I can do the right thing. I can change. Mario kept that thought firm in his head as he pushed past Heather. He could feel her eyes boring into him as he walked away. Clearly she wasn't used to not getting what she wanted. Well it was too bad. He'd meant what he said. Even if she didn't know why the right thing was to turn her down.
There was a reason. A very good reason. And that reason was waiting for him by his car. Mario smiled softly.
"Mario." Angus hugged him. " Heather said it was really bad. Are you okay" He asked earnestly worried for his friend.
Mario sighed. "No. But I will be." It would take some time obviously and he wasn't looking forward to the process. But he eventually he would be.
"Do you want to stay at my place?" Angus asked hesitantly. He knew if it was him he wouldn't want to be alone. But offending his friend would only make it harder to help him. He knew Mario had trouble with appearing to be anything but in control.
"Yeah. I think I would." Mario could see the relief clearly on Angus's face at his admission of needed help. It was obvious that Angus wanted to be there for him and was relieved that Mario wasn't going push him away.
It wasn't as hard to let Angus in as he'd thought. Maybe it was because he honestly wanted to be able to. He was tired of pushing people away. Tired of refusing to be close to anyone. He didn't want to be alone anymore.
Mario knew that if he let Angus in he wouldn't regret it. Angus had proven that. It was also obvious what they could have together. He knew how Angus felt. And he knew how he felt.
But before Mario made his move he had something to prove. Not to Angus but to himself. He needed to prove to himself that he could change. That he could be the kind of person he wanted to be. The kind of person Angus deserved.
It wasn't easy but Mario was certain it would be worth it. He's already gotten a handle on the flirting for the most part. As for being able to open up it feels like he's made just made a big breakthrough. He'll get there. They'll get there. Mario squeezed Angus's hand. People can change.