what if benny heard his girl’s friend telling her about how she deserves better. he then notices his gf distancing herself from him because she starts having doubts about their relationship, and he’s not about to let her go that easily
hello 💚 thank you for your request! it turned out to be quite long (nearly 4,5k words) 😌 Benny & Reader are kinda toxic here lol 🤣 but in the movie he was such a red flag sometimes and his relationship with Kathy wasn't that healthy either, so I felt like exploring that trope. it has a happy ending, though! 💒
I had to close my requests for now because I got so many 🙏🏻
Whenever you were out with your friends, Benny was a big part of your conversations. They were either single or they dated boring men and you couldn’t help but brag a little to them about taming a man like Benny Cross.
Of course, sometimes you were jealous of the stability your friends had. But with Benny it was never boring and you had never had so many wild stories to tell before meeting him. You wore one of his rings proudly and with as much pride you had the Vandals Chicago small patch on your jeans jacket.
And today was no different – you arrived at Molly's place a little bit late by the bus but Benny was supposed to pick you up later. You fixed your hair and your jacket before getting inside the apartment building after some older lady who was walking inside. She looked you up and down and you couldn’t tell if it was because of the patch or the leather pants but you didn’t care either way. You were only wearing trousers these days because sitting in the back of the bike in a skirt or a dress was far from comfortable.
You knocked upon Molly’s door and she opened with a smile but you couldn’t help but notice that the way she looked at you was similar to the old lady’s gaze. And when you walked to the living room and waved at your other friends, they suddenly went quiet, which only meant one thing – they had been talking about you.
“Hi, (Y/N),” Barbara greeted you. “Has your boyfriend dropped you off?”
You furrowed your brows at her oddly mocking tone as other girls tried to hide a giggle.
“Hi, Barbs. No, he hasn’t,” you answered, pretending you hadn’t caught the rude undertone of her question. You sat on the armchair because you didn’t want to sit next to them on the couch.
Molly sat back there, right next to Ursula. On Barbara’s other side sat Susie.
“So, how’s life? What’s up?” You asked as usual, tapping your fingers on the wooden armrest of the armchair.
You hadn’t seen them in two months and they were your friends since high school. You were naturally interested in hearing their stories.
“Well, I got engaged!” Ursula announced and showed you the ring. Your eyes widened and you gave her a smile.
“Wow, ‘sula, that’s crazy. Congratulations, babe,” you winked at her. “That ring must have cost a fortune!”
“It certainly has. But you know, Dickie’s in the finance,” she reminded you but there was something contemptuous in her voice.
“I remember,” you only nodded. “When’s the wedding?”
“In July, we think,” Ursula answered. “I’m currently dress hunting. I was in the store the other day with the girls and…” She started and then she stopped talking as the other hissed at her.
Your heart skipped a beat.
“Wait, what?” You raised an eyebrow. “You guys are seeing each other without me?” You swallowed thickly and waited for their answer.
It made sense, suddenly. Because you had used to meet every two weeks. But some time ago they had started to come with excuses that they were too busy to meet so often. Now the meetings were taking place once every two months. But… Perhaps it was this way only for you.
The girls looked at each other.
“Oh, please, (Y/N), it was only once,” Barbara quickly spoke up. “You were busy that day anyway. We knew about it so we didn’t even ask you.”
“How did you know I was busy?” You asked.
“We read in the paper that there had been a motorbike accident in the area. We assumed you were at the hospital,” Ursula explained and you nearly snorted at her stupid lie.
She was always the worst at coming up with lies on the go.
“This accident had nothing to do with Benny or anyone in our club for that matter,” you told her although you were sure there had been no accident even.
“Well, we thought…” Ursula started.
“Our club, huh?” Susie suddenly giggled. She was usually the quiet one but it made her pretty observant and she would always pick on the words.
You cracked a smile at that.
“Are you learnin’ how to drive a motorbike now? Is he gettin’ you one as well?” Molly teased.
“No,” you answered. “Anyway…” You tried to change the subject. “July is in three months. I gotta start hunting for a dress for the occasion, too. Is there a dress code?” You asked Ursula.
Ursula looked down and started to fidgeting with her fingers nervously.
“Actually…” Barbara took a deep breath in. “Ursula would like to tell you something but she’s scared…”
“So… We will do it for her,” Molly nodded.
You already knew what it was about and you tried your best to keep your smile on although all you wanted to was to cry.
Not even because you were losing the friendship of these girls – they were clearly treating you like shit anyway – but because it all felt so… humiliating. As if you were the village’s outcast all of the sudden. A local pariah.
“I’m not invited?” You crossed your arms.
“No! It’s not like that!” Ursula protested as she looked up to meet your gaze. “It’s… It’s about Benny. I don’t want him at my wedding. So… If you want to come, you are welcome to come alone,” she finished.
“Well, I’ll see if I can come. In July we are going for vacation anyway. The dates might interfere,” you explained with a shrug of your arms. That was a lie.
“Vacation? With Benny? Where?” Susie seemed to be interested now.
“A trip to Florida where his cousin lives,” you explained. At least that part about his cousin was true.
“Florida… Nice…” Barbara sighed and Molly pushed her with her elbow.
For the rest of the meeting, you were silent. Nodding your head at the things the girls were saying and faking laughs here and there, already coming up with the lies to tell them when they’d ask about you but… They never asked.
When they were in the middle of talking about some stupid movie, you all got startled at the sudden sound of the loud engine. All the girls gave you a dirty look as you chuckled.
“Sorry,” you put your hands up in the air. “It’s Benny. I gotta go now. It was nice to catch up with you,” you stood up and waved at them before going to the hall.
You didn’t feel like hugging them or anything like that. You just wanted to be out of the flat.
However, Molly followed you.
“I’ll walk you outside,” she proposed and you furrowed your brows at her but you nodded. She was your closest friend out of them all.
You took the lift downstairs and walked out of the apartment building. Benny’s motorbike was parked on the opposite side of the parking lot. He was leaning on it and smoking a cigarette.
“Wanna say hello to him?” You asked Molly, squinting your eyes at the sun as you put your hand over your forehead to create a shadow.
“Nah, I’m fine, babe,” Molly shook her head and put her hands inside the pockets of her cardigan. “But, you know, I gotta tell you something…” She continued to walk in the direction of Benny’s motorbike but her steps were small as her voice lowered.
“What is it?”
“You know I like you, (Y/N). I don’t like what’s happened to us. I mean, our friend’s group. You know why and what… Who is the reason,” Molly cleared her throat. “You’ve changed, too.”
“Shouldn’t it matter that I’m happy?” You asked her.
“But… Are you? Darling, is there any future in that?” She glanced at Benny who was observing you carefully but you were sure he was standing too far away to hear the whispers. “I just think you deserve better. We all do. Think about that, will you, doll?” Molly patted your arm before squeezing it in a friendly way and waving at you.
She turned around to hurry back inside the building right before the distance was close enough to greet Benny. It looked like she was avoiding him on purpose and she wasn’t even hiding that. It was rude.
You sighed and turned around to smile at your boyfriend.
“Hi, daddy-o. Sorry for making you wait,” you winked at him playfully. “Where are you takin’ me tonight?” You fixed his jacket and kissed his lips when he was not taking a drag of his cigarette.
“There’s a bonfire,” Benny mumbled out. “Hop on,” he pointed at the motorbike.
Benny’s hearing was not perfect after all the years of getting slaughtered by the roaring sound of the motorbikes’ engines. But he was an excellent lip reader – it was one of those useful skills he had learnt over the years. Benny was not a man of many words and he usually preferred to observe the environment around him. Reading lips was helpful for that.
You had been standing with your back turned to him so he had no idea what you had been answering to your friend’s words but he knew perfectly well what that girl had been saying. And then she had just looked him up and down and turned around, without even saying hi. Not that he cared to get a hi from a girl like her. And not that he wasn’t used to people treating him this way.
Still, it had planted an insecurity in his head. And now, during the bonfire, you were acting weird, too.
The sun was slowly going down on that day and a huge bonfire had been lit up. One of the guys had taken their radio and played rock and roll songs. There was lots of beer and a small barbecue and everything smelled like alcohol, sweat, meat and gasoline. After having a few beers, lots of boys were showing off their motorbike tricks, including jumping over the fire. The atmosphere was full of testosterone but most girls didn’t mind that. To date a biker, you had to be used to that. Constant risk, constant danger, constant adrenaline. You were sitting by the bonfire and watching the motorbike tricks as you were sipping on your diet coke through the straw. Benny was smoking a cigarette by one of the cars while he talked to his friends but he kept his eye on his girl and he knew you well enough to see that while the other girls were gossiping next to you, you didn't really pay attention as you were clearly dissociating.
When he finished his cigarette, he walked up to you and tugged on the sleeve of your jacket to make you stand up and follow him inside the house but you shrugged him off and looked away. Benny furrowed his brows but he didn’t give up.
“(Y/N), baby, come on,” he whined a little.
“Gee, Benny,” you rolled your eyes before looking up. “Can’t you see I’m talking to the girls?” You pointed out but the girls looked at you; confused at your words since you had been doing nothing but ignoring them for the past hour.
“I wanna talk to ya,” Benny insisted and you sighed.
“Excuse me, darlings,” you told the girls and put your empty bottle of soda on the ground before standing up and facing Benny.
You followed him in the direction of the house but instead of walking inside, Benny guided you to walk behind, where there was no one around.
“What is it?” You raised your eyebrow at him as you leaned on the wall behind you.
“I’m just wonderin’ why you’re acting like that,” Benny scratched himself behind his neck.
“Like what?”
“Like that,” Benny repeated and shrugged his arms. “Dunno, as if I have done somethin’ wrong. Have I?”
“No,” you answered but the answer was very fast and nearly harsh. “No…” You repeated and took a deep breath in as your face softened. “I’m just… That meeting with my friends was weird and I’m overthinkin’ some stuff. That’s it,” you explained. “‘sula’s getting married, you know?” You looked down and played with your foot, drawing circles on the ground with your boot.
Benny’s heart skipped a beat at the word married.
“Yeah?” He asked, trying to look into your eyes but you kept your gaze low.
“Yeah,” you nodded. “However, I ain’t invited,” you turned your head to look away as you crossed your arms.
“What? Why?” Benny furrowed his brow. He couldn’t understand that. He thought that you were pretty close to those girls.
“It doesn’t matter,” you answered and looked into his eyes. “I was thinkin’... Maybe we could go to Florida in July? To your cousin? I need a vacation, Benny.”
“Florida’s far away,” Benny shook his head. “The guys need me here.”
“Only for a short time…”
“Nah,” Benny insisted. “We can have a weekend by the lake if ya want to.”
“No,” you sighed. “Listen, I’m tired today, ‘kay?”
“‘kay,” Benny nodded awkwardly and hid his hands inside the pockets of his jacket. “Wanna go home?”
“Yeah.”
Benny hoped that your odd behaviour would change on the next day but it did not. In the morning he didn’t find you in bed and when he walked downstairs, you were already dressed up and drinking coffee by the kitchen window.
“You up already?” He asked, surprised. “Workin’ today?”
“No. I just couldn’t sleep,” you told him without looking at him.
“What’s for breakfast?” He asked and looked around the kitchen.
“I had pancakes. You can have whatever you want,” you pointed out and he was a bit taken aback by that response.
Not that he minded making breakfast for himself but you had always been doing it for him ever since he moved to your place.
“Are you angry at me, kitty?” Benny asked, carefully, as he approached the fridge to take a look inside to see what he could eat.
He decided on scrambled eggs as he grabbed a few from the fridge. He put some butter on the pan and heated it up but there was still no answer from you.
“Kitty?” He cleared his throat and turned his head around to look at you.
You took one last sip of your coffee and stood up with a sigh. You put the coffee cup inside the sink and walked past him.
“I’m going to spend a day with my ma,” you told him.
“With your ma?” Benny furrowed his brows. He didn’t like it when you were going to your mum.
Not because he had something against you spending time with your family. But he knew that your mum absolutely hated his guts and she was begging you to dump him each time you were seeing her. For you to meet with her today – a day after your friend had told you that you deserved better… Well, it was not looking good for Benny.
“Yeah, I don’t know when I’ll be back,” you told him and then you left the kitchen. A few seconds later, he heard the front door closing.
“Fuckin’ hell,” he muttered to himself.
It was late afternoon, nearly evening already, when you came back home. Now, after the meeting with your mum, your head was full of doubts and insecurities about your relationship.
You loved Benny but was it possible that this relationship was really a doomed affair? All your friends were leaving you behind and treating you like your Vandals patch was a scarlet letter. Your mother was begging you all the time to leave Benny behind because he was “no good for you, baby”. It was annoying but she had every reason to be worried – Benny was trouble. He cost you a lot of money, too, when it came to the lawyers, hospitals and the bills. He didn’t even have a steady job. And all of that for what…? There was not even a ring on your fucking finger.
He would drive around all day and then get drunk at the bonfires. That was all he wanted to do. Was he even treating you seriously? Was he planning to settle down with you? That was doubtful.
You walked inside the house and closed the door loudly behind you before going to the bathroom to wash your hands. Then you took a deep sigh at the sight of your tired face in the mirror and you went inside the living room where Benny was watching TV. He looked up at you and your heart skipped a beat at the sight of his baby blue eyes that looked extremely sad.
“Hi, baby. Had a good day?” He asked.
“Yeah. You?” You kept standing above him.
“Not really,” Benny admitted. “But, hey, it doesn’t matter, yeah? I called my cousin,” he told you and you raised an eyebrow. “I asked him if we could visit him in July and he said that it’s fine.”
Benny swallowed thickly and waited for your response, staring up at you like a puppy. You took a deep breath in and eventually nodded at him with a sigh before sitting next to him on the couch.
“What you watchin’?” You asked him.
“Some stupid movie,” he shrugged. “You happy about Florida?”
“Yeah,” you answered.
But just because he had done something like this once, it didn’t mean that everything was suddenly okay.
“You haven’t worn your jacket with the patch today,” Benny pointed out awkwardly.
“My ma would kill me!” You chuckled at that with an eye-roll.
Long silence occurred after that. You were both staring at the TV and only pretending to watch the movie. Eventually, Benny moved in closer and put his arm around you. You flinched a little bit but you didn’t move away as your eyes filled with tears.
You loved him. You wanted this relationship to work but... Sometimes love was not enough. Especially when only one person was putting effort.
“I’m sorry I’m not good enough for ya, baby,” Benny whispered into your ear and you froze at his words. He kissed your cheek delicately and nuzzled his face in the crook of your neck. “I’m tryin’ my best,” he assured you. “But your friend was right. You deserve better.”
“Benny? What are you talking about? You heard Molly?” You turned your head around and lifted his chin to look up at you.
“Nah. I can read from the lips,” he shrugged and your heart pounded faster in your chest. “Don’t worry, I ain’t angry at ya. She was right. I’m just angry at her for making you realise that.”
You clenched your jaw, not knowing what to say. Somehow, you wanted to comfort him but… There were some things you wanted to say first.
“It’s not your fault. You’re just this way,” you caressed his cheek gently. “I don’t think you’re not enough. Maybe it’s me asking for too much. I knew who you were and what you were like when I took you in. I should have known what to expect,” you shrugged. “You’re just…” Your voice trembled and Benny furrowed his brows at you. “You’re just gonna drive away one day, right?”
“What are you talking about?” He shook his head.
“You’re a free spirit, Benny. You’re just gonna hop on the bike and disappear and I’ll be left with the mess to clean and the pieces to pick up. And I was trying not to get too attached but I have. And in return… In return you can’t even make me breakfast. Not even once!” You suddenly snapped as his eyes widened. “I wake up in the morning and make you breakfast every day. I go to work and earn money… Just to spend it later on some shitty lawyers after you get arrested, feeling guilty that I can’t afford a better one. Jesus, and now I can’t even go to my friend’s wedding just because she doesn’t want you there and, guess what, I don’t want to go there alone!” You raised your voice but then you sniffled your tears back and softened again. “I just… I just wish I knew that you were as serious about me as I am about you. That’s it.”
Benny moved uncomfortably and moved his arm away from your shoulder. He took a deep breath in and nodded his head.
“Ya think I’m just gonna drive away one day and leave you without a word?” He asked. “I mean… Yeah, I might. Because I’m clearly a burden. I’m gonna leave, that’s gonna be for the better,” he agreed with you but you could see his jaw clenching and eyes blinking away the fresh tears.
“I didn’t say that you were a burden, Benny,” you tried to explain but he stood up already and went up the stairs.
You followed him and you caught him packing his bag in your bedroom. You leaned on the doorframe and watched him.
“You can’t be serious, Benny. Why can’t we just have a normal conversation about it instead of you running away from the responsibility? You’re kinda provin’ my point at the moment, you know that?” You told him.
“Don’t wanna be a burden,” he insisted and you took a deep breath in before approaching him.
You put your hands on his arms and he flinched a little but he didn’t push you off. However, he kept on packing his things.
“Benny, baby, please, let’s just talk about it, okay?” You tried to talk to him in a soft voice as if he was a wild animal.
In many ways, he was.
“I even called my cousin an’ all that!” He suddenly turned around to look into your eyes. He was visibly angry but at the same time his eyes were glossy. “You wanted a fuckin’ vacation in Florida, so I called and got us a fuckin’ vacation,” he added.
“And I am grateful, baby, I am,” you assured him and placed your hands on his chest. You felt how fast his heart was beating and you caressed him there as if you were trying to soothe his heartbeat itself. “But that’s just… That’s like one time when you show me you’re treatin’ me serious.”
“I’m not treatin’ you serious enough, you say, huh?” Benny straightened his back and looked down at you. “But if I asked you to marry me, you wouldn’t say yes, right? ‘Cuz I ain’t no good enough, am I right?”
You were taken aback by those words. You blinked a few times, very slowly.
“Wha-what are you talking about, Benny?” You tilted your head.
“I wanna make you my wife,” he answered, seriously. “Wanted you as my Mrs. ever since I saw ya,” he confessed. “But I ain’t good enough…” He shook his head and looked away. “And I’ll never be for ya.”
Your heart was pounding in your chest as well. You bit on your lower lip and focused hard on overthinking his words. Suddenly, all your insecurities and doubts had disappeared. Your whole body was filled with butterflies.
Gee, yeah, he was… Different from the most. But he was special, too. And he was your Benny. You would never trade him for a man like Patrick for example – Ursula’s fiancé in finance. You would die of boredom with a guy like him. With Benny even those arguments that you were having with him were exciting. The way he was packing his bags or you were threatening to leave every other day, the way you were smashing plates sometimes, the way a phone call from the police station would wake you up in the middle of the night... It was making you feel alive.
“Oh, Benny!” You felt tears of happiness streaming down your cheeks and he looked at you again, confused. “Yes!” You jumped into his arms and he picked you up instinctively. “Yes, yes, yes!” You added and cupped his face to pepper it with dozens of tiny little kisses. “I’m gonna marry you, baby! Even tomorrow! Even now!”
Benny chuckled at that and kissed your lips properly as you put your hands behind his neck.
“So, you just wanted a ring, my moody kitty, huh?” He teased playfully and you rolled your eyes with a smile.
You arrived at Molly’s place and knocked upon the door, fixing your jeans jacket. She opened the door and invited you in as usual.
It was a month since your last meeting with the girls. They looked you up and down as usual these days but then they furrowed their brows at the sight of your huge grin. Molly entered the living room behind you and took a seat on the couch, looking up at you with a questioning look.
“I have something to tell you,” you told them with a smug smile.
They looked at each other.
“You dumped him?” Barbara asked, excitedly.
“He knocked you up?” Molly, on the other hand, was rather scared.
“Don’t be daft. She wouldn’t be so happy then!” Susie pointed out. Clever as usual.
“I got married!” You exclaimed and showed them your hand with two new additions. A pretty engagement ring that you had chosen for yourself in the pawn shop and a brand new wedding band.
You watched with satisfaction how their mouths dropped. Ursula especially seemed to be butthurt, since you had managed to get married before her.
“And how’s dress hunting, ‘sula?” You teased her.
“I still don’t have a dress,” she admitted. You could see her jaw clenching. “And what were you wearing?”
“A short babydoll,” you answered and sat on the armchair nonchalantly.
“Why haven’t you told us?!” Molly asked and you looked at her as if she was crazy.
“Sorry, but… I don’t know how to say it… Benny and the other guys from the club…” You pretended to sound sad. “Well, they didn’t want you girls around, I hope you understand. No outsiders, you know,” you told them.
It was a lie, of course. None of them would have minded your friends coming. But the wedding had taken place a day after your argument with Benny anyway. There had been no time to send out invitations.
“That’s crazy,” Susie commented and you gave her a smug look.
“Gonna tell you somethin’ crazier,” you chuckled and she raised her eyebrows, curiously. “He got my name tatted right on his heart.”
MASTERLIST || BENNY MASTERLIST
