"ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" THE BOY ASKED LUNA AS HE DROVE. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"
Luna shook her head, rubbing the back of her neck. "No, he didn't. I'm alright." She exhaled in relief, then nodded at him. "Thanks."
"Of course," the boy replied.
Now that Luna could hear clearly, she heard that the boy had a Spanish accent - Colombian, by the sound of it. But there was something about his voice and his face that seemed familiar to her - something she couldn't seem to put her finger on.
"I'd ask you why Spider-Man was after you, but the car, the butterfly on your jacket, and the fact that you're a gang member pretty much answers that question," the boy said after a moment.
Luna nodded. "Yeah, I know, I-" Then, she stopped herself when his words sunk in. "Wait, you know I'm in a gang?"
"Yeah." The boy nodded. "It was pretty obvious. But I didn't think you would, considering your aversion to guns."
Luna frowned. "How do you know I don't like guns?"
The boy glanced at her, a grin on his face. "You really don't remember me? I mean, I know I've grown up some, but come on, Luna. I thought you'd at least recognize my voice."
Luna glanced at the boy, frowning deeply as she took in his features and let his voice register in her head. Then, after a moment, she got a fleeting memory - one of her when she was much younger, playing with a boy in the streets of Havana while her grandmother and parents watched. And though this boy next to her had more facial hair, and his hair was longer, there was no mistaking those broad shoulders and warm, intelligent brown eyes. It was the same brown eyes of her childhood friend from Havana - Benjamín Berrocal.
Benjamín and Luna were best friends back in Luna's hometown of Havana, Cuba. Originally from Medellín, Colombia and only eight months older than Luna, he had spent his early years in Havana, where he had met Luna. The two were inseparable; they did everything together. Then, when Luna was six and Benjamín had just turned seven, Luna's family moved to Brooklyn, leaving Benjamín behind. Luna was devastated when they moved, knowing she would probably never see him again, but when she tried to send letters to him, her father had intercepted them, telling her that she needed to put her friendship with Benjamín behind her and focus on their new life.
"Oh my god," Luna said in disbelief. "Wait, Ben?" When the boy smiled wider and nodded, Luna's face lit up, and she said happily, "Oh my God, Ben!" She slugged his arm playfully, leading him to laugh. "Dude, what are you doing here?!"
"Alma, mi abuela and I moved here about five months ago," Benjamín said.
"Really?" Luna said. "But I thought your grandpa wanted to stay in Havana."
"Well, he actually moved us back to Medellín about two years after you left, and I've been there since. But then, he passed away, and my grandma had a hard time finding work. So we moved here, and I took over so I could help pay for the house."
"Oh my god," Luna said softly; she knew how close Benjamín was to his grandparents. "I'm so sorry, Ben."
"It's alright," Benjamín told her. "It wasn't your fault."
They were both silent before Luna turned to her friend. "So how do you guys like New York? And where are you living now?"
Benjamín chuckled. "New York is... very different from Colombia. But it's nice. I'm liking it, and so is mi abuela. And we live at the edge of Harlem, not too far from Teo's Bodega."
"Oh, I know where that is," Luna said with a nod. "I go to Teo's all the time on the weekends."
"I haven't been yet, but I heard it's a nice place," Benjamín replied, also nodding.
"It is." Luna fell silent, then asked, "So... how'd you know where to find me?"
"I've been keeping an eye on you since I got here," Benjamín said. "When I heard that your dad had started a gang over here, I figured that you would've joined him. But I know you well enough to know that you can attract danger like a magnet, so I wanted to make sure you didn't get yourself killed."
"So you've basically been stalking me," Luna said, raising an eyebrow.
Benjamín smiled. "Yeah, pretty much."
Luna scoffed, and Benjamín laughed.
"So are Jaz and Mateo in the gang, too?" Benjamín asked after a moment.
Luna nodded. "Yeah. It's a family thing, actually. The only one of us who isn't part of the gang is my little sister, Rubi. In fact, she has no idea that it even exists."
"You didn't tell her?" Benjamín asked.
"Ben, she's eleven," Luna said. "I just..." She sighed. "We want her to have as much of her childhood to herself as she can. We're not gonna let her in on this. Not... not yet."
"That's fair." Benjamín nodded. "I know I would want the same thing for Alma if I was in a gang."
"How is Alma?" Luna asked, referring to his younger sister. "She doing good?"
"She's alright," Benjamín said. "She wasn't too happy about moving here, but you know... ¿qué puedes hacer?"
Luna chuckled. "Very true." She was silent for a moment, then asked, "How did you know it was me?"
"La forma en que luchabas contra Spider-Man," Benjamín told her. "I looked at you, and it was like we were back in Havana, wrestling over who got dibs on the radio." He chuckled. "I'm glad to see not much has changed."
Luna huffed. "You'd be surprised." Benjamín glanced at her for a moment in confusion, but Luna quickly moved on, saying to him, "But really, thank you for your help back there. If Spider-Man caught me-"
"You don't need to explain yourself, Luna," Benjamín assured her. "I know how much family means to you."
Luna smiled. "Gracias, Ben."
Benjamín smiled back. "Por supuesto."
They pulled up to the front of Luna's house, and she was surprised to see the family's job car - the same one she had left behind - parked in the driveway. Luna wondered how it had gotten back to the house so fast, but she quickly put it aside and turned to Benjamín.
"I can't thank you enough," Luna said to him.
Benjamín shook his head, waving his hand dismissively. "Really, no es ningún problema en absoluto. You're my friend, and I'm always happy to help." Luna smiled at him, and he smiled back before saying, "It's taken me awhile, but... I got myself enrolled in Midtown. My first day is tomorrow."
Luna's face brightened. "Really?"
Benjamín nodded. "Really."
Luna couldn't believe it. Her friend was back, and he was here to stay.
"Why don't you come in, say hi to my family," she suggested. "They're probably worried sick about me, and I'm sure they'd be happy to know you had helped me."
Benjamín smiled widely, nodding again. "Yeah, of course."
The two got out of the car, walking up to the door before Luna pulled out her key and unlocked it. The door swung open, and when she stepped inside, her mother, father, Jazmín, and Mateo immediately stood up from their spots in front of the television, then rushed over to her.
"¡Ay Dios mío!" Salomé cried, looking Luna over to see if she had been injured. "Thank goodness you're alright, we were so worried!"
"After you and Felix drove off, Jazmín and I stole one of the El Tigres' cars and went looking for you," Mateo told Luna. "Then we heard about the car chase on the radio and found the empty car, and we were scared something had..." He trailed off and looked away, unable to finish.
"I'm alright, guys, really," Luna said, then gestured behind her at Benjamín and added, "Thanks to Benjamín."
They all turned to Benjamín, who gave them a little wave and a small smile.
Salomé frowned for a moment, staring at him. "Wait, you mean... Benjamín Berrocal? From Havana?"
Benjamín nodded. "That's right. I helped Luna get away safely."
Salomé glanced at her husband, then at Luna, clearly confused.
"It's ok, Mamá, he knows," Luna assured them.
Salomé turned to Benjamín, her confused look fading and being replaced with a warm smile. Walking up to Benjamín, she embraced him in a warm hug before saying, "Muchas gracias, Benjamín. Thank you for bringing Luna back."
Benjamín nodded again. "Of course." Glancing at the Reyes family, he walked up to Luna and said, "Here, give me your phone."
Luna frowned, but went to her room and retrieved her phone before handing it to her friend. He took it, then typed something in before saying, "There. You have my number now. If you need anything, just call, alright?"
Luna smiled and nodded. "I will. Thanks, Ben."
Benjamín grinned, then backed away and waved to the family. "I really should be going. But it was nice seeing you."
"Igualmente," Salomé replied. "And thank you again."
Benjamin nodded, then turned and left the house, closing the door behind him. Once he was gone, Luna faced her family. "I'm going to bed, I'm tired."
Without waiting for a reply, Luna went to her room, then shut the door before flopping back onto the bed with a relieved sigh. After a moment, she figured that Miles would want to know what happened, so she took out her phone and called him. However, it went straight to voicemail, and when Luna tried again two more times she got the same result. Confused, she tried a third time, but finally he picked up on the third ring.
"What, Luna," Miles said flatly.
Luna recoiled from the phone a bit in shock; what was wrong? "I'm sorry, did I catch you at a bad time?" she asked.
"No, you didn't," Miles replied with a seemingly irritated sigh.
"Oh, okay," Luna said, then took a deep breath and began, "Look, something happened-"
"Look, I don't have time to listen to you and your escapades," Miles snapped. "I'll see you later."
Luna frowned, confused by his irritation. "But-"
"Bye," Miles said, and with that, he hung up.
Luna stared at the phone for a moment, shocked. Where had this sudden hostility come from? Had she done something wrong?
Sighing, Luna put the phone on the bedside table, changed into her pajamas, and crawled into bed, deciding that she'd ask him about it in the morning.
━━━━━ ◦◦◦✵◦◦◦ ━━━━━
❈ A/N: why do i do this, i keep adding new characters and i need to stop already like wtf
anyway, here's the casting for ben:
MALUMA | BENJAMÍN BERROCAL
❛ the childhood friend ❜
❝you know i'm always here for you, luna. estoy contigo hasta el final de la línea.❞
can we talk about how hot maluma is tho? like goddamn
TRANSLATIONS:
¿qué puedes hacer? ━ what can you do?
La forma en que luchabas contra Spider-Man ━ The way you were fighting Spider-Man
Por supuesto. ━ Of course.
no es ningún problema en absoluto. ━ it is no problem at all.
¡Ay Dios mío! ━ Oh my god!
Igualmente ━ Likewise