Reggiekins
“You know my head still fucking hurts!”
“Can’t take a strong lady, Crouch?”
“She’s about as small as a door mouse. How should I know she would try to rip my ear off?”
“And I could of but I like you, so I didn’t.”.
“You should be grateful, Barty.”
“Don’t you chip in too, Reggiekins.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“What Reggiekins.”
“Yes, I’ll hex you.”
“Go on, hex me I can take it.”
“Boys stop arguing, I have a headache.”
“Mums angry.”
“Dora, I’m not angry.”
“Mums hungover.”
“Barty, I am not hungover.”
“Leave Dorcas alone,” Evan hears himself say with an eyeroll.
“Now dads angry too,” Barty says nudging Regulus.
He turned to Barty with a raised eyebrow, “don’t involve me in your daddy issues.”
“What?” Evan sees Panda head turn to giggle into Dorcas shoulder who is also laughing with a manicured hand over her mouth, “I don’t get it, Reggie”
“Don’t worry about it, Barty,” Regulus replied.
“I’m gonna worry,” Barty said looking perplexed, “What do my daddy issues have to do Ev?”
The genuine thing is that Bartys eyebrows are draw so tightly that Evan can physically see that he doesn’t understand what they are on about, he doesn’t really either.
“Someone explain!” Barty whines raising his wand, even though he won’t use it, “Ev, what are they on about?”
“No clue,” He is momentarily caught off guard, stupidly by the simple fact Barty is addressing him for the first time since he boarded the train.
“Well I hope the rest of you lot fucking perishes” He said glaring at them. That’s the thing with Barty he’s quick to rise to anger, any emotion really.
He can take a joke at his own fortune but when he feels left out of something, he hates it.
Evan gets that, so do the rest of their friends but with Barty it’s like he needs to balance it out. Like he wants the other people to feel the way he does, and Evan knows that’s why Barty turns to him, his back to Regulus and trying to meet Evans eyes, in attempt to make his other friends feel forgotten.
“You will regret saying that if we do,” Dorcas says sharply, she’s the only one who really argues back with Barty.
Regulus will, occasionally, but he’s been at home for 2 weeks so he’s shattered, and probably just wanting to get back to the comfort of Hogwarts. For him it’s the only place was steady meals, warm beds and zero learning mothers to torment him.
It’s like that for all of them honestly, the whole of Evan friend group is wound up after holidays. For Dorcas who is normally like a gazelle, graceful and sharp, is clumsy and tired from weeks of working two jobs to help her parents look after her siblings.
For Barty whose ears ring from the silence of his house.
And for Himself and Pandora who have grazes along there calves from climbing trees and running though the acres of land that’s backs out from there house like children, because they would rather be outside than in that tension wound manor, they live in.
There parents aren’t angry at them though, not like Barty’s or Regulus’ Family. Instead the twin’s parents hate each other.
He can’t count on only his two hands how many times as a child he would drag Pandora from the top of the stairs as his parents argued and threw vases and plates at each other.
He can’t count on only his two hands how many times at the end of the arguments he would hear silence and run downstairs in panic, just to see his mother on her knees begging his father not to leave them.
He can’t count on only his two hands how many times the next morning his parents acted as if everything was normal, yet there was a thick tension they would be shattered that night as anger would shake the walls and yells would echo through the house.
Sometime though, when the nights aren’t cold enough to prick their skin, they sleep in the blanket of summer under the setting sun and darling stars when all in the world is settling.
Suddenly, Evan feels the firm heat of Barty’s leg press against the top of his knee and shin in-between the seat of their train compartment. It makes his stomach drop and a shake ripple up his shirt sleeved arms.
He looks away from Dorcas and catches the fire filled eyes staring at him. Bartys teeth are locked tight like the dog Bellatrix used to own and as Evan lets his eyes dip to his tie-less neck he notices the top few of his shirt buttons are undone.
He swiftly looks back at Barty, hoping, praying, he didn’t see Evan staring.
“It was shit those last few days without you,” Barty said, his voice is low like a whisper but also not because he doesn’t think Barty is capable of being quiet. Everything his does is loud and beautiful, the only thing that is delicate that he has is this tight-rope friendship with Evan.
Merlin, Evan thinks, all his bloody thoughts are a soliloquy of love to Barty he will never say.
No matter how much he wants to shout them.
At least he didn’t notice him staring.
Wait!
Shit.
Did Barty, basically, just say he spent the last few days missing Evan.
Course he did, Evan thinks, you idiot he always does this. I manage to put some space between him and I and he always does it. He pulls me back with these stupid platonic, non- platonic words.
And great well done I haven’t said anything and am now just staring like a moron.
“Well I am great to have around,” Evan mutters trying to reach Barty’s tone.
Barty just grins, knocking his shoulder, “so you didn’t miss me too, Rosy”
He did miss me, Evan thinks softly.
He also thinks that surely this must be flirting.
Its that look in Bartys eyes, the way he is batting his eyelashes, which is exactly what he’s seen him do when talking to girls. He also does it to Regulus to sometimes but Evan can ignore that because he has most definitely missed barty.
Don’t get him wrong while he’s with him these feelings bang at his chest and he hates it but when he’s not around Evan feels likes he’s dulled, as if a light in himself has been snuffed.
Being around Bartys like this eternal high and as soon as he’s gone Evan is crashing down.
But Evans not about to tell him that so instead he said, “a bit, I’ve had panda though so I have been busy”
Even though there’s a huge grin split across his face; he can see the heat in Bartys eyes ripple like it’s trying to burn out.
Which makes him feel bad because he definitely has not been busy.
No, he’s been lounging in the fields eating unknown berries, Panda picked off bushes, to “test” if they would be poisonous in potions for his twin sister to give to reg.
Apparently the two of them have been experimenting and Evan is now their test subject which also apparently involves berry eating.
“I’m kidding, missed you too,” he says trying to sound nonchalant, but desperately hoping Barty will go back to looking at him and bat his eyelashes while asking ridiculous questions.
Because that’s just it, that’s how it is. Evan wants his attention but can’t handle it, as if it’s a scorching rock he is desperate not to drop.
As if how Bartys feelings about him are what Evan bases his value on, because it’s like Barty is holding a wand stabbing into the side of his neck ready to kill him and Evan will happily let him place it there if it means Barty’s arm doesn’t ache from the weight of his wand.
And the worst part is he thinks Barty knows.
Well he doesn’t know that Evan is hopelessly in love with him but he defiantly is aware of the fact that he was Evan wrapped around his finger.
“I would fucking hope you were joking,” Barty said then mutters, “bastard”.
The grin on his face shrinks slightly but now it feels more personal and strangely he’s avoiding eye contact instead he’s looking at where he is picking at the side of his thumb.
Bartys leans his head forward so his forehead is resting on Evan’s shoulder, “I meant it, Evan, I missed you”.
He swallows.
“I missed you too, Barty.”
He feels the word on the tip of his tongue, as if the only next logical thing to say is I love you.
“I hate it there, but it wasn’t so bad with you, you know?” his voice is so quiet that it can’t be a whisper, it’s just a breath.
He doesn’t know what to say so he just leans his head slightly closer.
“I wish I could have been there but I had to come back for Panda and I’s birthday,” he realises as he says it that its just a fact that Barty already knows but what else could he say.
Barty raises his head slightly and Evan can feel the letter, he had received from the boy next to him, burning in his pocket. Pandora hadn’t said anything when it arrived just simply handed it to Evan as if she knew how much it would mean to him.
Barty makes a small “mmm” noise of amusement into Evans neck and then his whole body feels alive and buzzing. Evans suddenly very aware that their legs are pressed together and the way he can feel Barty breathe, how each breath warms his neck. Each flicker of Bartys eyelashes brush against Evan’s warming cheek.
He quickly looks up, to check if any of his friends have spotted this. The girls are just talking amongst themselves; Evan must have zooned it out.
Then he catches Pandoras eye, she doesn’t say anything she just looks at barty, of whom she must only be able to see the back of his head, and a fond look crosses her face. With a small smile she goes back to talking to Dorcas. He spots Regulus reading a book with his back pressed to the glass window.
As he turns his attention back to Barty, not that it had drifted far, and he realises that his eyelashes weren’t moving anymore and his breathing had levelled out.
He was asleep.
Evan didn’t dare move for the rest of the Train ride.
Only Dumbledore’s speech seems to pull Barty out of his half-asleep, half-awake daze.
“It’s the same fucking speech every year,” Barty slurs and turns to Evan and Regulus, “bet you ten gallons I can tell you every word before he says it.”
“One,” Regulus says, “anyone can do that, he says the same morally prestigious hocus-pocus every year. Two, why would we ever give you 10 gallons.”
“One,” Barty says mimicking Reggie’s mannerisms, “fuck you very much. Two because your fucking minted and daddy dearest cut my off again so I’m povo this year.”
Evan sees Regulus open his mouth with a retort so he quickly quips in with, “go on then, Crouch.”
Bartys eyes light up and he clears his throat at the same time Regulus mutters, “fucking typical.”
“Don’t be a cynic just because I’m making money and you’re not,” Barty said with glee.
“You’re not making money,” Regulus hisses, “you’re just prostituting yourself to Evans whim.”
Evan nearly bloody chokes on his pumpkin juice.
“It’s not Evs whim its mine.”
“He’s also not prostituting himself to me,” Evan says. He defiantly did not need Mulciber or Snape hearing and repeating that rumour.
“There is good in all we do,” Barty said nearly cutting Evan off, he holds up his pointer finger and nods when Dumbledore says those very words. He continues not missing a sentence till he says, “now enjoy the food and reap the reward this new autumn term brings.”
“That’s freakier than Dora’s predictions you know, Crouch,” said Dorcas pointing her fork at Barty.
“Thank you, Meadows,” Barty says.
“Mmmm, your welcome,” She says as she lifts a carrot to her mouth.
Dorcas and Barty are strange, there friendship revolves mostly around disagreeing with each other and a lot of childish hair pulling. Yet if someone else disagrees with Barty Dorcas will defend his to the ends of the earth and vice versa.
Also, if they agree on something it get scary, mainly due to the fact that Barty is freakishly smart, even if he doesn’t show it, and Dorcas is stunningly powerful. (She definitely does show it.)
Barty suddenly turns to him and says, “when am I getting paid?”
“You will get your money when I have unpacked,” Evan replies.
“Evan. Do not pay him for that,” Regulus says sharply over his shoulder.
“A bet is a bet, you have to,” Dorcas says.
“Exactly,” Evan shrugs, Slytherins take bets very seriously, they are most likely the richest house yet money means the most to them. That’s why Panda, as a Ravenclaw, would probably agree with Reg, also he’s her best friend so she is bias.
“Ev don’t listen to Reggiekins,” Barty prunes, “listen to wise, old Dorcas instead.”
“Who are you calling old,” said Dorcas with an aimed kick to Bartys shin.
“Fucking hell,” he shouts, causing several head to turn toward them, “Both the girls have attacked me in one day.”
“I’ll attack you again,” Dorcas says with a glare that could slice chrome.
“Sorry, I shall never call you old again, oh ancient one,” Barty barley manages to get out before he is kicked again.
Evan just simply smirks, his friends are very stupid yet very much his and he can’t be more grateful for that.