It's Obvious

Chapter 8

June's POV

Smalls, Nancy, and I all walked to Benny's together. We all lived across the street from him so we probably would have ended up walking together anyway. We were the first ones there, obviously.

Smalls knocked on the door and Benny opened it with a smile. He then motioned for us to come inside. I immediately saw a girl reading a book at the kitchen table. That girl was Avery. I have seen her before so I recognized her almost instantly.

Her and Benny looked very similar. The resemblance was uncanny. Other than a few minor differences, they looked identical. Avery's hair was longer, she was tan, and her eyes were a emerald green. She was also taller and overall looked older. Despite those distinctions, they looked like the same person.

Avery put her book down and grinned. She got up and walked over to us. Her gaze settled on me. "I've seen you with Benny a lot so I'm going to assume you are June."
I chuckled. "You're right."

Avery released a satisfied smile and Benny rolled his eyes.
"Do you want to keep guessing the identities of all my friends?" He asked sarcastically.
"Shut your trap!" Avery punched his shoulder and he laughed. "I won't do any more guessing. I don't have any more guesses anyway," she added. Her comment spurred Smalls and Nancy to introduce themselves. Then before I knew it, the rest of guys had come and introduced themselves.

It was now time for the part I was dreading, actually watching the movie. I despised horror movies. All they do is use cheap tactics to scare you shitless. Half of them don't even have a plot! As much I hated them, Ham and some of the other guys liked them. I was willing to sacrifice myself for their happiness. I know that was a little dramatic, but you get my point.

It didn't take long for everyone to agree on a movie. Ham was the ringleader of the decision making. That wasn't a surprise, he was really excited to watch the movie. He even set it up himself. He then went and sat down next to Nance. That put her in between Ham and I.
"Is everyone ready to start the movie?" Benny asked. Everyone said some form of a yes. Benny played the movie and sat down on the other side of me. I noticed Ham and Nancy smirk at each out of the corner of my eye. It was weird, but I didn't think much of it. It was probably some sort of inside joke or it could have been a result of their feelings for each other. The two of them were basically in love at this point.

The beginning of the movie wasn't that bad. I didn't jump at all. I was doing fine, I wasn't even scared. Then the movie continued and all that changed insanely quickly. A unreasonably scary scene happened and I jumped. I also instinctively grabbed onto Benny's hand. It took me a few seconds to realize I did it. I did it without thinking, but then again that's the definition of instinctively. Benny glanced at me and I could have never predicted what he did next. I honestly don't think a psychic could have. Instead of doing nothing or pulling his hand away, he intertwined his fingers with mine.
"Squeeze my hand at the scary parts," he whispered so that nobody else heard. His whispering made a ton of sense. We both knew that if anyone heard him, we would be mercilessly teased for the rest of our lives. All I could do was nod. I had become too much of a flustered and blushing mess to actually say real words. My heart was pounding out of my chest and my face had become the equivalent of a cherry tomato.

I had squeezed Benny's hand a lot, more times than I like to admit, throughout the movie. From what I can tell, nobody noticed. If they did notice they would soon be making fun of us. Making fun of us was a understatement, they would torment us.

The movie ended and most of us went home. By most of us, I meant everyone except for Nance. She was having a sleepover with Ham. Don't worry, I made plenty of jokes. It would be a severe tragedy if I didn't.
"Keep it PG!" I yelled to them as they left. They both rolled their eyes and kept walking. I was shocked that I didn't get a sarcastic remark in return. I heard Benny and Avery laughing behind me.
"I like her," Avery said. Benny continued laughing instead of verbally responding to his sister. We all talked for a little bit longer and then I went home.

⚠️POSSIBLE TW⚠️

I got home and remembered that neither my mom or aunt will be there. They were going out for a "girls night". That meant it was just me and my dad, since Nancy wasn't there either. I was going to my bedroom when I saw them. The beer bottles in the recycling bin. My dad had been drinking. That never ends well for anyone.

I hadn't talked about it yet because it hasn't been relevant. I guess now is the time to explain it. My dad has a tendency to drink sometimes and most of the time that leads to my parents fighting. They scream at each other for hours on end. It has happened enough times that I have become used to it. It still upsets me, but I can handle it. The real problem is when he drinks and my mom isn't home. I'm the one he screams at. He yells at me at the top of his lungs. There is never a reason for him to be shouting at me. He just shouts and shouts incoherently. He also says terrible things to me. He calls me a burden, a disappointment, and a overall disgrace to all humans. Those insults hurt, they hurt a lot. I have mentioned it to the guys before, but it's never been a big enough issue for us to have a full blown conversation about it.

I wandered through my house and searched for signs of my father's presence. It seemed like he was nowhere to be found. It did until he came barreling into the kitchen. It looked like he was coming from the backyard, but I wasn't certain. I took a few steps back, but he took a few steps forward. I froze. He has never come at me before. Apparently my frozen state was a invitation for him to shove me to the ground. I came back to my senses and got up quickly. His hand formed into a fist and he attempted to punch my eye. Luckily, I dove under his arm and swiftly ran to my bedroom.

I managed to lock my door even though my hands were vigorously shaking. I was breathing very fast and very heavily. He has never tried to hit me before. I didn't think he could do such a thing. I sat on my bed and tried my absolute hardest to calm down. I knew I was in for one of the longest nights of my life.

Authors Note: Chapter 8! It's another long one! Despite it ending on a sad note, I got to write a lot of Avery and I love that!! I want to address that I have had the situation with June's father planned out from the start. I have had it planned out since I created her, I made her way before I started writing this fanfic.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter!! 😊❤️
Like always, I proofread but if you see any typos please let me know! 👍