AN: I'm actually the worst - Jujupops494

The worst thing about the day of the battle was waking up and looking around. Why? Because he wasn't in the woods. He was in his room. Had he missed it all? No, that couldn't be right. He was chosen for a reason. He was supposed to fight. How did he get here? Why wasn't he out there? Was it over? He had so many questions.

His eyes moved around, scanning the room. On a mattress in the ground, which he guessed was provided by his grandmother, was Ethan. Seeing the bloody shirt made him remember – his boyfriend trying to choke him to death, Benny's pleads, a shout, Benny passing out. He didn't think he'd be hurt this much. Why? That was the only thing that he thought of. Just why? Did he work for the vampires from the beginning? Or did he just want to kill his own boyfriend for the sake of winning the war? He rubbed his face. This had to be a dream. It was not happening. He had always trusted Ethan. What had happened?

Though the big problem was: what about his grandmother? Whoever brought them here must have had to go through Benny's grandmother for the mattress to be laid down and for the two to be led here. How did she react? Assuming she saw them bloody and beat up, that is. Did she hate Benny's guts for keeping secrets?

He got up from his bed, but he was so dizzy that he had to hold on to the wall for support. He headed to the door, rubbing his head. He needed something to help him out. Explanations, confrontations, air, anything! Just as he was about to reach for the doorknob, the door swung. Behind it stood Rory, who looked at him with confusion. Benny had a matching look on his face. What was he doing here?

"Benny, you're awake," he said. He shook his head. "Good. Cause I thought you'd be out for a while. Besides," he pointed behind him, "your grandmother is worried about you. She's downstairs. She's scary when she freaks out, man."

Benny nodded. "I know. I know." He knitted his eyebrows at him, a question, among many others, in mind. "Did you bring us here?" he asked.

Rory nodded proudly. "Yep. I'm your hero, too, by the way. You should say 'thank you'."

That explained it. "Oh. That's why I heard a girl yelling behind Ethan. No wonder," he said with a goofy smile.

Rory looked hurt, and he ran downstairs, yelling out, "Mrs. Weir! Benny's awake!"

Oh, Benny shouldn't have said anything. His friend wasn't really all that dumb. He had his own weapons. Even verbal ones. Besides, he needed more answers. Benny gave a weak, not-so-serious smile as his grandmother came up, a concerned yet angry look on her face. He did not expect it, but she hugged him first. "I'm so glad you're alright. The moment I saw blood, I began to worry." She pulled away and proceeded to be angry at him. "What do you have to say, young man? You have a lot of explaining to do."

Benny sighed and said, "I'll explain. I swear. I just need some space to breathe first."

She nodded, her face changing to a worried one. She kissed him on the forehead and said, "I'll be waiting until you're ready, alright, sweetie?"

He nodded, glad that she understood. At least she wasn't yelling at him like he expected her to. She made her way downstairs. When she was out of sight, he went to his room. Thankfully, Ethan wasn't awake yet. He didn't want to confront him as of now.

He headed to the window and opened it. He sat on it, his front facing the room, but he could still see the walls outside and the point where they turned in a roof. Should he do it? Should he go up? He closed his eyes and breathed out. He wanted to escape this world for a bit, so why not? He let his feet go over the window so he could hold on to the top of the house's roof when he stands up. His werewolf abilities made him unafraid to do this. He knew he was good at this now.

He managed his way up to the roof with the force of his strong arms then … just sat. He cleared his mind from everything that was going on and let himself relax and escape for once. All thoughts of betrayal, hatred, regret, and sorrow were gone. He was at peace. He listened to the leaves as they moved from the push of the wind. To the few people walking along the streets, chatting happily. To the cars as their wheels rolled on the roads and their engines hummed their busy songs. And the night. Oh, the night was so quiet and subtle. Not a harsh light was hitting his eye. Not a chaotic sound. Everyone was asleep. Benny wished he could as well, but despite all of this, he still had to face so many things. For now, he just wanted to enjoy his time here.

He spent his time there for what seemed like hours, and he wished that was the case. In reality, he knew it only took minutes. It was time to hop off and face everything. The first thing he wanted to do was talk to his grandmother. Maybe he'd find it comforting if he talks to her.

He once again used his werewolf abilities to swiftly make his way to the window, and then to the room. He turned around, ready to head outside and face his grandmother. But that was not what happened. Instead, he saw Ethan awake, holding the blanket that he was provided with in a firm grip. His eyes were staring at nothing, but his eyebrows were raised in a sad manner. Then he turned his face around to see Benny, and his eyes pleaded him.

But stubborn, stubborn Benny wouldn't have it. He looked away from the vampire – the traitor – and headed for the door. But he should've known better. Vampires were much faster than werewolves. Before Benny could take his second step, Ethan was by his side, holding his arm. "Benny, please, don't leave! I'm sorry. I can explain what happened."

Benny tried to yank his hand away from him, but the grip was too hard. He gave up eventually. But he still wouldn't look him in the eye. "Explain what? That you betrayed me? That you've never been by my side? That you work for these bastards?" He snorted. "I should've known better than to trust you."

The words hurt Ethan, and he almost loosened his grip, but he detached himself from those emotions and said, "You actually think I betrayed you? No, no! You got it all wrong! I'd never," he swallowed, "kill you because some other vampires told me to."

"Then explain what happened out there," Benny demanded angrily.

"That's what I'm trying to do," Ethan said. He let go of Benny's arm. "Can we sit down for this?"

Benny sighed and looked at the bed. "Fine. But I'm sitting on the bed, and you're sitting on my desk chair. I don't want to get close to you."

"It's okay." Ethan gave an apologetic look. "I understand. I wouldn't either if I were you." So they both took their own seats. Ethan tried his best to remember everything. Before it was hard because he had nothing to link the missing memories. Now, he remembered the last thing he saw before he tried to kill Benny was a pissed off Jesse. "I didn't know this before, but now it makes sense. There are times were I'd have missing pieces of memories, and I find myself standing somewhere that I have no clue of how I got there. Weirdly, I'm always either close to Jesse's mansion, or I'm looking at him leave. So I've always suspected something was wrong. But today … the same thing happened. This time, I was conscious of what I was doing, but I hated what I was doing. I wanted to stop myself, but my body wouldn't abide. Then I saw you. By then, I was practically shouting to myself, trying to wake up from whatever happened to me, but…" He wouldn't continue with this point in the story. It was too much. "But I remember talking to Jesse, and I know he's responsible for this. His trances are very strong. I barely remember anything. I don't know how else he influenced me."

Benny was a bit in denial, but this did make sense. Even the first time they had to meet for their project, which they hadn't made any progress in, he hadn't really done anything to Benny. While he was clearly uncomfortable being close to a werewolf, he was still just … him. He did notice some strange things about Ethan recently. Like when he asked about the werewolves and their attacks. Benny's eyes widened. No wonder the vampires were prepared for their attacks. The silver bullets weren't as useful as they've anticipated since the vampires were going directly for the guns. They knew. "He was using you as a spy," he realized.

"How do you know that?" Ethan asked, curious.

"Remember the thing I told you about the silver bullets?" Benny reminded.

"Dully," Ethan said. "I remember it being brought up. I just don't remember the conversation at all."

"Yeah, well, I told you about them recently, and the vampires somehow managed to find out about them," Benny pointed out.

"But any other werewolf could've been as stu- I mean gulli- I mean … I should stop. You have a point," Ethan said, shielding his face. He just accidentally called him stupid and gullible. Who knows how offended he'd get from simply this?

"Yeah, you should," Benny agreed.

Ethan peeked from his fingers and looked worriedly at Benny. "So does that mean we're good? Or?"

Benny sighed. "I guess. Sorry I accused you."

Ethan smiled. "It's okay. We both did something horrible today. I believe that makes us even."

Benny chuckled. "Just come here," he said as he spread his arms, ready for a hug.

Out of joy, Ethan went over to him, hugged him, and then kissed him on the cheek. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Benny closed his eyes, finally happy he was in his lover's arms. He rubbed his back to both comfort Ethan and to comfort himself since Ethan was here, alive and his. "I love you."

"Me too," Ethan whispered. "As much as I'm loyal to the vampires, I don't want you to lose. I don't want you to leave Whitechapel."

"Same," Benny said. "But, you know, you could … run away with me?"

Ethan pulled away and looked at Benny. "I'd love to. I really would. But I have parents who'd have a heart attack and a sister who needs protecting."

"I understand? Plan B I guess? Come for college out of town?" Benny asked with an unsure squint.

"That's more like it," Ethan said, chuckling. "Let's just hope for the best."

Benny kissed him for what he hoped wasn't the last time in a while. "I'm optimistic."

Whew. That was something to write. Sorry it took me so long to write. School stress, man! Also, prepping for college. And, uh, watching … YouTube. Sorry, not sorry.

Anyway, this was the chapter before the last one. Jujs! Time to conclude this story once and for all! Cry cry! Aaaah! My final note in this story! I'll make it special! Uh … I've got nothing.

In all seriousness, love you guys. Thank you for reading this story. I hope you'll enjoy the final chapter written by the amazing Juju. *slow clapping* *disappearing into the shadows* *waves before she goes*

Bye, guys!

-TEM