High On Mushrooms

Part Four: Ropes That Hold A Beast

Harry, unfortunately, didn't loose them on the way, much to his disappointment.

"As much as I despise you, I must say, you're stronger than you look," Harry commented as the two hauled along Ben's unconscious body.

Chess was caught a bit off guard by his statement, "You don't like me?" They questioned, readjusting their grip on Ben's arms.

Now it was Harry's turn to be caught off guard, "You mean to tell me, this whole time, you had no idea that I despise you?" He asked, stopping in his tracks.

Chess came to a halt as well, "I'm not great at knowing how people feel about me," they said, shrugging nonchalantly, trying to continue on carrying Ben.

Harry was quite baffled by this, and took a second before deciding to ask yet another question.

"How do you think Uma feels about you?" He prodded, not a trace of resentment in his voice as it was overwhelmed by curiosity.

Chess shrugged once again, "I think she tolerates me," they stated.

"You know what," Harry said, very pleased with this new information, "perhaps we can get along."

***

"On a scale from one to ten," Chess asked, looking up at Ben as they tied him to a post, trying to decide if they should double tie the nots, "how strong would you say you are?"

"Uh, I-I don't know," Ben muttered, still quite out if it.

"Ten being 'I can crack open someone's skull with my thighs', one being 'I am incapable of lifting a tea pot without assistance'." Chess (in their mind) clarified, now circling Ben.

"A six," Ben mumbled in response, sounding very tired.

"Just double tie the damn rope," Harry butted in, with a little less annoyance than he usually used when talking to Chess.

The two finished tying the ropes, Ben barley squirming.

"For the son of a beast, you are quite scrawny," Chess commented, Harry sighing dramatically at the unnecessary small-talk.

Ben's head shot up at that as though a sword was coming for his eye, "You tranquilized me!" He exclaimed defiantly.

"I drugged you," Chess corrected, sitting criss-cross-applesauce in front of Ben(Harry leaving silently to see if Mal had arrived yet).

"Either way, it wasn't fair," Ben replied, a bit of defeat creeping into his tone as he hung his head.

"You know what isn't fair?" Chess started, putting their feet down in front of them, leaning on their knees, and making Ben jump at their tone-they sounded angry, "Your father punishing people because they think and act a bit differently than you. Your father punishing people for their parents crimes, things they had nothing to do with." Chess said coldly, eyes blazing behind their red sunglasses.

As they finished talking Ben realized why their tone startled him so much; they were actually letting on to how they felt.

And they hated him.

Ben thought back to what Jay had said, about Chess being much smarter than they look and not letting on much to their true thoughts. Along with them being untrustworthy.

Ben then lifted his head, seeing that Chess was still sitting in front of him, trying to mimic the casual posture they had before, doing a respectable job. The young king quietly started to wonder if he was getting a contact-buzz.

"So," Ben began, treading lightly as he was pretty positive he was on thin, thin ice, "what's your relationship with Jay?" He asked, a bit meekly. He knew that no one else would give him any hint about their past.

Chess looked up at him, a sliver of surprise slipping its way onto their face; but they didn't answer him-at least not immediately.

"He used to beat the shit out of me," Chess stated, a great lack of emotion in their voice, "he broke my nose three times."

"No... No, Jay isn't a bully," Ben said, attempting to convince himself more than Chess.

"He may not be now, but he used to be." Chess continued, "Evie was a self obsessed, shallow bitch, who spent a lot of time making others feel inferior to soften her own insecurities. And Mal," Ben flinched at the name, "used to be this overpowered asshole whom got rid of anyone who had the audacity to get in her way."

"What about Carlos?" Ben asked weakly, already trying to forget the previous statements.

Chess hid a smile, "He was terrified of dogs."