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bonus chapter: ben's pov

B O N U S
C H A P T E R
B E N N Y ' S  P O V

VIOLA BENNY

[CHAPTER 33: FINNY INVITES HIS FRIENDS OVER]

The thought of being in the same house, let alone possibly the same fucking room as the girl he's been pining over for God knows how long brings a clammy sweat to the palms of Ben's hands. Luckily to Viola, he was simply one of her brother's friends, maybe even just the captain of the basketball team—not the guy that's been secretly texting her anonymously. When Finny invited him and a few other guys from the team over to watch the afternoon game, his dilemma between accidentally facing Viola and blowing off his friends weighed heavy on his mind.

In the end, he decided 'fuck it' and took it as an opportunity to blatantly stare across the room at a pretty girl. Not that anything could come from simply staring. He'd be happy taking the risk with her thinking he was creepy, he'd come this far with texting her, hadn't he?

Ben rings the doorbell to the Lancaster household, shuffling and yelling from behind the door already making the other guys' presence obvious. When it finally swings open, Ben's breath hitches in his throat and his eyes widen. Viola stands in the doorway with a small grin twitching at one side of her mouth as she leans on the wooden frame. Her eyes are so oblivious as she steps to the side to silently let Ben in, who quickly walks across the threshold with a clearing of his throat.

He kicks off his shoes as she walks away, placing them neatly next to the others in the entryway before following the noise deeper into the house. Ben groans quietly as he rethinks his decision to spend an afternoon in the same house with the one person that makes his heart race, yet isn't even aware that she's capable of it. He thinks it's stupid. Stupid how she's right there and still, he doesn't have the balls to let her know he's the one consuming her attention every day.

"Ben! About time dude, any longer and we would've thought you died." Finny yells from an armchair dramatically, a cheeky smile plastered on his face and Ben rolls his eyes, walking over to flick his friend on the forehead. He whines childishly, rubbing his face before grumbling that he's been revoked of remote controller rights.

He greets the four other guys sprawled across the couches, leaning over to slap hands with his friends. Ben grabs a handful of chips from one of the plastic bowls on the coffee table before seating himself comfortably on the only other vacant arm chair, shovelling the snacks into his mouth. "What'd I miss?" He asks after he swallows, his eyes glued to the TV as he watches players run up and down the court.

One of the guys, Jacob, pipes in to catch Ben up to speed on the uneventful four or so minutes of the first quarter. Another, Liam, chips in his own comments all the while Ben nods along to the conversation. He had barely noticed another person enter the room until the smell of freshly baked cookies filled the air and then the heightening aroma of testosterone as Viola walks in replaces it quickly after.

"Thanks sis." Finny speaks, his eyes never straying from the television as he reaches over for a cookie from the plate she had just placed down. She rolls her eyes as he fits the entire thing into his mouth, reaching immediately for another.

"I hope you get fat in the next five years, so have to reminisce about how you were 'the man' in high school. I personally don't see how your skinniness is fair." Ben chokes on his saliva and the other guys follow suit, Jacob smacking his chest as crumbs of potato chips fly from his mouth. Finny frowns around his cookie, a hand absentmindedly finding its way to his stomach.

"Careful Viola, I'm sensitive. Words hurt." Finny glares at his sister, reaching down for yet another cookie.

"Just remember, a second on the lips, forever on the hips." Viola smiles evilly before picking up her own cookie and leaving the room, Ben's gaze following her as she sits at the island bench of the kitchen, giggling away with her mother.

Finny scowls and his friends rough him up with their laughing and teasing, Ben otherwise occupied with the girl across the room. Viola runs a hand through her long chestnut ponytail, a pair of grey track pants slung low on her hips and a loose white singlet revealing a sliver of her smooth, creamy stomach. A flush of heat rises to Ben's cheeks as he pictures running his fingertips over the bare skin, a simple thought that causes him to clear his throat and momentarily look away.

His friends continue to yell at the TV and he catches Viola turning her head slightly, rolling her eyes in what he could only assume was annoyance. But then her gaze moves to catch his own and his heart all but stopped beating. He swallows the lump in his throat and clenches his jaw and he swears from the moment she looked over to the small flickering of her lips, he fell deeper into the stupid hole he dug himself.

Viola tilts her head slightly, the smile on her pretty pink lips becoming more prominent the longer she stares at Ben and his eyes widen when he notices the tiny chuckle that shakes her shoulders. Without giving him the chance to smile back, she turns around and continues whatever conversation she was already having.

Ben lets out a heavy breath, his heart seemingly starting to beat again as he grips the arm rest of his chair. Liam speaks up, "Ben, you good? You've sat in silence for like ten minutes." Ben cracks a smile and nods, sinking more comfortably into the cushion as he rubs his temple.

With an ounce of courage, he looks over to Finny who stares at him with an unreadable look in his eyes, his lips pursed. Ben rolls his lips into his mouth and shakes his head, blowing raspberries childishly as he realises what he's gotten himself into.

And that something, was deep shit.

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hi. this is random, i haven't been here in a while. so i felt like doing this randomly last night and it kinda just happened, so i hope you enjoyed this little surprise.

disclaimer: this chapter was never in viola's pov, it just carries on the moments after chapter 33 ends. i hope you liked it, thank you so much for reading <3