OUT OF THIS WORLD .. ben tennyson x reader

xii. the circus

There's a black hole in [name]'s stomach that grows larger the longer she's left to stew in her thoughts, seeming to eat at more and more of the already few organs she possesses. A part of her wonders if this is what humans meant when they said they felt butterflies or an impending sense of doom.

She's never felt something of this caliber before, she can confidently say.

Gwen has been keeping her close since they hit the road early that morning. She had asked a few questions after seeing something on her face (microexpressions, she said), but stopped soon enough because of her short answers.

"Oh!" Pointing to a passing billboard out of the window, she shakes [name] until she's up and looking to. "Look at that! Zombozo's Traveling Circus of Laughs! That sounds cool, doesn't it?"

Shrugging, [name] leans her head back onto Gwen's shoulder and closes her eyes. "I've never been to one."

"Never?"

"Circuses are kid stuff," Ben scoffs, kicking his feet onto the part of the bench the girls weren't occupying. He leans his head against the back of his chair and uses his arms as a cushion. Very nonchalant, if [name] remembered the term. "Besides, what kinda name is Zombozo? Sounds like the start of a horror movie if you ask me."

Max laughs from his seat, turning the wheel carefully as they approach a curve in the road. "It definitely felt like that when I was a boy, but that was the last time I went." His eyes light up when an idea pops into his head, gaze catching on another billboard right as he turns into the lane to enter the interstate. "It's on the way to our next local. Why don't we stop by and see how bad it really is?"

"Local?" Bne mutters under his breath and squints at what he can see of Max's head. "Y'know you can just say location, right, Grandpa? You don't always have to keep up with the times."

Shaking her head, Gwen swats at Ben's calves and he drops them when she lands a hit a little too hard. "[name] needs to see one!" She then turns to the girl and wraps her arms around her, grinning ear-to-ear at the thought. "You'll love it! Ben's scared of clowns, but—"

"Hey!"

"They're not all scary! Well, only if you ignore all those clone attacks from a few years ago, but they were all just psychopaths."

"Like you, huh?" Ben kicks his foot into Gwen's shin in revenge. "Besides, isn't it pretty late? It's dark out."

"It's four in the morning," [name] corrects, ignoring the way he glares at her. There's no malice in it, so she only blinks back. "The sun'll come up in an hour or two."

"Wow, [name]," he hisses. "So much for solidarity."

***

[name] wasn't sure why Gwen and Max were so excited to see the circus. It was just a line of vendors leading up to a large tent, the opposite of what she expected, all things considered. Years of watching movies and cartoons made her think they'd be bright, and happy, and filled with laughter, not—

"Not all you thought it'd be, huh?"

Ben slows his pace to match [name]'s, letting Max and Gwen take the lead in their excitement. He keeps his voice low so as not to ruin their moods as the group maneuvers their way through the stalls and throngs of people; even then, it's still easy to lose the sound of his voice with the dense crowd.

"It's definitely.." Voice trailing off, she shakes her head before letting out an airy laugh. ".. Something. I don't see the appeal."