hiraeth.

“i ‘wanna,” she shrugs, moving easily, talking easily. “i’m hoping i can sneak in before my brother catches me. y’know big brothers–gotta tuck their little sisters into bed where the boys can’t get to ‘em,” she jokes, giving a laugh to share, swaying for all the nice little moments that pass with the notes.

the song changes and the mood shifts, and lisa removes herself from him and curtsies with a smile. “well, this has been fun. say hi if you see me later–remove the adhesive from your suit and stop sticking onto walls, ‘kay? later!”

he can’t help but laugh at that, not knowing how it was considering he was an only child himself, but he can see why it would be a Thing. he has his fair share of friends that fall directly into that ‘protective older brother’ category and, well, said friends didn’t even have younger siblings to be protective over. 

smiling at her, caleb returns her curtsy with a bow of his own and he nods, feeling that his mood had been lifted, patting her shoulder in thanks. “i’ll try,” he says softly, knowing full well he probably would either go back to standing by the wall or just going home but she didn’t need to know that. “i .. might see you there,” he smiles, waving before he moves away from the dance floor once again. 

perhaps he would go. 

his expression is fond as caleb acquiesces easily to the decision, smiling at the other male as he lets the other choose where they’ll get food from. “i wonder what they have today?” he wonders curiously, a small smile on his face. “i hope they have roast beef or something… i’ve been craving that lately.” 

small talk is so easy to make when it comes to caleb, the younger seventh year always listening patiently to him no matter what it’s about, and sometimes he feels bad that all he really does is flood caleb’s ears with mindless chatter, but he thinks that the slytherin probably doesn’t really mind. “i know it’s lunch, but i hope they have some kind of meat. something i like.” he grins at the other playfully. 

“i’ve got a decent amount… i swear, all the teachers collaborate to give us an unreasonable amount, all on the same day,” he complains with a grumble, his eyebrows furrowing slightly and he runs a hand through his dyed blond hair. “i was thinking about going red… what do you think?’

“you carnivore,” he teases, his voice soft despite most definitely knowing the words he’s using. his vocabulary is decent after all, it’s just the whole executing thing that he struggles with though he’s been getting a lot better now that he’s been at school and taking classes in english for the past seven years. the first few months after summer break are always the worse for him but he’s been managing. 

he makes a soft sound as he leads the way to the kitchens, not minding at all that he has to listen to matthew’s endless chatter. the gryffindor, of course, had always been the more talkative out of the two of them, but that was just a fact of life. “they should ... the elves like you. they would make it for you if you ask.” 

caleb laughs softly, nodding and he has to agree -- he feels the same. the professors always seem to assign homework, whether it be knowingly or unknowingly, at the same time and it always piled up. especially now that they were both at the N.E.W.T. level. he sighs a bit, before the question catches him off guard. going red? it takes him a long(ish) moment before he realizes that his friend is referring to his hair and not his entire body, flushing slightly that it had taken him so long to understand. it had been a while since they had talked about hair, and matthew ran his fingers through his hair often enough that it hadn’t been entirely clear as to what he was talking about. 

i knew… ( * he mumbles, his voice barely audible as he slumps into his best friend, his expression full of tension and displeasure ) i knew it would hurt her but i was so selfish… i just wanted to see her smiling at me instead of sad… ( * his words are slurring together but that doesn’t remove any of the sadness from his voice, his eyes scrunching up in disgust with himself as he chokes out a soft sound, clinging to the other helplessly, definitely under the heavy influence of alcohol ) why… why do all things… bloody hell… caleb… ( * his words are no longer quite stringing together anymore, his weight against the other heavy, dead weight, feeling exhausted )

( * he grumbles rather loudly and distinctly to himself, his expression furrowing slightly and his face is oddly twisted up, as though he’s thinking hard ) i’m not… but… even if i’m drunk and stinky, you still love me, right? ( * he sounds oddly vulnerable, his eyebrows furrowed together in displeasure ) you have to love me. you’re my best friend. ( * his voice slurs together and he stumbles, leaning against his best friend with a strangled noise, the alcohol sitting oddly in his stomach. ) … i fucked up… ( * oddly resigned, his eyes close as he leans into the gryffindor, his arms wrapping around his best friend and his voice is tight now, sounding dangerously close to tears ) i fucked up… i hurt her… again… and again and again…

“i know, i know,” she says sympathetically, patting his shoulder and dusting imaginary dirt off his suit. “we all have our crosses to bear, don’t we?” she teases, smiling, quietly falling into step with him. the music is easy and the air is light, and the ceilings are alight with a pretty night sky. lisa looks up and wanders easily.

“wow. they got all the constellations,” she comments in her childlike wonder, looking back to him for a moment before looking back up. “are you into astronomy?–there’s orion’s belt right there. perfect replica.

sorry–anyway, are you going to the afterparty?”

he can’t help the soft chuckle that he lets out at that, smiling down at her as he attempts to follow the dance steps that are far in the back of his mind, though he knows he’s doing well when he doesn’t step on her feet even once. he’s mentally applauding himself for this. “yes .. and mine’s being ... tall?” he laughs again, expression amused. 

tipping his face back as well when she mentions constellations, he notes that he does remember a handful of them when it comes down to it. it’s been a while since he had really looked at the stars. “um ...” he pauses, making a face at the question. he had told taehyung he would try, but he’s still not sure he’s drunk enough to be coerced into going to the afterparty. 

@slycaleb

every year, taehyung manages to stumble upon some poorly placed mistletoe- or at least, easily avoidable mistletoe- and every year he’s taken it upon himself to place it somewhere that others would end up getting caught with no second route to take. (bathrooms were a popular but boring choice, so this year, he’s feeling a bit more creative and moves it every day. today, it’s the doorway to the library.)

so naturally, when he spots caleb under it, he takes it upon himself to saunter on up and fulfill the mistletoe’s silent call. 

taehyung taps on caleb’s shoulder, an innocent smile on his lips. when the other slytherin turns around, he’s quick to lean forward and capture his lips in a quick kiss. when he pulls back, he points up at the doorway above them, singsonging as he points out: “Mistletoe!” 

his day is relatively uneventful as his life is generally boring in general. in all and complete honestly, the entirety of his break has mostly been spent in bed with his books and trying to avoid as much human contact as possible. 

which, to be fair, hasn’t worked out very well as he has roommates and housemates who like to harass him as well as a best friend who’s been wholly apologetic and trying to be normal around him since The Incident at yule ball. it had been a while since he had ventured farther than the great hall or just outside to get some fresh air, and of course, the one day he decides he needs new books to pore over is the day that there’s mistletoe everywhere. 

he hadn’t even noticed it, but the tap on his shoulder has him turning around and feeling soft lips on his. he doesn’t even realize what had happened before his fellow slytherin pulls away and his fingers go to his lips, touching them gently in surprise. 

considering all the things they had done in the past, this is tame, but it makes him smile all the same. though, he’s not letting taehyung know that.

“i wouldn’t mind going outside,” he comments with a smile, his expression softening slightly. his voice is soft and his words come more slowly, as they always do when it comes to caleb. “what do you feel like eating? i think i’m just hungry in general – anything would be good at this point.” he’s never been particularly picky about food in general, enjoying it far too much to leave pieces out. 

“we could get food, go outside, and you can study there?” he offers with a smile, his hand reaching up to hold onto caleb’s wrist gently. his best friend has always had a bit of an unsure, frail air around him, and it’s something that makes matt want to protect the slytherin. it always has been. 

he’s never regretted deciding to speak to the lost little boy on the platform the first time that he had gone to king’s cross. caleb has proven to be one of his closest friends, and he hardly thinks there’s anything he wouldn’t, hasn’t shared with the other. a rare friendship, indeed, spanning between houses for so long and with such strength. he’s grateful, he thinks.

he nods, thinking that that was definitely a good idea. he doesn’t mind eating outside after all, and the weather is still nice enough for him to study outside -- he would definitely like to make the most of the nice weather too. smiling in his own way of thanking the gryffindor for slowing down his speaking, he nods again, “that sounds good,” he murmurs softly, glancing down at his wrist when the other takes it. 

“let’s go get food then ...?” he asks quietly, nodding his head in the direction of the great hall though he’s not even sure if that’s where they’re going to go get food, but it would be better to not stand in one spot for too long in case people thought they were loitering in some way or another. 

i - ( ‘ aria starts and then stops almost at once, how can she confess that she is at a ball not for the people or the dance itself but to spy on her ex-best friend who confessed to her but has another date to the ball, so she doesn’t ) nah, not really my thing. ( ‘ she smiles, a little weakly ) did you come with someone? 

lisa is having a blast, fluttering from person to person, spinning and twirling and waltzing her way across the ball in a sunbright, sparkling yellow crystal-laden dress. in a sea of black tuxes and lilac, she looks like a traffic cone–impossible to miss, thriving in attention.

she’d walked over for punch, really–a girl can only take so much dancing before she’s parched. and it’s a slow song interval, the best time for a break. but he seems alone and he seems lonely, and she can’t imagine how anyone can be so idle in a time so prime for liveliness.

“no,” she lies, “i just came over to inform you that the wall decor is already accounted for. i mean, you make an amazing sconce, cay, but…” she sips once, already grinning, then takes his hand, all viral happiness and magnetic as she pulls him to the floor; positioning his hands where they should be. “you know how to waltz, right?–jesus, you’re tall.” a quick little spell for taller heels just so she can reach his hand a little better.

“oh --” he pretends to be a bit offended and then flattered but he can’t help but crack a smile after. he’s always found that lisa is a force to be reckoned with and he would rather not be caught up in it and it’s always much safer to go along than try to oppose forces like this. not that he minds at all. she’s nice and he likes nice people. 

(god he’s so lame.) 

( ‘ aria found a nice quiet to herself as the party got ‘turnt up’ in the great hall and she was just about to lie down on the bench when the door opens again and caleb walks out. ) thank god ( ‘ she says to herself before sitting as properly as she could and had to with the dress before turning to smile at him ) hey, fresh air? 

( * his expression turns down into a pout and he looks rather offended by the other’s assertion ) i’m not drunk… ( * his voice is insistent even though it’s clear that his statement couldn’t be further from the truth. he’s drunk, through and through, and part of that is because he can’t bear to remember the look of pain on his ex-girlfriend’s face. to know that he’s the one who caused the brokenness in her, when before she had been so whole ) well, i should tell you again. because you– you look really good, mhm, really handsome. ( * his voice is serious and his expression is pleased as he nods to himself, as though he’s accomplished something very impressive. the cold air is nice against his overheated face, and he groans slightly, tugging at his tie, the fabric suddenly too restrictive ) that’s mean… ( * he pouts a bit at the other’s words, looking vaguely offended in his drunken state ) i’m not stinky.

he doesn’t know the true extent of caleb’s thoughts. he never has, and he probably won’t for a long time to come, if his attitude of the present is his attitude into the future. there’s something connecting them through the blood they share, but even so, the other’s halfblood status should have been enough for evan to cut caleb off. but caleb had only expressed disdain for his muggle side, and that was something evan could sympathize with – not those who were proud of their filthy blood, but for caleb to not only be related to him but also of a similar mindset (or so he thinks), it’s acceptable. 

the winter break had shaken his life up more than he could ever have dreamed possible. he’s never felt more unsure, more wavery on his beliefs than he does at that moment. caleb’s question startles him out of the funk he’d found himself in, the anger simmering under the surface, but at his cousin’s face and voice, he falters. 

“hyung.” he starts in korean, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. “i… i don’t know.” he glances away from the older slytherin with a darkening expression. “what was yours like?”

he makes a soft sound as he sits down quietly on the couch next to his cousin, smiling slightly at the other. he’s been in his own little blissful bubble during the break and nothing had really happened, to his knowledge of course. nothing drastic, at least. there were some blips here in there in his bubble that had caught him off guard but all things considered, it was most definitely less than what had probably happened in evan’s life during the break. 

the transition to korean is a relief for him, despite his insistence that he’s totally okay with immersing himself fully into english, and he almost lets out a sigh to show his feelings. “mine was normal,” he shrugs, tilting his head to the side slightly as he thinks back to his entire break. it was a normal christmas break for him, in all honesty.