APRIL 1997, MIDDLE SCHOOL YEARS
"Wow, Ben, you've been working out really hard, haven't you?"
"I had to miss McNeil." Ben shrugged as he sat on the sidewalk, drenched in sweat. He forcefully slowed down his breathing so as not to look like a panting dog.
Kiera McNeil is another heroine in the novel. The milf next door, the first woman OG Ben f*cked, was the one who taught him how to please women and was the primary reason Ben became a womanizer.
In the novel, she succumbs to depression following her husband's death, overwhelmed by stress, loneliness, an extended lack of intimacy, coupled with Ben's growth spurt, and a series of coincidences. Eventually, the two come together in passionate encounter.
Looking at her, he had to agree that she was indeed as attractive as the novel described. Adorned in tight leggings, a sports bra, and sneakers, drenched in sweat, her smooth skin reflected a healthy glow; her dark brown hair was slightly wet, complementing her green eyes, making her exude a mature and fresh charm.
'Unfortuntely, her husband was still alive and kicking at the moment.' Ben mused to himself and at the same time felt hilarious at himself.
Normally, MCs try their best to save characters that should've died in those crossover fanfics because, why not? However, in his case, he wished for Miss McNeil's husband to die.
'Damn, I'm really evil, aren't I? ,' Ben chuckled to himself.
"Oh, you had to; otherwise, you won't impress Addriane~" Miss McNeil teased, interrupting his inner monologue as he stared at her speechlessly.
"..."
Why is he being teased anyway?
*FLASHBACK*
A month ago.. The second day after crossing, he decided to start creating a workout schedule to accelerate his growth spurt. Honestly, he doesn't really know the principle behind it, but based on his meta-knowledge, it should be possible.
I mean, OG Ben, without working out or taking any kinds of supplements, managed to grow several inches in a few months (naturally on top of that)... In theory, he should be able to do the same, and coupled with bits of exercise, accelerating the process should be possible.
Meh whatever.. He doesn't really know if it would work, but it's better to do something than nothing.
The said schedule he made for himself was about: waking up at 5 in the morning, doing basic exercise like push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, and jogging for about an hour.
He had to say that it was a pain in the ass at first... The original Ben wasn't used to waking up early, so he had to spend a whole week getting used to it, and the fact that he never tried to exercise was another big hurdle, as he literally felt his whole body go numb every session during the first week.
And the more troublesome part?
His siblings, along with his parents and other neighbors, keep asking him, 'Why are you working out?' because, according to them, OG Ben was a homebody, not the type to do such a thing.
Faced with such inquiries, he ignored them, of course, as he really couldn't tell them that he wanted to impress girls and f*ck... Fortunately, or unfortunately, Brandi came up with the theory that he was working out because Addriane Dennis (OG Ben's crush) started dating another guy, which finally made everyone stop bothering him.
Or so he thought... until everyone began cheering him on (with a bit of teasing), until finally, the supposed secret crush of OG Ben on Addriane became known to almost everyone in the neigborhood.. which made him speechless.
F*ck... Dammit!
Fortunately, or unfortunately, the said girl (Addriane) was too busy with her curret boyfriend to even bother paying attention to the rumors around the neighborhood; otherwise, he really didn't know how to face her.
*FLASHBACKS END.*
"..."
"Hahah, you're so cute, Ben; don't worry, I'm sure she'll notice you when the time comes." Miss McNeil let out a sexy chuckle as she patted his shoulder.
"You think so?" Ben's eyes lit up, and looking at her, he couldn't help but ask.
He was just a man after all; even if he claimed to have experienced a few women in his previous life, he wasn't confident enough to say that he was an expert when it came to what a woman was thinking.
"Of course.. is that even a question?" Miss McNeil had a strange expression on her face, as if saying 'seriosly?'.
"Uh... even if I'm small?" Unsurely, he asked once again, and at this, Miss McNeil burst out of laughter.
"Oh my, it seems that you had misunderstood something, Ben. Girls indeed preferred bigger guys as it made them feel safe, but size doesn't matter all the time.. You're not a bad-looking Ben, smart, or charming. As long as you're confident and know how to capitalize on your advantage, you can ask any girl you want and only a few of them would decline..." Miss McNeil briefly explained, and the more Ben heard, the more he felt that it made sense.
As expected of the OG Ben's mentor, she really knows women the best.
***
LUNCH TIME, SCHOOL CAFETERIA
"Yo, Patricia, wanna hangout this Saturday? I have a two-ticket Titanic movie~" With a confident smile on his face, Ben strode forward towards the table of a group of girls.
"..."
The entire section of the canteen fell into silence as the girls and boys around looked at Ben with dumbfounded expression... Among them was the subject of his invitation, Patricia.
A sophomore (10th grade), a famous member of the drama club, and a popular school slut, she is often referred to as the hottest girl in the entire school... Women envied and men admired her, yet, at this moment, a certain nobody approached her confidently to invite her to watch a movie together.
"Holy sh*t..." Keny Doyle had long forgotten how many times he swore in his mind as he stared at his bestfriend... Ben, whom he thought was just kidding a while ago, really did it.
"..."
"... So?" Ben stared at her flirtarily, his very being was oozing with confidence on the surface, but in reality, he was actually kind of nervous.
Asking Patricia on a date was not something he decided on a whim; it was something he considered for days. He did his research and gathered enough iformation about her. Then after hours of planning and practcing infront of a mirror he finally decided to asked her out.
It doesnt matter wether she accepted it or not, for him, first of all, she was several years older than him, and she was out of his league, so it won't ruin his imaged.
She was also considered nice among the numerous sluts in the school (according to the rumors), so at least he was confident she wouldn't body shame him or anything.
Overall, it won't do him bad.. At most, he will be teased for a while, but at least he won't be seen as pathethic; hence, some might even be amazed by his bravery.
However, if he succeeds... It doesn't matter whether she had sex (which he doubted) with him or not; what matters is that she accepted his invitation and was seen by a lot of people, which in turn will increase his reputation among both girls and boys.
Fufufufufu! No matter what the result was, it wouldn't hurt him.
"Kay~" Patricia, the blonde haired chick, with a playful smile on her lips, nodded her head as she accepted his invitation.
"..."
"..."
"... I'm sorry, what?"
***
AN: Patricia is a non-canon story. As introduced above, she was 3 years older than Ben, and by the time the cannon started, she had already graduated senior high school.
(EDITED- 2X)