In the words of Red, this episode has violence some may find disturbing. __________________________________
"Shane strangled Ben. Not with the intent to kill him, but enough to damage Ben's voice box. All because he knew singing was something precious to Ben. Afterwards Ben started spiraling into depression and then depression turned to rage. When Ben finally went back to school he confronted the group." He stopped to breathe for a second. I looked at Ben and sure enough he had his head down. I ran my hand over his and he grabbed mine.
"But even after he beat the ones who hurt them he didn't feel any better. He didn't know what to do...to make the anger go away. So he kept picking fights, even street fights. He stopped going to school and even started coming home late. His parents didn't know what to do. Ben refused to go to therapy and would sneak out. At some point, he fought a kid whose big brother had connections with a gang. The gang found where he lived and well...They had to move." He stopped to breathe. I squeezed Ben's hand.
"Ben was ashamed of what happened and realized his temper was out of control. Then his parents suggested he come stay with us. Since we're always traveling and moving they thought it would help him find a new meaning in life. Something he loved as much as singing. And he started to go to therapy. And so that's how he ended up with me. His therapist also suggests calm things like gardening, and drawing. That's why he always has that notebook. He's calmed down quite a bit but things still trigger him. When he moved in with me Y/N knew sign language and he took it up so they could talk without him having to write. She's a big part in calming him down." Aiden looked over at me. I smiled.
"Alright Ben...We're done." I signed. He pulled his earbuds out and signed "ok"
"Alright let's move on then..." Ashlyn was cutoff by Taylor "Thank you Ben. For letting Aiden tell us that I mean- you don't even know us that well but felt like we should know as a team. I'm sure that wasn't easy. I just wanted to let you know it was appreciated" Taylor smiled. Ben blushed and nodded. I let go of his hand.
"Oh- sorry for interrupting you Ashlyn..." "No, it's fine. I also agree it was nice to have let us know." "M-Me too." "Yeah."
"Uhm this is a little off topic, but I think I have a theory of what happened in Savannah." Logan spoke up "Well er- not exactly what happened but how we went from Savannah Georgia, all the way back here to Alto, Georgia on the second night." He put his hands up a bit "Right...that's something we've been stuck on a while." Ashlyn mumbled. I thought back to the second night. Yeah, that was awful...
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"Okay so what's the theory?" Tyler asked "Well, because of how our injuries work in relation to the dimensions, I think our bodies here are connected to the phantom realm ones but at the same time...not. So if they are connected in some way...what if there's a distance limit?" Logan looked up "Like, if you travel to far from one body the other resets its position instead of going to where it was previously." He interlocked his hands
"That would make sense. How far is the distance limit though...and, if we travel to far in the phantom dimension will our physical bodies go there?" Ashlyn asked. Aiden just looked like someone had told him the earth was flat. "That's a possibility...but there's still also the fact that things don't move the same in the phantom dimension as they do in the human. I'm not sure how to test it though..." Logan replied
Theory blah blah more theory blah blah
SLAM
I looked over at Aiden. Why did he just slam his head off the table- "I get that the phantom dimension is important but can we talk about something more exciting...?" He asked. Tyler stood up and raised his hand. "Don't." Taylor held his other arm. Ashlyn looked over and rose her hand "Ash..." I grabbed her hand
"What do you think about asking my parents about self defense?" I asked "REALLY?" He yelled "Ah wait- YOUR HAIR!" He grabbed my shoulders "IF WE SHOWED YOUR PARENTS YOURS AND ASHLYNS SHADOW WOULDNT THAT BE ENOUGH PROOF?" He asked still yelling "Aiden let go." I glared at him. He's right....that might be enough...
"Wow, he does have a brain." Tyler rolled his eyes "Good idea!" Taylor smiled "I said let go!" I pinched him "Rude!" He let go and laughed
•Time skip• _________
I sat on my front porch with Ash, Ben, and Aiden. "So, do you know any moves?" I signed to Ben "Not really." He signed back "Oh, there they are." Aiden jumped off the railing. I looked back and saw the twins with Logan. "Tsk, you guys should really wear helmets." Aiden stuffed his hands in his pockets "Like you would." Tyler rolled his eyes "Tyler has a point." I shrugged "Mom, Dad?" Ashlyn shouted "Kitchen!" They yelled
"Uh what are you guys doing?" She asked "Making a snack platter...?" Mom smiled "I see that but you can't eat all that..." Ashlyn looked at the food "W-Well you and your friends usually go straight to the graveyard to hang out-" dad stuttered "-But you said you wanted to speak with us so...We made snacks to eat while we talk." mom finished. Were they really that excited....?
Smack
Smack
Chew
I glared at Aiden "Dude..." Tyler took the words right out of my mouth. I slapped his cheek and he looked over at me. "Eat quieter AND CLOSE YOUR MOUTH!" I yelled "So...what do you kids wanna talk about?" Dad asked
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That photo of Ashlyn and the phantom is so cool though-
