stories & things

future plots: CHARLIE, KENNEDY, & SAM 

The mention of the Hufflepuff boy made Lennox’s face fold. “Sam? I never talk about Hufflepuff’s if I can help it, so no. Not him. Freud would have a field day with the likes of you,” Lennox said, rolling his eyes. “You’re happy with who you are? Then you really are naive. Who thinks that they’re fine the way they are - even I’m not that stupid. If you think you don’t have room for improvement, then you might as well drop dead, because you’ve got nothing left to live for.” Sometimes Kennedy pushed Lennox to extremes - sometimes he wished he could hit the other boy, simply because he had that ridiculously wounded expression on his face, like the world had wronged him despite the fact that he’d been handed everything. “Cuss?” Lennox echoed. “Fuck me sideways, you’re a right piece of work. Maybe you were born last century.” The fact that Kennedy wasn’t taking Lennox seriously irked him, and he took another drag of his cigarette before closing the distance between them. “Didn’t you hear?” he said, standing over the other boy. “My threats are as good as done. Ask Solomon - he’ll tell you all about how I broke his arm with my bare hands. I did it because I wanted to - because I liked it,” and Lennox smiled down at the other. “What do you think I’ll do to you if I’m bored or annoyed?” Exhaling, Lennox turned away from Kennedy, facing the line of trees that ran behind the greenhouses and into which the bird had disappeared. “I don’t have to make you do anything. I’m not going to argue over a patch of grass that you’re probably about to cry into because your bird flew away. Have it,” he said, flicking the still-burning cigarette into the dirt. “I’ve got two legs to walk away, but apparently you keep hanging around, no matter where I go. Trouble in paradise? The beds in Hufflepuff no longer welcoming enough?”

     He’d head enough people trying to bring him down with words throughout the years. Kennedy didn’t really listen to the harshness behind words anymore. It was a cover for being scared and hurt. That’s what he’d learned. What he couldn’t take was someone saying something mean about a loved one. For some reason that was more important to him than saving his own skin. “Okay, well the statement still stands then. I know I’m pointless in your eyes.” He was pointless in a lot of people’s lives to be honest. “Just because you are happy with yourself doesn’t mean there aren’t things you can change or want to change. I like who I am.” Even if he didn’t like who he was, he was going to say it anyway. Kennedy had never gotten along with Lennox. He already had enough people to counter his abrasiveness or fuel to it, in some cases. Bonding with the other now was just pointless. He wasn’t even going to try it. But Kennedy had enough of letting people treat him like dirt. He was slowly learning to stand up for himself. “I don’t talk to Solomon,” the boy rolled his eyes. “But go ahead if you think physical damage is going to take a toll on me. It’s not. The pain eventually fades,” he replied, looking Lennox square in the eyes. It was complete stupidity that was laced in his statements. Learning to be braver was more difficult than he expected. “Despite what you think, I’m actually stronger than I look. I will not cry over a patch of grass because the bird -- that I let go free -- flew off. That was the whole point of coming out here to begin with.” He pretended to think for a minute. “Actually, no. I knew you were out here. I’ve got a confession to make, Lennox. See the truth is that I actually like you. I have since the moment I met you. That’s why I follow you around everywhere. Maybe one day you’ll notice me,” the sarcasm dripped off his tongue. Something most people didn’t expect from Kennedy, but he could be sarcastic when he wanted. He eyed the boy in front of him. “You can’t hurt me.” 

I’m outside by the lake. Come join me.

KENNEDY DEVIN + AESTHETIC

“Then your uncle is just as batshit as you are,” Lennox snapped. Who would waste their lives talking to birds? Did the Devin’s expect some kind of reply? “Animals have no function,” Lennox corrected. “They’re food or they help make food and that’s about it. It’s fun and games taking care of them, don’t get me wrong - I love my dogs, but they have no point other than how they help us or make us happy. Birds are even more useless than others,” Lennox said, watching as the bird flew off. “Pretty to look at but ultimately pointless. Sounding familiar, Devin?” he said, looking at his dorm mate. “Stop me if it’s hitting too close to home.” He took a drag of his cigarette; almost choking at Kennedy’s retort. “Are we living in the 60′s? You can call me an arsehole. I won’t hit you, I promise,” he said, grinning as he exhaled. It was far too easy to take cheap shots at Kennedy - it always had been. The other boy was an anomaly in Ravenclaw: didn’t quite fit in with Smith, Noah, and Lennox, nor did he run in the same circles as Solo’s free fall to the bottom. Kennedy was there, but not there. “It actually is a skill that I’ve carefully honed over the years to get people to fuck off, yeah,” he agreed. “I’d say it works pretty well. Most of the time.”

     Kennedy sighed. He knew he wasn’t going to convince Lennox that he was wrong, even though he was wrong. Science proved him wrong. Even Kennedy knew that, even if he hated science. “My uncle’s not crazy and neither am I,” he replied. “That’s your opinion and not everyone believes that.” In the food chain, birds mattered, dogs mattered, humans mattered. Every little bug and creature mattered to the world. “Are you talking about me or Sam? Because I know I’m pointless. You don’t need to tell me that.” He’d been told he was pointless and stupid his entire life. A waste of space. Few people had made him feel like that wasn’t true. “You can’t hurt me with words, Lennox” he said, shaking his head. “Too many people have tried, most of them have failed. I’m happy with who I am.” He might not be happy, but he was fine with who he was. “I don’t cuss except for in dire situations.” The Ravenclaw was never part of a group. Wherever he went, he was the odd one out. He didn’t mind anymore. As long as he had some place he belonged, he didn’t mind being an outcast. “Yeah, well, I’m not easily scared by your cheap quips and hollow threats. So unless you’re going to actually hex me or punch me, you’re going to have to try harder to make me go away.”

Sneering down at Kennedy, who seemed intent on nursing every bug he so much as stepped on, Lennox took a drag of his cigarette, rolling his eyes as he looked away. “Firstly, birds can’t understand you. You could speak Latin at it for all that it matters. Being a Ravenclaw doesn’t give you exclusive bird language,” Lennox snorted, watching the bird on the grass. “Secondly, you don’t need to tell a bird not to be afraid to fly. That’s its main fucking function - birds fly, water’s wet. Next you’ll be telling the grass not to be afraid to grow.” Lennox tapped his cigarette and watched the ash float away in the breeze. “Is it hard being this naive or do you have to work at it?”

     The boy couldn’t really help his affection for birds. It was difficult to hate them when his uncle was so fascinated by them. He didn’t really care if people thought it was weird. Of course he was going to nurse the bird back to health. Kennedy had been happy with not talking to Lennox; though a conversation wouldn’t kill him. So the bird couldn’t understand him, but it did understand body language. He looked up at the fellow Ravenclaw. “I know that. Although all animals know to be frightened of a person if it senses that the person might be trying to hurt them. My uncle talks to birds too.” He blinked at the bird. “Um, actually birds don’t... just fly. They have more of a function than that.” The small bird chirped at Kennedy and took off. “Um... I didn’t think I was that naive.” He wasn’t really in the mood for this when all he’d been doing was setting a bird free. “Is it a lot of work to be such a grump all the time?”

Han tried to appreciate his friends and family all the time too but he knew how easy it was to get caught up in other things, be distracted by his own plans, so it was rather nice to set aside days on which everyone could do something for someone- or many people- they cared about. For Han it had always been about his friends and family, there’d never really been a romantic interest who he could get anything specific for, and he was fairly certain this year would be the same- in fact, even if Han did like someone he wasn’t sure he would do anything differently on Valentine’s Day, better to spend time and money on long time friends than mere possibilities, something he’d continue to tell himself for as long as he was playing the ‘I have no interest in dating’ game.

Although Haneul gave gifts out he didn’t expect anything in return, his gifts were to show appreciation because he knew he could occasionally get so caught up in his own life that he forgot to be involved in other peoples, but Han always felt appreciated by his friends so he didn’t need gifts for that. It was just a nice thing to do for the people he cared about. And he was trying to keep it secret, which meant unfortunately Kennedy couldn’t see his list, it would ruin the surprise. As the boy spoke he continued said list, finishing the Hufflepuff part and deciding to move onto Ravenclaw, considering Kenndy was there already and seemed like a solid starting point. He wrote the boys name and a few others down, though he was still listening to Kennedy’s explanation. “You love him so you want to do something to show that, I understand.” He smiled, nodding as he glanced up from his list. “I just- you said ‘friend’ and… and I think when you love someone you’re never really just friends.” Even if people didn’t act on their feelings, even if they never said anything, he cared about all his friends a great deal and he was sure if he loved any of them it would feel different. Hearing the boy doubt himself about sending flowers home he looked up from his list, took another gulp of his milkshake and then reached a hand to give the boy a gentle pat on his stomach, a display of what he hoped would be reassuring affection. “I think she will like it, mothers should be appreciated as often as possible.”

     Kennedy was probably ridiculous when it came to showing people he cared about them. He spread himself too thin when it came to other people. The Ravenclaw cared more for others than he did himself. And now that he and Sam were in whatever weird thing their relationship was, he felt like there weren’t very many people that cared for him. Kennedy forgot to eat, he didn’t really sleep, and he spent more time talking to other people’s problems than his own. He didn’t think anyone noticed when he got like that. Kennedy always thought that his problems really weren’t important. Maybe someone would notice that he wasn’t okay, but Kennedy doubted it. Only Sam had been able to make him admit that he even had any problems. Usually he just denied being unhappy and then turned the conversation on someone else. He complained sometimes, but not often enough to make a difference. He hoped his friends all knew how much they meant to him, because he did all he could to make sure they knew they were appreciated.

Valentine’s Day was quite different in Korea. Actually in Korea there was said to be a special day for every month, each on the 14th, that focused on couples and celebrating them, though only two days actually had advertisement and involved grand gestures- Valentine’s Day and White Day. February had Valentine’s Day, a day where men traditionally received gifts from female suitors, and March had White Day- which was actually adopted from Japanese culture- where men then gave gifts in return. It was a nice concept, though in recent years couples tended to just celebrate both days together, which made the transition to the idea of one holiday easier. Not much easier, up until he came to Hogwarts the children at the theatre followed the traditional days for sending and receiving, Han actually had never sent a gift in February until he came to Hogwarts.

One thing hadn’t changed though, every years his gifts always went to friends, he’d never once sent a gift to anyone he actually liked liked, not that he really put much thought into noticing people. His list, which he was re-writing for at least the tenth time was a difficult one to come up with, mainly because he was on good terms with most people but unfortunately couldn’t by most of the school flowers. At Kennedy’s keen observation Han threw his arms over his list to cover it, smiling bashfully and, unable to lie as always, pulled his shoulders up into a shrug. “It’s a surprise.” That much was true, or it was going to be but he doubted on the day anyone would have much trouble figuring out he was behind the flowers. It wasn’t a surprise either that Kennedy was sending Sam something, at least he was the only person he could imagine Kennedy sending them too, even if there was an awful lot ordered for one person. “They’re not for Valentine’s Day? Do you, erm, know what a dozen red roses means?” Han had specifically chosen to send three because he knew that didn’t hold significance, but twelve in a bouquet was definitely significant, it was a sign of pure devotion which- on Valentine’s Day or not- was supposedly very romantic. Kennedy had been prepared to marry Sam, he loved him a great deal even if Han couldn’t really understand the rush, so many anything other than twelve a bouquet would be silly. “It’s nice to send them home, eomma has appa though so I think I’ll trust him to give her something nice.” Considering she was carrying a baby he was sure they could break tradition and make sure she was looked after especially well on that day.

    The Ravenclaw had never really cared about Valentine’s day, but he knew that a lot of people that were like that. People didn’t care about holidays unless they had someone to celebrate them with. For Kennedy, he usually made the people that he loved gifts and give them randomly throughout the year, but he had always hated the capitalist holiday of Valentine’s Day for obvious reasons. Most every holiday was driven by capitalism now. Kennedy would rather just celebrate the people he loved every day, rather than just one day of the year. Now he realized that the people that he cared about had changed throughout the years, but still he had always had someone in his life that he cared enough to give them some sort of gift. Of course that person that he normally shared Valentine’s day with had been Charlie. Kennedy remembered the first time that he met Charlie. It had been in primary school. The bubbly blonde different from all the rest, dressed in jeans and a shirt with a dragon on it, insisting on being called Charlie rather than Charlotte. He instantly felt drawn towards the other. He remembered their first Valentine’s day together as well, exchanging cards with everyone in their class. Kennedy and Charlie had been the only ones to make their cards. He was a different person back then. Times had changed the both of them. Perhaps maybe for the best.

Haneul was fond of flowers too, he just thought it was rather amazing that nature could come up with such beautiful things. He got flowers quite a lot when he performed too, or the family got them, and it was always nice to feel appreciated which is why Han wanted to send some himself. It was likely he wouldn’t have an actual valentine for quite a long time but he liked the holiday, he knew a lot of it was about companies making big money but the initial idea, the celebration of loving other people felt very positive to him. He didn’t necessarily think he’d love anyone for a while, not in a romantic sense at least, but he had lots of people in his life that he cared about and if he could surprise them and make them feel just a tiny bit happier on that day then why not celebrate it?

At the boy’s question he smiled a little but shrugged his shoulders- he was, for many people, but it was meant to be a surprise so he couldn’t just tell Kennedy he was doing it. He hadn’t thought to send any home himself, knowing his parents they’d find some way to celebrate together, though maybe he should send a letter to his father reminding him to take extra care of his mother now she was carrying another little Yun? “You ordered a lot of roses,” Han pointed out after a moment, “Who are they…” He trailed off, glancing down at the traced ‘S’ on his list, they were obviously going to be for Sam- was it a good idea for him to send Sam flowers too? Han didn’t want to pry though he gathered things between Kennedy and Sam were complicated at the moment, maybe it would be weird for him to send Sam something, or maybe Sam would not like him sending Kennedy something either? He hadn’t actually thought about people in relationships and whether or not their significant other would want them getting things from anyone else, even if there was nothing behind it. Han shook his head, if he had to take all that into consideration it would get too complicated, he completed Sam’s name on the list and continued on with it. “It’s nice you’re sending some home.”

    For as much as Kennedy liked plants, he still wasn’t the best at Herbology. He continued to take the class only because it got him outside and away from the rest of the people in the castle. Not that Kennedy hate people. He did prefer to spend his time around birds and plants rather than a bunch of people that didn’t care about him. While Kennedy didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life, something with Herbology might be nice. He just didn’t know because there were too many options. The boy wasn’t even trying to think about what he’d be doing for Valentine’s day. He’d have to do something really big that day for Sam if they were together at all by then. He wasn’t sure what he’d be doing. He wasn’t sure if he’d still be with Sam. He wasn’t sure about anything, but he was optimistic about it. He didn’t know what else to do or how else to act, so better to be optimistic than anything else. Kennedy was sure that he hadn’t lost Sam. Maybe he should send some flowers to more people than just Sam though. A dozen orders of a dozen roses for one person was a lot, but the order had already been placed. Besides, it would be romantic he thought. 

One white, one red and one pink, in each bunch of course. Haneul wasn’t sure exactly how much that was going to come to, in fact he was still listing the recipients and found that just when he was sure he bumped into someone else who he couldn’t leave out. Of course, Han didn’t technically have to do anything but he didn’t like the idea of going years and years without having anyone to give something to, and when did love have to be romantic? Haneul cared about a lot of people and to show appreciation of that wasn’t a bad thing, is wasn’t as if he had much else to spend his money on other than things like this anyway, and once a year was hardly excessive.

He did have to finalise the list today though so he could have them ordered, he planned to put the bunches together and add tags himself but he did need to know the number and price he’d be dealing with to think of the best way to have them delivered- straight to his dorm, ideally, where he could try and hide them while he got them organised. Still, Han had started his list from scratch, having only definitely written the names of each dorm mate to start, his brows furrowing slightly in concentration, lips pouting as he leaned to the side slightly to catch the straw settled in his milkshake and take a gulp. Maybe it was best to go by house? Hufflepuff first, as he’d started there. He’d barely traced an ‘S’ onto the next line before he noticed the person taking the spare seat on his table, releasing the straw from his mouth and glancing up before he greeted, “Annyeonghaseyo.”

     Flowers. Kennedy loved flowers. He might not be very good at Herbology or gardening. But he loved the smell of flowers. Stepping into the shop felt happier, if that was even possible. The Ravenclaw boy looked around, trying to decide if he should buy flowers for his friends. Just for the hell of it. He knew Valentine’s day was around the corner, but still a random gift was always nice too. He wondered if anyone else was thinking about Valentine’s day. The happy, younger couples thinking about date night. He didn’t really want to think about what he’d be doing. Things were in limbo with his relationship. Not that he could do anything about it. Eventually, something was going to happen. At least, he hoped things would go back to normal soon. He did miss Sam, but there were a lot of people he missed.