Chapter Text
While Mick and Callum stood outside, the closed front door preventing them from peering. It also prevented Ben from peering out at them. Although he was probably busy throwing on whatever clothes were lying around for him to be that bothered about what was being said about him. He struck Callum as a guy that was too confident for that anyway. Self doubt and self consciousness didn't seem to be his style, not for guys like that, guys that were just so themselves. There were plenty of blokes just like Ben in the ranks, so pumped up with all their bravado, they practically burst with it... They wore their masculinity as a kind of armour and would egg each other on to to do all sorts of rowdy things, getting drunk, dancing, gossiping like little boys about their lives back home. Not all of them were as genuine though, there were some who would stop with that line of defence as soon as they were alone, lads like Chris, who used their masculinity as a disguise, to stop the wrong people seeing the real them. Since he was so used to seeing he was almost sure something was different, but thenthinking about Chris sent a sharp, piercing pain through his chest which was followed up by a all encompassing numbness that spread all over his body.
Lexi was stood still in the middle of the garden path and the longer that she stood there the more annoyed she seemed to get. She was tapping a toe insolently and her hands on her hip.
Realising his weird silence Callum looked at her and smiled, although he felt like he was betraying himself in the attempt, so it came out looking more like a grimace.
Still the change came over her as quickly as a change in the tide, she started to smirk and ran up to him headlong like a charging bull. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hung there. After a moment she leaned back, almost bending in half at the waist to look up at his face. He looked at her numbly, his arms pinned to his sides.
"I don't care if you're his new boyfriend, or you ain't,“ her voice boomed in Callum’s ears ”you better teach my dad better pun-punt-punctu-"
"Punctuality" Callum offered without thinking, the frustration in the kid's eyes evident even to him, as her tongue fumbled around the word that she couldn't quite get a grip on.
"Yeah that." she said, "it's the second time he's been late this week."
"It's only Tuesday" he was oddly proud he knew what day it was, considering how messed up the last few weeks had been, how in his head he’d been. He would’ve been proud to tell anyone what the year was.
"Exactly." - (this sounded like ezacly) "He's a bit rubbish and he needs some help.“ then she added, almost as an afterthought ”do you know Queer Eye?"
"Lex!
Ben's voice suddenly sounded from the upstairs window, almost as if he was reprimanding her, but he couldn’t have been! Instead of taking offence (out loud) she rolled her eyes, sighed heavily, and unclasped herself from Callum's waist. “What does he want now?” she sighed then she trotted inside like a semi-obedient dog, and heartily slammed the door, so that the window panes rattled.
When she got inside Ben was in the hallway, this time with a tee-shirt and shorts on, not to mention his signature Dad look. This was the sort of face that he put on when he was going to tell her off, and lo and behold he did!
"Lex!" He said, cringing as she let the door crash shut "close that a bit louder next time, the 'ole street didn't quite hear ya."
but she wasn't listening, she was too focused on his bare feet, which looked like slabs of marble against the carpet.
"Why ain't you wearin' your shoes?" She asked innocently,
"Dunno but I think you've been playin' dress up with 'em again 'aven't ya?""
"No." she crossed her arms, and sounded hurt that she'd get accused of such a thing. She was 7 now after all, not a baby. Instead she was trying on costumes for her latest dance show. Her mind wandered off as her dad carried on.
"Well I can’t find ‘em, and they ain't just gone walkabouts on their own 'ave they?"
Lexi was silent.
Ben was exasperated "Lexi!" he scalded
"No but I ain't moved 'em."
"Well who has? The shoe fairy?"
She shrugged with her whole body, and threw out a huge sigh.
"Well can you look please"
"You know what you said about mummy if I missed school? Well Miss Richmond will be the same if I'm late."
"find me somethin' to put on my feet and we can go, can't we?"
This was it! This was her chance, she disappeared for a moment, skipping through the flat and came out of the living room with a sly grin on her face. In her hands where what she thought to be the perfect pair of shoes to walk her dad to school in.
"You're kiddin'" he sighed, looking at the 'shoes' which certainly weren't his.
I'm certainly not the look she gave him said as she proffered the footwear towards his stomach.
Ben eventually trudged out of the house, cheeks ruddy from embarrassment. It wasn't difficult to see why, on his feet were the fluffiest pair of slippers that Callum had ever seen. They might not have been too bad if they didn't have two dangling pompoms attached, bobbing merrily just above his ankles. Despite himself Callum found himself smiling, even grinning until his cheeks hurt - maybe he was just hysterical?
Ben pointed a finger at the pair of them as he passed, piercing them with his bright blue eyes. It soon put a stop to the frivolous feeling exploding in Callum’s chest, putting a puncture in the which was threatening to lift him up off his feet.
"Don' say a word about this when I get back" then he was gone, dragged along to Walford Primary. It was difficult not to notice the springispring Lexi's step as she led her father to his doom, where all the mum's would absolutely have a laugh at him. That was more than a bit of a pain, since they didn't particularly like him already.
"What a kid. Right little Diva, just like 'er mum" Mick remarked with a chuckle
her mum? Callum thought of course that's where kids come from... but why did I think somethin' else
"Goes to school with our Ollie," Mick continued heedless weather Callum was listening or not "not in the same year obviously, but she 'elps 'im sometimes, if he wants ta say somethin'. Could talk for Britain that one"
"I gathered" Callum concurred, before drifting into another thoughtful silence.
Before long, Ben was back. He huffed towards the door, and waved them both in.
"Come on then“ he grumbled, acting like a from a gangster movie ”before anyone else can take the piss."
Mick couldn't help himself, and smirked as he passed "now why would they do that?"
"hmm, I bloody wonder" Ben said, throwing himself down in his armchair, and throwing the slippers across the room.
“So.” He said, once Callum had looked sheepishly across the room, at the which now lay in the corner “What’s this about a roommate?” Ben leaned forward, suddenly businesslike and serious in his chair.