Pencil, Paper and Passion.

“This isn't going to work...” I muttered to myself, for what had to be the trillionth time. I stood in front of the fireplace in the parlor, too nervous to sit. “No possible way...”

“Shut up, it'll be fine.” Ben assured me, shuffling over to stand next to me. He was only standing because he couldn't sit and we were just waiting for seven o' clock to roll around.

I stared at him in dismay. “Ben, this plan is the absolute worst. I feel like I'm in some cliche horror movie. Why today of all days? This really couldn't wait until next week?”

“Elizabeth, the fact that it's Halloween plays a very important part in the plan.”

“Your plan sucks.”

“The plan. The plan. It's not just mine.”

“Whatever you say. Do you need help with your helmet?”

“No, I think I've got it.”

I watched as he lifted the metal helmet and dropped it over his head. With a lot of loud clanking, he lifted his arm and pushed the visor up and grinned at me. “What do you think?”

“I think you're an idiot.”

“Thank you so much.” He dropped his hand and the visor slammed down over his face, eliciting a small yelp from him.

I burst out laughing. “You are the worst knight in shining armor I have ever seen.”

Ben's voice was muffled through the metal. “Yeah, well, you don't even sound Scottish.”

“That just might be because I'm not Scottish, Ben. Just might.” I tugged self-consciously at the long, blue-green gown I was wearing. It was gorgeous, I had to admit, what with the sleeves, puffed at the elbows, tapering down to my wrists and the intricately woven threads of gold at the edges. A brown leather belt and flat boots of the same material and color completed the costume. “I look ridiculous.”

“You look just like Merida, actually. It's kind of weird.”

“It took me an hour and a half to curl my hair like this.” My hair had actually been the reason why I settled on Merida, from Brave, for a costume. It was already red and tended to curl just as wildly, so I wouldn't need to shove all my hair under a wig.

“Your hair was already curly.” Ben pushed his visor up again, so he could stare at me critically. “Why would you spend all that time, when it's already curly?”

I sighed. “It wasn't curly enough.”

He just rolled his eyes and let the visor snap back into place. “Whatever you say, sweetheart.”

“Can you even see out of that thing?” I asked him, hoping the answer would be no, that way I could get the satisfaction of watching him run into things all night.

“Yes, I can. Just not very well. I'll manage though.”

I let out a hum of disappointment and turned away from him. I began pacing back in forth in front of the parlor window, getting nervous again. I wasn't nervous about the impromptu Halloween party I would be throwing in, I glanced at the clock, thirty minutes. No, I was nervous at the reason for it. It was apparently the deciding factor in this 'plan' of Ben's, which was ridiculously intricate.

It had required Ben's brother to “call off” his investigation and for Noah to stop digging into everything. I had basically been forced into hiding, not allowed to leave the house for anything but school and even there Noah practically followed me into the bathrooms. Ben and I hadn't said one word to each other face to face in the eleven days since he'd unveiled his master plan. We talked on the phone every night though, probably staying up too late and falling asleep without either of us hanging up.

Yesterday, I had officially put the plan into motion. Armed with a large manilla envelope and a nervous demeanor, I had gone to our local police station with Noah silently trailing along. Completely aware of and on board with the plan, Jamie had ushered us into his office and plied me with coffee and amusing stories of Ben as a child, for over an hour. To anyone not inside the room, it looked like I'd gone in with evidence and spilled my guts. In other words, it looked exactly what we needed it to look like. Like I'd finally remembered what I'd seen the day I had been attacked and told the police.

My attacker, if they were watching me, would be extremely nervous. They'd want to get their hands on me and find out what I'd told the police. But it would be difficult to get to me, what with the way Noah was practically attached at my hip. So, they'd have no other choice but to take Ben's offer. Me, for my attacker's silence about our relationship so Ben wouldn't lose his job.

This is where it got dangerous. Ben would get me alone somewhere in the house and hand me over to my attacker. He'd have to let me go with whoever it was. He'd signal Noah and Jamie and they'd close in, take my attacker into custody. What made this dangerous is that Ben would have to wait a certain amount of time to tip off my bodyguard and his brother, lest my attacker become suspicious. This could possibly give them enough time to get away with me. Or they could become violent when they realized they wouldn't be able to escape. The most likely outcome of that situation would be that I would become a hostage. One wrong move and I'm dead.

The possibilities were endless and I agonized over them, as I stood silently beside Ben. I looked up at a noise in the doorway and caught sight of Noah. I had to smile at his costume. “I thought we had theme?”

“I wasn't wearing tights.” He said simply, strolling into the room, cape trailing behind him. He'd dressed as Dracula; his dark hair was slicked back, accentuating his sharp cheek bones and he was dressed in a black, three piece suit, complete with a red, silk cravat. He smiled, showing a pair of fangs that looked too real for comfort. “Besides, I think this suits me.”

With his facial features and light accent, it DID suit him. Creepily. I gave a mock shudder. “You're lucky no one's going to want to get near you, or they'd step on your cape. Don't you think it's a bit much?”

He lifted a brow. “That, coming from the girl who's gown is hand sewn.”

I rolled my eyes at him and opened my mouth to retaliate, just as the doorbell pealed. I could feel the color drain from my face and I lifted my hands to clutch at my cheeks. “I can't do this. Oh my god, I can't do this. I'm going to be sick.”

Noah reached out and flicked me on the nose. “Toughen up, kiddo. Put on a smile and go answer the door.”

I looked at Ben, who lifted his visor to grin at me and then gave me a thumbs up. “It's going to be fine. Go on.”

I nodded, took a deep breath and left the parlor. The soft soles of my boots made no sound against the tiled floor as I walked across the foyer, to the front door. I pasted a smile on my face, tossed open the door and shouted, “Happy Halloween! Come in!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later, the party was in full swing. The music was loud, the people were louder, and bodies gyrated everywhere. Someone had brought enough alcohol to pass around and I was almost certain I could smell weed coming from the downstairs bathroom. I rolled my eyes as I passed by the door, giving it a hard knock and then snickered at the frantic 'oh fuck' that came from inside. I was just about to enter the kitchen when I felt somebody grab my arm. I whirled with a small squeak, only to be confronted with a pair of violet eyes.

“Jesus, Ben!” I hissed at him. “You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

He didn't smile at me. Instead he muttered an apology before tugging on my arm. “It's time. We need to go.”

I stared at him for a few moments, trying to catch the breath that his words had pushed from my lungs. When I could breathe again, I reached up and caught my fingers around the edges of his helmet, pulling his face to mine and pressing our lips together. It lasted only a second before I pushed away. “Okay, I just... I love you, okay? Really crappy timing, I know, but I have to say it. I love you. Like, a whole awful lot, Ben.”

Finally, he smiled. Leaned down and pressed a kiss to my cheek, lingering there to whisper, “I love you too. Idiot.”

A wild giggle left my lips and I stifled it by kissing him quickly, and then pushed him away again. “Okay, let's go.”

He nodded, let his visor drop back into place and led me to and up the stairs, to the second floor. Upstairs was off limits to the party goers, so it was empty, save for Ben and me. He pulled me down the hallway, all the way to the end, and pushed me into my mother's old room. When he flipped on the light, I blinked. Seconds later, I shuddered. The room was was vast, cold, dusty, and every bit of furniture was covered in white sheets. It was extremely creepy, to say the least. I turned around to face Ben, surprised to see that he'd shed his helmet. “How long do we-?”

He cut me off and I blinked at his hard tone. “I didn't bring you up here to make out, Elizabeth. Be quiet.”

My eyes widened. This wasn't part of the plan. “Ben, what are you-?”

“I said shut up!” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Just shut up and sit down somewhere.”

When I didn't move, he shouted, “NOW!”

I jumped in shock, staring at him. I backed up slowly, until the backs of my knees hit the edge of something. I slumped down onto it, noting absently that it was a small sofa. I kept my eyes on Ben, trying to understand. Why was he yelling at me? He was supposed to 'distract' me until my attacker got here and demanded that he hand me over. Not yell at me. I swallowed, hard. What on earth was going on?

My eyes followed Ben as he began pacing agitatedly, running his hands through his hair and down his face over and over again. He was muttering to himself, but I couldn't make out a single word. Suddenly, I understood. It was an act. He was acting like a man about to hand over his lover to save himself; he was acting in a way that SOMEONE watching would expect him to.

“Ah, good, you're here.” My eyes snapped to the doorway and widened even further in shock at the figure that stepped into the room and shut the door behind them. They smiled, chillingly. “I'm very glad I didn't have to wait.”

“You're the one who's late,” Ben snapped, whirling around. “We decided on eight o' clock sharp. It's ten minutes past.”

“I wanted to make sure I wasn't seen. Besides, YOU decided, not me. In that little note you left on my door. How did you know it was me?”

“There's only three people that have keys to every door in the school. Two are janitors. It was simply, really, once I caught onto that one detail.”

“The lock on the closet door. That's been worrying me and I suppose with good reason.”

I glanced between the two wildly, unable to focus on one for more than a few seconds. Finally, they landed on the figure who'd stepped inside the room and I blurted out, “Mr. Avery, what are you doing here?!”

His eyes widened, “I thought you would have figured that out by now, Miss Sinclair.”

I choked on my words, “But... you're the principal. How could you-?”

“Easily.”

“Why? Why would you do this?”

He frowned at me. “You know very well why and now so do the police, don't they? You've ruined everything.”

“What?” I stared at Mr. Avery blankly for a few seconds before I remembered. He thought I'd gone to the police with evidence. I threw up my hands. “Wait, no! I didn't actually tell the police anything! It was just a trick, to get you here!”

“Elizabeth!” Ben hissed at me. Oh, right. I wasn't supposed to tell him that.

“Uhm...” I licked my lips as Mr. Avery's eyes narrowed on me.

“What are you talking about?”

“N-nothing...”

“Tell me!” He shouted the words and whipped a gun from the waistband of his pants within seconds. Both were directed at me.

I swallowed and stuttered out, “W-we tricked you. Into coming here. We d-didn't take anything to the p-police.” My trailed off into a whispers as I stared at the shiny black muzzle of the pistol. “P-please, Mr. Avery, I promise. I didn't tell them anything.”

“It doesn't matter now, does it. You know it was me, Ben knows it was me and I'm sure there are at least two other people who know. Am I right, Ben?”

“Yes.” Ben's voice rasped out and I glanced at him long enough to see that his eyes were trained on me, full of fear. “Yes, Noah and my brother know. There's no way out of this for you.”

“Oh, but you see, the thing is,” Again, my principal smiled, only this time accompanied by glittering eyes not quite sane. “The thing is, I can get out of this.”

“How?” I asked him. “There's no way. Even if you kill me, everybody else still knows.”

“Simple. I kill you both, here, and leave. Do you think I'm not prepared to run? I'll be out of the country before they find your bodies.”

I let out an involuntary whimper at his words. Nothing was going according to plan. Absolutely nothing.

Ben pleaded, “Nick, please. Just tie us up and stash us somewhere. It'll give you time to leave.”

“You already know I'm leaving the country, Ben. They'll find me. No, no, I have to kill you. It's the only way, really.”

“Why?” I burst out, and suddenly I was sobbing. “Why are you doing this? What did I almost see that was so bad? Is it worth murdering two people?!”

“Of course it is. I'd go to jail otherwise,” Mr. Avery tilted his head, studying me. “I don't want to go to jail, Elizabeth. No, I want to enjoy what I've earned.”

“I still don't-.”

“Don't understand? Of course you don't.” He chuckled. “I've been principal for five years and not once have I heard of you trying any kind of drug. Of course you don't understand. How could you? You don't run in the circles that I provide for.”

“Drugs? You're... dealing drugs? To the students?” I stared at him blankly, before shouting, “That's it?! You're going to kill two people so you don't go to jail for what, ten years? Are you serious?!”

His smile faded. “I just told you I don't want to go to jail. That I want to enjoy the money I've made. Don't you understand now?”

“Oh, yeah, I understand.” I glared at him. I was angry again, instead of scared. Angry that my life and Ben's life and any life we might have had together was about to end, because Mr. Avery didn't want to do a little jail time. “I understand that you're an idiot. And a coward!”

Too late, I realized that shouting at and insulting him might not have been the best idea. I realized it just as he raised the gun above his head and pulled the trigger. The noise filled the room and I screamed, squeezing my eyes shut. When nothing else happened, I opened them only to see complete darkness. He'd shot out the light. I sat there in the dark, too afraid to move. I could hear Ben's armor clanking as he shuffled around.

Had Mr. Avery simply shot out the light and run? Had he decided we weren't worth killing, after all? I gathered up enough courage to whisper, “Ben? What-?”

CRACK! I screamed again, this time out of pain as something ripped into my shoulder. I reached up to clutch at it and Ben's clanking grew louder as he shouted, “Elizabeth!”

Seconds later, the room was suddenly filled with lights, shouting, and then the sound of two more gunshots. During the complete silence that followed, I found myself looking up at the ceiling and wondered vaguely when I'd moved to lie on my back. I could feel pressure on my shoulder and blinked my eyes, trying to focus on what was putting it there and causing me pain. I tried to squirm away from it and was quietly reprimanded and told to stay put.

I could hear conversations going on around me, but only caught small snippets as I tried to stay conscious.

“... losing too much blood.”

“Ben, you need...”

“... where the... the ambulance?!”

“... please...”

That choked out word was the last thing I heard before I succumbed to the pain and the exhaustion that came with it, slipping into comfortable darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I woke up, I was surrounded by people. Brandt and Charlotte, Noah and Maya, and my mother and Tucker, were all lounging around in chairs or on the floor. I glanced around, noted that I was once again in the hospital, and then let out a small cough, to gather everyone's attention. Immediately, all eyes were trained on me and everybody was speaking almost at once as they stood and clustered around my bed.

I picked apart what they'd said, mostly, and laughed a little. It came out rusty and when I spoke it hurt so bad I could barely whisper, “I'm fine. Really, I feel fine.” I took stock of my body, and realized that the only thing that hurt was my shoulder and even that was only a mild ache. I smiled at them. “I'm fine.”

I had other things on my mind, though. Where was Ben? Was he okay? Where was Mr. Avery? Had they taken him into custody, or had he gotten away in the confusion after he'd shot me? How long had I been in the hospital? I shot a questioning stare at Noah, as he'd most likely be the one able to answer my questions.

Everybody else seemed to know what I wanted and, satisfied that I was really all right, wandered away from my bed to give Noah and me a minute to talk.

He smiled at me, easily. “Ben's fine. I think his brother's staying with him, while you've been here. Which, what with your surgery and recovery and all, has been about a day and a half.”

I let of a sigh of relief, thankful beyond words. Nothing had happened to Ben. Even if Mr. Avery HAD gotten away, I'd still be happy. Ben was alright. A day and half wasn't so bad, really, either. At least I was alive. Still, I had to know. “What about Mr. Avery?”

Noah's face hardened. “He resisted arrest and attempted to shoot a police officer. So, I shot him. He didn't make it.”

“He's... dead? Just like that?” I blinked, looking away. He was dead. All for dealing drugs. If he'd just turned himself in, he'd be alive and would serve his time. He wouldn't be dead. How had Mr. Avery become so desperate that death became an option?

I sucked in a deep breath before letting it shudder out. “Well... I guess that's that then. It's all over. Just... like that.”

Noah reached out and tapped me under the chin. “Hey, I thought what you wanted was for this all to be over? Shouldn't you be happy?”

I tried to smile. “I am glad it's over, but... I don't know. It just seems too abrupt.”

“That's because it was. It all happened within twenty minutes. That's it.”

“Nothing happened like it was supposed to, Noah.”

“I know. Did you really expect it to?”

“I honestly didn't expect it to work at all,” I admitted, smiling up at him sheepishly. “I was pretty sure that I was going to die.”

He chuckled, reaching out to ruffle my hair. “Well, you lived. And you've got a pretty good story to tell the kids.”

I rolled my eyes at him and was shoving his hand away when something occurred to me. Instead of pushing away his hand, I clutched it. “Wait... Now that this is all over... You're going away, aren't you?”

“You don't need me any more, kiddo. You're safe.”

Instantly, tears sprang to my eyes and I dropped them to stare at my lap, so he wouldn't see. “But... I've kind of gotten used to having you around.”

“Hey, don't you start.” He warned, reaching out and lifting my chin. “I'll come around every so often, yeah? For visits or whatever.”

“Promise?” I tried to blink back the tears, but only succeeded in dislodging the ones that had gathered, sending them trailing down my cheeks.

“Oh god. Yes, I promise. I'll visit.”

I let my lower lip slip out into a pout. “You'll come for Thanksgiving?”

“Yes, jeez.” He let go of my chin and winced.

I dropped my voice to a small whisper. “And Christmas?”

“Stop, just stop! You're doing it on purpose. I'll come for fucking Christmas, you little shit.” He scowled at me for a few seconds before letting out a huff of breath and leaning down to kiss me on the cheek. “Get some rest. I'm going to get all these people out of here so Ben can visit.”

I started to throw my arms around him, remembered my shoulder, and grabbed his shirt collar instead. “Thanks.”

“Yeah, yeah. You con artist.” He disentangled himself from my hold and straightened up as he turned around to face the room. He clapped his hands together twice. “Alright, people, let's go! Eliza's tired and wants you gone. Everybody go home and get some well deserved sleep. You've been here all night.”

They all dispersed, throwing out 'I love you's and 'get better's behind them. Noah, the last to leave as he was ushering everybody out in front of him, was just about to shut the door behind himself when I called out his name. He turned, brow lifted questioningly. I smiled at him. “Love you.”

He blinked in surprise and stared at me for a few seconds. Eventually, he nodded and turned away, saying gruffly, “You too, kiddo.”

I laid back down in my bed as the door clicked closed. I let out a sigh and, ignoring my now throbbing shoulder, willed myself to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I woke up a few hours later, to the feel of someone tracing my face with their fingers. I opened my eyes to almost complete darkness and let my eyes adjust until I could mostly see. I turned my head to see Ben sitting in a chair beside my bed, staring down at me. Neither of us said anything; we just stared at each other in the dark, while his fingers continued to travel over my face. I tried to read his expression, but the dimness of the room made it impossible.

I wondered what he was thinking, why he wasn't speaking, how long he'd been there. I didn't ask though, loathe to break the comfortable silence surrounding us. Instead, I traced his features with my eyes, the same way he traced mine with his fingers. We stayed this way for quite some time, until he leaned forward to press his cheek against mine. I could feel his breath warm against my skin and I closed my eyes.

It occurred to me that I could have died, that Mr. Avery could have aimed in a different direction and that Ben could have died. Either way, I would have lost him. I lifted my hand, the one attached to my good shoulder, and twined my fingers into Ben's hair. I kept silent, waiting for him to speak.

When he did, his voice was muffled in the crook of my neck, “I'm very angry with you.”

I frowned. “It's not like I shot myself, Ben.”

He got up from his chair and crawled into my hospital bed, keeping his face buried in my neck. Mindful of my injured shoulder, he wrapped his arms around me and squeezed. “I know it's not your fault. But I'm mad at you anyway; you almost died.”

“Well,” I let my hand trail down to the nape of his neck, letting my fingers track through the shorter hair there. “I didn't. So, you're not allowed to be mad at me.”

He let out a laugh that didn't sound amused at all. “That's okay, then. I wasn't really that mad anyway.”

I sighed. “I'm sorry.”

“I told you, it's not your fault. I'm just...” Another not-laugh escaped his lips and suddenly words were tumbling from him. “I was scared, Elizabeth. You were bleeding and you wouldn't wake up. Noah drug me out before the cops showed up and I didn't know if you were still alive, not at first. I had your blood all over my hands and I didn't even know if you were alive. God, Elizabeth. I've never been so scared in my entire life.”

“I'm sorry.” I rubbed soothing circles along his spine and whispered in his ear, “I'm sorry. Look, though. I'm fine. I'm alive and I'm okay.”

He clung to me for a few more seconds before pushing back and pressing his lips against mine softly. Our lips barely moved against each others, both of us content to keep the kiss gentle as our breathes tangled together. It would have been easy to stay connected this way, but after a few minutes we pulled apart so we could look at each other some more.

I lifted my fingers to his mouth, tracing the outer edges of his lips. “Well, now our only problem is keeping this quiet until I graduate.”

He closed his eyes as if he was in pain and let out a whining laugh. “Oh god. Because we were doing such a good job of it up until now. I'm pretty sure at least twenty people know.”

“No,” I rolled my eyes at him and mentally counted. “Only six people know. Okay, five now. Only five people know.”

He was silent for a moment. “I guess I get why Nick 'approved' of us now.”

“Yeah. He was doing something more illegal than we were. I don't understand why, though. Why was he dealing drugs to the students in the first place?”

“According to what Jamie and his team dug up, Nick was pretty wild in college. Drugs, booze, cars, and prostitutes. I guess he racked up a lot of debt and owed a lot of money to the wrong kind of people. Selling drugs to high school students is apparently a gold mine, so he's been slowly paying off his debt. So, there's why.”

I was silent for a moment, taking it all in. Finally, I sighed. “So, I probably walked right into a drug deal or something, he panicked, hit me over the head and everything progressed from there.”

“Looks like it.”

“This is all very... anti-climatic.”

“What do you mean?”

I twirled my hand around in the air. “I don't know. I just feel like there should be something else. This all went so fast, it doesn't seem real.”

He snorted, reached up to tug on my hair. “Yeah, well, I'm just glad it's all over. We can move forward now, without worrying about someone offing you.”

“Wow, thanks. You're so eloquent with your words, Ben.” I glared at him but he only laughed.

“It's true. That's been our biggest concern for quite a while now.”

“You mean since my principle tried to brain me with a bat.” I deadpanned, holding back a grin as he began to glare at me in turn. “What? It's true.”

His glare became more and more dark, until I laughed and reached up to pinch his cheek. “Stop, you're going to get wrinkles.”

“Creases.” He corrected me, the glare gone completely. “I'll get manly creases.”

I gave him a 'the hell is wrong with you' look but decided not to comment. Instead, I changed the subject. “Back to this whole moving forward thing. I'm think-.”

“You'll be going to work at Sinclair after you graduate, right?”

I shrugged my good shoulder. “That's the plan. It's a really stupid plan, though. I haven't got any experience, haven't gone to college, and I don't even think I've stepped foot into the main offices in over a year. I am really unprepared to take over an entire company.”

“Can you hand it over to someone else for the time being?”

I smiled at him. “That's what I was thinking. I'm sure Uncle Allen won't mind running things for a few more years, until I'm fully capable enough to be trusted with it. I can take some college courses, and even sit on a few of the board meetings.”

“You've already decided what you're going to do, haven't you?”

“Yes,” I nodded. “I'm going to take a few years to learn how to run Sinclair properly. If Uncle Allen isn't willing to run things until I do, the vice president will step up.”

“Who's the VP?”

“Haven't got a clue.”

Complete silence followed my statement, until Ben burst out laughing, shaking the entire hospital bed. I smacked him in the arm, shushing him. He just shook his head and kept laughing. Eventually, I reached out and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him down to smash our lips together. It had the desired effect of shutting him up and I pulled away before he had a chance to deepen the kiss.

I smiled, pressing our foreheads together so the tips of our noses just barely touched. “You're so dumb sometimes.”

His lips stretched into a grin. “You're completely oblivious to half of the things that go on around you.”

“You have eyelashes like a girl.”

“You have at least ten-thousand freckles.”

“Are we really going to sit here and insult each other?”

“Hm. Nope, don't think so,” He leaned forward and I smiled as our lips met.

Everything was good. We were moving forward, together. It wasn't going to be easy, not even after graduation. There were still plans to be ironed out, feelings to be discussed and people to explain things to. But we'd get through it all. We didn't have a constant threat over our heads, holding us back. We didn't have to worry about one of us getting hurt.

So, as Ben's hands tangled in my hair and I laughed into our kiss, I thought, Yes, everything is good.