"I'm so sorry, Hugo. I have to go." Lily flagged down a taxi, her voice full of genuine regret.
'What emergency could possibly justify ruining this night?!' Hugo thought furiously, watching the cab pull over to the curb.
"I'll text you later, okay?" Lily said, stepping into the taxi.
The door shut with a dull thunk, and just like that, she was gone.
Hugo stood frozen on the pavement, processing what had just happened. This couldn't be
For a moment, all Hugo could feel was an overwhelming surge of betrayal. Not by Lily—but by her brother.
Then, the anger began to boil. "This little menace..." Hugo seethed, grinding his teeth. "Can't believe I got cock-blocked by a twelve-year-old!"
He clenched his fists as if preparing to send the universe an angry email. "I bet this kid didn't even trip over something serious—probably just stubbed his toe and summoned Big Sis like it's DEFCON 1!"
The rage simmered deep in his chest. He could already picture the smug, satisfied look on this little brother's face as Lily comforted him. "That brat just ruined the greatest night of my life!"
Hugo wanted to cry but didn't have any tears. He thought about the $94.50 he had sacrificed, all so he could nut off and complete the mission. And this happens when he was about to fulfill his dreams?!
Couldn't the gremlin wait three more hours?!
Just as Hugo was preparing to internally draft ten pages of insults for this unseen little sibling, his phone buzzed in his pocket. A text message.
'Lily?' His heart flickered with a sliver of hope. Maybe she felt bad. Maybe she changed her mind?!
He pulled out his phone and checked the message. His heart stopped.
It wasn't Lily.
Instead, it was from the last person Hugo ever wanted to hear from.
"Thought you could hide, streaker boy?"
'Streaker boy...'
A cold chill crawled up his spine. He read the message again, hoping it was some cruel mistake. The only ones who knew this name...
Hugo's breath hitched. His fingers trembled over the screen. "How did they find me?"
Then came the second message—the one that made his blood run cold.
"We know where you are. :) See you soon."
The smiley face at the end felt like a knife twisted in his gut.
They knew. They finally caught up to him.
Hugo's mind raced, panic threatening to take hold. "How? I ran. I covered my tracks."
He clenched his phone, fighting the urge to smash it against the pavement. The night just went from bad to bloody catastrophic.
Standing in the dim glow of the streetlights, Hugo whispered through gritted teeth, "Of all nights... why tonight?"
The air around him felt heavier now, thick with the kind of tension that told him this wasn't a coincidence. They had been waiting for the perfect moment to strike—and this was it.
He stuffed his phone back into his pocket and took a shaky breath. The street felt too quiet now, every shadow too long, every noise too sharp. They were close. He could feel it.
And as if to hammer the final nail into his coffin, a car slowly cruised past him, the driver's gaze lingering just a second too long.
Hugo swallowed hard. "Right. This is fine. Everything's fine."
He kept saying that to himself, but he knew it wasn't. Things were getting worse! Hugo decided he had to get home quick!
As he walked towards his bike, he thought to himself, 'Honestly, what's next? I step in dog sh—'
His foot landed with a squelch. Hugo froze.
"...Of course."
_____
Hugo stormed through the dorm entrance, practically vibrating with frustration. His night had gone from hero to zero in record time, thanks to some faceless little brother who apparently had the power to summon sisters at will.
As the door creaked open, he was greeted by the slow, sorrowful sound of a saxophone wailing through the living room speakers.
Jazz.
Hugo paused. "What the hell...?" He squinted at the couch. 'Who the hell plays jazz at a time like this?'
There, slumped like a man who had seen his dreams incinerated, was Collins. He was shirtless, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers, staring into the void as if he'd just lost a lottery ticket worth millions.
His normally golden-boy aura was shattered, replaced by the vibe of a man who had just watched his dog get hit by a bus.
The sight was too pathetic not to ask. "Mate, are you alright?" Hugo asked cautiously, stepping further into the room.
Collins barely moved, his voice raspy. "Hugo... she was right there."
Hugo blinked. "What?"
"Tilly... she was..." Collins gulped, looking like he was about to break down. "She was about to give me a blowjob." His voice cracked on the word "blowjob," like it was too painful to even speak.
Hugo's eyes widened. "No..."
"Yes," Collins whimpered, his hands trembling as they ran through his hair. "Then—then the phone buzzed. The little bastard. Her brother. Emergency text. She shot up like she'd heard a fire alarm. Gone in two seconds flat."
Hugo winced. "Mate, that's... that's rough."
"Rough? Hugo, I heard the zipper go back up." Collins' voice was thick with the kind of sorrow that no amount of therapy could fix. "It echoed in my soul. I've never been so close to heaven, only to be yanked back to hell."
Hugo flopped onto the couch beside him, the weight of the night hitting him all over again. "I feel you, mate. I was this close with Lily. We'd just had dinner, she said she'd come back to mine... then the bloody brother texts her. 'Emergency.' Boom. She's off in a taxi. Night ruined."
Collins turned his head slowly, his eyes locking with Hugo's.
There was a moment of shared understanding. And then, like a man grasping for hope in the desert, Collins whispered, "Wait... Lily and Tilly are twins. They share the same brother..."
Both men stared at each other in dawning horror.
"The same brother," Hugo repeated, voice hollow. "The same little devil."
Collins' face twisted in despair. "He didn't just block one of us... he blocked both of us. He's a monster."
"A menace to society." Hugo's jaw clenched. "I thought he was just out to get me. But this... this is a coordinated attack. That little goblin's playing 4D chess with our love lives."
Collins threw his hands in the air, nearly sobbing. "Why does he do this, Hugo? Why?! What joy does he get from ruining two men's nights? What kind of sick pleasure does that little cretin thrive on?"
"I don't know, mate," Hugo said, shaking his head. "But the precision of this operation... it's terrifying."
Both of them sank deeper into the couch, the saxophone music underscoring their mutual defeat.
"I was there, Hugo," Collins said again, eyes misting over. "I could smell the perfume. I could feel the warmth. I was on the edge, mate. The edge. And he pulled me back."
Hugo sighed, his own defeat fresh and raw. "We should've seen this coming. Little brothers are born to ruin lives. They train for it from birth. It's their calling."
Collins sniffed, wiping away a stray tear. "You think they're born like that? With an instinct to destroy?"
Hugo nodded solemnly. "It's genetic. They come out of the womb scheming. It's like... their first words are 'I will sabotage you.'"
Collins groaned, looking down at his nearly naked form. "And now look at me. I'm sitting here, in my boxers, playing jazz. JAZZ, Hugo. I don't even like jazz! But it's the only thing that matches my soul right now!"
Hugo patted him on the shoulder. "Mate, we're in this together. One day, when we're rich and famous, no little brother will ever be able to ruin our nights again."
"You really think so?" Collins sniffed.
"I know so. We'll get back at him. You'll trip him. I'll step on his phone. We'll call it revenge."
Collins nodded, fire flickering in his eyes. "Yeah. Yeah, we will."
Both men sat there in shared, mournful silence for a few moments longer, bonding over their mutual hatred of the one boy who had managed to ruin both their nights in spectacular fashion.
After a few more minutes of shared misery, Hugo stood, clapping Collins on the back. "Alright, mate. Gonna hit the room. It's time to check the rewards."
Collins raised an eyebrow. "Rewards? What rewards?"
Hugo smirked. "Tonight wasn't a total loss. I'll be getting something out of it."
Collins' face twisted in confusion, but before he could ask, Hugo had already disappeared into his room, the door closing with a decisive click.
As Hugo sat on his bed, he took a deep breath, his mind still lingering on the events of the night. "Maybe I didn't get the girl... but let's see what the system's got for me."
He opened the system screen, grinning like a man who'd just found treasure in a sea of disappointment. "At least someone's giving me a reward tonight."