[center][h3][color=FFDEAD][img]https://i.imgur.com/Wdqo9vt.gif[/img] B E N J A M I N[/color] [color=white]★[/color] [color=9d8f6f]E S T H E R [img]https://i.imgur.com/OUxJZvn.gif[/img][/color][/h3][/center]

[URL=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC5pcvNFE2g][COLOR=gray][INDENT][B]
[SUP][SUB][H3]M A T H E R   M E M O R I A L   H I G H   S C H O O L:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][sup][color=silver]Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 2:50 PM | Boy's bathroom 27 near the Loft[/color][/sup][/INDENT][/URL]


Ben was still weeping when he heard a strange reverberating voice echo around him. It was an unusual sensation, kind of ghostly. He had never encountered a telepath, so he hadn’t even realized that the voice he had heard was in his head. But instinctively, he looked up to the mirror to see who had spoken to him and it was a girl, her face showing concern. He recognized her from his class, vaguely. He turned off the water he was running over his burned arm and sniffled, [color=FFDEAD]“Oh…”[/color] he mumbled, [color=FFDEAD]“It’s nothing…”[/color].

Moving to hide his arm under his sleeve, though noticeably still in pain by his muffled moaning, he wiped away the tears and got a hold of himself, looking at her curiously, [color=FFDEAD]“Ummm..what are you doing in here anyways? This is the boy’s lavatory.”[/color]

Esther remained at an arm length’s distance. The boy was right in that the space was the boy’s lavatory, and she had no business being there in the first place. The trail of events that had led her there were no secret, however. On her way to the girl’s room, Esther had met a visibly disgruntled or distraught boy coming out of the lavatory in a hasty fashion. The scene had followed with sounds of distress from someone who had remained. This was by no means the truth as to why Esther had found her way in there, but it was good enough for an answer.
 
[color=a7b478]“I was on my way to the bathroom myself, and then I heard you. There was another boy out there that passed me in the corridor. Did he do something to you?”[/color] Esther’s inner voice spoke in Benjamin’s mind. The girl modestly extended herself to assist him if he so needed, but the boy seemed strong in himself and his ability to withhold suffering. She took a step back while holding the outer door slightly open, unsure of whether to just leave him or wait for him to get back to class.

The girl’s reverberations within his mind echoed and rattled like they were bouncing between the inner walls of his head. He had heard of telepaths, but had never encountered one before, let alone had one use their powers to communicate with him. The sensation was a bit jarring now that he was actively aware of it, his gaze falling away from her, mouth gaping as though it all suddenly made since, [color=FFDEAD]“You’re a telepath...”[/color] he stated in shock, wiping away the last of his tears on his sleeve.

He paused for a moment in silence, his focus eventually tracing back on her once he finished contemplating her question, [color=FFDEAD]“Anyways, He didn’t do anything, at least, I don’t think he meant to.”[/color] Ben hesitated, holding his hand to his arm and rubbing it gently. He felt he had already said more than he should have, because his countenance suddenly went frigid,  [color=FFDEAD]“There’s nothing to be concerned with. Just...”[/color] he stepped up closer to her, heading for the door, his eyes meeting her own in a deep icy stare, [color=FFDEAD]“Promise you won’t say anything about this. Please..”[/color]  

Esther did not have to be inside of his head to know that something was wrong. Between the fanatic handling of whatever happened to his arm and the remaining moisture around his eyes, things were quite clear from where she was standing. However, the boy was rather articulate about not wanting it to be a big deal. Perhaps this was not the time or place to pry any further, but Esther simply could not help herself when it came to these kinds of matters. But she also knew when to [i]not[/i] do what she usually dabbled in. And one of those things was to stop speaking in his head. It was clearly his first time for such a thing seeing as he reacted as he did. Esther signed the words [color=ab8b67]‘I promise’[/color]—two simple moves of a silencing finger covering her lips followed by a palm hitting her closed fist, as in putting the words into a locked box. A wide smile flew his way along with squinty eyes as her arms gently came around his lower frame in a modest hug. Esther turned heel and continued into the girl’s bathroom right next door.

[color=FFDEAD]“Ummm…”[/color] he murmured, unsure of what she was doing with her hands. Obviously sign language, but this was something he had no knowledge of and any attempt at trying to reciprocate would probably be insulting. The best he could do was simply shake his head, acknowledging her movements as her acceptance of compliance, “[color=FFDEAD]Okay then.…I guess”[/color] Benjamin finally said, sighing deeply in relief. 

However, it was when the girl suddenly embraced him that his body went stiff, her petite arms wrapping around his thin frame. [color=FFDEAD]“Eh..”[/color] was the only sound he could make, his eyes bright and perplexed. Why the hell was she suddenly hugging him? Affection, especially of this nature often him made him feel uncomfortable, particularly with people he didn’t know. [i]Boundaries[/i]. It was so abrupt and completely caught him off guard, evident by his arms being slightly arched above them, frozen in shock, unwilling to reciprocate the embrace she presented to him; He watched as she left, a confounded gaze lingering at where she once stood.
[hr]
[@Prisk]