Sorry for wait everyone. Also I apolagize in advance due to a few scheduling issues, this chapter did not get betad so sorry for any grammer etc problems!
Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter-please do so again ;) REad and enjoy!
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Chapter 10: Outrageous Observations
-O-
"Phil: Kid, listen to me. She's...
Hercules: A dream come true?
Phil: Not exactly.
Hercules: More beautiful than Aphrodite?
Phil: Aside from that.
Hercules: The most wonderful...
Phil: She's a fraud! She's been playing you for a sap!
Hercules: Stop kidding, Phil. "—Hercules, 1997
-o—
March 2012
Over the past few years that Harry had known his brother, he had gotten into the habit of confiding in the exuberant boy—at least on most things (the more dirty details regarding his childhood, and perhaps a few of his misdemeanors or less charitable thoughts were still kept private but regarding relationships, friends and that sort of day to day stuff, he and Blaine followed a pretty straight forward, honest policy). Hence the reason that after his interesting run-in (followed by an even more interesting coffee) with Sebastian, he was in search of his brother's ear.
This was after all, one area of his life that he did not have to hide, change or alter to feel accepted—especially with Blaine. With this he knew that Blaine understood and even appreciated his openness regarding same and opposite sex partners.
And yes….that did mean that he was more than considering Sebastian in that regard. The boy just oozed confidence and seduction—something that Harry most definitely could appreciate. By the second cup of coffee (with that extra kick added; another thing that he could get behind) he was even finding the boy's cheesy—becoming increasingly lewd, come ons a tad charming. Or at the very least amusing.
"Hey Nate! Have you seen Blaine around?" Harry called out catching a glance at his closest Dalton friend. He may have trouble truly identify with most of the guys due to their background and well….general uptightness regarding grades, style and social conduct but Nate wasn't like that…at least not most of the time. As far as Dalton went he was rather laid back.
Hearing his name, Nate paused his step and sent Harry a warm smile, "Oh hey there Harry" Harry was just glad that he had finally let go of the nickname the Warblers had coined him with for the first few weeks of his stay—Other Anderson. It really wasn't a very flattering one, mainly because at that point he hadn't felt all that much like a part of the Anderson family…but for some reason it had really stuck. He secretly wondered if Blaine had said something to them to make them drop the name…he wouldn't have been all that surprised to find out if he had, that was just who Blaine was. Overly considerate, at least most of the time.
"Um….I think he's in the gym…"
Nate smirked when Harry interrupted his sentence with a surprised look, "…yeah I know. Weird right? That other kid, Kurt is visiting again. Think Blaine wanted to show him some of the activities that were available at Dalton. There's a b-ball game going on"
Okay, Nate wasn't lying, that was weird. It wasn't that Blaine didn't like to watch sports or anything stereo typical like that….he did. It was just that he was usually too busy with warbler or school stuff to get the chance, not to mention if what Nate said about Kurt being along was true…well, Harry might sound like a jackass for saying it, but he got the feeling that stereotypical gay pretty much fit Kurt like a pink bedazzled tiara.
Shrugging it off, he decided to go and see his brother anyway. True, he wasn't exactly comfortable with Kurt (okay…so major understatement) but maybe the other boy's hostility was just because they didn't get each other? Harry was often told he appeared aloof and cold to strangers….maybe he had come off as unfriendly or snobby too Hummel (not that he exactly forgave the other boy for his attitude or snubbing…but if Kurt was willing to put things aside he would be as well).
Perhaps treating Kurt like he did his brother, sharing something (like gossip about a boy) was the way to ease the tension between them? Well it certainly couldn't hurt.
Entering the side of the gym, he was surprised at the level of noise and actual spectators present. The Dalton team was good—don't get him wrong, but he hadn't thought that there would have been so many interested in seeing them play a mid week game.
Weaving his way to the stairs on the far side of the bleachers, Harry made a quick scan of the crowd a small smile pulling at his lips when he spotted his brother's rather shiny head of gelled hair and Kurt sitting next to him a few rows up and over. He noted that there really wasn't room anywhere near the duo, but an empty seat a bit behind and over. Well, he could grab that seat and then try to get their attention….half time was almost coming up. Perhaps he could snatch a seat beside them once people got up to stretch and get food.
As he drew closer to the pair and his seat he noted with a small amount of confusion that they were both looking over to the side of the game at a rather publically snogging couple rather than at the game itself. The glare and look of disgust on Kurt's fine boned face was clear as day from where Harry was.
When he finally managed to get his previously spotted seat his attention was caught by the snippets of conversation he could hear from his brother and friend.
"….bother you?" Blaine's voice was unmistakable, despite the fact that he was leaning slightly towards Kurt and making an effort to keep his volume somewhat down.
"Because it's disgusting! That's why!" Kurt retorted his own terse reply carrying more.
"B….kissing?" Blaine's distorted question asked.
"They don't have to be all over each other out where everyone can see. Something…something like that should be done in private…people like that are just exhibitionists"
Harry's eyebrows raised in surprise at the vehemence in Kurt's tone. He honestly didn't see what the big deal was…they were only kissing. It wasn't like she was going down on him or anything. Plus if Kurt didn't like that then why was he looking?
Blaine's own reply to Kurt's statement was drowned out by the sudden loud cheering and applause of number 13 scoring a three pointer. Dammit.
"I just think that kissing someone, or…or flirting with someone should be…should have more meaning then that. I mean, anyone who acts so loose is obviously someone with low standards. It's just…wrong" Kurt said, "I mean if someone was interested in me…I would like them to show some restraint. I wouldn't want to be with someone who was willing to start flirting….and, and groping as soon as they met someone. Would you? I thought you were all about long term commitment and self respect?"
Blaine shot Kurt an odd look before shrugging, "er…yeah I guess not" he answered before turning his attention back to the game.
It wasn't much of a reply but it was enough. Harry felt like someone had poured a bucket of ice into his stomach. Blaine might have sounded a bit hesitant when he agreed…but he did agree.
Harry waited until the half time buzzer went before hastily standing and retreating back down the bleachers and out of the gym, doing his best to avoid being seen by either of the two boys. For the first time Harry found himself what Blaine truly thought about all the stuff that Harry had shared with him. Did he agree with Kurt? Did he secretly think Harry was disgusting and loose like Kurt said?
There was no way he could tell Blaine about Sebastian now.
-0—
April 2012
Sebastian glanced down at his cell phone in surprise. The surprise quickly morphing into a smug sort of happiness…he hadn't been expecting to hear from Harry so soon. After all they had just hung out yesterday….he thought that it would have been at least a few days before getting so much as a text, much less a call from the wary teen.
He shrugged his surprise away flipping the phone open to answer with a "Hey speedy" knowing just how irritated his favorite nickname for the other made Harry.
When he had first run into Harry it had been entirely by accident, and he had been moments away from lambasting the teen for his clumsiness—clumsiness that had resulted in the ruining of Sebastian's favorite pair of jeans (not to sound like a girl or anything but they happened to make his ass look good, like really really good). One look up into those rather magnificent eyes however and a whole different set of plans had unfolded before him.
Sebastian would be the first to admit that he was no paradigm of virtue or modesty; he was vain, conceited and what many would call 'a lost cause.' He knew this and was rather proud of it. So no, it was really not all that surprising that he found himself incredibly interested in Harry Potter. For such a plain and boring name; the boy was stunning.
No, stunning was not quite the right word—Harry was not what you would call handsome or even attractive in the traditional sense of the word. He was different, unique and eye catching…there was something about him that you couldn't help but be drawn towards….and that was even before he opened his mouth and let out a string of snarky, sarcastic insults all said in that lovely British accent of his. Yes, Sebastian could admit it. He had it bad.
After that first coffee—he found his attraction to the green eyed teen only increasing. While not completely alike, they were certainly similar enough in temperaments for the start of a friendship the likes of which Sebastian had never had before.
Which of course brought up a whole slew of new problems for the cocky teen. He had never been the type to have friends-or at least not real, lasting, genuine friends. His type of friends were the type to use and be used depending on the situation and would generally stab you in the back as quickly as they would declare you the love of their life. In short; his type of friends, were not the type you wanted to rely on when things got rough. But he knew that with Harry, it could be different.
That wasn't the problem: the problem was that Sebastian was now torn. Did he ignore his lust and want for the teen to pursue an actual healthy and long lasting friendship? Or did he say screw the friendship and do exactly that to the boy—gaining a wonderfully fulfilling memory but likely ruining any chance at anything more.
Decisions, decisions.
Thankfully, they were choices that he did not have to make just yet. He could straddle the line for a while longer…..and be quite happy doing so.
"Sebastian…"
Oh yes, there was definitely irritation in the tone, though perhaps a bit of fond exasperation as well?
"That's me" he answered cheekily, continuing his course up the thickly carpeted stairs and towards his current bedroom (really it was a guest room for 9 months of the year, but when Sebastian was forced to come and visit his father it became his).
"er…I know we hung out yesterday…" Harry's voice said nervous and more than a bit hesitant, "…I was just wondering if you had plans for today?"
Sebastian felt a trill of happiness run through him, "Now I do"
He could practically feel the relieved grin coming from the other side of the phone. "Yea? You sure? I mean I haven't seen much of the area or anything—outside of Dalton that is….I-I well, don't really have anything to do today and was bored…."
Sebastian's grin grew, "Hush Harry, you don't need to excuse wanting to see me"—was that a snort from the other end of the line? How rude! Sebastian chose to ignore it and continue, "I can think of a few things to show you, I'll pick you up in 45?"
"Sure! Sounds great. I'll see you soon" Harry's uncharacteristically upbeat reply sounded followed shortly by the click of an end button.
Sebastian stopped in the center of his room and stared down at the phone in bemusement. Was it just him or did Harry sound far too happy to be hanging out with him? could it be that the other teen was….lonely?
Sebastian quickly dismissed that ludicrous thought. No way, he had heard Harry talk about his brother and even some of his other friends at Dalton. There was no way that with a brother as great as Harry described that he would be lonely. Ahh well, whatever the reason for Harry's sudden desire to see him, Sebastian wasn't going to fight it.
He was all too happy having the green eyed boy's time and attention. He just couldn't figure out exactly which reason that was.
'The problem,' he decided, 'with lines was that they were really rather difficult to straddle'.
-oo—
Harry allowed his tense lips to curve into a more inviting smile when he saw the quickly becoming familiar dark blue Mantary pull into Dalton's parking lot (he only knew what it was because he had finally caved and asked. The way that Sebastian hovered over the bloody thing and had to check and recheck each and every time he got in or out of the car was what clued Harry into the fact that it was not just an everyday run of the mill vehicle. Sebastian had been abhorred by his lack of knowledge or care).
He couldn't deny the relief he felt at knowing that he had someone to run away…er, hang out with. Because he was not running away, no siree….not at all. He conveniently ignored the fact that he had only called Sebastian, desperate to get out of Dalton for his free Sunday, after being ambushed with a certain horrifying announcement.
Dalton, despite it not being an exact fit to him, had, until now, been a bit of a sanctuary. Really it was not all that surprising considering it was one of two places he had lived at since the Dursleys. Anywhere would appear a safe haven after having to live with them. So really, it should not have been so shocking that he felt oddly violated by the fact that it was no longer so.
And maybe he was being overly dramatic again….after all it wasn't as though Kurt Hummel was Vernon by any long stretch. But he was still someone that Harry could do without having known, and the fact that he was now attending Dalton did not make such feelings go away.
The small bitter and cruel voice in Harry's head (that he normally did his best to smother and ignore) pointed out how very convenient it was that Kurt suddenly made the decision to transfer to Dalton even though he hadn't during the worse of his bullying at McKinley. Again though, Harry did his best to ignore such malicious thoughts—for he knew that they were petty and likely a bit biased.
He had taken to trying to avoid the other boy as much as possible—even if doing so limited the already very reduced time he spent with his brother. He couldn't help but question if Kurt had aimed at this, but again he was trying to ignore such questions. Plus as much as he would have loved to lay the blame for the growing chasm between he and his brother on Kurt, he could not. Some of the blame lay with he and his brother.
Harry; for avoiding the issue and letting it continue—for not standing up for himself more, and Blaine; really, for doing the exact same thing. For never protesting Kurt's monopolization or jabs at his brother, for not questioning the lame excuses Harry made to avoid spending time with the Prada clad brunette, or looking more closely at the reason behind them.
Where ever the true blame lay—the result was the same. Harry spending less and less time with Blaine, the other warblers or even his few Dalton friends, and more with Noah, Quinn and lately, Sebastian. And Blaine spending more and more time with Kurt. It was like a vicious circle that Harry didn't know how to end or even if he could at this point.
Harry hastily pushed his quickly deteriorating thoughts aside and made his way over to the car practically throwing himself in the passenger side…. "So….were to?" he asked with false cheer.
The answering grin he received was addicting….and just what he needed. Maybe if he spent enough time getting smiles like that he could make everything feel just a little bit less false.
-0-
A week later
"Hey I'm heading to the mall, want to join?" Blaine's voice stole Harry's attention away from the English paper he had been working on. While he wasn't horrible at English he wasn't awesome at it either (stupid grammar and commas). Unlike sports and practical, school and his head didn't seem to want get along—regardless of subject.
Still he would happily abandon his unfinished paper to spend time with his brother if he was willing to do so.
"The mall?" Harry asked quirking an eyebrow. Despite being a bit of a diva, Blaine still wasn't one to spend a lot of time shopping—so the mall was a bit of a weird destination for his brother.
"Yeah Kurt wanted to go so I said I'd go with him….I guess there are major sales this weekend or something and Mercedes and Rachel wanted to find shoes. Though in all honesty, I think it's just an excuse for Kurt to find marked down Valentino" Blaine explained with a fond smile.
Harry felt his heart drop, and hastily hid the following look of disappointment, "Er….thanks anyway, I'm pretty behind on my paper. But have fun" the smile he gave felt fake even to him.
Blaine paused in his motion to leave, sending Harry a probing look, "Really?" he asked and Harry was a bit shocked to hear the pure old skepticism in his brother's voice. He hadn't though Blaine was capable of it (well in truth, he often thought Blaine wasn't capable of any emotion that wasn't at least a derivative of pure happiness and optimism).
"um….yeah?" Harry answered hating how it came out as a question.
"I don't believe you Harry….what's the real reason?" Blaine's smile was now a determined line.
"W-what do you mean?" Harry tried for innocent, pretending to turn back to his barely started paper and concentrate on it instead of the look Blaine was currently sending him. Damn it! he was usually so good at hiding his true feelings…. he had, had years of practice at lying from living with the Dursleys.
"How come you are always busy? Have I done something to make you angry at me?" Blaine asked worrying his lower lip. Great. Now Harry felt like a bastard…..stupid guilt.
"No! of course not. I…I just have lots of stuff to catch up on….and I'm not really much for malls" he added the last with a teasing note (no matter how forced it sounded), hoping to get a smile or at least break the tension that had been steadily building in the room.
It didn't work.
Blaine's expression didn't waver from the pensive, upset cast that it was currently set in. After a long drawn out pause Blaine sighed, "Its Kurt isn't it?"
Harry could not believe his ears….could it be? Was it possible that Blaine hadn't been as ignorant to Kurt's malevolent words and attitude towards him as he had originally thought? A small smidgeon of hope bloomed unasked in his chest. A bit cautiously he asked, "Pardon?"
"I'm not blind you know." Blaine refuted his frown lines deepening.
"I know that" Harry replied his tone placating still trying to figure out where this was going.
"I know that you don't like him. I know that you seem to be busy whenever he's around or change the subject whenever I mention him. I just don't get why. I thought you guys would get along so well….he is so sweet Harry! I just wish you would give him a chance, if you did I think you guys could be really great friends. I know that you constantly avoiding him really hurts him- even if he pretends it doesn't….I told you a little about what he went through at his last school, and I can't understand why you're doing it?"
Harry wasn't even aware of how his heart plunged at Blaine's speech, too focused on the pure shock he was feeling. That, and trying to keep his mouth from gaping. What the fuck?! Was his brother being serious right now? Hurting Kurt's feelings?! He mentally snorted, yeah right. Was Blaine really that obtuse that he hadn't heard every snippy insult muttered at him, or seen every condescending hate filled glance sent his direction?
He was somehow the bad guy in this situation? Unbelievable.
The shock and hurt over hearing Blaine's perception of events quickly made way for anger and annoyance.
"Oh so it's all on me is it? Kurt couldn't possibly have done something" Harry ground out under his breath his hand clenching painfully around the pencil he was holding…was that a crack (?) dammit—now he was going to have wood splinters in his hand. He hadn't meant for Blaine to hear his comment but apparently his brother had selectively awesome hearing.
"No! that's not what I'm saying! But come on Harry….what else am I supposed to believe? It's not like you have even tried to get to know him….or really anyone for that matter. You've been here how many months and you still haven't made any friends?!" Blaine shot back before looking horrified and clamping his hands over his mouth.
But it was too late, the words had been spoken.
Clenching his jaw to stop himself from yelling back, Harry stood up—back stiff and gathered his notepad and broken pencil. "Sorry Blaine. But I really am busy. Have fun." Not waiting for a reply from his brother he hastily marched down the hall and towards the parking lot, already pulling out his cell phone and dialing the number without thought.
"Speedy?"
"Hey Sebastian, are you busy?" he distantly heard himself asking.
"Not for you….should I pick you up?" Sebastian's teasing (and was that slight concern he could hear) tone answered.
"I'll see you in a few" he answered clicking his phone shut and staring blinding out at the half filled lot.
Screw him. Screw them both.
-0—
Hooded grey eyes watched the car whip out of the parking lot, the man they belonged glanced down at his wrist making a note of the time and jotting it down on a page already filled with similar notes.
'Voldemort will be happy' the blond thought to himself as he saw just how many entries fell under the 'leaving campus' column. It would make things much easier if the boy continued to flee the relative safety the school walls offered him.
Careful to remain in the shadows just out of eye sight of any student who might wander out (not that it was all that likely considering it was the weekend and most of Dalton's pupils had either headed home for the weekend or were indoors sleeping their lives away) the man turned to make his way back to his own stashed vehicle.
He would drive a few miles away and make the call to his boss. He could only hope that Voldemort would be ready soon. He was starting to miss his own warm bed and the wife that warmed it.
His cell went off before he had turned on the ignition. He was still far too close to the school to feel secure in using the cell but he dared not ignore it when he saw the caller ID.
"My lord?" he asked, careful to keep his tone deferential, hoping that his boss was in a good mood.
"Lucius…..report" came the cold familiar tone of Thomas Marvolo Riddle—aka: Voldemort from the other end.
And he did.
