The Boy in the Lake (BEN Drowned x Female Reader)

Chapter 26- What. The. Fuck.

I rubbed my temples, crouching on the ground as I forced myself to think. Think (Y/N). Think! I thought to myself. Most people who really knew me already were aware that I acted based purely off emotions. Emotions were a stupid thing, and I wish I didn't have any of them. Granted, emotions have gotten me this far with the whole Ben situation. But did I really want to what I was considering?

That being...

Well.

Going to Lunar Lake? Meeting up with Peter and his pals, out in the middle of the woods? The place were Ben was dragged and drowned? Maybe we'll sing songs, drink apple juice, and have a grand old time before I accuse Peter of murder. Who cares if Peter so happened to actually be a murderer? I chuckled to myself bitterly, feeling almost manic as I checked the time.

5:48 PM.

The sun outside was practically gone. The only thing left was a strip orange fading into a purple hue in the horizon. What time was Peter going to be at the lake?

Hell, what am I thinking??

Peter was dating Ben's sister. Why would he do something so horrible to his girlfriend's brother? I thought about what James had said about Peter earlier. It didn't make sense to me.

"No one was nice to Ben. Everyone was so mean to him, because 'why the hell not.' Mike and Peter were probably the worst."

Mike and Peter had to be in on Ben's murder together. There shouldn't be any doubt about it. It sent chills down my spine, thinking back on how Peter was so desperately trying to convince me that James was a bad person. If anything, I trusted James more than Peter at this point. Even if James and I had beef, there was something about Peter's recent behavior... It wasn't right. I had an idea of what was happening, I was just hoping I was wrong.

I pulled on a sweater and began putting on my boots. I saw Ben glitch into view in the conter of my eye. The feeling of guilt washed over me again, and I refused to acknowledge him.

"Where are you going?" Ben asked, his voice laced with a small amount of concern. It hurt way more then it should've.

"I'm figuring out who murdered you. Tonight," I told him, before finishing tying my bootlace and standing up. Ben tilted his head, clearly confused.

"Why are you telling me this now?" Ben asked.

It'll hurt less if I get rid of you on my own terms, I thought. "Just... let me figure this out, okay?"

Ben blinked, speechless as I grabbed my phone and began walking out of my room. "(Y/N), wait-" he finally said, but I ignored him and left the room.

I went down the stairs, not looking where I was going. I turned the corner and head towards the front door, nearly running into my mom. She seemed startled at first, then her face twisted with confusion.

"Are you going somewhere?" She asked. I nodded, attempting to squeeze past her to avoid further questioning. My mom blocked me and raised an eyebrow. "Where?"

"Band... meeting," I mumbled. It wasn't technically a lie.

"That doesn't answer my question, (Y/N)," my mom looked at me disapprovingly.

"Peter's house," I answered. My mom rose an eyebrow, but sighed in defeat. She cupped my face with a hand, looking at me straight in the eyes.

"I want you home by nine, okay?" She said. "If you can get a ride home, great. I don't you walking home in this cold, especially at night."

"Yes, mom."

I tried moving past her again, but she stopped me. "I love you. I'm sorry I haven't been there for you these past couple of weeks."

"It's okay, mom."

"Stay safe."

When she finally moved, she gave me a quick hug before nudging me towards the door. I couldn't help but feel touched by my mom's words. After all this crap was finished, I would need to spend more time with her.

I opened the front door and took a deep breath of the cold wind. Then, I finally stepped out of the house and began walking my way to Lunar Lake.

***

I had just made it to the clearing in the park before my phone began buzzing like crazy. I groaned in frustration as a I saw messages from Ben. Choosing to ignore him again, I stuffed my flip phone into my pocket and walked into the clearing. It was extremely dark out, and I was stupid enough as to not bringing a flashlight.

Oh well, I thought to myself. There was just enough light coming from the moon that I could somewhat figure out where I was going. I walked in the woods for what felt like forever, until I saw water glistening from the moonlight beyond the trees. I sighed in relief, glad that I wasn't lost. I stumbled out of the woods, hearing voices the closer I got. Finally, I saw Peter, the a couple band members, and a few other people I didn't recognize. They were all laughing, and acting very out of it.

I had a bad feeling about this already. Unfortunately, Peter noticed me immediately and threw his arms open. "(Y/N)! You made it!"

Something was very off about Peter's movements. Everbody else's too. I smiled nervously and waved to everyone, taking in my surroundings. A few things caught my eye, one of them I wadn't expecting to be a pile of drugs.

Oh no, they were all high.

"We didn't know if you were coming or not," Peter said. "So glad you could make it though. There's a few things we need to talk about."

Queasiness erupted in my stomach. What the hell was going on? I continued to notice more things, like dufflebags and...

Cinder blocks.

Oh no.

"Wha- what is there to talk about, Peter?" I asked nervously. Peter grabbed a joint and offered it to me. I shook my head and declined it, and Peter frowned.

"Trust me, you're gonna want this before I tell you anything." He had a hardened look in his eyes, which made me so uneasy that I took the joint from him. Peter seemed pleased with this.

"Welcome to the Moon Children gathering, (Y/N)." Peter looked around at the others before nodding at me, encouraging me to smoke the joint. I did so, hesatiantly, feeling terrible afterward.

After an hour or so of more encouraged smoking, I began to feel very strange. I wasn't able to fully comprehend my surroundings, nor did I care. I felt like I had nothing to worry about. Hell, I felt great. But somehow, some part of my was able to stop from smoking further.

Peter sat down next to me. "So, we have to talk."

"About what?" I asked.

"Do you know anything about the Moon Children?"

"Nope."

"Do you know anything about Ben?"

"Maybe."

"What do you know?"

"He was murdered."

Peter's expression shifted. "He wasn't murdered."

I hummed in disagreement, not worried at all about answering. "Nope. Someone drowned him in that lake." I pointed to the lake that was right in front of us. "Just a wild guess." Everyone else began murmering. They didn't look so high anymore, but I still felt high.

Damn, I didn't want to be high anymore.

"Fuck," Peter stood up and backed away. "How do you know that?"

I shrugged.

Peter looked at the others. One of them nodded back before lunging at me. Before I was even able to react, everything went black.

_____________________________

Don't do drugs, kids.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter! I love you guys <3

(yes I added more BEN Drowned lore to the fanfic, sue me)