Summer In Barcelona

F I F T E E N

It was dark when Benji woke up again, and the spot beside him empty. He could hear light chatter in the distance, which more than likely meant Antonio and Noen were back from whatever excursion they went on earlier. Benji smiled, but it soon faded when he remembered Jorge's arm. He was got up, searching through the dim room for a pair of pants to put on and a sweater. Their laughter blended together into a single sound of happiness and Benji could almost forget. He wasn't even sure what to do in this situation, sure he had known people in high school who talked about doing but they didn't actually, they just liked the attention. He walked down the hall, stretching his arms above his head. Sure enough, Noen and Antonio were on the couch, Jorge in the armchair. He met Noen's eyes wanting to talk now but knowing he couldn't just tear him away from the conversation. Instead, he leaned against Jorge's chair, smiling at everyone.

"I can't believe he said that" Antonio was laughing, Benji had no idea who 'he' was, but apparently, he said something she couldn't believe.

"Does anyone want something to eat?" Benji announced. Noen nodded, looking at Benji.

"Food sounds amazing right now" Antonio said. Jorge agreed.

"How about, Noen and I cook something?" Benji asked, smiling.

"Okay? Antonio shrugged, patting the spot next to her, a scrap book of sorts appearing in her hands. "Want to see Benji when he was a little kid, Jorge?" she asked. Jorge practically jumped on the couch beside her. The other two walked to the kitchen.

"Subtle" Noen complimented sarcastically, leaning against the counter.

"Well, how else was I going to get you alone?" he asked, opening the cabinets. He grabbed flour, yeast, oil, and a cup of water placing it all on the counter. Noen was silent as he began measuring and mixing ingredients.

"What exactly are you making?" Noen asked, daring a step closer.

"Pizza" he informed, mixing the dry ingredients then adding the wet.

"You know how to make pizza from scratch?" Noen asked, slightly impressed.

"Yeah, my grandma taught me" he smiled, "Why? do I not look like I can cook?" he asked. Noen nodded.

"Honestly, yeah" he laughed. Benji shook his head, laughing as well. They were stalling, they were very much aware of it too.

"I needed to-"

"I saw the cuts, Noen" Benji interrupted, his voice low and steady. Noen was silent, the air between them seeming to thicken. Benji could tell Noen was surprised he said this, leaving Benji to wonder if that was what he wanted to talk about in the first place. "What happened? What drove him to that? Why didn't he tell me?" Benji asked, his voice still calm, if not a little broken.

"There's this guy at work, Sam, he tried to get with Jorge" Noen explained. Benji shrugged at that, of course he did, had None not looked at Jorge ever? He gestured for him to keep talking. "Well, Jorge said no, that he was seeing someone, Sam didn't take it to well" he informed, pausing for a minute, and looking away. Those words left a sour feeling in his stomach, his blood boiling even though he didn't know the whole story. "He kept trying though, kept flirting with him, touching his arm and stuff, Jorge didn't want any of it he really did-"

"No shit sherlock, stop trying to defend his honour I know Jorge would never" Benji interrupted, not wanting to hurt Noen but wanting to rip this band-aid of a story off.