g u s

      august’s head moves along with the beat of the old tune playing in the dive bar. it was long overdue -- a night out. mind you, he felt slightly old agreeing on going out for the trivia night, but it was supposed to be a 90′s themed one and gus is in fact a 90′s kid, no matter how annoying the expression became. “to be completely honest.. i’ve never been to one of these trivia nights..” he murmurs as their waitress drops off a few of the devices that apparently allows you to play and follow along on the tv screens. he supposes assuming you would download some app on your phone was a bit too advanced for this establishment. “there’s a good chance that i’ll possibly, definitely, be shit.”

GUS: it has been a life saver... i finally did the math on how much i've been spending on coffees and it was pretty disgusting tbh

GUS: you definitely need one in your life

GUS: i'm enjoying a delicious earl grey latte right now

GUS: i can now make a damn good latte

       gus is having a hard time telling himself he has no right as his cheeks begin growing hot all the way up to his ears. there’s something to be said for the out of sight out of mind method. sure, it wasn’t entirely effective, definitely not in the beginning. but gus had stopped letting elio’s new exciting relationship bother him with time. it’s possible that it helped once he unfollowed him on all social media, so he didn’t have to see any of it, but that’s neither here nor there. august would be downright lying if he said it didn’t bother him now that the other had seemingly moved on and fast to something much much better -- a happier, healthier, long lasting relationship. gus knew it must be a big deal if elio moved in. but august need remind himself that that was exactly what aurelio deserved. it was exactly the kind of relationship he thought elio needed that gus just couldn’t give him. he manages to nod along as elio continues, trying to keep his smile at least somewhat spread across his face, though it is most likely obvious he’s struggling. gus has never been good at concealing his emotions, but it doesn’t stop him from trying. “that’s... great.” and it only gets worse as elio adds on that he’d forgotten gus even lived here. his throat feels thick as his gaze falls, trying to piece together how often he had the male over in the past.  gus remembers everything about elio’s old place. but why would he say it if it wasn’t true? “yeah of course i remember wyatt --. you guys still friends??” gus moves towards the washing machine, eyes flickering to elio again. he is quite keen to get his clothes going. the sooner he starts, the sooner he can get out of here.

    “don’t say i didn’t warn you!! you’re going to be really disappointed, even just like ten minutes into the movie you’ll be wishing you didn’t turn the thing on. i’m telling you, andi.” he shakes his head, coming to terms that she’s just not going to be swayed. “i’m gonna shut up about it now then -- honestly if there’s a loop you want to be left out of, this is it.”

“my sister’s leukemia.”

“here’s the thing.. forgiving someone doesn’t mean you’re going to be friends with that person again. doesn’t mean you ever have to see them or interact at all. and i really believe forgiveness is the only way you can get some closure and move on from things, so i don’t think there’s really anything that i could never forgive. it might take longer to forgive, but the longer you hang onto those negative emotions the longer you’re going to be hurting.”

GUS: i would but i don't think he'd answer me either

GUS: just has a lot going on probably

     august figures the question is meant rhetorical, though that doesn’t stop him from shrugging gently, a small frown forming on his lips. “i guess that would be a little over the top..” he smiles softly, shaking his head at the idea. gus can’t decided which end of that would be worse. doing this theoretical stranger’s laundry, or having to deal with this person that you only just met going off with your clothes. either way it would be something gus wanted nothing to do with. “didn’t mean it in that way, though.” elio being in mulberry because of a one night stand was the last thought that crossed his mind. august just assumed aurelio was still extremely taken with his boyfriend. he’d stopped checking up on elio’s social media when it just became too much. gus was only torturing himself by looking at it, so he had to stop cold turkey. even though elio is right, december not being that long ago, it still felt like a good chunk of time august had been oblivious to the other’s presence in the building. “cool.” it’s really all gus can think of saying. feeling the air getting thicker with every passing second. just as august is about to slip past him and actually get to doing this laundry he so stupidly left for today, he’s hit with a question he has no desire to answer. august pulls his bottom lip between his teeth, head shaking slowly as to try and play it off. “no.. no. i don’t own the building. i think it’s awesome. you guys must be really happy and moving in together is exciting, so.. yeah, no we’re good.” august has a tendency to spit out much more than he really means to. he also likes to keep his assumptions to himself, though he’s obviously not doing a great job at keeping that in check. why else would aurelio move from his old apartment though?? gus swore he loved that place. 

“legal trouble??” gus’ head tilts some, unsure if he could tread into this territory. she was offering the information up on her own though and that was always a good sign. august hated being the one to pry. “jail??” his eyes widen, mouth falling open in shock. that was quite honestly the very last place gus had envisioned norah had ended up. he’s having a hard time believing it now even!! “how the hell did you end up in jail??” it probably isn’t any of his business, so he’s expecting some kind of nonchalant answer avoiding to answer. he wouldn’t blame her. “the sixth floor. moving on up.” he grins, nudging her right back. he doesn’t want it to be awkward between them. they’ve been friends a while now and that’s where gus would be happy to get back to. “oh please. m’far from famous. definitely not in the cards for me.” he chuckles, shaking his head some. he stills, trying to refrain from making any movements. “what?! -- “ his voice is slightly frantic, imagining a spider crawling up his arm or something, though he can’t feel anything of the sort. when it’s just a picture the other goes after, he’s quite relieved, a sigh deflating his chest. “you scared me a minute there.” he confesses, eyes flickering over to her. “well hey.. that’s actually pretty good, norah. insta worthy some may say.” he laughs at himself, the lingo feeling foreign in his mouth.

GUS: have you heard anything from adri lately??

    “are you visiting someone??” august doesn’t think he sounds too hopeful as he poses the question. he wouldn’t be surprised in the least if elio were only here visiting honestly, mulberry was by far a popular choice among the baltimore kids he went to school with. aurelio having friends in the building was actually more likely than one may think. while the laundry room didn’t quite make sense for a visitor, he can’t quite fathom the thought of elio being the one that moved in. aside from his one trial at mending whatever was left of their friendship -- a proverbial olive branch tucked under his arm (disguised as elio’s old sweater), which ended in the fatal meeting of aurelio’s shiny new boyfriend, gus is relieved to say he hasn’t had to endure any other surprise run ins. aurelio made it very clear he had happily moved on and had no interest of even glancing back. that was fine. it was. august wanted aurelio to be happy. that’s what you were supposed to want in these situations, wasn’t it? while he’s here he allows himself to stare a moment, study the other as he tries to get his money back one last time. while he will dance around as long as elio lets him, gus knows in his gut he’s living in the same building as aurelio. “when did you move in??” the question falls from his lips ever so softly as his gaze casts downwards, shifting awkwardly to his other foot. maybe he didn’t need to know, because gus is anticipating what will follow is who he’s sharing his apartment with. he clears his throat, shaking his head some. gus fishes around in his pocket, “no, like i said, it’s always broken.. uh, if you need some quarters --” he holds out a few to him.