𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 (𝘣𝘹𝘣)

four

Benjamin takes a bite into his sandwich, his legs bouncing up and down. "You don't have to give a speech at both the wedding and the reception."

Benjamin shakes his head. "Oh, it's not a problem at all. I just wanna make sure they're two individuals pieces."

Zach wipes his mouth with a napkin. "Why don't you have a friend or something proofread? You're staying with Gabi while you're visiting right."

Olivia looks over. "Oh, yeah. We were kinda worried. You're not missing too much work are you?"

Benjamin starts blushing. He should just tell them, right? Not a few days before the wedding, they'll stress out.

Olivia looks over at Zach before lightly kicking him from underneath the table. "Benjamin?"

Benjamin looks up, reaching out to grab his cup. "Oh, uh...N-No. I'm not missing any work, I'm fine."

"Are you sure-."

"Mhm. Let's discuss your vows. Are you guys writing them yourselves? Cause, that'd be cute."

**
Noah grabs his flask from the dashboard, taking a small swig from it. He looks in his rearview mirror, making sure his hair looked alright before exiting his car.

He fixes his shirt as he walked up the driveway of the hospital.

He arrives at his moms' room, fixing his face before knocking on the door. "Mamá?"

Mr. Martinez opens the door, smiling to finally see his son. He hadn't seen him in a few days.

Selena looks up, smiling. "Oh, my mijo."

Noah holds some flowers out towards her, a smile on his face. He grabs a chair, sitting next to her bed. "How do you feel today?"

"Mm. Weak. And very exhausted. I'm glad to see you, Papi. I haven't seen you in a few days."

Noah nods his head, feeling guilty. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that."

Selena shifts in bed, sitting up a little. "How's your leg doing? Feeling better?"

"Un poquito."

Selena smiles at him. "Poquito?"

"Sí. But don't worry about me, Ma. I'm not what matters here. You're the most important thing right now."

Selena frowns and reaches out to grab Noah's hand. "Don't do that, mijo. You can't do that. You need to take care of yourself."

Noah nods and looks down at his moms' hands. "I go in for another x-ray next week and that's where they determine if I need another surgery."

Selena smiles. "And then you'll be good, right?"

Noah shrugs his shoulders. "Hope so."

*
"Your card declined. Would you like to swipe it and try again?"

Benjamin blushes and swipes his card again, but it fails again. He glances behind him at the line and reaches into his bag to grab some cash.

"I'm sorry."

The lady smiles at him. "It's okay. Happens to all of us."

Benjamin smiles back, grabbing his coffee and receipt. "Uhm keep the change. Thank you."

He turns and walks out of the Starbucks, looking up at the sky so tears wouldn't fall. He tries to calm himself down.

"Holy shit, Benjamin?"

Benjamin furrows his brows and turns to see Katen. He sighs and walks over at him. "Oh, uhm. Hi."

Katen smiles and waves. "Hi. I've been needing to talk to you."

Benjamin shrugs his shoulders. "About...What?"

"Hey, babe!" A man, taller than Benjamin walks over. He was wearing some straight jeans and a hoodie. He plants a kiss on Katen's lips. "Who's this?"

Benjamin's eyes widen as his eyes dart back over to Katen. Katen clears his throat. "Uh...A friend from high school. Hey, could you go in and get us a table?"

"Sure," The man smiles at Benjamin, giving him a small wave, "Nice to meet you."

Benjamin nods his head at him, offering the smallest smile he could muster up. Katen watches as he walks into the restaurant before turning back to Benjamin.

"Like I said...I've been meaning to reach out."

Benjamin's facial expression doesn't change as he keeps staring a Katen. "Yeah."

"We should meet up. Grab a coffee or something?"

"...Sure. Okay."

Katen smiles, holding his phone out. "Here. Put your number and I'll text you when I'm free."

**
Benjamin knocks on Noah's apartment door. He asked Gabi for his address in hopes that he'd be home.

Noah opens the door, looking down at Benjamin. "Hello, stranger."

Benjamin looks up at him with annoyance written all over his face. "Hi. Can I come in?"

Noah glances back at his apartment, shrugging. "It's messy but sure. I haven't been home in a few days."

Benjamin nods and walks in before Noah. Noah shuts the door behind himself, slipping his hands into the pockets of his basketball shorts.

"So, what brings you here?

Benjamin shakes his head and sits on Noah's couch. "Katen is gay. H-He has a boyfriend."

Noah chuckles and walks into his kitchen, grabbing two beers. "Yeah, okay. And I have a million dollars." He walks around, sitting next to Benjamin.

Benjamin puts his head into his hands. "I'm not joking."

"Are you serious? There's literally no way. He tried to kill you for being gay and now he's out in the open kissing dudes?"

Benjamin groans and leans back against the couch. "This is so fucked."

Noah sets one of the beers down in front of Benjamin, opening his and take a swig. "Is it that surprising though? I mean...Internalized homophobia is real."

Benjamin looks over at him before looking back up at the ceiling. "Yeah but...He came at me with a knife. H-He showed up at my house all because I'm gay."

Noah scratches his head and leans back against the couch as Benjamin had done. "His father is a pretty messed up man. Probably didn't know any different.

Benjamin lets out a sigh. "He wants to go get coffee together."

Noah raises his eyebrows and takes a swig from his beer. "Oh jeez."

Benjamin sits up, lifting his eyebrows. "What? Is this a bad thing?"

"I dunno. I just...Still don't trust him. He may have accepted himself but he's still a shitty person. Doesn't make up for all the racism and weird shit with Elly."

"Maybe I should cancel."

"Nah, hear the guy out. That doesn't mean you have to accept his apology. I can even come with if it'll make you feel better."

Benjamin sits up and looks back at Noah, shaking his head. "You...You don't have to do that."

"I want to. I'll pick you up and we can go see what this chatterbox has to say." Noah brings his beer back up to his lips, taking another long swig.

*