"You live here?" You said, Amanda clutching onto your arm and swaying back and forth slightly. She was wearing Benny's hat and giggling like a schoolgirl.

After a night in Monte's, Benny opened his place up for afters for everybody. You were all stood outside a town house in lower Manhattan. It was impressive.

Benny only chuckled. "No—I live here," He pointed to the floor, where just visible was a small door to the basement. You grimaced, and Matt laughed at your expression.

"Everyone reacts the same way to seeing Benny's place. Beth did it too. She told me she thought Benny was about to kidnap her,"

"But it that sense, he actually did kidnap her, for five whole weeks," Kayden chimed in.

Benny finally got the door open. He looked back, flicking his hair out of his eyes. "Stop spreading misinformation!" He sent a smile your way. "They're a bunch of lying assholes, Y/N."

You sent him a smirk. "Innocent until proven guilty."

You all followed Benny inside. You plopped Amanda on a collection of cushions in the corner of the main room; she was content with laughing to herself about the fact she had a cowboy hat on.

"Boys, lady, drinks?" Benny said from the fridge. He shut the door with an armful of beers. He tossed a can one by one to Kayden and Matt, then held the last one in the air, stare on you. You nodded, and he threw it right at you—you caught it with one hand and opened it with the other.

You'd be lying if you said you weren't paying attention to the way Benny looked at you while you did it.

Benny joined the boys while you made your way around the room, checking out the various books, vinyl records and posters Benny had. On a table to the side sat a copy of Chess Review with his face on the cover. You picked it up with an amused expression and turned to him.

"Something to boost your ego when you feel down?" Matt and Kayden snickered at his expense. Benny only stood up and took the magazine from you, annoyed smile on his face.

"What? I'm not allowed to be proud of the things I do?" He sat down again and started flicking through the pages. "This interview was the best one I've done—,"

"I know," You interrupted, while you sat down on the concrete floor and crossed your legs. "I read it," You gulped down some beer, not expecting to see the expression that Benny was giving you.

He looked positively stunned, like you'd simultaneously impaled him and given him a kiss on the cheek. "I thought you didn't play chess?"

"You don't play?" Matt added.

You let out a sigh, thankful for the alcohol in your system. It made it easier to think about chess and separate it from him.

"I've never played a game, no." You replied. "But I've read practically every book and magazine about chess in my family home," That slapped a grin on Benny's face.

"You've read my book?"

"When are you gonna shut up about your book, man?" Kayden said, downing half his beer can, Matt laughing at his side.

"Yes, I read your fucking book," You chuckled out.

"But you've never played?" Kayden said. You were getting tired of it at this point.

"No—Jesus, I've never played. Why does that seem to stun you all?"

They all went silent as they thought of their responses. You knew they were about to mention your father. You felt drunk enough to be able to act like he was alive—pretend, just for now, that he wasn't buried six feet beneath the ground.

"You're gonna ask why, with a father like him, I've never played one single game, right?" Their silence revealed the answer; yes. You took a gulp of beer, licking your lips afterwards. "Until Beth Harmon came along, I never thought a woman could actually be a chess player. Not to mention I hated the way I was spoken to at tournaments, even as a little girl," Their faces were in deep thought as they listened intently. "Look—I know how to play chess. I could do it with my eyes closed. But with him, my dad, how the hell would I ever have been able to play chess next to the likes of him?"

They still didn't speak, too afraid to cross a line. You sighed again.

"The only time I haven't felt out of place at a tournament was, well—Las Vegas, a month and a half ago." Benny was the first to meet your eye at that. "I guess I owe that to you, Benny," You gulped down the rest of your beer, not wanting to feel his stare on you after your words.

"Well— do you want to play?"

Your heart immediately dropped to your stomach. You watched in silence as Benny, excited smile on his face, grabbed a chess board from his room. He laid it out on the floor as your pulse accelerated, almost to the point of eating your insides.

You looked up at him, fear washed all over your face.

"One game," He said, raising one finger to the sky. "Speed chess. It's over faster," Kayden jabbed Benny in the side.

"No, it's 'cause you're better at speed chess than normal,"

"I—," You stuttered. You looked at Matt and Kayden for any kind of support, but they seemed to want you to play as well. "I don't know," Your voice trailed off.

"You know you can play. You've seen this a thousand times, read about it in hundreds of books. You just have to play."

You wanted to yell at him, scream in his face, but you were too focused on the board. The way it glistened in the drab basement light, the way all three of them were staring at you in anticipation—

You wanted to play.

You just didn't know if you were any good in practice.

It was daunting, being face to face with a chess board and a champion. It was daunting, thinking about how much you'd revealed about your chess knowledge—

But you wanted to play.

For the first time, perhaps in your life, you wanted to play a game of chess.

"I need another beer first," You said, and Benny jumped up from his seat, practically skipping to the fridge to grab you one.

"Heads up!" He yelled, as he threw a beer above your head. You caught it without moving your gaze from the board, immediately popping the top and taking four large gulps.

He sat back down, crossing his legs with excitement.

You stared at the board, the clock, the pieces, the story coming to life in your mind. You knew that Benny was good at speed chess; his book had told you so.

"Shall we place bets?" Benny said, raising an eyebrow.

"That's not fair. It's her first game," Kayden said, his green eyes piercing yours for just a second. He had a kind face. "Just let her get used to it first," That got Benny to back down, and he readied himself to start the clock for you.

He placed his hand over the clock starter, eyes peering into yours.

"Ready?"

You took in a deep breath, closing your eyes for a second. When you opened them, you smiled.

"As I'll ever be."

The next two minutes went by in a matter of seconds—

Pawn to C4—

Pawn to C5—

Knight to F3—

Knight to H6—

All the while, you clicked that clock after every move like your life depended on it.

You imagined the story—the Queen, who would sacrifice herself for her King and be brought back from the dead by a stable boy. The knight who sought wisdom from the prophet and ended up lost. The castle that had stood the test of time, finally crumbling to the ground—

A move, the clock, a move, the clock—

Benny's hair fell in front of his eyes after his second move, too encased to move it out of the way.

Kayden and Matt were practically holding their breath, and Amanda was starting to drift off to sleep in the corner, hat over her eyes and drool on her chin.

It felt like you hadn't taken a breath in so long, until you finally released one, when the game was over and done—

When the clocks had stopped ticking—

When Benny finally raised his eyes to meet yours—

When you'd won.

When it had cemented in your mind that you had done this, that you had beaten Benny Watts—a World Champion player—in the first game of chess you'd ever played—

Your body ejected the contents of your stomach.

You didn't have time to celebrate before you were running to Benny's tiny, grotty bathroom and slammed the door shut, throwing up your guts, either for drinking way too much, or for playing the game—

Either way, it didn't feel good.

You didn't know how long you were in the bathroom for, until a timid knock came from the door. "I'm coming in," Benny said through the blurred glass, before he opened up the door to reveal you curled on the floor, head leaning on the wall next to the toilet—

How embarrassing.

You didn't even feel drunk anymore—you felt exhausted. It made it seem like you vomited because of the game, not the booze, which just made your family name even more of a burden.

Benny knelt down to your level, a small smile on his face. "Come on," He said, slinking one arm around your torso and pulling you up to a standing position.

"I'm okay," You said, but even you knew you were lying.

"You just played your first game of chess and threw up," Benny said, his smile getting wider by the second. You were close to laughing, too.

"At least I won," You added, and Benny's smile somewhat faded.

"Yeah, you did win," Benny gently dropped you to floor, on the collection of cushions in the corner. You looked around, wondering where everyone else was. "Matt and Kayden took Amanda home—she was pissed. You, on the other, hand—," He paused, handing you a glass of water from the coffee table. "I think you had an anxious reaction to the game."

You sipped at the water. "How do you know I'm not just a lightweight?" Benny sat next to you, crossing his legs and grabbing his beer.

"The way you caught and opened those beers, that's how I know." He took a gulp, eyes facing forward, as if he was remembering you doing it.

"Wasn't much time for me to drink outside the house," You said, unsure of where it came from. "My roommate would always throw me drinks like that. It became a challenge. I guess I got good at it," You sipped at your water, starting to feel warmer after leaving the cold bathroom floor. You glanced at Benny, still looking at the wall. "I'm sorry," You said, and his eyes met yours. "For winning."

Benny leant towards you, a harsh expression on his face. "Never apologise for winning," His eyes didn't leave yours; it was unsettling. "It's an offensive thing to do. It makes it seem like you don't care about winning—like it wasn't an achievement you deserved."

Guilt washed over you. "I'm sorry—for saying sorry."

Benny let out a soft chuckle, finishing his beer. You downed the rest of your water, feeling infinitely better, with the anxiety subsiding and the alcohol having been throw up from your system. You glanced at the chessboard clock—it was late.

"I should go," You said, getting up slowly and stretching your arms. Benny jumped up as well, heading for the phone.

"I'll call you a cab,"

"It's okay, I live five blocks away." You replied, grabbing your tote bag and checking that you had everything.

"I'll walk with you."

Neither of you spoke on the walk to your apartment block. You had nothing to say—or you were simply too tired. You got the sense Benny didn't want to start a conversation after all that had happened, for your sake, and maybe for his own, as well.

You stopped outside the entrance to your building, turning to Benny awkwardly. This was the longest you'd been alone with the champion—a champion that you'd just beat at his specialty on your first try.

"Tonight was fun," He said, and a sudden wave of anxiety hit your stomach as he readied himself to turn and walk away.

"I'm sorry for not telling you I was moving to New York," You let out suddenly. Benny let out a sigh. "I felt like a dick when I first saw you at Monte's."

"Yeah—kind of a dick move," He replied, but he was smiling as he took a step closer toward you. "You have nothing to apologise for, Y/N. I was stupid to say it and think that you'd wanna be around someone from that side of life, at least right now."

"Evidently, you weren't stupid about that," You said truthfully, letting out a sigh. "The last thing I thought I'd be doing here was playing chess,"

Benny smiled thoughtfully, and the feeling in your gut dissipated. "You're good, Y/N. Really good,"

You sent him a sarcastic smile. "'Cause I beat you, right?"

"Not just that you beat me, but yes, also that," He took in a deep breath. "The way you moved the pieces, like you already knew where they were supposed to go. The way none of my moves phased you whatsoever," He paused, thinking on his words carefully. "You don't play like your father. You play like someone I've never seen before. You play like you."

You play like you.

Those four words were enough to make your throat close up and your eyes start to sting. You swallowed to halt it happening, trying to keep your expression soft. "I'll see you around, Benny Watts."

"Yes, you will." He replied, his soft smile turning into something deeper as he stepped backward, then turned and left.

You started the ascent to your apartment, feet scuffing the stairs all the way to the 6th floor—

Smile on your face the entire time.