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The journey back to their dorm was completed in silence. Scott didn’t comment on the quiet sniffles Auggir let out or the tears on his cheeks, and neither did Ezra.
Once they were inside, they did their nightly routines as normal. Except this time, Scott couldn’t help but be hyper aware of Auggie’s every move. He seemed no different than earlier unless you paid careful attention to his red-rimmed eyes. He didn’t even glare at Scott when their gazes met in the bathroom mirror as they brushed their teeth.
Scott spat foam into the sink. “What? Not gonna ask me ‘what’cha looking at?’”
“Lay off, meat,” Auggie said lifelessly before heading to bed.
Scott frowned as he went to his own bed. The guy was really going through it. He found himself standing beside Auggie’s bed who was facing away from him. Hesitantly, he sat on the bed.
Auggie must’ve felt the mattress dip because without missing a beat he said, “what now, Scott?”
“I know we’re not... friends or anything,” Scott began. He tried to think of what Peter or Juliette would say. “But... I'm here if you need someone to talk to.”
“If this is your idea for a heart-to-heart, save that shit for Group,” Auggie said, but there was no malice in his voice. Just a tiredness that made Scott want to push a bit harder.
Because that was how they operated: a constant push and pull that had them squaring up, ready to fight. Except Scott didn’t want a fight. He was so tired of fighting Auggie.
“You did the right thing,” Scott said. The room was too dark to read Auggie’s expression, but so far he hadn’t shoved Scott off the bed which meant they were off to a good start. Or at least a better start than every other time they interacted.
“Look, Auggie. I know it’s hard to say no to the people you’re close with. When I was still on the football team, the entire reason I started doing drugs was because people at my school were doing it. I thought it was the easy way out, but I was wrong. And what you did back there just shows that you’re twice the guy I am. Because you walked away and you did what you had to do to make a better future for yourself.”
For a long moment, Auggie didn’t speak. He sat up. A sliver of moonlight illuminated his face. Scott could almost see what Juliette saw in him: dark expressive eyes, tan skin and a prominent cupid's bow. He wasn’t bad to look at when he wasn’t pissing Scott off.
“Thanks,” he said, sounding so soft and earnest it caught him off-guard. “You’re not so bad. You know that, right?”
Scott cracked a small smile. “Right back at cha, Muchacho.”