Ben Tyler Cook Imagines

Boy Next Door (part 1)

You and Ben have been neighbors for almost ten years now (you're turning 16, Ben 17).  You had been in and out of a toxic relationship and had officially ended.  Ben had been serially single and you had been trying to help him find a girlfriend. 

As you sat in the dark you picked up the phone. You hit the power button and a bright '2:36' flashed across your phone. You rolled your eyes and moved across your room to the window seat. You looked out the window and saw the pitch black room across from your house. You flipped your light switch on, watching for the room to do the same.  After 10 minutes the light finally flickered on. 

After pausing for a moment to make sure it stayed on you picked up your phone. You decided to open your window to let in the cool autumn breeze as Saturday morning rolled in. You unlocked your phone seeing the picture of you and Ben smiled. You then tapped the phone icon and hit the last called number. 

"Morning," Ben's sleepy voice said. You could tell he had been asleep by the slight raspiness of his voice.

"I haven't slept yet so I don't know if it counts," You followed up as you tucked into the window watching as Ben waved from the comfort of his bed. 

"Why haven't you slept, you're a lightweight when it comes to sleep and naps," he pointed out. You couldn't exactly get angry because he was very much right. 

"I broke up with Alex. For the last time." 

The nice thing about having Ben right across from you was you could see him nod and he didn't really have to say anything. He didn't ask you why, and you were happy he didn't. Alex didn't agree with your friendship with Ben. He thought Ben would encourage you to cheat or would take advantage of you. It was a totally false accusation and you knew you had to pick Ben over Alex at this point. Your friendship is too important to you. 

"How are things going with you and..." you paused for a moment trying to remember her name. "Alexis?" You were thankfully able to remember her name. She was sweet but very forgettable. You personally thought that she and Ben wouldn't be compatible but if he was happy then that was all that mattered. 

"We haven't really talked in a couple days." You saw him scratch the back of his neck. It was a dead giveaway that this conversation was making him uncomfortable. 

Your stomach growled loudly and you squirmed awkwardly. Ben laughed at you and stood up from his bed. You couldn't but let your eyes linger for a few moments as he stood there in loose pajama pants and no shirt. "Meet me downstairs in 10 minutes," Ben said. You just nodded and hung up. 

You shut your curtains before yanking the baggy shirt off your head. You slipped on a pair of leggings and a simple hoodie Ben had given you. You threw your hair into a messy bun and grabbed your phone, dashing quickly to your front yard. Ever since you were able to drive your parents had become a bit more lax about what you did and when.  Ben came up behind you causing you to jump. 

"Bennnnnnn," You whined as you pouted. He had tossed on a sleeveless workout shirt and some Adidas pants. 

"C'mon, you and your monster of a stomach," he said as he unlocked his car. Even though the night was moderately warm his car was freezing. You were extremely thankful that you had worn his hoodie at this point. 

As Ben started the car you grabbed the aux cord and hooked it up to your phone. You turned on an early 2000s playlist so you could jam out to boy bands and power ballads. Your music choice caused Ben to drive faster so he didn't have to listen to your singing.

 "It's too early for this," Ben said pinching the bridge of his nose as he pulled up to a McDonald's. He pulled into a parking spot and barely put the car into park as you jumped out. You were a sucker for a yogurt parfait and hashbrown. Obviously, that wasn't all you ate because you always stole off whatever Ben got.

After ordering your food you two popped into a booth making aimless small talk as you took stupid pictures of each other. Once the food was ready you got up to get it and popped in front of Ben. Even though you weren't an avid coffee drinker you were thankful Ben had insisted on getting you an iced vanilla coffee. 

"Broski we gotta do something awesome this weekend," You suggested. It was your last weekend before going back to school from Thanksgiving break, and you were not prepared. 

"Well we've got the pumpkin farm, and I know that Josh and Kara were planning on going and we could most definitely crash in our their plans. Go from like 2-close," He suggested. 

You popped a piece of hashbrown in your mouth pondering the idea. After giving it a good thought you nodded, "I need some good pics with you guys too. Ooooh and we need to get those wristbands for the jumping pillow," you sounded exactly like the six-year-old Ben first met.

A bright smile spread across his face as he nodded, "I'll message Josh so he can have a warning when he wakes up at noon." 

You both laughed knowing Josh burned the candle at both ends. It was one of his worst habits, but also best when you needed someone late at night. 

As 3 a.m. rolled around you and Ben decided to leave the McDonalds and head back to your houses. You knew your mom's shift started soon so you decided to go over to Ben's so you two wouldn't wake her any earlier than she needed to be up. 

Having a nurse for a mom is hard. You had to deal with the late nights and early mornings just as much as she did. The missed dances and mother-daughter moments most girls your age experience. 

Once you pulled into Ben's driveway you willed your body out of the warm comfort of the passenger seat. You quickly rushed yourself and Ben to the door waiting for him to unlock it. Once he did that, you basically burst through the door and down to his basement. He's had this one blanket since you guys first met that was just the warmest blanket invented. You quickly nuzzled yourself under it waiting for Ben's heavy steps to meet you on the couch. 

"Has Josh gotten back to you yet? I'm bored"

"No y/n Josh has not replied to me yet. It's literally 3:30. He's asleep. Like normal people," He said pinching the bridge of his nose. You knew that you annoyed Ben slightly but he got you coffee. He brought this upon himself.  

"What do you want to watch," he mumbled. You knew it was a rhetorical question. He was going to turn on some Disney musical no matter what you said so it was more of a 'which one will you put up with tonight,' question. 

"How about Moana," you suggest as Ben scrolls to the search bar and enters the title. You cozy up to him as the movie starts. You scrolled through your Snapchat stories seeing all the dumb parties everyone decided to participate in for some reason. You never understood the party crowd, but you had a true group of friends. You felt your eyes drift shut despite the coffee. 

Sorry, this took me so long but I was struggling with the direction I want to take this imagine. This is also my longest one yet. I also started school so my updates are going to be a little rough and sporadic.