———Ben———
Tuesday, May 7th, 2019
Almost a day had passed since my impromptu hike and picnic with Anthony, and I had not stopped thinking about it. No matter how I tried to distract myself, my thoughts always circled back to him. My room was the cleanest it had ever been, and I was quickly running out of things to attempt.
I picked up my phone and opened a blank text message to Anthony. I hovered over the keyboard for a moment before quickly backing out of the message as my anxiety spiked. I plopped down in my computer chair and leaned back, letting out a long sigh.
My phone buzzed, and I jumped in surprise, almost falling backward out of the chair. I scrambled forward as I fumbled my phone, nearly dropping it in the process. I released a sigh of both relief and frustration as I realized it was only Val.
ValPal: You never gave me an update
ValPal: How did yesterday go??
Me: It went ok, I guess... come over and I'll give you the full details?
ValPal: Be there in 10
The ten minutes felt like much longer, and I was practically pacing by the time I heard Val start down the stairs. She was wearing her usual jacket and Doc Martins, along with a graphic T-shirt from some weird folk punk band she was into.
"Ben!" She shouted as she came down the stairs. She all but skipped the last few steps and landed with her hands around my neck. I caught her in a spin and set her down laughing.
"Hey, Val," I said. "Thanks for coming."
"I mean, of course. Tell me everything," Val said, poking me in the chest as she walked over to the bean bag chair next to the couch and flopped down on it. I sighed as I laid down on the couch, flat on my back. As I stared at the ceiling, I recounted every detail, my anxious internal monologue included.
"Mmm, that's a lot to process," she said. "You've never wanted to just touch somebody before?"
"No, never," I said emphatically, raising my head to look at her. "Have you? Is that, like... normal?"
"Well, normal is subjective, but for me personally, yeah, that's par for the course when I have a crush on someone. Especially if my attraction to someone is more than just physical," Val said.
"Oh," was all I said in response. I dropped my head back on the couch, feeling overwhelmed and conflicted with that knowledge.
"It's ok if you haven't felt like that before, Ben," Val said softly.
"I know it's ok, it's just... overwhelming and scary, and I don't know how to deal with any of it," I said miserably.
"Well, you said you would text him, right? Have you?" Val asked.
"Have I what?" I asked as my stomach lurched again. I was glad, in hindsight, that I skipped breakfast.
"Texted him," she replied flatly.
"I... no. I... I tried..."
"Why not?"
"I— I mean, it... we just saw each other yesterday. Isn't it too soon?" I squeaked out.
"No, not really," She said cheerily. I groaned in response.
"I don't know what to say," I protested.
YOU ARE READING
Lost in Translation
WerewolfBen is a 22-year-old with anxiety issues and no idea what he wants to do with his life. Anthony is a college junior who knows exactly what he wants: to socialize with as few people as possible for the rest of *his* life. Ben wasn't looking for a ma...
