Closed Not the Same

[Zennon Baros]

Zennon couldn't believe it. He actually couldn't believe it. After everything, he had thought for sure that Elsie would be the one to accept everything. She always seemed to understand him better than Rowan and she was so much more accepting of things, especially when he told them to her, but... to have that reaction... Zennon shook his head and wiped the tears from his eyes. He wasn't expecting to cry, didn't realise he had been until he got to the Courtyard. Honestly he'd been hoping someone that maybe he would be forgiven for all the lies, but he hadn't even been able to say the words to his sister before she'd called him a horrible person! If she thought that now, what would she think when she really found out the truth of it all? Why he'd lied in the first place and why he couldn't tell her? He was so terrified that everyone would hate him that he just didn't know what to do about it. It caused him constant anxiety and fear that he'd be thrown out of the school, forced to live on the streets and join some horrible group just to protect himself. These days everyone knew about the scitorari, though no one really knew much about them, what if he had to join them to survive! The tears came again and he furiously tried to rub them away as he brought his knees up to his chest and hugged himself. He just wanted someone to listen to him and he thought Elsie would be that person, but nothing seemed to be going right for him! He didn't know how much longer he could deal with this before it started to eat him alive.​

 

[Gwen Owens-Lee]

Gwen couldn't help but be in a good mood, even as school had started and she was heading into her OWL year, which would be one of her hardest years at school. She didn't want to stress too much about it though, figuring it would not drastically change her future if she didn't do really good as some people may have thought. The girl was calm and collected about it all, happy that she also had quidditch to distract her. She opted to try her best with quidditch this year so that she could have something to look forward to and be proud of herself for. Last year wasn't a good year for quidditch, but at least she had finally made the team after trying out for so long.

Gwen was on her way outside to the grounds, wanting to get some fresh air. She figured she would definitely need it as she knew she would be spending most of her time inside studying that year. Considering she didn't have as many assignments to complete yet, she made her way outside of the castle, thinking it was the perfect day to do so. As she walked through the courtyard, Gwen became distracted as she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. Fully turning her head, Gwen noticed that it was Zennon. She hadn't spoken to Zennon in quite a long time and had only ever seen him in classes. He hung out with Analei quite a lot which is why Gwen hadn't interacted with him as much. But Analei didn't seem to be anywhere near, and Zennon appeared to be crying. She wondered if perhaps something had happened between the two, but she wasn't even sure they were that close. Even though Gwen knew she should mind her own business, she did not care. Zennon used to be Gwen's best friend and she wasn't going to let him cry on his own. She slowly made her way over to him, clearly concerned. "Hey." she said gently, making sure to keep her distance in case he snapped. "What's up?"

 

[Zennon Baros]

The thought that he’d perhaps just ruined his relationship with his sister was... devestating. He wasn’t sure he could just sit here and not do anything. But he knew that going after Elsie right now was only going to make things worse he had to let her process it on her own and then maybe he could properly explain what he’d actually been trying to say. He hadn’t wanted to hurt her at all. It had been a product of his own insecurities and though he knew that he wasn’t the most honest of people these days, though he really was trying to change for the sake of his own self worth. He looked up when he heard a familiar voice and quickly tried to clean his face on his shirt. He hadn’t meant to fall apart in the courtyard, he knew it was too exposed, but, it was one of the few places he still felt safe in the school. “Gwen, hi.” It was a bit awkward because he’d not spent any time with her in a long time and though he felt guilty about that and wanted to fix it, he had no olive branches to extend. “Uh, sorry, I wasn’t expecting anyone.” He sniffed and rubbed his eyes again, dropping his legs and shifting over to give her room if she wanted to sit.​

 

[Gwen Owens-Lee]

Gwen smiled warmly at Zennon, relieved that her only friend was happy to let her sit with him and happy to let her talk to him again after so long. Gwen did not mind that the pair of them hadn't really spoken much recently. It allowed them to go their own separate ways for a bit, and it also gave Gwen time to clear her head and fully get used to Hogwarts. She definitely did miss him however, but wouldn't dare to admit it. He had always been her only friend, even during their time apart, and nothing was ever going to change that. She sat next to her friend on the ground and paused for a moment before speaking. "Things are tough right now, huh?" she said to him simply, not wanting to get into details so soon. If Zennon wanted to open up to her then he would and she wasn't going to pressure him into doing so. And if he didn't want to tell her anything, then she wouldn't mind. After all, some people just didn't like opening up and the Gryffindor respected that.

 

[Zennon Baros]

Zennon sniffed and tried to hide his face abit from Gwen, he didn’t need her seeing him cry like a baby. Things were tough right now, as she said, but he didn’t really need to be broadcasting that through the entire school. It was bad enough she was seeing him now. As she sat next to him, he found himself relaxing slightly, though he still didn’t let his guard down. Atleast he liked Gwen and he was friends with her, he wasn’t sure what he’d have done if she was someone else. Perhaps someone he didn’t know or didn’t like. That would have been tough. He didn’t look at her, but he nodded. “Yeah.” He wasn’t sure what to say, after all it had been some time since they’d last spoke, entirely of his own devising, but it wasn’t specifically like he’d been trying to hurt his friends by not talking to them. He’d only meant to give himself time to gather his thoughts, which had taken a little longer than he’d expected. Zennon wasn’t a crier after all, he usually bottled his emotions up inside and waited for the other shoe to drop, not that it was easier that way, but it was something he’d been concerned about. “I just... I need...” He was finding it hard to talk through the sobs that didn’t want to slow down. He hated this, he hated showing weakness in front of anyone, let alone in from of friends. “I don’t know...” he finally said, sniffing again and wiping his eyes. He just needed to calm down.​