So, I know there's not much Bethan going on quite yet, but it's working up to it.
Each chapter is kind of like its own oneshot…
Anyways, here's the next part to "Trouble Always Seems To Find Us"!
Updated: 08/03/2013
…
"This is nice," Ethan commented as Benny led him into the restaurant. They had gone one town over, in hopes of avoiding any mishaps or disturbances this time.
"I thought you'd like it," Benny said, giving him a big grin. The front of the restaurant was a giant arcade; the rest, the eatery. "Table for two," Benny told the hostess, who gave them both a forced smile and led them to a table.
"Here you go, and there are your menus. Your server will be with you shortly." She nodded at them and left quickly. Before long, their waiter showed up; he was a short man, squat and broad, with brilliant red hair and narrowed black eyes; his skin was sallow and almost waxy looking, with a few warts every now and then.
"I am Reginald," he said in a scratchy, wheezy voice, "And I will be your server tonight. What may I get you to drink, gentlemen?"
After they placed their orders, he gave them a nasty grin and left.
"Well like that's not creepy," Benny muttered, sarcasm heavy in his voice; Ethan wasn't really listening though. He was looking around at the other waiters and waitresses; some were normal looking, but most of them resembled their waiter; short, squat, with blazing red hair that seemed perfectly folded so their ears weren't noticeable.
He could almost feel the supernatural surrounding them.
"Benny…" Ethan started, but his voice trailed off as his eyes landed on a big, stunningly decorated fountain. He could see something shimmering in the water of it, but was diverted from looking when their waiter returned.
"Your drinks," he said, sitting them down with a clunk. "Are you ready to order?"
"Uhh… few minutes," Benny said, looking at Ethan, who was staring at nothing.
"Very well." The man gave Ethan a scathing look before turning and walking away.
"E? You okay?"
"…Yeah… Hey… tell me everything you know about… leprechauns?"
"Leprechauns? Dude, they don't exist. Why, what's up?" He was beginning to get worried; Ethan looked pale and was intently staring at something. Then, he blinked and turned to Benny.
"No reason…"
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah."
Reginald returned and took their orders, the whole time his beady black eyes set on Ethan, who wouldn't look at him.
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Ethan's eyes fell to the fountain again; this fountain was so elaborate, so big, that he was concerned about why no one else seemed to look at it.
He felt like he was the only one who could see it.
"Benny… do you see that fountain?" he asked quietly, watching as the taller of the two looked around, confusion showing on his face.
"E… there's no fountain."
"I thought you'd say something like that…"
Why could he see it, but not Benny? He suspected, since he was a seer, that that must be the reason why. But then the question arose, what was that fountain, and why was it here?
Soon, their food arrived, Reginald now sneering at Ethan; Ethan looked back blankly, unsure what was going on here.
"Everything alright, young man?" he asked, voice seething at him it seemed.
"Mhm."
"Good. If you need anything, don't hesitate, to ask," he said, his voice suddenly rich and comforting. Ethan nodded and blinked as he walked away.
What had just happened? Shrugging off the feeling of oddness that had settled on him, he began to eat with Benny.
About halfway through the meal, Ethan began to feel dizzy.
"E, you okay? You look really sweaty and kinda shaky."
"Fine," Ethan got out, shaking his head. "I'm just gonna… run to the restroom, put some water on my face."
"Want me to come with you?"
"No, I'm fine, really," he said, reaching over the table and squeezing Benny's hand. "I'll be right back."
But Ethan never came back.
Benny looked around worriedly; he didn't see anyone else missing, and definitely didn't see Ethan anywhere. Where could he have gone?
"Your friend asked me to give you a message," Reginald said, appearing at the table, sneering again.
"H-he did?"
"Yes… he was ill. He left."
"He left? But how-"
"I do not answer questions. I just deliver the message," he said, bowing and dropping a black folder on the table. "Your check, sir."
"Uhh… thanks," Benny said distractedly, quickly pulling out the money and putting it in there.
"Very good sir. Thank you for dining with us tonight." He nodded and got up, shoving his hands in his pockets; shuffling towards the arcade, he thought he could play some games until he got over his heartbreak of Ethan ditching him on their date.
But then, Benny saw something that was very interesting indeed; Reginald, his short, grumpy waiter, was shuffling towards the back of the restaurant, something clutched in his hands. Benny couldn't see what it was that the short man was holding, but he did, finally, see where was going.
To a fountain, that had appeared out of nowhere.
Ethan said something about a fountain… Benny thought weakly, watching as the short man looked around, as if he didn't want to be seen, before he dropped something small, and gold, into the fountain.
And when this object connected with the water, Benny could've sworn he heard a weak voice calling for help.
…
He waited until the last straggling employee left before he made his way quickly and quietly to the now darkened restaurant. It had been hours ago when he had left, calling Ethan's cell phone and getting no answer.
No matter how "sick" Ethan could've been, he would've answered the phone; he always answered the phone.
So, Benny figured that something must've gotten to him as he went to restroom earlier.
And so, Benny made his way back to the scene of the crime; letting himself in by magic, he snuck as quietly as he could into the apparently deserted restaurant.
But then, he heard something; diving behind a large game, he peeked around the corner to see two short figures sitting on high stools at the bar; one of them, he realized, was their waiter from earlier.
"So Reg," the other one said, its voice much higher; apparently it was a girl one, of whatever these two were. Benny didn't think they were human anymore. "Why the boy?"
"Syl," he said, voice sounding like he was shaking his head, "you know the rules. Take who seem to know."
"Did he?"
"He saw the fountain."
"Ooh, magical was 'e?"
"Aye, that he was," Reg said, making a sound like a snort. "I got a taste before he turned into his coin though."
"Was 'e good?"
"Very. I wish I could've had more, but Madam-"
"Yes, she is very particular about that."
"Indeed." The two of them were silent for a few moments, letting Benny mull over what they said; Reginald had done something with Ethan. Moving a little closer, he heard what sounded like heel-clad feet making its way towards them.
"Reginald. Sybil. Where is the boy?" A new voice, full of commands and shriller than nails on a chalkboard, spoke.
"The one from earlier? I already-"
"There is another! I smell him!" This didn't sound good for Benny. "Show yourself!"
Why do I get myself in these situations? He thought, already knowing the answer.
Ethan.
He was doing it for the guy he cared about.
So, standing up on shaky legs, he moved into the light; standing in front of him were about ten small, squat people, all of them with red hair and beady eyes; the one in the front was by far the worse.
With a pang to his heart, he knew Ethan was right; they were leprechauns.
She was a female, with a long, wart-covered, hooked nose that looked like a beak; her eyes were watery and even beadier than the rest; her red hair was tangled and fell in lumps like old spaghetti down her back; her skin was sallow and she looked mean; what gave her away though as the leader, was the makeshift crown perched on her head.
She pointed a long, warty finger at him.
"What are you doing here?" she sneered, baring her teeth; they were yellow, with gaps in between them and quite jagged.
"I want him back. The guy I came in with earlier." The leader rounded on Reginald, who looked down, although he sneered.
"You took someone when there was a witness?!"
"He saw the fountain!" She mulled over this before turning to Benny.
"What is your name child?" Benny mentally stewed over that; he hated being called a child.
"Benjamin." He figured his full name would impress her more than the shorter version; she seemed like that type.
He was right it seemed; she seemed to soften a bit in front of his eyes.
"Your friend. He is not here, as you can see," she said, spreading her arms wide.
"He is. He's in the fountain."
"Hmm…" she mumbled, raising a hand to her chin and stroking it thoughtfully. "Why do you think so?"
"He said so," he said, tilting his head towards Reginald, who bared his own ragged teeth at him. She raised a hand to him and attempted a smile at Benny.
"Very well. You have caught us, as they say, 'red-handed'. I will set your friend free, if, you can answer three riddles. Get them right, I will let you go to the fountain and pick out only three coins. If you choose the one that was your friend, you two may go. If not… you join our collection. Deal?" Her grin stretched over her face, making her look more like a toad than a leprechaun.
"Deal."
"First riddle… 'This may annoy you until you find out why it is so unusual, for you won't find a solution instantly. But don't go into a tailspin about it, for it isn't that difficult. But you will admit that it is most unusual. This sounds so ordinary that you might think that nothing is wrong with it. And, in fact, nothing is wrong with it. But it is unusual, and you must ask why. If you study and think about it, you may find out why, but you must do it without any coaching of any kind. No doubt if you work at it for long, it will dawn on you...who knows? So start to study it now, and try your skill at finding out what is so unusual about this writing. If you can do it in half an hour, you may claim an approach to wisdom, but if you can't do it in half an hour...find our solution.'"
Benny stood there, gaping at them for a minute, before he began to mouth the riddle to himself over and over again. He stood there for a good ten minutes, mulling over it, before the answer hit him; being a nerd had its advantages, and this was one of them.
"The letter 'e'. It was nowhere in that sentence." She sneered but nodded.
"Very good… Now, the second one. 'A woman owns a shop and the first day she had 13 customers, the second day she had 14 customers, the third 95, and the fourth 62. Following the sequence, how many customers will she have tomorrow?'" Now she smiled smugly, sure she had caught him up; no way could he answer this, she was sure.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, thinking; he knew Ethan could answer something like this, probably pretty easily too, but he was just as smart as him. Taking another deep breath, he thought of the numbers. 13,14,95,62… What do these numbers have in common? Then, it hit him.
"The answer is 35." He watched in glee as her face fell; he knew he was right.
"Hmmph, yes," she muttered, sneering now. "Let's see how you do this time. 'What is it that no man ever saw, which never was, but always will be?'" Benny stared at her before drumming his fingers on his arms, thinking; his eyes strayed to the fountain, which was glittering brightly in the dim light.
If he didn't get this right, he might not live to see tomorrow…
Tomorrow…
"The answer is tomorrow!" he exclaimed, watching as her jaw dropped before she clapped twice.
"I must say, I am impressed. Very well, you may go and pick three coins." He walked over to the fountain, feeling them all watching him. He kneeled down to look through the clear water, seeing all the coins there were; how many people had been changed and thrown in here? "Once it is pulled from the water, it is your choice. So, choose wisely." He nodded to himself and pushed his hand in; the water was icy, freezing his arm. Biting his tongue to keep from exclaiming, he moved some of the coins around, noticing that each and every one was different. Searching, he looked for something, anything, that reminded him of Ethan.
He saw one with book on it; Ethan liked to read. Could that be him? He pushed that one kind of to the side, just in case.
He saw another one with a gaming controller; he and Ethan were always playing video games! Maybe that was him? He put that one to the side too and then continued to look.
Then he saw one that hit him with such force that it had to be Ethan! On it, it had a pair of eyes; that was all.
But he knew, he felt it, that that had to be Ethan.
Grabbing the three he found, he stood up, clutching them in his hand; by the look on their faces, he could tell that one of the ones he held had to be him.
"Made your choices?" he nodded. "Good. Now give them to me." He shook his head, making all of them sneer. He dropped the book and the game one and looked at the one with the pair of eyes.
"Ethan," he whispered, watching as it began to glow in his hand; he smiled as he dropped that one too.
It never reached the floor though; standing in its place was a soaking wet, shaking Ethan.
"Benny! You did it!" Ethan exclaimed, wrapping his arms around the taller guy in a tight hug. They pulled apart to see all of the leprechauns now sneering at them; some even seemed to be drooling.
"You didn't play by the rules Benjamin," the leader said, chest heaving in anger. "Now we take you both."
"Benny, do something," Ethan said, shaking in fear and from the cold. Benny looked at him and then looked back at the advancing army of leprechauns; they looked more evil than anything else they had encountered so far.
Benny's mind blanked as they came closer, baring their teeth and making weird noises; he could only think of one thing.
Turning, he pushed the fountain over, making the water and the coins fall out.
"NO!" the leader screamed, already collapsing; and they saw why. The coins were evaporating, and all around them they could hear multiple voices saying things like 'thank you' 'you set us free' 'freedom!'. The two boys watched as the leprechauns shook and quivered.
Then, they exploded.
Benny and Ethan ducked as green slime went everywhere; including on them.
Once the explosions ended, they looked around.
"Weren't they supposed to be lucky?" Ethan muttered, looking around at the mess, then at Benny.
"Yeah, but when has anything ever been lucky with us around? And hey, sorry our second date was as much of a bust as the first one."
"Eh," Ethan said with a shrug, trying to get slime off of him, "Besides getting changed into a coin, almost getting my soul sucked out, and getting covered in leprechaun goop, it wasn't too bad. Now, I think I need a shower."
"Can I join?" Ethan rolled his eyes as Benny wrapped an arm around his waist.
"I don't care; let's just get out of here."
…
**Riddles courtesy of riddles. Wikispaces (dot com slash) hard + riddles **
…
Dang, this chapter was looooooong.
Hope it was interesting though!
See ya next time!
-JustMe133