C'MON LET ME SEE */ BENJAMIN

[RACHEL OLIVIA FERGUSSON]

Are you brave enough to let me see your peacock?

Don't be a chicken boy, stop acting like a beeotch

Rachel scrolled through her phone, she had not been out too much today. She had had plenty of fun several nights ago with two people the she had just met. Benjamin and Mason had partied it up at Club G, pretty much the only night club on the island. It kind of saddened Rachel by the lack of diversity of the night life here. She will take her blessings though, something was always better than nothing. Her phone's ring tone rung at a low level and Rachel quirked an eyebrow.

She looked to see who had texted her. Going through several options, she found the texter was Ben. Rachel ran a hand through her blonde, tilted-head. She had assumed it had been a reply from Mason seeing she had been texting him all morning. Ben asked her to either call him or meet him at the beach. She did not see Ben as the swimmer, but hey, people can surprise each other.

Maybe he wanted to spend a sun soaked day of fun with Rachel. She loved going to the beach. She would go to Ocean City as much as she could in the summer. Her parents owned a townhouse down in the city that was full of hotels and Candy Kitchens. Speaking of the Candy Kitchen, she so could have gone for some pecan clusters from there after their talk that night they went to the club. Rachel had called Ben a pie or something, she totally forgot, not something new for Rachel to do.

She thought about what she was going to wear. She was stuck in between a white bathing suit or a pink one. In spirit of her attitude she chose pink. Along with that, she slapped on a pink tube top romper and two blonde pig tails. Walking out of the Salamander quarters she looked like Malibu Barbie, people giving her second looks of awe or 'is this bitch serious?'. Rachel kept her head held up high. Just because everyone else seemed to be afraid that did not mean Rachel was going to sacrifice for her love of it.

The sound of the beach was like a welcome to Rachel. The air felt so fresh and crisp and the waters seemed to be screaming her name. She was not one of those girls who sat and sunbathed, fuuuck that. She was going to be in the water messing around. What was the point in going if you were going to do that? You could do that at home. Before she could hop into the waters though she needed to find Ben. The wind was at an active speed, her hair blowing in the wind. It was not a shiny day, clouds made themselves known, kidnapping the rays from the sand. At this point her sandals were off. It was so much more easier to walk barefoot rather than drag in the sand.

She scanned the beach for Ben, she thought that she saw him further down the beach. When she was closer she was for sure it was Ben. She smiled and ran herself over to him. She tackled his side, hugging him for dear life. "Ben! HI!" Rachel said closing her eyes in content of being so close to him. Her grip around him was a tight one almost as if it were under lock and key. Good luck to Ben trying to cut it loose. The funny thing about Rachel was that she was not a strong girl, but give her a chance and her grip could be deadly, and by deadly I mean full of smothering love.

[BENJAMIN ISAIAH BECKETT]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb= style, width: 444px; background-color: 593B28; border-right: solid 20px #1E1E1E; border-left: solid 20px #1E1E1E; border-top: solid 15px #1E1E1E; border-bottom: solid 15px #1E1E1E; padding: 2 2 2 2px;] i hear you breathing in, another day begins stars are falling out, my dreams are fading out love is a symphony all around me, running through me t a g g e d [ rachel ] w o r d s [ 0610] l y r i c s [ switchfoot ] What the hell possessed Ben to actually think about spending time with Rachel... alone? Ben pondered the answer to that very question as he dressed himself in his beach-going attire. Though most people assumed going to the beach meant playing in the water and having a good time, Ben meant to use it as a thinking place. Benjamin knew that Rachel would probably be bubbly and excited and just... Rachel. It really bothered Ben that Rachel seemed to be like that 24/7. Though Ben felt, in a way, that Rachel's good attitude was a breath of fresh air-- he also hated that she didn't seem to suffer like everyone else did (especially him). The way Benjamin saw it, there were two types of students in Griffin. There were the ones who let the game consume them and there were the ones who hated the game and wanted to go home. Rachel did not seem to be a part of either group. She didn't appear to take the army stuff seriously, but at the same time, Ben sensed no urgency on her part to go home. He thought it was odd and he really didn't know if it made him comfortable. Ben had once been one of the ones who hated the game. He had despised the game and everything it threatened to turn him into. The army shit was far too brutal for his softer side. Benjamin found himself, over the months it took for him to become platoon leader, that he was beginning to let the army consume him... merely because nothing else wanted to. Benjamin left the barracks quickly and quietly. He didn't want to draw any attention to the fact that he was going out. Lately Ben had been in a lot of hot water with Ethan Frost, his squad leader. Benjamin had been asked for a perfect practice. Whereas any other time Ben would have performed flawlessly, this once he let his guard down and failed his squad and platoon. Ben had been down about it for a while. He wasn't sure how to get his act together or if he would be able to. Benjamin decided that was all part of why he needed to meet Rachel. Rachel's bubbly attitude was needed to strip away his doubts and just focus his mind on something else. Anything. The fact remained that the best thing about Griffin was its proximity to the beach. It was so close to the beach. Benjamin loved being able to walk out on campus and smell the salt air. Being raised in California, Benjamin felt like that salty sea smell was a part of his soul. Ben had been in no hurry to get down to the beach, though his text to Rachel had a tinge of urgency. Finally, he happened upon his favorite spot on the entire beach. Benjamin liked the spots which weren't crowded with other students and weren't covered up in sea weed. He felt like it was almost his own designated part of the beach. Ben adjusted his shots and tugged on the hem of his gray t-shirt. He drew in a deep breath, taking in that lovely salt aroma. Upon hearing Rachel's voice, Ben opened his eyes just in time to be locked in what seemed to be a never-ending hug. Ben raised an eyebrow, looking down at her. He was going to tell her to let go, but changed his mind. Instead, Ben sighed, dropping his arms. Do I look like a Pillow Pet, Rachel? Ben asked, his tone sarcastic and flat. template created by brooke---

[RACHEL OLIVIA FERGUSSON]

Are you brave enough to let me see your peacock?

Don't be a chicken boy, stop acting like a beeotch

Rachel still could not believe the fact that Ben had asked her to come to the beach. She was pretty sure Ben was a bit hot and cold for her, mainly because Rachel can change tempos faster than she could talk. And when you get her on a certain topic she can be quite the talker. She pulled at the top of her romper and readjusted the purse that was hanging off her right shoulder. She wondered what Ben was up to and why of all places he chose the beach. He did not seem like the beach goer but hey, everyone is allowed to be surprising. Maybe Ben would surprise her today and be different. Different in a not completely different way. Rachel's thoughts may not make sense to anyone looking in, but in her mind they made perfect sense.

What she was trying to say was that she hoped that his outlook would be on a brighter note today. She hated seeing him all serious. She wondered if he was ever a bit bubbly as people say. If not, she wondered if something happened to make him that way. She thought that something probably did. She had seen a few things on the online chat, but would usually sign off when Ben was talking to someone else about something she felt that she did not need to be there for.

She still was rather new about this whole school thing and she did not know how she feel about it. She was pretty sure her parents did not know what really this was. Rachel was still not too for sure what this was either. It was weird and she could not figure why people wanted to come here. It was not all that great. She was not going to complain though. She had complained once but then the officials for the school had been not so nice so she figured that complaining may not be the best idea. Instead she made light of a sticky situation and just went with it. When she had done that she had met Mason and Ben who were wonderful people, two people which she wondered why they were here.

Which brought her back to square one. Why was Ben the way that he was. She would never ask him, that is not her place she guessed. It was weird that she was giving someone that respect. Rachel would have never done that at home, instead she would become Nancy Drew and try to solve the clue. Rachel giggled a bit as she found that had rhymed. The salty air of the beach was in smelling proximity. It had not taken too long to get here. The beaches were in a way different than the east coast beaches. She could not put her finger on it, they just were. Either way it was the beach and the beach was awesome.

Ben had been in her sight and Rachel kept him in her vision as she snuck up on him. She was not really sneaking up on him but she might as well have been. He had been in deep thought and it was almost criminal that Rachel would be disturbing it. In her defense she really did not think about how he was in thought. She just new she wanted to hug the crap out of him. As she did embrace him she really did hope that he would not push her away. It was if he was going to though but his arms fell down to his sides. Rachel sat there for a second before she realize that Ben may not be happy. She acquired a face of a five year old who knew that they did something bad. Her eyes slowly looked up to Ben who was looking down at her. She laughed me in a 'you caught me' way. "A pillow pet? No you look like Ben." Rachel said, her body still in a 100 degree angle, arms wrapped around him. "Though pillow pets are cute just like you!" Rachel added. There was a slight pause on her part. "I guess I should let you go huh? Rachel said quietly, not really wanted to let him go. She liked hugs, hugs were love.

[BENJAMIN ISAIAH BECKETT]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb= style, width: 444px; background-color: 593B28; border-right: solid 20px #1E1E1E; border-left: solid 20px #1E1E1E; border-top: solid 15px #1E1E1E; border-bottom: solid 15px #1E1E1E; padding: 2 2 2 2px;] i hear you breathing in, another day begins stars are falling out, my dreams are fading out love is a symphony all around me, running through me t a g g e d [ rachel ] w o r d s [ 0683] l y r i c s [ switchfoot ] Rachel seemed like such a simple kind of girl. Despite the fact that she was part of an army and was being fed the same shit the rest of the students were—she chose to make the best of it. Ben secretly hated Rachel for her ability to ignore what was happening. There were some nights when Ben didn’t even feel human anymore. Each night that Ben felt less human than he should, he would either take a trip to the beach or to the sandbar. The people closest to Ben knew that those two spots were his go-to-spots for whenever he felt sick, depressed, lonely, or inhuman. Lately, Ben had been feeling all of those things. There he was, though, sitting in the presence of the one girl on the island who actually seemed to be bad for him. Rachel made him think too much. He didn’t like to think. Just do. Rachel was exactly the kind of irritatingly nice social butterfly that wasn’t needed at a moment like this. Ben remembered a few times that Rachel had asked him why he didn’t smile that much. He didn’t want to tell her the whole story. Almost no one knew the whole story, but Ben just couldn’t manage a smile for her. Ben couldn’t manage a smile for Rachel because she reminded him too much of how things used to be. Though Rachel was different from his soon-to-be ex-wife, there were enough traits that were similar for him to focus on it. One reason that Ben didn’t automatically shove Rachel away from him when she hugged him was because he was reminded of Jessica. He was reminded of the old days, before his marriage went sour. Ben could clearly recall the days when he would walk down the beaches of LA and hold Jessica’s hand. He had even asked her to marry him on the beach. Ben sighed at Rachel’s reply. At least she could acknowledge that he was Ben and not a Pillow Pet. She was somewhat unpredictable, and that worried him. Ben hated not being able to understand what Rachel may be thinking, or what she may be planning to do or say next. He liked to be able to stay a few steps ahead, but with her it was difficult. As Rachel made a joke about him being just as cute as a pillow pet, Ben raised an eyebrow. It was the pause after her comment that worried him. Ben didn’t like pauses. Pauses generally meant one of two things. One, that the other person had absolutely nothing else to say other than idle chit chat. Two, that there was something the other person wanted to say, but wasn’t. Neither situation seemed all that good a choice to ben. Ben pressed his lips together as she mused that she should probably let him go. ”You think?” He added, his tone sounding a bit harsher than he had originally intended for it to sound. ”You’ll have to let go eventually.” Ben added. He wondered if Rachel did these kinds of things when she would hang out with Mason. Mason seemed like he would be the type of guy who would encourage her flighty-ness. Ben, on the other hand, didn’t want to encourage any more than he had to. It was for the best, at the moment, to let things go the way they were going. “Careful,” Ben told her. “My body is still a little achy from Ethan’s workout.” Ben wasn’t even sure that Rachel knew the amount of hot water he had been in lately. He found it more difficult to confide in Rachel because of the parts of her that reminded him of his ex. It wasn’t fair. Ben knew that he should treat Rachel with respect, and he should probably value her friendship. The problem was that Ben didn’t know if he would be able to do that. He didn’t know if he would be able to properly see her as a friend. It all came with the territory of experiencing too much in life much too quickly. template created by brooke---