𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 (𝘣𝘹𝘣)

forty six

a/n: long chapter :p enjoy love ya

**

  Getting back into the car after his dinner with Johnathan left Benjamin feeling distracted. He knew Katen was notorious for lying solely for his benefit. Though, he couldn't pinpoint whether he truly believed he would lie about something that held so much weight. Specifically, considering Benjamin had actually met Katen's boyfriend, nonetheless having dinner with them.

Benjamin starts his drive back to Noah's apartment feeling confused, yet he still felt satisfied that he was able to reunite with Johnathan. Someone who had shown him true remorse and guilt for his contributions to the bullying Benjamin had to endure as a teen.

Walking into the apartment, it was quiet. Benjamin could hear the dishwasher running and smell the fragrance of whatever chemical spray Noah used to wipe down the counters. He makes his way into the bedroom, revealing Noah who was already fast asleep in the bed. Benjamin immediately felt bad, hoping he would make it home in enough time for them to fall asleep together.

He quickly gets undressed, then redressed in some pajamas as he quietly slides into bed alongside Noah. Noah, feeling the shift against the mattress, opens his eyes and sees Benjamin. He lets out a breath. "Hm. Just getting back?" He asks quietly.

"Yeah, sorry. We got to talking," Benjamin turns to lie on his side.

Noah nods his head, "Did he try and kiss you?" He jokes a smile on his face.

Benjamin laughs at him, resting his head down against the pillow. "No. He asked about you though."

"Did he?" Noah closes his eyes again, not to indicate he's going back to sleep, but to try and fight the restlessness from his eyes. "What'd he ask?"

"If we were still together."

"Hmph. I knew it." Noah shifts in bed a little bit. "What about his brother? Did that conversation happen yet?"

"Yeah...It was pretty interesting actually."

Noah opens his eyes, furrowing his brows at Benjamin. "Meaning...?"

Benjamin sighs and shakes his head. "I don't know. Johnathan said that the whole story Katen told, the one about him trying to come out in middle school was a lie. Which, doesn't technically take away from the fact that his dad did in fact beat him...It's just...Interesting."

"Still fucked up," Noah, lay his head back against his pillow, bringing both of his hands up to rub his sleepy eyes. "He lied about it, though? I wonder why."

"Maybe to get me to forgive him or...Something," Benjamin lets out another sigh. "Who knows...I never intended on becoming best friends with him or anything. I would like to know the truth though."

**

In the following days, though Benjamin had made no effort to reach out to Katen, he couldn't stop thinking about what Johnathan said.

"Yeah, our dad was a homophobic asshole. But, he never beat us because of that. He was abusive because he was a junkie. But Katen never came out to our dad. Maybe he was just jealous of you but that story he told you was a lie."

Benjamin was sitting at his desk at work, his leg bouncing up and down as he tried to come up with a conclusion in his mind. He picks his phone up from where it was sitting face down on the desk. He scrolls down through his message threads to find Katen's contact. It was vacant, the last time they spoke was to tell Katen thank you for the return of his jacket and work badge, well over a few weeks ago.

-hey can we talk? I get off work @ 4.

He sends the text message, providing no other context. He hopes it doesn't come off as condescending but he really just needed to confront the truth. Less than five minutes later, Katen sends a text back.