Long Away

Chapter 7

It was a stormy afternoon. Thick, dark clouds covered the sky, and rain pattered rhythmically against the outside of the car. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Ben hated driving on days like this. As if the weather wasn't his only problem, the road was unusually busy, and he was running late for his audition. A muffled noise came from inside the bag on the passenger seat. Someone was calling. Ben wisely ignored it, and kept his eyes fixated on the road. The wind was getting stronger. The windshield wipers were aggressively fighting off the rain and leaves that came flying onto the road. Ben cursed under his breath. He didn't have the time to pull over, but maybe he would not have a choice. His phone rang a second time. He started getting annoyed. He reached into his bag and grabbed it. He frowned. What was Brian calling him for?

A loud banging sound startled Ben awake.
"Fuck!," Roger yelled in the kitchen.
"Roger, be careful with those," it came from Freddie.
"Great idea. I never would have thought of that," Roger spat back. With a sigh, Ben rolled over. That's right, Brian called him during that car ride. They hadn't spoken to each other in a while, so Ben had no idea why. He tried to remember more, but soon gave up as Freddie and Roger continued to bicker loudly in the next room. He pulled a pair of jeans and a shirt from his drawer. He would have to do his laundry again soon. He had already been here for two weeks at this point. It was a Saturday, so the only thing they had planned for today was a band meeting in the afternoon. A few people had called about the open spot in the band and were going to audition today. Ben already knew how it was going to go, as Deaky wasn't one of them. He got dressed and stepped out into the kitchen.

Apparently Roger had dropped a bunch of metal bowls on the floor and knocked over a bag of flour on the counter. Freddie was sitting the wrong way around on one of the dining chairs, watching Roger, who was kneeling on the floor to pick up the bowls. The latter looked up at Ben apologetically.
"Sorry. We didn't mean to wake you up." Freddie glared at him.
"We? I'm pretty sure it's not my fault he woke up."
"Good morning to you too," Ben mumbled. He picked up the bag of flour before more of it would spill.
"What exactly were you trying to do?", he asked.
Roger placed the bowls on the counter.
"I thought I'd make us some pancakes," he said.
"Sounds good. Do you need help?", Ben offered.
"That's alright. I'm only half as incompetent as I look," Roger joked.
"Ben, did you finish the songs we were talking about?", Freddie asked.
"Almost. I still have to work on the second one. But I can do that right now."

Ben went to grab pen and paper from their room and sat down at the table with Freddie. He handed him the sheet with the finished lyrics to My Fairy King. It had been a bit of a struggle to remember all of the words. Now he had to work on Great King Rat, which wasn't any easier.
"Say Ben," Freddie asked when he was done reading, "what inspired you to write this?" Ben hesitated.
"Oh you know, this and that," he murmured. "The words just kinda came to mind." Freddie nodded as if that made any sense.
"Well, you certainly have a gift," he said.
Ben grew more and more uncomfortable.
"I didn't do anything special."
"We both know that's not true," Freddie whispered.
"I- I don't know what you mean," Ben stammered. Freddie looked at him unimpressed.
"Sure," he said. Ben locked his eyes on the paper in front of him. Freddie took the hint to leave him alone and joined Roger at the kitchen counter instead.

Ben nervously fiddled with the pencil in his hand. Did Freddie know something? If so, was that even a bad thing? Should he just talk to him openly already? But what if Ben misunderstood something and ended up sounding like a crazy person? He pondered and pondered, not realizing how much time was passing. Eventually Roger walked over to him, wiping dough off his hands with a kitchen towel, and peaked over his shoulder.
"Are you stuck on this one?", he asked. Ben had completely forgotten he was supposed to be writing.
"Yeah," he lied. "I guess I'm out of inspiration."
"Will it help you get your creativity flowing again if I leave you alone with Roger?", Freddie teased. Ben panicked for a second. Was it that obvious he had taken a liking to him? But then he noticed Roger blushing and it hit him that maybe the flirting that had continued on over the last two weeks had not been a joke after all.
"What is that supposed to mean?", Roger snapped. Freddie smirked.
"Oh, nothing. I just have a functional pair of eyes, is all. I'll leave you to it, dears." With that he disappeared in his bedroom.
"You have nothing to leave us to!", Roger exclaimed. His face had turned a bright shade of red. Ben caught himself staring and quickly looked away. He could feel his heart starting to beat faster again.
Roger sat down next to him.
"Sorry about that," he mumbled. "Freddie can be a bit of an ass."
"It's okay," Ben said nervously. It went quiet between them for a while. Ben didn't dare to look up, but he was pretty sure that Roger was eyeing him from the side. He inhaled sharply. This was ridiculous. What were they, fifteen years old? Even if it wouldn't end up working out between them, they should just say something already.
"Roger?"
"Yes?"
Ben finally lifted his gaze. Looking into Roger's pretty eyes, he struggled for words.
"Do you... Do you actually think it's so ridiculous what Freddie said?"
Roger hesitated.
"Do you?", he returned the question.
Ben slowly shook his head.
A hopeful smile appeared on Roger's face.
"Would you like to go on a date with me tomorrow?", he asked.
Ben smiled back at him, the happiest he had been in a long time.
"I would like that a lot."

***
Aaayo!

Here we go! I hope you guys are excited about this development. I certainly am. Until next time!

Tay