I Couldn't Care Less

+ Owls +

I hear white noise. Then Bella barking. Then a scream. A scream for help.

+ + +

I sit on the couch, crying. Mum's stuck in traffic and Ben didn't respond to anything. Anything. Which isn't like him. Is he dead? Is he safe? Is he okay..?

That's the one question I'm not sure if I want to know the answer to. If he's okay. 

I tip my head back and close my eyes..

+ + +

I wake up to the sound of my ringtone. I look down. I have a blanket covering me that I didn't have before. Mum must've come home.

 I look at my phone. It's Ben. I fell asleep at twelve, and now it's five in the morning. I hope it's Ben and not some creepy stalker guy who's found and claimed Ben. Or worse - father. 

I pick up the phone and accept the call.

"Hey. Pick me up. I can't walk. I'm at the start of your street." it's Ben. 

"Oh my God, Ben you have no idea how happy I am to hear your voice.. I-"

"Just come." he sounds frustrated. Or angry. Was it me? Did I do it..?

I slip my coat and trainers on, and I take my phone with me. I shut the door gently, wandering outside. It looks like it'd been snowing. If it has been, Ben must be freezing.

I walk out onto the footpath, looking down the road. I see someone sitting by the street sign. I can't see exactly who it is, and I can't make out the details of what they look like, but I presume it's Ben.

As I get closer, it's definitely Ben. And... he's.. naked. I force myself not to look between his legs. He's covered up mostly, anyway, but my brain is still an arsehole about this stuff.

"Hi.." he says. Bella isn't with him.

I sit down next to him, and hug him tightly. He hugs me back, sobbing. I'm not going to ask him what's wrong. I already know.

"Can I come to yours..?" he asks, coughing on his own spit.

"Yeah! Of course!" I say, bringing him to his feet and holding him steady. "Does your mum know you're going to stay the night..?" I ask him. He wipes his eyes.

"Yeah.. um, I texted her. She said I could stay for as long as I liked while they were away. I don't want her to know what happened." I nod. Fair enough. I mean, not while she was away. My mum would probably faint. "Um.. I have to tell you something. When we get home." he seems nervous.

"Oh, is it Bella..?" I ask him, grabbing his hand. He looks up at me.

He sniffs. "Bella has wings." he says. It sounds like bullshit, but he doesn't seem like he's joking with me right now. "Uh, and I have a tail." he adds.

"Um, what?" I ask. "Where is she? And what? How?" I'm so confused.

"After the phone service cut out, Bella and I found that we were too tired to keep walking, so we made a bed and went to sleep on it." he says, "and then, we woke up at about three, and there was a girl. Probably about eight or nine. She pointed a stick- er, I think it was a wand, she pointed a wand at Bella. Then, Bella started bleeding from her back, and a pair of wings appeared on her back." he says, staring at me. 

I look at him. I haven't changed my facial expression. "Well-"

"No, I'm not done." he says. "You probably think I'm being stupid, but I'm not. I swear. Then Bella flew away, and the girl pointed her wand at me. My tailbone started cramping like hell, until I realized that I don't only have a tailbone, but now an actual tail." Ben isn't wearing any pants right now, so maybe he'll show me when we get home.

"Okay." I say. Maybe he's just stressed and sad about Bella, or maybe he isn't making it up. I don't know. I also don't know why a random girl would cast a spell on an innocent boy and his dog, forcing them to both grow weird new limbs that a normal human wouldn't even have.

Not that Ben is a normal human.

+ + +

"Here, look, I'll show you." Ben says. He turns the kettle on, and walks over into the lounge, pulling his shorts down, just enough to free about a meter long scaly navy blue tail. It looks like it's a dragon's tail, but I could be wrong.

"Oh." I say, covering my mouth. "Oh my God.." he grins, like he's just won a trophy. He has a tail, now. Would that change anything?

It definitely wouldn't change how much I love him.

Now I sound cringey.