It was night time in Bellwood. Everybody else was asleep by now...except for one Ben Tennyson.

Ben groggily woke up, feeling incredibly lethargic. His eyes were baggy and bloodshot, his hair disheveled, his bed practically. "It's probably just a teenage thing, Ben", he said to himself. "You'll get over it". Ben stumbled off his bed; his body was really not in the mood for this, but he pushed on anyway.

He opened his bedroom door and went down the stairs. Letting out a small yawn, Ben wandered to the kitchen, where he opened the fridge and took out a can of soda, opening it up and drinking it sluggishly. This led to some of the soda going on his shirt as he drank from the can.

"Ugh...come. On", he whined quietly.

Deciding to worry about his wet shirt later, Ben leaned against the wall. He felt his body start to shut down. "There it is". Ben muttered as his eyes fluttered open and closed. He would've fallen asleep right then and there...if it wasn't for the fact that he noticed blood puddling up from underneath the door leading to his house.

"What the fuck...?" Ben whispered to himself in shock. Knowing that someone may have been hurt, Ben rushed to the door and opened it. He found something he would wish he would never see again.

Ester face-first on his doorstep, bleeding like crazy.

"Ester!" Ben exclaimed, carrying the girl in his arms and back into his house. Before closing the door, Ben looked around for any intruders. Ben quickly laid Ester down on the sofa of his living room before turning on a lamp so that he can have a better look at her.

Ester's current state was just shocking, to put it mildly.

She had a nasty dark bruise on her beautiful face, a bloody nose that really looked out of place, dribbles of blood seeping out of her mouth and multiple gashes. Her arm was bleeding, but from what? Ben took of her jacket, but gently so as not to wake her up, and now he felt like vomiting. Ester's arm not only had the humerus bone slightly jutting out of her skin (which definitely explains the blood puddle from earlier), but her arm was also laced with gashes. Her beautiful long legs were bruised and scraped. The fingers on her left hand looked bent and broken. She was missing her signature tiara. Her pinkish-red was loose and messy. Blood was running down the left side of her face.

Truth be told, Ben honestly felt like crying. Words cannot describe how much it hurt him to see Ester the way she is right now.

It was obvious that Ben held feelings for Ester, but whether they were romantic or platonic...well, let's just say he really liked her. Plain and simple. And Ester had feelings for him too, whether she wanted to admit them or not. Basically everyone they hung out with could see there was some kind of attraction between the two.

When Ester revealed that she was dating Antonio, of all people no less, Ben felt...crushed. For reasons that he just couldn't put his finger on. He'd be lying if he said that he wasn't thinking about her ever since that day. He would be lying if he said that he missed all the time. He WOULD BE LYING if he said that he wanted her back. Ben's life just wasn't the same without her.

Ben was dying to see Ester, but not like this. DEFINITELY like this. And now he felt glad that he woke up when he did. If he didn't, Ester would have bled out on his doorstep without her knowing.

Ben got his thoughts back together, knowing that Ester needed him right now.

"What do I do? What do I do?!"

Ben put his hands behind the back of his head, not knowing what to do.

"B-B-Ben..."

Ben instantly turned around to see the half-Kraaho girl with a pleading look on her face, her damaged arm futilely trying to reach out for him. Ben was relieved that she was still alive, and was strongly resisting the urge to hug her, lest he make her injuries worse. He's been wanting to hug her for so long.

"Fix her up first, than talk later", he thought. Ben rushed to Ester's side.

"Ester, I'm gonna need you to stay still. It's gonna hurt but trust me, okay?"

Ester gave out a small nod.

Ben reared his arm back ("One", two..."). On number three, he delivered a hard punch to the loose humerus bone, placing it back in position with a sickening crack.

It took Ester every ounce of willpower to not scream her lungs out, lest she wake up the whole neighbourhood. Instead, she stifled her screams in her throat, though she was breathing heavily from the pain.

"I'm so sorry Ester", Ben whispered apologetically.

"It's...it's...okay. At...at least...I'm not...bleeding...out anymore", Ester replied gratefully.

Over the course of fifteen or so minutes, Ben took out the family's first aid kit and patched Ester up, cleaning her wherever he could, stitching up her elbow injury, bandaging most of her right arm, plastering the scrapes on her legs, and giving her an ice pack for the bruises.

Ester remained quiet throughout the whole..."medical procedure"; all she was focused on right now was Ben, nothing else. Honestly, she missed him much more than she would admit, and knew that he felt the same too. It was a gut feeling (or should I say, a "Kraaho feeling").

By now, Ester was able to sit upright on the sofa, but not properly enough since she was still very weak. Ben was sitting next to her, using a cotton ball laced with disinfectant to clean up her facial gashes and the blood running down on the left side. That was in his right hand. His other hand was gently cupping her face.

Ester was truly bappy for Ben's touch on her right cheek. It felt so warm. While all this was happening, they were deeply staring into each other's eyes.

For the first time since Ben gave her first aid, she spoke.

"Are your parents still here?" she asked. The uncharacteristically croaky softness of her voice gave Ben the chills.

"Well, my parents are out of town for the week. They left me in charge of the house", Ben replied simply.

"You must be really lucky, Ben", Ester said.

"Tell me about it", Ben chuckled before becoming serious again.

"So..how did you find out where I live?"

"I didn't know where I was going. All that mattered was that I got away", she answered in the same croaky soft voice.

"Who did this to you?" Ben asked, his tone carrying an underlying anger towards the person who hurt his Ester.

Ester didn't respond. Instead, her eyes started to well up with tears.

"Ester. What. Happened", Ben prodded on.

"It was...it was...Antonio", Ester replied, though she cringed as she mentioned his name.

Ben couldn't believe it was the same Antonio he knew. "I thought...he was a...good boyfriend", he said in disbelief.

Ester tore away from Ben's stare. "That's what I thought too. But as it turns out, he's a complete fucking monster. He was horribly abusive. He was controlling. He was possessive. And just plain unfaithful and uncommitted". As sad as Ester was, her tone gradually became angrier as she carried on.

Ben was angry too. He was just (barely) hiding it.

"And then the next thing you know", Ester's tone was calmer yet shakier, "he tried to...as he put it, 'nail me'".

"What did you think he meant by that?" Ester asked.

Ben blushed in embarassment. Ester had no idea what rape was; that question was evidence enough. How the hell was he gonna explain this to her?

"Um...do you know...how...um...babies are made...right?" Ben asked hesitantly.

"Yes", Ester replied.

"Well...what Antonio was doing...he was gonna do the exact same thing...but without...your permission. We call that rape".

Ester used her undamaged left arm her mouth as her eyes widened in horror. Antonio almost took away her innocence.

"But look on the bright side", Ben said with a dumb smile on his face. "I mean, there was no way he was gonna fit that big dick of his inside".

Ester glared hard at Ben, yet at the same time, she was vaguely amused. Ben's immaturity was one of the many things that endeared him to her.

Dropping the glare, Ester looked down on her knees. "After I resisted, I got punished for it. I got beaten for it. I just wanted to get away as far as I possibly could".

Ben was pissed. OFF. He was never really that fond of Antonio, but not only did he find out that the guy was a monster, he even tried to rape Ester. Rape is one of the most vile things anyone could do, be they human or alien.

"I swear I'm gonna make this bastard pay", Ben growled out through gritted teeth.

When Ben heard Ester whimpering, he was snapped out of his anger and put both his hands on his shoulders.

"I just wanted someone to love me. Is it so much to-" Ester couldn't finish this sentence, sobbing in absolute heartbreak. Her sobs just made Ben feel like crying too. Without saying anything, Ben tightly hugged her and let her cry into his chest. One hand was brushing through her hair and the other one was rubbing comforting circles behind her back.

"I'm so sorry Ester. I should've known. And now you're hurt because of me", Ben said solemnly.

"It's...it's...okay...B-B-Ben. It's...not...your fault...It's..." Ester said before sobbing again.

"It's not your fault either. It's Antonio's", Ben said.

Ester eventually stopped crying and instead just let herself rest her head on his chest, eyes closed tight as she let out the occassional sniffle here and there.

"You were the only guy who actually gave a fuck about me", she said.

"I will always give a fuck about you. You're still very important to me, Ester. I care about you so much, and don't ever think otherwise", said Ben determinedly.

"Thank you Ben. Nobody ever makes me happy look you do", Ester said, still on Ben's chest. She didn't want to open her eyes just yet, savoring the warmth and just the mere presence of the boy that not only saved her people, but also became the joy of her life. The TRUE joy of her life.

Ben honestly felt much better ever since she arrived. He lamented the lost opportunity to be there for her, and now that he is, that's more than enough. He liked this girl so so much.

Ester felt better too. She felt strongly about Ben just as strongly as her felt about her. Even when she was with Antonio, it just wasn't the same without Ben. She was dying to see him again, but she didn't expect it to be in this way. Either way, she is happy and content to be in his arms tonight.

A/N: My second story. Please be gentle