Work Text:
It was around 2 hours after the last phantom realm visit.
That meant it had been a long enough time to relax again.
That meant it hadn’t been nearly long enough for to forget.
Ben hated it. Wish it would stop, wish everything could just freeze in time. Well on Earth, never again in the phantom realm.
Haha.
As if this shit would stop any time soon for either him or any other one of the teenagers on the six person team. But, hey, it wouldn’t matter in the end anyway? All of them were going to die eventually, so . . . Why bother praying or trying to?
. . . No.
No Ben couldn’t go back to thinking like that. Not again. Never again.
Ben entered the real world again, mentally this time. He had gone on a walk around town, and now he was in one of the two neighborhoods with actual houses in them. It was closer to the school, kids biked to and from here.
He walked a full circle around the neighborhood before realizing he smelt smoke.
Who the fuck would be grilling at 2 AM? Whatever, it was Georgia, it was Southern, people probably did. Still, weird, even down here.
But, when he reached one specific house, he realized that it was cigarette smoke. The smell of nicotine was very recognizable if you were close enough, or maybe if you were just raised around, and Ben’s aunt and uncle always had a pack on them.
He looked up at the house he was in front of. It looked . . . Familiar?
Red brick, foggy windows, blue roof. It seemed to have 2 floors although it looked like the one upstairs only had 2 rooms, one of which having a trap door . Ben saw a girl lying there, smoking a cigarette.
Her pajamas were comfy looking. Ben could’ve sworn he’d seen them before too. Pink sweatpants and a white tank top. Looked dirty, like it had grease on it. She had long brown hair, seemed to have dark skin.
. . . Was that . . . ?
////////////
Taylor laid on the roof, her back propped up as she held the white stick’s orange end in her mouth, taking a long drag.
The smell was potent anyone awake could smell it from across the area. Luckily enough, at this time of year “day”, everyone was unconscious.
Taylor wished she could be unconscious in the void some nights. Unconscious in the void in a way where she’d be okay to never have to open her eyes.
Tonight was one of those nights.
Taylor had never really liked these nights.
But, it was manageable as long as the sweet drug hit her lungs. Her mom had always smoked, ever since she was a teenager. Having only been, what, 24 when she had the twins, it was far from a wonder that she did so. After the two babies were born Mariana had gone straight back to it almost on a daily basis.
And it only got worse after Ethan died. The Hernandez home (if you could even call it that) never didn’t smell of smoke and nicotine.
And it was very non-shockingly spread to the girl who was always around the doer. Which is why this always calmed her down from another suicidal episode.
Taylor took another drag and rested her head on her knees.
God, she would hate herself if anyone found out about this. Tyler would freak out, be so upset with her.
She looked back at the stars. “. . . Hey dad. Hope I’ll see you sooner than planned.” She announced to the empty world, a laugh following at the end.
Thump.
Taylor froze in place.
Behind the house was a rusty steel letter. It reached from the bottom of the house to the level Taylor was on.
Thump.
More kept coming.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Fuck.
Taylor wanted to pass, sure, but not by a fucking maniac murderer who had managed to find about a stupid latter!
THUM.
Taylor jolted her body around once heard feet his the shingles. She almost screamed before his vocal cords froze as she realized the maniac she was looking at.
“. . . Ben?!” The boy nodded and walked over while waving. He sat down next her.
He looked angry.
Rightfully so, of course. Taylor was smoking while underage when there was already a history of cancer in her family, if anything was going to kill her besides the phantom realm it’d either be suicide or this.
And he already didn’t want a dead girlfriend, much less did he want a dead Taylor.
Ben signed: “Why the fuck are you smoking?” “Uhhh . . . Are you mad?”
He just stared at her.
That very obviously meant yes.
But Ben just grabbed her face and pulled it closer, slowly though, allowing her to pull away when she could. She didn’t, and they kissed gently.
Didn’t throw away his anger though. Probably never would. It was more of a relaxer for him than anything else.
They pulled away from one another, and Ben stared at her again.
He pulled his hands away and signed: “That’s not an answer.” “So? Not like the real one is any better.” Ben sighed and looked down, mumbling what Taylor could only interpret as “Goddamit”. Sometimes the boy would say things under his breath, since usually the others couldn’t hear it and he could barely himself. Ashlyn only understood the words not the voice, so it was whatever to him.
He started again. “Are you okay? If you need to talk I am able to.” “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Just needed a breath.” “Ironic.” “I know, don’t remind me.”
Ben watched Taylor take another drag, turning her head away, making sure as to not blow the smoke in his face.
He reached out and grabbed her cigarette out of her mouth. “Ah! Ben, hey-“ Her face froze when, instead of putting the cigarette end to the shingles to make it go out, he put the orange end in his mouth. It had pink lipgloss that smelled of bubblegum on it, the scent applying to his lips with a mix of nicotine.
They stared at each other for a hot minute.
Ben chuckled a bit at her staring into his soul.
”What is it? Can only you do it?” He signed at her. “Yes,” she responded, much to his playful dismay. Taylor wrapped her arms around his waist, snuggling into him, her knees going between his legs and her head resting on his shoulder.
”God, I love you sometimes.” He tapped her back and she looked up at his hands. “Sometimes?” “You know what I meant.” He chuckled again.
Taylor smiled and nuzzled back into him. Ben rested his head on hers, interlocking their fingers, holding hands.
Out of tiredness, and the warmth of each other’s bodies, Ben let the cigarette fall out of his mouth and let itself out on the roof’s metal as he laid him and Taylors bodies down for rest, falling asleep under the stars.