it's been a minute...
/////
The following week was as it always was. Jorge and Benji would talk, occasionally call, but Jorge would quickly disappear and Benji wouldn't hear from him for a couple days.
The eagerness to leave for Barcelona only increased as the days went by. Benji quickly figured out that their family trip wasn't going to happen on its own, so he decided to take matters into his own hands— and see Jorge by himself.
That meant extra shifts, side jobs, selling his stuff for a plane ticket. His mom thought he was crazy, Syd thought he was in love. But Benji just wanted to be able to see his friend.
He didn't tell him, though he didn't really have a plan in mind. He knew that he wanted to surprise Jorge, but he had to wait until near the summer to do it. So, then came the long months of nothing but scraping by what he could find.
Love.
That word.
Syd would tease him for it but he wondered what that could really mean. Did scraping by, did giving up what you had mean something? Or was he just bored.
By July, Benji had enough for living accommodations, a ticket, and expenses for about a week. He could've stayed with his family, but they weren't close enough to where Jorge lived and he was the main attraction after all.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" His mom was standing in his bedroom doorway with her arms crossed uncertainly. "You barely know this boy, Benji."
He folded another shirt into his suitcase, closing his eyes. "Yeah," he said. "I do."
She probably wouldn't have let him gone if he didn't sound so sure, but something about the way he looked so at peace in the moment settled any of her doubts. She walked over to him and hugged his head, kissing the top.
"If it's what you want," she said.
-
The flight wasn't terrible. Benji ended up next to a little boy who wouldn't stop talking about the new Beyblade his dad was buying him while he had to pretend like he was interested.
Two notifications from "jorge 🍌♥️" !
jorge 🍌♥️: ok so
jorge 🍌♥️: lets just talk about how gay larry the cucumber was for bob the tomato
The again, he was used to way more interesting conversations.
-
"Hey wake up!"
Benji blinked himself awake. The little boy was shaking him. "The plane's stopped!"
The airport was larger than he had expected. People bustled from gate to customs, restaurants to stores, restrooms to the service desk where an army of Karens amassed in complaining unison. He was tired, but more excited than ever.
jorge 🍌♥️: and that's why i think veggie tales teaches kids that a salad is basically a vegetable orgy
benj🥴🍓: you know typically normal children wouldn't know what an orgy is
jorge 🍌♥️: when did it ever occur to you that i was normal
benj🥴🍓: true
He had no idea. Something about that made Benji smile. Jorge had no idea he was there, not even more than a few miles away.
benj🥴🍓: hey, do me a favor
jorge🍌♥️: don't do n00ds unless u make a special request in advance banjo
benj🥴🍓: shush
benj🥴🍓: i don't wanna see that ya nasty
jorge🍌♥️: ur just salty u don't have a sexy bod like mine benji karol
jorge🍌♥️: krol* oh my god 😂🥴
benj🥴🍓: wowwww i see how it is
jorge🍌♥️: wait nO-
benj🥴🍓: go to mcdonald's
jorge🍌♥️: excusea mwah?
benj🥴🍓: go to the mcdonald's by the airport
jorge🍌♥️: mmm
jorge🍌♥️: sounds sketchy banjo
benj🥴🍓: just do it dork
So he waited. Benji found a park bench and played game pigeon games until Jorge texted him back or something like that. Jesus, I really didn't think this through.
He played every game app on his phone, deleted the ones he lost at, and then redownloaded them again. Maybe it distracted him from the fact that he was there. That he was really doing this. He considered turning back. It wasn't too late right? He could go back to his hotel, cuddle up in the discount feather bed, and watch soap operas in a language he didn't understand. Or...
Then he saw him.
It was like the world was in slow motion. Time stopped. And for a moment, his heart did too. Jorge, standing in the middle of the center square looking down at his phone as Benji's phone buzzed in his pocket. That was him.
"Jorge..." Benji muttered and then a little louder. "Jorge!"
The boy turned at the sound of his name and his eyes lit up. Maybe it was the sun, or the reflection in his eyes, but Benji could've sworn he saw the glimmer of tears.
/////
first of all, i hope everyone is doing well. with everything going on, i'm sure a lot of you are on edge and i wanna make sure everybody's safe and alright.
i apologize for not updating. i was about to give up on the story (never really get on wattpad anymore) but i missed the community a lot. i wasn't able to respond to my messages, but the people who reached out were really touching and i thank you a lot for the encouragement to continue!
i'm going to start a schedule with the intention of doing an update once a week. with us being under quarantine, i'm going to have a lot of time in my hands to write for you guys! ily and i missed you a lot 🥺
if you have any questions/concerns/or want to talk, my instagram for art is @/momoyiia :)
