Reaching Blindly chapter 2 (BENxJeff)

Chapter 2: Making the Headlines

    Jeff quietly approached the old house his friend BEN took residence in, noticing the front door hung ajar. He knew the little guy was taking the death of his longtime friend hard just from seeing the look on his face when he left the hospital. So, being the person he was, he decided to keep BEN company while he came to terms with everything.
    Closing the door behind him softly, Jeff slipped his shoes off at the doorstep, knowing the cyber ghost hated for dirt to be tracked on his floor and also to stay quiet. He crept through the halls, peeking surreptitiously in each room to find out which one BEN was hiding in. Finally, he spotted the small mass of albino curled up in his bed, and on closer inspection, saw the rusty tear tracks that ran down his cheeks. Jeff sighed softly, leaning down and thumbing away the other male's dried tears. He covered BEN up with a quilt and sat in the chair in the corner, feeling exhaustion and fatigue finally take it's toll; Nobody had told BEN who had saved him from the fire, surprisingly, but once Jeff had time to think about it, perhaps that was the better option. He didn't need any more to worry about.
    Feeling his eyes begin to cross, Jeff relaxed and fell into slumber, knowing BEN was safe as long as he was with him.

   Jeff woke up to see the small ghost still asleep in the bed at the other side of the room, occasionally muttering Silver’s name under his breath, but otherwise sleeping peacefully. Jeff got up and decided to make some breakfast; some decent food would be good for BEN. He went into the kitchen and saw the broken shards of glass smashed against the wall from the night before.
    ‘I wonder what BEN was thinking when he did this... maybe it would be better not ask questions,’ he thought to himself, picking up the pieces. ‘I’ll just move it before someone steps on it’. He mindlessly finished cleaning up, and looked in BEN's cupboards, grumbling under his breath when he couldn’t find anything. ‘I’ll have to go to the shop’, he glanced into the bedroom, ‘I won’t be long, after all. There's a shop around here, if memory serves me right’. He nodded wordlessly and set off.
    Although BEN lived in the outskirts of the UnderCity, it didn't take long for Jeff to reach the little convenience store nearby. He went through the doors and grabbed a basket, quickly walking down the aisles, looking for something to eat. ‘What does BEN even like anyway? All I've ever seen him eat are candy bars’, he rolled his eyes, ‘not exactly a proper breakfast.’ He grabbed some nearby pancakes and syrup, getting in line to pay. There was a small TV in the corner for people waiting in queue, and it was the news channel, a new reporter with vivid scarlet hair and matching crimson outfit started talking about a flood in a nearby town; there had been a lot of storms lately, and some areas had suffered a lot from it, but thankfully no one was hurt. Then the scene on the news show changed as a brunette news reporter with what appeared to be a clock as an eye was standing in front of a pile of ashes and smoke that was once a building. Jeff watched as the woman began retelling what had happened yesterday.
“A great loss was suffered by the Cyber-Pasta community yesterday evening with the loss of one Lost Silver, who perished in a fire from the building that once stood behind me, now pile of rubble and ash. The cause of the fire is unknown, but the police are investigating it as both an accident and arson, and we have footage of the famous and popular BEN Drowned when he arrived on the scene of the fire.” A clip of BEN rushing into the building was played, the reporter’s voice in the background. “BEN rushed in to save what many thought to be his closest ally, but was soon retrieved from the building by the Proxy Jeff the Killer and taken to hospital as he had collapsed. Fire fighters ran in to save Silver, but they couldn’t get to the room he was trapped in due to a fallen roof, blocking the hallway. The boy's body could not be found; but I think the question plaguing us all is this, ‘Why didn’t BEN save his best friend’s life?”
    There was silence in the store as everyone turned to look at Jeff. He returned their stares with an icy glare, silently replying that he wasn’t going to say anything. He paid and left before anyone could ask him anything as he ran home. It took an even shorter time to get home as it did to get to the store, pushing his limits to get his mind off the anger burning in the back of his mind.
    ‘That bitch, how could she blame BEN for this?! He tried, it wasn’t his fault! The last thing he needs now is a guilt trip.’ It made him furious to see how low some people would sink to get a headline that would sell. ‘Selfish bastards,’ he growled in his head and he entered BEN's house. He checked to see if BEN had woken yet, seeing him laying soundlessly on his bed he thought him still asleep. But he didn’t see the tears running down the albino's cheeks…or the knife hidden behind his arm.
    Jeff started cooking, and made a strong cup of coffee to calm his nerves. He had just finished when he heard stirring from BEN's room. He cautiously went in and sat next to BEN on the bed, failing to notice the knife on the bedside cupboard.
“I made some breakfast,” he said quietly, “you want some?” The boy's silent reply was just a slight nod of the head before he dragged himself out of bed and headed to the kitchen. They both sat down without a word, eating the pancakes, which seemed tasteless to both of them, but their minds were not on the food.

‘Dead, dead, Silver is dead,’ BEN repeated these words over and over in his head; he knew it wasn’t like him to dwell on something like this, but he couldn’t shake the feeling of guilt that came with the sadness over his friend’s death, ‘it’s all my fault. I wasn’t quick enough. I deserve to feel pain. Oh, Majora why couldn't it have been me?’ He forced another mouthful down his throat before resuming back to his depressing thoughts. Jeff, on the other hand, was thinking about something else.
    ‘How could that bitch say that about BEN?! It makes me sick to see what some people will do for a few minutes of fame. I never realized just how hard BEN worked. He watches over the entire world though the internet, and he's expected to be prefect,' Jeff sighed. ‘His best friend died and all they can think about is how he should have saved him, not how miserable he’s feeling now.’ He seethed with barely contained anger, he wanted to tear
the news crew apart, slice them wide open and choke them with their own intestines and make them regret saying what they did, but he knew BEN needed him more now. ‘Why am I even getting so upset? I shouldn’t care, not so much anyway.’
    They carried on eating quietly, until BEN pushed his plate away.
    “I’m not hungry, I’m gonna go watch TV,” with that he silently went to the living room and laid full length on the couch, flicking through the channels until he reached a replay of a certain news show. Jeff tried to hear what BEN was watching through the door, but could only catch a few words, ‘didn’t, save, best, friend.’ Jeff's eyes went wide as he realized what was on and he rushed in to turn it off. He watched with an unfamiliar pain in his chest as BEN curled up and began to shake violently, gaspy sobs leaving his lips.
    “BEN, don’t let them get to you,” Jeff pleaded as his friend shuffled away from his touch, an electric aura beginning to emanate from his small body so Jeff couldn't even begin to hope to touch him. He sighed and sat next to BEN, giving him time to calm down. Eventually the smaller male stopped crying, as if he had no tears left, and he unfurled, the aura dissipating, and sat up with his knees pressed against his chest, heads rested on them.
    It was just then Jeff heard a knock at the door. He knew it must've been his friends coming to check up on him. The killer managed to catch the other's eye, and BEN silently told Jeff he could let them in, giving a small nod. Jeff nodded back and went to let them in. Opening the door, the killer's gaze met Masky, Hoodie, and an unfamiliar face. Noticing Jeff's questioning look, the girl dipped her head.
    "Hello. My name is A5H3. I'm coming on the behalf of BEN's friend, S!3v3n." Jeff nodded and stepped to the side. They all nodded in return and came in without a word, sitting on the sofa beside the one BEN was on, never lifting their heads to meet the grieving male's eyes. There was an awkward silence as everyone contemplated what to say to break it. It was BEN, surprisingly, who finally spoke up.
    “Where’s Sally?” He whispered, not daring to speak any louder in the echoing room. Masky was the one who gave the quiet reply.
   “Still asleep, she had a rough night last night. She liked Silver a lot,” BEN nodded.
   “But how are you holding up?” Masky looked at him.
    “As well as can be expected,” BEN replied softly, and paused, noticing A5H3's presence. "A5H3. It's been a very long time. What brings you here?" Negativity laced in BEN's tone despite the situation. A5H3 sighed softly.
    "S!3v3n sent me. He's worried about you."
    "S!3v3n needs to mind his own damned business." BEN spat, making the girl flinch. Seeing her reaction, BEN's gaze softened. "I'm sorry, A5H3. I didn't mean to snap. Please, just tell S!3v3n I can handle myself just fine. And thank you... For the concern." BEN's crimson gaze sweeped over the three visitors. "But I think I want to be left alone, if you all wouldn’t mind. Could you please tell Sally not to come? This is probably not a good thing for her to see.” Hoodie nodded; he knew personally how clingy Sally could be. “Thanks, I’ll see you guys, whenever.”
   “Alright, BEN. See ya later, you too, Jeff. Oh, and Slender says the both of you are welcome to come back to the mansion whenever you see fit.” Jeff nodded and once the three left, he wrung his hands nervously.
   “Should I leave too?” He asked BEN. The albino  shook his head.
   “No, I-I want you to stay here, with me,” he leant against Jeff and finally gave into exhaustion from all the crying, nuzzling against Jeff. The killer, for what seemed the hundredth time that day, sighed, letting BEN rest on him. He looked out the window; rain was falling heavily now and he could hear thunder in the background. ‘Looks like we could be having another storm, better get some food. Never know if it could flood around here like that other city’. He looked at the small man. ‘I’m sure he’ll be fine for a little while, he’s asleep anyway.’ It took some effort, but he managed to pull himself out from under BEN and cover him with a quilt.
   He checked on the cyber boy one more time before heading out the door. He left in such a rush he didn’t hear BEN mumble one name under his breath.
   “Jeff…”