Ben (College Era)

Personality

An opportunistic, out-going young man.

Prioritizes partying and watching TV over school work, but still manages to get it done before the deadline.

Struggles with his gayness.

When drunk, he's a wild party animal.

Bio (2000-2002)

In the year 2000, 19 year old Ben moves from Seattle, WA to Northern Callifornia. There he attends college, working towards an associate's degree in being an auto-mechanic. He winds up sharing an apartment with an older student named Todd. 

Ben is a young opportunist, and hits it off at parties and managed to make a handful of friends. His friend circle includes Link, an eccentric conspiracy theorist, and Vern, the peer pressure. Vern was the guy that would egg you on to drink more, or tease you for being a wimp. Not to mention homophobic; part of the reason Ben remained in the closet. Ben hadn't accepted that part of him yet. Ben and Vern were more or less frenemies. 

Ben and Todd form a friendly bond, living together. Ben wound up crushing on the kind, hard-working nerd. Ben had heard a rumor or two about Todd being gay. Two months into living together, Ben confronted Todd about it. He had to find out if he even had a chance with a cute guy like Todd. When Todd confirmed he was bi, Ben was filled with relief, and confessed how he felt. Todd wanted to take things slowly; and not rush into anything that could ruin their bond as friends and roomies.

After dating for a bit, Todd and Ben explore the gay part of town, alongside Todd's friend, Noland. Sadly, some parts of it aren't welcoming. Ben is criticized for liking sports and other things that make him "straight-passing". Not to mention the biphobia Todd faced, and a few narrow-minded guys telling Ben it's only a matter of time until Todd cheats on him with a woman. A lot of the stigma is perpetuated by a jerk named Francis and his little clique of negative queens. Thus worsening Ben's internalized homophobia and resentment towards the gay community. 

One of the bumps in the road between Ben and Todd was over Noland's relationship with Francis. Todd was supportive and tried in vain to get Noland to understand how toxic his relationship with Francis was. While Ben couldn't understand why Noland couldn't just "dump his ass" and move on. It was frustrating for both men to see their friend stay in a relationship where he was emotionally abused.

Another bump was Ben's wild party tendencies and how drunk he'd become. He wasn't a violent drunk; no no, he was a party animal and incoherent. Plus getting involved in whatever Vern pressured him into doing.

After a while, Ben cut back on the frat parties and ended his friendship with Vern. And Ben stuck more with coffee instead of alcohol.

WIP