Fallen in Love

8 - Bently's Birthday

April 12, 2008. Bently's 17th birthday. Things were already going bad for Bently that morning.
The boy sat up in bed, breathing heavy. He had yet another nightmare involving the fire, though this one was the worst. In it, the school burned down, killing everyone but Bently. Bently had gone inside to save Malik, but by the time he got in, Malik was dead.
Bently looked over at Malik, who was still sleeping. He wanted to wake him up. To tell him about the hellish nightmare he just had. But he couldn't. He couldn't bring himself to wake Malik. So Bently instead got up and stumbled into the bathroom, blind as a bat since he didn't put his glasses on. He looked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror and hated what he saw. A tired, sweaty boy with birthday bad luck.
Bently sighed as he turned the shower on. All he wanted was to step under the hot water and wash all his troubles away. But when he got in the shower, it wasn't at all what he expected. "Just great." He muttered as the cold water ran over him. Things definitely weren't going his way today.
Miles came to Bently's room about an hour later, when he knew Bently was out of the room. He came to get Malik. "Come to the library. Help set up for Bently's party." He said. "Sure. I'll be there in a bit." Malik replied.
Everyone helped set up in the library—Malik, Cain, Charlie, Kai, Miles. Even Ashlyn helped. And Ashlyn got her friend Noel to help too. Even Andy, the lonely tour guide, was helping out. They had balloons, streamers, and a cake that Miles and Kai made in the middle of the night because they couldn't sleep.
Bently got a text from Miles.
'Come to the library. -M'
Bently looked a little confused, but did it anyway. A bad feeling crept up his chest. His anxiety was rising. He could feel himself about to have a panic attack.
Bently hesitated slightly before entering the library. It was dark, and all he could really see was...nothing. The lights came on, blinding the boy for a split second before his eyes adjusted to now being in a lit room.
Ashlyn took her lighter from her pocket and went to light the candles on the cake. But Cain stopped her. "Don't." He said. "Why?" She asked. He sighed. "Just...don't. Please." He said. She ignored him and lit the candles anyway. Bently watched carefully, making sure she wouldn't drop the lighter.
As she lit the candles, Cain looked at Bently. He could see the pure fear in the boy's brown eyes. He knew what was happening. Bently was having a flashback.
A voice rang in Bently's ears. A voice only he could hear. "Bad luck Bently! Bad luck Bently!" It said. Everyone called him 'bad luck Bently' after the fire. Even his own father.
Malik's voice eventually pulled Bently out of his trance-like state. "Bently? Hey are you ok?" Malik asked. Bently could hear Cain and Ashlyn arguing. "I told you not to do that!" Cain raised his voice. "I don't take orders from you." Ashlyn told him. Bently's eyes weren't on them, but on the lighter Ashlyn was still holding. He wanted to see what she'd do with it. When she noticed him looking, she smirked and walked over to him. He backed up. She got closer. He backed up again until he was pushed against a wall. "Ashlyn stop." Malik told her. But she didn't listen. She pulled the lighter close to Bently's face and lit it, still smirking. Her lighter was so close, he could feel the heat on his nose.
Bently was breathing heavy and about to cry, but she didn't stop. He wanted to push her away, but he also knew the risks. "Ash stop. You're scaring the poor guy to death." A voice said. Ashlyn's best friend Noel.
Bently had only met Noel once before, in one of his French classes. That day, Ashlyn was, yet again, bothering Bently. Noel told her to stop and she actually listened.
"That's the point." Ashlyn said, still smirking and holding the lighter. "Leave him alone Ash." Noel said again. Bently got the courage to speak up. "You know Ashlyn, I thought you were finally being nice to me." He said. "That day we talked in the bathrooms, I saw a side of you I'd never seen. Should've known it was the first and last time I'd ever see that side of you." He continued. Ashlyn put the lighter back in her pocket. Bently stood from the wall and walked away. "You really are the devil's daughter. You act just like him." Bently said as he left the library.
As he walked, Bently could still see the flame in his mind. Which led to flashbacks to the fire. He felt himself tearing up. "Don't cry Bently. Don't cry." He told himself. But it didn't work. He ran to his room crying.
Charlie was the one to eventually find him. "Bently? Hey..are you okay?" He asked. Bently looked up at him, his face red and tear stained, his eyes puffy and red. "You can talk to any of us, you know. Everyone's outside. They're all worried about you." Charlie said.
Charlie soon noticed a dark red spot on Bently's arm. Blood. "What's that?" He asked Bently. Bently looked down at the spot. "Nothing." He quickly lied. "Lie." Charlie said.
Charlie went into the bathroom and grabbed the first aid kit. Somehow, he knew exactly what to do. Andy had unlocked the door and came in. Charlie, without looking up or even taking his eyes off the wound, said, "he's bleeding. Don't know what happened." Andy sat beside Bently, just in case Charlie needed him for anything. "Looks like a cut." Andy said. Charlie scoffed. "Really? Never woulda guessed." He rolled his eyes, then sighed. "Search the room." He told Andy, as he continued to clean and bandage Bently's wound.
Andy searched the entire room. He eventually found a small knife tucked in Bently's bedside drawer. It had a little blood on it, signaling it had been recently used. "Found somethin'." He told Charlie. Bently's eyes widened as he saw it. His knife. He'd brought it from home 'just in case'. "That's definitely what he used." Andy said.
He put the knife back and walked over to Bently, putting a had on the boy's shoulder. "Bently...cutting yourself like this isn't the way to cope with your trauma." Andy told Bently. The boy looked down at his lap. "I-I know." He mumbled. "There's a counselor on campus at all times if you need to talk to someone. Plus you have your friends to talk to. You have Malik, Cain, Noel, Charlie...and me. We're all here for you Bently." Andy continued. He then added, tilting Bently's head to look at him, "I don't ever want to see you hurt yourself again 'kay? That's not the way to deal with your problems." Charlie sat beside Bently. "Yeah, that's not the way. One of my brothers tried to commit suicide once and ended up in the hospital for a month. We thought he wasn't going to make it out." Charlie said. "Really? That...must've been hard." Bently replied. "It was, yeah. And I know we're just friends but I think of you as a brother. And I don't want to see you hurt." Charlie said. Bently could tell he was trying not to cry. Bently smiled and hugged Charlie. "I'll get help. I promise." He told Charlie and Andy. They left, leaving Bently alone on the bed. Alone with his thought. He looked a his bandaged arm and realized what a stupid mistake he made.
Charlie came back in the room. "Hey, quick question. Why..why did you freeze up when you saw Ashlyn's lighter?" Charlie asked, coming in to sit beside Bently again. Bently sighed and started to explain everything. 
"Wow...that's- that's tough. I can see why you're so scared now. That's...honestly terrifying." Charlie said. Bently sighed and looked down. Charlie leaned over and hugged Bently. "But hey. Don't let your fears take over." He told Bently. He hen got up and helped Bently to his feet. "Now. Let's get back to the library and get some cake before your friends completely devour it all." Charlie giggled. Bently smiled as the two headed back to the library.
"Who made this? This is amazing." Bently asked, his mouth full of cake. "Me and Kai did." Miles said. Bently swallowed. "This is really good dude. Didn't know you can back like this." Bently said. "Well. That technically is one of the perks of being gay." Kai said. Miles blushed. Bently dropped his fork. "YOU'RE GAY AND DIDN'T TELL ME?!" He yelled. Miles giggled. "Sorry sorry. I planned to tell you earlier but I got nervous and you freaked out so..." he trailed off.
For the rest of the day, nothing went wrong. For the first time in years, no one called him "bad luck Bently". Bently was actually smiling and happy. For the first time since they'd met, Malik saw Bently's genuine smile. Malik blushed when he saw the boy's smile. Bntly's smile was beautiful, and Malik absolutely loved it. Miles noticed the blonde boy's blush. He slid over to Malik. "Oooohhh~ someone's got a crush on Bently~" he said, which caused Malik to blush more. "I do not!" Malik quickly snapped back, trying to compose himself. "Hey I don't blame ya. Bently is pretty hot." Miles smirked. Malik pushed him away, still blushing furiously.
After the party, everyone went back to their dorms. Bently said goodbye to Miles and Kai as they left to go back home. Bently went into his dorm and straight to the bathroom to shower. But Malik was already in there, already preparing for a shower himself. "Oh! I uh- s-sorry. I er...was gonna take a shower but looks like you're a step ahead of me." Bently said. Malik blushed. A thought surfaced in Malik's mind, but he tried desperately to push it back. His attempts failed. "You can shower with me?' He suggested, his blush growing deeper. Bently blushed as well. "I- um- sure." He said.
The two stepped under the hot water together, their bodies pressed against each other. "Can I..do something?" Malik asked as Bently showered. "S-sure." Bently said, finishing rinsing his hair. Malik grabbed Bently, pressed him against the wall of the shower, and kissed him. Bently's eyes widened, but he soon melted into the kiss. The two made out until neither of them could breathe. "Wow.." Bently muttered as Malik continued his shower. "You're an amazing kisser." He told Malik. "You too." Malik said.
After they got out of the shower, they went to bed. Bently cuddled up to Malik. "Night Bently." Malik whispered. "N-night." Bently muttered, yawning.
Only one thought ran through Bently's mind as he fell asleep. 'Best. Birthday. Ever.'