Road To Happiness ✔

FIFTEEN

Hugo didn't ask his boss for a raise the next day. In fact, it took him another two weeks to gather the courage to do it. They were nearing the semester break for university, which meant he would be working more often and therefore had more opportunity to as Robert. Semester break was also the most likely time for him to get word back on his application. If he got accepted without being able to pay for it then he was screwed.

Robert gave him a small wave and a kind smile when he walked into the computer repair store that afternoon. Hugo returned it nervously, but Robert didn't seem to notice anything different. A man was talking to him, gesturing to a laptop with a very cracked screen and asking confused questions, mostly about price.

Hugo shuffled into the back room where the computer he'd been working on the night before still lay. It was a bit trickier than most to fix, but he enjoyed how much time it took up. It gave him something to do. He was already straight to work by the time Robert came into the back room.

"Hey, kiddo," he said. "Did you get your scores back?" There'd been another assessment for his classes during the last two weeks and he'd been impatiently waiting for his scores.

He nodded. "I got ninety," he answered. He was extremely proud of it. He'd never expected to do as well as he was when he started, mostly because he hadn't been to school in so long. But he was doing far better than he expected.

"I'm so proud of you!" Robert exclaimed, his hand moving to ruffle Hugo's hair. Hugo smiled at him in thanks. "We should do something to celebrate!"

"Maybe over the holidays," Hugo replied. "I still have other assessments to get through first."

"And I'm sure you'll do just as well on them." Hugo was sure of it too. He'd done well on all of his assessment so far. So much so that his lecturer wanted him to attend events to learn more. She'd emailed him a list she thought he would like, but they weren't until the next semester, which gave him time to prepare and ask Renee to come with him to translate.

And if Renee couldn't make it, maybe he could ask Stefan. They'd been going to get lunch whenever they could. Stefan always found the quietest places to eat so that Hugo didn't get too anxious, which he was grateful for. But every time they went out, he could feel his feelings get worse. Every kind remark, every compliment, and Hugo felt himself falling further and further for him.

It was pointless, allowing himself to feel such things. He was an anxious mess. He wasn't ready for a relationship, but he couldn't help but want it. There was no way Stefan would want to be with him because of his anxiety and the fact that he obviously just saw them as friends. There would be some sign that he saw him any differently, wouldn't there?

He shook the thoughts away. It was pointless to dwell on them. Even if Stefan did want to be more than friends with him, there was no way he could let it happen. He wouldn't be able to handle it, despite how much he wanted to. He had work to concentrate on, he couldn't get distracted by boys.

There was something he needed to do. He'd been putting it off for weeks and he needed to finally get around to do it before his application was accepted. Renee harped at him every time he didn't do it, but it didn't do much to push him to ask Robert for a raise.

He took a deep breath and tried to ignore the voice in the back of his head that told him it was a bad idea to ask. He was overthinking again, he had to stop. His stomach threatened to expel the little food he'd eaten, but he pushed on.

Robert wasn't looking at him anymore, instead he was focusing on his work like Hugo should have been. With another deep breath, he stood from his seat and walked towards his boss as slowly as he possibly could. He tapped Robert's shoulder and the older man looked up at him in concern. "Everything alright, Hugo?"

Hugo didn't know whether to nod or shake his head, so he didn't do anything. "I need to ask you something," he signed with shaking hands.

"What is it? Did something happen? Sit, sit," Robert said in a rush, pulling out another chair and gesturing for him to sit down.

"No, nothing happened. I mean, nothing bad," he replied. He was already going about it all wrong, but there was nothing he could do about it. Robert looked both confused and worried, teeth chewing on his bottom lip. "So, you know that dad and I don't really get along that well? One of my friends suggested that I move onto a place at the university. I put in an application for it a couple of weeks ago. I'm waiting for an email back to see if I got a place."

"That's great, Hugo! I'm glad you're finally getting away from him," Robert said, the poison in his voice obvious. They'd never really gotten along that well, Robert and his father, but Hugo mostly ignored it.

Hugo smiled at him. "The thing is though, the housing is expensive and I don't earn enough at the moment to be able to live there. So, I was wondering that if I do get a place, would you be able to give me a raise?" Even saying the words freaked him out but they were out in the open now. He couldn't take them back. "It's okay if you can't. I can find a second job to afford it."

"No, no, Hugo, don't worry about getting a second job. You can't balance two jobs and uni at the same time," Robert said, planting a hand against Hugo's shoulder. "We'll sort out the details when you get the place, but of course, I'll give you a raise."

Before Hugo could properly think things through, he was out of the seat and wrapping his arms around his boss. He hadn't even hugged his father when he'd let him move out, but for some reason, his mind thought it a good idea to hug Robert. He was going to pull away the instant he realised what he'd done, but the older man pulled him closer.

"Thank you so much," Hugo signed when they moved away.

Robert smiled at him. "You're welcome, kiddo. It's the least I could do," he said. "If you ever need any help, just let me know, alright?"

Hugo nodded in response, cheeks heating up at his stupid actions, but Robert hadn't seemed to mind it. "I'll let you know what's going on as soon as I get the email."

They didn't talk much after that, both of them busy with work, but Hugo couldn't push away the elated feeling in his stomach. Everything was going well for him for once. He was doing well in school, at work, with his friends. He would be moving out soon if he was lucky enough and he wouldn't have to deal with his father's ramblings.

He had the GSA, he had Stefan and Renee, he had Robert too now. He was going to move out and live on his own and do his own thing for once. He would get over his thing for Stefan. He only liked him because the man was nice to him. It would be easy to get over him. They would be friends, him and Renee and Stefan. And maybe he would go to the party.

His mood stayed the same for the next two weeks, calm and happy. When the school semester ended and he went home to his father, he found an email from the university waiting for him on his laptop. His application for a place on campus had been accepted.