Two weeks in a row, Hugo found himself sitting in the meeting room of the university's GSA. This time, they all sat around the large table, picking at the food Rose had brought with her. It was quieter than last time. Hugo couldn't understand it, but it seemed that doing anything a little different from the norm set them off. It also didn't escape his notice that some of the crazier people weren't there. He wasn't sure if it was Rose's doing or if they just couldn't come, but he wasn't going to complain.

"How have we all been this week?" Rose asked and got mumbles in reply. Hugo nodded at her, but he didn't think she saw him. "You all look a little down, so we're going to go around the table and say something that made us happy during the week."

He gave a confused smile. The group seemed more like a therapy thing than anything else. Rose had told him that they usually just talked a lot, which didn't bode well for him, but he could just listen. As the others began to speak, he jotted down something in his notebook.

'I spent the night at my friends' apartment. We had a movie marathon.' He shrugged and smiled when Rose read it out. Most of the others had good grades or family time or other little things that made them happy, but the night he spent with Renee and Stefan had been great in comparison to the day that came before it.

It had been chill, eating pizza and watching movies. He didn't have to talk about what happened any more than he already had. Stefan didn't pester him and neither did Renee. They seemed to understand that his silence meant he wanted to forget it had even happened.

He and his father hadn't spoken more than a few words since he got back after work the day after, something he was grateful for. No speaking meant no arguments and no panic attacks. It meant he could wake up in a mostly good mood if he hadn't had any nightmares the night before, which hadn't happened in a few days.

The last to speak in the little circle around the table was a man named Anthony. Rings and bracelets covered his hands and arms, all different colours of the pride flags. "I know it sounds superficial, but I went shopping over the weekend," he said, his hands moving wildly as he spoke. "My counsellor told me that buying new and better fitting clothes can make you feel more confident, so that's what I did. She was right. I got some tighter jeans and new shirts and I actually like how I look. I was worried people would be able to see my binder underneath, but I think I’m fine."

"That's lovely, Anthony," Rose said, smiling sweetly at him. She continued to talk, but Hugo was no longer listening. He looked down at his clothes. Baggy jeans and too-big hoodies. He looked like a child dressing up in his father's clothes. He couldn't imagine himself in tighter clothing. He'd worn baggy stuff since high school so he could hide away in it.

Anthony did look confident in his clothing, but Hugo hadn't seen him before he went shopping, so who knew if it actually made a difference. Hugo pushed thoughts of new clothing away as the topic changed to something else. There was an event coming up in a few weeks, one Hugo hadn't heard of before, but promoted LGBTQ+ awareness.

He didn't contribute much. Writing took too much time and effort and he didn't know much about what happened at the university to add to the group's plans. Instead, he listened and nodded along whenever Rose asked if the plans sounded alright to everyone. He wasn't sure if he was going to go seeing as most of it revolved around public speaking, but it sounded nice enough.

"We've still got a couple more weeks to organise this, and then at the beginning of next semester is the pride parade!" Rose said. The people around him let out excited gasps and looked to each other with big grins on their faces. "I'm looking into getting our group a spot in the march itself instead of watching from the sidelines. I'll let you know how it turns out when I hear back from them, okay?"

Even he was excited about it. He probably wouldn't go, it was far too many people for him, too crowded, but the idea of a small group being allowed to march stunned him. For the last twenty minutes of the group's allotted time, most people talked about what they would wear to the pride parade.

"You're new, aren't you?" a voice said to him. Anthony, at the other end of the table, smiled politely at him. Hugo nodded. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Anthony." Hugo held up the little card with his name on it as Anthony moved to sit next to him.

Hugo then held up the card that said 'I'm mute, so I'm sorry if it takes me a while to reply. I have to write everything out.' Anthony nodded like he understood and kept smiling, but there was a look in his eyes that Hugo was wary of, something akin to confusion and surprise.

"That's alright," Anthony said, but he didn't sound as friendly as before. He mustn't have been there last time Hugo was, he wouldn't have known. "No one seemed to be talking to you, so I figured I'd introduce myself." Pity, that was why Anthony was talking to him. Hugo wasn't surprised, just disappointed.

"Well, it's nice to meet you," Hugo wrote on his card. He would have to start finding a better way to communicate than the notebook, it was already irritating. Maybe there was something on his phone he could use to give him a robotic voice. It would be a lot easier than the constant silences while he wrote.

Anthony never got another word in. Rose stood from the table and declared that it was the end of the meeting. Anthony waved to him as he moved to pack his bag and Hugo tucked his notebook into his satchel bag. It wasn't as bad as it had been the week before, they were much calmer when they were just sitting around.

"Hugo!" Rose called as he went to leave the room. She smiled at him and gestured for him to come closer. "What did you think? Much calmer than last week, right?" He nodded at her. "That's great! You don't have to come every week, there isn't really a set commitment level with this place, so come along whenever you feel like it, alright? Have a good week." He nodded again and smiled at her. He would come whenever he could when he was in a good enough mood to do so. The people there seemed nice enough.

He didn't say as much to Renee the next day. She thought they were weird. There was no point in bringing it up again, he'd just get the same response. He could go on his own, he didn't need her there with him. She'd probably only complain if he asked and he didn't want to deal with it.

All through the next day, he couldn't help but linger on Anthony's words. Something about the idea of clothing making him more confident stuck to him like glue. He had a little bit of money saved up from work, but he wasn't sure if he should spend it. He was looking into living off-campus after all. As soon as Stefan had suggested it, he'd been all for the idea.

But he could try it. One new shirt and a pair of jeans should do the trick. It wasn't too much, and the weather was getting colder, so he needed a new pair of pants anyway. He could always give them away if he didn't like them, it was no big deal. It was worth a shot. It was a good idea to get out of the baggy clothing after all.

He was a thin thing, almost sickly so, and when combined with the scars on his body, he looked ugly. So, he wore the baggy clothes to hide. He hadn't realised it before, but he didn't like how he looked in them. He looked sick, everything was too big for him and hung off him. It didn't suit at all and he hated it.

How hadn't he realised it before? It seemed so obvious now that he noticed. But he hadn't been paying attention. He'd been too busy focusing on university and friends and his stupid father to bother with something as trivial as clothes. But maybe he should, maybe it would be good for him.

A trip out of the house on his own, headphones in his ears, drifting between the ails without a care in the world, it would be calming. And with that thought alone, it was sorted, he would go and buy himself some new clothes. Nothing too expensive, but comfortable and not baggy. He'd have to go that night; he doubted his father would let him go out over the weekend without another argument.

So, when the time came, Hugo stepped off the train and turned in the opposite direction to his house. The gigantic shopping centre stood a few blocks away from the station. For the most part, Hugo hated going because of how big and crowded it was, but he had at least two hours before the high school flock showed up. It wouldn't be too bad. He had his music after all.

No one even glanced his way as he wandered down the streets and through the shopping centre. He held back a smile. It was a good day, something rare, but he was happy about it nonetheless. They were happening more often if he didn't argue with his father or go to a dinner that had way too many people. It was strange and he couldn't explain why, but he wasn't going to complain about it.

His town's equivalent to Walmart stood in the middle of the shopping centre, filled with bright lights and fake smiles. The man at the door didn't even bother waving at him as he passed, leaving Hugo free to walk to the clothing section without interruption. Beethoven filled his ears and he resisted the urge to hum along with it.

He almost blanched at the number of clothes stood before him. There was so much to look through, but so much of it, he could already veto. Too bright, not a band or show he watched, too silly. He wanted something plain, jeans and a shirt like he usually wore. It seemed like even those were going to be difficult to find.

A few minutes of wandering the racks and he came across a set of light grey shirts. His hands automatically went for the large size, but he stopped himself and grabbed a medium. In reality, he was only a small, but he had to start somewhere.

The jeans weren't too far away but he immediately felt out of his depth when he looked at them. Too many different kinds. He usually just wore normal jeans, but looking down at his legs, he knew those were far too baggy. Skinny was a no go, he liked being able to put on pants without struggling. He grabbed something that looked to be in between and made his way to the changing rooms.

He changed quickly, without looking in the mirror. With a deep breath, he turned around the look at himself and froze. The grey shirt hung loosely, not as loose as the others though. The black jeans hung tight to his legs, showing off the muscles. It looked nice, which was something Hugo hadn't expected to think.

On a whim, he grabbed a second pair of jeans and turned to head for the counter to pay. He froze in his tracks. Barely a few metres from him stood Stefan, pulling at a shirt with a confused sneer. It took him a second to see Hugo and when he did, he smiled. Hugo gave the other man a little wave and tried to ignore the nervousness blooming within him.