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 Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2016 5:58 pm
It was over a cup of coffee with the Landlady that Mrs. Ann Rhodes was first made aware of the young man who lived alone in their apartment building. Of course, due to privacy laws and what not, the Landlady couldn't divulge too much information but that wouldn't stop the middle aged woman from finding out just what was going on. It had been a long time since she put her investigating boots on and began to take notes about this kid who came in every now and then.
... She'd admit, it WAS a little overboard. But this was just a kid! A dear sweet child who seemed to be about the same age as her own little Benji. And she knew how SHE felt whenever her little baby came home all bruised and battered. Her heart simply broke at the very sight! Still... Her son refused to talk to her at all about anything he did; he constantly promised her 'it's NOT illegal, go away mom!' and then shut himself in his room. She trusted him enough to believe him, but... Just what was she to do?
And now there was this other young man, Ilian if his mailbox was to be believed, who just broke her heart more. From what she gathered, the young man lived alone. He worked hard at some burger joint not too far from here, and came home late sometimes... But he still seemed to find the time to play such lovely music. There were times when Ann would go downstairs for more coffee time with the Landlady and they could hear the young prodigy play outside. The soft music just drifted into the kitchen, it wasn't like Ann was trying THAT hard to be nosy!
In the end, her heart just couldn't take seeing the young one walk home alone any more! After seeing him one last night enter his apartment, battered and torn, Ann decided to finally show him some hospitality that she was SURE that he so desperately needed! And what better way to show him that she cared than with her home made Nacho Chicken Bake! All the delicious works of a chicken taco, topped with nacho cheese and olives. What young person WOULDN'T love such a delicious meal! Of course, she could NEVER go down there on her own. No no, she was far far FAR too shy (HA) of a woman to approach alone, but that's what her kids were for! Lucky for her, Benji needed a punishment anyway after sneaking out a few nights ago. She decided to let him off easy. 'Drop off this to the young man in the Last apartment on the first floor, and we'll call it even.'
"'Drop off this to the young man in the last apartment on the first floor' She says... 'We'll call it even ' She says.. Ugh..." Benji had slowly made his way from his cozy little apartment upstairs on the Fifth floor to the dark and danky apartments on the first floor. Why the hell did HE have to be part in his mom's freaking stalking thing. What did he care of some other little b*****d who lived here? But... He wouldn't lie, this was the easiest he'd ever gotten off with punishment in a long time. All he had to do was drop off this hot baking dish and then go back to his room, right? Piece of cake.
After juggling the dish in his arms for a bit, Benji knocked on the door in the dark hallway. If he was lucky, the kid wouldn't be here and he could eat the delicious smelling food himself.
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2016 7:05 pm
Living on your own wasn’t so horrible, especially when the alternative was so much worse. He would happily take living in a dumpy little apartment on his own (or rather, now with Lovely) than go back to the foster house. If it wasn’t for his brother, he would have run away from that hell hole of a place years ago.
So, living on his own wasn’t horrible. He still had a social worker checking in on him every few months, but as long as he was still being a law abiding citizen, they didn’t really seem to care and only checking in on him for formality.
Ilian got home not too long before he heard a knock on the door. Curiously, he shut the freezer door from where he was fishing out a bag of frozen peas for his swollen face. It had been a rough couple days, but thankfully he didn’t have work until the next day. He was also glad that his nose stopped bleeding, and it didn’t seem broken. He didn’t have a lot going for him, but he liked to think that he had a decent looking face, for whatever that was worth.
He opened the door shortly after the knock, staring down at the shorter teenager standing in front of his door. It looked like he was holding some kind of food dish, and just the smell was enough to make his stomach groan in protest, reminding him that he’d forgotten to eat anything since the night before.
“Uh… can I help you?” he eyed the other curiously, lifting the bag of peas to press against the side of his still swollen face. That’s what happened when you got kicked in the face with a soccer ball, and then got into a fist fight. His eye was a bit black and blue, and his cheek was turning a strange color, but, again, he was thankful nothing seemed broken.
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2016 7:13 pm
Benji had already considered turning around and leaving after the first 5 seconds and no response but of course the door did have to swing open. Before him stood a dude about his own age but standing taller than he did. Damn, just that alone instantly made him dislike the kid... Seeing the bag of peas pressed across the not so hideous face made him curious to ask what had happened. BUT he had a job to do first. Then he could comment on the beat down this kid got.
"Uh... Yeah, so, my mom is nosy as ********, and she noticed that you came home hurt a few times so far and that it didn't look like you had any fam that lived around here so she got worried. She figured 'oh, this kid could use some home cooking' and made a better dinner for you than she has in the past week for us. And yadda yadda, here I am. Delivery boy Benji here to give you this." He held out the hot dish he held with the provided oven mits on his hands, then made a face.
"You might not want to take this I guess. It's gonna burn you, and it looks like you're already kinda wrecked."
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2016 7:30 pm
Ilian stared at the teenager, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion at first, and then easing as he eyed the dish again. His mom? Cooked him something?
“Oh,” he said softly, his already tanned cheeks flushing. He wasn’t sure if he should be embarrassed that someone noticed that he was struggling from time to time, or flattered that she would go out of her way to make something for him.
“Uh… Benji, right?” he asked, still staring at the dish for a moment, before peeling the bag of peas off his face and placing it over his shoulder so he could take hold of the oven mits and handles of the not dish. “Ilian,” he introduced himself, although feeling a bit awkward about it, seeing as he was kind of looking like a hot mess.
“You can come in if you want,” he offered, taking a step back so he could head towards the tiny kitchen. “Or not,” he quickly added, not wanting the other to think he was insisting. He could stand at the door and wait for the mits if he wanted.
“Who’s your mom? I’d like to thank her,” he added, thinking he might have an idea, but wanted to be sure.
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2016 7:51 pm
Was this guy blushing? Really? Or was it just the redness from his face being nine sorts of messed up? Either way, it was kinda cute. His own constantly scowling face relaxed when he realized this guy was grateful for his mother's cooking. Sure, she could be a pain in the a** alot of the time, but he was still proud of her and what she could do.
"Yeah, Benji. I'd say nice to meet you, but I'm sure that you aren't feeling up to par right now, huh?" He took the invite into the small apartment and stepped inside, heading towards the kitchen in plain view. It really did look like maybe only one person lived here.. Curious.
"I know mom made this for you, but I'm sure you won't be too stingy not to share, right? She'll probably buy us pizza for dinner but heck, that stuff she baked right there is better than that. Ah, my mom? Yeah, her name is Ann, up on the Fifth floor. Annoying, but nice." Without asking, he pulled up a chair, making himself cozy and waiting for a plate.
"Soooooo, may I ask? What happened to your face? Mom said you come home like that alot."
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2016 8:08 pm
Ilian waited as Benji made his way into the apartment, and used his foot to close the door behind them. It was small, and he wouldn’t say it was cosy, but it was at least functional. Well, everything except for the king sized bed that Lovely insisted on getting because he didn’t want to be squished on a twin when they could just share a king and then be able to stretch out when Ilian wasn’t there.
He still wasn’t sure what to think about all that.
The living room consisted of a couch, coffee table, and television on a stand. Everything was obviously second hand, including the keyboard set up near the couch. The coffee table was littered with hand written sheet music, a pencil, and eraser. The kitchen had just a small table for two, and the basic essentials. Nothing was fancy, and there wasn’t many personal touches, either.
“Yeah, that’s fine,” he agreed, since Benji’s mom kind of did make it for him. He felt guilty especially when he said that they would just get pizza instead of a home cooked meal. The people in the complex were generally really kind to him, and he often got food from various people who knew he was on his own after his brother passed, but he never felt less grateful when someone did bring him something. It was better than noodles with butter, or peanut butter sandwiches.
Once he set the dish down, he dug out a couple plates and mismatched utensils that he’d purchased at the thrift store down the street. He pulled out a couple equally mismatched glasses and placed them on the table.
“There’s… bottled water in the fridge,” he offered, despite the water being Lovely’s. He would never notice. He didn’t mention not having much else. “Or… there’s hot tea, but…” That would be weird to have with hot food, right?
As for what happened to his face, he shrugged. “Some kid didn’t like me, I guess,” he offered, not really knowing how to get into the details. It was awkward enough without explaining that people were racist and bigoted and said and did horrible things. “Just another thug from Hillworth. One of my old classmates. Likes to joke and then gets mad when no one laughs.”
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2016 8:43 pm
After he sat down Benji took a moment to look everything over at once. Everything was worn and used, but not in the most awful of shape. It all vaguely reminded him of his sister's apartment when she tried to go live on her own when she attempted college. But if this kid really did just live on his own like his mom said, he was doing ******** fantastic for himself.
"Bottled water? Eh, I'll pass on that. The tap water is fine for me, as long as you got a bit of ice or something."
Benji was actually rather surprised when the dude just straight up told him what was wrong. Quick to admit what happened.. That was both refreshing AND curious! He just had to pry more, his mother would love this, and maybe she'd even let him get away with something else if he brought her juicy enough gossip material.
"Damn, really? Some shitty a*****e that was, I bet. I mean, I like a good fight every now and then, but there are some really dangerous assholes at Hillworth. Need me to ******** em' up for you?" ... It was probably pretty damn hilarious to have a shrimpy looking kid like Benji offer to fight for you, but his expression was dead serious. From what his mom told him, this kid didn't have it easy, and as much as he hated to admit it, he was more than a lot like his mom. If he could help, he would.
"Do you go there? I might not be able to go ahead and help right away then, since I'm over at HITS. Did my damned best to stay away from that hellhole."
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2016 9:01 pm
Tap water was fine with Ilian. In fact, that was what he planned on drinking, but he wanted to make sure the other kid knew his options. He didn’t often have people over in his apartment, but Lovely was at work and didn’t have to worry about him saying something rude or being a brat to Benji.
Ilian went to the freezer after placing the bag of peas on the counter, fishing out some ice for both of them and then filling the glasses from the tap. He placed the glasses on the table before grabbing the peas and placing them back against his face.
“I used to go to Hillworth,” he admitted with a shrug. “Nowhere else to go when people get paid for making you out to be a charity case. Me going to Hillworth gave the foster house I lived in more money than other places would have. Government payout or whatever.”
He took a seat with a groan, still achy from his fight, but not trying to make a big deal about it. It wasn’t a big deal, anyway. He got it worse from knights and senshi who were stronger than him, anyway. He hated it, but it was part of the job.
“Thanks, but I’m used to it,” he said, pushing the dish towards Benji to scoop some out first. He didn’t think it was hilarious for the other to be offering. Instead, he didn’t want Benji to waste his time on assholes that would never learn.
“I’ve seen your mom around before. She’s nice,” he added.
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Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 9:37 am
Yikes, the kid used to go there? Oh.. Wait... With a bit more explaining Benji began to understand why he was there. This kid didn't really look like he belonged there. From what he could tell he was a decent kid. The kinda kid people would beat up and take their lunch money from back in the day. Despite itching to ask questions right away, because honestly the system seemed so fake, he opted to listen, staring hard at Ilian while he moved about the kitchen, then took his seat.
"Man... That's rough buddy.. Sounds like you've been through hell and back more than once. And I take it you're about my age, right? I just turned 16
back in Jan." He leaned up while he spoke to grab a spoon and began to pile up a plate with the still steaming chicken dish and once he deemed it high enough, he placed the plate before Ilian, then proceeded to serve himself. It was for the other kid after all and Benji was just here to mooch.
"Honestly though, that's some bullshit. No one should be used to having the s**t knocked out of them," he muttered, plopping back down in his seat with a fork in his hand. "Maybe you should get some mace, or a knife. Stab the next ******** in the leg when he messes with you, or better yet, in the d**k. You need to make sure they know better than to mess with you. Calling the cops would be awful though, those bastards don't ever seem to help anyone without money or influence.. ******** bullshit that is.."
Sure, Benji didn't know the kid, but the longer he thought about some a*****e beating him up just for the hell of it, the more he bubbled and raged under his skin. Who the hell gave them the right to do whatever they wanted to some kid who just seemed to be trying to do the best for himself. Hadn't he been beat up enough?! Eh... They just met, maybe it wasn't in his best interest to pry to much. Before he realized it he was going to end up turning into his mother.
"Have you now?," Benji wondered outloud between bites. His mom worked your average school day, and always seemed to be home before he was, so this kid might have seen her every now and then. Then again.. She never was the most sneaky in her snoopings.
"Did you know she's a nurse? Maybe after you eat up you can come upstairs with me. She'll patch you up good. Maybe get a taste of what it's like to be smothered or something. But I warn you... She might not let you leave. Something about 'you're alone? no worries 'I'LL BE YOUR MOTHER NOW!' and shower you in food and presents. Your life will be an endless reign of ugly sweaters and gaining weight from eating too much..." Despite seeming unhappy about his mother's actions, he really, truly was proud of his mom. As smothering and as dumb as she could be sometimes. Seriously, the woman thought the carrots he was growing in his planter was marijuana for crying out loud! She was a nurse, you'd think she'd know those kinds of things!
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Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 4:31 pm
Ilian shrugged when he got sympathy from Benji, not thinking it was necessary. It was just part of life. He kept the bag of peas on his face as Benji filled a plate and then pushed it to him. He did snort softly in amusement when the other mentioned the idea of a knife or mace. If only he knew that he did have some knives, but he tried not to get civilians involved more than taking energy, if he could help it.
“I’m sixteen, too,” he admitted, eyeing the plate that was pushed towards him and trying not to look too desperate to eat. It wasn’t that he was starving, but he didn’t often have the best quality food. Of course, after the first few bites, it was difficult not to scarf the rest of it down as quickly as he could, although he was hindered by the heat and quickly drank some water to help lower the temperature in his mouth.
He glanced up warily about his mother being a nurse. There were a lot of things he didn’t really want someone to know about, especially when he got hurt, but he nodded to let him know that he would remember that.
“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind, but I’m okay for now,” he declined the offer, but appreciated it none the less. “Besides, aren’t you worried about the other guys?” he half joked, implying that he got off easy in the fight and the others got roughed up even worse than himself. That wasn’t the case, but it was somewhat funny to think. If only.
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Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 8:57 pm
"Cool Cool.. I don't actually know too many people my own age. There's the Botany club at school but I only ever show up for competitions or stuff like that just to say I'm better than them." Benji could definitely be vain at times and he took HUGE pride in his skills with plants. He vaguely wondered why he was a Senshi of Chocolate rather than some sort of plant thing, but eh. Whatever cosmic power out there granted them powers were stupid in the first place. To encourage the other to eat more, he quickly scarfed down his own plate, before going in for seconds. It was a huge 9x13 pan of food, really.
"I dunno, man. You don't seem all that tough. I guess it is kinda cool to imagine you wiping the floor with someone bigger. But if that IS the case, maybe you should take some points in defending. You can punch and kick like a champ, but what good does that do yah if they get in a punch good enough to knock you out? I know a thing or two about fighting, about boxing. I could totally teach you a thing or two. Or at the very least, how to bandage and patch yourself up. I come home beat up or battered all the time too. I even got this wicked eye problem. Some douchebag got me with a bat right to the face."
For emphasis, he pried open his left eye to show off the gross bloody mess it was. After he did so he instantly regretted it. They WERE eating after all. It would suck balls if the kid barfed it up everywhere. He quickly shut it after that, keeping only one eye open for the rest of the meal.
"Ehh.. I probably shouldn't have shown that off."
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Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 2:06 pm
Ilian tried to hold back a frown when Benji pointed out that he didn't look all that tough. Just because that was true didn't mean he had to like it. And as much as he was sure Benji was just offering help, Ilian could feel his pride being challenged, and he puffed up his chest a bit as he paused in shoveling food into his mouth.
"Hey, I can take care of myself," he insisted, no longer trying to hide his frown. He didn't say it harshly, more disappointed in himself than in Benji's suggestions, but it still made him feel like he was just as useless as others said he was.
Okay, it wasn't that others commented that he was useless as much as Jericho and Lovely insisted that he not go out on his own, because he was a hundred percent likely to get into trouble. Which, he supposed they had a point ever since he'd been kidnapped back in January.
When Benji showed him his eye, Ilian cringed and flinched back with a grown of disgust. He definitely didn't expect that and slowly placed his fork back onto the table.
"Does it hurt?" he asked softly, although no longer looking across the table at the other.
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Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 3:39 pm
"Oh, no doubt, you can take care of yourself! If what I hear is right, you live on your own don't you? Job and school and everything. I may have said it kinda rudely, I didn't mean to. I'm just saying.. Ehh, never mind. You are as tough as you think you are, and that includes knowing limits." Talk about putting your foot in your mouth. Benji was king of causing problems even when he was TRYING to be civil. Most of the time he didn't really give a damn about what the other person thought, but this time he was trying to make a friend. Haha.. Hahaha.. ********.
"Yeah.. It does. But it changes every now and then. Some nights it just kinda dully throbs, like after you stub your toe against a table. Other times it feels like I've been stabbed and someone's twisting it over and over again.. That was definitely a fight I was in over my head about, but.. Eh." Dammit, he was right.. The grossness of his eye did kinda kill the others appetite, didn't it? Well, it wasn't as if the food was going anywhere.. Still, he really did regret mentioning it when they weren't finished eating. Maybe it could be considered a lesson to the other. A lesson to not be a dumbass.
To overcome the awkwardness he set over them, Benji began to laugh at himself and shake his head.
"You should have seen me when this first happened! My depth perception was all sorts of off! I ran into so many doors and misstepped a buncha times. I've finally gotten used to it, after nearly a year."
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Posted: Wed May 04, 2016 10:03 am
The frown Ilian wore remained as Benji explained himself, but the disappointed look was never meant as a critique of the other. There were a lot of things Ilian wished he could do, or do better. Taking care of himself was something he could barely do, and it was probably only because Lovely stepped up and stayed with him while he was recovering that he managed to get back on his feet.
"I don't go to school anymore," he admitted, picking up his fork again to pick at the food left on his plate. "I couldn't stand Hillworth, and it's hard to pay for things without working more hours, so I took a test and passed to skip my last year. It helps a little, being emancipated already." It was a little awkward to explain, especially to someone who was used to having at least one parent around.
"It's not as cool as it sounds. My brother, Sorin, and I have been on our own since I was eight," he explained, and then paused with a grimace. "Well... until a week before I turned fifteen." Part of him was surprised that he had been that long already. Sometimes it felt like yesterday.
He glanced curiously up at Benji when he spoke abut his depth perception being off, but even though he was making jokes about it, losing sight in one eye seemed horrible.
"I hope it doesn't affect anything else. Like... having your dreams ruined," he mumbled somewhat bitterly. Not that it mattered any more, but he was pretty sure Sorin could have been famous had he still been able to play the piano fully after the accident that killed their parents.
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Posted: Sun May 15, 2016 8:46 pm
Benji resumed chewing thoughtfully while Ilian explained more. He was trying his very best to try to think of a way to make this whole situation a bit more cheerful again. The whole dealing with sad people or really awful situations were never really his thing, especially since he was generally not very good with people by default, what with his potty mouth and his refusal to listen to people most of the time. But this kid had had it so rough! But he was still going strong.
"Hey, hey, atleast you got your education, even if it was a pain in the a** right? And now you're free in a sense, even if it's stressful as ********."
He took but a moment to think quietly to himself about what he dreamed to do, and if his eye really did mean he couldn't achieve them.
"Dreams? Nah, I really don't have any dreams to fulfill. Nothing that can't be achieved on a day to day basis, anyway. Dreams of freedom from adults telling me what to do, sure. But something big, something actually adding meaning to my life or some s**t like that, none at all." It sounded a bit worse than it actually way, but it was the truth. He never really cared about what happened to him in the future. Sure he could do well in school like he was now, go off to some big fancy smancy college to learn something fancy to do with plants or something, but that wasn't really a dream. It was more of 'ehh, it'll happen or it won't, whatever.'
"If I think hard enough, maybe... A dream to be important to people on a personal level? A dream to be loved and to protect people from the harshness of the world. A dream to be the very best, like no one ever was?" He snorted audibly over the food at his own dumb joke, causing some of it to shoot down a wrong pipe and he coughed into his elbow, trying to expel it.
"s**t..."
After cleaning himself up (patting watery eyes, clearing his throat and generally making rather gross sounds as one does after choking), he calmed down, giving Ilian a half chuckle over the whole situation now.
"Are you all in the situation of that one musical? You know, 'I dreamed a dream of time gone bye when hope was high and life worth living?'. You're still young, dreams can be made and dashed again. It's life, really, and I think so far you've given life one hell of a run. You're still here and that's more than some other sad assholes have done. Make new dreams. And if you need help, ask. That's what friends do, right? And I'm all up for being friends if you are."
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