Never Have I Ever Season 3: an alternative theory

Chapter One: These Feelings

Watching Paxton’s lips lock to Devis'… his fingers about her waist… and how he held her… Ben catches his breath, feeling it hitch in his lungs. Yes, every thing about this had made him feel ill… and yes his heart aches and cracks as it beats heavily in his chest… but he lets out a breath, his eyes saddened with sight of Paxton’s hands on her. Or the fact he gets to breath her in… Ben just couldn’t… couldnt believe it… couldn’t even begin to believe his own eyes…
Devi can’t be with him… she just can’t…
Everything to Ben… up until now… had made total sense… everything from even how she could have played with his feelings… how he had thought she'd used him… or how she would never choose him over Paxton… But now… now that all changed… what Eleanor had said… it blew his mind… and now nothing had made sense anymore.
Ben blinks rapidly, trying to contain his thoughts running wildly through his brain, hurtling all at once. But it always keeps coming back to one thing…
“It wasn’t always him”… it wasn’t always Paxton…
“Shit. She couldn’t have chosen me-”
“What?”
Ben’s eyes widen, alert to the sound and they dart to his side.
Aneesa stands there beside him, holding a glass of punch in one hand, watching him carefully.
“W-what-”
“Who were you talking too?” Aneesa questions, looking around. Ben shifts nervously on his feet, pulling a hand out of his pocket as he turns to face her.
“Aahh…” he cocks his head as he chokes for the words his looking for, his lungs trapped, filled with air. His throat tightens, trying still to pull his thoughts off from Devi. An awkward smile tugs to his lips, trying to fend off the suspicious look Aneesa gives him now. "I-I said something? I must of blurted something…”
He reads her face, and he gulps, knowing she wasnt buying it.
“I don’t really remem-”
“Ben.” She groans, her eyes still heavily analysing him. “I heard… ahh… I heard what Eleanor said… and… and you…” she can’t complete her words, feeling as they lodge in her throat, her voice breaking slightly.
Ben watches her, eyes wide, wondering just how he would fix this… I mean, he had only found out about how Devi may have felt for him, and his mind was torturing him with so many thoughts… “what if she felt nothing for him now” was the one that hurt the most… and what if all the hurt he’d caused would never allow her to feel for him ever again. He needed time to think… but all he knew was he couldn’t hurt Aneesa or let her down… he was… her boyfriend…
He clears his throat, standing himself straight, pushing down on his confused feelings.
“Pfft. You worried about what Eleanor said?” He mumbles. Her brows pin together, as her eyes dart up and down on him curiously, assessing how truthful Ben may be. Her inspecting eyes make him nervous… and he chuckles. “You still think I have feelings for Devi?”
He laughs more, trying to fend off her suspicion. He notices as a faint smile begins to tug to the corner of her lips… and he knows it’s beginning to work. “Imagine me… still having feelings for someone like Devi. The girl has a serious mood disorder. She’s the perfect example of what no one should look for in a relationship. She has a track record for being insane… and no one would want to stay for her. A relationship with Devi would be suicide-”
He stops mid sentence upon seeing Devi as she passes with Paxton, and he instantly holds his breath. Holding onto Paxton's hand tightly, Devi tugs Paxton along, brushing her shoulder past Ben. Ben captures a glimpse of a hurt in her eyes… a twinkle of pain… before it quickly transforms into a fierceness that Ben knew all too well was coming back to bite him. Paxton watches him strangely, some concern in his eyes.
Letting go of Paxton’s hand, feeling her own sweat in hers, she stands no less then inches away from Ben to confront him.
“Wow Ben. Why am I not suprised? You really think of me like that?” Devi replies trying to keep her tone calm. Ben shifts nervously on his feet.
“Well-"
“It's ok. I don’t really care.” Devi replies coolly, pinching her lips together, refraining herself from letting herself go… especially whilst Paxton had been standing there watching on. She didn’t want to prove Ben had been right and look insane infront of Paxton. As Paxton moves toward the drink stand, trying to ignore their exchange, she leans closer toward Ben, brows tightening defensively as she glares back at him. “It's not like I care what an annoying little dweeb full of jealousy such as yourself would think.” She hisses, before she forces herself to stop, and take in a few deep breaths to calm herself down… But she can't help it… “At least I’m not a creep! Why would you say something like that infront of Paxton- are you trying to cause a drift between him and I - is that what this is?!”
Ben's eyes dart back and forth between Aneesa and Devi, stuck between the temptation to ask Devi what Eleanor had meant, and between trying to dodge getting scolded by his girlfriend… that feeling that his current girlfriend would begin to provide him a murderous look was beginning to become all too real… He decides it’s best to just fight Devi.
“Me? Cause a drift?” He scoffs. “I’m sure your fully capable of doing that on your own. Your an expert at causing… ‘drifts’… or ‘problems’.” He smirks, proud with himself.
Devi's lips curl tightly into a thin line, her fists tightening at her side.
“If Paxton wasn’t standing inches away, I would… I would take you on right now.”
Aneesa stands in, rolling her eyes as she holds Ben's arm back alittle, pulling him toward her.
“Alright, guys, relax. Maybe we should just-”
“Take me on?” Ben scrunches his face, confused. “Devi, listen. It's true… what I said… you literally can’t even go less then a second without screwing something up, Devi… why are you even trying? By the end of tonight… Paxton will be your history… or he'll at least be having second thoughts… at the very least.”
Devi's face drops… her eyes genuinely hurt. Ben feels the stab of hurt that bury deep in her eyes… darkened with pain… she had thought they were friends…
He begins to regret what he had just said… he instantly wishes he could take it back. Her face scrunches up, holding herself, and eyes lowering away. Ben can only watch her, wishing he hadn’t… hurt her… take back the way he had made that pain dim her eyes… but he could lie he had left trapped.
“W-why a-are you…” she barely gets out before she stops again. She turns on her heel suddenly, and wonders over toward Paxton as he pours himself a drink.
Aneesa moves her eyes over from Devi to Ben, her eyes filled with curiousity as they wonder over him. Ben stands there feeling frozen… but his trying desparately to fend off his guilt. He can't let Aneesa know how his mind only swims with thoughts of Devi… how he had just hurt her like that… and how he had regretted it… he wished to never see a pain in her eyes like that again.
“Wow. I did not expected you to… I don’t know… rip into Devi like that, Ben. Remember we are friends. Maybe you shouldn’t be so hard on her.”
He drifts his gaze to Aneesa, rolling his eyes in deliberate annoyance. Pursing his lips as he watches her.
“You thought I liked her. Maybe now you know I don’t.”