Strangers With Benefits .Written by Pink-Butterfly.Episode 33: Come live with Me.“Where is Ivan?" Those were the first words Nathan spoke to Jeremy as he stepped foot into the school.The younger had come to school a little earlier than usual just to be able to see his boyfriend slightly longer only to find the classroom completely empty.And that wasn't normal, because Ivan always came to school early."Ivan is sick." Jeremy said softly. "But he told me to wish you good luck on your math test."Nathan furrowed his eyebrows."How did you know?" His tone was untrusting and low."He dropped by my appartement last night. Now come on you'll be late." Jeremy pressed, knowing very well that if he didn't escape Nathan would know he's lying.The younger huffed, starting his day in a bad mood as he walked towards his class.He sat next to Jacob who was also in his math class, the boy cramming as much last minute information as he could."Aren't you going to study?" Jacob asked, looking
Strangers With Benefits .Written by Pink-Butterfly.Episode 34: Bang Bang Bang ."Come live with me?".Ivan abruptly broke the kiss, both his hands raising to Nathan’s chest to put some distance between them, meeting the younger's gaze with question marks in them. Realizing he was serious by the deep look in his doe eyes, he looked away, eyes focusing on the cupboard next to them."I don't know Nathan." He sighed, raising one of his hands to fidget with the wound on his mouth, nervously picking at the dried blood before Nathan gently wrapped a hand around his slim wrist, guiding his hand away. "You haven't asked your mother, and we'd need to have my parent's permission, and-"The poor highschooler broke into a nervous ramble, Nathan looking at him intently as he spurted random excuses that came to his mind. He sighed, running a hand through his hair and cutting Ivan off."You can say no, Ivan." He said softly.The older cut his ramble, finally looking at him in the eye with a wo
Strangers With Benefits .Written by Pink-Butterfly.Episode 35: Who tops ? .Nathan was pretty much fuming as he stomped up the stairs to his house to slam the door open, kicking his shoes off and throwing his bag on the floor next to them.His furrowed eyebrows twitched when he noticed an unfamiliar pair of shoes next to his mother's.If his mood had been rotten before, this sudden stranger's visit was certainly not helping. The smell of lamb skewers though, did.So he took a deep breath, taking in the delicious sent of his mother's cooking and stepping deeper into the house to the kitchen.He could hear voices, his mother's and one of a man he didn't recognise.The scene was completely unfamiliar to him, seeing his mother with her newly purple dyed hair, laughing off with a man.A clear of his throat cut the adults off, both of them turning to the doorframe where the teenager stood, eyes throwing knives at them."Hey Nathan." His mother said with a large smile. "This is Jesse,
Strangers With Benefits .Written by Pink-Butterfly.Episode 36: NIGHT SHOWERS ."Well, I respect that." She smiled. "Then Wouldn't it be fair that in return, you respect that Jesse is important to me too?"Nathan groaned, rolling to the side to look at his mother, who looked back at him with a soft gaze and a calm smile."Ivan got beat up again by his parents. I just wanted some lamb skewers." He mumbled, throwing a hand over his eyes. "I didn't fail my math test and i wanted to make him feel happy and... proud. But.." Angry tears were slowly brimming at the corner of his eyes, but he did his best to keep them at bay.His mother's gaze dropped, understanding this really wasn't the day for Nathan. She placed a thin hand on his stomach, stroking his tummy over the fabric of his shirt to try to comfort him."I'm sure he was proud of you nonetheless, and so am i." She said, her voice as soft as she could manage. "Do you want a hug?"Nathan sniffled and nodded slowly, raising himself
Strangers With Benefits .Written by Pink-Butterfly.Episode 37: A 73% is certainly an upgrade ."Before you go!" The teacher spoke over the loud chatters of students in the room, shoving their books back into their bags to rush out of the classroom as fast as possible. "I put the tests here."Nathan perked up from his conversation with Jacob, bolting to the front of the class to retrieve his copy."Holy shit!" He yelled, the entire class turning to him because of his loud outburst. He turned around to them, a large smile on his lips as he looked back at their questioning eyes. "I got a 73%" He yelled loudly, proceeding to do a small happy dance.It was no secret that Nathan sucked at math, and the entire class was pretty familiar with him basically being a meme for being so lost all the time. The boy certainly wasn't the only one to be so surprised by the sudden raise of his grades.The majority of the class snorted, others rolling their eyes at his dorky behavior, but whoever d
Strangers With Benefits . Written by Pink-Butterfly . Episode 38: conflict between the squad . "You know when you said we should go on a date i didn't expect you to bring the whole squad." Ivan mumbled, sitting in the very corner of the small karaoke, the multicoloured lights reflecting on his face in the dimly lit room. In front of him was a large table, covered in different snacks and fast foods, the six people he now spent most of his time with scattered around the cramped room, Nathan next to him, Jeremy and Nate also on the seats chatting away whilst sharing a pizza and Hal, Jordan and Sal just getting it with mics in their hands and eyes glued to the screen flashing the music video to Twice "Me Likey" with the lyrics underneath. His boyfriend chuckled as he placed a large hand onto his thigh. "Aw come on baby, hanging out with everyone isn't that bad is it?" Ivan looked up from the space he was staring at to glare at the younger, his arms crossed. "Don't call me baby
Strangers With Benefits .Written by Pink-Butterfly.Episode 39: Apologies will do ."You're being a fucking asshole." He said coldly, making all of their eyes widen. "I hope you realise that."Ivan was never one to stand up for others, he would just close his eyes and walk away, and he sure as hell never insulted others. His friends knew that, and the ones who knew him well (essentially Nate and Nathan) believed it was partly because no one had ever stood up for him and because he didn't want to unnecessarily get himself in trouble.But apparently Jordan had thinned out his patience, because he slowly made his way to the door, grabbing his school bag along with Sal’s, and placing his hand on the handle under the silent gazes of the five others."You know," He said after halting in front of the now open door. "I really thought that Sal was going to beat you up, so i think you should at least respect his self control."And with that, he was out the door, slamming it as well leaving
Strangers With Benefits .Written by Pink-Butterfly.Episode 40: relationship, ruined? ."I made tea ya want some?" Sal asked from the kitchen as he poured the boiling water into his own cup."Yeah sure." Ivan yelled back from his spot on the couch of Sal’s house, scrolling through his phone absentmindedly.The two had decided to leave the karaoke place once Sal had calmed down, walking down to Sal’s house calmly, using the walk to catch up and talk.While they hadn't been that close during their hookup times, both had been close to diaries for each other. They would trust each other with their darkest secrets, even though that was pretty much all they ever talked about. Sex and their fucked up lives. But they had grown and were now in a much better place than they were, hence why they had much more things to talk about."five sugars?""Yup."A few moments later, the older was back to join him on the couch dropping his body next to him tiredly and handing him his mug.They both sip
Strangers with Benefits.Chapter 58: Now, and forever.One fractured, two broken ribs. A fracture in his nose and many, many stitches lining his arms.That was just the start of Ivan’s ailments that were treated at the emergency room that day.The doctor who was treating him had also informed him that he'd need to stay overnight to make sure that nothing was wrong, like ensure that his ribcage wouldn't move the wrong way while the injury was still fresh and require surgery, and also to monitor the treatments for dehydration and severe malnutrition that they were providing him with. Basically, his stay might last even longer than intended.Thankfully, though, he's expected to make a full recovery, and as of right now doesn't need any surgery.Ivan stayed silent during most of the process- Nathan couldn't stay with him during most of it, so whenever the nurse asked him an evaluation question, he'd answer the question simply and nothing more. When they would ask him about how all this
Strangers with Benefits.Chapter 57: We're gonna keep you safe. "Hey, Ivan," A woman's voice chants softly, accompanied by a few matching pairs of footsteps. He lifts his head up to see- long, stringy hair falling over his eyes, obstructing anyone else's view of his face. The entire family was there; Nathan immediately came to sit down at his side and places a comforting hand on his thigh, his mother coming up to also sit on the corner of the mattress, and the mother’s boyfriend hovering in the doorway. He makes Ivan a little uneasy.When the brunet doesn't say anything in reply, the woman just takes a moment to scan over the severe bruising on his chest. "Did he kick you?" She asks hesitantly. Nathan must've filled her in on the situation. Ivan nods. Swallowing her thoughts, she says. "Okay- I'm just gonna feel so I can see what's going on. Tell me if I'm pressing too hard."When the boy nods in affirmation, she does as Nathan had and moves to run her fingertips along the
.. Strangers with Benefits.Chapter 56: Hurt, but safe..Nathan’s already worried before he gets the text; Ivan had been extremely quiet the entire night after he went home, only sending a few messages back and forth at first, and then stopping completely.He's laying relaxed on his bed- of course he's a little unnerved, but he's got no choice but to simply wait for a reply. His phone is clutched limply in his palm. Nathan’s just buzzing in anticipation, waiting for the text that said the boy was okay; so instinctively when it vibrated against his leg he immediately jumped on it to see what it was.It was a text- but not the one that he was hoping for.Upon reading Ivan’s message, he's sent spiraling straight into panic mode. What happened? What did he mean? What was he planning to do? He calls the number- hands already beginning to shake- but it is fruitless. There is no answer. He calls again. Nothing but a factory default voicemail.The longer he sits there, the more realiza
Strangers with Benefits.Chapter 55: What was all of this really worth?.The next morning came too fast for everyone involved.Nathan could barely bear to let Ivan go home, because he was just too worried for his safety. There were so many variables that could jumpstart Ivan right back into the negative mental state he had been in for this past day, and him going back to his parents made up most of them. How would his dad react to his running out? Would his mother patronize him like usual, or turn to something worse?From what he had seen in their time together, it seemed as though any negative stimuli, when struck the right chord, would shoot Ivan’s mental health right down into the depths. That's what worried him the most. What happened when he was alone.It was hard sending the boy home, but there wasn't much of a choice. As he was being driven home, he thought of his excuse; he stayed the night at the school for a school function. As long as it could draw him mind away from Nath
Strangers with Benefits.Chapter 54: disappointment was always around the corner for them. .There wasn't a single thing that Nathan’s mom could do that wouldn't impress Ivan, it seemed, because she was willing to rent a suit for him to wear to prom out of her own pocket. She didn't even have a second thought- and that in itself almost made Ivan cry. But he didn't want to look like a baby, so he just showed his gratitude without any tears. It was a classic, minimal navy blue suit with a tie of a similar color and dress shoes to fit the occasion. The color was meant to match Nathan, who was planning to wear a black suit but with a tie of the same blue- a cute little plan formulated by the blonde himself. Ivan didn't really care what he got- he just wanted to go to the prom with his boyfriend. Unfortunately after being out for almost two hours, by the time they got home the couple didn't have a lot of time to spend together- an hour at the most so Ivan’s paren
Strangers with Benefits.Chapter 53: something is wrong .The future wasn't coming fast enough for Ivan- maybe it was the constant hazing at school and the growing feeling of disdain towards his mother who was now frequenting his home. He was scared to even enter the living room when either of them was home- just stayed in his room and avoided them.However, for some reason, he didn't find himself as stressed about the whole prom thing as he thought he would.This was an important school event for anyone's high school career, just about everyone would be there, and they would probably ridicule him for going with Nathan ; but something about Nathan’s constant reassurance that it would be fine comforted him deeply. Nathan was finally starting to get to him. And he's relieved.“Would you like to come over and rest for a little while, babe?" His boyfriend in question's voice says through the speaker of Ivan’s cell phone into his ear. That voice would always be comforting to him, espe
Strangers with Benefits.Chapter 52: will you be my prom date .The two boys were in pure, happy bliss their entire evening at the park. Any time Ivan and Nathan were alone together, it seemed as though life was easy once again. Of course, they knew better than to believe that would last after they had parted ways, and that was enough for them to cherish this time.Nathan- who was happy as could be- ate more than normal and had absolutely no problem keeping it down, which was a relief to them both. It helped his energy, the sandwiches they had prepared serving as fuel for his good mood.Nathan was just glad to see him finally being a boy, not a lifeless object that was treated like he didn't exist.They played a few little games; seeing who could skip the farthest rock in the pond, playful tickle fights when Nathan noticed he was reverting back to his normal solemn state to make him laugh again.“Do you think you're gonna leave here to go to college after we graduate?" Ivan asks in
Strangers with Benefits.Chapter 51: it’s wrong but I want this . "How long has this been going on, Ivan?" Nathan’s mother asks as she dabs an ointment onto the youngest male's cheek to promote the healing of his burns, her voice bouncing back off of the tile walls of the bathroom.He's got a firm bite on his lip to avoid crying out, along with Nathan, who holds his hand tight.The brunet shrugs his shoulders.“A while- ouch!" He replies, taken by surprise when she touches the tender blisters on his cheekbones.She doesn't want to hurt him, but she has to. "I'm sorry. Just a little more." The woman mumbles, clearly focused on keeping him pain-free.Ivan isn't entirely sure how to react to her kindness; nothing like this had ever happened to him before. This woman, basically a complete stranger, until some weeks ago, was helping him with a smile on her face towards the boy. Of course he had Nathan to thank, but still, she didn't have to do all this. She didn't have to listen to his
Strangers with Benefits.Chapter 50: home abuse is an ongoing thing .They pull into a moderately sized family home- well kept and expensive-looking, much larger than Ivan’s own. There are no other cars in the driveway.Opening his own door, Nathan gives the boy a smile and cooes, "Follow me, baby," which in itself makes him unable to follow the directions.This almost proves to be true when he finally does step out of the car, and the pain in his head is so overbearing that he has to lean against the car for support; Nathan spots this quickly and comes rushing to his side, holding him up by the waist. Ivan resists the urge to simply melt into his chest and disappear, but he knows it'll only cause more suffering.Nathan mutters a few comforting words and tugs Ivan into the front door of his home as the older fights back tears. His mother wasn't home yet, so he had no problem getting him upstairs and into his room without questions; thankfully, though, she would be in roughly an hou