Chapter 1
This cold winter air all but bombarded Ben and Reed as they walked out of the cinema.
Holding hands of course.
They were one of the very few openly LGBT couples to actually be public with their relationship in Oyster Bay , seeing as there community wasn't extremely accepting of it.
There was no direct shaming or form of dissent , only sneaky sideway glances and cruel laughing as they walked by , yet nothing majorly bad that showed the people's disregard of their love.
Which is what Ben fails to understand.
Love is supposed to be pure. True. Innocent.
He was the son of the principal of Oyster Bay High , so he wasn't exactly able to keep him and Reed a secret for very long.
Reed was. Well he was a whole different thing all together.
Tall , gawky , nerdy. You would not have difficulty spotting him in a crowd , were you looking for him.
So imagine the surprise on Sue Storm's ( self-proclaimed queen bee of Oyster Bay High ) face when she walks in on Ben straddling Reed's lap in the back of the library , obviously in the middle of a pretty heated make-out session.
Not three hours had passed , before the entire school knew.
(That night when he got home , he nearly got a heart attack at the fury on his father's face , and the tears streaming down his mother's face because why ?
Teary confessions of sexuality , a slap to the face , one long argument/debate and three cups of coffee later , Ben's parents greeted him off to bed , saying that they will try to accept it , claiming they need time to get used to the idea , but will never encourage it .
The next morning , as he walks to Reed's house , a black SUV slows down to drive at Ben's pace.
"FAGGOT!" The car speeds off , its inhabitants could be heard laughing from three blocks away.
And then Ben is soaked , head to toe , in a sticky red liquid.
Reed emerges from his house , running with speed unknown to Ben to wipe him off , muttering curses at that assholes who did this.
"It's fine Reed ," He reluctantly says , his eyes shimmering "Let's , let's just get to school ."
Reed gives him an indignant sqwauk , but nonetheless goes to retrieve his backpack , dropped by the curb in his rush to clean up Ben.
"They're gonna pay Ben , I swear ."
"No they're not , they just , they just had some fun I guess ?"
"How can you defend them?"
"They don't know anything about me , besides my sexuality of course , so they don't know that I'm not gonna succumb to some pathetic attempt at hurting me . ")
The "hit-n-run" wasn't the last attempt to crush Ben's spirits , only the begining in a long line of sneers and hate speech from his fellow peers.
But true to his word , Ben was determined not to let these events alter him. Or his love for Reed.
As was evidenced by him grabbing Reed's hand just before they departed the darkness of the cinema , head held high and a faint tint to his cheeks , they began their journey home.
"Hey , I just gotta go use the bathroom real quick , its just around the corner and I really need to go " Ben nods at Reed and watches him scamper off , opting to stand in the alleyway conviniently adjacent to the brick block that is the sanitation of the only cinema in their immediate enviroment.
He doesn't expect the first blow to his face , but grimly thinks to himself that it would have no effect if he had known.
He's laying on the sidewalk now , busy getting his internal organs damaged when he decides that he apparently wants to retaliate , muttering out to his attacker that the reason he is attacking Ben is most likely due to he himself being closeted , and that's when Ben knows he should've probably just kept his mouth shut.
His assailant hauls him up to his feet , his blood rushing to his head , making him more dizzy than he was before , when it happens.
He feels it , the cold , long metal blade that pierces him , enters his stomach with such a force he whimpers.
"That's for thinking I'm fairy . " The man retracts the knife , then plunges it in , twice as hard " and that's for being one . "
He pulls out the knife and sprints away , leaving Ben to plummet to his knees.
He let's out an deafening wail , clutching at his wound , his eyes brimming with unshed tears.
He procedes to fall face first on the hard cement , groaning out as the pain multiplies.
The last thing he remembers is seeing Reed crying , shout at someone , something over his phone , repeating the phrase " please hurry !