Eric tried his best to focus on the words in front of him. He had to reread every sentence several times to process what it said. He had too much on his mind; the day was almost over and Keith still hadn’t returned. But Ben had asked him for help and he wanted to deliver.

  Ben coughed beside him, distracting Eric again. He’d been coughing a lot.

  “You okay?” Eric asked.

  Ben nodded as he got the last of the cough out of his throat. “I have a bit of a cough, nothing serious. But, what do you think?” He hinted at his laptop screen.

  “Ehh,” Eric tried to think of something constructive to say but nothing came. He sighed. “Honestly, I’m having trouble focusing on it. And that isn’t because of your writing, I have a lot on my mind.”

  Ben frowned. “Are you okay?”

  Should Eric tell him? He wanted to. Oh, what the hell, what could Ben do with that information if he was vague?

  “My friend went missing last night.”

  “Oh. Fuck. Was he near that bank last night?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Have you reported it to the police?”

  Eric shook his head.

  “If he’s been missing all day and isn’t answering his phone, then you should.”

  Eric nodded. “Yeah.”

  Eric won’t, obviously. But Ben didn’t need to know that.

  Ben pulled his laptop closer and pushed the screen down. “Sitting here won’t be of much use if you can’t focus anyway.” He set his bag on his lap and shoved his laptop in. Eric saw the pins again, they were cute.

  “You wanna get a drink?” Ben suggested. “To take your mind off it.”

  Eric let a smile appear on his face. “I’d like that.”

  Eric sipped his drink at the bar with Ben beside him. He was a bit tipsy. Ben, however, had had a few more drinks already. He breathed on his glasses to fog them up on purpose.

  He giggled. “You know what’s funny?”

  “Enlighten me,” said Eric before taking a sip.

  “Something meant to make me see better could do the opposite.” Ben pushed his fogged-up glasses onto Eric’s nose. Eric pulled them off.

  “Your glasses always do the opposite for me.” He placed the glasses back on their owner’s face.

  “Hm. I guess you’re right.” Ben pulled them down to see Eric like a librarian. Eric huffed as he grabbed them again.

  “Just wipe them.” He cleaned them with his sweater, then placed them back on Ben’s nose.

  Ben smiled. “There you are!”

  Eric chuckled. He sipped his drink again. He flinched at a touch on his shoulder. Ben had laid his head on it. Eric wasn’t sure how to react, they hadn’t touched before. Eric never touched anyone other than Keith and Abi. Not kindly, anyway.

  Ben let out a content hum. “You’re comfy.”

  “Am I?”

  Ben nodded. He put his chin on his shoulder and stared at Eric’s face. “You always remind me of someone I know.”

  Eric raised a brow. “Who?”

  Ben shrugged. “Just someone. Maybe because you’re both Latino.”

  “Slightly racist, but okay,” Eric laughed.

  Ben jerked up, eyes wide. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean like that.”

  He laughed again. “Relax, it’s fine.”

  Ben hugged him, head back on his shoulder with a pout.

  “Can’t hold your booze well?” Eric teased.

  “I was thirsty!”

  Eric only hummed and drank again.

  “Do you know Spanish?” Ben asked, causing Eric to tense. Should they get personal while drunk? Probably not.

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  Eric kinda wanted to get personal, with the way Ben initiated and how he was hugging him. “I never met my Latino parent.”

  “Oh. Why?”

  “Died.”

  Ben tightened his hug. “Oh.”

  Eric flinched at something vibrating in his pocket. He pulled his phone out. A chameleon emoji was calling him. Keith. “Uhh.” He got off his stool, getting Ben’s arms off him. “Sorry, I have to take this. I’ll be back,” he hurried out of his mouth before walking off to find a quiet spot.

  He went into the bathroom. He picked up and whisper-yelled, “Keith, where the hell are you?!”

  “Andern isn’t available at the moment,” a woman responded.

  Eric froze up. “Who are you? Where is he?”

  “My identity isn’t important. We’re keeping him with us until you, Esprit, have done what I’m about to tell you.”

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  God, her voice was nasally and annoying.

  “Why should I believe you have him?”

  “I have his phone, don’t I?”

  “That doesn’t mean shit, he could’ve lost it.”

  “Very well. I’ll send a picture.”

  Half a minute later, Keith’s number indeed texted him a picture. It infuriated Eric. Keith was lying on the ground, somewhere in what seemed to be an abandoned warehouse (how cliché). His arms were tied to his sides, his hands behind his back. Why was he lying there? He could easily get out of those ropes. What did they do to him?!

  “What do you want?” he demanded.

  “It’s quite simple. I need you to kill Spark.”

  What? How could that benefit them? Whoever they were. Spark was only a nuisance to them, wasn’t he?

  “Understood?” the woman snapped him out of it.

  “Or else?”

  “Or Andern dies, of course.”

  Eric let out an angry grunt.

  “Understood?” she repeated, stern.

  “Fine,” he hissed through gritted teeth.

  “You have forty-eight hours.”

  She hung up.

  Eric looked at his phone screen. He clenched his hand around it, his phone struggled against his grip. He shoved it back in his pocket before he broke it and left the bathroom.

  He went back to the bar where Ben waited for him. Ben perked up at the sight of him. “You’re back!” He hugged Eric again when he was close enough to his stool.

  Eric sighed.

  Ben looked up at his face. He frowned. “Something wrong?”

  “I… I have to leave.”

  “Who was on the phone? Your friend?”

  Eric stepped out of his hug and only said “I have to go” again. He grabbed his coat and put it on, then turned to leave.

  “What? You can’t leave me here like this!” Ben called after him.

  Eric stopped. He groaned. He was right, he would be the worst friend in the world if he left him here to fend for himself, as drunk as he was. He turned back. “Okay, I’ll take you home. But you have to lead the way.”

  Ben was pleased.

  Eric did his best to keep Ben on track on their way to wherever he lived, which proved more difficult than he had expected. Ben kept trying to walk off to look at something or hanging on Eric’s arm, making even walking difficult.

  “Do you know where we’re going?” Eric asked after he halted with Ben on his arm.

  Ben looked around and hummed.

  “Point in a direction, if you have to.”

  Ben frowned. “I don’t know anymore.”

  Eric sighed and pulled his phone out. “Okay, give me your address.” He opened his maps app, ready to type.

  “Uhm, 6th Avenue… 24.”

  Eric typed it. It was a few minutes away, in an apartment building. “Okay. This better be your actual address, I swear—”

  “Why would I lie to you?” Ben asked, whiny and hurt.

  “Because you’re drunk and you might not remember properly.”

  “I’m not that drunk.”

  “Drunk enough to not remember the way yourself.” He grabbed Ben’s wrist. “Come on.”

  They stood in front of an apartment building, about ten stories high, Eric guessed.

  “Is this it?” he asked Ben.

  Ben hummed in confirmation.

  “Alright.” They went to the entrance. “Give me your keys.”

  Ben did so. Eric opened the door and they went inside.

  “Which floor?”

  “Fourth.”

  They went up the elevator. Ben led Eric to a door.

  “This one.”

  Eric unlocked the door, still having the keys in his hand. He handed them back. Ben stepped inside and pulled on Eric’s sleeve. “Come in with me.”

  Eric shook his head. “I can’t. I had to leave, remember?”

  Ben pouted, he let him go. “Next time?”

  “Maybe.”

  “No.” Ben grabbed Eric’s forearms. “Promise me. You’ll come in next time!”

  Eric huffed. “Okay, I promise.” He probably wouldn’t remember this moment anyway.

  Ben smiled. He pressed a kiss to Eric’s cheek. “You’re sweet.” He let him go and stepped back, leaving Eric stunned.

  Ben patted his pockets, then twisted around, searching for something. “Where’s my bag?” He looked back at Eric, worried. “We forgot my bag. My laptop’s in there!”

  “Oh, fuck.” Eric recalled now; he did have a bag. He had completely forgotten. “Uhh, go to bed. I’ll find your bag.” What could he do about Keith right now, anyway? It’s not like he could summon Spark at will.

  Ben nodded. “Okay. You better find it, that bitch was expensive!”

  Eric chuckled. “I will.” He stepped away, Ben waved and closed his door.

  Eric returned to the bar, to the place they had sat. No bag. Someone must’ve taken it. “Hey,” he got the bartender’s attention. “Have you found a black messenger bag anywhere? It has some pins.”

  “Hmm,” they thought. “I did see someone leave with a bag like that about ten minutes ago. A man.”

  “Where did he go?”

  “He went left after leaving the building.”

  “Okay, thank you.”

  Eric left the building and went left, pissed. Someone stole it, of course they did. Why would this be easy for him? He ran. That man had a ten-minute head-start, he had to catch up.

  He ran through the streets. It probably drew a lot of attention, but oh well. Eric didn’t know what to do if he couldn’t get the laptop back. Ben would lose all his writing. And the outline they made for his own story would be lost, too. Not that they were very far with that.

  If Ben lost his laptop for good, it would be Eric’s fault. He forgot, and he was the more sober one. He could afford to buy him a new one, but the files couldn’t be replaced.

  A man sat on a bench some feet away. Black messenger bag next to him. It was Ben’s, it had his pins. Eric considered what to do. He didn’t want to confront him out in the open. He spotted a small alleyway past the man.

  Eric walked behind the bench, passing the man, and into the alley. He pulled his hood up, hiding his face. He waited.

  After a few minutes, he walked by with the bag over his shoulder. Eric grabbed him with his power and harshly pulled him into the alleyway, onto the ground. The man grunted on impact with the concrete ground. Eric hoped he hadn’t damaged the laptop.

  He blocked the way out and stood over the man, his eyes hidden under his hood and his hands in his pockets.

  “Hand over the bag.”

  The man stared at him in shock and confusion. “W-what happened?”

  “Hand it over.”

  “Huh? Why? What do you want with it?”

  “It isn’t yours.”

  Eric could see the gears turning in the man’s head.

  “You’re—you’re Esprit, right? Not in your usual outfit, but the power is unmistakable. You must understand why I’d need it!” he tried to bargain.

  “Does it look like I give a shit? Hand it over or I’ll slam your head against the wall!”

  He could pull it out of the man’s hands, but he didn’t want to risk damaging it. He wouldn’t know how to explain the damage to Ben.

  The man reluctantly offered him the bag. Eric stuck his arm out and pulled it into his hand, making the man yelp.

  “So, now you won’t hurt me?” the man’s voice quivered.

  Eric considered it. “Well, I can’t risk you following me, can I?”

  The man’s eyes widened right as Eric slammed his head against the wall, not as hard as he would have if he’d been difficult. The man lay knocked out on the ground.

  Eric opened the bag, the laptop was in there. He pulled it out and opened the screen. It still worked. No cracks or scratches. The corner of Eric’s lips crooked up a little. He pushed it back into the bag and hung it over his shoulder, then stepped out of the alley, checking if anyone was near. No one. So, he pulled his hood down and made his way to Ben’s apartment with his hands back in his pockets.

  Eric rang Ben’s buzzer for the fourth time. He knew he told him to go to bed, but he hadn’t thought he’d actually fall asleep this quickly. Especially with his laptop missing.

  He buzzed a fifth time. Finally, he was let inside. He went up the elevator and stood in front of Ben’s door. He knocked. Ben opened the door, his glasses crooked on his nose, looking like he just dragged himself out of bed. Which he probably had.

  “You’re the one that told me to go to bed, you know?” Ben complained, voice husky.

  “Yeah, I know, sorry. But I found your bag!” Eric offered the bag to him. “Your laptop’s still in it.”

  Ben got a wide smile on his face, he grabbed the bag. “Thank you!” He laid it on the floor, then wrapped his arms around Eric’s neck in a hug. “You’re the best.”

  Eric’s cheeks flushed. “No problem,” he said in a higher pitch than he’d hoped.

  Ben let him go. “Where was it?”

  “Still at the bar. Now, you should go to sleep. We’ll talk later.”

  Ben smiled again. Eric realised he hadn’t seen him truly smile before today, he mostly grinned.

  “Okay.” Ben tilted his head up and pressed their lips together in a quick kiss. Eric could only imagine how red his face was. Ben snickered. “Bye.”

  “B-ehh, bye.”

  Ben waved again and closed his door.

  Eric walked home, not sure what to think of that kiss. He’d never kissed anyone other than Keith. Somehow, it felt wrong to kiss someone else while Keith was gone and in danger, even though they weren’t dating. But he did like Ben. He was cute, fun and expressive. And straight to the point and honest.

  Eric rubbed his face with a groan.

  Part of him still wanted to be with Keith, but perhaps it was time to give up on him romantically and move on. And Ben seemed like an appealing option.