Open I'm not the problem

[Ares Zephyr]

Following on from this

Ares had been glad at least Gaia seemed to be on his side, after she'd helped him up off the floor of the library once Freddie had finally clambered off him. Honestly it had taken him long enough to realise the error of his ways. What the Gryffindor hadn't expected though was for his friend to grab him by his poor little ear, dragging him through the rest of the halls until they were back out into the corridor, followed by a lecture that, if he was not mistaken, very much sounded like Gaia thought he was the problem.

He was rubbing his ear, frowning at the redhead, "I think you missed the part where Freddie tripped me up, threatened to punch me again, and even now no one seems to acknowledge that I am in a lot of pain," he told her, bending down to rub his knee as though she may have forgotten his initial injury in the first place. "Don't take it out on me princess when I'm the one being bullied," he told her, not waiting to see what other retort she had up her sleeve. Sure, perhaps Ares was making things worse than they needed to be, but Freddie wasn't going to get away with treating him badly, not to mention it was so easy to rile him up it was downright entertaining. He started to limp down the corridor, mumbling under his breath about the harassment from other students in this castle.

 

[Gaia Athanasiou]

Gaia scoffed, of course she hadn't missed the Freddie being all up on Ares, but the fact still stood he kept making things worse even when Freddie had already walked away. Albeit he was still throwing books and stuff but alas he'd started walking away. "Mind you i helped to get him off of you, but not for your benefit. By the sounds of it you were digging a grave for yourself." He shouldn't have addressed Rosé at all. "And don't call me princess, are you being bullied or are you riling people up until they lose their cool, how ever little effort it may take, just to cry wolf when they do?" The Slytherin questioned following after Ares. Matter of fact it had very much seemed like if the girls hadn't stepped in the scene would have escalated. Quickly.

 

[Ares Zephyr]

Ares turned, walking backwards up the corridor. "You helped me, but not for my benefit. So you didn't help me," he shot her a couple of finger guns. "Sounds legitimate to me," as though the point of fake help was supposed to sway him one way or another. "Not my fault if you have a problem with how I defend myself, just be grateful he didn't turn on you." He didn't really know why Gaia was so interested at all. It wasn't like she was friends with Freddie, and apparently she wasn't friends with him either, so why was so she interested about poking her head into a situation that didn't concern her? "I'm being bullied," he added flatly, "and maybe part of the issue around here is that some people don't seem to see it." Ares paused for a moment, "Maybe I should find his sister, tell her about it. You don't happen to know her name, do you?"

 

[Gaia Athanasiou]

Gaia stared at Ares blankly, she had helped him not for his benefit but it was help after all she got the Ravenclaw off of him did she not? The Slytherin let out another scoff, if Freddie had turned on her, which she had an inkling wouldn't have happened, she could have handled herself unlike some other but she wasn't naming any names. Rolling her eyes Gaia really did not know why she was even indulging in this tomfoolery anymore. "Then tell an actual adult about it, someone that can actually do something about it. Stop reaching out your bully, and pissing him off even more." If Ares was actually getting full on bullied perhaps reaching out to someone who could actually act on the situation would be the best bet. "His sister surely is just another student trying to get through school. She isn't his keeper." Gaia didn't know who Freddie really was, never mind who his sister was but she doubted the girl wanted to know about every little incident involving her little brother while exams were so close too. "Reach out to your head of house? That's what they are here for right? Let adults handle it, unless you don't want it to be handled? Is that it? You enjoy the reactions and attention?" That seemed reasonable, not that she herself would ever go up to an adult but for someone who whined about the situation so much surely if he wanted it to come to an end he should actually try seek out someone who could stop it, which wasn't any student at this point.

 

[Ares Zephyr]

If Ares could go back in time, he probably wouldn't have bothered helping Gaia with her drawings if this was the thanks he got in return. She was annoying, sat on her high horse and acting like she knew the ins and outs of everyone else around her when in reality she couldn't have been further from the truth. "Who says I haven't?" he asked her, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He had no follow up for her so much as how would Gaia even know who he'd told? She wasn't a mind reader. "And why on earth would I reach out to Freddie?" he asked with half a snort. "Merlin it's like you think I enjoy being bullied?" another scoff. "All I know, is that my sister's look out for me, and so if Freddie has a sister I'm sure she'd love to know what's going on with her little brother. I'm not going to be so rude to keep her in the dark just because of exams," honestly the fact Gaia even thought that warranted a pardon was hilarious. In that moment, Ares decided Gaia's life was about to become just as annoying as Freddie's. "You know you're actually right," Ares tapped his foot on the ground a few times as his brain began to tick. "I should tell more adults. I think the Slytherin Head of House probably would want to know if one of their students was ganging up on a Gryffindor too," he nodded, turning once more to continue down the corridor.

 

[Gaia Athanasiou]

Gaia considered it, perhaps he'd told and adults didn't actually care. Which after what Nia had told her about the previous DADA Professor wouldn't be all that surprising. Though there wasn't much to say about it and when Ares brought up her Head of House and telling how she was ganging up on him Gaia couldn't help the bitter laugh. "Sure, tell him. Not sure what I have done more than helped you out from under Freddie. I also think I have people who would testify for that so what exactly are you going to tell him? That I got in between you two so that Freddie would get off of you?" That wasn't much of a bully move. "But you know have it your way. Tell Castillo if you want," Gaia threw her hands up in surrender. She was done arguing with him. She'd got Freddie off of him and separated the boys, that was as far as it needed to be taken. If Ares was going to her Head of House about it then he could be her guest.

 

[Ares Zephyr]

Ares shook his head sadly, it was a shame to see Gaia backtrack on her previous words. It just went to show that she really couldn't be trusted. She hadn't helped him, she'd already told him it hadn't been for his benefit that she'd broken up the boys. Ares wasn't even sure it constituted as breaking them up either, given the weak shove she'd tried to give Freddie had achieved nothing. It was only because Freddie had wisely chosen to remove himself from the situation that they'd been separated at all. Nothing would have been any different if Gaia simply wasn't there. "Thank you for your permission," he smiled to himself.

 

[Freddie Lagowski]

Following from here
Godmod approved

There he was. Freddie didn’t look to see if Rose was coming after him. No-one was gonna stop him this time. He was in trouble, he was in trouble anyway, no-one would believe he didn’t trip Ares, no-one would believe he didn’t take his stuff, no-one would believe Freddie. It didn’t matter any more - he was gonna do this how he said he would. Not Rose’s way. His way.

He shoved Ares into the wall. It felt good. But he was mad, he was boiling, he was exploding, and he couldn’t stop, he didn’t want to stop. He lashed out again, hitting him in the stomach, grabbing his shirt, an arm, anything - anywhere he could hurt him, grabbing and shoving. His head was on fire and his heart was pounding and he didn’t care any more. Everyone already knew he was bad. Might as well keep hitting.​

 

[Gaia Athanasiou]

Gaia gave a forced smile and was about to say something very sarcastic when the problem she thought she and Rose had handled came rushing back in. Freddie was suddenly there shoving Ares into the wall rather aggressively and the Slytherin's mouth fell open just a little bit with a quiet gasp. "Freddie stop, you are going to hurt him seriously." As much of an arse as Ares could be Gaia doubted violence was going to help the case, nor would it shed any good light on the Ravenclaw. Gaia tried to grab one of Freddies arms and pull the boy away, this time it might have been for Ares' benefit or might not she would not comment on that one. The fury in the boy sent another alarm through the first year though, what had happened to Rose? Was she okay? Had he lost his cool on her? "Where's Rose?" Gaia's question was quiet but sharp as she kept trying to pull the boy away. This was all escalating, why was this boy so angry? Were all boys just horrible? Would her little brother grow up to be like one of these two too?

 

[Ares Zephyr]

When Ares was quite sure Gaia wasn't bothering to follow him, he removed his hands from his pockets, taking a deep breath and wondering whether there was actually any point going to any of the Heads of Houses. Sure, he probably should tell an adult about Freddie, but for as long as things could remain under wraps then the more power Ares had over him. Besides it was pretty funny to watch Freddie get in a knot about how he would tell on him, like a little baby he'd get into trouble. Ares didn't get into trouble. He might have had some disagreements, but getting in trouble was for children who couldn't work out how to look after themselves yet.

Ares didn't even see it when two arms came flying out of nowhere, making contact with his body. Perhaps it was a mistake, a clumsy kid who probably wasn't watching where they were going. It was only when the Gryffindor collided with the wall that he turned his head to see Freddie, back for more. "Missed m.." He didn't get to finish his sentence before he got another blow to the stomach, this time worse than the first. Ares could barely catch his breath, but he took a gasp if only so that he could yelp. It was the type of yelp that would escape someone lips if someone had surprised them from around a tree at night, or if someone had been waiting behind a closed door for a friends unexpected return. In Ares' case, anyone watching would know there was a delayed reaction between Freddie catching him off guard and Ares' screaming, but with any luck would alert others to the danger.

The first year was cut off again quickly by Freddie, who was now thrashing at any part of him he could get hold of. Ares had never fought a boy before. He'd argued with his sisters, but he'd never hit them either. He was annoying, granted, but he wasn't a violent boy and anyone who said otherwise was wrong. Something inside him snapped however, as Freddie was grabbing on tightly to the collar of his robes, both stopping Ares from moving away from him or further from the wall. The only choice Ares had was to defend himself, as his limbs and face were suddenly becoming bombarded with sharp stings, and while Freddie may have been smaller than he was, Ares still didn't really have the strength to fight him off. Although he had a tight grasp of Ares's robes, Freddie was still managing to get a few hits to his face, the warmth of blood in his mouth filling around his teeth at one of particularly harsher strikes.

His eyes darkened, and mirroring the Ravenclaw, Ares grabbed hold of the boy's sweater and begun to throw him around in a circle, hoping that Freddie would release his grip. Unknowingly, Ares threw him into Gaia instead, but still Ares held on firmly to Freddie's uniform as he did his best to trip him up. "Two versus one," Ares managed to get out between struggled breaths, his limbs aching and stomach feeling queasy. If anyone asked, he was now defending himself against the pair of them. Ares felt Freddie's fingers scrabbling at his face, but as their upper bodies were locked in on each other it meant that the only option Ares had left were the legs.

Swinging out one leg, Ares managed to hook his foot around one of Freddie's, forcing his body weight on top of the Ravenclaw's. Now it was Freddie's turn to be pinned underneath him. Ares was seeing fire. The way that Freddie had been harassing him for months, that no matter what Ares didn't do in response to Freddie's misbehavior, others saw him as the bad guy. Well, he wasn't the bad guy and he wasn't going to let some snotty little rat get away with bullying him anymore. If he wanted to pick a fight with Ares he was going to learn that he wasn't coming out of this in a good state. Straddling the first year, Ares raised his arm and punched Freddie straight between the eyes with a satisfying crunch in his knuckles, his head trapped between Ares's fist and the concrete floor. Ares was breathing heavily now through his nose, although it was only when he spat out the blood onto the floor beside the boy's head, that Ares realised how much damage was being done between them.

GM approved
Professor planned to interveneee!

 

[Freddie Lagowski]

Freddie didn't mean to hit Ares in the face - or did he headbutt him? He didn't know. He didn't know any more. He knew he'd gone way too far - but now Ares was grabbing him back, and he had to keep going, he had to win, he had to win. The corridor swung around as Freddie stumbled into Gaia, and then suddenly he was falling, crashing to the floor, pain shooting through his back and down his leg. Freddie cried out. He was stuck. He tried to grab Ares' arms, but he couldn't even pull himself up. He was stuck and it hurt and he was dumb, he was losing, he was so dumb, he was so dumb-

Pain exploded in his face. Freddie held up his hands, not to hit Ares again, just to stop him, just to get him off his face. He lost. He lost, he lost, he lost, just stop, please, he was bleeding, his leg hurt, he couldn't move, please.​

 

[Gaia Athanasiou]

Gaia wasn't registering much that was happening other than that her attempts seemed to be in vain. Before she had any moment to even react other than to keep telling Freddie to please stop, she was slammed into by Freddie? Wait what? Ares had started throwing the Ravenclaw around and due to her close proximity Freddie was slammed into her and she lost her balance. Letting out a shriek as she collided with the floor tears welled up in her eyes from the pain of her wrist twisting uncomfortably as she caught herself. It was a jolt of pain that shot up her arm, though not like the time she broke her arm when she was seven, a bit lighter but still pain. That was rude. She had done nothing, tried to separate the two and now she was on the floor with a throbbing wrist. Though the tide had turned between the boys too as now the Gryffindor was on top of the Ravenclaw hearing rushing steps Gaia looked to her right and saw a Professor rushing in. "Professor please do something!" The first year yelled out to the man, clutching her right wrist with her left hand.

 

[Professor Killian Fox]

Killian was out taking a walk, you know as a Professor would looking out for students causing ruckus. It had been a very peaceful day not much going on, given most students were busy with studying so when he heard some noises that sounded an awful lot like screams. Walking forward faster there was another cry and then a shriek. His eyes were met with a scene of a redhead on the floor clutching one of her wrists and two boys, one laying on the floor, one straddling him and both bloodied up. Well that was far from peaceful that was for sure.

Stopping next to the boys Killian grabbed the one on top, in Gryffindor robes, under the arms pulling him off the one on the floor, Ravenclaw based on his robes. "Boys. What is the meaning of this?" Killian asked in a serious, firm tone. He'd been someone who'd gotten into a few fights in his time but seeing kids go at it with each other never ceased to surprise the professor. Grabbing a pack of tissues from his pocket, having gotten into a habit of always carrying some with him when Aelin was younger, he offered some for each of the boys as he waited for either or to explain. The girl that had been on the floor was now scrambling up, though she whimpered a little as she accidentally used the hand she'd bee cradling. All of them needed a trip to the hospital wing but first he needed to figure out what was going on and take the boys to their Head of Houses respectfully.

 

[Declan Burke]

Declan, as per usual, was searching around the castle for his darn tarantula. He was gonna have to put a leash on his spider or something. The boy looked up and around the fourth floor, looking for little will, when he suddenly heard commotion further down the corridor. Now, Declan usually wasn't one to pry and be nosy about things that weren't necessarily his business, but Declan's gut was telling him that something was off and that he needed to check it out.

Declan's curiosity got the better of him, and he had seen a few students, familiar faces from classes, though the person on the floor had looked familiar, like he knew the person who was there. Though as Declan inched closer and closer to the scene, it clicked on who happened to be underneath his roommate. His friend. "What the hell?" Declan muttered, worry suddenly taking over Declan. The boy stood a few meters behind the professor. "Freddie? Oh my god, what the hell happened? Are you okay?" Declan says in panic from the sidelines, as it confirmed it was Freddie. Declan was trying his best not to panic, but that was obviously out the window. He didn't know the full story, but seeing his roommate on top of his friend like that, had made Declan mad and he was immediately glaring at Ares.

 

[Ares Zephyr]

Despite Freddie being the one to initiate the fight, Ares knew he would be the first to end it too. It wasn't long before Freddie was giving up, and not one to feel like he'd hit a boy when he was already down, Ares didn't need any convincing to stop defending himself. Before Ares realised that they were no longer alone however, the Gryffindor felt his body being removed from the Ravenclaw, strong arms under his. Ares went limp, not fighting the professor who'd grabbed hold of him. He had no need to now that Freddie had given up. The first year hung there for a moment, waiting to be put down, "Freddie's been trying to attack me for weeks," he told the man, "it was bound to show up like this at some point sir." Besides, Ares could list off all the instances when Freddie had caused him harm over the last few months, and he'd like to see what the boy had to say for himself and how he planned to worm his way out of this one. Perhaps he didn't intend to tell anyone a few minutes ago, but he wasn't going to let himself be punished for Freddie's actions. He glanced up to see Derek, one of his roommates he didn't really know, loitering around and glaring at him now too. "You weren't here when he jumped me," he wasn't about to take the blame for something he didn't start.

 

[Freddie Lagowski]

Suddenly, the weight was gone. Freddie rolled onto his side, hands still over his face. No, no, no, no. His leg. Something was wrong with his leg. It was cold. He was hot all over, but his leg was freezing - it was doing the freezing thing. And it was heavy. It was too heavy. He tried to move it. Was it his knee? Was it his knee? Yeah. He couldn't straighten his knee. He had to push extra hard. His stomach dropped, like he was gonna throw up. How was he gonna walk?

Declan? Declan was here! Freddie had to get up. What if he couldn’t? Well, he had to - and he could, he’d done it before. He just had to do it fast, before anyone saw. Push on his hands. Good leg under. Foot flat. And up. He had to grab the wall so he didn’t fall over again, but at least he was standing. Blood dripped down his shirt. He snatched the tissues and squeezed them over his burning nose, trying not to look at Declan. Declan saw him lose. Freddie couldn’t help it though - he looked. He wanted his friend. He just wanted his friend.

What? Freddie was trying to attack Ares? But that was a lie! He didn’t - he didn’t go anywhere near him! He didn’t want to! Ares was picking on him! Freddie was just reading his book, and Ares came over and tripped! On purpose! He deserved to be hit! He was a liar!

"Lying. Lying. Liar. Liar, liar, liar!" Freddie said, louder and louder, til he was shouting. He did hit Ares, but - but only 'cause he kept following him! Kept saying stuff! Kept making him mad! What if Declan didn't believe him? What if Gaia said-?

Oh, no. He hurt Gaia. He knocked her over. He hurt her hand. No - he didn't mean to! Ares pushed him! Freddie leaned against the wall, trying to bend his knee a bit, trying to make it feel again. It was still weak. Come on, come on, come on. It had to come back. He didn't wanna limp again. Please.​