Bottle Caps // Spamano

Reminiscing

Upon leaving the store, Antonio made his way to the hostel he had booked at the last minute, which was conveniently close to the fashion district. He checked in quickly and strolled into the common room, glad to find there weren't too many people there. He had been to crowded hostels before, and it was rarely ever a good time. 

He put his new suit in his locker, making sure his padlock was fastened properly. There was no way he was letting an Armani suit get nicked. He gave a few polite waves to some kids who looked like they had just finished high school. Definitely British, he thought, noticing the boy's Man United jersey with disdain. 

There was an empty bottom bunk in the dorm, which he quickly made sure to claim by making the bed and writing his name on the adjacent whiteboard. Sitting back down on his bed, he plugged his phone into the outlet and checked his messages. His mother had sent him a text to remind him to eat. He then noticed a text from Feliciano asking if he had made it to the store alright. Antonio gave him an update, as promised, and smiled as the Italian sent back a gif of a man dancing victoriously. Antonio was feeling just as triumphant. 

Not really knowing what else to do and also feeling exhausted from the nonstop movement, Antonio decided to take a nap. He had a few hours to spare anyway. Getting comfortable, Antonio laid his head down on the pillow and prepared to knock out. 

After a few hours, Antonio eventually woke up to the sound of a pair of friends bickering about who would have to sleep on the top bunk. An unnecessarily loud game of rock paper scissors was their method of choice. Although mildly grumpy because of the premature wake-up, Antonio was already heavily invested in this game. The match was meant to be best of 3. They were tied. Antonio watched on as the American threw out a rock, and his British friend fell to a pair of scissors. 

"Git" the Brit grumbled, annoyed at the outcome. 

"You mean git your ass on that top bunk!" the American shot back, eliciting a laugh from Antonio. The two looked over at him as if they had just seen a ghost. 

"Oh my god have you been in here the whole time?" the Brit asked, "We are so sorry."

"It's all good" Antonio replied, shooting them both a smile. The two looked back at one another with a look that could only mean they were both dying of embarrassment. Antonio decided getting out of there would be his best course of action. He grabbed his phone and his other belongings quickly and made his way back to the lockers. 

He had to leave within the hour to get to Lovino's apartment in time for dinner, so he stood for a moment, pondering what to wear. He had only really packed super casual clothing, which Lovino had mocked him for earlier in the day. But he wasn't going to wear the suit, as that would be entirely too formal. Antonio was not one to typically overthink, but he was beginning to lose it. Was he going to look too casual? What is one supposed to wear to a reunion dinner with their long lost childhood love anyway?

Taking a moment to relax, Antonio unlocked the locker and shoved his bag inside. He wasn't going to change. Authenticity was more important to him anyway. 

On his way to Lovino's apartment he stopped by an enoteca to pick up a bottle of wine. Already a bit frazzled because he was on the way to dinner, the Spaniard was quickly overwhelmed by the large selection of wine. He decided to pick one at random, not really recognizing any of the labels. After checking out in his slightly panicked, broken Italian, Antonio was back on his way to Lovino's apartment. 

After walking for a bit and occassionally looking down at his phone to make sure he was heading in the right direction, Antonio found the orange building Lovino had described over text. Heading through the heavy oak doors, he made his way up the creaky staircase to the third floor and knocked on Lovino's door.