Benny's POV
Again a nightmare, I woke her up it was the only thing I didn't want to wake her up but I did and instead of saying anything she just took me in her arms and helped me, she told me to lie down on her belly to calm down I did and when I calmed down she started stroking my hair and I calmed down quite a bit. I fell asleep after her she was very sweet how she was sleeping and I lay back down on her belly again please no more memories no more I can't take it I thought and tried to go back to sleep but I couldn't get up I got up and went outside,I opened the first drawer and took the packet out and took a cigarette, it was 6 in the morning and I was smoking this cigarette trying to think of something else to try and get some sleep in the 2 hours I had left, something snapped me out of my thoughts "I thought you were asleep again" she said and leaned against the door to the room "I couldn't" I said and she came over to me and leaned in front of me "you can talk to me, tell me what's bothering you, it's hard I know but I can listen" she said she wants to help me again why? "why are you doing this?" I asked her "what?" She replied "this caring thing you don't even know me well and you're playing psychologist" I said and got up from the chair "I just want to help I've been through these situations with nightmares" she said and stood up "you don't know anything about me" I said while putting out my cigarette "I can find out" she said and looked me in the eyes "why?" I asked her again "because you showed me that behind the facade of the chess player and the annoying guy who wants to win there is someone with feelings there is someone with problems and memories he can't forget" she said. I walked over to her and grabbed her hands "go to sleep we have matches in a few hours" I said "fuck matches for once in your life" she said this is the first time she has ever cursed and looked at me "let's go to sleep" she said and looked at me ready to say 10 different things I gave her the answer I was going to give "okey"I said and she smiled "let's go to sleep and sometime in the far far far away boring future maybe and I stress it MAYBE i will talk to you" I said "And that's good enough for me" she said and turned her back and walked to the room.

Elena's POV
"Can I lie on top of you again ? Before I calmed down enough while you stroked my hair" he said and I nodded my head in affirmation and he lay on my belly again and I stroked his hair, I wonder if anyone else has ever seen him so sweet, agitated, with nightmares and all the things I see now. Maybe Beth but I don't know I don't want to ask him so this time I made sure he did fall asleep and I did too.
The alarm clock was ringing and I got up and hung up "good morning princess" he said "good morning" I said and looked at him "we have to get up, don't we?" He said "yes we should "I said and he complained he wasn't having another nightmare and that's a good thing, he didn't get up he grabbed the pillow next to him and lay down again I got up and went inside I looked in the kitchen and found glasses and made coffee and looked at his house (since he's sleeping let him sleep some more) I looked at his award shelf and all the magazines that had come out for him. The clock read 8:20 and I got my clothes and changed I fixed my hair back into a bun after it got messed up in my sleep and went to wake Benny up again "Benny?" I said "mmmmm" he said nice like my best friend and he said "get up we have to go to the hotel to get ready we play" I said and he looked at me "we have to huh?" He said "yeah I have to" I said and he got up and I gave him the coffee I had made "you're already dressed and ready especially after such a late night how can you?" He asked me "I'm used to waking up early no matter what" I said "sorry for before and for waking you up and for talking to you like that it's just not easy and of course it hasn't happened when there's someone next to me so I don't talk about it" he said and drank some of his coffee I sat down next to him "why don't you talk about it? To a friend of yours someone close to you,there will be someone to listen to you" I said "I can't, if I talk about it it will change everyone's opinion of me, the only time I didn't have nightmares was when Beth was here and we were talking and we were playing chess and all that generally I was pretty oblivious she was kind of like an anchor for me she kept me away from a lot so I was trying to keep her from drinking because it's an addiction and she was getting more addicted every day and I needed her here,she lost in Paris from Borgov and I was begging her to come back to New York and not go to Kentucky, she preferred the drink to me and many times and after that when we talked on the phone I knew she was there we had fought for a while but I backed off I helped her win against Borgov and after that she had come back here and I had been there many times but unfortunately she left" he said and looked at his glass saddened by the whole situation "I wish I had known Beth she sounds like a very nice person she sounds interesting" I said and he laughed "she was an interesting person for hours and hours I wanted to beat her up but I couldn't get my heart going no matter how much she got on my nerves" he said "I know that feeling so I'm like that with my best friend just the difference is that I beat him up" I said proudly "haha poor guy" he said "no poor guy at all one day he was bothering me so much for stupid reasons like Elena can I tell you uh I tell you, come what may, nothing, nothing at all, he did it once and I was full of faith, hey listen, listen what happened, tell me, nothing I would have beaten him up" I said "I liked him already" he said and I begged him never to meet him!

Benny's POV
"Get up it's 8:40" she said I got up and put on a black blouse Elena took the coffees and went out into the living room she had left on the chair in the room the clothes she wore yesterday folded there. After I got dressed I went out and went to the bathroom and she was sitting at the table with the chess board doing a little practice. I came out of the bathroom I got my jacket and my hat and got up she got her coat and her purse and went to the door,I opened the door for her and she walked out,we walked to the car and started for her hotel the morning air is cold and it wakes you up we arrived at the hotel at 9 and Elena went upstairs to her room to change and I sat at the bar and got a coffee after a while she came down and she was wearing a knee length dress in dark blue and black heels she stopped at the reception and got something and came flying in front of me the magazine "BENNY WATTS AND WRESTLER" "great they hadn't had an article" she said "again good it's up and it's small it's not front page that is" I said and opened the magazine "the famous chess player Benny Watts now and wrestler yesterday June 17th 1970 defended the new player in the chess world Elena Michaelson as she was "attacked" by an unknown man for her dressing, Mr. Watts attacked him in a violent way since as he mentioned to the man he is the boyfriend of the young chess player and he does not accept anyone to talk like that to his girlfriend or any other girl in general,Benny Watts recently had a draw in the game with Elena Mackelson was it really a real game or did he let her win just because she is his girlfriend. I hate them I can't even read the whole article with all the bullshit they write" she said "come on slow down they're about to put out an article about how I'm training you and bullshit" I said and drank my coffee "I'm going to the board to check with who we're playing" she said and got up and left again I looked at the magazine they had an article dedicated to Beth "7 years since Beth Harmon's victory over Harry Beltick and the first appearance of the queen of chess, how did it all begin? Beth Harmon having a great love for chess from a young age entered the Kentucky games in 1963 and beat even the most powerful players,this appearance was a great development as in just 5 years she won the title of world chess champion, her inglorious end cost many in the chess world,nothing will be the same in the chess world as she is missing her queen as the 6 times US champion and very good friend of her Benny Watts had said. The causes of her death are still unknown to many." It's been months since she died why they still want to know about her why they still make so much about her "you play a guy named Lenny in 30 minutes and at the same time I'm playing Basil and then winner to winner" she said and sat down next to me "oh sorry I didn't mean to interrupt what you were reading" she said "no no it's ok I just saw the article and wanted to see what they wrote" I said "some coffee and let's go if it's ok" she said and we took the last few sips of coffee we had.

Elena's POV
I went to my bank and sat down I was playing white and I had the lead, he's good, Bazil plays very well but I know that if I push him I'll win and I did and I pushed him enough so he could get nervous but he doesn't get nervous easily I was calm enough to look at him and that's the only way he got nervous "can you not look at me like that?" He said "it's difficult because I'm watching your movements to play afterwards but at the same time I'm watching your reactions" I said and I looked at him again and he looked down the board we played 3 or 4 hours close together and he gave up after a lot of pressure the truth is I don't want to play with Benny again because it will be difficult we became friends and we became close enough it will be quite difficult to play against each other. I went over to his table he was still playing, he has a very determined way of playing when he gets stuck or thinks he's playing with his ring at that moment he looked at me I felt that weird shiver again that I feel around him he made a move and he was open to checkmate and he did I checkmated his opponent I shook hands with him and he got up and came to me "tell me you didn't win" he said "I'm going to make you sad, I won" I said and smiled "so in two hours we play together, again" he said and looked at me "unfortunately or fortunately yes we are playing together come on can you excuse the new US champion from now on" I said and he laughed "nah I want to do it 7 times winner USA next year won" he said "I'm not going to Europe without that title Mr. Watts" I said "Miss Michaelson you're going to Europe and you're going to win more titles there" he said and I rolled my eyes.
After two hours
And the moment came when Benny and I were playing each other again, we shook hands and we started playing and I had white every time I had to think about what opening I was going to make and we all started playing one and our game became more pressing, one on my side and one on his side, many times he looked me in the eye and I felt this shiver all the time, is it just me? And if so, why do I feel it? What is it? "I think you can give up" he said and laughed "I never give up" I told him and we laughed even though everyone was looking at us. A long time passed as we played and no one gave in.
Bennys POV
We play for a long time and no one backs down.Many times we look into each other's eyes and I feel this strange feeling I wonder if she feels the same every time she looks at me, I want to talk to her about everything about what has happened in my past she is the first person who has seen me wake up in my sleep from nightmares like this she is trusting I know it I just don't talk I can't talk about it. The game was hard and I'm just thinking what move to make but the move I made was wrong I gave her a lead "tie?" She asked me "no" I told her and I threw my king down everyone was freaked out to see me give up so we shook hands and I got up to leave "Benny! I thought you weren't going to let me win" she said "yeah but I was wrong I gave you the lead so I decided to leave the game and I'll beat you some other time" I said and walked away "did something happen?" She asked me "no... just... here I don't know how to treat you you're the first person to see me like this and I'm embarrassed" I said and she came and hugged me I wasn't expecting it "normally treating me like a friend isn't that bad, we all have or have had nightmares about something we couldn't forget" she said "even you?" I asked her "even me don't look at me like that my family is the worst" she said and looked at me she looked like she was about to tear up but she didn't allow herself "anyway the tournament is over I have to go upstairs to pack my stuff tomorrow I fly to LA" she said "why don't you sit down for a while?" I asked her "because I have my house there, I'm staying in a hotel here" she said "stay a little longer, only two weeks" I said "I don't know if I can" she said "please stay, I'll put you up" I said and hoped she would say yes as she was thinking about it and biting her lip "ok" she said spontaneously I smiled "but I won't sleep in your bed I'll sleep on the mattress also you'll help me pack my stuff and in the morning you'll wake up when I call you" I said "ok ok" I said and we went up to her room and packed her stuff, I need her close to me. She's the only one I think I can open up to after all these years.