Closed Hide to be Found

[Vivian Brackenstall]

Vivian didn't know what to do with himself this year. Flirting with so many people was nice, it was fun, but it still hadn't made him feel any better about the boy he and Tristan had hurt. Or the girl they were hurting now. Every time he saw Tristan with October his stomach curled, and not just out of jealousy. He knew how hurt October would be if she knew where Tristan's heart really lay, and that wouldn't just be Tristan's fault. How did Tristan fight the part of his gut that knew he was hurting people? At least their hiding had to be over soon, surely. It couldn't last forever. And for now, Vivian had a plan. So far he had only had flirtations and flings, secret stolen kisses on occasion. Maybe he needed something more. If he had another real relationship to distract him, he could stop feeling bad. That must be how Tristan did it. So he had headed up to the alcove below the stairs where he had first met Hudson so many years ago, hoping to run into the other boy. Their flirting had never gone beyond a brief dance last year, but this seemed like a good place to start. Hudson was nice, and fun to talk to. Vivian could ask him out, see what happened, and hopefully, hopefully he would stop feeling guilty. Vivian had grown much taller, no longer able to tuck himself into the small alcove he had once fit so easily into, so he just sat in the corner with a book, enjoying a moment of peace and quiet. Even if nobody joined him, this moment away from the bustle of the castle would be a nice one.

 

[Hudson Worth]

Hudson never knew what to do with himself at the school, he was already a fourth year and found it hard to get on with the numerous people in his year. He hadn't spoken to Simon in awhile, despite sharing a dorm. Nor with Alexis, she seemed to be having lots of friends and too busy to hang with the loner guy. He wasn't sure what Simon Vanity would think of him thinking he was only interested in guys, it might make it hard for Simon if he shared what he was feeling. Bringing himself to leave the common room he headed towards his favorite place in the school. He often hide away from others but it was also the first place he had ever shared a conversation with his crush, Vivian. He was certain the older student didn't even really see him as a friend since he never gave him much time. He was sure the guy was seeing another guy or girl, he couldn't be certain. But they did share a dance and Hudson had felt his stomach doing flips the entire time. Coming up to the hallway he stopped short seeing a much taller Vivian sitting reading a book. Hudson was taller too, having grown much during the last year, but he still wasn't too the heights of Vivian. He wasn't sure if he should turn and go away or say something, he just stood their awkwardly. "Uh, hi there," Hudson said with a nod of his head towards Vivian.

 

[Vivian Brackenstall]

Vivian hadn't been reading for long when he heard someone approach, glancing down the hall. He expected it to just be some homesick first year on the way to the owlery with a letter, but to his nervous surprise, Vivian instead saw the boy he had been waiting for. Well. This was going to happen, then. He gave Hudson what he hoped came across as a confident smile, closing his book. "Hi." He said gently, trying to remain calm and put together, like Tristan would. "I was hoping I would see you here. How was your holiday?" He asked, hoping Hudson had the time to talk to him.

 

[Hudson Worth]

Hudson felt unsure of himself standing in front of Vivian, the older boy had much more confidence than him. He wasn't even sure what Vivian thought of him, despite having shared a dance last year. Hudson looked towards his hiding spot, the one he shared with Vivian, though he was certain the older boy wouldn't quite fit the same now that he had gotten so much taller. Vivian was asking him a question now but Hudson had been too busy lost in his thoughts to pay much attention, he heard holiday and figured it had been a question about the break they just had. "It was nice. A lot of focus was put on my sister Audra. She's the last one to go to school. She came here and is in Slytherin with my brother and cousin, well other sister," Hudson said shaking his head, his family tree was confusing since his parents died and his Aunt and Uncle adopted the three of them. They wanted to be treated like they were their parents so that Hudson and his siblings felt like they weren't missing parents, but it was strange and Hudson never caught on to calling them mom and dad or anything similar.

 

[Vivian Brackenstall]

As Hudson spoke Vivian shifted aside a little, making more space if he wanted to sit down. "Oh..." He smiled, a little surprised that Hudson had such a large family in the school. "It must be nice having all of your family here." Part of Vivian couldn't imagine having family members at school with him, but another part quickly reminded him that he... sort of did, now. Sort of. It certainly seemed like if things continued the way they were going the Morales family was going to become his family. Vivian had never seen his mum happy like this before, and meeting Ignacio and his family over the holidays had made it clear to Vivian the direction his mum wanted things to go. So now, Vivian supposed he sort of had... uncles in law at school with him. That thought was much too strange, and he quickly abandoned it, trying to focus on the reason he had wanted to meet Hudson. "I have a question for you." Vivian said softly, trying not to let his nerves show. "And... please say no, if you don't want this. But I was wondering if you would like to go on a date sometime." Vivian wasn't going to approach Hudson the way he had Vincent or Jeong. If he wanted to try dating someone as opposed to simply hooking up with them, Vivian wanted to do this properly.

 

[Hudson Worth]

Hudson was never really sure how to act around Vivian. Most of the time it felt natural but other times he was reminded of the crush he had for the older student and wondered how Vivian felt. He didn't think the older guy would go for him, not with so many options in the years above him. He simply nodded about the family, he wished he had picked a different school like Durmstrang where one of her older cousins had gone but hadn't left a legacy after him, it would have been nice to be at school that didn't include all the family members closest in age to him. He felt the mood change as Vivian began to talk again, saying words he had only hoped to hear before, with very little hope since he doubted anything more than friendship. "Really?" He squeaked out before clearing his throat and repeating his words, "really?"

"I, I mean I would like that very much actually, would be good, with me," Hudson said smiling at the end of his sentence, but still trying to hide how excited he actually felt. He wished he had another friend he could talk to about this. Maybe Simon wouldn't mind? Hudson wasn't too sure about that though. For now Vivian would be a secret to the friends he had in his year. Maybe if the date went well, he'd open up about it to Simon and the others.

 

[Vivian Brackenstall]

Vivian hadn't known how to expect Hudson to react, but the boy's excitement was a pleasant surprise, and he found himself smiling nervously, nodding in response to Hudson's question. It was a relief to discover that he hadn't misinterpreted things between them, and that Hudson seemed so eager at the idea of a date. "Good." Vivian grinned back in relief. "Um... would you like to do something in Brightstone next time there's a free weekend, then?" He asked, suddenly realising that he hadn't actually thought this far ahead. Vivian had stressed and agonised over the act of asking Hudson out, but hadn't actually thought as far as planning a date at all. It also hit him that although he had been in a relationship for years, Vivian had never really been on a date before. He hoped he could figure out how to organise a good one, very quickly.

 

[Hudson Worth]

Hudson clearly hadn't been expecting Vivian to ask him on a date, sure the guy had been his crush for over a year now, but never did her think it was a crush founded on something real. There must be some connection between them made Vivian drawn to him, he wondered what the older guy really thought of him. Sure he had grown over the summer but Vivian was still much taller than he was and they both had longer hair. Hudson was certain some of his classmates thought he was a girl, but he hardly cared his long hair was his own and something he thought was very wizardly. All the great wizards had long hair and grew long beards when they were older. "Brightstone would be great," he said a little more excitedly than he wanted to sound.

 

[Vivian Brackenstall]

Vivian smiled brightly, pleased that his offer had been accepted. He hadn't known what to expect, going into this conversation, and it had turned out better than he hoped. "Excellent." Vivian smiled, his face still a little warm. He wasn't entirely sure what needed to happen for a date to be considered a good one, but there was plenty of time to think about that. He wanted to make sure things went well, focus on having a good time with Hudson and getting to know him a bit better. That was what usually mattered when it came to these things, right?