A Stolen Moment

[Vivian Brackenstall]

Sometimes it ocurred to Vivian how strange it was, to be as accustomed as he had become to sharing his beloved with others. It made more and more sense to him as time went on, too. Why be tied only to one another when there were so many interesting people around? Having enjoyed a couple of flirtations of his own now, Vivian began to better see the merits of keeping their love private, and their options open. It may not be the most conventional kind of relationship, but he and Tristan were hardly the most conventional kind of people, and there was something old fashioned and romantic about a secret love.

It was easy to forget all of that though, when they were alone. The corridor outside the common room was unusually abandoned, and Tristan was looking extra handsome today, Vivian contemplated, as they made their way along the corridor to be early for lunch. There was noone around. Surely it couldn't hurt to be daring. On an impulse Vivian reached forward and took Tristan's hand, interrupting whatever Tristan was talking about from class yesterday. He lifted the hand to his mouth, and kissed Tristan's knuckles softly, wordlessly meeting his eyes. Surely they could just steal a moment, while there was nobody around.

 

[Tristan Collins]

The longer Tristan kept up the relationship with Vivian while seeing others, the more he felt confident about it. Hiding his relationship with Vivian had been surprisingly easy, and he still couldn't believe sometimes that the other boy had agreed to it. He really had the best of both worlds. Vivian was his, but he was still able to date more popular students in public.

He was telling Vivian about the most recent Defence class, where the Imperius curse had been shown by performing it on a student. He was gesturing with his hands as he talked, but suddenly found one trapped. Looking at his best friend and boyfriend, he smiled slightly when he saw he had taken his hand. But before he did anything else, he looked around to make sure they really were alone. Perhaps a small moment couldn't hurt, though he preferred to keep things in their dormitory. Somehow, it was a little exciting to do something risky, though he knew it could end badly. He leaned in and kissed Vivian softly, smiling slightly. "Was my story boring you that much?" He murmured.

 

[Kauri Morales-Tipene]

Kauri was having a super day. He'd gotten a good grade on an essay, and class had finished a little early, which meant he had plenty of time to swing by the Hufflepuff corridors and see if he could bump into Tristan so they could have lunch together. An ideal way to start the afternoon. Humming slightly to himself he trotted down the corridor, books in his arms, wondering what Tristan had been getting up to this morning. Surely the other boy would have some fascinating story to tell.

Turning a corner to the corridor he was pretty sure was nearest to the Hufflepuff common room, Kauri was startled to see two people kissing. That was shocking in and of itself, but it was only when the shorter of the two pulled back and spoke that Kauri realised who he was. Kauri's books thudded to the floor, forgotten, as he brought his hands to his mouth in horror, eyes welling up with tears. Every happy moment over the last few months came crashing down around him as he realised what this meant. Tristan had been cheating on him. Kauri stumbled backwards, choking down a sob. No idea what else to do, Kauri turned and ran, desperate to get away from this sight, this feeling, this awful, heartbreaking moment.

 

[Vivian Brackenstall]

Part of Vivian had expected Tristan to push him away in such a public place, but to his delight Vivan's affections were returned. He returned the kiss gently, feeling the thrill of kissing Tristan somewhere so public and open. Contrary to his previous contemplations, the moment was so perfect Vivian couldn't help but wonder once more why they couldn't simple live like this. He chuckled in response to Tristan's comment, about to reply when the thumping of books further down the corridor drew his attention, and a chill shot through Vivian.

After giving the matter much thought, Vivian had decided not to keep track of Tristan's flirtations. It would only make him feel worse, to obsess over every person Tristan chose to see. It was better to simply let such things be. Tristan had been seeing the Gryffindor boy for long enough now though, that Vivian recognised him at once. The worst possible person to have discovered them. Vivian watched in horror as the boy stepped back, and then began to run. What if he told people? What if he told people, and this was the end of Vivian's time with Tristan? Nudging Tristan anxiously, he pushed the other boy to follow the Gryffindor. "Tristan..." He urged, hoping that Tristan would fix this. It was only after he had processed those thoughts that the hurt on the boy's face really struck Vivian. What had they done to him? What were they doing to people? How could Tristan have convinced him that keeping secrets like this was the right thing to do?

 

[Tristan Collins]

The moment Tristan heard a noise, he just knew this had gone horribly wrong. He stepped back from Vivian before he turned his head, just in case he could still pretend it hadn't been what it seemed. But as soon as he saw Kauri, he knew it was too late. The boy was upset, clearly, and Tristan felt a sting of guilt as he saw the boy was crying, though it also filled him with panic. A crying Kauri was a Kauri that got attention from others, which meant his secret was out. Not only that, people would know he had been unfair to both boys, his reputation would be over.

Vivian nudged him and said his name and Tristan couldn't help shooting him an irritated look. This wouldn't have happened if he hadn't instigated a kiss here. "I know." He hissed, narrowing his eyes. "Go to the dorm, just go." He added, shaking his head. He was irritated with the taller boy, the way he was urging him to fix this situation somehow. He didn't even know Kauri, and didn't understand how much trouble Tristan was in now. Vivian's reputation would take a hit too, sure, but he barely had one to begin with. Without another word, he took off, hurrying after Kauri. "Kauri, wait." He said, his voice loud in the empty corridor but perhaps not loud enough. But his instincts were warning him against shouting outright and drawing attention to himself, so instead he ran after the boy. Though he knew deep in his heart that some charming words wouldn't fix this. He just hoped he could get Kauri to keep his mouth shut in some way.

 

[Kauri Morales-Tipene]

Kauri couldn't think. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't see. The world around him felt obscured by a fog of tears and pain and hurt, and all he could do was run, get as far away from the awful, horrible sight he had just witnessed as possible. His legs and arms felt like jelly as he gasped for breaths between sobs, running blindly down the corridors until he couldn't run anymore, slumping against a wall sobbing. How - how could Tristan do something like this? Tristan, who had been so sweet and kind and warm and caring, who was always nice to everyone he met? How could every lovely thing he said to Kauri have been a lie? Slumped against the wall, Kauri clutched his face in his hands and just cried, his heart aching with sorrow.

 

[Vivian Brackenstall]

Vivian knew it was his fault that they had been seen, but the sharpness of Tristan's tone still stung, and being told where to go did nothing to help. He watched as Tristan chased after the boy, sighing heavily. There was certainly no point in Vivian following... however bad he felt, he was quite sure that his own apologies would only make the younger boy feel worse. All he could really do was hope that Tristan was able to smooth things over, and... regret what they had done. At the time Tristan had proposed their secret relationship he had made it seem so... romantic and important, but now it just felt... cruel. They were lying to people. And for what?

Filled with bitterness he had been working to push down and ignore for more than a year now, Vivian spotted something on the floor in front of him. Kauri's books. Abandoned where he had dropped them. Vivian doubted that the younger boy was coming back for them, and... guilt gnawing at him, Vivian now felt that these were his responsibility. His arms felt heavy with regrets as he approached them and bent down to pick up the books. Forget Tristan's demands. He would go down to lunch and see if he could find a Gryffindor prefect to return these to Kauri. It was the least he could do for the boy whose heartbreak he had been so complicit in.

 

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan didn't wait to see if Vivian did what he asked, assuming the boy would do it. He followed Kauri, glad to spot him soon so he was able to catch up with him. He noticed with some relief that he finally stopped, though it was a sad sight to see him cry like that. Tristan hesitated for a moment. Kauri hadn't seen him yet, he could wait until the other boy had calmed down more to talk to him. But no, this was going to draw way too much attention. He took a deep breath, then approached slowly. He stopped in front of him, looking down at where he was sitting on the floor. "Kauri." He said softly, "Kauri, just let me explain." He kept his voice calm and soothing, but there was a cold undercurrent to this. Tristan wasn't sure what his strategy for this would be yet. He hadn't planned for this, and if he had, he wouldn't have imagined Kauri reacting this badly. He had known the boy liked him more than he had liked Kauri, but he hadn't realized he had let it get this far.

 

[Kauri Morales-Tipene]

It felt to Kauri as though the world around him had blurred away to nothing, lost in the haze of how much this hurt. Kauri had never been betrayed before, nobody had ever hurt him so deeply, and he didn't know how to begin dealing with any of this pain. Leaning hunched against the wall, Kauri was so distracted by the sound of his own sobs that he didn't hear Tristan approach, struggling even to understand the words the other boy was saying. Part of Kauri, a large part, just wanted Tristan to go, to be gone, to never have to see or hear from him again, but a slightly larger part of Kauri needed to know, needed to know what Tristan had been doing, why he would do something like this. Right now nothing made sense to Kauri, and he needed something, anything, to begin making sense of the situation. "Why - why wou-hould you DO that?" Kauri choked out between sobs, struggling to wipe his eyes.

 

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan stared at Kauri on the ground, feeling a strange mixture of pity and aversion. The display was pathetic, even if someone hurt Tristan he would never show his emotions like this. But that was what attracted him to Kauri in the first place, how open and nice he was. He supposed this was the other side of that coin. He hadn't expected to cause this much of devastation in the other boy and really wasn't sure what to do with this. He wanted this mess dealt with. Opening his mouth, he tried to summon his most soothing words. The most reasonable explanation. But nothing came to mind. With a small sigh, he realized this situation was unsalvageable. He couldn't patch things up with Kauri now, not even for the good of his reputation. The boy was an open book and way too hurt by this. He had to cut his losses and set his priorities. The most important one being that he and Vivian could remain a secret. Subconsciously, he straightened his posture, towering over the boy on the ground even more. "Stop crying." He told him, his voice suddenly cold and business-like. "This wasn't what I wanted either, but here we are. I could tell you anything but you wouldn't believe me anyway after seeing that." He said, subtly shifting the blame of the coldness of this conversation and the utter lack of explanation over to Kauri. "I know you're hurt, but stop making such a display of yourself. It's going to embarrass you once you've calmed down." He started, crossing his arms. "We have a few things to agree on, in terms of you talking about this."

 

[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine carried a bag with her as she made her way down the hall, very worried about how the librarians were going to react to her turning in a few books late. She'd simply lost track of the due dates, not used to the whole library procedures. Glad that the stairs were empty, Corrine allowed her mind to drift towards the excuse she'd come up, playing it over again in her head and wondering if she'd need to manage some tears. She'd never been a good actress. Her parents said it was because she wore her heart on her sleeves.

She got off on the fourth floor, and decided to go the long way to allow herself more time to practice. It was when she rounded a corner and glanced way down to the opposite end that she spotted two figures, one crouched and the other towering over that person. She had no clue who it was from this distance but something about it all made her think about turning back, figuring it was a private moment. But then she changed her mind, figuring she'd just speed and pass the pair once she got closer. Yes, that was what she would do.

 

[Kauri Morales-Tipene]

It felt impossible to Kauri to think straight, with his heart aching and his head spinning. There was something so cruel about Tristan's calmness. There was no sign of pain, he didn't seem to be struggling for words at all, while Kauri was struggling for breaths in between sobs. It was difficult to even really understand what Tristan was saying, with the fog of how much this hurt clouding his senses. It was like he was listening to an entirely different person talk, the sweet, kind Tristan replaced by this cold stranger. Pushing himself up the wall a little more, closer to standing than the slumped half-lean he had been in, Kauri struggled to find words. "I don't un-understand..." He choked out, struggling to wipe his eyes. "I thought we were..." It was too hard to finish a sentence. He couldn't wipe the sight of Tristan kissing someone else from his mind. "How could you do that to me?"

 

[Tristan Collins]

The longer Tristan looked at Kauri, the more annoyed he became. He couldn't help but feel like the boy was being melodramatic. He knew he had hurt him, but he couldn't imagine showing how hurt he was like this even if it had happened to him. He hardened his gaze. "I said, stop crying. It's not going to solve anything." He said, knowing he sounded cold but needing to get through to him. "Look, I know you're sad but it's clear that we are over now, we can't change what happened." He tried to gloss over it, but the boy was clearly not going to let it go that easily. "It wasn't anything personal against you." He said, though he wasn't sure if that would make the boy feel worse or not. "But you have to listen to me. You can't tell anyone what you saw. You can say you broke up with me, save some face. But you can't say you saw me with-" He paused, realizing suddenly Kauri probably didn't know Vivian's name. If he didn't, he wasn't going to tell him. "With him." He finished. "You understand? We'll tell people that ask that you broke up with me. I can even act sad about it if you want me to." As far as he could see, this was fairly nice of him. Especially considering how much of a mess Kauri was acting like.

 

[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine was glad she'd only drawn close enough to hear and see who was speaking at the tail end of their words. It was enough though. Corrine gripped her bag by the shoulder, her knuckles white and tight as the words washed over her, 'act sad' even as she could easily tell the person on the ground was actually so. Her mouth had dropped open slightly, her insides twisting in disgust at what she'd just heard as she'd rushed past. Tristan Collins had been built up in her mind for four long years, her crush on him huge and embarrassing and impossible to give up. Until now. The rose colored glasses with which she'd looked at him had been flung off, shattered and obliterated. 'Act sad.' Corrine had half a mind to turn back, to get Kauri out of there. No one should be subjected to that. Corrine felt fooled. Had Tristan Collins always been that terrible and she'd just never noticed? Maybe I misheard? she tried to convince herself for only half a second before abandoning that thought. No, she had heard exactly right and, even if she hadn't, Kauri's expression was not a lie. She could only imagine what the poor Gryffindor kneeled before Tristan Collins must be feeling. Corrine rounded the corner, stumbling for a second before she continued on, her mind reeling.

 

[Kauri Morales-Tipene]

Tristan was... talking and talking and talking, and Kauri struggled to stay focused, to actually hear and process everything Tristan was saying. He knew it was important, he couldn't just hide away in his anguish and act like this wasn't happening, but every word Tristan said was like a dagger. It was painful even to just look at him, Kauri's hands shaking as he scrubbed the tears from his eyes, trying to pull himself back together enough to respond properly. "I don't CARE how you act!" Kauri snapped, the outburst even surprising him for a moment. Kauri didn't think he had ever been angry with someone in his life, but he had also never hurt like this, never felt so betrayed. "I don't know WHAT's so i-important about that STUPID boy, but I wo-won't tell ANYONE, I never want to SEE you again, just LEAVE ME ALONE!" Kauri choked out between sobs, pushing himself back to his feet properly without the wall's support. "You're a HORRIBLE person, Tristan, I can't belie-eve you tricked me, don't EVER talk to me again!" Kauri felt like his blood was on fire, gasping for breaths between sobs as he stumbled away, down the corridor towards his dorm, desperate to get away from Tristan for good.

 

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan was aware of someone passing by, but didn't turn his head to see who it was. He could only assume it was someone that didn't know him, as that was the only acceptable scenario. Kauri was making a scene, and he felt resentment grow inside him towards the other boy. He needed someone tougher next time, for sure. Though he thought he would take a break now. Tristan took a small step back at Kauri's sudden outburst, his brow creasing in a frown. "Fine-" He started, but the boy didn't let him talk, calling him a horrible person. Tristan forced himself to snort derisively, as if it didn't hurt him at all. He watched as Kauri walked away, then ran a hand through his hair and turned in the opposite direction. He walked away casually, trying to appear as if nothing had happened. He could only hope this was over now. He strode back to the common room, knowing a talk with Vivian was in order now.