Chapter Text
"Man, I'm hungry"
Benny said to no one in particular. Him and a few others were sitting in a secluded corner of the campus, a little cove in the structure of the building with a few benches that gave them some shade. Poppy was on a nearby bench, eating out of a bag from some nearby cafe as she read with a bored expression on her face. She didn't respond. Elise sat on the ground with their back against a wall, furiously pressing buttons on some video game console and occasionally scarfing chips from the bag next to them. It didn't show any indication of paying attention.
"I said, MAN IM HUNGRY"
Benny complained, louder this time, and was rewarded with Maneki, who was sitting next to him, offering up a piece of sushi from the lunch they brought.
"Heheh, you're my savior!"
Benny ate the sushi like a starving dog while Maneki watched with a smile, and Poppy lifted her eyes from her book. She was good at pretending she wasn't paying attention, but her ears were always perked.
"God, don't you have a job? This is sad to watch."
Benny shrugged.
"I kinda just do whatever. Last week I tried being an Uber but I got complaints for being 'too fast', whatever that means."
"It probably means you were going too fast, dipshit."
Poppy said, irritated. She must be bored if she's already insulting him.
"No such thing!"
Benny retorted. Maneki smiled in amusement.
"Hey there's nothing funny about it!"
The conversation was cut off when Elise suddenly slammed their console down, their face contorted with rage.
"UGH!!! This game sucks!!!"
It leaned back and huffed in annoyance.
"Someone do something to entertain me, I'm bored!"
Ugh. Elise was a total brat who only got in through money, and on top of that they hung around Bones of all people. Benny hated being around him.
"Yeah, someone should liven things up around here. It's not as fun to tease you guys."
Poppy agreed.
"What, not as fun as with your other friends?"
Benny said, lightly teasing.
"Bold of you to assume you're my friend."
She replied dryly.
"But yeah. Vegas in one of their classes, Cobyn is teaching Sandbag gardening, and Eddie isn't responding which means he's either doing schoolwork or asleep."
She conceded.
"Wow, you've really got their schedules memorized, huh!?"
Elise grinned as it spoke. Poppy scrunched up her nose.
"Not my fault they all never stop talking about themselves."
She deflected. Benny smirked.
"Sure, likely story~ Wait, who's Eddie?"
He knew the others, but he'd never met an Eddie. Maneki tapped his shoulder and held up a fan with a little cartoon face of a man with hair covering one eye drawn on it.
"He looks dumb!"
Elise commented.
"We only started hanging out with him semi-recently, but it's fun to see him swirm."
Poppy explained. Benny raised an eyebrow.
"Oh is that so? I'd probably like him then!"
Surprisingly, she snorted.
"Yeah, that'd be quite the pairing."
She remarked with a sarcastic smirk.
"Maybe you could be good for him, since he's looking to get laid."
"Really?"
Maneki held up a fan with a big X drawn on it. Poppy smile dropped.
"Wow, way to call me out."
Benny laughed and Elise cackled obnoxiously. Poppys phone buzzed in her pocket and she took it out, tapping at the screen for a few moments before looking aside thoughtfully.
"Hey."
She finally said.
"Betcha 20 bucks you can't get a kiss from him."
"Eh??"
Benny said. Poppy and Elise did have a history of asking him to do stupid stuff for money, but Poppy had never brought up a bet like this before. Maneki held up a fan with question marks drawn on it.
"You heard me. I wanna see if you can get him to kiss you."
Elise perked up.
"Woah, now things are getting interesting!! I bet 20 too, make it 40!"
"What??? You both think I couldn't do that?? You're so confident that you'd bet money on it??"
"Yes"
"Yup!"
They replied in unison. Benny's mouth gaped. Had these two never gone to a party with him!?
"I can! I so can!! I'll do it easy!"
Poppys deviant smile was back now.
"Do it then. And no random suprise kisses, it's gotta be on the mouth and he's gotta want it."
"Its on. Kiss your cash goodbye, both of you!"
Benny declared.
Maneki shook their head, their brows furrowed in concern. Oh yeah, he might be the type to doubt the ethics of betting on another person's feelings. But hey, he wasn't the one getting offered 40 dollars for it.
"Ah, don't worry about it, Maneki! It's just a harmless bet."
Benny said. They held up their fan with Eddie drawn on it in response.
"Pshh, he'll be fine! I know your worried, but we're adults here!"
Maneki didn't seem convinced, but they didn't raise their fan again.
"Your deadline is by the end of the day!"
Elise proclaimed.
"Your deadline is by the end of the month."
Poppy corrected him, still typing on her phone.
"And keep me updated, I wanna see this train wreck happen."
"Hey, you don't know it'll be a trainwreck!!"
"Sure, sure."
She got up and patted off her legs.
"Now come on."
She walked ahead and gestured for Benny to follow. He sprung up and waved goodbye to Maneki before catching up to her.
"Where are we going?"
"To convince one of the others to buy you food. You don't have to thank me, I know."
----
You
Hey
Hey
I'm bored
Angry drunk
Sorry, I was asleep. I only woke up because Sandbag came back muttering and covered in dirt.
You
I take it his date went well then
Angry drunk
I get that you're saying that sarcastically, but it probably did. There's never a dull moment with those two.
You
Aww are you jealous of them?
Angry drunk
Why would I be?
You
Lmao
Angry drunk
I wasn't joking??
You
Exactly.
Speaking of dates...
Is his little brother still in town?
Angry drunk
I hope you know thats a very weird thing to ask if we're speaking of dates, but yes.
You
Perfect
Invite them both out to lunch with us
Angry drunk
Ok but why??
You
I've made you a new friend and I want you to meet in a group
Angry drunk
Who?
A friend of yours?
You
A redhead.
Oh and by the way, you can thank me later
Angry drunk
???
You
Meet us at Cupids in 15 minutes
----
Cupids was a tacky diner filled with heart decor and a stupid amount of pink, but it was near campus and the food was relatively cheap, so plenty of college students ended up going there. Despite that, it had been a few weeks since Benny had gone, probably because he had mostly been eating junk food as of late.
That was probably the reason he forgot Rook worked there.
She walked up to the booth him and Poppy sat in dressed in an ugly red waitress uniform and brought out her notepad.
"Welcome to Cupids, may I take your- Wait, Benny?? Did I not ban you??"
She wrinkled her nose at him in mild disgust and Benny rolled his eyes.
"You should get your memory checked."
He said sarcastically.
"Its not a big deal if I'm here."
"Urgh-!"
Rook but a hand to its chest in offense, but regained her composure and continued to speak through grated teeth.
"Very well, but keep in mind that we do not do tabs here, this a well run establishment so you must pay before exiting."
"Yeah, yeah, unclentch. Besides, I did come back and pay, didnt i? Anyway, we'll have a Coke and a..?"
"Lemonade."
Poppy piped up.
"Lemonade!"
Rook huffed and jotted the orders down on her notepad.
"Those will be right with you."
And with that she walked away.
"Man who put the stick up her ass?"
Benny muttered.
"Might've just been born with it. Its a debilitating condition, you know."
Poppy deadpanned. She still flipped through the menu next to him, uninterested gaze skimming the orders. Benny decided to pick up his own and look at the foods even though he already knew what he'd order. In the silence he decided to start a conversation.
"Soooooo, why did you even make this bet with me? It kinda happened really quickly earlier."
He asked.
Poppy shrugged.
"In one scenario I get 20 bucks, and in the other I get another person to hate you. Seems like a win-win."
"Hey, I resent that!"
Poppy didn't reply. Benny stared at her. She had that gloomy aura that drew people like him in for some reason, but unlike CD, you could never get a good reaction out of her. Still, the two of them were friends, at least in his mind.
His thoughts were cut off by the bell over the door ringing and a small group of people walking in. Benny recognized Sandbag, he had been to some of his boxing matches before and talked to him a couple times. The guy was nice, and had gorgeous muscles, but he always ended up freaking out about something. But he looked at the boy next to him with a softness Benny had never seen from him.
"Have I ever brought you here before, little man?"
He said. The kid next to him couldn't be that much younger than Benny, but he looked like a high schooler which meant he was in a totally different world. Now that Benny thought about it, Sandbag had actually shown him pictures of that kid before. Yeah, he was his brother!
"Nay, I think not!"
He replied, his voice chipper.
"In here it smells of grease and... perfume?"
"Yeah it always smells like that, you get used to it."
A man trailing slightly behind them both told him. That must be Eddie! Benny craned his neck over his shoulder to get a better look, but it was tricky from the angle he was at. All he could tell was that he had dark hair.
"Hey!"
He called out, waving his arm so the group would notice him. Poppy turned to the group as well.
"Get over here."
She said, her voice not raised at all. The group complied and shuffled into the seats across from them in the booth. The kid ended up in the seat pressed against the wall opposite of Poppy, Sandbag was in the middle, and Eddie sat across from Benny. Now that he was closer, Benny could get a better look at him.
Eddie was a sturdier guy with bags under his eyes. Well, eye, his hair was covering the other one. He looked completely worn out. Probably not the type of guy Benny would approach on his own, but who knows? Maybe he'd end up being fun.
I sure hope so, otherwise this month is gonna suck.
"You've never met Benny before, have you Sailor?"
Sandbag said to the kid. Benny raised an eyebrow but kept smiling.
"Your names Sailor?"
He asked.
"Aye! Ye got a problem with that?"
Sailor responded.
"Haha! Nah, don't worry, im not pickin a fight. I'm Benny. So you're the little brother I've heard to much about?"
"Ye have heard about me?"
"Well, y-yeah!"
Sandbag said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.
"I bring Sailor up here every now and then when I've saved up enough from my boxing matches. It's good for him to see some of the world outside of the docks."
"I'd call it a huge waste of money."
Poppy said.
"Hey, watch it!"
Sandbag told her, his voice cracking mid-sentence. Everyone at the table snickered, even Eddie gave an awkward but amused smile.
Oh right Eddie!
He had been sitting there the whole time watching everything, but he hadn't really talked yet.
"So..."
Oh, wait nevermind! He was talking now!
"Why did you ask us out to lunch again?"
"Benny's hungry and I don't feel like paying for him, plus boredom."
Poppy said.
"You do everything out of boredom."
"Maybe I wouldn't if things were less boring."
Eddie let out an aggravated sigh and turned to Benny.
"I'm Eddie by the way, I don't think we've met."
Benny stuck out a hand.
"Im Benny!"
Benny was going to pull away and yell 'too slow!" When Eddie reached for his hand, but he got distracted by his thoughts so Eddie ended up shaking it. But instead of letting him go, Benny held on.
"Hey we rhyme!"
He leaned in, pulling Eddie closer. Eddie leaned back slightly.
"Eh, I guess we do..."
"Well I don't like it, I wanna feel special. How about I call you Eds?"
"Sure."
Eds shifted uncomfortably and Benny let go of his hand with a laugh.
"Hey, aren't you trying to get me to pay for you?"
Eds snapped, annoyed.
"Yeah! Why, is it not working~? Aw man, i thought my face would be enough."
Benny pouted. Ed's smiled again. His eyes were so tired, but his smile seemed weirdly earnest. It made Benny lean in a little, watching him as he grabbed a menu from the far side of the table.
"Guess you'll have to try harder than that."
He said.
The soon group fell into miscellaneous chatter, looking through their menus until Rook came back. Her scowl was somehow even deeper than it had been before.
"Oh brother..."
Benny muttered.
"Hmph. Hello, brute."
Confusion washed over Benny. Who was she referring to??
"Hey, Rook.."
Eddie awkwardly replied, seeming to look just over her shoulder rather than at her. No way. What about Eddie of all people was brutish??
"Oh my! Mr. Edwyn Gates?"
A voice suddenly chirped from the stools at the front. With a swish of her skirt Cecilia appeared in front of the table wearing her cheeriest smile.
"Ah- hi Cecilia."
He responded. His expression didn't change much but his shoulders relaxed a little. Rook however, got even more tense.
"My lady?!"
She exclaimed.
"Hm? Is something the matter, Rook?"
Cecilia chimed, oblivious.
Rook stuttered for a moment before regaining her composure and leaning in to seemingly whisper something to Cecilia, but she talked in a voice still perfectly loud enough for the table to hear.
"Did you not hear about what happened last week? You shouldn't trouble yourselves with thugs such as these, my lady."
Cecilia eyes widened and she put a polite hand over her mouth.
"Oh, Is that what this is about? Why, you shouldn't worry about such baseless rumors! Mr. Gates here is a delight, I'm sure you two could be good friends."
Rooks face flushed with embarrassment and she stood up rigid as a board.
"R-right, yes! I would never doubt your judgment."
"Aaaaanyway, what're you doing here?"
Benny asked her. Cecilia was one of those people everyone knew. She volunteered at the library, so plenty of people met her there, but she also had a habit of being everywhere at once, even if it was a place you'd never expect her to be in. Benny had known her ever since college started.
"I was just visiting my dear Rook here at her workplace! She's quite the sweetheart you know, and she's always so focused on her duties!"
"Cecilia..."
Rook mumbled, blushing. Eugh, barf. Benny couldn't tell whether Rooks very obvious feelings were returned or not, and personally, he didn't care.
"What about you, Mr. Runaway?"
She asked.
"Runaway!? Hey, why that?!"
"Well Rook has told me all about your little escapades, running away before paying, leaving dates you bring to foot the bill... It seems fitting, no?"
Benny's mouth gaped.
"Is that so."
Eddie said dryly.
"Wow, someone call the doctor, this man has a bruised ego"
Poppy commented, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Hey, you stay out of this!"
Benny told her.
"Eh, maybe you could take our orders now? Sorry, I'm just hungry.."
Sandbag interrupted the conversation, and Rook snapped back into work mode.
"Ah, that's right! My apologies, what will you all be ordering today?"
One by one everyone listed their orders.
"Waffles and fries!"
Benny said when it was his turn. Rook nodded and soon walked away, leaving the group to talk amongst themselves.
"Why that?"
Eddie asked. Benny grinned.
"Its the perfect mix of salty and sweet! Plus, the best way to tell the quality of a diner is by seeing how good their waffles are."
"Uh huh. And how good are this places?"
"Surprisingly good!"
"That so?"
Eddie said. It was a question, but somehow it seemed like the end of the topic. Rook came back around with everyone's drinks and food soon after and the group continued to talk, this time with Cecilia joining in on the conversation. It was her first time meeting Sailor and she seemed pretty amused with his silly personality. Watching them interact made Benny think of an aunt doting on her young nephew. Actually, watching her interact with most of the table made him think of that.
"Hm, Benny, have you been eating well?"
She asked politey. Jesus Christ he was right.
"Yeah, I eat plenty, I'm just naturally snatched~"
"I don't doubt that much, but have you had balanced meals? Drinking enough water?"
Benny faltered. He had absolutely not had either of those things.
"Uhhhh..... Yeah! Totally! Jeez, Mom much?"
Cecilia gave a small giggle at his terrible attempt at a lie as he awkwardly sipped his soda and grasped for a way to change the topic. He snapped when he had thought of something.
"Hey Eds!"
"Yeah?"
Eddie asked cautiously.
"What were those 'baseless rumors' Cecilia mentioned earlier about?"
Eddie halted at the question for a second before continuing to eat, not looking at Benny.
"... I don't wanna talk about it."
Benny's curiosity only doubled at his avoidance, so he kept pushing, keeping his tone light.
"Oh cmooon! It can't be that bad-"
"Drop it."
Eddie interrupted, his voice low. His arms were tense, his jaw set, and he spoke through gritted teeth. His eyes looked dark. Benny was caught of guard by the sudden shift in tone, but he quickly backed off, wiping the grin off his face.
"Well you don't gotta be such a grump about it."
He said casually, but went back to eating silently. Eddie faltered, his eyes widening.
"Shit I'm sorry."
He said, and he looked genuinely guilty, but more than that, frustrated. With himself? The earnestly was almost cute.
I guess Rook had a reason to call him a brute.
"Hm. Well maybe I'll forgive you just this once if you pay for my food?"
Benny offered. He got the reaction he wanted, because Eddie quickly snapped back to the mildly annoyed expression he'd been wearing before.
"Seriously? I guess I can if you're that persistent about it."
"Woah, really!? Didn't think that would work!"
"Yeah, me neither."
He said quietly, taking a bite of his food. Benny dropped his smile and watched him as he did, taking in all the little details. The way his eyebrows furrowed, the way he hunched ever so slightly, he noticed all of it and tucked the useless information into a little corner of his mind.
But I don't think he is one.
He thought.
"I'm not even the one you're staring at and I want to tell you to stop."
Poppy said to him. Benny leaned back with a carefree grin and framed Eddie with his fingers.
"I'm just locked in on my target."
He said. Eddie looked up at him in confusion once he noticed.
"What are you doing?"
He asked, exasperated. Benny put his hands down.
"Nothin."