Claude turned around in his chair, searching for the other boy. "Him? That's Peter. He's a massive gaping cunt, don't talk to him." He turned back, drumming his fingers on the antiqued table. "I've gotten into more fights with him than should be allowed, if I'll be honest." The boy wrinkled his nose, a slight snarl on his lips. "He's a dick."
Kalen lowered his eyes, biting the inside of his bottom lip. While this 'Peter' person didn't look like he was a nice person, Kalen couldn't judge him just because Claude wasn't a massive fan on him. "What makes him a bad person?" he asked, turning to look at Peter for a moment before looking back up at Claude.
"Let's see.. how do I put this?" Claude rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to figure out how to phrase what he would say. His voice was quiet as he spoke, but just loud enough to be heard over the background roar of the cafeteria. "Keep in mind, I was in school with him in the Netherlands, so I knew him before we came here. Two years ago, I thought I had a crush on a boy and told a close friend. Word got out, he beat the shit out of me for it for.. what, a year? Couldn't let it go." Claude laughed slightly, shaking his head. He could feel his heart pounding in his throat. "He still gives me shit for it, the asshole."
Kalen's eyes narrowed, his hands instinctively curled into tight fists. He didn't like the idea of people hurting each other, especially over something such as feelings, and while Kalen wasn't much of a fighter, hearing what Peter had done to Claude made him want to shove his fist into the other boy's temple and knock him clean out. But he bit his tongue and kept his head down. "That's awful." he whispered.
"It is what it is. If I thought that the kid could change, I wouldn't hate him so much." Claude shrugged, his tone plain and matter-of-fact. "Last month I gave that boy a shiner he won't forget, though. In my mind, that alone was worth all of it it."
After a moment of silence from Kalen, he cleared his throat a little. "I uhm.. I should go and finish unpacking." he mumbled to Claude. "Get my bearings of the room I'll be staying in and all." The noise of the hall was getting too much for him, it had even driven away his hunger with how badly he wanted to be somewhere quiet. "I think I'll see you later." Kalen rose from his chair and turned to Claude's friends, still clutching the book. "It was a pleasure to meet you all, again, I'll see you again soon." and without another word he rushed out of the hall, almost jogging with how quickly he was walking.
He didn't want Claude to follow him, he just needed somewhere quiet. Noise had never been something that agreed with him, especially since there were a lot of people in the hall.
"Uh- yeah, sure. I'll see you." Claude was slightly taken aback, unsure of why Kalen left so suddenly. Was it something he had said? Soon enough, Claude fell into conversation with his friends, his mind moving away from Kalen altogether. After a while, the lunch bell rang, signalling that it was time to go. Claude left the cafeteria, the gaggle of boys surrounding him and horsing around as they walked. The group split up, every boy except Claude and Quincy heading to their classes. The pair walked to the common room, conversation suddenly calm and levelheaded- a far cry from earlier.
Kalen hadn't gone to his room like he'd said he would, rather he was sat outside on a bench, reading through the library book. He wouldn't admit it, but he'd actually gotten lost while trying to find his way back to his room and so had given up searching. Perfect opportunity to read! He was so captured by the book that he didn't even realise someone was watching him from the other end of the garden.
The pair huddled in front of the fireplace, their conversation quickly morphing into a friendly debate. The drafty halls were cold, making the warm common rooms into sanctuaries for students.
"Well, here's what I'm saying, Quincy. You can't put something like morality into a box like that. It's too personal, too malleable. Somebody might find murder amoral but theft completely acceptable, and that's what I'm trying to tell you." Claude crossed his arms behind his head, leaning back.
"I want to say that you're right, but I just can't. What I'm trying to say is that if it's not for the benefit of others, or won't make a positive impact, it's simply not moral!" Quincy squeaked, pushing his mousy hair off of his forehead.
(I'm actually not sure what to write…)
(Hm.. do you want to ts to the next time they run into each other? I'm not sure if it would be the same day, but Quincy & Claude are going to be in the common rooms for a while.)
(Yeah sounds good)
(Sweet. Do you want to start that, or should I?)
(Would you be able to? If not that's fine, but it might take me a moment to come up with a scenario in which they will see each other again)
(It's all good! I'm just assuming Kalen comes back into the common room, because that opens up a few more options for me.)
Claude sat in his regular spot, thumbing through a book. Quincy had left a short while ago, leaving Claude with the nearly empty room and not much else to do but read. He was dead silent as he set the book face-down onto his lap, taking a moment to let his hair down. He ran his fingers through it a few times for good measure, making sure that it at least looked a little presentable.
Kalen managed to find his way back to the common room, after finishing the book, and the colouring of his cheeks gave away that he'd been somewhere cold. "Oh, Claude!" he smiled upon seeing the tall boy. "I've finished this book, it was very interesting." he sat on the floor by the fire, crossing his legs like a young schoolboy. "What are you reading?"
"'Evening. I'm just reading some fables, if I'm to be honest. My mother sent them for me to look over. She says that I should include more references to them in my papers and debates, that it'll help my cases look more refined. This one is a collection of Aesop's fables. They're not bad, I should've been reading them earlier. I can already see how they'll assist me." Claude chuckled, slipping a bookmark into the pages and setting them in his lap. "You look cold. Were you outside?"
"Oh I've read those, I find the one about the Lion and the Mouse particularly interesting. All of his fables have such a clever meaning behind them, and most people in today's society are completely unaware that the phrases they use to teach someone a lesson actually derive from someone who was once a slave!" Kalen's hand flew over his mouth and his face flushed a brighter pink. He hadn't meant to gush like that, and felt rather embarrassed that he had done so. "Yes, I was outside." he whispered, averting his eyes from Claude.
"Was he? I didn't know that. That's interesting." Claude raised his eyebrows, head tilting. "You're cold, aren't you? The weather outside is brutal today, especially now that it's getting dark out." He tucked stray hair behind his ear, attempting to get it out of his face.
"I'm not that cold." Kalen waved a hand dismissively, his usual bright smile plastered on his lips. "I'm from the north, remember? I'm used to the cold." Kalen noticed how Claude's hair was down, and only now realised that he was actually quite good looking. He hadn't taken a moment to take in Claude's features until now, and he found his smile forming an expression that could be called awe.
"True, I suppose." Claude leaned forward in his chair, elbows resting on his knees. His lower lip caught in between his teeth for a short moment as he looked at Kalen. God, that smile is cute. The boy cocked his head slightly, noticing Kalen's expression. "What is it?"
"Oh nothing," The bright smile was back, along with a slight pinkness of Kalen's cheeks. He propped one elbow on his knee and leaned his chin into his hand with a happy sigh. "I think having your hair down suits you."
"Yeah? It's a lot more comfortable, too. Having it up all day is painful." Claude was back to his normal, matter-of-fact tone. "God, having this fireplace is a lifesaver." He exhaled a sigh of contentment, drawing slightly into his sweater.
"I suppose it is." Though Kalen was feeling a little too warm. He shuffled away from the fire, leaning his back against the wall, facing Claude. "What are your plans for the rest of the evening then?"
"Nothing, really. I have my case for the debate tournament finished, but I might look over it again." Claude shrugged, drumming his fingers on his book. "What about you?"
"I don't really have any." Other than the homework he needed to get done for Philosophy, which was probably going to take the entire night because he hadn't a single clue what he was doing. "There's a debate tournament?" Kalen chuckled. "Now why do I picture you as the exact sort of person who would be into that kind of thing?"
"It's next month." He shrugged, smiling a bit at Kalen's quip. "Maybe because I am, yeah? I like to think of myself as the ideal debater. But if it's something you're interested in watching, I can tell you the exact date." Claude tugged at the collar of his sweater, loosening his necktie. He checked his watch.
"Debates have never really been my thing, but it would be amusing watching you debate with someone." Kalen raised an eyebrow, smirking devilishly—or as devilishly as a supposed innocent bean could. He tilted his head a little at Claude's gestures. "Why are you checking the time?"
"I suppose that makes sense." Claude glanced back up at Kalen. "No real reason, I'm just checking it. I want to see how long I have until I need to get to work, is all."
"Work?" Kalen didn't know if he was being stupid or whether he was missing something. "Get to work on what, if you don't mind me asking?"