Dangerous Data

As I finished my meal, Ben took away my plate and placed into the sink. He then gazed out the window into his garden.

"Just how long have you been here?" I asked; I just had to. I don't remember when Mom told me about this cute man living next door since I was so enthralled with my...fan fiction. God, I need a life.

"About a year now," he turned to face me, "I'm surprised you didn't meet me sooner."

Damn, I am too, I thought as I slid off the stool awkwardly and nearly fell, "There is no good way to get off a stool, I tell ya!"

Ben chuckled and walked up to help me regain my balance, "It's funny, how we were so determined to kill each other...Now we're almost on the same side."

I took his hand as he helped me stand upright again, "Huh, I thought we were bonding with that whole 'shoot me, shoot you' thing."

Ben beamed wryly as he shook his head and let my hand go. It was somewhat disappointing when he did...oddly enough.

"Now," he began with a more somber tone from his vocal cords, "how are we going to save ourselves?"

"We run?" I shrugged at my answer.

He looked at me dully, "Really?"

"Well, we run until we find a plan. 'Run' is a very broad term, Mr. Harvard."

He gazed at me again with the same look, but then understood what I meant, "So we go into hiding. But where?"

"Where they least expect it, duh!"

"And that is...?"

"You have a basement, right?"

"Yeah....?"

"Then we hide out here! They can't---

"But they know I'm here, stupid! My father funded this house for me!"

I cocked an eyebrow, why would the man that wants his own son dead buy him a house? "O-oh."

"Yeah, oh."

"Don't mock me."

"With a higher education than yours, I can do anything I want to."

All I could do was scowl at this prick. He was right though. Where would we go, though? "I guess...I guess we'll just have to wait it out here for now."

"Are you nuts?!" Ben shouted.

"Do you have any better ideas?!" I screamed.

He was taken aback, "N-No...I don't...."

Then it hit me like a train, "Oh no....I'll be right back!" I then ran out the kitchen back door, stumbled over the fence again, and into my house before Ben could object.

"Oh hi, honey!" My mother was heading up the stairs, "Did you need something?"

"Yea...Yeah!" I gasped for air, "Out of my way, please!"

I ran upstairs and grabbed the laptop given to me by Ben's father, A.K.A. the odd homeless dude. I also snatched my charger, but no one really cares about that. Since it looked like my other laptop, I figured my mother wouldn't notice. I then ran back to 'Kevin's' house.

Back at Ben's accommodations, he was obviously pissed at me for just sprinting out of there like Usain Bolt, "Why did you..." he trailed off when he saw the laptop and charger.

"Yeah....Yeah..." I felt like I ran a mile or ten. I'm not athletic, like I said before. However, I did remain healthy with exercise, just not that kind of exercise.

"Is that the laptop he gave you?" He walked up to me and hesitated to grab it, like it was going to snarl at him or something.

As I regain my oxygen, I answered,"Yes, it is. He said it had stuff on it you couldn't find on the Internet." I figured if we're going to be allies, we needed to be honest with one another.

"So they want to kill us for hacking into medical records and viewing them, but they do the same thing and it's perfectly fine?" His nostrils flared.

"I didn't do that..." I reminded him.

"Right...Right...I was the one who did that. I was set up by the way," He raised a finger for emphasis as he grabbed my laptop and tucked it under his right arm.

"Set up?"

"Long story; come with me." He yanked me with his free arm and practically dragged me to the right, past the living room, and into the back of the house. We stopped in front of this door that was splintered and looked older than the rest of the house.

"What's wrong with the door?" I had to ask.

"Nothing, it's what's past it that counts."

Confused I let him open the door and I wish I hadn't. There were computers everywhere of all types, ages, sizes, you name it...he probably had it. The room was the size of a small cafeteria. There was even a main frame in there. My mother used to work in information technology, so I had only heard about those things. Seeing one in person was, well, amazing. "What....What is this, Ben?"

"The computer room."

"Not very creative, but okay..." I strolled past him and looked around. There were computer parts scattered in different piles. It was organized chaos, as they say. I then sauntered to the main frame, but I didn't touch anything. I felt like I was in the Smithsonian and I couldn't touch anything. I had my hands behind my back the entire time around the big monster of a machine. Suddenly, I noticed Ben already logged in my newly acquired laptop, "How did you get in?" I ran over to the standing genius.

"Like I said, I know everything you don't want me to know about you, Sweetheart." he used his left hand to pinch my cheek, which hurt. Meanwhile his other hand was holding the laptop up and he stood upwards. He then returned his hand to type.

I noticed that he was left handed, but he touched me with his right hand to comfort me on the sofa. So I asked, "Are you left handed?"

"Most of the time, no. I'm ambidextrous, though. I hope you know what that word means, drop out."

I glared at him, "Yes, I do know what ambidextrous means, Mr. Harvard."

He glanced at me without moving his head with his blue eyes being drowned out by the bright screen, "Then tell me, what does it mean?"

"It means that you use both your right and left hand dominantly, duh."

"Well that definition is definitely not going into the Webster dictionary anytime soon." Ben chuckled darkly as he switched hands as one must have gotten tired holding the laptop.

"But I'm right?"

"You sound unsure...that's not good...but expected of a drop out."

I gritted my teeth and snarled, "Would you SHUT UP!" He stopped typing and turned his head to look at me with raised eyebrows with the 'excuse you' look. I continued to glare at him for a moment until I groaned and stormed out of the room. I didn't leave the house like I should have. I just sat in the small hallway and began to cry. Everything just came to me all at once. I was going to die a drop out loser who achieved nothing in her...his....their life. I don't even know what gender I am anymore. I know I'm not a guy, let's be real here. I just never got validation that I was a girl so I thought maybe being a guy would make me happy. "I'm such a mess...." I wept quietly to myself. When I came out on social media, my friends were so happy for me. It's like they wanted me to do it. I looked to the off-white ceiling and let the tears fall. I shut my eyes then and wanted to scream, but I knew screaming wouldn't help anyone...especially me.

The rickety door then opened to Ben, who I glanced at numbly for a moment. He then leaned against the wall and slid down to sit next to me. I just stared into the wall across the narrow corridor. He finally spoke after a minute of nothingness, "I'm sorry."

"You're just saying that for your own sake. That's what apologies are for....selfish people with guilt."

"You're absolutely right, Dakota. I am selfish; I always was. Everything was handed to me on a silver platter. You....not so much. I get that. I---

"You're wrong, Ben. Everything was handed to me on a silver platter. Your stuff was handed to you on a gold platter. I rejected the system, you didn't. I---

"No, no, and no," He had cut me off, "Your life wasn't the most luxurious. Yes you rejected some things you probably shouldn't have, but you weren't given everything on a silver platter."

I shifted myself to look into his cerulean eyes, "Tell me what you know about me that makes my life not the most luxurious as you say."

"Well your parents divorced when you were three and you were too young to understand it....that still bothers you. Not the divorce, but the fact that you don't understand it. Anyway, you also hate the fact you dropped out of school. You didn't want to, but your emotional impairment was really detrimental and no one understood that but you. Even your IEP didn't help and---

"How do you know about---

"How many times do I have to tell you that---

"You know everything that I don't want you to know....Right."

"Anyway..." I began to tune him out as he probably began to explain something about my fan fiction or something. After awhile of looking ahead of him into the old door, he must have noticed because he called me out, "Are you even listening?"

"No," I flatly spoke, "I'm not. I don't need this retelling of my shitty life." I then attempted to stand up, but Ben pulled me down by my hand.

While still holding my hand he spoke, "Sorry...again. When you know so much about a person, it's hard not to point out their mistakes."

I gave him an odd look, "I can't relate, apologies. I don't even know myself that well."

"I know, I mostly was going off your therapist's notes when I was talking."

"You hacked into my medical files?!" I was stunned, but not that stunned. It was a weird feeling.

"Well, yeah." He almost said nonchalantly.

I sighed melodramatically and looked towards the ceiling, "Jesus Christ, Ben!" I then felt him slowly rubbing his thumb on my hand that he was still holding. I gazed down at it and so did he. We then looked at each other with wide eyes and simultaneously let go like we were touching something really gross.

Then we turned away from each other. It was now quiet; too quiet. I had to say something, but what? He then spoke before I could think of anything, "Do you want to know what I was typing on that computer of yours?"

"Um...sure?" At least Ben changed the awkward subject to something more pressing.

"Codes that will hide our location so we can stay here."

I turned to face him once more and he followed suit, "Explain, please."

He then stood up and held out a hand to help me up. I gladly accepted and we both went back into the computer room, as Ben calls it. He then pointed to the computer and let me log in and everything seemed normal. I looked to him dumbfounded. Ben finally spoke, "I installed the program I invented, Blue Dragon, which hides your IP address completely from sight. You're pretty much anonymous. It's meant to piss everyone after you off when you're hacking. It's how I got into your medical records, along with other things I wasn't supposed to get into."

I just stared and nodded. Then I averted my gaze back to the screen and remarked, "So how did you get caught?"

"A guilty conscience...and a nosy father."

"Ah, that I can relate to."

I could feel Ben smile but not that happy smile....you know that one. I call it the depressed smile. The 'ha, ha, ha, not funny' smile. For once I felt sorry for the rich snob. Then I remembered he thinks I'm some dumb ass and then I didn't anymore.

Then I remembered when he was holding my hand and rubbing it with his thumb. It felt so...wonderful. I felt my cheeks turn pink. I shook my head slightly in that thought since he was standing right there as I was looking at a computer screen. You don't think of him like that, I thought, Yes you do, asshole.

"Is everything alright?" Ben asked.

Oh yeah everything is okay...just the fact I'm interested in a guy that wanted me dead and is way out of my league is no biggie or anything! "Yeah, just taking it all in," I said. It's not like I was lying.

"Okay..." He didn't sound too convinced, but he didn't press. Thank goodness he did not press.

This is gonna be a wild ride, I thought, one wild ride.