Open I've done a bad thing

[Zennon Baros]

Zennon regretted a lot of things in his life, things with his parselmouth ability stood out the most to him and especially what had just happened with Arvel. He sighed to himself as he headed to the library looking for Analei, he needed to find her before Arvel did and tell her what had happened. He didn't want Arvel to skew the truth and make him look even worse than he was, though he knew he shouldn't have laughed, he couldn't help it. There was a reason he didn't usually get into it with people, he preferred to let things go, as he probably should have done with this, but, for some reason, his brain had other plans and he'd forced Arvel into a corner only to laugh at him when he'd told Zennon what he was going through and Zennon honestly felt so horrible. He spotted Analei, as expected, studying for one of the classes she had this semester and he quickly pulled the chair beside her out and dropped into it, pouting as he looked at her. "Hey Gem," he started, invoking the name he'd given her last year. "I've done a bad thing and I need you to tell me how much of a jerk I am."​

 

[Analei Westwick]

Charms was an important subject for Analei. Of course, all of her subjects were important, but this semester, she knew it could be the most important one for her. History of Magic was her favorite, but wasn't a necessity for becoming an Auror, and Herbology was one of her least favorite. So that was why she was sitting in the library, surrounded by her Charms books and homework. It was hard to study the practical side of Charms, of which there was a lot of, but she was definitely better at the theory side of things. A voice distracted her and she looked up, giving a smile to Zennon, before quickly frowning at the look on his face, and his next words. "What? You're not a jerk! What happened?" She asked incredulously, putting down her quill.

 

[Zennon Baros]

The moment Analei asked, Zennon immediately didn't want to tell her. She was sure the story was going to sound worse than it had been, especially since he wasn't sure how to explain his mini laughing fit. After all, Analei was best friend with Arvel too. "Well," he started, not really sure how to explain it any other way than just to break into it. "Arvel was avoiding me since last year, like every time I'd walk into a room he's immediately leave it or ignore me when I tried to talk to him. At first I thought it was just a coincidence, but eventually it got really personal..." he said, frowning. "So I asked him about it just now, after the prefects meeting, maybe you saw me pull him aside, I dunno," He drummed his fingers on the table as he thought about the encounter. "I... may have laughed at him when he broke down in front of me... but I swear, it wasn't on purpose! I couldn't stop myself!"​

 

[Analei Westwick]

It took a moment for Zennon to start talking, and Analei became increasingly worried. Her stomach dropped when he mentioned Arvel. She listened as he spoke, not having realized it had been like it - she didn't know Arvel was avoiding Zennon. She thought they were friends? Maybe she hadn't been as observant as she should have been as a friend. Analei hadn't noticed that Zennon pulled Arvel aside, hadn't even noticed there had been issues. The Hufflepuff's mouth dropped open slightly when Zennon said he started laughing at Arvel when he broke down. "Zennon..." Analei said, unsure what to say. It was proof though, that she had been a terrible friend, if her best friend was having a break down and she didn't even know it was going to happen. But this... Zennon laughing at him, she couldn't understand why he did it. "Why, though?" Even though he had said it wasn't on purpose...there had to have been some reason. She didn't want to believe that Zennon would laugh at anyone meanly, because they were crying.

 

[Zennon Baros]

Zennon shrugged. “That’s the thing, I don’t know!” He told her, a bit distraught. Talking to Kas after the fact hadn’t done much to convince him he wasn’t at fault. “I feel terrible. I do, but as he was talking to me and just... breaking down - he cried Gem, he cried! - I couldn’t stop myself!” He turned away from her and dropped his head in his hands. “Sh!t I feel terrible, you didn’t see the look on his face when he realised I was laughing, he’s never going to forgive me and I can’t blame him. I’m the worst person in the world.” He didn’t know how to explain to Analei that it was his anxiety that had done it. He always got so awkward in uncomfortable situations. He didn’t think she’d believe him. “Just tell me how much I suck.”​

 

[Analei Westwick]

Analei didn't realize her heart could sink any further, a terrible feeling coming into her gut when Zennon said he couldn't help himself, and Arvel cried. She continued to listen as Zennon kept talking, and she dropped her eyes to her book, staring at it in silence. Biting her lip, she shook her head when he told her to tell him how much he sucked, but kept her eyes down. She thought it may have been different, if she were there or if Arvel told her about it, but the fact that Zennon did, showed more compassion than he thought he had. "Look...obviously it was a crappy thing to do, and you're right, I'm not sure if Arvel will get over this...but the fact that you're here, telling me about it - that you feel bad and that you didn't mean to do it; that means you're not a sucky person, right? I want to believe that you're not, I don't think you are - " Analei said, looking up at Zennon. "I can, help you? Apologize to him? But first - actually, I think I better go see him." Analei said, pushing her chair back to stand up.

 

[Zennon Baros]

Zennon was waiting for the end to come, the moment where Analei would tell him that he didn’t deserve to feel bad because what he’d done was horrible and she didn’t want to be his friend anymore, which quite frankly was long overdue in his opinion since he was sure everyone would be saying that to him very soon. He kept waiting for the other doe to drop, the one that said everyone had been right about him and that he didn’t deserve this “fame” or whatever it was Arvel had accused him of. And Arvel was probably right, truth he told, Zennon had never expected to be anything beyond an enigma. But it seemed all sorts of things were going on with him these days, his weird feelings for Sam, the strange annoyance he felt whenever someone talked about Jake’s relationships, Rowan and Elio and whatever weirdness they were going through, it’s like there was something building, he just couldn’t figure out what that could be. “You’re... not mad?” He’d felt almost certain she would be, he’d told her everything that had happened from his perspective, though he had left out the part where Arvel accused him of some weird intentional popularity which really wasn’t the case. “You’ll help? Oh, Gem, you really are a Gem! I’m sure he’ll listen to you!” Zennon said, standing with her and wrapping his arms around her in a hug. She would always be one of his favourite people, even if he didn’t agree with her all the time. “I really am sorry, I just... I couldn’t stop it.”​

 

[Analei Westwick]

Mad was an interesting word. She couldn't be mad at Zennon. Not with everything he was going through, and not with his decision to come and tell her almost straight away what had happened. She appreciated that, and appreciated that he thought of her, and thought that much of her to let her know. Analei let out a small laugh when he commented on her nickname, glad that he thought so - he was probably one of three people that did. Analei wasn't sure if Arvel would listen to her, but she'd try. Both of the boys would feel better for it, but she would have to be gentle with Arvel, because he was obviously going through a lot. Analei hugged him back, moving back when he apologized to her again. Analei nodded her head, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before picking up her things. "I'll let you know if I get through to him. You're not a bad person Zen."

 

[Zennon Baros]

Zennon nodded, not entirely sure if he would ever agree, but it was nice for people to think highly enough of him. “It means a lot, I’ve got to go find Sam, but do let me know how you get on, I suppose I’ll know if I bump into him in class.” He said as he quickly made sure Analei had all her things before leaving.​