You Can Find Me In The Space Between

Chapter Seven

a/n - guys, I just realized that formatting doesn't necessarily appear on the phone app. so big apologies for that last chapter. and all previous chapters that have text messages. oof, that must have been a real pain to try to read.

Benji was sitting at a Starbucks, capitalizing on the free wi-fi while they were still open. He couldn't believe. He had found Luke. Technically this guy was named Peter Pantazis, but then again, Reggie was now named Benjamin Klezmer. He hoped it really was Luke and he had picked up on Benji's subtle clues. They were very tricky, and he wondered if he should have been more obvious. But Michael's letter had specifically said that he needed to forget the name Reginald Peters and embrace his new identity as Benji Klezmer.

Benji saw an email arrive in his inbox. He loved getting emails. He got emails from everywhere – it seemed every store he went into, they wanted to keep in contact; they always asked for his email! He was thrilled. It was like always having a friend.

Benji knew he was supposed to leave his old life behind, but he couldn't help it. He had checked up on Butter as soon as he arrived in L.A., and also the rest of the Molinas, but he didn't want to get too close. He contemplated asking to be their dog walker, but Benji didn't think he'd be able to stop himself from hugging Ray. But he went back to volunteering at the dog shelter.

Benji opened up his inbox to see an email from YouTube. How exciting!

New Message from PeterPantazis

Hey Benji,

I saw your comments on my Now or Never cover video. I am in LA, and I know the hot dog place by the Orpheum. I also got food poisoning there.

My friends Carlos and Julie suggested we meet at the pier. Are you free tomorrow, around 12pm?

Looking forward to meeting,

Pete

Benji was a little confused. This email sounded too formal to be Pete, but then again, he did mention Carlos and Julie, so they probably helped to write it.

He quickly replied – the Starbucks would be closing soon. He said he would be there, but was wondering how he would recognize them. The barista behind the counter cleared her throat loudly, making Benji realize the café had closed 3 minutes ago, and he needed to leave. Benji took some of his change from his pocket and dropped it into the tip jar before heading out.

***

"Did he seriously just ask how he will recognize us?" Carlos asked. "He literally commented on a video of you, plus not to mention, he knows what Julie and I look like." He shook his head before grinning. Carlos had missed Reggie's antics.

"Luke – let's go get your stuff!" Ray called from downstairs.

"It's Pete, Papi!" Carlos and Julie yelled back. Pete chuckled and ran down the stairs to meet. Ray.

"So... what are you going to do about your boyfriend?" Carlos asked.

"Pete's not my boyfriend. I know he was before everything, but we haven't talked about if we're going to jump right back in or not." Julie replied.

"I meant Grant." Carlos smirked.

Julie's face dropped. Shoot, she had forgotten about Grant. "Shut up." Julie said, smacking Carlos' arm. He did have a point though. Julie was going to have to deal with the Grant situation before anything could really happen with Pete. She had been so close to ending things. If only his mom called three minutes later, it would all be done.

Pushing those thoughts away, Julie walked over to Pete's door. They hadn't really thrown out any of Luke's old stuff, but they had boxed it up. Julie had cried in his bed every night for the first few weeks, so Ray thought it was for the best. Julie hadn't been in his room since then, fearing she wouldn't be able to keep her tears in. But now, now it was going to have life in it again. She went into the closet and grabbed the box of Luke's things. She slowly pulled out the few clothes that she hadn't claimed as her own, and a few other knick knacks he had left at the house. Finally, she pulled out Luke's acoustic and electric guitars, and his song book, and placed them by the bed. She stripped the bed and went to grab fresh sheets from the basement. When she walked back in the room, she saw Pete gently holding his guitar, looking at it in awe.