today. My parents are busy so they can't watch me anymore." The boy tilted his head curiously. "Why are you being so nice to me?"
Hugo hesitated for a moment, glancing down at the ground. He had expected this question, especially after what happened earlier. But he had been avoiding answering since then, not wanting to admit that he had accidentally triggered the earthquake, and didn't know how to answer it. Still, he wasn't sure if there was any harm done. He had only startled the other, not caused the quake. Surely, it wouldn't have destroyed everything if the earthquake had been real. Right?
Still, he felt uncomfortable answering the boy's questions right now. "My mom's always nice to me," he muttered instead, shrugging his shoulders casually. "She helps me with school, pays for my clothes, gives me food and shelter, and stuff like that. She even told me that I can stay with her and Dad during the weekdays if I need help cleaning houses or getting groceries."
The boy blinked. "But…why is she doing this?" he asked, sounding puzzled.
Hugo shrugged again. "That's what I don't really understand." He paused for a while. "Maybe I should try asking her. If there are some things that she wants, I will listen to her. She is a smart woman."
The boy nodded hesitantly, apparently satisfied with his answer. Then he pointed towards the hole in the ground. "You dropped those," he said with a pout. "They belong to me."
"Oh, yes, sorry," Hugo replied. Quickly, he knelt down beside the hole and started picking up the rocks that surrounded the area. He stopped when he heard the other boy speak.
"Hey," the boy mumbled, "can I have some of that water?"
"Yeah, of course," Hugo responded, handing over the two bottles of water and watching as the boy unscrewed the cap and gulped greedily. Once the cap was empty, he put the bottles back where he had found them and offered them to Hugo.
"Thanks," he said. When he finished drinking, he handed the bottles to Hugo.
Hugo nodded and began to pack up the items he had taken from his backpack, storing them in one of the pockets.
"So, uh…" the boy stammered, shifting uncomfortably on the spot. "What's your name?" He smiled shyly as he fiddled with a loose thread on his sleeve.
Hugo paused. Why did he ask that? Why did he even care about that? The other was clearly uncomfortable, and Hugo didn't want to make things awkward between them. Yet, something inside of him wanted to talk to the boy, wanted to know his name and who he was. It felt like he had known him forever. He couldn't explain why.
However, he forced himself to remain silent. He didn't even know where to start explaining this to him. There were so many things to say. Questions to ask. He didn't know how to explain himself. Instead, he simply shrugged and smiled weakly. "H-hey, I'm Hugo. What's your name?"
The boy shook his head with a laugh. "Nope," he grinned. "That doesn't suit you. You should be called something cool. Like, like…" He thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "Like…Pegasus, maybe! That's a superhero name."
Hugo laughed despite himself, amused by the suggestion.