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Robby stares into the bottom of his glass, the remnants of his second Rum and Coke still lingering on his lips and tongue. He considers ordering another, Kwon’s words still echoing in his mind.
I’ll keep her warm tonight.
Tory had already moved on. They were supposed to stand on that podium together. Was he that replaceable?
His stomach turns and he decides that a third drink wouldn’t be wise.
He looks up and sees that girl from the Iron Dragons heading his way. Not in the mood, he quickly tips the bartender, and hops down from the barstool, fast walking towards the door.
He really doesn’t wanna go back to the room yet. He turns his head and sees the beach in the distance. Thinking back to better times back in L.A., his legs are taking him towards the sand before he even registers it.
The sound of the waves are comforting, the moon glimmering off the dark water. He closes his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath.
Robby hears mumbling and opens them, turning his head to see where the hushed speaking is coming from. He’s surprised when he squints and sees Demetri in the distance, sitting atop a beach towel with his arms crossed and a scowl worn on his face.
“Demetri?” He says, confused.
Demetri is startled out of whatever heated conversation he’d been having with himself.
“Jesus. Robby.”
It makes him smile. He steps closer until he’s looking down at him on the ground. It’s the only time he’ll ever be taller than him.
“What are you doing out here?”
“Stewing in my current disdain for Eli,” Demetri says, annoyed.
It’s not a particularly surprising answer. There’s been this passive aggressive tension between them since before they all left for Barcelona. But the explanation feels more loaded now.
He nods. “Wanna talk about it?”
Maybe this can be a needed distraction from his own current troubles.
Demetri ushers toward the spot next to him on the towel, so Robby removes his shoes and lowers himself next to him with a sigh.
“I’m single now.”
Robby wasn’t expecting him to say that, his eyebrows jumping in surprise.
“Thanks to good ol’ Eli ‘Hawk’ Moskowitz,” he adds.
Robby’s brows furrow in confusion, unsure of the correlation.
“He was FaceTime-ing Moon and flipped the camera while I was dancing with that girl Maria from Furia De Pantera. Yasmine saw, because of course she was there.”
Oh.
“I’m sorry,” Robby says, because he isn’t really sure what else to say.
“I mean, was what I did really that bad? We were dancing!” Demetri defends himself.
“Well, were you touching her?”
Demetri tenses up. “I mean…yeah. But it wasn’t, like, her ass or anything! Strictly above the waist!”
Robby rolls his eyes. “Doesn’t matter, Demetri, you shouldn’t have done that. Dancing is dancing, but you made it intimate.”
Demetri deflates. “Ugh, I know. Fuck. I guess I just wanted to blame it on Eli cause then it wouldn’t be my fault I ruined my own relationship over something so stupid.”
Robby hums, patting his shoulder.
They sit in silence for a few moments.
“I’m single too,” Robby breaks the quiet.
Demetri looks at him with wide eyes. Robby looks away, fiddling with a loose string on his jeans.
“Yeah, and apparently Tory’s already moved on to her rebound.”
“What?! Who?!”
“Kwon, if you can believe it,” Robby says sourly.
Demetri shifts his body to face him, still sitting criss-cross on the towel. “Kwon?! I mean, I get it, objectively speaking, but no. It’s you. You’re you. You’re way hotter, also objectively speaking.”
A blush finds its way to Robby’s cheeks.
“Thanks, but I don’t think it’s about physical appearance. It’s about…me, I guess…”
“Well, that’s bullshit, you’re great,” Demetri says.
A weird feeling washes over him. Maybe it’s because Robby’s never been great about accepting compliments. Maybe it’s because it’s Demetri. Either way, he deflects.
“You haven’t always thought that.”
He tilts his head at Robby in confusion.
“Can’t say I ever got a visit in juvy. Or an email. And you weren’t exactly happy to see me on the mat at the All Valley,” Robby says.
It’s a lot. And it just falls out of his mouth. Honestly, Robby hadn’t realized how deeply he felt about the matter until just now. He’d bottled it up so tight. But sitting here with him, alone, for the first time in so long…it feels like it clawed its way out of chest, up his throat, and into the air, no going back.
Realization washes across Demetri’s face, and for a moment, his skin pales in understanding. He takes a breath, then speaks.
“You’re right. I was…I was a terrible friend to you. And you were a great one to me. When I barely had any. At one point, I really only had you and Sam. And then the school fight happened, and Miguel…”
Robby flinches at the memory, but he stays silent.
“But it doesn’t matter. It was an accident. I know that. I knew that. We all did. And I shouldn’t have abandoned you. You wouldn’t have abandoned me. I’m so sorry, Robby.”
Robby’s eyes are wet by the end of his apology, his vision blurry, but he nods, wiping his eyes. He clears his throat with an obviously choked up cough.
“Thank you.”
Demetri sighs. “If only I’d just admitted my crush to you way back then, maybe things would’ve turned out so different.”
He says it like a joke, a touch of humor to his voice, but it still forces Robby to look at him for the first time in minutes.
“What?” He asks, eyes wide.
Demetri looks at him in shock, his mouth opening and closing a few times. He clearly hadn’t meant to say that.
“Uh, I mean, um, witty sarcastic remark…and…stuff…”
Robby’s eyes bore into him in confusion. The other boy groans.
“Okay, yes, it’s true. I had a massive crush on you.”
Multiple thoughts bounce around his skull, and they must show on his face, because Robby can feel his facial expressions shifting.
“You didn’t—you never said.”
“We hardly knew each other! And you were so intimidating and broody, I fully thought you’d punch me if I insinuated anything even remotely romantic between us.”
He didn’t know. Robby didn’t know.
“You can’t blame me though! Always wearing those tank tops and looking like a tanned 90s heartthrob. I’m but a mere mortal, of course I wanted to kiss the adonis that saved me from getting jumped at the mall!”
The revelation sits heavy in the air. At least for him.
“Why didn’t you?”
“I’m a nerd. A geek. And you obviously had something brewing with Sam anyway, so what was the point?”
“Because I liked you!” He admits.
Demetri’s eyebrows jump to his hairline. “You what?!”
“I liked you before I liked Sam! Sam and I weren’t planning on letting anything happen. I was living at the LaRussos after all. But then you never made a move, and things just did happen, I guess.”
“You thought I was gonna make the first move?!”
Robby scoffs, “What? I can’t wanna be swept off my feet for once? Haven’t you ever seen a teen comedy? ‘The nerd gets the girl’ or whatever they say. Can’t Buy Me Love. Can’t Hardly Wait. Maybe I wanna be Jennifer Love Hewitt just for once.”
“You can be my Jennifer Love Hewitt! I mean, I’m not exactly sure what that means, I never saw either of those movies, but you can!” Demetri insists.
It’s sweet. For the first time all night, Robby has a smile on his face.
“Then do it.”
“Do what?”
“Make a first move. Didn’t you say you wanted to kiss me? Or have you gotten over your crush on me?”
“No! No. It was just dormant. I was with Yasmine, you were with Tory. But I don’t think I could ever be over you. I mean, you’re you.”
Robby blushes.
“Do you think it’s too soon?” Demetri asks.
“Tory’s moved on with Kwon. No sense in me hanging onto what we had. But if it’s too soon for you, I get it,” Robby assures him.
“No,” Demetri shakes his head. “I mean, things between me and Yasmine have been off for months. I think we probably would’ve broken up eventually. My stupidity just sped up the timeline.”
“If I let you kiss me, you better not dance with someone else, just so we’re clear,” Robby says, humorously.
“If you let me kiss you, I’d never dance again if you said so.”
“Then do it.”
Demetri lights up. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Robby smiles.
He leans in slowly, tilting his head to better align with Robby’s. Just before Demetri’s lips meet his, Robby closes his eyes.
Their lips touch and it feels like fireworks. Though, Robby’s not entirely sure those aren’t real fireworks in the Barcelona night sky. He’s too happy to open his eyes and find out, much more invested in the way Demetri deepens the kiss with a hand in Robby’s hair.
He pulls back shortly after, but only enough to look into Robby’s eyes and ask, “how was that? Did the nerd ‘get the girl’ or whatever?”
Robby grins. “Something like that,” he says, and then he leans in once more.