hate is a strong word (bxb)

13

A/N: I'm working on revising this to change the perspective from first person to third person. From now on, the chapters will be in third person. Sorry if this causes any confusion. I'll be revising all of the previous chapters soon (all of the details will still be the same so there's no reason to re-read.)

That same day, Benjamin finds himself being bombarded with stares from his peers. He hated it; he absolutely hated it. He knew very well what most of his classmates must have thought of him when they saw the marks on his neck, and he hated it. Benjamin enjoyed being left alone, and if people were to talk to him, he'd prefer them to do it in a way that wasn't bothersome.

Usually, he found it incredibly hard to be annoyed by Scar. At times, he found that his best friend could become objectively annoying with all his prodding, but Ben rarely minded it. Today was a different story, however.

Scar first made a comment on Ben's position before homeroom even began, asking with wide eyes, "who the hell are those from?"

Ben looked down to the ground and replied, saying, "I don't want to talk about it."

So, Scar decided that it would be best for the time being to not question it any more than he already had. He knew how Ben worked and prying more wouldn't help Scar get to the answer. Though, curiosity only filled him more when their gym period arrived, and the boys were getting undressed in the locker room.

Ben pulled his shirt over his head and carelessly threw it on the bench that stood on the same ground as his feet. Just as carelessly, he had forgotten about the fact that the markings not only were on his neck but were scattered somewhat around his body as well. Although he had not noticed the hickeys upon his chest, he surely took note of the stare that his best friend was giving him.

"What? Are you going gay or something?" Ben questioned his odd behavior, as it certainly wasn't normal for Scar to look at him in such a way.

Scar rose an eyebrow at the comment, as he knew a key factor about Ben that the other boys in the locker room did not. He knew very well that Ben shouldn't have been the type to ask such a question, but he also knew that Ben prioritized keeping his sexuality incredibly on the down low. So, if Ben wanted to act like that in the presence of his peers, Scar didn't question it.

"What's up with all of that?" Scar motioned to Ben's chest.

Ben looked at himself in the mirror, face going pale as a ghost and then red as an apple. The recovery from the embarrassment was quick, though, as he jokingly said, "I must've been shot by a paint ball gun and just forgot."

"Ah, yes, of course," Scar rolled his eyes, "are you really just not going to mention it at all?"

Getting fully dressed and turning back to Scar, Ben replied, "I'm just... I'm with a girl, and she's into that kind of stuff."

"Are you sure that you're not the girl?" Scar rose an eyebrow.

"Trust me, I'm not the girl."

Scar examined Ben as they both walked out of the locker row, moving to the corner of the room where all of the rest of the dressed boys stood. He was looking for any signs of a telling emotion on Ben's face, and he thought carefully on everything that Ben had said.

"Braxton's really been rubbing off on you," Scar grimaced, and then his face quickly turned into an amused expression, "oh my god, has Scar been rubbing off on you?"

Despite the fact that his insinuation was right, Ben couldn't help but be hurt by the fact that Scar had the nerve to insinuate such a thing. Although Braxton had openly hit on Ben before, Ben showed no interest. If anything, the only thing that Ben had shown for Braxton was disdain, so what calls for Scar to believe that Ben would be with Braxton of all people?

"Braxton?" Ben nearly shrieked.

"Yeah, well, you guys have been awfully chummy at lunch and everything."

"I wouldn't call arguing 'being chummy.'"

"Says the one who invited him to sit with us," Scar muttered.

Ben wanted to argue against what Scar was saying, but he had no valid defense for anything that he had done. Truly, he had been the one to tell Braxton to sit with him and his friends, and he didn't know why he did it. He didn't know why he did anything that he did with Braxton, and it drove him absolutely insane. The boy had affects on him that were indescribable, and Ben hated not knowing why he was acting the way that he acted.

So, rather than speak on that, Ben chose to go back to the initial issue at hand, "yeah, well, it's not like that. Braxton's a shit head, and you know that I would never... ew."

"Thank god," Scar sighed in relief, "I just wanted to make sure."

Ben knew very well that Scar wasn't incredibly fond of Braxton. They got along just fine when they were at lunch, but they also didn't speak individual very much when they were at lunch. Once in a while, Scar would glare at Braxton but that's where their disagreements would end. Scar mostly expressed disapproval of Braxton in private.

Ben found this to be another reason that he had to keep what happened with Braxton a secret.