The Ball: Part 15 (Lauren)

When we last left our hero, he had a long day. A ball, a date, and an epic battle between good and evil, all on a Saturday night. - Lauren

"Cassandra," said Sven, "it's been a wonderful night and all, but I think I should be getting home."

"What's wrong, Sven?" asked Cassandra. "Were you seriously wounded and now you're  going home to work on the cure but you won't find it in time and your last thought will have been that you wished you could see my face one last time?"

"What?" said Sven.

"Nothing," said Cassandra quickly.

"No, it's just that I don't want to wear this costume anymore."

"Ben needs a ride home."

Sven glanced over at Ben's prostrate form. 

"Why doesn't his fiancée give him a ride?" smirked Sven.Nicole was talking to Helen Excalibur. Helen had her hand on her sword and looked like she was considering severing Nicole's talkative head from her body.

"Maybe you'd better go interfere.." said Sven.

"All right," said Cassandra. "Goodnight, Sven."

She stood up on tiptoe and gave him a quick smooch on the cheek.

"Goodnight," said Sven. "Cassandra..."

He watched dreamily as she strode purposefully toward the group.

"Hello, Nicole," she said. "Nice ring. Is that..."

Cassandra looked closer. 

"A suicide ring?"

"Of course not," laughed Nicole. "Okay, you have to hear all about the proposal. So I was walking and I saw Benny and I like screamed 'Benny!' and..."

Helen made strangling motions at Cassandra. Cassandra ignored them.

"Speaking of Ben," said Cassandra, cutting through Nicole's retelling. "Where is he?"

"Benny?" said Nicole, turning around. "Benny! I have to find him!" 

Nicole turned around and ran off.

Cassandra winked at Helen. Helen looked extremely relieved. She pushed her sword back into her sheath.

While Cassandra was insuring that Nicole was not decapitated, Sven was hoisting the unconscious Ben onto his shoulder. After a brief good night to the Chief Captain and refusing an invitation to stay and party with Dor, Cap'n Cino and Plucky, he stepped out into the night air. Clicking his heels together, he activated his rocket boosters and flew up to the top of an apartment building. He dumped Ben on the roof.

"Ben," he said

Ben lay unmoving.

"Ben," said Sven in a sweet, Nicole imitation.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" screamed Ben, sitting up. He wiped sweat from his forehead.

"Oh good," he said. "It's you, Sven. I had this horrible dream. You'll never guess what it was."

"Hmmm, let's see, how about you and Nicole getting engaged?"

"Hey, how'd you know? Wait a minute..." Ben eyes widened in terror. "It's true? It really happened?"

Sven nodded grimly.

"Nooooooooooooooo!"

"Keep it down," yelled a tenant out the window. "We're trying to sleep here."

"Sorry," said Sven. 

"Sven," said Ben desperately. "Sven, help me."

"What am I supposed to do, Ben?" said Sven. "You proposed to her, and you can't go back on your word."

"But it was an accident!" said Ben.

And he told Sven the whole story.

Sven shook his head.

"Only you, Ben," he said. "Only you could propose to someone on accident."

"Sven, you've gotta help me!" pleaded Ben.

Sven shook his head. "Sorry, cuz," he said. "You're going to have to go through with it."

He patted Ben on the shoulder.

"I'll be your best man," he offered.

Ben keeled over again in a dead faint.

Sven rolled his eyes and slung his inept... ahem, I mean inert cousin over his shoulder.

Check back next Monday as we start an exciting new chapter in the Spoon Suit Man story - The Attack of the Klowns!

Read the next section: Attack of the Klowns: part 1 (Lauren)