It Was You

Chapter 24

Today, Ben got into a fight.

For once, it wasn't about me or for me. It was because he was a boy and the other person he hit was a boy and for some reason, they needed ego boosters. At least, that's how I saw it. Basically, Ben was putting his things in his locker when a kid bumped into him.

Ben told him to "watch out next time" and the kid pulled the typical, "or what?" remark. Ben was already having a bad morning. First, his car broke down on his way to school. I had gotten a ride from mom this morning, which was lucky of me, because he ended up being almost an hour late.

That earned him a detention.

So, when the kid bumped into him, he was already in a grumpy mood. If I were there, I would have told that kid to shove it and have Ben walk away. But I wasn't there. I was heading to my other class across the school. Lee had caught up to me and told me what was happening.

She and I ran across the school and into the hall Ben was fighting. I don't know why Ben would choose—out of all people—to get in a fight with the quarterback...but it was a dumbass decision. I came right on time to see Ronny (the quarterback) on top of Ben, hitting him repeatedly in the face.

If it weren't for Ben's piercing blue eyes, I wouldn't have known it was him. There was blood running all down his face. "Stop it!" I shouted, trying pull Ronny off. Aaron and Lee tried helping, but this guy was huge.

"Ronny, get off of him!" I screamed over the chants of, "Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" Ronny and I have known each other since kindergarten and, believe it or not, he was actually one of the few that was nice to me. We never really spoke, but he was kind when we did.

So, when he looked up and saw me practically crying and begging, he gave Ben one more punch, then stood up. "Keep your guy in line, Cass!" Ronny shouted before storming off with his football buddies. I went down next to Ben, who was groaning and writhing in pain.

"Jesus Christ, Ben!" Aaron practically squealed. "Look at his face!" I rolled my eyes and helped Ben sit up against the lockers. "What in the hell happened?" I sharply asked him. He just groaned and threw his head back onto the lockers.

"What happened over here?" Principal Barkley asked. By now, I had taken off my sweater and was trying to wipe the blood off of Ben's face. Aaron explained everything—frantically, blaming everything on Ronny—and meanwhile, I found out the source of the waterfall of blood coming from Ben.

"You split your head open," I told him, my eyes gaping at the gash on top of his head. "Jesus, Ben, you need a hospital!" He waved me off and mumbled something I couldn't understand. "Ben, please do this for me," I begged. "Please."

And that's how I ended up here, at the hospital. I couldn't go with him, so I came after school with Lee and Aaron. He didn't have anything major happen, just a few stitches and had to be watched over night in case he had a concussion. It was weird being the one visiting someone in the hospital.

Tim and Wanda were there, condemning Ben for his actions of course, but he got it a lot worse from me.

"I don't give a shit what kind of day you were having, you don't just go starting fights with the biggest guy in school!" I told him rather loudly. "We all have bad days, but you could have gotten seriously hurt! There are other ways to release anger, Ben, and one of those ways would be talking! Not with your fist!"

He sighed and looked down at his hands that were wringing together. "Sorry," he grumbled. That's all he said and it made me feel kind of bad. I sat down on the hospital bed with a sigh and said, "We need to work on this anger thing you've got going on. It's not a regular problem, thank God, but when it is a problem...it's bad."

He just nodded. "Ben, I'm sorry for yelling," I told him. "I guess I'm kind of a hypocrite." That got him to smirk a bit, but he still didn't say anything. I got the sense he wanted to be left alone. "Okay," I said, "I'll leave you be. Let me know when you get home."

I started to stand up, but I felt him grab a hold of my shirt. "Wait," he mumbled, "don't." I sat back down, but he still didn't let go of my shirt. "It's just...I...I feel so stupid," he said. "That's how I usually feel after I get angry, but this time is different. I lashed out in front of everyone and got humiliated because of it. Sorry if I embarrassed you."

I grazed my thumb around the bandage on his head and told him, "You didn't. Besides, Ronny feels bad, too. He told me to tell you that he's sorry and that he was just having a bad day. I guess you both took your problems out on each other."

"You talked to Ronny?" He asked. I shrugged and said, "More like he talked to me. He's one of the good few. Anyways, he came and found me in between classes and apologized. He's getting a week's worth of detention, but he's still walking for graduation. You're lucky you are, too."

He sighed at that. "Alright," I continued, "I'll stop lecturing you. Get some rest and I'll see you tomorrow." He pouted at me when I got up, but I simply laughed it off and kissed his head. "I love you," he said. "I know," I responded with a small smirk.

The next day, Ben got released and was home resting. I couldn't see him like I said I would because he got grounded. Honestly, I would be surprised if he didn't. He texted me when he got home and expressed how bored he was without any video games or T.V.. I told him he deserved what he got—minus the gash on his head.

"You should climb through my window tonight," he suggested over the phone. I laughed as I asked, "Isn't that supposed to be your job?" He chuckled at that. "Come on," he said, "I promise I will compensate for your journey." I was tempted...but I declined. He needed to focus on getting better.

He was only grounded for the weekend, so we were able to hang out after school on Monday.

"The doctor said I can get my stitches out this Friday," he told me as we sat on his couch. "Mum and dad are still furious with me. They want me to go to anger management." He sighed and shook his head at that. "At least I got accepted to Humboldt University. That's the only good news."

"Why Humboldt?" I asked him. "You want to be an actor, you should have applied in Los Angeles somewhere." He scoffed as he said, "And leave you? Yeah, right. Besides, Humboldt has an...okay acting program." I turned to face him and said, "Ben, this is serious. This is your future. I'm not going to college, I don't...I don't need to be here."

He looked at me oddly and asked, "What are you saying?" What am I saying? "I...I don't want you to ruin your future because of me." He put his hand on my leg and said, "That's not what you were saying." He was right.

I wanted him to go and pursue his dreams, but I didn't want him to leave. Of course I didn't. I also didn't want him to stay because of me. I'm not going to college, though. I missed the application deadline because I was still dying and thought I wouldn't make it.

I have no reason to stay here.

"Say it, Cassie," Ben gently pushed. I could see the hope gleaming in his eyes. "Ben," I said, "I want you to apply to a college that's going to help you advance your acting dreams. I also...want to go with you. If you want me to, I mean I don't want to seem pushy or—or..."

He shut up my ramblings by kissing me. "Cass, baby," he said after pulling away, "I want you with me. I want you with me always. I've already accepted Humboldt's invitation, so I'll have to wait until next year to apply somewhere else. In the meantime, we can save up money...look for places to live."

I couldn't believe this was happening. Nine months ago, I didn't want anything more than to be friends with Ben. I didn't think I would be able to be in a relationship, let alone with him. Now, we're talking about moving together? Living together? This was insane.

But it was also exciting.

"Okay," I told him, "let's do it."