Never Have I Ever Season 3: an alternative theory

Chapter 8: Part 1

Next morning.
Ben checks his phone again. He had texted her three times since yesterday. No reply.
He anxiously had wanted to text or call her every second but he was barely keeping himself together from doing it… he knew he shouldnt… he would just wait for her… wait for when she were ready… wait for when she wanted to converse with him again.
He stands at his locker, sliding his phone away into the front compartment of his bag and taking out a book when he hears the clanking sound of metal beside him as someone leans up against the locker door that had just been next to him.
Ben’s gaze instantly darts up thinking it could be Devi, but as his gaze does lift and meet Paxton, his lips part in suprise, than instantly come together, tightening,… his gaze narrowing, and freezing up into a puzzled frown.
“Hi.” Paxton says, a tone grated and firm. “Bet you were expecting Devi, weren’t you? So you could be a dick all over again, right?” He says with a hardened frown.
Ben shoves his book into his bag, slams his locker door shut, than mimics his tougher outter stance, confidently, folding his arms infront of him.
“I called out on you bullshit, that’s what your worried about.” Ben replies, his frown is just as hard as Paxtons’, trying to appear and give out an image that he were ready to be just as intimidating as Paxton had looked he would be to him. “I’m glad I got it across that she cant trust you… she knows that now… that you and Zoey aren’t ‘just’ friends.”
“You are one jealous piece of-”
“Piece of what? You don’t care about her,” Ben scoffs angrily, cutting Paxton off. “So don’t pretend you do.”
Paxton slams a hand against the space between them-the locker next to Ben, trying to shut him up… trying to intimidate him a little more, glaring back furiously.
“Listen. I don’t know what you heard but you heard it wrong… not that you would care, but I do care about Devi, and so stay the hell away from her.” he sneers.
Ben doesn’t reply at first, just glares back, assessing Paxton, not taking his eyes off him for a brief second… glaring back just as intensely as Paxton were on him.
“I dont know if you know it… but your going to hurt her, Paxton. You don’t know how much she has liked you… She did everything for you… and you used her…”
Paxton laughs mockingly.
“I used her? Really?”
“You know you did.”
Paxton snorts bitterly, his hands falling down to his hips. He watches Ben with disbelief, his mouth turning slightly agape.
“H-how?…” he stammers with disbelief, shaking his head at Ben. “You know what… it’s useless making sense of the load of bull that comes from your mouth-”
“Are you sure?… like how you made her do all your homework for weeks or months so you could get into college… how you never really saw her until she became a potential hook up plan for youself… even how you hid that you guys had been making out for some time because you didnt want people to know… Listen… I found out she has feelings for me too… you aren’t the only one she likes. And I want you to know, I’m not just going to let you hurt her. I know you'll just end up doing something stupid, or dumb, and then end up breaking her-”
“Dude! You are the one breaking her… not me.” Paxton hisses.
Ben pauses, dropping his arms to his side, anxious at his words. He rubs at his arm, anxiously, swallowing hard then exhailing out his stress… he groans as he runs a nervous hand through his hair then… wishing Paxton had not said that…
“I’m not… Im just trying to look out for her-"
“Your trying to break her and me up, your doing a good job of looking out for yourself. How the hell do you think that is looking out for her? Are you this stupid?”
“I- I’m not trying…”he moans, his tone sounding almost as soft as a whimper… but then turns the torture running through him and directs it toward Paxton, turning to him furiously. “She, Paxton, worships you! She's had this insane crush on you since she was in elementary… she’ll let you walk all over her and I cant stand to sit back and let you do that…” his tone trails off, becoming soft again. “She doesnt deserves it… Y-you can’t just do what you want… she deserves far better… she deserves someone loyal… someone who really loves her-”
Paxton's face slightly flinches to what he’d said.
“Your not looking out for her-” he grunts at him, but his tone much more softly this time, as he cuts him off.
“You kissed Zoey back? Didn’t you? How many other girls-”
Paxton glares fiercely as he takes a firm step forward, stopping him.
“I didn’t.” He says with clenched teeth.
Ben watches him, intensely assessing how Paxton gazes at him back, with a fixed fierce gaze. After a short while, Ben drops his gaze away, having seen the seriousness and truth in Paxton’s eyes.
“I…” he bites down his lip, then exhails sharply with a frustrated grunt as he looks back up. “I never… stopped thinking about her… never stopped to tell her how I felt after what she did… I even dumbly tried to get her to just look at me by making her jealous dating someone else… so, yeah… I know what it’s like to hurt her… but I dont want to see you do it… I just don’t want to see that pain in her eyes…” he looks away briefly, gathering himself up before he continues. “And then I find out… she actually did like me.. and more than I had assumed… when she started dating you? Shit… That shit hurt… alot. You know what I mean? And you know why? Because I never knew she could ever feel for me what she felt for you. Ha. Damn… I was dumb, right.”
Paxton scoffs angrily at his words.
“Yeah, beyond stupid. And you still managed to mess all that up… mainly for yourself.” he responds bluntly.
Paxton then turns his back and begins to wonder away, whilst Ben scowls after him… I mean, he had just opened up thinking Paxton would see Ben a little… not for him to burn him back… but what had he expected?
Ben stands there for a couple of seconds, rubbing the back of his neck… pensively thinking… thinking about things Paxton had said, when the bell goes. Someone passes him, accidentally nudging his shoulder, waking him up from his deep rooving thoughts.
Ben swings his gaze over to where his next class would be, hoisting his bag up, gripping to its strap like it were some kind of life line today… like he needed something to hold on too, his body so tense. Just as he looks up he sees Devi… she meanders on in into the school building on the far end of the corridor… her hair loosely out, and she sways it about as she walks… his transfixed… almost forgetting their tension… the Devi he cant stop thinking of- the one who kissed him back- being all he sees… the problems they had created between each other being pushed right up to the back of his mind…
Her eyes suddenly lower away to the ground as though she wanted to hide when she hears two people snickering her direction… he wants to go to her… he feels protective over her… but he also knows he shouldnt… he thinks it’s not a good idea if he were to approach her knowing how angry she were already with him.
But when she spots him, he notices as her features seem to tense up and her feet undecidedly pace back and forth between staying or stalking over toward him…
…she were thinking… deeply, he could tell… contemplating… but about what was what was scaring him…
Ben's brows shoot up and his eyes widen when she decides that she would furiously storm over to him in a way he thought she may even slap him.
His shoulders shrink, worried, and he almost wants to close his eyes as she reaches him. He feels a tightness in his throat, in his chest as she growls as she stands infront of him like she were about ready to rip into him!
“I’m so mad with you!” She lets out.
“Y-yeah I get that Devi-"
“No you don’t.” She then says suddenly softly and sadly, a quaver filled with trembling emotions in her voice it breaks his heart, his stance going from guarded to vulnerable in seconds, and his shoulders sinking. “You don’t get it Ben. I hate how you've been treating me… What you did-"
“Well what about Paxton…” he complains softly. “I was just trying to let you know-”
“No Ben… you need to stop.” She almost feels the urge to wrap her hand over his mouth to make him just listen. “I’m not going to bother saying any more… but…” she lowers her eyes away as she says what she's about to… knowing she cant handle to see the look in his eyes… knowing she didn’t want too… knowing she didnt want him seeing what would hold in hers too... Her breathing becoming heavier… “I want to be an honest… trustworthy… girlfriend.”
Ben’s breathing picks up pace also, his heart fisting and pumping ever so tightly in his chest. He doesnt want her to continue…
“Fuck.” the words choke in his throat, glowering as he folds his arms and lowers his head away, looking away when he knew what she were going to say next.
“If you wanted something, I don’t know, between us…” she shakes her head. “I… I can’t-” she stops herself, her eyes tearing up and her skin flares with heat trying to hold her emotions back with everything she had.
His eyes look up and then lock to hers, the whites of his eyes reddening more and more… the rim of his eyes welling up a little… he were holding back with everything he could not to let her see them water… but the storm that were whirling, crushing profusely inside him… he was falling apart…
“I want Paxton. I don’t want you… so you need to stop… you need to stop all this that you are doing… just don’t do it anymore.”
And she turns and leaves.
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Hi Guys! I am very sorry about this chapter... but you know I'm team Benvi and they will get together... guys pls tell me if you think I should change anything... I need all the advise I can get when writing!haha I do have a plan and know where I'm going with the story, but it's always good to know if I'm portraying the characters ok. I love all comments! I am sorry if this has been rushed too, I will not be able to write another part for about a week this time as I need to catch up on some other things... but I will try to get the next part out as soon as I can... thank you guys always, and please let me know if there is anything I should change! Xxxx y'all ♡♡♡