Summer In Barcelona

T H I R T E E N

smut warning!

Inside, Antonio and Jorge were talking in the kitchen, pouring glasses of tea, Jorge adding sprigs of mint to each one. Benji excepted the glass from Jorge gratefully, he was in dire need of something to drink, it was hot in Barcelona compared to Nova Scotia and he had been waiting outside for half an hour. Sure, he could've gone inside but he had forgotten his key oh so long ago when he left. Jorge seemed restless, not knowing what to do. The past few months had been full of him pining and yearning, it wasn't fun, but it was something to do, and now he felt like he was floating away into the clouds. Nothing was tying him down to earth anymore, he was no longer waiting by the telephone, waiting for it to ring. No, Benji was here; if his phone rang now, he would actually wonder who it was. He sat down beside Benji, stood up to open the window, sat down again and began tapping his foot restlessly. Benji looked at him frowning. He had never seen Jorge move so much in less than a minute. He laced their fingers together, causing Jorge to freeze and look at him, looking grateful. Benji smiled, turning back to the other two.

"What happened in Canada?" Noen asked. Everyone was silent. Everyone wanted to know, Noen just had the decency to voice it. Benji was silent for a moment, before nodding as though he was asking himself whether or not he should tell them.

"Well" he began, Noen and Antonio sitting on the floor in front of the couch like a class of grade schoolers ready for Storytime. Jorge joined them in the floor, shrugging at Antonio's weird look. He sat between the two, looking up at Benji expectantly. Benji took a breath and began to speak. "When I first got there, my parents were at the hospital, so I just dropped my stuff off and took a cab to the hospital. My brother Thomas was there, he was arguing with some poor nurse who was just trying to get off her shift. He seemed surprised to see me which was weird because you would think my parents would tell him that there son, who previously ran off to another country, was coming back to see his brother" Benji shrugged, sipping his tea. The three nodded along, Antonio leaning on Jorge's shoulder and Noen looking like he was debating whether or not he should lay down. "So, I talked to Rowyn and went to my old house here I initially fell asleep" he shrugged. They looked at him expectantly. "What?" he asked.

"You were gone for seven months, that was the recap of one day" Antonio accused, shoving his knee. He shrugged.

"So?" he asked.

"Por favor?" Jorge whined, smiling hopefully. Benji rolled his eyes, settling back in his seat. He still had to learn to tell Jorge no.

"Fine, fine, fine" he shook his head, scoffing at their upturned faces, curiosity painted in their eyes. "It was okay the first few days, my dad was still a bit cold to me, my mom was better though, I'm sure she was simply happy I was safe no matter how much she disapproved of me. Rowy and Thomas were always asking questions about here and you guys, they thought I made Noen up" he chuckled at that. "But as they asked me questions, they sounded like they wanted what I had, the freedom the recklessness I guess, and dear old dad didn't like that. A few nights after I got there, he ordered me to stop talking about it like I was a child again. Of course, I didn't and that night at dinner I made sure to tell everyone the story about how my lock got stuck and you guys had to help me, to make a point" he frowned. "I immediately regretted it of course when later that night he hit me, like actually hit me, in the face, like a grown man would hit another grown man, in a really petty way" he explained. A collective gasp erupted from the three as if they hadn't expected it.

"What did your mom say?" Noen asked.

"Nothing, she acted as if it didn't happen, as if I always had a split lip, you know?" he shrugged. Jorge regretted it, he didn't want to hear this, he thought it was going to be a good story, yeah, he knew he and his father had their differences, but it was never that bad, not that he knew of anyway,