Man to Man

[Gabriel Fletcher]

Gabriel had a lump in his throat, and it wasn't his breakfast. He pushed his cereal around the bowl with his spoon, the flakes having long ago turned to mush, and sighed. He'd been planning this since the previous night. What harm could possibly come of it? Though the Slytherin had never been of a particularly apologetic nature, he knew now that his actions had had consequences far worse than he'd anticipated; or rather, he had not anticipated how guilty he would feel for the consequences of his actions, because really, he had been intending to sabotage Saveli's date to the Yule Ball.

After long and final deliberation, Fletcher set down his spoon and stood up, leaving the Slytherin table in pursuit of Ravenclaw's. It did not take him long to spot the side of Felix's head, and he was happy to see a vacant seat beside him, which he slipped into somewhat tentatively. The thought of another punch in the face was not altogether appealing. "Hey," he said quietly, keeping his voice low and friendly. As he spoke, he looked directly across the table instead of at Felix. "Hear me out. I came to say sorry. I've been a pr**k. I think that's something we can both agree on. But if you'll let me right my wrongs, I'd like to."

 

[Felix Warrick]

Felix sat alone at the Ravenclaw table half heartedly stabbing at his bacon with a fork. The two seats beside him were empty and he was grateful for that. The teen was in no mood to be social. Felix had received word from hom that ha parents would be spending Christmas together, and alonee, his baby sister would be shipping off to some far away aunt, which left Felix at the castle. Sure he would have no shortage of presents delivered from family members both close and estranged a like but it wouldn't be the same as being home. The fact his parents could so calmly send him a letter informing him he wouldn't be seeing them until wintet break was troubling. Brightstone weekend had not long passed, would it be too much trouble for one of his parents to pop up and inform him over a butterbeer?

It was for refreshing for Felix to be in a bad mood and it not be because of Lydia or Saveli, though the latter had only been a resent cause of moodiness. Felix had found lately that his mood could dip at the slightest provocation, but he guessed he was now at an age where his moods were more fluid than when he was younger. Finally Felix brought himself to shovel a rasher of bacon into his mouth, but after playing with it for so long it was cold and dry. He face crumpled in disguist, he pushed the plate away and crumpled the letter in his hand. As he about to grab his bag from under the table someone sat next to him. It was not a friendly face. "What do you want?" He said harshly. The last time he saw this boy had been on the cliffs and he'd punched him in the face. He began talking before Felix could shut him up he told him he wanted to right his wrongs. Felix was intruiged. "Other than a less than savoury comment about my ex girlfriend, what wrongs have you done me?" He asked, other than Lydia's new boyfriend (which alone warranted a punch in the face) he wasn't entirely sure who this boy was.

 

[Gabriel Fletcher]

Gabriel grimaced inwardly, his bracing himself for Felix's hostility having done nothing to soften the blow. He had trouble enough apologising as was, and only managed to persuade himself to follow through by remembering how upset Saveli had been the last time he'd seen her. He was doing this for her, really; though Felix wasn't a bad guy, as far as Gabriel knew, the Slytherin was not inclined to buddy up with him merely on account of the fact his best friend wanted to date him. If anything, his envy for the Ravenclaw thwarted any chance they might once have had of being friends, and he surmised that Felix probably felt similarly towards him for Lydia.

"Yeah, mate, look," said Gabriel, who didn't feel it worthwhile drudging up that day on the cliffs again. "I said I was sorry about that, right?" Whilst he was here, the Slytherin took advantage of the Ravenclaw table's consumables and poured himself some orange juice. Forcing himself to continue, he said, "Look, when Saveli told me she was going to the ball with you, I got jealous. Convinced her not to go." This wasn't the exact same story Saveli had heard, but it was the more truthful one. "I shouldn't have done that. She was looking forward to going with you. So I want you to go - and I think I know how you can persuade her. Want to hear?"

 

[Felix Warrick]

Felix barely had time to digest the little breakfast he had eaten before Gabriel began laying on what was beginning to sound like an apology. The boy referring to him as mate made his cringe, the last time he saw him he punched him in the face, and he would do it again. The slightest comment about Lydia and it would be a repeat of the cliffs and he didn't care how many potential witnesses currently surrounded them. "No, you didn't say sorry for that, just like I didn't apologies for punching you in the face, something I will continue not to do," He said coldly. He didn't regret his actions. Felix couldn't stand the idea of someone disrespecting Lydia.

The Ravenclaw eyes the Slytherin suspicious as he poured himself a glass of orange juice. "Right, you do realise this pretty much makes you responsible for my bad mood the last couple of weeks, so thanks for that," He reached for his own glass of orange juice and took a sip. "Exactly how close are you and Sav? You seem to have a lot of power over her if you convinced her not to go and you think you can change her mind, just like that," He was highly mistrustful of anyone who claimed they could change a persons mind. Despite his reservations, he liked Saveli, and if there was a chance her change of heart was not completely a decision of her own mind, then maybe he could get her back. "Ok, I'm listening,"

 

[Gabriel Fletcher]

Gabriel gave a slight shake of his head, incredulous. This guy was a proper tosser. The Slytherin had come to say sorry, for Merlin's sake; Felix had better shut his mouth soon, or else no tips for getting Saveli back would be leaving his. As the conversation progressed, Gabriel became less and less sure he was even doing a wise thing: any reservations he had held for the boy prior to this encounter had been shaped by envy, but now he just plain disliked him. Still, he had to give Saveli the chance to come to her own conclusion of him.

"Dude, are you finished?" Gabriel asked. "I came here to help you get your girl back. Quit your moaning, yeah? I literally just said I was sorry when I sat down. That was supposed to cover everything. Anyway, here's the deal: Saveli won't go to the ball with you unless she knows you appreciate her personality as well as her body." He raised his eyebrows, as if sceptical about Felix's actual cause for attraction to Saveli. His next sentence physically pained him, for though he had resolved to give his heart to Lydia, he would always have a place in it for Saveli, and to willingly divulge such information as how to potentially secure hers was breaking his own. "Tell her you... think she's smart, or something. Funny. Tell her she has beautiful eyes, or whatever it is girls like to hear. She just wants to know you're in it for something more than a bit of fun."

 

[Felix Warrick]

Felix didn't like Gabriel, as long as he was dating Lydia that statement would remain true. His relationship status wasn't the only reason Felix couldn't take the boys apologies seriously, there was something about him that made him feel uneasy. He didn't trust his intentions, towards his ex girlfriend or towards Saveli, perhaps he could at least fake civility. For the purpose of Saveli at least. "Ok fine, I accept your apology, now how do I get her back?" He asked. His question could easily have been about Lydia, but for the first time since he met her, she wasn't the girl on his mind, the blonde Slytherin was, the girl had been a permanent figure in his daydreams since she was elevated from a girl in his class to someone he actually knew. "Compliment her? I appriciate the the advice but as her friend I thought you were going to offer me some profound insight into her psyche on how to win her over, but sure I could just try the same approach I used to get Lydia, thanks buddy," He layered his words with thick sarcasm. He would either pick up on it or he would he didn't really care. Felix doubted the two of them would be best buddies anytime soon. Frankly, the sooner the Slytherin left his sight the better. Being in his presence made his skin crawl, but he wasn't quite sure why.