Chapter 24
At dinner, I stared at the empty seats assigned for Hero and Ayden. Benji didn’t join us for dinner that day either; he seemed to be off on his own pretty often.
I could barely sleep all night. Too many thoughts of too many people crowded my mind. Sitting on the balcony, I watched as the sunrise approached. The fresh scent of the ocean filled the air, allowing me to calm my thoughts down a bit.
The ship was close to arriving at France. Soon enough, it was time to get breakfast. Everyone seemed to keep their distance from me, assuming Hero and Ayden would arrive at any minute. I, however, tried not to keep my hopes up on that.
Eating a bowl of oatmeal, I sat near one of the windows. The ship was getting closer to land. The chair in front of me scraped against the floor, causing me to startle and glance up.
It was Benji.
“Hello,” he said with a smile, sitting down in the chair he just pulled back.
“Oh, hi!” I said, not expecting to see him this early in the morning, yet glad that he was here.
“Are you excited for Paris?”
“Yeah.” I nodded, scooping another spoonful of oatmeal. “I just keep thinking about Hero and Ayden.”
He nodded, seeming to understand. “I doubt they would be able to get off the ship.”
“I know,” I snapped, not wanting to be reminded. He leaned back, not expecting my reaction. I stared into my bowl, swirling the spoon around. “Sorry.”
“So, I take it that you want them to get off the ship with the rest of us then?”
“Yeah.” I bit my cheek. “I wanted this to be a bonding experience.”
“I see.” He cleared his throat. “Well, allow me to take your mind off things.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“What I mean is,” he clarified, “let me keep you company today. I’m sure Miss Kennedy would want us in groups, anyway.”
“Oh,” I said, a slight smile appearing on my face. “Sure, I don’t mind.” I appreciated Benji’s effort to cheer me up. I really did need to take my mind off things.
* * *
The ship had come to a complete stop at the Le Havre port. The class stood at the window, cheering and clapping. Staring down at her clipboard with a pen in hand, Miss Kennedy stood nearby. She then looked up and smiled at me. I gave a small smile back.
“Alrighty, class!” she suddenly shouted, causing everyone to flinch. “Follow me, please.” She began marching out, and we all followed close behind.
Once noticing Hero and Ayden weren’t around, a few of the bullies pushed past me. Benji scoffed at them, but I didn’t pay them any mind.
He gently placed a hand on my back, pushing me ahead to make sure I wouldn’t fall behind from the group.
After disembarking the ship, Miss Kennedy did a headcount of everyone. “Oh, we’re missing a few of y’all.”
Everyone started to look around. There were nine of us. The only ones missing were…
I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning around, I saw Hero only a foot away from me, and Ayden running quickly to catch up. My face lit up as I glanced back at Miss Kennedy. Her lips curled into a smile. This was her doing.
“Ayden!” Xavier shouted, rushing over to him. Reese and the others followed.
I wrapped my arms around Hero. He froze for a moment before hugging me back so tightly and burying his head in my hair, never wanting to let go of me.
“Does your face hurt?” I asked, lifting his head out of my hair and examining his face. There was a bruise across his right cheek, where the punch had been landed.
“It’s fine,” he replied in embarrassment, turning his face away. “You don’t have to keep looking at it.”
I turned my attention to Ayden, who was surrounded by his new friends. I slowly approached him. “I was so worried about you, Ayd.”
I attempted to hug him, but he jumped backwards, putting his hands out to protect his scratches.
I put my hands back down at my side. “It still hurts?”
“Yeah.” He nodded, scratching his head. “And we’re also not exactly on great terms.”
Reese snickered.
“Oh,” I said, backing up. “Right.”
Ayden looked past me, catching a glimpse of Benji. His eyes widened. “Wha—”
Benji walked up next to me quickly. “I’m Benji.” He extended his hand to Ayden. “A new student.”
Ayden stared at Benji for a moment before shaking his hand. “I’m Ayden.”
Benji nodded. “Pepper told me about what happened. Are you okay?”
Ayden glanced at me for a split second before returning his gaze to Benji. “Yeah, I’m all good, man.”
Benji then turned to Hero. “You must be Hero, then?”
“You told this stranger about what happened?” Hero asked me, pointing at Benji.
“He’s our classmate,” I replied flatly. “He deserved to know.”
Hero scoffed. “Did you tell him my whole life story while you were at it?”
“No— Hero, it wasn’t like that,” I stammered.
“That was the only thing she told me,” Benji lied, stepping in front of me.
“Step away from her. Now.” Hero’s eyes pierced through Benji’s soul. Benji smirked before stepping out of the way, raising his hands up in surrender.
Seeing how Hero acted towards Benji made me shiver at the thought of him knowing that I spoke with Violet.
“Now that everyone is officially here, let’s head to the train station,” Miss Kennedy said, and began walking in the direction of the station.
“A… train?” Benji cringed.
Now that was public transportation, and the privileged Benji was about to use it.
Stepping onto the train, Benji tried to hide his disgust. Hero took the window seat, and I sat next to him. Benji hesitantly sat down in the seat across from me, attempting a smile. He stared at me awkwardly.
“So, what are—” Benji started to say before someone suddenly sneezed a few aisles down. He instantly shot up of his seat and rushed to the restroom in the back of the train.
That was strange.
“That guy’s weird,” Hero muttered.
“I’m going to go check on him,” I said, kissing Hero’s forehead. “I’ll be right back.”
“Pepper—” Hero called after me but I ignored him.
I knocked on the restroom door. “Benji?” I could hear the water running.
“I’m- I’m fine,” he stammered. Something dropped into the sink. “Damn it!”
“I’m coming in,” I said, opening the door.
“Don’t—” He turned to look at me, and he had a frantic gaze.
I closed the door behind me. “What’s going on?” Stepping closer, I saw what he had dropped: soap. It looked like it had been scrubbed a hundred times.
“It wasn’t public transportation…” I realized.
“It was the germs,” he finished my sentence. “It was easier suppress it at the library, but- but I can’t on the train.” He looked around the restroom. “And it’s even worse in here. I touched that- that door handle.”
In that moment, he looked so vulnerable. Up until that point, he had seemed older and well put together. Now, I could see the fifteen-year-old in front of me. And I wanted to protect him from the world.
I shook that thought out of my head.
“Let’s get back out there, okay?” I asked softly.
“I’m still not clean,” he said, shaking his head.
I grabbed the paper towels and wiped his hands dry. “You’re cleaner than anyone else on this train, I promise.”
He nodded reluctantly. “Thank you, Pepper. I owe you.”
A small smile appeared on my face as I opened the restroom door. As we approached our seat, Hero was staring out the window.
Benji stood next to the seats. “I will be standing for the rest of the ride, if that’s fine with both of you.”
I nodded and sat back down, turning to look at Hero. I didn’t want him to have the wrong idea. Nothing was happening between Benji and me, and nothing will. I was just concerned about a friend, that’s all.
“The further away, the better,” Hero muttered, not caring enough to ask why.
I grabbed his hands, and he moved his gaze to his hands then to my eyes. His gaze softened, and he was so handsome.
“I missed you,” I whispered.
His hardened gaze returned, releasing his hands from my grip. “Not enough, apparently.”
I swallowed. “Ro, he’s just a friend.”
Hero narrowed his eyes. “I seriously can’t believe you became friends with him in the short amount of time we were gone.”
“What?” I asked, turning my head. “Did you expect me to be a loner?”
“You… you’re not a loner,” he said, caught off guard. “It was just only a day.”
“A long day,” I scowled, crossing my arms and leaning back against my seat.
“Look,” Hero whispered. “I just don’t trust that guy.”
I turned to him. “Why? Someone can’t want to be my friend?”
“Pepper, you know that’s not what I mean,” he said. “I just have an unsettling feeling.”
“If you got to know him, you’d see that he is actually a nice guy.”
“Get to know him?” He scoffed. “You barely even know him yourself.”
Hero was right. Why was I being so defensive over someone I had just met?
“I’m sorry,” I said with sincerity. “You’re right. I won’t let anyone come between us like that.”
I would rather die than treat Hero like how I treated Ayden.
Hero sighed after a moment. “I’m sorry too. I may not trust him, but I do trust you.”
I gave a small smile. “I know.”
For the rest of the ride, I rested my head on his shoulder in silence. Before departing the train, Miss Kennedy told everyone to stick with their groups and meet at the Eiffel Tower at 1 o’ clock for lunch.
We had four hours to roam.