Only If It's You (Ben Drowned Fanfic) [1st Place in Ben Drowned 2016]

Chapter Seven

Ben Drowned..? What kind of name is that? I thought as I shivered in the cold.

I sat outside a coffee shop at least a mile from my house. I sat at a table outside with my scarf pressed against my nose, the bitter cold chilling me to the bone. If not for the hot chocolate in my hand, I would have looked peculiar among the many adults around me. The kids around my age were supposed to be at school, despite the cold weather being out of the norm. But at least I was away from the house. That thing was still there...

I placed my drink down and turned to my reflection in the window.

Since yesterday, everything was beyond bizarre. The strange entity in my room was just... there. I could look at it now without having to worry about anything. He made me feel something inside myself that was since the accident, but at the same time, it reassured me that I wasn't crazy. At least a little bit. And the mural was still there. But the emotional drain from it all is starting to irk me. I felt more empty than usual, more susceptible to harming myself to the point that my brother was even more cautious around me this morning.

I just had to get out of that house. I needed to be alone to put my thoughts together. About my new 'gift', about my family. Even about Ben...

"E-Excuse me... Can you see me?" A voice suddenly said next to me. From the sound of it, it sounded like a woman. Maybe in her mid-twenties. "Talking to people would not seem to work. P-Please... I want to go home."

I clenched my drink and tried to keep a straight face, the sudden pressure overwhelming me. I had nearly forgotten that there were even more ghosts out here in the open. If I had known that going outside meant getting more problems, then I would have stayed home. Letting out a warm breath, I got up from my seat and drank the rest of my hot chocolate. I should make a note to myself to not stay in one place for too long.

As I sat up, I saw what she looked like in my peripheral vision. Her eyes were swollen from crying, and her head was gashed open. Like she was beat up with a blunt object. And the clothes she was wearing... it looked like she came straight out of the Titanic movie.

"P-Please..! D-Don't leave..!" The woman cried, breaking to a sob. "I-I need to see my baby!"

I pushed my purse up onto my shoulder, my eyes passing through her. None of her problems should matter to me. Her baby was probably long dead. Or maybe had a great grandchild. Either way, I could not help her. She was a lost cause.

I heard her sobbing as I walked away from the coffee shop. And I could not have cared less....

'''~~~~''''''~~~~~

On my way home, I stopped by a park that my dad had told me about before. It was small and old, almost abandoned. It only had one swing set, a small slide, and a broken down jungle gym. Yet kids seemed to flock around this place. There were so many kids that I felt almost certain that the parents there were starting to become wary of me.

I quickly sat down on a bench next to a little girl. She was playing on the ground and using the bench as a table for her. I ran my eyes across the playground and I inched a little further away so I would not bother her, but she did not seem to notice me. I inwardly shrugged and I watched as the little children played. It was pretty late, so a bunch of them were leaving.

As I sat there, I began recalling the events that occurred after meeting Ben.

"...'Drowned'?" I repeated in confusion.

Ben glanced up from his computer and nodded. "Yes. 'Drowned'. Do you need me to spell it for you?"

I frowned and faced him directly, his form sitting directly on my bed. If I had been the old me, I would have told him off. Or have told him to leave my room. But since I wasn't... I needed something to keep me entertained.