✔️ MONSTER ➩ Ben Hargreeves

ｂｅｌｉｅｖｅ

I trudged to where Klaus has told me to go. She was out there with Diego, I knew that. But I didn't want to face her.

The blood and tentacle had been removed from the walkway since I was last there. Diego and Galena sat on the bench where I had left them a week ago.

Diego looked in my direction and quickly stood.

"Be- Ben." He seemed surprised. I don't really blame him.

"Hi, Diego." I looked to Galena. "Hey, Gal." I forced a smile.

Her hands went over her mouth and she bit her finger out of pure shock.

I walked over to her, ignoring Diego's stares. She stood as I took her hands.

"Yeah, I-I'm gonna go..." Diego said awkwardly, putting his hands in his pockets and walking back toward the house.

But we didn't pay him any mind.

There were still markings on Galena's neck and my mind replayed the incident, the monsters holding her in the air. Their tentacles were around her waist and slowly crept to her neck.

I wasn't worried then but now I knew that was when the danger had started.

"I forgive you, Ben." Her eyes stared into mine as I still stepped closer.

"I know. You shouldn't."

She ignored my last remark. "We have a lot to talk about."

I internally disagreed with her. What was there to talk about? I had hurt her and then ignored her for a week. That's all there was to it.

"Do we?" I asked solemnly.

"Ben you've ignored me for a week."

I sat down beside her. "It would have been longer if not for Klaus..."

"Thank God for Klaus then." She smiled.

"I guess so."

We were both silent. There really was nothing to talk about. I thought hard about what I wanted to tell her but nothing seemed right in the moment.

"Do you-"

"I thin-"

We both started talking at the same time, stopped, and laughed at ourselves.

"You go first." Galena ordered.

"Alright. Do you really want to stay together? Do you want to risk something else happening again? I don't want to see you hurt."

"Oh, you know I want to be with you. The only thing that could ever keep me from you is your Dad. He scares me."

I laughed at that. "Yeah, he scares everyone."

She smiled. "We can get through this, Ben. Believe me."

But for some reason, I didn't believe her. "But what if we don't? What if something else happens?"

She groaned. "All of these 'what ifs'. What if I hurt you? What if we don't make it? What if I die?" She mocked me.

I waited for her to continue on her rampage.

"But what if we promise to love each other no matter what? Did you ever think about that 'what if'?"

I had never seen her this angry before. I never wanted to see it again.

"Galena..." I didn't know what to say. I couldn't commit to her because I knew something would happen.

But I couldn't hurt her. Not again.

"Believe me, Ben." She pleaded. "Please. Just this once."

"I can't make any promises."

She didn't say anything. Our breath was the only sound between us until she broke the silence.

"Okay. I understand."

I knew it wasn't true. She didn't understand any of what was going on.

"I understand." She repeated, holding my hand a little tighter than before.

"I'm sorry." I apologized.

"No, Ben. I'm sorry. I'm sorry we ever started this in the first place. I should have known better than to fall in love with someone in the Umbrella Academy... but then I saw you and-"

"I know." I interrupted. "It was the same for me. I knew I shouldn't have but then I did."

"I-"

"I'll miss you, Gal."

"Ben, you don't have to go yet. I'm not ready to say goodbye."

There were tears welling up in her eyes and my heart broke. I was hurting her again.

"Alright, Galena. Let's run away. Let's get out of this city and travel the world."

"We're minors. I don't think that would work." She laughed through her tears.

"Oh." Somehow that had slipped my mind. It's like I was thirty years old already. Because of everything Dad had taught us and put us through, I felt like an adult in a long term relationship.

"Just stay with me. Just here and now." Her voice was almost a whisper.

I stepped to hug her. Even though we were the same height, I attempted to put my head above hers. I pulled her into my chest, my hand against her beautiful bundle of hair.

"I wish we could stay like this." I admitted.

"We can stay for as long as you like."

"Alright." She didn't know that I wanted to stay there forever. But it was almost time for my lesson.

Five more minutes. That's all I had before I needed to go back inside.

"I have to see you again. At least once." She told me, pulling away from our embrace.

"You will. From the windows, anyway."

"No, I mean in person."

I wanted to see her again, too.

"One week from today," I conceded. "And that's the last time."

She stared into my eyes. I wanted to burst into tears and I'm sure she could sense that.

"It's going to be okay, Ben. I'll be okay. Don't worry."

I smiled. "Yeah. Maybe we can work things out when we're older."

"Maybe." She agreed.

"One week then?"

"Yeah."

I didn't know how to walk away. I was almost late for my lesson as it was.

"Goodbye, Galena." I turned to walk back to the house.

She waved. "Goodbye, Ben."