[FANFIC] The Alternative Episode ll Ben/Rachel
Title; The Alternative Episode
Fandom; The OC/Real-Life
Couple; Ben Mckenzie/Rachel Bilson, Ryan Atwood/Summer Roberts
Rating; M {yes you read that right, prepare for sexy times ;)}
Summary; Josh has a new episode idea he wants to share with Ben and Rachel. It leads to them spending more time with one another and feelings began to develop.
Authors Note & DEDICATIONS; So this took me quite a while. I went through days where i didnt write at all. I dont think i would have finished this if the guys over FanForum hadnt brought it up :)
So i want to dedicate this to ManhanttanBabe for that Ben interview. I had to stop myself from squealing at all hours of the night :D
To Sweetgirl465 for posting beautiful pictures of these two ;) You both really helped with the inspiration!! lol
And bengirl25 for wanting this so darn much ;)
Hope you like it :D
--
The Alternative Episode
Rachel was nervous, which she very rarely was. Ben on the other hand, he was always a bag of nerves, had been since the day he entered the world. His mother would yell his name, no matter the tone and his skin began to shake, his nerves would begin to jangle and it was no different now. Both Ben and Rachel had been called to Josh’s office. Being called to Josh’s office was always either to discuss a new storyline, a raise or you know, the dreaded S word. Or F. Depends whether you prefer sack or fire.
Rachel was nervous because well, the last time she had sat in Josh’s office was to discuss the season 3 finale…and Mischa’s departure. Rachel had always considered Mischa a friend, however, Rachel also knew Mischa was only a friend because they were working on the same set like seventeen hours a day. Mischa’s party ways did not attract Rachel, she preferred the quiet life. Ben was the same, he rarely went out, especially to events and even those were either The OC related or you know…someone had forced him to attend. Nine times out of Ten it was because of the latter. The point was, the last time they had both been called to Josh’s office was because of a rather bad reason; losing Mischa. Its unclear right now whether it was because she was fired or chose to leave but still Rachel considered her leaving a negative storyline in her personal life. Now who was she supposed to talk to?
When Rachel had been told to come to Josh’s office by one of his assistants, she hadn’t worried so much, she guessed maybe it was because she hadn’t realised what she had really been asked to do but when she had seen Ben sitting outside his office too, she finally realised where she was. The way Ben looked up at her and his expression faltered slightly, she knew it was most likely because of curiosity, wondering why she was here but she couldn’t stop the pull on her heart and the slight pain it had at seeing the way he looked at her. He was always so quiet and shy around her, not Adam or even Mischa, just her. Every now and then, he would fall out of this and it was like she was seeing a whole new Ben, except she wasn’t, she was just seeing the Ben he kept from her.
To say Rachel had a little crush on Ben would be an understatement, she was well aware of the attraction she felt for him when they first met, it was so big and harsh that she felt like everyone else must be aware of it too, {if they were, no one ever commented on it, which Rachel was sincerely thankful for since she had no idea what she would say.}
She had muttered hey and he had muttered hi and that was that. Just when Rachel was so tempted to roll up one of the trashy mags laying next to her and hit him over the head with it, Josh appeared.
“Ben. Rachel. Sorry to keep you waiting.” Ben nodded and Rachel smiled, lighter then what she usually did since she was nervous. Josh beckoned them into his office and the pair of them followed on in, Ben stepped backwards to allow Rachel to enter first and her smile became bigger but just a little.
When everyone had settled down into his or her seats and Rachel had grabbed some wine gums of Josh’s desk and Ben had declined some coffee, Josh set about to work.
“Okay, so season 4. Its probably likely to be our last, I’m not sure where I want to go after this. But I was thinking last night on what I wanted the opening scene to be and then I thought, what if the entire episode was like this? Give the audience a sense of what if The OC had never happened of some sort. Are you following?” Both Ben and Rachel nodded straight away, however they did share some awkward glances with one another. Where exactly was he going with this? It was Ben who spoke up first.
“So…what exactly are you thinking of doing?” …and why isn’t Adam in here discussing this too? He wondered, since this storyline whatever it was, was obviously involving the entire cast - why was it just Ben and Rachel being spoken too, together? Josh was silent for a moment, as if he was thinking hard about how to approach his upcoming, wanted storyline. He reverted back to his opening sentence.
“I was thinking…what if Ryan had well, never been founded by Sandy. Never been taken in by the Cohens, never met with Marissa or Seth etc.” Rachel nodded to clue Josh into the fact that she was following, whilst picturing in her mind - what would have been The OC if none of this happened? Essentially, there wouldn’t be The OC as a show.
“I was thinking of an alternative episode as an opening. Really get the viewers thinking. One Tree Hill did it, LOST did a similar thing…it’s a very popular storyline, yet done the right way can be amazing. So how about it?” Josh was grinning now, obviously excited at his sudden plot thought.
Ben nodded and was smiling, he was definitely considering the option of this kind of storyline and if it meant old school Ryan, he would be able to act how he could act best; broody. Rachel, however, was excited but she also took note of how her character was back in the first episode, whilst she loved playing the bitchy girl, she had really come to love and appreciate how her character, Summer, had evolved over the years. She was sort of apprehensive of changing that.
Josh took note of the look on their faces, he was pleased with the looks he was receiving, hoping they would enjoy his juicy storyline as much as he did.
“Okay, so my storyline. It may appear to be rather lengthy but I’ve got my script - it’s been all hush, hush for a while.” Josh added by seeing their raised eyebrows. He must really love this idea…Rachel thought. “And I really think it could work, all I need is for you two to be alright with it.”
“Wait, why me and Rachel?” Ben interrupted before he could think it through. Josh smirked but ignored his comment, continuing with his episode discussion.
“What if…Ryan never came to The OC.” Josh repeated, again. “What if…Summer ends up in Chino?” Ben felt his mind go blank and Rachel’s eyes very nearly popped out with surprise. Summer? In Chino? She liked that concept. “I’ve been doing some research and I’ve realised one of the most popular, wanted couples aside from the current ones we have is initial fact…Ryan and Summer. So I thought, instead of compromising the couples we have now, because I do want to keep them this way and without destroying their characterizations, what if Ryan and Summer happened in an alternative world? That way the audience would get what they wanted and the storylines wouldn’t be screwed. And I personally would love to see it, one because I hinted at it in the first episode - makes sense to revert back to it and two, because the two of you have really great on-screen chemistry.” Josh smiled before adding, muttering beneath his breath. “…and of the screen.”
Both Ben and Rachel were to stunned to reply to anything that Josh had just shared with them.
--
When Ben and Rachel had left Josh’s office, neither shared a look or a word with each other. They were both aware with what Josh had actually muttered beneath his breath and they were both aware that the other had heard it also. Since Ben had nearly entered a coughing fit and Rachel had begun to choke on her wine gum, it was obvious.
The both of them had been avoiding each other all day, to say they felt awkward around one another was an understatement, Rachel who had already admitted to herself {and no one else} that she had feelings for Ben felt even more so.
After visiting Josh’s office for that interesting storyline, Rachel had hit the gym and headed home to her one bedroom flat. When she got home, she hopped into the shower, ordered a pizza and settled down on the couch watching an episode of Sex and the City. Just as she was getting to the good part, her doorbell rang, expecting it to be the pizza, Rachel flung the door open but not before grabbing some cash of the side. Her eyes nearly bugged out of the sockets when they laid on; none other then Ben.
“Ben? Hi?” Her face was all scrunched up with confusion as to what he was doing here but then she remembered she was seriously attracted to him and you know, actually liked him anyway and quickly flashed him a smile.
He smiled, nervously. Like he always did.
“Hey.” There was an awkward moment of silence, until Ben realised that both he and Rachel hadn’t actually said anything to each other and yet hadn’t taken their eyes of each other either. “Can I come in?” Ben continued. Rachel did that thing with her eyes again and moved aside, nodding her head profusely. Ben couldn’t help but let out a slight chuckle. Rachel offered to get Ben a drink and came back from the kitchen a few moments later with a beer in her hands. Ben nodded his thanks.
She gestured towards the couch and they both sat down, although they suffered through an awkward lets-sit-in-the-same-place moment first. Rachel giggled and decided to grab a purple bean-bag and place it in front of the couch. Ben couldn’t help but let out another chuckle.
“What?” Rachel asked, curious yet still flashing him a grin. He shook his head, lightly still chuckling.
“Nothing. Its just…that’s exactly something Summer would do.” Rachel grinned. She’d slowly been realising over the past few weeks, that she had more and more in common with Summer than she had originally thought. Only the good stuff though, she hoped.
As the moments passed, Ben realised he had pretty much been staring at Rachel the entire time he had been in her presence. Not once had he taken his eyes of her, except for when she had gone to get him a drink and even then his eyes had followed her, against his will.
“So erm…were you doing anything? Like before I got here because if you were doing something, I can leave-“
“No.” Rachel interrupted, rather hastily. “Well, actually I ordered pizza…which is actually taking a really long time.” She glanced at her watch then back at Ben, who had a very light smile on his face and looked almost hopeful. She waited a moment to gather her thoughts before looking at him, grinning and then asked; “Do you want to share? Put a movie on? Something?”
“Huh?” Rachel giggled.
“Hungry?” Ben chuckled as if he was finally grasping the conversation they had just started, he ran his hand through his hair and nodded.
“I’m starved actually. Do you mind?” Rachel shook her head.
“I would actually prefer it if you stayed.” She paused for a moment before adding; “I get lonely sometimes.”
Ben was silent before he nodded slowly, as if almost admitting it to himself. He reached out and placed his hand over hers. He smiled gently, whilst his left thumb began to rub smooth circles on her skin, causing a slight shiver to run through her. Ben wasn’t even sure himself what he was going to do next but whilst the two of them were just sitting there, basking in the feeling of touching one another in a simple way yet a way that neither of them had shared with one another, their moment was interrupted. Rachel smiled, softly.
“That’ll be the pizza.” She withdrew her hand from his own and he immediately felt like something was missing, her warmth. She stood up and headed towards the door but not before pausing and kissing Ben on his right cheek for a moment or two. Just to say thanks.
--
Rachel was late. Yes, it was a daily occurrence when it came to work but she was hugely late today. Damn, alarm clock. Rachel scolded. She could have sworn she had set it the night before, she must have gotten distracted. It had been the fourth time in two weeks that Rachel had spent time out of work hours {which lets face it, weren’t exactly many} with Ben. The night around Rachel’s apartment had been amazing for the both of them. They had both felt so relaxed around one another, they had ended up eating all the pizza, drinking several beers {though Rachel had opted for wine} and watched several bad 90’s movies. Rachel had been just about falling asleep on Ben’s shoulder by the time he left. It was nearing to three in the morning and whilst Rachel was begging for her bed, she hadn’t wanted Ben to leave.
During the last couple of weeks, Ben and Rachel’s conversations had changed repeatedly to their thoughts about the upcoming episode. How did they think Josh was going to play it? What was the storyline going to be? How were Ryan and Summer going to react with one another? Rachel was late heading into work, to which she was thoroughly annoyed with herself because it was for exactly, the upcoming episode. Which meant for sure that Ben was going to be there. And to say she was excited was a small understatement. Whilst watching some sitcom show, Rachel had actually, though unintentionally, ended up cuddling up to Ben. When she realised what she had actually done, she was ready to run away screaming and protesting but Ben had simply picked up his arm and placed around Rachel’s small body, if anything pulling her closer. Rachel had of course responded with snuggling into him closer and breathing in his scent. Rachel even momentarily thought that could have been why she had been late. Dreaming or something. She hadn’t been able to get rid of Ben’s smell {not that she had wanted too} all night.
Rachel quickly headed into the building, a carrier bag which contained her folder and such had been thrust upon her head, as her weak attempt to shield herself away from the rain. She threw open the door and quickly headed for the stairs. The entire cast, minus Mischa of course, were most likely waiting for her and may even be irritated which was the last thing she wanted them to be. She quickly flung the door open and entered a big room, with a large, round table and 30 odd people sitting there, all looking at her. She quickly began to bring up a grin but it failed when she saw some irritable faces. None of them coming from Josh, Ben or any of the other cast though, luckily. Mostly just the producers who assumed because she was an actress she must be a diva and a bitch and her being late apparently proved it. Rachel rolled her eyes at the mere thought of them and began to scan her eyes around the table for a spare seat. She found one just opposite Ben and something in the look of his eyes told her, he had saved the seat just for her. He winked and grinned and she returned the same cheerful smile.
She sat down, placing her carrier bag beside her on the floor and her eyes immediately glanced to the script. Alternatives. She looked at Ben, as if to ask is it any good so far?
He was watching her and nodded but quickly nudged towards his script to show they weren’t that far in and Rachel presumed her character hadn’t cropped up yet.
Whilst everyone was off in they’re own little conversations and Ben was skipping through his script, Rachel felt like this should be the time to apologize to Josh. He chuckled and said he understood and although he didn’t seem annoyed, Rachel still felt immensely guilty. After all, being late wasn’t the most professional of things.
Soon, the reading of the scripts resumed and Rachel felt herself being completely consumed by it. The idea of not Ryan coming to The OC but Summer being in…Chino. Rachel loved it and was definitely sure this was going to be her most favourite episode yet.
Almost half way through the chapter, Rachel felt a slight tapping on her leg, she looked up to find Ben smirking at her, almost confident like, although she loved this apparent new, fresher more open with her in particular side of him, she had wondered where exactly it had come from or rather what had caused it. He was smirking at her; Rachel assumed it was something to do with the episode since he had clearly already read it. He obviously knew something that she did not.
Ryan takes hold of Summers hand as if to comfort her.
Ryan: Your pretty lost, huh?
Summer turns to look at him. She opens her mouth to speak.
Ryan: {Chuckles} And I don’t just mean destination. Your one of those girls, you put on a front that you’re this party girl who doesn’t really care about anything but shopping and getting wasted but inside, you care. You care that your best friend is losing control of herself, you care that no one seems to know the real you, that you have an old my little pony toy - {Ryan breaks of to laugh to himself causing Summer to give him a little smile too} and you care that your family life isn’t as perfect as you would like it to be.
Ryan steps closer.
Ryan: You care.
Ryan runs his hands through Summers hair, she begins to lean closer towards him. She nods slightly whilst Ryan’s hand moves to cup her face.
Summer: Yes. I care.
Ryan leans in to kiss Summer and she returns the kiss.
--
Rachel was just sitting on the couch, flipping through some mindless celebrity magazine, she skipped over any articles that were about her or any of her other cast mates, mostly were speculation about Mischa.
She was just reading some big article over some new scandal involving threesomes and drugs when there was a hard knock on her door. Rachel sighed and shoved her magazine on the floor. She glanced at her watch. It was just hitting eight. She had been going out that night but it had been cancelled at the last minute.
Rachel opened the door and came face to face with none other then Ben, he was holding up a brown paper bag, a wad of papers under his arm and a big grin on his face.
“I come bearing Chinese food.” He laughed but still looked hopeful. Rachel giggled and couldn’t not let him in. She stepped aside and fake-sighed.
“I suppose I must let you in.” She said playfully, Ben gave another laugh and stepped inside, placing a small kiss on Rachel’s cheek, as if it was a daily habit. Rachel couldn’t stop the pull on her heart, she almost felt as if it had skipped a beat, as cliché as it was.
Ben sat down on one of Rachel’s sofa’s whilst Rachel grabbed some plates and a large tray. She hurried back into her living room, not wanting to be away from Ben for longer then she had to be.
She placed the tray in the middle of the floor, switched the TV channel to some music channel and the both of them began to unravel all the boxes that held the food for them. Rachel licked her thumb for some of the sauce that had dribbled onto it. Ben gulped.
“Mmmm. This is great. I didn’t realise how starving I was. Thanks for thinking of me Ben.”
“Oh, I always think of you.” He replied before he could stop himself. He blushed and gulped again. “I erm… I mean, I…well, what I meant to say-“ He was cut of by Rachel’s soft giggle.
“Its okay.” She looked at him, smiling. “I think of you too.” Ben let out a smile, he felt like he had been holding in for years, which in reality had only been a few moments.
They both dug in and piled it up on their plates, though Ben’s was a lot more piled up then Rachel’s was. When Rachel had raised her eyebrows at him, smirking, he had declared that he was a healthy, growing, young man. Rachel couldn’t help but point out to herself how he used the word man. Not boy. Man. Man was so much more sophisticated, attractive, hot and well, sexy.
Ben was just shoving some chicken into his mouth when he was distracted by the noodle that was slipping down Rachel’s mouth. He cleared his throat and Rachel let out a hearty laugh.
“I’m sorry. I’m terrible with this stuff.” She picked up the noodle and ate it. She mentally apologized to him, Ben smiled and shrugged.
When their food was finished with and Ben had managed to eat almost everything he had bought, they stayed sitting down but changed the channel to some sitcom shows again. It had become almost a ritual for them since they both shared a love for sitcom and comedy. After several episodes of Friends, both Rachel and Ben had settled against the sofa still sitting on the floor, cuddling into each other, Rachel’s mind wandered to the wad of papers that Ben had been carrying. The wad of papers were now just sitting by the door, slightly peaking out from being buried by Ben’s jacket.
“What’s that?” Rachel asked, curiosity finally getting the better of her. Ben looked up, almost startled, he stared at Rachel for a while longer then he should have and then followed where Rachel was looking. His script.
“Oh.” Ben removed his arm from around Rachel, she felt the warmth disappear in an instance, Ben crawled towards the wads of paper and pulled it out and then placed it in front of Rachel, still on his knees, leaning towards her.
“Your script? Rachel asked, confused. “Why…?” Ben smiled, sheepishly.
“Yeah, I erm…thought we could run lines. Or something.” Rachel grinned.
“You want to run lines with me?” Despite all the time they had spent together recently, she still couldn’t believe he was electing to spend more time with her. Ben nodded, desperately hoping she would say yes. The majority of the episode was Ryan. Despite the odd scene to show how messed up Orange County was without Ryan and most of Ryan’s scenes were spent with Summer. It made sense to spend time running lines with Rachel.
“Well, okay then. Where should we start?”
--
“So, is it really going to take nearly seven hours to fix my car? What kind of mechanics or whatever does Chino have?” Rachel protested, her voice going more high-pitched and irritated as she continued. Ben smirked just like he knew Ryan would.
“Chino’s a small town. We don’t get a lot of car breakdowns over here. We most certainly don’t get a lot of childish brats crying over a broken car.” He winked and Rachel huffed.
“Did you just call me a childish brat? Please. I bet my trust fund is worth ten times more then the pathetic house you no doubt live in.” Rachel sneered. Ben shrugged.
“So, why don’t I show you?”
Rachel and Ben each turned the page to read for the next page, quickly scanning the page for their lines.
“Wow.” Rachel said. “I don’t remember Summer being that bitchy.” She laughed. Ben joined in, running a hand through his hair, fluffing it a little. Rachel mentally told herself to stop staring.
“Oh, trust me. She was.” They both laughed again. “But she wasn’t always so bad. Remember, when y-she threw herself at me?” He grinned, though all the laughter had left his face whilst he remembered the way he had felt when this unnamed, dark-haired girl had thrown her arms around his neck, pulling him close. She groaned in mock annoyance.
“Are you kidding, I froze my ass of in that bikini! Of course I remember!” Their laughter filled the room. Ben flicked his eyes towards Rachel and Rachel did the same. Their laughter slowly calmed down until it was just them and no sounds, they had turned the TV off whilst they rehearsed. Rachel’s foot was just balancing on Ryan’s leg whilst his hand was just inches away from Rachel’s. All it would take was for one of them to lean forward and capture the others lips. But neither one of them reached out.
“Okay, so Summer gets to see where Ryan lives. Huh. It’s almost like she’s Marissa 2.0.” Rachel mused, more to herself then to Ben. Anything to break the tension, although she did wonder - why didn’t she just reach out and kiss him? Why?
“Huh. Oh yeah. Pretty…strange huh?” Rachel nodded.
“Hmm, so want to continue?” Rachel looked up and stared at Ben for the first time since she had looked away, Ben returned her stare and nodded.
“So, this is your place?” Rachel asked, her voice a little lighter then Summer’s usual tone. Ben nodded.
“Yeah, this is it. So I guess you were right, huh?”
“Excuse me?” Rachel asked, dumbfounded.
“My place. Ten times cheaper then your trust fund or whatever you called it.” Ben tried to smile lightly but it didn’t follow through.
“Oh.” Rachel paused for effect, this was the part where Summer’s sensitive side started to kick in. “I’m sorry. I sounded bitchy and rude and spoilt and-“
“Like a childish brat?” Ben asked with a hint of a smirk. Rachel pulled a face but nodded anyway. Ben shrugged. “Its okay, its not like I’ve never come across anyone with an attitude. You just…have a different kind of attitude.” He winked. Rachel smiled, gently. Rachel shrugged.
“So why did you show me your home? To prove a point? Well, well done, you did it. I feel bad, okay?” Ben paused for a moment.
“This isn’t my home. It’s just a place I stay for the night. And I didn’t bring you here to make you feel bad, I don’t know why I did I just…I get the feeling you almost understand me?”
“How do you mean? How on Earth would I understand you? I hardly know you Chino-Boy.” Ben let out a small smirk.
“Do you have both your parents? At home? Living with you?” Rachel shook her head as though she had lost her voice.
“My mom. She left…” Rachel’s voice trailed off and she felt a soft tear run down her cheek, she was clearly in the moment. “She just left. And never came back. I was just a little girl, you know? Every day, I would wait and…that’s it, it took me a good few years to realise I was actually waiting for nothing.” Ben leaned forward and wiped away the tear, he wasn’t completely sure if it was in the script but he felt like it was something Ryan would do and it was something he wanted to do. He didn’t want to see Rachel cry even if she wasn’t crying for herself this time.
“Your pretty lost, huh?” Ben repeated from a few days ago. Rachel opened her mouth to speak but Ben cut across her. “And I don’t just mean destination. Your one of those girls, you put on a front that you’re this party girl who doesn’t really care about anything but shopping and getting wasted but inside, you care. You care that your best friend is losing control of herself, you care that no one seems to know the real you, that you have an old my little pony toy -“ Ben stopped for a moment for effect, he let out a low chuckle before he continued, his voice still heartfelt. “And you care that your family life isn’t as perfect as you would like it to be.” Rachel nodded slowly, more tears falling down her cheeks. However, she wasn’t focusing on the tears that were falling down right now, she was much more aware of how much closer Ben’s body was getting to hers. She could smell him so much more now, feel the warmth that was radiating of him, her senses were all over the place. Ben began to lean closer towards Rachel.
“You care.” Ben said softly and Rachel nodded.
“Yes. I care.” It was only a moment before Rachel felt Ben’s lips on her own. It was supposed to be reading lines and how the pair of them would act for the scene. They were supposed to kiss, as Ryan and Summer. But this didn’t feel like Ryan and Summer, this felt like Ben and Rachel.
Rachel reacted much more strongly to the kiss then she had anticipated she would, she threw one of her arms around Ben’s neck, her attempt at pulling him just that little bit closer. One of Ben’s hands was resting on the floor, as if to steady himself as he leaned closer to Rachel, the other hand had hooked around her waist, grasping onto her tightly. Rachel leaned back as Ben leaned in even more so, she was practically laying on the floor whilst Ben hovered above her. This was most certainly not in the script but neither of them seemed to care. Rachel had wanted Ben for so long now there was no way she was going to push it away, even if to Ben all it was, was Ryan and Summer. Although, the way he was kissing her, soothing her and pressing up against didn’t feel like they were being Ryan and Summer…she hoped Ben was feeling this way.
Whilst one arm was still wrapped around Ben’s neck, Rachel’s other wandering hand moved up Ben’s chest before resting there, Ben licked the outlining of Rachel’s lips, as if begging for entrance; he was almost desperate to get his tongue into her mouth. Rachel opened her mouth and Ben slipped his tongue in, kissing her harder and massaging his tongue with her own. One of his hands was now cupping her face and the hand that had previously been keeping him steady made its way to run up and down her thigh. Rachel was properly lying on the floor now with Ben just hovering above her, with Rachel gripping onto his neck and palming his chest and Ben holding onto her, helped keep him above her without fault.
Rachel moved her hand further up Ben’s chest and it stopped on the top button, she slowly began unbuttoning it. And then the next. And then the next. Once Rachel had finally finished unbuttoning all of his buttons, she moved both of her hands under his shirt on his shoulders. They felt ice cold against his warmth and Ben shivered, causing a slight giggle from Rachel. She pushed his shirt of and Ben momentarily pulled away to take of the rest of his shirt. Rachel sat up to watch him, her eyes dazed and filled with lust. Ben pulled of his wife beater to reveal his well-maintained chest and Rachel almost felt herself go in that moment. She grinned and wrapped her arm around his neck again, kneeling up and pressing herself against him. Ben ran his hands all over her body; her jean-covered thighs all the way to her breasts. Rachel moaned into his mouth.
Ben moved his hand down towards the trim of Rachel’s top; he lifted it up only to slip his hand underneath it. Her skin was cold but his hand managed to warm up just that small part of her. He lifted the top over her head and just stared into her eyes for a moment, until everything that they were doing came rushing back to him. He and Rachel. In her apartment. Kissing and- well everything else. He quickly pulled away and stood up, grabbing his shirt.
“W-we can’t. We can’t do this Rachel. You and Adam-“
“Me and Adam are over? We have been for months…I don’t…he’s with someone else, why?” Rachel didn’t finish, she was too hurt at the rejection to follow through. She was still kneeling there, clad in her bra, her hair all a mess from the way Ben’s hands had been running through it. Ben stayed silent for a moment. He didn’t want to leave but he felt like he had too. He wanted Rachel, he knew that but he just couldn’t. It took everything in him not to just give up and wipe away the tear that was now threatening to fall. But it was a Rachel tear this time, that much he knew.
“I-I’m sorry. I don’t-. I’m sorry, Rach.” And with that he left.
--
When Ben closed Rachel’s apartment door, he leaned against it. A part of him, willingly, desperately needing to go back in there and to comfort and to take her. But the other part of him was telling him to walk away. So that’s what he started doing. He got to the end of the corridor before he began questioning himself…why exactly was he walking away? Because of the history between Adam and Rachel? Because of Josh? Because of the curse of the co-stars that date? Because of anything? It wasn’t until then that Ben realized, maybe he wasn’t running away because of any of those reasons, maybe it was because he wanted Rachel too much. Maybe, for the first time he was just afraid? Afraid of wanting something so much, it terrified him and made him want to run for the door. Though he scolded himself for doing it so literally.
Before he had a chance to think about it, he was heading back. Back to Rachel’s apartment. Back to Rachel.
He didn’t even bother to knock and just opened the door, he felt his heart break when he realised Rachel was sitting in the same place he had left her in. She whipped her head around and her eyes widened. She began to stand up.
“Ben? Wh-what are you-“ Ben interrupted her by strolling up to her at a fast pace, grabbing her face and kissing her until they both needed to come back up for air again.
“I don’t want to leave. Okay? I want this. I want you. I’m sorry, I left and I know that hurt you but I’m back and I don’t want to leave again-“ Rachel cut him off by kissing him again.
“Its okay. Okay? Just prove to me your not going leave again.”
“What?” Ben asked, a slight laugh forming. She grinned back.
“Prove to me.” She raised her eyebrow and Ben chuckled, fully understanding.
“Oh, I’ll do better then that.” He flirted and gripped her waist, thrusting her up against his body; he kissed her again, this time more deeply and inserted his tongue into her mouth. Rachel responded, eagerly and felt herself being pushed up against a wall.
Rachel locked her arms around his chest, shoving his shirt off of him with much more ease this time since it still remained unbuttoned. Ben’s hand immediately went for the zip and button of Rachel’s jeans. He swiftly unzipped it and un-did the button. He slowly began to pull the jeans down her legs whilst placing soft kisses down her abdomen on his way down. Rachel’s fingers messed with his hair whilst he did so. She couldn’t wait to get him out of his own clothes. Now she was standing there in just her bra and underwear and she was determined to unclothe Ben. She unzipped his jeans and he quickly threw them off. Rachel’s giggles got lost in his mouth and Ben found it hard to tell which sound was her giggle and which sound was her moan.
Ben pushed Rachel onto her bed; the pair of them were completely naked and just loving one another’s body. Ben placed kisses all over Rachel’s body, stopping when he came to her breasts, placing softer kisses as if she were able to break. Ben hovered over Rachel just one more last time, he leaned in to kiss her again. Instead of the hasty, desperate, needy kisses they had shared it seemed thousands of times already, this one was a softer, more tender kiss. Rachel curved her body into Ben’s as she felt him press up against her entrance; she let out a low moan and had to do everything she could to not just force him into her. Ben finally gave in and slowly entered her, Rachel gasped, it was a long moment before either of them began moving again, Ben rocked his body into Rachel’s as she hooked her leg around him, pushing him in deeper.
The two of them continued kissing and feeling and rubbing up against each other as they continued to explore each others bodies.
It only took a few more moments before the two of them were becoming one and let go together. Ben collapsed onto the left side of the bed, lying next to Rachel. They were hot and bothered and spent but that didn’t stop them just holding onto each other and falling asleep together.
Part II; The Next Episode Part III; The Very Last Episode