‘Anyway, would you like to make a stop for a drink?’ he asked, pointing at a coffee shop.

It had been a long walk, full of history and questions, which was bound to be exhausting for Ren. Jimmy certainly felt tired, and not just because he had to constantly control himself and stop from touching Ren every two seconds.

He had started this day with the intention of finding out more about Ren, but he was starting to worry that Ren was learning more about Jimmy (and his city) than the other way ’round.

‘I’m okay for now. Do you know if there is a comic book store that sells English titles?’ Ren asked.

They were at Aristotle Square where the statue of the namesake was hidden between trees and beggars. A guy was selling sunflower seeds off a trolley and a Romani woman, balloons for impressionable children.

‘Do I…?’ Jimmy cracked up.

It was a stupid question to ask a comic book fan. Of course Jimmy knew comic book stores that sold English titles. All they sold was English titles. Greek publishers were so behind with comic books, if they waited for them to translate all the comic books they liked, they would be waiting an eternity. Jimmy told him that.

‘That’s great. Do you have any time? I really need to replenish my collection. And I’m sick of reading them on a tablet,’ Ren said.

Who on earth read comic books on a tablet?

‘My friend,’ Jimmy told him, ‘I have so much to teach you.’ He grabbed Ren’s neck in the friendly manner he did all his friends, but the butterfly awoke again and wouldn’t shut the hell up, doing sickening rounds in his stomach. He pulled his hand off and continued. ‘First of all, how can you enjoy pure art on a tablet?’

It wasn’t like Jimmy hadn’t given it a chance. Being a broke student in a country where comic books were considered child’s play and were even rarer than diamonds, he had experimented with pirating titles on his computer and reading them online. It wasn’t his brightest moment. But what was a kid with no money and no access to his favourite medium supposed to do? Earning his own money made things so much simpler. And he had tried purchasing titles online, but his eyes strained easily, plus he spent half the time fiddling with the bad navigation of whichever app he used to read on rather than actually reading. That was until Markos had introduced him to the hidden gems that comic books stores were in their town.

Ren raised his hands and feigned innocence. God, he was adorable.

Jimmy closed his eyes and reprimanded himself internally. He was adorable because he was new to the Greek lifestyle. That was it. There was no other reason. He did not find Ren attractive.

He hated how his brain played with his emotions, and that damn butterfly...

‘What are you reading at the moment?’ Jimmy asked Ren to cover up for the crap going on in his mind.

‘I’ve gotten into Alters. Do you know it?’

Jimmy shook his head.

‘It’s from AfterShock Comics, and it’s about this transgender girl who has two identities. One as a transgender kid who hasn’t come out to her family and one as a female superhero. It’s written so elegantly and the illustrations are wonderful. We can check if they have it in the shop. I would highly recommend it,’ he said.

Jimmy hailed a cab from Mitropoleos Street and gave the comic book store address to the driver. ‘Yeah, I’ll check it out. Is that all you’re reading?’

Ren looked at Jimmy as if he’d insulted his very core, and Jimmy chuckled. It was good to see Ren had a sense of humour. It wasn’t what the English were known for.

‘I’m reading Valiant’s Harbinger and Divinity, which, frankly, I’m obsessed with. And oh, my God! Have you read the new Elektra series? I’m addicted,’ Ren balled his fists and closed his eyes as if he was in prayer.

Ren was finally in Jimmy’s territory. ‘If we’re talking Marvel, Miss Marvel, Spider-Gwen, and Spider-Man 2099 are the best, and I won’t take no for an answer,’ Jimmy said.

‘Okay,’ Ren chuckled. ‘Is this place near your house?’

‘No, in Kamara, near where you live,’ Jimmy replied.

Ren laughed. ‘Why are we taking a cab then? That’s really close, isn’t it?’

Jimmy shrugged. ‘Because I’m tired,’ he said.

‘Okay. No worries. Where do you live, by the way? I don’t think you’ve said,’ Ren asked.

‘I live in Touba. You know, where we had your first gyro. That was my neighbourhood,’ Jimmy explained.

‘Do you live with your parents?’

After a deep breath, Jimmy managed to say, ‘My dad. My mom passed away.’

Ren put his hand on Jimmy’s thigh. ‘I’m so sorry.’

And that was it. The soreness hit Jimmy right in the eyes and he hated it. The pain? He could hide. The tears? Not so much. His pulse quickened and he gazed outside at the fleeting streets. He felt like he was in a movie and the camera was right outside the window with melodramatic music playing. Jimmy looked up to stop his eyes wetting any further.

Then he looked at the hand on his leg. ‘It’s okay. It’s not your fault.’

The hand moved but not without leaving a burning warmth in its place. Why did Ren make Jimmy feel this way? Jimmy didn’t need this in his life. He was content with who he was. He didn’t have time or energy to be attracted to anyone, least of all an Englishman. He had tried his entire teenage life to rationalize his feelings and make sense of what no one ever talked about. He couldn’t be attracted to guys because this wasn’t what guys were meant to do. The ones that did lived lonely, miserable lives, sleeping around, never settling in, never having a family. Yes, there were gay couples in America that were accepted and were leading happy lives. But that was in the land of the free. Greece wasn’t that. Homosexuality was taboo. It was sin. It was depression. It was wrong. Jimmy was happy how he was. He didn’t understand why Ren made all these feelings suddenly awaken.

‘What happened?’ Ren asked.

Jimmy needed a moment to get his bearings. They were going from one tough subject to the other. He was certain when he woke up that morning that his plan did not include talking about his mom and thinking about his fucked-up feelings.

‘Uhm…breast cancer.’ Jimmy swallowed. It was hot in the car. Jimmy was sure it hadn’t been that hot a moment ago.

‘I’m sorry,’ Ren repeated.

‘She didn’t know. She never went to the doctor. She went to the hospital and died a week later.’ He wasn’t looking at Ren. He couldn’t. He looked at the streets, the happy people, the infatuated couples.

Ren didn’t say anything. There was nothing anyone could say that would make Jimmy feel better. It was the harsh truth and no amount of words could change it.

When they finally arrived at Cosmic Realm Comics, Jimmy led him inside and took a moment to smoke a cigarette outside. He needed it. He didn’t know why. He didn’t know why every time he thought of her, his first reaction was to kill himself a little with a cigarette, the only way to feel better. It didn’t make sense. But a lot of things didn’t make sense. Like why his head was all of a sudden infested with Ren.

It was because he’d just met him. It was because Jimmy was showing him the town and had fun doing it. It was because Ren was English and Jimmy had never met anyone English before. It was because he had the chance to speak English every day and practice. That was it. That was why Ren was in his head. It couldn’t be anything else.

Jimmy put out the cigarette and joined Ren inside. Ren passed him a comic and Jimmy eyed its title.

‘You will like this,’ Ren said.

They spend close to an hour exchanging titles they liked and introducing new ones to each other. And while Jimmy wasn’t a fan of collectible figures, Ren spent a good amount of time trying to pick which one to purchase, even asking Tasos, the shop owner, for advice.

They left the shop with bags full of comics and a big smile. And Ren’s smile was so infectious it made the butterfly flutter inside Jimmy.

Jimmy called Antonis before they left the store and joined them for coffee at Enohes. Stelios was there when they arrived at the café-apartment just around the corner. Markos had travelled back to Athens the night before.

Jimmy ordered his coffee and Ren wanted juice, so Jimmy got him a cherry and banana juice, which was a favourite. Katerina and Antonis ordered another round of frappés for themselves.

When their drinks arrived, Ren looked at all of them.

‘I know you said you are a coffee nation, but how on Earth do you drink so much coffee? Also, it’s four in the evening,’ he said.

Antonis laughed. ‘Four is how many more coffees I will drink by the end of the day.’

Jimmy had to laugh at that because it wasn’t even an understatement.

‘You must spend a fortune on coffee every day,’ Ren deduced.

Katerina quickly put her frappé on the table and waved her hands over the table, taking control of the conversation. ‘No. That’s the magic of the frappé. You can add water and it will still be good.’ Ren frowned and Katerina demonstrated for him. She took the jug of water on the table and poured some into her half empty glass of frappé. The liquid kept its colour, albeit changed in consistency.

‘Surely that’s just water now,’ Ren said.

‘Try,’ she responded.

Ren did. He winced and passed it back to her.

‘This is vile,’ he exclaimed.

Katerina acted horrified. Jimmy laughed. He had to agree with Ren on the subject. Adding water to frappé was a stingy person’s way of hanging out.

‘I mean, I love coffee, but I usually have a couple a day, max. Plus I don’t have time to hang out with friends over coffee for hours,’ Ren said.

It was true they spent a lot of hours hanging out with friends. That was something Jimmy knew from friends and family who had travelled abroad. They had all complained how fast everyone moved and how little time they spent at any one place.

‘That’s because Thessaloniki is the city of halara,’ Jimmy said.

Ren turned to him. ‘What?’ he asked Jimmy.

‘Halara. Means…peaceful, but also relaxed. We take things slowly. Why do today what you can do tomorrow?’ Jimmy explained and saw Ren’s smile creeping back up.

‘That’s a foreign concept in London. Everything and everyone are moving faster than The Flash,’ he said. ‘Everyone has somewhere to be and something to do. All the time.’

Stelios cut in. ‘Be careful. Halara can be addictive. I already feel sorry for you, having to go back to London after six months of halara life.’

Ren sat back in his chair. ‘No, I can see that. I’m not complaining.’

He raised his hand to call the waitress, and when she returned to their table, he ordered a frappé.

‘That’s the spirit,’ Jimmy said.

Ren laughed. ‘No, I just need to stay awake. I didn’t close an eyelid last night.’

Katerina pursed her lips. ‘Oh, no, is it the change in time?’

Ren shook his head. ‘Nah, the neighbours were playing music all night long,’ he said.

Jimmy raised an eyebrow. ‘What?’

‘Yeah, they were having a party, I think. The whole flat was vibrating.’

‘What a bunch of assholes. Did you ask them to turn it down?’ Ren shook his head. ‘Why not?’

He gave a half shrug. ‘Because I’m new. I’m foreign. I don’t want to piss anyone off.’

Jimmy rolled his eyes. ‘But you pay rent just like everyone else. You have every right. Plus, it’s past the public quiet times,’ Jimmy said. ‘It’s illegal. A misdemeanour.’

‘It’s okay. I’m sure it was a one-off,’ Ren said.

Knowing Greeks, Jimmy very much doubted that, but he didn’t say anything.