Safe Haven

Chapter Two - Ben

"Good! Great, hold it there."

My friend, Alden shifted uncomfortably in his carefully positioned pose. He stared at the camera that was pointed at him. His smile faltered only slightly as his body wavered dangerously.

"If I don't move out of this position soon, I'm going to fall," he ground out through clenched teeth. I laughed airily, letting the camera hang loosely around my neck as I finished with the shoot.

"I'm sorry, mate, but I needed to practice with this new camera before finals. Besides, your photos always turn out the best. Half of my portfolio is just you!" Now it was his turn to laugh as he stood from the ground.

"It's a curse to be so handsome," he groaned out. He was always like that, but it hadn't always been a joke. Before became close with him, Alden had been a bit more arrogant than I would usually allow, but it seemed to diminish through our friendship.

"Hey, let's go get some ice cream from Dee's!" I suggested. It was hot for spring, so the ice cream shop on campus had posted that they were opening early. Best decision they ever made.

"What kind are you gonna get?" Alden asked, shoving his hand into his pockets. I learned that he often did that when he felt his hands want to fiddle with something. Most times he was playing around with the spare change in his pockets. If he hadn't spent it on chocolate bars already, that is.

"Probably mint chocolate chip. It's the best there. What about you?" I countered. He paused for a minute as if the question were dire and he hadn't thought of it at all; however, he'd probably been thinking it over all week.

"I'm thinking peach cobbler. Oh, but the moose tracks there is to die for! Maybe I'll just get both," he sighed. He was famous for mixing odd flavors together just for the hell of it.

"I'm having the worst Deja vu right now," I said shaking my head. Everything was familiar - even as I looked down and found that Alden and my steps had fallen perfectly in time, the feeling was all too familiar. My thoughts did not feel like my own. They felt more like they were placed into my head.

"Speaking of, I saw a thing the other day that there is an—"

"—an opposite to Deja vu," I finished, finding his eyes. Alden looked a little stunned. There was a pause in our conversation as he looked at me in amusing astonishment.

"Well, yeah, but how did you know I was going to say that?" He asked. His eyebrows drew together as I shook my head.

"Um, just... I remember you saying that," I stated. He was silent for a moment before he chuckled softly and shook his head at the ground.

"You're insane, you know that?" Then it was a moment that we could just laugh off, but thinking about it while we were studying for our big astrology exam later that night had me shaking my head. Deja vu had never worked like that. The words never came before. Someone would say them, and they would sound all too familiar, but never become known.

~ ~ ~

Finals week arrived, pulling with it a train of sleepless nights, intense study sessions, and stress induced snacking. I discovered that that week was responsible for an uncomfortable amount of gained weight, but its impact was mitigated by the week that followed: a long and completely deserved hibernation in which I only got up to use the toilet and yell at the people outside my dorm door for being too loud.

I tapped my pencil quietly as I thought of an answer. Finals week was intense, but I was convinced that I'd prepared myself well enough. Though, I felt tired, drowsy almost. The feeling was odd because I'd been well rested just before this. Though, it wasn't too far-fetched, as that wouldn't be the first time that I'd been stressed enough to make myself feel tired.