Heartstopper oneshots/ requests

Ben Hope: But I like her brother

Hey everyone! Here's something from my own head.. now, its a bit of a slow burner and it does involve our nemesis, Ben Hope. I just love exploring his character more and so I have made up a backstory for him in this one. There's more parts coming so enjoy this first short intro part. As I said, it's a slow burner and may be a four part series if not more so.. enjoy and lemme know what you think :)

"Honestly, I think you and her would really get on" Claire said, busying herself with the washing up
"Mum!" Ben protested with a smile, "It's so awkward"
"Of course it's not. I'll just invite us round next weekend for dinner, I haven't seen her in ages actually and we were saying we should do something soon"

Ben didn't say anything else and just let his mum ramble on. They had just finished up dinner which was awful. It always was when Ben's dad, Ian, was in one of his moods. It was like a black cloud hung over the dinner table the entire time and nothing you could say or do would get rid of it. So they sat mostly in silence with the odd interruption from Claire trying so hard to start a conversation. Which is when she had told them about calling Julia earlier that day.

Apparently they were back from travelling and was happily boasting about it. "We'll have to go round for dinner to see them" Claire had said with a big smile which wasn't returned by either Ben or Ian.
"What's the point?" Ian's eyes snapped to Claire's. Ben watched him intently, waiting for him to explode like he usually does.

It always starts like this, a calm conversation turns into chaos. Ben's heart was racing, but he tried his best to continue eating dinner as if everything was okay. Everything was okay really, nothing's happening - which is what he kept telling himself.

"Well, it'll be nice" Claire tried, her voice faltering slightly which made Ben's heart sink. He hated how his dad got to her, she always said she was fine but Ben knew she wasn't. She was scared of him. They both were.
"Oh stop it, Claire!" Ian shouted, dropping his knife and fork onto the plate so they clattered. Ben jumped. "They don't like us, they never fucking liked us. I don't know why you bother, it's not like they're gonna put us in the fucking will is it?! I mean, you can go if you want and sit there and act all nice - I suppose you're good at that - but don't expect me to go, I'm not doing it. I'm not going round there again, not after what he said to me last time - for fuck's sake"
"Ian! Language" Claire hissed, her eyes gesturing to Ben, "We're not doing this now"

Ben knew she wanted to add, 'not in front of Ben', but she didn't. They knew Ben wasn't a kid anymore, not that it really made a difference before. It just meant he got to hear them shouting at each other in a separate room instead of at the dining table. As always, Ben kept his eyes on his plate. It felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest, he hated it when they shouted at each other. It made him want to hide in his room, but his feet were rooted to the floor. He was paralysed with fear.

All he had to do was make sure that he didn't draw attention to himself, at least until his dad had calmed down. If he moved now he knew he'd be Dad's punching bag and he didn't want that. Not tonight.

Ian picked up his cutlery and started eating again, breathing heavily through his nose. Ben continued to eat quietly and not make eye contact with either of them. There was so much tension you could cut it with a knife. They ate the rest of their meals in silence.

Ben waited for everyone to be finished and then took all the plates away.

"Thank you, darling" His mum managed to stay with a steady voice, Ben responded with a tight smile
"Dunno what you're smiling at, kid" Ian scowled, catching Ben's expression. Ben had thankfully made it into the kitchen before his dad could get up.

Putting the plates next to the sink, Ben took a deep breath. His throat was so sore from holding back tears that when he took a sip of water, it didn't go down properly. Which made him start to panic, he suddenly realised that he couldn't breathe properly. He tried swallowing but he couldn't so he just tried to breathe instead and slowly he felt himself come back down to normal.

After dinner, his dad usually went to the pub, leaving Ben and his mum to clear up. Mum would wash and Ben would dry; a routine they had mastered over the years. But they never spoke about dad, not really. Even when Ben brought him up, his mum would dismiss it almost straight away.

Now, they stood in their usual positions and Claire was still talking about Julia, but Ben wasn't properly listening. He had just replayed dinner for fourth time in his mind.

"But isn't that great that she's going to university? I know she's a bit older than you, but that doesn't matter does it" Claire was saying as Ben tuned back into the conversation
"Mum, please stop" Ben said, he had just dried the last saucepan which was his queue to leave the kitchen
"Well, it's happening whether you like it or not" Claire called out as he left.

Ben just rolled his eyes, trying not to think too much about it. He knew his mum meant well, but she was so smothering that was easier to just try to keep her happy. Which is what he did and he knew he would have to play along with this new thing: mission get Ben a girlfriend. Even if he didn't want one.

Lemme know what you think 💕