You know, sometimes you just need a bright blue neon light for your computer.
This is what Bo is telling himself.

Buying something he doesn't really need is certainly better than doing harm to someone; he is distracting himself, avoiding the people he'd normally hang around with (though he did stop by Keye's on Christmas), avoiding even undue attention except when feeding. Which explains current attire, designed to be passed on by: khaki pants, not too tight, and a soft, cream-colored sweater. And loafers, of all the shoes you never thouight he'd wear.

He is squatting down with nothing on his face but calm concentration as he examines small neon lights.

Benji is not watching where he's going.
Rather, he's not watching where other people are going. This would be why, when he strides purposefully around the corner, he almost trips over Bo. The soles of his sneakers squeak noisily as he pulls to an abrupt stop. He's walked right into this small crouching person all the same, though, and he only just manages to avoid going over by grabbing onto the edge of a shelf.
"Shi- sorry," he says lamely. "Sorry. Wasn't watching..."

Bo looks up at him wide-eyed, and is proud of his lack of hesitation in saying, "Benjamin. How are you?"
Ha! Didn't even mistake him for Keye this time!

Benji rights himself, staring down at him.
Of course he wouldn't just trip over some random person. Of course it would have to be this guy.
"...'m okay," he replies stiffly, "You?"

"Fine."
Well, nothing could be further from the truth, but Benjamin is not someone Bo is going to spill his heart to.
He stands, his movements as always smooth and graceful, a small box held loosely in one hand.
"So what brings you here?"
Must always be polite, yes. But cautious, and a few steps away, and glaring warily up through his hair...
All right, he doesn't look all that polite, but he's speaking civilly.

"Nothing, really. Just looking around."
His gaze falls on the box.
"What've you got there?"
Read: let's talk about anything and everything but what we should.

"A light."
Bo's tone is too airy.
He can almost feel the sting at the corner of his lip still.
"I am customizing my computer."

"Oh." He gives a small, jerky nod. "That's cool."
...
"What kind of light?"
He's prepared to make a little polite conversation about lights, and then be on his way. He isn't going to make any personal remarks.He has self-restraint. Honest!

"Blue," Bo replies accusingly.
His hand is at the corner of his mouth. Involuntarily, I swear!

"Blue." He echoes, frowning. "Well that's just wonderful. They have green, too."
He points to the display.
"I prefer the green ones, personally." His eyes narrow (Oh, come on, it's not like I broke your jaw or anything). "They work just as well."

"Blue," Bo replies defensively, straightening his glasses, "is my favorite color. I find green somewhat painful to the eye."

"Ah. Well. Have fun with your blue lights, then."
Benji picks up one of the boxes and passes it gently from hand to hand, just to have something to do that will stop him balling his hands into fists.
"I still like green."
Pause.
"So. Abandoned anyone lately?"

Bo hisses and snarls something under his breath in German.

Then he takes a deep breath, squares his shoulders, and smiles altogether too smoothly.
"You might know the answer to that if you paid any attention to your brother."

Very carefully, Benji places the box back on the shelf. He drops his arms to his sides, letting them hang loosely in place. His fingers are folded into his palm, almost into a fist.
"I pay attention to him. Doesn't mean I have to give a damn about what you're doing." There is a meaningful pause. "Or not doing."

"Well, he'd probably let you know." He shrugs, though he's tense--poised to run, actually.
"If you don't give a damn, why did you ask?"

"Just being polite," he says simply, smirking. "...That, and I wanted to see if it'd piss you off."
If the idea of abandoning Keye bothers him, then maybe - just maybe - he's not a complete jerk after all.

"It did."
No point in lying.
"Especially since you're worse and have no right to question me."

"Excuse me?"
Benji crosses hs arms and attempts to loom in a menacing sort of way. He succeeds.
"I'm worse? His dad died and you, you didn't even try to help him out. You left. You knew how upset he was and you just up and left. Way to go."

Bo's face twists miserably. Not this again.
"Someone close to me died as well! Am I not permitted to grieve? His father was close to me as well!"

"I didn't say you couldn't."
Benji scowls at him.
"Makes it worse, though. You were feeling just as bad as he was, yet you were the one who ran off."

"He also ran off," Bo points out. That's how the whole mess started--Keye went missing and got in a fight.
"And I have my own home to go to. I couldn't...stay."
It hurt too much to be in the place where Alexander died. Why can't Benji understand that? Bo's look is almost pleading now.

"You left first," Benji accuses.
Well, he did.
"If it was all that important that you leave, you could have gotten someone else to stay with him," he snorts. "You could have called me."

"I didn't think to. Not that you would have thought to come--not that you did come--when I didn't call you."
He folds his arms, glaring.

'When I didn't-"
Excuse him while he fits his brain around that sentence.
"How'm I supposed to know if no one tells me? I'm not psychic, you know! Jesus..."

Bo's not letting go of that one--he's not exactly fond of feeling like he's in the wrong, even if it's true.
"Well, maybe if you bothered to check up on him once in a while..."

"Hey, fuck you."
Benji steps forward, lip curled in a sneer.
"I check up on him plenty. You can't expect me to just automatically know if he needs to be checked on more than usual."

"How about semi-regularly?" Bo has one hand held out in a 'Well, idiot? Well?' gesture. "How about around Christmas, hm? At least I did that."

"Back off," Benji snarls. "You know what? It's none of your business. I had to go home straight after exams. I sent him a card, and a present, and - it's still none of your fucking business. I check in on him, and I do it in my own time. Yeah, I should probably do it more often, but everyone says that about family."
Snort.
"...I really should visit him more often, though," he reiterates, giving Bo a very pointed look. "He could use a few more normal people around."

"Right," a derisive snort, "you're normal. I know about that little fistfight you had."

"Uh-huh."
An eyebrow quirks upwards.
"And having a fight makes me abnormal? Nice try. Better a fight than not being able to decide whether you're a guy or a girl."

"What makes it abnormal, me or the fact that you can't decide whether or not you like it?" he counters with a particularly nasty grin.

"You," he replies vehemently, looking thoroughly digusted. "God, with friends like you, no wonde he's so fucked up."

"Really." His foot taps repetitively on the floor. "And explain to me exactly what it is about me and how it leads into his troubles."

"Mostly, it's just that you're weird," Benji scowls. Any other argument will lead to someone accusing him of being homophobic whch is, in a small way, true. "If you're around him, how's he going to learn to be normal?"

Bo just raises one eyebrow, sneering.
"I promise you, I'm far more stable than he is. If anyone is a bad influence, I'd say it's you; you can't even keep your temper in check."

"Yeah? You think so?"
Huff. If that's how it's going to be...
Benji tugs out his cellphone and holds it out.
"Here. Keye's number four." He nudges the phone closer. "Call him. He can decide who's the bad influence."

Bo stares incredulously now, almost laughing, only...no, he's too incredulous to laugh.
"You realize that you're proving my point, don't you?"

"Yeah. Right."
He rolls his eyes.
"You gonna call him or not?"

"No. I'm not."
He's angry, yes, and he's being petty and nasty...but he'd rather let Benji take the argument than do this very stupid thing that Keye's twin is suggesting.

"Fine. Then I will."
He stops pushing the cellphone at Bo and brings it back to where he can see the display. Then, it's time to push buttons.