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Post by Luke Anthony Torrington on Apr 2, 2009 19:10:34 GMT -5
The corridor seemed empty. Good. This could take a while. Or maybe not. It all depended on whether or not he could bring himself to say it. Most likely, not. There wasn't an ounce of courage in him. How does one simply say something like that? Its not exactly a conversational piece. But what was the point of beating around the subject when family was around? A bit dodgy.
But even when family asked, he'd been able to say something to diverge from the actual thing. It wasn't exactly easy, but it was as it was. And what precisely does one say for starters?
Luke paced. Impossible. Absolutely impossible. He felt mad. This must be why people called it falling in love rather than something pretty like "flying" in love or "exalting" in love. No. Falling happened to be both the direction in which his reputation/courage/sanity went as well as the most cliched adjective to describe his emotional attachment to Chris. Good grief!
And Uncle Cameron had reacted so strongly. He'd said it was inappropriate. He'd grow out of it if it only took time. Like it is some sort of disease.
"Am I sick?"
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Christian Nagle
Gryffindor
Second Year
...at the first pluck of the heartstrings...
Posts: 165
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Post by Christian Nagle on Apr 2, 2009 22:18:04 GMT -5
"What sort of question is that?"
The Gryffindor had been tracking Luke's steps since he stormed from the Entrance Hall. It wasn't in any way easy to keep up with the fifth year, but thanks to Quidditch work outs, Chris was in much better shape than he'd given himself credit for, of late. He'd been through the ringer today, at any rate, falling from his broom twice, due to lack of concentration. And he'd found the source to that discord. Evidently, perhaps unfortunately, this source was also his greatest friend and his foundling hero.
"You think YOU'RE sick?" He shouldered his bag and rolled up his robe sleeves. Then, bracingly, he drew himself up beside his hero and, shoving his hands into his pockets, he began to pace the floor with the fifth year. "Right, then. You'll have to explain. I'm not going anywhere."
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Post by Luke Anthony Torrington on Apr 3, 2009 22:11:04 GMT -5
"What are you doing here?" Luke snapped as he watched Chris roll his sleeves up. "You haven't been following me have you?"
But he kind of liked the idea. Sometimes being on the chase was fun. Or being chased, in this case. But it wasn't helping much either. Ordinarily this persistence would be really cute, coming from the 13 year old. But right now, it felt - it felt - well Luke didn't really know how it felt. Aggravating was one possibility; flattering, another.
"No I don't think I'm SICK," he shot back, not sure why he sounded so angry. "I'm just very complicated at the moment. A little busy for child games with a silly second-year."
He was certain that, in retrospect, those words would come back and hurt him, but it felt good (THAT'S HOW IT FELT!) to yell at someone. He felt like he wanted to do some more yelling at Chris. After all, this was all HIS fault anyway! He'd worked some magic spell on Luke and made him feel like this! YES! That was it! If Luke hadn't met Chris - he reasoned with an inflamed passion - he'd probably be dating some pretty fifth year girl... no, CHICK... and his family would all be so happy to meet her. He'd probably be making plans to marry this gir-CHICK, and Uncle Cameron would approve... well EVERYONE would approve. But he'd seen Chris sitting there by the tree last spring and he felt some foolish need to go over to him and talk to him. And of course that was when it happened. Whatever spell he had cast, Chris had cast a spell on Luke and now it was ruining his life. Absolutely! That was the truth.
"Right, then. You'll have to explain. I'm not going anywhere."
What! WHAT! Stupid stupid boy! Can't you see its YOUR FAULT! Luke scowled.
"Fine. Stay then." He continued to pace in silence. Chris pulled up beside him and suddenly they were walking in unison. Luke trudged on without daring to look at the boy, but he seemed to be constantly looking at Luke. Out of the corner of his eye, Luke could see that Chris was barely making an effort to keep pace. He walked faster and turned quicker, but it still seemed that the boy wouldn't go away. Finally he turned with a jolt and seized Chris by the shoulders!
"WHY WON'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE?" He spat into the boy's face. He tossed him, almost as hard as he could, to the side and continued to pace. Only then did he stop and think. What had he just done? What was he becoming? What was he doing to someone he so dearly loved?
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Christian Nagle
Gryffindor
Second Year
...at the first pluck of the heartstrings...
Posts: 165
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Post by Christian Nagle on Apr 6, 2009 17:17:16 GMT -5
After being seized and tossed, seemingly like a rag doll or something of the sort, Chris felt conflicted as to what he ought to do next. This was a fight he wasn't willing to give up so easily, yet it was beginning to resemble similar encounters with his stepbrothers and his stepfather - all three were horrible men, save Caleb, and true and utter disgust lined every memory of them - especially with regards to Eston. Hogwarts was, for Chris, a safe haven and finding a true feeling of love for someone at the school made it a paradise he never experienced at home. However, now that person he'd come to be so fond of, was reacting to his care much as Eston would. It sent major contradictory signals to the second-year.
"Why won't I leave you alone?" He retaliated, on impulse. "WHY WON'T I LEAVE YOU ALONE? I CARE! I WANT TO HELP YOU! NOW YOU MAY NOT EVER HAVE HAD THAT OPPORTUNITY BEFORE - YOU MAY NOT EVER HAVE HAD A PERSON WANT TO HELP YOU - BUT I CARE ABOUT YOU, LUKE, AND I GIVE A - " but it seemed fruitless to continue. The older boy didn't seem to hear him.
"You know what? Fine. FINE!" He leaned against the wall, drooping his arms and dropping his bag. His elbow stung as it caressed the stone behind him, and he got the faint sensation of injury - more than personal or psychological - physical injury. He didn't want to look at what this injury might be, though he didn't mind guessing at it. Perhaps it was some horrible wound which caused his elbow bone to cut out from the flesh and dangle, membranes and all, grotesquely, oozing blood. Perhaps he would have to go to the Infirmary, or maybe he'd eventually lose enough blood that he would faint, and Luke would be forced (by guilt, of course) to carry him up there by himself. Then, also due to his guilty conscience, Luke would sit by his side while Chris recovered and he would beg the Gryffindor for forgiveness, weeping and petting the boy's hand and such.
It'd've served him right, Chris thought in response to his brooding. It's only a matter of time.
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Post by Luke Anthony Torrington on Apr 7, 2009 16:11:13 GMT -5
"Why won't I leave you alone? WHY WON'T I LEAVE YOU ALONE? I CARE! I WANT TO HELP YOU! NOW YOU MAY NOT EVER HAVE HAD THAT OPPORTUNITY BEFORE - YOU MAY NOT EVER HAVE HAD A PERSON WANT TO HELP YOU - BUT I CARE ABOUT YOU, LUKE, AND I GIVE A - " Luke wished he hadn't reacted so rashly. He couldn't stop pacing, however, and he couldn't find a way to remedy the situation easily. But as the words came pouring out of Chris' mouth, flabbering as he did sometimes, wagging his tongue at the elder, Luke felt the sparks flying between them strike somewhere inside him and reignite the fire that had billowed up previously. He felt very angered by the insinuation that no one else cared for him! "You think NO one else cares about me, eh?" he turned on the younger. "You think you're the ONLY bloody person who CARES for me, EH?" He advanced on the boy. "Well I've got news for you, Mr. Nagle. You're completely and absolutely WRONG! I could have anyone here exponging their care for me if I wanted to! Anyone!" He leaned his face closely to Chris' and glared at him for a moment before stepping back and pacing some more. "I bet you can't say the same, eh?" "You know what? Fine. FINE!" Luke refused to honour this retort with his attention. He continued to pace, using his senses to judge the younger boy's actions. Chris must've slumped back against the wall and dropped his bag, based on the reverberating echoes it sent through the hall. What did it matter? So maybe he hadn't been completely truthful; he wasn't entirely sure he could get anyone to "exponge" their sentiments of admiration for him as easily as he had insinuated, but the thought made him look better than Chris, and if the latter didn't know the truth then there was no harm done - right? Guilt fell, once more, upon the Hufflepuff's emotional landscape and he began to feel that he had injured Chris in ways he wasn't yet able to comprehend. The boy was only 12, for Merlin's goodness! But, then again, most 12 year-olds lacked the conviction and the intensity with which Chris lived his life. Not to mention, most 12 year-olds lacked the maturity with which Chris conducted himself in Luke's presence. That much was very caring about the boy. He could be 15 in the way he interracted with Luke, even though he really wasn't that old. Perhaps the less mature of them was, this hurt, himself. He battled with himself for several turns as to whether he should say anything, or whether he ought to apologise. Would he be forgiven? He'd been so sure before, but now - Now, certainty was not a talent of his. "Erm-I..." he began, unable to look at his boyfriend. "I guess..." he stopped pacing and looked up, resolutely with a sigh, set on getting the apology out in the open. What he encountered, however, was a bloody mess! "CHRIS! You're bleeding!"
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Lianna Maylorn
Hufflepuff Prefect
Fifth Year
Sitting on the edge of the World
Posts: 1,122
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Post by Lianna Maylorn on Apr 7, 2009 23:17:50 GMT -5
"CHRIS! You're bleeding!"
Corridors were one of two things but they were never truly ever empty. At best they were devoid of another soul for as long as it took someone to scale the stairways and mentally pick that specific floor to get off. On the other extreme, at worst, they were only as void as your line of sight and just around the corner leaning against the wall could be anywhere from one to three or more souls overhearing every second word. And although most of the altercation between the two boys had been written off in her case, sparing the parts of course where the voices got audible enough to be comprehended or when she wasn't off daydreaming among her thoughts somewhere, Lianna fell into the latter of the two categories. Instead of every second word however it was more like every...tenth.
That most recent particularly loud outburst however now meant the two had her ears' undivided attention.
The Hufflepuff teen poked her head out from the sill's veiling shelter and glanced up what she could see of her section of the third floor, the astronomy book in her lap laying idly forgotten. Ironically all that she could see was absolutely nothing; but that was only due to being situated almost directly around the corner. She was certain she had heard the word 'bleeding', well almost certain anyway since there weren't too many other words that could sound like it but that 'almost' was the only reason she hadn't investigated it.
If someone was bleeding that meant she would have to question it, find out what happened, maybe involve someone with more authority than her badge allotted, help get the injured person to the Wing and perhaps otherwise accidentally condemn someone to a week's worth of undeserved detentions. Whereas, if she didn't investigate it...they could get their own detentions and no one would possibly hold a grudge against her until her graduation. Since that second choice was definitely better in the long run, it would be what she listened to...
against what she was fairly certain was the rather annoying screaming of her more incredibly concerned conscience.
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Christian Nagle
Gryffindor
Second Year
...at the first pluck of the heartstrings...
Posts: 165
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Post by Christian Nagle on Apr 9, 2009 15:36:26 GMT -5
"What are you doing?" Chris violently brushed away the older boy's hand as it reached for his elbow. "Get off o' me! Don't touch me!" Hadn't he done enough damage? Luke seemed persistent, though, and that was ordinarily to his credit. However, right now, Chris was so angry at him that he didn't have any desire to be touched again.
"Everything you touch on me bleeds, Luke!" he shouted as he looked down and examined the blood. "YOU'RE A BLOODY MESS!" He stomped away from Luke, leaving his bag. He felt so angry so suddenly and it felt like all the little things he'd put up with easily since they'd begun their courting were resurfacing and exacerbating the situation. Why did he get irrational? Why did he act on impulse? Why didn't he ever apologise?
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Post by Luke Anthony Torrington on Apr 9, 2009 19:26:07 GMT -5
Luke felt horrible! He reached for Chris' elbow, hoping to deter the excessive bleeding. "What are you doing? "Get off o' me! Don't touch me!" He jumped back, impulsively angry but holding on to his nerve, through clenched teeth. "I'm just trying to help you, Chris! Hold still and let me-" but it seemed the boy wanted nothing to do with Luke. He was being irrational. Completely irrational. Luke reached for him again. "HOLD STILL!" "Everything you touch on me bleeds, Luke! YOU'RE A BLOODY MESS!" "I'm a bloody mess? YOU'RE the one who's blood is spilling all over the floor!" he spat back. "Just hold still, will you?" He wanted to pull out his wand and petrify the boy, but he figured that if anyone was nearby it would be bad if they came around the corner and saw the charm performed in plain sight. Still, why Chris continued to resist his help, Luke had no idea. It aggravated him. "Chris - PLEASE hold still." Luke was pleading now. "I'm sorry, baby."
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Christian Nagle
Gryffindor
Second Year
...at the first pluck of the heartstrings...
Posts: 165
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Post by Christian Nagle on May 11, 2009 19:07:33 GMT -5
Well that was more like it! An actual apology? From Mr. Torrington?
Chris looked over at his boyfriend and felt his heart melt. Yes, he was still angry with him, despite the apology, but it was incredibly difficult to feel as angry as he had been. And he winced, because the elbow now began to sting. He didn't try to face the other boy; he didn't want him to think he'd won this argument, though he had a deep feeling that there was no winning or losing in this situation anymore. They both seemed to want the other to calm down and not be angry anymore, and considering his past relationship with Sharivah, this consideration of the other was a HUGE step in the right direction.
So, there were some sacrifices Chris was willing to make, because he liked the feeling of being cared about. This was a small sacrifice, if it was much of a sacrifice at all. But he still wasn't going to concede so easily.
"Are you?" He asked with a slight but not serious edge to his voice. "Are you sorry?"
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Post by Luke Anthony Torrington on May 22, 2009 22:59:46 GMT -5
Luke searched the younger boy's eyes to see if he was being cross with him or not, and after a few minutes of silent deliberation, he determined the latter.
"Well," he began hesitantly, not entirely sure he was correct to assume that Chris wasn't being completely serious. "Well, yes, I am sorry I hurt you." He wanted, at that moment, to pull Chris into his arms and hug him, to reassure him that no harm was intended. He'd almost completely forgotten, by this point, why he had come up here in the first, but it slowly woke up again inside him. How was it possible that he should love this boy when no one seemed to accept or understand how complicated that was? It seemed unfair to hold that sort of responsibility inside, to feel always in the wrong because he felt differently than other men... or boys. Being a Wizard and needing to conceal that secret from his many Muggle friends in South Africa was very tough. How many times had he wanted to show them a bit of real magic? not that slight-of-hand rubbish? And now it appeared there was a secret much more difficult to conceal, especially with the likes of Christian Nagle, throwing him off-guard simply because all else seemed to fall away out of importance or priority whenever Chris was around. Such strong magic that was. Such strong, powerful magic. And here he was forcing it to remain unspoken of in his family life. When could Chris become more than just "a chum from school"? When could he become "my best mate and match"?
But Chris was still more than half an arm away, and he seemed unlikely to draw closer. More problems, Luke though. More problems to resolve. It was so much work, Love and Lies. But, yes, he was deeply sorry he had hurt Chris. It was not his intent.
"You know I'd never intentionally do anything to hurt you... or maybe you don't, erm, or didn't... but," how incredibly embarrassing! He was stuttering and probably blushing too. "but I suppose, well, now you, erm, you do, eh?" Would his quick smile cover up his fatally bunk conversation?
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Christian Nagle
Gryffindor
Second Year
...at the first pluck of the heartstrings...
Posts: 165
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Post by Christian Nagle on May 27, 2009 16:03:28 GMT -5
It took all his might to keep from laughing, or even to smile back at Luke. He was trying to control himself around this boy, and yet it seemed like every little thing Luke did, for better or worse, Chris was effected by. He could tell that Luke was trying to make things better, but he wanted Luke to understand that being impulsive with him was not an option in their relationship. So, he glared back at the Huff, with little malice.
"I suppose I do, but that doesn't excuse the fact that you did hurt me, and you did it with some intention," he spoke with reserve. He could see the crestfallen look on Luke's face, and he softened his tone. He didn't much like playing the role of scolding mother. He slipped his hand into Luke's and said, softly, "But if you promise not to act on your impulses again with me, I'm fairly certain I have already forgiven you." He moved himself a little closer to the older boy, hoping to restore some of the closeness they'd had before this little curfuffle. Taking the moment to examine his arm, he saw that it wasn't horrible. The blood was dried already, and if he flipped down his sleaves, no one would notice.
"You okay, honey?" He asked, when Luke's silence seemed too oppressive.
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