Open Stolen Notes

[Freddie Lagowski]

Follows from here, godmods are just references to the last RP

Freddie didn't risk running, but he walked out of the library fast and didn't look back. Not even when he heard Ares. Not even when he heard Rose. His face was hot and his eyes were still watering like he was gonna cry, although he wasn't. He'd go to his dorm first. A classroom. A closet. Anything. He wasn't gonna cry in front of Rose.

She was walking a step ahead of him now, talking about notes and exams, a bunch of papers and Freddie's potions textbook tucked under her arm. Why was she following him? Oh, yeah - she said to come with her. She probably thought he was following her. Merlin - what should he do? He couldn't go up the stairs right now. His leg didn't hurt that much, but it would, if he went up stairs. The floo fireplace was through a door at the end of the corridor. Rose didn't know he used it.

He was stuck.

Abruptly, he stopped walking and leaned back against the wall. Okay okay okay - it was okay. He just had to get rid of her. Then what? Should he go tell Professor Josephs? Ares was gonna snitch on him, even though he hadn't done anything, except kinda threaten to hit him - that was bad. He didn't hit him though. He should've - he looked dumb now - but he didn't.

"Huh?" he said, because Rose had stopped talking. "Sorry. What did you say?"​

 

[Rose Glass]

Perhaps Rose should have been more apprehensive about following after someone who'd just come from an argument, given the way Rose didn't exactly want to be caught up in the drama herself. Freddie was behind her now, and she just wanted to do what she could to distract him. To give him a way to get one up on Ares that was more subtle than his previous efforts. She already knew Ares was annoying him, she'd heard about it now through multiple people, but seeing it in front of her had been different. The adrenaline running through her veins was causing her heart to hammer in chest, but it wasn't important when her main focus was making sure that Freddie calmed down.

It was only when Freddie asked her a question that Rose realised he'd stopped walking, taking a break against the cool wall. She turned to face him, taking a few steps closer, the tap of her shoes light against the stone. Rose didn't think Freddie was really concentrating enough to truly hear what she was saying, but that was okay, she just needed to be a distraction for him. "These are Rouge's," she produced the notes in her arms, she could have recognised the handwriting anywhere. "These.. Blanc's." She spotted a bunch of other handwritten notes that she couldn't recognise, but it was clear Ares hadn't written them. "He'll have a hard time wasting his time aggravating you if he's too busy failing his exams," she told him softly.

Rose was stood in front of him now, although she dropped her eyes from his face in case he thought her looking at him would be embarrassing in the aftermath. She wanted to give him a hug, because that's what mama would have done for her. Rose wasn't sure he'd want that though, especially if he was still angry with the situation from the library. The Ravenclaw wasn't nervous of him though, she trusted him not to hurt her and even if he was angry maybe he just needed the space. She reached out a hand, taking one of his in hers and giving it a small squeeze because it was the only thing she could do without feeling like she was in the way. "If he won't leave you alone, then we take matters into our own hands," she told him, standing up a little straighter.

 

[Freddie Lagowski]

Freddie frowned. Rouge's notes? Blanc's notes? Were those the ones Ares dropped when he tripped over? No way. Did he make Rose's brother and sister do his homework for him? That was so bad. They could tell Professor Cade, and, and - he'd get in trouble, right? No. Freddie didn't want anyone in trouble. If they snitched on Ares, he'd just get way worse.

Oh, no. He was gonna think Freddie took the notes. Why was Rose trying to help? She was making it more worse for him! She was being nice, she was being his friend, but it was just gonna go wrong.

He looked down at her hand in his. It felt weird. He pulled it away, then wished he hadn't. "I can't," he said. "You can't. You've gotta give them - you've gotta give him them back." Maybe that was a dumb idea too. Freddie rolled his head back against the wall, trying so hard not to cry, his whole neck hurt. He could just go up the stairs. If his leg got bad, he could come back after and get some potions. But Rose wanted to help him. If he went away, she wouldn't help him any more. Then he'd have no-one.

Count backwards. Freddie tried, he really tried. "I'm gonna get in trouble," he said. "He's gonna be mad. He's gonna tell a teacher I tripped him and took his stuff. I didn't even do anything. I didn't!" Not this time, anyway. But he did trip Ares on purpose at Halloween. He shouldn't have done that. "I didn't," he said again, less firmly. He shouldn't have pinned him on the floor and said he'd hit him, either. He pulled his hands into his sleeves. "Sorry. Sorry. I'm just gonna get in trouble. And so are you. Give them to me - say I stole them, okay?" No matter what he did, he was getting told off - at least he could stop Rose getting told off too. She was just trying to help him. She was just being nice.​