because benji had held his silly little gig at the resort so long, his schedule was now, more or less, public knowledge. he wouldn't be present for opening shifts, he would inevitably have some sort of vital matters to attend to that led to an abandoning of post by eleven - and he liked it that way. it opened the door for the serendipitous moments he could find a reprieve from work in the person standing across from the concierge desk.ย
ย such as now. as soon as benjiโs eyes land on the hidden newcomer behind a departing lodge guest, his customer service persona drops, a surprised, genuine grin replacing pain-staking customer service smile (if his work-face could even be considered that). "and what can i do you for, beautiful?โย
Ni held her legs to her chest, toasted brown eyes staring out into the starry indigo night. Each inhale she took was slow and intentional, like one hitch in her breath would ruin the entire night and she would be driven back to her car. Benji had made himself a little more comfortable, no surprises there. It only made sense that he was comfortable in the back of his own car - but it felt a little tooโฆ Comfortable in a way. Maybe this scene had been played before and Niyah was getting second hand dรฉjร vu.
Her head turned slowly, as if she were trying to sneak a peek at him and smiled sheepishly when his head turned towards hers in response. The tips of her ears got hot and the woman turned her face away coyly in order to hide exactly how she was feeling.ย
โPass the peach rings?โ
โก
it would be fuckinโ impossible to pass off like this was a first time, so benij didnโt begin an attempt at it. heโs got pillows with cases that clash, an old comforter padding the mechanisms that latch a presently missing back row of seats in place, and an uncanny ability to find the north star.ย
but thatโs the draw with aniyah. sheโs always caught him when heโs entirely unable to keep up a performance. he returns her glance, canine caught on the edge of the gummy before the rest of his teeth bare in a grin.ย
โbeing selfish, am i? that doesnโt sound very much like me.โ itโs self-aware sarcasm, yet still leads to him gaining a bit more consciousness about the makeshift bed hog heโs behaving as. he pulls his lengthy limbs closer to himself before he extends the bagย โ only to draw it right back out of reach, painted nails flashing as he offers, instead, an ultimatum.ย โonly if you get comfy. i mean, for my own sake. neither of us want my high turninโ the annoying, paranoid kind, right?โย
sexuality:ย bisexual, though itโs more of an open-secret, just donโt let allen greene know he was rightย way
aesthetics:ย
age: twenty-two
date of birth:ย february 10, 2000
zodiac sign:ย aquarius sun, aries moon
residence:ย a duplex in black bear estateย
occupation:ย concierge @ the black bear resortย
appearance:
faceclaim:ย evan mock
height: 5โฒ9โณ
eyes: dark brown
physique: slender, bordering on scrawny. benji had always been lanky, but in high school, swimming kept some degree of muscle on him. now, without a stream of home-cooked meals or morning exercise, heโs just thin.
hair:ย shaved, in various shades of pink depending on dye cycle. originally, he let a girl from tinder dye it on a whim (and effort to get laid), but heโs kept it ever since on account of how much it made steam rise from his fatherโs ears
body mods: lobes and some in the cartilage pierced, scar on the nostril from a piercing he would remove when he went home and eventually grew over. no tattoos, due mostly to the time-spent-to-reward-ratio and commitment issues.ย
personality:
tra:ย loyal, kind-hearted, helpful (when he wants to be) / obstinate, easily bored, pessimistic, petty
likes:ย the ritual of mixed drinks, taking polaroids of his friends, card games, cigarettes after beer ONLY, spicy food
dislikes:ย waiting, the quiet, being alone, overhead lighting, heights, pitying looks
skills:ย bass, for alecโs band, a bit rusty after the, ahem, forced long term hiatus. skateboarding, from falling in with theย โwrong crowdโ early on. bargain shopping & thrifting name-brand.ย
family:
mother:ย maria greene, filipina immigrant who married young, to a man they thought would be a respectable husband and father and give her and her babies a better life, only to be utterly alone in a town worlds apart from everything sheโd known. she tried to do right, give benji homecooked meals to take to school (while he pleaded for the processed stuff the rest of the white kids got) and babysit for other families to fill the void of loneliness, but it was a chasm impossible to rectify.ย
father:ย allen greene, former us navyman who got terribly injured (and disabled) on the job with a toddler at home. short-lived political career, long-term anger issues, and a loyalty to the patriarchy and gender roles deeper than before thought possible. the kind of guy to still ask if he can use his veteranโs discount, despite everyone knowing their family came into a hefty inheritance.ย
siblings:ย none
backstory!ย
benji always strove to be the kid he was supposed to. his motherโs only child, his fatherโs only son; he wanted to be everything they had dreamed of having. it was always a little out of reach, though. he couldโve bulked up, gotten his way into football, like the other generations of greene men. he couldโve learned tagalog, his motherโs recipes, been more of a link to home for her or made her married life easier. no matter the regional meets, ap classes, tutorings, or praise from candystripers, approval was a constantly moving goal-post, slipping further out of his grasp every time he looked up.ย
he would never bring back the life and honor his father was supposed to have. he would never be satisfying or around enough to make up for the fact that he was his motherโs entire (else-wise controlled and restricted) world.ย
in ninth-grade, just before he was old enough for the doctors to squint, he managed to lie his way into an adderall prescription. heโd thought heโd been getting better at lying, and this proved itโs usefulness as a skill. if his responsibilities were an ever-growing mountain, this helped keep his feet moving forward. because it wasnโt about him, it was never about him, it still wasnโt enough. allen hounded him about colleges, about enlisting, about how he needed to enlist before college and look good and get stronger for enlistment and quit with the pussy shit โ benji was out of the house more, keeping up with the demands, partying on weekends to blow off steam, and letting allen believe he was just participating in some good boys will be boys-hood. meanwhile maria slipped into longer depressive states with him gone, thinking of him being that way not just for the day, or the weekend, but for months or years at a time.ย
he couldnโt win. it was never enough. it was a tug of war that won him screaming or crying no matter which side, and come graduation, he stopping lying. he announced his post-school plans: nothing. he would be doing nothing, staying in gravewood, getting a shitty, emasculating job, and simply calling it fucking quits. he was tired. his nervous system was frazzled. he just wanted to fucking sleep in for once. so he did just that.ย
he quit the meds, but heโs kept the stash, just in case his brain gets too quiet, just in case they prove good for trading.ย he moved out, obviously, using his grandparentsโ trust fund to pay for the security deposit and his first furnishings, and managed his new independence...poorly. he got a gig at the resort, where he could be charming, late, and wear his own clothes, to supplement rentย โ and because he wasnโt good at being in an empty house all the time anyway.ย
wanted connections!ย
good god, my brain is fried after all that, coming soon?? maybe iโll just put established connections here one day?? but for NOW...ย
