"You went to the uni's GSA?" Renee asked incredulously. They were sitting in the library together after a lecture, trying to review their notes. Renee had missed two days of class because of her flu and was still sniffling every couple of seconds. There was no doubt that Hugo would get sick at some point. It was that time of the year after all.

He shrugged at her. "I thought it worth a shot," he replied.

"That place is full of weirdos!"

"I noticed." He hoped she meant that they were just odd, not weird because they were gay.

She frowned at him. "Was it that bad? You look slightly terrified," she asked.

"They were just rowdy. I wasn't prepared for it," he answered with a straight face. "I didn't handle it very well."

She patted his hand, warm and comforting. "You should have told me you were going. I don't like them very much, but I would have come to comfort you," she said. The smallest of smiles pulled at her lips.

"I didn't really think it was your scene," he replied, eyes locked on the table between them and the notes that were scattered across it. "I wasn't sure if-" He dropped his hands into his lap and bit down on his lip.

Renee let out a laugh. "I'm a lesbian, Hugo. I thought that was obvious," she said.

"It was a bit, but I didn't want to assume." He felt like an idiot. How had he not realised? Of course, she was a lesbian. But he hadn't wanted to assume. You couldn't just look at someone and say they were a lesbian just because they looked like the stereotype. Short hair and seemingly masculine clothing didn’t mean anything when it came to someone’s sexuality.

"It's all good, Hugo, I don't mind. You don't need to worry about it, alright?" Renee told him, grabbing his hand. He nodded at her and finally looked her in the eyes, at the familiar, comforting grin that was always plastered on her face. "I didn't know you were gay. Or are you bi, or do you not use labels like Stefan?"

"I'm gay," Hugo signed. It was so strange, being able to say it knowing that the person in front of him would accept him no matter what. His old friends had fobbed him off like it was nothing, like he was nothing. He'd been terrified to tell his parents, even though they'd been completely supportive of him. But with Renee, he knew would be alright with it. He didn't have to be scared around her.

Her grin widened. "Awesome! I'm glad you were able to tell me," she said and pushed a sheet of paper towards him. "Now, help me out with this stuff."

When he got home that night, he thought about what Renee said to him. Not about the gay stuff, for once he wasn't worried about that, but the stuff she'd said about the GSA. She didn't like the people there, not because they were gay, but because they were strange. It was reasonable enough, but Hugo couldn't help but think about what Rose had told him.

She wanted him to come by next week, just to try it out. She was going to text the others about calming down, something he felt bad about. He didn't want them getting in trouble because he was an anxious mess, but it was too late to tell her otherwise. Part of him was still scared about going back, but she'd said they were usually calmer.

Maybe he could try it. They hadn't seemed to mind much that he didn't speak, not that they bothered to talk to him anyway. One more try; it wouldn't be so bad if they were calm. From the looks of things, they just sat around a table and talked. That he could do. He wouldn't have to write anything if he didn't want to. He could just listen.

"Are you alright?" his father asked in the middle of dinner. "You haven't heard a word I said, have you?"

He hadn't even realised his father had been talking to him. He stared at him with wide eyes, terrified of what the old man might say. "I was just thinking," he signed, grateful that his hands didn't shake.

"About?" his father asked. "It has to be important if you weren't paying any attention."

Hugo shrugged. "There's a group I'm thinking about joining, a GSA," he replied and drummed his fingers against the edge of the table for a second. "But I'm not sure if it's a good idea."

"Do you talk to them?" his father asked, and Hugo shook his head. One day his father wouldn’t be so hung up on him speaking. Hugo doubted he'd ever make noise again. "And I'm assuming not many of them know sign language." Another shake." Then how do you expect to make friends with them?"

"I have a notebook," Hugo replied. It wasn't the best solution, but it was all he had.

His father sighed and leaned back against his chair. "That won't work, Hugo. Do you think people are going to want to be friends with you if it takes you forever to write out a reply?" And that was his father in a nutshell, always bringing him down.

"What do you expect me to do?" he asked.

"Talk! It's not that hard, Hugo. I can't believe I've spent so long trying to convince you to do it," his father exclaimed and like every conversation they had, it once again moved to the topic of Hugo's muteness. "I understood during the first few months. It was a reaction to what you saw, but it's been five years! You need to move past this."

Move past it? How could he move past it? "I saw her die, dad! I can't just forget that!"

"I'm not asking you to, but you need to start speaking again. She would want you to."

Hugo pushed away from the table, his chair clattering against the ground. "You don't know what she wants! She's dead!" He seethed at his father, his breathing loud in the almost silent room. It was times like this that he wanted to scream, to get past the block in his throat and scream his thoughts at his father. But then his father would win, and it would have been pointless.

He stormed from the table, his half-full bowl still steaming and his father still yelling at him to come back. Hugo didn't want to hear anything he said, it was never good. He was never proud. When Hugo had told him about doing well on his assessments, his father had nodded and waved him away like it didn't matter. All that pressure for him to go to university in the first place and his father didn't even care.

He wasn't even thinking when he grabbed his phone and opened his messages with Renee. What was he hoping to do? Go to her place for the night? As if she would let him. But he didn't want to stay, not what his father was in such a bad mood. He wouldn't be able to handle it. At least if he stayed at Renee's, he'd wake up in a decent mood the next day.

Hugo: I know it's getting kinda late, but is it okay if I stay at your place tonight? Home isn't too great right now and I need to get away

He didn't think before he pressed send, knowing he'd spend ten minutes fussing over the wording before eventually giving up and not doing it. Barely a minute passed before his phone lit up with a reply.

Renee: Of course. Do you need me to pick you up?

Hugo: If it's not too much trouble

Renee: It's all g

Renee: I'll be there as soon as I can

With that, Hugo got to work packing his bag with clothes and the books he needed tomorrow. He had work tomorrow afternoon, so he wouldn't have to return home until late at night if he was lucky. By then, maybe his father would be too tired to start another argument with him.

"Where are you going?" his father asked as he stormed back out in the dining room with his backpack on his back.

"My friend is coming to pick me up. I'll be home after work tomorrow," he replied, his hands shaking with the effort of saying the words.

"Oh, you think so? You're not going anywhere, Hugo. We're not done talking, you can't just run from your problems," his father said, his voice like acid.

Hugo shook his head. "I'm going. I'm not a child anymore. I can come and go as I please. I don't want to be here to listen to you right now."

"If you weren't a child, you'd be bloody talking!" Tears welled in Hugo's eyes. Never had his father been so harsh before, but it didn't surprise him. Things would only get worse the longer he didn't speak. But the worse it got, the less he wanted to. Even if he did one day speak again, he'd never let his father know.

Hugo clenched and unclenched his fists, but didn't sign a word. A car pulled up in the driveway and he let out a deep breath of relief. He adjusted his bag on his back and pushed past his father before he could say anything. Renee waved to him from her car and it was then that Hugo realised Stefan sat in the passenger seat.

She frowned at him as he got in the back seat. One glance out the window told him that his father was watching him from the doorway, but didn't look at him as they pulled away from his house. Renee and Stefan didn't say a word until they were a couple of streets away. Stefan turned around in his seat and flicked on the light.

"Are you alright?" he asked. In the dim orange light, Hugo could see the concern on his face.

He shrugged. "Could be better. I just needed to get out for a while. There's only so much I can handle," he replied.

"What'd he say?" Renee asked. Stefan translated and she made a noise Hugo couldn't decipher. "Oh, Hugo, I don't know what's going on but if you ever need to stay, just let me know, okay?" Hugo nodded and leaned his head against the window as they drove. He was too exhausted to care about being in a car.

"Was that your dad in the doorway?" Stefan asked, frowning when Hugo nodded. "Did you guys get into a fight?" Another nod. "What about?"

Hugo took a deep breath. The idea of telling them terrified him, but he'd never told anyone about the things his father said, especially not the therapists he'd been sent to. Maybe he needed to, maybe someone needed to know for once. They were his friends, weren't they? You were meant to trust your friends with everything.

He lifted his hands, ready to explain everything. He'd better start before he started overthinking again. "I wasn't always mute. Something happened a few years back and now I don't speak," he started. A basic explanation. He wasn't in the mood to go into the gritty details. "My father believes I can speak if I try hard enough. We got into a big argument about it, so I decided to leave."

Stefan was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry about that, Hugo," he said. "Have you thought about moving out? The uni has small places you can stay on campus."

He hadn't even thought about it before. He hadn't even known there were places on campus he could live in. He had a job; it would be enough to support himself. Maybe Robert would even give him a raise if he needed it. It would be better than staying with his dad all the time. He wouldn't have to deal with the constant arguments.

"Hey, you need to translate what he just said because it sounds really important," Renee said, but Hugo stopped paying attention. He stared out the window, the sounds of Renee and Stefan talking fading into the distance. Moving out, it would be a good idea, but could he really do it?