Creepypasta Headcannon Oneshots: Book One

The One With The Mistranslation (feat. character development par accident)

"BEN hates it when people mistake his aquaphobia for hydrophobia. Everytime someone does, he glared at them and tells them he's not a rabid dog.
Then he makes their electronics glitch out for three weeks."

You didn't see much of BEN over the course of the next few days.

You didn't know where he went, what he was doing- you didn't know anything. For the first time in your life, the others had left you in the dark, and you hated it.

"BEN's afraid of water," Sally finally relented after incessant nagging on your part. "Terrified of it, to the point where he cannot, under any circumstances, stand to drink it," she twisted her hands together in her lap. "He needs to though- he may be a computer entity, and a ghost, but even spirits can't survive forever without water. He'll go as long as he can without it (and trust me, he can go for a while) but he will collapse eventually, which is why we force him to drink water before that happens."

Slowly, BEN returned to the mansion. It was a gradual process, but one you anticipated and hoped to God would continue nevertheless. The mansion didn't feel like home without BEN, cliché as that sounds.

Finally, finally, after two long weeks of a severe lack of BEN, the videogame glitch returned.

Sally had warned you not to tread on eggshells around him, that that would only serve to irritate him, but you couldn't help it. You'd played a direct hand in his (necessary) torture, surely he'd want nothing to do with you.

That was not the case, as it turned out, for not three days after his return, BEN cornered you.

"You've been avoiding me," he said. Your eyes widened.

"No I haven't!" Deny, deny, deny. BEN folded his arms and gave you a deadpan look.

"Bullshit," he declared. "You've been doing everything within your power to avoid me," his eyes narrowed. "Why?" You twisted your hands together nervously.

"I really haven't-"

"(Y/N)."

Something in his voice stopped you. Maybe it was the concerned undertones, the outer layer of steel, or perhaps the hints of hurt that drifted through occasionally- either way, you gave up the game of denial you'd been playing.

"I didn't think you'd want to see me again," you muttered. BEN knit his eyebrows.

"What? Why?" You sighed.

"I directly helped with... The thing," you waved vaugly, hoping BEN would get it. When he didn't, you exhaled before diving into greater detail.

"I helped the others force water down your throat, BEN," you deadpanned, seeing no point in being delicate. BEN could be denser than osmium when he wanted to, there was no point.

Still, you couldn't help feeling a twinge of guilt when he flinched at your blunt tone.

"Sorry," you mumbled. BEN sighed.

"S'fine," he replied, leaning against the wall. "Why would I not want to see you? You don't see me avoiding any of the others, why would you be any different?"

"Because I'm-" you cut yourself off. You were about to say 'because I'm not a creepypasta.' You thought it petty, but deep down you knew it to be true. BEN- everyone in this mansion, really- treated you differently, and you had the feeling it was because you were human.

"We haven't known each other as long as you've known the others," you answered instead. "I thought-"

"Ya thought wrong, (nickname)," BEN cut across you. "I'm not an idiot- you didn't know what the hell was going on and just did what you thought was the right thing (and I loathe to admit it, but it kind of was) and I can't really fault you for that," he gave you a tiny smile. "Even if my side still hasn't healed from when you stabbed me." You stared at him, perplexed, until you remembered- you'd dug your nails into his side, and rather harshly too, if memory serves correct.

"You deserved that," you heard yourself say. "You headbutted me first." BEN shrugged, not seeming to care that he'd nearly caused you to bite your own tongue off in the commotion.

"What can I say, I panicked," he replied, not seeming to notice your wince. "When in doubt, use your head." You rolled your eyes.

"I don't think that's what that saying means, BEN," You muttered, but were smiling all the same.

And just like that, your friendship with BEN was put back on course. Niether of you said anything, but you could both sense it- things were right again.

Well, they were up until what you dubbed the "Hydrophobia V.S. Aquaphobia Incident."

Honestly, you didn't know any better. Honest. You knew most English was derived from Latin and Greek. (and if you didn't, now you do) You knew phobia was Greek for fear, and hydro was Greek for water, so you just put the two together, assuming you'd be right.

But boy, were you wrong.

As it turned out, hydrophobia was the fear of water dogs go through in later stages of rabies. Aquaphobia was the extreme, irrational (not in BEN's case though, you noted absentmindedly) fear of large bodies of water. (BEN's fear was admittedly a little different, but the premise was relatively similar.)

And, as it turned out, BEN reeeeally didn't like being compared to a rabid dog, and fried the insides of all of your electronics as punishment.

You swore up and down to never make the mistake again.

(Am I actually souless or something? So many people last chapter got a little teary-eyed reading last chapter and here I am like the evil incarnate just powering through more chapters like??? There were no tears while writing about BEN's literal torture???
Also did anyone remember the difference between aquaphobia and hydrophobia before I cleared it up? Whoever does gets a cookie (::) (::)
Also what the hecky dizzle is that plot I see what the duck is that plot doing in my oneshots book get it out of here.)