Player file 1 : BEN

Keep me

( song related to this chapter is lover is day by cuco I had to take a small break due to personal life, all this is so tiring to keep up with aha. I hope you enjoy this chapter, it is by far the longest one, dear reader~ )

Toby sat up slowly, holding his head as he felt the pounding began to set in. He couldn't feel headaches, but he could feel the pressure for sure, and it was definitely overwhelming.

Brian took a step back, wary of him due to his episode.

"You good now buddy? Did ya see something freaky?" He asked gently, giving a nervous pat to his head. Toby nodded slowly

"I uh.. kinda"  he muttered,

"I'm sorry"

Ben's  sudden apology shocked you all, prompting all eyes to go on him. He looked down, his hair was no longer in it's pony tail, instead it was down, and a mess, a bruise and dried blood went across his nose, leaving it raw and purple.

"I didn't realize you had those uh.. issues. Im sorry, I feel as if I made it worst"

Silence fell over the small rag tag group, no noise besides the occasional tic from Toby, before he took in a deep breath, before speaking in a surprisingly steady voice.

"That's gonna leave a nasty scar, I'm sorry too"

This surprised both you and Brian, making you two look at each other, wondering if you were going crazy.

Ben offered Toby his hand. " Shake on it?"

Toby nodded, grasping his hand with his freshly bandaged one. Ben used this opportunity to pull him to his feet, bringing to to his full height, Ben being taller barely by an inch-

You all quickly settled in for the rest of the night after bringing your camps closer to the fire, rather risking the fire hazard then be caught off guard by one of those things. To think,

The cult used those disgusting things like guard dogs.

You did your best to clear your mind as you huddled into Bens chest, he responded by pulling your shared blanket over you two, shielding you from the nights cool air that flowed through the mesh parts of the tent. You laid your head down, Ben rested his chin against the top of your head as he wrapped his strong arms around your smaller figure.

" My sweet human, I'm gonna need that necklace back in the morning" he murmured suddenly, while giving you a kiss on the forehead. You nodded, breathing in his scent as you placed a kiss between his collar bone and neck. His fingers came up to brush your bangs away, playing with the soft strands as he soothed your smaller body. Eventually, you fell asleep, turning onto your side to face away from the boy as sleep took you.

Carefully, he sat up, pulling the blanket off as he gently pulled the necklace from your neck, the glowing stone lighting the darkness around the two of them,  " I think.. I'll take it now"

he held the small stone gently, feeling it's energy and power pulse in his palm. He felt weird holding it, it was his own heart and soul after all. He carefully placed the stone around his neck, placing it under his shirt before laying back down while letting out a sigh of relief. He then wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you into his body as he rested his chin on your head after giving it a small kiss.

" Goodnight, baby"

~ Your POV~

In the morning I awoke alone with the necklace gone, I glanced out my tent, to see Ben, Brian, and Tim all standing around the burned out fire pit, but Toby wasn't in sight.

I could see that all the boys were already dressed, Tim wore his usual jacket, but underneath was a flannel, with a t shirt and bullet proof vest, he had on knee pads with a pair of dark brown fingerless gloves. The only difference between his usual wear and now, was the armor and him wearing his mask, which was something he didn't usually do.