Fearless~Hardzello

two

ben's pov

"what's your name?" a boy with curly black hair asks me.
"ben" i reply. he looks at me curiously. probably due to my accent.
"you should talk to gwilym" he says. gwilym. a name even i know is british. just as he says it, a tall skinny boy stands in front of me. my eyes meet his. his lips curl up into a small smile and i smile back.
"hey, nice to meet ya! i'm gwilym" he holds out his hand. i shake it hesitantly.
"i'm ben" i say quietly.
"hey, there's no need to be nervous. we're all super nice here except for the city people and the Brooklyn division" gwilym says. i laugh softly. "don't worry. if you ever need a friend, i'm around. here let me introduce you to some people" he says. his accent is a bit different than mine but i feel at home with gwilym. he walks me over to a group of boys. my eyes stop on a redhead. his light brown eyes look up at me and his left eyebrow flicks upward curiously. my heart stops. i feel like i'm gasping for air, he takes my breath away.
"that's joe. we call him joey. he's really nice i'm sure he'd love to meet you" gwilym says and pushes me over.
"n-no that's okay.."
"come on! he doesn't bite!" gwilym shoves me in front of joe. i run my hand through my blonde hair.
"h-hey" i say. he smiles. oh my god his smile.
"hi!" he jumps up. "i'm joe but you can call me joey. it's a pleasure to meet you" he says sweetly. my hand trembles as he grips it in a handshake. literally everything about him is amazing. "i can give you the runaround of paper selling unless you want gwilym to which makes more sense" he says with a small laugh. i try to say something but my mouth is so dry. he places a hand on my shoulder. "think about it first." i nod. i look like such an idiot. gwilym grabs me and pulls me away.
"uh.. thank you!" i call out at joe. he smiles and waves. gwilym and i walk and meet some other people but joe's laugh replays in my mind. why is he having this effect on me? i don't like guys.. do i? i shake it off and a olive skinned curly haired boy named rami takes me with him to his post.
"paper selling's the easiest! i mean you probably shouldn't be listening to me cause i'm not the best paper seller out there. you gotta be cute for that. sometimes they'll pity you if you have an accent. gwilym always sells a lot of papers" he says. i nod.
"what about joe?" i ask. already nervous even though i only brought up his name.
"joey? ah he's just as good a paper seller as any of us. he's been having some trouble lately. say.. maybe i'll pair him up with you. you're new so he can show you a few tricks and your accent can sell some papers! how about that!" rami says smiling at himself. my mouth hangs open. i remember the way i felt around him earlier.
"no no no! really, you don't need to do that! i don't want to embarrass myself especially on my first day and all" i say, getting jittery.
"don't worry! joey's not judgmental and he won't care. we were all in your position at one point anyway. it'll be fun i promise! i'm across the street if you need anything" rami says and shoves me forward. joe stands a few feet away at his post waving down pedestrians for papers. rami crosses the street and stands handing out papers. joe looks at me, sweat glistening on his forehead from the humid july air. he waves at me. my heart lurches, adrenalin coursing through my limbs. my brain wills me to take a step forward. my eyes meet his. he smiles.
"hey, ben! i see you decided to join me after all. i was hoping you would. paper selling's even worse when you're alone" joe says. i shake.
"y-yeah. i can imagine" i reply. he smiles at me. i start to grow less nervous around him as we keep talking. he really is nice and he shows me the loopholes in paper selling. when to fool around, what to do, how to say things. i learned a lot that day. as the day comes to a close i feel so much closer to joe and i think he does too. he volunteers to take the trolley home with me since we live close together. i accept and ignore my pounding heart as he sits with me on the train. it rocks heavily, making some standing passengers lose their balance. not being used to it, my body sways with the rocking of the car. joe giggles as my shoulders touch his lightly. i shoot quick nervous glances at him.
"would you like to come over for dinner? my momma makes really good soup" joe says, shaking me out of my thoughts.
"uh.. sure? i don't think my parents would object" i say with a nervous smile. joe smiles.
"great! i'm sure my dad'll love ya, he's into guys like you. quiet and grounded" joe says. i stay silent not sure how to respond. "you don't have to be so nervous around me y'know. i'm not going to hurt you and i think you're a pretty cool guy" joe says, hitting my shoulder lightly. i laugh softly.
"thanks, joey. you're pretty cool too" i say. "i'm just not used to meeting new people is all" i say. joe nods.
"i get it. hey let's go this is our stop" we get up and leave the stuffy trolley car and head to joe's apartment building. his mom greets us at the door.
"hi! it's nice to see a new face around here! what's your name?" she asks me, pulling me into a soft hug.
"uh.. my name's ben" she gasps at my accent. my cheeks turn red.
"oh honey, don't worry about the accent. i think it's great! joe's always liked british people. have you met gwilym?" she asks. i nod.
"he's really nice" i say taking a seat at the table.
"they're good friends, momma" joe says sitting next to me, his knee leaning against mine.
"that's wonderful! i'll be right back with the soup!" she says and heads into the kitchen. he taps the table impatiently with a spoon. his mom comes back in the dining room with two bowls of green tinted soup.
"it's lentil" she says. "joey's favorite." i look down at the bowl of soup. joe licks his lips hungrily and shoves a spoonful in his mouth. he sighs in delight, clearly this being his favorite meal of the day. well if joe's enjoying it so much, it must not be that bad. i spoon up the green liquid and put it in my mouth. the texture is slightly grainy but the taste is salty and powerful. it whacks you in the tastebuds. i swallow, my eyes shot open in shock.
"wow" i say. joe gulps down another spoonful.
"right?! isn't it amazing?!" joe says happily. his smile glowing. my heart bursts with affection. i eat the soup and savor every drop, now understanding something about joe. his mom looks at us proudly. two hard-working hungry boys eating her soup like it's the last meal in the entire world. and at the moment, it is. after we eat to our heart's content, joe leads me to his bedroom. he sits on his bed tossing a baseball in his hands. i sit next to him, my foot tapping the floor nervously. he throws the ball across the room and stands up. my eyes follow his body as he walks across the room to the window. he opens it and pushes his body through it. i think for a second he's going to jump out but his feet land on a hard surface and i remember there's a fire escape. he beckons me over. i step out the window and stand next to him. the view overlooks the East side. people walk down below and i like to think this is where joe does most of his thinking. the humid air fills my lungs as i breathe in deeply taking in the moment. joe's red hair sways in the wind and my shirt ripples.  his hands are a few inches next to mine, gripping the railing. he sighs and closes his eyes breathing in the air. i look at him, my eyes tracing his profile. he opens his eyes and looks at me, a small smirk forming on his face causing a dimple to appear. he notices my staring and looks back out to the view. i do the same. silence hangs in the air between us but it's comfortable. i space out and stare at a building not too far away. suddenly i feel joe's fingers lace with mine. i want to pull away but my hand stays there. i'm too scared to look at him. i let his hand hold mine and stare at it getting used to the feeling. my heart pounds, i feel his pulse throbbing through his hand. it's fast. or maybe it's mine rushing through my head.
"i-i think i should go" i say. joe pulls his hand away.
"oh y-yeah sure.. i'm uh.. i'm sorry" joe says. it's the first time i see him flustered. i smile.
"it's okay, joe. i liked it" i say. he looks at me shocked.
"y-you did?" joe asks. i nod and laugh.
"yeah i did!" i reply going back in through his window. he smiles and follows me.
"i'll see ya tomorrow. thanks for having me over it was uh.. fun" i say looking for the right words. joe smirks.
"bye, ben!" joe's mom calls out as i walk home. what a night.