This Animal I've Become / ANNA

[james xavier rune]

Countless empty alcohol containers were on the coffee table in front of the couch, the place they came from was half empty now{and it is very large, was filled up completely}: Ben's dad's alcohol cabinet. By law the only one in the household who was really permitted to drink alcohol was John Rune, the father of the three boys, Ben, James and Zack. Obviously the older two always had their moments where they got into the cabinets lock combination and took just enough to get buzzed, but this, this was different. Benny's father was off on some business trip for about three weeks, little to Ben's memorization he would be returning that night.

As far as Ben was concerned, the only thing that was really important was relaxing and doing whatever the hell he wanted to do. Generally this wasn't that bad when he was indoors, but when he was so intoxicated it was still pretty bad. He blasted the television to the point that the stereos shook the floor, man, he really did love surround sound {and large speakers alone at that.} The shaking on the floor was so ridiculous that some pretty expensive and priceless valuables went crashing, the only other person around couldn't do much about it. Zack, being an autistic eight year old wasn't sure what to do, how to react, and what was wrong with his brother. He hid under the guest room bed, hoping Ben wouldn't go in there too.

Over the past three to two weeks Ben hadn't really talked to people much, if at all it was brief. Not even Anna or even Adam would he really make an effort to hang out with, be with, talk to and etc. as before stated it would be very brief. Basically, he isolated himself and ended up ditching a shit-ton amount of school. If he wasn't eating, watching football, IMing Adam/Anna, sleeping or 'attempting homework' then he was either hungover or wasted. So Anna had made plans to come over that night, obviously unaware that Ben was this intoxicated.

He sat down and watched the tv, the moving images were quite subtle, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. Letting out a cheer for every score his favorite hockey team got he sat back pretty relaxed on the couch, legs propped up beside him like he was laying sideways. Benny was satisfied and quiet for a while, then suddenly the sensational shaking of the floor -- that made him feel... imperious even, like it shook as he walked because he was that important -- abruptly came to a stop. He looked at the stereo and saw his little brother, James standing beside it. He had his hand over the volume notch, that itself said that he had been the one to turn off his parade.

"Why'd you do that?" The way he said it, the way he looked at James, and the way room was made James' stomach knot up. He looked up the stairs -- anywhere away from Ben was nice -- and responded with a pretty quiet and unsure tone, "The floor was shaking, everything was breaking, and ..."

[/color] He paused right there, somewhat afraid to go on. He had dared to look at Ben in mid sentence, the guy was fuming, and just something about him looked way out of control. Before he knew it, Ben was in front of him and swung his fist straight for his stomach.

Normally when Benny 'beat up' James, he didn't really hurt him. Okay, yeah, he did. He didn't go overboard though, just the standard shoves, punches, wrestling... wedgies here and there, it was a 'brother thing.' This was different though, his intentions seemed as though ones of a person who doesn't even know you. Who just wants to hurt you. "I didn't tell you to do that!" Kick, punch, the more he fought back the harder Ben tried. James always could stop it with a whiny little I'm calling dad, and a shove away but now? When he did it, Ben just got more mad{As if it were possible} It didn't take but a blow in the jaw area of all Ben's might to take James down, therefore making it a piece of cake to get him pinned down, in possibly the most weird position everywhere. James didn't even know his arm could bend that way... and now noticing the excruciating pain in his arm, he knew that it definitely was not supposed to.

He made this clear too by screaming louder and louder. The reason he screamed louder each time was because Ben pushed his arm down harder each time. The other hand dug into James' hair, getting a grasp on his head and shoving his face into the ground. His nose hit first, then his chin, and he was pretty sure Ben was either kneeing his back or punching it with a third arm. Either was entirely possible, the knee theory was more likely though. "Please stop,"[/color] His plead must have just provoked him further, because he was making sure that this arm would be broken at the end of this. James was entirely sure it already was, it could only get in worse condition now.

"Funny," Ben scoffed, in his eyes right now.. James wasn't even a person. He was just something to hurt. Something that annoyed him. Something that he wanted to see cry. Since when did 'something's have feelings? Apparently now, because saying 'someone' would mean referring to James as a person, and he just wasn't about to do that. He had no second thoughts about any of this, but later, he would probably be really angry with himself for doing so much damage. A little bruise was okay. A little shove was okay. Accidentally doing shit to him was okay. Bullying him around was okay. Breaking his arm and other damage...? That was not okay... He'll hate himself later. He'll be sorry. The question is will James forgive him?

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STATUS; finished
TAGGED; anna
WORDS; 1007
NOTES; can you say D R A M A ! ? !
CREDIT; JAX @ CAUTION 2.0
LYRICS; All-American Rejects - Dirty Little Secret

[annabel clarisse murphy]

--- forever could see us, not you and me, and ,.

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( YOU'D HELP ME OUT OF THE DARK )[/center]

Anna knew something must be wrong with Benny. One, she hadn't really talked to him. He's been distant... and it actually hurt her to think about it. He was pulling away from her, just as they were getting closer. They just start getting serious, and he becomes distant. Stuff like that hurts. A lot, Anna was beginning to learn. Sure, she was dealing with it. The way that Anna dealt with everything. Pretend like nothing was going on, nothing was wrong. Oddly enough, Benny isolating her out was even harder to mask her feelings over then anything and everything that's happened in her lifetime. It was like he was there one minute, swearing his love and loyalty, and the next he was gone, and completely ignoring her. Or, thats what it felt like to her. Every time she thought about him, missed him, it was like a fresh cut slashed across her skin, leaving her a little bit more vulnerable, leaving behind a searing pain that lasts too long for her liking. Basically, she hurt, a whole lot more then she thought she'd ever hurt.

Second reason would be that when she talked to him, he wasn't Benny. Well, he wasn't Anna's Benny. He wasn't the sweet, wonderful, amazing Benny that she was used to being around her. It was as if he had switched off that side of him, interchanging it with the Benny that everyone else seemed to know, but still just a bit more distant. With her. The girl that he had told I Love You to, The girl he was in a serious relationship with. It wasn't right, and it bugged her. Just another thing that hurt her, and every single time she felt that little stab of pain, she felt betrayed. He was supposed to make her feel safe, make her feel loved. But no, here he was, the man that had promised not to hurt her, being the only one hurting her. It was wrong on so many levels, and it made her want to scream. Throw a hissy fit. Burst into hysterical tears.

Anna was worried. About their relationship, about Benny himself. About how she would be if the pair ever broke it off. If HE ever broke it off, because this level of pain was showing her that they will never be able to break up and her still standing in the end. He'd prevail, and if he was just messing with her, playing with her emotions, then she knew he would win. She would fall if he broke it off. Her heart would shatter into a million pieces, and Anna was certain that without Benny, there wouldn't be Anna. It was an impossibility. A force against nature itself. Even in these past two weeks of distance, she was dying. Every thought, every memory caused her to miss him. Before, she wouldn't even hesitate to call him, text him, or just head right over to his place at these times. But now? She was uncertain. Sure, she wanted to head over, to see him, kiss him, hold him, but she found it impossible to carry out any of the said actions. Anna was afraid. Terrified, really. This was new to her, this fear. She was deathly afraid that Benny would leave her. That he didn't love her like he preached, that every little touch's warmth and adoration was fake, that every deep, meaningful look was a lie. The thought seemed like an impossibility to her - but then again, so had the way that Benny was currently treating her.

Basically, Anna missed Benny. Terribly. Which was why she finally grew the balls to call him, and announce that she was heading over on this Saturday evening. She knew that his dad had been out of town, but she wasn't really sure of when he'd be back. Probably soon, considering how long he's been gone. At this moment. Anna was driving down the road in her little Audi, singing along to some Kings of Leon. Her calming music. She'd certainly been listening to this playlist a lot the part three weeks. Owl City, Kings of Leon, Kill Paradise, then some songs that made her laugh just to throw her off. At this moment, all that Anna was thinking about was her hope that everything was alright. Everything would be alright. Benny's just been acting strange because his dad is out of town. He's adjusting to having a girlfriend still. He's not partying as much. Half of what Anna thought about now were possible excuses for Benny and his behavior. Sure, it wasn't right, making excuses for him. But it was what was making her sane. Anna was almost one hundred percent positive that she would be insane by this point if it weren't for these thoughts, oddly enough.

Finally, she was pulling up into the Rune driveway. This house was like her second home now. Or, it was, at least. Before two weeks ago, she was normally here nearly every night. At least daily. Her visits have declined, to say the least. For a few moments, Anna left the engine running and just sat in the car. Bracing herself, maybe. But she couldn't keep her eyes off of the house. It felt like ages since she was been sitting in this driveway, heading in to see her boyfriend. It was odd. Made her stomach turn a little, and suddenly, Anna had the feeling that she was going to be sick. She had also been getting this feeling a lot since Benny began ignoring her. Maybe internal, emotional pain was the one thing that made her nauseous. Her weakness. Her vulnerability was making her nauseous. Good thing that she'd gotten used to it, and had learned how to not actually throw up. But that didn't mean that the feeling went away. It normally stayed for hours at a time, and got worse before it got better. Crying and being nauseous at the same time was not a good combination, to say the least.

Now focused, Anna knew that she had to get inside the building. What happened to those balls that she had before? Apparently, they went away as soon as she hopped into the car. Cause she had them, but now... They were so far gone. The fear was back, full fledged. And it wasn't going away, wasn't backing down. With shaking hands, Anna shut off the car. The silence that followed was eerie, in a sense. The radio clicked off, and the only noise that Anna could hear was the click, click, of her keys dangling against one another. Taking in a deep breath, Anna grabbed her purse and opened up the door. Stepping out, she noticed that she wasn't wearing heels. She was wearing tennis shoes. Anna was just now realizing.. She looked like shit. Well, in her eyes. Yoga pants, some tee shirt of Benny's, her tennis shoes. Her hair was thrown up, a hand band holding back any random strands that had escaped. She looked worn out. Which is definitely something that she was.

Slamming the door behind her, Anna slowly made her way towards the front door. She walking in like it was her house, not even bothering with knocking. What was the point, anyhow? The second that she walked in, she heard something horrible. What it was, she wasn't sure at first. But then she heard James' scream pierce through the air, and just that was enough to have Anna drop her purse and come running. In just moments, she was in front of the two brothers. But this wasn't Benny. No, this was a monster. He had never done anything like this before. Generally, Benny was harmless. He didn't really want to hurt James, and he was always conscious of his actions. But this? No. Anna could tell by just one look at him that he was in a different world. This was a different Benny, and Anna didn't know when the other one would be back in.

Without even really thinking, Anna screamed out to Benny, "Get off of him!" Her voice was hysterical, even she could tell. "What are you doing?! Benny! Oh God, look at what you're doing to James!" she cried out before, running over to them, Anna grabbing hold of one of Benny's arms, attempting to tug him away.

tagged benny!
words 1398 notes yes i can. drama whores we are.
credit my alterations of reinvented love's template.

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[james xavier rune]

Get off of him! What are you doing?! Benny! Oh god, look at what you’re doing to James! Every word spoken was almost inaudible to Benny’s ears, as if they weren’t even being spoken. His main priority was what was seeming to look more like a person every time he hit it, him rather, but that didn’t lessen the violent activity. He really wished that James would just stop screaming, it was starting to annoy the Jesus out of him. A sudden idea struck him when the headache initiated… James couldn’t scream if he couldn’t breathe, right? Not thinking it over a second time Benny decided to go ahead and make that happen. He released James’ arm right as someone’s hand was on his arm, tugging at it as if they were trying to pull him away from what he was mentally referring to as his ‘punching bag.’



He didn’t know who it was that was trying to pull him away; he didn’t care about them though, not right now. They didn’t seem to be strong enough to really pull him away successfully; therefore he didn’t feel threatened in the least by them. It didn’t even occur to him that it might be Anna who was also in the same room as them. Ignoring every yank she gave, Benny managed to fight against her, using the free hand and some of the one being tugged on to flip James over.{This wasn’t hard, considering he was trying to flip himself over to get away too…}
When he went to hit James—not having the best aim as he might when sober—he missed him and hit the person tugging on his arm, his precious Anna. Luckily it was more of a smack—not that smacks were good but they were better than the punches James had gotten previously—but it still went straight across her sweet, delicate, cute little face… it was a shame that he felt no regret even when he saw it, not having much comprehension towards what he’d done.


He stopped right where he was; the one voice he could comprehend right now was his fathers. Why? That was simple- he was the most well known, and was practically screaming at Ben just by seeing the previous action. John was never this mad at his ‘sunshine boy’; it was just… against the laws of nature. John pulled Ben successfully away from his other son, looking frantically around for the youngest that was luckily nowhere near in sight. The last thing that poor little eight year old boy needed to see was this.



He and Ben were going back and forth for a few minutes about what he did to James, then what he did to Anna and so on. ”He deserved it!” Benny said nothing about Anna, only concentrated on one thing at a time. After a few snarky remarks and threats from his dad about punishment, Benny just went off the wall, ”No, no. I’m going.” Where? Ben didn’t know; he just knew he was going to get out and do what he wanted to do, not get yelled at. He ignored Johns ”if you go out that door you’ll regret it!”, doing exactly what was said that he would ‘regret.’ ”Kiss my ass,” He called back, slamming the door behind him.


You could see a mix of worry, anger, sadness, and panicky distress in John’s eyes. He wasn’t sure what to do, go after him, tend to James and Anna, look for Zack… being a single dad was really starting to kick him in the ass. Hoping to god Ben wouldn’t get in his{bens}car , he looked over at Anna and said ”Sweetie, are you okay? You know where the ice is… How hard did he hit you? – Can you, “ He motioned to James and hoped the message got through to help him if she could, flinching when he heard the car engine, ”I need to get him—“ He pointed out of the window and looked out it, seeing Ben backing out of the driveway.

STATUS; finished
TAGGED; anna
WORDS; 1007
NOTES; can you say D R A M A ! ? !
CREDIT; JAX @ CAUTION 2.0
LYRICS; All-American Rejects - Dirty Little Secret

[annabel clarisse murphy]

--- forever could see us, not you and me, and ,.

[/color][/size][/font]
( YOU'D HELP ME OUT OF THE DARK )[/center]

Anna had never even considered the notion that Benny would ever hit her. Never. It was an impossibility - he was far too protective, and even in the worst of times, he was always that way. Shitfaced drunk? Some guy touched her when he wasn't there? Well, he'd be there in two seconds flat. Pissed beyond belief at her? He'd forget about it, just to make sure that she was alright and safe. Which was why this was so surprising. So unbelievable. When his hand flew back, him struggling to get away from her, just wanting to cause as much pain on James as possible, Anna didn't see it coming. He must not realize that this was her... Otherwise, why would he have done it?

As soon as he made contact across her face, the pain shocked her. What just happened? Surely not what she was thinking. No way had Benny actually hit her, drunk and incoherent or not. It didn't happen. Anna told herself, it never happened. The entire past two or three weeks has just been one horrible, twisted, sick nightmare, and she's about to wake up. The worst just happened, one of her worst fears just happened right before her eyes, happened to her, in a dream. Because nothing else bad could happen to her. She's already been to hell and back, no way had her drunk boyfriend hit her. No, it didn't happen. Anna closed her eyes, fully prepared to be waking up in her or Benny's bed, cuddled tightly into his side. Ready for this nightmare to just end already.

But when she opened her eyes once again, realization struck her. It wasn't a dream. It had really happened. Benny was there, trying to get to James. James looked like he was in so much pain, so beaten down. Anna gasped, her hand flying to the side of her face, where the throbbing pain was radiating from. Benny had hit her. Tears sprung to her eyes, and she struggled for a breath. She backed up, getting as far away from him as she could. Once she hit the wall, her knees collapsed. He had hit her. Her eyes were swimming with tears, and her throat was making choking noises. Why did this hurt more then a smack normally would? She found it hard to breathe, too painful. The sobs were attempting to break through, but Anna couldn't find the will to let them through, and to allow that release. Had he really hit her? The searing pain, the clenching of her heart, and the struggled breathing told her what she needed to know.

One of her biggest fears was to be in an abusive relationship. Along with being raped again, it was at the top of the list. She couldn't subject herself to a relationship like that. How could she? But if Benny hit her again, she knew, she couldn't, wouldn't, leave him. Anna didn't have the willpower. And now, she was completely submissive to the boy that she loved. Another fear of hers. To not be able to stand up for herself, to anyone. With this subject... She couldn't stand up for herself if it meant being without Benny in her life the way he was meant to be.

As John entered, and Benny finally let go of James, Anna barely listened to anything that was going on around her. She was still shocked, her mind still processing, tears streaming down her face. She wasn't making any for of noises anymore, and she was still. Her hand glued to the side of her face, here eyes dripping from the tears, her knees brought up to her chest, as tightly as possible. Protecting herself, possibly. As the door slammed, Anna jumped, her eyes shooting towards the door, then over to John. As he spoke to her, she tried to focus on what he was saying. Was she alright? She didn't know, but she nodded anyways. Yes, she did know where the ice was. And how hard had he hit her? She didn't know, so she just shrugged.

Noticing that she would have to use vocals, she cleared her throat in an attempt to find her voice. "Uh, yeah, Yeah, I'll take care of things here," she assured him weakly, not even wanting to attempt to crack a smile. "You've gotta go and get B- ... him," Anna found it impossible to say his name, and she sheepishly looked back down to the ground to avoid John's gaze. removing her hand from her face, she placed it on the wall along with the other one, and pushed herself up onto shaky legs. Walking as confidently as she could, she headed into the kitchen for an icepack. Once she had it, she headed towards the bathroom, to see just how much damage there appeared to be. With her hand on the bathroom door, she took a deep breath. Did she really want to see this? No, not really, but she would as some point. Why not get the first time done and over with? Bracing herself mentally, she swung the door open, flicked the light on and turned to look in the mirror all within a couple seconds. She opened her eyes, and gasped. If she wasn't sure that he had hit her, she surely would be now. The entire left side of her face was red, and starting to swell. Wiping the tears out of her eyes, she placed the ice pack over the swelling gingerly before walking out to attempt to help James. John couldn't be gone for too long, so she really wasn't sure of what to do. For now, she decided that she would just try to put him on the couch. Reaching him, she started crying even harder. Dropping the icepack, she walked closer to him. Bending her knees so that she could squat next to him, she told him that she wanted to move him to the couch. She helped him up to his feet, and walked him over to the couch. Settling him in, she went back over to the icepack, picking it up before heading back over to the couch and sitting on the coffee table so that she was facing James. She put the icepack back up to her face, and struggled with what she should do next. Was there really anything she could do? No, not really, not until John got home.

tagged benny!
words 1074 notes yes i can. drama whores we are.
credit my alterations of reinvented love's template.

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[james xavier rune]

cause this is the real thing

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love changes everything *[/font]
( THIS IS THE NIGHT WHEN EVERY HEART'S EXPLODING! )
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John may not know everything about Anna and Benjamin’s relationship—actually, he didn’t know much at all—but he did know this: Ben was completely in love with her. He had seen him break multiple girl’s hearts, it was just his nature. Anna and he had been friends long before they even started dating, which told John that he must be really serious about this girl. Why? Ben never dated his ‘friends’ no matter how hot they were, and plus, he couldn’t recall him keeping a girlfriend for even this long. Other evidence of the boy’s love for her was clear by the way he looked at her, the way he spoke to her and most of all the way that he listened to her. Ben had always been John’s little boy, they always got along relatively nicely. In the last two years John’s noticed a bit of a distance between them though, Ben stopped even trying to listen to the majority of people, including him. Anna coming around seemed to John like the best thing that’s happened to Ben. Right now he wondered what possessed Ben to act like this, other than being obviously shitfaced. It angered him that Ben had gone against his drinking rules, and after taking in all this, John was one hundred percent sure that he’d be getting rid of all the alcohol in the household. “Alright sweetie… It might be awhile,”

[/color] It hurt him just to look at her and the fact that Ben had done that to her was still unbelievable. He looked over at James on the floor, he’d definitely need to come back for him, but he couldn’t risk it right now. Not wasting another minute he turned around and walked out the door, down the driveway and into his car.



James wasn’t sure where it hurt the most, his face, his ribs or his arm. His arm seemed to be in the worst condition, but regardless it all was pretty bad. His ribs had gotten the first few punches, and then his face got it pretty bad with a bloody nose, busted lip and swollen jaw area. The arm had just been forced into the strangest and most painful position ever; he struggled to get it in a place that didn’t hurt. Laying back on his back he held onto his upper arm with the free hand, trying his hardest not to let his eyes overflow with the tears that came streaming. He missed the entire scene of Benny hitting Anna, being so occupied into thanking god his older brother was off of him. Ben and James were closer than what they gave themselves credit for being, way closer actually. Sure, they didn’t really show much likeness for the other, but think about it—if they weren’t so close, would they be talking to each other at all? It goes without saying right now that James was frightened of his brother right now, whether or not things would be the same again after tonight was a mystery to him. He stopped trying so hard to conceal the tears and sobs that somewhat exploded out of his system, attempting to sit up on his own. He caught sight of his dad walking out of the door and then looked over at Anna approaching him; no one else seemed to be around. He listened to what she said about moving him to the couch, nodding shortly after comprehending it. He was careful and slow when standing up with her help, luckily they weren’t too far from the couch anyhow and he laid down pretty easily. Settling in fine he looked up at her, gasping a little when he saw the icepack. Had Ben…?



Jump into time: Benny’s driving down a busy road; the streetlights of the night have been seriously overwhelming him since he left his house’s road. Ben had no idea where he was headed, he just knew he needed to get away from the house, and this was what he was doing. As he speed down the road he started thinking multiple thoughts at once, some about how annoying horns are, and then when he thought back to what he did at the house he realized something. He had convinced himself that he meant to hurt James as much as he had, that he hadn’t done that much damage, that he just gave the kid a little bruise. That wasn’t it though: Anna’s face finally clicked into his mind as well as the picture of him smacking her. Suddenly more upset, he muttered things under his breath about how stupid he was, and soon talking to himself louder than most people should. He eventually lost control of the wheel; the last thing he heard before it went black was a loud honking of a car’s horn. Luckily for Ben, his car was pretty large and protected most of him. He didn’t crash into another car, nope; in fact he had crashed into a pole on the side of the road. The bad thing was that it knocked power out for a certain area, not his area, but the part of town he was in.



John had followed his car downtown, panicking every moment Ben got more into a dangerous area. There was no way he’d make it out of that car unharmed, as bad as it was to think like that, it was too true. He could have had a heart attack when he saw Ben’s car crash into the pole, luckily he was far enough back that he could pull to the side and get out of the car to approach the scene. He didn’t walk or jog; he ran forward and looked through the car window to see his oldest son knocked out at the wheel. He wasn’t bleeding anywhere but a little on his face, that was a good sign. Plus, the crash wasn’t bad enough that it could have caused too much damage, not at all. He knew he was hurt though, he could just feel it. John yanked out his phone to call the ambulance and police, reporting everything including the driving under the influence part. He went from worry to anger in just seconds after hearing the amount of money he’d need to pay for the crash, plus the fact Ben’s license would be suspended. Granted, the ambulance took care of Ben when they got there and went straight to the hospital from there. John got a ride in a cop car to the same place, in the ride he was filled in on several details and given the ticket to give to Ben when he was conscious. Obviously he would be the one to pay it but he was going to let Ben pay it off in grounding time, which was twice the time his license would be suspended.


Benny didn’t wake up for an hour or so while they were at the hospital, making it about three hours after he left, including time for the crash and all that jazz. He figured that they put the cast on while he was out cold and cleaned up the mark on his face too. He had a little bump on his head and a really big bruise on his side, plus what he assumed was a broken wrist. What really caught him off guard was the color of his cast, his least favorite color in the world, cotton candy pink. The guys at school would really enjoy that, wouldn’t they? Rolling his eyes he came out of the bathroom the hospital room offered, seeing his dad on his bed. He started wishing he were drunk still, just so he couldn’t hear the rambling he was about to hear. John stayed calm for the first few minutes, offering some aspirin for the headache that Ben gladly took. Over the past few hours he had taken care of the ticket and Ben’s license was officially suspended for 30 days. Ben prepared himself for the rant as


John got up and started out of the hospital room, following after him so they could go home. It didn’t start until they were in the car, backing out of the parking lot. “Ben, you’re grounded for two months. Don’t even try to argue with that, you really deserve way more than that… but I think you’ve been through enough tonight. Not as much as you’ve put everyone else through, but, I’ll be surprised if your girlfriend ever touches you again.” [/color]Him saying that reminded Ben of what he did to Anna, this time he was sober though, which made it so much worse. He held his forehead with his free hand, not saying a word to his dad, mainly because he knew there was more in his speech to come. The pause was just to give him a minute to feel like the shit he should feel like. “Oh, and I’m not even done costing a fortune on your damage tonight, do you not know what you did to your brother?” [/color]Ben was guilty of not really remembering that part, so he shrugged when John looked at him expectantly.


“I guess you’ll just have to see then.” Ben kept his silence as they pulled into the driveway, surprising John at how fast he got out of the car. His shirt wasn’t even on, he was pretty sure he had forgotten that… but he figured his dad would get it on his round two there anyway. When he opened the door he saw James and Anna on the couch together, watching movies. His jaw dropped a little when he met eye contact with James, shit, that really wasn’t just a little bruise was it? His jaw was swollen, he was holding a tissue to his nose for the blood, and his lip was busted. His arm looked really weird; he assumed that was broken... And overall, he was beaten to the bone. Scared to look over just a little, he hesitated to look at Anna. Her damage wasn’t half as bad, but it was still there. He didn’t say anything and let John come forward past him; he didn’t really want to talk to Anna with James and John in the room.


John came over and sat beside James, putting a hand on his head and looked over him to Anna, “Hey kiddos… sorry for the wait,”[/color] He said, smiling sheepishly and looking at the television for a second. The Lion King was just at the end of the movie, which was really cute, considering he could never see past James’ weird exterior to ever guess he’d watch something like that. He ruffled his hair not too roughly, looking more at Anna again, “Thanks for keeping an eye on him for so long…” He told her and played with Jamie’s hair, deciding it’d be best to take him to the doctors now. He didn’t even bother to see if James could walk, he just picked him up and held him so that he was somewhat on his side. Feeling pretty kiddish, James didn’t really complain and held on as tight as he could, in a way that didn’t hurt too much.


James clung to John’s side, expecting to go out the door but John decided on going up the stairs first to see if Zack was alright. Meanwhile, downstairs Ben stood against the wall, avoiding gazes with Anna. He couldn’t help but crack a smile when he heard John and James’ conversation up the stairs; as if the sight of his sixteen year old brother being carried up stairs weren’t funny enough. “I really expected this to be more of a challenge,” John would say. James replied, “I’m under 130 pounds…” but that was the end of it. The smile he had washed away when he looked at Anna, as happy as he was to see her… he was not happy to see her hurt, and especially hurt by him. He was about to come forward and say something, but then John, James and Zack came down the stairs. James was on John’s shoulders now—he assumed for better comfort—and Zack held John’s hand. John approached the door, but faced Anna for a second there, “…I hope you don’t mind watching him until I get back, you know the number if... Anything happens.” With that, John opened the door and ducked through the door so it didn’t hit James on the way out. Zack closed the door, waving at Anna, but sticking his tongue out at Ben and making noises. The joys of eight year olds. “Poopiehead!”[/color] He slammed the door, leaving Anna and Ben officially alone in a large house.


“…I’m so sorry.” He couldn’t get near her. He was scared he’d hurt her again. Ben stayed a safe distance away, not planning on getting any closer unless she wanted him to. “I’m so sorry.” He said it more than twice after the second time, which itself said he was sorry… but he knew just saying it was not enough. He still had to say it though, as well as make up for it in other ways as well.



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* ANNA! TAG
* 2,201 WORD COUNT
* justlikefalling @ caution 2.0! TEMPLATE CREDIT
* real thing, boys like girls! LYRICS
* MY LONGEST POST EVER! red is james. blue is john. purple is zack. bolded is ben.NOTES

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[annabel clarisse murphy]

--- forever could see us, not you and me, and ,.

[/color][/size][/font]
( YOU'D HELP ME OUT OF THE DARK )[/center]

When John was gone, Anna put The Hangover in the DVD player, deciding that both herself and James needed something to put them in a better mood. Not that she really paid any attention to the movie, as her thoughts were all over the place. But she did try to pay attention and go to her happy place, but no. She couldn't do that. Her happy place was with him. The reason she was in a bad place was her happy place. Well, wasn't this some pickle? Damn.

The icepack was numbing her face, so she decided to get up and put it away again. By this point, she had moved to the couch, so that she was sitting beside James. Anna started to wonder how long they would be, as it had already been about an hour. Sure, the movie was keeping her somewhat entertained. In all honesty, she was kind of afraid for when Benny would get back. What would he be like? It wasn't as much of the fact that he had hit her, at least when he wasn't anywhere near her, more of the fact that he's been ignoring her the past two weeks. That fear, the fear from before, was definitely still there.

Once The Hangover was over, Anna put The Lion King in. Having not seen it in forever, she enjoyed it. It's been years since she's seen it. The movie was nearly over by the time that John came back with Benny, and the second that they walked into the room, Anna involuntarily tensed up. She didn't think that she would be afraid that he would hit her again, especially now, but it was there. Not potently, but it was there. Her tensing was more of anticipation of what would happen, what Benny would say. Was he even aware that he had hit her? If he wasn't aware, she wouldn't tell him. She wouldn't have the willpower.

Just like she wouldn't be able to break up with him, no matter what.

"Oh, you weren't gone all that long, not a big deal," Anna assured, smiling up at him to the best of her ability. It hurt to smile. She was a bit sore, and probably would be for a couple days. Until the sure-to-be-there bruise went away. That will be a bitch to put makeup on over. When James was picked up by John, Anna couldn't help but smile. "Uh, yeah, no problem, you've gotta take care of James," she told John, still not looking at Benny once. Honestly, she didn't want to look at him. She was afraid to. Zack's departure made her smile, despite the soreness it brought.

When they closed the door and left the couple alone, Anna brought her knees up to her chest, resting her feet on the couch with her. She wrapped her arms around her knees, her chin laying on her knees. Anna still refused to look at him, and with his apologizes she just nodded, her gazed fixed on her toes. They weren't painted, she noticed. She'd need to do that later. With each apology, her wall was tearing down. He sounded so agonized, and he wasn't coming near her. Was he afraid that he would hit her if he came any closer? Or was it more for her comfort, rather them for himself? She wasn't sure, but her gaze moved over to him, and she broke down. She had been doing so well, her eyes hadn't leaked a tear in over an hour, but with one look at Benny, they started again. She grabbed onto her legs tighter, pulling them to her closer. The tears streamed down her face, and the sounds of her crying filled the nearly silent room.

They had been doing so well. They were amazing together - the perfect couple. Could they ever get back to the way that they were before this horrible night? Before the past two weeks? Anna wasn't so sure, but she knew that she wanted him with her still, and as she cried, she wanted him to hold her, comfort her. She just couldn't find her voice to ask.

tagged benny!
words 692 notes we're shortening it down, babe .
credit my alterations of reinvented love's template.

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[benjamin tyler rune]

cause this is the real thing

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love changes everything *[/font]
( THIS IS THE NIGHT WHEN EVERY HEART'S EXPLODING! )
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She wouldn’t look at him. Benny couldn’t blame her; he wouldn’t want to look at him either after what he had done. Suddenly, he felt this weird, strange, demonic feeling inside of him. It was trying to take control and he was not amused- not in the least. His face was growing red, he had an odd gut feeling, the back of his throat hurt… shit, was that a tear? No, he was not about to cry. He could not cry. He was Benjamin Tyler Rune, he did not cry. It wasn’t in his nature, it wasn’t possible. Another one came. He wiped it off as quickly as he could, praying to god that she hadn’t decided to look at him. When he was checking to see, he did see her, tears strolling down her cheeks.
He never thought this would happen. One, for him to be the one to make her cry, two, not being able to touch her, and three, crying as well. Three impossibilities in one night, he was really getting good at this wasn’t he? The more he looked at her, the more he wanted to know how hard he hit her… how much did it hurt? It had to have been with all of his might, having been so out of control at the time. There was only one way to find out about that wasn’t there? He brought his hand up to about cheek area, pulled it back, and then tried smacking himself a few times. It didn’t work the first couple of times and you could see how frustrated that made him when he realized the positioning was weird. Finally he got mad enough that even with the odd positioning; he managed to smack himself pretty damn hard.
He couldn’t stay away from her anymore. Just, no. He came forward for the first few steps confidently, but when he got to the coffee table he wasn’t sure if he should go any farther. Did she want him to get closer? He couldn’t read her mind, but he wished he could. She was crying; it was only natural for him to want to hold her like he always did. He didn’t know if this meant she wanted him to hold her, or to get away and not get near her anymore. Why were girls so confusing? He furrowed his brow, looking down at his feet, ”Can I touch you?”

* ANNA! TAG
* 405 WORD COUNT
* justlikefalling @ caution 2.0! TEMPLATE CREDIT
* real thing, boys like girls! LYRICS
* yeah yeah yeah. .NOTES

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[annabel clarisse murphy]

--- forever could see us, not you and me, and ,.

[/color][/size][/font]
( YOU'D HELP ME OUT OF THE DARK )[/center]

As soon as Anna saw that Benny was crying, she knew that he must feel horrible. She wasn't really afraid that he would hit her anymore - that wouldn't happen, Anna was sure. Just the fact that he was crying - Benny was crying - was what showed her he would never hit her again. It just wouldn't happen.

As he started hitting himself, Anna winced with each smack, not really sure what he was doing. Why was he hitting himself? She certainly didn't want him to hurt anymore then he already was. What was he trying to prove? Trying to test? She really was confused at his motives, but she didn't really watch him, as she was nearly incapable with the tears swimming in her eyes. She willed the tears to stop, just so that she could ask him to just fucking hold her but she still couldn't find her voice. Her attempts were futile, every attempt turning into a choking noise. Why was talking so difficult? It really shouldn't be this hard to talk to her boyfriend, to ask him to do something that he always did. Hold her as she cried.

Not even touching him was nearly pure torture for her, no matter what had happened tonight. She wanted to feel his tender touch, his warm caress on her skin. She just wanted him to hold her, and never let go. To take the pain away like no one else seemed to be able to do. Why wasn't he just holding her already? Why wasn't he already sitting next to her, his arms wrapped around her tightly, shielding her from whatever caused her the pain? Oh. Right. He had caused her pain this time. That made things slightly different, but it didn't change anything. She wanted him to hold her. Make her feel better. Take the pain away, even and especially if he had caused it.

As he started making his way towards her, she looked up to him. Him asking to hold her baffled her mind, especially when all she wanted was for him to hold her. Well, he couldn't know what she wanted. Before tonight, he would already be holding her, pressing her as close as he could, with no fear of ever causing her pain. But, this time, she could understand his hesitance in a way. He had hurt her. Physically hurt her. Of course he would be afraid to hold her. "Yes," She choked out, finally finding her voice. "Please, just... Hold me." she told him, letting her legs fall to the floor again, tears still streaming out of her eyes. This was honestly one of her weakest moments. Now, she was just realizing, she always seemed to have her weakest moments around Benny.

tagged benny!
words 461 notes they make me happy, and sad . <3
credit my alterations of reinvented love's template.

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[benjamin tyler rune]

Awaiting her response was like waiting for the message regarding whether you go to heaven or hell. He bit his lip and listened to her, having no left over reluctance and sat beside her in a heart beat. He kissed the cheek he hit first thing, wrapping one arm around her{the one with the cast} and using the other to caress the cheek he wasn't already kissing. "Okay." He still wanted to smack himself for what he had done earlier in the night. It was now clear that it was okay to touch her, but that didn't mean what he had done was okay in the first place.

He held her like a protective bear would hold their child, tightly and protectively against him. No one or thing would be able to harm her, including himself, and he would be sure of it. Over time he had calmed her down to no tears and they just sat there in a peaceful silence. Eventually, he suggested watching a movie and they somehow concluded to watch Sleeping Beauty. He only agreed to it because Anna was so into that movie that it'd be worth it to make her happy. Benny sat straight up on the couch, Anna on his lap. His chin rested on his shoulder and he had his arms wrapped around her, they met at the top of her lap. His good hand was rested upon the cotton candy pink cast of which he despised. He didn't pay much attention to the movie, not really into it at all. He was at ease though, as impossible as it may have seemed to ever be on this night.

About halfway into the movie John came home, both struggling to carry both of his boys. Zack was asleep and craddled in front of him while James was just having difficulties keeping his balance enough to walk, therefore was still on his shoulders. He set Zack down momentarily on the staircase, coming over and carefully setting James onto a softer sofa like chair. He didn't stick around and talk though, instead he just smiled at Anna and Ben and left to take Zack up to bed.

James didn't really want to look over at them, he was fine with Anna... it was just Ben right now that he was somewhat afraid of. He just looked at the TV and made himself more comfortable on the chair he was on. His cast was a full arm one, colored rainbowly. Yeah, he went there.

[annabel clarisse murphy]

--- forever could see us, not you and me, and ,.

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( YOU'D HELP ME OUT OF THE DARK )[/center]

The second that she was in Benny's arms, she really did feel better. As odd as it was, she once again felt safe. Not as vulnerable, as they were together, on one team, rather then the two opposing sides, butting heads in competition. Things were how they were supposed to be, not how they had been. At this moment, she tried to wipe her memory of the past two weeks. It didn't happen. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that she and Benny were together, as one team, working as a pair. Like they were supposed to be. In her world, in his arms - where she belonged, Anna was happy, despite the events of the past few hours. All that sad icky stuff was unnecessary. They were perfect again.

Nothing ever went wrong. Never. They were just as in love as they were before, if not more. She wouldn't have a bruise on her face tomorrow. Benny would make it all go away. It just... Didn't happen.

But the continual throbbing pain on the left side of her face told her otherwise. Each thump of her pulse sent shock waves to every part of her being, telling her that, yes. It did happen, and to stop trying to fool herself. This wasn't something that would just go away, like she attempted to do with everything else in her life. That wouldn't fly this time. They'd have to talk about it.

Just not now. Now, she was happy. Content. Anna didn't want to be troubled again quite yet.

"Aurora is so lucky," Anna told Benny, "She gets to just... Lay there, sleeping peacefully, as this huge war goes on around her. She's just oblivious to all of those problems out there, waiting for her prince to come around and sweep her off her feet," she explained, sighing wistfully. That was never the case with Anna. She was always deathly aware of the troubles of life, even if she did end up with her prince in the end. At this point, she was on his lap, her back pressed to his chest, and his arms encasing her.

Just about ten minutes later, John came home with James and Zack. Anna returned the smile that John sent hers and Benny's way, then she looked over at James, taking in his cast. "I'm loving the cast, James," Anna told him in complete honesty. A rainbow cast was pretty cool. "I thought they only did like, solid colors," she said, tapping her fingers on Benny's cast involuntarily. "Speaking of casts, I love the color of yours Benny, no joke or teasing, I swear," she told him, fixing her eyes on the movie once again. "God, I love this movie," She commented.

tagged benny!
words 458 notes they make me happy, and sad . <3
credit my alterations of reinvented love's template.

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