Closed Out of Hiding

[Stan Beckett]

Stan sat down next to Allison without greeting her and quickly began to gather food on the plate in front of him. Even though he still looked all palish and gaunt from the full moon a couple of days ago, he was extremely hungry, especially since he hadn't really eaten a thing in days because of how nauseous he felt during the days leading up to the full moon. So, with his mouth now full of scrambled eggs and strips of bacon, the Gryffindor waited for his friend to start questions. At least with his mouth full, he did not have to answer anything immediately. They barely talked nowadays as he was spending most days in one of the many unused classrooms throughout the school, but with it almost being the Christmas holiday, Stan thought it was better to start talking to each other again now than when their parents were around for the awkwardness as well. With how much they usually talked to one another, he didn't want their parents to start asking questions as well when things would be quiet between them. Better to get things out of the way now.

 

[Allison Beckett]

Allison was lost in thought, the usual worry taking over her. She relaxed as Stanis sat next to her. Without a thought she hooked her foot over his, relieved at the contact. "You look terrible," she commented idly in Polish, knowing no one would understand but him. "You should actually come back to the dorm with me, let me rub your back," She tried to bribe him, hoping he might take her up on her offer this time.

 

[Stan Beckett]

''I am fine,'' Stan replied in English whilst chewing away the scrambled eggs and bacon. He figured that she was going to comment on his gaunt features, she always did, but there really was nothing he could do about it other than to eat chocolate. ''I am too tired to walk all the way back up the common room anyway.'' He didn't want her to touch him there as most of the scars of the initial werewolf attack were on his back, which he was feeling a lot more aware of lately. ''This food is good, though,'' he told her to not let the conversation die entirely.

 

[Allison Beckett]

Allison's brow furrowed when he replied to her in English. It felt more and more lately like he was pulling away from her. She scooted closer, in a not so subtle way to try and stay close to Stanis. "We can go to the student longue, instead," She tried to insist, not wavering from her polish, sipping on her own drink. "We need to talk, Stanis, some things are happening now that involve your... other things and we need to discuss it," She tried to give him her most urgent, pleading look.

 

[Stan Beckett]

Stan glanced sideways at Allison when she scooted even closer towards him. What was she doing and why was she suddenly so secretive? He knew why she was doing scooting closer to him, she had always been a very affectionate person, he just didn't know why she wanted to leave when he just got here. He was about to scoop more eggs and strips of bacon on his plate when Allison said something that made him freeze up. ''What do you mean, what things are happening?'' he asked, immediately tensing up. No one except the teachers, the nurses and Allison knew about his condition at Hogwarts so Stan could only hope that it had something to do with a full moon messing up something they had planned some time ago. If not, well, that would be very bad.

 

[Allison Beckett]

Allison lowered her voice, peeking from the corner of her eye. She didn't see Ryan looking at her, so she spoke to Stanis in a quiet voice. "A boy. Ryan. He's convinced there's a werewolf or two in the student body and he's determined to find them. I've inserted myself in his investigation. He's studying the seventh years right now, looking for patterns and tells. I sabotaged our 'stake out' and made sure a prefect caught us." She looked to Stanis again, moving her hand to try to hold his. "I'm keeping him away from you, so far he trusts me and thinks I'm helping him. You need to keep me updated, Stanis. I can't keep him away from you if you don't help me," She murmured. She had promised in their first year she would always look out for Stanis. He was her other half, her best friend. She would protect him, no matter what.

 

[Stan Beckett]

Stan's heart sank as he listened to Allison explain what was going on. How could that be possible? He had been very careful in leaving the castle on the night of a full moon. Had one of the others slipped up? Oh no, that wouldn't be good at all. He gave her a questioning look when she told him to keep her updated. trying his best not to panic. ''Updated on what? The route I walk when I go to the cavern? There is only one path that leads to the great lawn, it is literally not at all difficult to track me down.'' Thankfully they'd all be in the cavern already when the sun would set, so as long as she and this Ryan were going on stakeouts after curfew, they weren't going to spot him or the professors. ''Tell him that there's a hidden classroom on the sixth floor where the students go to transform or something. Anything to keep him off of school grounds.'' Stan really wasn't sure what else she could do other than to go to Professor Kingsley and tell her about Ryan.

 

[Allison Beckett]

Allison considered his words a moment before nodding. "You're right," she agreed softly, finally switching back to English. She sighed, wanting to lay her head on his shoulder. Without thinking, she blurted out. "I miss you, Stanis. A lot." She gave him her best pleading eyes. "You're being stupid, you're my whole world. Will you stop brooding already and just spend time with me?" She asked, scolding as much as she was pleading.

 

[Stan Beckett]

Stan nodded back at Allison when she told him that he was right. Of course, he was right, he had thought about it literally a million times by now. Unless he could make himself invisible, there really only was one path he could take to the great lawn. As long as his friend could keep this Ryan boy from leaving the castle, Stan believed that he could keep out of sight long enough. ''You miss me?'' he asked. ''You have a weird way of showing that, you are always spending time with one of the Prefects.'' While it was true that it was him who was avoiding her for the most part, it seemed like she was doing just fine whenever they did see each other.

 

[Allison Beckett]

Allison blushed as Stanis brought up Thomas, immediately looking to her plate. "Well, I can never find you." She hedged, poking at her eggs. "I had to do something," She peeked at him before looking away again. She tucked her hair behind her ear, nervous. "Besides, he plays the guitar. He reminds me of Ash," She admitted softly, trying not to peek over at Thomas down the table. "Besides, he's really cute," she bit her lip, peeking at Stanis.

 

[Stan Beckett]

It was true that there were times when she couldn't find him, as Stan was becoming more and more familiar with places at Hogwarts he could hide from other people. After last year's lesson about werewolves in Defence Against the Dark Arts, the Gryffindor had become increasingly more paranoid that someone might find out about him and his condition. The fact that there was a boy going on stake-outs to find one told him that it was a good thing that he was spending so much time in abandoned classrooms. Stan almost choked on the last of his eggs when Allison said that her boyfriend was cute. ''Ew,'' he remarked simply, swallowing the food with some pumpkin juice. ''So are you like, kissing each other and stuff?'' he asked, glancing sideways at her.

 

[Allison Beckett]

Allison rolled her eyes, he was being so dramatic. She raised a brow, smirking at him a little. "Yes, we've kissed." She teased him softly, scrunching up her nose. "Is that gross too?" She stuck her tongue out at him. "I happened to think it was really nice," she told him, smiling a little shyly. She thought Thomas had liked it too, but she wasn't going to say so to Stanis.

 

[Stan Beckett]

Stan couldn't imagine anything grosser than kissing so when Allison asked if that was gross too, he nodded his head. ''Why would you do that?'' he asked with a look of disgust on his face. Asher had told him over the break that kissing a person could give you all sorts of germs and diseases, so why on earth would she do such a thing? Had Asher not told his sister this piece of information? ''Ew, nice? Since when did you get so weird?''

 

[Allison Beckett]

Allison smiled a little, deciding the best answer was a sarcastic one. "Because I'm more grown up than you are," she teased him, nudging him playfully. "When you're older and wiser like me I'm sure you'll understand," she winked, laughing lightly. Her smile faltered a little, and hurt crept into her voice. "Well, if you would stop avoiding me you would already know that," she reached for his hand. "Come on, Stanis. You're my best friend. We need to stick together. Please, please stop shutting me out," She pleaded softly, reverting back to Polish, her voice gentle as she gave him her best pout. "You know I will do anything for you. It's you and me, always." She tried to reassure him.

 

[Stan Beckett]

Stan wanted to laugh at the answer Allison gave him but she hadn't been the one avoiding him like a baby for the past few months. Instead, he rolled his eyes as he went for another plate of scrambled eggs and bacon. He was really, really hungry now that his appetite was back. ''I don't think I will ever understand what's so nice about kissing other people,'' the Gryffindor said before stuffing his face full again. He quietly listened to his best friend. He knew that it was probably best to stick together if he wanted to avoid anyone finding out about his condition, but now that she was friends with someone who was actually actively looking for werewolves, Stan was sure that he was doing the right thing by avoiding everyone as much as possible. ''Yeah, yeah, I know that you miss me, you Smuck,'' he told her. ''I guess, if you really want to hang out with me, just don't tell anyone where I've been staying at.'' Thankfully, there were tons of abandoned classrooms throughout the castle.

 

[Allison Beckett]

Allie smiled as he finally relented, relaxing visibly. "One of these days, Stanis, someone will catch your eye and you'll want to know what it's like," she chuckled, moving to gather her own breakfast. "Oh posh, you act like I don't know how to keep a secret," She teased him, knocking her leg lightly against his.

 

[Stan Beckett]

Stan snorted at Allison's comment, knowing full well that he wasn't going to find anyone to like as long he was a werewolf. He didn't think he could bear the humiliation, especially since not everyone was as accepting of his condition as Allison and their parents were. ''I'll stick to reading comic books and doing homework for now,'' the Gryffindor remarked. ''But I'm happy that you are having fun.'' He grinned. Of course, he knew that could keep a secret, she had been keeping his for four years now. That didn't mean that there were times that he liked to be alone, though.

 

[Allison Beckett]

Allison chuckled softly, moving to catch his hand with hers. "I am enjoying myself, yes," she couldn't help the way her smile faded a bit, and she sighed. "He is a prefect, though," She reverted back to Polish, like she usually did when she was being vulnerable with Stanis. "We already fought once because I had to sneak out to try and find Ryan. I've been caught twice now, trying to protect you. It's not the first time I've lost points, and it won't be the last, but I am a little worried about how Thomas will react," She sighed, tucking her hair behind her ear.

 

[Stan Beckett]

Stan frowned. ''What, is he stalking you already?'' He wondered if her new boyfriend was just as nosey as this Ryan boy was, would he have to be extra careful from this point forward? With Ryan looking for werewolves independently and Allison trying to prevent him from finding Stan while her new boyfriend was patrolling around, perhaps going to Professor Kingsley about it was necessary to do. ''He sounds stupid,'' he said simply.

 

[Allison Beckett]

Allison grimaced at his choice of words and shook her head. "He's a prefect, Stanis. I'm bound to be caught sometimes, he was just the one that happened to catch me." she defended Thomas. He was a good guy. Just.... a rule abiding one. She just had to... bend the rules sometimes to do what was right.