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Post by Ben Cheney on Feb 2, 2009 14:32:08 GMT -5
(Late Twilight)
Ben drew to a halt outside Angela’s house, a look of foreboding already misting his boyish features. That day they had been given the assignment to look after some robot baby, the last assignment of the semester and worth more than its fair share of marks. Now Ben sat in a state of excitement mixed with apprehension. He was always happy to spend extra time with Angela, an affection that had grown steadily over their junior year, though one she, as yet, knew little about. He was already planning to ask her to the prom, but he had suddenly realised that this project would bring them closer than they had been yet. Maybe he would wait to see if they were still talking after this thing before he asked her out. She might hate him by the end of it.
He laughed to himself, suddenly, letting himself out of his Dodge Neon and kneeing the door shut behind him. He couldn’t believe he was getting anxious about looking after a robot kid. It wasn’t even as if he needed the good grade, well, he could always do with a good one, but he wasn’t fixed on being the smartest of students. That was Angela’s job. He swallowed and stalked up to the front door of the modest little house, patting his chest to make sure the obligatory comic book was stashed safely – he couldn’t manage a whole graphic novel. He rapped on the door and awaited an answer, ready to work out whatever schedules of care they needed to for the baby.
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Angela Weber
Settled in Forks
Human, Forks High Student
Posts: 89
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Post by Angela Weber on Feb 2, 2009 23:37:41 GMT -5
Inside the Weber house was a bit chaotic. Her parents were gone, as usual, which left Angela to babysit her twin little brothers, and the new baby that she brought home from school that day. She blushed as she looked down at the baby, remembering the exact moment that she saw Ben's eyes before he asked her to be his partner. She couldn't have been happier! Angela hadn't told anyone of her crush on Ben Cheney, not even Bella or Jessica. She knew if she told Jessica that it would get around school qucikly and she wasn't up for that. But Ben had actually decided he wanted to do this project, the family project, with her of all people. It was wonderful! Of course she had said yes, but she was sure that she had stuttered along the way of her acceptance. She just hoped she hadn't made too big of a fool of herself.
Angela had just gotten her brother's settled in their room working on their homework. The baby-bot was in her arms, and since it had been attended too constantly since she had gotten it, it was peacefully quiet at the moment. She headed downstairs with a little skip in her step as she heard the knocking. She wasn't expecting anyone but people often stopped by with her father the minister of the local church. She held the baby in her arm as she opened up the door, smiling widely surprised to see Ben had come over.
"Ben! Hi...do you want to come in?" She asked, not caring the reason he stopped by, just enjoying the fact that he had.
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Post by Ben Cheney on Feb 4, 2009 13:58:06 GMT -5
As the door swung slowly open in front of him, Ben placed a rather crooked smile on his boyish face. In essence, the smile was much like that which Edward Cullen unleashed with smouldering consequences, but on his pale, pointed face, it kind of looked a bit nerdy. As he saw her stood there, holding the little robot baby in her arms his smile softened a little.
“Hey Angela,” a touch of pink tinged his cheeks as he realised that he never had gotten around to letting her know he was coming. He had meant to phone, but he had a fear that she would not want his active help on the project. Everyone knew that Angela spent a lot of her spare time looking after her brothers and sundry other neighbourhood kids, and the way that the doll was ‘sleeping’ soundly told him that she was doing fine herself. Then again, she sounded quite happy to see him and she had invited him in. Signs were good, though! “If you don’t mind, I thought we could do with going through the care schedules and stuff?”
He looked up at her from his short stature and nodded, stepping through, past Angela. He was careful not to brush the baby as he went past and once on the other side of her, he allowed his dark eyes to rest upon its surprisingly realistic form. He gave Angela an unsure look. “You might have to give me some lessons on, like… how to hold her and stuff. I’ve never done any baby stuff before…”
He looked at the way Angela’s arm was cradled around the synthetic doll, noticed the way its head rested, naturally supported, and then glanced at his own less-than-meaty arms with some misgiving. He was sure that he was going to drop her. “I don’t want to be the cause of your first ever B.” He smiled at her once more, admiring her unshakable smarts.
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Angela Weber
Settled in Forks
Human, Forks High Student
Posts: 89
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Post by Angela Weber on Feb 4, 2009 22:29:13 GMT -5
Angela smiled, with a twinge of pink creeping across her cheeks as she shyly averted her gaze from the adorable smile Ben was giving her as he came in and greeted her. She closed the door behind them once he was inside, trying to catch her breath and not look like a complete idiot once she turned back to him. With the door closed and locked (for the safety of the young children in the house), Angela turned back to Ben as he explained his reason for coming.
Angela thought that it was incredibly sweet of him. She knew most guys wouldn't be interested in making a schedule but would just want to pawn off the work on their partner, especially since probably all the guys in their class knew that Angela would do all the work if she had to and was not the type to complain about it.
"No, I dont mind at all!" Angela said, though possibly a little too eagerly on her part. "I mean, that sounds like a good idea" She said wondering if he was already regretting both choosing her as a partner and coming over to make this schedule.
Angela found herself smiling again as Ben spoke of wanting her to show him how to hold it, and worried about being the cause of her getting a B. "You wont be, I'm sure you're a natural...do you want to try holding her? You just have to make sure to keep the entire body including the head supported, just like with a real baby"
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Post by Ben Cheney on Feb 9, 2009 14:30:35 GMT -5
Ben grinned openly at Angela’s eagerness for him to help her, relieved that she didn’t seem to be irritated by him taking over. He just hoped she retained that eagerness when she saw how inexperienced he was with all this stuff – he didn’t think he would make a natural dad. He nodded in agreement, willing to take on all the responsibility that she needed him for, though he also knew that she would have to be the leader in this project – he probably wouldn’t have a clue! Stupidly, he felt himself getting a little nervous as Angela instructed him how to hold the little babybot. His tongue poked out between his lips as he concentrated on what he was doing. He held out his arms for the doll and concentrated intently on his actions, trying to make sure now to jostle the little thing.
“Okay,” he almost whispered to himself, but also so that Angela could tell him if he was doing wrong. He adjusted his scrawny little arms to cushion the babybot properly. So far, so good. “Support body… and head…”
He looked up suddenly, a grin brightening her face, “Great! I did it!” he exclaimed, in a stage whisper. His dark eyes just about tore themselves from the little bundle of wires and he found Angela’s own with them. “Wow, I’m glad we lucked into being put together. You’ve made me into a dad!”
He laughed a little, though as a metallic whimper started up from the robot, his gaze dropped to his arms and his expression dropped in dismay. He automatically began to rock the child in a soothing motion, though he had no idea if it could sense that or not. Without looking away from the softly whimpering thing his soft voice travelled back up to Angela. “I’m sorry – what do I do?”
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Angela Weber
Settled in Forks
Human, Forks High Student
Posts: 89
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Post by Angela Weber on Feb 16, 2009 0:14:50 GMT -5
Angela hoped that she wasn't rushing him into this by offering for him to hold the baby already. Maybe he would think she was trying to pawn it off on him and feel less willing to help with the work. She didn't want to scare him off. She was already wishing she hadn't said anything and had just waited to see if Ben asked or offered to hold their child himself. But when she looked over he was willing and reached to take the baby from her. She found her eyes traveling down as she watched his cute tongue protrude from his lips as he concentrated. She found herself biting her bottom lip gently as she inhaled slightly taken aback by the feelings of her crush surging to the surface.
Angela smiled brightly as Ben told her that she had made him a Dad. She had often daydreamed of the day that could actually happen and they'd start a family. It was silly of her, she realized that but hearing him say it now just brought back the fluttering of her heart. "Congratulations...and I'm glad we were paired together for this too"
Angela then started laughing as she heard the baby cry and saw him immediately worrying that he did something wrong. She tried to stop her laugh, not wanting him to feel bad but thinking it was adorable he was so concerned about doing this perfectly. She knew most guys would care less. "Its ok! You didnt do anything wrong, sometimes she just starts crying. You're doing good!" She said encouragingly. "Maybe it can just sense its someone new...do you have that key they gave us? Let her know its her daddy"
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Post by Ben Cheney on Feb 16, 2009 21:38:57 GMT -5
Catching Angela’s smile as he made his careless comment about fatherhood, Ben suddenly wondered what was going through her admirably intelligent mind. He couldn’t quite figure out what she was thinking, but she was sure looking at him a bit funny; he kind of liked it. Not that he wanted children in any kind of vague sense of ‘soon’, but they were always in his sensible life plans: a wife, two kids, a dog, maybe three kids and a cat instead. A soft flush set about his defined cheekbones as Angela repeated his sentiment about being paired together. This was going to be great! It was almost like the teachers were making him date her for a week before he asked her to the prom – he was kind of glad of it, it meant he wouldn’t lose his nerve if he already knew that she liked him.
As he heard the amused tones of Angela’s laughter cutting through the baby’s mechanical wail, Ben’s brown eyes swept up to hers in surprise. Was he doing something stupidly obviously wrong? His expression brightened, however, as she reassured him that this was normal baby stuff. Maybe he should rethink the whole two or three kids thing – one would be enough – this was nerve racking stuff!
“Oh right, yeah – they don’t have these on real babies do they?” he looked up at her with a grin as he pulled his key out from under his sleeve and inserted it into the hidden slot. He looked nervously down at the artificial baby, repeatedly switching his gaze from the baby up to Angela, the movement slowing as its cries simmered down to a whine and faded completely. He inclined his head upward once more and grinned brightly at Angela. “She knew her daddy!”
He laughed a little, trying to keep his voice down as he didn’t know if it could hear him or not. He took a step towards Angela, holding his arms out awkwardly, the bundle secure in them. He nudged her slightly with his elbow, careful not to jostle the baby and half smiled at her. “Come on, we shouldn’t keep her in the hall, there’s a draft, y’know…”
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Angela Weber
Settled in Forks
Human, Forks High Student
Posts: 89
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Post by Angela Weber on Feb 23, 2009 11:18:25 GMT -5
Angela gave another amused chuckle at Ben's joke about real babies not having key slots. She was glad that he didn't seem offended by her earlier laughing and was instead focusing on making this work. "Yeah, I think they made these ones more complicated that the real thing. No keys to worry about losing" Angela said, knowing it was unlikely she'd actually lose her key, but with two little twin boys running around, it wasn't out of the question to think they might steal hers at some point and think that hiding it would be funny.
Angela returned Ben's bright smile as the baby stopped crying once the key was inserted, and his motions soothed it. "She does! See I told you you'd be a natural"
She then smiled again and nodded as he suggested they move out of the hallway, joking about the draft. "You're right, come on, we can go in the living room" She said leading him into the other room. "Can I get you something to drink? Or a snack?" She offered.
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Post by Ben Cheney on Feb 24, 2009 16:32:31 GMT -5
Ben’s deep eyes twinkled, reflecting Angela’s own of the same hue as she made the little quip about losing the keys. He laughed a little, thinking the notion of Angela losing the key was more laughable than the fact that the babies needed keys in the first place. He shook his head a little in disbelief. “Ah come on, you could go in and say a racoon came in and stole the key and they’d believe you…”
He grinned at her, appreciating her spotless reputation. Though he was no where near as perfect as Angela, academically speaking, he found it quite tiring to sit through the obligatory ten minutes of poorly thought up excuses for lack of work that came from some of their classmates. Ben didn’t look up from the child he was rocking in his arms as his maybe, one day girlfriend showered him with praise, though the smile on his face did soften.
“Oh I don’t know, your excellent direction, I’m sure. I’d have probably dropped her if I’d been told to do this one my own…” He followed Angela’s carefully into the living room, his gaze constantly flicking between the girl in front of him and the child in his arms to make sure she was alright. Once there he sat carefully on the sofa, hoping that he wasn’t being rude, but he didn’t trust himself on his feet with the robot baby in his arms for too much longer. He shook his head a little at her offer,
“No, thank you – I’m good just now, and we’ve got more important things at hand! Like… ummm…. so, uh… did you already decide on a name for her yet? I mean, I know you’ve had her a little while, but I was thinking…” he trailed off, hot streaks of pink blemishing his boyish features as he admitted the subject on his mind in the drive over.
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Angela Weber
Settled in Forks
Human, Forks High Student
Posts: 89
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Post by Angela Weber on Mar 2, 2009 1:35:42 GMT -5
"Maybe, but I dont think I want to press my luck" Angela said with a smile, liking the fact that he thought enough of her reputation to think she could get away with something like that. Ben's reputation with the teachers was also pretty good. He wasn't known to be one of the slackers, and from what she could see herself he was more than willing to do the work. She admired that in him.
She laughed as he tried to tell her he would have already dropped the baby bot had she not been there to help guide him. "I think even before you came here you knew enough not to drop it" She smiled. She watched how carefully Ben walked with the baby into the other room, moving slowly as to not jostle her. When he declined anything to eat or drink she sat down on the sofa next to him, immediately hoping that he wouldnt mind that she shouldn't have chosen the chair instead. She looked down shyly, embarrassed at her own unthought out actions. She was probably making a foold of herself in front of the guy she really liked.
"No I havent come up with a name yet, but we probably should think of something" She said, then smiling as he said he had been thinking about it. "What did you think of for her? " She asked, interested in knowing what he'd want to name their robot daughter.
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Post by Ben Cheney on Mar 10, 2009 15:34:17 GMT -5
Ben nodded a little as Angela told him that she didn’t want to mar her reputation unnecessarily; he could understand that, now that the time was approaching for college searching and all that. He still hadn’t really thought on what he was going to do in the future, this was only his junior year, after all, and he still enjoyed reading his comics behind his advanced calc book. He half smiled at her, looking rather goofy, as she commented that he had enough wits not to drop the baby without Angela being present.
“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” his grin evened out to become a boyish beam, turning his head to her as she sat beside him. He inclined his form so that he was facing her more than just sitting parallel, trying to involve her in the parenting process, or whatever you called this. He brought his arms forward so that the little girl robot was more in between them, giving both parents the opportunity to look down upon their child and deem the suitability of the names.
“Well, I was just thinking over some names on the bus,” he commented, the streaks of pink on his cheeks not showing any signs of fading. “I’m not like… set on anything, or anything, but I was thinking that, y’know, a nice, normal name would be quite nice. No Apples or Princesses or anything ridiculous like that. I sort’ve like Emily… or Rose?” he coughed a little, feeling his manliness drop out of the soles of his shoes. No way was this impressing the beautiful girl sat so close to him. He grinned at her. “Or maybe Kitty… Jean… Rogue… They’ll be pretty much normal by the time she grows up, right?”
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Angela Weber
Settled in Forks
Human, Forks High Student
Posts: 89
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Post by Angela Weber on Apr 6, 2009 22:27:15 GMT -5
Angela tried to keep herself from staring at him as he grinned up at her. He thought he was the cutest boy in school, and also the nicest and here he was sitting on her couch. She was sure it was just a matter of time before she looked like a complete nerd to him and he tried to think of any excuse that he could of why he had to leave.
Angela looked down at the baby robot that he so gently cradled in his arms. She knew that if it was a real child, it would be completely safe with him. His attitude towards it was tender and he wasn’t like most teenage boys who were probably laughing at the thing, or roughhousing with it and trying to use it as a makeshift football (something she had seen one of the jocks do at the end of the schoolday that day).
“Yeah definitely something normal” Angela agreed with him on that point completely. She smiled listening to his suggestions for names. She found him even more attractive for having spent time thinking of them. She then laughed lightly as he started mentioning Xmen names. “Well as much as I do like Rogue, she was kind of the outcast with not being able to touch people…” She said with a smile. “But the first two names were pretty…Maybe we could use them both, call her Emily Rose?”
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Post by Ben Cheney on May 6, 2009 16:49:35 GMT -5
Ben’s dark eyes looked unabashed towards Angela as she responded to his suggestions for names, a small grin playing at the corners of his mouth to pull it into a dorky crookedness. He knew really that she wouldn’t go for the X-Men names, but it was fun to put it out there, and he was happy to note that there was no eye-rolling, or exaggerated sighs that he usually got in response to his geeky ramblings. But, pleasingly, she actually liked his serious names. Well, at least she was acting like she liked his serious suggestions. A flick shifted his brow momentarily as he considered this, knowing from his friends that girls were sometimes a little less than honest, but he decided to just ignore it. Whatever Angela told him he would take at face value. That was how he worked; he could only hope that she did too.
“Emily Rose Cheney,” he said, his voice elongating as he sounded out the name. Once done, he turned to Angela once more with a bright grin, automatically freeing up an arm and slinging it around her shoulders before he even realised what he was doing. He shifted a little, trying to turn the gesture into one that was slightly friendlier than it had turned out to be. He laughed a little and retreated, now nudging the gorgeous girl with his elbow as he rehoused the quiet baby bot in his two arms. “Maybe we should get a stuffed dog and call it Rogue?”
His grin brightened as he imagined a anthropomorphic version of the X-man running around at their feet. That would be awesome!
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Angela Weber
Settled in Forks
Human, Forks High Student
Posts: 89
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Post by Angela Weber on Jun 3, 2009 9:32:41 GMT -5
Angela happily watched the grin appear on Ben’s face as she responded to his name suggestions. She was glad that he didn’t seem upset by her turning down the Xmen names (if he was set on it, she really would have named the robot anything). Things felt so comfortable between them right now. Just standing here, joking around and caring for the robot infant.
Angela’s smile widened as he said the full name of the baby. Emily Rose Cheney. Her baby had Ben’s last name. A silly fantasy most girls had at one time or another, of playing house with the guy they were crushing on, of playing the role of mother to Ben Cheney’s child. “Very pretty name” She laughed as he suggested getting a stuffed dog and calling it Rogue. “That would actually be very cute, though we might start looking a little weird buying gifts for a robot”
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Post by Ben Cheney on Jun 3, 2009 12:38:33 GMT -5
The idea that the child would not have his last name had not even occurred to Ben as he sat with it in his arms and Angela at his side. The situation of having an unexpected arrival of this variety would never happen to him personally, he was quite confidently certain of, but even if it did, he knew without having to give it conscious thought that he would be a big part in any child of his’ life. He also hadn’t quite cottoned on to the extension of Angela’s smile when he had mentioned the name tailed with his own, he just considered it to be ‘how things were’. He turned to the girl with a pleased grin on his face and bowed his head a little.
“Why thank you, thank you, contrary to popular belief, boys don’t spend all their time thinking about football, we actually have long lists of baby names hidden under our beds,” he laughed a little, flicking his head back up in a movement that he hoped would remove the curtains of hair that had fallen into his eye when he had bowed his head. However, as she went on to mention that it would be weird to buy gifts for a baby robot, his high, angular cheekbones coloured a little.
“Oh, I wasn’t talking about for the baby,” he said, trying to sound nonchalant, shaking his head a little. “I meant for – um… you.” Shifting a little awkwardly on the couch, his dark eyes suddenly focused on the baby bot. In his effort to save face he had pretty much told her that she was ‘gift buy-able material’, which she was, but she didn’t know that yet. To make it worse he had said it even though she had already pretty much told him it was a cute idea for a fake baby, which probably meant ‘lame’ for a real, live, high-school-attending teenager. If he hadn’t had a baby in his arms at that moment – fake or real – he would have been slapping his forehead in a fit of stupidity.
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