Reality TV on Prime-Time

[The Doorman]

Robin looked towards the stairs, then to the television and to Alexander, who's awkwardness wasn't quite acknowledged by the star, "Sooooooooooooo, still have no clue what's on... I don't get much spare time, y'know... This I the closest thing I've had to a break in..." His voice drifted off as he dozed, absolutely exhausted and with this extra time he couldn't help but be knocked down by the affects of fatigue.


Ben ran down the stairs with a hand holding the hood over his face, "DON'T LOOK DON'T LOOK DON'T LOOK!" He panicked, running into a wall on his way out, his other hand holding his sleeve, Oh god I know it's still there! Being an irrational arachnephobe he was having a rough time with the idea of a spider in his water-plagued, fish-infested room.

 

[DanDanDan]

"Ben?" Alexander looked to Ben confused. "What's your problem?" He asked, getting up and walking toward him. He knew something was wrong, since he was without a mask. He wondered if this was going to be his dramatic reveal, even before the producers came with the first instructions.

 

[The Doorman]

"Shiiiiiiii..." Ben wiped blood from his upper lip with his right sleeve and found himself stunned for a short time when he heard Alexander's voice getting close, for a moment he looked over at the younger man through his fingers, bright green eyes wide with shock. "Didn't I say don't look?!" He yanked his shirt up over his head and began swinging his arms out to find a door, and when his fingers brushed against a doorknob he didn't question where he was going, he just threw the door open and ducked inside what he soon discovered to be a closet , not without first slamming the door behind himself, tripping, and crashing back-first into the wall of the tiny space, pulling his shirt back down around his neck to look around at the claustrophobic... 'Room'.

 

[DanDanDan]

Alexander got up and went to the closet. "Cover your face, and I''ll open the door for you to run out," he said, not wanting to get on Ben's wrong side by seeing his face. He wondered why he randomly stormed in - did he just want pizza? Wait- no - he said he didin't want pizza. Oh well, Alexander thought as he turned the knob and peered into the room before Ben could respond.

 

[The Doorman]

Benjamin paused a moment, sitting in silence as the knob creaked and the door opened to see Alexander, and his response was to pull his shirt back up over his head, "Where do you expect me to go?! I can't just go outside, there's so many cameras out there, and there's a giant spider romping about in my room!" He shooed the young man, "Just, I can deal with this on my own! I think?" He tried looking around, "Mm... Though, maybe it's gone..." He spoke with a slightly shaky voice and glanced over at the stairs through his shirt.

 

[DanDanDan]

Alexander chuckled seeing Ben's predicament. "You can just run up to my room if ya want, I'm not going up there anytime soon." He said through a cheeky grin. It was true though, he wouldn't want to impose on his privacy any more than he already has.

 

[The Doorman]

"Mm... But I-I... I don't think I should... Be walking around without my..." He shrunk a bit, "Mask... On... I mean... Y'know..." If his face were showing it'd be bright red from the mix of embarrassment and exertion he was experiencing, though it did show very much in his voice. He looked over at the stairs, "Maybe it's... Maybe it's gone?" Benjamin said, obviously trying to convince himself to go up the stairs and do something about his face, but still not quite sure it was the right way to resolve the issue at hand.

 

[DanDanDan]

Alexander grinned as he heard the embarrassment lacing Ben's voice. To be honest, he actually thought it was a little cute. An idea suddenly struck Alexander. "How about I go get you a mask from your room and bring it down here to you, so you can walk out of the closet in peace?" He said, thinking his idea was genius.

 

[The Doorman]

"I-I-I... I dunno about that, I think I'd be a little embarrassed if you saw... The state of the room." He gripped his left sleeve with his right hand, tempted to pull it down, though it would only result in his face flashing for the cameras and ending his façade of the man of mystery that he was to so many people, it might let them down and they would use his appearance to track him, not to mention the ever-lasting fuel that disappointment provided, the idea that they'd see what a disgraceful person he believed he was. Never. He couldn't let that happen, "Honestly, my only real problem has to be the... Giant black widow crawling around my room and laying eggs all over my belongings." Benjamin wiggled his fingers to demonstrate the movements of an arachnids eight hairy little legs trampling his things like some stalking terror that went bump in the night to scare him out of his wits.


The truth was, the spider was one of long legs and little venom, lovingly referred to as a "daddy long legs" by his baby sister and three older siblings, all spider loving traitors in his eyes.

 

[DanDanDan]

"I think I can handle a little spider. Besides, if it really is laying eggs it should be dying anyway, since spiders die after giving birth." Alexander went away from the door. "I'll be right back," he said, leaving the closet to go upstairs to Ben's room. He wondered what exactly Ben could have done to his room, since they've only been here for a couple of hours. When he walked inside the room he was in awe of the fish tank wall, and thought about how cool it must be to wake up to watching sea life. He went straight to what he thought was Ben's nap sack, and took a random mask from the bag. He pulled out what looked like a Guy Fawkes mask, making him cringe. He always found the mask a little creepy. As soon as he had the mask he skipped downstairs to slide it into the small opening of the closet.

 

[The Doorman]

"Oh god... I forgot I had this..." Benjamin sighed, retrieving the awful looking mask and sliding it over his face as his shirt dropped from the top of his head, Maybe I could... Hurry upstairs and do something about the spider myself? No, am I crazy?! He hesitantly peeked out, the tip of his white Mohawk settled awkwardly on the forehead of the mask as he pushed it out from underneath by maybe one or two slides of his slender index finger, "God this thing is... Restricting." He laughed just a bit, his bright green eyes fully exposed behind the creepy mask. "I probably look ridiculous but hopefully I won't be stuck like this for too long, wow this thing sucks." He said, still feeling quite awkward about his face being so naked in the presence of another human being. Despite this feeling it didn't take him long to rise to his full height and glance shyly to the camera in the corner, quickly looking away. "Wait, spiders die after they give bir-Oh god that's so gross!" He pulled his hands close to his chest, feeling a bit insecure about his arms being so very bare, the average temperature of the room made the hairs on his arms stand straight up, due to his adaptation to extreme temperatures in his jacket, "Is it cold in here? Maybe I'm just crazy, probably." He laughed nervously, driving his chin down into his own chest and feeling very much like a shell-less turtle in the face of a natural predator.

 

[DanDanDan]

"Are you coming out?" Alexander asked. He had stepped away from the door and everything, expecting Ben to just charge out, but it seemed he liked being in the closet. "Maybe you could go upstairs and put a few more layers on if you're that cold," he said, a small playing at his lips. He could easily hear Ben's little private conversation with himself, since it was rather loud and the door was still left ajar. He leaned against the stairs, which weren't that far away from the closet, and crossed his arms, just waiting the poor guy out.

 

[The Doorman]

(Honestly he was supposed to be outside the closet like... Three posts ago but my intention, though I did not flat out say "and he stepped out of the door like a sexy super model." My last post had the same purpose of moving him out, evicting him, whatevs)

 

[DanDanDan]

((Wait, what? I don't understand what you're saying. Is he outside or not?))

 

[The Doorman]

(Yes? Sorry, I am not always the best at being... Erm... 'Clear'.)

 

[DanDanDan]

(( I can see that, haha.))


 
"Are... are you alright?" Alexander said, raising an eyebrow at him. He found it both funny and strange to see him talking to himself in front of him. He wondered if he did this often, or if he was actually talking to him. "If you're cold, you should go upstairs and maybe put some more layers on. I know it's kind of warm out still, so if you don't have one, you can borrow one of my sweaters. I get 'em for free anyway so if you want you can keep one." he said, just trying to be friendly.

 

[The Doorman]

Benjamin looked over at Alexander, "N-no... I'm fine... I'm a man, I can't fend off a spider... But I can adjust to cold..." He sighed, "I need to get used to other people again anyways... Can't always have other people do things for you, eh?" Though in other situations, or other masks, he'd say this with sarcasm in his tone but instead spoke with prominent discomfort, he didn't even make eye contact with Alexander, it seemed as if he might've just been looking past his head at the wall behind him, "Sorry to put you through this, it's a problem, I know... I'm trying." The man laughed nervously, "S-So, um..."

 

[DanDanDan]

"Are you nervous?" Alexander asked blatantly. It was difficult not to notice how different Ben acted with a more concealing mask. He wondered if that's why he always wore a mask - for confidence. He guessed that the logic made sense - you hold the power since you've got the secret- your very face. Not to mention any expression would be hidden by the mask, whether it be a blush, a frown, or a smile. "Why are you nervous?"

 

[The Doorman]

Benjamin sighed, making the guy deal with his problems he deserved at least some answer. "I'm just... Not used to being so... Exposed." He said quietly, feeling a bit paranoid about the camera glaring down at his back, piercing through his skin and finding out all of his secrets. Tattoos on his neck and arms were prominent in the light, especially the one on the back of his head, obscured slightly by his white hair, '#1102', he'd long since forgotten it's source, but his suspicions had always come back to prison, memories created after the incident that marred his bright smile were sparse unless found in recent years or the far past, a five year gap between now and then came back to his thoughts as he remembered how he'd- "A-Anyways..."

 

[DanDanDan]

"If you don't like that mask you can go change it, you know," Alexander said, practically tasting the awkwardness in the air. "I can go with out to take care of the spider, if you want." He suggested kindly, just wanting Ben to not feel so shy anymore. He had to get used to the cameras soon, since for the next two months the camera will be on 24/7, documenting every little aspect of his life.

 

[The Doorman]

"No, no, I'm fine, really... I really do need to get used to at least showing this much of myself if I ever want to get back into the swing of things. It's not much of a life when you can't bear to show your own face." Benjamin looked back, seeing Ron unconscious on the side of the couch. "Did he pass out? Geez." As is the life of a super star, I suppose. He glanced back at Alexander, "Oh well, I guess I'll have to get used to all of it, the cameras, people, interacting. It's life, and this is exactly what I signed up for." He cracked his knuckles purely out of habit as he noticed yet another camera.

 

[DanDanDan]

"Try not to look at the cameras so much, they can't really air that unless you're having a violent break down." Alexander chuckled at Ben's expression when he saw the camera. Even though he wasn't exactly used to the cameras, he's at least had some experience with them, especially during the filming of his documentary when he was at his peak teen-star reputation. "Do you want to watch a movie?" He asked, going back to the living room. He mentally cursed himself when he realized the pizza would already have gotten cold, and he'd have to microwave it.

 

[The Doorman]

"How can I just forget the cameras? I'm not used to it, it'll take at least the night to try and ignore the glaring of the public's eyes." Benjamin sighed after that statement and thought a moment, instinctively following Alexander into the other room, "I guess it wouldn't hurt... A lot better than spiders and paranoia... And fish." He shuddered at the though of his room, which was riddled with phobias and possibly insects amongst his belongings, the fact that this was a reality show left his mind for just a moment before it returned and drove him to look over his shoulder, not seeing a camera behind him as he'd expected. Chill, Ben, you look ridiculous.

 

[DanDanDan]

"Oh yeah, I saw your room. It looks pretty amazing. How do you not like it?" Alexander asked, plopping down in his normal seat on the couch. He went to take a bite out of the pizza he hadn't finished yet, but was disappointed it wasn't as hot anymore. He was too lazy to get up and warm it, so he just finished the slice anyway. "If you want," he said, after finishing chewing of course, " we could trade if you really don't like it. My rooms got a nice view of the ocean, and it's very simplistic."

 

[The Doorman]

"How do you like it?! I mean, I have a phobia but even so, the design isn't all that great and it's pretty cramped, I mean" Benjamin began to ramble about design and color schemes when he noticed he'd wandered off-topic and gave a nervous chuckle to the situation, "Sorry..." He sat on the other side of the couch to avoid making the situation weird, remaining tense instead of relaxing, his eyes focusing on the screen a moment before they wandered. "Um, sooo... Television."