Clueless

*Danny's p.o.v.*

"But we can't just leave, he offered to let us stay here! Where else can we go? We don't have money, clothes, a car..."

My eyes slowly parted, even though I didn't want them to, and I yawned quietly. Whoever was talking wasn't talking very loud, but it had been enough to wake me up.

"We can't risk staying here, either," another person replied, voice devoid of any irritation or anger, but I could almost feel it. "We've overstayed our welcome, and it's only a matter of time before Mitchell has his minions tearing apart the entirety of Washington. Our best chance is to just run."

I sat up silently and tried to rub some motivation into my tired eyes.
"Are we just going to run for the rest of our lives, then?" I piped up, my voice scratchy from disuse, but I ignored it.
As my eyes came into focus, I saw my boyfriend and Rebekah standing at the foot of the bed.

Ben stared at me, a little bit of agitation in his eyes. I didn't think it was directed toward me, but I didn't know. Maybe it was.
Rebekah just shrugged.
"It's reasonable," she muttered, crossing her arms defiantly. "Definitely a possibility. It would lower our chances of getting caught significantly."

I stared at the two with an are you fucking serious type of look and sat up straighter.
"I think we should take advantage of the current situation," I said after a moment of processing outcomes. "I mean, we've got a place to stay, food to eat and clothes to wear, like Ben pointed out. But we're going to need to leave. Not now, but soon, probably. Mr. Tony will be looking for us. We have to tell someone."

"Tell someone?" Rebekah laughed. "We're crazy." For emphasis, she made a finger gun and pretended to shoot herself. "No one will believe us. No one believes in what they can't see."
She laughed, then. Loud and maniacal. Her head tilted back, her eyes shut.

I looked at Ben, a little startled, and he just shook his head.
"Then how will we make it stop?" I challenged, standing up. "How can we make them leave us alone?"

She stopped laughing abruptly and smiled at me.
"We don't."

I looked at her for a long time, and slowly, I smiled, too. Not because I wanted to, but I did anyway.
"You can run, but you can't hide," I whispered, then brushed past them into the hallway.

It was ridiculous. We couldn't run forever. We couldn't tell anyone. Then how the fuck do we escape? We'll never escape. Never.
I laughed and raked a hand through my hair as I neared the bathroom. It was still dark outside, so I assumed everyone was still asleep.

How do we get away?

I shut the bathroom door behind me soundlessly, just to make sure no one did wake up, and turned the light on cautiously.
I looked at my reflection and sighed.
I thought about it a lot, I didn't know why, and I was thinking it again- how could Ben love me? The question popped into my mind with every breath I took, every look he gave me, every word he said to me. How could he love me? How could anyone love me?
I leaned against the counter and stared into my own eyes, searching for something, anything... But it was just me. I didn't have any secrets from myself.
I tugged at my bottom lip with my teeth and turned away from my disappointing reflection.

Someone knocked on the door and I sighed, then without much thought I opened it.

"Austin said I could take a shower," Ben said softly, a hopeful smile blooming onto his lips.

I crossed my arms, summoning the will to act like I hadn't been over thinking things two seconds before, and forced a smirk that didn't quite feel right.
"I was here first," I said playfully, cocking my head to the side so that my hair would fall in my eyes innocently.

"Well... But... Uh-" Ben stammered, his grey eyes flickering to the towels he had in his hands.

There were so many thoughts running about my mind, but I tried to shove them back. Just for a little bit. We were safe for now, after all, and I had my boyfriend back, and...
"Get in here," I purred, reaching out to grip his wrist and pull him inside the bathroom. He yelped, but didn't protest, and I shut the door behind him.
I shoved my boyfriend against the door, wrapped my arms around his shoulders, and smiled at him cheekily. His eyes were widened in a bit of surprise, but that didn't stop him from smiling back and leaning down until his forehead was resting against mine.

"Wanna take a shower with me?" Ben asked shyly, his shining eyes searching mine. He licked his lips nervously and I giggled.

"Sure," I replied, already detaching myself from him to turn the shower on.

"Really?" Ben chuckled from where I'd left him pressed up against the door.

I shrugged and muttered a not-quite-sure, "Why not?"
I unbuttoned Austin's shirt and shrugged it off, not giving the situation a second thought, before stepping into the shower.

The water cleared my head a bit and I shut my eyes so I could turn my face up against the spray.

"Y'know, we've already taken a shower together," Ben said as he got in the shower next to me. It wasn't particularly big, so he had to back up against the wall so he wasn't touching me.

"Really," I mumbled, crossing my arms self consciously.

"Yes, really," Ben laughed. "When you were still a little puppy that was actually a wolf that was actually my boyfriend."

"Huh, I guess we did," I chuckled. My eyes opened slowly when Ben's arms slid around my waist and I sighed.

"You're blocking the water, love," he whispered in my ear. "And I really did come in here with the intention that I would take a shower."
I hummed and leaned back against Ben, and he held me against his chest.
"This could have two results," he said after a few seconds. "One, we have the most amazing shower sex in the world, then we get out and cuddle. Or, two, we actually clean ourselves, then cuddle. Either way, I want to cuddle."

"Mmm... choice two," I said after pretending to think for a moment.

Ben made a disappointed little grunt and I just turned around in his arms to laugh to his face. He was smiling, so I didn't think my answer affected him too much.
"But..." he mumbled, sticking his lower lip out.

I pecked him on the lips and shook my head. "Not today, Benji boy."

He laughed and reached behind me.
"It was worth a shot," he muttered.

I nodded and he smiled down at me. I felt his hands at the back of my head, then his fingers lightly massaging my scalp.

"Whatcha doing?" I asked, then cocked my head to the side.

"Washing your hair," Ben replied with a shrug.

I giggled, causing him to smile, and I felt around behind me until I found the soap.
I got some on my hands and started rubbing it on Ben's chest. He laughed and ruffled my sudsy hair. I pouted, but he grabbed the soap from me and rolled his eyes.

"Give it back," I whined.

"No, I have to clean you off," Ben chuckled.

I reached for the bar again in a futile attempt to grab it, but Ben somehow managed to stop me by grabbing my hand and lacing our fingers together.

"I can't wash if you're holding my hand," I scoffed. He just smiled and backed me up against the shower wall.
Okay. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.
I bit my lip and avoided looking at Ben, because okay, maybe I was a little nervous. I mean, for god's sake, we were in a shower together. People shower naked, must I remind you, and this was my boyfriend, so there was no telling what could happen.

"Just go with it," Ben said with a shrug.

I rolled my eyes and stopped struggling as much.
"I trust you," I muttered, looking back up to meet his eyes. His smile grew wider and he kissed me gently.

"Good," he mumbled, grazing his lips against my neck. "Now just relax, alright? I'm not gonna do anything stupid."

I nodded and sighed, and Ben surprisingly enough just started scrubbing soap on me. I would say it was cute, but in all honestly, it was really fucking weird and awkward, but hey, I wasn't really complaining. It was also kind of pleasant.

"Wait, no," I squeaked when Ben started going lower than my chest. He looked at me with an eyebrow raised slightly and I felt my cheeks heat up. "Uh, I... I can d-do it," I stammered.

"What's wrong?" he asked, keeping his hands on my rib cage.

"I... just don't need h-help, that's all," I said, squirming under his touch.

"Huh," he said, then moved his hands to my stomach despite my protesting and squealing.

"Wait, no," I whined. Ben smiled and started tickling me.
"Stop!" I demanded, writhing against the wall. "This is not funny!"

"This is why you wanted me to stop, then?" he whispered, suddenly pressing himself up against me. He laughed in my ear and I shivered involuntarily. "Danny's ticklish," he purred, and I wiggled to get out of his grip.

"Ben, this isn't cute," I mumbled, finally just relaxing.
Go with it, I coaxed myself. It's fine. Just relax.

"Mmm... Just a little?" he questioned, pressing his nose against mine. He was so close that the water on his face dripped onto mine, and his breath hit my lips. His eyes were a little blurry, but I could see them darting back and fourth, searching mine.

I bit back my smile by pressing my lips together, and noted how Ben made my heart race, and his smile made me happy.
My past doubts forgotten, I sighed happily and rolled my eyes.
"Okay, maybe a little."

Ben chuckled and kissed me as if to say I knew it.

"Not as cute as you," he whispered, his words hitting my lips, then he distanced himself a bit further and handed me the soap. "You can do the down low while I do my hair, deal?"

I giggled and Ben gave me a funny look.
I shrugged. "Down low is a weird way to put it," I mumbled before shrugging. He smiled, then turned his back to me.

***

"Let me get this straight, you guys don't even have money? No place to go?" Austin asked, eyeing Alan, Ben, Beau and I carefully.
Basically, he'd wanted an explanation of what our situation was, which was completely necessary. But it was easier said than done: we didn't know who we could trust, and what could we really say? The truth was, we were a bunch of kids who ran away from a mental institution. We also had really weird shit going on, too, like the fact that we weren't human. Fucking right.

"Yeah," Alan said with a shrug. He seemed like the only one who was actually comfortable.

"Where did you come from?" Austin asked.

"Can't tell you," Alan replied.

"Why not?"

"Because if I told you, I'd have to kill you," Alan muttered playfully, offering Austin a lazy smirk.

I glanced at Ben, and he shrugged.
"He's kidding," I blurted.

"Huh," Austin said thoughtfully, nodding. "Then you can tell me."

"M-me?" I asked, my voice getting quieter.

"Yup," Austin said, turning his full attention to me. "Tell me where you all came from. No bullshit, or I'll kick you out just as easily as I let you stay." He smiled, but it wasn't a real smile. It didn't reach his eyes, and it kind of looked predatory. I knew he was challenging me. Lie to me, I dare you.

"Uh, well we can't go home because our parents abandoned us," I said, trying to avoid the blunt truth long enough to think of ways to believably bend it.

"All of you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I find that hard to believe."

"Why?" I snapped. "Why is that hard to believe? Do you think we're good people, so our parents must love us? My parents are shit people! Some of us don't even have parents. So shut up and believe it."

"I think what he meant to say was-" Ben started, giving me a warning glance.
I stared at him for a minute, realising that I was angry for no good reason, but I didn't really want to calm down.
No one was telling Austin anything, he was in the dark, and I knew how that felt. He was helping us, and no one was going to tell him anything.

"I said what I meant. I meant what I said," I growled, my eyes flickering back to Austin. "Our parents abandoned us. All of them left. We were all in the same place, and there was some... complications. So we left."

"You're being too vague," Beau finally spoke up. I looked over to him and he smiled. "We were at a mental institution."

"Beau!" Ben hissed.

I found myself smiling because that's what I'd been hoping someone would finally get the guts to do. The truth. I wanted anyone to tell the truth.

"Yeah," I affirmed, looking at Austin.

"Daniel," Ben whispered.
He grabbed for my wrist, but I shook him off.

"I don't know what everyone's so afraid of," I laughed, shrugging. "We're all just crazy, anyway. We were in a hospital, so what? I'll scream it. I don't care anymore. I'm fucked up. Kick me out. We're all fucked up. But don't kick them out."

"Danny! You're talking nonsense," Ben said firmly. This time I didn't push him away when he reached for my hand.

"I am nonsense," I mumbled. "You're a nice guy, Austin."

I stood up without another word and headed to the washroom, ignoring Ben asking me to come back. I needed a minute or two to think.
I locked the door behind me and sighed, just sagging against the counter.

We all had a reason we were sent to Gilds in the first place. Maybe we weren't as mad as they wanted us to think we were, but we were all in all, insane. Maybe it had started off as a lure to capture us, but we weren't all that sane either. I had problems. We all did. Some worse than others, we were all in the same boat.
I might have been a werewolf, but that didn't mean my illnesses were cured. I might have been out of Gilds, but that didn't mean they weren't there, lurking beneath the surface. Would we ever really be safe?

"Danny, come out," Ben said, his voice muffled by the door.

"What's the point?" I asked, sitting down against the door.
Neither of us spoke for a moment, and I wondered if he left.
"Did Austin kick us out?"

"No," Ben said. "He wants the entire story, though."

I laughed dryly and put my head in my hands.
"I ruined everything, didn't I?"

"Can I come in?" he asked softly.

I sighed and got to my feet to open the door.
When I did, Ben smiled at me and came in, then shut the door and sat on the floor next to me.

"I think we're okay for now," he whispered.

"Okay," I whispered back, leaning on his shoulder. "What do you think we're going to do?"

"I don't know."

"Yeah, me either," I sighed.