[LOG] Fooling Around

[n3xt-in-line.livejournal.com]

Where: Slytherin Boys' Dormitories
When: Late January, 2022 (Fifth Year)

It was decently late in the evening when Alby and Scorp returned to the Slytherin dormitories. Classes had begun picking up again, and the two had retreated to the Chamber of Snogs for some studying and a bit of… other extracurricular activities. Alby grinned a bit to himself, thinking how wonderful it was that he and Scorp had a place like the Chamber to be alone in. He bet that any other couple in the school would kill for the ability to have a place where they knew they wouldn’t be interrupted. And it wasn’t as though Gilbert and Serge would tell on them.

As they approached the door to the fifth year boys’ dormitories, however, Alby paused. There were noises coming from within – kind of a scuffling, along with voices, though they weren’t saying anything intelligible as far as he could tell. Alby glanced at Scorp worriedly, frowning a bit. Was someone fighting? He hadn’t thought any of the dormmates had been having issues…

He pulled away from Scorp a bit and hurried the last few steps to the door. If there was a fight going on, it would be best to put it to a stop before things got serious. They all had to live together, after all, and fights were not something Alby liked. Especially not among his friends. He pushed the heavy door open, stepping into the room. At first he didn’t see where the sounds were coming from. Then his eyes fell on Alex’s bed, upon which were Alex and Joe. But they weren’t fighting.

They were kissing. Rather heatedly, in fact – Alex had pushed Joe most of the way onto the bed, one hand tangled in the other’s tie. Joe’s hair was a bit unkempt, and his hands were on Alex’s shoulders; for a moment Alby couldn’t tell if he was pushing or pulling at Alex. For that matter, he suddenly couldn’t tell if the kiss was passionate, or just sloppy.

“… Uh,” he squeaked, coming to so abrupt a halt that Scorpius nearly bumped into him from behind. He suddenly got the feeling that maybe they ought to back out of the room. Quickly.

But it was too late. Alex and Joe had obviously noticed them. Alex glanced up, breaking the liplock with Joe a few seconds later, turning his head to them with a half-chagrined grin. “Think it’s about time the two of you stopped having all the fun around here,” he said cheerily. “Don’t suppose you might’ve thought to knock?” Below him, Joe’s cheeks were beginning to turn as pink as Alby’s probably were.

[OOC: Okay, so hopefully that sounds decent. XD If there’s anything that you think needs changing, just let me know. I think this was the setup we originally had in mind, though? We may want to skip some time after a while, since I think Joe and Alex end up fighting and putting Alby and Scorp in the middle of it or something? I think that might’ve been the plan… Anyway, I think I lose at writing Alex, so. ^^;; I can make some changes if you have any preferences~ :D;]

Comments

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By Thursday Alby was beginning to wonder if maybe there wasn't something they could do. But he just didn't know what. Alex and Joe hadn't done any better in potions this morning than they had on Tuesday - in fact, it had been slightly worse, as Alex's cauldron had partially melted before anyone realized what was happening.

Sleeping on it clearly wasn't helping. Alby worried at the end of his quill as he sat in the common room, waiting for Scorpius to get out of Ancient Runes so they could go to dinner. He'd been trying to work on an essay for History of Magic, but the subject material was nothing but boring and that, coupled with his worry over his friends' row, had resulted in little more than half a paragraph in the last ten minutes.

"Hey, Alby."

Alby nearly jumped, almost dropping his parchment as a voice startled him out of his thoughts. He glanced over and realized it was Alex who'd spoken. The quill dropped from his mouth.

"Hey, Alby," Alex said again, glancing around. "Can I talk to you for a second, mate? Somewere else?"

Alby frowned, but maybe this was the breakthrough they needed. Maybe Alex just wanted some advice, or maybe he wanted Alby to talk to Joe for him. Either of those Alby would be happy to do, if it would get his friends talking for real again. He nodded, gathering up his parchment, trying to ignore the way the other Slytherins in the common room were watching them. It was obvious by now to everyone in the house that Joe and Alex were having some sort of issue. "Yeah," he replied quietly, glancing at the hall that led to the dormitories. "I think the dorm is empty."

Alex nodded, and the two quickly made their way to the dorm, where Alex closed the door and leaned against it, looking mostly nonchalant. Alby put his things on his bed and watched him, waiting for him to speak first.

"Look, Alby... You haven't talked to Joe, have you?" Alex asked. "I don't know why he's so pissed at me. All I did was try to have some fun, and he's acting like a bloody prat about it."

Alby nearly snorted aloud. Alex thought Joe was the one being the prat? Was he blind? "I don't think you've quite got that right," he said slowly, wondering if there was any way to go about this conversation that wouldn't leave Alex angry at him. But his mother and father had always told him that honesty was the best policy, even if it wasn't always the easiest thing to do. "I think you're the one who's been acting like a prat, Alex."

[OOC: Thursday looked good to skip to, with another double potions and that's the day that Scorp has Ancient Runes~ I imagine Alby will probably have Alex storm out on him, but at least he'll give Alex something to think about. :D;]

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"Hey, mate."

Scorpius felt a tug on his sleeve as he finished putting away his Ancient Runes text. It was Joe, looking troubled. Certainly more troubled than he had two days ago. I'm not the one you should be asking for advice, thought Scorpius with desperation, but he kept his expression carefully neutral.

"You got a minute to have a chat?"

Scorpius nodded. "Yeah, sure," he said simply. Professor Fenwick had already left the classroom, and so Scorpius and Joe were alone. Figuring the talk might last for a while, he sat back down and waited for Joe to start talking.

Joe sighed, staring at the table, a distinctly uncomfortable look on his face. He scratched his head, as if trying to figure out the best place to start.

"So," he began tentatively, not meeting Scorpius's gaze, "you and Alby...saw...what happened the other day?"

"We didn't mean to," Scorpius said simply, a little defensively. "I'm very sorr--"

Joe shook his head. "No no no, it's not your fault. I mean, you couldn't have expected to find...well, you know."

"Yeah." Scorpius nodded.

"Um...you know...I'm not..."

"Gay?" Scorpius supplied after a long moment of silence and awkward noises from Joe's direction. "Yeah, I think that's pretty clear by now."

Joe nodded. "Okay. I just want to, you know--"

There were far too many "you knows" in this conversation already, and Scorpius really felt like he didn't know much beyond that Alex and Joe weren't talking because they'd had an awkward snog and at least one of them, if not both, wasn't gay.

"Wait," Scorpius said, putting his hands up. "I actually don't know much of what's going on between you and Alex, so why don't you tell me what happened from the beginning?"

[OOC: Oh, poor Alby having Alex storm out. I think Joe and Scorpius's little chat is going to end well. They're gonna decide that Alex is an inconsiderate twat and wait for him to cool down, because Joe thinks he's angry for some reason. XD Which will of course, make for more drama--or at least tension--when Scorpius tells Alby Joe's side of things.]

[n3xt-in-line.livejournal.com]

Alex frowned, clearly not on the same page. "How have I been acting like a prat? It wasn't a big deal -"

"It obviously was to Joe, in case you hadn't noticed," Alby said quietly, wishing he were almost anywhere other than here having this conversation. He looked at his friend for a minute. "And you've been acting like nothing's wrong. Alex, you're not... You're not gay, are you?"

Alex stared at him. "What? Of course not, mate. Why would I be?"

Suddenly Alby wanted to bang his head against the nearst bedpost. "Well, you were snogging Joe like the world was about to end -"

"And that's just it, Alby," Alex protested. "Whatever it looked like, I didn't mean anything by it, it was just a bit of fun, we were bored and he wasn't exactly complaining at the time." He frowned angrily.

"Well maybe he thought it was okay at first. I don't know," Alby said, feeling a little out of his depth, here. It wasn't as though he'd exactly talked to Joe about it. "But he obviously feels weird about it now."

"If he didn't say anything then, and he won't say anything now, then I don't see what the problem is. Thanks a lot," he grumbled sarcastically, turning and walking out the door before Alby could say another word.

... Well, he'd been a big help, Alby thought, sighing and staring at the closed door. Now Alex was angry, though Alby wasn't sure if that was better or worse than when he'd been pretending nothing had happened. He frowned himself, staring at the coverlet on the bed. Well, at least Alex knew what Alby thought the problem was now, right? Not that he seemed inclined to believe him, but maybe he'd stop being a prat and realize that Alby was (probably) right.

Alby snorted and rolled his eyes. Right. And his quill could get up and dance a jig completely uncharmed. That wasn't likely to happen. But really, he thought miserably, he wasn't sure what else he could do? He hoped Scorp would get back soon. Maybe he would know what to do.

[IIC: Aw, well, at least Scorp will get through to Joe. Thanks good! <3 But I suppose it will just create more drama in the end, yay~ XD]

[of-gunmetalgrey.livejournal.com]

"He just snogged me!"

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. He didn't completely believe that. Inconsiderate though he was, Alex wasn't the kind of bloke to just snog his best friend without saying anything. "He just snogged you?"

Joe rolled his eyes. "Okay, we talked about it first. A bit. He just wanted to see what it would be like, and I said 'okay.' It was just supposed to be a little kiss, not a full on snog-like-it's-the-end-of-the-world!"

"Wait, so you're upset that he snogged you?"

"No, Scorp. I'm upset that he snogged me, told me it was just a bit of fun, and now he won't even speak to me." Joe looked like he wanted to kick something, probably Alex.

"Ah," Scorpius nodded. He sat back in his chair and thought about the situation for a bit, realizing there was nothing he could say or do right now to make Joe feel better. But he had to say something didn't he? "Joe," he said, "you realize it's Alex's lot in life to be a prat, right?"

"Yeah," Joe said with a snort.

"I think that's your answer right there," Scorpius said simply. "Alex can be a prat when he wants to be, which is almost all the time. I'm sure this will just blow over if you wait long enough."

"But Scorp, Alex and I aren't speaking. This has never happened."

Admittedly, that made the situation more complicated. Scorpius frowned. He was really no good with dealing with these situations, couldn't Joe have asked somebody else for advice? Maybe Zach? He was the sensitive type. Maybe he'd know what to do. "I don't know what to say," Scorpius said. He shrugged helplessly. "But if Alex really is your friend, he'll cool down and then you can ask him what's going on. That's all I can think to do. Sorry. I'm no good at these things."

Joe heaved a long sigh. He gave Scorpius a look and shook his head. "It's okay," he said. "I actually think what you said--waiting for this to blow over--is a good idea."

"Yeah, don't let it bother you."

"Right," Joe said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "That'll be easy."

Scorpius shrugged, and apologized again. The two boys picked up their things, and made their way down the now-abandoned corridors to the Slytherin Dungeons, where they usually met up with their dormmates for dinner.

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Alby had just made his way back to the Slytherin common room when Scorpius entered room, followed by Joe. Alby looked from Joe to the hunched form of Alex, who had thrown himself into one of the armchairs near the fire and was pointedly ignoring his yearmates. This did not bode well - Alby didn't want to spend more time sitting between the two of them while they weren't talking, and he hoped that maybe if he and Scorp could beat them to the table, they might find a spot somewhere other than where they usually sat, to give themselves a bit of relative privacy. Alby would consider skipping the meal altogether, but his stomach rumbled and he realized that wasn't a very appealing option, either.

He made his way over to his boyfriend before he'd gotten halfway through the room, taking his arm gently and turning him back towards the door.

"Hey, Scorp, come on, I have something I wanted to ask you about that essay for Potions," he said, taking the other's bag as consolation for being rushed out of the room again so quickly. As he led - well, practically dragged - the other up the stairs and towards the great hall. Luck was with them - there was a spot between a couple of sixth-year boys that Alby and Scorp could fill without being too conspicuous; Pawel Sykes and Sampson Smethley were discussing some essay for another class, and they glanced at the two younger boys before going back to their conversation, Pawel gesturing to the parchment he'd laid out on the table between their plates. On their other side, Justus Burge was talking to Yolanda Irby, and they spared them little more attention that Pawel and Sampson had.

"Look... I'm sorry about that, but I wanted to talk to you alone... well, kind of alone," Alby began, setting Scorp's bag down beside him to be extra sure no one would sit beside them. He grabbed for a plate of turkey legs in front of them, depositing one on his plate before passing the platter to Scorp. "Alex just came and asked me what's wrong, only I don't think he's got a clue that he's it. And I don't think he liked it very much when I told him so."

[OOC: Apparently you can't get between Alby and his dinner, even if you're a serious conversation. XD;]

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The "Hi, Alby" that Scorpius was about to say died on his lips as Alby practically shot across the room and picked up the bag he'd been about to set down. He had to practically scramble after his boyfriend as Alby rushed up the stairs and into the Great Hall for dinner. They walked past their usual spot at the table, scooting next to the sixth years instead as some of the girls from their year glanced at them curiously over their dinner.

It took Scorpius a while to catch up as Alby spoke to him quickly, and handed him a plate of food. "Um, well, that seems obvious doesn't it?" Scorpius said, picking up a turkey leg and taking a bite, not even bothering to set it down on his plate first. He never really did realize how ravenous he was until he actually ate something.

"I mean," he said, after a pause to chew and swallow, "when is a misunderstand Alex is involved in not his fault?

Joe talked to me after Ancient Runes, and he's wondering what's got Alex all up in knots."

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Alby sighed, piling mashed potatoes onto his plate and Scorps before digging in. "Well, it usually is, but he's not usually this much of a prat about it." He concentrated on eating for a moment, and then Scorpius spoke. Alby glanced over, feeling not really surprised that Joe had decided to talk to Scorp - he supposed everyone involved was probably getting sick of this, even if they didn't want to take the actions to solve it.

"Well, I told Alex that Joe probably felt weird and he wasn't helping by acting all normal, but he said that if something was wrong, Joe should just tell him." Alby remembered what Alex's face had looked like, so insistent that he'd done nothing wrong, that Joe was the one acting weird. Alex was pretty hard to convince of much, when he was sure he was right.

Alby glanced at the table, chewing. "I dunno, I mean, I guess Joe should be the one to tell him, right? Alex won't believe either of us, not the way he'd believe Joe." He looked at Scorp again. "Do you think we could get him to say something to Alex? Did he seem like he wanted to? I don't know if I can take their fighting much longer." He squirmed, just thinking about how they might have to deal with Alex and Joe's argument for as long as it took, and he hoped that it wouldn't be much longer at all.

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Scorpius listened to Alby carefully. If his mouth hadn't been full of mashed potatoes, he would have heaved a sigh. So it seemed that both Alex and Joe thought the other was to blame for the tensions between them, and neither was going to budge on the issue, unless there was a lot of time or a confrontation. Scorpius would rather have the former and not the latter, but had the feeling that either were going to drive him completely mental. So he might as well make the misery as short as possible, right?

"Hmmm," Scorpius frowned. "I could try talking to Joe again," he said. "I just told him to wait it out, but maybe that wasn't the best idea." He wrinkled his nose. God, he was bad at this advice thing.

"Yeah," Scorpius decided, digging a spoon into his mashed potatoes. "I guess I better talk to Joe." He looked around the table pointedly at the empty spots that his two dormitory mates had always occupied until recently. "On second thought," he said turning to Alby, realizing how much he dreaded talking to Joe by himself, "why don't we talk to him together?"

[n3xt-in-line.livejournal.com]

Alby thought about it, weighing the options. While waiting it out might be a good idea otherwise, he wasn't sure that was the best idea in this case. It was kind of like dealing with James - if you let things simmer too long, he was so convinced he was right that when you did go and talk to him, there was no way to bring him around. Alex was a bit like James, in that respect, and it had already been a number of days. Alby that the feeling that if this was going to get sorted out, sooner rather than later was the best choice. Besides, he really hated having to deal with their two mates when they were fighting. It would be better if they weren't, right?

He nodded, as Scorp suggested talking to Joe together. "Yeah - I guess maybe if both of us are there, it'll help his confidence?" He took another bite, chewing slowly. "I mean... he's really the one who has to say something. I guess I don't envy him, but if he doesn't speak up, Alex'll never know he's being a prat." He eyed the empty end of the table, where Scorp's eyes kept heading, and thought that yes, a resolution as soon as possible would be the best thing. When someone in the dorm fought, no one was comfortable. Alby had wondered, occasionally, what it had been like for Joe, Alex, and even Zach, when he and Scorp had been so weird at the beginning of the school year. Alby had spent most of that time uncomfortable, so he hated to think about what it had been like for their dormmates, who were detached enough from the situation to be affected in a different way. He sighed - seriously, the next time Alex and Joe got bored, they ought to try a game of gobstones or something. It seemed safer.


[OOC: Sorry for the short-ish tag -should we have them catch Joe that evening, or maybe the next morning/over the weekend? They were going to explode in the common room I think, right? So maybe Alby and Scorp convince Joe on Friday to talk to Alex, and he does on Saturday and there's a big explosion and Alby and Scorp get dragged into it? And, uh, hopefully they'll get them to make up before anyone gets killed? XD;]

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Scorpius wasn't sure if 'confidence' was the right word for him and Alby approaching Joe at the same time. It was probably closer to 'coercion' or 'peer pressure,' but Scorpius nodded anyway. Confidence, of course. That was exactly what Joe needed to confront Alex, or more likely, what Joe should have had in the first place to tell Alex to go find some girls to snog and prevent this entire mess. Scorpius was of half a mind to also go to Alex, give him a good shake, and demand to know why he'd been snogging his best friend when everybody knew that was usually a bad idea...but Scorpius felt he was the person with the least right in the school to be enforcing that particular social convention. It was a miracle that none of the house elves that made their beds had brought it to anyone's attention just how often either his or Alby's bed hadn't been slept in.

Scorpius caught himself thinking about how nice it would be to have his dormitory be an awkward-free zone once again--every time he climbed into Alby's bed he wondered if indirectly they hadn't been responsible for Alex's 'experiment'. He turned back to Alby, nodding.

"Yeah," he said in agreement. "At least Joe is the kind of bloke you can reason with." If there was anybody who wanted this resolve more than he and Alby, it would be Joe.

[OOC: So let's skip to where they catch Joe later in the evening, and then have Joe confront Alex in the common room over the weekend? I like the idea that Scorp and Alby get pulled into it because Joe and Alex each accuse each other of being gay and also putting part of the blame on Scorp and Alby for being so close together all the time and making them curious. Scorp and Alby get a little offended by that and start defending themselves and then it devolves into a four-way shouting match. Alessandra grabs Professor Blackwood, and in the middle of the shouting Blackwood discovers that Scorpius and Alby are actually sleeping in the same bed together. He breaks up the fight, gives the boys detention together, and this can segue into the next part where Professor Blackwood decides to sit Scorp and Alby down and give them a safe sex talk. :D

Thoughts?]

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"Right!" Alby nodded, finally smiling a bit again. If they could only help Joe to see that he was the only person who could solve this... well, maybe things would get on their way to getting better. That was all Alby wanted - for things to get better, and be the way they were before. He hated seeing his friends fight, and he hated wondering if there wasn't some way he and Scorp could've prevented it, or somehow cleared up this mess sooner. But there was nothing for it - things were the way they were, and hopefully they wouldn't be that way for much longer.

It was surprisingly easy to catch Joe later that evening - he was in their otherwise-deserted dormitory, sprawled out on his bed and reading his History of Magic book - or at least, putting up a good front of reading it. Alby could tell from halfway across the room that his brows were knitted in something that looked more like frustration than concentration, and he was muttering a bit to himself as he turned the page. Alby wondered if he'd actually read what was on the one previous.

"Hey, Joe..." he said softly, as he and Scorp approached the bed. "Look, we wanted to..." he glanced at Scorp, wondering how the best way to phrase this was. "We wanted to let you know we're on your side. I mean - we're behind you, if you want to talk to Alex. I really think you should. You're miserable, mate."

Joe just looked up at them for a long moment, a sort of tiredness behind his eyes. Alby shuffled his feet and bit his lip - maybe they should've talked to Joe together earlier. He could tell his friend wanted this resolved as quickly as they did.

"Yeah? Well, I guess that's good to know," Joe said after a moment, glancing between the two boys standing at the foot of his bed. "So you both think I should talk to Alex."

It was more of a statement than a question, but Alby nodded anyway. "It's the best way!" he insisted, glancing at Scorp again. "I mean... you know something's wrong, he knows something's wrong, but if nobody says anything..." He trailed off, hoping this really was the right advice, but he honestly couldn't think of anything better.

"... I guess," was Joe's solemn reply, as he glanced back down at the pages of his book. "Maybe I'll talk to him tomorrow."



[OOC: I approve of your plan~ That totally works, especially if it does come out that they've been sleeping in the same bed, since that will totally work to segue into a safe sex talk. XD Ah, poor Professor Blackwood.

And apparently Alby's wording in this situation is not great, so maybe that will, uh, "help" pull them into the middle of the argument? XD; Especially if Joe thinks they're totally taking his side, and Alex gets pissed over it.]

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Scorpius did not like how he was approaching Joe's bed like he was about to bully him into something he didn't want to do. He walked a step behind Alby, trying not to look like he felt terribly out of place. Joe was practical, he told himself. If nothing else, he'd see the practicality of having to be the first to talk to Alex.

"Look, mate," Scorpius said, hoping that what he was supposed to say would help the situation. "We've all been friends since first year. Don't you think it would be nice to stay friends.?"

"Yeah, that would," was Joe's reply. He looked up slowly from his reading. "That's up to Alex., I guess, but it means a lot to me to have the both of you on my side."

Scorpius shot a glance in Alby's direction. They weren't supposed to really be taking sides, were they? Alex had a valid point of view too, even if he wasn't acting reasonable.

"No problem," Scorpius said, looking a bit worried.

"I'll talk to him tomorrow," Joe said.

"Yeah, well, uh..." Scorpius paused. Was he supposed to offer help? Back up? No, he wanted to steer clear of this as much as possible. "Good luck," Scorpius trailed off, realizing how strange that sounded.

"Thanks," Joe said. He went back to his text.

Scorpius looked at Alby, and then meaningfully at his bed. He really just wanted a cuddle.

[OOC: I just remembered, were we supposed to have fun before the safe sex talk? Like Scorp was gonna look up books in the library and Alby was gonna have a chat with Hawk?

Yeah, I like the idea that Alex gets mad at them for accidentally taking sides. XD Should we have Alby and Scorp walking in on the middle of the argument and having no idea what's going on? :D]

[n3xt-in-line.livejournal.com]

Alby bit his lip and watched Joe nervously, but he'd said all he could say, and Joe seemed like he realized things would have to come to a head. He glanced back at Scorp, realizing that his boyfriend sounded a little less confident than he usually did. Sure enough, the look in Scorp's eyes was opaque, but slightly out of his depth, and the tone of his voice told Alby that he really wasn't sure what he was doing.

He suppressed a small smile - even at a time like this, he thought that was incredibly cute - and glanced at Joe one last time. He seemed to have gone back to his textbook; Alby turned to Scorp and took his hand, leading them over to Scorp's bed and pulling the curtains shut behind them. He wrapped his arms around Scorpius' neck and hugged him, trying to reassure him that they were doing the right thing, by trying to move this along. If they didn't, things would only stagnate and get even worse, and Alby was pretty sure none of them could handle that.

He finally shifted enough to kiss his boyfriend softly, asking, "Think it'll be a problem if we just turn in early?" It was the end of the week, but it had been a long week, with this fight going on, and Alby suddenly realized that he wanted nothing more than to snuggle with Scorp and sleep in as late as they could in the morning.

* * *

The next morning went as usual - or, what passed for usual these days. Joe and Alex were gone when Alby and Scorp woke, and they didn't see either all day. Alby wondered if they hadn't gone somewhere private to work things out; they were just returning to the dungeons when Alby realized that everyone in the common room looked on edge, and kept glancing in the direction of their dormitory. A couple of students looked up as they entered the common room, the sympathetic grimaces on their faces making Alby's stomach turn. He paused, grabbing Scorp's arm, suddenly realizing... he heard voices. Loud voices, coming from the direction of the fifth year boys' dormitory.

He glanced at Scorp, his expression turning worried in seconds, and hauled his boyfriend behind him, heading for their dorm as quickly as possible. The shouting grew louder with every step, until they reached the door, which was slightly ajar, and Alby winced as he reached out to pull it open just as Joe yelled, "Well I didn't expect you to bloody stick your tongue down my bloody throat, you prat!"


[OOC: Oh! Ahaha, right! We did want to do a little more with that... so maybe Professor Blackwood doesn't find out about them sleeping in the same bed yet? >>; We did have that idea that Fred can be the one to tell him, eventually, if we still wanted to do that~ So maybe Blackwood should just walk in on them shouting and still have to break it up, just not get as informed while doing it?

Oh, Alby~ I think he's just kind of used to taking sides, living with two siblings. :D; But yep, that sounds good to me! If you want more filling in of details just let me know, but I figured just kind of skipping through the day worked okay.]

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They'd spent most of the morning together in the Chamber of Snogs, sneaking kisses in between studying. Or maybe it should have been the other way around. Scorpius realized at some point that he'd left his Muggle Studies notes in the dormitory, and tried putting off having to fetch them as long as possible. They'd finally gotten to reviewing the class, and unwilling to make do without his notes, they reluctantly emerged from their secret chamber and made the trek back to the Dungeons. Scorpius felt his stomach twist with dread when he entered the common room, and immediately everyone in the room was shooting him looks. Looks of sympathy. And then he heard the shouting.

He started to backpedal out again. Screw the notes, he'd study for Muggle Studies later, but Alby had already grabbed his arm and was gamely dragging him back to the dormitory. Alby was a lot stronger than he looked, Scorpius realized, as he followed a couple of steps behind his boyfriend, wondering what he was supposed to do or say in a dormitory fight. He had no idea, he'd never been in one before.

"Prat? I'm the prat?!"

Scorpius stood in the doorway, looking between Joe and Alex who were standing a few feet away shouting at each other for all they were worth. Both boys looked up at the intruders, and decided to get back to their argument.

"I wouldn't have shoved my tongue down your throat if you hadn't wanted me to first!" Alex shouted. "You were the one moaning!"

Scorpius looked at Alby and frowned. He cocked his head back toward the common room, hoping it would be appropriate to just shut the door and leave as if nothing had happened.

[OOC: Yeah, I think we'll have to go back to our default plan of having Fred tip Professor Blackwood off about the safe sex talk, though it's certainly not a problem if either Joe or Alex let the fact slip either. I imagine there would be some in the student body who would be concerned. Fuel to the fire? :D]

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Alby frowned. He didn't exactly want to be here, and it was clear his boyfriend didn't, either. But this was partly their problem - well, not directly, but they all had to live together and things had been pretty uncomfortable for the past week. It would be better for them all if this got resolved now, wouldn't it?

"How do you know I was moaning - maybe that was you!" Joe exploded, taking a step closer to Alex and Alby really hoped this wasn't about to devolve into shoving. Shoving meant hitting, which meant bloody noses and black eyes, which meant explanations to Professor Blackwood and Madame Goodkind. Then again, he thought, eyes flicking towards the door, all this shouting was sure to bring Professor Blackwood any second if it didn't stop soon.

"Would you both just stop it?" he asked loudly, stepping towards the two of them, prepared to shove them apart if he had to, though he really hoped it wasn't going to come to that, because he didn't want to get shoved around by accident, which was what surely would happen if he stepped much closer. "You're supposed to make up, not make things worse!"

Alex turned his gaze to Alby, his mouth tugging down into a frown. "You're one to talk about making things worse! What's this about you and Scorp calling me a prat behind my back and siding with Joe like I did something wrong? I thought you were my friends - you two certainly seem to have enough fun making us uncomfortable!"

Alby paused, mouth opening, looking from Alex to Joe and back again. "That wasn't - we didn't - this isn't about us! Alex, you're being a stubborn git! I told you so before, just apologize and stop fighting!" His hands curled into fists - not to hit with, of course, but to give him some outlet for the frustration he was feeling. They hadn't meant to make anyone uncomfortable, after all - no one had said anything, how were they supposed to know?

"Why am I supposed to apologize?" Alex exploded. "Joe's the one who can't get over it!"

"Because I don't want you to try it again!"

"Well good, I don't much fancy the thought of getting within five feet of you ever again!"

[OOC: I suppose Professor Blackwood should interrupt in a few tags, hopefully when things are starting to come to a conclusion, or maybe things will just be weird for a while until Joe and Alex finally just deal with it and make up? XD; And definitely more fuel to the fire where Scorp and Alby are concerned is always okay~ :D]

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Whenver a fight broke out in his own home, usually Delphina arguing with Dad, Scorpius would retreat to the safety of his own room. Of course, since his ancestral home was a cave, it meant he got to hear every single word that was being shrieked by his sister, but at least he was out of the way and safely ensconced in his own habitat. He looked between Joe and Alex who were still shouting, albeit not as shrilly as his sister, and realized with sinking despair that the argument was happening in his own room this time, and that he did not have a place to quickly retreat with the exception of the common room, which was beginning to look more and more appetizing despite the fact that it was already occupied by a lot of other people.

"Oh yeah?!" Joe growled, his eyes narrowed. He took a step toward Alex and gave his former friend his best Prefect glare. Alex took a step forward too and glared right back, not intimidated. For someone who had declared that he didn't want to be more than five feet in Joe's radius ever again, he was certainly fine with being rather close.

"Yeah!" Alex said. He had his hands balled into fists at his side. Scorpius was afraid that at any moment Alex was going to throw Joe a punch, but for the moment the just quivered in anger.

"Yeah!" Joe replied. "Get out of my way, you..."

There was a pause. Alex narrowed his eyes, as if daring Joe to call him names.

"You giant pouf!"

And then there was a long moment of silence. Alex's eyes shot up in incredulity before he opened his mouth to bellow, "How dare you call me--"

"Hey! Hey!" Scorpius hardly realized that it was his own voice trying to drown out Alex. He bristled, indignant. Had he just heard that word out of Joe's mouth? "Hey! Hey!" he shouted over Alex's protests that he wasn't a giant... Things quieted for a moment as both boys turned their attention to Scorpius for a second. Scorpius felt his face flush with anger, but he was too annoyed to care for the moment.

"If you call anybody that word, ever again, Joe..."

[OOC: :D And now Scorp and Alby can get wrapped up in it too! Whee! Fighting boys. ¬_¬ Too bad this one doesn't end in a massive Slytherin orgy. D:]

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Alby nearly jumped when Scorp started shouting - not that he sounded angry, but it was rare that Scorpius ever raised his voice and it was clear now he wanted to be heard over everything else that was going on. It was enough to make the other two pause; Joe looked at Scorp for a moment before he apparently found words again.

"Says the boy who doesn't go anywhere without Alby attached at the hip," Joe said, eyes flicking between Scorpius and Alby. "You're a right pair - always snogging in the common room where you know people can see, and have you even slept in separate beds at all this term?"

Alby felt his face begin to flush as well, this time more from embarrassment than from anger. How could he turn this back on them? They were just trying to help - anything that had happened between Joe and Alex hadn't been Scorpius or Alby's fault.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Alby asked, before Scorp had a chance to respond. "Whatever we do is our business -"

"Then you should keep it between yourselves!"

"Well if you don't like it then all you had to do was say so!" Alby shot back, his voice sounding much too loud. "It's not like we were trying to make you uncomfortable! And it's not like we made you snog Alex! Liking blokes isn't contagious, so don't you dare blame us!" He took a step back, closer to Scorp, not liking where any of these arguments were going.

"Well Alex only tried that because -" Joe started, but Alex finished for him.

"Well it's not fair they're the only ones having any fun around here, is it?" Alex asked, flinging an arm in their direction. "I only said let's give it a go, you didn't stop me, and that doesn't make me a bloody pouf! I was bored!"

"Then get a girl like Zach! I'm not a girl!" Joe yelled.

"Well neither is Alby, but I bet Scorp doesn't mind when he - "

"HEY!" This time it was Alby's time to shout above the din. His face felt like it was on fire, and his fists were starting to want to connect with some faces. "Bloody come off it already!"


[OOC: Aaaand apparently Alex went there. Or something. XD; I suppose this should end soon before somebody's death ensues. :D;

Also, I would love to see a massive Slytherin orgy. XDDD That would sure be something.]

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Scorpius felt his jaw drop open for a few moments at Joe's words. He was about to say something--something he hadn't thought very hard about before deciding to say it--but Alby had already beat him to it.

"Hey!" Scorpius shouted again, but was apparently ignored by everyone. He had the urge to knock Joe and Alex's heads together to get them to shut up, but restrained himself because he knew that would make him involved in this whole fiasco more than he was already.

"Well, neither is Alby but I bet Scorp doesn't mind when he gets a nice roll in the--"

"Hey! Bloody come off it already!"

"Why can't you just go get yourself a nice girl--"

"WILL YOU SHUT UP ALREADY!" Scorpius roared at the top of his lungs, and suddenly everyone stopped talking and looked at him. And then they turned their gaze to a point beyond his shoulder.

Feeling himself flush even harder, Scorpius turned around slowly and there, in the doorway, stood Professor Blackwood with Alessandra and Rogir flanking him, all three with their arms folded, and lips pursed.

Scorpius was the first to recover. He cleared his throat, hoping he wasn't looking as guilty as he felt. "Professor," he said quietly.

"Boys," Professor Blackwood said, a sharp firm tone to his voice as he peered at each and every one of his students in turn. "Would you care to tell me what this argument is about since you seem so keen on involving the entire house?"

[OOC: Hrm, I wonder how this is gonna resolve? I have the feeling that Professor Blackwood is going to give them some sort of group detention so maybe they'll decide to be friends again there?

And call me slow, but the innuendo of "Blackwood" just hit me and OMG. *dies* My brain seriously didn't go there when I first came up with the name.]

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Alby was so mad he could practically hear a roaring in his ears; that didn't stop him from jumping and turning when Scorp yelled again, louder this time. Not that he was complaining - getting Alex and Joe to shut up was rather high on his list of priorities at the moment.

As he turned to face his boyfriend, however, his eyes grew wide as the door chose that exact moment to open, revealing Professor Blackwood, Alessandra and Rogir beside him. Alby's face couldn't get much more flushed than it was already; he dropped his gaze to the floor, not sure if the sudden appearance of their head of house was a good or a bad thing. He had a sinking feeling he was about to find out.

There was a bit of quiet murmuring in response to their professor's question - after all, no one wanted to admit they'd been fighting over Alex and Joe having a snog, or whose bed Alby and Scorp were sleeping in at night.

"Not so important now, is it?" Professor Blackwood asked; Alby risked a glance up, to see that he was looking at each of them carefully in turn, as if to determine if things had devolved into fistfighting, or just yelling. Alby was suddenly glad it had only been yelling.

"J-just a disagreement," Joe finally managed to say clearly enough to be heard; Professor Blackwood's eyebrow rose at that.

"A rather loud disagreement, I should say. I expect you boys to be able to work things out much more civilly." There was a pause. "Which is why I'm going to give you the opportunity to do so. I think a week in group detention helping Mr. Ollerton with the cleaning should do it. He's been complaing that the third-floor classrooms went neglected in the last castlewide cleaning."

Alby groaned inwardly - a week of detention, and with Joe and Alex to boot? It would be a wonder if this didn't happen all over again, wouldn't it? But apparently Professor Blackwood thought otherwise, as he looked down his nose at the four much-subdued boys before him.


[OOC: Ooh, I like this group detention idea. :D Do we want to log it out as well then in continuation, or just kind of assume things got worked out in the end? I suppose we can skip to a couple of days into it and kind of just wrap this up there~

XD Ahahaha, I hadn't actually thought about that either, now that you mention that. Oh, Slytherin House, full of innuendo~]

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Scorpius found his rather difficult to meet Professor Blackwood's piercing gaze, and so tried to focus on something else in the room. He managed to catch a look aimed at him from Rogir, who raised his eyebrows, but otherwise said nothing. Scorpius's eyes slid over to the wall.

Scorpius did his best not to groan when his head of house mentioned detention. He'd just done one of those a few months ago with Alby's git of a brother. Well, at least it wasn't scrubbing the loo, Scorpius thought, though it hardly cheered him up.

"I want you to report to Mr. Ollerton immediately after your classes starting tomorrow," Professor Blackwood said. "And if I hear that any of you are late so much by minutes it'll be double detentions for all of you."

Scorpius thought he heard Alex groan out loud.

"Is there any point you wish to dispute, Mr. Moran?"

"No, Professor," Alex replied quickly.

"Well, then, I trust that the next time you four wish to have a discussion, you'll conduct it with the type of civility that behooves students of your stature. And you, Mr. Wenlock; if I see behavior like this from a Prefect again, I will have to seriously reconsider your appointment."

"Yes, Professor," Joe replied, his voice a little faint.

"Good. Now I suggest you let the rest of the evening pass in peace, or I'll have to start knocking points in addition to assigning detentions. Good night, boys."

Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief as the Professor left, but Alessandra and Rogir lingered, shooting each other a look before stepping inside the dormitory room and shutting the door behind them.

"Look, mates," Rogir said, keeping his voice low, "the entire common room heard what was going on here," he said, looking particularly at Scorpius and Alby.

Scorpius gulped.

"Including the bit about your sleeping arrangements," Rogir added. "You're lucky Blackwood wasn't around when that got leaked, or you four would be in much bigger trouble than just a week of detention."

"My suggestion to you right now," said Alessandra evenly, "is to lay low until this whole thing blows over. Talk is going to be flying around for the school for the next few days, but thankfully you have detentions so you won't be hearing much of that, will you?" She smiled. Scorpius couldn't quite find it in him to smile back.

"All right, you blokes better get this sorted out," Rogir said. He waited for everyone in the room to nod. "Okay," he said simply, and he and Alessandra, shooting all four of them looks of pity, closed the door quietly behind them.

Scorpius glanced at Alby, not quite sure what he was supposed to be doing now. Maybe just hide in the Chamber of Snogs and come out only for classes, meals, and detention? "Right," he said, doing his best not to glare at Joe and Alex. "Thanks."

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[OOC: If we want to log it we can, but I think it'll be easier just to assume that things get worked out in the end. XD What's your opinion? :D]

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Alby's momentary relief when Professor Blackwood left the room dissolved as Alessandra and Rogir shut the door, saying quietly that the entire common room had heard their argument. All of it. Alby felt the blood drain from his face as he glanced over at Scorp nervously. Suddenly it seemed like a Godsend that all they'd gotten was detention - what if Professor Blackwood found out about the rest of it? He didn't even want to think about any of the other Slytherins telling him. He didn't think anyone would... no, they'd much rather use it as gossip fodder, he supposed.

All four of them nodded as Rogir told them to get themselves sorted, and the Head Boy and Girl left, shutting the door behind them. He and Scorp exchanged a look as Scorpius said, somewhat sarcastically, "Right. Thanks."

Joe opened his mouth as if to reply, but then apparently thought better of it and closed it again, glaring before turning on his heel and scuffling off to his bed. Alex sighed.

"Well. You were yelling too, mates. Can't say I feel too sorry for you." He turned as well, just as Joe was pulling the curtains shut on his bed. "See you in the morning," Alex finished, sitting on his own bed and pointedly paying more attention to taking off his shoes than to Scorp or Alby.

Alby bit his lip, stepping closer to his boyfriend and glancing up. At least there would be no more yelling... but did that mean things would get better from here? He hoped so. He really was sick of fighting; and now he was worried about what everyone else in Slytherin would be talking about, to boot. "I guess we should just go to bed," he said quietly, casting one last glance behind his shoulder at Alex, who was pulling off his socks now.

[OOC: Nah, I think assuming they make up would be just fine~ If we want to finish off the night, then, that can be the end of this log? :D]

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Scorpius wanted to grumble that he and Alby wouldn't have been shouting in the first place if Joe hadn't been throwing names around. Great. Now things were awkward between everybody. Well, almost everybody. Scorpius put a hand around Alby's waist, rubbing his sides absentmindedly with a finger. His mouth twitched as Joe closed his curtains as violently as he could, and Alex was doing his best to pretend he was the only person in the room.

"I kind of wanted to get more studying in," Scorpius murmured. He glanced at Alby, and gave him a wry smile and a peck on the cheek. "But I'm not in the mood," he said. Scorpius glanced at his bed, which he and Alby had been sharing for the past few nights. "I just want to get to bed now. Or maybe have a shower."

[OOC: Yeah, let's just assume they all make up and everything's hunky dory in the 5th year boy's dormitory. We can start off the safe-sex talk with Professor Blackwood with a lot of muted rumors flying around for the next few days. :D How's that?

Oh, and just a small thing, Alessandra's not the Head Girl, but whatever. I realized it's afternoon instead of evening, so we've both fucked up at least once in this thing. XD]

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Alby slid a little closer beneath Scorp's touch; he realized they should probably be discreet, given what had happened just now, but somehow he didn't particularly feel like it either, right now.

"Shower first, then bed?" Alby suggested quietly, glancing at Alex, who was dutifully ignoring them (and the closed curtains on Joe's bed). "I could use one too." He sighed. "I don't want to think about what tomorrow will be like." He could only hope that Professor Blackwood was right - maybe after being forced to spend time together, Joe and Alex would finally start talking again... and Alby had to admit, he wouldn't mind an apology, either. He was not a girl and that seemed to be just fine with Scorp. So Alex and Joe could keep their thick-headedness to themselves from now on.

[OOC: All righty, we can just end it hereabouts and assume things will get better over the next two weeks~ And starting off the next log with rumors flying sounds excellent~ >D

See, I was going to look up the head girl thing and then I just went, "Nah, I think she is so she must be." XD; Ah well, sorry about that. And... uh... maybe they strolled down to the common room reeeeeally slooooowly.... >>; That's it!]

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[OOC: Sounds like a good place to end to me! :D Err...I think it's my turn to start a log now. So I'll start with some rumors the next day at the Slytherin table, we can respond to them for a bit, do a bit of glossing over the next few weeks, and then skip to Professor Blackwood calling Alby and Scorp into his office on a weekend morning?]]

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[OOC: Sure, sounds like a plan to me! Oh, did we want to have Fred catch them at some point, as well? That can happen in a short scene if we want, and then result in their getting called in? Or shall we just go with the rumors finally getting to Blackwood and that's why he calls them in~?]

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[OOC: Earlier, I think we were talking about Fred having a talk with Professor Blackwood, probably after the rumors begin to fly around. This'll probably happen offline, unless you want Fred to also say a few things to Alby and Scorp. :D That would have to be all you because I don't think I can write ghost!Fred worth peanuts. XD]

[n3xt-in-line.livejournal.com]

[OOC: Okay, that works~ Maybe I'll write up a quick scene with ghost!Fred mentioning something to Professor Blackwood, just to cause trouble. XD In all my copious amounts of spare time and all.]

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[OOC: I am so jealous of your copious amounts spare time. D: I guess I have some too, since my prof is out of town today and I don't have much to do in lab aside from reading papers. And by reading papers I mean SURF THE INTERNET.]

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[OOC: Well, I don't *really* have a lot of spare time, lately. o.o; But it feels like it now that I'm not making three costumes simultaneously! (Though I have to get to work on my Halloween costume...) Yay for profs being out of town, though~ XD]

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[OOC: Ooh, what's your Halloween costume? :D So many costumes, so little time...and uh, so little available pool of effort and caring to draw from. I think the apathy is slowly starting to consume my want to cosplay. *laughs* And I really, really like it when my profs are out of town. :D *is a lazy bum*]

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[OOC: Peter Pan~ XD Jen and I are going to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, and they let you dress up and trick-or-treat at Disneyworld~ I love it. :D Hee, and I also love it when my prof is out of town. Freedom~ XD But since the semester's started, she'll be here most of the year to teach; that's also good, though, because she doesn't reply to email much when she's out of the office, so it's easier to ask questions when she's around~]