Sorry this is such a short chapter, I needed to get the ground work set up for the next one. However this one has some very big things happen in terms of character realization, that will be incredibly important in the near future.

Rose was panicking, she needed to explain to Benny somehow what happened before he found out. She didn't know what she was going to say to him, she didn't know why she cared so much about him finding out. She scanned the halls looking around, he wasn't at this locker, she didn't see him near his last class. Everyone was looking at her, she wanted to run away but she needed to find him first. All of sudden she saw him and Ethan turning a corner and she sprinted over to them.

"Hey Rose" Ethan said hesitantly, Benny wouldn't meet her eyes and didn't greet her.

"Benny, can I talk to you really quick please" she said desperately.

"I'm not in the mood Rose" he said starting to walk away.

Rose was about to reach out to stop him when Ethan grabbed her arm gently, "Rose I would give him some time."

"He knows doesn't he" she said her eyes becoming glassy.

"He knows you went out with Atticus last night, the whole school knows they saw the pictures of you on your date."

"It wasn't a date" Rose said a hint of desperation in her voice as she looked at Ethan "we were just hanging out"

Ethan looked a bit uncomfortable, "you two were really close for two people just hanging out."

"Come on Ethan, Benny has seen me in my underwear and we are just friends, an arm over my shoulder from Atticus doesn't mean anything."

He looked apologetic, "look I get it but Benny is just upset okay, he'll get over it just give him some time."

Rose felt horrible, she sighed pinching the bridge of her nose "I don't know why he is so upset anyway. I never acted like this when he went on a date with that girl he kissed."

"Wait what date?" he looked puzzled.

"Remember you told me the day with the truth potion that the girl that was talking with Benny, the one he kissed last year, asked him on a date."

"Yeah I remember"

"I don't know why he is acting like this when I didn't even get mad about him going out with her two days ago."

Ethan looked at Rose, realization dawning on his face, "Rose, Benny never went on a date with her, he turned her down."

A mix of emotions washed over her, disbelief, relief, and then guilt "wait, he turned her down? But why? He's literally kissed her before, why would he not want to go on a date with her especially if she was the one that asked him?"

Ethan smiled slightly, "maybe you should ask him."

"I'm an idiot" she said hiding her face in her hands "I messed up, I used a cloning spell Benny's grandma gave me so that I could attend the chess match with Benny and hangout with Atticus."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I am a terrible friend, I forgot I was going to the chess match and I agreed to hangout with Atticus and his band. When I found out instead of telling Atticus I couldn't make it to his show, I created two of me so that I could be in two places at once."

Ethan put a tentative hand on her shoulder "you should be telling Benny this not me."

"I know but I don't think he wants to see me right now."

"He always wants to see you"

Rose sighed "I need to go talk to him, thank you Ethan" she started walking away determined to go talk to Benny. All of a sudden her phone rang, she looked at the caller ID and it was Atticus. She hesitated before picking up "hey"

"Hey Rose" Atticus's voice came through the phone, "I don't know if you saw the news headlines or not but I'm so sorry about that. I didn't know the media was going to be there, they are always trying to start rumors."

"I saw, it's okay it's not your fault" she said gently.

"I know this is probably bad timing but do you want to hangout again tonight, it's my last night in town and I really want to see you before I leave."

Rose hesitated, she knew she needed to talk to Benny to clear this up, to apologize but she also knew that she didn't want Atticus to leave without getting to say goodbye to him. Especially because she didn't know the next time she was going to get to see him. "Yeah of course, we should get together before you leave, I want to give you a proper goodbye."

"Great! Wanna meet me by the old church tonight around 8pm? I have something special planned."

Her heart started beating faster, "yeah sure, I'll see you at 8pm" she hung up the phone. Her mind was torn, she liked Atticus, she felt like maybe more than a friend. On the other hand she liked Benny, she knew more than a friend but he didn't like her the same way. She sighed again, she needed to talk to Benny before he met up with Atticus tonight. She started walking, she knew he was heading home.

Benny had just about made it home when he heard a familiar voice, he saw Atticus standing on the corner ahead of him chatting on the phone. "Yeah she totally fell for it, we are meeting tonight" Benny froze before hiding behind a nearby tree to listen closer. "When she shows up, I'm going to woo her then when she isn't expecting it, I am to snatch her" Atticus chuckled "yeah she is so dumb, she totally thinks that I am into her. Good call on getting the press to take that photo of us last night. Everyone is talking about it, that should get her annoying friends out of the way." Atticus paced around "yeah that Benny kid was the reason why I didn't get her last year, now that he has seen the photo he shouldn't be a problem anymore. He's the only reason I wasn't able to get her sooner, she's too fond of him, now that he is probably mad at her, she's ripe for the taking" he chuckled.

Benny couldn't believe what he was hearing, he always had a bad feeling about Atticus but he always figured that was jealousy. He never actually believed that Atticus was a bad guy or that he had any ill intentions with Rose. He glanced back around the tree but Atticus was nowhere to be seen, his heart raced as he tried to process what he just heard. He needed to warn Rose, now, she was in danger. Before he had the chance to move, he saw Rose coming down the sidewalk with a determined look on her face.

"Rose" he yelled toward her, stepping forward to meet her in front of his house.

Rose was slightly taken aback when she heard her name, Benny had called to her from behind a tree, he stepped toward her, "Benny-"

He cut her off "Rose I need to talk to you" he looked around to make sure the coast was clear "let's go up to my room."

She paused, noticing the concerned look on his face "yeah, okay."

They walked into his house, and upstairs to his room, Rose sat on the edge of his bed as he sat beside her. She was so nervous, she knew she needed to tell him the truth about all of it, the clone, Atticus, how she felt about him, but the look on his face made her pause.

Benny sighed taking a deep breath, happy he managed to catch her before she saw Atticus. "We need to talk about Atticus"

Her breath caught in her throat, were they about to have this conversation, were they about to talk about their feelings. "Benny look I'm sorry about-" she started before she was cut off.

"That Atticus guy is using you" Benny blurted out "he is lying to you."

Rose paused looking into his green eyes, "what are you talking about?"

Benny grabbed her arm desperately trying to convey the urgency "I overheard him on the phone with someone earlier. He said that he was using you, trying to get you alone with him so he could kidnap you."

Rose couldn't believe what she was hearing, was Benny really that upset with her that he would make something up this. "Benny come on, Atticus would never do something like that, we are just friends."

"He said he was using you that he-"

Rose cut him off, an obvious hint of annoyance in her voice, "Benny stop, I know you don't like Atticus but it's no reason to make up lies about him."

"I'm not-"

"You literally knocked him out last year when we had a date scheduled just so that I wouldn't actually go on a date with him." Her voice was strained as she looked at him, her voice breaking "now he's back in town and wants to see me and you find out that we are spending time together, now all of a sudden he is trying to hurt me?" Rose stood up angrily. "Do you know how that sounds? Why would he want to hurt me?"

Benny didn't have a good answer, as he stood up to face her "I don't know, all I know is that I heard him saying that tonight was the night he was going to get you."

"Just stop Benny" Rose was on the verge of tears "you are supposed to be my best friend, why are you trying to hurt me like this."

"I'm not-"

"But you are, why do you care if I go out with someone else? Why does it matter to you who I see as a friend or as a date?" Rose started to walk toward the door, "I'm going to find a boyfriend eventually you know. You'll always be my best friend but you need to stop making up lies to keep me from the possibility of finding something else."

Rose ran away, leaving Benny standing there, his heart breaking, she didn't believe him. She thought that he was just making it up in an effort to stop her from dating Atticus. He had to admit he didn't want her to date him even before now but after the conversation he heard, he knew that he had to help her no matter what she thought. He stood there even moments after she left thinking about what she said. He had wanted to tell her that other than the obvious fact Atticus was a bad guy, he didn't want her to see him for other reasons. He thought about her words, that she eventually would have to date someone, the thought made him feel sick. He liked her, hell he loved her but he couldn't tell her that, he could barely admit it to himself let alone her. He knew he still needed to do something, he knew where she was meeting him tonight, he needed to get Ethan, they needed to save her.