Benedict, upon hearing Nicole's subtle cry for help, glanced over in her direction. His eyes glimmered in the reflection of the overhanging lights. He almost looked a bit frightened. Nicole shifted her gaze from Benedict over to the other two guys who were well hidden behind a row of gym lockers hoping his eyes would follow in the same direction. She didn't want Benedict to make any sudden actions against Michael without knowing his total surroundings first. Benedict moved his eyes towards the hidden boys and then back at Michael.
Nicole felt she could cut the tension in the air with a knife. The cold stares exchanged between the men in the room made her heart pound rapidly in her chest. Similar to the anticipation you get from an intense chess match, the next move was played and Nicole swallowed in agony. Benedict slowly raised his arm and pointed directly at Nicole.
"Let the girl go." He said in a deep menacing voice.
There was a sweep of silence across the room.
Nicole glanced up towards Michael and saw tiny beads of sweat dripping down his pale face. She could tell he was nervous.
"What are you going to do about it old man?" He asked provokingly.
Benedict reached his arm over towards the wall beside him.
"Clearly you don't know what I'm capable of" Benedict smirked, and with the flick of his hand, the light switch made a clicking noise and the room suddenly became pitch black.
Nicole screamed as she heard grunting and punches being thrown about in the dark. There was swift movement of cold air brushing up against her arms. She was quickly released from the strong chokehold Michael had her in. In panic, she felt her way towards the back of the room further away from all the loud yelling and fighting. A few moments later, her hand rubbed against a switch along the wall, and she immediately flipped it in an upwards motion. With the lights flickering on, a new scene had been revealed to her. Danny and Joe were lying on the floor with bruises all over their faces, and Michael was no where to be seen. The two boys, who struggled to regain their balance, nearly staggered out of the locker room through the back door leading to the outside before Nicole could even react to what had just happened. She stood there in shock until she heard a low moan come from the other side of the room where Benedict had been thrown up against a bench. She gasped as she saw how hurt he looked. She leaned down to him as he sat there with his eyes closed and head drooping to the side. Nicole didn't want to cry, she wanted to be strong, but in this moment she knew the tears had already started rolling down her cheeks.
"I'm, so sorry" She whispered as she put her hand up to his face to where a new cut stood out against his jaw.
A hand reached up and grabbed her arm and she jumped back.
Benedict's eyes opened wide as he tried to regain consciousness. He looked up at Nicole and lightly smiled.
"Why are you smiling? You're hurt! Do you not realize what just happened?!" Nicole frantically asked him.
"I'm just glad to know that you're okay" He answered in a polite way.
Nicole went over and offered her hand to help him stand up on his feet. This time Benedict looked at her with an expression across his face that seemed like he had many questions he wanted answered.
Nicole really wanted to say something, but she didn't know how to start. She brushed the dirt of her stained shirt trying to stall time, but finally to break the silence, Benedict said the first words.
"You know I was only coming down this way to bring you a new clean shirt" He said staring at the ground.
Nicole smiled, and what started out as nervous laughter eventually turned into full out laugher. Benedict looked over at her and couldn't help but laugh with her in the way where his shoulders shrugged up and down.
They started making their way out of the gym when Nicole turned to him and paused momentarily.
"By the way... I'm really sorry for accidentally calling you Benedict earlier when I asked for your help. It won't happen again I can assure y-"
Benedict stopped her from continuing any further, "Nicole, I don't want you to worry at all. It's an honest mistake. Could happen to anyone" He said blushing.
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By this time, school had already ended and the students had all cleared out except for Nicole. She was wearing the clean white shirt Benedict had brought to her, and was sitting on a bench in the hallway outside the nurse's office. She sat there anxiously bouncing her leg up and down. Her phone kept vibrating in her pocket with all these messages from Amanda and her mom. She continued to ignore them since she had already texted them that she was fine and was staying after school for a little while longer. Just then, the office door opened and Benedict walked out with a tiny pink band aid on his face and an icepack in his hand. He took a seat beside her on the bench.
"That Band-Aid really suits you" Nicole said pointing up at his face and smiling.
A big smile spread across his face.
"They were all out of the race car ones" He said jokingly. "...So, Nicole, I must ask you, who were those boys and why did they want to hurt you?"
Nicole shifted her body anxiously knowing she had to go into explanation of how this had happened.
"They're... he... he's Michael. Michael was my ex from about two years ago. The other two were his friends and 'accomplices', I guess you could say." Nicole sighed. "We didn't end on good terms. Lets just say he was not a very nice guy to begin with and I never should've gotten involved with him."
Benedict nodded at Nicole. "You don't have to explain everything to me if you don't want to go into details. I understand." He said resting his hand on her shoulder.
She glanced down at it and then back up at him. She hadn't realized exactly how close they had been sitting. Their legs were only about an inch away from touching. She looked up into his eyes and could see every little speck of gold mixed in with blue-green color. It was making it very difficult for her to look away as she felt she was being drawn into them. She felt her eyes being pulled further down his face towards his lips and couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to kiss them.
Nicole snapped back into reality when Benedict removed his hand from her shoulder. He now seemed a bit uncomfortable, and Nicole knew she must have been caught staring. Her faced flushed with a bright red color and became immensely hot.
Benedict, being the gentleman he was, broke the awkwardness again.
"I'm really sorry for what happened to you today, I really am. I wish I would've been able to catch those guys and not have let them get away."
"Mr. Cumberbatch, don't be sorry, it wasn't your fault. I'm very thankful you showed up at the time that you did." Nicole moved the hair out of her face and pushed it behind her ear.
"It was amazing what you did for me, fighting them and all, I really appreciate it."
Benedict shyly grinned behind the icepack he was holding up to his jaw.
"I really should get going now. My mom is very concerned with why I'm currently not at home" Nicole said while lifting her bags off the ground next to the bench. She waved to Benedict as she pushed opened the exit door located beside the office. She thought all was well, but what she hadn't noticed was that her bag had snagged on the handle of the door. She found herself being pulled backwards by its force, but was quickly able to regain her balance. "Why do I always have to be so clumsy?" she thought. She looked over at Benedict to make sure he hadn't just witnessed her clumsiness, but saw that he had been staring at her the entire time. Even though Nicole was embarrassed, all she could do was smile at Benedict who was giggling in the most adorable way that he could.
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Hi, guys! I love where this story is going, and I really hope you do too! The next chapter will bring us back to learning more about her family life, her friend Amanda, and Benedict of course. There may even be the revealing of some secrets!
Feel free to give me feedback by commenting on my chapters, or by messaging me, and please continue to vote and share this story with your friends if you think they would like it too!
- BenedictCumbers
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Mr. Cumberbatch
Fanfiction"Nicole was confused by all the emotions she was feeling for this man she had just met. Feeling this way was definitely a new experience for her. Never in a hundred years would she have thought she could meet a man like this. He's everything she cou...
