bros over hos, yo [jeremy]

[Nathaniel Fox]

Everyone knew the school rule - there were some places Braedan students just weren't allowed into. And of course, everyone knew the unspoken rule just as well - no one really gave a damn. But there was also a third rule concerning the matter, and one which was solely Nate's - the school's out of bounds policy just didn't apply to him, simply because no other student would rat him out without paying the price and no teacher was immune to his sweet-talking charms. Besides, for his current destination, even the lowliest first year would be able to wriggle their way in somehow; the 'no students from other houses allowed' claim posted on all the common rooms were pretty much plain bull, and had been from time immemorial. Few ever bothered to even make a pretense at sneaking. Nate certainly never had, and he had no intention of ever doing so. In his first two years at the school, he'd simply persuade a fellow student to tell him the password. These days things were much easier; there were always people willing to open doors for Nathaniel Fox - all sorts of doors, really.

The fifth year didn't recognize his doorman for today, but nevertheless Nate nodded amicably at the younger boy as he strolled confidently past him into the Halpsen common room. The place was crowded as always, and as he made his way towards the stairs leading up to the boys' dormitories Nate called out and returned various greetings with smooth ease, his expression a deceptive mask of pleasantry. He'd made the visit for a specific purpose today, but considering the amount of times he'd dropped by Jeremy's common room just to hang out with his best friend no one would guess the difference - which was precisely what he wanted. His and Jeremy's friendship had always been an uncomplicated thing - or at least as uncomplicated as anything could get in the world of Nate Fox - but recently that simplicity had been compromised by a third party. That was bad enough, what made it worse was that the said third party was a girl. And worst of all, she was Ebony Braedan. Nate was determined to settle the issue one way or another, but at the same time, he definitely did not want anyone else knowing about it. Too many people, Ebony included, would probably be head over heels with glee if they found out.

And if anyone knew anything about Nate, they would know that he'd rather hit himself with a Cruciatus curse than give them that much satisfaction.

Taking the unremarkable stone steps two at a time, he inwardly wondered if Jeremy had even noticed what he was doing by devoting all his time to Ebony. To Nate, giving someone that much power over themselves was a singularly stupid thing to do, but then again best friends or no he and Jeremy didn't always share the same opinions. Shaking his head slightly, he paused outside the seventh years' dorm long enough to rap loudly on the closed door before casually letting himself into the room. "Alright Halpsen," he announced. "I've come to perform my duty as best mate, so drop whatever you're doing."

[Jeremy Halpsen]

Jeremy had never spent a lot of time in his dorm room. But today was a rare occasion in which his dorm mates were not there talking about whose boobs were bigger than whose. So Jeremy took advantage of this occasion to have some alone ‘let me be a vampire’ time. But what did one do during this time? Not much different to what one would do when sitting in a room filled with people. Jeremy was lying down on his bed, reading some magazine he’d found under the bed of one of his dorm mates. It had taken him the first few pages to realise that the magazine was entirely about women. And not just any women. Naked women. Jeremy had honestly had no idea what his dorm mates found so appealing about looking at random naked women.

Sure, Jeremy enjoyed women just as much as his dorm mates. But he wasn’t going to spend his time gawking at random naked women comparing boob sizes. With a sigh, Jeremy tossed the magazine back to his dorm mate’s bed and leaned back onto his pillow. With nobody here, he could just sit back and think. Random thoughts flashed through his mind, stopping occasionally. He stopped at the memory of meeting Ebony at the Daphne Tapestry (granted that had been like, two days ago, but still), and frowned. She’d forgiven him for not telling her about his vampirism, but he wasn’t so sure she’d truly forgiven him.

As he was thinking about Ebony, a realization hit Jeremy like someone had just punched him in the face (not that he’d feel it). He spent too much time with her. Hell, he even thought about her when he was having his ‘let me be a vampire’ time. With a frown, Jeremy pushed himself into a sitting position. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was going to do, but anything would be better than sitting alone in the dormitory. Maybe he’d go hunting…

Before he could do anything, there was a sharp rap on the door and then it opened. “Alright Halpsen. I’ve come to perform my duty as best mate, so drop whatever you’re doing.” Jeremy let out a sigh of relief once he realised it was only Nate. If it had been his dorm mates, he would’ve been out of the dormitory before they could even ask him if he’d read the nudie magazine. Jeremy leaned back on his pillow, and looked at Nate with raised eyebrows. “What duty would that be?” he asked, “Are you going to give me a back rub? Because I should warn you, I’m not into that guy on guy action.”

[Nathaniel Fox]

Nate had been prepared to kick Jeremy's roommates out - so what if it was their dorm and not his? - to make sure absolutely no one would be privy to their conversation, but it became immediately clear that that wasn't necessary; the only occupant was the same person he'd come to see. Nodding once to himself in satisfaction, he rolled his eyes eloquently at the seventh year's retort before glancing around the room again as he moved forward to settle himself on the bed next to Jeremy's. Picking up the magazine lying innocuously on the covers, he flicked through several glossy pages before looking up at his friend with raised brows. "Interesting reading material to just leave lying around," he commented blandly, hiding his surprise. Magazines were nothing new to Nate, what was new was finding one so conveniently left out in the dorm room when Jeremy had always been so blatantly uninterested in such things. "Branching out a little, huh?" Not really listening for a reply, he let the magazine fall carelessly onto the floor, arranging the pillow on the bed to his liking before leaning back comfortably against it, not in the least considering the fact that he was taking liberties with a relatively unknown seventh year's property.

"So," he began after a few moments of silence, dropping the bantering manner he had assumed earlier. Shifting slightly so that he faced Jeremy directly, his countenance intently serious, Nate let the word hang in the air between them awhile longer before continuing. "Look Jer, we've been mates for ages now so I'm going to cut all the beating around the herb-bush crap and just get to it. You, Ebony - you and Ebony - the two of you have been acting like a couple of lovesick teenagers. You spend all your time with her, and when you're not, you disappear off to Voldemort-knows-where. Longest I've seen you since that day in the courtyard's been what? Five, ten minutes tops." He paused again, shaking his head in a short, curt way that marked just how frustrated he was - the extent of any demonstration of any his emotions. Exhaling, he met Jeremy's eyes again, determined to get his point through. "I'm not saying I don't like you hanging with her - hell, that's your choice. I'm just saying you need to be careful. You can't let her - you can't let anyone -" he corrected himself "- get to your head like that. She went missing on you after the Welcome Back ball, and you go crazy looking for her, asking people about her." Again, Nate paused, looking significantly at the older boy. "Girls talk, man. People talk. And you and Ebony are big news, no one's gonna keep quiet if they know anything. You need to get a grip."

His mini-speech over, Nate let his shoulders relax ever so slightly, the previously barely noticeable tension they had carried fading away. His self-appointed duty was only halfway done; he still had to actually convince Jeremy he was right, but at least the seventh year had listened without trying to throw him out of the room. Of course there had never been a possiblity of that ever happening before, no matter how controversial their old disagreements had been, but then again Jeremy had never behaved the way he was now either. Ebony seemed to be changing everything, and Nate didn't like the idea of her having the power to do that. "But I'm not jealous, so don't even think it," he added belatedly, his line of thinking leading him to that afterthought. He was worried, that was all. It was a rare event for him to be concerned about someone else, but it did happen when it came to people who mattered. And Jeremy did.

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