It's a Hard life | Hardzello♡

46. You saved my life

"You're- you're kidding, right?" Joe asks with wide eyes. He looks at Rami, hoping that the boy will burst out in laughter because of this prank.
But unfortunately the serious look on Rami's face doesn't disappear.
Joe moves his gaze towards Ben, the latter shakes his head.
"I'm not. I have to, I'm sorry." The blond almost whispers.
Joe can't help but panic. He can't lose Ben. Ever since he met Ben his life has been perfect. "W-what do you mean you have to?" The ginger asks in a trembling voice.
Ben doesn't say anything and keeps looking down, avoiding Joe's gaze.
A long and painful silence falls.
Both Ben and Joe don't seem to notice that Rami and Lucy are there. They are too deep in thought.
But then Joe realizes it. "You just don't love me anymore. I am so stupid. You just stayed this long because you felt sorry for me." He says before storming out of the room.
Ben bites his lip when the front door closes with a loud bang. He gets up and wants to follow Joe, but Rami stops him.
"Don't. I'll go find him and talk to him. Don't worry okay?" The black-haired boy says.
Ben lets out a shaky breath and nods. "Okay then." He mumbles. "Thanks." 
Both Rami and Lucy shoot the boy a reassuring smile before leaving.

***

After looking for the boy at Joe's favorite places, Rami decides to look if he's at the park. There he sees Joe sitting on one of the benches opposite the fountain. "Hey." Rami says softly. "I never expected to find you here."
Joe shrugs. "I got dizzy and this was the nearest seat." He mutters. 
Rami sits down next to his friend onto the bench. "Are you okay?"
Joe doesn't say anything to that and just keeps staring straight ahead.
"You should know that he doesn't want to do this." Rami says after a while of silence. 
Joe scoffs. "Then why did he do it?" He grunts with tears in his eyes.
"Because he doesn't want you to be in danger." Rami says.
Joe gives him a questioning look.
Rami takes a deep breath before starting his explanation. "The day you woke up in the hospital, Ben got a text from an unknown number. It was from the guy that beat him up before. Apparently he saw you two together. The text said that he thinks Ben doesn't deserve any bit of happiness in his life, and that the guy planned to 'pay you a visit'. But when you walked into that bar, all he had to do was to slip something in your drink." Rami says.
Joe gasps and looks at his friend with wide eyes. "C-Corey texted him? He was the one who poisoned me?"
Rami nods. "Ben has been blaming himself ever since. He doesn't want you to get hurt again because of his past. That's why he broke up with you. Not because he doesn't love you. He just wants to protect you." 
Joe's eyes start to water again. He wants to say so much right know, but the right words just won't come. He is mad and happy all at once. He can't believe that Ben has been hiding this from him. But at least Ben still loves him. "Well, that all makes sense. But I don't need him to protect me. I don't need to be saved." He says with a soft sniffle.
He looks up at Rami, seeing the boy looking away. "What? What is it?" Joe asks.
Rami sighs and shrugs. "Well... you needed to be saved before Joe." He says softly.
Joe doesn't get what his friend is trying to say, and looks at him in confusion.

"Well, after the blood results showed that you had poison in your blood, the doctors told us there were only two ways to save you." Rami mumbles. He slightly shivers when he thinks back to that moment.
Joe raises his eyebrow, not sure where this is going. 
"They could bring you into a artificial coma, hoping that your body would filter the poison out itself. Or they could do a blood transfusion, so that the healthy red blood cells could help you wake up and recover faster." Rami continues.
"They couldn't find a donor that had the right blood type quick enough, so Ben insisted on getting tested. He matched your blood type, so he donated his blood to save you." Rami knows that Ben told him not to tell Joe, but he can't watch his best friend feeling miserable.
Joe's jaw drops. "He what? But- but why don't I know this?" He stutters.
Rami shrugs and starts fiddling with the zipper of his jacket. "I don't know why, but Ben told me and Gwil not to say anything to you."
Joe raises his eyebrow. Why wouldn't Ben want him to know about the blood transfusion? "I uhm- I gotta go to him." The boy mumbles.
Rami nods. "Yeah, you should. Call me if you need me okay?" He says with a reassuring smile.
Joe smiles and gets up. He gives his friend a short hug. "Thank you." He says softly during the hug. 

///////

Joe hurries home, hoping he can change Ben's mind. They can't break up, they just can't. After everything the boy has done for him.
The ginger quickly opens the front door, and walks towards the bedroom when Ben isn't in the living room.
There he sees the blond, sitting on the foot of their bed. His head buried in his hands, nothing but silence in the room.
When Joe knocks on the door, he looks up. The ginger swallows when he sees Ben's green but also puffy eyes. The boy clearly has been crying, judging by the stains on his cheeks.
Joe can't help but feel so incredibly grateful to the boy. Without saying something, he walks over to Ben. He hugs the boy, and wraps his legs around Ben's waist. He crooks his face into the blond's neck to inhale his scent.
Ben goes along in the hug after a minute, and puts his arms around Joe's chest.
The ginger can't stop a single tear from falling. "You saved my life." He whispers with a soft sob.
Ben lets go of the boy so he can look into Joe's hazel eyes. 
Joe leans forward a bit and lets his forehead rest against Ben's. Both boys close their eyes.
"Rami wasn't supposed to tell you that." Ben says softly with a small smile.
That makes Joe even more curious. "Why not?" He asks.
Ben opens his eyes and gives the ginger short kiss on his nose, earning some soft giggles from the boy. "Because it was my chance to finally do something for you. You've done so much for me already." The blond says softly.

"I could say the same. I can't even count the things you did for me on two hands anymore." Joe says. He can't help but notice the quite guilty look in Ben's eyes. "I don't need things in return Benny. Everything I do is because I love you." The ginger takes Ben's hands and looks him in the eye.
A tiny smile appears on the blond's face. "I know, but-"
"Please don't end it blondie." Joe whispers before Ben can finish his sentence.
Ben bites his lip when he sees the tears sparkle in the boy's eyes. "Joey... I can't watch you getting hurt again because of me. I'm the reason you got poisoned. I would never forgive myself if-"
And again, Ben doesn't get the chance to finish his sentence.
Because Joe smashes their lips together. "You're also the reason I'm still alive Benny. I don't care whatever will happen to me. Because I know I'll have you as my protector. I wanna be with you." The ginger whispers.
Ben swallows and hugs the boy. He inhales Joe's scent and enjoys the feeling of their chests touching. "I wanna be with you too. But I just don't know how to fix this." He whispers during the hug. 
The two let go of the hug.
"Maybe we should go to the police?" Joe suggests after a minute of thinking.
But Ben shakes his head. "I don't think that will work. One text probably isn't enough evidence." He says with a sigh.
Joe looks down sadly while trying to come up with a plan. There must be something they can do, right?
"There might be one thing that will work." Ben suddenly says. "But I don't know if it's safe...-"

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