reunited? :: ben

[Khali Nicoles]

Khali Nicoles was trying to get over her recent heartache. Trying to regain all the friendships she let go to stop all the pain to happen all over again when someone she loved left. It was around midnight, as usual she loved to wander in the darkness, and this time she chose the Forbidden Forest to explore.

As she walked along in her blue jeans and black tank her mind began to think about Ben Walker. Stop it, Khal. She scolded herself her throat beginning to burn a little. Pull yourself together.

[Ben Walker]

He was finally back in his second home. At Hogwarts, he felt complete, as though he was a better person. And the one person that had made him feel even more complete was Khali. He had been gone from her for many months, for very extreme reasons. He didn't know if she was still in love with him, or if she had just found someone else. But if he knew her she would still love him and be waiting for him, and he was ready to see her again.

He had asked around the school if anyone had seen her. A few people said they saw her go off campus and some said she just went into the forbidden forest. He thought to look there first. So he got on his cloak and walked. He walked for about 10 minutes until he reached the forest's edge. She wouldn't go in that far he though, then remembered where they had gone to the last time they were in the forest. He kept walking until he saw her. "Shouldn't you be inside? It's a bit late for a stroll don't you think?" he asked.

[Khali Nicoles]

Khali was to lost in her thoughts to notice a familiar man come right on to her. When she heard the voice she stopped dead in her tracks, her heart skipping a few beats, and shock settled upon her. She hadn't heard from him in months, and multiple times her mind has played tricks on her, surely this must be another one of those times.

She slowly turned around to face him. Sure enough there stood Ben Walker. Khali stood there unable to say anything a surge of emotions overcoming her, pain and a slight amount of anger being two of them. Finally she was able to move and she shook her head and said, with her voice cracking slightly, "I always break the rules..."

Khali looked down at her feet just as a couple tears broke free from her control. She hated showing weakness especially in front of him, if only he knew how many nights she cried over him.

[Ben Walker]

Ben almost chuckled when she spoke. He and her were the same, both of them not really following the rules, just breaking them or changing them to fit their needs. But he saw a shimmer in the moonlight, and knew she was crying, or at least she was tearing up. It killed him inside to see her cry, knowing that he was probably the cause of it. He had all of a sudden vanished without saying anything, she was probably furious with him. But he had a reason, and he had to tell her.

He walked closer to her. "I'm sorry Khali, for leaving and not saying anything. But I had a reason" he said to her. He turned around though, not able to face her while telling her this. "My parents, they were captured by Death Eaters. I couldn't let them die. So I went after them. It took a while, but I found them in a cave, left for dead. I'm really sorry. I never meant to hurt you" he said. She was extremely important to him, and he didn't want her hurt. But he had to do what he had to do. "I hope you can forgive me" he said, looking back to her.

[Khali Nicoles]

Khali listened to him trying to regain control of her emotions. Crying showed weakness, weakness she could never allow to control her. Many thoughts crossed through her mind as she evaluated what Ben just told her. She understood why he left, that she couldn't be mad at him for.

But what she was hurt by was how suddenly he was gone...didn't send one letter...left her for nothing. That's what killed her. Yet even though he did this to her she couldn't deny how much she loved him still. "I can understand why you left." She started still trying to regain control of the tears coming. "But do you realize how much pain you put me through? You left without saying anything and didn't even write to explain. That's what..." Khali couldn't finish she turned away from him as the tears fell once more, unable to contain them, and walked away.

[Ben Walker]

Her pain was his pain, he could feel the amount of emotion radiating off of her. He hated to see her in pain, in any sort of form, so this was killing him. He was an idiot, he should've never left her, but his parents needed him. He couldn't just abandon them and leave them for dead! But she was right, he could've sent her a letter or something. But he was afraid that since his parents were captured he could be next. And they could get to Khali that way, and he didn't want that at all. It seemed safer to keep her out of everything, because who knew if someone wasn't watching her already. He couldn't take any chances.

"Look Khal, I'm sorry. More sorry than you can imagine. I just wanted to keep you safe, and the best way for that to happen was for you to not know where I was or what I was doing" he said, stepping closer to her even though she was moving away from him. "Please Khali, I've waited months to hold you in my arms again. Are you really going to make me wait even longer?" he asked with a solemn face. He knew she wanted him still too, so he didn't understand why she wouldn't let him near her.

[Khali Nicoles]

Khali stopped walking but didn't turn around to face him. She comprehended the fact that he didn't want to put her in danger. For once in her life she listened and didn't argue, she didn't let her stubborn side show at all...probably for the fact that she was to hurt for it to do so, but still....

"So, where do we go from here?" Khali asked him clearing up just a little, some of the pain subsiding. "You can't keep things from me anymore, Ben, I won't be able to go through hell like that again..." She added.

[Ben Walker]

So, where do we go from here? she asked, and that's when it hit Ben that she wasn't in love with him anymore. He thought she was, but obviously that ship had sailed a long time ago when he decided not to tell her where he was going. His leaving indicated that they were over, well at least that's what he thought she was saying. And then the second thing she said just added more guilt to his heart. He didn't want to see her unhappy. And he couldn't promise that he wouldn't up and leave again. Who knows, he could be taken by death eaters any moment. What if his parents were captured again?

"Please Khali, I don't want to lose you. I know I lost your love already but I don't want to lose you. I love being around you, being with you. I love you, and that's just how I feel" he said, meaning every word he had spoken. "But I can't promise I won't leave again. We are in a war, and in this war I may be taken...I mean, my parents were already. How long before it's me?" he said.

[Khali Nicoles]

Khali turned around to face him appauled to here what he just said to her. How could he say that she didn't love him? Love doesn't just go away, especially what they had, still have. Khali shook her head slightly.

"How can you even think that I don't love you? I haven't stopped loving you, that's why it hurt me so much to have you gone. Ben, I love you, I always will." Khali told him sincerely. "I realize that but considering the fact that I'm also close to you I'm also in that much danger. I know how Death Eaters work, I know how the war works, Ben. I just don't want you to up and leave like you did."

[Ben Walker]

Once she had started to speak again Ben winced. He knew it was the wrong thing to say, and he should know better. He and Khali had been in love with each other since the first day they met. It may sound cliche but it was true. He didn't know it at first, and thought she was only someone he would fool around with, but he started to understand that she was the only one he wanted. He couldn't even think about other girls without her popping into his head. She made him smile, and he had always hoped that she felt the same way. The whole time he had been gone he had thought about her, every single day. She was the only thing that kept him smiling through his long journey. And now that he had her again, he wasn't smiling. That was something that he was responsible for, and that wasn't sitting well with him.

He perked up though when she said she loved him. Deep down he didn't think for a second that she would ever stop loving him, because he still loved her. Nothing between them had changed, even though it seemed like it did. He just wanted everything back the way it was. "I know that Khali and I'm sorry. But you have to understand that I was only looking out for you. If you were to be killed...I couldn't live with myself" he said, looking down at his feet. Plus, he would kill any death eater that had harmed her in an instant. He looked up at her, then walked forward. He took her hands in his and held the tight, warmth already flowing through him. "Please, I don't want us to fight. I just want you back" he said.

[Khali Nicoles]

Khali couldn't stay mad at him no matter how hard she sometimes wanted to. There was just no way she could. It was literally impossible now that she thought about it, she loved him too much and wanted things to be back the way they used to be. She missed him so much and just wanted to be back in his arms once again.

Khali smiled a little and squeezed his hands as he took hers in his. "Well, I'm glad someone around here still cares about my safety." She chuckled a little looking into his eyes and her face got all serious now. "I'm all yours...I missed you so much you have no idea." She whispered.

[Ben Walker]

He smiled. He did care for her safety, more than she would know. He felt her clutch his hands tighter in her own and he smiled, knowing he was back with her. He would never leave her again. He would take her with him if he needed to, he just couldn't live without knowing she was safe. That was what killed him the whole time he was gone, because he didn't know if Hogwarts would be attacked or if she was hurt in her own house. It scared him so much, but now he was with her and he could protect her. And that's what mattered.

I'm all yours. Those words rang in his ears for a few moments until he could register them completely. She was his, and he was hers. He could hold her again, and he knew that she wouldn't go anywhere. He brought her close to him, their faces inches apart, then leaned in and kissed her passionately, as though he hadn't even left. He pulled away after a moment and grinned at her. "I've waited so long to do that. You wouldn't believe how many times I wished I could do that" he said, reminiscing the past few months.

[Khali Nicoles]

Khali felt him pull her close to him so that their bodies were touching and her face was inches from his. Her adrenaline began to rush a little at the suddeness of it. That and just his touch made her go crazy. She felt his lips capture hers in a passionate kiss and she wrapped her arms around his neck and returned it with the same intensity.

His smile made her stomach to flips and she smiled back at him, everything about him being missing and all was gone. She had him back and she wasn't going to let him go ever again. "Oh, believe me I can believe it, because I was the same way." She told him in a whisper looking up at him. The past few months with him were amazing and she wanted to have so many more already.

[Ben Walker]

He laughed at her comment. It was to be expected anyways. They had been apart for so long without one another and not able to do anything with each other. And now that they were finally back with each other they could do what they wanted. But that thought alone made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Would she really want to do anything with him? I mean, how could he know if she had even remained faithful or not? Should they take it slow now, instead of rushing into things like last time? These thoughts were overpowering his mind, making him think about their engagement. Was it too son? Had they both made a bad decision?

"Listen, if we are going to do this I want to do it right. I don't want to just jump into something like last time and then something happens to either one of us and the other is left alone. I don't want to crash and burn like that, and I know you don't either" he said, holding onto her hands firmly. They were so warm and inviting, he just wanted to be with her. "I'm not saying I don't want to marry you, because I do. I've been thinking about it every day since I was gone. What I'm saying is, maybe after school isn't the best time to do it. We are in a war, Khali, and I don't want to marry you then lose you" he said. He was trying to find a better way to explain himself, but couldn't get the right words to come out. "I hope you aren't mad at me" he said sheepishly.

[Khali Nicoles]

Khali held his hands in hers and looked into his eyes assuringly. She understood where he was coming from and arguing against it she thought would just deminish everything. "How could I ever be mad at you?" She chuckled lightly and kissed him gently, almost on instinct.

"I understand completely." Which she did, but she would much rather marry him than wait till after the war. That way if something did happen she wouldn't wonder what could have been if they did get married. She wanted it so bad, but was looking in his best interests.