Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tonight couldn’t get any worse.

That was the one coherent thought that was streaming through Sammy’s mind that wasn’t a jumble of self-deprecating monologue as he pulled into the gas station parking lot. All of his belongings were in the back of his car, and there was a small envelope of cash sitting on his dashboard, aka, the last paycheck he was given before he was let go from his job today.

First the house, now the job.

Tonight cannot get any worse.

Sammy knew not to think those kinds of thoughts. Life always had a way of surprising him, and the outcome was almost always negative; and just when he thought he could breathe again, the waves would crash over him, and he would be right back where he started. The only consistent thing at this point was the fatigue of his body, and the steady decline of his mental health.

He stepped out of the car and his legs just about gave out on him. After having an extensive panic attack earlier, his body was now numb. Completely and totally numb, and he made no effort to fix it. It was his fault, after all. He didn’t pay rent the last three months, and he had been forced to take time off of work. He was going through a rough patch, and all of that time wasted trying to “fix things” had caught back up with him. Nothing he could do now would give him his job or apartment back.

He had nowhere to go either. After their falling out, he couldn’t go back to Lily. Sure, she may possibly let him crash with her until he could get the hell out, but that was a huge argument they had, and he didn’t need to go throwing himself into another toxic relationship with someone who he had once considered a sister, even though he felt like he deserved all the bad things coming to him. But things were really heated right now, and they both needed to calm the fuck down, and Sammy needed to get a grip on things before he could even think about talking to her again.

He looked down at the dying phone in his pocket. It was almost midnight. He sighed and tilted his head back towards the black of the sky. If only he could see some stars, but the light pollution was always so bad that he could never get a good look.

Jack always loved the stars.

The thought that wiggled itself into Sammy’s brain, completely and totally uninvited, startled him out of his stupor.

No. He told himself as he began to fill up the car. Not gonna happen. I’m not going to think about it. Nope. No can do.

He tried to ignore the prick of tears in his eyes and moved his attention to the gas meter. He could have those thoughts later. For now, he just needed to focus on the price of the gas he could barely afford.

Once the car was all filled up and paid for, he hopped in his vehicle and threw his head back. That was another thirty dollars out of the paycheck he had just received today, and he knew with a sinking feeling that the number would only continue to drop from there.

He allowed tears to come more freely now. There was no point in holding himself together if no one could see. His eyes slowly moved over the number that was placed above his head, and he saw that financially, his soulmate wasn’t doing much better.

The number of his soulmate’s bank account had always stayed pretty low. It appeared  that whoever it was had just enough money to get by. The steady decrease always put Sammy on edge, even though he wasn’t really big on the whole soulmate thing in the first place. He was sceptical, he couldn’t help it. Even so, it didn’t stop the feeling of relief every time the number slowly started to rise back up.

If he really did have a soulmate out there somewhere, he hoped they didn’t worry about numbers above their head, because it was only going to get worse and worse from the number it was now.

What the hell am I going to do now?

The thought that surfaced his mind was followed by the usual hateful words he always told himself in times of grief or panic. They clouded his mind and his vision, to the point where he barely even noticed the number he had just been looking at change.

$112.32

$1453.24

$25,000.01

$483,456.00

“What the hell?” Sammy couldn’t help but say aloud, his voice thick through his tears.

The number kept increasing bit by bit, until it finally settled on a number.

$1,000,000.06

Sammy stared at the number in shock for just a moment; the feeling of disbelief putting all of his negative thoughts on hold. Was this a joke? Where the hell did they-

Suddenly, Sammy’s car door flew open, and someone jumped into the seat beside him, all the while letting out a stream of curses.

“What the actual fuck!?” Sammy exclaimed as he tried to make sense of why there was a stranger in his car.

“DRIVE!” The guy said quickly. “Drive and whatever you do, don’t look back!”

“What are you-?”

The man, whoever it was, turned to face Sammy. He had a crazed look in his eyes and sweat pouring down his face.

“Just do it! GO!”

Sammy, fearing that whoever this stranger was could be armed, put his car into drive and pulled out of the parking lot. They merged onto the highway and sped off into the night.

“Can you pick it up just a little?” The stranger asked, fidgeting with the straps of the bag he was holding.

“If you expect for us not to crash and burn, then no.” Sammy said, and he was surprised at the way his voice barely wavered.

Sammy’s mind began reeling the moment the man hopped into the passenger seat. All of the sadness and grief had been replaced with fear, and his instinct to live. The hateful, unwanted thoughts still made their way into his brain, but they were being drowned out by the anxiety-ridden activity as he tried to will himself to breathe. He was going to end up having another panic attack at this point.

“Ha ha.” The stranger said as he once again glanced at the side view mirror. “I think we’re losing them.”

Sammy had no idea if that was a good or bad thing.

The two continued to drive on in silence for just a little bit, with the occasional input of directions coming from the stranger. Sammy could practically hear the blood pounding through his ears, but he tried his best to keep his focus on the road and the cars around them. He needed to remain level-headed. He couldn’t give into the panic just yet, or him and whoever this person was would die.

That’s what you’ve been wanting to do for a while now.

Sammy shook his head because no , he couldn’t let those thoughts overpower him. He could kill someone else in the process and then what would he do?

The silence was almost overbearing, until the man (teen? Sammy wasn’t sure, he was pretty small) broke it.

“Awesome.” he sighed. “I think we really did lose them. Thanks for that.”

Sammy glanced at the man who gave him an awkward smile.

“Hey, how far would you be willing to drive? I know that…” The man trailed off, and Sammy thought that he had seen whoever it was following them again. “Oh shit.” He looked over at the stranger, and saw dread filling his expression. “I just hijacked your car! I didn’t even give you any context as to what was going on. I was just in such a rush and I couldn’t- man, I am so sorry.” He laid a hand on Sammy’s arm, and he flinched away. “Sorry.” the man mumbled again.

Sammy took a deep breath. Was this guy really that dense? You hijack someone’s car, give them a heart attack, and just say sorry? He couldn’t help but laugh at this entire situation. He could feel the strangers eyes on him, and he just shrugged his shoulders. “You know what? It’s fine. I didn’t think tonight could get any worse. The universe always finds a way to prove me wrong.”

When Sammy glanced back at his passenger, he was wearing a strange expression. “So, you’re not like… mad at me?”

“I’m not mad.” Sammy said, letting his foot slip off the gas just a little as he made a turn. “Just trying not to panic, that’s all.” He said the words so casually, as if the whole situation was just a dream. At this point, who knows. Maybe it was all some crazy dream, and before he knew it, he would wake back up at the apartment.

“Shit, I’m sorry again man.” His passenger said. “I didn’t mean to freak you out, I just had to get away from them.”

“You running from the law or something?” Sammy asked, against his better judgement. His voice wasn’t accusatory. Just him simply asking a question.

The man shook his head. “No, not yet anyways. Just some people who aren’t very happy with me.” He held the bag sitting in his lap a little closer. “You can just drop me off wherever. I’ll get on out of your hair.”

Sammy shook his head in a silent laugh, still not quite believing any of this was still happening. Whoever had just hijacked his car looked very… guilty. It was really like he hadn’t meant to scare him.

“It’s fine, man. I just jinxed myself, that’s all.” Sammy said, dragging the blame back around to himself as per usual. “Though, I wouldn’t mind some answers as to why you decided to use me as your get away driver.” Sammy didn’t know why he bothered to ask. Maybe it was curiosity, maybe it was stupidity, but he couldn’t deal with a suffocating silence right now.

The man, Sammy still hadn’t gotten his name, shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I’m running from someone, well, a whole lot of someones.”

Sammy cocked an eyebrow, silently telling the stranger to continue.

“And… uh… I’m not exactly sure how much I can get into. I don’t want to get you involved.”

Sammy laughed, it was a little hysterical, but a laugh nonetheless. “Involved? You hijacked my car and used me to get away from whoever you are running from! I am pretty sure I am involved now whether I like it or not.”

The stranger sucked air in through his teeth. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine. I’m just saying, I wouldn’t mind an answer, so if someone comes looking for me too, at least I will be well informed.”

Well, saying I will be alive by then.

Sammy tried his best to ignore the thought.

“Uh, I guess that’s true.” he chuckled awkwardly. “See, uh, I’m kinda running from these people.”

“I can see that.”

“But these people, they make up an institution, one that has been a giant thorn in mine and my friends' sides for the longest time.”

“Okay…”

“And I may or may just have robbed their institute so I could figure out what their plans were, and find out what they have to do with the alien invasions.”

“Do what now?” Alien invasions? Robbing an institute? “Oh God, I have a crazy robber sitting in the passenger seat of my car.”

“I’m being serious!” The passenger squawked indignantly.

“Sure you are.” Sammy mumbled, running a hand through his already disheveled hair.

“Look- you’re the one asking questions.” The boy said. “I’m just giving you answers. Do you want to know or not?”

Sammy was quiet for a moment as his attention was brought back to the road. Did he really care to listen to whatever this nut job had to say? He had to be deranged or armed or something . Why would he be telling Sammy his business and letting him drop him off wherever he seemed fit? It just didn’t make sense.

Sammy shook his head in a meager attempt to shake his thoughts away. “Alright. Tell me. But first, can you start out by what your name is?”

“Oh, that probably would have been a good place to start.” The boy rubbed the back of his neck. “My name’s Ben. I live over in King Falls. Have you ever heard of it?”

A surge of emotion ran through Sammy’s body at the mention of the town. The town that Jack had been obsessed with for weeks before his disappearance. The town that had driven his fiancé to insanity. The town that took his love away from him. Suddenly, all the numbness that he had felt earlier replaced the blinding panic that had started this road trip. His limbs worked in autopilot as he followed behind the car in front of him.

Ben began rambling during Sammy’s pause, which Sammy hadn’t noticed. “-sure you probably don’t. Not many people know that the town exists except for the ones who live there. I mean, we have had new people move in for years now.”

“I’ve heard of it.” Sammy said slowly, choosing his words carefully. “Lots of paranormal stuff, right?”

“Exactly!” The boy’s (man’s? Sammy really needed to figure out how old this kid was) eyes lit up.

“Alright.” Sammy nodded tightly. The words on his tongue made him want to gag. He gripped the steering wheel a little harder. “How exactly did you get all the way out here from King Falls, which is all the way on the other side of the country?”

“See, that’s a long story. I’m already going to have a hard enough time explaining what the hell I was doing here.” He paused, his eyes glancing over the bag in his arms. Sammy still had no damn clue what was in there, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to find out.

“Well,” Sammy chuckled humorlessly, “looks like we have the time.” He followed the road as it merged onto a freeway. He could feel his anxiety rise under all the numbness he was feeling. Once he moved from the four lane roadway to a freeway, there was no easy escape, and no turning back. He glanced one last time at the “Welcome to LA” sign before putting this town behind him.

“Well,” Ben said slowly. “It looks like we do.” He paused. “And you’re sure you’re okay with driving me? You could just drop me off at the nearest place and I’ll find my way home.”

“As long as you don’t kill me and help pay for gas, I didn’t have anything else to do tonight anyways.”

Ben cringed in his seat. “Sorry about that again. I promise, my intention was not to hurt you-”

Sammy cut him off. “I believe you. Now, tell me your story or whatever. How the hell did you get all the way out here?”

“Okay.” The boy fiddled with the strap of his bag. “This is kind of long, so don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“I’m listening.” He didn’t know why he was listening, but he was here now. No turning back.

Ben cleared his throat and began to speak.

Chapter Text

“-and that’s how I ended up in your car. Sorry again, by the way.”

Sammy let out a long sigh. They had been on the road for almost an hour now, and Ben has just finished telling his ridiculous story. Sammy could just barely wrap his head around the boy’s words. A science institute? Paranormal activity? Shadow people? The only thing Sammy could feel clinging to him was the weight of his depression, not some fucking spirits.

“So, let me get this straight.” Sammy said, and he had to actively deny himself the right to shove his face in his hands in exasperation. “You and your friends live all the way on the other side of the country, but have been traveling all over the states to take down this institution.”

“The Science Institution.”

“Yes, that. So, you guys are single handedly trying to take down these people who own millions of dollars and resources, because they tried to move into your town?”

“Exactly.” Ben nodded, taking a sip from the bottle of water Sammy had given him. “But that is only because whatever the hell they are doing is not only messing with the apparitions in our area, but they are hurting thousands of innocent people all over the states.”

Sammy nodded slowly. “And you guys think that you can take them down, despite all their money and resources?”

“Of course.” Ben said, and he spoke the words with such certainty that he almost had Sammy believing him.

“Even with the-” Sammy paused, trying to get his words into place. This night just kept getting weirder and weirder. “Even with the aliens you keep talking about?”

“Now, I’m not 100% sure if the aliens are working with the SI.” The boy said, “But that is what my heart is saying, and my heart has never steered me wrong before.”

Sammy would never understand people who lived in small towns. He had never understood them before, and he still didn’t now. At least when you lived in the city, you could expect for most people to just be an asshole towards you, and you could prepare yourself to be one right back. People from small towns were stubborn, odd, and he never knew what to expect from them.

Silence fell over the car for a few moments as Sammy took in this new information. The universe just couldn’t let him win, could it? First he lost his parents, then his fiance, then his sister, the house, his job, his free will, and finally, his sanity. The world, no matter how hard Sammy tried, was just going to keep throwing him fucking curveballs.

He took a deep breath in, and out. His body was no longer numb necessarily, just tired. He wasn’t panicking, just drained. He needed a break from driving.

An exit sign appeared on the side of the highway that Sammy could just manage to make out in the dark. He turned on his singal, despite the fact that there was barely anyone around him, and he made his way down the ramp.

“I don’t know about you,” Sammy started, “but I am starving. Is there anything particular you want without it costing out the ass?”

“You don’t have to do that-” Ben started, but Sammy once again just cut him off.

“I’m going to get food anyways. If you want some, you can get some too. Besides, I still have more questions to ask you.”

Ben nodded quickly. When Sammy glanced over at him, he could practically see the gears turning in the boy’s head.

“What about like… a milkshake and fries or something?”

Sammy thought for a moment. Why not go grab a quick snack with the person who hijacked his car? “Sure. Sounds fine to me.” He flicked on his turn signal again and turned to the right. He drove a little ways down the road before merging into the leftmost lane, and turning into the first cheap fast food joint he found. “What flavor do you want?” Sammy asked, pulling into the drive thru.

“Chocolate.” Ben said without hesitation.

Just like Jack.

No, no, no, no, no. Sammy was not going to deal with any more intrusive thoughts about him tonight. Talking about that stupid fucking town was enough without every little thing reminding him of the man he lost.

He pulled up to the speaker in silence.

“Hello there, how may I take your order?”

Sammy spoke loudly into the machine, ordering quickly and praying to whatever deity was out there to keep his voice steady. He really didn’t have the time to have another mental breakdown today.

“That will be $12.50 at the second window.”

“Thank you.”

Sammy pressed on the gas a little bit and pulled up behind another car who was in front of them.

“So, where are you from?” Ben asked, breaking the silence. Sammy must have given him an odd look because he rushed to add, “If- If that’s okay with you? I mean, you don’t have to tell me.”

“It’s fine, Ben.” Sammy said, flexing his hands on the wheel. “I’m from Florida.” He said simply.

“Wow.” Ben said, and he genuinely seemed interested. “Looks like I’m not the only one who traveled across the country.”

“Yeah.” Sammy said, because what else was he supposed to say? Him and Jack left Lily in Florida to come “make it big” in LA? They moved, bought a small house, got engaged, and had a steady, but homophobic, place of work? That working in that stupid little station with those two idiots made him feel like he actually had a home? That he regretted leaving Lily behind? That he couldn’t get over his pride and guilt to even reach out to her after months of Jack being missing?

They all do leave in the end.

That thought Sammy knew was true.

The car in front of Sammy moved out of the way and he pulled up to the second window.

“Hello there, sir. Two milkshakes and two fries?”

“That’s us.”

The woman nodded her head and stepped away from the window. When she came back, Sammy couldn’t help but feel a little awkward digging for cash inside the envelope that was on his dashboard. It had been a long day, however, so he didn’t feel too bad about it. He snagged the little bit of money, which was a lot compared to how much was left in his possession, and handed it to the woman. She smiled at him, and thanked him for the money before walking off to get their shakes.

Sammy leaned his head back against the back of his seat and closed his eyes. He breathed in and out a couple of times as he recounted the events of the last few hours. 

Ever since Jack disappeared... 

..nothing has been the same.

He opened his eyes again, trying to keep his breathing even. He was too tired to work himself into another attack, but he didn’t need to fall into another spiral about that whole situation either. He snuck a glance at Ben to see the boy was staring up above his head. His eyebrows furrowed and a small frown on his face.

Soulmates.

His attention was brought away from his passenger by the window to the fast-food joint opening. He muttered his thanks, grabbed the food, and pulled off into a free parking space in the almost empty parking lot.

He passed Ben one of the sleeves of fries, and kept the other for himself, regardless of the fact that he didn’t know if he was even able to eat anything after how stressful the day had been. However, there was a voice that sounded a lot like his fiance nagging in the back of his head, and Sammy forced himself to put the fries in his mouth. They tasted like grease covered cardboard, but he would do almost anything to get the voice to shut up. To get his thoughts to shut up.

They never shut up.

Ben’s long, loud sip from his milkshake startled Sammy from out of his thoughts. He glared at the boy sitting next to him, and his passenger smiled sheepishly.

“Sorry. I’m used to Emily being in the car with me.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. After Sammy raised an eyebrow, Ben continued. “My girlfriend, that is. Emily Potter. She’s the librarian over to the King Falls Public Library and she’s the best.”

Ben munched on another handful of fries before continuing, and Sammy cringed at the piece of fry that flew out of his mouth into an unknown spot in the floor of his car. 

“You know, I really thought that she was my soulmate at first.” Ben continued, taking a sip of milkshake to wash away the fries. “It wasn’t until I noticed that the times that she would pay for something didn’t match the balance. Though, it was pretty close a couple of times, and I thought that, I don’t know, maybe we’d end up together anyways even if we weren’t.” He smiled, sweet and melancholy. “And we did, even though I was hesitant at first. It didn’t occur to me that her soulmark was her mom. Completely familial, and that’s what made me remember that not all soulmates are romantic. Some can be platonic or familial too.”

Ben looked at Sammy, and Sammy looked down at his shake. He took a sip, prolonging the time it would take him to have to answer such a word vomit, and a word vomit about soulmates of all things. Even though Sammy worked with the radio didn’t mean they talked much about soulmates, and for that he was grateful.

“That’s nice.” He said at last, and the smile on Ben’s face made him feel like he at least looked  like he wasn’t on the verge of either falling asleep or another mental breakdown.

“Yeah! I thought so too.” Ben looked from Sammy to the store-lit highway in front of them. “I haven’t met whoever my soulmate is, at least, not knowingly. But I do hope they are doing alright.” He glanced above his head, frowning a little. “I do worry for them.”

Sammy hummed, not sure what to say after that. He was sure his soulmate, if there was such a person out there, would probably be confused too. But, as Sammy passed a small glance over his own numbers, he was pretty sure they didn’t even exist or there was some sort of glitch in the system. How the hell could they have gotten so much money in such a short period of time? 

He briefly entertained the idea that his supposed soulmate had broken into a bank before he shook his head. He didn’t believe in soulmates, and he didn’t care. How could he have a connection and care so deeply for someone he had never met? That didn’t make any sense to him.

“Do you know who yours is?” Ben asked suddenly before his eyes widened. “I am- I am so sorry , that was so rude of me to ask. You don’t have to answer if you don’t-”

“No.” Sammy said, hoping to cut off the topic before it could get rolling again. “I don’t know who they are.”

Or if they exist.

If someone would even be able to exist like that, with me.

Jack would-

“So, kid-”

“I’m not a kid!” The manchild sputtered. “I am a grown-ass man!”

“Your height would say otherwise.” Sammy commented, and couldn’t help but smirk as the boy (man) threw his hands up in exasperation.

“Ha ha, Sammy. You think you’re so funny, as if I haven’t heard that one before.” Ben rolled his eyes, but Sammy knew from the smile tugging on the corners of his lips that he wasn’t angry.

Not that he would care if his kidnapper was in good spirits or not, since he was pretty sure the deranged man-who-looked-like-a-teenager was not armed. But… all the more cautious, just in case he was.

All of a sudden, a buzzing noise emerged from one of the side pockets on the bag, catching both of the men’s attention. Ben hastily put his drink back in the cupholder and reached inside the bag. Even though Sammy was pretty sure Ben was reaching for his phone, he tensed anyway.

It did turn out to be a phone, which Ben took one good look at the contact and answered quickly.

“Hello? Hey, Emily!” A pause as Emily spoke. “Yeah, I’m surprised I haven’t made the news yet… no. I managed to get a ride.” Another pause. “No… it was an accident, I swear! They were right behind me and- Emily! I didn’t mean it!”

Sammy met Ben’s apologetic gaze and excused himself out of the car. He took the keys, just in case. All of his possessions were in the back of his car, after all. Left to be taken out of his hands when he ended up in some sort of car crash, one that Sammy didn’t feel right getting into with another passenger in the car.

He sighed and walked up into the building, hand’s stuffed in his pockets. He nodded briefly to the woman who stood at the register before moving to the bathrooms.

There was no one in the bathrooms when he entered, so he took a moment to look at appearance in the mirror, and winced at what he saw. He knew he didn’t look great after the day, week, months he had been dealing with what he had, but that didn’t make looking in the mirror any easier. Normally he came across as put together, at least, that’s what he hoped. He constantly had to put on a facade when he worked with the other DJs on Shotgun Saturday Nights . It was a normal part of his routine, and something he always knew how to fall back on. Sarcasm, anger, and his mask. 

(He used to be able to fall back on Jack too in times where he wasn’t sure what to do. With him gone, he felt like part of his mask went with him. His rock disappeared.

He wasn’t all too sure what to do about that. What to do about any of this.)

The eyebags he was used to, and the messy hair. What he wasn’t used to was the spotchiness of his face, and the ever persistent exhaustion making itself known to not only Sammy, but everyone around him. He sighed, running a hand down his face, and keeping it there for just a moment. Breathing in the disgusting air of the shitty two-stall bathroom.

He eventually pried himself away from the mirror to do his thing. He had the keys in his pocket, but he still didn’t want his passenger to snoop through the car. He did  have his and Jack’s things in there, after all.

He washed his hands quickly and didn’t bother to glance at the register as he made his way back to the car. Ben was thankfully not snooping through his stuff, and instead was speaking very passionately, yet quietly, to the person over the phone while standing  outside the passenger side door. Despite it being the winter, it didn’t get very cold in California. But being that the temperature was nearing the lower forties, Sammy could see Ben’s breath float in the air as he spoke.

“I understand, and I’ll phone Troy first thing in the morning. I’m glad you got a hold of Tim I didn’t even think to- Yeah… I know. Stupid decision on my part.”

Ben perked up as Sammy approached, and the sheepish expression was back at full force. He opened his mouth a couple of times to speak, probably to go on ahead and wrap the call up. Whoever it was took a full minute to let him get a word in.

“Okay, I love you, and you can tell me off all you want to later, but he’s coming back. Yes, I know. He knows. I’ll fix it, okay?” Sammy wasn’t sure what he meant by fix it and his heartrate picked up slightly, even though he really didn’t have the energy to run if this man really did want to off him.

It would make things easier, after all.

No . Sammy snapped at the voice. Shut up.

“Alright. I’ll call you in the morning. I love you, Emily. Bye.” Ben hung up the phone, and turned his body to fully face Sammy. His shoulders were hunched to his ears, making him appear smaller.

“Sorry about that.” He fiddled with the phone in his hands. “And not just that but with everything . The whole situation. I’m still surprised you haven’t called the cops on me yet.”

“I’ve been wondering the same thing.” Sammy muttered, and Ben’s eyes widened at the implication.

“Are you going to.. You know, hand me over?”

Sammy sighed, something long and deep in his chest, even if the action still didn’t help him breathe any easier. “No. For some godforsaken reason, I am not calling the cops on you.”

Ben sighed in relief. “Means a lot to me, man. I really owe you one.”

“Well, you haven’t killed me yet, and as long as you pay for gas money, I’d say this was the easiest kidnapping I could have been a part of.” That was true, being that he had never been kidnapped before. Besides, despite Ben being a painful reminder of the man he lost, his story that he cooked up was also a helpful distraction. Even if he did come from that hell hole he lost his eventually-to-be husband too.

Ben cringed. “Sorry about that again.” He glanced down at his feet before looking up at Sammy. “Where were you headed in the first place? If you, uh… don’t mind me asking?” 

Sammy had no clue how to answer that.

“Somewhere. Away from here.” He said, and that seemed to be all the information Ben needed to get back in the car, even if his face spoke volumes on his disappointment at the lack of answer.

“I was just wondering because uh…” Ben scratched his head as he tried to piece his words together. Sammy didn’t bother to wait on him and put the car in reverse, backing up into the empty parking lot. “I don’t know when you want me to get out of your hair, or where you want to drop me off at. I did kind of kidnap you. Carnap you? Does that make any sense?”

Sammy pulled around the parking lot, taking his time to formulate an answer. Ben seemed to be content to ramble, and that gave Sammy all the more time he needed to figure out what the hell he was going to do with this guy in his car. His brain was telling him to just drop him off here. The place would be open for another few hours and he could hitchhike back to the other side of the states.

However, something in Sammy’s gut was telling him to stay. That was not something that normally happened. Sammy’s gut always told him to get away, to get far away, to run . And now it wasn’t?

Maybe it was because of the anxiety attacks he had that day. That had to be it, unless losing the apartment was what finally pushed him over the edge.

Then why not make the jump?

Sammy wanted to slam his head against the steering wheel.

He wasn’t quite aware of his breath picking up speed until he realized he couldn’t quite hear Ben’s voice. It was garbled and warped, and Sammy realized with a start that he couldn’t feel his fingertips. Sammy felt his heart jolt.

“...so I could… I just… du-.. Yo..”

Sammy couldn’t breathe.

He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t live like this. He couldn’t stand another moment on this Earth if he didn’t have Jack by his side, and it was pathetic . Sammy was such a sorry excuse of a human being, and it took him leaving his side, disappearing into thin air, to remind Sammy of how pointless this whole thing was without him.

“I’m sure together we could find that love, yeah?”

Sammy slammed on breaks, turning from off of the freeway into the closest parking lot he could find. A car blared its horn behind him, but he paid it no mind, just as he did with Ben’s sudden screech.

As soon as he could, he smashed the car into park. His hands were shaking along with the rest of him. His breathing was too quick and too fast, and black spots were beginning to enter his vision.

“Woah, dude!” Sammy flinched at the sound. The voice was too loud. It was too loud and it wasn’t who he needed to hear. He was in the car with some stranger who kidnapped him and they had drove hours away from his old home and he had no place to go where was he going what would he do now-

A hand grasped his arm, and Sammy jumped so hard his head hit the ceiling of his car.

“Hey! Hey, I’m sorry.” The voice babbled, “I just need you to take a breath, yeah?”

Sammy did just as the voice said, because he realized after not being able to breathe that he could breathe, and he was going to take advantage of that.

“There you go. It’s alright.” Sammy kept breathing. He closed his eyes, begging for the black spots to fade and for him to be able to see again.

He distantly heard the car door open, but didn’t bother to open his eyes. Whatever was going on could wait until it didn’t feel like every nerve on his body was lit on fire.

Fuck.

Another damn attack.

Sammy ran a hand through his hair. It caught on the hairband that he used to tie it back into a bun. It was messier than usual, and he really needed to redo it. Honestly, Lily could probably pull off a better bun than him at the moment and that was unexceptable.

With a shaky breath, he pulled the hairband out of his hair and looped it onto his wrist. Carefully avoiding the knots, he pulled it all back into something that sort of resembled a bun, before twisting the band back around it.

When that was over with, he sat his head back against the headrest. His breath was slowing down now, and he could finally begin to feel the tips of his fingers again.

Just an attack.

How many did that make today alone?

His car door opened again, and this time he peeled his eyes open to see exactly what his passenger was doing.

That’s about the time he realized he had pulled into a gas station parking lot. The bright, LED lights made his head pulse, and he resisted the urge to bury his face in his arms.

“Hey, Sammy?”

Sammy took a deep breath, steeling himself to look over at his passenger.

In Ben’s lap, there was a plastic grocery bag. Ben pulled out of the bag two bottles of water, and a few bags of candy. Ben passed a bottle to Sammy, who took it out of pure confusion. The coolness of the water helped to ground him, and he clutched it with both hands to stop them from shaking.

Then, Ben opened a bag of warheads, handing one of the candies, a blue one, to Sammy. He took the candy, staring at it stupidly until Ben spoke.

“Eat that. It’ll help.”

Sammy has no idea what Ben means.

Ben takes pity on Sammy, because apparently his confusion was that obvious, and pats Sammy’s arm twice.

“It was a panic attack, right? Troy- that’s one of my friends back home, usually gives me something sour when I have them. It should help.”

“Oh.” Sammy says, because he is an idiot, a tired idiot nonetheless, who is done with life and still wants to keep living.

Ben takes a candy for himself, another blue one, before popping it in his mouth. Sammy slowly does the same, taking his not-as-numb hands and opening the wrapper.

The candy is sour, and he has to admit Ben made a good call. The water is cold and grounding, unlike the case in his car, and the candy’s sourness makes him pull a face until it turns sweet. He never eats candy, but he can appreciate it during a time like this.

The two men sit there in silence for a little while. They snack on the candy, Sammy even asking for another one. He takes a black cherry one, because they are obviously superior to the blue one, and eats that too.

Three more cars pass through one of the gas pumps to Sammy’s left before Ben speaks.

“Are you back with me?”

Sammy gulps, and regrets it as the candy goes down his throat. He coughs, waving off Ben’s alarmed stare before finally speaking.

‘

“Yeah.” He coughs. “I’m back.”

Ben sighs, slumping in his seat. “That’s good. I was worried for a minute there.” He takes another warhead, this one green, as he’s eaten all the blue ones, before popping it in his mouth.

“I’m sorry for stressing you out like I did. I’m sure you really weren’t expecting for someone to just… you know.”

Sammy isn’t sure what to say. Any stranger hopping in his car uninvited would warrant a freakout in his book. However, aside from freaking him the fuck out and eating off his salary, Ben had done nothing to harm him. His gut wasn’t screaming at him to pull away.

“It’s alright.” Sammy says slowly after a long minute. “Nothing I’m not used to.”

Ben frowns. “They happen often?”

Sammy shrugs.

“That sucks, man. I feel for you.” He takes a sip of his own water. “I used to have them often, but I couldn’t imagine having them on the road. That freaks me out just thinking about it.”

Not when you already-

Shut up.

“I just try to get off the road when I do.” Sammy murmurs, and it’s true. He doesn’t think he could live, or die, with the guilt of another person’s life being taken because of him.

The two sit in silence once more, and, for the first time since Sammy has been “carnapped”, as they are apparently calling it, he feels almost… grateful? That he had someone to help him. And he feels guilty for feeling that way, and for thinking it, but he is so worn down that he can’t help but feel appreciative that he didn’t have to go through that on his own, even if just for the night.

“Thank you.” Sammy says suddenly, surprising himself with the words before realizing that he means them. “For… you know.”

“Yeah, man. It’s no problem.” Ben says, his smile too understanding and warm for Sammy to keep looking at. He averts his gaze, looking back to the gas pumps.

As Sammy watched another car pass by, he was hit with a question. One that he didn’t quite know the answer to.

What was he going to do now?

Chapter Text

The answer came to him about two hours later, when the two men pulled into the parking lot of a motel. As they did so, Sammy felt  relieved at the fact that there was a flashing vacant sign hanging proudly, if not a little lopsided. He pulled into an empty parking space, much easier than what he did at the gas station, and eased the car into park. He took his foot off the brake, folded his arms over the steering wheel, and just laid his head down. He took deep, long breaths, keeping calm and staying awake.

He was so damn tired.

“Hey, dude,” Ben said tentatively, nudging Sammy’s shoulder lightly. Sammy didn’t even jerk at the movement. “‘you okay?”

“Yeah.” Sammy said, a little breathlessly. He didn’t feel bad about it either. It had been a long day, and he deserved this moment to just exist . “I’m fine. Just need a minute.”

Ben hummed. “Another candy?” Sammy could hear him rattling the bag, and he snorted.

“No. I’m good.”

Sammy took another minute to just lean his head against the steering wheel like he had wanted to do all night, whether it was in exasperation or pure stress. Now, he finally had his moment.

However, he could tell his passenger was getting restless just sitting there not doing anything, so he decided to move things along. All of Ben’s shuffling was making him feel anxious again just by association.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Sammy opened the car door and stepped out. After driving for so long, his legs wanted to lock up as he stood. He shook them out, taking a moment to stretch.

Ben made a really obnoxious sound as he stretched too, and Sammy met his eyes over the top of the car. He raised an eyebrow and Ben laughed.

“Dude, how do you even do that?” Ben asked, gesturing to Sammy’s face.

“Do what?”

“The thing? With your eyebrow. It’s so weird.”

“You mean this?” Sammy asked, and raised his eyebrow again, this time on the other side. Ben cackled.

“Both sides!” He giggled. “That is so freaky!”

Sammy rolled his eyes, grabbing his keys and his phone before locking his car up.

“Yeah, yeah. So funny. Are we going now or what?”

“You’re the one who wanted to fall asleep in the car instead of the motel.” It was Ben’s turn to roll his eyes. “I thought I’d have to carry you in there, or sleep in the car out of solidarity.”

Sammy snorted. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, man! Can’t leave a bro behind.”

“That must be why you hijacked my car then.” Sammy muttered aloud, and Ben quaffed at him.

“Gloves above the waist, please.” He fell into pace beside Sammy, and they walked along the sidewalk to the door. “Besides, I already apologized and I am helping to pay for gas.”

Sammy scoffed. “That was a given. If you weren’t going to hold your weight, I would have thrown you out when I first got the chance.”

“You wound me, Sammy. You really do.”

Sammy rolled his eyes, holding the door to the motel open so Ben could walk in before him. Ben whispered his thanks and the two stepped inside.

The office looked just like the other three motels they had tried before this one. The walls were brown and dreary. This office in particular reminded Sammy of an old post office he had seen where he grew up. Dark, dank walls. Gray accents from doors, keys, and various pieces of metal. It was just like the post office!

There was a guy sitting behind the desk. He had a t-shirt and cargo shorts on, and was eating some sort of sandwich with a lot of lettuce and… cheese? Was that all that was up there? There was definitely more cheese than bread.

Sammy chuckled internally. There was no way that he would point something like that out to himself if he wasn’t so sleep deprived. Not sleeping much for months on end will do that to a person. Now he was stuck judging this poor man’s taste in sandwiches.

Ben walked over to the counter to talk to the sandwich man while Sammy kept looking around, not that there was much to look at. He just really didn’t feel like talking to another human being, especially a man who is practically eating a block of cheese on bread.

After a moment of conversation, Ben thanked the man at the counter and turned around. He smiled at Sammy, holding up a set of keys.

“He said there was only one room available, but it has two beds so I'm not complaining.”

Sammy felt his body slump in relief that they didn’t have to drive again. He didn’t even care that he was rooming with this total stranger. He just needed somewhere to pass out for the night. Besides, Ben had plenty of chances to kill him, so he probably wouldn’t, right?

Sammy hopes not.

The two men make their way back to the car so Sammy can get some of his things, and Ben can grab his duffle bag. Once the items are secured, Sammy locks his car and the two climb the small flight of stairs to their room.

Ben unlocks the door once they get there, and they both stumble inside, flicking on the lights as they go.

The room isn’t as bad as some of the rooms Sammy has stayed in, but it’s not the best either. The walls and furniture are just as bland and boring as the rest of the place, with the main color being various shades of brown. There are two twin sized beds, with basic covers and pillowcases. There is a single red recliner beside the second bed with the most ugly throw pillow Sammy has ever seen, and that pillow somehow matches the runners that drape across the ends of the beds.

Ben plops down on the bed closest to the open window. His face smushed into the fabric, and a muffled scream can be heard.

Sammy can relate.

Sammy sits his bag down on the nightstand beside his bed, really not wanting his things to touch the floor that probably hasn’t ever been cleaned properly despite motels having cleaning staff to do so. Sammy’s always been picky like that, especially when…

Yeah.

Not thinking about that.

Despite the fact that he has perfectly good clothes lying in the bag right beside him, Sammy doesn’t even bother changing out of his current attire. He kicks his shoes off, because he can at least do that, before collapsing onto the bed. He didn’t even bother to turn the lights out or get under the covers before he’s out like a light.

Ben is the first one to wake the next morning, and is disgusted to note that he did not only sleep in his socks, but in his shoes too.

Emily would be disgusted by his actions. He’d have to tell her about it when he called her. She’d never let him live it down.

With the reminder that he does actually need to give his wonderful girlfriend a call, Ben climbs out of bed and snags his phone from the duffle bag on the floor. He checks through the pockets, making sure all of his things are still there. He doesn’t imagine Sammy would steal from him, far from it. But he can’t trust a single soul besides his friends when it comes to money and info on the science institute.

Though, he’d always been an over-sharer during times of stress. That was now coming back to kind of bite him in the ass in the form of one tall, lanky man named Sammy.

Speaking of Sammy, Ben glanced over at the bed beside his own and couldn’t help but grin. Just like himself, Sammy had passed out as soon as his head had hit the pillow. Ben couldn’t blame the guy. Yesterday must have been super stressful for him, and Ben adding his shit to the pile certainly didn’t help, especially since he looked so put out of it already. At least he managed to get his shoes off his feet, unlike Ben had.

Ben sighed, grabbing one of the set of keys, before quietly stepping out the door. Sammy could sleep a little longer while he made some calls.

He walked down the second floor walkway until he made it to the stairs. He remembered when they came up last night that there was a bench, and he was correct. A small, old wooden thing, and Ben couldn’t be more appreciative for it. He took a seat, pulled out his phone, and dialed Emily’s number. His current time zone was three hours behind hers, so she should be awake by now.

“Good morning, sleepyhead.” Emily’s voice filtered through the phone, and Ben smiled warmly. He missed her so much.

“Hey, it’s only 7AM over here, Em. No need to be so mean.” He joked, and Emily giggled.

“I suppose it is.” He could practically hear her smile through the phone. “I was wondering when you’d call me is all. I wanted to hear how you were doing.”

“I’m doing so much better after some sleep.” Ben groaned, stretching his stiff muscles. "I was out as soon as my head hit the pillow."

Emily snickered. "I bet! It's been a long few weeks."

"It's been a long few years , Em."

"That's true, Benny. That is true."

There was a short period of silence as he watched cars speed off down the highway from his perch on the bench. The past couple of years had been rough on everyone, especially after Tim and Emily were abducted. Their team had been working to take down the science institute, but no one had expected the backlash. No one expected for them to actually take people , and in broad daylight no less.

They'd dealt with all sorts of hate from the community, but chose to just keep pushing forward. The people of King Falls, hell, the people of the world didn't know what this corporation was capable of. They didn't have the same experiences and interactions with the Big Man as Ben and his friends had. They didn't see what happened within the labs. They didn't see what their soulmates witnessed.

"So," Emily said, finally breaking Ben from his thoughts, "how is your getaway driver doing?"

"He's fine." Ben said shortly.

"Where is he?"

"In our motel room. I offered to pay and apparently he was already planning on taking a trip."

"Oh? Where to?"

"He won't say… but there are all sorts of boxes and bags in the back of his car. I don't know what look he is trying to pull off, but I don't believe he's an UPS truck driver."

"Maybe he won't say because he's petty that you hijacked his car." Emily started. Ben groaned.

"That was one time-"

"We both know this has happened more than once."

"Okay! Fine! But they normally call the cops on me instead of agreeing to be roommates with me! Seriously, this guy has no sense of self-preservation."

Emily giggled at Ben's sputtering that ensued, and he tried not to be too embarrassed by that, even if his face was bright red regardless.

"You did what you had to do. I'm just glad you're safe." Emily amended.

"Whatever." Ben grumbled, and then sobered slightly. "We won't really be safe until they get taken down, though."

Emily sighed. "I know, Honey. We'll get it worked out." He heard the sound of a car door opening, and a small beeping sound began. "Anyhow, as much as I love talking to my amazing boyfriend, I've got to go meet up with the deputies and Sheriff for lunch."

"That's fine." Ben assured. "I've got to go take a shower and figure out how to get home from here."

"Do you need us to come get you?"

"No. I've got to find an airport that's not so close to the institute. Then I'll make my way back. I'll call and let you know what my plan is. I'll get up with Tim and maybe we can meet and head back together."

"Alright, sweetheart. I'll talk to you soon, okay?"

"Okay. I love you, Emily Potter."

She giggled. "I love you too, Benny."

"Bye."

The dial tone sounded and Ben pulled the phone away from his ear, smiling. Emily never failed to make him feel better, and even though he was worried that she would get caught up in whatever the SI was cooking, he knew that she could handle herself. She was the badass that helped him after… the incident. Anyone that could do that was the strongest person ever in his book.

Now, he needed to get a hold of Tim.

Tim had been working with everyone to take down the SI after his abduction. This isn’t the first raid they had attempted, but it was the first that had gone right . That was, up until the men got separated.

Mary was going to kill him.

He pulled up Tim’s contact and pressed call , hoping that the man would answer him. It rang a few times, and Ben’s foot tapped on the concrete impatiently.

“Hello?” A voice asked after a moment, and Ben deflated with relief.

“Hey Tim.” Ben said, “How’re you doing, man?”

Ben heard the older man sigh. “Doing much better now that we aren’t being chased. Are you at a safe location?”

Ben looked around himself, as if the SI officers were going to come climbing through the trees behind the motel. “I am. Well, as safe as I can. Are you? Safe I mean?”

“I’m doing just fine.” Tim assured. “Barely even a scratch on me.”

“Good.” Ben sighed. “That’s- that’s really good. Tim, I just wanted to say I am-”

“ Don’t.” Tim said. “Don’t you start that. I chose to be a part of the raid. I knew there would be risks. Us being separated was very likely. Besides, I radioed you and told you I got out. It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine.” Ben continued as he paced. He made sure to lower his voice just so no one else could hear. “I just… Tim, I left you there. At the science institute . What kind of friend does that?”

“To be fair, not many people go into the institute willingly to begin with-”

“You know what I mean! I left you! You should be angry with me!”

“Ben, I am not angry. I already told you when you called last night that I forgave you. It’s okay. I’m safe. That’s all that matters.”

“Where- can I-?”

“No. Don’t ask me to tell you that. You don't know who is listening.” There was a pause, the only sound was the blowing breeze and the honking of cars. “Are you bringing mashed potatoes to Troy’s next gathering?”

Did you get what you needed?

“Only if you bring that green bean casserole that Mary makes.” Ben answered.

Yes. Did you?

“Of course. We’ll make sure to bring some.”

Yes. I did.

Ben smiled. “Awesome. I can’t wait until we all get together again.”

Tim huffed a breath through the receiver. “Me too. It’s… been a while, with us… you know.”

“I do.” Ben agreed. “Anyways, do we need to meet or anything? So we can start heading back home?”

“I’m much further north than you, I think. I hitch-hiked to the next state over and hopped on a train. I’m making my way back as we speak. Are you still south?”

Ben cursed. “Shit, yeah. I am still south. I’m glad you’ve gotten out of there, though. I’m still too close for comfort.”

“Do I need to turn back and pick you up?” 

“No!” Ben was quick to assure. “Hell no, you keep heading East. I’ll make my way there.”

“Are you sure? I can-”

“I’m positive. Mary would kill me if something were to happen on your way back.”

“I can handle myself.” Tim stated defensively, and Ben winced.

“I- I know, Tim. I didn’t mean it like that.”

Tim sighed. “I know. I understand. It’s fine.” He paused. “So I don’t need to head back?”

“No. Just keep heading. We’ll regroup back at home.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Tim said. “I’ll see you soon, alright? Let me know if anything goes wrong, and I’ll call in reinforcements.”

“Same goes for you, Tim. Safe travels.”

“See you later, Ben.”

“Bye.”

Ben pressed the end call button and sat back down on the bench. He knew that Tim should be safe to travel back, and by the sounds of it, the institute didn’t even know it was them specifically who had made the trip. Or, at the very least, had no evidence of their successful breakin. It helped when they had people like Pete Myers to help them hack into the security footage. How he knew how to do that was beyond Ben, but he had a feeling Pete had to do all sorts of complicated and demanding things when it came to working at HFB3’s. 

Despite knowing that Tim was safe and on his way back, he still felt unease sit in his gut. They knew what the institute was capable of, and them being so spread out set Ben’s nerves on fire. What if something happened and he wasn’t there to help?

His thoughts were interrupted by the grounding, yet disgusting, metallic taste in his mouth.

Damnit. Stupid nervous habits.

He shook his head, wiping the blood on his sleeve, before standing from the bench once again. He stared out into the highway in front of the motel, before circling his gaze back to the trees behind himself. Finally, his gaze landed on the door to his and his kidnappee’s motel room.

He could make his escape. He could leave the man with just enough money to make up the cost of another few nights at the motel, and Sammy could choose to use the money to stay here for a few more nights or go on ahead and leave. It would be plenty to cover for the price of gas, anyways.

But, there was something deep in his heart that was telling him not to leave. Well, he did need to leave the motel, but he felt like Sammy didn’t need to be left alone.

There was no reason for him to feel that way. He had a mission to attend back to King Falls, now that they had robbed the third branch of the science institute, and the furthest one away from their small mountain town. What was the point of dragging yet another person into their feud with the SI? Even though Sammy already knew way more information than he should.

He walked back to the door, questioning if he should just leave a note and go. It's not like the guy would really care. It would be almost like a strange dream, like Ben was never there at all.

He inserted the key in their motel room door, and popped it open.

Sammy was awake now. The man sat on the edge of his bed. His long, blonde hair was down around his shoulders. He tossed his phone on the mattress as Ben walked in, and rubbed his eyes sleepily.

"G'morning." Sammy slurred, and Ben smiled. Looks like he didn't need to plan his escape after all.

"'Morning." Ben shut the door behind himself quietly. "Sleep well?"

"Hmm." Sammy nodded before yawning widely. "Well enough. 'You?"

"Apparently I did, being that I slept with my damn shoes on." Sammy's face contorted into sleepy disgust, and Ben was inclined to agree. "Yeah, man. It was gross. Sleeping in socks is bad enough."

"What's wrong with sleeping in socks?" Sammy murmured, and Ben gasped.

"Everything!! Why on Earth would you sleep with socks on!? There is no need for it!"

"What if your feet get cold?" Sammy had the audacity to ask, and Ben felt like he should be more afraid of Sammy than Sammy was of him.

"Your feet are under the blanket, for God's sake! What more warmth do you need!?"

"Hey, I resent that. I'm tall! Sometimes the blanket is too short."

Ben huffed. "Whatever you say. I think it's disgusting. Just get a longer blanket."

"Says the one who slept with shoes on."

Ben stared slack-jawed at Sammy, who's eyebrow was once again raised into his hairline. Ben released a strangled noise.

" You- You know what? I'm done with this conversation."

"You started it."

Ben flicked him off, and Sammy chuckled.

"Fuck off. I'm going to hop in the shower."

"You probably need it after sleeping on shoe-blankets."

"You are just going to keep bringing it up, huh? So funny, Sammy."

"I've been told I should have been a comedian."

"You would be great at it." Ben snarked, but he was smiling. Sammy was smiling too. A much different, yet welcome, contrast from the night before.

Ben stepped through the threshold into the bathroom, and locked the door swiftly behind himself. He took a glance in the mirror, and cringed lightly at what he saw.

There were bags under his eyes. Not as deep as they used to be, but still visible. There was a small gash on his left cheek from where one of the SI bots had grazed the side of his head with a metal pole. Despite not digging through dirt or running through much forest, there were twigs stuck in his hair from when Tim helped him jump through a window, and from his run out to the city to escape security.

He can't blame Sammy for being terrified of him. He probably could have passed as a homeless man. However, the amount of money in his bag painted him to be more of a bank robber… Maybe he just appeared deranged?

He shook his head in hopes to also shake away the thoughts. He turned to the shower, turning the water on and adjusting it before stripping off his clothes. He hopped under the warm water and sighed deeply. The heat was going to do wonders for his aching muscles.

As he used some of the complimentary shampoo, he couldn't help but think about what he and Sammy were to do now. Maybe, while Ben was in the shower, Sammy would book it and leave the man behind. He wouldn't blame the guy, but he would be a little disappointed to see him go. He liked Sammy's personality, and was enjoying this adventure with him so far. (Even if there was a thought in his head that told him he was selfish for wanting another person around. Ben's new line of work was dangerous, and he didn't need to bring Sammy down with him. No one else needed to get involved in such a clusterfuck of disaster that the SI had brought with them.)

Ben rinsed the soap from his hair and sighed. He didn't know how things would play out, but whatever happened would be for the best. He'd make his way back home regardless, whether Sammy stuck around or not.

Chapter Text

Sammy could just leave.

He wasn't sure why he hadn't yet. He was the one with the car. He still had some money left over from his previous job, along with whatever he fished out of savings. (What savings he could access, anyways. Jack had some of the savings under his name, and since the two weren’t actually married, Sammy had no access to his bank account. He tried not to think too hard about it) It wouldn’t take anything for Sammy to just… hop in the car and leave.

Why don’t I just leave?

Ben was in the shower now. He’d been in there for about ten minutes, and Sammy wasn’t any closer to the answer of his question. Maybe it’s because he felt pity for the poor man. After all, the guy must clearly have something a little off with him, especially since he was kidnapping people to tell his, frankly ridiculous, alien story to. Sammy just happened to be the one subjected to deal with the guy, and maybe it was just him feeling as though he had to do something about the situation. At least see the guy off at an airport, maybe, or drop him off where his friends could pick him up.

Yeah, that’s what he’d do. He’d get Ben going on his way home, and then Sammy could figure out what he is going to do in the meantime.

(He hadn’t thought quite that far ahead. After he is done helping Ben, he’s scared to find out exactly what he will need to do next. With Jack gone, Lily not speaking to him, and his blood-family being MIA for years, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do with himself. He was afraid of what he was going to do with himself.)

He wasn’t sure how much longer it had been before the bathroom door clicked open, and Ben peeked his head from around the side of the door.

“Heyyyyy…” Ben said, drawing out the “y”. Sammy raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah?” Sammy asked, and Ben’s sheepish posture slouched.

“I uh- see, I kinda left all of my stuff that I brought for the trip at the hotel that my friend and I were staying at…” He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “And I kinda don’t have any other clothes to wear.”

Sammy sighed, shaking his head. “You guys literally plan to take on ghosts-”

“Apparitions.”

“-monsters-”

“Creatures.”

“-aliens, and giant corporations, but didn’t manage to snag your bags from the hotel.”

“I didn’t think anything of it, okay? It wasn’t like I had all the time in the world to circle back and grab my stuff. I only have my ID and the clothes on my back.”

“So that very suspicious duffle bag you’ve been carrying around seriously doesn’t have any of your personal possessions?”

Ben’s eyes widened, and Sammy felt his own do the same. He didn’t think that Ben was a threat anymore, not necessarily, but the man was certainly a wild card. He had no idea how he was going to react to prying into his personal business, despite how much the guy seemed to want to share.

“I didn’t mean to-” Sammy started, but Ben cut him off.

“No, no. It’s… It’s fine. I haven’t exactly been the most forthcoming on the contents of the bag.” He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, whether that awkwardness had to do with the contents of his bag, or the fact that he was completely naked hiding behind the door, Sammy had no idea.

“It’s your stuff.” Sammy insisted. “Even though I would like to make sure you don’t have firearms that you plan to murder me with-”

“No!” Ben exclaimed, and he almost seemed hurt by the idea. “Of course not! I don’t just go around killing people . That is literally what I am trying to stop the institute from doing!”

“I hear you.” Sammy assured, raising his hands up in surrender. “But I feel like I have the right to be suspicious. I am meeting you under extremely strange circumstances, after all.”

Ben nodded, the hurt fading from his expression slightly. “I get that. It’s just… I am not going to hurt you, okay? What me and my friends are trying to do is the opposite. I just…”

“I think,” Sammy said, standing from his place on the bed to reach into his own bag. “This is a pants conversation. Serious conversations should not be had hiding behind bathroom doors. Believe me, I should know.” He pulled out the smallest pair of pants he owned, along with a T-shirt. The shirt should fit Ben just fine, but the pants might have to be rolled up. “You can just borrow some of mine for the time being.”

“Seriously? You don’t mind?” Ben asked, his head poking out further from behind the door.

“Yeah, man. Just take ‘em.” Sammy walked to the door, passing the articles of clothing to Ben, who smiled.

“Awesome.” He grinned. “Thanks, Sammy.”

Sammy waved the man off. “No problem. Like I said, it’s a pants conversation.”

Ben chuckled and slipped back behind the door. Sammy shook his head slightly, wondering how he managed to get himself into such situations.

Before he can think for too long about it, Ben steps out from behind the bathroom door. Sammy was right. The shirt had fit Ben just right, if not just the slightest bit snug. The pants, however, were huge. So huge, in fact, that he couldn’t help but snicker at the amount of rolling that Ben had to do to keep from tripping over the pants legs.

“Pfft. I didn’t realize you were so-”

“If you dare comment on my height, Sammy, I might just throw one of my nasty-ass shoes at you.” Ben threatened as he stumbled through the motel room. Sammy chuckled at how disarming the action was.

“I hear you.” Sammy said, shaking his head. “Honestly, it might be a better idea for you to borrow some of my shorts instead.” Ben groaned, and Sammy laughed.

“You know what, that might not be a half-bad idea. I swear, you’re like a… like a beanstalk or something. How fucking tall are you?”

“Taller than you, clearly.” Sammy said coolly, reaching into his bag to find a pair of shorts.

“You ass!” Ben exclaimed, and the two boys laughed.

Sammy, once he found a pair of shorts, tossed them to Ben with a small “think fast!”.

“Thanks.” Ben nodded, shuffling back into the bathroom to change into one of the only pairs of shorts that Sammy owned.

You mostly stole them from Jack.

Shut up. Sammy hissed at the thought, shooing it away and throwing up a wall so hard it almost gave him a headache. He loved Jack so much…

But it was the little things that hurt the worst.

It was then that the door opened again, breaking Sammy from his thoughts. Ben threw the pants at Sammy, aiming for his face and hitting the intended target.

“HA!” Ben bragged. “Gotcha!”

Sammy grumbled, pulling the pants from his face. When he saw Ben’s outfit, it was now his turn to laugh.

“They look like fucking highwaters on you oh my gosh.”

“Shut up!” Ben squealed, and Sammy cackled.

“They are fucking highwaters . They are supposed to be shorts, Ben. Shorts!”

“It’s not my fault you’re as tall as a fucking skyscraper, Sammy! Most people don’t make it past six foot.”

“Actually-” Sammy begins through his laughter, but Ben cuts him off.

“Shut the fuck up and let me have this.”

Sammy continues in his laughter and Ben is soon to follow. Sammy has to admit, he hadn’t laughed like this in a long time, and it felt so good to break the tension that had been looming over him for months.

Of course, thinking of said tension sobered him up a bit, at least enough to quit laughing at Ben and his stupid fucking shorts.

“Are you done now?” Ben asked, his arms crossed and a frown on his face. A frown, that was so obviously covering up a smile.

“Yeah.” Sammy breathed. “Woo… yeah. I’m good.”

“You sure?” Ben asked. “Because you’re still wheezing over there. Absolutely quaking at how funny this is to you.” Sammy waved off Ben’s snark.

“No. No, I’m good now. Thanks for asking.” He said, wiping tears from his eyes. Since when had he laughed so hard it brought tears to his eyes?

“Good.” Ben continued. “Because last I heard, we were supposed to be having a pants conversation. And I have them now.”

“Technically they’re my shorts. But for as good as they are right now, they are practically-”

“Shut it.” Ben gestured threateningly, with no real malice behind it. “Pants-slash-shorts convo is happening right now. So sit your ass down so we can talk.

“Of course.” Sammy agreed easily, plopping back down on his bed as Ben did the same.

“So,” Ben said after they were settled in. “What were we talking about again?” Sammy took a moment to think. 

“I believe we were talking about how you weren’t going to kill me in my sleep. But after the conversation we just had, I wouldn’t put it past you to murder me over a pair of shorts.” Sammy joked, but his attempt fell flat just as Ben’s expression fell.

“Right.” Ben agreed, fidgeting with his fingers. His eyes looked everywhere but Sammy’s own, and Sammy felt anxious just watching him. Ben sighed, clenching his hands before releasing them.

“Look, Sammy,” Ben started. “I know we got off on the wrong foot.”

“Understatement of the year.”

“And I hate that we did.” Ben continued. “I know you must have felt pretty spooked by me jumping into your car in the middle of the night, but my intention was never to harm you. I just-” He huffed, frustrated. “I just needed to get away from someone who was out to hurt me. But, in the process, I hurt you, and that was really not cool of me at all.”

Ben’s eyes lifted to meet Sammy’s own, and Sammy could see what he could almost place as actual regret. But that couldn’t be right, could it?

You had a fucking mental breakdown in front of this man.

The thought came to Sammy and, yes, he did have an attack in front of this total stranger. He left himself vulnerable to whatever this man could have done to him, because he hadn’t been in control or aware enough to help himself. 

Maybe I just freaked him out.

That could be it. He just freaked the man out and redirected his plans. Damn. Was his life so sad that a carjacking vigilante took pity on him and decided not to murder him for knowing too much?

(If he really took pity on you, he would have taken you out. With a gun.

Shut up. Sammy thought. Stop that.)

“I want to know where we stand.” Ben says, his voice, ironically enough, grounding Sammy from his spiraling thoughts, being that his thoughts were about Ben in the first place. Sammy looked up, blinking a few times to shake away the glaze that had formed over his eyes.

“Where we stand?” He asked dumbly, not really taking in what Ben was saying.

“Yeah. Like- I guess the better question is what are we going to do from here?” Ben shifts where he sits, his expression is almost hesitant. Kind and open. “I need to start making my way back home, and you need to get wherever you are planning to go.”

He scratches the back of his neck. “However,” Ben continues. “I don’t know the area very well, and if you are still not planning to turn me in, it would be pretty cool if you could take me to an airport?” He states it like a question, and Sammy blinks at the man.

“Airport?” He asks, before clearing his throat and shaking his head.

“Are you… are you alright, Sammy?” Ben asks, and once again Sammy is staring into two bright orbs of life. Sammy clears his throat again and averts his eyes.

“Yeah.” He forces out. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Ben asks again. “Because it looks like-”

Suddenly, the motel phone starts ringing, effectively cutting off Ben’s question. Sammy pats himself on the back for being able to avoid an emotional conversation with an earnest Ben, before shooting Ben an apologetic look.

“I’ll answer it.” Sammy says. He reaches over the shared bedside table and plucks the bulky phone from the receiver.

At least, that’s what he would have done, if the phone hadn’t started screeching. Sammy jumps back, as if the very plastic of the phone has burned him. A quick glance at Ben shows him doing the same. The phone itself sounds like its melting from the inside out. The creepy, horrifying melody fills the small space of their shared room, and Sammy can feel his already raised heart rate skyrocket.

“What the hell!?” Ben yelps, almost falling off of the twin bed. His voice, however, helps Sammy pull himself together.

It’s her.

“We’ve gotta get out of here.” Sammy says, jumping up from his bed. Ben quickly clammers off of his as well, his wide-doe-like eyes staring at Sammy.

“Sammy? What’s going on?” Ben asks, his voice cracking through his panic.

“Grab your things.” Sammy commands, and when Ben still remains frozen, he continues. “ Ben.”

That seems to snap Ben from his trance, because he can hear Ben scramble for his duffle bag and his dirty clothes, tucking the articles under his arm and strapping the bag over his shoulder. Sammy grabs his own bag, throwing the rouge pair of pants over his shoulder before slamming his feet into his shoes.

“Sammy?”

“Not now.” Sammy says, his mind not straying anywhere past she’s here. We need to leave, she’s HERE.

“Sammy?”

“Get the keycards.” Sammy says instead of answering, before running to the door and throwing it open. Despite having no explanation besides the need to get the fuck out, Ben is hot on the taller man’s heels. Both men rush down the stairs, each taking two or three at a time, before rushing over to the car. Sammy unlocks the vehicle in record time and shoves his bag into the backseat. His pants are quick to follow.

“Pass me the key-cards and get in the car.” Sammy says, holding his hand through the open door to get them from his passenger.

“Dude, why are you-”

“Ben.”

It must have been the tone of his voice, because Ben quiets all at once.

“I will tell you everything you need to know after we get out of here. We are not safe here and we need to leave. Do you understand?”

They stare at each other then. The weight of the words float within the cab of Sammy’s car. Sammy stares at Ben, commanding and pleading all at once. Ben stares back at Sammy, hesitation, confusion, and fear written all over his expression. Finally, after what should have been a couple of seconds, but felt like thirty minutes, Ben handed over the two scratches, blue keycards.

“I trust you.” Ben says, and while Sammy doesn’t understand the weight of those words now, he sure will later.

“Thank you.” Sammy says, and snatches the keycards before bolting to the office. He slams the door open, throwing the keycards on the empty desk before rushing back out the door and to his car. Even from outside of the room, he can still hear the awful, piercing shriek of the phone echo through the parking lot.

In seconds flat, Sammy hops in his front seat and slams the door shut behind him. After turning his car on, he doesn’t even bother to buckle his seatbelt before hitting the gas, and pulling out onto the highway.

They were getting the fuck out of there

Chapter Text

Ben thought the morning had been going pretty good. He called Tim and Emily, Sammy didn’t murder him in his sleep, all his belongings were safe, and he had gotten to take a long overdue shower. Things seemed to be heading in the right direction. He was even working out a game-plan with Sammy when the call from hell sent them running.

Now, it was like they were back where they started. Ben was shouting directions at Sammy, and Sammy was gripping the steering wheel with knuckles so tight Ben thought it might break. They zipped down the highway, the older man doing his best not to crash into anyone as they raced away from whatever the fuck that thing was.

“What the actual fuck!?”

“DRIVE!”

“What are you-?”

“Just do it! GO!”

Ben wondered briefly if Sammy had felt the same way Ben was feeling now when he hijacked his car.

“What the hell!?”

“We’ve gotta get out of here.”

“Sammy? What’s going on?”

“Grab your things.”

“Ben.”

Yeah… Ben was going to need to apologize. Again.

For now he needed to stay focused on directing Sammy, despite having no clue where in the hell they were at and having very, very limited experience driving on the freeway. There was so much going on with the roaring traffic and glimpses of flashing road signs. Not to mention the threat that was still looming behind them. He felt as though his heart was about to burst out of his chest when he saw an entrance sign.

“There!” Ben shouted, pointing to the left. “That should take us to the interstate!”

Sammy flicked his blinker on and Ben could feel his blood pressure rising as they cut way too close to several cars that were still going straight. They rode up the ramp and drove through the acceleration lane. It wasn’t until they had finally merged with the seventy-five-mile-an-hour traffic that Ben felt like he could finally breathe again.

“Thank God.” Ben groaned. His face was now buried in his hands, his voice slightly muffled. “We did it. That was terrifying. I never want to drive through traffic like that again.” Ben took a few deep breaths before running both hands through his hair and keeping them there for a moment.

“Oh my God. We did it.”

“Mhm.” Sammy hummed tightly. Ben glanced over to the driver of the car and saw that Sammy hadn’t let go of his death grip on the steering wheel. Not that he could blame the guy after the trip they had just been through.

“What was that?” Ben asked, with feeling. “What kind of phone call makes the fucking walls shake?”

Sammy didn’t say anything. Instead, the man kept his gaze glued to the road. Ben wondered for a moment if Sammy had heard him speak at all. That’s when Ben noticed the man’s arms were shaking.

“Sammy?” He asked, a small bubble of panic and concern rising back in him. “Are you okay?”

“Fine.” Sammy said through gritted teeth. It was the first thing he had said since they had gotten in the car.

“Are you sure? Your arms are-”

“I said I’m fine.” Sammy practically sneered. His eyes didn’t once leave the road but his navigating became quick and borderline reckless. “I mean, why wouldn’t I be? It’s not like we got some weird-ass fucking phone call that vibrated the entire fucking motel or anything.”

A car cut in front of theirs, blaring its horn all the while. Sammy blared his horn back and shouted, “FUCK OFF!”

“Woah, okay. It’s fine. It’s just some asshole on the road.” Ben said, trying to calm Sammy down. His mind strayed to the stressful drive of yesterday and wished that they could just have one peaceful car ride. Then he remembered that he was the one who carnapped Sammy in the first place, and his wish was thrown out the window faster than he jumped out of the one at the Science Institute.

“A fucking asshole who cut me off!” Sammy yelled again, smashing his hand down on the horn for a final time. His breathing was labored. His inhales almost sounded painful. “ Fuck, I thought she was gone. ”

“She?” Ben asked before he could stop himself. Sammy’s heavy breathing continued. “Sammy, was that the person on the phone?”

The car was quiet apart from the sound of Sammy’s labored breathing. Ben glanced out the window to see if there were any exit signs to hop off the interstate just in case they needed to pull over. They passed an exit and Ben knew that it would be a few miles before they got to the next one.

“Yes.” Sammy breathed, his lanky shoulders hunched to his ears. “She is the one who called.”

“Who is she?” Ben asked. “How was she able to do that thing with the phone? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Sammy barked a laugh. “Really? Even though you live in a town that is literally known for its paranormal activity? Don’t you see ghosts on the regular?” Ben almost flinched back from the venom in the older man’s tone.

“For one, they are called apparitions.” Ben stated, a little bit of heat to his own voice. He didn’t appreciate how Sammy had spat that at him, as though his home was a place of curses. “Second of all, yes, that kind of stuff is normal where I come from. However, I don’t think that supernatural stuff like this is normal here. So what the hell is going on?”

“I don’t know.” Sammy said, exasperated. “I have no fucking clue! I’ve been dealing with this woman calling me for months now. No matter how many times I block the number, or what phone I am using, she keeps calling me back!” He slams his head against the back of the headrest as the cars come to a stop. Some sort of traffic jam halting their movements. “I don’t know what to do.”

The defensive feeling Ben had been overcome with a minute ago vanished at the sight of the shaking man. Ben might interact with the supernatural on a weekly basis, but Sammy had apparently never experienced something like this before. And, if Ben was being honest, the phone call had freaked him out a bit too. Obviously King Falls wasn’t the only hotspot for the paranormal, but it seems like whatever is happening to Sammy isn’t just staying in one spot. It’s following the man, extraterrestrial or otherwise.

“And now, the man that deals with the paranormal all the time, tells me that even he has never seen something like this before.” Sammy sighs, running a hand through his hair. As the traffic continues to slowly inch by, the tension in the car seems to lessen as well. It’s not so hostile anymore. They’re processing now.

“Well, just because I haven’t seen this before doesn’t mean it isn’t important.” Ben says, a calmness to his tone. “I mean, whatever this is, it’s following you, isn’t it?”

“I don’t see how else it keeps getting my number.” Sammy says sarcastically. “I changed it three times in a single month. I had to keep changing the records at the place I used to work. It was annoying.”

“Did anything out of the ordinary cause this… this thing to keep calling you?”

A pause. Sammy bit his lip.

“I don’t know.” Sammy said, in a tone that implied that he did, indeed know why. Ben decided not to push it.

“Is that why you are moving?”

Sammy whipped his head around to face Ben. “Huh?”

“Is that why you are moving?” Ben asked again in a tone that almost sounded like a statement. “I mean, it makes sense. I knew you weren’t some UPS truck driver delivering packages. It just wasn’t my business to pry. Still isn’t, actually. I just want to make sure that you are safe. Do you think the entity is tied to the state? Or to something you own?”

Sammy stared at Ben as if he had a second head. He looked from Ben, to the backseat with his belongings, and back to Ben again. His mouth opened and closed a few times as if he didn’t know what to say.

“What?” The older man croaked.

“I mean,” Ben continued. “If I were being stalked by a person or another entity I’d try to leave too. Especially if I were in your shoes, where you don’t live in a spot that has these things happen all the time. I mean, there was the one time I was almost killed by two apparitions. That was pretty scary. But this is too and-”

“Yeah.” Sammy said, and Ben snapped his gaze to look at Sammy. “Yeah. That’s the reason I am moving. I want whatever is happening to go away. To leave me alone.”

Sammy was looking back over the steering wheel now, not making eye contact with Ben. Ben took it for what it was, a moment of vulnerability. Even if it was with a stranger.

“Hey, are we still going to be considered strangers after this?” Ben asked, and Sammy made an aborted noise.

“What?”

“Are we still going to be-”

“No, no. I got that. What do you mean by that?”

“Oh.” Ben said. “It’s just, I spilled my entire backstory to you as to why I am in California. I carnapped you. We both are running from phone calls from Hell. We shared milkshakes together.”

“We shared milkshakes together?” Sammy asked incredulously.

“Yeah! And that isn’t something someone does with a complete stranger.” Ben said, a smile stretching over his face.

Sammy smiled a little too and laughed. He laughed, and laughed, and laughed so much Ben could see tears in his eyes. Ben laughed too, even if his was a little less hysterical than Sammy’s was.

“You know what, Ben?” Sammy began as his laughter petered out. “I think you have a great point. We cannot be strangers anymore.”

“So we can be friends?” Ben asked, sounding almost hopeful without even realizing it.

Sammy made a contemplative noise for a moment, but Ben could tell he was bullshitting him.

“Yeah. We can be friends. It’s either that or enemies and I don’t think I could be enemies with a teenager who makes my shorts look like ill-fitting capris.”

Ben squawked. “How dare you! I am twenty-three! A grown man! And your clothes are just dumb.”

“ My clothes are dumb? You hopped in my car with an outfit that made you look like one of the robbers off of Home Alone .”

“That is because I robbed an institute! What is so hard to believe about that?”

“You robbed that institute? How did I forget about that? I am keeping a fugitive in my car!?”

“Not important!” Ben shouted back, trying his best to redirect conversation. He was failing spectacularly.

“It is important! I just became friends with a wanted fugitive!”

“Hey! I don’t consider myself wanted until I show up on the news.”

“I don’t know how you haven’t being that you robbed a fucking million-dollar institution.”

“Billion-dollar, actually.”

“Not helping your case!”

Ben continues to sputter out excuses and Sammy laughed. The laugh was so loud and happy that Ben couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. A tug could be felt in his chest from the action, but he knew it wasn’t the same pull he had felt with Emily. This pull was different, something that had led him to Sammy’s car after he escaped the institute.

“Finally!” Sammy said. His laughter had pettered off again and the traffic had begun to flow around them. “There should be another exit about four miles from here. Want to grab some food and regroup? Something that is not milkshakes or sour candy?”

“Hell yeah!” Ben exclaimed, excited at the prospect of food and spending more time with the strange man he had encountered. Ben’s heart had never steered him wrong before, and something was telling him that even when he left to go back to King Falls, this wasn’t the last he’d be seeing of the man he carnapped on a whim. He’d have to get Sammy’s number so the two could keep in touch, because what else do you do in such strange circumstances?

Chapter Text

They had decided on stopping at IHop.

The food wasn’t as bad as Sammy remembered it being. He remembers grabbing food at the place with Jack and Lily when they were back in college. They’d bring their books and assignments and try not to spill coffee over their pages. Lily would normally make some sort of crude joke and Jack would shove his sister hard on the shoulder, almost knocking her out of her chair. A small fight would break out. Sammy would try to stop said fight so they wouldn’t get kicked out. The works.

Sammy made sure to order something different than he had used to when he came to this place. Thoughts of the Wright siblings hurt too much to deal with. He just followed Ben’s lead by getting pancakes and bacon. The pancakes had too much grease or something and didn’t quite taste right, but he made do. It helped that he hadn’t eaten much since… well, since. So the hunger made almost any food, greasy pancakes or otherwise, taste much more bearable.

“It’s times like now that I miss Rose’s cooking.” Ben sighed into his pancakes. He was pushing the sweet, sticky concoction in circles around his plate and Sammy shuttered at how much syrup Ben had drowned his pancakes in.

“Who is Rose?” Sammy asked, taking a sip of his black coffee. Not that he needed the caffeine to wake up, but the warm liquid tasted fine and was almost soothing after the past few days of non-stop stress.

“She owns a diner back at home.” Ben said, stuffing another bite of pancake in his face. “She makes the best breakfast food on Route 72. Her pancake puppies could be considered famous at this point.”

“Pancake puppies?”

“Yeah! They beat these things any day of the week. One of these days you’ll have to stop by and try some.”

“Maybe so.” Sammy said, shoving down a wave of despair at the thought of being in a place that took his fiance from him.

“I’m serious.” Ben said. “We should exchange numbers or something. Even if you don’t manage to come visit with everything you have going on- my schedule has been pretty busy too- but we can at least keep in touch, yeah?”

Sammy took another long sip of his coffee and let the steam waft in his face. Did he want to share his number with Ben? Could he be traced back to if the police arrested the man?

“That sounds like a plan.” Sammy decided at that moment he didn’t really care. His life was going downhill enough as it was. Might as well add this to the list of his potential issues and threats. Ben’s smile widened.

“Awesome!” He said around a mouth of pancake and bacon. Sammy winced as food sprayed across the table, thankfully not getting on his own plate. Ben pulled his phone out of his pocket with slightly sticky fingers and tapped the screen.

“What’s your number?”

Sammy gave the man his number and took another bite of his pancakes. Ben happily pressed buttons and filled in Sammy’s contact information. Sammy couldn’t help but compare their time together like grabbing breakfast with a friend. Maybe that’s what this was now. Friendship. That is what he had said before, wasn’t it?

Worthless.

“So where are we going to go from here?” Ben asked after he stuffed his phone back into his pocket. Sammy hummed in thought.

“I’m not sure.” Sammy admitted. “You need to get back home, don’t you?”

“I do.” Ben said, pushing his food around again. His head rested in the palm of one of his hands that was propped up on the table. “It’s about that time to get back. Everyone’s waiting for us to begin the next phase.”

“And your friend? Didn’t you come over here with someone else?”

“He’s already headed back. He grabbed a train from another state over. He’ll make it home before I ever do. It’s a long way back to Tennessee.”

Sammy whistled. “I’m sure. It was a long drive for us- for me. For me to move over here.” He tripped over his words.

God, I miss you.

Ben didn’t seem to notice his slip up. “Yeah. It’s a trip.” He took a long sip of his own drink. Sweet tea, if Sammy remembered correctly. “But if what we are doing can help make the world a better place then it will be worth it.”

Sammy hummed and took another bite of his food. His eyes gazed around the shop behind Ben. There were plenty of people sitting around the bar. A couple of families with surprisingly well behaved kids sat on the other side of the building. There was a janitor talking with one of the customers. The two laughed and joked about something Sammy couldn’t make out. They had wide smiles on their faces.

“Hey, Sammy?” Ben asked. Sammy looked at the younger man who was fidgeting in his seat.

“Hmm?”

“I know that you’ve already done so much for me since we met the other night, but would you mind… uh.” Ben scratched the back of his neck, suddenly awkward. Sammy gave him what was hopefully an encouraging look.

“Would you mind giving me a ride to an airport or something?”

Sammy blinked, a little surprised by the question. Dropping Ben off had kind of been his plan already. “Of course.”

“Really? You’re sure you don’t mind?”

“Yeah. It’s no problem at all.” Sammy assured him as he took another bite of his pancakes. It was kind of amusing how asking for a ride was what made Ben awkward and caused him to clam up. Not stealing from institutes and hijacking cars, but asking for help from a friend. Actually, it sounded a little sad when Sammy put it like that. “Not like I'd be going out of my way or anything.”

Ben’s sigh of relief was audible from across the table. The man’s shoulders slouched. “Awesome. Thank you so much, man. That means a lot.”

“Of course. Least I could do for a friend, yeah?”

Ben’s smile at that could rival the sun. His eyes shone brightly with joy and he bounced a little in his seat.

“Hell yeah!” Ben cheered, attracting the gaze of a few people. Sammy found he didn’t care about their stares as much today. There was something refreshing about Ben’s enthusiasm. “I’ll have to keep you up to date on my travels. Send you a postcard or something.”

“That would be great.” Sammy said, a strange feeling tugging in his chest. His smile almost faltered at the feeling. It was so odd. Sammy wondered if the stress of his entire life was finally catching up to him. Maybe his heart couldn’t take the grief.

That wouldn’t be such a bad thing, would it?

He shook the thought away as easily as he could, choosing instead to focus back on the man in front of him. He’d have time to overthink literally everything later, when he’d still be homeless and jobless and filled with grief. For now, he’d take some time to relax. 

Soon enough, the two boys finished their food and Sammy walked up to the register, set on paying what more of his meager paycheck would allow him. Apparently Ben was against the idea, and had almost shoved Sammy out of the way in order to pay for it himself. Sammy had tried to argue, but there really wasn’t much he could do about it. Ben was so insistent and Sammy really was that broke.

(He and Jack still have a savings account in both of their names. They planned to use the money to buy a house somewhere far away from the city where they could start a life of their own. To be who they truly were without so much judgment. Sammy knew Jack wouldn’t have an issue with him dipping into the account when times got tough but Sammy couldn’t make himself do it. That was their money. Their future. It felt wrong to use it without Jack there.)

After they paid and grabbed their drinks, they hopped back in the car. Sammy turned the keys in the ignition, reversed out of the parking space, and took off onto the open road.

“I need to grab some gas before we head to the airport.” Sammy commented. He could see Ben nodding his head out of the corner of his eye.

“Sounds good. I still owe you gas money anyways.”

Sammy didn’t have much to say after that, so instead he clicked on the radio. He quickly changed it from the station it was on, the station he used to work for ( fraud ), and found another channel that was actually playing music. It was new music. Something he was sure would get stuck in his head later. 

After two songs played and the advertisements started, Sammy finally pulled off into the nearest gas station he could find. His car was running dangerously close to E and he’d rather not have to call a tow truck on top of everything else. He hopped out of the car with a quick “I’ll be right back” thrown over his shoulder.

He was about midway through pumping gas when Ben opened the passenger side of the car. He propped himself up on the hood of the car. Sammy noted that he was barely tall enough to see over it while standing flat on his feet.

“Hey, I’m going to head in real quick. Need anything?”

Sammy shook his head. “No, I’m good. Thanks anyway.” He paused. “Actually, I need to pay at the register. Could you do that? We’re on pump three.”

“Gotcha!” Ben smiled. “I won’t be long. Lemme know if you want any snacks. BRB!”

Did he just say BRB?  

Sammy just smiled to himself as Ben ran to the double doors of the gas station.

What a weird kid.

The strange tug that he had felt in IHop was back. He was starting to become a bit concerned. Maybe it was just heartburn? He never really had much trouble with heartburn, but he also hadn’t eaten much in a while. Maybe it was all the grease from breakfast? He sure hoped so. Now that he had lost his job, he didn’t have health insurance anymore, and he was sure the cost of the visit itself would be worse than just dealing with the problems on his own.

Sammy finished filling up the car and had time to dig around in the back seat for his case of water before Ben came back out. He was holding a plastic bag full of what appeared to be various kinds of candy and snacks. Those were for the plane ride, he guessed.

“Got what you needed?” Sammy asked as he shut the back drivers-side door.

“Yep! I just wanted to get some snacks for the flight home.”

Ah, so it was snacks.

Ben dug around the bag, placing something in the driver's seat. “I got you some of those warheads we were eating yesterday. Just in case you need them.”

Sammy felt oddly touched by the action. Normally someone noticing his insecurities would have him running away or becoming defensive, but the gesture was so sweet that Sammy couldn’t help but appreciate it. “Thanks, Ben.”

Ben just smiled and nodded before hopping back in the passenger seat. Sammy was quick to follow, crawling in his seat and placing his too-warm water bottle in the cupholder. The candy he stuffed in the console between the seats, but not before taking one of the candies for himself.

“Alright.” Sammy started, strapping his seatbelt on. “The airport is only about twenty minutes away from here. I don’t know when the flights start or anything like that, but you should be able to make one before the end of the day.” He put the car in reverse and began circling out of the parking lot.

“Awesome! Thank you so much, man. I appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem, seriously.” Sammy said quickly. He made eye contact with Ben as he made to look past him to the right side of the highway. “Just try asking first before hijacking anyone’s car, yeah? I’m sure that would make a much better impression on people.”

Ben chuckled. As Sammy turned away, he saw the tips of Ben’s ears going pink. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll have to give it a shot. Emily says I need to work on my manners.”

“Your manners are just fine.” Sammy said truthfully as he pulled out onto the highway. “You just get very excited. It adds to your personality.”

“...Thank you.” Ben said after a moment, sounding slightly choked up. Sammy glanced at him with a questioning look. Ben didn’t meet his eyes.

The two traveled in relative silence for the next twenty minutes. Sammy was thankful to find it wasn’t uncomfortable. The radio played softly in the background with some music Sammy had never heard before but Ben seemed familiar with. He kept mumbling the lyrics under his breath and occasionally breaking out into song. Sammy had stared at him incredulously at first but couldn’t help but laugh as Ben continued. The man’s voice would probably be pretty decent if he wasn’t intentionally singing like an idiot.

Before he knew it, Sammy was sitting in the parking lot of the airport wishing Ben farewell.

“Thank you so much again for everything.” Ben said as leaned in the opened door of Sammy’s car. “Seriously, I cannot thank you enough for this.”

“Of course.” Sammy said, smiling at the younger man.

“And I’m sorry about kidnapping you again. I swear I won’t ever do that again. Intentionally.” Sammy snorted.

“It’s no problem, Ben. You are probably going to want to think twice before doing that to someone else, though.”

Ben shrugged at that. “I’ll try.” Ben paused. “Just uh… if you meet any person from a place called the ‘Science Institute’, run the other way. Don’t get involved. In fact, just give me a call and I’ll handle it.”

Sammy chuckled, even though the thought of anyone from this “institute” linking him back to Ben made shivers run up his spine. “Sure, man. You’ll be the first person I call.”

“Damn straight!”

There was silence for a moment. Ben looked at Sammy with a soft smile, one that made Sammy’s chest tug again. “Bye, Sammy.”

Sammy smiled back. “Bye, Ben. Call me when you get home, yeah?”

“Sure thing.” Ben grinned. He slammed the car door shut, walking a few paces before turning and waving eagerly at the car. Sammy waved back, chuckling to himself as Ben left.

As soon as the man was out of sight Sammy sighed, lying his head on the steering wheel. The uncomfortable pulling was back in his chest, but this time it hurt. He rubbed his chest with his fist and hoped that the feeling would dissipate. Now was not the time to be having a heart attack. Or maybe it was. He wasn’t quite sure how to feel about all that.

He sat back up after a few moments and put the car in reverse. The normal feeling of dread in his chest joined the tugging sensation as he tried to figure out what the hell he was going to do now.

Chapter Text

Sammy thought he was making the right decision.

Yet again, Sammy wasn’t known for making the best decisions. And that was before all this supernatural stuff had come into his life. No, even tiny Sammy never made the best of choices. He wasn’t impulsive by any means, but life often chose to throw him curveballs. Ones that he could never hope to deal with.

But he was getting off track.

He pulled out of the parking lot of the airport with the tugging and panging in his chest that he did his best to ignore. He had his contacts open to Lily’s number. He was verging on calling her, assuming he hadn’t been blocked, when he noticed it.

A van.

A van with the words Northern California Science Institute painted on the side.

Didn’t Ben say he was running from a science institute?

Fuck.

Changing course, Sammy switched contacts on his phone with one hand and did his best to drive with the other. He selected the newest contact and hit the call button.

Ring…

Ring…

Ring…

“Come on, Ben.” Sammy muttered. “Pick up, dumbass.”

Click!

“Hey Sammy!” Ben’s cheerful voice spilled through the phone. He sounded happy, if not a little surprised. “Miss me already?”

“Ben, they’re here.” Sammy said in place of an actual greeting. They didn’t have time for that.

“What are you talking about, Sammy? Are you okay?”

“That ‘Science Institute’ you were talking about? By any chance do they go by the name ‘ Northern California Science Institute?’”

“Shit.”

—

Ben meant that shit from the very pit of his soul. He felt his heart drop into his shoes as he did his best to calmly look around the airport. He was towards the back of the line to buy tickets, and quickly slipped under the red tape as he started walking to the nearest exit.

“Were they just pulling in?”

“I don’t think so. The van was sitting on the side of the road when I pulled out.” There was a pause. “Do you think we were followed?”

“There’s no telling, man.” Ben answered tersely. “Fuck.”

“Ben? You okay? I’m turning the car around-”

“No.” Ben said quickly, his heart skipping a beat as he saw the uniform of one of the institute-guys. “ Shit. No. You keep going. I’m going to find my way out of here.”

“Ben-” Sammy started, but Ben wasn’t having it. If they were followed, Sammy driving his car back to the airport would only cause more trouble. And put Sammy in harm's way. Ben wouldn’t let that happen.

“No. Keep driving. I’ll come to you.”

Ben slipped into a small gap by the water fountains. He positioned himself where his face wasn’t easily seen by the unformed, probably armed men marching through the airport searching for him. He needed to get out of here, make a break for it, and take cover. Perhaps he could get someone else to take him to Sammy-

“Ben. I don’t know what you need, buddy.” 

“Right.” Ben said as he took a breath. “Right- okay. Uh…” He felt his voice rise in pitch as he made eye contact with one of the men. He tried so, so hard to remain casual, but he knew his “deer in headlights” look must be giving him away. The man squinted at him and began speaking into his radio. “ Shit. Okay uh-”

“Ben?”

“I’m actually going to take you up on that ride.” Ben said, as he began fast-walking towards the nearest exit. Soon enough, the guy who was watching Ben started following him, and once they started running, Ben had a proper tail. “Like, right now. They’ve spotted me.”

“I’m already in the parking lot.” Sammy said, and Ben would have fussed about it if he wasn’t so damn grateful.

“Be ready to step on it.” Was all he said before hanging up. He was in a full-on sprint now, bumping and knocking into anyone who didn’t clear out of the way. He shouted apologies as he slammed particularly hard into one woman, making her drop her things in the process.

“Sorry!” He shouted, but kept booking it. He just had to get to the car. Sammy could handle it from there.

He broke through the doors. They were thankfully open and after slipping past a few people, Ben could begin to see Sammy’s car. He jumped as he heard gunshots start behind him, but he didn’t stop running.

Once Sammy was a few hundred feet in front of him, he could hear the man’s voice through the open passenger-side door.

“Come on, man!” Sammy shouted.

“Trying!” Ben called back, and with one last burst of speed, he was sliding in the front seat.

“DRIVE!” Ben shouted, and once again thought back to their first meeting only the day before.

“I’m trying .” Sammy said back, the man’s eyebrows pinched in concentration as he moved around a passing car and flew out onto the highway.

“Well, if we weren’t being followed before, we sure as hell are now.” Sammy said, looking in his rearview mirror. Another gunshot sounded, and the back glass of Sammy’s car shattered.

“ SHIT!” Both men yelled, ducking their heads down.

“Ben, I can’t believe I’m asking this, but please tell me you are armed?” Sammy asked as he swerved the car around a curve. 

“Nothing useful for a high-speed chase.” Ben said, his voice high pitched as he kept his head ducked down.

“You’re telling me that you robbed a fucking million-dollar institute and you don’t have a gun? ”

“No, I don’t have a gun! I wouldn’t be able to catch a plane that way. Tim has them.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Sammy cursed, and he sat up enough to start rummaging through the backseat.

“Sammy what are-”

“Reach in that box.” Sammy interrupted, patting the box a couple of times.

“What’s in the- oh.” Ben said, as he pulled out a pistol. Sammy had been armed this entire time. He realized, distantly, that Sammy could have used this gun on him at any point when Ben had hijacked his car. Yikes.

He was very thankful that didn’t happen.

“I can’t believe you don’t have a gun! That’s institute-robbing-101!”

“Like I said, Tim has it!” Ben said as he checked it. The gun was loaded and ready to go. “Roll the window down.”

Sammy rolled the window down and Ben stuck his body out of it. He heard a shot fire and quickly pulled himself back in. In the next moment, he was hanging out the window again and fired. And fired. The third shot hit the windshield of the van behind them causing it to swerve.

Sammy hit a sharp turn. The van was a little late on the memo, and made the turn too wide, crashing into another car as Sammy pulled onto the interstate.

“Are there any others?” Sammy asked as he narrowly avoided slamming into another car.

“I don’t see any.” Ben said. “They must be back at the airport.” 

“Good. Stupid bastards.” Sammy said with finality. He was still going about ten miles over the speed limit. Just in case. “So, I guess they know you robbed their institute now.”

“Yeah.” Ben said, breathless. Now that he wasn’t running anymore, he noticed that his hands were shaking bad enough that he almost dropped the gun in his hand. He muttered a curse under his breath as he unsteadily deposited the gun back in the box behind him. “Shit.”

“Yeah. Shit.” Sammy agreed. Ben could see him peek over at him from the corner of his eye. “You okay? No bullet wounds, right?” His voice was joking but the question was a reasonable one. They were shot at after all.

“No.” Ben said, his voice sounding far away. 

“They shot at us.” Ben said after a moment. He distantly heard Sammy make a noise of agreement.

“They did.”

“They know what I did now.”

“I guess they do.”

One of Ben’s shaky hands clasped against his chest. “Hey. Hey, Sammy?”

“Yeah, Ben?”

“I think I’m having a panic attack.”

“Oh.” Was Sammy’s response. Ben would have laughed if this wasn’t their current situation. If he didn’t have visions of the white room playing behind his eyes. If he didn’t see Emily and Tim-

“I think ‘i'm gonna pass out.” Ben said, as if he was making a comment about the weather. His chest felt like it was starting to cave in. His whole body was shaking. He couldn’t get a whole breath in.

“No, you’re not going to pass out.” Sammy said, his voice clear and level. “I’m going to get at least to the next town over, and then we’ll pull off. Okay?”

Ben swallowed thickly. “Okay.”

“I need you to take deep breaths for me in the meantime, okay?”

“Okay.” Ben said again, and he tried to focus attention inward. Just like how Mary and his mom had taught him. It wasn’t working very well. “Sammy-”

“Almost there, Ben.” Sammy said. “You can do it. We’ll be there soon.”

“ Sammy- ” Ben stressed, but Sammy was persistent.

“You’re okay.” The taller man removed one of hand from the steering wheel and held it out to Ben. “You’re okay. They aren’t following us right now. I don’t see anyone. You’re safe.”

Ben snatched Sammy’s hand and held it in a death grip. Sammy squeezed back just as tight.

“You’re okay.” Sammy repeated again. “It’s going to be alright.”

Despite the way his body shacked, and his breaths were nowhere close to being even, Ben had a feeling in his chest. A feeling that everything really was going to be okay. That pulling he had felt in the airport was gone. In its place was a sense of right that didn’t make sense with all his other symptoms.

He’d have to tell Emily he’d be a little later than he anticipated in coming home.

Chapter Text

It took about twenty minutes before Sammy was able to safely pull off the road and into a fairly secluded parking lot. After they had made it to the exit for the nearest town over, Sammy still had felt that they were too close for comfort. Despite Ben’s current panic, he knew that their safety took priority. After driving two more towns over, he knew they were as safe as they were going to get while still being so close to the airport.

As soon as he put the car in park in the lot of a fairly busy Hobby Lobby, Sammy turned to look at his passenger. Ben’s face, which Sammy had discovered to be naturally red, was stark white. He was shaking like a leaf, one of his hands still clenched tightly around Sammy’s own. When he looked up at Sammy, he saw that his eyes were glistened with tears.

“Doing alright, man?” Sammy asked, already knowing the answer. Ben shook his head frantically, his chest still heaving from the lack of oxygen. Sammy frowned, taking their linked hands and moving them towards his chest. It was at this moment that he realized just how tiny his car was, moving their arms awkwardly over the middle console to place their hands over his heart.

“We’re safe Ben. It’s alright.” Sammy murmured. He was slightly taken aback when Ben whined, low in his throat.

“We’re not.” Ben gasped. “We’re not safe.”

“We are Ben. We lost them back at the airport. It’s okay.” Ben shook his head.

“No. No, they will find us. They know what I did. They’ll come for me. For my friends. They’ll come for you. I’m so sorry Sammy-”

“Hey, enough of that.” Sammy said firmly. Ben’s eyes snapped up to meet his. “Enough of that. Your friends are fine. YOU are fine. Physically anyway.” Sammy looked the man up and down, eyeing what little skin he could see for any potential harm. He was relieved when he did not find any. He met Ben’s gaze again and sighed.

Clearly, this method was not working well enough. Ben’s breathing was not leveling out and his shaking was only getting worse. Sammy frowned, placing Ben’s hand on the center console instead of against his chest.

“I’m going to come over to your side, okay? Give me just a second.”

Ben whined again, reaching back up to snatch Sammy’s hand. He shook his head.

“I can’t reach you like this, dude. Give me just one second, okay? I promise I’m not going anywhere.”

Not wasting anymore time, Sammy untangled his fingers from Ben’s and opened his door. Shutting it quickly, he ran to the passenger side and opened Ben’s door. Ben started frantically up at Sammy, his breaths harsh and loud even in the busy parking lot.

“I can’t breathe.” Ben said. Sammy shook his head, crouching down next to him.

“You can.” Sammy assured, taking Ben’s hand again. “You can. Just follow me, okay?”

“I’m gonna pass out.”

“You’re not going to pass out, okay? Just follow me. Come on, Ben.”

Sammy took an exaggerated breath. Then another. Then another. Ben did not take long to catch on, taking deeper and more exaggerated breaths in time with Sammy. Gradually, his breathing began to even and his shaking began to slow. Sammy felt relief wash over him at the sight. That strange pulling that he had continued to feel in his chest had been persistent since he dropped Ben off at the airport. It had spiked with Ben’s fear. Now, as they both began to calm, the pulling was less severe.

Perhaps he had just avoided a heart attack. That sounded about right.

“Are you with me?” Sammy asked after a long few moments.

“Mhm.” Ben sat up a little straighter in his seat. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Good.” Sammy said. “That’s- that’s really good. You’re doing good Ben.”

“Yeah.” Ben agreed breathlessly. “Yeah, I’m doing good.”

“Good.”

“Yeah.”

They sat there for another moment, letting the sounds of busy passerbys lull them into a state of content. Sammy moved Ben’s hand from his chest and instead lightly held it between them. As Sammy observed the man in front of him, he found that color had begun to return to his cheeks. He also noticed how exhausted Ben looked.

“Are you ready to keep going?” Sammy asked. When Ben nodded his head, the older man smiled. “Great. Let’s go.”

After making sure Ben’s legs were back inside the car, Sammy shut the passenger side and walked around to his seat. However, not before he opened the back door on the driver’s side to pull out one of many blankets he had stashed in the back of the car to keep the furniture and boxes from smashing into each other. Once he was sure it was not covered in glass - he still needed to fix that windshield - he slid back into his seat.

He handed the blanket to Ben, not bothering to say anything as he buckled his seatbelt and turned the key in the ignition.

“Where are we going?” Ben asked, but his words were beginning to slur with exhaustion, so it came out fairly unintelligible.

“I’m not sure.” Sammy said. He put the car in reverse and began to back out. “I guess we will find out on the way.”

Ben hummed.

As Sammy pulled out onto the highway again, turning to drive away from the interstate they had just come from, Ben spoke.

“Thank you.”

It was quiet for a long moment as Sammy pulled out onto the busy highway.

“You’re welcome, Ben.”

When Sammy looked at Ben, the man was already fast asleep.

Chapter Text

The sun was setting low in the sky by the time Sammy finally pulled off the road and into the parking lot of yet another motel. This one looked a little nicer than the last one they had stayed at the night before. At least the flashing vacant sign was actually straight this time (unlike himself hehe), and there were several other cars occupying the same lot. As he pulled in, he saw a mother and two children, an old man reading a newspaper, and a guy in a suit briskly walking down the sidewalk. All in all, much more lively than the last place had been. 

Ben had slept through almost the entire ride. He had woken up briefly to ask for a bathroom break. After that, he was right back to sleep. Sammy almost felt bad letting the man sleep for the whole day. He probably wouldn’t get a wink of shut-eye tonight. But, that was his problem. Not Sammy’s.

Though, Sammy had kind of made it his problem. Hadn’t he?

“We shared milkshakes together?” 

“Yeah! And that isn’t something someone does with a complete stranger.”

The thoughts brushed through Sammy’s head, solidifying something in his chest.

“We should exchange numbers or something. Even if you don’t manage to come visit with everything you have going on…”

Yeah…

“Sorry about all that. I didn’t mean to flip out there.”

… Ben was his problem now.

Sammy smiled to himself as he put the car in park. He sat there for a second, letting out a huff of air. It had been a long few days. The car ride was nice though. He hadn’t listened to music just for the hell of it in a little while. And having someone to keep an eye on was distracting. It helped him not to sink into his thoughts.

“I like taking care of you, okay?” Sammy said, reaching across the counter to take Jack’s hand in his own. He squeezed his hand tightly. “You’ll never be a burden to me.”

… Like he was doing right now.

Damn it, Jack.

He leaned his head back against the headrest of his seat, similar to how he had the night he first met Ben. Above his head, there was the number of his soulmate.

$999,756.07

Sammy took a minute to stare at the number. Before, he had always felt irritated when looking at the number written above his head. He never believed in soulmates, not until he found Jack. While Jack might not have been his soulmate according to the universe, he completed Sammy in ways no one else had before. Jack is- was his everything. And Sammy was devastated to know that he is gone. Despite that, despite his grief and anger and sorrow, the universe still continued to tell him that there was someone out there. Someone that was not Jack. That he had a forever person he had yet to meet that would complete him more than him.

He had lost that person. He didn’t need another one.

But…

No. He didn’t want to even put that thought into words. He was fine on his own, now that Jack was gone. He didn’t need someone else.

Shaking the thoughts from his head a little more violently than necessary, he turned to face his passenger. Now that they were at the motel, it was time for Ben to wake up so they could figure their next course of action. He nudged Ben’s shoulder with his hand. Upon receiving no reaction, he nudged the man again.

Ben grunted at him, stirring slightly as drool continued to drip from one corner of his mouth. Sammy snorted.

“Ben.” Sammy said, nudging Ben’s shoulder again. “Ben. It’s time to get up.”

It took a little more nudging, which quickly turned to shoving, before Ben finally woke up. He sat up in his seat as Sammy retracted his arm. Ben lifted his arms above his head and stretched, a yawn slipping from his lips. Sammy was quick to follow with a yawn of his own.

“Rise and shine, sleeping beauty.”

Ben just hummed. “Mornin’.”

Sammy chuckled. “Try evening.”

“Huh?”

Ben blinked multiple times as he lifted a hand to rub at his eyes. He sat up a little straighter in his seat and looked around. It was about five-thirty, so the skies were just starting to get dark, nothing like the midday sun they were facing when he was more conscious. 

“Huh…” He said, this time far less questioning. “It is, isn’t it?” He rubbed a hand across his mouth as Sammy hummed in agreement. “Where are we?”

“At another motel.” Sammy replied shortly.

“I can see that. I’m not a dumbass.”

“That might be up to debate.”

“Dude.”

Sammy laughed as Ben continued to grumble. The younger man looked like a disgruntled cat as he shifted his way back into the blanket.

“Hey, no going back to sleep now.” Sammy said. “You can do that once we’re inside.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Ben replied tiredly. “I cannot believe you let me sleep this long.”

“Well,” Sammy said, brushing the comment away, “It’s not like a sleeping man can complain about the music you are listening to.”

Ben hummed a vague agreement and shoved the blanket down. Sammy smiled to himself. Even though they met under… in less pleasant circumstances, Sammy didn’t mind traveling with Ben. He might only have about $1000 dollars to his name, no house or job or- or sister. Or fiance.

His head physically hurt with that thought, causing him to frown. He had spent so much searching for…

“I’m going to get us checked in before they run out of rooms.” Sammy said, swiping the thoughts away. His chest hurt. It hurt so much. “I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.” Ben said, turning to face Sammy. He gave the older man a tired smile. Sammy smiled back painfully.

He had someone to take care of right now. He could focus on that and worry about the Wright twins and the rest of his future later.

He hopped out of the car, long legs aching as he finally stood. He lifted his arms over his head, wincing as something in his back cramped with the motion.

“I’m getting too old for this.” Sammy muttered. Thankfully the door was shut so Ben made no comment.

Sammy strode with more confidence than he had towards the office of the motel. When he opened the door, the face he was greeted by was a lot more cheerful than the last had been. A woman with long, curly brown hair stood in front of him. She, unlike the last guy, was not eating a cheese sandwich. Instead, she was flitting around the office, probably preparing to turn in for the night if the bag on the counter was anything to go by.

“Hello!” The woman said cheerfully. “How can I help you?”

“Hey.” Sammy replied as he approached the counter. “Can I get two rooms? Single beds.”

“Of course!” The woman said cheerfully. “We have one room open on the ground floor and another on the second. Is that fine?”

“That’s fine.” Sammy agreed. He went to grab his wallet from his pocket, and then realized that all his cash was sitting on the dashboard of his car. All the money left to his name that he would dare to touch.

Not enough money for him to justify paying for two hotel rooms.

“Actually,” Sammy started, patting his pockets down. “Can we make that one room? Double beds? And I need to go grab my money from the car.”

They could share a room. Just one more night. It would not be weird, would it?

The woman took the change in stride, flashing Sammy a smile as she came to the stand at the computer. “Of course. I’ve got one more room available with double beds.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem! I’ll get this all rung up while you run out to your car.” She glanced up at Sammy briefly. “I’m assuming you’ll need two keys?”

“That would be nice.” Sammy agreed. He turned and started walking back to the car. “I’ll be back in just a minute.

“Take your time.”

Sammy opened the doors and walked back to his car. Ben still had not gotten out of the vehicle but Sammy could see that he was awake. His phone was plastered to his ear, talking to who Sammy could only assume to be his girlfriend or from somebody else back home. He walked over to the driver's side and opened the door, grabbed his wallet, and did his best not to disturb Ben’s phone call.

“I know. I know Mary, and I am so sorry. I know it wasn’t-”

Sammy shut the door before he could hear anymore of that conversation.

He walked back into the office, paid the woman at the desk the total for the rooms, and was given two keys for his troubles. He noted that their room was on the second first floor this time, closest to the office. 

As he made the trip back to his car yet again, he saw that Ben was standing outside the car now. His phone was still glued to his ear. Whatever conversation he was having did not seem to be a pleasant one. Ben looked up and met Sammy’s eyes, and the older man gave him a sympathetic smile.

“I’m going to move the car closer to our room.” Sammy mumbled once he was close enough. He passed Ben a key that had their room number on it. Ben nodded at him thankfully and stepped out of the way of the car.

Once the car was parked in front of their room, Sammy began grabbing his things and - despite how protective Ben had previously been - grabbed Ben’s bag as well. He also slipped his pistol back in his duffel bag, just in case. He had a concealed carry permit, and he saw no sign preventing weapons on the property, so he figured it would be alright. Hopefully they would not need it, but when you had an army of scientists and government officials chasing you and your passenger, you tend to come prepared. 

Sammy grabbed his keys and locked the car, swinging the bags more firmly over his shoulder as he did so. He looked back over to Ben who was still standing in the abandoned parking spot. Deciding that the man might need a minute, Sammy went on ahead into their shared room to claim one of the beds for himself. 

Ben stretched loudly once Sammy had left the car. Had he really managed to sleep all day? A part of him felt bad that Sammy had been left alone with his unconscious body, but at the same time, he was just so tired. The stress from this trip was finally beginning to catch up to him. Just how close they came to losing their lives-

His phone ringing broke him from his thoughts before they could go too deep. He snatched the phone up, seeing Mary’s caller ID.

“Aww man.”

He knew what this conversation was going to be about, and he was not looking forward to it. Taking a deep breath, he answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Ben.”

“Hi, Mary. What’s going on?”

“What’s going on?” Mary repeated incredulously. Ben cringed. “What’s going on? I think what’s going on is that you and Tim split up after leaving the institute! Damn it, Ben. You said you would stick with him!”

Ben’s heart sank. He barely noticed when Sammy opened the driver’s side door. “I know. I know Mary, and I am so sorry. I know it wasn’t-”

“I know that’s not what you meant to do. It just happened. Which is why I didn’t want either of you going out there in the first place!”

Ben remained silent. Mary sighed.

“Look Ben, I understand things happen. And I’m sorry for getting so heated. We’ve been stressing our little behinds off because we knew this plan was dangerous.”

“I know. I’m sorry to make you guys worry.”

“It’s- well, it’s not fine. But it will be fine as soon as the both of you get home. Tim should be home by tomorrow. He’s spending the night in Nebraska. Where are you?”

Ben took a good look around, trying to find some sign to indicate where they were at. He was slightly embarrassed that he had no idea.

“Honestly, I’m not sure.” Ben drawled out. “I think we’re still in California.”

“We? You mean you and your hitch-hiking buddy Emily told me about?” Ben cringed.

“Yep, that’s the one. We’ve been driving for a while. There was- we had an incident at the airport. Couldn’t get on a plane.”

There was silence for a moment. Ben took that time to step out of the car and see if he could get a better look at exactly where they were. His attempts were fruitless, however. During their brief silence, Sammy passed by and said something about moving the car. All Ben did was nod and move out of the way.

“Are you safe, Ben?”

“Do what?”

“Are you safe? Are you safe with this person you are with?”

“Who, Sammy?”

“Whatever his name is. I just want to know you are safe with them.”

Ben thought about that for a moment. He had been safe with Sammy, hadn’t he? Not only did Sammy help him escape from the institute, but he had also helped him escape again back at the airport. Even when he didn’t have to. And there was a feeling… that tugging in his chest he had never experienced before. How it had quieted when he hugged Sammy in the parking lot.

There was no doubt about it. He was safe.

“Yeah.” He answered. “I’m safe with him. It’s him who has to worry about me.”

Mary snorted. Ben laughed.

“Alright. It’s about time for me to pick up the kids from school, so I am going to have to let you go. But you two stay safe out there, okay? Text one of us when you are on the way home tomorrow.”

“Can do, Mary.”

“And Ben?”

Ben shifted his phone to his other hand. “Yeah?”

“Please be careful.”

“I will.”

“Bye.”

“Goodbye, Mary.”

The call ended. Ben slipped his phone into the pocket of the shorts he had borrowed from Sammy and he scrubbed his face, groaning as he did so.

He felt awful about separating from Tim.

He felt awful about making everyone back at home worry.

He felt downright guilty about bringing a random passerby into his feud with the SI.

He just felt miserable.

“I need to go back to sleep.” Ben muttered. He looked down at the key Sammy had handed him. The number 1 was engraved into the metal.

With that, Ben began walking towards their room.

He would figure it out. He always did.