Dating the Enemy

Chapter 17- Ben

Harry, Gil, Carlos, Jay, and I split up from the others, walking toward the forest.

"Ben!" Carlos called.

"Ben," Jay said.

"Dude," Carlos called him over, sitting on a rock. "Nothing?"

"These grow everywhere!" Gil said in astonishment, picking a berry off of a branch and eating it. "Hey, we should play that icebreaker," Gil said, catching Jay's attention. "Um, Jay, I like how you could bounce around and jump off things."

Jay walked over to him and looked at the bush, fumbling with a berry. "Yeah, um, I like how you get a kick out of a berry bush."

"I guess you've seen everything by now, huh? Furry rocks, giant fish. You're probably used to grabbing lunch off of a bush," Gil asked.

"No, I mean, no, not really. I mainly just use the vending machines at practice. Tourney kind of takes up most of my time," Jay explained.

Harry laughed. "Tourney? That's a wee boy's game," Harry said.

Harry turned to me. He smiled softly at the way I messed with my hair for a moment. I pushed my hair out of my face, not minding his hand holding mine. It felt relaxing and almost comforting to my racing heart.

"Ben!" Carlos yelled.

"Oh, boy, something stinks, and it wasn't me this time," Dude complained.

A beast-like creature appeared, and I jumped in fright. The monster roared at us and we backed up. The beast walked up the hill.

"You need some serious nose adjustments," Harry panted.

"I'm not so sure," Carlos said as the beast roared again.

"Ben?" I questioned.

"Huh, I thought I recognized those pants," Jay commented.

"Aw, he's got a boo-boo. That's why he's so cranky. You know, my dad said his dad did not handle pain well at all," Gil explained.

"Carlos, you're good with animals. Do something," Jay said quickly.

"Okay," Carlos said. "Hey, Ben. It's me, Carlos, alright?"

Ben swiped at him, and I climbed onto the hill. "It's Carlos, alright? You know me."

I tuned out as I snuck up behind Ben. Ben roared, making me jump.

A stream of water came from somewhere off to the side, hitting Ben in the face. He slowly morphed back to being human as the water hit him. I looked for the source of the water and saw Jane with a water squirter. Ben looked around in confusion as I hugged him out of relief, putting my blade away.

"Oh, thank god it was just a spell!" I said. I let go of him and saw that the spell had not completely worn off. He still had a goatee and fangs for teeth.

"You need another blast," Jane said, standing next to Carlos. She blasted him in the face again, soaking his shirt and face.

"Please, stop," Ben said, wiping his face with his hand.

"Huh. It's Enchanted Lake water. I guess it can only do so much," Jane explained. Carlos hugged her, resting his head in her hair.

"Hold on," Ben cut in. "Who's side are they on?"

"They escaped and joined us," Jay explained. "And Mal has the ember, which is our only hope to stop Audrey. Details to follow."

"Hades ember? Has Mal gone back to the Isle?" Ben questioned.

"I said details to follow. We're meeting with Mal, Evie, and Uma. Let's go," Jay said quickly.

"Uma?!" Ben questioned.

"Details to follow!" we yelled at him.

Harry walked away with me by his side, walking in the cottage's direction. Jay explained most of it, Harry adding details to it. We soon saw the cottage in view and saw Celia looking out the window. The door flew open and Mal ran out the doors, hugging Ben. Uma hugged me and Harry, tapping Gil on his biceps.

"You know, (Y/n), you could be a great asset to the gang, despite being an AK," Harry said.

Uma nodded in agreement. "Would you like to join?" Uma asked, holding out her hand.

I looked at her hesitantly. Could I trust this girl?

I took her hand and shook it. She hugged me, and Gil hit me on the back. I smiled, looking over at Harry.

"That's weird," Uma said out loud to me.

"What?" I asked curiously.

"This is the first time I've seen Harry actually happy."