I Don't Need Help! (Benny)

[Deleted]

Kodiak took the stairs up to the boy's level one painful step at a time, each movement causing some sort of pain in his bruised and battered body.  Any right-minded person would have allowed themselves to be taken to the infirmary and treated immediately after what had happened to him, but the stubborn ass he was, he had refused it even as he was scolded (to put it mildly) about his behavior and had a month's worth of privileges taken away, detention, etc. etc., he didn't even remember what all happened, it was all sort of a blur.  

He hadn't expected that pompous asshole to fight so furiously; he had underestimated Oriel, and now he was suffering the consequences.  All he planned to do was limp to his room, fall into bed, and pass out.

Kodi made it to his dorm and opened the door, his breathing hard and ragged.  He managed to make his way to the bathroom, where he flipped on a light and got a good look at himself.  His lip was split, his eyes were black and blue, not to mention bruises dotted along his jawline where Oriel had hit.  He peeled up his shirt to see the pattern continue down his torso and waist, both in the front and back; the boy hadn't been picky about where he hit.  A few more scratches adorned his battered body too.  His hair was mussed up, he was covered in dirt and grass, and his clothes were torn.  But he had no energy to clean himself.

With a pained huff, he lowered his shirt and turned to leave, flipping off the switch as he stumbled back into the common room.  However, he only made it a few steps towards his own room before his knees suddenly buckled and he fell to the floor, hardly able to catch himself and landing heavily on his chest.  He groaned, unmoving and waiting to see whether he could muster up the energy to get up, or if he would just pass out then and there.

[Benton Barrett]

It was quiet - that was why he decided to go back. He needed to get some things, and he wasn't going to dance around the issue. No, he wasn't comfortable in his own room - but he didn't have much of a choice. So he went, quietly, as though he was worried he might wake someone up, even if it was the middle of the day. Pressing against the door to his dorm, he stepped inside, thoughtlessly.

Walking in, he froze, when he saw Kodi in a heap on the floor.

For a second, he just assumed Kodi was either passed out due to some drug or alcohol related issue - but as he crept closer, he saw the bruises. The dried blood. The clear and present indication that he'd been on the receiving end of a bear mauling or something. Benny bit his lower lip uncertainly. Christ, what did he do in this situation? Already he was assessing the damage, trying to see if he could see anything that needed stitches.

Determining that only minor bandaging would be necessary, Benny took a few careful steps toward him.

"What the hell happened to you?" He asked, managing to actually have some form of concern in his voice. Benny stretched the sleeves of his hoodie to cover his fingers, and tossed his hood over his head. "C'mon, get up." He ordered, reaching for the other boy's arm, to help him stand.

[Deleted]

Kodi wasn't sure how long he had been laying there, fading in and out of consciousness. It could have been minutes, or hours, he couldn't tell. Then he heart the faint sound of footsteps, and stirred slightly, peeking out a blackened eye to squint at whoever was approaching. Was it Oriel? Was he coming back to finish what he had started?

No... It was Benton. Bent.

Kodi stayed silent, expecting the boy to ignore him or laugh at his predicament. But when he asked what happened, Kodi managed to let out a wheezing huff that might have been a laugh. "Whatsit look like?" he mumbled, his swollen lips making it hard to talk. "Got the shit beat outta me." There was no point in pretending it was something it wasn't.

His eyes narrowed as the boy leaned down, offering a hand. "Whadaya think you're doin'?" he grumbled, barely shifting so his cheek was resting on his hand against the floor, peering up at Benton with both kohl-smeared eyes. "I dunneed help. 'M fine." His entire body was throbbing like he had been run over a truck and his clothing was torn to bits, but he was fine. He couldn't move without feeling like he was fighting against his own body, but he was fine. Yeah.

[Benton Barrett]

He rolled his eyes, almost unsympathetically. Obviously, he'd done something Kodi-like, and had to suffer the consequences. Still, he looked bad, and if it didn't get taken care of, then he could get an infection. He could have a concussion. There were any number of things that made this situation not good, and made Benny, despite being the smaller of the two, have to take charge.

"You may not need it, but you're getting it anyway. Come on." He said, this time, not giving him the opportunity to turn him down. Benny reached down, and snatched his wrist ( mindful not to squeeze too hard, in case that was injured, as well ) so he could lift the other boy up. He got into a position next to him, and tugged the other guy's arm over the back of his neck, so he could use leverage and the rest of his body to lift, and not accidentally yank Kodi's arm out of its socket.

"You can't stay laying on the floor. It's this, or I call the infirmary and have you taken down by force. Understand?" He said, his words clear, and leaving no room for argument. Werewolf or not, Kodi was in no position to fight back - he could more or less manhandle him if he wanted.

Luckily, Benny wasn't exactly vindictive. Whether Kodi helped or not, Benny would let out a huff, and stand, pulling the other guy up with him. "So, try and eat someone you shouldn't have?" He asked, using his other arm to wrap around Kodi's waist, to drag him along if he was being stubborn, towards Kodi's room. Through the fabric of his hoodie, the young newcomer would actually be quite warm - thankfully not in a position to start sucking the warmth out of Kodi in the process.

[Deleted]

As much pain as he was in, in the back of his mind, Kodi knew he deserved it. He got into fights for a reason - not only because people bugged the shit out of him, but he always felt like he deserved some sort of punishment for being who he was. He was so full of self-hatred and angst that, hell, he might even thank Oriel for it later, if he stopped being so fucking angry at the guy.

He let out an unintelligible mumble as Benton spoke and leaned down, not fighting as Benton grabbed his wrist (which was thankfully unhurt) and began to pull him up. Not seeing the point in struggling against the forced help, he tried to get his legs to straighten under him and help ease some of the weight off of Benton, but he was awfully weak.

"Fuck the infirmary," he growled, lips setting in a sneer. He didn't like the way Benton was talking to him, but he was too tired to snap back. And besides, the boy was helping him. Why the hell was he helping him? Kodi had been nothing but cruel to him since the day they met, he wouldn't have blamed him in the least if he had left him lying there.

He rolled his eyes at the question. "Pretty much," he replied, giving no details. He didn't want to tell Benton it was Oriel's behavior with the younger boy that had made Kodi attack Phen in the first place. As they reached his room, he managed to take a little more of his own weight as he was led to the bed, before collapsing down onto it with a groan. "Fuck this shit," he growled, wrangling his dirty shirt off of himself and tossing it on the floor. "Why're you helpin' me anyway?" he mumbled, shooting a suspicious look at Benton. "I thought ya probly hated me by now."

[Benton Barrett]

He couldn't help but smirk, though he banished it from his face almost immediately. He expected nothing less than that response from Kodi, who seemed like the type to turn down any sort of help. After all, he had tried to chase Benny himself off. Once he was in the bed, he was about to instruct Kodi to take his shirt off - but he beat him to the punch.

"Pants, too. Leave your boxers on." He said, though he was entirely certain he was being clinical. He didn't know whether or not the other boy would take it that way, but if he decided to get uppity, Benny could always punch him in the kidney.

He glanced over at Kodi, who asked him why he was helping. Claimed that Benny should hate him.

Frankly, Benny wasn't one-hundred percent sure why he was helping him, either. He did want to hate him... but Benton didn't have the capacity for hatred. He never had. Even his biological father he didn't hate. Loathe, perhaps. Never want to see again. But not hate. He looked at the other boy, trying hard not to wince at the bruises on his body.

"Because it's the right thing to do. As hard as it might be to believe, not everyone is a dick." He said, simply, doing his level best to indicate that Kodi himself was a dick. "Stay there." He added, though he probably didn't need to. It wasn't as if Kodi was going anywhere.

Benny left him there, before going into his own room. He pulled a relatively large bowl from out of one of his dresser drawers, almost regretting the decision as he did. He popped the lid open, and smiled as the cookie smell filled his nose. He broke a piece of one off, and popped it in his mouth, before carefully dumping the remainder on top of his ( clean! ) dresser.

He grabbed one of his own wash rags from the pile of clean laundry he'd yet to fold, and made his way to the bathroom. He rinsed the bowl, letting the tap get as hot as it could, before he filled the thing. It was the only way to keep it warm, while Benny was nearby.

With rag and bowl in hand, he made his way back in to Kodi's room ( whom had better be still wearing his boxers! ) and he sat the two things on the table next to Kodi's bed.

"Do you keep your towels in the closet?" He asked, not even pausing, as he went to open the door ---

To what was apparently a library.

Huh.

Blinking a couple of times, Benny shook his head. "Guess not." He'd worry about towels later. Letting out a sigh, he turned back to Kodi, closing the closet door. "Okay. Lay still. I'm going to clean you up. Don't fall asleep, or I'll... I don't know. Do something unpleasant. You might have a concussion." He added, by way of explanation, as he sat down on the bed next to Kodi, taking the bowl of water and setting it in his lap.

"Don't move." he added, as he wet the rag, and - surprisingly gently - began to wipe at the dried blood on his lip and face.

[Deleted]

Kodi's brow furrowed, and he couldn't help but let out a dry chuckle. "If ya wanted t'git me in bed this bad, all ya had t'do was ask," he mumbled, wheezing slightly at his own twisted humor before shaking his head and reaching down to do as Benton asked, not at all ashamed to strip down to his boxers. He tossed aside the unwanted article of clothing weakly and fell back onto his back, closing his eyes for a moment as the world spun around him.

He cracked one open as Benny spoke, saying nothing for a moment. While he should have been offended or angry about what the boy was implying, he wasn't - because it was true. He was a dick. A huge one. "Well, Mr. Righteous, don't expect me t'git on my knees and beg for forgiveness," he mumbled, letting out an affirmative grunt as the boy asked him to stay there. As if he would go anywhere.

Kodi sighed and rested his head back against the pillow, wondering what the little guy was up to. As much as he wouldn't admit it and despised himself for even thinking it, he was grateful that someone was so adamant about getting him cleaned up and taken care of. And he was more glad that it wasn't one of the fucking judgmental assholes that ran this place, but rather his roommate that... Well, he couldn't say he necessarily liked Benton (although, thinking now, there was really no reason for the Southerner not to like his younger companion...), but at least they had... Some sort of twisted relationship.

Ugh. He needed to stop thinking so much. Contrary to most people's beliefs, there was a lot constantly going on in the twisted boy's mind, even if he tended to act on instinct rather than logic.

He waited for Benton to (hopefully) return, his mind wandering and thoughts getting fuzzy until...

He jolted back into consciousness as the boy came back, watching lethargically as his 'nurse' set some objects on his beside table. Before Kodi could protest, however, Benton was heading towards his closet and-

"Don't open-!"

But it was too late. Benton seemed to stare at his rather large book collection, hidden behind his closet door for a reason, for a long moment before turning away. Kodi's face flushed as he grit his teeth angrily. No one was supposed to know about that! His lips set into a firm line, hoping Benton would forget about it, but if the boy could read expressions at all, he would see that the collection was obviously important, and supposed to be secret.

"I gotta thick head. Don't worry too much about a concussion," he finally grumbled, glad for the change of focus. Kodi huffed as he waited for Benton to start doing... Whatever it was he was going to do. But the gentle touch against his face was unexpected. He jolted back from the contact for a moment, his mouth automatically setting in a sneer before he settled back down and allowed the boy to carefully wipe off the blood and grime, squelching (or at least attempting to) any sort of weird emotions trying to surface in his chest. "You gonna be a doctor someday or somethin'?" he mumbled, if only to break the silence, licking his swollen lip once it was clean. Damn, it felt nice to be taken care of...

[Benton Barrett]

"Something tells me you only get on your knees for one reason, Kodi, and it certainly isn't for begging." He shot back, because at least, in this situation, he could do that. Benny had been off his game - moving here was tough, and he wasn't exactly good at handling that much stress. Bullies were one thing - but Kodi's version of bullying wasn't anything Benny was used to, either. All together, it made for a Molotov cocktail of badness. It just put Benny more and more off-balance.

But this was the kind of thing that could get him back on his feet. He wasn't going to point that out until later, though.

It was obvious, even to Benny, that Kodi didn't want anyone to know he was an apparent bibliophile. While now wasn't exactly the time to rub that in his face, Benton was already working out ways to use this information to his advantage. He could be a mental terrorist if he wanted to - though, probably far less effectively than Kodi or Oriel.

Shifting unsympathetically from one side of the bed to the next, he watched as the other boy started away from him, despite his orders.

"Hold still." He repeated - even as Kodi was already starting to relax. He pulled the rag away, and began to dab it into water, that started to turn ever so slightly pink as he got fresh water to soak in to it.

"Or somethin'. I want to work in emergency medicine. Probably EMT or maybe be an emergency room nurse. I don't know." He shrugged, as he started working at the areas around the swollen part under his eye. "And despite the fact that you've got a hard head, concussions are about the brain smashing into the hard head. So you getting beaten around the face? Good possibility your brain did a little bit of rattling in there."

After all, it was small enough to rattle right around.

He smirked at that thought, and looked over the guy. He was going to be sore for a week or more. He really needed some ice... but Benny wasn't going to leave him for that long. That was a recipe for dying in his sleep.

"Okay look. I need you to be very still, and I need you to let me know when... you start to go numb, okay?"

He said this matter-of-factly, as he finished cleaning off Kodi's face. All that was left now was trying to help the swelling out, and... well, if he left to go all the way to the Caf to grab a bucket of ice? That'd be suspicious, and Kodi might start to fall asleep, which he was most certainly not going to let happen. If only one of their other roommates were even slightly useful...

So, he rolled up his sleeves, reached out, gently, and pressed his hand as softly as he could against one of the worst bruises along his chest. For a few moments, his hand would be exceptionally warm - and then the cold would begin to set in, and he began to take the heat from the bruise. It'd reduce the swelling rather quickly, without much of the shock of just dumping ice on him.

Benny was careful to watch his hands, and not look at Kodi's face... or any other part of him that might be of minor interest.

[Deleted]

Kodi gaped for a moment at Benny's rather sassy response, then burst into laughter, which quickly receded into hard, painful coughs as he snickered and gasped. "Don't you know it," he replied snarkily, offering a weak version of his normal smirk. "That, I would do for ya." It was mostly a jab to make Benton uncomfortable, but it was probably true - Kodi wasn't picky with his parters.

He was very unamused, though, about what Benton might think or do now that he knew about Kodi's secret hobby. The boy may or may not have known it, but that stash could be used as a huge load of blackmail against the dentokinetic.

Kodi grumbled as Benton repeated his order, letting his eyes close as the boy continued to dab at his face with that weird gentleness. Kodi couldn't recall the last time someone had touched him with kind intent. His breathing evened out a little, but he didn't feel quite so much like he might fall asleep with Benton's washcloth against his cheek.

"Huh," he replied to the boy's response, peeking a glance. "Never woulda known. Y'didn't seem t'be the... Unsqueamish type." Normally he would have meant it as an insult, but it came out as more of a surprised comment than anything else. As Benny reprimanded him about a concussion, he rolled his eyes, wincing as the washcloth dabbed beneath one. "Nyehh..." he replied moodily, obviously not the expert in the room. "Whatever ya say, doc." Hell, should he be worried that he had a concussion? Hmm...

He went quiet as the boy finished his face, shifting once before glancing up at him again. "Whadaya talkin' about?" he mumbled, but, figuring he would see soon, shrugged and nodded his consent. Why not? Benton had been helpful thus far.

The hand reaching out to softly press against his chest was unexpected, and again, Kodi shifted a bit in surprise. But he let out a hard breath and forced himself to relax, feeling only warmth at first before eventually Benton's hand began to feel like an ice pack sucking away his heat. He frowned at the feeling, shoulders twitching at the sensation, before he let out a relieved sigh as the pain started to ebb slightly away. "That... Feels good," he admitted awkwardly, tilting his face towards Benton's.

Unlike the younger boy, Kodi did nothing to hide his staring, studying Benton's face through heavy-lidded eyes before tracing his arm down to where he was pressing against the bruise. "Coppin' a feel sneakily, eh?" he couldn't help but snerk, though the fact he was just teasing rather than being downright mean was already showing that he was slowly waning on his cruelty towards the younger boy.

[Benton Barrett]

Well.

Okay, so the counter-sass might very well have made Benny blush. A lot. Dammit.

He forgot that apparently, his roommate was in to guys, so his standard repertoire of jokes might not exactly fit so well in this scenario. "I only take cash. Or maybe you can read me a story." He mumbled, despite the fact that his wit had surfaced for a moment. It was mostly done to test the waters - see how such a small thing might make the other guy react. It was a tiny dig, no more than a thorn, but Kodi seemed like the time to let little things get to him.

"I'm not squeamish. Blood used to make me a little nauseous, but Kieron helped me with that. I'm just... not comfortable being that close to people, okay?" He said, mostly referring to the distance that hadn't seemed to exist between the two on the first day they'd met. Most of the time, Kodi didn't seem to get the idea of personal space. "Not like that, at least." He added, as if this whole situation was normal.

He left his hand there, as the older boy tensed beneath his touch. He hadn't expected that - but so far, Benny had done everything he could to keep people from touching him. Ever since Koty had pointed out that his ability might be helpful for things like this? He'd given it a little bit of thought.

Benny nodded a little bit, as he moved his hand a little lower, towards a particularly gross looking bruise on his stomach. "It's better than an ice-pack. It goes deeper." He explained, trying to keep this as clinical as possible, though he was acutely aware of the fact that he was being... quite touch-y in ways that might look... odd, to anyone looking in.

Kodi was teasing him a little bit, about copping a feel, and the younger boy couldn't stop himself from blushing.

"No." He said, bluntly. "It's not like that." He added, mostly to make sure it was out in the air. He was tempted to ask Kodi again what had happened - if the other guy would answer that question. But either way, he decided against it. He wanted to make sure Kodi would be fine, not that he'd think the younger boy had any particular concern more than that. After all, he'd guess that Kodi probably deserved whatever he got.

His hands never lingered in one place too long - long enough to provide some relief, and double check that the swelling wasn't terrible, or perhaps symptomatic of something worse. He could see a couple of still-forming bruises high on Kodi's left thigh - more than likely, whoever did it, had gotten a few good kicks in.

"Remember what I said." He added, before he gritted his teeth, and slid a hand in place there, as well, brushing the lower hem of his boxers out of the way with his other. "And hold still." No accidental wardrobe malfunctions here, please and thank you.

[Deleted]

Kodi gloated at first at Benton's initial reaction, feeling victorious seeing that mad blush, but as soon as the boy mentioned anything about reading Kodi's smugness dropped and he scowled darkly, teeth flashing as he growled. "Don't. You dare. Tell fuckin' anyone," he snarled, though he really wasn't in much of a position to be demanding anything and probably only gave Benton ideas. He couldn't help it - no one could know about what a book nerd he was. It would ruin his whole image.

He shook his head and listened vaguely as Benny spoke of his not-squeamishness, giving a 'huh'. "I'll keep that in mind," he mumbled, making no plans to stay out of Benton's personal space anytime soon. Although now, he supposed, if he himself had any problem with people being close to him, this whole dabbing-away-blood business would probably make him uncomfortable. But he didn't, so he wasn't.

Kodi frowned and glanced away as Benton held his hand in place for a few more moments before letting it trace down to his stomach, sending goosebumps all over his arms and legs at the chill. "Suuuure it's not," he replied, though his voice was losing its previous taunt. The touches closer towards his pelvis did nothing to make Kodi less aware of how close they were, though, and he had to keep himself in check in case his body started... Reacting in ways that would make this situation even more uncomfortable.

His eyes fell back on the younger boy, seeing the tenseness in his movements, the obvious discomfort he was in from what he was doing, and couldn't help but feel... Some sort of vague, dim sympathy for him. How much must he be pushing himself out of his comfort zone in order to just make sure Kodi was taken care of? Kodi grit his teeth and snuffed out the feelings, but the fact of the matter was even though he acted like a jerk all the time, he was also aware of the effect he had on other people and sometimes despised himself for being the way he was.

He definitely did deserve what he got. For more reasons than one.

Kodi grunted as Benton spoke, watching his hands trace down to his leg right beneath the hem of his boxers. That was enough for the injured boy to have to close his eyes and think about dead kittens and other unpleasant things in order to keep himself in check. Once he was more stable, he let out a breath and opened them again, struggling to come up with something sarcastic to say. "How do I look, doc?" he finally asked, shivering from the prolonged coldness.

[Benton Barrett]

The smile that grew on Benny's face might be classified as 'malicious,' if Benny were capable of displaying such things. Instead, it probably just looked borderline smug. Kodi's reaction was exactly what he'd expected. Or at least, what he'd hoped for. Benny suddenly had a trump card to play, if Kodi decided to get uppity. Maybe he'd be able to sleep in his own bed for a while, since... well... if Kodi messed with him, he'd start telling everyone.

Starting with Oriel, probably.

"Kodi..." He made a slight protestation to Kodi teasing him. Benny was already feeling incredibly self-conscious about the way this was going, and his tormentor was doing nothing to ease that situation at all. His body, warming under the heat he was taking from Kodi, was already starting to feel amazing, as it usually did, he was noticing.

"Less swollen." He replied, finally, at Kodi's question. He could see his 'patient' shaking, though it wasn't violent, yet. Nothing that a blanket wouldn't cure. Though, the extra cold might make it a little easier for him to stay awake. Now that he was shivering, though, Benny knew it was time to let up. He lifted his hands away from the other boy, and let out a soft breath.

It wouldn't have been enough to really get his temperature to drop - at least, Benny hoped that was the case.

The medic of the scenario looked around, until he spotted the nearest blanket. He reached out and snatched it up, draping it over Kodi's otherwise bare form. "Warm up a little bit. The swelling should be done with, hopefully. You're going to be sore as hell for a few days, though." But he didn't need Doctor Barrett to tell him that.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest, not paying attention to the fact that he was still sitting on the bed next to him.

[Deleted]

Kodi could have smacked the kid's smug grin off his face if he weren't so injured and weak, and if Benton didn't now have something he could use in retaliation for his torment. He was furious about the way this situation had turned out, and was unable to release that fury because it. UGHHH. Did this mean he was gonna have to act... Nice? Nyehhhh.... "If I find out you tell anyone, I'm gonna sic Shelob on you," he growled, motioning a hand towards the corner of the room were a small terrarium hosted his precious tarantula.

Yes. The spider's name was Shelob. Lord of the Rings fan much?

He fell silent as Benton protested against his teasing, his brow furrowed angrily as he crossed his arms over his chest like a pouting kid. Still, he finally just sighed and tried to relax again, hating himself for being in the sort of position where he kinda owed this kid now for his kindness. Yech.

"That's good, yeah?" he mumbled, glancing down at his bruised (but toned!) body once more. The marks were still dark, but the coldness had done a good job at relieving some of the pain. He still felt awfully tired, though. He felt like he could sleep a long time, though not as cold as he was...

Benton lifted his hands away and grabbed a blanket to toss over Kodi's still slightly shivering form, which the injured boy gratefully took and pulled tightly around himself. "Be nicer if I had a warm body in here too," he grumbled. At Benny's assessment, he sighed and closed his eyes. "No shit. I think Oriel was tryin' t'kill me." He spilled the information without really meaning to, and regretted saying it immediately.

"Mmm..." He shifted, trying to lay on his side, but winced as pain blossomed from the movement and he ended up staying still. "Still feel like I got run over by a truck. But uh, better, I think." He swallowed. "Uh, th... fuck." He just couldn't say thank you. That was the best Benton was gonna get. "So ya gonna stay here an' make sure I don't die in my sleep, or what?"

[Benton Barrett]

He glanced over at the indicated tank, and he paused a little bit, uncertainly.

“Sorry, dude. He’d be frozen in ten seconds flat. Spiders aren’t fan of the cold, didn’t you know?” He responded, simply, his voice sounding unconcerned. Luckily, spiders weren’t something that really got to the younger student, otherwise that might be a big problem.

He just didn’t enjoy the itchy feeling they left on his skin.

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone. I mean… it might slip or something, if I’m really stressed out about my living arrangements…” He said, with a little tilt of his head that was almost thoughtful. Who didn’t like being the cheeky one in the relationship?

“Could definitely be worse.” He replied, though he was doing his best to avert his eyes, now that he was no longer needing them to keep Kodi chilled. Though he shot Kodi an almost-annoyed look. “I may be warm, but you wouldn’t be. But maybe I can get Shelob for you?” He said, mostly trying to be at least somewhat assertive. Biting his lower lip, his eyes widening at the news.

“Oriel did this to you? Jesus…” Benny didn’t typically invoke that name – not because he was particularly religious, but because other people might be particularly religious, and he didn’t want to get anyone to get upset with him. Kodi didn’t quite thank him, but he didn’t mind – he hadn’t been expecting any. Kodi simply wasn’t the thanking type.

His fingers ran through his hair, and he blinked, as he realized his hands were a bit damp after the exercise. Had he been sweating? Strange – that wasn’t something he did often. Filing that information away for later, he looked down at the last person he ever thought he’d be nursing.

“Do you want me to?” He asked, though he made sure his voice was neutral, so Kodi would have no indicator whether he wanted to stay or go.

[Deleted]

..... FUCK.

Kodi felt like an idiot for even saying it now, and it showed on his face as he pouted and looked away. His anger was starting to make his teeth peek out from under his top lip, since he had no other outlet at the moment. Most people reacted badly to his ferocious little girl; Benny was proving to be one of the few that didn't.

His teeth grew another centimeter as his fists clenched, practically shaking with anger at how much the tables had been turned. "You little fucker," he hissed, though there was just a touch of... What? Some sort of sick amusement at Benton's use of blackmail? It reminded him of himself. Maybe the kid wasn't as much of a pushover as he had first seemed. "Does that mean yer actually gonna come back t'the dorm and not run away like a frightened little bunny?" Kodi had noticed his absence, mostly because it made him have to look for other targets. But now....

He shook his head. "What's wrong, am I too gross t'look at?" he asked, not missing how the boy seemed to be purposefully looking away. Whatever. He snorted. "Wasn't talkin' about you. Fuckin' little ice cube." Maybe that new guy he'd recently been bedding... Erik. Yeah, that scrawny Southerner sounded nice right about now.

"Yeah. Asshole." Okay.... He'd brought it upon himself, no question. But he wasn't going to say that out loud. "Fuckin' went berserk." At least he'd gotten in a few hits himself. He wondered how that hot fucker was doing. Kodi hoped he was in pain. And his little bird-toy too.

Nyehh....

He pondered the question, tapping against his swollen lip despite the small twinges it gave. "Could I die in my sleep?" he wondered aloud. He wasn't particularly scared of dying, but he didn't really want to yet if it could be avoided. And he couldn't help but smirk at the idea of Benton, little Benny, keeping watch over him as he slept. "There's room fer two. I won't bite." Probably. He made a point of retracting his teeth.