Your Best Friend, Benedict Cumberbatch

Chapter 7

The next day

Today was Sunday, which meant it was a day of lazing about doing nothing apart from moaning about the fact you had work in the morning. After Ben had left yours yesterday, you hadn't heard from him. You just hoped she hadn't managed to convince him to stay.

Incoming call - Martin

"Hey Martin"

"Alright Ella. How are you?"

"Good thanks Martin, what about you?"

"Not bad thanks. I just wanted to check if you've heard from Ben since yesterday afternoon?"

"No. He left mine around 8am, not heard anything since. How come?"

"I'm worried about him. He popped over to mine yesterday. Said he'd been speaking with Sophie about her pregnancy, and he was absolutely raging. I have never seen him like this. He smelt like a brewery; fuck knows how much he had to drink. Once I had calmed him down, he left, and I've not heard from him since. I have been calling and texting him ever since, with no response. Toms not heard from him either."

"Oh, fuck." You sighed, "I'm so worried about him. I'll go round there and see how he is. I'll let you know of any updates".

"Yeah, keep me informed, thanks Ella".

"No problem, speak soon".

"See you later".

You dragged yourself up from your sofa, quickly put your shoes on and was grabbing your jacket off one of the hooks by the front door, when there was a knock. You rushed to open it.

"Ben" you let out a deep breath in relief. You then looked at the bags next to him. "What's happening? Are you going away?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, "Not exactly. I've done it, I've left her. But" he paused, looking embarrassed, "I don't have anywhere to go. And erm, well, you said that I could stay whenever I needed, and I haven't had the time to book a hote-"

"Of course! Come in", you said as you grabbed one of his bags and brought it in, with Ben following with the rest of his bags behind you. The bags were placed by the front door, and you went to grab a couple pillows and blanket from the cupboard, to place on the sofa. "You're welcome to have my bed again, I don't mind".

"Absolutely not. I have felt terrible since I done that last time. I'm more than happy with the sofa" he says as he looks at you and smiles. You've never really noticed just beautiful his eyes were before. A perfect mix of blue and green. But then you snapped out of the thought and told yourself off for thinking like that.

"Well, you're welcome to stay as long as you want".

You didn't realise that Ben would take that so literally. You assumed that he'd stay a night or two and then book a hotel. Maybe even find a new place to live, but it's been 4 months and he's still here.

The first night he came over, Ben explained everything that happened with Sophie. When he had got back to his house after leaving yours that early morning, he asked Sophie about her friend, the Sonographer. He could tell she was uncomfortable with the conversation, which only made him ask more questions. Ben then admitted to her that he still wasn't convinced that she was telling the truth, and that he was going to phone her friend. Which he did. Obviously, her friend backed up everything Sophie was saying, for a while, until Ben said that he would report her if he ever found out she was lying. The friend got nervous and admitted that she was just helping Sophie out. There was no baby.

Ben said he flew off the handle, angrier than he's ever been before in his life. Angrier than seeing the photo of Sophie kissing that 'fucking guy'. He shouted. A lot. For hours. Then, after drinking any alcohol he had left in the house, he went over to Martins and ranted for another hour, until Martin could calm him down. Once Ben left there, he went back to his house, and said to Sophie that he was filing for a divorce. She switched, and tried threatening him, saying if he left, she'd go to the press and say that Ben was abusive and caused her to miscarry. But he was so beyond done, he couldn't care less. There was no proof of any of this anyway. "You've already fucked up my life, why not my career too" he had told her through gritted teeth. He then spoke to Karon, and they had managed to come up with a statement they could release to the press, confirming they were divorcing, 'but still loved each other dearly' bullshit.

The statement was released the day after he had turned up to yours, the same day he filed for a divorce. The media went wild. Paparazzi would not leave him alone. Or you. They had noticed he was hanging around with you a lot and taking photos of the both of you wherever you would go. The media speculated you were the other woman, and that's why they broke up. You were blamed, called a home wrecker. True fans knew though that you were his best friend and not some new woman that had just come into his life. 'How could he leave his pregnant wife', people would say, as Ben predicted, but he ignored it, for a while. Then, one day, at an interview, he snapped. Sophie was the first thing on the list of subjects Karon had given the interviewer that were off limits. But the interviewer ignored it. Asked why he left his wife when she had just announced she was pregnant and stated that 'man to man' it was a 'pretty shit thing to do'. "I've had enough of this" Ben growled, "I'm sick of everyone blaming me. Sophie fucking lied. She fucking faked the whole thing!". He then tore his mic off and stormed out. Obviously, the media loved it, and the paparazzi got worse for a little while. But the frenzy is over, they've calmed down.

Bens giving Sophie the house as part of the divorce settlement. He doesn't care, he wouldn't want to live in a place that was full of bad memories anyway. But it means he hasn't got anywhere to live. And to be honest, he doesn't seem in any rush to look for a new home. He's a multimillionaire and yet he's stayed on your sofa for the past 4 months. You couldn't work out why, but you were more than happy to have him here. The only problem is that it was making it a bit awkward for you and Oli. You were dating now, but you had to go to his place most of the time. You knew Ben was down, and needed time to mope around, but he was at yours nearly all the time, and sometimes you just wanted to be alone with Oli.

"Hey" you said as you walked into your flat after a long day of work and saw Ben lying across your sofa.

"Hey El" he smiled and sat up, holding his arms out for you to come over.

You walked over to Ben and wrapped your arms around him, sitting on his lap, cuddling. He squeezed you tight and rested his head on your shoulder. Ben had always been an affectionate person, and this was completely normal for you both. But Oli thought Ben was too affectionate with you, and so you would keep it so a minimum when he was around.

"Your hair smells nice. Have you washed it for once?" Ben teased with a deep chuckle. You could feel the vibration in his chest.

"No, this is just my natural scent. Beautiful isn't it?" you sarcastically replied.

He smiled into your shoulder, kissed it and replied in a low, deep whisper "the most beautiful scent in the world".

This caused your heart to beat faster. He had always been complimentary, and maybe it was because you were hearing a lot more compliments now you were spending more time together, but it was getting to you. You got butterflies in your stomach, and you would blush bright red. Sometimes you couldn't even look at him. Like you were getting nervous around him. For a moment you were scared you were catching feelings, but you told yourself that you were being silly, you're just an awkward person, that's all. Also, you're happy with Oli and no way in hell did you want to ruin your friendship with Ben. Besides, he's still hurt from Sophie. It would take him a long time until he's ready to start dating again.

"I'll make dinner soon; did you grab the wine?" Ben asked when you hadn't replied to his previous comment.

"Yeah, it's in my bag" you got up and grabbed it. Pouring yourself and Ben a glass, you walked back to the sofa, handing one to Ben and sitting next to him with your legs laid out across his lap. He automatically rested his hands on your legs.

"Thanks El', he softly smiled and took a sip. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

"I'm going over to Oli's", you saw his smile drop. Ben didn't like Oli. "What about you?"

"Oh, erm, nothing," he said, running his hand through his hair, "I was just going to ask if you wanted to do something. But it's fine".

"Well, we could still do something if you don't mind Oli tagging along?".

"Yeah sure" Ben replied reluctantly.