love and war in your teenage years [2]

we're *not* the avengers, man

I knew deep down there was always a part missing. Ever since I killed Nate and my "mom" and Dani, a part of me was missing. I thought I moved past it. I thought I grew and became a better person, but maybe that wasn't the case.

Maybe I'm always going to be broken.

"Ben," Jo whispered as she opened the room to her and Lizzie's dorm, careful to not wake Lizzie up.

It was the middle of the night and I was unsure about what to do. My thoughts were crashing in my head and everything was starting to change again. Just like they've been doing the past year, "I'm sorry, I know it's late, I just didn't know what to do,"

"Wanna go to the lake?" she asked.

I smiled, nodding, "I'm gonna need to borrow one of your suits. I don't feel like walking all the way back,"

"Babe, it's two doors down," she teased and I smiled at her.

"Two doors, too far," I threw on her swimsuit, "I'll race you there,"

We snuck out of the school as I bolted away towards the direction of the lake. I could hear her beautiful laugh before she started to run after me. Once she reached the lake, she turned around and pushed me in.

I resurfaced, spitting out the disgusting lake water as I pushed my hair away from my eyes. I glared at Jo, who was still standing on the platform by the lake, a mischievous glint in her eyes more than I've ever seen.

"Well, are you getting in or not?" I asked.

She shrugged, "I'm still thinking about it. The view's really nice, though," I blushed and shot her a small smile. I jumped up from the lake, closer to the dock as I grabbed onto her waist and fell back into the water, muffling the scream she let out.

"You're an ass!" she exclaimed, her legs wrapping around my waist.

I huffed and playfully glared at her, "Josette Olivia Slatzman, my little cuddly koala," I teased her.

She rolled her eyes playfully before cupping my cheek, "Only for you,"

I blushed profusely and closed the distance between the two of us once again. My hands are holding onto her back to keep her from falling back. She moved her hands so they're back around my shoulders as I moved mine to cup her cheeks.

Her hands tugged at the hairs at the nape of my neck and when I pulled away, her lips were still mere inches away from my face. I buried my face into the crook of her neck, just embracing in the only thing that seemed familiar to me.

"Do you wanna talk about what's been going on in your head?" she whispered.

"So many things have been happening recently and it seems to only be happening to me. I saw my dead dad, I turned into a hybrid, my "mom" that I've known all my life wasn't actually my mom, I was erased from existence, and now Nate and Dani are alive with supernatural powers," I ranted, "And it only seems to be happening to me and no one else. Yeah, you guys saw your bio-mom and Hope was erased from existence, but I'm always suffering," I confessed.

Her eyes softened, "I'm just thinking what if it's me? All of you would be safe. I'd go and leave everything behind until this blows over. I can just leave," I whispered.

She shook her head, "No one is going anywhere, okay? We're going to face this together with Hope and Lizzie and Jed and MG and Kaleb."

"But everything is being torn apart right in front of us. Ever since I jumped into Malivore, that's all it's been," I whispered.

"We are going to get through this. We're going to figure out what Nate and Dani want. We're going to figure out who they're looking for and then this will all blow over," she explained, "But for right now, I'm here with you and you're here with me. I can't lose you again Ben,"