BEN Drowned x Reader

Part 13

Morning comes too soon. I get out of bed feeling like solidified gum that just got peeled from the bottom of a boot. Kate and Toby seem fine though, as they wake up bright and cheerful as ever.

We make a quick breakfast of eggs and bacon, then brush our teeth, grab our weapons, and go straight to the woods. Toby works with me on muscle building and swinging my bat, since it's similar to swinging a hatchet, and Kate works with me on agility and knife throwing.

I throw the knives to the tree, but none of them stick because I'm too distracted by my own thoughts of last night. I can't believe Ben and Serena went on a date. They just met! He hasn't done anything like that with me, so it's obviously not something he does platonically. That jerk doesn't deserve romance after what he said to me.

Last night, imagining Ben's face over the tree only seemed to mess me up, but today it makes me throw harder. I've hit the tree more than I've missed and, although none have stuck, I've been leaving dents in the wood.

I keep throwing, glaring at Ben's imaginary face and trying to hit the knife right between his eyes. Every miss just fuels my rage, and my rage just fuels my strength and speed. It doesn't help my aim, though. My throw is getting so strong tho that I find myself grunting occasionally from the force of my own arms. It helps that I tune everything else out. The only thing on my mind is Ben, Serena, and that tree.

I hit the knife onto imaginary Ben's forehead, then onto his chin, then his cheek, then his hair, but none of the knives stick. This isn't working. Aiming for Ben's face isn't enough fuel. What else could I imagine that could make me somehow angrier?

Serena.

That bitch.

I imagine her face instead, and suddenly everything else around me blurs out and fades to red. All I see is her face floating in front of the tree trunk, and when I throw the dagger, it lands right between her eyes...

...and it sticks.

"Woah, (y/n), you-you did it!" Toby cheers, running up to me and nudging my arm. Kate follows suite, giving me a friendly punch to the shoulder. They cause me to snap out of my tunnel vision and look at them, and I remind myself to smile at their cheering.

"I say it's time for lunch! Maybe we can go for a swim to cool down too!" Kate offers. I accept, grateful because I feel like I'm boiling. The hot sun, constant exercise, and my own anger have made my body temperature rise way too high for comfort.

We all strip to our underclothes and hop into the river, too tired to do much other than float.

"(Y/n), are you okay? You seem a bit off today," Kate asks.

"Yeah, I-I noticed too," Toby adds. Dangit, I didn't want them noticing.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just, uh, didn't sleep well last night, that's all," I lie. They both seem suspicious, but we drop the subject then and there.

Or so I thought.

When we get out of the water, set up a fire and eat some fish, Kate confronts me again.

"I know something's up. You seemed awfully angry when throwing your knives. What's wrong?" She asks. Toby stops too and looks at me expectantly. I sigh. I can't hide it from them.

"I got in a fight with Ben yesterday, and now he's running around with the new girl. I don't know why him being with the new girl bothers me so much, but I'm just really angry at him," I answer, almost feeling a little relieved to finally talk it out.

"W-why did you two fight yesterday? What happened?" Toby asks.

I replay the story for them, trying to recall word for word what both he and I said so I can tell the story as honestly as possible. After hearing everything, they both sit in silence for a while, thinking it over.