The Bad Touch Trio & the Goblet of Hilarity

Lovina VS Cho. The (Near) Conclusion to this entire mess!

~.~

Ivan Braginski was getting pretty tired of Antonio, specifically Antonio's fascination with trying to punch him in the face (got him twice today almost three times, but then the Winchester boy had shown up and Ivan had thrown him at Antonio).

He was seated near the lake with his sisters, plush grass prickling beneath them. Natalia, while terrifying most days seemed sympathetic to her brother's plight. She rested her light colored head on her brother's shoulder and sighed just letting him soak in her comfort without words. On his other side, Katyusha hugged him at the waist, also silent. His sister were so small and warm, so understanding. He suddenly wished his mother was there with her customary cheer up cocoa.

"Don't be sad," Katyusha's sweet voice filled the silence. "Soon, Antonio will realize that it was all a misunderstanding. He will apologize."

"And if he doesn't, I'll make him pay dearest brother." Natalia gave her two, terrifying, cents.

Ivan shrugged.

"It doesn't bother me." He said. "As long as I can be of help to Lovina and have the added advantage of seeing Antonio's troubled expression, then I am fine with it." Grape colored eyed dimmed a tad, he looked up into the cloudy sky. "My feelings don't count, apparently."

"What do you mean?" Natalia asked.

"What does it sound like." It wasn't a question at. The comment came out scathing and filled with venom. Ivan immediately regretted his tone. His sisters weren't at fault, if anything, they would be great help in getting him over it.

Over her, he should say, because this was totally Lovina's fault.

"Ivan," Katyusha began slowly. "-brother, do you like Lovina?"

Ivan's pinked cheeks answered well enough, or would have to be enough of an answer as his throat clenched painfully closed.

"So I was correct." Natalia said.

"What?" Ivan asked her dumbly. Katyusha shook her head and sighed. Younger siblings were so infuriating sometimes, especially when it came to their feelings.

"You like her, I knew that and I know you brother, I know you would rather have your teeth pulled then to do anything about it." Natalia nodded up at him. "Which is all for the better, I think. Rejection is hard and you have never really been good receiving it."

Ivan silently agreed. Rejection was icky, it hurt a lot and Ivan was the type to hold grudges no matter how silly they were. He would rather die then be angry with one of his few friends just because of some slight crush he had that she couldn't share with him.

Lovina, Ivan surmised, did this on and off to him. Ivan would like her and then remember her strong yet violent feelings for Antonio and then his own feelings would return as they were. Friendly with a bit of awe. To reveal his like of her would ruin everything and Ivan was not prepared to lose her now or ever. He'd known her since they were small and it had taken a lot to get her to finally admit to being friends.

Loosing her wasn't an option, he couldn't go around only having his siblings and Feli as companions.

"Oh no." Katyusha said. Ivan looked up and stalking towards them was Antonio flanked by Francis Bonnefoy. The latter seemed embarrassed and quite exasperated at his friend, and ruffled. He'd probably tried to hold Antonio back (a surprising feet for Francis who was never one to stick around in a sticky situation. It was times like these that people understood exactly why he was Gryffindor in the first place).

Ivan stood and placed himself between Antonio and his sister, grape colored eyes scanning the area for anyone to keep the girls out of the way (he would never admit that he was hoping his older sister's boyfriend Chris was around because Chris just annoyed him.)

"What do you want, Tonio?"

"No me llames eso! Pedazo de mierda! You are not my friend!"

Ivan frowned. Before this they were sort of friends (friendly acquaintances counted right?)

"Da, you're right. Not friends. So, Fernandez," Ivan glared dangerously. "What. Do. You. Want?"

The words were said slowly and painfully enunciated (as much one with such an accent could properly enunciate English) and Francis, from behind Antonio groaned. Ivan, with his slow speech was obviously calling Antonio slow.

And so when Antonio's fist met Ivan's face for the third time that day, no one around (Katyusha, Natalia and Francis) seemed incredibly surprised.

Ivan's head flew back, far too used to the quick and painful motion to get lightheaded again. He righted himself and sighed.

Time to come clean about this whole thing whether Lovina liked it or not.

"I'm not dating Lovina." He said.

"Mentiroso. I saw you two together. It doesn't matter if she denies it or you deny it. I know what I saw!"

He punched Ivan again, harder this time surprised that Ivan had yet to hit back.

"I'm not dating Lovina." Ivan repeated, his voice nasally, nose obviously broken. "I swear, moĭ drug, I'm not with her. This was all an act."

Antonio's fist was lifted to strike at Ivan again but didn't move. He lowered his fist, green eyes narrowing just so at the Russian before him, waiting for Ivan to finish explaining.

"He said that if we made you jealous then Lovina would be happy again."

"When was she unhappy?"

Ivan glared.

"Really? The Yule Ball does not come to mind Antonio. I mean, she ran out crying and everything while you twirled with Chang!" He shook his head, his nose aching painfully at the motion. "Are you that dense?"

By the look on Antonio's face, yes, obviously he had been that dense. The Spaniard's shoulders sagged, green eyes suddenly unfocused. He hadn't paid Lovina any attention at the ball, trying to get her incentive, the incentive to reveal her feelings. Cho had said it would work.

It sort of did. She must have cared because wanted him jealous and hurt out of revenge, and it worked but at the same time...

He rubbed his aching and bruised jaw, the place Lovina had punched him with enough force to knock him right out in an instant.

It all made sense and stupid Antonio had taken all his frustration out on poor Ivan, who was doing Lovina a favor like the good friend he really was.

So, without another word, Antonio hightailed it towards the castle determined as he had ever been. Natalia and Katyusha stared off after him, shook their heads and decided that they'd had enough drama for the day. Bidding goodbye to their brother, they walked towards the castle talking among themselves leaving a relieved Francis and an injured Ivan alone at the lake.

Francis gave Ivan a cursory glance.

"I had expected as much." He said. "It was pretty obvious what you were doing. Felik's plan?"

Ivan nodded dumbly at him.

"Da."

"That was...a nice thing to do for Lovina. Taking so many beatings, that is the mark of a good friend...or a man in love."

Ivan's eyes met Francis and it seemed an understanding was met between them before Francis eyes moved passed Ivan and towards the direction Antonio had run.

And it all made sense now.

"Will it ever get better?" Ivan asked with a sigh.

Francis only answer was a heart breaking smile.

~.~

~.~

Lovina Vargas had just been saved from bullies by her sisters stupid Potato and two annoying girls who seemed determined to annoy her with their various questions. Stupid Potato had grabbed her hand, hauled her down the hall after he'd given his best constipated (terrifying) glare at the jealous Antonio's lovers. The other two girls had been, as far as Lovina could tell, asking him about tutoring when they'd com upon Lovina being bullied.

The shorter girl with messy hair that flipped upward just bellow her ears seemed curious about Lovina's physical state. She was bleeding but it didn't really hurt that much. Lovina's scrapped palms had been because she'd tripped over her own stupid feet. She'd told the girl to shut up about it and then found herself beet red when the girl embarrassingly corrected her;

"My name's Sam and I'm a boy."

Woops!

The girl with Sam turned out to be Vash's younger sister Lili. Lovina's brain must not be working, the only reason she hadn't noticed these two for who (and in Sam's case what) they were. All this Antonio and Cho business had broiled her brain to nothing.

"I'm not saying thank you." She said to Ludwig. "I could have taken care of those girls myself."

"Ja. I know."

He was obviously humoring her but Lovina took it as a compliment rather then what it was. Ludwig was being Ludwig, trying to get Lovina to insult him because otherwise she wouldn't really be Lovina. Although, he threw that notion right out of the park by saving her. They had mutual hatred, the kind where if one got hurt the other would be tickled positively pink.

They weren't supposed to save each other.

Ludwig pulled her towards a familiar portrait. He reached up and with a strong hand, he tickled the pear. Lovina recognized the kitchens immediately and her stomach growled painfully. She'd skipped breakfast and lunch because of those girls and Chang. She was starving.

"Samuel, Lili, you can go back now." Ludwig said with a curt nod. Lili nodded cutely but Sam seemed suspicious but after a moment complied and left with Lili.

Ah, Lovina thought, his brother was the annoying freckled face flirt with the hero complex, the one that liked her sister (it had been during the previous year during a Hogsmeade trip Feliciana had been harassed by upperclassmen. Dean Winchester, who'd just transferred in had saved her much in the way of brutal force.)

"This is where I leave you." Ludwig said. Lovina looked up at him but the idiot wasn't looking at her anymore. He was looking at the person just behind Lovina.

Cho Chang.

"Bastardo. You set me up!"

Ludwig shook his head.

"Nein. You two just need to talk, maybe you can both put sense in Antonio's head again and maybe, just maybe you can all be honest." He straightened himself. "Now talk."

He left before Lovina could utter even the most lame of insults. Okay, so maybe he was right, maybe Antonio was extra stupid and violent these days. It was his own fault anyway, if he thought that she and Ivan were together that was his problem (and a part of her plan to piss him off.)

She didn't feel like talking to Cho about it. She hated Cho.

Except, maybe, she didn't. At the end of the day none of this was Cho's fault (as far as Lovina knows). It would only be fair of Lovina to talk to her and maybe tell her the truth so that she can at least talk Antonio into being less stupid.

If that were possible. Lovina had been trying to do that since she'd met him at five years old. Nothing, so far, had even worked.

"Hi." She greeted lamely.

"Hullo." Cho greeted, all pleasant voice and rosy cheeks. "I think we both know why we're here. Its all about Antonio." She shifted uncomfortably for a moment before her slanted dark eyes zeroed in on Lovina. Determined. "Antonio isn't my boyfriend. We went to the ball just as friends." She said.

Lovina breathed a sigh in relief. Okay that was good. The idiot hadn't completely abandoned her. This was all a misunderstanding that they could clear up-

"But I want him to be my boyfriend." Cho said suddenly.

"What?"

"It isn't fair that you have him all to yourself when you treat him so badly all the time. I thought to help him gain some favor from you but that night...I realized how perfect he is. I want him for myself." Cho's eyes narrowed slightly and for the first time Lovina had (sort of) known her, Cho appeared ugly. "You can't have him."

And with those words, something in Lovina Vargas shouted and snapped;

OH HELL NO!

Okay, so maybe it wasn't the internal snapping voice Lovina thought it was as her fist made harsh and painful contact with Cho's face. At that point it didn't matter because at the end of the day the stakes were to high, the loss would be great and there could only be one winner, there was no time for denial. In other words:

It. Was. On.

~.~

Draco Malfoy stared down at the quickly shifting red shoe prints dubbed Cho Chang and Lovina Vargas, on the borrowed (stolen) Marauders Map, eyes widening at the siege of classmates name's and foot prints rushing toward their location. He mumbled "Mischief Managed" and watched as the contents of the map disappeared. He tucked it into his robes and gave Gillian a withering glare.

"You set that up."

Gillian shrugged.

"Lovi needed to get her stress out and Cho needed to be taken down a peg. I sort of mentioned to Ludwig that it would be a good idea and Cho was totally asking for it. I mean, who sends bullies to harass underclassmen, I mean, who does that shit?"

"Jealous upperclassmen named Cho Chang, thats who." Draco shook his head. He crossed his arms across his chest and glanced at the crate filled with dungbombs, his eyes sliding towards the side of it to the cages filled with various creepy crawlies and finally to the mannequins. "Are you sure that your not using the soon to be found out fight between Lovina and Chang as a distraction just to get this prank underway?"

"I don't know what you're trying to say, Coco dear. Awesome was just trying to be nice."

"Right." Draco remained totally unconvinced. "So you tipped off the rest of the school to the fight?"

"Got Yong Soo and Gabriel to do it. They even made fliers."

Draco nodded, completely unimpressed.

-~.~

Muse: I'm gonna be honest, I totally did not plan the girl fight it just...sort of wrote itself. And yay! Sammy made an appearance plus Lili (and a Gabirel mention)! Both are Ravenclaw, BTW (Gabe's a Slytherin all the way). And as for Gillian, well, she was doing a good deed and getting a reward for it. By getting everyone to the kitchens to watch the fight, plush more then likely getting Tonio there to stop the fight and get everything out in the open, she'll be able to set the prank into motion. The school wide prank. And I would like to state the obvious: Ludwig is easy to manipulate. Poor lug!

Hmmmmm I wonder what she's gonna do. Review please don't flame. Also, I know someone reading thisis probably tickled pink by the Cho getting punched thing. Alls I gotta say-

-you're welcome!