The Ghost of Christmas Present
Barty was able to fall asleep again... Unfortunately, it didn't last long; he got woken up again... not by loud noises, not by a voice, no... someone hit a pillow in his face... "Bloody hell!" Barty wakes up. "Regulus?!" Barty's mouth drops open; this can't be real. First ghost Pandora, now ghost Regulus?The ghost rolls his eyes. "I am not Regulus; obviously, I'm the ghost of Christmas present. I am here to show you the upcoming Christmas. "This has to be a joke, Barty thinks. Again a ghost? Are his friends playing a joke on him? "Lemme guess, you will kick me through a portal, and we do what? Watch my upcoming Christmas? Where I am all alone, how is that supposed to help?" Of course Barty doesn't get an answer; before he can do or say anything more, he gets kicked through another portal. He finds himself again in his own flat, like he thought, seeing himself sitting in the living room, eating mac and cheese and reading a book while the record player plays soft music in the back. "So? What now? That's how I want to spend my Christmas." Barty looks satisfied. "Is it really?" Regulus moves his wand, which he also used to open the portal, and in the moment, all possibilities of how Barty could've spent Christmas flash across his eyes. He came along to the Potters with Regulus, a kind and warm-hearted family. James offered that he could come along. He could be at the Evans family in France... Well, the Evans family can't stand him, thinking he is some drug-addicted idiot... Maybe he is, but he loves Evan... Evan, he wants to spend every day with him. Maybe ghost Regulus is right; Barty wants to spend Christmas with Evan, but Evan alone... the two of them together, watching Christmas movies, sharing laughter as they eat cookies and drink hot chocolate. He misses Evan already... "This is how you could've spent your Christmas, but you fucked up." The ghost is as much of a brat as the real Regulus. "Doesn't matter, right? It's just some stupid holiday. Evan will be back in a week, and Reg should be home in a few days too... He will spend time with me!" "Sure..." The ghost moves his wand again, and everything gets bright before Barty finds himself again at the Potters house. "What are we doing here?" Barty asks, wondering what this has to do with his Christmas. There are James and Regulus sitting on the couch; James holds Reg close to himself, and next to them are James's parents and, in the armchair, Remus with Sirius in his lap; they are all having a good time. "I can't believe we actually will get married." Reg tells James, Excuse me, what?! Barty's mouth drops open. Regulus marrying James? "Me too, love." James agrees, "You're the best that ever happened to me.""Disgusting." Barty matters; personally, he thinks if you really love someone, you should kill a person for them...like their asshole parents. Barty would've done that, but Evan stopped him, not wanting his boyfriend to end in prison again. "A lot will change, Jamie... We should also move together." Regulus suggests, "Sure, what about Barty, though?" James questions, "Barty?" Reg frowns. "He will be fine; he comes along perfectly well on his own. He hates affection and all that stuff anyway, right? He needs no one. As his best friend says that, something in Barty stings; he doesn't want Regulus to move out; he hates changes. He loves their shared time together; he loves their little stupid arguments, like about Barty never putting the toilet seat down. "I don't want to see that anymore." Barty complains. "Sure? It will only become worse." Ghost Regulus says before he moves his wand again, again it gets bright, and this time he finds himself in the dining room of the Evans family...his Evan sitting next to Pandora, Barty smiles out of reflex. "So, Evan, where is that boyfriend of yours?" Evans's mother, Minette Rosier, asks. "Oh...Barty, he is sick, a bad flu, and he didn't feel like traveling," Evan lies without even blinking an eye. "Sure, or was he just too drunk again?" "MOTHER!" Evan complains; it's right, his family never liked Barty, but Barty is really important to him, so he will defend his boyfriend. "No, be honest, you just told me you had an argument... didn't you? Evan, dear, we all want the best for you, and we all think that this guy isn't good for you; you deserve someone better, someone who lives up to our standards," his mother explains. "Our standards?... You don't know anything!" Evan gets up; he can't stand them talking bad about his boyfriend, so angrily he leaves the house to calm down with the help of a cigarette. Pandora follows him; of course she does. "Evan!" "What is it, Panda?" He asks after taking a long drag of his cigarette. "Ev, I know... it's difficult... Mum isn't really accepting of your boyfriend... and your bisexuality. You know I like Barty, right? But I sometimes feel like he really isn't the right one...he hurt you again with his words… She wants to comfortingly pat his back, but he pulls away. "I know Barty is complicated... He is stubborn, loud, and... well... sometimes he acts emotionless, but I like him a lot... Everything we go through is worth it." Evan explains, but all the things his family said make him slightly doubt it. Barty watches with ghost Regulus, "See! Evan is my boyfriend; he would always choose my side," Barty says proudly, but Regulus doesn't even listen to him."Sometimes getting hurt is the best option; it would protect you from even more pain in the future..."Evan sighs, "I will go for a little walk." Before his twin sister could stop him, he walks away, smoking and thinking about the situation. As Evan walks for a bit, a random but handsome guy approaches him. "Hi there!" "Uh... hi?" "My name is Matthew," the guy holds out his hand for Evan to shake, which he does with a little hesitation. "Evan." "I'm sorry I started talking to you so bluntly, but you are wow... I mean... you look stunning... your eyes shine really bright, and, uh... I was wondering if you might want to go out for a coffee?" Matthew asks, slightly blushing. Normally Evan would say no; he is taken, but he remembers his mother's words. What if Barty isn't the right one? What if he is wasting his time?......The man in front of him is really attractive, just his type...so...he agrees...the two men walk off to go drink a coffee together; he is not in the mood to see his family anyway."No! Stop! Evan! Stop!" Barty yells, but of course Evan can't hear, "Why is he doing this? He needs to stop! Stop him!" "Seems like you caused some shit; Evan is with a more attractive guy now... We can't do anything; you made your decision, and now you have to live with the consequences." Ghost Regulus doesn't pity him at all. "No! Please, I can't lose Evan! I need to—I need to—" Regulus doesn't want to hear any of Barty's ranting, so he sends Barty back home... Barty's heart races; this won't happen, right? Evan is his boyfriend; they are loyal to each other.... He tries to calm down; everything will be alright, he tries to tell himself.