dont mess up my tempo { b e n n y }

Benny narrowed his eyes on the needle when she gave him instruction, and he got up to find the lighter. He held the needle in the flame for a moment, staring at it intently, and tried to convince himself if it wouldn't be that bad. Her pause did nothing to assuage his fears.

Benny's eyes flicked back up toward her long enough for the flame to move too close to his fingertips. "Ouch," he muttered, letting go of the part of the lighter that fed more gas, and it went out. The needle steamed a little and Benny returned to the chair. When they exchanged the needle for the bowl of ice, he couldn't fight the feeling like this was the final countdown. The last moments between what they were about to do being done. It felt like his stomach was tied into a knock.

How was Tomie so brave in the face of things like this? Benny often wondered. "If you say so," The apprehension on his voice was thick and layered, but he wasn't going to back down now. Two-point-eight didn't sound all that bad, right? It could have been a lot worse. Benny trusted his best friend, and he believed her pain scale enough to go through with it. Sitting up a little straighter as the voice in his head adamantly screamed NO! Benny took a deep breath.

"Yes, ready,"

“Careful,” she said automatically to his ouch, though she’d caught her reflection in the window and was checking out her swollen ear too intently to have seen how it was he’d hurt himself. When she was done looking at herself, she turned back to him with what she hoped was a reassuring grin. Hopefully he couldn’t tell she was kind of nervous too.

“Come sit on the bed,” Tomie said, steering him by his shoulders to plop him down on Shelby’s lower bunk. When he was settled, she took the needle from him, and waited for him to stop icing his ear. “Okay,” she said, tucking a bit of his hair back even though it wasn’t long enough to get in the way. She closed one eye, picking the perfect spot for his new piercing to go, and she steadied herself, holding the needle up to his skin.

“Ready?” she repeated. “Three, two…” She said one, but she jabbed him on two, because it would probably hurt less if it was a surprise, right? She had to push harder than she’d expected, but it wasn’t too difficult. It pierced his ear pretty easily. “Not to bad, right?” she said encouragingly. “Now sit still for a moment…” The girl ducked into the bathroom, looking for the other earring. “Aha,” she said to no one, grabbing it and heading back to her friend.

With a pop! Benny knew the deed was done.

At first, he felt nothing, but eventually, the icy numbness faded, and suddenly the young wizard felt like his earlobe was on fire. Instinctively, and without a thought, his hand rushed to where the needle was still poking out of the backside. He started to run his finger along the suddenly red head earlobe, but the faintest touch made it sting even worse. His eyes watered, cheeks burned, but he felt a surge of pride about going through with it. He was brave too! Just like Tomie, just like a real Gryffindor, and now he had a physical badge for proof.

Breathing deeply as Tomie took off toward the bathroom, Benny tried to act like it didn't hurt. The knot in his stomach was untangling into a queasy mess by the time the witch had returned. "Wait, how do you, wait," He realized all too quickly that she'd have to remove the needle (ouch!) to put the earring into the new hole (double ouch!). Benny shot up from the bed and reached for another ice cube from the half-melted bowl. He dripped icy water onto the cabin's floor as he desperately tried to numb the spot just a little before the next step.

"Okay," He said slowly, dropping the remnants of the ice cube and tilted his ear out toward her. This was going to be worth it, right?

When she’d done it to herself, she hadn’t really been worried about the pain. It had hurt – obviously – but she’d been in control herself, and every little movement she’d made had only affected her. Now, she was responsible for someone else. Tomie tried to remain calm, to keep the nerves off of her expression. “Sit down,” she told him, sitting him back down on the bed. His ear felt hot to touch, which was good! It meant that her fingertips were probably nice and cool and soothing for him. “Okay, hold still, this wont be too bad…”

She tugged the needle out of his ear. It hadn’t been that bad when she’d done it herself; really the worst part was putting the earring in. Hopefully she’d be a bit better now that she’d practiced on her own ear... "You okay?" she asked, dropping the needle onto the bedside table and grabbing the plain little stud she'd picked out for him. "Deep breaths," she told him encouragingly. Tomie decided it would be best to get this whole thing over and done with as soon as possible, so she wasted no time in putting the earring in where the needle had been a second ago. She didn't want to give it time to get more sore and swollen.

Again, it took a bit more effort than she'd been expecting it too, but once it was through, she made sure to clip the back on properly so it wouldn't fall out or whatever. "There you go," she breathed, proud of both him and herself for making it through. "Put some more ice on it," she suggested, nodding at the bowl. By now, it was mostly just water. There were a few icy chunks still floating along, though. Taking her own advice, Tomie plucked one out and held it to her own ear for a little bit. "It looks wicked," Tomie said with a grin, "go have a look." His was in the squishier part of his ear, so it hadn't even bled.

Benny felt like he understood, right here and now, why his father would cuss anytime he accidentally stubbed his toe or jammed a finger working on the magical busses. If he was the sort to curse, he'd of done so right about now, but Benny had only started exploring the world of expletives. He wasn't quite at that level. Instead he balled his fist, a bit of Shelby's comforter in his grasp, and bit down on his lip. This part was far worse than the needle had been. When she pulled out the needle it felt warm and cold, icy hot, if that was some how a thing. It stung, it throbbed, and his earlobe felt like it immediately wanted to start closing the hole.

And then Tomie pushed the earring through and it was worse. Benny felt the metal dragging against the raw skin until she finally clasped it. He thought for sure it would swell so much that it would push the backing off and he'd lose the earring. He was quiet for a moment, just sitting still and trying to stop his eyes from watering because he was not going to cry. Taking the bit of melty ice from her he pressed it against his red ear and it offered some relief.

"Does it?" He perked up at the idea, the faintest of proud little smiles coming back to his paled face. Getting up he kept the ice cube against the side of his head. It dripped down his neck and got the back of his hair wet as he made his way to the bathroom. Dropping it into the sink Benny took the first look at his piercing and despite the swollen red skin he smiled. It did look pretty freaking cool! And it made him look so tough. It wasn't fancy or girly, the stud was plain and he felt like such a rebel for having it.

Returning to the main room all of the color had returned to his face and he offered Tomie a great big smile. "It looks awesome!" And then another thought swooped in to ruin his adrenaline high.

"How are we going to hide them?"

She waited, trying not to look – or be – nervous, and when he arrived back in the room her grin reappeared, mirroring his. She felt a little relieved, but also just excited. She hadn’t been lying, after all; it looked wicked, just like she’d said. “Can’t wait to show the others,” she said, feeling a mix of triumphant and cocky at once. What would JR say? Shelby? Once more, she thought Wendy might think it was a bit barbaric, but she hoped that she’d be impressed after that.

Her grin faded slightly when he spoke, though. Oh. Oops. Tomie looked sheepish straight away. “Uh…” She trailed off, scratching the side of her neck, then guiltily reached up and took out her ponytail; once she’d let her hair down, it covered up her ears nicely. Instead of answering verbally, she just let him see what her plan had been. She hadn’t paused to wonder how he’d hide his piercing though – she’d messed up.

“Don’t freak out though,” she said quickly, putting her hands up, “We’ll think of something.” Band-aids? Some kind of magical make-up? If only she’d been allowed to have her wand here, she thought, trying to stay calm.

There was a split second between Tomie showing Benny her plan for concealment and when he realized that that would absolutely not work for him. And in that millisecond, he was so excited, and then reality set in. The adrenaline that had just been keeping him smiling was starting to drain from his face, and the worry was rushing right back in. His mother was going to kill him or ground him for life, or both. It was almost like Tomie was reading his mind when she spoke again because Benny was on the verge of freaking out. His face dropped, the little grin replaced with vigorous chewing on the inside of his bottom lip. "We gotta' figure something out," He said as he began to pace back and forth in the space between the bunks.

"She'll go ballistic," Benny muttered, his hand reaching up toward the little stud as he mentioned his Mum and tried to think of something. "How long left in camp?" Did he have long enough to grow his hair out? Could that work? He thought for a moment, not saying it out loud and then shook his head at the conclusion. Even if he did manage to grow enough hair before they returned to England, there was no way his mother would ship him off to Hogwarts in September with hair past his ears.

Sighing, Benny slumped onto the bottom bunk and put his chin in his hands. He knew they would think of something, they always did, and sometimes it even worked, and they didn't get into trouble, but that didn't make this part of the process any easier. "Think I could just not let her see this side of my face?" Turning to the side Benny half-joked, half tried to convince himself that it was a viable idea.

“Like... a week?” Tomie replied, still a little sheepish. What was he thinking, she wondered? What was he planning? She moved to the bed, sitting down on Shelby’s mattress while she willed her brain to kick into gear. What could they do? Band-aid? Makeup? Some kind of magical cream that made it look like he didn’t have his ear pierced? She chewed her thumbnail anxiously at its edge.

“Maybe we could get someone to do a…” She waved her hand impatiently, trying to think of the name of the spell. “Dis… Y’know...? Disill… Invisibility charm?” She pushed her hair back with one hand, careful not to touch her still-tender ear. Who could they get to do a spell for them? One of her brothers, maybe? Matt was never home, but he was actually an adult so he could even do it legally.

"Yeah but who?" It wasn't like there were a lot of adults they could ask for help that wouldn't turn around and tell his mother. He thought about his Lola, it was a fifty-fifty shot but was it worth the risk? She'd kept plenty of secrets for them in the past but this was a big, potentially infected, kind of secret. Would she keep that? Benny slumped a little more, feeling some what deflated after all of the adrenlanine had started leaving his body. No one at camp could do magic, so the older students were off the list. They'd have to wait until they returned home.

Benny figured he could hide this side of his face for an hour, maybe two, but eventually his mother would see his ear. They'd have to find someone to do the spell quickly. "Maybe the weird lady on the top floor? She will want a trade though, bet we'll have to clean out her cat's litter boxes again," Benny pulled a face at the thought of doing more "favors" for the old witch with too many cats. "But maybe..." It was the start of a plan and they had done a lot more with far less, so Benny was feeling a little more hopeful.

“Maybe my brother…?” Ara would do it if he could, but he was only a fifth year, so she wasn’t even sure he knew what kind of spell he’d need to do. It felt like the kind of thing that would need to be done and redone every day or two – or maybe more, she didn’t know! Matt could do it legally though, which was much better. And he probably actually knew what spell he was supposed to do. Tomie put a palm on the bed and leaned back against it gently.

“Ooooh, old Maggie?” She asked, perking up a bit. The old lady seemed a little mad, and some of the other kids were scared of her, but Tomie liked her. She felt like they were kindred spirits, in a way. “Yeah… yeah!” she said. Her smile was back now, and she wasn’t feeling nearly as worried. “We could get her groceries or… Have a tea party, I dunno…?”

She wasn’t sure what they could offer an old women who had about forty cats and listened to the true crime radio show every Wednesday and Friday night, but she was willing to find out. “Every time we do a deal with her I feel like I’m entering an unbreakable vow or something, right? Like you have to watch your wording or she’ll keep your soul.” Tomie chuckled lightly at this concept.

"You think he would help us?" Benny liked Tomie's brothers when they were kind to them, but since Matt graduated Hogwarts, he hadn't seen the older wizard very much. Sometimes Benny wondered what it would have been like to have older siblings instead of younger ones, but in a way, all of the kids in the apartment building had grown up together. So he hadn't really missed out. Besides, he loved being the older brother.

Benny nodded sharply when Tomie spoke her name, and her sudden excitement was contagious as Benny sat up straighter. "Yeah, something like that," Benny just hoped it wouldn't be a cleaning type of chore like last time. He didn't mind when they played checkers or listened to the evening news together. That said, Benny was not a fan of things like replacing the water in her magical clothing washtub or getting the cobwebs off of the hanging plants. It wouldn't be their choice though, a deal he was quite familiar with.

"Right!?" Benny said with more enthusiasm than before, basically hopping where he was sitting and then laughing. "I heard Warren welched on a deal with her," He paused for a minute, suddenly entirely amused by the tongue-twister that was Weasel Warren Welching; he mouthed the words with a chuckle, and then continued, "It was the same summer he got the troll-hives twice in a row!" Sure, three other kids in the building came down with the flu-like summer cold that season, but Benny was sure it was actually payback from Maggie.

Tomie could see her excitement reflected back at her in Benny’s eyes and she felt both chuffed and relieved at the fact. She bounced where she was sitting, optimistic now that there was a way for Benny to enjoy his new little gift. She couldn’t wait until they could show it all off to their friends; now that that was basically sorted, they didn’t have to worry about this again until they went home after camp. Her own ear was still throbbing, but she’d broken her wrist a few days ago; what was a teeny tiny piercing in her ear?

“Oh, trust me, I know,” she said, nodding emphatically, her eyes widening slightly for effect. There was a reason Warren had his own little special nickname, and there was a reason the older kid seemed to never go near Maggie’s anymore, and she was willing to bet sickles on those two things being related. “Maggie is not to be crossed!” Her smile spread into a grin. “It looks so cool though, Benny, we should really go show the others.”

The heat on his ear was starting to fade, but only just, by the time that Tomie suggested they go and show the others. His smile grew, brightened by the thought of showing off how cool they were, and he hopped off of the bed. "Yes, let's," He told her brightly before moving toward the cabin door. Sure his ear still hurt, he was worried about his mum finding out, or it getting infected, but those thoughts were being drowned out with how rebellious he was feeling.

"Wait," Well, that was short-lived, Benny stopped in his tracks and spun back around to her. "What if a counselor sees it?" He asked as the thought started to worry him. It's not like the two of them could say they always had it. Especially not if his ear was as swollen and purple colored as Tomie's was. He looked around, searching for a solution, "We need hoods or something," He told her with a sharp nod. If only he had a sweater right about now.

“Uhh…” Tomie untucked the hair from behind her ears, careful not to bump the new piercing. She gave an apologetic shrug; it really wasn’t a problem for her. “It doesn’t even look that bad,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s like you’ve always had it.” It wasn’t one hundred percent true; it looked a bit red, like he’d bumped it or something. But maybe it was his skin, or – more likely – just where it was in his ear, but it really didn’t look as bad as hers.

“Plus, they don’t even care,” she continued, knowing that if she was blasé enough that he’d end up feeling relaxed and agreeing with her; she tended to have that sort if relaxing effect on people, but it worked especially well on Benny. “Oh, but if you’re still nervous,” she said suddenly, bouncing up over to her bag, squatting for a moment as she grabbed something out of it. “Tadaa!” she called, holding up a black bucket hat for him.

"Now c'mon," she said excitedly.
 

Benny didn't exactly believe her when she told him it looked like he had always had it. He could feel the heat radiating off of his ear lobe. But he wanted to. And that want was strong enough that he let her words and her casual attitude start to influence his worry. "Yeah, okay," He said, the little bits of hesitation and anxiety he was fighting starting to disappear on their own. It was always like this, they got into trouble, Benny worried, but eventually, Tomie calmed him down, and all was fine in the world again. And then she showed him a hat and he smiled brightly. "That will work!"

The wizard crossed the room to reach for the hat and was incredibly careful when he pulled it over his glossy black hair. Maybe he'd had to try and grow his hair out for real, but for now, the beanie worked well enough. It was dark too, so with a little luck, no one would even notice. Well, until they showed their ears off to all of their friends. He wanted all of them to know.

"Where first? JR? Wendy? Where is Shelby?" If she wasn't here then the Ravenclaw must have been with one of their other friends. The more he thought about showing off the more excited the little wizard became. Benny waited for Tomie's answer before pushing open the screen door of the cabin and waiting for her to exit with him.

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