𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 • 𝘣𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴 [✔]

chapter thirty four.

Ben pulled up to a parking lot of a park. People were still walking their pets or doing late night running. Several lampposts were turned on so it wasn't completely dark. Inside the car, Ben grabbed a blanket from the backseat. Claudia watched as his lips formed into a smile.

"You came prepared," she said.

"Always am." he replied. In reality, Lucy had been the one to tell him to bring a blanket. She suggested a nice stargazing date in the park after roller skating.

"The sky is so pretty tonight," Claudia said. But the sky wasn't the thing that caught her eye. "Oh my god. There's a roundabout!" Claudia always enjoyed being in a playground as a kid. Janis would take her after work as a reward for behaving while she worked.

Both Ben and Claudia exited the car, Claudia's eyes were fixed on the playground. "Race to the swings?" She suggested.

"Loser buys ice cream." Ben nodded. After locking his car and taking the blanket in his hands, Ben counted to three before Claudia so he had a head start. Claudia gasped and ran after Ben as fast as she could.

Claudia had lost the race as Ben made it to the swings first and sat on the left swing while Claudia sat on the right one. "That wasn't fair!" She started to swing her feet back and forth.

"You never said anything about a fair race. I'll have a sundae with a load of sprinkles and a cherry on top." Ben smirked as he copied Claudia's actions. The two adults laughed as they almost fell from their swing.

Claudia had lost her balance as she tried to kick Ben's feet with her own. She fell backwards onto the ground with her feet still entangled in the swing. She couldn't help but laugh as she fell. Ben couldn't let her have all the fun, so her let himself fall backwards while his feet remained on the swing like Claudia's. He could hear Claudia's laughter get louder.

"You're such a dork," Claudia grinned, turning her head to the side to face Ben.

"It made you laugh, didn't it?" He turned to face her.

"Yes, it did. Congratulations for making me laugh, Benjamin." Claudia's eyes looked down at his hands. She didn't think twice in grabbing it. She turned back to face the sky that was filled with many stars. While she was busy gazing at the night sky, Ben couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"I didn't tell you this before, but you look lovely." He said.

She remained silent for a moment, her hand still holding his. She sighed softly then looked at him with a smile. "Thank you, Ben, you look better than me. I mean, that's a pretty cool watch."

"Since when did this turn into some kind of fashion wars?" He laughed, covering his smile with his hand.

"If it was, my mom would destroy us both. I'm talking dresses, suits, skirts. That woman takes shopping very seriously. She is a Stevie Nicks and Janis Joplin fan after all. Fashion icons." Claudia replied.

"Is she named after Janis Joplin?" He asked curiously.

"Nope! Although many people believe that. She was named after her grandmother. My mom hardly talks about her family. Guessing they're shitty or mostly dead. Probably both." Claudia swayed her feet on the swing from side to side.

"I don't want to seem nosy, but you said your parents needed relationship therapy . . . are they divorced? I know Edward is with your mum. I thought for a second you wanted your parents back together." Ben said softly.

Claudia thought about it, the idea of having her parents together. She never had that. She thought it would be nice. That's all she wished for when she was a kid. She imagined her mom making pancakes in the morning, her dad would be at the kitchen table finishing his breakfast and she would be asking her mom for her fourth pancake. Then they would both go to work after dropping her off at school and in the afternoon, they would be together again like a family. That was all she wanted.

"The day my dad comes back then I'll consider getting them back together," she joked, but the look on Ben's face made Claudia know that he didn't get her joke. "Oh my god, no! Edward is amazing, he loves my mom and my mom loves him. I would never break them up. They love each other so much."

"Oh, yeah," Ben laughed nervously. "I agree. Edward talks about Janis all the time. He shows me pictures of her on their dates."

"Ew, what a couple of teenagers in love." Claudia laughed as she still held onto Ben's hand. She continued to look at the stars while Ben looked down at their intertwined hands and smiled to himself. But Claudia shivering caught his attention so he grabbed the blanket he had and placed it onto of both bodies while he held her hand. He scooted closer to her so they could both fit under it. He felt his heart race when Claudia placed her head on his shoulder.

He felt like that was the happiest moment of his life. He didn't want the night to end, as cliche as that sounded. Claudia was like his happy place. He didn't want to leave at all.

An: hi bad news so basically i'll be updating less bc of my job :( maybe i'll update on weekends instead, but i'm not sure but i just wanted to update so y'all dont think I'm dead 🤪✌🏼

Also here's so shitty Instagram profiles i made for janis, lucy and claudia