[ Ben scoffs, as if greatly injured by her mockery, but a grin shortly follows. if it dims, the difference is slight and he hopes it isn't enough for her to notice. she says it almost like she's taking it for granted ( or maybe that's his biased hearing ) because she doesn't know how lucky she is to have someone from home here with her. but, Ben thinks, he'd probably do the same the instant his brothers were here and they were around to argue with him daily. ]

Believe me when I tell you that you have the better of the two deals. [ he's not envious of her, per se, but there is a pang. ] The quiet isn't everything it's cracked up to be. [ nope, not a good note to leave that sentence on. ] And I bet your neighbors don't watch Fantasia every night at two AM.

[ he keeps daydreaming about a normal life where Lexi locks herself in the bathroom for hours and Matt and Hal bang on the door, irritated, bickering as siblings do. Anne and Tom sitting somewhere in the living room, rolling their eyes to the heavens, having kissed silence and lecturing their children on being kind to each other behind. it sounds awful but it makes him smile fondly.

which is neither here or there when Allison sits down beside him, pulling him out of reflection and straight into hyperfocusing on how close she is to him. ]

Oh, in that case, I hope you brought eighty bucks with you. [ ..god, the T-Rex is going to win. ]