Sweet as a Strawberry

11 ~ Sweet as a Lolly

A/N: I'm really enjoying writing this story, I hope you like it! Dedicated to pancake714 because she made me the cute cover on the side :)

Chapter 11: Sweet as a Lolly

I was sitting in a coffee shop, directly across from the one known as Benjamin Fisher.

I was more excited than was normal. It may not have been a big deal to most people, but he'd asked to have coffee with him. Was it a date? He hadn't given me any clue, so maybe we were just hanging out.

Whatever it was, I didn't care, because I was here with Ben. I hadn't known him long, but he made me smile, even when he was being rude. The only problem was, I didn't know what to talk about.

The waitress approached our table and deposited our coffee in front of the respective person, flashing us a large smile.

"Thank you!" I exclaimed cheerily.

She nodded once. "Would you like anything else?"

I glanced at Ben. He stared at me, and then looked at the waitress. "Could you bring us a slice of the chocolate lava cake?" he asked.

The waitress beamed at him, jotted it down on her writing pad, and trotted off. "Why did you order that cake?" I asked curiously. He'd even managed to pick the thing I'd been eyeing since we came inside. "I thought you didn't like sweet things."

"I don't," he replied. I nodded, prompting him to say more. He wouldn't say more than necessary unless you practically forced it out of him. "You...you just looked like you wanted it," he explained quickly, and then turned his head.

I had practically bit my lip in half from trying not to smile like a creeper, but those few awkward words were enough to make me want to hug him. "You're so nice!" I said, pleased by that aspect of his personality.

"Right," he said and made a weird face.

I wanted to laugh because he seemed like he was forcing himself to be rude to me. "You are," I said, nodding my head enthusiastically.

"Okay," he said, obviously not believing me. "You're a bit of a weirdo."

This time, I actually did laugh. "I know," I agreed good-naturedly. "It's a genetic trait - my mum was weird too."

Ben looked at me carefully. "Was weird," he repeated.

I was taken aback, because he was observant enough to pick up the past tense. I automatically reached for a napkin and began moulding it with my fingers. "Yeah," I said absentmindedly. "She passed last summer."

Ben nodded once, and didn't say anything for a couple of minutes. "Why are you still smiling?" he asked suddenly.

In my surprise, my smile shrank. "Am I not allowed to?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowing. My mum was dead, okay, yeah. I loved her to pieces, but she wouldn't want me crying every day. That was why I smiled instead.

"That's not it," Ben said. "I mean, you're allowed to, but you smile like you have no care in the world. Like nothing matters but you." His tone was almost accusing.

"Actually," I said, "I have many cares, but I'd rather not be a bother to others." I smiled because my mum said it made her feel warm. I figured other people might want to feel like that too.

For a moment, Ben squeezed his eyes shut. "You're weird," he said finally, cracking his eyes back open

I shrugged. "So I've been told."

He shook his head and gulped his coffee. I wondered why he wasn't choking from the heat, because I could only take small sips at a time.

I didn't want to talk about myself anymore, so I leant on my elbows and waited for him to finish drinking. When he noticed my position, he raised an eyebrow skeptically. "How old are you?" I asked him.