Target Practice
The next time Barty enters the archery range he sees Rosiar standing in his favorite spot. He can’t help but notice how perfect his stance is as he notches his arrow and aims and hits the perfect center which isn't easy to do in the slightest. Barty gets his bow out to string it and starts bending it to string as he does so he glances at the boy again and notices his piercing eyes on him as he struggles to bend his bow.
“What? Did I leave my fly down”
Evan turns away and Barty smirks, noticing the pink of his ears. A few minutes later Barty steps back over to the line and sets up his arrows in the quiver. As he aims his arrow and lets it fly it lands exactly in the middle of the target.
Even with the fact that he got a ten his father still walks over.
“Barty did I or did I not tell you that you have to keep your anchor or you’ll lose once again like you always do”
Evan glances over at the father and son, one looking pissed the other almost scared. As Barty’s father walks away Evan gives him a sympathetic look. This is enough for Barty’s fear to turn into annoyance.
“I don’t want your pity”
“It’s just he mentioned you losing. That was to me wasn’t it?”
“Why? So you can rub it in?”
Evan shakes his head and turns back to his bale and prepares his next arrow, hitting right next to his last still in the ten point ring. Barty glances over again as his bale and lets his next arrow fly once again hitting the ten section. The excitement he feels as he and Evan alternate shooting is both confusing and exhilarating. As they’ve both gotten a score of thirty points this end, the maximum per round his eyes lock on Evan’s and he feels his breath catch strangely in his chest. He can’t seem to pry his eyes away from the other’s. Barty catches himself and clears his throat.
“If you shift your arm guard a bit then you’ll get less of a bruise on your arm from the string”
Barty hesitantly reaches out and adjusts Evan’s guard for him and his skin seems to tingle as he touches Evan’s. He tries not to shiver but fails.
“Cold in here”
Barty mumbles. As Evan smiles a smile Barty wishes he could take with him. A smile that would brighten a room even in the pitch darkness. Barty puts his next arrow in his bow and draws it back but looks back at Evan and his finger slips off the string luckily still landing on his bale but unluckily hitting a six.
Once the session is done as Barty is going back to his case and sees a note inside. The note is a phone number scrawled in tight handwriting. Barty looks around and sees Evan looking at him. Barty quickly packs up and then nods at his father to say he's ready to leave. He quickly hands over his score sheet to his father and gets a slight nod which at least means he isnt going to be yelled at because the lowest he got was two sixes and mostly nines and tens.
Later that night Barty types in the number that he believes is Evan’s and types out the message and sends it.
“Hi this is Barty from archery”
He waits with bated breath for a response and not even a minute later he gets a reply.
“I was wondering how long it was going to take for you to text”
“Hey it didn’t take me too long”
“I thought you’d never text me”
“So why’d you give me your number?”
“I felt bad about your father”
“I thought I said I don’t want pity”
“You did”
“I noticed you have earrings I wish I could but my father would never let me”
“I did them myself”
“How? That seems painful?”
“Only a bit”
“What are your earrings?”
“Roses”
Later that night after the conversation Barty is laying in his bed thinking about his interaction with Evan and he can’t help but smile to himself when thinking of him. He thinks to himself wondering why he keeps thinking about this boy and why he can’t get him out of his head so he sends a message to Regulus.
“Hey Reggie you up?”
“Of course I am, it's not even midnight.”
“I need your help”
“With what?”
“I think I like a boy”
“Should I be surprised?”
“What?”
“I knew you were gay”
“How?!? I didn’t even know”
“It’s obvious. Anyway I have to go. Good luck with your boy problems”
“Thanks anyway”
“No problem”
Barty stays laying in the same spot for hours just thinking about what’s happening and whether or not he actually has feelings for this boy. Of all times when Regulus is busy it has to be how. Feeling sorry for himself he keeps just thinking about what he’s feeling and how to fix it. How to fix himself. The thoughts of what his father told him about how being queer is wrong. About how he’s broken.