Long Away

Chapter 44

When Ben arrived at the university, he realized he now had three people to look for. He cursed himself internally for not deciding on a more precise location to meet Clare and Freddie. The campus was still bustling with students at this time in the afternoon. With no idea where to even begin his search, Ben crossed the open space between the wings of the building, hoping to spot at least one familiar face in the process.

"Ben! Over here!"
He turned around at the sound of Freddie's voice. Both he and Clare were coming towards him. Ben could tell by the expression on their faces that they were equally as concerned as him.
"Thanks for coming, guys," he said once they had reached each other.
"Of course. Now, do you know where his lecture hall is?", Clare got straight to the point.
Ben shook his head.
"He didn't say anything. I don't even know the names of any of his professors. If we're gonna look for him here, we'll have to ask our way around."

"Well, then we better get started," Freddie said. They entered the main building and Clare headed to the secretary's office, while Ben and Freddie checked the men's bathroom on the lower floor. It would have been a big coincidence to find Roger in here, but Ben was still disappointed when they didn't. Clare was able to get a map of the campus, as well as her brother's schedule from the secretary. They went to every single lecture hall Roger had classes in this week, but still no sign of him anywhere.

"Where else are we supposed to look?", Freddie voiced the question they were all asking themselves, as they made their way back outside.
"Are there any bars around here that he likes to go to?", Clare asked.
"Not that I know of." Ben was beginning to get frustrated with himself. He should know Roger better by now. He should know where he could be, but he hadn't a clue.
"We might need to expand our search radius," Freddie said.
"At this point, he could be anywhere."

"That is very reassuring," Ben murmured quietly.
"Hey, we'll find him." Clare put her hand on Ben's shoulder.
"Not the first time he disappears unannounced. He always shows up again."
Ben's nerves couldn't be soothed so easily.
"Clare, he's not some teenage boy anymore, fooling around with his friends after school. This is different. He would have told me if he had planned to go somewhere else after his lecture. He said he would be home. Something must have happened. I should have started looking for him way sooner. I swear, if anything happened to him..."

His voice trembled. Freddie and Clare exchanged a concerned look.
"Maybe we should split up?", Freddie suggested.
Ben took a deep breath to fight back the tears that threatened to escape his eyes.
"Okay," he agreed.
"I think it's best if you go back home, Ben," Clare said.
"Maybe you see him on the way, or he's already home and wondering where you are."
"I left him a note," Ben said.
"But I guess that is a good idea."

Clare nodded briefly at his response.
"And where should we go?", she asked Freddie.
"I can check if he went to the studio or our shop. Maybe you can search the surrounding area of the campus?"
"Will do," Clare said.
"When and where do we meet again?"
"You can just come to our place when you're done," Ben said.
Freddie nodded.
"Good. Let's get going then."

Ben's hopes weren't very high anymore at this point. That didn't mean he didn't thoroughly search every block he passed on his way home. But all he found was a stray cat, a bunch of trash that had carelessly been thrown onto the street, some drunk guy sitting by himself on the pavement. Ben faltered.
"Rog?!"
Roger looked up from his third bottle of beer. The other two were next to him on the ground. When he saw Ben, he attempted to hide them behind his back. Ben shook his head in disbelief as he walked over to him.
"What are you doing here? Freddie, Clare and I have been looking for you. I was worried sick!"

Roger's eyes went wide.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled.
"That's all? No explanation?"
Roger avoided his gaze.
"You're gonna be mad," he said.
"I messed up. Badly."
Ben kneeled down beside his boyfriend.
"If you don't tell me, I'll just be worried. This isn't like you. What happened?"
Roger was still not looking Ben in the eyes. Ben took the half empty bottle out of his hand, forcing him to look up.

"You're not gonna need this," he said sternly.
"I promise I won't be mad, but please tell me what's going on?"
Roger hesitated for a bit, his face expressionless as he stared at nothing in particular.
"I ran into Emma on campus," he finally said.

***
Hey guys!
Got any guesses as to what happened? I'd love to hear your theories!

Tay