Once upon a time... (Weak Hero fanfiction)

Two side of the same coin

An hour as passed since Jake finished reading his story, and it has been a real success. "Ted, the blue cat" was welcolmed warmly by the children, making the young man proud of his incredible work.

The famous author was currently answering the never-ending questions of his littles fans, some of them being really interresting ones.

"So Ted is a good cat now ?", "Do you think that Grey could defeat the Witch Lord, using his cursed belt ?", "When I'm older, I'm gonna marry princess Alexandra !", "How come Eugenie could overcome his fear of chalk ?", "What does 'empathy’ means ?"...

Jake would've loved this moment to last forever. He felt at ease surrounded by these curious kids, looking at him like he was some kind of God. But good thing never last long enough, and the children had to sadly return home with their parents. He had promised them that he will eventually come back, if they wanted to.

Once all the kids were gone, Jake tidy up his stuff and turned to the bookseller to thank her for the invitation. But it wasn't the pretty woman that pleased his sight.

Ben was smiling at him, silently telling him to come by. Jake didn't knew if was because of his friendly behavior or his sparkling eyes, but he did as he was gently told.

- I would've never thought you were such an amazing author. To be honest, I used to think you were a moron unable to even make a coherent sentence.

Giggling lightly, Jake looked at Ben and say, half-amused half-serious.

- And what makes you think I can ?

The two men started laughing, like they always knew each other. A warm feeling embraced them, easing their stressed mind and calming their boucing heart.

- No but, seriously... Does anybody knows about this ? I mean, that you're Kim Tea ?

Jake, feeling weirdly comfortable with Ben, thought that he could finally talk to someone about his passion. And Ben seemed to really like his stories, making him even more happier than before.

- No one knows about this, not even my closest friends... Maybe Donald Na figured it out, 'cause Donald Na knows everything.

- But why, though ? You're so good at it !

Jake smiled at Ben, entertained by his obvious lack of understanding.

- Thanks you, but it's kinda embarrassing enough to write childbook without everyone knowing it, so imagine if they were to discover it...

– That’s just bullshit ! I’m sure your friends would love your stories too !

– Not everyone are like you, you know. I don’t feel like I can be comfortable about it with smart and mature people.

Ben silently listened to Jake explanation, ignoring the fact that he just called him an idiot. And looking closely at him, he could see how much he felt bad about lying to his friends. His bitter smile and the way he avoided any eye-contact with him proved that Jake was actually embarrassed about it.

Ben, being the easy-going man he was, decided to cheer up his rival, passing one arm around his shoulder like he would do with an actual friend.

– I’m sure that, someday, you’ll understand that you don’t have to hide anything from them. And when that day come, you’ll be an happier man. Believe me, I’ve got the greatest friends ever and, no matter what kind of stupid thing I do, they’re alway there to encourage me.

Jake finally looked at Ben, surprised by his comforting speech. He could feel his heartbeat slowy increasing and his eyes slightly watering, realizing that what he said was true.

No matter what happened in his life, his friends were always by his side. They laughed with him, fought alongside him, cried for him... Damn, they cared about him so much ! And here he was, doubting that they will still see him as their friends, just because of his passion... He wanted to make it right again. And he knew exactly how to do it.

– The warrior squirrel...

– Mmmh ?

Ben was staring at his idol, wondering what "The warrior squirrel" meant to him.

– It’s the only tale inspired by me. I’ve had trouble writing it because I didn’t knew what my friends thought of me but... Now I see it clearly, thanks to you. I’m going to finish this story and make them read it, that’s how I’m gonna told them about my fake identity.

The two men looked at each other, both excited by the whole situation. It was the best idea they ever had, that’s for sure ! And what could possibly go wrong ?

Feeling the sudden urge to write something amazing to impress his friends, he turned to Ben, smiling thankfully at him.

– Thank you, really. Talking with you was probably the better thing that happened in my whole life. It’s been so long since I felt this good.

– You don’t have to thank me ! I just wanted to help you out, that’s all !

Silence fell betwen them, as if they were patiently waiting for something to disrupt their peaceful moment.

– Hey, can I ask you something ?

Ben was answered by a slight nod, indicating that Jake was listening to him.

– You said that your stories were inspired by real life people, right ?

Jake once again nodded at him, not understanding where this conversation was going.

– So, I get that "Grey, the witch-hunter" is Gray Yeon, that "Ted, the blue cat" is Teddy Jin, or that "Poor Eugenie" is Eugene Gale...

Still confused by Ben strange behavior, Jake finally asked.

– Yeah, and what about that ?

– Does that mean "The impulsive princess and the friendly knight" are actually me and Alex ?

Jake suddenly drop to his knees, grabbing Ben leg and looking pleadingly into his rival eyes, screaming desperatly.

– Please, don’t tell Alex Go about it ! I don’t think he’ll be pleased to be a princess in a kids story ! And he looks scary as fuck when he’s angry, I can’t deal with that ! Please, I’m begging you !

– Ah ah ! I knew it ! I freaking knew it !

Ben looked so happy, knowing that Jake created a female character for his best friend. It was hilarious ! And a large amount of little boys wanted to marry princess Alexandra !
He was so going to black-mail him later...

– You look a little too happy about the fact that I see your friend as a cute princess, you know...

"Cute princess" ?

Ben couldn’t help it anymore... He was crying out of laughter, it was too much for him to handle. Jake looked amused at him, eventually giggling alongside what he wanted to call his new friend.

The end.