With You

By Magic Kitsune

"Ben, what the hell are you doing?" The young man asked dully, a blank look on his face as he stared up at his friend.

"The same thing I do before every White Day, of course!" Ben announced proudly as he stood precariously on a tree branch, "I am using my amazing powers to search for the White Day ghost that haunts these lands every year! But there's no need to thank me, of course. It's my pleasure to protect these fine citizens fro-"

"Eventually someone is going to stop laughing and report you if you keep up this public nudity," the young man interrupted shortly.

Ben chuckled lightly as he was, indeed, very naked. "Fear not, Drew-fellow!" He reached into his endless well of confidence, "They will all understand that it is for the good of the people!"

Drew sighed and decided to give up quickly. It was impossible to argue with Ben when he was like this. Thankfully there were many classes at that particular time of day, and there weren't many students wandering the campus. The White Day ghost was nothing more than an urban myth, but Ben still seemed intent on looking for it every year. Despite his crazy antics, however, Drew couldn't seem to stay mad at him for more than a minute. Something about Ben just melted his anger away whenever he pulled one of his barely legal stunts. Maybe it was some kind of natural defense mechanism...

A sudden noise from behind him pulled Drew from his thoughts and he quickly turned around. To his surprise, it was that little orange cat he kept running into. "Meew?" It cried cutely before nudging Drew's leg expectantly. I wonder why it hangs-out around here, he thought, unconsciously reaching into his bag for a snack to give the kitty. The thought never really occurred to him that it might be because he was feeding it.

Deciding to leave Ben to his quest, Drew picked up his things and left the scene. He didn't want to be around when classes were dismissed, and he needed to go buy more treats for the cat anyway.

"Mew!" The cat sounded again as it closely followed him.

"I don't have anything more for you right now," Drew explained, unable to suppress a tiny smile from appearing on his face. It was so cute...

"Meeew!" It continued stubbornly, still following him.

Drew sighed. Oh, well. He continued to walk across the school grounds passively, making his way to the little campus shop that sat next to the main building. He was skipping class, again, trying to keep Ben out of trouble. As long as he still had some free time, maybe he would take a nap. He preferred sleeping over math anyway.

As he entered the small building he turned back to make sure the cat hadn't followed him inside. Nope, it was sitting right outside the door. Almost like it was waiting for him. It may be smarter than Ben...Drew pondered to himself as he turned back to look at the merchandise. He scanned the shelves, picking up his usual goods before taking them to the register. It was no surprise to see large stacks of White Day chocolates right next to it. Should I buy some? He thought suddenly. A lot of girls gave him chocolate on Valentine's Day. Too many to count. He was pretty sure he didn't have enough money to buy enough for all of them. Maybe I'll buy some just in case, he thought while adding one of the little white boxes to his purchases, I can always just eat it myself.

With that, he picked up his things and walked out the door, only to find that the cat was no longer there. I guess it got bored and left, he thought, slightly disappointed. He walked over to the side of the building and dropped his bag. Then he stretched out onto the ground with a yawn, falling asleep quickly after.

*****

A sharp jab to his side awoke Drew with a start and he looked around wildly.

"I wish you wouldn't just sleep on the ground like that, I thought you were dead," A young man with white and black hair smiled teasingly.

Drew narrowed his eyes slightly when he saw the stick he was holding. "You couldn't have just said, "hey, wake up, Drew,' could you, Fei?" He complained sleepily. Reluctantly he began to stand up and stretch stiffly. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone. Another one of his unconscious actions. With little surprise, he noticed the words "52 missed calls' on the screen. All from Ben. Geez, Ben, he thought, his expression never changing.

"Not that I care," Fei began lazily, "But is there any particular reason that Ben keeps stalking Oro?"

"How should I know?" Drew answered a little more sharply than he meant to. The question seemed to grate on his nerves a little. "What makes you ask?" He questioned suspiciously.

Without another word, Fei pointed out to the school grounds. And there was Oro sitting on one of the benches next to Alice, looking rather shaky. But who wouldn't be with someone in a giant squirrel costume looming over their shoulder.

For some reason, Drew became more annoyed than usual. Seeing Ben constantly following around Oro just made him feel so...jealous. Though he hadn't the foggiest idea why. Deciding he didn't want to get involved, he turned in the opposite direction of Ben and walked off with Fei to chat.

*****

Drew counted himself lucky enough to find some peace from Ben for awhile. In fact, he didn't hear from him until well into the night. While he was sleeping, unfortunately.

"Drew," a short whisper sliced through the silence. A pause. "Dreeeewww," the voice persisted. Another pause. "DREW!"

"Damnit, Ben!" Drew snapped angrily as he awoke with a jump.

"Drew-fellow!" Ben continued, hardly suppressing the excitement in his voice, "It's here! It-it's really here!"

"What...the hell are you talking about?" Drew asked irritably, his mind still only half awake.

"The White Day ghost!! It's here in the dormitory!"

Drew sat up sharply and looked around the dark room wildly.

"No, not here!" Ben corrected, earning a disapproving look from Drew, "Upstairs, next to Oro's room!" Poor Oro.

"Do we have to do this now, Ben?"

"Yes!"

Drew sighed with discontent. This was definitely not something he wanted to do, but that hopeful look in Ben's eyes was just too much. "Let's just get this over with."

"That's the spirit!" Ben laughed, picking up his gear. He looked like he was ready to go camping.

Drew followed Ben up to the room where the ghost supposedly haunted, not bothering to change out of his night clothes. When they got there, there was a small congregation of curious students hanging around one particular door.

"What's he doing here?" Ben regarded Fei, who was among the small crowd.

"Uh, he sorta just...showed up," Oro answered tiredly.

"I'm just here to watch," Fei explained, an amused smile on his face.

A sudden noise from the room made everybody nearby jump. Ben quickly fled behind Drew. "Well, c'mon," he laughed shakily, "What're we waiting for, Drew? Let's go get that ghost!"

Drew's eyes narrowed slightly with contempt towards the room. It was dark and foreboding, not to mention full of old boxes and dust. He just wanted to get this over with so he could go back to bed. He walked calmly into the dark room, followed very closely by Ben. Well, he didn't feel any ghosts.

"Ack! There it is!" Ben shouted.

"Where!?" Drew looked around wildly.

"Quick! Before it gets away!" Ben explained quickly, going off to close the door.

"Ben, no!" Drew warned, but then he heard the sound of a door slamming shut. Suddenly, everything was very quiet. And very, very dark.

"Are you guys okay in there?" A voice, Oro, shouted from the other side of the door.

"Damn it, Ben, you had better have the key," Drew snapped irritably.

"Uhh..." Ben began hesitantly, "Not to worry, Ben has come prepared..." He began digging through his bag and pulled out a flashlight. The second he turned it on, one of the piles of boxes in the room tipped over and crashed to the floor. "IT'S THE WHITE DAY GHOST!!" Ben shouted, clinging to Drew, "IT'S GONNA KILL US FOR DISTURBING IT!!!" This, of course, triggered more panicked cries from the other side of the door.

Drew's ears began to ring with all of the sudden noise and he quickly yanked the flashlight out of Ben's hands and shined it at the floor.

"Nyo?" A cat mewed quizzically, quickly scampering away from the light.

"It's a cat," Drew said flatly, causing all of the screaming to cease almost instantly. He was going to murder Ben for this.

Laughing from the other side of the door, almost certainly Fei, was drown out by Oro, "How are you guys going to get out? The door is locked and anyone who would have a key has gone home for the day."

Drew cast a boiling glance over at Ben, who shrugged. At that point, he would've reached out and strangled Ben on the spot, but rational thought stopped him. "Apparently, we're going to have to stay here until morning." Drew hated to admit it, but it seemed like that was what was going to happen.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Oro asked worriedly.

"We'll be fine," Drew answered shortly, removing Ben from his arm.

"We'll be back first thing in the morning with help," Fei snickered, "You two behave in there."

They stood motionlessly for a bit as everything suddenly fell silent. "What do you have in that bag of yours?" Drew asked with a sigh.

"Everything we could ever need!" Ben laughed before he accidentally dropped the flashlight which shattered as it hit the floor. Again, everything became very dark and quiet. "...Except another flashlight."

Drew decided that Ben was lucky he couldn't see where his neck was so he couldn't strangle him. "I'm tired, I want to sleep," Drew said flatly.

"Then it's a good thing I brought this blanket!" Ben smiled, digging in his pack and pulling out a large blanket. "Quickly! Before hypothermia sets in!"

Drew blindly felt around the area before finding Ben leaning up against one of the walls. He quickly covered himself and took a seat next to him, trying not to think about it too much. Him, in the dark, alone with Ben. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

Hours past, but Drew couldn't sleep.

"Ben?" Drew began. No answer. He must've fallen asleep. He sighed and relaxed a bit. For some reason, he really didn't mind being so close to Ben. Actually, he sorta...liked it. It was nice to be near him, it was comfortable. He glanced over at Ben. Even with his eyes adjusted to the dark, he was still just a dark shape next to him. I wonder if he's dreaming, Drew thought passively. He could hear Ben breathing softly as he slept. He seemed almost civil when he wasn't conscious. He watched him thoughtfully and began to slowly move closer to his face. At that moment, he just wanted to...

"Hn? Drew?" Ben yawned.

Drew pulled back quickly, his heart skipping a beat. "Geez! I thought you were asleep!" He snapped angrily, thanking the darkness for hiding the redness of his face.

"What's the matter?" Ben asked quizzically.

"Nothing! Just forget it!" Drew snapped angrily. Stupid! Why was he so stupid? He didn't understand anything!

Not wanting to be so close to Ben any longer, Drew quickly stood up and made his way to the window. Why did he have to keep feeling this way? Damnit! Trying to do anything to distract himself, he began pulling at the boards that blocked it. After a bit of struggling, one of the boards came loose and light spilled in from the outside.

Drew covered his eyes quickly with surprise. "I guess...it's morning," he stated, mostly to himself. With a heavy sigh, he put his hands in his pockets, only to get the shock of his life. He STILL had the White Day chocolates from the day before, and he was getting the strangest ideas. "Ben, um, I," he started hesitantly, clutching the box in his pocket and still facing the window, "I was just, um," No! It was wrong! "Nevermind!" What was he thinking? He couldn't give White Day chocolates to Ben! It wasn't right! It was...weird. Roughly letting go of the box, he sighed shakily, trying to control his emotions.

"Oh! I almost forgot! Drew-fellow~" Ben chimed happily behind him.

What? What could it possibly be this time? Turning around sharply, Drew was amazed when suddenly a little white box was thrust in his face.

"Happy White Day!" Ben announced excitedly.

Drew stared dumbfounded at the occurrence. He reached up and took the gift, still not sure what to do. Did he even know what he was doing? Almost automatically, and without saying a word, he slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the box he bought earlier.

"Yay! You got some for me too!" Ben laughed, "I really wanted to eat them, but the Mighty Ben remained strong so he could deliver the chocolates to you!"

"Drew! Ben! You still alive in there?" Oro called from the other side of the door, "We got the Janitor here, he's going to break you guys outta there!"

"Worry not, for we have braved the White Day ghost and survived!" Ben announced in triumph.

"Ben, the White Day ghost doesn't exist," Fei's voice stated, "It was a cat, remember?"

"Lies! The cat must've been a distraction technique so it could escape! Clever, most clever..."

Drew stood still and watched as they continued to argue through the door. He felt a nudge on his leg and looked down to see the cat rubbing up against him and purring. He knelt down and stroked it lightly as he stared at the box in his other hand. It really...wasn't such a bad day after all...