repressed love | ben hargreeves

8

╔═✬✩══╡˚✧✬✧˚╞══✩✬══╗
CHAPTER EIGHT

The group of us gathered in the pool room, similar to how we did last night. Diego, Viktor, and Allison leaned against a pool table facing myself, Luther, and Sloane.

"You're serious?" Allison asked, clearly disliking Luther's idea.

"We use Sloane as an olive branch. We let her go as a gesture of peace, along with the bodies of Jayme and Alphonso." Luther explained.

"Once I'm back with my family, I can convince them the old guy had nothing to do with you and get them to stand down." Sloane added in.

"You wanna let her go after attacking us? Uh-uh." Diego immediately rejected our idea.

"Me? I lost two of my siblings to you and your murder troll." Sloane retaliated.

"Again, Harlan not with us." Luther reminded her.

"Well, he's not not with us."

"He was just trying to protect me." Viktor defended.

"This only works if I can convince my family he isn't a part of your team, so is he with you or not?"

"Harlan saved our asses. He can stay here as long as he wants." Diego spoke. He didn't mind having someone who can easily hurt the Sparrows on our side.

"And what happens when he hurts us?" I asked, clearly frustrated.

"We'll get to that problem when it happens. You know what, Luther? He can take your bed. Since you're sleeping with the enemy."

"Watch it," Luther warned.

"Guys, come on. Having an ally on the inside could help us right now." Viktor came between the two, preventing any fight starting.

"Right?" Luther added.

"I agree. Besides, keeping her as a hostage is only going to make them come back. They don't even have the briefcase, so what's the point? Keep this endless cycle going until the grandfather paradox kills us as well?" I pointed out.

"Yeah, but how do we know we can trust Gravity Barbie?" Allison added in.

"I trust her."

"Yeah, you trusted emails from a Nigerian prince." Diego scoffed in response.

"Tunde was not a prince, he was a king, and he was unjustly deposed." Luther defended.

"Okay. So rumor me again. Go on, not hiding anything. Whatever it takes." Sloane spoke up, stepping towards us.

"Do whatever you wanna do, Luther. That's on you. I've got bigger shit to deal with." Allison stated, walking away from us.

"Allison..wait up," Diego called after her.

"Alright. Let's return Sloane to the Sparrows," Viktor spoke, the four of us heading outside.

I got into the driver's seat, Viktor climbing into the passenger. Luther and Sloane sat in the back, seeking comfort in each other. Maybe it was possible to create some sort of friendship with Ben. Maybe he's not as open as Sloane is, but there has to be something under that cold exterior. I definitely got past that exterior, to some extent, when we were in the alley earlier. I don't know what I said that did it, but maybe it's possible. But that would mean I would have to let my defenses down to let him in. "We're here," I spoke, reaching the road that Ben and Fei would meet us at.

Before we had left, Sloane had called the academy to tell them. Viktor and I stood at the hood of the car while Luther held Sloane in his arms next to us. A car pulled up in front of us, Ben, Fei, and Chris appearing outside the car within moments. I opened the trunk of our car, Luther coming over and picking up both Jayme and Alphonso's bodies and carrying them to the trunk of Ben's car. As Luther began walking back towards our car, Sloane began walking to theirs, the two of them crossing and she quickly ran into Fei's arms, giving her sister a hug.

"Well, this is it. This puts an end to it." Viktor spoke towards the Sparrows.

"No," Ben replied. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "We want the old man too." Fei said something to Ben, although they were too far for me to hear. Maybe super hearing would be a better power than super speed at this moment.

"He isn't a part of the deal." Viktor spoke, frustrated with Ben.

"He is now."

"Ben, they aren't working with him. They had nothing to do with the attacks–" Sloane began explaining before being interrupted.

"Then they won't mind finding him and handing him over." He replied simply. "It's simple. Bring us the man who killed our siblings, and this will all be over. If not..." His silence finished the statement for us, implying they would come after us again. The four of them disappeared back into the car, driving off to the Academy.

The Umbrella Academy, 16 years old

I walked downstairs, where all of our bedrooms were located. We had just finished a mission, Ben immediately made a beeline for his room once we returned. He didn't even stay for the debrief like we were supposed to, but Dad never noticed if we weren't present. I walked up to his door, which was right next to mine. I knocked softly on it, waiting to hear his voice.

"Who is it?" I heard Ben's voice from the other side of the door, slightly raspy.

"Me," I spoke gently. After a beat, he opened the door, allowing me to come in. As I entered, he walked back to the corner of his room, dropping on the floor and curling himself into a ball. He hated having to use his powers on missions, especially for too long. He could never control them and it hurt him to use them. I walked over to where he was on the floor, sitting next to him, bringing my knees to my chest as I waited for him to speak. Most of the time, he didn't speak, but I didn't mind. I think my presence meant a lot more than talking.

After a couple of minutes, Ben had cleared his throat. "Why am I like this?" He whispered, slightly turning his towards me but not making eye contact. I furrowed my eyebrows in response, confused on what he was asking. "Why am I a monster?" I brought his voice lower on the last word, as if he was scared to say it.

"You aren't a monster," I began, before he interrupted me.

"Don't lie to me, Sadie. We both know I am." He spoke, a couple of tears escaping his eyes.

Getting closer to him, I wiped his tears away with my thumbs, keeping a loose hold on his face. "Listen to me, Ben." I spoke, making eye contact with him. "You are not a monster. The fact that you feel something when you use this ability proves that you are human. Don't let that thing define you. You can define it." Our foreheads rested against each other, him nodding slightly to my words. "Do you understand?" I whispered.

"Yeah." He replied, cuddling his head in the crook of my neck as we hugged. "Thank you, Sadie."

I reciprocated the hug, keeping a tight hold on him. "Anything for you," I whispered, placing a kiss on the side of his head before resting my chin on his shoulder.