Princess of the universe // Hardzzellee

Chapter 11

The next morning they had to say goodbye to Addison. Due to regulations their state had, they were not allowed to take Addison in as a full-time placement immediately. Addison had to spend a few more days at the group home. In which case workers and caretakers talk to Addison to figure out if she would like to stay longer with them. When they arrived at the group home, Joe got onto his knees in front of Addison.
"We had a lot of fun this weekend. And we'd love for you to stay with us for longer, but you have to stay here for a few days before we can pick you up again, okay?" Joe asked. Addison nodded.
"I love you, sweetheart. Can I get a hug?" Joe asked. Addison wrapped her arms around him immediately. Ben was the next to receive a hug, followed by Gwil.
"Let's walk you inside, okay?" Gwil asked while he took Addison's hand in his own. Her caseworker was already waiting for them. She smiled at Addison.
"Did you have fun?" Addison immediately nodded. 
"I'm glad to hear."

Ben and Joe dropped off Gwil at home before leaving to run some errands. Gwil would have loved to come with if he didn't have so much work to catch up on. Gwil not coming along was very convenient for Ben and Joe because it was almost Gwil's birthday.
"There is this new cookbook Gwil was talking about not too long ago. We should get that for him," Joe said while they made their way to the bookstore. 
"I believe he also really wanted a new kitchen gadget. He pointed it out to me while we were at that store the other day. I suggest we get that as well."

Not that much later the gifts were in the back of the car. The kitchen gadget was quite heavy and they decided to put everything in the car before walking back to the mall to pick up some clothes Ben had ordered. 

At one point, Ben took his hat off before quickly putting it on Joe's head. He followed by pulling the hood of Joe's jacket over it.
"What are y-" Ben placed his finger against Joe's lips.
"Keep your head down and walk a few steps in front of me, I'll follow you," Ben said quickly. Joe frowned while doing as told. Ben's eyes are fixated on one man, standing a few feet away from them. The eyes of the man suddenly met his. Ben made the mistake to flick his eyes towards Joe, to check on him. The man followed his gaze. 

"There is the man I'm looking for,"  Nathan, Joe's ex, said. Joe had slowed down when he noticed that Ben wasn't following him anymore. He froze when he heard the familiar voice. Nathan placed a hand on Joe's shoulder to have him turn around. 
"Hey, sweetheart. Did you miss me?" He asked while doing so.
"Keep your filthy hands off me." It was meant to sound confident, but it sounded rather afraid.

"Talking back now are we? You know that I don't like it when you talk back." Ben had stopped a couple on the street. He asked the guy to call the cops while he asked the woman to film the entire situation for evidence. She started to record just in time to catch a fist meeting with Joe's face. 
"Keep your hands off him," Ben said while rushing back to the two. Joe now had his hand against his jaw. Nathan's fist swinged towards Joe again, but before it reached Joe, Ben had stepped in between them.
"Don't you dare to touch him again," Ben said. It took a lot of self-control to stay calm. His heart was pounding very fast, but Ben tried his best to stay focused. His eyes were locked with Nathan's. Nathan raised his fist, but this time striked Ben in the face.

"Hey, Joe? Did you know Ben is transgender? I bet he kept that a secret," Nathan said. While the statement wasn't entirely true, Ben knew that it'd be better not to go against it. A few years back Nathan had blackmailed Ben into telling his then boyfriends that he was born with both female and male genitalia. He was raised as a girl until they realised that he identify as one. 
"Oh, he knows. He knows. Luckily I have enough testosterone to do this." Ben grabbed a hold of both of Nathan's shoulders before kicking his knee up into Nathan's groin. Nathan collapsed. Ben took the second he had to check on Joe. The latter was visibly shaking. His eyes were wide and his eyebrows were raised while he looked at the scene unfolding in front of him. His face had gone entirely pale. Before Ben could help him, Nathan got back to his feet. 

Another fist met Ben's face. Ben clenched his teeth while looking at Nathan. Ben could feel how heavy his breathing was. Blood was thumping in his ears. 
"I don't want you to come near us ever again," Ben said. He was able to dodge another punch Nathan threw at him. Ben punched him square in the nose.

Ben was glad when he finally heard sirens coming closer. His hands were soaked in blood and he wasn't even sure whose it was. 
"Let each other go!" A police officer yelled. Ben immediately held his hands up in the air, but Nathan managed to get in another punch. 

A hand wrapped around Ben's wrist before it was forcefully pushed behind his back. The cold metal of cuffs snapped into place. The person behind him pulled him towards a curb where they pushed Ben down. He watched as Nathan put up a fight, pointing heavily at Ben.
"He suddenly punched me. I had to defend myself," Nathan said. Ben shook his head. He closed his eyes while he tried to calm himself enough to get rid of the pounding headache he was currently experiencing. He felt lightheaded but didn't pay too much attention to it. The rage was taking over everything he was feeling. Although he never liked to fight, it felt good to finally get his payback on Nathan.

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Hey,

Way more drama this chapter. I surely missed it. Do you guys hate me already?

Take good care of yourself and others. Stay safe, stay healthy.

Goodbye,

Xx Itsametaphorjoe