Closed Slow It Down, Look Around

[Weston Stirling]

Exams were fast approaching, but for once, Weston wasn't worried. He only had Charms this semester, and spellcasting had always been his strong suit. There was still plenty of time before he had to start revising. He was determined to enjoy every free moment, and on this Sunday afternoon, that meant hanging out in the Student Lounge. He'd tried to strike up conversations with a couple other students in there, but it quickly became apparent that they were much more worried about exams than him. So he'd left them alone to their studying and instead started to fiddle around with an abandoned pack of muggle cards he found on a nearby coffee table.

Weston wasn't exactly in the mood for a round of Solitaire, so taking inspiration from the most recent Ravenclaw meeting, he started to build a house of cards. Getting the first layer was easy enough, and he soon had a row of mini-card pyramids. It was the second layer that was proving to be more tricky. He carefully laid some cards out flat before beginning the second row. He had barely gotten another mini-pyramid up before the whole thing came tumbling down. Sighing, Weston leaned back, unsure if he was up for another attempt.

 

[Jordan Harris]

-godmod approved-

Jordie was completely pouting now. How had the Quidditch season gone this way? He had done alright in the first game. Of course, the after party had revealed way more of the team drama than Jordie had known before. Connor and Lucas were exes, Kas and Connor were exes that looked at each other like they still had a thing, and Linden had a thing for Lucas. And the boy from Lucas' and Lindens' roommate that always had paint on his face liked Lysander Summers. Jordie was feeling left out. Nate never seemed to have much time for him anymore.

The last match had been less encouraging. Jordie felt like he hadn't done very much, and Connor had pretty much just murdered the entire visiting team. He was wondering, bored and looking for something to do. He perked up when he walked into the student lounge and saw Weston. Smiling, Jordie slunk up behind his friend, waiting until the card house fell over before leaning forward and slipping his arms over Wes' shoulders. "Well, the first layer looked good," he teased his friend.

 

[Weston Stirling]

Weston startled as a weight fell across his shoulders. He looked up, smiling when he saw that it was Jordie and relaxed into his friend's embrace. "Yeah, but one layer isn't much of a tower, is it?" he said, idly gathering up the cards into a stack. He wasn't too disappointed. The card house had just been a distraction until something more interesting came along.

Something like Jordie. He pushed the stack of cards to the side and tried to look over his shoulder back at the Hufflepuff. "What are you doing here?" he asked curiously. "You're not also here to study, right?" As far as he could tell, Jordie didn't have any textbooks with him, but it was kind of hard to tell from this vantage point. He really hoped his friend was here to hang out, not to get a head start on revision, like everyone else in the room.

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie chuckled, squeezing Wes in his arms and settling in. "Oh, I don't know. Everything needs a strong base," he teased Weston slightly. He groaned at the question, taking his arms away and sliding down to sit next to Weston instead. "No way. I'm just getting away from the Hufflepuff love sphere," He pouted. "I swear, everyone likes someone else and it's tangled and dramatic and no one invited me to the party," He sighed dramatically.

 

[Weston Stirling]

"Hufflepuff... love sphere?" Weston repeated. "Is that, like, a type of furniture?" He knew loveseats were a thing. And some houses had special features, like Gryffindor with its trampoline. Maybe Hufflepuff had a love sphere? Jordie's next complaint was equally confusing. "I thought you had a boyfriend." Didn't that count as someone liking Jordie? Weston's eyes suddenly widened. "Wait, did you and Nate break up?" He instantly felt terrible. Weston knew he wasn't always the greatest at keeping up with his friends' personal lives, but he couldn't believe he'd somehow missed Jordie breaking up with his boyfriend.

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie chuckled at Weston's confusion. Though his eyes widened when Wes asked if he and Nate had broken up. "What? No, no!" Jordie was quick to reassure his friend, before laughing. "No, no, what I mean is, Merlin it's so complicated. Listen. Linden likes Lucas. Kasim kissed Lucas at the last after party. Lucas is Connor's ex. Connor and Kasim dated and broke up, but I think they still like each other, because they keep looking at each other weird. And Linden and Lucas have a roommate, Casper, he runs the art club. Casper has a thing for a Gryffindor, I think, but I'm including him because I caught him and Linden cuddling in their dorm. I was tired and opened the wrong door."

Jordie was quick to try and explain. "I was just pouting because Nate is always busy and I don't get to see him much, and pretty much the entire boys side of the team and their dorms are all in this messed up, super tangled love thing, and they're all so busy with their longing and drama that no one has time to pay attention to me," Jordie laughed.

 

[Weston Stirling]

Jordie hadn't been lying when he said it was complicated. Weston tried his best to pay attention to all the different connections, but aside from Casper, who led CAC, he didn't know who any of these people were. It didn't help that so many of them had similar-sounding names: Linden and Lucas, Connor and Kasim and Casper. And then suddenly there was also a Gryffindor? Weren't they all supposed to be Hufflepuffs?

When Jordie was finally finished, Weston blinked at him a couple times. "I think I got lost after the 'Lucas is Kasim's ex' part," he admitted, inadvertently mixing up the names. The most important thing he'd gotten out of all that was that he was not in fact a terrible friend who had missed his best friend's break-up; it seemed Jordie and Nate were still together. Maybe? "Wait, so do you want to be part of all that?" he asked, still failing to see how what was going on with the Hufflepuffs affected Jordie. Was the issue that Nate wasn't a Hufflepuff?

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie chuckled and shook his head. "Well, yes and no. I'm not looking to be stuck in that love mess. But everyone is so caught up in the mess no one has time for me," he pouted. "I don't like being ignored," he sighed, scooting closer automatically. "That's why I came looking for cuddles," He grinned impishly at Wes.

 

[Weston Stirling]

Weston nodded uncertainly, still a bit confused by everything Jordie had said. "I always have time for you," he pointed out. They were best friends and already hung out practically every day thanks to their band practices. He also couldn't really imagine anyone ignoring Jordie, mostly because like him, Jordie was incredibly outgoing and energetic. At least the request for cuddles was straightforward enough, and Weston smiled. "I can do that," he said, letting the other boy nestle closer.

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie smiled, curling up against Wes and sighing. "You're always so comfy," He smiled and shut his eyes. "Can we just relax here for a while?" He asked, cuddled into Westons side. He imagined he could fall asleep very easily here, snuggled up with one of his best friends in the world.

 

[Weston Stirling]

Weston beamed at the compliment, moving closer to Jordie. "Yeah, of course." He was a bit disappointed that the Hufflepuff didn't seem to want to chat, but at least this was better than revising. And after their whole conversation (which he still wasn't sure he completely followed), it was clear that Jordie just needed some attention, which Weston was more than happy to give.

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie smiled, relaxing against Weston and shutting his eyes. It was warm, and before he knew it he had drifted off to sleep.