Closed Fanning the Flames

[Gwen Goodwin]

Sometimes, Gwen was a little tired of René. He wasn't particularly exciting or thrilling and by now, very familiar. But as she sat on the lawn with his head in her lap as she studied, she had to admit it was kind of cute. She smiled down at him before turning the page in her book. She reached down with her other hand to stroke his cheek briefly. "You alright?" She asked him quietly, as she knew he had been kind of upset lately about Louis Alcott. Gwen could've told him the boy was trouble, but she hadn't wanted to strain their relationship. René was loyal to his friends, so Gwen didn't say a bad word about them in his presence. Still, she could tell the fight was still on his mind. She wouldn't mind it if they stopped being friends, she wouldn't have to be around Louis and his atrocious French accent any longer. Gwen was convinced it was fake.

 

[Rene Tofilau]

Rene hated being all bent out of shape about something as stupid as an argument with Louis. Louis said stupid things all the time, there was no reason he should be letting it bother him so much, especially when Rene knew he had more important things to worry about.

He sighed from his spot sprawled on the ground, soaking in the spring sunlight and idly watching the shadows of his eyelashes flash across his closed eyelids in the sun. "Yeah, it's just-" Rene made a vague hand gesture, tilting his head back so he could look up at Gwen with a frown. At least she made him feel better. Someone that actually wanted him around, "-Louis stuff. I dunno. I'm just over it, aye. I mean, Louis was upset, he probably didn't mean half of the stuff he said if anything. D'you think I should just forget it and go talk to him?" Truth be told, Rene had never been all that good at holding a grudge, especially not with his friends like Louis, who he was quietly always worried was just going to get bored of him and drop him anyway. It was a dumb fight, but they could both be adults about it now, right?

 

[Gwen Goodwin]

Gwen put on her most understanding look when René confirmed it was about Louis, though she kind of wished he’d just let it go and drop the guy. Still, she knew the situation as delicate. Gwen hesitated, pursing her lips. “I don’t know, René.” She told him honestly, running one hand over his head gently. “You’re a very kind and forgiving person… but why would he say things he didn’t mean? I think it’s more likely that it’s been inside his head for a long time.” She told him, looking troubled. “Sorry, I know that’s not… what you hope for, and maybe I’m wrong. But I’ve always gotten the impression he thinks he’s better than you. He’s not always a great friend.” She said, wondering how René would take this. She was ready to change the subject if he got annoyed with her for saying this, but she had the feeling he’d listen.

 

[Rene Tofilau]

René tilted his head back further, letting out a quiet hum as Gwen ran her hands over his head. He had to marvel how she could even look pretty from this angle, when he was practically staring up her nose, but the thought was quickly dismissed by a sharp stab of anger as what she was saying about Louis resonated.

“Yeah! I know, he’s always like that though, so I dunno if I should take him seriously. I always thought he was all talk but you’re right,” he said indignantly, the sour fury he’d felt when he’d been fighting with Louis pushing to the forefront, stoked by her words after he’d let it simmer over time away from Louis. “It’s like he thinks we’re all just side characters in the tv show that is his life, it’s annoying. I told you about how he thought he was a better Quidditch player than me right,” he groused, ready to relaunch back into a play-by-play of the argument all over again.

 

[Gwen Goodwin]

Gwen had to fight the urge to smile as René completely took her at her word. It was probably not entirely true, but Louis was insufferable enough that it wasn't hard to make him sound horrible. And apparently, it sounded plausible to René, which also said something. Gwen sighed and looked ahead for a moment. "I think he's mostly talk, but I also think he really does think he's the best." She said with a small sigh. "He's got a big head, René. Everyone knows that. I bet he thought he'd have the Quidditch cup on his nightstand by now." She told him with a roll of her eyes. "Yes, you've told me." She added. "I'm not surprised. I think he probably thinks he's the best of the school. Everyone knows you made captain way before him." She said with a slight smile as she glanced down. "Did he ever seem truly happy for you?"

 

[Rene Tofilau]

Rene nodded fervently in agreement as Gwen spoke, having to shuffle a little to resettle himself in her lap as she continued. “He’s definitely all talk,” he piped in, admittedly a little pettily. He was quickly vindicated when Gwen brought up how Rene was captain first, nodding vigorously again and smiling at her. What would he do without her? “Right! And I was on the qQuidditch team in my first year, which he likes to forget. It’s like no matter what I do, I’m still not as good as whatever fake image he has in his head. Probably about time he got a little dose of reality,” he finished bitterly. “I dunno, he seems pretty happy with his tongue down a bunch of peoples’ throats,” he added, shifting so he could somewhat awkwardly try to wind his own arm around Gwen’s waist. “Doesn’t know what he’s missing, in my opinion,” he said, glancing up at her face, just in case she thought he could possibly be jealous of Louis’ string of random one off dates. What did he need friends like Louis for, when he had Gwen.

 

[Gwen Goodwin]

Gwen had kind of forgotten René had been on the Quidditch team since his first year, and she idly wondered if he expected everyone to remember that. She wasn't going to say that, though. "He's just jealous, he knows you did everything first." She told him soothingly. "He probably dismisses your accomplishments so he can feel better about himself." She added with a small shrug. René misunderstood what she had asked, but she let it go. "It's pretty weird." She agreed. "Maybe he just can't keep anyone around for very long? I always wondered if he and Celia were a thing, though." She mused idly, not above using this situation to get a bit more gossip and ammunition against Celia. Gwen smiled down at him and stroked his hair. "I think you're way better than him, any day." She said softly.