In The End》 The Umbrella Academy (Discontinued)

Twelve

Kayla couldn't back out now. She sat on top of a nearby tree, waiting. Sure, she could have just sat on a bench to make things easier. Except, there was that small doubt in her mind that told her to run away. Sloane said Kurt's in the city, so she should be using that time to find him. Not camouflaging herself in the shadows of the trees waiting for Ben.

"This is pointless," Kayla muttered to herself. "He's not gonna show."

Kayla rose and was about to poof away but she didn't when she saw Ben walking near the tree. She crouched down to hide herself. A bit shocked and surprised that Sloane's words were true. Her cat-like eyes were watching his every move.

"You know, I can feel your stare," Ben stated. "It's getting a bit creepy."

Kayla gasped as she was spotted. She sighed as she jumped down from the branch and landed behind Ben. "I didn't know one could feel a stare."

Ben rolled his eyes. "No one can actually feel a stare. I mean is...You know what, never mind. I'm not going to explain myself to you. In fact, why are you even here?"

"Why are you?" Kayla retorted.

"I'm taking a nightly stroll."

"Really, well, Miss Sloane has returned home to you. I assumed you wanted to spend time with your family or are you just going to plan another ambush?"

"Not this again," Ben muttered.

"Yes, this again."

"If I remember correctly, you were the one who left before we could finish this conversation."

"Then you'll be happy to hear, I'm leaving. For good."

Ben scoffed. "No, you're not."

Kayla tilted her head to the side. "And who are you to tell me what I can and can't do? Kurt is somewhere in this city and I'm gonna go look for him. Whatever the beef it is you have with the Umbrellas is just between them and your family. Leave me out of this because I'm done. With everything."

"You're not leaving to look for Kurt. You're running away."

"I'm not running away. Besides, I thought you would be ecstatic about my leaving."

"Oh, I'm happy you're leaving." Ben's words struck a core in Kayla's heart. "Then I don't have to deal with a mutant who doesn't know anything. As a matter of fact, you might get killed out there because you don't know shit about the real world. I wouldn't even bat an eye if you're gone."

"Oh, really?" Kayla questioned as she felt herself get angry. "I'm way more than happy to leave and not deal with the sorry excuse of the new Number One."

"Wow, is that supposed to sting? If your comebacks are this weak then good luck dealing with everyone out there."

"Oh, you want the comebacks? How about you go wipe them off your face after you finish jacking the off." She wasn't sure what it means. All she remembers is hearing it from Diego when he was yelling at Klaus.

"I seriously can't stand you, right now."

"Great, we can both agree on something. I can't stand you either."

"Where you always this difficult?!"

Kayla shook her head as she glared at him. "You're no picnic either, Ben."

"I hate you so much."

"And I hate you. I hate you. I hate you!" She kept punching Ben's chest with each sentence. But she realized the more she said it, the less it was true. Kayla found herself freezing as she gripped Ben's jacket. She felt tears about to come out of her eyes as her lips quivered. "I hate that I can't hate you. You're a terrible man, but  I found myself falling for you anyway. I love you, yet I hate you. And I hate myself for loving you."

It was Ben's turn to stay frozen. He wasn't entirely sure what to say. He never really thought of himself to feel some kind of way for anyone - ever. Yet, here comes a girl who dropped into his world, literally.

"You told me to kiss someone if I like them," Kayla breathed.

"Ok, and?" Ben wondered. He found himself glancing at her lips."If you're going to do it, just do it."

Kayla wasn't sure if he meant it that way. But she followed that small thumping in her chest and leaned forward. Her grip on Ben's jacket tightened as she placed her lips over his. She ignored that small nagging feeling going on in the back of her mind that was telling her to pull away. All she knew is that she was enjoying the moment she was having with Ben.

The kiss grew more heated as Ben slowly backed Kayla to the nearby tree. Her back hit the tree trunk. Ben tried to put as little distance as he can. Kayla found herself enjoying the kiss until she felt something wet against her lips. She let out a small shriek so Ben used that small opening to shove his tongue inside.

If Kayla was honest, she wasn't even sure if she was kissing him right. She tried to match his pace until she felt his mouth detach from hers. She wanted to know if something was wrong but stopped when he went to kiss her neck. Kayla's eyes rolled to the back of her head at the foreign feeling. She covered her mouth when she heard herself letting out a moan as Ben bit and began sucking on her neck.

"B - Ben," Kayla shuttered. She let out another shaky breath when she felt something poke against her. Her eyes widened in panic. "Wait, wait, wait."

Ben stopped when he finally realized what they were almost about to do. "Shit," he muttered as he pulled away.

"I'm sorry," Kayla breathed. "It's not you. I mean, I really love what was happening but..."

"We're at the freaking park," Ben stated.

Kayla nodded. "Yeah." Afraid of the answer, she asked, "Was it...bad?"

Ben looked at her confusingly. "What?"

"Our kiss? Was it bad?"

"Oh, man, you were serious about never kissing anyone."

"Yeah. I never lie about things like this." Her eyes widened as she went into full-on panic mode. "Silly question. Of course, it was bad. You've kissed a lot of girls before me. I'm probably on the bottom of the list. You know, how about I get going and we could just forget this conversation ever happened?"

Ben grabbed her arm before she could run. "Did I say you were a bad kisser?" he asked.

"No, but..."

"Everyone gets their first kiss and yours just so happens to be today. It's new so you think you were doing bad but you weren't. Actually caught me by surprise."

"Oh, then...we could forget about -"

Ben rolled his eyes before grabbing Kayla's face and smashing their lips together. "Will you stop saying that?" he asked once they pulled away. Kayla's face tinted while she nodded. "Good. You do know this means you can't leave, right?"

"Why not?"

"Because you can't just kiss me and leave," Ben explained in a duh tone. "I don't need your friends thinking we kidnapped you and have them breaking our doors down."

Kayla chuckled. "Ok, I won't leave until things settle here."

If only she knew what hell awaits for her back at the hotel.