two ghosts | benoftheweek

ᴛʜɪʀᴛᴇᴇɴ

♡
tate's pov

me, riley, peyton, and ben were in the living room watching the harry potter movies. ever since last night, i couldn't stop thinking about what ben had said to me.

i think i do like him. i mean he's all i really ever think about and we kissed but i'm scared of commitment.

"tate" riley whispered. i look at her and whispered back, "what?" she motioned to her phone and indicated to text her.

riley
are you going to
say yes to ben?

i put my phone down and sighed dramatically, letting riley know that i'm not answering her.

she kept bugging me for the next minute and tapping me. "riley u bitch"

tate
what. idk. i chose
to not talk about it
rn for a reason.
i just don't know
if i can commit to
someone right now.

riley
okay but ben
seems perfect
for youuu. you
should say yes.

-

when peyton and riley left, ben ran upstairs while i washed the dishes. "ben? what's wrong?" i quickly dried my hands and followed him to his room. "ben are you okay?" i asked him.

"yeah sorry. i just needed uh- i'm just kinda down. i miss dev a lot that's all." he sniffled. i sat down on his bed and put my arms around him. his body stiffened a bit as i embraced him.

"aw, you'll see him soon. missing someone can hurt but always remember that you can always talk or facetime him." i tried to comfort him but i'm not the best at advice. he gave me a soft smile and whispered a "yeah"

"do you need some space? some time alone?" i asked and got up. "no. i mean yeah i wanna be alone. but alone with you." he said as tears started rolling down his cheeks.

immediate butterflies. alone with you am i living in a movie?

"okay." i sat down again and grabbed his hand. "you know what it feels like to miss someone. i mean obviously in a different way, but still. how do you cope with it? i've never really been away from devon, and shit just went downhill in april. he helped me a lot and i miss him like so much. i can't even visit him because of his.. new friend." he was sobbing and put his head on my shoulder.

i sighed and started spilling everything out. "when you miss someone, a lot of things will remind you of them. but they'll always be in your heart. you can look back at pictures and videos and even remember times you guys had together. it pains your heart not being able to see your favorite person in the whole wide world everyday, but you'll get through. you just have to believe that someday you'll see them again. and you will see devon again." i was the one crying now and soon apologized for ranting.

"no it's okay. that helps me a lot. thanks. dev made a new friend who move next door to him and has been with him everyday for the past 2 weeks. i mean we text everyday but it's all about him and ryland which is his new best friend. i feel like me being there would just be so awkward." he said as he played with the bracelets on my wrist.

"ben, try talking to him about how you feel." i consoled the boy. i hated seeing him sad. "i'm just scared i'm gonna lose him. i know how devon is. he's probably gonna understand but my past friendships didn't turn out great because of me confronting them. they put me through hell tate. i'm terrified of that happening again." i started crying even more.

his situation made me think of me and alison. i know exactly how he feels. friends suck unless you have two annoying crazy friends who always push you out of our boundaries in the best way possible.

ben did not deserve that. he's such a sweet guy.

"it's just your mind. devon will understand and will acknowledge your feelings. he's been your longest friend, im sure you mean a lot to him. hold him accountable and i know he will better himself." i grinned at him, hoping it would cheer ben up a bit.

"but what if he doesn't? what if he gets mad at me? what am i gonna do without him?"

"then you have me. and peyton. and riley. you have my dad and mom. you have a lot of people who care about you ben. if devon doesn't care about what you have to say, then you do not need him ben. know your worth." i looked at him to let him know i was serious.

"okay. i'll call him. but can you stay with me? you don't have to talk just be in the room with me."

"of course." he went to his favorite contacts and clicked on devon's name. i peeked and saw my name on there and started smiling.

"hey dev, can i talk to you about something?"

♡