10 Party - II

The sudden revelation left the two stunned, prompting them to ask a few more questions until finally understanding the ins and outs of the situation. It turns out that both Daniel and Elaine had such roots.. saying they're shocked would be an understatement to describe their reaction.

"Alright, let me get this straight... your family is wealthy in China, just like Elaine's family in Japan, and apparently, your families got to know each other through a business collaboration, and since both you and Elaine are the same age, they decided to make you a playmate, which technically turned you two into childhood friends... Wow," Keny Doyle exclaimed with astonishment on his face.

"It feels like a plot of some low-budget TV series, I know," Daniel sighed.

"However, the question is, what are you doing in the US? Er... I mean, don't get me wrong, no Asian hate or so whatever. Its just that. Why are you studying here when you're already doing well in China?" Ben asked in curiosity; however, he paused halfway through his sentence as he remembered how most Chinese overacted when it came to race, so he made sure that it wouldn't sound offensive as much as possible.

[A/N: Nah, you just read too many urban Chinese novels. ((-_-))✓]

"Well, my parents are considering transferring the business to the U.S. because the environment on the mainland is not good. They said that CCP s*cks, there is lots of market competition, and more... Meh, I don't really understand any of those things, but anyway, the point is, they want me to get used to American culture so that I can take over the business after I've grown up." Daniel shrugged as he explained nonchalantly.

"..."Ben was speechless. Did he just—nah, nevermind?

***

"Ben, Keny, this is Elaine and Elaine, this is Ben and Keny that I was talking about with you; they're nice and funny." Daniel Chen rubs his nose as he introduces the duo to Elaine Fukahara.

"Hi, I'm Ben. Nice to meet you.." Ben greeted her with a slight smile on his face while secretly checking out the girl.

The Japanese American girl dressed in white dressed together with 2 inch white hills sandals, a silver bracelet, and a silver necklace around her neck. Her petite silloute failed to exlude any sexiness from her; however, it did make her look innocent.

The way her eyes looked at him gave Ben a sense of refreshment. She wasn't like any other girl he knew in this life (except his family, of course); her black eyes were devoid of any motives—no interest, no pity, no disgust, or anything. Only pure curiosity.

"Hi, Ben, I heard you from Daniel.. It is nice to meet you-Desu." Elaine greeted back in a cute Japanese-English accent before pausing in embarrassment: "Gomennasai(sorry)...no, what.. I... I just came to the U.S., my English is no good."

"Hehe, that's fine." Ben chucked before reassuring.

Soon it was Keny's turn to introduce himself, and next it was Elaine's time to introduce her friends.

"That girl is Megan Kwan, Cassidy O'Leary. The twins are Abigail and Allyson Sanders... The guy, or should I say gay, is Mark Lopez."

'F*ck? So many?' Ben's eyes widened a bit in surprise, seeing so many canon characters at once. His mind ran several operations simultaneously; various thoughts and conjectures crossed one after another until finally, realization hit him.

'So that's why.'

He always found it strange that he found no information about them in OG Ben's memory. Furthermore, according to the memory, he barely had friends other than kids in their neighborhood, which made him more confused: "If he was not a friend of them, how did he meet the OG crew in the novel?"

However, after connecting dots, Ben realized that this was how their crew formed; through Elaine.

'Heh... perhaps Elaine and Daniel are the real protagonists of this world. I mean, they've got a TV series-like background story, both coming from rich families and being in love with each other... And perhaps Ben is just a side character in their story,' Ben thought with amusement.

***

"Hey, Ben, is it true that you invited Patricia Crawford to watch movies?" one of the girls asked, sounding curious, prompting everyone at the table to shift their attention to him with interest.

"Well... I did that," Ben replied. Despite growing accustomed to constant attention in the last months of school, he still felt a bit uncomfortable being stared at by a group of girls.

As he spoke, he secretely checks the questioner, Cassidy O'Leary.

Framed by a cascade of auburn curls, she was a red-haired chick with green eyes and freckles adorning her face. As he wandered around her, their eyes coincidentally met, and as if realizing something, her lips twisted into a slight smile, revealing a dimple on her cheek.

Honestly, she wasn't as pretty as she was described in the novel; however, he had to admit that she's kind of cute. 'Perhaps it's because she's a late bloomer like the OG Ben?'

In the novel, OG Ben mentioned that Cassidy, like most girls, only dated him because he was "safe." In his words, those girls were shy, so they dated him as a practice dummy before eventually moving on to finally bang hot guys.

(AN: basically, they're NTR'ing him and OG Ben didn't even realized it.)

In the novel, Ben's growth spurt surprised her a lot, and witnessing numerous girls obsessing over him, making her regretted her actions. Later, she started making moves on him, seducing him, etc., which ultimately resulted in Megan Kwan inviting her into a three-way relationship with him.

Noticing her smiling flirtatiously, Ben doesn't know how to react for a moment. He doesn't like the way he NTR'd OG Ben; however, as his gaze shifts to her smooth and tender skin, along with those tempting pink lips of hers, a rapid change of perspective unfolds. 'Oh well, a hole is a hole no matter what type it is... except for guys, of course.'

"Really, what happened on your date?" another girl asked in interest, and the other girls also nodded in unison, looking curious about it.

"Well, we did go to the movie.." Being stared at by girls was uncomfortable, even for Ben, but as time went on, seeing them look at him with brighter eyes, Ben also started to feel confident, and soon he found himself conversing with them like buddies.

"I know, right? Patricia is cool."

"What did we talk about? Some casual stuff, random things, and I also said jokes, making her laugh a lot."

"What jokes? T-this... Okay, fine, but I swear it's lame as hell, so don't get your hopes high."

"Okay.... what do you think about a priest who goes to a law school? Father in Law..."

"Ehh, no, we didn't have sex or anything; it was just a casual date, honestly."

***

Author's Note:

Okay, the "safe" term is very complicated, I know. Ben was labeled as safe because of his height, and no girls wanted to date him, as it would make other girls tease them. 

However, some girls dated him because he was 'safe'. Now, before you asked, 'is that contridictary? ', here me out.

It was a date, but Ben really didn't think of them as real dates, as according to him, the girls are just using him as a practice dummy; they only flirted and saw him for weeks, then dumped him to bang other guys afterwards.

(EDITED -X1)