As I tighten the gold-gilded marble shower faucet, I shake my hair free from any remaining water and curry particles and step out of the walk-in glass shower. Although I feel and look clean, I still have a lingering sensation that I've missed a spot or two of curry on my skin. The scent of Cambodian cuisine lingers in the air, making my nose curl as it mixes with the scent of my shampoo and body wash; lilac and coconut. 

I wrap a towel around my waist and head for the bedroom, throwing on my last clean pair of pyjama shorts and my nicest silk robe, leaving the drawstring untied. Brushing back my hair neatly with a comb and hanging my towel on the rack, I go to the living room, joining a very bored Hugo on the couch. 

The loungeroom looks a lot better now that Hugo's cleaned it in his boredom. My leather couch, once consumed by clean and not-so-clean clothes stands out against my ornate rug work and glass coffee table.

"You doing alright now? Also, could you tie that up? Why are you always shirtless near me?" Hugo says, eyes drifting down my open robe, grimacing. I shrug, sticking a cotton swab in my ear as I sit next to him. 

"Just enjoy the view. And yeah, I'm doing fine. Absolutely peachy." 

Noticing the sarcasm in my tone, he quirked up the corner of his lip, picking up the remote, flicking through the channels. "Hey, at least we didn't have to pay for the food. Poor waiter, I hope he didn't get fired or anything."

I roll my eyes, propping my feet up on the glass coffee table in front of the couch. "Always the saint. The idiot ruined my favourite shirt. He should be paying me!"

Hugo shrugs. "Accident's happen. You can just wash your shirt; he can't just magic up a new job."

Folding my arms, I let my mind wander as Hugo settles on some nature documentary about penguins. I just hope I never see that clumsy waiter again; lord knows I'm staying away from that restaurant for the remainder of my time on the Gold Coast. I almost feel bad; if he didn't spill our order on me, I might have given him my number. He was a damn cutie. I could have sworn he was checking me out when I had unbuttoned my shirt due to the heat, but maybe I'm just looking too much into it.  

Ah well. There are plenty of men to pine after. 

I look over to Hugo, who's on his phone, scrolling through a webpage. His eyebrows are knitted together. "What's wrong? Looking for takeout options? I swear if you get curry-"

He shakes his head. "No, your brother invited me to something."

Hugo shows me his phone. Painted across his screen in gold, black and red trimmings is a party invitation. Written across the screen in the fanciest cursive writing, the invite said: You are cordially invited to the legendary Spurnrose event of the season; a delightful masquerade ball. Formal wear is a must, but once the party starts, the party starts. One plus one only, click the button below to confirm your invitation.

I blinked, unsure of what to make of it. Grabbing my phone from my pyjama pant's pocket, I open my emails. 

Nothing. Bastard. 

"He didn't even invite me. Rude." I say, tossing the phone on the couch. Hugo snorts, still looking at the invitation.

"Well, why would he? He hasn't seen you in a few months, with him living with your dad. When was the last time you even saw your family, by the way?"

I shrug, fiddling with the strings of my robe. "I dunno.  At least a year?"

Hugo shakes his head. "You should make more of an effort to see them, bro. You only get one family."

Laughing, I cross my legs and face him. "I've already got a second family; I'm looking straight at him. They weren't much of a family anyway; what kind of parent divorces and skips the country? Mum's gone, dad's a pain, and my brother's even more of a pain."

"True, true. Still, I dunno."

I pat my pants pocket, pretending my wallet is in there. "Plus, I get a shit fuck of pity money from poor Mummy and Daddy. Seems the only way they know how to give me affection is to shower me with cash."

Feeling my tummy rumble, either from hunger or from nausea induced from the topic, I get up from the couch and head over to my cupboard. "Do you want a snack?"

"Sure, I'll eat whatever. We probs should organise dinner though."

Hugo's clicking on his phone, and from the corner of my eye, I see him opening a delivery service app. "Hmm... wanna get kebabs?"

"If I ever say no to that, it's not me and I've been replaced by a doppelganger." 

Hugo laughs, before pressing a few buttons on his screen. "Y'know, I'm sorta glad that the waiter dumped a bowl of curry on you."

I quirk an eyebrow at him as I sit down, tossing him a few chocolate bars. "That's a weird thing to say, asshat."

He chuckles, before shaking his head with a grin. "No, but like; you're acting like your usual, goofy, snarky self again. Not as moody or depressed as you were a few hours ago."

My mouth stays shut; I don't know how to reply to that. 

"Just a friendly observation, is all," He adds, noticing I've gone quiet. He's nibbling at the chocolate bar, looking at me like he'd said the wrong thing. 

"So, are you excited for the game? It's this Sunday."

I freeze in my seat, pulling the chocolate bar out of my mouth. "What?"

Hugo's eyebrows furrow in confusion, then his eyes widen to the size of dinner plates when he realises. "Shit! Sorry, I thought you knew. Fuck, forget I said anything."

I blink, looking at the TV again, unable to swallow a bite. 

As much as I love Rugby, games always make me nervous. I don't know whether it's due to being infront of a roaring crowd, or the potential for me to be spotted by recruiters and talent scouts, but regardless I hate pre-game sessions. What if I screw up? What if I make some dumb mistake, and the whole world gets to see it? 

Plus, I haven't been to training for a few weeks now. I don't know the team's strategy, how they've been trained, and even where I'm supposed to be on the field. Surely they've replaced me by now.

"Wes, don't you start feeling nervous, you don't have to play. I'm sure the coach would let you sit this one out, considering you haven't been training."

"And then what? Lose any chance I'll have at potentially getting spotted by a recruiter? Urgh, fucks sake."

I angrily take a bite out of my chocolate bar. Hugo turns to me. "Look, things will work out! How about tomorrow, we'll go train, as well as the day after? What we've been training for the past few weeks is basically the same training we did for the last game, so you already know most of it. Just need a refresher."

Shrugging, I loll my head back, sighing as I stare at the ceiling. "I mean, sure, that could work, but the day after tomorrow is that masquerade party. I don't want to remove you from that, I know how much those events mean to you."

Hugo sits back, nodding in defeat. A moment later though, he quirks his eyebrows looking at me like he just formed an idea. 

"Okay, how about this; We train tomorrow, and during the day of the party. And, as a reward, I'll plus one you to the party, which will help take your nerves away about the game."

I snort, shaking my head in amusement.

"No, think about it though! You'll get all the training you'll need, and I know that the party will help you destress. Look, I'm no Alyssa, and I know she used to calm you down and de-stress you before any game. She ain't an option anymore; maybe you can find another girl there to help do what Alyssa can't anymore. If not that, then there's always dancing, drinking, and food."

Or a guy could help me destress. Hugo's plan is making sense though; it's sounding more and more appealing by the second. 

"Sure. Just, remind me to wash my jersey before you leave tonight."

Hugo's fist pumps into the air. "Wooo! My boy Wes is back! Trust me, the training ain't so hard, you'll pick it up very fast. I'll let the coach know tomorrow what we're doing, and hopefully, we can get a practice run or two before the game with the whole team. You're the team's star player."

Smiling, I finish the last few bites of my chocolate bar. We sit in silence after that, watching the last of the penguin documentary, before the apartment doorbell rings. 

"Kebabs must be here!"

Hugo springs out of his seat and answers the door. I watch as he happily accepts the delivery bag from the delivery guy, the smell of the middle-eastern food overtaking my apartment. He brings the bag and places it on the glass coffee table in front of us, unwrapping his kebab with a grande flourish, tearing through aluminium and wax paper. 

"Don't get a single drop of it on my leather couch, or you're going to clean it with your face," I warn, Hugo barely acknowledging me as he takes a bite. 

"God, that hit the spot."

I nod, taking a bite of mine. "Kebabs always do."

He goes to take another bite, and I find myself smiling at my best friend. "Hey, Hugo?"

He hums a response as looks at me, freezing in place with the kebab in his mouth. 

"Thank you, for being you. I appreciate it."

He shoots a thumbs up, smiling with the kebab still in his mouth. Taking out a chunk, he says "No worries, homie," before shushing me. 

Here's hoping I can catch up with training in time for the game, and here's hoping the party will make me feel a lot better. 

=========================

A/N: 1678 words! Woooo I am on a roll so far!

Do you guys like Wes's and Hugo's interactions and relationship so far? I love writing them together, they seem like real close mates, like two brothers. Have you got a friend like Hugo?

Next chapter should be out soon! I don't think I'll hit the 50,000 mark for NaNo since it's midway through November and I've got just under 9000 words, but I'm still going to try!

With all my love,
J.S x