Mike watched Benjamin walk away and then looked at Gaia. "I wouldn't let that happen," he said. "If he doesn't want me to talk about it, I won't. I..." Maybe it was best not to talk to Gaia about it either, Steph was on her team after all. "I'll give in," he said, kicking some grass. "I'm used to that. I rather to that than getting the others mad at me and leave..."
He sighed, rubbing his face with a hand. He was worried about Ben, but he feared abandonment more, so he decided to just keep an eye on Steph and step in when things became dangerous.

Benjamin saw Steph sitting on the bench with someone else and walked towards them. He heard the last sentence. [i]Competition?[/i]
"Hey," he said as he reached the bench and he looked at the male. "I don't think we've met," he said, extending a hand. "I'm Benjamin."