other. I glared at him because he tripped me.

"Sam," Freddie said, smirking. "I know you're not gonna hurt me."

I smirked too. "What gives you that idea?"

"I don't know. Fine, hurt me. Right now. It's the perfect opportunity." He was smirking.

I sighed. "Yeah, you're right. But don't think you're off the hook now, Frederly. I'm still Sam."

"Yeah, I know. Like last night." He smiled, and I looked deeply into his eyes. So deeply, it was like I could see into him. It was a perfect opportunity to just look into his brown eyes like that, just lying on my stomach with him lying in the same position in front of me. His eyes have always seemed small to me, but they looked so big now. I tightly closed my eyes, trying to snap myself out of it.

I smiled, knowing he meant the whipped cream thing. But, I grinned and just said in a sarcastic tone: "What? I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Sam," he said, smirking. "I was awake."

I felt heat on my face when he said that. Maybe my face was turning red. But, I said, "You were not. Come on Benson, you wouldn't have let me prank you if you were awake."

"Think what you want, Puckett." He was smirking.

"Whatever," I said, looking deeply into his eyes again. But then, I snapped myself out of it again, wondering why I was suddenly so fascinated by his eyes. I figured it was nothing. He just had cool eyes, that's all. I started pulling at the grass, pulling some of it out of the ground. I put all of my attention on the grass, trying to make myself not think about how much I wanted to look back at his eyes.

"So," he said, "how are you feeling about the Benson life?"

"I'm adjusting," I said, smiling. I looked at him. "Honestly, I can't believe it's already been a week. So much better than my home life." Thinking about it made me sort of sad. I looked at Freddie, and he looked like he was ready to listen. He was always a great listener. I like that, because I'm a terrible listener, so we balance out. I was sad, and so ready to talk. "I don't know, Benson… since Melanie left, it was just me and my mom… and whichever guy she brought home that day… and, she always…" Tears filled my eyes, but not enough for me to actually cry. "I don't know, it just wasn't fun."

"She always what?" he asked softly.

"She just wasn't a good mom, that's all."

"Oh," Freddie said, and he stood up, brushing grass off of his lap.

I stood up too. Freddie looked worried, I guess because he knew that I was hiding something. "But it doesn't matter now, right? I never have to go back home."

Freddie paused as his expression slowly turned into a half smile. "Never." He fixed his jacket and looked at his watch. "Hey, we better head back now."

I felt my heart sink. "Oh." was all I said.

Freddie started walking, and I followed, walking very slowly, taking in the whole place once more and lightly touching the trees and the bench swing as I walked. He stopped walking and turned around. "You coming?" he asked.

"Yeah…" I said. "But Fredward?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for letting me see your special place," I grinned. "It really means a lot."

"Don't thank me," he said. "I wanted to."

I smiled. I walked by his side, back to the main part of the park to see Marissa. She looked worried. "Where were you two this whole time?"

"Uh, right here mom, hunting for eggs."

She then smiled. "Wow, you must've been running around so much, I didn't even see you!"

I chuckled, looking down, thinking about how much Freddie was always treated like a baby.

"Did you two have fun?" Marissa asked.

Freddie looked down at me. "Yeah. A lot of fun."

"How about you, Sam?" Marissa asked.

I looked at Freddie, noticing a twinkle in his eye. I looked back at Marissa, and nodded. "Best Easter I ever had."