Strangers With Benefits
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Written by Pink-Butterfly
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Episode 8
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Nate Davidson stared at the palette in his hands before looking at the canvas wondering what he should draw for the upcoming assignment that was given to him.
“Still clueless?”. His friend, Ivan, asked butting into his thoughts.
He sighed dropping the palette on the other side. “Yes. I have no muse “.
“Well if it helps, try to think of something that fits with beauty, after all, the assignment is something you c
Strangers With Benefits .Written by Pink-Butterfly.Episode 9 .“So, how’s your relationship with Hal?”. His cousin, Cyrano, smirks slyly raising an eyebrow at Jordan who sat next to him on the couch scrolling on his phone. “How so, Coz?”. Jordan asks absently, preoccupied with the Snapchat his boyfriend had just sent him. “Seriously ? I’m asking for the details cause I’m curious. Well, gee, first of all, every time he comes over, he spends his time with you, you two literally cling to each other like koalas. I’m just
Strangers With Benefits . Written by Pink-Butterfly . Episode 10 . “Boys! The Dinner’s ready”. They heard a yell from downstairs making both of them run down the stairs to be greeted with the mouth watering scent of black bean noodles, one of Nathan’s favorites. They both stopped by the kitchen to wash their hands, before sitting at the table together, Nathan next to his mother with Ivan across him. They both stopped by the kitchen to wash their hands before sitting at the table together, Nathan next to his mother and Ivan across from him.
Strangers With Benefits .Written by Pink-Butterfly.Episode 11.“Are you sure you want to go with me to the restaurant?”. Hal asked his boyfriend for the umpteenth time. “I mean, you don’t have to. I’ll just solve whatever problems he was calling for and I’ll come back to you right way, isn’t that much better ?”. Jordan rolled his eyes as they walked down the street leading to the restaurant. “I don’t trust you to return immediately. After he long you out, he might suggest another thing and suddenly you’ll forget that I even exist. You’ve done that to me before and y
Strangers With Benefits .Written by Pink-Butterfly.Episode 12.“Why did I ever marry you?”. The yell broke through the house as soon as Ivan stepped inside. The sound of plate shattering against the floor soon followed. “You good for nothing woman! What would you ever do if I wasn’t here, huh? Who would love you?”. The loud voice of his father continued, accompanied with muffled hits, immediately alarming the boy. “Shut up! Who would put up with your bullshit? I&rsquo
Strangers With Benefits .Written by Pink-Butterfly.Episode 13 ."Nathan, could you set the table please." His mother’s sweet tone could be heard from the window that offered the kitchen a view of the garden.The teenager looked up from his dribbles, kicking the ball to the goal at the back of the small garden then jogging back to the house."Clean your hands." His mother asked, feeding him a piece of the grilled meat she had just prepared.
Strangers With Benefits .Written by Pink-Butterfly.Episode 14: ."Ivan, are you just going to ignore the fact that you're being abused by your parents?". Nathan said, feeling more and more frustrated as he paced around the room, while Ivan was taking his shirt off to change into his pajamas unbothered by the outburst that was being directed at him. "You are getting it wrong. I'm not getting abused by my parents Nathan." He said, turning to the younger calmly."Then what are all those bruises i see hu
Strangers With Benefits .Written by Pink-Butterfly.Episode 15: . “So How’s your relationship with Jordan?”. Sal asked out of a blue. “Okay, I guess”. Hal shrugged. “We are not the type who usually has all these cringe couple fights “. “Oh okay “.Hal paused for a moment before poking his best friend. “Hey. Why did you ask about my boyfriend all of a sudden ? Or wait ...”. He gasped dramat
Strangers With Benefits .Written by Pink-Butterfly.Episode 16: The Real Issue . The table was completely silent as they sat in the crowded fast food place at their usual table, a four seat booth by the window.Usually, the four friends would have been bickering about their food preferences or some trendy show they all watched, laughing over the music of the restaurant and draining the patience of the other customers.But today was different for two reasons.
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