Notes: Nina 17

Benny 22


Benny lay in bed keeping as much space between his latest conquest and himself as possible. This was the part of the night he hated the most. Not because Jenna wasn't smokin' hot, he just didn't really want to have to deal with her in the morning. He wasn't looking for anything more than a fun time and in his experience, if a chick stayed the night she expected something more from him than a casual hook up. Being a decent guy, he couldn't just kick her out either. Usually, he dropped subtle hints to let a girl know the night was over, Jenna just seemed to ignore all of them.

Just as he was delving deeper into the inner workings of his mind and his commitment issues Benny heard a familiar creaking outside his window. Rosario. Over the years she'd ventured further and further from her own fire escape and onto the ones in the surrounding buildings. Sometimes he busted her and walked her home, other nights he let her have her space. He suspected his building was the least frequented on her rout as it was the shortest one on the block. Taking one last look at the blond in his bed, Benny quietly crawled out and threw on some sweats making sure to slip on some shoes too.

"Fancy meeting you here," Nina remarked without even turning around. Sensing Benny's presence had become her superpower lately. It was annoying.

"I live here." he reminded her.

"Technicality," she smirked finally facing him and sitting on the floor, leaning against the railing.

Sliding down against the wall directly across from her, they sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before either broke it. "So what's tonight's topic of obsession?" Benny asked knowing her routine by now. She only wandered the barrio when she really needed to clear her mind. Even then, being out past one in the morning on a school night was pretty unheard of.

She silently reached into her pocket and handed him a folded piece of paper. Taking the paper with trepidation at her somber look, Benny slowly scanned the words in front of him.

"Nina, this is amazing! A scholarship?" he exclaimed forgetting to keep his voice down.

"Partial." she corrected. "I'd still need to work to pay off the rest." she shrugged.

"Still pretty amazing." he countered.

"Did you see the school?" she asked quietly.

"Stanford. That's what's up." he grinned bubbling with excitement. Ever since she was a kid and he would hide in her father's dispatch Benny knew that if anyone could change the world it would be Nina. She was always different, smarter and more determined than anyone else he knew. Yet he'd also noticed that as she got older her insecurity and over-analyzation often kept her from leaving her comfort zone.

"It's in California," she stated unnecessarily revealing the real issue.

"Just a phone call away. I'm sure your parents won't mind the time difference."

"What about my fire escape?" she asked rhetorically.

"It should be used to your late night calls by now."

"I mean I won't have one in California."

"You'll have something way fancier like a balcony," he countered, to her skeptical look he added "I can send you pictures of it every once in a while so you know it's still there." finally getting a real laugh out of her. "Come on, you have class in a few hours, let me walk you home."

"Won't your date mind?" Nina teased "I can find my own way." To his benefit, Benny had the good sense to blush at her statement. Perpetual good-girl Nina Rosario was the last person he wanted to talk to about his escapades. But Nina wasn't stupid, she'd heard about his reputation in the barrio, and truth be told it was one of the main reasons she didn't frequent his building. It was bad enough having a schoolgirl crush on a grown man, she didn't need it rubbed in her face. However, this marked the first time he actually had anyone over when she happened to drop by.

"I don't see why," Benny responded with a shrug, "It's not like I'll see her again after tonight," he admitted already descending the ladder, mostly trying to hide his face after that statement. If Nina was transcending the stereotypes of her circumstances he felt with that admission he was feeding into them.

"Okay, but don't call me if you come home to a boiling rabbit," she warned causing him to laugh loudly.