It was chaos, shooting and yelling, Ben didn't know who was who, which side was which, it was mania. Over the course of the year or so since his accident Ben had learned how to shoot a gun, but he still hated shooting, he didn't want to hurt anyone good or bad. So, when a Russian boy who looked like he could be 13 had approached them on the road and then had his group ambush them and start shooting at them, Ben panicked and decided the only thing he could do was hide, he knew how to shoot a gun, actually using it was a whole other issue. He heard screaming, shooting for shotguns and more yelling, something that sounded like a muffled shot and then Luke letting out a startled gasp, oh god, ohgodohgodohgod, he had to get out there he had to- He ran a short ways before hiding behind a tree near the fighting group, just out of the way, but not so far that they wouldn't find him if they looked- he had to move- No, he couldn't, he had best stay here, if anyone approached him he would shoot them, but, if he could avoid shooting he was going to. Oh god he was so weak, he should be out there fighting, not cowering.
The cold mid-morning air stung at his nose and at his eyes which were now forming frightful tears in the them, this wasn't happening, this couldn't be happening, not again, he couldn't lose them again-. He was about to stand up when suddenly he turned his head to find- "you!" He said in a whisper-yell, his face more startled than enraged, it was the Russian boy, he had 'joined him' behind the tree that he was cowering behind. He raised his gun and pointed it at the other, not intending to shoot, but trying to intimidate the other.
Oh god, oh god, oh god.. Arvo's mind was racing a mile a second as he rushed to his sister's side, trying to avoid the crossfire in the mean time. He was just hiding with Vitali before, but his sister, oh g o d. Someone had shot her in the chest. There was blood bubbling up through the small gaps between her trembling fingers. She was trying to keep pressure on it, as if it'd help much.
She seemed to be shock or.. Something, she wasn't screaming, or crying, just looked.. Surprised, if anything. Like someone had just snuck up on her or jumped from around a corner. Arvo was was pretty sure that wasn't good. He took a look around before he got down on his knees, grabbing her hands to try and pry them away so he could look at the wound. Maybe he could help her someway, maybe it wasn't that bad! He had too, she h a d to live. She couldn't die-- oh god why wouldn't she just move her damn hands!? Every time Arvo tried to move his sister's hands, it just wouldn't work. her fingers would dig tighter in the fabric of her shirt, and would refuse to budge.
He didn't know why, maybe she didn't know it was him?
Maybe talking would help calm her down? Fuck, he didn't know!
" Natasha, я прямо здесь. Пожалуйста, просто двигайте руками! "
((Natasha, I'm right here. Please, just move your hands!))
Arvo said, the panic in his voice was pretty obvious, scaring his sister more then anything it seemed. Arvo finally managed to pry her hands away from the wound though which was good! Or well, it seemed to be. Arvo realized that Natasha didn't just have one injury. There were four small wounds scattered around her chest and shoulder. Shit, it was even worse then he thought, great! Though before he could even react or try to do anything, Natasha seemed to take a turn for the worse.
A bullet must've hit somewhere too close to her heart, and plus the loss of so much blood wasn't helping her case her. It was obvious that she was starting to slip, which caused the girl to panic when he noticed her vision starting to tunnel. Natasha start to thrash around despite her brother's efforts to get her to stay still. After a few moments she finally ended up giving up just ended up slipping into unconsciousness. That definitely wasn't good, Arvo knew that this time at least.
Arvo, of course, panicked when Natasha had gone limp on him, he quickly leaned forward and stuck his face near her mouth as he tilted it back. She wasn't breathing, or at least was breathing so shallow that he couldn't feel it which hes pretty sure is just as bad. Thank god for his high-school making him that class about Safety Measures. He wasn't even sure if that'd work at this point, but fuck if he wasn't going to try at least, he was pretty desperate at this point. Desperate and terrified summed it up pretty well. He completely forgot about everything else going on right behind him because of it. His head was pounding harshly, painfully. All he could smell was blood, and his ears were ringing so loud that he couldn't even hear the gunshots anymore.
Shit, shit, okay, how many times are you meant to pump someones chest? Thirty, right? Or was it Forty?-- Twenty? Whatever! Lets just go with Thirty and hope thats the correct way to do it.
One--
Two--
Three--
Four--
Fuck!-- There was a sudden loud and painful pop in his left ear, the surprise making him jump five feet in the air. He looked behind him, to see what that was, and yeah thats what he thought. Someone had taken a damn shot at him, it just barely went past his head and the sound must've hurt his ear or something. He'd worry about that later though.
The man that had taken the shot was now running towards him. Of course had Arvo panicked since he knew if they got a hold on him, they wouldn't hesitate to shoot him like he did his sister. Arvo looked back to his sister his face softened up again with sadness. He know he needed to just run away but he didn't want to leave his sister, leave her to die at the hands of this other group. His thoughts were suddenly cut off though, yet another bullet came whizzing past him. Apparently this guy wasn't the greatest shot, or was just kind of shaken up by this whole situation or something. Arvo whimpered under his breath as he looked over at his sister for the last time, mumbling quietly, " Мне очень жаль. "
before he just fumbled onto his feet as quick as he could and ran for it. He wasn't sure when to stop running, when it'd be okay too. He was too terrified to look behind him to see him if that man was following him or not.
So he just ran, ran and ran until he felt like he was at a somewhat safe distance away from everyone before quickly ducking behind a tree. Unfortunately for him, it seemed like this tree was already a hiding place for someone else. The teenaged boy that was with the other group before.
Fuck.
He skidded to a halt and just froze up place, knowing that, of course, they saw them and weren't too happy with them. It didn't help Arvo's fear that they were armed, and currently aiming it straight towards his chest. The intimidation tactic seemed to work pretty well on Arvo. Arvo looked terrified at this point, and was pretty obviously shaking. He looked towards the ground and put his hands level with his face to try and show he didn't want to hurt the other. Or couldn't, at least.
" P-P-Please, no, I-I no-- I no-- I no want hurt. P-Please--.. " Yeah even Arvo would admit he was a bit of a mess right now, he was terrified, trembling in his shoes, and dripping in his own sister's blood. Yeah, wasn't a good day for him it seemed.
" P-Please-- Please--- I am sorry-- I am sorry, I no hurt you. I no hurt you, I promise! Swear! "
Ben's 'composed' expression wavered for a moment at the panicked sounds that rose from the other, the dark haired boy honestly looked like he was scared to death- and- "Wh-Who's blood is that?" Ben asked, but he didn't really expect a response, the other it seemed was too panicked to pay attention to his words, and was more worried about the gun, and on top of that it seemed that he didn't speak English very well, judging from his broken English. Ben lowered his gun a few inches.
"Don't worry I uh- I don't want to hurt you," it was the truth, no matter what this guy had done, Ben didn't want to shoot anyone, even if this was the kind of world where you had to kill or be killed- but no, he couldn't show that he was 'weak', so he steadied his gun. "I don't want to hurt you," he repeated more assuredly, "b-but if you make a move or try and run I will shoot you." The words were so unlike himself, he never would have said that under normal circumstances, but this was not a normal circumstance.
For a few long moment the gunshots continued, and then after what seemed like forever, but could only have been two-three minutes, the sound of guns stopped, for a few seconds it was quiet, and then he heard what sounded like Clementine calling something. It was, she was whisper-calling, "Ben? Ben where are you."
Ben stood up, still aiming his gun (if a little shakily) at the other. "F-Follow me." He ordered, hating how his voice sounded when he tried to sound 'tough'. When the other moved Ben ushered him forward, keeping the gun pressed to his back, the feeling of guilt pressing at his stomach, he could just let the boy go, let him escape, tell the others he didn't know what had happened, but he had already gained, lost, and then regained the trust of Kenny, and he didn't want to risk losing it again.
"Be-" Clementines callings were cut short as she saw Ben and the other emerging from the forest. "There you are." Clem said a little louder, "and-" yet again her words were cut short as suddenly Kenny was in front of Ben and the dark haired boy. "You!" He snarled, and for a moment Ben thought he was yelling at him, that was until Kenny grabbed the other boy and pushed him, causing the other to fall. He looked as if he was going to beat the shit out of him and but then he pulled out his gun as if he was going to shoot him. Mike and Bonnie stood in front of Arvo, while Jane and Luke stood behind him, the baby cradled in Luke's arms.
"Step aside." Kenny ordered the others. Mike was the first one to speak up, "he's not a threat to us!" He said, defending the boy as Ben took a side stop to stand to the left side of the Russian teen. "He's defenseless," Bonnie interjected, agreeing with Mike on the fact that Kenny needed to calm down. "I said move." Kenny said, his teeth gritted.
The arguing continued, it seemed other than Jane and Kenny, everyone thought the dark haired boy was defenseless, and that there was no need to harm him.
After much fighting, Kenny finally snapped, and rushed forward as if to lunge at the stranger and kill him with his bare hands. At this Ben grabbed the boy, he might regret this, but he wouldn't let Kenny hurt anyone, he hated to see people get hurt. As he reached out and yanked at the other, attempting to pull him out of the way, a warmth spread through him, and the cold winter air didn't seem so cold.
Before he could even register what was happening the group went silent, and that's when he realized, both he and the teenagers chests, had started glowing. The silence was deafening, and it would have been awkward if everyone hadn't been so stunned. Then, Kenny decided to break the silence.
"Oh Jesus fucking Christ, of course, the shitheads 'soul-mates' with the Ruskie."
Arvo noticed the other boy's face soften up, did his pleads work? Was he not going to shoot him? He wasn't really sure at this point, but god he hoped so. It was pretty obvious the kid was still scared though, since when Ben lowered the gun, he flinched.
He flinched inwardly, tightly shutting his eyes like he was bracing for the shot. Which thankfully never came. He seemed to calm slightly, when he was reassured that he wasn't going to be hurt, probably because they noticed the flinch. Though that when he realized what they asked a few moments before that. A sentence that kind of just went in one ear and out the other due to the fear of being shot. The one about the still warm blood that was slowly dripped down his forearms from his hands.
He didn't even notice how much there was until they asked honestly. Oh god, it was even smeared across the front of his hoodie, how the hell did that even happen!? The whole thing was still dawning on him at this point, it had happened so fast. Though the realization came pretty fast after the other had asked that simple question.
He had left his sister. She was dead, oh god, she was d e a d. He left her, and Vitali, and Buricko and he just ran! He could hear Vitali shouting for him as he ran away, and the guilt was obviously starting to set in.
He could feel the panic bubbling up in his chest once more as he tried to take a few deep breaths to calm down. It seemed the other had taken notice to Arvo's reaction and quickly tried to reassure him again.
Eh, well. Sort of. Reassured with a side of a threat, I guess. He nodded after a few moments, agreeing to the others terms without really thinking about it. He was too busy being wrapped in his own thoughts, but he was sure it wasn't anything that bad, so.
Arvo didn't speak much after that, or talk for that matter. He knew as soon as those gunshots stopped, his group would be completely gone. His sister, Buricko, Vitali.. He didn't know why he was so sure about this, but he just had a bad feeling twisting in his gut. Soon enough, the sounds of guns came to a halt, and Arvo took a deep breath before sighing.
His eyes shut, that bad feeling becoming worse every passing second. He couldn't hear any of their voices. He guessed that he was right.
He was quickly pulled from his mourning when the boy he had been hiding with suddenly pushed on his back with the barrel of his gun. Ordering him to move, which he followed pretty quick, not having the will to try and disobey, so. He just kept his head down as he walked along, honestly he felt like he was marching to some sort of death sentence or something. He just knew they weren't going to be happy, and that lead to death a lot of the times nowadays.
He wasn't sure if he'd completely care though, I mean, not as if there anyone to care anymore.
Arvo flinched again when that man shouted, he immediately knew the yelling was meant for him, and honestly he expected it. I mean, his group did just attack theirs, its not like they had no reason to be angry. That doesn't mean he didn't get scared when the much bigger man grabbed his arm and shoved him over.
He was quick to shield his face with his arm, just incase any fists decided to come his way. He didn't even notice them pull out the gun, it would've been easy to kill him. Thankfully for Arvo, two of the people from this group decided that yeah, shooting the kid was a bit much. So, they tried to block the angry man from getting to him and tried to explain he wasn't a threat. Wasn't even armed it seemed like.
While everyone was brickering, Arvo slowly stumbled back onto his feet. He debated just running for it, running all the way back to the house and just hiding awhile. He wasn't sure if they'd just follow him though, or try to shoot him as he leaves. I mean, if he did run would they care much? Most of them seem to not think much of him, so I mean they wouldn't go after someone they don't think is a thre-- Oh fuck! Arvo swore he jumped about five feet in the air when the older man suddenly charged at him, trying to grab at him.
Though before he turn and run away from this whole situation, the boy from before had grabbed his arm to try and pull him out of the way. Arvo was grateful for the help, despite it kind of ruining his plan but.. A small warmth started to build up in his chest after the other grabbed him and soon after, spreaded over most of his body.
He was confused at first, was it just nerves from being scared or something? It was a nice feeling, it was all fuzzy and warm like a thick sweater or something but it didn't make any sense. It was freezing and snowing out here, he shouldn't feel warm randoml--
...
Oh. O h.
Arvo glanced down and.. Well fuck, yup, there was a soft glowy light coming from his chest. He was.. Confused, he almost didn't believe this, maybe it was just a fluke? He looked up at the other and yeah no, apparently it wasn't because there was a glow from him too. Well thats fucking awkward. He wasn't really sure how to react, or what to say, and the confusion showed on his face.
Also a little bit of embarrassment, but thats mostly because hes pretty sure that little girl in the back is giggling. He seemed as stunned and confused as everyone else though, he looked back down at the glow coming from his chest and tilted his head.
" I-I.. I-I.. What? "
" No no, that not be right.. What? " He said, his voice a lot more soft and quiet then it was before. He seemed to be more talking to himself then anybody else though.
Vantas: Ben was just as confused as the other boy seemed to be. This guy, was his soul-mate? Everyone knew about the glowing, that happened when you met your soul-mate, and how it was never wrong. Ben shook his head, no, it had to be wrong- he couldn't be soul-mates with this guy. Although, a part of him found himself wishing that he was his soul-mate, wouldn't it be great to not have to worry about that anymore? But then again, then he would have to start worrying about him dying and or worse, oh god this whole soul-mate business was shit.
Kenny once again decided to interrupt the silence, "I'm gonna' fucking kill him, I swear to god." He growled, then the others started fighting with him again. Bonnie with, "you can't kill him Kenny, especially not now." Mike with, "come on man, he's just a kid." Luke was too busy trying to shush the baby to say anything. And Jane was silent as she so often was.
At Kenny threats Ben found himself feeling protective, something he almost never felt. "Kenny you can't, come on just, think about it alright? Maybe he can help us?" He said, trying his best to defend his 'soul-mate', in case this wasn't a fluke and he really was destine to be with this guy. Kenny rolled his eyes, "Shut up Ben, I don't care if he is your-" He adopted an overly gushy feminine mocking voice, "soooooul mate, he could have gotten' us all fuckin' killed." "Yeah well, he didn't did he?" Mike offered. "Yeah but he could have." "But he didn't," Clementine chimed in, "and now his whole group including his sister, they're dead, he's not a threat, Kenny."
Ben looked over at her gratefully, out of everyone in this group, Clementine was the one who always stood up for him, and he was really thankful for that because if not for her Ben was sure Kenny would have killed him seven times over.
Kenny still looked like he was going to kill every one of them, seriously he needed to calm down, but no one saw that happening. "Move aside, I'm gonna shoot that asshole right in the fucking face." Kenny snarled, causing another fight to rise up everyone but Jane and Kenny defending the Russian teen.
While all the fighting happened, nobody noticed that there was an small groaning sound coming from the woods.
Almost 4 minutes later, while the fighting continued, Clementine finally rose her voice. "Guys! Look!" She said, as a few zombies started stumbling out of the woods. "We gotta get out of here." She said, her voice panicked.
At this Kenny shot a final glare at the two teens, then a glare at only the Russian, "Clementine’s right, let's get out of here, but we're tying him up." He said, keeping his eyes locked with the teens.
---------
sepiachord:
Arvo looked up when he heard the older man threaten to kill him again. Oh. Oh right, that was still a thing, wasn’t it? The angry shouting had finally pulled Arvo from his little confusion bubble though, so theres that at least. Arvo was really glad that most of these people were backing him up right now. The look on that man’s face gave him the impression that if they weren’t, he’d been dead already. Shot in the head most likely, with that pistol aimed right between his eyes and all.
The thought made him shiver, he didn’t want to think about that honestly, so he just tried to shake it off. It didn’t really work though, the image still in the back of his mind.
Arvo was grateful when the small girl chimed in, as the man’s face seemed to soften slightly when she spoke. It didn’t last long, but it was promising at least. He didn’t really think about his next action, but he actually spoke up as well. He just squeaked out, in a small voice, ” Yes, listen to nice small child! Please! ” though that seemed to just anger the man further.
" God, Kenny, thats just not needed, okay!? " Mike had piped up again as he and Bonnie stepped back, pushing Arvo back as well in a attempt to keep the kid safe. Away from Kenny’s grasp at least. Little did they know all their shouting, which felt like it went on for years, would cause some unwanted problems.
Walkers.
" Oh no.. " Arvo whispered as he felt his panic worsening as he looked around when Clementine brought up the walkers. They were all around them, slowly closing in on them, and if they waited much longer there wouldn’t be much of a way out, so.
How the hell did they not notice those before? Or at least not expect them after all that noise they made, and still were. Arvo didn’t argue much when he was told he was going to be tied up, anything to get the fuck away this situation honestly. He didn’t really feel like having his insides ripped out and to have a slow, painful death. Nope, not today!
He pretty much jutted his hands out, offering them when Kenny had come over to tie up his hands.
" Hey, you can tie the kid up all you want, but I would suggest hurrying the fuck up! " Jane said, as she took a few steps back as the walkers came closer. Trust me, once they got the kid tied up, they didn’t waste any damn time getting the fuck away from that area. After things had calmed down, when they no longer had to run away from certain death and all those fun things, Bonnie just sighed.
" Well, what now? " Bonnie asked, crossing her arms with a frown on her face. " Not sure if that whole town thing gonna work to well, the walkers are probably too close for it to safe, ya know. "
" ..U-Uhm.. " Arvo quietly butted in, though he did get kind of nervous when everyone suddenly stared at him. He just got an idea to maybe make these people trust him, or at least not want to kill him. He wasn’t sure if they’d agree with it though, mostly because of those two reasons. Fuck if he wasn’t going to try though.
" G.. Group.. Group.. Have house, near lake. Have stuff there, food. Is warm too, fireplace. " He was having a bit of problems with his English due to his nerves, but he was trying his best. " Is nice, could stay there until dead go away, yes? "
" Annnd why should we trust you abou’ that? " Kenny was the first to speak up about this. Of course.
"I don't think it's that bad of an idea, best case, the kids telling the truth and we'll have a place to stay, worst case, he's lying, and then what?" Mike said. "I'm pretty sure we got his whole group, it's not like he could plan an ambush or something." Bonnie said. At this Kenny pretty much stayed silent, not having much to say on the matter, aside from the passive aggressive remarks every once and a while he pretty much stayed silent.
"Lead the way kid," Mike said softly.
---
Hours later, after much walking they finally came to a building, which seemed to be a power station, a fence surrounded it and poles jutted out of the ground every few places, yeah, probably a power station. Ben leaned against a tree, his feet hurting from all the walking.
"Is that it?" Kenny said angrily, but Arvo didn't seen to notice his words, not at first. "Hey I'm talkin' to you." Kenny said, his voice even more irritated now. "W-what?" Arvo had muttered, turning to face them. "It? It what?" "What do you mean 'what?' The place you're fuckin' taking us!" Kenny barked at Arvo. "He doesn't speak much English." Jane noted.
"Arvo, that's not what you're taking us to, right?" Clementine asked, her voice gentler than any of the others. "How much further is the house you were talking about?" "Answer her goddammit." Kenny said, adding to the unnecessary anger he held.
"Is still more walk, some more hours." Arvo said blankly, at this Ben could feel himself grow tired, all this walking and all the stress of this soul-mate business, it was wearing at him. He could only imagine what Arvo was going though, after all he had lost today, including his sister. Ben shook away the thought, he couldn't be thinking about that right now, all that mattered right now was getting to a safe place.
Cutting his thoughts sort were the words Kenny now yelled, "goddammit, I knew this was gonna' happen. This guy fucked us." He said, pointed his gun-wielding hand in the direction of Arvo, only to lower it again. "It's gettin' dark, maybe we should stop for the night." Bonnie suggested. "This is bullshit." Kenny growled. "Relax." Jane said, you could hear the eye-roll in her voice. "Don't tell me to relax. He's lyin', he's been lyin' this whole time." "You don't know that." Mike interjected. "I know that we've been walking all day and we're still fuckin' nowhere."
"Luke needs a break." Clementine interrupted. "We probably all do." "Look, I'll do whatever you guys want, okay? But, I could use a rest." Luke said from his spot on a log where he was sitting. "It'd be safer to rest in there, where there's a fence." Clementine said, "can we just try and have a calm, quiet night? Please."
----
A little while later after Jane and Kenny left to check the power station to see if it was safe, everyone headed down to it, closing the gate, and starting a fire. They had tied Arvo up, much to everyone but Kenny and Jane's objection, but in the end he ended up being tied up, to a radio-station like antenna tower, away from the fire and away from everyone else.
Ben sat around the fire with everyone else, Bonnie, Mike and Luke were all making jokes and talking about sex and birthdays which confused Clementine much to everyone's amusement. Ben was mostly silent, he seemed to be silent a lot these days, after the accident when he fell from a roof and almost died, he didn't really speak much; unless it was directly aimed to him, he didn't add much to a conversation.
Every few seconds he kept sneaking glaces at Arvo, his head spinning every time he did, was this guy, the guy who barely even spoke English and almost got them all killed, really his soul mate? While lost in thought he hardly noticed when Mike nudged at him. "Let's talk about the elephant in the room huh? So, you found you 'soul-mate' today." Mike said, giving him a small smile. All eyes were on Ben now, it was making him uncomfortable. "Uh, yeah." He said, unsure of what to say, his face had lit up and he was avoiding direct eye contact with anyone. When he did look up he noticed Clementine was looking at him expectantly. "What do you want me to say? I guess I'm just as confused as you guys." "Why confused? Never thought you'd like a guy?" Luke tried to tease, but Ben just shook his head. "I'm uh..." He said then sighed, not wanting to finish his sentence. "Gay?" "No." Luke just rose an eyebrow. "Bi, a-actually, I think...I don't know. it's not really the uh...guy part that confuses me, it's just...Him?..." He didn't mean to sound insensitive or anything, he was just confused. "Yeah, I know man, it's confusing as all hell." Mike said with a shrug.
Ben couldn't stand the conversation's direction towards him, he felt like everyone was staring at him because they were but it still was freaking him out, he felt like his lungs were closing in on him, he had to leave the circle. So he stood up and walked away, and before he knew it he found himself in front of where Arvo was tied up, it took him a few seconds before he realized the other boy was crying, which made his stomach clench.
"H-Hey..." Ben said quietly, if this guy really was his soul-mate, then he guessed he should try and talk to him at least.
Arvo sighed under his breath as he walked into the power station, a cold gun muzzle still pressed into the small of his back by that older man. He was glad they found somewhere though, his leg was killing him at this point. It hurt and ached, and he just wanted to sit down. He hoped he would get to sit somewhere at least near-ish to the fire, but that obviously didn't end up the case. He didn't really fight much though, just a small mumble of, " But.. But cold.. " as Kenny led him away.
He just shut his mouth after that though, too terrified of the trigger happy man digging a gun into his back. He'd be lying if he didn't feel a little jealous of the rest of the group though, as he watched them build a very warm looking fire. Plus they didn't have to sit in a snow pile like he is right now.
Ugh. ___
Arvo's body shook as as the wind started to pick up again causing a harsh chill to rush over him from head to toe. He was starting to think he should've put up more of a fight earlier. His fingers were so cold he felt like they were going to fall off, he hoped he didn't get frost bite from this.
The worst part was he could hear them, drinking and laughing, all while being nice and warm around their dumb fire. He just tried to ignore it, tried to just fall asleep. This was kind of an uncomfortable way to sleep, since he had to sleep sitting up and having to lean his face on the side of a cold pole.
Hes had worse though, like hes slept in a very tiny car to the point he could barely move. Also a airplane where a there was a guy leaning his chair back all over him the whole time. Or in the dog pile he and his group used to call their bed. Which was just a air mattress they stuffed in the corner and all laid on. You wouldn't believe how many times Vitali or Buricko rolled over on him and crushed him, honestly.
So yeah, hes sure he can fall asleep like this, totally! He was already starting too hes pretty sure, his eyes were starting to fell heavy at least, and his vision was starting to darken a little-- oH FUCK PERSON HELLO. Arvo jumped when he heard a voice besides him, his first thought it was that angry man again, hence the fear. Though no, it was just that guy before. His soul mate or whatever, honestly he didn't even know his name at this point. He hasn't been paying attention, would it be awkward to ask?
He calmed slightly when he saw it was them, he felt much safer around them then anyone else honestly. Uhm, for some reason. He sniffled as he wiped some left over tears away on his jacket sleeve before he looked back up at them. He hoped he didn't notice that was crying before.
" Uhm.. " He wasn't really sure what to say honestly, so he kind of just..
Ben felt guilt and pity mingle in his stomach, god, he really didn't know how the others could do this. Leave Arvo(? Was that his name?) out in the cold, he found it kind of disgusting, god, he wanted to do something. "Hey." He repeated- what a stupid thing to say, now he was repeating himself, stupid stupid. He found himself staring at the binds that tied Arvo, a sudden inspiration hit him, "hey- so- uh..." This guy couldn't speak much English, how could he say this. "I-" He pointed to himself, "I am going to cut-" he make a cutting motion with his hands, "your binds-" He pointed to the ropes, "but don't uh-Don't run away-" He shook his head as he looked around, "or Kenny-" he pointed to where Kenny was standing, well away from them, "he's going to kill me." He hoped that all got across to Arvo, oh Jesus he hoped it did or he would be dead, he took his pocket knife out of his pocket and cut at the ropes until finally they came loose and then fell to the ground. "I'm..I'm Ben by the way, uh, you're Arvo? Right?"
Arvo could already feel his nerves spiking, though not out of fear as far as he could tell. He couldn't really put his finger on what was exactly causing it though. He wasn't much better at this though, so when Ben repeated himself he kind of just, " H-Hi? " He said, again. He had looked up again for a second, but was quick to break eye contact again, his eyes locking back onto the snowy ground below him.
He did sort of look up when Ben started talking again, he kept his head down but he side-eyed him so he could see what he was doing. He was glad that the other seemed to catch on that his English wasn't that great though, even if it did look a tiny bit silly. Its the though that counts he guessed.
Oh shit, what was he saying? He was too busy staring at him and watching the silly gestures he was doing. Fuck.
Though Arvo's thought process and confusion was cut short when the other took out a pocket knife. He didn't really hear anything he said, so he could've said that he was told to kill him or something, fuck he doesn't know! Arvo panicked, jerking away as Ben-- or whatever his name was-- came closer with knife in hand. He was going to put up more of a fight, but then he noticed that they were just cutting his ropes off.
Oh. He totally knew that. Yup. T o t a l y.
Arvo relaxed, his face flushing a deep red in embarrassment as the other just kept cutting at his ropes. He really hoped they didn't notice him freaking the fuck out then, they probably did though. Sigh. Arvo was glad to be out of those ropes though, he was starting to get a rope burn from the things honestly. He rubbed at his wrists once he was freed, he smiled some.
Well hey, this is the first time the guy has even hinted a smile this whole time, so thats something, right?
" Thank you.. Thank you.. " He said quietly, guessing it'd be bad for the others to hear. He was grateful, though the way Arvo showed this was a little awkward. He somehow thought it'd be a great idea to stand up and wrap his arms around the other, hugging them. That only really lasted a couple seconds before Arvo realized he probably shouldn't do that. So, he quickly pulled away and took a step back, nervously fumbling around with his own fingers.
" Oh uhm.. " Fuck he was blushing more, words man, words. Stop being a awkward bastard, okay?
" S-Sorry, was strange to hug, yes? I sorry, I sorry. No happen again. " Well, he hoped this guy wasn't like, freaked the fuck out now. Wouldn't blame him though. He deiceded to quickly change the subject though, " O-Oh, Yes, my name Arvo. Surprise remember that.. "
Ben was taken by surprise when Arvo hugged him, but when he did something seemed to stir inside him, nerves or something else but he decided to put it in the back of his mind, an issue to deal with later. When the other started apologizing he shook his head, "N-No it's...That was fine." He said, mentally smacking himself at his awkward phrasing. "Let's uh...Let's sit, so we don't draw attention." He said, taking insinuative and sitting down him, motioning Arvo to join him. When he had they were silent for a few moment, before Ben said, "I'm sorry...For how Kenny's treating you." He felt like he needed to apologize, even if he was not at fault he couldn't help but feel guilty, maybe if he had let Arvo run away when they first met like he had thought about, Arvo wouldn't be in this position, this was all so fucked up and he couldn't but feel like he was to blame.
" Oh.. Oh, uhm, O-Okay! Thank you for no find strange, I no do again though. " Well, at least the other didn't seem to hate him because he made that really awkward or something. He was glad, the guy seemed nice and he didn't already want to fuck it up. Wouldn't surprise him if he did though, he does that a lot nowadays it seems. He tried to push that to the back of his mind though, he'll probably have a cringe attack later when he remembers it again, but thats fine.
" O-Oh, O-Okay, sit is fine. " Arvo said, guessing that yeah, if they were stood up it'd be a lot more noticeable Arvo was free from his binds. He didn't want to get in more trouble then he already was, that or get the other in trouble as well. That man, Kenny he thinks, seems to not like Ben so much either.
Maybe he just has a thing with teenaged boys, fuck if he knows. Anyway, Arvo quickly sat back down, hoping that no-one had noticed him stood up and hugging the other, especially Kenny. He scared him. A lot. Arvo wasn't sure why, but when he sat down, he started to feel nervous again. Though not out of fear, like I said before. His stomach just felt.. Weird, he didn't really like the feeling honestly, he guessed it was nothing though and just tried to push it off. Thankfully, the other finally started talking, so hes just gonna focus on that.
" ... " He kind of felt bad when the other apologized. I mean, its not like hes the one thats been hitting him, or yelling at him. " No no, is okay. " He said, finally speaking up himself. " No worry. Is not like you are make him do the thing he does. " He said, trying his best to comfort the other despite his nerves and his not-so-great English. " You are very nice it seems so you no need to say sorry, I mean, you cut hands free and all so I mean. Yeah. "
" Thank you for that, by way. Ropes start to hurt bad, burn. " He said, lightly smiling as he held up his wrists to show the rope burn that the binds had left. He quickly just went back to itching at it though. " Isss.. Not very fun to be tied up long time I have decided. "
"No, I uh, didn't mind you can..do it again...if you...want?" He felt so awkward right now, oh my god how did that even come out so awkwardly, all he had been trying to say was he didn't mind the hugging, Jesus Christ, okay, moving on, he'd have to try and forget that ever happened, he could feel himself cringing at the memory already and it had happened like two seconds ago.
Ben looked at him sadly, still feeling guilty even after the others reassuring words, he didn't know what to say, he felt like he should apologize again but that seemed like a bad idea, so he stayed quiet for a second. Then his eyes flickered to Arvo's hands as he showed him the rope burn and yet again guilty but now guilt mingled with pity and this was a terrible feeling. "Y-Yeah man, no problem." He said as Arvo thanked him for freeing him. Then he smiled sadly for a moment, "yeah, I bet." He said, he was being careful with his words, he was trying to keep things short so the other could understand him better.
He kicked at the dirt for a moment, guilt still weighing heavily in his stomach, then he decided to ask what had been on his mind for a while, two questions actually, for now he would avoid the elephant in the room, save that for...later. "Again, I'm...so sorry for what's happened to you...Are you...okay?" He asked, the guy had just lost his group and sister, Ben assumed he'd either want to avoid the subject completely or talk about it, either one he was fine with.
Okay, Arvo would be lying if that didn't make him a bit flustred. I mean, he wouldn't mind that honestly, he was freezing and other looked pretty warm. He guessed that randomly cuddling up to a stranger would be pretty odd though, so he just shook his head slightly. " N-No is okay, though um, is okay if come closer? " He asked nervously, his voice shaking as he spoke. " I-Is cold, a-and would be warmer that way, y-yes? " He asked, before carefully scooting himself closer to the other, trying to figure out if it was alright or not. He didn't want to make the other uncomfortable, so.
Arvo sighed under his breath after he set his hands back in his lap, itching at the rope burn that was left on his wrists. It wasn't as bad as it could be, but it certainly wasn't pleasant. He was just glad to be free though, even if he knew it wasn't going to last long before someone noticed and put him right back into his binds. He tried to just not think about it though, it'd honestly just make him feel worse then he already does, so. " Yeah, is itchy and uncomfy. Not very nice. " He said, shaking his head, " Is okay though, no worry, again is not like you did it, so no feel bad okay?
Arvo didn't really mind the silence, he found it kind of nice if anything, since the day had been mostly filled with screaming and all. Though he did look up when the other clear their throat and spoke up again, asking if he was okay. He wasn't sure why, but it hit him kind of hard, it reminded of everything that happened before. He had tried to just repress it, but it didn't really work obviously. The small smile on his face disappeared, he sighed under his breath as well.
" ..I-I guess. Is not like there is much to do for it now. "
" ...I hope we find water that is no frozen soon though. I still have her blood on me, I no like it.. " He mentioned, his voice quietening when he did.
"O-Oh? Y-Yeah...yeah that's...that's fine." Ben said, his face turning scarlet, this was the natural response right? To become flustered? To have his entire face light up as the other requested to scoot next to him. When he did, Ben's face only became hotter; though he tried to not let it show too much.
"You shouldn't scratch your rope burn...I had a friend... she for a really bad burn and she scratched it a lot and it got infected and blistered." Ben said quietly, looking at Arvo's hands again as they began to scratch at the rope burn. Then he decided to stay silent for a moment, just letting everything be quiet, the only sound was those heard from the fire, it seemed they got Jane to go over and join them and she was talking about one thing or another that make Luke start awkwardly laughing, then cough, considering laughing with hurt ribs never did anyone much good.
Then he looked over at Arvo, again he felt the need to apologize, he felt sad, sad for Arvo, who had lost his sister, because damn, he knew what that was like. He was sure at this point that his sister was dead, he tried to not think about it as much as possible, but when stuff like this happened he could help but do so. "I'll find you some water soon, I swear." He said softly, then he looked over at him. It was freezing out, below zero judging by the snow, and Arvo had been out for an hour or more freezing cold, Ben thought for a second before asking, "want to wear my jacket? It's probably a lot warmer than yours." He offered, giving the other a small smile.
" T-Thank you. " He said sheepishly as he scooted closer to the other, and yeah, he did feel a little warmer now. I mean, it wasn't like he was totally warm now, but anything heat seems good when you've been freezing your ass off for like an hour. I mean, He still couldn't feel his fingers well, but he was sure that feeling would go away. Uh. Hopefully. He really didn't feel like getting frost bite.
Though at least Arvo's face felt a lot warmer, though I mean that was just because he was flustered and it made him blush. He just hoped that the other couldn't see it, that it was too dark or something. Yeah, hes just going to tell himself that to make him feel better because the blushing was kind of embarrassing in itself.
Arvo's itching immediately stopped when the other told him that story about the girl. His face twisted up in disgust and he quickly took his hand away from the burn. " Gross. " He mumbled under his breath, obviously not liking the sound of that I guess. He went quiet when the other did, not seeming to mind the silent much. I mean, he kind of a quiet person in general, so he was used to it. He did look up when he heard the laughter from around the fire, he couldn't hear what they were saying though. He then looked to Ben again, smiling slightly again.
" Those p-people, besides angry man, seem nice. Is nice to hear people laugh at least. I wish could met under other situation though. " He said, breaking the silence.
Arvo wasn't even talking to Ben at that point, he was more talking to himself. He forgot that Ben could even hear him, kind of just off in his own little world. He was quickly taken out of it when Ben said that he'd try and find him some water to help, honestly he just got a little embarrassed since he didn't even notice he was speaking aloud then. " O-Oh-- N-No, No, You should no have to worry, is okay. I-I was more talk to self there, is alright. " He said, his face quickly flushing redder and redder as he continued to talk. It got to the point he just, quickly looked to the ground again in the hopes the other hadn't noticed that as well.
They sat there in silence a few more moments, mostly because Arvo was too embarrassed to say much at that point. Though Ben must've noticed his shivering or something, because he then offered Arvo the jacket he was wearing, which did make him look up at least. The offer was tempting, the jacket the other was wearing did look a hell of a lot warmer then his, but.. Then he'd just feel bad since the other would be freezing. Maybe he'd just.. Take it if they insisted but if they didn't he'd leave it at that.
Yeah uh, lets go with that.
" O-Oh.. But that mean you be very cold, since also sitting over here. I no want to make you freeze either, so. "
Ben shook his head, "no really, it's fine. I don't get cold very easily." He lied, "plus... you look like you need it more than me." He reached over and grabbed Arvo's hand, "yeah, y-you're freezing." He said softly as he felt the freezing of Arvo's fingers. Then he became flustered, did he just grab Arvo's hands? Yes, yes he did. Most people wouldn't think too much of this but he instantly became extremely flustered and he dropped Arvo's hand. "Sorry, I-I shouldn't have- ah- sorry." He said, his face extremely red, too red to handle. "Just- here." He took off his jack and handed it to Arvo, crossing his arms and looking away, trying to hide how much he was blushing.
He couldn't help but think, would he be acting this same way if Arvo hadn't turned out to be his soul-mate? Would he still want to come over and talk to him, to sit with him and make sure he was warm and alright. Feel so flustered when touching his hand. His hand for god sake. It should not make him so flustered just to pick up Arvo's hand. God this was all just so confusing.
Arvo couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when the other had claimed that they didn't get cold easily, since uh, they seemed to be shivering already and they've only been over here like, what, five minutes or so? Though he guessed, like he had told himself a few moments before, that he'd take the jacket, since it was a very nice gesture even though Arvo felt bad taking it from the other, since they're obviously pretty cold as well. Honestly a little bit flustered as well, but uh, he was just going to ignore that, it isn't anything it must've just been a fluke, right? I mean he wouldn't really like, m i n d but still!--
That was when Ben had caught him a bit off guard, they had suddenly scooped up both his hands in theirs, and had starts gently rubbing at his fingers with their thumb. Arvo could feel his face heat with a blush as he had tried to talk, though all that really had come what a stuttered mess of ''Um''s & ''I-I..''s, since anything else just seemed to refuse to come out.
Ben must've noticed his reaction, since he was quick to drop his hands and apologize, which had made Arvo flush even more to be honest. Oh gosh, he didn't mean it like that, he hoped they didn't think he was super freaked out by it or something-- wait, why would he even care about that? I mean, he shouldn't, shouldn't he, if he didn't like him or whatever? Erm, whatever! He was still sure it was just a mistake, that whole soul mate thing, maybe it was just physiological, he wasn't sure. Sigh.
Anyway, he took the jacket from the other and quickly slipped it on, a small content hum following as, yeah, it was much warmer then his own rather thin hoodie. A small smile spread across his face a moment as he pulled his legs to his chest to pretty much hide himself away into the jacket, since he was small enough. Though thats when he remembered that, oh yeah, Ben was right there and looking at him still, so he got a bit nervous again, his eyes darting to floor as he finally said something.
" ..T-Thank you. " He mumbled, he paused a second to look up from the snow covered ground to Ben, and then back to ground yet again. He then scooted closer to the other, and had leaned his head onto Ben's shoulder after a few moments of hesitation, and he was quick this time to say something just encase the other had thought what he was doing was odd. " Uh, I think, if sit close enough and stuff, we share body heat, and it keep you somewhat warm too, yes? " He said. Totally nailed it.
Ben watched as Arvo pulled his legs up and curled up into the warmth of the jacket, and now his heart was beating extremely quickly and when Arvo smiled a little Ben felt extremely light headed and he could feel his stomach fluttering with butterflies. Jesus Christ this couldn't be happening, he wasn't even attracted to boys, or girls for that matter? He wasn't attracted to anyone now that he thought about it, and he had never had a crush before. He didn't know what this all meant.
He could see himself being in a relationship, kissing someone, cuddling with them- but, having sex? Making out with someone? Touching them?- all of that seemed so weird and disgusting to him. Even if Arvo was his soul-mate, and even if he did like him back, and even if they did start dating, this would raise a huge issue, because most people- well they wanted that kind of stuff, didn't they?
He had asked him mom about this before, and his dad. His mom had said that she had plenty of crushes before she met his dad, and his dad had said he had been with plenty of girls before his mom and that Ben was probably just too young and that's why he didn't have any crushes on people or want to sleep with them. Ben had taken their words on it but he was 19 now and he still didn't feel that way, he had never had a crush on anyone before Arvo (if this even was a crush, he didn't know.) And the thought of sex still appalled and scared him.
God what was wrong with him-
Then Arvo pulled him out of his thought.
Was Arvo asking to cuddle with him? The thought made the butterflies in Ben's stomach even stronger and his face continued to burn red. "Y-Yeah, sure, sounds like a good idea." Ben said as he scooted closer to Arvo, they were practically on top of each other at this point, but it was warm and it felt nice. Without thinking he lifted his arm and put it around Arvo's shoulder, pulling closer to him so they were nearly cheek to cheek. "...F-...for warmth."
Arvo would be straight out lying if he didn't admit he felt a little more then relieved when Ben seemed to not mind his gesture, or the closeness. He could feel a warm feeling fluttering in his chest again, and a smile had pretty much forced itself onto his face, him not really being able to fight it off. Yeah, he was still a bit flustered about all of this himself though, as his red face showed that, and what Ben had did in return didn't exactly help those matters. I mean, he didn't mind in the least bit he supposed but he wasn't exactly used to this, y'know?
When Ben had scooted closer, he couldn't help but giggle at the fact they were kinda just a big small of limbs since they were kinda just sitting each other at this point. He ended up getting a bit too ahead of himself, cuddling his face into Ben's cheek a moment. Though he was seemingly quick to catch himself, and tried to play it off as nothing, but Arvo being the worst liar in the existence of friggin' ever, it most likely wasn't that believable.
" Oh, uh, I'm sorry, I was uh, cracking neck, had uh, knot in it. Yeah. " God damn it, Arvo, really you couldn't come up with anything better? Anyway, moving on from Arvo's horrible skills of deception apparently, after that probably awkward as all hell moment he seemed to calm down yet again. He had rested his head onto Ben's shoulder again as his arm came to wrap around his, and all was just, really well in that moment. Arvo had actually started to doze off even since he was a bit more comfortable now, and his tiredness and had hit him like a pile of goddamn bricks honestly. He guessed Ben would understand, so.
Though that was when a loud, almost booming voice had jerked him awake again.
" WHAT THE F U C K ARE YOU TWO DOING!? " As soon as Arvo has processed what was going on, he pretty much just threw himself off Ben, and had scooted back until his back pressed on the fence. Though he was quick to mouth to Ben, '' C-Come here! ''. He looked up and saw a fuming Kenny rushing right over to him and Ben, oh god oh god oh god, why did he have to look over here!? He was quick to hide himself in Ben's jacket further, hiding his face away into his knees in fear of being hit once again. He had started shaking again, his panicked breaths being heard from within his little hiding spot, oh god oh god oh god.--
Ben took Arvo's word when he said it was just a knot in his neck that had, while he doubted that was the real cause of the cuddling he had done, he decided not to question it and just trust Arvo, he was tired, today had been a long- long day. Everything was quiet for a while and when he shifted his gaze to see Arvo was closing his eyes and about to fall asleep, he let out a deep breath and closed his eyes himself.
That's when a loud booming voice crashed Ben's unrealistic moment of peace. Kenny was screaming at them causing Arvo to become panicked and pull away, and it drew everyone's attention to them. Kenny was running at the now, he rushed forward and first went for Arvo, grabbing at the collar of Arvo's hoodie and pulling him up so he was now on his knees instead of curled into Ben's jacket. Then, still holding onto Arvo's shirt he turned to Ben.
"Ben, what the fuck do you think you're doing?" "L-Let go of him!" Ben said, his voice shaky, he didn't know what he was saying or thinking at this point, fear and adrenaline and fatigue was all he could feel. "Let him go? Are you serious?" Kenny said, pulling at Arvo's collar tighter now, nearly strangling him. "After what he's done- I don't give a fuck if he's you're god damn Soul-mate." Ben walked forward and grabbed Kenny's hand, weakly trying to pull him away from Arvo. "This is my f-fault, get away from him- leave him alone I was the one who-" "-Who untied him?" Kenny said, letting go of Arvo so he fell to the ground. "Yeah I figured-. He's in you're head boy! I know you're dumb but I didn't think you were that dumb- Can't you see he's using you just to get away."
Some of the other's rushed over now. Mike and Bonnie at the lead of the group, and Jane was right behind them. Luke looked on from the fire, obviously in too much pain to walk right now, even if he wanted to. "Leave them alone Kenny, the poor boy's have been through enough." Bonnie said, walking forward to push Kenny away from the two boy's.
Ben was kneeling next to the panicking Arvo, muttering reassurances, but in the back of his insecure mind Kenny's words dug like nails in his brain- no, Arvo wasn't using him, was he-? Fuck.
"Leave them alone?" Kenny interjected, "like hell I will! I'm just looking out for the group and you're all treating me like the bad guy." "You are beating up two kids." Jane said with a tone of indifference, but slight disgust. "Jesus Christ- Can't you see what's happening- you're all so wrapped up in-" "Kenny, leave them alone!" Clementine was there now, holding AJ in her arm's the look of worry plain on her face. "He's not doing anything! Just- leave them alone." She said, her voice stern.
That was it, Clementine was the only one who could ever get to Kenny. "Fine, but we're tying the asshole back up in the morning...Don't say I didn't warn you guys." He said angrily before walking away. Clementine followed and soon the other's left, all but Mike. Who walked over to Ben who was comforting the panicked Arvo. "Are you guy's alright?"
Ben was shaking, his arm's trembling and his word's too quick as he tried to help Arvo. "F-Fine- w-we-we're fine we just-- just need space." Mike walked away with a nod.
Ben put a hand on Arvo's shoulder. "A-Arvo a-are you alright- crap- I'm so s-s-so sorry."
Arvo had shut his eyes shut, trying to push himself even further back as he heard stomping footsteps getting louder, and coming right for him. Though obviously becasue of the fence, that didn't exactly do anything, and Kenny had snatched him up the collar soon after. Arvo had let out a choked sob as he was brought to his knees, forcing himself out of his little hiding place of safety inside Ben's jacket. He just stared up at the other with wide eyes, and first thing that he had blurted out was just, " I'm sorry! '' though as a habit and since he wasn't thinking straight in his panic, he had snapped back to Russian so he actually said, " Простите! ". But Kenny was to tighten his grip to choke him into silence, and he had quickly turn to Ben, and had started yelling at him.
Arvo, of course, couldn't say anything in that moment, but he wanted to try and make Kenny stop yelling at the other, because no it was his fault, not Ben's! So, he just started hitting at Kenny's leg to get him look back to him, and for a moment it did it seemed, but he was only given enough time to say " No!- " before he was back to being silenced. Though thank god for Ben, who had actually managed to make Kenny let go finally, but there Kenny meant, spewing more bullshit to be competely honest, but Arvo was too busy panicking since this whole ordeal had sent him into a panic attack to really say anything about it for now.
Plus the others had already come running over at that point, so its doubtful anyone would've noticed anyway. Arvo had sat there with his face hidden into his knees until Ben had came rushing over, since then Arvo had immediately clung to Ben, hiding his face away. If he wasn't freaking at in the moment, he probably wouldn't of and been flustered, but no fucks were given in that exact moment he just needed to hold onto someone.
He hadn't even noticed how long had past, and what the others had even said, everything sounded like it was super far away, and was all fuzzy. The only thing that was semi clear was Ben, so he tried his best to focus on him as he tried to calm his breathing some. By the time everything was "okay" and they had been left alone, Arvo still seemed a bit dazed when Ben had grabbed his shoulders and asked if he was okay. He looked around a moment before, after a pause, stuttered out a reply with a small sniffle.
" ..I, I am sorry, i should've.. I should've told no when go to cut free, i am sorry-- " He said, his eyes darting to floor as he fingers curled into the fabric of Ben's sleeve.
