After Jimmy told him what the landlord had said on the phone, Ren couldn’t begin to imagine staying in his house throughout his entire stay in Greece. He would have to find another flat, and he would start searching straight away. He couldn’t live next to wankers who were speaking shit about him behind his back, in front of it, and to his landlord. It was taking things way too far. But the place still had his stuff, and he needed a change of clothes before his Theatre Workshop class in the evening.

He waited for the lift to arrive and hastily climbed in before anyone else entered the building. He pressed the number of his floor and waited impatiently to get to it. Once it did, he had to act quick. He did not desire any sort of interaction with the neighbours and was not in the mood for their bullshit.

He opened the lift door but stopped in his tracks. His front door was spray-painted and spelt a word he did not recognise. He could not imagine it was any good if it had been graffitied with red on his door. How could they possibly have done this?

Ren called Jimmy. He didn’t even care if the twats were inside. Jimmy replied in moments.

‘What does P-O-U-S-T-I-S mean?’ he would not even attempt to pronounce the word. It didn’t make any sense. Hopefully, it would to Jimmy.

‘Where did you hear that?’ Jimmy asked.

Ren looked back at the graffiti. ‘It’s written on my door.’

Jimmy must have sworn in his mother tongue as Ren didn’t understand a word.

‘I take it it’s not nice then?’ Ren said when he returned the phone on his ear.

‘No, it is not. It’s the Greek word for—faggot, I guess,’ he said.

Ren didn’t mind the word. It had no derogatory meaning in the UK. But, like most American stuff, it had travelled across the pond and he had seen a shift in its use over the last few years. Despite that, he minded the insult behind his neighbour’s action. They had meant to scare him. To terrorise him. And all because they didn’t want to stop their bloody music.

He put the key in the keyhole and, ignoring the graffiti, disappeared behind the door, inside the flat.

‘Are you still there? Ren?’ Ren nodded. ‘Ren?’

‘I’m here. Sorry. I’m thinking,’ he replied.

‘I can’t believe they did that. They are fucking bastards. You need to get out of that house. This is bullshit,’ he shouted on the phone. Ren appreciated his anger. He needed it.

‘It’s exactly what I’m thinking.’ He picked up his clothes and shoved them in any of the two bags on the floor. Like hell, if he was staying there. He might not be a forward guy, but he wasn’t gonna sit and be bullied in his own house.

‘You—you can come stay at mine until we find something more permanent,’ Jimmy said, and for a second Ren had forgotten he was on the other end of the line.

‘Thank you,’ Ren replied.

‘Come and meet us at Enohes.’

‘Okay.’

‘Oh, and Ren?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Take a picture of the door before you leave. You know, as proof,’ he said.

They hang up and Ren packed everything up within minutes. He didn’t have a lot. He hadn’t had the time to acquire a lot of possessions during his one week in Thessaloniki. Everything fit inside his two bags just fine. He left the flat, took a picture of the door as he had been instructed and walked all the way past the Arch to the cafe Jimmy, Katerina, Antonis, and Stelios were at.

He put everything down and plonked onto the couch after Katerina made some space for him. A cat came up to him and sniffed his hand, which he rested on the sofa’s cushion. Ren looked around to find its owner and petted her head. She climbed on his lap without warning and curled up.

‘I’ve never seen her do that before,’ Antonis said.

‘You’ve seen her before?’ Ren asked.

Antonis and Katerina nodded. ‘She’s the café’s pet. She lives here.’ Katerina answered.

‘But she’s a bit snobby. Doesn’t like to be petted much. I’ve never seen her climb on anyone before,’ Antonis repeated.

‘I guess they really do have a sixth sense,’ Ren said and groomed her fur with his nails while she closed her eyes and purred.

‘How are you feeling?’ Jimmy asked him.

His eyes were small and red and he was biting his lips. Jimmy looking adorable when he needed consolation wasn’t the best for Ren, especially considering Jimmy wasn’t gay.

‘Annoyed, pissed off, angry. I don’t know. Pick one,’ Ren replied. ‘Thanks for the offer, by the way, but I think I’ll find a hotel until I can find a new flat.’

He would have loved to stay with Jimmy, but after the previous night, he wasn’t so sure it’d be a great idea. The things he could do to him when the lights went out, things he’d never done or had the desire to do to anyone else, made Ren feel self-conscious. That kiss, brief and simple as it was, awakened too many things in him to ignore it. Being so close to Jimmy’s lips. Feeling his breath on him.

‘No, it’s fine,’ Katerina answered.

Ren looked to her. She was pointing at Stelios. ‘Stelios has a room in his house,’ she explained and said something to him in Greek.

He took her cue and told Ren. ‘Yeah, I’ve got a spare room. My flatmate’s got a girlfriend and they’ve practically moved in together, so I’m left with an extra room. You’re more than welcome to use it for as long as you need. Until the end of your stay, even.’

That made things easier. ‘I wouldn’t want to impose, though.’

‘Not at all,’ Stelios replied. He put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it up. ‘Like I said, you’re more than welcome.’

‘How much is the rent?’

Stelios took a long draw and exhaled smoke towards the ceiling. ‘Nothing. The house is mine. I don’t need rent or anything.’

Ren shook his head. His coffee finally arrived. He took the glass in his hand and it was ice cold, the perfect temperature for the cosy, hot cafe. ‘I can’t accept that. That’d be taking advantage of you.’

Ren took long sips of his coffee and set it down before he devoured the whole thing. Of course, he would get an applause for from the guys if he did.

‘But I don’t pay rent. Why would I ask you for any? You can buy the groceries if you insist, but there’s no need for anything else.’

Ren reluctantly agreed. It made things simpler. Not having to look for a new flat. Not having to waste a fortune in hotels. It made things simple, indeed. And after the crazy week in Thessaloniki, he needed simple.

Jimmy retrieved his phone and smoked with the other. ‘Let me call your stupid landlord to tell him you’re moving out.’

Better him than Ren. The douchebag didn’t speak any English, and he would tell Ren it was his fault, anyway. Jimmy got into a heated discussion Ren could not understand, but he could imagine it wasn’t going well. It wasn’t a surprise he hung up swearing. In English.

‘He says he won’t give you the deposit back because you didn’t give him a notice. And I told him your neighbours are bullies and they should be reported to the police,’ he explained. ‘Turns out they are his nephews. Which explains the attitude.’

Now that Ren didn’t have to pay rent, it didn’t much matter if he got the deposit back. His peace of mind was worth so much more. His only concern was having to face the wankers in class every other day.

And on that note, Ren sucked the last drops of his cappuccino and left for his Theatre Workshop, and while he insisted on taking his bags with him, Stelios wouldn’t hear it, so he left them in his safe hands. Things were going to be okay.