hate is a strong word (bxb)

4

Throughout second, third and fourth period, Ben can't manage to get Braxton out of his head. He was under his skin, really under his skin. He couldn't stop thinking about the last comment that was made about him. Was it really that obvious to other people that Ben was gay? He didn't want it to be, but clearly it was obvious to Braxton. And if it was obvious to him, how did other people perceive him? Despite being a self-absorbed asshole, he was somehow also observant and blunt. Ben had never met another person who was like that.

The good thing, Ben thought, was that he wouldn't have to deal with Braxton again until eighth period. Even during his eighth period class, he would probably be put in the back of the class where the empty seats were and Ben sat in the very front of the room—courtesy of alphabetical order. There was no way that Braxton was going to be able to annoy him from the complete opposite side of the room, no matter how hard he tried to.

It was fifth-period lunch now, and Braxton was stood awkwardly in the corner of the lunch-room, gazing around the room. For a moment, Benjamin considered inviting him over to sit with all of his friends, but his mind fought against his instincts. Though Benjamin was just complaining about how annoying Braxton was, he found himself wanting to help him out.

He just looked so awkward, so vulnerable. He had to do something about it, right? He figured that he was the only one in the room who had gotten to know Braxton so far.

But on the other hand, he was sure that if he didn't invite him over, it would fall to be someone else's responsibility. He was an attractive and charismatic kid, and someone like that would fit in easily. No, he had an obligation to help him out.

"I think that I'm going to ask him to sit with us," Ben told his entire table—of which consisted of Scar and a few other friends.

"Him?" A girl named Olivia motioned to Braxton.

She might have had a point in questioning it. Ben was never the type of person who would go out of his comfort zone to do things for another person. He was a routine person, but for whatever reason, he felt an obligation to switch things up for a boy who had proven to annoy the living hell out of him.

"Yeah?" he answered, questioningly.

"Ben, literally just the other day you were fighting with him," Scar noted, "are you seriously going to invite him over here?"

"You guys know each other?" Olivia continued to question, but everyone ignored it.

"I won't if you guys wouldn't want me to," he stated, "he just looks so lost."

"For the record, I'm not complaining if you invite him over here," Olivia states her opinion.

After receiving approval from everyone else, Ben made his way over to the other boy. An anxious feeling filled his stomach as he walked, and his legs began to feel wobbly, but he ignored the feeling. As Ben neared, Braxton looked at him with a curious glint in his eyes. It was like they were sparkling, almost. "Couldn't get enough of me?" he taunted.

"Don't make me regret coming over here," Ben warned him, "do you want to come sit with my friends and I? You kind of just look like a loser standing over here all alone."

"Loser? That's the vibe that you got from that? I think it gives off a hot, mysterious new boy kind of vibe," he smirked.

"You're delusional. Come on," he muttered, grabbing his arm and pulling him in the direction that his table was.

Everyone diverted their attention to Braxton as they sat down, and a small smile surfaces on his face. Ben figured that it must've been because he enjoyed the attention that he was receiving from everyone. Ben watched as Braxton looked around at everyone who was sitting there, and he was just waiting for Braxton to say something stupid or annoying.

"You're the boy from yesterday," Braxton stated in observation to Scar.

"Yeah, that would be me," he replied, shoving half of a twinkie in his mouth.

There's an awkward tension that filled the air for just one moment. Scar had nothing more to say to him about their encounter yesterday, and he didn't have much to say to him in general. But just as the silence came, it faded away at the sound of another girl from the table speaking up, "so, Braxton, right? How are you liking it here so far?"

"It's been interesting," he tells her, looking at Ben form the corner of his eye.

Ben didn't quite know how he was meant to take that. Was he alluding to Ben? Or had he just happened to see him out of the corner of his eye? There was something about it was just... odd.