Chapter Text
That Monday felt increasingly tiresome and dull. The only lingering traces of Ben’s sudden, wild fever were his shortness of breath and occasional phlegm—neither of which was actually as uncomfortable as he had imagined. And, of course, there was the embarrassment of having felt as though Rex had arrived at his home like some sort of his "ideal Prince Charming". Every time he recalls that fever-induced dream, he shudders and blushes.
Although, in fact, Rex was present: by way of a message. Rex had asked if he 'was alright', adding that it was no trouble at all and that the invitation remained open whenever he might want to take it up. It was a very generic message, one that felt—to Ben, at least—like an act of forced kindness; this did nothing to alleviate the sense of shame he was already feeling. Perhaps disappearing would have been for the best, but as a student struggling in a few of his subjects, he couldn’t simply vanish as he might have liked.
"Are you better?" Rex came to sit next to Ben, who was just staring at nothing, as if he were lost in some other galaxy or something. Not even Ben understood his emotional state at that time, so much so that he didn't even react to the calming arrival of his friend. "I could be worse, thank you." Ben answered, sharp, almost aggressive, but Rex understood that it's his kind of feeling after an illness that weakened him for almost a full day.
"As soon as you're feeling better, you know you can come over to my place whenever you want," Rex said, offering the invitation with care and affection. Ben simply nodded—a gesture meant to keep their conversation quiet, though it's still somewhat noisy. Apparently, the signal wasn’t clear enough for Rex, who continued to tease and pester him. Ben just let it happen; he actually enjoyed this kind of physical contact with his friend Rex—even though, the night before, he had dreamt of something far more intimate between them.
The day unfolded with complete normality—moving at that particular pace typical of the start of a week, about as exciting as watching a lone sneaker sitting in the corner of a room—until a teacher asked to have a brief meeting with Ben. He wasn’t a bad student, but he struggled a bit with certain subjects, and on top of that, his sleep habits were rather irregular.
"Mr. Tennyson, we have noticed a slight deficiency in your grades," was his teacher's first remark. "However, you have remained consistent in most of them; therefore, there are no major complaints, I simply want to encourage you to improve your performance." Although those words sounded like they should have been enough, Ben still didn't grasp the point of the meeting; it was as if his fever had sapped some of his attention span, or perhaps he simply wasn't focused.
"Except for Physics, Mr. Tennyson." There it was—that was the problem. Ben was never particularly skilled at Physics or Chemistry; though in the latter, he managed to keep his grades up because the final projects were group-based and focused on topics that actually interested him. Physics, however, was a lost cause—it felt like trying to decipher hieroglyphs or study the history of some obscure foreign nation with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants; it was just completely alien to him.
"We know that Physics has never been your strong suit, Mr. Tennyson, but that doesn't mean you should slack off in this subject. On the contrary, it ought to be an incentive for you to keep improving, yet that doesn't seem to be the case." It was awful; it was as if he were hearing the same lecture from his parents, over and over again. Ben knew they were right, but that didn't stop him from feeling a sense of aversion whenever he had to hear the same thing so many times.
"Therefore, your Physics teacher and I have decided that you will receive tutoring," the head teacher said.
"Oh, no," Ben thought. "I don't think my parents will want to spend money on that," Ben said, feeling quite confident—and hopeful—that he could get out of it. He had never been a fan of tutoring. He’d once had private math lessons with one of Gwen’s friends, who hadn't exactly been the most engaging tutoring teacher. She had certainly helped him, but Ben couldn't stand having to study—or, rather, getting help with his studies—during his free time.
"Don't worry, Tennyson. We’ve assigned one of your classmates to help you with this; the entire process will be managed by us, the educational institution." Great! Now Ben would have to deal with some nerd from his class just to improve his Physics grades. Various scenarios crossed his mind—some more pleasant than others, since with some classmates, studying together could actually be fun, while with others, it would be far less enjoyable.
"Given your friendship with Mr. Rex Salazar, we believe it is appropriate for him to serve as your tutor throughout this process. We have full confidence in Mr. Salazar’s professionalism to help you improve your academic performance." Just what he needed—or rather, didn't need. From now on, any time spent with Rex would be strictly for studying—no more playing video games, joking around, or just gossiping. Although it came as a slight surprise to Ben, he hadn't been aware of Rex’s aptitude for physics.
Ben and Rex never shared their grades, simply because they never saw any reason to. Perhaps if he had paid closer attention earlier on, Ben could have become an expert in physics a long time ago. Now, the idea didn’t bother him—he would end up spending more time with Rex than he might have expected—but his feelings for him could potentially grow, leading him into very dangerous (and awkward) territory.
"Can we count on your willingness to improve your academic performance, Mr. Tennyson?" Extending his hand, the tenured professor waited for Ben to accept the proposal. The young man remained still, maintaining an indifferent gaze as he looked at the elderly professor, but eventually agreed, shaking his hand to signify a mutual understanding. "Perfect. Thank you very much, Mr. Tennyson. We will inform Mr. Salazar as soon as possible. You may go." Ben simply nodded in acknowledgment and quickly left the office.
What a series of events in less than a week. Ben couldn’t believe the universe kept placing him in these situations, one after another; all he wanted was to rest and let his feelings—rather than having to confront them—simply fade away. It seemed this was how things would be from now on, with no way of knowing how long it might last, or even if his feelings would intensify as time went on. Ben just wanted answers, but every day brought only more questions.
Ben’s phone suddenly vibrated with a message in the quick notifications: "hello, student ben tennyson xdddddd". Ben just let out a soft, breathy laugh.