It was nearly midnight when I heard back from Ben, but I was still on California time, so I was wide awake. Instead of texting back, he had chosen to call me, and the familiar ringtone quickly grabbed my attention.
"Hey, Kyla," Ben greeted me. Kyla was the screen name I had chosen for myself, preferring not to expose myself to strangers online. By the time I came to trust Ben, it was too late to tell him my real name. How would I have brought it up, anyway? 'By the way, I've been lying to you about my identity for years. My real name is Y/N.' Yeah, I don't think so.
Grabbing my phone from the floor, I flopped onto my bed. Its sheets were the one thing I had bothered to unpack all night, and only because I needed them to sleep on. "What's up?" I replied, a beat too late.
"You tell me," Ben said smoothly. "I heard you're in New York. Where are you staying?"
I had kept this information a secret from Ben, choosing to surprise him over the phone. Biting my lip, I said, "Guess."
"Hmm." I could hear him thinking. "Brooklyn? Or Manhattan," he guessed.
I shook my head, then realized that he couldn't see me over the phone, and went with a verbal response. "I'm in Queens," I said, unable to contain my excitement any longer.
"Holy shit! You're in Queens?" Ben's voice went from sleepy to animated in a matter of seconds. "Kyla, that's awesome! I can point out all the best places to eat, and shop, and get your hair cut... I wonder if my barber will take girls," he mused.
I had to laugh at his sudden enthusiasm. "Not to be a downer, but I think barbershops are exclusively for guys," I said. I was about to suggest meeting for lunch one day when my dad knocked on my door. Not bothering to wait for my go ahead, he pushed to the door open and poked his head into my room.
Hurriedly, I covered my phone's speaker and turned to face my dad. "Time for bed, Y/N," he said. "You've got a big day ahead of you, and I don't want you falling asleep on your first day of school." As he left and shut the door behind him, I groaned. In all the excitement of moving and talking with Ben, I had completely forgotten about school.
"I'm gonna have to call you back," I told Ben. "The dreaded first day of school is tomorrow."
Over the phone, Ben chuckled. "Good luck with that," he said. "Goodnight, Kyla. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Goodnight, Ben." Reluctantly, I pressed the 'end call' button and plugged my phone into a wall socket to charge overnight. "'Big day' my ass," I grumbled to myself, mimicking my dad's earlier words. "It's not like I haven't done this a million times before."
A/N: I want a friend like Ben *cries*
Hopefully you all like this chapter!
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Sweet Serendipity
Fanfiction[i'll probably never finish this but enjoy the parts that are up rn :)] Y/N Y/L/N has lived all over the U.S, but she never imagined she would end up in New York, the same state as her internet friend, Ben. Life in Queens isn't easy, but she has Ben...
