Open Like You Mean It

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob's parents had taught him that apologies were important, but that it was even more important to mean it when you did say it. And Jacob hadn't really been feeling the intent behind the words for a while, so he hadn't bothered going up to Tristan. He'd been pretty annoyed for a while after, as a matter of fact, and done his very best to avoid the older boy. But now, with some time to think and a much cooler head, Jacob Kingsley was properly embarrassed by his actions. Apologizing was never easy so he hadn't put a lot of effort into finding Tristan, but this morning he spotted him and after finishing his own breakfast, Jacob headed to the Hufflepuff table. Jacob hoped there were enough witnesses that things wouldn't get too ugly if this all went poorly but not so many that he needed to be concerned about people hanging onto his every word. He honestly didn't know how things would go. Jacob stopped as he reached the table. "Um, Tristan, can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked nervously, a slight tremble to the end of his question.

Out of Character:

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[Tristan Collins]

October breaking up with him hadn't been in Tristan's plans. He couldn't say he was really crushed or heartbroken by the situation, but he was annoyed. She had seen him do something he really shouldn't have done, and now she could tell other people. He hadn't forgotten how she had said she should have gone to Professor Pratt, and he could only hope that wasn't actually what she was going to do. The last few days had been pretty quiet for the boy, though he had been trying to figure out who to ask to the yule ball now that he no longer had a girlfriend. Going with Vivian wasn't an option, but Vivian was probably going with that Hudson kid. That meant Tristan couldn't go without a date. That would simply be pathetic. He was mulling this over while eating breakfast, glancing up and down the table appraisingly. He looked up when he heard someone say his name, and was surprised to see Jacob Kinglsey there. Their last talk hadn't gone well at all, and he was a little wary of the boy. Deciding to be polite, Tristan nodded cautiously. "Of course." He said, and as he noticed the boy's nerves, gave him a small smile. "Want to sit down?"

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob was glad when Tristan nodded, even when he didn't look overly enthusiastic to see him. Jacob hadn't expected him to. He probably never wanted to see the Gryffindor again. So the smile and invitation came with some surprise, and Jacob felt slightly more emboldened, sure this was a step in the right direction. He and Tristan had been friends, in spite of whatever he'd said that day to the contrary. Jacob had just been upset and angry about other things and he'd taken it out on Tristan. He sort of understood that now in the only way a thirteen year old could. He knew enough anyway to know an apology was in order. "Ok" he agreed, sliding himself into the seat offered. This was the first time he'd sat at th Hufflepuff table. He took a moment to look around before turning his gaze to Tristan's shoulder. It was close enough to his face that he hoped Tristan would think he was looking at him but not so close he'd have to see directly his expression should it be a less nice one. "Umm, I want to say sorry" he mumbled the last word. "I was a jerk" he winced slightly.

 

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan was watching Jacob carefully, though he didn't seem to be the same angry boy as before. He seemed nervous and unsure, which made Tristan feel more confident about this encounter. During their last encounter, the boy had snapped at him and been upset that Tristan hadn't let him write with a marker on a professor's door, even though he knew Tristan was a prefect. But the door Jacob had been trying to deface was his mother's door, so Tristan had a feeling there was more going on than a simple prank, though Jacob hadn't felt very open to talking that night. He was glad when Jacob took the seat, and simply waited in silence for what the boy had to say. Jacob looked around for a bit before looking in Tristan's direction, even though he wasn't actually meeting his gaze. Tristan was pleasantly surprised to hear an apology from the boy. He hadn't expected this problem to mend itself so quickly without him having to put in effort to make Jacob like him again. Maybe he was more of a role model to the boy than he'd thought. He hesitated for a moment before nodding, giving Jacob a slightly bigger smile and a gentle touch on the shoulder. "Thank you, Jacob. I appreciate your apology." He said softly. "I hope you understand I was only trying to do my duty, but I also wanted to help you. But you were clearly upset, and... I can admit I may not have gone about it the best way. So let's put it in the past and move on, okay?" He patted his shoulder before placing his hand on the table instead. "Are you doing alright now?" He asked him quietly, his voice more concerned now. "If you want to talk to anyone, you know I'm here for you." Truthfully, he was pretty curious about what had gotten Jacob so upset, but he really didn't want to seem like he was prying. He had already lost Jacob's trust a little, and didn't want that to become worse.

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob was glad to see a smile on Tristan's face. He gave a nod, still not quite understanding how being a prefect was more important than being a good friend. But he figured to Tristan, in some way, he'd been trying to do both. Jacob knew he probably would have ended up in huge trouble had he succeeded in his endeavor so Tristan was probably in his right mind more than Jacob had been. He was more enthusiastic in nodding when Tristan suggested they move on from that moment. It was a great idea in his mind, and he really did want to be friends with Tristan again. He was cool and popular, and Jacob had developed a small crush on him at some point over the years. As the attention turned to how he was feeling, Jacob grew more uncomfortable. It was a hard question to answer when he was feeling so very many things. All at once. It was overwhelming sometimes, and he knew he should take Tristan up on his offer to talk but it wouldn't happen while he was sitting at the lunch table. Not when there was even the slightest chance someone like Arvel or Analei could overhear. "I'm ok" he finally stated before leaning forward a little and cupping a hand around his mouth so he could whisper. "I kissed someone" he admitted, a shy smile crossing his face. It was mixed with a bit of pride at being old enough to do that kind of thing. "One of my roommates" he added as he sat back in his seat.

 

[Tristan Collins]

It was nice that this one thing was now fixed, even if many other things in Tristan's life were still a mess right now. He had approached Jacob only because his father was minister, but he had grown to actually like the kid over time. He enjoyed his company, and the way he clearly looked up to Tristan was pretty cute. His question seemed to give the boy something to think about, and Tristan simply sipped his juice and waited patiently. When the boy said he was okay, Tristan simply nodded. He figured if there was more to say later, Jacob would do so.

The boy leaned forward, clearly about to tell him something he considered a secret. Tristan put his glass down and leaned closer so he could hear. A smile spread over his face when Jacob admitted to him that he had kissed someone, and he wasn't too surprised when he added that it was one of his roommates. He remembered Jacob asking him about Kauri back in the day, and had suspected the boy was interested because he was also romantically interested in other boys. It gave Tristan a strange sense of pride to be able to help him with that, even in a small way. "That's great, good job making the first move." He said, grinning at him slightly. "My first kiss was with my roommate too." He added in a low voice. He both said it to connect more with Jacob, and because Jacob's confession had given him a genuine sense of nostalgia. He remembered the nervous, awkward kiss with Vivian at the end of his second year. It had been a nice moment, and one he thought back of fondly. It wasn't until a few seconds had passed that he realized what he had said. His expression shifted to carefully neutral, and he quickly averted his gaze. What had he been doing? He had never told anyone about his relationship with Vivian, even indirectly. Of course, this wasn't too bad, he had only talked about a single incident a long time ago. And he doubted Jacob even knew Vivian. Besides, Jacob hadn't even been at school yet. He quickly reassured himself that this slip up wasn't bad at all, but he was still a little rattled because it had happened. He'd always been so careful. He quickly flashed a smile at Jacob. "That was a long time ago, though. So, about yours, how was it?" He asked him, keeping his voice quiet because this was clearly a sensitive subject for the boy. But he figured turning the conversation back to Jacob was the fastest way to move past his mistake.

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob was happy to let Tristan think he'd made the first move even though it had been Onyx who had done so. He wanted Tristan to think he was cool too, and so he didn't feel like correcting him. Jacob was happy to have something else in common with Tristan. He wanted to emulate him and seemed on his way to do that. And when Tristan asked for more details he felt like Tristan was seeing him as an equal. Not as some little kid like so many others especially in his family did. No, Tristan was asking him about his first kiss like if they were friends. Jacob liked the attention, sorely missing having his own brother around who he might have gone up to immediately after had he been here. Jacob had shared the news with his cousin, Jemma, but this felt different. Jacob thought for a moment and then decided to be honest about it. "Terrible" he said before continuing on, "but then we tried again and it was better." He nodded, happy that they'd tried again. Since then, he'd kissed Onyx a few other times, which had been a lot of fun. But, they weren't dating and Jacob was pretty happy that Onyx hadn't pushed that either. He knew he'd say no and he didn't want to hurt Onyx's feelings like that. "Don't tell anyone, ok? I think I'm the last third year to kiss anyone" he shifted in his seat, a little embarrassed at that thought. He didn't want anyone in his year to know he'd only just kissed someone. He wasn't a baby and didn't want them to think of him that way.

 

[Tristan Collins]

Third year gossip wasn't usually what kept Tristan's interest, but it was nice to talk to Jacob about this stuff. He was still a little rattled by his slip up from before, but was relieved when Jacob clearly didn't think anything weird about it. He probably wouldn't even remember that Tristan had said it, and he likely didn't even know who was in his dormitory. It was fine, and Tristan pushed the thought away. Tristan had asked how it was, and he couldn't help snorting as the boy said very honestly that it was terrible. He chuckled softly, then nodded. "That sounds about right." He said, thinking back. "It's weird and awkward at first, but it gets better with practice, promise." He said with a slight smile. Then Jacob asked him not to tell anyone because he was probably the last one in his year to kiss anyone, which made Tristan shake his head resolutely. "There's no way that's true. I know people who got their first kiss in their fourth or fifth year. There's no way you're the last one." He said, gently nudging the boy. "You're still young. I bet you're one of the first, if anything." He was trying to reassure Jacob, but also didn't think he was really that late. "So, are you and this mystery person going to the yule ball together?" He asked, smiling slightly. "If so, you're ahead of me. I still need to figure out a date." He figured being open about himself would make it easier for Jacob to relate to him, though he had to be careful not to be too open.

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob grinned broadly. Yea, he'd found out exactly what Tristan was saying about kissing. He'd been getting some practice here and there, and could attest to what Tristan was saying. He didn't say so though, unsure if it would make him sound cooler or like a little kid who was still figuring things out. Jacob wasn't sure which way it would go, so silence seemed the best option though the grin was impossible to get off his face. It dimmed slightly, a small amount of skepticism in his eyes as Tristan detailed that he couldn't be the last one and was probably one of the first. He didn't think so, but hearing it from Tristan, that he could be one of the first sounded pretty good.

"Uh...no" he said softly, realizing then that perhaps he should have asked Onyx. Jacob hadn't even thought to do so until now, and it was actually a little late for that. "I, uh, I'm going with my cousin" his shoulders dropped as he realized that had been a missed opportunity. "She...Christmas is hard for her so I thought it'd make her happy to go together" he explained, his voice going lower and lower as he went. Tristan surely wouldn't have missed an opportunity like this, Jacob realized. "I bet you'll find someone. Loads of people probably want to go with you" he pushed on, happy to change the subject. It was mildly surprising that Tristan didn't already have a date, but Jacob figured it was probably just hard for him to decide who he wanted to take since he no doubt had so many options.

 

[Tristan Collins]

The grin Jacob gave him made Tristan sure that the rift between him adn the younger boy had been repaired completely. He clearly enjoyed that Tristan was encouraging and complimenting him, and it was kind of cute. Tristan wondered if this was what it was like to have a younger brother. He was an only child, so really had no idea. Jacob said he didn't have a date to the ball, and told him he would go with his cousin instead. Tristan patted his shoulder, giving him a smile. "That's good too. Family is important as well, and if your cousin needs you you should be there for her." He told him, reassuring him that he had made the right choice. He chuckled when Jacob told him he bet he would find someone. It made him feel better, even if he knew he shouldn't be that affected by what Jacob thought. It was still flattering. "Thank you, I'm thinking of asking a guy in my house, just as one date though." He shrugged. "I don't mind not dating anyone for a while." He added, thinking back to the disaster that had been the breakup with October. He realized he was talking about himself again, and turned the conversation around. "Maybe I'll see you there, you could introduce me to your cousin." He said with a smile. "You're a nice kid, Jake. Thanks for apologizing to me. I appreciate it a lot. I'm glad we're friends."

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob smiled, a little shy as Tristan patted his shoulder. He kept his eyes down for a few beats before raising them again, nodding as he listened to Tristan speak. It was fascinating to hear about Tristan's plans, and Jacob tried not to be too wide eyed about it all, though this was a new and awesome experience for him. He liked someone older speaking to him like he was more or less an equal. Lizzie did it too, but she wasn't Tristan. Jacob quickly was reminded that they weren't as the Hufflepuff called him 'kid.' The Gryffindor was a little miffed by that but tried not to let it show. It helped that Tristan called them friends just after, the smile on his face brightening again. "Me too" he replied with a nod. "I should probably get to class" he said, making a funny face to show his disgust at the idea. "Bye Tristan" he added as he stood to leave.