The habit of decomposing.

[Samuel Phillips]

In no fashion would Samuel ever imagine himself on a pleasant outing with Elspeth, as soon as the seventeen year old lay eyes on his girlfriend, he knew there was never going to be one small measure of true love for one another, only a half-hearted love in which they would both believe was worth their time, Elspeth believed it was worth putting up with Samuel's arrogant behaviour, and Samuel knew it was half hearted, and no matter the countless times the Part-Veela thought about ending their relationship so Buddy could be his one and only, not one time did he go through with it. The teen could have spent a great deal of time and effort trying to figure out why he couldn't bring himself to end it with Elspeth, but he had so many other worthwhile tasks at hand, for example, trying to hide his undying love for Buddy when he couldn't get the idea of him out of his fragile mind. Not even the calm sound of trickling water from a nearby creak could distract Samuel from his obsessive love. It was a beautiful, sunny day in brightstone, the singing of birds echoed between the blossoming trees. It was a perfect spring, if only Samuel could notice it. He was too busy lying peacefully in the lush grass, staring blankly up at the bright blue sky that pierced through the tree branches, his mind wandering off into a quiet slumber with Elspeth at his side while his thoughts still lingered on the one he wanted more.

It had not been the seventeen year old's first choice to be transferred to Hogwarts New Zealand, it was all his mother and father, granted, he would indeed be able to spend more time with his family. With his house in Brightstone and the frequent Brightstone weekends, not making a visit home whenever he could was out of the question entirely. A soft, spring breeze went by, a silent breath, barely noticeable to Samuel, but it still remained prominent. The Part-Veela sat up, to stretch, and to get going. Without knowing how long the couple had been lying in the grass, Samuel made the logical guess it had been too long. "Babe, I think we should get a move on." Declared the seventeen year old, rubbing an eye while remaining loathsome towards the constant fatigue that left his eyelids feeling heavy day after day. Samuel knew that if he persisted lying in the grass, gazing up into the sky, taking in every peaceful sound, sight and motion, all possibility of doing anything productive with his day would be lost. Of course, it was a puzzling thing for Samuel, to have such a peaceful time with a girl that got on his nerves without any form of effort. Certain things about the young witch, being more irritating than others. However, that thought wasn't prominent in Samuel's thoughts as much as other things were, like making sure he returned home on time, instead of making the irresponsible decision to stay out longer than intended.
​

 

[Elspeth Brookes]

With her eyes closed, Elspeth could feel the comforting warmth of her boyfriend beside her. Though his arrogance and his cold demeanour could irritate her to no end, she knew that a good relationship was about looking past the bad points and seeing the good. For instance, although he didn't like to talk about it, she knew that Samuel was an amazing artist, through the few sketches he had deigned to show her. And when he wanted to be, he was the most kind, caring, attentive boyfriend she could have asked for. She just wished sometimes that he would stop being so rude or careless of her feelings. Though obviously he didn't realise how much of her happiness depended upon him, or he would have made more of an effort.

His voice interrupted Elspeth's musings, and she realised they had been lying there for longer than they'd thought. She sat up, yawned and stretched before standing. "Alright, I suppose so." She grumbled half heartedly. Brushing grass and small twigs from her back, she waited for Samuel to lead her back. The long sojourn on the ground had made her feel sleepy, and she blinked in the sunlight, trying to adjust her eyes to the change. Looking around herself, she noted that it was indeed later than she'd expected, and that it was nearly time for her to be off. Luckily, she still had a good twenty minutes or so before she had to leave. Time enough for a decent goodbye.

 

[Buddy McMerdor]

The crisp pages in his hand cracked as his boot heels began their wandering. He listen carefully at the satisfying click of hardened rubber colliding with cobblestone in perfect time to his melodic mumblings. Buddy diminished his volume as he increased his steps to hurry past a group of young teenage girls. He despised the feeling of their eyes caressing his back that it instigated an immediate tremor. “Put me in the motorcade” he continued under his breath in unison with his feet, only muting himself when the path ran into the grass.

Buddy strolled up to the tree where he first encountered his current infatuation. Breathing he felt his gut give way. He basked in the sensation for as long as it was sustained. Once the feeling vanished, he produced a pen from the recesses of his jeans and started into the trees.

Buddy edged his way through the familiar tangle to where his ideal thinking space protruded horizontally from the trunk of a pine tree. Once he started to climb he heard the vague traces of a conversation someway deeper in the forest. Advancing with apprehension, Buddy saw the two figures. It was only when he was several metres away he realised that the slumberous character was none other that Samuel. All trace of anxiety was gone when he emerged. “Hey, Samuel.” he said over enthusiastically, lacking acknowledgement to the other party member only a metre from his stance.

 

[Samuel Phillips]

If it weren't for the endless distraction taking over Samuel's seventeen year old mind, he would have made the realisation of his whereabouts instantaneously. It had not dawned on the seventh year that he and Elspeth had been occupying Buddy's favourite place to spend time until Buddy was there in the flesh. Samuel needed to figure out how to get out of that situation fast, before any damage could be done. The Part-Veela stood up and dusted off his shoulders, keeping up the appearance he and Elspeth were just chatting, with nothing out of the ordinary occurring between them. It was an interesting lie to uphold, an intricate web to weave, having to acknowledge both his lovers alternately without leaving the other one with a serving of suspicion clouding their head. A hard task to complete, especially as Samuel had already started to suffer from the butterflies usually experienced when he was near his boyfriend, oh what an intense love to live with. The bullying brought on my Samuel's relationship with Buddy at Durmstrang had become too much for the teenager to handle, so his parents had decided to transfer him to Hogwarts New Zealand, Samuel had not yet had the chance to break the news to Buddy, or Elspeth for that matter. The seventeen year old blinked back into reality, and alternated his glance between Elspeth and Buddy while letting out a nervous chuckle.

Acting had never been Samuel's forte, in fact, the teenager hadn't even considered taking it up, the idea did not even cross his mind, not once, but in those moments he needed to act, he could not contemplate how it would end up, but at least he could try. "Buddy, fancy seeing you here." Exclaimed the seventeen year old, flashing a flawless smile at his boyfriend, before directing his chocolate eyes to that of his girlfriend, only uttering his next softly spoken words after letting a few moments of silence ring in his ears. "Elspeth, this is Buddy. Buddy, this is Elspeth." The adolescent adjusted his glasses while staring at his worn out converse sneakers and shot an insecure smile at his girlfriend, a subtle way of telling her that he had no idea of what to do. Elspeth would not be able to decipher the reason Samuel looked insecure at all, which was relieving in one way or another. All the teen needed to do now was get Elspeth away from Buddy as soon as possible, so they couldn't interact for longer than a few minutes, having them share a conversation was the last thing Samuel needed. "So, to get back, you just follow the path to your left, and you should be there in about fifteen minutes." Said the Part-Veela, keeping his attention on Elspeth, and not paying much attention at all to Buddy, a contrasting change to how he usually acted with his boyfriend, but only a temporary change, or so Samuel hoped.​

 

[Elspeth Brookes]

Elspeth looked curiously toward Samuel when the newcomer entered. The way he had ignored her immediately got her back up, and she wanted an explanation. Though she refrained from making a biting comment at Samuel and Buddy's interaction, she couldn't help but roll her eyes. Nodding tightly to him as they were introduced, Elspeth watched 'Buddy' for any indication that he'd even seen her. So far he'd only had eyes for Samuel, which irritated the young Ravenclaw. She trusted him completely, but she didn't like the way the other boy was eyeing up her boyfriend. Though Samuel's next words were a not-so-subtle hint for her to get lost, she reassured herself by remembering that he obviously didn't swing that way.

Though Elspeth nodded goodbye to the other boy, the concession was wasted, as he still hadn't looked away from Samuel. Fuelled by annoyance at being ignored, Elspeth stood and gave Samuel a lingering goodbye kiss, something he didn't seem to expect, before waving cheerily. "Okay then. I guess I'd better go. Love you, babe." With those parting words, she flounced off, vowing to herself to have a good long talk with Samuel later about how he should treat her.

 

[Samuel Phillips]

Elspeth's goodbye was normal, for the usual goodbyes shared between the seventeen year old and his girlfriend, which was only if they were not in the presence of Samuel's other lover. That goodbye was different to all the others, as it meant Samuel would have to say goodbye to Buddy, the guy who had been his shining star for the last few months. Panic started to dwell in Samuel's gut as Elspeth kissed him, the kiss lasting longer than the usual peck she left on his lips when saying something so much as a simple goodbye. Maybe she knew? Maybe the whole time Samuel's heart had been with Buddy, Elspeth knew, and had only chosen that moment to show any hint of jealousy. That conclusion did not make complete sense to the teenager, the only conclusion the Part-Veela could create that had a scrap of logic behind it was his girlfriend had simply been made jealous by the unsubtle eyeing up Buddy had been doing to Samuel since his unexpected arrival. There was no way of telling Samuel's thoughts on the matter, as he was too busy kissing his girlfriend back, losing himself in the moment and letting his hand gently grace the back of his girlfriend's thigh. The teenager kept up his nonchalant act until Elspeth was out of view and earshot, after his girlfriend left was when everything started to fall apart underneath the seventeen year old's feet.

Samuel's panic started to worsen, as the realisation of what he had just done crossed his mind. If the roles were reversed, and Buddy had been the one to say goodbye, without knowing a thing, leaving Elspeth and Samuel in a motorcade, Samuel would have let Elspeth leave him, and never speak to him again. Unfortunately, this was not the circumstance. Instead Samuel and Buddy were now standing across from one another, while silence deafened the air around them. The teen knew by now he had broken his own heart, by not being honest with Buddy in the first place, it all seemed as though the world had crashed down on him, he felt so heavy under the weight of the world, yet he didn't make a sound, deciding to let Buddy do the talking, whether it be famous last words or words of relief was not up to Samuel, everything was on Buddy's head now. Samuel showed a nervous habit, and ran a shaking hand through his chocolate brown hair, was he really shaking? Or was his mind simply playing just another trick on him again? Samuel did not know what Buddy would do, but he sure wasn't going to let the love of his life get away without a fight, the truly indescribable moments they had shared over their short relationship were too precious to leave alone so suddenly. ​

 

[Buddy McMerdor]

The shock came in a feeling void of real form. Everything inside him, emotion, blood and thoughts, were quickly eroded. Watching his lover with his. What should have been his kiss, his touch, given to another. A girl, no less. That was the biggest insult for him. What he hated most of all though, was how he had absolutely no idea what to do. He thought that he should leave without a word, but ruled that out. If he knew anything it was that turning his back was wrong. Further assessment of the situation provided him with the conclusion to force himself to say words his tongue couldn’t mime.

“I think we ought to talk” Buddy said with surprising composure. Now that part was over, he had the rest of the conversation that followed to dread. “So, which one of us are you cheating on?” Immediately he regretted asking that question for fear of the answer, regardless of what answer Samuel would conjure.

 

[Samuel Phillips]

Buddy's question tightened the already overwhelming pressure in Samuel's gut, eventually, the guilt from cheating on Elspeth had quickly wasted away to be replaced by his passion for the wizard standing before him. No longer did Samuel feel any regret for his actions towards Elspeth, his regret had been solely focused on avoiding breaking up with the brunette girl earlier, eliminating any opportunity for the situation slowly disintegrating around the two teenagers to occur. But it had all happened, and it was all too late for the Part-Veela to do anything to stop it. So, Samuel left Buddy's question unanswered for the time being, so he had the chance to muster up enough courage to actually utter any sort of sentence that made sense. All that Samuel could manage to do was stare down at his shoes, insecurity gracing his perfect features while he desperately tried to wake himself up from the nightmare that continued to worsen in front of him, which was all his own fault. But he could not wake up from the nightmare he had created over months of deceit, because it was all real, real life was always so much more vivid than a dream, and that moment felt more painful for the artist than any torture could be described. Samuel's heart felt like it had been put under the crutio curse; it was contorting, burning, overcome with pain. This was all emotional pain, as to the physical pain Samuel was feeling, there was none.

The seventeen year old bit his bottom lip with anxiety, he would be transferring to Hogwarts New Zealand, so a clean break from Buddy would not be too impossible. But anything that was in the same category as leaving Buddy was the last thing Samuel wanted, as was answering the question Buddy had thrown at him, he had avoided it, but eventually he would have to face reality, and get everything over and done with. The previously peaceful atmosphere created by the woods had flown out the window, to be replaced by one filled with apprehension, and pain. "Can we just, pretend like this never happened? She means nothing to me, you know." Muttered the wizard, as he tugged on his dyed chocolate brown hair, showing his real frustration in trying to calm down the situation. Recovering from a wound as large as this would always remain to be a hard task for the two to endure, that was on the almost invisible chance Samuel and Buddy stayed together. After a few more moments of silence, Samuel took a few steps forward, to rest his head in the crook of Buddy's neck, something which would usually comfort the teenager only left him craving more from Buddy. "She's only a girl." Samuel claimed, his voice barely above a whisper, his body remained numb, while his insides were left to sting at the mere thought of living without Buddy.
​

 

[Buddy McMerdor]

Buddy gave the boy on his shoulder the same attention that he provided to the girl that had kissed him earlier. His emotion built an immunity to the feeling of Samuels breath across his face and the hand on his waist. Where he used to get the feeling of freefall he only felt emptiness. He licked his lips between his shaking breaths before speaking “It doesn’t look like nothing.” Buddy knew what was coming when the grip on his throat tightened and turned. The light refracted in his flooded eyes as he brought his hand up to Samuels head, not out of the desire for him to move his face closer like he used to, but in search of support.

He sank to the forest floor and sat staring at the twigs and leaves that separated him from Samuel. The air grew thicker with each breath to the point where it seemed to be more trouble than what it was worth. “I wish this never happened.” He said to the ground. The only thing that Buddy was ashamed to do he was doing in front of the only person he had ever really loved. Buddy’s stomach pains lessened slightly as slid his hand up the balk of Samuels calf to the back of his knee. He looked up to the boy that stood above him and stared at his face. “I don’t know what to do.” He then brought his forehead to Samuels thigh and cried.

 

[Samuel Phillips]

Buddy's heart was breaking right in front of Samuel, his lover's shaky breaths turned into sobbing in what seemed like the blink of an eye. How was Samuel supposed to put back the pieces of someone's heart he had broken? He Had his own heart to fix, and his broke into smaller shards with every disenchanting sob Buddy let free his lips. Why did Samuel have to make such a stupid decision, and stay with Elspeth when he wanted Buddy so much more. There was nothing the Part-Veela could do to stop everything losing colour, and his world turning into a shade of monochrome without his beloved by his side. The seventeen year old could not begin to repair his own heart; it had shattered so rapidly into pieces too small to be seen, let alone put back together. Samuel grasped Buddy's shoulders, and sank down to his knees like Buddy had done a few moments earlier. The teen flashed his lover a warm smile, a smile that would usually be genuine now used as a masquerade. One of the two had to stay strong, no matter the circumstances. That responsibility had been left to Samuel, as Buddy had already given in to his emotions and broken down. The Part-Veela moved his grasp to Buddy's wrist, and turned the other teen's arm face up to reveal a tattoo of Samuel's name in old fashioned writing. Samuel had the same tattoo, except it was Buddy's name permanently engraved onto his wrist. Samuel vividly remembered the hung-over morning the couple had woken up within, and the tattoos of each other's names on their left wrists.

Samuel would have preferred the two just remain on their knees for eternity, their jeans gradually wearing down to nothing while Samuel and Buddy slowly starved to death not by their own accord. Samuel would have favoured silence over Buddy's sobbing, but instead, he had to eliminate all possibility of silence with his own voice. He swallowed hard, in the hope it would dispose of the painful lump in his throat which would cause him to choke on his next words. It irritated the teen to now end, as the next sentence he uttered was only short, not meaningful enough for the situation, but the only sentence he had the ability to summon. A simple question, one that even a broken down teenager could understand. "Do you remember the morning we woke up to find our tattoos?" Samuel began, there were too many words the teen needed to say, so many words and too little time to announce them all. The seventeen year old let a few moments pass before his next words deafened the two, so Buddy could understand completely. "Do you honestly think we would still have our tattoos if we weren't meant to be?" Samuel added, he would keep his tattoo, no amount of magical or muggle treatments could begin to remove the imprint of Buddy's name on his skin. Samuel had merely asked two rhetorical questions, not a hard task, but one that seemed more difficult than it turned out to be. The teen gently kissed Buddy, a trembling meeting of lips which had been on Elspeth's, not a few minutes earlier. ​