Open Tiredly Tired

[Gregory Friend]

Gregory hadn't been sleeping well the last couple of months. Some nights it would be fine and then others it wouldn't be and sleep would be elusive. He just didn't really know how to deal with it. It all came back to the fact that the girl he had maybe liked, or thought he'd liked, and the guy who was continuously picking on him, one she had once said she hated and had protected him from, was suddenly the guy she liked. Gregory's own words to her were always just in his head, filling him with regret but unable to take them back. He had heard them kiss, and had heard them chat, in a manner that he had never achieved. He had come to the lake front, uninterested in staying in the school. Others were working and studying. Gregory didn't want that. he was going to fail anyway, there was no point in trying. It was quiet by the water, and he felt a little more at ease, though, exhausted.

 

[Ezra Ito]

Ezra had had a quiet few months, which was unsettling. He had gone to Hogwarts with so many plans and ideas of what to do, how to put his mark on things. But once he had settled in, he had always just kind of gone with the flow. Now he was a little melancholy. Soon, he'd be starting his fifth year, and what did he have to show for it? He wouldn't get a prefect's badge, he was pretty sure of that, and his name wasn't in the trophy room or anything. He had the feeling Elise was going to be a lot more interesting than he had been in her first few years, as she had always been very unique, something Ezra envied. He hadn't felt like sitting inside with these feelings, so he had headed out even though he knew he should be studying. A walk sometimes helped clear his head. He headed to the lake and frowned when he saw Gregory there. He always seemed to be in the sort of mood Ezra was in right now, so maybe he would be good company. "Hey." He said softly as he approached.

 

[Gregory Friend]

Gregory jumped a little when he suddenly heard someone speak beside him. He hadn't heard the boy come in close, and had expected to just be alone. he glanced round to him and his heart settled a bit. It wasn't Snow and it wasn't Cassius. Ezra. He liked the boy enough but felt reluctant now to get to know him any more, sure that he'd end up ruining things with him too. "Hey," he replied conversationally.

 

[Ezra Ito]

Ezra winced as he saw Gregory jump, he knew the boy was a bit timid, but surely he wasn’t all that scary? He was starting to regret his decision to join the other boy, he always got the feeling Gregory wasn't too keen to be his friend, though he didn’t know why. “You alright?” He asked, studying him for a moment. “Ready for the exams?” He added, though he wasn’t sure why he asked, as Ezra himself definitely wasn’t ready,

 

[Gregory Friend]

Without even thinking about it, he motioned to his ear and then said. "Just didn't hear you coming," Gregory hoped that Ezra would say nothing of it. Would just let it be something that anyone might say when being snuck up on and nothing to do with the fact Gregory literally couldn't hear on that side as well as his other. "Ready to fail. You?"

 

[Ezra Ito]

Ezra nodded as Gregory said he hadn't heard him coming, but he knew it was probably just an excuse to explain why he had reacted that way. It wasn't like Ezra had been particularly quiet. He laughed softly. "I'm also ready to fail, so at least we'll fail together." He said with a slight shake of his head. Then he glanced at Gregory sideways. "Are you... like... alright?" He asked him quietly.

 

[Gregory Friend]

Gregory shrugged slightly, he had always imagined that Ezra was really smart. That he was certainly smarter than he was, but apparently, he also expected to fail. At the question Gregory just nodded. "Sure," he replied, which wasn't the best answer to it, not quite really giving a good answer in either way. "You?" he returned lightly.

 

[Ezra Ito]

Ezra saw Gregory's reaction and didn't really feel reassured. He decided to just be open with the other boy, though he wasn't sure if he would appreciate it. Ezra cleared his throat and looked away, scratching the back of his neck. "I just mean... well, you seem kind of down sometimes." He hesitated, then amended. "I mean, a lot of times." He said quietly. "If you need like... help with anything..."

 

[Gregory Friend]

Gregory was a little surprised that Ezra seemed to have picked up on the fact he hadn't been doing great for most of the year. Though that was pretty much his whole life. "I'm fine," he assured him. "I'm just quiet," he replied. He thought about being honest, but Ezra wasn't even a friend, he couldn't talk about it. Ezra would probably not want to be his friend at all though if he knew any of it.

 

[Ezra Ito]

Ezra had felt a little nervous asking Gregory if he was alright, as it was a little personal. He wasn't surprised when the boy said he was fine, but he did feel some disappointment. He nodded, though he felt like Gregory wasn't giving him the whole story. Maybe he shouldn't expect that, though. It wasn't like they were very close, though Ezra felt like he had tried to be his friend. "Okay." He said after a moment. "Nothing wrong with being quiet." He decided to take things in a different direction. "Wanna hang out over break?"

 

[Gregory Friend]

Gregory wasn't sure if what he'd said had been reassuring, or convinced him that he was fine. He knew he wasn't fine, but he didn't think it would help him to drag others down with him. He then raising an eyebrow a little at the offer. "My family's muggle, and we live in Rakiura, which isn't close to much," Gregory wasn't really saying no, but just highlighting some of the ways in which it wouldn't actually be possible.

 

[Ezra Ito]

Ezra could tell Gregory wasn’t incredibly enthusiastic about the idea, but he also hadn’t explicitly said no, so he figured there was hope. Ezra shrugged a little. “With floo powder or the knight bus we could probably figure something out? At the very least you need to buy school supplies sometime right? We could always arrange to hang out then?” He asked, making sure to shrug again so he didn’t look too eager. He wasn’t trying to push his friendship onto him if he really didn’t want to.

 

[Gregory Friend]

Gregory just nodded, since those were both things that they could figure out. He glanced at Ezra, a little just trying to sus out what this boy's end game was. Was he worried about him? Gregory didn't think he deserved anyone to be concerned about him, this was all his own doing. He had been the one to ruin things with Snow, and he had been the one who couldn't hold any friendships. "Okay, I can message when I come to get supplies, and we can...hang out, if you want," it seemed easier to agree to it than to keep pushing back without saying no.

 

[Ezra Ito]

Ezra smiled as Gregory agreed to hang out when they were buying supplies. He did wonder if the other boy would really send him an owl, but he hoped so. "Cool, just send an owl my way and we'll meet up. We can get some ice cream or something." He suggested eagerly.

 

[Gregory Friend]

Gregory glanced at him and then looked back out at the lake before nodded. "Sure," He wasn't sure he would actually reach out, but he might at least entertain it. Or try to entertain it. Perhaps spending time at home would give him a little perspective and he wouldn't feel as bad as he did currently.