Ben Affleck | The Square Affair

(to) have had enough

ACADEMY AWARD
TO
BEN AFFLECK
BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
ARGO
2013

"No way," (YN) muttered to herself while running her fingers over the engraving of Ben's Oscar.

She had walked around his house, just like he had invited her to do, but she hadn't made it very far. When she'd set foot into his living room, she'd been drawn to a shiny figure that stood on top of the mantelpiece. (YN) had advanced the golden object slowly, not being able to take her eyes off of it.

She admired Ben's award for a little longer, before unlocking her phone that she'd picked up on her way through the hallway. She had quite the amount of missed calls, but she decided they had to wait, finding it more important to google Ben's name. Numerous web entries popped up, including his Wikipedia and IMDb page, as well as various gossip sites, and it finally dawned on (YN). She had actually spent the night with the award-winning actor, writer, producer and what not, Ben Affleck. She had of course heard of him, but never really paid any attention to his work. Which was the simple reason she couldn't put a face to his name, and vice versa.

(YN) had an idea and carefully took the award from its spot before walking back into the kitchen where Ben was leaning over the kitchen counter, his hands holding on to the smooth marble countertop. His chest was heaving and he had a grim expression on his face.

Ben looked up when he heard the (YN)'s footsteps and his eyes immediately landed on the Oscar in her right hand.

"The fuck do you think you're doing?" he spat venomously, and came to meet her, prying his award out of (YN)'s hands. She was taken aback by his sudden change in mood and took a step back. He was downright intimidating, towering over her with narrowed eyes. She was so surprised, she heard herself stammer. "I- I just- I wanted-" (YN) didn't know what to say, unable to cope with his unexpected reaction. She had intended to tease him about having found out who he was, nothing else.

His outburst made her feel small and foolish and his interruption made her further want to scurry away from him. "You wanted what? Play around with this? It's not a damn toy!" Ben yelled while waving about his golden pride and joy in front of (YN)'s face. She stared at him, her mouth slightly agape. She couldn't believe that the man standing before her was scolding her like a little child. She inhaled deeply to bear up, not tolerating his temper another second. "Are you serious right now? What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you yelling at me? I'm sorry ok! I didn't mean to upset you." (YN) usually wasn't one for fighting, let alone yelling. Her eyes threatened to well up with tears and she tried to blink them away. "This is ridiculous," she added and pushed past him.

"Where are you going?" Ben barked after her. (YN) turned around to look at him, still disgusted with his behavior. "What does it look like? Home," she said sharply, and disappeared into the hallway. She picked up the rest of her belongings, put on last night's outfit, and stepped outside, slamming the front door. She walked down the steps leading to his front lawn and called one of her friends, asking him to pick her up. When she hung up, she sent her friend her location, and sat down on the bottom step.

The Southern live oaks rustled and swayed in the wind, a calm contrast to what had just happened inside Ben's house. Why was he acting so strange? One second, he was this charming womanizer, the other he was yelling at her like some lunatic. (YN) decided Ben had some kind of anger issues and swore herself to stay away from him. It was fun for one night, but she didn't need this repeated. "He's too old anyway," she told herself and opened Google again to go through Ben's web entries to read about his career, the alleged alcohol problem he used to have, and other rumors.

(YN) had been sitting in front of Ben's house for half an hour now, and her friend still wasn't there. She tried calling him again, but got no answer. She heaved a sigh, and trotted off Ben's premises. Maybe it was more complicated to find your way around this neighborhood than she had reckoned.