All's Fair In Love and War

I Was Ignored. And Judged. And Cast Down (Present)

Playlist:
-Thou – Heathen
-Sigur Ros – Glosoli
-The Civils Wars – Barton Hollow
-Sleeping at Last – Woodwork
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“Ben, for Christ sake!” Jay exclaimed as he saw him make his way through the throng of locals over to their table; pint, double vodka and coke, and a tap water in hand. He saw the shit-eating grin on Ben’s face as he set the drinks on the table and knew then, that the tap water was meant for him.

“Well ya never specified what ya wanted to drink, did ya?” Ben smiled, passing Lola her double vodka and coke, which she took from him and sipped.

Jay rolled his eyes at Ben, before getting up and making his way back to the bar to get himself a ‘proper’ drink, leaving Lola and Ben alone together.

“Ben are ya OK? I saw what ‘appened at the bar and then Callum run out.” She saw Ben flinch at the mention of his name. “Do-do ya know one another?” She frowned.

“Ah ya know me? I’m a well-known bloke. King of Albert Square ain’t I? Everyone wantsa piece of me.” He tried to shrug it off

“No Ben. I mean it.” She lent forward to quietly talk to him. “He looked as though he’d seen a ghost.” Lola placed a hand on his arm and looked intently at him.

Ben picked up his pint and took a sip, before replacing it on the beermat in front of him and wiping the froth it had left behind, from his mouth with the back of his hand.

“We have some history yeah. Old school mates an’ that.”

Lola was about to press him for more information, when Jay came back from the bar with a pint so she decided to leave it. For now.

Jay came and sat back down next to Lola and rested an arm along the back of the booth where they were sat, whilst picking up his pint with his free hand and taking a swig. “If ya think I’m payin’ for the next round after that stunt ya just pulled Ben, you can think again.” He scowled over the top of the glass. “What’s goin’ on wiv you an’ Whit’s fella anyway?”

Lola gave Ben ‘a look’.

“Coulda cut that tension wiv a knife. Don’t think I didn’t notice. Poor bloke looked as though he’d seen a ghost.”

“That’s what I said.” Lola chipped in.

“He’s not another of yer flings is he, that ya ditched after feelin’s became involved?”

Ben did his very best to try and keep himself from blushing. He definitely wasn’t one to show emotion, and right now was not the time or the place for that to change.

“He’s just an old mate. An old school mate s’all. I didn’t know he and Whit were together.” He tried to pass off the comment as nonchalantly as he could.

“They’re not. But ya should see the way they look at one another. Kinda reminds me of you and me Jay, when we first met.” Lola looked at Jay and smiled.

“Yeah and look how that turned out.” Jay teased her.

“HEY!” She punched him on the arm and scowled.

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Callum had finally managed to calm himself down enough to make his way back inside The Vic. He stood in the hallway and took a deep breath. He never thought he would see Ben again, but he had, and seeing him again had triggered extreme flashbacks from when they had both been in High School together.