Fireproof

Ben had already done several rounds through the elementary school by the time he moved back to Kenzie’s classroom, peaking through the door window cautiously, attempting to stay out of her line of sight. He had wandered off after watching Kenzie’s initial introductions and the desk cleanup process they had started practicing.

Kenzie, whether she knew it or not, deserved her independence and he knew that. For all of Ben’s teasing of his brother for being such a basket case, he was struggling with this separation in his own way – who was he without Kenzie, the child he had been taking care of and teaching for the past 5 years? He dreaded the idea of fading back into obscurity every day between 8 and 3:30- having to fall back onto just seeing what kind of dumb shit his brother was going to get into while waiting for Kenzie to get back home. It left him feeling empty.

Ben stared inside at all the children; Kenzie was off to the side with her assignment - it looked like maybe a paper prompt from a story -- she was staring at it with a pout. There were other children like her, who were obviously struggling with being at school while others were more of a handful for the teachers.

Ben internally pushed for her to lean over and just talk to the kid next to her - he wanted her to start making friends so badly and stop looking so out of place because it just broke his heart.

He heard the soft squeak of tennis shoes on the waxed tile flooring and he looked up, moving away from the window so that Kenzie wouldn’t catch a glimpse of him. He huffed, a light smile coming over his features as he saw Liev walking towards him. They had ditched the fire fighter shirt and were in casual blouse and jeans making them blend in well with the environment.

Ben thought that they actually looked like one of the teachers; they were certainly intelligent enough to be a teacher. He daydreamed about that for a moment, watching as they moved past him and in the same strategy that he had been employing, glanced into the window, their eyes scanning over the room before they turned away and leaned against the wall.

It was so frustrating that they couldn’t see him - and it didn’t feel right sticking around without them knowing so after searching the environment he walked over to an empty trashcan. Using as much energy as he could muster, he pushed the light plastic over and it tumbled down with a thump and a crinkling of plastic bags.

Liev’s head snapped towards the fallen can and their arms uncrossed, they walked over to it and put their hand out as if testing for a breeze. After setting it back up, they smirked, “Just couldn’t stay away could you? Does the fireball know you’re here? Once for yes, twice for no.”

Ben slammed his fist against the wall next to him twice - the result was a barely audible ‘tap - tap’ sound.

They nodded, “That’s probably for the best- Sophie’s real nervous about this whole thing, for one she could accidentally hurt someone or get hurt by showing her powers and if there is an incident it would be nearly impossible to keep it under wraps. But I think that she’s ready.”

Ben slapped the wall once. “I agree, we’ve got to trust her - she doesn’t deserve to be hidden away just because we’re scared.” he said, but of course it wasn’t registered to the undercover firefighter.

Liev actually seemed to be staring close to where his face was, and he knew, as always, they were trying to treat him like a living person even if it seemed like they were talking to air. They nodded, “I’m glad you’re here…” They paused for a moment then added quickly with a chuckle, “One kid’s fine but I can’t promise I won’t turn tail and run like hell if a hoard of them come after me.”

Ben laughed and smacked the wall once.

He moved back to the window as they heard a small commotion coming from inside the classroom - nothing crazy but it seemed like it was almost time for lunch so the teacher and her assistant were announcing instructions and beginning to collect the children’s sheets of paper.

Ben’s parental (Uncle?) instincts kicked in as he watched with concern as Kenzie accidentally cut herself on the edge of the paper. In contrast to her usual response, she just grabbed her hand and looked at it - her eyes scanning nervously, obviously too shy to get a hold of one of the teachers.

Ben put his hand on the window, “Get someone, sweetheart...” He murmured - willing one of the teachers to see that she was bleeding. It didn’t take very long until Mrs. Kelly saw the injury and quickly helped clean her up and put a band aid over the tiny cut. She then used a disinfectant wipe to wash away the drop of blood that had dripped onto the table.

The teacher patted her head and told her that everything was going to be okay before leaving her to start herding all the students into a line for lunch. Ben watched in horror as the point on the table where her blood had been a moment before started to bubble up with a reddish black goo.

Kenzie saw it too and she looked around in worry as a spindly, boney hand reached up from the small portal. He saw her mouth, “Uh- oh” and try to push it back down but the thing just pushed past her hand. The teacher walked up and Kenzie looked like she was about to start crying again, her eyes nervously shifting to the blood portal opening up, “I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay, Kenzie – nothing that a band aid can’t fix, right? Now, come on – It’s time for lunch, are you hungry?”

The teacher couldn’t see the gurgling reddish goo bubbling up in a small circle on the table and she took Kenzie’s hand and led her away, the child staring between the portal and the teacher in confusion before finally just finding her place in line.

A strange bat-like winged arm shot up and gripped the edge of the surface before a twisted, unformed red face stuck up and screeched just as Kenzie was led out to lunch.

Ben bolted through the wall into a closet, “Shit…”

******************************************************************************

By the time that Liev heard the commotion, Ben was already in the emptied classroom watching in horror as a new blood fiend finished forming and dragging itself out of the portal. This one didn’t look anything like Rot-rot, in fact it was winged and more resembled one of those really ugly fruit bats except with claws on one appendage and a bulbous growth coming from the side of its chest area.

This thing made Rot-rot look like a teddy bear and it seemed like it was made for the purpose of fighting something but it didn’t have anything to fight so it was just wrecking shit. Flapping around and leaving triple scratches against any surface it slammed against.

Liev ripped the door open to see what the hell was going on and their eyes scanned the destruction that was happening at that moment, but they couldn’t see the blood fiend and it probably looked more like a tacky poltergeist fishing line trick. They shut the door behind them and their body adjusted into an action pose - ready to fight but having no clue what they were fighting.

“We have to get it into something - this thing’s dangerous.” Ben rapt on the wall 5 times as hard as he could.

“Is this something Kenzie did?”

Knock.

“What like that creepy-ass doll thing? Same thing as that?”

Ben thought about it for a moment, “Eh- It’s worse.” He knocked once anyway.

“I fucking told Jessie that thing was looking at me…” Liev stalked to the edge of the classroom, their expression sharp and alert. In an inspired move that just warmed Ben’s heart for some reason, they grabbed a green marker and started to quickly fill in a large square surface on the dry erase board. “How do I get rid of it?”

Ben ran over to the board and dragged his finger through the marker, creating a white mark as it was erased by the little ghostly energy that he could muster. He wrote “CAPTURE.”

“What, like in anything?”

Knock.

They shrugged, “Okay, then…” They ran to the large windows that lined the back wall and began pulling the screens up - the bright afternoon sun shining in harshly to the room.

“Damn…” Ben mumbled as he saw the light shadow that was now being cast as the blood fiend flew past the windows giving Liev just enough visual context to do something. They moved to a wooden cabinet with large wooden drawers and opened the top one

“Chase it toward me!”

Ben bolted to the other side of the room and started clapping at the bat like fiend in the corner and it shrieked and flapped violently the other direction. He jumped up on another table and started it shooing it as loudly as he could towards where Liev was waiting with the open desk.

Rather than the desired effect the angry blood fiend collided with the firefighter who was thrown backwards over the desk and into the wall.

“Shit! Sorry!”

Unable to see what they were fighting as it began attacking the human in earnest, Liev just started slapping the air in front of them as hard as they could. Impacting with the creature in the face which only succeeded in making it angrier – it flew up and grabbed onto their short hair, tugging upwards.

Ben ran over and jumped onto the edge of the dresser and jumped up, gripping the wings and then tumbling backwards. In opposition to his desired effect, the wings simply ripped off and the fiend dove away with a startled shriek, pulling Liev forward on top of Ben. They went straight threw them and jumped as freezing cold air shot through their body.

“Thanks for cushioning my fall…” Live rolled away with a grunt as a shiver went through their body.

Ben stood up, “My bad.” The wings dissolved into a reddish black goo and Ben shook off the remains with a disgusted look.

Liev stood up straight and adjusted their shoulders back, “Fine, if that’s how it’s gotta be…”

They watched the floor closely, keeping track of the faint ghostly shadow that the fiend was casting as it circled the area, looking for a chance to strike.

Ben moved over and slammed his fist down as hard as he could 5 times against the dresser – he was proud of the fact that a few of the plastic alphabet stickers fell off as he did so. They glanced behind them, “You wanna try again?”

“Yeah, except this time without letting it scalp you.” He stomped on the floor in front of the dresser.

They hesitated but seemed to get the point, bolting over and moving the furniture forward, giving them enough space to hide behind while Ben jumped up on a desk and started hopping front desk to desk clapping as loudly as he could trying to rile it up. After chasing it back and forth it seemed to go into a panic like a bird and shot to the side.

Liev watched the floor and then jumped up and smacked it as if they were hitting a volleyball .The fiend tumbled into the drawer and obviously Liev felt the impact because they slammed it shut on the demon - it shrieked and bucked against the confines and Liev was forced to shove it forward against the ground so that it wouldn’t escape. Splaying out on top of it as it crashed into the carpet.

The blood fiend rattled the entire unit and they had to hold on as it attempted to buck them off like a mechanic bull - Liev started cackling as they were nearly thrown off and they rolled their entire body onto the furniture to keep it down, gripping at the edges for support.

Ben couldn’t help but laugh at the purely thrilled look on their face as they wrestled this thing down until the shaking finally started to subside and the fiend obviously began to accept its new home. They eventually went limp as the rocking stopped and just laid over the top with an exhausted grin, “Yee-haw!”

Ben giggled and knocked on the wall in agreement.

He and Liev jumped as the door to the classroom opened and a very confused teacher’s assistant came inside, “What happened in here?!”

Liev put up a professional hand, still out of breath from the wooden rodeo they just conquered, “Liev Vaughn - I’m from the fire department responding to a call about a bird in here - really big fucking bird…” They flashed a thumbs up, “It has been contained but I’ll need to take this thing out to be cleaned before any children touch it and get… bird flu?”

They flashed a confident smile and the teacher’s assistant continued to look around at the chaos in shock, “A bird? O-okay, should we move the kids to a different classroom for the afternoon?”

“That’s a great idea - we’ll get this mess cleaned up-- I mean – I. I will get it cleaned up.”

“Okay… I’ll get something ready…” She left, closing the door behind her.

Liev collapsed on the desk with a groan, they looked like they were about to say something when it jolted underneath them, and they grabbed back onto it anticipating another round. As it went silent again, they laid back into a fit of giggles.

Ben climbed onto the desk next to them and laid back to join them.

******************************************************************************

Ben leaned forward in anticipation against the back door of the school, from here he had a full view of the playground.

Kenzie was sitting on the swings looking around them while the other children were playing in groups, he put a hand against the window with a sigh, “Just go talk to them, Kenz’ – they’re going to love you... Don’t be scared.”

But no amount of silent begging or urging could get her to do anything but watch the other children nervously and Ben had to remind himself, yet again, that he couldn’t interfere and just standing here watching her work through this wasn’t helping anyone.

Ben went back to the classroom that the blood fiend tore up. Liev had cleaned it up and all that needed to be done was take the dresser away. He couldn’t help much but they talked to him as they worked and he continued their knocking pattern, when it wasn’t yes or no he would just write the word in the square of dry erase marker.

Now that the room was in order again, Liev was sitting at the demon desk eating a meager meal that they had stolen from the cafeteria, next to them was a hand drawn Ouija board that they created from some construction paper and a marker. They popped the cap from their bottle of root beer and tossed it on the surface, taking a swig of their drink and sighing.

Ben enjoyed looked at Liev – they stood out amongst the rest of the firefighters and despite the fact that they were as strong and capable as the rest they seemed softer. Their dark eyes were countered by a rounded face and an unsure smile which went loopy when they were actually laughing and not just copying the other people in the room. Their black hair had been shaved when they first met but now it was in a short boy-cut that framed their head.

They had scars. A lot of them. Not even including the burn scar that covered nearly their whole left arm, they had several wicked marks that they never spoke about and most seemed unwilling to ask about them (Including Ben). They had a particularly noticeable scar which ran up their neck and he often found himself daydreaming about crazy adventures they must have had when they were younger to earn such marks.

Ben was fond of the way they would tap their arm with three fingers absently when they were thinking and then they would bite their upper lip when they had figured something out. Ben knew this intimately since he’d had his ass kicked many times in chess a moment after they bit their upper lip.

They were quiet in groups but would bloom when one on one with somebody and they could talk for hours about anything and everything that caught their interest. Ben often found himself thinking about these conversations for weeks after they had finished and always looked forward to having another one.

They always skirted the line between nerd and a scrappy runaway, a mix that Ben could never quite quantify.

Liev treated him like a person, all of the fire department were respectful but sometimes Ben felt like the dead ghostly novelty. Liev seemed to genuinely enjoy his company, at least that’s what he told himself, but since they moved in with Dave, he had been seeing less and less of his favorite firefighter since Kenzie didn’t need the constant babysitting from the outside.

Liev took a bite out of a baby carrot, “I’m glad that you stuck around today - don’t know what the hell I would have done with that thing otherwise.”

Ben smirked, “You would have figured something out without me.” Then he moved the bottle cap over to U. H.A.D I.T then he shoved to the little smiley face emoticon that they had put in along with a sad one for better understanding of tone.

They chuckled, “Maybe- But this was fun – it’s not every day you get to fight with an invisible creature summoned by a child. When you become corporeal again, you’ll have to draw me a picture of what it looks like.”

“I’d love to – I just don’t know if it would make it look better or worse.” He moved the cap over to write L.O.V.E T.O
They smirked and the two of them fell into a comfortable silence, which was common when one person could only speak through a Ouija board. Ben felt a little creepy just watching them eat from their tray but what else was he supposed to do – most of his existence had been just observing other people and he had gotten really good at it.

U. O.K

“Yeah, I’m good – It’s weird. Since Dave showed up – It’s felt weird not being scheduled to babysit Kenzie or, you know, just help with stuff. I didn’t realize how much a part of my life that had become until it was gone. Or maybe just how sad my evenings are.” They laughed, glancing out the windows, “How are you doing? I bet you’re real proud of her – she’s on her way for someone who spontaneously combusts.”

“I am always so proud of her. Things might get tough but I think she’s got a kind enough heart to keep her on the right track. And people who love her – I think that a lot of the worry comes from our own issues – Kenzie’s going to be fine.”

S.O P.R.O.U.D is what he conveyed over.

Ben took a deep breath which he didn’t need and pushed the bottle cap over to I. M.I. Then he stopped, losing his nerve and looking away.

Liev raised an eyebrow, “You there?”

Ben knocked twice.

“Okay – What were you trying to say? Don’t go all cryptic on me, pretty ZOZO.”

Ben bit his lip and they took another swig of their root beer, “I mean, I’ve got all day, dude.”

Ben moved over and quickly pushed the bottle cap – I. M.I.S.S. U.

He cringed, suddenly happy that they couldn’t see his face at the moment. They followed his movements carefully then their face lit up in a way that Ben had never seen before and they reached over to the paper Ouija board. Ben watched as they took the bottle cap and moved it across the paper, I. M.I.S.S U. 2.

“I like you being here – dead is more my speed anyway.”

Ben sighed and settled his chin against his palm, a far away smile coming over his features. He glanced at the time, surprisingly happy to find out that they still had an hour to talk.

*********************************************************************

“Honestly, except for the invisible flying thing – it all went pretty smoothly.” Ben followed them as they turned a corner of the hall.

“You coming back to watch her tomorrow?”

He knocked twice, “Believe me, I want to – but- “

“Holy shit!” Liev jumped then doubled over with a laugh, “There you are!”

Ben looked down to see that his limbs had become corporeal and he was back to being a see through blue. He held up his hands, “Klaus must have come early…”

He glanced up, “Hi…”

They giggled, “Hey!”

The two stared at each other for a few moments before suddenly it felt a little awkward and Liev jerked their thumb over their shoulder, “Guess we should go talk to him?”

Ben reached out to touch their arm. Immediately he retracted his hand, feeling way too forward, “We can – But – I just wanted to tell you that – you’re always welcome in our house. Because it’s my place too and I’m always happy to see you.”

“Or whatever – Just wanted to put that out there.” He cleared his throat, resisting the temptation to fade away into invisibility.

Liev glanced down as they spoke, “Ben, I’ve been wanting to give you something.”

He tilted his head in confusion.

“Because you’re a really good friend. And I don’t have many friends… There’s Sophie; She’s always had my back. Kenzie gave me a Reese’s cup one time – I’m not all that great with social cues but I’m pretty sure that means we’re blood sisters now.”

Ben chuckled.

“And Klaus and the rest of the team, they’re all great. Really. But for the past 4 or so years I’ve always looked forward to seeing you, so…”

Ben was already reeling from their words to really understand what was happening when they leaned forward and kissed him. Just a brief, sweet brush of the lips but he froze – unsure of what to do and way too fast the moment was gone and he was chasing it in his mind.

They smiled at him then turned and started to walk down the hallway towards Kenzie’s classroom. Ben touched his lips, trying to savor the lingering warmth for as long as he could. His first and only kiss.

He trailed after them – barely comprehending the conversation with his brother as he waited for the bell to ring. And he kept close as they exited the school, the other person keeping their head up and focused forward.

Just outside the entrance Ben took a deep breath, out of habit, “Li-“

They turned back, “What’s up?”

“Thank you. I’ll keep it forever.”