"What about this pair?" Giulia handed Luca another pair of glasses. Today, she, Luca, and her mom were getting their eyes checked. Lately, Luca's eyes had been giving him trouble when reading his assignments, so Giulia's mom, Diyana, took Luca with her and Giulia this time.

Luca sighed and took them. Earlier, the eye doctor had said Luca had some of the worst vision he'd seen in years. Luca explained it was probably because of him being underwater for so long. He wasn't used to seeing so many new colors, objects, words, or general stimulation. Stimulation was a cool word he learned in school! The doctor said his eyes were taking too much time to adjust, so naturally they would need some help.

"Ooh! Luca, those look awesome!" Giulia grinned at him in the mirror. Luca smiled too. He was worried they would make him look weird or be treated differently, but maybe these wouldn't be so awful after all! The glasses he had on right now were rectangles with a wire rim and black trim on the sides. He liked the way his eyes popped from behind them.

"I like these! Can we get them? Please?" Giulia's mom chuckled and nodded.

"Sí, of course, Luca."

"Grazie!"

~

That was over a month ago. Now it was time to go back to Portorosso for the summer! "You have your bags? Snacks? And your sweaters? And enough money to buy yourselves something nice when you get back home to celebrate?" Diyana asked the duo while standing on the train station.

They answered yes to every question and gave her a hug, then boarded and were off! Portorosso awaited and there was no time to lose!

~

Over the month, Luca had started to get used to having glasses. Sometimes he forgot he had them on or hit them with his hands, but he was getting better. He could certainly see a difference in his vision! (Pun definitely intended) Now the one question he had remaining:

Would Alberto like them?

That question kept rolling through his mind as the train approached the station. They arrived and he gulped, stepping off onto the station platform.

Immediately Luca heard his name being called and was swept up in a crushing hug. "Alberto!" He exclaimed with a grin and squeezed back. He forgot about his glasses yet again and they got squashed against Alberto's hair. When Alberto set him down, he pushed them back up his nose and smiled.

"I'm so glad you're- What happened to your face?" Alberto interrupted himself and poked the center of Luca's glasses, on his nose. "What are these?" He pulled them off Luca's face and held them up, peering through them.

"Alberto!" Luca groaned when Alberto poked and tugged his glasses off. He didn't like not having them on. Everything looked kind of blurry without them. "Those are my glasses. They help me to read and see things more clearly."

By now the rest of their group had come over to them and were chatting. The boys didn't notice.

"Woah! Your eyes are awful then!" Alberto realized that might sound bad and pulled the glasses back off his face. "I mean, well, you know. Your eyes aren't bad! They're very nice, I just...here you go." Luca's squinting didn't look comfortable so he put his glasses back in Luca's hands. "Wait! First..." Alberto held up three fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Berto, I'm not that bad." Luca protested.

"Just answer it!"

"Fine." Luca squinted even more. "Three. Wait, four? No, definitely three." Alberto nodded, satisfied enough, and Luca put his glasses back on. He blinked a few times and stopped squinting, which helped him relax and smile again.

Alberto thought Luca's glasses were adorable. Especially how the colors made his eyes look even bigger and more innocent. He managed to hold it together as Luca's parents started asking him about his glasses and school and everything else.

Finally, as they were leaving, Luca got Alberto alone again. Well, sort of. They were last in their little group off the station. "Berto?" Luca asked quietly.

"Hmm?"

"Do these glasses make me...make me look...I don't know. Weird?" Luca slowed his walking and reached up to slide them off.

Alberto stopped him by putting his hand on top of Luca's and smiling. "No! Of course not! I really like them. And if there's anyone that doesn't, they don't even deserve to talk to you."

Luca's smile made a return. Berto could always make him feel better.

"So, whaddya say we stop by the gelato shop today? They have this new flavor..." Luca nodded along and listened to Alberto talk on and on about everything new. Maybe this new kind of weird would be okay. Yeah, he could see his future better now than ever before and it would be great. 

~

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