[Jaykobell]

But she thought against it.

She leaned into her chair, and she picked up her phone again. "Sorry," she replied. "The answer's no."

And without giving Benny a chance to say anything, she got up from her chair. "I gotta go. Just got a call for a pick up." She reached out into her pocket, and she pulled out a few bills. "See you guys later."

The other friends watched as the seagull left the diner, none of them adding another word.

[Jaykobell]

Unsurprisingly, the conversation had left the three remaining friends stuck in an awkward silence.

"Wow." Abigail was the one to speak first. "That was a pretty dick move."

"Agreed," Benny replied, crossing his arms. "She could make back that money in just a few months, anyway. What's the big deal?"

Matteo and Abigail looked at each other. Well, as much as they could, anyway; considering Abigail's hair was constantly covering up her eyes.

"I mean," she said, "I was talking about you, Benny. That was a real dick move."

[Jaykobell]

Benny seemed surprised to hear it. "What?"

"Abi's right," Matteo agreed, puffing one last little cloud of smoke before putting out his cigarette. "How could you put her in that shitty position?" Benny seemed to hesitate, and seeing his dumbfounded, oblivious face, Matteo felt a flush of anger rise in his chest. "We all know you were full of shit. You would never pay her back that money."

The harsh words seemed to snap Benny back into it. "You're full of shit," he retorted. "I'd hold my word and pay her back."

[Jaykobell]

"Excuse me? Does your word suddenly mean something?" Matteo argued back, narrowing his eyes and glaring right at the red panda. "Any job you've had here, you haven't even been able to hold onto."

"Because they don't even pay anything anyway!" Benny snapped back. Anger was rising from both sides, at that point. "And they're shitty deadend jobs. Not like I'd become anything working them."

"And you think that'll change if you move?" Matteo shot back, quickly becoming very upset at Benny's entitled attitude.

[Jaykobell]

"Yes," Benny answered without hesitation.

Matteo scoffed. "Really?"

"Yes!" Benny insisted, more passion into his answer this time.

"So you move to another city," Matteo pitched, trying to shift the conversation in another direction, "and then what?" Benny hesitated to answer, so Matteo continued. "You magically find a good job? You suddenly have tons of money?"

Benny seemed unsure, but eventually, he answered, once again, "Yeah."

Matteo stared back at him, and the two of them exchanged looks for a minute.

[Jaykobell]

"You're so deluded," Matteo said after a while, and nothing from his tone sounded like he was kidding or saying it lightly. No, he was being quite direct, because Benny was saying some dumb shit right about now.

Benny and Abigail didn't say anything for a second. "What's your problem?" Benny eventually asked, a pinch of anger rising in his chest. "Who's being a dick now?" They both sat there and insulted him, but Matteo was now sitting here being even more rude.

[Jaykobell]

"I'm not being a dick," Matteo argued. "I'm just realistic. You act like this town's the problem, but both Bailey and I have jobs, and we're surviving."

"Give me a break," Benny argued right back. "You act like you're better than me, when you hate your job, and all you do all day is bitch about it!"

"I do, but at least I'm sticking to it!" Matteo shot back. "You can't even hold onto any kind of job, so what's your excuse?"

[Jaykobell]

Once again, the two of them stared at each other in silence. After a little while, it was Benny who spoke first, this time. "What happened to you?" he asked Matteo honestly, a different kind of anger in his heart, now.

"Nothing's happened to me," Matteo answered without skipping a beat.

"Something did happen," Benny insisted. "You used to be all about the heists, and telling this town to go to hell. Now you just bitch and moan about your job and all that shit."

[Jaykobell]

"Well," Matteo replied calmly, "maybe I've just actually decided to grow up and move on. Maybe I want to try and get out of this shit town too, and I'm trying to work my way there."

There was another bout of silence. "You know what?" Benny got up from his chair. "I'm done. I can't do this. You used to be the coolest one here." He started heading away, and then he stopped. His anger stared boiling over.

"You might be Matteo now," he said, "but at least, Maria was fun to hang out with."

[Jaykobell]

There was nothing Matteo nor Abigail could answer to that last statement. Matteo stared with a variety of emotions flickering in his eyes; from fear, to anger, to shock, to hurt. "How could you?" he said quietly, a blind rage threatening to overtake him completely.

But none of it mattered to Benny. "You heard me."

Abigail, who had kept quiet during this whole argument, also looked shocked; even with her hair completely covering her eyes. "Dude," she whispered as she stared at Benny.

[Jaykobell]

Matteo and Benny stared at each other. Matteo's face was coiled with obvious pain, a his heart, a strong sense of betrayal and utter disrespect.

As for Benny, anger remained on his face. He didn't seem the least bit apologetic for what he'd said, even if his mind screamed at him that this had truly been an absolute dick move. Never mind what he had asked Bailey: there was no competition.

And so, all he could muster, was to announce, "I have to go."

[Jaykobell]

It was music to Matteo's ears. "Yes," he agreed, his voice dry, direct and uncaring. "You should leave. Right now."

Abigail could only stare back at Benny as well; and together with Matteo, they watched as Benny turned heels and walked away and out of the dinner. The door slammed shut behind him. The faint hums of the dinner could be heard in the background as Matteo and Abigail said nothing.

And then, heart wrenching sobs broke out, and a friend did her best to awkwardly console her friend.

[Jaykobell]

And then, Benny had left. Overnight, he had disappeared.

His mother had put up missing posters around town. She had come to Matteo, Abigail and Bailey, asking if they had seen him, heard of him, if they knew anything, even if it was just a small, insignificant piece of information.

It was clear that she had been heartbroken over his disappearance, and if only for her sake, Matteo and the gang had tried to reach out and find Benny.

[Jaykobell]

They had tried texting. They had tried calling. They had tried instant messaging online. They had tried sending private messages to his accounts online. He was a tech guy: surely, he would answer eventually. He didn't even need to come back -- and with the way he'd left, Matteo didn't even want him to come back. But if only for his mother...a single note, a little message. Just to prove he was still alive.

But he never answered.

[Jaykobell]

He turned the key and locked the door. His work day was finally over. It hadn't been too bad, especially since he'd been lost in thought for most of the day. He knew the exhibits and the tour lines by heart.

The only thing that somewhat kept him invested was when people asked him questions, at which point, well, he had to answer. And he had heard virtually all the possible questions, after this long, so that was almost robotic too.