Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. School has been super crazy recently. Hope everyone's staying safe.
Again, sorry that these are a bit shorter than what I usually write.
"You didn't make it better. You made it worse!"
"Well, what was I supposed to do?!"
"Apologize! Not completely shut him out! Hubert, you can't push him away because you're afraid of hurting him. You've hurt him by doing this!"
Hubert groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "...Well, I can't do much now, can I?"
"You could always take my suggestion."
"And what am I supposed to say?"
"That you like him. That you don't want to see him upset."
"I'm not that good with words-"
"You don't have to be. He'll know what you're trying to say."
Hubert sighed again. "Alright, Edelgard. You win. But you're helping me."
The white-haired teen smiled. "Of course."
"You're still streaming tonight?"
"It's Friday. I have to."
"How do you expect to give relationship advice when you just had your heart broken-"
"Dorothea!"
Ferdinand chuckled, moving to his desk. "It's alright, Lorenz. That was two days ago. Plus…my father wouldn't approve anyway."
"You need to stop letting him control your life. You're seventeen for Sothis' sake. So what if you have an emo boyfriend-"
"He's not emo. He's…kind deep down. He tries to deny it but I know better."
"Ugh! Forget I asked. You look like a swooning schoolgirl."
"But you're smiling again. It's good to see you smiling again, Ferdie."
"Thank you, both of you." He paused as he watched his computer boot up. "And I'm fine. Like I said, that was two days ago."
"But-"
"My stream's starting soon. Watch it?"
Dorothea and Lorenz both paused. "Of course."
"Course, Ferdie!"
"Thanks, you guys." He hung up the video call as he pulled up his forum. He then started his stream. "Hey, guys! It's another Friday so you know what that means! It's time to get on with some questions!"
"Hubert, you're going to miss it!"
"Why do I need to watch it? Can't you just tell me whatever he says?"
"That wasn't part of the deal. I'll drag you in here if I have to."
"It's my room," Hubert called from the kitchen. "And I'd like to see you try and drag me anywhere." He appeared a few moments later with a bowl of snacks. "Plus, this was your prosperous idea that you just so happened to drag me into. Why should I have to suffer for it?"
"Because you are hopeless when it comes to romantic feelings and you're going to lose one of the only people who are willing to put up with you to make you happy. You don't have to believe me, but I'm doing this for you."
"Whatever you say, Edelgard." He sat down, his back against his bed. He opened a book that was sitting open on his bed. "Tell me when he gets to my question."
Edelgard rolled her eyes. "You're hopeless, you know that?"
"It seems that we're getting to our final question. This one is from…" he gasped, his hand flying to his mouth. He dumbly opened and closed his mouth, no sound coming out.
It took him a while to recover.
"The last question is from…someone named Hubert. I see you're not one from usernames, huh? Anyway, Hubert's question is…There's someone that I like (I won't give names because I was told not to). But no matter what I do, I feel like I push him away. He deserves better than me, but I can't get rid of these feelings. He's so bright and positive all the time, and I feel like I would hold him back." Ferdinand took a long pause.
It didn't sound like Hubert, but he didn't know too many other Huberts out there.
He blinked away tears. "Well, um…Hubert. Whoever this man is, I don't think he'll shy away from you. Not after he hears the heartfelt confession you put in here. In this case, all I can say is to go for it! You won't know until you try." Because I like you back .
He paused, almost as if waiting for Hubert to respond through the screen. "Well…that just about wraps up all your questions. Now we can get into a little Q&A seeing as we have some time left." He scrolled through the chat. "Alright, first question is-"
"Ferdinand, what are you doing up here?"
The ginger gasped, quickly closing the stream. He turned around to face his father. "Um…nothing. Just watching a stream online."
"Don't you have better things to be doing?"
"Not really. It's a Friday night."
"Still, you should be studying or looking at colleges. Not wasting your time on some frivolity." Ludwig sighed. "When we were still in Enbarr, you were top of your class. You're slipping, Ferdinand."
"I'm not! Garreg Mach is just a bigger school. My GPA and all my grades are the same. It's just a little more competitive than a senior high school-"
"But you are a von Aegir! You have shamed me enough by becoming friends with that von Vestra boy. And clearly, he and your other friends are a bad influence on you." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You leave me no choice, my son. You are not to leave this house unless I allow you to. That includes school."
"You aren't letting me go to school?! My grades will just get worse!"
"I will talk to your teachers about recording their lectures and sending them to you. I'll have Lorenz bring you any work that you can't do online."
"Father!" Ferdinand stood, nearly knocking his chair over. "You are being completely unreasonable!"
"You dare raise your voice at me?! I am your father and no son of mine will talk back to me!"
"Do you think Mother would be okay with the way you treat me? If anyone else knew, do you think they'd be okay-" He was quickly cut off by a stinging pain on his cheek. He stared back at his father wide-eyed.
"You've changed since we've gotten here, Ferdinand. Those… people have changed you-"
"Those people are my friend!"
"I'm doing this for your own good. When you've become a successful man in the future, you'll thank me for putting an end to your foolishness." He closed the door behind him. "I'll call you down for dinner shortly."
Ferdinand listened as his father's footsteps grew fainter. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to think.
He felt numb.
Then his phone buzzed on his desk. He grabbed it, seeing a text from Dorothea that made everything come crashing down.
The world knows who you are now, Ferdie. And Hubert was watching tonight.
Dun, dun, dun!
He has been found out!
Also, if you can't tell, I really don't like Ludwig.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. This story's almost done! Remember, if you have any requests, feel free to PM me with ideas!
Stay tuned and see you guys l8tr!