Closed Pining

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie had come to the slow realization that he liked Branson. He was smart, and kind, and he had the prettiest blue eyes. Jordie was supposed to practice with Weston today. He was either early, or Wes was late. Either way, Jordie found himself alone. He sprawled out on top of the piano, one arm hanging off the edge and staring idly at the ceiling. He sighed softly, thinking on the predicament he found himself in. It hadn't gone so well the last time he'd liked someone. Would Branson like him, too? Jordie could hope, of course, but he was worried. What would he do if Branson didn't like him? He sighed again, laying an arm over his eyes and whining.

 

[Weston Stirling]

Weston had lost track of time. Again. In his defense, it wasn't like he had his phone with him, ready to tell him the time in easy-to-read numbers with the push of a button. No, instead, he had to remember to search around for a clock. An old-timey, hard-to-read clock at that. When he realized he would be late for band practice with Jordie, he was still in the Ravenclaw tower, which meant he would be really late.

After several frantic minutes of running down corridors and dodging trick steps, Weston made it to the arts room, severely out of breath. He took a couple seconds to try and compose himself before pushing open the door. "Jordie...?" The other boy was lying down on the piano, seemingly asleep while making some strange sound. "Jordie! Wake up!" He walked over and gently poked the Hufflepuff in the arm.

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie jumped as someone poked him, sitting up quickly. He blushed, laughing nervously. "I'm not asleep," He whined, sitting and turning so his legs were hanging off the side. "But you are late," he teased, running a hand through his hair. "What happened?" He asked, trying to divert the attention off of himself.

 

[Weston Stirling]

"Then why were you laying down on the piano?" Weston asked with a confused look. He imagined the piano wasn't very comfortable, so why lay down on it unless you were really tired? Jordie pointed out his tardiness, and it was now Weston's turn to look embarrassed. "I know, I know, I'm sorry. I lost track of time," he explained as he crossed the room to grab a guitar. As soon as he'd seen the clock, he'd rushed out the door, not bothering to grab his own instrument. "I was arguing with some chess pieces, and the clock in Ravenclaw is kind of hidden in the corner and hard to read and I didn't see it until it was getting kind of late." Weston selected a guitar and brought it back over to the corner with the piano, idly plucking the strings. "Wizards should invent digital clocks you can carry around with you, like a cell phone, but it works with magic," he said, completely forgetting about the concept of watches.

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie blushed and tried to shift the attention back to Weston. "I was bored, you were late," he tried to hedge, laughing lightly. He listened to Weston's explanation, raising a brow. When the other boy had finally finished, Jordie waved a hand dismissively. "Hey, that's fair. I'm definitely buying you a watch for your birthday though," he teased, winking playfully. "Is it guitar practice today?" He asked, looking to the instrument Weston had grabbed.

 

[Weston Stirling]

Jordie didn't seem too upset, which was a relief. "Oh right, those are a thing," he said at the mention of a watch. Those were so old-fashioned. He didn't know anyone who wore one since that's what cell phones were for. But he supposed wizards still had to use them. At Jordie's question, he glanced down at the instrument in his hand, having had zero memory of grabbing it. He'd just reached for it automatically. "Is it not?" he asked, blinking in confusion. "What day is it even?" Maybe he needed a calendar to go along with that watch. Weston's gaze landed back on the piano Jordie was sitting on. "Did you want to do something different? Is that why you were laying on the piano? I can't really play, but maybe it could teach us."

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie laughed lightly, shaking his head. "You are so hopeless, Wes," he teased. When the other boy asked what day it was, Jordie couldn't help but smile. "It's Friday, silly," he crossed his legs, peeking down at the piano. "What? No," he sighed, looking away. "I wasn't thinking of picking up new instruments yet. Though next year we should learn piano and bass," He commented idly. "I was just... I was thinking," he admitted quietly, a blush covering his cheeks.

 

[Weston Stirling]

"Wait, so I was right! ...right?" Weston tried to think back to what their agreed-upon schedule had been. Wow, he was out of it today. "We're just practicing today." He pulled up a stool next to the piano and sat down, fiddling with the tuning pegs. At Jordie's suggestion, he nodded eagerly. "When we start performing, we could switch out instruments mid-show! People will be so impressed." He was already imagining the crowds of cheering fans when a change in Jordie's voice caught his attention. "Thinking about what?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "You're kinda red. Are you okay?" The last time he'd seen someone this red had been when he'd come across Nia doing a headstand. But he was pretty sure Jordie hadn't been doing any headstands lately.

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie nodded, stretching and slipping off the piano to sit next to Weston. He laughed at Westons idea. "That would be pretty epic! Just switching our instruments around, we could release albums with just the two of us playing everything," He smiled. His smile faltered when Weston asked what he was thinking about. Jordie shifted in his seat, looking away and rubbing the back of his neck. "Just, um... just... kinda worried," he admitted softly. "I... kinda really like this boy," he swallowed nervously, running his fingers over the piano keys. "But I liked Eoin last semester and Eoin just... didn't like me, and now I'm worried... this other boy isn't going to like me either," he sighed, letting his hands fall back into his lap.

 

[Weston Stirling]

Weston grinned, more than a little pleased that Jordie thought his idea was a good one. His expression quickly changed into one of thoughtfulness as Jordie described his problem. He did vaguely remember the whole Eoin situation though if he was being honest, he didn't remember what exactly the issue had been. "Uh... can you maybe find out if he likes you before you tell him that you like him?" he asked, unsure if that was how these things worked. He didn't really know what all went into dating. "Or maybe you could find out what he likes and then you could do those things! Like, if he likes country music, you could write him a song with lots of acoustic guitar and, like, maybe a harmonica or something," he suggested. The word "like" was no longer starting to sound like a real word. "Who is he?"

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie shifted, unsure. "I... I don't know, I don't know how to find that out without just asking," he rubbed the back of his neck again, thinking about it. Was there a way to do that? He smiled as Weston told him to find out what the other boy liked. His smile faded as Weston asked who it was, and he shifted. "You, uh- I don't wanna tell you," he hedged, blushing and shifting in his seat. "You'll laugh at me," he pouted. Either Weston would laugh or he would be mad at him.

 

[Weston Stirling]

Weston considered this. Unfortunately, he didn't know how to find out that information without asking either. Who knew dating was so complicated? At Jordie's next statement, Weston blanched. His fingers, which had been fiddling with the guitar, stilled, and the room grew silent. "Wait, why?" They were best friends, weren't they? Didn't they tell each other everything? "Why would I laugh?" he asked, bewildered. He tried to think of a person Jordie could name that would make him laugh but came up with nothing. "I won't laugh at you."

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie let out a sigh, pointedly looking away and staring very hard at the wall. "Because...." he gulped. "Because I like Branson," he admitted quietly, before letting out a nervous laugh and shaking his head. "I guess I'm just like, drawn to Ravenclaws or something," he peeked at Weston nervously. "It's dumb, right?" he tried to joke, worried Weston might be upset that Jordie liked another one of Weston's roommates.

 

[Weston Stirling]

"Branson? Like Bran Branson, my roommate?" Weston asked, trying to figure out if there were any other Bransons at the school. When Jordie confirmed that he was talking about the Ravenclaw, Weston grinned. "Wait, why would that be dumb? That's great! You're great! Bran's great! This is great!" He thought all his friends should be friends. Well, in this case, more than friends. Weston paused, considering Jordie's predicament. "I think Bran likes books, so maybe you could write him a book? Then he'll definitely like you!" He frowned. "Actually, that sounds really hard. Is dating supposed to be that hard?"

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie blushed and nodded. "Yeah, Bran," he agreed softly. Jordie sighed softly, shaking his head. "I mean, he is great, I just, I don't know," his shoulders slumped and he looked away. "I liked Eoin too, but that didn't go so well," he grimaced, running his fingers along the keys. "Maybe Bran won't like me either," he sighed. He laughed lightly at Weston's comment. "Dating is hard, but I don't think I can write a book. Not a good one, anyway. But my cousin is a writer, maybe I can get one of her books before she publishes them? Give him a book before it's published and available, he might like that," he mused, looking over to Weston to see what he thought of the idea.

 

[Weston Stirling]

Weston wasn't sure he could see the connection between Eoin not liking Jordie and Bran potentially not liking him either. "Why wouldn't Bran like you?" He paused, trying to remember what had happened with Eoin. "Wait, why didn't Eoin like you again?" he asked, feeling a bit bad that he couldn't remember.

"Yeah, that should work! She could even sign it, so it's an autographed book." Weston said, smiling. Between the two of them, they could definitely find a way to make sure Bran liked Jordie. "What kinds of books does she write?" he asked curiously. "Not that it matters. I'm sure he'll automatically like it cause it'll be super exclusive and stuff when you give it to him." Who wouldn't want an advance copy of something?

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie sighed. "Because we're twelve, Wes, and apparently that's a little young to start liking people," he pouted. "That was what Eoin said. He's not interested in dating. I'm a little bummed I couldn't change his mind," he shook his head. "I'm just glad it was only Zay that caught me crying, that would have been embarrassing if it had been someone I wasn't best friends with," he mused.

He listened eagerly to Weston, nodding along. "Yeah, yeah! I can write her tonight, Branson should like that!" He grinned, thinking this was a great idea. Maybe he could even find out what she was writing next, too. He paused as Branson asked what she wrote. "I don't know... I think the first book was fantasy." He answered, though he didn't sound super sure of his answer.

 

[Weston Stirling]

"Oh," Weston said, unsure what to say since he couldn't really blame Eoin on this one. He had been on the blind Yule Ball dates, of course, but actual dating always seemed like it was something for the older kids. His eyes widened in surprise when Jordie mentioned crying because he definitely hadn't known about that. "I'm sorry," he said awkwardly, even more unsure of what to say. "Uh, are you okay, now?" Jordie had to be doing better, right? After all, he'd moved on to Bran. Still, Weston felt bad for his friend.

Now he could understand why they had to make sure Bran liked Jordie. "I think Bran likes fantasy!" Weston said, nodding confidently. He didn't have any real evidence to base this assumption off of, but who didn't like stories about dragons and magic and good and evil forces battling each other? A good story was a good story, and anyone could appreciate that. "Bran's going to love this, and you guys will be dating in no time!" It was a foolproof plan, really.

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay," he promised. He ran his hand through his hair. He blushed, laughing lightly and shaking his head as Wes told him that Bran and Jordie would be dating in no time. "We'll see. Why don't we try this today?" He asked, putting his fingers to the keys. "I bet over the next break we could ask my brother to teach us some things," He smiled to Wes. Whatever happened, he was sure that as long as he had Wes with him everything would be alright.