Greylock watched Sofia hurry away, then turned back to look at the cast sheets again. He scanned the list for a third time and - ah! Jamie Postman was probably his fellow. A secondary character, it looked like. Hopefully there wouldn't be bad blood over the casting between them. ...Hopefully there could be - well - no, Greylock couldn't figure out how to make that a joke after all, not unless he was into blood play, which he decidedly was not. There had been something about get the blood pumping, but that didn't work very well with the 'bad blood' joke, and just… Nah, it was a good thing no one else was around, or he'd have verbally botched this joke, and wouldn't that have been something!

It occurred to Greylock, at that point, that neither he nor Sofia mentioned or, presumably, noticed any information regarding when the first meeting of the drama club - at least those accepted here - would be. There was a date and a time at the bottom, in small print. Greylock rolled his eyes, and made a note to drag Sofia to this one, too At least it was later in the day, and unlikely to interrupt another of Cedric's tutoring sessions.

But for now, Greylock decided to use his free hour between classes for the day to go eat lunch. He often did regardless, but all those extra stairs really got his blood pumping- in a rather different way than his attempted joke would have implied, of course- not to mention…certain thoughts of Cedric that Greylock really wished Sofia hadn't asked about. It was bad enough that he gave in to such things occasionally, in private, but now they were coming unbidden at any mention of things that could possibly relate.

Greylock glanced downward and was at least, thankfully, able to confirm that this time around the burning in his face was the only obvious sign of physical...hmm. Discomfort wasn't the right word exactly, but if he thought too long and hard about - no. No jokes either. None of that would help avoid more incidents, at least not for the moment.

Food. Just think about food. Go to the refectory and get a plate of food and eat it and don't get anything phallic.

So Greylock walked with a determined pace to Goodwyn House and its refectory, and was well on his way to making good on his promises - commands? - to himself, when he saw Cedric seated at one of the long tables. For lunch hour, the year assignments weren't kept, as there were far too few students at any one time for it to matter. Still, Cedric sat at the Year 13 table. Alone.

Guilty conscience aside, Greylock couldn't very well just leave Cedric like that. So he sat down next to Cedric and said, "Greetings, Bed-quick!" ...Wait, wait. Sarumon's Stockings that didn't make much sense, unless taken as a dirty joke. ...Well, it's not as if they hadn't gotten past things misunderstood as or not-as jokes before. "To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing your fine face this afternoon, gracing the refectory in the afternoon sunlight for once in the rare blue moon?" Well, ah… at least it wasn't sexual this time. And everything was a joke with him anyway, at least according to Cedric. He wasn't going to ruin anything, everything could be taken as a joke, and he should stop worrying.

Cedric looked at him, and was as outwardly unenthused about his presence as usual. However, he didn't look irritated, but… Generally down. He moved slowly, and didn't bother to tut in Greylock's direction, barely bothered to look at him.

"Cedric, are you… quite all right?"

Cedric sighed. "I - I'm f...fine… I just…" He gulped, and looked back at Greylock, eyes wider than usual, clearly not fine. "No, nevermind, I can't very well pretend in this state. I'm not. I won't be all right." He looked back to his plate and pushed around some food with his fork. "Ah, that is, don't - don't worry, it's not life threatening, or anything." Cedric closed his eyes for a moment and a sharp breath escaped him - was that a laugh? Was that a small smile? It was gone before Greylock could really tell, and Cedric kept talking, interrupting any questions forming in Greylock's head. "Not deadly, just… otherwise awful."

"Would it help to talk about it?" Greylock asked, not sure how else to help, and hoping he could be more specific in his aid if he knew exactly what the problem was.

"Perhaps." Cedric said, and sighed. "I- I- I was-" He broke off and took a breath. "S-Sascha, she-"

Oh. Well it was little wonder, then.

Cedric put his hands over his face, made a few incoherent noises before managing words again. "It's awful, it's awful. I'm, I'm never fond of being confronted, of being - being made to look the fool but today-" He stopped speaking, just heaving long, shuddering breaths, and his hands slowly curled themselves into fists over his eyes, fingers pressing down into his face as they did, clenched tightly when they finished.

Greylock tapped the table by Cedric's hand in lieu of touching him. "No need to force it, friend," he said, "If you'd like to try later, when you're further from the issue, that's perfectly all right. Let's head back to our room, though perhaps dry your eyes before we move. I won't be able to stick around for terribly long, I'm afraid. Class. Not that I mind skipping a class here or there, you know that, but I've already burned through most of my grace period on that… I do believe Professor Leopold would kill me if I were tardy again, let alone truant." Greylock laughed, and hoped he was helping lighten the mood.

Instead, Cedric looked at him and blinked. "Dry my eyes?"

"Ah, yes." Greylock had tried to bury that, had expected maybe Cedric would take him up on the offer without having to acknowledge it. Though, as Cedric looked at Greylock, the other boy's eyes were clear. There was a small scrape near the corner of one of them, a whitish line with a small dot of red in the middle, but none of the pink puffiness, none of the bloodshot quality to the eyes themselves, that Grey had expected. "I- Well, I thought you were holding back tears, there? Apologies for the 'accusation' as it were." Cedric flinched at the word. Boromir's Brassiere, Greylock seemed to be putting his foot in his mouth today. "That is, I-"

Cedric cut Greylock off. "No, no, you're right. Quite right! That is definitely what I was doing there, just do try to be quiet about that. Would hate to be caught crying, hah!" ...So why would he admit that to Greylock, then? When he was given an out, a way to say, 'ah, you're right, I wasn't starting to'.

"Though, ah, perhaps going to our room isn't the best idea," Cedric said.

Greylock tilted his head. "Why not?"

"Well, there's, ah…" Cedric paused, and seemed to ponder. A small smile, a mirthless laugh. "My point had been that there was nothing I'd do there any more than here, but I'm not eating, and I suppose I actually would like access to my herbs, after all. Mix up a potion, see if I feel any better." The set of Cedric's eyes, the slight wrinkling of his nose, and Cedric's smile didn't look particularly happy about this idea.

"Yes! See? If you can't think of anything, I could help." Greylock smiled broadly, hoping it would help Cedric even just a bit, and took a hold of his and Cedric's plates. "Let's toss the rest in the bin and go, hm?"

Slowly, Cedric stood up and followed. "I can think of several things, the difficulty would be in picking."

"Aww, but doing things for friends is fun, isn't it? You could make me, I don't know… Maybe some of that Elixir of Manliness?"

For the first time since Greylock had come to talk to Cedric that afternoon, Cedric looked like his usual, sharp self, at least a little. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at Greylock with a small scowl and asked, "What in Gaia's green earth would you need that for?"

Finally! "Oh, I don't know, who couldn't stand to be a bit more manly, mm? I hear athletes use it to increase performance, though that tends to be frowned upon." Cedric kept his eyebrow up, but shrugged.

"Then again," Greylock continued, "I suppose I'm no athlete." Greylock put a hand on his soft belly and laughed. He wasn't a pile of jelly, and he could certainly pull his weight - figuratively at least, he wasn't sure about literally, but he figured self-deprecating humor should at least be able to take Cedric's mind off his own troubles. Cedric didn't seem to find it amusing, though.

"Or, oh, I know! Maybe some sort of glamour potion?" Greylock paused for a beat. "Not the disguise kind, though perhaps that might be useful for the play… But no, no, maybe just something to make me a little more attractive, give me a little more panache, a little flair. That sounds delightful!"

Another blink, an eyebrow went back up - Greylock hadn't seen Cedric lower it, but upwards it went now - and Cedric asked, "Again, what do you need that for?"

It was Greylock's turn to blink. What did… Was Cedric saying he was good-looking? That was...nice to know. It would have been nicer to know any time in the past several years but-.. On the other hand, feeding this doomed crush was probably a poor decision.

"L-Lots of things. I do know I'm pretty grand on my own, but I'm the lead in the play, as it turns out! Make the audience fall in love with me. And oh, this fellow I met in auditions, maybe I could catch his eye again, just dazzle him not only with natural radiance, but your help - only if you want, of course." There. He wasn't stepping on any toes, he wasn't

Cedric stiffened his shoulders and stopped walking, in the hallway where their shared room was but hardly next to their door. "That seems unnecessary," he said, but this time there was venom behind it. "Greylock the Grand, Greylock the Gorgeous, Greylock the Gregarious." Cedric paused and put a hand in the air, two fingers and a thumb coming together at the tip to slightly resemble a beak, miming speech as he continued in a high voice, "Grey, darling, won't you come to my party? Oh please have lunch with us, Grey. Please, spend time with us, Grey! Just make sure not to bring that lousy roommate."Cedric took back his hand, placing it on his hip, and added, "And anyhow, isn't the play supposed to be some sort of competition? That sounds like cheating."

"I-" Greylock found himself at a loss for words. This didn't happen. He didn't just not have a response. "Well, I suppose it would be cheating," he said, though he knew that was the wrong thing to say, but only after it was out there, only after it had already hurt Cedric even more.

"Hmph." Cedric looked away from Greylock and crossed his arms. "I'm not sure why you even bother with me, honestly. I've got Sofia, now. You don't have to feel guilty about leaving me alone and friendless anymore! Though I'm not sure if you feel anything but childish frivolity, anyway. Yes, we have some things in common, but it's clear no one cares about that sort of thing when it's you." Cedric was still facing the wall, but he folded his arms back out from himself and started gesticulating to nothing as he spoke. "I can't even blame the bloodline or the money - sure you've a noble parent, but royal sorcerer! And the purse that comes with that! It's pretty clear they just prefer you. I don't see why you'd bother with a washed-up disappointment like me aside from that guilt, that misplaced kindness towards 'those less fortunate,' or whatever it is you think you're doing here." With that, he started walking again, without waiting for Greylock to respond, and pulled out his room key on the way.

Greylock wasn't too far behind, though he had to recover for a moment. Cedric had closed the door after himself, which automatically locked, forcing Greylock to dig for his own key before entering.

Cedric turned from where he was setting up his portable cauldron to look at Greylock. "Leave!" he said, grabbed one of the jars of herbs that was next to the cauldron on the desk, and chucked it in Greylock's direction. The glass shattered on the wall somewhere behind him. "I know you want to. You have my explicit permission to go enjoy your lunch in peace. I'm fine, I'm about to be better than fine, if you'll just leave me be. I won't be a bother to you as a roommate if you go, in case that's your concern. Just-" Cedric stopped, turned back around and leaned heavily on the desk - more of a standing slump, really, supported by one hand, head bowed low. "Please. Go."

Greylock walked slowly towards Cedric. This time, Greylock thought he actually saw the sparkle of tears, though he wasn't about to make that mistake twice. Another step, two. Cedric didn't move.

Cedric physically as Greylock wrapped him in a hug from behind. "What in the nether are you doing," Cedric said in a flat voice, without interrogative lilt. "I told you to-"

"I'm not going anywhere, Cedric," Greylock said. "I'm never letting you go, no matter what. Whatever happens. I'm not letting go. Also, I'm not physically letting go until you're willing to acknowledge that I'm not going to metaphorically go."

There was silence. for a moment. "You're serious, aren't you," Cedric finally said, though he didn't sound angry.

"Deadly serious," Greylock said. "I'll loosen my hug here so you can face me if you want, but no. I'm not letting go until you say it. I won't leave you. I won't. I know there's nothing I could do if you wanted to leave me behind." He paused for a beat. "Well, I could follow you. I would, probably. To wherever. You mean more than you know, Cedric, and I will never take away whatever support I can offer."

Greylock loosened his grip as promised, but Cedric did not turn, or move much at all. His hand curled into a fist on the desk, and tears definitely started to fall, but that was it.

Perhaps this wasn't the best idea. Especially since he was apparently bad at choosing words that could communicate the depth of his feeling without the specific nature of it. Cedric probably wouldn't notice, at least, though there was.. still, against his better judgment, some small part of him that hoped Cedric would decide to look at him, would find how close their faces were. They'd see the light sparkle in each other's eyes, the moment right… But no, no, a larger part of Greylock would - would deny that, would backtrack and call them brothers, would remind Cedric of Sofia's similar feelings. There was the fact, though, that hers were requited.

Greylock thought about loosening his grip further, letting Cedric go, but it was too late. Cedric might be uncomfortable, but the message that would send, after what he'd just said - no. Unless Cedric forced him back, he'd stick to it.

"You… really won't leave?" Cedric finally said, and moved a hand to rest on the lip of his cauldron. "Why won't you leave me be? Please don't leave me alone."

"I won't leave, you have my word. Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye." Greylock didn't get the chuckle he'd hoped for. "...I'm willing to let go now if you want, though."

Cedric took a moment. He swallowed. His hand gripped the edge of the cauldron, then suddenly pushed it aside. It didn't go very far, what with as heavy as it was, but that wasn't the point, Greylock supposed. Just expressing emotions. "And we say, 'not today,'" Cedric muttered towards the cauldron.

"What was that?" Greylock said, "I'm sorry, I don't follow." He started to withdraw his arms from around Cedric.

Cedric grabbed one of Greylock's arms, but still didn't turn around. "Just… something I read in a novel, nevermind me." No mention of the arm.

Still, the message was clear enough. Greylock leaned back into the hug, squeezed Cedric once more, this time resting his chin on Cedric's shoulder-albeit via tiptoe.

Greylock didn't know how long they stayed like that, but eventually Cedric shrugged him off. "Haven't you got a class to get to, or something," Cedric said.

A glance at his watch told Greylock, who relayed the information, "Not yet. I've a little more time." And Cedric was in a worse state than he'd originally thought, so he'd just deal with Professor Leopold later and help Cedric as much as he needed now.

"I'm…" Cedric stepped away from Greylock and sat on the bed, then looked up to meet Greylock's eyes. "I'm actually all right now. You needn't worry." Greylock sat down next to Cedric and cocked his head. "Well. I suppose 'all right' is a bit strong. But I'm not - I'm not in whatever that was. What a mystery that was! I'm glad that is definitely over forever and never going to come up again."

If anything that was more worrying than not… but then, the fact that he was acting like his normal, snarky self was good. "Are you quite certain?" Greylock asked

"Most positively. I'll even, ah-" Cedric bit his lip as he cut himself off. "I… don't know how to show you that I am, but yes, I'm fine. I think… I might take a nap, actually. All this-" Cedric twirled his hand in a circle, indicating the whole room, though probably meaning it rather less physically, "-has been quite exhausting."

Greylock smiled at that. "Would you like me to tuck you in, Ceddykins?"

Cedric glared at him for that, but the way his mouth was twisting, Greylock knew he was fighting a smile. "I'm not in primary school, thank you very much. It is my prerogative to do what I want with my free time, especially as it affects my health, and if I want to take a nap on a sunny afternoon, then by Merlin's beard I'll do it." Yes, it was still antagonistic, but the tone clearly indicated to Greylock that Cedric was arguing at this point mostly for the sake of argument.

"All right, all right. Sleep well, dream nice things… Send me the answers to my DAWW 1 quiz with your magic sleepy mind powers." Cedric rolled his eyes but - finally - smiled.

"I have no such powers, but I appreciate the confidence. ...Misplaced, given the fact I barely maintained a high C last year, and am struggling to get above a low one this year. In fact, if I did have such powers, I think I'd end up doing you more harm than good."

Greylock lightly nudged Cedric in the side. "Oh, you worrywort. You'll be fine, you always are."

Cedric's smile faded a bit as he shrugged, but he said playfully, "Now shoo, before I throw more dittany at you." He blinked, and looked at the mess on the floor near the door. He kept staring at it as he resumed speaking, "...That, ah… was unfortunate. I'll clean that up later. Careful on the way out, and I might not have woken to get to it when you come back, so be mindful."

Greylock put a hand on Cedric's shoulder and smiled, then stood up. "Well, then. I'm off, so you can get your beauty sleep - and yes, I'll be careful. Good… after-night?"

Cedric rolled his eyes, then rolled over to flop into a laying position on his bed. "What sort of a word is that? Oh well. After-night."