Maybe is a Loser's word ~ Benny Watts Fanfic

Chapter 15 ~1967 ~ Pay Phone Problems

I turn away from Beth's house as a wave of disappointment washes over me. I know I shouldn't have come, but I had hoped that it all wouldn't have all been this bad.

Just as I turn away from the house, I notice a pay phone across the street. Maybe if I call her here I could see how she is truly doing.

A 2 minute call is just under a dollar, and thankfully I had quite a lot of loose change. I punch her number into the machine and after only a few seconds of ringing, Beth picks up. "Hello??" Her voice echoes through the receiver and my heart begins to flutter. "Beth! Are you okay? Shit, I have been worried sick, I haven't spoken to you in days" I exclaim.

I'm so glad I have finally managed to contact her. "Oh....... Benny? What do you want?" She replies - slurring her words. She's drunk. Just as I had suspected.

"Oh my god. Do you need any help? I can find someone to come over and help you" I ask. "Look Benny. I already told you, I dont need your help. I dont need you to keep checking on me... I'm finally at home and happy by myself. Not with you in your stupid 'no alcohol' basement or whatever..." she slurs through the phone. She joking right?

She would seriously rather be drinking alone than spending time with me- sober. "Okay Beth.. fine. I wont call to check on you anymore. I'm only gonna call you to see what's happening with you chess career. Just know that you need to stop pushing people away that care about you. I'm sorry if you hated being with me, but you didn't have to fake it. Just be careful. Goodbye Beth." I say; hanging up the phone.

My heart feels as though it has gone from flying, to crashing to the ground. I've never felt like this before. I know the best thing to do is just go home. As I started to walk down the sidewalk, I remembered someone. I remember Beth mentioning that she had spent quite a lot of time with Harry Beltik a while back.

I've always felt extremely jealous of him for getting to stay with Beth for such a long time, and I was pretty happy when I learned that he moved out of her house. As little as I want him to be back in Beth's life, I know that it has nothing to do with me. This is about Beth. I like her, and I only want what's best for her, and if I can't help her then maybe he can. I rummage through a pocket in my giant trench coat, and pull out my wallet to find his phone number that I had scribbled down on a scrap of paper years ago. Honestly I am surprised that I still have it.

I scramble back over to the payphone, slide the coins into the machine and punch his number into the phone.

It rings for a few seconds before he picks up. "Hello?" his voice echos through the receiver. "Is this Harry Beltik? It's Benny Watts here" I say, hearing the empty buzzing in the background. "Oh... Um Hi there. I've always wanted to meet you actually, you know I've read every single game you've played-" he rambles before I cut him off. "Beltik, it's nice to meet you but this isn't about me. It's about Beth."

"Beth? Beth Harmon?? I haven't thought about her in months" He tells me, confusion fills his voice. "Can you meet me somewhere? A coffee shop maybe?" I ask him hopefully, if I can get him to help me this would help save Beth's career.

"Sure. There's one on the main street in lexington. We could meet there at 4pm today." Beltik says to me. "Okay. see you there" and I hang up the phone.

.................................

I arrive at the coffee shop at 4pm as we had agreed. I slump down into a chair at a 2 person table and wait for Harry. 20 minutes go by and there is still no sign of him. "Where the hell is this guy?!" I think; having to stop myself from just getting up and leaving. I know I need to get someone to help Beth and it can't be me.

Another 10 minutes pass while I sit alone in the quiet cafe; I can see baristas whispering and giggling, both male and female baristas checking me out.

Most people would normally soak up this kind of attention, and my younger self did. However, it just isn't me anymore and frankly it's getting a little annoying. Suddenly a loud clatter interrupts my thoughts as I see a chair fall to the floor. I look up to see a man standing over the scene with a slightly embarrassed look on his face. Harry.

Our eyes meet awkwardly as he stands in the center of the cafe and he stumbles over to the table I have been reserving for nearly 40 minutes. I stand up and stretch out my arm to shake his hand "Benny Watts" I say with a weak smile. I sound surprisingly confident. "Uh... Harry Beltik" he replies, shaking my hand loosely.

Harry seems like a fairly nice guy, apart from his obviously dishevelled appearance and awkward, clumsy personality. His dark hair flops down infront of one of his blue eyes as he looks around the room- almost unsure of his surroundings.

I notice how different his teeth are compared to in some of his old interview photos. He reminds me a bit of a lost puppy, which is weird as from what I've heard, he is normally quite a confident guy. It slightly puzzles me that Beth was actually into this guy. However, he does fit her quite specific type - a chess player.

He slips back into his chair and looks into my eyes. "What's this about Beth Harmon?" he asks me. I decide to just get straight into it. I don't really want to be sitting here any longer than I already have. "Look, Harry. I've been really worried about Beth recently and this morning I went to her house, she looked and sounded a mess. I know she isn't going to let me help her, so I wanted to know if you could try and get her to go to the Kentucky state Championship." I say, slightly flustered.

Harry looks me up and down with a surprised glint in his eye. "I mean sure, man... I'm not really up to much these days. Though I can't promise that Beth will listen to me, I could make some calls to the guy that runs the tournament, maybe get him to call her to get her to come and make an appearance too. But why me? Why didn't you get Townes to help or something?" He asks.

Townes. My mind wanders back to the night outside the bar all those months ago.

"Townes wouldn't be able to help" I lie. "Can you please help her? You are the only other guy I know Beth has been.... involved with. I just need to know that she is okay." I exclaim. "Okay okay I will help her" he says "but why are you so concerned? You two aren't even together." He adds. I go silent for a moment, I wonder if I tell him the truth he will help me.

"I... I love her"

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ayyyyy hey besties

sorry we've taken so long to write this

we promise we will be writing more regularly because we have wayyyy more time

what ya think of this whole chapter?

The next chapter will be out next week we PROMISE

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from

newty and dobby xoxo