The Boy in the Lake (BEN Drowned x Female Reader)

Chapter 19- Cover up

I followed closely behind Mike as he led us back to the fair. Though in retrospect, I did not want to be anywhere near him. In fact, I wanted to run away from him.

I did not trust him.

A chilly breeze sent a shiver down my spine. My clothes were still dripping wet, and I was freezing. I was most likely to catch a cold after today. 

Maybe if I told Mike that I wasn't feeling well, he would let me go home. Or, he would walk me home. He didn't really hide the fact that he likes having me around.

I felt more disgusted.

"(Y/N), are you okay?"

Mike's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I refused to look at him as I answered "Yes."

He frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm just feeling a little sick," I forced a half smile. "I think I'm going to head home. Besides, I'm kinda drenched and don't want other people seeing me like this, haha."

"Right," Mike smiled back. "I can walk you home."

"No, it's okay-"

"I insist."

I forced another smile before giving in. Leave me alone, Mike, I said in my head. I repeated those words mentally, as if I was trying to tell him telepathically that I wanted nothing to do with him. I hated how mushy he got around me, I hated that look in his eyes that almost made me think that he was a good guy and not some killer.

It made me wonder if Ivan and James had a hand in Ben's murder as well. The possibility was definitely there, but I couldn't just assume. Even though I believed that they were just as terrible as Mike, I couldn't jump to conclusions.

"Aw man," Mike mumbled. I looked over to see him on his phone.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Mike immediately stuffed his phone in his pocket. "It's nothing. I have to go help with something over by the fair. Sorry, but I can't walk you home."

Maybe there was a God and he just answered my plea.

"It's okay," I told Mike. "Good luck with whatever it is you're helping with."

"Thank you," Mike said.

I began walking away before Mike stopped me again. "Do you think that maybe we could go on a date sometime?"

I looked him in the eyes. He looked so hopeful, and maybe I would've said yes in another universe. 

"Sorry, I'm not interested."

Mike stood there dumbfounded as I pushed past him and walked away. There was no way in hell I would ever go out with him. I couldn't help but grin at the look on his face.

This was a small victory before facing an even bigger problem.

***

The front door squeaked open as I entered my house. It was dark, and I couldn't tell if anyone was home. I shivered, which reminded me that my clothes were still soaked with frigid lake water. The image of Ben's half decomposed leg flashed in my mind. 

I thought I was going to vomit again.

I trudged up the stairs to the bathroom to take a shower. I wanted to get the lake water off me, mainly after what I saw in the lake. 

Shaking off the nausea, I ended up taking a very long, hot shower. I got so lost in thought, and new questions were flooding my brain. The events of tonight were unforgettable, and I was sure I was going to need therapy after all this was over.

I sighed and stepped out of the shower. I coddled myself in a new towel and went to my room to find new clothes. I settled for fuzzy pajama pants and a t-shirt. 

Still feeling cold, I retreated to my mountain of pillows and blankets. It had been a long day, and I was ready to go to sleep for the night. That was until I remembered... the kiss. 

Ben and I had kissed. And I liked it.

A small part of me wanted to forget that it happened. The rest of me kind of wished it would happen again. Should I talk to him about it? Or would that be weird. We were caught up in a moment, so what if the kiss was platonic?

Why would the kiss be platonic??

I covered my face in a pillow and screamed. Things didn't need to be so complicated, and yet they were. 

After screaming for a few seconds, I heard a thud to my right. Ben was getting up off the floor. He brushed himself off, clearing his throat as if nothing happened.

"I've never had that problem before," I heard Ben mumble to himself. He looked over at me. "You screamed?"

"I did," I said, discarding my pillow to the side. "It's fine."

I blinked and Ben was suddenly at the foot of my bed. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Maybe this would be a good time to tell him about Mike.

"Well," I began before stopping.

Something was different about Ben. He wasn't shiny.

"Are you dry?" I asked him, ungracefully getting out of bed to see for myself. Ben looked down at his green tunic, patting himself.

"I am," he said slowly. "Wow, that's so weird."

"Yeah, no shit Sherlock."

"Hey, no need to be so rude."

"I wonder if this is a closure thing," I said. "Maybe you're moving on slowly?"

"What are you talking about?" Ben asked.

"I've watched enough ghost shows to know that sometimes a ghost will stick around until their unfinished business is taken care of and they move on to the afterlife," I paused. "Not to sound like a nerd or anything, it's just a theory."

"Oh, you definitely sound like a nerd alright," Ben teased. "But I guess that makes sense. So, we just need to find out more stuff and I'll be out of your hands. Right?"

"I guess so," I said. "So what else would we need to figure out?"

Ben shrugged. "Who killed me, why did they kill me, etcetera etcetera."

I got excited for a moment, and for the wrong reason. I knew who killed Ben, and I just needed to tell him. But my heart sank before I could get any words out of my mouth.

If I told Ben who killed him, he would soon have all the closure he would need to move on. So far, Ben has been a really good friend to me, and I wasn't sure if I was ready to see him go away for good. Besides, there was something going on between us. I couldn't let that go yet.

But Ben must've noticed my sudden mood change. 

"What's wrong?" Ben asked.

I took a deep breath before forcing a smile and answering. 

"Nothing. We just got to figure out who killed you. Right?"

Ben nodded. "Any idea where to start?"

"Nope."

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