Benjamin was sitting on the kitchen island when two trucks pulled up in front of the Swan residence, one orange and one navy. Although he had never seen the former, he was quite familiar with the latter.
"Oh, they're here," Charlie went to meet the expected guests and the boy followed him, "Bella, come down!"
The Swan boy walked off the porch with glee, stepping in a puddle of rain water, causing his boot to be covered in mud. But a dirtied boot was the last thing on Benjamin's mind.
"Ben, how are you doing?" a man on a wheelchair hollered brightly, extending his right hand. He was smiling so wide that every wrinkle on his face was apparent.
"Couldn't be better, Billy." Benjamin mirrored the man's smile and shook his hand. Even though the man had been through some rough days as a county sheriff in the past, earning him several battle scars and losing the function of his legs, he still had a strong grip, and the boy couldn't help but admire him once more.
He looked to his right and saw a long haired boy watching them interact with a lopsided smirk, ''Hey, Jakey. It's been a long time."
"Benji, nice to see you again."
The two boys hugged and laughed, Benjamin could smell the faint aroma of the forest in Jacob's messy hair, feel the heat waving through his body and muscle, "Dude, have you been working out? You're buffed as hell."
Jacob chuckled and stuffed his hands into his pockets, "Something like that."
Just as this moment, hearing the house front door open, all the men turned toward the origin of the sound. Charlie asked, "Bella, you remember Billy Black?"
"Yeah," the girl walked up to Billy and shook his hand also, "wow, you're looking good." Benjamin could see the genuine happiness on his sister's face, seemed like recognizing one or two familiar faces cheered her up a little.
"Still dancing. I'm glad you two are finally here," Billy said and teased, "Charlie here hasn't shut up about it since you told him you were coming." The dad sighed embarrassingly and countered, "Alright, keep exaggerating. I'll roll you into the mud."
"After I ram you in the ankles!"
Bella snickered slightly while Benjamin and Jacob laughed at the scene wholeheartedly.
Jacob seized the chance to introduce himself to the Swan girl, "Hi, I'm Jacob, we used to make mud pie together when we were little."
Before Bella stopped coming to Forks when she was little, the twins and the Quileute kid had been great friends. They would often go to the local beach and stayed at each other's place for sleepovers. Benjamin smiled softly at the tender memory.
Bella nodded, "Yeah, I remember."
After a moment of silence between the two teen, Benjamin blinked and asked a question that had been bugging him and brought all the attention back to the important subject at hand, "Hey, what's with the orange truck?"
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