[The Sky Between You and Me]

Nightly Bickering

•Slightly angsty
•alcohol/cigarette warning

•After getting off the boat - 9 minutes past•

"JoJo, please tell me you know where you're going." Caesar said, slowly following behind Jojo, who appeared lost. "Of course I do! Are you doubting me?- Look, there it is!-" Joseph pointed to a small building with a dimly-lit sign. It read "Ol' Mary open 10 am-3am" Mon-Fri"
"It. It looks sketchy, are you sure this is the right place?" Caesar said, concerned. "Yes it's the right place, and yea, it may look sketchy, but it's a great place, so I've heard." He said, annoyance in his tone but playfulness on his face. It was hard for Jojo to get annoyed, esspecialy towards people he cared about. Even he acts like a cocky person, he does care. Maybe. He just hates admitting it. He leaves all the thinking to himself sometimes.
"Yea, so you've heard." Caesar laughed softly and continued walking to place, leaving Jojo having to catch up but not by much.
They entered the place. To Caesars amazement, it looked nice, lights everywhere, yet dimly lit. It was a room filled with a soft glow, perfect for random nights out like this one. No one was really there, but it wasn't empty either. The two sat at the bar, but a bit further from anyone else just to be safe. Safe from what, not entirely sure.

Caesar ordered a summer sunset vodka cocktail which came with a few remarks from Joseph, "A Vodka cocktail? Really Caesarino?" He teased.
"Shut up, you ordered a sprite." He joked in return. Jojo pretended to be offended, "le gasp" he whispered, "how could you-", with the fakest upset expression you could ever see. "Jojo, stop that-" Caesar covered his mouth with his hand to prevent any laughter. It still amazed him that Joseph was sober. Although, he acted dumb a lot. Was it act? Maybe.

The Bar-tender brought them their drinks, and Caesar thanked the man. The bar also served food, (like most of them) so Caesar looked over the menu to see if he could find something he'd like. Joseph stared at the menu not knowing what any of the things were, but he recognized the Nero Di Seppia Pasta from tge first day he met Caesar and decided to order that. Caesar settled for a Penne all Arrabbiata. For a bar, they had a large variety of food, high quality at that. After about 7 minutes of talking, both of their dishes were brought out. They looked perfect. Perfect to eat anyway. Better than anything Caesar or Joseph had seen/eaten in all of Venice, as much of a stretch that may be.

Joseph decided to break a bit of the silence between the two. "You seem a bit tense-" "I'm not tense, just busy thinking." Caesar said with a sigh. "Thinking about what? A girlll? A gift for me? The sky?" He teased. Caesar scoffed with a laugh followed by it. "Really JoJo?" He said with a slight smile. "I'm just asking. But really, something on your mind?"

'He really is good at reading people isn't he. Damn him and his stupid face..'

"Not really. I'm just worried, y'know. About our fight. I know it happened years ago and all. Still suprising how i survived. Heh..But-.. I don't man. Why?"

'I know I shouldn't lie but..I can't just tell him now, that's crazy..'

"You just seemed off, Caesar-chan!~ And stop worring about the past being all sad and crap, you're alive! I'm alive!" Joseph said, eating some of his pasta with an enthusiatstic look on his face."Yes, but think about it. If you weren't there I would've bewn crushed. Ever think about that part? One wrong move and boom. You saved my life, ya big oaf. I just stop think about it sometimes." Caesar said with a light smile.

'He saved my life. It all flashes by when I remember. Did I ever thank him? Does he know I'm greatful? I hope so..'

"I don't think I ever thought about it that way- But hey, you're here now! We're still the best duo in all of Venice! So don't be so sad, go it, Caesarino?~" Joseph said with a determined grin, His lips slightly purple from his pasta.

"Got it, hehe."
'Duo..' Caesar thought.

The more they talked, the less Caesar delved into his sad-ish thoughts. He was living in the moment with his friend Jojo. They continued to eat and talk about random things like road stripes and car models, etc. Neither of them knew how any of these topics came to be but they happily talked.

The night went on, they ordered more drinks, eventually getting tipsy or on the edge of being drunk. Or wasted... "I'll be back-" Caesar said as he hopped off his stool. He grabbed his lighter, and headed for the door to have a smoke. Joseph told the bar-tender to watch their stuff as he followed his friend outside. Caesar lit his cigarette and leaned against the wall. Joseph stood next to him, both staring at the dark sky filled with stars. They turned to look at one another, their eyes meeting..

One boy's heart fluttered

While the other's skipped a beat..

To be continued in chapter 3 ->