Closed Closing the Book

[Tristan Collins]

((Set after this thread))

As October led him away from Dominique and Arvel, Tristan's mind was spinning and trying to come up with a way out of this. But as he dared a glance at his girlfriend, he could tell he was in a lot of trouble. She hadn't believed his lie for even a second, and Tristan wondered for a moment why he'd wanted to date someone so smart. He decided to be quiet as he followed her a floor down and then allowed her to lead him into the trophy room. It was usually empty, and today was no different. He felt his stomach clench as he looked at her, but decided to speak first. "Will you let me explain?" He asked softly.

 

[October Alcott]

It was difficult not to let her fury dissipate into pain as October marched Tristan away from the scene of his betrayal, but she stayed focused. There would be time to hurt once this terrible conversation was over. She only let go of Tristan once she was sure they were alone in the trophy room, folding her arms as she turned to face him. "It'll have to be a good explanation." October snapped, glaring at him. "You're lucky I didn't take you to Professor Pratt's office! Acting like that would be completely inappropriate even if you weren't a prefect, what on earth were you thinking?!"

 

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan crossed his arms defensively, not liking October's tone at all. He wanted to save the situation, but she wasn't going to make it easy. Tristan tried to keep himself calm and keep the annoyance off his face. But he was starting to wonder why he had wanted to date a fellow prefect so badly. "Look. She insulted you." He said, deciding to focus on that. "She called you all sorts of ugly names, and like I said, she's been harassing me." He shook his head, running his hand through his hair. "I snapped, okay? I'll make it up to her."

 

[October Alcott]

As much as part of her desperately wanted to believe the boy she had been falling in love with, October couldn't help but see through Tristan now. All the smooth talk and excuses in the world couldn't conceal the face she had seen when he was talking to that girl. "I don't care about what she called me." October said firmly, wondering how some girl she had never heard of before could have supposedly insulted her. "If she was really harassing you, you should have told her Head of House. If she was really insulting me, you should have taken her to her Head of House. You're supposed to be a role model, and you're supposed to be a good person!" She snapped, suppressing the part of herself that just wanted to cry. Seeing this side of him changed how she saw everything about Tristan. "Even if someone annoyed you, I never thought you were capable of something like that! It's a disgrace, humiliating a child in public like that! You should be ashamed of yourself!"

 

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan was starting to get annoyed with this situation, as October didn't seem willing to even give him an inch. His expression turned into a frown as he looked at her. "I shouldn't have talked to her like that, but it doesn't make me a bad person." He told her, his voice still calm. "You need to stop shouting and calm down." He added, shaking his head. "I'm not going to listen to you shout at me about how horrible I am. I thought you knew me better than this, to let one small thing completely ruin me in your eyes."

 

[October Alcott]

If October hadn't already been angry with Tristan, she certainly would be after the way he spoke to her. "I'm not shouting!" October said firmly. "Don't try to turn this around on me! This isn't one small thing, you were demeaning a child in public, and you don't seem to see anything wrong with that! The fact that you don't understand why I'm angry is mind blowing!" October took a breath, struggling to gather herself. "Whatever she did, the way you were talking to her is completely unacceptable. Prefect status aside, how could you talk to another person like that?!"

 

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan lost his calm composure as October continued to talk to him in the same tone. He wasn't going to let her lecture him like he was a small child. "I told you I snapped. That implies I know it was wrong. You should learn to listen." He snapped at her, his frown turning into a glare. "You need to calm down, I don't like how you're talking to me." He added, realizing as he said it that this was the end of them. "I'm sorry, I can't hear you from all the way up there on your high horse. Like you've never done anything bad." He rolled his eyes. "I'll apologize to her, if that's what you're aiming for."

 

[October Alcott]

October couldn't believe the words out of Tristan's mouth, words escaping her for a moment. "How I'm talking to you?! I'll talk to you however I like, it's nothing compared to how you were talking to that girl! I can't believe you have the nerve to talk about my tone when you were behaving like that!" October's blood was already boiling, but as Tristan went on, her rage bubbled over. "I've never publicly humiliated a child!" She snapped back, her voice now bordering on the yelling Tristan had accused her of. "So I think I'm quite qualified to look down on you for this! You owe that girl one hell of an apology, and you owe me one as well, for the way you've been talking." Looking at Tristan now, as much as it broke her heart, October couldn't see any hint of the charming boy she had been falling for, and she knew she would never see him the same again. "Though I don't especially want to hear anything from you ever again." She added coldly, trying not to let her voice waver or her tears escape. She knew that this was going to end soon, and that she had to be the one to end it. There was nothing Tristan could do to redeem himself in her eyes after this, and as much as it hurt, she knew she couldn't give him the satisfaction of ending it.

 

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan rolled his eyes at October's words. She was so self-righteous. He had thought the two of them were more similar, that she would understand that sometimes these things were necessary. Unlike Kauri, he had never seen her as naive. He stayed silent as she continued to rant at him, and opened his mouth when she said he owed her an apology. His mouth snapped shut when she said she didn't want to hear anything from him anymore, ever again. "You're breaking up with me?" He asked, his voice calm even though his body tensed up. He had known the conversation would be going there, but he hadn't expected October to be the one to get there first. "Fine." He added coolly. "Then I have no reason to listen to you."

 

[October Alcott]

October could see the shock in Tristan's face, but kept her resolve firm. As much as it hurt to let go of everything she had enjoyed about their relationship, it was clear that Tristan had never been the person she thought he was. She nodded numbly when he asked if she was breaking up with him, her face blank even as her heart was breaking. The coldness in Tristan's tone was something she wouldn't have expected from him before, but now it didn't surprise her as much. If he had never been the person she thought he was, perhaps he had never cared about this as much as she did. October felt stupid for never listening to April's warnings not to trust him. "I thought you were better than this, Tristan." October felt herself saying, her mind a million miles away from the moment. "I don't have anything else to say to you." It was true. Tristan had proved himself unwilling to listen, too married to his own vision of himself to see his own actions clearly. Nothing more October had to say would have any effect, and right now she needed to be somewhere else, needed space to grieve the way Tristan had made her feel. As much as seeing the real him disgusted her now, part of October still yearned for the Tristan she had thought existed. Turning on her heel, she stalked out of the trophy room, leaving Tristan in silence, alone.

 

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan sighed but said nothing as October left. He watched her go silently, feeling mildly humiliated and frustrated. But he wasn't actually that hurt. It had been nice to date October, and he had enjoyed going to events with her, but he had never truly liked her. That didn't mean he wasn't sad it was now over, and as the door closed behind her he looked down for a moment. He allowed himself to reflect on this for a little while, then squared his shoulders. He would have to find himself a new date to the yule ball. After making sure October had had plenty of time to walk away, Tristan left the trophy room as well.