Dorm #2: Picking Up Crumbs

Ryder felt bad, and not just because of the bruises blossoming across his chest and the points he cost his house by running through the halls. He just iced them until dinner and then, he avoided looking at Ben through the entire meal. He met Wynter's gaze instead and she looked confused as to why he was looking at her. He'd explain later, but right now, he felt horrible. As the crowd in the Grand Hall was dissipating, he snagged two cookies and wrapped them in a napkin. He knew he'd messed up, but he wouldn't go back on his word. At the very least, he'd try to wrap them in plastic, so as not to break any rules, and leave them for his classmate.

He ambled downstairs to the Eclairage dorms and tried to stay determined. Ben's room was at the absolute end of the hall and he nervously rolled his lip ring between his lips. It would be so easy to just turn back around and head to his dorm, but he had to try to make things right.

He took a deep breath and knocked on Ben's door. "I have your cookies," he said softly when the door opened, holding the napkin-wrapped cookies out to Ben. Ryder didn't really think he deserved one at this point. He was hoping to just drop them off and go, but he couldn't leave things all weird between them. They had class together the next day. They couldn't just ignore each other in Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was a group, participation based class.

When Ryder ran from Ben earlier that day, Ben felt terrible. Quickly after he was abandoned, he gathered his belongings and went back to his dorm. He stayed there until dinner and went straight back afterward. He acted as if he wasn't bothered and avoided looking in Ryder's direction at all costs. Fine, if he wanted to run from him then he wasn't going to have anything to do with him. Had he done something wrong? The kiss was probably too much and he knew that was when everything went downhill. It had been his fault that Ryder had run away but he didn't need to run in the first place. He could have just told Ben that he didn't want him kissing his cheek and then they both could have gone on from there. Instead, he had run and now Ben felt crumby.

The teen was in no mood to talk to anyone, not even his roommate, who he was good friends with. Instead, he pulled his covers up to his chest and began to read the book that his mother had sent him. A knock on the door interrupted his reading and his roommate made no sign of getting up to see who it was. "Your turn," his roommate commented with a sly grin.

Ben stuck out his tongue before getting out of his bed and walking over to his door. "It's always my turn," Ben said before opening the door. "Oh," he said when he laid eyes on who it was. When he saw the boy, he grew upset once more. Ben crossed his arms and shook his head. "I don't want your cookies."

Ryder was confused when Ben crossed his arms, and even more confused by his words.

Okay, so he wasn't that confused. He felt bad and Ben had every right to be upset. "That's why you should want them. They're mine, but I want to share them with you," he said.

Ryder looked down at them in his hands. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have run," he said. "I wasn't thinking, so I ran and that was wrong." He ran his tongue over the backside of his lip ring. He hoped he was off the hook, but he still had the feeling that he wasn't and this wasn't over.

Ben couldn't help but roll his eyes at Ryder's words. He wasn't sure if Ryder even knew why he didn't want the cookie. "No, I don't want it," he argued. It wasn't that he didn't want a cookie, he didn't want his cookie.

"You hurt my feelings, Ryder," he stated bluntly. "You could have just told me not to kiss you. But you ran away and you hurt my feelings." He could have just said he didn't like him and they could have gone past this. It was embarrassing, honestly. "Do you understand how hurt I am?" Maybe if he knew, they'd move on and be friends again.

Ben's words stung a little. They were just cookies. And they were from the castle. Ryder was just transporting them against the wishes of the headmistress. He wouldn't argue about it, though. He could eat them himself later, he supposed.

"I know. I'm sorry. If it makes you feel better, I got detention for running in the castle," Ryder offered with a sheepish grin. It wasn't even a real smile. He was embarrassed more than anything. He was definitely wrong.

He wasn't sure how to explain how he felt. It wasn't that he didn't want Ben to kiss him. He had been surprised by the gesture. He wasn't sure if he liked it or not. It was a nice kiss, not that he'd had much experience in the field of kissing. He was a little behind compared to his classmates and Wynter. Ryder remembered his cousin describing her first kisses to him, but it wasn't the same. Those had been lip kisses from stupid Raj, not cheek kisses from Ben. Ben was so much better than stupid Raj.

"It's okay if you don't want my cookies," he said, his eyes still on the napkin in his hand. "I don't know if I'd want them either. If I were you and not me, I mean."

Ryder getting detention in fact did not help the situation and it didn't make Ben feel any better. He wasn't entirely sure why he was so upset that Ryder had left him in the dust even when he apologized for it. He had said he was sorry so why couldn't he forgive him? Ben couldn't bring himself to. "You left me in the dust, Ryder. You left me hanging." It hit a sore spot with Benny because of his birth parents. He had struggled a lot growing up knowing that his parents had left him. And he felt left again. "I don't think you understand exactly how that makes me feel." He frowned. "You ran off when I thought you liked me, that we were friends at least." His parents had ran off too.

He sighed and looked down at his feet. "Maybe you should go," he said softly. Part of him didn't mean it but a bigger part didn't want to see Ryder at the moment. Maybe he was just being sensitive. Was it really such a big deal? He had made him feel like a fool and he wouldn't allow someone to make him feel foolish like that. He didn't want to be around someone he couldn't rely on.