TWENTY-TWO

School would start up again in a couple more days and all three of them were dreading it. Hugo, not so much. He found that he actually enjoyed his classes. The only thing that made him nervous was having to attend the writing events his lecturer had emailed him during the break. But he'd have Renee or Stefan there with him to translate.

He was out with them again, the third time since he moved into his new home. He would have thought he'd be spending more time in his apartment, but he wasn't complaining too much. He was just glad they still wanted to spend time with him after the mistakes he made when he was drunk. He hadn't had a sip of alcohol since then, too scared that he would repeat his past mistakes.

Bowling, while Renee and Stefan were great at it, was not his strong suit, and he was losing by a mile. Renee and Stefan weren't even bothering to count him their little race for whoever would come first because he was so far behind, but Hugo didn't mind. He bowled the ball, laughed at his failure and watched the friendly banter between the pair.

All three times he had seen Renee since he had moved in, she'd given him knowing looks that made him want to push her away. It always made him blush and he hated it, especially when Stefan noticed and asked him what was wrong. Every time Stefan stood to take his turn, Renee would shoot him a look.

"Would you stop that?" he asked at the beginning of their second game.

Renee laughed at him. "No, it's too funny. You're cute," she replied and then sighed. "I haven't had a chance to talk to him yet, not properly anyway. I brought it up once and he just fobbed me off."

Hugo didn't have a chance to ask what that meant. Stefan walked back over, a smug grin on his face and eyed the pair of them. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"Hugo's inability to bowl," Renee replied instantly, as if she didn't have to think about it. She nudged him to stand and it was then that he realised it was his turn.

"I could teach you a thing or two, you know," Stefan suggested. Hugo's cheeks turned red at the nonchalance on his face and voice, but he nodded nonetheless.

With the ball in hand, he stood in front of the aisle, listening to Stefan's instructions with as much attention as he could muster. He fought off the blush as hard as he could when Stefan helped him stand in the right position, his fingers grazing the bare skin of his arms. He hit a little over half the pins when the other man finally let him go, but it was better than he'd done during the last game.

Renee was laughing on the couch behind them, little giggles that did nothing to help his nerves. He could have turned and blurted the words out the Stefan then if Renee hadn't been there and especially if she hadn't been laughing. It only made him embarrassed and far too anxious to do something about what he felt for Stefan.

He barely signed a word for the rest of the day, but the other two didn't mind. They spent most of the rest of the day bagging each other out for their bowling skills. At least, it made Hugo laugh harder than he had in a while.

The day university classes started back up again, Hugo was slammed with work. He helped Renee go through the notes and he got an email from Tomas about editing his book. They'd been talking a little before classes started up about what the book was about and everything else Hugo needed to know. He'd get the book later that night when Tomas got off work.

He'd even been able to set up the beginnings of his own freelance editing business. He was working mostly through social media and it would take a while before things really got moving. Editing Tomas's book would be able to help with that, he hoped.

His home was silent and empty as he attempted to save the dinner he'd tried cooking. He looked away for a second and what was meant to be pasta sauce was completely burned and inedible. He'd been messaging Stefan, which was a bad idea in hindsight, but there wasn't much he could do about it now.

He sighed and dumped the remains of his food in the bin. There was no hope for it. Two-minute noodles for dinner it was. Cleaning the frying pan was going to be a pain and he hoped he wouldn't have to buy a new one.

He was boiling the kettle and digging through his cupboards for a pack of noodles when there was a knock on the door. With a sigh, he left the kitchen and opened the door, making a noise in surprise when Stefan grinned from the other side.

"What are you doing here?" Hugo asked, his face scrunched in confusion.

Stefan lifted a brown paper bag. "I can't stay long because I have work. But I was out getting dinner when you messaged me, so I bought you a burger," he answered, a small smile on his face. Hugo could have jumped on him then and there without a care in the world.

"Thank you," he signed, moving to the side to let him in. "How long can you stay for?"

Stefan placed the brown paper bag on the bench and check the time on his phone. "Uh, about five minutes," he said. Hugo mentally cursed, wishing it was longer. "Sorry, traffic was worse than I thought."

"It's alright. Thank you for bringing me dinner. You didn't have to."

Stefan shrugged, smiling sweetly at him. "It was the least I could do. Like I said, I was already getting dinner for myself. This place isn't too far out of the way from work," he replied.

Hugo hissed in a breath, tapping his feet against the dark floorboards. "I know we're not going to be seeing much of each now because of work and school, but if you're free over the weekend, we could go and get dinner?" He ignored how jittery he was and the way the anxiety raged in his stomach and chest. He hadn't even expected to be saying the words, but it was too late to take them back.

Stefan grinned at him then, and butterflies exploded in Hugo's stomach. "Yeah, that would be nice," he replied, checking his phone again. "Hell, I have to go or I'm going to be late. I'll tell Renee about this weekend, alright?" And with that, he was out the door, leaving Hugo in silence.

With a groan, Hugo rested his head against the now-closed door. How had that not worked? Stefan was oblivious and at any other time, it would have been funny. This time, it was just painful. At least now he could look forward to dinner with his friends on the weekend.

"He's an idiot," Renee said the next day when Hugo told her about what happened. "How did he not realise? Oh, my fucking god, I'm friends with a dumbass."

"Have you talked to him?" Hugo asked. They sat in the library and were meant to be sharing notes, but he wasn't able to hold back the news of his failed attempt at asking Stefan on a date.

Renee shook her head, frowning at him. "I tried to, but he said he wasn't sure if he should date you," she replied.

"What does that mean?" Hugo asked, taken aback. He'd brought him dinner and almost kissed him. Surely, he wanted to date him. Maybe he'd been wrong, it wasn't impossible.

"I have no idea! He's just being dumb. Keep trying to ask him out," she told him with a wave of her hand.

And so, he kept trying. At dinner over the weekend, whenever Renee wasn't around to flare up his nervousness, he hinted at the idea of a date with Stefan, but the man barely responded with more than a single word. Renee had shrugged at him in confusion when they pulled away from the curb later that night.

When Stefan took him shopping for another frying pan and some other things he needed for his apartment, Hugo tried brushing his hand against his, just to see what would happen. But Stefan pulled away with a sharp jerk and Hugo gave up on even trying to ask him out then.

During their messages, Hugo tried to bring it up, but it was so much harder to do over text than in person. He couldn't tell what Stefan was thinking when they were texting and when he'd suggested going bowling again, he'd made jokes about his bowling skill but eventually turned him down because of work. Hugo had no idea if he figured out that it was meant to be a date or not.

By the time two weeks had passed, Hugo had all but given up on ever asking Stefan out. The universe said 'no, stop trying, it's never going to happen' and he was inclined to agree. According to Renee, Stefan didn't want to ask him out. He did like him, but for some reason, he wouldn't ask him out. So, if Hugo wanted anything to happen, he would have to do it himself.

But every time he tried and every time he failed, it just made him feel worse and worse. Maybe he had been wrong in some way. Stefan didn't want him the way he thought he did, so what was the point in trying anymore? The only person convinced that it would work out was Renee, who kept encouraging him to try again and again and again.

He sat alone on the couch in his apartment, a bowl of pasta in his lap. He hadn't burnt it that time around. He'd learned not to get distracted by his phone when he was cooking. Said phone sat on the couch next to him, tempting him to text Stefan, even though he had nothing to say. As far as he knew, the man was at work. His phone lit up even as he thought the words.

Stefan: You busy tomorrow?

Hugo: I finish work at five

Stefan: Renee is with her family for the weekend and I'm bored. Come over for a movie marathon tomorrow night? I'll pick you up

Hugo: Yeah, that would be nice. I thought you had work tomorrow though

Stefan: Nah, my boss is on holiday or something. I have the whole weekend off. You could stay the night too if you want to. I don't think Renee would mind if you slept in her bed while she's not there.

Hugo: Works for me

He smiled at the phone, forkful of pasta hovering a few inches from his mouth. Even with his declining confidence, he was still happy to spend time with Stefan. If nothing came of his feelings, he could still be friends with him, maybe. He'd get over it one day. Or so he hoped anyway.