~Double Cherries~

~Chapter 2- Anything For Them~

You Can Spend Too Much Time Wondering Which Of Identical Twins Is The More Alike. ~ Robert Brault

Lysander Scamander knew there was something wrong as soon as he noticed a missing Hugo from the Great Hall. Hugo was all for schedules and Lysander knew this. He would always head to the library straight after the last lesson of the day, after two hours in the library he would head over to the Great Hall, sit at the Gryffindor table with his family and eat. Then he would meet Lysander outside the Hall, who would always eat dinner straight after lessons finished, and they would head up to the Ravenclaw Common Room together. It was just the way they were. And Lysander knew Hugo; he would panic if he didn't stick to this routine. Something must have happened if Hugo broke this routine.

When he saw Lorcan standing near the Gryffindor table, having what looked like quite an intense conversation with James, he knew something must be wrong.

Lysander was the only person who knew about Hugo's crush on Lorcan. He was one of the only one's who knew Hugo liked guys. But Hugo had only ever confined in him. He had seen Lorcan's endless flirting with Hugo, but he knew Lorcan would never take the step Hugo wanted. They were friends, best friends still and he knew Lorcan had his own set of strange morals. He remembered Lorcan telling him a few years ago that he would 'never date a friend'. Lysander had just watched the whole situation unfold in front of him, knowing exactly what would happen in the end.

Lysander marched towards the Gryffindor table in a defensive streak. He ignored the Hufflepuff girl standing next to Lorcan closely and clapped a hand sharply on his brother's shoulder. The Weasleys and Potters almost looked grateful at Lysander's sudden appearance.

"Where did Hugo just go?" James asked, worry stricken through his voice.

"You're asking me?" Lysander frowned, eyeing his twin down who looked quite careless, "What happened?"

"I don't know," Lorcan shrugged, shifting his weight, "He just ran out."

"If this is because of you…" Lysander said threateningly, shaking his head at his brother.

Lorcan held his hands up in front of him defensively, "I didn't do anything! Why does everyone blame me straight away?"

Lysander rolled his eyes at the other blonde, brushing his longer hair out of his eyes. As well as them being different in personality, they were also now different in appearance. Lorcan had shorter, spikier hair. He was more tanned than Lysander, which was on purpose. Lysander had longer, hair, slightly curly which always got in his eyes. He was also pale, their natural colour. It was difficult to tell them apart any longer.

Lysander quickly rushed out of the Great Hall, leaving the Gryffindors there. He hastily made his way to the Ravenclaw Common Room, knowing it was the only place his friend would be.

When he got to the room he and Hugo shared, he threw open the door and instantly saw Hugo curled up in a ball on his bed.

Lysander rushed over to his friend's side, scooping him up into his arms and shushing him. Hugo automatically threw his arms around the twin's neck, burying his face in Lysander's shoulder and weeping into his shirt.

The blonde stroked Hugo's red hair soothingly, rocking him slightly. He felt tears sting his own eyes as he saw his friend in this way.

"Hugo… what happened?" He whispered into Hugo's ear softly.

"L-Lorcan…" Hugo sniffled and blubbered, his fingers straining the fabric of Lysander's shirt, "I thought m-maybe… maybe this time… w-we would be together… I thought maybe he liked me this time!"

"W-what? He's seeing someone again?" Lysander asked in surprise.

"Yes… I-I thought you knew…"

That hurt. He knew him and Lorcan were growing further apart but at least Lorcan would always tell him things. He would always tell him when he liked someone or when he was going to ask someone out. Even if Lysander didn't always want to hear it, he would always tell him without fail. But… he hadn't this time? Why? Had they got to that point where they wouldn't even tell each other things like that?

"No… he didn't tell me," Lysander sighed, resting his chin on Hugo's head. He felt comfort having Hugo in his arms, "I guess we've both been hurt by Lorcan today."

"He's such a… bitch." Hugo whimpered, regretting what he said immediately. Lorcan may hurt them by accident often, but he never meant to. He would never do it on purpose. They both knew Lorcan still cared for them.

Nevertheless, Lysander chuckled, "Yes, he can be sometimes."

"I don't know what I was thinking… I was so convinced, Ly. So convinced that he was… he liked me." Hugo pulled away, wiping his bloodshot eyes while staring at Lysander, "Why was I being so stupid?"

"Because he was leading you on," Lysander said honestly, resting his head against the other boy's, "Like he always does… to so many people. I'm sorry for that."

"What do I do? What do I do Ly?" Hugo said with despair, tears threatening to overwhelm him again.

A sudden thought overcame Lysander and he raised his eyebrows at his own idea. Could that work for Hugo…? He knew for certain Lorcan thought Hugo was attractive, he had told him himself. Lysander would do anything for Hugo to be happy. He hated seeing him this way. And if Lorcan was the one who was going to make him happy… then he would do anything to help make it work, even at the expense of his own heart, "Maybe… well, I have an idea."

Hugo's interest perked to an all time high, "What idea?"

"Well… maybe… if you pretended to be in a relationship… maybe Lorcan would realise he likes you?" Lysander suggested carefully, "He will get jealous and… he has a habit of wanting things that belong to someone else," It was true. So many of his ex-partners had been dating someone else when he got together with them. It was just the way he worked. The way his mind worked. Once someone else wanted something, it would make him realise he wanted it too and he would take it for himself. Lorcan sounded like a bad person. His actions were bad, but both Hugo and Lysander knew the real him and knew he was truly very kind-hearted, "We know him well… and could use that for ourselves."

"But, who would I pretend to be with me?" Hugo shook his head rapidly, letting a sigh escape his lips, "No one would want to pretend to be with me."

"I-I was thinking I could do it," Hugo's eyes widened at the suggestion and scrambled out of Lysander's arms slightly but Lysander grit his teeth and continued, "I just thought… you trust me and I'm the only one who knows about you liking… guys and knowing about you liking Lorcan…"

"B-But wouldn't that just be awkward for you?" Hugo started blabbering and panicking, fidgeting in Lysander's arms, "I-I don't want to make you feel awkward! You're my friend!"

"I want to help you… and my brother. Frankly, you would be great together," Lysander admitted though it pained him, "And I would rather you be with him than anyone else."

"Um… If you would really do that for me…" Hugo's cheeks were as red as they could ever be. He couldn't believe his friend was offering such a thing! It was so unexpected… but could definitely work…

"Of course… we'll both know it's nothing serious…" Lysander explained, though he knew Hugo probably did understand, "And… hopefully it will work."

Hugo's lips suddenly broke out into a grin, "You're amazing Lysander. I can't believe you would do that for us."

Hugo launched himself at his friend, giggling quietly in happiness. Lysander sighed, resting his forehead on Hugo's shoulder. He would do anything for this boy at the end of the day. He would do anything to make him happy.

"Thank you, Ly…"

~X~

A/N: Not sure if I'm completely happy with that chapter. But it had to be a bit short. It was just the seed planted for the plot of the rest of the story.

I feel bad because I'm making Lorcan sound like a bit of a bad guy and I don't want that at all... He just isn't very considerate of others feelings in my head. If anyone has any suggestions about how to perceive this better, please review or message me! Constructive criticism/advice is always welcome, as long as you're not completely slating my story...

Thank you to: drumline, JagBdB, TheBigEmeraldPeacock and .wonderland for being my first reviewers! Keep reviewing guys and it's nice to have your opinions! I would love reviews from everyone else as well too of course!

I'm not sure how often I'll be updating this story, I have another story I've just started 'What Am I Feeling?' which is my main project at the moment! Sorry everyone! You can check that out too though... it's an Albus/Scorpius pairing and I'm really enjoying writing it at the moment! Hope you all enjoy reading it too.