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⊱ Room of Requirement ⊰[/glow]
All of a sudden a heartbreaking sob broke the conversation, and everyone was staring at the girl who had gone ignored by everyone so far; Anice Runeswell, roped on her seat and looking like she was about to bawl her eyes out. Jay flinched in surprise at the sight of tears, like he always seemed to do when he saw a girl cry. It just made him extremely uncomfortable, unsure how to react and what the hell to do to make it stop. But before he could even start figuring that out, Runeswell squeaked in what seemed like half-panic.
"A-are daddy and mommy g-getting a d-divorce?"
That question was enough to throw the young wizard off and momentarily forget his own awkwardness, as it was replaced with confusion for couple of seconds. At first Jay had no idea what the
hell she was on about. But then he was hit with a flashback just before the fight, the joke he and Sabrina had shared briefly with each other about Anice, that had kind of continued a little bit after that... and seemed like it had gotten out of hand now. It would have not been so bad, had Kiyoko not been standing there and possibly misunderstanding it. Like she probably did, deduced by how fast her gaze flew to him, and she regarded him with demanding curiosity, and Jay looked back at her with wide eyes.
"No," he started, then pointing at Runeswell and Sabrina,
"No, no, no," then looked back at Kiyoko,
"No."
But the flame had already been caught and was spreading; but not by the one he had expected. It was Sabrina, who crawled at the tied up girl and started sobbing herself in her drunk state of mind.
"I know... I know it's hard... daddy doesn't love mommy. At all. Mommy tried hard to make daddy love her but she couldn't. So he found someone else he could love." Sabrina sobbed, her words making Jay hide his face in his hands with a groan. That was it. He was dead. He just knew it. But because everything going to hell in a handbasket anyway, he decided peek cautiously between his fingers at Kiyoko to see her reaction. He quickly regretted the decision, glancing at Sabrina just as she...
"Maybe... maybe if mommy looked like this..." Sabrina said, using her fingers to pull back the corners of her eyes to make them more narrow,
"...maybe daddy would love mommy then."
She did just
not.
To be completely honest, racial jokes were rather close to his own heart. Be it that he was white and a total prick, but he did also know how to laugh at his own race too. So what Sabrina just did made him kind of let out a small strangled noise from the back of his throat; a surprised, but confused snorting laugh that he tried to immediately stifle and mask into a cough. This situation was just too unbelievable! Jay dared a glance at Kiyoko, seeing that she was not taking it very well by the way her eyes flared up in anger. Jay quietly bit into his fist. Oh shit.
"But just because he doesn't love mommy doesn't mean he doesn't love you. In fact he loves his daughter very much."
"Um... Do I get a say in this?" Jay asked quietly from behind, but all of the girls seemed to ignore him. He barely even knew Runeswell, so Sabrina talking for him was a bit over the top. Nobody seemed to give a damn about what he was on about, as Kiyoko decided she had had enough and stepped forward, speaking up and cutting him off. Jay just spread his hands and looked up to the ceiling, as if to say wordlessly
'Ah, of course not. What was I even thinking? Silly me.'
"You know... It's strange, Little Anice. Did you know mommy and daddy have very similar taste? Mmm-hmm!" Kiyoko addressed Runeswell, talking to her like she was dimwitted. But everyone knew the true target of her words; Sabrina.
"You know, it really is too bad Unky Park isn't here to say 'Hi.' I think you would like him. Mommy sure did."
Wait. Wait wait wait. Was she going on about Park?
That Park? Oh yeah... She and Sabrina had been having something going on. He still remembered them snogging disgustingly in front of his face in the Slytherin table sometime ago. And they seemed to always decide a good overdose of PDA was always needed when Jay rounded the corner, entered the class, had dinner... Where ever he seemed to go, they were there, trying to suck each others face off. But thankfully he had been rather good at ignoring disgusting couples like them, so usually he would just casually walk past the two snogging peers like they were air to him, maybe throw a brief greeting to Sabrina before he would be on his way -- and tactically ignore Daniel Park completely, as he really disliked the guy. But it was not long after how they just suddenly... stopped. Suddenly they were not there. In fact, it seemed like Park would have dropped from the face of the Earth. Jay had not really cared enough to pay attention to it, and in fact had barely noticed his disappearance off the picture because the Ravenclaw's existence had meant so little to him that he simply had not had the time to acknowledge it if he did not absolutely have to. And since Sabrina had not brought it up, he had not even thought about it. Not before this. So were they over? Kiyoko surely made it sound like they were over. And he also remembered the 'slut' comments back in the Great Hall some weeks back by random girl students all of a sudden. The puzzles were slowly piecing themselves together.
Kiyoko tapped her finger on her chin like she would have been thinking.
"What happened to him anyway? Did he find Mommy intolerable? Huh... I know that feeling..."
Wai-- what? Holy
shit. Were all girl fights this nasty to watch?
Jay was simply standing there on the sidelines now, stunned into silence as Kiyoko kept speaking, now directly to Sabrina, her voice slowed and demeaning.
"You know. I wonder what it feels like to be physically irresistible... and yet to not be wanted by one, and to be left behind without a word by the other... It must burn that precious pride of yours Miss Gallagher..."
Jay felt himself cringe like he was in physical pain.
That was...
unnecessary.
He did not like this. He did not like that tone. He did not like it how she was talking. He did not like this Kiyoko he was seeing. It made him uncomfortable. Maybe it would have not been so bad, had she not been directing her words to someone he nowadays held as one of his friends. If it would have been anyone else, he would have probably felt about it very differently. He would have probably not cared. He might have even been proud of that sharp tongue. But now he just... Now Jay just felt confused. Unsure where he was standing, and with who.
Kiyoko crossed her arms over her chest, her head held high as she continued to look down on the girl,
"The fact that nothing is wrong with you physically... Does that tell you something, Mommy? Because I think I'm starting to see the problem. A lot of people seem to not like you, don't they? Strange... You know, I think it's not daddy, and it's not me... I think it wasn't even Daniel Park that was the problem. You make people miserable. And you are the cause of your own misery. Remember that, Miss Gallagher, and linger on it..."
Jay had probably never felt so conflicted in his entire life. He felt pity for Sabrina, an emotion that was usually rather unfamiliar for him, but he did. He pitied her for having to listen something like what was coming out of Kiyoko's mouth. Pitied her because probably part of what she was saying was true. Pitied her because in a way he could put himself in her shoes and understand a little bit; as a fellow half-breed, as a fellow fuck-up, as a fellow superficially disliked person in the school. Maybe Sabrina really needed to hear some of these things to give her the reality check she was in need of sometimes. But this was... not the place, nor the time. And definitely not the right way to say it.
Kiyoko seemed like she was finished as she leaned on the armrest of the throne. Jay looked at all of them with an unreadable blank expression. He felt suddenly very emotionally drained. All the earlier good feelings that he had been having were like a memory fragment from last year. Sabrina was now raising up on her wobbly feet, no surprisingly going to have her say in everything now, but Jay felt like he had no place to step in between them. It was his friend and his girlfriend facing each other off, and his hands were about as tied as Runeswell's were right now. Well, maybe not as
literally.
Sabrina started laughing, like all of what Kiyoko had just said was like one big joke. Jay looked away from them, rubbing his neck awkwardly and looking like he would have wanted to be somewhere else right now. Somehow he felt he had caused this indirectly. Like he was the catalyst to all of this, and that made him feel guilty. He was not sure how exactly, but his subconscious told him that he was the one to blame.
"Are you mad or no darling? Because frankly, I've got a feeling it's the former." He head Sabrina start to chuckle. The hand on his neck went to squeeze the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes, counting slowly in his head to ten.
"You know Kiyoko. There's been something weighing on my mind all this time. I've been meaning to ask you. Is it comfortable?" She paused for a moment, letting it sink in,
"Is it comfortable to move around with that stick shoved so far up your ass? I was just wondering."
Sabrina started laughing again, and Jay was slowly starting to gather his bearings at this point. He was starting to get irritated. At
both of them.
"Oh my, my, my. I don't know how you do it. Live life so seriously. Live a little would you? And no, that doesn't mean shove your tongue down Jayden's throat--"
"Hey. I'm still here, hearing everything, loud and clear may I add. Just saying..."
"--There's more to life than that you know. And it certainly won't get a reaction out of me."
Sabrina typically ignored him, looked down and started to picking at her nails as she went on to Kiyoko.
"Seriously though, you walk around with that permanent glare stuck on your face. No wonder people think you're suck a kill joy. You're like, walking communism. Nobody wants that, love, we prefer to be free on this side. I know what might do you some justice, have a drink. That should loosen you up. Either that or a good fuck." She snorts before her tone dropped low.
"You're the last person I want preaching to me. Understand? Why? Because you're just as bad as I am, so don't start acting all high and mighty now. Don't act like you don't have your share of sin too. It's not just me. I hope you're happy. Did it make you feel good to let that out? Moment done now? Glad I could be of service to you, oh gracious one."
Sabrina finished her rant with a low mocking bow. And then with a final glare, she stumbled off the stage and into the sea of people. Jay watched silently her go, not stopping her. She had every right to leave after that, because to be honest, he would have exited the stage too. (Pun not intended.) He turned to slowly look at Kiyoko now, unsure what to say after the show she and Sabrina had put up. It was not like he had any room to judge either of them, because he managed to cause all kind of dramatic bullshit at times too. This was just... different. Tiresome. Unnecessary waste of time. As a guy, he understood physical fights better than verbal ones, even if he happened to be rather gifted in witty retorts. In brawls, you could see the hit coming even before it landed. It was fair, it was simple, it hurt for awhile, but the wounds always healed. Words... Words left wounds deeper than the surface could see sometimes. And he knew it better than anyone. Girl fights were terrifying. They were nasty, they were unfair, and they hurt deep if you let them. Jay had never seen girls fight from so up close before. But after this one, he kind of understood why females had so many insecurities. Because that was pretty low, for both of them. But especially from Kiyoko. And he did not really want to see it again.
Disappointment. Yeah, that was what he was feeling. Disappointment in how Kiyoko had been acting. Disappointment in how Sabrina had answered it. Disappointment at his friends as a whole, disappointment at his girlfriend, and most of all, disappointment in himself for not stopping either of them. It made him feel powerless, and that was confusing, and irritating. Because he really had no time for this kind of shit.
"...You know, she's really drunk." Jay started, looking straight at Kiyoko from where he was standing, stressing the words.
"Really, really drunk."
He was not sure if he really needed to say anything further, because he had a feeling Kiyoko could figure it out herself if she tried. But maybe she could not; maybe she did not have the experience in dealing with drunk people like he did. Like soon after when
She died, Andrei had spent many nights trying to drink himself numb. And a lot of things were said during those nights, back and forth. A lot of things that were not meant as they were said, as they were taken. A lot of things that should have been left unsaid, or said differently. Just plenty of things that should have been said when his father was sober and not under the influence of anything, or simply not said at all ever. None of these fights ever lead to anything other than more trouble and more heartbreak in the Hristov-Everdragomir household. And what it left behind for both of them was only lot of regrets to fill the quiet rooms of the house that was now too big for only the two of them.
"If you wanted to say those things, you could have at least waited until she was sober," he continued, sounding tired. And he was. He felt tired. Jay lifted his hand to run his fingers through his hair; it was still moist, and the sugary drink had started drying, making some of the black locks hard and spiky.
"It's useless to debate with someone who's so wasted, K. It's like yelling at a wall. And... a lot of that was not cool. I hope you know that."
Jay let out a sigh through his nose, and then turned his gaze at Runeswell, who still remained bound to her chair. First things first. The half-breed boy reached out to pluck his wand from his back pocket, and approached the Slytherin Prefect. He pointed the wand at the magical ropes, and chanted firmly;
"Finite."
The charm of the ropes became undone as they disappeared into thin air. Unsure what to exactly do at this point, he reached out and petted the drunk girl's head, as if to say that it was going to be okay, that he was going to fix things. Even if he had no idea how. The odd, random brotherly feeling was back, and looking at this bleary eyed little drunkard really made him feel like he needed to watch over her, to make sure nobody tried anything nasty on her. And same went for Sabrina, as loudmouthed, tactless and selfish she could be, he sometimes felt like that with her too. But for what he had learned from his father was that it was not the blood that chose the family.
He did.
"I'll go check that she doesn't do anything stupid." Jay muttered, turning around and starting to head towards the edge of the stage. Before he jumped down, the boy turned around, his voice sardonic as ever;
"Oh. And please don't do anything stupid while I'm gone. That is meant for the both of you." Jay squinted his sharp blue eyes at both of them.
"I'm supposed to be the fuck up around here. Don't try to compete for my role. Alright?"
And with that, Jay stepped down the stage and dived into the mass of people in hunt of a certain half-veela, ignoring whatever objections Kiyoko or Runeswell would have had for leaving them to fend for themselves for awhile.
Thankfully, his target had not managed to stumble too far away, seeing how she was walking like a drunken gazelle right now. Jay's sharp eyes picked up her pink haired head among the people, and he exhaled in relief. However that relief turned quickly into tension the moment he was able to read the expression on her face. His gaze moved onto the drunken lad holding onto her wrist and looming over her, and it did not take long for him to appraise the situation. The dhampir squinted his eyes in disapproval. Jesus, could they have enough for one night? All he had wanted to come here for was to have a drink, and not become a
babysitter. Po dyavolite si!
Quickly he was behind the guy who was practically drooling over Sabrina. As he was still holding onto his wand, Jay reached to point the tip at the guy's cheek, and spoke with a cold and dangerously low voice.
"If I'd were you, I'd get your filthy hands off her right about now or I'll jinx your face so full of boils even your mother won't recognize you. I've had enough of shit for one night and my tolerance is really reaching its limit, so don't test me. You have five seconds. One..."
The boy on the other end of the wand froze, his intoxicated brain picking up the threat a bit slower than normally. His hand let go of the half-veela slowly, but surely... but not fast enough for Jay, who's patience had by now run out. He was irritated as it was. And this guy looked really annoying anyway. And was wearing the wrong kind of shoes.
"You know what, whatever. Five. Furnunculus!" Jay informed with a bored tone, and chanted the jinx at the boy who opened his mouth to protest, but too late. His face started to instantly grow nasty looking boils, and he lifted up his hands to cover his face in horror and silent whimper. The boy panicked, and ran towards the exit; surely to get a potion in the middle of the night from the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey was going to be delighted for sure, but during Halloween all kind of pranks tended to go wrong, so she always had more patients that many other days of the year. Jay watched as the kid fled, then turned his eyes sharply at Sabrina now.
"Ready to turn in for the night?" Jay asked, but it did not really sound like an actual question the way he said it. It was more like an order that actually translated to;
'I'm done with all of your bullshit. I've had it. And we're going. Right now.' And by the glaring look in his piercing eyes, the wizard was not going to take a no for an answer.
