Road To Happiness ✔

FIVE

After a second poetry night, Hugo was sure he'd heard everything he needed to. It was much the same as the first, but still, Renee laughed. He wondered how many of them she had been too, obviously a lot seeing as she was friends with some of the poets. Somehow, she still laughed every time. He shook his head at her strangeness.

He zoned out partway through, munching on a burger he'd ordered so long ago that it had started to go cold. He drummed his fingers against the table and laughed whenever Renee did. He wasn't paying attention, but he didn't want her to know that. She'd invited him along after all.

This time, when it was over, her friends came over to their table. They'd sat at the back again so that Hugo was as far from the crowds as possible. Renee had learned quickly that Hugo didn't like crowded spaces. They sat in the least packed row of lecture halls, they ate in small cafes that had barely any customers, she gave him rides to work when she found out how much he hated the train.

Renee introduced her friends to him. All they did was wave and he instantly forgot their names. He'd probably never talk to them, not without Renee translating for him. They nattered away to her, meaningless words that had nothing to do with him and he zoned out again. He didn't know how long he sat there, sipping at his drink and finishing off the cold burger.

One by one, Renee's friends left until there were only two of them left. With big grins on their faces and hands waving through the air, they told Renee of things he didn't bother to listen to. He caught the eye of one of them, an androgynous person with a head of bright red hair. "Is your friend alright?" they asked in a voice that did not help Hugo figure out what pronouns to use. "He didn't speak much."

"Oh, he's pretty shy," Renee said with a wave of her hand. She glanced over her shoulder at him, concern in her eyes and he nodded. He was alright. "He's just here for a laugh." The friend took her at her word and looked away from him. In the space of a second, it was like he hadn't existed in the first place. Normal, it was normal, but the voice in the back of his head raged like a rabid beast.

They left not long after that, leaving Renee and Hugo alone at the table. "They seem nice," he signed to her. A lie, for the most part. He hadn't been paying attention.

Renee shrugged. "Sometimes," she said. "Sometimes, they're not. I only see them here. They're not the kind of people I want to go out with regularly."

He frowned at her, confusion coursing through him. "And I am?" he asked.

"Yeah, obviously, you talk to the people you're asking about instead of asking someone else right in front of them," she replied, her lips pursed. "You're cool, Hugo. I like spending time with you."

He couldn't understand it, why she would want to spend so much time with someone who couldn't even make a sound, even when he laughed. Part of him was convinced it was part of a big joke, but she would have no reason to do it. He wouldn't ask, who knew what would happen if he did.

"Speaking of," Renee continued. "My roommate and I are having a movie marathon tonight. Do you want to come along? I'm sure you'd like him, he's super nice and he knows sign language so you don't have to worry about that."

Another new person. Would he be able to handle it? He wasn't even sure if he could handle Renee most of the time. "I have work in the morning," he said. A weak excuse but it was the only thing he could think of.

"So? I'll take you to work, it's no big deal," Renee said with a shrug. The cafe was slowly emptying around them. They would have to leave soon. "I know you're probably nervous, but I swear Stefan is great. We've been friends since childhood. He'll understand if you're shy. I promise it will be okay." That same bright smile that had gotten him into so much trouble.