Doing alright // Hardzello

Chapter 29

"I can stay?" Ben asks. Joe hums. Ben closes the door again while he walks towards the other side of the balcony. He lights the cigarette he is still holding. 
"So, er- how have you been?" Ben asks while looking over. Secretly he wishes that Joe wouldn't have said anything.
"I have been busy. A lot of work," Joe says. He is staring into the distance. 
"What about you?" Joe asks after a while.
"Same thing. Just came back from filming a movie in England," Ben says. Joe hums. 

They continue chatting for a while. Both of them try to steer away from topics that involve either of them. At one point Ben realizes, it almost feels like he is talking to an absolute stranger that just happens to look a lot like his former boyfriend. Joe slowly feels the alcohol kicking in. 
"Have you seen that recent movie of Ryan Reynolds and the Rock? With those gold eggs?" Joe asks. Ben hums.
"That was one of the best comedies I've watched in a while," Joe says. Ben hums again.
"I'm pretty sure Ryan came up with most of those jokes. It's mostly his humor," Ben says. 
"Oh, yeah. Forgot you worked with him. How is he in person?" Joe asks while taking another swig from his beer.
"Pretty chill person. I didn't have too many scenes with him, but he was really nice. Funny guy to be around. "

It stays silent for a few minutes. Neither of them dares to say anything.
"I have a pretty funny story about Ryan actually. We were at this cast party and everyone was allowed to bring in a plus one. Ryan brought his wife, Blake. He had dared me the night before to pretend the entire evening that I didn't know who Ryan was when she was around," Ben says.
"And you did that?" Joe asks. Ben hums.
"I did. The entire evening. I had a few drinks and I was totally going for it. At one point Ryan walked over to us. I pretended like I couldn't see him. Blake thought she was going crazy," Ben says. Joe playfully pushes his shoulder. Ben takes a step back to make sure he doesn't lose his balance.
"That's such a hilarious prank. Which I was there to see it," Joe says before taking another swig of his beer.

Meanwhile, Rami feels his phone buzz in his pocket. When he gets it out he hangs up before making his way over to his office which is farthest away from the party. He opens the door before calling the person back.
"Hey, Gwil. Sorry for hanging up on you. I had to find a quiet place. How are you doing?" Rami says as soon as the line connects. 
"Hey, no problem. I am doing fairly alright, I guess," Gwil mumbles. He clears his throat.
"I just wanted to call you to wish you an early happy new year. It's already way passed twelve here and I have to work tomorrow to make sure the entire building didn't burn down and to clean up all the fireworks. So, I really need to go to bed," Gwil rambles. Rami chuckles.
"Happy new year to you too, Gwil. I hope this year will treat you better," Rami says. He can hear Gwil take a sharp breath on the other side of the line.
"Thank you."

"Hey, I was actually going to call you somewhere this week. In a few weeks, I have a UK work trip planned. I don't have a schedule yet, but I am sure they gave me some time off. Let's meet up somewhere, okay?" Rami asks. 
"That would be-" Gwil pauses for a second. "Fun. Yeah, that will be fun." 
"I'll call you when I know more. For now, catch your rest mate," Rami says. Gwil hums.
"Will do. Have fun at the party," Gwil says.
"Thank you. Goodnight, sweet dreams," Rami says.
"Bye." 

Lucy has been looking around to find either Ben, Joe, or Rami. The entire evening she has been keeping an eye on Joe and Ben to make sure nothing happened.  She was pulled into a conversation and lost track of her surroundings for a little bit. When she looks around again, she doesn't see either of them. While looking for Rami, to see if he has seen them, she runs into someone else. 
"Hey, Lucy," Kaya says while giving her a big hug.
"Hey, how are you doing?" Lucy asks. 
"I am doing great. Got some pretty cool jobs lined up for next year. How about you?" 
"Yeah, same. There are some exciting projects coming up." While continuing the conversation, Lucy keeps looking around the room to find either of the three men, but with no luck.

Ben's vision is white when he runs into the apartment, bumping into various people. 
"Tell Rami to come outside," He says to everyone he can find on his way to the door. He rushes down the stairs. How he doesn't fall over his own feet he doesn't know. When he rushes outside, Joe is laying on his back. His eyes are closed. 
"Joe," Ben screams from afar. The body laying on the grass doesn't respond.
"Joe," Ben says again while he lets himself fall onto the grass next to Joe.
"Hey, Joe," Ben says again. Once more he doesn't get any response. He lightly shakes Joe's body, but he doesn't get a response. He tries to find Joe's pules, but his hands are shaking so badly that he doesn't feel anything. 

His hand shoots into his pocket to take out his phone. Without thinking twice, he starts calling the emergency number.
"911, what is your emergency?" The woman on the other side of the line asks.
"I need an ambulance on Cornwaldstreet 72," Ben says. He softly hits Joe on the cheek, hoping it will wake him up.
"An ambulance is on its way. Can you tell me what happened?" The woman asked.
"He fell off a balcony. I was there. I saw him fall," Ben rambles.

**************

Hey guys, 

Drammaaaaaa. *Evil author laugh*

The prologue slowly starts to make sense, doesn't it?

Take good care of yourself and others. Stay safe, stay healthy.

Goodbye,

Xx Itsametaphorjoe