This is a private roleplay between myself and ShotgunSinner. If you do not fall under those names please don't post here. Thank you.

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Name: Ben Jerry Maples
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Looks: Click
Personality: Ben is a very outgoing and flamboyant person. He likes to be the center of peoples attention and in the middle of the action. Entertaining others is a passion of his, and the way he tries to do this is with a comedy routine and his vast collection of magic tricks. Ben isn't the most studious of people, and much prefers being in the limelight. Although he does not have much cunning his quick wit is of great importance to him. Ben is a very kind person and will always put others before imself. His kindess does not extent to games though, if he loses he does get very grumpy. In his freetime he enjoys indulging his athletic desires.
Bio: Ben is your avarage guy. Growing up in a large family he learned not to expect to much from life and that he was never going to get the best of anything. The house is always crowded, but that suits Ben fine, the social stimulation is what keeps him going. However, relations between him and his father, Donaldo have become very strained as of late, as Ben tries to contain his deepest secret ever. If his family found out about his true sexulaity he fears that he will be ostracised and forced to leave the family home. Helping out in his mothers resteraunt after school has become something of a passion of his, as he has realised he has quite a unique flair in the kitchen. However, every Sunday he makes it a ritual to go to the gym and have a proper workout. A few guys from his school meet him there, that is about the extent of his social life. For the most part Ben stays at home, indulging in the creative aspects of life, be that writing, drawing or infact playing music on the old battered guitar he got for his thirteenth birthday.
Other: He has a pet goldfish called Spork and is a huge fan of Lady Gaga.

Name: Tapioca Maples.
Age: 17.
Gender: Female.
Looks: [Basistka's Gallery]
Personality: Tapioca is a very outgoing person, and is not afraid to speak her mind. Her family can tell when something is wrong with her when she doesn't talk much. She is fairly average in intelligence, even though she hates school, and she likes to express herself. She plays piano and often likes to practice in her spare time. She isn't the most popular of people, but she tends to get along with anyone, as long as they treat her okay. Friends and family come first most of the time, but she can occasionally become a little bit selfish.
Bio: Tapioca is Irish/Mexican, and is one of eight children. She loves her family, but it can sometimes be too much for her, causing her to argue with her father. Her father sent her to Catholic school, but Tapioca is yet to tell him that she is in fact athiest. She loves to express herself either through music or art, and loves photography, but her father is against this. He thinks that these things will get her nowhere in life, and tht she should work hard in school in order to get a good job. She is against this and believes that her father is often wrong. She hates going to church with her family, as she thinks that religion could tear her family apart. She is a waitress at her mother's restaurant, and enjoys talking with the customers and working with people. She never really gets a chance to mix with different people while at school so she likes the fact that she gets the opportunity at work. Even though she has friends, she feels that she can be quite happy in her own company, and has a habit to go out for walks on her own. She can be a dreamer, which often gets her into trouble at school.
Other: She loves piercings, and when she turned sixteen, she got her septum pierced, much to her parents disapproval.

Saturday was Ben's favourite day. He had a five hour shift at the resteraunt, so he was never really free. But just experimenting with the food and feeling the rush from the kitchen was just such a high for him. He never really cooked much at home, and never really planned to. But at the resteraunt it felt different, almost fun.

He went for a nice long shower before getting dressed in his white shirt and black trousers. White shirts were one of the most idiotic ideas for wearing in a busy kitchen, even with aprons over it, because no matter what, they always got stained. That was his mother though. Never a logical thinker. Fair enough for the waitresses it would be good, but no-one sees in the kitchen.

Dabbing on a spot of deodrant he grabbed his iPod and stepped into the kitchen. A round of fresh buttered toast on the breakfast bar. He picked up a bit and munched it, clamping it in his mouth as he poured himself a cup of orange squash. The kitchen was unusually quiet, so he asusmed the rest of the family were crowded infront of the TV watching early morning cartoons. They never get up early for school, but feel like Saturday and Sunday it's perfectly acceptable to wake up at seven to watch kids shows.

Sighing he finished off his juice and his toast before stepping into the living room. Sure enough, Pickles, Pork and Vanilla were all curled up round the TV, like a bunch of cats infront of the fire.

"Should you not be asleep?" Ben asked, checking the clock on the mantlepiece "It's 7am. And you know that you're not supposed to take Vanilla out of her crib. Mum and Dad said. You remember what happened last time yeah?"

"Ben...shut up..." said Pickles irritably.

"You're too old for this lark anyway!" Ben said, before checking the clock one more time. Sighing, he left the room, knowing when he was fighting a loosing battle.

Walking back through the kitchen he grabbed another bit of toast and went out the back door, the cold morning air hitting him like a shovel. He walked into the garage and unchained his bike. Cycling in the early morning was his favourite aspect of the day, and made him feel awake and energized, ready for five hours of cooking anyway.

Wheeling the bike out onto the street, he straddled it, and made his way towards the city center.

Light streamed through a gap in the curtains, making the bundle under the blankets move suddenly. Tapioca yawned before swinging her legs over the side of her bed. She stretched before wandering through to the bathroom to have a quick shower before heading off to work. Her mother had probably left already, just to set up for what was usually a busy day. Tapioca knew she'd not get much of a break, but she loved meeting different people, and was glad it gave her something to do during the day.

Tapioca wrapped a towel round her and padded back through to her bedroom to get dressed. Her red hair was slightly wavy after being washed, and she decided that it would be best to tie it back in a desperate attempt to keep it under control. She didn't bother drying it, there really wasn't much point. She went in to her wardrobe and took out her white shirt and black knee length skirt. She hated skirts with a passion, years of catholic school caused this, but put up with it because it was her work uniform. She dressed quickly and sprayed herself with some of her favourite body spray before proceeding to walk downstairs for a coffee.

After saying a quick goodbye to her siblings, she opened the front door and wrapped a scarf round her neck. She was running a bit late, but that was because Vanilla started crying and she did her best to try and calm the toddler down. Tapioca wandered along the pavement while listening to her ipod. She liked going to work, it was a chance to get away from homework and looking after her younger siblings, and it made her feel more independant. She wanted to be just like her mother, and was eagerly awaiting the day she could leave home. She loved her family a lot, it's just that living in the same house with a lot of other people could take it's toll on you.

One of the other reasons was her father, Donaldo, he was a priest, and had very strong beliefs. He could be narrow minded at times, but Tapioca knew he loved her. But she was still afraid to tell him her true feelings about his beliefs. Her mother knew, but promised to keep it a secret in order to prevent an arguement.

Ben cycled down the hill rather slowly as he sorted out his iPod. Cycling and untangling headphones wasn't the brightest of plans, but he pulled it off. Withing a few minutes he was plugged in and ready to roll. Turning it on he realised his favourite song was on, putting it back to the start he played 'Bad Romance' full blast and picked up speed as he went.

Although he was 18 he was very inexperienced in the field of romance. His father often asked him when he was going to bring back a nice girl, even suggesting girls from the parish that Ben would look good with. Ben would dodge these questions and make non-commital noises. In truth, he wasn't interested in girls, he wasn't interested in them at all. From a rather young age he knew this. He knew he was different when he started secondary school. The PE changing rooms were a disaster zone for him, so mainly he skipped PE, even though it was hos favourite class.

Although Ben had long come to accept himself for who he was, he knew that his father would not. Many of his siblings had allready brough "shame" upon the household and the family name within the parish, but he was not going to be one of them. He wanted to make his father proud, but he also wanted love. It was a slippery slope, and one that Ben didn't know what to do on, should he slither down to the bottom of his fathers respect list, or should he cling on for dear life, and risk alienating his true feelings?

Skipping the song he cleared his head. Today wasn't the day to worry about this. In the gym tomorrow he could mull it over. Today was work day however, and work was what needed to be done.

Fifteen minutes later, after listening along to 'Fire', 'Just Dance' and 'Ulysses' he arrived at the large commercial building that was The Maples Family Feed Hole. His mothers resteraunt. Ben detested the name, but all in all, it was a nice enough place. Friendly family atmosphere in one part, but a pretty banging bar in the other. Ben loved working in the bar area, now he was old enough to serve that is.

Parking up his bike he chained it up and went in the back door to the kitchen. His mother was allready there, along with a young trainee sous chef called Mark. Ben had a soft spot for Mark, and often made sure he worked next to him.

Smiling, he strode in, his working day finally beginning.

Tapioca soon approached the building that was The Maples' Family Feed Hole. She turned off her ipod and opened the front door, feeling the sudden warmth from the kitchen. It made her skin tingle, a feeling she really hated, but she'd just have to put up with it.

She wandered through to the back and placed her bag on the floor. She was all set for work, well, she thought she was, until her mother came through to say hello.
"Tapioca Maples!" She cried, pointing to her nose.
It took a moment for Tapioca to realise what she was talking about, but soon realised that it was in fact, her septum piercing...again.
She sighed, but tucked it up into her nose anyways. She couldn't see how any customers would be offended by it, but one woman complained, saying it set bad example to her young son. An over-protective parent in her opinion. It doesn't matter what parents do, the kid is going to rebel.

She wrapped a pinnie round her waist and took her notebook from her bag. She was all set, and was looking forward to the service. She wandered through to the kitchen and saw her brother, Ben standing there. She walked up to him and smiled,"Hey dude."

Ben lounged back on the counter with Mark, talking about what they had planned for the night ahead.

"Well I'm off out with a few of my friends, going to hit up that new club downtown. I heard it's a great place to pick up the chicks," Mark said, stifling a yawn. Ben smiled, knowing the early mornings didn't agree with him, and thinking that cute. "What about you?"

Ben thought for a moment. "I'm not entirely sure. I might head out for a quick drink, but I don't know. I may work on some poetry."

"Poetry?" Mark asked in shock.

"For my girlfriend. Her birthday's coming up," Ben said quickly.

"Ah, nice," Mark said just as Ben's mother entered the room.

Ben and Mark kept quiet as she explained the day's itinerery. Ben's mind began to wander though. All he could think about was the huge lie he just told. He knew Mark was straight, and maybe it was better mark thought him straight too. But it felt as if he was denying himself who he was. So what? He liked to write poems, a lot of straight men do that. Like Robert Burns. Or...well, male poets aren't that inportant. But it wasn't a sure sign of homosexuality.

"Any questions?" Ben's mother said.

Ben looked up and shook his head. He then went and grabbed his white smock top and black and white checked apron and put them on. Since his hair was rather long, even with gel in, he still had to put in a hairnet. Just after he had put it on he heard his mother scream. Tapioca was here.

A few minutes later, sure enough, he came into the kitchen.

"Hey," Ben said with a smile. "Looking forward to today?"

Tapioca smiled,"Yeah. You know I always like working here."

She wandered out of the kitchen and into the front of the restaurant. There was a few people already in, so she decided to take their orders and get everything started.
She took her notebook and pen and wandered over, before taking there breakfast orders and going back through to the kitchen. She pinned the piece of paper up and called over to her mother, Betsy Jane, whi immediatley started to cook. She may act slightly mad, but she loved to cook, and was very serious about it.

Tapioca sighed, if only her mother was this serious at home.

Ben nodded his head slightly but didn't say anything more. A few moments passed before Tapioca left the kitchen and entered the main part of the resteraunt. A few orders came in the little hatch and immeadiatley Ben's mother began cooking.

"Ben, bacon, now!" she called in her commanding voice. "And Mark, get the eggs ready! Sunnyside up!"

Ben and Mark gave each other a little glance and then both went around their work. Ben grabbed the large silver frying pan, one of superior quality to those which they owned at home. It was non stick and scrubbed up brilliantly, no matter what was cooked in it.

Taking the bottle of extra virgin olive oil he drizzled some in the pan, zig zag fashion, as he usually did, and placed it on the hob. Switching on the gas the flames flickered immeadiately. Replacing the oil in the adjacent space he looked over to his mother.

"How many orders?"

"Three all days!" she called back, her mad red hair falling out of her net. The look of concentration on her face as she cooked the sausages amused Ben.

Quickly making his way over to the refridgerator he grabbed a pack of bacon and dashed back over to the pan where the oil was gently smoking. He peeled out nine rashers of bacon and placed them in the pan, hearing the satisfying fizz as he did so.

As Tapioca waited for the food to arrive, she decided it would be best to handle some of the walk-ins. A few dudes from her school wandered in. One of which Tapioca liked. As in a lot.
Tapioca's face went white before asking one of the other waitresses to cover for her. She ran back through to the kitchen, despite the fact that her mother yelled at her. She'd already been embarassed in front of him before, she wasn't planning on it happening again.
She ran up to Ben and stared at him,"Help me!" She hissed.

Ben hummed slightly as the bacon sizzled, slowly it curled round and turned a lighter shade of pink.

"Crispy?" he shouted over the sound of sizzling and Mark singing.

"Please," Betsy Jane called.

Ben turned up the gas slightly and shook the pan, getting air and movement in while turning the bacon a lovely crisp brown colour. This looked superb, he wouldn't mind a bit himself.

Just as he tipped the cooked bacon onto a plate Tapioca streaked into the kitchen, her face pale, a stark contrast to her red hair.

"Help you with what? I'm working," he said irritably, and passed the plate over to his mother.

Tapioca stared at Ben,"No need to take that tone!" She sighed,"All I need is help with a dude, and since you're a dude, and you would know better than me, I thought I'd ask you for help!"
She leaned against the worktop and pretended to look at her nails,"Or...Mark could just 'find' that poem you wrote about him in his coat pocket..." She whispered to him. She sighed again,"Look, I really need your help, I really like this guy, and I need your advice." She paused again,"I'm begging you...please?!"

Ben's eyes widened. How did she know that poem was about Mark, or even better, how did she know that poem existed?

"You little snake! You've been in my room," he hissed coldly. "Look, now is not the time, and if you DARE go in my room again, I will break your fingers."

Ben shoved past her and dropped the play onto the hot plate ready to be dished up when the rest of the breakfast foods were ready. Casting a quick glance out into the resteraunt he signalled to Tapioca to come over to him.

"Which one?" he asked wearily.

She sighed and rolled her eyes,"I'm your little sister, snooping is what I do best, ESPECIALLY when it involves my older siblings." She smiled,"I know you wouldn't hurt me, you might be strong, but I'm your baby sister."
Tapioca followed him over and sighed,"The one with the hat." She paused,"I know there are two people with hats on out there, but it's the one with dark hair, not the blonde one. So...what do you think? Do you think you could help me?"

Ben glared at Tapioca. "If you don't want me to go and tell that one with the dark hair ALL about your little crush on him, you'll keep out of my room in future. Got it?"

He knew that it was a low blow, a very low blow indeed, but his privacy was everything to him. That feeling of having his fortress penetrated made him feel ill. Tapioca was really annoying when she went against his wishes and spied on him like that. Was nothing sacred?

"Well I don't know how? What sort of guy is he?" Ben asked

He knew Tapioca wanted opinions on guys, but he wasn't like most...he didn't know what most guys liked.

Tapioca stared at Ben, he'd NEVER done anything like that to her before. or to anyone for that matter.
"I-It's okay." She said, a little hurt,"J-Just forget I asked, okay?"
She wandered off to the front of the kitchen and took out the orders to the tables. The customers smiled and thanked her before eating there food. Their smiles got wider once they'd tasted it. Tapioca would have usually felt a little happy that the customers were enjoying themselves, but after what Ben said, it kind of really hurt her feelings.

Ben looked at Tapioca and felt awful, but she deserved it. He was sick of everyone walking in to his private space and acting like they owned it. He was sick of everyone thinking that he was 'good old Ben, good old muggins' and most of all, he was sick of being that muggins. He watched as Tapioca returned to the front of the resteraunt. Sighing, he returned to his stove.

"What was that about?" Mark asked as he added seven perfect fried eggs onto a plate.

"Guy trouble," he said softly.

"First love?" Mark said with a smirk. "You gotta love them at that age. I remember when I was that drippy."

Ben chuckled. "Yeah, me too," he lied.

Ben wanted to go and tell Tapioca that he was sorry, that he didn't mean it, that he was an awful big brother. But he couldn't. He kept up the front and returned to the matter at hand. Work.

Tapioca was too busy dealing with customers that she never noticed the other waitress walking towards her. They crashed into each other, knocking the tray out of Tapioca's hands before clattering against the floor. Tapioca was less than amused, but she managed to get up and help the other waitress get up, before walking through to fetch the mop to clear up the mess. Her mother was less than impressed.
"Tapioca Maples!" She nearly yelled at her,"What on Earth were you doing?!"
Tapioca didn't reply, and instead of clearing up the mess, she threw the mop to the floor and stormed out. It may have been a bit of an over-reaction, and she knew she'd be in big trouble once she got home, but she was past the point of caring now.

There was a huge crash out by the kitchen door. Ben and Mark both rushed over and saw that Tapioca, and another waitress named Marie, were sprawled on the floor, remenents of china plating and food were covering the imediate area.

Ben saw that Mark was chuckling, so he smirked too. Seeing that Tapioca threw a mop at his mother and stormed out he stopped. Was it him that caused Tapioca to storm out.

"Can I go after her?" he asked his mother, who was still in a rage.

"No you can not! Now get back to work! You too Mark! Marie, get this mess cleaned up!" Betsy shouted, and walked back into the kitchen.

Tapioca still hadn't calmed down by the time she reached the end of the road. She was annoyed to say the least, the whole idea of giving the poem to Mark was a joke, and Tapioca never actually meant to find it. She was looking for her belt, and when searching through Ben's room, she found it. It didn't really surprise Tapioca, she had suspicions for a good few years now, but she was pleased for him. She really was.

As for her mother, well, Tapioca was mad at her. She didn't need to be so horrible about it. It was an accident, these things happen, but Betsy Jane still acted as though Tapioca floored herself and the other waitress on purpose. She sighed and sat down on a nearby bench, hoping that she wouldn't be in that much trouble when she got home. she never noticed someone sat next to her until they cleared their throat.

Tapioca looked up and was surprised by what she saw. It was the dude she liked. Matt Baker.

Ben went back to his post, but his mind wasn't concentrated on his work, it was wandering, over to the sandy haired dream next to him.

"Hey Mark?" he said in what he hoped was a normal voice, even if it went slightly higher.

"Yeah?" he said, looking up from the pan he was scrubbing.

"Fancy going out sometime?" he said, then realised what he said and how that sounded. "Like, to a football match or something?"

"Eh...I don't really like football much," Mark said. Ben's face fell. "But, like I said, I'm going out for a drink tonight. Fancy coming with?"

Ben considered. He looked to his mother. He knew he was underage. He knew when he's drunk he'd let something slip. He knew that it went against all his common sense. But somehow, that didn't matter.

"Sure, what time?"

Tapioca smiled nervously,"Um...hey."
He smiled back,"Hi." He paused,"Are you okay? You had a pretty bad fall back there."
He seemed genuinely concerned, which made Tapioca feel a little better knowing someone cared.
She nodded,"I'm fine, a little bit annoyed, but other than that, it's all good." She felt a lot more comfortable around him now that they had got talking.
Matt smiled again,"Anyways, I've seen you around school, and you seemed a pretty cool person to be around, so I was wondering - I mean, me and my friends were wondering - if you'd like to come with us next time we meet up?"
Tapioca's smile got wider, though she tried not to let it show,"That would be nice, thanks."
He glanced down at his phone before looking back up at her,"I have to go just now, but I'll see you at school sometime?"
Tapioca nodded,"Yeah, bye."
He smiled once more before getting up and running off down the street. Tapioca smiled again, at least something good had come out of all this. Then something caused her smile to fade. What was she going to do about her father? He would hardly let her out with her other friends, let alone a guy.

Tapioca sighed, she'd figure that out later...

Mark considered, but just as he was about to answer, Betsy Jane made her way into the kitchen.

"Mark! Ben! I'm not paying you two to stand and yabber all day am I?" she complained.

"You're not paying me at all," Ben muttered, loud enough for Mark to hear, and that caused him to splutter with laughter. Mark made a cute little snorty noise, and Ben felt like his legs were going to melt.

"Mark! That soup needs prepared!" Betsy shouted. "Ben, go and chop those onions!"

Ben sighed. Onion chopping was one of his least favourite tasks, but he was the only one in the kitchen who ever got them fine enough. Resolutely, he walked towards the chopping board and began peeling onions. Several of them. Then grabbing his large knife, began to chop.

After she had calmed down, Tapioca decided it would be best to go back to the restaurant and apologise to her mother, she decided to apologise to Ben too, but she was unsure on whether he'd accept it or not.

She walked in through the doors of the restaurant and walked through to the kitchen to find her mother. She found her ordering the rest of the staff around. She stared at Tapioca as she walked up to her.
"Mum..." She paused,"I'm sorry about earlier..."
Betsy Jane stared at her again,"Get back to work!" She mumbled.
Tapioca smiled, she assumed that apology was accepted, now to go apologise to Ben...