Kiss
Barty acted weird and seemed to be on edge since the morning.
It started when Evan left the house with his parents calling after him (he had a little fight with them), but since he had his bag with clothes with him and he needed not to come back home after school, their threat to call off the sleepover with his cousin was nothing to worry about, not on this day and not tomorrow. Problem for future Evan, not for him now. So, as he left his house, Barty was already waiting for him and walking with him to school. Barty was yapping non-stop, which Evan didn't mind. Today Barty's whole mood seemed oddly off, which was concerning enough. You never knew what this boy was going to end up doing when he was behaving in this way.
The lunch break started, and the three boys went to the library. Evan took a place near the windows, opening his bag to fetch one of his school books to learn. Regulus did the same, and Barty also sat down, not learning, though. Evan sent him looks every now and then because Barty was jittery and Regulus started to fume on his other side. He felt a headache building behind his eyes, so he tried to ignore both of them, which was probably better since Regulus was also in a mood. Whatever happened, it had definitely something to do with his home life. The Black family was never not complicated.
Not even five minutes passed by before Regulus tossed his book on the table.
“Can you for once stop being this fucking annoying, Crouch?” He snapped in an outburst of anger. Evan peered over his book, which he was hiding his nose in. Barty stared in Regulus' direction with surprise written on his face, and Regulus? He was still fuming, which was a energy for itself.
“What is your problem, Black?” Barty scoffed back.
“You, obviously. You annoy the shit out of me. Get your shit together,” Regulus snarled, moving his hand wildly around. Now Evan was looking at the boy, being at a loss why he would be so mean to his best friend. They were always kind of mean, but most of the time it was fun. This, however, was no fun. This was real anger.
“Big of you to say. You do not even try to face your shit. Ignoring your brother, playing the good son to your parents-”
“Barty,” Evan interrupted him, also putting his book down now.
“Fuck you,” Regulus replied, flinching before he stood up, took his book with trembling fingers, and left in a hurry. Evan sighed and rubbed his forehead. Barty was irritated, looking at him, as if Evan had something to do with their fallout.
“What?” He asked with a calm tone. Barty looked away and clenched his jaw. Evan packed his book into his bag, only to look at Barty, waiting if he wanted to share something with him. He never opened his mouth, so Evan sighed and pushed some loose locks back out of his face.
“You will be fine. Let him be and talk later at Pandora's. Everything will be fine,” he tried to soothe Barty's mood. The boy turned his head to him again. His eyes softened.
“Are we fine, though?” Barty asked, which confused Evan. He furrowed his brows at the words, not sure what to begin with them.
“Yeah, of course we are,” he told him, lifting his mouth corners. They were fine, for now.
°° °°
Whatever was going on in Barty's mind, he never shared it, but he stayed at Evan's side as if he was glued to him. Evan let him, leaning in to the touch he got. The five teenagers walked out of school and made it to Pandora's home after a while. There was a lot of distraction on the way and a lot of time to pass by. The party wouldn't start until later, and it was not even late afternoon. Regulus was still in a mood, not as bad as before, but they tiptoed around him, not wanting him to snap. Dorcas and Pandora knew about the fight. Evan told them, and when he did, the girls exchanged a look he could not decipher. He did not need to. They would tell them if it was important.
Pandora's parents were lovely, giving them all a hug as they entered their home. Pandora smiled happily. Together they drank tea, and Evan felt at ease. He always felt a bit lighter when he was with them. His uncle and aunt were much better people than his parents would ever be. Still... Even with them, he never was able to escape the gap clinging in his chest; whenever he saw them interact in the most soft way, he would never experience it.
Evan loved Pandora's room. It was cluttered with plenty of stuff she found somewhere or bought. Crystals, books, some of her favorite albums, and art she made by herself. Pandora's room was a haven, a safe place and place to just be. Evan beamed as he let himself slump on her bed.
“Pan, I love it here,” he sighed and turned his eyes up to the ceiling. Barty was in seconds next to him, closing his arms around him. Evan chuckled, patting the brown hair. As he looked to the others, he found Dorcas already watching them with a smile. She winked at him.
He felt unsettled. Did she know too? With a frown he turned away and closed his eyes. He probably slept in because he was startled by hectic voices. Barty was gone as well as Regulus. He never noticed he left his side.
Pandora and Dorcas discussed, as they turned to him.
“Oh, finally awake?” Dorcas huffed. A pillow flew in her direction. With taking one step back, she was able to avoid it, but she frowned at him.
“What the hell, Rosier?” She put a hand on her chest, being offended in a playful way.
“Shut up,” he smirked, only to stretch and stand up.
Pandora smiled at him softly. Her eyes were colorfully painted. She drew some little stars on her cheeks. “Dorcas thinks Marlene will not like her appearance,” she invited him in their previous conversation. With his eyebrow raised, he turned to said person, who looked more than beautiful. Her eyelids were glowing silver, and her dark green dress fitted her in a wonderful way. Her braids were pinned up with a hair clip in the form of a silver butterfly. Only a few strands fell down her back. She looked as if she was a goddess.
“She is joking, is she?” He turned to Pandora, pointing to her friend, before his eyes came back to Dorcas.
“You look absolutely gorgeous, stunning even,” he assured her in the most earnest way possible.
“If they don't fall in love with you now, if they did not already, they are not worth it,” he added. Dorcas looked as if she was close to tears.
“Don't fall in love, Rosier,” she mocked him with a slightly weak voice. He scoffed but smiled even though.
“His heart belongs to someone else, Cas,” Pandora mused. Evan's smile fell. Both of the girls exchanged a glance again, talking silently.
“Don't worry. It is a well-kept secret with us, promise,” Dorcas explained fast, holding up her hands. He relaxed a little bit before he cleared his throat.
“Where are the others? Still alive?” He changed the topic. Both of them let him, which he was grateful about. There was no way he was having this conversation right now or anytime soon before the party. Maybe he will never have this conversation at all.
“They went on a walk to talk.” Pandora did answer him, and he nodded.
“Let's hope they don't kill each other,” he joked. Both of them looked at him. “What?”
“Let's get you ready while they are away,” Dorcas said. There was no way out of it, and so he sat down to let Pandora do his make-up while Dorcas played with his curls around.
“You know, I do love your curls so much; sometimes I think, I am obsessed with them,” Dorcas admitted, which made him laugh. Pandora grabbed his chin softly to hold him in place.
“Don't move, Ev. You'll ruin my art,” she pouted. The brush moving over his closed eyes sent tickles over his skin.
“I think we have got some nice hair genes,” Pandora hummed calmly, sounding proud, while her fingers lifted his chin a little bit.
“I'm jealous.” Dorcas sighed; her hands were still in his hair, messing with it.
“Don't be. Your hair is perfect as well,” Pandora told the other girl.
Both of them laughed.
“We all will look amazing,” Dorcas manifested with a warm voice. Her fingers left his hair, and also Pandora seemed to step back, since she did not come closer again. Evan opened his eyes, looking directly into those of his proud, smiling cousin.
“Yeah, we will.” Pandora approved the words from before, stepping aside so Evan could take a look in the mirror. His eyelids were painted in a darker brown, giving his blue eyes the chance to shine. Pandora had used silver as a highlighter for his eyes as well as for his cheeks. Dorcas must have used some glitter for his locks too. When he turned his head a little bit, he was sure that it did sparkle.
“Wow. Cheers,” he just said.
He wanted to add something, but the door opened. Regulus and Barty entered the room. Both of them were more chill than before, which delighted Evan. He stood up to change his sweater to a green shirt. Turned away from the rest, he just listened to them talking and the music Pandora had turned on shortly after the two other boys came back.
“Are you fine?” Dorcas asked them and sounded cautious with her words. Regulus only hummed as an answer.
“I'm going to change in the bathroom,” he said before he left the room again. Evan sat down on the bed, now turning to watch the girls and Barty.
“Are you styling me as well? You two look gorgeous, by the way,” Barty mused with a flirty undertone, which Evan rolled his eyes about.
“Sit down.” Pandora demanded, and Barty saluted, doing what she said.
It was the same procedure, but Evan was now able to watch as Pandora did paint Barty's eyes and as Dorcas styled his hair. To sit still was a pure struggle for the boy, always moving around until Dorcas snapped, telling him to sit still. He did, but his leg was still lightly bouncing. Evan frowned. Was the other boy still on the edge? The whole day, his vibe had been off. There was also no point in asking. He knew Barty.
“Oh my- I love this song,” Dorcas suddenly yelled the same time she stepped back from Barty to start singing. Her necklaces and earrings jingled while she turned around herself. Evan smiled about her being so joyful. He even stood up to join her. Both of them danced around for a while. Until Regulus came back in, rolling his eyes at them.
“What are you doing?” He snorted, joining Pandora to watch her artwork. Dorcas slung an arm around Evan's shoulder. He leaned against her.
“Having fun. You should try it sometime,” she smirked smugly, which made Evan laugh. Dorcas was savage from time to time. Regulus shot them a dead glare.
“Done!” Pandora exhaled, making little joyful jumps. Her excitement made him melt. Barty gasped at himself before he turned with his chin held high.
“I'm looking so hot tonight!” He declared. Regulus rolled his eyes again. Dorcas laughed at him, starting to annoy him and Evan... Evan stared at him. His heart was beating so loudly, he was sure Dorcas must hear it too. But she couldn't blame him, right? Barty was really looking good. It was ridiculous.
Regulus was the last to get ready, since he threw a last-minute tantrum about his outfit (which, by the way, looked perfect), just to admit it was not about the outfit but the party in the end. The dramatics had pushed them all almost to their limit. But finally they were able to leave the house. Regulus still had his same pretty outfit and now eyeliner as well.
Barty and Evan waited downstairs already. Evan leaned against the wall. Barty was staring at him. He lifted an eyebrow at him.
“You look amazing,” Barty stated, beaming at him, which sent shocks through Evan. He was glad he had the wall holding him on his feet, not sure if they were still trustworthy. He died under the look of those intense eyes on him. As he opened his mouth, the others came down. Time to leave and time to get to this party.
°° °°
Dorcas had talked a lot on the way to the party. With a lot was meant the entire way. Evan wondered how he had not lost his ears, because damn. Her monologue combined with Barty's excitement had brought him on edge. He held himself back from snapping at both of them at the same time.
But as they reached the building, he sighed.
“I definitely need a drink as soon as possible,” he muttered under his breath. Regulus hummed in agreement next to him.
“Let's get it over with,” he added sarcastically. They stayed together until they reached the entrance, because as soon as this happened, Dorcas vanished only by the look of blonde hair, which definitely was Marlene. Pandora was the next to leave, saying something about finding Lily Evans, who couldn't be far away from her friend, Dorcas was pining for. The boys exchanged looks.
“Do you think they will know if I go home now?” Regulus asked. Barty glared at him, as well as Evan.
“You will fuck up,” Barty replied. Evan just pleaded in his thoughts to not be left by Regulus, since he really didn't want to end up alone, since this was supposed to happen. Barty would slip away at some point, searching for someone to flirt and fuck with.
Barty took the lead, and Evan took the chance to step closer to Regulus.
“If you leave, I will curse you for the rest of your miserable life, Black,” he threatened. Regulus looked at him with a bored expression.
“Okay? Do what you need to do,” Regulus mumbled.
They entered, and the music was overwhelming. The light was turning every second in flashes, which made Evan dizzy, as well as the smell of sweating people and alcohol.
“Disgusting,” he breathed, following Barty, still with Regulus on his side. First stop was the kitchen to get some drinks. Evan grabbed a bottle instead of a cup. He sent Barty a challenging look as said person lifted an eyebrow at him.
“Do you share with me?” He asked. Now, it was Evan's turn to raise his brow.
“Get your own,” he responded, earning a big grin.
“Lovely.”
“Well, there are so many better things than to exchange spit with Evan,” Regulus involved himself in their conversation.
“Can't think of something better.” Barty shrugged with a playful tone, not without blowing a kiss to Evan. Again, he felt like dying this evening. How was he supposed to survive the next hours? He took a sip from his bottle. Regulus shot disgusted glares in Barty's direction. Not that the said person would care. He didn't even see it, since his eyes were glued on Evan.
“You can just ask if you want to swap saliva. There are better ways than sharing a bottle,” Evan deadpanned. Regulus spit his drink back into his cup, while Barty was stunned into being speechless. With big eyes he stared at him. Evan shrugged and left the kitchen without turning back. Both of them would follow him eventually.
It was too loud. His body vibrated with the beat, and more than one time he met the damp skin of strangers that passed by. It made his own skin crawl. When he reached the dance floor, he spotted Dorcas with Marlene, both of them involved in a conversation. Someone bumped into him, so he turned his head to find Regulus next to him. Only Regulus. Barty must have gotten lost somewhere on their way through the crowd.
“At least Dorcas has fun,” Regulus grumbled. They stood so close together, but still Evan was barely able to catch the words over the noise.
“Is everything alright with you?” Evan tried to ask, only to be directly shot down by Regulus.
“As much as I hate it here, this is not something I want to talk about right now,” he said, then turned away, just to perk up.
“Oh fuck. Shit!” He cursed and started walking. Evan tried to follow, but ended up alone.
“Perfect,” he grumbled. The reason why his friend ran away appeared and started to win over the dance floor. Sirius Black and James Potter were dancing together. Marlene and Dorcas joined them, as well as Lily, Mary, and lovely Pandora.
It was probably one hour later. Evan still stood at the same spot, alone. Barty was gone. Regulus nowhere to be seen. The girls still on the dance floor, or better, one of them was. Now it was only Dorcas.
“Where are the others?”
Evan jumped, bumping accidentally against a stranger.
“Pandora,” he yelled at his cousin. But she just smiled. He took a look around and shrugged.
“Ask me something better. I don't know,” he replied, which made her pull her face into a grimace, which she always had on when thinking. She gave up halfway through, after she also checked their surroundings for their friends. Her hand took Evan's. Gently she tugged him, bringing him also on the dance floor.
“You don't have to stand all alone by yourself,” she told him. Together they started to dance, and Evan had to admit she was right.
Why should he waste his night only watching from the sidelines once again?
Song after song passed by. Evan felt lightheaded. With closed eyes and head laid in neck, he turned around. As he opened his eyes, he found himself with Mary again. She sent him a cheeky grin. They danced a while, without sharing words. It was good. Evan was enjoying himself, dancing close to her. She was older than him and beautiful. Her eyes promised fun as she winked at him in a playful vibe, and Evan smiled at her.
The next time he turned, he found blue eyes watching him. The lights got darker. Sometimes they went out completely, leaving the dancing crowd in a blackened room. With Barty was a girl he didn't know, some blonde one. Both of them were close to each other. Her arms lingering around his friend's neck. Evan felt bitter about it.
Mary pulled him close by his arms, swinging them with her, and he followed her lead, turning away from Barty for a short moment. Again the full room was black, only to turn light blue again. His head spun as he felt arms wander over his shoulders, and his eyes met blue ones again. He forced himself to look at Mary, who had her eyelids almost closed. Still, she looked at him. She stepped back to spin around. Evan's eyes slipped away to Barty, not too far away, only to find him kissing the girl.
“Wanna try something?” He heard Mary asking, already laying his attention on her again. Her eyes glowed in the flashing lights. Her curls followed her with every move she did. He nodded, not able to find his voice to speak. Suddenly her arms were around his neck again, their noses touching.
“I'm going to kiss you,” she warned him with an earnest look. But before she had the chance to lean in, he closed the gap between them, meeting her soft lips.
She was a good kisser. The way she kept her playful manner while kissing him was amazing, but he was not able to keep his eyes away from Barty, who also watched him intensely. Both of them had different partners, kissed someone else, and it frustrated Evan. At the same time, he felt so attracted to the way Barty kissed the girl. His tongue wandering over her lips made insane things happen to Evan's stomach. He lightly moaned, being glad about the fact it was too loud to hear it.
The song ended, and with it, his and Mary's kiss. She pushed him gently away, locking eyes with him.
“It was good, but we don't really vibe, do we?” She asked him, not without smiling at him. Her eyes wandered in his friend's direction.
“It's fine,” she added and winked at him. It was his turn to say something, anything, but the only thing he did was to leave Mary on the dance floor, to leave the house, and to wait close by until Pandora was ready to go home with him.
He had just kissed someone, one of the prettiest girls, and all he could think about was Barty. Barty kissing someone. Barty looking at him. Barty's tongue-
With a groan he placed his hand over his face, hiding himself away. Also, it was embarrassing how he just left her behind without saying a thing. He could've been chill about it, but he chickened out as soon as there was only a hint of someone suspecting his feelings toward the other boy.
Someone sat down next to him. There was no need to look. He knew it was Regulus.
“I saw you making your leave. I thought it was a good moment to leave as well,” Regulus whispered. His voice sounded raspy. It made Evan look up, realizing the other boy had a joint between his fingers.
“I've got this good shit here,” he told proudly, and Evan smiled.
°° °°
High and drunk, so ended Evan's night, as well as Regulus'. They all had gone home at some point and promised to meet up the next day. Evan felt exhausted as he walked next to his cousin. Pandora was happy and very much awake. Directly after they both finished breakfast with Pandora's parents, she insisted on leaving the house to walk to their group's place. He was not really happy about it, since the sun annoyed the heck out of him.
“It's your own fault,” she reminded him after he sighed for the tenth time in the last five minutes. With a frown he sent her a dark glare. He felt like murder. Her luck was that he loved her dearly, and she was his favorite person out of his family.
Calm chatter reached them shortly before both of them found Dorcas and Barty sitting on the ground. Regulus was nowhere to be seen, probably still sleeping or not feeling like socializing. Hopefully he had no stress with his parents. That wouldn't be great, more likely fatal. Evan really hoped it was something of the first two things that kept the boy away from their meeting.
Pandora and he sat down next to the two chatting teenagers, greeting them.
“You look like shit, Rosier.” Dorcas laughed at him. He rolled his eyes at her, mouthing a silent “funny”. Pandora smiled about the comment, not adding to it to Evan's relief. He shook his head and let himself fall against a tree, closing his eyes. A good way to keep his eyes from wandering to a certain person.
“How did things go with Marlene?” Pandora asked. Now, he opened one eye to look at Dorcas' shy appearance. Her fingers played with one of her braids.
“Pretty good. We'll go on a date,” she admitted with soft voice. A blush laid over her cheeks, and her eyes shined.
“That's good.” Evan chuckled, pushing himself into a more proper sitting position. Dorcas beamed as she nodded. “We had good talks, and you don't understand, when I say they are perfect!”
All of them smiled without saying anything against it. A branch broke, which made them turn. A sleepy Regulus looked at them and lifted his hands.
“I do not apologize for being too loud,” he clarified, before he sat down next to Evan.
“I'm still pissed you got high without me,” Barty pouted, which made the other boys turn to him.
“Not our fault, you were somewhere else.” Regulus rasped, leaning against Evan to steady his head on the tree behind them.
“Are you really fighting over getting high?” Dorcas deadpanned, lifting her eyebrow. She crossed her arms in front of her chest before she leaned forward. “I think there are other interesting things that happened last night.”
“What for example?” Regulus asked in a bored tone. He had his eyes closed, looking ready to fall asleep in a matter of seconds. He looked the way Evan felt. Not that he had the comfort since Dorcas sent him meaningful glances. With a groan he rubbed his eyelids.
“Evan kissed Mary,” Pandora stated and made Regulus open his eyes instantly.
“What?” He blurted out, sending Evan a dazed look.
“Do we have to talk about it?” Evan squinted his eyes at his friends. Dorcas looked scandalized. Pandora pulled a face; Evan was not able to read. He didn't look at Barty. He would falter if he would. Both of them knew they watched each other while kissing someone else. It made him jumpy, only to think about it.
“But it was the first time we saw you kiss someone. I mean-” Dorcas tried to insist.
“Well, Barty also kissed someone. Why do you not ask him about details?” He snapped at her, grinding his teeth. Clearly he was not in the mood to play around. He will never be in the mood to be mocked about the lovetopic.
“Was it a good kiss at least?” Barty scoffed. As he turned his head to him for the first time until now, he found the boy narrowing his eyes at him. Those eyes that looked at him while they kissed different persons. Evan's breath hitched, not able to utter one single word. Barty challenged him, lifting one eyebrow. Evan felt his will collapse. He opened his mouth, but Regulus' words were faster.
“Wow, I'm amazed by this positive aura here. Please, don't keep going.”
And with that, all of them forgot about it, changing the topic. Not Evan, though, as well as Barty didn't forget.
His eyes still lingered on Evan for some reason.